Chapter 14 #3
Noah sighed and fished under the blanket until he found Aspen’s hand, presumably doing the same on the other side with Charlie.
“She’s my mom’s sister, and they never got along as kids, even less so now.
Their daughter is really nice, and I always loved seeing her at the big family events growing up, but they were few and far between.
I could have stayed in touch, but my mom did a lot of damage control after I came out—which mostly involved telling the extended family I was way too busy starting work to attend events… as my new, trans masc self.”
Aspen sighed and pressed their forehead against Noah’s shoulder. “I’m so sorry, babe.”
“Me too,” Charlie murmured.
Noah did his best to shrug without disturbing the blanket they were all cocooned in. “It is what it is, but on the plus side, I think I’m most likely going to be assigned to keep them company. That’s why they wanted me to come home early.”
“Oh, well, we could totally help with that, right?” Aspen said, popping up on their elbow to look across at Charlie. “We don’t have to tell them we’re your bird and anchor partners, but I bet they’re more likely to be cool about it than anyone else here.”
Noah worked his jaw back and forth. “You’re right about that, and I’d love to introduce you both to them, but…what does that mean for the rest of the week? I’m assuming there will be a lot of other family obligations.”
“What do you want it to mean?” Aspen asked, but when all Noah did was scowl at the ceiling, Charlie propped himself up on an elbow as well.
“What do you want, peanut? Gordy Simple—no thinking, just say it.”
“I want you both,” Noah said easily. “I want you to be there, and I want to introduce you as my…my bird and my anchor, and I want everyone to be cool about it, but they’re not going to be, so—”
“So, that’s their problem,” Aspen said.
“We both flew out here because we’d love to spend the week with you, your family’s opinions be damned. We’d never want to make you uncomfortable, though, so if you don’t want us there—”
“No,” Noah breathed, squeezing his eyes shut. “I do.”
“Then let’s make it happen. Do you think it’s best for us to show up to lunch? Rip the bandaid off right away, and far enough in advance of the wedding that it doesn’t seem like we’re trying to gate crash?” Aspen asked.
“And we’re not demanding they make space for us at the wedding,” Charlie added, waiting for Aspen to nod their agreement before continuing. “We’re just here to support you and spend quality time with you and the family that wants to meet us.”
Noah's next few breaths came out shaky, and Charlie and Aspen lay back down, surrounding him with their bodies and keeping him safe while he breathed through whatever war he was fighting in his head.
“Could it…be that simple? I love you both, and I want you to be there with me this week, so…you will be?”
Aspen grabbed Noah’s chin and turned his face until they were eye to eye, their mouths only a breath apart. “If you want me, babe, I will always be there.”
They kissed him, waiting until his jaw finally loosened enough that they could slip their tongue between his lips. He groaned into the kiss, and when the grip he still had on their hand relaxed, they pulled back.
“I love you, babe. And to me, that means I show up for the good, the bad, and the potentially rage-y.”
Noah huffed out a laugh and allowed Aspen to turn his chin to Charlie, who pressed his forehead against Noah’s. He used his free hand to grip the back of Noah’s neck, while Aspen kept their hand on his jaw.
“It will always be that simple with me, peanut. You know I don’t do all your family’s messy emotions or any kind of mental gymnastics. If you want me—in your bed, in your polyamorous romantic-ish relationship, and here with you this week—I will be here.”
Noah’s breath punched out of him, and he released both of their hands to throw his arms awkwardly around their shoulders. Aspen and Charlie pressed in at the same time until they were half on top of Noah.
“I love you,” Noah whispered.
“We love you,” Aspen and Charlie said together.
It took the combined willpower of all three of them to get out of bed. Aspen did a poor job of keeping their hands to themself, and Charlie had to distract them with kisses so Noah could get dressed, and vice versa.
It just felt so good to be reunited, not just as a trial threesome, but as a real triad. Aspen felt like they were floating all the way down to the lobby, into the ride share, and up the steps to the restaurant where they were meeting Noah’s family.
The feeling dissipated a bit when his mother stood up from the table and looked at them like they were a piece of gum on the bottom of her spiky heels.
“Noah, what is this? Who is that?” she said, pointing a sharp, glossy red nail at Charlie. “And why is Aspen here? I refunded the plane ticket, and we’ve already redone the seating chart. There’s no space for your friends to be here.”
She said the word friends the way Aspen said calculus. No wonder Noah had been so torn up about friends vs hookups vs partners. If Aspen had spent their whole life with their family cursing friendship like that, they’d probably be a bit mixed up, too.
As they approached the table, Noah’s dad remained seated, which seemed pretty on-brand for him, but Braxton and a woman who Aspen assumed was his fiancé unexpectedly stood up. She had a very sweet-looking baby cradled in her arms, who stared around at them with big, curious eyes.
“What the hell, Mom? You uninvited Aspen?” Braxton asked.
His voice had dropped since the last time Aspen had seen him, and he actually looked very put together in a navy blue striped polo and chinos. His fiancé was wearing a matching navy dress, and they made a strikingly cute couple who had clearly made an adorable baby together.
“It was necessary,” his mom said, waving her hand in the air as if to dispel a bad smell. “Your father’s associate—”
“I don’t give a shit about Dad’s work buddies.
They’re just coming for the office gossip,” Braxton said firmly but at a reasonable volume.
Aspen couldn’t help but note that if this had been a few years ago, Braxton would probably already be drunk and would definitely be yelling.
Maybe having a baby had changed him. “Aspen has been Noah’s person since he was in college.
That’s pretty fu—messed up to uninvite them behind my back. ”
Braxton cast his baby a quick glance before turning to look at Aspen.
They did their best to wipe the stunned expression off their face, but they weren’t sure how successful they were before Braxton shifted his gaze to Charlie.
“No offense to you, dude. I’ve just heard Aspen’s name for years and know how important they are to Noah. ”
Charlie inclined his head. “None taken. I’m a more recent addition to Noah’s life.”
Noah snorted and tried to cover it up by coughing into his hand. “If half a decade could be considered recent.”
Braxton’s eyes widened, and he turned on his mother, who held up her hand in a stop gesture. “The only thing I know about a ‘Charlie’ is that he owns a dog shelter. Noah doesn’t tell me anything anymore.”
Braxton snorted in an almost identical way to Noah, except he didn’t bother to cover it up. “I mean, are you surprised by that?”
“Now is really not the time nor place for this,” Noah’s father said, still refusing to stand up, merely casting a withering glare at everyone around the table, including his wife.
“Your mother and I set clear expectations that you were to bring a significant other or no one to the wedding. You tried to bring your friend, and your mother told you no. Now you’ve shown up with two friends, just to disrupt your brother’s day—”
“They’re more than just my friends,” Noah said, grasping at Aspen’s hand and reaching for Charlie, who immediately accepted his hand and stepped closer to Noah’s side.
“And I’m not disrupting anything. This lunch on a Tuesday afternoon is not Braxton’s day…
and besides, it looks like the one upsetting him is you, not me. ”
Noah’s mother looked like she’d sucked on a lemon, as did his father, but Braxton was smirking. “It’s definitely not my day. Not that my actual wedding is my day either, so please feel free to bring your more than friends to the wedding as well.”
“That is…just…not possible!” his mother stammered, reminding Aspen of those cartoon characters that had steam blowing out of their ears. “The seating arrangement is set, the caterers have been called—”
“The caterers said very clearly that they bring an extra five meals, and there’s definitely space to do some tweaking with the seating chart.
We can put Abigail’s parents with the rest of her family, as they requested, and you keep seeming to forget, Mother.
I’m assuming it’s still not corrected in the most recent seating chart, seeing as how I haven’t been shown it yet? ”
Noah’s hand was sweating in Aspen’s, but he didn’t adjust his grip or try to let go. He just stood there, watching his brother, possibly for the first time ever, go to bat for him.
“It is customary for the parents of the bride to be at the table with the groom's family,” his mother snapped.
“I really appreciate that,” Abigail said quietly, a southern accent softening her words. “But my parents aren’t good with crowds or strangers, and it would be much better for everyone if they were allowed to sit with the rest of their family.”
“And I would like to sit with mine,” Noah said firmly.
“You are sitting with yours; that’s not the problem. We’re—”