Coming clean (Stefan)

[Brendan James]

Brendan had still yet to tell his father about his relationship with Vin. And he’d managed to get the girls to promise their silence. After all, there were rumors swarming around the school. Ollie had been easy enough. The youngest James child said she didn’t want to upset The Captain or Bren, so, as long as he promised to tell their father eventually, she’d keep it to herself. Al was a little bit more difficult. But she was at that age she supposed. And while he wasn’t proud of what he’d done to get it, he insured the middle James child’s silence too. Bribery with a touch of blackmail went a long way with her though.

All the secrets though? It would’ve normally been his mom he talked to, especially in a situation like this. And he had. In a way. He hadn’t gone to her grave, but instead used his ability to bring an illusion of her. But it wasn’t the same. And the girls didn’t know details. Only that he’d been let go from his position as a Hammel teacher and it had involved a student. As far as his dad and uncle knew though, Brendan had quit.

His father had been surprised. And suspicious. Teaching was what Brendan had wanted to do his entire life. But he’d managed to convince his father working at the theater was too big an opportunity to pass up. Whether or not his uncle had believed that he’d quit? Well, that he didn’t know.

It’d been months now though. And the lies had to come to an end. He figured it’d be easier to talk to his uncle first. They were so much more alike than his father and himself. At least Brendan thought so. That was why he’d asked Stefan to meet him for a walk. Because today was they day.

Of course, he’d dressed in his regular ‘uncle approved’ fashion, which was just dressing to impress. Dapper was how Brendan preferred to describe it. And he’d even added something else to the outfit this time. Well, two things really. But he pulled one out, a pocket watch, to check the time. Still a few minutes early. So he pulled the legs of his pants up a little and sat on the bench, waiting.

[Stefan Spencer]

When Stefan had heard through the family grapevine that Brendan had quit his job, he was a tad suspicious. Still, Brendan was a grown man now, and Stefan wasn’t one to pry. He’d seen his nephew only once or twice since he had heard the news, but it was enough to confirm Stefan’s belief that Brendan was lying, or at least not telling the whole truth. After all, Stefan’s ability made him a hard man to lie to.

Still Stefan knew there were some truths that he didn’t want to know. And others that people didn’t want to tell. So he chose not to confront Brendan about it, or even mention his estimation to his brother-in-law.

So when his nephew called to ask Stefan to take a stroll, he had a pretty good guess that it was more about having a chat than getting some exercise or enjoying the weather.

He had just walked up when Brendan was pulling a flask out from his sock. “I see I’ve taught you well,” he said, grinning as he took a seat on the bench beside him. “But those socks. Well I’ve always said you were a little eccentric.” He patted Brendan on the back, letting him know that he was only half-kidding.

Pulling out his own flask from the inside pocket of his jacket, Stefan leaned back against the bench. His leg was bothering him a little more than usual today, and he’d been leaning more than usual on his cane when he walked up. Hopefully his gut was right and this was more of a “we need to talk” get together than an actual walk around the park.

“So how’s theater life?” he asked.

[Brendan James]

With a laugh, Brendan smiled up at his Uncle. “Oh you most certainly have. I know all the tricks.” After taking a sip, a long one, from his flask, he twisted the top back on and slipped it into his sock. A drink couldn’t hurt at this point. Actually, could only help. “And my socks are just ridiculous enough that those who think they can improve me, want to try.” Of course, with this he was referring to his experience in relationships with women. They were always trying to improve the men they were bedding. It seemed a pattern. Not that he held it against them. Women had other attributes, great attributes, to offer.

Brendan turned on the park bench, adjusting so that he could better face his uncle. If he had put any thought into their meeting other than what he was telling Uncle Swag, he would’ve instead suggested they meet somewhere else. Perhaps the James house would’ve been better? Though, it could sometimes still be sad in their home. Pictures of Kathryn were all over the home. But it still felt empty in a way.

“It’s the theater.” Bren said with a shrug, looking down at his hands. “Actors, directors. Their reputations precede them.” It was true. The majority of actors and directors that he’d had to be around were a least a little douche-esque. Of course, there were exceptions to every rule. “But it’s great. I get to be as creative as I want most of the time.” When he looked up, he nodded his head towards his uncle. “How’s the leg been feeling?” He’d noticed the man leaning on it more than usual. And Brendan was more than willing to stay seated for their time together.

[Stefan Spencer]

Stefan returned his nephew’s smile. “All the tricks?” he asked, raising one eyebrow. “I would hope there are a few more things I have to teach you. Don’t want you writing me off as a useless old man just yet.” He easily picked on the reference Brendan was making and couldn’t help being proud of him. Although Stefan had never had any children of his own, he had always hoped they would turn out to be like his sister’s children. Although he was closest to his nephew, and had the more “teachings” to offer to him, he was proud of all of them.

“Well I’m glad things are working out for you there,” he said, still waiting for the moment when Brendan would bring up the real reason for this meeting. “I have to admit I was a little surprised when you switched jobs, you’ve always wanted to teach. But if you’ve found something that makes you happier than I’m glad for you.”

He waved off the question about his leg. Although there were days when it really bothered him, he tried not to bring it up as a topic of conversation. It was an old habit from avoiding the topic of why his leg was busted up in the first place. “Nothing that a little medication can’t help,” he said, taking another long drink from his flask.

[Brendan James]

With a chuckle, Brendan shook his head. “Oh no, don’t worry. I’ve still yet to perfect the swag you’ve got going on. I doubt I’ll ever be able to pull it off as well as you. But that doesn’t mean I can’t try!” He said with a confident smile. Because Brendan was nothing if not persistent and hard working. Well, usually at least.

There it was. His perfect opportunity to tell his uncle what exactly was going on in his life at present. To say ‘Hey, so here’s the real story.’ And it was Uncle Stefan. He’d been so close to this man his entire life. Looked up to him as he did his own father. Mind you, in different ways. Still though, he was close to him. And yet his eyes dropped to the bench. Like a coward. “Yeah. Well… I am much happier now.”

A little smile made it’s way back to his lip when Uncle Swag mentioned his need for medication and took a swig from his own flask. Sharing flasks was not allowed. Not because of germs. But who wanted to share booze? In all serious though, Brendan had never, and probably would never, think of his uncle as an alcoholic. He functioned. He functioned well too. Friends, job, family that he sees regularly. Alcoholics didn’t have that, right? “Well that’s good at least.”

Quickly, he retrieved his flash again, took a good long sip from it. Then looked back at his uncle. “Ok. So… Here’s the thing.” It was now or never to tell him. He had to get it out. All the lies were eating away at him. “You guys don’t know what actually happened with Hammel.” Those knots in his stomach. Oh they were raging against him. So he took another swig. Lets be thankful he’s not a lightweight. “I didn’t quit. I was fired. Or let go. Or terminated. Whatever. Either way, it wasn't my choice."

[Stefan Spencer]

“Oh I’m not worried,” Stefan said, giving Brendan a smile. And he wasn’t. Even if, and mostly likely when, his nephew reached his level of ‘swag’ Stefan be more proud than anything else.

Stefan sighed a little. It saddened him a little to think that Brendan was keeping something from him, and he was sure now that his nephew was. Stefan knew the value of having secrets, but this…this seemed to be something that was eating away at Brendan. And Stefan couldn’t take that.

But then it seemed the time had come to let the cat out of the bag. Stefan took a drink of his own, bracing himself for the worst. After all, what could be so bad that Brendan felt like he had to lie?

“You were fired?” he asked, not because he was ashamed of Brendan but because he was confused why that would be the big, horrible secret. “That’s the thing?” He almost laughed, but held himself back. “Listen Brendan, I’ve been fired from more than my fair share of jobs,” Of course, Stefan didn’t feel it necessary to go into the how’s and why’s that he had been fired in the past. “It happens. The important thing is to keep on your feet and you seem to be doing fine in that area.”

“Live and learn, son.” And when all else fails, have a drink, he continued in his head, having another drink as he did.

[Brendan James]

Brendan knew his uncle meant nothing by him saying that he wasn’t worried. But being Brendan and always having a little, to say the least, flare for the dramatics, the younger man decided to fain offense. “Heeey now! I’ll have you know, I’m about this close to having as much swag as you..” As he spoke, he used his thumb and pointer finger to indicate a small amount.

“Why, just the other day, I was at Kali’s Kafe and there was this younger girl, about college age, flirting up a storm with me! Easily could’ve taken her home.” At least Brendan likes to think he could’ve taken Victoire home. He wasn’t absolutely sure. Because he hadn’t. Any other time he would’ve. But when one was in a committed relationship, they were expected to be just that, committed.

Yes, he’d told the truth. He’d been fired. But it wasn’t the whole truth. “Well, it’s not just that I was fired Uncle Stefan.” Because even Brendan had been fired before. The pool he’d worked at for a few during the summer? They apparently didn’t find large amounts of bubbles dumped into the pool as funny as he did. Whatever. Their loss.

“It’s more along the lines of… Why I was.” He was sure that at that moment, his uncle was thinking of about a million different reasons why Brendan would’ve been fired. Most likely all of which would’ve been likely. The oldest James child wasn’t one to let a few laws get in his way in the past. But teaching had been something else entirely. He’d known for a long time that’s what he’d wanted to do. And there was little, one thing actually, that he’d let get in the way of that.

“But you have to understand…” Brendan’s eyes were fixed on the cap of the flask in his hands. “It wasn’t planned. I didn’t mean for it to happen.” Taking another quick sip, Brendan added one last thing he was sure would bring it all into place for his uncle. “And they were of consenting age.” Probably for the first time, Brendan looked sheepish, afraid of what his uncle might say.

[Stefan Spencer]

Stefan was talented at reading perfect strangers so when it came telling when Brendan was acting, he was an expert. Still he enjoyed his nephew’s thespian talents. “I think it’s more like this much,” he said, laughing as he reached his hand out to spread Brendan’s finger and thumb apart further.

“Well bravo,” he said, even going so far as to clap a few times. “Although I’m curious as to why you would turn the chance to take home a beautiful girl. I though I taught you better than to pass up good opportunities.” Had Stefan known that his nephew was in a relationship he would have been proud that Brendan was being committed. Although Stefan was not much for relationships himself, he strongly believed that one should be committed to theirs. And he did his part not to get in the way of any of them.

Stefan raised an eyebrow as Brendan went on to explain. Now he really was curious. It wasn’t like Brendan to be ashamed of any rule breaking. He had always been the kind to toe-the-line. And Stefan had never been very good at being a model citizen either, so he didn’t have much room to talk. He took a long drink to brace himself for the rest of this explanation.

“They?” Stefan asked. He wasn’t sure whether to be surprised, upset, concerned or just proud. His face went through a range of emotions as looked at his nephew. Finally he sighed and took another drink. “Maybe you’d better start at the beginning.”

He couldn’t help but smile as he added. “Your father might kill you, ya know?” He was only half joking though.

[Brendan James]

The epitome of maturity, Brendan stuck out his tongue at his uncle for saying that he was even further away from Stefan’s level of swag. “Well then… I guess you’re not as good a sensei of swag as I’ve always thought. If I’m really that far away.” Of course, there was a smile on his face to show he was only teasing. No matter how mocking the smile was.

“Yes well… I figure go slowly. Pilot Ridge isn’t exactly a big town. I don’t want word getting around to everybody that I’m trying to sleep with all the pretty girls. Then none of them would sleep with me.” The fact that he was in a relationship… Well, in time it would all come out. And passing up different chances to sleep with people would make more sense. Brendan was nothing if not devoted.

Bren had only said ‘they’ in an attempt to avoid using a pronoun. But he hadn’t realized that it could be taken as multiple. Which, he should’ve. “Oh no!” Brendan’s began shaking back and forth so fast that whiplash was a very real possibility. “No no no. Singular. I promise.” This was… By far the most nervous he’d ever been. So much that he began chewing his lip.

“I knooow! He’s going to… Flip his shit.” Bren shook his head at himself. He’d caused his father so much grief over the years. It shocked the him that The Captain hadn’t disowned him long ago, what with the multiple arrests (all minor infractions mind you) and many nights in the drunk tank. And that was only some of it.

But back to the point at hand. “It… just kinda happened?” He offered lamely. “ It was a student. And they came to my room after class while I was cleaning. We were listening to music. We started dancing. Then we went out. Had a few drinks.” Read a lot of drinks. “And just kinda… happened. And then there was a dance at school. And some things happened. And we ended up kissing in the hall and were caught by the school shrink.”

Was the story done yet? Nope. “But there’s uh… One last thing.”

[Stefan Spencer]

Stefan continued to grin at his nephew. The boy had a lot to learn in the ways of swag if he was going to be a true master. And Stefan hoped he would be lucky enough to continue to teach him. After all what were uncles for?

Not that all of Stefan’s instructions were based around that as well. Even before his sister’s death, he had tried his best to be a role model in her children’s lives. It was unlikely that Stefan would ever have children of his own, so he had turned his attention to his sister’s children. He may not have been the best role model, certainly his drinking habits seemed to have rubbed of onto Brenda, but he really hoped he was a positive example in their lives. Which was one reason he was glad that Brendan felt comfortable enough to talk with him.

“Oh,” Stefan said, a little ashamed of assuming his nephew was out having threesomes. Still he hadn’t been able to stop himself from being proud at the idea. Maybe Brendan’s swagger was improving after all.

“Yes he very well may ‘flip his shit’,” Stefan agreed. Maybe you should offer him a few drinks before you break the news. As usual in Stefan’s book, alcohol improved any and all situations.

But it seemed Stefan hadn’t heard the worst of it yet. “A student?” he said. He tried to look displeased but he couldn’t help grinning as he added. “You cradle robber.” Although Stefan had never been a real serious relationship, at least not one were he would have used the big “L” word, he understood attraction. And how it sometimes happened in all the wrong places.

“You got caught by Dr. Neville?” he asked. Although Stefan didn’t know the man personally, he had lived in Pilot Ridge long enough to have heard about him. “That’s unfortunate.”

“There’s more?” Stefan asked. He mentally counted off what had been revealed so far. Brendan was fired. Because he had relations with a student. (One of consenting age, but still a student.) And they had been caught during a school dance by another faculty member.

Well that explained the reason for being fired, but Stefan couldn’t help but feel a little nervous (and perhaps excited) to hear what else his nephew had to say. Bracing himself with another long drink from his flask he asked, “Well then, let’s have it.”

[Brendan James]

Comfortable enough to talk to him? Hell, Stefan was the first person Brendan was talking to. About everything. Well, involving the situation that is. And trust me when I saw that nobody else had even crossed his mind when he thought of whom to talk to first. Granted, it was partially selfish reasons. He was hoping Stefan would be there when he did finally tell his dad, hoping that he’d pull his father off of him when Tim tried to strangle Bren. Also, Brendan thought he’d understand better than anybody.

As for threesomes… Well… Bren’s no stranger. Not now anyway. But that’s another story for another time.

“No seriously… Uncle Swag, if I go missing in the near future, it was probably him.” Brendan was kidding though… Kinda. “But the cops get involved, steer them away from him. The girls need him.” Never being one to just let a joke go, he made sure it was good and used before moving on.

“Yeeeah… A student.” Brendan’s head hung a little. It was kind of weird to say the least. He left like he was in a movie. College professor asks the young, well-endowed blonde girl for certain favors in return for a good grade. Except he wasn’t a college professor. Vincent wasn’t a blonde. Or really a girl (despite what the make-up in the bathroom might imply). And it hadn’t been for a grade. But other than that, totally alike. “Hey now, the student was twenty.” Which only spoke to Vin’s intelligence level. Brendan just wasn’t going to win today.

Thinking back on the day he and Vin had been caught, Brendan still cringed. Whyyyy did it have to be Dr. Neville? Anybody else and Bren wouldn’t have cared. But something about Sean having caught them, a man he had the utmost respect for. Though, he supposed it was all the best. “Yeah. I suspect we kind of ruined his Valentine’s Day.” Yep… Just keep adding more awfulness to it. On top of everything, it had been Valentine’s Day and Bren had ruined his.

“We’re… Kind of living together now.” Which was the hardest part. It had just kind of happened too oddly enough. And it wasn’t actually official. But he’d been spending every night at the apartment. So, he was like a third roommate, who kept the other two fed. Well fed that is. No more cereal for every meal for you Vin.

Taking one last big gulp from his flask, the ex-teacher added the last bit of the puzzle. “That’s not the one last thing though… This is. The student’s name is Vincent Verax.” Which was probably, by far the biggest surprise of all. Brendan, even from a young age, had been strictly interested in women. It had been like a passion of his. Women had been his passion. As far as a ‘type’, he didn’t have one. And if he did, you could only say that women were his. So now that he was with a man?

[Stefan Spencer]

Stefan couldn’t help but grin as he was called “Uncle Swag”. He couldn’t recall exactly when Brendan has started using that nickname for him, but it had always made him smile. After all, it was such a great fit.

“Twenty?” Stefan asked, a little confused. He knew that some students were held longer at Hammel if they still had trouble controlling their power. And he couldn’t really see Brendan falling for someone who was held back because of their intelligence. Although Stefan could understand that grades and intelligence weren’t always the same thing.

Stefan tried to keep on his serious “I’m not sure how a feel about all this” face, but when Brendan started describing just how Dr. Neville had discovered them he couldn’t help but laugh. He didn’t know the man, he’d only heard of him. But just picturing the image was enough. “Poor man,” he said, still laughing a little.

“Living together? Really?” he asked, a little surprised. But more that than Stefan couldn’t help but feel a little jealous. To have someone to come home to, well that would be wonderful. Sadly, Stefan and serious relationships had never really gone hand in hand. “My, this is serious.” He took a drink from his flask as if to confirm his point.

“Vincent?” Stefan said, giving his nephew a questioning look. It wasn’t that Brendan had a problem with his nephew being involved with other men. After all, Stefan was a bisexual and Brendan was aware of that. It was just that this was so unlike him. But if this Vincent had been special enough for Brendan to not only change careers, not to mention move in with, and also reconsider his sexuality, then Stefan was starting to wonder just who this boy was.

“He must really be something exceptional,” Stefan said. “After all he’s with you, Mr. Junior Swagger.” Smiling Stefan took another drink and patted his nephew in the shoulder. “Either that or he’s built like a god,” he added with a grin.

“So when do I get to meet the fellow responsible for all this change in you?”

[Brendan James]

“Uh… Yeah. Twenty.” While quite a few, meaning everybody, questioned Vincent’s intelligence, Brendan knew better. He knew that his boyfriend was smart. And could be a lot smarter. Bren knew that without a doubt. It’s just that the boy didn’t apply himself. But that didn’t matter much to the man in his upper twenties. “The student in question… Has difficult with actually attending class. As in… they don’t.” But he couldn’t help but chuckle. It’d almost become a cute little habit of Vin’s. And honestly, who didn’t skip at least a few times?

His Uncle’s laughter made Brendan relax a little, put him at ease. But mostly, reminded him that this was Stefan he was talking to. Not somebody who would think poorly of him for decisions made involving his relationship. “Yeah… I mean… Not officially. It just kind of happened. I’ve been spending every night there. And most of my stuff has accumulated there. But I wasn’t officially asked. But I do keep food around. So I’m not being a bum or anything.” Which was something Brendan made sure to do. He bought food for Vin and Fifi. Cooked meals. Because he wasn’t paying rent. Not yet at least.

Brendan wasn’t sure what surprised him more about his relationship with Vincent. Well… Actually, that’s a lie. Obviously Vincent being, well, a guy was the most surprising. But only slightly less surprising was the fact he was in another serious relationship. His last real relationship, they also lived together. Brendan had even been sure she’d be the one he married. She’d met the family. He’d even glanced at a few rings. But after her, he’d sworn off serious relationships. Uncle Swag’s life seemed damn awesome after all. Then Vincent happened.

Looking almost sheepish, Bren nodded. “Yeeeah… Vincent.” But no, Brendan wasn’t questioning his sexuality. He was positive that he was straight. Like many other things he was the exception to, Vincent was also the exception to Bren being straight. After months of trying to define himself, to be sure of what he could call himself, he was beginning to give up. It didn’t matter after all.

“Exceptional… Is one word you could use to describe Vincent, yeah.” What began as a chuckle, turned into an outright laugh. A god? “He’s…” The smirk on Brendan’s face said his thoughts weren’t entirely wholesome. “godlike, you could say.”

Then came the question of their meeting. Brendan had thought about it often. Constantly actually. Vin meeting his family. Bren no longer having to hide behind the mound of lies he’d built to protect his relationship. But there was one major fall back, one Brendan would never admit. Not willingly. And not sober. He was terrified that Vincent would like Stefan more. After all, Uncle Swag was awesome! Brendan would probably leave somebody (not Vincent) in a heartbeat for somebody like Uncle Swag… Which isn’t supposed to sound creepy, but more like a compliment.

The least he could do was try to buy himself some time. “Well, I was thinking I could do it in one big swoop. Have him meet you, dad, and the girls one night for dinner.” One night… Waaaay down the line. But Bren doubted that would work.

[Stefan Spencer]

Stefan considered pursing the ‘age twenty but still in school line’ of questioning further, but decided it might be better to just wait. When he finally met this Vincent he could draw his own conclusions about this boy. But then Brendan explained about the difficulty attending class. Stefan nodded understandingly. After all, he’d cut a few classes himself. Still, he had managed to graduate on time. The start of concern for his nephew’s new-found fascination in this boy threatened to appear in Stefan’s mind, but he pushed it aside for now.

“Well I’m glad you seem to have some manners,” he said, pausing a little before adding. “Your mother would be proud.” He knew his sister wouldn’t have wanted her son to mooch off of anyone. He glanced away for a moment. It still hurt to think of her and wish should could be around to see the man her son had become. He hoped she wouldn’t be to upset at the obvious influence Stefan had over Brendan.

Stefan chuckled again as Vincent laughed as his assumptions of Vincent’s appearance. He was really starting to look forward to meeting this kid. Not just because he was curious to see what Brendan had gotten himself into, but also because the smirk on his nephew face. It warmed his heart a little so see that smirk, because there was something behind it that showed how much this relationship meant to Brendan. “Godlike is good,” he said. “Sounds like you’ve done well for yourself.”

He laughed, wondering what his sister would say if she heard him now. Brendan had gotten fired, left the career he’d always dreamed of, changed his whole lifestyle and here Stefan was congratulating him.

“You’re going to make me wait to meet the incomparable boy with the heavenly body?” he asked, teasingly. But seriously he was hoping it wouldn’t come to that. After all, if Stefan had to wait for Brendan to tell his father everything before he got to meet Vincent, then he was going to be waiting for a while.

[Brendan James]

To say that Brendan was glad Stefan didn’t question Vincent’s age and why he was still attending Hammel is a huge understatement. Bren heard time and time again that his boyfriend was of… Lesser intelligence. But he refused to believe that. The set designer knew that if Vin had the attention span that he could do well in school, could’ve already graduated on time, and even be attending college right now. However, that would’ve met the two would’ve never met. So he couldn’t be too worried his boyfriend had no attention span to speak of.

The oldest James child smiled sadly at the mention of his mother. Brendan was in agreement, it still hurt. And he often felt as if she could see him now, she’d be disappointed. What he neglected to tell people for a long time was that he used to use his ability to see her and talk to her. But Vin came along and he stopped doing it. Not all together. Just not as much. “Do you think… She’d be ok? With all of this?” Loosing his job. Dating a man. Dating a student. Ex-student really. “Well, I know she wouldn’t be ok with it. But… Do you think she’d understand?”

“I wouldn’t really say I’ve done well for myself.” Brendan said with a chuckle and shook his head. “It’s not that I don’t agree with the sentiment. But, I had no part in it happening. It was all Vin.” He still wasn’t entirely sure on the details. Their first night together had been a bit… hazy after all. For Brendan at least. The big smile on his face said that he didn’t exactly mind that though.

After chewing his lip for a minute, Brendan sighed, an overly dramatic sigh of course. “Ok ok ok…” He really wasn’t looking forward to their meeting. Not that he didn’t want them to meet. But Bren had certain insecurities that he would rather keep hidden but he was sure would rear their ugly heads. “I suppose… You can come over to the apartment for dinner on my birthday. We’re just going to be having a dinner. You’ll be able to meet Vincent and Fifi, our… Well… Fifi is also a student at Hammel that lives with Vin.” Brendan wasn’t exactly sure what to call Fifi at this point. But he didn’t want to add yet another surprise onto everything Stefan had heard today.