Page 77 of Just a Footnote

His phone vibrates in his pocket. Expecting it to be Archer, he pulls his phone out, smiling despite himself when he sees Liam’s name on the screen. He brushes his thumb across the photo of them from September before answering.

“Hey.” Even to his own ears his voice sounds hollow.

“Hi,” Liam says softly, sounding oddly relieved. “Are you at the airport?”

“Mhmm. My flight will be boarding soon.” Aiden looks down at his ticket, realizing for the first time that his seat is in first class. “You got me a first class ticket?”

“Archer did.”

“Archer?”

“Yes. He called me right after and asked if you could visit. He bought the ticket.”

Aiden swallows around the lump in his throat. “You want me? Right?”

“Always,” Liam says emphatically. “I’ll be waiting for you when you arrive. Okay?”

Aiden makes some affirmative sound before hanging up. The plane boards not long after hanging up with Liam. The flight attendant takes pity on him and gives him a tiny bottle of vodka. It’s basically just one shot. The vodka doesn’t do much for him but it takes the slight edge off the emotions his body is tootired to process. He pulls out a lollipop that Archer packed in his bag. It mixes kind of well with the vodka. No one tries to talk to him, which is kind of nice. No one sits next to him either. He distantly wonders if Liam and Archer bought the seat next to him too so that he’d have guaranteed silence on the flight.

He asks the flight attendant for a sleep mask, tugs it over his face, and falls the fuck asleep.

The ding of the overhead speaker along with the captain announcing their descent wakes Aiden from his deep sleep. Seattle sprawls out in front of Aiden when he looks outside the plane window. A snowy mountain looms in the distance covered in low clouds. The day is hazy, kind of gray, but from what Liam has described that seems about normal for Seattle.

The plane lands and some jack off at the back of the plane claps. Aiden feels like he might crawl out of his skin before he can get out of the plane. He grabs his carry-on, striding off the plane when it’s finally his turn. The journey from his gate to arrivals is far too long. At least he gets to skip the dreaded luggage carousel since he didn’t check his baggage.

Aiden freezes at the sight of Liam waiting for him. Liam’s wearing his faded blue baseball cap to obscure his face along with those irresistible aviators Aiden loves so much. He looks like every single one of Aiden’s dreams come true. Liam catches sight of him, his smile grows so large that it looks like it might actually hurt. They don’t run to each other like they do in the movies. Instead, they slowly drift towards one another, twin relieved smiles on their faces. Aiden feels like some type of fool.

“Hey, you,” Liam whispers once they’re almost close enough to touch.

“Liam.”

Tears gather in his eyes. Liam swoops in to gather him into his arms, uncaring if anyone in the airport sees them. The hug breaks something inside of Aiden. If Liam wasn’t incognito,Aiden would’ve put up more of a fight; instead he takes comfort in the warmth of Liam’s arms. The familiar smell of oranges and something else that’s just innately Liam settles the anxiety rolling inside him. They cling to each other for a long time as people pass them by. Aiden presses his ear to Liam’s chest so he can hear the steady thump of his heart. He lets himself lean against Liam’s strong body, feeling held and safe and warm.

Liam is the first to pull away. The look in his eyes says as much as Aiden feels, that the moment is too heavy, too much for both of them. Tangling their fingers together, Liam leads them out of the airport towards the parking garage.

“You bought the G-Class?” Aiden asks when Liam takes his bag from him.

Liam’s arm muscles flex as he tosses Aiden’s bag in the backseat. Peering in through the window. Aiden notices another duffel bag beside his own. Weird.

“Yeah, last weekend.”

Liam climbs into the driver’s seat as Aiden hops into the passenger's side. A sharp pang of deja vu rolls through him once he’s buckled in. He gets comfortable in the passenger seat as Liam turns on the seat warmers for him, then backs out of the spot.

They pull out of the parking garage, heading away from Seattle.

“Should you be driving? Considering the concussion protocol?”

Liam rolls his eyes. “I don’t have a concussion. They’re just being careful.”

“We aren’t going to your place?” Aiden asks, confused.

“Nope.”

“So where are we going?”

“Nope,” Liam repeats with a smirk.

“...tell me where we’re going, Liam.”

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