Jason and Shaun 16

If you don't agree with guys being in love with guys, then you need to find someplace else to spend time.

Okay, these characters are not meant to resemble any living or dead person.

I make no apology to anyone who is offended by anything in this story.

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_Hnstskr4@aol.com_

Chapter 16

New Home, New Neighbors

For the past three months, the guys have been house hunting. They wanted, and needed, a little bit more living space. Jason and Shaun wanted a house big enough for them to have a room for Jason's Critters, a computer room/office, and a guest bedroom. They also wanted a big backyard. Shaun had money from Jason's dad, Jason had money from working, and there was some money that was sitting in Shaun's accounts that they could put towards the house. It wasn't quite enough to cover all the costs of purchasing the home, so they were going to see about a loan. When Jason's dad caught wind of it, he loaned them the money. There were a few catches though. Jason had to stay in school, keep his job, and they both had to pay Dad back. Jason and Shaun knew to keep their pride tucked in and accept the money. Tomorrow, they will box whatever is left to box, load it up into their rental truck, and then move it the new house.

Tom, Matt, and April cleared their calendars to come over and help. The guys took the boxes out to the truck, while April organized. Together, they made the job a whole lot easier. Once everything was loaded up into the van, Jason went back inside to pack the animal room. Lucy went into her snake bag after a slight struggle, and the spiders went into smaller containers. Shaun and Matt carried out Lucy's cage while Jason got Sasha into her carrier. With all the animals and the people loaded up, it was time to head out to their new digs.

They pulled up to the new house and everyone got out. Jason unlocked the door and went around opening up all the rooms. The animals were removed first and put into the room that was designated the animal room. The sight of the moving van also got the attention of two of the neighbors, especially, the younger one who gave the guys a once over. He managed to convince the other guy with him to come over and meet the new neighbors on the block. Shaun saw them coming over to the van.

The two strangers approached Shaun as Jason was headed back out to the van.

"Hi, I'm Erik, and this is my brother-in-law, Mark. Need any help?"

The younger was eager to help the new people moving in.

"Sure, if you really want to help out," Jason said, glad to have a few more hands.

Shaun loaded up Mark and sent him into the kitchen to drop off boxes. Jason loaded up Erik and sent him into the bathroom. Shaun is impressed with the teen's willingness to help out, and he's glad that Mark was willing to help out also. Jason was the first one to notice that something is up with the teen.

"Umm... Shaun, I think there's something up here."

Shaun just looks at Jason and shrugs his shoulders.

"What do you mean?" Shaun asked, because he hadn't picked up on anything other than having two helpful and friendly neighbors.

"Well, I think our young neighbor is gay."

Shaun didn't much care, because having those extra hands makes the job a whole lot easier. With the extra help, everyone was able to finish ahead of time.

When all the boxes are safely inside the house, Matt tells the guys that he has to split.

"Bye guys, I need to get moving. April, Tom, you want a ride back the apartment building?" Both April and Tom decided to stay and help out.

Jason and Shaun love their friends. They've always been ready at the drop of a dime to help out, and the same can be said for them.

The job ahead of them is to get the house sort of set up. Shaun takes the kitchen, even though Jason will do most of the cooking. They already knew that the house came with a fridge, which was wonderful. It's money that can be used for other things. After the guys got the heavy stuff in place, April went into the living room and went to work following the map of the room set-up that Jason drew. Jason headed for the pet room while Tom tackled the computer room & office. Erik worked in the dining room getting it arranged. After an hour or two, the house is fairly well in order.

With the house in order, the extra help began to leave. Tom and April headed for home. Mark, the older neighbor, cut out after a quiet conversation with Erik. Erik headed in the direction that Jason disappeared into. Shaun walked through the house making small adjustments here and there.

Jason is suddenly aware of a presence behind him. He turns around to find Erik in the room.

"Hi, want to help me get my animals back into their rightful places."

"Cool, I'm all for it."

As they worked, Jason showed Erik where he wanted each animal to go. Erik looked like he might burst at any time. His older neighbor could tell that he wanted to say something, but Jason also knew to wait for him to start the conversation.

Finally Erik built up the nerve to speak. "Can we talk?" he asked.

"Sure if you don't mind that we keep working as we talk."

Jason grabbed a bag of aspen bedding and started to pull some out. He wanted to get Lucy's tank done first. Without being asked, Erik stepped up and grabbed a hand full of the shavings and dropped them into the tank. Jason continued to dump the bedding into the tank, as did Erik.

"So what's on your mind?" Jason asked, looking at Erik as he pulled the other items needed for Lucy's tank out of a box.

"I'm not trying to be nosy, so if you don't want to answer any questions, that's fine. I understand.

Jason chuckled to himself because he knew where this was headed.

"Are you and Shaun a couple?"

Jason could tell that Erik was feeling a bit awkward at the moment.

"Yes, we are," Jason said, as he finished the tank.

"I knew it! Somehow, I just knew," Erik said with a bit of enthusiasm.

"Umm... it's not that big a deal." Jason was a little surprised by the young man's reaction.

"It may not be a big deal to you, but to me it's a huge deal. It's nice having other gay guys in the neighborhood.

Erik just outed himself, but at least this time it won't backfire on him. Jason had always wanted to mentor a gay teen and maybe Erik would let him have that opportunity.

"So any way, I'm gay and my parents found out and kicked me out, so now I live with my sister and brother-in-law." Erik said as he looked at his older neighbor.

Jason felt sorry for the kid. "No one should be treated that way just for being gay."

Now there was one final thing to do with the tank, and that was to place Lucy into it. Jason picked up the pillowcase and opened it up. Ever so slowly, he reached in and took Lucy out of the bag. He expected Erik to pull away, but that didn't happen. In fact, Erik came in closer so he could get a better view of the snake.

"Can I hold her?" Erik asked. Jason put Lucy into Erik's hands. She immediately tasted the air around her and when she felt safe, she moved around on him. She couldn't stay in his arms for long, though, because there were other animals that needed to be put into their homes. Jason took her from Erik and lowered her into the tank. Next, Jason got out the box holding his tarantulas. Erik and he went to work getting the bookshelf that holds their tanks into position.

"In that box are some tanks. Would you hand them to me?"

"Sure!" Eric said in response to Jason. One by one, Erik handed Jason the tanks. Jason then opened each tank and then opened the containers holding the spiders so that they could go into their tanks. Jason was pleasantly surprised at how calm Erik was around the animals. When everything was done in the animals' room, Jason took Erik to find Shaun.

Shaun was in the computer room setting up the computers.

"Getting them to work?" Jason asks, as Shaun starts to boot them up.

"We'll know in a minute or two." Shaun said with crossed fingers.

Music suddenly filled the room; Erik retrieved his phone from his jacket pocket.

"Hello!" Erik said into the phone. "I'm sorry, I forgot. I'll come home and do it."

Erik had wanted to talk to the guys a little bit more, but Sarah needed him to come home and get some work done.

"Thanks for letting me help out," he said, as he turned to walk away.

"We're the ones who should be thanking you," Jason said, as Erik shook Shaun's hand.

"You're welcome!" With that Erik left the couple and went home.

Jason and Shaun sat there a minute in their computer chairs before deciding what to do next. Since the computer room was set up, Jason decided to move to the bedroom. As they put the room in order, Jason brought Shaun up to speed on their new neighbor.

"Erik is a pretty cool young man. You and he have two things in common."

"Oh really!" Shaun said as he looked at Jason, questioning what exactly those two things might be.

"Yeah, you're both gay and you've both been disowned by your parents." Shaun was thinking that they would have something silly in common, but this news puts a whole new spin on their new neighbor.

"I'd like to talk with Mark and make our house Erik's second home," Jason said as they worked at getting the room put together.

Shaun stopped and thought about what was said. He would love to have had support when he was younger. Now, he has a chance to make it right. "Jas, I agree with you."

Shaun wanted Erik to feel at home at their house also. One can't blame him for wanting to help the young man.

The guys were tired so they laid down for a bit and just cuddled.

There was a knock at the front door. Jason realizes that they must have fallen asleep. He removes Shaun's arm from his side and goes downstairs to answer the door. "Hello?" He says as he looks through the window at the woman knocking. She's in her late twenties or early thirties and she's carrying a large Pizza Hut pizza, a liter bottle of Pepsi, and a salad big enough for two people. She said, "I'm Erik's sister. I thought you guys might want something to eat."

Jason opened the door and reached out to Sarah. He took the pizza and the pop from her hands and set them down on the floor.

"Hi, I'm Sarah," she said with a smile on her face.

"Hi, I'm Jason and my better half, Shaun, is upstairs."

He smiled and reached out his hand to her.

"Nice to meet you Jason, but I need to get back to the house and feed the people at my place."

"Okay. Thank you! See you later."

He was very impressed with the neighbors so far.

In true Shaun style, he appeared just in time to eat. "Where did the pizza come from?" Shaun knew that Jason didn't order it, nor did he have time to run out and get it. All he knew was that he was hungry.

"Eric's sister brought it over for us."

Shaun instantly befriended the woman, and he hadn't even met her yet. The couple sat down in their new dining room and ate their pizza.

As if by magic, another knock came at the door at the very second that Shaun threw his trash away. Jason was still eating as Shaun went to answer the door.

"Hello?" Shaun asked before opening the door.

"It's Erik and friend," Erik said, as he stood outside his the door along with boyfriend. Shaun quickly opened the door.

"Come in guys!" Erik and guest walked into the house. Right away, Erik made introductions.

"This is Steve, my boyfriend," Erik said, with a huge smile on his face.

"Steve, it's nice to meet you!" Shaun said as he outstretched his right hand to Steve.

"Who's here?" Jason's voice rang out from the dining room.

"It's Erik and a friend," Shaun said, as his voice echoed through the house.

"Be right out!" Jason said. Erik quietly whispered into Steve's ear.

"So what's new?" Shaun asked his neighbor.

"Steve came over and I thought I'd bring him over to meet you guys," Erik said in reply.

"Cool, well, I'm Shaun and the guy in the other room is my partner, Jason," Shaun said, as Jason came into the room. Steve reached out to shake hands. He was impressed with the guys too.

"Why don't we go sit down in the living room?" Jason asked. Everyone followed Jason into the living room and sat down near their boyfriend. Steve started the conversation.

"How did the two of you meet up?" Shaun decided to answer.

"Well, my roommate moved out and of my apartment, so I posted a classified ad hoping to find a new roommate, and Jason was the first guy to respond. When I saw him for the first time, it was instant attraction. It took a while for that attraction to grow into a relationship, but it finally did."

Jason sat there thinking about those first few days. Then he decided to fill in some of the blanks.

"Shaun can be very shy at times. I knew he was attracted to me, but I wanted him to ask me out so I waited until he did. I almost gave up on him until a neighbor of ours told me to just be patient. She ended up being right."

"Have there been any hardships that you've encountered?" Erik asked, seeking advice. Jason thought about it for a second and then answered.

"Yeah there have been a few bumps along the way. The biggest problems seem to stem from Shaun's family and his background."

Steve looked at Shaun. He was hoping Shaun would share his thoughts on the subject. Shaun didn't want to discuss his life, but if it would help these two teenagers, then he'd talk. Erik wanted to hear his thoughts too.

"Well, my family is Mormon going way back, and me being gay doesn't seem to be popular with my mom. She's cut me off, as did my step dad. My dad and step mom are fine with it. With my roadblock come a few hurdles like "no sex before marriage" and "being gay isn't right".

Steve looked at Erik and then took his hand. They exchanged a quick kiss and then Erik spoke.

"Two of the roughest things for me have been the loss of a friend and being kicked out by my parents. This so-called friend tried 'helping' me by being a total pain in the ass. He actually took a picture of Shaun and me kissing and then sent that picture to my mom."

"That's insane!" Shaun said in total disbelief. He couldn't imagine having that happen. Sure, his mom has written him off, but at least none of his friends have. No wonder Erik and Steve love each other so much. Shaun knows all too well that going through hardships with someone tends to make the friendship tighter.

Steve looked down at his phone to check the time and said, "Mom will kill me if I don't go home soon. Hopefully, I'll get to see you guys again. Thanks for the friendship!" Steve said as he stood up.

"Thanks guys!" Erik said as he got ready to walk out the door.

"Bye!" said Jason.

"We hope to see you guys soon," said Shaun and then he disappeared to grab a drink. When the guys were gone, Jason joined Shaun in the kitchen.

"Good job, Shaun. Thanks for the support you gave the guys back there," Jason said, as he patted his boyfriend on the back. Shaun wasn't sure what Jason was talking about because he didn't feel that he had offered any major support. They sat down, drank their lemonade, and gazed into each other's eyes. Then they exchanged a kiss just as Sasha came out of hiding.

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