AN: I have been horribly neglectful of all you wonderful people who have taken the time to read this story and tell me what you think. In a small attempt to make it up, I have a slightly longer than normal chapter, and it doesn't even have a massive cliff-hanger. I will aim to get the next one up this weekend.

Thanks to everyone who has reviewed! They are lovely to read!

Brendan Brady had an infuriating talent for fogging Ste's mind. He seemed to turn every thought that passed through Ste's brain into a messy, slushy lust-filled haze. It wasn't until Ste had escaped to the relative sanity of the kitchen that he remembered he had decided he had been planning not to let Brendan near him like that again.

He wondered if he was capable of staying angry with Brendan. The hurt from their previous few encounters was still heavy in Ste's mind when he was outside of the man's presence. The shame still stung.

Ste escaped the house the second both Bradys began to eat their dinner. He didn't fancy being in the same room as either of them, and didn't think eating with them would be how Eileen saw the role of servants anyway. Amy had already disappeared back to the kitchen, Leah in tow, and together they were cleaning up the dinner things. Ste didn't explain before he slipped out of the back.

He didn't fancy going out the front; if one of Danny's men was following them; that would be where they would watch from. Probably. Maybe that was an overreaction too; maybe Brendan was right not to worry.

He stood in the cool evening air, hearing the quiet laughter, the gossip, the grumbling of servants and trades people going about their business around him. They all seemed busy, and Ste wondered what they were doing that kept them so busy, why he hadn't really felt busy since he arrived despite running around looking after Leah and seeing Lucas. There was probably a lot he needed to do but hadn't figured out yet. There was a lot of dust. Maybe he was supposed to get rid of that. Somehow.

A voice shouted something far off to the left. It sounded young. Maybe some kids were playing.

He wondered if Brendan and Eileen were arguing. Or ignoring each other. Or looking for him. He wasn't sure what would be worse, Eileen flagrantly trying to get him flustered to wind up Brendan, or Brendan subtly succeeding to get him flustered with very different motives.

The shout came again, though this time he knew it wasn't play. Ste checked up the alley, but it must have been coming from the street at the end. He glanced back and forth, hoping someone else might intervene so he wouldn't have to do anything. Still he hesitated, worried. A figure suddenly burst into the alley, only to be caught by a number of others following. He shouted again, and now Ste recognised the voice as belonging to a teenage boy, who was trying to escape a gang of kids of a similar age.

Ste swore quietly to himself. Obviously he was going to be the only person around willing to do anything.

"Oi!" he shouted.

The kids looked at him, some worried. Ste had hoped it would be enough to shout, but it wasn't. They seemed to be pulling at the poor boy's pockets and the bag the boy was gripping, and Ste felt a sense of relief – if they were nicking stuff so obviously like this, they probably didn't have a weapon.

"Oi!" he repeated, and began to march, feeling immensely relieved when the kids started to scatter. The other lad shouted after them.

"Are you alright?" Ste asked, checking the coast was clear.

"Yeah, course!" the boy replied, in a low, sulky grumble.

"Course," Ste replied, understanding that need to not seem weak. He probably needed an excuse to let Ste stay near him. "Er, I was just going for a walk."

The boy looked at him suspiciously, but with unmistakable hope to.

"Where are you going, then?" Ste asked kindly and nonchalantly.

The boy looked at the floor again, lips sulky. "I dunno," he said.

"Why not?" Ste asked without thinking.

"None of your business!" the boy snapped

"I'm trying to help!" Ste snapped back, annoyed. He'd wished someone had tried to help him when Terry was beating him up.

"Well I don't need your help!" the lad shouted, and turned away, though didn't get far. He was shaking before he had taken even a few steps.

"Look," Ste said, more kindly this time, "come and have a sit down and a drink in the kitchen, and we can try and figure out where you're trying to go, yeah?"

The boy looked doubtfully at Ste, then back around himself. Part of Ste regretted those words already. The last thing he wanted to do was teach the lad to trust any random person he met here in this city. But if the boy's previous encounter hadn't taught him right, nothing would.

Ste suspected it was exhaustion that made up the boy's mind in the end, and he nodded, following Ste back to Brendan's house. Amy and Leah were still sat in the kitchen, putting the last of the cooking things away. Amy turned to him and stared.

"Where did you go? And who is that?" she demanded, angrily.

"Just out," Ste replied, evasively. 'Trying to escape the marital war of our new employers' seemed a bit counter-productive to his decision to stay here.

Amy raised her eyebrows, "Great, one non-answer and one question ignored. Great, Ste."

"He was outside, getting beaten up," Ste replied.

"No!" the boy protested. Ste and Amy both looked at him, and he ducked his head, "alright, yes," he said.

"Who is he though?" Amy asked Ste. Ste shrugged. "What's your name?" she asked the boy.

"Declan," he replied, and sat on one a chair.

"So, you gonna tell us what happened, then?" Ste asked Declan.

Declan surveyed them both for a moment longer before he decided to tell them. They clearly had friendly faces. "My Ma sent me to some school ages ago. Horrible place, where they beat you for anything and all the pupils are dead posh. I just couldn't stay there anymore, so I left."

"You ran away?" Amy asked.

"Yeah," Declan replied. "You'd have done the same!"

"How old are you?" Amy asked.

"Fourteen," Declan answered, glaring as though daring her to call him a child.

"Was it a long way?" Ste asked. He wondered if he'd have done better if he'd run away from Terry that young. Probably not, he probably would have got himself killed with his attitude.

"Ireland," Declan replied.

"What?" exclaimed Amy, her mouth agape.

"The school was in Ireland," Declan repeated, "I snuck onto a ferry to get here."

"But why don't you know where your family are?" Ste asked. "Do you have one?"

"Yeah!" Declan snapped, as though offended, "it's just, they moved. Got some posh house, now. But those boys nicked all my stuff, so I don't have the address any more. It was this road though."

The thought occurred to Ste that this was an impossible coincidence about a second before Brendan strolled casually into the kitchen. "Steven, I need your help in the office," he stated breezily, not noticing the newcomer. He did, however, notice Ste and Amy's surprised faces staring between him and Declan.

"What?" he said.

Declan turned, face shocked. "Dad," he said.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Brendan cried.

"Brendan!" Ste scolded, before he could stop himself. Brendan ignored him, but Declan noticed, and gave him a funny look.

"I'm paying an arm and a leg for that school, and what?" continued Brendan.

"I ran away!" Declan stated, bravely.

"You ran away? From Belfast to Liverpool?"

"Yeah! I'm not a kid!" Declan insisted.

His father snorted at that, "Ain't ye? A man would've taken the chances we gave you!"

"You had nothing to do with it! Mam chose!"

"And who do you think's paying for it?" said Brendan, anger tingeing his voice now, "that was one of the best schools in…"

"I don't care!" snapped Declan, "I'm too old for school!"

"Don't be thick," said Brendan, but that just spurred Declan on.

"I ain't one of them, Dad! Some posh kid who's gonna be a lawyer or a doctor or an army officer or something. I'm like you."

Brendan looked furious, ready to explode. "Get upstairs!" he barked. "We'll talk about it in the morning."

He sat on a chair at the table and put his head in his hands. At the sight of him settling in her kitchen, Amy swept Leah up in her arms, and announced she was putting her to bed, and escaped. Declan hovered a moment longer. "Go," Brendan growled, dangerously low this time, and Declan did as instructed.

Brendan let out a tired sigh the moment the door to the kitchen clicked shut.

"He ain't like me," Brendan sighed. "I don't want him to be like me."

Ste thought about arguing, but decided not to.

"He's a good lad, you know?" Brendan said, quietly. "He's clever, too."

"Yeah," Ste agreed. In the short time he'd known Declan he'd seemed like a nice boy. "He said he hated the school," he added, trying to help explain the boy's actions.

"It weren't my idea to send him there," Brendan replied defensively. "But he shouldn't be like me, dealing with the Warrens and Dannys of this world."

"No one should be having to deal with them, though," Ste replied, honestly.

Brendan sniffed. "Are we really any better than them?"

"Yes!" Ste insisted, without hesitation. "I don't know much about Warren, but you would never have tried to make me do what Danny wanted me to."

Brendan gave a small smile, "Yeah, you always seemed pretty keen when it was with me."

Ste smiled, then glared. "I mean you've never made me..."

"Sorry," Brendan interrupted in a whisper, "I know you're not a prostitute. I'm just..."

He didn't finish the sentence. Ste didn't know if he should be assuming the word would have been 'jealous' or not. It could have been angry, it could have been possessive, it could have been anything. He let the silence last only a few moments before he said, "I know."

Brendan cleared his throat awkwardly, "So, what did he say?"

Ste recounted the whole event, from hearing the cries, to Brendan's entrance, trying to recall what Declan had told him as accurately as possible. Brendan let him speak, listening quietly. At the end he said "They shouldn't be beating my son."

Ste nodded. Though he couldn't imagine growing up without the beatings, if anyone did that to Lucas, he would want to hurt them. But Declan didn't look bruised or hurt, even though he'd just been mugged. He wasn't walking strangely, it wasn't uncomfortable for him to sit. Maybe he meant something different by beating than Ste did. To Ste it meant barely being able to walk for a week after. "He seems alright, though" Ste offered, not sure if he was trying to comfort Brendan, or defending whoever it was.

"Yeah," agreed Brendan. "Er, thanks..." he added, nervously.

"What for?" Ste asked, genuinely.

"For looking after him," Brendan replied, "those lads..."

"Oh, that was nothing," Ste said, "anyone would've done it."

"They didn't, though, did they?" said Brendan.

Ste blushed, stupidly pleased by the idea that Brendan thought he was brave or good or really anything nice about him. "You would have. You helped Lucas, and you didn't even know me."

"I paid a little bit of money," Brendan said, as though it were nothing

"You helped him when I couldn't," said Ste. "I'll always be grateful, you know?"

Brendan snorted, "What is this, a competition? Who did the most for each other's kid?"
Ste smiled, "Maybe."

"Yeah, well I had an ulterior motive," Brendan said with a smirk. "How long will Amy spend putting the girl to bed?"

"Amy'll spend long enough putting Leah to bed," Ste replied.

"Long enough for what?" Brendan whispered, and stroked Ste's hair off his face.

The door opened suddenly, "I..." Declan started, and suddenly stopped when he saw them.

"What?" said Brendan, boldly; clearly deciding to pretend it was completely normal for a man to be stroking another man's face.

"I don't know where my room is," Declan said softly, eyes darting curiously between Ste and Brendan.
Brendan sighed sadly, "Steven, could you take Declan up to the boys' room and help with anything else he needs. Then come to my room. To sort out the fireplace."

Ste nodded, saw that Declan was still looking 6curiously at him so added, "Yes Mr Brady."

…xxx…xxx…xxx…

Ste found 'the boys' room' on his second try. It was just a bedroom, but he checked the wardrobe and found a selection of clothes that might fit someone Declan's size, and some more for someone slightly smaller.

"Thanks," said Declan, "so... who are ye? Is it Steven?"

"Call me Ste," said Ste, "and your parents have employed me and Amy as servants."

"Right," said Declan, "so, what are you, like a butler?"

"Er..." said Ste, "just a general servant I think."

"Because the boys at school, they were always like 'we've got a butler, a valet, 5 housemaids, 3 footmen, 2 cooks...'" Declan informed him, putting on a fake posh English accent.

Ste decided he was definitely doing something wrong if it usually took that many people to be servants. "I don't really know," he said honestly, "I used to work for your Dad at the club. And Amy's a great cook."

"But what does Mam say about it?" asked Declan. He was astute this kid, saw stuff clearly.

"I don't know," Ste replied evasively, pretty sure Declan would understand that as 'she's not happy.' "Look, I gotta get on, me, if I'm valet and a butler and a footman and a cook all at the same time."

"Yeah," Declan replied, and Ste noticed the scepticism.

"Well, night," he said cheerfully, and escaped the room as quickly as he could without running. He heard footsteps on the floor below and glanced down in time to see Eileen disappear into her room. He quickly popped up to their own rooms. Amy was kissing Leah goodnight, as the little girl drifted off into a gentle sleep. Ste did the same, careful not to reawaken her. Amy yawned beside him.

"I think I better get some sleep too, today's been well weird," she said. "Night," she added, and pecked Ste on the cheek. The kiss was exactly the same as the one she'd given Leah, like all their kisses were nowadays. Ste didn't mind. Amy felt more like a sister to him now than anything else, nowadays. He'd protect her with his life, as much as he would the kids, but she didn't get his heart racing. And he suspected she felt the same about him. Ste let her go to bed, and he himself went back down the stairs.

Amy and Leah were in bed. Eileen had gone to her own room, presumably without the intention to come out again now it was dark. Declan would be exhausted, too, having travelled so far. He knocked on Brendan's door, quietly.

Brendan opened it, looking stunning in the soft light of the gas lamps. He stood back to allow Ste to step into his room. The bedroom somehow suited him already. The walls were a dark shade of red, the wooden floor decorated with a soft rug, and a large four poster bed that looked more luxurious than anything Ste had ever seen before. When Brendan shut the door behind him, Ste turned to him, and leant up to kiss him.

Brendan let him get about an inch from his face before he said "So, the fire Steven?"

"Oh," said Ste, stupidly. That would take ages. He turned towards the dark, empty fireplace. Why did Brendan even want a fire? It was warm enough in here.

Brendan caught him by the arm and spun him back round, catching his face. "There are better ways to keep warm," he growled, and brought their lips together. As they kissed he pushed Ste back onto the bed. Ste almost laughed. A bed seemed such a stupidly normal place for a relationship like this, but he let Brendan pull his clothes off, and pulled at Brendan's in return.

"By my calculations, Steven," Brendan breathed, his lips trailing to Ste's neck, "I'd say we've got all night."

"Yeah" Ste replied in a whisper, wrapping his legs around Brendan's muscular frame, "Sounds like fun."

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