Love Conquers All
by Flaming Matt
Chapter 43
January 2016
"Love Matt, I'm talking about love." Ben then says with a smile, before rolling his eyes at his fiancé's expression. "Look at the past year Matt, well I guess year and a half, you and I are not only together, but we're engaged and we're going to be getting our own puppy soon, then look at Wesley and Carter, they're still together and come on, Wesley went from completely bet your life he was straight, to being in love with Carter and they've had a few big fights and yet, they're stronger than ever, even if they did have that weird thing going on with Tobias for a while, then you have Tobias himself, he's lost everything Matt, his entire family and yet, he's happy now, he has us and he has Lily and they love each other, then there is Peter and Alex and fucking hell Matt, look what they've been put through and yet, they're together again and they're happy, it's just amazing and then there is Mitch and Erica, I mean we all love Mitch and he deserves to have someone special and he found Erica and she's just amazing, even if she did touch your penis and balls that time, I still love her and then, if that's not enough Matt, look at our parents, my dad hasn't even been on a date since my mum died, I mean, Mitch and I could see he was missing something, but he wasn't interested in anyone and then your mum, who is amazing comes along and after what David did, I wouldn't have been surprised if she didn't want to be near another man, but despite that, they found each other and they didn't just do it, they waited and waited and they fell in love and I just think it's great, I think it's amazing Matt." He then states with a big grin, which just grows as he watches his fiancé's expression and while he could tell that he still didn't quite get it, he could tell that he felt the same way about everything he had just said and it just made him love him even more.
"Okay, you're going to have to spell it out for me Ben, because I kind of get it, because it is amazing and when you think about what we've all been through, it's even more amazing, but I still don't get what your point is and what it has to do with out rings, I just don't get it." Matt then says in a mixture of confusion and curiosity, as he looks at his fiancé and gives him a slightly pleading look and while he felt like he was going to look a bit stupid once his fiancé spelled it out for him, he just wanted to know, even if he did get teased for it.
"Amor Vincit Omnia, love conquers all Matt, don't you see, after everything, everything we've all been through and all they've been through, both individually and together, we all found love and it got us through it all, love really does conquer all." Ben then explains from the heart, as he looks across to his fiancé with a loving smile and as he sees the look of realisation on his face, he feels a few tears of happiness roll down his cheeks, as his fiancé stands up and limps around the table.
"Amor Vincit Omnia, Ben." Matt states lovingly, after limping around the table and kneeling down next to his fiancé and while he had been confused by him at first, he understood now and slowly takes his hands into his own. "I love you so much Ben and you and I are forever, no matter what." He then states from the heart, before slowly standing up with his fiancé and kissing him lovingly, he really understood what his fiancé was talking about and he was amazed when he thought about everything they had all been through and how one way or another, they had all managed to find happiness and as they slowly make their way into their bedroom, he knew that no matter what, love really did conquer everything.
Eight Years Later
January 2024
"Seriously, stop looking so nervous and put some pants on Matt, because Carter is on his way and you need to at least put some clothes on." Tobias states in a slightly amused tone, as he walks into his old bedroom and sees his brother still naked and while it was nothing new for either of them to see each other that way, he really did need to get him moving and distract him a little from his thoughts.
"Shit, shit, shit, it's really happening, shit." Matt repeats a couple of times in an overwhelmed tone, as he looks around the room nervously and then at his brother, while making no effort to get dressed or even covering himself.
"Seriously?" Tobias then asks in an unimpressed tone and while he was finding his brothers nervousness amusing, he knew he had to get him to relax a little, not that he blamed him, he remembered their big brothers wedding and how nervous he was on the day and he knew how nervous he was feeling about his own wedding, even though he and his fiancé hadn't set a date yet, so he definitely sympathised with what his brother was feeling.
"What do you mean seriously? It's my fucking wedding Tobias, I'm getting married and it's going to be in front of everyone and I have to talk and..." Matt begins to respond nervously to his brothers remark, but quickly finds himself being cut off and despite his nerves, he couldn't help but still be a little surprised by the interruption.
"You and Ben have been planning this since we were twelve years old Matt, twelve years old and you're choosing the morning of your wedding day to freak out about it, seriously?" Tobias quickly asks with a shake of the head and while he still couldn't blame him for being like this, he still had to do something to calm him down or at least enough until their friend arrived, who after looking down at his watch, should be here within the next half an hour.
"I know, I know Tobias and I remember what Mitch was like on his wedding day, but fucking hell Tobias, it's fucking crazy, I want this, I want this more than anything and waiting this long, fucking hell Tobias, I've wanted to do this since we were twelve, but it's scary as fuck and yeah, I'm freaking out a little, but not in a bad way, I'm nervous and scared, but in a good way, so I'm okay, I promise, I just need... I just need... fuck if I know Tobias, I just need a drink or something." Matt responds honestly and while he had so much going on inside his head, it wasn't anything negative, he wanted this and nothing was going to ruin the day and slowly walks towards the door, only to feel his brothers hand on his arm.
"You really want to go downstairs right now?" Tobias quickly asks with an amused expression and while he was tempted to let his brother go downstairs, he just couldn't do it, no matter how tempting it was, they weren't kids any more and even if they were, they had always had each others backs and it wasn't any different now that they were twenty one years old.
"Why wouldn't I?" Matt responds with a slight frown, as he looks at his brother, before curiously following his line of sight. "Fucking hell." He then states with a shake of the head and an amused smile, as he looks down at himself and realised that he was still naked and while he was proud of his body, even his scars now, he certainly had no desire to walk around naked in front of his mum and brothers fiancé.
"Here, just put these on until Carter gets here and then we can all start to get ready, well, after a drink or two." Tobias then says with a grin, after walking over to his chest of drawers and pulling out some shorts and a tank top for his brother to wear, before walking over to his bed and sitting down. "It's been a while since we've been here, well together anyway." He then decides to say in a thoughtful tone, as he looks around his room or what used to be his room and while he had lived with his fiancé for almost two years now, he still came here sometimes and it still felt like home to him.
"Ben and I were talking about the pool house the other day, it's crazy to think we had our own place even back then, we even looked inside last week and there are so many memories Tobias, so many." Matt then says in response, as he finishes getting dressed, well if he could call it getting dressed and looking over to his brother, who he could see was reminiscing about the past and knew exactly how he felt and while they visited often and even slept over occasionally, it wasn't the same as when they were kids and actually lived with their parents.
"I was always a little jealous that you two had the pool house." Tobias decides to then say, as he walks over to the door and opens it for his brother. "Oh come on, even Mitch was jealous you and Ben had the pool house, but it wasn't like I resented you guys, I had my own room and basically the whole floor to myself and I wouldn't change that at all, but I was still a little jealous." He then adds with a slight grin, as he lets his brother walk past him and follows him towards the stairs.
"I guess so and I think we kind of knew that as well, it's why we made sure that you knew you were always welcome and why we slept in your room sometimes, even if we preferred to be alone, you were our brother and we loved you." Matt slowly responds honestly and while he was a little surprised by what his brother had just said, he and his fiancé, had always knew how lucky they were and had tried to make sure that they never took it for granted or rubbed it in anyone else's face.
"I know and I love you guys too, even if you're both a couple of Smelly Heads." Tobias then quickly says with a grin, before giving his brother a little playful push and then quickly making his way down the stairs and out of reach of any potential retaliation from his brother.
"Such a dick." Matt mutters quietly as he watches his brother reach the bottom of the stairs and look back up at him with his tongue sticking out and while he was tempted to try and rush down the stairs and make him pay for the cheap shot, he didn't want to risk hurting himself, even if his foot and hip had healed a lot more over the last eight years, he still had to be careful and he still had to use his walking stick whenever he had to walk around out of the house, so instead of rushing down, he just slowly made his way down, as his brother disappears out of sight.
"Well, at least he's dressed." Wesley states with a shrug of the shoulders, as he stands in the doorway and looks over to his friend, who was busy folding up some clothes on his bed for some reason.
"Hey, Wesley and yeah, I guess that's something." Mitch responds with a slightly bemused expression, as he turns to see his friend standing in the doorway and while he wasn't worried about his little brothers behaviour, he was at least happy to know that he wasn't the only one who thought he was being a little strange.
"At least he isn't a blubbering wreck, I mean that would be embarrassing to see." Wesley then states with a grin, which quickly widens when he sees his friends expression and while it was a cheap shot, he just couldn't resist and it was nice to get a little payback, especially after the last few weeks at work, where his friend had been pretty ruthless with the teasing, which he did enjoy, but at the same time, it also sucked to never be able to ever come up with a decent comeback.
"Prick." Mitch quickly retorts with a shake of the head and a slight blush, as he thinks about his own wedding day and what an emotional wreck he was in the morning.
"Oh come on, it was funny as fuck Mitch and you know it." Wesley quickly responds in amusement, as he starts to chuckle at his friend, who he could tell had no comeback and while he knew it was still a cheap shot, it was nice to be on the other side of their normal banter routine.
"You're still a prick." Mitch retorts with another shake of the head, before looking back over to his little brother and frowning a little. "Seriously Ben, what the hell are you doing?" He then calls out in a curious tone, as he tries to get his little brother to at least say something and not just ignore him.
"Just keeping myself busy." Ben slowly responds in a calm tone, before looking up and smiling. "Hey Wesley, did you bring the ring?" He then asks in the same calm tone and while he knew he was being weird, he couldn't help it, everything just seemed a bit surreal, but in a good way and it kind of freaked him out a little, because he was expecting to be nervous and even a little scared, but if anything, he just felt calmly content and it was a little weird, even to him.
"Yeah and I got your suit as well." Wesley responds with a smile and while he was a little surprised by how calm his friend was, it was a good calm and he seemed happy enough, so he wasn't going to make a big deal out of it.
"My suit?" Ben then quickly asks in a confused tone, as he looks down at his bed and then to his friend in confusion.
"Seriously Ben? You've been folding those clothes for almost an hour and you didn't notice that your wasn't here?" Mitch quickly decides to ask with a questioning look, as he studies his little brother and even though he didn't think anything was wrong, nothing bad anyway, he was still his little brother and he couldn't help but worry a little bit.
"Whatever, at least I'm not a blubbering wreck right now." Ben quickly retorts with a grin and while he was a little embarrassed about not realising he was basically folding the wrong clothes over and over again, it was a big day, probably one of the biggest in his entire life and he was entitled to be a little distracted and decided to have a little fun at his brothers expense and couldn't resist using his friends earlier words to turn the tables on his brother.
"You guys are never going to let me live that down, are you?" Mitch quickly asks in response, as he runs his hand through his hair and while he wasn't actually bothered by the cheap shot, he would use it against his friends and brothers if the roles were reversed, it was still embarrassing and he could feel himself going red a little again.
"Like you would." Wesley decides to answer with a grin, after walking over to his friends bed and sitting down. "So come on Ben, what's going on, because you're being all calm and it's kind of creepy." He then decides to ask, as he looks at his friend curiously and while he was tempted to carry on having fun at Mitch's expense, time was getting on and they couldn't spend all morning joking around.
"Yeah, come on Ben, how the hell are you so calm right now?" Mitch decides to say as well, as he sees his little brother thinking over their friends question and deciding to press a little bit, because he knew how today felt, he had been there himself only a couple of years ago and while he wasn't expecting his little brother to act like he had, he was definitely surprised by how calm he was and he couldn't help but be curious.
"I don't know, I guess this is just what I want, I've waited and waited for this day and I thought I would be like you were Mitch and I know we take the piss out of you for what you were like, but I honestly thought I would be the same, but I don't know, I just feel calm, like er... well it's hard to explain, but I guess, I just feel like everything is going to be okay and it's just going to be perfect, I love Matt and he loves me and this is our moment." Ben responds as clearly and as honestly as he could, because he didn't quite understand it either and even now, he couldn't help but still be surprised by how calm he was feeling and it made him wonder how his fiancé was feeling and whether he was going through the same thing as he was right now.
"That's pretty nice and everyone is different." Wesley then says with a warm smile and while he had to admit that he was more than a little jealous of how happy his friends were, he knew he it was stupid to feel that way and he was genuinely happy for them and seeing how happy his friend was right now, gave him a warm feeling inside and gave him hope that he might be happy again one day.
"Have you spoken to Carter since the stag night?" Ben decides to ask with a questioning look, after deciding to change the subject and hopefully catch his friend off guard a little bit, because he had seen his expression change, even if he did try to hide it and he didn't need to be a genius to know what was bothering him.
"What?" Wesley quickly responds in a mixture of panic and surprise, he wasn't expecting anyone to bring up his ex boyfriend and he definitely had no idea how to react to it.
"I'm going to head downstairs for a little while and see how things are going, I'll be back up in about half an hour so we can all get ready." Mitch then decides to say, after looking at his little brother and friend and while he wanted to stay and try to help, he had tried at work a few times to find out what was going on between his friend and Carter and he failed every time, so he was hoping if he left them alone, his little brother could coax the truth out of their friend and quickly walks out of the room, without waiting for a response.
"Well?" Ben then states in an expectant tone, after watching his brother walking out of the room and then turning to his friend, who he could see was doing his best to not look up at him.
"What's there to say Ben, he isn't interested in talking to me, so can we talk about something else?" Wesley reluctantly responds as he forces himself to look up at his friend and while there was a part of him that wanted to talk about his ex boyfriend, this wasn't the time and he was hoping his friend would drop it, they had more important things to worry about today.
"It's my wedding day Wesley and I don't want my two best friends ignoring each other, so come on, tell me what happened, because I saw you talking on the stag do, so that's at least something." Ben then states in a serious tone and while it was a little risky to bring this up now, he and his fiancé had talked about this and they wanted their two friends to at least talk to each other again, even if it would be awkward, they at least wanted to try to help them.
"Wow, they've really faded since the last time I saw them." Carter states in an amazed tone, as he runs his hands down his friends back. "Even these ones look a lot better now." He then says with a smile, as he runs his fingers down his friends bum and feels the scars and while they still stood out, he remembered what they used to look like and there was definitely a big improvement.
"Yeah, that cream stuff you told me to get really works, even if it is a little pricey." Matt responds with a warm smile, before moving away from his friend and turning to face him again. "What?" He then quickly asks in a slightly paranoid tone, as he sees his friend smirking a little bit and he couldn't help but look down at himself.
"I don't know, I just didn't have you down as someone who shaves or what ever you do to stay smooth." Carter quickly responds in an amused tone and while it wasn't really funny, it did surprise him to see his friend so smooth and while it had been a while since he had seen him naked, he was still not expecting to see him like this.
"Ah, well... I don't mind it, but let's just say this isn't my usual look Carter." Matt then responds with a slight blush, as he thinks about why he was almost completely smooth from the neck down and while he did like how it felt and he new his fiancé loved it as well, he preferred to have a little hair and not feel like a little boy again.
"So you still haven't learned your lesson about making stupid bets then, even after all these years?" Carter responds in amusement, as he continues to check his friend out, before looking back up to his face with a grin.
"What would be the fun in that?" Matt quickly answers with a grin of his own, before noticing the look in his friends eyes. "So what about you? Have you actually managed to turn into the hairy beast that we all thought you would end up being?" He then decides to ask with an even wider grin,, after deciding to ignore the sad look in his friends eyes, it was obvious he had let his guard down a little and he knew why he was sad, but he wanted to wait a little longer before bringing up Wesley and not rush into it.
"Ha! I wish... well I don't, I mean who wants to be covered head to toe in hair, but I guess I wouldn't complain to have a bit more, even if I would never grow a beard, I wouldn't mind the option." Carter slowly responds with a shake of the head and while he had almost let his guard down about how he was really feeling right now, he was glad his friend hadn't noticed and even though he was a little self conscious about his lack of body hair, it wasn't like he was completely smooth and the guys he had been with, seemed to like it, so it wasn't exactly something that really bothered him.
"I get it and I can kind of grow a beard, but Ben's is insane, seriously, I know you've been home a lot since you've been at university, but you haven't seen him when he's grown a real beard and to be honest, I'm a little jealous of it." Matt then says with a smile and while he was happy with how much hair he had naturally, he could never grow a decent beard and couldn't help but be a little jealous that his fiancé could.
"I've seen Mitch with one, so I guess it must be like that and Jordan's beard is kind of cool, even if it's a little surprising that he has one." Carter then says with a thoughtful smile, he had missed his friends a lot and while he had come home every so often, it wasn't the same and while he would never tell anyone else, he was looking forward to finishing his course and coming home for good and just being around them again.
"Why is it surprising? It suits him." Matt quickly asks in response, as he gives his friend a questioning look and while it wasn't exactly a big deal, he wasn't quite sure what his friend meant by it.
"He's a professional swimmer Matt, so I just kind of assumed he would be... well like you are right now." Carter quickly answers with a shrug of the shoulders, after looking down at his friend again and seeing how smooth he was right now.
"Well, it's not like he's competing right now, so he doesn't need to shave, but he does when he has an event coming up." Matt then says with a smile, as he walks over to his suitcase and pulls out some underwear.
"True." Carter responds with a smile, before walking over the the wardrobe and opening the doors. "It's still a bit early to get dressed." He then says after looking over to the clock and seeing that they still had a little while before they had to leave and while they could get dressed, he didn't see the hurry.
"Did you talk to him about Wesley yet?" Tobias decides to ask in a curious tone, as he walks into the room and sees his brother pulling up his tighty whiteys and his friend standing near the wardrobe. "I'll take that as a no." He then states with a slightly grin, after seeing his friends expression and his brother rolling his eyes at him and while he knew it was a bit rude, they didn't have that long left and they wouldn't have time to talk about this once they got in the car, so it was now or never in his eyes.
"Guys, I know you mean well, but don't even start with Wesley, we haven't been together for over three years and this really isn't the time to get into that, it's your wedding day Matt." Carter decides to then state with a firm expression and while he was hoping no one would try to bring up his ex boyfriend or at least their past relationship, he had been prepared just in case and knew if he focused on the wedding, it should stop the conversation going any further.
"Nice try Carter, but you aren't using my wedding to get out of talking about you and Wesley, so just sit down." Matt decides to say with an expectant look, after thinking over his friends words and deciding that he might as well press the issue, even if he was going to try a more subtle approach, brother had pretty much ruined any chance of that happening.
"Yeah, come on Carter, you miss him and you know it, I saw the way you kept looking at him on the stag night and I wasn't the only one." Tobias decides to then add, as he sits down on the desk chair and watches his friend sitting on the bed and while he wasn't sure if they would get anywhere, he and his brothers had all agreed to at least try, even if they failed miserably.
"Of course of miss him, we were together for years, but that's in the past, he made his choice and people break up guys, life goes on and I've moved on and he's would have as well." Carter then calmly responds, as he looks at both of his friends and despite feeling annoyed at them pretty much forcing him into the conversation, he was again hoping to end it quickly and just forget about his ex and just get through the day without having to spend too much time thinking about him.
"Just like that?" Matt quickly asks in a less than convinced tone and while his friend was doing a good job of acting calm and normal, he could tell that he wasn't being completely honest and decided to just keep going and quickly gives his brother a quick nod, before looking back at his friend.
"No, not just like that, I loved him and a part of me always will, but he was the one who ended it and yeah, it sucked and I hated him for a long time, but that was almost four years ago and he's not a part of my life any more and that's not going to change, even when I finish university and come back here and that's just how it is, we've both moved on." Carter just as quickly responds with a slightly annoyed expression and again, just wanted to end the conversation and not bring up all his old feelings, it was a special day and the last thing he wanted to do, was have it spoiled by thinking about his ex.
"He hasn't though Carter, he hasn't moved on at all." Tobias responds with a sad smile and while he thought his other friend might kill him for saying this, he didn't care, his two friends belonged to each other and if they couldn't see that for themselves, than he and his brothers were going to do it for them.
"What?" Carter quickly responds in surprise, after being completely caught off guard by his friends words. "Oh come on, no way, he's Wesley, there's no way that's even possible." He then states in an unconvinced tone, as he stares at both his friends and realises that they were being completely serious, which just didn't make any sense at all, his ex boyfriend was a gay guys wet dream and it wasn't like he was shy either, so it just wasn't possible.
"We aren't going to go into any details, you will have to talk to him about how and why Carter, but believe me, he hasn't, not once." Matt responds honestly and while he did feel like he and his brother were crossing the line slightly with what they had just revealed, it was for a good reason and if it at the very least got their two friends talking, it was definitely worth it in his opinion.
"Fucking hell." Carter just about manages to say in a stunned tone, after thinking about what his friends had just said for a little bit longer and while he still wasn't sure whether to believe them or not, he didn't think they would lie about it. "But anyway, I know what you're doing guys and it's nice, it is and you're good friends, but it's your wedding day Matt, do you really want to risk it being ruined by me and Wesley talking about that kind of stuff, because that's not a conversation you have on a day like this." He then decides to say, as he looks at his friend with a serious expression and while he had to admit to himself that he was curious about his ex boyfriend sex life, or in this case apparent lack of sex life, he still didn't want to be having this conversation and he was hoping his friends would finally drop the subject.
"We do need to get ready." Tobias then says with a shrug of the shoulders, after quickly picking up on his friends not so subtle hint and looking at his brother, who he could tell, like him, had no really idea what else they could say to change their friends mind.
"Fine, but seriously Carter, at least talk to him, there will be plenty of time before everything begins and like you keep reminding me, it's my wedding day, so you kind of have to do what I say, especially since you're my best man." Matt decides to then say with a slightly smirk, after quickly thinking of a way to at least get his two friends talking again and while it was a bit of a low move, it would be worth it in the long run, well unless it went completely wrong, but he was pretty confident that wouldn't happen.
"Okay, but can you guys drop it now, because I don't want to think about him and like Tobias just said, we need to get ready." Carter quickly responds and while he wasn't sure if he would actually talk to his ex boyfriend, he was going to consider it and as he watches his two friends getting up, he slowly starts to undress.
"Seriously, you can pretend all you like Wesley, but you work with my brother and whenever you go out, you never go out on your own, so I don't see why you're lying or why you won't tell Carter the truth." Ben states with a firm stare and while this wasn't exactly how he planned this conversation to go, he could tell that he was making some progress and his friend had at least stopped glaring at him, which was something.
"With all due respect Ben and you know I love you, but what I do privately, is just that, it's private and yeah, seeing Carter again after all that time was hard and stirred up a lot of feelings, but it's in the past Ben and this isn't some sappy romance film and even if I did talk to Carter, it wouldn't change anything, the past is in the past." Wesley decides to respond sternly, as he looks at his friend and while he appreciated how much he obviously cared, this really wasn't his concern and he didn't appreciate his sex life being brought up and used as some kind of point, even if his friend meant well by it.
"You're right Wesley and I'm sorry for getting personal, but I'm only talking to you about this, because of the way Carter acted on the stag night and I know I got drunk, near enough everyone did, but we've known each other for a long time and I've known Carter even longer and trust me Wesley, he still cares about you and you need to tell him how much you've missed him." Ben then decides to say, as he gives his friend a warm and honest smile and while he knew he was pushing his luck now, he wasn't quite ready to give up just yet and knew his fiancé and brother were both doing the same thing to his other friend.
"And I love you for caring Ben, but so what if he gave me a look or stared at me, we haven't really seen each other since he went away, well okay, we have, but we've avoided each other when he's been home and even if I do still... care about him, I hurt him Ben, he never wanted to break up, but I forced it and if you saw how he reacted, you wouldn't be wasting your time right now, so just drop it, please." Wesley then emotionally responds, after taking a few moments to think over his friends words and think of some way to get him to drop the subject, before just settling on telling the truth and even though he almost let slip that he still loved his ex boyfriend, he was sure he covered it pretty well and as he looks at his friend now, he could see the surprise on his face and even a little sadness as well.
"Okay, okay." Ben decides to reluctantly say in response, as he tries to work out what to do and despite not wanting to give up, especially after hearing his friend almost letting slip that he was still in love with his ex boyfriend, he could tell by the tone of his voice and his expression, that he really didn't want to talk about this and the last thing he wanted to do was upset him, especially today. "Just promise me one thing though and I promise not to say anything else about Carter." He then decides to say and even though he wanted to drop the subject for his friends sake now, he knew his brothers wouldn't know and if they did get through to their other friend, than he needed to at least do something to avoid that ending up being pointless.
"Fine, but then we get dressed and I mean it Ben, I know why you're doing this and like I said before, I love you for caring, this just isn't the time and Carter's going to be around for at least a week and today is about you and Matt, nothing else is more important than you two today." Wesley quickly responds with a slightly forced smile, which was made easier by the fact that he meant what he said and despite wanting nothing more than to be with his ex boyfriend again, their two friends were more important today and he wanted to focus on them, not his love... or lack of a love life.
"I hate it when you make sense." Ben quickly retorts with a shake of the head, before blushing slightly as he sees the bemusement on his friends face. "Shut up... so anyway, the deal is this Wesley, if Carter tries to talk to you at any point today, you don't push him away or anything like that, no matter how awkward or scared you feel, if he comes to you, you be a man and talk to him, deal?" He then states in a firm tone, after quickly getting back to the point after looking at the time and realising that it was a lot later than he thought it was and despite what they had been talking about, he was still surprised by how quickly the time had gone so far and he could actually feel himself beginning to get nervous about what was going to happen in a few hours time.
"Okay, but only if he comes over to me and it's not one of you guys forcing us to talk and I mean it Ben, if you guys try to trick us or force us to talk, than I will leave and that's not a threat." Wesley eventually responds firmly, after taking a few moments to think over what his friend had just said and while he wasn't entirely happy with it, he wasn't exactly against the idea of his ex boyfriend being the one to approach him and he could feel his heart beating a little faster at the thought, although even with that feeling, he wanted to make it crystal clear to his friend, that it had to be natural and not some kind of lame trick to get them to talk.
"Deal, now come on, we better start getting ready, otherwise Mitch will come up here and carry me to the church like this." Ben then states with a small grin and despite still being caught off guard by his growing nervousness, he was still in control and as he sees his friend now smiling, he walks over to the chest of drawers and pulls out some clean underwear and socks for himself and friend, before pulling his shorts and top off, while his friend does the same.
Thirty Minutes Later
"So where are Victor and Damian,? I didn't see or hear them in the house earlier." Carter decides to ask, as he looks at his friend curiously and suddenly realising that he hadn't seen the little boys at all today and couldn't help but wonder why they weren't there, because his friend and Lily were both at the house, so he was genuinely curious.
"Oh, oh you're going to love this." Tobias quickly responds with a big grin, as he looks at his friend and while he had been caught up with the day and with trying to get his two friends back together, he had forgotten to tell his brother and friend where his two sons were and who was babysitting them right now and he could barely stop himself from laughing, as he pulls out his phone.
"Oh my god, who did you trick into babysitting them this time?" Matt quickly asks with a grin of his own, as he thinks about the times he and his fiancé had babysat their nephews and despite loving them, they were both convinced they were some kind of devil children, especially when they were with their other nephew John, who despite being cute as hell, was a bit of a wild child.
"Ryan." Tobias quickly responds, as he searches for their friends number. "Hey, it's his own fault, he was bragging about how easy kids are to look after and Lily and I thought we would give him a chance to show us how it's done." He then adds with another grin, before looking up at his brother and friend, after finding their friends number and deciding to wait for their reaction, before seeing how he was doing so far.
"Wait, seriously, Ryan is looking after the twins, the guy who barely manages to look after himself, is looking after Victor and Damian?" Matt quickly finds himself asking in disbelief, as he thinks about their friend and despite liking him, they wouldn't be friends if he didn't, he wasn't exactly the kind of person he thought would make a good babysitter and was a little surprised his brother and Lily would leave the twins with him.
"Well, I know he's got a few problems and maybe not the most approachable guy, but I'm sure he can look after a couple of toddlers." Carter quickly decides to respond to his friend and even though he knew he wasn't directing the question at him, he felt like he needed to defend their friend, who did have some issues, but nothing that stopped him from being capable of looking after children, he was still a good guy and trustworthy.
"I know Carter, I didn't mean it like that, we wouldn't be friends with him if he was like he was when we were kids, but seriously, the guy has never babysat before and trust me when I say this, Ben and I have babysat the twins and they're hard work, especially if they're all hyped up." Matt responds just as quickly and while he was a little surprised by his friend answering, he understood why and was happy to reassure him, although before either can really take it in, they both turn to his brother, after hearing him laughing.
"Sorry, sorry, but it gets better." Tobias then just about manages to say, after composing himself and seeing his brother and friend giving him a strange look, but while he knew he, his brother and his fiancé might have gone a little far in teaching their friend a lesson, it really was too good of an opportunity to pass up and he couldn't wait to call him in a few moments time to see how he was getting on with all three toddlers.
"How does it get better?" Matt slowly decides to ask in response, as he gives his friend a quick look and sees that he had the same look of confusion as he was feeling and then looking back at his brother, who just looked like he was about to wet himself in amusement.
"Mitch was with us when Ryan was boasting about how easy it was to look after kids and how you just had to feed them or stick them in front of a TV, so Mitch asked him to look after John as well." Tobias quickly responds, before losing his composure again after seeing his brother and friends faces and falling into a laughing fit.
"Holy shit, he's looking after all three of them together, at the same time on his own?" Matt quickly finds himself asking with a stunned expression, as he slowly takes in his brothers words and while he had questioned whether their friend could look after the twins on his own, he just felt sorry for him if he was looking after John as well, because like his fiancé and himself at found out for themselves, it was almost impossible to keep them under control and there were two of them, so if Ryan was on his own, he was in trouble and despite himself, he couldn't help but start to grin, as his brother continues to laugh his backside off.
"They can't be that bad, they're aren't even three years old yet." Carter then says in an unconvinced tone, although he had to admit, he hadn't spent much time around kids that age and because of college, he hadn't seen as much of his friends children as he would have liked, but still, he had had work experience in hospitals and the kids didn't seem that bad, at least he didn't think they did.
"Oh trust me Carter, Ben and I thought the same thing, they can be little shits, but in the cutest ways possible and you're stuck between being annoyed and impressed most of the time." Matt responds with a slight smirk, as he looks at his friend and while he thought about seeing if his brothers wanted to have fun setting him up like they had obviously done to Ryan, he couldn't quite bring himself to be that evil and instead, just gives him a bit of a heads up, just to let him know, that he was very wrong about his assumption.
"And it gets even better." Tobias then just about manages to say, as he pulls himself together and while he was struggling not to laugh again, he knew he needed to calm down and decided to sit up a bit straighter, as he looked at both his brother and friend.
"You didn't give them a fizzy drink or sweets? Did you?" Matt couldn't help but as with a slightly shocked expression and while it wasn't exactly a crime or anything that bad, he knew what it would mean for their friend looking after the three boys and he was really beginning to feel sorry for him, because the boys were bad enough when they were calm, but when they were on a sugar rush, he could only imagine how nightmarish that would be.
"Yeah, Lily and I gave Damian and Victor a can each and Mitch did the same with John, it's going to be hilarious and I'm going to face call 'Mr parenting is easy' right now to see how much fun he's having." Tobias quickly responds with a big grin, before looking down at his phone and hitting call, as both his brother and friend look at him curiously.
"That's just evil." Carter quietly states in a slightly disapproving tone, as he thinks about what his friends had done, even if it was quite funny and it did sound like Ryan had it coming, but it was still a bit mean and a little reckless as well in his opinion.
"Oh er... hey Tobias, you okay?" Ryan quickly asks with a forced smile, as he tries to act as casually as he could, while at the same time, trying to keep a hold of one of the twins, while hoping the other one and John weren't actually trying to kill each other.
"Pretty good, we're just about to head out to the car and Matt and Carter just wondered how you were doing, they didn't believe me when I told them you volunteered to babysit the twins and John, so say hi." Tobias responds cheerfully as he looks at his friend and despite seeing how hard he was trying to act calm, he could see right through the act and he was pretty sure at least two of the boys were wrestling each other right now or all three, he had seen it enough times himself and knew it was one of the boys favourite things to do.
"Oh er... hey Carter, hey Matt, you guys all right?" Ryan quickly asks as sincerely as he could, as he tries his best to get the call over with as quickly as possible, after feeling which ever twin he had a hold of right now, licking his arm and wiping his nose at the same time, while the other two boys seemed to be edging towards the TV slowly as they rolled around the ground fighting to get on top of the other and he just couldn't believe how hard this was, he had seen so many films and shows where the kids seemed easy to look after and he had seen his parents babysitting and they never seemed to have any trouble, so he wasn't sure what was going on.
"Yeah, pretty good Ryan, but are you okay, because you look a little flustered." Matt responds with a fake look of concern, as he does his best to hide his amusement and while he did feel bad for his friend, it was still funny to see how much he had obviously underestimated babysitting the boys and as it was self inflicted, he couldn't feel that sorry for him.
"Yeah, yeah, it's just a bit hot and the boys are a little active, but nothing I can't..." Ryan then begins to say, before yelping and pulling his arm free from the twin he was trying to hold. "Oh you little shit." He then states in a slightly raised tone, as he looks down at the boy and even though he wanted to tell him off, he still had no idea which twin he was looking at.
"What happened?" Tobias quickly asks in a concerned tone and while this was all a bit of fun, his friends tone was a little worrying and he sounded a bit angry, but as he hears three high pitched sounding voices repeat the word shit over and over again, he couldn't help but smile and grin at his brother and friend, who he could see, where both as amused as he was himself.
"Is someone swearing, I can't hear very well, but it sounds like someone swearing." Matt then decides to ask with a slight snigger, as he does his best to keep a straight face, it was obvious what was happening, he had been there himself, but it was definitely funnier from this perspective and his friends expression was just priceless, even if the missing eye and scarring did make him look a little scary.
"Fuck, nothing, it's just the TV... shit..." Ryan quickly begins to respond defensively, before just trailing off in defeat, after the three boys quickly latch on to the new swear word and begin to shout it out over and over again. "Seriously, what the hell is up with them and for the love of god Tobias, which one is this one?" He then states in a defeated and dejected tone, as he looks at his phone and lifts up the twin he had been holding, he just felt like a complete idiot and just wanted to at least work out which twin was which.
"That's Victor and calm down Ryan, just take some deep breaths and get yourself a warm drink or something." Tobias decides to suggest with an amused shake of the head, even though he was starting to feel more than a little guilty for setting his friend up, it was still funny and he still thought he deserved it a little, too many people without kids think it's easy and while it was some of the time, there were times where it seemed impossible and his friend was now finding that out for himself.
"Calm down? How the hell can I calm down, Victor just bit my arm after licking and snotting all over it, John and Damian are trying to kill each other and now they're all shouting shit and fuck, so how the fuck am I meant to calm down?" Ryan quickly responds desperately and even though he knew he sounded pathetic, the kids were just too much, it's like they were doing it just to break him and it was definitely working and he could only look at his phone pleadingly.
"Come on Tobias, I'm sure he's learned his lesson, can't you do something?" Carter then decides to ask his friend quietly, after leaning a little closer and making sure their friend wouldn't be able to hear what he had just said and while it had been funny, it was getting a little out of hand and despite how far their friend had come, he still had limitations and he felt like he had to say something.
"Okay, turn the volume up on your phone Ryan and kneel down so that the boys will be able to see me." Tobias decides to tell his friend, after giving his other friend a searching look for a few seconds and realising what he was really telling him and despite still thinking he deserved it, he also knew he might have taken it too far and his earlier feeling of guilt grew a little bit more.
"Er... okay." Ryan quickly responds in a confused tone, as he let's Victor go and does as he is told, which wasn't exactly that reassuring as he watches the boy join the other two and jump on top of them.
"BOYS!!! STOP IT RIGHT NOW AND I MEAN IT... STOP FIGHTING AND SIT IN FRONT OF RYAN RIGHT NOW... FIVE... FOUR... THREE... two... one..." Tobias quickly begins to shout out firmly, as he tries to ignore the shock on his brother and friends face and concentrate on helping their friend out. "Good boys, now listen up and I swear to god, if you don't listen, than Mum will hear about this and your dad will as well John, do you understand?" He then states in the same firm tone as before, after watching the three boys sitting down with sheepish expressions and while it was adorable and made it hard to keep a straight face, he knew he had to, otherwise they would quickly go back to messing around and his shouting approach wouldn't work again.
"Kay Daddy, prommy." Victor quickly responds in the sweetest voice he could manage, after giving his brother and friend a quick look and coming to a silent agreement to behave and not risk getting into real trouble.
"Good choice, now listen up, I want you to stop messing around, Ryan is looking after you and that means that he's in charge, so no more fighting and being naughty..." Tobias then begins to say, before shaking his head and pausing for a few seconds, after seeing the three boys expressions. "And don't give me that look, do as you're told and I will be checking in with Ryan later and if you haven't behaved, than your mother and your parents John, will hear about you swearing, understood?" He then states in a clear and firm tone, before giving the boys a few seconds to take that in and while he knew they wouldn't behave themselves completely, they never did, they should be a lot more manageable for Ryan and they will listen to him more.
"What bout Nekkie time?" Damian then quickly asks in a curious tone, after giving his best friend a quick look and then turning back to look at his dad with a pleading look, he loved Nekkie time and wanted to have fun.
"NO! No Nekkie time and don't pretend to cry, you're being babysat, so behave yourself or you know what will happen." Tobias quickly responds with a slight blush, as he glances at his friend, who he could see was giving him a questioning look and while he wouldn't have to explain it to his brother, he knew all about what Nekkie time was already, he knew he would have to explain it to his friend and it was a little embarrassing, even if it was completely innocent.
"Kay." Damian slowly responds with a sulky expression, although as he feels his brother and friend putting their arms around his back, he manages to smile.
"Good boy, now why don't you three go play and have some fun, but remember, be good, I don't want to hear about any of you being bad, now get going." Tobias then states with a smile, which widens as he watches the boys stumble as they try to get up and then disappear from sight.
"How the hell did you do that?" Ryan quickly asks in a quiet tone, as he looks at his friend in awe and just couldn't believe how quickly the boys reacted to his friends voice, he had raised his own a few times and they barely even seemed to acknowledge him, so he was more than a little intrigued.
"Just a little trick a parent learns, but it doesn't always work, so we try to do it as little as possible and only for something serious, but you looked like you could use a little help, but Ryan, I was serious about getting a warm drink and relaxing, when kids see you relaxed and calm, they take more notice of you, trust me on that." Tobias responds with a friendly smile, as he looks down at his phone and despite a part of him wanting to gloat about how hard his friend was finding babysitting, he just couldn't do it and his growing guilt was a big part of that.
"Okay, but one more question, what the fuck is Nekkie time?" Ryan then curiously asks in the same quiet tone as before, as he looks over to the boys and sees them playing with some toys together and then looking back at his phone.
"Ha! You don't want to know, so just go get yourself relaxed, the boys will be fine for a little while on their own, but don't leave it too long otherwise they will start to get a little out of control again." Tobias quickly responds with a smirk, before looking at his friend expression and promptly ends the call and grins at his brother and friend.
"What the hell is Nekkie time?" Carter quickly asks after deciding to let his curiosity get the better of him and despite wanting to wait a little longer, he didn't want to miss his chance and he knew if he waited too long and brought it up himself, it would be awkward and knowing his friends, they would probably pretend that they had no idea what he was talking about, so he wasn't going to give them the chance to embarrass him like that.
"And you call yourself a doctor." Matt states with a shake of the head, as he grins at his friend and while it was a bit childish, he couldn't resist having a little fun and his friends expression was definitely worth it.
"Think about it Carter, what does Nekkie sound like? And try to think how a little kid talks and how they pronounce some words." Tobias then decides to teasingly say, as he follows his brothers lead and have a little fun with their friend, who to his relief, was looking a lot more relaxed now, which was reassuring as he was beginning to feel guilty about practically ambushing him about his ex boyfriend, so it was nice to see him thinking about something else for a while.
"I still don't..." Carter begins to respond with a confused expression, before quickly trailing off and looking at his friend with a slight smirk and shake of the head. "Oh wow, I think that might have sent Ryan over the edge, do they really do that?" He then decides to ask, as he looks at his friend in amusement and despite knowing it was a little inappropriate, especially since his friend was practically married and had two kids, he couldn't help but think about when they were kids and messed around with each other and he could feel himself hardening slightly and was thankful that he already had his left leg over right one.
"Do I really need to answer that?" Tobias quickly responds with an amused smile, that slowly changes to one of curiosity and slight excitement, as he leans forward and places a hand on his friends thigh, but as he starts to feel himself feeling something he hadn't felt for a long time, he quickly sits back as he feels his arm being pulled and quickly looks at his brother in surprise.
"Okay guys, I'm going to pretend I didn't just see that, you're practically married and have kids Tobias and I don't care how close you two are or the weird special bond you have, you're not kids any more and that means you as well Carter, I've known you long enough to know when you're getting hard, so both of you, grow up." Matt states firmly as he glares at his brother and friend and while he always knew they had a special friendship, that had over the years been sexual, even when they were in their teens, they were adults now and he wasn't going to sit there and let them do something stupid, even if it wasn't anything serious, he wasn't going to let it become something serious and he wasn't afraid to let either of them know that.
"Sorry, you're right and shit, sorry Carter, I guess I just got carried away, Lily is going to kick my arse when I tell her." Tobias slowly responds, as he puts his hands on his head and lets out a long sigh.
"Wait, you're going to tell her? Nothing happened." Carter quickly states with a look of disbelief, as he looks at his friend, before turning to his other friend with a confused expression.
"Yeah, he's right Tobias and it's not like you would have done anything and I won't say anything, so she would never find out, not like there is anything to find out." Matt then finds himself saying in a surprised tone and although he knew his brother and his fiancé were like his fiancé and himself, when it came to secrets, he really didn't think this fell under that category and he was surprised his brother would put himself in the firing line over nothing.
"I know it's weird, but we tell each other everything and I know she's going to get pissed, but she knows what we've done together Carter, we played truth or dare together enough times in our teens for her to know, so she will understand and it won't be a problem, it only becomes a problem if I hide it and besides, she always found it hot to think about you, me and Wesley in bed together Carter." Tobias slowly responds with a shy smile and while he didn't need to let his brother or friend know about that, he couldn't resist and the look on both their faces was priceless and knew that neither of them were expecting that response.
"Fucking hell, I have the weirdest brother in the universe." Matt then states out in an amused tone, as he looks at his brother and quickly realises that he was being dead serious and again, while he and his fiancé barely had any secrets between them, he was still surprised that his brother was going to tell his fiancé about what just happened, even if he kind of understood why.
"Okay, changing the subject guys, are you sure Ryan is going to be okay, because while I haven't babysat the boys before, surely three hyperactive kids is a lot to handle and I know Ryan is okay now and he's not incapable of babysitting, but we just saw how stressed out he was and I'm a little worried about him." Carter then decides to say in a slightly concerned tone and while their friend really had made a remarkable recovery from being shot in the head and over the years has recovered enough to lead a normal life, he still felt like he shouldn't have to look after three toddlers, especially three that were as hyperactive as his friends children seemed to be.
"Relax Carter, we were just having a bit of fun with him for a little while, Mitch already asked Simon to go to Ryan's house, his shift finishes soon and he's going to head over to give Ryan a hand and he knows about the setup as well, so he's just waiting for either Mitch or me to text him and he will head over." Tobias quickly responds with a reassuring smile and while they may have set their friend up to teach him a lesson, they weren't irresponsible and they weren't going to risk their children's safety or their friends health, just for a cheap laugh.
"Oh, well okay." Carter then says with a relieved smile, as he relaxes and looks at his two friends for a few moments, before hearing a noise from outside. "So I guess it's time to head out, the limo just pulled up." He then states with a slightly nervous smile, after walking over to the window and seeing the limo waiting outside.
"Oh fuck, I can't believe it's almost time." Matt quickly states in a breathless and slightly overwhelmed tone, as he gets up and looks at his brother and friend nervously, he had managed to forget about just how nervous he was after his friend had arrived, but now that the limo was here, he knew that in a couple of hours time, he would be married to the love of his life, something he had dreamed about since he was twelve years old and he could feel himself shake a little.
"Come on you dumb ass, you got this, I promise." Tobias decides to say with a reassuring smile, after walking over to his brother and putting an arm around his shoulder and while he knew his brother was happy and excited, he could see him shaking and he wanted to make sure that he knew he was with him and that he was going to be okay and as he sees their friend beginning to walk ahead of them towards the door, he slowly starts walking with his brother in the same direction.
Thirty Minutes Later
"So much for that I don't get nervous speech Son." Mike states in amusement, as he walks over to his increasingly nervous looking son paces back and forth in front of him and quickly puts both his hands on his shoulders to hold him still.
"Relax Ben and just breath okay, you have everything you need and trust me, once you're standing up there with Matt, it's like the whole room is empty and all you will be aware of is him and some guys voice telling you things, it's a weird feeling, but it's also really special, so just relax, this is what you've been waiting for all these years." Mitch then decides to say, as he gives his brother a reassuring smile and while he had been surprisingly calm all morning, he could tell that as it drew nearer and nearer, his brother was starting to get more and more nervous.
"I know, I know, but seriously, this is crazy, my head is spinning and my stomach feels weird and I keep forgetting to breath and..." Ben begins to respond in an increasingly panicking tone, before looking up in surprise, as he feels a finger pressing against his lips and despite himself, he couldn't help but stop talking and just looks at his dad in surprise, it had been too many years to remember since his dad had done this to him and he couldn't help but be a little embarrassed that it still seemed to work and as he gives his brother a quick glance, he could see the look of amusement on his face and quickly felt his cheeks warm up slightly.
"We know Ben, trust us, we know, but like your brother just said, once you're standing there with Matt, all that will go away and all you will feel is love and happiness, he's the love of your life and that's all you need to think about, this is your moment and there is nothing for you to feel nervous about." Mike decides to then say, as he gives his youngest son a soft smile and while it had been surprising how calm he had been all day so far, he wasn't worried about how nervous he looked right now, he had been there himself and as he glances at his eldest son, he couldn't help but smirk a little as he remembers how much of a nervous wreck he was, so he knew his youngest son was going to be just fine.
"Besides, you aren't a blubbering wreck, so you got me beat already Ben, so stop wearing a hole in the carpet and just sit and talk to us, because it will help, trust us." Mitch quickly decides to add with a slight blush, as he again has to think about how he had felt on his wedding day and despite always being calm and collective, he was the rock people used come to when things were bad, but on that day, he was a complete mess and while it was for the best reason, it was still embarrassing to think about it and his brothers and friends took great pride in reminding him as often as possible.
"I know and I do, but it's just weird, so many things are going through my mind and most of it isn't even about getting married, I mean a lot of it is, but I keep thinking about everyone else, is that normal?" Ben responds in a curious tone, as he looks at is brother and dad thoughtfully and while he didn't think he was being weird, he really didn't expect to find himself thinking about anything other than his fiancé and himself and their future together today.
"I thought about you guys and how our family will change and that kind of thing, but that was in between breaking down and having mini panic attacks, so I don't remember exactly what I was thinking about." Mitch quickly responds honestly and while he could remember the important things from his wedding day, most of the time leading up to the actual moment he saw his wife walking towards him down the aisle, was pretty much a blur to him.
"You were pretty funny." Ben then says in response, as he gives his brother an amused smile and while he still felt a little strange, it was a good strange and he was glad to be with his brother and dad right now, although he couldn't help but wonder where Wesley was, he had been gone a while and time was getting on.
"So are you going to be okay now?" Mike decides to ask with a reassuring smile and while he could still tell that his youngest son was nervous, he looked okay and as relaxed as he had seen anyone in his position, so he wasn't worried about him suddenly breaking down or doing anything stupid.
"Yeah and you can go if you want Dad, people will need to be told where to go and stuff and Wesley should be back soon." Ben responds with a slightly overwhelmed expression, before taking a deep breath and smiling at his dad, he might be getting more and more nervous, but it was a good nervous and he had waited for this day for too long to let anything ruin it.
"Yeah, get going Dad, I know Peter, Alex and Jordan know what they're doing, but there's a lot of people and we shouldn't leave it all to them." Mitch then decides to say with a smile, before noticing his dads expression. "I'll be down in a little while after Wesley gets here." He quickly adds with a smile and while he knew he was meant to meeting and greeting people as well, he wasn't going to leave his little brother alone and as he glances at him, he could see that he appreciated him staying and quickly gives him a smile.
"I'll ask around and see if anyone has seen Wesley, he's probably just got caught up with everything, it's a busy time and I know what people are like at weddings, it's hard to get away sometimes." Mike then says in response, before looking at his youngest son one more time and smiling at him. "I'm so proud of you Ben." He then says with a sincere smile, before pulling him into a loving cuddle and he really couldn't be more proud of him, he may have taken a little time to fully adjust to him being gay, but he had seen how happy he was and looking at him now, he was everything he could have hoped he would become and more, just like his eldest son, who he loved just as much.
"Thanks Dad, but don't worry about Wesley, I think I know where he is and he will be here in time, so it's okay." Ben then says with a slightly shy smile, as he looks at his dad affectionately, he really did love him and despite having a brief moment when he was around eleven or twelve, where he was confused about how he felt about his brother and dad, he really did love him and he wouldn't change him for anything and knew how lucky he was to have such a loving and caring dad.
"See you both soon, I love you both." Mike then says with a proud smile, before giving both his sons another quick embrace and then with a little reluctance, walks out of the room and heads back down to the reception area.
"So, I take it Wesley and Carter must be talking to each other somewhere?" Mitch decides to ask as he looks back at his little brother with a curious smile and while it was a bit of a guess, he couldn't think of any other reason for Wesley to not be here right now and knowing that his brothers had all planned to speak to their two friends earlier in the day, it seemed the most likely reason as well.
"Yeah, I mean I don't know if that's a good thing or not, they have a lot to talk about and I'm not sure if they will ever be able to get past what happened, but unless they talk, they won't know and as long as they don't kill each other, then it's a start." Ben quickly responds with a shrug of the shoulders, before smiling and sitting down, as he thinks about his two friends and while he really wasn't sure if they would ever get back together, he was hoping they would or at the very least, be able to be friends and not just avoid each other, like they had basically been doing for the past three or four years.
"Seriously Carter?" Wesley responds with a shake of the head and despite being happy that his ex wanted to talk, this wasn't really what he was expecting to be talking about and he was definitely going to be having words with their friends, who despite obviously having good intentions, had also definitely crossed a line and betrayed his trust a little bit, even if he knew he was overreacting a little bit.
"I know, but come on Wesley, you're... well at the risk of sounding like my eleven year old self, you're Wesley 'fucking' Fisher, so how in the hell haven't you been with anyone else, because there's no way that nobody has hit on you, it's just not possible." Carter quickly responds with a small grin and while he wasn't sure what this would achieve, his friends had stirred up some pretty intense feelings he had done his best to suppress and he wanted to find out if there was any potential future for them, even if it was just as friends.
"Because I..." Wesley begins to quietly respond, before quickly trailing off for a few seconds, as he looks at his ex and realises what he was about to say. "I've just been busy and yeah, people have hit on me, men and woman, but while it's nice, life isn't just about sex and being with someone Carter, it's okay to be alone and I'm happy with my life." He then states nonchalantly, as he tries his best to cover how he really felt, which was a lot harder than he was hoping it was going to be, especially since it was a smallish room and they were sitting opposite each other at a small table.
"Oh come on, give me a break Wesley, I don't believe you, I mean I didn't really believe Matt or Tobias and your initial reaction might have made me believe it a little more, but after that, there's no way you haven't been with anyone, so just admit it, there's no point lying." Carter decides to then say in response, after thinking over his ex boyfriends words and deciding to really find out if it was true or not and while it was a bit of a low move, he knew how to push his buttons and again, if they had any chance of getting past what happened, he needed to know the truth.
"Then just go Carter, because I don't need to justify myself to you and what I do or in this case not do, is nothing to do with you." Wesley quickly retorts angrily and while the last thing he wanted to do was ruin any chance of them getting back together, he wasn't going to let him talk to him like that and he was still feeling annoyed with their friends, which wasn't helping him think clearly right now and as they sit in silence for a couple of minutes, he wonders if he should just get up and walk out of the room, but just as he thinks about moving, he sees his ex boyfriends face soften a little bit and despite everything, he couldn't help but melt a little inside, he had missed him so much and all he wanted to do was be with him.
"But why? You could be with anyone you wanted Wesley and it's been four years, I just don't get it." Carter then decides to say in a soft tone and while he was pretty sure he knew the reason, it was pretty obvious, he could read his ex like a book, he wasn't going to make this easy for him, he had hurt him and he had barely made any effort since that day to even get in contact with him, so it was going to take a lot to build up any trust between them again, at least at his end.
"I don't need to explain myself Carter." Wesley slowly responds with a slight sigh and while he wanted to say the words, he just couldn't do it, he had tried to take what happened back so many times and he had texted and called his ex boyfriend and the few responses he actually got, they hurt a lot and while at first he didn't blame him for it, after a while, he started to feel like he was doing it on purpose and he couldn't help but feel a little resentful or more honestly, very resentful.
"Maybe I don't have a right to know, but look at us Wesley, we haven't talked in four years, so if there is any chance of us even being friends, than we have to be able to talk about stuff and you not seeing anyone since we broke up, that's just crazy and it makes no sense and even the others think it's weird, so just tell me, what's the worst..." Carter then decides to say, as he tries to work out how to respond, but as he finds himself being cut off, he can only stare in surprise and shock at his ex boyfriends words.
"BECAUSE I STILL LOVE YOU!" Wesley quickly shouts out loudly, before just as quickly holding his hand over his mouth, but as he looks at his ex boyfriends expression, he knew it was too late and there was no taking it back now and just had to hope he hadn't ruined everything, well it was already ruined, but this could ruin any potential relationship completely.
"What?" Carter eventually finds himself asking in a stunned tone and while he suspected it, well he more than suspected it, hearing his ex actually say the words and despite shouting them loudly, meaning them as well, he just wasn't sure how to react or what to even say.
"I haven't seen anyone else, because I still love you Carter, I never stopped loving you." Wesley slowly answers meekly, as he looks down at the table and despite wanting to say those words ever since he stupidly broke up with his ex, this wasn't the way he had imagined it and he was sure the next time he looked up, he would be alone in the room and as the silence carried on, those thoughts just grew and grew.
"But... why? Why would..." Carter then eventually begins to say, but quickly trails off as he tries to process everything and think of something meaningful to say in response. "If you loved me, why the hell did you break up with me?" He then finds himself asking and while he had always wanted to confront his ex about this, he never really got the chance, it had all happened too quickly and by the time he really processed it, he was at college and too hurt to initiate any contact and his ex only sent a couple of messages and none of those were even close to being enough to make him respond and as time passed, it just seemed to make it harder and harder to make an effort to talk and now they were here, four years later and he still had no idea why his ex had done what he had done.
"I don't..." Wesley quickly tries to respond, but even as he starts to respond, he could see the look on his ex boyfriends friends and knew he would regret finishing that sentence. "I didn't want to break up Carter, but come on, you were going to college, I was going to be concentrating on being a police constable and I know it's not exactly the best logic, believe me Carter, I know, but I just thought I should suggest a break or something, not a break up, I never wanted to break up, I just..." He then begins to try and explain again, after watching his ex boyfriends expression and realising that he was waiting for him to continue, but before he can even finish, he finds himself being interrupted and quickly felt his heart drop a little, as he feared for the worst.
"Okay, let's just skip over the idiotic idea that a break was ever a good idea, because believe me Wesley, I'm being very, very calm right now and let's talk fact, because I was there Wesley, you never mentioned a break, you didn't come close to suggesting anything like a fucking break, you broke up with me and there is no way you can deny that and if you try, then we're done and I mean completely done Wesley, forever." Carter slowly states with a cold glare, as he stares at his ex boyfriend and while he would have to think about whether or not a break would have been a good idea, this wasn't the time and it would have to wait until later, because right now, this was it for them, it was either going to be the last time they ever spoke and maybe even see each other again, or it would be the start of them attempting to rebuild something between them and right now, it was pretty one sided to which one of those options was looking most likely.
"I was nervous Carter, you know me, you know me better than anyone in the world, I suck at confrontation and big talks and I tried practising what I was going to say, but when I saw you and er... fuck Carter, I panicked and I just... well it all came out wrong and then you got upset and angry and it just went completely wrong and I just kept saying the wrong thing and you kept getting upset and it was just shit Carter, it was all just shit and then you stormed off and I thought about following you, but I know you and I knew you needed time to cool off and I was half hoping you would realise what a moron I was and call me or at least text me and then I could just tell you it was all a mistake, but you didn't and when I texted you, you ignored it and er... fuck Carter, I lost count of how many texts and voicemails I left you for like a month or so, but I guess I fucked up too much for you to forgive me." Wesley responds honestly and while it wasn't exactly everything, it was the truth and he needed his ex to understand that he never wanted to break up and even though he failed, he had tried to make amends, but as he sees the confusion spread across his ex boyfriends face, he couldn't help but feel confused himself.
"Lost count? LOST FUCKING COUNT? You sent me a few shitty texts and a couple of shitty voicemails Wesley... so you know what, fuck you and after today is over, WE'RE DONE!" Carter quickly retorts angrily, as he glares at his ex boyfriend and gets to his feet, he could forgive and look past a lot of things, but being flat out lied to, especially after what he had said before his ex had said what he just did, he was done with this and he was done with him.
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU..." Wesley quickly tries to respond, but as he takes in his ex boyfriends words and realises that he was shouting, he quickly trails off for a few moments to calm down. "Carter, I texted you a lot and while I didn't leave that many voicemails, even I thought I was being a little stalker like and you responded to most of my texts and there is no way you can take any sort of morale high ground, not after what almost all your replies said, so don't get shitty with me." He then states firmly and while he knew this was all his own fault, he wasn't going to let his ex talk to him like that and accuse him of something that he knew was a flat out lie, because even if his ex was upset, he knew he had texted and called him more than a couple of times and he wasn't going to let him use that as an excuse to just walk away, not after finally admitting that he still loved him, because that had to make a difference, even if he hadn't said it the way he wanted, he meant it and he knew his ex knew that as well.
"Fuck, what the fuck Wesley, I never got... seriously Wesley, I know when you're lying, I fucking know every time, but I know for a fact, that I didn't get more than a few messages from you and I only replied to one or two of them, it's not something I would forget." Carter eventually says in a confused tone, after sitting back down and staring at his ex for a few minutes in silence and while he knew he wasn't wrong, he also knew his ex and he knew when he was lying and he wasn't lying, he could see it in his eyes and that just confused him even more, because they couldn't both be wrong and they couldn't both be right, so he had no idea what was going on.
"Well read them for yourself." Wesley then says after a few moments, as he pulls his phone from his pocket and searches for the right folder and while he was embarrassed about keeping them and knew if any of the others found out, it would be mortifying, he could never bring himself to deleting the messages, even if almost every single one hurt him a little inside, he just couldn't do it and even though he wasn't sure how his ex was going to react, he couldn't think of anything else to prove that he was telling the truth and slowly slides his phone across the table and watches as he picks the phone up and look at it.
"What the fuck?" Carter eventually says in a confused tone, after spending almost five minutes reading through the texts and despite what he could clearly see, he just couldn't make any sense of it, he could see it in front of him, but he knew he never sent the replies and he had never read these messages from his ex either and he wasn't sure what to think or how to react.
"They came from your phone Carter, who else could have sent them?" Wesley then finds himself asking, which surprises himself just as much as it obviously surprised his ex, who was now staring at him with a shocked expression. "What?" He then asks in a mixture of confusion and concern, as he watches his ex boyfriends expression change between a range of emotions, before settling on one that he couldn't quite read completely, although it was obvious that whatever his ex was thinking, it wasn't anything good and he wasn't sure if it was directed at him or not.
"Who did you talk to about the break thing?" Carter decides to ask in as calm a tone as he could manage, after struggling to control himself, as he takes in his ex boyfriends question and looking back at the messages and while they didn't all show the dates and times, he quickly worked out a pattern and if he was right, then someone had a lot of explaining to do, a hell of a lot of explaining to do.
"Huh?" Wesley quickly responds in confusion, as he continues to stare at his ex and while he seemed calm, he knew him to well to not see right through that and while he didn't have a clue what he had figured out, it was something important and something that made him angry, which just increased his own confusion even more, as he tried to work it out for himself and came up with nothing, well nothing that made any sense, anyway.
"I know you Wesley and in between all that crap earlier about wanting to suggest a break and not a break up, there is no way you just thought of that and just came and talked to me, so you must have talked to someone and I want to know who and don't give me any bullshit about betraying anyone Wesley, just tell me who it was and tell me right now." Carter just as quickly asks again, as he starts to lose his composure and while he wasn't sure what he would do if his ex confirmed what he was thinking, he needed to know and he needed to know now.
"I talked to Mitch about it, well not really talked to him, I tried to test the waters and I chickened out, so I ended up talking to Jordan and he just listened and gave me some advice and er... well he was just being a good friend." Wesley reluctantly responds and while he didn't feel like he was betraying his friend, it was a private kind of thing, but the way his ex was talking, he knew he had no choice but to just be honest, although as he watches his face turn red before standing up, he couldn't help but wonder what was going on.
"I'm going to kill him." Carter just about manages to say in a seething tone, as he looks at his ex boyfriend and while he was struggling to contain his fury, he knew he had to say something, but as he watches him standing up, he quickly turns to the door and walks out of it, he just couldn't help himself and quickly headed to where he knew their friend, or to be more precise, soon to be dead ex friend would be.
"Carter, what the hell is going on?" Wesley quickly calls out, as he follows his ex out of the room and down the hallway and while he knew it wasn't anything good, he had only seen his ex this angry a couple of times, he still wasn't sure what was going on and when he gets no response, he can only follow him as they reach the reception area of the church, where he catches a glimpse of Jordan and even though he had no idea why he was feeling it, he suddenly felt a growing sense of anger towards his friend.
"Oh, hey guys, shouldn't you be with..." Jordan begins to say with a smile, before suddenly grunting in pain and almost falling to the ground, as he slumps against his friend.
"Carter. I don't know what's going on, but this..." Mitch then quickly begins to say in a professional tone, as he starts to move towards the two young men, but as he gets within a few metres of them, he feels a pull on his arm and looks back in surprise.
"It's okay Mitch, I don't really know what's going on, but you know Carter, he has a reason and I will find out, I promise." Wesley quickly states in a slightly distracted tone, as he looks over to his ex and his friend, who was barely able to stand up and despite the situation and not really knowing what was happening right now, he couldn't help but be proud of his ex, who had obviously kept up with his self defence routines, which he wasn't sure if he would or not.
"I'm only going to say this once Jordan, stay the fuck away from me and Wesley, you don't call us, you don't text us and you don't speak to us, I will decide when I want to hear whatever the fuck excuse you have for what you did and don't even think about saying anything now, this is your only warning, stay the fuck away." Carter quietly whispers into his friends ear, as he holds him up long enough to make sure the message sank in, before just letting go and walking away from him and while he had wanted to do more, he settled for just kneeing him in the balls and quickly makes his way back to where he had just come from, vaguely aware that his ex was following him.
"Carter, what the fuck is going on?" Wesley quickly decides to ask in a shocked and impressed tone, after walking back into the room they had been in before and shutting the door, while his ex walked over to the back wall and leaned up against it with his hands over his face and almost walks over to comfort him, but manages to stop himself after taking a couple of steps towards him, they weren't boyfriends any more and he wasn't even sure if they were friends, so he wasn't sure how he would react if he tried to cuddle him and instead, decided to just give him some time and wait for him to respond.
"Jordan, it was fucking Jordan, he did this, he broke us up." Carter then just about manages to force himself to say, after taking almost five minutes to compose himself and while he was still seething inside, he was also beginning to feel shame and as he slowly looks up to his ex, he could feel his heart almost shatter, he was the love of his life, all he ever wanted and for some sick and twisted reason he didn't understand, their friend had ripped them apart and he could feel tears forming in his eyes.
"What?" Wesley quickly states in a shocked tone, as he looks at his ex in confusion and wonders what the hell he was on about, because while it would explain a lot, well a hell of a lot as he began to think about it, it made no sense, Jordan was their friend and he was a pretty good friend on top of that, but again, as he really thought about it and then about his ex boyfriends reaction and what he had done just over five minutes ago, he could feel his anger growing and instinctively begins to turn towards the door.
"Don't." Carter quickly calls out in a slightly panicked tone, as he moves across the room and puts a hand on his ex boyfriends upper arm. "Please don't." He then states pleadingly and while he didn't have any fight left in him right now, he was hoping his ex would do the same thing he had just done, because while he had stopped himself, he had seen the look in his ex boyfriends eyes before he turned towards the door and while he hated their friend right now, more than hated him, he didn't want his ex doing something stupid or at least more stupid than what he had done himself, especially since their two friends were getting married and they were the best men.
"How though? How and why?" Wesley then finds himself asking with a shake of the head, after letting out a long sigh and turning back to his ex, who he could see was struggling and again, he had to fight the urge to embrace him, even if apart from beating their friend to death, was the only thing he wanted to do right now.
"We will find out why, both of us will Wesley, but..." Carter slowly begins to respond, but as he feels himself shake a little, he knew he had to pause for a few seconds. "He basically came with me to college Wesley, he heard about us and he said he wanted to be there for me and he had a swimming camp thing nearby, so instead of staying with his team mates in some crappy camp room thing, he stayed with me, for around four or five weeks..." He then begins to finish explaining again, but trails off towards the end, as he feels tears rolling down his cheeks and while he wanted to be strong, this was almost too much for him, Jordan was one of his best friends, he had been a rock for him these past four years and to find out that he had betrayed him, he just didn't know how to handle it.
"But I still don't get it Carter, he's been a good friend, he's been a great friend, to both of us and I don't see what him staying with you at..." Wesley then starts to say in confusion, before trailing off as the penny finally begins to drop and he could feel his blood boiling again. "He had access to your phone, he responded to my texts and deleted them and my voicemails, so you... Carter?" He then begins to say, before being cut off by the sound of his ex crying and despite his earlier hesitations, he quickly embraces him and holds him tightly.
"It's okay Honey, go and find Lily, because I want to talk to your brother before Carter comes back." Sarah softly says with a sweet smile, as she looks at her son and despite not being his biological mum, she loved him like he was her real son and even though it took a long time and neither had forgotten his real family, for her, he was her son as much as Matt was and she couldn't be more proud of either of her two boys.
"Okay Mum and see you soon Matt, just don't panic or anything, okay." Tobias quickly responds, after giving his mum a quick cuddle and while he still missed his real mum, he had come to truly see her in the same way and while it was still hard sometimes, his new family had been amazing and he was truly happy, which was something at one point in his life, he never thought would be possible and after giving his brother a quick cuddle as well, he slowly makes his way out of the room and heads towards the reception area to look for his fiancé and friends.
"Is everything okay Mum?" Matt then decides to ask in a slightly curious tone, after waiting for his brother to leave and turning to see his mum looking at him strangely and while it wasn't exactly a bad stare, it definitely confused him a little bit and he wasn't quite sure what she was going to say.
"Everything is perfect Matthew and I just wanted to spend a few minutes alone with my son, before he becomes a husband and not my little boy any more." Sarah slowly responds with an emotional smile and while she had promised herself not to cry, she could feel a few tears rolling down her cheek already and as she feels herself being embraced, she quickly returns the loving embrace and feels more tears in her eyes.
"I love you too Mum, but I'm still your little boy and I always will be, even if you're never allowed to tell anyone that I just said that." Matt decides to then say as they slowly pull apart and despite never wanting his brothers or friends to find out what he had just said, he meant every word and he would never stop loving his mum, he had lost too much and even though he was entering a new phase in his life, he wanted his mum to know that she would always be a part of his life.
"Don't worry Sweetheart, your secret is safe with me." Sarah quickly responds as she affectionately strokes her sons face with his hand, he had always been a cute boy and as he got older even she could see how handsome he was and she couldn't be prouder of him as a person either, the way he gave himself to the community and was using his trust fund to help others was more than she could have ever hoped for and she especially felt pride in how he performed for patients at the hospital as often as he could, even though no one had asked him, she had spoken with Erica and Gordon and they had both said how much both the staff and patients appreciated what her son did, which just made her even more proud of him.
"I wonder how nervous Ben is by now, because I got a text from Mitch earlier and he said Ben was being weirdly calm, but I know him Mum and I just know he will just be getting more and more nervous as the time passed." Matt then decides to say with a slightly nervous grin, as he starts to think about actually getting married and while he had done his best to try and not think about the actual ceremony, it was almost time for it to begin and as he looks at his mum, he could feel himself shaking a little bit.
"Knowing Ben, I think by now he is probably more nervous than you are Sweetheart, although just like you, it will be a good nervousness, you've both been planning this day since you were twelve years old and you belong together Matthew, that's all you need to be thinking about and once you stand side by side and look into each others eyes, nothing else will matter, it will just be you and him making each other complete." Sarah decides to say in response, as she holds her sons head in her hands and smiles reassuringly at him, she had quickly noticed that he was shaking and while it had been years since his last freak out, they all knew that he was still at risk of having them and knew exactly what to do to calm him down, well at least enough to avoid him from losing control completely.
"We don't know each others vows either Mum, I mean er... well there are some parts, like the traditional parts, but we promised each other that the main parts, the personal parts, would stay private until we were at the altar and I can't wait to hear his, I just know it will be perfect and I hope he likes mine, it took me so long to find the right words, I think I've remade them a hundred times in the last few years." Matt then says with a sweet and slightly shy smile, as he looks into his mums eyes and sees how happy and proud she looked.
"I wish your Aunty could be here today." Sarah then says in a slightly downhearted tone, as she decides to change the subject and also see if her son was really okay with her sister not being able to stay long enough for the wedding, which was disappointing, but also understandable, she just hoped her son knew how much she had wanted to stay and why she couldn't.
"Me too and Ben wanted her to stay, but we understand Mum, she's always been a er... well I don't really know the right word, but I guess something like a wanderer or something like that and those kids need her, we were just happy she spent almost a whole week here and I know Tobias enjoyed having her around as well." Matt responds with a sincere smile, as he thinks about his aunty and while he had wanted her to be here and was initially disappointed and a little annoyed when she had said she had to go back home, he wasn't angry, his aunty had always been the same, never staying for more than a few days, maybe a week at a time at most and they all knew that she had an important role in her community and the children depended on her, so he really did understand.
"I know, she's always been the same, but you're right, it was nice to have her back and the twins and little John definitely gave her a run for her money." Sarah then says with a soft smile, which widens as she thinks about how the three boys had ran rings around her sister, which was nice to see, her sister was normally in complete control when it came to children and she had always been more than a little jealous, but little Damian, Victor and John were not like other kids, especially when all three were together and full of energy, which seemed like all the time.
"Ben and I talked a bit more about adoption, but for now, we're going to wait, Ben's busy studying and trying to secure that training placement for some work experience and I don't think we're quite ready yet ourselves, just looking after Damian, Victor and John is hard enough work, but at least we can give them back." Matt then decides to say with a slightly shy chuckle, as he thinks about his brothers children and despite loving them completely, both he and his fiancé, had definitely reconsidered rushing too quickly into adoption and decided to wait until they were more settled in their lives.
"It's always different with your own children Sweetheart, even if you do make a good point about your nephews, they're definitely a handful, but they shouldn't put you off having your own family." Sarah decides to say in response, as she weighs up what her son had just said and while she wasn't going to interfere or tell them how to live their lives, she did want him to give them some advice and to let them know that being a parent wasn't always hard work.
"We know, but still, Ben wants to get settled into his career and be able to be at home when we do adopt someone Mum and I still want to perform at the hospital and do those charity things that I've been doing, so I guess it just isn't the right time for us and while we love our apartment, it's not that big and we want to start looking at some real houses, so even though it sounds like a lot of excuses, we're serious about adoption and we just want to do it right." Matt then says with a smile, as he looks at his mum and slowly turns to look at the door and then the clock.
"I'm sure Carter will be here soon, there's still a little while before it's time Sweetheart." Sarah then says with a reassuring smile, as she notices where her son was looking and while time was getting on a little bit, she wasn't worried about where Carter was, he wasn't the kind of person to be late and be irresponsible, especially on a day this important.
"I know and it's okay Mum, I know what he's doing and Ben, Tobias and I set it up, so we can hardly be angry at them for losing track of time." Matt quickly responds with an appreciative smile, as he looks back at his mum and sees her looking at him reassuringly and while he was still nervous and excited, being here with her was definitely helping and without even thinking about it, he slowly walks over to her and gives her an affectionate and warm cuddle and just enjoys being in her arms.
"Just talk to me Carter, because I know you and you aren't getting this upset because Jordan being a complete prick." Wesley decides to ask in a firm tone, after feeling his ex pulling away from their embrace and seeing just how upset he really was and even though they weren't a couple any more, he still didn't like seeing him like this and he wanted to try and help, even if he wasn't sure how to do that any more.
"I hate him Wesley, I hate him for what he did." Carter quickly responds with tears still streaming from his eyes and while he wanted to say more, he just couldn't and as he thought about how his ex hadn't been with anyone since they had broken up, it just made him feel more guilty and more dirty for not doing the same himself and he could feel his stomach churning.
"He will pay for what he did Carter, I promise, but..." Wesley then begins to say, but quickly finds himself being cut off and he can only look at his ex sadly.
"You don't understand." Carter quickly states in an ashamed tone and as he continues to stare at his ex, his feeling of shame and guilt just grew even more and he really wasn't sure how he could ever forgive not only their friend, but also himself as well.
"Then tell me Carter, you know that I still love you and I want to help, so just talk to me, please." Wesley then decides to say, as he tries to think of a way to help his ex, who he could see was struggling to hold himself together and knowing that they needed to get back to their friends soon, he knew he had to do something to help him.
"I just hate him Wesley, because of him..." Carter then begins to respond, but quickly trails off as he struggles to not look away from his ex boyfriends eyes. "Because of him, I let other people violate me, I let other people touch me and I..." He then starts to say, before finding himself interrupted this time and while he hated being interrupted, he was just too tired and emotional to care right now and just let his ex say whatever he wanted to say.
"Violated? Carter, did something happen?" Wesley quickly asks in concern and while a lot was going on right now, his ex boyfriends choice of words and how emotional he seemed right now, just raised alarm bells and he could feel his stomach churning a little bit at the thought of his ex being assaulted.
"JORDAN FUCKING HAPPENED!" Carter almost instinctively responds, as he lets his anger get the better of him, but as he sees the concern in his ex boyfriends eyes, he quickly realises how he sounded and what his ex was assuming. "Nothing like that Wesley, I wasn't raped or anything, but... but I... you haven't been with anyone Wesley, but I have, I've been with other people, because of Jordan, I let other people touch me Wesley, I let other people... because of Jordan..." He then tries to explain, as he struggles to find the right words, but as he loses his composure, he quickly feels himself being embraced again and while he still felt dirty and ashamed of himself, he let his ex hold and comfort him.
"It's okay Carter, we weren't together and you don't have to justify anything to me." Wesley decides to then say in a comforting tone, after holding his ex for a couple of minutes and while he was a little hurt and disappointed to hear that his ex had been with other people, he wanted him to know that it didn't matter and that he understood, even if he was pretty sure he was going to kill their soon to be dead friend.
"It's not okay Wesley, because of Jordan, I let other people have me, I never wanted anyone else to have me Wesley, I was yours, I only ever wanted to be yours, no one else's, just yours and now, because of... because of that prick, I'm dirty and pathetic, you didn't... you didn't find anyone else, but me, I'm a slut... A FUCKING SLUT... a fucking..." Carter then begins to say in an emotional tone, as he pushes his ex away and stares into his eyes, but just as he starts to lose control, he feels himself being pulled back towards his ex and the next thing he knows, he feels his lips against his own and despite being a complete mess right now, he quickly returns it passionately and just melts into his arms, while also being vaguely aware of his clothes being removed and being pushed up against the wall.
"He did what?" Ben quickly asks in shock, as he stares at his brother and tries to process what he had just been told and make sense of it.
"I have no idea what it was about and Jordan won't say anything, but it has to be something big, because Carter wasn't messing around Ben, I've seen him angry, we've all seen him angry, but this was different and the way he stormed off and the look Wesley gave me, it's obvious Jordan did something." Mitch slowly responds, as he reluctantly tells his brother what happened and tries to make sense of it all himself and also decide if he should suggest what he was thinking about suggesting.
"Fucking hell." Ben then says in disbelief, as he looks around the room and then back at his brother, this was the last thing he needed right now, he was supposed to be walking down the aisle in just under ten minutes time and by the sounds of it, at least one of the best men was an emotional wreck right now and he really wasn't sure what to do. "What should I do?" He then decides to ask, as he realises that he didn't have to do this alone and if anyone would know what to do, it would be his brother, he always knew what to do and he wouldn't have told him about what happened, unless he had some kind of plan or at least he was hoping he had some sort of plan.
"Honestly, it's a mess and I have no idea if Wesley can calm Carter down and if he can't, then I will step in for Wesley and Tobias will have to step in for Carter, but that's a last resort Ben and right now, Tobias is doing a bit of damage control." Mitch responds as calmly as he could and while he had no hesitation about stepping in as best man for his brother, he was hoping he wouldn't have to, he knew how long his brother had been planning today and how special it was, but if he had to, then he was going to step up and do whatever he needed to do.
"Fuck... what about Jordan, what are we meant to do about him?" Ben then reluctantly asks, as he tries to stay calm and not panic, he had seen enough movies and shows to know weddings had issues, so he just had to stay as calm as he could and just deal with any problem as quickly as possible and not let it ruin his day, it was too important to let something stupid ruin it and he was determined to get this sorted as quickly as possible.
"I don't know if you will like it or what Matt will make of it, but I think we should ask him to leave, whatever he did and you know I care about Jordan, it was enough to get Carter to knee him in the balls and even though I couldn't hear what he said, he whispered something to Jordan and by the look on both their faces, it was nothing good, so if you agree, I will go and ask him to leave, Carter is the best man and if Jordan did something to him, then Jordan can't be here." Mitch finds himself saying in response and while he didn't want to suggest it, he didn't see any other way and he didn't want to risk anything else happening, if Carter attacked him once for whatever reason he had, he could do it again and no one wanted that.
"Okay, but shit Mitch, tell me something good at least, how did Carter and Wesley seem? You know er... were they okay towards each other?" Ben then decides to ask, as he thinks about his brothers suggestion and while he didn't like it, he couldn't risk there being a fight once everything began and when it came down to it, as much as they liked Jordan and he was one of their best friends, both he and his fiancé would always pick Carter over him, even if that did make him feel like a bit of a prick.
"I don't really know Ben, they were pretty much there and then gone, but the fact they came out together and walked away together, that has to be something, although until we see them again, fuck knows if they're even friends right now." Mitch answers honestly and while he could take a guess and say they had made up, he really didn't see anything to indicate any change in their relationship and there was no point getting their hopes up, it had been four years since they broke up and that's not something you can fix after one little chat.
"I guess so, I'll give Wesley a text though, while you go and talk to Jordan, time is getting on and I don't want any delays, not today." Ben then says with a slightly forced smile, as he pulls his phone out of his pocket and searches for his friends number. "Mitch... fuck, look, just talk to Jordan and tell him to stay out of the way and to keep his distance from Carter and Wesley, I want him to be here and we don't know what happened and I don't want him to miss my wedding and it turns out it was just something stupid between them both." He quickly calls out in a thoughtful tone, as he watches his brother walking towards the door and decides to change his mind about asking their friend to leave, it was a big day and he wanted everyone to be there, even if it might be a little awkward.
"Are you sure?" Mitch quickly decides to ask in response, as he turns back to his brother and while he was actually relieved about not having to tell their friend to leave, he wanted to make sure that he was sure, because if something did happen, it could ruin the whole day and he didn't want to risk that happening, not when they could do something to avoid that happening.
"Not completely, but he's our friend Mitch and I want him to be here and so does Matt, so just make sure he knows to stay away from Carter and Wesley and move them a few rows back from the front, but not too far back, Ashleigh hasn't done anything wrong and I don't want to offend her." Ben responds after a few moments and while he was tempted to just ask their friend to go home, he just couldn't do it and he trusted them all to behave themselves, especially as the ceremony begins.
"No problem and I will swing by Matt's room, just to see if he's okay, I haven't seen him all day and I want to see if at least one of you is a blubbering emotional wreck." Mitch responds with a grin and while there was a lot going on, he wanted to lighten the mood a little and when he sees his little brother smiling, he quickly returns it, before just as quickly turning and leaving the room and avoiding the risk of his little brother making some kind of remark at his expense.
"Well er... that was... unexpected." Wesley states awkwardly, as he pulls his trousers back up and begins to button up his shirt, he had no idea what had made him do what he had done, but he would be lying to himself if he said that he regretted it and although he had no idea what it meant for them both, he could see that at the very least, his ex looked a lot happier and calmer than he was before and that's all that mattered for him.
"This doesn't mean anything Wesley." Carter then absent mindedly responds, as he thinks about everything that had happened in the last half an hour, but as he hears his ex boyfriend sigh, he quickly looks up as he straightens his tie and realises what he had done. "Shit, sorry Wesley, I didn't mean it like that, it's just complicated, that's all." He decides to add, as he tries to do a little damage control and while them having sex was both unexpected and amazing, it didn't magically fix everything and they would definitely need to talk things through properly, just now wasn't the right time and definitely not the right place.
"It's fine, I get it." Wesley slowly responds in disappointment, but as he feels his cheek being held, he couldn't help but look at his ex in surprise and wasn't quite sure how to react at all.
"It's a start Wesley, but we have a lot of talking to do and er... well it's a start and er... come on, you get it right?" Carter decides to then say, but even though he was trying to be reassuring, he could hear the awkwardness in his own voice and he could only hope that his ex boyfriend understood what he was trying to say, because he had too much going on inside his head right now to think clearly and he didn't need this on top of that.
"You're right, I know you're right and I hope I didn't piss you off or anything, I just couldn't stand seeing you like that and the stuff you were saying, it was too much and I didn't know what to do and well er... you know how I feel about you and I guess I wanted to show you that nothing has changed, I don't care if you've been... well I do care, because I just wanted us to be each others, but it's okay still, it's not something you need to feel guilty about and it's not something that I will ever hold over you, I love you too much to ever treat you like that." Wesley then says from the heart and while he would need to process everything that had happened, especially when it came to Jordan, he had missed being with his ex and missed being with him intimately even more and he really hoped he hadn't taken advantage of him.
"I do feel guilty though Wesley and it's why I don't know if I can ever forgive Jordan, he and I have a lot of history and him not being part of my life, that's scary, but what he did, it's... fuck Wesley, I just hate him, I feel dirty and I know what you just said and it means a lot to me, it does, but it's my body and I gave it to you, I didn't just give you my virginity Wesley, I gave you me and because of Jordan, I let other people use me and yeah, it was nice and felt okay, but it was never like us, not even close and all I wanted... do you really still love me?" Carter responds with a vulnerable expression and while he really didn't know if they could ever be together again or even friends, he wanted to at least try and he needed to hear his ex tell him that he loved him again, even if it didn't change anything in terms of their relationship.
"I think I always will Beautiful, you're the only person that I want to love, I just hope that's enough to get us past what..." Wesley begins to respond with a slightly shy smile, before frowning a little as he is interrupted by his phone going off and as he pulls it out of his pocket, he quickly sees who had texted him.
"Shit Wesley, look at the fucking time." Carter then quickly states in a surprised and slightly panicked tone, as he glances at the clock and realises just how late it was, but as he looks back at his ex, he didn't need to be a genius to figure out who was texting him and when he feels his own phone vibrate against his leg, he couldn't help but feel a little nervous.
"I know we aren't good Carter, but are we... shit, are we at least talking and friends?" Wesley decides to then ask, after shaking his head at the text message his friend had just sent him and while he had obviously been joking, he couldn't help but smirk a little bit, because he wasn't that far off from being right, even if he was obviously making a shitty joke.
"We have a lot to talk about, but we're good or at least we're better than we were before today and just so you know, tonight, when it's finished, you're coming back to my hotel room, no argument." Carter decides to state in response and while he again wasn't sure what their future held for each other, he didn't want to just sit around and do nothing and after feeling his ex boyfriend inside him again, he wanted to even the score and if it turned out that they couldn't reconcile, than at least they would both have closure, well that and the best sex he had had since they broke up all those years ago.
"As if I would argue, but before we go Carter, tell me that you still love me too, please." Wesley responds with a vulnerable smile and while he knew they still had a long way to go before they could rebuild their relationship, he wanted to know how his ex felt about him and not have to second guess himself.
"I still love you Wesley, but we have to go, but this is a start for us and I'm going to be home for around three weeks, maybe four, so we will have plenty of time to talk." Carter responds sincerely and while it felt good to say the words again and to admit to how he felt, he was still unsure about their future, they really did have a lot to talk about.
"Come on then, before they start without us." Wesley then says with a happy smile, as he walks over to the door and opens it, before following out his ex boyfriend, who to his delight, looked just as happy as he did and considering what they had just found out about their friend and what he did, he was struggling hide just how happy he was right now.
Ten minutes later
"Yes seriously Wesley, I'm freaking out a little bit and I need a distraction, so spill the beans, because there is no way you're suddenly Mr Happy and all smiles, something happened and I'm not talking about the stuff with Jordan." Ben responds with a small grin, which was slightly forced as he tried to distract himself from what was about to happen, they were just about to leave the room and he could feel butterflies in his stomach.
"Well, let's just say that you guys can stop giving me so much shit about not hooking up with anyone for the last four years." Wesley cryptically responds, although even he knew how obvious what he was referring to was, but he couldn't resist and his friend did say that he wanted a distraction and from the look on his face right now, he definitely got what he had asked for and he couldn't help but smirk a little bit.
"Fucking hell Wesley, seriously?" Ben quickly asks in response and while along with his fiancé and brother wanted to help get their friends back together, none of them expected it to happen this quickly and none of them even contemplated them having sex together.
"Don't get too excited, I mean yeah, we had sex Ben and it was amazing, seriously amazing, but we have a lot to talk about and we need to do this right, because if we just rush back to being boyfriends, than we could just fuck it up completely and there is no way I want to lose him again Ben, I just can't." Wesley quickly answers with a serious expression and while he wanted to the complete opposite of what he had just said, he knew going slow was the only way he and his ex had a chance of salvaging a serious relationship and he was willing to take it as slowly as he could manage.
"Fair enough, but fucking hell Wesley, we just wanted you guys to talk, we didn't expect you to have sex." Ben then says with a shake of the head, before grinning as he realises where they were. "Holy fuck Wesley, you had sex in a fucking church, that's so wrong, seriously wrong." He then states in amusement and as his friends expression changes to one of slight horror, he couldn't help but laugh at him and while he could think of more than a few places that were probably worse, having sex in a church, was definitely up there when it came to inappropriateness.
"Oh shut up you prick, it's not like... fucking hell, I didn't even think about that, fuck, Carter is going to freak when he realises what we did." Wesley slowly states as he realises just how inappropriate it was and while he still didn't regret it, not even in the slightest, he definitely cringed a little at the thought of how wrong it would look if anyone else found out.
"Oh fuck, shit Wesley, it's time, shit." Ben then quickly states in a panicked tone, after hearing some music and realising it meant and despite wanting this more than anything he had ever wanted before, he was still feeling nervous and he could feel his heart racing.
"Come on then, this is it Ben, you can do this." Wesley decides to say with a reassuring pat on the back and while he didn't really know what his friend was obviously feeling, he knew how much he wanted it and slowly nudges him across the room, before opening the door and leading him out of it.
"Okay, you're going to have to slow down Carter." Matt decides to say in surprise, as he holds his friend by his shoulders and despite knowing they only had a matter of minutes before he had to leave the room, he couldn't let this go just yet and he was hoping to get a quick run down on both things.
"Jordan's a fucking arsehole, he gave Wesley some shitty advice about breaking up with me or us taking a break for a while and then, when Wesley made a complete fuck up of that conversation with me, Jordan pretty much deleted all Wesley's texts and voicemails that he sent me, well after he replied to some of them, while pretending to be me, so he's dead to me Matt and well, you're going to find out anyway, but I kind of kneed him in the balls a little while ago in front of a load of people and kind of made a scene, but he deserved it Matt, what he did is unforgivable." Carter decides to explain first and while the thought of his potentially former friend made his blood boil, he wanted to get this part of the conversation out of the way as quickly as possible and finish with what had happened between himself and his ex just a little while ago, because while it didn't mean that they were getting back together, it was a pretty massive step in that direction and he wanted to tell someone
"Damn, are you sure?" Matt responds with a shocked expression, before giving his friend a guilty look after seeing his reaction to what he had just said. "Sorry, I guess that's a stupid question, but come on Carter, the guys a prick most of the time, but it's Jordan and he worships the ground you walk on and he and Wesley are pretty close, Wesley's about the only person outside his swimming team, that he can get a decent practice out of, so why in the fuck would he mess with you guys like that?" He then asks in a confused tone, while also making sure that he chose his words carefully this time, because while he had no idea why their friend would do something like that, he also knew he would accuse him of doing it, unless he was one hundred percent sure and that was good enough for him to believe him.
"That's a conversation for another time, right now, if I see him or try to talk to him, then he's likely to end up in hospital and that's just me, if Wesley gets a hold of him, he's a dead man." Carter responds with a frown, as he feels his anger rising again, but as quickly as it came, it disappeared as he thought about what had happened between himself and his ex and he could feel himself starting to smile and blush a little bit.
"Did something happen between you and Wesley?" Matt finds himself asking with a slightly bemused expression, after seeing his friend go from seriously pissed off to a sort of bashful expression and he also looked a little flushed now that he was looking more closely at him and while he didn't want to jump to conclusions, he could swear he knew that look from a mile a way and he could feel his hope rising a little bit.
"We had sex." Carter quickly blurts out in response, before quickly turning bright red as he realises what he had just said and while he knew he could trust his friend and he kind of already planned to tell him, it had just slipped out and he wasn't sure how his friend was going to react to him being so blunt, although if the grin on his face was anything to go by, at least he wasn't in for a lecture of some kind.
"Okay, because I'm about to walk down the aisle any minute now, I'm letting you off easily, but you have to tell me one thing Carter, what does this mean for you two?" Matt asks curiously, after thinking over how he wanted to respond and despite the fun he could have at his friends expense, he decided to let him off this time and instead, find out what it meant for his two friends relationship and while them having sex had to be a good thing, he wasn't as naïve as he once was as a kid and knew it was unlikely that they would just get back together, even if it was obvious to all of them that they still loved each other.
"I seriously have no idea Matt, I mean yeah, I still love him and he still loves me and we just had sex, but it's been four years and we need to have a serious conversation, lots of serious conversations." Carter responds with a slightly shy smile, as he thinks about his ex boyfriend and how natural and good it felt and while he hadn't exactly slept with a lot of guys over the past four years, those that he had messed around with, never came close to making him feel as good as his ex had just done and it made him question why they didn't just get back together, but so far his rational side was holding out over his lustful side.
"Oh wow, but even so, it's looking good right? I mean, you just said you still love each other and if Jordan messed with you both, then even if it takes a little while, it's looking good right?" Matt then decides to ask with a hopeful smile and while the news about Jordan was hard to take and would be something he would be having words with him about very soon, his two friends getting back together would be huge and he was hoping they could find a way to reconcile.
"I won't lie Matt, I'm tempted to skip all the talking and crap like that and just be with him, he's the love of my life, he's all I want, but we need to talk, if we don't talk and just get everything in the open, it could fuck things up for us, so we're going to do it right, even if I'm going to fuck his brains out tonight." Carter responds calmly to start with, but by the time he finishes speaking, he was grinning and despite being a little inappropriate, well more than a little since they were in a church, he couldn't resist not only using it as a distraction from how angry he was at Jordan, but also to keep his friend distracted from his nervousness about what was about to happen.
"Oh, you're so fucking lucky..." Matt then reluctantly in response, as he takes in what his friend had just said, but as he hears some music being played, he realises what it was and more importantly, what it meant and he could feel himself getting nervous again.
"You got this Matt, so just stand still and let me check you over and then we will get moving, because you need to be ready to walk down the aisle just after Ben does." Carter quickly states calmly, as he quickly gets serious and takes control of the situation and while he had never done anything like this before, he had been to a few weddings and Ben had given him a lot of advice from when he was best man at Mitch's wedding, so as he checked his friends suit over and straightened it out a little, he blocked everything else out and just concentrated on making sure his friend was okay and didn't panic.
"Fucking hell Wesley, I think my chest is going to explode." Ben states quietly as he slows down and almost stops moving, they had just walked through the door and were now in the actual church and seeing everyone standing and looking at him was almost terrifyingly overwhelming.
"Well, just pull yourself together and man up Ben, because if the blubbering wreck that was your brother could manage it, than I'm sure you can make it down the aisle without shitting yourself." Wesley quickly responds with a small grin and while he knew how nervous his friend must be feeling, because he was feeling pretty nervous himself, he knew it was his job to keep him calm and get him down the aisle and after being absent for most of the last hour or so, he knew he had to step up now and decided to just do what he did best and not hold back.
"Thanks, you prick." Ben quickly responds in the same quiet tone as before, as he gives his friend a grin of his own and despite still feeling slightly overwhelmed, his friend had managed to do what he always did in these situations and it was one of the many reasons he wanted him to be his best man, even if he almost went for his older brother, he didn't regret his choice at all, especially since his older brother had pretty much told him not to pick him or he would regret it.
"Any time, now get moving or I will carry you over my shoulder." Wesley responds cheerfully and while he was kind of just teasing his friend, he had caught Mitch's eyes and could see him give him a little smirk and while he was sure he had no idea what they were saying to each other, he knew that look and was prepared to follow through on his previous empty threat.
"Such a prick." Ben quietly retorts, before taking a deep breath and slowly moving forward again, as he makes his way down the aisle with his friend and while he tried not to make eye contact with anyone, he couldn't help it and despite blushing a little and feeling awkward, he could feel himself relaxing and smiling back at everyone and as he passes his dad and older brother, he couldn't help but feel proud and could see the same look on both of their faces.
"Whoa, don't fuck it up now, Mitch will never let it go." Wesley quickly whispers as he pulls his friends arm a little and stops him from walking into the steps and making a complete fool of himself, which while tempting, very tempting, wasn't what this day was about and as best man, he wasn't going to let something like that happen on his watch, not a chance.
"Damn Wesley, this is it, it's really happening and... wow!" Ben then begins to say nervously, but as he looks to his friend, he suddenly sees his fiancé appearing at the other end of the aisle and he couldn't believe how beautiful and handsome he looked in his suit, which to him, was the most perfect suit in the entire world and just made his fiancé look amazing.
"Just breathe Matt, just breathe." Carter quickly decides to say as reassuringly as he could, as he stops with his friend at the end of the church and while he was feeling a little nervous, he knew it was worse for his friend and he could feel him shaking a little and couldn't help but be a little worried, because they all knew that he still suffered from freak outs and even though they were rare now, it still happened and they were all a little worried that today might be too much for him, so he knew he had to be alert and just keep him focused.
"I know, I know." Matt slowly responds as he takes a series of deep breaths and while he knew he wasn't going to freak out or anything, it didn't make this moment any less intense and the feeling of everyone looking at him was a little unnerving.
"I would say we could step back through the door for a few minutes, but Ben's looking right at you Matt and there is no way you're going anywhere but towards him when you look at him." Carter then says with a slight smirk and although he was trying to not look at his ex boyfriend, he couldn't quite help himself and could feel his heartbeat increasing and it was only because of what this day was really about, that he could control himself and focus instead on helping his friend, who to his relief, was now looking towards his fiancé and slowly beginning to smile.
"Hold my hand Carter." Matt then suddenly says, as he manages to relax a little more and while the sight of his fiancé had wiped almost all his nerves away, he was still feeling a little intimidated by everyone staring at him and while he knew this was normal, he just needed a little help from his friend.
"Okay, but only until we get to the front, we don't want anyone thinking we're a couple of gays." Carter quickly retorts with a big grin and while it was a crappy joke and childish, he knew it would do the trick and when he hears his friend trying his best not to laugh too loudly, he slowly starts to walk down the aisle, with his friend taking the hint and limping beside him until they reach the front, where he moves over next to his ex boyfriend and despite himself, he makes sure that they were almost touching side by side.
"You looking beautiful." Ben quickly says in a quiet tone, after looking over to his dad and older brother and then turning back to his fiancé and giving him a loving smile, he really did look beautiful and the look of happiness on his face, just made his own light up even more.
"And you look smart and handsome." Matt shyly responds with an affectionate smile and while he was still finding it a little intimidating being in front of so many people, he wasn't going to let it bother him and seeing his fiancé right in front of him, just made him feel amazing inside and he just knew that no matter what, this was going to be the best day of his life and everything was going to be okay from now on and almost doesn't hear Reverend Harlow talking to them both.
"Are you both ready?" Reverend Harlow asks quietly, after watching the two young men talking and deciding to start the ceremony.
"Yes, we're ready, we've been ready for a long time." Ben quietly responds with a shy smile, after quickly deciding to take control and answer the reverends question and give his fiancé more time to relax a little bit.
"Today there will be no dearly beloved, no betrothed, and no ancient rhyme of the married.
Today there are no dead languages to solemnize vows that are very much alive and will remain so for a lifetime.
Today promises become permanent and friends become family.
However, this day is not about the words spoken or the rings exchanged, nor is it about grand pronouncements and recessional marches.
This day, the day of Benjamin and Matthew's wedding, is about love.
One of my favourite authors once wrote, 'If love is not all, then it is nothing: this principle, and its opposite, collide down all the years of my breathless tale.'
Benjamin and Matthew, your breathless tale is about to begin.
If love is not all, then it is nothing.
Its opposite, If love is all, then it is everything, is going to be the basis for every aspect of your relationship.
All you have to do is simply love one another and that love shows through in everything you do for one another, how you treat each other, in good times and bad.
Love isn't just a word; it's an action.
Love isn't something you say, it's something you do.
Love is genuine, honest, and open, compassionate and kind, passionate and blind, love doesn't know space or time, nor look through jealous eyes, and in the modified words of Paul in his letter to the Corinthians, 'Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things. Love never dies.'
There are many different kinds of love, almost if not all of which are represented here today.
There is romantic love, the love of parents and children, of brothers and sisters and family, and love among friends.
Not only do Benjamin and Matthew love one another romantically and they do, you can see it in every look, every touch, every moment they're together, they also love one another as friends.
In fact, they're best friends, constantly giggling and taunting and teasing and very plainly and obviously having fun together.
That love and enjoyment of each other as best friends will sustain them through this marriage.
In addition, the love collectively in this room, from friends and family, will help sustain and support the promises they make today.
All of us here will help solidify this bond, as these two individuals are joined as husband and husband.
This new journey will be at times richly rewarding and extremely difficult, but, most importantly, it will be a journey you take together.
Marriage is much more than your signatures on a legal contract.
You are promising, in front of all these people you love, that you want to be with each other and only each other for the rest of your lives, and that you will do everything in your power to honour the promises you are making here today.
For their part, the people who love you will also do everything in their power to try to help you hold up your end of the bargain.
Before you are both joined together in marriage it is my duty to remind you of the solemn and binding character of the vows you are about to make. Marriage in this country is the union of two people voluntarily entered into for life to the exclusion of all others. I am now going to ask you each in turn to declare that you know of no legal reason why you may not be joined together in marriage." Reverend Harlow states professionally and warmly, as he addresses the room and the two young men.
"Benjamin, I do solemnly declare." Reverend Harlow states.
"I do solemnly declare." Ben quickly repeats with a smile as he gazes into his fiancés beautiful sparkling green eyes.
"That I know not of any lawful impediment." Reverend Harlow then says.
"That I know not of any lawful impediment." Ben quickly repeats happily.
"Why I, Benjamin Walker may not be joined in marriage to Matthew Summers." Reverend Harlow then says with a small smile.
"Why I, Benjamin Walker may not be joined in marriage to Matthew Summers." Ben happily repeats, as he struggles not to just lean in and kiss his fiancé right now.
"And the same to you Matthew, repeat after me. I do solemnly declare." Reverend Harlow then says with a smile, after turning to the other young man and carrying on with the ceremony.
"I do solemnly declare." Matt slowly responds with a slightly nervous tone, as he struggles to hold his nerve and while he wanted this more than anything, he wasn't very good in front of large crowds and knowing all eyes were on him right now, he almost began to shake, but as he feels both his hands being held, he just gives his fiancé an appreciative and loving smile.
"That I know not of any lawful impediment." Reverend Harlow then states professionally, after giving the young man a chance to compose himself for a few moments, he could tell that this was hard for him and knew that he needed to give him a little more time than the other young man, who seemed to be a lot more calmer in these kind of situations.
That I know not of any lawful impediment." Matt quickly repeats this time, as he feels himself relaxing even more and while it was still a little scary, this was their moment and nothing was going to ruin it.
"Why I, Matthew Summers may not be joined in marriage to Benjamin Walker." Matt repeats again, as he feels his hands being squeezed and quickly returns the gesture.
"Benjamin and Matthew, you have invited your family, friends and guests here today to receive their encouragement and support and to celebrate with you at this special time. So I ask you now, Benjamin Walker, do you take Matthew Summers to be your lawful wedded husband, to be loving, faithful and loyal to him for the rest of your life together?" Reverend Harlow then states slowly and clearly to the young man, as he smiles at him warmly.
"I do." Ben quickly responds clearly and proudly, as he continues to stare into his fiancés sparkling green eyes.
"And you, Matthew Summers, do you take Benjamin Walker to be your lawful wedded husband, to be loving, faithful and loyal to him for the rest of your life together?" Reverend Harlow then states to the other young man in the same slow and clear as before and gives him the same warm smile, even though he knew that neither boy had looked away from each other since he began the ceremony.
"I do." Matt responds more confidently, while edging slightly closer to his fiancé.
"Now we move on to the formal vows of marriage, which as I have been informed, both Benjamin and Matthew, have written by themselves." Reverend Harlow then states with a slight edge of anticipation to his tone and while he believed in the traditional vows and recommended them to those who approach him to be married, he also enjoyed when some people prepared their own vows and knowing both boys for a number of years now, especially Benjamin, who he had actually Christened, he was especially looking forward to hearing what both young men had prepared.
"I call upon these persons here present, to witness that I Benjamin Walker, to take you Matthew Summers, to be my lawful wedded husband, to love and to cherish, from this day forward, because for me, you're my guiding light, you're what I think about from the moment I wake up, until the moment I go to sleep and if I am ever feeling lost or down, all I have to do is think about you and how lucky I am to have you not only in my heart, but also be in your heart, because there can never be anyone else Matt, we're soulmates and we're going to spend the rest of our lives and beyond together, for all eternity, Amor Vincit Omnia." Ben then states from the heart and while he might have not followed the speech he had prepared and memorized completely, he wouldn't have changed anything he just said and from the look on his fiancé's face, he wouldn't change it for the world.
"I call upon these persons here present, to witness that I Matthew Summers, to take you Benjamin Walker, to be my lawful wedded husband, to love and to cherish, from this day forward and forever, we're soulmates and I love you more than words could ever describe Ben, we've loved each other before either of us even knew what love was and even though everyone else seemed to know how we felt, it took us both a while to realise it for ourselves and I still remember that moment, it will stay with me for the rest of my life and so will the first time we ever spoke to each other, it was a time when I was so angry, lost and hurt Ben, it was a time where as far as I could see, my life was over, everything I knew and loved was gone, it was ripped away from me, but just when I had given up, there you were and while it started with just a knock at the door, it grew, you never gave up on me, despite never even meeting me and while it took me ten days to finally pluck up the courage to speak to you, that was one of the best days of my life and without you Ben, I don't think I would have ever accepted being here and you've done more for me than you will ever know in the twelve years we've known each other and I will spend the rest of our lives, showing you how much I love you, for all eternity, Amor Vincit Omnia." Matt then states after taking a few moments to compose himself and take in his fiancé's beautiful words, which to him were just perfect and let him know exactly what he needed to hear and he just had to hope his own words would do the same for his fiancé.
"The exchanging of rings is the traditional way of sealing the contract that you have just made. It is an unbroken circle, symbolising unending and everlasting love and is the outward sign of the lifelong promise that you have just made to each other." Reverend Harlow then states professionally, after leaving both young men's words to sink in a little bit and while he had heard similar things before, he could see how much each of them meant what they had said and it was those honest and heartfelt words, that he remembered the most and it would be a long time before he would forget either of their vows.
"You're amazing and that was beautiful Matt." Carter quietly says in a soft tone, after realising that it was his and his ex boyfriends turn to walk forward, which to his pleasant surprise, was made a little harder by the fact that they were actually holding hands without realising it, but this wasn't the time for their personal issues right now and with a slightly reluctant smile, lets go and walks over to his friend and hands him the ring.
"Nice one Ben, just don't fuck this last bit up." Wesley almost whispers with a smirk, after walking over to his friend and while he was a little distracted by the fact he and his ex had been holding hands, he had a job to do right now and when he sees his friend rolling his eyes and trying not to smirk, he couldn't help but find it amusing and slowly makes his way back to where he was standing before, where to his delight, he feels his hand being held again and while he knew this didn't mean they were back together, he wasn't going to complain and pull his hand away.
"Matthew Summers, I give you this ring as a symbol of our love, all that I am I give to you, all that I have I share with you, I promise to love you, to be faithful and loyal in good times and bad, may this ring remind you always of the words we have spoken today." Ben then says with a slightly cracked voice, as he slowly puts the ring on his fiancé's finger and struggles to maintain his composure and stay in control of his emotions, he had waited so long for this moment and after hearing his fiancé's words just a few moments ago, all he wanted to do was hold him and never let him go again,
"Benjamin Walker, I give you this ring as a symbol of our love, all that I am I give to you, all that I have I share with you, I promise to love you, to be faithful and loyal in good times and bad, may this ring remind you always of the words we have spoken today." Matt then only just manages to say loud enough for everyone to hear, as he begins to shake a little and feel tears running down his face, but while he was still nervous about having everyone watching him, they were tears of joy and right here and right now, there was nowhere else he would rather be and it was taking everything he had, not to just pull his fiancé closer and kiss him and he could see the same look on his fiancé's face, which just made it even harder to wait until they were told to kiss.
"Today is a new beginning, may you have many happy years together and in those years may all your hopes and dreams be fulfilled. Above all, may you always believe in each other and may the warmth of your love enrich not only your lives but the lives of all those around you. It now gives me great pleasure to tell you both that you are now legally Husband and Husband. Congratulations, you may now kiss." Reverend Harlow then states with a soft, but clear tone and waits for the two young men to complete the ceremony and become legally married, which doesn't take long as they both hold each others faces and kiss each other tenderly and lovingly.
The End.
Thank you everyone for staying with me throughout this entire story, I have received so many emails over the past few years and it's been a truly wonderful experience (if not frustrating and tiresome at the same time, lol), but like all good things, there has to be an end and for this story and the characters, this is the end for them all, it has been a long time coming and I really hope that I have done it justice and that you've all enjoyed the journey, which has been a bit of a roller-coaster of emotions, there have been hard times, sad times, funny times, sweet times and very dark times, but hopefully I have created a story that will stick in the minds of the people who have read from the beginning, The Life of Matt Summers to the end, Love Conquers All
Whether I decide to write again, I am still unsure, I have ideas and some readers in particular will know of these ideas and the struggle I have had with deciding whether to go ahead with a third story or not, but for now, I have decided to not promise anything, the last thing I want to do is promise something that I can't deliver, but what I will say, is that if I do write again, you will know if it's my story and my email is always open
Thank you and goodbye
Matt
If you have any feedback positive or negative (constructive is always welcome but abuse will be ignored) then please contact me at flaming.Matthew@yahoo.co.uk I will try my best to reply to all non-abusive messages but I due to work I may not have time to reply to them all and I am sorry if I miss any emails, I will try my best to avoid that happening.
Copyright stuff:
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