When I Come Around Part 14
Author: timrod
Rating: NC17 overall
Pairing: Billie Joe/other
Disclaimer: I don't own Green Day.
Surprised? Yeah, me too.
Part 1 - http://comingclean.livejournal.com/2953785.html#cutid1
Part 2 - http://comingclean.livejournal.com/2954009.html
Part 3 - http://comingclean.livejournal.com/2954629.html
Part 4 - http://comingclean.livejournal.com/2955105.html
Part 5 - http://comingclean.livejournal.com/2956943.html
Part 6 - http://comingclean.livejournal.com/2957718.html
Part 7 - http://comingclean.livejournal.com/2958836.html
Part 8 - http://comingclean.livejournal.com/2960069.html
Part 9a http://comingclean.livejournal.com/2963373.html
Part 9b http://comingclean.livejournal.com/2965012.html
Part 10a http://comingclean.livejournal.com/2966647.html
Part 10 b http://comingclean.livejournal.com/2967602.html
Part 11 - http://comingclean.livejournal.com/2974521.html
Part 12 - http://comingclean.livejournal.com/2975582.html
Part 13 http://comingclean.livejournal.com/2979489.html
“Sorry we’re late.” Billie smiled and held out his hand, which Lori shook equally warmly. They had, somewhat miraculously, left the house pretty much on schedule, but the freeway had been frustratingly slow all the way thanks to yet another shower of rain. They were both dressed reasonably smartly, although, considering the time that had passed since they started to shower, both of them still had wet hair.
“It’s okay, I only just got here myself. The girl covering my shift didn’t turn up on time. Our table’s ready if you want to eat.”
“Sure.”
“God, yes. Starving.”
They were led to a booth in a quiet corner of a restaurant that was gradually filling with lunchtime customers. Jay slid up to the wall, Billie beside him on the side of the table that was most shielded from the eyes of the other diners, and Lori sat across from her brother. She looked considerably happier than she had at their last meeting, and she waited until both men had a chance to glance through the menu before picking up the conversation. “Is this okay? It’s probably a bit down-market from what you are used to Mr. Armstrong, but I like it. I eat here whenever there’s a little cash left over at the end of the week.”
“Billie. It’s Billie, please, and no, this looks great. Reminds me of my Mom’s old place.”
“Your Mom was a waitress, or did she own the restaurant?”
“Just a waitress. She took retirement a couple of years ago, after I sort of bullied her into it.”
“It’s a good way to earn a living. I manage a coffee shop a block down from here, been there about nine years now. You meet lots of people, the tips are a bonus, and at the end of the day, you don’t take work home with you.”
“Yeah, the people thing’s good. I’ve met a lot of friends through my work.” Billie flashed a sideways smile, subtly squeezing a knee under the table. “Your brother included.”
“Yeah, he told me about that, how you took him in, even gave him a job. Looks like you got your wish after all, Frankie.”
Jay continued to read the menu, half-listening, at first not reacting to an unfamiliar name..
“Huh? Sorry. Reading. I don’t know what half of this shit is.”
“Sorry, old habits. I always called you Frankie. It’s Jay now, isn’t it?”
The drummer put his menu down with a sigh. “You choose for me, Billie. I got no fucking clue.” He turned back to his sister, the stranger, reaching for her hand across the table. “Call me whatever you want. I’m trying to remember, honest, but none of this is coming back. What did I wish for?”
“I understand.” Lori squeezed tight, as if she was afraid of losing Jay again. “You always wanted to be a drummer, since you were ten. We had a neighbour that was something to do with music, gave you an old drum kit.”
“Ten? Well, that explains why you are so fucking good, Jay.”
“You nearly drove us mad with it, Dad especially, practicing every spare moment.” Lori smiled as the memories came back to her. “He always said it was a waste of your time but ... looks like you called him out on that one.”
Billie got away with leaning in closer, pointing out something on the menu but deliberately failing to return to his previous position after they reached their decision. “He’s good, Lori. Seriously good. He picks stuff up real quick, but he’s also got his own way of playing, making the song his own. I want him on tour with me, and in the studio sessions. He’s got a great future in music.”
“I’m glad. As long as you’re happy, that’s all that matters. So do you know what you want to eat?”
“Think so. We’re going for the pasta, the one with the meat sauce. I know we both like that, though it won’t taste as good as the one Jay cooked.”
“Frankie ... Jay cooked pasta? That’s a first!”
“Yeah. I got called away to New York for business, flew back late Monday and he’d got dinner waiting for me.”
“I’ll have to come over and try that some day. It’s a good choice. The pasta here is great, but I’m just gonna go for a side salad, I think. Do you want wine? I’m going to have a glass anyway. I’m not driving for once.”
“Yeah, sure, l’ll order a bottle. I’ll probably stick to coffee but this is my treat, please, go for whatever you want.”
“Mister .. Billie, you don’t have ...”
Billie repeated. “My treat. Anything you want. I insist.”
In the time it took for the food to arrive, the three of them were on track to become good friends. Lori knew a lot about Billie, thanks to some intensive Googling over the past couple of days, and so most of the conversation was an exploration of her life. Jay hung on her every word, learning about his accident-prone childhood, their father, her job - every subject except for one glaring omission. She never once mentioned a partner. Billie refilled her glass for what was actually the third time, helping himself to some water as she finished another story where Jay had ended up with a broken bone, before steering the conversation in the direction he wanted it to go.
“So you live close to here? You said you weren’t driving.”
“Yeah, a mile or so down the road. Close enough to walk to work if I do a daytime shift. You know, gas prices and all that ...”
“Yeah, I know all about that. The transport costs this next tour are way up on the last one.”
“So when was the last time you walked to work, Billie?”
The singer giggled somewhat embarrassed, although the question was asked with a cheeky smile not unlike Jay’s. “Not that long ago, actually. I work from home sometimes.”
Jay chimed in, despite his mouthful of pasta. “Yeah, but it’s about a mile from the bedroom to the studio, though. You gotta see our place, Lori. It’s fucking HUGE.”
“Our place. Jay? Sounds like you’ve really made yourself at home!”
The two men exchanged knowing glances, and braced themselves for this now-or-never moment. Jay dropped his gaze as Billie clasped hands under the table and drew in a deep breath.
“It is our place, Lori. It’s just as much Jay’s as it is mine.”
“But how ....? Do you mean you’re moving in, like, for good?”
“I mean we’re lovers. Partners, boyfriends - whatever you want to call it, we’re in a relationship.”
“Wow. I mean, I saw a couple of photos of you kissing guys on stage, Billie - yeah, I know, I did some research on you, sorry - but there were more of you with girls. Pretty ones, too.”
If Lori could have seen their hands, she would have noticed how the colour drained from Billie’s knuckles as he gripped tighter. “It’s always been girls for me until Jay - until Frankie. From the day we met til last weekend - that’s all it took for me to fall in love with a man for the first time.”
“Frankie?”
The drummer smiled at Billie, and answered his sister with a slow nod. “I don’t know what I was like before ...”
“You’ve had girlfriends.”
“Okay, so I’ve had girlfriends, but like I said, I’m happy. I love him, too. Really love him.”
To the two musicians’ surprise, Lori grinned, then started to chuckle. “This is priceless. Real priceless. Did you mean to tell Dad this afternoon, Frankie?”
“I .... we hadn’t decided. We wanted ....”
Billie dived in to the rescue. “We wanted to tell you about it first, see how we should play it. I don’t want to make things any more difficult between Jay and his father, but .... “
“Look, you’ve seen how many pictures there are of him on the internet, Lori. I’ve seen how he can’t buy a carton of milk without someone taking his photo on their fucking phone. It’s not going to be long until someone sees us and puts two and two together and we don’t want our families to find out about us that way. We already told Billie’s mom ....”
“And?”
“And she’s cool. All of Billie’s - OUR friends are cool, too, and now we’ve told you ...”
Lori finished her wine in one gulp and poured the rest of the bottle into her glass, although she didn’t take as much as a sip out of it. “Time for the story of my life - the bit I haven’t told you yet. You know I left home a long while ago?”
“Ten years, you said.”
“It’s probably nearer eleven now, to be honest. Dad didn’t want me to go, we argued so much. I can see where he’s coming from. We’re all the family he’s got, and he wanted to keep us together, but the longer I stayed, the more we argued, until one day, it just got too much and I walked out.” Now she did take a drink, just a small one, but did not put the glass back on the table. “Just like you, Frankie. He didn’t come looking for me, either. You did. You asked everyone we knew in town and you found out I was working in a grocery store - and living with my girlfriend.”
Billie started to smile, his grip loosening. “Your girl friend or your girlfriend?”
“Girlfriend. Partner.”
“Shit.” Billie’s grin nearly split his face in two. “History repeating itself. Fuck!”
Jay let go of his lover and grabbed at their new ally instead - his own flesh and blood.
“Awesome. You guys still together?”
“Yeah. We’d be married if this state allowed it. We’ve been joking about moving to New York, Washington - even having one of those tacky fake Vegas weddings with Elvis presiding. We’re in it for life - we would love to make it official but we’ve got ties here - families, friends, jobs ....”
“That’s what I want for us, too. I can’t imagine being without Jay. I want us to grow old together.”
“Same here. I know I don’t know anything else except for being with Billie, but .... I can’t imagine anything better.” Jay risked a tiny kiss to Billie’s cheek in this public place, but far from resisting, Billie returned it, adding an encouraging smile. “So the burning question is - how did Dad take the news? I mean, you went there to visit last week, so it’s not like he told you to never come back.”
“He was angry, then relieved that I was safe, then sad that I wasn’t coming back, then happy that I was happy. Basically, he was Dad. Unpredictable, up one moment, down the next. I cleared out my stuff with him shouting at me, you trying to calm him down, but when I was leaving, he hugged me. I visit every couple of months, call him every week. He loves us, Frankie. The last thing he wants is to drive us away.”
“But he didn’t come looking for either of us?”
“That’s his main problem, he’s stubborn. He won’t ask for help if he needs it, and he won’t ever back down, but that goes for both of us, too. That’s why there were so many arguments.” Lori finished her wine, and pushed her plate to the middle of the table with a noisy clatter. “He won’t be out on the porch waiting for us, he’ll act like it’s no big deal, but he’s been worried about you, I promise. You’re his only son, he even gave you his name, for fuck’s sake - but if you want my advice, I’d give it a little while before you tell him he’s got two gay kids.”
*****
The truck was a wise choice. The metalled road surface ended about three miles from the Wright family home, and from then on it was nothing more than a dirt track, axle-deep in mud at the sides, but passable down the middle. Billie would have driven straight past the small gap in the fence if Lori hadn’t been guiding him from the front seat, but despite all of this, they arrived pretty much at the time they had arranged. One thing they had learned was that his military training made Jay’s father intolerant of unpunctuality, and they didn’t want to start this encounter off on the wrong foot. The two men waited for Lori to lead the way, calling out for her dad as they walked through the unlocked door. There were noises somewhere out of sight in the house, and in his own good time, Frank senior appeared.
Jay recognised him, not from life, but from the photo at the police station, although his hair and beard were even longer, his face more lined. That photo had apparently been taken a long time ago. The greeting consisted of a quick round of handshakes before they were led to a small sitting room warmed by a roaring wood stove. Billie kept quiet, leaving the two siblings to do the talking, quietly observing the reunion - polite, pleasant but guarded - from a seat in the corner. In particular, he noticed how often Frank looked at his son - taking in the details of his well-made clothes, and his new spiky hair cut - but mostly he watched Jay’s body language. Bit by bit, he slipped into a sullen mood, sharing a sofa with his sister, and searching the room for something that might jog his memory. Nothing did. After a few dead-and conversations ground to a halt, Lori led them through the house to find Jay’s old room.
Billie held back again, leaning on the doorframe as the others entered the bedroom that was so different from the one he shared with Jay. The walls were painted in three different colours that made Billie think of camouflage, the bed covered with linen that didn’t match - perfectly clean but well-used and patched. Boxes overflowed with magazines, mostly music - related, and the curtain pole served as a wardrobe. And there, in the corner, was Jay’s - Frankie’s - pride and joy, the drum kit. Set on the floor behind it was an accordion, and an acoustic guitar with only three strings. Jay sat on the wooden stool and picked up the battered sticks from the snare, but resisted playing a single beat. After what felt like a very long silence, he stood slowly, aware that three pairs of eyes were fixed on him, waiting for his reaction. He wiped his sleeve across his face, and, looking at nobody in particular, he shook his head.
*****
As was always the case, the drive home seemed shorter. Billie insisted on dropping Lori back to her door, now parked on her driveway in the fading light to talk about the afternoon’s events.
“So much for waiting for the right moment!”
Billie smiled, embarrassed, because sticking his tongue into the mouth of an emotionally-overloaded Jay had not been the sublest of ways to break the news of their relationship to Frank. “Yeah. Sorry. I couldn’t stand seeing him so upset. Forgive me?”
Jay’s response was an absolving kiss to Billie’s temple, Lori’s a broad grin. “Nothing to forgive, Billie. It was an honest reaction. I wanted to hug him, too. You just got there first, and that was a little different from the way I would have kissed him!”
“Yeah, I bet. I’ve always been a physical sort of a guy, and at least it wasn’t as bad as Jay was with my Mom.”
“Oh god, you didn’t!”
“He did. Tongue straight down her throat.”
“Oh, Frankie ...” Lori ran her fingers through her brother’s hair, exposing more of his blush. “Actually, you two were kinda sweet. I think Dad took it very well.”
Jay grabbed at his sister’s hand and brought it down to his lips. “He did, thanks to you, Thanks for what you said about us. That helped a lot.”
Yeah, well, I had some practice at that, remember? Like I said, he loves us, doesn’t want to drive us away, and accepting us for what we are is part of that, just like we accept him. He’s pretty cool in that respect.”
“Papa Cool.” Billie chuckled at his own joke before stealing Lori’s hand and squeezing it hard. “But seriously, thank you. This means a lot to us. Everyone that matters knows about us now.”
“Just keep on caring about him, okay, or you’ll have me to deal with. And Dad.”
“I will. And we meant it about coming for dinner one night. You and ...”
“Sarah.”
“You and Sarah would be very welcome. You got Jay’s number - how about we call tomorrow to set a date?”
“I think that would be very nice. Well, I’d better get going. I need a nap after that wine. It’s been good - better than I thought it would be. Take care, thanks for lunch, and I’ll see you again soon.”
SMUT APPROACHING IN THE NEXT CHAPTER!