( He comes closer, dropping to his knees, taking his husband's hands in his. )
That didn't happen. You're right here. We're right here. You proposed. We're married. Just because some mystic wood woman in the Redwoods tried to get you to see something, that doesn't mean there's something to see.
[He wants to believe him. He knows that none of it made sense and as a result it must not be real. But at the same time, he can't help but feel like maybe he's missing something.
There's a nagging thought that not all of it was real ... but maybe some of it was.]
Probably just need to sleep it off. It was a long day.
[He nods, before leaning in to kiss him softly, letting his fingers tangle in his hair.]
I know we will.
[And as he pulls him in for a very high quality distraction, eventually they do succumb to sleep, and it's somewhere in those moments where his mind is unguarded that he last flimsy threads holding things together snap. Where a tumble of memories fall into place, leading to a nightmare he hasn't had in months?
Years?
How long has it been since things shifted and he went from a man without a husband to a two parts of a whole again?
Memories surface of a dirty alley and a gray, dark veined corpse of a man he was supposed to bring flowers for and sweep him away to somewhere where they might finally be safe. A growing void of grief that threatens to consume him the way that whoever killed Josh consumed all the years and memories that they were supposed to have together and threw them away without a second thought.
He jerks awake, covered in sweat, and immediately glances to the space next to him, relief coursing through him when he finds Josh there.
( There, beside his husband, Josh sleeps soundly. His (2) has him staying asleep when Aiden jerks awake in a sweat. Josh dreams of Aiden and his beginnings. Their courtship. Surviving the attacks when Hope was a teenager. Time together in the bayou. Signing their first lease together. )
[He watches Josh's back, watches him sleep, taking in the life-like quality of his skin and real feeling of his presence. He feels pieces of his memories falling into place but he doesn't know how he wound up here.
Quietly, he sneaks out of bed (14). He needs to go for a run, get his thoughts in order. Come back with coffee and hope he can still pretend to be the Aiden he was when he went to sleep.
He slips on his clothes, grabs the hotel room key, and makes his way out onto the quiet San Francisco streets.]
( The front door closing wakes him, as he notices he's alone in bed and his husband is obviously going through something. Or, can't sleep. Or, both. When Aiden isn't doing well, Josh isn't doing great. For an hour, he tries to lay in bed and get back to sleep, but he fails at that, finding something on one of the movie channels.
He looks down at his phone on the dresser, to see if he gets a message - deciding to message his husband or not, neither. Both. He decides to give him time and space.
Without trying, he falls back asleep right before a horror movie starts. Tina is chased down the street by a long-armed Freddy Krueger as Aiden inserts his card back into the door, the beep sounding. )
[He returns just after sunrise, feeling a little bit better but no less confused. For now, he's decided not to look a gift horse in the mouth. Josh is here, and Josh is alive. Nothing else matters.
He makes his way inside and smirks at the movie, before making his way to his husband's bedside and setting the coffee down on the night stand as he wakes him.]
Sleeping with a horror movie on is not going to make your dreams any better, you know.
( He sees right through him. There's something else. Different about him. Like, this awakened something neither of them saw coming. But, he doesn't say anything about it. )
You woke me for coffee.
( He raises his cup. He's forgiven. He turns the TV on mute. )
[He would follow them anywhere, and attending Thanksgiving in California is not a hardship. Everything else, well. That's just business as usual when your husband is best friends with the regent of New Orleans.]
Seriously. Welcoming. Great cook. She only gave us the sassy third degree. And she's surprisingly cool about all of this. She didn't even blink when Scott, his girlfriend, Scott's ex-girlfriend, her boyfriend and us all loaded up to stake out a tourist attraction a few hours away.
( He shuffles over, to make room on the bed if Aiden wants to sit, or crawl back in - or anything. His husband might shower. There's space if he wants it. )
I think she could use someone smiley. It means she smiles more.
[And he thinks, overall, for someone like Davina who has the weight of New Orleans on her shoulders every day, someone who makes her smile is a good thing.]
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everyonelives2025-07-26 07:05 pm
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( He comes closer, dropping to his knees, taking his husband's hands in his. )
That didn't happen. You're right here. We're right here. You proposed. We're married. Just because some mystic wood woman in the Redwoods tried to get you to see something, that doesn't mean there's something to see.
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There's a nagging thought that not all of it was real ... but maybe some of it was.]
Probably just need to sleep it off. It was a long day.
[Maybe he's convincing (10). Maybe he isn't.]
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Really, really long day.
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Are you telling me I'm overtired and need to sleep it off?
[Or does he have other plans in mind for going to bed?]
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( After. )
We'll get to the bottom of it. Whatever she meant. Whoever that was.
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I know we will.
[And as he pulls him in for a very high quality distraction, eventually they do succumb to sleep, and it's somewhere in those moments where his mind is unguarded that he last flimsy threads holding things together snap. Where a tumble of memories fall into place, leading to a nightmare he hasn't had in months?
Years?
How long has it been since things shifted and he went from a man without a husband to a two parts of a whole again?
Memories surface of a dirty alley and a gray, dark veined corpse of a man he was supposed to bring flowers for and sweep him away to somewhere where they might finally be safe. A growing void of grief that threatens to consume him the way that whoever killed Josh consumed all the years and memories that they were supposed to have together and threw them away without a second thought.
He jerks awake, covered in sweat, and immediately glances to the space next to him, relief coursing through him when he finds Josh there.
It isn't real. It was just a dream.
But then again, maybe it wasn't.]
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Quietly, he sneaks out of bed (14). He needs to go for a run, get his thoughts in order. Come back with coffee and hope he can still pretend to be the Aiden he was when he went to sleep.
He slips on his clothes, grabs the hotel room key, and makes his way out onto the quiet San Francisco streets.]
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He looks down at his phone on the dresser, to see if he gets a message - deciding to message his husband or not, neither. Both. He decides to give him time and space.
Without trying, he falls back asleep right before a horror movie starts. Tina is chased down the street by a long-armed Freddy Krueger as Aiden inserts his card back into the door, the beep sounding. )
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He makes his way inside and smirks at the movie, before making his way to his husband's bedside and setting the coffee down on the night stand as he wakes him.]
Sleeping with a horror movie on is not going to make your dreams any better, you know.
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And, sneaking out in the middle of the night isn't either. ( But, warm coffee. Mmm. ) Still worried about druid-Dahlia?
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Couldn't sleep. Decided to see if I could walk it off, and that helped. It'll help even more to head home.
[He tips his head to the side.]
Sorry if I woke you.
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You woke me for coffee.
( He raises his cup. He's forgiven. He turns the TV on mute. )
Thanks, for coming with Davina and me.
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[He would follow them anywhere, and attending Thanksgiving in California is not a hardship. Everything else, well. That's just business as usual when your husband is best friends with the regent of New Orleans.]
Scott's mom is great. She lucked out there.
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( The perfect mom. )
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[And he's heard a lot of really weird stuff.]
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( He shuffles over, to make room on the bed if Aiden wants to sit, or crawl back in - or anything. His husband might shower. There's space if he wants it. )
So, Spike's on a flight with us, Ben, and Jed.
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[He raises an eyebrow.]
She seemed pretty in love with those trees.
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( But, yeah, her magic really drew her to those trees, man. )
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I like Scott. He seems good for her.
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( Josh feels like his heart could break so easily. )
She's never been with anyone that smiley. Or, not Kol.
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[And he thinks, overall, for someone like Davina who has the weight of New Orleans on her shoulders every day, someone who makes her smile is a good thing.]
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( The quarter, the witches, the other faction leaders. )
And they make a cute couple. Like us.
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[Aiden wants to make that distinction clear.]
They can have the silver medal.
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( Since he hasn't been joined in bed, he finally climbs out, stretching his limbs. )
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