Parents And Children
When the phone at 7:00 A.M on Casey's day off, Dan groaned, and knocked it off the bedside table with the arm that wasn't wrapped around Casey's neck. At this hour, he'd like to wrap both hands around Casey's neck, and squeeze. They'd had what, a good three hours sleep? Who the hell was calling at this hour?
Admittedly, the reason for their lack of slumber had been a good one. An excellent show the night before, and an hour at Anthony's after had put Casey in a good mood. And by "good", Dan meant horny, which meant it was an even better mood for him.
Unfortunately, sending it to the carpet hadn't silenced the annoying rings, and Casey was starting to wake up. He said a bleary "Whmmmf?" as he pulled free of Dan's embrace. Dan picked up the phone, and put it to his ear. Lisa's "Casey, are you there? Are you even listening to me?" screeched at him like something from his nightmares. In fact, she often was part of his nightmares, so that wasn't all that unusual. He passed the phone to Casey.
Dan watched as Casey slowly returned to lucidity. He'd been so relaxed in sleep, happy and sated after their night together, that Dan hated watching him tense up again at Lisa's words. Dan wondered what Lisa was reaming him for this time. He put a reassuring arm around Casey, and mouthed "don't worry about her" to him. Casey just shook his head, and shrugged.
"Yes, he's here." Casey sounded exasperated. Dan hated when Lisa bitched about him. She'd done it long since before he and Casey had been in that kind of a relationship. "That's ridiculous. Charlie's thirteen. There are plenty of people to blame for being a bad influence on him. Not to mention TV. Maybe you should try being home for him more, so he doesn't have Carson Daily as a babysitter." Ouch. Even Dan knew that was a little harsh. Lisa could be a bitch on wheels, but she loved Charlie, and was a good mother to him. "I'm sorry. That was uncalled for. But really, when you badmouth Danny like that, what do you expect? You know Dan loves Charlie like he was his own son." Casey listened for a moment more, then sighed. "Yes, of course I'll be there. That's all right. I know you would if you could."
It was obvious they weren't going to be able to sleep in, so he got up and headed for the shower, figuring he could be done by the time Casey got off the phone. Whatever was going on, he'd be there for his partner.
Apparently the conversation ending more quickly than he expected. He felt the steam dissipate, and Casey stepped into the shower with him. Dan didn't say anything, just began smoothing the liquid soap all over Casey. He loved the new multi head shower Casey had splurged on. This way, nobody had to be cold.
He could feel Casey, half-hard against his thigh, and reached out to take care of him. But Casey shook his head, and said, "I'm sorry. There isn't time. I've got to be at Charlie's school in a little over an hour."
"Oh, damn. I was hoping for slow and sweet, but I guess we're going for efficiency here." Dan didn't stop what he was doing, but while one hand worked Casey with the kind of vigorous strokes Casey responded to best, the other maneuvered them under the spray, washing them both. Damn, he was dexterous, if he did say so himself. He loved doing this for Casey, even when it wasn't leading to sex. Luckily, most times it did.
When Casey moved to reciprocate, Dan pushed his hand away. "I'm all right for now, Casey. You need this more than me. You wanna tell me what's going on?" Dan asked, once they'd gotten out of the shower. While they dressed quickly, Casey filled him in on the conversation with Lisa.
Charlie had been acting up in class, and his teacher wanted a parent to come in for a conference. Usually it was Lisa who did these things, but she had a meeting in conflict. Besides, she'd said, it was probably his fault. Or Dan's, Casey didn't say. He didn't have to.
"So, anyway, I've got to meet his teacher in an hour. Which means your plans for our morning are going to have to wait. I'm sorry." Casey kissed him, then pulled on his shoes. 'Hey, you can go back to bed for a few hours."
"No, I can't. My partner has an appointment with his son's teacher, and I want to be there for moral support."
"Danny, I'm fine. It's no big deal," Casey protested.
"Yeah, that's why your shoulders are stiff again, and you've just put white socks on with your good black shoes." Dan handed him a pair of tennis shoes. "These will be fine. Face it, Casey, you need me."
"You just like seeing me in parent mode," Casey said. He wasn't far wrong.
"Actually, I was hoping to see you sitting in one of those tiny chairs, and mocking you shamelessly."
"Charlie's thirteen, not three. I think they'll have regular chairs, or at least adult sized desk-chair combos."
"Well, still. I'd like to be there. You know I'm around enough that I'm a real part of Charlie's life, too. I'd like to be sure I'm not fucking the kid up somehow."
"He loves you, so I'm sure you're not fucking him up any worse than Lisa or I am.. And if there's a problem, we'll deal with it. All of us. Now come on, I don't want to be late." He pulled Dan up, and they headed out the door.
"Don't you mean tardy?" Dan said, as he locked it behind them.