Chapter Seven

Ste hesitated when he walked outside the club, the cold air whipping his face. Surely Brendan had learnt by now that Ste never listened when he was supposed to. He wasn't about to go home and twiddle his thumbs waiting for Brendan to come home battered, or worse. Ste shivered but it had nothing to do with the wind. He leaned against the wall outside the club and closed his eyes, breathing in deeply.

Why did Andy have to come back now? Things were finally settled; Brendan and him had never been happier. Why couldn't he just leave them alone? What could he possibly want now? Ste wanted to ask him all of these things as well as telling him to piss off and leave them be. But of course Brendan would never let him near him. He probably wouldn't even let him leave the flat after this.

Ste groaned, frustrated. He could take care of himself. Sure Andy had run him over, or gotten someone else to, he never did know for certain. That wasn't the same as physically overpowering him; it was just dumb luck that Ste crossed the road at the right time. Andy wasn't so tough; Ste had certainly dealt with worse. He wasn't about to let himself be bullied, not by anyone.

Ste steeled himself, prepared to re-enter the club. He didn't need to however; he heard footsteps coming closer and pressed himself behind the wall, hidden. He could have kicked himself. Who exactly was he hiding from? He saw Andy leave the club, smirking but apparently unharmed. Ste watched him walk off down the road and get into a fancy car, driving off. It wasn't the same car that had hit him he didn't think; Andy wouldn't have been that careless.

Distracted by his thoughts, Ste didn't notice someone sneak up behind him.

"I thought I told ye to go home, Stephen" Brendan said, clearly annoyed.

Ste almost jumped out of his skin. "Brendan! Don't sneak up on me like that" he placed his hand across his chest, willing his heart to stop beating so fast.

"I'm sorry, Stephen" he didn't sound that sorry. "I knew ye wouldn't go home like I said"

"Of course not. So what happened?" Ste turned to face Brendan. Ste was relieved to see he was all in one piece as well.

"That can wait" Brendan grabbed Ste's hand tightly and began pulling him along gently.

"Where are we going?" Ste asked suspiciously, pausing in his steps. Brendan pulled his hand harder until Ste started to walk again.

"Home" Brendan said bluntly, never once relinquishing his tight grip on Ste's hand.

"But my shift isn't over! And neither is yours"

"I don't care" Brendan grunted. His pace was swift; Ste had to practically jog to keep up with him.

"Well I do! I can't afford to miss work, I have kids to feed" Ste whined, attempting to pull out of Brendan's hand.

Brendan held on even tighter. "I'll still pay ye, Stephen. This isn't yer fault"

"Why do I have to go home though? Andy's gone, I saw him leave!"

Brendan turned back sharply. "Ye aren't to go anywhere near him, do ye hear me?" His voice was low, even. He sounded a mixture of horrified and firm.

"Of course not" Ste grumbled. "But I don't see why I have to go home"

"Because…will ye just trust me on this one?" Brendan replied, clearly aggravated. They had almost reached their flat now.

"Alright" Ste said, deciding to wait to argue his point until they were in the flat.

Brendan took his keys out with one hand. Ste noticed that his hand was shaking violently.

"Bren, do you want me to-"

"No! I can handle it" Brendan snapped, putting the key in the lock and opening the door, dragging Ste in with him.

He finally let go of Ste's hand and then promptly locked the front door and the back door as well for good measure. Ste just stared at him.

"You're being paranoid" he accused. Brendan stood in front of him, looking at him sternly.

"I don't want ye leaving the house" he said bluntly, his eyes glazed over and unseeing.

"What!" Ste fumed. "I have to leave sometime, Bren! You're being ridiculous" he shook his head, staring at Brendan in disbelief.

"It's for ye own safety"

"I don't care! I can take care of myself" Ste grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Ye don't have to, it's what I'm here for" Brendan replied, still unfazed by Ste's annoyance. It aggravated Ste to no end.

"But it isn't! We're a couple, we're on equal ground. You don't have to protect me; I'm more than capable of looking after myself"

"Even so" Brendan grumbled, distracted. "Ye don't know what Andy's capable of"

"I do actually! I was the one who got hit by the car because of him! Not you"

Brendan winced at Ste's words, his expression crumbling. Ste immediately regretted what he had said.

"I'm sorry, Bren" he sighed, sitting down on the sofa. "But you can't keep me in here, I won't allow it"

Brendan sat beside him, tense. "Alright" he agreed reluctantly. He looked at Ste suddenly, very serious. "But I don't want ye going out alone, ye have to be around other people at all times. And no going out at night, at least for a little while"

Ste pursed his lips, knowing that he wouldn't win this argument. "Okay" he agreed reluctantly. If it made Brendan feel better, he might as well agree to it. Brendan's shoulders relaxed slightly at his words.

"Thank ye" he said, pulling Ste to himself closely and holding him tight, his lips in his hair. "I'm sorry I dragged ye here. I just got a bit…anxious"

"You don't say" Ste said sarcastically but he sighed, pulling away from Brendan slightly to look at his face. "I'll be fine, Andy's not an idiot. He won't come after me again"

Brendan didn't look too convinced. "He told me he'd be seeing me"

"That could mean anything" Ste said lamely. "Look, I'll be really careful. I always have my phone on me in case of emergencies, and I'll make sure people are always around to keep an eye on me when you aren't there"

Brendan nodded, appeased for now.

"Just relax" Ste said, rubbing Brendan's shoulder. "Want me to run us a bath?"

"Ye that would be nice. I told Cheryl we were both coming down with a stomach bug so we won't have to go back to work again today"

"That wasn't really necessary" Ste pointed out, rising and moving towards the bathroom.

"It made me feel better, okay?" Brendan replied, leaning against the bathroom door.

Ste started to run the bath. "What exactly did he say to you then?" Ste asked. Brendan's eyes gazed off into the distance.

"I don't want to talk about it"

"Bren…"

"No, Stephen. Just run the bath; let's forget it for now, ye?"

Ste sighed, his curiosity unsatisfied. "Hadn't you better let Warren know?" Ste asked suddenly.

"Ye, good idea. I'll go do that" Brendan said, still distracted.

He came back a few moments later, holding his phone. "I texted him" he stated, putting his phone on the windowsill.

"Good" Ste nodded, turning off the tap. "Ready?"

Brendan moved forwards, his hands more steady now. He slowly undressed Ste as though he was too delicate for any rough handling. Ste took off Brendan's clothes afterwards; trailing a hand gently down his bare back, making Brendan groan from the back of his throat.

Brendan stepped in first and lay down before Ste followed him in, lying against Brendan's chest. It was lucky that their bath was big enough for the both of them; it was the only point on which they were unmoveable when buying the flat. Brendan was used to the luxury of baths and as for Ste, his old bath and shower had been so poor that he simply couldn't resist the opportunity to have a nice one for a change.

Ste played with some bubbles in the palms of his hands, smoothing them against his face to create a beard and moustache. He turned his head to show Brendan who looked at him in affectionate bemusement. The smile he wore didn't quite reach his eyes however.

"Please don't worry" Ste said quietly, splashing his face.

"I won't" Brendan replied, his voice rough.

Ste leaned forwards, cupping Brendan's cheek and kissing him softly. "Everything will be okay, we'll be safe"

"I know" Brendan said, but he didn't sound so sure. He smiled though as if to reassure Ste.

"I love you" Ste said tenderly, his eyes searing into Brendan's.

"I know" Brendan repeated, pulling him close to lie on his wet chest, the hairs smoothed down by the water.

Ste didn't know what would happen next but for Brendan's sake he was going to be as calm and positive about it all as was humanely possible. One of them had to be after all.