A/N: Whew, that was exhausting. I was determined to get the new chapter posted within a week of the last one and I think it's finally ready. I hope you guys like it. As I said, I originally intended to have this chapter combined with the last chapter since they both have a focus on the boys' families and since they're so close together in story time. I'm ultimately glad they're separate though since one chapter would have been far too long and it would have been even longer between updates. Anyway I hope you guys like this!
What I Want
Chapter 9 – Dinner
**Then**
"Seb, sweetie may I come in?" Carolyn Smythe called softly through her son's bedroom door. She waited a few seconds and then getting no response she quietly eased the door open. She soon spied the eight-year-old child lying on his bed with his face buried in the pillows.
"Baby, do you want to talk?" Carolyn asked gently as she sat down behind him on the bed and started rubbing his back. The boy vigorously shook his head and kept his face hidden.
"Do you have any questions?" She asked softly.
Sebastian froze as he thought that over. He did have a lot of questions. He wanted to know if his mom would lose her hair. He wanted to know if she would still read to him at night. He wanted to know if his dad would be at home more now that she was sick. He wanted to know how long it was going to take for her to get well. He wanted to know the answers to all these questions and a thousand more that he hadn't even thought of yet, but they all had far too many words and they all seemed far too difficult to ask. Instead Sebastian squeezed his eyes shut and rolled over – he didn't want his mom to know she had made him cry after all - then in a shaky voice he asked the one question that didn't seem like it had too many words to speak, but which he desperately needed to have answered.
"Why?"
Carolyn sighed and readjusted them both on the bed so that Sebastian's head was resting in her lap. She didn't speak for a few minutes. Instead she just stroked her son's soft, brown hair as she pondered what to say. In truth she had no idea how to answer such a complicated question, especially since it was the same question she had been demanding an answer to herself. Part of her wanted to simply say something encouraging to cheer up her son. She wanted to tell him that there was a reason that this had happened and that she would get through it...she wanted to tell him that, but she also didn't feel right about saying it. She knew that if she said that she would be lying. There wasn't a reason for this. She didn't believe there was some higher purpose. All she wanted to do was scream at her body for doing this to her, for doing this to her family.
"I don't know why, baby," she said quietly as she squeezed him close. "Sometimes bad things just happen for no reason and we can't stop them."
"That's not fair!" Sebastian snapped as he finally opened his eyes and looked up at the blurry, tear-distorted image of his mother.
"No, baby, it's not," Carolyn agreed as she felt the tears silently forming in her own eyes.
"Then WHY?!" Sebastian demanded again in a louder voice as he lashed out with his arm and hit the mattress. He wasn't used to being told that his family was powerless to control something, and he certainly wasn't familiar with the idea of life being unfair to him.
"I don't know," Carolyn repeated softly as she tried to soothe the boy by rubbing his chest.
"But you have to be okay, mom," Sebastian insisted as his face contorted with anger and desperation and the tears finally spilled from his eyes and down his cheeks. "You have to," he whined.
None of this made any sense to him. Sebastian didn't understand why this had to be different from anything else in life. Why couldn't his parents fix this? He wanted his mom to be okay. He wanted it so that meant that she or his dad was supposed to make it happen. That was how things always worked; he wanted something and they got it for him. It was so unfair that they couldn't do something this important for him.
"I'll try baby. I'll try as hard as I can," Carolyn promised.
They sat silently for a few more minutes, Sebastian quietly sobbing into his mother's lap as he felt like his whole world was crumbling. When he had finally calmed down she pulled him up into a sitting position and held him close. Then she kissed the side of his head before forcing herself to speak in a cheerful voice. "How about some dinner?"
"Not hungry," Sebastian answered with downcast eyes as he shook his head.
"Not even for Fun Dip?" Carolyn pressed in an incredulous tone of voice.
Sebastian froze and then tilted his head in contemplation. Fun Dip was his favorite candy and it was pretty tough to pass up. "Do you have grape?" he asked quietly, the first hint of a smile on his face.
"Well let's see here," Carolyn said dramatically as she reached into her pocket and pulled out the treat she had stashed there for him. "You do seem to be luck. It is grape!"
"Yes!" Sebastian squealed as he held out his palm expectantly.
Carolyn wasted no time in handing her son the sugary snack, pleased that he would at least end up eating something that night. She continued holding him while he ate.
"Mom?" Sebastian asked once he'd finished.
"Yes baby?"
"Will you sleep here with me tonight?" he asked as he felt the heaviness invading his body, but knew that he wasn't ready for his mother to leave yet.
"Of course," Carolyn answered as they both stretched out on the bed.
"Do I have to get up and go brush my teeth?" Sebastian asked tiredly as he snuggled close to the woman.
"You do, Seb, but just for tonight we can let it slide," Carolyn answered as she reached over and switched off the lamp before resuming her hold on the boy.
-000-
Michael cradled his baby daughter in his arms and set his jaw in determination as he trudged up the driveway of his family's current home. The last thing he wanted to do was spend his Sunday driving across the state to have dinner with his obnoxious family, but his father's 'invitation' hadn't exactly left him the option of declining. At least not if he wanted to see his father's monthly deposits continue to find their way into his bank account. He looked down at Anna, feeling almost as though he were betraying her somehow just by taking her into the toxic environment.
"Just remember, sweet girl," he cooed at her as he contorted his face into a silly expression. "Your grandfather is a very bad man. Yes he is. Yes he is." Michael rang the doorbell. "But I won't let him hurt you. No I won't. No I won't."
A few moments later the door opened and Malinda, the Smythe's maid smiled warmly at Michael.
"Good evening, Mr. Michael. Thank you for coming," Malinda said as she answered the door in the polite, formal manner she had been instructed to always use when greeting guests rather than the more casual, gregarious way she felt inclined to greet the young man who was actually her favorite member of the household.
"Hey Malinda, it's good to see you," Michael answered as he held the baby tightly with one arm and reached out to pat the middle-aged woman's shoulder with the other.
"Your father asked me to take you to his study as soon as you arrived," Malinda said as she closed the door behind him.
"Tough. I'm taking Anna to the nursery first. Then I want to see my brother. But I'll be sure to let him know you told me," Michael answered.
"Yes sir," Malinda answered as she took her leave so that she could go and put the finishing touches on dinner.
Michael had just finished setting Anna up in the nursery and was picking up the baby monitor's earpiece when he was greeted by a most unwelcome sight in the doorway, a bleach blond sight with fake boobs and an even faker smile.
"Hi Honey, I thought I heard you arrive. Come give me a big hug!" Vanessa exclaimed as she rushed toward the stunned college student with outstretched arms and wrapped him in an overly tight embrace.
"What the hell, Vanessa?!" Michael asked as he tried to pry himself loose. "It's me. MICHAEL," he said very slowly and very clearly. "You know, the evil step-son. I think you must have me confused with someone you're sleeping with...so probably not dad."
"Oh there's that charming Smythe wit," Vanessa answered with a wide smile. "Between you and your brother and father I'm in stitches all the time!"
"Yes, I'm sure Sebastian loves to see you in stitches," Michael responded before muttering just loud enough for her to hear, "...and bandages and gauze too no doubt."
As he backed away from the oddly behaving woman, Michael was startled by a deep, loud voice.
"Hello son," Quentin said as he regarded them from the doorway of the nursery. He was pleased with his wife's efforts.
"Crap, Malinda said you were in your study," Michael said as he turned around to the face the man, before adding with a sarcastic smirk, "...I mean 'hi dad'."
"I wanted to see my granddaughter," Quentin responded as he ignored his son's greeting and stepped around him and Vanessa so that he could get to the crib.
Vanessa turned her back on the pair and rolled her eyes. She was completely uninterested in the baby and didn't see what all the fuss was about. All it ever did was lie there, cry, or make disgusting odors. She sashayed out of the nursery, eager to retreat to the living room and fix herself a drink and confident that her husband couldn't accuse her of not doing her part in his plan.
"How's granddad's little princess?" Quentin cooed as he scooped the child up and started making silly faces at her.
"You'll scare her!" Michael chided as he tried to grab the baby away, selectively forgetting the fact that he had just been making similar faces at her a few minutes earlier.
"I won't scare her, I'm her grandfather," Quentin insisted as he turned and held the baby out of reach.
"All the more reason for her to be scared," Michael countered as he reached around his father and grabbed Anna.
"I'm glad to see you too, son," Quentin joked as he allowed the young man to take the child, but quickly put an arm around him, using the close proximity to initiate a hug.
Michael shot his father a withering glare and pulled away, before kissing Anna's forehead and tucking her back into the crib.
"Come to the study with me, Michael. There's something I want to show you on my computer," Quentin requested as he returned his arm to its previous position around Michael's shoulders and led him from the room."
As soon as he was certain his father and brother were out of earshot, Sebastian quietly slipped down the hallway and into his niece's room. He gently picked up the child and took a seat in the room's rocking chair. He'd never want anyone to know it of course, but he was happy to spend some quiet time with Anna, cooing baby talk at her as he sat and reflected on the many complications that were currently tangling themselves around his life.
There were several things troubling Sebastian as he rocked his niece: the current situation with his father and brother, the Warblers' unexpected recent defeat at Reginonals, the surprising news that Dave Karofsky had attempted suicide...any one of these depressing topics alone would have been fodder for extended reflection. Together they should have been huge and overwhelming; they weren't. Instead they were merely annoying sources of background frustration. The only thing that seemed to matter, the one all-consuming subject that Sebastian couldn't seem to clear from his head was, of all things, a boy. A boy with artificially lightened blond hair, an amazing chest, and an irritatingly genuine smile.
"I think your uncle is going crazy, Anna," Sebastian cooed at the baby as he shook his head and contorted his face into a big silly grin. "Uhh yes I am. Uhh yes I am."
Elsewhere across the house, Michael grinned as he listened, unbeknownst to his brother, to the sounds coming through the baby monitor that was clipped into his ear.
"So you like it then?" Quentin asked smugly as he nodded toward the expensive sports car on his computer screen. He was pleased with his son's reaction and the way he was practically eating out of his hand so far.
"Yeah dad, it's great," Michael answered playing along.
"Good. That's what I like to hear, son. You know I'm just looking for a good reason to buy it for you," Quentin said as he mentally prepared to begin the next part of his speech.
-000-
Sam sighed as he collapsed face first onto his bed. He felt exhausted from everything that had happened over the last twenty-four hours. His stomach hurt; it was tight and sore and queasy. He knew better than to pretend it had anything to do with his ab routine or anything he had eaten. This was all the more apparent since he'd skimped on his crunches for the day anyway, although at least it more or less balanced out since he'd also barely eaten. No, he was pretty sure the pain in his stomach had something to do with an emotion...he just couldn't figure out which one. He was having enough trouble even assigning labels to what he felt, let alone figuring out which one was the culprit behind his upset stomach.
He was also tired, and at least that, he was pretty sure, did have a natural physiological reason behind it. He had been up late into the night trying to research the possible damage he had done to Sebastian, as well as of course replaying the entire experience and their final words to each other over and over again in his head. That was a whole different mess. On the physical front, as best he could figure out, Sebastian could have anything from minimal tearing, to an anal fissure, to an all out perforation. He had read everything he could find on the various conditions, symptoms, and causes. He had read and read until the electronic typeface on his screen was was nothing but a confusing swirl of letters, made all the more difficult to discern thanks to his dyslexia. The most frustrating thing about the entire situation was that he had no way of knowing what the true extent of the damage really was and if he should be directing Sebastian to the nearest emergency room or just advising him to eat plenty of fiber and remain regular.
Naturally throughout all of his research he felt overwhelming guilt about what he had done and general disgust with himself. He felt nauseated when he thought about the blood he'd seen and all the more ashamed about the way Sebastian had told him off and then kicked him out of his house. Why had they ever let things get so far out of control? Why hadn't Sebastian said something sooner? Shouldn't he be more familiar with this kind of thing? Would he ever forgive Sam for what he had done? Would he let Sam apologize? Would he ever even speak to him again? Sam didn't know. He didn't even really know what he'd done to Sebastian, physically or emotionally, and he had no idea how to go about making any of it right again. The whole thing was driving him mad.
Sam also felt ashamed of the fact that despite everything he had physically enjoyed the experience so much. It had been the most exciting, intense sex he had ever had. He was angry that the otherwise great experience had been overshadowed by the horrible aftermath. Of course whenever Sam pondered any of that he would realize how selfish it was even thinking about his own pleasure and excitement when Sebastian had been hurt, and then he would feel guilty and ashamed all over again.
When it came down to it, there was really only one thing Sam was sure of: sex damage and their weird limbo relationship status aside, his feelings for Sebastian were just as strong as they had been before the encounter. The sex had certainly confused things, but it hadn't actually changed his feelings at all. Even if Sebastian was angry at him, even if he himself did have a lot of shame and guilt to work through, he knew without a doubt that he still cared about Sebastian and still wanted to be it him just as much as he ever had. There was just something about Sebastian that was intoxicating and utterly addicting.
Sam groaned and rolled over onto his back, staring up at his ceiling. His mother had been right; even if he wanted to forget about Sebastian – and part of him really did – he wouldn't be able to move on until he had given this his best shot. That last realization filled Sam with terror. It meant there was no way he would realistically be able to keep this a secret. He had already tried to do the secret relationship thing with Mercedes the year before and failed miserably. This would probably be even harder to hide since if he continued spending time with Sebastian he couldn't just attribute it to Glee stuff the way he and Mercedes had tried to do.
Sam was disappointed in himself for being so afraid to tell his friends that he liked a guy. Then he thought it over more carefully and corrected himself; sure announcing the guy part was intimidating, but several of their friends were gay or bi. No, it was announcing who the particular guy was that was the really scary part. How could he possibly admit to Finn and Kurt, the guys who were sharing their house with him, that the dude who had caused them so much misery was his current romantic interest? In many ways telling people like his parents who didn't actually know Sebastian was much easier.
Sam frowned as he thought about his next life changing task. He had promised his mother that he would call his father and let him know about the situation with Sebastian, let him know that he was interested in a guy. Fear seized Sam's tortured stomach and he reconsidered his previous evaluation that telling his parents was less scary than telling his friends. The idea of sharing the news with his father was plenty frightening. Sam and his dad were close and the thought of disappointing the man was horrible. Sam knew his mother was right when she said that his dad loved him and that this wouldn't change that; Sam didn't think that his father would quit loving him or that he would do anything dramatic like disown him, but just the idea of disappointing his father, especially in what seemed like a pretty big way, was terrifying to Sam.
The frustrating thing was that he couldn't figure out whether or not his father would be disappointed and if so how much. His dad seemed okay with gay people and he also seemed to implicitly agree with Sam's mother on gay rights issues. The problem was that he never really said much about the topic one way or another. Plus Sam knew that being okay with something in theory for other peoplewas quite a bit different than being okay with it for one's own son. Sam decided that maybe he was lucky that he would be doing this over the phone. At least this way he wouldn't have to see any disappointment on his dad's face.
-000-
"Malinda! Malinda!"
Vanessa shrill voice bellowed throughout the house. Sebastian winced as he heard it and right on cue Anna began crying.
"Where is that woman?!" Vanessa demanded as she walked through the hallway past the nursery and, spotting Sebastian detoured into the room.
Sebastian glared at her and raised his finger to his lips as he pointedly nodded toward the baby. "I think she's making dinner," he said in a low voice as he gently rocked Anna.
"Where?" Vanessa asked as she looked around the room.
Sebastian gaped at her. The question was a new low, even for her. "Just a stab in the dark here V, but I'm going to guess in the kitchen."
Vanessa huffed and her eyes narrowed as she planned her revenge. "I'm going to have that careless woman deported. She broke my favorite cocktail glass."
Realization flickered across Sebastian's face as he remembered Aaron's theatrics at the party when he'd broken up with him.
"Okay, first of all, I think Malinda's from Akron so good luck with that deportation thing. Second, how do you know she broke it?"
"It's missing and I found a piece of broken glass under the bar."
Damn Sam and his stupid distracting sweeping lessons, Sebastian thought as he considered what to do. Oh well, fuck it.
"I broke it."
"What? Why?" Vanessa demanded with her trademark confused expression.
"Because it was your favorite and I hate you," Sebastian answered calmly.
Vanessa gasped and covered her mouth dramatically. Then fury flashed across her face and she rushed across the room and slapped Sebastian as hard as she could. "You evil little shit!"
Sebastian sighed and gave his step-mother a cold look as he tightened his grip on Anna."Geez V, hitting a teenager holding a baby. You're a real class act."
Vanessa didn't say anything. Instead she just flipped her hair and whirled around expansively, intent on making a flashy exit. Her plan was foiled a moment later when she walked face first into Malinda's ample chest, the maid having come to summon everyone for dinner.
"And you!" Vanessa said glaring up at the servant and waving a finger at her accusingly. "I don't know where Akron is, but you better stay out of my way unless you want to go back there!"
Once everyone had gathered around the large dining room table they waited tensely as Malinda laid out the food and then began serving them, picking up first one dish of food and then another and walking around to each family member in turn.
"So Michael," Quentin said as he broke the silence in his most genial voice. "as I was saying earlier, college is very important. In fact I want to make a large deposit into Anna's 529 plan later this month."
"That sounds nice," Michael responded diplomatically. "Thank you, dad."
Quentin smiled graciously, finally ready to drop the other shoe. "Of course in return I expect-"
"I don't want rolls or biscuits," Vanessa snapped, frowning at the maid and interrupting her husband. He shot her an icy glare which went unnoticed. "Go and make me some banana nut bread."
"I'm sorry, ma'am, we don't have any banana nut bread," Malinda explained cautiously.
"That's why I said to go and make some, you useless woman. Honestly, is a decent slice of bread really so much to ask?"
Malinda chewed her lower lip nervously as she tried to figure out a suitable response. Before she could answer Michael chimed in.
"Vanessa it would take hours for her to bake bread and I'm sure she has better things to do anyway. Just shut up and eat a roll."
Indignation flashed across the young woman's face and she opened her mouth to speak. This time however, she caught the warning look her husband was shooting her and sighed, forcing a smile onto her face instead. "Thank you, Michael. What a very good idea," she answered in a strained voice as she grabbed a roll and dropped it dramatically onto her plate.
"You know what else is a good idea," Quentin said, picking up where he left off as fast as he could, desperate to make his pitch before the temporary peace in the room expired. "A good education. Going to law school was the best decision I've ever made, and I'm sure, Michael, that with everything we've already discussed you'll-"
"What happened to your face, Seb?" Michael asked, desperate for an excuse to change the subject and curious about the large red mark he had just noticed on his brother's cheek.
"I'm sure he's fine," Quentin rushed to answer for his younger son. "Now anyway about law school-"
"Actually it really hurts," Sebastian complained rubbing his face and pointedly refusing to acknowledge the warning looks his father was giving him. "V hit me a little while ago. Almost made me drop Anna too. You should kick her ass, Mike," Sebastian suggested with a dark smirk, eagerly anticipating the scene that he knew was about to play out.
Michael snorted derisively in response. "Quit being such a little bitch boy," he insulted his brother, easily spotting the shameless ploy for attention; however, that didn't stop him from turning a furious glare at his step-mother a moment later. "You hit him? While he was holding my daughter? What the fuck were you thinking?"
"He broke my favorite glass," Vanessa whined in defense. "And he's completely exaggerating. He didn't almost drop the kid. Besides like you've never hit him."
"I'm allowed to hit him. I'm his brother. You're just a crazy bitch with a bread fixation."
Vanessa tossed her fork and knife into her plate as she reached her breaking point. She didn't care what her husband wanted, she wasn't going to let his obnoxious son speak to her like this. "Well I'm allowed to hit him too if he destroys my property. And if you think-"
"NO ONE is allowed to hit him," Quentin cut in using his most authoritative voice as he felt himself struggling to hold on to his own temper. He was sick of being interrupted and found himself giving in to the rant he felt coming on. "We're not a bunch of white trash rednecks. We don't smack each other around. We discuss our differences like civilized people. Without name calling and..."
Sebastian sniggered as his father continued his tirade. He fold his arms over his chest, pleased with himself as Michael and Vanessa both interrupted his father a moment later to voice their own differing opinions. Soon the 'discussion' the other three were having had degraded into an all out shouting match. Sebastian was delighted to have simultaneously achieved two objectives. He had paid Vanessa back for her affront in the nursery, and he had drawn his father and brother's mutual hostility out into the open. Their tense politeness was much more grating than their familiar sniping.
"THAT'S IT!" Quentin bellowed a couple of minutes later. "I've had enough of this. Now shut up, you ingrate, and let me tell you how it's going to be."
Vanessa smiled to herself. She was much more comfortable with her husband's secondary plan and glad that everyone could now officially quit pretending to be nice to Michael.
"I pay for your eduction, for Anna's care, and for your general bills and expenses. You are going to continue going to go to school full-time. You are going to take your LSATs. You're going get early admission to at least three law schools and then you're going to pick the best one and graduate magna cum laude. It was good enough for me and it's good enough for you. Got it?"
"No!" Michael snapped in a steady voice as he stared his father down. "You can keep your damn money. I don't want anything to do with you and I sure as hell don't want to end up with the same life you've got. If you ever want to see your granddaughter again you'll quit being such a prick and butt the fuck out of my business."
"Oh I don't think so," Quentin retorted with a satisfied sneer. "If you ever want to see your daughter again you'll do exactly as I say."
"Fuck off."
"I mean it. You'll lose custody of her so fast your head will spin," Quentin promised. "I have friends in Child Services and they will be making surprise visits."
"So what? I don't have anything to hide," Michael answered.
"You will after I've hired someone to break in and plant questionable illegal substances."
Michael's eyes narrowed on his father and his mouth became a hard line as he struggled to control his emotions.
"I'm just taking a page out of your book, Michael," Quentin explained. "I guess we're already a lot alike in that way. In fact just as you did in your custody battle with Anna's mother, I too have witnesses who will swear they've seen you doing reckless, illegal things that endangered Anna's life." Quentin made a sweeping gesture toward his wife and Sebastian.
"Yes," Vanessa said woodenly on cue as she pulled up the notes she had made on her phone. "Michael has a major alcohol problem and despite my pleas I have seen him getting in his car and driving crunk with his young daughter."
"Driving crunk?" Sebastian asked her with a smirk.
Vanessa looked back at her phone's screen and nodded. "Yep, that's what it says. I guess that makes sense though. Playing crunk music should be against the law."
Sebastian sighed and shook his head before turning his attention to his brother. "We'll coach her better before the trial. Anyway, sorry Mike, but 'I have to do what is best for Anna,'" he parroted as his father had instructed. "Your alcoholism is threatening to spiral out of control. I cannot let Anna suffer as a result."
"You're serious?!" Michael snapped as he stood up from his seat and glared across the table at his brother. "You're really going to take his side in this?" he demanded motioning toward their father. "I don't believe you, Seb. What the fuck?!"
Sebastian chuckled, and held up his hands innocently. "What can I say? Dad made it worth my while."
"Your brother and step-mother are both getting luxurious vacations, Mike. Isn't that nice?" Quentin explained.
"Separate of course," Sebastian remarked. "I'm thinking Aruba, or maybe Bora Bora. Haven't decided yet. I'll have to research the gay scene first."
"I'm going to go to Jamaica!" Vanessa exclaimed excitedly to Michael. She was delighted to benefit from his loss.
"You know, V, if you want to go somewhere really exotic you should consider Akron," Sebastian suggested dryly.
"Ohh, I'm going to have to look into that," Vanessa answered as she picked up her phone to make a note. "How do you spell that?"
"This is ridiculous!" Michael screamed as he slammed the palm of his hand against the surface of the table.
"Just calm down, son," Quentin said patiently. "I'm still willing to give you all the extra things we talked about earlier and of course no change to our present arrangement. All you have to do is finish school just as we planned all along. It's not a bad deal for you at all. Just make no mistake about it. If you drop out, change majors, or don't get into law school...well I'll have a new little girl to raise. I'm just doing what's best for you. You'll see that someday."
Michael took a deep breath and made sure his voice was calm and even when he responded. "No, dad. I'll never see that. I'll never be like that. You may be a lawyer, but you're nothing but a white-collar thug. You're a cold, heartless bastard and I'm ashamed to be your son. But I will do this. I'll take your damn money and your stupid car and everything else I can get out of you, and I'll go to school. I'll do this for my daughter. But as soon as I'm done, we're done. I'm leaving and you'll never see me or Anna again."
"You don't mean that," Quentin responded confidently. "That's years away. You'll be long over it by then."
"No. I'll never be over it. I'll never forgive you," Michael promised. "And as for you," he said as he turned his attention toward Sebastian. "I hate you. You make me sick. You're just as greedy and selfish as he is. You're nothing but a self-involved faggot and I hope your queer little dick rots off."
-000-
"Hello,"
Dwight Evans answered the phone in a cool, brusque tone of voice that Sam wasn't used to hearing from his father. He felt his heart leap into his mouth and felt all the fear and nervousness he had been experiencing double in an instant. Did his father already know somehow? Was he mad?
"Hi dad," Sam answered in a tight voice a few moments later.
"Sam? Is that you?" Dwight asked sounding confused.
"Uh yeah, it's me," Sam confirmed already trying to think of an excuse so he could just hang up.
"Well hey there, buddy! I didn't recognize the number and you sound different somehow."
Different? Like effeminate or something? Sam questioned in his head.
"Yeah, I'm calling from the home phone here instead of my cell phone," Sam explained.
"Ohh okay, I thought you might have been a telemarketer. I just sat down to eat dinner and you know they're famous for calling then," Dwight joked.
"Ohh uh, if you're eating we can talk later," Sam suggested feeling relieved to have a way out of this conversation.
"No, of course not. I just didn't want to listen to facts about term life insurance while my food got cold, but I've always got time for you. Besides I already fixed the kids their plates so I've got a bit. What's on your mind? How was your visit with mom? She sent me a textual message awhile ago to let me know she was on the way home."
Sam couldn't help but laugh despite his anxiety. "They're just called text messages, dad. Or really just texts. The visit was great. We had fun."
"Good to hear, I'm sorry I couldn't come too, but I had to watch the kids."
"No problem," Sam answered. Stacey had a severe problem with motion sickness so they never took her for long car trips if they could help it. That meant that only one of Sam's parents would come and visit at a time, and that he would have to travel to them when he wanted to see the whole family.
"Well next time it's my turn," Dwight continued. "And we'll go anywhere you want."
"Thanks dad," Sam answered, knowing his father meant it and practically hearing the guilt in his voice. Sam was pretty sure their situation was harder for his father than it was for his mother. Certainly she missed him just as much or maybe even more, but it hurt his father's pride that he couldn't give Sam and the rest of the family the life he wanted them to have.
"So what's new?" Dwight asked pleasantly.
Sam gaped at the phone. His mother had literally told him to wait until his father asked 'what was new' as an opening to mention Sebastian.
"Did mom tell you to ask that?" Sam inquired suspiciously.
"Um no...I thought of it on my own," Dwight answered, still trying to figure out the significance. "Why is there something new I should know about?"
"Well...I guess maybe...Uh I'm kind of..."
"Kind of what, son?" Dwight asked patiently.
"Like talking to someone new," Sam responded.
"Oh you're making new friends. Good to hear," Dwight answered, wondering what all the fuss was about.
"No, I mean romantically," Sam clarified.
"Ahh, I see. That's great, tell me all about her," Dwight prompted.
Sam was speechless for several seconds. He hated the way his father had said 'tell me all about her,' but he knew the comment probably wasn't designed to make his announcement more difficult. He finally sighed and decided to just go for it.
"Well, his name is Sebastian..." Sam trailed off, anxiously awaiting his father's reaction. By this point though his heart was pounding so hard that he wasn't even sure he would be able to hear his response.
Dwight pulled the phone away and looked at it quizzically, as though it would give him some hint about whether or not Sam was being serious or making some kind of weird joke. He thought it over for a few moments. Sam had certainly sounded serious...serious and frightened. Suddenly Dwight's head kicked into gear.
"Great, well tell me all about Sebastian then."
Sam blinked and then felt a flood of relief; his father didn't seem to have a problem with it. Then his stomach tightened again in a fresh wave of worry. Wait, what if he didn't understand? He didn't even know what texts were called. What if he thinks 'Sebastian' is a girl?
"Well uh...he's a guy," Sam said. It seemed like a pretty stupid thing to say, but he wanted to make sure all the cards were on the table now. He didn't think he could go through this again if there was any misunderstanding.
"I figured," Dwight answered, amused by the statement but trying his best to be serious. "So how did you guys meet?"
Sam felt the last of his worry slip away. His dad did understand, and judging by the relaxed way he was discussing it he didn't seem to think it was a big deal.
"He's in the glee club at his school, Dalton Academy. They're our rivals in competitions," Sam explained animatedly.
"Ohh, private school boy. You bagged yourself a rich one, eh Sam?" Dwight teased.
"Well that's not why I like him," Sam answered, surprised and offended.
"Son relax, I'm just kidding," Dwight assured him. He realized Sam must have really been anxious and worked up not to realize when he was joking. "I know you wouldn't date someone for something like that."
"Sorry," Sam apologized.
"No problem, so tell me why you do like him," Dwight said.
Sam spent the next few minutes giving his father the cliffnotes about Sebastian, as well as a much more innocent, heavily edited account of their relationship thus far. He was pleased with how casual and comfortable their conversation was and he realized his mom had been right all along about how his dad would react.
"So, you're really okay with this, huh?" Sam asked for confirmation when there was a brief lull in the conversation.
"Of course I am," Dwight answered. "But I'm still going to give him the 'if you hurt my son speech' when I meet him.
"Dad! Don't you dare!" Sam objected, mortified by the idea. "Besides, I'm like bigger than he is anyway, and you wouldn't do that if I was dating a girl."
"Sam, not all pain is physical," Dwight pointed out. "And actually to be honest I was planning to give your next girlfriend that speech."
"What?!"
"Yeah, I'm sick of girls breaking your heart," Dwight answered seriously.
"I'm fine," Sam assured him, embarrassed by the turn the conversation had taken.
"Well, I just want you to know that I don't have a problem with anyone you date as long as they're good to you. If they're not, then we have a problem."
Sam wondered for a moment if Sebastian would pass that criteria. He'd certainly been good to Sam up until the night before when he'd abruptly thrown him out. Sam chastised himself for thinking that way. Yes, Sebastian had hurt him by doing that, but on the other hand Sebastian had literally, physically been hurt himself at the time. He must have also been just as scared and upset as Sam was. Sam reassured himself that it had just been a misunderstanding and once he could talk about it with Sebastian everything would be fine.
"Okay," Dwight said abruptly, making up his mind about something. "Now we need to have the sex talk...the revised version."
"I don't think we need to do that!" Sam insisted right away. He was still recovering the straight version of the conversation he'd gotten when he was younger. He really didn't want to hear what his dad had to say about the gay side of things.
"Yes. We do," Dwight stated firmly.
"Dad, really. I know what I'm doing. I've got it covered."
"You'd better have it covered, Sam. And Sebastian better have it covered too whenever he goes near you."
"Oh god, dad, please. Just stop talking," Sam pleaded.
"Afraid not. Okay so, condoms and lube..."
Sam was pretty sure at some point over the next twenty minutes his ears melted and his face actually caught fire from embarrassment...and still his father talked on. He did have to admit though that he took notice when his dad started talking about how 'an ass is not a vagina' and the importance of taking it slow and easy. He actually did wish he'd heard that bit of information before his encounter with Sebastian the night before.
"Now, there's just one more important thing I want you to know," Dwight said as he wrapped things up.
Sam groaned, he had been certain they were done. "What's that?" he asked tiredly.
"I love you, Sam. Don't ever forget that."
-000-
"Thank you," Michael whispered as he followed his brother up the staircase to the second floor of the Smythe residence.
"YOU'RE A GODDAMN IDIOT, MICHAEL!" Sebastian screamed. "JUST LEAVE ME ALONE."
"Whatever, no big deal," Sebastian whispered back.
"NO! WE ARE GOING TO TALK ABOUT THIS YOU SHITHEAD," Michael yelled back as they reached the top of the stairs.
Quentin sighed as he sat in his study on the first floor of the home. He was in too good of a mood to be bothered by his sons' shouting match. It was sort of to be expected anyway. He just hoped Michael would leave soon without hurting his brother. They hadn't physically struck each other in years, but there was no telling what would happen given the present situation. Quentin groaned as he thought about how much it would end up costing him to Sebastian if Michael did hit him.
"It kinda was a big deal, Seb. I owe you big and I get that. Trust me, when dad finds out I'll do everything I can to leave your name out of things."
"I'm not worried about dad," Sebastian said with a shrug as they walked down the long hallway toward his room.
"YOU'RE AN ASSHOLE," Sebastian shouted before continuing in a low voice. "Just make sure you're setting aside everything you can for when he does find out. You actually should be able to register for the classes he's expecting and pays for, then drop them right away and get a refund. If you only go part-time you should have money left over."
"I know, and I'm going to save all the money I get from selling my car when he gives me the new one. I HOPE YOU GET GANGRAPED YOU SON OF A BITCH."
"You better. He's probably going to keep the new car in his name, FUCKTARD." Sebastian said as he opened his bedroom door.
"WHAT THE FUCK?!" Michael exclaimed in response to both conversations he was having as he took in the sight of his brother's room.
Sebastian shrugged and closed the door, wishing Malinda had already cleaned up his room and cursing his father for keeping her busy preparing a fancy meal no one had eaten anyway.
"If you want to do me a favor, just ignore this," Sebastian instructed as he took a seat on his disheveled bed.
Michael looked at him curiously. Sebastian had called him while he was on the road from Columbus to tip him off about their father's plan and fill him in on his own counter-plan. Their discussion had more than occupied all of his attention and all of his thoughts once they hung up. It hadn't occurred to him that anything was wrong with Sebastian, but now that he was looking at him more carefully, especially in the context of this room, it was obvious that he was upset about something beyond just their father's evil scheming.
"FORGET IT DOUCHEBAG, I'm not ignoring this. What's the deal?"
Sebastian glared at his brother. "I SAID SHUT UP, ASSHOLE! I'm not discussing this. Now listen dad is going to want to see report cards too, which you're going to print out and mail to him."
"WHAT THE HELL?!" Michael demanded.
Sebastian laughed. "Yeah, you're going to mail them to him. After the guy who does my fake IDs doctors them to show your hypothetical classes and grades. I already checked with him, he's good at university documents. Lots of college kids do it to fake out controlling parents."
"OH NICE IDEA COCKSUCKER," Michael sneered sarcastically. "Awesome, thanks. Anyway what hap-"
"FUCK YOU!" Sebastian cut him off before quickly continuing to prevent his brother from asking anymore private questions. "I already emailed you the recording."
"Can I hear it now?" Michael asked knowing he should probably wait until he got home but unable to control his curiosity.
"YOU HAVE GOT TO BE THE BIGGEST MORON ON THE PLANET, but fine if you want. Go lock the door."
Michael did as instructed and then watched as Sebastian pulled out his phone and opened the recording. A few moments later their father's clear voice filled the air.
"If he doesn't cooperate I'm going to take Anna away from him," Quentin's voice was saying.
"But how are you going to do that?" Sebastian's voice prompted.
"Geez, I told you I'm going to hire someone to wait until he's out and then hide drugs in his apartment. Even if he realizes someone was there, which if my guy is good he won't, he won't be able to find them. Then I tip off Child Services."
"I see. Then when you sue for custody, you, me, and Vanessa all say he has a drug problem and that...wait what was it?" Sebastian's voice asked.
"Are you kidding me? It's not that complicated, pay attention. All we do is testify that he also has an alcohol problem and that we've all seen him getting into to the car with Anna and drinking and driving. Sometimes without even buckling her into her car seat." Quentin's voice said.
"So you, a lawyer, want us to lie under oath?" Sebastian's voice clarified sarcastically. Michael could just imagine the smirk that Sebastian had been giving him as he said it.
"Yes, Sebastian, I want you to gasp lie under oath," Quentin's voice confirmed just as sarcastically as his son's. "Look, I know you don't want to and I hope it doesn't come to that, but it's for their own good."
Sebastian tossed his phone on the bed as the recording ended.
"Wow that's awesome!" Michael exclaimed. "No way will he go ahead with his plans if we threaten to play that in court. He'd get disbarred for sure. I can't believe he fell for that."
Sebastian shrugged. "Never saw it coming. I think he just thought I was being difficult and giving him a hard time by making him go through it all again."
Sebastian frowned as he thought about the way Santana had used a similar tactic to get him to confess to what he had done to Blaine with the slushie and the rock salt. His brother certainly didn't need to know what his source of inspiration had been.
Michael knew that if and when this did come to light, Sebastian would be burning a pretty big bridge with their father. Theoretically he could scam his dad for several years. Perhaps Sebastian's forger could even falsify LSATs results somehow, or maybe he would take them anyway just for the hell of it. Either way he knew he needed to keep the lie going as long as possible, not only so that he could get as much money from their father as possible, but also hopefully so that Sebastian would be well into college and as independent as possible.
Michael gritted his teeth, knowing what he needed to say. "You're a good brother, Sebastian. Thank you."
"Oh fuck you," Sebastian answered. "It wasn't much of a decision. Between you or dad, you're obviously the lesser of two evils. Besides, I still get a nice vacation out of it on dad, so it's not like it was a big sacrifice."
Michael smirked at his brother and shook his head. He was so relieved that Anna was safe and that he even got to finally lead his own life without his father's constant meddling that he actually felt like hugging Sebastian, but he knew that wouldn't go over very well. Instead he returned his attention to whatever was bothering him. It wouldn't be much in the way of pay back, but he was more than willing to do anything he could to help.
"So what happened here?" Michael asked as he lifted the shoe off of Sebastian's dresser and held it with one hand as he started righting some of the overturned objects with his free hand.
"I told you, I don't want to talk about it," Sebastian answered as he got off the bed, crossed the room, and pulled Sam's sneaker away from his brother.
This time since Michael was studying him more carefully he noticed that Sebastian wasn't quite walking normally. His eyes snapped to the discarded sheets in the corner. Why had Sebastian needed to take them off the bed?
"Come on, you'll feel better," Michael prompted as he laid a hand on Sebastian's shoulder and gave it a small squeeze.
"Christ! Michael I get it. You're grateful I helped you out. You're welcome. That doesn't mean we need to have some saccharine-filled, Oprah moment."
Michael didn't say anything, just turned and walked to the corner of the room where the pile of bedding was bunched into a pile.
"Stop it, What are you doing?!" Sebastian exclaimed as he dropped the shoe and rushed to where his brother now stood sifting through the sheets. He grabbed his arm and tried to pull him away, but he knew it was too late as soon as Michael uncovered the first red stain.
"Blood. And you're limping," Michael accused.
"I am not! I'm gay; we walk funny. Quit being homophobic."
"Seb, what the fuck happened?!" Michael demanded as he grabbed his brother's arms and forced him to look at him. When he noticed the look in Sebastian's eyes he asked again in a more gentle voice. "What happened?"
"It's no big deal," Sebastian insisted, trying unsuccessfully to avoid his brother's eyes. "Just some rough sex is all. I'm sure you don't want details."
"And during the sex, shoes got thrown and mirrors got smashed?"
Sebastian shrugged again. "Yeah it was epic. Sex isn't good if at least one piece of furniture doesn't end up broken."
"You got hurt." It was a statement, not a question. "You threw the shoes and smashed the mirror. Because you were hurt and pissed off."
"Well I guess we can call that a working theory," Sebastian conceded in a quiet voice as he felt his eyes starting sting. No way was he going to cry about this though. He quickly clenched his fists and set his jaw. He was embarrassed and felt angry all over again. This was all Sam's fault. Sam had done this to him. Sam was responsible for this scene he was having. Sam had hurt him. Sam had embarrassed him. Sam had fucked him and left him bleeding on his bathroom floor. Sam fucking Evans!
"Who did this Seb?" Michael asked softly as he led Sebastian back across the room to the bed.
Who did this? It was a simple question. It wouldn't have taken any effort at all to answer. The stupid blond jock's name was already practically tattooed on his tongue, burned into brain. He couldn't forget his idiotic grin, or his guitar-callused hand. He couldn't forget the way Sam's chest felt pressed against his back as he taught him to sweep. Since Sam's name was on a continuous loop in Sebastian's head anyway. Why not speak the name? Why not let his brother know who was responsible?
Images of Sean Meunier flashed across Sebastian's mind. Not good-looking and cocky the way he usually looked. No, instead Sebastian remembered the way he had looked that Monday morning when Sebastian had returned to school after his second ever sexual encounter. Fucking Matt really had made Sean feel less significant by comparison, but Sebastian hadn't truly been over him - not yet - not until he saw his face that day. Not until he saw his two swollen black eyes, his bruised jaw, his bloody, scabbed-over arms. Sean looked awful, repulsive. He was just as ugly on the outside as Sebastian knew he was on the inside. And as soon as Sean saw Sebastian, unhidden fear crossed his face and he scurried away as quickly as he could. It was so satisfying, so healing.
"Who hurt you, Seb?" Michael asked again as he sat on the bed with his brother and gently rubbed his back. "I swear to god he'll never fucking do it again."
Sebastian looked over at his brother and allowed a small, sad smile to form on his lips. He had never asked what had happened to Sean. He had never needed to. He had just been grateful. For that brief moment as he watched Sean hobble away he had felt truly vindicated, powerful. It was such a wonderful feeling. It was also the moment he knew that he really could trust Michael. His brother may have been a perpetual jerk to him, but beating the fuck out of Sean Meunier was proof that he cared. Sebastian wanted to feel cared about. He wanted to get over Sam the way he had gotten over Sean.
"His name is Sam Evans."
-000-
End Note: Sorry everyone, I just couldn't resist the evil cliffhanger.
I hope you guys enjoyed the closer look at their families. I know it wasn't to everyone's taste and the good news is that the next chapter is definitely going to feature some solid Sam/Seb interaction.
What did you guys think of Sam's coming out to his dad? I had a lot of fun with that scene, more so than the ones with him mom in fact. I considered not making Sam's parents incredibly supportive of his sexuality, because it could have made for some interesting drama and it would have been a fresh change from the route I took in my other story "Making It Work." Ultimately thought I just couldn't do it. To me everything we've seen of Sam and his family on Glee, and all the comments he's made about them, seem to indicate that he has a really solid, positive relationship with his parents and siblings. Also it just doesn't seem to fit for Sam to come from a homophobic background considering how non-homophobic he's always been on the show.
So what did you guys think of Quentin's plan? I hope the fact that Sebastian and Michael had a counter-plan of their own in place was a nice surprise twist that fit. LOL, I had fun with their fake insult yelling conversation too. I hope the all caps didn't get too annoying.
Anyway, feedback is greatly appreciated (and may or may not affect how quickly I get out the next chapter *evil smirk*). Thanks so much to everyone who commented on the last one! You guys are the best!
