Date: Wed, 11 Jul 2007 21:04:22 -0700 (PDT) From: Brian Connors Subject: Six Irish Brothers - Chapter 6: Homecoming Six Irish Brothers - Chapter 6: Homecoming Story Codes: B/b, inc Disclaimer and Acknowledgments: The story you are about to read is true. These events happened and though some details have been skewed slightly to obscure the identities of the real persons involved, the events, relationships and substance of the tale have not been altered. Much of the material in this story is pornographic in nature, dealing with incest, teenage and preteen sex, gay themes, and so forth. If you are under 18, or it is illegal in your area to read this material, then stop now, and go Google something wholesome. I'm going to try to get through this one without breaking down. I hope. ----- Chapter 6: Homecoming November, 1995 We had been back in the states for about a month and settled back in to our primary residence north of Baltimore. New Zealand had been the experience of a lifetime, but being "home" again was good, too, in its way. It still felt wrong without mum, but we were, as awful as it sounds, getting used to it. The DelVecchios welcomed us back to the neighborhood with open arms, and it was really good to see them, picking up where we left off. Allow me a moment to explain a little about the DelVecchios, since from this point on, they get ever more entangled in our lives. At that time, there were seven kids, plus Vince and Ella, their parents. It's a good thing our two incredibly large families got along - otherwise there would have been all out war. As it was, we were the first line of defense! TJ (Timothy Joseph) was the oldest, just a few days older than Sean, and when we arrived in '93, they became best friends by the time we'd finished unpacking. Sarah was next, a year younger, but able to go toe-to-toe with both of them. The three of them, Sean, TJ and Sarah, were close before we left for Down Under, and when we got back, they became inseparable. I think being close with them helped Sean get over Sophie, and maybe even Jack and Caleb. In any event, it was a good time, and you'll hear more about them later. We were all still pretty new to this holiday the Yanks called Thanksgiving, but we knew it involved turkeys and ham and pilgrims, and being thankful to God for the good things in your life, and of course Stove Top dressing. I couldn't get enough of that stuff (which might account for the bit of weight I put on between ages 12 and 13)...but I digress. Ever since we got back, Greg and Sean had both been acting a bit odd. Making phone calls and trying to keep me from hearing, going out suddenly dressed to the nines - and for Sean that was *really* odd - Greg holed up in his office with all kinds of paperwork that I knew wasn't for his job. They'd sneak off and have conversations, and hush up when I walked by - it was all very peculiar, and I really began to get worried. If something else was going bad, I wanted to know. When I asked Greg, he told me that nothing bad was happening, and that I shouldn't worry. Sean said basically the same thing, but let me know that something was in the works - he wouldn't say what, be he promised me it wasn't bad. I didn't really know whether to buy it or not, after all we'd been through, but I trusted them both. As Thanksgiving neared, I was really debating if I would get into the "spirit" of things. I had brothers I loved, and a good home, but mum was gone, and I just couldn't be thankful about anything with that shadow hanging over it all. But something else was behind the shadows. About a week before the holiday, I woke up to find Greg and Sean had both gone off somewhere - no, they didn't leave me alone with the little ones; our neighbor Mrs. Preston was looking after us - she told me she wasn't sure where they'd gone, but they'd be back in a few hours. I didn't think much of it at the time, it wasn't that different from the rest of the oddities those last weeks. It was after lunchtime when they returned. Mrs. Preston had just put Adam down for a nap. I was delicately trying to balance my other two little brothers' simultaneous need for attention by colouring with Walt while simultaneously attempting to play Duck Hunt with Nate. Neither one was going well as you can imagine, and I was relieved when I heard Greg's car pull up outside. The door swung open as I was disentangling myself from the Nintendo wires, and in came Greg, as jolly as I'd seen him in over a year. He picked up Walt, and said to me and Nathan, "Don't just sit there boys, get over here." We knew something was up, and scrambled to stand by him. Sean walked in then, carrying a suitcase, and trying to hide a smile. He set the bag down, and when he stepped aside, I thought I was seeing things. I'll never forget that first glimpse. Standing on the porch, hands tucked in his pockets, looking at his feet, like he didn't know if he belonged there. "BEN!" squeeled Walt. I stood in shock, mouth agape, my heart and eyes overflowing. Nate flew right past me, crashed into Sean, bounced off and threw himself around Ben. The "ooof" sound was what made me react, and I cried out as I ran to him. He was crying, too, leaning on me, all three of us. And then Sean and Greg started crying, too. They pulled us apart long enough to get us in the house - Ben hadn't said a word yet, and I don't think I managed anything intelligible myself. We just smiled at each other, both of us bawling. Nate was almost bouncing off the walls, he was so ecstatic. I finally managed to get my larynx in gear and said "welcome home," told him how much I'd missed him, that I loved him, just burbling it all a million miles a minute. Ben didn't say much, just "me, too" and "I missed you," and then the wiseass tough guy persona reemerged. That cloak of callousness had helped him survive, and it was going to be a long time before he could put it away for good. Walt bounced on his lap, and Nate kept trying to wrestle with him, and I just watched. And then I looked at Sean and Greg, and hugged them both. They had made this happen, and damn them for keeping it a secret, but it was so good I couldn't be anything but elated. When things settled down a bit, we reintroduced Ben to Adam, and then Sean and I took him up to our room. We talked about bedroom assignments with Greg, tossed around ideas. We were going to shuffle things around and give Ben his own room if he wanted it, but he said he was used to being with someone, if we didn't mind. We gladly agreed, and settled on moving the extra bed into Sean's and my room, until we could really sort things out. The thought of how Ben's presence in our bedroom would curtail my "nocturnal activities" with Sean never even entered my mind. I was just so chuffed to have him back I thought I would burst. The rest of the day, I watched Ben closely. We joked around, poked fun at each other, and fell into our old habits of lovingly provoking one another easily. But I kept watching him. He kept a part of himself on guard, like he was afraid someone would come and take him back to the foster homes or the Brothers' school, or that maybe it was all a dream. Eventually the day wound down, and we dozed on the couch, watching The Rescuers Down Under. Sean was on one side of me, Ben on the other, with his head on my shoulder, Walt on his lap and Nate squeezed in next to him. Adam was asleep on Greg's shoulder in chair. The moment was so perfect, the only thing missing was mum. I started to cry again, but I held it in. If Ben could be the tough guy, I decided, so could I. When it came time for bed, Sean and I helped Ben settle in. He let his guard down for just a minute, and said, "Please tell me I'm not dreaming." Sean pulled us both into a hug, and said "Welcome home. You're stuck with us now." We laughed, and I told them both how much I loved them. Ben got this far away look for a minute, but smiled as we turned out the light. He was asleep in minutes, so exhausted from the day. Sean tucked him in, and then me, something he hadn't done in years. I grabbed his hand, and quietly thanked him. He just nodded and said, "See, Eeyore? I always keep my promises." As I drifted off to sleep, I found that for the first time in ages, I had something for which to be truly thankful. ----- A lot of folks asked about Benji, so I'm glad to finally be able to tell you what happened. And don't worry, it's not the end of the story, not by a long shot. I'd like to say we all lived happily ever after...but there were so many more ups and downs coming. And yes, more sex, coming, too, and soon. Again, thanks for all the encouragement and feedback and everything. If you'd like to write and talk, or just bug me for the next chapter, or flame me for not writing more sex scenes, my address is patriotspectre@yahoo.com. Oh, and before I forget - a lot of people have asked if I could describe everyone more. I keep forgetting just because I see everyone in my head doesn't mean everyone else can. I've tried, but it feels like "stopping" the story just to tell you how we all look. I'll try to find a balance for the next chapter, I promise! Cheers! Tim