A deal's a deal ^_~

[maderr]

Sammie wrote me the Val & James vs. Ex & Trick snippet, so I wrote her a short little something.



Paul frowned in the mirror, using his hands to press down on his floppy gold curls. He sighed in defeat when they just sprang back up, and settled for smoothing down the shirt his sister had bought him just that afternoon.

Had to look nice for the relatives after all. It was a dark blue, long-sleeved crew neck, and didn't look too bad with his favorite dark brown cargos. The only thing that was going to get him in trouble with The Relatives was his bracelet, and there was no way he was taking it off. It wasn't often he argued with his grandparents; generally he was more than happy - or at least willing - to go along with their requests.

So they'd been somewhat surprised when he'd protested removing his strange bracelet for the family reunion. Surprised enough that they let him have his way.

If only his stupid hair would look less girly. For the millionth time he wondered why he didn't just hack it off. Which was stupid, because he knew exactly why he didn't hack it off. Before it had always been that his sister loved it. But Owen really liked his hair too, always tugging it and playing with it after…Paul turned pink and rapidly tried to think of something else.

Thinking about all the relatives crowded into his grandparent's house certainly had a cooling effect. If it wasn't for his grandparents, he'd avoid this reunion like the plague. He hated being told over and over again how troublesome his parents had always been, blah blah blah.

Plus today was the start of a three day weekend and he could be out fishing with Owen but instead he had to be the good little boy again and make nice with his stupid, obnoxious relatives. At least Carol would be there to make snide comments with - she hated them more he did.

A sharp rap at the door interrupted broke his thoughts. "You taking a nap in there?"

"Close," Paul said as he opened the door. "Was trying to decide whether it would be better to hang myself or go with pills."

"Shotgun," Carol replied matter of factly. "It will offend them more."

"Oh, well then." A pause, "I guess saying 'I have to wash my hair' won't get me out of it for another twenty minutes?"

Carol grinned, "Fraid not, kiddo. I've been doing my familial duty for twenty seven minutes now--"

"But who's counting?"

"Me. And I'm getting sick of them asking about you. Get down there and make like a proper Golden Boy."

Paul rolled his eyes and reluctantly followed his sister down the stairs, "I seriously doubt I'll be considered that by the end of the day."

"Hey, you're the one who wanted to wear them." But she smiled at him, tugged a curl and kissed his cheek, then vanished back into the crush of relatives.

Drawing a deep breath, Paul considered his options and decided to get the worst over with first. "Hello, Aunt Patty." He smiled his Good Boy smile, proud of himself for not snickering. Carol liked to her Aunt Fatty, often followed by a corrupted round of 'Patty Cake, Patty Cake.''

"Paul," Aunt Patty didn't smile back. "How you doin' in school?"

"Very well, thank you. I've made all A's this quarter and have started looking for colleges."

She nodded, stern and serious. "Don't start slacking, hear? Your cousin Tom, he started goofing off senior year, and look where he is now." She poked him in the chest. "So watch your behavior."

"Yes, Aunt Patty." Paul reached up to pat her hand reassuringly, hoping to get her to stop poking him. He'd forgotten about his bracelet.

Her eyes latched onto it immediately, "What you wearing those things for?"

"They're a gift from a friend," Paul explained.

Aunt Patty didn't look too pleased, "What kind of friend gives you handcuffs as a present, boy?"

Paul wanted to say "An awesome boyfriend" but he knew it would upset his grandparents and so he didn't. "It's a private joke between us, Aunt. Nothing bad at all."

"Which means it must be very bad," his Aunt declared firmly. "What sorts of trouble are you getting into and upsetting your grandparents with? After all they've done for you, this is how you repay them?"

The evening rapidly declined from there. By the time dinner had ended, Paul wasn't sure if he'd prefer to cry or kill. Across the room he caught his sister's eye, and almost did start crying in relief when she gave him a nod - he could leave. A second nod assured him that she too would be bailing soon. He lifted his left wrist, tapping the cuffs around it - he was going to call Owen. A third nod, and he knew it was okay if he called and then maybe left to go see him.

Paul couldn't get upstairs fast enough. Only the fact that it would draw unwanted attention kept him from slamming his bedroom door shut. He closed his eyes and sagged against it, glad to simply be away from the eyes and the noise and the criticism.

"Hey, babe."

Paul jumped about a foot in the air, blue eyes wide with surprise. "Don't do that. And what are you doing here?" He tried to frown, thoroughly displeased with the fact that Owen had managed to scare him. "I thought you were going fishing with your mom all day."

"The fish weren't biting," Owen clambered down from where he'd been sitting in the window. "So I thought maybe I would." He crossed the room in that long lazy stride Paul loved, and caught Paul's face in his hands. "You look awful."

"Thanks," Paul gave him a weak smile, covering Owen's hands with his own. "It was a long day. I've about reached my good boy limit, I think."

Owen smiled, green eyes bright with comfort and mirth. He ducked his head and kissed Paul slowly, doing his best to soothe away the misery brought on by the long day. "Then lock the door," he said at last, "And come be a bad boy for a little while."

Returning the smile, unhappiness slowly falling from his eyes, Paul kissed him again and then turned to lock the door.