Aspen sniffled, rubbing the sleeve of their parka across their face. “It’s been like this for as long as I’ve known him. It got a little better—not, like, his parents got better, but things got a bit better for him after he came out and started living as his true self. His parents seemed to have less of a hold over him, and I was…sort of selfishly, I guess, hoping maybe him coming out to us as greyromantic would do the same, but…”
Charlie huffed into the phone. “I don’t think that’s selfish. I think it’s hopeful and optimistic, which is what I love about you. Sadly, things don’t always work out that way. I think if Noah is going to change his relationship with his parents, it’s going to be slow and steady, and he’s just now beginning that journey.”
Aspen’s little butterfly gave a tentative flutter in his chest. “Thank you,” Aspen whispered, turning to lean their back against the door. “You’re always so level-headed. That’s…something I love about you, too.”
Charlie hummed softly, and then he let out a short, sharp laugh. “I appreciate that, even though I might be about to completely negate it.”
Aspen gripped the door handle again, like it was some sort of comfort item. “What do you mean?”
“How soon can you have a bag packed and meet me downstairs?”
Aspen gaped at the ugly Valentine’s Day wreath still hanging on the door across from Noah’s. “I… Maybe fifteen minutes?”
“What would you say to doing something totally ridiculous and probably verging on too romantic for Noah…like flyingacross the country to keep him company at this stupid wedding?”
A strained, half-choking, half-laughing noise came out of Aspen’s mouth. “I’d say if there’s any chance this relationship is going to work out between the three of us, he may have to learn to accept our totally ridiculous and verging on too romantic selves.”
“I’ll see you in fifteen minutes, pumpkin.”
Aspen had no idea what ended up in their bag, aside from their meds and their toothbrush. They may have packed two pairs of underwear or twenty, and it was possible they hadn’t remembered socks, but they were in Charlie’s passenger seat, clutching their phone, wallet, and charger in their hand fifteen minutes later.
“Is this going to be, like, wildly expensive?”
Charlie pulled out into the late day traffic and shrugged one shoulder. “There’s a red eye leaving in a couple hours that was pretty cheap because it’s going to get us there at fuck-thirty in the morning.”
“Perfect. I’m sure that’s the exact right time to surprise him with our uninvited presence.”
Charlie snorted and pulled onto the highway. Once they reached a steady speed, he took Aspen’s hand across the center console. “Is he staying at his parents’ house?”
“I don’t think so. We were staying at some random hotel. Let me look up the area, I might remember the name if I see it.”
Charlie was silent as Aspen searched, and Aspen realized this was the first time they’d been alone together. Aspen always thrived in three-person friend groups, and they were learning they thrived in three person sexual and romantic-ish relationships as well. There was always someone to talk to, and if one person grew tired or overstimulated, the other person couldstep in and chat, provide emotional and physical support, or whatever was needed.
Aspen was able to narrow down the possibilities to two hotels. When they tried to book a room, one was almost completely booked, and the other was nearly empty. They took a shot in the dark that the one near capacity was probably where the room block was, so they booked a king-sized room for them and Charlie for tonight.
One of the many things they still needed to discuss between the three of them was money. Aspen had gathered that Charlie didn’t have a lot of personal income that wasn’t immediately plugged back into the shelter, and while Noah and Aspen weren’t rolling it, they were decently well off, so when Charlie parked his truck, Aspen scurried over to the parking meter to pay for parking for them through the following weekend.
“Thanks, pumpkin,” Charlie said, slinging his hiking backpack over his shoulder and placing a solid kiss on Aspen’s head.
They’d never purchased a plane ticket at an airport before, so they followed behind Charlie as he headed to one of the help desks. He’d been right that the redeye was less expensive, and they were even able to grab seats next to each other in the back of the plane. That left them with three hours to kill, and Aspen was determined to take advantage of this alone time with Charlie. Maybe they could grab dinner somewhere and curl up together at their gate. Charlie’s lap was probably one of Aspen’s top five favorite places to be in the world. He was just so big and warm and cuddly. They wanted to crawl inside his clothes and burrow against his chest like a cat.
They made it through security with no problem, but once they entered the body of the terminal, with people streaming around them, babies screaming, and even a dog barking somewhere off in the distance, Charlie withdrew into himself.He had both his hands shoved deep in his pockets as Aspen led them to their gate, but when they got there, they found the current flight was in the process of boarding, and it was even more crowded and chaotic.
Charlie kept glancing around, shifting from foot to foot in a way Aspen had seen some of the shelter dogs do right before bolting for the door.
“Hey, handsome?” Aspen called, standing up on their tiptoes to place their hand gently on the side of his face. He flinched away, only to shoot Aspen an apologetic glance and hunch his shoulders protectively.
“Sorry. It’s…really loud.”
Okay, new plan.
“Do you want to go to one of the restaurants? They may have some seats away from the crowds.”
Charlie nodded jerkily, and Aspen tried to take his arm, but he flinched again, so they dropped their hands to their sides. They sort of wished they had pockets, but alas, their leggings did not.
“Sorry,” Charlie mumbled again as he followed Aspen, right behind them but not touching them.
“It’s okay. Airports are pretty chaotic. It’s like you’re in an entirely different world where normal rules don’t apply. Want dinner at 10am? Go for it. Breakfast at midnight? No problem. You can lie on the floor, and no one will look at you funny, or you can ride your suitcase down the moving sidewalk.”
