Thicker Than Water - 40. Chapter 40

The first night with Billy and Trevor was an...experience. Billy insisted that they get Kenny new bedding, so they went to Kohls. Kenny seemed uncomfortable being in a department store that wasn't Walmart. His eyes kept bugging out of his head every time he saw the price tags, and Bryan was concerned his boyfriend was going to develop a nervous tick.

“Don't worry about the prices,” Billy said, trying to be assuring, but neither felt okay about the expense.

Eventually, Billy would hang back, watching the teens react to an item. If it looked like they were interested prior to seeing the price, Billy would snatch it and toss it in the cart. Kenny was feeling ashamed for being so poor that he couldn't appreciate nice things being bought for him, while Bryan was getting irritated at Billy for not being sensitive to Kenny's situation.

Things got even more awkward when they made several stops at the clothing stores in the mall. For being gay, Kenny didn't have the stereotypical fashion sense most gay men seemed to have. His idea of dress clothes were jeans without holes and a plain, clean t-shirt. Billy, however, grabbed polo after polo, Khaki pants and shorts, Chinos and various t-shirts, much of which had sports team logos. Things almost came to a head when Billy brought up the kind of underwear Kenny wore.

Kenny got very overwhelmed and fell against Bryan. Though he wasn't crying out loud, his body shook in silent sobs.

“Um,” Billy said, realizing that he was going about things all wrong, “how about I leave you two to it? I'll be by the registers when you're done. Just get what you want or like, even a couple pairs of shoes. Just don't worry about the costs, alright. You can't break my bank.”

Once Billy was out of sight, Bryan lifted Kenny's wet face and kissed him. “I'm sorry this is bothering you so much.”

“It's just too much at once, I think. It feels like I'm being erased and replaced by someone else, like I'm not good enough as I am.”

“I honestly don't think he's trying to do that. He's probably just trying to make you feel better. Donna used to try that when we'd visit her during her rare moments of sobriety. Besides, what gay boy doesn't want a sugar daddy?” Bryan was happy that his joke made Kenny giggle. “Come on. The sooner we get this over with, the sooner we can relax."

Kenny hugged Bryan and let himself be dragged away by the boy he loved.

*     *     *

By the time they left clothing stores, each was carrying two full bags each. Kenny was even wearing a brand new pair of Jordans. He honestly couldn't tell the difference between them and the cheap Skechers he normally wore, but he wanted to see how sincere Billy's “won't break my bank” remark was. To his surprise, Billy didn't seem phased despite the nearly $200 price tag.

Billy made one final stop at Best Buy and had the boys come in with him.

Billy squatted down, so he was just below eye level with Kenny. “I'm really sorry for upsetting you. I seriously wasn't trying to do that.”

“I know,” Kenny said, feeling that something was up. “Bryan and I talked about it, and he said you were just trying to be nice.”

“Yes, I was. I know you have your own clothes at your apartment, but I also don't know what kind of condition they're in. There's a chance we might have to throw some out, and I wanted to be sure you had some clothing in reserve, and since you're being put in a situation you didn't ask for, I wanted to give you something nice to show that you're just as welcome in our home as the twins.”

Billy took a deep, settling breath, readying himself to a bad reaction. “So, with that in mind, we're here to get you a computer. You'll need one to do homework, and Quinton will never let me hear the end of it if you can't play Minecraft with him. Will you please let me get you a computer set up?”

Kenny didn't know what to say. He had been using his mother's old tower and had never considered ever owning a brand new computer. He felt Bryan take him by the hand and give it a gentle squeeze. All he could do was nod.

The three entered and instead of heading towards the back where the computers were, they went to Customer Service.

“I'm here to pick up the order I made earlier. The name is under Billy Wimbish.”

The guy at the computer nodded, then his eyes not so subtly widened. “Yes, Sir, Mr. Wimbish. Do you need help with the items?”

“No,” Billy said, with a nervous chuckle. “I think these two and a cart will do, thanks.” Billy looked at the boys and said, sheepishly, “I may have gone just a little overboard. To be fair, I wasn't prepared for how things had gone earlier, so please don't be mad at me.”

It was several minutes before the clerk returned with a cart loaded with several boxes. Bryan gasped at what he saw. There was a brand new tower and by the specs it was a really good gaming computer, probably the best stock computer the store had. There was also a large, a triple HD monitor, gaming mouse, printer, LED keyboard, a high end webcam, headset, mic and a top of the line (well, for Best Buy) laptop.

“And a PS5?” Bryan sighed. “Seriously?” Bryan wasn't sure if he was impressed or admonishing.

Billy's face grimaced, realizing that he had indeed gone too far, but things got worse when the clerk handed Billy two cards. “Here are your gift cards, Mr. Wimbish.”

“I guess these are yours,” Billy said, handing them to Kenny. The first one he handed over was a $500 Best Buy gift card and the other was a $500 Playstation card to be used for downloading games and other content. “How about you and Bryan go look for some games for your PC.”

They didn't need to be told twice. The boys rushed to the game section and grabbed a bunch of games. Kenny decided he'd transfer his Minecraft account and worlds to his new system once they finished packing up his apartment.

*     *     *

“Honey, we're home!” Billy called out as they walked into the house from the garage.

Trevor was in the living room watching TV. He looked over, saw all the packages and shook his head. “Did you buy the mall or something?”

“Ha ha, very funny.” Billy kissed Trevor, who had gotten up to help bring everything in.

Bryan looked around and saw that the house was pretty nice. He wasn't sure what he was expecting from a lawyer and school counselor. The house was a single story, with a vaulted roof over the living room and kitchen, which made the space look much larger than it was. A single hall led to the other rooms.

“Kenny,” Trevor said, pointing to the hall, which was just off of the kitchen, “your room is the first door on the left. You also have your own bathroom which is next door. The twins' room is across the hall from your room. On the other side of your bathroom is the office, and across the hall from there, next to the twins' room, is the master bedroom. Think you can remember all that?”

“He's almost in high school, Trevor,” Billy chuckled. “If he can find his way around his school, I think he can handle our hall.”

Trevor rolled his eyes. “Anyway, once you get settled in, I want you both to come back out, so we can go over the rules of the house before you go to bed. I wasn't expecting my husband to go on a shopping spree or we would've gone over everything at dinner.”

Bryan and Kenny took everything into the bedroom. There was a queen sized bed, stripped of bedding, a dresser and a sizable desk. The first thing they did was make the bed, since everything else required a lot more assembly, which they agreed could happen after the move from the apartment.

“How are you feeling?” Bryan asked, still concerned about his boyfriend.

“Let's just say I'm so glad you're here. Billy and Trevor are nice, but it's all too much, you know?”

“Yeah, I get it. I remember after Calvin left, my dad went nuts spoiling me and Caleb, though Caleb was too young to really know what was going on. Abuela had to rein him in before he went broke. Granted, we needed clothes and stuff, but he went crazy with toys. Of course, we didn't mind.”

“What happens if they think I'm using them, though? This is all awesome stuff, but I don't want them to get rid of me because they think I'm taking advantage.”

“I doubt that would happen. If it does, I know my dads will have something to say about it.”

Kenny chuckled, causing Bryan to give him a questioning look. Kenny said, “It was only a couple months ago that you didn't really like Steve, and now, you're calling him Dad.”

Bryan blushed, glad the 'Daddy' joke wasn't continued. “It's not that I hated him or anything. He's a good guy. I was just scared he'd leave if he and I got close.”

“I don't think Steve is going anywhere.”

“Me neither. It's nice having two dads.”

Kenny paused and said, “I've never had one, let alone two...until now, I guess.”

It was Bryan's turn to chuckle. “It's not really the same thing, you know. You're not here permanently and they haven't adopted you. The closest I'd say is that they're rich uncles or something.”

“Hot, rich uncles,” Kenny clarified.

Bryan scowled and hit Kenny with a pillow. “I'm the only one you get to call hot.”

“Yes, Daddy,” Kenny said, having suckered Bryan into her verbal trap.

Bryan shook his head in disgust. “No!” He then hit Kenny again.

*     *     *

Once the bed was made, the boys returned to the living room, where Billy and Trevor were sitting on the couch. They motioned for the boys to sit in a nearby loveseat.

“I hope the room is big enough,” Trevor said. “Unfortunately, it's the best we've got. Since the twins refuse to sleep in separate rooms, even here, they have the bigger room.”

“It's actually bigger than my room at home,” Kenny said, before realizing that his “home” wasn't really his anymore.

“Good. So, since you'll be living here until your mom is better, you need to have keys.” Trevor handed over a set of keys to Kenny. “You'll find a key to the front door, back door and garage door. Tomorrow, we'll show you how to work the alarm system. Now that you have keys, here's a wallet. Inside you'll find a bus pass, so you can get around on your own. Billy and I don't necessarily keep regular hours, and you might want to go over to Bryan's on the weekends.”

“Here's a new phone, as well,” Billy said, handing over a brand new android. “Our numbers are already programmed, along with a few others. Your mom's service will be shutting down soon, so we put you on our plan.”

Trevor jumped in. “For the moment, we don't want you downloading any social media, until we have a talk about the dangers of online predators. We won't be banning you from apps you already have, but we want to take this seriously. I've already had a couple students come to me after being targeted. We don't want that to happen to you.”

“Okay.” Kenny felt it was overkill, but he accepted it. Bryan had the same talk from Diego not too long ago, so he was sure he'd manage it with Trevor.

“As for house rules, we don't have a lot, per se. Most are common sense stuff, like keeping your room clean, helping around the house, doing other chores we assign you, etc. You have free range of the house, except the master bedroom and the twins' room without permission. Likewise, the twins are not allowed in your room without permission.

“Billy and I will respect your privacy unless you give us reason to not trust you. We're taking your health and safety very seriously. If you need to talk about anything, no matter what it is, you need to tell us, even if you think you'll get in trouble or hurt our feelings. We're here for you, okay?”

“I understand.”

Bryan interjected, not sure Kenny would ever mention it, and he wanted to see how honest Trevor was being with his offer. “Kenny's worried that you might get rid of him after he accepted the things Billy bought.”

Kenny glared at Bryan, who ignored him. Bryan decided he'd take the heat later, but felt Kenny deserved the honesty that Trevor was agreeing to.

“No, Kenny. We definitely will not be getting rid of you. This is your home until your mother is able to take care of you. As for the things Billy bought, those are 100% yours, and they will not ever be held against you; in fact, I'm surprised Billy didn't spend more on you.”

“He wanted to, but Kenny was getting upset.”

“Ah,” Trevor said. “Kenny, I'm going to be very open and honest with you. Billy has always wanted a son. He and I never had a chance to adopt for various reasons. We've been spoiling the twins and their sister for years, probably more than their dads ever wanted us to.”

“I got excited and carried away,” Billy said, his face a little red with embarrassment. “Call it late stage baby fever or whatever. But you really did need all those things we got.”

“All of them?” Trevor didn't look convinced.

“I only spent a grand on the gift cards.” Bryan's brain hurt from how casual Billy was about the money. Diego's head would've been spinning at those words.

“Well, I'm sure Kenny will put them to good use,” Trevor said. Billy only continued to be wealthy because Trevor was in charge of the finances. Everything that was bought was done so with purpose, knowing it would last a long time, making the expense worth it in the long run.

“Anyway,” Trevor continued, “Kenny, you'll have a list of chores to do around the house. You'll be expected to have them done each day. You'll be given an allowance every week, so long as you complete your chores on time and without being asked. How does $50 per week sound?”

Both boys looked shocked. It didn't take much for them to realize that it would be $200 per month, which was more than most kids their age got. Of course, it depended on the chores and how long it took to complete them, but that was still good money, especially since Kenny had never had an allowance before.

“That's great.” Kenny said, unable to think about anything else.

“Good. Now, as for sleeping arrangements,” Trevor said, much more serious. “We already know you two are in a relationship. We're not dumb enough to assume that you two haven't already messed around. Because of that, we have reservations with the two of you sharing a bed, so until we can have a talk with Bryan's dads, he'll be sleeping in James's bed. We're not trying to be insulting or controlling. It's just a rule for now, okay?”

The boys didn't like it much but agreed.

“Alright. Get to bed. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow.”