Title: Memory Lapse
Author:Silverkitsune
Rating: PG-13 language
Pairing: Ben/ Michael, Hunter
Summary: Have you ever suddenly realized you'd forgotten to do something really, really, really just ridiculously important?
Disclaimer: All rights are owned by Cowlip and Showtime.
Part: 3 of 3….maybeAuthor's Note: This version of the Bruckners belongs to me.
Author's Note Part II- Ok, so this was supposed to be three chapters. Thing is, I can sort of see this going four chapters. Would any one be interested in seeing the Bruckners meet Debbie and the rest of the Liberty Ave gang?
Around five o'clock, when the sun was just beginning to think about setting, a cab pulled to a stop in front of the Novotny-Bruckner's apartment building. The door opened, and Ben slid out. Taking a minute to stretch, he then turned around and reached back into the cab in order to help Michael. Making sure that his left foot was securely on the ground, Michael grabbed onto Ben's hand. Once he was half way out of the cab, Ben wrapped his arm around the other man's waist, and making sure not to jar the right ankle, pulled him onto the sidewalk. Michael, in return, wrapped his arm around Ben's shoulders.
"I already paid him," Michael said nodding to the driver.
"Don't put any weight on your ankle," Ben responded. "Just hang onto me."
As the cab pulled away, the two of them shuffled towards the door in what looked like a crazy three- legged race.
"You know," Michael said. "I think the nurse thinks I'm an abused spouse."
Ben shot him a surprised look, the glare from the streetlight glinting off his glasses.
Michael wiggled his fingers at him. "In the span of three days, we've been to the emergency room twice, and the same nurse helped us out."
Ben grimaced. "No, wonder she kept glaring at me." He paused. "Have I apologized enough for almost breaking your fingers yet?"
"No, but I'm sure you'll figure out some way to make it up to me. Are you sure we have a pair of crutches in the apartment?"
Ben nodded. "Somewhere."
Practically lifting Michael up the front step, he nuzzled the other man's ear. "Do me a favor. Don't ever get run down by a police officer again."
Michael snorted. "Just as long as you promise to never tell anyone that the cop was on a bike. I still can't believe that cop was on a bike. It's not like you expect to walk out of a restaurant after having a perfectly nice lunch with your husband, and get mowed down by a cop on a bike. With my luck the guy probably knows Carl, and my mother will be down here within the hour. Look at it this way, the ankle's not broken, just sprained, and the fingers aren't even bruised. But, the next time you have to call your parents I'll stand on the other side of the room and offer moral support through concerned looks."
Chuckling, Ben pulled the two of them through the front door. As it swung closed behind them, Michael groaned.
"Oh, shit. Stairs. Why do we live in a building with no elevator? What do we-Jesus Ben!"
Sliding one arm underneath Michael's knees, and positioning the other arm behind his back, Ben had lifted the smaller man off his feet, and proceeded to carry him.
"Whenever you do this, I'm never sure whether it's humiliating or sweet," Michael mumbled, wrapping his arms around Ben's neck.
"Let's settle on it being 'needed'," Ben grunted as he climbed.
Ben put him back on his feet as soon as they'd reached the front door.
"I can't believe we still have dinner at my ma's to look forward to after this," Michael said letting his head droop onto Ben's shoulder as Ben both held him up, and unlocked the door. "I'm exhausted."
"Two hours of waiting in the emergency room will do that." The door unlocked with a snick, and Ben rested his hand on the doorknob. "Ready to move again?"
Making sure they wouldn't go tumbling the minute they moved, Michael nodded. "Just get me to the couch."
Pushing the door open with his elbow, Michael let Ben usher him inside. The sight of an unfamiliar body sitting on the couch next to Hunter caused them to pause.
At first glance, the skinny profile, and red hair had Michael expecting Hunter's mother who, ankle or no ankle, he was going to tackle to the floor if she were actually anywhere near his son. When the woman turned around, and he saw an unfamiliar face he felt himself physically relax. Ben on the other hand seemed to tense up.
"Fuck," he said in astonishment. "Mom?"
Before the woman could answer, a voice from their left made himself known. "Don't forget me." An older, well-built man, was standing in the kitchen holding a glass of water. Neither of the intruders looked very happy.
"Ahh, this is unexpected," Ben said.
Jumping up from his spot on the couch, Hunter joined his fathers. "Where the fuck have you been!" he hissed. "They've been here since noon and this movie only has so many special features." He suddenly noticed that Michael was standing in flamingo fashion, his ankle held off the ground, with only Ben holding him up.
"Holy shit! What happened to you?"
Michael rolled his eyes. "It's a very uninteresting story. You wouldn't like it."
Ignoring Hunter, Michael caught the eye of Ben's mother. She smiled at him, her eyes looking unusually wet.
"Hello," she said moving across the room. "I'm Charlotte Bruckner."
"Hello," Michael responded. "I'm Michael. I'd take your hand, but I'd probably fall over."
The woman only nodded, the movement making her gray streaked curls bounce and spring. "It's so wonderful to meet you." Her gaze moved over Michael's head, and frosted over. "Though I wish it were under better circumstances. The man in the kitchen is my husband, Ben's father, Jeff."
Jeff gave Michael a salute with the glass he was holding. "Hello."
"Nice to meet you," Michael said. His skin suddenly felt as thought there were small electric shocks zipping through his nervous system. He was not prepared for this at all.
He was hoping that they weren't going start a conversation right then and there, but he need not have worried. Their gazes were both fixed on the man standing to his side. The Bruckners had found their prey, and while he would come next, at the present moment they had bigger fish to fry.
Gently prying Ben's fingers from his waist, he threw an arm around Hunter. "Hunter, help me hobble to the bedroom."
"OK," the teenager said a bit too enthusiastically.
Glancing over his shoulder, Michael threw Ben what he hoped was a reassuring smile, and then hobbled into the other room. Hunter closed the French doors behind them.
"Thank Christ you guys got back when you did," Hunter said helping Michael ease onto the bed.
"Oh, come on," Michael scoffed. "It couldn't have been that bad."
"They kept LOOKING at me! I didn't know what the fuck to say to them, and then the movie ended."
"We have other movies you guys could have watched."
"Oh, yeah. I'm sure they would have loved Night of the Living Dildo."
"We don't even own a movie called-! You know what never mind. Now what are you doing?"
Hunter was carefully cracking the French doors open an inch. A thin trail of light slid across the wooden floors, as the teenager pressed his eye against the opening.
"They're gunna yell, so we'll be able to hear what they say. But I want to see what they're going to do too."
"This is none of our business," Michael snapped. "Now, close the door and get your ass back over here!"
"The fuck it's not our business. They're your in-laws. I'm their grandkid," the last word was said with a fair level of sarcasm. "Everything we do is going to be their business. Only fair that everything theydo is ours."
At the word "in-laws," Michael felt the previous electric shocks send a sickening jolt to his stomach. A mother-in-law he could handle as long as she wasn't a homophobic cunt, which from what Ben had told him, was something Charlotte Bruckner most definitely was not. However, in-laws included a father-in-law, and Michael's track record with the fathers of gay men hadn't been great so far. Brian's had been abusive, his had been absent in more ways than one, he'd never known Ted's, Emmett's father had practically run his son out of town, and Justin's was a colossal prick. To be honest one of the only decent straight guys he'd ever had much to do with was Carl. He wondered how difficult it would be to climb down the fire escape, and make a break for his store with a hurt ankle.
"Help me up."
Charlotte's voice was the first one to drift in. "I am so angry, so hurt, that I can hardly look at you."
Ben's face crumbled. "Mom, please."
"Explain to me, tell me the reason, the exact reason you couldn't take five minutes out of your life to call us and tell us you got married!"
"I, I'm an asshole."
"You're right," she snapped.
"I should have called you and dad. I should have told you within the hour that it happened." He glanced over at his father who was watching with arms crossed.
"I'm still listening," he said. "And you're nowhere near done talking. Is it that we never supported you? Because sure, we had our little freak out back when you were 18, and you first told us, but past that I'd say we've been pretty god damn supportive of you."
"I'm the President of the New York chapter of PFLAG, and your father's the treasurer, for God sake!" Charlotte cried. "You're our son, we love you and we wanted you to be happy! But you don't get to be happy without letting us know about it first!"
"Her and ma are going to get along just fine," Michael mumbled from his spot.
"I can't even begin to tell you how sorry I am," Ben said softly.
Jeff gave him a wane smiled. "We'd like you to try."
Ben nodded. "There is no explanation, there's no excuse for this, other than I'm an insensitive prick, and a really horrible son. Things got crazy out here, but that's not an excuse. I should have called, written, e-mailed, something. I should have had Michael meet you."
"Oh, you're god damn right we're going to meet him," Jeff snapped. "And you know what? The way things are looking right now, we just may like him more than we like you!"
"I'm assuming he called his mother?" Charlotte asked tersely.
Ducking his head sheepishly, Ben folded his hands behind his back. "Actually, Michael's mother was with us at the time."
"Oh Ben," Michael mumbled with a shake of his head.
There was a pause then, a terrifying eye of the hurricane stillness that griped the room. Jeff began to chuckle, the words "wow, just wow" muttered with a crushing incredulous kind of humor.
Pressing her lips into a very thin line, Charlotte took a deep breath, letting the air whistle out of her nose as she exhaled. "We're not even going to touch that one right now. There are too many other things I need to ask you, and the answer to that question might cause me to physically harm you." She took another breath. "So, I'm going to ask a question I know you can answer. Your contact with home fell off about two years ago. We knew you were dating a Michael Novotny at that time. We knew it was serious, that you'd moved in together. Tell me exactly what was so life shaking, that your phone calls suddenly dried up."
Ben looked away from his mother, to his father, and then back at his mother. "Paul died, I panicked, and I started using steroids."
Charlotte's shoulders slumped, her thunder momentarily stolen. "Oh, honey, I'm so sorry. I know how much he-" She blinked. "You tried steroids! Are you out of your mind!"
From their spot behind the doors, Hunter glanced at Michael, worried. "If Ben's parents kill him, social services will still let me stay with you, right?"
Michael nodded. "Of course. Now get me the phone, I have a feeling we're canceling dinner with my mother."
The Bruckners had been hissing at each other like cats for more than an hour. During that time, there had been crying, shrieking, shouting, angry claims, heart-felt pleas, and finally silence. Hunter and Michael had given up about halfway through the ordeal, unable to watch anymore. Michael had retreated to his bed, ankle elevated on a stack of pillows where he continued to at least listen to the disaster going on in the other room. Hunter had camped out next to him, and fallen fast asleep.
At first, Michael thought that the sudden quiet was nothing but a quick breather, but when the silence persisted, he got worried. He was debating on whether he should try to hobble to the door to make sure Ben was still alive, or waking up Hunter and making him do it, when the door opened. Jeff Bruckner entered carrying a bag of frozen peas.
"Hi," he said.
"Hey," Michael responded. "Are you the only survivor?"
Jeff chuckled. "No, but Ben and his mother are currently holding one another and sobbing on the couch right now."
Michael blinked. "You made him cry?"
Jeff shook his head. "No, he made me cry. Then I made him cry and..well in the mess of it all I can't remember who made Charlotte cry, but I pulled together first so I thought I'd come in and see how you two were doing."
Michael nodded, his mouth dry, his vocabulary AWOL. He gave Hunter a small nudge with his knee, hoping the teenager would wake up and help keep the conversation afloat. "Thanks."
"You should ice that," Jeff said. Kneeling down at the foot of the bed, he laid the bag of frozen peas over Michael's ankle. "It'll make the swelling go down."
"Yeah, they told us that at the emergency room, but I didn't have time to run to the freezer-"
"Before Charlotte and I pounced on our son like a pack of jackals? Yeah, I noticed."
Before Michael had the time to agonize internally over what he was going to say next the French doors opened, and a puffy eyed Charlotte stepped into the room. Cleaning off her glasses with the hem of her sweater, she slid them back on, took a breath and nodded. "Alright, I'm alright now."
Behind her, came Ben, no less puffy eyed and looking like he'd just ran a marathon. His eyes immediately found Michael's.
Taking in the sudden population growth, Charlotte's eyes narrowed, resting first on Michael, then on Hunter and finally on Ben. Walking around her husband and over to Michael's right she sat in the only chair in the room.
"Well, Ben," she said. "Why don't you come in here, sit down, and introduce us to your family."
Ben, still looking a little dazed, but finally coming out of it, nodded. "Yeah, I think that would be an excellent idea. Mom, Dad, this is Michael, and Hunter."