Oliver Thorton

Johanna was standing on the landing. Her bags were packed and in her father’s trailer. She had been crying - a lot. She was hugging Sam tight to her, she had refused to let him out of her arms all day. Oliver had begun to realize how hard this must have been for her after they had begun speaking to each other again. She loved her son more than anything else in the world and she would have to let him go because she had been stupid and ungrateful.

Finally, after her father reminded her that they had a long way to go, she placed Sam in Oliver’s arms and pulled him in for one last hug along with James.

“I promise I’ll come visit and I want every little detail about him, please.” She began to tear up again. Oliver nodded and promised. “I won’t miss a single holiday or birthday...” She took a deep breath before wiping her eyes dry and turning.

It was time for Johanna to go. Oliver hadn’t attempted to convince her into staying, he knew that it
would do neither of them any good. This was something that Johanna had to do. For herself.
Oliver watched until the vehicle had rounded the corner and was no longer in sight. James sighed from beside him and took Sam out of his hands.

“Don’t worry, mate, we’ll be fine.” He turned to place sloppy kisses on Sam’s cheek. “Won’t we, Sammy?”

But Oliver honestly wasn’t so sure that they would be fine. He had realized the importance of Johanna. Not only was she the mother of his child, but she was the one who mostly watched him when Oliver was at work. Who was going to do that now? James? No, James was in a relationship now and although he didn’t go out with her very often, there were still days where he wasn’t around.

Oliver didn’t want to tie James down with a child who wasn’t even his own. And now there was no way that he would be able to afford a watcher. Oliver wasn’t sure what he was going to do.
He didn’t want to word this to James though because he knew what the older man would say.

‘Don’t worry about it! We’ll be fine, when you’re at work, I’ll just make sure that I don’t have any plans.’ or something like ‘Just quit your job, I’ll pay the house off’.

James was always so full of answers.



Benjamin was freaking out. He had conspired with Charlotte about the best date idea and now that it had come to that time, he realized that he hadn’t asked her what he should wear. And she was at work!

Benjamin found it pathetic. He needed more friends.

He had pulled out his nicest khaki pants, but tossed them to the side. It was too cold for khakis and the occasion didn’t call for it. So he pulled out his nicest denim. It was tight in all the right places and made his bum look nice - says Helena. He had pulled out about thirty different shirts from button downs to polos to muscle shirts. All could be found littered all around his bedroom. Marvin almost seemed too afraid to make an appearance any more after getting a shoe accidentally thrown at him the last time he had attempted to make an entrance.

“Calm down, Benji.” He told himself, shirtless in front of the mirror. “You have to go pick him up in twenty minutes. Just pick a shirt and go with it, you’ll look fine. Plus it’s cold, you’ll be wearing a jacket anyway...yeah...right...damn it.”

The pep talk hadn’t worked. Benjamin was back to going through everything that was on his floor again to see if he missed anything nice. He almost burst into tears when he found nothing.
Moving back into his closet - Benjamin promised himself that he would work on emptying out his closet - ‘a man should not own so much clothing’ - and dug a path to the back where his nicer articles of clothing lay untouched. Benjamin didn’t go out much and spent most of his days at work, therefore he never had a reason to dress for occasions. He let out a victory cry when he came across a very nice, rich blue v-neck.

It was like a lot of the other v-necks that lay forgotten on the floor of his bedroom, but he had liked this colour a lot, plus it made his eyes look amazing - says Helena.

Pulling the shirt over his muscled chest, Benjamin smiled at himself in the mirror. He then looked up and realized that in all of his clothing confusion he had forgotten to do his hair.

His victory cry was replaced by a cry of horror as he ran into the washroom, seeing that he only had 10 minutes until he had to leave. It didn’t take long for Benjamin to fluff his auburn locks. He applied only a bit of gel in order to give it some volume but left it be. Slipping on his Sperrys, Benjamin rushed to grab his coat, phone and wallet before making his way to his vehicle...where he realized that he forgot his keys. Marvin was playing with them in the kitchen.
Oliver had been having similar issues at home. He didn’t like the way that the shirt that Johanna had picked out looked on him that day, so he had to destroy his room in search of a new one. Sam had just giggled his curly little head off on Uncle James’s lap.

“Can you just hurry up and pick something? He’ll be here any minute.” James chuckled, blowing raspberries in Sam’s belly and picking him up by his feet. James had been so excited that Oliver finally got a date with Benjamin that he had jumped on sitter duty immediately. He didn’t mind missing a night out for this monumental moment.

Oliver groaned and started picking clothing off of the ground and throwing them on the bed. He hated that he didn’t own anything nice to wear. Finally - with two minutes to spare - Oliver pulled on a plaid button up - the one that Johanna had originally picked out - and ran into the washroom to inspect that his hair was still in place. Thankfully it was and as soon as he placed a kiss onto Sam’s pink cheek, the doorbell rang. And the panic attack ensued.

James just rolled his eyes and dragged him down the stairs. Sam squealed when he saw Benjamin on the other side of the door. The baby boy hadn’t been very happy as of late seeing as it had been two days since he’s seen his mother and he didn’t understand why she wasn’t coming back home.

“You look absolutely stunning today, not that you don’t every day, just...more today...or more effort today...but you put in effort every day, but...I’m just going to shut up now.”

James let out a snort at Benjamin’s failure, yelled - very loudly - that the two should use protection and laughed all the way up the stairs.

Oliver’s cheeks never felt so hot. He made a mental note to kick James very hard in the shin when he got back.
They almost made their way to the car before Benjamin remembered something very important.

“Oh, you should probably get a pair of Pyjamas...for later...not insinuating anything naughty...unless you want me to.” He smirked at the bright blush on Oliver’s cheeks. He hoped it was because of him and not the cold.

Oliver rolled his eyes and ran back into the house. He ran into James’s bedroom because James had nice fluffy pyjamas - because he’s such a man - while Oliver usually slept in boxers and ratty t-shirts.
James was on Skype with Thomas, making funny faces at Sam who was giggling away and attempting to touch the screen.

“Hey little brother, I thought you were going out on your date.” Thomas waved at the sight of Oliver riffling through James’s drawers. He came out with a pair of baby blue pyjama bottoms with little reindeer on them - he stopped being embarrassed for the man - and he would get a tight fitting shirt from his bedroom. “Are those pyjamas? Are you spending the night? Make sure he uses a condom!”

Oliver growled at him before stalking out of the room and into his own to grab his grey v-neck and running back outdoors. The cold hit him like a wall and it took a moment for him to catch his breath.
Benjamin chuckled at the sight of the cloth in Oliver’s hands.

“Baby reindeer? Really?” He smirked and raised an eyebrow as the boy buckled his seatbelt.

“Yes, really! Reindeer are awesome, plus they’re James’s so it’s more embarrassing for him, really.”

Benjamin chuckled and put the car in drive, leaving the cul-de-sac.

“Are you going to tell me what we’re doing today?” Oliver asked, playing with his fingers. He all of a sudden became very nervous. It was as though the realization that he was going out on a date with the man he’d been pining over for close to a year had just hit him. Oliver didn’t know what to do with his hands or what he should say or how he should act. It had been so long since he had been on a date and Carter hadn’t ever been the most romantic person. If Oliver could remember correctly, they had stayed at Carter’s and watched television for their first ever date so many years ago. Oliver had told himself that it had been lovely back then, but he had simply been settling for what he thought he deserved.

“Nope, it’s a surprise. Okay, well, we’re going out to dinner first and then afterwards it’s a surprise.”
Oliver giggled.

“Well, where are we going for dinner? The Maiden Fog? I hear it’s going to be a three star restaurant soon. I mean, how could it not be with that fantastic chef of theirs?” Oliver didn’t know where he got the courage, but he was glad he said it. If the slight tint on Benjamin’s cheek and his smile was any reward.

“No, we are not going to Maiden Fog. Are you kidding, that place has been booked for months, there’s no way in, no matter who you are.”
Another giggle from Oliver. He was glad that Benjamin was playing along, it made him feel less like he was doing everything wrong.

They ended up 20 minutes away at another restaurant that was two star and expensive. They weren’t booked solid for months though.

“They haven’t had their Michelin review yet, so they really don’t have any stars in my eyes, but the food is absolutely fantastic.” Benjamin informed Oliver as they were led to a table in the back. “I had actually spent a day with the head chef and exchanged recipes and advice with him. It was a good day, I think their first Michelin review should be coming soon.”

The restaurant was very beautiful. There weren’t many tables and they were spread apart to give an air of privacy. There were candles and flowers all over the location with very dim lights. It was very romantic. Oliver choked up again...he was on a date with Benjamin.
Oliver ordered a delicious sounding fettuccine dish with lobster, shrimp and crab. He was pleasantly surprised to see that the prices weren’t that ridiculous; it was still too much for him to ever be able to go out and splurge on for no reason, but for a date or special occasion it wasn't too bad.

“What did you get?” Oliver inquired as he watched Benjamin practically salivate at the thought of his meal.

“Mozzarella penne with seafood scampi. Every time without fail. The chef here makes it better than I ever could.”

“I highly doubt that’s true.” Oliver rolled his eyes. “I wish I could cook anything more than spaghetti. I don’t what we’re gonna do for food now that Johanna’s gone. James had already gone the past two nights on take away.”

Benjamin cringed. As a professional chef, he had a loathing for take away. Nothing was ever cooked properly and he doubted anything was washed either. He never told this to anyone because he didn’t want to be called ‘stuck-up’, but for some things he just was.

“You guys can always enroll in cooking classes you know.” Benjamin laughed. “What are you supposed to feed Sam when he’s old enough?”

“Why would we enroll in cooking classes when we have access to a professional 3 star chef?” Oliver wriggled his eyebrows causing Benjamin to let out a hearty laugh. He felt good, being able to make someone laugh.

The couple talked and laughed and laughed some more. Oliver’s biggest fear had been dispelled. He had worried that he and Benjamin would have nothing to talk about. That they would be too different to find anything worth conversing about.

Of course they had been friends therefore they already knew each other and talked an awful lot already, but he had assumed that perhaps something would change now that they were out on a date. Thankfully Benjamin had treated this like any other day. He still called Oliver pet names and found sexual innuendo in just about everything, but Oliver was glad that it was this way. He was glad that nothing was changing.

The two finished their meal and Benjamin paid. Oliver had put up a fight, but Benjamin was taller, so he simply held the credit machine above his head and entered his pin.
Giddy and full, Oliver nearly skipped to Benjamin’s vehicle and waited patiently for the older man to follow.

“Is someone a bit excited?” Benjamin chuckled, pulling out of the car park.
Oliver blushed and let out an extremely girly giggle. He had been setting those free all night and he wished for them to stop.

“I just want to know what we’re doing next. The night is young, I don’t have a curfew; the sky’s the limit, really.”

Benjamin chuckled and continued the drive. Oliver wanted to say that he wasn’t very surprised to end up back at Benjamin’s, but he was almost disappointed. He didn’t want to have the relationship that he had with Carter. Of course Carter and Benjamin were like night and day, but he didn’t want to be disappointed anymore.

“Don’t look so disappointed, I worked hard on this so you better enjoy it or I’ll cry.”
Oliver had been stumped until he opened the front door and walked into the living area. An almost relieved laugh escaped his mouth as he looked around him. Of course Benjamin would do something like this.

“I built a fort!”
Benjamin had built a fort with all of the pillows in his home and most of the blankets. He had fought to get the extra mattress from his family home into his vehicle and he had set it on the ground in front of the telly with every duvet he owned and two of his sister’s. He had covered the television with the blankets so that they were completely enclosed, even Marvin was too afraid to go in because he had no idea what it was. He was very happy to see the bright, happy smile on Oliver’s face.

Benjamin had, of course, been worried that Oliver would not like it, that he would think it was too childish. And with the look of disappointment on his face when they had first pulled into the car park, Benjamin had half a mind to turn them right around and make something else up on the spot. But Charlotte had given him her word that anyone would love to have a fort date, so he went with it and he was so glad that he did.

“You built a fort.” Oliver laughed. “I haven’t been in one of these since...since Tom and I were children!”
Benjamin let out a sigh of relief and grinned widely.

“Charlotte told me everyone loves forts. I’ve got every single Disney film loaded on Netflix and I have enough popcorn to end world hunger and I got one of those bunsen light things so we can make s’mores and stuff and I have red vines and juice pouches!”

Oliver had never seen Benjamin so excited for anything, not even that third star for the restaurant. Benjamin had never seen Benjamin so excited. It was always work and more work, he couldn’t remember the last time that he just let loose and have fun. Especially not with his previous relationships, they had been serious, like him, because he had thought that it was what he wanted. How wrong he was.

Oliver giggled and bounced to the washroom to change into his pyjamas; he too had never been so excited. When he made his way back, Benjamin was already in the fort searching for a film in his bright pink pyjama bottoms covered in hearts and a neon green shirt. It almost hurt Oliver’s eyes.

“You made fun of me for my pyjama bottoms and you have the nerve to put those on?” Oliver giggled, hugging a pillow to himself. “Harry Potter!” He squealed.

“Hey, these were a Valentine’s gift from my little sister, Theodora, because she said that I needed a legitimate reason to be lonely and these pants were it! Don’t be jelly, you know you want them.” Benjamin snapped his fingers in a z formation and pouted his lips. “Which one? I have them all.”

If Oliver wasn’t in love already, he swears that by the end of that night he was. They had a popcorn fight, - which they immediately had to clean up because it left crumbs on the bed and it was uncomfortable to lay on - they had reenacted ‘The Lion King’ with Marvin, - which had been after Harry Potter; Benjamin had a nice nick on his arm from when Marvin had freaked out and attempted to run away - they made s’mores over the bunsen burner and almost set the blankets on fire and then whacked each other with red vines until two o’clock in the morning, when they both proceeded to pass out with ‘Tangled’ still playing in the background.