Thanks again for reading and reviewing.

This chapter will probably let some of you know where it's all going. If you can guess, feel free to PM me, but please don't give it away where anyone else can read!

Apologies again for any one armed typos! x

Padraig didn't understand why that one phone call had put his Dad in such a snappy mood, or meant that they'd all had to run back to Ste's grotty little flat even though they were already nearly back at Dad's!

He did understand why Cheryl had come to pick him up from Ste's. That was because he'd made a huge fuss about sleeping on the floor. He didn't understand, though, that if Granddad really was so dangerous, why Dad was staying to look after Ste rather than his own son.

Well, obviously that was because Granddad wasn't dangerous. At all. And Paddy needed to talk to him.

Thankfully Declan had been an annoying prat, and said he didn't mind the sofa (though why he got the sofa when Paddy was offered the floor was something else Paddy didn't understand). Well that suited Paddy, anyway. Declan was being annoyingly all seeing nowadays so him staying at Ste's meant Paddy only had to get past Cheryl. The moment they got into Dad's flat, she'd turned on the telly and landed on the sofa. As Paddy planned his evening, she was sprawled on the cushions, dressed in a very un-Cheryl-like, grey, stained tracksuit, watching some rubbish chat show. He'd gone straight up to his room and found the precious piece of paper in his bag, along with the forty pounds his Grandfather had given him.

He sneaked carefully down the stairs, impressing himself with his own stealth when Cheryl didn't notice, (she didn't even show signs of life, and if he hadn't needed to get going, he might have worried a bit about her). He slipped through the back door, avoiding Cheryl's line of sight all the way.

No one had given him a spare key (they probably thought he wouldn't need one,) so he carefully left the door on the latch, before running as quietly as a twelve year old can. It was still light outside, and it didn't take Padraig long to find a taxi. He showed the driver the paper, the address of a B&B near Chester, and within five minutes was pulling up outside. He even got change from his £10 note.


"This was a lucky break, ey?" Brendan whispered.

They were lying down, facing each other, on Ste's bed. The only light came from a lamp on each bedside table. No part of them was touching, but the feeling of closeness was as beautiful as any painting. At least, Ste thought it was. Voicing that aloud would probably break the spell. Brendan may have grown, but he wasn't above pointing out when things get too girly.

"What?" Ste said instead, "finding your psycho Dad in my kitchen?"

"I was thinking more of the bit where we get to spend the night together," Brendan smirked, and closed the small distance between their lips and kissed Ste gently. Ste enjoyed the kiss, as he always would with Brendan, but when Brendan's hand found its way to his thigh he pulled away.

"Oi, your son is just on the other side of that door."

But Brendan wasn't going to let a little thing like that stop him.

"He'll be fast asleep by now," he purred going in for another kiss.

"Er, at fourteen? I don't think so, somehow. He's prob'ly still texting."

"No way," replied Brendan, trying for a kiss again.

"Er, yes, Granddad, how long since you were fourteen?"

Brendan play glared at him. Ste wasn't sure if he'd really upset him, so added, "Lucky I like older men, ey?"

Brendan kissed him again, and feeling forgiven, Ste let him until the hand reached his arse, when he picked it up and put it back on Brendan's half of the bed.

"Declan," he said, simply, and nodded towards the door.

Brendan huffed. He tended to behave like a spoilt child when Ste turned him down. It made Ste smile – at least they were both finding the celibacy hard, however short term.

"I thought it was Padraig that made the blue balls law necessary, anyway," Brendan grumbled.

"Yeah, I told ye, if Paddy doesn't like me, I don't want to rub the fact that I'm sleeping with his Dad in his face. That doesn't mean we need to invite Declan to watch."

"It's not you he doesn't like, it's…" Brendan took a deep breath, "he's getting teased at school. They're saying his Dad's a murdering queer."

"Oh," said Ste, and worried about that for a bit.

"So…" Brendan prompted.

"So?"

"So can we have sex now?"

"Brendan!"

"Alright, alright! You're no fun when you're being all responsible."

"Well, one of us has to be."

Brendan laughed at that. Ste smiled too.

"You know," he said, thoughtfully, "I think I made progress with Paddy today."

"Yeah?" Brendan prompted.

"Yeah. He said he liked rugby, so I said I'd take him to see them play rugby at the college. They were always in the club on a Wednesday, weren't they? That's probably when they play, so I thought we'd try and get to watch or something. He seemed up for it, you know." Ste smiled at that small success.

"Well, you're not just a pretty face, are ye?" Brendan smiled.

Ste sighed. "But, like, I've blown it now, haven't I? Dragging you all back here for an old man with an hole in his shoulder."

Brendan took his hand, "It's not your fault."

"But what's he doing here Brendan?"

"Steven," said Brendan, soothingly, taking Ste's face in his hands, "I promised I'd protect ye, and I will, yeah? And that goes for Amy and the kids, too, yeah?"

"But you shouldn't have to…"

"But I will. I love you Steven."

The ridiculous grin he got whenever Brendan said the L word broke through Ste's worries and onto his face.

"I love you too," he replied,

This time when they kissed, he didn't stop Brendan until the hands got inside his clothes.

"Declan!" he warned.

"Yeah, yeah," grumbled Brendan, resignedly.


Paddy spotted his grandfather arriving at the B&B on foot just as his taxi pulled away.

"Granddad!" he shouted, and ran to him. Granddad looked at him coldly, and he remembered; Granddad didn't like them behaving like soppy girls, hugging all the time. It was OK to be hugged and get kissed by Grandma and Mam, but men didn't do that sort of thing.

He stopped running, and tried to make it look like a casual trot. "Alright?" he said, attempting to look manly.

"Padraig," greeted Granddad, "how've ye been?"

"Alright," he replied, "Ste was well freaked out. Did you go and scare him?"

"'Course not, Padraig, I just asked him politely if we could talk. He made a huge fuss and refused, and then called your Dad. I didn't want to fight, so I left."

"Right," said Paddy, trying to imagine this.

"How's it been for you, though? Having to deal with him all day?"

"Oh, er…" Paddy didn't know what to say now he was in front of Granddad. He had a feeling 'He seems to make Dad happy,' or 'it was quite fun' would not please his Grandfather. But the hesitation seemed to be enough to stir the old man's displeasure.

"Padraig," Granddad growled, "he hasn't got to you, too, has he?"

"No!" Paddy denied quickly, because it was the same voiced Granddad used to accuse him of things he shouldn't do.

"He has, hasn't he?" hissed Granddad, getting his face too close to Paddy, "what, did he smile at you, and talk about feelings, like some soppy girl?"

"No…"

"Did he pretend to care? Because he does that, Padraig. He pretends to be what he's not. He can pretend to be all innocent, and sweet, when all he wants is to rip your world away from ye, to destroy you."

"I…"

"What did he do, Paddy?" Granddad demanded.

"He offered to take me to a rugby game."

There was a moments silence, so Paddy continued, trying to fill it under that cold blue glare. "He played football with Dec and me, and then later when it was just me and him, he asked if I…"

"What do you mean, just you and him?" Granddad interrupted, sternly.

"Er…"

"Spit it out boy. It was just the two of yis? Where were ye?"

"Er… in the restaurant…"

"So, where were the others?"

"Er…"

"Padraig," Granddad was so intense, so firm, it scared Paddy, you said you were alone with Steven, how did that happen?"

"We went to the toilet at the same time."

Granddad looked at him, with a strange, almost disbelieving look in his eyes. Then he started to laugh. Paddy frowned. It must be a funny joke for Granddad to laugh that hard at it. Should he laugh to? Pretend he got it? It lasted some time.

"Good boy Padraig," Granddad said eventually, though Paddy wasn't sure what he'd done that warranted that. "Time for step two."

And Granddad told Padraig exactly how to destroy Ste's life. Completely.