Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the plot. Thanks for reading.

Worst Year Ever

2013 was the worst year of Tom Eames's existence. It wasn't over yet, unfortunately, but Eames saw absolutely no way in bloody hell things wouldn't stay equally crappy, especially when school started again. And that was a pisser, especially since he'd always thought that nothing could be worse that the year he'd turned fifteen, when he'd not only had to accept that he was gay and going to have to come out sooner as opposed to latter, but his mum had decided that the two of them were moving back to her hometown and his dad could come there to see them when he wasn't in the Middle East as she was damn sick of moving all the time from base to base. Yup, he'd pretty much thought his life was over then, gay and moving to a small town after years of travel, excitement and new adventures.

And then May third, twenty-thirteen happened, and his life had nearly been over. Permanently.

It was supposed to be his last year in high school, the end so close they'd all been able to taste it. He'd expected to graduate and leave the sleepy little town in the fall, his only regret the fact that he had yet to even talk to the incredibly hot and mysterious Arthur Cobb, who'd transferred to his school that winter and who he'd been madly crushing on ever since. And even then he'd told himself he had until the end of the summer to maybe make a move or at least talk to the guy, thinking that right up until he hadn't been able to think at all, period.

He and some of his mates had gone out that Saturday night to celebrate Matt's birthday, the plan being to camp out on the edge of town and drink themselves silly until they'd passed out in their sleeping bags with what had promised to be epic hangovers the following morning. And that's exactly what they'd started doing upon arrival, and how the night should have ended.

That night he'd fumbled his way into his sleeping bag thoroughly pissed, his tolerance for alcohol sadly low in comparison to some of the others who were still drinking even after he'd passed out. The rest of what happened was all hearsay, he'd slept through it, but apparently Nash and Matt had gotten into an argument as to whose truck was better, especially since Matt's was a birthday present, aka new and untested. And in their drunken state they'd decided that the extra camping equipment stowed in Matt's truck made them uneven, and that equal weight had to be put in Nash's truck bed to be fair.

They'd picked him up, sleeping bag and all, and put him in the back of the pickup truck along with another passed out friend and Ty, who'd been drunk enough to think this was a great idea.

He hadn't woken up when they drove off to a nearby stretch of flat, straight road, nor had he so much as stirred as the two trucks had sped down said road at dangerous speeds that had come to an end when Nash had lost control and rolled them, Matt crashing his own truck when he attempted to pull over to the side. He'd still been in his sleeping bag when help arrived, the broken bones and internal bleeding playing second fiddle to the brain injuries that had kept him in a coma for over a month. But he'd woken up, and all the pain the alcohol and consequent coma had dimmed had rebounded to hit him full force for the rest of the summer. Pain was now his constant friend, and you didn't even want to get him started on the tortures of physiotherapy. But he was alive and that was more than Alex could say, Eames acknowledged grimly. And he would, with time, be able to walk unaided permanently, and Nash was never going to walk again.

And staring out the van window as his mum drove them towards the outskirts of town in the hot August air, Eames thought to himself that it was just added insult to his injuries that the person his principal had advised his mum to hire to tutor him was none other than the crush he'd been mentally sighing over that stupid, life changing night.

The whole thing had come as a total shock to him, especially since the classes Cobb had taken last term had mostly been bird courses that had done nothing to suggest that Arthur was in fact someone of extreme intelligence. Not that he'd thought the man seemed dumb, far from it, but he had not been expecting to hear that the reason the other teenager wasn't taking the AP courses was because Arthur had already graduated from some genius, brainiac school for the gifted and was only taking what would amount to a year's worth of classes at their high school because Arthur's father thought it would be good for his son to have to attend regular school and deal with normal people. The guy had apparently dated the principal and talked her into it.

According to Principal Carter Arthur was more than qualified to tutor him, and on top of that Arthur didn't have to worry about his test scores or studying for his final term because he already had every top university in the country vying for his attendance. He was perfect in other words.

Which was the truth, especially when it came to the man's tight little arse, but he really, really didn't want the man as his tutor. He most definitely did not want to look weak, much less stupid in front of Arthur even if the guy was or wasn't dating his friend Ariadne. She said they weren't, and she wasn't a liar, but his best mate Yusuf claimed she'd dumped him for Arthur so either way that was one more reason not to want to do this. And yet, unfortunately, he couldn't argue about his mum about this because the woman had been through hell and back this summer and he would be damned if he added to her worries by bitching about this. Especially when he had to do well academically this term in order to make the money she'd be giving him for university well worth it.

)

He'd driven past Arthur's house before, and when they pulled into the driveway a part of him was excited at the idea of finally seeing inside, maybe finally meeting the other teen's father, who no one ever seemed to see. Arthur's mum was dead apparently, and he had two much younger siblings he always seemed to have with him when he wasn't in school. That was something that had always appealed to him actually, the fact that Arthur seemed so mature and aloof at school, but so devoted to taking care of his siblings who adored him according to the grapevine.

Once parked his mum got out and retrieved his chair, bringing it around so that he had to move as little as possible as he transferred over to the only wheels he drove these days. His legs had been relatively undamaged but his spine had taken some hard knocks that meant he couldn't stand straight for very long before the back pains got to be too much. He could walk short distances now though, thank God, if he had to.

With his mum pushing his chair they headed for the front door, almost there when they heard the sound of childish shrieks and a sprinkler from the backyard, the wild barking of a dog punctuating the sounds. Sharing a look Eames's mum changed their direction, both very thankfully that there was a paved path that was just wide enough to accommodate his chair and led towards the back. And then they had reached the back and Eames forgot everything, including his own name, at the sight of Arthur Cobb in a swimsuit. A short, Daniel Craig as Bond swim suit that hung low enough on the man's hips that he could see part of the lines where leg met the rest of that incredible, wet, sexy, mouth wateringly yummy body he wanted to lick up like a melting fucking ice lolly.

And then those dark eyes met his and Eames forgot even that, especially when Arthur started towards them, dripping water and gaze piercingly direct while the two children and a very wet dog followed at a cautious, curious pace.

"Dr. Eames. Eames. What brings you by?"

He knows my name, Eames inwardly crowed, though that was probably only because of the publicity from the accident and the fact that everyone knew everyone in this town.

Thankfully his mum wasn't as star struck, and could answer for them. "We're sorry to interrupt, but we were hoping to have a few minutes of your time, Arthur."

A raised eyebrow was Arthur's only show of surprise, the teenager focusing on his mum now as he told her that they could talk on the patio, asking if they would like some lemonade as he'd been about to get some anyway for the kids. When she said yes Arthur excused himself and then turned to the two children, speaking to them in rapid fire French that had the boy following him into the house and the girl leading them over to the patio furniture, pulling a chair away from the table for Eames.

Now that Arthur was gone and his mind had cleared somewhat, Eames smiled at the girl who was watching him with open curiosity, fairly sure she was about eight but unsure of the name. "Thanks, Kiddo. And you are?"

"I'm Phillipa, though you can call me Phil. This is Sorry." She added, motioning towards the dog sitting patiently at her side, watching the new guests with equal interest.

"Why Sorry?" Eames's mum asked as she wheeled her son into place and then took a seat beside him.

Smiling, Phillipa explained how, when they'd gone to the pound to get a dog for her brother, who'd always wanted a dog, Sorry had been on his way to another room but had broken loose, charging James and giving him lots of kisses while the vet assistant said 'sorry' over and over again as she tried to get him back under control. James had thought that that was the dog's name and it had stuck once they'd brought him home. And following her explanation the girl offered to show them the tricks Sorry could do, entertaining them until Arthur returned, which naturally distracted Eames immediately.

The other man carried a tray with a pitcher of lemonade and some glasses, the little boy carrying a plate that held cookies that turned out to be oatmeal chocolate chip. In his highly efficient manner Arthur had the drinks and cookies handed out in short order, Phillipa taking a seat beside Eames which meant Arthur took the one directly across from him with James easily balanced on his knee with one of Arthur's arms wrapped around the boy's waist for balance.

Polite chitchat was made between Arthur and his mum, and then his mum got down to business, explaining that they were hoping that the teenager would be interested in tutoring him through his last term at school in math primarily, but also with some history and maybe English. He normally did well in the latter two, but they had yet to test out how capable he was at writing essays and such. She couldn't pay a lot, but she hoped they could work something out if he was interested.

Sipping his drink Arthur seemed to consider the idea while the kids ate their cookies and ignored their drinks for the moment, the debate a surprisingly short one that led to an even more surprising question when Arthur brought up Eames's grandmother, asking for confirmation that she was the woman who'd donated a number of knitted stuffed animals to the fundraiser that had been held that summer to collect money for the families of those injured in the accident and hadn't had the army's financial help the way he had through his father.

While Phillipa excited exclaimed that she'd bought four of those animals, Eames's mum confirmed that yes, those had been her mother's work.

"As Phillipa just stated she bought some of your mother's creations, and they rekindled her interest in learning how to knit. I lack the knowledge to teach her myself, so instead of you paying me to tutor Eames would your mother perhaps be willing to teach Phil in trade? I watch them after school, so they'd have to be with me either way, and coming to your house for the tutoring makes sense anyway."

Shrieking in excitement and bouncing in her seat Phillipa's feelings on the matter were clear, Eames's mum surprised but looking very pleased with this change as she asked for a moment to confer with her mother about it.

While she did so Eames forced himself to finally speak, praying like mad that he wouldn't stutter or say something completely stupid. "Thanks, for this. I know Ari says you've been helping her a lot with learning French." Those lessons were indirectly what had caused his two friends to break up, which sucked of course, but it seemed like neutral enough ground.

The small smile that crossed Arthur's lips seriously screwed with Eames's ability to concentrate on what the man said next. "Then I'm going to assume she's told you that I expect absolute dedication from my students. I'm a hard taskmaster, Mr. Eames, and I will work you hard if I have to to see you graduate with what I deem acceptable marks. If you're looking for someone sympathetic, who will take it easy on you and carry you through this term, you're looking in the wrong direction."

You can work me as hard as you want, Eames almost said, but was thankfully interrupted by his mum who announced that his grandmother would be pleased as pie to teach Phil to knit.

And that, as it turned out, was that.

)

Much later that night Arthur did his last circuit around the house, checking all the doors and windows to make sure everything was locked up and in order. Intellectually he knew that there was probably no need, they lived in a sleepy little town where pretty much nothing ever happened, but since he'd essentially become the guardian of his siblings he'd become more than a little paranoid. His father had told him that being a parent was far more work than he could imagine, and in truth it was, but the man had forgotten to mention that the worst part was imagining all the things that could go wrong or befall his charges when he wasn't around or vigilant enough.

Heading upstairs when he was done looking over the main level, Arthur absently adjusted a picture frame before continuing up and then turning right, stopping at Phil's room. Opening the door a little he checked to make sure she was still tucked in for the night and not bouncing around excitedly over her upcoming lessons with Eames's grandmother. She was asleep, or doing a damn good impression of it, and he was smiling as he closed the door and moved on to James's room. His brother wasn't nearly as thrilled about the fact that they'd be paying visits to Eames's house as their sister, but then James was horribly shy and slow to warm up to people. Thanks to the few months the two had lived with their grandmere after Maman had died…James hardly talked at all.

Jaw clenching painfully, as it always did when he thought of the scars their other family members had left on his innocent siblings, intentional or not, Arthur had to take a moment to compose himself and remember that that was in the past and was not going to be repeated. They were with him now, and except for the occasional visit from their father to make sure no one called Child Services on them the three of them and Sorry were living together as a family and the better for it.

Letting out a calming breath Arthur forced his thoughts to turn to the fact that he'd agreed to tutor the very popular and handsome Tom Eames. It would certainly be interesting, he thought with a grin, especially since it was glaringly obvious, at least to him, that the former football player had a huge crush on him. Or at least wanted to have sex with him, given the too numerous to count times he'd caught the senior drooling over him when he thought no one was looking. That no one else seemed to notice was just one more bit of proof that he was currently living in a town and attending a high school populated by people who'd had their brains destroyed by television, junk food, and far too much inbreeding given the fact that many of them all had the same last names.

Which was why his father had exiled them here and demanded that he actually attend high school for a year, Arthur thought with a small grimace, punishment for daring to suggest that he could raise Phillipa and James on his own and better than their parents ever had.

That he was doing precisely that were slaps to his father and grandmere's faces, which suited him just fine as it happened. Though he couldn't wait until this last term was over and he could stop taking university classes covertly online so that his brains didn't leak out of his ears due to the classes his father had especially picked out just for him at the high school.

Just one more term and he could start attending a university again. The commute would be a bit of a bitch, but he wasn't about to uproot the kids again and this was, for better or for worst, home now.

Having to deal with Eames's crush and the no doubt interesting and entertaining situations that would arise as a result would make the coming few months interesting though, something to look forward to. If Eames were older and not in the closet Arthur had to admit he might have been tempted to see just what would happen if he were to put the moves on him…but those were the facts, and he was hell on details.

As his maman would have said, 'cest la vie.'