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Being married to Liam was hard.
Patsy vaguely knew what she signed up for when she married the Oasis frontman but she couldn’t have anticipated this.
“I can’t fuckin’ stand the twat, you don’t understand how frustrating he is, Patsy.” Liam continued ranting about his brother to her as she poured him a glass of water.
“What’s he done this time?” She asked gently.
“So, we’re in the studio, right? And he loses his shit over me missing a note like he’s fucking perfect or summat!” Liam was pacing and Patsy frowned. “He thinks he’s so fucking special, playing his guitar and writing tunes, he thinks the band is about him and we’re all just pawns on his chessboard!”
Patsy pushed the glass of water forward across the island to offer it to Liam. “It’s okay love, calm down.”
“Don’t tell me to calm down, I told you you don’t know what it’s like working with him.” Liam frowned at her, but he was no longer yelling and Patsy was thankful for that.
“Why don’t you drink your water and we can talk about something else?”
“Don’t want to.”
Patsy’s eyes narrowed a bit and her lips straightened the same way she’d seen Noel’s straighten when he and Liam were at odds. Then as quickly as the thought hit her, she shook it away and poured a glass of water for herself. Why did everything come back to Noel? It was frustrating enough that most of her conversations with Liam these days revolved around his older brother, and now it seemed Noel was making his way into her thoughts as well.
“I just don’t fucking get it, what’s his problem, getting all mad at me for?” Liam asked, taking a seat on the couch. Patsy grabbed both glasses and joined him on the sofa.
“I don’t know, Liam, but let’s watch some TV, yeah?” She offered. Liam frowned at her and frowned further at the glass of water in her hand.
“I’m not in the mood and I’m not thirsty.”
Patsy frowned again. “I want you to drink it, Liam, it’s good for you.”
“What, are you fucking mam or something?” Liam retorted and folded his arms over his chest, looking away. Patsy scowled now, her husband was acting like a goddamned child. Honestly, she could see why Noel couldn’t put up with his brother from time to time.
“I just want you to be taken care of.” Her tone was flat now, somewhere on the fence between caring and argumentative.
“Then leave me alone. I’ve got a lot of things to say to Noel when I see him tomorrow.”
Finally Patsy lost her patience but she didn’t feel like entering a screaming match with her husband. She simply got up and left.
…
“You don’t even take our marriage seriously!” Patsy yelled at Liam.
“I do, I come home to you, don’t I?” Liam shot back.
“That’s not enough, Liam! Are you serious right now?”
“I don’t see what the bloody problem is!” Liam and Patsy were locked in a yelling match and neither seemed intent on letting the other win.
“The problem–” Patsy began as she grabbed her purse. “–is that you’re off shagging groupies on tour and leaving me at home like I’m supposed to just sit back and accept that!”
Liam turned his head away from her, still fuming but unable to find a suitable comeback. It was true but was it really such a problem? “I don’t go home to any of them though, do I?”
“That’s not enough!”
“Then what the fuck is enough?” Liam asked.
Patsy glared as she put on her shoes. “Figure it out!”
“How the fuck am I supposed to do that? I’ve got tours, I’ve got rehearsals, I’ve got our kid, and a whole ton of other fuckin’ things to worry about!”
“Really? Our kid?” Patsy was taken aback momentarily.
“Of course, can’t fucking forget about Noel when he’s breathing down my neck every other fuckin’ day!”
Patsy’s lips parted in disbelief. “Fucking- You’ve got Noel to think about, have you?” Patsy asked loudly. Liam’s brows furrowed in confusion.
“Yeah, of course I do. He’s my fucking brother.”
“You said ‘our kid’ and I though you meant Lennon, but no, of course you meant fucking Noel! Patsy argued. “I am your wife, Liam! You have me to think about! You have me to think about when you’re on tour! But no, you’re thinking about the band and the groupies and Noel! And–” Patsy waved her hands around wildly. “You have our kid to think about!” Shock crossed Liam’s face and Patsy clocked it immediately. “You weren’t even thinking of Lennon at all, were you?! You were just thinking of Noel!”
“Well what am I supposed to do, not think about him?” Liam deflected incredulously. “I told you that you don’t know what it’s like working with him, you don’t know what it’s like to-”
“No, I don’t know, but sometimes you act like you love him more than me!” Patsy stood up straight, looking deep into Liam’s eyes. Liam seemed genuinely confused which threw her for a loop.
“I do,” Liam admitted as though it were obvious. Patsy's jaw fell open. “He’s my brother. He’s family. ‘Course I do.”
Patsy was speechless and the two stood there for a moment longer. She’d seen Liam and Noel have these standoffs before, staring and glaring after shouting and fighting, but when they did it, they stared at each other like they could read the other’s mind. Patsy couldn’t read anything in Liam’s face, only that he seemed to care more about Noel and the band and his own whims than her, and apparently, their son.
And then Patsy realized something crucial: in the list of priorities Liam had, the band, music, and Noel came before her, and Liam just couldn’t understand why she would think she should be put higher than any of those items.
Patsy pushed past Liam and exited the house.
Maybe she was even further down the list, she really didn’t know. She just hoped Lennon was high enough on the list to have a present father.