AN: Can't believe this has come to an end. It has taken me ages to decide what order this chapter should go in, but I hope you enjoy it. Though clearly it is time, as sadly I am becoming too predictable. Sorry SteBren. x
Thank you to everyone who has left me a review or favourited any of these 3 stories or me. It has been a labour of obsession for me, but has been nice to know I wasn't alone on the journey. Thanks in particular to Ruthyroo, HeyBanana (or Soggy Teabag) and Hannival who have kept me sane with extra words of encouragement.
Enjoy…
Brendan watched as two of the three people he cared for most in the world fell asleep in the back of his car. Their bodies were angled towards each other, their faces relaxed and clear and beautiful.
Sometime in the future, weeks, months, he didn't know, the police would let him know that his father had been found dead, and they suspected suicide. Memories of it ate at him, but he did not regret it. Not for a moment. He wished he'd done it sooner, when he'd had the chance. Prison would have been worth it if it saved them this. Paddy must have been scared shitless, and Steven…
Brendan would never be able to make up for what happened to Steven.
He wondered if Steven would ever mention it. The old bastard had revelled in telling him all that had passed in hideous detail. He'd struggled to keep it looking like suicide with that rage in him. He wondered how much of it was true. Did Steven really just let him in the end? He imagined Steven orgasm while the old bastard fucked him.
No. No, never imagine that.
He'd half expected the image to destroy them. But it hadn't. He hated it, but the moment he'd seen Steven's face as he left the cottage he knew that nothing could spoil them. He loved Steven. It had been all about possession once, like a child with a favourite toy, when Noah's hands had been the source of nightmares and jealous rages, but he had grown. Steven had helped him grow. He knew that Steven would always return to him. If he hadn't fought the old bastard off, there must have been a reason. And Brendan had guessed it was the boy asleep beside the man he loved.
This was a bond that couldn't be broken now. They were a family. They'd risked their lives for each other. Paddy had been angry after, but more with Brendan than Steven. He probably blamed Brendan for not stopping it sooner. Brendan blamed Brendan for not stopping it sooner. It would pass.
He found the main road. The sun was rising in the east, the direction he was heading. The road was nearly empty, and the green countryside of Ireland spread around him. The night was over, the day had come. The future was ahead of them. Paddy cared about Steven, Steven was Steven, and both were safe in his car.
The future promised to be great.
A few minutes earlier
Paddy was feeling a bit sick as he and Ste leant against Dad's car, both waiting for it to end. He thought he knew what Dad was doing to Granddad, but when he asked, Ste refused to confirm it. He was kind though. He didn't tease Paddy for shaking, or tell him to man up or anything, but put an arm around him. It felt nice to be hugged like that. It wasn't a babying hug like he got from Granny or Auntie Chez, but it was comforting and kind without being patronising. Then he'd had to spoil it by asking those stupid questions.
"What did you do?"
"What?" Ste asked, distractedly.
"What you said, you know," Paddy replied, knowing he shouldn't, but needing to know, "when you said I didn't know what you'd done? So I could escape?"
"Nothing," Ste replied, but he'd gone so tense, and Paddy had a feeling he knew what had happened. He knew what he was going to ask was a stupid question. He knew better than anyone what Granddad wanted to do to Ste, and there was no way they could have been alone for so long without one of them winning. And he knew the fact that Ste was still there in the morning should have been enough to let him know who won. But still he asked.
"Did you sleep with him?"
"Don't tell your Dad." That was Ste's instant answer. It annoyed Paddy a little, but he couldn't put his finger on why. Maybe it was because it showed the flaw in the relationship. If Ste couldn't tell Dad that, what else couldn't he tell him? Yeah, that must be it. They may be obsessed with each other, but it wasn't real if there was no honesty.
"I mean," Ste continued, "he doesn't need to know. I mean, he'll probably say, but…"
Ste looked so worried. He needed Paddy to be supportive. Paddy could do that. He wanted to do that.
"I won't say anything,"
Ste smiled at him. He had one of those smiles, did Ste, that would make anyone smile back. It was contagious. Even the meanest person in the world would give anything for a smile like that. It would make anyone get that warm fuzzy feeling in their belly. He let his head rest on Ste's shoulder again, and it was comforting. And it wasn't just that he liked Ste. Ste really liked him. Really, genuinely cared for him.
"You did it for me, didn't you? To help me and protect me."
"Yeah," Ste confirmed, sadly but firmly, like he knew however bad it was, he had needed to do it.
"You did all of this for me," said Paddy, head drooping, "he used me to get you into the boot. Did he do that to get you into the car before as well?"
Ste missed the point. "You mustn't think any of this is your fault, Paddy. This was all him. He was crazy, like, proper mad. None of it's your fault."
Paddy looked at him, willing him to understand, "I…"
Dad interrupted. He opened the door to the cottage, where he'd murdered his own father, and interrupted Paddy's moment, making them both stare. He felt the comfort of Ste's arm leave his shoulder and saw him walk straight into Dad's arms. It was like he thought he belonged there, like Ste needed Dad.
And Paddy hated that.
Dad's eyes found him too, and he took one arm from around Ste to beckon him over. Paddy couldn't. He was suddenly too angry. He went, instead, to the other side of the car, saw the front window was broken and got in the back.
Ste and Dad stayed outside a moment longer. That annoyed Paddy too. He heard them laugh about Dad's window, then Ste got in the back beside him.
Ste was behaving like Dad was the brave one. Like Dad had saved them. OK, so Dad had saved them, but only because of how brave Paddy had been. Paddy had gone back, after he escaped. He could have just stayed away in that village, where people would have looked after him. But he didn't. He went back. For Ste.
He said nothing as Dad drove them home. Ste fell asleep in moments. It was almost childish, really. He wondered how old he was. Dec had said twenty one or twenty two or something. That was more than twelve years younger than Dad. He was closer to Paddy's age. He looked younger, really. Sometimes.
"You alright there, Padriag?" Dad asked, looking at him in the mirror. Padraig wondered if he knew what had changed, if he'd noticed the shift.
"Yeah," he said, hoping he didn't. Why was no one acknowledging how brave he had been?
"Why don't you get some sleep too, yeah? Your Ma won't let you out of her sight when you get home. This might be the only chance ye get."
Paddy hummed in response, and put his head back against the seat, then turned it to face the sleeping Ste. His face had turned to Paddy while he slept. That was natural wasn't it? Ste saw it, even if Dad didn't.
Dad didn't deserve Ste. He was just a bully really. He'd let Ste get into this situation. But Ste was brave and good, and had made sacrifices for Paddy that Paddy could never pay back.
And he was beautiful. That perfect face and those long lashes.
Paddy let himself drift off, Ste's perfect face dominating his dreams.
Hope you enjoyed.
If you want more, see Daddy's Boy...
