Brave Lake Manor
by AB
Epilogue: Of Peace and Mayhem
"Ah, mon ami vous avez une lettre!"
He heard the female voice directed at his direction as he worked the fields, covered in sweat and half naked from the waist up inevitably showing his well exercised body and abs.
He set down the wicker basket that he was filling with grapes and looked up to the direction of the known, delicate voice.
"Bon jour mon ami, who is it from?" he asked her, giving her one of the smiles the whole Chateaux and nearby village had come to fall in love with.
"Mrs. Enora, ton amour," she answered him, giggling and pouting, making him shake his head in disbelief for the girlish antics coming from the adult woman.
"Oui mademoiselle Rene," Ryan said. He knew full well that she loved being called that way as it removed years making her feel younger. Even at twenty five she liked to feel younger.
Wiping the sweat off of his face with the back of his hand he took the letter from Rene and walked a few meters to a worktable that had a sink with running water and towels on so that workers could clean and freshen up when working on the fields in the middle of summer.
He threw some water on his face and opened the letter after drying his hands on a towel.
He read the letter, his eyes growing as big as saucers. "Rene… I know I still have a few days on my two weeks' notice but…," Ryan started saying but Rene chuckled.
"Go… go… you'll never be mine… you… it was too good for it to be true…," she said. He walked to her and brought her waist close to him.
"You are a very attractive, gorgeous, funny and intelligent woman Rene, and any man will be lucky to have you but…"
"But you are not that man," she said. She wasn't angry or even sad. Instead, she looked more as if she had come to realise some deep truth.
When Ryan had finished his biochemistry degree he had moved to France and specialised in wine making and how to create different variations of flavours and after-flavours in wines. Then having graduated that with honours as well a chateaux had offered him an internship which he had accepted.
Rene was the owner's niece and she had fallen for Ryan almost instantly, what had started as a friendship Rene had always wanted to make deeper and more intimate, but Ryan would not accept her advances even when he and Enora had all but broken up with him only to rekindle the relationship a few months later.
"No… I am not that man. I love her too much and you don't deserve to be anyone's second option Rene, you deserve someone who will want to be with you because he can't imagine his life without you," he told her and gave her a kiss on her cheek.
"I hope she knows how lucky she is, Ryan," she said and left, her long ginger hair waving in the morning breeze.
He packed his bags, luggage and booked a train ticket to Paris for the Eurostar that would take him home.
He spent the rest of the day saying goodbye to all his friends in the Chateaux and village, none of which wanted him to go.
"Ryan! Ryan! No you can't go!" A dark haired boy called out to him running to him and falling on his lap.
"Bon Jour Charles," he told the young boy rubbing his back.
Charles squeaked when he felt Ryan give his eight year old package a quick playful squeeze. He slugged Ryan on his shoulder as they both laughed.
"I'm sorry, Charles, but… you wouldn't want me to be away from my family would you?" he asked Charles, poking his nose with his index finger.
Charles sighed, "I guess not, but I'll miss you!" he said pouting.
"I'll miss you, too, my little tickle monster, but we all have our path to follow and mine now has to take me away from here. One little piece of wisdom one of my brothers taught me a few years ago."
Charles thought about it for a moment, skewing his nose in concentration.
Then he shrugged his shoulders and smiled. "I don't really understand it Ry but… you should go to your family," the boy said.
"I will, Charles, I will. I'm going to my family and my love and I hope one day soon you, too, find that second one," he whispered to Charles' ear.
"Nah! Eeeww girls are icky!" Charles said poking his tongue out. Ryan tilted his head back and let out a heartfelt laugh.
"Oh my young friend, if you only knew… you are still only eight years old… tell me that when you're fourteen," he said setting the boy down.
It was a long train ride to Paris giving him ample time to get lost in his memories. As per usual, Enora and his family held the greatest sway in them.
He held her letter in his hand close to his heart as he remembered their first time together, when she had finally opened up to him.
It had been almost a year after that fateful day in November when she called him home.
He biked to her home anxiously as he always longed to see her.
When he got there he saw that her father was not in the house and his hopes rose.
She opened the door and started kissing him the moment the door was closed behind him.
He loved travelling his hands from her taut developing breasts down to her tear shaped buttocks, squeezing them, making her moan softly.
Ever since the incident with Terry and Jack, he had been exercising twice as hard, not only doing aikido any more but swimming and running as well so with increased strength he had no problem to pick her up in his arms so she could wrap her legs around his waist.
She squealed and giggled, wrapping both her hands around his neck and her legs around his waist.
He threw them both on the couch, giggling and squealing as they started removing each other's clothes off at what seemed supersonic speed.
He took hold of one of her breasts with one hand, kissing and biting them hungrily with his mouth. The other hand travelling slowly, teasingly to her nether treasures.
She giggled and moaned, her hands still wrapped around his neck and caressing his hair as if he was a babe she was breastfeeding, her motherly instincts kicking in even in her young age.
His hand created Goosebumps on her skin as he teased her navel and then soft, silky smooth pubic mound.
He felt her opening her legs to give him greater access. Moaning, he rubbed his fingers against her clitoris. She gave a small jump of surprise but didn't close her legs. Instead she tried to open them more.
He could feel his boy-launcher harden as he circled his tongue around her nipple and played with her pussy. In fact, he had never felt so good and so hard before in his life.
He had not done anything with Sebastian since that one night. He had avoided even the simplest of fooling around wanting not to lead his best friend on something that would never be more than it was or had been already. He loved girls and so he and Sebastian could not and would not work out.
That lack of sexual release though had him on edge quite often as Jason had also lost any interest in fooling around with other boys ever since he had started dating Victoria and so his only release had been his hand and whatever access Enora had allowed him. Today though he was determined to go all the way.
He started going lower on her kissing her belly, her inny belly button, her abdomen and that infernally cute and sexy "v shape" that led to her treasure of treasures.
Once there, he looked up once to be sure. When he saw Enora's eyes closed and her mouth partly opened in a "0" shape, he grinned and leaned his head lower until he could smell and taste her pussy.
He started licking at her outer pussy-lips and playing with her clitoris with one hand as the other wrapped round her thigh and squeezed it gently.
She shoved her hips forward responding to the stimulation he was offering to her.
He pushed his tongue up against her inner pussy-lips and heard her give a soft yell of elation as she arched her back. He ate her pussy, feeling her most sacred juices offered to him as a reward for his effort. He had thought they would taste… unpleasant but he was surprised when he tasted ambrosia and nectar.
He heard her come to completion and rose to kiss her. A few moments later, she started to go down to reciprocate but he stopped her.
"No… look please can we… we… you know? I love you so much and I want to wait until you're ready but… I'm desperate and I… need this baby!" he told her.
She nodded and kept her legs open. "You sure you don't want me to… first?" she asked pointing to his rock hard tool.
"Yeah… I… if you do that… I won't be able to hold back… I want to do "this" with you…," he said indicating what he wanted.
He kissed her and brought his dick to her vaginal opening.
He felt her bite on his lip when he gently but decisively pushed past her virginal membrane, breaking it. He paused for a moment until she was comfortable again and the majority of the pain had gone away before he moved again going deeper inside her. He still moved slower, far slower than his instincts base and primeval dictated him to do.
Eventually moaning like crazy and stopping whenever he felt her tense, he felt his ball sack touch her peritoneum and knew he was balls deep inside her. He felt himself shiver from the intensity of the pleasure.
She gave a small moan and leaned forward, bringing their mouths together in a passionate kiss full of saliva, sloppy sounds and gentle bites on their lips.
He waited with every fiber of his being for her to fully relax and then pulled back and jammed it right back in. Her warm, wet cavity was providing him with electric shock of pleasure emanating from his steel hard boyhood and tightening sperm sack shooting right up to his brain almost making him cum right that instant.
He whimpered in her mouth as he felt her tighten her legs around his waist, pulling him to her.
He started a fucking rhythm, banging in and out of her in increasing speed, kissing her soft lips, supple nipples and sweet smelling neck in varying loops.
He could feel his balls churning and his little toes curving inwards. He knew he was close and the pleasurable bliss she was giving him was not allowing him to successfully prolong the sexual act between them for as long as he would have liked.
Five intense, slapping sounds of his balls on her small patch of skin between her pussy and arsehole he jammed it in one last time and, arching his back and tilting his head backwards, he had as what could only be described as the best and most explosively brilliant orgasm of his teenage life.
The memory of him collapsing next to her, caressing her gluts brought him back to reality.
Quite a few kilometers away, Peter was having his noon nap on the lounger. He woke up every day regardless of day or month at six o'clock, worked until two and slept for one hour before working some more until five or six in the afternoon.
Some days his work was in the fields with the workers, some days in the Manor or the Village.
The last nine years though, this nap time had taken an additional reason as to why he loved it. And that reason was now sleeping sprawled on his chest.
His son, his firstborn child lay murmuring and purring in the safety and bliss of sleeping on his dad's lap.
His little heart beating in his chest, Peter could hear its rhythmic beat against his own chest. Being summer, neither he nor his son wore anything other than their short pants.
Peter woke up and looked at his sleeping angel's face. He looked so content and happy. He couldn't help himself from smiling warmly. He raised a hand from Gabriel's shoulders and, as gently as he could, he caressed his soft cheek.
There were no words that could describe the love he felt for his son, or his daughter and his wife. They were the only three people in this world or any other that he loved more than his brothers, more than life itself.
He removed the boy's longish hair from his face, behind his ears. Gabriel had inherited both black and ginger hair from his grandparents on Peter's side which gave his hair a very unique colour of between red and black. His eyes he had gotten from his mother though, sparkling orbs full of hope and joy for life.
Gabriel shifted and woke up instantly grinning when he saw his papa's smile.
"Hey love, slept okay? You sure snored like a little lion cub!" Peter teased him, poking his ticklish, lean ribs.
Gabriel giggled and squirmed. "Hey!! I don't snore!! You snore like a...a… tractor!!" He poked his tongue out to his father.
Neither of them actually snored but it was like a game between them to tease each other about it.
Peter chuckled and gave him a kiss on his cheek.
"Papa… can I ask you something?"
"Yes, Gabriel, you can ask me anything you want, tell me anything you want." Peter smiled and caressed his soft, peach-coloured cheek.
"Well… there's this girl I want to ask out… she's the only girl that's not yucky… she's actually… cute!" Gabriel spoke turning a soft shade of crimson. "But she's a year older than me in school and I'm afraid that she'll say something bad…"
Peter chuckled. "Just walk up to her and ask her out, tell her your name and ask her out. If she says no, then stay calm, wait a few days and then ask her out again. Girls like persistence, but don't appear desperate. They don't like that. You are an amazing boy, handsome in your own right, so stay calm and confident and you'll do great," Peter told his son and Gabriel looked so concentrated on what his father was telling him, he looked as if nothing else existed in the world.
"Okay, papa, thanks!"
"Papa…"
"Yes, Gabriel." Peter chuckled.
Gabriel took a few moments of hesitation before he spoke up again.
"There's this new kid, he came when school was closing… he's a meanie calling me and my friends names and stuff… he's older I think, hangs out by himself unless he's picking on one of us…"
"Hmmm… maybe if you tried to befriend him? Sometimes kids behave… badly because they don't know how to ask for something… tell you what, next time you see him, ask him if he wants to be friends. If he continues to behave like a jerk, then tell him it's not okay and that he must stop. If he stops that's nice, if he becomes… violent then defend yourself and I have your back. If after this you want or need my help, come talk to me again and I'll come clean house okay?" Peter wanted Gabriel to be able to defend himself and not run straight back to daddy for every problem he had, wanted him to build some more self-confidence, but after the incident with Jack and Terry he took no chances.
"Okay, papa! You're the best!" Gabriel told him, hugging him.
"Off you go now, my lion cub, I need to go get ready, I have to go pick up Malthe from the train station," he told his son as he got up and, hooking his hands under Gabriel's even more ticklish arm pits, he raised him and left him on the ground on his legs.
"Uncle Malthe's coming home!? YAY!!" The boy said and ran off inside the house.
Peter went and had a shower, then called Maria from his study. About two days after they had gotten married, Maria had gone to her boss and quit. Nearly two years after that she went back and bought the place, turning it into a wine tasting restaurant/bar. She mainly served the Estate's wines, but also had an increasing number of other small, boutique wines from across Europe. This was her part of the family business and she ran a tight ship.
She had also upgraded the quality and variety of the food, hiring an actual chef to work the kitchen.
It had only been eight years, but with the new direction of the restaurant and the rising success of the Jarrow Estate wines, Brave lake Village was acquiring a new avenue of income and the steady increase of wealthy tourists was starting to show as houses were being renovated and new shops were opening.
As he was still talking to his wife, he heard screams coming from the floor above, from the children's rooms.
"I'll call you back love, something's up with Gabriel and Janet," he said and terminated the call.
He got out of his study just as Janet, his daughter, came running down the stairs looking gleeful and mischievous.
Gabriel ran after her in his speedo looking aloof and angry.
Before even any of them started to talk, in fact Janet was yelling something over and over the same thing, Peter knew what this was about.
"Gabriel was playing with his p…" Janet was yelling in a loop but she was interrupted by her father's voice.
"SILENCE!" Peter yelled loud enough to be heard clearly across the Manor, his deep voice reverberating like a thunder across the sky.
Janet froze like a rabbit caught in front of a car's lights in the night. Her daddy never yelled at her. She was daddy's little girl and this was unheard of. Sure he got mad at her at times, but he never ever had yelled at her before.
"You," Peter started pointing at his daughter. "From now on you will always knock on your brother's room door. If you don't get an invitation to enter you will not enter it irrelevant of if he's inside or not. He's a grown up boy from now on and he needs his privacy. Am I clearly understood?" he said in a calm but stern voice.
It took Janet a second to come to, "Y… yes daddy… sorry daddy."
"Good, now give me a hug and go play with your dolls," She walked to him hesitantly and hugged him. He hugged her back giving her forehead a kiss.
"You," he pointed to his son, "follow me," he said and walked to his study. Gabriel hesitated to enter the room. This was his father's study and entrance was strictly forbidden to him and his sister.
His father got behind the large, finely carved wooden desk and waved for him to enter.
Gabriel took a few steps until he stood right in front of it. He looked around in awe expecting to see all the mysteries of the universe in that room, or to at least understand as to why he wasn't allowed in it. He would understand a few years later when he grew older and could comprehend his father needing a room to work in without disturbance or fear of kids messing up important documents and stuff.
Peter opened a drawer and removed an object before closing it again. He walked round the desk and gave the object to his son who looked down at his hand expecting to see a magical item of incredible potency or a sword or something of equal mythical power. Instead it was a key, a simple, ordinary key.
"I think you are old enough to lock your door from now on. It's no one's business what you do in the privacy of your own room, but do not abuse this privilege if you don't want it removed. Oh and no girls in your room locked or otherwise."
Gabriel thought for a moment before grinning widely. "Thanks, papa!! But why would I want to have a girl alone with me in my room?" he asked innocently and matter of factly.
Peter laughed, he couldn't help himself. "I think very soon you and I will have to have a discussion about… some stuff… but not today," he said and led his son out of his study before locking it.
Gabriel ran off upstairs to continue what he was doing before he was so rudely interrupted by his younger sister.
"Hey again, love, yeah something needed taking care of, I think very soon enough I'll have to have the "talk" with Gabriel, yes they do grow up fast, so are you with them old folks?" Peter called Maria again from his mobile phone. "Them old folks" was how he referred to George's and Rick's parents.
"Yes, I'll go pick Malthe up and Mr. Cox had to pick Ryan up who came a few days earlier. I don't know what he has decided to do about that, part of me wants him to reject that offer, but it would mean a lot for his career if he said yes, and I do want what's best for him. Okay, honey, I'll see you later," Peter finished talking to Maria just as Christian walked by him smiling as he went to the pool.
As the years flew by and the twins, like everyone else, grew up, they had only become cuter and more handsome. Yes it wasn't the childish cute that they once were, but to boys and girls their age they were cute in a different way.
Christian in particular had grown to an Adonis-like avatar of a seventeen year old almost eighteen year old. There wasn't a shred of body fat anywhere in his body and his young muscles toned and exercised daily along with his still long blond locks made him look like a fantasy creature, an elf or some other fair creature of mythology.
He was now shirtless wearing only a powder blue speedo that hid only the absolute minimum.
"Hey, bro!" he said to Peter as they exchanged a hug. Even now, after all these years whereas Malthe was less likely to show his affection easily to someone, Christian always gave out affection and hugs as easily as smiles.
"Hello, woke up finally?" Peter teased him. "Going to get some sun?"
"Yeah… such a glorious sun outside… I want to grab some sun before my Malthee comes back… do you know when Sebastian is coming home?" he asked trying not to sound too eager.
"I don't really, but Ryan should be here in a bit, he'll know."
"Ryan's coming? I thought he wouldn't be back until next week! Yay!!" Christian replied reminding Peter of his once childish self.
"Yes, apparently Mr. Cox has gone to pick him up now," Peter told him and, giving him a playful slap on his ramp, he headed outside.
Ryan and the twins had been a good trial run for Peter and Maria. Ryan and Christian in particular for different reasons had taught the two of them a lot of things.
Ryan had been through a difficult patch for a couple of years after the incident that almost killed him and Malthe. First he had been really sad but then as therapy progressed sadness gave way to anger and fits of rage. It had all calmed down eventually and Peter and Maria never really blamed or treated him differently, understanding and knowing that it wasn't that he had changed to a bad person but that he was going through emotions that needed to be displayed and worked on by him with whatever help they could give him.
Christian had been and was still the most promiscuous of all of the Jarrow brothers. He tried his best to be discreet, but it was obvious that he was changing boyfriends faster that he could find new ones. After a while though, a few things were obvious, at least to Peter. Christian was most definitely gay whereas Malthe showed to be more interested in girls, and specifically to Amanda as the now young lady had managed to keep and increasingly peak his interest as they grew up. It was also obvious to Peter that Christian sort of missed something from his life and love life. Peter could easily guess what that was, but he did not know or could not guess who that person that would give it to him would be. It was definitely not Adam even if the two boys were the best of friends, almost like brothers. Adam had passed on to fooling around with girls at around thirteen even if he continued to fool around with Christian for a couple of years more.
At some point, Christian had even sort of dated Samuel but he too had started being more interested to girls after a while.
Peter knew that Christian did not begrudge his friends for not being interested in him in the same way as he was interested in them but he could also understand Christian's heartache at not being able to find someone to have that deep emotional and intimate relationship with.
Sebastian was driving down the motorway in his new convertible mini. A gift from his parents at graduating one of the city's best law schools, he had several things on his mind. Which job to accept, if he should return back to Brave lake village or not yet. He knew he wanted to return permanently at some point, but he wasn't sure if he should get a few jobs in the city first and gather some experience as a notary before returning.
Another thing in his mind, which had become increasingly vexing to him as the years passed, was his growing affection and interest at a particular person. He couldn't explain it, he knew him since he was only a seven year old boy, and he was his best friend's brother which in his mind complicated things immensely as he felt he should have only brotherly feelings for him but instead the very thought of him made him feel all warm and funny inside and made his now adult joystick jump and twitch happily in his denim jeans.
And it wasn't only the sexual fantasies he was having with this person. It was somehow deeper, over the years, especially after he had left the village for law school but somehow he felt them all empty. He felt as if all of them had just served to abate his sexual hunger, but not managed to achieve that deeper connection he so seemed to crave of late.
He turned on the motorway exit for the village and soon enough he was parking in the Manor driveway. He didn't bother going by his parents' house first. He needed to know why he felt the way he did and how he could remove those thoughts from his mind. Christian was Ryan's little bro after all.
"Oh… hello Peter!" he said as Peter opened the door just about as he was ready to ring the bell.
"Oh hello Sebastian. Looks like everyone is coming today," Peter said after he gave him a hug and a pat on the shoulder.
"Everyone?" Sebastian asked surprised.
"Well I'm off to go pick up Malthe, Mr. Cox is picking up Ryan and Jason is coming later today."
"Oh… cool… uhm… is Christian inside?" Sebastian asked hesitantly.
Peter stifled a chuckle, "Yes he should be sunbathing out by the pool."
"Thanks, I'll see you later then," Sebastian said and left in a fast walk.
Peter shook his head and left.
Sebastian walked as fast as humanly possible without actually running. He reached the large sliding window leading to the back yard and the swimming pool and opened it to be met by a stunning view.
Not just because it was a clear sunny day without clouds that allowed one to see the mountain in the far distance and smell the various flowers and stimulus coming from the lake and the forest, but also from what he saw right in front of him.
He hadn't seen Christian for two years now if not slightly more, as studying for law school and working as a paralegal in a law firm didn't allow for any free time. His parents had managed to go and visit him a few times. Ryan and Jason as well as they also went to university in or around the city so he hadn't lost contact with them but the twins, Peter and everyone else he had not seen for two years.
In front of him was the finest specimen of a late teenage boy he had ever seen. He was slim and athletic, his abs, torso and hands showed the constant friction with one sport or another, as Christian had changed a few going from aikido to swimming to football to basketball and then loop again. He was still pretty much hairless with body hair only adorning his legs and hands. His face still kept much of his boyhood youthfulness without any facial hair.
Sebastian's eyes travelled lower to Christian's speedo-covered –not that it covered much of anything – package. The boy must have certainly grown since he had last seen him naked when he was eight or nine in a skinny-dipping swim they've all had in the lake. The bulge under the cotton cloth looked plentiful and quite healthy.
Christian must have either just jumped in the pool or had some kind of tanning lotion on as his whole body glistened in the sun like a statue made from the finest alabaster on the land.
Sebastian gulped, feeling his own soldier starting to stand proudly on attention.
He re-arranged his package in his jeans and walked outside.
He must have made a sound as Christian opened his eyes and turned his head to his direction. His face almost instantly decoured by a huge grinning smile.
"SEBASTIAN!!" Christian nearly yelled and, jumping up from the lounger with the agility of a cat, he ran to Sebastian and wrapped both hands and legs around him.
"He did just jump in the pool," Sebastian thought as he felt the warm, wet body hug him.
"I missed you soo sooo sooo much, you egg!! Where the fuck have you been!?" Christian asked him nearly crying.
"I… I'm sorry I guess… I was just so very busy… what with law school and work time flew…," Sebastian said.
Christian was almost purring as he lay his head on Sebastian's neck and hugged him close.
"You could have Skyped or called… I am mad at you, you know!" he said softly.
"No… I couldn't… I just… I…" Sebastian sighed and decided "What the hell… out with it and come what may."
"I… am gay…"
"Yes I know, silly… we all know and have known for ten years now…" Christian said as if Sebastian had told him that the weather was nice.
"Yes… I suppose you do… but… you see… I like you… I think I like you a whole lot and I don't know what to do with those feelings… you're Ryan's little brother after all…"
Christian felt as if Christmas, Easter and summer holidays as well as his birthday had all come together in one single moment in time. He suddenly felt as if time all around them stood in hiatus from what he had heard.
He pulled back from Sebastian's hug and looked at him straight in his eyes, his own eyes watering up from joy.
"You… you mean… you like me like me like me"
"Yes… please don't ha…" Before Sebastian could finish saying what he was saying, something moist, smooth and tasting like freshly cut cranberries made contact with his lips. His eyes focused and it was immediately clear that Christian was kissing him. He was in fact probing with his tongue for Sebastian to open his mouth which he did without any hesitation.
It didn't take Sebastian long to come to the decision that Christian was an amazing kisser.
"Wait… what? What was that about?" Sebastian asked shocked to receive a glare and a slug on his shoulder from Christian.
"Can you possibly be any thicker?! I have wanted you to notice me you egg since I was seven or eight years old! Every boy I've been with I've imagined that it was you I was having sex with AND IT HAS TAKEN YOU TEN YEARS TO GIVE ME THE TIME OF DAY!!!" Christian almost, well actually he did yell but he wasn't angry, it was more of an expression of frustration.
"You… wait what?"
"I wanted us to be boyfriends since we were kids you thick-headed, gorgeous man!" he said and tried to kiss Sebastian again.
"Oh… uhh… I'm not sure even now if we should… I mean I'm nearly twenty four and you're not even eighteen… and you're Ryan's little bro…"
"So fucking what!? I've wanted you for soooo long I'm not taking no for an answer you hear me?! And if anyone brother or no has a problem with that… fuck them!!"
"Well I want to fuck you actually!" Sebastian whispered to Christian in a newfound confidence.
They both blushed, but Christian was grinning widely.
"You have," he stated simply.
"I have what?" Sebastian asked him perplexed.
"Fucked me, silly!"
"Uhhh… no I haven't! I think I'd remember that!"
"Do you remember a night a couple of years after we came here… you, Timmy and Jason were sleeping over…"
"That happened a lot Christian… I still don't…" Christian placed a finger on his lips silencing him.
"Remember at some point Timmy had to go the bathroom… and when he came back he started sucking you!?"
"Oh gawd yes!! That so far has been the best blowjob of my life… and I didn't even know he had it in him… he was never that good in sucking… well cock before and after that night…," Sebastian said impulsively.
Christian giggled, "That's 'cause it wasn't him sucking you as if there was no tomorrow."
Sebastian looked at him as if he was seeing an alien, his jaw slightly parted.
"You… you mean… but that… I mean… after… I flipped "him" over and… and…"
"And took my cherry away… I've never felt like that since then… and I think I've been hunting for it ever since… I… need you sooo much silly! Please…" This time it was Sebastian who surprised him kissing him passionately.
Sebastian broke the kiss and caressed the cheek of the person who was becoming more and more important to him.
"Speaking of Timmy… how is he? Are you two still together?" Christian asked him.
"Nah… I think we were never really together… after the initial "love" wore off we were mostly just fuck buddies… then when we went each to our university… I haven't seen him in three years but I think he's doing okay… must have graduated by now… chemist I think, don't know… don't care… all he wanted was to fuck, fuck, fuck… I wanted more…"
"Any… one else…"
"No… just you from now on… if we can make it work… Won't be easy… you going to university… me having to work…"
"Nah… it'll be plenty easy… I want to be a nature photographer, and the best course in that is in a small studio that is working with BBC on the subject and they have a small but highly recommended course. I've applied and they've accepted me… I think they liked my portfolio."
That Christmas ten years ago after Malthe and Ryan had come out of the hospital Peter had bought him a then starter DSLR kit which he used until it could no longer operate taking one picture of an animal or flower or generally nature after another. After ten years of use the camera had broken down but he was able to pick the best of ten years of photographs for his portfolio.
"I guess you can take a job in the city until I finish… its only two years and then I do have to work some in BBC nature or something similar… but ultimately the Estate forest is my place, and I'll just take contract work… please I just want us to be together finally! I have waited for you to notice me for almost ten ye…!" Christian started saying, but Sebastian cut him off, by caressing his cheek, and then pressing it against his lips before kissing him gently, softly.
"We'll figure it out, together okay… baby?" Sebastian asked him. Christian nodded.
Mr. Cox picked up Ryan at the train station.
"Hello, sir."
"How many times do I have to tell you not to sir me?" Ryan asked in disbelief.
"You might as well surrender sir," Mr. Cox joked, making Ryan chuckle.
"Where to sir?" Mr. Cox asked looking in the rear mirror.
"You have to ask?" Ryan replied as he got comfortable on the back seat.
"I guess not sir." Mr. Cox chuckled.
They arrived at Enora's house and Ryan rang the bell. Joey answered the door.
"Ryan? Hello my boy! So glad to see you! Enora's not here, she said… well she said that you'd know where to find her. I didn't think she meant today…," he said after shaking Ryan's hand firmly.
"Thank you Mr. Harrington… yes, yes I know Joey!" Ryan corrected as both men laughed.
Ryan indeed knew where to find Enora and it wasn't difficult. They had spent their first ever date there and it had become thereafter "their" place, their secret location.
He walked in a rush amongst the dried up forest flora, the sun's heat having dried up everything except the most stubborn of trees and forest greenery. He walked amongst the forest not alone but with the company of all the memories, happy and sad, of all the dates and alone time he had spent here with his friends and Enora. It hadn't changed much in these past ten years. There were old trees and new trees, rocks and flowers now lying withered away by the lack of rain water and intense heat. But it was all known to him, every smell, everything that his eyes could see.
What a turbulent life it had been, not a bad life so far but a turbulent one, from starting it without a mother to losing his father at only thirteen to everything that had succeeded it and Peter's decision to move to the Estate and the Manor.
Not all of it had been happy, but then again no one's life is a constant happiness.
He reached the Cliffside overlooking the lake and the Manor on the one side and the mountain on the other side, always with snow or clouds covering its top, making it look like an old man full of white beard, ready to give out wisdom or punishment according to its ever changing mood.
She was standing there, on the edge, wearing a white dress that reached to her ankles, the wind sweeping it away revealing her smooth calves. Her hair long and runny on her shoulders made her look like a goddess from a tale of mythology, fair beyond all measure standing there on the edge of the cliff ready to take men to their death.
He smiled wholeheartedly and yelled her name, the wind carrying it far and wide. She turned round, surprised by the voice in the wind.
"R… Ryan! What are you doing here? I thought you were coming next week!" she exclaimed as she ran to his open arms.
"I got a letter from you… it was all I needed to come earlier," he said, taking in her addicting to him smell of freshly cut grass and rosewater. She smelled so "woman" and yet so unique.
"My letter? I just… I wanted to tell you of my feelings, I didn't want you to feel you should come earlier."
"Enora, you told me that you loved me and needed me. I would have come through fire and hell if I needed to, having read that," he told her, looking in her deep orbs of sparkling hope.
"Why? Why would you do that for me?" she asked in disbelief.
"Isn't it obvious? You have been the love of my life, my reason for existing ever since that day I first saw you in your father's smoothie shop all those years ago. That day you took my breath away and my heart and I've desired no one else since," he said, caressing her cheeks.
"He… was right wasn't he?" she whispered.
"What? Who?" Ryan asked surprised.
"Malthe… not important now… I know it's usually the man's thing to ask this but… do you want to marry me?! I don't think I'll ever find anyone to love me as you do and I don't think I'll ever get to love anyone else the way I love you," she said, seeing him grin and nod "yes".
"Whenever and wherever you want Enora, yes I want nothing else other than to be with you for the rest of my life!" he told her before kissing her, wanting to be united with her.
"But… can we wait a few years before we start having kids?"
"Sure… I want us to spend some years married first, I am not Peter and you are not Maria. We can travel, we can enjoy our married life before we put food in the oven," he said, almost giggling as he touched her belly.
She smiled and kissed him back.
Just then his mobile phone rang, breaking the silence and nature's melody all around them.
"Yes… oh hello Peter, yes I'm with Enora… sure we can use her car… pick up some food supplies from town yes okay, and Maria from the restaurant… okay we'll be there shortly…," Ryan spoke with Peter and hung up.
"I guess we better be going," Ryan told Enora and mingled his fingers with hers, grinning like a fool but feeling completely happy and content.
They arrived at the Manor an hour later. The driveway had a quite a few cars so Ryan knew everyone was there.
The moment he was out of the car he was almost stampeded as Janet and Gabriel ran to him and nearly tackled him to the ground.
"UNCLE RYAN!!!" they yelled and giggled as he hugged them.
"Hello my little elves, you have grown so much since I last saw you!" He gave each a kiss on their foreheads. "Don't worry though I won't be going away again for so long."
They walked inside where they started shaking hands and hugging everyone.
George and Katie with Theodore, their son, were there. Malthe was there, Rick with Owen and their surrogate mother born daughter and son were there. Jason with a new girlfriend was there. Peter and Maria were talking to the new Butler, Mr. Faring, making arrangements.
Only Christian and Sebastian were nowhere to be found.
Rick had met Owen the Christmas after Ryan and Malthe had been released from the hospital and had started talking. It wasn't long before everyone begun to notice that they were more than friends. In the end, about a year after, they had publically announced that they were together. Rick's parents and some of the village folk had needed some time of adjustment, but when Rick and Owen had done their first baby with a surrogate mother, their son having Rick's sperm, the last of the skeptics had come around. Their daughter with Owen's sperm had come three years later.
Jason had stayed with Victoria for almost a month before he started seeing someone else as well, then a week later he had broken up with Victoria and from there on he had changed girlfriends like t-shirts.
This latest one though had withstood for nearly six months.
"Shall we sit in the living room everyone?" Peter asked.
"I was so sad last year when Peter told me that Mr. Giles had passed away, he was practically a member of the family," Ryan said with everyone saying or mumbling their agreement.
"I still don't know though why grandpa had trusted him when he was barely even eighteen yet," Ryan continued.
"I know why, and I think Peter does as well," Malthe said and looked at where Peter sat.
Peter nodded and so Malthe looked back at Ryan.
"Almost ten years ago I found a letter in a desk, from yours and Peter's grandfather that was meant for Mr. Giles… I shouldn't have, but I opened it carefully and read it… Mr. Giles was the son of grandpa's comrade in the last Great War. Mr. Giles' father sacrificed his life so that the company he and grandpa was in could escape an enemy ambush and gave grandpa a letter to be given to his son if he was still alive and when he came of age. The letter was there, and I didn't read that. So when grandpa came back from the war he tracked down the now orphan from both parents boy. His mother had died in an enemy bombardment and offered him a job working in the estate. I guess with the passage of time the letter he had been given was forgotten until he knew that death was nearly upon him, then he wrote the letter I read and enclosed them both in the same envelope. I think he meant to give it to Mr. Giles but never made it as he died in his sleep," Malthe finished saying, Amanda sitting on his lap.
"Aaawww, that's sooo sad!" Christian said as he came in hand in hand with Sebastian. Ryan raised an eyebrow but smirked.
"I guess that means you two are together now?" Peter asked in an innocent voice.
Christian looked flushed and sweating but then again it was a hot summer's day.
"Uhmm… yes… and I think we'll be sticking together…," Christian said, blushing with a silly grin.
"FINALLY!!" Peter exclaimed. "I thought the Manor would explode from Christian's efforts before you'd finally notice him!" Peter told Sebastian laughing.
"You knew!?" Christian and Sebastian said almost at the same time.
"Well… of course… you were never nearly as discreet as you thought, sound travels very well in this house and well… I wasn't born yesterday!" Peter said, making nearly everyone blush but his brothers seemed to blush a red as deep as a tomatoes.
"Well… I guess Malthe was correct…," Sebastian said.
"Okay… what is everyone talking about… Enora mentioned something before...oh we're getting married by the way!" Ryan said, grinning so wide Malthe thought that his lips would come off his face.
"Well… about ten years ago, I guess he whispered to all of us. And it really didn't make much sense at the time…," Jason said.
"What did he tell you?" Ryan asked. "I had completely forgotten about all that."
"Well he told me…"Will you stand by Ryan's side or will you abandon him in his hour of need? Like Ben has." Didn't make much sense back then, but I guess Ben did sort of abandon you as he stopped chatting and talking to you as friends and girlfriends nearer were obviously more important to him than maintaining a friendship with someone so far away… do you know what he has done with his life?" Jason said looking around in the company, before his eyes settled on his best friend.
"No… I haven't talked to him since, and we have no mutual friends or acquaintances."
"Well… doesn't really matter anymore I guess… but I did stand by your side, you are my best friend and the brother I never had. I hope my actions so far have been an answer to Malthe's question all those years ago," Jason finished.
Sebastian started talking next. "He told me…"He will always be your best friend and brother, but do not confuse his brotherly love for what you seek, because he will never reciprocate in kind. There is, however, someone in this household that will when you are both ready." I guess… well I was… I did have a huge crash on you…" Sebastian looked at Ryan blushing. "But I guess you would never love me as I wanted you to. We were and are like brothers, but the level of intimacy I wanted would not come from you. I guess Malthe knew his twin brother… and we are ready and together now," Sebastian finished, giving Christian's hand a squeeze.
"I remember now…," Ryan started, "Malthe told me…"If you love her you need to let her go, if she comes back she is yours forever, if she does not she never was and you need to move on or stay stuck in the past, never to find love and happiness." I was so head over heels in love with Enora but… we were only teenagers and teenagers are not ready for that kind of love… so if I had tried to… bind Enora to me back then she would have… might have gotten scared and I would have lost her forever… so in a way I did let her go and in time she did come back to me…," Ryan finished, giving Enora a peck on the lips.
"I still remember that morning when Malthe was sick… he whispered to me in the dining room, after we had eaten breakfast…"Soon he will need you more than anyone, to comfort him, to draw out his sadness, to bring him back from the abyss in the appropriate time, will you be there for him? Will you share your life and soul with him?" I was there for Peter when he needed me the most as he was there for me, and to this day I love sharing my soul, life and everything I have with him," Maria said, sitting next to her husband, picking up Janet to her lap whereas Gabriel went and climbed to his father's lap, resting comfortably in his strong arms.
Enora looked hesitant but a look from Ryan gave her the confidence she needed.
"I… did not understand what Malthe whispered to me until a few hours ago…"Follow your nature and you will wonder for love for the rest of your life, go against it and you have already found it." I think I have been trying to find "love" not recognising Ryan's love for me and it wasn't until this day that I understood it all and how much I really do love him." She finished talking and turned to Ryan, giving him the warmest, most loving smile she could produce.
"I still remember what I told Jack and Terry before they tried to remove my and Ry's lives from this world of the mortals…," Malthe spoke for the first time since they had all gathered here today. "Do not enrage a lion if you cannot withstand its breath on your face and its teeth on your neck." I knew that to Peter there is absolutely nothing more important than family. The loss of his parents made his brothers… salient to his sanity and happiness. So when that final vestige of sanity would be endangered, he would forgo his usually kind, gentle and calm self and unleash his primal self. If Maria would accept her side of the truth, then his sorrow would also be drawn out and calmed and not just his anger at the world and the universe for making him an orphan."
"Wait… you knew this would happen??" Ryan asked stunned.
"Yes. I just hoped that Terry and Jack would also understand what I told them was not a conjecture or a little child's ramblings, but their future if they did not change course… I guess hatred will blind everyone if not understood."
"I guess… it makes sense…," Peter said. "To me, Malthe whispered when he woke up from the attack in the hospital bed…"I warned them, I warned them not to enrage a lion if they cannot withstand his breath on their neck, but they did not listen. Go. Go and fight like a lion but remember that even lions need a mate to share their pride with." And yes… I did need to fight like a lion but I also needed to put it all behind me and move on with my life, share it and my "pride" with someone else," Peter spoke as he caressed Gabriel's tummy in a tight hug making the young child audibly purr.
"Christian love, when we were all in the hospital, Samuel gave you a letter… what… who was it from?" Maria asked him.
"Malthe had given it to him before… what happened… and had told him to give it to me and that he would know when it was the right time… always the cryptic one!" Christian spoke, poking his tongue out to his twin counterpart.
"It wasn't a long letter or anything… barely two-three sentences but even then, even if I didn't want to admit it… the little bugger was right…"Twins we are, but we must eventually both find our way, to discover that we have found it and to follow it with all that we are, wherever it may lead us." And that we have, haven't we my Malthee?" Christian asked him.
"Yes. That, we have." Malthe nodded and smiled.
"So is that what you have been writing on your textpads all these years bro? How could you have known what and when it would happen?" Jason and Ryan asked him almost simultaneously. They looked at each other and burst laughing before Malthe could start speaking.
"It is not difficult to know what will happen if you observe someone long enough… patterns of behaviour, desires, fears and environmental interaction become apparent. Then all one needs to do is connect them together in non-linear timelines and… most becomes clear."
"You still haven't told me what you've been writing in those textpads," Ryan pressured.
"No, I haven't," Malthe said and shrugged his shoulders.
"Peter… what was in the letter dad left you… I never read it…," Ryan asked him.
"It was… for me alone… in essence he told me that he was proud of what I had become and that I would make for a great husband and father when I was ready… that letter is meant for me… before I pass away I will put my thoughts to it and give it to my son, hopefully that will continue afterwards," Peter said.
"You may have more than one son to give letters to love," Maria said smiling.
"You mean you are…?" Peter asked her to receive a confirmatory nod from her.
"But it is too early to know if it's a boy or a girl yet."
Peter set Gabriel to the ground and hugged her tight.
"I'm so happy for you guys!!"
"Aaawww!! I'm gonna have another little brother!!"
"I'm gonna have a young sister to play with!"
The congratulations kept on coming from everyone there.
The rest of the afternoon passed in a blur of conversations and activities and dinner was just as busy and loud.
Later on in the night, Peter was resting in a lounger with Janet half asleep on his lap when Maria came and sat on the lounger next to him.
She smiled and caressed his cheek and Janet's back.
"Love, are you happy?"
Peter looked at her almost feeling as if he needed no words to express the depth of his love for her.
"My brothers are happy. All three of them seem to have found their soulmates, I think. So has Jason, this new girl Miranda seems really nice and good to him. Malthe was telling me earlier that Bryan is doing a lot better, even has his first girlfriend and is happy studying to be a civil engineer, Samuel will follow to his uncle's footsteps growing and making apples and pears and stuff, apparently he loves the farm life and he has also found a local girl to raise him a family. My friends are happy. As for me… I have married the fairest woman of them all, the most gentle, caring, intelligent, funny woman I could ever hope to marry and she has gifted me with two, soon three, most incredible children that never cease to make me feel proud of them… the people that hurt my brothers are either in prison or dead… the wines we make are gaining ever more a steadily growing audience… yes I am happy," Peter said as he moved slightly aside so that Maria could lie next to him and rest her head on his shoulder next to Janet's little head.
Yes, finally he was happy.
Thus like all stories must, ends this story. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it and that you felt what I felt while writing it.
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