Chapter Eight

Chris picked up the spoon, scooping out the reddish orange goo from the tiny jar in his other hand. It looked disgusting and delicious all at once, but he was definitely glad he didn't have to eat it.

“Oh, what, you want this?” he said to Ty, who was sitting in his high chair around the corner of the table from Chris and eying the spoon with a blank expression. Chris held the spoon closer to Ty, and Ty crinkled his nose a little. “I know, it doesn't look so appetizing, does it?”

Ty continued to make a weird face, twitching his mouth a little. Out of the corner of his eye, Chris saw something flash near the doorway.

“Well, let me tell you something,” Chris said in a low voice, “neither did that stuff Jay made a while ago, but I still ate that.”

“Hey!” Jonathan swung his head around the corner of the doorway, eyebrows scrunched in an insulted way. He quickly decided to show his entire body, and walked into the room. “You said you liked my casserole.”

“I did,” Chris nodded. “I never said it wasn't good, just that it didn't look good. Big difference.”

“Well...” Jonathan fumbled for a comeback. He knew he had one somewhere, in some back corner of his mind. “It's still mean.”

“It's not mean, it's honest,” Chris retorted in an overly pretentious manner, holding his chin high and sticking his nose in the air. Jonathan laughed and rolled his eyes, and Chris made a serious attempt to make Ty eat the awful-looking baby food.

“Come on, you know you want to eat it,” Chris sang, waving the spoon in front of Ty. “It's super yummy!”

“I don't think you're convincing him,” Jonathan said from his new spot standing behind Chris. He gripped the back of Chris's chair and leaned over Chris's shoulder. “It wouldn't convince me.”

Chris turned his head a little, narrowing his eyes at Jonathan and trying to ignore their closeness. He swung his arm around to shove the spoon and its contents in Jonathan's face, but he moved too quickly, and the reddish orange goo flew off the spoon and hit Jonathan right in the nose.

Chris alertly widened his eyes and bit his lip to fight back laughter that was threatening to break free from its place in his throat. Jonathan stood momentarily, mouth agape, then excused himself and stalked off to the bathroom to clean himself up. Chris watched him as he left, still stifling a giggle, then slowly turned his head towards Ty.

“Don't give me that look!” Chris set down the jar of baby food and pointed his finger at Ty. “Listen, kid, you don't know what it's like, OK? It's not easy pretending, but it's not like I can tell him or anything.”

Ty blinked a few times in response.

“Jonathan likes girls. He doesn't like me,” Chris said. He picked up the jar again and took out another spoonful. This time, Ty finally opened his mouth and ate, much more eager than before. Like Jonathan's casserole, it tasted much better than it looked.

“See? It's no so bad,” Chris told him. “Just wait until I have to make real food for you. Then you're in for it.”

Ty had made it over halfway through the jar before Jonathan returned. He walked back in and shot a rather peeved look at Chris, who wasn't paying attention just then anyway. But, as always, he quickly decided that he couldn't really be mad at Chris.

“Hey, look who's back,” Chris excitedly said as Jonathan stopped beside him. “And baby food-free!”

“Yeah, no thanks to some people,” Jonathan said with slight annoyance.

“Sorry,” Chris sheepishly said. Ty took another spoonful of goo.

“It's OK,” Jonathan assured Chris. “I'm gonna make some tea, do you want any?”

“Yeah, that would be nice.” Chris waited until Jonathan was near the counter, then spun around in his seat. “Thanks.”

Jonathan turned back and smiled. The look in his pale green eyes made Chris's heart beat a little faster and he began to wonder just a little.

Chris looked to Ty and shrugged. “You know what, Ty? I should take you on a walk later, if it's not too cold out. Maybe Jonathan could come, too.” Chris winked at Ty, then waited for an answer.

“I don't think it's supposed to be very warm today,” Jonathan said. “But I guess.”

Chris smiled, but shook his head at Ty. “Doesn't mean anything,” he whispered.

Ty continued to eat, until finally the jar was empty. Chris looked into the jar with fake surprise, then clapped and tried to give Ty a high-five. Ty laughed at him.

“Chris,” Jonathan called. When Chris looked up, he nodded to the kettle and opened the cupboard to grab two mugs.

Chris slid over next to Jonathan, keeping an eyes on Ty across the room as he waited for Jonathan to finish pouring his cup. But, much to Chris's surprise, Jonathan handed the cup to Chris.

“Aw, Jay, you're so nice,” Chris said while grasping the cup in his hands. He took a sip and watched Jonathan over the rim. The hot liquid glided down his throat and settled in his churning stomach.

“So, how are you doing?” Jonathan casually asked before taking a drink from his own mug.

“I'm all right.” Chris halfheartedly smiled and shrugged. “You know, it... it's tough.”

“Some people never have any clue what they're talking about,” Jonathan said, intending on enveloping more meaning than he really did.

“Jay, why are you such a good friend to me?” The question seemed rhetorical, though somewhere deep down Chris knew he was hoping for some sort of confession. “Only, I was so awful to you last year...”

“You're not awful to me.” Chris had a momentary lapse in sanity and thought that maybe Ty had been on to something. He had to think for quite a while about what to say next, not wanting to ruin what he thought might be his best chance.

“Thank you. For your help. For all the help you've ever given me, which is a lot. I...” Chris placed his cup on the counter to free his arms, which he then used to wrap around Jonathan's shoulders. Jonathan set down his own mug and gladly returned the embrace with almost as much emotion as Chris was putting in.

Chris looked over at Ty, who was staring back with what Chris took to be an expression of encouragement. Silently he conversed with his son through various facial expressions- though it was more of a one-sided conversation- eventually coming to the conclusion that there was no time left to waste. He was young still, there was no point in spending his life simply wondering, and so he decided to find out exactly how Jonathan felt about him using the first method that came to mind.

He began to pull away from the hug, but immediately locked lips with Jonathan. It was very brief, since he didn't want to freak Jonathan out entirely, but it was enough to send his nerves in a tizzy and chills running down his spine. Jonathan felt that it wasn't enough, though, and so he took the liberty of meeting their mouths once more, this time with much more passion and tongue.

Chris smiled against Jonathan's lips and whispered, “I take it that means you like me.”

“Yeah,” Jonathan quietly replied before a small cooing sound came from the direction that Ty just happened to be sitting in. Chris craned his neck around to look, finding Ty smiling at them.

“Well, I think Ty approves.”

“Oh-” Jonathan began, then turned his head back. “I forgot he was here.” For a minute he worried that maybe he shouldn't have kissed Chris like that in front of a small baby, but it didn't seem to bother Chris very much. Then he thought maybe he should have been worried about Chris's carelessness. Eventually it passed.

“Jonathan,” Chris said, and he waited for Jonathan to look at him again. “I love you. I just thought you should know that. I tried, I really did- I tried to get over you, but nothing worked. Like, with James... I really liked him, but it wasn't enough, I guess, to make me forget.”

Jonathan nodded in agreement. “It was the same for me.”

Chris scrunched his eyebrows up in confusion. “But, I- I thought that you said... I mean, when you... you told me that you never loved me. Not like that.”

“I wasn't sure if I did,” Jonathan said. “Now I am. I did. And I still do.”

Chris raised one of his hands and lightly brushed Jonathan's cheek. “I missed this so much. I've had dreams about it before, but I tried to ignore those,” Chris mumbled the end of his sentence, averting his eyes and staring at the ground.

Then Jonathan remembered all of his strange dreams, and he instantly knew what they must have meant. Staring into the face of the pretty blue-eyed boy in front of him, he felt that same desire to provide protection for him against the evils of the world, namely the jerks who populated their school. It would certainly be much easier to do if they were together.

“I missed it, too. But... I was a little afraid that it didn't matter, because you'd have moved on. It seemed like you did.” Jonathan paused thoughtfully, then shrugged a shoulder. “Well, I mean, you said you tried, so... Anyway, I'm just...” Jonathan groaned and shook his head, trying to clear his mind. “I love you,” he decisively said.

“I love you, too,” Chris happily replied. He leaned in to kiss Jonathan again, but just as their lips touched there was a sound from the doorway. It sounded like a woman suddenly gasping, then clearing her throat.

“Mum!” Jonathan removed his hands from their former resting spot on Chris's waist, and Chris slowly took his arms back. “Uh...”

“Good morning, Penny,” Chris smiled. “It is good, right? And I think it's still morning.”

“It's an all right morning, I would say,” Penny cautiously replied. “Though it seems like you boys have had a better time.” Chris opened his mouth to explain, but Penny cut him off with a wave of her hand. “It's fine- Well, I think we need to have a talk, but it's fine.”

“A talk, yeah, of course,” Chris said, nodding his head along. “Of course.”

“Yeah, but first I think I need something to wake me up.” Penny stumbled into the kitchen and over to the boys, instinctively grabbing a mug from the cupboard. She was pleasantly surprised to find that someone had already made tea, which made her job a lot easier.

Penny sat down at the table, opposite of where Chris had been sitting with Ty. She looked utterly drained of any and all energy, which could have been odd considering she just woke up. Jonathan and Chris both made their way over to the table as well, sitting on the same side and facing Penny. She assumed from the start that they expected she wanted to talk with them at that moment; they were right. It would be a lot easier to just get it done and over with.

“You two are... together, I presume?” Penny asked.

“Yes,” Jonathan almost immediately replied, catching Chris slightly off guard. It wasn't the answer, merely the quickness of it; Chris was thrilled by Jonathan's apparent enthusiasm.

“Yeah,” he agreed with a small grin.

“For how long, exactly?”

Chris narrowed his eyes pensively. “Five minutes?” He shrugged. “Roughly. Is that all right?”

Penny raised her eyebrows impressively. “Well, it's about time. In all honesty, I expected this to happen much earlier.” She thought to herself for a minute, absentmindedly nodding. “Right. I'm obviously not going to forbid you to be together, but we need to set some rules.”

Penny took a break to drink some tea. Chris looked to Jonathan, slowly moving his hand over to rest it on Jonathan's thigh.

“Yeah, Chris, that's not gonna fly,” Penny casually mentioned, still hiding behind her mug. Chris quickly pulled his hand back and tried to hide his embarrassment by making faces at Ty. Jonathan shifted in his chair a little.

“Can we get this over with? I'm starting to feel a bit awkward now,” he said.

“Number one,” Penny said, holding up a finger and taking one last sip of her tea, “no rooms with closed doors. Two, no inappropriate touching while others are in the room. Or for that matter, when they're not.” Penny shot a look at Chris, then went on. “And please, please, do not be making out everywhere.”

“Mum,” Jonathan bashfully muttered. “You don't have to worry.”

“I know, I'm just letting you know now so you can't say that I didn't later.”

“What's it like outside?” Chris abruptly asked, still focusing on Ty. He reached forward and brushed some of Ty's hair out of his eyes.

“How the hell are any of us supposed to know? We've been inside all morning,” Jonathan replied. “It's probably like it was yesterday- cold and boring.”

“It wasn't that cold yesterday.” Chris turned to Jonathan and smiled. “I was thinking we could go for a walk. Ty would love it. If you don't want to, that's fine.”

“No, I'll go,” Jonathan said. “It's not like there would be better things to do in here, anyway.”

“Wonderful!” Chris jumped up on his feet and carefully lifted Ty from his high chair. “Come on, let's go bundle you up and then we're gonna go for a walk! You, me, and Jay. Isn't that great?”

Chris's voice trailed off as he and Ty left the room and headed for the stairs. Jonathan laughed to himself at Chris's silliness, partially giddy still from the memory of what it felt like to kiss his new- and, at the same time, old- boyfriend. His happiness only intensified when he reminded himself that this time there would be no secrets. They didn't have to hide.

“So, you love him?” Penny asked. Jonathan turned his eyes towards his mother with surprise. “You can say yes.”

“Well, I- I mean, I- yeah.” Jonathan ducked his head to cover his sudden flush.

“Good. That boy's been through a lot... You'll take good care of him.” He looked over to the doorway where Chris had been not too long ago. Taking care of Chris- he liked the sound of that. Taking care of him, protecting him. Jonathan couldn't help smiling.

It seemed like forever before Chris finally reached the bottom of the bag containing Ty's things, where all of his clothes were stashed. Of course, there were only a few outfits, since he would only be there for the weekend.

Ty was laying on Chris's bed beside the bag, staring at the ceiling with his Chris-like blue eyes and waiting to be dressed in heavier clothing. The world was a strange place for him.

Soon Ty was fully prepared to brave the cold, wearing a rather thick navy blue jacket and an adorable knitted hat with ear flaps, and held up on Chris's side as he was carried down to the kitchen once more. Jonathan was waiting for them by the door, ready to go at any moment.

“Could you take him for a minute while I get my jacket?” Chris asked Jonathan, gently handing Ty over. Then he maneuvered around Jonathan and to the coat rack, where he grabbed a dark blue blazer and threw it over his shoulders. He fussed with the collar a bit, then buttoned it up. “Thank you.”

“Not a problem,” Jonathan said as he gave Ty back to Chris. Jonathan moved ahead and opened the door for Chris, then quickly shut it behind him before any of the cold air that hit them as they stood on the porch could make it inside the house.

“Ah, look, it's not that cold out here.” Chris exhaled with force, looking rather smug about the lack of reaction from the air. “I can't even see my own breath.”

“All right, it's not so bad today,” Jonathan admitted. “Can we get to walking now?”

“Of course.” Chris quickly began to walk down the porch steps and towards the sidewalk, not waiting for Jonathan at all. But Jonathan was just as quick and stayed beside Chris the entire time. “Jay, today is crazy, isn't it?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean that it's not even noon yet, but so much has happened, it seems. Maybe not, but that certainly was a little awkward with your mum, huh?” Chris laughed, because truthfully it was nowhere near as awkward for him as he knew it had been for Jonathan.

“Oh my God, don't remind me,” Jonathan moaned. He tried to forget it, but as he stared down at his feet all he could see on the passing pavement was image of his mother dictating the regulations of their relationship. His cheeks went a bit red again.

“Hey, at least we're in the clear.” Chris stared at Jonathan, first happily, then with a bit of uncertainty. “But there is... one tiny matter to attend to...”

“What's that?” Jonathan asked.

“What are we going to do about school? Because, I mean, we don't have to let people know... Or we could let people know.” Chris shrugged the shoulder that wasn't giving support to Ty's small body. “It's up to you, I guess. I already receive enough taunting now that it won't matter to me either way, but you... you don't have to go through it if you don't want to. That's fine with me.”

Jonathan thought about what Chris said. He nodded a little and rested his hand on Chris's back. “Those people in school... they can deal.”