Chapter 19

Brendan and Whitney stared each other down in silence for a few seconds—inspecting and taking in each other. Marc stiffly supervised, glancing between the two and waiting for the bomb to go off.

"Nice to meet you," Brendan finally spoke up, putting his hand out.

"Same. He's been telling me a lot about you," Whitney said, giving his hand a quick shake. "Thanks for finally pulling this one out of the closet."

"He'd never met a gay person before, actually," Brendan informed with a playful wink.

Marc groaned and stepped in then. "Yeah, make fun of me."

"Of course. I have to give you a little shit for it," Whitney said. "But I can see, going for the bad boy, huh?" She gave Brendan an appreciative once over.

Brendan blushed and started getting awkward with his arms and exposed tattoos—there wasn't really a good way for him to hide them unless he changed shirts. "I'm an art teacher, thank you very much," Brendan grumbled defensively.

Ariel came running up then, grabbing Whitney by the hand. "Mom, you have to meet Eric," she insisted.

There had been a fair turn out for her party—about ten kids in all, which was a little less than half of her class. Marc, Scott, and Alice were the only parents that had stuck around. The rest had taken it as an opportunity to be without their kids for a few hours.

Whitney let herself be dragged off to meet Eric, and then Alice and Scott. "Not too bad, I guess," Marc muttered thankfully.

"She's pretty," Brendan commented. "Sucks that you're gay, then," he added with a snickering laugh.

Marc rolled his eyes and leaned back against the wall with Brendan at his side. "I'm thinking of letting Ariel go out to Ireland with her for a few weeks this summer. I'd fly out and back with Ariel or something so she's not alone, though."

Brendan nodded quietly, watching as Ariel took Whitney around and showed her off like a new toy. "Is she going to move back stateside?"

"Maybe. She might, but it would be in like a year for her to get everything in place. I guess she's kind of got a life over in Ireland," Marc explained. "All I can imagine are a bunch of gingers, pubs, and soccer fans over there."

"Football," Brendan corrected him with an accented drawl. "Only American's call it soccer."

"Yeah, yeah. Same difference." Marc gave him a flick on the arm. "You're okay with her though?"

"It'll take more time to get to know her, but yeah," Brendan said. "It'll be good for Ariel too I think, though the distance part would be hard. It would be better if Whitney moved back here."

They started a round of watching Lilo and Stitch with all of the adults lingering in the kitchen while the kids got absorbed into the movie. Marc could tell Alice wasn't really fond of Whitney, but probably because she still was stuck on the idea that Whitney had left. Marc hoped she would get over it soon enough.

Scott was able to get Whitney with a few fake spiders, as she was the only fresh blood there for his entertainment. Eventually she started smacking him with her purse in good humor until he agreed to stop. They had the cake and presents after the movie then, before letting the kids play around as their parents all came back at the designated time.

Marc grudgingly let Whitney take Ariel home to her parents for the night as well, giving him and Brendan a proper chance to clean up afterwards. Marc sorted all of the presents into a pile and threw away the wrappings, while Brendan cleaned up paper plates and plastic forks. He stopped a few times to check his phone, but seemed content on ignoring it.

"Your roommate?" Marc asked.

"My parents," Brendan answered flatly. "Trying to get dinner with me."

Marc fell silent for a while, knowing Brendan wasn't thrilled about the idea. But at the same time, he was curious. "I could go with you this time, couldn't I?" Marc asked. "If you wanted to go at all, I mean."

Brendan shook some more trash into a trash bag. "It would be extremely awkward," he warned. "They'd get caught up on the fact you were married very quickly and be asking you all sorts of questions about it."

"And yet I'll manage to convince them that I'm properly gay now," Marc said with a dramatic flair. "And maybe they'll get over it."

"Fat chance," Brendan huffed. "But if you want to go, I guess I can call my mom back. It's probably not something we should bring Ariel to, though."

Marc nodded in agreement, letting the conversation end there as they finished cleaning up. He pulled Brendan into his arms for a kiss then, trying to get the sour look off his face. "It'll be like my dad all over again," Marc mused bitterly.

"Quite possibly. They never hurt me, physically. But they have a lot of words and opinions obviously," Brendan griped. "But we'll see what happens."

***

Brendan refused to get out of the car right away as he stared down the house. Marc inspected it as well, trying to wait patiently for them to get inside. He hadn't actually been there when Brendan had called to say he was coming, and with a plus one as well. Marc was curious how that had went, or if Brendan had refused to explain it anymore.

Brendan swore under his breath and finally stepped out of the car, so Marc was quick to follow. Brendan's mom answered, but there weren't any hugs at the door, just stiff introductions. "Mom, this is Marc. Marc, this is my mom, Laura."

"Your dad's pulling some steaks off the grill," Laura informed, without giving Marc much of a look or acknowledging him to start.

Marc just forced a smile and figured that would be the least of it tonight. Brendan helped his mom set the table before sitting on one side with Marc. His dad came in with a plate of steaks and a tight lipped glare in Marc's direction. Marc only nodded and smiled it off as he thanked Laura for his drink.

Laura insisted that they pray before eating, but Brendan blatantly only waited for them to do it while not taking part. Laura cut into her steak and finally aimed a smile at Marc. "So you two are friends?"

"Dating, boyfriend," Brendan was quick to answer, his knife screeching against the plate as he did so.

"What do your parents think?" Brendan's dad, Bill, wanted to know.

"My mom's dead, and my dad and I aren't on talking terms," Marc explained simply.

"Because you're gay?" Laura questioned.

"No. He doesn't even know. I don't speak to him because he was abusive to me growing up." Marc watched each of them carefully, half expecting a dry line about how he had deserved it, or how it obviously hadn't been enough if he wasn't straight.

Laura just played with her food and Bill only grunted. "Tell me, have you tried dating any girls though? Brendan refused to try."

"There's no point in trying something I know I don't like, mom," Brendan answered placidly.

"Yes, actually. I was married," Marc began. "But she said was emotionally detached and left me. She lives in Ireland now, and I look after our daughter, Ariel. So I've tried it. Didn't work."

Laura seemed disappointed to hear that, to say the least. Bill just refused to acknowledge that he'd heard anything.

"I teach Marc's daughter at school," Brendan said, obviously pushing for a change of subject. "I'm the art teacher there, on top of my personal work with the studio."

"They don't have a problem with..." Laura gestured to Brendan as a whole.

Brendan decided to take it as his tattoos that she was talking about. "I just wear long sleeves to keep it professional. It gets a little warm, but oh well."

Laura only grunted in reply that time and an awkward silence fell over the dinner table. Brendan picked at his food—Marc realizing only too late that they had made Brendan a steak to eat as well, despite being vegetarian. Brendan at least picked at the vegetables that had been put on the side to balance out the meal. Marc forked more of his over then and earned himself an appreciative smile out of Brendan.

"So you take care of your daughter?" Laura finally asked. "Does she know about your relationship?" She waved a fork between the two of them.

"To an extent. She knows Brendan and I are dating, but like most kids, she just thinks that means we watch movies together and such," Marc explained, knowing that it sounded like he and Brendan were doing a lot more than they actually were. It still got the point across though. "Besides, I think she likes having her own personal art teacher over," Marc tried to make a laugh out of it then but didn't get much of a response.

Bill finished his steak and took it to the kitchen without another word. Brendan seemed done then as well as he fixed everything on his plate and forced a smile. "Thanks for the dinner, I think it's time for us to go."

Laura scrambled then, gathering up their dishes and stopping by in the kitchen. She came back out with a pamphlet. "Well, Father Leroy would love to hear from you. I'm sure he could help your friend out here, too."

Brendan's face went cold and he refused to take the paper from her hands. "No, mom. Bye." He left it at that and dragged Marc out of the house and back to the car.

Marc didn't go so far as to ask about who Father Leroy was—obviously someone involved in Brendan's past of trying to 'pray the gay away'. Brendan slumped against the door without speaking, and Marc aimlessly drove around as he tried to think of something to at least dig Brendan out of the pit, even if only a little.

Eventually he stopped for ice cream and got them both two large servings covered in fudge. It earned him another tight smile out of Brendan as he went in on the ice cream. "I think it was kind of funny, them hearing that you were married and it didn't work out. They usually pressure me a lot more about it," Brendan finally spoke up. "Even though in the end, they still would rather call you 'my friend' than boyfriend."

Marc shrugged. "Well it's at least over for now." He gave Brendan a pat on the leg and let his hand rest there. "Do you want to stay the night again?"

Brendan snorted. "If I stop going home anytime soon, Blueberry will start giving me shit for spending too much time at your place."

"Two nights in a row isn't that bad," Marc scoffed.

"Yeah, but maybe two turns into three, and who knows..." he trailed off playfully. "But okay."

They went home from there, and Marc paid Terri for watching Ariel over the few hours. Ariel insisted on staying awake, so they settled down into the couch with a movie until she couldn't keep her eyes open. Marc carried her up to bed and tucked her in.

He found Brendan downstairs stuffing left over food from the party into his mouth, making Marc chuckle slightly. "You would think they didn't feed you," Marc said.

"Well my dad doesn't believe in vegetarians, so," Brendan shrugged and popped another piece of breaded cauliflower into his mouth. It had been his contribution to the party, and had gone widely untouched by the kids. It just meant more for him.

"Doesn't believe in vegetarians," Marc repeated listlessly. "Does he not believe in global warming either?"

"Maybe not, who knows," Brendan grinned at the thought. He washed down his food with some water before putting the rest away. "How late is it?"

"Late enough," Marc answered eagerly. "If you wanted to head up stairs..."

"Totally late enough," Brendan agreed, flicking off the kitchen light and racing Marc up into the bedroom.

Marc made sure he locked the door just in case Ariel decided to come wandering any time soon. Marc moved quick and to the point then. He helped Brendan out of his shirt and pants before stripping himself down as well. Marc was less nervous this second time around being faced with another man in front of him.

Brendan kissed down Marc's neck and chest, tweaking briefly at his nipples before moving his mouth down lower.

Marc let out a quiet gasp as Brendan's warm mouth went over the head of his cock then, licking up the bit of pre-cum there and flicking his tongue over the slit. Marc fisted his hand against the back of Brendan's head, his hair just long enough for him to hold onto.

Brendan's tongue curled under the ridge of the crown as he gently sucked. Brendan slid his mouth down further, his tongue rubbing against the underside of Marc's shaft and his cheeks hollowing out.

Brendan let Marc's erection fall from his mouth then, and for the better. Marc let out a shaky breath as he had been close to coming. Brendan climbed up the bed, straddling himself over Marc with a knee on either side of his head. Brendan leisurely stroked his shaft while letting it hang suggestively over Marc's mouth.

Marc licked his lips and met Brendan's eyes before testily putting his lips at the tip. Using his tongue, it tasted slightly bitter, but it faded away quickly. He tried doing the same that Brendan had done to him—popping the head into his mouth and locking his lips around the flare as he sucked. It was warm in his mouth, and the flesh was pliable to his lips.

Marc took it further into his mouth, making sure to carefully cover his teeth with his tongue and top lip. He coaxed Brendan's shaft with his tongue, though he was unable to reach the base before feeling his gag reflex kick in. Marc simply stopped there and began to suck earnestly, enjoying how it felt deep in his mouth.

Brendan ran his fingers through Marc's hair, obviously a touch of approval. Marc happily took his time then, trying desperately to take Brendan in just a bit further. He flexed his tongue back and felt it hitting the back of his throat then, as he was tantalizingly close to the root now. He swallowed the last of the length and ignored the discomfort of his throat for a few seconds before he knew he had to pull back.

Brendan let himself slide out then, still seeming pleased. Brendan wormed his way down the bed again and took Marc up into his mouth another time. He sucked more vigorously at the head while using his hand to gently roll Marc's sac in his hands.

Marc let himself push his hips up to meet Brendan's mouth, earning a muffled moan of approval out of Brendan. Marc gently worked his cock up into Brendan's mouth until he felt himself on the edge again. Brendan kept it going, his tongue twisting wickedly underneath the ridge until Marc felt hot pleasure shooting through him.

He slapped a hand over his mouth as he came, filling Brendan's mouth and dribbling down his chin. Brendan sat up with a grin and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. Marc had to take a moment to gather himself before he could roll over and prop himself up on his elbows in front of Brendan.

The second time of having Brendan in his mouth was even better. The taste was non-existent, while Brendan was warm and heady on his tongue. Marc bobbed his head up and down a number of times, his mouth eagerly watering and slicking Brendan's shaft.

Brendan tapped his head back quickly as he used his other hand to stroke himself off as he came. Marc's lips tingled as he felt Brendan's fluids landing across his shoulders and collarbone. Brendan swore under his breath and flopped back on the bed. "I could go with another one of those soon," he muttered contentedly.

Marc chuckled and laid down next to him. He hovered over Brendan and gave him a long kiss. "Every night wouldn't be a problem with me, either."

Brendan laughed and threw an arm over his eyes. "Uh huh. And then Blueberry would show up asking where the hell I am."

"She'll learn to take a hint," Marc snorted.

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