AUs

[Patricia Reed]

So, recently I've gotten into the habit of writing AUs. A lot of AUs actually. And I'm really enjoying it. And I want to share some! Really, I want to share the appropriate ones. So this will become my dumping ground for AUs that I've written.

Beware, it's Brendan James heavy. He seems to be the most shippable, what with Vincent, Jake, Chloe, Eugene, Charlie, and a whole bunch others.

But I also have an Riley/Danny/Angie one. And quite a few Caleb and Elliot ones.

Characters are sometimes stolen, I'm sorry. And if I use a character of yours and forget to ask and you don't want the AU up, please tell me and I will be more than happy to take it down.

Now that all that is out of the way, PLEASE ENJOY!

I have a whole bunch others too. But they are half finished and need a lot of work. But there's definitely more to come.

[Patricia Reed]

(A sweet moment between Brendan and Chloe)

Brendan smiled the moment he walked in the door. It’d been a long day at the school, the school they’d met at many moons ago. “You have no idea how glad I am to be home.” He said as he walked behind Chloe, wrapping his arms around her tiny waist. “You’re so lucky you don’t have Verax in any of your classes.”

Humming quietly in agreement, she laid her arms over his. “Well it’s not as if his friend Sam is any better.”

“You make a good point.” He said as he removed on arm from her waist to stroke the hair away from the pale skin of her neck. When her skin was cleared, he nuzzled his face against her, kissing gentle and smelling her. She always smelled of warm vanilla. It was the damnedest thing. But he didn’t mind it in the slightest. Everything about Chloe, especially her scent, seemed to relax him. “I’m glad the school is wise enough not to put them classes together. That’d be a disaster.”

He nuzzled her neck for a moment longer, before Chloe made a whining sound and gently pushed his head away. “Your face is too scratch, Darling.”

Resting his chin on Chloe’s shoulder, he pouted his lips and looked at her with sad eyes. “But I thought you like my scruff, Honeybee.”

“Scruff, yes. But you’re dangerously close to having the makes of a mountain man beard.” She said, grasping a few of his facial hairs and tugging gently, her nose wrinkling.

“I’ll go trim it.” He said, needing no more incentive than the fact that he knew Chloe would greatly appreciate him doing so. “But I’ll need a kiss. And the promise of a dance later.”

With a childlike giggle, Chloe sighed as if he was asking a lot. “I suppose if that’s what it’ll take so that I won’t be sharing a bed with a Grizzly Adams wannabe anymore…” Without another word, she leaned forward and gently pressed her lips to Bren’s.

It wasn’t an overly sexual kiss. Or a sloppy kiss with tangled tongues. It was a kiss that was perfectly Chloe and Brendan. It was gentle, soft, and the definition of love. It said that they’d known each other for many years and that they were more comfortable with each other than they could ever be with anybody else. That they were truly in love and nobody had a chance of coming between them.

When they parted, Brendan smiled and rested his forehead against Chloe’s for moment. After giving her nose a little peck, he chuckled and dropped his arms. “Ok. I’ll go do it now.”

The older man was careful in his trimming. He didn’t want too short, because then it’d just be stubble and much itchier. But Chloe didn’t want it as long as it was now. Not to mention that he had to be sure to keep it even. When he was finished though, he was sure he’d done perfectly.

And when he walked back out, Chloe smile told him that, even if he hadn’t done perfectly, she was still happy with it. And that was enough for him.

“Hey, look at that, you have a face again.” She said with a little giggle.

Brendan simply smiled, walked directly over to their stereo, and turned on their song. Then he walked over to her, bowed, and then offered his hand to her, still smiling. Chloe may have rolled her eyes, but she was smiling. She may act like she thought he was ridiculous, and he was, but he knew that she loved it. That was why Chloe curtsied before slipping her hand into his.

Pulling her close, his hand encased her, holding their hands against his chest, and his arm wrapped around waist. It took only a moment for her hand to find its place on his shoulder. And then they began swaying back and forth, forming little circles around their living room.

As always, Chloe’s head quickly found a place to rest in the crook of his neck and Bren’s cheek rested on her hair.

Their dancing was probably just a little bit too slow for the song, but they didn’t mind. It was their song and they could dance to it however they pleased. “Your grin’s the sweetest that I’ve ever seen.” Brendan sang quietly to Chloe, choosing to sing the parts of the song that were especially true to their relationship. “Well I was waiting for you all my life.”

“My… Honeybee.”

As the song, their song, ended, Brendan spun Chloe, so slowly that her dress didn’t even flare up slightly. But it matched their dance perfectly.

“You’re a horrid dancer.” Chloe chided him with a smile and chuckle before giving him another soft kiss. “But I like it.”

And Brendan didn’t even care that she just insulted what he’d always thought had been on of his hidden talents. It was Chloe after all. She could say whatever she wanted to about him and he’d only love her all the more for it.

[Patricia Reed]

(A discussion between Riley and Danny)

With a heavy sigh, Riley shut the door after watching the tiny blonde walk away. Only after a moment of resting against the door did he rejoin his partner in the living room. “Well, that is not what I intended for this evening, I’m sorry.”

“No, no, don’t apologize. Angie needed us tonight. I’m glad she came here.” Danny said, shaking his head with a slight frown set to his face.

“I’m glad she did too.” Riley said as he carefully lowered himself into the couch, groaning at the effort it took considering how drained he was. “I can’t believe somebody would take advantage of that poor girl. That somebody could worm their way into her life and so easily manipulate her like that.”

Danny reached across the small space between them on the couch and rested his hand on Riley’s. “I know.” The younger man stroked his thumb along the back of his partner’s hand, trying to comfort him. “It’s hard to think that somebody would do that to her.” Sighing, Riley let himself sink further into the couch, trying to relax though he knew it would be impossible. At least for a bit.

“I know its Sean that said this Nick person was doing this. But… But is there a chance he’s wrong? Maybe it’s not what he thinks?” Knowing of Sean’s ability but not of the specifics, Danny wondered if it were ever possible for Sean to be wrong.

After lifting his shoulders, Riley let them drop immediately as if they weighed for too much for him to hold up any longer. “Honestly, I’m not sure. I don’t think so. But maybe there’s a way?” Another sigh and he laid his head on the back of the couch. “Maybe I should talk to Sean about him, this Nick Kells guy. See what he thinks.” Danny nodded in understand, still stroking Riley’s hand soothingly.

“She’s just so…” Riley hesitated. It seemed as if Angie were broken. But he couldn’t say that. He couldn’t believe that the sweet girl who was slowly growing comfortable with him and Danny was actually broken. “Sad. You can see it when you look at her, ya’ know?”

Nodding again, it was Danny’s turn to sigh, though quietly. “Do you think something happened to her? Something to make her that way?”

“I think so. She has regular appointments with Sean after all.” But Danny already knew this as the girl had only just shared it with them that very night. Riley had had his suspicions before that she was a patient of course. Angie did often mention Sean, usually in passing, then was quick to change the subject as if she were embarrassed. It was because of that that Riley never questioned her on it, figuring she’d share when she was ready.

Scooting closer to Riley, Danny rested against his side. “I can’t imagine anybody doing something to intentionally hurt that poor girl.” It was troubling to the younger man and had been weighing on his mind for some time now. Spending so much time with her, he saw the way Angie interacted with other people. Danny saw how closed off she was to new encounters, he experienced the walls she kept up to keep herself safe.

At first he’d simply thought she was shy, quiet, reserved. Which, even after opening up a little bit, he found to be true. But he’d also begun to notice the differences in a well-practiced, fake smile and a natural one. And then once, while she was over, she’d managed to fall asleep on the couch. Danny had given her shoulder a delicate shake in order to rouse her. The fact that she’d woken with a start and pushed away from him, as if trying to disappear into the couch had troubled him for quite some time. He hadn’t shared it with Riley then or since, thinking it were something deeply personal to Angie even if she had simply brushed it off as a nightmare. But now he shared it with the older man.

“We have to help her Danny. We can’t just… We can’t sit back watch as she goes through life like this.” Riley turned his hand over, taking hold of Danny’s and lacing their fingers, and now it was Riley stroking his thumb comfortingly against his partner’s hand.

“What can we do though that we haven’t been already? Our door is open to her. She spends a lot of time with us, separately and together. Tonight we were her shoulder to cry on. We’ve welcomed her into our lives. Perhaps we can ask Sean, see if he thinks there something else we can do for her.” Danny lifted their hands briefly so that he could cradle Riley’s hand between his before laying it back on his partner’s leg. “If there’s something more we can do for her, I think we should.”

Riley stayed quiet for a long while, staring at the hands enclosing his and thinking. Thinking about everything since Danny and Angie had both come into his life.

Danny he’d been with for some time now and Riley had never felt so secure in a relationship before. They were equals, confidants, and lovers. They supported each other and asked nothing in return, but simply just gave what the other needed. Riley knew, without a shadow of a doubt, he’d found the person he would be spending the rest of his life with, the person he’d been meant to build a home with.

And Angie. Tiny Angie. Meeting her, helping her, slowly having the young girl open up to him, watching as she began to more freely offer him smiles, and seeing her grow more confident in herself in his presence filled him with more joy than he thought he could ever actually feel.

Riley was in love with Danny. And Angie was a different kind of love that he had ever experienced before. And slowly it dawned on him. It started as the realization of just how much joy the two brought him. Which turned into the thought they were, essentially, his family, even if technically they weren’t. While it was perhaps a bit too soon to move further with Danny, they could at least discuss plans to make their relationship more permanent if they wished.

But then there was Angie. The girl they both loved. The girl who needed and was looking for a family.

The gentle squeeze of his partner’s hand tore him away from his thoughts and Riley turned to look at him. “What are you thinking?” Danny asked quietly.

“I’m thinking… I’m wondering… Danny, do think that maybe she’s the one?” Riley asked him, feeling a little nervous about asking it, unsure as to why he’d feel such a way.

Danny though, tilted his to the side in confusion. “The one? The one what?” As much as he liked to think could tell what Riley was thinking, Danny couldn’t always follow his logic without being shown the process.

Dropping his eyes to their hands again, Riley cleared his throat. Why was this difficult? They’d talked about this before. They had agreed they both wanted to do this. Perhaps it was the fact that now Riley would be bringing up a specific child? “Do you think she’s the one we should adopt?” The older man peeked at his partner from the corner of his eye, watching Danny’s face.

For a moment, all Danny could do was stare at Riley. They’d talked about it, yes. They both wanted to, yes. They both loved and adored Angie, yes. They both felt as if they were ready to bring a child into their life, yes. And, if he were being honest, Danny had always imagined them adopting a child a bit older. It wouldn’t be too difficult of a transition. Angie already spent a lot of her time with them.

Slowly, the corners of his lips turned up slightly towards the sky and he nodded slowly. “I think so. I think she’s the one.” Riley beamed back, realizing he’d been afraid that Danny might disagree, that he’d think Angie wasn’t the one. As a quiet chuckle came from the younger man, he released Riley’s hand and snuggled into his partner’s side and the bigger man wrapped his arm around Danny.

[Patricia Reed]

(Caleb and Elliot, in which Elliot meets Cale's family)

The drive had been a long one. Thirteen hours. But it felt longer because they’d woken so early so the pair would have an hour to get settled for dinner at seven that evening. However, despite the long drive, there was plenty to talk about.

Such as, Elliot’s nerves. Caleb had tried his best to soothe the other man, reassuring him that his family would love him just as much he did. Cale tried picking apart the other man’s worries, offering reasons as to why he had no reason to feel this way, but it was no use. And when that failed, Cale would lay his hand on his boyfriend’s thigh, stroking his thumb in a comforting manner. And that seemed to work a little. Until the older of the two returned his hand to the wheel.

But now it was coming to an end.

And Elliot was becoming more nervous.

Turned on to the street.

His heart was racing.

Into the driveway.

His back was aching at how straight up he was sitting.

“Are you ready?”

Elliot couldn’t find his voice at first. His entire body was rigid. And he felt like he just might be sick.

“El, it’s not going to be bad, I promise. They already love you.”

Nodding, Elliot gripped the door handle in determination. “Ready.”

Before going in, they got their luggage from the trunk. Cale caught Elliot’s hand before he could open the back of the car and pressed a kiss to his fingers. “Don’t forget to breathe.”

Elliot nodded, smiling a little. If nothing else, Elliot knew Caleb would be by his side all weekend. And he wouldn’t let anything bad happen.

They hadn’t bothered knocking. Instead, Caleb used the key that he still had, and always would, and walked in. “Ma! Dad! Bry! I’m home! Come on out and meet Elliot!” He hollered into the house as they set their bags on the floor. They were immediately greeted by happy squeal that managed to not be annoyingly high-pitched.

“Oooh, Caleb! You little sneak! You were supposed to call so we could get ready and not look a mess!” His mom said with a smile in her voice as she rushed from the kitchen, apron on and covered with flour.
Elliot, still very worried, stood back. He’d let them hug and say their hellos. He’d wait. They were Caleb’s family after all. He was yet to be a part of it in his mind. Caleb’s, sure. But not theirs.

Laughing, Caleb shrugged. “I figured you wouldn’t need it.” He said, wrapping his arms around his mom’s waist and lifting her into a bear hug. “Ugh, I’ve missed you Ma.”

It was a bit of a surprise to Elliot, the height of Caleb’s mom. She couldn’t have been more than five feet. Then again, Caleb was adopted. But the way he spoke of his family, mostly his parents… Well, it was easy to forget that they weren’t his birth parents.

Behind the tiny woman was an older man. The one Elliot wasn’t sure how to interact with at all. He was not quite as tall as Caleb, but only fractionally shorter. Balding. And he had a little bit of a belly, but nothing that couldn’t have been gotten rid of with just a little work.

Caleb set his mom down and then moved onto his dad. “Hi Dad.” “Son.” They both wrapped their arms around each other; in a similar bear hug Cale had given his mom. He just didn’t lift his dad.

It took Elliot by his surprise that the moment she was set down, Caleb’s mom moved onto him. “You must be Elliot, it’s so nice to finally meet you.”

Instantly, Elliot smiled and extended his hand to the miniature woman. “The pleasure’s all mine, Ma’am.”

Chuckling, Caleb’s mom shook her head. “I’m sorry, but you’re going to have to hug me. You’re dating my son after all. And you might as well just call me Lydia. Or mom if the way my son talks about you is any indication of where this is going.”

“Moooooom!” Caleb exclaimed, eyes wide, as he stared her down. “Dad. Please make her stop.”

Elliot stood there, blushing profusely. What was he supposed to say to that? It was… just… a little too soon. There’d only been vague, very, very vague indications towards that topic between the two men.

“El, you do NOT have to call her mom. In fact, please don’t. Lydia is fine. The Devil is actually better.”

Cale’s dad simply stood back, chuckling while the whole scene unfolded.

A minute, no more than two, had passed before Elliot managed to say, “If it’s all the same to everybody, I believe I’ll stick to Lydia.”

That was when Mr. Green stepped forward, smiling just as warmly as Cale or Lydia did, and extended his hand. “Don’t worry, I’m not nearly as abrasive as my dear wife. But I do insist on you calling me Frank. No need to be formal.”

Smiling a little easier, Elliot nodded and took the other man’s hand. “Thank you. Frank. It’s nice to meet you.”

They stood there in the foyer, smiling and talking. Cale filled them in on what was new. Elliot spoke a little about his classes. Nothing too in depth, just a little briefing until the final member came down. Which didn’t happen for another few minutes.

But then there he was. A fourteen-year-old boy, looking annoyed as ever for having to leave the confines of his room for what he deemed unnecessary. His jeans sagged and showed a bit of his boxers, a belt holding his pants up just slightly under his hips. And his shirt was dark red and turned inside out for some unknown reason.

“Ya’ know, wearing your pants like that started in prison. It’s how inmates let other inmates know they don’t have a boyfriend to protect them. It’s like an offering. Of themselves.” Cale smirked slightly at himself.

All the response he got was a half glare and the mutter of ‘you’re lying’. But suddenly his pants were no longer showcasing his boxers. So the purpose was met.

“Come on. Give your big brother a hug, then you can go off to your room and mope like a normal thirteen year old.”

“I’m fourteen.” But a hug took place anyway. It ended quickly. And the only one smiling was Cale.

“I know. I was teasing. Lighten up.” Cale turned and smiled at Elliot. “Say hi to Elliot. Elliot, this is my brother, Bryant.”

Elliot had been watching, utterly confused. How in the world did two parents raise two children who were… so opposite. Sure, Elliot knew Cale wasn’t too proud of things he’d done when he was younger. But he couldn’t possibly believe his boyfriend had ever been quite this bad.

Again, Elliot extended his hand, a smile on his face, “It’s nice to meet you.”

Bryant had just barely put his hand in Elliot’s before dropping it again. “So, you’re the boyfriend?”

Abrasiveness he obviously got from Lydia. With a much ruder way of going about it. But Elliot took it in stride. Stilling smiling, he nodded. “I am.”

Which got no response. Until a minute later he nodded, then turned to head back upstairs.

“Ah ah ah!” Lydia said as she gently tugged on Bryant’s arm. “Be polite and help them take their bags up to the guest room.”

A long drawn out groan came from him as if it were the most difficult task in the world. It appeared as if he was going to argue, but a simple eyebrow raise from his mom put his tongue to cheek and grab two of the bags.

Elliot had stood uncomfortably during the whole encounter. It was always a bit uncomfortable when little squabbles happened in front of newcomers. But Cale had looked at him, smiling, and rolled his eyes. Then puckered his lips at him for a half a second, as if blowing him a kiss.

For Elliot, that little moment between them helped ease the stiffness of the situation.

But with it passed, the two grabbed the last two bags, and carried them up the stairs.

“Make sure you come back downstairs. I’ve got some cookies coming out of the oven in just a minute. That means you too, Bryant.”

Caleb took Elliot’s hand and led him around the house, giving him the tour. Three bedrooms upstairs, Caleb’s old one being turned into a guest room after he moved out. An attic that was converted into a small den. “Mostly for Bryant and his friends to hang out so my parents can keep an eye on him.”

Then downstairs, the family room, dining room, and last the kitchen.

All throughout the tour, Elliot looked closely at pictures that were all over, in every room. Mostly focusing on the images of Cale, his entire life staged out for him.

Elliot was caught a little by surprise. He had stopped in the family room, looking at two framed birth certificates hanging on the wall, because Cale had stepped away for a moment, promising to be back as quickly as possible. But he hadn’t been quick enough.

“We thought it seemed appropriate.”

Startled, he turned around. Of course, he’d known it was Frank. It was a man’s voice. Too deep to be Bryant’s. And it certainly wasn’t Cale’s. But it still gave him a start. “Do you mind if I ask why you have them hung up here?”

“Not at all. Things out in the open are meant to be conversation starters.” He smiled reassuringly at Elliot. “Before we adopted Caleb, the doctor told Lyd and I that we couldn’t have children. So when we adopted, it was really special to us. He was really our whole world. And we were proud of that. And wanted to display that he was in fact ours. After Caleb, we thought we were done. That we had found what we wanted and we were good. And then we got pregnant. And had Bryant. And that was just as special, because we thought we’d never be able to.” Frank chuckled and shrugged. “I’m sure it makes us look like big softies and a little obsessed with our kids. But I think both stories are worth sharing.” With a smile, Frank looked at Elliot. “Betcha didn’t think it’d get this sentimental this quick, huh? How about we stop before the tissues need to come out and go grab some cookies?”

Elliot nodded and turned to follow Frank into the kitchen. It seemed like Caleb had a perfect little family. His parents, obviously, loved him and his brother very much. It was heartwarming really. And Cale was inviting him into his family. Maybe not permanently. It was still a little too early to think about that to in depth. But at least for right now, Caleb was bringing him, an outsider, into the close bond he had with them.

Before he could make into the kitchen, Caleb strode up behind him, slipping an arm around Elliot’s waist, and kissed his cheek. When Elliot turned to look at him, a smile on his face, Caleb smiled back. “What?”

“Nothing.” Elliot said, then kissed him lightly on the lips. “Let’s get a few cookies.”

Caleb smiled and nodded, leading Elliot into the kitchen by the hand. “Mom, you’re going to be ruining our appetites before dinner.” Caleb said as he climbed onto a stool at the kitchen counter between Elliot and Bryant.

Smiling, Lydia shrugged. “Well, what can I say? I’m a cool mom now. Cookies for dinner boys. Eat up.” Bryant rolled his eyes at the use of ‘cool mom’. As if her entire existence was to embarrass and annoy him.

The five sat around the counter, eating cookies, talking. Luckily, there hadn’t been enough cookies for any of them to have more than three. If they’d been evenly split. But Bryant had swiped two extra. Frank had been nice enough to pass on anymore though, stating he needed to drop a few ‘lbs’. Lydia replied with that it was smart to start losing weight now, before their engagement was announced.

Another groan from Caleb and another blush from Elliot completed that interaction.

They had managed to have a proper dinner, though they kept it light because they were still full of cookies. Elliot had tried to refuse, but Caleb chuckled because he knew there was no hope. “Babe, my mom won’t let that fly. Take just two or three bites, then she’ll leave you alone.” Cale proved he was right when Elliot attempted to refuse to Lydia, but was met with the definition of a mom stare down.

Afterwards, they all moved to the family room. Elliot had tried to sit nice a proper on one of the couches, but Caleb flopped down next to him and lay one of his legs across Elliot’s lap. He tried not to shot his boyfriend a look.

Seeing the struggle Elliot was having, Caleb removed his leg from Elliot’s lap, but stayed very close to the younger one’s side. And even dared to steal one of Elliot’s hands, cradling it between both of his own in his lap.

“Ok kiddos, what should be watch?”

“Glitter!” Caleb belted immediately. It was one of his favorite movies. And it was awful and his family had watched it numerous times with him. And that was why they all groaned. Affectionately or not, they did not want to watch it again.

“Nooo!” Bryant whined. “We always have to watch that stupid movie. It’s so gay.”

Lydia and Frank frowned at their youngest on the opposite couch from the boys. “Bryant.” Lydia snapped.

Caleb scowled, especially after having left Elliot stiffen slightly beside him, and chucked a pillow at his little brother. “Knock it off.” He said in a warning voice.

“Whatever. Can I just go?” He said, shooting his brother a glare.

“Bryant. Your brother is visiting. You should stay and spend time with him.”

Rolling his eyes, Bryant sunk further into the couch, muttering something that sounded very likely to ‘not even my real brother’.

“Bryant!”

“Just let him go. If he’s going to act like this, I don’t want him around Elliot anyway.”

Sighing, Lydia waved him away. Immediately, he jumped up, going straight to the door. But Frank followed him, catching up before he made his escape.

Elliot was silent the whole time. Bryant was… a difficult child it seemed. And the fact that he used gay in that manner didn’t sit well with him at all. But that seemed to be the least of the adolescent’s problems. But he could hear Frank giving him a talking to. It wasn’t that he was eavesdropping, but simply close to the door. And even hushed tones, Elliot could still hear bits and pieces.

“… very disrespectful… you don’t get to talk like that… he IS your brother… incredibly disappointed… straighten up your act…”

“Hey, I’m really sorry about that.” Elliot felt Cale’s lips at his ear as he whispered to him. And he lifted Elliot’s hand, turned his face, and kissed his fingers.

Elliot shrugged and smiled a small smile at Caleb. “Every family has their issues, right?” He whispered back.

Smiling wider, Caleb let his weight sink into Elliot’s side to enjoy the movie, one not picked by Caleb.

By the end of it, Elliot and Caleb were both beginning to nod off. Until Lydia’s voice came from above them. “Boys,” she said gently, touching their shoulders, “come on now. You’ve had an early morning. Why don’t you both get off to bed now?”

Neither protested and they trudged up the stairs. Immediately, they fell into bed, only managing to keep their eyes open long enough to strip down to their boxers and have a goodnight kiss.


The next morning, Elliot woke to a cold bed. After dressing for the day, he went down to the kitchen, a little apprehensively as it was always awkward doing so as the guest. He found a family of four, all still in their pjs, looking at him. Caleb couldn’t help but chuckle, since that wasn’t Elliot’s normal behavior, to dress so early.

“Good morning all.” Elliot greeted with a warm smile.

“Morning.” He got a chorus response.

Cale stood up, walked over to him, gave him a kiss on the cheek, then walked to the counter, grabbing a mug and pouring coffee into it. “My mom made pancakes. Just finished cooking them. Or we have some cereal. Or I could whip you up some eggs like you like.” He said as he walked back to him, handing Elliot the mug.

“I’ll have some pancakes.” He said with a smile, not wanting a repeat of Lydia’s stare down from last night.

When they were all settled at the table, Elliot heard a distinctive shuffle under the table, then Bryant hissing quietly in pain, glaring at Caleb. And Caleb was giving his little brother a pointed look. After rolling his eyes, Bryant cleared his throat. “I’m sorry for how I acted last night, Elliot. It was not only rude, but very offensive. I should know better than to use such language as it can easily offend those I’m around. Please accept my apology.” He muttered the obviously rehearsed speech as if he were reading it from cue cards.

Far be it from Elliot to be to one to reprimand or correct another’s child. So he simply smiled and nodded his head once. “I appreciate the apology, Bryant.”

Elliot managed to finish off a pancake and a half, much the sadness of Lydia, who complained a bit about his peckishness. “Caleb, how do you keep this young man fed?” “You get used to how little he eats eventually, Ma.”

“I was thinking we could spend some time in town today. Maybe even drive to the beach? Go around the shops there for a bit?” Caleb suggested to the table.

Bryant, of course, sighed. “I wanted to see my friends today. Dad?”

Frank shook his head without a second thought to it. “No. Your brother’s here. You left last night, you can spend today with us.”
Gritting his teeth, Bryant took on an aggressive way of eating the rest of his pancakes, looking as if he were imagining his father’s face were the cake as he cut it, the spearing it onto his knife, and chewing it so harshly that had he accidentally bitten his cheek, it surely would’ve bled.

“I think that sounds like a wonderful idea, Carebear.” Lydia offered. “How about you, Elliot? What do you think?”

But Elliot did hear her ask his opinion. The moment she uttered that nickname, Elliot’s gaze whipped to Caleb. “I’m sorry, but did she just call you Carebear?” He asked quietly.

“Mooom!” Cale complained, wrinkling his nose. “Don’t call me that.”

“Oh no, please, always call him that.” Elliot pleaded, looking back to Lydia.

Lydia chuckled and nodded, winking at Elliot. Much to the disdain of Caleb, as made obvious by his groan. “Are we all settled then? We’ll go downtown? Then to the beach town?”

After everybody, excluding Bryant, agreed, everybody else went to get dressed.

It was a good day for walking around town, sunny with a light breeze in the air to keep it from getting too hot. They walked from store to store, looking at different things, and Elliot became acquainted with the town a small amount of people too. He met the elderly neighbor who used to babysit Caleb. And a few Lydia and Frank’s friends, all of who cooed over how attractive Elliot was, much to his dismay.

After a particularly brutal fawning, leaving Elliot red, Caleb took his hand, excused them, and pulled him away.

“Thanks for rescuing me.” Elliot chuckled, lacing his fingers between Cale’s.

“Rescuing you? Psht. I’m stacking my claim. I saw you eyeing those old betties.” He said with a laugh, giving Elliot’s hand a squeeze, and kissing his cheek. “Just remember who keeps you warm at night, yeah?”

Elliot laughed and nodded. “You caught me. Those women… definitely my type.”

Caleb smiled and bumped his shoulder against Elliot’s. “See? This isn’t so bad, right? All that worrying for nothing.”

“No, it’s not sooo bad.” Elliot said in jest.

Despite that Caleb knew Elliot had meant it simply to play, he still thought of the little bumps. “Hey, I’m sorry about Bryant. He’s… I don’t know. But I’m sorry he’s been difficult. I know it’s not comfortable.”

Stopping walking, Elliot tugged on Cale’s hand, pulling the other man back to him. “Caleb, it’s fine. Don’t worry. He’s a fourteen-year-old kid. What kid that age isn’t surly?” Elliot tried to soothe Cale as he had done for him in the car. “He’ll grow out of it. We all do. Mostly. You did.”

“Yeah… I guess you’re right.” Caleb sighed and wrapped his arms around Elliot’s waist, leaning against him. “Thanks.” He said and gave the younger man a soft kiss. Smiling as pulled back, he put his hand back in Elliot’s. “Come on. We still have other places to go and people for you to meet.”

The rest of the day went without a hiccup. The five of them went from store to store, sometimes staying together, other times drifting apart. Except Bryant. He seemed to hover by the door of every store they wondered into, trying to signify that he was ready to leave. As if none of them knew that already.

Eventually, they stopped for lunch, choosing what kind of had the feel of a run down diner. And served typical diner food. Except that it tasted wonderful. And the menu boosted using all the freshest of ingredients, which pleased both Elliot and Caleb.

After lunch, the continued in their adventure by going to the beach town that Caleb’s family often frequented.

Elliot nearly fell in love with a coffee shop there. Over a hundred different kinds of coffees, varying in roast and flavors. And it offered samples too. Cale nearly had to drag him out. Not until after buying chocolate covered espresso beans for Elliot as a bribe though.

They continued on with their afternoon, much the same as they did their morning. They strolled from store to store. The boys staying together, holding hands, sometimes drifting away from the others. There were less people in the beach town for Elliot to meet as it was about an hour away, but still one or two.

Cale’s parents mostly meandered together, but sometimes drifted away from each other. But they always made sure to have at least one eye on Bryant as he was the slowest of the group, his sulking slowing him down.

Caleb seemed particularly excited to take Elliot to the pier. It went about a quarter of a mile into the water and had a little shop and restaurant back on land. But Caleb was pulling El to the end of the pier out in the water, a mischievous smile on his face.

Elliot didn’t like the idea of piers. The fear of them crumbling underneath him, sending him into the water was enough to keep him away. But Caleb seemed desperate to get him out there, despite his protests.

“Caleb. Please stop.” Elliot said, feet firmly planted to the ground of the store. How Caleb had managed to maneuver him right next to the door that led to the pier, he’ll never know.

Smiling gently at him, Caleb stroked his cheek. “I promise, nothing’s gonna happen. The pier isn’t gonna fall apart.”

Elliot sighed and shook his head.

“I won’t even make you go over the water. We can stay on the part that covers the beach. Please? I want to do something.”

“Can’t you do it in here?”

“No. I can’t. Please El? I’ll be right beside you the whole time. I promise.”

The pleading look on Caleb’s face made Elliot sigh again. “Fine. But we can stay on the beach part, right?”

Smiling brightly, Cale nodded. “Absolutely.” He threaded his fingers through Elliot’s and walked out with him. The older man was sure to move slowly, wanting his boyfriend to be comfortable in the situation. And he also made sure that they didn’t put too much space between themselves and the door before moving to the railing.

Which was when Caleb dropped Elliot’s hand. El whined a little, trying to take his hand back for support, but was denied. “Sorry, Babe, I need both hands.” He explained as he dug around in his pocket.

Caleb hunched over the railing, effectively blocking Elliot’s view of what he was doing no matter how he angled himself, trying to sneak a peak. It took a few minutes, but finally Cale straightened up, blew on the railing, and smiled at Elliot as he closed a Swiss army knife, dropping it back in his pocket.

Raising an eyebrow, Elliot leaned on fractionally towards the rail. A little smile spread on his face at the sight of the misshapen heart with the initials E. W. + C. G. inside of it. “While that’s lovely, and mildly childish, can we please go back inside to safety now?”

Laughing, Caleb took Elliot’s as the made their way back to ‘safety’.

A little more time was spent strolling from place to place, but eventually they all grew tired and knew it was time to head back home.

Elliot and Caleb took the back of the car, allowing Bryant to have the middle to himself, and leaned against each other, nearly falling asleep on the way home.

When they returned, Frank’s stomach growling brought up the topic of dinner. The boys had immediately offered to cook for everybody, but Lydia waved the idea away with her hand. “No no no. We’re all fairly tired. We’ll just order from Mona’s.”

Leaning against each other while spread out on the couch, Elliot looked at Caleb, an eyebrow raised, as Lydia disappeared. Patting his boyfriend’s knee, Cale smiled and told him, “Pizza”. El nodded, glad it would be something that would require little clean up.

And actually, there was even less clean up than he thought. After a little whining from Bryant and Caleb, Lydia and Frank decided to break the rule of ‘no eating in the living room’. And they used paper plates. Still though, being polite as he is, Elliot collected the plates when everybody was finished. Lydia had tried to wave him off and get him to sit down, but he insisted. While he did that, Caleb put away the leftover fridge.

A quiet moment to themselves in the kitchen was nice, made even nicer when Caleb pulled Elliot against his chest, smiling. “See? This isn’t so bad. Nothing to be nervous about, right?”

Smiling, Elliot nodded. “Yeah.” But still, he weathered his lip a little, still a little worried. “Do you think they like me?”

Resisting the urge to facepalm, Caleb settled for quietly laughing. “Elliot. They like you. My mom and dad adore you. And Bryant’s just moody. But I’m sure when his panties are no longer in a twist, he’ll love you too.”

“I’m concerned as to why you know how your brother wears his panties, but that’s a separate matter.” Elliot teased, unable to resist being snarky. Made him feel normal again. He wasn’t used to being so nervous as he had been the last few days.

After Caleb rolled his eyes, smiling, he laced his fingers with Elliot’s and pulled him back to the family room.

The rest of the evening passed uneventfully. Each couple claimed their own couch. Lydia and Frank sat together as you might imagine an older couple to sit together. Close, but not touching. Not at all times at least. But if you looked at them at the right moment, you would catch Lydia lightly scratching the hair at the nape of Frank’s neck that practically made him purr in contentment or you’d spy Frank taking hold of Lydia’s hand and pressing a soft kiss to her knuckles, then putting it back where it had been.

It varied greatly from how the boys sat. Again, Elliot had tried to sit properly, as you’d expect new company to sit. But Caleb wouldn’t allow for that, again, flopping directly beside El and resting a leg in his lap. Quickly though, Cale had coaxed Elliot into slumping into a posture you might find him in while he was on his computer. Caleb also in a similar position, but resting his head on the other man’s chest and an arm around his waist.

Of course, Bryant sat on the floor, angling himself directly towards the TV and therefore having to miss out on the couplings.

Thankfully this evening, unlike the one before, went smoothly. Bryant remained withdrawn, but didn’t cause anymore strife. It made Elliot wonder if his conversation with Frank, and possibly Lydia and Caleb in addition, had continued that morning. It seemed fairly likely to him.

They didn’t leave the next day until mid-morning, figuring they could stop somewhere along the way for dinner. So long as it wasn’t fast-food they stopped for.

It was a lazy morning. Caleb didn’t actually get dressed until minutes before leaving, whereas Elliot, again, had woken up and immediately dressed. They had curled together on the couch again, talking with his parents about which route they would be taking, where the cheap gas was along the way, about what time they’d expect to be home, and, yes, they would call to say they’d made it back safely. Elliot could hear the exasperation in Cale’s voice at having to run through all of this with his parents three or four times, but they both knew that Lydia and Frank were just being parents.

Finally though, it was time to say their goodbyes. After everybody exchanged hugs, a simple wave from Bryant, Lydia made them promise to visit again soon. A quiet chuckle and shrug was Caleb’s answer, accompanied by a ‘we’ll see’. Still, he didn’t want to move Elliot faster than he was willing to go. But Elliot’s answer “We’ll see you soon’, had the older man beaming.

In the car, away from others’ ears, Caleb smiled at Elliot. “See? That wasn’t so bad. You’re still in one piece.”

“Yeah, I am. I think I expected it to be more of them interrogating me. I kept waiting for it to happen.” Elliot explained with a chuckle.

Caleb looked back at the road when his cheeks flushed slightly, but Elliot still caught the pink. “Yeah… Um… My mom and dad kinda expect there to be a lot of time for them to get to know you. An indefinite amount of time. So they’re gonna let it happen ‘naturally’.”

Elliot was a little surprised by how confident Cale’s parents were about their relationship and wondered how they could be. The only answer he could come up with was that Caleb talked to them about it. A lot. It made his chest tighten at the thought. But it didn’t scare him. No, he didn’t think this was fear. If it was, the smile now on his face was highly inappropriate.

Their conversation for the majority of the ride consisted of that, talking about the weekend. But they also varied to how nice it’d be to sleep in ‘their’ bed (Elliot spent the night frequently and they often referred to it as theirs), despite having only been gone two days, and what their schedules were like for the day to follow.

There had been another brief conversation.

They had been stopped for gas and upon Elliot’s return to the car, found Caleb leaning against the car on his phone. But when his boyfriend spotted him, Cale hurried off, ending the conversation.

Curiosity getting the better of him, Elliot looked at him funnily and questioned, “Who was that?”

“Just my mom.” Caleb said with a smile. But it was odd as to Elliot as to why he’d hurry off the phone. He’d heard their conversations many times.

“Oh yeah? What’d she want?”

Shrugging, Cale shook his head. “Nothing. Just wanted to know where about we were.”

It wasn’t until they were back on the road, after a few minutes of pestering, that Caleb finally gave in. “She was singing your praises. And wanted to now what you thought of them. And wanted to know if we could visit again for my dad’s birthday in two months.” Caleb, try as he might to keep his eyes on the road, couldn’t help but to glance to Elliot from the corner of his eye. “Don’t worry, I told her I thought you had some big project due around that time. So you can easily get out of it.”

“Worry? Why would I worry?”

Caleb shrugged again. For as open as he wanted others to be with him, Cale sometimes had a hard time with it. “I don’t know. I just…” When he stopped talking, Elliot looked at him expectantly, not pushing him, but being patient for an answer he figured would make itself known eventually. It took a minute, but finally Caleb took a deep breath and continued. “I just don’t want this to go to fast. You’ve only just met them. And Bryant can be a lot to handle. I don’t… I don’t want you to get scared off.”

Now it was Elliot’s turn to be reassuring. Laying his hand on Cale’s shoulder, he smiled a small smile. “Jitterbug, I know you’ve been really patient with me and more than happy to go at a pace I’m comfortable with, and really appreciate that. Thank you. But it’ll take a little more than spending time with your parents and a sulky teenager to scare me off.”

Instantly, Caleb’s tense shoulders relaxed. Elliot smiled at being able to feel the fact he said what Cale needed to hear. “Promise?”

“Promise.” Elliot said, smiling just a little wider when Caleb pressed his lips to the fingers still on his shoulder.

When they finally walked into the apartment, neither of them bothered carrying their things all the way to the bedroom, both perfectly satisfied letting the fall to the ground just inside the door. “Fiiiinally. Home.” Cale went directly to the bedroom, flopping immediately onto the bed. “I’ve missed you!” He said into his pillow. Elliot couldn’t help but laugh as he followed, flopping down next to him.

“You’re sure it’s ok if I stay tonight?”

Caleb rolled his eyes, not that Elliot could see as his face was still buried in the pillow. “I already insisted on it El. It’s late. We’re tired. I’ll drop you off at school in the morning. It’s not a problem.”

Elliot had to listen carefully and guess at a word or two because of the muffle. “That’ll be pretty early though.”

Smiling, Caleb listed his face, wrapped an arm around Elliot’s waist, and pulled him close. “Yeah, but I could use one more night with you.”

Hearing no argument from Elliot, actually the smirk on his face egged him on, Caleb held him a little tighter and kissed him.

[Patricia Reed]

(In a galaxy far, far away... Brendan and Eugene are in love and have a perfect little family)

It was work time at the theater. Though, with a brand new baby girl, work wasn’t actually being done. In fact, since she’d come into their lives a month ago, seldom had gotten done. But you couldn’t quite blame them. They were quite infatuated with Mahalet.

Sitting next to one another in the theater’s front row, Eugene stared at his daughter in his husband’s arms. “Isn’t she just perfect?” He asked. While it wasn’t rhetorical, he knew the answer already. “Of course she is. She’s just so beautiful.” “You know, the books say they should be put in their cribs to sleep. She’ll get too comfortable sleeping while being held and then won’t sleep anything other way.”

Brendan turned to look at Genie, a pout set on his lips. “Babe, pleeease? She’s just so… She’s like a little angel. If I put her in her crib, I’ll miss her.” “Oh Bren, don’t be ridiculous. She’ll just be in her crib.” And her crib was only just towards the back of the theater, having converted Eugene’s old room into a nursery for the baby and converting a few smaller, unused rooms into a bedroom for the two. Yes, they were very much a theater family.

A whine, sounding much like the whine of a puppy begging to be let inside out of the rain, came from Bren. Rolling his eyes, Eugene shook his head. “Brendan, please stop. I don’t always want to have to be the responsible one. We talked about this. You’re a father now too. You can’t always just do what you want. You have to think about what’s best for Mahalet.” Sighing, the set designer looked down at the infant in his arms. “Fine. But please can I wait just a few minutes? Then I’ll put her down. I’m not ready to hold yet.”

A smile crept on to Genie’s smile and he gave in since Bren had given in a little too. “Alright, alright. But only for a few minutes. Five tops. Agreed?” “Agreed.” As Brendan wormed his finger into the sleeping girl’s grasp, Eugene leaned closer, kissed his husband’s shoulder, then rested his chin on Bren, looking down at their pride and joy.

[Brendan James]

(This is not an AU as there is no universe where Brendan and Vincent have each other and break-up. This is just me being a jerk and trying to make myself and Rae cry. At the very least have feelings.)

How long had it been? Months, he knew that. But how many? Eight? Maybe?

God. It felt like so much longer than that. It had felt like it’d been years. An eternity even. This hollow feeling in chest had been there much longer than he ever thought he’d feel it.

Honestly, since he’d met Vincent and they’d begun a relationship, Brendan had thought he’d never feel like this. Not again. He thought he’d found the one that he would spend the rest of his days with. And he still wasn’t exactly sure when or where it’d gone wrong, but somewhere along the line it had. They stopped having fun together. They stopped enjoying one another’s company. They’d stopped being happy. But most importantly, they stopped being themselves.

More fights had happened. Less fun. Less sex. Less everything that made them them and more everything that made them angry at one another.

The break-up had been on the horizon for some time. It had been like a dark cloud hanging over them for months. Still though, when it was uttered, it took them both by surprise. Brendan could only speak for himself, but it had felt like he’d been repeatedly stabbed in the stomach.

Since he’d spent the next few days drinking himself silly, Brendan couldn’t even remember the one who had first said it. But sure enough, it was done. After that, they were no longer together. In that break-up, he lost a lot more than just a person he was madly in love with. He lost his two best friends.

Yes, two. Because not being with Vincent made even looking at Fifi nearly impossible. He couldn’t stomach being around her. Not without thinking of everything he’d lost, everything he’d given up, just to be with Vincent. And it was all for nothing, all given up to end up alone.

You would think that since it had been so many months that Brendan should have at least begun to heal, that he wouldn’t feel so empty. But that wasn’t the case.

He was sad, but he also felt as if he had cried all the tears he could. It was as if a person was only allowed a certain amount of tears and between his mother’s death and his break-up with Vincent, Brendan had reached his number and he wasn’t allowed to shed any more. He wished he could though.

The tears would at least be something. The tears had been some kind of relief. Now, without them, he just felt empty. As if everything about his life and body were mechanic.

But he would soon realize that he could still feel even worse. Something he thought impossible. How wrong he could be.

Brendan had managed to avoid Vincent in the small town, only traveling to the club and back to his parents’ home. But his dad would be working late tonight and the house desperately needed groceries. So he was forced out.

And wouldn’t it be just his luck that while in town, he happened to run into the very person he’d been trying to avoid?

The moment their eyes locked, Brendan had wanted to turn and run. He wanted to run back home, curl in his bed, make an illusion of his mother, and rest his head on her lap while she comforted him, stroking his hair.

Instead he was frozen.

Frozen as Vincent stared at him, eyes slightly widened, mouth hanging in surprise. The younger man looked nervously to his left, then to his right. Then shifted his gaze down, then back to Bren before slowly approaching him. And all Brendan could do was stare, heart racing. He could here his own blood rushing in his ears. He knew people were brushing past him since he’d stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, but he didn’t care to move out of their way.

He felt Vincent. Felt as the familiar hand brushed across his face, down his neck, then his arm. Felt it as those slim fingers slid into his own hand, wiggling their way between his fingers. He felt Vincent’s lips press lightly to his cheek, then the corner of his mouth, then lightly, so very lightly, to his own lips. He felt Vincent’s breath tickle his face as the younger man exhaled, whispering to him.

“Brendan?”

He snapped back, seeing Vincent a bit more than a foot away from him. A respectable distance for two people who were seeing each other for the first time since breaking up. Gulping at the memories that had bombarded him, Bren tried to push them away. “Hi.” He said.

“Hi.”

Why had he ever left the house? Brendan shifted uncomfortably as seconds passed in awkward silence. “How are you?”

“I’m alright. You?” Vincent said, nervously tugging at his lip ring with his teeth. His eyes darted back and forth again and Bren chalked up his nervousness up to talking to an ex. It killed him to know that Vin was nervous talking to him. But wasn’t sure it’d be any better if the boy wasn’t affected at all.

Shrugging his shoulder, Brendan knew his face must look sad, tired. “Been better.” At least he was being honest. He had been better. Because anything was better than standing here, feeling as if he were dying. “Look, Vin, do you thi-”

The look on Vincent’s face made him stop. He suddenly looked panicked, eyes wide and wrapping his arms around himself. And Bren thought he heard him mutter ‘shit’ to himself.

When a boy, not really a boy but Brendan often thought as any male younger than him as such, bounded up and gave Vincent a peck on the cheek, Brendan quickly understood. Well… That stabbing feeling was back. But now it was multiple knives. At once. And being twisted within his stomach.

“Hi babe.” The boy said in an annoyingly chipper and high-pitched voice that almost sounded feminine.

“Hi.” Vincent muttered, not daring to meet either of their eyes.

Smiling, the newcomer turned to Brendan. “My my my, well, we certainly have a looker here, don’t we?”

Bren knew he was giving this… this kid a dirty look that he didn’t deserve. But he’d just kissed Vincent. Even if it was simply on the cheek. And he’d called him ‘babe’. And he wanted to throttle this midget so badly it hurt. And yes, he was a midget. Ok, not really. But Vincent had finally managed to find somebody shorter than himself. “Yea- I mean no… No, not… Hey, um, do you mind running ahead and getting us tickets and finding us seats? I don’t wanna miss the commercial with the dancing candy. I love that.”

Nodding and smiling, the infant said, “Sure thing!” in an annoyingly chipper voice, gave Vin another peck, and waggled his fingers at Bren, who idly wondered what exactly it’d sound like to crush every single one of those long and slender fingers.

The moment that… wretched person was out of earshot, Brendan let out the breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. And felt even more as if his heart had been ripped out.

“It’s new.” Vincent said, staring at his feet. “If you were wondering. We just met… Like two weeks ago. It’s… It’s nothing. Really.”

“That fan-damn-tastic for you.” Brendan said with bite he’d been trying to keep out of his voice. Whoops. And it caught Vin’s attention obviously. “Glad you found somebody to give it to you on the regular. Don’t know why you feel the need to tell me though.” After that, he turned around left immediately, not wanting to hear Vin’s retort.

Chloe had come over that night after he texted her about what happened. They stayed in his room, his head laid in her lap, her stroking his hair lightly, trying to soothe him. She’d seen his mother do it for him numerous times when she was still alive. And she’d done it for him on the random days that his mother’s passing still tore him apart. And she did it now.

It got easier. Still though, there was that emptiness.

He’d go out more, being sure to avoid places he knew Vincent preferred. And if by chance he’d see (or think he saw Vincent and the cretin), he’d find the nearest hiding spot and watch them until he could manage to make his escape.

Vincent was smiling, Brendan noticed. Smiling, but not really. It was like a polite smile or a forced one. But they never touched his eyes. And his laughs weren’t really laughs. More like a sharp exhale that was light and accompanied by one of the fake smiles.

But it still hurt. Partially because he was trying to move on. And partially because Vincent wasn’t happy. And Brendan, despite his behavior and anger, wanted Vin to be happy.

That being said, he also wasn’t exactly disappointed when that tiny boy stopped being seen around Vincent at all. And he had ears throughout the town. And through those ears, he’d heard the two had parted ways. Bren tried not to be happy about that. Really, he did. But he couldn’t exactly help it.

There were a few more run-ins with Vincent. Sans any boy. The accidental meetings were far better than the first as they managed to remain civil. They didn’t go much past asking how the other was. ‘Good’, ‘Fine’, ‘Alright’ were all answers Vincent varied between. Brendan though always answered with ‘Been better’. Because that was the truth.

Eventually, the topic of Fifi was brought up. Because, despite his thoughts almost constantly being about the boy he loved, they sometimes went back to her as well.

And Brendan was shocked by the answer. “Last time we talked, she was fine.”

“Last time you talked?”

“She… Uh, she moved out.” He said, looking to his feet while rubbing the back of his neck.

“What? Why?” Brendan couldn’t help the panic that came into his voice. Had something happened between the two?

The only response he received was a pointed stare from his ex.

Feeling more than just a little uncomfortable, Bren looked away and cleared his throat. “I should get going. Work. Cynthia is waiting.”

And they parted ways.

It was the one-year mark before Vincent began dating somebody else again. To Brendan’s knowledge at least. If there’d been others, he certainly didn’t want to know.

This time, when there was a run in, Bren had been able to better control himself, how upset he got. The new man in Vin’s life was bigger. Older than him. Not as old as Brendan though. And seemed a little… stiff. In personality and in posture. Perhaps Vincent needed that. Was trying for something different.

“Hey Bren.”

“Hi Vin. How are you?”

“Good. You?”

“Been better.”

Vincent shifted uncomfortably again, looking to a person standing a few feet away who was interested in something on the shelf. “Um… I want you to meet somebody.” Wrapping his hand around the stranger’s arm, Vin pulled him closer to them. “This is Rhett.”

Much the same as before, Brendan felt as if he was stabbed. All over his body. But it was so much worse. This time, Vincent was introducing them. Before he hadn’t even known the child’s name. But Vin was going out of his way to introduce them in what was quite possibly the most uncomfortable situation ever. And when Vin continued, it only made it worse. “We’ve been dating about three months.”

Not long after he and that kid split. Maybe Rhett was the reason? Then again, Vincent and Brendan had started not long after what’s his face. God… Why couldn’t he and Vin have met differently? In some other world? Where there had never been with anybody before the other and it was only them?

Forcing a tight smile to his face, Brendan extended his hand. “Hi. It’s nice to meet you. I’m Brendan.” He wondered if Rhett knew who he was or if either of them noticed the way his hand trembled slightly at having to force himself to shake this person’s hand.

Rhett’s face was blank though. No recognition flashed in his eyes. It seemed as though Vincent had kept their past to himself. Why though? Was it was too hard to talk about? Or did Vin just not care anymore?

“You too.” He said, his lips barely moving as he spoke, shaking Bren’s hand. “We have to get going now.” Rhett said more to Vin than to Bren. “See ya’ around.”

Brendan watched as Rhett steered Vincent away from him, leaving the store. He had hoped that maybe Vin would look back at him… But he didn’t.

This time, after meeting Vincent’s new… boyfriend, he didn’t cry on Chloe’s shoulder. He didn’t wallow in his sorrows. No. Instead, as his best friend watched him, he forced himself to continue his day, every now and then muttering that he was ‘fine’ when Chloe’s stare felt particularly penetrating.

“Are you sure?”

“Please stop asking me that.”

“You didn’t answer me though.”

“Yes, I am. Now please stop. And stop staring. It’s rude.”

“How can you know I’m staring? You haven’t even looked at me.”

“I can feel you staring. Please stop.”

…

“Chloe.”

“Fiiiine.”

As much as he appreciated her concern, it wasn’t making things any easier for him. If anything, it was making him feel worse. And as much as he truly loved Chloe, Brendan was almost beginning to resent the concern she felt for him. Though he’d never admit to it because he knew it made no sense whatsoever.

Eventually her staring and constant asking if he was ok became too much and, for the first time, he shooed her out of the James home.

On his way to work later that month, he happened to spy Rhett. The large man was leaning over some guy, about the size of Vincent but blonde, and barricading him against a wall. If the stranger hadn’t been giggling in a prepubescent fashion, Brendan would’ve thought to maybe step in. To him it seemed as if, once again, Vincent were single and he wondered idly what had happened.

After constant pestering from Charlie, Brendan allowed her to set him up on a blind date about a week later. He’d been told not to worry. ‘Charlotte is a great girl! Beautiful, kind of crazy, but not psycho crazy.’ It had led to a table for two in a quiet restaurant. It had lasted well into the evening and had consisted mostly of polite conversation and mostly Charlotte answering Bren’s questions. At the end of the night, she told him what a great listener he was and asked to see him again. Bren respectfully turned her down.

When he got to the club the next day to meet with Cynthia about sets, she could tell something was up. Of course, she’d known about the break-up. Everybody knew about the break-up. But he’d been better, in a way, lately. Brendan hadn’t been walking hunched over. His arms weren’t around himself, like he was trying to physically hold himself together. He wasn’t the Brendan she’d met all those months ago. But he could function again.

Today though? Shoulders hunched, hair disarray, clothes wrinkled. When Bren was all about appearance? “What? What’s wrong?” She asked, tapping her cigarette holder to lose the ash, as he sat down.

“I went on a date last night.” He sighed, staring at the table.

Glancing up, Cynthia eyed him over the rim of her unnecessary reading glasses in surprise. “Well, that’s wonderful! It’s about damn time too. It’s been a year.” It wasn’t that Cynthia wasn’t sympathetic, because she was. She, too, had felt the cruel sting of love gone sour. But wallowing in one’s own self-pity was unbecoming. And the only way for dear darling Brendan to move on was to get out there. “It’s been a long time coming anyway.”

Brendan sighed and shook his head. “It was awful. All I thought about was Vincent. Our first date together. I took him to New York. We went to Coyote Ugly. Got drunk. Danced on the bar. I had the worst hangover the next day. How I didn’t blow chunks all over him, I’ll never know.” He chuckled affectionately as he shared the memory.

Cynthia’s nose wrinkled at the phrase ‘blow chunks’. “Delightful as that anecdote is, the way I see it is you have one of two options. One, you can take in the fact that Vincent has been dating, is trying to move on, and try to move on yourself. Or two, you can try to get him back. You can lay everything out on the line, bare your soul to him, and try for him. Because, frankly, this misery act you have going on is unbecoming. You’re so much better than that. And truth be told, it’s bringing me down. So what’s it gonna be?” As she spoke, she took off her glasses, folding them up, and using them as a prop, pointing it at him to make her point.

“I...” It was an obvious answer. Of course, Brendan wanted Vincent back. How could he not? Vincent had meant the world to Bren. He’d given up (well, really lost) his job for him. He’d turned his life upside down for Vin. Crazy and ridiculous as their life might have been together, it had been just that, their life together. It might have been unstable. They might have acted like jerks to each other. And they might have done stupid things. But that’s what they did, that’s who they were. They were two halves of the same whole. “I want him back.”

“Then honey, go get him back. Do whatever it takes. And for the love of god do it before I become some damned Disney woodland creature, singing about true love.”

Immediately, Brendan stood up, kissed Cynthia’s hand as if she were the godfather, and ran for the door.

This was the best he’d been feeling in, well, a year. He was nervous. Scared as hell. Honestly, he felt as if he might begin to violently vomit at any moment. What if he went to Vin’s apartment and that beef head was there? What if Bren begged for Vincent to take him back, but the younger man refused? What if Vincent was with somebody new? What if he had entirely moved on? What if…

What if what if what if. Brendan could plague himself with these questions forever. And he’d been assuming all of his what ifs were true for the last year. But… What if Vincent hadn’t? What if Vincent hadn’t moved on? What if he wasn’t with the ridiculously muscular guy? What if Vincent hadn’t actually wanted to break up either?

When Brendan was finally in front of the familiar door, he knocked on it repeatedly until it swung open, a confused Vincent standing in front of him.

“Brendan? Is somethi-“

“Vincent.” Brendan breathed, smiling, as he stepped into the familiar apartment, uninvited. “Look, I’ve been thinking.” As he walked into the family room, Bren felt such relief that that man with the trees for arms wasn’t there. “I’ve been thinking for a year actually.” He turned to face his ex, a smile on his face. A smile so big it made his muscles ache. “Vincent. I love you. I have always loved you. And I will always love you.” Oh god, the need to vomit feeling came back stronger than before as Vincent just stared at him as if confused, mouth slightly ajar. “I know that coming here and begging you to take me back isn’t going to fix anything, I know that. I know we’ll have to work at it. But this year without you has been awful.”

“And seeing you with those guys. Oh god, I hated it. More than I knew was actually possible for me to hate anything. Vincent, please. Just… If it can’t work, if you can’t take me back, just tell me. It’ll hurt and it’ll be awful, but maybe I’ll finally be able to move on, knowing that there’s no part of you that wants me anymore.” Stepping closer to Vincent, Brendan took a deep breath. “But, if by some chance you do still want me, than I want to work this out, I want to work on us. Because if I will do anything in my power if it means I can wake up every morning to you right beside me.”

Silence filled the air when Brendan stopped talking, waiting for Vincent to say something. Anything. Only he didn’t. Vincent said nothing return. He simply stared at Brendan, a confused look on his face and jaw slightly ajar.

It scared Brendan. He stood there, heart racing, hoping and praying for the answer he wanted. He’d done what Cynthia said. He’d bared his soul. And he felt it. But still.

Silence.

It hung in the air between them.

Neither of them moved. Waiting for the other to do or say something first.

But they were both so stubborn. And Brendan thought to himself he’d come to the apartment they shared, he was the one to take the first step. He couldn’t very well take the second and third and fourth too. Just another minute, just another minute of silence then he’d leave. If nothing was said, then he’d go. He’d have made his attempt. And he could leave, knowing Vincent felt nothing in return for him anymore. Yes, moving on would be painful and he’d think of Vincent every day. But he could do it. He would make himself do it.

Having been counting in his head, Brendan could feel his heart quickening still as he neared ten. Ten more seconds. How envious he was of Doctor Neville in this moment. The power had always seemed so troublesome to him. But now? He’d give anything, his right arm, to know what Vincent was thinking.

Five seconds. He began willing Vincent to say something, his face taking on a pleading look.

But he realized it was unnecessary when Vincent opened his mouth to say something.