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Aaron had been looking around; Aphmau was finally asleep after everything, and Zane was watching her. He wondered if they had made the right decision, but it was too late to think too much about it; what was done was done. He was glad both of them had been so kind and understanding about everything since they had arrived at Starlight. He hadn’t expected the two to jump him with this question as soon as they did, but he knew it would be brought up one day. He wasn’t entirely on board until Aphmau had made it clear that she understood the risks and understood what was going to happen when they continued, what was happening now. Zane had decided that Aaron needed a break to rest, but he couldn’t bring himself to sleep, so now he was looking around the house and had found an old box of photos his father had brought. While going through them he picked up one that looked vaguely familiar.
Aaron looked at the photo in his hand; the edges were torn, and the once perfectly white border was now yellowed from time and lack of care. It made him sad to look at it, but it also made him happy, the warmth a person feels while remembering their childhood. If you ignore certain pieces, he didn’t have the worst childhood. Did it have its issues? Yes, but Aaron understood where his father was coming from; he just wished it could have been different; he wished they both had understood one another better, but that was the past, and he couldn't change it. He hadn’t realized his father, no, dad. His dad. He didn’t think his dad still had any of these photos, let alone brought them to Starlight with him. He teared up thinking about it; his dad truly did care after all this time. It makes him wonder if they had stopped yelling and listened to one another and how different things would be.
The photo in his hand was one of just the two, father and son, from when Aaron was little. Aaron didn’t recognize the background for a minute; it looked almost foreign, but then he looked at the wooden walls, there was a window in the background, and it was obvious the snow was heavy. It nearly sent him back, but he remembered his breathing, for one of the first times. “That… That’s the lodge.” He had to say it out loud, just above a whisper, to confirm it to himself. It was the place where he nearly died, just over a year ago. He was surprised; he knew he had played there when his father used to do business there, but the two looked so happy in this photo, it was like another universe. A hopeful dream for both of them, captured in one photograph. He'd never understood how he could have so many conflicting feelings towards a photo of all things, but he was feeling so many different things it was almost overwhelming. He stared at the photo, trying to remember what the memory was when this photo was from.
Aaron was small, only about six years old, and very energetic. He was running around with rocks in his pockets, as he commonly did; he liked rocks and all their different shapes, sizes, and colors. He had a small collection at home and now had even more he wanted to add; he even grabbed a few to give to Melissa when he got home. The rocks clicked together in his pockets, like a bell announcing where he was as he ran through the halls, away from his dad chasing him to get him to empty his pockets. His giggles echoed through the halls, leading Derek to wherever his son would go. Derek enjoyed the time, making sure to give Aaron enough of a lead to make him think he wouldn’t catch up. As Aaron kept running into room after room, hiding, then taking off again once the coast was clear, every time Derek would come back again right behind him. It was the most fun Aaron had in a very long time; he loved his dad very much, but he never got to spend much time with him. He hoped this moment would never end, so he ran into a room and hid under the bed to keep the game going. He heard his dad run around, looking for him and calling his name.
Aaron hid there for about thirty minutes, then fell asleep. He has no idea how long he slept that day, but he knows he woke up when his dad pulled him out from under the bed. He doesn’t remember a lot; he was barely awake, but what he does remember is Derek pulling him close and hugging him so tight he was almost convinced he couldn’t breathe. He was confused, but he hugged his father, enjoying the touch; his love language was always touch, wasn’t it? He pushed him away and looked at him confused, but his father picked him up and spun him around. Aaron was laughing once again, and then they both heard the shutter of a camera, looking over to see Garte with a camera. “Garte, that photo is going to be awful.” Derek held Aaron up next to his face. “Try this one.” Garte laughed and took another picture of the two.
Aaron smiled to himself, looking at the photograph; he was crying now. That memory had been one he’d forgotten long ago, but now he remembered it as clear as day. He wiped his tears and put the photo down, then looked through the box in front of him, finding many more photos from over the years. He picked up one in particular; it was of Aaron holding a whisk, licking what looked like batter off of it next to his mom, who had oven mitts on. It was torn and yellowed, just like the other photo. Aaron looked a little older than in the first photo, maybe seven or eight? This was another memory he looked back on fondly; they were making a cake for Melissa’s birthday, and Aaron ate some chocolate a child had brought to the party, making himself sick, leading to the lie that the Lycan family is allergic to caffeine, which was inconvenient for Derek, who loved his coffee. Aaron always felt so bad about it.
He kept looking through the photos and found one of him and Melissa, before they grew distant, before he even knew who she was. He was just a baby, and she was holding him, smiling with a missing front tooth. She looked like a completely different person to the Melissa he knew when they had started talking again; it made him think about how he truly had been loved his entire life. They were really bad at showing it, but now they’re getting better; they’re working on it. He was proud of how far both he and his family had come with it; they were all better at communicating how they were feeling, and he felt seen by his parents for the first time. What more could he ask for?