Three-hander

Prompted by 'lingeringmelodies' and set 14th July 2016, what if the truth about James paying Harry for sex was revealed to Tony?

Sitting on the bench in the village and staring at the money in his hand reminded Harry of James handing over the bag of cash only a few months earlier. He had felt sick back then and he felt the same way now, even though things had changed. Harry was filled with guilt at the fact that he realised that he had a part to play in Ste's downward spiral. Obviously finding out that your boyfriend had slept with someone else for money doesn't exactly do any favours for one's state of mind, but Harry had thought that they'd moved past it. Although he wasn't entirely to blame considering everything that Ste had been through recently, Harry knew that he hadn't helped the situation and he was desperate to make up for it while he still had the chance. With that in mind, Harry stood up and returned to the flat, determined to fix things as best he could.

xxx

Tony stood up quickly but carefully as Harry tiptoed into the flat. Neither of them wanted to wake Ste from his current slumber considering how restless he had been before, so Harry tentatively padded across the room towards his dad.

"Are you ok?" Tony whispered

Harry shrugged and Tony squeezed his shoulder, "I was worried about you, what happened?"

"I've done something stupid" Harry whimpered

"Like every other teenage boy on the planet?" Tony joked, but Harry's desolate expression made him anxious, "It can't be that bad, surely?"

Harry nodded, "I did something which might have pushed Ste over the edge" he whispered, "I made a deal with the devil, Ste found out and things haven't been the same since"

"What did you do?" Tony asked, unsure if he really wanted to know the answer

"You have to understand, Ste and I were homeless, and we were desperate for money" Harry began earnestly, "I wouldn't have even considered it otherwise"

Tony didn't like the sound of where this was going, "Tell me what you did" he instructed sternly

"James Nightingale paid me a lot of money in exchange for… you know" Harry confessed awkwardly

Tony let out a deep breath and hung his head. After a few moments where Harry feared his dad's reaction, Tony looked back up at his son, "Were you safe?" he asked

Harry was taken aback by the question, which was definitely not the response that he had been expecting, "Of course we were" he nodded

Tony sighed in relief, "Well that's one less thing to worry about" he breathed before pulling his son into a hug

Harry grew more confused and pulled away, "Wait, are you just pretending not to be mad at me because Ste's asleep? Because I wouldn't blame you for wanting to scream at me right now" Harry remarked

Tony shook his head, "Obviously I'm not happy about what you did, but we've all done stupid things, especially when it comes to money" he replied, "Ok, so not everyone goes to those lengths but you clearly regret it and you've not been harmed in any way, which is the most important thing"

Harry considered this before smiling, "You're amazing" he breathed, "You gave up this awesome work opportunity with Diane to take care of a guy who you never even wanted me to be with, and even now that I told you that I slept with someone else for money, you're more worried about me than you are angry"

Tony shrugged, "I have no right to be angry" he murmured, "It's my fault that you did what you did. After all, if I hadn't tried to keep you and Ste apart, you wouldn't have been homeless"

Harry shook his head, "That wasn't your fault" he insisted, "When Ste and I were sofa-surfing, we should have been more mature and responsible. It was our stupid behaviour that got us kicked out of those houses, no-one else is to blame for that"

Tony mulled this over, "The last thing I want to do is make things difficult for you, you know that, right?" he insisted, "I should have found a better way of dealing with how I felt about you and Ste being together rather than lashing out"

"You just wanted what was best for me, I know" Harry replied before glancing over at his dozing boyfriend thoughtfully, "And now that I know more about Ste's past, I get why"

Tony nodded, "I just wanted to protect you" he muttered before jokily adding, "But you're big enough and ugly enough to make your own decisions"

Harry pulled a face at him, "Cheers, dad" he retorted, whilst being incredibly grateful for his support and understanding considering everything that had happened.

Unbeknownst to Harry, Tony was fuming. Although he had been telling the truth when he assured Harry that he was more worried than angry, he was inwardly appalled by his son's stupidity. However, Tony was more incensed at James, and made a mental note to visit the lawyer as soon as he possibly could.

xxx

James had barely finished his breakfast when he heard fists hammering against the front door of his home. Confused as to who could be visiting so early in the morning, James contemplated ignoring it, but reminded himself that it was likely to be important considering that the knocking sounded urgent. However, as James opened the front door to reveal a furious Tony, he regretted even bothering.

"Ah, Tony" James sighed, "To what do I owe this pleasure?"

Tony's response to James' question was to punch him in the face, "You disgust me" he spat

"Nice to see you too" James muttered as he tentatively touched the sore spot on his cheek.

"I know what happened between you and Harry" Tony growled

James shrugged, "Your son likes sleeping with men, big deal"

Tony took a step closer to him, "You know what I'm talking about, how could you pay my son to have sex with you?"

James blinked at him, "Because we're both grown men and it-"

"He was still in school!" Tony exclaimed

"College, so he was over the age of consent" James pointed out before sucking in a breath, "And boy did he consent"

"He didn't have a choice" Tony exclaimed

"Really?" James questioned, "You're telling me that he had no other option than to sleep with me in order to get money?"

Tony paused and James continued, "Why is it that you're defending him now when you wouldn't have anything to do with him a few months ago?"

"Things changed" Tony answered coldly

"Harry's still with Ste, isn't he?" James pointed out, "Wasn't that what you were against? So why the sudden turnaround?"

"That's none of your business" Tony argued, "What makes you think you can just go around harassing people like it's nothing?"

"Well you're the one who knocked on my door and then punched me in the face" James countered, "So who's the one doing the harassing here?"

"You sabotaged my business and you paid a teenage boy to have sex with you" Tony hissed, "Once word gets around about what a snake you are, you can kiss goodbye to your job"

"And who do you think they're going to believe, Tony?" James murmured threateningly, "A respectable lawyer or a hapless businessman who's had countless offences under his belt?"

Tony backed away from James, who smirked, "Don't mess with me, Tony Hutchinson" he warned the older man, "You don't know what I'm capable of"

Tony stepped towards him again, "Just stay away from me and my family, you got that?"

"Pot, kettle?" James remarked, amused by the irony of the whole situation, "I've kept my distance from Harry, you're the one coming around here and making threats"

Tony shook his head, "If you had a son like Harry, you'd understand why-"

"If I had a son like Harry, I'd be over the moon that he hooked up with such a catch" James retorted smugly, "But I wouldn't be able to work out why he'd pick that loser, Ste, instead"

"You're unbelievable" Tony sighed, "Just stay away from us"

"I have" James announced, "Harry and I have barely said two words to each other in months, so you don't have to worry about me leading him astray" he chuckled, "But maybe you should worry about Ste doing that"

With one last smirk, James slammed the door and Tony let out a deep breath. He hated the fact that the younger man intimidated him, but he knew that James could easily manipulate people, and everything he said had been true. Tony slowly returned to his flat, James' words sinking in: all he wanted to do was to protect Harry, so was he doing the right thing by letting him have a relationship with Ste, or was he just asking for trouble?

Thanks for reading, and thanks 'lingeringmelodies' for the prompt: I hope this was somewhat close to what you were expecting, though I wasn't quite sure where to go with it so I decided to leave it open-ended. Anyway, if anyone has any more ideas for one-shots, then let me know (and I'll try my best to get them done), and remember that reviews are always welcome!