“Hey, wanna help me grab some of my stuff out of my truck?” asked Shea, eyebrow raised in question.
Christian blinked stupidly at him. “Huh?”
Shea frowned. “I went by my house to grab some of my stuff. I’m moving in remember?”
Christian shook his head to clear it. Shit, he forgot all about that. “Oh, yeah, right...sorry, I’m still kinda out of it,” he muttered and started for the door.
Shea looped an arm around his waist, preventing him from walking out the door. “Tell me we’re okay, Chris,” he rasped, his brown eyes hopeful but uncertain.
Christian nodded. “We’re okay,” he said quietly.
“Promise?”
“I promise,” Christian replied sincerely and gave Shea a kiss.
Christian then helped Shea bring in some bags and boxes full of his stuff. Shea also told Christian his plan for his house; he was going to sell it and some of the furniture, pay off some bills, and then put the rest into savings, which will work out well since he won’t be working for a couple more months. What savings he did have was slowly dwindling due to him being out of commission, so selling the house will give him a chance to replenish his savings. As soon as the house sold, he will contribute to Christian’s mortgage and utilities, along with putting money toward the grocery bill. For the first time in years, Christian actually felt his hopes rising - this just might work out.
“Did you dickheads know that Christian could sing?” Sebastian asked as he sat on Henry’s back patio with him and Quinn, drinking beer and relaxing.
“What do you mean he can sing?” asks Henry, cocking one eyebrow.
“I mean that he’s got a set of pipes and should be performing on stage,” Sebastian said seriously.
“No shit?” Quinn asked before sipping his beer.
Henry had called him a few nights ago asking Sebastian and him to come over so they could talk about Christian behind his back. Quinn wasn’t really fond of the idea, but Henry said he had something serious to talk about. So there they were, sitting in Henry’s back yard, drinking and talking about their little brother.
“I’m telling ya, he’s incredible. I kinda snuck up on him and he didn’t know I was there the first time, and then I got him to sing for me again...” Sebastian trailed off, shaking his head.
“Why didn’t he ever tell us?” Henry frowned.
“Because he thought we would make him perform in front of people.” Sebastian smirked.
Quinn chuckled, Christian was probably right. The three of them made him do all sorts of shit when they were younger. Quinn could understand why Christian didn’t tell them. With his anxiety issues, there was no way he could get up on a stage and sing in front of a large group.
Henry nodded. “Most likely.” He grinned.
“What did you want to talk about, Henry?” Quinn asked, curious as to what it was that he had called them over.
Henry sighed. “Alright, I guess it was a couple of weeks ago when I went to Christian’s gallery to pick out a painting for Claire. While I was there, I noticed a picture that Christian painted. It was a painting of a nude man in bed, tangled in the sheets. The face was turned away, but I’m certain it was Shea.”
Quinn’s eyebrows lifted. That was interesting.
“So what are you saying?” Sebastian asked slowly, his eyes narrowing.
Henry grimaced. “I don’t know. It just seemed odd to me. Have either of you ever thought that Christian might be gay?”
Sebastian started sputtering and choking on his beer. “Wha...what? Why would you think that?”
Henry shrugged. “There have just been some things lately that point in that direction… like the painting. And remember at your wedding when he was fixing Shea’s tie? There was something very intimate about it.”
“You think that Christian and Shea are together?” Quinn asked curiously.
“I don’t know what to think.” Henry huffed. “I want to say yes, but I can’t see Shea being gay. I’ve seen him with women before.”
“Maybe he’s bi,” Quinn pointed out. “Those two are always together.”
“Wait, hold on, don’t you think he would have told us if he was gay?” Sebastian asked.
“Like how he told us he can sing?” Quinn replied dryly.
“Point taken,” Sebastian muttered.
“Think about it. He’s never brought a girl around, and I mean never,” Henry said.
They all sat there in silence thinking about their younger brother. Quinn could see it - Christian being gay, that is. Like Henry said, he has never brought a woman around the family, never even talked about liking a woman even. Now that Quinn thought back on it, he guessed there were clues throughout the years that could lead to Christian being gay. Quinn did catch him one time jerking off to gay porn, but he was nineteen, and Quinn just chalked it up to being young and curious.