After The Storm

Soldier [I/II]

His voice was embarrassingly squeaky when he greeted the other boy. "Hey."

"Hey Max."

His mother had disappeared upstairs, probably to inform his father that their guest had arrived, but still Max was hesitant to greet him like he normally did.

Fortunately for him, Dylan seemed to know this too, and he didn't make a move.

"Come on, come sit." He led the boy towards the living room behind him, and waited for him to settle down. "Can I get you anything? Water or something?"

"I'm good, thanks. You sit too...if you want."

This was the first sign Dylan had given off to show that despite his cool exterior, he was nervous inside too. Max couldn't help but smile at the wave of affection he suddenly felt towards the other boy for trying so hard.

He complied with his request, and then, "Hey, don't worry. It'll be fine...they won't bite."

Dylan's smile was involuntary. "Thanks, Max. You have no idea how worried I was that that would happen."

"I know, that's why I made it a point to tell you-oh! Hi Mum!" He'd shot to his feet instantly. Dylan was by his side in no time, too. "Hi Dad."

His parents seemed amused by what they knew was going through their son's mind. With a gentle laugh, Mrs. Grey told the boys to sit and relax.

After they were all comfortable, it began.

"So Dylan, I'm sure you know why we were anxious to meet you."

Max was mortified. How could his father just jump right into it? "Dad!" he hissed.

"Max, I'm sure Dylan's great and doing alright. And if he weren't, you'd have told us about it already." His mother patted his knee gently, and Max felt his face flush.

"Yeah, but still..."

"Hey, it's alright," Dylan spoke, "I know that this is pretty important."

"Then I'm sure you also know what we'd like to hear."

The way Mr. Grey had taken charge of the conversation made Max feel...silly. It was like he was a young child, or worse still, a young girl whose first boyfriend needed clear warnings not to get her pregnant or something.

"I do, and as I assure you that I'm not going to hurt Max, I'd like you to know that I'm not just saying it because you want to hear it."

He'd sounded as though he'd cut himself short, and Mrs. Grey asked him to continue.

"I do actually mean it," he continued softly, looking towards the other boy briefly, "and I promise that I don't...do anything illegal. And I really like Max, so, you know, I'm not going to mess with him and do anything that'd make him, or you, regret trusting me. And...well, yeah. That's basically it."

Silence filled the room for a few moments after that as all parties gathered their thoughts: Max, trying to extinguish the fire Dylan's words had set on his face; his parents, assessing the situation, and Dylan, hoping he'd not blown his shot with the guy he'd fallen even harder for over the past few months.

"Well," Mrs. Grey broke the silence, "I'm certainly glad to hear that, Dylan."

That sounded good, Max thought, yet a nagging feeling lingered on, telling him there was more.

"But-" Mr. Grey's addition to his wife's sentence confirmed that feeling, and Max was very nervous again, "we want to be honest with you. Even now, I can't say that I'm completely comfortable with this...but as his parents, you can appreciate that we'll always be a little worried about our son."