Page 74 of Broken Chorus

“To keep it in my mouth unless I’m gonna put it to good use,” Aaron shot back.

“And are you?”

“Nope.”

“Why not?”

“Cause you were about to serve me decaf,” Aaron replied and stuck his tongue out at Hawk a second time. “Which means the only thing I’m gonna use my mouth for is to protest.”

“Good, ‘cause I’m fresh outta brain bleach. Besides, how are either of us supposed to write anything when there isn’t a drop of caffeine in the house?” Kelly muttered, smirking in Hawk’s direction.

“You’re not,” Hawk told them firmly. “You are both going to spend the next few days vegging out and not stressing about anything, especially music.”

“But the new band….” Aaron began, feeling a twinge of anxiety over the lack of cohesion that already existed between them. “Rocktoberfest…we gotta….”

His thoughts had spiraled into a whirling list of things that needed to be done before they left for the desert and how he’d already fucked up the timetable by having to go home and not being able to get his head right after burying someone that for all intents and purposes, he hadn’t even known. Not in anymore than a shadowy, abstract way. Half the time he didn’t even feel like he had a right to the grief he felt, yet he hadn’t been able to shake it off either.

“Hey!”

Aaron jumped at the harsh tone in Hawk’s voice and how loud it was right beside his ear.

“Breathe and focus for a moment, would you,” Hawk said. “You looked like you were about to pass out.”

“Because there are a million and one things we’ve gotta do to get ready and now my heads all fucked up and I don’t know how to get back to what I felt the night I suggested we play at fuckin’ Rocktoberfest!”

“Start with recharging and getting your mind right,” Hawk suggested. “Micah and Declan will be ready to join you guys up here next week.”

Kelly nearly fell off his chair at hearing that. “Wait…”

“What?” Aaron finished for him.

“I talked to Micah while you guys were still in the air and invited him and Declan to come up once you’d had a chance to process everything. They liked the idea and seeing as how I have a music room that’s mostly collecting dust, it seemed like a good idea.”

“Why would you do that?” Aaron yelped. He was off his stool and pacing, occasionally tugging at his braid. “This is...but…WHY!”

Hawk steepled his hands in front of him, watching Aaron but not saying a word while Aaron sputtered and gestured, the occasional curse word spilling from his lips, though every last one of them was in French.

“Let me guess….no swearing policy?” Kelly asked while Aaron continued his mini-meltdown.

“Complete with a swear jar that has almost as much money in it now as my bank account,” Hawk muttered. “Dani has already learned purple-fuck from me, which was not my finest moment. Now she thinks it’s an actual color. I don’t need her learning more of them, at least, not any her pre-school teachers are likely to know. If she learns a few French ones, then so beit. I’m good with anything that won’t get me hauled into the principal’s office every other week.”

“For the record, I still toss change in the swear jar even for the foreign ones,” Aaron admitted, having finally calmed down a little. “Which means I’m going to owe it a mini fortune soon enough. What were you thinking!”

All through Aaron’s newest tirade Hawk remained calm, arms crossed with a bemused expression on his face. “Get it all out of your system yet?”

“No.”

“All right, I can wait.”

His calm demeanor completely baffled Aaron who stared, blinked, the dropped his head onto his arms on the counter, grumbling beneath his breath.

“What was that?”

Aaron huffed out a long sigh before answering. “I said I was done.”

“Good,” Hawk replied. “Now, to answer your question, I invited them here because you need them and your music as much as you need me and the kids, so this was my way of giving you both.”

When the words registered, Aaron froze, sniffled, then start sobbing uncontrollably. Hawk wrapped his arms around him, holding him tight, his cheek pressed to Aaron’s back as he finally lost his shit completely. Never had Aaron loved him more than in that moment.

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