A/N: Just about got this done when I said I would. I just want to say I am hugely grateful for everyone who is reading this and supporting me in my writing. I know I've not been the most consistent in when I update and I know my pacing is probably sporadic as hell, but you've all been really good to me even when you've not quite agreed with my direction. I hope you're still enjoying the fic and I hope you'll stick with me to the end of this because it's going to be pretty monumental to for me when I hit 'complete' on this fic. Anyway, less of this sop, enjoy!

x

He'd expected aggression, but Brendan was tender and sweet, easing him against the closed door, kissing his neck and trailing up his jaw to his lips, uttering quiet words about how he'd missed the taste of Ste's skin. Ste coloured with guilt, but Brendan's proximity, the smell of Brendan's aftershave and the smell of booze soaked up from the atmosphere of the club, it was overwhelming and Ste found himself deepening the kiss, pushing himself against Brendan enough to have their bodies touching as much as possible.

"Bren," he sighed happily as they parted, letting Brendan's hands take his so the older man could guide him back towards the bed, turning them around and letting Ste sit down, it was almost too alike, the way Brendan shifted to slide Ste's boxers down and off, smirking and looking him over, but there was hunger, not the sheer awe Declan had held for him. God he liked this more though, sporting a cheeky grin as he leant back on his elbows and watched Brendan slowly and carefully remove his clothes. There was no haste here despite their brief break, Ste had expected a rush, a flurry of clothes falling to the ground, Brendan on him like an animal, but instead Brendan slid his jacket off and smoothed it out, folding it and draping it over the lone chair in the corner which served only as a clothes horse. He unbuttoned his shirt next and Ste just watched as skin was exposed, drank Brendan in like he'd never get this chance again, imagined that if he wasn't so painfully desperate to have Brendan fill him again, he'd have that same soft look of awe that he'd seen on the man's son.

It was weird thinking about Declan as he lay down watching Brendan strip, but he couldn't stop himself from comparing, like he couldn't stop himself from comparing when Declan was fucking him. His cheeks heated then and he realised how soon it was, how he was still stretched and a little wet down there; in his panic he managed to draw out a plan, scooting back on the bed and planting his feet on the covers, knees raised and spread as he tucked a hand between his legs and stroked fingers over his asshole.

"Steven," Brendan growled, low and hushed, Ste looked to him with wide eyes, saw the slow shake of his head and flushed with guilt as he withdrew his hand and leant back on both elbows again, cursing internally.

Ste shivered at the slight crack of a sound Brendan's belt gave as it pulled from the loops of his trousers, once again mesmerised by this painfully slow strip tease, but he realised that Brendan wanted him to squirm, wanted to see him restless and desperate for him, and he was; Declan could have fucked him a dozen times and Ste would still be desperate for Brendan to dick him.

"God Bren hurry," he whispered, letting out the most pathetically happy noise when Brendan finally kicked his boxers aside and stepped to the edge of the bed. He grabbed Ste's ankles and pulled him so his ass was at the end of the bed, kneeling down and getting comfortable, pushing Ste's thighs until the teen obediently held his knees.

Ste wasn't sure about this, holding his knees and waiting, feeling Brendan blow cold air across his asshole, every fibre of common sense and decency he had was screaming at him to tell Brendan not to, to get up and leave, or at the very least dissuade the man from burying his face where his son's dick had been. But he couldn't do it, especially not when he felt skin on skin and the hair of Brendan's moustache, nuzzling into him before a hot tongue swiped over his asshole, he let out a moan and Brendan stopped,

"Declan's home," he hissed and Ste reached above him to pull a pillow down, keeping his legs up through sheer force of will despite how boneless he felt, covering his face with the pillow because he just didn't have the energy to hold it in, he felt Brendan chuckle, hot air puffing over his wet hole, which Brendan soon pressed the tip of his tongue to, slipping it into Ste easily. Ste hugged the pillow to his face as Brendan's tongue began fucking him in quick pushes, he could hear Brendan's pleased sounds, feel them vibrating against his skin, and it was all too much too soon, still fresh from being fucked earlier. His thighs hurt where he was keeping them tense, so he stretched out cautiously, but Brendan's tongue pushed deeper than it had been and he curled bodily in pleasure, muffling his moan with the pillow. He was so close his dick almost ached for release, but he couldn't touch himself for fear of not keeping quiet, just focussing on Brendan tongue-fucking his asshole, sucking in a smothered breath when Brendan's fingers pressed alongside his tongue, stretching his hole a little wider and pushing his tongue deeper. Embarrassingly, that was the last push he needed to let out a muffled cry beneath Brendan's pillow, feeling his cum spatter his stomach for the second time that night; it felt great, but at the same time he felt so humiliated at how quickly he'd come, always a slave to his lack of self-control. He pushed the pillow tighter against his face and let out a pathetic little noise, Brendan had pulled away from his asshole and Ste took that as his cue to curl his legs to the side of him on the bed; he felt the bed dip and a hand braced on his thigh, Brendan leant over him and Ste was surprised when a hot tongue pressed flat to his stomach, but he still couldn't bring himself to stop feeling so embarrassed.

The dip of tongue on flesh ceased and the pillow was lifted a fraction off of Ste's face, the teen peering out to see Brendan looking in at him, "Anyone home?" Brendan asked with a smile, Ste turned his head to the side, embarrassed, "Shoot too soon there Steven," Ste nodded, "Think you've got another in you?" he could feel Brendan's weight above him and he wanted to say yes but he wasn't sure, so he shook his head, "No? Just the once? I'm shocked," Brendan huffed a laugh and pushed the pillow away completely, "Or did you get off when you were having your fun earlier?" he asked and Ste looked at him with wide eyes, he didn't know did he? "What Steven, you think I don't know what lube tastes like?" he was smiling at Ste, which relaxed him a little, either he knew and he didn't care, or he thought something completely different, "tell me," he whispered, shifting closer and kissing Ste, "when you were playin' with yourself, presumably thinking of me, how did you start?" he held his hand up to show Ste two fingers, index and middle, "which one?" Ste swallowed thickly, he couldn't bring himself to speak, so he lifted a hand and ran his fingertip down Brendan's middle finger, earning a chuckle as Brendan curled his index finger and turned his hand around to swear at Ste. Ste scrunched his nose up, pulling a face to say he didn't find it funny, Brendan pressed his finger to Ste's lips, pushing past and giving Ste the chance to suck it and wet it with his tongue before he withdrew and tucked his hand between Ste's legs and traced his middle finger down to his spit-wet asshole, pushing his finger in until his other fingers were pressed against Ste's skin. "Like this?" he asked, withdrawing and pushing back in, slowly fucking Ste's hole with his middle finger,

"More," Ste gasped, and Brendan seemed to be obliging, but his finger left Ste completely and he crawled up the bed, "Bren?" he panted, tucking the pillow under his head now, watching Brendan fetch lube and a condom, grinning when he returned and made a show of coating his fingers with lube, tossing the bottle aside and pushing three fingers into Ste's wet asshole, Ste had to fold the pillow around his face to muffle the guttural moan that left him. Brendan fingered him until he proved Ste wrong about his inability to get it up again, withdrawing the slick digits and slipping the condom on, soon pushing into Ste and waiting for the teen to adjust to the intrusion.

"God I've missed this," he gasped as Ste felt his asshole give an involuntary clench around the first few inches of Brendan's cock,

"Deeper, please," Ste panted, "fuck me," he let out after, wrapping his legs around Brendan as he leant down over him and braced his forearms on the bed, dipping in to kiss him as he pushed in further, fitting their bodies tight together. Ste felt so full and content, smiling into the kiss as Brendan fucked him in slow, deep thrusts, rocking into him like they had all the time in the world to enjoy each other. It was so different but it felt so damned good, his dick trapped between them was at the height of friction but he tried to hold on longer this time, he wanted Brendan to come before he did again, wishing he could feel Brendan fill him with cum, and not some stupid condom, but he knew that wasn't an idea that he thought would ever happen.

He released his makeshift muffler and wrapped his arms around Brendan's shoulders, panting and letting out near silent moans as Brendan grunted hot and dirty in his ear with every thrust, even when he was setting this gentle, intimate pace between them. He forced his fingers through Brendan's hair on the back of his head, holding him as close as he could as he rutted hopelessly against Brendan's stomach, pushing back into each thrust the man made. He turned his head to Brendan, butting his nose lightly against Brendan's cheek and smiling breathlessly when Brendan turned to him and kissed him like he wanted, moving so Ste was looking up whilst they kissed. Ste let out a soft grunt into Brendan's mouth with every slow push of hips, he wanted more from Brendan but at the same time he wanted this to be more about Brendan than himself, his guilt putting his self-control to the test as he got closer and closer to coming.

"Bren please," he begged against Brendan's mouth when they parted, feeling the hitch in Brendan's breath, the man's hands coming to hold his head, Brendan looked at him as he thrust in and held still for longer than before, withdrawing and repeating, his expression seemed different, like how he looked when he really smiled at Ste, only he wasn't smiling, his jaw was slack as he breathed heavier from his exertion, he exhaled 'Steven' and crushed their mouths together as he bottomed out and his hips stilled for longer, moaning low into Ste's mouth. Ste had sussed the motion and slipped his hand between them, jerking off quickly and bringing himself past that final barrier he'd managed to force for himself, coating their stomachs in his cum. He felt himself tightening around Brendan as they came almost at the same time, smiling into Brendan's mouth when the older man let out a low, rumbling chuckle of a moan against him; their movements slowed and they lay there pressed together for a moment, mouths moving slow and languid, tasting each other, moaning dirty and breathlessly into each other's mouths.

Brendan was the first to move though, withdrawing his cock from Ste and giving him one last lingering kiss before he left Ste alone on the bed and went to clean himself up; Ste was blissed out and thoroughly fucked, but the time alone left him stuck feeling riddled with guilt. He let out a sigh and closed his eyes, brow furrowed as he lay there, trying to figure out how to be less of an abhorrent failure of a human being, finding himself distracted by the way the bed dipped and a hot tongue soon repeated itself against his stomach, tracing over his drying mess. He cracked open his eyes and looked down, watching the way Brendan lavished his stomach with long slow licks and open mouthed kisses. Ste reached and touched his cheek lightly, smiling when Brendan looked up at him, letting out a quiet laugh when Brendan shifted up the bed to settle down beside him,

"What?" Brendan asked with a smile, he'd brought a wet cloth with him and was now using that to wipe Ste clean as they talked quietly,

"You've got somethin' on your moustache," he snickered, grinning like an idiot as he brushed his thumb over the little smear of cum clinging to the dark hairs. His expression turned to disbelief when Brendan intercepted his hand and licked the bodily fluid from his thumb, Ste let out a breathless little sigh, he could never get over how Brendan just lapped up his cum like it was a delicacy.

Brendan tossed the cloth aside once Ste was clean, wrangling the two of them under the covers before pulling Ste flush against him and kissing him lazily, Ste snuggled up closer and pushed Brendan onto his back, curling up against his side. He started to have doubts though, thinking maybe he should go back to his own room, voicing his thought quietly and earning a shrug,

"I'll wake you, stop the night," he promised, wrapping his arm tight around the teen as if to say he didn't really have much of a choice in the matter.

"Alright," Ste smiled, getting comfortable with his head on Brendan's chest, it hadn't been very long but he'd missed this a lot, dozing off in Brendan's arms as they lay in bed together.

Ste awoke to an abrupt knocking on the door, startled into reluctant consciousness by Brendan shoving him quite bodily off the bed, though he was half asleep so he responded with silence and confusion,

"Get down," Brendan hissed through his teeth and Brendan obeyed miserably, curling into a ball on the floor between the edge of the bed and the wall, staying quiet as Brendan called out and the door opened.

"Hey da?" Declan's voice woke Ste up properly and he began to panic quietly, praying the teen would leave quickly,

"Mh… what is it Deccy?" Brendan asked, yawning and making like he hadn't just kicked Ste out of bed,

"Have you seen Ste? He's not in his room an' he's not downstairs… I'm worried he might've left…" he sounded so heartbroken and Ste wanted to reassure him, but he bit his tongue and stayed down,

"No… Why would he leave?" Brendan sounded suspicious, which made Ste even more nervous, he didn't think Declan would tell him they slept together, but if he did Ste knew he wouldn't come out of that argument unscathed.

"I dunno… he didn't seem happy yesterday,"

"I'm sure he's fine… maybe he's stepped out or somethin'," Brendan suggested,

"Why?"

"Do I look like I'd know?" Brendan snapped, irritable,

"Jeez, sorry," Declan huffed, "If he's not back soon will you help me look?"

"Steven's a big boy Declan, I'm sure he's fine," Brendan dismissed and a click signified the door had closed and a hand found his hair and gave him a ruffle, "he's gone," he grunted, sounding like it hadn't just been one hell of a close shave.

"I'd best go then," Ste piped up, standing and hunting his boxers down to pull them on, about to head for the door to sneak out but Brendan's hand held tight to his arm, pulling him. He tripped up a little and ended up in Brendan's arms, though he didn't complain, giving him a coy smile before pushing up for a kiss. Brendan gave a quick peck back before easing Ste to arm's length and led him toward the dresser, "Bren?" Ste asked, Brendan released his wrist and dug through his clothes for a plain looking t-shirt and some jogging bottoms,

"Get dressed," he insisted, shoving the clothes into Ste's awaiting arms,

"Huh? Bren my room's right there," Ste frowned,

"You're not goin' out there, he might see you," Brendan rubbed at his face, "Use the window,"

"Bren I'm not spider-man," Ste balked, "I ain't climbin' out the window,"

"Y'are," Brendan warned, "Please Steven…"

"Why would I be outside?" Ste sighed, he wasn't good at coming up with good excuses on the fly, years of shitty excuses to hide his abuse were evidence of that. He watched as Brendan looked around, soon looking at his jacket on the chair and sighing in disbelief, he picked the jacket up and rifled through the pockets.

"I can't believe I'm about to do this…" he pinched the bridge of his nose with one hand as he walked over, holding out what looked like a hand rolled cigarette with the end twisted shut,

"Is… that's weed…" Ste said slowly,

"I run a club… these things… show up from time to time…" he gritted out, jerking his hand up when Ste went to take it, "Do not smoke it," he warned,

"I won't, I'm not into that shit," Ste balked, offended Brendan would even think he'd actually want the joint. He wondered if he could get away with selling it, a small compensation for having to climb out the fucking window, he took the offered joint and slid it behind his ear whilst he pulled on Brendan's jogging bottoms, moving the joint to his pocket when he pulled on the long sleeved t-shirt and stepped into a pair of Brendan's trainers, wondering if Declan would recognise his dad's clothes, though Ste had similar clothes himself, just not as new. "This is so dumb," he grumbled as Brendan opened the window for him, he couldn't help but compare this to jumping out of a plane, just the way it seemed almost routine, though Ste was sure he was one of the few, possibly the only person Brendan had slept with that was stupid enough to listen when told to escape through the window.

He stepped out onto a slightly sloped roof, it was only a few feet across and seemed safe enough, not that Ste had any idea where to go from there, "Uh, Bren?" he said shakily, intending to lean back in, "How do I get down?" he gave Brendan a pathetic look and Brendan rolled his eyes.

"Steven have you seen my house? It practically has footholds," Brendan griped, gesturing to the wall next to Ste, he looked over and Brendan was right, the design of the walls was almost slat-like in its stonework, so it should in theory be like climbing down a ladder, not that Ste was a big fan of that either. "Take this and go," he urged, handing Ste a lighter, presumably for credibility rather than using it, "I'd rather my neighbours didn't get suspicious, and see a teenager scaling my house," he added before gently easing Ste so he wasn't leaning in the window any more, closing off Ste's potential to bottle it, and a quick look to the side showed his bedroom window was closed too so he had to climb. He shook his limbs out, nervous and trying to calm himself down as he stepped towards the edge of the lip, looking down at the drop, it was only one storey but Ste quickly realised there was a massive flaw in Brendan's plan, because the roof he was on was the overhang above the front door, he turned and swore at Brendan's bedroom window, both hands, before looking back at the small front garden he had to get down to.

He ended up panicking a little, and while in retrospect he probably could have gone to the corner next to his bedroom window and climbed down the other side, he ended up whimpering his way down a smooth support beam, terrified he'd go too quickly and hurt himself. He survived the slide and staggered back, jogging from the minute lawn and sitting on the wall outside, pulling the joint from his pocket and fiddling with it with shaky hands. He was half tempted to try smoking it, but he'd have just felt guilty as all hell when Brendan found out, besides, the front door opened and Declan called out to him excitedly,

"Ste!" the teen sounded thrilled, Ste looked over his shoulder at him and smiled, shoving the lighter and joint in his pocket when Declan sat next to him and pulled him into a hug, "I thought you'd left," he sighed as he let Ste go,

"Why would I leave?" Ste frowned,

"Cause of last night…" he mumbled, "I thought I'd scared you off with the whole… knowin' it wasn't a thing," he air quoted as he spoke,

"Nah I mean… we're still mates, we're good, I thought…" he trailed off,

"I know… an' I meant what I said, I'm okay with it being a friend thing… and I know I sort of… I feel like I pressured you a bit last week, maybe freaked you out… but I'd rather be your friend than make you uncomfortable like that…" Declan sighed, and he looked dejected for a moment before perking up with a laugh, "I'm not gonna help you shack up with my da though, that'd be weird," Ste laughed nervously at that comment, trying not to let his guilt shine through. He settled for giving Declan a smile though, the other teen always managed to awe him, he could go from soppy to stubborn to having everything figured out in a heartbeat, Ste just couldn't do that.

"How do you do it Dec?" he got a questioning hum for that, "You got… well you got shot down by me, an' then there was last night… and you just… take it so well, like you're over it, like you didn't get used by your best mate," he felt awful saying it out loud, it settled an awful truth that he just wasn't a good person, despite Declan telling him otherwise.

"I dunno, I've got exams comin' up, not got time to dwell on all that stuff," he shrugged, "Besides, I got to have my first time with someone who means the world to me," Declan bumped their shoulders together with a smile, "That's gotta count for somethin' right?" Ste didn't answer, he didn't really know what to say to that, but he didn't get much of a chance because Declan had switched topics, "So what're you doin' out here anyway?" he asked,

"Uh… needed a smoke I guess…" he didn't pull the joint out, not sure he wanted Declan to think he was like that,

"Oh… well I know I said I wasn't gonna help, but he hates smokers, like to a fault, threatened to punch a guy for lightin' up next to him one time when we were out," it took Ste a moment to realise Declan was talking about his dad, "Plus, it's bad for you," he added lamely after,

"You coulda just told me it was bad for me," Ste laughed,

"Yeah but I figured thinkin' with your dick might work better," he joked and the two had a laugh about it, falling quiet when Brendan sauntered out of the house,

"Found him then?" Brendan asked, perching on the wall on Ste's other side,

"Yeah,"

"Told you there was nothin' to worry about, Steven's not leavin' us any time soon, are ye?" he smiled and Ste smiled back, shrugging awkwardly when he heard Declan's quiet 'ugh',

"Not unless you lot get sick of me, anyway, I'm goin' inside, I'm freezin'…" he grumbled, pushing off of the wall and leaving them sat outside whilst he returned to the warmth of the house.

It surprised Ste how easy things felt after that, there was no awkwardness between him and Declan, or between him and Brendan, and despite the fact that Brendan wasn't affectionate at all towards him due to his son being there, Ste did get the occasional look from him when Declan wasn't looking. But Monday rolled on and Ste's excitement for a week of risk free fun and affection with Brendan was getting the better of him, he felt cocky as all hell, which led to him back chatting when he was told off for talking in his last class of the day.

"Ah leave off it's not like it's important," he huffed irritably, about to turn back to his conversation when the teacher addressed him again,

"Well considering the one person in this class who needs this information most is you Ste, you might want to shut up and start paying attention," she bit back, "Stay behind after class," she insisted, which made Ste's stomach drop, Brendan would be out waiting for him, he didn't want to be stuck getting a stupid lecture from his English teacher.

Despite himself, he obeyed the order, waiting sulkily as the other students left the classroom, watching with a scowl as Ms Marshall turned a chair around and sat opposite him, giving him a pitying look,

"Wot?" he snapped,

"Ste please," she sighed, "You're going to fail your English GCSE if you don't knuckle down," Ste just gritted his teeth and stared her down. He wasn't interested in her belittling him over this again, "This is one of your most important grades, it's required for every job you will apply for," she tried,

"Alright… can I go?" he asked impatiently, his phone had vibrated in his pocket and he wouldn't have been able to answer if he could pull it out and check his messages,

"You haven't even started your coursework, you were supposed to start it last school year, I'm getting tired of badgering you and I'm sure you're fed up of hearing about it, I sent a letter to your parents, I've sent numerous letters to them over the past year and a half, but nothing's changed," except Ste's had numerous beatings that could have been avoided, he wanted to tell her, shout at her and blame her for all those times a stupid letter had caused him to miss school because he was 'sick'. Instead he just seethed silently, listening to her as she pressed him for a response, not getting anything from the stubborn teenager, "I'm going to have to get your parents to meet with me," this caught Ste's attention and he paled,

"Don't," he let out quietly,

"Well it doesn't look like the letters are getting there, I'm going to have to call them," she warned,

"No you don't, I'll just… I'll not mess about in your lessons, just don't call my parents," he cringed,

"Or you could do some of your assignments," she suggested,

"I don't even know what they are…" he mumbled, watching sulkily as she stood and went to her desk, pulling a few cardboard folders from her desk and pulling stapled papers from each, neatening the pile she'd collected before returning.

"Here," she held them out to him, "Do at least one of these by Monday and hand it back to me," she said, but Ste gave her a pathetic look, surprised when it worked, "At least get a plan to me Ste, or a rough draft, anything, and I'll hold off," she promised,

"I'll try," Ste mumbled as he took the papers, just agreeing so he could leave, trying to calm himself down,

"Thank you, you can go now," she smiled warmly but Ste was on his feet and stuffing the papers into his backpack as he walked out the door, not saying anything when he got into Brendan's car, waiting for Brendan to get back in the vehicle and drive them home.

He'd managed to calm himself on the drive home, but Brendan ruined it when Ste was making them something to drink,

"So… any reason you were late out?" he asked absently, leaning on the counter a way away from Ste, who had frozen up, chest heaving as the panic he'd felt earlier at failing once more and having his parents dragged into school to deal with it, which would end with him leaving with them and being stuck under Terry's thumb for an indeterminate amount of time. "Steven?" he let out an abrupt cry when Brendan spoke to him, like his name had triggered something in him that had him violently sweeping their mugs and the kettle off the side, the ceramics smashed and the kettle gushed boiling water across the tile. Ste's arm burned where skin had touched hot metal and Brendan's arms were around him, dragging him away from the steaming water that was spreading towards the teen's sock-clad feet. "Steven! Hey, hey it's okay, it's okay," they were out of the kitchenette, Ste could feel Brendan's hand cradling the back of his neck, the man's breath on his skin as he shushed him and told him repeatedly it was okay, he was okay, but Ste didn't feel okay, sobbing into the shoulder of Brendan's leather jacket, hugging his arm protectively. "Steven what's going on?" Brendan asked, and his fingers on Ste's neck felt so soothing, "Steven talk to me," Brendan tried, but Ste's anger flared up and he shoved Brendan away,

"No! Get off me!" he snapped when Brendan tried to grab him again,

"Steven Christ, what happened? Was it Terry? Tell me that piece of shit didn't show up,"

"It's not him," Ste sobbed, "it's me," he crumpled at that, looking at the mess he'd made, the water had stopped spreading but the mugs were shattered and it just made him feel even worse, "I'm so stupid," he wanted to hit himself, felt like he deserved to be hit for being such a pathetic excuse of a human being, "I'm gonna fail school, I'm never gonna get a job, I'm gonna end up homeless and probably on drugs or something cause I'm dumb," the words came out in a flurry and he barely took a breath as he let it all out, letting Brendan hold him this time,

"You're not stupid Steven…" Brendan's hands cupped his cheeks and forced him to make watery eye contact with the older man, "trust me, I've spent enough time with you to know that," he gave Ste a reassuring smile, "sit down, calm down, we'll talk about this," he stroked tears from Ste's cheeks and Ste gave him a confused look, wondering why they needed to delay, "I need to tidy this up,"

"I should do that…" Ste sighed miserably, looking at the mess,

"Don't worry about it, go on," Brendan's hands were on Ste's neck now and he ran his fingers along the back of Ste's neck before letting them slip away, Ste did as he was told and curled up on the couch, tears falling silently down his cheeks as he waited for Brendan to come back over.

He was in bits again when Brendan finally sat down next to him, an arm pulling him close so he could lean on Brendan and sob against his chest, Brendan's hand was on the back of his head, stroking through his hair as he shushed him and waited for him to calm down enough to talk about the problem.

"I'm gonna fail English…" he mumbled finally, feeling Brendan kiss the top of his head as a sort of 'reward' for opening up,

"Is there anythin' you can do? Do they do extra credit or something?" Brendan asked, sounding unsure,

"Nah I've not done my coursework cause I couldn't get my head around any of it…" he admitted, hearing Brendan breathe a quiet 'jesus', "She's said I've got time to hand it in… but… I can't do it…" his voice cracked at the end and he buried his face in Brendan's jacket,

"It's not my strongest subject, but I'll help you if you want? You got a timeline for this?" Brendan tried and Ste could hear him cringing, like this was more than he'd signed on for,

"She wants one pretty much done by Monday…" he sulked, looking up at Brendan who gave him a raised eyebrow before closing the gap between them and kissing him lightly,

"Christ, best get started then," he was about to move but Ste held him a little tighter and kissed him again,

"Give us half an hour first, yeah?" he asked, giving Brendan a hopeful look,

"Half an hour, then we start," Brendan insisted, meeting Ste in another chaste kiss, just keeping his arms around the teen and letting him settle down.

They scraped through Ms Marshall's deadline with an essay outline on Of Mice and Men, which she was happy enough with, but it was eating away at Ste's 'Brendan time' by giving him a different, incredibly boring 'Brendan time', where he'd end up sat for four hours every night at the dining table, Brendan sat opposite him doing his books or reading a page of essay Ste had finished, massacring his essay with a red biro and a dictionary for words neither of them were sure about.

"Jesus Steven your spelling is something special…" Brendan commented, he'd said this a lot over the past few weeks, it meant Ste's spelling was crap, which he was well aware of, "You've written Frankenstein wrong in maybe… six different ways so far on this page alone…"

"Well surely one of 'em's right," Ste mumbled,

"Nope, not a single one," Brendan chuckled, "oh wait no… no… that's not right either…"

"Shurrup alright, so I can't spell, big whoop, when are you gonna stop makin' fun of me and suck my dick?" Ste huffed,

"Steven," Brendan warned softly,

"Sorry…" Ste sighed, he was miserable and horny as hell, Brendan wasn't withholding sex exactly, they just weren't having it as often because of all this dumb coursework he had to get done and how little time he really had to do it all. He turned his attention back to his essay and continued writing, the words all muddled on the page, it was starting to give him a headache and he was tired of it, plus he couldn't stop thinking about Brendan, not even writing about a miserable reanimated corpse was dissuading the boner he sported under the table. He let out another miserable sigh and opened his mouth to complain once more, looking up and around when he noticed Brendan was gone, a quick glance around the room confirmed that Brendan hadn't wandered off, and he was smiling to himself when hands pushed his thighs apart and worked the zipper of his school trousers open. He carefully pushed his chair back, Brendan following after him and pulling his dick from his pants, quickly taking it into his mouth, wetting it once before paying special attention to the head of his cock. The feel of Brendan's mouth around the head of his cock, tonguing the slit and bristling hair against the sensitive skin of his shaft, it wiped the slate of his mind clean, all thoughts of coursework and school failure washing away with each swipe of tongue.

"God Bren…" he gasped, lacing his fingers through Brendan's hair, pulling it to urge Brendan's hot wet mouth further down his cock, keening happily when Brendan sank down to the root, puffing hot air through his nose into Ste's pubic hair; his toes curled off the tile floor and he bit his lip as he tried to keep his hips still. Brendan seemed to sense him tensing up and his hands slid up Ste's thighs and to his hips, hands urging Ste to fuck his mouth, which the teen started to do the moment his feet touched flat on the ground again.

The blow job was short and sweet courtesy of how long Ste had been silently fantasising instead of focussing on his essay, so he was shooting cum down Brendan's throat in no time, pulling the man up into one hell of a dirty kiss when some of his jizz was still on Brendan's tongue. He'd never kissed Brendan quite so soon after shooting his wad in his mouth, but it felt weirdly nice and he was thoroughly enjoying himself, happy to continue as they ignored the ringing of the phone. Brendan didn't seem too happy about being astride Ste's lap though, pulling the teen from the chair and turning them around, pulling Ste back onto his lap, their mouths not parting for a single moment as they moved.

He was swallowing some of his own cum down when the Brendan's answering machine gave a shrill beep and a voice travelled through the room, he looked over to the machine curiously whilst Brendan began to suck a mark low on his neck, where he knew Ste's shirt collar would cover it.

"Brendan… it's your father…" there was a pause and Ste waited for some kind of acknowledgement from Brendan, but he just continued to roam his hands over Ste's body like he was going to dump him on the table and fuck him at any moment, "I know you're there son, pick up the phone, I don't want to have this conversation with your answering machine," the voice continued to no avail, "Brenda," it was short and curt and Ste could have sworn he'd dropped the 'n', and it seemed to get something out of Brendan, who stiffened briefly before digging his fingers into Ste's hips and grinding the teen down against his hard prick, staring intently at where they were practically joined.

"Maybe you should answer it…" Ste said quietly, even though he knew Brendan's dad wouldn't hear,

"Shut up Steven," Brendan snapped irritably, not lifting his gaze, blatantly ignoring the phone call even as his father continued.

"Son…" there was an irritable exhale, "I've got cancer… lungs, smokin's finally caught up with me, caught up a while ago, but I couldn't worry your sister…" Ste was mortified that Brendan seemed so intent on keeping this going with that in the air, pushing Brendan's hands from his hips and standing up, leaving Brendan to stare quietly at his balled up hands, stiff and brooding, "you and her are coming back to Ireland… soon… I want to say goodbye to my children before I die," he didn't even say goodbye then, just hung up and ended the message, Ste wasn't sure what to do, giving Brendan a sympathetic look and reaching to touch his face,

"Bren I'm so sorry," he breathed, Brendan's hand slapped his away and the man pushed up onto his feet and crowded Ste against the table,

"Don't. Fuckin'. Touch. Me." He gritted out an inch from Ste's face, Ste felt spit hit his skin before Brendan brushed past him and headed for the phone, holding something down until it chirped and proclaimed the message was deleted, he then retreated upstairs, leaving Ste stood alone trying to put two and two together.

What sank in had Ste at a loss for what to do, so he just stood there, perched on the edge of the table trying to deal with this knowledge, an assumption he was pretty confident he was right about.