Love Conquers All
by Flaming Matt
Chapter 31
December 2015
"Relax boys." Ian decides to say in a slightly amused tone and while he knew why they had been acting awkwardly and looking embarrassed, he wanted to try and get them to relax and to just enjoy themselves a little bit, otherwise they might as well go back to his sons room and he didn't want that to happen, they barely spent any time as a family as it was these days and they had all afternoon and evening planned out with games, food and a film to watch.
"We are." Carter quickly responds in a slightly high pitched tone and quickly blushes even more, as he instinctively cuddles up to his boyfriend, before noticing his mum looking at them and quickly leans away from him, which just caused him to blush even more and he just wanted the ground to swallow him up as quickly as possible.
"Okay, enough is enough." Michelle decides to state in a mixture of reluctance and frustration, she had hoped they could avoid talking about it and after discussing it with her husband, they had agreed to at least leave it for another day, but at the rate they were going right now, their evening was going to be ruined and she really wanted to spend time with her son and his boyfriend. "Don't look at me like that Carter, I didn't want to bring this up, but we're going to talk about it now." She then says in a firm tone and even though she was dreading it, she could see her husband giving her a nod and decided to just get it over with.
"But we er... no, please no." Carter quickly responds in a mortified tone, as he realises exactly what his mum was going to do and when he feels his boyfriend taking his hand into his own and squeezing it under the table, he knew that he was just as embarrassed as he was, which just made him even more nervous.
"Trust me Carter, walking into your room and seeing you doing that, no parent ever wants to see that and while I... we were going to wait until tomorrow to talk to you about it, it's obvious that we can't enjoy the rest of the day together until we get it out in the open and move past it, so yes Carter, we're going to talk about it." Michelle states in a firm tone and while she really didn't want to talk about it either, it had to be done and it was happening now, whether any of them wanted it to or not.
"And no arguing Carter and as for you Wesley, I know this is going to be embarrassing and you probably want to go home, but you're in a relationship with our son and we've given you both your own space and we have avoided interfering in your relationship as much as we can, but we can't ignore this and we are going to talk about it." Ian then decides to say, after seeing the look on his sons face and then on the other boys face and realising that he and his wife needed to include him in this as well and not just talk to their son.
"Okay." Wesley responds meekly, before giving his boyfriends hand another squeeze. "But er... we're boyfriends and we love each other and er... well er... couples do things like er... well stuff." He then tries to say, after deciding to try and get this over with as quickly as possible, but as soon as he starts talking, he quickly realises just how out of his depth he was and just how embarrassing it was to try and talk about sex stuff with his boyfriends parents.
"Well, you're not wrong Wesley, but there are a few problems with your reasoning, like your age for example and before you interrupt Carter, you're children and even though you're mature, both of you are very mature for your age, you're still children and there are things that you shouldn't be doing." Michelle responds in a calm and clear tone, before giving her husband a nod and letting him continue, they had decided when they had talked about this earlier, to tackle it as a team and hopefully make it as painless as possible for the boys, while also making sure they understood why they were having the conversation.
"But we aren't stupid and we aren't deaf boys and yes, that means exactly what it you think it does Carter, so you can stay quiet for a few minutes longer and listen to what we have to say, okay." Ian then begins to say, before pausing to let his son respond and also to give himself a few more seconds to go over what he had to say again in his head, just to make sure he got the message over loud and clear and hopefully avoid ever having to do this again in the future.
"That goes for you as well Wesley, I know neither of you want to talk about this and neither do we, but it's too late now and we want you both to listen." Michelle decides to add, as both boys just stare at them with stunned and mortified expressions and while she and her husband were trying to not show it, she was feeling the same way.
"The first thing we want you to understand, is that we know you're sexually active and we've known for a long time and so do your parents Wesley and we know you already know that we know, but apart from a few incidents, some embarrassing in their own right, you've been careful and respectful, but this time, you had your bedroom door open Carter and it wasn't just a little bit open either and we can't help but be a little disappointed." Ian then states in a serious and clear tone, as he gives both boys a stern look to go with it and while he wasn't angry, neither of them were, they had to make sure this didn't happen again and whether the boys found it embarrassing or not, it had to be done.
"And not only was the door open, but we were downstairs boys and you knew that and not only were we downstairs, you were also aware that you were expected downstairs and you must have known if you didn't come downstairs that either your dad or I, would have either called up or come up to get you and yet you decided to do what you were doing anyway." Michelle then says in the same tone as her husband, but with a look of disappointment on her face and while neither her husband or herself were prudes or that conservative, not by a long shot, walking in on her son doing what he was doing, was a shock to the system and something she hoped to never see again.
"Which is very disrespectful boys, you've been given a lot of freedom and we've trusted you to be sensible and to respect us and your parents Wesley, so for you to do what you were doing and not think of where you were and who was in the house, it's very disappointing and we don't want it to ever happen again, okay." Ian then states in the same tone as before, although he decides to follow his wife and not hide the disappointment he was feeling and while he hadn't enjoyed any part of this conversation, he could tell the boys were listening and that it appeared to be having the desired effect.
"Sorry." Wesley quickly says in a mortified tone, as he tries to put on a brave front and speak up, but as soon as he does, he feels himself blushing even more and from the pain from his hand being practically crushed, he knew his boyfriend was struggling as well.
"Carter, we're waiting." Ian then states in a firm tone, as he waits for his son to apologise and while he could see that he was obviously close to crying, this was serious and they needed to know that he was not only sorry, but her understood why they were having this conversation, so that this wouldn't happen again.
"It's okay Sweetheart, we aren't angry and we aren't trying to upset you, we just need to know that you understand why we're talking to you about this and that you realise that you have to be more respectful of other people." Michelle decides to add in a soft tone, after seeing how close their son was close to breaking down and while she was shocked by what she had seen, especially the size of her son's boyfriend and knowing they were sexually active together, she wasn't angry with what they were doing, just the way they went about it and she hoped he understood that.
"We just er... sorry..." Carter just about manages to respond, as he tries to keep eye contact with his parents, but just thinking about what his mum had seen him doing, was enough to make him look down at the table in shame.
"So you aren't going to tell us off or er... tell us to not er... well er... you know er... not to do er... you know..." Wesley then decides to try and ask, before losing his nerve as he struggles to keep his composure and while he had had embarrassing talks with his brother and Mitch before, this was on another level and he wasn't sure how he was going to ever be able to look at his boyfriends mum in the eye again.
"Well apart from still believing that you're too young to be in that kind of relationship, you aren't hurting anyone and you are mature enough to both understand what you're doing, but you do have to learn that you have to be careful and respectful of others, which means shutting and locking doors and knowing who is in the house, do you understand boys?" Ian answers in a softer tone, as he thinks about how the boys must be feeling and deciding that being firm with them, was not the way to deal with the situation and while neither boy looked happy right now, they at least seemed to understand what this conversation was really about.
"And, if you can do that and think a bit more about other people, then we will never bring this up again, you're a couple and some things are private, you just need to make sure you do your part, to keep it that way boys." Michelle then says with a soft smile and while it would take them all a little time to forget about what happened, she was willing to not bring it up again, even if she was finding it hard to put it out of her mind, seeing her son doing that and with how big Wesley was, it raised a few concerns in her mind, but it was definitely something she wasn't comfortable thinking about too much and certainly not something she wanted to go into detail about with the boys, well not unless something happened, but she was hoping after this conversation, the boys would be more careful in the future.
"But you saw, you saw me..." Carter then begins to say in a meek tone, before looking up in surprise as his mum interrupts him and even with his boyfriend holding his hand, he wasn't sure if he could handle talking about this any more.
"Yes, yes I did Carter, but I am a grown woman and while there are things a parent should never have to see, I know how much you care about each other and how serious you both are about each other, so if you can promise to be more careful and not make the same mistake again, then I promise to never mention it again and as far as we're concerned, this conversation will be over and we can hopefully just enjoy the rest of the day and play some games and watch a film together, can you do that?" Michelle decides to say in a soft and caring tone and while she knew it would be awkward, she was hoping once they had eaten and began to have a little fun, they could forget about what happened, at least for today.
"We really want to spend some quality time with you Carter and with Wesley as well, so when we say we will not mention it again, we mean that and hopefully we can have a fun evening together, like we used to." Ian then decides to add with a smile and although he could still tell that the boys were embarrassed, they did appear to be a little more relaxed now and he felt proud of how he and his wife had handled the situation.
"I promise, but er... can we er... well is it still okay if Wesley can sleep over or er... does he have to go home?" Carter asks in response, after taking a few moments to compose himself and take in his parents words, which despite still being embarrassing, were better than he could have hoped for and while he wasn't sure if they would actually have any fun, if his mum and dad were willing to not talk about what happened again, than he was going to try his best to not let it affect the rest of the day, even if he did still feel like hiding in his room and never coming out again.
"I don't mind going home, but I might need a lift, I think my mum is working and dad might be asleep by the time we finish." Wesley decides to add before his boyfriends parents can answer, he didn't want to go home, but he felt like it might be the best thing to do or at least offering was, because he knew they must have at least thought about it themselves.
"Well firstly, you aren't going home Wesley, so while it's appreciated, there is no need to suggest it and secondly, for tonight, we would like you to sleep separately and before you interrupt, this isn't permanent, but after what happened earlier, I think you can understand why and we have a spare mattress, so you won't have to use a sleeping bag Wesley." Ian responds in a firm tone and while he wanted to let the boys know that they weren't in trouble, he knew he had to make sure they understood that this was not a suggestion and that they had to accept it.
"I know this is difficult for you Sweetheart, but please say something, because we want to enjoy the evening and no one is in trouble, so please don't be upset." Michelle quickly decides to say in a soft tone, as she reaches across the table with her hand and smiles at her son softly when he reaches out himself and lets her take his hand into her own.
"So you really won't tell Wesley's mum and dad about what happened?" Carter decides to ask in response, after taking a few moments to take in his parents words and looking at his boyfriend briefly and while he wanted to protest about his boyfriend sleeping on the floor, even if it was on an actual mattress, he didn't want to make things worse and at least they would still be in the same room together, so it wasn't that bad.
"Believe us Carter, that's a conversation that no one wants to have, so you have our word that we won't mention this to anyone else, however, if it happens again or something similar, than we will have no choice to speak to them and come up with a solution and punishment together." Ian answers honestly, after looking at his wife and silently agreeing that he should respond and while he really didn't relish the idea of ever having to talk to anyone about his sons sex life, if something like earlier did happen again, than they both knew that they would have to do something about it.
"It won't, I promise and er... can we er... stop talking about it now please, it's weird and embarrassing and I don't like it." Carter then says in an embarrassed tone and while he still didn't think he could enjoy the rest of the day, he was going to try his best and hopefully if they stopped talking about what happened now, it might be a little easier.
"In a moment Sweety." Michelle responds with a sympathetic smile, before turning to her sons boyfriend. "Are you okay Honey?" She asks as she gives the boy a warm smile and while she was still struggling to look at him without thinking about what she had seen, he was obviously struggling himself and she wanted to try and reassure him as much as possible.
"No." Wesley quickly responds honestly, before realising that he had been a little too honest, as he looks at everyone's expressions. "Well I'm okay, but it's still embarrassing and er... well I'm okay and I don't mind sleeping on the floor in a sleeping bag, but the mattress will be more comfortable." He quickly decides to add, after thinking about his initial response and while he wasn't okay, it was just embarrassment and he knew he would get over it eventually.
"I know it is Honey, but we had to talk about it and at least it's over now." Michelle responds with another warm smile and while she was worried by his first response, the fact he clarified it almost straight away, put her at ease and she was definitely ready to move on and hopefully enjoy some nice food and then some games and a film with them for the rest of the day.
"Why don't you both go to the toilet, while your mum and I quickly heat up the food and bring it in here, then we can move on from all of this, what do you say?" Ian then decides to suggest, as he thinks about the best way to handle this and by letting the boys have a few minutes alone, he was hoping once they all sat down to eat, they could just enjoy the evening ahead.
"Okay Dad." Carter quickly responds with a slightly forced smile, while just as quickly pulling his hand out of his mums hand and then getting to his feet. "Come on." He then says in an insistent tone, as he pulls his boyfriend up and begins to lead him towards the door.
"Er... okay." Wesley just about manages to respond in an awkward tone, as he lets himself be practically dragged out of the room, while giving his boyfriends parents an awkward smile.
"Let's hope we never have to go through that again." Ian then says after a few moments in a relieved tone, after making sure the boys had made it all the way upstairs.
"Me too, after finding those sex toys that time, I didn't think there could be anything more embarrassing than that, but seeing..." Michelle begins to respond in an awkward tone, before looking at her husband in surprise as he interrupts her.
"Seriously Michelle, I really, really don't want to go over what you saw again, he's our son and they're twelve years old and it's an image that I really don't want to picture again." Ian quickly states with a small grin and even though they were very open minded people, this was pushing it a little too far and could tell that his wife felt the same way, so he was hoping this would be the last time this subject was brought up.
"Okay, well let's go get the food ready and then we can just focus on enjoying the rest of the day." Michelle responds with a small grin of her own, after thinking it over in her head and realising that they really should stop talking about it now and just focus on having something to eat and then hopefully some fun with the boys.
"Don't you get nervous?" Lily asks in a curious tone, after waiting for the clapping and cheering to quieten down a little bit, the people who had been singing so far were mostly bad, but in a good way, but the last two had been quite good and if it was her, she would be nervous to sing after them.
"The first time it was scary, but it feels great once you start and when people like it, it feels even better." Matt answers honestly and while he still did get nervous, it wasn't that bad and if anything it was more to do with being excited, rather than being scared and not wanting to sing.
"I still get nervous and one time I forgot some of the words to a song, but no one made fun of me or made me feel bad, well there was a couple of chuckles and stuff, but it was all in good spirit and the people here are really nice, well to us, some of the really bad singers who have bad attitudes get made fun off, but that's mainly to do with how arrogant they are and not the fact they can't sing very well." Ben then says with a smile, after realising that she was asking both of them and not just his fiancé.
"Yeah Lily, there was this one woman once who thought she was really good and she was saying rude stuff about the other people who sung before her, like how many mistakes they made and how she would have done it differently and better, then she went up and started to sing and she was really bad and not the fun kind of bad, but really bad and she really thought she was good and got angry when people didn't cheer for her and in the end the manager told her and her two friends to leave, because she was very rude." Tobias then decides to say with a smile, which widens a little bit when he thinks about the woman and even though he didn't like making fun of people, she definitely deserved it and he didn't feel bad for her.
"Oh wow, I hate people like that, they think they're so much better than everyone else and most of the time, they're even worse than the people they're judging." Lily then says with a smile, as she looks at her boyfriend and then across to his brothers, who had started to get up from their chairs.
"Good luck boys and enjoy yourselves." Mike says in a proud tone, as the boys stand up and while he knew they would be just fine, he was just proud of his youngest son and knew his mother would be proud of him as well.
"Thanks Dad." Ben quickly responds with a slightly shy smile, as he looks at his dad and sees how proud he looked and while it made him feel good and proud of himself, it also made him feel a little nervous as well.
"Go on Boys, they have a lot of singers waiting, so you don't want to lose your place." Sarah decides to say, as see glances over to the manager and could she him smiling at them and while she knew he wouldn't tell them to hurry up, she didn't want the boys to take too long and keep others waiting.
"Okay Mum." Matt responds with a loving smile, before taking his fiancé's hand into his own and leading him towards the stage area.
"Is it always this busy Erica?" Lily then decides to ask in a curious tone, as she looks at her with a smile.
"I haven't been here that often, but it does seem a little busier than usual, but I guess it just depends on the day." Erica answers with a smile, before feeling her boyfriends hand squeezing hers under the table and she couldn't help but give him a sad smile, she knew he was struggling and why, but she was hoping that the boys performance would help him get his mind off what had happened.
"This is going to be so cool." Tobias then says with an excited smile, as he watches his brothers adjusting the microphone stands and even though he thought it was a little pointless, because they were going to hold the microphones for most of the song, it did look kind of cool and he couldn't wait to see everyone's reaction when they started singing.
"Okay ladies and gentlemen, I don't think I need to go over the rules again and I certainly don't need to introduce these two talented boys, so please be as quiet as you can and enjoy their performance." Keith announces with a smile, as he looks around the room and couldn't be more happy with the atmosphere and knowing how good the two boys were, he knew it was only going to get better and quickly gives both of their shoulders a quick squeeze, before making his way over to the computer and getting their song ready.
"Want to change it around?" Ben decides to ask in a quiet tone, as he thinks about what their brother had said to Lily and while they hadn't practised doing it that way, it wasn't exactly hard to switch and he thought it would be a nice surprise.
"If you want to." Matt quickly responds in a slightly surprised tone, after being a little distracted by the crowd, who while not being that loud, were definitely excited. "Tobias will love it." He then decides to add, afters seeing the look on his fiancé's face and realising that he was obviously looking for a more enthusiastic response than his initial reaction.
"Yeah and it will be fun for me, I usually only sing songs that suit my voice, so this will be different." Ben responds with a slightly shy smile, as he thinks about how he was going to have to try and change his voice a little bit to sing the other parts of the song.
"Just don't try too hard Ben and don't try to sound different, just sing it in your voice and it will be great, I promise." Matt then quickly states in a reassuring tone, after quickly sensing that his fiancé was a little nervous and more than likely overthinking what he was about to do.
"Oh, okay." Ben responds with a smile, as he quickly begins to relax and calm down, especially since it was his idea in the first place and knew he was getting worked up over nothing.
"Well er... hey everyone, we're going to sing a song we did a while ago here and well er... I hope you like it." Matt states in a slightly shy tone and while he knew it was a little silly to be shy, especially since they were now going to sing, it was still a little scary to talk to a room mostly filled with strangers, but as he feels his fiancé's hand taking his into it, he brings his microphone up to his mouth.
"Let me hold you
For the last time
It's the last chance to feel again
But you broke me
Now I can't feel anything."
"I thought Matt did the girly parts?" Lily quickly whispers into her boyfriends ear, as she watches his brothers on the stage and while it didn't really matter who sung which part of the song, it still surprised her.
"He er... they never sing this way normally." Tobias whispers back in response, as he looks at his brothers in surprise and while he knew it didn't really matter, he couldn't help but wonder why they were doing it differently this time and wondered if it had something to do with what he had sais earlier.
"When I love you
It's so untrue
I can't even convince myself
When I'm speaking
It's the voice of someone else
Whoa it tears me up
I try to hold on, but it hurts too much
I try to forgive, but it's not enough to make it all okay."
"He's really good though." Lily decides to say as she watches her boyfriends brother singing and found herself smiling and looking forward to his other brother to start singing.
"You can't play on broken strings
You can't feel anything that you heart don't want to feel
I can't tell you something that ain't real."
"Yeah, he's the best, but Ben is good too, his part is coming up." Tobias then says with a smile, as he thinks about just how good both his brothers were and how this was the first time his girlfriend had heard them sing, well properly sing anyway.
"Oh the truth hurts
And the lies worse
How can I give any more
When I love you a little less than before
Oh what are we doing
We are turning into dust
Playing house in the ruins of us
Running back through the fire
When there's nothing left to say
It's like chasing the very last train."
"Oh wow." Lily quickly says in a surprised tone, she had been told they were both good and had heard them sing a little bit, but that was just messing around, so to hear them both sing and sound so good, was a nice surprise and while she thought Matt was probably the better singer, she liked the rasp in Ben's voice better and thought he would have sounded even better doing the male part of the song.
"When we both know it's too late (too late)
Oh it tears me up
I try to hold on, but it hurts too much
I try to forgive, but it's not enough to make it all okay
You can't play our broken strings
You can't feel anything that you heart don't want to feel."
"We can go outside if you need to, they will understand." Erica decides to whisper into her boyfriends ear, she knew he was struggling already and could see tears in his eyes now and wanted to give him the chance to get some fresh air for a little while.
"I can't tell you something that ain't real
Well the truth hurts
And lies worse
How can I give any more
When I love you a little less than before."
"Maybe afterwards, I want to hear them finish." Mitch eventually responds in a quiet tone, after giving his girlfriend an appreciative smile and while he was tempted to go along with her suggestion, he was enjoying his brothers performance and he wanted to hear it all the way through.
"Oh you know that I love you a little less than before
But we're running through the fire
When there's nothing left to say
It's like chasing the very last train."
"Okay, but you don't have to pretend to be okay Mitch, the boys aren't stupid and Ben knows something is wrong, so he would understand if we went outside." Erica then decides to say quietly, but as she looks at her boyfriends expression, she just smiles and leans back against his side, she knew that look and decided to just let him enjoy the rest of the song and not try too hard to comfort him.
"When we both know It's too late (too late)
You can't play our broken strings
You can't feel anything that you heart don't want to feel
I can't tell you something that ain't real
Oh the truth hurts
And the lies worse
How can I give any more
When I love you a little less than before
Oh you know that I love you a little less than before
Let me hold you for the last time
It's the last chance to feel again."
"Well, well, well, what can I say other than well done boys, that was amazing as usual." Keith states in a sincere tone, after letting the crowds reaction quieten down a little bit and while he knew he shouldn't be surprised, he couldn't help but wonder how they managed to give performances like that every time.
"Thanks Keith, that was fun." Matt quickly responds with a grin and while switching their parts had made him a little more nervous than he had let his fiancé know, he thought they did great and from the cheers and applause they were still getting, it seemed like everyone else thought the same and he could help but feel proud of himself and his fiancé.
"Yeah, it was great Keith and we might both do a solo song later, but only if we have time and aren't too tired." Ben then says into the microphone and while he wasn't sure if he should say it to everyone, he couldn't help himself, he was excited and let himself be caught in the moment.
"Well, I guess everyone just gave you their opinion on another song from each of you, so why don't you sit down with your family and enjoy the rest of your evening." Keith responds with a sincere smile and while he would love to have the boys stay on stage and talk a little more, they did have a schedule and while he didn't think anyone would mind, he was a stickler for the rules and liked to keep things on track.
"Okay and thank you and thank you everyone else." Matt quickly responds in a happy and excited tone, as he and his fiancé put their microphones back on the stands, before holding each others hand and walking back to their family, who to their delight, looked happy and proud of them.
"He will come round Maggie, he just needs time." Gordon states in a reassuring tone and although he was a little surprised by their sons behaviour and a little disappointed, he understood why he had acted the way he had and knew that it was a possibility before they came here.
"I'm his mother Gordon." Maggie quickly retorts in an angry tone, although it was mostly for show and deep down, she knew she would have her work cut out in earning his forgiveness and while his behaviour and attitude was upsetting and hurtful, she had expected it was a possibility and in a way, it made what she had to do soon, a little bit easier, but not by much.
"He knows that Maggie and he agreed to come here, so that's something and he does love you, it's just hard for him to know what to feel and what to think." Gordon then decides to say in a slightly awkward tone and while he wasn't lying, he also knew that there was a possibility that their son would never forgive her and while he could never forgive her himself, he did hold out some hope that Alex could find a way to forgive her, she was his mother and despite her past, she had chosen their son over that, so he was a little disappointed at how the meal had gone.
"He may have agreed, but it was clear that he didn't want to be here Gordon." Maggie responds almost coldly, but just about manages to force herself to not sound too hostile and ruin any chance of seeing her son again, especially since she knew that by the end of the month, she would more than likely never see him again.
"Trust me Maggie, I gave him plenty of chances to not come here and while he was hesitant, he insisted that we should come here and it wasn't just so he could act the way he did, he was genuinely confused and unsure of what to say or expect from you and he's been through a lot recently Maggie, so just give him time and I will talk to him about what happened and why he acted the way he did." Gordon then says in a more sympathetic tone than he thought possible, as he again thinks about how he still wanted their son to have a relationship with his mum, although at the same time, he wouldn't force him into it either.
"Be that as it may Gordon, he knows what I have done and who to and it is obvious that he will never be able to forgive me for what I did to his friend..." Maggie then begins to say in a sad tone, before trailing off as she realises that even if she wasn't going to do what she had planned to do, she had potentially already lost her son and it hurt her more than she thought possible.
"While true, it's not quite as black and white as that Maggie, he is aware of what you did and he has talked to Matthew Summers about it as well and he was still prepared to come here and try and understand how he felt and where to go from here, so while it didn't go very well, he still tried and he still loves you and before you interrupt, he does still love you Maggie, even I can see that and while it might not be enough for him to forgive you, I hope you can at least take some comfort in that." Gordon responds in an almost professional tone and while it was difficult to be in this position, especially comforting his soon to be ex wife, this was about their son and his happiness was more important than his own, so if there was a chance that Alex could forgive his mum, then he wanted to try and do his part to encourage that.
"You should go after him now, he shouldn't be alone right now and I still don't know this area that well, so I don't want him outside alone." Maggie then decides to state in a neutral tone, as she tries to hide how emotional she was feeling right now, she didn't want her husbands pity or sympathy, even if she did appreciate his words and her concern about their son being alone outside was sincere.
"I will be in touch soon Maggie." Gordon decides to say in response and while he was tempted to try and offer her some more comforting and reassuring words, he took her response as a sign that she wanted to be alone and while there was a part of him that felt sorry for her, he was more concerned about their son and knew that she wouldn't have said what she did, unless there was some truth to it and he wanted to find him as soon as possible.
"Good bye Gordon." Maggie states in a slightly strained tone, as she holds the door open before closing it behind him after he walks out of it, the meal had been a disaster and while she was a strong woman, she could feel herself shake a little bit and found herself questioning whether she could really go through with the plan and have her son truly hate her for the rest of his life, but just as she starts to seriously reconsider, she hears her phone ringing and as she walks over, she sighs in frustration as she sees who it is and slowly picks it up and answers the call.
"He was pretty good as well." Lily says with a smile, after watching the man leave the stage and while she didn't really know the song, she thought he did a good job of singing it and it was kind of fun.
"Yeah, we've heard him before and he does a lot of older songs and we like him." Matt decides to say with a smile, as he looks at the man and nods when they make eye contact and while they had never talked, there was a sort of unspoken respect for each other and he liked that.
"I'm going to go to the toilet and order some more drinks, are you all okay with what you had before?" Sarah asks in a soft tone, after deciding that they could all do with another drink and while she could wait for someone to come over and take their orders, she really did need to go and it would be quicker to order them on the way.
"I'll have a tea this time Sarah." Mike responds with a friendly smile and while he had been drinking soft drinks since they arrived, he did want to sleep tonight and that was never going to happen if he kept drinking them.
"We'll have the same as before Mum." Matt then answers for his fiancé and himself, after taking a quick glance at him and realizing that he was still distracted and looking to wards the door, where their brother and Erica has gone through almost twenty minutes ago and still hadn't come back inside.
"We will as well Mum." Tobias then quickly answers with a small grin, after looking at his girlfriend and seeing her nod her head and while he was a little unsure about answering for the both of them, his brothers did it all the time and they seemed to like doing it and when his girlfriend smiles at him, he relaxes a little bit and returns it.
"Okay, I won't be long." Sarah then says with a smile, before getting up and making her way to the bar.
"They will be back soon Ben, so just relax and enjoy the next song." Mike then decides to say, after noticing his youngest son looking at the door again and while he was worried himself, he didn't want him getting upset or worried as well.
"Can I go out there?" Ben quickly asks in a hopeful tone, as he looks at his dad pleadingly and while he knew he could probably just get up and go outside, he didn't want to do anything to get in trouble or cause a scene and he was hoping by asking, his dad would just say yes.
"I'm sure they won't be long Ben, so you don't need..." Mike begins to respond, but as he looks past his youngest son, he sees Matt's expression. "Ben, if they aren't in the car park or car, then I want you to come straight back inside, I don't want you walking around on your own looking for them, okay." He then states in a serious tone and while he was still reluctant to let him go, he was still concerned about his eldest son and as he thought about it, he knew how close they were and knew that if anyone could help him, it would be Ben.
"I promise." Ben quickly states in a happy tone and while he wasn't sure what was wrong with his brother, he was sure he could help and he wanted to be there for him, just like he had been there for him his entire life.
"And you better come straight back here if he isn't outside Ben, otherwise you will have me to deal with and not just your dad." Matt then decides to say in a half serious and half playful tone, although he made sure that his fiancé knew he wasn't completely joking around when they made eye contact with each other.
"Okay, okay, I said I would." Ben quickly responds in a slightly annoyed tone and although he knew why his fiancé and dad said what they did, he still didn't appreciate them questioning whether he would come back in if his brother and Erica weren't just outside.
"I know you aren't a baby Ben, but we aren't at home now and with everything that has happened, I'm allowed to be a little over protective, it's a parents right, so man up and get your little butt moving, otherwise I might change my mind." Mike then decides to say in a serious but calm tone, as he gives his youngest son a warm and loving smile and while he could tell that he was still a little annoyed, he at least seemed to understand why he had said what he had.
"Okay and er... okay." Ben responds in a slightly embarrassed tone, as he realises that he shouldn't be upset about those that he loved, showing that they cared about him and quickly gives his fiancé a loving kiss on the cheek, before getting up and giving his dad a warm cuddle.
"Just give me a text if he is outside and I won't have to worry if you don't come back in." Mike then says with a proud smile. "Just humour me Ben." He then quickly adds with a little shake of the head, after seeing his youngest sons expression and knew exactly what he was thinking.
"Okay." Ben responds with a smile, after again realising that he was overreacting and quickly gives his dad another cuddle, before smiling at the others and walking towards the door to find his brother.
"He will be okay Mike and he will help Mitch." Matt then decides to say, after watching his fiancé walking out of the restaurant and looking back at his fiancé's dad and seeing how worried he actually looked, which surprised him a little bit.
"Yeah Mike, if anyone can cheer Mitch up, it's Ben." Tobias decides to add, after being quiet for a while and letting his brothers and uncle talk, although he had enjoyed being able to give his girlfriend a couple of kisses, while they had been distracted talking.
"Thank you boys." Mike responds with an appreciative smile, after taking a few moments to look at the door that his youngest son had just walked out of, before returning his attention back to the boys and girl and thinking about their encouraging words.
"I'm sorry Dad." Alex states in a slightly nervous tone, after waiting for his dad to get in the car and while he hadn't said anything yet, he knew his dad was just waiting until they were both in the car and was preparing himself to be told off and maybe even grounded for how he acted in the apartment.
"Do you at least have an explanation for your behaviour?" Gordon decides to ask instead of acknowledging his sons apology and even though he wasn't going to shout at him or punish him, he did want to understand what happened, because going into the apartment, his son appeared to be calm and collected, so he wasn't expecting him to act like he had done after they had all sat down to eat.
"I don't know." Alex quickly responds in a slightly panicked tone, before seeing the look on his dads face. "I promise Dad, I don't know, I just thought we would sit down and like eat and talk, but I just got really angry and er... well I didn't mean to, I promise." He then quickly adds in a honest tone and while he was telling the truth, he couldn't help but be scared that his dad was going to be angry with him and he wasn't sure what else he could say to make it any better.
"You'll have to do better than that Alex, because those things you said weren't just random, you meant every word and you must have thought about saying them at some point before we went inside." Gordon then says in response and while he didn't want to make his son feel like he was in trouble, he did want to understand what happened and he was also hoping that it could help make sure this didn't happen next time, well if there was going to be a next time.
"Do I have to?" Alex quickly asks in an almost whiny tone, which he could tell straight away was a mistake, but before he can think of anything to say, he sees his dads head shake in disappointment and he couldn't help but look down in shame.
"Alex, I know this is hard on you and I still have reservations about your mother being a part of either of our lives, but she is still your mum and she does love you, so I'm going to give you one more chance to explain yourself and I want you to think before you speak, because while I sympathize with what you're going through, I didn't raise you to act like you did and I'm not just talking about what happened in the apartment, do I make myself clear?" Gordon states in a firm and serious tone, after taking a few moments to consider how to handle the situation, because he really was disappointed with his sons response just now, but he knew what he was going through and while he expected better, he wasn't going to be one of those parents who never gives their child the chance to explain themselves.
"Okay." Alex responds in a chastised tone, before taking a few moments to think about his answer. "I didn't want to shout at her and stuff Dad, but I have thought about it and I've gone through so many things in my head, you know like how our conversations would go and things like that, but I decided to just try and just enjoy dinner and try and talk to mum like we used to, well that's what I wanted to happen." He then starts to explain, before stopping after deciding to see what his dad thought of that and although he kind of knew what he might so or ask, he still needed a few moments to think about how he could explain himself as clearly as possible.
"So what happened Alex?" Gordon decides to ask in a slightly curious tone, as he tries to give his son a chance to explain himself and so far, he thought he was doing okay and was hoping the rest of his explanation would help him understand what had happened, especially since his son had just admitted to wanting the evening to go well.
"I was okay when we sat down I guess, but when mum started talking and asking me about school and stuff like that, I don't know Dad, it just seemed too normal, it was like I was meant to pretend everything was okay and that she hadn't done all that stuff, she even cooked my favourite food, like she was trying to make us feel like a family and it just made me angry and I couldn't help it Dad, we aren't a family, not any more and it's her fault, so she shouldn't act like we still are." Alex answers as honestly as he could manage, before sniffling a couple of times as he realises for the first time, that maybe they really couldn't ever be a real family again and it surprised him to realise how much it hurt.
"You're a brave young man Alex and I'm so proud of you." Gordon quickly states in a sincere tone, as he pulls his son across his seat and into his chest, it may not have been an easy thing to hear his son say, but it was honest and he understood what he was saying perfectly.
"But I was rude and swore." Alex then says in a quiet and confused tone, as he enjoys the feeling of his dad comforting him, but his dads reaction was confusing and he wasn't sure how to react to it.
"And we will talk about your punishment when we get home Alex, but what you just said, it was the truth and I appreciate that, but more importantly, I understand what happened now and to be completely honest Alex, I have felt what you felt, ever since your mother confessed to what she did and just now, when we were sitting down at the table before you did what you did, I thought the same thing you did, exactly the same thing." Gordon responds with a loving smile, as he slowly lets his son go and sits back up and even though he could see the confusion in his eyes, he could tell that his words had reassured his son enough to avoid getting upset.
"You did? For real?" Alex quickly asks in a surprised tone, out of all the things he thought his dad might say, he was expecting him to say that and he wanted to make sure that he hadn't misunderstood what he had said.
"Yes, for real." Gordon responds in a slightly amused tone. "Alex, you mother hurt me too and to sit there and for her to try and pretend that we were a family and that everything was okay, well that didn't feel right at all and if it was just me and her, I would have made an excuse to leave, but while I don't want her in my life, she is still your mother Alex and if it's possible for you to forgive her enough to still have her in your life, than I want to do whatever I can to help that happen." He then states in an honest and sincere tone and while he struggled to be around his soon to be ex wife, his son was more important than what he felt and he genuinely wanted them to have a relationship, but only if his son actually wanted that.
"I'm not sure I can ever forgive her Dad, but I er... well er... I don't know Dad, I want to try, but what if she tries to act like everything is okay and I get angry again?" Alex decides to ask in a frustrated tone, as he thinks about what his mum had done, but at the same time thinks about the fact that she was his mum and he knew she had turned her back on all the bad stuff to support him and the fact that she hated gay people, it did make her choice something special and he wanted to try and give her a chance, he just didn't know if he could, not after what had just happened.
"We will take it a step at a time, the most important thing is your happiness Alex, so we will talk about it some more later and I will have a talk with your mother as well and we will see if we can figure something out, does that sound okay?" Gordon then decides to ask, as he tries to support his son and encourage him to not give up on his mother.
"Okay." Alex responds with an appreciative smile. "And thanks Dad, you're the best and you always listen to what I have to say." He then decides to add in a sincere tone, before leaning across and giving his dad an affectionate kiss on the cheek and while it was rare for either of them to kiss the other, they were more comfortable with a hug, he wanted to let his dad know just how much he loved him and knew that would show it.
"You're a good boy Alex and despite the mistakes you've made, especially recently, you own up to them and learn from them, that's why I listen to you, because even though I have to push you a little sometimes, you tell the truth and that makes me proud to be your dad." Gordon responds from the heart, as he looks at his son lovingly and while he was a little surprised by the kiss on the cheek, he knew what it meant and he really was proud of the person his son was becoming, even if he still had a lot to learn about life, he was at least heading in the right direction.
"I love you Dad." Alex then decides to say with a smile, before seeing his dad starting the car up and quickly pulls his seat belt on.
"I love you too Alex, but I should concentrate on driving it's getting dark and it's starting to rain, so why don't you give Peter a text or something and see what he's been up to." Gordon suggests in response, after he starts the car and looks out the front of the car and decides that he needed to be a little careful driving.
"Okay Dad." Alex quickly responds with another smile, before pulling his phone out and quickly finds his boyfriends number and begins to write out a text.
"Oh er... hey Ben." Mitch states in a surprised tone, as he feels someone quickly working their way under his arms and embracing him from the front and while it could have been anyone, he recognised his little brothers smell straight away, which for a moment almost made him smile at how weird that was, but he had practically raised his little brother and knew what he smelled like and the fact that he had switched to strawberry scented toiletries once he had started dating Matt, also helped as well.
"I'm going to head back inside Mitch, I will let them know that you will be a while." Erica then decides to state in a slightly emotional tone, as she sees the brothers holding each other tightly and while she thought about staying, she wanted to give them some privacy and knowing that she probably wouldn't get a response, she gives her boyfriends shoulder a quick squeeze, before heading back inside the restaurant with a tear in her eye.
"I love you Mitch." Ben decides to say in a sincere and loving tone, after cuddling his brother tightly for almost five minutes and although he had a lot of questions, he knew it wasn't time yet and when he feels his brother sniffling a couple of times, he cuddles him even tighter and begins to rub his back. "I'm here for you, just let it all out." He then says in a quiet and soothing tone, as he continues to comfort his brother, who after trying to say something, was now crying and while it scared him a little bit to see him like this, they were brothers and he was going to be there for him.
"Okay Erica and thank you." Mike states with a relieved smile, after his eldest sons girlfriend had quickly put his mind at ease and now that he knew his sons were together, he could focus back on the others again.
"I'm not sure how long they will be, but they will come back when they're ready." Erica then says with a smile, before looking around at the others with the same smile. "But I need to use the little girls room, so I will be back in a few minutes." She then adds with a slight blush, before placing her bag on her seat and then making her way across the room.
"She's a sweet young lady." Sarah decides to say in a sincere tone, as she watches her walking away and while Mitch wasn't her son, she was happy for him to have found someone as special as Erica and she couldn't help but smile at how happy they made each other.
"She is special." Mike responds in a slightly distracted tone, as he lets himself think about the idea of Erica becoming his step daughter and while he wasn't sure how long it would take his eldest son to propose, he didn't think it would be that many years away and he found himself looking forward to the wedding, even if it was a little premature for him to be thinking about.
"Lily is special too." Tobias quickly states with a enthusiastic smile, before giving his girlfriend a slightly confused look after she nudges him in the side and while she didn't seem angry, she did look embarrassed and he wasn't quite sure why.
"Yes she is Honey and so are you." Sarah decides to respond with a slightly amused smile, as she watches her sons expression go from excited to confused and while she knew it was a little mean, she knew why Lily looked a little less than impressed by his remark and wondered if he would figure it out or not.
"But I said a nice thing, didn't I?" Tobias then quickly asks as he looks between his mum and girlfriend, before turning to his brother. "I said a good thing." He then says in a confused and slightly upset tone, as he starts to wonder if he had somehow insulted his girlfriend and even though she was still holding his hand, he couldn't help but fear the worst.
"Lily, you need to tell him, please." Matt quickly decides to say, as he gives his brothers girlfriend a pleading look and while he had to admit that he didn't understand her reaction to his brothers words either, he didn't want him to get upset and knew that she was the best person to quickly reassure him.
"He'll be okay Sarah, just give Lily a chance." Mike quickly whispers into his friends ear, after he notices that she was about to say something and while he knew she meant well, he understood why Matt had asked Lily to calm Tobias down and when he sees his friends expression, he quickly smiles at her and is happy to see her return it.
"Er... well er... Tobias, you said a nice thing, but er... well it was nice, but it wasn't the right moment or time for it." Lily then says in a slightly nervous tone, as she realises that everyone was looking at her, but when she looks at her boyfriend, she can see that he seemed even more confused than he was before and quickly looks at his brother for help, because she was a little flustered and she really didn't know what to say now.
"Tobias, we kind of talked about this before, you know how girls like compliments, like really like them..." Matt begins to say in a slightly awkward tone, before trailing off for a few moments as he sees the look on both his mums face and his brothers girlfriend. "We talked about it Tobias and while they like compliments, you need to say them at the right time and Mum and Mike were talking about Erica, so even though Lily is special, you should have waited until they were finished talking, before saying it, okay." He then says in a slightly confused tone, as he struggles to find the right words and while he didn't think he was far off, even if he knew he could have explained it better than that, he thought he did okay.
"Oh, so I er... embarrassed you by er... not waiting to er... well I er... sorry?" Tobias then begins to try and say as his confusion grows and in the end just decides to apologise and hopefully start talking about something else.
"It's okay and you did say a nice thing and I like how sweet you are." Lily responds with a warm smile, before leaning forward and giving her boyfriend a quick peck on the lips and even though Matt's explanation had actually confused her a little bit, he wasn't that far away and it wasn't exactly a big deal, so she was more than happy to move on to something else.
"So Lily, how are you enjoying the karaoke so far?" Sarah decides to ask in a warm tone, she could tell that they all wanted to move on and she was genuinely interested to see what her sons girlfriend thought about the evening so far.
"It's really good and I can't believe how good people are and even the bad ones are fun to listen to." Lily responds honestly and with a smile, she was a little worried that she had upset her boyfriend and was happy that someone had changed the subject. "Matt and Ben were still the best though, you were really good Matt." She then decides to say with a sincere smile, as she looks at her boyfriends brother and sees him smiling back at her.
"Yeah and it was so cool to hear you sing it like that as well." Tobias then decides to quickly add, as he feels his girlfriends hand squeezing his own again and he couldn't help but feel relieved about moving on from what they had been talking about, because while he kind of understood what he did wrong, he definitely didn't want to talk about it any more.
"It was Ben's idea and he did great." Matt responds as he smiles at his brother. "And thanks Lily, I really love singing and the people who come here are really nice and the owner is awesome, he doesn't tolerate rude people and we've seen him kick a couple of people out for being mean a few times." He then says with a sincere smile, as he looks at his brothers girlfriend and despite being gay and loving his fiancé, he really did think she was pretty and really thought she was a nice person.
"Oh wow, I thought people just had to put up with rude people, on TV shows and stuff, the rude people never get kicked out." Lily quickly responds in a surprised tone, before looking around at everyone else in the restaurant for a few moments.
"Keith is a very nice man Lily and he prides himself on having a nice and friendly atmosphere here." Sarah decides to respond with a smile and while she was tempted to just sit back and enjoy the children talking, she had started the conversation and she was genuinely interested in getting to know her sons girlfriend a little more.
"He seems nice and I like how he introduces people, especially when it was Matt and Ben." Lily then says with a smile, before looking around again as the next person begins to sing. "People can use instruments?" She then quickly asks in a slightly surprised tone, as she looks at the man and his guitar and while she didn't think you couldn't, she hadn't seen anyone else play an instrument.
"It depends on the person and usually you would have to bring your own instrument, but Keith has a couple of guitars now, just in case someone wants to use one and doesn't own one themselves." Sarah answers happily and was impressed with the girl for carrying on the conversation, despite the fact she was obviously distracted by the man's performance and she wondered if she knew the song or not.
"I like when people do something older, most just sing the usual karaoke songs and it's a nice change sometimes." Matt then decides to say, as he smiles at the man's song choice and while he didn't know who sang it or it's name, he did recognise it and he liked it a lot.
"You should do an older song if you sing again Matt, you're good at them." Tobias then says with a smile of his own, as he thinks about just how good his brother is and despite being straight and not thinking of him like this since they both lived in England, he could see how attractive he was and he had noticed the girls in the restaurant giving him a few long stares as well and couldn't help but wonder what his brother thought of girls looking at him like that and was definitely going to ask him and his other brother about it later, because he had gotten a few looks as well.
"Maybe, but I'm not sure I will sing another song, but Ben might." Matt quickly responds with an appreciative smile and while he had intended to sing again, he was feeling pretty tired now and he didn't really feel like doing it now.
"Are you okay Sweetheart?" Sarah then asks in a slightly worried tone, as she looks at her son and tries to see if she could see anything wrong with him, because she knew he was planning on singing again and even knew which song, so it was a little surprising and worrying to hear him saying that he wasn't going to sing now.
"Just a bit tired, but I'm okay and I might still sing, but I doubt it." Matt responds a little more positively than he was actually feeling and while he wasn't going to feint or be sick, he didn't feel great and was hoping his fiancé wouldn't be gone too long.
"Okay, but if you start to feel unwell, I want you to tell me Sweetheart, you've been through a lot recently and you know you have to be careful." Sarah then says in a motherly tone, as she reaches across and takes one of her sons hands into her own and gives it a loving squeeze.
"I will. I promise." Matt responds with a slightly embarrassed smile, as he sees his brother and Lily looking at him and while they weren't making fun of him or anything like that, it was still a little embarrassing having his mum talk to him like that in front of other people, even if he did appreciate how much she loved him.
"Wow, he really is good." Lily then says in a soft tone, as she focuses back on the man singing and while she still thought her boyfriends brothers were better, he was still good and she was enjoying it a lot and smiles when every turns their attention to him as well.
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