RP log with isabelowens | Playing messenger

[mrpublicity]

No-prompt RP log with isabelowens | Backdated to after THIS

Aiden pocketed his cell phone and then ran his thumb over his wedding ring distractedly. He gave a small nod to himself as he ran the phone conversation back over his head. He would be lying if he didn't say he was relieved, but also worried. He wasn't used to life being this up and down. Less than a year ago, all he did was live to work and that was what life was about. But now, it was so much more, and with it came so much more stress and worry. It was no longer just him and Harri, it was him, Harri and this whole bunch of amazing people that you just couldn't help but become invested in. He was married. Actually married. Harri was pregnant and in a relationship. He never expected things to change so dramatically in just months, but they had, and even though he still wanted a reason to hate Marcus Fraser... who had now bared heart and soul as James Campbell... he had run out of momentum. How could he truly hate a guy who had seemingly literally given up everything for the good of other people? If James Campbell was truly a fucking selfish bastard, he wouldn't be where he was right now. The full truth really couldn't come out until the guy woke up, and Aiden realised he didn't really want the whole truth. He just wanted assurance the guy was at least going to love and protect Harri.


He picked up his half empty cup of coffee and made his way back to the ICU. He was going to seek Harri about, but he had to speak to someone else first. He found Izzy sitting in the hallway on the seat Ali had mostly been warming but had vacated when Andrew insisted on taking her home to sleep. "Hey," he greeted Izzy quietly and cleared his throat. "I just, um... I've got some news you'll probably be interested in hearing. Mind if I sit down?" he asked, gesturing to the chair beside her.

Iz had been staring into her cold cup of coffee, and blinked to bring herself back from her thoughts as she shook her head, and smiled a little. "No, of course not. Make yourself as comfortable as you can in these seats." She set the coffee down on the other side of her, and pushed her fingers through her long dark hair. "I almost feel like we should be having some sort of BFFs Anonymous meeting."

Aiden laughed softly. "I'm trying to figure out who would take the cake as president. Seems we've both been thrust into some... interesting scenarios lately. I feel like I've lost my head over some of it. You should probably take the job. I haven't been in top notch BFF form lately." He stretched his long legs out in front of him, trying to relax a little. "Your kismet lay is en route to New York as we speak. He's beeing transferred here," he tapped the arm rest of the seat for emphasis, "for a few days at least. Then we're going to be sticking around at my apartment on the Upper East Side for a few weeks until the dust settles."

Iz smirked a little. "I really don't think I should be president either. I mean, I did drunkenly marry my BFF and fuck everything right up. I'm no poster child for how a BFF should act. Plus, I didn't even know he was still alive. It's enough to throw anyone's form out." She reached out to rest her hand lightly on top of Aiden's for a brief moment before she retracted it. "You're actually doing pretty well, Aiden. I know it's all a headfuck, but I think you've still done the most basic thing, which is to be here for Harri." Izzy stared at him for a moment before she broke out into a huge smile. "He's coming here, really? Cameron's going to be in New York soon? That's, um, that's..." she cleared her throat as she tried to stop smiling, "... that's great. I mean, it's important that he keeps getting fantastic care, and that you and Pat can be there for him."

Aiden pointed with his coffee cup. "To be fair, you weren't meant to know and he did a fucking fine job of it." He shrugged a little. "I got the shits with her when she got pregnant. It was... selfish. I was just hurt. You do stupid things when you're hurt. With a whole lot of emotional things going on in my personal life, I guess I just screwed up my priorities. I got over it, though. Mostly. As one does." He started to laugh and nodded. "Yeah, he's really coming. I just spoke to Pat a few moments ago and they were about to board. Pat's not dealing with the stress too well and wanted to come home, but he was being stubborn, so Cameron went stubborn right back and they somehow came to this compromise. It was Cameron's suggestion. I'm thinking hanging around in his football town stuck in hospital not being able to play was probably shitting him to no end."

"True. And now he's got to come back from the dead completely, not just for a few of us privileged people. And Harri will get to realise that he's not usually so strained. James is... he's not Marc. He'll be happier when he can just be himself. He'll be able to relax, and might even be able to grasp onto the idea of his child, and his family. I'm sorry about Harri and the pregnancy. Cameron told me something about that. Believe it or not, I can actually understand your pain." Iz smiled again, and shifted in her seat as she tried to find a position that wouldn't make her ass numb. "I think the idea of being near Pat is also appealing. He can hardly ask your husband to stay in Liverpool. He'll know that Pat wants to be with you."

Aiden shrugged. "Shit happens. Kids are just... I'm not sure Pat wants them. I'm getting a vibe off him. Like a fart in an elevator. He can't run from the topic quick enough when it comes up. Harri probably did me a favour at the end of the day. I'm just realising if I'm going to be godfather to the kid, I've got to get along with the kid's Dad, don't I? I supposed it will just be like meeting him all over again because I really did not like the other dude. Which seems harsh, because he was always okay when I met him, but I just got a negative vibe and now I know why. He wasn't who he was saying he was, not by a long shot." He sipped the coffee and licked his lips. "I think that's what went down, but I'm not sure. Pat was really upset on the phone last I spoke to him, so I guess Cameron used the voodoo twin vibes to convince Pat to come home. I'm glad. I really am. I missed him like crazy. Strange feeling for me because I've never been in a serious enough relationship to miss them when they went away."

"I'm not sure it's the most romantic thing to say if you ever tell him you're getting a vibe off him like a fart in an elevator," Izzy laughed as she tried to shake the imagery. "Maybe you just need to give him some time as well? Maybe there's something Pat needs to work through before he can talk about it. I don't know, I'm only guessing. I've only ever been an aunt to my sisters' kids. And godmother to Ali's. I've never thought about having my own, but then I've never had someone to want them with. It's different when there's two people involved. Well, you don't have to get along with him. Plenty of families don't get along. I think for Harri, it would be good. She might need you to at least be civil." Iz tilted her head as she looked at Aiden. "Is the twin stuff freaky, or is it me? I mean, it's cool, just... they feel each other's pain. How weird is that? It'll do everyone some good for Cameron to be here. He and Pat can spend time together, and you and Pat get time."

Aiden smirked in amusement. "He would probably get indignant and offer to subject me to the real thing," he guessed, laughing. "I think I just wrongly assumed Pat would want them. He just became a godfather back at Christmas and he's wonderful with it. He adores children and taking care of people. I guess I was way off. Something we should probably have spoken about before we got married, but to be honest, when you're gay, having kids generally isn't something you assume is going to be on the menu, as sad as that is. It's more of a 'If we could find some crazy way to be parents, would we?'. I always just assumed one day I would... though it would be with Harri as surrogate. It's why I got my boxers in a twist, but it was so out of the blue, I didn't have much time to process it."

"Hey, I'm willing to give the guy the benefit of the doubt. I know he thinks I'm a prick, but I'm just territorial. If he's someone else to who I'm already supposed to know, I'll make an effort to get to know him. Of course I will." He glanced at her in amusement. "It's freaky, but it's not really specifically like feeling each other's pain, either. Pat told me it's more like a sensation or a sense of foreboding. It's worse when he's not with Cameron. He was physically sick when he saw the accident happen. They can't read each other's thoughts or anything, though sometimes it feels like they are. And they occasionally finish each other's sentences. When one is hurting, the other gets just as emotional. I can't even begin to understand what it would be like to be that close to someone."

"He doesn't think you're a prick," Izzy revealed with a look of amusement. "He thinks you think he's a prick, but he's never thought you were one. He can actually understand where you're coming from. You have every right to be territorial. I'm sorry you and Harri have to through all this, but I'm hoping it'll be worth it." She gave a nod of understand, her expression briefly reflecting awe. "Me either. Even as BFFs, there's no way we'd be that close to Harri or James."

Aiden smirked. "I kind of did," he admitted wryly. "He just rubbed me up the wrong way from the start, and then Harri goes and reveals he's a secret agent, so it poked at all my sensitive bits because he had been lying. Then it just seemed to be more lies and before I knew it, he had knocked her up and the whole uterus thing came into account. I just don't think we had the time to get to know each other properly. It will be nice to know him without all the lies." He ran his finger along the rim of the cup. "I mean, they were created from the same bunch of cells, so I guess it's inevitable they have a physical connection. They look different these days, but I find myself giggle-snorting how alike they can be at times. They have the identical pissed off glare thing happening. Better be careful. If you ever procreate with Cameron, you might get two for one."

"None of which he'd ever blame you for. I think you'll find he wants a chance to get it right this time," Iz mused as she looked down at her hands. Assuming he woke up. "Well, I think procreation usually requires a few dates to start with. I'm not even really sure what we are right now, but I know that we like each other and that's a start. He hasn't told me to fuck off yet either, so I'll stick around as long as he wants me to. Two for one wouldn't be so bad with his genes. Their genes? They're incredibly gorgeous guys."

Aiden broke into a grin, looking down at the cup in his hands. "Yeah, they really are..." he agreed, feeling that squeeze in his gut every time he thought about Pat. It was a nice feeling, warm and comfortable. He was excited Pat was coming home, even if they had only been apart for a few days. He looked up at Izzy, his blue eyes meeting hers. "You've gotta be thinking along those lines in general though... the what ifs. It's normal. Hell, I did it after the first couple of days with Pat. Sometimes in your gut, you just know something feels right."

Iz smiled knowingly at the look on Aiden's face before she cleared her throat. "Just between you and me, yeah, I have. I mean, it's not like I would have just tried to pull off some secret mission to break into a guy's hospital room for anyone, you know? I really miss him..."

Aiden nodded in understanding. "Did I tell you about Pat and mine's early days? I mean, yeah, I had a fucking hard-on for him the first night I saw him at the bar, but a couple of days after that, the posse arranged this coup to get Pat to the bar one day when I was there doing some work for Luke. Pat was ill and our first real meeting face-to-face, he puked all over me and my brand new Prada suit. And it just... made me more intrigued with him. So I drove to Princeton with a bunch of flowers once I heard he landed in hospital and stayed there for a few days, kept going to visit him every day, and the rest is history," he laughed. "He told me that first day in Princeton he had MS and didn't know why I would want to bother with that, so I made him promise to come on just one date with me. Just one, to see what happened. When I had to go back to New York, it's like I left part of my heart in Princeton. I just kind of knew at that point he was something pretty damn special and I didn't want to give that up, no matter what it took. It was quick and soon, but I just knew. Six months later, we're married."

Izzy's smile changed to one filled with warmth. "Definitely had to be a memorable first meeting. See, it's stories like that that give me hope. If Cameron's staying nearby then of course I'll visit him every day. I'll also drive to Princeton. I don't know, but I just know I'll do anything for him. It's probably not always going to come off the way I want, but surely it has to come back to that cliché of it being the thought that counts?"

"Sure, absolutely. But the thing is, sooner rather than later, it stops becoming what you want and shifts to what you want for, and with, someone else. And you don't even realise that it's happening until you wake up one day knowing you've changed. I was your typical workaholic before. I own my own company and built it from scratch. Now I get one of those pretty high rise buildings in the city to hold all my staff," he laughed. "I was never the relationship sort. More just the fuck and run when my schedule permitted. My social life was linked to my work and vice versa. I met Pat and the world changed. From what I've seen, though, Cameron seems pretty keen... maybe his world has changed too."

Iz looked at him. "I'm sick of fucking and running. I don't know if Cam is, but I just know that I'll stick around for as long as he'll have me."

"I don't know if he's so much sick of it as probably welcoming the notion of settling down..." Aiden replied and then had to laugh a little. "And maybe that wasn't totally about Cameron. I just realised how like him I am and that's kind of freaky on account he's now my brother-in-law, which is also freaky. So if you ever decide to elope, just be forewarned that it could take a few weeks for the enormity of what you did to sink in."

"Really not going to elope. I've done the random wedding thing. It was perfect for you and Pat, despite Cameron's reaction, but I can't do that again. Not sure I can do a big wedding either. Maybe I'll just live in sin with someone," Iz said with a smile. She reached to give Aiden's hand a squeeze. "It suits you, you know. Being settled with Pat. I'm not sure I could see you as the guy you were."

Aiden met her eyes and smiled. "Hey, likewise," he told her. "The here and now, you know, it's all that matters and it's all you have the power to change."



Word Count | 2,885