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Aerion woke up one day feeling particularly lazy and unmotivated to move.
His drowsy and bleary eyes fluttered, and as his sight began to clear, he could see the sunlight grace its presence on the foot of the bed and the drawer across it.
He groaned and felt the temptation to sleep once more. He cursed his body for waking him up. He curled up into fetal position, trying desperately to get back to sleep. He felt frustrated that he believed his body betrayed him, his head beginning to feel warm at the anger bubbling inside.
Thankfully, his bed was cold because of a cooling gel inside the mattress. It calmed him a bit.
But the other side of the bed was colder; its other occupant either had left or was in the kitchen preparing breakfast. However, nothing smelled of anything cooking or coffee being brewed. He let himself stay in bed idle for a couple of minutes, staring at the white ceiling, as he relished some moments of silence and calm.
Aerion had just checked the clock on his bedside table: 9:47 AM. He would have shot up to sit and hop off the bed, but he remained planted on the bed, enjoying the time he had left before another occupant of the house would need his sole attention.
However, a niggling voice in his head interrupted his momentary peace. He grunted at that and decided to start his day later than usual. Fortunately, he didn't need to work yet. His job granted him a year of leave, which he reveled in every waking moment.
He eventually sat up, slowly, and grunted. If only he could evade responsibilities for a week or two, he would. But there was someone new that occupied his heart, which would have woken up, had his body not.
An eight-month-old boy named Maegor, who was still sleeping soundly in his crib. He was in the room attached to Dunk and Aerion's so that they can run to him whenever he cried in the middle of the night.
Life hasn't been the same since his son's birth, and Aerion's just over the moon by his existence.
He stayed seated on his bed for a couple of minutes, trying to delay doing his responsibilities. He loved his son. He did! But he imagined one day to himself, if possible, or with his husband Duncan. On a beach somewhere, soaking up the sun. Or, staying in a luxury villa, where he could just order room service and had people clean up their room. Oh, if only.
Eventually, his stomach grumbled, snapping him out of his reverie, signaling that he had to do his morning routine and eat breakfast. Once he freshened up, he grabbed his phone from his night stand and sauntered to the kitchen where he saw something out of place. He noticed that a glass was used as paperweight on a white sheet. He walked over to that and saw that it was a letter.
The letter read:
Hello love.
Didn't wanna wake you since you were sleeping.
There are pancakes and eggs in the fridge.
I opened a new jar of baby food for Maegor.
See you later.
Love you.
Instead of signing it off with his name, Dunk managed to find the time to draw a doodle of a basketball net and a stick figure "dunking" on the net. Seeing that, Aerion rolled his eyes, folded the piece of paper, and placed it back on the kitchen counter. He sighed at the childish doodle, but couldn't help but scoff and smile at his husband's antics.
Aerion won't admit it to himself, but he loved the little corny and cheesy gestures from Dunk. It made him feel loved even from the most trivial things.
Aerion walked to the refrigerator, which was pressed against the wall and behind the counter. He opened the door, feeling the cool breeze and sighing. He looked for the pancakes and scrambled eggs that Dunk stored for him to reheat. It was in the second shelf of their refrigerator. He then placed the plates of pancakes and eggs on the counter first, then put them together in the microwave.
He ignored the hum of the microwave and scrolled on his phone a bit to check his messages. He had the usual emails from sites he subscribed to. He also saw texts from his father checking up on Maegor, and not him ("Rude," Aerion thought.). He heard the beep of the microwave, put his phone down on the counter, and grabbed his plate of pancakes and eggs from the microwave.
As he grabbed the plate, it burned on his fingers. Too hot. He thought. He hissed at the burning sensation and grabbed the mitt hanging by the stove. From there, he removed the plate and put it on top of the counter. Instead of setting the table for himself, he just pulled the drawer by the counter to get a fork and eat standing up on the counter.
He used the fork to slice the eggs into little pieces and grabbed a piece of it, shoving it into his mouth. He hummed in satisfaction, or maybe he was just hungry that the first piece of food he ate tasted so good. Aerion liked how Dunk cooked fluffy eggs. Dunk hadn't fail once, and Aerion wished he never lost his streak of cooking delicious eggs.
Since having Maegor, Aerion had been accustomed to eating faster than usual. Dunk was the same, too, but he reminded Aerion to slow down, so as to not choke and that his body could digest food properly. However, as parents to an eight-month-old, they needed to eat before their child did. But Aerion did not heed Dunk's reminder, and rushed to eat the eggs so that he could move on to the pancakes. But pancakes being pancakes, he realized that forgot to take out the butter and syrup.
He had to drop his fork on the plate to get the butter and syrup from the fridge. He opened it again, and grabbed the syrup by the door, and the butter on a small drawer. Once he closed the fridge door, he opened the utensils shelf again to grab a butter knife so that he can finally spread the buttery goodness on the pancakes. After that, he poured syrup on the pancakes, watching it ooze and spread. Finally, he could eat his pancakes, which were as fluffy as the eggs. He also hummed as he savored each salty and sweet bite.
In contrast to the eggs, he took his sweet time with the pancakes. He much preferred this because he had a sweet tooth. He repeated "this is so good" in a mumble. As he took one bite after the other, he sighed, feeling satisfied that he married someone who cooked good food.
He was enjoying his breakfast as best as he can, wishing that Dunk could create more pancakes out of thin air for him to eat. And as he finished up his pancakes, something, well someone, disrupted his breakfast with a loud wail.
Maegor.
Aerion jogged towards the noise and opened the door to his baby's room.
His heart broke every time his darling child cried. He walked towards the crib and saw Maegor wailing his heart out. It was most likely due to the common reasons, a full diaper, hungry, or sleepy. It's most likely the first two. But sometimes, Aerion's thoughts spiraled, and he would think of the worst. He hoped it wasn't one of those days where his thoughts would prevail.
"Hello, darling boy," Aerion said as he lifted his son slowly from the crib and gently rocked him to calm him down. He shushed him to stop him from crying even louder, but Maegor couldn't stop crying.
Maegor kept his other father up all night, and Aerion would handle the day shift until Dunk comes back home.
"What's making you this grumpy?" Aerion said in a singsong, which he never did before Maegor. The child would usually to his parents silly voices more and found it soothing. But his cries were relentless.
Aerion checked the usual suspects. He sniffed the baby's bum and knew that the diaper was the culprit this time. Maegor was due for a change; after all, he'd been asleep for a couple of hours after his papa put him to sleep.
Aerion brought him to the changing table where he'd change his son's diaper to a fresh new one. As soon as Aerion cleaned him up, Maegor had stopped crying. His tears were drying from his face and a smile was slowly forming. Aerion felt relief wash over him because he didn't know what he would do if Maegor would end up crying again. He'll most likely feel overwhelmed and cry with Maegor, too.
He lifted Maegor again and this time blew raspberries on his son's stomach. Maegor squealed in delight and laughed. Aerion chuckled seeing his boy happy.
He remembered the first time that he learned his child laugh. It was Dunk who actually did it. He sang him a lewd song, and Maegor squealed for the first time in his life. Aerion wasn't frustrated at Dunk for singing the song, but he wasn't the one to cause and witness his baby's laugh for the first time. Dunk comforted him, but Aerion still felt sad that it was his life's mission to make Maegor laugh.
The boy did eventually. After a few hours when Aerion tried to blow raspberries on his tummy. And since then, that was his move to make Maegor laugh at will. He was very proud of that.
"Now that you're all cleaned up, why don't we have breakfast together, huh?" Aerion asked him, and Maegor giggled as he squirmed in his mother's arms.
"Guess that's a yes then." Aerion said, and they left Maegor's room to go to the kitchen.
He placed his baby on his chair, which was located by the kitchen counter where Aerion will eventually eat his pancakes and eggs as soon as he was finished letting Maegor eat first. Once breakfast was over for the two, Aerion brought his boy to his playpen where he would be occupied with his toy cars, trucks, and shapes.
Aerion needn't watch him like a hawk since there was no visible danger or harm to the child in the playpen. Maekar reminded him of that.
☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆
In the eight months he'd taken care of his child, he was surprised that his immediate family, particularly his father Maekar and brothers Daeron and Aegon, were eager to help him to look after his child.
Maekar stressed the importance of family to his children, despite his faults as a father. Since the birth of his first grandchild, it dawned on him that he failed as a father when Dyanna died.
It came to him in a dream, actually. Dyanna had visited him, which was unusual considering that Daeron had the dreams and not him.
He'd confided it to Daeron who told him that maybe he should make an effort to keep this family intact and be a more present father to the children. He made his amends his own way for each child. He wasn't 100% forgiven by his children, but they welcomed him in their own way.
For instance, when Aerion needed help in taking care of the baby, Maekar was the first to step up, which made follow Daeron suit, with babysitting duties (and slowly letting in Maekar in his life). Aerion welcomed all the help he can get, as much as he hated the idea of people in their space. Still, he felt grateful for the assistance.
Sometimes, he got annoyed, though, especially if it was Aegon and Daeron who babysat with him. Speak of the (former) drunkard, and he doth text.
Brother 1
Are you home?
I wanna see my nephew!
Can I call????
Pleeaaaaaaase
Would make my boring day a bit exciting
No.
🖕🏻
Aerion wanted to ignore Daeron; after all he didn't wake up in the best mood. He just wanted to look after his kid.
Pleaaaaase
Once again, Daeron sent a text. Aerion sighed and rolled his eyes.
Just an hour, and I'll stop bothering you!
You know I won't be able to make it for a babysitting session this weekend.
Sorry!
Please just one hour.
I miss the cutest nephew in the world!
Daeron was determined. It's true, he missed his nephew. He looked forward to babysitting Maegor since he'd developed a connection with Maegor. Aerion had asked Daeron's help more than their father's. And Maegor felt comfortable with Daeron after a few babysitting sessions. He would already put his head on the nook of Daeron's neck, play with him, or would fall asleep from a lullaby.
Daeron felt achievement taking care of his nephew and because of that, he got excited to spend time with him, and, in extension Aerion, which brought them closer together. He took their father's words to heart and was more than happy to play a part in Aerion's family.
He so badly wanted to babysit and take care of him that weekend, but due to plans, he wouldn't make it. Because of that, Aerion already enlisted the help of Maekar and Aemon for babysitting duties that weekend.
Ugh.
Fine.
One hour.
Nice! Call me when you're free.
☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆
Maegor was occupied with the 3D shapes that Uncle Egg gifted him. He'd put them in his mouth, and Aerion would snatch the toy away from him, leaving traces of his saliva on the toy. Aerion would immediately clean it with a wet wipe and return it to Maegor cleaned.
Unfortunately, it was a never-ending cycle of play, chew, and clean. Aerion hoped that eventually Maegor would grow out of that phase soon.
Since Uncle Daeron wanted to see his favorite nephew, Aerion hoisted Maegor up. He grunted as he carried him on his hip.
Maegor was growing so fast by the day, and Aerion blamed Dunk for their child's built at his age. The doctor said that he was one of the heaviest babies for his age (eight months). Others mistake Maegor as a one-year-and-a-half old because of his built. Something Aerion blamed Dunk repeatedly. Dunk didn't take offense. He agreed with what Aerion said and felt apologetic for making Aerion carry and deliver a big baby.
"Do you wanna see Uncle Daeron?" Aerion asked him repeatedly.
Maegor squealed in response. Daeron was a regular at the Dunk and Aerion household, and by now Maegor had recognized Daeron even by name.
Aerion plopped on the sofa and grunted, feeling the weight of Maegor on his body. He muttered a "fat" to his baby, making fun of him. But Maegor didn't have the concept of being made fun of. He was just a baby, so he didn't really have a response, but he did laugh at Aerion.
Aerion sprawled on the sofa, with Maegor on his lap. Maegor squirmed and hopped, while Aerion was trying to catch his breath. He loved his kid, but taking care of a baby while alone felt tiring.
By the time they have settled on the sofa, Maegor wanted to grab something, like a toy or anything he can hold and chew, yet there was only air, his mama's shirt, and mama's sweatpants to grab.
Aerion sighed, irritated by Maegor's constant grabbing. He gently clutched Maegor's wrist to stop him from taking hold of his clothes or anything within his grasp. Nothing will satiate his child until he has something tangible.
"Baby, please stop." Aerion said firmly. But his son didn't seem to grasp the concept. He was still a baby after all. Following his parents wasn't in his nature (yet). After all, Maegor doesn't have full awareness of the world yet. All he could do was look cute in front of his parents by flashing his toothless smile and his squealing laughter.
Eventually, Aerion gave in. It was his fault for forgetting that his child needed a toy to distract him from waving his Michelin-like arms about, looking for something to squeeze. For now, Maegor decided to make mama's shirt his plaything. Technically it was Dunk's so it wouldn't totally be a loss for Aerion, if it became loose or it had new holes.
Aerion grabbed his phone from the coffee table in front of the sofa. From there, he navigated to the video calling app to call Daeron. He was holding his phone, forgetting to install it on the phone holder that was sprawled on the coffee table. He pressed the video call button on the call app where he and Daeron usually chatted.
Daeron eventually answered the call and smiled. He looked clean, Aerion thought. His hair was neatly combed and tied in a low ponytail, and there was no hint of stubble on his chin. Aerion surmised that Daeon might be wearing some moisturizer; he noticed a shine on his face. He wouldn't apply any of that, unless he needed. Plus, it looked like he was wearing a crisp dress shirt.
Usually, though, Daeron would clean himself up, especially when he had a meeting. He had just finished a call with a client right before he sent the text to Aerion. He was happy for it to be over and was excited to see his nephew.
"Where's my little nephew?" Daeron asked in a high tone as soon as the video call started.
"First of all, hello?" Aerion gasped, feeling offended that Maegor was the first one that Daeron wanted to see. Daeron snickered at that.
"Second of all, why are you calling him little?" Aerion joked, making Daeron chuckle. "See how chubby this cute baby is!"
Aerion had an uncontrollable urge to pinch his baby, and so he squeezed his baby's arms. Plus, he blew raspberries on his tummy again, making Maegor laugh.
Daeron laughed this time and remembered how Aerion recalled giving birth to his son. He certainly could never unhear every single gory and disgusting detail, but it was hilarious that Aerion described it as "giving birth to a watermelon".
"Hello Aerion," Daeron said and waved to the baby, "and hello-little-baby-Maegor."
Maegor had spent time with his Uncle Daeron in the past few weeks when Aerion needed help caring for his "big boy". He babbled seeing his uncle, but neither Aerion nor Daeron understood what the baby had "said". Daeron just cooed at his nephew. Maegor, who recognized his uncle, was doing squeezing gestures on the screen.
Aerion noticed that Daeron was happy.
It was especially strange seeing Daeron happy. Aerion knew Daeron's tells. When he was drunk, his cheeks turned bright red from the alcohol. He'd slurred his speech at times, and his eyelids looked heavy. Most likely, drowsiness.
When he was high, his eyes turn red and spew nonsense. Yet, this one. This one's different.
He was happy, yes. Grinning from ear to ear happy. Twinkle in his eyes happy. He looked clean happy. A happy that he couldn't recognize in his brother ever since falling in love with Kiera Tyrosh in high school kind of happy.
Aerion wanted to tease his brother a bit to get to the bottom of Daeron's happiness.
"Are you drunk?" Aerion asked. Daeron looked at him with a puzzled expression on his face.
"No." Daeron shook his head. He had been sober for two years; he didn't want to lose significant progress now. He didn't take offense at Aerion's jape, but he'd probably tell him off for that off-handed joke.
"High?" Aerion asked again.
"Nope, asshole." Daeron glared at his brother, but he softened his gaze seeing little Maegor smile at him. He swore off weed, too, and would probably give Aerion a smack in the head the next time they met.
"You're sickeningly happy." Aerion was getting suspicious by the second. He had a gut feeling that Daeron wasn't telling him something. "Are you dying?"
"I don't think so." Daeron shrugged and laughed at his brother's teasing.
He could count on Aerion to make fun of him. Sometimes Aerion would cross a line, but Aerion would apologize his own way. Usually, by buying him a bottle of wine or whiskey. And when Daeron started to cut back on alcohol, Aerion would invite Daeron to play a video game, and he'd let him win one round. He would never say the words "I'm sorry". He showed it in his own way.
"In love?" Aerion grimaced at that.
Daeron shrugged. He didn't say anything that would make Aerion prod further. Aerion usually one to give up on his interrogations, but it felt like he had hit a wall. And honestly, Aerion was getting bored.
As soon as the greetings were over, there was a lull.
Daeron had to focus on work. Meanwhile, Aerion, feeling like he'd lost blood in his arms from holding his phone, had to put it in a smartphone holder. He shook his arms afterwards, hoping to get the blood flowing again. Once he felt that he regained some sensation, he positioned the camera so Maegor was still visible.
Aerion briefly left Maegor on the sofa, so that he could get his child a toy to play with instead of ruining Dunk's his favorite shirt. Eventually, Aerion returned with a green dragon plushie. It had golden wings and orange spikes from the head to the tail. It already showed some signs of wear and tear. After all, Maegor clung to it nightly, drooling on it from time to time or smashing it on the floor when he'd cry. Aerion also brought Maegor his red race car toy with a yellow stripe on the doors.
The chubby baby squealed upon seeing his toys and would slam both toys together, causing fake collisions in the air. Aerion shook his head at what his boy was doing. Dunk would say that Maegor got his "violent" tendencies from his mother, which Aerion scoffed at. He wouldn't admit it, but it's probably true.
Daeron would peek from time to time and wave at the little boy. Sometimes Maegor would giggle when Daeron would make faces at him. Other times, Maegor was busy looking at his mama, trying to get his attention. Aerion gladly obliged and peppered kisses on his boy's head. He'd switch between pinching him lightly and pretending to dance along with him.
Briefly, Daeron watched Aerion be a parent to his child. Sure, he'd seen Aerion parent his child before. But Daeron hadn't really noticed how Aerion was so affectionate towards Maegor through hugs and kisses. He wasn't afraid of looking or sounding funny. His purple eyes that seemed dull before, shone brilliantly at the sight of his child, who also bore the same appearance as him, except for his built. It was also so easy for Aerion to smile, his eyes turning into half-moons and his lips stretching to his ears. He laughed often, too.
Seeing this reminded him of his mother, Dyanna. She had infinite love for her children, not once showing any favoritism towards one child. She'd shower them with kisses every day and tell them how much she loved them. She was like the sun and brought an immense amount of joy in Summerhall.
But, Daeron seeing this version of Aerion also broke his heart. Aerion was the glad child when Dyanna was still alive. And when she passed, it was as if a switched turned on Aerion.
He acted out more often, taking out his pain and hurt on their little brothers Aemon and Aegon. Daeron tried to stop it, but Aerion was impossible to control. He'd do the opposite of what Daeron would say, or he would just wreak more havoc along the way. This pushed Daeron over the edge, along with caring for his other siblings, which led him to drink alcohol and eventually abuse it.
He eventually saw a change in Aerion when he met Dunk in college. He noticed that Aerion had to be tamed by someone who could keep up with him but put him in place, from to time. He was glad for Dunk's influence in Aerion's life. And seeing Aerion become a parent felt like seeing a version of him, if Dyanna had lived. He could have loved and given his brothers and sisters the affection that he gave Maegor, but life happens. Daeron couldn't control that, and now he's just glad how things ended up for Aerion.
As Daeron got lost in his train of thoughts, someone put a stop sign right in front of him. It wasn't Maegor or Aerion that did that.
"Babe, where do you…"
There was a new voice in the background. When Aerion heard the voice, he thought, it was familiar. Someone he'd heard a couple of times, particularly at family parties. Daeron's eyes went wide at the voice and whipped his head to the sound. Aerion squinted his eyes, watching Daeron squirm.
"Baaaaaaabe…" Aerion said slowly, lifting an eyebrow. He taunted him. Daeron looked panicked. He wanted to close his laptop or cover his laptop camera. Not once did he think to mute.
"Who's—" Aerion asked.
"Nobody." Daeron cut Aerion, before Aerion could finish asking the question. He had a panicked look in his eyes, while Aerion had an anticipatory look on his face.
Daeron was shushing the person in the background, hoping that that person would get the hint that they should not be revealed. Aerion didn't want his son to miss a thing, too. It would be his first taste of hot piping tea.
"Let's see who's calling Uncle Daeron, babe, sweetie." Aerion whispered to Maegor, as if the child understood what's happening. In reality, Maegor had been feeling drowsy and he was already resting his head on his mother's chest, listening to the beat of Aerion's heart. It was picking up speed as Aerion was exhilarated from witnessing something intriguing.
Aerion clicked his tongue, wishing he had a small bucket of popcorn as he witnessed the scenes unfold in front of his eyes.
The person in the background approached Daeron. The other person, a man, lifted an eyebrow at Daeron and decided to approach Daeron to see what he was doing.
Slowly appearing in Daeron's camera was a man with brown hair with a sliver of a silver streak. But this man's striking feature was the mismatched eyes, blue on the left, brown on the right. Only one person could have that particular look.
"Hey bab-… Aerion, hi!"
"Valarr." Aerion smirked. Seeing Valarr in Daeron's apartment felt like new blackmail material.
"Oh it's Maegor, hi!" Valarr whispered and waved at the baby on Aerion's lap. Maegor didn't recognize his Uncle Valarr yet, but Daeron had shown photos of Maegor when he was babysitting him.
"Have you not?" Valarr muttered to Daeron. He placed a hand on Daeron's shoulder and squeezed it. It was his way of saying sorry for the intrusion. Daeron seemed to accept his apology since he didn't swat it. He squeezed Valarr's hand and felt that he was calming a little bit, after being agitated.
Daeron sighed and put his palm on his face. He was embarrassed and wanted to disappear from Aerion's view by sliding from his chair to the floor. Honestly, the world could swallow him whole, and he'd be grateful for the planet to do that for him.
Aerion was just smiling, enjoying Daeron's suffering. Maegor remained resting on his mama's chest tired from entertaining his uncle; it appears that he wanted to sleep already.
"They know nothing." Valarr supplied the answer for Daeron. Daeron nodded wordlessly, feeling ashamed for not revealing his newest relationship to his brother. He looked at Valarr with sad eyes and a frown. He thought that he could spend more time with him without other people finding out. But it was inevitable. Eventually, people will find out. Daeron didn't want it to be this way.
"We do now." Aerion beamed. "Say hi to Uncle Daeron AND Uncle Valarr, baby." Since Maegor couldn't say hi, yet, or his version of a hi, Aerion clutched Maegor's squishy arm and used it to wave to Valarr. Maegor was staring blankly into space. It was time for his scheduled nap; he really doesn't care about what's going on. The kid wanted to lie down and sleep.
Valarr waved back, but felt embarrassed to do so.
"I'll go then," Valarr said as he took his leave. He would have kissed Daeron on the head, but he instead grazed a hand on Daeron's arm, as his way of sparing him from further teasing. Daeron briefly caught Valarr's hand. He didn't want him to stay. But he wanted to hold on for a moment. A brief moment of comfort, maybe.
Daeron flashed a sheepish smile at Aerion.
"You didn't tell me you were together!?" Aerion's voice raised as he asked. "And you didn't tell me you moved in with him!?"
Maegor squealed at the noise, and Aerion gasped remembering that his child was still in his lap.
"Sorry, my love." He whispered to him and gave him a quick peck on the crown of his head. He'd noticed that Maegor had been sleepy, so Aerion bounced his leg gently, to lull his child to sleep.
"It all happened so fast!" Daeron looked apologetic to Aerion.
Aerion shushed him for shouting since he didn't want Maegor to disrupt his scheduled nap. Daeron mouthed a sorry to his brother for the noise.
"You know what… gossip is not good for the baby, and he needs to be put down for his nap."
Daeron sighed and shook his head. He'll be missing his nephew.
"Goodnight Uncle Daeron." Aerion said in a high-pitched voice, trying his best to imitate what Maegor would sound like if he spoke.
"Nighty night Maegogo." Daeron said in a whisper as he waved to his nephew goodbye.
"And don't ever do that voice ever, Aerion." Daeron remarked. "It gave me the creeps."
As his goodbye for that call, Aerion lifted the middle finger at Daeron, and Daeron ended the call.
☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆
Aerion was the brother Daeron shared almost everything to since they were close in age and even though Aerion would either spill his secrets to others. Daeron still trusted his brother because even though he was judgmental 99.9% of time of him, he felt lighter when he tells Aerion his secrets, thoughts, or feelings. And he wanted Aerion to know first, most of the time, because he hated it when Aerion dug around, just like what happened minutes ago.
While waiting for Aerion to tell him that they could go on a call again, Daeron went to look Valarr in their apartment. He heard some things shuffling around in the kitchen, and there he went. As soon as Daeron emerged from the kitchen, Valarr stopped organizing the groceries he bought and smiled at his boyfriend. Usually, both of them bought the groceries, but Valarr had some time to kill and Daeron wasn't available, so Valarr volunteered to go on his own.
Daeron sighed and walked towards where Valarr was, the kitchen table. Valarr mouthed a 'come here' to Daeron, which made Daeron stride towards him.
Once they were in close proximity, Valarr held Daeron's hips and slightly tiptoed (since Daeron was taller than him) gave him a quick peck on the lips, one long overdue, since Daeron was on a call with Aerion when he returned home.
Valarr thought that the first peck wasn't enough so he pressed his lips on Daeron's again. This time, it was deeper and moved a hand from Daeron's hips to his jaw. His thumb grazed Daeron's clean shaven chin. Daeron moaned at the kiss and placed a hand behind Valarr's head, grasping at the strands in his hair.
Daeron sighed, suddenly thinking about what had happened earlier. He had a hand on a table, which Valarr held and caressed. He knew that Daeron was feeling anxious over the sudden reveal of their secret relationship to Aerion. Valarr felt guilty that it was his saying of "babe" and appearance that eventually gave it away.
"It's not your fault, you know." Daeron said, as if he read his mind. He knew Valarr well. Sometimes, Valarr would feel a sense of guilt when there were things he couldn't control. But Daeron, surprisingly, was there to tell him everything will be alright. And that's what Valarr loved about him. As for Daeron, he loved Valarr for his kindness and patience, especially at night, whenever he had his nightmares. Valarr wouldn't hesitate to get up and comfort him when Daeron needed it.
"What do you think is going to happen?" Valarr asked.
Daeron shrugged and pouted, "Knowing Aerion, I think I might have to beg."
Valarr chuckled at that. He knew that his cousin needs to get leverage over people by knowing their secrets and manipulating them. He wanted to get ahead. He always wanted to win.
"I suppose you'll be taking him up on whatever terms he has." Valarr said, as he squeezed Daeron's hand.
Daeron hummed. "Well, I have actually come up with something, so I hope accepts those terms."
"Wow!" Valarr was surprised that Daeron had cooked something up. Honestly, Valarr found it hot that Daeron had come up with something for his "negotiations" with Aerion.
"I suppose I should tell Matarys soon, huh?" Valarr asked for confirmation. If the secret was gonna be out, at least they needed to control some of it getting out. If Daeron had Aerion to confide to, Matarys was Valarr's. Like Aerion and Daeron, the brothers were also close due to their ages. But unlike Aerion, Matarys can zip his mouth shut and wouldn't tell Baelor a thing. Eventually, Daeron had to tell his siblings, too. Perhaps, he would arrange a dinner with all of them just so they can introduce Valarr as his boyfriend.
"Yeah, I guess." Daeron said, sighing. "I wish we could keep this a secret longer."
"Me, too."
They stared into each other's eyes and smiled at one another. Counting down the days that they could be together without anyone else (except Aerion) finding out.
"Well, I gotta get back." He pointed the living room and bobbed his head to that direction.
"Okay." Valarr said with a nod.
Daeron was about to leave the kitchen, trying to amp himself up for his call with Aerion, again. But before he could
"Love you," Valarr declared with a smirk.
Daeron paused by the door frame and shook his head. Valarr couldn't see it, but Daeron blushed. Sometimes, Valarr also got cheesy and romantic towards him. He felt giddy on the inside; he felt as if there were butterflies in his stomach. He thought that it felt nice to be loved. Somehow, Valarr calmed him after the "big" reveal to Aerion.
"Love you, too." Daeron turned around and said as he walked out of the kitchen. Valarr chuckled at that and watched Daeron to leave to return to living room. Once Daeron was out of view, Valarr continued to organize the kitchen.
When Daeron was by his seat, he plopped on to it and idly scrolled on his phone, waiting for Aerion to call back. It had been a couple of minutes since the call ended. But Daeron knew it took a while for Maegor to fall asleep fully. Sometimes, Maegor would fuss around and look for his mom or dad and cry wanting to be held again.
Eventually, Daeron decided that instead of wasting his time scrolling, he continued part of his work, so that he could finally get some stuff done before he and Valarr would prepare lunch together. He found his focus again, typing and switching back between tabs.
Right as he was about to finish one of his tasks, he saw his phone flash.
Aerion.
Daeron felt the blood rush to his head. He was feeling anxious, feeling like he needed to catch his breath. He tried to ground himself by doing some deep breathing exercises before answering the call. Unfortunately, the call dropped before he could answer.
However, Aerion persisted.
Once again, Aerion's name flashed on his phone, and Daeron was eventually forced to answer it. His hands trembled as he clicked the answer button and lifted his phone to face level.
Even before Aerion could spit out a hello…
"Look, Aerion, I will tell you everything in person." Daeron was desperate to not be found out. He held out his hands in prayer, hoping that Aerion wouldn't tell Maekar a thing. "Just promise me you won't tell father yet."
"Oh, you're gonna have to do better than make me do a promise pact, brother." Aerion leaned back on the couch, as he crossed his arms.
"I'll watch Maegor for a week."
"Hmmm…"
"Two weeks."
"Hmmm…"
"Aerion!"
"Watch him for two weeks and bring Aegon with you."
"How come?"
"He's taking all of my husband's attention."
"He's your husband's intern at the pet shop."
Aerion rolled his eyes, "He's annoying as fuck just take him with you!"
"Fine," Daeron said with a resigned sigh.
"I'll talk to you soon, brother." Aerion said with a smirked as he waved to his brother goodbye.
"Bye." Daeron said with a fake smile and clicked the off button on the call.
As soon as the call dropped, Aerion scoffed then smirked.
His inkling was right, Daeron was happy, but he didn't know that it was because he was in love. His brother evaded the question, of course, which is something he'll address with Daeron. Also, had he also said no to Daeron, he wouldn't have also known that Valarr was his boyfriend, and that he was able to negotiate babysitting days with him (and Aegon in tow).
Somehow, despite his mood this morning, he was energized get through the rest of his day, all because of him knowing about Daeron and Valarr. And like Daeron thought, Aerion wouldn't keep this as a secret to himself because as soon as Dunk comes home, Aerion would share this immediately with him and tell him his plans of having a short holiday.