It was always up to Brax to fix his brothers problems, and right now this was by far the easiest one to deal with. Any idiot could see how crazy Heath and Liam were about each other, so they both just needed to man up and get the fuck over this.

"Liam, I need to talk to you!" Brax called as he bashed on Liam's front door. Liam appeared instantly, looking as though he was on his way out.

"Brax, I was just-"

"What's the deal with you and Heath?"

"The deal?"

"Yeah," Brax said with frustration, "why's he sitting at home looking like the world's just come to an end? I've got bigger things to worry about..." Heath really looked like that? Maybe there was hope yet.

"We kinda had a fight, he told me not to come back...I was giving him a chance to cool off..."

"That's not what he needs right now, so get the fuck over there and sort this out."

"Geez alright, I was heading there anyway."

"Good. I'll drop you off on my way to Angelo's." The sooner this was sorted the better. Then they could focus on the real problem and not a pair of sissies having a sook over nothing.

Liam went along with Brax, figuring it was pointless to argue with the eldest Braxton when he was on a mission.

"How are things with Casey?" Liam asked once they were on the road.

"Not great. He's gonna go down for this so it's just damage control now. We're trying to make his actions look as uncharacteristic as possible so they'll sentence him lightly."

"I wish there was something I could do to help."

"There is. Patch things up with Heath so I don't have to worry about him too." Liam feared that was easier said than done.

"I'll try." That was the best he could offer, Heath had been so angry the last time Liam had seen him. Brax pulled up in the street outside the house, leaving the engine running. Liam unfastened his seatbelt, opened the door and got out.

"Hey Liam," Brax called through the open window, so Liam turned back to face him, feeling slightly uneasy when he saw the smirk on Brax's face. "By the way, he's been in a filthy mood for days, so have fun with that."

"Thanks," Liam deadpanned, and then Brax drove off. Liam's earlier elation dimmed dramatically as the reality of facing Heath was before him, but he was resolved to do this, he may as well get yelled at now as at any other time. Even knocking on the door caused him a dilemma. Did he do it or not? Previously he wouldn't have, but with the way things were now could he just walk in? But if he did knock was that like admitting things were worse than he hoped they were? Bloody hell, it was just a door, he grabbed the handle and let himself in.

xxx

He'd gone and done it now. Messed up the best thing he'd ever had going for him. Because that's what this thing with Murphy was, the best, Heath could see that now. But in a moment of frustration at his inability to prevent Casey's downfall he'd chased Murphy away, and this time he hadn't come back. At the time it had been so much easier to blame someone else so that he didn't have to feel this horrible guilt. Heath sighed, resigned to the fact that Murphy was gone, he supposed it had been only a matter of time, he'd never been very good at this relationship thing. You could only treat someone like a piece of shit for so long before they cut you loose, but despite that Heath hadn't thought that Murphy ever really would walk away. They'd both made a fundamental change in their lives by committing to this relationship and splitting up didn't seem like something that should ever have happened, except it had.

And on top of losing Murphy he'd gone and pissed Brax off too. Deep down Heath knew it wasn't either of their faults that Casey was gonna end up in jail, but well fuck, he'd just had to let his frustration out somehow. He heard the rumble of The General's engine outside, maybe he could say sorry or some shit to Brax and have a go at fixing this. He didn't wanna be separated from both his brothers, besides, Brax had to forgive him right? Because they were family, and Brax at least, didn't have a choice, he was stuck with Heath no matter what. Murphy on the other hand…well Heath didn't wanna think about that now, he couldn't handle another lost cause today. Heath heard the door open and marched into the lounge room, determined to apologise to Brax before he had a chance to change his mind or over think this and fuck it up too much.

"Look Brax, I-" Heath began but he stopped short, because the man who'd stepped inside wasn't Brax, it was that idiot Murphy. The one who had the ability to affect him so deeply, to make him so glad and so bloody mad at the same time. The one he didn't wanna live without. The one who'd gone and left him when he'd needed him. That Murphy. But all that was somewhere in Heath's subconscious. The only thing that mattered now was that he was also one who'd come back, and that had to count for something right? That stupid, amazing, annoying, gorgeous man stood in front of him and all Heath knew was that now his Murphy was back, he needed him to understand that he was never allowed to do this to Heath again. Because, you know, they obviously belonged together and all that crap.

xxx

For a moment as Liam considered the determined way Heath approached him, he thought that he might be about to cop a fist in the eye, but that didn't turn out to be the case.

"I can't believe you walked out," Heath said, throwing his arms around Liam and holding him tight. This wasn't at all what Liam had expected. Caught off guard, it took him a moment to answer.

"I didn't want to make you angrier," Liam explained as he returned Heath's embrace.

"I've told you before that's the best part," Heath said, his tone bordering on panic now, it worried Liam. But then, in a moment of clarity, Liam realised Heath was scared. He'd been scared that Liam wouldn't come back.

"Hey, c'mon," Liam said gently, pulling back so he could see Heath's face, "I'm not going anywhere."

"For real?" The unguarded look on Heath's face prompted a stirring realisation for Liam...

"For real." Looking at Heath in that moment Liam knew, beyond a doubt, that he was completely and utterly in love with Heath Braxton.

"I'm sorry I yelled at you. I shouldn't have said it was your fault." It was very unlike Heath to admit he was wrong, he really must've thought Liam was gone for good. Liam was sorry he'd left Heath alone when he'd needed him, he'd caused him more worry when he needn't have.

"And I'm so sorry I left you."

"So you should be, it was a horrible thing to do," Heath stated, much more like himself now that he was satisfied Liam was here to stay, "you shouldn't have left me here by myself. You're an idiot...I hate you." The words tumbled out of Heath's mouth and though Liam heard them, Heath's tone didn't match, and neither did the look in his warm brown eyes. And Liam understood what Heath was saying, as surely as he knew how he felt towards the man in his arms.

"I'm sorry jerk," Liam said affectionately, taking Heath's face in his hands, "and I hate you too." Then Liam leaned in and kissed Heath, making sure to show him just how deep that hatred burned.

AN: So that's it! Hope y'all enjoyed reading Heath and Liam's story as much as I enjoyed writing it. Thanks so much to everyone for reading and especially to those who reviewed :) And a huge thank-you to lycanus1 for all your support :D

Now if you're worried you'll miss the boys, never fear! They have plenty more to say and do (this is a soapy after all), so be sure to stay tuned, I think a sequel might already be in the works )