It had been a bit since Jorge and Chase had just some guy time. Ever since their last adventure the two had managed to spend more “just guy” time together (which seemed to please Gemma greatly) but it had been a piece before Jorge was able to actually take Chase out. Unfortunately work just got too hectic for him to really just set a day aside. Oh he spoke to Chase and he hung out with him whenever they were all out together, but just dude time had been vastly limited. Jorge had vowed to make it up to him and finally he was!

Plus…there was a small ulterior motive for this little outing. It had been something that Jorge had been mulling over for a long time and he knew it was the decision that he wanted to make. But first he needed to make sure that it was okay with Chase. After all, this would not only just affect Gemma, but it would affect her son vastly…

…he wanted to ask Gemma to marry him.

It was a terrifying step. The man had never been married before since more women he dated tended to flee because of his life’s work before they ever got that serious. But things had been serious with Gemma for a good while now and she was still around. Even through strange, Halloween insanity, large-handed thugs, and various other monstrosities, Jorge could always count on Gemma being by his side and vice versa.

She was a one of a kind woman and he would have liked nothing more than to be her husband. But she had new son living with her, a boy whose life started with such turmoil. He was only now starting to get a balanced life and Jorge was simply not sure if his asking Gemma to marry him would cause the boy more issues. After all, they were getting along just fine but there was not that sense of permanence that comes with marriage. If he asked Gemma, and she said yes, that would automatically bring Chase into the family as well. Jorge loved Chase, dearly, but he needed to make sure that the boy would be okay with this change too.

That was why he was taking him out to lunch, where he could have an honest discussion with him; man-to-man.

That was why Jorge was now sitting in a booth, across from Chase in the boy’s favorite restaurant “Chartreuse Bluejay”. Jorge had never really stepped into this place before but he always used to hear great things about their endless baskets of fries and their burgers were supposed to actually be pretty good. But none of that mattered to Jorge, so long as Chase was in a comfortable atmosphere.

He smiled across the table as the boy looked over the menu. “Now, I’ve never been here before,” he explained, “So you have an suggestions?”

Chase liked his outings with Jorge. Not only because they always seemed to entail going out to eat, which was novelty on its own, but because Jorge was cool. Jorge was fun to be around, and Chase liked the attention. He liked having an older guy who actually liked to have him around. And, Jorge was everything Chase aspired to be, at least in the boy’s mind—he had a cool power, which he used to help fight crime in New York City. Jorge, modest as he was, said he was just a cop, but Chase was fairly sure that he was a superhero. This was exactly what Chase wanted to be when he grew up. A superhero. But, he could also settle for being a cop, too.

Today, they were going to Chase’s favorite restaurant, the Chartreuse Bluejay. It was one within a chain of restaurants, with burgers, milkshakes, and all sorts of American comfort foods. They even had macaroni-and-cheese! And you could choose what could go with it! It was the best restaurant ever. The two were seated in no time. Jorge surveyed his full-sized menu, while Chase looked at his own, smaller-sized menu. He already knew what he wanted—a soda, and his mac’n’cheese, just like always. With those apples that tasted like they should go in apple pies, and a small bull of fruit. So, rather than skimming for what he wanted to eat, Chase had a crayon within his grasp, and was at-work on one of the many puzzles on the paper before him.

Jorge shifted his gaze, and the shapeshifter looked up. Jorge was smiling, so Chase smiled back.

>> “Now, I’ve never been here before, so you have any suggestions?”

Chase hummed, pausing in his puzzle-doing to think. He wiggled the crayon contemplatively, and gave Jorge the most honest answer that he could give.

“Well, I hear that all their burgers are really good,” Chase mused, “But I like the mac’n’cheese.”

Of course he’d heard that the burgers were good. Their menus proclaimed that they had the best burgers around.

>> “Well, I hear that all their burgers are really good…But I like the mac’n’cheese.”[/color]

Jorge nodded. Though he loved a good burger, the man was indeed partial to macaroni and cheese, especially when it receives such reviews from someone like Chase. Besides, Jorge was on stake out last night and he had a burger then. Maybe some cheesy pasta was exactly the change up that he needed. Besides, it would probably help relax the situation a bit when he did finally get around to asking Chase what he had brought here in the first place.

It was a scary thought though. He was essentially going to be changing his relationship with Chase drastically. Whereas before he was just the boyfriend that Chase had to tolerate because he was around when the boy was adopted, he was now going to technically be his father. Technically? Pssh, he WOULD be the boy’s father for all purposes. While part of Jorge was actually pretty excited by that prospect, he worried about how Chase would react. After all, the boy had just gotten used to have a loving mother like Gemma around. How was he to react when he would suddenly have a father to? If Gemma even said yes?

But Jorge shook his head. He had to stop. He was really over thinking this a lot. Maybe he was just still a little shaken up because he had never had a relationship like Gemma’s before and did not want to mess things up. After all, Gemma was married before; who knows if she even wanted to get married again, especially with a new kid in her life.

Enough was enough, though. He really needed to get out of his head…

Jorge sighed as he watched Chase working a particularly challenging puzzle on the placemat and smirk. He was a sweet kid; hopefully he wouldn’t feel like the burly detective was intruding onto his life.

“You know, I think I’ll have the mac-and-cheese too. It seems to have gotten rave reviews from you and I follow the treads,” he chuckled with a smirk. It didn’t take long for them to wait as soon their waiter had appeared at their table side. Jorge nodded for Chase to go first.

“Hey there partner!” the man beamed happily as he held up his little notepad. “What’re you going to be having today?”

Chase continued with his puzzle after he’d dealt his brief answer to Jorge, smiling faintly as he worked. Jorge was quiet as her perused the menu, but Chase didn’t mind. For him, it was a comfortable silence, and besides which, he had a puzzle to keep himself occupied. And, while more serious matters churned through Jorge’s head, all that Chase contemplated was how great the macaroni-and-cheese would taste once they ordered it and received the food.

Chase took a sip of the decaffeinated soda that they had already ordered, pondering over a grueling crossword puzzle. He shifted his gaze towards Jorge, and cracked a smile when he noticed that the detective was watching him intently.

>> “You know, I think I’ll have the mac-and-cheese too. It seems to have gotten rave reviews from you and I follow the treads.”

Chase nodded and reiterated, “It’s really good.”

The waiter arrived shortly, chipperly asking Chase what he wanted to eat. Chase shifted, giving a faint “um” as he redirected his attention to the menu. He was loud and unfamiliar, which Chase recoiled at, slightly.

“May I please have, uh,” Chase mumbled uncertainly, “The mac’ n’ cheese?”

“Sure thing, sport! What would you like to go with that?” the waiter continued onward.

“The… fruit, and the sweet apples, please?” Chase requested.

The waiter nodded and moved onto Jorge, “And what would you like to have, sir?”

Jorge looked up as their waiter appeared. The man was…colorfully dressed to say the least, but on top of that he was a chipper as a bluejay first thing in the morning. He had turned, bright smile on his face, as he asked Chase for his order. While he did so, Jorge turned back to his own menu and really tried to decide what he wanted. He was simply not sure of it but it really did seem like he should go with Chase’s opinion.

>> “May I please have, uh, The mac’ n’ cheese?”

>> “Sure thing, sport! What would you like to go with that?”

>> “The… fruit, and the sweet apples, please?”[/color]

>> “And what would you like to have, sir?”

Jorge nodded with a small smile.

“I’ll have the same. But make mine with a root beer, please?” Jorge said as he collected the menus and handed them back over to the water. The man quickly nodded and skittered away to put in their order and grab their drinks.

Once he was gone, Jorge turned his attention back to ideally surveying the rest of the menus on the table and checking on the puzzle that Chase was working on. He himself was rather good with puzzles, but Chase seemed to be enjoying his time figuring out the game on his own that the detective really did not want to bother him. It was surprisingly important for him that he did not irritate Chase right now, especially since he really did not have any clue how the boy was going to react to his question.

He lounged for a second, trying to think on how he could segue into the very important question he had on his mind. It was not until after their drinks arrived and were placed in front of the that he made the decision; maybe it was just best to be blunt? Well, not too blunt, Chase was 9, after all. So, honestly, there was really no point in just dragging it out, right?

He took a sip of his soda before he turned his gaze onto Chase.

“Hey Chase, ugh,” he said as he idly scratched the back of his head. “listen, I need to talk to you about something. And, I don’t want you to freak out or anything, okay? But…would you mind if I asked your opinion on something rather important.”

>> “Hey Chase, ugh.”

Jorge awkwardly began to address Chase, itching at his head as he said the child’s name. Chase lifted his gaze, eyebrows arching.

“Yeah?”

It sounded serious, by Jorge’s tone. Chase’s brow puckered worriedly. They were only out to lunch, why would Jorge take such a serious tone? Was something wrong? Was something going to happen? Chase inclined his head, eyes flickering in confusion as his gaze met the detective’s.

>> “Listen, I need to talk to you about something. And, I don’t want you to freak out or anything, okay? But…would you mind if I asked your opinion on something rather important.”

Of course, the kneejerk reaction of any child, when asked not to freak out, was to do so. Because if an adult told you not to, that meant that whatever the situation was, it was freak out worthy. Chase shifted, setting down his crayon and sitting on his hands. Jorge had his full attention now. After all, how bad could it be? All that the detective wanted from Chase was his opinion.

“Sure,” Chase agreed, “No problem.”

His eyes still flickered with a melt of confusing colors, but simmered back down to their typical teal as Chase pressed-on.

“What’s up?”

Funny, how a little kid could be so matter-of-fact. Even though he was nine, Chase’s expression reflected the fact that he was now ready to talk business with Jorge. Man-to-man.

>> “Sure, No problem… What’s up?”[/color]

The kid was straight to the point. Jorge had to definitely be thankful for that. That was one of thing he really liked about this kid was that he took things in stride. Though Jorge should not have just expected the kid to not get a little tense with what he was going to propose, he was glad that Chase didn’t lose his cool. He was as cool and calm as a cucumber. Jorge could only wish he had that type of strength when he was on the job.

But he needed to stop. The conversation had shifted back to him and he needed to be ready to do this. Maybe it would have been better if he waited until after they had eaten something? Damn him for being so quick on the draw with this kind of stuff.

He really, really hoped that Chase was going to be okay with this. Otherwise it was going to be an extremely awkward ride back home.

Ahem he cleared his throat lightly. There was probably no time like the present to get this started.

“Chase, buddy,” Jorge started. “You know…I care for you a lot. I really do. You and I have a lot of fun and…I really enjoy our relationship. The last thing I want is to change things but…”

He sighed as he tried to think of the right words to say. How could he just come out and say that he was going to be changing this child’s world forever? After all, Chase seemed to be thriving with just him and Gemma; would he really want to deal with the sudden addition of a new adult? A new person in his life who would pretty much be his father?

“I really love your mother,” he explained. “So much so that…I would like to make a family with her…and you.” He finished with the warmest of smiles. “I want to ask your permission to join your family, Chase.” That was the plainest he could probably say it. And god that was probably the most exhausting thing he had done yet. In the end, he tilted his head as he looked over to the boy. “What do you think?”

Chase watched as Jorge mulled-over what he was about to say, a fine tension settling in the air. Jorge cleared his throat, and the nine-year-old’s unyielding gaze searched the detective’s face as he began to speak. He began with Chase’s name. No cause for alarm. Chase smiled, made an affirmative sound, acknowledging his name. Jorge went-on to say that he cared for him a lot, liked the relationship that they had going.

“Me too,” Chase mumbled, not wanting to interrupt. He wore a small smile, which grew hesitant when Jorge said that he didn’t want to change things, but…

Chase’s expression grew quizzical, maintaining a decent poker face, yet flickers of orange and yellow, lime green, and black—the tints of inquiry, concern, and unease—were attempting to flicker through his placid blue, contrary to the best efforts of the child not to panic. Did Jorge not want to have fun, did he not want to enjoy the relationship? More confusion on the child’s behalf—was it supposed to be different?

And, as Jorge shifted gears, Chase’s confusion churned. Jorge really loved Gemma. Well, yeah—but how did that involve Chase? The child was missing the point, and missing it horribly. Jorge was beating around the bush, and Chase, as literal as he was, just wasn’t getting it. But finally, Jorge got to the meat of what he was trying to say—he loved Gemma enough that he wanted a family with her. Chase lifted his gaze from his hands, which he’d been staring at contemplatively, attempting to hide the uncertainty in his gaze. And you, Jorge added on, smiling kindly at the child. Chase smiled back, an absolute, relieved, contented dark blue taking over his gaze, reducing the typical teal to a rim around his pupil.

He wanted to be part of their family? That was it? For a moment, Chase had believed he was getting ousted, but no—Jorge was going to join their family, not break it up. And Chase… well, he rather liked that idea, except he was still, kind-of confused. Chase paused, as Jorge asked what Chase thought, and the nine-year-old rolled his lips together, searching for the right way to say it.

“I thought you already were part of the family,” Chase confessed, gaze shifting sideways in embarrassment, before looking towards Jorge. He was still kind-of missing the point, which was clear in the embarrassed expression that Chase wore, but he was also wearing a grin that was open and obviously in-favor of the idea, “I didn’t know you had to ask permission.”

What Chase had said was true, though—Gemma had taken Chase in and made herself his mother, without what seemed to be a second thought. And though Chase had at-first been absolutely horrified of Jorge—the gruff, intimidating detective of the NYPD—Chase had come to know him. Over time, he’d come to like him, and Chase liked him thoroughly. And, though Chase still called Jorge, “Jorge”, or internally, “the detective”, Jorge was still the closest thing that Chase had ever had to a real father. What more, he was dating Chase’s mother, which only helped to strengthen that connection, that idea. So, for all intensive purposes—at least, in Chase’s mind—Jorge already was family. Chase didn’t grasp that Jorge meant marrying Gemma, he only took Jorge’s inquiry for what it was at face-value. And, at face-value, Jorge was asking permission to be something that he already was. Part of the family.

Chase sipped his lemon-lime soda, smiling up at Jorge with those dark-blue eyes. Sometimes adults asked such funny questions.

Jorge explained and watched the boy closely. It seemed that at a point or two he made Chase a little nervous but the kid quickly caught on that that was never his intention. And really, it was not. Jorge did not mean to put the boy on the spot or anything, but this was going to be a significant change and, more than likely, he was going to have to adapt all over again to a new member of the family. That was why he was asking him for permission. He did not want Chase to at all feel like whatever concerns he may have had were not going to be voiced. That was what this meeting was about, to make sure that Chase was okay with this.

When the boy smiled, it was enough to cause a sensation of relief to wash over him. Chase seemed fine so far, that was at least a plus. But soon his face twisted into an expression of confusion as he looked at Jorge closely.

>> “I thought you already were part of the family…I didn’t know you had to ask permission.”[/color]

It was comments like that that really struck Jorge hard. It was so simply and yet so powerful at the same time. Chase assumed they were all pretty much a family already; he didn’t have worries about legalities, ceremonies, things like that. To him, they were a family and had always been one. The detective couldn’t help the smile on his face as he watched the boy, the same boy who used to be so shy and scared of him, who worried that he was going to snatch him up and drag him back to his horrible home life. The pair of them and grown on their own.

Wasn’t that what a family was all about? Growing together? Loving each other? Accepting one another and having one another’s back when need be? Jorge trusted Gemma implicitly and he could definitely say the same thing about Chase. In a way, Chase’s statement actually confirmed for the detective that he felt exactly the same way.

They were a family. Jorge was just wanted to make sure it was legal.

He smirked as he nodded.

“I’m happy to be a part of your family, Chase,” he smiled. “What I mean is…I would like to make it official,” he said as he fished around in his pocket until he pulled out a small, black felt box. He sighed as he opened it and turned it around to show Chase the silver diamond ring that sat inside. “I want to ask your mother to marry me, Chase. And…that means that,” he chuckled nervously as he tried to find a right way to phrase it. “I guess…that would make me your step-father. If, you know, that is okay with you?”

Well, if that was it—Chase leaned back, sipping his soda casually—as Jorge said that he was glad to be part of the family, but he wanted it to be official. Official?

Chase sat up straight, watching as Jorge rummaged about in his pocket. He pulled out a small black box, and Chase sat up even more, tucking one of his legs under him as he craned his neck for a glance. He’d never seen a jewelry box, thus the tiny case intrigued him. What would you put in a box so small? Jorge opened the box, and showed it to him.

Chase went reverently quiet as the sparkly ring stared back at him, inclining his head at the thing. He was still smiling as Jorge clarified what he’d meant previously by wanting to be “part of the family”. He wanted to marry Chase’s momma. Ooh. Like, her husband. Which would make him Chase’s daddy. That made sense now. Or, step-father, whatever that meant.

That’s what he wanted Chase’s permission for.

“So, you’d be Mama’s husband,” Chase reiterated, “And my daddy?”

Chase smiled as he sat back down, fussing with his hands as he looked at the ring, and to Jorge. Saying that it was fine just didn’t seem to cut-it, or if Chase said he liked that a lot, that wouldn’t work, either.

Chase nodded his head, at least to begin with, trying to work his mouth

“Well I know Mommy loves you,” Chase mused, “And you’re already like a daddy to me anyways. I think it would make Mommy really happy. And it makes me happy, too.” Chase could feel his face heating-up as he spoke, a blush coloring his cheeks, “So… yeah. Yes, it’s okay with me.”

The nine-year-old looked at the detective before him, cracking a smile, as he clarified, “Can’t you be my real daddy though? I don’t even know what a step-father is.”

It wasn’t even a matter of Gemma saying “yes” or “no” in Chase’s mind. He knew his Mommy loved Jorge a lot. He was already curious about technicalities.

>> “So, you’d be Mama’s husband…And my daddy?”[/color]

Jorge nodded. Chase finally seemed to be connecting the dots and, thankfully, he seemed to actually be warming up to the idea. Not that the boy seemed at all terrified or objected to it or anything like that. Instead he really seemed to like the idea and wanted it happen. It was enough to really send Jorge over the moon. His biggest fear, of messing up Chase’s careful existence, was now calmed so he felt no tension over it. Now…he just needed to steel himself up for the biggest and most scariest part of this whole endeavor…asking Gemma.

But that was a heart attack to save for a later day. For now, he needed to focus his attentions on Chase. After all, the boy was sitting right in front of him.

>> “Well I know Mommy loves you…And you’re already like a daddy to me anyways. I think it would make Mommy really happy. And it makes me happy, too…So… yeah. Yes, it’s okay with me.”[/color]

Jorge beamed. Not just a small, shy smile or anything like that, but a huge grin that made him feel as if he already got that “yes” from Gemma that he was looking for. Chase was okay with the idea, so for him, all was right with the world. At least for right now.

It was an odd feeling, though, sitting here, having a conversation with a boy who could end up being one’s son. Obvious not by natural means, but through marriage, a son was still a son, right? Jorge Cervantes, police officer, MRC detective, X-Man…was going to be a father. The truth of that dawned a little brighter upon his head as he tried to keep focused. Could he handle it? What if he screwed that part up? Then again, he and Chase already had a pretty damn good relationship; this whole marriage would simply make it legal.

He blinked as Chase began to talk again…

>> “Can’t you be my real daddy though? I don’t even know what a step-father is.”[/color]

Jorge smiled, warmly, to Chase. It was an honest question, one that he had an honest answer to. He sighed as he nodded to the young mutant…

“Chase, step-father, step-son, those are just legal terms. Just something that is written on paper,” he explained. “Here,” he said as he pointed to his own chest, “and there,” he pointed to Chase’s chest (he, of course, was referring to their hearts), “I will be your real daddy...and you will be my real son. And in our hearts is where is counts the most, buddy.”

He winked and beamed happily as their waiter returned, bearing cheesy smelling mac-and-cheese and bowls of fruit.

Chase’s response seemed to be the proper one. Jorge smiled luminously at him, which Chase only caught when he dared to raise his gaze. He then smiled back, not as broadly or brightly, but for once showing teeth, which was Chase’s equivalent of beaming.

It would be nice to have a daddy again. A good daddy. Chase was pretty sure that Jorge would be a good daddy. And, he met Chase’s inquiry with a very straightforward answer. It was good enough for Chase, so the nine-year-old nodded his head and gave a faint, “Yeah,” in agreement. That was where it really counted, was in their hearts.

Jorge was still all smiles as their food was brought to the table, Chase’s own plate a dwarfed version of Jorge’s, with miniscule bowls of fruit accompanying it—just how Chase preferred it. The two of them began to eat, though something seemed to be on Chase’s mind.

“When are you going to ask?” Chase inquired, his legs pin-wheeling absently beneath the table. Even though he was shy, Chase told Mama everything. He didn’t know how long he’d be able to keep his mouth shut.

The food came and it was a welcome break from the conversations that he and chase were having at the moment. Not that Jorge did not want to talk anymore about it, but he wanted there to be a little bit of time so that Chase could really let the words sink in. They were going to be a family and Jorge wanted to make absolute sure that Chase was okay with that. But as they looked down at their food, Jorge had to note that Chase did seem rather happy about the idea. He was not sure if the boy was actually thinking it over or if he had already moved on.

Hah…the mind of youth, always so quick to move on to other things. Jorge really missed having that type of mentality, to move on to various other things. That, sadly, was a problem with being an adult, it was so easy to think about one thing over and over and over again. Just like he was now, concerning proposing to Gemma. He had the ring, he had the boy’s permission, and now he had had to plan the perfect evening.

God, those thoughts were going to plague him day and night until it was time for the big show. He hoped that he could plan something nice.

But, for now, he turned his attention to the food in front of him. Indeed the mac-and-cheese looked quite delectable, much better than anything that ever came from the box. He would have to try to make this type of meal at home, if only because it was something that Chase enjoyed. Even the fruit was good and tasted fresh! All in all, it was a pretty damn good meal.

Then, as he took a sip from his drink, Chase looked up at him with inquiring eyes…

>> “When are you going to ask?”[/color]

“Hmm, you know I don’t know Chase. More than likely soon. I have to plan things to make it special,” he replied. And if he wanted to make it especially special then he needed to make sure that he thought of the perfect evening. “But I’ll let you know in plenty of time.”