Thicker Than Water - 43. Chapter 43

True to his word, Charlie came by the following Saturday just before Calvin's visit. It was clear that Calvin was nervous. Charlie considered cleaning his gun, but decided that might be a bit too much for the judge to accept, since they were certain Calvin's lawyer will file every complaint they could muster. Instead, Charlie sat in silence, occasionally dealing with James, who was in Bryan's room playing video games.

Unlike the previous visits, Calvin was a little more communicative with the boys, asking how school was going and if they liked sports. Caleb answered but was still too timid to ask his own questions again, while Bryan ignored the man.

Once the hour was up, Calvin let himself out.

“That wasn't too painful,” Steve said, turning off the camera.

“Says you,” Bryan retorted. “How many of these do we have left?”

“Who knows? The next hearing is either next week or the week after, I think. Hopefully, not long after that.”

“I wish he'd go away again,” Caleb said, sounding rather sad.

Bryan pulled Caleb into a hug and said, “Me too, and with any luck, he will leave and never come back.”

Charlie didn't know what to say, if anything. His own relationship with his father was...complicated. As a father himself, he tried his best to do right by his kids, even when they drove him insane.

“James,” Charlie called out. In a matter of seconds, his youngest child came into the living room. “I'm taking off. Are you sure you'll be fine here?” James and Quinton didn't spend a lot of time apart.

“I'll be fine, Daddy. I got Bryan and Caleb to hang out with; plus, Uncle Steve and Diego, as well. Quinton and I will talk before bed, as usual.”

“Sounds good,” Charlie said, as he hugged James. “I love you, kiddo.”

“I love you, too, old man.”

The hug turned into a quick headlock, before Charlie applied several noogies. Everyone laughed, including James. Charlie hugged Steve and said goodbye.

*     *     *

Diego was pleased to hear that Charlie had stopped by for the visit, though he wasn't very thrilled that Calvin was making more of an effort. He knew Calvin wasn't just going to let it go, but he did hope that Calvin's lack of participation would help weaken his claim. Unfortunately, he didn't share Billy's confidence or enthusiasm.

Chinese take out was ordered, since nobody was in the mood to cook. The boys made quick work of their food, so they could go back to playing video games, leaving Steve and Diego curled up on the couch.

“With everything going on,” Steve said, while rubbing Diego's shoulders, "we haven't discussed any wedding plans.”

“I know,” Diego said, as shame came flooding in. “I'm really sorry about that.”

“I get it. The kids come first--”

“--but so should you.”

Steve kissed Diego and said, “I appreciate that, but honestly, I'm not going anywhere. Keeping the boys is the number one priority. However, I thought we could get to the number two priority, since they're busy.”

“What were you thinking?”

“Well, I'm not religious, and you're a recovering Catholic, so I'm not sure a church wedding would be appropriate.”

Diego laughed. “True. We may have a new Pope who is gay friendly, but that doesn't mean we'd be welcomed by the bishop anytime soon.”

“With that said, though, I was thinking of a late spring or early summer ceremony, outside in a park.”

“Pride is in early summer. We could do it then?”

"True, but I was also looking for something smaller. Most of my family is still in Franklin, and yours, except for Luis, is all over the place. I want your mom here, too.”

“She'd love that, but her health hasn't been that great.” Diego's mother had suffered a stroke not too long after moving to Mexico, and though it wasn't a major stroke, she has had some mobility issues that compounded other health concerns. “I'll see if Rosa would be willing to come with her.”

“I'd like to invite Ry, Charlie, Billy, Trevor and the twins, too,” Steve said. Diego noted a hit of nervousness in Steve's voice.

“Of course, they're invited. I'd want Kenny there, too, since he's part of this family. I also want to get a pic of him and Bryan in matching suits.”

“They'd look adorable.”

“Exactly, and it'll drive Bryan up a wall,” Diego laughed. Diego's laughter was short lived, however. “I don't want to set a firm date just yet, though. If things go bad with the case--”

“--They won't,” Steve said firmly but then softened, “but I get what you're saying. We have to remain positive, Babe. We can't let negativity get into our heads. I know being positive is hard, especially with that judge, but the second we let depression and hard feelings dictate our thinking, we'll make mistakes and waste what time we have.”

“I wish I was as optimistic as you.”

“I can be for the both of us. I love you and the boys enough to spend that extra energy.”

Diego kissed Steve and said, “I don't deserve you.”

“Yes, you do. You more than deserve me.”

*     *     *

Caleb made a fuss when it came to bedtime. He was having too much fun beating James at Madden, though James and Bryan knew that James was losing on purpose.

“Get your butt in bed, now, mister!” Diego ordered for the fifth time.

“Why can't I stay here?”

“Because they're going to bed, too! Don't make me tell you again.”

Caleb got up in a huff and handed Bryan the controller. James grabbed Caleb and gave him a hug. “We can play tomorrow, so you better be prepared for a butt kicking.”

“In your dreams,” Caleb said, returning the hug.

Caleb then tried giving Bryan a hug but was playfully pushed away. “Ew, I don't want your sloppy seconds.”

“Bryan!” Diego said, firmly while trying not to laugh.

Bryan hugged and tickled Caleb before his little brother left the room.

“Good night, you two, and lights off in twenty minutes,” Diego said, before closing the door.

James stripped down to his boxers and got into his makeshift bed on the floor. He grabbed his phone and began texting his brother, who was staying the night with Kenny, playing Minecraft. “Want to pass a message to Kenny?”

“No, I'll text him in the morning,” Bryan said, feeling insecure again. He took off his clothes, except his boxer briefs and climbed into bed. He listened as James chuckled and typed away. He wasn't sure what to think about Kenny being alone with Quinton. He remembered the conversation he had with James the previous week, but he was still worried that something might happen.

“Going to get the light?” James asked, pulling Bryan from his thoughts.

Bryan reached over and turned off the lamp next to his bed. The room grew dark and the only noise was that of the two teens getting comfortable.

“Kenny says, 'Hi,' by the way.”

“Cool,” Bryan said.

“Can I ask you a question?”

“Sure?”

“Why are you insecure about Kenny? It's clear he really likes you, but you still seem weird about it.”

Bryan sighed. He liked James and the more they hung out the better friends they became; however, James didn't seem to understand boundaries or get that some things just didn't need to be discussed. “It's complicated.”

“I don't see how. You have a boyfriend who doesn't stop talking about you, and all you seem to do is mope.”

“Kenny talks about me all the time?” That was news to Bryan.

“Yeah. Quinton says that's all Kenny ever seems to talk about. Q finds it a bit annoying, but I think that's because my brother doesn't have a boyfriend yet.”

Bryan was glad the room was dark, because he could feel himself blush. “I didn't know he talked about me.”

“That still doesn't answer my question: Why are you so insecure?”

Bryan had to think about it for a minute. Just as James was getting overly annoyed, Bryan said, “I'm worried he'll leave me for someone else, and I don't know how to deal with that.”

“Well, from what Quinton gathers, you're not losing Kenny anytime soon; in fact, you may need Uncle Billy to draft a restraining order. That kid is obsessed.”

“Shut up,” Bryan said and giggled, causing James to do the same.

“Seriously, though, you have literally zero to worry about. You're the only guy for him, apparently.”

Silence fell upon the room as Bryan contemplated James's words. “You don't have to sleep on the floor if you don't want to,” Bryan offered, though a part of him hoped James would decline.

“Okay,” James said. He got up and got into bed with Bryan who moved to the other side. “Thanks. Your floor isn't exactly soft.”

“Why are you being nice to me and my brother?” Bryan didn't know where that came from, but it was too late to take it back.

It was James's turn to feel insecure. “I don't have any cousins. It's just Beth, Quinton and I. I've always wanted to be part of a big family and have a ton of cousins to hang out with. It just doesn't feel as lonely, you know?”

“What about Ry's side of the family?”

James groaned. “There is no side of Papa's family.” Bryan could feel James shift around uncomfortably.

“What happened?”

James kept his response rather short and to the point. “Papa had a brother and sister, but they died due to drugs. His birth mother was killed by his birth father before the piece of shit killed himself.”

“Fuck,” Bryan whispered. “I'm sorry. I honestly didn't know.”

“It's okay,” James said, rolling onto his side, facing Bryan. “We don't really talk about it at home, for obvious reasons. Since Papa has no family, and Daddy's only sibling is Uncle Billy, who also has no children, it just leaves me and my siblings.”

“So, you want cousins?”

“Well, it's not like my parents want to have more kids, and Kenny will probably be the only kid my uncles will ever have. As I said before, Steve is like an uncle, which would make you and Caleb cousins, like Kenny.”

“I get it, I think. I don't have any family from my birth parents, but I have a ton of uncles, aunts and cousins on Diego's side. We're not blood related, but that doesn't mean we're not family.”

“Exactly! You may not get to pick and choose who you're genetically related to, but you can pick who your family is.”

“And you want to be cousins with me?”

“Why not?”

“I don't know. I'm not really anyone special.”

“Now, you're sounding like I want to bone you.”

“You know what I mean! I'm sure you could find other people to fill that role for you, so why me?”

James reached out and pulled Bryan into a hug. Bryan was surprised at how strong James was and couldn't stop the hug from happening. James squeezed Bryan and said, “You're worthy, Bryan.”

“What?” He was very confused.

“You're worthy of being liked, loved and cared for. I get Calvin fucked you up, but that doesn't mean you have to live the rest of your life pushing people away. You are your own person and are worthy of having the things you want.”

“And what do I want?”

“Isn't it obvious? You want acceptance. You want people to want you. You want to feel accepted by those you care about, because your fuck face sperm donor makes you feel like you don't deserve it. You push people away, so you don't get hurt. But you're only getting hurt because you don't feel like you're worthy of their time, love and consideration. Kenny loves the shit out of you, bro, but you're still worried he'll leave you. You're being weird about me wanting to be friends and family with you, because you're worried that I'll find some reason to be rid of you. What you're failing to see is that we want to be in your life, all you have to do is just let us do that. I know it's hard, but you have to trust us. We're not your bios. We're choosing to keep you, just like your dads are.”

Bryan lost it. He clung to James and emotionally dumped on him. James just held Bryan, rubbed his back and said, “You're okay. I'm not going anywhere...and for the record, we're not fucking after this.”

Bryan snorted and laughed through his tears. “Good,” he said, choking back another sobbing fit, “you're not my type.”

“Fuck yeah, I am, and you know it.” Both boys started to laugh.

“Thanks,” Bryan said, hugging James again. “Whoa!” He called out as James turned him around in the bed, so they were spooning. “What are you doing?”

“I'm the big spoon.”

“Says who? This is my bed!”

“And I'm the token straight boy in this situation, which makes me a big spoon by default. I don't need to wake up to your pirate invading my port looking for buried treasure. There is zero booty in this booty.”

“And how do I know you won't do the same to me?”

“Please. Your booty has probably already been plundered, while mine is locked tight like Fort Knox.”

“That's homophobic,” Bryan said, holding onto James's arms.

“It's okay. I have gay friends,” James said, hugging Bryan.

Both boys laughed and went to sleep.