Jodi

Sam promised he'd be home from Sebastian's before noon, but he doesn't return until it's almost six o'clock in the evening. Jodi hears the front door open as she finishes unpacking the last of her groceries, and judging by the two pairs of shoes she hears, he's brought Sebastian back with him.

"Thanks for walking me home." Sam's voice is loud enough that it carries into the kitchen. She can't hear what Sebastian says in response, but Sam's volume lowers considerably after that. "Would you like to stay for dinner?" is the last of their conversation that she catches, and she's relieved when she hears Sebastian leaving, because she hasn't even decided what she's going to make for dinner yet.

"Sam?" she calls out, before he has the chance to retreat to his bedroom. "Can you come to the kitchen and help with dinner, please?"

"Hey Mom," Sam greets her as he enters the kitchen. "Sorry I got home so late; we were playing Solarian Chronicles and we kinda lost track of time. What are we having for dinner, anyways?"

She hesitates. "Is breakfast for dinner alright? I'm not sure what else to make." Sam nods enthusiastically in response, and Jodi frowns as a flash of silver catches her eye. "Sam, what's that?"

"Um, nothing," Sam answers, tugging the collar of his jacket up higher. "Don't worry about it." Despite his efforts to hide it from her, the earring he's wearing is plainly obvious.

Her eyebrows furrow as she studies it. "When were you going to tell me you got this?"

"I'm twenty-two, mom," Sam protests. "I don't have to tell you everything… and it's only the one ear!"

Jodi sighs. "I know." She adjusts the well-worn collar of his denim jacket. "You're all grown up. I remember when this jacket used to be too big for you… You look just like your father in it." She sighs again, then lets go of the fabric. "You'll have your own house and your own family someday. You just need to find a nice girl."

Sam smiles, though it looks strained. "Um, speaking of Dad… have you heard anything?"

"We got a letter a few weeks ago," Jodi admits, and Sam looks hopeful, "but… I haven't opened it yet, I just… I can't open it, Sammy." She hadn't been expecting to receive any more letters after the last one, and she was dreading what the unexpected appearance of a new letter could mean.

"Hey." Sam pulls her into a hug. "It's okay; we'll open it together, okay mom?"

It feels a little odd, letting Sam be the one to comfort her, after almost twenty years of her being responsible for comforting him. "Thank you," she murmurs, rubbing his back a few times, before he lets her go. "Can you start the pancake mix? I'll go get the letter."

In the time that it takes Jodi to retrieve the letter from her bedside table, Sam's managed to mix together the ingredients for the batter without making a mess. She brings the letter over to the kitchen table, where Sam drops into a seat beside her.

"I'll open it," he says, taking the envelope from her.

Jodi's hands are shaking so much that she's not sure she would have been able to open it herself, anyways.

"The last letter was a good one, maybe this one will be, too," Sam tries to assure her, as he clumsily tears open the envelope. Sam hadn't actually read Kent's last two letters, because Jodi had hidden them away in her closet after she'd read them.

The first one had been the worst - an official notice saying that her husband had gone missing in action. There'd been a long stretch of time with no further news about Kent, and too much news on the television about how their troops were falling by the dozens. The lack of news hadn't been too hard to explain away - Sam frequently lamented about how long it took for mail orders to come in. Besides, he'd heard the news reports himself - he'd probably realized the chances of his dad returning home were growing slim.

She should have told him when the second one came in - it was short, but it had been good. Kent had written to tell her that he was safe, and would be getting discharged soon. At the time she hadn't wanted to get Sam's hopes up - there was still a chance that something could happen to prevent her husband's return.

But now, as Sam unfolds the letter, Jodi wonders if it might have been better to let him have that brief window of hope. What if it wasn't good news?

She takes a breath, then leans in closer to read the letter.

Jodi,

Since I'll be coming home soon I want to tell you a few things.

I might not be the same man you remember. I've seen some things out here that have really shaken me up. I've been having a real hard time relaxing.

I don't want to scare you or make you upset. I just don't want you to be shocked when I get back.

Remember, no matter how I act, you and the kids mean everything to me.

I'll see you soon.

- Kent

"Dad's coming back home," Sam says, although it sounds more like he's asking a question than stating a fact. "Do you think there was supposed to be another letter? 'Cause it sounds like he thinks you already know he's coming back." He frowns. "Maybe it got lost, and that's why we haven't heard from him in so long."

Jodi tugs at her necklace. She could just let Sam assume the other letters had been lost in the mail - after all, the most important thing was that he knew his dad would be coming home… but was it right to keep all the details from him?

He was a man now, and it was probably best that he know what happened.

"There were a couple other letters, Sammy," she explains. "Two other letters. I didn't want you to read them, because I didn't want you to worry. I just… I wanted you and Vincent to have a good childhood. Kids shouldn't have to worry about whether their father is going to come home or not."

"But we just talked about this, Mom," Sam protests, "I'm not a kid anymore, I can handle it!"

She nods. "You're right; I'm sorry."

Sam places his hand over hers. "It's okay. Dad's okay, and that's all that matters, right?" He hesitates for a second. "Do you think I could read them, though?"

"Could it wait for another time?" she asks. "I'll have to find them; they're buried away in my closet… I just haven't had the time to sort it out lately."

He nods. "Of course."

Vincent comes plodding into the kitchen at that moment, and Jodi turns to glance at the kitchen clock - she really should have started dinner earlier.

"Is dinner ready yet?" Vincent asks.

"Not yet, buddy," Sam answers for her, getting up from the table. "Mom's still gotta cook it. Do you have any homework you need to do? I'll help you with it, and then after dinner we'll have all night to play some games!"

Vincent beams up at his older brother. "Okay! It's math though, so it's gonna be hard."

"That's okay. The important thing is that you get it done, right?" Sam leads him out of the room, leaving Jodi alone in the kitchen again to finish making their dinner.

Sam

Sam isn't sure how he feels about his dad coming home, yet.

Of course, he's happy that his dad's alive. If Sam had been his brother's age, he probably wouldn't have slept for the next few weeks out of sheer excitement. Sam's not actually sure that he will be able to sleep for the next few weeks; but out of fear and anxiety rather than excitement.

His dad didn't know that he was gay. His dad didn't know a lot of things about him, actually, having been gone for three years - and that's not counting all the other times his dad had been away serving in the military. His dad, he hopes, was looking forward to coming home and seeing his family again, even though it was probably going to be really weird and awkward after being apart for so long. His dad, he fears, was no longer going to want to be around Sam once he came out.

Sam's not stupid. He's pulled a lot of stupid pranks, and - according to Abigail and Sebastian - told a lot of stupid jokes, but he has common sense. He knows the military isn't exactly welcoming to gay people, and so he doubts that his dad will be very welcoming, either. He's not as sure about his mom, but he thinks she might be okay with it - she's been there for Sam his whole life, whereas his dad's just stepped in and out throughout it. He's a lot closer with her for sure, and he's hoping she'll still be there for him if his dad decides to emotionally step out on him for good.

He desperately wants to talk to Sebastian about all of this, but doesn't think that would be a good idea. At least, not right now; they're having a late birthday celebration with Abigail at the Saloon tonight, and Sam doesn't want to put a damper on the party.

Sam spots Abigail talking with Alex on his walk over to the Saloon. Sam's not sure what the two of them are doing together - tonight was supposed to be just the three of them.

"I didn't bring my note," he hears Alex tell her, once they reach the steps of the Saloon.

"You won't need it; a good apology comes from the heart," Abigail says, and then she shoves him through the door.

Sam quickens his pace to a run - Sebastian is not going to be pleased if Abigail shows up with Alex Mullner in tow. If he can get to the Saloon before Sebastian arrives, he can maybe talk some sense into Abigail.

He bursts into the arcade, where Abigail and Alex are seated on a couch. "Hey, Sam," Abigail says nonchalantly, as if Alex joining them for pool night was a normal occurrence. "Did you run here?"

Sam frowns at her. "What the fuck, man? You said you were temporarily ungrounded so that you could come celebrate Sebastian's birthday." He gestures at Alex. "This is not how Seb would want to celebrate."

"Bit late for a change of plans now," Abigail replies, glancing over Sam's shoulder. Sam turns to see that Sebastian's arrived, and looks as displeased as he'd expected.

"Um, Happy Birthday," Alex says to Sebastian, before Sam or Abigail can say anything.

"My birthday was two days ago," Sebastian informs him. "Abby, can I talk to you please?"

Abigail follows Sebastian back out of the arcade, leaving him alone with Alex.

"Look, I don't know why Abby brought you here-" Sam begins, but Alex cuts him off.

"I came to apologize, okay?" he begins, getting up from the couch. "I feel really bad about what happened in the spa. I shouldn't have called you guys that, it's just… it's what I used to do when the guys on my team would say that sort of shit to me. I was worried that they'd… you know, that they'd figure out that I'm actually… that like guys, too. So I thought if I joined in with the names, they wouldn't suspect anything? I know that doesn't make it okay or anything, I just wanted you to know why I said it, and that I'm sorry. I'd leave you all alone, but I think Abigail might kick my ass if I try to go?"

Sam softens considerably. "The guys on your gridball team used to call you that?"

"Sort of? They kinda used another word. The, uh, other f-word."

"Oh, sorry dude," Sam says. "That's really shitty. And, uh, I'm sorry I was kind of rude, too. I just… get really worked up when people say shit like that to Sebastian. It's not the first time he's been called that, you know?"

Alex doesn't look surprised to hear that. "Yeah," he says instead. "I mean, I'd be mad, too, if people were calling Haley rude names."

"You should really apologize to Seb, though," Sam says. "I appreciate the apology, but I'm not gonna accept it unless he does."

Abigail returns to the arcade at that moment, with a reluctant-looking Sebastian trailing along behind her. "The birthday boy has agreed to listen to your apology," she informs Alex. "It took a lot of persuading so you better make it good, Mullner."

Sebastian folds his arms over his chest, and looks expectantly at Alex. "Well?"

"We should give them some space," Abigail whispers to Sam, as she gently takes him by the arm, and tugs him towards the main bar.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Sam glances back at Sebastian and Alex over his shoulder. "What if they start a fight?"

Abigail shrugs. "Alex would probably win. Seb's lost fights before; he'll be fine." They take a seat at one of the booths as they wait, and Abigail smiles at him from across the time. "Do you remember the last time he got in a fight at school? You bought him a joja cola to ice his cheek with."

"I mean, that's not really a good memory, Abby," Sam points out. "He ditched the last two periods, and I had to ditch with him to make sure he was okay."

"I just thought it was sweet," she protests. "You really care about him."

"Well yeah, I always have." He drums the table top with his fingers, and then continues. "He'd have done the same for me, I think. I know he likes to pretend like he's above having feelings, but he was really sweet this weekend."

Abigail's face lights up. "Ooh, what happened? How was his birthday? You sent me that picture and then refused to tell me anything else!"

"Well we got our piercings, went skating for a bit, and then we went back to his place for dinner. I was, um, kinda nervous. You know, about the… piercing."

Abigail winks. "Right. The piercing. Got it."

He blushes, but continues, "yeah, so I was really nervous, but he was really nice, and said we didn't have to do it if I didn't want to, and he just made me feel really comfortable about the whole thing."

"Sam that's so good!" she squeals. He shoots her a look, and she quickly lowers her voice. "So did you...?"

"Um, can we talk about this later?" Sam asks. "I mean I want to tell you, but it's kind of busy in here…"

"Of course." She nods. "How about we go and order some food, then?"

They place their usual order with Emily - an extra large pepperoni pizza, a round of beers (with a ginger ale for Sebastian), and then a second, smaller pizza in case Alex ends up joining them.

"So?" Abigail addresses Sebastian, as she enters the arcade with Sam, and four drinks. "Did you guys talk it out?"

"Yes," is all Sebastian says in response.

" And? " Abigail prods.

He sighs. "We had a discussion like the mature adults that we are, I accepted his apology, and nobody got called a twink this time. Happy?"

"Great! Sam and I kinda already ordered food for the four of us, so I'm glad you worked it out."

"I see that," Sebastian replies, as Sam hands him his drink. "So he's staying, then?"

"Do you want him to stay?" Abigail asks. "It's your birthday."

Sebastian sets his drink down on the edge of the pool table, then shrugs. "He told me my motorcycle was cool… I guess he can stay. What do you think, Sam?"

"Again, It's your birthday," Sam repeats, "but I guess I don't mind if he stays, either." He glances over at Alex. "It pretty was cool of you to take the blame for the snowman we made. We probably would've been stuck doing community service on Seb's birthday if you and Abby hadn't stepped in. So thanks."

"Yeah," Alex replies, "it was, uh…"

"It was fucking disgusting," Abigail finishes for him. "We gutted fish for hours ."

Alex takes a sip of his beer. "Yeah. So what did you do for your actual birthday?" he asks Sebastian. "Abigail told me you guys drove up to the city?"

"Got my septum pierced," Sebastian says.

"Oh, cool," Alex replies. "Um, what part of the ear is that?"

"It's his nose," Abigail explains. "Show us, Seb! I didn't even get to see a picture of it."

"He's not supposed to touch it," Sam protests, as Sebastian ignores him, adjusting the piercing so that Alex and Abigail can see it.

"Awesome," she says, and Alex nods even though he doesn't really look like he agrees.

The conversation drops off as Emily enters the arcade with their pizzas, and they move back to the couches to eat. "Do you like pizza?" Sam asks Alex, as he passes his boyfriend a slice.

"It's alright," Alex replies. "I usually try to eat lots of protein - like salmon, and stuff. It's okay if I take a cheat day once in a while, though… I'd never get to eat any of my grandma's cookies otherwise."

Sam eats the rest of his pizza in silence, as Abigail attempts to make some more small talk with Alex. He hadn't called his own grandmother in a while - not since he started dating Sebastian. Would she even know what being gay meant? Sam's grandma always seemed happy to hear from him, but he can't imagine that she'd be very happy to hear about his new boyfriend. She was almost as bad as his mother when it came to dropping hints about all the nice girls Sam should be trying to meet.

Sebastian leans into his side. "Are you okay?" he asks, in a quiet voice.

"I'm fine, dude," Sam replies with a smile. "Hey, Abby, what should we do next?"

"Well I doubt Alex wants to watch you guys play pool for the rest of the night," Abigail replies. "Unless you want to play in teams?"

"Nah," Sebastian says. "Sam might actually win a game, then. Can't risk letting him have that." Sam elbows him in the side.

"Well, we could play the arcade machines… ooh, or how about a game of truth or dare? We haven't played that in a while! I'll go first, if you guys want."

"Truth or dare sounds okay," Alex agrees.

"Alright Abby, I dare you to pull out one of your rocks and eat it in front of the farmer," Sebastian decides. "Unless you want to chicken out and pick truth?"

Abigail rolls her eyes. "Do you think I just go around carrying rocks in my pocket? You know I like to keep them under my pillow, Seb." Sebastian raises an eyebrow, and she sighs, reaching into one of her vest pockets to retrieve a handful of small, purple gems. "Do I have to actually eat one?" she asks.

"Maybe just take a bite," Sam suggests. "My little brother ate a rock once… he did not have a good time."

"Fine," Sebastian relents, "you can just take a bite, I guess... but you need to tell the farmer how delicious it is. Tell her it's the best rock you've ever tasted."

"It's the only rock I've ever tasted," she protests. Sam exchanges a look with Sebastian, and Abigail sighs again. "Okay fine, it is not the only rock I've ever tasted, but the farmer doesn't need to know that! She's gonna think I'm some freak who eats rocks… she'll never ask me out!"

"Or, maybe she'll bring you more delicious rocks from the mines," Sam adds helpfully. "You never know!"

"Whatever, she's probably already in love with Shane, anyways," Abigail groans. "Wish me luck, I guess."

They watch from the entrance of the arcade as Abigail makes her way over to the farmer - who's chatting at the bar with Emily. "Well, the farmer looks pretty weirded out," Sam comments, as Abigail puts one of the rocks in her mouth, "but Emily looks… kinda into it?"

"That's because she's fucking weird, dude," Sebastian replies. "I bet she believes in all sorts of magical bullshit about rocks. Maybe we should set her up with Abby, instead."

"She, um, has a girlfriend, actually," Alex pipes up. "Uh, have you guys ever been to the Calico Desert?" Sam nods. His dad had taken him to the desert a couple of times as a kid - but he pushes those memories to the back of his mind; he really doesn't want to think about his dad right now. "Her girlfriend lives there," Alex continues, "I think she runs a store or something? Her name's Sandy."

"Huh," Sebastian says, with a look of interest. "Hey Abby, did you know Emily has a girlfriend?" he asks, as Abigail returns to the arcade.

"Don't be such a gossip, Seb," Abigail replies. "You know that's a dangerous game… speaking of, do you want truth or dare, Alex?"

"Um, dare, I guess," Alex replies.

Abigail smirks at him. "Hmm, well I dare you to…" she glances back at the main bar "go ask Gus for a shot glass, and a bottle of his special hot sauce. And maybe a glass of milk, depending on how much heat you think you can handle."

Alex does as he's told, and returns with the requested shot glass and sauce. Abigail pours the shot for him, and Alex pounds it back. Well, he tries to - Gus' hot sauce is pretty thick, and it takes a minute for him to drain the glass.

"Fuck, man." Alex reaches for his pint glass, and chugs what's left of his beer. "That's way worse than licking a rock."

"If you think that's bad, the last time I picked dare they made me to lick the joystick on the Prairie King machine," Sam says. "I was sick for like, three whole weeks after that."

The four of them turn to look at the machine, and Alex's brow furrows as he studies it. "Why do all the high-scores say 'ASS'?" he asks.

"It's our initials," Sam explains. "Seb and Abby used to fight over having the top score, so we had to compromise and put all three of our names. Except you can only enter three letters, so…"

"We were fourteen," Abigail adds, looking a little embarrassed.

"Oh, okay," Alex says. He turns back to Sam. "Um, truth or dare, Sam?"

"Truth," Sam decides.

Alex stuffs his hands in the pockets of his varsity jacket, and stares up at the ceiling as he thinks for a moment. "Uh, are you… dating anyone?"

Sam hesitates. Lying seems like a bad idea. Sure, it's not like Sebastian and Abigail would rat him out - they'd understand why… but what if Alex already knows the truth? He'd still been in the maze when Sam had kissed Sebastian. Maybe he's already figured out what happened, and is just asking to see if it's true.

"Yeah," Sam replies. Alex's eyes flicker between him and Sebastian, and Sam braces himself for the inevitable 'so who is it?', but Alex doesn't question him any further.

Instead, he nods. "Cool."

Relieved, Sam quickly diverts the focus to Sebastian. "What about you, Seb? Dare or dare?"

They play a couple more rounds of truth or dare, and Sam sticks to picking dares for the remainder of the game. He's forced to dump the remaining ice in his drink down the front of his pants, but it's better than having to field another question about his love life… or go up to Harvey and take a swig of his beer, which Sebastian gets dared to do.

"Well thanks," Sebastian says to Abigail, once he's completed his dare, "now I have an appointment with him next Thursday. He wouldn't put his stupid beer down until I asked him to check if he had any free slots at the clinic."

Abigail grins. "Hope it was a refreshing sip, then. Maybe it was even the most delicious beer you've ever tasted?"

"I fucking hate beer," Sebastian mutters. "Whose turn is it?"

"I should probably get going, actually," Alex says, checking the time on his phone. "I don't usually stay out this late… my grandma's probably getting worried. Um, thanks for letting me hang out tonight. Maybe I'll see you guys around some time?"

"Perhaps," Abigail agrees. She shoots Sam and Sebastian a look.

"I appreciated the apology," Sam tells him. Sebastian doesn't say anything, but he nods along. Sam thinks it'll be a while before Alex gets invited over for a game of Solarian Chronicles, or to sit in on a jam session, the the possibility of having another night at the Saloon was looking good.

Abigail waits until Alex leaves before rounding on the two of them. "So, I think you guys owe me some more date details."

"You guys owe me some date details."

"You brought Alex Mullner to my birthday party; I owe you nothing," Sebastian replies.

"Sam already promised me some earlier," Abigail informs him. "So tell me everything, Sam... was there any dual-wiener action?"

"Yoba, Abby," Sebastian groans, "don't call it that. You've just killed all my future boners for the next year."

"I highly doubt that," Abigail says. "Also, gross; I don't want to think about your boners, Seb."

Sebastian rolls his eyes. "Maybe don't ask us questions about our sex life, then."

"So you do have one, and something did happen," Abigail concludes. "I knew it. You guys are horrible at being subtle, you know that? Nobody has seven sleepovers in a two week period without hooking up at least once."

"I mean, we didn't… go all the way, if that's what you think," Sam replies. "There was just, uh-"

"Some hand-holding in bed? A chaste kiss on the cheek? A soft hug, perhaps?" Abigail smirks at him. " Right . Got it." She glances at her phone, and sighs. "Okay, as much as I'd love to stick around and continue teasing you guys, I do actually have to get going. I'm still very grounded, and my dad's probably going to come looking for me any minute now. Happy belated Birthday, Seb!"

"So, do you want to play a round of pool or something?" Sam asks Sebastian, once the two of them are alone in the arcade.

He shrugs. "Actually, I was thinking we could maybe just head back to my place."

"That sounds good, except I think Abigail has a point? My mom's starting to get really suspicious of all the sleepovers we've been having... so maybe we shouldn't."

"Maybe you could sneak me into your room again?" Sebastian suggests. "I was just thinking there's a bit more privacy in my bedroom…"

Sam's got a pretty good idea of what Sebastian wants the extra privacy for, and it's too good of an offer to turn down. "You're right," he agrees, "Let's go to your place, then." Sebastian grins at him, before leaning in for a kiss.

Sam could always just sneak back into his own bedroom in the morning.