A Prince and His Pauper

by Mark Peters

Chapter 4

'Brayden! Your mum is leaving,' we heard a short while later, just as Charlie had finished changing out of his school clothes, so we both thundered down the stairs and outside to where the two women were still talking.

They both looked at us and smiled as we pulled to a stop beside them. Mum put an arm around my shoulders and Charlie put his arm around his grandmother's waist, before she then hugged him close.

'They really haven't been any trouble so far,' Nan Brown said to mum. 'But you'll be sure to hear about it if they do give us any.'

'I would certainly hope so,' mum replied.

They were both still smiling though, so there really wasn't anything to worry about.

'Now, Brayden, you make sure you're on your best behaviour while you are here,' mum said firmly. 'I don't want to hear of any shenanigans, you hear me!'

Shenanigans? What the fuck are they?

'It means don't get up to mischief!' she added, obviously picking up on the blank expression that must have been on my face. Either that or she had read my mind! Fuck, now that was a scary thought!

'We won't,' offered Charlie. 'We'll be too busy rehearsing lines from the school play I'm auditioning for.'

'I'm sure they'll stay in line,' added Nan Brown. 'If they are going to be that busy, I suspect that I won't see much of them at all.'

'Well, all the same, you have my number!'

'Oh, mum! Come on!' I groaned.

'Alright, alright, I get it. You're not a little kid anymore,' mum said, then ruffled my hair, before turning towards the car.

'I'll see you Sunday,' I said to her as she started walking away.

'Not if I don't see you first,' she replied, then with a wave she climbed in and turned the key.

After giving her a wave in return, we watched as she drove away, before eventually disappearing around the next corner.

'Right then. So, who's up for some pie?' Nan Brown asked. 'It might even still be warm.'

We didn't need to be asked twice and were soon on our way to the kitchen, hot on the heels of Charlie's Nan. Shortly afterwards, we were each tucking into a slice of lemon meringue pie, which was the best I had ever tasted. I even wondered if Nan Brown might be able to give mum some cooking lessons; but thought it best not to ask.

When we were finished, Charlie and I beat a hasty retreat to his bedroom, closing the door and soon jumping onto his bed, the script already in hand.

We were continuing to work through reading the entire script, without concentrating too much on any specific section just for now, and I was constantly being amazed at the things that went on in the castle in that faraway mountain kingdom.

Murder. Sex. Death. Intrigue. Revenge. Did I mention sex? You name it, they had it.

I was also amazed that this was the play that had been selected for our school production. Miss Carlton must be going to cut massive sections out of it, or make major changes, if it was going to become suitable for a school audience.

When we arrived at a scene where Prince Elwyn of Geronia and his young friend, Barnabus – who we simply call Barney – have a tryst with Prince Elwyn's betrothed, the Princess Arayana, who also happened to be a distant cousin of the Prince – both Charlie and I found ourselves adjusting our packages. This was pretty sexy stuff for any thirteen-year-old to be reading, let alone understanding, and the resulting reactions in our bodies were totally understandable.

'Am I reading that right?' I whispered to Charlie, as I rubbed my groin.

'Yeah. I'm pretty sure we are. Elwyn has to marry his cousin, Princess Arayana, from the neighbouring kingdom. It's all arranged . . . because that's how they used to do it back then . . .' he explained, 'and because Elwyn has to have a wife to be his Queen and produce him an heir to the throne. And they have to marry soon, because the King is close to dying following the infection setting in after being shot by the arrow. Once the King has died and Elwyn becomes King then he'll need to have everyone around him to help him through it all, and that will be Arayana's family who will be their main supporters. The marriage is what solidifies the monarchy, for both kingdoms, but there will still be more drama.'

Charlie's excitement about this story was evident, and it was starting to rub off on me.

'So let me get this straight . . . Arayana knows about Elwyn and Barney? And they have a threesome? Fuck, that's hot! Even if it's beginning to sound like one of those TV soap operas!'

'But wait, there's more,' Charlie added, with some enthusiasm. 'The King knows about the relationship between Elwyn and Barney and is cool with it. That's because the King and Arayana's father, who are cousins, used to do the dirty as well. It's all very incestuous!'

'Sounds like fun,' I replied.

'Until you get stabbed in the back by some traitor in the ranks!'

'Noooo . . .'

'Oh no, nothing like that has happened just yet . . . although the King did get shot by an arrow, and we don't know who fired it yet . . . but we haven't finished reading the whole story yet either, so I guess anything could happen.'

'Fuck. I've never heard of anything like this,' I murmured.

'No. Me neither. But I'm loving it!'

'Yeah. Me too.'

After reading through the script for an hour or so, we could see that it was starting to grow dark outside, so we ventured downstairs to see what Nan was doing. We needed a break from all that castle sex and mayhem.

'Hi, boys. Are you starting to get hungry or something?' Nan asked us, when we joined her in the living room. She was watching a game show on the TV.

'Just needed a break from reading the script,' Charlie offered.

'And how is it going?'

Charlie glanced my way and raised his eyebrows, as if asking me to answer.

'It's intense,' I replied. 'We've never read anything like this. None of the books we have to read in school are anything like it.'

'No, I wouldn't think they would be. And are you understanding what it's all about?'

'Well, I guess it's partly about power and politics, and sex, of course,' I responded.

'Yes, well those three things seem to go hand in hand, and not just in olden times. They are still relevant today, wouldn't you say?'

'Yes, I guess you are right there. People in power always seem to be getting in trouble. It's on the news all the time.'

'That it is, Brayden. I'm impressed that you are so knowledgeable on what is happening in the world.'

'I guess my folks like watching the news around dinner time, so I'm often watching it too.'

'Well, you keep doing that. It's important that you know what is going on in the world. Now, speaking of dinner . . . what type of pizza would you boys like?'

'BBQ Meatlovers,' Charlie quickly blurted out.

'And you, Brayden?'

'Oh . . . ummm . . . Supreme, I guess,' I replied.

'Right you are, then. I'll call and put an order in right now. And for some garlic bread too, I think.'

'Perfect,' said Charlie.

'Do you want to pick out a movie for tonight?' Nan asked. 'Your father bought some DVDs when he was home last. Take a look at those. They are in a bag in the TV cabinet.'

We went to the TV cabinet and Charlie opened the double doors of the storage area at the bottom, which I soon discovered was filled with movies.

'What can I say, other than dad's a movie nut,' Charlie said to me, when he noticed my eyes bulging. He picked up the plastic bag from the local music and DVD store and pulled out its contents, which proved to be five DVD cases that he then started flicking through.

'Anything decent?' I asked him.

'I think dad is on a mission,' he replied, before then holding up the video cases. Love Simon. Bohemian Rhapsody. Boy Erased. Rocket Man. Milk.

I had heard of them all, of course. And apart from Milk , all of them were quite recent.

'Pizza's on its way, boys!' Nan said as she came back into the room. 'I've ordered our dinner and it will be here in about thirty minutes, they said.'

It was then she noticed the DVDs in Charlie's hand.

'Oh, you found them.'

'Is there a theme here?' Charlie asked his grandmother.

'Well, you know your dad . . . once he gets hold of an idea . . .'

'They're all gay movies, Nan. All of them!'

'Well, I think he just thought they might help you . . . both of you. It's never easy negotiating new relationships, or something as monumental as coming out, so maybe he just thought they might give you some ideas about what you can expect to face in life.'

Charlie looked my way, a pained expression of exasperation on his face. As his shoulders slumped I could only laugh at him.

'Seems like a good idea to me,' I said, before adding, 'and besides, I've been wanting to watch this one,' while pulling Love Simon from the pile and waving it in front of him.

'Alright then. If you insist,' Charlie said, with a sigh.

'Well, now that's settled, how about we put it on now?' asked Nan. 'While we're waiting for the delivery to arrive.'

Charlie took a few steps over to the television unit, which housed the screen and the DVD player, then started flicking switches and pressing buttons. The massive screen seemed to come to life, initially showing a television advert, then moments later the logo for the movie company appeared, accompanied by their theme music, then followed by the previews for some movies.

Nan settled into the comfy armchair that seemed to be her favourite, while I sat down on the large lounge. Charlie came over and sat down beside me, sitting close by, with our shoulders and legs lightly touching, but not too close. Not with Nan right beside us.

I glanced across at her and noticed her smiling.

'It's okay, boys. Just be yourselves. Get comfortable, if that's what you want. I really don't mind,' she said.

Looking back at Charlie, I noticed him grinning at me, then he leaned against me, while taking my arm and draping it around his shoulders.

'Like this,' he whispered.

'I've got a better idea,' I said, while quickly shuffling back until I was leaning against the arm rest. I quickly kicked off my runners, then swung one leg up onto the lounge, before patting the seat between my legs. Charlie quickly realised what I was wanting, then turned and leaned back against me, allowing me to wrap my arms around him.

'That better?' I whispered into his ear.

'Perfect,' he replied, as we settled in to watch the previews.

When they were done the menu came up on the screen, asking us to select the viewing option. Charlie had the remote control with him and clicked a button, then the movie intro started playing, before going straight into the movie.

We managed the first twenty minutes or so, before we heard the front doorbell ring.

'I'll get the door, boys. Do you want to hit pause and get some plates and cups from the kitchen?'

'Grandma, can we eat in the living room tonight?' Charlie asked.

'Well, maybe just this once, but no crumbs on the couch, okay?' Nan replied, before heading for the front door.

'Yes! Best grandma ever!' Charlie said, holding a hand up for a high-five as he did so, which I obediently slapped.

As directed, we hurried to the kitchen and grabbed some plates, cups and some serviettes. From the kitchen we could hear Nan talking to the delivery guy and by the time we had returned to the living room she was also returning, carrying two pizza boxes and the sides.

'Here we go, then. Now, who's hungry?' Nan asked, as she set the food down on the coffee table. We placed everything we had brought from the kitchen down beside the pizzas.

'What about drinks?' Charlie said.

'I'll get it,' I said.

'There are some bottles in the refrigerator, Brayden. Thank you,' Nan said.

'You're such a suck!' Charlie whispered, while grinning at me.

'Just keeping on Nan's good side,' I replied, which earned a laugh from both of them.

I ran through to the kitchen and found two bottles in the fridge, one of Coca-Cola and one of Mountain Dew, so I grabbed them both, then hurried back to the living room.

On the TV I could see Simon still frozen in time, but it wouldn't be long before he would be free once more to be able to finish telling his tale.

'Okay boys, help yourselves,' Nan said, so we each picked up a plate and grabbed a couple of slices of pizza, before settling back onto the lounge.

Charlie hit the play button and our evening rolled on.

By the time the movie ended, Charlie and I were snuggled up on the lounge beneath a blanket, while Nan was on the single-seater. It was a kind of surreal feeling knowing that the two of us were covered over while our hands were discreetly roaming over each other's bodies, and Nan couldn't see that.

Or at least we hoped that she couldn't see what we were doing.

As the credits rolled, Nan asked us if we wanted to watch one of the other movies, but that was when Charlie thrust his arms up into the air in a massive stretch, then yawned.

'I think we might go to bed, Nan. It has been a long day,' he said. Nan looked over at us and gave us a smile. She knew our game.

'Well, not before you give me a hand to clean up this mess, you don't,' she said, as she leaned forward and started gathering the detritus from the coffee table.

Charlie threw the blanket off him and fully over me, which was lucky, as if I'd have become exposed, things might have been just a little embarrassing. Charlie knew that, as only moments beforehand his hand had been the cause of what could have been embarrassing for me, so I was thankful that he'd done it the way he had.

He jumped up and started helping Nan. I got to my feet also, holding the blanket in front of me and somehow managing to turn away from Nan, adjust myself and fold the blanket all in one motion, before placing the blanket on the lounge. By this time the two of them were carrying stuff into the kitchen, so I gathered up the remaining rubbish and followed them. Moments later everything was in either the sink, the garbage or the refrigerator, and we were free to head upstairs. Before we could do that, however, we each gave her a kiss goodnight.

'Have a good night, boys,' she said as we exited the kitchen. 'Just let me know if you need anything.'

As we climbed the stairs, I thought I could hear her chuckling to herself. Yep, she definitely knew what our game was.

Once we were safely inside Charlie's bedroom, he quickly shut the door and leaned back against it.

'What?' I asked, as I turned to face him.

'Did you hear her laughing as we came up here? She thinks she knows what we're going to get up to.'

'Y-yeah,' I replied. I didn't quite know how I felt about this. I mean, it's one thing for our families to think we might be fooling around when we are alone, but when there is only a closed door between us and them, that's somehow a different scenario altogether.

'And does it feel weird for you?'

'Damn straight it does. I think you better lock the door . . . can you do that. Would hate for someone to walk in on us if we . . .'

'If we . . . what?' Charlie asked.

Before I could say anything more, however, he turned and pressed a button on the door handle, which locked the door from the inside. Then he faced me and started walking slowly towards me.

'If we what?' he said once more.

I took a step backwards, while at the same time finding myself biting my bottom lip and feeling a little unsure of what was coming next.

Charlie had this look in his eyes that both scared me and excited me. I figured that I knew what was on his mind, but wasn't sure just how far either of us were prepared to go.

Taking another step backwards, I quickly came up against the end of the bed, my legs colliding with the ornate timber frame. Charlie quickly covered the distance between us, and soon his body was pressed against mine. I could feel his breath on the skin of my neck as he gazed intently at me, eyebrows raised, as if asking that question for a third time.

'If we . . . ummm . . . do it,' I whispered, not wanting anyone other than Charlie to hear it, to learn of what it was that I knew we both wanted.

'They can think what they want,' he whispered back to me. 'But they won't know , will they?'

'So, you're game?' I asked.

'Hell yeah! You?'

I smiled sheepishly at him. He already knew the answer to that. We had already discussed this.

'Time for bed, then?' Charlie asked me, as he reached down and took hold of the hem of his t-shirt and quickly pulled it over his head. I then did the same, and we were now standing in front of each other wearing only our shorts.

I looked him up and down, taking in the sight of his lithe, tanned body, which was showing just the beginnings of some abs, his sparkling, blue eyes, and wild blond hair. I could never grow tired of looking at him. Reaching out, I placed my hands on his hips and pulled him closer, until our bodies were touching and I could feel his breath on my chest.

'So, I guess we should be getting ready for bed then?' I asked him.

Charlie just grinned at me, then said, 'I sleep naked.'

'So do I,' I quietly replied. 'I guess it won't take us long to get ready, then?'

'Apparently not! But maybe a quick shower and clean our teeth first?'

'Yeah, don't want any pizza and garlic breath while we're kissing now, do we?'

'I hope we're going to do more than just kiss?'

'You better believe it,' I replied, while taking one of his hands in mine and then leading him to his bathroom. We both quickly stepped out of our shorts and beneath a stream of hot water, once the cold water had cleared the pipes. Working quickly we washed each other, paying careful attention to those sensitive areas we knew that we would be paying special attention to later.

Charlie groaned softly as I ran my fingers between the cheeks of his arse and around his sensitive pucker, but groaned loudly once I pushed a soapy finger inside him. Moments later, he dropped to his knees and took hold of my hard cock, before kissing the end of it and then opening his mouth and swallowing me whole. When he ran his hand between my thighs and along my taint, before carefully feeling around for my hole, it was my turn to groan. But that was as far as we went right now. We had to save something for later.

After drying off we then cleaned our teeth, side by side at the hand basin with our shoulders rubbing together, while from time to time we would glance sideways at each other and grin through our toothpaste-frothed mouths. After spitting out the froth and then rinsing our mouths, we made our way back to the bedroom, where we nervously stood at the side of Charlie's big, comfortable bed; naked, hard and filled with a sense of expectation.

'So, are we going to do this?' Charlie whispered to me.

'We . . . we need to take it slow,' I replied.

'You've heard of foreplay, haven't you? You know where you kind of build up to the main event slowly?'

'You mean starting like this?' I asked, as I reached out and took hold of the hard rod that was poking at my own. Carefully, I moved my hand back and forth, moving the loose, velvety skin over the hardness beneath it. As I did this, Charlie reached up and placed one hand around the back of my neck, pulling my head downwards, towards his, until our lips finally met.

His touch was gentle and unhurried as our lips worked against each other. Neither one of us tried to open our mouths and force our tongues inside the other. We were in no hurry. We had all night long. We just kissed. And we kissed. And we kissed. And it was beautiful.

When we finally parted and came up for air, I rested my forehead against Charlie's and stared into his eyes.

'I can't describe how much I love you,' I whispered.

'Right back at you, big guy.'

It wasn't exactly the response I'd been hoping for, but it would do.

Turning slightly I sat down on the edge of the bed, then wrapped my arms around his waist and pulled him close, opening my legs as I did so, so that he could step in close to me.

My ear was against his chest and I could both hear and feel his heart beating. It was beating so fast, just as my own was. A hand was soon running through my hair, with fingers grabbing onto my locks and gently pulling my head back, tilting my face upwards until I was once again staring into Charlie's eyes.

'I love you too, Brayden Parks, and tonight I want to show you just how much I love you. Tonight we're both going to feel just how much we love each other, I promise you,' he said to me, before then pushing me backwards until I was flat on the bed.

Leaning over the top of me he began kissing the side of my neck, before starting to slowly work his way down my body, placing kisses on the base of my neck, on the middle of my chest, then each of my nipples, just for starters. He continued down the centre of my abdomen, kissing my abs, my navel, while letting his tongue flick in and out and around that indentation, before soon finding my hard prong, which tapped him on the chin.

He began licking the red, throbbing head of my cock, which was filled with hot blood, then licked and kissed down the shaft, until reaching my balls, which were covered with just a fine dusting of hair. He had been here many a time before, but this time would be different. He pushed my legs apart and kept going south, licking, kissing and slurping along my taint like a man possessed. It was driving me wild.

'What are you . . .' I began to ask, but just then he placed his hands at the back of my knees and pushed my legs upwards, then telling me I needed to hold them up there. This exposed my sensitive pucker, which was soon quivering with anticipation.

When his tongue brushed across it for the first time, I felt it clench tight. The same for the second and third times, but when it lingered there and began probing, trying to breach my defences, I thought I was going to blow.

Moments later I felt his fingers probing away at my hole, before one digit was gently pushed inside me, then rocked back and forth. Instantly my pucker clenched down on him, and Charlie must have sensed what was about to happen, because suddenly he stopped. He popped his head up from between my legs, grinning like a madman.

'Did you like that?' he asked.

'Where the fuck did you learn that from?'

'PornHub, of course! How did I do?'

'I was about to blow,' I replied.

'I thought so. That's why I stopped. We both need to get ready for the big show. Edge a bit. Probe a bit. Let things build up. Then I'm sure it'll be the best sex either of us have ever had!'

'If we actually do this, it'll be the first real sex either of us have ever had,' I replied, my voice sounding somewhat hoarse.

'My point exactly!' Charlie replied. 'So, bring it on.'

I could grin at him for only a moment, before he sprang forward over me and his lips once again met mine. My Prince was on a mission, it seemed – and one that I was glad to be accompanying him on – so I decided that I needed to give him a taste of his own medicine.

Taking hold of both of his wrists I stretched his arms upwards, over our heads, then using my weight and strength advantage I rolled him over, soon lying on top of him with his arms stretched out above him.

'My turn now,' I whispered into his ear, before releasing his hands and placing my own hands on his shoulders, then starting to slide back down his body. I could feel his hardness poking into my stomach and then my ribs as I moved lower, kissing his body as I went.

When I dropped to my knees on the floor, by now leaning directly over his groin, I continued to kiss away at him, before taking his cock into my mouth and sucking on him for a few moments, then licking his balls and taking them into my mouth. When I released him, I looked up to find him grinning back at me, while propped up on his elbows.

'Now roll over!' I commanded.

'What for?' he said. I rolled my eyes but then he complied. Now his cute arse was in my face, those two pale, fleshy globes that were just begging to be kissed and licked and fondled. I would have to suggest to him later that he should work on an all-over tan.

Placing a hand on each cheek, with my fingers pulling them apart to expose his beautiful sphincter, which was a slightly darker shade of cream in comparison to his skin. Unable to resist, I stuck out my tongue, then ran it the full length of his crack several times, which was accompanied by Charlie eliciting several deep moans of enjoyment. Zeroing in on my target, I focused on that delightful rosebud, just as he had done to me, which tasted fresh and clean and smelled distinctly of Charlie; something that was far from unpleasant, which I had worried it might.

Running my tongue across the small crater, I felt it twitch, so I did it again, and again. The sensation of that undulating skin against the roughness of my tongue was itself enough to excite me, but when I paused and tried probing his depths, which brought forth a fresh round of groans from Charlie's lips, I knew I was hooked.

I don't know how long it was that we went back and forth, taking it in turns to excite and please each other, bringing each other to the edge over and over, before backing off and changing it up, but it was quite a while. By the time we collapsed, exhausted, and neither of us virgins any longer, we had lost all track of time, and sleep, wrapped up in each other's arms, was all that we could think of .

When morning eventually came, and I awoke, with Charlie's back firmly nestled up against my front and my arms wrapped around him, it took me a few moments to realise exactly where I was. We were covered by a blanket, which I guess Charlie must have pulled over us at some point through the night. As sunlight slipped through the curtains and lit the place up, my eyes flicked around the room, awareness gradually dawning on me.

There was the door to Charlie's bathroom, where I could see our clothes from last night scattered across the floor, then I noticed Charlie's desk, upon which sat his laptop and various other items, including the script with its colourful fluoro tags sticking out the side. A chair, with a smiling Charlie's dad sitting upon it. A bookcase . . .

Wait! What?

My eyes flicked back to the chair and focused on Mr B, who was just sitting there and smiling.

'Good morning, Brayden,' he softly said.

My eyes flicked to the door, which was standing open. Hadn't Charlie locked that? I looked back at Mr B.

'Hi,' I whispered back to him, trying not to wake Charlie if I could help it.

'Sorry if I startled you. The two of you looked so beautiful together, just sleeping like that. I couldn't help but watch you for just a few minutes,' he said, before getting to his feet and walking to the door, where he stopped and turned back to face us. 'I'm going to go downstairs and start breakfast. You and Charlie come down when you are ready, okay?' he added, before walking through the doorway and gently closing the door as he left.

I let out a long breath, which I didn't realise I had been holding inside me.

What the fuck had just happened? And hadn't that fucking door been locked?

Gently I reached up and shook Charlie's shoulder, then leaned in and kissed him on his back, right over his shoulder blade.

I heard him grumble, so I shook him again, then whispered in his ear, 'Wake up, babe.'

Slowly he seemed to come around, before eventually rolling onto his back and looking my way.

'Hey. Good morning,' he croaked.

'Hey, yourself,' I replied. 'Sleep well?'

'Like a baby. You?'

'Yeah. Me too.'

'What time is it? Why did you wake me?'

'I thought you locked the door last night? When I woke up, we had a visitor.'

'Well, I did, but it's easy enough to open them even if they are locked. Who was the visitor?'

'Your dad! He was sitting on that chair watching us sleep,' I said to him.

'What? He's back already? He wasn't due back until later!' Charlie exclaimed, as he sat up in bed and rubbed his eyes, then ruffled up his unruly blond hair, suddenly wide awake. With him being backlit by sunlight, I don't think he had ever looked so beautiful to me.

'He said to come down for breakfast when we are ready.'

'What are we waiting for, then? Come on!' he said, before throwing back the blanket to reveal our young, naked bodies.

We were both sporting hard young cocks, which seemed to be an everyday occurrence these days. Charlie reached over and gave mine a quick tug, so I returned the favour.

'Sorry. Couldn't resist,' he said. 'We better clean ourselves up and get dressed, eh?'

'Yeah. That sounds like a plan.'

A few minutes later we were bounding down the stairs, barefoot and wearing the clothes we had dropped on the bathroom floor last night. We had jumped under the shower and cleaned ourselves up, so we were at least presentable and didn't smell of sex, though we didn't have to worry too much as when we made it to the kitchen it was already filled with the aroma and sounds of frying bacon, which was more intoxicating than anything we could have come up with.

Charlie immediately went to his father and hugged him. 'You came home early,' he said to Mr B.

'Managed to get an earlier flight out of Melbourne,' his father said, while turning the bacon in the frying pan. 'I knew the two of you would be here together and more than likely up to no good, so thought I needed to make sure things didn't get out of control,' he added, but the grin on his face told us he wasn't being serious.

'Us? Out of control?' Charlie whined. 'Reckon you must be thinking of someone else. Besides, Nan has been keeping us under her thumb.'

'Hmmm . . . is that what you call it? Maybe I'll just have to ask her about that.'

Charlie looked my way and gave me a wink, just as Nan arrived in the kitchen.

'Ask her about what?' she asked Mr B, as she walked around the kitchen bench and gave her son a kiss, before doing the same for Charlie, then coming to me and kissing me also.

It felt good to be so warmly welcomed into this family.

'What time did you get in?' Nan asked Mr B.

'A little before one this morning,' he replied. 'But that's not important right now. How about you start by getting the coffee ready for us first? And Charlie, will you start putting some bread in the toaster please. Breakfast won't be long now. And Brayden, will you get some plates ready for us all?'

We all clicked into gear and did as we were asked, and just a few minutes later Mr B started serving up breakfast, and we all sat down to eat.

As we ate we talked about what had been happening this week, with Mr B genuinely seeming to be interested in how Charlie and I were going, and especially about our spending our first night together.

'I just want to be sure that you are both on the same page,' he gently said to us both, as Nan began gathering up our dishes. 'You both know that we don't have any problem with your relationship going to another level, but we just need you to be sure that you are being respectful of each other, and that if you have any issues or concerns you will come to us and talk to us about it, okay?'

'Yeah, of course,' Charlie replied. 'We're fine, dad. We're still figuring things out, and we're not doing anything that is risky or that we don't want to do. You can relax.'

'And do you agree with all that, Brayden?'

'Absolutely, Mr B.'

'Well, that's good to know, boys. I'm proud of you for being so mature about it all.'

'And now can you answer a question for me?' Charlie asked his father.

'And what's that, mate?'

'What's with all those gay movies?'

'So you found them, huh?' Mr B answered, while grinning at Charlie.

'Nan told us there were some movies you bought and where they were, so we picked one last night. Got a bit of a surprise when we saw them all, though. So, what gives?'

'Oh, I don't know, I just thought you might find some useful references in them for this journey you are both on,' he replied. 'Now, how about you tell me all about this school play you're so excited about?'

At the mention of the school production Charlie's face lit up, and his excitement level went into overdrive, as he began telling the entire story of Prince Elwyn and Barnabus and Princess Arayana. Talking at a million miles an hour he told his father about how we were going to rehearse for his audition, and how he hoped he would be picked but didn't know if he would be old enough, or good enough, and how thrilled he was that he might be in a real play, and how I was going to be helping with the sets, and how great it was that we were going to be working together.

The three of us could only grin at him as he rehashed almost every act of the play, which somehow he already seemed to have memorised.

I loved seeing him like this, so animated, so passionate about something that he lit up the room with every word, every breath he took. My only hope was that nothing would happen that would extinguish that brightness, that enthusiasm.

While we were talking, Nan packed our dishes into the dishwasher and then excused herself, leaving the three of us in the kitchen, saying that she would let us have some guy time, while she headed to the shops.

'Guy time?' Charlie whispered once Nan had left, while also chuckling softly.

'Yeah, I told her I wanted to talk to you guys . . . you know, man to man, just to make sure you were both doing okay.'

Charlie and I looked at each other, neither of us quite sure what this meant.

'No need to look so worried, guys. I just wanted to see what's going on with you and like I said, just make sure you are okay. You know that we're okay with you exploring your boundaries, and your sexuality, and that means we're okay with you fooling around, or even going further, if that's what you decide you want to do,' he said. 'And I promise you that nothing that gets said here between us will be repeated.'

Once again, we exchanged nervous glances.

'D-does that mean you won't say anything to my parents either?' I asked, rather cautiously. As I asked this, Charlie reached out and placed one of his hands over mine.

'Absolutely, mate. It's entirely up to you as to what you tell them. All I will say, if they ask, is that I've told you both that you have my support and that anything that happens between you is just that . . . between the two of you.'

'And what about mum?' asked Charlie.

Mr B offered an odd little smile at that question.

'That one is a little more complicated, mate. There's a lot of history behind why your mother feels the way she does, and it's kind of painful, not just for her, but for me also.'

'I don't get it. What history?' Charlie asked, while sounding a little confused. 'And when is she coming home? Will Brayden still be allowed to come over?'

Mr B stood up and turned his back on us, as he walked over to the kitchen sink, then leaned against the bench and gazed out the window.

'Dad?' Charlie said. 'What's wrong?'

I felt Charlie's hand squeeze mine. He looked at me and kind of shrugged. Neither of us had any idea what this was about.

When his dad finally turned around and folded his arms in front of himself, then looked down at us, he looked like his mind had been made up about whatever it was he had been thinking about.

'Seeing the two of you in bed this morning,' he said, 'I think it was one of the most beautiful sights I've ever seen. Just two boys who care a great deal about each other, living life exactly how they were meant to be living it.'

Now it was my turn to squeeze Charlie's hand.

'And seeing you like that,' Mr B continued, 'it helped me to make up my mind about something that has been worrying me.'

'I don't understand,' Charlie said.

'I've been talking to your mother, mate. I went to see her, and unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be any change. She is still adamant that she won't let you continue with your acting, or . . .'

'Or what?'

Mr B's eyes slid my way. There was a sadness in them. I could see that. Whatever it was, he didn't want to say it.

He simply shook his head. Then suddenly, I knew the answer.

'What is it? Say something!' Charlie pleaded with his father.

'He doesn't have to,' I said, my voice suddenly shaky.

'What? Why?' Charlie asked me.

'Because it's me. Isn't it Mr B?'

'Oh, Brayden . . .' Charlie's father almost whispered. Charlie just looked at me, almost in disbelief, then back at his father.

'Is that true?' he asked his father, as I felt my chest tighten and tears start to form.

Mr B said nothing, but the look on his face told us everything that we needed to know.

'Nooo! Why is she like that? Doesn't she love me? Or us?' Charlie almost wailed. I could now feel his body shaking against mine.

'That's a long story, baby . . .'

'Don't call me that!' Charlie spat, as he jumped to his feet. 'I'm not a fucking baby! Just tell me what's going on! Tell us what's going on! Why is she like this?'

'Alright then, I'll tell you . . . but before I do, I'm going to tell you what I told your mother yesterday,' he said.

'Which was?' Charlie demanded to know.

'That if she couldn't accept you for who you are, then I would be asking for a divorce . . . and after seeing the two of you together this morning, and knowing how she feels about that, I know that is exactly the right thing to do. I am not going to stand in the way of your happiness, son, or yours, Brayden, and if that means removing your mother from your life, Charlie, then so be it.'

Over the next hour, Charlie's father poured his heart out to us. I had never seen any grown-up like this, so emotional and honest, and if I was being totally honest myself, I really felt uncomfortable hearing everything that he told us.

We discovered that when he was our age, Mr B had a friend, whose name was Dylan. They were best of friends, and it seemed that at times they were more than just friends.

'So, what . . .' Charlie asked, 'you were gay too?'

His father smiled across the kitchen table at him.

'How about we just settle on bi, okay? It's not that uncommon for young guys to experiment . . . as you are no doubt aware. At first, I thought that was what the two of you might be doing, until I realised that your feelings for Brayden ran much deeper than that, and that Brayden felt the same way about you.'

Charlie and I glanced at each other and smiled.

'I also had a girlfriend,' Mr B continued. 'Your mother, Charlie. We were high-school sweethearts.'

'So let me guess, she found out about you and Dylan, then she freaked out?'

'To put it mildly,' Mr B replied.

'And what happened to Dylan?' I asked.

'Oh, we went our separate ways, partly because of Charlie's mother, but Dylan's family ended up moving interstate not long after that, so I never saw him again.'

'And I bet that from then on your girlfriend got jealous every time that you so much as spoke to another guy,' Charlie remarked.

'Yes, you could say that,' his father replied.

'So, is that why you are so cool with our friendship . . . our relationship . . . when most other parents would be freaking out?' I asked. 'Because you know what it's like.'

'Well, Brayden, it's like this. After what happened here with Charlie's mum while I was away working, I won't ever be able to forgive myself for that. I wasn't here enough, and I didn't see everything that was going on. I had no idea as to the extent of her behaviour, but even so, no child should ever feel threatened by an adult . . . especially not by one of their own parents. And as far as I'm concerned, no child should be living in fear because of what, or who, they like . . . or love.'

Once more, Charlie and I glanced at each other, while h is grip on my hand tightened.

'I swear to you both right now,' Mr B continued, 'that I will make it up to you both, and allowing Charlie to be himself with his friends, to explore his own boundaries so that he can become the person that he wants to become, well that's just a part of it. Nothing matters more to me right now than seeing Charlie happy, and if who he happens to fall in love with is a boy, then that's fine by me, and that boy will have the same love and devotion that my son has. I guarantee you that.'

Even before he had finished speaking, Charlie was on his feet, and dragging me with him, around the table and to where his father sat.

Mr B stood up and looked down at us, then the three of us hugged.

We were still clinging to each other a few minutes later when Nan returned from her shopping trip.

'Is everything okay?' she asked, as she set a couple of bags down on the kitchen bench.

'It will be, Nan,' Charlie answered. 'It will be.'

Charlie seemed a little quieter than usual after our morning discussion, which wasn't entirely surprising. We retreated to his room, where we picked up the script once more and started looking at it, but neither of us seemed to have our hearts in it right at this moment.

At one point, an hour or so after we had locked ourselves in his room, I looked out his bedroom window and noticed his father in the backyard raking leaves on the lawn, with various garden tools and gadgets scattered close by.

'Looks like your dad must be getting ready for spring,' I said to Charlie, who soon joined me, standing with one arm around my back and his head on my shoulder.

'I guess the weather must be starting to warm up. I'll have to suggest we put a pool in or something,' he said.

I looked at his face and could still see the remnants of our earlier session, just after we had come up to his room, where tears had flowed. He seemed calm now, but I was sure that the emotions were still swirling around inside his mind. I don't know what I would do if I suddenly found out my parents were divorcing. I guess I would still have my older brother to lean on, even if I didn't see him that often these days, but who did Charlie have? His father would be there for him, and I guess his grandmother as well, but other than them, who else cared enough about him?

Unless you counted me, I guess.

Right then and there I told myself that I needed to be there for him, no matter what, so I turned to face him.

'You know I'm here for you, don't you?' I said.

'Yeah. I know. And thank you.'

'No matter what happens, you're going to be okay. Just remember that.'

'I'll try,' Charlie answered, before burying his face into the base of my neck and wrapping his arms tightly around me.

I don't for how long we stood there, but holding Charlie in my arms like this felt like the most natural thing in the world to me. I didn't ever want this to end.

Our reverie was to be short-lived however, as the sound of footsteps on the stairs outside Charlie's room soon came to us. I glanced toward the closed bedroom door just moments before the sound of a knock upon it echoed throughout the room.

'Are you boys okay in there?' Nan called out.

I glanced at Charlie, and he managed something of a smile, before giving me the slightest of nods.

I leaned forward and kissed Charlie, then called back, 'Yes, Nan. We're fine.'

'Okay then. Lunch will be ready in five.'

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