The Life of Matt Summers, Part 5
by Flaming Matt
Chapter 3
July 2015
"You want to kiss him bum?" Tobias then asks in a confused tone and can't think of any reason someone would want to kiss a bum.
"Huh?" Matt responds in an equally confused tone, he had no idea where his brother got that from.
"You said you were going to kiss his bum." Tobias responds with the same confused look, he was sure he heard his brother right and the fact his big brother was grinning made him even more sure of what his brother had said.
"No I didn't, I said kick not kiss." Matt says defensively before turning to the older boy. "Mitch tell him I said kick." He then states, knowing that his brother is obviously trying to play a trick on him, he knew the older boy was the only one who could prove him wrong.
"Sorry Matt, but you definitely said kiss and as funny as it is and it is funny Matt, let's move on to something that doesn't involve you and my brother touching each other." Mitch responds with a grin, he would have loved to tease the younger boy and really distract them all from his little brother, but he really didn't want the distraction to be how the two boys touched each other.
"Kissing bums is gross though." Tobias then says, he wasn't quite ready to let this go yet and wanted to understand why someone would kiss a place where their poo came out.
"Well it has to be clean and..." Matt then begins to try and explain, but is quickly cut off.
"Okay let's not talk about this right now boys and let's..." Mitch then begins to say before the sound of someone's phone ringing interrupts him and he can't help but grin. "Seriously, how long until you can change that Matt?" He then asks with a grin as he watches the young boy blush.
"Not soon enough Mitch." Matt responds as he gets up and limps over to the table, he could just kill his boyfriend for making him have this ringtone, but he had to admit it was a great forfeit and he knew when he won their next bet, he would have to come up with something great to beat it.
"Who is it?" Tobias then asks as he paddles over to the side of the pool and watches as his brothers face lights up and he quickly gets his answer.
"Hey." Matt says as he answers his phone and mentally slaps himself, he couldn't believe with all the questions and thoughts he had going through his head, the only thing he could say was 'Hey'.
"I knew you would be mad at me." Ben then says in a slightly downbeat tone, he could hardly expect any other reaction, but it still made him feel like a complete jerk for upsetting his boyfriend.
"Well yeah, you're a complete dumb ass so what do you expect." Matt responds and again can't believe what he just said and gives the other two a look and Mitch quickly gets the message and pulls Tobias away from the side to give him some privacy.
"Can you be angry later please, I just need my boyfriend right now Matt and well please." Ben then asks in a pleading tone, he really just wanted to say sorry and hear his boyfriend comfort him and leave the other stuff until he got home.
"I'm not angry, well okay I am a little bit, but okay Ben, just tell me if you're alright." Matt responds in a calmer tone and realises that he really needs to be careful how he talks to his boyfriend until he knows how he is feeling.
"Well I don't know how much you know, but Alex's idea about venting my anger and stuff worked, I mean I'm still not quite feeling great, but I'm so much better now and those confusing thoughts and feelings are gone, well at least for now." Ben explains as best he can, he really wished he could just be with his boyfriend instead of speaking over the phone, but after both Wesley and Alex told him to call him, he knew he had to do it now.
"So it is kind of like when you're feeling sad and upset and instead of dealing with it, you just just bottled it up, except this time it's anger and not being sad right?" Matt then asks as he tries to get his head around what he was told earlier by Mitch and what his boyfriend just said, although even saying it out aloud, he was just as confused by it all.
"Yeah, well I mean it's confusing but Alex just said that when I was feeling down I cried and that is how people deal with that, but apparently I wasn't letting my anger out and well it just built up and with everything else that happened recently, it just all came out and I didn't know how to deal with it." Ben then tries to explain and just hopes his boyfriend understood what he said, as he couldn't really think of a way to make it any clearer as he was still a little confused himself.
"So hitting something really helped?" Matt then asks in a curious tone, he let himself relax a little bit as his boyfriend was clearly doing better, but he knew from his own feelings that his boyfriend wasn't magically over everything for good.
"It helped a lot and if you don't mind, I want to buy a punching bag and maybe a few other things, you know so that I can just hit something if I start to get those feelings again." Ben responds nervously, he didn't want his boyfriend to think that he was some violent thug who needed to hit things, but at the moment he knew that it helped him to feel better and Alex told him that loads of people use things like this to help them vent and it wasn't something to be ashamed about.
"I don't mind, I mean doesn't Mitch do all that self defence stuff to relax and stuff?" Matt then asks as he glances over to the older boy and can't help but smile when he sees that he is teaching his brother how to do the butterfly stroke.
"Well, oh right yeah, I mean he loves doing that and always used to say it made him feel better afterwards if anything was bothering him." Ben responds with a little grin before scowling at himself. "Oh fucking hell Matt, I'm a complete idiot." He then states as he realises that he should have just talked to his brother about how he was feeling.
"Well we know that already Ben, but what are you talking about?" Matt asks teasingly and smiles when he hears his boyfriend chuckle and knows that for now at least, his boyfriend was okay and that made him happy.
"Dumb Ass, but well Mitch always told me that whenever he was stressed or something he would go train or like a run or something and well I should have done the same when I was feeling like that, but I just wasn't thinking straight." Ben explains as he gets up of his friends bed and checks out of the door, he felt a little awkward being in his room and just wanted to make sure he wasn't standing outside and eavesdropping.
"Well yeah that would have been about a billion times better than getting drunk and then going to school and then running away you dumb ass." Matt then says and despite wanting to take it easy on his boyfriend earlier, he wanted him to know that he wasn't happy with him for getting drunk.
"I know and I'm really sorry Matt and I promise not to drink alcohol again." Ben then says as he sits back down on his friends bed and can't help but look around and again finds himself surprised by how clean and organised the room looked.
"Don't be a dumb ass Ben, you can still drink when we are older and still have like half a glass when we have special dinners, just don't have too much." Matt quickly states and despite what had happened, he didn't want his boyfriend to think he could never have another drink again.
"I don't know, I mean I don't really like it much anyway and I don't want to get over excited about discovering that we both have a penis and two balls again Matt." Ben then responds in a more upbeat tone, he got his boyfriends point and thought he would try and lighten the conversation a little bit.
"It was so funny though and you were just so cute, well until you wanted to pull my penis off, but still cute." Matt responds as he smiles, although it was both at his boyfriend and at his brother being dunked by Mitch, who he had noticed had found it a novel way of letting his brother know when he made a mistake.
"You just better not tell anyone about that." Ben then quickly says, but when he hears his boyfriend giggling, he just knows that he is going to do exactly that. "Oh fuck, you're going to tell all of them aren't you?" He then asks in a slightly nervous tone and despite not wanting anyone to know, he knew it was hilarious and unless he really asked his boyfriend to not say anything, he knew he probably would, especially after making him have 'Wrecking Ball' as his ringtone for a whole month.
"Honestly I won't tell anyone, but Tobias asked me earlier about you being drunk and well you just have to hope he doesn't dare me or you to tell everyone what you did, when we play Saturday night." Matt responds with a grin, he wouldn't say anything just to humiliate his boyfriend, but at the same time he might give his brother a little hint to ask during their game at the weekend.
"Damn it, but seriously Matt I don't mind too much and it's my own fault, but are we really okay, you know you don't really hate me or anything right?" Ben then asks nervously as he gets to his feet again, he knew his boyfriend didn't hate him because he was joking around with him, but he needed to hear him say it to really believe it.
"You want to hear something funny?" Matt decides to ask instead of answering his boyfriends question, he knew this was a little risky, but he thought it would let his boyfriend know how he felt.
"Er... okay I guess." Ben responds in a slightly deflated tone and didn't know quite how to take his boyfriends question to his own one.
"Well before you called, Mitch said he was going to kick your arse for running away from school and I tried to be funny and was meant to say that if anyone was going to be kicking your arse it was me, but instead of saying kick I accidentally said kiss and you should have seen Tobias's face." Matt then explains with a smile as he again sees his brother being dunked by the older boy again and thought it was funny.
"Oh wow, I mean er... Mitch is going to beat me up and er... shit wait how does that answer my question?" Ben then asks in a confused tone, sure it was funny and kind of sexy, but he didn't really get his boyfriends point.
"It means that even when I'm mad at you, I just want to kiss you and well I just love you, you big dumb ass." Matt responds sincerely after realising that he had confused his boyfriend and decided to just reassure him and let him know that they are okay.
"I love you too and I'm going to come home now Matt and well can you like tell Mitch to be mad at me tomorrow and not today, I know I fucked up Matt, but I just can't deal with being shouted at right now." Ben then states in a slightly sad tone, he had just got himself back together and while he knew he deserved to be in trouble, he just wanted a hug and a cuddle and not get shouted at.
"I can ask him, but it's up to him Ben and I don't think your dad is going to be happy with you either." Matt responds honestly and while he understood what his boyfriend was asking and agreed with him, he knew it was up to Mike and Mitch whether they punished him or not and he could only ask them to go easy on his boyfriend.
"Oh fuck, I forgot about my dad and shit Matt, he is going to be so mad." Ben then states in a scared tone and Matt can tell that he needs to make sure his boyfriend is left alone by his brother and dad.
"Ben I'm only going to do it once because I love you, but I'm going to tell your dad and Mitch to leave you alone and well you owe me and you need to promise me that you won't do something like this ever again." Matt then decides to say, he knew what he was going to do was wrong, but he would do anything for his boyfriend and he had to protect him.
"I promise, but what are you going to do?" Ben then asks in a concerned tone, he had an idea that his boyfriend was going to guilt them into not giving him a hard time and he wasn't sure if he wanted his boyfriend to do that for him.
"Ben just let me do this for you, it's not that bad and well I don't think Mitch is that angry with you anyway." Matt responds, he knew what his boyfriend was going to say and it just made his decision easier and knew he would do the same for him.
"Well just ask them without trying to guilt them into it first, I don't want you doing something like that Matt, you know you will regret it and I don't want you getting upset." Ben then says in a sincere but concerned tone, neither of them liked lying and his brother had also drummed into them both that you should never trick someone into doing something.
"I love you." Matt then says, he got the message and now that he actually thought about it, he knew he could get Mitch to give him a break and he knew Mitch could persuade Mike to do the same.
"I love you too, but I'm going to go and thank Alex for all his help and then I'm coming home okay." Ben responds in a happy tone, he knew his boyfriend had taken his advice seriously and was more than happy to just get home to him as fast as he could.
"Okay and tell Alex that I appreciate him helping you." Matt then says before giving it more thought. "Ben is Alex okay? I mean I know what he did to Carter, but what you and Carter have told me about him now, well he doesn't seem that bad." He then asks, he had been told about Peter and was looking forward to meeting him, but from what his boyfriend just told him and what Carter had told him as well, he wasn't sure what to make of Alex.
"Honestly before today Matt, I would have just ignored him and thought of him as a bullying prick, but he is really nice and I think he is just a little confused and lost at the moment." Ben answers honestly, he just got the feeling that Alex was just acting the way he had been because he was genuinely struggling to find out who he really was and he found himself wanting to help him.
"Okay, but you know if Carter doesn't want him anywhere near him, then you're going to have to be careful." Matt then says in a cautious tone, he had no doubt his boyfriend was right and he found himself being intrigued by the other boy, but Carter and Wesley were their best friends and he was loyal to them over helping some other kid.
"I don't think Carter hates him, but I know what you mean and I already told Alex that I will be his friend, but Carter comes first and he had to stay away if Carter didn't want him near him." Ben responds honestly and he knew Alex understood that he would have to get Carter onside if he ever wanted to join their group.
"Well you better go now, although you kind of owe Tobias an apology to when you get home." Matt then says, he was happy enough with what his boyfriend had said, but as he watches his brother pretty much mastering the butterfly stroke now, he remembered that they were meant to spend the rest of the day alone together and felt a little guilty.
"Huh? What did I do to Tobias?" Ben quickly asks in a confused tone, sure he messed up running away and worried everyone, but he didn't see why he would have to apologise to him in specific.
"Nothing, but I kind of had a little freak out moment about going to the school and I just couldn't do it Ben, but Tobias understood in the end and as a compromise I promised to just spend the rest of the day alone with him and just be like we used too." Matt answers honestly and knows that he probably has his boyfriend worried about his freak out, but he hoped he wouldn't focus on that.
"Oh... well er... look Mitch is going to want to talk to me Matt, even if you convince him not to have a go at me, so how about I spend a little while showing you how sorry I am and then go and just let Mitch do or say whatever he wants to say and let you and Tobias be alone for a few hours?" Ben then suggests as he thinks about what his boyfriend just said, he was concerned about him being too afraid to visit the school, but it was obvious that Tobias and Mitch had been with him and would have sorted it out and comforted him, so he wasn't as concerned as he would normally be.
"Okay a blow job will do and then I want at least four hours alone with Tobias." Matt responds with a grin, he may not be able to see his boyfriend, but he knew what he would look like right now and it made him happy.
"Okay deal, but I should go now, love you." Ben says as he walks over to his friends bedroom door and opens it before leaning out to see if he was around, while waiting for his boyfriend to say goodbye.
"Okay love you too." Matt responds before hanging up and deciding that he is feeling better gets up and limps over to the side of the pool and dives in.
"Hey Alex where are you?" Ben calls out as he starts to walk down the stairs.
"In the front room Ben." Alex responds, but straight away Ben can hear a little tension in his friends voice and quickly makes his way down the stairs and to where he assumes the front room is and can't help but be shocked by who he sees.
"Doctor Gilmar?" Ben asks in a surprised tone as he stops in front of the man and wonders what he was doing here.
"You know my dad?" Alex asks in a surprised tone and wondered how his friend could possibly know him.
"He was Matt's doctor." Ben asks as he stares at the man with an awkward smile, he had found him to be an odd man who seemed really nice and friendly and then suddenly would go really serious and a little scary.
"Oh wow, well er... okay." Alex then says as he struggles to think of anything else to really say.
"It's good to see you again Ben, but why aren't you in school?" Mr Gilmar asks in a stern tone and Ben quickly feels himself tense up a little and gives his friend a pleading look.
"Dad I told you that I skipped..." Alex then begins to explain before being cut off by his dad, who gives him an unimpressed look.
"Alex be quiet and stand in the corner, I will get to you in a minute boy." Mr Gilmar states in a firm tone and to Ben's surprise he watches as his friend does as he is told and stands in the corner with his hands behind his head and he can't help but feel uncomfortable about what just happened. "Now Ben, can you tell me why you aren't in school and why my son brought you here please." Mr Gilmar asks in the same stern tone and Ben can't help but take a little step backwards.
"I er... well I kind of had a problem and er... you aren't going to hit me are you?" Ben then asks nervously as he struggles to answer the doctors question and takes another step backwards.
"Hit you? Why would I hit you?" Mr Gilmar asks in a shocked and concerned tone and quickly changes his tone to a less harsh one.
"You made him stand in the corner like that and you're all angry and red." Ben answers quickly as he takes another step backwards and feels himself against the wall right next to the door.
"Alex come back over here and help your friend sit on the sofa please." Mr Gilmar states as he looks over to his son, he suddenly realised that he had terrified the young boy and knowing what he does about the boy and what had happened to his boyfriend, he felt ashamed of himself and knew that he should know better.
"Okay Dad." Alex responds as he turns back around and although he loves his dad and respects him, he can't help but be shocked as he sees his friend looking terrified with his back against the wall. "Dad! What did you do to him?" He then asks, he had heard them talking, but although his dads tone was harsh, he didn't think it would scare his friend like this and he knew Ben was no pushover.
"I think I just messed up Alex, so just get him sat down and we can have a conversation with the three of us." Mr Gilmar responds in a calm tone, although he is kicking himself mentally for how he handled the situation and knows that he shouldn't talk to anyone like that.
"Okay." Alex responds as he walks over to his friend. "Come on Ben, it's okay he can just be a little intense sometimes when he is mad at me is all." He then says as he then guides his friend to the sofa and pushes him back into it and sits next to him.
"First of all I'm sorry for talking to you like that Ben and before we get to why you aren't in school, can you tell me how your boyfriend is doing now, its been a while since he was last in and while we miss you both, we are happy that he hasn't been back." Mr Gilmar then says in a soft and caring tone as he kneels in front of the boys, he knew he had to make up for scaring the boy and knew that asking about Matt and referring to him as the boys boyfriend was a good way to get his attention.
"He has had a few bad moments and still gets nightmares, but he is doing much better now Doctor Gilmar." Ben then answers in a slightly nervous tone after a few moments, he knew that he didn't have any reason to be afraid of the man and had heard him using that tone in the hospital a few times, but he couldn't help it and knew that he was still a bit of a mess emotionally.
"That's good to hear Ben and I hope that apart from the check ups, we don't see him again." Mr Gilmar responds in the same soft and caring tone as before and is glad to see that the boy is a lot more relaxed now.
"Can I go home now please?" Ben then asks, he may be feeling a lot more relaxed now, but he really wanted to get home and just get a cuddle from his boyfriend and not have to explain himself to the doctor.
"I can give you a lift home Ben, but I need to know why you aren't in school first." Mr Gilmar answers and decides to use a slightly firmer tone, although he knows he has to be careful not to frighten the boy again.
"I've been having problems for a little while and well it just got too much for me today and I just ran away from the school and Alex followed me to make sure I didn't do anything stupid and that I was safe." Ben states after deciding to just get it out the way with and hopefully just get home faster.
"I didn't know you boys were friends." Mr Gilmar decides to states, although he was a little concerned about what the boy had said, he decided to try and think it over before asking him about it.
"We aren't Mr Gilmar, well we are now, but we weren't when he came after me." Ben responds before giving his friend a guilty look.
"So you still left school to make sure he was safe and alright, even though you weren't his friend?" Mr Gilmar asks his son and while he was a little confused by the other boys statement, he didn't want to hassle him by asking him to explain what he meant.
"Well yeah, I mean I hurt his friend, you know that boy I told you about a while ago that I helped bully and well I have been trying to be a better person like you told me to be Dad." Alex answers honestly, although he is a little startled by his friend shifting a little and turning to face him with a confused expression.
"You told your dad that you hurt Carter?" Ben asks in a surprised tone, he just couldn't believe he would tell his dad, especially after he had told him earlier that his dad spanks him for being naughty.
"Well I felt bad Ben and I know I have been a bit of a bully for a while, but after what happened with Carter, well Peter was so angry with me, that I just knew I had to change and well I told my dad because I knew I needed to be punished and that he would help me." Alex responds honestly and while he didn't enjoy the spanking he received and it really hurt, he was proud of himself for telling his dad and knew that despite coming out as a bully, he had made his dad proud by admitting it to him.
"Yes he did and while I don't condone bullying and I certainly let him know that, I was very proud of him for telling me about it and how he wanted to change." Mr Gilmar then states with a proud smile, he was still a little unsure if his son was really going to change, but after hearing about what he had done for Ben, he was just delighted with his son, although he was still unimpressed with him leaving school, even if it was with good intentions.
"Mr Gilmar please don't punish him for today though, I mean I know you should never leave school and maybe he should have found a teacher, but honestly they wouldn't have found me and not even Matt could of guessed where I would have gone and anything could have happened to me and well please don't punish him for helping me." Ben the states in a pleading tone after hearing his friend actually getting himself a spanking because he felt so bad about what he did to Carter, it had convinced him beyond doubt that he was a good person and he wanted to try and repay the favour by helping him.
"It's okay Ben, I will take my punishment and it's really okay." Alex quickly states, he hated being punished but at the same time he knew that if he did something wrong than he had to face the consequences and whether or not he did the right thing in helping his friend, doesn't make walking out of the school any less wrong.
"We will talk about that later Alex, but Ben can I ask you what was wrong with you, because that will help me understand why you two left the school and decide what to do." Mr Gilmar then asks after giving his son a quick nod, he had decided that he wasn't going to punish him this time, but he still wanted to know what caused the other boy to run away from school.
"Well you know how I am rubbish at dealing with my emotions, you know like I bottle them up and then they just explode right." Ben responds, although he stops to make sure the doctor understands what he is talking about before he explains everything.
"Yes I remember that you struggled with that at the hospital, but I thought you had that under control." Mr Gilmar responds in a curious tone and wondered where the boy was going with this.
"Well I do, but that was about being like scared and sad about Matt and what happened and stuff you know, but this time it was because I was angry and I wanted to hurt Mr Jones and David, but I didn't realise because some other things also happened, but I don't want to tell you about those." Ben then explains, but he can tell that the doctor was curious and he could see the worried look on his friends face and knew that he was worried he might tell him about getting drunk, but he had no intention of doing that.
"I see and you say that Alex helped you, how did he do that exactly?" Mr Gilmar decides to asks, although he senses that there was a lot more to this story, he also knew that if the boy wanted him to know, then he would have told him and respected his privacy.
"Well first he thought I might be depressed, but after he walked with me for a while and wouldn't let me out of his sight, I got angry with him, but after that he sort of figured out that I might just need to vent my anger some how and asked me to come here to use the garage and well after beating the punching bag up for a while, I actually did feel a lot better and although I still feel a bit down and stuff, all the bad and confusing thoughts I was having are gone and I just want to go home and be with Matt now." Ben answers honestly and is glad that this time, he didn't have to lie or bend the truth and he could tell his friend was a little more relaxed now as well.
"I see, well I'm glad that you're feeling better now Ben and I will give you a lift home if you have all your things ready." Mr Gilmar states with a smile before turning to his son. "I'm very proud of you, but I want you to clean the house up while I take him home and you're grounded this weekend for leaving the school without permission." He then states in a firm but caring tone before leaning forward and ruffling his sons hair. "If your mum comes home before I get back, I expect you to tell her what happened and what punishments I gave you Alex." He then adds with a smile, he knew he would anyway, but he still felt the need to remind him.
"But he only..." Ben then begins to say before being interrupted by his friend.
"Ben it's fine and don't worry about me, just go get your stuff and maybe I will see you tomorrow." Alex states in with a smile, he was happy that his friend was going to defend him, but he wasn't upset about his punishment and knew that his dad was being lenient by not spanking him and was happy to accept what he did get.
"Oh okay I guess." Ben responds as he gets to his feet and starts to walk out of the room to go and get his bag and dirty clothes.
"I will be waiting in the car for you Ben, so don't be too long please." Mr Gilmar then says with a smile and watches as the boy leaves the room.
"Dad you didn't have to go easy on me just because he was here." Alex then says, he didn't want his dad to change his mind about his punishment, but he wanted him to know that he would have accepted a spanking if his dad thought he deserved it.
"Alex a punishment is to teach someone that what they did was wrong, but you already know that what you did was wrong and what you did for that poor boy was enough to convince me that you're changing your ways and that deserves praise not punishment, although I have to ground you still, but I know you understand why." Mr Gilmar responds with a proud smile, maybe if it was another boy or his sons annoying and waste of space friend Jarred, then he may have spanked him, but he had seen what Ben had been through and was proud of his son for helping him.
"Thank you Dad and I really do want to be a better person, but what do you mean by 'poor boy'?" Alex then asks after getting up and walking over to the door, just to make sure his friend wasn't coming down the stairs yet.
"Alex what happened to his boyfriend is horrific and quite frankly I have seen adults who were some of the strongest people you could know mentally, fall to pieces when someone they loved went through the equivalent of what Matt Summers has gone through and to all of our surprise at the hospital, Ben never wavered and despite them having a short falling out, he was a rock, but from what he just told me about what he has been feeling, I honestly believe he was beginning to crack Alex and you might have just saved him from that and you should be very proud of yourself Young Man." Mr Gilmar responds in a sincere tone and gives his sons shoulder an affectionate squeeze after he had walked over to him.
"Aww Dad, you're the best." Alex responds before giving his dad a cuddle.
"You're not so bad yourself Alex, now get a start on the cleaning and tell Ben to come straight out to he car." Mr Gilmar responds and gives his son a quick kiss on the top of the head before walking out to his car.
"Matt he ran out of school, anything could have happened to him and he will be lucky if the school hasn't called our dad already." Mitch states after hearing the young boy trying to convince him to not give his little brother a hard time.
"Mitch I'm not saying let him get off completely or not let him know that he messed up, I'm just asking you to not go over the top and upset him, you know what he has been like and I don't want him feeling that way again." Matt responds, he was close to going back to his original plan of using his own issues to make the older boy agree with him, but he wanted to avoid doing that unless he had no choice.
"He has to be punished Matt, it doesn't matter if he has been having a few problems, you don't run away from school and not tell anyone and if it wasn't for Wesley or this Alex kid, then we might not even know that he was missing until the school called us." Mitch responds in a serious tone and despite not wanting to upset the young boy, he wasn't going to let his little brother off easily.
"I think you should ground him and maybe ban him from the pool for a couple of weeks." Tobias decides to suggest, he had been listening and he agreed with his brother, but at the same time he also agreed with his big brother that Ben had to be punished, although he couldn't help but feel like he should have kept quiet when he sees the surprised look on both their faces.
"Tobias what the hell?" Matt asks in a confused and annoyed tone, he couldn't believe he was trying to get his boyfriend grounded and wasn't happy.
"Matt don't talk to him like that and the fact he agrees with me is proof..." Mitch then starts to say before to his surprise his brother interrupts him.
"Mitch I don't agree that you should upset him, I just think he should be punished for leaving the school and not telling anyone, but you shouldn't shout at him or anything." Tobias quickly states, he could tell that both his brothers were surprised by what he just said, but he was happy to see that they both had a little smile.
"Okay, you both win and I won't go too hard on him, but he will be grounded for the next two weeks and that means..." Mitch then begins to say with half a smile before being interrupted again by his brother.
"No, please don't ground him this weekend Mitch, me already can't go visit school, so please don't ruin the sleepover." Tobias quickly pleads and despite seeing that his big brother was annoyed at being interrupted again, he wanted to make sure the weekend wasn't ruined like today was.
"Well to be honest I don't see how I can punish Ben without it punishing you two, especially you Matt." Mitch then decides to states, after really thinking about it and realising that unless he kept his little brother and Matt apart, then there isn't really any punishment he could give him.
"What do you mean?" Matt quickly asks in a curious tone, he couldn't see how his boyfriend being punished would punish him.
"Think about it Matt, what can I do to Ben that doesn't affect you as well and still be a punishment?" Mitch then asks, although he was actually hoping that one of the boys would offer a suggestion, because right now he was coming up blank.
"Well not using the swimming pool is a good one." Matt answers as he tries to think of something and is surprised to realise that it was a lot harder to think of one than he thought it would be.
"Not really Matt, he likes swimming sure, but he would be just as happy to sit and either watch you in the pool or sit with you next to it." Mitch responds in a slightly frustrated tone, he couldn't just let his little brother get away without being punished, but it was just proving to be impossible.
"What about if he wasn't allowed out of the house or pool house unless he was at school?" Matt then suggests, but even as he says it, he realises that he would likely be with his boyfriend and that it wouldn't be a punishment.
"He would just be with you Matt or if he wasn't then you would want to be with him and it would be punishing you as well as him." Mitch responds and again can't help but feel frustrated and considers just giving his little brother a stern telling off and leaving it at that.
"You could spank him." Tobias then suggests in a quiet tone, his dad used to spank him when he did something really bad and although it hurt, it was a good punishment that worked.
"What?" Matt quickly asks in a surprised and slightly annoyed tone, he couldn't believe his brother would suggest that and couldn't help giving him a slight glare.
"Remember my dad used to spank me Matt and it worked." Tobias responds in a slightly nervous tone, he didn't like how his brother had looked at him and knew that he wasn't the same boy he used to know and was unpredictable.
"Well actually that isn't such a bad idea Tobias, but I could only do that with my dads permission and Matt's." Mitch then states in a thoughtful tone, he had been spanked by his dad when he was younger and so had his little brother, but that was a long time ago and he wasn't quite sure if it was appropriate to do that now.
"Huh? What do you mean my permission?" Matt asks and although he isn't keen on his boyfriend being spanked, he knew it was the only idea that they had thought of that wouldn't punish him as well.
"Matt to make the spanking a real punishment it would be on his bare bum and in front of you and Tobias, so if you aren't comfortable seeing him spanked then I won't do it." Mitch answers honestly and studied the young boy to see his reaction and knew that it could cause him to remember what David and Mr Jones had done to him.
"You won't do it for real though will you, you know like hurt him right?" Matt then asks in a nervous tone, sure the spanking had to be a little painful, but he didn't want his boyfriend to be in any real pain and he was starting to not like the idea at all.
"I won't go easy on him, if that is what you mean Matt and he will be crying by the end of it, so if you aren't comfortable with that, say so now and we will figure something else out." Mitch responds honestly, he would never hurt his little brother, but at the same time spanking was different and apart from it hurting at the time and sitting down being uncomfortable, his little brother would be fine.
"I don't know, I don't want him to get hurt Mitch and well er..." Matt begins to answer but is surprised to be interrupted and even more when he recognises the voice.
"How many spanks will you give me Mitch?" Ben asks in a slightly down tone, he had only overheard the last couple of sentences of their conversation and despite not wanting to be spanked, he remembered what Alex had said and decided that if he wasn't going to get loads, he would take the punishment.
"Ben how long have you been there?" Mitch asks in a surprised tone, while ignoring his little brothers question, he just wasn't expecting to see him home yet.
"Just that you won't go easy on me and that I will cry." Ben answers as he gives his brother a quick look, before looking over to his boyfriend with a small smile, he may not be looking forward to getting spanked, but seeing his boyfriend without all the confusing thoughts he was having, was just amazing and he just wanted to hold him.
"I don't want you to get spanked though." Matt then states as he gets up and limps over to his boyfriend.
"It's okay Matt, well unless he is going to give me loads." Ben answers as he opens his arms and then wraps them around his boyfriend after he limps into them. "How many were you thinking Mitch?" He then asks as he looks towards his brother nervously.
"I will have to talk to Dad first Ben and see what he thinks about what happened." Mitch responds honestly, he was thinking somewhere between twenty and thirty, but it would be their dads decision in the end.
"No please don't tell Dad, please Mitch can't you just punish me and not let Dad know what I did." Ben then pleads, he had no idea if their dad already knew, but he was hoping he didn't and that they wouldn't have to tell him.
"Ben I have to tell him, he is our dad and..." Mitch then begins to explain before being interrupted.
"Mitch please, I know I did the wrong thing and I'm sorry and I'm willing to let you spank me because I know I messed up, but please don't tell Dad on me." Ben pleads as he feels himself shake a little, although when he feels his boyfriend holding him a little tighter, he feels himself calming down a little. "Mitch please, you have always been in charge of me and punished me, please don't tell him." He then says and although his boyfriend had helped him calm down, he can't stop a few tears rolling down his face.
"Mitch he is getting upset and you promised Matt." Tobias whispers in his big brothers ear, he had been quiet since his other brother had turned up, but he could tell that he was starting to get upset and wanted to try and help.
"Ben if you ever do something like this again, a spanking will be the least of your worries, you hear me." Mitch then states in a firm tone and despite not wanting to hurt his brother, he knows that he needed to do something and with all three of the boys seemingly agreeing, he knew he would have to go through with it.
"Okay." Ben responds in a sad tone, although he was happy that their dad wouldn't find out and he was going to take the spanking like a man.
"Does that mean you're going to do it now?" Matt then asks as he lets his boyfriend go and turns to the older boy, he was still not convinced that his boyfriend should be spanked, but as long as it wasn't too bad and his boyfriend was okay with it, he would go along with it as well.
"Well your mum will be home in four hours Matt and our dad will be home in around five or six, so if Ben doesn't want them to know then I think it's best if we do it now and he can recover a little before they come back." Mitch responds, although he was now starting to get nervous and the idea of actually hurting his little brother was getting to him.
"Wait, how are you going to do it and how many spanks?" Ben then asks, he was hoping it would only be like ten spanks and just him and his brother without the others watching.
"We will go to the pool house Ben, but it will be twenty spanks on your bare bum okay." Mitch responds and despite hating the idea more and more and unless Matt intervened then he couldn't go back now.
"On my bare bum?" Ben asks nervously and his earlier confidence that he could handle a spanking faltered slightly.
"Ben running away like you did and the fact you went to school drunk, isn't something that you can get away with and unless Matt tells me to let you off, you're getting twenty spanks on your bare bum." Mitch states in a serious tone, although he wanted to put the idea of being able to stop this from happening in the young boys head as well.
"Come with me Ben." Matt tells his boyfriend as he starts to pull him towards the pool house. "Mitch gives us five minutes please." He then states as he gives the older boy a nervous look.
"Okay." Mitch responds as the two boys walk away.
"Mitch you aren't going to really hurt him are you?" Tobias then asks and despite the fact his brother had asked the same question and he heard the answer, he was hoping that his big brother changed his mind about not holding back.
"Honestly I don't want to do this Tobias, hurting Ben in any way goes against everything I believe in and I just wish there was another way." Mitch decides to responds honestly, he couldn't believe he had got into this situation and knows that he should just ground his little brother after the weekend and let that be the end of it, but for some reason he didn't want to seem weak, which he knew was ridiculous.
"Sorry." Tobias then states as he looks to the ground, he just wished he kept his mouth shut about the spanking and knew this was his fault.
"What are you sorry for?" Mitch then asks in a confused tone as he looks at his brother in concern.
"The spanking was my idea and now everyone is sad and I don't want everyone to be sad Mitch." Tobias answers with a sniffle and he just felt so guilty.
"Come here you idiot, it's not your fault and I'm actually very proud of you for coming up with a punishment, because I couldn't think of one and while I don't want to spank him, it is a good punishment and you heard him yourself Tobias, he agreed that he should be spanked, so don't get upset okay." Mitch quickly responds in a reassuring tone, he may not like the idea, but it was a good one and a fair one in his opinion.
"Okay." Tobias responds before moving to his big brother and cuddling him. "His bum will look funny red though right." He then says, he knew trying to make a joke was a little silly, but he hoped his big brother would appreciate him trying to lighten the mood and maybe relax a little bit.
"We could make him stay naked and get a tan off it maybe." Mitch responds with a little chuckle, he knew what his brother was doing and for now he was willing to let him relax a little bit.
"It's okay Matt and it's not like other kids our age or younger don't get spanked." Ben says as soon as they sit down on their sofa bed, he knew that his boyfriend wanted to make sure he was alright with it and despite being nervous, he wanted to get it over with and take his punishment.
"No, I'm not going to let him spank you Ben, I just can't deal with it, not after what David did to me." Matt then states in a firm tone, he just couldn't bare to see his boyfriend spanked and despite knowing his boyfriend needed to be punished, he didn't want him to be spanked.
"I messed up Matt and I'm guessing from the conversation you three were having, that you couldn't think of another punishment." Ben responds as he strokes his boyfriends hand, he was proud of his boyfriend for wanting to protect him, but he couldn't get away with leaving school and getting drunk. "Wait oh shit, how did he know I was drunk?" He then asks, as he realises that his brother knew about it and couldn't help feeling a little betrayed by his boyfriend.
"Carter and Wesley figured it out somehow and told Mitch earlier." Matt responds and although he could tell that his boyfriend thought he had told the older boy, he didn't want to get into an argument and decided to just try and support his boyfriend.
"Oh shit well, just damn." Ben then says as he looks to the door. "I can't believe I'm getting spanked on the bare bum though, it's going to sting for ages." He then says, although if he was thinking straight he would have realised what his boyfriend had actually said a few moments ago and not talk about the spanking.
"You aren't getting spanked Ben, I have another idea and well it affects me too, but I can't let you get hurt and I just can't." Matt then says in a firm tone as he turns his boyfriends face to his own and kisses him for a few moments.
"Matt..." Ben then begins to say, but his boyfriends finger on his lips shuts him up and he can only look at him in confusion.
"Ben starting now and for the next week, well except this weekend because it's the sleepover and we can't ruin that for Tobias, you're sleeping in your brothers room and Tobias can come and sleep here with me." Matt then says and can tell that his boyfriend is going to say something and quickly leans forward and gives him a peck on the lips. "Shut up and listen." He then says and gives him a stern look while he waits for him to agree.
"Okay." Ben responds meekly, he didn't like this new punishment at all and would prefer to just get spanked and be with his boyfriend.
"I still want that blow job you promised me earlier, but after that with the exception of strip poker and dares at the weekend, you and me aren't going to do anything together until after next week and before you asks that includes kissing and cuddling." Matt then explains and can see the shock and disappointment in his boyfriends eyes and knows despite it affecting him as well, this was going to be a much more effective punishment than a spanking, but at the same time his boyfriend wouldn't get hurt and that mattered more to him than anything else.
"No way, there is no way I can't be with you for a week Matt, I won't do it." Ben then responds in a firm tone and shifts so that he is sitting towards his boyfriend, so that he can see how serious he is.
"You will Ben, because even if you convince Mitch to stick with the spanking, I'm still not going to sleep in the same room with you or do anything with you for a week, so it's up to you Ben." Matt then retorts as he takes his boyfriends hands back into his own and gives them a gently squeeze, he may not want to go that long without being with his boyfriend, but being reminded about the drinking and the fact he actually had drunk the rest of the wine before he went to school, made him a little angry.
"What if you have a nightmare though?" Ben then asks, he couldn't deny that he had other reasons for not being happy about his boyfriends punishment idea, but his main concern was his boyfriend.
"Tobias will be with me and it's not like we haven't spent nights apart Ben." Matt responds and while he can see that his boyfriend understands, he can tell that he isn't quite convinced. "This sucks for me too Ben, but what you did was bad and well just do it for me please." He then states just before leaning in and giving him another kiss, although this time it isn't until they both hear the door being opened that they break apart.
"Are you guys ready now?" Mitch says as he walks into the pool house nervously, closely followed by Tobias, who Matt can see is looking uncomfortable.
"Mitch you aren't going to spank him, I came up with a different punishment and he agrees." Matt then says as he gives his boyfriend a serious look.
"No I don't, I want the spanking." Ben then says as he turns to his brother.
"What's going on?" Mitch decides to ask as he looks between the two boys and wonders what they had been talking about.
"Ben even if you get the spanking, I meant what I said." Matt then states as he ignores the older boys question and gives his boyfriend a hard stare.
"I don't want too though, I need you Matt and I don't want to sleep without you." Ben then responds as a few tears roll down his face, he really just wanted to be with his boyfriend, especially after he had finally figured out what was going on with himself and for his boyfriend to suggest being apart was just too much.
"Okay both of you shut up and listen." Mitch then states in a stern tone. "Tobias go and sit with your brothers." He then says in a softer tone as he looks down to the confused looking boy.
"Mitch it's okay, I came up with..." Matt then begins to say before being cut off.
"No one is going to get spanked, this has gone too far and I should have dealt with this a lot better than I did." Mitch then says before taking a few seconds to look at the three boys staring at him. "I'm the adult here boys and here is what we are going to do, Ben you're grounded starting today for one week, you will come straight home after school each day and you're to stay inside the house until it's time for bed, where you can then go with Matt to the pool house and sleep, but I want you up and in the house ready for school before eight during the week, you will not watch TV or play in the pool and you will turn your phone off while you're in the house, do you understand?" He then adds while looking directly at his little brother.
"But Dad will know something is wrong and you said you wouldn't tell him." Ben responds meekly, it was better than being spanked and not being able to sleep with his boyfriend, but he knew his dad could make his punishment worse when he found out.
"Not my fault Ben and I will talk with him, but you're still grounded." Mitch responds and despite his earlier slip up with the spanking, he was now in control again and was more than happy with what he had come up with.
"You promised you wouldn't ground him this weekend earlier though." Tobias then says as he looks at his big brother in confusion, he didn't want his brother spanked now and he could tell by the fact they were arguing about it, that whatever Matt had come up with was worse than spanking in Ben's eyes, so he didn't want that, but at the same time he didn't want the weekend to be spoiled.
"Shit sorry Tobias." Mitch then states, he had forgotten about the weekend and knew he needed to think quick. "Okay, Ben you're still grounded starting today, but if you agree to two weeks instead of one, then I will let you off Saturday and Sunday and you can all enjoy the sleepover, how does that sound to everyone?" He then asks after thinking on his feet and while he could tell that his little brother and Tobias seemed happy with the idea, he couldn't help but notice Matt not seemingly taking much notice of what they were talking about and was a little concerned.
"Yey, thank you Mitch." Tobias responds excitedly and quickly gets up to give his big brother a cuddle.
"Okay Mitch and thank you." Ben then says as he starts to get up, but quickly feels his boyfriends hand gripping his wrist and turns to him in concern. "What's wrong?" He then asks as he sits back down and pulls his boyfriends face up so that he could look at him.
"Hold me." Matt responds before shaking a little and is grateful when he feels his boyfriend wrapping his arms around him tightly.
"Is he alright?" Mitch quickly asks as he walks over and kneels in front of the boys, with Tobias joining him by his side.
"He is freaking out." Ben responds as he gives his brother a sad look and realises that this was all his fault.
"It's not too bad, just give me a minute." Matt then says, which catches everyone by surprise, but at the same time they realise that this was a good sign and just waited until he was ready to talk again.
"I'm glad he is okay." Carter says after his boyfriend hangs up his phone with a smile on his face.
"Yeah, but it sucks that Mitch grounded him for two weeks." Wesley responds as he looks around to see that no one else is nearby and just looks back at his boyfriend lovingly.
"True, but at least the sleepover isn't ruined and I can't wait to have some fun with them all." Carter then says and can't help blushing when he sees how his boyfriend is looking at him, he just felt like the most important person in the world when he looked at him like he is doing right now and he couldn't be happier.
"It's still a bit weird that Mitch grounded him though, I mean if Jim tried to ground me, I would just ignore him or tell him to fuck off." Wesley then says as he thinks about just how different his friends relationship with his older brother is compared to his own relationship with his big brother and while he envied what his friend had, there were things like this that he definitely didn't envy.
"Don't swear Wesley and yeah it's a bit weird, but Mitch has always been like Ben's dad and it works for them and that is all that matters." Carter states in response as he grins at his boyfriend, he loved the look on his face every time he told him not to swear and knew it annoyed him in the same way his boyfriend coming up with pet names annoyed him.
"So anyway, you were talking about those comics that you were going to buy before and well I just don't get it." Wesley then says as he tries to get their previous conversation back on track, while trying to hide the fact he wanted to know how much they cost and where to get them.
"For the last time you moron, they are graphic novels not comics." Carter quickly states in an irritated tone and realises that his boyfriend is just baiting him after seeing the grin slowly spread across his face.
"I love when you get angry." Wesley then teases and can't help but love how his boyfriend glares at him when he is mad and just finds it adorable.
"Anyway, I think if I save up again and with my birthday coming up, I should be able to buy them in a couple of months and I talked to a guy on the phone and he said they can always order them in if I give them a few weeks notice." Carter then states, he would never let his boyfriend know it, but he really did love how teased him and knew him well enough to know how to bait him with ease and he knew that it meant he cared about him and it always gave him a nice warm feeling inside.
"Oh, well that's pretty cool, but how much are you going to pay? I mean it has to be a lot if they have to order them in." Wesley then asks, while not quite believing his luck, he wasn't quite sure how he was going to ask how much they cost without making his plan obvious and his boyfriend just gave him the perfect excuse.
"Well it's a little embarrassing, but I have wanted them for so long and I know the series hasn't finished yet, but I really want them Wesley." Carter states before pausing, he wasn't quite sure if his boyfriend would laugh at him or not and knew that despite liking comics and a few graphic novels himself, he wasn't that into them in the same way he was and didn't think he would understand paying that much for them.
"So we are talking like a hundred dollars then?" Wesley then asks in a casual tone, he had done a little research on how much these things cost, but he had no idea which ones his boyfriend wanted and the prices ranged from okay to crazy and he just hoped that he could afford the ones his boyfriend actually wanted.
"For all of the ones released so far and remember I really want these Wesley, they will cost four hundred dollars, but they will be in mint condition so it's pretty good." Carter states in a nervous tone, it was a lot of money and he knew it, but it was his money and he really wanted them.
"Holy crap Carter, four hundred dollars for a couple of comic books?" Wesley can't help but ask, although as soon as he sees the look of hurt and disappointment on his boyfriend face, he wishes he had thought before he spoke, instead of just reacting and knew he had just upset him. "Before you say it, I know graphic novels not comics, but you can't blame me for being surprised Carter and well I'm really sorry if I made you feel hurt, you know I love you." He quickly adds, he knew it wasn't going to get him off the hook, but he couldn't let his boyfriend think he was mocking him or his hobby, even though to him it was a ridiculous amount of money.
"I guess so, but there are twenty three volumes and each has six issues in them Wesley, that's why it cost so much and well I'm still going to buy them because I want them." Carter then responds in a slightly downhearted tone, he knew the cost would make his boyfriend react like that, but it still hurt and despite his apology he couldn't help but feel like he thought he was stupid for wanting to spend that much.
"So that is only like seventeen dollars for each volume and about three dollars for each issue right?" Wesley then says and can tell that despite the fact his boyfriend is still upset with his earlier reaction, he was also impressed that he had roughly worked out the cost of each volume and issue.
"I forgot how smart you are." Carter then states as he tries his best to stop sulking, but he can't quite manage to forget about his boyfriends initial reaction.
"Look seriously Carter, you know I was just surprised and I'm sorry for making you feel like I don't take your hobby seriously, so why don't you tell me more about them, I mean you haven't even told me what they are called yet." Wesley then states and although his boyfriend is taking it a bit too personally, he loves his passion for his hobby and respected him for it.
"Well okay, I know I told you that they were rare and stuff, but well I kind of lied because I knew you would be shocked at the cost and well I guess it backfired a little bit, but I'm buying The Walking Dead graphic novels Wesley." Carter answers and can't help but cheer up a little bit, he realised that he was being over sensitive and that his boyfriend would never intentionally mock him in any way.
"They made graphic novels from the TV show?" Wesley then asks in a surprised tone, he loved the show but he never knew they made comics about it as well.
"Actually the TV show is based on the graphic novels Wesley, well the show has kind of done it's own thing, but it follows it enough to still be you know like the same thing." Carter responds with a small grin, they had actually watched the show together a few times, but it never occurred to him that his boyfriend had no idea it was based on graphic novels.
"Oh wow, well I can't wait to read them when you buy them." Wesley then states in a genuinely excited tone, he knew that comics or well graphic novels were sometimes way more gory than films or shows based of them and was now looking forward to buying his boyfriend them for his birthday even more.
"Well you can read them with me if you want, you know like at the same time." Carter then suggest with a shy smile and although it might not be that practical, he thought it would be fun and a little romantic if they read together.
"I would love that, but only if we are naked." Wesley responds with a grin, before watching his boyfriend leaning in and decides to meet him half way for the kiss, not caring who could see them, even though he had noticed the teacher again looking over and knew for certain that it was Mrs Johnson scowling at them this time.
"I should be in there." Ben says as he looks towards the door and was a little frustrated that his brother had told them all to stay in the living room, while he talked to their dad and his boyfriends mum in the kitchen.
"Come on Ben, you know your dad, he would just said something stupid and over the top and then five minutes later feel guilty and saying sorry to you if you were in the same room, so at least this way he will be calmer when he tells you off." Matt responds as he pulls his boyfriend in tighter and rubs the side of his leg gently.
"I guess so, but I still think it would have been better if I told him myself." Ben then says as he snuggles up to his boyfriend and enjoys just being held by him.
"Maybe, but just get ready for when your dad does come and talk to you, because he isn't going to be happy." Matt responds as he tries to reassure his boyfriend, but it was hard to hide the fact his boyfriend was going to get told off again and even though Mitch had grounded him, they both knew that his dad might make it worse and was just hoping Mitch wouldn't tell him about his boyfriend being drunk, he had promised, but he also knew that the older boy might have no choice.
"It's not all Ben's fault though, he wasn't well and didn't know what he was doing." Tobias then says after keeping quiet while his two brothers talked to each other, he had said the same thing to his big brother when they were waiting to go in the pool house earlier after his other two brothers had gone in to talk in private and still felt that it needed to be said.
"It still doesn't make what I did alright though Tobias, but thank you for saying it and maybe if my dad really starts to get angry you can tell him for me, because I'm not very good at talking when someone is telling me off." Ben responds as he shifts a little in his boyfriends arms to look at his brother with a small smile, he appreciated what he said and wanted him to know that.
"I promise." Tobias responds with a smile before leaning back in his chair, he was feeling nervous and wasn't sure if he wanted to be in the room when his uncle came in.
"Oh crap, I think they are coming in." Ben then says as he tenses up, he just didn't know what to expect from his dad.
"I'm right here and if you want me to say anything just squeeze my hand three times in a row and I will." Matt then states as he gives his boyfriend a comforting squeeze, just as the door opens and his boyfriends dad walks in, closely followed by his mum and then Mitch.
"Tobias come with me Honey." Sarah says as she gives the boys a warm smile, although Matt can tell that she was a little tense and didn't think that it was a good sign.
"Mum, I want to stay." Tobias quickly responds as he gives her a pleading look, before giving his brothers a worried glance.
"Don't argue and come with me." Sarah then states in a firmer tone, before turning to look at the two boys embracing each other. "Matt I want you to come and see me after Mike has finished talking to you both please Sweetheart." She then says as she gives her son a loving smile and despite being nervous about what his mum wanted him for, he was instantly feeling a little better after seeing her smile.
"Okay Mum." Matt responds and returns the loving smile.
"Bye." Tobias then says in a meek tone, he really didn't want to go, but his mums tone left him in no doubt that he had to do as he was told.
"Bye Tobias." Matt responds as he watches his mum and brother walk out of the room and could feel his boyfriend shaking a little and knew that he was thinking the worst.
"I want you to stay quiet Matt and let Ben talk for himself okay?" Mike then asks in a serious but calm tone, as he sits across from them on one of the chairs.
"I will try." Matt responds nervously after giving Mitch a look and seeing him nod as he stood next to his dad.
"Ben look at me please." Mike then says as he turns his attention to his youngest son and while he had conflicting feelings on how to deal with what happened, he had decided that for once he wasn't going to scare the boys half to death, although he wasn't going to let him off too easily.
"Dad I'm really..." Ben then begins to say as he slowly looks up at his dad, but before he can finish he is cut off.
"Ben what you did was serious and I'm not just talking about skipping school." Mike states as he locks eyes with his youngest son and can see that he knows exactly what he means and decides to just carry on. "Yes your brother told me about the wine and he still has a lot of explaining to do for giving you two a bottle of it, but he trusted you to be sensible and I want you to apologise to him for abusing that trust." He then states in a firmer tone, he may not want to scare his son, but he needed to make sure he really understood how serious this all was.
"Sorry Mitch, I just wasn't..." Ben begins to apologise, but as he looks to his brother he stops and starts to sniffle.
"It's okay Ben, we are good." Mitch then says, he could see that his dad was going to press his little brother for a better apology, but he knew it would just upset him, so he really wasn't angry at him and knew that he was struggling with his emotions and knew he would never have got drunk if he was thinking straight.
"Mitch I'm really sorry though and I promise not to do it again." Ben the says after getting a loving squeeze from his boyfriend and managed to pull himself together.
"Thank you Ben and I know you won't." Mitch responds with a little smile, he wasn't expecting his little brother to be able to pull himself together like that and knew that Matt must have done something to reassure him.
"Well done Ben, right next up is your punishment and while I don't think you should be allowed to join in with the sleepover, it wouldn't be fair on the other boys and Mitch said they wouldn't enjoy themselves if you were stuck in here instead, so your punishment will remain the same as Mitch suggested, however you will stay at home tomorrow instead of going to school." Mike then states in a firm and serious tone as he watches his youngest sons reaction closely.
"Huh?" Ben asks in response, he was happy with what his dad had said, well not happy that he was grounded, but happy he could at least enjoy the sleepover, but he was surprised that he wouldn't be going to school tomorrow.
"I phoned the school and told them that you had food poisoning and that your friend Alex took you home, you both may still get detention for leaving the school without permission, but neither of you will be suspended." Mike explains as he again watches his reaction, he was hoping to see genuine remorse and not any sign that he thought he was getting away with something.
"You didn't have to do that though Dad, but thank you for helping Alex, he didn't have to help me and still did, so well er... thank you Dad." Ben responds in a sincere tone, he knew his dad had lied to the school for him and he knew his dad hated lying and wanted him to know that he appreciated it.
"This family has been through a lot Ben and I have to shoulder a lot of the blame for not looking after you as much as I should have done, the doctors warned me that you were under a lot of stress and I didn't take that warning as seriously as I should have and I really am sorry for that Son." Mike then says in a sincere tone as he gets up and moves over to kneel in front of his youngest son. "I love you and if you ever feel like you can't cope or that you're struggling with anything, just come and talk to me or your brother and not try to deal with it by yourself." He then says as he reaches out and gives his youngest sons shoulder a gentle rub.
"I love you Dad." Ben then says as he untangles himself from his boyfriend and embraces his dad.
"I love you too, but don't think that you're getting a free day off school tomorrow." Mike then says as he let's his son return to his boyfriends arms.
"What?" Ben asks after snuggling back up to his boyfriend, he was so happy that his dad wasn't shouting at him, but he was a little confused by what he just said.
"You're grounded starting tomorrow Ben and that means no TV or playing, so you will be spending the day cleaning the house and cutting the grass in the front and back garden on your own." Mike explains in a serious tone.
"Wait, I thought I was grounded today?" Ben asks after thinking about what his dad just said and couldn't see why they wouldn't start today.
"Honestly you should be Ben, but you have been through a lot and you need to be with Matt and Tobias right now and because of that we decided to start your punishment tomorrow." Mike answers as he gives his youngest son a warm smile, he may have been both disappointed and angry at him, but at the same time he knew how much stress he had been under and they all should have seen the signs earlier themselves and helped him, so giving him the rest of the day to just be with those he loved was the least he could do.
"Okay, but what about tomorrow?" Ben then asks, he didn't like being grounded or having to do chores all day, but he didn't see how it could work.
"What do you mean?" Mike asks in response, he was a little confused by the question and what his youngest son was talking about specifically.
"Well you and Sarah will be working and Mitch has to take Matt to his doctors appointment and will probably take Tobias, so am I meant to go with them or stay at home alone?" Ben asks, he couldn't see them leaving him home alone, even if he hadn't damaged their trust in him, it wasn't legal and if he was meant to be ill then he couldn't go outside.
"Erica has the day off and she said she would look after you and Tobias while I take Matt to his appointment." Mitch decides to answer as it involved his girlfriend.
"Oh okay." Ben responds as he looks between his dad and brother and despite being grounded, he knew that they had gone easy on him and couldn't help but smile.
"What's wrong Matt?" Mike then asks as he sees the young boy looking at him nervously and felt a little guilty for telling him not to say anything earlier.
"Well you said you told the school Ben had food poisoning right?" Matt asks in a slightly nervous tone, he was still a little upset about being told to keep quiet, but he did understand why and wasn't angry.
"Yes, but why are you asking about that?" Mike responds curiously, as he wonders where the boy was going with this.
"Well what if someone sees him cutting the grass out the front, I mean it probably won't happen, but wouldn't it be bad if the school found out he wasn't ill?" Matt then asks, he wasn't trying to get his boyfriend out of some of his punishment, well maybe a little bit, but he didn't want anyone getting into trouble.
"Oh well, well yeah I guess that wouldn't be good." Mike responds in a slightly surprised tone and couldn't really think of what else to say, he hadn't even considered what would happen if someone saw his youngest son out the front and for whatever reason it got back to the school.
"Ben instead of cutting the front garden, you can empty your waterbed and take it apart, it shouldn't be too difficult and you can asks Erica and Tobias for help if you need it." Mitch then states, he could tell his dad was a little surprised by what Matt had said and although he was actually meant to deal with the waterbed himself before the boys new bed arrived Saturday morning, he thought this was the perfect chance to get out of it.
"Okay." Ben responds with a small smile and although the conversation had been a lot easier than he thought it would be, he was starting to feel himself struggling after a long and stressful week and just wanted to be alone with his boyfriend for a while.
"Is it okay if we go to the pool house for a while please?" Matt then asks, he could see that his boyfriend was beginning to get upset and knew what he needed.
"Just be back in an hour for dinner and do you want us to send Tobias over or do you need to be alone?" Mike responds as he looks between the two boys and could tell that his youngest son was struggling to hold back tears and knew that it would be cruel to keep him here any longer.
"Okay, but don't send Tobias over and just tell him that we will play later." Matt answers as he slowly gets to his feet, although he has to untangle himself from his boyfriend first.
"Go on then boys." Mike then says as he walks over and gives them both a hug before sitting back down and watches as his eldest son does the same.
"Bye." Both boys then says as they walk out of the room and head towards their pool house.
"No Carter tonight?" Jim asks as his brother walks into the living room alone, he had offered to pick the boys up from school, but they had decided to walk instead and just assumed that they would be spending the night together again.
"His parents want him home tonight and Mum and Dad want me here." Wesley responds in a slightly downhearted tone as he slumps down in the chair opposite his brother.
"You okay?" Jim then asks in a curious tone, he wanted to try and be a better brother and where he would normally find an excuse to leave his brother when he seemed down, he decided to actually see if he could help.
"I just miss being with him, it's stupid I know, but I just miss him." Wesley responds as he looks at his brother with a small smile and was glad that their earlier talk seemed to have changed how his brother acted towards him.
"It's not stupid Wesley, but you have to get used to being apart sometimes and as the oldies aren't home yet, why don't you follow me, I have a surprise for you." Jim then says with a smile, he was going to wait until later, but while their parents were still at work and his brother could do with a distraction, he thought it was the perfect time.
"Okay." Wesley responds as he gets up and follows his brother to his room.
"Sit down and just give me a second." Jim then says as he walks over to his closet and goes to his little hidden spot.
"Oh shit, they came already?" Wesley then says as his brother stands back up with a box in his hands and takes a guess at what was in it.
"I have good friends of my own Wesley, but before you get too excited, I need to go through it with you and make sure that you understand how it works and how to use them safely." Jim then says and while his brother was clearly excited a few moments ago, he noticed that he was now starting to blush.
"You're just going to tell me though right, I mean you don't need to show me or anything like that right?" Wesley then asks nervously, he may want a closer relationship with his brother, but he didn't want to get that close.
"Honestly I hope not, but if you or Carter end up getting hurt, it will come back to me because questions will be asked and well it wouldn't take them long to figure out where you got them from Wesley, so if you getting naked and testing the plug out is the price to pay, then that is what we will do unless you don't want them." Jim responds honestly and while he doesn't want it to happen, he wasn't going to let the boys have the inflatable butt plugs, unless he was sure his brother understood how to use them safely.
"You mean you will be watching?" Wesley says before gulping a little, trying the butt plug with his brother in the house knowing what he was doing would be bad enough, but for him to watch as he did it would be mortifying.
"I don't want to Wesley, but I have to be sure that you can do it and you can trust me." Jim responds, but can tell that his brother isn't convinced. "I wasn't ever going to tell you this, but I heard you and Carter the other night." He then says, but pauses to see his brothers reaction.
"What?" Wesley asks nervously, he didn't know if his brother was being serious or trying to trick him and either way he was feeling embarrassed.
"I heard you two role playing with each other." Jim explains as he looks at his brother.
"Holy fuck er... shit but..." Wesley begins to say, but is quickly cut off.
"Look Wesley, the only reason I just told you is to show you that you can trust me, I could have made fun of you or told our parents and watched as they talked to you about it, but I was serious about wanting to be a better big brother to you and I will never tell anyone or even let Carter know that I know and it will be the same with this I promise." Jim states in a serious tone and while he really didn't want to see his brother putting a butt plug in, he had to just be mature about it and make sure he was safe.
"Thank you, but I don't think I can do it with you watching Jim, I mean there is being a good big brother and then there is crossing the line and it's just too weird, I mean aren't there any videos online that I can watch instead?" Wesley responds honestly, he liked that his brother wanted to make sure he would be safe, but it was a little too weird for him.
"Okay how about this, tomorrow night Mum and Dad are going to be going away for the weekend, so I will talk you through the plugs now and tomorrow night you and Carter can try them out, that way if anything goes wrong or if you have any questions you can ask me." Jim then suggests and while he was planning to go out and have a bit of fun, he knew he had the rest of the weekend for that.
"I'm not sure Carter will want to try it with you in the house." Wesley responds honestly as he opens the box and takes a look at the plugs and can't help but be surprised by how small they were.
"With all due respect Wesley, there will always be someone in the house when you two try them and would you rather your first time was with me downstairs or in my room with music playing or with either our parents or Carter's in the house?" Jim then asks in response and can see that his brother was surprised by what he had just been told and couldn't help but smile as he watched him thinking it over.
"Okay deal, but they are so small Jim, I mean even Carter's thumbs are bigger then these." Wesley then says as he holds one of the plugs up and wonders what his brother was getting all worried about with them using it safely.
"The key word is inflatable Wesley, which is where you and Carter need to be careful, you have to take your time and not inflate them too much, so while we aren't going to be getting you to try one right now, I can still show you how big they actually inflate and how far I think you and Carter need to start of with." Jim states as he takes the other plug out of the box and sits next to his brother.
"Okay." Wesley responds with a nervous smile as he watches his brother take the plug out of the package and knows that this is going to be an embarrassing moment in his life.
"What do you need?" Matt asks as he shuts the door behind them.
"Can you just hold me for a while?" Ben responds as he walks over to their sofa bed and sits down.
"Get naked then." Matt responds with a sad smile, he could tell that his boyfriend needed to cry and limped over to the bed and started to take his own clothes off.
"Are you going to get Tobias the bracelets and the phone tomorrow?" Ben then asks, deciding to get it out of the way before his boyfriend held him, knowing that as soon as he was in his arms he would cry and not be able to talk for a while.
"Yeah and now that Tobias is staying here with you and Erica, it will make it easier to get them without him knowing." Matt responds as he limps around to the other side of the bed and climbs on top.
"Can you sing to me?" Ben then asks as he lays on his side and despite feeling sad, he manages to smile as he feels his boyfriend laying behind him and then pulling him into his body, with his arms around his stomach.
"Anything in particular?" Matt asks before gently kissing his boyfriends neck.
"Just something nice." Ben responds as he wiggles a little to get comfortable and sighs in content when he feels his boyfriends hands gently run his stomach.
"Well I'm not sure if I can sing properly laying on my side, but I will try my best." Matt says as he thinks of something to comfort his boyfriend.
"It doesn't have to be perfect Matt, I just want to hear your voice." Ben then says as he shivers a little when he feels his ear being nibbled.
"Okay." Matt then says before quickly going over the lyrics in his head, it had been a while since he heard this song and he wanted to get the words right.
"Spend all your time waitingFor that second chance,For a break that would make it okay.
There's always some reasonTo feel not good enough,
And it's hard, at the end of the day."
As Ben listens, he can't believe just how amazing his boyfriend is and while he couldn't quite remember what the song was called, it was just perfect and he could feel himself relaxing and begins to silently cry as tears roll down his face.
"I need some distraction,Oh, beautiful release.
Memories seep from my veins.
Let me be empty,Oh, and weightless, and maybe
I'll find some peace tonight.
In the arms of the angel,Fly away from here,
From this dark, cold hotel room,And the endlessness that you fear.
You are pulled from the wreckage,
Of your silent reverie.
You're in the arms of the angel,May you find some comfort here.
So tired of the straight line,And everywhere you turn,
There's vultures and thieves at your back.
The storm keeps on twisting.Keep on building the lies
That you make up for all that you lack."
As he slowly manages to compose himself a little, Ben could feel a little wetness on his shoulder and despite crying himself, he realised that he was feeling his boyfriend tears and wondered how he managed to still sing almost flawlessly despite the fact he was crying, although as he felt one of his boyfriends hands move from his stomach to his hip and thigh, he couldn't help but sigh in content and just enjoy his boyfriends singing again.
It don't make no difference,Escape one last time.
It's easier to believe in this sweet madness,Oh, this glorious sadness,That brings me to my knees.
In the arms of the angel,Fly away from here,
From this dark, cold hotel room,
And the endlessness that you fear.
You are pulled from the wreckage,Of your silent reverie.
You're in the arms of the angel,May you find some comfort here.
You're in the arms of the angel,May you find some comfort here."
Giving his boyfriend a few moments to say something, Matt just smiles after finishing and begins to gently kiss his neck.
"How was it?" Matt then asks, he could feel that his boyfriend was crying by the way he was trembling slightly and when he moved his hand up to his head and brushed his hair from the side of his face, he could see that he had his eyes shut.
"Just hold me please." Ben manages to responds in a quiet tone, before sniffling and quietly crying again.
"Anything you want Ben." Matt then says as he pulls his boyfriend a little tighter into his arms and just holds him.
"I hope we weren't too hard on him." Mike says as he sits in the living room, he just couldn't get his youngest sons expression out of his mind and knew that he was probably crying his heart out in the pool house right now and that there was nothing he could do to help.
"Mike you had to be, I know how hard it is to see your son like that, but he understands that you had to punish him and he will be okay." Sarah responds in a reassuring tone as she takes his hand into her own and gives him a warm smile.
"I know, but how didn't any of us pick up the fact he was falling apart?" Mike then says as he looks at both Sarah and his eldest son, who he had noticed was being very quiet.
"I thought he was just worried about Matt and didn't realise he needed help." Tobias then says and catches everyone by surprise, both Mike and Sarah had almost forgotten he was in the room with them and didn't expect him to say anything.
"That is what we all thought Honey, so don't blame yourself." Sarah says as she gives her son a reassuring look. "Mike the same goes for you, we have all neglected him and there is no point trying to make ourselves feel guilty, we just have to make sure we don't let it happen again." She then says as she squeezes his hand again.
"I feel bad though, he has been so good at looking after Matt and me and no one was looking after him." Tobias then says, although they all turn to Mitch when he suddenly sniffles and they realise that he was crying.
"Mitch?" Mike asks in a concerned tone as he gets up and walks over to his eldest son. "What's wrong?" He then asks after kneeling in front of him.
"I let him down." Mitch eventually manages to say after sniffling a few times.
"No you didn't, we all messed up and it's not your fault Mitch." Mike responds in a reassuring tone, but can see that his eldest son didn't believe him.
"It is my fault, all I have ever done is look after him and I have always kept a close eye on him, but recently I haven't been doing that and look what happened." Mitch responds in a slightly angry tone as he looks at his dad and he can tell that he had no response to what he had just said and took that as a sign that he was right.
"Mitch please don't do this to yourself, we all failed him in some way these past couple of weeks and we should all feel ashamed of ourselves, but the boys need us to be strong and if we fall to pieces, then what hope do they have?" Sarah suddenly says in a firm but caring tone, she had a bit more to say, but she was hoping that she didn't have to say it and that the young man would be able to pull himself together.
"They would be better..." Mitch then begins to respond before being cut off, but to his surprise and to both Sarah and Mike, it is Tobias who starts to speak.
"Mitch you're being stupid, you messed up this time, but he is okay now and he is okay because you taught him to be strong Mitch and if he sees you blaming yourself and getting angry, then he is going to think it's his fault, so stop blaming yourself and be proud of him for being able to get through this, even if he did do it the wrong way." Tobias states in a nervous tone after using his elastic band, he didn't say it exactly in the way he wanted to, but he could tell that they all seemed to get the point he was trying to make.
"I guess so, but..." Mitch begins to respond, but is quickly cut off again.
"No, no buts Mitch, he figured out a way to get himself better, well someone helped him, but he is better and Matt is helping him now, so we should just be happy that he is okay and do what Mum said a few minutes ago and just keep an eye on him from now on, instead of just looking out for Matt and me." Tobias states as he walks over to his big brother and holds his hand.
"How did you get to be so smart?" Mitch then says with a small smile, he couldn't believe how his brother had calmed him down and made him see what they should be focusing on.
"Because I learned from you Mitch, you're the best person I know and even if I still do stupid things, I try to be like you Mitch, you're my hero," Tobias responds from the heart, before feeling himself being pulled into his big brothers arms and cuddled tightly, he would always view Matt as his true hero, but his big brother was close to that now.
"I love you, you little weirdo." Mitch then says as he slowly releases the boy with a grin, he couldn't be more proud and even though he was still feeling guilty about neglecting his little brother, he knew that if he sulked and loathed in self pity, he wouldn't be helping anyone and decided to take his brothers words to heart and focus on being proud of his little brother for coming through what he did.
"Well done Honey, I'm so proud of you, but why don't you go and change, I don't want you eating in just your underwear." Sarah then says in a proud tone as he gives her son a quick cuddle.
"Okay, I love you Mum." Tobias responds with a shy smile, he was a little embarrassed by the compliments and also the fact that he had forgotten that he was still in his underwear and knew that they were a little small for him.
"Don't be too long though, your brothers should be coming back soon and I want you to be down here before then." Sarah then says with a loving smile as she watches him stop at the door and turn back around.
"I won't be long and I love you too Mitch and you as well Mike." Tobias responds with a big smile, before disappearing out of the room to his bedroom.
"He is an amazing boy." Mike then says with a smile, he just couldn't believe how resilient and strong each of the boys were and despite his youngest sons recent problems, he had seemingly come through that and he wondered if all children were that strong.
"They all are Mike." Sarah responds as she looks over to him, before turning back to Mitch. "Mitch are you okay now?" She then asks in a slightly concerned tone, he seemed happier, but he had also gone silent again and that worried her a little.
"He called me his hero." Mitch responds in a shocked tone, he hadn't quite taken his brothers words in at first, but he was now realising what he had said and couldn't be more proud.
"I think if you ask any of the boys, they would say the same thing about you Mitch." Mike then says as he looks at his eldest son proudly and although he may still be angry at him for giving the boys a bottle of wine and the fact that it wasn't the first time, he still trusted him and knew that he would never have given the boys the bottle if he didn't trust them.
"Both Carter and Wesley adore you as well Mitch and despite what has happened this week, I trust you with both my sons lives." Sarah then states in a sincere tone, although she had to be careful not to give away what she was referring to, just in case her son reappeared and knew that he wasn't as predictable as the other boys and didn't want to risk it right now.
"I well er... wow." Mitch then says, he was just lost for words and wasn't sure what to do or how to feel.
"Mitch why don't you go and set the table, I want us to all sit together as a family tonight instead of just sitting around in here watching the TV." Mike then instructs his eldest son, he could tell that he needed a few moments alone to compose himself and also couldn't resist getting him to set the table and save him the trouble of doing it himself.
"Okay Dad." Mitch responds as he gives them both a small smile, before getting up and walking out of the room towards the kitchen.
"I hope this is a turning point Mike." Sarah then says and Mike can't help but be surprised and concerned by how sad she sounded.
"Sarah?" Mike then asks and wonders what had changed her mood from happy to sad so quickly.
"I just need things to go right for a change Mike, I know what you will say but to see the boys all struggling in different ways is hard to watch and while we can support them and take them to see doctors, it's not the same as actually being able to help them ourselves and not being able to do that is hard." Sarah responds in the same sad tone, although she knew how stupid she was being, she just needed to get it off her chest and then compose herself for when the boys returned.
"I would say things will get better, but you know that already Sarah and we just have to remember that." Mike responds as he gives her a warm cuddle and a kiss on the lips, before letting go and looking at her affectionately.
"You're a good man Mike Walker." Sarah then says with an appreciative smile and found herself feeling those feelings of affection she had for the man returning, but she knew that it was too soon and was happy to leave it at this for now.
"And you're a wonderful lady Sarah Summers." Mike responds and despite wanting to kiss her again, he knows that it just isn't the right time and until Matt was back at school and settled down, whatever he and Sarah were feeling about each other would have to wait.
"Are you two having the sex together?" Tobias asks as both his mum and uncle jump a little and he can't help but be confused by their reaction and expressions.
"What?" Mike asks in an awkward tone he was just taken completely by surprise and could tell that Sarah was too shocked to respond.
"You like each other and you kissed, I saw you kiss." Tobias states as he looks at his mum and uncle curiously.
"We are good friends and your mum was just a little upset and I was just making sure she was okay Tobias." Mike states and as much as he tried to sound confident and casual, he knew by the boys expression that he wasn't quite successful in throwing him off.
"Tobias it's just what old people do when they are comforting a friend, now come and help me set the table and get the drinks ready." Mitch then says in a firm tone, although he couldn't help but give both his dad and Sarah a knowing look as his brother walks towards him, he had heard his brother running down the stairs and had only walked in the living room to see if he wanted to give him a hand and couldn't believe what he heard, but as funny as it was, he knew he needed to get him out of there.
"Old people are weird." Tobias then mutters as he gives his mum and uncle a final curious look before heading into the kitchen.
"Thank you Mitch." Sarah says in a relieved tone, although she can't help but feel a little guilty and embarrassed by what happened.
"If you two like each other than go for it, but if you aren't sure and you want to wait, then you need to be more careful otherwise you will just confuse the boys." Mitch then says as he gives his dad a grin and a shake of the head, before heading back to the kitchen.
"Well that wasn't embarrassing at all Mike." Sarah then says with a grin as she turns to him and again knew that they would have to be more careful until they were both ready to see where their feelings took their relationship.
"He was right though and until everything is settled down Sarah, we need to be more careful about getting carried away." Mike then says as he walks back to his chair and sits down.
"I know and let's just concentrate on the boys for now." Sarah responds before sitting down herself as they wait for their two sons to come back to the house.
"So you understand right?" Jim asks after getting his brother to hold the plug in his fist, while he inflated it and then how to remove the tube without it deflating.
"Yeah, it's pretty easy and we just have to use lots of lube and not inflate it too much." Wesley responds as he squeezes the plug and can't believe how firm it is, yet at the same time it was soft.
"Again for the millionth time though Wesley, I think you're both too young to be doing this by at least four years and I really think you should wait, but if you're both set on it happening, then just remember when using these to go first and how ever many pumps you are comfortable with, you need to at the very least let Carter only do half as many, even if he insist on being okay." Jim then states in a serious tone and uses his fingers to lift his brothers face by his chin, so that he can see that he was serious.
"I know, but we are both ready Jim and even without your help we would still try it." Wesley responds, although he couldn't help thinking about another problem he had and thought that while their parents were still not back, he could ask his brother for his help and advice.
"Just be careful Wesley and well just be fucking careful." Jim responds with a grin, although he was still torn over whether to stop them and wondered if he should have a talk with Mitch and see how he would feel about his little brother having sex and if he was just being over protective.
"I will, but Jim there is something else I need help with and well I might need to borrow some money." Wesley then asks in a nervous tone, he was disheartened when his boyfriend had revealed how the graphic novels he wanted would cost four hundred dollars and he barely had half of that and would never be able to get the rest before his boyfriend birthday next month by himself.
"How much do you need?" Jim responds in a curious tone, although he couldn't help but be a little concerned and wondered why his brother sounded so nervous.
"Well I need like two hundred dollars, well maybe two hundred and fifty dollars." Wesley responds, although if he wasn't so nervous and embarrassed, he would have actually just said what he wanted it for, but he wasn't quite thinking straight.
"Holy shit Wesley, what in the hell do you need that much for?" Jim can't help but ask in a shocked tone, maybe fifty dollars and he wouldn't have bothered asking, but what his brother was asking was ridiculous, especially since he knew that his brother had around two hundred dollars in savings himself, although he knew his brother had no idea that he knew where he kept his pocket money.
"It's for Carter's birthday present and well I didn't think they would cost so much, but he really wants them and it would make him so happy." Wesley answers in an excited tone, he couldn't help but picture the surprise look on his boyfriends face when he opened his present and saw them.
"You're going to have to actually tell me what you're planning to buy him Wesley." Jim then states after not getting the answer he wanted, although the goofy smile on his brothers face made him think it had to be something to do with sex.
"He wants The Walking Dead graphic novels and he told me that he was going to buy them as soon as he saved up enough money, but it would take him at least three or four months to do that and well I want to surprise him, but they cost four hundred dollars and I only have like two hundred." Wesley responds after realising that he was being too vague and decided to just tell his brother everything.
"Well there is no way I am letting you pay four hundred dollars for those..." Jim begins to say but is quickly cut off.
"Jim please, I will pay you back and you have to help me, I want to..." Wesley then begins to say, but is then cut off himself and looks at his brother in confusion.
"Shut up you idiot, what I was going to say before you interrupted me you little shit, is that I know a guy who deals in graphic novels and he owes me a favour or two and I reckon he could get you the ones you want for half of what you were going to pay and they will be in mint condition, you just need to give me a couple of days and I will let you know when you come home Monday after school." Jim states in a serious but friendly tone and could tell instantly that he had made his brothers day.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you, I love you so much Jim." Wesley then says in an excited and ecstatic tone as he gets practically jumps on top of his brother and cuddles him.
"Whoa shit Wesley, just calm down you weirdo." Jim manages to say in a bemused tone, although at the same time he was actually surprised by his brothers strength and while he knew he was in good shape, he had definitely underestimated just how good a shape he was in.
"Sorry, but you're the best Jim and just thank you so much." Wesley then says as he lets go of his brother and gives him a sheepish look.
"Any time, now go hide these up and then go get yourself a shower before Mum or Dad get home." Jim responds while picking up the box with the plugs in and handing them to his brother.
"Okay." Wesley responds with a big smile and just couldn't be happier with how things had turned out, as he takes the box and heads towards his bedroom.
"Ben I want you to be up and ready before I head out for work tomorrow, so be in the house before seven and I will go through what I want you to do during the day." Mike says as they all sit at the table, they had enjoyed their meal and had just chatted casually to one another, but he wanted to make sure his youngest son knew what was expected of him in the morning before it got too late and he forgot to talk to him about it.
"Okay Dad." Ben responds with a smile, before thinking about something. "Dad what should I wear?" He asks as he thinks about what he will be doing and where, he didn't want to be too hot, but at the same time he didn't want to get scratched to bits if his dad wanted him to cut the bushes or something like that.
"It will be too early to cut the grass so just wear some jogging bottoms and a long sleeve top and you can clean the bathrooms first." Mike responds with a proud look, he wasn't sure how his youngest son would really feel about doing chores all day, but he appeared to be taking it seriously and was impressed.
"Am I allowed to help him?" Tobias then asks, he wasn't too keen on doing chores, but he wanted to help if he was allowed.
"Tobias if you want to clean your room then you can, but Ben is grounded and unless he actually needs help to lift something or hold something for him, then you need to let him do it on his own." Mike answers as he gives the young boy a warm smile and can't help but think how sweet it was of him to want to help.
"Okay." Tobias responds before giving his brother a sympathetic look.
"Any more questions Ben?" Mike then asks as he gives his youngest son a warm smile, he thought it was best to get any questions he had out of the way now and not in the morning before he had to leave for work.
"Well I know I'm grounded and it's meant to be hard because it's a punishment, but you aren't going to like give me too much to do are you? I mean I don't mean er... well it's er..." Ben begins to asks before his mind goes completely blank and for the life of him, he can't quite explain what he wanted to ask and just trails off.
"He means does he have to do everything in one go, you know like clean the whole house and the garden in one day or will he be doing it over the two weeks?" Matt then asks, his boyfriend had talked to him before they had returned to the house and he knew he was worried that if they gave him too much to do tomorrow, he would fail and let everyone down and he hoped that his boyfriends dad would be reasonable.
"That's actually a very good question and you will be given different chores each day Ben, so tomorrow you will clean the bathrooms, make everyone's bed and change the sheets if they need to be, you will then cut the grass in the back garden and then with the help of Erica and Tobias you can get your waterbed dismantled." Mike responds quickly, he had actually discussed this with both Sarah and his eldest son and they had agreed that while it was a lot to do each day it was fair, although they also knew that he was only twelve and if he honestly couldn't do it, then he would reconsider it.
"That sounds like a lot." Tobias then says, he knew the house was big and the back garden, despite the pool and patio, was still big and would take a while to do.
"It's not that bad Tobias, but thanks for trying to help me." Ben quickly says in an appreciative tone, although as he thinks about it, he thinks of a potential issue. "Dad am I allowed to use a petrol lawnmower?" He then asks, he had used an electric one plenty of times and even had some fun using a manual one a few years ago, but he knew that his dad had brought a new petrol one and he wasn't sure if it was safe for him to use it.
"Of course you can use it Ben, I wouldn't buy the thing if it wasn't going to be used." Mike replies with a grin, although he doesn't quite realise that he had misunderstood what his youngest son was actually asking.
"No Dad, I mean am I actually allowed to use a petrol lawnmower, I mean aren't they dangerous and I have never used one before." Ben quickly explains after realising his dad didn't understand his question.
"Oh right well, I don't think it is illegal and you're a strong boy." Mike answers unconvincingly and Mitch can't help but shake his head a little.
"Ben I will show you how to start it up and I will make sure that it is full so that you don't have to even think about filling it up yourself, sometime before I have to leave and take Matt to his appointment." Mitch then says before thinking of something else. "But just to be extra careful I want you to tell Erica when you're going to start cutting the grass and she can keep an eye on you to make sure you're safe." He then adds with a reassuring smile.
"Okay cool, but er... am I allowed in your room Sarah, I mean you're a girl and well er... is it okay for me to go in there?" Ben then asks after giving his brother an appreciative smile for answering his question.
"Well firstly thank you for asking Ben, that is very sweet of you, but all you will need to do is change my sheets and make my bed, everything else will be tidied up Sweetie." Sarah responds with a genuine smile, she couldn't believe how adorable he was for asking for her permission to enter her room.
"Okay." Ben responds shyly, he felt a little embarrassed of the attention and couldn't stop himself blushing, when he sees how his boyfriends mum is looking at him.
"He is allowed a break though right and can sit and eat with us?" Matt then asks, he hadn't thought about that and he definitely wanted to be able to sit and talk with his boyfriend at some point during the day.
"I have no problems with that Matt, but apart from breakfast you will be out for most of the day, but if you're back in the afternoon it will be fine if you spend a bit of time together, as long as he does all his chores and it's just a talk with something to eat or drink, then it is fine." Mike answers and while he didn't mind his youngest son having breaks, he didn't want him to think he could take it easy all day.
"Cool and he still gets to sleep with me at night right?" Matt then asks, although as soon as the words leave his mouth and he hears his boyfriend cough, he realises what he just said and turns bright red. "Oh god er... shit I er... I mean sleep, just sleep like er... shit." He then states in a panic and just trails off and holds his head in his hands.
"Well firstly, don't swear Matthew or you will be grounded as well and secondly we all understood what you meant the first time, although maybe you should think before you speak sometimes Matthew." Sarah states in a firm but fair tone, she didn't like him swearing and wasn't afraid to let him know that.
"Uh oh Matt, you in trouble." Tobias teases after hearing their mum use his brothers full name and remembered that she only did that when he was in trouble and couldn't help finding it amusing.
"Well unless you want me to tell Ben and Mitch what your real middle name is Tobias, I wouldn't be too quick to tease your brother." Sarah states in a serious tone, although she can't quite hide her grin, after he turns to her with his eyes wide open.
"No way Mum, don't you dare do that to him." Matt then states in a serious and slightly angry tone, he knew how much his brother hated his middle name and couldn't believe his mum would threaten to tell the others, even if it was just a joke, it was not a funny one.
"It can't be that bad." Ben then says, sure he had heard some embarrassing middle names, but nothing that bad and especially enough to make his boyfriend react like this.
"Put it this way Ben, I love you more than anything, but there is nothing you could do or say that would make me tell you unless Tobias wanted you to know and even then he would have to tell you." Matt responds in a serious tone with a look to go with it, before turning to his mum again. "I wouldn't forgive you if you told anyone Bitch!" He then states in a cold tone as he gets to his feet and picks up a knife as he faces his mum.
"Oh shit." Mitch says as he gets up, but to his relief and slight concern he sees that Tobias was already around the table and cuddling the young boy, while everyone else just looked on in shock.
"It's okay Matt, you can put the knife down now." Ben the says in a soothing and gentle tone as he walks in front of his boyfriend and holds the hand with the knife in it by the wrist and can see that his boyfriends knuckles were white from how hard he was gripping it.
"What knife?" Matt asks in a confused tone as he feels his brother letting him go and as he looks down he can see that his boyfriend was holding his wrist tightly and that he was actually holding a knife and didn't understand what was happening.
"It's okay, you're okay now and I got you." Ben then says as he gives Tobias an appreciative look, before turning his full attention back to his boyfriend. "Just let go of the knife Matt." He then says as he uses his other hand to hold his boyfriends fist, just so that he had full control over it and could see his brother was staring at them nervously.
"Oh no, Mum I didn't mean too, I wasn't going to do anything." Matt then says in a desperate tone as he lets go of the knife and stares at his mum as he remembers what happened and couldn't believe it.
"Sshh, it's okay Sweetheart and you were just a little angry and it doesn't matter I promise." Sarah responds as she gets up and walks over to him, before pulling him into a loving cuddle, while at the same time giving Mike a worried look.
"Mitch why don't you and Tobias start tidying up, while we head into the living room." Mike then states as he gives his eldest son a quick glance, before taking a hold of his youngest sons hand and gently pulls him out of the kitchen and into the living room, with Sarah doing the same with Matt.
"I'm sorry." Matt says as soon as he feels himself being gently pushed back on to the sofa into a sitting position.
"I know you're Sweetheart, but just so that we know, do you remember what happened?" Sarah asks in a concerned tone, she was hoping he did and that they could avoid taking him to the hospital.
"Yeah and I really am sorry, I just got so angry and I didn't even realise I picked the knife up." Matt responds with his head down and even though he felt his boyfriend pulling him into his side, he didn't feel any better.
"The main thing is you remember what happened Matt, the fact you picked up the knife isn't that important and no one got hurt." Mike then says and this time Matt does look up, as he is surprised by his boyfriends dads words.
"How can it not be important?" Matt asks in a confused and surprised tone, he would have thought it would be the most important thing.
"Because when people get upset or angry, they tend to grab the nearest thing in their reach and you could have picked up a handful of rice if there was any left on your plate Matt, it was just a normal reflex, so try not to worry about it." Mike explains and although he was bending the truth a lot and hiding the fact that picking up the knife had scared everyone, it wasn't a complete lie.
"Yeah right, you're just trying to make me feel better." Matt responds in a dismissive tone, he did appreciate him making the effort, but he knew he just had another freak out.
"Actually it's true Matt." Ben then says as he pushes his boyfriend away slightly, so that they could look at each other.
"Huh?" Matt asks in a curious tone, he knew his boyfriend wouldn't lie to him or patronize him and wanted to hear him out.
"I remember this one time when I think I was five and I was sitting at the table with my mum eating my spaghetti and she was kind of being a little weird, but I didn't really understand much back then, well you know being five and all." Ben starts to explain before smiling, although he doesn't notice the shocked expression on his dads face. "Then Dad came home and he said hi and everything, but then Mum gave him this really mad look and I watched as Dad looked like he was like caught in headlights or something, I mean back then I had no idea really, but looking back I know now." He then says before pausing after looking over at his dad and seeing him just staring at him.
"What happened?" Matt then asks as he watches his boyfriend look at his dad, who was giving him a weird look and wanted to get back to the story his boyfriend was telling, not only because he wanted to know what his point was, but also because this was the first time he had ever heard him talking about his mum like this and not breaking down.
"Oh right yeah, well again at the time I had no idea what was happening, I just knew Mum was angry and they were arguing or fighting, I really don't know what about, but I just tried to eat my spaghetti and ignore it, but a hand suddenly went in my plate and the next thing I see as I look up is Dads face covered in my spaghetti and I remember feeling so annoyed because that was my spaghetti, but then they just both started laughing and despite being angry over my lost spaghetti, I couldn't help myself and I was laughing too." Ben then says as he grins and he couldn't help remembering how funny that moment was, even though at the time he had no real comprehension of what had happened.
"Oh wow, so she was so angry, she picked a handful of spaghetti from your plate and threw it at him?" Matt then asks as he gives his boyfriends dad a quick glance and can just imagine him covered in it and grins.
"Yeah, I mean I knows it's not exactly the same as what just happened, but I just wanted you to know my dad wasn't lying and that when people are really mad, they can just randomly pick something up and well that is all that happened, well except you being a complete dumb ass and picked up a knife like a complete er... well dumb ass." Ben responds with a big grin, although he is still unaware of what he had just done and doesn't notice his dad wiping his eyes.
"I love you." Matt then says with a sweet smile, he doesn't know how his boyfriend does it, but he always knows just what to say to make him smile and quickly leans forward and gives him a couple of pecks on the lips.
"I love you too." Ben responds and returns the favour by giving his boyfriend a few pecks on the lips as well.
"So what were you arguing about Mike?" Matt then decides to ask as he turns to his boyfriends dad, but could see that he was a little distracted.
"Oh er... well, there might have been a small chance I forgot our anniversary that year, for the second year running and..." Mike begins to answer before trailing off for a few moments as he tries to hide his feelings about what his youngest son had just done, he was just so proud of him. "I can't believe you remember that Ben." He then says with a proud smile.
"She was beautiful." Ben then says before sniffling, he had just realised what he was talking about and despite wanting to stay strong, he knew he was fighting a losing battle as a few tears roll down his face.
"Yes she was Ben." Mike then says and although he wanted to say more, the sight of his youngest son with tears rolling down his face stops him and can only look on sadly as he begins to cry.
"Is it okay if we go to the pool house for the rest of the day?" Matt asks as he looks to both his mum and Mike as he pulls his boyfriend into his arms and softly strokes his arm.
"Go ahead Sweetheart." Sarah then says, she had been quiet as the others interacted and decided to speak up when she sees that Mike is distracted by his own thoughts and the sight of Ben crying.
"Can Tobias come with us and spend the night as well?" Matt then asks, he knew that after the day his boyfriend has had, he needed to be comforted and wanted his brother to be there as well to make sure that his boyfriend wasn't alone at any point.
"He would really like that Sweetheart, you can go and ask him now if you want and then head straight to the pool house." Sarah responds with a smile as she moves over to Mike and places a hand on his shoulder.
"Yes it has been a long day for everyone and you should go and relax and be with each other boys." Mike then says as the feeling of Sarah's hand on his shoulder snaps him out of his thoughts and back on the boys.
"Thank you Mum and we love you both." Matt responds with a small smile as he helps his boyfriend to his feet and begins to limp towards to the kitchen to find their brother.
"See you in the morning boys." Sarah responds with a warm smile as they disappear out of the room.
"I wish I didn't have to ground him Sarah." Mike then says as he looks towards her with a sad look and although he was happy and proud of his youngest son, he just felt bad for having to punish him.
"Mike, he understands why he is being punished and as much as they have all been through, it doesn't give them a free pass to do anything they want." Sarah responds in a comforting tone, she could tell what he was really talking about, but she wasn't confident enough about whether he wanted to talk about his wife and decided not to try and force it.
"I know, Mitch always said I was too soft on them, it was just easier to let Mitch deal with that sort of thing, while I went to work and..." Mike then starts to say before trailing off.
"Dad you're too hard on yourself and while you did leave a lot to me, you also did your fair share of grounding the both of us as well." Mitch then says, he had decided to come back here after the boys had gone to the pool house and had just caught the last thing his dad was saying.
"I guess so Mitch, but why don't we just watch a movie and relax, it has been a long day and we could all do with taking our minds of it." Mike then suggests as he looks at his eldest son and smiled as he sat down on the sofa.
"Sounds good to me, but as Tobias is sleeping with the love birds tonight, I thought I would take Erica out somewhere in a couple of hours, you don't mind do you Dad?" Mitch responds as he makes himself a little more comfortable on the sofa as he pulls his phone out to text his girlfriend.
"That's fine Mitch, you should spend more time with her and give yourself a break from the boys more often." Mike responds with a smile and despite still feeling a little sad after thinking about his wife, he couldn't help but find his eldest sons relationship sweet and was happy for him.
"I will text her now, but we have time for one film together Dad." Mitch responds as he texts at the same time.
"Well ladies choice boys and I feel like a nice romantic and sweet film." Sarah states and can't help but smile when both of them turn to her with a worried look on their face. "So how does The Terminator sound?" She then asks with a grin.
"I can see where Matt gets his sense of humour." Mitch responds with a chuckle as he turns his attention back to his phone with a shake of the head.
"Sounds good to me Sarah." Mike then says as he reaches for the remote and turns the TV on.
"You can't though." Carter says as he looks at both his parents in shock, he just couldn't believe this was happening and instinctively reached out for his boyfriends hand, but realises that he wasn't with him and just felt so alone.
"Carter it's for your own good and you will thank us for it when you calm down." Michelle says as she tries to reach out and hold her sons hand, but draws back when he pulls away and just looks at her with tears in his eyes.
"Your mother is right Carter and we are doing this for your own good." Ian then says as he gives his son a smile, but he can see straight away that they had underestimated how he would react to their decision.
"But I just found him, you can't take me away from him, not now, please don't take me away from him." Carter quickly pleads with his parents, he was just in shock and couldn't believe they were going to do this to him.
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