Well here's the beginning of my fic set in the future of my Next Mile universe as promised. This fic will be multi-chaptered but not half as long as my other story; probably no more than 10 chapters. Focuses in on a year in the life of the Walsh family, containing both highs and lows. Hope you like!
February
A recently turned forty year old Aaron Walsh slumped down on the bench which had stood in the middle of Emmerdale village for as long as he could remember. It had well-changed over the course of decades; paint chipping off, moss creeping across its' planks and the framework fast becoming rickety.
Aaron was feeling rather like the bench himself now that he found himself a decade older. While he knew forty still wasn't old and that he was still a long way from the grave yet he couldn't help but grimace as he found his first few strands of grey hair starting to shoot up on random parts of his scalp recently. Jackson, as sympathetic as always, had found it hilarious that Aaron was going grey before him; despite Jay being two years older the fact that Aaron was cursed with having pitch-black hair meant it was inevitable that his colour would start to go before his partners.
Aaron rested his eyes as he felt the light of the afternoon sun hit his face, taking in what little heat it offered at this early stage of spring. He had spent a long day at work and because his car was getting serviced he had to rely on the bus all that week. Now after all that fuss hopping from one place to the next he was enjoying the peace and quiet of this brief sit-down.
His ears pricked as he heard the sound of something approaching him from behind. It seemed to be coming closer and closer to him at a careful pace, as though not wanting to be noticed.
Aaron waited until he could sense the figure right behind him and heard it draw a breath. Without opening his eyes he grunted
"Don't even think about it."
He smirked triumphantly as he heard an annoyed exhale of breath at his ear and opened his eyes to see the defeated figure come around to his side of the bench. The figure was a young man with light-brown hair capped with a grey beanie, a quite handsome chiselled face and a set of soulful creamy-brown eyes. As he came to a halt he shoved his hands into his hoodie pockets and his mouth twisted into a pout
"How'd you know it was me?" the teenager huffed, disappointed that his plan to startle Aaron hadn't worked.
"I'm your father, I know everything." Aaron replied simply with a smirk. "What have you been up to?"
Sixteen going on seventeen year old Kalum Walsh raised an amused eyebrow "So much for knowing everything!"
"Now, now!" Aaron tutted "You're not too old for a clip around the ear for cheekiness, you know."
"When have you ever clipped me around the ear?" Kalum snorted
"There's a first time for everything, my lad." Aaron smiled. Kalum just rolled his eyes dramatically; he knew his dad was only messing with him.
If Aaron did say so himself he and Jackson's son had turned out quite well in the looks department. He had grown from a cute and cuddly little boy to a rather handsome young man, "lush" as some of the youngsters would say. Aaron noticed with a flicker of envy that while his hair colour was starting to gradually fade Kay's had darkened slightly from sandy to a lightish brown. Despite having the appetite of a horse Kalum remained quite skinny but not scrawny; his weekly basketball training helped keep him in tone. Aaron also suspected that Kay had recently found some old weights belonging to Jay and had put them to use as he'd noticed one morning with some amusement his son being unable to raise his arms without wincing in pain.
It was also with some sadness that he noticed that had Kay been able to stand he would be fairly tall, maybe just a few centimetres shorter than himself. It had been a relief for both Aaron and Jackson that their boy had never experienced any serious forms of bullying due to his disability, or for the fact that he was being raised by two men. If his disability hindered or frustrated Kay himself in any way he didn't let on.
"When's da coming home?"
Aaron glanced at his watch "Shouldn't be too long now, why?"
"I need to ask him for a lift up to Joe's later; we have to finish that stupid biology field study." Kalum pulled a face.
Aaron grinned "Thought you liked biology?"
"Learning how to dissect a worm isn't exactly riveting stuff, dad." Kalum snorted
Aaron nodded "Point taken. Anyway, is it just you heading up? I thought the others were involved in this as well?"
"Thomas is heading there after football. As for Ryan…"
Kay was unexpectedly cut off as he heard the click of the brakes being taken off the wheels of his chair and then to his surprise felt himself being forcefully shoved forward. Much to Aaron's own surprise he found himself now looking at a beaming scruffy seventeen year old with untidy dark brown bangs of hair, a medium stature, dressed in torn jeans and a dark shirt with a checked jacket and his lightly stubbled face flickering with mischief.
"Thought I felt my ears burning." He smiled brightly before winking at a bemused Aaron "I must say, you're looking quite fine today Uncle Aaron. If the door swung in that direction I'd be quite tempted!"
Aaron rolled his eyes "Good afternoon to you too, Ryan."
By this time Kalum had re-joined them "Not one for making a big entrance are you, Caulfield?" he huffed sarcastically.
"You love the attention." Ryan replied smartly, shoving his grubby hands into his pockets and tossing a bang out of his eyes.
It was amusing to see how little the young livewire had changed over the course of ten years. He was an absolute rocket; losing none of his ruthlessness, cheekiness or daredevil ways as he matured. But he was also charismatic and more of a lovable rogue than a troublemaker. Jackson once coined him as a mixture of Oliver Reed, Liam Gallagher and Peter Pan, a comparison which suited him greatly and one which he tried his hardest to live up to.
"What brings you around these parts, scruffbag?" Aaron grunted.
Ryan feigned a wounded look "Didn't realise I needed an excuse to visit my favourite family in Emmerdale."
"I must say, young Caulfield, the smell of manure off your breath is appalling!"
Ryan chuckled before admitting "Mum and Adams' up at the farm; they're taking Tyler to see his grandad Barton, do his head in for a change!"
Aaron and Kalum smirked; both knew Ryan was fonder of his little brother than he let on, even if it did appeal to his six year old amusement to do his older brothers' head in from time to time.
"So anyways, John says if I'm bored I could wander around the farm and get some chores done for him. But that's no fun on my own."
At this he directed his gaze to Kalum who scoffed in realisation "Are you serious? You want me to do chores with you?"
"I promise I'll try to make them fun!"
Aaron furrowed his brow "I'm hoping you mean that in a strictly non-life-threatening way?"
"Of course!"
"Fine." Kalum gave in before turning to Aaron "That ok with you, dad?"
"As long as you come home in one piece."
Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox
"So what's the plan, Kay?"
"What plan?"
The boys were making their way through the gate of John Bartons' farm, Kays' beloved collie Koda trotting along with them.
"For your birthday. It's next month isn't it?"
"Yeah but I don't think I'll do anything for it. Seventeens' hardly a milestone, is it?"
"Bull." Ryan snorted "You gotta do something to mark the occasion, even just go out for a few with me and the lads."
Kalum shrugged "I'll think about it. On another subject, are you lot still coming to my game on Saturday?"
"Said we were, didn't we. Hope you don't mind, but Cassie's keen to go as well."
"No problem." It pleased Kay whenever his friends offered to watch him play a match, especially as all of them except for Ryan played a sport of their own. Thomas of course was a keen footballer and spent most nights training with his local club and Joseph shocked nobody by joining a rugby club and was a decent player but he amazed everybody by showing an interest in boxing at a young age. He now participated in both sports and while he enjoyed playing rugby boxing was his main passion.
Kay was worried for a while that they'd see his sport as mediocre compared to theirs because it involved a wheelchair, but thankfully this didn't seem to be the case.
Ryan on the other hand had no interest or time for sports. It just wasn't his scene, nor did it give him the adrenaline rush he longed for when it came to making his own fun.
Like now. Kay noticed they had come to a stop beside the barn, where an old quad-bike stood. Ryan had that look on his face which always appeared when he had an idea.
"You have to be joking…"
"Look, John got some lambs a month or so ago and a couple have gone walk-about over the fields so he wants me to go look for them. Fastest way to do that is by bike."
With that he hopped unto the quad and turning the keys revved it up with a smile. He threw a questioning look at Kay who snorted "You're mad!"
"You're just jealous because you won't be the fastest thing on wheels around here anymore." He chuckled "C'mon Kay, I promise I'll get you home in one piece. Haven't you ever wanted to take a spin on a Harley Davidson?"
"You call that a Harley Davidson? God, Caulfield you might want to invest in a pair of glasses!" But still he gave in and allowed his eccentric friend to give him a lift onto the back of the quad.
He laughed at the seemingly disapproving gaze Koda was staring at him with. "It's alright, boy. I know what I'm at."
He took the spare helmet offered to him by Ryan who once again began revving the engine, causing the bike to roar. As Kay held on to the handles on the sides he called out over the engine rumbles "Hey Ryan? You ever driven this thing before?"
"Nope!" Ryan replied cheerfully.
Kalums' eyes widened "Okay….what happens if the brakes fail when we're driving?"
As the bike started moving forward at a standard enough speed Ryan shot back casually over his shoulder "You stick your head between your knees and kiss your arse goodbye."
Before Kay could reply the bike had made its way out of the farm gate and with a mighty lurch upped a gear and sped off into the fields. Kay watched with a mixture of both excitement and fear as the speedometer went up through double digits and the greenery of the Yorkshire countryside went by in a blur, Koda barely keeping up with them as he attempted to race alongside them.
As Kalums' heart rate increased he yelled over the noise "We're doing flaming ninety at least!"
"I know!" Ryan yelled back gleefully "Doesn't it feel bloody fantastic?"
Kay had to admit, once he got over the underlying fear that the pair of them were going to find themselves wrapped around a tree any minute now, the sense of thrill and adrenaline rush it was giving him did feel out of this world. It was like the feeling he got playing sport. It made him feel invincible. It made him feel alive.
But it was probably something his parents didn't need to know about.
Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox
Aaron finished tidying up the living room and proceeded into Kay's room. It wasn't that he was a clean-freak particularly, certainly not, but a house with three males living in it did need the odd clean every now and again.
As he stripped the linen of Kalums' bed he let his eyes wander around the room. It had changed quite a bit in the past ten years; a new bed, a few fresh licks of paint. The various objects in the room demonstrated the passing of time; toys replaced by a laptop, music speakers, a desk, a medium pool table and basketballs everywhere. Much to Aarons' amusement he also spotted the arm weights thrown carelessly under the bed. Posters of various sport players donned the walls, as did shelves containing both books and several awards for both sport and academic reasons.
Aaron smiled as he caught sight of his sons' locker, on which stood a photo of Kays' mum for as long as he could remember but also joining it now was photos of his teenage son with his friends, his team mates, and of course with his adoptive parents.
Aaron could also see in the corner of the room an empty cage with an old teddy bear on top. The cage had once held Kalums pet rabbit, who sadly went to the big rabbit hutch in the sky some years beforehand. Even now Aaron shuddered at the memory of nine year old Kalums' devastation, refusing to get rid of the cage and requesting a proper burial in the back garden. Aaron at the time couldn't even bring himself to joke about the possibility of Lisa having something for the pot, much as he wanted to.
While other childhood toys had been either stored in the attic, thrown out or donated there was one teddy which Kay could not and would not get rid of and that was the one his mother had given him all those years ago. Torn, raggy and dirtied as it was it took pride of the place on top of the cage, no longer used but still loved.
Aaron took a bit of time to look at the various awards and certificates decorating the shelves. Their boy had won several medals and trophies with his team for wheelchair basketball and had also been awarded for various academic reasons such as attendance and excellence in particular subjects.
Aaron grinned; Kay certainly wasn't like him when it came to school. For one thing he actually didn't mind going to it and for another he was for the most part a good student. While like all other teenagers there were days he faked illness or didn't study for a test or "forgot" his homework, the majority of the time he did try hard and while not failing any subjects he particularly excelled in ones such as art, maths and languages.
His father noticed that among the books stacked on the bookshelves there were several small, black sketch books wedged in places. Although he itched to have a peek at his sons art work Aaron knew better than to pry through Kay's personal belongings. If he wanted Aaron to see his drawings, he would have shown him himself.
In short he had done very well to make his parents proud of him. In saying that, both Aaron and Jackson would have been proud of him no matter what. While like all lads his age he would experience mood swings on and off and strove to be independent as much as possible he was a good kid and maintained a close, solid relationship with his fathers. Despite being busy nowadays between school, his friends and basketball practice he still managed to fit in time to do things with his family.
As Aaron left the room he heard the front door shut and his face brightened as he heard the sound of footsteps he would recognise anywhere.
His partner of nearly twenty-two years tossed his toolbox and hard hat into the corner of the living room and stretched nosily. It had been a long day. He smiled however as he caught sight of his husband standing with a load of laundry in his arms "Hey, gorgeous."
"Hey." Aaron grinned back as Jay crossed the room for a kiss. He eyed the bits of linen in Aarons' arms "'All that belong to his lordship? I thought he did his own laundry as part of his chores?"
"He does." Aaron rolled his eyes "But do you not remember me losing a bet with him last week on the Xbox?"
Jackson raised an eyebrow "And this was the forfeit?"
"Yup, laundry for a week."
Jackson shook his head "Kids, eh?"
"You said it." Aaron chuckled. He couldn't help but notice that Jay was in need of a bit of a clean himself; cement and muck and grime clinging to parts of his work-clothes and hands. Despite his promotion ten years earlier leading him to spend more time in the offices in amongst the paperwork and blueprints he still insisted on being involved in the hands-on work. Some things never change.
"Where is Kay anyway?"
"Up at Bartons' with Ryan, helping out with some farm chores if you can believe that. He also needs a lift up to the Conlons' in a while to work on something for school. Which means…" Aaron smirked suggestively "...I get his father to myself for a few hours."
Jackson looked immensely pleased by this but as his husband went to pull him into a kiss he drew back slightly "I'm all covered with grease and grime, babe. I don't want to get you all dirty."
This remark only entertained Aaron further "Keep talking." He purred smoothly.
Jackson caught on to what he meant and played along innocently "Oh you know, I just wouldn't like the thought of getting greasy marks all over your nice, clean body. Be a shame to see all that lovely white skin all destroyed with smudges, streaks and fingerprints covering every inch of it. T'would be a disaster, really."
He could see that his words were having the desired effect on his partner who came closer once more "I think I'll live." He muttered before crashing his mouth against his partners, winding his arms around his neck and letting the fingers of one hand clasp the hairs on the nape of Jays' neck. Jackson responded in kind, kissing back hungrily and wrapping his arms tightly around his husbands waist.
The whole idea of marriage supposedly diminishing the passion between a couple as the years went on was total bull in their opinion. Well, from where they were concerned anyway. Their love and lust for each other was similar to a good wine – it only got better with each year that passed.
Heaven only knows where things would have ended up had they not been interrupted by a cough behind them "And I thought helping to scoop up lamb crap was nauseating!"
They sprang apart and looked to see a bemused Kalum in the kitchen doorway. Stepping away from Jackson with his face starting to redden Aaron began awkwardly "We… um… well…you're back early."
"Wasn't as many chores to do as expected, Ryan's just helping John and Adam place some panels on the roof now but he'll be finished soon. Could you give us both a lift up to Joe's in a while please, da?"
"Sure, son." A still-flustered Jay replied.
"Cheers!" Kay said brightly before leaving through the door like nothing had happened.
Once he was sure their son was out of earshot Jackson exclaimed "How long was he in that doorway?"
"Dunno, can't have been too long though because we only walked through it a few minutes ago."
"I mean was he there before or after I stopped speaking? God, what the hell would he have thought?"
Aaron sighed "Well if he did hear you I'm pretty sure he would guess that you were talking about sex."
To the look Jackson gave him he shrugged "Jay, he's nearly seventeen; I'm sure he knows by now what it is!"
"I know that, Captain Obvious; I'm not one of those parents who believes my teenage child is still all innocence and light. The point I'm making is that he might have just heard us, his parents talking about it!"
Aaron raised an eyebrow "I doubt he heard but I don't think it's a big deal even if he did. You think he thinks we don't have it?"
"No, I just think it might be embarrassing for a teenage lad to walk in on his parents talking about getting it on. I mean imagine your mum and-"
"Alright! Point taken, no need to put images in my head!"
Jackson chuckled as Kay poked his head around the door once more "I just got a text off Ryan, can we pick him up from the Bartons on the way?"
"Yeah, alright." Jackson picked up his keys from the kitchen table "You all set?"
"Yep, just need to grab my jar with the worm in it." He pulled a face before disappearing once again to do just that.
Aaron laughed at the confused expression on his husbands face. "I don't even want to know." Jay shook his head before turning back to Aaron "I'll be back in a bit, in the meantime…" he slyly tapped his surprised husbands nose gently, leaving a dark smudge "… let that be the first of many."
Aarons face split into a smile as his partner winked and walked out the door "Kay! Get your backside in gear!"
Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox
Kay gently bounced the basketball at his side before moving his chair forward. He'd been playing at this sport so long now he didn't need to think about the steps anymore as they just came to him naturally.
His backyard was hardly appropriate practice ground despite having a basketball hoop installed on the wall. It was too small and the gaps of the paving caused shudders to vibrate through his chair and up his body. It was a nuisance and wasn't helped by the fact that his vision was relying on the dim patio light and he had to be as quiet as possible so as not to wake his parents up. After all, 2 AM was hardly a decent hour to be practicing.
But Kalums overactive mind was preventing him from sleeping. It was just one of those nights where all sorts of irrational thoughts came out to play. He was experiencing a lot of nights like this recently, especially as this year was going to involve him making so many decisions and also so many things were going to be changing.
For example he was now in his final year of school and would be graduating that summer. The upcoming months would involve nothing but talk of A-levels, university placements and career choices, all of which Kay was dreading. He cursed whichever fool made it law that people would have to make such life-changing decisions at such a young age. He had no idea what he wanted to do as his career; he barely knew where to begin when it came to studying for his exams!
While he knew deep down that whatever decision he made didn't necessarily have to stick with him for life it still plagued his mind, hence why he'd taken himself outside to shoot a few hoops, hoping to burn himself out. His upcoming match was also another thing of importance; should Kay perform well in it he would receive the much coveted title of captain. At least this way he was helping get rid of one issue.
He took a shot and scowled as the ball missed the net completely, choosing instead to ricochet off the wall and land rather noisily among bits of scrap metal Jackson had left over from the building site. He hesitated, ears pricked for any sign of movement in the house, before sighing in relief and approaching the ball once more, bending to scoop it up.
As he went to shoot again his heart nearly gave out as he heard a soft voice behind him "Bit late for practice, don't you think?"
Head whipping around Kay saw the figure of his dad at the doorway, dressed in trackies and a hoodie with a concerned look on his face.
Relaxing as he realised he wasn't in trouble Kalum shrugged lamely "Couldn't sleep."
Aaron approached slowly, hands tucked into pockets for warmth. "Any reason why?"
Kalum paused before awkwardly looking away, fingers drumming the hard rubber of the ball on his lap as he tried to think of a reasonable excuse.
"Anything you want to tell your old man about?" Aaron encouraged gently.
Kay managed a small smile and shook his head "Nothing much to tell; my heads' just buzzing with…stuff."
Aaron cocked his head to one side "What kind of stuff?"
"Nothing I can't take on." Kalum replied cheerfully, sounding more confident than he felt.
Aaron knew he wouldn't get any more out of him that night, further pressing would just irritate him. Besides he knew his own son well enough to know that Kay would eventually open up to them about any problems he had sooner or later. Whenever he was ready.
Wordlessly Aaron strolled over to Kalum and much to his sons surprise made a sudden grab for the ball, snatching it right out of his hands.
"Dad, what…?"
Aaron grinned as he dribbled the ball, skirting around his son as he did so "Well come on! If you're going to practice at this ungodly hour you may as well do it right."
Kay chuckled and shook his head, but decided to play along all the same. "You sure you won't hurt yourself, old man?"
"I'd be more worried about hurting your pride, whippersnapper." Aaron chided back, snatching the ball out of the way as his son went to lunge for it. They spent the next few minutes playfully battling each other, Aaron's advantage being his ability to walk and Kays' being his superior excellence at the sport. Kay clearly had the upper hand as less than fifteen minutes later he was wiping the floor with Aaron.
"What was that about hurting my pride, father dearest?" Kalum jested.
"Less of the lip, you, or I might be forced to actually try playing at my best. Wouldn't want to see your poor little face crumple in disappointment, would I?"
"I could bulldoze you in more ways than one if I felt like it." Kalum smirked.
"And I could take the brakes off your chair and stand you on the edge of a nice, steep hill but we both know that's not going to happen either, don't we?"
"S'pose." Kay grinned.
After a few more minutes they called it a night, Kalum the clear winner. Aaron gave him a few minutes to get set for bed before knocking softly on his room door.
Entering he found Kay in bed with his beanie hat off and mousy hair sticking up in places. He grinned as his father entered the room, reminding Aaron so much of the young, giddy, sandy-haired child he had tucked into bed each night all those years ago. Kay was long past the stage of kisses, cuddles and a story at bedtime but in Aaron and Jacksons' eyes he was still their child, still their little boy for as long as he lived.
"You knackered out yet?" he smiled.
Kalum yawned and nodded "Who knew beating an old badger like you would be so tiring?"
"Less of it." Aaron smirked before tossing the ball to Kay, who caught it with ease and placed it beside his bed.
Aaron scratched the back of his head thoughtfully before saying softly "Just take this old badgers advice, mate; try not to worry about the future, it happens soon enough whether we like it or not. Worry doesn't help anything."
Not for the first time Kay wondered if his dad had some form of fathers' intuition. Not sure of how to respond to this he simply nodded "Okay."
Aaron went on with a grin "And hey, you know you're destined for great things, yeah? I know you think I'm spouting a load of bull but seriously you're a talented and intelligent lad. You'll go far. A lad like you has no cause to worry about the future, believe me. What's for you won't pass you."
Kalum gave a shy little grin, pleased at this "Cheers, dad."
Aaron went to leave the room. As he reached the door he turned to face his teenage son a final time "'Night, son."
"'Night, dad."
Once his dad left Kay switched off his bedside lamp and settled back against his pillow, eyes closing as his brain attempted to put his dads' advice into practice.
Being a typical lad he didn't express his love for his adoptive parents verbally as much as he should but he was sure they knew. Likewise they respected his teenage pride by lessening the amount of verbal acknowledgement of their love for him, though not ever leaving him in doubt of their affection.
Despite Kay never admitting it out loud, he found it comforting to know that no matter what changes were to take place in the upcoming months, he could still rely on one thing never changing.
….TBC
Hope that was a satisfactory introductory chapter, thanks for reading!