Chapter 14
Aspen
Aspen woke up with a horrible crick in their neck. They had been meaning to buy a new pillow for their bedroom, but they slept at their place so infrequently nowadays, it kept moving to the bottom of the to-do list.
Aspen shifted, reaching up to try and adjust the pillow, but their hand came into contact with bare skin and a hairy chest. They lifted their head up and blinked down at Charlie in confusion.
How did…where…what?
Aspen glanced around and found they were in a hotel room, their bag and its contents spread out across the desk, while Charlie’s bag sat neatly on top of the dresser. Aspen was wearing one of Charlie’s shirts and their own short boxer briefs.
They just barely remembered landing at the airport and catching a rideshare to the hotel, but they were half asleep the entire time, letting Charlie lead them to the check-in desk, where they handed over their ID and stumbled to their room.
They had absolutely no recollection of climbing onto Charlie to sleep, but one of his arms was securely tucked around their waist, so hopefully, they’d done it while Charlie was still awake.
Their butterfly fluttered happily in their chest, happy to wake up with Charlie and hopefully be in the same building as Noah.
Unfortunately, the rest of their body was now waking up, and they desperately had to pee. They did their best to extract themself from Charlie’s grasp, but Charlie startled awake, and it was clear he wouldn’t be getting back to sleep after that.
They took turns in the bathroom, and when they were done, Aspen scooted up close to where Charlie was sitting on the bed, waiting until he grunted permission to climb into his lap.
“So, what’s the plan? Should we just text or call him and see where he is?”
Charlie absently rubbed his hand up and down Aspen’s back. “The hotel has free breakfast, and if I know Noah, he will definitely be down there, even if just to get some coffee.”
“That’s true. Okay, so operation grand romantic-ish gesture is still a go?”
Charlie dropped his hands behind himself and leaned back, staring up at the ornate light fixture on the ceiling.
It looked like it had tiny swans in it, which matched the swan painting above the bed and the bronze curtain rod holders above the window.
Aspen didn’t have anything against swans, but damn, this was definitely a decorating choice.
“Do you think that’s okay? For us to still do romantic or romantic-ish gestures?” Charlie asked.
Aspen ran their fingers through Charlie’s chest hair, playing with one of the curls between his pecs.
“I think that’s part of what we still need to discuss with him, but since our trial period is technically still on until tomorrow, I say we do it, and it can be one of the things we suss out together. ”
Charlie’s soft laugh vibrated through Aspen’s fingers. “I actually didn’t know it was tomorrow.”
“I guess if we’re being specific, it started exactly six months ago today, at eight pm our time, but I’d always had tomorrow as the official end date in my head.”
With an ease that would never stop being impressive, Charlie threaded an arm under Aspen’s legs and another around their back and picked them up. “Well, why don’t we take a quick shower, and then we can go make one last big trial gesture?”
They arrived in the lobby fifteen minutes into breakfast service, and Aspen thought it was pretty safe to assume Noah hadn’t come down in the first fifteen minutes.
It was still almost an hour earlier than he usually woke up on his own.
Charlie led them through the buffet line and then over to a table in the corner where they’d be able to see the whole dining room.
They ate in a peaceable silence, and when Aspen stretched their foot out to rest against Charlie’s calf, he pressed into their touch.
They remained like that until all their food was gone and Charlie got up to refill their coffees.
As the dining room continued to fill up, Aspen’s hope began to dwindle. They were finally asked by a server if there was anything else they needed, and they gave up their seat to a grinning couple who looked overjoyed to be sharing a Belgian waffle together.
Right outside of the dining area was a modestly sized seating area.
No one was there, probably all still asleep or eating breakfast, so Aspen and Charlie posted up on a love seat facing the entrance.
Aspen genuinely tried not to fidget, but they couldn’t have lasted more than five minutes before they began tapping their feet back and forth.
Charlie gently took their hand, opening up their fingers so he could place his worry stone in the palm of their hand.
“Oh, I… You don’t have to—”
Charlie closed his hand around Aspen’s and the stone and ran his thumb over one side of the stone while encouraging Aspen to do the same.
They sat there like that, with no sense of time, until finally Charlie stiffened beside them.
Aspen glanced around and spotted Noah walking towards the dining hall, his shoulders slumped and his head down.
Aspen hadn’t seen him looking that dejected since he’d come home from his parents’ house the previous summer.
He hadn’t even looked that bad at Christmas, maybe because he was coming back to Aspen—or that’s what they liked to think, at least.
Aspen jumped up made a beeline for him, Charlie right on their heels.
“Sorry, excuse m—” Noah tried to say, going to step around Aspen, but they reached out and grabbed his shoulders.
He glanced up in frustration, which clearly turned to surprise, and then, faster than Aspen had ever seen, he burst into tears.
“Oh, babe. Come here,” Aspen said, gathering him up in their arms. Charlie wrapped a strong arm around them both and led them back over to the couches. Aspen tried to sit down, but they sort of collapsed, bringing Noah down with them, and he ended up sitting in Aspen’s lap.
While this was far from their norm, Aspen found they didn’t mind it at all, and when Noah made no move to adjust, Charlie sat down heavily next to them.
“Hi, peanut,” Charlie said, wiping a tear off Noah's cheek. Noah quickly scrubbed his hands down his face, and Aspen kissed away the remaining tear still clinging to his jaw.
“What are y–you doing here?” he hiccupped. “Did you…get my messages?”
“Of course we did, babe, how else would we have known that you came out early? And that your mother so rudely uninvited me.”
Aspen had been aiming for light and teasing, but by the end, their voice just sounded tired.
A few fresh tears rolled down Noah’s cheeks.
“I’m so sorry, Asp. I regretted as soon as I agreed, and every second since.
I should have just said we’re in a romantic relationship and fought harder to have you here.
I just…froze and keep freezing. Last night I was trying to find the words to argue with her over dinner.
I kept wanting to call you my partner, but I didn’t know if that’s what you wanted, and god knows the second I give my mom an inch she’s going to take a mile. ”
Charlie rubbed the back of Noah’s neck, and Aspen nuzzled their face against his shoulder. “I don’t really care about titles, but if you need to have one to feel more certain about us, and to fight for us? We can go with partner.”
Noah grimaced and leaned his head back into Charlie’s touch.
“I just…feel like I’m lying somehow? To…
to myself and to everyone else if I keep acting like our relationship is this standard thing.
It doesn’t feel standard to me—which is amazing, and how I know that I’ve finally found what I’ve always wanted, and needed. ”
“What does it feel like?” Charlie asked. “Tell us what you want from us, and we can do the same. Once we’re all in agreement, then we can figure out titles for the outside world, but that’s sort of the least important part of all this.”
Noah’s smile was watery as he gazed at first Charlie, and then Aspen. “Being with both of you feels like…winning the lottery, and getting a new home out of it. Like I am the luckiest person in the world for getting to spend my–my life with both of you.”
Charlie nodded. “Say more about what home looks like for you.”
Noah’s face scrunched up. “Well…it’s with the two of you, I hope?
Although I know you like being out at the shelter, and Aspen really likes being in the city, so…
maybe it’s…two homes?” At Charlie’s nod, Noah continued.
“Maybe Aspen and I live together in the city, and we come out to visit you multiple times a week, and you come into the city whenever you’re comfortable with it to hang out with our friends and maybe go to some of the quieter events at the Rainbow Bean? ”
“Oh!” Aspen exclaimed, wiggling excitedly under Noah. “I read about this in one of Blair’s polyamorous books! It’s called being a…oh shit, now I can’t remember the exact name. I think it’s a bird partner?”
Hm, was that right? At the expression both Noah and Charlie were making, they weren’t entirely sure.
“Do you mean…a nesting partner?” Noah asked.
Aspen squinted, trying to conjure up the page in the book they’d read all those months ago. “That does sound bird-like, but I really want to say it might be a bird partner.”
Noah nuzzled his nose into Aspen’s hair. “Leaving the actual name aside for a minute, what does it mean?”
“It’s the partner you live with and sort of build your life with, which comes with a lot of the more of the standard relationship things, like figuring out finances, chores, grocery shopping, cooking etcetera, but it’s not standard in that it doesn’t necessarily mean that the bird partner is more important than your other partners, it's sort of a practical thing?”
“So…it’s the partner you build a nest with,” Noah said, a slow grin spreading across his lips.
“Yeah, like birds build nests. I thought we’d already covered that.”