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He didn’t know what he’d expected when he had the brilliant idea. Jack had been assigned to create some sort of tribute to a personal hero for his English class. His original plan was to choose his father, the hero who had adopted him despite his biological father’s treatment of him. Then he got home from school to find his father Castiel waiting with a strange man. “Jack, this is my brother Raphael. He’ll be staying with us for the next few months.”
Raphael was a professional football player, on the injured reserve list after a medical examination after he fainted on the field during practice turned up hemolytic anemia and an enlarged spleen. Raphael was withdrawn, staying in his room except for going to and from his doctor’s appointments. Wanting to get to know his uncle, Jack had done some research, but there was no substitute for being able to talk to him directly.
That’s when he got the brilliant idea. Part of his plan for his project involved painting a portrait of his hero, and if he switched his subject from Sam to Raphael, he’d have an excuse to spend time with his uncle and get to truly know him. Raphael had been a bit skeptical when he asked. “I don’t see how I could possibly be your hero. I carry a football and get hit for a living.”
“First off, just getting to the NFL, do you know the odds of that? That took hard work, and dedication, and luck. Just because my goals are different doesn’t mean I can’t recognize the things we have in common.” That got a ghost of a smile from Raphael. “One of my teachers told me that I should give up my ambitions to be an artist, that no one cares about art. Sam told me that he was wrong, that anything that makes people happy is worth everything. Millions of people love watching and playing football, so why shouldn’t my favorite football player be a hero?”
Raphael rolled his eyes. “Your teacher would probably have loved me.”
“Yeah, probably, he was a football coach,” Jack agreed. “But you’re so much more than a football player. Dad tells me you had a perfect GPA and a near-perfect MCAT score and could have gone to whatever medical school you wanted, if you hadn’t made a roster. Still could, probably.”
“I’d have to retake the test, and I doubt I’d do as well,” Raphael said. “I intend to, once I know I’m done playing, but I…” He swallowed hard. “I was hoping I’d have another four or five years, but with this spleen, if it’s something that won’t go away or I have to have my spleen removed…”
Jack hugged him. “And there’s another reason you’re a hero to me. You’re determined to beat this if you can and get back on the field but willing to accept that you might not be able to and not letting that stop you from thinking about what you’ll do instead. When my friend Eliot’s big brother tore up his knee and was forced to quit football his second year of college, he dropped out of college and now he’s working at McDonald’s. Which there’s nothing wrong with, someone has to, but he hates it and the only reason he doesn’t do something else is he can’t get over the loss of his football.”
“All right, then.” Raphael put a hand on Jack’s shoulder. “Let’s do this, then. Don’t try to hide anything about how bad I look right now. There’s plenty of photographs of me healthy you can use for that.”
From that conversation, Jack had expected that he and Raphael would have a good time together. Instead, Raphael was quiet, withdrawn, and barely spoke while Jack was working. Jack accepted that, but it was disappointing.
Then he came home in a bad mood. Raphael noticed immediately when he came in to sit for Jack. “What’s wrong, Jack?”
“Just some bullshit at school.” Jack made sure he had everything he needed.
Raphael nodded. “If you’d like to vent, I’m happy to listen, Jack. I can listen without judgment, I can take your side no matter what happened, I can offer advice, whatever it is you need.”
Jack almost snapped something about Raphael not talking about any of the stuff bothering him, but realized that was probably not the right thing to do. “Compared to your problems, this really is bullshit,” he warned Raphael.
For some reason, that got a slow smile out of his uncle. “I should certainly hope so, otherwise I’d be marching you to your fathers. Dealing with normal teenage bullshit would be a wonderful distraction, I think.”
“Heh. Hadn’t thought of it like that,” Jack admitted. “I was telling my friend Eliot about this portrait I’m working on, and he said that if I was going to spend that much time staring at someone, I should’ve picked a hot chick. I…” Jack ducked his head, reddening a little. “Are you going to judge me if I say I don’t find girls hot?”
“Not in the least,” Raphael said. “I promised listening without judgment if that’s what you needed, didn’t I?” Jack grinned. “Even if I hadn’t, so what if you don’t find girls hot? If you don’t mind telling me, do you find boys hot, or are you just not interested at all?”
“Not at all,” Jack admitted. “Eliot… he said that makes me a freak, that I’m something not quite human if I don’t like watching girls shake their asses. He took that back when Max pointed out that he’s gay, but insisted that there was something wrong with not being attracted at all.”
“Eliot is wrong,” Raphael said. “It is possible you’re just a late developer and it’ll come along in the next few years, but if it doesn’t, there is nothing wrong with that.” He paused, biting his lip for a bit. “In fact, is Eliot in the class you’re presenting this to?”
“Yes, why?”
“Here’s something you can include in your project about your hero, then: I’m aromantic asexual. I can appreciate a beautiful woman on an aesthetic level, but like you, I don’t find anything at all interesting in watching her shake her ass.” Jack’s jaw dropped as he stared at Raphael. “I’m sure you’re aware of how locker rooms can be, so I don’t exactly advertise it, but I think it might help you make them understand that it’s just as human as being straight or gay or anything else if you shared that your NFL player uncle is like you.”
Jack dropped his brush, running over to hug Raphael. “Are you sure? Just me knowing is enough that I’ll never be confused or upset by what they say again.”
“I’m sure,” Raphael promised. “This is important, and it’s not like I lie if someone asks.”
“Thank you. Another reason to choose you as my hero.” Jack picked up his brush and got back to work, determined to make this portrait perfect.