"Have you and Edward ever fought?" Ethan asked Laura when he came in for a haircut. "What's the biggest, worst fight you've ever had?"
"You and Jeffrey having problems?" Laura asked.
"Yeah," Ethan sighed. "I got an after school job so I can help pay for a car. But since I usually take Jeffrey's bike to school, he's accusing me of not loving him enough, and selling out to win Dad's approval when it's just not true!"
"You poor kid," Laura said sympathetically. "Edward and I have never had a problem like that. We had a problem when Daddy found out Edward was a werewolf, and when we found out I was pregnant with Charlie, and when I had more money than him, but nothing really bad."
"Do you think Jeffrey and I will get through this?" He asked.
"Yes," Laura said immediately, her voice firm. "I think you will." She paused with the scissors and put them down on the counter. "Do you think you and Jeffrey will get through this?"
"Yeah," Ethan nodded. "I mean I'll try. I love him, so I'll do anything to keep us together. I just hope he feels the same way."
Unfortunately, getting on Jeffrey's good side was not as easy as Ethan hoped it would be.
"I don't have to go to work today," He told Jeffrey on Friday morning. "How about you and I go out tonight? My treat?"
"Oh, well I don't know," Jeffrey replied. "Wouldn't you rather go out with some of your fancy work friends instead? I'm probably a big bunch of nothing compared to them!"
"No, you aren't!" Ethan cried. "Please don't say that. I love you."
"Are you sure?" Jeffrey asked. "Cause it doesn't seem like it."
"Yes, I'm sure," Ethan replied. "And while I hoped you wouldn't be so bad-tempered about this that you would resort to asking me to do a test to show how devoted I am to you, I guess that's what we've come to. So, what do you want me to do?"
"I want you to come away with me for the whole weekend," Jeffrey told him. "Just the two of us. And once you've done that, I'll consider us even."
"But I just offered to take you to a dinner that was just the two of us and you rejected it," Ethan pointed out. "How is us going away for the weekend any better?"
"It just is," Jeffrey replied. "So are you going to do it or not?"
"Fine," Ethan replied. "I'll go away with you for the weekend. But we'll be taking a room at Roxie's and I'm still not quitting my job."
"Here you are, boys," Roxie said as she brought them into the room where they'd be staying. "And did I hear you say you wanted this room for the whole weekend?"
"Yeah," Ethan replied. "We do."
"Wonderful," Roxie replied. "You two need anything, just let me know and I'll bring it right up, okay?"
"Sure," Ethan nodded. "Thanks."
Roxie left and shut the door behind her, so Ethan and Jeffrey were alone. "What do you want to do now?" Ethan asked Jeffrey as he looked around the room which was decorated in a country-cottage fashion with a quilt on the bed and blue curtains on the windows.
Jeffrey shrugged. "I don't know," he said. "What do you wanna do?"
"I wanna go downstairs and shoot some pool or something," Ethan replied. "Are you up for it?"
"Of course," Jeffrey replied. "Let's go."
Whether it was the nervousness of their being alone together for the first time or something else, both Ethan and Jeffrey drank a lot more that day than either of them had originally intended to, so when after last call was announced and everyone else was settling their bills and heading out, Jeffrey and Ethan stumbled into their room and nearly face planted out the carpet with a floor lamp being the only thing that kept either of them on their feet. Then they nearly fell again and the only thing that kept them upright was each other. When they realized how close they were, they leaned forward and went into a deep kiss before stripping off their clothes, pulling the blankets aside and hopping into bed. They then stared at each other, panting heavily, before Jeffrey said, "I think I know what's about to happen here."
"You do?" Ethan asked. "Do you really think we should?"
"Well, let's see," Jeffrey replied and reached under the covers to give Ethan's penis a stroke. "How does that feel?"
Ethan smiled as Jeffrey stared into his dark eyes. "That feels good. Let me do you!" But he went beyond stroking, slipping his lips around Jeffrey's shaft and sucking on it gently until Jeffrey came with a cry.
"Wow," he said, his own brown eyes wide. "Was that as good for you as it was for me?"
"It wasn't so bad," Ethan replied. "But if you let me have my turn, it will be even better."
Jeffrey laughed. "You're not one to play coy, are you?"
"No," Ethan shook his head. "That's really not my style."
"Good," Jeffrey said, taking Ethan in his arms and kissing him. "I find that very attractive about you."
"So…are we good?" Ethan asked as he rested in Jeffrey's arms with his head on his bare shoulder. "Can we not fight anymore?"
"Sure," Jeffrey nodded and kissed Ethan's hair. "Whatever you say."
"Have you ever done something to get a boy that you regret?" Ethan asked his mother after he got back from Roxie's on Sunday night.
"Well, when I was with your uncle Klaus I did a lot of murdering in the beginning," Selina replied. "And I regret that."
"Not something like that," Ethan shook his head. "I mean have you…done things that you shouldn't have done just because you thought they would help you keep a boy?"
"What kinds of things?" Selina said, turning around slowly. "Not the same sort of things that I did to my first fiancé before he left for war. Ethan, did you and Jeffrey have sex?"
"Sort of, maybe, yes," Ethan said, flushing deeply. "You probably don't want all the details, but we were both really nervous about being alone together since we're so young, we drank too much, and then one thing led to another. How much trouble am I in?"
"You're not in trouble," Selina replied. "Everyone has urges and experiments and stuff like that. And things happen. Are you going to keep going at this pace in your relationship?"
"No," Ethan shook his head. "After we realized what had happened, we decided that we were going to slow down. Not break up, of course, but just…"
"Only see one another when you're fully clothed and sober?" Selina finished.
"Yeah," Ethan nodded. "Exactly." He sighed and sat down at the kitchen table. "I'm not ashamed of what Jeffrey and I did, and it wasn't a bad experience, from what I can remember, but I think we did it too early, you know? He thought he was gonna lose me because of the job, and I thought I was gonna lose him, and for some reason, that's what we thought would fix it all, rather than, you know, talking."
"There's nothing wrong with having sex, regardless of people who say otherwise," Selina replied. "For years I gave myself to every guy I felt a connection with and I didn't feel ashamed of it. Well, until they dumped me, but that's something else entirely that I don't want to get into cause it has nothing to whatsoever with your problem. My point is, if you and Jeffrey are at a point where you want to have sex with each other and it's comfortable for you, you should embrace it. But if you're not, and this is just something that happened for you to learn from, then that's okay too. Nothing wrong was done here."
"I get that, but I still feel sort of stupid," Ethan replied. "And what am I supposed to tell Dad?"
"Just tell him what happened," Selina replied. "He's been around a long time. It's not like he's never heard of two guys having sex before. Hell, your Uncle Klaus even had a boyfriend for a bit and your father made it through that whole experience."
"You think?" Ethan asked.
"I do," Selina nodded. "And you don't have to tell him. I could, if you wanted."
"No, I will," Ethan replied. "It was my thing, so I should be the one who says something about it."
"Well, good luck," Selina told him. "And I'm very proud of you."
"I haven't felt like this since I was keeping your pregnancy scare from your father," Selina strode over to the bar where Roxie was tending. "Give me the biggest thing you have."
"Why?" Roxie asked. "What happened?"
"Ethan and Jeffrey were together this weekend, drank too much, and had sex," Selina replied. "Ethan says he's gonna be the one to tell Elijah about it, so I just have to wait for the bomb to drop."
"Ethan and Jeffrey had sex this weekend?" Roxie asked, her jaw dropping a little. "So that's what those noises were. I looked for the source of them for hours and couldn't find a thing! They were here in a room, you know." She paused. "You didn't yell at Ethan about it, did you?"
"Well, no, of course not!" Selina replied. "It's a perfectly normal thing to happen to a kid at his age. And it's not like he's gonna get pregnant from it like one of his sisters would."
"That is a very good point," Roxie said and poured her mother another drink. "When you're trying to calm Uncle Elijah down once he hears all this, that's what you should lead with."
"Okay," Selina replied. "I will."
After a few more drinks, she called Elijah to come and pick her up. After Roxie promised to bring her mother's car back, Elijah led Selina to his car and put her in the passenger's seat. "Okay, what made you drink so much this time?" He asked her. "You weren't thinking about Katherine again, were you?"
"No, and I can't say anything, cause it's a secret and I don't want Elijah to find out!" Selina replied.
Elijah heard this and tried not to laugh. "I promise I won't tell him," he told her, unsure of whom Selina thought she was actually talking to. "So what's the big secret?"
"Ethan and Jeffrey had sex this weekend!" Selina said. "But remember, you promised you wouldn't tell Elijah that I told you that. Cause he'd be really mad if he knew. Plus I told Ethan he could say something first." She put her finger to her lips. "Shhhh!"
"Don't worry," Elijah replied. "I promise I won't say anything." He then took her home, put her to bed and waited in his office for Ethan's knock. When it came, he let his son in and told him to have a seat. "So…what's going on?" He asked. "Is everything all right?"
"Well, sure, everything is fine," Ethan replied. "I just…I want to tell you that when Jeffrey and I were together this weekend, we drank too much and had sex. But we talked about it after and realized that it shouldn't happen again until we've been together much longer, and from now on, we will go on our dates sober and while wearing clothes."
"All right," Elijah nodded. "Thank you for telling me."
"That's it?" Ethan asked. "'Thank you for telling me'? I was expecting you to be much more shocked."
"Well, your mother feared that reaction too, and, as usual, she handled her stress by drinking too much and blurted your secret out to me when I was taking her home from Roxie's," Elijah told him. "So even before you told me, I was very much aware of what transpired between you and Jeffrey."
"And you're not mad?" Ethan said, wanting to really make sure.
"No, I'm not mad," Elijah shook his head. "If I could make it through your uncle's period in the seventeenth century as a close confidante of the very fey Duke of Orleans, I can make it through this."
"Okay, good," Ethan replied. "Thank you, Daddy."
"You're welcome," Elijah replied. "Is there anything else you need to talk about?"
"No, thanks," Ethan shook his head. "You can just get back to doing what you're doing. I think I might go apologize to Mom for making her worry so much."
"All right," Elijah nodded. "But whatever you do, don't turn the lights on when you go in our room. You'll regret it if you do."
"Thanks for the warning," Ethan said.
"You're welcome," Elijah replied as his son shut the door and went to apologize to his mother.