A/N: Howdy! I reckon it's time I post chapter 3 :) I hope I didn't disappoint too many people with turning a super depressed chapter 1 into a super fluffy chapter 2. But fear not! Angst shall return. The thing is guys, when I try to write angst, I feel really, really bad for the characters, and it just turns into kisses and cuddles. I am WAY too sentimentally attached to these dudes. Like WAY. (I'll try to work on that)
Alright, so I know the whole thing with the family reunion and everything is kinda getting off the story's main topic, but bear with me. This story IS and shall REMAIN TO BE about Jeff dealing with his dad, and how Nick and his family play a part in that.
Once again, I hope you all like it. And please, please review! I'd love you forever and ever.
I glanced around awkwardly at the other people at the table. Grandma Annie was lecturing about the importance of skim milk compared to 2%, while I could tell Dad was trying hard not to laugh. Mom was politely listening, Kennedy was texting under the table, and Nick just played with his spaghetti, grunting unhappily every few minutes. My eyes turned to Lanie who had just dumped a bowl of spaghetti on her head, and was now covered in tomato sauce. I quickly shot out of my chair and offered to clean her up; I'd do anything to get out of this room. Nick said he would help me, and we both bolted out of there like the dining room was running out of oxygen. Nick took Lanie from me and, after a long pause, he asked, "Do you have any idea how to clean this child up?"
I chuckled and reached out for her again, telling Nick to run some bath water in the kitchen sink. I relieved Lanie of her wet and sticky clothes, and plopped her in the water after testing the temperature. She didn't look extremely happy about getting a bath, but at least she didn't cry. I started scrubbing food out of her hair.
"Where'd you learn to clean a baby?" Nick asked, impressed.
"It isn't rocket science, Nicky," I responded.
Nick rolled his eyes and slipped his arms around my waist, setting his chin on my shoulder. "How're you doing?"
"I'm okay," I said, knowing he was talking about my dad. "I'm dreading telling Mom and Dad, though."
Nick placed a comforting kiss on my neck. "You're doing the right thing."
I nodded and continued to wash Lanie, smiling when she put soapy bubbles on my nose. I rubbed them off and splashed her playfully, earning a giggle from the baby. I turned around to face Nick, unwisely taking my eyes off of Lanie.
"Will you come with me?"
Nick nodded. "Do you want me there?"
"I want you wherever I am," I responded sweetly before kissing him deeply. Nick responded eagerly; we hadn't really had a great make-out session in a while. The whole "dad" thing kind of put a damper on the mood. Nick's hand made its way to grip my thigh, while I started working on unbuttoning his shirt. We had completely forgotten about the wet, naked baby in the sink or the old, stingy grandma in the room next to us. That is, we forgot until we heard a surprised gasp and something falling to the floor.
"Boys!" Mom quickly snapped, causing Nick and I to jump apart. I looked over at the kitchen entryway where Mom and Grandma Annie were standing, and then down at the pasta dish Mom must've been carrying that was now on the floor. Nick and I turned as red as the spaghetti sauce that now covered the kitchen tile.
"What in the world-?" Grandma Annie started, looking very confused.
Kennedy smirked from behind them. "Secret's out." Dad quickly shooed her out of the room.
Grandma Annie looked expectantly from Nick to me to Mom. I was too overwhelmed by the awkwardness of the situation to even try forming an explanation. Nick just kept glancing in the corners of the ceiling as if our house had some sort of spider infestation, while Mom kept trying to spit out a coherent sentence. Finally, Dad clapped his hands together energetically, making everyone jump from the break of silence. "Alright, Grandma, it's getting late, and you've got a big day tomorrow with the reunion and all. How 'bout I take you home?"
"I'm not going home until I know what's going on," Grandma Annie demanded angrily.
"But you'll miss Wheel of Fortune," Dad urged after a few more seconds of silence.
"Um, Grandma," Mom stuttered, "Jeff and Nick are, um, well-well they were just, uh-"
"They're dating," Kennedy announced from behind Dad. Apparently she hadn't gone as far as I'd thought.
Grandma Annie raised her eyebrows. "Excuse me?"
Mom sighed. "Jeff and Nick are a couple, Grandma."
"And is there a reason I didn't know about this?" Grandma Annie asked in her old, shrill voice.
Nick must've recomposed himself somewhere in this conversation, because he was able to at least hesitantly answer her question. "You see, Grandma, we were going to tell you, but-"
"But what?" Grandma asked furiously.
"We didn't think you'd understand," he finished quietly.
"Of course I don't understand! This is preposterous! No grandson of mine will lead this kind of lifestyle; I won't allow it!"
I was quite impressed at the self-control Nick was practicing. I could tell he was ready to pounce on that old hag and end her right then and there, but he just breathed deeply and kept his hands folded across his chest. Mom and Dad looked pretty exasperated, but they too were controlling themselves. After a long moment filled with Grandma Annie giving each one of us a long, harsh stare, she continued. "Nicholas, I expect you to have come to your senses by the family reunion tomorrow. And, Jeremiah, if you continue to manipulate my grandson into being someone he's not, I'm afraid I will no longer be as kind and loving towards you as I have been." And with that she stalked off, Dad reluctantly following her. I gulped, again noting how fast she walked. Nick had taken poor Lanie out of the sink and wrapped her in a towel. She started playing with the chain around Nick's neck, and that seemed to keep her pretty entertained for the time being. I looked nervously at Mom, trying to gauge her reaction.
After a long pause, Nick broke the silence. "Maybe she didn't notice."
Mom groaned in disbelief. "Of course she noticed!" Mom hissed. "This is exactly why I didn't want to tell her in the first place, I knew she'd be like this!"
"How about we get Nana to talk to her at the reunion tomorrow?" Nick suggested. "Grandma Annie has always listened to her."
Nana was Grandma Annie's daughter, making her mine and Nick's grandmother. She was the funniest, wittiest, and kindest grandma in the world. I loved her to pieces, and she reciprocated the feeling. She accepted Nick and I for who we were, and loved us for it, which is all I could ever ask of her. I'm pretty sure she and David would have some pretty intense fights over who was the biggest Niff shipper.
Mom sighed. "Well we're going to have to do something. I'll call Nana tonight and explain what happened. I hope she can talk Grandma Annie into at least keeping her mouth shut."
"I didn't seriously think she'd get that mad," Nick said as he tried to get Lanie to let go of the chain as she pulled on it.
"Well, she did," Mom replied, taking Lanie from Nick.
I rolled my eyes. "That was probably why she said you were banned from the family, baby."
"Don't you baby me," Nick snapped. "I'm mad at you."
I raised my eyebrows innocently. "What the hell did I do?"
"We wouldn't be in this mess if you hadn't kissed me!" He argued.
"Well excuse me for trying to show my affection!" I yelled sarcastically, turning my back towards my boyfriend.
"Boys!" Mom interrupted, bouncing Lanie on her hip who was upset from the yelling. "This is hardly the time for you all to be in an argument. Now, Nick, tell Jeff you're sorry."
"I don't have anything to-"
"Nick," Mom warned.
Nick exhaled sharply and turned to face me. "Jeff, I'm sorry for snapping," he said grudgingly.
"Jeff," Mom said, turning to me, expecting an apology to Nick.
"And I'm sorry for being the best boyfriend in the entire world and loving you unconditionally," I said haughtily.
"Jeff," Mom warned for the second time.
I sighed. "I'm sorry."
"Now, give him a kiss," she instructed.
"You just got through telling us not to-" Nick began.
"Shut up and kiss me, Nick," I demanded. Nick rolled his eyes and gave me a sweet peck on the lips, and I knew he was no longer pissed. Mom smiled, pleased. "Very good. Now, I don't know what's going to go down tomorrow at the reunion, but we'll just hope Grandma Annie doesn't make too big of a scene. I know some of our family is pretty prejudiced about you guys being together, but I don't want you to take anything they might tell you seriously. Just because you're both boys, that doesn't mean you don't love each other just as much as any other couple, okay?"
"I love you more than any other couple," I said sweetly which earned me a peck on the cheek from a grinning Nick.
Mom smiled, pleased. "Alright, good. Now I'm going to go get your sister dressed."
As soon as she was gone, Nick got out the mop and I wet a couple of cleaning rags to scrub the floor with. After a few seconds of silence, Nick said softly, "I really am sorry about snapping. I'm just on edge, you know?"
I nodded. "Me too." We cleaned the white kitchen tile in silence for a few minutes. I thought about how I was going to tell Nick's parents about my dad. Saying, "Hi, Mom. Hi, Dad. Guess what? My dad practically threatened my life," didn't seem like the right approach. Hopefully something would come to me on the spur of the moment. I groaned and threw my rag on the floor. "This stain isn't coming out," I complained.
"Is that kind of a double meaning thing?" Nick asked worriedly.
I looked over at him out of the corner of my eye and chuckled as I shook my head. I threw my rag back into the bucket and motioned for him to come over to me. Nick repeated my action and scooted closer, laying his head on my shoulder. I stroked his arm gently.
"Even though I'm acting normal with all the family around and stuff, I still am really worried about this," Nick stated quietly.
I kissed the top of Nick's head, staying there for a second to smell his hair. "I'm worried too," I confessed. "But, let's just try and forget about it for now, okay? I'm going to wait to tell them about my dad until after the reunion. I think we've had enough drama for one night," I said. He nodded in agreement. I was somewhat relieved at not having to tell Mom and Dad about my family drama tonight, but I also didn't want to put it off. The logical part of me knew it was only going to get harder. I thought about the reunion. Tomorrow was going to be a long day, but we'd get through it. Or at least I hoped we would.