"Who the fuck is Alice... er, Joey?"

[sonnydays]

Who: Sonny Gresham, Joey Cooper and Jake Gresham
What: That awkward moment when you're WAY out of the loop
Where: Jake's (crappy, small, shoebox) apartment
When: After THIS

Sonny had been kept out of the loop. Probably accidentally on purpose. He was the youngest, and his older brothers and sisters always had a tendency to leave him out of vital information in the name of protecting him (he was the last to find out about Euan's cancer and Rosie's pregnancy). Sometimes they forgot he wasn't a kid anymore. So now, here he was sitting in an armchair across from a sofa that contained his big brother, Jake, and next to him a hot Aussie hunk called Joey. Who was apparently a doctor. He looked from Jake, to Joey, and then back to Jake. He had just been given a very basic, detail-less version of what was apparently going down here, but it was all news to him, so details would be much appreciated.

"You two are fucking?" he asked, seeking clarification. "But you were fucking before you got here. And now you're..." He waved his finger back and forth between then in lieu of further words. There was a blink, and then another look between both of them. "What about Alice?"

Comments

[onlytobewithyou]

Joey wanted the ground to open up and swallow him whole. He knew that he couldn't just expect Jake's family to welcome him with open arms into their family. Not when Jake had been engaged to someone else they had probably been preparing to do just that. If he was honest, he hadn't thought that far in to the whole 'meet the family' thing. He had just needed to get to Jake, find him, and tell him what he was feeling. It was only then that all the complications started to rear their ugly heads, topped off with Alice showing up extremely (and understandably) pissed off, decking Jake in a fit of anger in the middle of a supermarket.

He nodded, though, not sure whether he should actually open his mouth and say anything at this point. But he pointed at Jake's bruised face. "Alice. Um, if it's any consolation, it's really nice to meet you."

[gingerninja]

The thing was, Jake, too, was sitting there starting analytically at his baby brother. He had even come to sit forward in his seat and little, with his eyes narrowed trying to get a better a look at the side of Sonny's neck. "Is that a hickey?!" he finally demanded, waving his hand in a gesture at Sonny's neck. Did Sonny have a boyfriend and hadn't told anyone? Not that he could judge on that particular facet.

"I was... we were... Joey and I were having an affair. He was married, I was engaged, but his married was miserable, and I... I just..." He glanced at Joey. This was always the hardest part to explain because no one else really understood but them. All they probably saw was a big flashing 'CHEATING BASTARD' sign over his forehead. "There were feelings there we didn't realise. Or we did, but tried to ignore them."

[onlytobewithyou]

"Not so much on the ignore as scared to admit," Joey corrected sheepishly. "I figured if I said something, I'd lose him. So, I didn't and we just kept doing what we were doing. We know we're bastard, but feel free to judge all you like. Pretty sure everyone else is," he mumbled, raking his fingers through his hair with a sigh.

He had been trying to keep his distance from Jake's family. He came here to the very tiny, poor excuse for an apartment Jake had and felt claustrophobic, realising why Jake got him to stay with Parker and Charlie. Only that felt weird considering he really was 'the other woman' and Charlie and Parker's marriage was happy and perfect. He felt like he was tainting that.

[sonnydays]

"Burnt myself on a curling iron," Sonny replied with a smirk, mocking a girl's response for hickies that they always seemed to rely on. Only, hair gadgets had nothing to do with it, obviously. It was more the fact that he and Casey had ended up making out in the train bathroom, which ultimately let to a fuck. Casey admitted he needed a distraction after saying goodbye to his twin, and Sonny offered one. Now there was just the fact that Sonny couldn't stop thinking about Casey, and that had never happened to him before. Ever.

He shook his head. "I'm not judging. A heads-up would have been nice. I liked Alice, but you can't help who you get feelings for. So, what? You've come to the US to have a go of things with Jake? I'm not that surprised of the logistics. Jake's always been bi. Why didn't you just split with your other halves first, though?"

[onlytobewithyou]

Joey had to smirk faintly at Sonny's smooth answer. He and Jake looked alike, but he had a feeling from Sonny they were similar in nature too. Jake spoke so highly of all his siblings, but his baby brother and sister there was always so much fondness. Sonny might have been a technical mistake, but he was still happily welcomed into the family as soon as they knew he existed. He was glad he was getting the chance to meet all of Jake's brothers and sisters, even if the situation was questionable, at best.

"I was in the Navy. They paid for me to get my MD and I was paying out returned service, which is a term I agreed to serve as a medical officer in return for them supporting me to be qualified. I never really knew how to be comfortable with my sexuality. I was scared to come out in case there was backlash. I was lying to myself for a long time. I tried to do the right thing and get married, but I did it for all the wrong reasons. I was lying to myself and it led to causing others to lie for me too. I never expected to fall in love with Jake, but I felt right with him. It was the first time I felt right in my life. It wasn't something I could just let go."