Not Too Late Epilogue

"No thanks. I'd better get over to Ryan before he eats all the food. Oh, how're things at home now?" Miles asked while he picked up the shopping.

"The folks are fine. I told them everything and then I was given 'the talk'," she said while pulling a face and making quotations with her fingers.

"Ha, serves you right! Anyway, I've really got to go, darling. See you soon," Miles laughed and waved good bye. He was nearly at the car where Ryan sat when he heard Sophie calling his name. Turning around, he saw the young girl running over to him as fast as she could before she skidded to a stop. "Miss me already?" Miles grinned.

"Always, Uncle Miles, but I forgot to ask something important," she said with a smile between breaths. "Is it me or have you noticed something odd about Seth?"

"What do you expect? He's a cross between your mom and me," Miles said jokingly.

He, Ryan, Hayley and Clare had decided they all wanted children and were finding it hard to adopt so they made a pact. Ryan and Hayley were Sophie's genetic parents while Miles and Clare were Seth's. Sophie had taken a lot of her looks form Hayley's genes and Seth was obviously Miles's son.

"No, I mean acting really weird. He won't let anyone come near him or touch him."

"No, if anything he's been more touchy toward us, stealing a hug whenever he can, like we're going to disappear or something," Miles said. He had thought the behaviour odd but with Sophie's testimony, he was starting to feel downright worried about his son.

"Maybe it's just me. Will you keep an eye on him though?" she asked with obvious concern in her voice.

"Sure, Sophie. Now go back to work; Ryan and I will watch him," he reassured.

Sophie smiled and ran back to the shop leaving Miles shacking his head and continued back to his husband. Ryan leaned over the passenger seat and pushed the door open to let Miles in. "Thank you dear," Miles said in a loving tone, stealing a quick kiss from Ryan.

"Was that Sophie?" Ryan asked nodding towards the shop while he started the car.

"Yeah it was, she was concerned about Seth. Have you noticed anything different about him?" Miles asked.

"Not really. I haven't saw him with Kyle as much but I put it down to exams." Ryan shrugged without taking his eyes off of the road.

Kyle was one of Seth's few friends. Their son had been a victim of extreme bullying when he was younger, mostly about having two fathers, but it didn't seem to have affected the relationship between the three of them. However, he often felt isolated and he was painfully shy. When Seth became friends with Kyle at the age of 14, both his parents were relieved.

Miles and Ryan suspected more than just a standard friendship between the two boys, such was the closeness they shared. Although, when they asked him about it, he said they were just good mates. Not long after that conversation, Seth had started dating. now at the age of 18, Seth had only being on a handful of dates and a girl called Katie was his only girlfriend: that ended after two months.

The car pulled onto the gravel drive of their cosy three bedroom house. They had moved here just before Seth's tenth birthday as they found their first home to be a little cramped with a child.

Ryan took all of the shopping out of the car while Miles went to open the stiff front door. They recently installed new carpets in the living room where the door opened and the extra friction made the door a little difficult to open. It took Miles two good pushes before the door opened and when finally he entered, Miles was shocked at what he saw.

Seth tripped over the table trying to turn the television off. The large screen was running a film of two young-looking twinks having sex.

When Ryan got to the door, he found his husband frozen on the spot, staring at Seth who was so white it looked like all the blood had been drained from his body. It took a few seconds before the motion on the screen caught his attention and understanding washed over him.

"Oh Seth..." was all Ryan said. The young boy looked at him, tears welling up in his wide eyes.

Miles finally snapped out of his shock and ran over to their son, hugging him so tight it forced what little breath Seth had out of his lungs as Miles pulled him onto the large black sofa.

Even though Miles was still quite small, Seth was just over five foot, fitting snugly in his father's arms while small sobs shook his body.

While Miles and Seth shared their much needed embrace, Ryan turned off the film and went to dish the food up before it got cold. When he came back into the room, he served his family and then sat on the other end of the sofa, with Seth sitting between Miles and himself. Shocked by the incident, the three ate in silence.

"We need to talk," said Miles after they finished eating, collecting their plates and stacking them on the small coffee table in front of the sofa.

Seth nodded and quietly said, "Okay."

"How long have you been into boys?" Miles asked, pulling Seth into his side for comfort while Ryan edged closer to them.

"Always have been, never liked girls really. Katie was just a good actor," Seth mumbled.

"Why didn't you tell us? Why did you feel like you had to pretend to be someone else?" Ryan asked.

"Cos I wasn't sure about it. And then Aunty Clare and Aunty Hayley blew up at Sophie 'cos they found out that she was a lesbian and I was afraid after that." he said while toying with the bottom of his t-shirt as.

"I could kill that girl sometimes," Miles said, obviously annoyed as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "Seth, look at me." Miles paused to waiting for Seth to look at him before he continued. "Clare and Hayley 'blew up' about Sophie because she broke your grandmother's $3000 antique table while having sex on it, not because she was having sex with a girl." Ryan looked away and tried to stifle his laughter at Sophie's tragic-yet-comical coming out, whereas Seth's eyes went wide as he took in the information.

"So, are we ok?" Ryan asked, giving Seth a comforting little nudge bringing him back.

"Yeah." Seth smiled weakly.

"Good. Now, we can grill you about the porn." Ryan grinned evilly as Seth groaned.

"Listen, we don't mind you watching it; even if we tell you not to, you'll do it anyway, so we might as well just let you use it," Miles said.

"You should watch it in your room though and lock the door or otherwise someone might catch you in a...compromising position," Ryan chipped.

Seth's cheeks turned a rosy pink and Miles had to laugh as he pulled Seth into another hug.

"Right then. Let's get this place cleaned up," Miles said, clapping his hands, he jumped out of the chair as if nothing had happened at all.

"I think I'm gonna hit the bed," Seth yawned, the events of the evening taking their toll on his system.

"Sure, go get some sleep," his father said with a sympathetic smile.

After saying a quick goodnight, he went to bed.

~#~

Miles quietly opened the door to Seth's room to check on the sleeping boy. Watching Seth hold a pillow to his chest took Miles back to when he was 18 and he slept in a fortress of pillows. That was before Ryan came along. Miles quietly crept into the room and pulled the covers over Seth's body.

"Mmm, Kyle..." Seth groaned in his sleep.

"I know," Miles whispered, understanding what his son felt completely. "Night son," he said kissing the top of his sons head and left the room, leaving him to whatever dream he was enjoying.