Blue Boy (gay) ✔️

13. Once a boorish peasant, Always a boorish peasant.

When Karen knocked on the door at 6:30 and stepped in, she saw CJ lying cherished and protected between his uncles. She gently touched his foot to wake him up. The movement stirred Jason.

"Good morning."

"Good morning. Are you coming to get CJ?", he asked sleepily.

Carefully, he nudged his nephew. "Don't wake up your uncle," he said as CJ climbed out of bed.

"Are you joining us for breakfast?", Karen asked.

"It's a little too early for me," Jason yawned.

"And Conner?", she gestured with her head.

"I don't know." After a brief hesitation, he rolled aside. "Conner?", he shook his arm. "What time do you get up?"

"At nine," he muttered lifting his arm and pulling Jason towards him. "Stop talking."

Even before Karen left the bedroom with raised eyebrows and cast a final look at the intertwined men, they were both in deep sleep.

"I think Uncle Jason had to help with a nightmare because they hugged all night. At first I thought I was dreaming, but I think Uncle Conner was crying." He looked up at his mother. "Uncle Jason stopped the tears."

"I told you Uncle Jason is the expert nightmare fighter." She tousled through his hair. "Did you have a good time?"

"Yes, it was fun." He looked at her cautiously. "Uncle Jason had all kind of snacks and green lemonade."

"I already knew that."

Now that he didn't get into trouble for eating the snacks, he rattled enthusiastically. "The car movie was a lot of fun. Uncle Jason sat with his hands in front of his eyes a few times. Uncle Conner called him a wimp."

He took a bite of his breakfast.

"Uncle Jason also had chicken wings with garlic sauce. I think Uncle Conner had spilled a little because his shirt smelled like garlic. I was happy when he took off his shirt. His stripes don't hurt as much anymore."

Karen heard everything patiently.

"His scars, you mean."

CJ nodded.

"Did he say that to you?"

"No, to Uncle Jason."

After one last bite, he slid off the table. "Thank you, Mom. I'm going to take a shower and get dressed."

Karen pondered the words of CJ and the image of Conner reaching for Jason. She was right in her sense that the two men could help each other. She just hoped Jason wouldn't break his heart in the process.

At quarter past nine she walked down and found the two men sleeping in the same position.

"Breakfast," she shouted loudly.

Conner's eyes flew open.

"I'm up," he said, rolling around and stretching. "Wake up," he bumped into Jason.

This one expressed a groan of pain and protest.

"Hey, take it easy. I don't have a Marine's steely body."

"Your amazing sister has breakfast ready for us."

He gave her a kiss in passing and came back with a shirt he put over his head.

"They look good," she gestured to his scars before disappearing behind cotton.

"Hm," Conner nodded.