Broken Soul (for Wade)

Stephen sighed, gently stroking his hand down his friend's face, holding him close. He hated the fact that the two of them lived in seperate countries, because it meant they didn't get to see each other as often as they'd like.

The Barrett & Farrelly families were the top mob families in England & Ireland respectively and they had a strong alliance with one another. The alliance gave the families more power and influence, deterring a lot of attacks from rival mobs, especially when they were visiting the other.
Stephen's family, the Farrelly's, had arrived in England earlier that day for one of their visits and Stephen was glad to finally be alone with his friend.

They were out in a field, behind the Barrett's garden out back, the trees and plants hiding them from view from the house and anyone who was outside. Unless of course someone came looking for them.

"I missed you..." Stephen said softly, leaning closer to gently kiss him. "Are...are we going teh tell them...this time, while we're all together?" He asked nervously in his thick Irish accent.

Coming from a mob family Stuart Barrett, or Stu to his friends, had never been one for frivolities. That's why he treasured his time with long time family friend and lover Stephen Farrelly. The two men could be themselves around the other. Stephen had seen him at his weakest, a great feat since he was supposed to be the strong heir to the Barrett family and Stephen the heir to the Farrellys.

Sighing, Stu let Stephen stroke his cheek. It was moments like this when, admist the drama of daily life, they could simply relax and hold each other. These moments didn't come all the time, as the Barretts were a family with a rich English background and his lovers family was from Ireland, but when they did come he was all to happy. But it was something his father could never know.

"Love, you know I would...if I could..." he sighed heavily.

"If yeh could? What do yeh mean by that?" Stephen asked, raising an eyebrow. "Yeh know someone will find out eventually. That'll be worse than us tellin' them..." He was going to question it further, but figured he'd rather just enjoy being alone with his friend for now.

Stephen sat, gently pulling Stu down with him. He reached out to play with Stu's dark hair. "Yeh know...yeh never said yeh missed me too..." Stephen said, only saying it to see what the reaction would be.

Stu looked upset, "Oh Stephen I'm...I'm sorry I didn't say. of course I missed you. I missed you every day. And you know why we can't tell our fathers. My father...I'm afraid what he would do to you if he found out that we were lovers..."

Stephen smiled, pulling Stu closer to him. "I know yeh did, don't worry. Yeh should know by now I say things just to see how others react." Stephen said, grinning. "And yer father shouldn't be so..." Stephen rolled his eyes and sighed.

"He wants me to one day give him an heir," sighed Stuart, sitting up. "And...and one day I'll have to do it." he turned, straddling his lover. "But I want you to know that I will always lay in your bed at night..."

"Maybe he should have had another child then..." Stephen sighed, not liking the fact that his lover would eventually be taken away from him.

He smiled when Stu sat on him, putting his hands on his lover's hips. "That...may be a little awkward if he expects yeh ter be with some woman...but I ain't gonna complain about yeh layin' in my bed..."

Stu giggled, until he heard his father calling out to him from the back of the house. "Shit, shit, shit!" he called out. He straightened his shirt, frowning, "Shea we have to..."

"What the hell is this?" came the voice of his father.

Stephen smiled, loving the sound of his lover's laugh and had leaned closer, about to kiss him when someone called out.
He froze, though he knew he should be moving and barely noticed that Stu had called him by his middle name 'Sheamus'.

Stephen slowly closed his eyes frowning, knowing it was too late to bother moving; they'd already been caught.

"What in the hell is this!?" screamed Stuarts father, sneering at them. "Farrelly what the hell were you doing to my son!"

"Father! I wanted this!" Stu screamed, looking from his father to Stephen. "We...we've been together for a while now..."

"That queer...his father will know about this!" Mr. Bennet grabbed their arms, dragging both men to the house and venemously tossing them into the living room where his mother and Stephen's parents sat. "Tell them!"

Stuart teared up, looking around at them, "Mother, Mr. Farrelly, Mrs. Farrelly...Stephen and I are in love..."

"Of course, it's all my fault..." Stephen snapped at Stu's father as he dragged them to the house. "And don't call me that!" He added angrily before they were thrown into the living room.

Looking over at Stu, seeing the tears in his eyes, Stephen wanted to go over and comfort him, but didn't think now was the best time, instead he forced himself to look at his parents.

"What? Is this tru'?" Stephen's father said, his accent thicker than his son's.

Stephen nodded slowly, not saying anything. He had a habit of accidentally saying the wrong thing and he didn't want to make things worse.

"Oh..." Was all Stephen's mother said, putting a hand to her mouth to hide a small smile.

"Oh?" Mr. Barrett sneered, "that's all you have to say about your son in the backyard about to defile my son!?"

"He wasn't going to defile me!" Stu shouted, practically seething. He was surprised when he felt a rough hand smack him hard across the cheek.

"You will only speak when spoken to," sneered Mr. Barrett.

"Y...yes father..."

Stephen turned back around to look at Stu, glaring at his father when he struck him.

"Don't hit him!" He yelled at Stu's father, going over to his friend to see if he was ok.

"I just don't see why you make a big deal of it..." Stephen's mother said quietly.

"You want your son to bear heirs to the family legacy don't you? With them ravaging each other, that won't happen. Our legacies will end with two...two faggots and I will not have that in my house!" shouted Mr. Barrett. He was a man who was all about the preservation of his legacy.

Stu sat there, silent. "Father it was my fault...I was going to ravage him..." he didn't want his best friend to get in trouble.

"Yes I would like an heir to our family Mr. Barrett," Stephen's mother said "But not if it's something that's done against my son's will."

"Don't call us faggots!" Stephen practically growled, stepping closer to Mr. Barrett. "Especially not your own son." He glared at the man, a dangerous look in his eyes.

Mr. Barrett sneered down at Stephen, "Oh? Didn't your father teach you manners boy? You don't talk to your superiors like this." he looked at Mr. Farrley, "We will conclude our business transactions in my office. Your nor my sons are ready to deal with our respective families yes."

Stu just sat there, silent and broken.

Stephen looked down at his feet, his nails digging into his palms as he tried to restrain himself from retaliating.

Mr Farrelly nodded, getting up from his chair to follow the man from the room.

Only when they were gone did Stephen look at Stu, the look in his eyes silently apologising for what he'd said to his father, though it was obvious he hated the man. "Stu..." He said softly, reaching a hand out to him slowly.

"This...this all my fault Stephen," Stu replied softly, looking down at his feet. "If I had told our fathers sooner..." he shook his head.

"Don't say that, I...could have told them..." Stephen said slowly, nervously taking a step closer to him. He wasn't sure what was going to happen, but he didn't want to lose his friend over it.

Stu leaned forward, kissing Stephen sweetly before he heard the gunshot. He tore apart from Stephen, knowing that he sound had come from his fathers study. He dashed ahead of his friend, flinging open the door to see his father standing over Mr. Farrelly with his gun drawn, Mr. Farrelly obviously dead from a gunshot wound to the head.

He turned around, hoping to save Stephen from seeing his father like that. Mr. Farrelly had always been a good man to him, had always treated both him and his father kindly. And now this.

Stephen smiled into the kiss, about to pull his lover closer until a gun went off and Stu suddenly broke away and ran from the room. It took Stephen a little longer to react to the sound and he quickly hurried after Stu.

Once he'd almost reached the office the sound had come from, Stephen crashed into Stu, almost falling over.

"Stu...what-?" He went to ask what had happened, but stopped when his mother reached the room from the other side of the hall, having taken a different way to get there.

She let out an ear piercing scream and looked angrily at Stu's father.
"What did you do?" She screeched. "Why...?"

"Stu...?" Stephen asked, worried by his mother's reaction, unable to see passed his friend.

"Stephen...Stephen I'm so sorry..." Stu said, shaking his head. "My father he...he..."

"I put your father out of the misery of having a gay son Stephen," smirked Mr. Barrett. "I will not have to go through the same thing because from no on all ties with the Farrelly family are severed."

"NO!" Stu roared, "Father you can't do that!"

"I run this family, I can do whatever I see fit!" sneered Mr. Barrett. "Guards, escort Stephen and his mother from the house!"

Stephen stared at Stu in shock as he tried to explain what happened, though Stephen though he already knew. When Stu's father spoke, something inside him snapped.

Any motions he'd been showing in his body language and his eyes vanished, replaced only with hatred.

When Stu's father ordered for him and his mother to be escorted out, he pushed past Stu and went to attack the man who'd just killed his father.

Though he was loyal to the man he loved, deep down Stu knew that he was still a Barrett and still owed some sort of twisted loyalty to his father, though he didn't know why. He grabbed Stephen gently, frowing, "Love, I can't allow you to go through with this. I know he killed your father but...but I can't let you kill him."

Stephen barely heard what he said, trying to pull free of his arms. He just wanted to get back at the man.
"He...he...killed my father.." Stephen growled. "You'll pay for this..." He spat, glaring at the man.