Aidan's lips twitch and his lashes sweep down as he lowers his gaze with a little shrug. "All right," he agrees with a soft sigh, taking Kai by the hand and tugging him along to the table. Kai's chair is drawn out for him to sit, and then Aidan takes his own seat as they start to dig in.
"I'm guessing Arie might take the stage tonight at the bar," he comments. "Hopefully that will keep people from getting too rowdy?"
Kai doesn't understand why people think Aidan as closed off or standoffish in the least. The man is the sweetest thing since cotton candy and nothing could convince Kai otherwise. Being seated like a princess is just one of those little things Kai thinks most people know nothing about.
He reaches over to pour them both a drink as he responds, "I hope so. Though, honestly live music usually revs up the regular crowd more. And a famous hometown boy will draw pretty much everyone in, who can get up long enough to walk in. It'll be a busy night."
"Excited and dancing is better than angry and wild," Aidan counters, smiling in quiet gratitude for the drink. "And at least so far, word hasn't spread that Arie's back. So for tonight, at least, you shouldn't have it too crazy in there... I hope."
Though Aidan still worries so perhaps he'll see if he can pull some strings at work to be allowed to leave a little earlier... Or he'd just have to routinely text and call Kai to make sure he's all right.
"I'll be fine, babe," Kai says quietly, reaching over to cup Aidan's cheek within his palm. "I have a whole sturdy counter between me and the customers."
He brushes his thumb over Aidan's cheek before drawing his hand away. "Lets eat. We have to start getting ready in a few."
The hand is caught in Aidan's before it can slip away, allowing the nurse to press a soft kiss to Kai's palm before it's released once more. "All right, love," he agrees softly before turning to the food.
Dinner is a quiet affair and easy to clean up after, thankfully, so Aidan has enough time to have a quick dip in the shower before he's getting changed into his scrubs. "Could you fill up the thermos for me?" he calls over to Kai as he's putting his hair up. "There should be enough coffee left for us both to take..."
Kai has been getting ready too while Aidan is in the shower. He packed the rest of the food into tiny containers for the both of them just in case and filled the thermoses, they sit on the counter waiting. His hair is done just right, wearing a long sleeved button down that has the bar's logo on the back, his name tag on front, just a dash of cologne lingering in the air around him.
He meets Aidan in the foyer, leaning in to kiss his cheek as he hands him a lunch bag with a small, just a little bit teasing smile.
"There's my sexy nurse," he says and flips the hem of Aidan's scrub shirt. "Have a good work day, love."
Aidan's answering smile is fond and amused alike and he leans in to drop a kiss to the corner of Kai's lips, humming, "You too, Mr. Handsome Barkeep. I'll come pick you up after work."
Then he pauses, sniffing just under Kai's ear, and gives a wistful sigh. "You bastard," he accuses with a 'chastising' nip to the earlobe. "You know I love this cologne on you."
"Do I..." Kai hums under his breath, a tiny shiver running down along his back at the nip on his ear. "Well, okay, I do. And I'm shamelessly using it to my advantage..."
He laughs as he tilts his head and presses a soft kiss to Aidan's neck, just over his pulse.
"I'll see you later, babe..."
And then he's gone, stepping out of the door as quickly as he can so he doesn't get stuck again.
It's long past closing hours when Aidan arrives at the Roadhouse, looking weary but otherwise much the same as when he'd gone to work. He gives Damian a little wave, notes Arie chatting still with Ulysse at the bar as they finish the last bit of tidying up, but his attention is soon taken completely by Kai, a warm smile spreading across his features as he approaches his boyfriend.
Kai has already finished tidying up the bar, everything settled for the night and prepped for the next one, tools washed up and extra cuts of lemons and so on trashed, more water added to the ice machine and drink mixes for the next day made ready and put away. He's just carrying the last load of dishes in when he sees Aidan walking to the bar with a beautiful smile.
"Hello love," Kai murmurs as he leans over the bar, jumping up a little to be able to lean over the counter to press a quick kiss to his boyfriend's lips. "I'm just ready, give me two seconds and I'll put these glasses away."
Aidan's smile isn't likely to fade when he's being greeted with a kiss. He just nods as Kai pulls back to finish with glasses, leaning against the bar as he patiently waits. He glances around and notes, "I'm not smelling the stronger cleaning solutions so I'm guessing there was at least a minimum on the bloodshed tonight...?
"We have a new bouncer." Kai nudges his chin towards the back terrace where Rook is piling up chairs on top of tables. "And tonight was easy even if the crowd was excited."
He piles up the glasses with speed, it takes less than a couple of minutes for him to be ready and he dashes back to put the washer tray away. As he walks back, he unwinds the little apron from around his waist and hangs it behind the counter.
"I would have asked if you wanted a drink, babe," he grins as he rounds the bar and bumps into Aidan's arms, his own wrapped around the man's shoulders. "But I wanna take you home right now, I'll mix you a drink there if you want..."
The bouncer certainly looks lethal, though Aidan can't quite put his finger on why. The man is hardly a giant or bulging with muscles, but there's something about the sharpness of those eyes and the way he moves that lets Aidan know not to mess with the guy. Not that Aidan's the sort to seek out violence, anyway...
He's distracted from his appraisal of Rook by Kai's swimming into his personal space with that winning grin of his.
"Better you didn't offer at all, because if I get so much as a whiff of alcohol right now, I'm going to fall right asleep," Aidan jokes, shaking his head and tucking his arm around Kai's waist. "Ready to go?"
"No rest for the wicked just yet," Kai murmurs as he brushes his nose along Aidan's cheek and then kisses the little bit of open skin just under his ear. "I think we had some plans about opening the blinds and fucking the morning away."
Kai will forget all about those plans if Aidan is too tired, though, and just cuddle his boyfriend to sleep instead. That's the good thing about sharing their lives and living together, there's always tomorrow for everything.
"Anything else you need from me?" Kai turns his head just enough to look back at Ulysse, raising his voice so he'll be heard by the man. "Or am I free to take my beautiful man home?"
"You're free to go," Ulysse calls back with a quicksilver smile and shooing gesture with his empty hand. "Have a good morning, you two, and I'll see you later."
Aidan doesn't need telling twice and heads out with Kai as they say their goodbyes. He passes Kai the spare helmet before pulling on his own, mounting up on the bike and waiting for his lover to get into position as he kicks the engine to life. "Direct route or are we going to watch the sunrise?" he asks with his visor up. "Sky's supposed to be clear this morning."
Kai gives Ulysse a grin and a wink as they wave their goodbyes. He isn't shy at all in his praising of Aidan. Everyone at work knows just how happy Kai is to ride his man to the sunset, literally so.
The helmet goes on before he slips behind Aidan on the bike, arm wrapped around narrow waist and pressing in close to his warmth.
"How tired are you?" Kai asks, his chin resting on Aidan's shoulder. "If you want to head straight back and get back to bed, that's all right, love."
"It wasn't too bad tonight," Aidan begins, giving a warm squeeze to Kai's arm at his waist, not yet ready to drive just yet as he mulls over their options, here. "Let's go by the water, then. It's been a while since we took the time to admire the view. We could grab something from the Sal's if it's open by the time we get there."
Coffee would be nice, too, but Aidan would rather they both manage to actually sleep once they wheel back home.
"Yeah, that's good," Kai replies, easy going. He doesn't mind either way, home or scenery as long as he can spend the time with Aidan.
Kai isn't exactly tired, but emotionally exhausted. Kimi's visit earlier, then a packed night after at the bar. All he needs is his boyfriend's steady presence, maybe some fooling around for release so he can close the chapter for today. Aidan is much more thorough about life in general, thinking about food and all kinds of wholesome things that are beyond Kai's coordination skills at the moment.
Aidan was raised on the belief that there's more benefit to a holistic approach, which means taking care of Kai beyond just his physical fatigue and that sometimes means getting him to go enjoy the beauty of a sunrise while munching on a fresh croissant. This is what they do, zipping along the mostly empty roads of the Keys as they head for the beaches, the sky gradually lightening from twilight grey as hazy streaks of colour start to paint the previously blank canvas above them. Sal's deli is open, the portly owner greeting the two with his usual cheery attitude, fresh croissants immediately plucked out for them to take while the coffee is politely declined, and then Aidan's parking the bike to find a spot in the grass above the sandy beach to sprawl on.
"How are you feeling?" Aidan asks as they take their seats, offering up the paper bag of pastry to Kai to take his pick from. "Not too stiff?"
Aidan is a sweetheart and Kai wouldn't want to live a single day without him. That's what this all boils down to. He wears a loopy smile as they entertain the deli owner with some after hours humour before finding their spot on the grass, that still bears a whiff of the night on it, damp and slightly chilly as they sit on it, Kai digging out one croissant before scooting in to lean against Aidan's side.
"Nah, it was a busy night. I'm still buzzing," he admits with a small yawn. "What about yourself? Leaving the hospital behind?"
"Mm, it was pretty quiet tonight, thankfully," comes the explanation and answer. Aidan puts an arm around his boyfriend, smiling at the yawn, and jokes, "I guess thanks to the scary new bouncer, that meant we didn't have the usual load of casualties from the Roadhouse..."
"Tonight was surprisingly calm in terms of fights," Kai agrees as he leans into Aidan more, turning his face into his boyfriend's neck to breath him in. "I guess Anton's crowd is making some plans. I doubt this will be the end of it." It's not often that someone says no to the mob families and it doesn't go unpunished for long when someone does.
Aidan considers mentioning that if Ulysse would just ask it, he's pretty sure Damian and Despil would speak to their family to see about getting Anton to back off, but then that might inspire Kai to consider speaking to his own messy family. He knows it would be for the best if none of the extended criminal families would get involved, but he's not entirely sure how long that can stay true, especially when both have their heirs working at the bar where all this is centered around.
He sighs and noses along the top of Kai's head, content to scent the man's usual products under the overlay of bar smells, and gives a gentle squeeze to Kai's shoulders. "We'll find a solution to Anton. Eventually."
"I hope so," Kai murmurs as he presses his nose up to Aidan's jaw and then brushes a few kisses along his jawline. "I guess eventually if there's enough damage done to his family, his father or whoever is running the family now might consider the bar not a good investment of their resources. As far as I know it's just Anton, who just wants to terrorise Ulysse. Though, I'm not in the loop so much that I would know if the property is that valuable that it would be otherwise a good investment for the family to sour up the business..."
He shrugs a bit and then tears a piece of warm and feathery light croissant into his mouth. It might be possible for him to figure that out, but he's not all that eager to talk to the family he hasn't been in contact with for a long time.
"No use worrying about it, now," Aidan murmurs against Kai's temples, quietly content that the croissant is getting eaten. If Kai were well and truly worried about all this, he wouldn't be able to stomach even that little mouthful. "We'll just hope the bouncer manages to do his job well enough that things stay quiet for a bit, and when Anton acts up again... then we'll see what can be done."
Instead of drawing out the second croissant from the bag, Aidan reaches for Kai's hand to pull up the torn one so he can just take a bite right from it, not caring that some flakes of pastry might end up in his beard in the process. "Mm... I almost forgot how good Sal's croissants are," he comments with a little smile. "I'll have to get some when we're doing our day off together."
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Aidan's lips twitch and his lashes sweep down as he lowers his gaze with a little shrug. "All right," he agrees with a soft sigh, taking Kai by the hand and tugging him along to the table. Kai's chair is drawn out for him to sit, and then Aidan takes his own seat as they start to dig in.
"I'm guessing Arie might take the stage tonight at the bar," he comments. "Hopefully that will keep people from getting too rowdy?"
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He reaches over to pour them both a drink as he responds, "I hope so. Though, honestly live music usually revs up the regular crowd more. And a famous hometown boy will draw pretty much everyone in, who can get up long enough to walk in. It'll be a busy night."
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"Excited and dancing is better than angry and wild," Aidan counters, smiling in quiet gratitude for the drink. "And at least so far, word hasn't spread that Arie's back. So for tonight, at least, you shouldn't have it too crazy in there... I hope."
Though Aidan still worries so perhaps he'll see if he can pull some strings at work to be allowed to leave a little earlier... Or he'd just have to routinely text and call Kai to make sure he's all right.
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He brushes his thumb over Aidan's cheek before drawing his hand away. "Lets eat. We have to start getting ready in a few."
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The hand is caught in Aidan's before it can slip away, allowing the nurse to press a soft kiss to Kai's palm before it's released once more. "All right, love," he agrees softly before turning to the food.
Dinner is a quiet affair and easy to clean up after, thankfully, so Aidan has enough time to have a quick dip in the shower before he's getting changed into his scrubs. "Could you fill up the thermos for me?" he calls over to Kai as he's putting his hair up. "There should be enough coffee left for us both to take..."
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He meets Aidan in the foyer, leaning in to kiss his cheek as he hands him a lunch bag with a small, just a little bit teasing smile.
"There's my sexy nurse," he says and flips the hem of Aidan's scrub shirt. "Have a good work day, love."
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Aidan's answering smile is fond and amused alike and he leans in to drop a kiss to the corner of Kai's lips, humming, "You too, Mr. Handsome Barkeep. I'll come pick you up after work."
Then he pauses, sniffing just under Kai's ear, and gives a wistful sigh. "You bastard," he accuses with a 'chastising' nip to the earlobe. "You know I love this cologne on you."
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He laughs as he tilts his head and presses a soft kiss to Aidan's neck, just over his pulse.
"I'll see you later, babe..."
And then he's gone, stepping out of the door as quickly as he can so he doesn't get stuck again.
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It's long past closing hours when Aidan arrives at the Roadhouse, looking weary but otherwise much the same as when he'd gone to work. He gives Damian a little wave, notes Arie chatting still with Ulysse at the bar as they finish the last bit of tidying up, but his attention is soon taken completely by Kai, a warm smile spreading across his features as he approaches his boyfriend.
"Hey," he greets softly. "Ready to go?"
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"Hello love," Kai murmurs as he leans over the bar, jumping up a little to be able to lean over the counter to press a quick kiss to his boyfriend's lips. "I'm just ready, give me two seconds and I'll put these glasses away."
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Aidan's smile isn't likely to fade when he's being greeted with a kiss. He just nods as Kai pulls back to finish with glasses, leaning against the bar as he patiently waits. He glances around and notes, "I'm not smelling the stronger cleaning solutions so I'm guessing there was at least a minimum on the bloodshed tonight...?
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He piles up the glasses with speed, it takes less than a couple of minutes for him to be ready and he dashes back to put the washer tray away. As he walks back, he unwinds the little apron from around his waist and hangs it behind the counter.
"I would have asked if you wanted a drink, babe," he grins as he rounds the bar and bumps into Aidan's arms, his own wrapped around the man's shoulders. "But I wanna take you home right now, I'll mix you a drink there if you want..."
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The bouncer certainly looks lethal, though Aidan can't quite put his finger on why. The man is hardly a giant or bulging with muscles, but there's something about the sharpness of those eyes and the way he moves that lets Aidan know not to mess with the guy. Not that Aidan's the sort to seek out violence, anyway...
He's distracted from his appraisal of Rook by Kai's swimming into his personal space with that winning grin of his.
"Better you didn't offer at all, because if I get so much as a whiff of alcohol right now, I'm going to fall right asleep," Aidan jokes, shaking his head and tucking his arm around Kai's waist. "Ready to go?"
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Kai will forget all about those plans if Aidan is too tired, though, and just cuddle his boyfriend to sleep instead. That's the good thing about sharing their lives and living together, there's always tomorrow for everything.
"Anything else you need from me?" Kai turns his head just enough to look back at Ulysse, raising his voice so he'll be heard by the man. "Or am I free to take my beautiful man home?"
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"You're free to go," Ulysse calls back with a quicksilver smile and shooing gesture with his empty hand. "Have a good morning, you two, and I'll see you later."
Aidan doesn't need telling twice and heads out with Kai as they say their goodbyes. He passes Kai the spare helmet before pulling on his own, mounting up on the bike and waiting for his lover to get into position as he kicks the engine to life. "Direct route or are we going to watch the sunrise?" he asks with his visor up. "Sky's supposed to be clear this morning."
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The helmet goes on before he slips behind Aidan on the bike, arm wrapped around narrow waist and pressing in close to his warmth.
"How tired are you?" Kai asks, his chin resting on Aidan's shoulder. "If you want to head straight back and get back to bed, that's all right, love."
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"It wasn't too bad tonight," Aidan begins, giving a warm squeeze to Kai's arm at his waist, not yet ready to drive just yet as he mulls over their options, here. "Let's go by the water, then. It's been a while since we took the time to admire the view. We could grab something from the Sal's if it's open by the time we get there."
Coffee would be nice, too, but Aidan would rather they both manage to actually sleep once they wheel back home.
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Kai isn't exactly tired, but emotionally exhausted. Kimi's visit earlier, then a packed night after at the bar. All he needs is his boyfriend's steady presence, maybe some fooling around for release so he can close the chapter for today. Aidan is much more thorough about life in general, thinking about food and all kinds of wholesome things that are beyond Kai's coordination skills at the moment.
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Aidan was raised on the belief that there's more benefit to a holistic approach, which means taking care of Kai beyond just his physical fatigue and that sometimes means getting him to go enjoy the beauty of a sunrise while munching on a fresh croissant. This is what they do, zipping along the mostly empty roads of the Keys as they head for the beaches, the sky gradually lightening from twilight grey as hazy streaks of colour start to paint the previously blank canvas above them. Sal's deli is open, the portly owner greeting the two with his usual cheery attitude, fresh croissants immediately plucked out for them to take while the coffee is politely declined, and then Aidan's parking the bike to find a spot in the grass above the sandy beach to sprawl on.
"How are you feeling?" Aidan asks as they take their seats, offering up the paper bag of pastry to Kai to take his pick from. "Not too stiff?"
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"Nah, it was a busy night. I'm still buzzing," he admits with a small yawn. "What about yourself? Leaving the hospital behind?"
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"Mm, it was pretty quiet tonight, thankfully," comes the explanation and answer. Aidan puts an arm around his boyfriend, smiling at the yawn, and jokes, "I guess thanks to the scary new bouncer, that meant we didn't have the usual load of casualties from the Roadhouse..."
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"I just hope the guy is up for it..."
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Aidan considers mentioning that if Ulysse would just ask it, he's pretty sure Damian and Despil would speak to their family to see about getting Anton to back off, but then that might inspire Kai to consider speaking to his own messy family. He knows it would be for the best if none of the extended criminal families would get involved, but he's not entirely sure how long that can stay true, especially when both have their heirs working at the bar where all this is centered around.
He sighs and noses along the top of Kai's head, content to scent the man's usual products under the overlay of bar smells, and gives a gentle squeeze to Kai's shoulders. "We'll find a solution to Anton. Eventually."
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He shrugs a bit and then tears a piece of warm and feathery light croissant into his mouth. It might be possible for him to figure that out, but he's not all that eager to talk to the family he hasn't been in contact with for a long time.
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"No use worrying about it, now," Aidan murmurs against Kai's temples, quietly content that the croissant is getting eaten. If Kai were well and truly worried about all this, he wouldn't be able to stomach even that little mouthful. "We'll just hope the bouncer manages to do his job well enough that things stay quiet for a bit, and when Anton acts up again... then we'll see what can be done."
Instead of drawing out the second croissant from the bag, Aidan reaches for Kai's hand to pull up the torn one so he can just take a bite right from it, not caring that some flakes of pastry might end up in his beard in the process. "Mm... I almost forgot how good Sal's croissants are," he comments with a little smile. "I'll have to get some when we're doing our day off together."
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