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"Happy Birthday!" Is the first thing Aaron hears when he answers the phone, Patricks energetic voice echoing through the speaker of the phone. Hes just up, sat in bed with his back against the headboard. His hair is a mess and he knows when he talks his voice will be scratchy, but Patrick sounds like hes already been up for hours.
"Thank you baby" his voice sounds rough. He rubs a hand over his face and yawns. "Did I wake you up?" Patrick asks, a hint of guilt in his voice. "No, no, I was already up" no he wasnt, but he cant tell Patrick that or the younger man wont call him in the morning again.
"Right..." Patrick pauses, its silent on both ends besides the sound of their breathing, "you have to be at the facility today, dont you?" Pat asks. Aaron hums "yeah, I do" he answers, pushing himself out of bed and stretching, yawning again.
"Do you have time to talk?" Pat asks, Aaron can hear him moving around, he doesnt know how Patrick can call him at work, he'd assume the answer is none of the coaches ever know but Aaron heard Reid talking to Patrick when he called before.
"Sure, yeah, we can talk when I'm getting dressed" he puts it on speaker and then tosses his phone down on the bed before starting to get dressed.
"So...hows fourty one feeling?" Pats voice sounds teasing "youre a real old man now." Aaron huffs out a chuckle and shakes his head "im not old" "you are to me, 12 years older babe, youre basically ancient" Patrick teases.
"Thanks Pat, you make me feel real special" Aaron cant help but smile a little as he finishes pulling his clothes on. "Its a surprise you're still standing" Patrick continues "do you need a walking stick? Or-wait" he pauses "do you need me to talk like this" he talks slower and a little louder "is your hearing okay?"
"I swear im gonna hit you when I see next" Aaron threatens, trying to sound annoyed "wow, you could actually hear me?" Patrick laughs at his own joke. "Im gonna hang up if you keep doing that" Aaron threatens the younger man again. "Okay, sorry, sorry" he pauses for a moment "you know I dont actually think youre like old, yknow that right?"
Aaron hums "yeah, i know...I gotta go now Pat or I'll be late, call you later, yeah?" Patrick hums "yeah, call later, I love you" "love you too."
Patrick groans and flops onto his back during a break between running routes. "You good?" Travis asks, sitting down next to him. Patrick groans again "its Aarons birthday and I miss him and I wanna see him but I cant til New Years" he whines like a little child who didn't get the toy they wanted.
"...maybe I should get someone else to deal with this-" Travis tries to get up and go but Patrick grabs his arm "how do you and Taylor do it?"
Travis pauses and thinks then shrugs "I mean...we see each other more than you and Aaron, so I dont think anything I tell you will help...also you two have been dating for longer than me and Tay." Patrick hums and nods "I just miss him."
Travis nods a little "sorry man" he pats the younger mans shoulder. Patrick sighs and just lays looking up until a whistle is blown and they're back to running routes.
"You didn't have to get me anything" Aaron says, theyre on facetime later that evening. The older man is in his kitchen, a box that Patrick had sent sitting in front of him not yet opened as the younger man was sat in his own sitting room.
"Its your birthday, of course I'm gonna get you something" he chuckles a little, he sees Aaron smile before he grabs a knife to rip the tape. "Yeah but knowing you you're gonna get me shit for Christmas too."
Pat hums "wow, youve learned how holidays work" he teases, the older man flips him off and then opens the box "so rude, after I got you a present and all" Patrick keeps teasing.
Aaron chuckles "thank you" he says softly before pulling stuff out of the box. "I know its not a lot but you'd be surprised on how hard it is to get things shipped in one box for a specific date."
Aaron snorts and then his face drops "Patrick you didn't," the younger man feels a wave of anxiety, did he fuck up? Did Aaron hate what he got him?
"How the fuck did you find this? Ive been looking everywhere for it" a grin breaks out across the older mans face and Patrick lets out a sigh of relief "I know the right people" he teases.
"Thank you, I love you so much, we gotta drink this when you come up for New Years" Aaron puts the whiskey bottle to the side that cost too much for Patrick to think of right now.
"Im excited to see you again-like not through a screen, I wanna touch you" Patrick says, making Aaron smirk "you wanna touch me, huh?" He teases. Patrick rolls his eyes "not like that, dirty old man" he chuckles and shakes his head "well, maybe like that a little...but I just wanna hold you, just...be next to you." Aaron hums and nods.
This season had been difficult for them, neither able to get away from their respective teams as much as they could before. Honestly Patrick thinks Aaron injuring himself last year spoiled them, being able to spend majority of the season together, Aaron coming to some of his games, getting to constantly sleep next to each other and go out on dates. It all just spoiled them, they got too used to it, and then this season hit like a train.
Barely seeing each other, they've visited each other a total of 4 times since the season began, and one of those times was barely a visit, Aaron could only stay for a few hours before he had to fly back.
Aarons voice brings Patrick back to the room "wanna fall asleep on call again?" He asks, automatically Patrick nods "wait did you see what else is in the box?" The older man nods "yeah, theyre perfect, thank you baby," he doesnt bring up how Patrick was zoned out the entire time.
Christmas games. Patrick loved and hated them, on one hand it was nice that the thought of people spending Christmas all together rooting for a team they loved, even people who dont have anyone could spend Christmas with people. On the other hand it was cold, freezing, Patrick couldnt see Aaron, his parents weren't coming because they were both off somewhere else, he was alone on Christmas. Well not fully alone, obviously he had the team and the fans, and Travis had invited him to spend Christmas with his family since they were all waiting back at his place, but it just didn't feel the same.
They had won, he was happy of course, the win had kept his mind ignorant to being alone for just about 20 minutes before the thoughts crept back in.
"Come on, you're spending Christmas with us" Travis' arm wraps around his shoulder, leading them out to the bus. Patrick tries to protest but Travis just puts a hand up "I dont wanna hear it, youre not being alone on Christmas, you're spending it with me and my family, you know my mom wont let you say no so dont even try."
With a sigh Patrick nods "fine" he grumbles, but smiles a little at how much Travis and his family care about him.
Patrick smiles a little at how excited Travis is, both are high off the win, Travis is practically vibrating in the drivers seat of his car as they head back to his place where his family is. He thinks the main reason Travis is excited is to just see Taylor again, and then the thoughts of not seeing Aaron creep into his head again.
They pull to a stop outside of Travis' place, theres cars in the driveway. Its already evening so the lights are on in the house.
"Come on" Travis gets out first and goes to grab their bags, he had managed to convince Patrick to stay the night there. Patrick takes a moment, taking a few breaths before getting out and following Travis inside.
Theres noise as soon as they enter, he can hear laughter and kids playing and the smell of food hits him. Travis' mom pulls Patrick in for a hug, holding him as tight and close as possible like a real mama bear. "You know you shouldnt spend Christmas alone, I cant believe you were going to. Your'e always welcome here," Patrick gives her a small smile and nods.
"And to be honest sometimes i prefer you over Travis" she jokes, making Travis gasp and act offended. Patrick just leans back against the counter as everyone talks and jokes.
Later that evening he calls Aaron, hes sat in one of Travis' spare bedrooms with his back against the headboard. The phone rings for a few seconds before Aaron answers.
"Hey babe" he says softly, he sounds tired. "Hey" Patrick responds, sounding equally as tired, but he couldnt just not call him. He knows Aaron spent the day with Randy and Aiyda and their kids, Patrick wouldnt have been able to function knowing Aaron wasnt with people.
"I watched you today, you did amazing honey" and oh yeah, Aaron is definitely a bit tipsy, he never calls Patrick 'honey' unless hes tipsy or drunk. The younger man chuckles "how much did you drink?" He asks, playing with the fabric of the blanket on top of him.
"Not much, just a few little glasses of whiskey" Patrick snorts "oh yeah? Just a few, huh?" He teases. Aaron huffs " 'm tired" he grumbles, his voice is muffled and Patrick can guess its because the older man has put his head down.
"Go to sleep then, baby" he says softly, feeling his eyes getting heavy himself. But Aaron groans "i wanna talk to you," he grumbles, sounding a bit whiney. Patrick shakes his head even though the older man cant see "no, go to sleep, im tired too...we'll talk in the morning, yeah?"
Aaron hums " 'kay...love you~"
"I love you too, goodnight" "night."
*December 31st*
Patrick is practically buzzing, nearly jumping out of his seat as he pulls in to Aarons driveway, its been over a month since theyve seen each other in person last.
He trips up as he gets out of the car and goes to tbe door, its early morning so theres a 50/50 of Aaron being up. He quietly slips his shoes off once the door is closed, the house is dead silent.
He carefully walks upstairs and opens Aarons bedroom door, seeing the older man still asleep and wrapped up in his duvet and blankets. He smiles at the sight and goes to the other side of the bed, making sure he doesnt wake Aaron up as he pulls off his sweatpants and hoodie. He slides in next to him, pressing his chest against the older mans back before kissing the back of his neck and shoulder.
His arms snake around Aarons waist and pull him closer before his eyes close. Hes missed this, holding Aaron, pressing close to him, feeling the warmth from his body radiate against his own. He lays silent for twenty minutes before he feels Aaron begin to wake up, the older mans body stretching and then tensing.
"Pat?" His voice is thick and rough from just waking up, his head turning slightly as his eyes blink open. Patrick hums "hi baby" he kisses the older mans neck again and rubs across the expanse of his skin.
Aaron yawns "how long have you been here?" He asks, rolling around to face him before pressing their lips together, not even waiting for an answer. Patrick hums and presses back, moving so their legs and hips press tightly against each other, their legs wrapping around each others, getting tangled up.
"Missed you" Aaron says once theyve parted for air, their foreheads pressing together. "I missed you too...yknow, I love playing, but Im kinda glad the seasons nearly over"
Aaron hums, his hands rubbing over Patricks skin "only a few more weeks, then we have the entire off season together," Patrick smiles a little then smirks "you gonna come watch me win another superbowl?" Aaron snorts "so humble baby, really."
They look into each others eyes, just enjoying the moment of peace together. "When do you have to fly back?" Aaron asks, his hand reaching up to rub across Patricks neck. The younger man hums "two days, I may have bribed Andy and most of the team with their Christmas presents."
Aaron chuckles a little and kisses Patrick again "wanna just stay in bed all day?" Patrick hums and pretends to think "ah...hard choice...get up and do a bunch of random things or stay in bed with you the entire day just cuddling and having sex..." he smirks "what do you think?"
Aaron snorts and moves his head down to Patricks neck, rolling them over so Patricks underneath him "I think you're not gonna be able to walk tomorrow" he teases. Patrick snorts and wraps his legs around Aarons hips "oh no, guess we'll just have to spend tomorrow in bed too then."
-fin.