Love Conquers All
by Flaming Matt
Chapter 13
November 2015
"Have you always had blue streaks in your hair Tobias?" Mrs Rose asks in a curious tone, as she looks at her daughters boyfriend from across the table and couldn't help but find him adorable, but also a little strange at the same time and definitely wanted to learn a little more about him.
"Er... not all the time, but since I was like six or seven I think, I wasn't allowed to dye my hair before that Mrs Rose." Tobias answers with a smile, which falters slightly when he thinks about his family, but when he feels his hand being taken and squeezed under the table, he couldn't help but cheer up a little, it was the sort of thing his brothers and two best friends would do and it just reinforced the way he felt about his girlfriend even more.
"It's certainly different, especially for a boy." Mrs Rose then says with a smile and while she was still unsure about him dating her daughter, especially with his history, she couldn't deny that he was endearing and she was also starting to realise how polite he was, which was definitely a big plus in her mind.
"Some people make fun of me, but I don't mind, I like how I look and dress and the people important to me are the only people whose opinion matters to me Mrs Rose." Tobias then says from the heart and while he actually wasn't sure if she had mocked him with what she had said, he wanted to show that it was his choice what he wore and how he wasn't going to let other people change him and when he feels his hand being squeezed again, he quickly gives his girlfriend a shy smile.
"Well he has a point Daisy, you can't fault him there." Mr Rose then decides to say and while he had issues with his daughter having a boyfriend, it was nothing personal against the boy and was just the fact his daughter had an actual boyfriend, but it wasn't anything serious and from the little time he had spent with him, he found him quite delightful and he especially liked the fact that he seemed to know exactly who he was as a person and that impressed him a lot.
"Not that I was questioning him Aster and I agree, he does make a good point." Daisy responds with a smile, as she looks at her husband affectionately and could already tell that he had taken to the boy already. "I'm sorry if you thought I was mocking you Tobias, you're a sweet boy and you should be allowed to express yourself, but I do insist that you call me Daisy and I think it's safe to say that my husband would prefer you to call him by his first name as well." She then says with a warm smile, as she turns to her daughters boyfriend and couldn't help but find the fact he was actually blushing adorably sweet and it just endeared him even more to her.
"Okay and thank you, but er... what's an Aster?" Tobias asks with a shy and nervous smile, before losing his nerve a little bit, until he feels his hand being squeezed yet again. "I mean, I know it's your name Mr er... sorry, Aster, but it's er... well it's a weird name, is it a flower too? Like Lily and Daisy's name are types of flowers?" He then asks in a more confident tone and while he had no idea what an Aster flower would look like or if it was even a flower, he decided to just take a chance because of his girlfriends name and her mums name being types of flowers.
"Well technically it's a Genus, rather than an actual flower, but you aren't that far off Tobias and you're quite right about it being a weird name, but despite not exactly liking it as a child myself, I wouldn't change it to anything else now." Aster answers with a smile and while he could have taken offence to his name being called weird, he knew there was no malice in the boys question and he could hardly blame him for thinking it was weird, because he had often questioned his parents choice of name himself as a child, but he did genuinely grow to love his name and it was very unique, which was something he enjoyed as an adult.
"What's a Genus?" Lily quickly asks and while she was happy to let her parents get to know her boyfriend, she had heard her dad say that word before and had always been curious, but never made the effort to find out more about it and looks at her dad expectantly, but when her boyfriend starts to answer instead, she couldn't help but look at him in surprise.
"It's like a sort of ranking thing of fossil organisms and if an Aster is a Genus, then it's like a family of flowers or plants or something like that, I think." Tobias answers in a slightly unsure tone, as he thinks about the word and remembered something from when he was in England, but he wasn't a hundred percent sure he was right and was looking at his girlfriends dad to see if he was going to correct him.
"Really?" Lily asks in surprise, not that she doubted her boyfriend, she was just genuinely surprised that he had actually answered here question and while his friends and brothers had said he was smart and intelligent, she hadn't really seen him say or do anything to really show her that yet, well until now and she couldn't help but smile at finding yet another side of him that she found attractive and interesting.
"He's pretty close, well almost spot on Lily." Aster says in an impressed tone, as he looks from his daughter to her boyfriend, who just seemed full of surprises. "How did you know that Tobias?" He then decides to ask in a curious tone and wonders where he could have learned something like that from, because it wasn't something he thought a twelve year old would know.
"Oh well er... I just remembered something from when I lived in England and well..." Tobias begins to answer with a smile, but this time, even the feeling of his hand being squeezed can't stop him from looking down at the table and falling silent, as he thinks about his family and how they were all gone now.
"What's wrong Dear?" Daisy quickly asks in a concerned tone and while she knew a little bit about him and who he was currently living with, she didn't know more than what Sarah had told her and she didn't go into that much detail, so the way he was looking down at the table right now, had her very worried and she quickly gives her husband a worried glance, although as she does, she suddenly remembers that she hadn't actually gotten round to telling him about the boys real family and could see how confused he was right now.
"Tobias, is something wrong?" Aster then asks, as he decides to try and see if he can find out what's happening, after the boy makes no attempt to answer his wife's question, although when he hears him sniffling, he grows a lot more concerned and looks to their daughter in the hope that she knew what was happening, before they were forced to call his mum and maybe even take him home.
"It's his family, they're all dead and that's why... well it's one of the reasons he lives with the Summers and Walkers now and er... well he just finds it hard when he remembers or thinks about them." Lily decides to explain, after being a little braver around her parents and pulling her boyfriend into her arms and cuddling him.
"His family..." Aster then begins to ask in a curious tone, before looking at his wife in confusion as she interrupts him.
"That's a subject for another time Honey." Daisy says in a soft tone, while reaching out to hold her husbands hand. "Tobias, would you like some tissues? It's okay to cry and you don't have to hide your feelings from us, we don't judge people for expressing themselves." She then says in a soft a caring tone, while reaching to the box of tissues on the table and passing them over to her daughter, who at this moment, she was very proud of for the way she was holding the upset boy and despite her initial concerns over her being too young to have a boyfriend, was proving her maturity in her eyes right now.
"I don't like crying." Tobias manages to say in a sad tone, after taking a couple of tissues from his girlfriend and wiping his eyes. "Thanks for being so nice, I haven't met many nice people since I came here." He then adds in a sincere tone, before giving his girlfriend a sad smile, because she knew what he meant by that and he didn't want to tell her parents about it.
"It's okay Tobias, you don't have to tell us anything, just take a few moments and then we can talk about what you two wanted to ask us." Aster then says, after deciding that it might be better coming from another man, rather than being told by a girl, he remembered what he was like at his age and was hoping that knowledge would help them bond, well if this turned out to be an actual relationship between the boy and his daughter or just one of those passing things, that kids seem to go through a lot of and surprisingly found himself hoping they weren't the latter.
"Well he's not too sure about it either, but well, can Tobias sleepover tonight please?" Lily asks in as calm a tone as she could manage, after giving her boyfriend a little while to compose himself, although straight away, she starts to worry that they would say no as she sees the surprise on both their faces.
"I have a sleeping bag and I've been on sleepovers before." Tobias then decides to say in a reassuring tone, although he couldn't help but feel a little nervous. "Not with a girl before though, do girls snore?" He then adds in a curious tone, before looking at his girlfriend in surprise after hearing her giggling and quickly blushes, as he realises he must have said something stupid like usual and couldn't help but pout a little bit.
"Well, I guess some do Tobias, but girls aren't that much different from us boys and well, you will figure that out over the next few decades for yourself." Aster answers with a small grin, although inside he was a little hesitant to allow this sleepover and he didn't need to look at his wif, to know that she was feeling the same way and while they were just kids, it was still a decision he never really thought he would ever have to consider before.
"I'm really not sure about letting you sleep over Tobias, we've only just met you and while you're obviously a sweet and kind boy, this is a difficult situation." Daisy then says in a kind tone and while she wanted to say yes, the fact he was a boy and they were boyfriend and girlfriend, it just wasn't as simple as it would be if they were just friends and had grown up together.
"Is it because I'm a boy?" Tobias then decides to ask and while he wasn't sure if he should sleep over either and he hadn't even asked his mum yet, he wanted to know why his girlfriends parents seemed to be against it and couldn't help but wonder if it was something to do with the sex.
"Well that's certainly one of the reasons Tobias, but it's also short notice and have you asked your mum about sleeping over yet?" Daisy responds with a smile and while she was going to say no, well at least this time, she didn't want him to feel like it was anything to do with him and hoped that both she and her husband had managed to convey that to him properly.
"Lily wanted to ask you two first, then I was going to ask you to phone my mum if you said yes and well I don't think she would let me anyway, because my brothers still in hospital and I'm meant to be staying with my big brother and his girlfriend at her flat tonight, but er... well Lily asked me and she's my girlfriend, so I want to make her happy." Tobias answers honestly and in as confident a tone as he could manage, because he didn't want to come across as stupid and was trying his best not to say anything embarrassing.
"Twelve years old and he's already got his priorities right." Aster then says in an amused tone, as he takes a long look at his daughters boyfriend and again he found himself liking him more and more, although he was still a long way from being completely comfortable with the fact that his daughter was actually dating now.
"And one day Dear, you may get yours right as well." Daisy then quickly retorts with a small grin, which widens when she hears both her daughter and her boyfriend giggling and found the sound warming her heart.
"So can he Mum? Can he sleepover?" Lily then asks in a hopeful tone, after deciding that while her parents were relaxed and in a good mood, it was the best chance she had of them agreeing to the sleepover.
"I have a sleeping bag." Tobias then quickly states again in a helpful tone, although almost immediately, he wonders what he was doing, because he was convinced his mum wouldn't agree to it, even if his girlfriends parents did, but when he glances at his girlfriend and sees her smiling, he quickly forgets about that and just smiles back at her happily.
"I will give his mum a call and we will decide together." Daisy states in response, as she gives her husband a quick glance to see him nodding in agreement. "No arguments Honey, or the answer will be no." She then adds in a firm tone, after seeing her daughter about to speak and she knew her well enough to know what she was going to say.
"Can I go to the toilet please?" Tobias then asks and while he did actually need a wee, he really wanted to call his big brother and talk to him, because he was starting to get really nervous about the possibility of a sleepover and with his previous experiences of those and everything his friends and brothers had told him about not doing that kind of thing, he was just getting confused and nervous about it all.
"Of course you can Tobias, then if you like, we can watch a film together or if you and Lily want to spend a bit of time together, then you can do that instead." Aster responds in a kind tone and while he would prefer to not let them spend too much time alone, he knew that was just his fatherly instinct talking and he was realistic enough to not let those thoughts interfere in his daughters life, even if he wasn't expecting to have to deal with this kind of thing for at least another couple of years.
"I'll give your mum a call while you're upstairs Tobias." Daisy then says with a smile. "Why don't you go up to your room and wait for him there Lily, then if there is time later, we can watch a film before we take him to the hospital." She then suggests in a warm tone, after turning to her daughter with a loving smile and while she was sure there was a part of her husband that would be cringing inside, she knew he would be okay with it and not object.
"Okay." Lily then quickly responds with a big smile, before getting up and looking at them both happily. "Come on." She then says in an expectant tone, while holding out her hand for her boyfriend to take and couldn't help but smile even more when he blushes a little bit.
"Bye, it was fun talking with you Mr and er... sorry, Aster and Daisy, you're really nice." Tobias decides to say, just as his girlfriend starts to pull him towards the hallway and while he has talked to them before, this was the first time that they had really talked and he enjoyed it a lot, even if he was half distracted by the idea of having a sleepover with his girlfriend.
"It was nice to talk to you as well Tobias." Aster responds in a sincere tone, as he looks at daughters boyfriend and once again, he couldn't help but be impressed by him and was looking forward to getting to know him even more over the next few weeks.
"Thank you Tobias and I look forward to talking with you again in a little while, now why don't you hurry along and I will give your mum a call in a few minutes time." Daisy then says in response, after looking at her daughter and seeing that she obviously wanted to get going and while a part of her was a little worried about her obvious enthusiasm, she was determined not to be one of those parents that didn't trust their children and she knew that her daughter had never given her any reason in the past not to, so she wanted to give her the respect she had earned.
"Okay, bye." Tobias then only just manages to say, before being half dragged out of the room and then up the stairs by his girlfriend, but just as he is about to say something once they reached the top of the stairs, he feels her lips against his own and quickly returns the kiss.
"Don't be too long, I want to ask you something." Lily then says with a loving smile, after stepping back from their kiss, which was hard enough to do on it's own, but as she sees him blushing again, she almost kisses him again, but she wanted a few minutes alone and she didn't think he would have asked to go to the toilet, unless he really needed to go.
"Okay." Tobias responds in a slightly dazed tone, before watching as his girlfriend smirks a little bit as she turns around and walks into her bedroom and he couldn't help but smile, until he glances down and quickly blushes, as he sees that he was actually hard and quickly opens and then closes the bathroom door behind himself in embarrassment.
A Few Hours Later
"Is he okay?" Sarah asks in a soft tone, as she watches the young man walking into the room and sitting down on the opposite side of her sons bed.
"He's sleeping and dads going to take him home." Mitch answers with a sad smile, while reaching over and taking his little brothers fiancé's hand into his own. "Matt's right, it's not doing him any good to be here and if he can admit to that, then I think we should listen Sarah." He then says in an honest tone, as he looks across and sees her smiling back at him sadly.
"I hope he doesn't get angry when he wakes up." Matt then says in a tired tone, before yawning as he looks towards his mum sadly, it was hard for him to suggest they took his fiancé home, but while he didn't want him to go, it was obvious that something was wrong and for once, them being together wasn't the answer, which actually scared him a little bit.
"We're taking him to see someone tomorrow, they will help him get past what he is going through and he will be back to himself soon, I promise Sweetheart." Sarah then says in a reassuring tone, as she strokes the side of her sons head affectionately, while still looking over to the young man with a sad smile.
"What is he going through though? Because I don't really get it." Matt then decides to ask and while he thought he got how his fiancé was in some kind of shock or denial, he didn't really get it and while he felt tired and sleepy, he wanted to make the most of the chance to get some kind of answer to help him understand it all.
"We talked about it earlier Matt, I thought you said that you understood?" Mitch responds in a caring tone and while both he and his girlfriend doubted he had actually fully understood what they had told him, he was hoping that he had at least understood the basics, but it was obvious they would have to go over it again now, although he didn't mind and at least this time, Sarah was here and he felt like her presence would help.
"I kind of get it I guess, but it's still confusing, I mean I get that he thought I was dead, you know when he walked in and it broke something inside him, like he couldn't cope and er... well I just don't get how being broken, made him all happy and weird and then he gets all upset and angry after seeing that I was okay, I don't get it." Matt responds as he tries his best to explain what he was struggling to understand and although the sad looks on both their faces was hardly reassuring, he knew this was tough for everyone and he would be more worried if they were trying to be all happy and stuff.
"Sweetheart, he was never really happy, it was just a defence mechanism, because the thought of you being dead and actually finding you like..." Sarah starts to try and answer in a clear tone, but as she talks, the realisation that he had almost died was too much and she couldn't help but trail off and sniffle a few times.
"Mum?" Matt then quickly asks in a worried tone, as he watches his mum trying her best not to cry and couldn't help but be a little confused and concerned, because if she was getting upset, then she must be worried and if she was worried, that meant that maybe his fiancé was worse than he thought he was.
"It's okay Matt, just give her a few moments." Mitch decides to say in a reassuring tone, after realising what Sarah was likely thinking and knew he needed to say something to stop him from getting upset. "Matt, what your mum was trying to say is, that Ben couldn't cope with the idea that he would no longer be able to be with you, you're always telling each other how you are forever and the only way his mind could cope with finding you like you were, was to try and somehow make it a good thing..." He then begins to explain as best as he could, but before he can finish, he is quickly interrupted and he couldn't help but feel nervous by the look on the boys face.
"A good thing? How can me dying be a good thing?" Matt quickly asks in a mixture of anger and confusion and while he knew the older boy was trying to help and answer his questions, he couldn't help himself and wanted to know what he meant by him dying being a good thing.
"It's not Matt and I know this is hard for you to understand, but remember, peoples minds do strange things when traumatised, you know that better than anybody and while what Ben did was different to what you have done, it's the same sort of thing, do you understand?" Mitch asks in response, as he tries to figure out the best way to get him to understand what he was trying to tell him, while giving Sarah a quick glance, just to make sure that she was okay as well and was glad to see that she seemed to have composed herself, because he was struggling on his own and he knew that he would need her help with this conversation.
"I er... well er... like when I got angry and well er... violent?" Matt then asks in an unsure tone, as he tries to calm himself down and take in what the older boy was telling him and he had to admit that it was helping and he was starting to understand what was happening to his fiancé a lot more now, even if he had a long way to go before he fully understood it.
"Pretty much, I mean a professional like Wesley's dad could explain it better, but even though Ben was acting all happy and even content, it was because his mind was trying to block out all the hurt and negative emotions, because it couldn't handle those, they would have destroyed Ben and that's all it is Matt, you know him, you know him better than anyone and there is no way that he could ever really be happy that you were hurt or dead and you know that." Mitch answers honestly and while it may have been a little over the top and a bit confusing, he could see that he had at least got through to him a little bit and felt relieved that he hadn't made a complete mess of it.
"But wouldn't he be actually happy to see that I was okay though? I mean he looked angry and upset, I just don't get it Mitch, if he was pretending to be happy to protect himself, shouldn't he have snapped out of it when he saw that I was all right earlier?" Matt then decides to ask in a confused tone, he had finally understood why his boyfriend was acting all happy, but he still didn't understand his fiancé's behaviour after seeing that he was not actually dead, because it just didn't make any sense to him at all.
"It's okay Mitch, let me do this part." Sarah then says in a slightly strained tone, after deciding to rejoin the conversation and not just leave it all to the young man, even if he was doing a fine job, she knew it wasn't fair on him.
"Okay." Mitch responds in a slightly relieved tone, as he relaxes and thinks about what else he could say in a little while to help Matt understand, just in case he still didn't understand.
"Sweetheart, Ben will be okay, I'm sure of it, because even though he is happy you're alive, our minds don't always work the way they should and his mind had built this fantasy that it was okay for you to be dead and that's not an easy thing to just dismiss or forget about, it's not like one of those computer games you play sometimes, where you make a mistake and can just go back a little bit to where you last saved it and start again straight away, it just doesn't work that way, so Ben just needs time for his mind to process everything and realise that it doesn't have to maintain this fantasy that it had created to protect itself." Sarah then explains in a caring and reassuring tone, after deciding to try and use something he could relate to, to explain what was happening and while she could she him frowning a little bit, she was confident that he would understand and take in her words.
"So he's just er... well..." Matt then begins to try and say, before trailing off for a few moments with and frowns again, as he tries to process what his mum had just said. "So he's not really mad or angry, it's just his mind thinking that er... no, it's the fantasy his mind created, thinking it's some kind of trick and that's why he's acting angry and upset, his mind thinks it's being tricked into thinking I'm okay, so it's trying to protect him again from any hurt, but once it really sinks in, he will be able to understand that I really am okay and he will be okay again." He then says in a thoughtful tone, as he looks at both his mum and the older boy with a hopeful expression, because if he was wrong about this, then he wasn't sure if he would ever be able to understand what was happening to his fiancé and the idea of him never recovering from this, just sent a chill down his spine.
"That's right Sweetheart, he's just going through possibly the most traumatic thing he could ever go through and it's just taking him a while to really process everything and understand it, but once he does, he will be back to himself and he will be so happy to see you." Sarah responds with a proud and relieved smile, after hearing her son seemingly understanding what was happening now and while she was sure they weren't exactly right and a professional would do a better job, she was happy that for at least now, her son seemed to understand and wasn't getting upset and frustrated.
"Is that everything you want to know Matt, because we want to make sure you're okay and that you understand what's happening, although if you want to talk about something else, then you're going to just love what Tobias is going to be up to later on, because your mum must be a little crazy to agree to it." Mitch then says in a soft tone, while trying his best not to smile too widely as he thinks about their brother and couldn't help but give Sarah a shake of the head for agreeing to it, because he wasn't quite sure she knew just what she could be letting herself in for or to be more exact, what she was letting the Rose's in for.
"I er... well er... I want to talk about it, but well maybe later though." Matt responds in a slightly conflicted tone, as he did want to carry on talking about his fiancé, but by the look on the older boys, well his brothers face, as he really starts to think about how he sees him now, he can see that whatever his other brother was going to be doing, it was something amusing and he could really do with a laugh right now.
"It's not that bad Mitch, he's twelve and both her parents will be home and he's been on plenty of sleepovers at both the Walkers and Morton's and he's never been any trouble." Sarah then says in a slightly cautious tone, after deciding to take her sons answer to mean he wanted to talk about his brother and also finding herself thinking about what the young man seemed to find so amusing about the sleepover.
"Oh my god! You're letting him sleepover at Lily's?" Matt then quickly states in a mixture of surprise and amusement, as he thinks about what that could mean and as he glances at his other brother, he now realised why he had sounded so amused a few moments ago and couldn't blame him, because his mum must be crazy to say yes to it.
"I know boys and girls don't normally have sleepovers together, but I er... well why not?" Sarah then asks in a suspicious tone, after attempting to responds to her sons reaction, but when she sees them both exchange an amused look, she can't help but wonder if she was missing something obvious.
"It's Tobias and while he might kill me for saying this Mum, he's a little weird and doesn't always think before he does or says things." Matt answers honestly and while he felt a little guilty for what his brother might think is a betrayal, he felt like he had to at least make sure that their mum had actually thought it out fully, otherwise things could get very awkward if his brother does do something stupid.
"He's not weird Matthew and I don't ever want to hear you calling him that again, do you understand me?" Sarah then quickly states in an unimpressed tone, while using her sons full name, just to drive home the point that he shouldn't be saying those kind of things about his brother, even if they may hold a little bit of truth, she expected better than that from him.
"Sorry Mum." Matt then says in a quiet, but sincere tone, as he drops his gaze from his mum to his legs in embarrassment and knew that she was being completely serious.
"He has a point though Sarah..." Mitch then says, before pausing for a few moments after seeing the expression on her face and knew that he had to be a little careful. "Come on Sarah, I love him to bits, but he can be a little random and unpredictable, especially when it comes to wearing clothes or to be more exact, not wearing clothes and a sleepover is well er... are you sure it's such a good idea? Especially since he would be pretty much on his on and not have someone to keep him in check." He then adds in a serious tone and while he couldn't quite stop himself grinning a little bit, he wanted her to know that he was actually being serious and not trying to make this into a joke or something like that.
"I know we still need to sit down with him about skinny dipping in the pool, but it's not like he does it outside the house and..." Sarah then begins to say, before noticing the look on her sons face. "I should give the Rose's a call and cancel..." She then begins to say, before looking at her son in surprise, after he starts to interrupt her.
"No Mum! You can't do that to him now, he would know it's because you don't trust him if you cancel it now, you can't do that to him, you just can't." Matt quickly states in a slightly panicked tone and while he did think his brother going on this sleepover could end up going wrong, he didn't want it to be cancelled and thought maybe they could think of a compromise between them.
"I trust you all Matt, but if he does..." Sarah then begins to respond, but once again finds herself being interrupted by her son, which was starting to annoy her slightly, she had always taught him to never interrupt people and for the most part, he never did, but for now, she wasn't going to make it into an issue, there was a lot going on and he was laying in a hospital bed, so this wasn't the time for lectures on manners.
"Jordan!" Matt quickly calls out, before blushing slightly as he realises that he had said it out loud and not just in his head, after thinking that he might have the perfect solution to his brothers sleepover.
"What has Jordan got to do with anything?" Mitch then asks in a confused and curious tone, as he looks at the young boy and wonders what he had thought of.
"Yes Matthew, what has your friend got to do with your brothers sleepover?" Sarah then asks in a firm tone, while making sure that he needed to watch his manners, by using his full name again and could tell by the look on his face that he had understood her message loud and clear.
"Well er... sorry Mum and er... well Jordan is dating Ashleigh and she is Lily's best friend, so you could er... well see if they could sleepover at Lily's as well and that way, Jordan would at least be able to keep an eye on Tobias and they would have fun together, they all get on really well." Matt then says in a slightly embarrassed tone, after quickly understanding his mums use of his full name and knew he had to be more careful not to keep interrupting her, although he was happy with his idea and didn't think his brother would mind too much.
"It's a good idea, but honestly, if you go and change things now, he's going to know something is up Sarah and despite Matt's idea being good, I think you should just have a quiet word with Tobias when he gets here later, or if you want, I could do it and just leave it at that, he may be unpredictable and I know I brought it up, but you already agreed to it Sarah and I think we just have to trust him." Mitch then decides to say in a slightly reluctant tone and quickly gives Matt an apologetic look, because he genuinely thought his idea was good, in fact very good, but he also felt like if they interfered in the sleepover now, then Tobias would definitely pick up on the fact he wasn't being trusted and he didn't deserve that at all.
"I don't know, I wasn't fully convinced of the sleepover myself, but I didn't want to say no to him, but what if he did do something?" Sarah then says in a slightly ashamed tone, because she wanted to trust her son and she did, but she also knew that he did like being naked and while she assumed he slept in at least his briefs, she wasn't entirely sure if he didn't actually sleep naked and that worried her, especially since he would be sleeping in Lily's room, even if he was in a sleeping bag on his own, it was still different than it just being a boys sleepover.
"I will talk to him too Mum and with Mitch talking to him as well, he will be okay and he's been really, really good and if the Rose's said yes, then he must have been really good for them today, so please let him Mum, please." Matt then decides to say in a pleading tone and while he still felt like his idea would have been the best thing to do, he understood his brothers point and he knew his other brother wasn't stupid and would work out why the changes were made and he definitely didn't want him to ever feel like they didn't all trust him.
"Okay, but after you talk with him, I want you both to be completely honest with me and if you think he will be okay, I will still let him sleepover at the Rose's, but you have to agree to tell me the truth, because if something does happen and you thought it might, but didn't tell me, then you will be grounded Matt and while I can't ground you Mitch, I am sure that together with your dad, we can come up with something suitable." Sarah decides to state in response, while using a stern tone as she looks between the young man and her son, who she was happy to see, seemed to be taking her words very seriously.
"I promise Mum, even if he gets a little mad at me, I promise to tell you the truth." Matt responds honestly and while he felt guilty about the prospect of potentially ruining his brothers night, he knew he could never lie to his mum and he didn't want to disappoint her or give her any reason to distrust him.
"I'm sure you and Dad will think of something Sarah, but you won't need to, if I have any serious doubts, then I wouldn't let him go either, the sleepover would be nice for him, but it wouldn't be the end of the world if he didn't get to go and you know Erica loves looking after him and he loves being around her, so even if he sulked a little bit, it wouldn't last for long." Mitch then states in a relaxed, but serious tone, as he thinks about what she had said and while he didn't really appreciate the threat of punishment, he understood that she was just protecting her son and he would never be angry at her for doing that.
"Where is Erica anyway? I thought she was here?" Matt then decides to ask in a curious tone, after realising to his slight embarrassment, that she wasn't in the room with them and hadn't noticed that she had left, as she was definitely there when he had woken up from his little nap.
"Well someone needs to have another little sleep I think." Sarah says in a soft tone, while reaching out with her hand and giving her sons head an affectionate stroke.
"She took Carter and Wesley home Matt, she wanted to get some air anyway and I think Wesley was starting to struggle, so it was for the best." Mitch then decides to say, after smiling softly at the young boy and while he guessed the last thing he wanted was to sleep some more, it was obvious that he was tired and the doctors had told them that he would be sleeping on and off for the next day or two, so he wasn't overly worried himself and he knew Sarah wasn't either.
"Okay, but I er... well Mum, can you like go away for a little while please, I need to er... do something and er... please?" Matt then decides to ask, after thinking about it and despite wanting to deny being tired, he really was, but he also needed to go to the toilet and while he could force himself to pee with his mum in the room, he wasn't going to let her sit in the room while he had a poo and he was hoping his brother would stay and help, just so he didn't have to have a nurse help him.
"I will go and get some drinks and some food, will twenty minutes be long enough?" Sarah asks in response, after deciding that while she wanted to stay with him and really didn't mind if he went to the toilet in front of her, she had brought him up after all, she knew he wouldn't ask unless he wanted her to go and she wanted to respect his privacy and as long as Mitch was with him, she knew he would be okay and safe.
"Yeah and can I have some food this time?" Matt responds with an appreciative smile and a hopeful tone, he had tried to eat earlier and had just been sick almost immediately, so he was hoping he could try again, even if the idea of being sick again was more than a little off putting, he just wanted to get well again and get out of the hospital as quickly as he could.
"I will have a word with your doctor and see what he says, but even if he says yes, I doubt it will be anything exciting or that tasty Sweetheart, so don't get your hopes up for a steak or anything." Sarah responds with a loving smile, before leaning over him and giving him a tender kiss on the forehead, before walking towards the door and leaving the room.
"So I'm taking it that you need a shit then Matt?" Mitch then asks bluntly and with a slight grin, as he gets to his feet and looks down at the young boy.
"You're such a dick." Matt then quickly retorts with a small smile, before looking at his brother, well he still was a little unsure of how to view him, he had thought about it before and while he had thought of him as a brother, he had somewhere along the way slipped back to thinking of him as a friend or an older boy, but he was definitely more than that and with his engagement to his fiancé, they would be technically by law, actual brothers one day and he found himself wanting him to be his brother, which gave him a nice warm feeling inside.
"What's the matter Matt, you have that look about you." Mitch asks in a curious tone, as he studies the boys face and could see his tongue poking out a little in the corner and knew that it meant he was thinking about something and normally when he did that, it wasn't just something little and he was genuinely intrigued and wondered if he was going to ask something else about his little brother and what was going on with him.
"Well I was er... well it's just er... well I know we're like close, you know really close Mitch and well I'm going to marry your brother, well in er... well er... when we're older, but well er... we're brothers right? I mean not like legally and stuff, but we're brothers still right? I'm not just like Carter or Wesley are to you, am I?" Matt responds in a nervous and hesitant tone, he knew they had never really talked about this before, well not anything serious as far as he could remember, but he definitely wanted to now and was hoping he wasn't about to be rejected, because he loved the older boy and if he didn't want him as a brother, than he would be devastated.
"Of course you're my brother Matt, why would you even ask me that?" Mitch quickly responds in a surprised tone, before seeing the boys face drop a little. "Matt, we may not be related by blood or the law, well not yet anyway, but just like Tobias as well, as far as I'm concerned, I'm your big brother and all three of you are my little brothers and there is nothing that will ever change that, I love you all and while I love Carter and Wesley as well and I view them as family, it's not quite the same way I feel about you and Tobias and I wouldn't have signed those guardianship papers, unless I felt that way." He then states from the heart, after realising that his initial response wasn't the reassurance the boy, well he guess he needed to really start viewing him as his brother from now on, was looking for and wanted to make sure he got the message across loud and clear on the second attempt.
"I love you too, I mean sometimes in my head I think of you as like an older boy or something, but you're more than that, you're my big brother and I love you Mitch." Matt then says from the heart, before sniffling a few time and feeling tears rolling down his face, but as he feels himself being embraced, he lets himself go and begins to cry openly.
"Sshh, it's okay Matt, just let it all out." Mitch then says in a soothing and comforting tone, while being careful not to tug on his brothers IV. "Just the tears though, don't let the shit out, because we may be brothers and I do love you Matt, but I'm not clearing that mess up, it will be like pea soup." He then adds in a teasing tone, after deciding to try and gauge his brothers actual mood, by trying to lighten the mood and when he hears him let out a little giggle, he felt himself relaxing and knew that for at least now, he was okay.
"You really are a dick." Matt eventually manages to say, after getting himself under control and while the conversation had caused him to lose it a little bit, his brother had quickly managed to get him to lighten up again and he really did love him.
"Maybe, but in all seriousness Matt, do you want to try the toilet or use the cardboard tray thing?" Mitch asks with a small grin and while he was tempted to have a little bit of banter, he was aware that it had been almost ten minutes already and he didn't want to risk Sarah coming back before his brother actually went to the toilet.
"What about my IV?" Matt quickly asks in a curious tone, as he looks down at his arm and while he could move around with his IV when he was in hospital before, this time his IV wasn't mobile and he knew he couldn't reach the toilet.
"I asked Erica to show me how to take it off safely, just in case you wanted to try and use the toilet, we know it's not exactly nice doing it in the trays and I just wanted to make sure you had the option to use the toilet, if you wanted to." Mitch answers with a smile, as he carefully unhooks his brother from the IV and helps him to his feet.
"Oh crap." Matt then says, as he feels his legs go like jelly and is only saved from falling on his backside by his brother holding him. "Thanks." He then says with a smile and while maybe in the past this might have upset him, he knew why he was this weak and knew that he would be okay once he got some rest and let himself get better, instead of trying to force it to happen.
"Now come on and while we're in there, you can tell me how you're really feeling and I don't just mean about being tired, I want to know about anything else you're feeling, because the more the doctors and nurses know, the quicker they can get you out off here." Mitch then says, once he helps his brother steady himself and while he was still holding on to him, he was trying to let him walk by himself, with as little help as possible, just to give him a chance to work his muscles.
"You're going to stay in there with me?" Matt then asks after he limps into the toilet, after just realising what his brother had said and while talking about how he was feeling wasn't that appealing, he couldn't help but focus on the fact his brother was going to stay in the toilet with him.
"Of course, it's going to stink and you're probably going to be embarrassed, but it's what family does Matt and I was serious about talking about how you're feeling, even if you don't think it's important, just be honest and we will then let the doctors decide whether it's something they need to know or not." Mitch responds with a smile, before moving his brother into place and starts to pull his underwear down and is happy to see him lifting each leg so that he could pull them off.
"I know I've said that Ben is the only reason I was happy and liked it here Mitch, but so are you, I never really thought about having a big brother when I lived in England, because I always had Tobias and it was always the two of us, but when I came here, I hated it, I hated everything Mitch and I even hated Ben a little bit at first..." Matt then begins to say as he sits down on the toilet with a slight blush, but trails off for a few moments after seeing the surprise on his brothers face.
"You hated Ben?" Mitch can't help but ask in a surprised tone, while helping his brother sit down and keep his balance, he just wasn't expecting him to say anything like this and he wasn't quite sure how to react to the revelation.
"Well not real hate, but I didn't want to be here Mitch, I wanted to be home with Tobias and with my other friends and neighbours, I liked my life Mitch, I really liked it and well... I was stuck here and then there was suddenly this mystery boy, who kept coming to the house and asking for me and I tried so hard to not get curious Mitch, but the more he came..." Matt begins to explain in an honest tone, before trailing off in embarrassment as he farts and starts to poo, which despite his best efforts to remain calm, begins to get to him as he lets out another series of farts.
"Hey, come on Matt, if you've ever seen Ben with diarrhoea, then you wouldn't be getting embarrassed right now, trust me." Mitch then quickly states in a light hearted tone, after realising that his brother was getting upset. "Come on Matt, why don't you carry on telling me your story and don't worry about making noises or stinking the place out, I don't care about that and if roles were reversed, neither would you and you know it." He then adds with a reassuring smile, as he lifts his brothers face by the chin and sees him smiling a little bit back at him.
"I love you." Matt states sincerely, before going to wipe his eyes, but feels his brothers fingers already wiping them away and gives him a loving smile. "Well er... well the more he kept coming around, the more curious I got and I actually stopped spending all day missing home, well I still missed it, but it wasn't all I was thinking about and I kind of sneaked out of my room a couple of times, just to listen to what he and my mum were talking about and I got a few quick glimpses of him and well not his face or anything, but he looked normal, which was weird and it didn't really make much sense." He then says, as he continues his story, before stopping again, but even though it was still embarrassing to go to the toilet like this in front of someone other than his fiancé, he wasn't going to let it get to him like it did a few moments earlier.
"Why would him looking normal be weird though?" Mitch then decides to ask, after waiting for his brother to carry on, but he quickly realised that he was a little distracted and despite the situation, he was actually very interested in this insight into the boys first meeting, which he had heard bits and pieces about before, but this was the first time he was hearing something so detailed.
"Because I thought that there had to be something wrong with him, you know, because why would someone keep coming around to a strangers house, just to try and be friends with someone he had never even seen, let alone talked to, so I figured he was some kind of weirdo or freak, who didn't have any other friends and was trying to get friendly with me, before I met anyone else." Matt responds honestly, before smiling again as he feels his brothers fingers wiping his face clean and just couldn't believe how lucky he was to have someone like him in his life, before blushing heavily as he farts really loudly this time.
"Holy shit, I swear to god, if there was anyone in a coma right now, that would have woken them up, fucking hell Matt." Mitch quickly states with a big grin and despite the smell, he wanted to make sure his brother wouldn't get upset and when he hears him giggling, he knew he did a good job. "But anyway, I have to ask and don't take this the wrong way, because I know you aren't like that Matt, but at the time, was the thought of Ben actually being a weirdo or freak, something that would have stopped you wanting to be friends with him?" He then decides to ask in a slightly hesitant tone, as he didn't want to undo all his hard work to keep his brother in good spirits, by insulting or upsetting him.
"Honestly, maybe a little bit, but it would have just been a lame excuse to hate being here Mitch, I just wanted to go home and back to my life so badly, so I didn't want anything good to happen here, but then I saw him for the first time... well you know what I mean, actually saw him and he was so cute and his smile was amazing, but I got all embarrassed and ran to my room." Matt responds honestly, after taking a few moments to think about his brothers question and while he could have taken offence, he knew why he asked and it was a fair question in his mind.
"You thought he was cute? Even then?" Mitch asks in a surprised tone, before remembering something else that he had always been curious about. "Wait, the first time you two actually saw each other, something happened didn't it, I've tried getting Ben to tell me, but he refuses and well come on Matt, look at what we're now doing, because it can't be any more embarrassing than this and I've always wanted to know what happened, because it had to be something." He then asks in an almost pleading tone, which he can't help but blush a little at, because he felt like a little schoolgirl gossiping.
"Well er... okay well first, yeah I thought he was cute and I did like his smile, but I didn't really get it or understand why I thought that at the time Mitch, but I guess it just shows that we always loved each other, even if it took us a couple of years to realise it." Matt answers with a smile, as he thinks about how he felt at the beginning of his friendship with his fiancé and realising that even then, they had little moments together without even knowing it.
"Well for what it's worth, I didn't start noticing the way you two acted around each other until a few months before your camping trip, but after Ben eventually confirming it to me when he called me on your trip, I actually remembered loads of little looks you two used to give each other and how touchy feely you were with each other, I mean it wasn't anything over the top or that noticeable, but knowing how you felt about each other, they seemed so obvious when looking back." Mitch then says in response, as he gently strokes the side of his brothers face, he seemed to have finished on the toilet now, but he wanted to wait for him to make the first move to stand up.
"I guess so, but er... well I guess it's okay to tell you the other thing, I mean it's not even that embarrassing any more, so er... well... I was just wearing a towel after coming out of the shower and Ben came early that day, so I sat on the top of the stairs and he kind of walked past and looked up and well that's when I thought he was cute and then he smiled at me, but it was a really weird smile Mitch, it was still cute, but definitely strange at the time, so I ran back to my room and I remember just feeling like an idiot for running away like that, but what made it worse though, was it wasn't until a long, long time after, that Ben told me that he had seen my er... you know er... penis and balls, because of the way I was sitting and the fact I only had a towel wrapped around my waist and that's it really, nothing special." Matt then says, after deciding to answer his brothers second question and while it actually caused an argument at the time, it was quite amusing when he looked back on it now and he really couldn't believe he accidentally flashed his fiancé when they first met and didn't even realise.
"Oh wow, well it might not be embarrassing now, but at the time, that's pretty crazy and hell, it could have easily been your mum who walked past and looked up, that would have definitely been mortifying." Mitch responds with a smile and while the room definitely smelled pretty rank, he had enjoyed their conversation and he found himself wanting to now a bit more about his brothers early days in the country.
"It's strange how things work out though, you know, like fate and stuff, because well I don't know Mitch, life is just weird sometimes." Matt then says, before farting one last time and despite still feeling embarrassed about this whole experience, he was glad they had talked and he definitely felt closer to his brother now, well now that he had put some of his insecurities to rest and slowly starts to get up, which was surprisingly harder than he thought it would be.
"Go easy Matt, you're still weak and just put your hands on my shoulders and help yourself up." Mitch suggests in an encouraging tone, as he does his best to help his brother without doing it for him, despite wanting to just help him up himself. "Do you want me to wipe you while you hold on to me or do you want me to hold you while you wipe yourself?" He then asks in a serious tone, although inside he was a little nervous, because he wasn't quite sure how his brother would react and he could only hope he wouldn't get embarrassed and feel humiliated.
"Can you er... I don't feel so good Mitch, the smell is really bad, can you er.. do you mind?" Matt responds honestly and despite already blushing most of the entire time, he could feel his cheeks burning a little warmer and was hoping he wouldn't have to go through this again, especially since he was sure he was going to be sick, but for now he was able to hold it back.
"No problem Matt and if you're going to be sick, just tell me and we will move you over to the sink." Mitch responds and while admittedly it was gross, he loved him too much to let that bother him and he would really do anything for him. "Seriously Matt, I don't mind and while I know this must be at least a little humiliating, because I would be feeling like that myself in your place, you have nothing to be ashamed of, you've been through so much and yet you're still standing and you're not letting it defeat you, so if the worst to come out of this poisoning thing is having to get your backside wiped by you brother, then I would say you should be pretty proud of yourself, because there are plenty of people who milk this kind of thing for all it's worth to get money or sympathy for a hell of a lot less than you've been through, so yeah, be proud Matt, because I'm proud of you and I mean that." He then adds from the heart, before pulling his brother into a warm and comforting cuddle, after seeing that his words had hit home and despite seeing tears, he knew they were happy tears.
"I love you too Mitch." Matt then just about manages to say, in between sniffling as his brothers words go around and around in his head and he couldn't be happier, it just meant the world to him that his brother felt that way and he knew he should be proud of himself, because he could be bitter and just give up, but he had too much to live for and he wasn't going to let anything like this beat him, he had things and people to live for and that's all that he cared about.
The Next Day
"Hey." Lily says in a sweet tone, as she sees her boyfriends eyes opening and couldn't help but smile at the surprised look on his face, as he realises that someone was staring at him.
"I er... oh er... morning." Tobias somehow manages to say in response, after almost having a heart attack when he had opened his eyes, but as soon as he realised who it was, he couldn't help but smile back at her, even if he was a little bit confused.
"Are you feeling okay now?" Lily then asks in a soft and caring tone, while gently stroking his face, she had almost called her parents in when he had started calling out, but she was glad she didn't and after managing to calm him down and get him into her bed, he seemed to have slept a lot better.
"What do you mean?" Tobias quickly asks in response, as he looks at his girlfriend in confusion, before suddenly realising how comfortable he was. "Why am I in your bed?" He then asks in and even more confused tone, before blushing brightly as he remembers having some kind of nightmare and starts to blush a little bit.
"Hey, hey, it's okay, you don't need to be embarrassed, I won't tell anyone, I promise." Lily quickly says in a reassuring tone, before just as quickly pulling him into her arms and gently begins to rub his back, until she feels him calming down. "Tobias, you told me you have nightmares, so it's okay and it wasn't bad, you just got a little scared and I didn't want you to be on your own, so it's really okay." She then decides to say, before slowly letting him go and giving him a reassuring smile.
"But er... where's my underwear?" Tobias then asks in a nervous tone, after reaching under the covers and realising that he was actually naked and he couldn't help but look at his girlfriend nervously, he was sure he loved her and she had seen him naked the day before, but he wasn't sure how he felt about her stripping him without his consent and after the girls in the park and Beth with her friends and Conner, he was definitely not feeling comfortable at all.
"You er... well you wet yourself Tobias and you were so scared, I didn't really think and just took them off and got you in my bed, but I didn't look or touch anything, I promise, I wouldn't do that to you Tobias, I promise." Lily responds honestly and in a caring tone, she was hoping he would remember what happened, but it was obvious he didn't really know what happened and she was worried that he might get upset, she knew what he had been through and knew that he might get the wrong idea of what happened.
"You let me in your bed and cuddled me, even though I wet myself?" Tobias then asks in a surprised tone and while he was slightly mortified about not only having a nightmare, but also wetting himself on his first sleepover with his girlfriend, he couldn't help but concentrate on the fact his girlfriend seemed to genuinely care for him and that meant something to him and he couldn't help but smile shyly.
"You're my boyfriend and well I don't care about stuff like that, well I mean er... it's a little gross, like really gross and it smells a little bit, but I don't care because you're my boyfriend and I really like you." Lily responds honestly and while she hadn't really noticed the smell before, now they were talking about it, she could definitely smell the pee now, but quickly puts it out of her mind and decides to distract them both, by leaning in and kissing her boyfriend.
Authors deserve your feedback. It's the only payment they get. If you go to the top of the page you will find the author's name. Click that and you can email the author easily.* Please take a few moments, if you liked the story, to say so.
[For those who use webmail, or whose regular email client opens when they want to use webmail instead: Please right click the author's name. A menu will open in which you can copy the email address (it goes directly to your clipboard without having the courtesy of mentioning that to you) to paste into your webmail system (Hotmail, Gmail, Yahoo etc). Each browser is subtly different, each Webmail system is different, or we'd give fuller instructions here. We trust you to know how to use your own system. Note: If the email address pastes or arrives with %40 in the middle, replace that weird set of characters with an @ sign.]
* Some browsers may require a right click instead
