Matt whined and shoved his head further under the pillow. When the monitor squawked again, Matt groaned. Didn't Aidan know he wasn't feeling well?
The answer was no. Not that he cared if Matt spent another night with his friends. The first six months of his twenty-first year were mild if you didn't count Aidan, but now that he was back home and reunited with his old friends, he was making up for it, hard. As hard as one could go when you still had to feed your kid dinner and get him to sleep.
Brad was generous, but Matt still had to do the legwork. Dinner, bath, putting Aidan down for bed. Those were Brad's rules. Matt also had to worry about the mornings.
The Excedrin sat on the nightstand, so close, yet it felt so far away as he peaked out from under the pillow. He painfully reached for them. He just needed a few minutes for it to kick in before Aidan's patience wore out completely.
No dice.
Matt cried as he rolled out of bed and slowly made his way to Aidan like a troll emerging from the shadows of his bridge.
There he was, standing in his crib, trying to break the railing like a baby Hulk. The poor kid had one giant tear hanging from his bottom lash. It was adorable, but not as adorable as the way he perked up when Matt walked in.
"
Mah!
" Aidan called out. His little hands went into the air, waiting for Matt to pick him the fuck up.
"You only love me because you can't do anything yourself."
Aidan didn't argue, just kicked his legs and gibbered away. Aidan's diaper had soaked through his jammies. It was horrendous. Matt didn't think urine had ever smelled so strong. He took a few practiced breaths, not using his nose as he changed his brother. After a quick bath and new clothes, they went to the kitchen for breakfast.
Even Aidan's formula smelled worse than normal. Being hungover with a kid was no joke. Matt wasn't sure it was worth it. It wasn't like he enjoyed the taste anyway. He only wanted to be twenty-one and make memories with his friends.
Him and Aidan usually fought over TV, but Matt would let his brother watch anything if it meant they could lie on the couch in silence. Aidan was content with his show and his bottle. He was a little squirmy for Matt's current condition, but not enough to complain about it.
He sent Seamus a text, just a little something to say '
hi'
and '
give me a call when you're not busy
with work'
, which had been the case lately. Matt had been home for three weeks and they'd seen each other. It just hadn't worked out. They talked every day, though. As much as Matt enjoyed his free time and enjoyed his friends, he
really
missed Seamus. He was homesick for his boyfriend in a bad way. He knew he could go see him any time he wanted, but Seamus had been busy and Matt didn't want to bother him. Which was stupid, of course. He knew Seamus would welcome him any time.
It wasn't until later that day that the decision was made for him.
Matt was showered and feeling better. He'd skipped breakfast but managed a late lunch. Aidan was over the whole
lying low
thing and was pulling himself up on every piece of furniture he could find.
House was playing in the background. Matt was half watching the how and half watching Aidan as he stood by the ottoman, smashing toys together. It was cute. Matt liked listening to Aidan talk gibberish to himself. What the kid was thinking? Typical boy stuff he guessed.
Aidan kept looking back at Matt, making sure he had his big brother's undivided attention. Then he smiled that two-tooth smile that lit up the room and made his blue eyes sparkle. Sometimes, he held up a toy as if explaining to Matt what he was doing. Matt would talk back to him, '
oh really? That's so cool!'
Aidan would get all excited. One time he got so worked up he lost his balance and fell over. At least Matt didn't have to rush over. Aidan could finally pull himself back up.
Aidan kept holding out his toy for Matt to see.
Matt waved him over. "Bring it to me?" he challenged. Aidan smiled. That seemed to placate him and he returned to what he was doing.
When Matt looked at his brother again, the little guy was facing Matt, smiling, and holding two toys. One in each hand.
He wasn't holding anything.
He wasn't leaning against the ottoman for support.
He was standing on his own.
Aidan smiled brightly, took a step, and wobbled. Matt jumped off the couch and snatched Aidan off the floor.
Oh no. No no no no no
, Matt thought.
This can't be happening.
With Aidan safely on his hip and not on the floor walking, he swiped his cellphone off the arm of the couch and called Seamus.
"Hey, sorry, I've been swamped all day with work," Seamus said in a way of greeting.
"No worries. Aidan and I have been lying low today. Being lazy. Watching tv and sleeping."
"You went out again last night, huh?"
Matt laughed. He couldn't hide shit, except Aidan walking. Hopefully he could hide that. "Yeah, we went out. I don't regret it."
"I didn't think you did. What are you two up to? Are you going out again tonight?"
"Actually, I was going to see if you were busy? Maybe you'd like some company? Aidan and I were thinking of going for a drive."
"You'd come visit me?" Seamus asked with definite hope in his voice.
"Aidan's being persistent about it."
"Just Aidan?"
"I called you, didn't I?"
Seamus laughed. "When can you be here?"
"When do you want us?"
"Three weeks ago."
Matt smiled.
Aidan was watching like he knew who Matt was talking to, so Matt put it on speaker. "Tell Seamus what you've been talking about all day."
Aidan said nothing, just looked at Matt like he was an idiot.
"You gonna come see me, Super Thighs?" Seamus said. "You miss me?"
