Aaron is awoken to the sound of wailing, most likely coming from the makeshift nursery he set up in a hurry. He groggily opens his eyes but stays in bed, hoping Miles will tire himself out before long, of course, with his luck, that doesn’t happen, and Miles continues crying.
With a groan, Aaron sits up in bed and swings his legs over the side, rubbing his hands down his face in hopes of waking himself up. After that, he stands up and stretches his arms, and begins walking to Miles’s ‘room’.
Despite their, at best, strained relationship, Aaron had offered to watch over Miles for a night or two so Jeff and Rio could get a bit of actual rest without worrying about being woken up in the middle of the night. He remembers seeing the two new parents a couple days after they brought Miles back to their home. Rio was exhausted and was barely able to stay awake while feeding Miles, and Jeff didn’t look any better. The man was practically dead on his feet. He was thankful that he was given paternity leave, but it was obvious that he was stressing out.
“I know we aren’t short on money or anything, we could enjoy our leave without much worry.”
“But?” Aaron asked.
“But what if something happens? Rio needs all the rest she can get, there’s no telling if she’ll be able to go back to work as soon as her leave is over. And what if something happens in that time? Rio just gave birth, the doctor told me that casualties could show up days after the baby is out, and what about Miles?”
“What about him?”
“What if he gets sick? What if something happens to those two and we have to dip into our funds?” Jeff continued, freaking out.
“Hey, man. I’m sure you have nothing to worry about. Rio is strong-I mean, she’s able to handle back-to-back shifts at the hospital. And Miles is the two of you’s sons, that means he’s got both of your strengths combined.”
A bit of silence hung over the two of them, the only thing to be heard was Jeff taking deep breaths in an attempt to calm himself down.
Jeff raised his head from his hands and looked at Aaron.
“You’re right. I know you are. But I’m so scared of doing something wrong. I know I have no reason to worry about Rio, she can take care of herself. But Miles? He has no other choice but to trust I’m looking out for him. And that’s so much more terrifying than I thought it could be. And on top of that, I’m so tired. I’m worried I’ll do something wrong while dozing off.”
Aaron didn’t know what to say to that, they had barely just started rekindling their relationship, and he was never really good at emotional talks.
So he did the next best thing, he offered his services. This way, Rio and Jeff could get their rest, and they wouldn’t have to worry about whether or not Miles was safe.
Of course, both Jeff and Rio were skeptical of the offer. And Aaron can’t really blame them, he knows he doesn’t really have the best track record in regards to responsibility.
But, they needed the rest so badly, and they both agreed that having their newborn with someone they knew, even if they didn’t really know him that well, put their minds at ease more than if they were to leave Miles with some stranger.
Aaron continued making his way to the crib that his brother bought so he could keep at his place whenever they needed to leave MIles at his place.
He finds himself looking over the edge of the crib to the still crying baby. He sighs and goes to pick him up, remembering the instructions his brother gave him on how to properly hold the little one.
“You have to make sure to keep your arm like this, otherwise, he won’t have any support for his head. And-”
“-I think I get it.” Aaron said, chuckling at his brother.
“It seems funny now, but you’ll be thanking me when you manage to avoid getting thrown up on ‘cause you were holding him the right way.”
“I don’t get why you’re making a big deal out of this. Like, I know he needs extra care since he’s too small to care for himself, but, don’t you think you’re getting to worked up about this?”
Jeff just looked at him and let out a sigh.
“Aaron, you only think that ‘cause you don’t have someone you need to protect.” As he said that, he slowly looked down at Miles, who was in his arms.
“This little guy needs me, in a way that I’ve never been needed before. He needs me to look out for him, to make sure the world is as safe as I can possibly make it for him. I know you don’t get it now, and maybe you won’t for a while, but when you have someone so small who depends on you so much, you get worried. Scared. About all the things out of your control. And sometimes, about the things you have control over.” Despite the heavy topic, Jeff was now smiling as he looked down at Miles. His eyes crinkled and lit up as Miles reached for his finger.
As Aaron observed the scene before him, he accepted that he would never understand what his brother was talking about.
As he adjusted MIles’s head, he slowly gently bounced him in his arms. He heard that that was a good way to calm down babies. As he did that, he looked out of the window, the moon high in the sky and the light shining in. It would be a nice peaceful night if he didn’t have a crying baby he was trying to calm down.
He let out a breath of air, only now noticing how quiet the apartment was. He looked down at Miles and saw the baby looking at him with wide eyes. Wide curious eyes.
Huh.
Aaron had never noticed how Miles’s eyes were hazel.
As Aaron was considering putting the now calm baby back in his crib, Miles began giggling and reaching for Aaron’s finger. Aaron let him grab ahold of it and watched as Miles hugged his finger against his cheek.
Aaron slowly brought his eyes back to Miles’s.
He was still looking at him, with his big bright eyes.
Aaron hadn’t realized how Miles was looking at him before, but now he understood. Miles was looking at him like he was safe. He was looking at Aaron, someone who was known for being the farthest from responsible and important, like he had hung the stars that littered the sky.
Aaron’s eyes softened.
“Hey, little man. You done crying?” He asked softly.
Miles only giggled in response.
To someone else, the laughter would have sounded shrill and loud, but right now, to Aaron?
It sounded heavenly.
It sounded like trust.
Wholehearted and devout trust.
Miles trusted him. He had no idea what kind of person Aaron was, and yet, he trusted him.
Aaron softly gripped Miles’s hand back, amazed at just how small his nephew’s hand was in his own.
He thinks he’s starting to get what his brother was talking about.
Miles trusts him, he has no other choice but to trust that Aaron is a good person who wants what's best for him. Has no other choice but to put his life into Aaron’s hands.
And suddenly Aaron was scared he was holding Miles the wrong way, all of a sudden, he was more aware of just how fragile the life he held in his hands was.
And it terrified him.
This kid has no choice but to trust him, and Aaron can’t help but want him to be safe. But what about other people? Who’s to say that they want what’s best for Miles, who’s to say they won’t try to use the fact that Miles was too young to protect himself against him.
Before he could stop it, he’s hit with the idea of someone hurting the kid in his arms. He can practically hear Miles crying for help, crying for his dad and mom, crying for his uncle to protect him.
Aaron had never truly processed the fact that he was an uncle until now. But now the realization hung heavy over him.
He couldn’t handle the thought of the kid being hurt ‘cause of the bad people in this city. Didn’t want to think about the innate fear he would feel if he had to be told that his nephew was hurt beyond repair.
And as he held Miles in his arms, he turned to the window and looked at the moon.
In that moment, he swore he would do whatever it took to make the city just a bit safer for his nephew.
Unbeknownst to him, this promise managed to seal his fate.
Whether he knew just how heavy his promise was did not matter to him.
He decided then and there that he was never going to let his nephew hurt alone.