Welcome to Bermuda

Situation Eight: The Precarious

"Oh sorry."

He realizes that's all he said by the time he's back in his own office, dropping into his chair with a huff. He's not sure how he missed this, before he realizes how detached he's become from the two of them. In his mind, they're still who they were last year. He's the leading man, Emily is the love interest and Seth is the sidekick. Yes, there was a disruption, the plans were thrown off course, but he'd figured it was only a matter of time before the storyline righted itself.

Only tonight he's just walked in on his faithful sidekick locking lips with his leading lady.

And all he managed was an 'Oh sorry' like a good supporting character, thrust into the B story line. He rubs his face with his hands until his palms feel hot and tight, pushing the toe of his foot against the desk until his chair rolls against the wall.

"Hey." Her voice startles him, he hopes he plays it off well, slowly letting his hands drop until they reach his desk top.

"Hey. Sorry." He opens his eyes to look at her. "I didn't mean to interrupt before."

Was it really that long ago that Seth was interrupting them? What the hell had changed?

"No. I'm sorry. We shouldn't have been…" She moves her hand around for a minute, before her face scrunches up. "Aaron I'm really kinda mortified."

"Don't be." He says absently, before taking a deep breath.

"Okay." She nods. He waits for her to leave, but instead she just stares at him. "How are you?"

"Tired." He smiles.

"Me too." She takes a few steps back and he looks toward his desk for something to appear to get lost in during her departure, but then she's leaning against the wall to his office, watching him. "I was going to text you, during your warlord negotiations, but I wasn't sure 'Just so you know I'm not worried' was appropriate for that situation." He smiles. "And then everything happened here and.."

"Yeah. The thing with Seth's brother that's-." Aaron sat up a little, drawing air in through his nose and trying to look concerned. "How is all that? It all worked out?"

"Yeah." She nods, her skin pinching slightly around her brown eyes.

"Seems like everyone's family has been causing drama… lately." He presses his lips together. "I meant to come commiserate with you about deadbeat dads." Suddenly his hands are really interesting to him, he studies them like they hold the explanation. "I guess I got distracted by the next thing."

"Always something." She sighs.

"I'm glad you guys.." He nods. "It's easier when you're going through it with someone." She looks suddenly sad, and he wants to undo it as quickly as possible. "Seth's a good guy." He nods again, even faster, as if he can reassure her.

Her lips remained parted, and he wonders what he must look like in her eyes. The thought causes him to wince.

"I told Kirkman to fire him." She breathes.

"What?" His left cheek rises in grimace.

"I think there's something wrong with me." She shakes her head at him, before sinking down into his wingback visitors chair. Her fingers rake roughly through the front of her hair before pressing her face into her palm. "What's wrong with me?"

"Nothing." He's still stuck on the fact she told Kirkman to fire Seth.

"I tried to get my boyfriend fired." She looks up at him with wild eyes just in time to see him swallow hard at the word 'boyfriend'. "I mean. He's not really my boyfr-." He see's the pain of his wince reflected in her eyes. "I mean we just started dating."

"You don't owe me an explanation." He grounds out his words.

"I kinda feel like I do." She whines.

"Emily.."

"I tried to get him fired." She repeats as if it's the first time she's realized it.

"He messed up. It is your job as chief of staff-." Aaron's desire to take away her guilt pushes against his chest.

"You wouldn't let me resign when I messed up." She snips.

"Yeah well.." Aaron lets his head lull back and he studies the ceiling.

"And then I really returned the favor didn't I?"

"Emily." He moans. "Can we not?"

"Don't you think we should at some point?" Her face is pinched and wrinkled when he looks at her.

"No." He breathes, looking back up at the ceiling. "Not really."

He can hear her start to reply, but it dies in a rush of breath. He sighs in relief and they slip into a silence that is more comfortable than most of the spoken conversations they've had over the past few months.

"Aaron?" Her questioning tone echos of the quiet, he makes a soft humming sound in return. "What would you have done? About Seth?"

He takes a long time to inhale before turning his face to meet hers.

"I would have told Kirkman to fire him." He tells her honestly, she searches his eyes.

"But not me?"

"You didn't do anything wrong."

"Neither did Seth." She shakes her head.

"He lied." Aaron raises an eyebrow.

"For his brother." She tries to make it sound noble, kind.

"Taking the fall for someone isn't noble. It's dumb." He swallows, the grimace growing on his face. "Keeping someone from the consequences of their actions isn't really helping them either."

She chews on the edge of her lip before nodding, he sees something dark in her gaze for just a second. .

"You didn't do anything wrong either, Aaron." Emily whispers, she's waiting for him to protest, but he finds he suddenly can't. "I shouldn't have let you resign. I should have never second guessed you."

"Emily, it's over. Everything turned out okay." He mumbles, almost like he believes it.

"Is it?" Her voice rises just a little.

"Talking about this isn't going to change anything." He meets her tone.

"You don't know that!" She shakes her head.

"What can it change? We can't go back Emily. What's done is done."

"How can you say that? We don't know what it could have changed! If we would have talked about it then-."

"I didn't want to talk about it then. I didn't want to hear all the reasons you thought I was capable of treason." He stands up, because he can't just sit there anymore.

"I should have made you. I should have brought it up over and over! Until you listened. Until you accepted my apology." He focuses his eyes on her bawled fists.

"I did." He huffs.

"One I didn't ever get the chance to give?" Her face is red now, his chest is heaving.

"What would it have changed Emily?" He shot back, his eyes meeting hers. "Could it have made it Seth walking in on us in that office tonight?!""

"Maybe!" It comes out as shout. They both freeze for just a second, before she whispers. "Maybe.."

They stand there staring and breathing like they'd just been on a run. Aaron doesn't know how long it's been before her eyebrows wrinkle just a little and he sees a little piece of Emily he's thought he'd lost. His body relaxes and he takes a step from behind his desk.

"Em-." Her eyes shut wit the softness of his voice.

"Hey." Aaron swings away when he hears Seth's voice and Emily's eyes swing open.

"Hey." Shore sighs. Emily's chin drops to her chest.

"I know you're mad." Seth is explaining.

"I'm not." Mad is not the emotion Aaron Shore is currently feeling.

"I know you think it's unprofessional." Wright continues. "And a conflict of interest-."

"You guys are adults." Aaron interrupts. "And I'm not COS. It's none of my business."

"I-." The other man stops.

"I have to be someplace." Aaron announces the lie like it's urgent, grabbing a file he doesn't recognize off his desk and hurrying out. "I'm happy for you guys, love in Washington is rare."

…

He's not sure when exactly it happens, but he knows they've stopped seeing each other. He knows by their near perfect office behavior, and the way the speak so courteously to each other. It's nothing like the previous year and a half. Part of him is glad they never started so they didn't have to end. He's pretty sure they're better off. He has his best friend back, and that's all he's really wanted anyway.

Until the day of Alexandria Kirkman's funeral, when he catches her sobbing on a vestibule sofa. Before he has time to stop himself he strides confidently over to her and scoops her into his arms and holds her to his chest. He takes her home that night and puts her to sleep in his bed, she never leaves.

Two weeks later, two days before Kirkman resigns from the Presidency they ask him to marry them in the oval office. He manages her Senate Campaign before going to work as Hookstraten's Secretary of State. They visit Tom and the kids over the holidays, and he decides he wants to be a father. He watches Emily rise in her career and he knows that someday he'll probably be First Gentleman of the United States. He's grateful that Gregg Hookstraten's already broken that barrier. It pushes kids a few more years down the line.

He never denies a request to be on CCN's The Wright Take where Seth ask him the gotcha questions and he pretends to be 'gotten.' Afterwards, like always, he and Emily meet Seth and his wife Sarah and their kids for lunch. They all laugh about the fateful kiss and how things got all tangled. Aaron somewhat longingly watches Tommy and Lydia fight over the catsup and Emily lifts an eyebrow at him, holding up three fingers. He pushes one down and meets her eyes with a silent compromise. The left side of her lip curls up and he claims a quiet victory.