I promised a quick update, so here we go….

Mitzeee watched her girls stepping down from the busses and stumbling and tottering their way down The Estate towards Central Square. Some were laughing, she knew that more than half of her girls preferred their work at The Estate to any other. Mitzeee thought it must be something to do with the amount of testosterone in the air.

She heard her shot gun message tone from the pocket of her fur coat. She pulled out her phone and skimmed the text, sighing heavily. What the hell was Brendan up to now?

She looked down at her lists and found "Rae Wilson". She was on bus 4. Mitzeee marched over to the bus and called the name loudly. She only barely recognised the girl when she appeared, blonde and almost innocent. It only took a few moments of nonsensical jabbering from the girl for Mitzeee to work out why she recognised her; young Steven's girl.

'What's going on?' Rae beamed when she finished a boring story about a really funny thing that had had happened on the bus.

'Brendan wants to see you,' Mitzeee shrugged.

'I don't want to sleep with him.'

What kind of prostitute was she? Mitzeee remembered having a similar conversation before with this girl before. The stupid girl with her misplaced loyalty to Steven. As always when she spoke to poor, gullible Rae, she had to fight the urge to blow a hole in her delusional little world, but she held back and said:

'Well, don't worry, Brendan doesn't want to sleep with you either, sweetheart.'

And pushed her towards the house. They walked through the double doors, Rae just hanging awkwardly behind her.

Mitzeee didn't miss the gasped "woah" when they went through the doors. The houses throughout Blue Zone obviously weren't designed as neatly as this one, but Mitzeee didn't have the energy to make some disparaging and brilliantly clever remark about Steven's house, because her attention was taken completely by the man sitting in the sitting room, laughing away at late-night reruns of Jeremy Kyle on ITV2.

'You're back,' she muttered.

Warren looked up, stared at her for a moment and then pointed to the TV. 'You seen this show?' he asked. 'I'm just waiting for the day one of The Estate boys appears on it.'

'How's your head?'

'Better,' he said coldly. 'It's just a shame Riley's gone.'

'It is?'

'Well, now I don't get to have my revenge for what he did.' He paused the programme for a moment and grinned spookily up at Mitzeee. 'Walker told me everything.'

'I'm sure he did,' Mitzeee agreed. 'Thick as … well, thieves, aren't you?'

'I think we just might be,' Warren nodded.

'Brendan's in the office,' Macca interrupted. He was sat in the armchair looking more than a little bored. 'He's working late tonight … for you.' It sounded like an accusation, which just made Mitzeee plaster on a huge smile and ask politely:

'Are you sure he's working late for me, sweetheart, and not because of you?'

Macca just frowned, the rusty cogs in his head trying to work out the meaning of the words she'd spoken. He looked to Warren for help, but however suspicious Warren was or wasn't of Mitzeee, he would always side with her over Macca. He'd side with the bloody Irish Garda over Macca.

'It was a compliment,' Warren assured him and Mitzeee took the opportunity to knock on the office door and enter without waiting for the "come in".

'One Rae Wilson, delivered,' she said, pulling Rae into the office from the sitting room.

'Ah, Rae,' Brendan said pleasantly. 'Come in. Sit down.'

Mitzeee was only vaguely aware of Brendan asking Rae to: 'tell me about yourself' and Rae launching into her very boring backstory about her dream of being an actress, which was why she did this to put herself through acting school. She went on about her recent show that hadn't gone too well and that she was thinking she needed a back-up job. She was thinking about taking a course in receptionist work.

Mitzeee could see the glazed look in Brendan's eyes. He was definitely thinking about something else. There was probably a pretty good chance he was thinking about his dirty weekend in Barcelona with Rae's beloved Ste. The thought made Mitzeee smile a little, but she was too distracted by Warren and how he seemingly didn't remember a thing about that incident with Riley to make any kind of comment cleverly subtle comment.

There was a knock at the door, which brought Mitzeee back from her daydream and Brendan looked more than a little relieved that he no longer had to make awkward boring small talk with sleep-inducing Rae.

'Open it, would you Mitzeee,' Brendan said.

'I'm not your bloody slave,' she muttered.

'Ain't you?' he asked with a bit of a wink.

Mitzeee just pulled a disgusted expression. 'Don't flirt with me,' she warned. 'It's weird.'

She opened the door anyway and was greeted with Steven looking somewhat nervously over his shoulder at Macca. Mitzeee could only imagine the insults the jealous little Northern Irish man had been aiming at the pretty boy who'd accompanied Brendan to Barcelona.

'Maybe he could flirt with you instead,' Mitzeee mumbled at Ste.

'What?' the lad asked. His face contorted quite significantly when he was confused but Mitzeee still had to concede that Ste was considerably more attractive than Brendan's current choice of tag-along.

'Nothing sweetheart,' she dismissed. 'Come in.'

'Brendan,' he said, looking straight to the boss. 'What's all this about, eh?' And then, several seconds later, he seemed to notice: 'Rae, what are you doing here?'

Mitzeee perched herself back on the stool in the corner of the office and wondered if Ste's thought process always put Mr Brady so far ahead of Miss Wilson.

'Ste,' Rae beamed, practically knocking the chair over to run and hug him. She looked like a wife who hadn't seen her husband because he'd been at war. The truth was she hadn't seen her boyfriend because he'd been off screwing his boss. Three of the people in this office knew that, which made being in this room as hilarious as it was uncomfortable.

Mitzeee couldn't help notice the way Ste's eyes stayed firmly on Brendan as he hugged his sort of girlfriend. Or how his next question was still aimed at Brendan, and how he didn't sound confused, but more disappointed.

'What's going on?' he asked. Rae was linking her arm through his, but he just seemed a bit awkward. He squirmed a bit under Brendan's gaze, and it was obvious how much the older man was enjoying this from the glint in his eye.

For a moment, no one moved. The two men in the room were just staring at each other and Mitzeee could almost feel them mentally undressing each other. The tension was suffocating and somehow, somehow, gullible little Rae was completely oblivious to it. Mitzeee cleared her throat:

'Er, Brendan, what are we all doing here?'

'Ah, yes.' He reached easily in to the draw under his desk and pulled out two tickets and an envelope, sliding them across the table towards the pair. 'I changed my mind about the cinema trip, Steven.'

'What?' the boy asked. He clearly wasn't the sharpest. Brendan definitely knew how to pick 'em.

'He asked me yesterday,' Brendan explained to Rae, who was practically bursting with excitement. 'But I had to think about it. I've decided,' he turned back to Ste, 'as you did such a fantastic job in Barcelona, I'd give you a bit of a treat.' Mitzeee could almost feel the heat of Ste's blush from where she was and it made her giggle. 'There's some money too. Rae's the kind of girl who deserves a pleasurable night out, treat her well … Steven.'

Every single word was dripping in sexual tension and Mitzeee thought it was probably turning off the expensive whiskey, which was standing on Brendan's desk. It certainly wasn't turning off Steven, who just wriggled about on the spot and said:

'Oh, yeah. Right … thanks.'

'Yes,' Rae agreed whole-heartedly. 'Thank you Brendan. You know, the things people say about you, they're not true.'

'What do they say about me?'

'You're actually a really good man, Brendan.'

Mitzeee laughed out loud. Ste seemed to smirk a little too, maybe he wasn't as thick as she'd first thought. Brendan couldn't even see irony. He just repeated his question in a menacing hiss:

'What do they say about me, Rae?'

'I think we'd better go now,' Ste said quickly, ushering Rae towards the door. Much brighter than Mitzeee had first thought and she helped him by opening the door and gesturing them both through.

She turned back to Brendan as she closed it again.

'What do they say about me, Anne?' he asked. He wasn't threatening with whispers anymore.

'All sorts,' she shrugged. 'I think you've killed most of Dublin and robbed most of the world. Screwed most of Blue Zone and are richer than those on Forbes Top 100.' She grinned suddenly: 'I can assure you, you're not nearly as impressive in the flesh. Well,' she touched up her hair, 'Steven seems to think you are but….'

Brendan half rolled his eyes and got up to pour himself a glass of whiskey. Mitzeee only had to clear her throat to get him to pour her one too. He slid it across the table to her and Mitzeee said:

'I like him.'

'What?'

'Steven. In a scrawny, council rat kind of way, he's quite cute. You know, if you like that sort of thing … which you do,' she smiled, taking a sip of her drink. 'And he's not as stupid as he seems.'

'What are you trying to say, Anne?' he asked taking a long swig of his own drink.

'Please upgrade Macca.' She clasped her hands in front of her. She was begging him. The sooner that little wart left The Estate, the better.

'I don't want Steven,' he said with a forced kind of dismissive laugh.

'Don't forget who you're talking to here. I know you better than anyone,' she said, holding up a hand to stop the lies.

'I know,' he almost whispered. He almost looked broken.

'So what was all that about then?' she asked, gesturing vaguely to the door. She meant the situation with Ste and Rae, but Brendan understood. They'd been friends a long time.

'He almost got sexually assaulted today,' Brendan muttered. 'Lawrence, trying to assert himself as leader of Blue Zone. Steven almost got raped, because of me, because I took him to Barcelona.' He swirled the brown liquid in his glass. 'He deserves a treat.'

Mitzeee downed her drink quickly, it burned in a good way. 'You sound like you actually care about him,' she coughed.

Brendan shook his head solemnly and took another drink: 'I just don't want anyone to get hurt, because of me.'

Mitzeee began laughing hard and slid her glass back across the table for seconds.

'It'll work,' she said approvingly. 'I almost believed you.'

Brendan just grinned and poured them both another glass.

'Just,' she continued. 'How do you know you're going to get a chance to say it to him?'

'He came here expecting sex,' Brendan said assuredly. 'He's not going to be satisfied with a cinema trip and a fancy meal with May.'

'Rae.'

'Whatever,' he flapped the mistake away dismissively. 'The point is, he will…'

'… be very grateful,' they finished together.

'People may say a lot of things about you, Brendan Brady,' Mitzeee said, pointing towards him with her glass, 'but no one can deny that you always get what you want.'

Their glasses clinked.

It wasn't even late when the soft knock at his door sounded. The girls hadn't left yet, but Mitzeee was down at Central Square sorting out some kind of "incident" with her girls. Warren had gone to get his fill. Walker was off finalising plans for an escapade into Russia that he and Brendan had been working on all afternoon and Macca was upstairs patiently waiting in Brendan's bed, just like he'd told him to over an hour ago. The boy was obedient. He'd still be waiting. He'd wait all night.

'Come in,' Brendan called, when the knock came again.

The door opened slowly. Brendan already knew that Steven was going to walk in, but he couldn't stop the triumphant smile from spreading across his face when the lad edged carefully into the office.

'Steven,' he greeted him easily, leaning back in his chair. 'What can I do you for?'

'I just wanted to thank you,' Steven answered quietly. 'For the cinema tickets, like, and for letting me take Rae in to Dublin.'

'No problem,' Brendan said coolly. 'I'm just sorry you didn't have a good time.'

'No we did. We had a great time. Rae was made up.'

'Really?' Brendan was disbelieving. 'If it was that good, why are you here with me and not doing whatever it is you two do?'

'Well, like I said,' he was blushing and tripping over his own words; it was a joy to watch. 'I wanted to say thank you.'

'Well,' Brendan looked meaningfully to the door, 'you've said it now.'

'Oh, right, yeah,' he nodded quickly. 'I'll just be going then.'

He didn't even make it to the door before he turned back, Brendan knew he would turn back. There was too much of a pull in the room, too much unspoken tension dragging them together. Brendan knew Steven wanted him, more than even the boy probably realised.

He didn't say anything for a second, he just kept opening his mouth as though discovering he was mute. Eventually, he managed to make some noise.

'Why are you being like this?'

'Like what, Steven?' Brendan asked, lowering his voice and moving out from behind his desk. Steven took a step backwards, a mixed look of panic and desire on his perfect face.

'Cold with me.'

'Cold?'

'I dunno,' Steven half shrugged. His vocabulary wasn't advanced enough to hold this conversation, but Brendan wasn't really interested in Steven for his vocabulary.

'What did you think was going to happen when you walked in this office, Steven?'

'I….' All his words were failing him now. Brendan could almost smell he lust and fear sweating off him.

'Did you think we were just going to pick up from where we left off in Barcelona?'

'I dunno,' he barely whispered.

'You "dunno",' Brendan quoted, brushing a couple of strands of Steven's hair away from his face. 'You "dunno" much at all do you, Steven?' The boy's face twisted in desperation, like the constant yearning was painful.

'I….' But any words had dried up and suddenly he just darted forward, crashing their mouths together. Brendan caught a little off guard and staggered backwards, until his spine found the door. As soon as he came into contact with the cold, hard wood, his brain kicked back into gear and he pushed Steve away so only their foreheads were touching.

'What's wrong?' Steven asked, his hands were on Brendan's face, holding him like he was important somehow.

'I can't,' Brendan whispered back. It was all a lie, but he was well-practiced in lying. 'I don't wanna be responsible for something bad happening to you.'

'What do you mean?'

'The thing earlier with Lawrence, that was my fault,' he said, almost fooling himself. 'That was because I took you to Barcelona. I couldn't live with myself if something bad happened to you because of me.'

'You don't have to worry about that,' Steven insisted, with the fire that Brendan was used to from him when they were alone together. 'I can look after myself, right.'

'I don't want anyone to get hurt,' Brendan whispered, keeping his gaze towards the concrete floor. He couldn't meet Steven's eyes, he might give himself away.

He felt Steven squeeze the side of his face a little.

'Look at me,' the boy insisted. 'Brendan, look at me.'

Brendan did as he was told, only barely. He could see the determination in Steven's face. If the boy had wanted him before, the craving in him now was unstoppable.

'You're not responsible for what happened to me,' he insisted, 'and I don't care what they do. I don't care what they think, or about the rumours they spread. I just want you.'

Brendan allowed Steven to pull him forward into another searing kiss. He didn't fight this time. There was no need, he had Steven exactly where he wanted him. Brendan reached behind his back and turned the key in the lock. They were alone now, completely alone and they wouldn't be disturbed for as long as Brendan wanted.

::

Macca was lying on the bed naked and playing on his tablet when Brendan eventually dragged himself away from his favourite new firecracker. The sight couldn't have been less appealing if it had been Steven's weird bird Rae lying there. Brendan was completely spent. If he didn't have the energy for another round with Steven, he certainly didn't have the energy for Macca.

'What took you so long?' Macca asked, putting his tablet down.

'Work. Lots of long, hard numbers to punch,' Brendan said, stripping slowly and practically collapsing into bed.

'I don't think so, old man,' Macca chuckled, prodding him in an attempt to be flirtatious. 'You haven't paid me any attention today. You don't get to just sleep now.'

'I'm tired.'

'But….'

'Shut up, Macca,' he snapped. It worked. The lad stopped talking, got out of the bed and stormed over to the door, pulling on his dressing gown as he went. He made a lot of noise. Brendan knew what he wanted. He wanted to be stopped. He wanted an apology. He wasn't going to get one. Brendan was bored of him.

'You know, one day, I'll find someone who treats me right, and then you'll be sorry,' Macca snarled, as his final threatening attempt to get some attention.

'Will I?'

Brendan could almost see Macca's internal stroppy wee girl stamp her foot, before he hissed. 'I'm going to my own room.'

'Good idea,' was all Brendan said, turning his back on his partner and waited for the slam of the door.

He got up when Macca was truly gone and pulled on his dressing gown before heading out to the balcony and looking out over The Estate. The lights were turning off one by one, the girls were queuing up to get back on the busses but Brendan's mind was filled with thoughts of Steven and a little smile pulled at his cheeks.

Mitzeee was ticking off busses as her girls got themselves into the right place. There were a few stragglers: the ones who hadn't been allowed to leave on time, the ones who hadn't wanted to leave on time. Warren was hanging about in the middle of the crowd. He was telling every girl who'd listen how important he was on The Estate, and like flies to dog poo the girls were buzzing around him excitedly. She was fed-up. It was already later than usual, and she was ready to go home and put her feet up. It had been an eventful evening.

Then she spotted something that cheered her up hugely. A guilty looking Steven, sliding out of Brendan's front door and attempting to lose himself in the crowd. He looked thoroughly shagged; face flushed and hair at all kinds of awkward angles. His clothes were creased and dishevelled, like he hadn't quite had the energy to put them on properly and despite it all, he kept grinning like a fool.

He glanced just briefly over to the crowd.

"Nothing for you here," Mitzeee thought, but then his face fell. He looked almost sick, smile long gone. Mitzeee followed his gaze and saw Rae chatting happily with her friends.

'Rae Wilson,' Mitzeee called suddenly. 'Come here.' She didn't know what she was going to say when the girl got over to her, but she'd think of something. She always did, besides, what did it matter, so long as the girl didn't see her sort-of-boyfriend slinking off into the shadows, with a sexed-up aura coming off him.

'What?' Rae asked. She was beaming.

'Er, nothing,' Mitzeee shook her head. She had nothing. 'Just,' she was drawing a blank. Oh: 'how was Dublin?' Mitzeee Minniver, resident genius.

'Amazing,' Rae grinned. 'Dublin was … amazing.'

'Good,' Mitzeee nodded. She almost felt sorry for the girl, almost. But if someone was going to be that blind when it came to their obviously gay boyfriend, Mitzeee found it difficult to feel too bad.

'Bus 4, she said coolly, before pulling her phone out of her pocket. "Have fun, perve?" her text read. "Always, Anne. Always", was the reply.

Thanks so much for reading!

I know this fic is not going exactly how some of you want, so I'm glad you're sticking with it.