Coming Home [Completed]

Ch. 20: He is Risen

The drive over to the Broussards' house with his mother was strange for Charlie. He hadn't been to that house for over a year now, after becoming intimately familiar with it when he was with Theo. Now, he would be celebrating the holiday with his ex, while his current boyfriend was hundreds of miles away.

Charlie had sent Lucas a fairly perfunctory "Happy Thanksgiving" text and in return received one that was equally devoid of passion. He didn't quite know where he stood with Lucas, or Theo for that matter, which just only made this whole thing even more awkward.

The Broussards' Thanksgiving was a low-key affair, with only Theo, his parents, and his older brother Marc. Well, now Charlie and his mom were added to that, he supposed. When they arrived, it was already the afternoon and it appeared like they hadn't missed anything.

When Charlie and his mom walked in, Theo, Marc, and Mr. Broussard were in their living room watching the Godfather marathon on the television.

Mr. Broussard got up to greet his guests quickly before going into the kitchen to relieve his wife, who came out to greet Charlie and his mother, taking Mrs. Holloway's contributions to the feast (a pumpkin pie and sweet potatoes). A few appetizers were served as five of them continued watching the mob movie, while Mr. Broussard took his turn in the kitchen.

Charlie had somewhat awkwardly sat down next to Theo, as it was the only spot left available. The whole thing felt sort of weird to Charlie, but he supposed this is what the Broussards did every Thanksgiving. He knew from Theo that his mother's side didn't celebrate the holiday and his father's family was quite small so it wasn't a big deal for them either. He ruminated on this as the wedding scene in the first Godfather unfolded on screen.

"Not a Godfather fan, Charlie?" Theo whispered, having leaned in and caught Charlie off-guard.

"More of a Sopranos guy if I'm honest."

"He is risen," Theo deadpanned, a surprisingly quick-witted reference. Charlie had to stifle his laughter but earned a reproachful glare from his mother. "C'mon, Charlie, I know you'd rather be watching football right now. My room has a TV."

Charlie nodded and followed Theo dumbly as the other boy led him up to his room, a place he'd been frequently but not in many months now and under different pretenses. Charlie was careful to take Theo's desk chair as the boy plopped down on his bed and turned his television on to one of the games.

"My mom probably thinks we're hooking up right now," Theo observed plainly, about ten minutes after they'd arrived in the bedroom.

"Mine probably does, too. God, my mom keeps telling me that you were the best thing to ever happen to me."

"Marie Broussard wants nothing more than for me to get back with you."

"I will never understand that woman. You don't think they did all this as some sort of conspiracy to get us back together, do you?"

"No, I don't think so. I mean, it was my idea to invite you."

"Wait, really?"

"Yeah, I wanted you to have a good holiday. I know you said it's fine, but I feel really shitty about you not being close to your family anymore and, I don't know, I thought I could try to make up for some of that."

"For what it's worth, I like my chosen family better than my biological one, save my mom and brother and sister, of course.

There was a lull in conversation as both boys looked intently into each other's eyes as if trying to gauge where this conversation would turn next. Charlie felt something on the tip of his tongue, ready to be blurted out without forethought when Theo beat him to it.

"Were you serious about wanting to shave your head?"

"Yeah, why?"

"I have an electric razor. We could do it right now. It'll save you a trip to the barber."

Charlie grinned, "let's do it."

________________________________________________

The reaction to his hair change was much more subdued than Charlie would have anticipated. His mother had tried and failed to suppress her reaction and carry on as if nothing was the matter. Mrs. Broussard simply commented, "oh, so that was what you two were doing up there."

The meal itself was as uneventful as most of the day had been, sans Charlie's haircut, until after pie was served.

"Charlie," Marc began, which was strange because the two rarely spoke, "can I just say how happy I am that you and my brother are back together? He was such a mope for months after you two broke up, both times, and I..."

At that point, Marc was stopped by a swift kick under the table from Mrs. Broussard who was seated next to him. Charlie didn't know what to say, but could clearly see that Theo was mortified.

"We're not back together, idiot," Theo told his brother, with a real venomous emphasis put on that last word, before getting up from the table and storming out of the room. Mrs. Broussard quietly excused herself a few moments later and followed her son out to their backyard. She returned after what must have been a long talk and said that Theo just needed a few minutes.

Charlie couldn't stand it any longer and went after Theo, finding the boy sitting in a lawn chair looking up into the night sky.

"Now who's obsessed with the sky?" Charlie queried, trying to lighten the mood.

"Still you," Theo answered back.

"Families can be the worst, huh?"

"You said it."

"Do you want to talk about...?"

"Not really," Theo interjected, curtly.

"Is it bad I feel a little bit good that you were affected by our breakup, even a fraction as much as I was? I mean, like, I hate that you felt that way, but at least I wasn't alone in mourning the end of what we had."

"You've got a really queer way of looking at things, sometimes."

"Well, I am, so it makes sense."

"I was a wreck. I guess what happened with us was just confirmation for me, in my own twisted way of seeing things, that I really would never be enough for someone to love."

"How can you say that?"

"I wasn't enough for you, Charlie. I wasn't strong enough to support you when you needed it."

"That's bullshit, Theo, and you should know that. I wasn't letting anyone help me, least of all you. I wanted to be strong for you, but I... I just couldn't get myself to where I needed to be for you."

"You deserve the best, Charlie. That's not me. That's Lucas. He's perfect for you."

Charlie sighed, "he may be perfect, but that doesn't mean he's perfect for me. It sounds cliche, but I think I really do believe in the whole soulmates thing like there's this one person out there who's perfect for us. And, I think for me, that's you."

Theo was stunned, "so does this mean...?"

"But I messed it up. I wasted my chance with you. Now, we're seniors about to go our separate ways in a few months. I can handle knowing my relationship with Lucas has an expiration date, but I can't pick up again with you only to lose you again a few months later, even if we make it that far," Charlie said, tears streaming down his face as he did.

"You don't even want to try?"

"I just don't see the point of putting us through hell again, for nothing in the end. I want to see you happy, Theo, and I know that at this point in our lives, we're obstacles to each other's happiness."