Hugging John
Title: Hugging John
Fandom: Stargate Atlantis - AU
Characters/Pairing: Lorne/Broken!John, OCs
Rating: Gen
Word Count: 2,884
Orientation: Slash
Prompt: Hurt Comfort Fill: Hugs
Cotton Candy Bingo: Home
Notes: Okay, so when I saw “hugs” as the fill on my card, I admit to being perplexed. It’s Hurt/Comfort, so starting with the thing that is usually the comfort part threw me a little. But then I let the muses play with it, and we got better. Who better to view a hug as something he needed comforting AFTER than Broken!John?
and I think I need an Overs & Unders icon.
When Evan had said they were going to visit his mother, John had been a little nervous, but curious. The closer they got to his mom’s house, however, the worse he felt. His stomach hurt. But he didn’t say anything to Evan, he knew it had to have been a while since he had seen her and he was so excited about the surprise visit, John didn’t want to spoil it.
Walter at the SGC said he had felt a bit bad about not being able to get them back to Atlantis earlier than scheduled, so when Evan called and asked about arranging a flight to San Francisco to save the driving time, he came through with a surprise, utilizing the transporter on the Daedalus to drop them at Travis AFB. It was easy enough to get a rental car from there.
Once they had the car, before leaving the lot, Evan dialed his mom and John heard his half of the conversation, though it was easy enough to fill in the rest. “Hi Mom! Doing good. Uh huh. Yup. Yup. Soon, I hope. The mission is interesting. Oh, lots of new stuff I can’t tell you about.” He laughed and listened to her talk, smiling over at John as he ran his fingers over the steering wheel. “Is that so? They must be getting huge. I can’t wait to see them again. So, what are you up to today? Uh huh. Bake sale? How did Eileen rope you into that? So you’re up to your ears in batter, I guess. I’ll let you go. We’ll talk tonight. Oh, I won’t forget. I promise. Love you too.”
“She’s home, I guess?” John said as Evan put the phone in his pocket.
“Yup. We timed it right. Not only do we get to surprise her, there’s cupcakes to be had, she’s in baking mode.” He licked his lips in anticipation and John smiled at his goofy expression.
They pulled up in front of a yellow two story victorian style house that had a wrap around porch, tons of flowers in the flowerbeds and a cat sitting on the windowsill of the front window. The curtains twitched as Evan got out of the car and the cat jumped down and disappeared. (It would be two days before John saw the cat again, just as he had begun to think he’d imagined it, it came out of hiding.) The front door flew open and a woman with short hair the same color as Evan’s ran out onto the porch to meet him as he took the steps two at a time. He grabbed her and swung her around as she laughed and hugged him.
John watched all of this through the windshield of the car. Uncertain of his welcome, despite Evan’s assurance that his mother would be thrilled to meet him, he had waited. He felt a pang of jealousy and longing as he saw Heather Lorne cup her son’s face and kiss him in a rain of happy kisses as she squeezed his cheeks. It had been so long since John’s mother had died, and he had been so little that he barely remembered her face. There was no one in the world that would ever be as happy to see John as Heather Lorne was at that moment, seeing Evan.
After hugging her again, Evan seemed to realize that John was not beside him. He looked around in confusion before he looked over at the car. He beckoned to him with one hand, waggling his fingers. Time seemed to move in slow motion as he felt for the door release and climbed out, then closed the door behind him and walked towards Evan. He saw Heather’s head tilt in curiosity as he approached.
“Mom, this is John,” Evan introduced him.
“Hello John,” she smiled as he moved close and extended his hand to take hers.
“He’s mine, Mom,” Evan whispered.
Heather looked from John to Evan and her smile got wider. She wiggled out from under Evan’s arm and yanked John forward by the hand she was still holding into a tight hug. Unprepared, John stood frozen for a moment in her embrace before he looked over at Evan helplessly. Evan just grinned at him.
He had two choices, he could hug her back or he could freak out and try to get away. If he pulled away, it might hurt her feelings and then Evan might feel hurt too. Awkwardly, he patted Heather’s back, accepting the hug as graciously as he knew how to do.
She was smiling when she let him go. He was relieved, both to see the smile and to be let go. It was one thing when Evan held him, but he wasn’t used to strangers hugging him. “It’s about time,” Heather said to Evan. Then to John she said, “He needed someone. He’s been alone too long. I worry about him.” She hooked her arm through John’s and started dragging him towards the house.
“Don’t worry John, she doesn’t bite. Like I told you, she’ll probably just feed you,” Evan said when he looked back over his shoulder helplessly.
Heather had things that smelled really good in the oven, so she made them come into the kitchen and sit at the table there. Evan insisted that she keep on with what she was doing. When she came over to him with a bowl on one arm and held out one of the beaters from the mixer to him, he looked at her blankly. She laughed and asked, “Do you like chocolate?”
Nodding stupidly, he took the metal beater from her then watched Evan as he licked the chocolate frosting from the one she gave him. He licked at it tentatively, mimicking Evan, then happily cleaned every bit off.
“Didn’t you ever lick the beaters or the bowl when you were a kid?” Evan asked as he took both beaters over to the sink and washed them.
“I wasn’t allowed in the kitchen. Cook didn’t want us underfoot.”
“Your mom didn’t bake?”
John shrugged. “I don’t know. I was four when she died, Dave was eight. I don’t remember before that.”
Heather clucked her tongue and crossed the kitchen, and hugged him again, squishing his face against her ample bosum. He didn’t stiffen as much this time, and it was over pretty quickly. She ruffled his hair though, when she stepped back. “Poor baby. Four years old.” She clucked her tongue again and might have said more but a timer pinged and she went to pull a tray out of the oven.
Taking pity on the fact that John was uncomfortable with Heather’s pity, Evan offered to show him the garden out in the back yard. Once they were outside, he took John into his arms and kissed him. “I’m so proud of you,” he whispered as John sagged against him and clung slightly, needing the touch.
“Yeah?”
Evan nodded. “I know you were freaking out. Thanks for not hurting her feelings.”
“I didn’t want to upset her. Or you.”
“You’re better every day John. I doubt very much you would have done that a few months ago.” Evan cupped the back of his head and pulled him in for a kiss.
He felt weird. “I shouldn’t have said anything about my mother, now she’s feeling sorry for me.”
“No more than she would for anyone else that had lost a parent at a young age, John. Don’t read more into it. Okay?” It was logical, he supposed. Evan lead him around the yard, showing him the various flowerbeds and the birdhouse he’d painted and sent for Christmas the year before.
It had been a very long time since he had been around anyone that didn’t know how messed up he was. “I don’t like lying, Evan,” he blurted.
“What are you lying about?”
“Pretending to be normal.”
“Just be yourself, John. Look, my sister and her kids will be turning up any time now. What do you need me to do?” Evan asked, running his fingers across John’s scalp, scratching lightly.
He thought about it then rubbed his bare neck. “Collar?”
“Would that make you feel better?” He nodded vigorously, he needed something tangible to remind him, something to touch when he felt nervous. The weight of the collar on his neck would do that. Evan kissed his forehead. “Okay then. Ready to go in?”
“I guess so.”
They went back into the kitchen. “I was going to pour some coffee, would you boys like some?”
“Yes, please,” Evan replied, and John nodded his head. “I’ll be back in a minute, I’m going to get the bags. I assume we can stay, Mom?”
“Don’t you dare even suggest going, brat!” She swatted Evan’s behind with the dish towel as he strode past her.
He sat at the table sipping at his coffee while Heather rinsed bowls and set them in the dishwasher. “You’re sure a quiet one, aren’t you John?”
“Don’t pester him, Mom.” Evan said, coming back into the room and hearing her question.
“I have some issues,” John blurted. “I’m usually quiet, when I’m not having a panic attack.” There, he’d said it. He felt a little better, a little less dishonest.
Evan was standing in front of him, blocking his view of Heather, so he didn’t see what her reaction was. Evan paused at John’s words. He had the leather collar they had picked up at the SGC in his hand, that must have been why he went to get the bags when he did. He brushed John’s cheek with his knuckles as he fastened the collar around his throat and patted it. He kissed the top of John’s head and then took the seat at the table across from him. “He hasn’t had one in a while,” Evan said. Which wasn’t true, he’d had a major attack before they left Atlantis.
“You can be as quiet as you want to be, John. And you let me know if you need anything,” Heather said, coming over to top off his cup of coffee.
He nodded and jumped as the front door suddenly opened and slammed back against the wall, and a herd of wild horses ran into the house. “They’re here,” Evan announced and then two boys bounded into the room, yelling “Grandma, Grandma, Grandma!”
When they spotted Evan they screamed “Uncle Evan!” And threw themselves at him. He caught them and hugged them and started wrestling with them, tossing them up and flipping them over upside down, much to their delight. Their mother followed them into the kitchen, there was no mistaking that this was his sister Eileen, she looked like a female version of Evan. She scolded at the boys and pulled them off Evan so that she could kiss him and hug him as well.
The smaller of the two boys, he had to be about five, was standing still, staring at John. “Who’s that?” he asked, tugging on Evan’s sleeve.
“Guys, this is John. John, these are my nephews, Oscar and Elmo.”
“Uncle Evan! Nooooo!” the little laughed.
“Megan and Sandra?”
His brother protested as the little guy just giggled, “You’re being silly, Uncle Evan.” He turned to John, “I’m Taylor. That’s Robbie.” He apparently noticed the collar. “Oh, are you Uncle Evan’s under?” John nodded, unsure how else to respond. “Cool. Do you fly planes too?”
“I used to. It’s been a while.”
Walking closer, Robbie stared and then announced, “If I could fly planes, I would never, ever stop. I’m going to be in the Air Force when I’m big.”
Once they started talking, it seemed they had no off switch. Even when Eileen apologized and told her sons to shut up, they would pause for a moment then continue. John was feeling a little overwhelmed, but he didn’t want to spoil Evan’s visit. He gripped his coffee cup and slid his chair back a little bit towards the corner.
Heather walked over towards the table with the coffee pot. She looked over at John and then set the pot on a coaster on the center of the table. Extending a hand to him she said, “John, come with me, I want to show you something.”
“Can I come too?” Taylor asked, looking up from the Legos that were now scattered across the kitchen floor.
“Me too,” echoed Robbie.
“No, you play there. This is for John.” She squeezed his hand and led him towards a closed door at the side of the kitchen, then into a room that wasn’t very big, but it was cozy. There was a TV, an easy chair and a loveseat. There were various art projects and sewing things scattered around on the end tables and on shelves. One of Evan’s paintings hung on the wall over the TV.
She waved her hand around the room. “Anytime you need to get away from us, you just duck right in here, John. Those noisy boys aren’t allowed to come in here, this room is off limits to them. I need somewhere to escape now and then, as you can see, they can be a little overwhelming. Just wait until my sister and her brood turn up, then it will be really loud in the house.”
“Thank you,” he said gratefully.
“My Alan used to come back here when the whole family was making a racket and it got to be too much. He was another quiet one like you.”
“Was that Evan’s dad?”
“Yes. He had a heart attack four years ago, he went peacefully in his sleep.” She patted John’s arm. “I’m glad you’re here, John.”
He felt his cheeks get warm. “I am too, thanks... Heather.”
“Mom,” she corrected, and then she hugged him again, quickly this time. “You take a break here, if you like. I’ll call you for dinner.” And with that, she spun away and closed the door behind her. He debated going back into the kitchen, but the loveseat looked very comfortable and inviting, and it was very quiet. Maybe just a few minutes, time to collect himself, then he’d go and find Evan.
He jolted awake when Evan squeezed his shoulder and kissed his lips. “Hey sleepyhead. Time to eat.” It was dark outside and he had a crocheted blanket tucked around him.
“I fell asleep,” he mumbled, stating the obvious as Evan tugged the blanket off him and folded it.
“I’m jealous. I’ve been giving pony rides. Come on, almost dinnertime. Aunt Trish is here, and my cousin Phil is supposed to be here any minute with his son Alan.”
He stood and stretched. “How long was I asleep?”
“About an hour. I came to check on you and you were zonked out. How could you sleep with two cups of coffee in you?” Evan’s hand was at the small of his back as they left the room.
He shrugged. “I was sleepy.”
Dinner was fairly quiet, considering the addition of another rambunctious boy, but the conversation flowed and the food was good and John didn’t feel uncomfortable, for the most part. When he did start to feel edgy, he slid his hand up and touched the collar. Once during coffee and cake when he started to do that, Evan caught his hand on the way back down and held it under the table for the rest of the night.
Cousin Phil had brought his under, a woman named Jessie that wasn’t Alan’s mother. She didn’t talk at all through the whole meal, she sat at Phil’s side, keeping her head down. John hoped he wasn’t breaking the family’s way, speaking at the table. Maybe this Jessie was behaving the way good unders did in Evan’s family. But Heather and Eileen kept him involved in the conversation, and they and Evan each directed a question or two at Jessie, she just didn’t answer beyond a nod or shake of her head.
“Is that how I seem to people?” John whispered in Evan’s ear as Heather walked Phil and Jessie and Aunt Trish to the door. Eileen had collected her bake sale goodies and departed a little earlier, it was just John and Evan in the kitchen.
“Maybe to some,” Evan admitted, pulling him up against his side. “But not today. Ready for bed?”
He followed Evan through the kitchen to the front stairs. “Night mom,” Evan said, kissing her cheek as he walked past her on her return to the kitchen. “We’re going to crash, it’s been a long day.”
“Okay then. Sleep as late as you want, I’m not doing a hot breakfast tomorrow, I have an appointment at eight and then a yoga class at ten. I’ll see you boys for lunch. Goodnight.”
John wasn’t sure what came over him, but as he walked past Heather, he stopped and then hugged her. “Goodnight. Thank you,” he whispered as he quickly released her and ran to catch up with Evan on the stairs.
The End
Originally posted at http://rinkafic.dreamwidth.org/
Fandom: Stargate Atlantis - AU
Characters/Pairing: Lorne/Broken!John, OCs
Rating: Gen
Word Count: 2,884
Orientation: Slash
Prompt: Hurt Comfort Fill: Hugs
Cotton Candy Bingo: Home
Notes: Okay, so when I saw “hugs” as the fill on my card, I admit to being perplexed. It’s Hurt/Comfort, so starting with the thing that is usually the comfort part threw me a little. But then I let the muses play with it, and we got better. Who better to view a hug as something he needed comforting AFTER than Broken!John?
and I think I need an Overs & Unders icon.
When Evan had said they were going to visit his mother, John had been a little nervous, but curious. The closer they got to his mom’s house, however, the worse he felt. His stomach hurt. But he didn’t say anything to Evan, he knew it had to have been a while since he had seen her and he was so excited about the surprise visit, John didn’t want to spoil it.
Walter at the SGC said he had felt a bit bad about not being able to get them back to Atlantis earlier than scheduled, so when Evan called and asked about arranging a flight to San Francisco to save the driving time, he came through with a surprise, utilizing the transporter on the Daedalus to drop them at Travis AFB. It was easy enough to get a rental car from there.
Once they had the car, before leaving the lot, Evan dialed his mom and John heard his half of the conversation, though it was easy enough to fill in the rest. “Hi Mom! Doing good. Uh huh. Yup. Yup. Soon, I hope. The mission is interesting. Oh, lots of new stuff I can’t tell you about.” He laughed and listened to her talk, smiling over at John as he ran his fingers over the steering wheel. “Is that so? They must be getting huge. I can’t wait to see them again. So, what are you up to today? Uh huh. Bake sale? How did Eileen rope you into that? So you’re up to your ears in batter, I guess. I’ll let you go. We’ll talk tonight. Oh, I won’t forget. I promise. Love you too.”
“She’s home, I guess?” John said as Evan put the phone in his pocket.
“Yup. We timed it right. Not only do we get to surprise her, there’s cupcakes to be had, she’s in baking mode.” He licked his lips in anticipation and John smiled at his goofy expression.
They pulled up in front of a yellow two story victorian style house that had a wrap around porch, tons of flowers in the flowerbeds and a cat sitting on the windowsill of the front window. The curtains twitched as Evan got out of the car and the cat jumped down and disappeared. (It would be two days before John saw the cat again, just as he had begun to think he’d imagined it, it came out of hiding.) The front door flew open and a woman with short hair the same color as Evan’s ran out onto the porch to meet him as he took the steps two at a time. He grabbed her and swung her around as she laughed and hugged him.
John watched all of this through the windshield of the car. Uncertain of his welcome, despite Evan’s assurance that his mother would be thrilled to meet him, he had waited. He felt a pang of jealousy and longing as he saw Heather Lorne cup her son’s face and kiss him in a rain of happy kisses as she squeezed his cheeks. It had been so long since John’s mother had died, and he had been so little that he barely remembered her face. There was no one in the world that would ever be as happy to see John as Heather Lorne was at that moment, seeing Evan.
After hugging her again, Evan seemed to realize that John was not beside him. He looked around in confusion before he looked over at the car. He beckoned to him with one hand, waggling his fingers. Time seemed to move in slow motion as he felt for the door release and climbed out, then closed the door behind him and walked towards Evan. He saw Heather’s head tilt in curiosity as he approached.
“Mom, this is John,” Evan introduced him.
“Hello John,” she smiled as he moved close and extended his hand to take hers.
“He’s mine, Mom,” Evan whispered.
Heather looked from John to Evan and her smile got wider. She wiggled out from under Evan’s arm and yanked John forward by the hand she was still holding into a tight hug. Unprepared, John stood frozen for a moment in her embrace before he looked over at Evan helplessly. Evan just grinned at him.
He had two choices, he could hug her back or he could freak out and try to get away. If he pulled away, it might hurt her feelings and then Evan might feel hurt too. Awkwardly, he patted Heather’s back, accepting the hug as graciously as he knew how to do.
She was smiling when she let him go. He was relieved, both to see the smile and to be let go. It was one thing when Evan held him, but he wasn’t used to strangers hugging him. “It’s about time,” Heather said to Evan. Then to John she said, “He needed someone. He’s been alone too long. I worry about him.” She hooked her arm through John’s and started dragging him towards the house.
“Don’t worry John, she doesn’t bite. Like I told you, she’ll probably just feed you,” Evan said when he looked back over his shoulder helplessly.
Heather had things that smelled really good in the oven, so she made them come into the kitchen and sit at the table there. Evan insisted that she keep on with what she was doing. When she came over to him with a bowl on one arm and held out one of the beaters from the mixer to him, he looked at her blankly. She laughed and asked, “Do you like chocolate?”
Nodding stupidly, he took the metal beater from her then watched Evan as he licked the chocolate frosting from the one she gave him. He licked at it tentatively, mimicking Evan, then happily cleaned every bit off.
“Didn’t you ever lick the beaters or the bowl when you were a kid?” Evan asked as he took both beaters over to the sink and washed them.
“I wasn’t allowed in the kitchen. Cook didn’t want us underfoot.”
“Your mom didn’t bake?”
John shrugged. “I don’t know. I was four when she died, Dave was eight. I don’t remember before that.”
Heather clucked her tongue and crossed the kitchen, and hugged him again, squishing his face against her ample bosum. He didn’t stiffen as much this time, and it was over pretty quickly. She ruffled his hair though, when she stepped back. “Poor baby. Four years old.” She clucked her tongue again and might have said more but a timer pinged and she went to pull a tray out of the oven.
Taking pity on the fact that John was uncomfortable with Heather’s pity, Evan offered to show him the garden out in the back yard. Once they were outside, he took John into his arms and kissed him. “I’m so proud of you,” he whispered as John sagged against him and clung slightly, needing the touch.
“Yeah?”
Evan nodded. “I know you were freaking out. Thanks for not hurting her feelings.”
“I didn’t want to upset her. Or you.”
“You’re better every day John. I doubt very much you would have done that a few months ago.” Evan cupped the back of his head and pulled him in for a kiss.
He felt weird. “I shouldn’t have said anything about my mother, now she’s feeling sorry for me.”
“No more than she would for anyone else that had lost a parent at a young age, John. Don’t read more into it. Okay?” It was logical, he supposed. Evan lead him around the yard, showing him the various flowerbeds and the birdhouse he’d painted and sent for Christmas the year before.
It had been a very long time since he had been around anyone that didn’t know how messed up he was. “I don’t like lying, Evan,” he blurted.
“What are you lying about?”
“Pretending to be normal.”
“Just be yourself, John. Look, my sister and her kids will be turning up any time now. What do you need me to do?” Evan asked, running his fingers across John’s scalp, scratching lightly.
He thought about it then rubbed his bare neck. “Collar?”
“Would that make you feel better?” He nodded vigorously, he needed something tangible to remind him, something to touch when he felt nervous. The weight of the collar on his neck would do that. Evan kissed his forehead. “Okay then. Ready to go in?”
“I guess so.”
They went back into the kitchen. “I was going to pour some coffee, would you boys like some?”
“Yes, please,” Evan replied, and John nodded his head. “I’ll be back in a minute, I’m going to get the bags. I assume we can stay, Mom?”
“Don’t you dare even suggest going, brat!” She swatted Evan’s behind with the dish towel as he strode past her.
He sat at the table sipping at his coffee while Heather rinsed bowls and set them in the dishwasher. “You’re sure a quiet one, aren’t you John?”
“Don’t pester him, Mom.” Evan said, coming back into the room and hearing her question.
“I have some issues,” John blurted. “I’m usually quiet, when I’m not having a panic attack.” There, he’d said it. He felt a little better, a little less dishonest.
Evan was standing in front of him, blocking his view of Heather, so he didn’t see what her reaction was. Evan paused at John’s words. He had the leather collar they had picked up at the SGC in his hand, that must have been why he went to get the bags when he did. He brushed John’s cheek with his knuckles as he fastened the collar around his throat and patted it. He kissed the top of John’s head and then took the seat at the table across from him. “He hasn’t had one in a while,” Evan said. Which wasn’t true, he’d had a major attack before they left Atlantis.
“You can be as quiet as you want to be, John. And you let me know if you need anything,” Heather said, coming over to top off his cup of coffee.
He nodded and jumped as the front door suddenly opened and slammed back against the wall, and a herd of wild horses ran into the house. “They’re here,” Evan announced and then two boys bounded into the room, yelling “Grandma, Grandma, Grandma!”
When they spotted Evan they screamed “Uncle Evan!” And threw themselves at him. He caught them and hugged them and started wrestling with them, tossing them up and flipping them over upside down, much to their delight. Their mother followed them into the kitchen, there was no mistaking that this was his sister Eileen, she looked like a female version of Evan. She scolded at the boys and pulled them off Evan so that she could kiss him and hug him as well.
The smaller of the two boys, he had to be about five, was standing still, staring at John. “Who’s that?” he asked, tugging on Evan’s sleeve.
“Guys, this is John. John, these are my nephews, Oscar and Elmo.”
“Uncle Evan! Nooooo!” the little laughed.
“Megan and Sandra?”
His brother protested as the little guy just giggled, “You’re being silly, Uncle Evan.” He turned to John, “I’m Taylor. That’s Robbie.” He apparently noticed the collar. “Oh, are you Uncle Evan’s under?” John nodded, unsure how else to respond. “Cool. Do you fly planes too?”
“I used to. It’s been a while.”
Walking closer, Robbie stared and then announced, “If I could fly planes, I would never, ever stop. I’m going to be in the Air Force when I’m big.”
Once they started talking, it seemed they had no off switch. Even when Eileen apologized and told her sons to shut up, they would pause for a moment then continue. John was feeling a little overwhelmed, but he didn’t want to spoil Evan’s visit. He gripped his coffee cup and slid his chair back a little bit towards the corner.
Heather walked over towards the table with the coffee pot. She looked over at John and then set the pot on a coaster on the center of the table. Extending a hand to him she said, “John, come with me, I want to show you something.”
“Can I come too?” Taylor asked, looking up from the Legos that were now scattered across the kitchen floor.
“Me too,” echoed Robbie.
“No, you play there. This is for John.” She squeezed his hand and led him towards a closed door at the side of the kitchen, then into a room that wasn’t very big, but it was cozy. There was a TV, an easy chair and a loveseat. There were various art projects and sewing things scattered around on the end tables and on shelves. One of Evan’s paintings hung on the wall over the TV.
She waved her hand around the room. “Anytime you need to get away from us, you just duck right in here, John. Those noisy boys aren’t allowed to come in here, this room is off limits to them. I need somewhere to escape now and then, as you can see, they can be a little overwhelming. Just wait until my sister and her brood turn up, then it will be really loud in the house.”
“Thank you,” he said gratefully.
“My Alan used to come back here when the whole family was making a racket and it got to be too much. He was another quiet one like you.”
“Was that Evan’s dad?”
“Yes. He had a heart attack four years ago, he went peacefully in his sleep.” She patted John’s arm. “I’m glad you’re here, John.”
He felt his cheeks get warm. “I am too, thanks... Heather.”
“Mom,” she corrected, and then she hugged him again, quickly this time. “You take a break here, if you like. I’ll call you for dinner.” And with that, she spun away and closed the door behind her. He debated going back into the kitchen, but the loveseat looked very comfortable and inviting, and it was very quiet. Maybe just a few minutes, time to collect himself, then he’d go and find Evan.
He jolted awake when Evan squeezed his shoulder and kissed his lips. “Hey sleepyhead. Time to eat.” It was dark outside and he had a crocheted blanket tucked around him.
“I fell asleep,” he mumbled, stating the obvious as Evan tugged the blanket off him and folded it.
“I’m jealous. I’ve been giving pony rides. Come on, almost dinnertime. Aunt Trish is here, and my cousin Phil is supposed to be here any minute with his son Alan.”
He stood and stretched. “How long was I asleep?”
“About an hour. I came to check on you and you were zonked out. How could you sleep with two cups of coffee in you?” Evan’s hand was at the small of his back as they left the room.
He shrugged. “I was sleepy.”
Dinner was fairly quiet, considering the addition of another rambunctious boy, but the conversation flowed and the food was good and John didn’t feel uncomfortable, for the most part. When he did start to feel edgy, he slid his hand up and touched the collar. Once during coffee and cake when he started to do that, Evan caught his hand on the way back down and held it under the table for the rest of the night.
Cousin Phil had brought his under, a woman named Jessie that wasn’t Alan’s mother. She didn’t talk at all through the whole meal, she sat at Phil’s side, keeping her head down. John hoped he wasn’t breaking the family’s way, speaking at the table. Maybe this Jessie was behaving the way good unders did in Evan’s family. But Heather and Eileen kept him involved in the conversation, and they and Evan each directed a question or two at Jessie, she just didn’t answer beyond a nod or shake of her head.
“Is that how I seem to people?” John whispered in Evan’s ear as Heather walked Phil and Jessie and Aunt Trish to the door. Eileen had collected her bake sale goodies and departed a little earlier, it was just John and Evan in the kitchen.
“Maybe to some,” Evan admitted, pulling him up against his side. “But not today. Ready for bed?”
He followed Evan through the kitchen to the front stairs. “Night mom,” Evan said, kissing her cheek as he walked past her on her return to the kitchen. “We’re going to crash, it’s been a long day.”
“Okay then. Sleep as late as you want, I’m not doing a hot breakfast tomorrow, I have an appointment at eight and then a yoga class at ten. I’ll see you boys for lunch. Goodnight.”
John wasn’t sure what came over him, but as he walked past Heather, he stopped and then hugged her. “Goodnight. Thank you,” he whispered as he quickly released her and ran to catch up with Evan on the stairs.
The End
Originally posted at http://rinkafic.dreamwidth.org/