All the characters and events in this story are fictitious. Any resemblance to real people, either living or dead, is entirely unintentional.
The story is copyrighted and may not be reproduced in any way without the express permission of the author who can be contacted at:
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PJ
D'n'M Part 6
From Chapter 6:
Once Milo left the room with the connecting door closed behind him, Nico, too, began to take off his clothes, but not to take another shower and not to get into bed. He did, though, go into his own bathroom and was pleased to find a hotel-sized bottle of moisturising oil which he carefully rubbed onto the skin of his torso, legs and arms. He then began to concentrate on his dick which, at first, didn't look as if it was going to co-operate but, after several minutes of concentrated effort, began to thicken and lengthen. Finally, with a half-way decent chub in evidence, both Nico and his dick were ready.
`I really need this to work,' he thought as he walked through into his uncle's room and positioned himself on the bed.
Chapter 7:
It was after M had called from his hotel room in Buenos Aires that Dan found it impossible to shake off his feelings of, of what exactly? -- Foreboding? Disquiet? Anxiety? No, none of those properly covered it. Right from the start he'd been way less enthusiastic about the whole Nico situation' than M. Ever since that first evening when Veronica Lamar (at least they'd seen the last of her) had appeared at their apartment to announce the existence of Kate's previously unknown son, he'd been unable to shake off the feeling that this was, somehow, seriously bad news, bad for them as a couple and, very likely, bad for the rest of family too. For M's sake and because he loved him absolutely, he'd been willing to push his concerns into the background and go along with all the plans to bring the boy home', but with that now becoming an ever-closer reality, the persistent inside-his-head noise constantly repeating his concerns was very much louder and more insistent.
So, what, had he been secretly hoping that his belief that it was all a giant Kate-generated scam would be proved correct? Or that Nico's nationality and citizenship status would be challenged? Or even that two married men wouldn't be allowed to provide a home for a teenage boy? Well, now it looked as if none of those potential barriers was going to get in the way of. So far, everything described by Kate in her letter had turned out to be true. The authorities in Argentina had, finally, been falling over themselves to get Nico off their hands as quickly as possible, and Hamza, the new, independent assessor, had made it pretty clear that the reality of, not Mr. and Mrs., but Mr. and Mr. de Beer-Reed, would be no form of obstacle to the successful transfer of guardianship, especially as one of them was a close blood relative.
But, no matter how hard he tried, Dan couldn't stop himself thinking that a shit-load of problems was about to be arriving on his doorstep. Naturally he'd thought about sharing his worries with the parents but they all seemed just as excited by, and invested in, the whole Nico `fairytale', with its happy-ever-after ending, as M was. Gerry had been transformed, seeming to shed years in age and anxiety and guilt, his own dad was busy making sure that all the nitty gritty stuff was fully in place and properly organised, and, as for his mum, she was almost skipping with happiness at the prospect of having a new baby to mother (or smother, as Dan uncharitably described it, though never when there was any chance that she might hear). So, no, there was no point in voicing his concerns to any of them. But there was one person who would understand, someone Dan had always been able to rely on whenever he needed someone to have his back. Tom.
"Hey, D, good to see you. How're things? Mum tells me it's all systems go with M's pop-up nephew. I don't think she's been this excited since you and M got hitched." Dan's big brother could always be guaranteed to home in on whatever might be on his unsettled mind.
"Tell me about it."
"Whoa! That doesn't sound as if you're exactly full of enthusiasm. What's not to like about giving a home to the boy? From what I've heard he's had a pretty fucked-up life so far. He even tried to kill himself, mum said." Was Tom trying too hard to be positive? Dan suspected that he was. Maybe their mum had got a sense of his own disquiet and had recruited Tom as a positive and encouraging influence. She knew how much he looked up to his big brother and could be a very devious woman when she felt the need.
"Yeah, I know. All that's true and I feel a real shit for not being 100% behind the idea. But M, my dear, sweet, naïve M, he doesn't see any downsides at all to suddenly playing daddy to a fucked-up fourteen-year old. It kills me having to pretend to be totally on board with something that means so much to him, when really I think it's a one-way street to disaster." Just saying these treacherous words out loud to someone else made Dan feel better.
"Come on, D, lighten up. Your man's not an idiot and, more importantly, he's a first class therapist. If anyone knows what you're both taking on, it's M."
"Don't you think I've tried telling myself all that? But I've seen how badly torn up he gets when he's done nothing more than listen for an hour a week to some privileged kid with a bit of a mental health issue. What's he gonna be like when that kid, who's had a life you wouldn't wish on a stray dog, is living under the same roof?" Tom could hear in Dan's voice just how frustrated and agitated he was becoming. "And not just any kid, his one and only nephew, his dead sister's boy, who she's begged M to take care of."
"Yeah, I get that. But what's the alternative?" Tom always was the more pragmatic and less emotional of the two brothers. "Are you gonna walk out and leave M to it? I don't think so."
"So, what do I do?"
"Simple. You're gonna have to suck it up and find a way to make it work."
Easy for him to say, thought Dan.
"Anyway, fourteen year-olds aren't so bad to live with, you know."
"Says the most chilled out step-dad on the planet. Besides, Aiden is a sweet kid who'd kiss your shit if you asked him to. And, anyway, he isn't fourteen."
"Thirteen. Close enough. And believe me, he's not always the shining light of co-operation and friendliness that you get to see every time he visits. His mum makes super-sure that he's on his best behaviour."
"Yeah? So how is Chloe? And Ellie?"
"Well, Ellie is definitely daddy's little girl and her mum is as beautiful as ever." Tom paused before steering the conversation back on track. "And don't try changing the subject. When are you expecting M and the boy to get back?"
"Gerry is going to meet them at the airport first thing tomorrow. Mum's gonna drive him. They'll be back here in time for breakfast."
"You're not going with them?" Tom was surprised that Dan wouldn't be part of the welcoming party. It sounded like his kid brother was trying to put off, for as long as possible, his first meeting with Nico. If that was in fact the case, then this was not good. Not good at all. He knew Milo would be counting on Dan's support. Knew, indeed, that he wouldn't even question it. If D showed even the slightest sign of doubt or reluctance, well, that would be seriously bad news. No wonder their mum had been so keen for him to talk to D and get him into a more positive frame of mind. "Look D, ever since you were kids you and M have been there for each other. You're a great team. Together you can make this whole `Nico thing' work. Sure, it's not gonna be easy, may even be hell on wheels for a while, but, it will be fine. I'm sure of it." But Tom knew better than to over-sweeten the pill. D wasn't that naïve. "But if you can't convince M that you support him every step of the way ..."
Dan was fully aware of the implied warning in the unfinished sentence. "But it's a disaster waiting to happen, Tom, I'm sure it is."
"Maybe, but, like I said, you've gotta suck it up and make sure that M thinks you're 100% on board. You don't have to believe it, just so long as M does."
The expression on Dan's face at the other end of the video call didn't do anything to boost Tom's confidence in his brother's acting skills. "You know I'm always here for you, D. And mum and dad have totally got your back. I've got some leave due soon, maybe, I'll come down for a visit. Just hang on in there."
"Thanks. I really appreciate it." Dan knew that he was going to need all the help he could get in the weeks and months to come, although he also knew that his love for M was so strong that he'd do pretty much anything for him, no matter the cost to himself. Fortunately, as he ended the call with Tom, he had no idea how severely that love was going to be tested.
He was carrying a basket of clean laundry through to the bedroom when Dan heard the key turning in the lock. M had messaged him to say they were leaving the airport so it wasn't exactly a surprise, although the journey had taken less time than he'd expected. He'd only just about had enough time to mix up some batter for breakfast pancakes and put on the coffee. He decided that the traffic must have been unusually light for that time of the morning. Okay, this is it,' he told himself. Time to put on my game face. Like Tom says, as long as M believes I'm fully committed to this whole plan, that's what matters.'
He quickly dumped the basket and faced the door as it opened. First through was M, followed by Helen. And then ... no-one.
"Where's ...?"
"Downstairs in the car. Nico's refusing to get out. My dad's talking to him, trying to persuade him to move." The expression on M's face told Dan everything he needed to know about how things had been working out between him and Nico.
"Fuck!"
"Tell me about it."
Helen walked up behind Milo and gently stroked his back. "Let's not over-think this. Nico's probably just feeling a bit overwhelmed by everything that's been happening. Don't forget, he's a fourteen-year-old kid who's grieving for his mum, and now he's been picked up and whisked half way across the world by an uncle he didn't even know existed until a few weeks ago. He must be more shades of confused than any of us can even contemplate." Helen, as usual, was doing her best to be reasonable and bring down everyone's stress levels, especially Milo's. But it wasn't working.
"You've no idea what a nightmare it's been. He won't speak to me, not in English or Spanish. Won't even look at me. He couldn't have made it any more obvious exactly what he thinks of leaving Argentina or of living here with us. Kate said in that awful letter that he's basically a good kid with some rough edges. Well, she got one of those right."
Dan hated to hear M sounding so low and decided this was the moment when he needed to step up to demonstrate his support. He took three steps across to where M was still standing just inside the open door and pulled him into a tight and, hopefully, reassuring hug. He wasn't totally surprised when M didn't respond by hugging him back but he was definitely unprepared for M turning his face away to avoid the welcome home' kiss that Dan tried to place on his lips. Whoa! Things must be bad,' he thought, but he felt the need to be as upbeat and positive as possible.
"Look, there's no point in us all hanging around here in the hallway. We don't know how long it'll take Gerry to talk Nico round. Let's go into the kitchen and get some coffee."
"Good plan," Helen quickly agreed, turning to Milo. "And on the way we can show you what we've done to Nico's room. I think you'll like it."
The three of them made their way towards the kitchen, stopping to see the room that had been, the last time Milo had seen it, the home office he had shared with Dan. But it was an office no more. In place of two back-to-back desks in the middle of the room, monitor screens, office chairs and filing cabinets, there was now just one desk under the window, new twin bunk beds, a drawer unit and subdued lighting. Milo saw that the shelves had been cleared of D's box files and his own psychology books -- where had they been moved to he wondered -- to be replaced by a mid-sized TV screen and a few soccer magazines. He was impressed by the transformation, especially when he noticed the newly pale blue-washed walls and the darker blue window blind and matching bedding. The new look was completed by a grey-patterned rug. Yep, D's mum had definitely been busy.
Right on cue she asked, "What do you think?"
"It looks like you've done a really good job in such a short time," Milo replied. "Though I wasn't expecting the bunk beds."
"That was my dad's idea," said Dan. "He thought it would be a way of letting Nico know, right from the get-go, that this was his space and that it was okay for him to have friends over."
That wasn't a bad idea, Milo thought, but he also suspected it could be a long time before Nico was ready to start making friends at all, much less invite them to sleep over. He knew, only too well, that there were many barriers to break down before that happened -- if it ever did. But he didn't want to pour cold water on all the efforts that everyone had made while he was in Argentina, so what he said was, "Typical Roger, thinking things through and planning ahead. You've all worked so hard to pull everything together. I'm sure Nico will be totally grateful. I know I am." He hoped he sounded convincing. "Where is Roger, anyway?" he continued. "I expected him to be here."
Helen replied, "He thought having us all here together would be rather overwhelming for Nico, so he's stayed home, going over some figures for work. He says there'll be plenty of time for him and Nico to meet and get to know each other once the boy's had a bit of time to settle in. But I know he's looking forward to it," she added hastily, almost as if she was trying to convince them of Roger's support, something Dan was quick to pick up on. He began to wonder if his dad, too, had unspoken reservations about the whole Nico thing'. Interesting,' he thought.
By now the three of them had walked through to the kitchen where Milo and Helen sat down while Dan poured the coffee, all the time keeping one eye on his man. What he saw was a tight, strained look on M's face and an obvious tension in his shoulders. Of course, M had had three incredibly stressful days (had it really only been three?), topped off with a long and, knowing him, probably sleepless flight but, as Dan watched Milo, he couldn't help notice that M kept glancing towards the door, an undisguised anxiety clearly written across his face. Something was going on beneath the surface, Dan knew the signs, knew, too, that it was his job to wait it out until M was ready to tell him what was going on. He hoped it wouldn't be too long.
Just as Milo was stirring his third sugar into his coffee -- generally one was his absolute limit, and only then when he'd had a particularly stressful day at work -- there was a noise out in the hallway and all faces turned towards the two new arrivals as they appeared at the kitchen door. Gerry stood with a proprietary arm around Nico's shoulders. His face looked as if he'd been taking lessons from the Cheshire Cat. Nico's expression was much harder to read, Dan thought. Fear? Apprehension? Confusion? Yes, they were all there, but something else too. And then Dan knew what it was, something he remembered from his experience with Coach Roberts all those years before. It was an expression of detachment. Nico, he realised, had removed his thoughts and his feelings from the kitchen of his new home and the company of a whole bunch of strangers and had gone with those thoughts to somewhere quite different, somewhere other, somewhere safe.
Fuck!' he thought. This doesn't look good.'
But he didn't have time to expand on that thought as there was suddenly a flurry of activity. Helen was on her feet and wrapping Nico in one of her best hugs, introducing herself and explaining Roger's absence. Gerry moved in the opposite direction to embrace Milo and tell him how pleased and excited he was to, finally, meet his one and only grandson. He started to explain what it was he had said to Nico to convince him to get out of the car but he spoke too quietly for Dan to hear them above Helen's excited chatter. Dan didn't bother wasting any time in wondering just how Gerry had achieved that particular piece of magic, partly because he knew that M would fill him in on all the details just as soon as they had some alone time, but mainly because he felt it was important to kick-start the process of getting Nico settled and beginning to feel comfortable in his new environment. Dan knew it was going to take time before the boy began to think of it as home. In order to do that he was going to have to find a way of getting his mum and Gerry to go, leaving just himself, M and Nico in the apartment. How the fuck, he wondered, was he going to manage that? He mouthed a silent prayer.
For once, luck (or some other mysterious force) was on his side. Almost as soon as he finished pouring coffee for those who wanted it, his phone rang. After a brief conversation Dan ended the call.
"Listen up everyone." Pretty much instantly there was silence in the kitchen. "That was Hamza on the phone. You know, the new social worker guy. He says he's pleased to hear that M and Nico have arrived back safely and he wants to come over to say hello. He'll be here as soon as, probably within the next half hour."
"No problem," Gerry responded. "Me and Helen won't get in the way."
This was not what Dan wanted to hear and he sent an exasperated glance towards his mum. She got the message.
"I think, Gerry, that Hamza will be keen to speak to D and M and Nico on their own, without you and me hanging around. We can always come back later."
"But ...," Gerry was not keen to be parted from his new grandson so soon after meeting him for the first time.
Fortunately, as D was very well aware, his mum wasn't easily dissuaded from a course of action she'd set her mind to. Just a few minutes later she and Gerry were saying their goodbyes and closing the apartment door behind them as they left. It was then, in the silence that followed their departure, that Dan got his first proper look at the new house guest. The first thing he noticed was that Nico had inherited more than enough de Beer family genes to ensure that he'd fit right in on all the group photos which were bound to punctuate his future. His handsome features included the same blue eyes and blonde hair as his uncle and the set of his slightly off-centre nose was identical. At fourteen it was clear that he was well into the roller-coaster of puberty, standing at 5:7, maybe 5;8, Dan estimated. Although his overall build was slim, tending towards skinny, there was already some width to his shoulders. He would definitely be one to watch out for by any opposition defender on the soccer field. He'd been told that this was Nico's favourite, hence the magazines that were waiting for him on a shelf in his bedroom. So yes, there was clearly a lot of de Beer in the way the boy was put together, but Dan was also aware that there were elements of Nico's appearance that didn't conform to the de Beer prototype and which must have been the result of the genes gifted to him by his father, whoever he was. Most obvious was the slightly darker skin tone which, at first sight, Dan had assumed was simply the inevitable natural tan of someone brought up in the sunshine of South America but then he noticed that it went beyond the hair line and right down to the skin between Nico's long fingers. But the most obvious difference was the boy's mouth, wider and fuller than any of his known relatives, with lips, thought Dan, which would have been a great attraction to the men who had used that mouth over and over to get their perverted rocks off. Whoever said that good looks were a passport to a good life? Not for Nico. At least, not yet. Dan hoped it wouldn't be too long before Nico's mouth was bent into the shape of a smile but right at that moment it looked as if that was a very distant prospect.
Unlike his mum and Gerry, Dan didn't attempt to make any physical contact with Nico, no hug or high five or fist bump. If he'd been asked why that was he wouldn't have been able to explain, wasn't sure, himself, of what held him back. In his head he made sense of it by saying that, more than additional displays of affection, what the boy needed was food, so he busied himself converting the batter he'd made earlier that morning into a pile of pancakes, which he served up with a fruit salad of strawberries, raspberries and blueberries. There was also maple syrup. Milo had coffee but Nico shook his head when offered milk but nodded for orange juice. That's when Dan realised that he had yet to hear the boy speak and remembered what M had said about Nico not saying a word to him since they'd left Buenos Aires. Okaaay,' he thought, This is gonna make life really fun. I wonder how long we're in for the silent treatment. No wonder M's so stressed and pissed off.' As a sign of his support and a gesture of sympathy, Dan gently put a hand on M's shoulder as he poured more coffee, but it was immediately shaken off, something that really brought Dan up short. This was the second time that morning that Milo had reacted negatively to his touch. What was going on?
After they'd eaten it was time to give Nico a five-minute tour of the apartment, ending in his new bedroom. Dan explained that, until just a couple of days before, this had been his and Milo's shared home office but that they were both more than happy to make it over to Nico as his own, private space to do with more or less whatever he wanted. Dan pointed out the bunk beds, repeating that this had been his own dad's idea so that Nico could have friends stay over. Dan couldn't miss the look of scepticism that travelled across Nico's face but he carried on, telling him that, if the door was closed, he and Milo would never come barging in but would always knock first. Nico's expression changed to one of total disbelief although, this time, Dan didn't notice.
Dan's hopes of having some catch-up time with M, time when he'd be able to get a better idea of exactly what had been happening with Nico, were completely derailed by the arrival of Hamza Rashid. They sat in the lounge, the four of them, as Hamza was brought up to speed with everything that had happened since Milo had set off for Buenos Aires and he, in turn, updated the others on the state of play regarding Nico's legal status. Hamza explained that he'd been passed all the relevant documentation from the time of Ms. Lamar's involvement in the case and reported that his recent first home visit to the apartment had been thoroughly satisfactory.
"So does that mean," began Milo, "That we're all clear to make this Nico's official home?" The note of mixed hope and excitement in M's voice was unmistakable.
"Well, there are a few final i's to dot and t's to cross but, fundamentally, yes, it means exactly that."
"And the question of guardianship?" Again the note of hope. "In my bag I've got the official guardianship document from the ministry in Buenos Aires."
"That's good," replied Hamza. "That will be a really valuable and important addition to all the other paperwork. In a case like this it'll help make the whole process much more straightforward. You are Nico's uncle and we have your sister's clearly stated wish for him to be fully in your care. You'll appreciate that there will need to be some pretty searching background checks on yourself and Dan but I can't see that being any sort of problem. With luck you'll be able to sign our version of the guardianship papers in the very near future." Milo's mouth turned upward in a watery smile. Hamza turned to Nico.
"How does that sound, Nico? You okay with that?"
Without looking up Nico gave a half-hearted shrug of his shoulders. He said nothing. The three men looked at each other with a mixture of raised eyebrows and wry smiles.
`And so the roller-coaster ride begins,' mused Dan as his thoughts travelled back half a lifetime to those early teenage years when his relationship with Milo had been so severely tested. First it had been the predatory Coach Roberts, then the bullying cousin Zephan and then, the rotten cherry on the mouldy cake, Milo's bigoted and unforgiving mother. The two of them had come through all that trauma by being devoted and true to each other, then and forever since. They'd survived then so there was no reason they couldn't do it again. Was there?
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