For musebyquotes | 1.14. James C. Dobson quote
1.14. "Don't marry the person you think you can live with; marry only the individual you think you can't live without."
- James C. Dobson
Co-written with mrpublicity | Follows THIS
When Aiden bought the house in Princeton with Pat, they made decision that he would keep his Upper East Side apartment in New York to give them somewhere to stay when they wanted to and gave Aiden a place to crash if he got tied up at work in the long hours he often had to put in. He stayed there in the couple of days after returning from Canada so he could go to the dinner at Harri's and then catch up on some work that needed to be seen to before the Easter break. His overnight bag was sitting on his sofa about packed to return home to Princeton. He didn't miss this place half as much as he thought he would. Princeton had become his home with a lot more ease than he anticipated.
He had his cell phone pressed to his ear on a business call with an over-anxious client. He made his way up the hall from the large bedroom and had to reluctantly turn his stereo down as he did. 'Love is in the Air' was playing and it made him think of Pat's birthday party where they 'danced' together while Lachlan sung this. He smiled to himself when he heard his apartment buzzer ring too. "I promise, Jake, nothing is going to happen over Easter. The place is closed, for one. They aren't going to run anything if no one is showing up. Secondly, they can't do anything until I give them the go ahead and I haven't."
He opened the door and found Harri there, and he smiled, waving her into the apartment. "No, no... Jake, just chill, man. Spend some time with your wife over Easter and we'll sort something out after the break." He paused, listening to the answer with a smirk. "You have my word, alright. Now go. Tell Kylie I said hello." He snapped his phone shut and grinned, looking back to Harri. "This is a nice surprise."
"Kylie? Sure that wasn't Jason on the phone?" Harri asked with an amused look. She had been a British teenager at some point, and the Brits adored their Neighbours. "Hello, love. I wasn't interrupting anything was I?"
Aiden cringed and waved his hand. "It's too early for bad jokes like that, love," he snorted, tossing his phone onto the top of his packet bag. He gestured around the apartment. "What could you possibly be interrupting? A good, sweaty round of self-pleasure?"
"Can I watch?" Harri grinned before she moved over to one of his chairs and sat down. "How's that for a good joke? I don't think Marc and Pat would be very supportive of the idea even a little bit."
Aiden smirked and perched on the arm rest of the sofa nearby her. "You're too late. I self-pleasured this morning in the shower. I had to get through the day somehow. And there is the whole Pat and Marc thing. Pat's not one to share," he laughed.
Harri laughed as she tucked her hair behind her ears. "How is your husband, anyway?" She asked it like nothing was unnatural about the question. Maybe it was devious, and Aiden probably wouldn't fall for it, but it was worth a shot. Maybe he'd admit something if she took him by surprise. Now that she was looking for it, she did notice the ring on his finger.
"How's yours?" Aiden returned without missing a beat, his eyebrows raising just a little.
"I wouldn't know, we haven't seen each other since that awful scandal with the air hostesses in Egypt," Harri smirked. Aiden was definitely far too sharp. She should have known better. She looked at him quietly for a little while before she sighed. "I give up. Are you married, or not? What's with the ring?"
"There I was thinking he looked like such an innocent bloke, too." Aiden stood up and over to sit down on the coffee table in front of her so he could see her face. The wedding ring had been a slip the other night. He had forgotten to take it off. In fact, it hadn't even crossed his mind to remove it. He had only realised when he spotted it during dinner and then proceeded to spend a lot of the time with his hand under the table. After that, something in him just told him not to take it off anyway. He didn't want to. "I'm married," he told her.
"In Canada." It wasn't a question, Harri was just confirming it in her own mind. She met his gaze quietly before she smiled. "Congratulations. I'm happy for you both. Even if a small part of me wants to beat you over the head with my Louis Vuitton bag for depriving me of best man duties." She shifted forward onto the edge of the chair and reached out a hand to stroke the side of Aiden's face. "Married..."
Aiden held her gaze. "You deprived me of your uterus," he pointed out. "And this isn't punishment for that. I'm just saying." His fingers wrapped around his wedding ring as he nodded a little. "In Canada. Mum and Dad were our witnesses. With Chase being diagnosed with stage two cancer, everything was just stark in our mind. We sort of got swept up in the moment, but maybe that's just our thing. Pat admitted he didn't want a big white wedding and even if we planned one, we would never know if he was going to be well enough on the day to enjoy it. He was well in Canada. Really well. Better than he has been since I started seeing him. We didn't see a reason to wait."
"I know," Harri replied quietly. "And the rest of it I can understand. I might just have to wear a tux to something anyway, just because I know I'd look fabulous. You need to do what's right for you both, and I would never argue with that. I just want you happy, and Pat makes you happy. And marriage really makes you happy, because I can see the change in your face. I just didn't know what it was before."
Aiden chewed on his lower lip for a moment. "I was going to tell you. We were going to tell you. Together. That's why I didn't say anything. But then Pat just needed to get back to Princeton, so I tried to wing it. The whole separation thing, like, three days after you get married isn't easy, either. It's like some mental mindset is telling us we should be on our honeymoon. I am happy. I don't think I've ever been this happy. Mum couldn't stop crying. Pat's face was covered in lipstick kisses when she got overenthusiastic about having a son-in-law." He went over to his bag and pulled a neat folder out, handing it to her. It had most of the photos from the ceremony in it. Pat might not have had a huge white wedding, but he wore a white shirt with a light pink shirt. Aiden wore light grey with a white shirt to compliment. It was simple, calm and really memorable.
Harri took the folder and took her time looking at all the photos. A couple of tears slid down her cheek, and she wiped at them before cursing under her breath. Stupid bloody hormones. "Is there going to be a chance for you two to have the honeymoon? Hardly seems fair that you get to miss out. I'm sorry I asked you to do dinner. You could have gone back to Princeton with Pat and been with him."
Aiden looked at the photos she was looking through with a smile. It was a day he wouldn't ever forget. He still couldn't believe he was married and that Pat was his husband. "Lachlan and Tara are taking the little one back to Scotland to get christened on their wedding anniversay in May. Pat and I are going for that and Pat wants to spend a bit of time in London visiting his family. He said that's all he wants and tropical honeymoons are out of the question. And he would be happy with that, but I feel like I should do something else, you know? And I wouldn't have missed your dinner for the world, love. I wouldn't."
"Can't believe you're married!" Harri whispered in exclamation as more tears came, and she stopped at a photo of them exchanging rings. "If you're in London you've got Europe right next door. Nothing wrong with a night in Paris, or dinner in Italy. Plenty of romance to be found there." Harri lifted her eyes to meet his gaze again. "I'm glad you finally got to meet Marc."
Aiden laughed and took her hand. "I can't fucking believe it either. I thought when we did it that we would have it planned months in advance with everything mapped out like a small military operation. I didn't think we would do it anytime soon. But it just felt right. Still does. I do just really want to be with him for the rest of my life." He sighed softly. "I owe you an apology about the godfather thing. I was trying to buy some time until Pat knew about it. It was an amazing offer, love. I was stunned. And Marc... he's not like I expected. I didn't expect him to be blond, for one," he added in amusement.
"I know, love. That's why I'm happy for you. If I thought you'd made some kind of mistake, I don't think you would have heard the end of it. It's fantastic that you're married." Harri shook her head. "Look, I get it, okay? I just really want you both as the godfathers. We both do. Aiden, I love you so much. I want you, and I need you to be a part of my kid's life. Take all the time you need. Well, within seven months, anyway. Marc is completely different in private. He's letting you see the real him, and that's a big thing. He's fucking gorgeous, isn't he? I adore him when he's like that. I just want to eat the bastard up."
"I'll talk to him," Aiden promised. "You won't get a better godfather than Pat. He even knows how to put a diaper on and what all the things in the baby nursery do. It's hard for me to forget he's a nurse, but he's just... he's brilliant." He laughed. "Please, don't let me keep you from him. Am I eating away at the shagging time or something?"
Harri smiled as she got up to kiss Aiden's cheek. "I always wanted this for you, even if I never wanted it for me. I'm glad you found him, love. I really am." She shook her head. "No, I'm just permanently horny. Joys of pregnancy. That's when my head isn't down the toilet."
Aiden nodded. "Just enjoy it. Some people won't ever experience it. You'll get something amazing at the end of it."
"I can't do this without you," Harri told him, holding his gaze. "You know that, right? No matter what either of us are going through, we'll always have each other, won't we?"
Aiden laughed a little. "Harri, you're not going to need me half as much as you used to. Things have changed. You've got Marc. He seems like he'll do an alright job. But I'll always be here for you and the kid if you do need me," he promised.
"And you'll probably not need me as much now you have Pat, but I'll always be here. You're my best friend, love. I just want you to understand that'll never change." Harri reached out to give his hand a squeeze. "Fucking married, you bastard!"
Aiden just laughed. "This is payback for dumping the pregnancy on me," he joked. "I'm kidding. I can't even claim that. It's just like seeing the perfect pair of shoes, better than any shoes you've ever wanted, and just knowing that no matter what it meant, you needed to have them and if you didn't get them, they would be gone."
Harri smiled, and reached out to caress his cheek. "I'm so glad you got the shoes, love." It might have had her wondering if Marc was her shoes, but it wasn't like marriage would ever be an option. He was already married... But she was going to sign his little piece of paper, and have his so that was something. A big something.
Words: 2094 | All muses referred to with permission
- James C. Dobson
Co-written with mrpublicity | Follows THIS
When Aiden bought the house in Princeton with Pat, they made decision that he would keep his Upper East Side apartment in New York to give them somewhere to stay when they wanted to and gave Aiden a place to crash if he got tied up at work in the long hours he often had to put in. He stayed there in the couple of days after returning from Canada so he could go to the dinner at Harri's and then catch up on some work that needed to be seen to before the Easter break. His overnight bag was sitting on his sofa about packed to return home to Princeton. He didn't miss this place half as much as he thought he would. Princeton had become his home with a lot more ease than he anticipated.
He had his cell phone pressed to his ear on a business call with an over-anxious client. He made his way up the hall from the large bedroom and had to reluctantly turn his stereo down as he did. 'Love is in the Air' was playing and it made him think of Pat's birthday party where they 'danced' together while Lachlan sung this. He smiled to himself when he heard his apartment buzzer ring too. "I promise, Jake, nothing is going to happen over Easter. The place is closed, for one. They aren't going to run anything if no one is showing up. Secondly, they can't do anything until I give them the go ahead and I haven't."
He opened the door and found Harri there, and he smiled, waving her into the apartment. "No, no... Jake, just chill, man. Spend some time with your wife over Easter and we'll sort something out after the break." He paused, listening to the answer with a smirk. "You have my word, alright. Now go. Tell Kylie I said hello." He snapped his phone shut and grinned, looking back to Harri. "This is a nice surprise."
"Kylie? Sure that wasn't Jason on the phone?" Harri asked with an amused look. She had been a British teenager at some point, and the Brits adored their Neighbours. "Hello, love. I wasn't interrupting anything was I?"
Aiden cringed and waved his hand. "It's too early for bad jokes like that, love," he snorted, tossing his phone onto the top of his packet bag. He gestured around the apartment. "What could you possibly be interrupting? A good, sweaty round of self-pleasure?"
"Can I watch?" Harri grinned before she moved over to one of his chairs and sat down. "How's that for a good joke? I don't think Marc and Pat would be very supportive of the idea even a little bit."
Aiden smirked and perched on the arm rest of the sofa nearby her. "You're too late. I self-pleasured this morning in the shower. I had to get through the day somehow. And there is the whole Pat and Marc thing. Pat's not one to share," he laughed.
Harri laughed as she tucked her hair behind her ears. "How is your husband, anyway?" She asked it like nothing was unnatural about the question. Maybe it was devious, and Aiden probably wouldn't fall for it, but it was worth a shot. Maybe he'd admit something if she took him by surprise. Now that she was looking for it, she did notice the ring on his finger.
"How's yours?" Aiden returned without missing a beat, his eyebrows raising just a little.
"I wouldn't know, we haven't seen each other since that awful scandal with the air hostesses in Egypt," Harri smirked. Aiden was definitely far too sharp. She should have known better. She looked at him quietly for a little while before she sighed. "I give up. Are you married, or not? What's with the ring?"
"There I was thinking he looked like such an innocent bloke, too." Aiden stood up and over to sit down on the coffee table in front of her so he could see her face. The wedding ring had been a slip the other night. He had forgotten to take it off. In fact, it hadn't even crossed his mind to remove it. He had only realised when he spotted it during dinner and then proceeded to spend a lot of the time with his hand under the table. After that, something in him just told him not to take it off anyway. He didn't want to. "I'm married," he told her.
"In Canada." It wasn't a question, Harri was just confirming it in her own mind. She met his gaze quietly before she smiled. "Congratulations. I'm happy for you both. Even if a small part of me wants to beat you over the head with my Louis Vuitton bag for depriving me of best man duties." She shifted forward onto the edge of the chair and reached out a hand to stroke the side of Aiden's face. "Married..."
Aiden held her gaze. "You deprived me of your uterus," he pointed out. "And this isn't punishment for that. I'm just saying." His fingers wrapped around his wedding ring as he nodded a little. "In Canada. Mum and Dad were our witnesses. With Chase being diagnosed with stage two cancer, everything was just stark in our mind. We sort of got swept up in the moment, but maybe that's just our thing. Pat admitted he didn't want a big white wedding and even if we planned one, we would never know if he was going to be well enough on the day to enjoy it. He was well in Canada. Really well. Better than he has been since I started seeing him. We didn't see a reason to wait."
"I know," Harri replied quietly. "And the rest of it I can understand. I might just have to wear a tux to something anyway, just because I know I'd look fabulous. You need to do what's right for you both, and I would never argue with that. I just want you happy, and Pat makes you happy. And marriage really makes you happy, because I can see the change in your face. I just didn't know what it was before."
Aiden chewed on his lower lip for a moment. "I was going to tell you. We were going to tell you. Together. That's why I didn't say anything. But then Pat just needed to get back to Princeton, so I tried to wing it. The whole separation thing, like, three days after you get married isn't easy, either. It's like some mental mindset is telling us we should be on our honeymoon. I am happy. I don't think I've ever been this happy. Mum couldn't stop crying. Pat's face was covered in lipstick kisses when she got overenthusiastic about having a son-in-law." He went over to his bag and pulled a neat folder out, handing it to her. It had most of the photos from the ceremony in it. Pat might not have had a huge white wedding, but he wore a white shirt with a light pink shirt. Aiden wore light grey with a white shirt to compliment. It was simple, calm and really memorable.
Harri took the folder and took her time looking at all the photos. A couple of tears slid down her cheek, and she wiped at them before cursing under her breath. Stupid bloody hormones. "Is there going to be a chance for you two to have the honeymoon? Hardly seems fair that you get to miss out. I'm sorry I asked you to do dinner. You could have gone back to Princeton with Pat and been with him."
Aiden looked at the photos she was looking through with a smile. It was a day he wouldn't ever forget. He still couldn't believe he was married and that Pat was his husband. "Lachlan and Tara are taking the little one back to Scotland to get christened on their wedding anniversay in May. Pat and I are going for that and Pat wants to spend a bit of time in London visiting his family. He said that's all he wants and tropical honeymoons are out of the question. And he would be happy with that, but I feel like I should do something else, you know? And I wouldn't have missed your dinner for the world, love. I wouldn't."
"Can't believe you're married!" Harri whispered in exclamation as more tears came, and she stopped at a photo of them exchanging rings. "If you're in London you've got Europe right next door. Nothing wrong with a night in Paris, or dinner in Italy. Plenty of romance to be found there." Harri lifted her eyes to meet his gaze again. "I'm glad you finally got to meet Marc."
Aiden laughed and took her hand. "I can't fucking believe it either. I thought when we did it that we would have it planned months in advance with everything mapped out like a small military operation. I didn't think we would do it anytime soon. But it just felt right. Still does. I do just really want to be with him for the rest of my life." He sighed softly. "I owe you an apology about the godfather thing. I was trying to buy some time until Pat knew about it. It was an amazing offer, love. I was stunned. And Marc... he's not like I expected. I didn't expect him to be blond, for one," he added in amusement.
"I know, love. That's why I'm happy for you. If I thought you'd made some kind of mistake, I don't think you would have heard the end of it. It's fantastic that you're married." Harri shook her head. "Look, I get it, okay? I just really want you both as the godfathers. We both do. Aiden, I love you so much. I want you, and I need you to be a part of my kid's life. Take all the time you need. Well, within seven months, anyway. Marc is completely different in private. He's letting you see the real him, and that's a big thing. He's fucking gorgeous, isn't he? I adore him when he's like that. I just want to eat the bastard up."
"I'll talk to him," Aiden promised. "You won't get a better godfather than Pat. He even knows how to put a diaper on and what all the things in the baby nursery do. It's hard for me to forget he's a nurse, but he's just... he's brilliant." He laughed. "Please, don't let me keep you from him. Am I eating away at the shagging time or something?"
Harri smiled as she got up to kiss Aiden's cheek. "I always wanted this for you, even if I never wanted it for me. I'm glad you found him, love. I really am." She shook her head. "No, I'm just permanently horny. Joys of pregnancy. That's when my head isn't down the toilet."
Aiden nodded. "Just enjoy it. Some people won't ever experience it. You'll get something amazing at the end of it."
"I can't do this without you," Harri told him, holding his gaze. "You know that, right? No matter what either of us are going through, we'll always have each other, won't we?"
Aiden laughed a little. "Harri, you're not going to need me half as much as you used to. Things have changed. You've got Marc. He seems like he'll do an alright job. But I'll always be here for you and the kid if you do need me," he promised.
"And you'll probably not need me as much now you have Pat, but I'll always be here. You're my best friend, love. I just want you to understand that'll never change." Harri reached out to give his hand a squeeze. "Fucking married, you bastard!"
Aiden just laughed. "This is payback for dumping the pregnancy on me," he joked. "I'm kidding. I can't even claim that. It's just like seeing the perfect pair of shoes, better than any shoes you've ever wanted, and just knowing that no matter what it meant, you needed to have them and if you didn't get them, they would be gone."
Harri smiled, and reached out to caress his cheek. "I'm so glad you got the shoes, love." It might have had her wondering if Marc was her shoes, but it wasn't like marriage would ever be an option. He was already married... But she was going to sign his little piece of paper, and have his so that was something. A big something.
Words: 2094 | All muses referred to with permission