Rivals ? - Chapter 36: Chapter 36

Before anything else could be said about the fact that Raine was with a man, the doorbell rang. Raine had the feeling the ground was about to disappear. He had no idea how to deal with the disappointment he was feeling and he sure as hell didn't know how to communicate his father's opinion to his boyfriend. Juice came from a broken family, with a father who left him when Juice was only a toddler and a mother who found more comfort in the wine instead of her children. He neither would have a mother-in-law — Raine had hoped that his father would give him a warm welcome.
But he wouldn't.
Apparently, Juice had the wrong genitals.
"I guess we're going somewhere else then," Raine muttered before heading to the hallway. He tried to pull himself together before he reached the front door, and at the same time he tried to come up with an excuse why they would go out. Once his hand touched the door knob, he failed in both.
Raine swung the door open. Juice was bouncing on his toes, clearly nervous to meet his dad. Raine looked into these warm brown eyes, which were always sparkling when they were watching him.
For a moment Raine's attention was drawn to the rumbling of bike a few steps ahead. The man waved at them and took off. Panthom. Again, that unsettling feeling was back, but he pushed it away stubbornly. "Who would have thought, one of my brothers who gave you a ride voluntarily. Or did you have to pay him?"
"He wanted me to pay in kind," Juice chuckled.
Raine had never considered himself as the possessive type, but right now he really wanted to put a ring on Juice's finger to show everyone that his boyfriend was off limits.
Juice's arms glided around him and he kissed him softly. "Am I sensing jealousy now?" he teased.
"Maybe you are," he grumbled. "The idea that you sat so close to him on that bike..."
Juice started to laugh and kissed the tip of his nose. "You're such a pretty little thing, huh? You rather want 'em to come for me with baseball bats?"
A blush crept to his cheeks. "No, of course not," he muttered ashamed. He sighed. "Sorry. It's just..."
Juice cut him off with a kiss. "Well — I'm happy I didn't know that there was such a handsome gay guy in your own club." He winked.
"W-what? He likes men?"
"Apparently. He told me he didn't dare to come out until you came out last night. But he didn't mind to come out to his hacker soulmate."
"His what?"
Juice laughed. "I guess I'm just a Mayan magnet."
Raine snorted, although it was hard to really feel wronged when seeing Juice's teasing grin. The heavy feeling in his chest slipped away. "Well, as long you leave it to a handshake..."
"A squeezing hug." Juice laid his hands on Raine's hips, his auricle tingled as he whispered: "Everything else I save for you. For tonight."
Raine's hands slipped to Juice's back pockets, he hooked his thumbs behind the fabric. "I don't think so." He caught Juice's lips in a hot kiss before he continued: "That mangled body of yours gets strict bed rest. I however... When I was in Santo Padre, I had plenty of time to fantasize about..."
"Puppies!" Juice said all of a sudden.
He stared at this boyfriend. "What?"
With his eyes, Juice signaled past Raine and he looked over his shoulder. His cheeks flushed when Sasha hopped towards them, waving happily at Juice and calling out his real name.
"Yeah... I fantasized about puppies," he murmured.
Juice chuckled quietly and let go of him to scoop up the girl, who stared with wide eyes at his bruised face. Very carefully, she touched the bruises. Behind him, the door to the living door cracked. Expecting to see his sister, Raine looked over his shoulder. It was his father.
"Go help Sammy in the kitchen, Sas. So I can talk to uncle Raine for a bit."
The girl squirmed out of Juice's arms and ran back inside. His father closed the door behind him. The tension increased with every step he took. He wasn't going to send Juice away, was he? He glanced at his boyfriend, who also looked nervous now.
"I'm happy to see that you're all right, sir," Juice said. His eyes met Raine's as if he was looking for his approval. Raine took his hand and stepped aside so Juice was standing next to him.
"Thanks," his father spoke quietly. He took a deep breath, as if he was about to say something he found really hard but inevitable. "Son..." He looked him square in the eye. "I was indeed startled when you told me you are in a... relationship with a man."
Right. Again, it felt like a slap in the face. "We really have to do his now?"
Even when he hadn't held Juice's hand, he would have known how terribly uncomfortable he felt.
"Yes. I'm afraid you misinterpreted my words. Your boyfriend is absolutely welcome." He offered Juice a smile. "He really is," he told Raine. "But I was just... overwhelmed by the news. I didn't know you liked men." He hesitated, seemed to feel very uncomfortable. Nevertheless, he felt the urge to explain himself. "I had the feeling I had failed as a father. Because I never realized you were struggling with your sexuality, and because I failed to show you that you can confide in me. That's... That's why I responded like I did. Not because I'm disappointed in your partner choice. As I understand, there are more than enough people who have trouble with that."
His words took a load off Raine's shoulders and he even felt a bit ashamed. He was the one who had judged too quickly. His father was already struggling with the feeling that he had failed to protect his daughter and wife; believing that his son had kept something so important from him, must hurt.
"I just found out myself, dad. It's not like I've been closeted for years and feeling unhappy. Juice and I just fell in love and we were both surprised by it. That's all."
"Oh." This time relief flashed across his father's face. "I'm happy to hear that." He gave Juice an apologetic look. "Sorry. I never meant to make you feel unwelcome. I'm happy you two found each other." He held out his hand. "Elijah."
"Juan Carlos," Juice answered. Raine lifted the corner of his mouth — he'd never heard Juice introduce himself like this. When they started dating he had asked him his real name, but that was the only time he'd heard him use it. "But everyone calls me Juice. Except for Sasha. We were afraid that she would slip up."
"Because you're in a different, club, right?" his father said. "I see. But they all know it now, don't they?"
Juice nodded.
Raine pulled Juice over the threshold so he could close the door. "He's the one who found you, Dad. They even tortured him."
Juice nudged his shoulder. "That's not w-"
"Let me tell my own version of the story," Raine said laughing, kissing his cheek. "I can finally brag about my boyfriend."
. . .
Juice breathed rapidly. The amazing feeling Raine had unleashed with his mouth, slowly drifted away. Raine laid down on his side next to him, a triumphant smirk on his face. Carefully he caressed Juice's stomach, avoiding the bruises. With his other hand he supported his head while looking down on Juice. Still recovering from the heat explosion, Juice raised his hand and brushed Raine's lips. Raine pressed small kisses to his thumb, now and then softly sucking it without taking his eyes off Juice's. Even that looked so hot it drove him mad with desire.
"I want you," he whispered. "All of you. And I want to give you all of me."
Raine moved his body closer and Juice rolled on his side, so his boyfriend could snuggle up to him. Their faces towards each other, they were sharing the pillow, their bodies pressed together.
"Already thought so when you told me you wanted to marry me," Raine teased. "Although I took you for the romantic type who'd want to wait until our wedding night."
A blush crept to his cheeks. It indeed would make the moment even more special.
"Well — I already lost my virginity when I was 14," he muttered.
Raine shrugged his shoulders. "But not like that, right?"
His blush became worse. "No," he muttered.
"Everything about our relationship is different than my prior relationships or all the loose contacts between them. I don't mind to wait a little longer. You're still nervous."
For a while, Juice stared into Raine's eyes. The love he saw in them, still made him shy. Often, he believed he didn't deserve that love. He had never paid much respect to someone else's body; he had taken what he wanted without ever feeling attached to someone.
"Do you think waiting makes it more special?" he wondered.
"Maybe," he muttered. "My mother thought it was important," he elaborated. "Saving yourself for the one. I didn't care, but now I like the thought."
On the one hand it sounded ridiculous. Obsolete. On the other hand, he did think it was romantic; to give themselves completely to each other at the same day they became one for the law. That it was Raine's way of feeling his mother's blessing was understandable too.
"Okay," he said. He gave him a little Eskimo kiss. "Let's wait till our wedding night." He chuckled softly. Although that still sounded like a fairy tale, like something that would never actually happen. The look on his face became more serious. "You really think they'll let us marry?"
Raine shrugged. "We don't need their blessing." His hand wandered across Juice's side and settled on his hip. "I seriously consider to quit. I always found it hard that our clubs want to keep us separated, but now the club is also the reason that my dad was in danger... I have a two year old I gotta take care of. And a little sister who already lost half of her family. It's just... I can't stop now for they will believe it's only because of you. They're still mad," he muttered. "The storm has to pass first, if not they might want to take revenge."
Juice studied his lover's face. "If you quit, I quit too."
"You don't have to," Raine said. "When I'm no longer a Mayan, they have no reason not to trust you."
"You will always have ties to the Mayans. I don't think they'll ever completely trust me."
It sounded more resentful than he'd meant to. It felt wrong, for his brothers had responded very lightly to their affair. He however knew they were holding back; they wouldn't let him get away with it this easily. Raine's brothers had reacted quite explosively — but he knew that within his own club, the worst was yet to come.
"They weren't mad, right?" Raine asked.
"They will be. They had other priorities now. They may keep their anger to themselves, but if they do, it will show itself in a different way. They will try to take advantage of me. They'll try to use my connection to you."
Raine bent his head and kissed his shoulder before looking up again. "Maybe today's collaboration will show a different outcome. We could be allies, you know? We still don't know who's behind the kidnappings, we're not done yet."
That was true. Maybe, he was too pessimistic.
It was better to live from day to day. Today, they brought back Mary and Elijah. They showed their love to the world, Juice had met his future father-in-law.
It had been a good day and when he looked into his boyfriend's brown eyes, he knew many more good days were to follow. As long as they were together.
Leaning towards Raine, his gave him an lazy kiss.
In the back of his head, he started to gather ideas to propose to his lover.