Chocolate Chip Mint 14, Fudge Ripple 7, FOTD: Glimpse of Heaven
Title: Glimpse of Heaven
Main Story: In the Heart
Flavors, Toppings, Extras: Chocolate chip mint 14 (saturated), fudge ripple 7 (pity), FOTD (phlegmatic: Not easily excited to action or display of emotion; apathetic; sluggish. Self-possessed, calm, or composed), pocky chain, malt (sarcasticsra's truth: Who was Aaron's first crush?).
Word Count: 664
Rating: PG-13.
Summary: Seven things that shaped Aaron's view of love.
Notes: And now you get to know the name of Aaron's eventual wife. And some other things too.
1.
He couldn't remember a time when his parents were still married.
Not that this was a bad thing. When his mom and dad were together they sniped at each other. It wasn't very mean, but Aaron could see how it could get mean, fast. He didn't have to hear them fight, this way. And he knew they both loved him, lots and lots.
But he heard the pity in other people's voices when they talked to him. It bothered him, sometimes-- couldn't they tell Mom and Dad weren't right?
He tried not to let it bother him. But it did.
2.
He was six when he met her.
She was the smartest and prettiest girl in his kindergarten class. Aaron got all tongue-tied when he talked to her, so he stopped trying and just gave her his pudding, every day. She had the prettiest gap-toothed smile when she took it.
Now that he is grown up, he remembers it and grins, because she had a pretty good racket going on. She must have had half the boys in class giving her pudding.
Wasn't very funny at the time, though. Even though he'd known it wasn't real.
3.
He was eleven when his dad married Gail, and he thought it was awesome. For one thing, it meant instant little sister, and he adored Ivy, even when she pissed him off.
For another, even at eleven, he could see how happy Gail made his dad. They both smiled all the time when they were around each other, and when they talked about each other. His dad smiled a lot more just in general, actually, and he was nicer. Warmer.
Aaron silently resolved to marry someone that perfect for him, someday.
4.
He was fourteen when his mom married Ben, and he was a little less sure about that one.
He liked Ben. There wasn't anything wrong with Ben. Ben was a lot like Aaron, actually; both quiet, phlegmatic characters, who took most of life in stride. It was just that he wasn't real sure Ben was good for his mom. She seemed to be the one thing he couldn't take in stride. They spent most of their time bickering.
It wasn't until he was twenty-three that Aaron realized that bickering, for them, was foreplay.
5.
When he was twenty, he had a girlfriend named Lorelai, who was prone to saying "If you really loved me."
Aaron had sisters, and it didn't work very well on him; he never quite figured out why she kept trying it. Or why she stayed-- though that became clearer when she coaxed him into having sex with her.
He was actually pretty grateful to her for that. It would've taken even longer for him to figure out he was asexual if she hadn't.
But he still broke up with her not long after.
6.
Aaron knew right away that Ivy and Gina were meant to be, even if it took them longer. He figured out before anyone else that Jake and Olivia were going to start dating, without ever having met Olivia-- he was pretty proud of that one. He even called Danny and Lars, and nobody predicted that. Ivy thought it was witchcraft. He just figured he was observant.
Ivy suggested he apply a little of that romantic know-how to his own love life, to which Aaron just shrugged.
If there was one thing he'd learned about love, it was how to wait.
7.
And then one day there was Clara, and everything was different.
It didn't happen exactly like that. He'd known Clara casually for a couple of months-- met her at an AVEN event in New York, introduced her to Esther, the three of them had hung out a bit. He knew she was smart and kind and pretty, but it was academic, like knowing all the elements.
Then something flipped a switch, and there was Clara, and everything was easy.
So this was how it felt.
Main Story: In the Heart
Flavors, Toppings, Extras: Chocolate chip mint 14 (saturated), fudge ripple 7 (pity), FOTD (phlegmatic: Not easily excited to action or display of emotion; apathetic; sluggish. Self-possessed, calm, or composed), pocky chain, malt (sarcasticsra's truth: Who was Aaron's first crush?).
Word Count: 664
Rating: PG-13.
Summary: Seven things that shaped Aaron's view of love.
Notes: And now you get to know the name of Aaron's eventual wife. And some other things too.
1.
He couldn't remember a time when his parents were still married.
Not that this was a bad thing. When his mom and dad were together they sniped at each other. It wasn't very mean, but Aaron could see how it could get mean, fast. He didn't have to hear them fight, this way. And he knew they both loved him, lots and lots.
But he heard the pity in other people's voices when they talked to him. It bothered him, sometimes-- couldn't they tell Mom and Dad weren't right?
He tried not to let it bother him. But it did.
2.
He was six when he met her.
She was the smartest and prettiest girl in his kindergarten class. Aaron got all tongue-tied when he talked to her, so he stopped trying and just gave her his pudding, every day. She had the prettiest gap-toothed smile when she took it.
Now that he is grown up, he remembers it and grins, because she had a pretty good racket going on. She must have had half the boys in class giving her pudding.
Wasn't very funny at the time, though. Even though he'd known it wasn't real.
3.
He was eleven when his dad married Gail, and he thought it was awesome. For one thing, it meant instant little sister, and he adored Ivy, even when she pissed him off.
For another, even at eleven, he could see how happy Gail made his dad. They both smiled all the time when they were around each other, and when they talked about each other. His dad smiled a lot more just in general, actually, and he was nicer. Warmer.
Aaron silently resolved to marry someone that perfect for him, someday.
4.
He was fourteen when his mom married Ben, and he was a little less sure about that one.
He liked Ben. There wasn't anything wrong with Ben. Ben was a lot like Aaron, actually; both quiet, phlegmatic characters, who took most of life in stride. It was just that he wasn't real sure Ben was good for his mom. She seemed to be the one thing he couldn't take in stride. They spent most of their time bickering.
It wasn't until he was twenty-three that Aaron realized that bickering, for them, was foreplay.
5.
When he was twenty, he had a girlfriend named Lorelai, who was prone to saying "If you really loved me."
Aaron had sisters, and it didn't work very well on him; he never quite figured out why she kept trying it. Or why she stayed-- though that became clearer when she coaxed him into having sex with her.
He was actually pretty grateful to her for that. It would've taken even longer for him to figure out he was asexual if she hadn't.
But he still broke up with her not long after.
6.
Aaron knew right away that Ivy and Gina were meant to be, even if it took them longer. He figured out before anyone else that Jake and Olivia were going to start dating, without ever having met Olivia-- he was pretty proud of that one. He even called Danny and Lars, and nobody predicted that. Ivy thought it was witchcraft. He just figured he was observant.
Ivy suggested he apply a little of that romantic know-how to his own love life, to which Aaron just shrugged.
If there was one thing he'd learned about love, it was how to wait.
7.
And then one day there was Clara, and everything was different.
It didn't happen exactly like that. He'd known Clara casually for a couple of months-- met her at an AVEN event in New York, introduced her to Esther, the three of them had hung out a bit. He knew she was smart and kind and pretty, but it was academic, like knowing all the elements.
Then something flipped a switch, and there was Clara, and everything was easy.
So this was how it felt.