Title: These Days
Rating: K+
Summary: Aaron misses Jackson more than ever now that he's come out. He goes about his daily life, trying to move on, but Jackson's presence in the village flavors everything he does. Aarson. Jackson/Aaron.
A/N: They aren't broken up. This is after the court case. Thank you for reading. Review, please.
I head off to my job, guess not much has changed
Punch the clock, head for home
Check the phone, just in case
Go to bed, dream of you
That's what I'm doing these days.
-These Days, Rascal Flats
These Days
Paddy's heavy footsteps came up the stairs followed by three sharp raps on the door. "You're gonna be late for work if you don't hurry it along, mate! What, is your alarm broken again?"
Aaron rolled over, knocking one of his pillows to the ground. "I'm a bloody mechanic, you think I can't fix an alarm clock?" he growled more to himself than to Paddy. In truth, he'd turned off the alarm by accident instead of hitting the snooze button. Light flooded his room from the window, the sun burning bright in the sky offering no mercy as it shown straight on his face. Birds chirped outside noisily. He could smell breakfast from downstairs where Paddy had burned toast again.
"Yes, yes, you know everything about cars, but you can't get up in the morning. Now, come on!" Paddy's feet receded down the stairs for the third time that morning, and Aaron moved onto his back. His eyes darted to his phone, glowing on his bedside table. He wasn't going to pick it up, of that much he was certain. Aaron tossed off the duvet and threw his legs over the bed, rubbing the top of his head. Taking a deep breath, he stood up and picked up the pair of trousers he'd thrown on the ground the night before.
Wiping the sleep from his eyes, he glanced over at the window. Declan was roaming the street below, probably off on his way to work. Pearl was marching up the lawn with a gleam in her eye and a bag on her arm, probably delivering something to Paddy. The morning gossip, perhaps. Buttoning his pants, he snorted because the statement was just so true, and went out his door to the bathroom. Downstairs, he could hear Paddy greet Pearl warmly. Meanwhile, Aaron stuffed a toothbrush in his mouth and went back to his room to hunt for a shirt. His white dress shirt lay on the desk, semi-clean, so he picked that up and slipped it on. The sleeves were a bit too big, so he buttoned the second set of buttons as well.
Pearl let out a high-pitched cackled downstairs as Aaron glanced at his phone again. The blue light persisted. He knew what it meant. He had a missed message. Someone had called him. Making his way to it, he swallowed, then stopped with an outstretched hand. He knew who he wanted it to be. He knew why his hands were suddenly clammy, his throat was suddenly full of a lump, and butterflies were tearing up his stomach. Aggravated at himself, he tore away and went back to brushing his teeth, catching a glance in the mirror.
He hadn't been sleeping well. With all the gossip in the village, community service with Wayne, and the newspaper reporting on him, how could he? The dark bags beneath his eyes were a testament to just how tired he really was. He paused and widened his eyes, blinking rapidly. A wave of fatigue rushed over him, but he shook it off. There wasn't enough time to stop.
Paddy's rapid footsteps up the stairs accosted him before he could make it to the bathroom. Paddy put an hand on his arm. "Hey, will you be home for tea?"
"Dunno," Aaron replied with a mouthful of paste. "Probably. You going out tonight?"
"Marlon wants to grab a pint," he gestured behind him, "but I could make you something before I go."
"Nah, I'll sort myself out," he dismissed, going into the bathroom to spit. Paddy followed him, lingering in the doorway.
"Are you sure?" he implored. "I can just make you something quick-"
"Paddy!" Aaron cut him off, exasperated. "I said I'll sort it out. Don't worry about me. Might go into town tonight with Adam."
"Okay. Sorry," Paddy stuttered.
Running the sink, Aaron collected a mouthful of water and swished it around, spitting. He cleaned out the rest of the sink and let his shoulders sag. "No, it's all right." Paddy moved out of the way so Aaron could grab a towel by the sink and wipe of his mouth.
"You're dressed nice today for the garage," Paddy noted wryly.
"I don't have anything else clean, now do I?" Aaron growled, throwing the towel on the sink and brushing past his surrogate father.
"Well get down there and do some laundry, why don't you?"
"See, now I thought that was your job," Aaron smiled, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Besides, I thought I asked you to wash my t-shirts. They're all dirty."
"If you want that, you'll have to bring them down. That chemical waste dump you call a room is too dangerous for me," Paddy said, following him down the stairs.
"Ha! Very funny, you're a comical genius. Besides, I just cleaned it."
A pot of coffee was already on, the smell permeating the entire kitchen area with the rich aroma of vanilla and sugar. Paddy liked to buy flavored coffee. Aaron reached into the cabinet to pull out a glass, filling it with coffee and taking a place at the table.
"Look, mate, I don't know if you noticed the time, but you can't just sit here. You've got to be off. You're late already," Paddy warned him.
Aaron glanced at the clock and nearly spilled his coffee. "Ah, Cain'll be on my case all day at this rate. I've got to grab me phone."
Paddy glanced at his watch. "I've got to go; Rhona will be waiting. See you at tea!" The door slammed shut as Aaron hurried up his steps. He was careful not to check the blue screen as he swiped up his phone and stuffed it in his pocket. It couldn't have been Jackson because Jackson hated him; still, he didn't want to face the crushing disappointment of finding out for sure that it wasn't him. Delusions were useful. They could help a man get through his day.
The morning was cool and crisp with a lazy breeze blowing through the village. Aaron stuffed his fists into his pockets and sauntered down the road in the direction of the garage. For a moment, he thought of running there just so he wouldn't be late but found he lacked the energy. Getting a full night's rest would be next on his to-do list.
When he arrived near the garage, his immediate reaction was to glance towards Declan's house. As he caught himself doing it, though, he scoffed, feeling much like a pining girl. Jackson was out front in a dark green hood over a loose, blue shirt and jeans. The sun caught his hair and lit the brown locks on fire so he almost appeared to be a redhead. He was moving a large piece of wood into the bin at the end of the property when Aaron walked past.
Ryan popped out from behind the dumpster to greet Aaron, wiping his greasy fingers with a rag. "It's about time you got here, mate! I was about to send out a search party. Thought maybe you got lost."
"Yeah, from my house to here, I got lost. Did anyone ever tell you how brilliant you are?" Aaron sneered, pointing at him.
"Yeah, and did anyone ever tell you that you're a cheeky prat?"
"All the time," he said, and he heard himself echoing the exact same phrase he'd said to Jackson. On that day he'd shown up for a pint at Bar West a half an hour late, he'd complained playfully about the lack of flowers and a cheap date. Jackson seemed to connect the two as he was too close not to listen in and glanced up at Aaron, dark blue meeting earthy brown before breaking the connection and returning to the house.
"He still angry that you popped him one in the face?" Ryan asked as the builder disappeared into the house.
"Guess so," Aaron replied. Sadness didn't leak into his tone. Not really.
The day at the garage passed slowly. Chas popped by at around noon to say hello, bothering her son and needling him about his daily life, what he was doing, how he was getting on with Jackson just around the bend. He answered her annoying questions and listened to her prattling with impatience, arms crossed, brooding. Then, he went off to have lunch at the pub.
By the time he was sitting at the pub, contemplating his chicken sandwich, he had worked up the courage to check his phone, knowing full well after the display that morning that it hadn't been Jackson who called. The message turned out to be a text from Holly. It was a simple greeting, a channel to open up a conversation. He deleted the message and took a bite out of his sandwich, trying not to feel the aching disappointment.
He was almost finished with his food when Jackson came in. The man was covered from head to toe in white powder and cement. Aaron figured that the building on Declan's house was more extreme than he had thought. The commission was probably huge. Not that that was any of Aaron's business. Aaron pulled out his wallet and left some money on the table, tucking it beneath his plate in a hurry to get out before Jackson could notice him.
"Oi, Aaron," Marlon stopped him. Aaron's hand froze on the door, and he turned around with a considerable sag in his shoulders at having his cover blown. He stared at Marlon with impatience, refusing to look at Jackson at all.
"Yeah, Marlon?"
"You haven't paid for your drink. The one earlier, remember?" As if to remind him, the bartender pointed at the empty glass by the bar.
"Sorry," Aaron mumbled, pulling out his wallet and laying a few bills on the bar. "I'm in a hurry, Marlon. When you see Paddy, tell him I'll be late tonight."
"Going out?" Marlon asked. He shot a look at Jackson.
"Not with me, he's not," the builder replied, bewildered with the glass halfway to his mouth.
"With Adam," Aaron said through clenched teeth. "I've got to be off."
Jackson snorted. "Don't let the door hit you in the backside on your way out."
"Funny," Aaron snorted, shutting the door a little harder than he probably should have, mumbling to himself. "You were the one chasing my backside not too long ago, weren't you, you snarky git?" He kicked a rock clear to the other side of the street and beyond on his way to the garage.
Eventually closing time came, and Aaron pulled out his phone to check his messages. Nothing. Not that he was surprised. Adam was out with Scarlett, his mom didn't call him, and Paddy was off with Marlon. He'd lied earlier when he said he was going out, but Adam wouldn't say anything. With a wave at Ryan, Aaron headed home in the twilight, hood down, hands in his pockets.
Aaron actually started laundry when he got home. He forced himself to swallow two granola bars and drink the rest of the milk in the carton before heading upstairs. He flopped on the bed with Jackson's face behind his eyelids.
He checked his phone. No messages. The screen wasn't even glowing blue.
Aaron was just taking it one day at a time.
This one's a bit more boring, addressing the awkwardness between them and a pining Aaron who is just so irresistible. I like the episodes where they're fighting after Jackson accepts Declan's job. keeps me in suspense! Thank you for reading. Review, please. I'm glad I'm not the only one who's enjoying these. I've gotten a lot of positive feedback.