"You're up a bit early." Harry commented pouring himself a cup of coffee. Milo jumped slightly not expecting anyone in the house to be up.
"Yeah I've scared the shit out of Embry too this early." Harry chuckled seeing Milo's reaction.
"Yeah I always have been a morning person." Milo shrugged. Harry nodded handing him a coffee.
"You know Sue bought this fancy coffee that Seth said you liked… I thought it would be too fancy but turns out its pretty damn good." Harry laughed raising his mug to toast Milo.
"She didn't have to do that." Milo smiled politely.
"Well I am glad she did. Pretty damn great. Besides you might be her new favorite child now." Harry chuckled again.
"Well the whole pack considers her their mom so that would be pretty cool if I was." Milo grinned drinking his coffee.
"It's what she does. She has the biggest heart in the world. I was just lucky enough to be the first SOB that put a ring on it." Harry laughed making Milo laugh.
"I am surprised you both didn't have more children besides Leah and Seth." Milo observed and Harry nodded.
"Well Sue almost died with Seth. Cord got wrapped around Seth's neck so we had to improvise. But it just happened so fast we got to the hospital and she went in alone for a C-section. I couldn't leave Leah or take her in with us. So that's why Sue went in alone." Harry explained.
"So I am sitting there hugging Leah who is upset because she wants her mom. And I start to think the worst. And the thought came across my mind that it might be Leah and I moving forward. And I would have to explain to her everyday where her mom was. And to say it broke my heart was an understatement. I mean until you experience your soulmate, you're everything not being there…. There aren't enough words." Harry continued.
"So the doctors find me after who the fuck knows how long. And they said Sue was resting but she and the baby were okay. So after we get home a week later I tell Sue I will never go through it again. I put my foot down and said I will never put her through that and I will never live my life without my best friend. And she saw how hysterical I was and she made the decision to stick with me." Harry admitted.
"I think it was the only time we had ever fought too. Being a mom was so important to her but we had two amazing kids who I wouldn't trade for the fucking world. Later we basically added Embry and then added the pack. So we got our big family just not in the sense we planned." Harry shrugged but smiled.
"Well you guys are great parents. How you have supported everyone through this craziness is beyond me." Milo praised.
"Well you know Sue absolutely adores you. And I consider you to be my third son." Harry smiled at him. He was telling the truth. Milo was great with and for Seth. Milo made Seth think before he acted. Plus he loved how his kid was genuinely happy with himself and his imprint. He saw one tear fall from Milo's eyes and he could tell Milo was genuinely touched by his words.
"You never had that?" Harry observed studying him.
"Had what?" Milo asked wiping away the tears stubbornly.
"Support for being you." Harry reported. Milo shook his head.
"No. Umm…" Milo began but Harry cut him off.
"No Harry I want to tell you." Milo began to say. Harry nodded and waited.
"So ummm… my mom was a teen mom and gave me up for adoption. But that never happened. Anyways bounced around foster homes till I was a teen. And I finally settled with this one super religious family. And that was when I got super into religion because all of a sudden this beautiful family with nice things is suddenly in my life taking care of me. So I was like this is amazing… this is because of God and so I should spend every moment being grateful and then God won't take it away. But then I started to have feelings for guys. And there I was finally in a nice home with people that wanted me but I was having sinful thoughts about other men. So I went to church more and more and I prayed harder and harder to make the thoughts stop. But they wouldn't stop." Milo explained shaking.
"It wasn't your fault Milo. It was just a part of you. Nothing wrong with you." Harry tried to comfort.
"I know now. But at the time I had been drilled that it was a sin and I began to cut myself for each thought that entered my head. And then one day, one of their biological sons hit on me while we were studying together. It was innocent but it hooked me in and it seemed like finally someone understood me. We began to fool around in secret but his parents caught us. I've never seen some one move as fast as his dad did. His dad began to thrash a belt against both of us while the mom shouted at us. We separated and he pulled by the arm and led me downstairs." Milo revealed tears falling down his face.
"And he tells me… I will be leaving now. I have to disappear from the area. If I tell my social worker or the police they will just deny the whole thing and say I molested their son. Everything between their son and I was consensual. But their word was more than mine especially with their son upstairs who they would bully into submission. They would tell the authorities I ran away and would act horrified. So I nodded and 'ran away'. It was actually the last time I saw their son and I never knew what happened to him or if they hurt him or sent him to do conversion therapy. I have no idea." Milo said shaking as he cried. Harry began to shake himself but because he was angry.
"Milo look at me." Harry commanded and Milo slowly looked up into Harry's eyes.
"Nothing is wrong with you. You did nothing to deserve that cruelty and neither did their son. You are exceptional just the way you are. It's not about who you love… It's about how you love. And you have such a huge heart. I am very blessed both my children have amazing partners. I never thought I would have lived long enough to meet you." Harry said profoundly.
"Thank you." Milo nodded as Harry pulled him into a hug. Seth decided to make his presence known at the moment. He had actually came back from patrol a bit earlier and heard the majority. Harry saw him and motioned for him to come over.
Seth slowly approached them and Milo turned to hug Seth not knowing how much he had heard. Seth held him with every ounce of strength he had. Harry slowly backed away knowing Seth would take it from there. Seth was strong and he would survive when Harry was gone. He would survive with the help of Milo.
