No sex scenes in the first chapter, but good things come to those who wait. Reviews might speed up the process of finishing chapter 2 ;-). Enjoy!

"So where is he?" Brendan Brady, club owner and manager followed his co-worker Simon Walker (usually called Walker) through the noice of the crowded bar and into the small office in the back. "Had to tie him up. Little fucker kicked me in the nuts," Walker said and nodded at the corner on the other side of the room. Brendan lay his eyes on the small figure sitting down on the floor, hands and feet neatly tied up. The kid didn't look up when Brendan approached him, he stubbornly held his face turned to the right, nailing his eyes on the dirty floor. "Look at me," Brendan ordered, but the boy didn't move. "I said: look. At. Me!" Brendan repeated firmly and cupping the boys cheek and forcing him to look straight a head. That's when he discovered the state of the kid's face. Brendan winced. "God! Walker, what the fuck! Did you do this to him?!" Brendan yelled. Walker looked at him, disgusted: "Oh, come on, Brendan! Do you think I'm some kind of monster? Of course I didn't do that to him. I only tied him up, that's all!" the tall man sulked.

Brendan really wondered what the kid had been through looking like that, huge black eye on the right side, a split lip on the same side and stains of blood that seemed to have stuck to his cheek. Brendan dropped to his knees and started untying the ropes on the kid's wrist and ankles. "Who beat you up, kid?" he asked, trying to sound as kind as possible. "None of your buisness," the bruised boy answered barely audible. Brendan sighed and continued: "hm, you know, since this is my club and you were caught dealing drugs in here I think it is my buisness. Now what's it gonna be? You'll answer some simple questions or do I have to turn you in to the police?" The room was quiet for a long time while Brendan patiently waited for the young man to make his choice. "My step-dad," he finally answered, still looking at the floor. Brendan nodded and then turned to Walker: "I'll sort this out. Get the customers out and tell Jaquii and Rhys they can go home too. I'll lock up and see you back home later, alright?"

When his partner had left the room Brendan rose to his feet and gave the boy his hand to help him up. The kid looked up at him with what had to be the the bluest eyes that Brendan had ever seen. He hesitated a few seconds, but then he took Brendan's hand and Brendan pulled him up from the floor. Now standing noticed how young the kid looked. He wondered how old he could could he be 17? 16? Brendan pulled out a chair and put in front of his desk. "Have a seat," he said and the kid sat down, squirming and looking a bit uncomfortable with the new situation. Brendan sat down at the other side of desk and folded his arms.

"What's your name, how old are you and and what the fuck were you doing dealing in my club?" he said sternly, looking directly at the kid. To Brendan's surprise the boy now answered straight away: "Ste Hay. 18. I was just trying to get some money so I wouldn't have to sleep outside in the fucking alley again!" Brendan thought he spotted hints of tears in the blue eyes before the kid quickly turned his face away again. "I'm Brendan Brady. So, Steven, why are you living on the streets?" the intorregation proceeded. "Cause my step-father threw me out on my birthday a week ago. And it's just Ste," the kid retorded."And why extactly did he throw you out, Steven?" Brendan continued determined that this boy would tell him the whole truth and nothing but the truth. "Because he found out I'm gay!" Steven shouted aggressivley.

As Brendan grew quiet the kid, Steven, started to speak in rapid speed. "What's the matter? Are you disgusted that I'm queer? Well, so was Terry, my step-father, that's why he beat the living hell out of me when I went back there today to pick up some of my stuff. I'm almost fucking blind on my eye now! Said he'd warned me to come back, said I deserved it. Cause I'm a disgusting, worthless poof! Cause I'm.." the boy broke down in tears and suddenly made a run for the door. Brendan was quick to catch him but didn't really know what to do with him so he just wrapped his arms around the kid. Steven struggled for quite some time, but eventually he calmed down and surrendered, burying his face in Brendan's chest sobbing uncontrollably. Brendan loosened his grip a bit, but still held him tightly feeling his expensive shirt become ruined by the homeless kid's blood, tears and snot.

When the crying finally stopped Steven was clearly embarressed and tried to pull away again. "Just let me go, please," he begged, blushing. Brendan studied him closely. "Go where, Steven?" The boy shrugged. "Look, I'm sorry for bothering you. I promise I wont be dealing here again..." The kid was about to leave when Brendan laid his hand on his shoulder. "You do any of that shit yourself?" he asked softly. "Not much," Steven answered but he didn't meet his eyes and Brendan knew all too well what that meant. "I can't let you go, you're homeless, on drugs and on top of that you're just a fucking child," Brendan sighed. Steven suddenly looked terrified: "You can't turn me in to the police! Please! I've already been in young offenders once and they'll lock me up for real for this, just please don't..." the sobbing started again and Brendan sighed and held him again. "Shh, I'm not going to turn you in... I'll let you stay with me and the lads for a while. Sort you out, you here?"

Steven followed him in silence while he put the cashier in the safe and locked up the club. The kid remained silent as they walked towards Brendan's appartement. Brendan didn't mind the lack of conversation right now since he had a lot to think about. This was a highly spontanious decision and he wondered what he had gotten himself into."So you don't think I'm disgusting?" the kid suddenly asked as Brendan put the key in the door. He turned to the boy and simply said: "no". Disgusting wasn't quite the word, no, Brendan thought. And then he let the kid into his home.

Joel was still up. Watching telly and snacking on some milk and cookies. The teen barely looked up when they entered the appatement. "It's 4AM, Joel. Aren't you working the early shift tomorrow?" Brendan asked him. Joel looked up, about to speak something witty but the words stuck to his throat when he laid his eyes on Steven. "Steven, Joel, Joel, Steven," Brendan briefly intoduced them to each other. Then he said to Joel alone: "Go to bed, I'll explain in the morning." The Scottish kid reluctantly got up without switching of the TV and then provocativley slammed the door to his bedroom. Luckliy for the ungrateful brat he had more important things to deal with right now, Brendan thought.

He showed Steven to the bathroom, deiciding that the kid desperatly needed a shower after his week on the streets. He got some clothes for him and put them on the washing bin along with a towel and a spare tooth brush. Brendan saw the contures of the kid's lanky body through the shower cabin and instantly felt himself grow hard. The slender shoulders, the long lengs and the curve of his arse made Brendan's predatory side roar for attention. The homeless boy currently under his shower was really the ultimate prey.

As Brendan finally forced himself out of damp room he noticed that Walker had returned from some nightly adventure. The man reeked of liquor and had serious trouble getting out of his shoes and anorak without tripping. The minute he laid eyes on Brendan the drunk man cried: "You brought him home, didn't you? Is he even legal? What is he, like twelve?" Walker let out a silly chuckle, highly amused by his own joke. Brendan's eyes narrowed: "I'm giving him a place to stay, that's all. Now go get some sleep. You better make sure both yourself and Joel get up on time tomorrow, cause I'm not..." Both of the men turned their heads as Steven stepped out of the bathroom. Brendan's clothes hung loosely on him, especially the sweat pants that were almost sliding down his narrow hips. Apart from that he looked so much better with the blood and dirt gone from his face, he did have the most beautiful features. Walker stared curiously at them for a while and then stated: "Right...Sleep tight," and stumbled into the bathroom.

Brendan showed Steven to the guest room and made sure he had everything he needed for the night. Then he locked the door. He felt slightly guilty for doing so, but he wouldn't risk having the kid run off. As he lay in his own bed he found himself having trouble sleeping. This kid, Steven, whom he had just met had woken all these feelings at once. Desire. Compassion. Anger. The boy's story was all to familiar to Brendan. He closed his eyes and from the other side of the bedroom wall he heard quiet sobs which made something inside of him break.

"Hungry?" Brendan asked as Steven sat down at the kitchen table. The kid nodded. It was 2PM and he had slept for almost ten hours. Brendan put a plate with eggs, bacon and a piece of toast in front of the boy and the food disappeard in mere seconds. "Healthy appetite, eh?" Brendan chuckled and poured the boy a large bowl of cereal as well. Brendan sunk his teeth in his own food and Steven watched him closely. "Doesn't seem to be anything wrong with your own appetite," the boy said thoughtfully. Brendan laughed and put another piece of toast on his place. "Yeah, I get that a lot," he said while he splattered a big lump of butter on the bread and swallowed it in one bite. A small smile displayed on the boy's lips which Brendan registred were healing up nicely. They were full and pouty and Brendan had to distract himself from staring at them. "How's the eye?" he asked casually while he swallowed the the last pieces of his breakfast. "Better, I can see stuff now, bit blurry though," Steven answered and took a sip of his tea.

Brendan registred that Steven stayed quiet if you din't ask him something so he decided he would do some talking. He cleared his throat. "Right, Steven. We need to establish some ground rules." The kid put down his mug and looked curiously at him."Most important rule: no drugs, that clear?" Steven blushed a little and nodded. "Good, lad. You'll work at the club a few days a week to pay for your board and lodging. You will not lie to me. You'll listen to what I tell you , at home as well as in the club. And you'll come to me if something is bothering you...that clear to?" Brendan almost held his breath waiting for the answer. Steven gave him that shy look again. "Yeah," he said quietly.

Steven did seem innocent and sweet, but Brendan was fairly sure that the kid would mean trouble in one way or another. He had been around long enough to figure things like that out in advance. Brendan couldn't back out now though, he somehow felt strangely responsible for the lad. And as for the other reasons... Well fuck, he was only human after all and Steven was completely his taste in men, taut body, fresh faced and feisty. Too young though, maybe that's why he hadn't revaled that he was gay too. He didn't want to look like some old perv coming on to a kid almost half his age. Brendan knew that the kid would of course find out about his sexual preferences eventually since it wasn't exactly a secret among the people living in the Brady household...

In the early afternoon Brendan brought Steven to the club, Chez Chez, for his first shift as a barman. Walker and Joel who had been working the early shift were about to leave. Walker seemed severly hung over but did his best to act friendly. "Sorry about the ropes yesterday, Ste. You didn't give me much of a choice though. Quite a little fighter this one!" he joked and picked at Ste's chest. Joel stood next to Walker staring disapprovingly at Steven. "Why is he here again?" Joel snarled not talking to Steven, but to Brendan. "Manners, Joel..." Brendan warned, but the Scottish kid turned on his heel and took off. "Sorry about Joel. I'll talk to him," Walker said. "See you back home, Ste. You have a good night." Walker exchanged looks with Brendan and hurried after Joel.

Brendan tossed Ste a black t-shirt, size small, with the club's name on it. Seeing it on it fit the kid like a glove, he looked smashing. "What does Chez Chez stand for anyway?" Steven asked. "You're about to find out," Brendan said and then called out in a loud voice that made Steven jump: "Cheryl!" The curly haired blond woman instantly appeared behind the bar. "What are you yelling for, I'm right here!" she scowled. Brendan laughed and kissed her on the cheek. "Sorry sis. Meet Steven Hay." Cheryl discovered the slightly blushing young man standing next to her brother. "Hiya! Welcome omboard, hun. I'm Brendan's sister. The club's named after me!" she added proudly, giggling like a teenager. Brendan smirked and patted Ste's back. "I'm off to do some paper work in the office. Chez will help you get started." The kid looked a bit nervous, but Cheryl simply grabbed him by the hand. "Right, Brendan wants me to teach you how to run the bar so we have a lot of work to do..." Brendan watched from a distance as his sister dragged Ste around the club, babbling about God knows what. The boy didn't look so shy anymore, though and Brendan was pleased. He had known from the start that Cheryl was the right person for Steven to open up to.

The night went surprisingly well. Steven turned out to be a natural behind the bar. When the busy hours arrived Brendan stepped in behind the bar to help him and Cheryl out, but with the kid's enthusiasm it was barely necessary. Steven only slipped up a few times, getting the orders mixed up, but apart from that he did an impeccable job. The customers seemed to love the kid and although he got a million questions about the black eye he managed to stay smiling the whole time. When they closed up the bar at 2AM Brendan handed Steven his share of the night's tip. The kid just stared at the money in front of him. "Take it!" Brendan ordered. "Yeah, Ste, you really earned it, love!" Cheryl insisted. The boy looked at them thankfully. "Ta.." he managed to say.

When the three of them walked into the Brady recidence, first thing they saw was Walker and Joel snogging each other's faces of in the kitchen. Joel was leaning at the kitchen desk and Walker was standing in between his legs, tightly pressing himself against the kid and sucking at his neck. Brendan cleared his throat and went by them to put the kettle on. That's when everyone noticed Steven's shocked impression. Walker started laughing uncontrollably. "Fuck Brendan, you didn't tell him? Well, Ste here's a little surprise for you: I'm gay, Joel's gay AND, if he didn't tell you that either, our Brendan is definitly gay too!" Walker proclaimed and then added: "No one knows that better than me by the way..." Steven's mouth hung open as he watched Walker push the slightly embarassed Joel into his bedroom. Brendan looked at Steven's confused expression and for once he really didn't know what to say. Cheryl shook her head and handed Steven a cup of tea accompanied by a sandwich. "Here love, you'd better eat this and then go to bed. I have a feeling we will have to take the early shift tomorrow..." she sighed.