by T C Heffer
So it didn't work out.
"By then, I was getting tired of the politics of working in a law firm and New York had lost most of its lustre for me, so I thought it was a good time to move on. I came back here, and the rest I think you already know," Jeremy finishes, right as the steaks finish cooking too.
Perfect timing, Adam muses as all three of them start assembling their plates.
Nothing else is said for a few minutes as they all enjoy their food. Adam sits across the table from Pete and Jeremy, who have positioned their chairs close together. By now, the extra blood has left Pete's face.
Eventually, Adam thinks of another topic to bring up. "Pete tells me that you're planning on going with him when he goes off to college," he mentions to Jeremy.
"Yeah, I am," Jeremy responds in between bites of his burger.
"You're really going to uproot your life again to follow him?"
"Of course. Why wouldn't I?"
Adam shrugs. "I don't know. It just seems like a lot to me to make plans like that when, realistically, you two haven't known each other for that long. But I guess I'm still thinking in terms of a regular relationship, aren't I?"
Jeremy takes a second to organise his thoughts. He sets his half-eaten burger down next to the salad on his plate. "A relationship like ours—or one that includes any form of BDSM—will always develop faster than usual. I already told you that when I came to speak to you after you found out about us," Jeremy reminds him, though not unkindly.
The memory returns to Adam. "Right."
"Besides, it would be difficult for me to do my job as Pete's Daddy if he's on the other side of the country or something."
"I suppose that would be true." Adam glances at his son, who stares determinedly at his own plate. "I would've rather he told me, but if he felt like he couldn't, I'm happy he could tell you about college applications instead."
"Yeah." Jeremy bumps shoulders with Pete, getting him to look up. They share a quick smile before Pete goes right back to focusing on his food, almost like he's pretending the discussion Adam and Jeremy are having isn't happening. "I'm happy he told me too, if only so I could sit him down and make him actually look into it properly. It wouldn't have been good if he missed any deadlines."
It shouldn't, but this still catches Adam off-guard. "You just…told him to do it and he did?"
"Of course. It's in my job description to act in Pete's best interests at all times, and it's part of Pete being who he is to feel inclined to listen to me."
Adam doesn't say it aloud, but he's impressed and swayed a bit more into coming around to the whole Daddy/boy thing. He knows that his son is mature and isn't feckless—at least when he wants to be—but the knowledge that Pete will have Jeremy to keep him on the right track, someone whose voice he'll actually pay attention to, makes Adam feel a lot better about Pete's future. Not that he ever doubted his son would have a bright future, because he didn't, not even for a second. He's always known that Pete is exceptionally intelligent and can be determined to a fault. It's just that Pete can also sometimes be easily distracted.
It doesn't escape Adam that said teenager hasn't spoken much at all since he came outside with the salad. He gets why—it can he hard talking about this sort of stuff with a parent, especially with the Daddy thing layered on top of it all—but he would like to get his son's opinion on things too.
He attempts to bring him into the conversation. "And that's really okay with you, son?"
Pete raises his head again and seems to steel himself. "Huh?"
"Your Dad asked you if you're really okay with me acting as a guiding hand for you," Jeremy clarifies.
"Oh." Pete looks between the two men before settling on his Dad. "Yeah, it's fine. I kinda like it anyway."
"That's good to hear, son." Adam means it.
"While we're on the subject," Pete says, speaking fast as if he simply must get out whatever he has to say before he runs out of nerve. "I've actually decided what I wanna do about college."
Adam sits up straighter, and he sees Jeremy do the same in his chair next to Pete. "I hoped so. So? Where are you applying?"
Pete takes a deep breath and places his palms down on the table. Adam can almost see the nerves radiating off of him. "I'm going into the Police Academy instead," he announces.
Adam sits back in his chair, shocked. As far as he knew, Pete had never even hinted that he was interested in pursuing a job in law enforcement. With his Dad as the Chief, the boy had done his research, of course, ever inquisitive, and he got into trouble a few times early on when he used to try to listen in on the calls Adam got on his police radio. He'd ask inappropriate questions, and Adam and Vanessa shut that down very quickly because Pete was far too young to be exposed to any of that unpleasantness.
Now? Now, Adam can't figure out how he feels about it.
"What made you decide to do that?" Jeremy asks Pete, countenance inscrutable.
"It just made sense," Pete answers, his posture stiff and tense. "I already know a lot about it because I grew up with it, and it would be cool to help people. I think I'd be good at it too. It just feels like something worth doing, y'know?"
"I do," Adam croaks. He's suddenly touched, the possibility occurring to him that Pete could be doing this to follow in his footsteps.
"Are you okay with it?" Pete questions the Chief warily.
Adam again ponders how he feels about it and gets mixed results. On one hand, he's proud of Pete and wants to help him in any way he can, but on the other, he's scared because working in law enforcement can get dangerous sometimes, and it can mean long hours and very little sleep. Does he want that for his son? Not necessarily, but he doesn't bring his concerns up to Pete because he doesn't want to discourage him. If this is really what Pete wants to dedicate his life to—and Pete's mien makes it clear that this wasn't a jejune decision—then Adam won't stop him.
He pushes back his chair and stands up. He walks around the table to Pete and pulls him out of his chair too in order to hug him tightly. "I'm proud of you," he murmurs.
Pete shakes against him and tucks his chin over Adam's shoulder. He clutches at the back of his shirt. He must've been even more worried about getting his Dad's approval than he let on.
"Thanks, Dad," Pete whispers.
"All I'll say is to be careful," Adam warns him, ending the embrace. He puts his hands on Pete's shoulders and holds him at arm's length. "Alright?"
Pete nods ardently. "I will."
Adam goes back to his own seat and observes as Pete has a similar moment with Jeremy. His friend is just as accepting and supportive as he was, and as Jeremy cups Pete's cheek with his hand and Pete leans into the touch, his eyes fluttering closed, Adam gets the distinct impression that he's intruding. Still, he doesn't look away. He needs to see this. It's good for him, will get him used to seeing Jeremy and Pete together in the future. That was the whole point of tonight, after all.
Pete, Jeremy and Adam stay outside in the back yard for the remainder of the evening. The conversation flows easier now that the important stuff is all out of the way, and Pete actually participates in most of it. It's like a weight has lifted off of his shoulders, freeing him up to be his usual convivial self. He banters with Jeremy, and there's an intimacy to it that speaks of a deep connection between them. It reminds Adam of how he and Vanessa used to tease each other.
When Jeremy says something that makes Pete throw his head back with a boisterous laugh, and Jeremy stares openly at him like he's never seen someone so enchanting, Adam's reservations vanish entirely.
He finds himself smiling widely.
— CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE —
- Wednesday, December 25th, 2013 -
On Christmas Day, an antsy Pete sits with Steve in the Brooks' living room. The house is filled with the delicious aroma of food as Fiona, Steve's Mom, cooks in the kitchen with Pete's Dad acting as her sous chef, while Pete and Steve themselves battle each other in Mario Kart like they used to do when they we
re younger. It's a tradition for them, to play competitive video games until the food's cooked, and then they'll all sit down at the dining table to eat together somewhere between 2 and 3 p.m.
This year, Mia is spending most of the day with her family, but Pete's Dad is joining them rather than staying home and thinking mournfully about the woman he lost. That's definitely a good thing, and Pete's nervousness is lessened by the quiet laughter he can hear coming from the other room. It reminds him of discussions he and Steve used to have about their parents potentially getting together. They even made plans to go all Parent Trap on them. It seemed inevitable back then, a single Dad and a single Mom being around each other all the time due to their sons' friendship. Now, while there's still a small part of Pete that believes it would be good for both his Dad and Fiona, he knows better.
Just because two single people of the opposite sex get along doesn't mean sparks of a romantic or even sexual nature will appear. If it happens, great, but if not, that's fine too.
That isn't the cause of Pete's nerves anyway. No, the cause of those hasn't arrived yet but should any minute now. Jeremy.
Problem 1: Fiona. She appeared to take the news well that Pete is dating someone who's much closer to her age than his own, but that could still change. Pete trusts her not to react badly, but Pete can tell that he'll always feel this way when introducing Jeremy to other people who are important in his life. He's just glad that Fiona is basically the last person he'll have to tell for now.
Problem 2: the present he got Jeremy. After racking his brain for nearly the entire lead-up to Christmas, he finally came up with something he thought would work. It was tricky to pull off and involved a bit of underhandedness on Pete's part, but it should be worth it. For the most part, he's confident that Jeremy will love it, but there's still that tiny voice in the back of his mind that insists he overstepped his bounds and Jeremy will be angry at him for it. Time will tell.
"Dude, relax, it's gonna be fine," Steve says, apparently noticing Pete's distress without looking away from the TV. In second place in their current race, he shoots a red shell at Pete—who's in first—and grunts his dismay when the other boy blocks the attack by holding a banana skin behind his kart.
"And you know that how?" Pete fires back.
"Because my Mom's the best. You know that."
"Yeah…"
Pete shakes himself. Steve's right. Even if Fiona is a bit unsure at first, she'll get used to it, just like his Dad did. That's not all he's worried about, but there's nothing left to do about his gift for Jeremy, so he might as well stop fretting over it and enjoy the rest of the day.
"God, that smells so good," Steve moans, sniffing the air when the scent of stuffing drifts into the living room, mixing with the scents of turkey, potatoes and gravy.
Pete hums his agreement.
A few minutes later, just as Pete and Steve finish their current cup in Mario Kart, the doorbell rings. Pete throws aside his controller and leaps up from the sofa to race into the foyer. He gets there just as Fiona exits the kitchen drying her hands on a dishtowel.
"I got it!" Pete tells her, gesturing for her to go back into the kitchen with his Dad. She narrows her eyes at him but acquiesces, leaving Pete to answer the door alone.
His excitement at seeing Jeremy again building to intolerable levels, Pete grabs the handle and pulls the door open with too much force. He scrambles to catch it before it bashes into the wall and exacerbates the scratches that are already in the paint there, and once it's under control again, he turns his attention to the man on the doorstep.
"Hey, come in!" he says breathlessly, moving aside.
"Someone's excited," Jeremy observes, entering the house. For the occasion, today he sports a green-and-red Christmas sweater and a pair of black jeans. He has a bottle of red wine under one arm, and from his other hand dangles a large bag of presents that he holds up. "Where should I put these?"
"Oh, in here with the others."
Pete leads the way into the living room and directs Jeremy to the Christmas tree in the corner, at the base of which is an already sizeable pile of presents.
"I'd have thought you would've opened them already," Jeremy says as he crouches down and adds his own to the pile. He waves at Steve as he stands at his full height again.
"We would've usually," Pete says. "But since you weren't getting here until now, we all agreed to wait."
"That's nice of you."
"I thought so. It's been torture."
Jeremy smirks. "I'll bet."
"Jeremy! Is that you?" the Chief shouts from the kitchen, getting the attention of the three men in the living room.
"Yeah, Adam!" Jeremy calls back.
"Get in here!"
Jeremy gives Pete a quick kiss before walking past him and into the kitchen to join Adam and Fiona. Pete fights the urge to follow him and wins for a few seconds, but then it becomes too much and he has to at least peek his head in. He ignores how Steve eyes him as he scurries across the room to the doorway.
The other boy snorts. "Dude, chill."
Risking a peek into the kitchen, Pete is instantly relieved when he spots Fiona and takes in the openly friendly expression on her face as she converses quietly with Jeremy and Adam.
"Told you," Steve whispers right in his ear. He walks past Pete and into the kitchen, completely ruining his best friend's efforts to remain undetected.
With a sigh, Pete goes into the kitchen too and steps up next to Jeremy, interrupting the conversation he was having with Fiona. She appraises the two of them, and her countenance shifts into something inscrutable for a few seconds when Jeremy casually drapes his arm over Pete's shoulders. Then it clears, the affability returns to her features and she and Jeremy pick up right where they left off, not making a big deal out of it at all. Pete definitely prefers it this way to some sort of fanfare, and some of the tightness in his chest dissipates now that the first issue has been resolved.
Now all he has to do is wait until it's time for presents…
* * *
An hour later, after a long meal filled with talk and good food, Pete retires to the living room with Jeremy and his Dad, while Steve and Fiona prepare some warm drinks and eggnog for everyone to wind down with. Once the Brooks join their guests, everyone installs themselves on the sofa and in the two armchairs that are positioned in a U shape around one side of the coffee table. Pete sits with his thigh pressed against Jeremy's, and he and Steve manage to rope the older man into a few more games of Mario Kart while they wait for their food to settle. The presents taunt Pete from their places beneath the tree—one of them in particular—but the game is a good distraction, and he gets a lot of enjoyment out of thoroughly kicking both Steve's and Jeremy's asses.
"Alright, who's ready for presents?" Fiona asks the group when the last race in the cup ends and Pete once again reigns victorious.
"I know I am," Steve responds, switching off his Wii console and setting his controller next to his mug of hot chocolate on the coffee table.
"Who's gonna do the honours?"
"The honours?" Jeremy repeats, obviously bemused.
"Who's gonna hand out all the presents, is what she means," Pete whispers to him.
"Gotcha."
"I guess I'll do it," Pete volunteers.
Sliding out from beneath Jeremy's warm arm, he crawls across the floor to the tree and directs the gifts to their recipients. Once that's done, Pete requests that Jeremy leaves his gift until last, and each person present opens one at a time at the same time, like they're going in waves.
Pete ends up getting a new video game from Steve, and some stuff for the upkeep of his Kia from his Dad. When he gets to Jeremy's present, he's nonplussed by how small it is. It's about the same size as a ring box, which shocks him at first, but after he takes off the paper, he finds that it's not the traditional velvet box and breathes a sigh of relief. He wouldn't rule marriage out in the future, but it's a bit early for that now.
"What i
s it?" his Dad asks him when he doesn't open the box. "Don't leave us all in suspense."
Glancing up, Pete fidgets awkwardly because everyone else has finished unwrapping this round of gifts and is staring at him. He makes eye contact with Jeremy just before pulling off the top of the box and lowering his gaze to peer at its contents.
"It's…it's a key," Pete tells his Dad, taking it out of the box and holding it up.
All eyes turn to Jeremy now, who smiles sheepishly at Pete. "It's to my house," he explains. "I didn't know if it was presumptuous or not, but the idea hit me and I thought it was a good one."
Pete is stunned. He already pretty much comes and goes from Jeremy's house as he pleases, but every time he's there, Jeremy is there too. This key is a clear invitation that he's welcome even when the house is empty.
"That's a big step," Fiona notes.
"It is," Jeremy agrees. "But it felt right."
Pete can't find the appropriate words to convey how much the key, something so small, means to him. He ends up saying a simple, "Thank you," but his gratitude is evident in his voice, and he knows that Jeremy understands that he really appreciates this gesture.
"Alright, last round everyone!" Fiona says, putting her shoddily wrapped gift from Steve in her lap. "Everyone ready?"
Pete's final gift is from Fiona, and it turns out to be the new limited edition copies of his favourite book series. He thanks her too, and then focuses on Jeremy, who left Pete's gift to him for last like he was asked.
It's a flat rectangular package about the size of a 40" flatscreen television. He waits on bated breath as Jeremy tears one side of the wrapping paper off and stares down at the picture that's revealed beneath.
"How did you get this?" the man asks him, his voice filled with awe.
"It wasn't easy." Pete leaves his presents on the floor and returns to his spot on the sofa next to Jeremy. "I noticed last week that you don't have any photos of your family in your house—at least not any that I could find—so I got in touch with Jess. I had to go into your phone when you were in the bathroom one evening to get her number, and she sent me a copy of her favourite family photo from her place. I got it blown up and framed for you. Do you like it?"