A/N: So, I came up with this idea for a fic because I wanted to write something AU. Brendan and Eileen are still together with the kids, Ste and Amy aren't together anymore but Ste still thinks he is straight. Both their personalities and backstories are the same as in the show. Rated M for obvious reasons ;)
Please let me know what you think of the idea, and whether I should carry on with it. I envisage it being quite a long story so apologies if it seems a bit slow to start with.
Thanks for reading :)
Brendan stood at the bottom of the staircase, bags packed around him, staring impatiently at the door and waiting for the inevitable inquisition when it finally opened.
He knew this was rash; knew it would seem completely out of character and raise nothing but suspicion in his wife, but he was all out of options. He had to get away from here, not just for his safety but more so for theirs.
He glanced at his surroundings, the large open plan living area that spread out before him, tastefully decorated and filled with designer Italian furniture. This was their home – their safety. His and Eileen's and Declan's and Paddy's. Except it wasn't that anymore, was it? It wasn't safe for them any longer – they had to get out of there.
He had worked all his life to provide this kind of environment for his family, always kept them so far away from the type of work he did that he naively believed he could keep them safe; that the two sides of his life would never crash into one another; that there would never be this kind of tragedy. But he was wrong.
The three storey, five bedroom detached house in the Chester suburbs; the expensive and highly regarded artwork that hung on the walls; the state of the art games room he had set up for the boys and their friends. The collection of iPads in the corner of the room; the lavish birthday gifts and meals and romantic weekends away for him and Eileen; the never ending supply of money for interior design, expensive and unnecessary kitchen utensils, each and every latest fad as it came and went. The Brady's had it all.
And it was meant to be Brendan who shouldered the burden for this lifestyle. He could cope with that – he knew it was up to the man in the household to provide for his family, and he would go to any lengths to do that. In all of his 28 years he had always done what was right by them. He had always done what was right by everyone.
When he got Eileen pregnant at 18, he had married her and become the father to Declan that he always wished he had had for himself; when they were married he treated her like a princess and fulfilled his marital duties, all the while knowing in the back of his mind this wasn't enough for him; when Paddy was born 2 years later he stepped it up and went looking for work – better paid work – and he accepted the risks that that level of crime carried. Except now, the risks seemed all too real.
He heard voices outside the door and stood up, ready for the barrage of questions he was about to face. He couldn't tell them the whole truth, he couldn't bring himself to admit how much he had let them all down. He just needed to get away, and he needed to move quickly.
Eileen was first through the door, followed quickly by the two boys. They seemed oblivious to the fact their Dad was home at this time – he was never usually there at all – rushing straight into the lounge and grabbing their iPads, both getting stuck into a new level of Candy Crush.
Eileen stood frozen in the doorway, eyeing Brendan and the packed bags at his feet with concern. The thought fleetingly crossed her mind that this was it – he was leaving her. She had always suspected that there was something missing between them, and she was all too well aware that he had only married her in the first place because he had gotten her pregnant. She was never quite sure what it was that their marriage lacked – he never showed an interest in other women, so it couldn't be to do with sex. They slept together frequently in the beginning, but things had died off in the past couple of years, although she knew from her friends that this was nothing to be worried about in a marriage of 10 years. He always seemed distant on the odd occasions they slept together now – as if he had something completely different on his mind. She knew it was something they lacked, but could never quite understand what.
"Brendan," she questioned, expression full of concern and unease, "Brendan, what are ye doing?"
Brendan sighed as he looked at his wife, struggling to maintain his strong, confident aura, when inside he was panicking in a way which seemed foreign to him.
"Eileen," he started, attempting to seem relaxed and upbeat, but the speed at which he spoke betrayed his panic, "I've booked us all a holiday. Thought it'd be nice, y'know, get away for a couple a weeks. Get away from here."
Eileen eyed him suspiciously for a few seconds, realisation slowly setting in that he meant they were going now, that there was something more that Brendan wasn't letting on, but that she needed to listen to him.
"What d'ye mean, Brendan? Why have ye got the bags packed already?" she asked.
"We need to go now," he tried not to come across too desperate, "like, right now, Eileen."
"What?" she questioned back, shock seeping through her tone, "I can't just up and leave now."
"Why not, Eileen? It's not like ye have to work is it? The kids are on school holidays. I...I found a deal online and we gotta leave, we gotta go now Eileen," he pleaded with his eyes, hoping she would know the seriousness of this without him having to spell it out to her, "please."
Eileen sighed resignedly. Brendan never begged. He had never pleaded with her like this before and it worried her. She was vaguely aware of the life he led outside of their four walls – she had never been happy about it, but she knew what she would have to live without if they didn't have his money, so she turned a blind eye. She realised now that maybe she had her priorities wrong – maybe it was better to live a modest lifestyle and not come home to find your husband pleading with you to go on the run to get away from whatever danger he had put you and your family in, in order to keep you in the lifestyle to which you had become accustomed.
"Ok," she conceded, "Where -"
"Thank ye, Eileen," he jumped in before she could ask anything, "I've got all our things packed, I'll get them in the car whilst you round the boys up. Be quick, please Eileen."
He grabbed two of the suitcases and headed out of the door, leaving Eileen stood in the hallway shell shocked. She shook her head and slowly tried to pull herself out of it, before going into the lounge and breaking the news to the boys – plastering a smile on her face as she got them excited, desperately hoping they couldn't pick up on the fear behind her eyes.
She got them out into the car and Brendan went back inside the house to make sure everything was in order before they left. He took one last look around the place, mentally photographing the way the place looked, picturing all the memories he had there. He didn't know if they would ever be able to come back; and if they ever did, whether it would look anything like it did now – no doubt they would come and look for him here first of all, probably turn the place upside down in a bid to find out where he had gone.
He sighed as he closed the front door behind him, locking it and then locking the porch door as well. He didn't know where they went from here. The holiday, it was just a ruse to get them away straight away, to buy him some time. He didn't know how he was going to tell his family what he had done.
-s-
The flight was long and uncomfortable – they were used to business class as least, and despite trying to upgrade they had been left to sit in economy with the rest of the Brits abroad. It was loud and cramped, the seats obviously not designed for anybody over 5'10" and Brendan found himself having to stretch his feet out into the aisle, much to the annoyance of the stewardess. He wasn't used to this, and could feel his headache worsening as the little girl in the chair behind him insisted on kicking into his back every five minutes.
When they landed four hours later he was the first off the plane, Dec and Paddy marching behind him, Eileen waiting around and patiently letting off other passengers before her. They collected their bags and made their way through the arrivals gate, the boys jumping around enthusiastically, asking what language they spoke in Cyprus and whether their hotel was near the beach.
Brendan spotted the rep for their holiday company standing in amongst the others, a pretty petite girl with impressively long brunette locks, styled to perfection despite the stifling heat.
"Oh, put yer tongue away," Eileen snapped at him as she saw him looking, "We getting a taxi?"
Brendan shrugged, knowing Eileen had assumed he was checking the girl out. Sometimes he thought it was better for her to think he was, like any red blooded male would do, so he didn't answer her back. He knew this girl wasn't going to do anything for him, but Eileen could never know the reason why.
"I didn't get a chance to get any money changed, Eileen. We'll have to get the coach."
She tutted in response, such a spoilt brat sometimes his wife was, as she headed over to the girl to give their names, watching as she directed Eileen to one of the coaches out the front of the door.
Eileen ushered him over and he loaded their bags onto the coach before boarding, taking their seats along the back row, the boys bouncing up and down excitedly. Brendan hid himself in the corner. He wasn't in the mood for socialising. He didn't particularly want to talk to anyone, and didn't want them to talk to him. The coach filled up slowly with beaming excited faces, fanning themselves with bits of paper as they accustomed to the searing heat. Brendan sneered at each and every one of them, sinking further into his seat and staring out of the window, watching as the Cypriot bus drivers shouted animatedly to each other as they loaded up their coaches.
"Right, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls," came the pretty girls Northern accent over the coach microphone, "how are we all doing today? My names Anne, I'm one of your reps so if you need anything at all just come and say hello. We'll be getting off in the next couple of minutes, just waiting for my colleague and then it's about 35 minutes to the hotel. We'll be coming round to hand out your welcome packs on the way..."
She sounded bright and breezy, as if she didn't have a care in the world. Brendan fazed out the sound of her voice, resenting the ease with which she seemed to captivate her audience, the flighty attitude she seemed to have towards life. He wished he could be that carefree, but that had never been who he was.
"...Oh, here he is," Anne continued, her slight rise in volume bringing Brendan back into the real world, "right, let's get off."
Brendan heard the microphone muffle over the speakers, assumed she was handing it over to her colleague. Sure enough, another voice came bellowing into his ears.
"Hiyaaa! Y'alright everyone?" he paused as he waited for the muted response from the passengers, "Right, I'm Ste, your other rep. It's proper hot 'ere 'int it!"
Brendan visibly cringed at the sound of the man's chavvy Manchester accent, how common he sounded, but he couldn't deny there was something about it that grabbed his attention, and he slowly peered above the seats out of intrigue. He saw a young lad, couldn't make out his features but could tell he was skinny, lean, and most likely toned underneath the bright yellow polo he wore as his uniform. He was chatting away down the microphone animatedly, flinging his arms around as he spoke, and he could hear the other holidaymakers on the coach laughing away as he chatted. He felt his palms start to sweat, his cheek twitching slightly at the sight of this boy before him; felt the urge to see him up close, was sure he would be a sight to behold. He reminded him of someone. Someone he hadn't seen or thought about in a long while. Someone who reminded him of a promise he made to himself, of a life he forced himself to turn his back on.
No, he silently told himself, you're not going back there.
But he couldn't deny there was something about this boy that was drawing him in. He wanted to see him up close. He wanted to make out his features. He wondered what colour his eyes were. He wondered how soft his skin would feel under his touch. He wondered how he would look in the midst of a world-ending orgasm that Brendan knew he could give him.
He snapped himself out of it. He couldn't have these thoughts. Never again.
"Fucking queer," he hissed under his breathe to Eileen, who shot him a look and slapped his arm playfully.
Brendan swallowed as he turned to gaze out of the window, desperately trying to ignore the quickened pace of his heart rate and the incessant babbling of the Mancunian over the speakers. He needed to control himself.
-s-
When the coach arrived at the hotel Ste got off and headed to Reception, letting Anne guide everyone off the bus and into the lobby. Once she had distributed all the welcome packs and the complimentary fruity cocktail, she joined Ste at the Reception desk with her paperwork.
"Right, you take the first four parties on the list and I'll take the next four, ok?" Anne suggested.
"Yeah, sound," Ste replied without his usual vigour, his expression solemn and withdrawn.
"Hey," Anne comforted him as she threw an arm around his shoulders, pulling him into her with a hug, "Stop thinking about it, yeah. You can speak to Amy later about it, she might come round. But you gotta slap that smile onto your face now for these lot, yeah?"
She looked at him expectantly as he nodded, sighing as he squared up his shoulders and plastered the fakest of smiles over his mouth, aiming it at Anne. She smiled back warmly and cocked here eyebrow, Ste winking back at her in this familiar exchange they seemed to share so easily.
"Ok," Ste turned and addressed the group of uncomfortable looking holidaymakers milling around the lobby, smiled at the way the newbies always made themselves stand out, always there in their travelling clothes, far too overdressed for this 40 degree heat.
"Can I have the Brady family please," his eyes darted around expectantly, waiting for them to make themselves known. He saw a pretty brunette stand and smile at him, two young boys holding each of her hands, and the husband obstructed from view behind them.
"Hi," Eileen spoke softly as she walked over to Ste, "that's us."
"Great stuff, if you wanna follow me I'll take you up to yer room."
Ste turned on his heels and pushed the button for the lift, starting his usual conversation with the lady about how their flight had been, what the weather was like back home, how they were forecast sun for the next two weeks so they were going to have a great time. She smiled back at him warmly and answered back with all the usual cliché's – We had our 2 days of summer back in May, and the old classic which made his toes curl every time, You're so lucky living the life of riley over here in the sun. Like sunshine could actually make all of your problems disappear.
It was only when the lift doors opened and he walked inside, the whole family following him, that he caught sight of the husband – a tall, dark featured man with an almost comical moustache, but one which he seemed to carry off perfectly. He must have been just over 6' tall, broad shouldered with strong powerful arms, but a lithe torso and a beautiful curve to his back. He was wearing grey suit trousers and a crisp white shirt, and despite the heat he didn't seem at all flustered, as if he could just adjust himself to any conditions. Ste felt his palms sweating slightly, assumed it was a little intimidation or maybe hero worship of some sort. It couldn't be anything else. It wasn't like he was attracted to the man, was it? He couldn't help but feel intrigued by him though, felt drawn in as if he wanted to know more about him and his life.
He continued to eye him up and down as the lift went up to the top floor, his eyes travelling down over his arse. He swallowed as he took in how perfect it looked in he soft grey suit trousers. Who was this man? He stood out to him, he carried this air of confidence, wasn't like the other holidaymakers who shuffled around like sheep, waiting for the next instructions. He wanted to know this man, felt a need to get close to him, to find out his secrets and get inside his head.
The lift pinged open and the awkward silence lifted, Ste careering out of the lift first and the Brady family following him towards their room.
"Right, this is you guys here," he opened up the room then held out the key for one of them to take from him, "Anything you need just call 0 on the phone, and I'll be in the lobby every afternoon between 1 and 4 if you have any problems, just pop down to see me. And will we be seeing you at the welcome meeting tomorrow?"
"Yeah, of course," Eileen smiled back at him before heading into the room with the boys.
Brendan eyed him up and down in the doorway, his eyes lingering slightly longer than was necessary or appropriate. He was right, the boys features were a sight to behold. He had golden sun-kissed skin, his cheeks smooth as anything, and the most kissable lips he had ever seen. His light brown hair was effortlessly styled in a neat quiff and his perfectly shaped eyebrows sat above his bright blue eyes. As he passed him to get into the room, he took the room key from him and brushed his fingers against the boys, a charge of electricity seeming to pass through him as their eyes shot to one another. Ste bit down on his bottom lip nervously, and Brendan cursed himself for thinking how much he would love to be the one biting down on it, as if the thought was some reflex response that his mind couldn't control. He was heading for dangerous waters here, and he knew it.
"Thanks, Steven" Brendan muttered quietly, internally scolding himself for giving this boy the time of day, for letting himself go even this far.
"No worries," Ste whispered back, not even wanting to correct him on his name, wanting for there to be something different about the way this man addressed him, as if there was already something going on between them that neither of them could deny.
Ste closed the door and leant up against the wall outside, taking a deep breath as he steadied himself and returned to the lift. He couldn't keep his mind off this mystery man that had just knocked the wind right out of his sails. As the lift doors opened he got in and looked at himself in the mirror. Why was he feeling like this about another man? He had never felt anything as strong as he just had, as if his intimidating aura just flicked a switch inside Ste and he couldn't help himself, couldn't control the surge of excitement that coursed throughout his body under the mans stare.
He shook the thought from his mind as the lift door opened, plastering the smile back on his face as he greeted the next family waiting in the lobby.
Please review to let me know what you think xxx
