"He's late," Brigid stated flatly as placed one hand on her hip and cocked a single eyebrow in Auden's direction.

Auden glanced down at her watch, "Only by like, thirty minutes. Just give him time." Auden was already feeling anxious about seeing Cillian again and Brigid's impatience wasn't helping. Her exhaustion coupled with the nervousness settling into the pit of her stomach made Auden nauseous. She could not stop replaying the memory of Cillian's hand brushing the hair away from her face and whispering to her in the diner. Every time she heard his soft voice ring in her head, she felt heat creep across her cheeks. Now I can see you...

Earlier that morning, Charles and Auden had sat down with Patrick to hammer out the details of his exhibit. A pang of guilt shot through Auden for not inviting Cillian to join, but after last night's adventures she figured it would be best to keep him out of it. The complicate the matters further, Patrick had asked Auden out to dinner this upcoming weekend, which she reluctantly agreed to. Auden needed to network and bring new artists in - Charles had made that clear.

Auden wondered if she should address it to Cillian, or let the situation be. Cillian was drunk last night, so it was possible that he might not even remember their moment together. Would he be embarrassed if she brought it up? Or deny it even happened? Every worst-case scenario played in Auden's head. Auden furrowed her brow, lost in thought. Cillian's mixed messages were beginning to throw her off. Maybe she should just leave it alone.

In that moment, Cillian burst through the front door. In one hand, he had a tray of coffees. His other hand was gripping tiny fingers of a small boy. Cillian looked frazzled - his dark hair was disheveled wildly across his face, and he was wearing a rather hole-y blue sweater. Auden also noticed he was wearing glasses, which she had never seen do before.

Cillian strode quickly across the gallery to Auden, ignoring Brigid's greeting. He was breathing rapidly, and Auden caught a glimpse of anger in his eyes as he handed her the tray of hot drinks without a word. Auden craned her neck to get a look at the young boy hiding behind Cillian's arm. He was gripping Cillian, looking around the gallery timidly. His hair was dark and long, falling over his bright blue eyes.

She moved her eyes back to Cillian, raising her eyebrows at the man in front of her, "How are you?"

He held up a hand and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath, "I'd rather not get into it."

Auden nodded slowly and glanced at Brigid, who was standing a few feet away from her behind Cillian. She shot Auden a sympathetic look and shrugged. Auden turned her attention to the young boy, "Who's your little helper?" She asked gently, nudging her chin towards the timid boy.

Cillian's eyes widened as if he forgot that he was there. He shifted his body so that the young boy would be in full view. "This is my son Charlie," Cillian explained as he looked down at his boy.

Auden gave Charlie a warm smile. Auden loved children - in fact, she had a lot of experience with them. Auden was a camp counselor for many summers while living in Chicago. Auden bent down to Charlie's eye level. "Hi Charlie," Her voice came out soft and welcoming. "My name is Auden," she stuck her hand out towards the boy.

Charlie hesitantly grabbed her hand and shook it, causing Auden to giggle. "'Ello," Charlie squeaked. Auden found his Irish accent adorable.

"Are you here to help me and your dad move some cool art around today?" Auden asked.

Charlie looked up at his dad briefly, who gave him an encouraging nod. "I think so," Charlie replied softly.

Auden moved her head up to look at Cillian, who was gazing down at her with soft eyes. A small smile formed at the corners of Cillian's lips. Warmth began to spread throughout her body at his loving expression.

"Well," Auden said quickly, standing up, "The more help the better, right Brigid?" Auden called out to her friend.

"Absolutely," Brigid replied, as she returned to removing paintings from the wall.

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Auden had managed to find some old coloring books and a handful of colored pencils in the gallery's back offices for Charlie to utilize while the group worked on emptying out the displays. Charlie made no protests to sitting in the middle of the floor and coloring pictures of farm animals and bugs. He laid on his stomach contently, feet swinging in the air as he hummed a tune to himself, flipping through the book pages every so often. Auden found the sight quite cute.

Shortly after Cillian had settled into helping, Brigid had conveniently excused herself to watch Auden's phone and office. Auden had rolled her eyes at her friend's not-so-subtle ploy to leave them alone.

Some time had passed between Cillian and Auden before either had made an attempt to say anything. Auden noticed Cillian breathe in a handful of times, preparing to say something before deciding against it. The pair worked in silence together, stealing glances at one another while packing up small structures and removing canvases from the wall as the tension began to build between them.

Every time Auden looked at Cillian, she saw his longing face from the night before. The more she thought about it, the more she convinced herself that Cillian would have kissed her last night in that moment. Auden felt a slight tremor in her hands as she began to picture Cillian's rough hands cupping her face and pulling her face closer to his. His hands would travel into her hair, tugging it slightly as he brushed his lips against hers. Auden coughed as heat began to build up in her stomach. She couldn't take the silence anymore, it was driving her crazy, "Look -"

"I'm sorry I brought my son," Cillian's voice came out rushed as he cut Auden off.

Auden was taken aback at the sudden apology. She blinked, the fantasy of Cillian kissing her sliding away from view.

Auden composed herself quickly, "It's totally fine. He's really cute actually," She smiled as she glanced back at Charlie coloring in the middle of the floor.

Cillian shook his head in frustration, "His mother called me last minute, saying something came up and she needed someone to watch him. I want more time with him, but she makes it so difficult for me to make plans to see him but then expects me to drop everything when she needs a babysitter." Cillian's voice was laced with anger as he slammed the lid closed on a box full of oil paintings.

Auden gave Cillian a concerned look but was unsure how to respond. She didn't have much experience with divorce - her mom had left way before she could remember her face and therefore had no memory of her parents ever being together. But she did remember the feeling of growing up and dealing with only having half of her parents around. She had always felt, at least for a while, that part of her identity was missing. That her life was never fully complete. She found solace in the reality that Charlie had two very loving parents, even if there were issues between them.

"You know," Auden said so quietly that it was almost a whisper. Cillian turned his eyes towards her as she spoke, "I grew up without knowing who my mom is. Because of that, I grew up feeling like there was a large part of my life missing." Auden titled her head slightly as she gazed at Charlie, who had fallen asleep on top of his coloring books. He looked so peaceful as he slept quietly. "Charlie is very lucky to have two people who are fighting to be in his life."

Auden returned her gaze to Cillian, who was looking at his sleeping son. His hands were shoved in his pant pockets, his blue eyes  lost in thought. He mulled over Auden's words. He looked beautifully disheveled in the moment - the gallery lights creating shadows across his face that emphasized his high cheekbones and intense jawline. Auden's hands itched to reach out and gently touch his shoulder in comfort.

Cillian's jaw flexed, "I guess you're right," He sighed and turned back to Auden, "Thank you."

Auden flashed Cillian a bright smile, "Let's go find this boy a more comfortable place to sleep."