The Boyfriend Pt. 03

III: Family

Liam

Still smiling as he stepped back inside after talking with Blake, Liam crossed over to the door where his uncle and Grandma were coming in.

"Liam! Oh, it's so good to see you," his grandma, Grace, said as he hugged her. She was tiny, head barely reaching his head, so he towered over her as he hugged her.

"Good to see you, too, Gramma."

He moved over to his uncle next.

"Hey, Uncle Will."

"Hey, Liam! Yikes, how do you keep getting bigger?"

Liam laughed as he hugged his uncle, "I hope I stop getting taller at some point, at least. Makes plane rides a lot less fun."

His uncle laughed, "Tell me about it."

Uncle Will was just as tall as Liam was, though much bigger. He'd had a belly for as long as Liam could remember, though the fat never reached his face, and at the moment, he looked a bit slimmer than he had when Liam had left.

"You been joining Gramma on her walks?"

He smiled, nodding, "A perk of being the boss and not starting work till eleven. Sometimes, we join Adam and Kono on their walks if we feel like getting breakfast over here."

Liam smiled at that, throat tightening. His family and Kekoa's had always gotten along well, but knowing that they spent time together even when he wasn't involved made him feel even more grateful than he already did.

"We make sure to push them when they join us," Kono, Kekoa's mother, called from the other room, "Fifteen-thousand steps at least instead of their usual twelve-thousand."

"Food's ready!" Kekoa called, and Liam turned to see him and his dad, Adam, bringing over plates and bowls to a table set for six.

As his uncle and grandma walked past him to the table, Liam looked at his family, taking a deep breath, and smiled as he walked over to help Kekoa and his parents with the food.

He missed Blake, but it was good to be home.

"So, who were you talking to when we came in, Liam?"

His uncle asked, serving himself some of the pulled pork.

"Was it this mysterious new girlfriend you've told us almost nothing about?" His grandma asked in mock annoyance.

Liam sighed, but smiled as he took the pork from his uncle and gave himself a generous helping. He'd known this was coming.

"Yes, it was. Her name's Blake."

"That's pretty quick to be calling her your girlfriend after breaking up with Marie, isn't it?" Adam asked, grinning, "If you really like her, you better make sure she's not a rebound."

Liam blinked, pausing as he poured some of the chutney over his plate.

Blake's not that...right?

He realized everyone was probably waiting for him to talk, and looked up in time to catch a raised eyebrow from Kekoa. Liam gave him a tight smile, and Kekoa cocked his head before looking around the table and grinning.

"I'm pretty sure he's past that phase, considering how none of us got too many calls or texts even though Liam said he didn't have to do too much studying for his finals this year."

Liam's cheeks grew hot even as he smiled at his brother for changing the subject. Then he laughed when Kono'anake cuffed his shoulder and Adam'anakala shook his head.

"Iki opala," he said, rolling his eyes, "Not while we're eating."

Liam's Uncle Will laughed--Liam knew he'd picked up enough Hawaiian to know Adam had just called his son a little shit--and his grandma smiled.

"Oh, honey, I know you kids get fresh with each other at college."

Kekoa laughed, and his parent's eyes went wide, with Adam needing to cover his mouth as he laughed.

Then Liam's grandma peered at him, "Isn't this the same girl you made friends with earlier in the year, though? The one that's Marie's roommate?"

Uncle Will gave his mom, then Liam, a wide-eyed look, "Well, that must make things difficult."

Kekoa laughed even harder, pounding the table.

His dad rolled his eyes, but Kono'anake had started laughing, covering her mouth.

"I'm glad your school seems to have made college easy for you," she said, "because it looks like the Christian part of that backfired."

Adam'anakala finally lost it, shaking his head as he laughed along with anyone else.

Liam, smiling, but with cheeks so hot he thought they might actually burn, looked to Kekoa,

"What about your semester? I haven't heard much about that."

Kekoa grinned, "Oh, no. I was the center of attention on Thanksgiving. You skipped out on that to get lucky, so you're getting all the interrogation front and center tonight."

"Kei!" Kono'anake said as she lightly smacked his arm, "Is that what you were doing?"

Liam shook his head and took a deep breath, readying himself to get through the rest of dinner.

A/N: Needless to say, Liam has a bit of an...unusual family situation. I wonder what happened...

Also, "anakala" and "anake" are terms for "uncle" and "auntie" respectively.