by Kit Fortier
Jake smiled for his friend. Fox saw how the smile didn't reach his eyes.
"Hey there Taylor. Where's Sarah?"
"She's setting up the table. You're just in time for dinner," Taylor said. He turned to Fox.
"And you are…?" Taylor asked, his tone friendly.
"Fox. Foster," Fox said, holding out his hand. Taylor took it and shook sincerely.
"Taylor Samuels," the shorter man said.
"Fox is my--" Jake paused. "He's mine."
Fox was quick on the uptake. "I'm his."
Taylor snorted. "Geez, big guy, you pick 'em young. And hot," Taylor gave Fox a sly look from head to toe to head and whistled. Fox looked at Jake, who was stone-faced.
"Leigh, you know I'm yankin' ya, right? I haven't messed around with a guy since I married Sarah."
Jake gave a light smile. "Yeah, I get it. Just don't be oglin' my man's ass. That's my ass," he said, emphasizing "my".
"So's the rest of me," Fox offered helpfully. "This is all his, too."
Taylor chuckled. "I like him, Hughes. He's a keeper."
"Glad I got your approval, Samuels."
Taylor grinned. "Come on. Fox needs to meet the lady of the house."
The three walked into the kitchen where a lithe, agile lady. She wore a long dark blond ponytail that kept her hair off her delicate features. Sarah was mixing up a salad and setting up dinner and pulling out plates and silverware.
"Leigh! Oh my god!" the lady squealed and practically threw herself at Jake. Fox thought he heard a bit of a southern drawl in her voice. "It's good to see you. Where've you been? Ah-never you mind, don't worry. I don't need to know. Who's this hunky guy?"
Taylor piped up. "This is Fox. He's Leigh's."
"Leigh's… what? His chauffeur? His bodyguard? His sous chef?" Sarah asked with a smile.
"Sweetie, don't you remember? Leigh hates when other people drive, and have you seen the guy? If he needs a bodyguard--" Taylor indicated his muscles. He put on a hilarious display of what he thought bodybuilders did. "--Then whatever's after him must have some serious low hangers. But then again, he can't cook, so--"
"I'm Jake's. Leigh's. And he's mine," Fox said simply, cutting off the shorter man's comic monologue.
Sarah's mouth took the shape of an "O" and came over to Fox.
"Sarah Samuels. I'm that guy's," she said with a wink.
"And I'm that gal's. Except on Thursdays. Thursdays are for me-time."
Fox laughed. Sarah snickered. Jake smiled.
"So, now we should probably talk about the eighteen-year-old elephant in the room," Sarah said. She finished prepping the salad and placed it on the table.
"He got the door, hon," Taylor told her, laying out flatware for five. Fox watched Sarah give her husband a significant look.
"Do you wanna go up there and talk to him, or should I?" Sarah asked.
Jake spoke up. "I don't want to intrude," he said. "If he wants to stay up there, he can. I don't… I don't want to force him."
Sarah reached over and put her hand on Jake's. "Leighton Jacob Hughes the Third, you are family, and so is he. And we can't have any of that angsty bullshit ruinin' our family dinner."
Fox watched Jake intently. His man was swimming in grief, eyes down cast, head hanging. For the third time today, he saw Jake break down and cry, and it tore him apart. He slid his hand under Jake's free hand while Sarah took his other hand in both of hers. Taylor came up behind Jake, resting his hands on his rounded shoulders. Sarah shushed him quietly.
"We'll help you, sweetheart. You and your boy."
"He's grown so much," Jake whispered through his tears.
"He's like his pa, that's certain," Sarah replied.
"I think it would help your case if he knew you were staying, Leigh," Taylor offered. "I know it's been rough for the two of you. But when you think about it, all Ben's known when it comes to you is that he's always waving his dad goodbye."
"Hang on, hon-," Sarah said to Jake before looking over her shoulder. "Benjamin Hunter Hughes-Samuels, you bring your butt down here! I don't care that you're twice as tall as I am, I will tan your hide, swear to Christ!" Sarah's command practically shook the house. Fox went wide-eyed in surprise, and Jake looked at her.
"You kept Kate's name? And mine?" Jake asked, a sense of wonder in his voice.
"No honey. He kept it." Sarah smiled. Her serene face shone pm Jake, and Taylor came around her other side.
"We asked him when he was thirteen if he wanted to be a Samuels. He did, but he wanted to keep you both, so… We put that on all the papers."
Jake shook his head. "I just never read them."
A slammed door brought Jake's head up and caught Fox's attention. A rumbling noise rolled down the stairs, and there stood Ben, clear as day, in a black tee shirt and jogging pants.
"I'm gonna go for a run, Mrs. S--shouldn't be--" Ben ignored the visitors in his house and spoke directly to Sarah. But Sarah slammed her hand against the table and stood up. She got up in his face as much as a woman two feet shorter could get in a guy's face.
"Boy, you are getting' on my last nerve," Sarah growled. Ben had the sense to look admonished. "You are sittin' down with family and you will spend time. With. Family," she punctuated the last two words with pauses, poking Ben in the chest. If anyone could tame a giant, it would be a tiny woman from the South with an attitude bigger than Devils Tower.
Ben gave Sarah a small nod. When his attention turned to Jake, Ben's face was absolutely mutinous. Still, Sarah would not be deterred. She sat Ben down across from his father. She and Taylor took seats to one side, leaving Fox on the other side between Ben and Jake.
"Now, everybody take a hand and say grace," Sarah asked, bordering on none-too-politely. Fox offered his hand and Ben stared at it before putting his hand in the stranger's hand.
Fox blinked and looked up at Ben, then toward Jake. The pulse tingled in Fox's hand--it was similar to the one he and Jake felt when they shook hands. Fox was hyper aware of it now. He screwed his vision, as he had before behind the inn--and what he saw was bright.
Ben had a truly overwhelming spark.
*** Jake
His son sitting across from him. Once, he was a scrawny eleven-year-old who's head was too big for his body. Now, he was a towering, almost intimidating young man. The only sign that he was hardly a menace was in his gentle, light blue eyes.
Fox squeezed his hand. He looked over to see Fox connecting Jake's eyes to the hand holding Ben's. He pulsed his hand twice--
Pulse?
Ben had the spark?
"O Lord, for food in a world where many walk in hunger, for faith in a world where many walk in fear, for friendship in a world where many walk alone, we give You humble thanks," Taylor said.
The sound of food being plated and silverware moving filled the air. Jake's plate was empty until Sarah scooped some salad onto it. He looked at her, and she winked.
"Ben, honey, when does your graduation begin?"
Jake watched Ben with soft focus, trying to pull back any awkward discomfort. Ben, for his part, focused on pushing food around his plate.
"One o'clock," he muttered. A pang tore through him as his son spoke. Ben was so much like him it hurt.
"Will you be there, Leigh? You and yours?" Sarah said with a kind smile.
"C-can I?" Jake couldn't hold back the eagerness.
Silverware clattered loudly on a plate. The sound was followed by the scrape of a chair against linoleum. Jake saw Ben had balled up his fists on his lap and pushed his chair back.
"Guys, if you have something to say, say it. Get it out, right now, and don't let it fester. Do you hear me?" Taylor had a command voice like his wife, but he chose to be civil over brusque. Jake appreciated that in the moment. He looked at his son, the anger in his baby blue eyes marring his young, handsome face.
"Ben, I… I don't know where to begin."
"You could start by telling me why we left Austin for San Diego. You said it wa
s a game, and I believed you. Then you left me with your friends," Ben turned to his surrogate parents. "Please don't get me wrong, Mr. S, Mrs. S. I love you guys, and you're the best parents a guy could ask for. But I didn't know you back then, and he left me with people I didn't know! I thought I did something wrong!" Ben was deep red with anger. Jake winced at the feeling of someone stabbing at his heart.
"Then, when they get me settled, they tell me you're coming home, that you'll be home soon, that I need to wait and see, and yes! Finally, finally! You come home, and I think we can do things together, that we can all be a family-and then you fucking up and leave!"
"Benjamin!" Sarah snapped.
"I'm sorry, Mrs. S. I know he's family, but I don't know this guy!"
"Still, you will apologize--"
"Sarah," Jake said calmly. "Let him."
Sarah looked offended that she was told to back down. But Jake needed to hear it.
"Go on, son. Don't stop there."
"Son? I don't even know if you know what it means to be a father! A father is there! A father holds you at night when you're scared! A father takes you to the hospital when you bang your teeth or break your leg! A father helps you get through things like first dates, or being with someone for the first time, or--or--"
Ben had reached his breath-to-word ratio limit. He was struggling to keep up with the anger in his heart.
"Ten years, dad," Ben said. "Ten years of promises that you'll come back to me. Seven years," Ben choked out before he stuck the heels of his palms in his eyes, wiping tears that wouldn't stop coming. "Seven years of nothing. Of being told you were in therapy. I don't know if that was really true or if it was absolute bullshit, and I don't care. I don't, I don't!"
Ben's vehement words stung. Jake almost convinced himself that he had only been gone seven years, but Ben was right. For three years, he'd been in the care of his friends. He had his father back for less than a year before he started his journey. Ben was hurting, reeling, and harboring a great deal of grief. Grief that he inflicted time and time again by walking out on his son.
Jake calmly stood and walked over to his giant of a boy. He helped him to his feet, only to get a solid, unexpected punch in the face. The sound of scraping chairs filled the kitchen. But even as everyone leapt to their feet, Jake put up a hand, holding them off.
"Don't touch me!" Ben cried. "Don't you fucking touch me!" He was cornered. Jake could see that.
His son had a wicked left hook. It didn't deter Jake. He knew he could expect his son to attack him. He shoved past Ben's emotional, unbalanced attempt to fight him off and grabbed him around the arms.
"Get off me! Get the fuck off me!" Ben struggled against his father's grip, but the elder Hughes was stronger.
"Please, get off me," Ben cried. "Please…" Ben begged. His voice was ragged with rage and grief. "Dad…"
There it was. Ben sagged against Jake, holding him in a death grip.
Jake didn't care that Sarah, Taylor, and Fox had stood up, ready to rush in and help. Jake didn't care that he was bleeding from an eyebrow. He only cared that his own son, his only son, had wrapped his arms around him, and let grief flow. Jake had done the same, dampening Ben's shoulder with shuddering tears.
For the first time in seven years, father and son truly embraced.
*** Fox
"It's not much, sweetheart, but it'll have to do," Sarah said. She laid down blankets and pillows for the day bed in their spare room. "Leigh stayed here when he left--when he was here last. I suspect you two will just snuggle up anyway, right?" she said with a wink and a smirk.
"Thank you so much, Mrs.--"
"Stop right there. Ben does that because he's like a son to me and wants to respect me. You can call me Sarah, because that's what friends do, got it?"
Fox smiled. "You got it, Sarah."
"Besides, it'll keep me from misbehavin' with you in front of Leigh. Have you seen him when he's pissed?" Sarah asked conspiratorially. "Charges like a bull, that man."
Fox stifled a laugh. He did indeed see the charging bull on top of Devils Tower, although he wasn't so much pissed as he was horny then. "I uh, I've seen that."
The way Sarah looked at him, Fox knew he wasn't fooling her.
"The bathroom's down the hall, and there's a shower if y'all need it. Towels and such are in the cabinet by the door," Sarah indicated the door to the room. "...And breakfast is whenever you guys make it to the kitchen. We're not picky about it here."
Fox nodded. "Thanks."
"Ah, well. You boys can stay as long as you need. You should come to the graduation, too!"
"But I--" Fox stilled when Sarah put a kindly hand on his shoulder.
"It's not for you, sweetie. Yours is gonna need you."
Fox grinned at the reference from before, when Jake introduced him. So much understanding in so little time. The Samuelses tried to soften Jake's absence to Ben for so long. Understanding other's emotions must have been second nature.
"Thank you, Sarah. I'd like that. Are they still out there talking?"
Sarah peeked her head around the corner. "Looks like they are." She crossed Fox, going back into the room.
"Back in the day when Taylor and I got married, he wanted to learn how to play all kinds of instruments," Sarah began. "He started with a drum set. It. Pissed. Me. Off. So, I told him he'd better soundproof a room in this house and practice there. I didn't want to hear one tap of a cowbell or whatever from outside the door. So, he did, but gave up the drums when he couldn't work around his artificial legs."
"Did he--"
"Leigh saved Taylor from the worst of that leftover bomb. He saved Taylor, it's only fair we do what we can to save those two."
Fox sat on the bed. The immensity of debt these people believed they owed each other was humbling.
"Anyway," Sarah started, a smirk in her voice, "Taylor went through several instruments. Guitar, violin, even rolled himself a piano in here."
"Here?" Fox pointed down.
"Yeee-yup. One of them up-rights. Only place for a baby grand is in the living room."
"Why are you tell--"
"Oh look, Leigh must have left this here last time. That or my Ben and his ex were in here… Eh. Guess I'll put it back in this--" Sarah made a show of putting the offending item in the nightstand next to the bed, "--here. You boys get a good night's sleep, y'hear?"
Fox smiled and nodded. Her Southern accent was charming his pants off. "We will."
Sarah left the room, leaving Fox there. He opened up the dresser and found she had put a hefty bottle of lube there. Fox laughed. He had to ask Jake if he left it. If not, then he might have to chain the big man to a rock. That might keep him from going out and stomping Ben's ex into a sticky mess on the ground.
Fox couldn't keep away, try as he might to give Jake and Ben space. Fox walked out and would offer the gentle pretext of getting some water when Jake waved him over.
"Fox, baby-please," Jake asked.
"Need something, big bear?" Fox asked, avoiding any pet names that involved daddy or papa.
"Fox, Ben. Ben, Fox."
Ben stood up. Fox had to actually look up at someone for the first time in a long time.
"Hiya, Ben," Fox offered, putting a hand out.
"Hey, Fox," Ben replied, taking his hand firmly and shaking it warmly.
Again, that pulse. But would Jake want to introduce his son to the world they live in?
"Dad says he's coming back," Ben said hopefully as he sat back down across from Jake.
"If that's okay with you, son. This place is your home, and the Samuelses love you."
"If it's alright, maybe to begin with," Ben said, uncertainty in his voice.
"Of course, of course!" Jake agreed. "You don't have to make any quick decisions. I still have to get set up."
"Well… I got…" Ben looked hesitant to say what was on his mind.
"Hey buddy," Jake said. Ben looked at him, a big smile in direct conflict with the tears coming
from his eyes.
"I got a full ride scholarship to UCSD," Ben said, his voice almost a whisper.
"You what?"
"I got accepted to UCSD, and I--" was all Ben could say before he was crushed by a bear.
"My god, you're--you," Jake couldn't finish. He was drunk happy with tears. Fox couldn't help but brush a few away himself. "You have no idea how proud you make me, Ben. Congratulations. That's amazing. What are you--"
"Could you come with me, Dad?" Ben asked, gently cutting his father off to ask a clearly important question for him. Fox imagined Jake heard a scared, lonely little boy, instead of a strong young man about to conquer the world.
"Wherever you go, I go, son. Fox and I will go with you." Jake smiled. Ben turned to Fox.
"I guess we're going to be friends if I'm gonna see you a lot," Ben said.
"You'd be right, Ben. You have no idea how much you mean to your dad." Fox was surprised when Ben took two strides and collided with him. "Oof," he said, as Ben gave him a big hug. Fox smiled warmly. Like father, like son.
"Wait," Jake said. Ben pulled away, looking concerned. So did Fox.
"It can't undo all the years I wasn't there for you, son. But I want to be in your life, as long as you'll have me."
Ben nodded, brushing a tear away. "I'm gonna take care of my clothes for tomorrow. Good night, Dad, good night, Fox."
"Good night buddy."
Fox nodded. "Good night!"
Jake watched his son jump up the stairs.
Fox took Jake's hand and lead him to their room, closing the door behind them.
"You've had a rough day, baby," Fox said, turning and leaning his back on the door.
"Yes, but that--" Jake pointed to the living room, "--has probably been one of the best things to happen to me."
Fox pouted. "Oh, okay." He playfully turned to open the door when a massive paw slammed it shut.
"I did say one--" Jake punched "one", "--of the best things." Fox smiled, his back to Jake. He imagined Jake's shirt falling off and laughed when his man gasped lightly in surprise.
"Is that how it's gonna be?" Jake asked, a twinkle in his eye. Suddenly Fox's shirt split in two--the front half and the back half fell at his feet.
"Hey, I didn't damage yours, but if you want it that way," Fox retorted. He imagined Jake's jeans ripping off the same way Jake disrobed him. Jake stood there in his boots, and nothing else. "Ooh. That's kinda hot," Fox said, ogling the man in boots before him.