Dinner Disrupted
He didn't want to go home. He *really* didn't want to go home.
Dustin leaned against a wall with a sigh, rubbing his forehead. Sometimes he wondered if he was cursed. It seemed that whenever he was in a bad situation, something had to happen to make it worse. He was failing Ninja School, the school was kidnapped by evil space aliens. He became a Power Ranger, thus proving to Tori that they *were* real, and spent a good portion of his free time getting royally pounded until they whipped out the Storm Blaster or the Zords. Shane found out about his crush, eventually decided he liked him back, and now he was in *this* mess.
Telling his mom was one thing. She wasn't exactly the most reliable person in the world (Okay, so maybe eccentric wasn't that far off. Not that he'd ever admit it aloud.), but she was generally a loving, extremely overprotective, caring mom. He didn't mind telling his dad either, although that would have to wait until the man decided to tell them which state he was currently in. His dad was pretty laidback, so he probably would be okay with the idea that his oldest son had a boyfriend. It was finding out his mom had accidentally spilled the beans to his grandmother about his announcement that was freaking him out.
His parents were completely different people, mostly because they'd been brought up in totally different social scales. That was why they'd ended up getting divorced not too long after Ras was born. His dad came from a middle-class family who liked to be casual and occasionally rowdy, and never stressed about anything. The closest he'd ever seen them to getting upset was when Grandma died, and even then they'd spent the funeral service telling funny stories about all the weird stuff she did. His mom on the other hand, grew up in rich, upper-society life. His grandmother was a snobby, tyrannical woman who insisted on keeping up appearances. She also had a thing for weird 'rich' names, which is why his birth certificate said Waldo Fredrick Hernando Edmund Brooks. His nickname came from his dad's side, being that he was always 'in the dust' of his big sisters, as Aunt Nina liked to say. Grandmother was going to have a coronary.
And now his sibs knew. He had no idea what to make of that. They weren't exactly close; all of them were wildly different, and Grandmother pushing them all in different directions didn't exactly make for bonding experience. It had always made him jealous to see Blake and Hunter together. Case in point: Blake insisted that Hunter was still his brother even though he was dating Cam. May had just stared at him when he'd told them over lunch. Emi had choked on her pizza, then hurriedly changed the subject. Vinnie didn't even seem to react; she just shrugged and continued eating. Ras had blinked for several minutes, then asked what gay was. Emi had distracted him with questions until he forgot to ask again, and Dustin was left wishing desperately for his morpher to go off. Awkward was an understatement.
He stared at his house from across the street, watching his grandmother's limo pull into the driveway and the chauffeur let her out. His house was hard to describe, namely because it depended on a person's point of view on how you saw it. To him, it was a place to sleep. Honestly, Ninja Ops felt more homey. For his mother, it was modest and suited the needs of housing eight people. To his grandmother, it was pathetic and beneath them to live in it. For most of Blue Bay Harbor, the three-story house was extravagant and snobbish. The six guard dogs, landscapers, and two maids probably didn't help that image. Most people figured that 'Dustin' was the act, not 'Waldo'. Few realized it was both.
Suddenly, he *really* wanted to talk to Shane.
He fought back the urge to use his morpher, knowing Cam would kill him, and forced his feet toward the house. A chorus of joyful barking greeted him, and he smiled in spite of his mood. "Hey guys!"
He was instantly surrounded by 'The Pack' as Tori had once dubbed them. There was a pat and scratch behind the ear for each one as he passed, a quick belly rub for Ringo. All of them were large purebred Dobermans, and fiercely protective. For him however, they were some of the best friends he'd ever had. Besides the Rangers, of course.
"Wish I could take you guys in there with me." he murmured suddenly, crouching down to hug Runt. "You'd protect me from Grandmother, wouldn't you?"
Runt whined and licked his face.
He smiled, ruffling the dog's ears once more as he stood. "Thanks, boy. I appreciate the support."
He glanced down at his clothes and sighed. Kitchen door for him. Motocross gear and dog slobber didn't make for a front entrance. He greeted Maggie and Laura as he went in, making a half-hearted attempt to peer into one of the pots on the stove and steal a snack as he passed, the way he always did. He was chased from the kitchen as they laughed and reminded him to change quickly. It was hard not to ask if he had to.
Dressing took less time than he'd like, namely because Laura had already laid out 'Grandmother Clothes' for him. They knew him way too well. He still managed to take twenty minutes to change and head down the stairs, dragging it out as long as he could. By the time he came downstairs and welcomed his grandmother, he was feeling sick to his stomach. He was too busy imagining the possible awful scenarios to follow the conversations around him, and dinner was announced entirely too quickly. He took his seat with a quiet thank you to Maggie as she served them, desperately praying for Lothor to attack. Leaving the dinner table may be unforgivable in Grandmother's eyes, but he'd take a monster over her any day. At least he could blow up the monster.
"So, Waldo."
It took all his willpower not to drop his fork as his grandmother focused her attention on him with a practiced smile.
"What's this I hear about you having an announcement to make?" Her smile turned smug. "You've finally asked Victoria to marry you, haven't you?"
He choked on a mouthful of food, coughing for a moment as he tried to swallow and regain his breath. He should have seen that one coming; Grandmother had her sights set on him marrying Tori since the day she'd met her. When they were six.
"No, Grandmother." he managed at last, swallowing a quick gulp of water. "Tori has a boyfriend."
The smile dimmed, looking more forced. "Oh. Well, what is it then?"
He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath before forcing himself to look at his mother. "I'm gay." he said quietly, distinctly.
There was nothing. No shock, no horror, no assurances that it was all right, he was still her son. She didn't react at all, just stared at him blankly. As though it didn't even register.
"Get out!"
He froze, looking hesitantly at his grandmother. She was livid, her face an angry purple as she screeched at him. "Get out of this house this instant, you freak!" she screamed.
He didn't try to argue, or plead for a chance to explain. That wasn't what a Radelle did. And it seemed he may be his mother's child after all. Because rather than confront them, he stood up and walked away.
He didn't want to go home. He *really* didn't want to go home.
Dustin leaned against a wall with a sigh, rubbing his forehead. Sometimes he wondered if he was cursed. It seemed that whenever he was in a bad situation, something had to happen to make it worse. He was failing Ninja School, the school was kidnapped by evil space aliens. He became a Power Ranger, thus proving to Tori that they *were* real, and spent a good portion of his free time getting royally pounded until they whipped out the Storm Blaster or the Zords. Shane found out about his crush, eventually decided he liked him back, and now he was in *this* mess.
Telling his mom was one thing. She wasn't exactly the most reliable person in the world (Okay, so maybe eccentric wasn't that far off. Not that he'd ever admit it aloud.), but she was generally a loving, extremely overprotective, caring mom. He didn't mind telling his dad either, although that would have to wait until the man decided to tell them which state he was currently in. His dad was pretty laidback, so he probably would be okay with the idea that his oldest son had a boyfriend. It was finding out his mom had accidentally spilled the beans to his grandmother about his announcement that was freaking him out.
His parents were completely different people, mostly because they'd been brought up in totally different social scales. That was why they'd ended up getting divorced not too long after Ras was born. His dad came from a middle-class family who liked to be casual and occasionally rowdy, and never stressed about anything. The closest he'd ever seen them to getting upset was when Grandma died, and even then they'd spent the funeral service telling funny stories about all the weird stuff she did. His mom on the other hand, grew up in rich, upper-society life. His grandmother was a snobby, tyrannical woman who insisted on keeping up appearances. She also had a thing for weird 'rich' names, which is why his birth certificate said Waldo Fredrick Hernando Edmund Brooks. His nickname came from his dad's side, being that he was always 'in the dust' of his big sisters, as Aunt Nina liked to say. Grandmother was going to have a coronary.
And now his sibs knew. He had no idea what to make of that. They weren't exactly close; all of them were wildly different, and Grandmother pushing them all in different directions didn't exactly make for bonding experience. It had always made him jealous to see Blake and Hunter together. Case in point: Blake insisted that Hunter was still his brother even though he was dating Cam. May had just stared at him when he'd told them over lunch. Emi had choked on her pizza, then hurriedly changed the subject. Vinnie didn't even seem to react; she just shrugged and continued eating. Ras had blinked for several minutes, then asked what gay was. Emi had distracted him with questions until he forgot to ask again, and Dustin was left wishing desperately for his morpher to go off. Awkward was an understatement.
He stared at his house from across the street, watching his grandmother's limo pull into the driveway and the chauffeur let her out. His house was hard to describe, namely because it depended on a person's point of view on how you saw it. To him, it was a place to sleep. Honestly, Ninja Ops felt more homey. For his mother, it was modest and suited the needs of housing eight people. To his grandmother, it was pathetic and beneath them to live in it. For most of Blue Bay Harbor, the three-story house was extravagant and snobbish. The six guard dogs, landscapers, and two maids probably didn't help that image. Most people figured that 'Dustin' was the act, not 'Waldo'. Few realized it was both.
Suddenly, he *really* wanted to talk to Shane.
He fought back the urge to use his morpher, knowing Cam would kill him, and forced his feet toward the house. A chorus of joyful barking greeted him, and he smiled in spite of his mood. "Hey guys!"
He was instantly surrounded by 'The Pack' as Tori had once dubbed them. There was a pat and scratch behind the ear for each one as he passed, a quick belly rub for Ringo. All of them were large purebred Dobermans, and fiercely protective. For him however, they were some of the best friends he'd ever had. Besides the Rangers, of course.
"Wish I could take you guys in there with me." he murmured suddenly, crouching down to hug Runt. "You'd protect me from Grandmother, wouldn't you?"
Runt whined and licked his face.
He smiled, ruffling the dog's ears once more as he stood. "Thanks, boy. I appreciate the support."
He glanced down at his clothes and sighed. Kitchen door for him. Motocross gear and dog slobber didn't make for a front entrance. He greeted Maggie and Laura as he went in, making a half-hearted attempt to peer into one of the pots on the stove and steal a snack as he passed, the way he always did. He was chased from the kitchen as they laughed and reminded him to change quickly. It was hard not to ask if he had to.
Dressing took less time than he'd like, namely because Laura had already laid out 'Grandmother Clothes' for him. They knew him way too well. He still managed to take twenty minutes to change and head down the stairs, dragging it out as long as he could. By the time he came downstairs and welcomed his grandmother, he was feeling sick to his stomach. He was too busy imagining the possible awful scenarios to follow the conversations around him, and dinner was announced entirely too quickly. He took his seat with a quiet thank you to Maggie as she served them, desperately praying for Lothor to attack. Leaving the dinner table may be unforgivable in Grandmother's eyes, but he'd take a monster over her any day. At least he could blow up the monster.
"So, Waldo."
It took all his willpower not to drop his fork as his grandmother focused her attention on him with a practiced smile.
"What's this I hear about you having an announcement to make?" Her smile turned smug. "You've finally asked Victoria to marry you, haven't you?"
He choked on a mouthful of food, coughing for a moment as he tried to swallow and regain his breath. He should have seen that one coming; Grandmother had her sights set on him marrying Tori since the day she'd met her. When they were six.
"No, Grandmother." he managed at last, swallowing a quick gulp of water. "Tori has a boyfriend."
The smile dimmed, looking more forced. "Oh. Well, what is it then?"
He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath before forcing himself to look at his mother. "I'm gay." he said quietly, distinctly.
There was nothing. No shock, no horror, no assurances that it was all right, he was still her son. She didn't react at all, just stared at him blankly. As though it didn't even register.
"Get out!"
He froze, looking hesitantly at his grandmother. She was livid, her face an angry purple as she screeched at him. "Get out of this house this instant, you freak!" she screamed.
He didn't try to argue, or plead for a chance to explain. That wasn't what a Radelle did. And it seemed he may be his mother's child after all. Because rather than confront them, he stood up and walked away.