"Shit!" Brendan's voice rang through the darkness.
Leah and Lucas screamed in unison.
"Brendan, watch it!" Ste's voice could be heard hissing at him from somewhere across the room.
A flicker of light appeared from the kitchen as Cheryl lit a candle and approached the now dimly lit group. Declan was sitting on the couch with an unresponsive video game controller in his hand. Leah and Lucas were on the floor by the now dark Christmas tree, playing with the presents they had unwrapped that morning. Ste walked towards Cheryl and took the candle off her hands.
"Here, hon, I have a few more in the drawer." She said as she returned to the kitchen to bring more light to the room.
"What are we supposed to do now, da?" Declan asked.
"I'm sure it won't last long." Brendan answered, though he didn't sound too convinced. The wind was howling outside and loud rolls of thunder repeatedly made Leah and Lucas jump and giggle.
Brendan fiddled with the light switch for a second before opening the front door. A burst of wind and mist showered him from the outside before he slammed the door shut again.
"Looks like it's out in the whole village." He said. "Merry fucking Christmas."
Ste shot him an annoyed look, but Brendan pretended not to notice.
"That's a bad word, daddy Brendan." Leah stood up with her hands on her hips.
"That's right," Ste smiled. "Daddy Brendan is being very bad today. No wonder he got a lump of coal in his Christmas stocking, is it?"
"I didn't..." Brendan started defensively before inhaling deeply and squatting down to Leah's level. He adopted a warmer tone: "I'm sorry, Leah. It won't happen again. Okay?"
Leah nodded and continued playing with her doll.
"Well, what now?" Brendan turned to Cheryl and Ste, both of whom looked around as though hoping some third party would answer the million dollar question.
"We can play a game," Declan piped up, pulling out a box labeled Sorry! from the cupboard.
"I don't think that's such a good idea, Decky..." Cheryl said with a quick glance at Brendan.
"What'd you mean? It's a great idea!" countered Ste. "What else are we gonna do?"
Cheryl cleared the dining room table and placed a set of lighted candles on it while Declan pulled the game out of the box and divided up the pieces. Leah and Lucas continued to play with their toys in the flickering light of the living room. Ste followed Brendan to the kitchen and shot him another disapproving look as Brendan poured himself a glass of whiskey.
"What?" Brendan asked.
"Nothing." Ste lied.
Before long, they were all absorbed in the game. Brendan was losing badly.
"Sorry, da!" Declan laughed as he took down yet another of the blue pieces off the board.
Brendan was getting visibly grumpy, and Ste squeezed his knee under the table briefly. It was all over, however, when Brendan pulled a card from the pile and read:
"Move one pawn backwards 4 spaces..." He stared at the card with a frown on his face for a few moments. Cheryl put her hand over her mouth as though anticipating the next moment, and Ste looked confusedly at Brendan.
"Wha..." Ste started to say, but Brendan had already thrown the card at the table, jumped up, kicking his chair back, and flung the board with all their pieces across the table to the kitchen. Without a word he stormed upstairs, where a loud crash followed by a slew of choice swears let everyone know that he had bumped into something in the darkness.
After the initial shock had worn off, Declan started to laugh and slowly everyone joined in.
"I'll go see if he's okay." Ste said after a few minutes and went after Brendan with a candle in his hand.
Upstairs, Brendan was sitting on his bed in the darkness, rubbing his right knee, when Ste walked in, bringing some light into the room.
"What was that all about now?" he asked, sitting down next to Brendan.
"Nuthin'." Brendan responded.
"Are you gonna go apologize to your son?" Ste continued, obvious hurt in his voice.
"What are you his ma?" Brendan shot back.
"Well, fine, if that's how you're gonna be!" Ste stormed out, leaving Brendan, once again, in darkness.
Ste pretended everything was fine downstairs until it was time to put the kids to bed. He hoped that Brendan would be asleep when he got back to their room. Once Cheryl and Declan were set in their guest rooms and the kids were in bed and reassured that the storm couldn't hurt them, Ste finally put out his candle and let himself into the master bedroom, trying to be as quiet as possible while feeling his way around to the bed. He slammed his toe into the dresser and yelped, hopping on one foot.
"There's a dresser there." Brendan's voice sounded amused.
"Oi you think that's funny, do ya?" Ste said angrily.
He could vaguely make out Brendan's outline rising to sit up in the bed.
"Steven," Brendan started, but Ste interrupted him.
"Look, I don't wanna hear it, alright?" he said in an angry whisper. "You got to spend Christmas with Declan, and you're gonna let it end like that? You know what, if that's what you want, suit yourself."
He tore off his clothes angrily and tossed them in the general direction of their closet before throwing himself under the covers, making sure there was enough space between him and Brendan so that they weren't touching.
"Eileen didn't even let me talk to Paddy." Brendan said. "Declan is only here because he ran off without telling her."
Ste was determined to stay mad, but felt himself softening a bit already.
"Well, he's not gonna come back next year if that's how you're gonna treat him." He said.
"I know." Brendan sighed. "I'm sorry."
"It's not me you gotta apologize to."
"I know."
Silence filled the room but it was clear they both lay there wide awake.
"I really am sorry, Steven." Brendan said after a couple of minutes.
Ste remained quiet and wrapped the blankets tighter around himself, still huddled in the corner of the bed.
"You want me to freeze to death?" Brendan said, pulling the covers back to his own side.
"Maybe then you'll cool off a bit, yeah?" snapped Ste.
A loud clap of thunder made them both jump and a bolt of lighting momentarily lit up the room.
"D'you think the kids are alright?" Ste asked.
"I'll go check on them." Brendan got up dutifully, grabbed a flashlight from the nightstand and headed outside.
"How long has that been there?" Ste asked, pointing to the flashlight, but Brendan ignored him.
Ste lay there for what seemed like hours waiting for Brendan to come back. He was beginning to doze off, lying there in the dark by himself, when the door to the bedroom finally opened and the light from Brendan's flashlight blinded him for a moment.
"Everything okay?" he asked, shielding his eyes.
"Yeah," said Brendan. "Kids are asleep. Just had a little talk with Decky is all."
"Did you apologize then?"
"Yeah."
"Good." Ste thought about it for a second. "You know, you can't always smooth things over with a quick apology."
"I know." Brendan said, taking off his clothes and turning off the light.
"You have to learn to control your temper."
"I know." Ste felt Brendan sit down on the bed.
"Well, I know you know, but how are you gonna do that?"
"Well I did find one thing that helps." Brendan said in a low growl.
"Oh yeah? What's that then? Tell us."
Ste suddenly found himself pinned down on the bed with Brendan on top of him, his face mere inches from his own.
"Sex."
Ste wanted to be annoyed – he really did. He couldn't keep letting Brendan get away with things so easily. But, on the other hand, his body signaled to him that it was quite ready and he knew that the eagerness in face was as easy to read as the morning paper.
With Declan and Cheryl staying over, they hadn't had sex in a week. If he was honest, Ste felt a bit on edge himself. And who would it hurt to let off a bit of steam?
Brendan lowered his face to place a soft, tentative kiss on Ste's lips, and the familiar sensation of his mustache tickling Ste's upper lip was enough to spring him to full attention.
As Brendan pulled away, Ste followed him, misjudging their distance slightly and bumping their teeth together.
"I thought I was gonna have to work harder than this," Brendan said through a chuckle and kissed Ste passionately, letting his tongue explore the inside of Ste's warm mouth. The feeling was soft and familiar. They had sneaked a few chaste kisses here and there, but suddenly, Ste wondered how he'd ever managed to go a week without feeling Brendan inside of him. Ste ran his fingers through Brendan's bristly hair and lifted his pelvis to push up against his lover's. Brendan let out a small, suppressed moan into Ste's mouth. He was already breathing heavily, and Ste could feel the hardness of his cock pressing against his belly with nothing but the thin fabric of their boxers separating them.
"Fuck, Brendan," Ste breathed, reaching into the drawer in their nightstand, looking for lube.
"No." Brendan stopped him. In the darkness, Ste could barely make out Brendan's familiar smirk. "Not yet. I wanna make it up to you first."
Ste's whole body responded to the oddly menacing tone of this declaration. He wanted Brendan now, but knew he would have to wait for it as Brendan planted soft and wet kisses down Ste's neck, his bare shoulders, and his chest, pausing for a moment to nibble and suck on his nipples. All the while, his hand was lightly stroking Ste's cock, which had popped right out of his boxers. Finally, Brendan kneeled between Ste's legs and ran a flat tongue up the underside of Ste's hard shaft. Ste exhaled sharply as Brendan took the tip of his cock into his mouth and swirled his tongue around it.
"Fuck" Ste repeated quietly, and Brendan knew that it wouldn't take much to get Ste where he wanted him. In fact, Ste was already putty in his hands.
They had both been surrounded by people all week and hadn't had any release unless you count rubbing out a quick one in the shower while Cheryl bangs on the door because she has to take a piss. But this, right now, Ste thought, this was magnificent torture.
One hand tugging lightly at his balls, Brendan took the rest of Ste's shaft into his mouth, and, with occasional small grunts, started moving his head up and down rhythmically. The wet warmth that enveloped Ste's cock sent shivers down his spine. The brief shock of cold air only intensified the feeling before Brendan moved his hand up to wrap it around the base of Ste's shaft. With a plop, he released Ste from his mouth, continuing the smooth up and down motion on Ste's glistening dick with his hand. He put one finger of his free hand into his mouth and licked it slowly, making brief eye contact with Ste, before taking him back into his mouth again.
Ste could hardly keep it together as he felt Brendan's mouth take in his full length again and gasped when he simultaneously felt the tip of Brendan's finger circling around his anus. The pressure building in his pelvis, Ste bucked his hips as he felt Brendan's finger enter him and released warm liquid into Brendan's eager mouth, his entire body trembling with pleasure.
Smirking again, Brendan lifted himself up and gave Ste a deep kiss, letting him taste himself on Brendan's tongue.
"Are you gonna fuck me now?" Ste asked, still breathing heavily, when they paused for air.
"Do you want me to fuck you, Steven?" Brendan's voice was rough and low.
"God, yes," Ste breathed before grabbing the back of Brendan's head and mashing their mouths together again.