Yay, a reasonably long chapter to make up for not updating! I really want to get this up to 50 chapters by the end of the year; that's my personal little goal.
Warning for homophobia in this chapter. Yeah we're dealing with Mike's mother again. Also misgendering because Charlie is discussed by people he's not out to, I'm sorry.
That magical week between Christmas and New Year's had come to a close, and with that out of the way, Oscar could go back to his usual state of worrying about his mess of a life.
In an attempt to get his mind off the imminent final push towards his GCSEs, he decided to overthink other things instead, like his brother's mysterious and as of yet unexplained injury, as well as the fact that he'd been out nearly every night for the past few weeks. At work. Supposedly. Something about it didn't add up, and not just because he was being paid cash-in-hand every night, but something else…
He didn't know enough to figure it out, though.
There was also Michael. Not even bothering to worry about the discovery of their relationship at school, he just focused on the immediate threat of Mike's mother.
He wanted to see Mike badly. He couldn't take it anymore! He needed to hold him and just be told that everything would work out and be okay, that they could get through this nightmare and still be themselves and safe on the other side. And maybe kiss him too.
So that's why he found himself outside the Jones' on the afternoon of New Year's Day, for once deciding to hold himself to his drunk self's promises, hungover and at war with himself. He and Mike were best friends. Surely it wouldn't be too weird to visit him, wish him a happy new year and talk about how Christmas had been. Ms Williams couldn't control what friends Mike had.
Except she could, and didn't approve of him and his 'nice Australian suntan'. When he'd told Logan about that, he'd been convinced his brother was going to suffocate from laughing so hard.
And what if, when he saw Mike, he became so overcome with passion he scooped Mike into his passionate arms and kissed him passionately with absolute passion? Okay, he had to admit, that was probably not going to happen. He did entertain the brief image of holding Mike in his arms whilst giving Ms Williams the uppercut of the century, if he was going to be ridiculous.
The thought gave him just enough courage to ring the doorbell, but not enough to stop him from immediately regretting it. Too late now though.
To his surprise, it was Mike himself who answered.
"I'm just here to do some homework," he tried, but Mike let him in without a word. Oscar briefly acknowledged the sounds of shouting coming from the living room before he was herded upstairs. Well, he'd arrived at a great time. Or maybe that was how American families celebrated the holiday season.
"Everything alright?" he asked, once they'd reached the apparent safety of Mike's room.
Mike shrugged. "Could be worse. Mom found out about Natalya last night - Alfie got drunk and mentioned her and she's been shitty about it ever since. Not angry, but, like," he shrugged, "making jokes about her being a Russian spy, or a gangster. Yeah. Kept calling her Russian. You know you're ignorant when Alf is the one correcting your geography. And he only found out Belarus was a place after he started dating Nat."
"Sounds fun," said Oscar.
"Yeah, but we could've survived that. Alfie was just ignoring her. Nothing she'd said really got to him. Then she made a joke about 'Nat's lot' being the only prostitutes left in the world who accept potatoes as payment."
Oscar winced.
"Yeah," Mike smiled grimly, "see, anyone else said that, and he'd have taken it. Hell, if he'd have told Nat she'd probably think it was hilarious. Banter or something."
"The word 'banter' sounds weird in your accent."
Mike raised an eyebrow. "Kick me when I'm down then. Look, Alfie was close to tears by then-"
"Because she was right?"
"Yea- no! So Matt did the honourable thing and told him about his gay Cuban boyfriend. You know, to take the heat off Al."
"So for the third act should I come downstairs and wank you off?"
"No, that would actually kill her."
"Tragic. That doesn't sound like the smartest decision Matt could've made though." If all the shouting downstairs was anything to go by.
Mike shrugged. "Even with time to plan, Al and Matt aren't America's brightest."
"I wasn't aware America had brights."
"Shut up. You're literally Australian."
Oscar shrugged in agreement and waited for him to continue.
"Well, he just thought she'd be shitty to him instead. Turns out Matt's choice in partner was straight - heh - up unacceptable and she lost her entire shit."
Oscar raised an eyebrow; "well, I didn't see that coming."
"Shut up." Mike glanced at the floor, and the distant sounds of shouting, and slipped off his bed to root under it.
"Is she going to take you away now?" asked Oscar, biting his lip nervously.
"What? Nah," he lied, "course not. She'll probably just leave. Or stay and be a bitch until one of us kicks her out. Aha!" He produced a bottle of vodka with a teary grin and threw himself onto the bed. "Want some?"
"I'll pass; hungover to fuck;" Oscar sat down at his head, running his hands through his hair.
"I always drink when I'm stressed," Mike explained.
"That bottle's half-empty!"
"It's chronic. Also have you seen what I've been living with for the past few weeks? Last thing I heard," Mike continued before Oscar could get a word in, "Matt was sarcastically telling mom it was, of course, Carlos' beautiful black penis that made him gay."
"I like Matt," Oscar commented.
"I don't think she picked up on the sarcasm," Mike took a swig; "that's lovely, by the way." Oscar smiled warmly at him, continuing to play with his hair.
"So what now?"
Mike shrugged. "Fuck knows. I'm staying here though."
"But what if-"
"I don't wanna think about it," he moaned, "the stress would actually kill me."
"I could, um... I could help with the stress," said Oscar shakily, sliding his fingertips down to Mike's neck. He wasn't sure he was ready for… whatever, but he wanted to help Mike out.
Mike shrugged and went to take another swig, when the door burst open.
The bottle was under the pillow and Oscar across the room before either could actually confirm it was, indeed, Ms Williams who entered, Al and Matt close behind and looking livid.
"Right, young man, pack your bags!" Michael barely had time to register his mother was talking, looking like a cat being lifted up by a small child. "We're going back to Nevada."
Michael's entire soul appeared to just leave his body at that.
"You're not taking him," said Alfred firmly, seemingly torn between blocking the door and going over to shield his brother.
"Well he's not staying here!" said Ms Williams, "I'm not letting Mikey stay in the same house as that faggy letch!" Matthew looked like he'd been slapped, slipping a hand into Alfred's. Alfred moved in front of his brother.
"That 'faggy letch' is your son!" he growled, "a son who's been gay all his life, and was your son then!"
"Well he's not now, and he's never going near Mike again! I see you've bought his lies and degeneracy, but there's still hope for Mike." Mike himself looked utterly terrified. Oscar wanted nothing more than to go over and hold him, but he was too scared to move.
Ms Williams didn't seem to be done. "Alfie, you know I love you. You know you're always welcome home, but until you stop defending that-"
"Matt," said Alfred sternly. "His name is Matt. My brother. Your son."
"My brother too," said Mike quietly. Ms Williams glanced over at him.
"Sweetie, I know you love him, but you really can't be around him. Not only is he riddled with diseases, most likely, but you really can't trust that lot around young boys-"
"I'm sorry, what the fuck?"
It was only when four pairs of eyes were now on him that Oscar realised it was him that had spoken. He couldn't believe it! He hadn't meant to start with an apology!
"What are you doing here?" asked Ms Williams.
"I've been here the whole time," Oscar sniffed, "I didn't just magic myself into this room to tell you how wrong you are. You're very wrong, though."
"You've been in here with Michael?" she asked. "Alone? Together?" How was it that he was having more fun in Ms Williams of all people's mind than in real life? Oh right, because Ms Williams was looking at him like he had five cocks in his mouth and he was starting to fear for his life.
"I don't know-"
But Michael decided to cut in. "This is Oscar, my gay, half-Aboriginal boyfriend who I love a lot and plan on making sweet gay love to one day."
Oscar had no idea how to react to the face of pure hate currently staring at him, so just finger-gunned in Ms Williams' direction.
No one spoke for a full minute, all three Jones boys frozen in fear, and their mother in shock, when Ms Williams exploded.
"What have you done to my little boy?" she wailed.
Oscar raised an eyebrow. "Dated him? Um, still dating him. Got a problem with that? Or did you mean go into more detail about what we've been doing?"
He hadn't been expecting the slap. Upon reflection, he probably should've.
"You keep the fuck away from him! You fucking piece of shit que-!"
Oscar doubled over, clutching his face and crying, more from the shock of it than anything. He didn't see what happened next, but when he looked back up, Mike was in front of him and Alfred blocking Ms Williams from everyone else in the room.
"Get out! You get your ass to the airport and get on the next plane outta here! None of us wanna ever see you again, got it?"
"Alfie-"
"Don't you 'Alfe' me!" Oscar couldn't see Alfred's face, but he'd never heard the guy so angry, voice dripping with hate and fear. He stood firm, though. Matthew ran over to the boys, holding them both close and Oscar wasn't surprised to find his arms were shaking.
"You-you're not welcome here," Alfred's voice was also shaking.
"I'm not leaving without Mike," Ms Williams huffed, folding her arms. "I can't exactly tell that brother of his what to do, but there's still hope for Mike, and he's still a child, so I can take him if I want."
"Please no," Mike whispered, not seeming to realise he'd spoken.
"My friend told me about a camp. She sent her son there when he thought he was gay. We'll soon straighten Mike out."
Mike winced. He looked at Oscar, blinked back his tears, and pushed past his brothers.
"Fuck off!" he cried, "I'm not going! I'm staying with my real family and you can't make me go anywhere! And you can't make me go to any conversion torture either!"
Ms Williams shook her head, like she was watching a small child throw a temper tantrum. "Sweetie, what did Matthew do to you? Was it him? It was, wasn't it? That why he wanted to get you alone out here?"
Matthew squeezed Oscar a little too tight.
Mike looked at her with the most baffled expression. "What? What the fuck? Matt's not- what the fuck! No one 'did' anything to me; I've always been bi, you dopey bitch."
"Don't you swear at-"
"Fuck you!"
She slapped Mike so hard Oscar thought his head had come off. He didn't have time to react before Alfred had pounced, practically shoving her out the door.
"Get out!" he cried, "get the hell outta here and never come back!"
Ms Williams looked stunned that she was being treated in such a fashion, frozen in shock and unable to fight back for the briefest of seconds. Then she snapped, and yanked her arm away.
"Get off me!" she shrieked, "you just hit me!"
"No one's buying that," said Matt.
Alfred, undeterred, finally got her into the hall with a push.
"This isn't over," she hissed, "you can't keep me from my son. You can't stop me from taking him back. I'll go to the courts, I'll get every lawyer on your asses and you'll be in prison before you know what's hit you." She blinked. "Though, you might like that, Matthew."
"We can," said Mike quietly.
Ms Williams blinked. "I'm sorry?"
Mike glared at her. "We can stop you from taking me with you. You're gonna get outta here, and you ain't even coming back into our lives until you pull your head outta your ass. Got that?"
Ms Williams stood in the doorway and folded her arms. Oscar didn't like her expression one bit. "Oh really? You think I'm gonna listen to you? You think I'm gonna let you stay with the que-"
"Yes," Mike winced, "cause if you don't, I'll tell dad about that time I caught you with that other guy when he was on that business trip."
She just shook her head, like she'd honestly expected better. "You little- he already knows about that! Why do you think we got divorced?"
Michael stayed determined. "Does your sister know it was her husband you slept with?"
Ms Williams' smile fell. No, her sister didn't know, apparently.
"And the neighbours? Do they know? The husband, who looks a lot like me? Be a shame if those rumours were confirmed."
Her thin lips were now pinched into barbed wire.
Mike's smug grin widened. "I'm sure everyone would love to know about that. Be a shame if I was in the country and able to tell them all." Then his smile fell and his face hardened. "Now get the fuck outta this house."
Ms Williams didn't say anything, but everyone knew she'd been defeated. She let Alfred drag her downstairs, Matt hovering on the landing, ready to jump in at the first sign of trouble.
At some point, Ms Williams must've found her voice again, because the shouts continued downstairs, but Mike didn't appear to hear. He sat on the edge of his bed, gripping at the sheets with his blotchy, shaking fingers. He looked like he was about to be sick. Oscar crept over, and - gently - put a hand on his back.
"You doing okay, mate?"
Mike shrugged. "I dunno. Like, I can't stop shaking… but she's gone." The corner of his mouth twitched. "She's gone, right?"
"I dunno. She might come back, but I doubt it." Oscar sat down next to him. "Even if she did, Al and Matt would never let her near you."
"It's true!" Alfred stumbled back into the room, hugging Matthew closely, almost crushing his brother. "Guys, I'm so sorry you had to put up with that all this time! I should've kicked her out on day one-"
"Alf, it's fine," said Matthew, "none of us stood up to her, but she's gone now. She's gone…" His face broke into a grin. "She's gone! We're free!" The twins pulled Mike and Oscar into their hug. "I can see Carlos again!"
"You can see him today if you want," said Al, "invite him over! I'm gonna invite Nat."
Oscar knew Alfred and Carlos didn't get along one bit, Mike had told him, but still. Alfred knew what it was like to not see your partner for so long, and there were only so many arguments a person could have in a day, right?
"Why don't you boys invite Sal too?" Matt suggested, "you haven't seen much of him too, have you Mike?"
"Getting him to make sure me and Oscar don't do anything dodgy?" Mike seemed more amused than annoyed at that. "I'd love to see him, though."
"I missed you," Natalya was saying, smiling into her shot glass. "I'm… I can say that, right? I'm not too embarrassed." She was snuggled up on Alfred's lap, the couple wrapped in a blanket, illuminated by the soft glow of a lamp. "It was lonely. I even had to take the batteries out of my toothbrush to put in my vib-"
"I think you've had enough, darling," Alfred prized the glass out of her hand.
"How cruel," she whined, but let him. She just leaned against his chest, like a cat, and Oscar could almost see her purring. On the other sofa, Matthew was curled up next to Carlos, stroking his chest. Mike, Oscar and Sal were sprawled out on the floor by the Christmas tree, where the brothers had finally been free to display their presents for Natalya and Carlos now they didn't have to keep their relationships a secret. Al and Matt had looked so giddy getting them out of their hiding places before everyone arrived.
"Wanna go upstairs?" asked Mike.
They'd been talking and drinking for hours now. Carlos was wrapped up in the scarf and gloves Matt had bought him, after the man had been complaining about the cold all winter. He'd also stuffed his new water bottle up his jumper.
Natalya, on the other hand, now had a pile of horror books to spend the infant year working her way through, as well as a rather large bottle of vodka.
Oscar nodded; anything to get away from Natalya and her… insights.
Mike lead them upstairs, getting out a pair of blow up mattresses and blankets for the others and the boys got to work making a nest they could all curl up on, using everything they could get their hands on in Mike's room. Sal went downstairs to loot snacks and make hot chocolate, and during that time, Mike and Oscar finally started catching up on all the kissing they'd missed out on over the holidays. When Sal came back, they'd prized themselves apart a little too slowly.
"Having fun?" he asked, amused.
Mike flushed bright red and buried his face in his pillow.
"Sorry," said Oscar as Sal joined them and promptly buried himself in Mike's duvet, "we need to find you someone, so you're not the third wheel all the time. Or have you already hit on every girl at school?"
Sal shrugged. "I guess. It's okay though, really."
"Still, what do you think, Michael? Who would be a good match for Sal?"
"Look, it's fine. Drop it!"
Oscar glanced at him, and then the penny dropped. "Oh. Oh, there's someone you like, is there not?"
Sal was avoiding eye contact. "No!"
"You do!" cried Mike, "oh my God!"
"I don't!"
"You're gonna have to tell us now," said Oscar. "Come on! We won't tell anyone."
Sal looked really uncomfortable. "No I don't!"
"Yes you do!"
"It's a secret!"
"Tell us!" Mike - affectionately - put Sal in a headlock. "Tell us! Tell us! Tell us you hopeless romantic coward!"
"Argh- fine! It's Charlie." He mumbled that name as quietly as he could, but Mike and - more pressingly - Oscar still heard.
"Charlie?" He raised a bushy eyebrow. "My sister?"
Sal nodded, red-faced and not looking at either of them.
Oscar continued to stare at him. "My thirteen-year-old sister?"
"I wasn't actually gonna say anything to her!"
"Right."
"I promise!" Sal looked close to tears, "I think she's really cool and sweet and I love her art, but I'd never actually say anything, y'know? There's no way she'd like me back and she's way too young! Like damn, I'm gonna let her live her life."
Oscar glared at him, but seemed to relent. "You promise? No dating my sister?"
"I swear on my life!" Sal was looking up now, eyes shining. "I respect her."
"Good, because you're right. She's too young. Let her be a kid for a few more years; there'll be plenty of time for stupid dating drama later."
"If you even still like her when she's older," said Mike, sipping his hot chocolate, "you could've forgotten by next week."
"True," Sal hummed. "Now, if you don't mind, I gotta make peeps." He pulled himself up and left the room.
Oscar looked uncomfortably down at his mug, before Mike prized it out of his hands and smothered him in kisses again.
