Misunderstanding

Disclaimer: I don't own the Dukes of Hazzard, not making any money, just cheap thrills.


Warnings: Angst, Slash


Rating: FRT


* indicates thoughts


Misunderstanding
Chapter 19


"Where are they?" Luke asked as he looked around in surprise.


"They left," Jesse gruffly replied.


"Left? I've got to talk to Bo," hurrying towards the door, he hoped to catch them before they were gone. He stopped in his tracks as Jesse moved to block his path to the front door. "Uncle Jesse you don't understand I need..."


"I understand that something happened between you boys and you need to leave your cousin be for now."


"What did they tell you?" Luke softly asked, resigned to the fact that his uncle wasn't going to let him past.


"Only that you didn't take the news about them good and that you were an ass. Bo wouldn't tell us what you said, only that you said something and whatever it was hurt him."


"He said that?" Luke asked remorsefully.


"No, L.B. is the one who said you had hurt Bo. They left cause your cousin didn't want to deal with you right now."


"What did you say to him Luke?" Daisy asked from behind him.


"I...something I'm ashamed of."


"I think maybe you better sit down and tell us just what happened between ya's," Jesse suggested.


"Yeah, guess I better," Luke reluctantly agreed. Turning around he moved to the couch and sat down heavily, obviously upset. "I've been worried about Bo, wondering why he wouldn't let any of us take him for his physical therapy, so I followed him. I didn't mean no harm Uncle Jesse, I just wanted to make sure that he wasn't skipping the therapy or doing anything that could get him hurt."


"Like what?"


"I don't know, it doesn't matter anyway cause what he's doing ain't nothing like what I might've imagined. Well I found out he's going to his therapy, just like he said. It was when I started following them home that I learned the rest of it." Pausing to lick at suddenly dry lips, Luke excused himself to get a drink of water, returning a moment later he hesitantly continued. "I saw them take a picnic basket out of the back of the truck and head off into the woods, they were holding hands when they left the truck."


"I'm guessing you were surprised to see that?"


"Yes sir," Luke confirmed. "I ain't sure how long I sat there, but I finally came out of my shock and I headed after them to see what was going on. When I got to the clearing where they was at, I saw them...kissing and making out. I yelled, asked them what was going on. First thing Bo did was try to protect L.B., wanted me to know that he wasn't doing anything Bo didn't want. I accused him of lying to us, and he denied it. He swore that he only went to Cedar City to meet Chris and Ray. Then he said he wasn't lying about what Mark Dawson and them others did to him. That's when I said...." Luke trailed off, looking down at the floor, too ashamed to repeat what he'd said.


"What did you say?" Jesse demanded.


"I asked him..."


"Tell me boy!"


"I asked him if he'd liked it so much that he wanted more," he finally admitted.


"You did what? Lucas Keefer Duke, what in the world possessed you to say something like that to your cousin?"


"I don't know Uncle Jesse, I tried to apologize after Bo pulled L.B. off of me."


"L.B. hit you?"


"Yeah."


"Good for him," Jesse said surprising his nephew. "Don't look at me like that boy, you had it coming and you know it. So what happened when you tried to apologize?"


"I told Bo that it was the shock and he didn't buy it. He said that kind of nastiness didn't come from being surprised."


"He's right about that, so where did it come from?"


"I don't really know Jesse, I've got to figure it out though or Bo ain't never going to forgive me."


"Do you blame him?" Daisy asked. She gave her older cousin a level stare, not even attempting to hide the disappointment she felt in him.


"No Daisy I don't blame him a bit, I just hope I can figure this out so I can make it right with him. I hope you and Uncle Jesse can forgive me too, I know I made a mess of things."


"It ain't for me to forgive ya Luke, but I have to say that for the first time in my life I'm ashamed to call you cousin."


"I'm ashamed of myself Daisy, I wish I could take it all back but I can't. I just hope I didn't drive him away. What about you Uncle Jesse?"


"Daisy's right Luke, we're not the ones to be forgiving you, that's something only Bo can do. I am disappointed in ya though, which is something I didn't ever think I'd be saying about one of my youngins," Jesse sadly admitted.


"I know Uncle Jesse and I'm sorry."


"I'm sure ya are son, but that ain't gonna be enough this time. You're gonna have to figure out just what exactly made you react like that if you have any hope of fixing it. I don't think you've driven Bo off, he's too stubborn to let you do that. You can bet on one thing for sure and that is, things are gonna be hard around here until you find a way to make this right."


"I will Uncle Jesse, I promise I'll find someway to fix it."


"Good, you do that. In the meantime, we got chores to do so I guess we best get to them."


"Yes sir," Luke responded as he moved towards the back door, heading outside to take care of his chores.


"You ain't said much Daisy, you okay?" Jesse asked once Luke had gone outside.


"I don't know Uncle Jesse, I'm just so mad at Luke right now that I could spit nails! How could he say something so ugly to Bo? No wonder Bo wouldn't tell us what Luke said, he probably couldn't bear to hear it again."


"I don't know how he could do that either sweetheart," Jesse softly spoke as he pulled his niece into his strong embrace. He wasn't surprised when she broke down, laying her head on his shoulder and sobbing as though her heart were breaking. "That's it baby, let it out. Shhh, it's gonna be okay Daisy, you'll see, everything will work out as it should," he soothed as he ran work roughened hands across Daisy's back.


"Thanks Uncle Jesse," she mumbled several minutes later.


"You're welcome sweetheart," he answered. "You feeling better?"


"Yeah, a little."


"Good, now why don't you go take ya a nice hot shower and relax a bit," Jesse kindly suggested.


"I think I will Uncle Jesse," Daisy replied. Giving her uncle a peck on the cheek, she pulled away and headed to the bathroom.


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After a slow day, Cooter decided to close up early and head home. Pulling into the yard he saw that L.B.'s truck was parked in it's usual spot. He was surprised that his cousin hadn't come out to see who was here, but figured he must be deep into working on his Impala. "Hey L.B. how's it go..." Cooter trail off when he walked into the barn and realized that his cousin wasn't here. Now he was really getting concerned, it wasn't like L.B. to ignore the sound of a vehicle coming up the drive, especially after what had happened.


Hurrying inside, he quickly determined that his younger cousin wasn't in the kitchen or living room, that left the bathroom or his bedroom. Walking down the hall, he saw that the door into the bathroom was open, leaving only L.B.'s bedroom to check. Hoping that his cousin was simply worn out from the therapy, he quietly pushed open the door into the small room. "What in the world?" he gasped out, stumbling back at the sight of Bo Duke laying in his cousin's bed, cuddled up against him.


The sound of Cooter's voice brought L.B. to instant alertness. Sitting up, he curled his hand into a fist, prepared to defend his lover from any threat. "Cooter? What are you...nevermind that now. If you'll go out to the kitchen I'll be out in a minute," he whispered.


"Uh, yeah I'll just do that," Cooter quietly agreed, stumbling back down the hall to the kitchen.


Turning to his lover, L.B. was relieved to see the blond was still sleeping soundly. He hated to see him so worn out that their conversation hadn't even caused him to stir. Yet he was glad for the chance to talk to Cooter before Bo would need to face him. Regretfully, he climbed from the bed, tucking the covers around Bo, before turning away and quickly getting dressed.


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"L.B., please tell me ya ain't taking advantage of what Bo's been through," Cooter said the moment his cousin stepped into the kitchen.


"I can't believe you said that Cooter. Do you really think I would do anything to hurt Bo, or anybody else for that matter?"


"Nah I guess not, but I don't understand this cousin. Since when is Bo Duke gay?"


"He's not Cooter, he's still attracted to women that hasn't changed any."


"So what, you're just a distraction, an experiment?" Cooter demanded, getting angry at Bo now.


"No that's not what I mean Cooter. He loves me and I love him, but he's not gay either. I guess he'd be bi-sexual if ya got to have a label."


"So how long has this been going on?"


"He told me how he felt while I was in the hospital, it's been going on for me a bit longer than that."


"Does his family know?"


"They do now," L.B. replied in a clipped, angry voice.


"Didn't take it well?" Cooter asked sympathetically.


"Jesse and Daisy took it fine, surprised but as long as Bo's happy they're okay with it. Luke's the one that acted like an ass."


"What did he do?"


"He followed us today, came up on us while we was having a picnic. He saw us making out and well he was pretty surprised."


"Well I can understand that, but you ain't that mad just cause Luke was surprised."


"No I ain't. I don't blame him for being surprised and if he'd just yelled, demanding to know what was going on I'd be fine with that."


"I'm guessing that ain't all he did?"


"He hurt Bo, ripped his heart out cause he can't deal with the truth."


"What do you mean he hurt Bo?" Cooter demanded, fighting to stay calm.


"He accused Bo of lying about not being gay. Bo tried to explain that he hadn't lied and that everything happened just like he said it did. That's when Luke asked him..."


"Asked him what L.B.?" Cooter softly asked, moving to his cousin's side and laying a supportive hand on his shoulder.


"He asked him if he'd liked it so much then that he wanted more," L.B. finally replied.


The sound of L.B.'s pained gasp alerted Cooter to the force of the pressure he was applying to his cousin's shoulder. "Sorry L.B.," he apologized as he removed his hand, not wanting to hurt the younger man again. "What happened then?"


"I attacked him, got a few hits in too before Bo pulled me off of him. He tried to apologize to Bo after that, but Bo wasn't buying his excuse and that's what it was Cooter."


"What did he say?"


"He said it was the shock, Bo told him nastiness like that didn't come from shock. Told him he couldn't forgive him until he was honest with himself and Bo. He left and we packed up after a bit, then went to the Duke farm. We told Daisy and Jesse what had happened and about us being together. I know Daisy's okay with it, and I think Jesse will be but we didn't get to talk very long."


"Why not?"


"Cause Luke came home and Bo wasn..."


"Too much of a coward to face him," Bo interrupted from the doorway.


"Don't do that Bo, I told ya you're not a coward. You got every right not to listen to his poison and I know you didn't want to see him get hurt."


"Yeah," Bo mumbled, clearly not convinced.


"I wish I knew how to help you angel," L.B. softly said. Wrapping his arms around Bo, he drew the blond against him, forgetting that Cooter was in the room.


"Ahem," Cooter cleared his throat, getting their attention.


Breaking away from his lover, Bo could feel himself blushing as he was reminded of Cooter's presence. "Hey Cooter," he mumbled a greeting, embarassed and nervous.


"Hey Bo," Cooter returned the greeting in a normal voice as though nothing unusual were happening.


"Um, are you...I mean does it bother you that me and L.B. are, uh, together?"


"No Bo it don't bother me any, not as long as it's what ya both want. It is what ya want ain't it buddyro?" Cooter asked, needing to make sure that neither young man was being taken advantage of.


"Yeah I love L.B., can't imagine ever being with anybody else," Bo replied, giving his lover a gentle smile filled with love.


Seeing the look the two younger men shared, Cooter knew that he had nothing to worry about. "That's all I need to know then Bo. I only got one more thing to say."


Swallowing hard, Bo looked over to Cooter not at all sure what to expect. "What?"


"I want you to know Bo that I've always considered you to be family, this just makes it a little more official like. So if you need a place to stay, you're welcome to stay here for however long ya need," Cooter offered.


"Thanks Cooter," Bo replied, his voice thick with emotion as he tried to speak past the lump in his throat. "I don't really know what I'm gonna do, but I ain't sure I can go home tonight, not if Luke's gonna be there," he admitted. "Guess I'd better call Uncle Jesse," Bo said, realizing that he needed to talk to the older man before he made any decisions.


"That's probably a good idea Bo," L.B. agreed. "Hey Cooter, why don't you come outside and give me a hand with the carbeurator on the Impala," he suggested, wanting to give his lover some privacy.


Giving L.B. a grateful smile, Bo waited until the two men had went outside before picking up the phone. With shaking fingers, he dialed the number to the farm and waited for the phone to be answered, praying it wouldn't be Luke.


"Duke farm, Jesse Duke speaking."


"Uncle Jesse, sorry I ran out like that," Bo apologized.


"Don't you worry about that sprout. Luke told us what happened and what he said, I can't blame ya for not wanting to deal with him. How are ya doing son?"


"Better, but I still ain't ready to deal with him."


"So that mean ya ain't gonna be home tonight?"


"I reckon it does Uncle Jesse. That's okay isn't it?"


"Of course it is Bo," Jesse assured him.


"You don't sound surprised," Bo observed.


"I'm not," he confirmed. "After what your cousin told us I didn't think you'd feel much like sharing a room with him tonight. You do what ya need to Bo, but don't stay away too long," he kindly advised.


"Thanks Uncle Jesse. I just need a little time, thanks for understanding."


"You're welcome sprout. You tell L.B. I said thank you for taking care of ya," Jesse instructed.


"I will Uncle Jesse. I love you, all of y'all and I'll be home in a, well soon I hope. Bye." Hanging up the phone, he took several deep breaths before heading outside. Stepping out the back door, he could hear L.B. and Cooter as they discussed the finer points of adjusting a carbuerator. The perfectly normal conversation brought a smile to his face as he walked towards the barn to join them.


TBC


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