Thicker Than Water - 5. Chapter 5

The week went by slowly. Bryan was given some pretty hefty chores, including cleaning the kitchen from top to bottom, which meant pulling everything out of the cupboards, wiping those down, washing all the dishes—whether needed or not—cleaning out and scrubbing the refrigerator, and cleaning the oven and stove top...and that was just the first day. By the end of the week, Bryan had landscaped the front and back yards, cleaned out and scrubbed the bathroom and garage, cleaned and re-organized the three bedrooms, including Caleb's, rearranged the living room and shampooed the rugs. His last task was to remove the moss from the roof and clean out the gutters.

Most of the jobs Diego normally took care of himself either after work or on his days off, but Bryan's father wanted to instill a sense of pride and the value of hard work, something Bryan's biological father seemed afraid of.

Kenny came by after school every day to drop off Bryan's homework and to hang out. Diego didn't feel a need to ground his son from his friend. He figured, if Bryan was exhausted by the end of the day, he wouldn't want to go anywhere, thus negating the need to be grounded. Kenny would sit in Bryan's room, doing his own homework, while Bryan worked on his chores. Once he was done, Bryan would take a shower and lay on his bed, while Kenny ran down his day.

With Dan Thomas also suspended, the usual gang of bullies was directionless. He and Terra spent lunch together and sat next to each other in Health.

“What's everyone saying about me?” Bryan asked. He didn't like rumors, but he was curious if people were cheering him on for standing up to Dan.

“Nothing, actually,” Kenny replied. Seeing the mild look of disappointment on Bryan's face, Kenny quickly clarified, “Bobby Laine got his dick caught in his zipper during second period P.E. It was so bad, an ambulance was called. I guess everyone focused on that too much and your fight was forgotten.”

“How did he get his dick caught like that?” Bryan asked.

“I don't know. I wasn't there yet. Richie Becker said it was hilarious, though.”

“I bet. I guess I'm glad nobody's talking about the fight.”

“I'm sure they will once you and Dan come back.” Kenny reached out and took Bryan's hand in his.

A part of Bryan wanted to pull his hand away. He didn't want to hurt Kenny, since he concluded they couldn't be together like boyfriends, but he liked the physical intimacy they had been showing each other. Bryan reached out and pulled Kenny into his arms.

“You should call your mom and ask her if you can stay the weekend.”

“She already said it was fine, as long as Diego was okay with it.”

“This is why you're the smart one,” Bryan said and kissed Kenny, who blushed.

Steve was at work and staying at his place for the evening. Once Diego came home, Bryan immediately ambushed his father for permission. “We do need to have a talk before I allow it, Chico.”

Bryan looked confused. Kenny had stayed over many times over the years, so this request seemed odd; however, he accepted and went back to his room to wait for his father, who wanted to take a shower first. When Diego finally came into the room, he was dressed in rather nice clothing.

“Got a date?” Bryan asked.

“In fact, I do,” Diego said, looking happy yet tired. “It's mine and Steve's anniversary today, so he's taking me out to dinner.”

“Congrats, Mr. Padilla.”

“Thank you, Kenny. Your manners are something all my boys should exhibit.”

“Congratulations father,” Bryan said in his most posh American voice, “it is greatly astounding that you and Stephen have lasted as long as you have in such a homophobic climate. You are an example for all queer kids everywhere.”

Diego only grinned and shook his head. “Anyway, my smart ass of a son aside, the three of us need to have a little talk before I approve any more sleep overs.”

“Did we do something wrong?” Kenny asked, feeling scared. Rejection wasn't something Kenny processed well.

“Not yet,” Diego said, in a calming way to help lessen Kenny's anxiety. “You don't have to confirm anything, but I think something has grown between the two of you. Something more than just friendship.” Damn gaydar, Bryan swore in his head. “With that being said,” Diego continued, “I feel you two need to take things slowly and not engage in—how should I put this?—butt-stuff.”

“Oh my God,” the two teens bellowed.

Unbothered by their outrage, Diego said, “I get you're getting closer to being adults, but I don't feel you're old enough to be having full-on sex right now. There's a good chance you're well beyond kissing—“

“Dad, we haven't!” Bryan declared. “All we've done is kiss, and we haven't even talked about anything else. Jesus Christ, Dad, you don't need to have the sex talk with us, again!” Bryan was still traumatized from the last time Diego had “the talk” with him, which was right after Kenny came out to the family. Diego felt it was important for Kenny to have “the talk” from a gay perspective, and dragged his boys in for the fun of watching them be extremely uncomfortable.

“Alright, alright,” Diego said, accepting his son's word, “with that in mind, I'll be staying at Steve's place tonight. Bryan, you're in charge and need to watch Caleb. I'll be checking in after dinner, before bed and when we wake up. If you have any problems, call me, and don't send me a text. Do you understand?”

“Yeah, I got it.”

“So, can I stay the night, then, Mr. Padilla?” Kenny asked, unsure of where he fit into the plan.

“As long as neither of you lose your virginity, got it?”

“Seriously, Dad!” Bryan said, turning many shades of red.

“I promise,” Kenny said, giggling, but also very embarrassed.

Diego gave the boys each a hug and left to say goodbye to Caleb, who was playing with Sampson. Diego ordered dinner for the boys and left Bryan the money for the tip. With one final hug, Diego left to pick up Steve.

Bryan brought out his Xbox and hooked it up to the TV in the living room. While they waited for dinner, they took turns playing games, as Bryan had two controllers and Caleb only had a Playstation. After an hour, the food arrived. Bryan's face betrayed a grin as the delivery person, Chase, was at the door. Chase worked at the same restaurant as Diego, and Bryan had had a small crush on him since 5^th grade, though he didn't expect it to go anywhere. Bryan handed over the tip and watched as the young man, who was in his early 20s got into the car and left.

“It was Chase wasn't it?” Caleb asked his brother, once Bryan returned with the food.

“Why do you ask?”

Caleb grinned and said, “You're face always gets red when you see him.”

“No it doesn't,” Bryan said , feeling his face get warmer.

“It looks pretty red to me,” Kenny said, playfully while trying to hide his jealousy.

Caleb reached over and pinched Kenny's cheek. “Oh, Sweetie, Bryan only has eyes for you.”

Kenny turned very red and walked quickly from the kitchen with his pizza. Bryan muttered to his brother, “Uncool, Caleb. Don't do that again. You need to apologize.”

“I was only playing,” Caleb said, a bit annoyed that his brother didn't find the humor in the joke.

Bryan didn't know how to explain his situation with Kenny without making it sound very complicated. “Okay. Kenny and I have become more that just friends—“

“Duh,” Caleb interjected, rolling his eyes. “Tell me something I didn't know.”

“Fine. Kenny and I haven't talked about that yet, so I don't want him to be upset if I like another guy or a girl.”

“So, you're not boyfriends?”

“No, and I don't know if either of us wants to be, so if you could just be chill, I'd really appreciate it, please.”

As much as Caleb wanted to make his big brother squirm a bit more, he couldn't bring himself to do it. Bryan always tried to be the best big brother a kid could want. And Kenny wasn't that bad either. Caleb agreed to let everything go and apologize to Kenny, which he did as he got to the living room.

After playing more games and eating pizza, Bryan pulled out the hide-a-bed, as Caleb got some blankets and pillows. Since Bryan had rearranged the living room a few days ago, he made sure the TV was perfectly placed, so they could lay down and watch movies. Bryan was in the middle with his arms around his brother and friend. Caleb was in charge of finding a movie they could agree on. In the end, Caleb picked an old movie called Avatar. Bryan kissed his brother on the head and kissed Kenny on the lips.

“Get a room,” Caleb said, while grinning.

“Don't make me ground you,” Bryan replied, tickling his little brother.

Halfway through the movie, Diego sent his first text of the evening. Bryan gave an update and thanked his dad for the food, before asking about the date. Diego mentioned that Steve took them to a local steakhouse for a nice meal. They were heading to a concert next, and he'd text again once they got back to Steve's.

Bryan thought that all sounded pretty serious. Diego had a few boyfriends over the years and none of them stuck around very long. Bryan assumed that they didn't want to be dads to two orphans. At least one, Raul, was pretty clear that he didn't want kids ever, but was “willing” to give it a shot to be with Diego. And by “willing,” Raul apparently meant trying to convince Diego to find Calvin and give the boys back. Once Diego discovered that Raul was doing internet searches for Calvin, Diego gave the man the boot and almost a black eye.

Caleb and Bryan had overheard the fight—not that they were given much of a choice, given the volume. Caleb was distraught. He didn't want to leave his dad to live with a complete stranger. Bryan, on the other hand, was more curious if Raul had indeed found Calvin. Bryan, of course, didn't want to live with the man, but he did have questions he wanted answers to, namely why Calvin left them behind and never came for them. Bryan was certain, after everything Diego said about Calvin, that his life would've been so much worse had they been raised by their birth father, but Bryan just couldn't figure out how a parent could just drop their children off with a complete stranger and not come back.

Caleb fell asleep before the movie ended. His head was on his brother's chest, and Bryan thought he looked very peaceful. Kenny, who's head occupied Bryan's other half, was still awake. Bryan kissed the top of Kenny's head, and whispered, “How are you?”

Kenny looked up and smiled. “I'm okay. Just enjoying being here...and being with you.” He leaned up and kissed Bryan on the cheek.

“You missed,” Bryan said, before tilting his head and kissing Kenny on the lips. “That's better.”

“Get a room,” Caleb mumbled, before rolling over, still pressed against his big brother.

Bryan just rolled his eyes.