Thicker Than Water - 22. Chapter 22

Despite Kenny's face still being bruised and a bit swollen, he insisted that he was fit enough to go see a movie. Bryan's fussing was also annoying him and figured going to the mall might be enough to get his boyfriend to back off his mollycoddling.

Diego and Steve dropped everyone off at the mall just after 6pm, with instructions to be at the same spot no later than 10pm. Caleb felt like one of the big kids, despite his brother feeling like a babysitter. For their part, Kenny and Terra were fine with Caleb tagging along, since Terra no longer felt like a third wheel.

“Where to first?” Terra asked as they entered the building near the food court.

“The movie doesn't start for another hour,” Kenny said, looking at his phone. “We could just look around until then?”

“I wanna go to the arcade,” Caleb said.

“We can do that after the movie,” Bryan countered. “We don't want to blow all our cash and not get into the theater.”

“But walking around is so boring.”

“Then you should've stayed with Dad and Steve,” Bryan retorted. He loved his brother a lot, but Caleb did like to get his way.

“Fine,” Caleb relented.

The four wandered around the semi-crowded shopping center. The building had seen better days. Old neon signs directed customers to restrooms and major parts of the complex, such as the food court and various big box stores. Diego was a huge fan of 80s and 90s teen comedies, so the boys could imagine what the place looked like back in the peak of the mall.

Their first stop was Hot Topic. Caleb didn't understand why anyone would want to buy any of the products; however, Bryan and Terra were very obsessed with the anime and manga clothing and books. He and Kenny looked around at all the novelty items, like toys and LGBTQIA+ materials. Bryan got a rainbow key ring, while Terra got a She/Her pronoun pin. Caleb offered to buy Kenny a queer sticker, but Kenny declined, not feeling okay that 5^th grader had more money than he did. Caleb, however, bought it anyway, and planned to give it to the teen later.

The next store was Spencer's Gifts. Unlike Hot Topic, Spencer's had a lot that interested Caleb, especially the obvious sex toys on display. They were told off several times by staff for being loud and goofing off with the various vibrators on a display. Eventually, they were asked to leave as Caleb, who had a box dildo up to his forehead, started bumping into a very uncomfortable Bryan, while declaring himself a unicorn, which made Kenny and Terra double over with laughter.

“I'm telling Dad when he picks us up,” Bryan declared bitterly.

“I was only playing,” Caleb said, rather disgruntled.

“I'm your brother, Caleb. You don't do those sorts of things with your brother.”

“What if I did it?” Kenny asked, blushing at his own joke.

Bryan stammered as he said, “Well, um, that's rather, um, different. You're not my brother.”

“So you two have had sex then!” Terra said, victoriously.

“No!” Bryan and Kenny insisted. Bryan added, “We're not ready, and my dad has already told us to wait. Come on, we're going to miss the previews.”

On the way to the theater, Caleb put some distance between himself and his brother. He was only joking and didn't understand why Bryan was being a dick all of a sudden. Maybe he's just showing off for his friends? Caleb thought. It wasn't even his idea to go with the older kids. His dad asked him to go, so he and Steve could have some alone time. He only agreed to go because he didn't want to upset Diego, who had been stressed out since Donna's funeral, and Caleb was regretting his decision.

“Are you really going to tattle on Caleb?” Kenny asked, attempting to keep his tone neutral.

“Probably not,” Bryan replied. “It depends on how much of a pain in the ass he is the rest of the night.”

“He wasn't being a pain in the ass. He was just messing around like the rest of us.”

“It's not okay for a brother to be touching another sibling with a sex toy.”

Kenny tried rolling his eyes, but it hurt too much. “Whatever. He probably doesn't even understand it's a sex toy. He's only 11.”

“So? It's still gross.”

“You're making a bigger deal out of it than it really needs to be.”

“You're an only child, so you don't get it.”

“I don't need to have siblings to get what you're talking about, but what you don't get is that you're sexualizing his joke, when he wasn't trying to be sexual at all. He was pretending it was a unicorn horn and not a dick. It would've been different if he was trying to fuck you with it or something like that.”

“And what's your point? It's still a rubber penis he was poking me with.”

“Never mind,” Kenny said. Kenny figured that, no matter what he said, Bryan would just find some excuse to maintain his attitude towards Caleb.

The lines out front were long, and the three teens talked excitedly about the movie, which was the latest installment of the MCU. They each paid for their tickets, got some popcorn and cokes, then grabbed their seats. Bryan made his way to the back with the others, knowing that Caleb liked to sit up front.

Kenny was enraptured with the entire film to the point he hadn't noticed that Bryan was holding his hand and rubbing it with his thumb, which Bryan thought was cute. Meanwhile, Bryan and Terra had little side conversations via text, as comic book movies weren't their thing. Like Kenny, Terra thought Bryan was being harsh to Caleb, unlike Kenny, however, Terra wasn't letting it go, though she was trying not to be antagonistic about it.

Bryan felt that his friends just didn't understand his position, as they were both only children. He did admit to potentially over reacting, but he still felt justified in telling his brother off for the actions. In the end, he agreed that threatening to tell Diego about it wasn't right, since Caleb really didn't mean anything by it, and he'd apologize after the movie.

The lights came up at the final mid-credit scene, and Kenny blushed heavily, as he became aware of his hand. He wanted to clap at the ending, but chose to have the tender moment with his boyfriend. The pair maintained their hold as they exited the theater and reentered the mall proper.

“I don't see Caleb,” Terra said, raising herself on the tips of her toes trying to see over the crowd of mostly adults.

“He probably went to the bathroom,” Bryan said, attempting to hide the sound of mild concern in his voice. Caleb did have a large coke, which usually caused him to pee at least once and then after a long movie.

“I could send him a text?” Kenny offered, but Bryan reminded everyone that Caleb wasn't old enough in their dad's eyes to have a phone. “Well, this might be a good excuse for him to have one.”

“I'll let you take that up with my father, since he still hasn't returned mine.”

“Sorry, I forgot.”

It took another five or so minutes for the crowd to disperse, and there still was no sign of Caleb. Terra stayed just outside the main doors, while the boys returned to the theater to check the restrooms, which were also empty. Bryan was quickly concerned and Kenny was on the verge of freaking out, which was only making Bryan's growing anxiety worse.

Bryan managed to speak to a manager, who had a couple employees look around, in case Caleb snuck into another movie. The manager went to the office and checked the cameras. Bryan debated whether to call his dad on Kenny's phone, but the fear of what his dad would say kept him from doing so.

"When we find him, I'm going to kick his ass," Bryan whispered to Kenny. "I know he did this on purpose. He's pissed because I didn't find his joke funny and threatened to tell on him."

Unable to let things slide, Kenny countered, “Maybe he wouldn't have left if you hadn't been a dick to him. You've had an attitude since your dad said Caleb was coming along.”

“This was supposed to be our time to hang out, though.”

“So? That's not an excuse. Caleb was only playing around because we were. He didn't want to go look around, but you insisted.”

“So it's my fault he's gone?”

“Yeah, maybe? If he walked away, then I'd say it might be your fault.”

Before Bryan could counter the theater manager came out and told them that Caleb never entered the theater nor did he buy a ticket. He did contact mall security and told them to check their office by the food court.

The teens rushed towards the center of the complex where the food court sat. Despite Bryan's protests, Kenny sent Diego a text telling him that Caleb was missing.

*  *  *

“So, what do you want to do first?” Steve asked his boyfriend as they watched the kids enter the mall.

“Well,” Diego said with coy smile, “we've got four hours before picking the kids up, so we could--”

“--I like what you're thinking,” Steve said, as he kissed his boyfriend. “Dinner it is,” he said with his own grin.

“Ugh, you're such an ass,” Diego said playfully. “You're lucky I love you.”

“I love you, too,” Steve said, as he pulled away from the mall and across the parking lot.

Diego's favorite steakhouse happened to be located next to the mall. It was something he wished he and his business partner would've looked into, as a third location, but they just couldn't get the money together. They entered the lobby to a full house and overflowing lobby.

“It's a good thing we've got time,” Steve said, looking around for the head waiter.

“How about we go somewhere else? By the looks of things, we might only get a few bites in before we have to leave.”

“I'm not worried about it.” Steve waved down the head waiter, who then waved the couple towards a freshly cleaned table.

“How much did you bribe him?” Diego asked once they took their seats, while relishing the bitterly jealous glares they were receiving from the waiting area.

“Oh, just enough.” Steve ordered a nice, upscale, red wine, one he knew Diego loved.

“What's going on here?” Diego gave his boyfriend a questioning look.

“Dinner, hopefully. I booked the table a couple weeks ago, but I didn't think it was going to be this busy.”

“Hmm.” Steve had a good job at the mill, still, but it wasn't that good. “Come on. Spill the bean. Why are we here?”

“For steak. Serious, Babe. You've been under a world of stress over this whole Calvin thing, not to mention Bryan's behavior since his birth mother's funeral hasn't been stellar either, and now, you've taken on Kenny's fight. You deserve a night out without all that drama. Please, just let me take care of you for once.”

“Fine,” Diego said, throwing up his hands in surrender. “We might as well enjoy it while we can. Your teacher's salary won't let this kind of thing happen very often.”

“Exactly, so let's make the most of it.”

They each ordered a ribeye steak, given how much the porterhouse was, along with a baked potato and salad. While they waited, Steve said, “So, have you given anymore thought about Caleb wanting to call me dad?”

They had briefly discussed it the night before, but Diego was so tired after work, he could hardly think and asked for some time to consider things. “To be honest, I haven't given it a lot of thought. It isn't that I didn't want to or think it's a horrible idea; I was just really busy with work earlier.”

“I know it's a lot, and I honestly don't know how to feel about it, myself. I love you and your kids. I've just never been in this situation before, so I don't know how to proceed, nor do I want to say yes to Caleb, while you object to the whole thing.”

“So you want Caleb to call you dad?”

“Again, I'm not sure. It would be mostly for him and his feelings, right? I don't want you to feel that I'm over stepping or let Caleb think of me as another father figure when that shouldn't be the case at all.”

“You're already another authority figure in their lives now, though you have limited authority over them. I think it's normal for Caleb to feel that way towards you, actually. I'm kind of surprised it hasn't happened before with some of my exes, but then again, they weren't good people...and you are good people, Steve. I wouldn't have let you move in, if I didn't feel that I could trust you with my boys. I've been down that road before and vowed, after the last guy, that I wouldn't ever put my boys through that crap again, unless the next guy was really special.”

Steve blushed and smiled. “I'm glad you feel that way. The past couple of years have been great. I haven't been this happy and content in ages. Even Bryan is warming up to me, and I never thought that would ever happen.”

“He's a tough nut to crack, but once he finally drops his defenses, he's a great and loyal kid. Honestly, you're the only guy he's ever taken any kind of liking towards. He always kept the others at a distance, especially the ones who tried too hard to get on his good side.”

“I just let him be him, and while I was just being me.”

“Apparently, you are just good enough as you are.”

“But where does that leave us with the whole dad-thing?”

“I think, if I had to make a decision right now, I'd say not yet. We've been living together for about a month now, and it's probably too soon for that label; maybe after a year we can revisit it, or sooner if things progress like they have.”

“That sounds fair.” Steve felt a little disappointed but saw the wisdom in his boyfriend's words. Luckily, their food came just in time to create a tasty distraction.

They took their time eating the perfectly cooked steak. They continued with the small talk, mostly focusing around Steve's new job as a teacher and coach. As much as Diego loved his kids, he knew he was not cut out to be a teacher. The abysmal pay and hell they went through with the students, parents, administrators, bureaucrats and other bullshit should've made every teacher a saint in his eyes.

“Shit,” Steve said as he dropped his fork under the table.

“I'll wave someone down,” Diego said, with a hint of disgust, knowing that the floor was never as clean as people liked to think, especially in a restaurant. He nearly choked on his wine as Steve came out from under the table with something that clearly wasn't a fork.

“Diego Padilla,” Steve said, grinning ear-to-ear. “The last few years have been the happiest of my life, and though I know we said we'd take things slow and have only been living together for a short time, I can't imagine my life without you and your sons in it. I look forward to waking up every morning next to you, and I can't wait for you to come home, because all I want to do is hold you close and never let go. I even look forward to dropping off, picking up and watching your kids, because they mean so much to me, too. I know a ring, ceremony and piece of paper isn't required to make a family, but it can't hurt right?” Steve choked up a little, as tears fell from Diego's face. Neither was aware that the restaurant around them had grown quite, and like Steve, waited with bated breath for the response. “So, Diego Padilla, will you marry me?”

Diego's phone buzzed, indicating a text message.