Not an Unexpected Development.
Tim arrived back at the West Village house to find it filled with the sounds of singing and laughter. That made him smile, as it reminded him of his life back with his mom and dad; it had been normal in their home to sing, no matter how your voice sounded, but he had found the West Village house a quiet one in contrast up until now. To find it filled with song made his heart jump for joy. As he listened, he was able to pick out the voice of Wes, his tones ones that he was used to from standing beside him in the Warblers. He could detect Owain too and he knew then that all the training that they had been given in the Senior Commons at Dalton by Sebastian had paid off; he had always stressed that they needed to listen to each other and now he could separate out voices he knew in a crowd…
As he closed the front door behind him. he was disappointed to hear the song draw to a close, but almost at once a new song began. He hung up his jacket and was about to run down to the kitchen and join in when suddenly Owain appeared at the top of the stairs with a smile on his face. "It all sounds very jolly down there," Tim said with a grin. "You and Wes were both in good voice by the way…"
"It is good to hear that all of the training you have been given had paid off," replied Owain. "Yes, we did sound happy; it is a happy home, and all of the alumni are here… Still, your voice added to the mix would make everything complete. There is a little bit of a celebration going on to be honest and I think you will notice that the atmosphere will be less tense here from now on."
Tim smiled at that, because it had been hard to deal with all that underlying tension. Owain went on, "The whole change has come about because people have been open and honest with each other; maybe the time has come for you to be open and honest with everyone too. I would go so far as to say that you should sit down with Wes, just the two of you, and tell him exactly what you told me. It is time for you to come out to him. I think that his reaction will be a good one, and it might even resolve some of the tensions that you have been feeling between each other…"
Tim nodded, but he wasn't sure that Owain's advice was sensible in the current circumstances. He felt that Wes resented him being there, possibly because he had been given so much attention by Nick and Jeff since his parents had died. He did not want to risk causing more upset by coming out, as there was no guarantee that he was right in thinking that Wes was gay too, and if he was and Tim came out first – well, he could resent him for doing that! So, he resolved to do nothing at once, merely heading down to the kitchen to join the others.
He was a little taken aback when the first thing that happened as he stepped into the room was Wes pulling him into a tight hug and saying that he was sorry for having been so grumpy for the last few days, but that he was feeling much more like his normal self again now…
"There is no need to apologise; we all have our bad days," Tim replied with a grin.
"Well, that may be so, but I still shouldn't have taken it out on you. You're my best friend, and well, we are going to be sharing a hotel room in a couple of weeks; being at odds with each other in a confined space would have been terrible. We will need to have a look through my collection of guidebooks and see what places you really want to visit; your wishes come first as it will be your first time in London."
"Okay, we can do that tomorrow," Tim replied, even though he did feel that as the extra person on the trip, he should really just go along with whatever Wes and his dads wanted to do…
There was no time to dwell on the subject right then, however, as Tim suddenly found that he was being asked to sing. He felt obliged to do so given that all the alumni were gathered there, those older men that now told him to refer to them as his uncles, although Sebastian had pointed out that like Wes, he was not to do so under any circumstances whilst they were in public at Dalton…
The party went on into the early evening; it was only when Flint suddenly realised what the time was that everyone else knew that they should be heading for home. With everyone gone, Tim and Wes assisted with the inevitable tidying up, before the latter announced he was heading for a shower and an early bed. Tim lingered for a little longer, and that gave Nick an opportunity to speak to him.
"Jeff and I just wanted you to know that you are welcome here and more specifically, we see you as part of our little family. There will always be a room for you here; true, we've had some awkward moments in the last little while, but hopefully those are now in the past. We all just need to be completely truthful and honest with each other from now on."
Tim nodded, then realised that the words Nick had just used were more or less an echo of those that Owain had used earlier. He decided that maybe he should live truthfully and no longer hide the way that he felt from everyone…
It was a determined Tim that headed up to his bed that night, convinced now that he needed to seize the bull by the horns and be honest about everything with his best friend, even if there was a risk of the worst kind of consequences. He guessed that coming out was a lot like removing a sticking plaster; pulling it off could potentially be painful, but it was a necessary move, nonetheless. He took his own shower, bolting the door through to Wes' room as always in their shared bathroom; he put on his night clothes, but after the briefest of moments he decided that he was not going straight to bed. Instead, he put on his bathrobe and headed back into the bathroom, this time knocking on the door to Wes' room…
At first there was no response, and he wondered if Wes was asleep, but as he turned to head back to his own room the door opened, and Wes appeared. "Is everything okay?" he asked quietly, and Tim smiled at him.
"It is, but I just wanted to talk to you about something, like we do some nights at Dalton…"
Wes smiled and invited Tim in, heading back to his bed to sit on it. After a moment of hesitation in which he wondered if he should sit on the desk chair, Tim sat down beside him. He took a deep breath and began. "I just wanted to say how grateful I am to you and your dads for the way you have taken me in; it can't have been easy for any of you over the last few weeks; it must be odd to suddenly be a group of four when you've always been three. It must be quite unsettling and maybe that is why you and I haven't been getting on quite so well as we normally do…"
"It was, but I have got past all of that now. The truth is that I overheard a conversation between my dads, and it upset me. We have had a chat about it now and it is all okay now."
"I'm glad, and I am sorry if I was the cause…" Tim paused, then grinned. "I am guessing that was the reason why I was sent off with Dante and Lachlan this afternoon, to give you space. I suppose that might also be why your dad gave me a chat about the importance of being open and honest, and he was so right to say that – it is, as they say, the best policy in most situations. That is why I have decided to tell you something just now. It is something that my parents knew and I think that a lot of other people have guessed, but I have never said it out loud to anyone or confirmed the suspicions; I wanted you as my best friend to be the person I properly told first. The truth is that my mom and dad sent me to Dalton to save me from getting bullied constantly as I would have been in the high school back home. The kids I grew up around in South Dakota would not have liked the fact that I am gay…"
Tim waited for a response, but there wasn't one, just a deafening silence. He looked straight at Wes and saw that he was staring at him, eyes wide open. He took a breath, then went on, "I think that I always knew that I was, even when I was in kindergarten, but now I am certain, and the time has come when I need to be honest and come out to the world…"
"I… You really are? This isn't a joke?" asked Wes, and that reaction shocked Tim a little.
"Yes, I am…"
"Well, that is okay, because so am I. The truth is that I actually came out to my dads this afternoon, and I was going to tell you that I was tomorrow, but well…" Wes giggled then and so did Tim, both smiling at each other. Wes then took a breath and said, "I guess that if my dad says that we just need to be completely honest with each other, then I am just going to say this and hope that it doesn't ruin our friendship when I do. I think Tim that my feelings for you run deeper than just friendship…"
"Oh!" said Tim, a blush coming to his cheeks. "Are you trying to say that you are in love with me?"
Wes nodded, then said hurriedly, "It's okay, I will understand if…"
Tim shook his head, then said, "I am kind of in love with you too; I think that I have been since the day we first met…"
Wes just stared at Tim for a moment and then he took his hand, feeling that little crackle of electricity he always did when he held it. Tim placed his other hand on top of it, both of them smiling broadly. "I think that I am the luckiest person in the world, because the boy that I love so much loves me too. I am also so glad that we worked that out now because we both need the joy that being a couple will bring to us," said Wes.
"You mean the world to me," replied Tim. "I know that mom and dad would approve of us and if your dads don't…"
"I'm sure that they will, and I suspect that all of their friends will too. I think that they all knew that I was gay, and that you were as well, and that we were destined to be with each other forever. Even Thad knew; I think that when he placed us in the room that my dads shared when they were at Dalton, he was hoping that it would help history repeat itself."
"Well, it did, but without the years of pining and heartache that your Papa had," said Tim with a smile. "However, they might not be quite as happy about the situation that we now have as we ourselves are…"
Wes chuckled, then replied, "Oh, I am absolutely certain that we will be getting a lecture on the ground rules for this house and particularly for our rooms, but honestly, I'm not quite at the stage of wanting our relationship to go that far quite yet. For now, I want to keep things much as they are, but be boyfriends, not just best friends. I'd like more holding hands, more cuddles on the sofa, and maybe some kissing…"
Tim looked thoughtful, then replied, "I'd like that. We should wait until we are both certain that we are ready to take things to the next level. Then, when we are ready, we should take that step at Dalton, not here. I would be much too afraid that if we did it here then your dads would walk in on us…"
Wes blushed, before he nodded in agreement. "Okay, it's late, so we should both get some sleep, but before that there is one thing that I want to do…." He leant forward and took his chance to kiss Tim very chastely on the lips. The second kiss that followed lasted much longer and was much less chaste. That second kiss did confirm one thing; the song was right and the love Wes felt was evidenced in so many ways when they kissed. Tim really did love him, just as much as he did, and together they would be complete. For now, it was still a case of separate beds in separate rooms. However, that might well only be the case until the summer was over and they were back at Dalton…
The next morning was a typical lazy Sunday in the West Village, although Nick did have some paperwork that he needed to look through at some point in the day. For now, his focus was on making a delicious brunch for his husband and the two boys. He had bacon in the grill, French Toast cooking away nicely and potatoes frying as well. He had bread cut ready for toast; all that was missing were the people that he was making it for. He was quite glad when he heard footsteps, but he laughed out loud the minute that he saw Jeff enter the kitchen, as his nose seemed to be out in front of him, sniffing the air as if he had never eaten before.
"You should have woken me up Nicky and I would have helped you with the cooking," Jeff said as he reached his husband's side; then he leaned in to kiss his soulmate, who was only too pleased to return the gesture.
"I thought that you deserve the day off, as I have been creating so many issues, albeit unintentionally. Having done so, I just left you to deal with them all. I think that we will all be much happier in this house now that we all know the importance of being honest with each other."
"I know that this sounds awful," said Jeff quietly, "but I am so glad that Wes isn't straight, because I would not have known how to handle that. I'm sure that Mike and Flint would have helped us out with all the potential questions, but even then…"
"No, it wouldn't have been good, because he might have decided himself that the best person to ask all of those questions to might not have been either of them, but his Uncle Cooper instead…" Jeff paled, recalling what the man in question had been like, according to Blaine, whilst they had still been school boys at Dalton. "I know that he is married to my sister, and much more responsible now, but that might all have counted for nothing when he suddenly had a young boy listening intently to his every word." As Nick said those final words, he took some French Toast out of the skillet and placed it carefully in the warming oven.
It was at that moment they had footsteps and they both glanced over to the door to see Wes and Tim appear. The radiant smiles on their faces and the fact that they were holding each other's hand was an obvious indication to both Nick and Jeff that the policy of honesty they had espoused the previous night had been followed to the letter…
Nick looked at his husband then and watched his reaction as he realised exactly what they were seeing meant. The smile on his face broadened into a huge grin, and if Nick had not just gently shaken his head at him, then he would probably have dashed across the room there and then to pull the two boys into a tight hug. Whilst that gesture was entirely fitting in the circumstances, Nick knew that it was not the right time for it, not when everything would be so new for the two boys…
Instead, he wished them both a cheery good morning, before he asked them what they wanted for their brunch. Wes looked at his father and chuckled as he knew that he was being restrained in his reaction to the development during the night. "French Toast and some fried potatoes I think, as Papa will probably have eaten nearly all of the bacon as usual, and I want to leave what is left of it for the boy that I love…"
Jeff's face, which had initially worn a scowl as a reaction to his son's comments about the bacon – which was uncalled for, even if it was true – now changed back into a loving grin. Meanwhile, Tim blushed a little, before replying to Nick, "I am sure that I can spare a little of the bacon that is left for my boyfriend, always assuming that the chef has already had what he wants of it…"
Nick smiled, then said with a smile, "I actually did extra bacon this morning so that there would be enough for all of us to have some. Now all of you need to go and take a seat whilst I serve up breakfast, and after we have all eaten, the two of you can put Jeff out of his misery and tell him precisely how your relationship status changed during the night…"
Nick would relay exactly what had happened to Sebastian over the telephone as he sat in his study that afternoon, Jeff having taken the new couple out for a walk to give his husband peace and quiet to look over the papers he had to study. He had been halfway through the task when Sebastian had called him from his seat on the train that was taking him back home to Ohio; the new high-speed line that had been part of President Kennedy's transport revolution had made it the most sensible option once again. Nick had not intended to tell the Head Warbler the news about the two boys, but it just spilt out of him, and then left him feeling guilty…
"I wouldn't worry about it, because the news is hardly a major surprise to me, nor will it be to anyone else that has seen the way that they have acted around each other here at Dalton since day one. They won't be the only couple in their year at Dalton either, and as you know, it has always been a school with a relaxed attitude towards such things, at least since Principal Carmichael took charge. Now, before his time the boys in question would have been moved to different dorms to ensure that all was kept chaste, but now we just embarrass them all with a bombardment of safe sex advice…"
Nick burst out laughing then, not entirely sure if Sebastian was being serious and of course, the idea of someone that had been so promiscuous in his own youth having such a role was comical – then again, that might just make him the person best placed to give advice on the benefits of caution and moderation. He then realised that Sebastian was also laughing on his end of the call, which made him smile, before he stopped and went on, "I know that me saying such things is exceptionally ironic, but I have no issue with being the one that is shown as a bad example in my own cautionary tales. I suspect that I will not need to have those talks with Wes and Tim though; the love that they have for each other is deep and just being in each other's company will be enough for them for a while…"
"I do hope so, because I am dreading being cast in the role of the stern dad, with Jeff taking the part of the fun dad…"
"I suspect that Jeff will not be all that keen on the idea of the two of them going to that level yet either, as he has a strong respect for the law; they both have to be seventeen in New York before they could have a physical relationship that would be legal."
Nick blushed at those words, then said, "That is true, and they are both law abiding, well-mannered young men."
"That is true, but I need to sow one seed of caution at this point; when you are in Paris, the age of consent is fifteen, so like me all those years ago, they will be of legal age to have sex there. I am not suggesting that you try and keep that quiet, because they could easily find out, I am just saying that you should trust them both not to go there. Neither of them is like me after all, and they are in love, not just in lust. Let them concentrate on the romance in the city of love and that will keep them much too busy to even think about the next level…
Meanwhile, Jeff found himself sitting on a bench in Washington Square Garden, watching as Wes and Tim waited in line to buy ice cream, holding hands without an ounce of fear or worry. He was so glad that they could be so openly in love here, although he knew as they did that such open displays of love and affection would not always be possible or advisable. The world still had its share of places where love was not valued as much as conforming to the heteronormative ideals of society. He had never felt free to hold Nick's hand outwith the safe confines of Dalton Academy when he was not much older than them, not after all that had happened with his biological father and then with Nick's too.
He discretely took his phone out of his pocket and snapped a picture of the two boys holding hands, intending to send it to Nick. However, just as he was about to do so he received a text message from Trent, asking him how everything was in the aftermath of the events of the previous afternoon. He replied at once that all was good and that everything was under control to reassure his best friend; it was only as he hit send that he realised that he had attached the photo he had just taken to his text…
He knew that the message could not be easily retrieved, so he immediately sent a further text to Trent, begging him not to say anything about the contents of the photo, as he did not have the permission of the two boys to tell people the news yet, and he had sent the image to him by mistake. The response he received was typical of Trent, saying that he found the image an adorable one, and that he would place it alongside all of the other secrets that he kept until he found out from the boys themselves, when he would act as surprised as they would expect…
Jeff was relieved at that, but he decided that in order to avoid any more mistakes, he would not now send the image to Nick; he could not trust himself not to receive another text at the crucial moment and repeat the error. In any case, the boys had now made their purchases at the ice cream stand and were walking back in his direction carrying a large waffle cone that had his name on it…
As they had been standing in the queue, both Wes and Tim had realised that they were letting a world full of strangers know that they were now boyfriends and thus that raised the issue of exactly when they should tell all of those they were closest to. That was of course much more of an issue for Wes in some respects, given that he had an aunt and uncle, and grandparents too; Tim had none of those to worry about…
"We will need to let everyone know that we are boyfriends now," Tim suddenly said with conviction. "We need to let the rest of the Warblers know, along with all of our neighbours in the West Village…"
"And I will need to tell Grace, Cooper and my grandparents as well," Wes responded. "They will all look on you as another nephew or grandson from now on you realise…"
Tim looked at Wes, then said in a wistful tone, "That will be a new experience for me. I do wonder sometimes where my mom and dad's birth families are, because I knew that neither of my parents were orphans. I always suspected that they were actually star-crossed lovers hiding out from their disapproving parents. Don't get me wrong, I have no desire whatsoever to meet my own grandparents. Yes, I sometimes want to be able to ask them all what my parents did that was so awful in falling in love; why they felt that they had to remove them entirely from their lives." Tim paused, his eyes moistening slightly, before he went on, "I think that one day I might go and speak to Artie and Kitty; see if I can get them to crack and reveal what they know about it all…"
Wes nodded, before saying in a quiet voice, "I think the easiest way to let everyone know is to quite simply change our status on social media; it also lets everyone know very quickly what is happening between us…"
As soon as they returned to where Jeff was sitting, the two boys took out their phones, which made the blond despair momentarily, before he decided that it was best to just shrug and enjoy his ice cream. He watched then as in almost a synchronised way they opened their phones up, went into Facebook and then stopped to look at each other with a grin. There was then a whispered discussion, before Wes turned to Jeff. "Papa, could you take a photograph of the two of us together? I would like one on my phone and then if you could do the same picture on Tim's phone it would be even better…"
Jeff nodded, and holding his ice cream carefully in one hand, he took an as near to identical image as possible of the two boys, resting their heads on each other and holding hands, as he could. They thanked him before they proceeded to upload the pictures he had just taken to their respective Facebook pages. It was therefore no shock to Jeff when his own phone proceeded to buzz twice in rapid succession with two new notifications. He shook his head and pulled out his own phone and was soon admiring his own handiwork. It was the words under the pictures though that made him smile broadly; both were captioned with the same sentence – 'In Washington Square Gardens having ice cream with my boyfriend.'
He looked up from his phone as Tim said, "We decided that this was the quickest way to let everyone know what has happened and that we are now a couple. We did not want to have to make a lot of calls or send dozens of text messages. This way no-one finds out before anyone else, and nobody gets upset because they got a message rather than a phone call. We have changed our status online too…"
Jeff nodded, seeing the wisdom in what they had done, then typed his own comment on the two images, which made both of their phone's ping; he had sent a like and a heart emoji. That ping was just the start of a torrent of them, as their Warbler teammates, friends and close family began to add their own comments. Each of them was positive and happy for them, although there were quite a lot that also contained the phrase 'about time', which made them all chuckle at just how many people had known…
Jeff watched as the smiles on the two boys' faces grew broader with each new message, then laughed alongside them as they read the identical comment from Grace to each of them – 'This is not news! We all suspected months ago that you were a couple, just burdened with the obliviousness that seems to dog young males these days, especially when they are members of the Duval family… Cooper, the twins and Nils send their love and cannot wait for you to come and visit. Tim, I promise to tell you all of the little secrets about Wes that it is my duty as an aunt to disclose…'
Wes looked at Jeff in despair, but his papa merely nodded. "When I first met her, she told me a lot of things about your dad that left him embarrassed. I am afraid that there will be no escape unless you never see her again…"
Nick had received the message too, of course, and had liked it; then he had read the comment from his sister and had instantly fired off a text to his sister on the lines that if she embarrassed his son too much then he would take infinite pleasure in telling her twins all about the things that she used to do when she was their age; he had the information from two reliable sources, namely their mother and grandparents. She did not respond to him, which Nick took as an indication that she was taking him seriously.
That done, he returned to his paperwork, working hard so that he could finally finish his task so that he could make his way down to the kitchen to start on the evening meal; even if it was only a chicken salad, given how hot the weather was, he did like to make sure that everything was well presented and perfect. As he was putting the finishing touches to it, his phone rang and he saw that it was Miss Frobisher on the line, and he suspected correctly that she was calling in connection with their forthcoming visit to London. He knew that she did not have a Facebook page, or any social media for that matter, so he decided that it was only right that he told her the news over the phone, as she was a close friend of the family. "There is one thing that has happened in the last week that is significant; Wes came out to us and is now officially identifying as a gay man."
"Well, that is not entirely unexpected, if I am being honest. There are signs that you can see from early on, and even when he was in my kindergarten class I suspected that he might take after his dads…"
"Then this morning, Tim also came out to us and about an hour ago they announced officially to the world that they are boyfriends…"
"From what you have said to me over the last few months, I suspect that did not come as much of a surprise either. Of course, the fact that they are both now living you could lead to issues if they have an argument. I am sure that you and Jeff are more than capable of handling such problems should they arise, however. The better news is that both boys are responsible and mature, so you should not have any inappropriate behaviour from them. I must admit that I am looking forward to finally meeting the young man that has captured Wes' heart…"
Nick smiled at her words, then replied, "It will actually be Tim's first trip outside of North America, so he might end up acting like a typical tourist most of the time that he is in London, for which I apologise. Having said that, he has expressed that he would like to meet you as well; with the new relationship he has with Wes he gains all of the joys of family and family friends that he didn't have with his own parents. Honestly, I am glad they are together, as I had already started to see Tim as another son…"
"That is exactly how any person that is in love with your child should be viewed by a parent; they are as much family as a person that shares DNA with you…"
Nick was not in the least surprised a short time later to discover that Jeff and the two boys had not come home alone; Owain had joined them as they had walked the last mile or so to the street on his way home from the Spotlight. Nick knew that the young man was still alone in the house next door, and after discovering that he had not eaten yet, he invited him to stay for dinner, an invitation that was accepted by the young man in question without a moment's hesitation….
He sat down at the table between Wes and Tim, a move which made Jeff laugh out loud, as it reminded him of what Wes Montgomery had done in the refectory at Dalton a long time ago; on the day that Kurt and Blaine had officially become a couple, Wes had eschewed his usual spot at the Warbler table and sat firmly between the two of them. That was where the similarity ended, as unlike Kurt and Blaine, Wes and Tim had smiled, quite able to be apart from each other even now in the first moments of their fledgling relationship…
Over the meal, Owain announced some news of his own; he had spoken to the secretary of the medical school at NYU and they had arranged for him to shadow a doctor at the hospital that Lawrence, Ollie and Roderick all worked in; he would be doing so as of the following week for three days each week. "That was good to begin with, then she told me that it would be Dr Harwood that I would be shadowing, which is really good; if he is anything like his brother, then I am very fortunate indeed…"