GROUP POST | Hunt & Evans Wedding Reception

[richandlovingit]

[OPEN TO ALL]

Out of all the things in his life that Ethan had worked towards and achieved, he was pretty sure he had never been this exhausted in his life. The wedding was over, and Stuart and Tom had finally managed to tie the knot, only one hour later than originally expected. Stuart had arrived at the ceremony just as Tom was about to panic,

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[nothingunderit]

"He's outside well away from the music and still crying, so we can probably eliminate that. I willnae insult you by asking the standard question about whether he hungry or needs changing. It's been a big day for everyone. He might just be tired," Braden suggested and looked down at the baby again in concern. "But he really does have a big cry up. It's nay nice when you cannae tell us what's wrong, is it, buddy?"

He did manage to not wince at her comment and instead cleared his throat, albeit feeling a little awkward. "I dinnae... have a partner. I did, but um... things didnae work oot so well. And I'm straight, just for the record," he added with a small smirk to lighten the mood before it took a nosedive. He was about to continue and comment how important family was, when the baby boy in his arms interrupted the crying by upchucking extensively all down the front of Braden's shirt. There was a slight pause and hiccup before there was another wave, but the crying eased and the poor little thing just looked dazed in the wake of it. "Oh, see? Tummy upset. He'll probably fill his nappy now and feel a whole lot better."

[fiveofeight]

"Oh bollocks!" Renee gasped with a shocked squeak of surprise. Everything she seemed to have fed her son that day looked like it was suddenly dripping down the front of Braden's beautiful dress shirt. Her hands dove into the baby bag as she fumbled to get a towel, or wet wipes, or anything she could find to clean him off.

"Hell, I'm so sorry! All over your shirt. I burped him fine and everything when I fed him, I don't know what's gone wrong. Are you okay? Shit, your wedding clothes. I'm really sorry, Braden. I'll help you clean this up, I can take him back. You are so calm. Why are you so calm? You're covered in baby vomit!" she fretted and started to wipe him down with a handful of wet wipes while simultaneously watching closely to see if James was okay.

[nothingunderit]

Braden laughed softly. "Hey, it's okay, aye. Really," he assured her, taking some of the towels off her. "Here, why dinnae you take the bairn and I'll clean this up. It's fine, Renee. I promise. I deal with this thing all the time. It's just good that he's stopped crying but just keep a wee eye on him. Lots of bugs going around right now. Bairns pick things up all the time, but they're resilient."

He carefully placed James back into Renee's arm, trying to avoid getting any of the baby vomit on her. He started to clean his shirt up with the wipes and towels she had. It wasn't going to escape damage, but it should be fine. He took the black waistcoat off and found that the shirt wasn't so bad. But James was getting grisly again and Braden watched in concern. "Would you like me to take you back to your hotel? Looks like he isnae feeling too well. I can call a taxi and help you with the buggy and stuff," he offered.

[fiveofeight]

Renee nursed James protectively against her chest. He really was out of sorts, and now burying his little face in against her. If he was sick, this would be the first time and she suddenly felt completely and utterly helpless. She watched Braen for a few moments, the way he cleaned up her son's puke without even batting an eyelid.

"I... can I ask you a personal question?" she said quietly. "You don't have to answer if you don't want to, but... how are you single? Seriously? I'm just really not feeling like a deserve a knight in shining armour right now, but you have it down."

[nothingunderit]

Braden paused in the wiping of his shirt and looked down at the wipes in his hand. With a sigh, he shifted to go and lean against a close stone wall. "First, I'm nay sure why you could possibly think you dinnae deserving a wee helping hand, I'm going to tell you it's bullshit... in the politest possible way. You're a mummy with your hands full, and my hands arenae so full. The offer is there if you need it. Nay strings."

A cold shiver crept down his back as soon as those words left his mouth. That was the whole basis of his relationship with Kenzie. That one night of amazing sex, no strings. Only to subsequently discover she was pregnant. It felt like so long ago, but was really only a few months. "And to answer your question, it's a really long story. I'm nay saying that to palm you off. It really is. Goes back a good few years, at least. Just a whole lot of baggage that leads right up to this morning when I had a huge fight with my brother... maybe we can have coffee one day and I can elaborate. Or something."

[fiveofeight]

"You're too sweet," Renee murmured, feeling thrown off by anyone offering to help her beyond her family, let alone a cute and sweet guy like Braden who doing it for no reason than because he was a kind gentleman. Renee hadn't been sure they even existed in this world anymore. "But I can't ask you to leave your brother's wedding. Especially not when I have six brothers and seven brothers and sisters I can rope in to help me."

She watched as his demeanour changed and his shoulders slumped, so she moved to leaned against the wall next to him. "I didn't mean to stir crap up for you. I understand the long story thing. I really do. I might hold you to that coffee, though. Us people in big families have to stick together, right? If you want to talk about it, I could be an independent party to just listen. Fights with siblings really aren't a new realm for me. Just... was this something to do with Stuart delaying the wedding?"

[nothingunderit]

Braden gave her a faint smile. "Aye, but still. Offer's there if you want it. Thing aboot big families is they understand a hell of a lot most dinnae. Stuart wouldnae mind. Really. He wouldnae. But I will be a pest and push you. To be honest, I'm just surplus to requirement now. Stu's happy, everyone else is happy..."

"Aye," he confirmed with a nod and a sigh. "Same long story and it will be okay. I got oversensitive with something my brother said, unintentionally, mind. And irationally." He scrunched his nose up a little as he looked out over the illuminated Edinburgh New Town. "The thing is, to try and talk to him aboot it, and apologise, means revisiting the subject matter and I'm nay sure I'm ready to withoot getting upset again."

[fiveofeight]

"But you aren't?" Renee guessed quietly, not really needing to have known him forever to understand him, she found. He was a sweetheart, but he was hurting. A lot. And she just couldn't help but want to know more about that. The offer of coffee was definitely something she was going to hold him to.

She held James securely in one arm and rested her other hand on Braden's shoulder before slipping her arm around his neck and giving him a soft hug. She might have just met him, but she didn't care. He looked like he needed a hug. "But he's your brother. He'll understand if something is too sensitive to revisit. You don't need to avoid him."

[kicksbigballs]

Callum really couldn't take it much longer. He had kept a safe distance from Braden ever since the explosion, really not wanting to fan anymore flames. He had watched his younger brother from a distance all day, though, making sure he was okay. As okay as he could be, anyway. This was such a difficult situation, and now that it was all said and done, Callum felt terrible for the decision they had made to keep the news quiet to protect Braden. Really terrible. They thought it would be the better thing to do in the long run, but it turned out to be a really bad error of judgment, and if there was one thing in this world Callum couldn't handle above all else, it was hurting his brothers.

He had seen Braden excuse himself from the reception, and waited as long as he could handle, but felt the emotion building up inside him again. He needed to apologise at the least. He needed to just hear from Braden himself how he was. Giving his wife a soft kiss, Callum got up from the table and wove his way through the crowd towards the exit. It took a few minutes to track Braden down, but some voices in the distance caught his attention, so he followed them. He managed to catch the end of Renee Morgan's comment and then came to stand a safe distance away, pressing his lips together. "She's right, you know," he commented quietly, meeting Braden's eyes, apology and regret written all over his face.

[nothingunderit]

Braden had been about to reply to Renee, to thank her for the hug he really did need. But then Callum was suddenly there and as soon as Braden saw him, he welled up and some tears spilled down his cheeks. With a glance at Renee, he pushed off the wall and breached the gap between him and his brother, wrapping his arms around him in a hug with a soft sob. "I'm sorry," he choked out, the words muffled against Callum's shoulder.

[kicksbigballs]

Callum hugged Braden tightly and kissed the top of his head. "Hey... it's okay, buddy. I'm the one that owes you an apology. I just didnae want to hurt you and turned around and hurt you ten times worse. But we dinnae have to talk aboot. At all, if you dinnae want to. If you do, you know I'm here," he said hoarsely, choking up at seeing Braden cry like this.