Oliver Thorton

“Happy birthday dear Sammy, happy birthday to you!” The crowd sang around the toddler happily munching away on chocolate cake in his high chair.

Sam had absolutely no idea what on earth was happening, but he was happy. His mother had come home for two weeks and she never left his side, he had gotten loads of new clothes and toys, he was allowed to eat sweets and people were singing to him. What could be better for a one year old?

Oliver giggled and placed a wet kiss on his son’s cheek, a tear sliding down his cheek. It seemed like it was only yesterday that Johanna had gone into labor and delivered the beautiful baby boy and now here he was, a whole year later with that same little boy in his arms, a whole year older. Oliver didn’t know what to do with himself.

Johanna had taken the train down with her excess amount of luggage two weeks before Sam’s first birthday and insisted that everything had to be absolutely perfect. It was a bit difficult for her to maneuver around with her six and a half month bump, but somehow Johanna charged through it with a grin on her face. Her relationship with Oliver was still not as carefree and easy as it once had been - as she had expected - but they were working on it.

”How’s the whole school thing going with the baby and all?” Oliver had asked her one evening in an attempt to clear the awkward air.

”Oh it’s really good. I’m taking a few upgrading classes online and then I’ll go into the medical office assistant course and see how it goes. It’s not much, but I think it’ll be good for me to be able to support myself in the future.”

They had talked about this and that for about an hour before Oliver excused himself because they were running dry on conversation topics again. It hadn’t been nearly this hard for James to get right back into the swing of things with her. He was wonderful that way...in the way that he could make friends with just about everyone, no matter who they were or what they’ve done. It was what Thomas loved about him.

Yes, those two have said the “l” word. Oliver was more surprised than anyone. Benjamin had mocked them and laughed until Thomas had run out of the room with the brightest flush, curse words spewing from his mouth as he went to dunk his head into a bucket of cold water. Oliver still found it hard to believe that the two had been together for almost a full year. He wished they hadn’t been keeping their relationship a secret for the first six months of it, but he couldn’t be happier for them. He was glad that the had given James the chance. Oliver had never seen his brother happier.

He and Benjamin have yet to say that word themselves, though Oliver’s pretty sure he fell in love with Benjamin a long time ago. They have only been together for nearly six months, he felt that it was much too soon.

But he could no longer deny it to himself. Benjamin was everything he thought he would never deserve. The man was kind, smart, funny and he absolutely adored Sam. Every date they had been on was one to remember. The amusement park, rollerblading, a camp out in Oliver’s backyard to name a few of the wonderful times the two have had together. Oliver couldn’t remember a time when he had so much fun. Not to mention that Benjamin was a fantastic chef. The older man had once attempted to teach Oliver how to make a three star meal and almost burnt down the kitchen. There were still scorch marks on the ceiling. The two still laugh about it whenever they see it.
It was all Oliver seemed to be doing these days. Laughing.

“Hello baby brother.” Thomas giggled and plopped himself on a lawn chair beside his twin. Sam was being suffocated by Helena and Edward in the middle of a small crowd in the yard. He had learned to take his first steps a few days prior and was now showing off to all of the women who were practically fainting over him. “What are you doing sitting here all by yourself? Where’s lover boy?”

Benjamin was chasing after a couple of his young cousins with his little brother thrown over his shoulder. It was an adorable sight.

“I can sit and think to myself, that’s not illegal yet, is it?” Oliver chuckled. “And where’s your lover boy?” Oliver still found it a bit odd to think that both him and his brother were into men - something that their parents had not accepted when they had gone to pick up Thomas’s things - but he was glad that they had that in common for whenever he needed someone to talk to.

“I don’t know. Off doing something or another, I wanted to come spend some time with you.” He grinned cheekily. “So...how are you and Ben?” Thomas acted like a teenage girl most times.

“We’re fine, thank you for asking. And how are you and James?”
Thomas shook his head.

“No, you don’t get to ask the questions, I do.” Oliver rolled his eyes, but allowed his brother to continue. “So I heard from the grapevine, a.k.a. Charlotte, that you and Ben have yet to...you know...do the dirty.”

Oliver’s face flushed a brilliant shade of red. He began to choke on his own spit and found it hard to catch his breath. What kind of question was that to ask your brother? Your twin brother? Oliver didn’t know, but he refused to open his mouth to answer.

Thomas gasped.

“Oh my god, it’s true?” He hissed. “It’s been six months! How have you two not...why?” Thomas was fighting a fit of giggles. He and James had passed that stage of their relationship within the first two weeks. It struck him as odd that Oliver - who was the one who had been with another man before - had not yet done anything with Benjamin.
Oliver’s face remained the same strained color of ruby.

“Because it’s not important, that’s why! And it’s also none of your business.” He hissed back to his brother. “There are more important things to a relationship than sex and...we don’t want our relationship to simply be a physical one.”

The giggles spilled out of Thomas’s mouth as he stared at his twin. It was so easy to tell what his brother was thinking. Oliver hated that this was true. It was a twin thing.

“You want to!” He practically screamed out. Oliver quickly raised himself from his seat and clamped a hand over Thomas’s mouth. Benjamin had paused his game with the young ones and was giving him a quizzical look. Oliver simply shook his head and turned his attention back to Thomas, who was licking his palm.
More giggles spilled out of his mouth when Oliver released him.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to be so loud, but oh my god, you so want to have sex with him.”
As if Oliver couldn’t get any more luminescent. And to make matters worse, they had gained the attention of both James and Charlotte. Of course Thomas had to open his mouth and explain the entire situation to both of them. Charlotte had already been aware that Oliver and her brother had yet to become physical - she had given Ben the same amount of flack as Thomas was giving to Oliver - but James had been in the dark about all of this. He braced his hands on his knees and let out the loudest bouts of laughter. If no one was paying attention to them before, all eyes were on them now.

And who came over at the sounds? None other than Benjamin, of course.

Oliver wanted to take a shovel and start digging himself a new home in the ground because he would never be able to look at Benjamin in the eyes after this.

“What’s so funny over here?” The man asked, staring at Oliver’s flushed face. James took a deep breath, looked at Benjamin and let out another set of raucous laughter.
Charlotte sighed and grabbed Ben’s forearm.

“Big brother, I think it’s time you and I had a talk.” She led him away from the group, towards the house. Oliver wanted the ground to swallow him whole. How was he supposed to talk to Benjamin after suffering this much humiliation?

“James, shut up!” Thomas hit his boyfriend in the arm with his own chuckle. “Look, it’ll be okay, you just have to take the initiative and -”

“I’m going to stop you right there!” Oliver howled. “There will be no initiative taking! Ben and I aren’t ready to move to that stage of our relationship yet and I refuse to force that on us. When the time comes, we’ll both know and we won’t stop it from happening, but we will not pressure ourselves to make it happen sooner than it should.”
Oliver was proud of himself. This was a conversation that he never saw himself having with his brother, but now that it had come he wanted it to end as soon as possible.
James finally composed himself and sat on the chair beside Oliver, pulling Thomas onto his lap.

“Listen, Oli, I know this is a hard topic for you, but you’re going to have to listen to it. Both you and Benjamin are grown men and fully capable of making your own decisions. I understand that, I do, but what I don’t understand is how two grown men in their twenties, with hormones raging all through your body, who have been dating for six months, have not yet ripped each other’s clothes off and -”

“Because it’s not important to us.” Oliver cut him off. “Sex isn’t everything in a relationship, you know. We communicate and...and we have fun and we -”

“I’m not telling you not to communicate and have fun! Sex doesn’t ruin that for you and yes, sex is very important in a relationship! You connect with each other in a way that you can’t connect by any other means. You learn each other, what you like, what you hate, what turns you on and off. It’s a means of communication in and of itself. And angry sex is the best sex ever! Let me tell you, Thomas is just an animal -”
Oliver stuck both fingers in his ears and let out a disgusted squeal.

“Okay, no! There are boundaries and you are crossing them. The last thing I need to hear is how my brother is in bed! I never need to know that!”
Both men chuckled and Thomas planted a peck on James’s cheek.

Oliver shuddered, his eyes wandering to Benjamin. He wished he had never looked. The man’s eyes were wide, wider than he had ever seen them and his entire face was beet red. Charlotte had a very triumphant smirk on her face as she winked at him. Oliver wanted to die. Literally die. What was Charlotte even telling him?

Well, she was reminding him of the existence of his manhood and the different ways that he could put it to use on a certain someone. Benjamin had wanted to stop her from talking since she first began, but he had seemed to become paralyzed by shock.

“And there’s this website with a lot of -”
Benjamin finally found his voice.

“Charlotte, stop! What the hell are you even talking about and why are you talking about it now of all times? There are children everywhere!” Benjamin allowed a furtive glance at his surroundings. No one seemed to be paying them any attention and Oliver looked simply mortified in his chair.

“Oh who cares. All I know is that you haven’t gotten laid in god knows how long and that has got to be extremely difficult with a hot piece of ass like Oliver attached to your arm.”

As if Benjamin couldn’t be more embarrassed. It was true that he had been longing to take that extra step with his boyfriend, but why did everyone have to know that they had yet to do it? Why did he think it had been a good idea to tell Charlotte in the first place?

“I think this is supposed to be a conversation between Oliver and I, so...thank you for your concern, but...”

“Rumor has it that he’s waiting for you to make a move.” Technically it wasn’t a lie...she just
didn’t know this when she said it.
Benjamin faltered in his steps. He turned back towards his sister and couldn’t stop himself from asking.

“A-and h-how do you know that?”
Charlotte smirked, flipping her now pink locks over her shoulder and looking triumphant.

“I have my sources, as you know, and according to them, poor little Oli has been waiting for you to grow some balls and use them.”
Benjamin would regret falling for her tricks and continuing with the conversation.

“Who are your sources? I won’t believe you if you don’t tell me.”

“You know I can’t tell you big brother. But really, who else could it be? Who else does Oliver talk to? I’ll give you a hint; they’re dating and they’re both guys...and one’s his brother...and the other’s his roommate. It’s James and Thomas.” It wasn't really much of a hint.

“And what exactly has he been saying?” The call of further knowledge was too great.

“Only that you two haven’t done it yet and he really wants to. I think you should make a move.”

Benjamin sighed, running a frustrated hand through his hair. He would rather never have this conversation with his younger sister ever, but it didn’t look like she was going to let him get out of it.

“Well...there was one time...”

It had been a...disastrous night that Benjamin would rather not remember. And it had started out so well. The couple had just enjoyed a lovely supper indoors and had been enjoying a film in bed when...it sort of just happened. There had been a lot of kissing and groping and wandering hands. And just when things looked to be set in stone, the ‘baby wakes up at the worst possible time ever’ cliché happened. Suffice to say, the two hadn’t tried since. But when that moment had been happening, Benjamin swore that he had never wanted to do anything more than tear Oliver’s clothes off in a fit of lust and passion.

Charlotte was attempting to hide her giggling behind her hand and was failing miserably.

“Of course something like that would happen to you.” She chuckled, patting her older brother on the arm. “Well tonight, Sam will be staying at Oli’s place with Johanna - mostly because she refuses to let him leave her sights - so why don’t you just...make a small suggestion that he should come to yours and just see what happens from there.”
Benjamin’s face continued to heat up.

“No. You wanna know why? Because I’m about two thousand percent sure he’s having this same conversation with Tom and James, so if I invite him over then he’ll know exactly what I want and he’ll feel pressured to agree.” Benjamin pouted, close to hyperventilation because he swears he’s never been in this much of a pressured situation before.

Charlotte simply rolled her eyes and took another cocktail from the tray one of the relatives was passing around.

“Ben, how old are you?” She didn’t wait for him to answer. “If you're old enough to own your own place, be head chef of one of the most successful restaurants in the UK and run your own life, then I think you’re old enough - and hopefully brave enough - to ask your boyfriend to spend the night. Nothing has to happen! It’s not like you’re going to step through the door and start ripping each other’s clothes off - that would be hot though.” She took a minute to sigh appreciatively. Benjamin didn’t want to know of the memories floating through her dirty mind - his sister had definitely been around more than him. “If it doesn’t happen, then it doesn’t happen, but if it does...well...I don’t need to tell you the rest, now do I?”



Benjamin had made up his mind; he would ask Oliver to spend the night with him. He might lose his nerve - and mind - in the process, but he would do it. It was already past 10 o’clock and the party was coming to an end. Most of the children had already fallen asleep in their parents’ arms as their sugar highs wore off and said parents were tired of carting children around and were headed home.

Sam was asleep in Oliver’s arms, small thumb nestled perfectly between his lips as he snoozed softly, not having a care in the world. Thomas and James were making out in the dark somewhere and Charlotte and Johanna were busy talking about something or another so Oliver was alone on a lawn chair, holding his son. If there was a better time to ask Oliver to spend the night, Benjamin wasn’t going to wait for it.

Oliver smiled over as his boyfriend made his way over to him. Oliver was trying his hardest to get ‘the talk’ with his brother and James out of his head, but he was finding that extremely difficult at the moment when the only thing he could think about was what Benjamin would look like on top of him.

Ben took a seat and smiled over at the snoozing Sam, there was no cuter kid in the world.

“You think he enjoyed his party?” Ben chuckled, wrapping an arm around Oliver’s shoulder. He smiled when his boyfriend leaned into him, a small smile on his face.

“I’d say so. What other day of the year does he get to have all attention on him?” Oliver chuckled.

“All the time. Have you seen Sam? He’s the cutest thing to have ever existed; he will always have all attention on him at all times.”

Cue the nervous chuckles. Benjamin hated this...he hated this awkwardness with Oliver, it never used to exist and now both only have one thought on their minds...they were such boys.

Benjamin sighed, forcing himself to just go with it and ask Oliver to stay with him. What harm could it do? Benjamin gulped...he really didn't want to think about what harm it could really do.

"So...I was just...wondering maybe if you'd...if you'd wanna come by...tonight and just...stay...maybe." Benjamin felt like a 16 year old boy, nervously asking out a crush. He wanted someone to slap him and tell him to man up. This is his boyfriend for goodness sakes! They've already gotten past the awkward first dating stages and they've already done...naughty things so why was this so hard?

Oliver's face flushed a dark shade of red. He was thankful that it was nighttime, otherwise that blush would have embarrassed him even more.

What does he say? Well yes, obviously! But...how does he say it? Oliver wasn't going to admit that he had been really hoping for Benjamin to invite him to stay the night sometime this week - not that he required an invitation anymore. Now that Johanna was here, he would have someone who was more than willing to watch Sam and he could have some alone time with Benjamin...some much needed alone time.
But Oliver didn't want to come off as desperate. As badly as he wanted to grin and scream that yes, yes he would love to spend the night, he didn't think it was appropriate.

"Um...sure, I mean, yeah, I'll come stay for a bit. I mean, we haven't exactly had a lot of time together this past week." That was at least somewhat true. With the birthday party and Johanna's arrival and not to mention the fact that both men had full time jobs, the two saw each other only twice that week as opposed to nearly everyday.

Benjamin's face broke out into a grin before he managed to control himself and tone it down to a soft smile. Pressing a soft kiss to the side of Oliver's head, he rose from the chair.

"Cool, I'll just go help finish cleaning up and then we'll go."

Oliver felt like a middle schooler with a crush. He's normally so calm and comfortable in Ben's presence and now...well now his stomach was filled with butterflies and he felt the need to go take an hour long shower.

It wasn't long before Johanna came to take Sam out of Oliver's arms with a smirk and wink his way. Of course Charlotte would have opened her mouth to the other girl.
As Johanna turned to take her son to bed, she turned back to Oliver, a sly grin on her face.

"Good Luck."

Oliver didn't know how much he was going to need it...