Chapter Text
Emily hated working late. There was a time when she would have gladly volunteered for it, either to prove herself or because she had nothing at home that she wanted to rush home for.
Things couldn’t be more different these days.
She had a family, a house that was a home and more to life than the job she once thought her life would always revolve around. Whenever she missed anything, even something as everyday as bedtime or dinner, guilt would roll in her belly, acidic and bitter as it climbed up her throat and threatened to burn her from the inside out.
She sighs as she pushes another budget report out of her way, signed and ready for the next step of a seemingly endless approval process. She casts a glance at her phone, smiling as she taps the screen to bring it to life so she can look at her wallpaper. It was a photo of the kids taken on a recent weekend away they had as a family. Jack was in the middle between Isla and Issac. He was 16 now and almost taller than she was, so he towered above his 8-year-old sister and 6-year-old brother. He was the centre of their world, endlessly cool to both of them, and Emily was already gearing herself up for the heartbreak it would cause when he left for college in a couple of years.
Sometimes, it was hard to think of him being the same person as the little boy who had once just been her boss's son and not hers. The years had gone by so quickly, slipping through her fingers like sand, each grain of it a minute, a second, she’d never get back.
Her phone chimes with a text from Jack as she’s staring at her wallpaper, and she smiles, picking up her phone so she can read it.
Aaron had taken the kids to Henry’s birthday - something else she was missing because of work - which just so happened to be at a rollerblading rink. Isla had been talking about it for weeks, excited at the prospect of doing something new, and Emily was sad to have missed it, but asked Aaron to take plenty of pictures of the kids having fun.
Isla was nervous, so Dad got on the rink with her.
She chuckles as she opens the text from her eldest and sees the photo attached to the message. Isla was on the roller rink with Aaron, her hands wrapped tightly around both of his, a look of concentration on her face that rivalled the one on his. They were both wearing a pair of skates, and Aaron was the only adult on the rink, towering over all the kids around them. It makes her heart swell in her chest, love for him and the way he loves their children pressing against her lungs until it’s hard to breathe.
She would never know why, or how she got so lucky, but she knew she’d never take it for granted.
She smiles and saves the photo to her phone before she replies.
Thanks for going with them, I know it’s not exactly where you’d rather be on a Friday evening.
The three dots showing he’s replying appear on the screen almost immediately, his response quick as he sends another two photos of Aaron rollerblading, now just one hand in Isla’s, the two of them more confident now that they had been doing it a while
Any opportunity for future blackmail, Mom. You know that.
___
By the time she gets home, the kids are in bed. She sighs as she walks into the house, letting her bag drop to the floor as she turns to lock the door behind her.
“Did you manage to eat something for dinner?”
She smiles as she looks over to find her husband standing just a few feet away, his socked feet, and her general exhaustion, allowing him to be stealthy for once. “I grabbed something on the way home.”
He walks over and helps her shrug off her coat, placing it on her hook for her. “The kids had fun at Henry’s birthday party.”
“I’m glad.” She says, her lips pressed together as she suppresses a smile, aware that he likely didn’t know Jack had sent her photos of him rollerblading. She places her hands on his shoulders to use him for balance as she takes off her boots, “I’m sorry I missed it.”
“It’s okay, sweetheart,” he assures her, kissing her when she wraps her arms around him properly, using their height difference now that she was only in her socks to her advantage, “I know what it’s like.”
She hums and rests her cheek against his chest, breathing him in, “Still,” she says, “It doesn’t make it feel any better.”
“I know,” he says, kissing the top of her head, “If you want, we can take them rollerblading this weekend,” he offers, pulling back to look at her, his smile soft and entirely hers, “Isla was a bit nervous at first, but when she got started she was amazing. Issac was entirely fearless,” he says, chuckling as he shakes his head, “I wonder where he gets that from.”
She rolls her eyes lovingly at him, and she leans in to kiss him, “That sounds nice,” she says around a yawn, only realising how tired she was now she was home, the comfort of it surrounding her like a warm blanket, “God, I’m exhausted.”
He wraps his arm around her shoulder and starts guiding her through the house, “Why don’t you go sit down, I’ll make you some of that awful sleepy tea you like, and we can watch one of those reality shows together?”
She smiles and nods, stamping a kiss against his shoulder as they make it to the living room door, “That sounds perfect,” she says, kissing him again, “You’re perfect.”
He chuckles, “I’ll remind you of that the next time you tell me I don’t vacuum properly.”
“It doesn’t count if you don’t do under the furniture too, honey,” she says, winking at him, “But I love you anyway.”
“I love you too.”
She waits until he’s halfway to the kitchen before she can’t hold it in anymore, “Aaron?” She says, and he turns to look back at her, “I didn’t realise they made rollerblades in your size,” she quips, and his eyebrows shoot up his head, embarrassment colouring his cheeks, “Jack sent photos of the two of you.”
“Of course he did.”
“It’s sweet,” she replies, yawning again, smiling as she thinks about it again, “It’s already my new wallpaper on my phone.”
He shakes his head lovingly at her, “Of course it is.”
“I’m excited to see you in action at the weekend,” she says, her smile so wide that her cheeks ache with it, and he laughs, walking over to kiss her again, his lips skimming her forehead too, before he pulls back.
“Go sit, I’ll make your tea.”
She salutes him, “Yes, sir.”
He laughs, “Don’t call me sir.”
She chuckles and winks at him before she slips into the living room, “Oh please, we both know you love it when I call you sir.”