Seamus took a deep breath as Matt came to him. His closeness was welcoming but did little to calm the anxiousness coursing through his veins.
Matt cupped his face, then ran his hands down until they were on his chest. The touch was infinitely better than the close proximity. Matt waited until Seamus looked at him before he spoke. "What's not good?"
"Mike is suing me."
"Suing
you
? What the fuck for?"
Seamus pulled out a chair and dropped into it. "Honestly, I don't fucking know. Defamations?"
"Defamation? It's not like you've plastered it on a billboard, you've only talked about it with a few people close to you." Matt defended. "He stole from you."
"Well, that is to be determined, I guess."
Matt pulled out the chair next to Seamus. He positioned himself so Seamus was between his legs. The gesture was oddly comforting. "Any other update?"
"They finished the investigation. We can move forward with charges." Seamus looked as dejected as he felt, and his tone only highlighted that.
"That's the news we've been waiting for, so why don't you seem thrilled about it?"
"Because he's smart. Is the fact he's suing me first going to have a negative impact on the charges we want to file against him? I can't help but worry that things are about to crash and burn."
"Things have already crashed and burned. Now we have to clean up. I'm not saying it's going to be easy, but we have to try."
Seamus rubbed his face. He knew Matt was right, but Mike's lawsuit had thrown him for a loop. There might not be substance to the lawsuit, but that didn't soften the blow.
"Thank you." He leaned forward and kissed Matt. Sweet Matt. "I'm going to say goodnight to Aidan."
Aidan was sleeping peacefully on his back, with his arms out to the side. He had a handful of moose surrounding him, making Seamus smile. He fixed a few of the stuffies, then gently ran his fingers through Aidan's hair. Seamus hadn't lied when he told Matt that he would give everything up if it meant keeping Matt and Aidan. At the same time, he wanted to make sure that both of these men had everything they could ever want. He wanted to provide a future for them.
"I don't know what's going to happen," he whispered to the sweet sleeping boy. "But I will never let you down."
****
For weeks, the manilla envelope floated from the table to the counter. Seamus hadn't opened it but he damn well knew what was in it. The findings from the investigation and the charges filed against him, courtesy of Mike. The lawyer had briefed him. It was in her hands, and he trusted her completely. She had it under control.
It was driving Matt crazy. His boyfriend eyed it almost every day. The accountant in him wanted to lay the paperwork out and comb through it page by page. He also was desperate to compare their findings to his own.
"Can we please go through it tonight? I know Sharon told you what's happening, but don't you want to know the details? Wouldn't that make you feel better?"
Matt was sitting on the couch with his back to Seamus. Seamus snaked his arm around Matt's neck and pulled him in. Matt's impatience was hilarious and Seamus couldn't help but laugh. "I have no desire to read through that garbage. I know what I need to know. But I already told you, you're welcome to it as long as I'm not around."
"I just don't get why you're so against reading it," he pouted.
"Because it could be months or a year before anything happens. In the end, it's quite possible it won't be in my favor. It's going to play out if I know the details or not, so I'd rather not. It's too depressing."
Matt looked over his shoulder at Seamus. He didn't understand how Seamus was handling the situation. For some reason it disappointed and annoyed him. "You're really just going to roll over?"
"I'm not rolling over. I'm waiting it out. Like I said before, if you want to know what's there, go for it. I just don't feel a pressing need to know right now."
Matt pursed his lips while he figured out what he wanted to say. In the end, he turned around. Seamus leaned his cheek against Matt's head and ran his thumb against Matt's arm. No matter how annoyed Matt was, Seamus was going to focus on keeping things as normal as possible. Whatever was going on with Mike didn't define his life.
Matt and Aidan defined his life. So that's what he was going to put his effort into. ****
Seamus ripped open the package and laughed. It was so stupid and trivial, but it made him happy anyway. He held the toddler sweatshirt up and showed Aidan. "How do you feel about playing hooky today? Good. Because you definitely have to come to work now. You have to show everyone who the real boss is."
Aidan didn't
really
care, but he prodded his way to Seamus and humored him by being Seamus's dress up doll. It's what they did. Seamus bought the clothes. Aidan wore the clothes. He stood diligently while Seamus pulled the sweatshirt over his head until he was all straightened out. When he was done, he smiled. It was a simple grey hoodie with the word
BOSS
across the front. It described Aidan so well.
Dressed for the day, the two men ditched daycare and ran errands instead. Seamus didn't
need
to stop by Dough Guppies, Cavaliers, the dealerships, or Coffee|Bar but he did. It was easy to make an excuse to show Aidan off and it never hurt to meet with the managers face-to-face. He wanted them to feel supported. He also wanted them to know he was paying attention. He couldn't handle a repeat performance of what happened with Mike.
Aidan got a lot of attention, which he and Seamus ate up. Boss Man and 'Lil Boss Man. While at the cafe, Kase let Aidan help a customer. After ordering, the couple handed lil boss the cash.
Oh, he's so cute.
Instead of putting it in the till, Aidan ran off with the twenty in his hand. Half the cafe was chasing after him like they were on a football field, which only made it more fun...for everyone. Seamus caught it on video and sent it to his friends. Jay was the first to reply.
Yesss. That's my lil man!!
Kase made two loelife's drink-of-the-week. It was a Gingerbread latte. Right up Matt's alley.
Seamus tried not to stop by the office too often. He didn't want to distract Matt or make him feel pressured. When Seamus wasn't there, Matt was confident and quick to make decisions, good decisions, smart decisions. When Seamus was there, Matt got flustered and second guessed himself.
It was late afternoon. Matt was at the desk with his fingers in his hair. A sure sign he was overwhelmed. He had a month left of school and then the rest of the team was joining him. There was much to do between now and then.
Matt looked up. Seamus's breath caught. It always did. Earnest blue eyes. Always shocked that Seamus was there, yet undeniably happy to see him.
Then Matt smirked. Trying and failing not to laugh. "
Boss
huh? You're creating a monster." "Whatever, he's cute as hell and you know it."
"Sure," Matt nodded jokingly. "Until he starts acting like he's
the boss
."
Aidan was well past that point. They both knew it. The little guy wiggled out of Seamus's arms and went to Matt. His boyfriend was not fooled. Aidan still very much favored Seamus. No, Aidan wanted something else.
He crawled up on Matt's lap and instantly started pounding away on the keyboard.
Like father, like son
Seamus thought with a slow smile. He watched as Matt panicked, quickly locking the keyboard so Potato Fingers couldn't cause any damage. Watching Aidan was like watching a really tiny hacker at work. His hands were so fast and his focus was so intense. For about a minute. Then he crawled off Matt's lap and went on his merry way.
Seamus took a seat across from Matt. "How's work today?"
"Good, I've just been—" Matt chewed his lip as he messed with the computer, making sure Aidan hadn't done anything too damaging. Then he exited out of the program and looked at Seamus. "I've been cleaning up accounts and getting things ready for the team to start."
"Are you excited?"
"Yeah, it will definitely be a good change, but I'll miss Roberta. She's so smart and amazing at this. She can do the work of five people."
"But isn't the point that one person
isn't
doing the work of five people?"
"Totally, I didn't mean it like that. I just meant that she's smart and efficient. I can't hold a candle to that workhorse."
Seamus didn't argue, not because he didn't want to but because it was pointless. Matt could be a little self-depreciating at times. He had a hard time seeing how truly smart and amazing he was. Matt didn't mean to do it. He wasn't looking for compliments or anything. It was just a terrible habit.
"I was thinking that after graduation you and I could go on a little break. Nothing crazy. Maybe fly to Seattle and stay on Orcas Island?"
Matt melted into his chair. "God, a break would be amazing. I'd have to see if Dad would take off work to watch Aidan, but I'm down."
"Actually," Seamus grinned nervously. He wasn't sure how the next sentence would be received. If not well, then they'd definitely call Brad, but... "I talked to Jay. He was actually thinking maybe he could take Aidan for a week? He lives in Seattle, and it would be your first time away from Aidan for more than a weekend. It might be nice to have him close by."
Matt didn't look totally appalled, but he didn't look eager, either. "That seems like a long time to be with someone you're not familiar with."
"Kids are resilient and, who knows, it might be good for Aidan. Lord knows he could stand to have his immediate circle stretched. If you 're uncomfortable, that's fine, but you'll have to break the news to Jay. He knows it's not official or anything but he wants it to happen so bad."
"Are you kidding me! You want me to say no to that giant puppy dog? It was hard enough watching him pout around when Loren wasn't paying attention to him. How do you expect me to tell him he can't watch Aidan?" Matt flopped back dramatically, making Seamus laugh. "Fine. Jay can watch him. Aidan loves him anyway."
****
The next month went by quickly. There were no updates from his lawyer so Seamus continued like normal. He did what he could to help Matt while he finished his classes, got ready to graduate, and worked for Seamus. It wasn't a hardship. Seamus loved watching Matt grow and flourish, and he really loved spending time with Aidan.
Brad came down for graduation. Seamus forgot how long and boring those ceremonies were. When it was finally over, they found Matt. He was excited but exhausted.
"Had I known what bullshit the ceremony would be, I would have skipped it completely. That took forever!"
They took a hundred photos of Matt in his gown before heading off. They had a small party at Cavaliers. Matt's friends back home couldn't make it. Seamus saw the look of disappointment on Matt's face and it broke his heart. However, the board members surprised them by showing up unannounced. This is why Seamus loved them. They might live in different areas, but they were always there for each other. Jay even brought a surprise guest.
Loren Patrick.
After the championship game where Matt and Loren had hung out a bit, Matt wasn't quite as star-struck. That didn't mean he wasn't relishing the attention of bring Loe to the Coffee|Bar and showing him the drink of the week.
Loren was impressed and flattered. "When I started doing drinks, I never thought this would be a thing," he said as he ran his finger over the sign. "And the blueberry latte? That's an impressive feat since you have to—"
