| Closer Than Brothers |
| "Yer WHAT???!!!!!" Jesse Duke's roar could've been heard three counties away. Bo flinched under his angry gaze. "I � I'm gay, Uncle Jesse." They had decided to start slow; first breaking the news that Bo was gay in the hopes that Jesse would feel sorry for the boy. It hadn't worked. "Oh, no you're not! There hasn't been one of THEM in the family since that good-for-nothing brother of my father, what was his name, Amos Duke, that was him." Bo and Luke sat side by side on the couch, heads bowed before Jesse's wrath. This did not bode well. Somehow, Bo found the courage to try again. "I � I'm sorry, Uncle Jesse, but I can't hide this anymore. Now that I know for sure �" Jesse glared at him. "Now listen here, one failure with a girl don't mean you're gay, Bo! You just got to get your head on straight about this!" Bo just shook his head miserably. "Uncle Jesse, it ain't just this one thing. I ain't never been all that interested in girls. I just followed Luke 'cause it was expected. Ever since the beginning, I knew �" His voice trailed off as he looked at Daisy, sitting across the room with a stunned expression on her face. He couldn't tell if she was mad or not. She didn't know about that first incident all those years ago � Luke jumped in to his rescue. "Uncle Jesse � you remember what happened back when we was kids?" Jesse's eyes got cold and hard as he realized what Luke was talkin' about. "Daisy, leave the room. You don't need to be hearin' about this." "But Uncle Jesse �" "No buts, Daisy. Leave." Daisy looked over at Bo and Luke, she couldn't believe the things that were being said. She was afraid for her cousins; there was only one other time she remembered him being this mad at them. But she knew better than to stay. So she got up and left the room, but stayed close by the door so she could still hear what was going on. Jesse glared at Luke. "Are you telling me you've got something to do with this too?" Bo looked fearfully at Luke, but Luke looked Jesse right in the eye. "Uncle Jesse, you didn't see Bo that night he finally told me. He was so miserable he was ready to leave home rather than disappoint you. And in all these years, he's never been with anybody but me, back then. Now we didn't know what we was doin' then, but we do now. Bo can't help bein' what he is, and me, well, I guess I'm kinda different too, goin' both ways. You know Bo and I have always been close, Uncle Jesse. What we have has always been special. Closer even than brothers. I think in an innocent way we knew it back then, that we wanted to be together." While he talked, Luke's arm wrapped around Bo's trembling shoulders. They could see the rage building in Jesse's eyes. "Like hell you do! I absolutely forbid it! Do I have to beat it out of you like I did back then?" He raised his hand as if to slap Bo. "Uncle Jesse, no!" Bo flinched, anticipating the fall of Jesse's hand, but Luke intervened. His voice was like ice as he caught the old man's arm. "Don't you DARE, Uncle Jesse!" Jesse looked at Luke, stunned by his defiance. "Luke! Get your hand off me!" Luke held firm, his protectiveness towards Bo in full force. "Uncle Jesse, I don't want to hurt you. But I won't let you hurt Bo. You hear me?" Their eyes locked in a showdown. Finally Jesse realized that Luke was a man in the prime of his life, and if Jesse pushed now, he'd lose. Angrily, he pulled his arm back. Daisy huddled in the kitchen, out of sight but still able to hear them. Dear Lord, what was happening? Bo and Luke � together? It all started to make sense. She barely remembered the incident they were talking about � she'd only been about 9 or 10, and hadn't understood what was going on, only that Uncle Jesse was REALLY mad at Bo and Luke, madder than ever before. Now she realized what they must have been doing out back of the barn that night. Fooling around, exploring their bodies as teenagers are likely to do. Bo and Luke had done everything together, she guessed it wasn't all that surprising they had done this together too. Those two were so close that sometimes even she felt left out around them. Now she was really afraid; Luke was so protective of Bo; she couldn't imagine what would have happened if Uncle Jesse hadn't backed down. Back in the living room, it was a stand-off. Luke and Jesse glared at each other, both with their hackles fully raised. Bo watched them, terrified. He had to stop this. "Uncle Jesse, please! I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, but I can't help being what I am! You always taught us, live and let live. Don't that apply to us too? We're still your kin. We love you, Uncle Jesse, and we promise never to disgrace you in public. But this is our home, Uncle Jesse. Here we got to be able to be who we are!" Bo's defiance pushed Jesse over the edge. "Don't you backtalk me, young man! This is still my house, and what I say goes. If'n you don't like that, you're welcome to leave! Both of ya!" Daisy gasped; it couldn't really happen, could it? Would Uncle Jesse really throw them out? Luke was still fuming from Jesse's attempt to hurt Bo. More than anything he wanted to get them out of there. Leaving suited him just fine. "Fine! If that's the way you want it, Uncle Jesse, that's the way you'll have it! Come on, Bo!" He grabbed his cousin's arm and dragged him back to their bedroom. Bo was in a state of shock; he just stood there while Luke dug out an old suitcase and threw some clothes for both of them into it. Finally, he found his voice. "Luke? Are we really leaving?" Luke turned to see Bo standing there looking as lost as he had that night that started it all. He walked over to him and tenderly took Bo's face between his hands. "Bo, sweetheart, I'm sorry. But we can't back down now. You know that." Bo realized he was right. Given time to cool off, Jesse might come to see reason. But if they backed down now they'd be giving in without a fight. He managed to nod. The pain in Bo's eyes cut like a dagger into Luke's heart. He leaned in and kissed Bo softly, and then Bo's arms were around him and they were holding on to each other tightly. "It'll be all right, Bo. I promise you," he whispered softly. Bo didn't answer, just held on tighter. Finally, Luke pulled away. "You got anything special you want to take?" Bo shook his head. Luke went into the bathroom to gather a few things, tossed them in the suitcase and closed it up. He looked at Bo. "You ready?" Bo shook his head. "But at least if I'm leavin', I'm leavin' with you." Luke just nodded, and together they headed back to the living room. Jesse was sitting in his chair, fuming. Daisy had returned and was watching, eyes wide with fear. But Jesse didn't even acknowledge the boys as they crossed the living room and went out the front door. Daisy ran after them. "Bo! Luke! You can't leave! Not like this!" Bo turned to her as Luke threw the suitcase into the trunk of the General Lee. "We have to, Daisy." As he looked into her tear-filled eyes, his resolve cracked. "Daisy � please tell me you don't hate us?" Daisy's tears spilled over as she reached out to embrace Bo. "Of course I don't hate you, Bo! I don't know why Uncle Jesse is so crazy about this subject � it don't make no sense!" Luke came over and joined them, wrapping his arms around both of them. "Daisy, you take good care of yourself, ok?" Daisy looked up at him. "Luke, where are you goin'? You can't just disappear where I can't get in touch with you!" Luke shook his head. "Not real sure just yet. For tonight, I just want to get someplace where we can be alone. Probably stay in a motel or something. Not real far. I'll call you tomorrow afternoon and let you know where we are, ok?" Daisy nodded; in mid-afternoon, Uncle Jesse wouldn't be in the house, especially with the boys not there to do chores. Luke bent down and gently kissed her cheek. "I hope we won't be gone too long, Daisy." Tearfully, she kissed both of them goodbye, then watched as they drove off. She still couldn't believe this was happening. She couldn't bear the thought of facing Uncle Jesse, so she just sat out on the porch steps. The more she thought about it, the madder she got. Off in the distance she heard the first rumble of an afternoon thunderstorm. A little later, as the first raindrops fell, she got up. Uncle Jesse was about to face another kind of thunder � ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Luke, where are we gonna go? I ain't got no money." "Don't worry about that, Bo. I got it covered. There's still a good chunk of my pay from the service in the bank. Been savin' it for an emergency." Luke drove into town; luckily it was still early enough to get into the bank. Bo sat in the car while Luke went inside, still somewhat in shock over what had happened. He'd been right about Uncle Jesse's reaction. What he hadn't expected was the way Luke stood up to Uncle Jesse, keeping him from hitting Bo. He knew Luke was very protective by nature, but he hadn't realized just how far he'd be willing to go. As Bo waited, the sky was darkening. The first thunder came as Luke was getting into the car. He pulled out of the parking lot and made his way out of town, heading for the main highway. Neither of them said much as Luke drove eastward, staying just ahead of the storm. After about an hour, they spotted a small motel and Luke pulled into its parking lot. "Stay here," he instructed Bo as he got out of the car. Bo was happy to let Luke take care of the business of getting them a room. A few minutes later, he came back out and drove the car to the far end of the parking lot. Just as they were getting out of the car, the skies opened. Luke opened the door while Bo got the suitcase out of the trunk, but by the time he got into the room, his shirt was soaked. The room was small, nothing fancy, with a small private bathroom built in. And one big bed. Bo realized why Luke hadn't wanted him to go in to the office with him; alone, he could ask for the room with one bed. Luke noticed Bo shivering in the air conditioning, so he went over to the window and turned it off, shutting the curtains while he was at it. He watched as Bo skinned out of his wet t-shirt and jeans, using the shirt to towel off his hair. Kicking off his boots, he stretched out on the bed and called to Bo, "Come here, I'll keep you warm." Bo didn't have to be asked twice. Ever since they'd started this trip, he'd been longing for the time when he could feel Luke's strong arms around him. With a sigh, he slid in beside his cousin and rested his damp head on Luke's shoulder. Luke's arms wrapped around him, and a gentle kiss found his forehead. He sought the warmth of Luke's body, tugging open the buttons of his shirt and slipping his hand inside. Luke's hands moved back and forth over his chilled body, warming his heart as well. There really wasn't much to say, so neither of them said much. Now it was a matter of wait and see if Uncle Jesse could be reasoned with after he cooled down. They were both sad and more than a little bit afraid it wouldn't work out. So they just lay there, needing to be together, hands gently roaming, caressing, expressing wordlessly the love they shared. It was more about comfort than sex. It was Luke who broke the silence. "You ok, Bo?" Bo shrugged, his head nestled on Luke's shoulder. "Not freezin' anymore �" "That's not what I meant." "I know �" Bo sighed and hugged Luke. "I'm scared. What if Uncle Jesse don't come around? What are we gonna do?" Luke bent down to kiss his forehead. "Don't worry about that yet, Bo. I got to believe Uncle Jesse will listen to reason. We got enough money for a couple of weeks. We'll be home by then." "I hope so. I don't like this, Luke. Goin' away in anger. Maybe it woulda been better if I'd just disappeared the way I planned �" "No!" Bo was stunned by the intensity of Luke's answer. "Don't you think that for a minute, Bo! Don't think we would have just let you go! And besides, if you had, we never would've found this, would we?" He hugged Bo, softly kissing his cheek. "I'd hate to think of you out here all by yourself." Bo shook his head. "But you didn't have to get dragged down with me! You coulda gone on fine dating Annabelle. It's all my fault �" Luke reached out and cupped his face. "Now you listen to me, Bo Duke. I ain't saying this again. I'm exactly where I want to be. I love you. I've always loved you, I just didn't know how much. I do know now, and ain't nobody gonna keep me away from you. You hear me?" Bo looked up into Luke's deep blue eyes and nodded. He still couldn't believe it was true, how much Luke loved him. And truthfully, he was grateful that if he had to leave home, he had Luke with him. It made it seem possible that they could survive somehow. After a while, they both started getting hungry. Bo dug in the nightstand and found a flyer from a local pizza place. Since the storm hadn't let up, they decided to splurge and order something. Luke found the remote control and turned on the TV. It had gotten kind of hot and stuffy so they turned the A/C back on, but on 'low' setting. When the pizza came, the delivery guy gave them a weird look when he noticed Bo in the background in his skivvies. Luke just glared at him and shorted him on the tip for it. After he left, Luke stripped down to his shorts too and they pulled back the covers on the bed and settled in to eat pizza and watch TV. It would have been kind of fun if it weren't for the lingering sadness that they just couldn't shake. About 10PM Luke realized that Bo was sound asleep with his head on Luke's shoulder. With a sigh, he shut off the TV and the light and pulled the covers up over them. The storm still raged outside, echoing the darkness in his soul. Had he done the right thing? Both getting involved with his cousin, and telling Uncle Jesse? And leaving when they did? He was doing his best to stay positive for Bo; ever the older, supposedly wiser of the two of them. But he had his doubts too. After his liaison with Greg, he had often pondered why people had to put limits on love, especially when there was so much hate in the world. Some people just had to be in charge of other people's lives. But Uncle Jesse wasn't like that. Daisy was right � it just didn't make sense. Luke sighed, and tried to chase the doubts from his mind. Occasionally a brilliant flash of lighting cut through the darkness, giving him a glimpse of Bo sleeping soundly beside him. This much he was sure was right; them being together. He rolled over, reaching out to wrap his arm over Bo. That warm presence was immensely comforting. As he lay in the darkness, the sound of the rain slowly lulled him to sleep. Continue to Chapter 6 Send me some Feedback Back to the Other Fandoms Index Back to my Home Page Disclaimer: I don't own them, just borrowing them for fun, not profit! |
| Chapter 5 |
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