French Connection

“I still don’t get it, man. How’d your dad rack up the money to get plane tickets, anyway?”

The campsite nearby the French town was rather quiet at night. The two were aware, however, that tomorrow morning would bring forth a large commotion.

“He made a few cutbacks, started saving up spare change, that sort of thing. Then he sold something important, I suppose.”

“And where, may I ask, did he get that idea?”

“Simpsons episode.”

“Ah.” For a while after that, the two lay in silence.

“Why was it this country, anyway?”

“Can’t say, exactly.” Shark pouted his lips out as he tried to remember. “I guess Lolly got some pen pal in town, and she wanted to meet him. She didn’t say that to Dad, though. She made a pretty convincing case without that.”

A few feet away, a muffled noise rose in the other tent. It started out agitated, then turned into sobbing, then sounded angry.

In a most awkward manner, they listened. Sinbad then took hold of his pillow and tried to cover his ears.

“I think Lolly’s mad about something.”

“Ya think?” Sinbad glanced at Shark as the latter reached over to pull out an odd looking book. “I seriously can’t believe you brought that along.”

Shark set the graphic novel into his lap and sat up. “Plane rides get boring sometimes. Besides, the other series I like by this author hasn’t been officially released into English.”

“Was that the one with the little man-bird who thought his brain shot out of his dick?”

There was a brief moment silence before Shark flatly answered, “…Yes.”

Sinbad sat up alongside Shark, and threw the book aside. “Come on, man. We’re in France. And you don’t wanna know what it’s like to fuck in another country?”

“I have, but we just got here a few hours ago. I didn’t think you were up for it so early.”

The redhead shrugged. “If you ain’t in the mood for it, that’s cool. Just throwing it out there for future reference.” Sinbad lay back down and tried getting comfortable.

“Well, it’s not like anyone’s gonna walk in on us at this hour, right?”

At that moment, a hand shot into the tent, and made its way to Shark’s head, attempting to squeeze it like an orange.

“Are you two decent?” Dennis’ voice sounded rather nonchalant, if not a tad sleepy.

“Yeah, boss. Come on in. We weren’t even thinking of doing that. Well, we were, but you caught us at a good time.”

The older Racket man stepped into the tent, dragging his sleeping bag behind him.

“I do apologize for this disruption. Also, if the two of you wish to buy souvenirs tomorrow, do so as soon as possible. Long story.”

Both younger men watched as Dennis made himself comfortable on the other side of the tent. It wasn’t long before he was fast asleep.

“So…There goes that plan,” Sinbad whispered. “Now what do we do?”

“We can just cuddle, if that’s good enough.” The body language Shark received was indeed good enough for him.

Sinbad still had to adjust to mere affection, rather than sexual acts. He didn’t mind them; if anything, he was quite fond of cuddling and pillow talk, and the like.

Whatever it was they did, it usually wound up with Shark resting his head on Sinbad’s chest.

Tonight he settled for the two wrapping arms around each other.

“You know, I think that’s the first time in years I’ve seen Dad actually sleeping. His schedule was completely backwards when we lived in the mansion.”

“I’ll believe it.” Somewhere outside, Sinbad could’ve sworn he heard footsteps leading away from the campsite. “Hey, how long are we staying in this country, anyway?”

“A few days. Why?”

“Just asking. I got my reasons for doing it.” Now instead of contemplating how to spend the night, Sinbad made himself comfortable with Shark on top of him.

The heat being generated from this arrangement was amazing. Sinbad contentedly settled in, feeling Shark’s face bury into his shoulder. He was quite happy with just this for the night.

…

The sunrise of the next morning brought forth a typical idyllic morning sequence. Lolly was already up and raring to go.

“I don’t want to know, do I?” she said when she saw her father and the other two come out of the tent.

Sinbad took this as an opportunity that he probably shouldn’t have taken. “I piledrove your brother while your dad watched.”

The Racket men looked on in horror at what they just heard come out of the redhead’s mouth.

“Now where in the fresh hell did that come from, sir?”

“Hey, she asked,” Sinbad said bluntly, as Shark pinched the bridge of his nose. He then snorted and told her the truth: “Nah, just messing with you, Lollapalooza. We didn’t do anything like that.”

After the initial upset, the four ended up traveling into town, looking through the sights. Lolly’s eyes lit up upon seeing one of the locals by the bookstore, and skittered away before any of them could stop her.

“Oh, let her go. There’s no sense in keeping a rein on her while we’re here. This vacation choice was her idea, after all.”

Sinbad wasn’t really listening, as he had his eyes set on what he presumed to be the General Store.

True to his word, Sinbad had started work at the Bistro a week or so ago. He still had to get used to the kitchen being hot and usually noisy, but he’d dealt with worse.

Deciding he’d held up his end of the deal with Dennis, the redhead figured it was time to see if the request was still valid.

“Yo, boss!” The interjection had interrupted the father and son asking what was good for lunch. “Think I might be able to cash in on your favor yet?”

Shark was confused by what his boyfriend was asking. “Favor? Is there something I’m missing here?”

“Oh, it’s nothing you should concern yourself with, boy,” Dennis said, while trying to remain calm at what was being asked of him. “Just something between me and Mister Rotter. Um, could you go see if that cafe we saw does reservations?”

Nodding, Shark ran off, while Dennis pulled out his wallet and grumbled to himself.

“Oh, this conversion process confuses the hell out of me.” Dennis pulled out a few large bills, and handed them to Sinbad. “I must say, I am astounded at your speed and timing over this.”

“Yeah, sorry about that. I guess since we’re in a place that basically represents ‘romance’ and ‘love’ and all that nice shit, figured now would be the best time to ask.”

“I certainly don’t mind it at all. The very fact alone that you say you’re ready for that step is enough for me.”

Sinbad hesitated when given the money, and bit his lip. “What if the ring I get ain’t good enough for him, boss? What do I do, then?”

Dennis scoffed. “You could probably give that boy a ring meant for keychains, and he’d say yes. I’d say the only requirement is that you’re the one giving it to him.”

…

Later that night, Sinbad was sitting in the tent, inspecting his expensive purchase for any major flaws.

“How the hell did the boss get that loaded that quick? Must’ve got a savings account or sold something awesome or something.”

Lolly poked her head into the tent with an irritated look on her face.

“Hey, horn-dog,” she said with some displeasure in her words, “we’re going out to eat tonight. Zip your pants back up and let’s go.”

“Nah, got some important shit to do. I’ll catch up later. Why don’t you ask your new boyfriend if he’ll go instead?” Sinbad noted her loss for words, then stood to leave the tent.

“How do you know about Pascal?”

Sinbad raised a thick eyebrow. “Oh, so Monsieur Goober does have a name. Come on, kid. French pen pal? Running off during sightseeing today? I’d have to have been brain-dead not to notice. That, and not telling your dad about that guy is definitely not a good idea.”

“Oh, like you care! You’re not even part of this family!” Lolly crossed her arms, waiting for his answer.

“You’re right, I’m not. But depending on what happens by the end of this vacation, there’s a chance I will be.”

He left the campground before she gave an answer. Though a tad fearful she was going to tell her father and brother what he said, he now focused himself on finding a good location in town.

(Original Prompt)