Blood and Custard

by Premature_Detrackulation

Summary:

Karen is gone and Sam and Jake have to reconnect after almost ten years of no contact. A decade is a long time.

Chapter 1: The Phone Call

Sam and Jake didn’t always get along. They didn’t have a relationship at all really. Their mom raised them differently. Jake got the crazy, free-spirited Karen who was in love with abusive Kelly. Sam got the shutdown single Karen with no dad in sight. Their large age gap didn’t help either. Not that big, just ten years, but a decade held a lot of life.

The second Jake was able, he moved out. Same as his twin. Where Josh found safety in school and friends, Jake found it in late night hookups and bouncing from one dead end fast food job to the next. Currently, it was overnight at a 24 hour burger joint in the city. Whatever got him out of there as fast as possible. He felt little remorse leaving Sam alone with that woman. He was just a kid. A kid who seemed pretty happy. Jake would come to learn that wasn’t the case at all.

Jake didn’t keep in contact much. The day he moved into his shitty one bedroom apartment on a bad side of town was the same day he said goodbye to that miserable life. Not that his current one was any better.

That all came crashing down almost ten years later. Jake’s alarm went off. 5PM. Time to get ready for work. He lifted himself up from his mess of a bed and pushed his hair out of his face. The hair he kept long and pulled back at work. It only got in the way so he wasn’t sure why he kept it long. Maybe he was too lazy to just go get a haircut?

He dug through the clothes on his floor until he found his brightly colored collared shirt. He gave it a whiff before pulling it on and doing up the buttons. The shirt was so old they just came undone whenever, having been worn over years of use.

His phone buzzed. Then buzzed again. He smacked around behind him for the almost dead electronic and clicked it on.

Jake? Are you up? Call me.

Followed by 15 previous messages and 5 missed calls. All from Josh. All asking Jake to call him. Jake sighed.

Josh never called besides the occasional happy birthday or merry Christmas. Even those came sparingly. Whatever this was about, it better be important. Maybe that old bitch had finally croaked.

“Mom’s dead.” Josh spoke after answering the phone before even one full ring.

“Oh..” Jake mumbled. Maybe Jake should look into being a psychic.

“..and Sam can’t do this on his own. And I have a huge test and interview this month. I can’t leave.” Josh continued, unfazed by his twin’s lack of reaction.

Sam. Jake hadn’t thought about his little brother in months, years maybe. That part sat heavy in his stomach. He didn’t even know what Sam looked like all grown up. Was he in middle school now? No, Josh went to his 8th grade ceremony. Maybe he was in high school. Wow, how time flew.

“So..” Jake prompted.

“So.. please go take care of our little brother, Jake. Please. Just until I get this job and take my test. Please? I’ll handle everything else once that’s over. Just go watch the house and make sure Sam’s okay.” Josh begged. He hardly begged. He didn’t want to be asking Jake to do this and Jake could tell. So Jake felt inclined to do it.

“Okay.” Jake answered.

“Okay?! Jake, oh my god. Thank you, man. I’ll send you gas money. Whatever you need until I can get there.”

Jake gave a dry laugh. “I got it, Josh. It’s fine.” The man smiled to himself and rubbed his fuzzy chin. When was the last time he showered.

“Okay. Please, Jake. Thank you, thank you!” One beep and the phone call was over. Jake dropped the phone and stared at the floor of his room. Well, he better get going.

After a shower, packing dirty clothes into a bag, eating some random garbage from his fridge, and taking the cash he kept in a bag inside his toilet tank, he was off.
He made a quick phone call to a girl was seeing, letting her know he would be out of town. One of the cashiers at his job. He didn’t know why he bothered, she didn’t care. She was more interested in the manager anyway. The same manager Jake had hooked up with a few months prior when he offered to pay his rent when Jake came up short. That was over quickly when Jake realized he was only making two more bucks than him. Pretty good in bed though.

His beat up Toyota sputtered as it backed out of his parking spot and sped off towards his childhood home. He wondered if he still knew the way.

The drive was quiet. Lucky for Jake it was smackdab in the middle of rush hour when everyone was trying to get home to the suburbs from the bustling city. As if he wasn’t already peeved enough. He completed the almost 3 hour drive, thanks to a flipped semi, and pulled into the driveway.

The weeds tangled through and covered the front fence. The grass was dead, the tree him and Josh used to climb as kids was now a stump forever stuck in the ground. It was completely different, but entirely the same. The windows stayed drawn, making the place look abandoned, and the garage stayed cracked open where it got stuck years ago and no one bothered to fix it. A small pile of leaves blew in and out as a cold breeze came through.

Jake braced himself and climbed out of the car. He grabbed his bag and pulled his jacket tighter around his body. His bag was slung over his shoulder and his car door was slammed shut, the only way to get it to close. He made the few steps up to the door and knocked, then rang the doorbell to see if they ever fixed that. They hadn’t.

There was silence, then faint footsteps on creaky stairs. Jake held his breath. A deadbolt was undone, then a chain lock, then lastly the door handle. The door opened and revealed a small, wide eyed little brother. Not small like small. Sam was probably a good 6 inches taller than Jake, small like a scared deer.

“Sammy. Hi.” Jake spoke, not sure who should speak first. It was clear on Sam’s face that he had been crying. His eyes were puffy and his nose was red. It hadn’t occurred to Jake until just then to cry yet. That this was a sad thing that happened. He’d get over that.

“Hi, Jake. Come in.” Sam held the door open and stood back. This man was a stranger, relatively speaking, and here he was, willingly letting him into his house.

“Thanks. Mind if I do some laundry? Didn’t really have time to prepare.” Jake set his bag down near the door and looked around. The place looked the same. Smoke stained walls, same gray furniture and dim lighting. Jake stared into the living room. He got his first handjob on that couch. Glad to see it made it this far.

“Sure, but uhm. Dryer doesn’t really work that well. Sometimes you gotta leave, come back, and it’ll start up again.” Sam’s hands fiddled with the loops on his jeans.

“Y’hungry?” Sam hurried off to the kitchen to distract himself. This was all too awkward. A day ago he had a mom, now he was alone with his practically estranged brother, and not even the right brother.

“I’m alright. Ate on the way.” Jake followed the boy into the kitchen, his boots clacking on the tile floor.

Sam hid behind the fridge door before closing it. “Okay, we don’t- I don’t have much anyway. Josh sent me some money so we can go grocery shopping later.” The boy spoke but avoided eye contact. He didn’t know where to look. Jake looked so.. different. When he left he was this tiny little thing with flippy hair. Now it was long and he was a bit more filled out. Sam thought he wore it well, he just didn’t recognize it.

Josh sent him money. Of course he did. Jake laughed to himself. “Alright. We can do that tomorrow.” He looked at the ground with his hands on his hips and kicked the ground gently.

“Speaking of money. Karen leave you anything?” Jake lifted his head to see Sam’s face.

Sam just shrugged. “Josh was hoping you'd call her lawyer and find out.”

“She didn’t have a lawyer-“ Jake laughed.

“She got one.. after. After dad came back and she had to get a restraining order.” Sam corrected and fidgeted with his fingers. He assumed Jake knew all of this.

“Oh.. is- is dad still-“

Sam shrugged again. “I don’t know. Haven’t heard from him since. I assume so.”

Jake nodded and looked around. “Well, alright. I’ll add that to the list.” Jake turned and looked around the house some more. He kicked off his boots and made his way upstairs to check out where he’d be sleeping. Sam scurried after, not wanting to be alone in the house again.

“So, just you?” Jake asked as his eyes followed the crack along the ceiling.

“Uhm, aunt josie was here for a bit but- she’s got two little girls at home. She left this morning.” Sam said and took note of Jake's mismatching socks. He remembered that about him as a kid. Not like Josh. Josh kept things very tidy and concise.

Jake stayed quiet as he walked to his and Josh’s room. He opened the door to just one bed now, Sam having gotten one of the twins as he grew out of his. Everything looked pretty much the same. Some furniture was missing, probably having been sold off by Karen for some people she owed money to, but all the posters were up. Jake’s soccer trophies and Josh’s theatre awards were still up.

“My room’s clean.. if you want to sleep in there. I’ve been in mom’s room. Or-or we can switch-“

“No, that’s fine. I’ll sleep in your room.” Jake turned and faced Sam. They were closer this time. Jake gave a forced smile before walking past the kid and back down the stairs to start on some laundry. Sam took to the living room to watch some tv, presumably until bed since he had no one to tell him not to.

Jake busied himself in the garage, dumping his clothes in then starting the load. He found a few old boxes of his and Josh's and rummaged through those for a bit. He found some books and games to entertain him in his room for a while. He walked away from the dryer and came back to start it up again, just as Sam had instructed. Worked like a charm. Hours had gone by of Jake huddled over, flipping through comic books and hidden porno mags, then folding his laundry. Something he hadn’t done in years, it just gave him a reason to not have to leave the garage, but eventually the time came.

Jake shoved his neatly folded clothes back into the bag followed by a few collected items, then made his way back out. He didn’t realize how cold it had been in there until he entered the warm house.

Sam jumped awake from his almost-nap and looked in the direction of the garage. That’s right. Jake. It was nearly 12. What was he still doing up?

“I’m gonna head up for the night. Y’need anything?” Jake asked, squinting at Sammy in the dark. He was only illuminated by the blue glow of the TV screen.

Sam shook his head. “I’m alright. Goodnight.”

“Night.” That was the last word Jake said that night. He settled into Sam’s room, laying all his stuff out. Then stripped, showered, and got into bed. He shuffled around a bit before finding a comfortable nook in the bed. This was Josh’s mattress. Josh slept in the same spot on his bed every night. It made him wonder if Sam slept in that same little nook

Jake stared at the ceiling, trying to get to sleep. Eventually he read, charged up his gameboy and played that for a bit, even tried jerking off. None of it got him to sleep, and that last one just weirded him out.

He heard Sammy’s footsteps retreat into his moms room sometime around 2AM. Poor kid. He wondered if he had gotten any real sleep since it happened. The bags under his eyes said no.

Chapter 2: The Diner

Morning came quickly and Jake had managed to get a few hours. He fell asleep somewhere between 5 and 6, now being woken up around 9 to the scent of burnt coffee and burnt bacon. Was something on fire? Jake shot up and pulled a shirt on before hurrying down the stairs. There he saw Sam shoving a pan into the sink of running water.

“Sam! What happened?” Jake asked frantically, not enjoying being startled awake.

“I- wha- nothing! It’s okay!!” Sam shut off the water and looked over at his brother. “I ju-just burnt the bacon, jeez..” Sam shrunk in on himself. The small cloud of smoke dissipated around them and fled through a small crack in the window. Not one Sam had opened, but a crack in the molding to the house.

“Okay. Sorry.” Jake sighed and stared at the mess in the sink. After he was sure there was no real fire, he turned his aching body and opened the fridge. Sam was right. They had nothing. There were a couple sips of orange juice and some moldy cheese that caught Jake’s eye.

“Go get some real clothes on. We’ll go out for breakfast.” Jake said and rubbed his eyes after shutting the fridge. He could really use a good cup of coffee. Maybe some booze.

Sam nodded and scurried upstairs to get dressed. What a great first impression that was. You try to do one nice thing to welcome your brother whom you haven't seen in almost 10 years back into your life and the whole thing blows up in your face. Literally.

The two got dressed and met back up by the front door. They left the house silently and climbed into Jake’s car. Sam kicked a few cans and bottles out of his way as he settled in his seat and buckled in.

Jake yawned and pulled out of the driveway. He made his way to a diner he always went to as a kid and pulled into the almost empty parking lot.

“Here?” Sam asked as Jake shut the car off.

“Yes, here. Got a problem?”

“No, just. Mom said this place had rats.”

Jake scoffed. “Mom’s ex boyfriend worked here. She probably just said that to avoid having to go here.”

Sam nodded and was silent as they got out of the car. He felt himself get choked up but kept his cool as they made their way inside. Jake held the door open for him so Sam gave him a polite nod and walked in.

“How many?” The young girl behind the host stand asked.

Jake held up two fingers as he removed his sunglasses.

“Follow me.” The girl said and the two boys did. They took their seats in a roomy booth opposite of each other and looked over the menus. Jake ordered a coffee and Sam ordered orange juice and pancakes. The smell of burnt bacon lingered in his nose.

“Figured we could go grocery shopping after this. Thanks-“ Jake said to the waitress who filled his coffee cup.

Sam nodded and stacked some jam packets on top of each other.

Jake took a sip of his coffee and watched Sam. “Shouldn’t you be in school right now? How old are you anyway?”

“I turn 18 next month. I graduated early.” Sam answered very plainly, focused on his tower of jam. That was right. Sam’s birthday was 20 days before the twins.

“Nice, nice. Plans for college?”

Sam's eyes flicked up. “My mom just died. I don't have plans for anything.” He returned his gaze to his tower. One packet jostled and the rest fell. The boy let out a sigh and sat back in the booth.

“Right.. I’m sorry by the way. For what it’s worth. Your mom dying and all.”

“She was your mom too.” Sam said, sounding offended.

“Why are you still defending her?” Jake set his mug down and met the boy's eyes. “She wasn’t a good person. She got knocked up a couple times, good for her. Anyone can do that. She wasn’t a good mother to me, and she wasn’t a good mother to you.”

Sam’s head fell as the tears started to well up. He didn’t want Jake to see him like this. He didn’t want anyone to see him like this. Especially in an empty diner filled with rats.

Sam’s pancakes were set down in front of him followed by his juice. Jake thanked her then watched as Sam pushed the plate away and settled his face in his hands.

“I’m sorry.. Sam.” Jake mumbled and chewed at his lip. He leaned forward, resting his arms on the table and tried to get closer to Sam as the boy sniffled.

“Saaaammy.. these pancakes are gonna get cold. And I’m gonna have to eat them all by myself.” Jake teased.

“M’not hungry..” The boy muttered.

“So you won't mind if I… douse them in syrup?” Jake remembered Sammy hating syrup as a kid. The one sweet he was vehemently against. Any cakey breakfast got served with butter and jam just like Sam liked it.

“No! Not all of it.” Sam reached up to stop Jake’s hands from grabbing the syrup.

Jake smiled and paused, letting the boy grab him. “Okay.. then eat some with me.”

Sam blinked some tears away and nodded. He stifly let go of Jake and sat back, using his knife to spread the butter.

There was a thick silence for a moment as Sam fiddled with a jam packet. Jake took it from him and opened it before spreading the pink colored goop on the pancakes.

“She was all I had..” Sam sniffed, finally speaking up. “I didn’t have a twin brother.. or a dad. I had her. I can’t- I can’t even vote yet.” Sam laughed, looking up at the ceiling. “I have nothing.”

“That’s not true.” Jake set the knife down. “You have me, you have Josh.”

“Do I? I haven’t heard from you in years. You-you never check in. You never came to any of my birthdays. I always just got a “oh, he sends his love!” from Josh which was total bullshit. And Josh, Josh who tries so hard but still somehow misses the mark-“ Sam felt himself getting worked up again. Jake didn’t stop him. This had clearly been building up for a while. “It’s just- I-I’m grateful you’re here but don’t act like you’ve been in my life the past 10 years.” Sam took a deep breath and sat back again, closing his eyes.

Jake nodded. He was right. All of that was right. He would explain his side to Sam one day, but not today. Sam didn’t need that today. He needed a brother.

“I’m sorry. I’m here now though.. and I’ll stay as long as you need.” Jake reassured, though he couldn’t be sure himself. Money would need to be made eventually.

“Or as long as Josh is funding you to be here?” Sam laughed.

“He offered. I said no, thank you.” Jake said transparently.

“Mm.” Sam hummed and kept his eyes shut as he calmed down.

Jake made himself comfortable and took a forkful of pancakes. Sam was right. A little salty from the butter, and a little sweet from the jam.

Sam eventually ate with his brother, the two seeming to have come to a truce. They paid the bill then made their way to get groceries. Sam fixed his face in the cracked visor mirror of Jake’s car and went inside. He knew these people. He didn’t want to look like the pathetic kid whose mom just died. Even if that’s exactly who he was.

They walked down the aisles together, tossing random things into the cart. Jake grabbed stuff Josh would like for when he finally got to the house. Whenever that was.

“Pardon me.” A man muttered to get by the two.

“Sorry..” Sam mumbled and looked up.

“Mr. Wagner! Oh!” The boy exclaimed and stood near Jake.

“Sam!” The man’s expression softened. “I’m so sorry to hear about your mother.”

Sam frowned and nodded. “Oh, thank you.” This was the first time Sam had gotten that. He wasn’t sure how to react. Bad gas traveled fast in a small town like this.

“Mr. Wagner?” Jake asked and caught the older man's attention.

“Jake? Wow, where the hell have you been?” The man laughed and shook Jake’s hand. “Sorry about your mom, man.”

“Oh it’s..” Jake trailed off and waved it off. “I’ve been working in the city. Came out here to help with the paperwork and all that.. Sam being a minor and all.”

Mr. Wagner's eyes flicked to Sam then back to Jake. “Right, right. Well we should catch up some time. You look good, man.”

“Yeah, I’ll let you know. Have a good one.” Jake smiled and gave a nod. The two parted ways and the brothers made their way through the rest of the aisle.

“That was weird.” Sam noted and looked over the cereal options.

Jake laughed. “Yeah..” He hesitated for a moment before grabbing some lucky charms. “We used to hook up after I graduated. Weird seeing him.”

“Oh! You- oh.” Sam mumbled and busied himself with the oatmeal options. “After you graduated, huh?”

“What?”

“Can we get two of these?” Sam held up a box of apple cinnamon and a box of cinnamon sugar. “Bogo.” He smiled.

“Yeah, sure.”

The two finished their shopping and checked out. They loaded the groceries into Jake’s messy trunk and made their way back home.

“Think you’ll see him again?” Sam asked as they drove.

“See who?”

“Danny- Mr. Wagner.”

“Oh, no. Probably not. Why?”

Sam shrugged, looking out the window.

Eventually they pulled into the driveway. They unloaded the groceries and Sam put a majority of it away. He knew where everything went. It’s not like the places had changed, Jake just simply didn’t remember. He did, however, remember these pantries being bare. He was glad to see them so full once they were done.

“I’m gonna go hangout upstairs for a bit.” Sam said as he walked backwards out of the kitchen.

“Cool, thanks for your help.”

“Mhm.” Sam nodded and turned on his heel to head upstairs. The notable click of Karen’s bedroom door shut and the house fell quiet again. Jake needed a smoke.

He stood on the back porch with a cigarette hanging between his lips and scrolled through his phone. He wondered how Sam slept in that room. The same one Karen died in. Actually, Jake had no idea. He had gotten zero information. He didn’t even know how she died. All he knew was that that kid seemed to love her. In his own weird little way.

Jake continued to scroll through his contacts until he got to W. There it was. Danny Wagner, still in his phone. It had been a while since he’d been with a dude, save whatever that shit was with his manager. That hardly counted, Jake did most of the giving anyway.

Jake shoved his phone back in his pocket and took one last drag of his cigarette before tossing it to the ground and stomping it out. He kicked it to the pile with the others and made his way back inside. Still no Sammy.

Day became night and Sam only came out to get food every now and then. No acknowledgment to Jake, just a beep of a microwave, a crack of a soda, and he was back upstairs.

Jake stayed in the living room, nursing a few beers. He hardly ate these days, so the pancakes and cheap beer kept him sated.

Chapter 3: Danny

Jake didn’t remember falling asleep but he woke up startled. He breathed in sharply, nearly choking on his spit. He looked around. This couch, this living room. It was in fact not a dream. He caught his breath and laid his head back, letting his eyes shut again. The sun peeked through the broken blinds and his back ached from how he had been sleeping, sitting fully up.

He checked his phone to see what time it was and saw a few texts come in. Jesus Christ.

In his drunken haze, he must’ve reached out to Danny. He couldn’t be too mad. Deep down he was kind of excited.

Hey! Ita jake. Was good to see yu toayd. We should defiantly get togethwr

Jake groaned as he scrolled down to the string of texts Danny had sent back.

Haha. That’d get you an F in my class. Reach out once you sober up.
Maybe tomorrow night?
I’m free at 8.

Jake couldn’t help but smile. That was tonight. Tonight at 8. He bit his lip.

“Did you sleep down here?” Sam cut in from the stairs. Jake looked up. The boy's hair was a mess and his underwear barely protected whatever he was working with in those things. Jesus. Good for him.

“Yeah. Guess I just passed out.”

“Oh. Okay. Well it’s not good for your back.” Sam squinted as he made his way down the rest of the stairs. He was very excited to eat breakfast this morning. Cereal. No chance of burning that.

Jake cleaned up his mess before Sam saw and dumped it in the garbage through the garage. He probably should try not to drink while Sam is mourning. Or risk hooking up with an ex teacher that he definitely fucked when he was underage. Sam didn’t really need him around at 8 anyway though right??

He blinked away that thought as he shut the garage door and found Sam in the dining room. He was scarfing down a bowl of cereal with a blanket around his shoulders while reading a book.

“You know you can drink around me. I don’t care.” Sam said around some cereal.

Jake stopped and looked at the bundled up boy. The same boy who cried in a diner yesterday suddenly didn’t care. “Noted. Hey, you don’t mind if I go out tonight do you?”

“No..” Sam’s eyes never left his book. In fact he might like to get back to it if Jake left him alone.

“Cool.” Jake smiled to himself and turned to head into the kitchen and make some coffee. He heard a scrape of a chair on the floor and glanced back.

“You’re not gonna.. leave though.. right?” Sam asked.

Jake shook his head. “No, just going to see a friend.”

Sam stared at him for a minute. “Okay.” He turned back to his book and continued on with his breakfast.

Jake looked at him for a moment, thinking over his decision for tonight. It would be fine!

The day could not seem to go by fast enough. Breakfast became lunch fairly quickly but the hours dragged on after that. Jake found himself constantly checking his phone and bouncing his leg. The 15 minutes Sam spent with Jake in the living room, he immediately caught on.

“What’s up?” The teen asked during a commercial break.

“Huh? Nothing..” Jake said, forcing a coolness into his tone.

“You won’t stop checking your phone, you're bouncing your leg which is vibrating the whole couch and you grind your teeth. I don’t know if you know that you do that but you do.”

Jake immediately relaxed his jaw. “Sorry, just- meeting up with an old friend later and I’m a little nervous.”

“Is it Mr. Wagner?” Sam smiled. Jake didn’t have friends. Or a pleasant attitude. Who would want to hang out with him besides someone who just wanted to fuck? The town flirt, that’s who.

Jake felt his face heat up. He furrowed his brows and looked back at the TV.

Sam giggled and looked back to the TV too. “I don’t mind, you know. You’re my brother, you can tell me about this stuff.” Sam reassured, but that wasn’t the issue. The issue was Jake didn’t want to. He never told anyone anything about himself. He wasn’t going to start with his kid brother who probably hadn’t even had his first kiss yet.

“Thanks.” Jake said instead then ignored the subject. Sam took the hint and jumped up from the couch to go entertain himself elsewhere. Jake might try doing that instead of just anxiously watching TV for 8 hours.

He found himself back in the garage where he began organizing the twins' stuff, from their moms stuff, from Sam’s stuff. Sam didn’t have a lot. Jake assumed it was just all up in his room. No trophies, no old toys, not even any baby stuff. The twins had boxes and boxes of that crap. To be fair, there were double of everything so that never helped on space.

Jake found some old photo albums and looked through those. He flipped through page and page of his and Josh’s bald heads and smiled as he remembered some people and outfits from the pictures. He came upon a Sammy album and sat with that one for a while. The book stopped halfway through. Sam was only about six months in the last photo. He dug through another box assuming he’d find more. Nope. Just the one. Half of one..

Once organized in piles, he started working on garbage. Everything dusty or untouched or just downright gross got tossed into an industrial sized garbage bag. Tattered clothes, old paperwork hard and yellow from water seeping through, nuts, bolts. You name it, Jake had tossed it out.

Once he saw the garage floor for the first time in years, he pulled his phone out and checked the time. Just past 6. Thank god. His hands clapped together to get rid of the dust and dirt and he headed back in the house to shower. He smelled a bit ripe after putting a good few hours into the garage.

He walked into the kitchen to wash his hands and grab something to eat first. He found Sam leaning against the counter on his phone and eating some grapes.

“Excited for your hookup?” Sam teased to break the silence.

Jake laughed and scrubbed the dirt out from under his fingernails. He didn’t answer.

“Hey, do the dishes while I’m out, kay?” Jake said, drying his hands off.

“Oh I gotta do chores while you go out and fuck your old english teacher?” Sam’s face scrunched as he asked.

“I’m- we’re not-“ They were. “We’re just grabbing dinner, Sam.” They weren’t. “I’ll take the trash out on the way out. Fair?” Jake offered and lifted his brows.

Sam stared at him. “And the trash to the curb. Trash day is tomorrow.”

“Yes, and to the curb.”

“Okay.” Sam grabbed his bowl of grapes and walked past his brother and back upstairs, where he would remain for the rest of the night. The dishes would go undone.

Jake ate, showered, then fulfilled his promise of taking the trash out and to the curb. Jake hadn’t had to shower for something like this in years. It was very invasive but got him in the mood quickly.

He left the house around 7:30, giving himself enough time to get to Danny’s house. He lived in the rich neighborhoods so it took a bit longer to get there. He pulled into the driveway and parked next to Danny’s expensive car and climbed out. The creak and slam of his car door rung through the quiet neighborhood. So Jake was not surprised when the front door opened and a well dressed Danny stood in the doorway.

His hair was down, cascading over his shoulders. Paired nicely with a dark orange knit top that matched the dark liquor in his hand.

“Hi.” Jake said as he stepped up to the front door.

“Hi. Come in.” Danny waved him in and Jake followed, shutting the door behind him. His house smelled exactly how he remembered. Dark and moody like Danny’s cologne. All of Danny was dark and moody. That was the biggest draw to him. Plus that thing between his legs.

“Want a drink?” Danny asked as he approached the little bar in his living room.

“Sure, thanks.” Jake sat down on one of the leather couches and sunk in. Danny made him whatever he was drinking and handed it over. Jake took a sip and began to relax.

“So how are you? How’s Sam?” Danny asked, a sad look in his eye. Jake couldn’t tell if it was sincere or not.

“You didn’t call me here just to talk about my dead mom did you?” Jake cocked his head to the side.

Danny laughed and looked into his glass. “No, guess not.”

Jake stared at the older man. At the bags under his eyes. He was so young when they met. A new teacher. He already looked hardened by the job.

Jake downed his drink in one swig then stood and approached the man on the other couch. Danny set his glass down quickly as Jake straddled him and held his face. Danny’s hands fell on soft, wide hips, squeezing at the man through his jeans.

“Fuck, baby. You filled out.” Danny bit his lip and met Jake’s eyes.

Jake laughed and kissed the man to shut him up. Jake wondered how Danny was still single. He was good looking, had a solid job, and all the money in the world given to him from his rich family. Hooking up with students probably didn’t help with any of that. He wondered if Danny still did that.

The older man pushed some hair off of Jake’s shoulders and began to kiss at his neck. The younger shivered and leaned into it. No one had touched him that intimately in quite some time. Not even his girlfriend-not-girlfriend back home. Did they even kiss?

All thoughts of his mom and Sam and his twin fled his brain as the liquor settled in his tummy and Danny’s hands undid his jeans. They fumbled around on the couch for a bit before really getting into it.

Danny flipped the man onto his stomach on the couch and tugged his jeans down. Jake groaned and looked back as his underwear followed. Danny spread him open and spit before leaning down to dive in. Jake almost screamed as the man’s tongue lapped at him. Then it was gone.

“Wh-“ Jake mumbled and watched Danny undo his belt. Jesus, already?

Danny groaned and pulled Jake’s hips up slightly. He licked his hand and wiped it on his cock before positioning himself with Jake. Jake turned his head to face forward and brace for the worst. Danny was big. His eyes shut tightly as the man pushed in. He gripped the pillow beneath him and stifled a groan.

Danny barely got the head in before he was grabbing tightly at Jake’s ass and groaning through grit teeth.

“Fuck..” The man whispered, sounding out of breath.

“Did you-?” Jake looked back at the man whose hair hung in his face and stuck to an already sweaty forehead.

Holy shit. No wonder this dude only fucked kids.

After an awkward redress and Danny awkwardly handing Jake a twenty for “gas”, Jake was back out on the road.

He shifted uncomfortably in his seat. His ass hurt and he never got off. Never got anything actually. Just a weird cumstain seeping through his boxers.

Jake arrived home quicker than it took him to get to Danny’s. He entered the house quietly despite knowing Sam definitely wasn’t asleep. Jake just needed a nice hot shower and to pass out. For a couple of hours at least.

He trudged up the stairs and almost made a beeline for the bathroom when a noise caught his ear. Almost like they were in pain. Jake changed his course and approached the cracked door to his moms room. The blue light from the TV illuminated the room and cascaded over the young, lithe Sammy, jerking off in his dead moms bed. As if this night couldn’t get any weirder.

Jake’s breathing quickened but got quieter. He watched from the shadows as his little brother worked at his cock, one that was much more impressive than whatever was inside Jake an hour ago.

The tvs light showed all of Sam, then took it away as it changed scenes. The boy huffed and whined as he seemed to fight with himself. He sounded angry. Like this had been taking a while and he just wanted to get off. It seemed more like a chore than something of pleasure. Sam groaned loudly before sitting up. Jake backed away to hide then approached the door again when the room fell silent, save the tv.

Now, his eyes landed on Sam on his stomach, knees up and ass on full view. Jake gasped as fingers started fiddling behind Sam. Okay. Fun’s over Jake. Jake walked to the bathroom and slammed the door. The boy gasped and fell to the bed. That was enough for tonight. For both of them.

Jake came quick and hard in the shower. Weird imagery played in his head of Danny hovering over him, then Jake hovering over Sam, then Danny over Sam. It was over just as fast as it began and he watched with tired eyes as his shame washed down the drain.

His bed, Sam’s bed.. Josh’s bed? Felt like a cloud as he sunk into it. He fell asleep quicker than usual. His body was finally getting the rest it needed at a decent hour. It was weird for Jake to be up during the day again. Even on his days off, he didn’t leave the house until at least dusk. Maybe the sun was doing him some good.

Chapter 4: A Truce

Jake woke up to the sun shining through the windows. He couldn’t remember the last time he woke up naturally and with this little back pain. He found himself slotted in the little nook Josh had formed over the years. Maybe there was a reason Josh slept like this.

Jake sat up slowly and combed his fingers through his hair. He got rid of any tangles before sliding out of bed and setting off to look for Sam. He knocked on his moms door before entering and saw Sam, now clothed, passed out in a mountain of pillows and comforters. He sure liked to stay cozy.

Jake smiled a bit before backing out and shutting the door. Kid was having a rough go of it. The least he could do was let him sleep in.

Jake made his way downstairs and started on some coffee. Some much needed coffee. As well rested as his body felt, his mind was still groggy. Racing with thoughts of Danny and what he had seen last night. The kid seemed just as pent up as him. Probably wasn’t easy. Graduating before everyone, no friends to speak of it seemed, but Sam was a good kid, so it made no sense to Jake why there were no connections. No friends mentioned or people stopping by to give condolences. Karen wasn’t even in the ground yet and all Sammy got so far was some pity from his english teacher.

Jake sat with his coffee for a while, staring into the weed covered backyard. Mentally, he added it to the list of things to do. Maybe in all of this, one of them got the house. The least Jake could do was tidy it up.

Jake was finishing up his second cup when Sam’s yawn caught his attention. He looked over at the boy in his usual morning outfit of pajamas and a blanket draped over his shoulders.

“Morning.” Sam muttered and made his way to the cabinet for some cereal. He had gone through half the box already. He liked a sweet treat.

“Hey, wanna go get breakfast?” Jake started, watching the boy hesitate to grab the box. “Somewhere not infested with rats.” Jake continued with a dry laugh. Sam turned to face him.

“Sure.” Sam smiled.

“Okay go get dressed.” Jake set his cup in the sink and followed to change as well. He watched Sam’s hips as he went up the stairs. Visible from where his shirt refused to meet his sweatpants. “And maybe we’ll go shopping for some summer clothes too?” He offered.

“Maybe.” Sam responded before disappearing into his mom’s room.

The two emerged fully dressed and headed back down the stairs together. Sam’s clothes were definitely too small. His ankle showed, making him look like an indecent maiden, and his shirt hugged his chest just a little too tight. He was a skinny kid so it fit fine, it just looked uncomfortable.

Sam rolled his window down after they got into the car. The warm, almost spring breeze rolled in and filtered through his unwashed hair.

Jake found himself glancing over at the boy as he squinted in the sunlight with wind nipping his face. Cute kid.

They pulled into the parking lot of another diner, one Sam was more familiar with, and hopped out of the car. Jake slammed his door as usual and they made their way in. They were sat quickly just like before and looked over the menus.

Jake was hungry today, which was rare for him. Everything looked good but he settled on an omelette and hash browns. Sam got the same order of pancakes and orange juice but added a side of fruit this time.

Jake sipped his coffee, Sam sipped his juice, then Sam asked. “How was your date?” The boy snickered and hid behind his tall glass.

Jake raised a brow and smirked. He mirrored and hid behind his coffee mug for a moment. “Fine.. How was your night? Enjoy the house to yourself?” Sam’s smile faded as he sat back.

The boy stayed quiet for a second, twisting his cup where the condensation made it slick against the table. “He’s not as good as you remembered, huh?” Sam asked, avoiding eye contact.

A million questions popped into Jake’s head, yet he asked none of them. “Not at all..”

“Yeah..” Sam sighed. There was a silent agreement between them just then. Something they had in common, but refused to speak on. At least until Sammy was older.

“Did Josh ever..?” Sam looked up at his brother then.

Jake shrugged. “Probably not. He thought Danny was lame.”

Sam laughed. “Typical. Josh always preferred a challenge.” Sam spoke as if he had known Josh his whole life. From Jake’s point of view, Josh only ever showed up for the really important stuff. He hadn’t even bothered to reach out since Jake got here. They could both be dead for all Josh knew. Sam was correct though. It was typical.

There was some more silence, then there was food. Sam did his usual routine of spreading out the butter, after letting it melt a considerable amount, then covered the thing in strawberry jelly, mixing in a grape when he ran out of strawberry.

Jake sprinkled some salt and pepper over his food then sort of tore into it and mixed most of it together. They both had weird eating habits, but neither made a point to tease the other and point it out.

“They forgot my fruit..” Sam noticed with a small pout.

“Oh- hey excu-!”

“No!” Sammy whispered and grabbed Jake’s hand about to go up to flag a waitress. “No, it’s okay. I don’t need it.”

“What are you talking about? You ordered it, you-“

“No, seriously Jake. Who cares.” The boy muttered, seeming to be vehemently against the idea of getting his fruit.

“Excuse me!” Jake said as he finally caught a waitress's attention.

“Everything okay?” She asked with a cheery smile.

“Yeah, we were just expecting some fruit too is all.” Jake gave a warm grin.

“Oh I’m so sorry about that! Let me go grab that for you.” The girl smiled and ran off. Jake looked back over to Sam who had his head hung low, looking as though he wanted to hide away in a hole and die forever.

“Sammy?” The man asked and reached forward to nudge the kid.

“Thought you were gonna yell..” Sam confessed and lifted his head. He looked around at the once again empty diner before straightening his back. “Sorry..”

“Don’t apologize. It’s alright.” Jake frowned.

Their mom loved to cause a scene, especially to someone who was making less than minimum wage, not that Karen was ever making much more. It seemed to have gotten much worse with the way Sam was reacting. Almost begging Jake to stop.

They were silent again, only giving a smile when the fruit was finally dropped off. Sam was able to relax as he nibbled at his food but still avoided looking at Jake.

“So.. where do you usually shop for clothes?” Jake asked, very out of the game on fashion trends and stores around the area.

“Uh, usually I get hand me downs from your old stuff or the kid up the street.”

Jake nodded, finally taking note of the Seniors ‘08 stamped on the front of Sam’s t-shirt.

“Well we’ll stop by a couple of places I liked as a kid. Do you have stuff you like to wear?” Jake stabbed some potatoes with his fork and brought it to his mouth.

“Mm not really.” Sam looked up finally. “Sorry I’m not much help.

“It’s fine. We’ll find something that fits you and that you like.” Jake reassured with a smile. Sam gave one back albeit a little awkwardly.

They took their time eating, enjoying every bite. This was one of the better meals they had shared together. Sam let Jake have some of his pancake but declined Jake’s offer of his savory mess. Jake claimed it was good and Sam let him live with that.

Jake paid the bill and the two were off again. They pulled up to a rundown mall that was once bustling with teenagers. The smell of pretzels no longer lured Jake in. Instead, muzak echoed through the building as more and more stores were empty.

The two walked around aimlessly until coming upon a shop Jake had frequented as a kid.

“Let’s check it out.” Jake said and nodded inside.

“It’s not really my style.” Sam commented as he followed the man.

“You told me you didn’t have a style.”

“Yeah, but.. still.” The boy shrugged as he looked at all the clothes. Still, he let Jake drag him around. The man held article after article of clothing up to Sam until something sparked in Sam or at least left a lasting impression on Jake.

“I dunno…” Sam pressed his lips together and looked around with a sigh.

“Okay.. take me where you want to go. I know there’s something you’re thinking of.” Sam avoided eye contact as Jake spoke. So there was something.

“Show me.” Jake asked again. Sam met his eyes for a second before nodding and walking away. Jake followed as Sam entered the women’s section. The colors changed from muted grays and greens to bright colors and patterns. Sam gravitated towards some oversized long sleeve shirts with multi color stripes and reached up to feel the fabric.

“I can look harder over there too.” He mumbled absentmindedly.

“No. This is perfect. I think that would look nice on you.” Jake smiled and reached up to grab one off the rack. He held it up to Sam’s chest to see what it looked like then handed it to Sam. “Let’s keep looking.” Jake smiled.

Sam smiled back with a slight pink tint to his cheeks. He watched as Jake picked out some more pieces, piling them into his arms for Sam to try on.

Jake touched a soft dress and looked over at Sam with raised eyebrows. Sam stared ahead at the dress very fondly but ultimately shook his head. They were pretty, but they weren’t him. Not yet he didn’t think.

The two made their way to the fitting room and Sam tried on the first few items. Stellar. 10/10. Points all around. Jake showered him in compliments as he tried on clothes that actually fit him and even sat a little baggy.

Sam looked at himself in the three way mirror at a sweater he had on before shrugging and walking back into his room. He turned on his heel last minute and faced Jake.

“Can you just come in? It’s easier than showing you everything one by one.” Sam asked and fiddled with the large decorative buttons on the sweater.

“Sure.” Jake stood and followed Sam into the rather roomy fitting room. He helped tidy some things up as Sam changed. The boy pulled the sweater off and then his shirt.

Jake couldn’t help but stare at the boy’s lithe body and how it moved. His spine was nearly visible while his ribcage was on full view. He turned and grabbed for another shirt, catching Jake looking. He ignored it. He pulled on a pink t-shirt with green trim. It was fun. He smiled to himself in the mirror. He hadn’t had this much fun with clothes in ever. He pulled a baggy, fuzzy cardigan over it and looked at himself in the mirror. Kind of fun.

“What do you think?” He turned to Jake.

“I like it. It’s fun.”

“That’s what I was thinking!” Sam laughed and turned back to the mirror. He fiddled with the baggy sleeves before shucking it off.

Then came the pants. He had a smaller figure so women’s pants would work on him. It was his butt that needed catering to so maybe women’s clothes were the way to go.

He shucked off his jeans and pulled on some cargo pants. They fit around his hips perfectly and still showed off his booty. Sam lifted his arms and looked at his backside in the mirror.

“Do these look okay?” The boy asked.

“No, th-they look great.” Jake stuttered, not expecting to be asked a question. He cleared his throat and sat up. Sam didn’t seem to notice.

“Okay. Yeah, I like the pockets.” Sam did a few poses before deciding he liked them and adding them to the yes pile.

Once Sam was thoroughly wiped out with trying on clothes, the two loaded up their treasures and headed up to the register.

Sam kept himself busy looking over the gift card designs and random jewelry displayed at the front. He tried on a couple pairs of sunglasses and giggled to himself in the mirror. Jake wondered when the last time that boy giggled was.

“Alrighty, and your total comes out to $402.38.” The cashier said with a smile.

“Okay.” Jake mumbled and rifled through his wallet to get some cash together.

Sam dropped his sunglasses and darted for the register, pushing Jake’s hands down.

“That’s too much.” Sam whispered to the man.

“It’s fine, Sammy.” Jake smiled, amused.

“No, I don't really need all of it. Let me put some stuff back.”

“Sammy, I’m telling you it’s fine!” He watched the boy pull up half the pile to start returning everything to their respective racks.

“Seriously Jake, it's too much.” Sam walked off with a little ‘sorry’ to the cashier. Jake grabbed him roughly by the back of the neck and pulled him back, like a mama cat would her kitten.

“Put it back, Sam. I’m fucking serious.” The man muttered just to Sam though the cashier could clearly hear.

Sam dropped the items and took a step back, eyes wide and looking down. The rest of the transaction was done in silence. Jake thanked her gently and took the bags. The two walked out of the store with a couple feet between them.

Jake led the way back to the car. He threw the bags in the trunk which he also had to slam, then climbed into the front with another slam.

Sam sat parallel to him, his gaze already out the window and hands tucked awkwardly between his thighs. The two of them didn’t speak the whole ride unless you counted Sam’s yawning. Jake didn’t.

Once in the driveway back home, Sam scurried back inside and upstairs to the safety of his mother’s room.

Jake huffed as he entered the house. He shouldn’t have yelled, or grabbed Sam like that. He would apologize for it later. After Sam got some time to rest. For now, he once again busied himself in the garage. He removed all the tags and began washing all the clothes so Sam couldn’t return them. He tossed out the receipt too.

After a couple hours of doing laundry, Jake laid out the neatly folded clothes on the couch for Sam to bring up to his room later. He sort of liked playing the stay at home mom. He grew up with one but she never did sweet stuff like this.

Jake heard the recognizable click of his mom’s door and looked up. Sammy was awake from his nap.

Sam descended the stairs with his blanket cloak held tightly around his shoulders. His eyes were puffy and his nose was red, just like when Jake had seen him for the first time a few days prior. Now was Jake’s chance.

“Hey Sam, I’m sorry for not respecting your boundaries earlier. I was just trying t-“

Sam didn’t hear him. He dropped his blanket off of his shoulders and grabbed Jake’s face, pulling him into a kiss.

Jake stepped back, almost stumbling, but Sam followed, catching Jake by his waist. The kiss was soft, and deep, and no one had held Jake like that in a long time, so he did what felt right. He kissed back.

Jake’s hands found Sam’s waist and pulled him close. Jake backed up to the couch and the two fell back in a huff, kicking Sam’s perfectly folded laundry to the floor.

Sammy felt warm. Inside and on his face. He felt comfortable for the first time in a while. Not alone. Maybe he was just horny. Grief did weird things to people.

Sam slid his tongue against Jake’s and moaned. Jake groaned in response and slid his hands up Sam’s waist. Sam liked Jake’s rough hands against his sensitive skin.

“I want you to fuck me.” Sam begged, locking his and Jake’s legs together. He grinded his hips against the man’s thigh and whined.

“Are you a virgin?” Was all Jake could think to ask, fully on board and okay with getting off with his little brother.

“Mhm..” Sam moaned, fingers tangling into Jake’s hair. “But please don’t be weird about it. Just fuck me..” Sam whispered, almost out of breath. The kids mom just died, what was Jake gonna do? Say no?

He flipped the teen over so he was hovering over him now. Like he had been in his fantasy in the shower. The fantasy that got him to cum in under thirty seconds.

“I’m not gonna fuck you, Sammy.” The boy whined in protest. “But I am gonna make you feel really good.” Jake promised and slunk down between Sam’s legs, tugging his pants down and off. Jake had been needing something to sink his teeth into. Sam was the perfect choice. How had Jake not considered Sammy before? Oh right, he wasn’t a weirdo brotherfucker until about 45 seconds ago.

Sam lifted his head and watched Jake pull him free from his boxers and drag his experienced tongue along his cock. Sam moaned and let his head fall back. He wasn’t too sure what to do with his hands so he just stuck them at his sides in fists.

Jake wanted him in his mouth asap so he stroked and kissed the boy. Sam was still young so he got hard in a matter of seconds. Jake took it as a compliment to his work and lifted his head to slide Sammy in. The boy groaned beneath him and shivered. Jake's mouth was warm. Warm and comforting. Sam didn’t know blowjobs could feel so good.

Jake looked up. Some sick part of him wanted to see Sam feeling good because of him. He wanted to remember this forever, he thought.

Jake bobbed his head, hoping Sam noticed his lack of gag reflex. Jake, the adult man, was sitting here hoping his kid brother would be impressed with his blowjob skills. What a life.

“Jake, fuck-“ The boy gasped and used one of his balled up hands to grab Jake’s hair. His soft, soft hair. He tugged gently as Jake focused more on the head before sinking down again.

Jake shifted in his jeans. He loved hearing Sam moan his name. He wanted more of it.

Jake sped up and reached up to fondle Sam’s balls. He was well groomed for a teenager. Jake was impressed.

Sammy moaned and bucked his hips up. “Fuck, dont- don’t wanna cum yet.” He stuttered and Jake pulled off, reading him loud and clear.

The two breathed heavily, one with a cock bobbing in their face, one without.

Sam looked down at his brother with a pathetic look on his face. “Please just fuck me..it’ll feel so good. Im so fucking tight, Jake.”

Jake nearly growled as he leaned up to kiss Sam again. The boy accepted it hungrily this time.

It’s not that Jake didn’t want to. He Wanted to. He was pretty sure he needed to. Sam’s bubble butt was irresistible and Jake better get to it before someone else did. He thought back to Sam, in bed, on his knees trying desperately to cum. Even using his own fingers on himself just to get there.

“Just let me get you off tonight, Sammy.” Jake pulled away, sliding a hand down his chest as he landed back between Sam’s legs. Plush lips wrapped back around Sam and began bobbing. Full strokes, tip to bottom. Sammy was choking out moan after moan. The boy arched his back and practically sat up as he got closer. His eyes were shut tight and his mouth hung open.

Without warning, hot ropes shot into Jake’s mouth, and the man never pulled off. He sped up and squeezed at those soft Sammy thighs, burying himself in Sam’s crotch as he finished.

Sam was quiet as the moan got caught in his throat. He nearly sobbed when he came too. “Ja-haaake!” Sam huffed then fell back onto the couch.

Jake pulled off with plenty of spit attaching him to his brother. He sucked in a breath and cleaned his mouth, giving Sam a few last strokes. Sam shuddered and Jake smiled, feeling his brother up. Maybe Sam should be doing the fucking around here with this thing attached to him.

“Yo-you..” Sam trailed off, head lolling to the side. He was completely out of breath.

“That good, huh?” Jake crawled up to hover over Sam and take in his blushing complexion. He looked as cute as ever like this. Jake almost couldn’t stand the thought of someone else getting to see Sam this way. He would have to take the kid’s virginity for himself.

Sam used his last bit of energy to hook an arm around Jake’s neck and pull him into a kiss. Sammy really liked kissing, but so did Jake. They both needed it.

The lack of sleep caught up to the two of them just then and Jake slumped in on Sam. He listened to his baby brother's heartbeat through his chest and hugged the boy close.

“Can you stay here?” Sam asked, leaving the question open ended.

“Yeah..” Jake sighed and settled against Sam. He failed to hear the double question Sam had asked. They fell asleep very quickly after that.

Chapter 5: Josh

Jake woke up to a dark living room. He was alone and cold. He pushed himself up from where he was lying on his stomach and looked around. The house smelled fruity and warm like it always did after Sam had showered. This one was especially pungent. It seemed Sam had showered and gone to bed. Jake might like to do the same.

The man sat up and looked for his phone. Still nothing from Josh. Jake hoped all that studying and prep for the interview was worth it. He did, however, have a few texts and missed calls from people at work, one of which being from his girlfriend. Friend who was a girl..

Can you cover me tonight? Baby Daddy is taking me out lol. Thx

Jake squinted at the phone. Didn’t he tell her he was visiting home to take care of his kid brother? Must’ve gotten lost in translation somewhere. That one went ignored.

You free tonight? I want to make it up to you (;

From Danny over a day ago. Fat chance bud. Jake closed his phone and tossed it to the side. He stretched out his aching limbs then made the short journey up the stairs for a shower.

He entered the bathroom and took note of the fogged up mirrors. Maybe Sam was still awake?

He tiptoed over to their mothers room and heard the hum of a tv. He knocked on the door before pushing it open and spotting Sam lost in a sea of blankets.

“Hey..” Jake spoke quietly. “You okay?” Jake asked, regarding what had happened earlier. That was a lot, especially for someone as young as Sam.

Sam was silent. Instead, he opened his arms for Jake. The older man attempted to hide his smile and failed. He walked into the room and climbed into where Sam was tucked in the middle. He felt bad getting his gross self all over the clean Sammy but he sunk into the hug nonetheless. The two sighed as they fit together. There was a comfortable silence for a moment before Jake felt the need to speak up.

“Hey, Sammy.. I’m sorry.” Jake whispered, apologizing for nothing in particular but also everything. Leaving, being absent, his mother dying, all of it.

“Thanks.” Sam whispered back. He stared ahead at the TV and found a lock of Jake’s hair to play with. “Will you sleep in here tonight?”

Jake looked around the room at the old decor. The same shit his mom had up since he was born. “Sure, Sammy.” He could get past who this room belonged to so long as it had Sammy in it. “Just let me shower first.” Jake pushed himself up but was snatched back down into a sweet kiss from his brother. Jake wasn’t gonna say no to that.

“Okay, okay-“ Jake mumbled against the teen’s mouth as he really had to leave. He could smell himself. That wasn’t a good sign. Maybe it’s what was getting Sammy all riled up.

Jake smirked and slid out of bed. “Teenagers..” He mumbled teasingly. Sam huffed and threw a decorative pillow at him as he left the room.

Jake laughed and hurried out, shutting the door behind him, and thus locking away his prize for the night.

Jake finally had some time to think in the shower. That’s all he used showers for really. Besides the occasional jerk off sesh.

He was enjoying not being alone. He was enjoying being in a house with no drunk, screaming adults or random dudes coming in and out to fuck your mom. He was enjoying spending time with Sam. Jake was kicking himself for all the time he wasted being upset over shit from his childhood. Now his mother was dead and what did that leave him with? It didn’t feel good. It didn’t feel like revenge. It just felt empty. He seemed to have gained something along the way though.

Jake did a quick run through of everything he needed to clean himself, only spending a little extra time on his hair. Sam seemed to like it so he wanted to put some more care into it.

He shuffled out of the shower, wiping himself down then heading to his room to pull on some boxers. He glanced at himself in the mirror and saw how close his belly was to hanging over the hem of his boxers. Jesus Jake, you let yourself go bud. He tugged on a shirt and made his way back to Sam.

Sam was asleep now, the tv quieter but still on. Jake wondered if Sam always slept with noise on or just now. He hesitated before climbing into bed next to Sam. It felt weird impeding on his space suddenly. He was invited prior but what if sleeping Sam had changed his mind?

He shuffled close to the boy, searching for his warmth. Sam rolled, feeling the dip in the bed. A small sigh escaped his lips as he settled up against Jake. A hand reached up to feel Jake’s waist and groaned. Sleepy hands grabbed the hem of Jake’s shirt and tugged it off. Jake laughed quietly, amused by the determined Sam. He let Sam tug his shirt off then settle into his chest. He had yet to see Jake shirtless but was a fan already.

Sam quieted then breathed softly against Jake. Jake was pulled into sleep soon after, comforted by Sam’s presence.

Jake woke up some hours later to quiet huffing and tugging. He blinked himself awake and looked up at the boy hovering over him. It took him another second to collect what was going on.

“Sammy? Baby?” He mumbled and reached forward to hold Sam’s hips on top of his.

“Good morning.” Sam whispered as he looked back and pressed the head of Jake’s cock up against himself.

Jake could barely protest before he was entering Sam with a groan. The boy slid down with more ease than Jake had expected. How long had he been at this? What time was it? How did Sam get him hard without him waking up?

Jake’s eyes fell shut before he could think of more questions that would go unanswered. Instead he pawed at Sam’s soft thighs and got used to the feeling of his little brother. His mind was calm, he wasn’t anxious. He wasn’t thinking about Josh, or work, or that lawyer he still had yet to call. Just Sam. His underage little brother in his lap.

Sam whined when he was full and began to bounce, using muscles in his legs he hadn’t used before.

“Mmjake-“ Sam hummed and Jake opened his eyes to look at Sam’s blissed out face.

It was slow and quiet. Sam and Jake held eye contact as Sam bounced gently, rocking his hips back at times to feel all of Jake. Neither of them had any place to be so they might as well take it slow.

Sam’s hands landed on top of Jake’s and caressed. He wanted to touch and feel all of Jake. He didn’t have too bad of a view either. He swore Jake’s tits jiggled with every bounce. Sam sped up just to see if they would but instead got a loud moan from Jake he had yet to hear. Jake made some fun noises when he was asleep and Sam was touching him, but none were as nice as this.

“Am I wearing a condom?” Jake breathed out and furrowed his brows. He hadn’t had something this tight around him in a long time. He wasn’t planning on lasting long but maybe Sam would give him another chance. Nothing quite like what Danny did but definitely close.

Sam shook his head and pulled Jake’s hand to his cock. Jake took the hint and wrapped a warm hand around his brother. The boy squeaked and shut his eyes, seemingly overwhelmed with all the sensations.

Sam leaked onto his hand and Jake ate it up, stroking in time with Sam’s hips. They had a nice slow pace going. Enough to feel good without the need to finish right away.

Sam couldn’t believe how easy this had been. Jake was the first real guy he had been with besides some hand stuff here and there. He always made it this big deal in his head but here he was with Jake inside of him and it felt just right. No tearing, no blood, no tears. There was still time for tears.

“Feel s’good, Jake.” Sam hummed and reached a hand up his shirt to play with his chest. Jake was very intrigued by this. He reached his free hand up to push up Sam’s shirt just as Sam had the night before, but was deterred by Sam’s hand stopping him.

“I don’t like it out.” Sam said in reference to his chest, now looking down at Jake.

“Okay, baby.” Jake agreed easily enough, moving his hand elsewhere to grab at Sam’s ass. He had other options.

Sam threw his head back and sped his hips up. It felt good but he wanted the best part. Jake felt so good the night before. His mouth was warm and he knew exactly what he was doing. He wanted to feel that warmth again. That moment where his head went fuzzy and nothing else mattered.

“Wanna cum..” Sam muttered. Jake heard him loud and clear. He took over the thrusts and bucked up into Sam, making the boy gasp. His hand, previously giving long languid strokes, now focused on the head stroking and twisting swiftly.

Sam squeaked and gasped sharply. Jake felt so good, much nicer than any fingers or toys. He didn’t think it could feel as good as it did. He wondered if it was just because it was Jake.

A week ago Jake was the last person on his mine. This week he’s the only person he wants in his life. He had grappled with the facts the night before. Why now? Why suddenly care? But Sam didn’t think he’d have it any other way. He was happy with how it played out, it just took 10 years to get here.

“Look at me, Sammy.” Jake squeezed at the boy as he obliged, looking down through lidded eyes.

Sam shook as he came, making a mess of Jake's hand. Jake sent him a sweet grin as they gazed into each other’s eyes. Sam could only scrunch his face up. He tried to keep his eyes open, he really did but they squeezed shut on their own.

Sam was tight around Jake, tighter now that he was cumming. “Fuck, baby.” The older man sat up and bounced Sam in his lap, treating him, lovingly, like his own personal fleshlight.

“Can I? Sammy” Jake begged, referring to finishing inside.

Sam whimpered with a nod, wrapping his arms around Jake’s neck. He wanted to be close. He wanted to share the same air.

Jake looked up at Sam's face, closer now than before. He could see the sweat on his forehead. Jake leaned forward to kiss the boy softly before finishing inside with a groan. He gave small thrusts to finish the job before slowing down.

Sam continued on, letting his tongue map out the entirety of Jake’s mouth. His tummy was full of butterflies and he wanted to keep that feeling going for as long as possible.

The two rocked together for a while after. Jake had let go of Sam and instead held him close. He was tiny like this. Sam almost towered over Jake, but all scrunched up like this, he was rather small.

Sam was the first to pull away, pressing one last peck to Jake before lifting his hips to slide off of him. He groaned as he spilled out onto Jake’s lap and collapsed onto the bed. Jake found his discarded shirt and wiped his hand clean then his lap. He looked over at Sam’s whose chest continued to rise and fall quickly as he caught his breath. The boy shivered so Jake pulled the blanket back over him. He discarded the shirt then joined his brother.

Sam was quick to attach himself to Jake, sinking lower in the bed so he could be smaller and fit his head against Jake’s chest.

It was morning but they still had some sleep to catch up on. Not a bad way to wake up though.

“Sammy?” Jake spoke up as the boy settled. Sam hummed beneath him in question.

“Do you want me here? or is this just a fling..” Jake asked, figuring now was as good a time as any.

Sam was silent, then he shifted and lifted his head to face Jake. His older brother met his eyes and looked at him with a tinge of worry.

“I think.. I think I haven’t been this happy in a long time.” Sam confessed.

Jake smirked, then that turned into a full smile. He hadn’t tried putting it into words yet but he thought he felt the same. This wasn’t some stranger in front of him. This was his brother. They had a history together. Despite that history being small and lacking any emotional memories, it was there.

“Maybe I should move back. Just until all of this is figured out and we can make sure you’re okay..” Jake suggested, more sure of this than any other decision he’d made in his life. This was the first time he felt he had a purpose. Other than making burgers at 4AM.

“Really?” Sam grinned and shuffled closer to Jake. He liked the sound of that very much. He pressed a sweet kiss to Jake’s jaw then finally to his lips. They stayed like that for a moment before Sam pulled away and cuddled back in. He yawned quietly and nuzzled his face into Jake’s neck.

The comfortable silence returned as the two held each other and let sleep surround them again.

Jake woke with a start to a loud “Hello!?” and a jingling of keys.

“Sam? Jake?” The notable voice of his twin, Josh, rang through the house, up the stairs, and into their room. Jake blinked and looked around. Sam was still asleep, curled up against him with his mouth hanging open. He lifted the sheets and saw their nude bodies tangled together.

Gently, but with haste, Jake slipped out of bed and pulled on his boxers he didn’t remember taking off. Right.. Sam.

“Jake!?” The eldest yelled again, sounding like he was dropping heavy luggage onto the floor.

“hey, Hey!” Jake whispered then shouted as he exited his mothers room. Luckily, Josh couldn’t see what room he exited before hurrying downstairs.

“Josh! Hey.” He grinned as he went down to greet his brother. He thought about what he had been doing a few hours prior so he made the hug brief.

“Uhm.. hi.” Josh said, surprised at Jake’s cheery attitude. “Dang you’re really happy she’s gone, huh?” His twin joked and pushed his luggage to the side.

Jake tilted his head in question until he felt the huge dumb grin on his face. He cleared his throat and let that fall before stroking his scratchy chin.

“No, uh just. Good to see you is all. Why didn’t you text? Or call?”

“I did? Like 30 minutes ago when I stopped for gas.” Josh corrected.

“Right, right.” Not at all what Jake was referring to but it was hard to get much else out of Josh.

“Where’s Sam? I wanna take y’all out to breakfast.” Josh grinned and rubbed his hands together. It was nearly lunch now but Josh had a thing about brunch.

“Oh, he’s.. still sleeping.” Jake pointed his thumb behind him before glancing up the stairs.

“Well wake him up.. boy needs to eat.” Josh walked past his twin and trudged up the stairs. He pushed open Sam’s door and saw Jake’s duffle laid out on his bed.

“He’s in mom’s room.” Jake said, following closely behind. He would rather Sam sleep in as long as he wanted but Josh was right, Sam did need to eat.

Josh gave him a look before heading to their moms room. He didn’t knock like Jake did, instead he entered and approached the mountain of blankets.

“Saaaam..” Josh hummed in a sing-song voice. Jake watched and stood in the doorway. Sam was naked, and he didn’t want Josh to know that Sam was naked, for Sam’s sake of course.

“Mm.. still sleeping.” Sam mumbled and rolled on his side to get away from the sun peeking in through the window.

“Sammy, come on. Let’s get some breakfast.” Josh sat on the bed and began to pull the blanket down to help Sam wake up.

Sam, in his drowsy state, had no way to discern the twins at that moment. He hadn’t seen them in the same room in years. There was no gauge for the adult twins.

“Jus’ come back to bed.” Sam mumbled and shoved his face into his pillow.

“What?” Josh asked then looked over his shoulder at Jake who was stuck frozen in the doorway. He quickly snapped out of it and walked over to Josh to pull him away.

“C’mon, he’s talking in his sleep, he’s tired. He didn’t get to bed until late..” Jake laughed as Josh stood. He glanced at Sam before nodding and following his twin out of the room.

Jake shut the door behind them and sighed. They traipsed back down into the kitchen where Josh began emptying out some paperwork. Some letters, some files, and a lot of credit card statements. Karen really knew how to run up a card.

“This is all the shit the bank sent me. Figure we could go through that this week.” Josh started before walking over to the fridge to look for something to drink. He was rather impressed with how full the fridge was. “We should probably plan a service for mom too. Have you done anything regarding mom since you got here?” Josh paused and looked over at his twin.

Jake looked over and thought. Well he went grocery shopping, fucked his high school English teacher.. kind of, took Sam clothes shopping then fucked Sam. Nope, not a lot in the ways of Karen.

“Uhh, no- nope. Just.. watched Sam. Like you told me to.” Jake pursed his lips together and nodded.

Josh laughed and looked back in the fridge. “Yeah, how’s that been? Did he even recognize you?”

Jake gripped the chair he was holding onto from behind. “It’s been fine. Great even.” Jake wanted to rub it in Josh’s face how good he was doing. Josh had no idea what had unfolded in this house these past few days. Jake wasn’t sure he really wanted him to know. He couldn’t blame Josh for thinking the way he did but he had hoped his twin had a little faith in him.

“Right, well.. I’m giving Sam another hour before we leave the house for some food. Good job on the groceries though.” Josh winked and poked Jake’s tummy before walking past him to bring his luggage upstairs. Jake watched with a sigh. He really needed to shower.

Josh’s hour had gone by quicker than expected. Jake showered and began throwing out old food from the kitchen. Karen had minor hoarding tendencies and kept things she didn’t need. Like spices from the 90’s or those jars with pickled peppers in them in the shape of a rooster.

Josh busied himself in his room he used to share with his twin. He’d had a long day of driving so after setting his clothes out he decided to rest his eyes for a bit.

Sam eventually made his way downstairs to find Jake. A yawn caught the older man’s attention so he looked up from smelling a container of some brown stuff from the back of the freezer.

“Hey sleepyhead.” Jake grinned as the blanket clad boy waddled over to press a sweet kiss to his lips. Jake tossed the container in the trash and pulled Sam close. His kisses were minty now. Quite yummy.

Sam hummed as he fell into Jake’s arms. To think it had only been a few hours since they had consummated this whole thing. There might’ve been no thing at all had Sammy not kinda forced it onto Jake.

“Okay, baby-“ Jake hummed and pulled away from Sam. The boy whined and peppered kisses down Jake’s jaw. Jake smiled and grabbed Sam’s waist under the blanket. He was happy to feel a pair of boxers on the boy.

Sam was happy to finally have his mind off of things. Off of his mom, his lack of money, his deteriorating house. Now it was just Jake, or so he thought.

“Josh is here, Sam.” This got Sam to pull away. He looked at Jake worried. The older man laughed a bit before pulling away and tugging Sam’s blanket tighter around him.

“Don’t worry. He didn’t see anything.” Jake reassured. “Although.. you did ask him to come back to bed earlier.” Jake snickered.

“What!?” Sam smacked the man’s stomach in disbelief. Jake laughed and turned away to tie up the almost overflowing garbage bag.

“It’s okay, I covered. Just- None of that while he’s here.” Jake walked past the boy with the garbage bag in tow and left to discard it.

Sam stood in the kitchen in disbelief of what he was hearing. Sam had gotten some of the best sleep ever the night before, and this morning. Now Josh had to come in and ruin it all. It’s almost like there were more pressing matters than his and Jake’s blossoming relationship.

Jake came back in and found Sam on the couch pouting. He tilted his head and looked over at the boy.

“Did you shower?” Sam shook his head. It struck Jake then the age he was dealing with here. The age of someone who still pouted.

“Well.. if you shower..” Jake approached the boy on the couch and leaned down. “And take your clothes upstairs.” Jake referred to the new clothes, now scattered on the floor after last night, before giving his brother a peck. “Then Josh and I will take you out to eat.”

Sam smiled then squinted at Jake in a forced glare. “Okay.” He agreed quietly.

“Good. Hop to it.” Jake stood. “Papa’s starved.” He said and pat his belly. Sam cringed as he stood, seemingly not a fan of the name Jake had given himself.

“Whatever.” Sam hurried up the stairs and retreated into the bathroom, dropping the blanket in a pile outside the door.

Josh had woken up and Sam was washed and dressed. They greeted each other very awkwardly. Sam seemed a bit standoffish while Josh came off as too friendly.

Josh drove this time and pulled up to a fancy looking brunch spot. He talked about it the whole drive over there and it sounded very out of their tax bracket. Sam and Jake shared a look before climbing out of the car and following the chatty twin inside.

It took a while before they were seated. Nothing like the rundown diners they had frequented that past week.

Josh sat on one side of their booth while Sam and Jake took the other. Sam pressed his knee to his brother’s and glanced at him out of the corner of his eye. Jake ignored it.

Josh went on about his life in Nashville. He was getting all these job opportunities and hanging out with all these fancy musicians. It sounded fun but not like a life the other two would like to live. Not that they knew what they wanted anyhow. They were pretty happy as of late though.

“You should come stay with me for a bit, Sammy. After you’re done with school and everything.” Josh offered, pouring some creamer into his coffee.

“I finished already. I graduated a couple months ago. You couldn’t make it remember?” Sam asked and Jake snorted. Though he had no reason to. He wasn’t there either.

“Right, right. Then it’s perfect timing. After I get this job and have a few months under my belt, you can come visit.” Josh grinned at the boy.

Sam just nodded and gave a small smile. “Yeah, sounds fun.”

After ordering their food and being reassured that Josh would pay, they sat back and chatted for a bit about what they might like to do with mom. Burial got tossed out there, then cremation, then just letting her rot. That one got shot down quickly by a nearly teary eyed Sammy. Right, that kid actually liked her.

They settled on cremation and a small service. They could bury her in the backyard of their house and have a small get together. Something easy.

“So.” Josh started. “What have you two been up to? You both seem rather cozy.” Josh smiled. Jake pulled his knee away from Sam’s.

This is what Josh had always wanted. For them to get along. Who knew all it took was someone dying. Even if it had to be their mom.

Jake shrugged. “Got Sam some new clothes. Went to a couple diners. Nothing crazy.” Both of them avoided eye contact with Josh, and just in time too. Their food was dropped off and they got to distract themselves for a bit. Sam got his usual, Jake got a breakfast platter of everything, and Josh got an açaí bowl. It sounded like a foreign language to Jake when his twin had ordered it.

They ate and talked. They had nothing to reminisce on so time was spent just catching up. Sam talked about having finished school and about what he might like to do for his birthday. He had no big plans for life yet so he focused on the milestones.

Jake talked about his job and this girl he’s seeing- was seeing. It made Sam antsy so he cut that off quickly. Not that there was much to tell but Josh asked.

Once the food was done and plates were taken away, Josh began assigning tasks. Jake would clean this while Sam cleaned that, and Josh would chat with the lawyers. Thank God. He already had meetings set up with the bank and had plans to call various other people. Jake felt a weight lift off his shoulders.

Josh also mentioned he couldn’t stay long. He had another interview in a couple of days and a final paper due the same week. He mentioned they should be grateful he even stopped by. Jake glared at him, but he was. He didn’t want to do all the hard stuff. Especially for someone who never gave a shit about them.

“Thanks.” Jake muttered and Sam followed.

The three left the restaurant and headed back home. There, they began their respective chores and Josh made his way into town. Jake had the garage open and was tossing stuff into the driveway. He was sort of grateful for the past couple of days he had locked himself away and started organizing everything. It made this whole process a lot easier.

Sam, who had been tasked with Karen’s room and getting everything set aside to donate, was finding it rather hard and overwhelming. He decided a break was a good idea even after not working on it for nearly long enough.

He hurried down the stairs and flew past the door into the garage where Jake was huddled over some paperwork, flipping through it before discarding it.

“Hey, Jake.” That got the man’s attention. He stood and turned with a groan. His back was not what it used to be.

Sam ran over and wrapped his arms around Jake’s neck, pulling him into a kiss. Jake laughed, letting the boy kiss him and tug him back towards the work bench.

“Hey, hey- I’m happy to see you too.” Jake pulled away. “Gotta be careful though..” He motioned towards the open garage door then grunted when Sam hopped up to sit on the bench and tug Jake towards him.

“I know. Maybe I want people to see.” Sam teased and held Jake by his collar, kissing him softly. Jake hesitated before settling his dusty hands on Sam’s hips. The boy still had yet to wear the new clothes they got him so he felt okay getting his pants dirty.

Sam reached down to undo Jake’s belt. Jake laughed and pulled away again. “Sammy, didn’t we just do this? Josh could come home at any minute.” Jake wasn’t necessarily protesting, but he did want Sam to be aware of the consequences.

“I know! Isn’t it exciting?” Sam got Jake’s jeans undone and returned to the kiss before shoving his hand down Jake’s boxers.

Excitement. That was what Jake needed, and that’s what this kid brought. Every day in the city was the same. Get up, go to work, go out with coworkers, take one of them home if he was lucky, then go back to bed. None of it meant anything. None of it fed his brain. This fed his brain.

Sam jerked him off, moving his hand fluidly up and down and twisting. Jake was hard in a matter of minutes, gripping tight at the boy’s hips through his pants.

“You like my hand that much?” Sam asked and looked down at Jake. They were so close they were breathing the same breath.

Jake whined and nodded. Sam’s touches were so careful and Jake really liked who they were coming from. So what if he got hard a little quicker than usual.

Sam slid down between them and the bench. He smiled at Jake before leaning down to get on his knees. Jake let out a relaxed sigh as Sam freed him and took him into his mouth. So warm and so wet.. and so.. good at this? Is this what he had missed out on before waking up?

“Ah, Sam-“ Jake groaned as Sam took him all in. Not a single gag to be had. When and where did Sammy learn how to do this? Jake had a few years to catch up on regarding Sam. He could start after this.

Sam moaned beneath him, enjoying his mouth being filled with something as nice as Jake. He nuzzled his nose up against his brother before pulling off completely then settling into a nice bobbing pace. A fist followed his movements and made Jake grip the bench.

“Jesus, Sam. ‘M gonna cum.” The man confessed with shut eyes. Sam had barely done anything but it was doing wonders for Jake. Maybe he should thank Josh. Had he not shown up this might’ve never happened.

Sam sped up and flicked his tongue side to side at the head of Jake’s cock. His hand continued to stroke the slicked up flesh as he waited for his prize. He wanted to taste Jake. Jake had tasted him, now it was his turn.

“Fuckfuck-“ Jake groaned and let his mouth fall open as he came. His hips tightened as he shoved further into Sam’s mouth. Sam kept up though, the good boy. He stroked and sucked and got every last drop out, swallowing all Jake had to give him.

Jake held there for a moment, probably cutting off Sam’s airways. The boy never made a peep though, just let his tongue dance against his softening brother.

Jake let go of Sam’s hair he didn’t realize he had grabbed and the boy pulled off with a gasp.

“Fuck, Jake.” Sam hummed as he regained his composure, licking his lips.

“Did I hurt you?” Jake leaned down to inspect and the boy laughed, pushing him away.

“No, you just blow huge loads dude. Get out of my face.” Sam giggled and stood, wiping his mouth. Sam was about to walk back into the house when Jake grabbed his wrist and pulled him back. Sam gave a fake groan as Jake wrapped his arms around him and pressed a sweet kiss to the side of his neck.

“Couple more hours of chores then we can settle in for the night, kay?”

Sam hummed and nodded. “Yeah, but can I do something else? I don’t want to keep throwing away her stuff.”

Jake thought for a moment, constantly forgetting how this was affecting Sam. “Of course, baby. How ‘bout you clean out the downstairs bathroom. All the old magazines and empty bottles she liked to keep. Can you do that?”

Sam nodded and looked at his brother. That was much better.

“Good.” He let the boy go and let him walk off, but not before giving him a cheeky spank. Sam yelped and ran off and left Jake to do up his jeans and continue on with his task.

The orange sunset settled into a deep purple when Jake was finally done. A chill breeze ran through the garage where he had filled up their garbage bin and used up all the trash bags.

Sam finished his chore long before Jake finished his and was sitting around fighting sleep on the couch.

Josh got home around the same time Jake finished up and congratulated them on the good work. The plans for their moms service were settled. Sam’s shoulder slumped at the reminder of why they were all here doing what they were doing. He was cheered up a bit when he found out they had got the house though. Josh signed his portion and Jake would sign his the next day. They would bring Sam on after his birthday.

Sam wanted to kiss Jake; he was so excited. So many emotions needed to be expelled as of late and all he could think to do was take it out on Jake. He had problems regulating emotions already, but having Jake by his side started to bring him more clarity. He was already sleeping better.

Sam made the twins dinner. He enjoyed cooking and seemed to be the only one to have picked up that skill from Karen. They weren’t sure if it was a skill per se but she definitely kept them fed as youngsters. When she had the funds that is..

Sam whipped up some pasta dish with diced tomatoes and served it with corn and peas. He hadn’t realized until Jake pointed it out that there was no protein. In a need to satiate Jake he hurried to the fridge then slapped some cold rotisserie chicken on his plate. Worked for Jake.

They ate and talked about what they might like to do with the house. After repairs of course. Jake talked about moving back in and Josh was on board. He had a life in Nashville now and didn’t plan on moving back to take care of this house. He was glad to hear Jake take some lead.

The night winded down and Josh retired early, needing to do his 30 step nightly routine that he had skipped out on the night before.

Sam returned to his room and Jake returned to Sam’s room. They both laid awake listening to Josh run back and forth from the bathroom to his room when he forgot a step. Eventually he settled and Jake waited for him to fall asleep.

Jake’s phone buzzed and he planned to ignore it but something told him not to. He grabbed the device and saw it was Sam.

Sneak over

Jake grinned. He threw his blanket off and tiptoed to his mom’s room. He opened and shut the door quietly then approached the giggling boy in bed. Sam lifted the covers for him and the man slid in.

“Hi, baby.” Jake said as he settled and Sam shuffled into him.

“Hi.. I like that name.” Sam hummed and shut his eyes, finally comfortable again.

“Baby? What about honey? Sweetie? Lovebug?” Jake asked and peppered kisses to the top of Sam’s head. The boy giggled at each one and kicked his feet.

Sam leaned up and kissed the man gently, slipping in just a little tongue. Jake moaned, not from pleasure but from comfort. Maybe a mixture of both.

Sam pulled away and settled in again. “Goodnight, Jake.” The boy whispered.

“Night, Sammy.” Jake mumbled. He took note of the lack of tv on. Just the trees rustling and wind whistling through the cracked window. Sleep found them easily again.

Chapter 6: The Finale

Sam’s hands gripped the headboard, his hips rocking up and down against Jake’s. He was trying so hard to be quiet, he had to be, but he couldn’t help the tiny gasps and squeaks that escaped. The slapping of skin on skin didn’t help either. They found themselves moving slower than they wanted to, to reduce sound.

“Fuck-“ Sam muttered, frustrated.

“Let me, Sammy.” Jake lifted the boy just slightly and began fucking up into him. The short, shallow thrusts reduced the sound and brought them closer and closer.

Sam held his breath, mouth hanging open above Jake. His thighs began to shake as Jake repeatedly hit that spot inside of him. He bit his lip to quiet himself as his cock bobbed and came messily onto Jake’s tummy. The boy gasped and shuddered, legs crumbling as they could no longer support him.

Jake used his last bit of strength to hold Sam up and fuck him ruthlessly. To hell with being quiet. Jake followed soon after, releasing deep and hard into his little brother.

Sammy quieted the man with a kiss, giggling about how loud he got. He sounded like an old man when he came.

Sam grinded his hips against Jake, the two of them rocking comfortably as they came down from their high. They didn’t know the next time they’d be able to do that so they figured morning time would have to work.

Sam pulled away and fell back, hair a mess, arms sprawled out, and still attached to Jake.

Jake smirked and looked down at the exposed Sammy, perfectly lit by the morning sun.

“That’s.. the first time.. I came without.. hands.” Sam confessed, still catching his breath.

Jake gave a surprised look. It looked so natural for Sam. “So I’m just that good, huh?” He bounced his eyebrows at his little brother.

Sam rolled his eyes and pulled his hips off gently, rolling to his side of the bed to clean himself off. They had dirtied a few shirts. Sam might need to do a load of laundry today.

Jake did the same and pulled his boxers back on. He checked the time before getting back under the sheets. They still had a while before they needed to start their day. Josh wasn’t even up yet. What was the rush?

Sam joined him, choosing to skip out on the whole underwear thing. Jake lied back so Sam crawled up and rested his head against Jake’s chest, petting at the soft skin. He tweaked a nipple but got his hand slapped so he giggled and pulled away.

“Are they sensitive like mine?” Sam asked, looking up from under his lashes.

“No, they just don’t like to be pinched!” Jake laughed which made Sam laugh. He looked at the small bit of flesh. Tanned and pretty. He leaned forward and pressed a small kiss to it.

“Sorry..” Sam apologized, not quite to Jake.

Jake smiled and shut his eyes, holding his boy close. Sam did the same.

They only got a few minutes to themselves before there was a small knock at the door and a turn of the doorknob. Jake hadn’t locked it?? They only had a couple of seconds to scramble before Josh was walking in, fully prepared to deliver a morning monologue.

“Goo- Oh.” Josh stood in the doorway looking at the two. They were frozen and wore horrified expressions on their faces. Sam tried to hide while Jake tried to hide Sam. As if that would help. Josh stood on his hip.

“So that’s what’s been going on.” Josh hummed and tilted his head to the side. He gave a smile as if he was proud of the fact he could sense something going on.

“It’s- yes, but it’s been completely innocent.” Jake lied and Sam stayed quiet.

“I don't care. We were kids once too, Jake.” Josh conceded before giving them another once over and leaving the room.

Sam peeked up at Jake from under the covers. What did that mean?

Jake could hear Sam’s questions in the silence of the room. “I’ll tell you later.”

Jake got up from the bed and pulled the rest of his clothes on. Sam did the same, attempting to shake off whatever had just happened. Josh didn’t seem to care and Jake wasn’t worried, so why should Sam be worried.

“Please don’t make Jake leave.” Sam whisper yelled to the eldest twin. Everyone was showered and getting started on chores when Sam cornered Josh.

Josh squinted at the boy and backed up from his space being invaded. “What? I’m not doing that. I told you. I don't care. You guys seem happy.”

Josh stalked around in the kitchen looking for some paperwork in an old cabinet. Sam wasn’t satisfied with that though and followed his brother.

“So you’re not gonna call the cops? Or take me away to Nashville?” Sam did not want to go to Nashville.

“No. Sammy. Back off.” Josh said, referencing the personal space. Sam stood back, nodding apologetically. “I've seen Jake eat like 5 full meals these past couple of days.. Jake never eats. You did something to him that I think will be really good for him. And you.. you.” Josh looked his brother up and down. “You still need some guidance and having a grown up around here keeping you out of trouble might not be a bad thing.”

Sam relaxed. He was good for Jake? Jake was good for him? He smiled a little at Josh and looked down. “You think so?”

“If I say yes will you go do your chores?” Josh asked with a cocked eyebrow.

Sam nodded. “Then yes.”

Sam grinned and gave his brother a hug. A real one, with some pressure. He had only ever given him awkward side hugs that you gave relatives you barely knew. And wouldn’t ya know.

Sam ran off to check some things off his to-do list but stopped first to whisper the good news to Jake. Chores around the house got easier after that.

Life got easier at the house after that too. Josh left like he said he would and left the rest to his brothers. After a quick trip to the city to gather his things and quit his job, Jake was back in his childhood home making it his and Sam’s.

Sam got a part time job down the street and started attending the community college. He wasn't sure what he wanted to do but Jake urged him to just give it a try. After cashing out the surprise life insurance policy on Karen and paying off her debt, Jake began repairs on the house. He got a little extra cash on the side doing local repairs after learning he was pretty handy.

Him and Sam were happy too. It was a rough couple of weeks getting everything out of Karen’s room. A lot of compromises were made until she had her own dresser dedicated to some of her clothes and picture frames and perfumes. The tv got moved into Sam’s old room and the boy’s made the space their own.

They lived happily like some old married couple. Josh made an effort to stop by more. Sam did eventually make it out to Nashville. He wasn’t much of a fan being so far from Jake but enjoyed the people and the music and culture.

They were comfortable, and had something so horrific not happened, they would’ve never found their bliss. So, in some weird way, they were sort of grateful.