Bandfic: Calling All The Children Home (frat!verse, B/C edition)
Title: Calling All The Children Home (frat!verse)
Author: tigs
Pairing/Characters: Brendon/Cash, Cash's mom, others
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: Don't know or own.
Warnings: Schmoop?
Summary: "Apparently you're going to be adopted over Mom's Weekend, just so you know. Just FYI." ~4600 words.
Author's Note: Sophomore year. This 'verse just gets more schmoopy and self-indulgent with every story I write in it. Title from the song by John McCutcheon. If you would like to see what a Spring Sing performance looks like, there are some videos here and here. Many thanks, as always, to amy13 for her nitpicking and suggestions. Any remaining errors are my own.
Author's Notes 2: On Brendon's relationship with his parents in the frat!verse. There is so much of this story in my head, and so much I haven't written out yet, but I wanted to explain where my thoughts were on this. In my head, Brendon had an extreme falling out with his parents when he opted to go away to Illinois to school, to turn away from the Mormon faith. There was a big blow out fight, things were said on both sides which would later be regretted, at least on Brendon's end, and Brendon basically ran. He wasn't disowned, but his parents didn't reach out, and Brendon was trying so hard to make a new life for himself that he didn't want to look back. While he was pretty sure that his parents would cool off at some point regarding Brendon's turning away from the Church, once Cash entered the picture, he became even more afraid to attempt to reconnect, in case things with his parents ended on an even worse note. So in my head, he's estranged, not disowned, and afraid (at this point) to do anything about it. Just so you all have some background before heading into this story.
Calling All The Children Home
The thing is: the bell is really fucking annoying. It's small, simple, deceptively light in hand, but it's high-pitched ring-a-ling-a-ling is enough to pierce the eardrums. Just the sound of it, though, can make 35 guys pause their conversations long enough to be called to order, so Brendon thinks it might actually have some magical powers. Or something.
(Because that's what Spencer said once, when Brendon told him his theory. "Or something." He wasn't actually laughing at Brendon, even though it seemed like he was for a few seconds, because the next thing he said was: "I'd have probably gone with demonic powers, though, rather than magical."
Then he and Brendon had laughed together, but in that hesitant way, that indicated they both believed it was probably sort of true.)
Tonight, though, Jon rings the bell, gets everyone quiet long enough for him to say, "Okay guys, just a few things to go over before dinner tonight. Namely, Mom's Weekend. It's coming up. We need to start planning."
There's a rising murmur in the room then: half groan, because their moms being there means that they'll all have to be on their best behavior for longer than the usual three hours on Monday night, and half not, because on the other hand, *moms*.
Singer is actually bouncing a little in his spot beside Brendon on the couch. "My mom got her plane tickets *weeks* ago," he whispers. "She made me promise to get tickets to the tea. I'm like, mom, it's a *tea*. There are going to be, like, cucumber sandwiches and shit--"
"We've got the brunch on the calendar for that Sunday morning," Jon continues, raising his voice so that he can be heard over everyone else. Then, when that doesn't work, he rings the bell again, making at least half the guys in the room hiss, covering their ears.
"Jesus," Nick says. "Give a guy some warning next time, Walker."
"Well, if you'd all shut up for longer than ten seconds, I wouldn't have to resort to drastic measures!" Jon says. He's laughing, though, in a totally unsympathetic way, which Brendon takes to mean that he's obviously enjoying wielding the Power Of The Bell.
Brendon thinks he may have to have another talk with his Big about using his powers for good instead of evil.
"Mr. Blackinton," Jon continues. "Tell us about the brunch."
Ryland stands up from his spot by the piano and holds up a piece of binder paper, on which someone has haphazardly drawn a grid in red marker, and then written the words "Brunch Sign-Up" and "Name/#of meals" across the top in crooked letters.
"It's simple," Ryland says, in that British accent he's been using off and on since he came back from summer, since his time spent doing summer stock at the theater company in his town. "Write your name under where it says name, and how many of you will be attending. For instance, I would put down my name, Ryland Blackinton, and then I would write down the number '2', since it will be me and my mother, and my younger brother is not invited. Simple? Simple."
He takes a bow, then sits to a round of golf clapping, started by Suarez, who then pats Ryland on the back.
"Thank you," Ryland says. "Thank you."
And the meeting might have been derailed there, except for the fact that Jon fakes a grab for the bell, and they all shut up in the horror that their eardrums might be subjected to its sound for a *third* time in five minutes.
"We'll have Sing Friday night," Jon says. "And the comedy show is Saturday. And the fashion show is going on Saturday afternoon, and we all know how much moms eat that stuff up, but if anyone can think of any counter programming, that'd be sort of awesome. So, you know. Think. Have ideas. Share them with the rest of us and let us claim them as our own."
"Boo-yah," Siska says, which makes half the room laugh. The Butcher says, "What the f--um, *frack*, man."
Siska shrugs, but the meeting does go off the tracks there, and Brendon sees Jon eying the bell again, but that's the point where their cook comes into the room and says, "Dinner is served." And really--and Brendon feels he should point this out to Jon--that is just as an effective a way to get everyone to shut up as the bell, and it's a whole lot more humane, too.
*
This is one reason that Brendon sort of loves his guys a ridiculous amount: none of them ask if Brendon's mother will be coming to Illinois this year (just like they didn't ask about his dad during Dad's Weekend, or his siblings during Siblings Weekend).
Instead, during his first Dad's Weekend, Spencer dragged Brendon out to breakfast with him and his dad, then made Brendon walk around the car show with them when his dad decided he wanted to go.
("Oh my god," Spencer said at the time. "I like cars. But not *that* much. Save me.")
During the second, Singer kept him distracted from the prospect of meeting Cash's dad for the first time by making Brendon go out to a movie with him and his dad. "My dad's treat," Singer said. "He's insisting."
During both Siblings Weekends that he's lived through so far, Jon had attempted to shove his brother Mike off onto Brendon. "Seriously," he said. "I get him 364 days a year. You can have him for one, I don't mind at all."
And last Mom's Weekend, well.
*Last* Mom's Weekend, they'd placed third in Sing, they'd won the Fraternity of the Year cup, and then Brendon had shown up at Cash's door, full of apologies, knowing exactly what he wanted, needing (hoping) to make things right.
Brendon pretty much has only fond memories of that weekend.
Cash's mother hadn't come for Mom's Weekend last year, though--two-week old grand-babies win out over fashion shows and high teas, Cash told him later--but this year, she's coming.
It wasn't a sure thing, but then Cash signed up to be in the fashion show, and Brendon guesses that that was a deciding factor, because when Cash lets him into the apartment one night, two weeks before the big event, he's talking on the phone. He rolls his eyes as Brendon raises a questioning eyebrow, but what he says is, "Yes, I got you a front row seat. Yes, I'm going to--wait, hold on, let me ask him. No, he just got here, like, ten seconds ago. Hold on." He pulls the phone away from his mouth and says, "My mom wants to know if you're going to sit with her during the fashion show?"
Brendon's eyes go a little wide, but what he says is, "Of course I'll sit with you, Mrs. Colligan!" Loudly, so she'll be able to hear him. He can hear her tinny laughter in response.
"You heard that?" Cash asks his mom, turning back towards the living room, grabbing Brendon's hand and tugging him along behind him. Brendon hears him laughing at something, then he looks back over his shoulder at Brendon. "She says you're supposed to call her Vicky. She says she thought she drilled that into you over Thanksgiving."
"Sorry," Brendon says, loudly again.
"Yes," Cash says. "He's sorry." A pause. Then, "Do you just want to talk to him yourself? I can hand the phone over." Then, "No, okay, yeah. I'll tell him." Another moment, a smile, a "love you, too," and then Cash is flipping the phone closed.
"Apparently you're going to be adopted over Mom's Weekend, just so you know. Just FYI."
Brendon laughs and ducks his head, just a little, but then he says, "Sounds like a plan." Then he squeezes Cash's hand and, because he hasn't said it already, says, "Hi."
"Hi," Cash says, grinning.
*
The thing is: no matter what Cash's mom says on the phone, Mom's Weekend is about mothers spending time with their children, so while Brendon's apparently going to the fashion show with her, and Brendon did end up getting Cash and his mom tickets for Sing in the FBR block--namely because one night when Cash was over, Jon said, "You're sitting with us, right?", which made Cash blink at Brendon before saying, "I guess?"--well, that's really all Brendon's planning; that and maybe a dinner one night, or something. He and Nate and Butcher and Johnson and Ian and a few of the others are even making Orphans Only plans, which those who have moms in town are Not Allowed To Attend.
All of which is to say, Brendon's really not expecting Cash and his mom to show up on the FBR doorstep at 5:30 on the Thursday of Mom's Weekend, unannounced. But when Brendon gets a "Visitor and Caller" page over the intercom, they're the ones standing in the foyer when he comes downstairs, and both of them are smiling--widely, the family resemblance obvious--as he says, "Um, hi? Was I expecting you?"
Cash shakes his head as his mom advances, pulling Brendon into a hug. When she pulls back, Brendon sees that she's wearing a Springfield University Mom (decorated with little pastel flowers) sweatshirt, and she squeezes Brendon's shoulders as she says, "You haven't eaten yet, have you? Good. Go get your jacket then."
They go to the Riverside Cafe downtown, which is more of a sit down dinner place than the name might suggest. Brendon feels slightly out of place in his jeans and sneakers and hoodie, but on the other hand, Cash's mom is in her sweatshirt, so he supposes she doesn't care.
Instead she asks him about classes, about this Sing thing that she's going to the next night--how long had they been preparing for it? four months, really? what sorority were they working with? Kappa Delta? are they a nice house?--and then, over dessert, she starts telling tales of Cash in high school, about how he went through this *skater* phase, where he'd lugged his skateboard with him everywhere, and she would be happy to email Brendon pictures, if he'd like. She has whole photo albums of them. Really, anything Brendon would like to see.
When they finally drop Brendon back off at the house--because Brendon will not be spending the night at Cash's apartment, not with his mom there--Cash's mom says, "Now, what's your schedule for tomorrow? Do we get to steal you for dinner before your Sing?"
Brendon wants to say yes, but the fact is, Sing is Sing, and they'll need to be at the gym an hour before the show starts, at least, and they'll have to get into costume and do makeup and then fix makeup, and then do vocal warm-ups, and Brendon knows that a 5:30 call time will turn into a 4:30 call time, and plans on Sing Day are not a good thing to have. Also, she's here to visit Cash, not Brendon, so shouldn't she be spending time with him?
"I--" he starts, but Cash says, "He has to start getting ready really f-- um, flipping early, so probably not."
"Dessert, then," she says. "We'll celebrate your grand win."
Brendon laughs, says, "Sure, yeah, okay," then gets out of the car.
*
This is the thing about Sing: it's Hell.
Even though they're doing it with Kappa Delta--a totally awesome house, obviously--there were still practices that ended with Ryland, their Sing Chair, storming into the house, slamming the door to his room, then spending at least five minutes swearing at the top of his lungs. There were still several Chapter meetings where he'd talked about things like Commitment and Dedication and Team Work, although sadly, rarely in his British accent.
Brendon remembers hitting performance day for last year's Sing and having Deep and Meaningful Conversations with Ryan and Spencer where they all said things like, "Never again." Of the three of them, though, Spencer's the only one who stuck to his word. Amazing, since Haley's taking part, but true. Ryan never had a chance, what with Keltie being KD's Sing Chair and all.
This is the other thing about Sing: the performance is actually fun, and if you win, or place, all of the annoyance and frustration just sort of... melts away, and you start thinking things like, 'next year, we'll take it all!' At least that's Brendon's story for why he's ended up doing it again. That, and his Little and all of his little Alex and Ian friends are doing it, and Brendon is weak in the face of so many pouts.
Still, Sing Day, and Keltie and some of her KD sisters are running around straightening suspenders and retying bows and filling the room with clouds of hairspray, and doing rouge and eyeliner and lipstick on everyone--"It has to be dramatic!" Keltie says, "So they can see it from the second level!"--and Ryland's leading a sing-along in the corner--"Mi-mi-mi, meh-meh-meh, la-la-la"--and Brendon, quite frankly, is ready for it to be over.
"Hats?" Haley's asking. "Everyone got their hats?" They're doing Guys & Dolls--one year before Brendon leaves, they will do Aladdin, but this is not that year--and the hats are important. They've got to, like, roll them across their shoulders. In unison. And then the girls steal them. And there are high kicks and swing moves, and choreographed lifts, and somersaults, and they've done it perfectly in practice more than once, but that was not on the stage in front of several thousand people, and--
"Five minutes!" Keltie calls, but it's pretty much the fastest five minutes of Brendon's life, because the next thing he knows, they're being announced and they're filing on stage, and Brendon hears a roar of cheering and catcalls coming from one of the upper levels--his contingent, more than representing--and then the music's starting up. They open with 'The Oldest Establishment', continue on with 'Guys and Dolls', do an interlude of 'Take Back Your Mink', and finish with 'Luck Be A Lady', and Brendon's really only paying attention to what he's supposed to be doing, but he doesn't see any missed cues, doesn't hear the gasp that signals an unsuccessful lift. He's where he's supposed to be, Haley and Greta are always where they're supposed to be for the partner portions of the show, and when they hit the final pose, the whole place goes *wild*. He can hear cheers and the rumble of people stamping their feet, and calls of "FBR! FBR! KD! KD! KD!" and as he takes a bow, he lets the energy in the room wash over him, and thinks that he could do this all night long.
*
"The thing is," Jon says as their group leaves the gym an hour and a half later, "we were totally robbed."
And by 'totally robbed', what he really means is that FBR did totally awesome, because they may not have won, but they *did* place second, and no one can really complain about that. Not when Brendon actually saw some of the performances they beat out. Alpha Chi and DU did a fantastic Peter Pan--somehow dreamy in it's choreography, but with some stunts Brendon had never seen before--and the winners, FIJI and the Tri-Delts had won with a really fun South Pacific. Seriously: grass skirts. Brendon thinks they deserved to win just for daring to do that.
Before Brendon can answer, though, Cash is suddenly in front of him, throwing his arms around Brendon and kissing him. "You were fucking awesome," Cash whispers after he pulls back, and Brendon feels his smile grow impossibly wider. That's when he sees Cash's mom standing behind Cash, smiling indulgently at the two of them. He waits for Cash to pull back, lets Cash take his hand, and then they're heading towards the cars. Not alone, though, because Cash's mom is talking to Spencer's mom--apparently they sat together during the show?--saying how she and Cash and Brendon were going to go get dessert, would they like to come?
Which is how the three of them end up sitting in Baskin Robbins with, well, what feels like half of FBR, but is in reality just Jon, Ryan, Keltie, Spencer, Haley, Greta, and Marshall, and all of their moms, eating ice cream, even though it's edging towards 10 o'clock. They're being too loud--if the mildly annoyed glare that the ice cream girl is giving them is anything to go by--but since it's mostly the moms laughing, Brendon just sits back and enjoys.
*
Brendon offered to meet Cash's mom at the fashion show, but she'd insisted on picking Brendon up. It should have been awkward, he thought, spending time alone with Cash's mom, but as soon as Brendon gets in the car, she says, "Cash would kill me for telling you this, but..."
Which is to say, she comes prepared with even *more* Cash-in-high-school stories (like the time he dyed his hair blue and spiked it into a mohawk, and how there had been meetings with the principal about appropriate school dress, no really) and even *better*, Cash-in-grade-school stories (like how he'd dressed up as a power ranger for Halloween, three years in a *row*).
So, the drive to the Student Union actually pretty much speeds on by, and then they're walking into the ballroom, and it turns out Cash wasn't lying when he said that the seats he'd reserved for them were front row. They're on the left side, midway down the catwalk, and Cash's mom says, proudly, "Best seats in the house."
They really are, because the models are *right there*, stomping their way down the runway. Cash is fifth in the rotation, and they start off with the casual wear--he's wearing shorts and a t-shirt, all designed and made by students. His hair has been teased into a mess that Brendon wants to run his fingers through, and Brendon can't help but whistle when Cash passes by him the first time. Cash doesn't look down, or even smile--he's too much of a professional apparently--but he does wiggle his fingers at Brendon in a decidedly un-model like manner, so Brendon counts it as a win.
He does two passes with the casual wear, then it's time for the formal wear, and Brendon's seen Cash in a suit before, obviously--Cash did come to the FBR formal, after all--but this one looks like it's been cut especially for Cash. And he may lean forward a little bit when he sees Cash coming towards him in it, he may even bite his lip, but then he remembers who, exactly, he's sitting next to, and he sits back in his chair. When he glances over at Cash's mom, though, she's smiling at him. Brendon grins back.
They finish with experimental pieces--dresses made out of paper, that sort of thing--and then all of the models are coming out onto the runway, each escorting a designer. Cash's mom cheers more loudly than Brendon does.
*
Apparently, Cash really wasn't kidding when he said that his mom was going to adopt Brendon, because she starts talking about dinner Saturday night, too. This time, Brendon declines. Mostly because this is *Cash's* mom, and this is Mom's Weekend, and Cash doesn't get to see his mom that often, Brendon knows, and they should have some time alone. Also, though--and this is the reason he gives--they're having their Orphans Only meal, and since Brendon was one of the main organizers, he feels he should probably be there.
When they drop him off, after Brendon says his 'thanks for everything's, his 'it was wonderful to see you's, 'yes I'll come visit this summer's, Cash walks him to the door. He doesn't look pissed, but he says, "You know she wants you to come, right? We both do. She's not just asking because it's polite." Brendon nods, because he does know, and he--
He's actually a little overwhelmed with how much effort Cash's mom is putting into being there for Brendon, too. If it was Brendon's mom who was here, he knows the same wouldn't be true, he knows it. And Brendon's mom *isn't* here, which is maybe part of the problem.
"She's your mom," Brendon says finally. "It's the last night. You should get to spend some time alone with her. *I* feel like I've spent more time alone with her than you have."
Cash looks like he's going to protest, but Brendon puts on his stubborn face, the one he's spent the last two years trying to learn from Spencer, and finally Cash sighs. "Okay," he says. "Okay, fine. Have fun at your Orphans Only dinner. I'll see you tomorrow?"
"Absolutely," Brendon says, and even though Cash's mom is sitting in the car, probably watching them, he wraps his arms around Cash's neck and kisses him. Cash's hands come to rest on his hips, and they stand there for maybe more than a few minutes, until Joe opens the front door and says, "Now that'll be enough of that, you young whipper-snappers. In my day, our tongues stayed in our *own* mouths."
Brendon rests his head on Cash's shoulder for a moment, then looks at Joe and says, "Marie's okay with that?"
Joe cackles, then dances back into the house when Brendon feints in his direction.
"I'll see you tomorrow," Cash says again, and Brendon nods, squeezes Cash's hand, before heading back inside his house.
*
Sunday morning is the annual brunch. The house is as clean as it's ever been--which is to say, since this time last year--and most of the guys are dressed up in button downs and ties (although some are wearing tie dye, and yes, Butcher, Brendon's looking at you). Brendon put his name down for one meal--because he needs to eat, and he figures he can get away with talking for a few minutes with Spencer's mom, maybe a few more with Singer's, and then escaping to his room, counting down the time until Cash's mom will be gone, until he can head on over to Cash and Shane's apartment.
He's barely through the line, though, when Suarez is tapping him on the shoulder and saying, "Urie, you have a visitor."
Brendon turns around, confused--because seriously, no one should be visiting him today of all days--but when he turns around, Cash's mom is standing there, grinning. She's wearing her Springfield University Mom sweatshirt again, and as Brendon gapes--there's really no other word for it--and looks for Cash somewhere behind her, she says, "So, do you have enough food for one more?"
One, Brendon's quickly figuring out, as in, Cash isn't here.
"Ginger Smith was telling me about the brunch while we were waiting for the festivities to start Friday night," Cash's mom says. "She told me how much she'd enjoyed it last year, and I hoped that you wouldn't mind if I adopted you for a few hours so that I could get in on it, too."
It's an easy excuse, but because Brendon's totally flustered, he takes it for what it is and says, "Yeah. Um. Yeah, absolutely. Um. We should probably get seats? We should get seats."
He sees Spencer and his mom sitting down already, but they're sitting with Johnson and Ian and Patrick and his mom. Singer's waving at Brendon, though, and there are two open seats at that table (Brendon now needs two!), so Brendon heads in that direction. Once they get there, Cash's mom reaches across the table to shake Singer's mom's hand, says, "Hi, I'm Vicky. I'm adopting Brendon for the morning."
"She belongs to Cash. You know, my Big-in-Law?" Singer says by way of explanation, and his mom nods. "Ah!" she says. "It's good to meet you. Alex has told me quite a bit about Cash."
"And this is Alex," Brendon says. "A.k.a. Singer, my little brother in the house."
Singer reaches out to shake Cash's mom's hand, too, and then because Brendon has some manners, he offers to get Cash's mom a plate of food. When he returns, Singer is regaling the two moms with some of the more parental friendly tales of fraternity life--and once Brendon sits down, he realizes that they seem to mainly be tales about *Brendon*. And Cash's mom is listening intently, like she's truly interested. Eventually Jon and his mom come over--"Family reunion, dudes," Jon says as he straddles a chair--and there's more talking, more, until Ryan comes into the room and rings that fucking awful bell, and says, "Um. The picture man is here?"
Most everyone who's still left in the dining room stands up then, and someone's put the call out over the intercom, so people are coming downstairs quickly, too. Cash's mom says, "Well?"
"House pictures," Brendon says. "Class pictures. It's... tradition. We've got to commemorate every event, you know?"
"Then we should go commemorate," she says. She extends a hand towards Brendon and pulls him up. They walk to the foyer together, where Spencer's gathering their class together. "We're going for the front steps," he says. "Unless the juniors get there first. In which case we're going for the tree. Because the seniors are taking the porch swing, of course."
"Spencer likes to organize," Brendon says quietly, and Cash's mom nods, smiling, like they're sharing a joke. She's the one who says, "I think it runs in the family," a few minutes later, as Ginger Smith starts trying to organize people by height on the steps. Brendon laughs loudly enough at that comment that both the Smiths glare at him. He manages to tame it down to a really wide smile by the time the flash goes off, though.
The house picture is next, the whole house crowding together, filling the front porch. They take five pictures, and Brendon only makes a funny face in one of them. When that's done, the photographer starts wandering around taking pictures of mothers and sons, family pictures, best friend pictures.
Brendon's just thinking of asking when Cash's mom needs to leave--because she has a couple hour drive back home, he knows, and she probably needs to see Cash before she leaves--when she grabs his elbow and flags down the picture man all in one motion.
"One of the two of us," she says, and they end up taking the picture in front of the fireplace, Cash's mom's arm around Brendon's waist, the both of them smiling. And that's the end, pretty much, because the brunch is winding down and Cash's mom really does need to leave. Brendon walks her out to her car and after she gives him a hug, she says, "If you could get me a copy of that last picture? I'd like one for my album."
"Will do," Brendon says, and he can't help himself. He hugs Cash's mom again.
*
The next day, when the picture man brings copies of the proof sheets over, Brendon scans through them all until he finds the picture of him and Cash's mom together.
He orders two.
Author: tigs
Pairing/Characters: Brendon/Cash, Cash's mom, others
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: Don't know or own.
Warnings: Schmoop?
Summary: "Apparently you're going to be adopted over Mom's Weekend, just so you know. Just FYI." ~4600 words.
Author's Note: Sophomore year. This 'verse just gets more schmoopy and self-indulgent with every story I write in it. Title from the song by John McCutcheon. If you would like to see what a Spring Sing performance looks like, there are some videos here and here. Many thanks, as always, to amy13 for her nitpicking and suggestions. Any remaining errors are my own.
Author's Notes 2: On Brendon's relationship with his parents in the frat!verse. There is so much of this story in my head, and so much I haven't written out yet, but I wanted to explain where my thoughts were on this. In my head, Brendon had an extreme falling out with his parents when he opted to go away to Illinois to school, to turn away from the Mormon faith. There was a big blow out fight, things were said on both sides which would later be regretted, at least on Brendon's end, and Brendon basically ran. He wasn't disowned, but his parents didn't reach out, and Brendon was trying so hard to make a new life for himself that he didn't want to look back. While he was pretty sure that his parents would cool off at some point regarding Brendon's turning away from the Church, once Cash entered the picture, he became even more afraid to attempt to reconnect, in case things with his parents ended on an even worse note. So in my head, he's estranged, not disowned, and afraid (at this point) to do anything about it. Just so you all have some background before heading into this story.
Calling All The Children Home
The thing is: the bell is really fucking annoying. It's small, simple, deceptively light in hand, but it's high-pitched ring-a-ling-a-ling is enough to pierce the eardrums. Just the sound of it, though, can make 35 guys pause their conversations long enough to be called to order, so Brendon thinks it might actually have some magical powers. Or something.
(Because that's what Spencer said once, when Brendon told him his theory. "Or something." He wasn't actually laughing at Brendon, even though it seemed like he was for a few seconds, because the next thing he said was: "I'd have probably gone with demonic powers, though, rather than magical."
Then he and Brendon had laughed together, but in that hesitant way, that indicated they both believed it was probably sort of true.)
Tonight, though, Jon rings the bell, gets everyone quiet long enough for him to say, "Okay guys, just a few things to go over before dinner tonight. Namely, Mom's Weekend. It's coming up. We need to start planning."
There's a rising murmur in the room then: half groan, because their moms being there means that they'll all have to be on their best behavior for longer than the usual three hours on Monday night, and half not, because on the other hand, *moms*.
Singer is actually bouncing a little in his spot beside Brendon on the couch. "My mom got her plane tickets *weeks* ago," he whispers. "She made me promise to get tickets to the tea. I'm like, mom, it's a *tea*. There are going to be, like, cucumber sandwiches and shit--"
"We've got the brunch on the calendar for that Sunday morning," Jon continues, raising his voice so that he can be heard over everyone else. Then, when that doesn't work, he rings the bell again, making at least half the guys in the room hiss, covering their ears.
"Jesus," Nick says. "Give a guy some warning next time, Walker."
"Well, if you'd all shut up for longer than ten seconds, I wouldn't have to resort to drastic measures!" Jon says. He's laughing, though, in a totally unsympathetic way, which Brendon takes to mean that he's obviously enjoying wielding the Power Of The Bell.
Brendon thinks he may have to have another talk with his Big about using his powers for good instead of evil.
"Mr. Blackinton," Jon continues. "Tell us about the brunch."
Ryland stands up from his spot by the piano and holds up a piece of binder paper, on which someone has haphazardly drawn a grid in red marker, and then written the words "Brunch Sign-Up" and "Name/#of meals" across the top in crooked letters.
"It's simple," Ryland says, in that British accent he's been using off and on since he came back from summer, since his time spent doing summer stock at the theater company in his town. "Write your name under where it says name, and how many of you will be attending. For instance, I would put down my name, Ryland Blackinton, and then I would write down the number '2', since it will be me and my mother, and my younger brother is not invited. Simple? Simple."
He takes a bow, then sits to a round of golf clapping, started by Suarez, who then pats Ryland on the back.
"Thank you," Ryland says. "Thank you."
And the meeting might have been derailed there, except for the fact that Jon fakes a grab for the bell, and they all shut up in the horror that their eardrums might be subjected to its sound for a *third* time in five minutes.
"We'll have Sing Friday night," Jon says. "And the comedy show is Saturday. And the fashion show is going on Saturday afternoon, and we all know how much moms eat that stuff up, but if anyone can think of any counter programming, that'd be sort of awesome. So, you know. Think. Have ideas. Share them with the rest of us and let us claim them as our own."
"Boo-yah," Siska says, which makes half the room laugh. The Butcher says, "What the f--um, *frack*, man."
Siska shrugs, but the meeting does go off the tracks there, and Brendon sees Jon eying the bell again, but that's the point where their cook comes into the room and says, "Dinner is served." And really--and Brendon feels he should point this out to Jon--that is just as an effective a way to get everyone to shut up as the bell, and it's a whole lot more humane, too.
*
This is one reason that Brendon sort of loves his guys a ridiculous amount: none of them ask if Brendon's mother will be coming to Illinois this year (just like they didn't ask about his dad during Dad's Weekend, or his siblings during Siblings Weekend).
Instead, during his first Dad's Weekend, Spencer dragged Brendon out to breakfast with him and his dad, then made Brendon walk around the car show with them when his dad decided he wanted to go.
("Oh my god," Spencer said at the time. "I like cars. But not *that* much. Save me.")
During the second, Singer kept him distracted from the prospect of meeting Cash's dad for the first time by making Brendon go out to a movie with him and his dad. "My dad's treat," Singer said. "He's insisting."
During both Siblings Weekends that he's lived through so far, Jon had attempted to shove his brother Mike off onto Brendon. "Seriously," he said. "I get him 364 days a year. You can have him for one, I don't mind at all."
And last Mom's Weekend, well.
*Last* Mom's Weekend, they'd placed third in Sing, they'd won the Fraternity of the Year cup, and then Brendon had shown up at Cash's door, full of apologies, knowing exactly what he wanted, needing (hoping) to make things right.
Brendon pretty much has only fond memories of that weekend.
Cash's mother hadn't come for Mom's Weekend last year, though--two-week old grand-babies win out over fashion shows and high teas, Cash told him later--but this year, she's coming.
It wasn't a sure thing, but then Cash signed up to be in the fashion show, and Brendon guesses that that was a deciding factor, because when Cash lets him into the apartment one night, two weeks before the big event, he's talking on the phone. He rolls his eyes as Brendon raises a questioning eyebrow, but what he says is, "Yes, I got you a front row seat. Yes, I'm going to--wait, hold on, let me ask him. No, he just got here, like, ten seconds ago. Hold on." He pulls the phone away from his mouth and says, "My mom wants to know if you're going to sit with her during the fashion show?"
Brendon's eyes go a little wide, but what he says is, "Of course I'll sit with you, Mrs. Colligan!" Loudly, so she'll be able to hear him. He can hear her tinny laughter in response.
"You heard that?" Cash asks his mom, turning back towards the living room, grabbing Brendon's hand and tugging him along behind him. Brendon hears him laughing at something, then he looks back over his shoulder at Brendon. "She says you're supposed to call her Vicky. She says she thought she drilled that into you over Thanksgiving."
"Sorry," Brendon says, loudly again.
"Yes," Cash says. "He's sorry." A pause. Then, "Do you just want to talk to him yourself? I can hand the phone over." Then, "No, okay, yeah. I'll tell him." Another moment, a smile, a "love you, too," and then Cash is flipping the phone closed.
"Apparently you're going to be adopted over Mom's Weekend, just so you know. Just FYI."
Brendon laughs and ducks his head, just a little, but then he says, "Sounds like a plan." Then he squeezes Cash's hand and, because he hasn't said it already, says, "Hi."
"Hi," Cash says, grinning.
*
The thing is: no matter what Cash's mom says on the phone, Mom's Weekend is about mothers spending time with their children, so while Brendon's apparently going to the fashion show with her, and Brendon did end up getting Cash and his mom tickets for Sing in the FBR block--namely because one night when Cash was over, Jon said, "You're sitting with us, right?", which made Cash blink at Brendon before saying, "I guess?"--well, that's really all Brendon's planning; that and maybe a dinner one night, or something. He and Nate and Butcher and Johnson and Ian and a few of the others are even making Orphans Only plans, which those who have moms in town are Not Allowed To Attend.
All of which is to say, Brendon's really not expecting Cash and his mom to show up on the FBR doorstep at 5:30 on the Thursday of Mom's Weekend, unannounced. But when Brendon gets a "Visitor and Caller" page over the intercom, they're the ones standing in the foyer when he comes downstairs, and both of them are smiling--widely, the family resemblance obvious--as he says, "Um, hi? Was I expecting you?"
Cash shakes his head as his mom advances, pulling Brendon into a hug. When she pulls back, Brendon sees that she's wearing a Springfield University Mom (decorated with little pastel flowers) sweatshirt, and she squeezes Brendon's shoulders as she says, "You haven't eaten yet, have you? Good. Go get your jacket then."
They go to the Riverside Cafe downtown, which is more of a sit down dinner place than the name might suggest. Brendon feels slightly out of place in his jeans and sneakers and hoodie, but on the other hand, Cash's mom is in her sweatshirt, so he supposes she doesn't care.
Instead she asks him about classes, about this Sing thing that she's going to the next night--how long had they been preparing for it? four months, really? what sorority were they working with? Kappa Delta? are they a nice house?--and then, over dessert, she starts telling tales of Cash in high school, about how he went through this *skater* phase, where he'd lugged his skateboard with him everywhere, and she would be happy to email Brendon pictures, if he'd like. She has whole photo albums of them. Really, anything Brendon would like to see.
When they finally drop Brendon back off at the house--because Brendon will not be spending the night at Cash's apartment, not with his mom there--Cash's mom says, "Now, what's your schedule for tomorrow? Do we get to steal you for dinner before your Sing?"
Brendon wants to say yes, but the fact is, Sing is Sing, and they'll need to be at the gym an hour before the show starts, at least, and they'll have to get into costume and do makeup and then fix makeup, and then do vocal warm-ups, and Brendon knows that a 5:30 call time will turn into a 4:30 call time, and plans on Sing Day are not a good thing to have. Also, she's here to visit Cash, not Brendon, so shouldn't she be spending time with him?
"I--" he starts, but Cash says, "He has to start getting ready really f-- um, flipping early, so probably not."
"Dessert, then," she says. "We'll celebrate your grand win."
Brendon laughs, says, "Sure, yeah, okay," then gets out of the car.
*
This is the thing about Sing: it's Hell.
Even though they're doing it with Kappa Delta--a totally awesome house, obviously--there were still practices that ended with Ryland, their Sing Chair, storming into the house, slamming the door to his room, then spending at least five minutes swearing at the top of his lungs. There were still several Chapter meetings where he'd talked about things like Commitment and Dedication and Team Work, although sadly, rarely in his British accent.
Brendon remembers hitting performance day for last year's Sing and having Deep and Meaningful Conversations with Ryan and Spencer where they all said things like, "Never again." Of the three of them, though, Spencer's the only one who stuck to his word. Amazing, since Haley's taking part, but true. Ryan never had a chance, what with Keltie being KD's Sing Chair and all.
This is the other thing about Sing: the performance is actually fun, and if you win, or place, all of the annoyance and frustration just sort of... melts away, and you start thinking things like, 'next year, we'll take it all!' At least that's Brendon's story for why he's ended up doing it again. That, and his Little and all of his little Alex and Ian friends are doing it, and Brendon is weak in the face of so many pouts.
Still, Sing Day, and Keltie and some of her KD sisters are running around straightening suspenders and retying bows and filling the room with clouds of hairspray, and doing rouge and eyeliner and lipstick on everyone--"It has to be dramatic!" Keltie says, "So they can see it from the second level!"--and Ryland's leading a sing-along in the corner--"Mi-mi-mi, meh-meh-meh, la-la-la"--and Brendon, quite frankly, is ready for it to be over.
"Hats?" Haley's asking. "Everyone got their hats?" They're doing Guys & Dolls--one year before Brendon leaves, they will do Aladdin, but this is not that year--and the hats are important. They've got to, like, roll them across their shoulders. In unison. And then the girls steal them. And there are high kicks and swing moves, and choreographed lifts, and somersaults, and they've done it perfectly in practice more than once, but that was not on the stage in front of several thousand people, and--
"Five minutes!" Keltie calls, but it's pretty much the fastest five minutes of Brendon's life, because the next thing he knows, they're being announced and they're filing on stage, and Brendon hears a roar of cheering and catcalls coming from one of the upper levels--his contingent, more than representing--and then the music's starting up. They open with 'The Oldest Establishment', continue on with 'Guys and Dolls', do an interlude of 'Take Back Your Mink', and finish with 'Luck Be A Lady', and Brendon's really only paying attention to what he's supposed to be doing, but he doesn't see any missed cues, doesn't hear the gasp that signals an unsuccessful lift. He's where he's supposed to be, Haley and Greta are always where they're supposed to be for the partner portions of the show, and when they hit the final pose, the whole place goes *wild*. He can hear cheers and the rumble of people stamping their feet, and calls of "FBR! FBR! KD! KD! KD!" and as he takes a bow, he lets the energy in the room wash over him, and thinks that he could do this all night long.
*
"The thing is," Jon says as their group leaves the gym an hour and a half later, "we were totally robbed."
And by 'totally robbed', what he really means is that FBR did totally awesome, because they may not have won, but they *did* place second, and no one can really complain about that. Not when Brendon actually saw some of the performances they beat out. Alpha Chi and DU did a fantastic Peter Pan--somehow dreamy in it's choreography, but with some stunts Brendon had never seen before--and the winners, FIJI and the Tri-Delts had won with a really fun South Pacific. Seriously: grass skirts. Brendon thinks they deserved to win just for daring to do that.
Before Brendon can answer, though, Cash is suddenly in front of him, throwing his arms around Brendon and kissing him. "You were fucking awesome," Cash whispers after he pulls back, and Brendon feels his smile grow impossibly wider. That's when he sees Cash's mom standing behind Cash, smiling indulgently at the two of them. He waits for Cash to pull back, lets Cash take his hand, and then they're heading towards the cars. Not alone, though, because Cash's mom is talking to Spencer's mom--apparently they sat together during the show?--saying how she and Cash and Brendon were going to go get dessert, would they like to come?
Which is how the three of them end up sitting in Baskin Robbins with, well, what feels like half of FBR, but is in reality just Jon, Ryan, Keltie, Spencer, Haley, Greta, and Marshall, and all of their moms, eating ice cream, even though it's edging towards 10 o'clock. They're being too loud--if the mildly annoyed glare that the ice cream girl is giving them is anything to go by--but since it's mostly the moms laughing, Brendon just sits back and enjoys.
*
Brendon offered to meet Cash's mom at the fashion show, but she'd insisted on picking Brendon up. It should have been awkward, he thought, spending time alone with Cash's mom, but as soon as Brendon gets in the car, she says, "Cash would kill me for telling you this, but..."
Which is to say, she comes prepared with even *more* Cash-in-high-school stories (like the time he dyed his hair blue and spiked it into a mohawk, and how there had been meetings with the principal about appropriate school dress, no really) and even *better*, Cash-in-grade-school stories (like how he'd dressed up as a power ranger for Halloween, three years in a *row*).
So, the drive to the Student Union actually pretty much speeds on by, and then they're walking into the ballroom, and it turns out Cash wasn't lying when he said that the seats he'd reserved for them were front row. They're on the left side, midway down the catwalk, and Cash's mom says, proudly, "Best seats in the house."
They really are, because the models are *right there*, stomping their way down the runway. Cash is fifth in the rotation, and they start off with the casual wear--he's wearing shorts and a t-shirt, all designed and made by students. His hair has been teased into a mess that Brendon wants to run his fingers through, and Brendon can't help but whistle when Cash passes by him the first time. Cash doesn't look down, or even smile--he's too much of a professional apparently--but he does wiggle his fingers at Brendon in a decidedly un-model like manner, so Brendon counts it as a win.
He does two passes with the casual wear, then it's time for the formal wear, and Brendon's seen Cash in a suit before, obviously--Cash did come to the FBR formal, after all--but this one looks like it's been cut especially for Cash. And he may lean forward a little bit when he sees Cash coming towards him in it, he may even bite his lip, but then he remembers who, exactly, he's sitting next to, and he sits back in his chair. When he glances over at Cash's mom, though, she's smiling at him. Brendon grins back.
They finish with experimental pieces--dresses made out of paper, that sort of thing--and then all of the models are coming out onto the runway, each escorting a designer. Cash's mom cheers more loudly than Brendon does.
*
Apparently, Cash really wasn't kidding when he said that his mom was going to adopt Brendon, because she starts talking about dinner Saturday night, too. This time, Brendon declines. Mostly because this is *Cash's* mom, and this is Mom's Weekend, and Cash doesn't get to see his mom that often, Brendon knows, and they should have some time alone. Also, though--and this is the reason he gives--they're having their Orphans Only meal, and since Brendon was one of the main organizers, he feels he should probably be there.
When they drop him off, after Brendon says his 'thanks for everything's, his 'it was wonderful to see you's, 'yes I'll come visit this summer's, Cash walks him to the door. He doesn't look pissed, but he says, "You know she wants you to come, right? We both do. She's not just asking because it's polite." Brendon nods, because he does know, and he--
He's actually a little overwhelmed with how much effort Cash's mom is putting into being there for Brendon, too. If it was Brendon's mom who was here, he knows the same wouldn't be true, he knows it. And Brendon's mom *isn't* here, which is maybe part of the problem.
"She's your mom," Brendon says finally. "It's the last night. You should get to spend some time alone with her. *I* feel like I've spent more time alone with her than you have."
Cash looks like he's going to protest, but Brendon puts on his stubborn face, the one he's spent the last two years trying to learn from Spencer, and finally Cash sighs. "Okay," he says. "Okay, fine. Have fun at your Orphans Only dinner. I'll see you tomorrow?"
"Absolutely," Brendon says, and even though Cash's mom is sitting in the car, probably watching them, he wraps his arms around Cash's neck and kisses him. Cash's hands come to rest on his hips, and they stand there for maybe more than a few minutes, until Joe opens the front door and says, "Now that'll be enough of that, you young whipper-snappers. In my day, our tongues stayed in our *own* mouths."
Brendon rests his head on Cash's shoulder for a moment, then looks at Joe and says, "Marie's okay with that?"
Joe cackles, then dances back into the house when Brendon feints in his direction.
"I'll see you tomorrow," Cash says again, and Brendon nods, squeezes Cash's hand, before heading back inside his house.
*
Sunday morning is the annual brunch. The house is as clean as it's ever been--which is to say, since this time last year--and most of the guys are dressed up in button downs and ties (although some are wearing tie dye, and yes, Butcher, Brendon's looking at you). Brendon put his name down for one meal--because he needs to eat, and he figures he can get away with talking for a few minutes with Spencer's mom, maybe a few more with Singer's, and then escaping to his room, counting down the time until Cash's mom will be gone, until he can head on over to Cash and Shane's apartment.
He's barely through the line, though, when Suarez is tapping him on the shoulder and saying, "Urie, you have a visitor."
Brendon turns around, confused--because seriously, no one should be visiting him today of all days--but when he turns around, Cash's mom is standing there, grinning. She's wearing her Springfield University Mom sweatshirt again, and as Brendon gapes--there's really no other word for it--and looks for Cash somewhere behind her, she says, "So, do you have enough food for one more?"
One, Brendon's quickly figuring out, as in, Cash isn't here.
"Ginger Smith was telling me about the brunch while we were waiting for the festivities to start Friday night," Cash's mom says. "She told me how much she'd enjoyed it last year, and I hoped that you wouldn't mind if I adopted you for a few hours so that I could get in on it, too."
It's an easy excuse, but because Brendon's totally flustered, he takes it for what it is and says, "Yeah. Um. Yeah, absolutely. Um. We should probably get seats? We should get seats."
He sees Spencer and his mom sitting down already, but they're sitting with Johnson and Ian and Patrick and his mom. Singer's waving at Brendon, though, and there are two open seats at that table (Brendon now needs two!), so Brendon heads in that direction. Once they get there, Cash's mom reaches across the table to shake Singer's mom's hand, says, "Hi, I'm Vicky. I'm adopting Brendon for the morning."
"She belongs to Cash. You know, my Big-in-Law?" Singer says by way of explanation, and his mom nods. "Ah!" she says. "It's good to meet you. Alex has told me quite a bit about Cash."
"And this is Alex," Brendon says. "A.k.a. Singer, my little brother in the house."
Singer reaches out to shake Cash's mom's hand, too, and then because Brendon has some manners, he offers to get Cash's mom a plate of food. When he returns, Singer is regaling the two moms with some of the more parental friendly tales of fraternity life--and once Brendon sits down, he realizes that they seem to mainly be tales about *Brendon*. And Cash's mom is listening intently, like she's truly interested. Eventually Jon and his mom come over--"Family reunion, dudes," Jon says as he straddles a chair--and there's more talking, more, until Ryan comes into the room and rings that fucking awful bell, and says, "Um. The picture man is here?"
Most everyone who's still left in the dining room stands up then, and someone's put the call out over the intercom, so people are coming downstairs quickly, too. Cash's mom says, "Well?"
"House pictures," Brendon says. "Class pictures. It's... tradition. We've got to commemorate every event, you know?"
"Then we should go commemorate," she says. She extends a hand towards Brendon and pulls him up. They walk to the foyer together, where Spencer's gathering their class together. "We're going for the front steps," he says. "Unless the juniors get there first. In which case we're going for the tree. Because the seniors are taking the porch swing, of course."
"Spencer likes to organize," Brendon says quietly, and Cash's mom nods, smiling, like they're sharing a joke. She's the one who says, "I think it runs in the family," a few minutes later, as Ginger Smith starts trying to organize people by height on the steps. Brendon laughs loudly enough at that comment that both the Smiths glare at him. He manages to tame it down to a really wide smile by the time the flash goes off, though.
The house picture is next, the whole house crowding together, filling the front porch. They take five pictures, and Brendon only makes a funny face in one of them. When that's done, the photographer starts wandering around taking pictures of mothers and sons, family pictures, best friend pictures.
Brendon's just thinking of asking when Cash's mom needs to leave--because she has a couple hour drive back home, he knows, and she probably needs to see Cash before she leaves--when she grabs his elbow and flags down the picture man all in one motion.
"One of the two of us," she says, and they end up taking the picture in front of the fireplace, Cash's mom's arm around Brendon's waist, the both of them smiling. And that's the end, pretty much, because the brunch is winding down and Cash's mom really does need to leave. Brendon walks her out to her car and after she gives him a hug, she says, "If you could get me a copy of that last picture? I'd like one for my album."
"Will do," Brendon says, and he can't help himself. He hugs Cash's mom again.
*
The next day, when the picture man brings copies of the proof sheets over, Brendon scans through them all until he finds the picture of him and Cash's mom together.
He orders two.