A/N: This is a short chapter but it seemed to naturally end where it did, so I let it be. The next chapter will continue with the haircut and be much longer.
Murphy took a step back from his charging mother, turning his body away, hoping she wouldn't notice what was going on in his boxers. Connor hadn't noticed, maybe Murphy would be lucky & she wouldn't notice either.
As she reached the twins, she roared, "I was just in your room, young man!"
Their Ma rarely went in their room, she always said she wanted to respect their privacy, but in reality, she just couldn't stand the mess that 2 boys made.
"What'd you do that for?" Murphy questioned with large eyes, fearful of what she might have seen, what she might have found. There were a lot of things he didn't want her to see and any one of those things would get him in trouble.
"I told you to bring down the glass when you were done drinking that chocolate milk you love so much. I knew you'd leave it in your room & there it was, on your dresser, milk dried at the bottom."
Murphy sighed in relief. His glass. She was mad about the glass in his room. "I forgot. I'm sorry...I'll wash it, Ma."
She crossed her arms, glaring at him. "That's not what I'm upset about. I won't have you defiling yourself in my house, young man. I told you how I feel about you touching yourself and I won't tolerate having a filthy little pervert for a son."
Connor's head turned to look at his brother, confusion spreading across his face. Murphy? A filthy little pervert? No way, not Murph. His brother was a lot of things...stubborn, emotional, a pain in the ass...but Murphy certainly wasn't a pervert. Connor knew this for a fact.
Murphy hung his head & stared at the ground, wishing it would open up & swallow him then and there. He knew what she had seen, she saw his sheets. He hadn't had time to change his bed before Connor was done in the shower and he couldn't think of a reason to change his sheets that Connor would believe. So he had thrown a blanket over his bed, planning to change his sheets later when Connor was busy doing something else. Murphy still had to do the wash for the week so it would have been easy to sneak the linen in with the wash & no one would have known. Until his Ma had gone snooping.
"Look at me when I'm talking to you."
He reluctantly lifted his eyes to hers, looking at her through his dark, shaggy hair as she hissed, "You go and get those sheets off your bed & you wash them right now."
"Yes, Ma," Murphy quietly mumbled & he began to move toward the house.
"Put your pants on first, Murphy," she instructed & Murphy immediately turned & grabbed his pants off the grass, quickly pulling them on before making a beeline for the house.
His mother's voice trailed after him, "If I so much as see any more of those stains on your linen, I'll whip you six ways to Sunday, Murphy, so help me God, I'll do it."
Murphy stomped into the house, slamming the door. He wanted to fucking die. His ma had ruined everything, she just had to embarrass him in front of his twin. Now Connor knew he had wanked in bed, he probably even knew he had done it with Connor right there. Murphy was totally fucked. He had to think of a way to explain it to Connor so it didn't sound so bad.
He quickly stripped his bed & stomped down the stairs to the wash room, throwing his sheets in the washer, quickly adding detergent & turning the machine on.
"Add bleach to the wash, Murphy," Ma instructed from behind him. "And use hot water."
Murphy didn't look up, he grabbed the bleach container & poured some into the machine before readjusting the dial to 'hot.'
He heard his mother sigh from behind him, her anger now dissipated. "We'll talk more later about what you did. Go and get your hair cut. Connor is waiting for you."
Murphy quickly moved past her, not looking up from the floor & he went outside, pausing on the porch & looking toward the oak tree for his twin. Connor had completely redressed & was sitting in the chair, picking at his fingernails while he waited.
He felt Murphy's presence across the yard & looked up, meeting his eyes & smiling. Murphy dropped his eyes immediately, he didn't think he'd ever be able to look Connor in the eye again, and he didn't know why Connor was smiling, there was nothing to smile about, at least as far as Murphy was concerned.
Murphy thought about turning around & hiding in his room, but he'd have to walk past Ma to get there. He thought about leaving, just getting the fuck out of there, but he wasn't wearing shoes & he wouldn't get far on the gravel road in bare feet. Either way, Connor would follow him so what was the point.
He glanced back at Connor who was patiently waiting & Murphy slowly began to walk toward him. Might as well get it over with, he just wished he had thought of a way to explain things so that Connor wouldn't think he was a pig.
They stood together, face to face, Connor staring at Murphy, Murphy staring at the grass. Neither boy said anything, each waiting for the other to begin and Murphy realized he needed to be the one to start.
"Look, Conn...why don't we forget the haircut, okay? I'm sure you really don't feel like touching me right now." In fact, he was certain Connor would never touch him again, least of all his hair.
"Knock it off, Murph. I'm cutting your hair & that's all there is to it."
Murphy still didn't know what to say, how to explain, what he could do to make it better. He still wanted to die.
"Murph," Connor began quietly, leaning forward. "Look at me. Come on, look at Connor."
Murphy took a deep breath & lifted his eyes to the gentle gaze of his brother, seeing understanding & love reflected in those eyes. There was a warmth that practically flowed between them and it warmed Murphy to his core.
"You think you're the only one to play with yourself? You're not. Look...you can't be wiping it off on your sheets, Murph. If you do it in your bed, wipe it on your boxers, Ma expects it there, she'll think you did it in your sleep. Or do it in the shower, like I do."
Murphy furrowed his brow, "You're not mad at me?"
Connor scoffed, "Why would I be mad? You wanked in your bed. Big fucking deal."
"But—I—I just—I," Murphy swallowed loudly, composing himself. "You're really not mad? Or grossed out?"
"No, I'm really not mad. And I'm not grossed out. It's not like you wiped your cum on my sheets, Murph. Wait...you didn't do that, did you?"
Before Murphy could answer, Connor quickly said, "Never mind, forget I asked. I know you wouldn't do that."
"Of course not, Connor."
Connor nodded, continuing "Look, I don't give a fuck what Ma says, s'not a big deal. I wank too. All the time. But you know Ma freaks out about that stuff so just be smart about it next time...think before you pull it. All right?"
Murphy nodded, happy once again. Connor wasn't mad, not in the least, he was actually pretty cool about the entire thing, cooler than Murphy would have ever dreamed possible. Murphy returned Connor's smile, he never felt so relieved in his life.
Connor motioned to the chair, "I still want to get my hands on your hair, you know. I'm ready anytime you are. That is, if you still want me to cut your hair."
Murphy nodded & moved to the chair, sitting down & looking up at his brother, his eyes wide & full of nothing but love. "I want," he quietly said.
"Then I'll cut it for you. You trust me, right?" Connor quietly asked.
"I trust you with my life, Conn."
And he did.