Crane - Chapter 7 Posted

Hi there! Here's another story by me... this one won't be updated as quickly as 'Just Couldn't Help Myself'... mainly because the chapters are so much longer. I really, really, really wanna do this one right, so I hope you all enjoy it half as much as I will enjoy writing it.

Reviews are super loved!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


“Earth to Zeke! Come in Zeke!”

Zeke flinched at the painfully loud voice in his ear, turning his head and glaring daggers at the chuckling blond behind him. “What the hell, Seth?” he snapped. “I was reading.” he pointed unnecessarily at the thick, hardcover book in his lap.

“Yea, that’s all you ever do.” his best friend replied, throwing himself stomach down on the grass beside Zeke. “What is it now? Something nerdy I bet. Spaceships or dragons?”

“Neither, actually.” Zeke said stiffly. “It’s actually about the Norse gods and how they-”

Seth made a huge show of yawning and then pretending to fall asleep, and Zeke bit back the urge to bludgeon his head in with the book he was holding. “Come on, man, I’m bored. It’s a nice day. Let’s go do something!”

“I was doing something.” Zeke told him matter-of-factly. “I was sitting under this tree, enjoying this nice day and this great book. Both at the same time. That is, until you showed up and starting acting like a jackass.”

Seth rolled over onto his back and glared up at the perfect, cloudless sky. “I don’t know why I hang out with you.” he said with a sigh. “You’re so boring. You like books more than people.”

“Books don’t annoy the shit out of you.”

“They annoy the shit out of me.” Seth countered, and sat up. He regarded his best friend with narrowed eyes. “Zeke, you worry me.”

Zeke rolled his eyes. “Please, Seth, the last thing I need right now is a lecture.”

“I’m serious. You’re not normal, man. You don’t go to parties, you don’t chase girls, you don’t do anything but read. What are you doing with your life, man?”

“Enriching it.” Zeke said automatically. “I’m learning, okay? You know I’m majoring in theology next year, and I really wish you’d respect how I feel once in a while. So I don’t like parties, so what?”

Seth rolled his eyes. “I’m starting to think you don’t like girls, either.”

Zeke’s face flamed and he glared down at his hands. “Seth, that’s not even-”

“I was joking.” Seth told him, and Zeke stood up. “Where are you going?”

“Home.” Zeke replied. “You’re getting on my nerves.”

Seth got to his feet and followed Zeke out of the park. Zeke knew he would; just like he knew the taller young man would follow him home, probably stay all day, whining and bothering him until he put his book down and paid attention to him. It’d been like this for years; Seth had been Zeke’s best and only friend since the seventh grade, when the blond had saved the dark haired boy from a serious ass-kicking.

Physically, they couldn’t have been any different. Seth Anderson was six foot three, broad shouldered, strong features, and tan, with blue gray eyes and an air of confidence that most people found not only attractive, but almost worthy of worship. There was never any lack of girls for Seth to chase, never a lack of people who wanted to spend time with him. Why he spent so much time with Zeke, the smaller boy would never understand.

Zeke, whose name was actually Siegfried Morrow, was five foot eleven, with hair so dark it was almost black, although in bright sunlight one could see that it was actually a rich coffee brown. He had dark hazel eyes and was pointy faced and slender, almost girlish in many respects. His mouth was too full, his hips flared a little too much, his skin incapable of holding any amount of color.

When they got to Zeke’s house, he was pleased to see that his mother and siblings were back from their visit with his aunt. His two sisters, both with hair the same color as his and matching heart shaped faces, were sitting on the wide, enclosed porch of his house playing. They were seven, named Adelaide and Verity, and when he came onto the porch they jumped up in a flutter of matching purple tulle skirts and hugged him, one on either side, both of them talking at once.

He kissed them both on the tops of their heads, and they switched their attention to Seth, who gave them the same treatment before following Zeke into the house. They went in the kitchen, where Zeke’s mother and his two little brothers were.

“Hi, sweethearts.” his mother, Evangeline, greeted him, giving each a kiss on the cheek. Zeke loved his family; his mother was sweet and understanding, his siblings typically annoying but lovable, and Seth had always enjoyed Zeke’s family far more than his own. “You staying for dinner, Seth?” she asked, and the blond said yes and thanked her.

Maxwell, Zeke’s nine year old brother, shoved a clear plastic box at Zeke and said, “Check this out, Zeke, Aunt Fiona’s got an infestation of the coolest beetles.” Zeke took the box, inspecting the large, teal and blue colored bug inside. Maxwell was obsessed with creepy crawly things, beetles in particular.

“That’s disgusting.” Theodore said haughtily, shoved his hair back from his face. “Bugs are nasty.” Theodore was fourteen, and the only child of the Morrow family who hadn’t inherited their mother’s dark hair. He was light haired and warm toned, rather than dark and pale like the others.

“I think it’s awesome.” Zeke told Maxwell, who grinned and took the bug box back. “What’s for dinner?”

“Guests.” Maxwell said, which sent both younger brothers into snickering fits. Evangeline rolled her eyes at them.

“I’m barbecuing, actually.” she said, and Seth high fived Theodore, grinning. Evangeline chuckled and nodded. “Yes, that means ribs.”

“Who are our guests?” Zeke asked, sitting down at the large butcher block topped table with his brothers.

“My brother and his kids.” Evangeline said. “Harrison’s back in the country, and he thought it would be nice for you to get to know your cousins. They’ll be in town for a while, actually.”

Zeke nodded. He barely remembered his Uncle Harrison or his two children, but he’d passed on the weird names to his kids, just like Evangeline had. He knew that Pearl was a little younger than him but older than Theodore, and that Crane was three weeks older than himself. He hadn’t seen them since they were toddlers.

“When are they getting here?” he asked his mother.

“Around four, so after lunch I’d like the house cleaned and the yard taken care of, please.” all three Morrow sons groaned, and Evangeline gave Seth a knowing look. “You too, free loader.”

“Damn it.” he muttered, and Evangeline swatted him upside the back of his head. “Well, do I get lunch, too?”

“Only if you help Siegfried clean out my car.” she told him, and he opened his mouth to argue. “We’re having pretzel sandwiches.” she added, grinning.

“Totally worth it.” Seth said, and Evangeline flashed him a tiny smile before leaving the kitchen. “Man, if your mom wasn’t smoking hot and the best cook on the planet, I’d never help you with anything.” he told Zeke, who rolled his eyes.

By the time they finished cleaning out the interior of Evangeline’s car and washing the outside, lunch was ready, so they washed up and went inside. Pretzel sandwiches were an odd custom in the Morrow house; Evangeline had gone to culinary school before the twins were born, and she baked soft pretzel dough in bread slice sized squares, which the kids would top with anything from cream cheese and pizza toppings to jams and preserves. They were weird but delicious, and somehow Seth was always around when she made them. Zeke suspected Evangeline knew that she could get the kids, Seth included, the jump through flaming hoops for them.

After lunch she handed out chores, and while the girls cleaned the bathrooms, Maxwell worked on the living room while Theodore did the dishes, and Zeke and Seth went outside to straighten up the yard and get it ready for company.

As Seth was wrestling to put the patio umbrella in the glass topped table they ate at when it was warm, he said, “So these cousins of yours, are any of them girls?”

“Pearl’s a girl.” Zeke said, sweeping a pile of leaves and dirt off the patio. “She’s… fifteen or sixteen, I can’t remember. Crane’s a few weeks older than me.”

“Crane? Like the construction equipment?”

“No, like the bird, jackass.” Zeke snapped, rolling his eyes.

“What the hell is it with your family as these tweaked out names?” Seth asked.

“It’s a tradition. Maxwell told me that if he has kids, he’s going to name them after superheroes.”

“What, like Bruce Wayne Morrow and Jean Grey Morrow?” Seth asked, cackling with laughter.

“Actually, he’s really partial to Storm, as far as X-Men go.”

“Ororo Monroe Morrow.” Seth said experimentally, and they both made faces. “Your family is so whacked.”

“Oh, please. You’d kill to be one of us.”

“Well, you’re certainly better off than my family. Normal names hide crazy motherfuckers.” Seth sighed. His own family was one of those super rich, super distant families. His father was almost never home, rarely even in the same state, and Zeke had literally never seen his mother without a drink in her hand. Seth’s only sibling, an older sister named Stacey, was just out of college. Seth called her the Scorpion Queen, because she was fond of dating older men, getting them to buy her things, and then screwing them over before running off with another equally rich and gullible idiot.

When the yard was given the stamp of approval by Evangeline, Seth waited in Zeke’s basement bedroom while Zeke showered. After that, they sat around for a while, Zeke with his book and Seth surfing the internet on Zeke’s computer. A while later, Evangeline called them upstairs.

“Hope this cousin of yours is half as hot as your mom.” Seth said, winking at Zeke, who gave him the middle finger before following his best friend upstairs.

The younger Morrows were sitting in a row on the couch in the den, watching their relatives carefully. Harrison was tall and dark like his sister, good looking in an older sort of way. Pearl was standing beside him, beaming happily and chatting with Evangeline. She was short and curvy and cute, with dark hair and big green eyes. When she saw Zeke, she crowed out a happy hello and bounced over to hug him. Startled, he hugged her back.

“I haven’t seen you in ages!” she laughed, pulling back, and then her eyes flickered over to Seth and her eyebrows rose. “Who’s this?”

“Seth.” Zeke said, and watched them shake hands. Seth was grinning like an idiot, and there was a distinct blush to Pearl’s cheeks. Zeke rolled his eyes.

“Where’s Crane?” Evangeline asked.

“Outside, getting the dogs out of the car.” Harrison said. “He doesn’t go a damn place without those mutts. I hope you don’t mind.”

“Oh, not at all.” Evangeline smiled. “Our backyard is fenced in, so there won’t be a problem.” she turned and pointed at Zeke. “Go out and help him. Seth, you stay here and help me in the kitchen.”

“Yes, ma’am.” they said in unison, making Pearl giggle. Zeke dodged through all the people in the den and went out the front door. There was a big black SUV parked behind Evangeline’s car. Zeke went down the stairs and towards the SUV, but came to a halt mid-step as a huge red and white dog came padding out from behind the SUV.

“Holy fuck.” he said, the sheer size of the thing startling him.

“Apollo, come.” a deep, rich voice called, and Crane stepped into view, followed closely by another huge dog; this one white and black. Zeke stared blankly at his cousin, unsure of what to think. Crane was tall, taller than Seth, and even more broad shouldered, though his hips were narrow. He had long, auburn hair tied back from his long, aristocratic face, the end of his ponytail stopping between his shoulder blades. He turned his head to look at Zeke, and his eyes, the exact same green as his sister’s narrowed slightly. “Siegfried?” he asked, and Zeke nodded.

“Hi.” Zeke walked over and stuck out his hand, and Crane shook it. “Holy shit, man, your dogs are gigantic.”

Crane half smiled and looked behind at him. “The other one’s Hestia.” he said. “Malamutes.” he turned his attention back to Zeke. “It’s good to see you again.”

“Same.” he said, smiling, and watched Apollo trot up and sit on Crane’s left side. A moment later Hestia mimicked him, taking up on Crane’s right. “Everyone’s going into the backyard. Mom’s going to barbecue.”

“Well, lead the way then.” Crane said, and Zeke turned and lead him around the side of the house to the gate.

“Apollo and Hestia, huh?” he asked, unlatching the gate and swinging it open. “Greek.”

Crane nodded. “I’ve got a thing for Greek Gods.” he said.

“Norse is my thing.” Zeke said, and Crane gave him a surprised look. “I’m going to major in theology next year.”

Crane laughed and shook his head. “I was going to minor in it, actually.” he said. “That’s weird.”

“That we’re both into theology?” he asked, and Crane nodded. “Yea, that’s a little weird.” they went into the backyard, where the rest of the family and Seth were already. The younger kids immediately went nuts over the dogs, leading them out onto the grass to play. Harrison and Evangeline were standing by the grill, laughing and arguing about whether or not she could handle barbecuing. Pearl and Seth were sitting at the patio table, talking. Pearl was pink faced and giggling, and Zeke immediately recognized Seth’s ‘flirting smile’ and groaned under his breath. He and Crane joined them at the table, and Pearl turned her eyes at her brother.

“Crane, this is Zeke’s best friend Seth.” she said, pointing. “Isn’t he adorable?”

Crane gave Seth an overlong appraising look, then said, “So not my type.” he stuck out his hand, which Seth shook, looking stunned.

Pearl rolled her eyes. “Crane doesn’t like big men. He goes for androgyny.” she grinned. “I like big men, though.”

Seth’s shock disappeared at that, and he turned back to Pearl, his smile widening as he leaned towards her, flirting like crazy. Zeke looked away, his stomach flipping, and glanced carefully at this male cousin. Crane was gay? He wondered if Harrison knew.

“Are you okay?” Crane asked him, making him flinch. “You look like someone just shot your dog.”

“I don’t have a dog.” he said without thinking, and Crane chuckled. “I’m fine, I just…” he trailed off. “Does your dad know that you’re…”

He nodded. “Why would he care?” he asked. “Does it bother you?”

“No.” Zeke said quietly. “I just didn’t…” he bit his lip, scowling.

Crane made an affirmative sound in his throat and patted Zeke’s shoulder. “Does he know?” he asked quietly, pointing at Seth. “Is it him? I went through-”

“Oh, God no!” Zeke wailed, finally getting what Crane was asking. Pearl and Seth both gave him odd looks, and even Evangeline shot him a curious glance. Zeke flushed furiously, and Crane chuckled again.

“Relax.” Crane said. “It’s no big deal.”

“How the hell did we get on this topic?” Zeke wondered aloud. “You’ve been here thirty seconds, and already we’re talking about my-” he shut himself up, his face feeling way too hot.

Crane studied him carefully for a moment, his green eyes calculating. “Forget it for now.” he said finally. “We’ll talk later.”

“Why?” Zeke asked, confused.

“What kind of music do you like?” Crane asked out of nowhere, and Zeke shook his head. “Pearl says I listen to ‘weird’ stuff.”

“Crystal Castles is weird.” Pearl chimed in. “It sounds like video game music.”

“I like video game music.” Crane countered.

“The Secret of Mana soundtrack is great.” Zeke said, because it was the first thing that popped into his head.

Crane nodded. “One of the Holy Trinity of role playing games.” he said.

“What, along with Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy VI?” Zeke asked, and Crane looked impressed.

“Old school fan?” Crane asked, and Zeke nodded. “Thank God.”

“Uh-oh.” Pearl said with a shake of her head. “Crane’s got a best friend.”

“The Super Nintendo was the best platform ever.” Zeke said, and Crane laughed.

“Seriously. Fuck this X-Box, PS3 bullshit.”

“Crane!” Harrison shouted, and everyone at the table jumped. “Language.”

“Sorry.” Crane muttered. He turned back to Zeke. “Did you ever play Shadowrun?” he asked.

Zeke found himself immediately immersed in a conversation that flowed quickly from video games to movies, and then onto books, which made Seth groan loudly. Crane expressed that books were better than anything else, which Zeke agreed with quickly, and soon they were discussing their favorite authors, which they had in common about ninety percent. Crane liked old sci-fi, and Zeke told him about Caitlin R. Kiernan, and soon Zeke forgot entirely that anyone else was around.

He liked Crane immediately, enjoyed his wittiness and intelligence, and felt like he’d finally met someone he actually related to, which he’d never had before. When Evangeline and Harrison brought the food over, both of them barely ate at all, preferring to continue their conversation, which had moved onto to theology. They argued good-naturedly about the Egyptian pantheon of Gods while everyone else ate, and when Crane started telling him jokes based around the Gods and their back stories, Zeke got laughing so hard he nearly cried.

Evangeline and Harrison, sitting next to each other, gave one another knowing smiles, and Evangeline leaned over to whisper in her brother’s ear. “This was a great idea. I’ve never seen Zeke take to someone like that, not even Seth.”

Harrison nodded. “Same. Crane’s a difficult kid to get along with. It’s nice.” he gave his son an affectionate look, watching him throw his head back and laugh loudly at Zeke as the dark haired boy started physically bobbing his head, tilting it extremely from one side to the other. “What the hell are they talking about?”

“I have no idea.” Evangeline said, and they both laughed.

When everyone had finished eating, Evangeline had Maxwell and Theodore take care of the dishes while Kay and May went and played with the dogs some more. Pearl and Seth got to talking about going to the movies, and somehow Evangeline convinced them to take all four of the younger kids.

“You going along?” Harrison asked his son, who shook his head.

“You know I don’t like movie theatres.” he said.

“Second that.” Zeke mumbled. “So dirty, way too many people.”

“Plus, it hurts my eyes.” Crane added, and Zeke agreed.

Pearl sighed. “Is there anything you do like?” she asked her brother.

“I ask him that same thing all the time.” Seth said, jabbing a finger at Zeke.

“I like lots of things.” Zeke said defensively. “Just not the crap you like because it’s stupid.”

“Pearl’s like that too.” Crane said with a grin. “Parties and shopping and boys-”

“You like boys too!” she countered.

Evangeline’s eyebrows shot up. “You what?”

Crane looked at her. “Oh yea, I’ve had more boyfriends than she has. Is that a problem?”

“Heavens, no!” Evangeline laughed. “I just didn’t know, that’s all.” she dropped a kiss on the top of her nephew’s head before she went in the house, and Crane shot Zeke a little grin. Zeke flushed and looked away.

“How the hell am I supposed to fit all those brats into my car?” Seth grumbled.

“Take the SUV.” Crane suggested. “Dad won’t mind.”

Harrison shrugged. “Sure, why not?” he handed the keys to Pearl. “If you fuck that car up, little girl-”

“Dad. Language.” Crane quipped.

“Quiet, you, I’m trying to threaten your sister’s life.” Harrison told his son, who chuckled and rolled his eyes.

“Yea, yea.” Pearl snatched the keys. “All bark, no bite.” she fluttered her eyelashes at Seth. “You going to pay for me?” she asked.

“Honey, I think you’re priceless.” Seth told her, and she pinked and started giggle.

“Oh, ick.” Crane groaned, covering his face with his hands.

“Lame.” Zeke chimed in, and Seth gave him the middle finger.

When the boys were done with the dishes, the kids, Pearl and Seth piled into the SUV, and Evangeline and Harrison went into the den to catch up, so Zeke and Crane went into the basement. Crane spent a lot of time inspecting Zeke’s bookshelves, and eventually gave his collection his stamp of approval. They sat around, talking for a while about things they had in common, and then, quite suddenly, Crane asked, “So when do you plan on coming out to your mom?”

Zeke opened his mouth, unsure of what to say, then closed it again. He tried once more, but instead of answering Crane’s question, he asked one of his own. “How could you tell? I mean, my best friend doesn’t even know.”

Crane shrugged. “Most gay men can pick out another gay man in a crowd, for one.” he said. “As far as no one realizing it, a lot of times people can’t see what’s right under their noses. I’m sure your mom has her suspicions, but she probably doesn’t even realize what she’s suspicious about, exactly. Dad was like that, too.”

Zeke chewed at his bottom lip, thinking. “I’ve never… I mean, I haven’t…”

Crane nodded. “Not even with a girl?”

“No.” Zeke said, and sighed. “Girls weird me out. Probably because if I had tits I’d be shaped like one.” this made Crane laugh and shake his head. “Seriously, I’ve got child-bearing hips, it’s creepy.”

“Hey, some guys like that.” Crane told him. “Seth really doesn’t know, huh? And he’s not your guy?”

“My what?” Zeke was confused.

“That straight guy that made you realize you weren’t. It wasn’t Seth?”

“No.” he shrugged. “Honestly, it was a teacher.”

Crane whistled. “Dirty.” he remarked, and Zeke flushed. “Hot?”

Zeke nodded. “My freshman English teacher. He was young, a lot younger than most teachers. Drove a really awesome car, that kind of thing.”

Crane leaned back on his elbows. He was sprawled out on the carpet beside the edge of Zeke’s bed, where Zeke sat cross legged. “Why are you scared of coming out?” he asked.

Zeke shrugged. “Mom probably wouldn’t care, and I don’t think the girls would even understand. But Theo and Max, I mean…” he sighed. “Plus, I don’t know how Seth would feel about it, and he’s the only friend I have.”

Crane was quiet for a little while. “You know, if Seth flipped out about it-”

“I know, I know.” Zeke cut in. “He’s not really my friend.” he studied Crane ruefully. “Would you risk it, if you only had one friend?”

“I’ve never had friends before.” he said, and Zeke frowned. “I mean, I’ve dated a few guys, but never for long and I’ve never had anything in common with them. People don’t like me, and I generally don’t like them. They’re…” he search for a word.

“Disappointing?” Zeke supplied, and Crane nodded. “I know how you feel. Seth’s… well, he’s a jackass. But he’s a nice guy. He puts up with my shit, even if he complains about me a lot. And he sticks up for me. I can’t really ask for more than that.”

“Well, that’s something, at least.” Crane pointed out. “And I can understand you not wanting to lose it. But you’re lying, you know.”

“I know.” Zeke sighed and pushed a hand through his hair. “It’s scary, is all. How did you do it?”

“Well, it was actually Pearl that outted me.” he said, and chuckled. “I’d been seeing this guy for a little while, just fooling around, that kind of thing. His name was Eric. We were making out in his car during lunch period one day, and Pearl saw us.” he laughed. “Actually, I think the only reason she told on me was because she was crushing on him. I found out later that he was fooling around with both of us.”

“That’s… that’s fucked up.” Zeke mumbled, and Crane nodded.

“So she goes home that day and tells my dad that she caught me blowing him, and my dad comes and talks to me that night about where my mouth should and shouldn’t go at my age. It was… embarrassing. We talked it out, and I told him that Pearl sort of twisted the story. I guess the only reason he was upset was because he didn’t want me to get a reputation for being slutty. He said he wasn’t worried about passing on the family name, because Spooner kind of sucks anyway.”

“Spooner?” Zeke asked, and he nodded. “My mom’s maiden name is Spooner?”

“You didn’t know that?” Crane asked, sounding surprised.

“No.” Zeke thought about it. “Crane Spooner.”

“Shut up.” he said, half smiling. “It’s no better than Siegfried Morrow.”

“Yea, we’re pretty fucked with the names.” Zeke agreed.

“Could be worse.” he said, and laid down fully, hands behind his head. “My mother’s maiden name was Astley.”

Zeke burst out laughing. “Like Rick-”

“Shut the hell up.” Crane said again, but he laughed too.

A little while later, Evangeline came downstairs and told them that Harrison and Pearl were going back to their hotel, but that Crane was more than welcome to stay over in the guest room. He agreed to this, and asked Zeke if he wanted to go to the museum with him tomorrow. Zeke excitedly agreed. Seth never wanted to go to the museum.

They stayed up later than Zeke normally did, just talking and getting to know each other. When Crane finally left to go to bed, Zeke laid down, smiled up at the ceiling, and thanked every deity he could name for giving him a cousin so much like himself. It took a very long time.