Love Conquers All
by Flaming Matt
Chapter 38
December 2015
"What's going on?" Maggie quickly asks as she opens her door and sees one of the last people see expected to see right now, standing in front of her, especially at this time in the night or to be more precise, the morning.
"I know things have changed Maggie, but this is the last time we're going to be in this situation and I know David is gone, but I thought we could rekindle a bit of tradition." Nick responds with a grin, as he holds up a couple of bottles of wine and while he wasn't really here for old times sake, he had to admit that he had missed this little tradition that they used to have.
"Are those..." Maggie then begins to ask in a surprised tone, before finding herself being cut off and while she normally hated being cut off, she was too caught off guard to really take everything in right now.
"Of course and while it wasn't exactly easy to get, I thought I might as well do this right, because even with the best case scenario Maggie, you know that we will never work together again." Nick quickly states with a grin, as he decides to try and keep his friend off guard as much as possible, because what he had in mind, wasn't going to be easy and it was risky, but he had been watching her recently and he was worried that her maternal instincts would prove her undoing again and he needed to do something to make sure those feelings wouldn't be an issue.
"I suppose I might as well have one last drink, it could be a while before I get another chance for the finer things in life." Maggie responds with a slight shake of the head, as she moves aside and lets her friend in, before closing the door behind them both and walking over to the kitchen area to get a couple of glasses.
"I'm sure with a little help and some pulling of some strings, you won't be that uncomfortable wherever you end up." Nick then says with a smile, as he easily manages to lie to his friend and despite knowing he couldn't let his guard down around her, she wasn't the same person she was only a few months earlier and he was confident that she wouldn't suspect anything was going on.
"Let's be honest Nick, I will be killing at least one child and given everything else, I'm not going to be enjoying the next few years, we both know that." Maggie then states in a honest tone and while it would be nice to pretend that everything will be okay, she wasn't that stupid and knew exactly what was going to happen, but it was to protect her son and maybe one day, he would learn the truth, but that was a long way off and it would only happen if her husband trusted her enough, because she had a side plan that her friend wasn't aware of, but she knew if her husband didn't believe in her, than her son may never know the truth and while that thought hurt, she was already committed to what was going to happen and after tomorrow, none of their lives would ever be the same again.
"I think you underestimate us Maggie and while you've burned almost all your bridges and the Organisation isn't quite what it used to be, I think you will be surprised." Nick again says with a smile and while he wasn't exactly lying about what he had just said, he knew that his friend had no idea what was really going to happen tomorrow and while there was a part of him that would miss her, she had made her choice when she choose to accept her sons sexuality and she should know better than to think that she would get away with that kind of betrayal.
"We will see." Maggie then says in a slightly suspicious tone, but as she starts to pick up on her friends choice of words, she quickly found herself distracted by him pouring her a glass of wine. "A bottle each?" She then quickly asks in a curious tone, as he uses the second bottle to pour into his own glass and while she wasn't going to complain, it was a little unusual.
"The way you drink, I will be lucky to drink half of this one, but it's worth a try to keep things equal, especially since David isn't here to keep an eye on you." Nick quickly responds with grin, as he easily answers her question and could tell that his answer had distracted her from her obvious suspicions, which he knew she would have as soon as he poured them each a drink and with the mention of their former friend, he knew his planning beforehand was already paying off.
"Do you ever miss him Nick?" Maggie then decides to ask in a thoughtful tone, as she thinks about their friend and despite what he did and the sequence of events he had started, they were friends for most of their lives and they were close and she did miss what they could look back on as their glory days.
"what, David?" Nick quickly asks in a surprised tone and while he had prepared himself for as many scenario's that might pop up, he was genuinely caught off guard by the question, even if he had been the one to initially bring up their former friend.
"Come on Nick, I don't condone what he did either and I know what I did was hardly much better, well from your point of view and the Organisations, but what he did, it was sick, but he was our friend and we had some good times, in fact, more than a few times if I remember correctly." Maggie responds with a slight sigh, as she again thinks about what they used to get up to and the things they had done together and despite everything and what he became before he died, he was a great man once and she would never forget that person.
"I will drink for the person he once was, but the moment he had sex with a child, he was dead to me Maggie, there are things that are forgiveable in this world, something you're well aware of yourself right now, but there are things that can't be forgiven and he crossed that line." Nick decides to respond honestly and little coldly, as he thinks about their former friend and colleague and while he could have played along and just pretended that he could look past what happened, he knew his friend too well and she knew him just as well and it would have been more suspicious if he hadn't just told the truth, it was just who he was and what he was like.
"Fair enough and I didn't really suspect you to say anything different, but one last drink for a lost friend is definitely called for." Maggie then says with a slightly amused smile, as she touches her glass to her friends and then takes a slow sip from it.
"You know, you would think for the price of this stuff, it would actually taste at least half decent." Nick then says with a slight sour face, as he decides to distract his friend again and while she shouldn't have been able to notice anything, he knew by making this kind of comment, it should remove any chance of her questioning the taste of her drink.
"You never were much for the finer things in life Nick, that's why I was always kind enough to drink half of your drink for you." Maggie quickly responds with a grin and while she was still a little on guard about him turning up like this, he did seem genuine and he did have a point, it was a long time since they last did anything like this and it was definitely the last chance they would ever get again, so while she was going to keep an eye on him, she was also going to enjoy herself as well.
"Well, I guess that's a little more creative than just saying that you thought it was your glass or you thought I was finished with it." Nick retorts in an amused tone, before taking a long sip of his glass. "I do have one rule for tonight though Maggie, well at least until we... well you get drunk, no talking shop, we can talk about what happens tomorrow if I'm still here when you wake up, but tonight, tonight is just about relaxing and maybe a little bit of reminiscing." He then decides to add with a slightly playful smile, as he puts he next step of his plan into motion and while he was definitely going to be talking shop with her soon, he wanted to keep her mind on just having a good time, at least until the drink took effect.
"You won't get any argument from me Nick, I will have the rest of my life to think about tomorrow, but right now, I think I will enjoy this ridiculously expensive wine and maybe remember some of the more entertaining stories from when we were young." Maggie responds with a grin, before taking another sip of her glass and relaxing, she was still a little suspicious of her friends arrival, but she had too much on her mind to really take it seriously and decided to just enjoy what was likely to be her last night of freedom.
"I can think of a few myself." Nick then states with a grin of his own, before sitting back and listening to his friend, as she starts to reminisce about their past and despite what he was going to do shortly, he had to admit that it was good to think about the past and found himself genuinely smiling as she continued.
"Hey, hey, it's okay, I'm here, I'm here." Ben quickly repeats over and over again, as he holds on to his fiancé, who was shaking and screaming out in terror and while he could feel the warmness of urine between them both, he quickly felt tears running down his own face, as he smells something else and realises that his fiancé hadn't just wet himself and quickly reaches out for his phone, which wasn't easy in their position, but he needed some help and he was hoping their brother didn't have his phone on silent, as he began to text him.
"It's okay Matt, wake up, just wake up, you're safe, I promise." Ben then says in an slightly scared tone, as he does his best to try and wake his fiancé up and hopefully calm him down, because he was still screaming and it had been a long time since he had had a nightmare this bad and it genuinely scared him, because it had come out of nowhere and he seemed to be so happy and content before they went to sleep. "It's okay, I got you Matt, I got you." He then says in a slightly relieved tone, as the screaming slowly stops and he sees his fiancé's eyes fluttering a little bit and knew he was starting to wake up.
"Help me." Matt then mutters in a scared and desperate tone, as he continues to shake and quickly tightens his hold on his fiancé and while he was somewhat aware of what was going on, he was too terrified to snap out of his nightmare completely and continued to tremble is fear.
"You're safe Matt, I'm here, you're safe and I'll protect you, always." Ben quickly responds in a reassuring and comforting tone, as he does his best to hide his own fear and desperation from his fiancé, before looking towards their clock, but even though there was a little light coming through the window from the moon, he couldn't see the time and he could only hope that their brother was coming, because he wasn't sure if he could do this on his own and just continues to hold him for what seemed like forever.
"Ben?" Tobias calls out, after walking into his brothers pool house and walking towards their bedroom, while looking around and while he couldn't see anything wrong yet, he knew his brother wouldn't have asked him to come, unless something was wrong and slowly opens the bedroom door.
"Tobias, turn on the light." Ben then quickly states in a relieved tone, as he looks up towards the door opening and while he was a little worried about what he might see, it was his fiancé and he needed him, so he wasn't going to let some dirty sheets get too him.
"Okay, but what's..." Tobias begins to respond in a confused tone, before trailing off in surprise after switching the light on and seeing his brothers cuddled up together and Matt having some kind of nightmare. "Oh my god, what do you need me to do?" He then asks in a stunned and slightly overwhelmed tone, as he sees the bed and what it was covered in and could feel himself shake a little, as he realised that this wasn't just any old nightmare his brother must have been having and knew he had to do something.
"Go run the shower and get it warm and get some towels ready in there, I'm going to try and wake him up again." Ben quickly responds in a calmer tone than he was feeling, as his instincts began to kick in and he started to focus on helping his fiancé.
"Okay, I won't be long." Tobias then says with a sad look, as he watches his trembling brother for a few more seconds, before making his way out of the room and heading towards the bathroom and while he was shocked and upset by what he saw, his brother needed him and he was going to do whatever he had to do, to help him.
"Matt, wake up, it's okay, it's just a nightmare and I'm here, just wake up and I promise everything will be okay, I promise." Ben then begins to repeat, as he gently rocks his fiancé and while he was settling down, he needed to get him to wake up so that he could get him in the shower and while he knew he would feel upset and a little humiliated about the mess he had made, he knew his fiancé was strong enough to get past it and he was going to make sure he knew he loved him and was there for him.
"Ben..." Matt quietly calls out in a scared tone, as he slowly begins to wake up and come round, but as soon as he opens his eyes, he quickly screams and closes them in terror.
"Sshh, Sshh Matt, you're safe, it's me, it's me and you're safe, but you have to wake up." Ben then says in a sad and emotional tone, as he struggles to stay composed, but as his fiancé's eyes open again, he does his best to smile lovingly at him. "See, it's just me Matt and you're safe, it was just a nightmare and it's over Matt, it's over now, I promise." He then says in a soothing tone, as he continues to hold on to his fiancé and gently rub his back.
"It's never over, never." Matt then says in a quiet and defeated tone, before resting his head against his fiancé's chest and just cries silently as his mind flashes back to his nightmare and doesn't even hear their brother coming into the room.
"It's ready..." Tobias says in a quiet tone, before trailing off as he sees his brother crying into his other brothers chest and while that meant that he was awake, it was obvious that whatever the nightmare was about, it was a bad one. "Do you want me to help you in the shower?" He then asks in a soft tone, as he looks at his other brother and struggled to smile, as he saw his face and could see how hard this was for him and slowly walked towards the bed.
"Can you help us there, but come in here and clean up, I know it's... it's.. not nice, but please." Ben eventually responds in a strained tone, as he looks up at his brother with a pleading look and while he knew it was more than a little gross and not fair on him, he knew he loved his fiancé, just as much as he did and would do anything for him and he really wanted the mess gone before his fiancé really got a chance to see it.
"Okay." Tobias quickly responds with a reassuring smile and while he wasn't really looking forward to having to touch the sheets and bed, he wasn't going to make a fuss or a big deal out of it, his brothers needed him and he wasn't going to let either of them down, even if it was really gross, they would both do the same for him and that's just what family did for each other.
"Matt, it's okay, Tobias is here and we're going to take a shower, is that okay?" Ben then asks, as he leans back from the embrace and looks into his fiancé's eyes, which to his concern, were looking at him with fear and he couldn't help but think about the last time he looked at him like that and was now genuinely worried about him and was considering calling his dad and Sarah.
"Hey, it's me Matt and you just had a nightmare and Ben and I are going to stay with you all night, but you should get a shower, you always feel better after a shower, you told me that." Tobias then decides to say in as calm and casual a tone as he could manage, after seeing the look on his brothers face and then the worry on his other brothers face and while he didn't know exactly what was going on, he knew it wasn't good and he knew he needed to try something and as his brothers both look at him, he can see that at the very least, he had distracted them both from whatever it was.
"A nightmare?" Matt slowly asks in a confused tone, as he looks at his brother after hearing his voice and while he had been half aware of what had happened as his fiancé woke him up, he was only now coming round enough to process everything.
"Yeah, but it's okay now, you're awake and remember how you told me that a shower helps you relax after a bad nightmare?" Tobias answers with a reassuring smile, after giving his other brother a quick glance and seeing him smiling appreciatively at him and knew that he had to keep going, because he was obviously getting somewhere and that was definitely a good sign.
"It smells bad." Matt then says in a distracted tone, as he notices the strong and nasty smell and looks at his brother in confusion, when he sees his expression and wasn't quite sure what to make of it.
"Come on Matt, let's go take a shower, because it's already running and should be nice and hot by now." Ben then decides to say in a soft tone, before giving their brother a quick nod, as he slowly shifts on the bed and lets go of his fiancé, while at the same time, ignoring the smell and the feeling of the wet and dirty sheets as best as he could.
"I'm scared." Matt then says in a soft and vulnerable tone, his head was still spinning and despite trying his best, he just couldn't shake off the nightmare, which while fuzzy and hard to remember exactly, had terrified him more than he could remember any other nightmare done before and that just unsettled him even more and barely even registers the fact that he was being slowly moved off the bed and on to his feet.
"I know, but you're safe Matt, you have me and Tobias is here as well, we will keep you safe, I promise." Ben quickly responds in a reassuring tone, as he and their brother help his fiancé towards the bedroom door, while doing their best to not let him see the bed and realise what he had done, because it was obvious that whatever the nightmare had been about, it was still affecting him and he wasn't sure how he would react to seeing anything else that could upset him.
"Mum and Mike are in the house too and we can get them to come here as well or we can go and see them, it's not that late and we can all watch a film together or something." Tobias then decides to suggest, as he closes the door to the bedroom behind them with his foot, he had seen the look his brother had given him and quickly understood what he was trying to tell him.
"I'm not a baby!" Matt quickly states in an angry and irritated tone, before feeling himself coming to a stop, as his brother and fiancé stop moving. "Sorry, I... just... sorry." He then says in a meek tone, as he quickly realises what he was doing and while he was still trying to process what had happened and pull himself together, he knew they were just trying to help and he didn't want to push them away, he needed them and tries to give them both a smile.
"Matt, it's okay and once you have a shower, you will feel better and we can just spend some time together, just the three of us for as long as you need us." Ben responds with a warm smile, as he starts moving forward again and as they enter the bathroom, he smiles as he sees how steamy it was and was hoping that his fiancé was still unaware of what he had actually done and while he would tell him later, right now, he didn't need anything else to think about.
"Where are you going?" Matt then quickly asks in a vulnerable tone, as he feels his brother letting him go and moving towards the door and while he felt embarrassed about being so needy, he was genuinely scared and he needed to be around someone and even though he knew he was safe with his fiancé, he knew he would feel safer with his brother here as well.
"I'm just going to be in the other room Matt, your shower isn't big enough for three people and I already had a bath earlier, so I will just be in the living room or in your bedroom, I promise." Tobias quickly responds in as reassuring a tone as he could manage, because he knew while he wasn't technically lying, he knew his other brother didn't want him to know about him making a mess of the sheets and bed and he didn't want to say something to make him realise what happened.
"Oh, okay." Matt responds as he gives his brother a sad look, before feeling himself being pulled towards the shower by his fiancé.
"I'll call if I need anything Tobias." Ben then says with a warm and appreciative smile, as he looks at his brother and sees how worried he looked. "And thanks for coming." He then adds with the same smile and watches as he walks out of the bathroom and closes the door behind him.
"What's that smell?" Matt asks in a confused tone, as he suddenly realises the nasty smell was still there and he couldn't help but feel a little confused, because they weren't in the same room as before, but before he could get the chance to really think about it, he feels himself being pulled into the shower.
"I don't know, but we need to shower and then we can just watch a movie or something with Tobias." Ben responds with a smile, before feeling the nice and relaxing feeling of the water hitting his back and when he hears his fiancé sighing in content, he slowly shuts the shower door and reaches for some shower gel and begins to wash his fiancé, who to his surprise begins to return the favour and to his relief, didn't seem to be aware of what was covering most of their lower bodies.
"What's happening?" Maggie just about manages to say, as she tries to stand up from the sofa, only to find herself barely being able to move and the room starting to spin. "Nick?" She then say in a questioning tone, as she just about makes out her friends face and could see him smirking at her.
"You know Maggie, you really aren't the same woman I once knew, that Maggie wouldn't be struggling to stay awake on the sofa right now, but you, well, what a disappointment." Nick states in an amused tone, as he drops his act and decides to just be honest, the drugs were doing their job on his friend and she wouldn't remember any of this when she woke up the next day, so there was no point in playing nice any more.
"You drugged me." Maggie quickly half mumbles, as she again fails to get up from the sofa and couldn't help but fear for her life after reaching for her phone, only for her friend to easily take it from her hand.
"Come on Maggie, two bottles and I didn't drink from the same bottle as you, that's rookie stuff and there have been so many other things, but you've gone soft, you've let your little faggot of a son weaken you and now you pay the price." Nick states with the same amused expression and while he had no intention of actually hurting her in any way, well that wasn't exactly true, he couldn't resist having a little fun and seeing the fear in her eyes, just made it even more worthwhile.
"Nick, we're friends... I'm... tomorrow... tomorrow..." Maggie then tries to say, but as she struggles to keep her eyes open, she can only half mumble and when she feels herself being pushed across the sofa and on to her back, she could feel herself losing consciousness.
"Oh don't you worry Maggie, you will still be going through with your plan, but there will be a little surprise at the end, now just go to sleep so that I can make sure tomorrow goes exactly how we want it to go." Nick then says with a grin, before making sure that his friend is unconscious, before walking back over to his jacket and pulling out the two boxes from the pockets, which he then places on the table next to the sofa and taking a long look at his friend.
"All better?" Ben asks with a small smile, as he finishes drying his fiancé with the towel and despite still being worried about him, the shower seemed to have worked just as he had hoped it would and his fiancé looked a lot more awake now.
"I'm still shaking." Matt responds in a sad tone, as he holds up his hands and despite trying to stop them shaking, he just couldn't stop it and just looks at his fiancé with tears in his eyes.
"What was the nightmare about Matt?" Ben then decides to ask in a slightly nervous tone, after reaching out and taking hold of his fiancé's hands and pulling him a little closer.
"I don't remember." Matt quickly responds, as he does his best to try and stop himself from shaking and hopefully avoid having to talk about what had happened, he just didn't want to think about it, even if it was all he could think about right now.
"You know you're about as good at lying as I am Matt." Ben states in a firm tone, as he smiles sympathetically at his fiancé and while he knew how much he hated talking about his nightmares, especially the bad ones, they both knew it would help him and even if his fiancé was still a bit scared, he was going to try a push him a little bit to open up.
"I said I don't remember!" Matt responds with a little venom in his voice and pulls his hands out of his fiancé's hands.
"You don't have to get angry Matt, you know that I just want to help and I can see it in your eyes, you know exactly what it was about." Ben quickly retorts in a firm tone again, but as he sees the anger on his fiancé's face increase, he quickly reaches out with his hand and puts a finger against his lips. "Sorry, I'm really sorry Matt, I just want to help, but if you don't want to talk about it, than we won't and besides, we have Tobias here now, so do you want to see where he is a just hang out for a while?" He then asks in a sincere tone and while he was concerned about his fiancé, especially how quickly he was to get angry, he could see him relaxing a little bit already and slowly pulled his finger away from his lips.
"I don't want to sleep." Matt responds in a scared tone, before quickly pulling his fiancé into a tight embrace. "It was bad Ben, but I don't want to talk about it, not tonight, please." He then whispers into his ear, before leaning back enough to look into his eyes with a sad smile.
"Whenever you're ready and don't worry about falling asleep, Tobias isn't going anywhere and neither am I, so you will be safe, I promise, we'll both look after you." Ben responds with a warm smile, before deciding to try and relax his fiancé, by giving him a series of loving pecks on the lips and when he feels his head being held tightly and feeling his tongue being wrestled, he doesn't resist and returns the passionate kiss.
"Thank you." Matt then says in an appreciative tone, as he pulls away from the embrace and while he didn't want to let go, he needed to sit down and just rest and with their brother being here, he wanted them both near him.
"You would do the same for me Matt." Ben responds with a smile, before turning around and opening the bathroom door. "Let's go see where he is." He then says in a soft tone, as he reaches out for his fiancé's hand and slowly pulls him out of the bathroom, while secretly hoping that he had given his brother enough time to get everything cleaned up and the bed changed.
"Hey guys." Tobias quickly says with a smile, as he looks at his brothers and couldn't help but feel relieved that they both looked okay, well not okay, but definitely a lot better than when he had left them in the bathroom anyway.
"What's all that?" Matt quickly asks in a curious tone, as he decides to try and distract himself from the nightmare, that he still couldn't quite shake off and while he was struggling not to show how scared he was, having his fiancé and brother right here with him, was definitely helping and as he looked at the trays of food and drink on the table, he was able to genuinely smile.
"Just some snacks, I thought we could watch a film or something." Tobias responds with a shy smile and while it took him a while to take all the sheets off the bed and put them in the washing machine and then put new sheets on the bed, he had just had enough time to make them all some quick snacks and while it wasn't much, it was good enough to watch a film or two and from the smile on both his brothers faces, he couldn't help but feel proud of himself.
"It looks great Tobias, you've been busy." Ben then decides to say with a slightly worried expression, as he tries to make sure that the bedroom was okay to go into and while he was pretty sure it was, otherwise his brother would just be sitting there, he had to make sure, just in case he hadn't given him enough time to do everything.
"I don't mind, it wasn't that hard." Tobias responds with a smile, as he does his best to let his brother know that everything was done, without letting his other brother know what they were really talking about and slowly gets to his feet and moves towards the table.
"Why don't you and Matt go get in bed and I will bring these trays in." Ben then decides to suggest, after glancing over to the washing machine and seeing it full and while it could wait until the morning, he wanted to turn it on now, just in case his fiancé woke up first and for some reason came out and looked inside it and despite how unlikely that was, he wasn't going to take the chance and risk him feeling any more embarrassed and humiliated, than he was already feeling.
"Okay." Tobias quickly responds with a smile, before taking his other brothers arm and helping him into the bedroom and leaving the door open and slowly helps him on to the bed.
"I guess I wet myself." Matt then says in a quiet tone, as he realises that the sheets had been changed and it smelled nice and while he knew he shouldn't be embarrassed, not around his brother or fiancé, he could feel himself blushing.
"Yeah, but it could have been worse, at least you had the plastic cover on the mattress, so that didn't get wet." Tobias states in response and while he knew how his brother was feeling, at least he hadn't said anything about shitting himself and unless he brought it up, he knew his other brother didn't want him to know and was careful not to say anything about that.
"I guess so, but... never mind, can you just cuddle with me Tobias." Matt then says with a sad smile, as he gets into the bed and under the covers and looks up at his brother, who he had just noticed was actually naked, which shouldn't have really surprised him, not when he really thinks about it.
"Okay." Tobias quickly responds, before sliding into the bed next to his brother and putting an arm around his shoulders and while he knew he would probably have to let go when his other brother came in, he could tell that whatever the nightmare was about, it had scared his brother and he wanted to be there for him, even if it was only for a few minutes.
"I'll be there in a minute." Ben the calls out, as he finishes putting the washing machine on and walks over to the trays on the table, but instead of picking them up straight away, he takes a few moments to quietly cry, before wiping his eyes with the back of his hand and composing himself.
The Next Day
"So he is doing better now?" Sarah asks in a worried tone, as she listens to her son explain what had happened the night before and despite wanting to go and see her other son now, she knew he would be coming in soon and knew from past experience, that it would be better to let him come to her in his own time.
"He doesn't look as scared as he did last night, but I don't know Mum, it must have been bad, because it took hours before he fell asleep and he wouldn't talk about it at all." Tobias answers honestly and while he knew it wasn't the most reassuring thing to say, he was genuinely worried about his brother and knew that he shouldn't try to pretend that he was okay, because even though he did look better after waking up, he still had that look in his eyes and it worried him.
"He's had a lot of bad nightmares and it's not the first time that he hasn't wanted to talk about them." Mike then says in a soft and reassuring tone, after deciding to try and stop his friend from worrying too much and while he was worried himself, he knew it wouldn't do Matt any good for them to worry or try and force him to talk about the nightmare, he would tell them in his own time and they just had to be there for him when he did.
"I know you're right Mike, but it's been a long time since he had one this bad and there has to be a reason." Sarah responds with an appreciative expression, before seeing the look on her other sons face. "It's okay Tobias, he will be okay and I'm really proud of you, you did really well." She states with a warm and proud smile, as she holds his hand and gives it a couple of comforting squeezes.
"He's my brother and he's helped me when I've had a nightmare." Tobias quickly responds with a modest smile, as he thinks about the night before and while he had been a little annoyed after being woken up by his phone beeping, as soon as he saw the message what the message said, he just went into autopilot and the only thing that mattered was helping his brothers, they were his family now and he would do anything for them and knew they would do the same for him.
"You're a good boy Tobias and you should be proud of yourself." Mike then decides to say with a sincere smile, as he really looks at the boy and couldn't help but be reminded of his eldest son at that age and just like how Matt had found a place in his heart, Tobias had done the same and he loved them both as if they were his own and was proud to have them in his life.
"Thank you." Tobias responds shyly, before shifting a little and while he wanted to stay where he was, he knew he couldn't hold it for much longer. "Is it okay if I go to the toilet?" He quickly asks with a slight blush and while it was stupid to blush, he was still just a kid and it was embarrassing to let people know that he needed the toilet.
"Go ahead Honey, I'll make you some breakfast and a drink for when you come down." Sarah responds with a loving smile, which widens in surprise, when she feels herself being cuddled. "I love you too Honey." She then says with a proud smile, after hearing him whispering into her ear and quickly returns the cuddle for a few moments, before feeling him pulling away.
"I won't be long." Tobias then says with a happy smile, before giving his uncle a quick hug and then making his way out of the kitchen and upstairs towards the bathroom.
"I'm a little worried as well Sarah, but he's with Ben and I don't think he would have told Tobias to come here if he didn't think Matt would be okay, you know how protective he is." Mike then decides to say with a caring smile, as he looks at his friend and takes her hand into his own.
"I know and I know that he might have these nightmares for the rest of his life Mike, but it doesn't make it any easier and it breaks my heart." Sarah responds in an emotional tone, before feeling her hand being squeezed and despite what was happening, she smiled appreciatively at him, he was a good man and an important part of her life now and she wasn't sure if she would have managed to get through the past year without him.
"Mine too Sarah, but I think he will get better as he gets older and we just have to stay positive, especially around him, because while he probably won't even realise it himself, if he sees us happy and positive, than he will be as well." Mike then says with a supportive smile, as he tries to reassure his friend as much as he could and while he wasn't sure if he was actually right, he didn't think it would be far off.
"You're a good man Mike and I don't know if I say this enough, but thank you for everything you've done for us, I know a lot of it has to do with Ben and Matt's relationship, but us living together and you treating Matt and Ben as your own, it means a lot to me and I will never forget that, never." Sarah then states from the heart, before blushing slightly, as she leans in and kisses her friend and while it was meant to be a quick friendly kiss, she finds herself putting a hand around the back of his head and feels him returning the kiss passionately.
"This is going to be awesome." Carter declares in a happy tone, as he looks at his boyfriend and then down at himself and while he knew they would have to take them off soon, he just couldn't help but smile and enjoy just how good they both looked.
"I know I don't always like dressing up, but seriously, these are really comfortable." Wesley states in a surprised tone and while he had tried his on before buying it in the store, it was only a quick try out and he hadn't really had time to take in just how comfortable they actually were.
"Yeah and they fit perfectly, well mines a little big, but that's good, because it means I won't grow out of it soon." Carter quickly responds with an excited smile, because while it wasn't exactly a big deal, he knew that his boyfriend wasn't a big fan of dressing up, even for their role playing games, so to hear him sound so happy and content in his outfit, just made him feel butterflies in his stomach, because he knew he wasn't lying or trying to pretend he liked what he was wearing, which meant a lot to him.
"Honestly, we have the guy who works at the shop to thank for that Carter, even mine is the next size up to what I need, but he told me that because these were real costumes and not some crappy cheap ones, he always recommends to kids around our age, to get the next size up or even two or three sizes, because we grow so much." Wesley then says with a smile and while he was dubious at first, he quickly realised that the costumes were still the same price, so the guy wasn't trying to get him to pay more and hearing what his boyfriend had just said, just made him realise even more, that the guy was just being nice and while they were going to go there again anyway, because there weren't many other options, he was now going to make a point of showing his appreciation to the owner.
"Was it an old guy or like a young guy, you know like just older than Mitch?" Carter quickly asks in a curious tone, because he had been to the store a lot and he knew who worked there and while he would thank both of them anyway, he wanted to know which one it was, because he could tell that his boyfriend was impressed by whoever it was and thought it would be nice to thank him personally for making a good impression on him.
"Younger guy, I think his name was Nathan, why?" Wesley quickly responds in a curious tone of his own, as he looks at his boyfriend carefully, before smiling as he sees just how happy he was right now and also just how cute he looked in the robes and while they weren't exactly revealing in any way, he still thought he looked sexy and kind of mysterious.
"Ah, I like Nathan, he's the son of the guy that owns it and he's really funny." Carter answers with a smile, which widens a little when he realises that his boyfriend was checking him out. "And no reason, just curious and I want to thank him for telling you to buy bigger sizes, because he doesn't have to do that and most won't bother." He then says, after quickly remembering that what his boyfriend had actually said and didn't see any reason not to tell him, especially since they were going there probably going to go there together quite a lot in the future.
"I forgot how often you've been there." Wesley then says with a smile, before stepping over to his boyfriend and cupping his head with one of his hands. "Tonight is going to be amazing and just so you know, I've sorted the times out with Mitch and he and Erica will drop us off and will pick us up as soon as we're ready, they're going to have a meal somewhere, so the times should match up." He then says in a soft tone, before gently pulling his boyfriends face to his own and kissing him for a few minutes.
"And he really doesn't mind?" Carter then asks in a slightly breathless tone, after feeling his boyfriend pulling away from their kiss. "Stupid question." He then states in an amused tone, after seeing his boyfriends expression and realising that it was stupid to question the older boys offer to take them.
"Yeah, but I still asked him like a hundred times if he was sure, but you know him Carter, he loves us and unless he had to take his brothers somewhere or was working, he would do almost anything for us." Wesley responds with a small grin, before looking over to the clock and letting out a disappointed sigh.
"Yeah, but we can't spend all day like this, otherwise we will stink later on and it's not like we won't be having fun, even if it is still a bit awkward." Carter states with a encouraging smile, as he reaches up with his hand and gently strokes the side of his face and despite being slightly reluctant himself, they had promised to spend time with his parents and despite still being weird around them, especially his mum, he knew they would have a good time and he knew his boyfriend would be okay.
"I know, but still..." Wesley then begins to respond, before finding himself being cut off by the feeling of his boyfriends lips against his own and quickly returns the surprisingly passionate kiss.
"So if I ask you if you're okay one more time, you're never having sex with me again?" Ben asks in a playful tone, as he sits across from his fiancé and despite still being worried about what had happened the night before, he could see that while his fiancé was still clearly shaken by whatever he nightmare was about, he was doing a lot better and seemed to be in a playful mood, so he decided to play along and see what happens and whether he would open up eventually about what happened.
"Well, not never, but..." Matt then begins to respond in a slightly amused tone, before trailing off as he thinks about his nightmare again. "Ben, I will tell you what it was about, I promise, but honestly, I just don't want to think about it right now, okay." He then decides to say in a soft tone and while he knew it would probably help, he just wanted to get his mind off it and wait until he wasn't feeling so vulnerable, because it was probably the worst nightmare he had ever had and it was terrifying.
"Okay." Ben responds with a slightly cautious tone, before deciding to go along with his fiancé and let him decide when he wanted to talk about it. "So what do you want to do? We told Tobias we would come in the house soon, but you know your mum is going to be just as worried as I am, so do you want me to go first and tell them to not ask about the nightmare or should we just text Tobias and just stay here for a few hours?" He then decides to ask in a slightly hesitant tone, as he decides to try and make the days as easy and as stress free as he could for his fiancé.
"We can go in the house, but I will talk to my mum and er... well, fuck it Ben, if you promise to not interrupt, I will tell you what it was about, I mean I don't want to talk about it, but it's going to happen and I want to try and enjoy the rest of the day." Matt responds in a slightly annoyed and frustrated tone, as he realises that it was pointless putting the talk off, because it was going to happen and at least this way, he thought he might be able to enjoy the rest of the day.
"I know you don't want to Matt, but I think it will help, but why don't you get in bed and I will make us a drink and some sandwiches, then we can talk about it." Ben decides to suggest in response and while he was a little worried that his fiancé might change his mind by the time he went into their bedroom, he wanted him to be as comfortable as possible and was hoping it would help him talk about what happened.
"Can I wait here until you're ready?" Matt quickly asks in a slightly worried tone, as he tries his best to hide how he was really feeling, but as soon as he stops talking, he can see straight away that his fiancé could see right through him and could only smile sadly at him.
"Sure, but while you're standing there, you might as well make the drinks, I think we still have some OJ left in the fridge." Ben quickly responds in a casual tone and while his fiancé's question and tone was again making him feel worried about him, the fact he had actually asked to stay with him, was better than him going to their bedroom and being afraid on his own, so he wanted to try and not make a big deal out of it and the relief on his face, eased his concerns enough to concentrate on making the sandwiches.
"Want ice?" Matt then asks in a slightly bashful tone, as he walks over to the fridge and thinks about his fiancé's response and it just made him feel loved and safe, because he knew he saw through his attempt to hide the fact he didn't want to be alone, so it meant a lot to him that he just went along with it and didn't try to make a big deal out of it, even though it was a big deal, he was glad he didn't try to talk to him about it.
"Sure, but only a couple of cubes please." Ben quickly answers with a smile, before again concentrating on what he was doing, the last thing they needed was for him to cut a finger or two off, even if it would probably give his fiancé something to distract him from the nightmare that he had had the previous night.
"How many are you making?" Matt then asks in a slightly bemused tone, as he finishes making their drinks and looks over to his fiancé, who appeared to be making enough for an army and not just the two of them.
"I'm hungry and we haven't eaten since yesterday afternoon." Ben responds in a slightly defensive tone, although the genuine look of amusement on his fiancé's face, made it impossible to hide his own smile, despite his best attempt to not to show it.
"Oh, well er... well actually, I'm a little hungry as well, but that should be enough, don't forget we have the big meal later and my mum and your dad are going to be cooking loads." Matt then says with a smile, as he sees his fiancé reaching for some more bread and while it didn't actually bother him, he did think eight sandwiches was more than enough for both of them, well for now at least.
"Okay, but if you complain that you're hungry later, than you owe me at least a blow job." Ben quickly states in response, as he puts the bread back and gives his fiancé a cheeky grin, which widens when he sees the look on his face and despite knowing what they were going to be talking about in a few minutes time, he was happy to see that he could at least smile and joke around, which was definitely a good sign.
"Fine, but if you don't eat all of yours, than you owe me a blow job." Matt decides to retort in a playful tone, as he watches his fiancé picking up the tray filled with their sandwiches and while he wasn't looking forward to talking about his nightmare, he was a lot more relaxed now and while it would be hard and emotional, he knew it would be okay and was glad that he chose to talk about it now.
"Deal." Ben quickly responds with a grin, before leading his fiancé into their bedroom and while it was a bit awkward, they quickly managed to get under the covers with the food and drink in one piece, before looking at his fiancé warmly and taking one of his hands into his own.
"Let's eat a little bit first and then I will start, it will be easier I think." Matt decides to suggest, as he tries to start talking about his nightmare, but even though he knew he was only buying himself a minute or two at the most, he just needed to settle down first and while he could tell his fiancé was a little concerned, he was glad to see him reach for a sandwich and take a bite out of it and quickly does the same himself.
Four Hours Later
"Still a little weird, right?" Alex asks in a casual tone, after deciding to test the waters a little bit and see how his boy... well he guess friend now was feeling and although he seemed to be having fun, he could tell that he was still a little on edge and he wanted to see if he could help him relax or at least enjoy their day together.
"Yeah, but not in a bad way." Peter quickly responds with a slightly surprised expression, as he looks at his friend and sees him sitting down and couldn't help but wonder if he had been too obvious about how awkward he was feeling, because while he did feel weird, he was doing his best to hide it or at least he thought he was.
"But not in a good way either." Alex then says with a sigh and while he didn't want to make his friend feel guilty or upset him in any way, he was finding it hard to be around him like this, to be this close and just the two of them, but feel so far apart, it was just hard.
"I don't know Alex, all I know is that I don't want to go home or get away from you, but at the same time, I keep thinking about what Jarred..." Peter then begins to try and explain how he was feeling, before finding himself quickly cut off by his friend, just as he sits down opposite him.
"He's a lying piece of shit Peter, you know he made..." Alex quickly tries to protest, but just as quickly as he had interrupted his friend, he finds himself being interrupted back and can only look at him nervously and fear that he had just ruined their day together.
"I know Alex, but still, it's weird for me because some of the stuff he said was true and you know it is, I just have to talk to the others, especially Carter to know that, but I also kind of feel like er... well I can't really explain it, being around you is weird, but not in a bad way, just in a confusing way, because it's like my brain is trying to tell me something, but whatever it is, I can't understand it and it's just frustrating and weird." Peter decides to states in a serious tone, as he again tries to explain how he was feeling and while he didn't like interrupting people, his friend had just done it to him and he knew what he was going to say anyway, so he wanted to just try and explain himself as quickly as possible.
"I've talked to the others and even my dad and they all think the same thing Peter, but I know it's not as simple as you just accepting we were boyfriends and I guess you could pretend, but I don't want you to pretend, I want you to remember and you can't force yourself to remember and I'm not going to do it either, I mean I want to, I want to kiss you and all that stuff we've done, but I won't, I'm your friend right now and we will be friends until you remember and then we can talk about what would happen then." Alex then decides to say in a sincere tone and while he was definitely tempted to try and be a little forceful, which had worked before, he knew it could backfire and if it backfired, than he would lose him forever and he couldn't bare for that to happen.
"Just being friends is helping, it really is Alex, because today, it's been fun so far and I don't know, it feels er... well I guess, natural... yeah, well er... I'm not sure if that's the best word, but while I feel a bit weird, being around you feels normal and like er... well normal." Peter then decides to say, as he attempts to reassure his friend and even though he was a little confused by his own words, he was happy to see a small smile on his friends face and he knew that at the very least, he hadn't made a complete mess of explaining how he felt.
"Normal is better than weird and awkward, so I guess I will take that as a good thing." Alex decides to respond in a slightly amused tone and while it was hardly the most reassuring of words, it was definitely not a bad thing for his friend to feel either.
"Why don't we do something that we used to do together." Peter decides to suggest in a causal tone, after taking a few moments to look around the park and the other people nearby, who all seemed to be having fun or just walking round casually and while he wasn't exactly sure what he and his friend used to do, he couldn't see the harm in doing something and maybe if he was lucky, it would jog his memory a little bit.
"What do you mean?" Alex quickly asks in response, as he gives his friend a questioning and slightly hopeful look and while he was pretty sure he knew exactly what he meant and wasn't even remotely linked to anything sexual, he couldn't resist trying to play a little dumb and seeing what his friend would say next.
"Not that stuff, I mean if we were friends, what did we do for fun, like did we just walk around and talk or play games or I don't know, what did we do together?" Peter responds in a slightly amused tone, as he blushes at the look on his friends face and knew exactly what he was thinking or at least he thought he did and while it didn't really change much, he was actually surprised to find that he hadn't reacted to that sort of idea in the same way he had done since he had been around his again.
"Ah well, we sort of just did what everyone does, we talked a bit and played around like normal friends did, although I guess we played video games, but I don't really want to play inside right now and your parents have their friends round all day, so we can't go there." Alex responds with a smile, as he thinks about what they actually did together as just friends and actually found himself struggling, not that they didn't do anything like that, they did, but it was mostly with other people or at one of their houses and he really wanted to just hang out with the two of them and not risking having to be around anyone else.
"Well we can just walk around and go to some shops or just walk around the lake I guess, but what about your house, couldn't we go there and watch a movie or play some games?" Peter then decides to ask in a hopeful tone and while he was still a little awkward being alone with his friend, especially in their houses or bedrooms, he had enjoyed the past couple of hours and he was finding it easier and easier to be around him now, without feeling completely weird.
"My Dad should be working all day, so I guess we could go there, but let's do what you said and walk around the lake and maybe go into town, there's this ice cream place you always liked there and it's been a while since we last went." Alex eventually responds in a happy tone, after taking a few moments to think over his friends suggestions and while he wasn't completely sure what time his dad would be home, he thought even if they did the other stuff, they would get enough time alone in the house for at least one movie or a couple of hours of fun playing games, so that was something at least.
"Okay." Peter quickly responds with a small smile, before grinning as he remembers something else. "We can see if there are any of Tobias's duck friends and take some pictures of them to show him." He quickly states in an amused tone, before giggling and jumping a little as his friend chuckles and pushes his shoulder, which despite nearly knocking him completely over on to his side, was funny and as his friend starts to get up, he smiles as he holds out his hand to help him up.
"He would love that, we can even send him the pictures on his phone, it should be funny, especially if his brothers are with him, they love teasing him about what happened." Alex then says with a grin, after helping his friend up and despite almost pulling him into a kiss, he managed to stop himself and while it was hard to fight against his instincts, he knew he had to, otherwise he could push him away and with the progress he had made, he didn't want to make it all count for nothing, even if it was going almost painfully slowly.
"We can pose and everything, like pretend one is attacking us, it will be fun." Peter then says with a big grin, before feeling his hand being held and instinctively following his friend as he begins to walk towards the lake area and while he had almost pulled his hand free, he stopped himself and decided to see how it felt for a little while, before deciding whether he liked it or not.
"Oh shit, sorry." Alex suddenly states after almost a minute of walking, as he suddenly realises that they were holding hands and quickly lets go of his friend, before really thinking about it and even though is friend looked a little relieved, he wished he never let go, because surely his friend realised they had been holding hands, even if he didn't, which made him wonder why he hadn't said anything or tried to pull away.
"Oh er... well er... it's okay, I didn't even notice, but er... anyway, we're almost there." Peter then says in a slightly awkward tone and while he was a little relieved that his friend had let go off his hand, he was a little disappointed as well and while it added to his confusion over their relationship, it was at least something positive and he was aware that there were definitely more positives happening, than there were negatives recently and it did make him wonder about what might happen as they spend more and more time together.
"Still, I shouldn't do that." Alex quickly states in an apologetic tone, before stopping as his friend stops and turns to him. "Okay, but remember, it's weird for me too Peter and I meant what I said before, we're friends, that's it and yeah, I hope you remember how you felt about me and it's hard to put my feelings aside, but you need a friend right now and I made you a promise and I'm going to keep it." He decides to then say with a sincere smile and while it was hard, well almost torture for him to hold back with his feelings, he had to do it and he wasn't going to do anything to push his friend away, he had talked to his dad a lot and he made enough points that he agreed with, to play the long game and if he did it once, he could do it again.
"Okay, but er... well I'm not a baby Alex and yeah, I don't know how I feel about this stuff, but I guess I need to er... well if this kind of thing happens it happens and even if I pull away or say no, just er... well don't get upset or get really er... well you don't need to apologise, I get it, I get that for you, we were boyfriends and we kissed and held hands and did other things, so I guess I'm not going to get angry if you er... well if you accidentally do something, just don't do it on purpose or try to trick me Alex, that's all I'm going to ask, okay." Peter then decides to say in a serious tone and while he didn't want to encourage his friend to get touchy feely or try and do sex stuff, he had only just realised how hard it must be for his friend to not do that stuff and stuff like holding hands, might happen sometimes and as long as it was accidental, he was sure he could deal with it and he wanted to give his friend some slack as well.
"I promise and well... let's just go see if we can get some good pictures to tease Tobias with and er... come on." Alex slowly responds with a slightly unsure smile, before deciding to take control and get moving again, because while his friend hadn't given him permission to do anything with him, it wasn't a complete shut down either and he wanted to think over his words more carefully and decide on what he actually meant, even if it didn't really change anything, it would make him feel a lot more relaxed around him and not so scared of accidentally doing something to scare him away.
"I just wish we could see his face when he gets the pictures, I bet it will be hilarious." Peter then says with a grin, as he decides to focus on what they were going to do and move on from the more serious stuff, because while he was still thinking about it, he didn't want to get into a conversation about it and as his friend starts walking towards the lake area again, he quickly walks beside him, as they make some more small talk about their friend and some ideas about what kind of pictures would be the funniest.
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
