intheheart (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
intheheart) wrote2019-06-21 10:56 pm
intheheart) wrote2019-06-21 10:56 pm
Five Times Gail Had Aaron's Back (And Once He Had Hers)
Title: Five Times Gail Had Aaron's Back (And Once He Had Hers)
Rating: PG-13
Summary: What it says on the tin.
Warnings: Just general/implied ones for the apocalyptic and sociopathic AUs.
Notes: None.
1) epic pirate au
When Aaron was littler, he had a lot of nightmares. Mostly about his father going away, or dying. Papa kept coming home, and then he started bringing Aaron with him, and the nightmares stopped happening so much, but he still had them sometimes when Papa was on night watch.
He had one not long after Papa married Gail, but this time Gail woke him up, and let him tell her about it, and cuddled him, and sang him back to sleep. And it was awful, he hated the nightmare, but after was really nice.
He didn't get the nightmares anymore.
2) fairy tale au
"I can't keep going," Aaron said.
His father didn't hear, staring empty straight ahead, but Gail looked back at him, her eyes soft and sad. "No?" she asked, but it wasn't really a question.
He just shook his head. He couldn't say it again.
Gail stripped off her gloves and cupped her hands around his face. It was so cold here that the warmth almost hurt his cheeks. "Stay," she said. "It's all right. We'll come back for you."
Aaron closed his eyes, felt her press a kiss to his forehead.
His tears froze on his lashes as they left.
3) sociopath au
Aaron didn't know why Gail cared about him.
He knew why his father did, and his mother, and his sisters. But Gail-- she wasn't his mother. She wasn't his blood kin, and he was nothing to her. Or he should be nothing.
But he wasn't. She took care of him, helped him with his homework, told him he was a good kid, shouted down the parents of a bully when he "accidentally" broke the other boy's wrist.
She didn't know about him. No one did, of course, but her and his father especially.
He wasn't sure why, but them especially.
4) regency au
Aaron didn't mean to eavesdrop. He really didn't. He was walking by the sitting room in his own lodgings and surely that wasn't a crime? But he heard his mother and Clara Hawkins talking together, and without thinking he'd flattened against the wall, straining his ears.
"...a wonderful man," his mother was saying. She paused, probably for tea, then added, "I think he would make an excellent husband."
Aaron twitched.
Clara laughed, thank God. "Oh, I know that, Mrs. Kendall."
"Good," his mother said, and he could picture her patting Clara's arm. "I just wanted to mention it."
Oh, Lord.
5) urban fantasy au
"I don't... it's not that I don't feel special," Aaron told his stepmother one Saturday morning over the remains of breakfast. "It's that I don't feel like I matter."
"Because you're a vanilla human?" Gail asked. She was rinsing a breakfast pan, a little scowl between her eyebrows.
"Yeah." He got up and brought his plate over, set it on the pile, then picked up a drying cloth.
Gail handed him the pan, then braced her hands against the counter and leaned, thoughtfully. "That's hard, but Aaron... why do you think we do any of this?"
Aaron blinked, then smiled.
6) apocalypse au
He was there when they died. All his parents, his whole family; his mother, his father, his stepmother, his sister, one after another like dominos falling. He couldn't think about it too hard or he'd break down, but then he couldn't think about anything too hard these days.
But the thing was- at night, when he did think a little, he knew they were proud. His mom, because he stuck around when she couldn't. His dad, for taking care of everybody. His sister, for the kids. And Gail... just because.
She was always proud of him anyway. He had that.
Rating: PG-13
Summary: What it says on the tin.
Warnings: Just general/implied ones for the apocalyptic and sociopathic AUs.
Notes: None.
1) epic pirate au
When Aaron was littler, he had a lot of nightmares. Mostly about his father going away, or dying. Papa kept coming home, and then he started bringing Aaron with him, and the nightmares stopped happening so much, but he still had them sometimes when Papa was on night watch.
He had one not long after Papa married Gail, but this time Gail woke him up, and let him tell her about it, and cuddled him, and sang him back to sleep. And it was awful, he hated the nightmare, but after was really nice.
He didn't get the nightmares anymore.
2) fairy tale au
"I can't keep going," Aaron said.
His father didn't hear, staring empty straight ahead, but Gail looked back at him, her eyes soft and sad. "No?" she asked, but it wasn't really a question.
He just shook his head. He couldn't say it again.
Gail stripped off her gloves and cupped her hands around his face. It was so cold here that the warmth almost hurt his cheeks. "Stay," she said. "It's all right. We'll come back for you."
Aaron closed his eyes, felt her press a kiss to his forehead.
His tears froze on his lashes as they left.
3) sociopath au
Aaron didn't know why Gail cared about him.
He knew why his father did, and his mother, and his sisters. But Gail-- she wasn't his mother. She wasn't his blood kin, and he was nothing to her. Or he should be nothing.
But he wasn't. She took care of him, helped him with his homework, told him he was a good kid, shouted down the parents of a bully when he "accidentally" broke the other boy's wrist.
She didn't know about him. No one did, of course, but her and his father especially.
He wasn't sure why, but them especially.
4) regency au
Aaron didn't mean to eavesdrop. He really didn't. He was walking by the sitting room in his own lodgings and surely that wasn't a crime? But he heard his mother and Clara Hawkins talking together, and without thinking he'd flattened against the wall, straining his ears.
"...a wonderful man," his mother was saying. She paused, probably for tea, then added, "I think he would make an excellent husband."
Aaron twitched.
Clara laughed, thank God. "Oh, I know that, Mrs. Kendall."
"Good," his mother said, and he could picture her patting Clara's arm. "I just wanted to mention it."
Oh, Lord.
5) urban fantasy au
"I don't... it's not that I don't feel special," Aaron told his stepmother one Saturday morning over the remains of breakfast. "It's that I don't feel like I matter."
"Because you're a vanilla human?" Gail asked. She was rinsing a breakfast pan, a little scowl between her eyebrows.
"Yeah." He got up and brought his plate over, set it on the pile, then picked up a drying cloth.
Gail handed him the pan, then braced her hands against the counter and leaned, thoughtfully. "That's hard, but Aaron... why do you think we do any of this?"
Aaron blinked, then smiled.
6) apocalypse au
He was there when they died. All his parents, his whole family; his mother, his father, his stepmother, his sister, one after another like dominos falling. He couldn't think about it too hard or he'd break down, but then he couldn't think about anything too hard these days.
But the thing was- at night, when he did think a little, he knew they were proud. His mom, because he stuck around when she couldn't. His dad, for taking care of everybody. His sister, for the kids. And Gail... just because.
She was always proud of him anyway. He had that.