A Marine Called Jason by Peter

A Marine Called Jason
(Revised)
by: Peter

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Chapter 94
Coming Clean

One evening, out of the blue, the boys came right out and asked us about our relationship. We came clean. We felt we had to; they had already picked up on things, and they were old enough. Hell, they knew, they just wanted confirmation from us, so we opened up. They seemed okay with it, and even a bit relieved. It came about one evening when we were all swimming in the creek. The two boys were horsing around and playing grab ass, but not in a sexual way. They stopped suddenly and floated away from each other, almost as if on cue.

“Are we going to ask them?” Devon asked.

“I don’t know, are we?” Kyle said.

“Ask us what?” I said.

“Well, there’s something we’ve been wondering about for a long time,” Kyle began.

I knew what was coming, and I was sure Jason did too.

“It’s pretty personal,” Devon put in as a warning.

Both boys dove under the surface and swam past each other and broke the surface several yards apart.

“Are you putting on a water show, or are you going to ask us,” Jason said dryly.

“You already know what we’re going to ask you,” Devon said.

“Yes, I think we do,” I said. “But you said you wanted to ask us.”

“Well, it’s about….we’ve got a great life here together, but it’s different from most kids, us having just a father, and our dads living together, but we understand that because we’re brothers, and if you got married to women, we couldn’t live together, so we understand that part.”

“What part don’t you understand?” I asked.

“I think you know what we’re asking,” Devon said again.

“We would like to hear it from you,” Jason said.

“Okay. Well, we were wondering if you guys are….well, gay, or bi, like we are….like Devon is,” Kyle said. “I know you date women, Jason, and you go out now and then, Dad, but you don’t talk about where you go or who you’re with, and you never mention a girlfriend."

"I don't have a girlfriend," I said.

"You never mention any women you date."

Jason and I weren’t exactly hesitant to answer as much as we were each waiting on the other to begin. Finally, I did.

“I’m bi, leaning heavily toward gay. Jason is bi, I would say leaning equally toward men and women,” I said.

The boys seemed surprised, but I think it was not so much learning the truth as how quickly and boldly I answered.

“Wow. That was easy,” Devon said, laughing nervously.

“Why shouldn’t it be? We’ve said there’s nothing you can’t talk to us about,” Jason said.

“And you both pretty much knew,” I said, glancing at Devon.

“So.…the two of you, I mean….is it, like a relationship?”

“I thought you would have picked up on that by now,” I said.

“Well, we did, sort of, that’s the reason we’re asking,” Kyle said.

“Maybe we need to go back a few years, back to the beginning, so you understand better,” I said.

“Yes, we would love to hear your story,” Devon said.

I started it. “You know we met in Vietnam. We became good friends. Best friends, as only men in combat can be. I felt an attraction, and that attraction was made stronger, knowing that the next mission, he might not come back. That stress factor of constant danger tends to make your emotions keener.”

“It definitely puts you in touch with your emotions," Jason put in. "Some you didn’t even know you had, and it gives you the courage to explore those emotions."

I went on. “I was in constant fear that Jason wouldn’t come back. It was a gut wrenching fear, that the last time I was with him would be the last time I saw him. Consequently, when we were together, we made every minute count.”

“You were in combat too,” Kyle said to me.

“I wasn’t in the danger that Jason was, not at first,” I said. “I was in Intel, stationed in Saigon. Jason was out in the field. I didn’t face the danger he did.”

“Yeah, right,” Jason scoffed. “Your Dad got his barracks blown up. He was in a coma for twenty six months.”

The two boys’ eyes bugged out.

“You never told me that,” Kyle said.

“It wasn’t something you needed to know,” I said.

“Do you remember anything from that, like in a dream?” he asked.

“I have flashbacks,” I said, keeping my answer simple.

“I would like to know more about your time in the Marines,” he said.

“It wasn’t that much different from any other Marine, except I spent twenty six months of my enlistment sleeping,” I tried to joke.

“No, no, you’re not getting by with that,” Jason said, waving his hand at me. “I’ll tell you about your Dad.”

I frowned and started to say something but he stopped me.

“No,” he said. “You always make it about me. You always have.” Then he turned to Kyle. “After your Dad recuperated, he re-enlisted. He had to go back through basic training. Then he went to Airborne school, and then on to Marine sniper school, all just to get back to Vietnam, when everybody else was trying to get out. And do you know why? To find me.”

“Wow. You really must’ve…..” Devon paused and looked rather embarrassed. “I was going to say….you must’ve really loved him.”

“I did. I do,” I said, and it felt good to say it to the boys. “You know how you love Kyle, how you can’t be apart from him. That’s the way I felt about your Dad.”

“The way we felt about each other,” Jason put in. “Although it took me longer to realize it, and even longer to admit it. I was too busy hiding from it, trying to be the straight macho stud.”

Kyle laughed. “I don’t think you’d have to try too hard at that.”

“And quite frankly, I was taking advantage of a good thing,” Jason went on to add. "I've always been ashamed of that.”

“No, you didn’t,” I said with a frown.

“Yeah, I did. Let’s don’t color it,” he said. He looked at the boys. “If it’d been any other guy, he would’ve told me to fuck off. I didn’t learn to appreciate Brad till he was injured in that explosion and I realized I could lose him, and at that point all I could do was wait and pray. I hope neither of you ever feel that kind of helplessness.”

I jumped in. “The reason I don’t talk a lot about my past is because I don’t remember a lot of it that well. It’s sometimes hard to determine what things happened in my real past, or in my dark past, when I was in the coma.”

“Has anyone at school ever said anything about how we live?” Jason asked.

“No, not in that context,” Kyle said. “They just say Devon and I only have our dads, no mothers.”

“So, uh…..” Devon had a grin on his face. “You guys sleeping together when we’ve that extra bedroom….it’s not just….sleeping.”

“Now you’re getting personal,” Jason said.

“We told you it was personal, what we wanted to ask you.”

“Do we ask what you guys do when you sleep together?” Jason asked.

“You can,” Kyle said.

“Yeah, we don’t seem to have many secrets in this house anymore,” Devon chimed in.

“Okay, unless you have any more serious questions……,” Jason said.

“That was a serious question, Dad, about you guys sleeping together. We’re curious,” Devon said.

“Come on, there’s no reason to be dancing around it,” I said, more to Jason. Then to the boys, “Your Dad is more top than bottom,” I volunteered. “Not so much that way with me.”

“Well, shit, that horse’s out of the barn and ain‘t never coming back,” Jason drawled. Then he smiled. “But overall, it’s a pretty equal partnership, as far as give and take,” he said. “Now, guys, we’ve explained and said everything short of inviting you in to watch, and it’s getting chilly. I’m ready to go in.”

“Now that would be cool as hell, if we could watch,” Kyle said, laughing. He was trying to sound like he was joking, but I wasn’t so sure he was.

We’d all been treading while we talked. Jason made a dive for him and took him underwater. It was fun seeing them twisting and wrestling around till Jason let him go and Kyle shoved up through the surface gasping for air. Jason stood and walked toward the creek bank. I followed him, and the boys followed me.

“This has been really neat,” Devon said as we were drying off.

“Yeah, how many guys can say they had this conversation with their dads,” Kyle said. Then he asked, “So, when do we get to watch?”

Jason made another grab for him but Kyle was ready for him and easily dodged out of the way. “We’re going to be watching you drown,” Jason warned.

To be continued...

Posted: 05/22/15 rp