"Hey, Kieran!"

Kieran looks up from his lunch tray, to see Esme looking directly at him from the other side of the school dinner hall. He spots that she has her dolls from home — on this particular occasion, she has two male dolls; one in each hand. She laughs disparagingly as she pushes the two dolls' faces together, simulating a kiss.

"Look, Kieran! It's your daddies! Look how gross it is!"

"Shut up, Esme," Kieran calls back across the room. "They're not gross."

"Yeah they are!" Esme retorts, bashing the two plastic figures together harshly; the action produces a grating thudding sound. "Mummy said they should be sent to jail!"

"Is that true, Esme?" one girl, Sarah, asks. "When two guys love each other, or two girls, is that really bad?"

"Yeah it is!" Esme spits, poking her tongue out at Kieran. "You need a mummy and a daddy, Kieran! Not two dads."

"That's not true." By now, Kieran is already weary of the snide comments the girl is making about his doting parents. He chooses not to argue anymore; instead resorting to eating his lunch as she continues to hurl abuse about George and Levi. He admittedly feels hurt by the words she is saying, but his logic dictates that he should not tell his parents for fear of them becoming upset, too. The last thing he wants is to upset them.

• • •

"And you're sure there's been no comments? No bullying?" George interrogates Mrs Hall sternly after school. "Because forgive me, Mrs Hall, but I adore my son beyond words ... and I won't hesitate to take further action if I find out she's still at it."

"I can assure you, Mr Panayiotou-Jones, Esme has not said anything to Kieran about you or your husband while I've been in earshot," Mrs Hall assures him. "Of course, I can't speak for break and lunch time, as he's out on the playground during those times. But the comments certainly don't occur in my classroom."

"Kieran?" George glances down at his son. "Esme hasn't said anything nasty to you since the first time, has she?"

To avoid hassle and drama, the boy simply shakes his head. "No, Daddy."

"Good." George lifts his head back up, diverting his attention back to the teacher. "Let's hope it stays that way, shall we?"

"You have my word, that if I hear anything else, I'll be sure to let you know."

"Thank you." George takes his son's small hand in his own larger one. "Come on then, Kieran. Let's be getting you home, shall we?"

"Where's Gem?" Kieran quizzes. "Isn't Daddy going to get her today?"

"Daddy's gone to see the doctor," George explains. "Gem will be here in a minute. She's going to be walking to us from her classroom."

"Why has Daddy gone to see the doctors? Is he poorly?"

"Well, kind of. But he will be fine, I promise." George heaves a soft sigh, unsure of how to explain the concept of therapy to Kieran. It surely wouldn't make sense, for such a young boy: the idea of talking about your problems to make you feel better. "Oh, there's Gem. She's coming, now."

"Hi Daddy!" Gemma beams, as she runs towards her father to greet him.

"Hello, darling," George returns, pressing his lips to her forehead in a gentle kiss. "How was school?"

"It was good!" she answers happily, adjusting the strap for the school bag on her shoulder. "We did times tables again; and we had a competition in class to see who knows them best, and I won!"

"You won?" George gasps. "That's my clever girl! Give me five!" He raises his arm, offering his hand for her to high-five. She obliges, clapping her hand to his. "You're both doing fantastic in school. I'm so proud of you. And Daddy will be proud too."

"Daddy's gone to see the doctor, hasn't he?" Gemma interrogates. "Is it because they wanted to make sure he didn't get hurt?"

"Hurt by what?" Kieran frowns. "Did Daddy get hurt?"

"No, he didn't," George intercepts quickly. "It's just a routine check-up. Just to see how he's doing. He's not hurt." He subtly glances to his daughter, who looks guilty for letting slip about what Levi told her.

"Sorry, Daddy," Gemma whispers, just quiet enough to avoid Kieran hearing her.

"No worries," George responds softly. "The main thing is, by the time we get back home, Daddy should be there too. Especially with how long you two have kept me stood here talking." He chuckles, interlocking his fingers with each child's. "Let's go home, now, shall we?"

• • •

After dinner, Kieran and Gemma decide to go and play in their bedrooms by themselves; this conveniently gives George and Levi some time by themselves to discuss the day they've had. With Levi being away all day on various errands, and George doing the school runs, the pair have had no chance to see one another.

"And you'll be pleased to know that the girl in Kieran's class hasn't said anything else about us," George continues to explain, having already spoken about Gemma's success in the multiplication game she played at school. "And Mrs Hall has already told me that she'd let me know if she hears anything."

"Oh, brilliant," Levi answers. "I'm glad things are calming down around all that stuff. They're both doing so well, aren't they? I expected them to slip off the radar a little bit with schoolwork since your mum died."

"Yeah, well ... " George gives a nervous laugh, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand awkwardly. "They're good kids, I suppose. Coping better than their father is."

"That's not fair for you to say," Levi scolds. "You're doing fantastic. I keep telling you this."

"So how did the therapy session go?" George questions. "Was it worth it, paying to go private?"

"Well, it was just the initial consultation. She had to get to know me a little; find some stuff out about me. But from what I've gathered so far, she seems a great match for me. She isn't judgemental at all. She just listens, and makes suggestions about ways to change my mindset; and coping mechanisms for little things."

"She sounds great for you," George encourages. "So it's helping? Doing the talking stuff?"

"It's early days. But I'm glad I've chosen to go down this route," Levi replies honestly. "And I do really think you would benefit from doing the same thing. I know it's more expensive than the NHS ... but I think it could be really beneficial for you to get your feelings out about your mum. Just everything surrounding it. Particularly if you're feeling suicidal."

"I'm not really into the talking thing," George dismisses. "Not so deep that I have to relive it, that is. I don't mind casual conversation here and there with you. Just not with a stranger."

"I can ask you to think about it, though," Levi offers. "That's all I'm asking."

"Sure." George shrugs the subject off, in favour of something less mentally-taxing. "I was thinking of calling Andrew ... to ask him if he'd be up to meeting up with me on the weekend."

"That would be nice," Levi answers. "What? Go out for a few drinks, or something?"

"Yeah. Something like that."

"Do you think it would help you — going out for a night; letting your hair down?" Levi asks. "With your best mate?"

"I'd like to hope so," George explains. "I mean, it's what we always used to do when we were in our twenties. Well — that is, until he had Rosa. And until I moved to Goring."

"I would find it amusing, to see a fifty-one-year-old George out in the clubbing scene," Levi snickers. "As long as you don't pull any rich old guys."

"I wouldn't go clubbing," George scoffs. "Just a few drinks in a bar. No partying involved. I'm not quite as energetic as I once was, you know."

"This is true." Levi evaluates that he can make a jibe at George's expense, so he does. "After almost thirty years of you, you've lost your drive a little. Particularly in the bedroom."

"Excuse me?" George snipes. "I most certainly have not lost my drive. I'm still good at the things I need to be good at. You don't ever seem to complain." He smirks a little in accompaniment with his words.

"Hey, calm down Mr Panayiotou-Jones. The kids aren't asleep yet, you know." Levi leans his head in closer to his husband's, teasing lightly with his lips by grazing them over George's; but not quite committing to a kiss. "Don't start something you can't finish until later."

"So, take back what you said about me losing my drive, then," George challenges slyly. "Or do I have to prove you wrong?"

"Is that a threat?" Levi demands, his voice lowered. "Because you can't threaten me with a good time, just to prove me right. That would be a little disappointing."

"I never aim to disappoint you, Levi." With no more words to say, George finally closes the tiny gap between them, by firmly pressing his lips to Levi's in a kiss. This action is short-lived, when a certain pair of tiny voices interrupt.

"Oh god! They're kissing!" Kieran squeals childishly, covering his face with both hands over-dramatically. "That's so gross!"

The men part, looking at their children in amusement; Kieran daren't look at his parents, whereas Gemma can't stop giggling.

"There's nothing wrong with showing your love to somebody you care about," Levi informs them warmly. "There's nothing gross about it, thank you."

Kieran uncovers his face, pouting his lips to simulating over-the-top kissing. Gemma playfully slaps the side of his arm, to deter him from continuing with his little charade. "Daddy, did you get the iPad fixed yet?"

"That's a point," George stammers. "I've kept it in the drawer since Kieran smashed it a few weeks back. I still need to get the screen replaced."

"So we still can't play with it?" Gemma huffs.

"Unfortunately not, sweetheart," George tells her. "Unless you want fingers full of tiny little glass pieces and nasty little cuts."

"When are you going to get it fixed?" Kieran asks.

"I'll tell you what — I'll go to ask about getting it fixed tomorrow, while you're at school. How's that sound?" George suggests. "And then hopefully you can both play with it again tomorrow, if you both have a good day at school. Okay?"

"Okay!"

"I'll be making sure to get a screen protector for it, this time," Levi adds sarcastically. "I'm sure we don't want another episode of Daddy's shouting, do we?"

"This is true," George evaluates. "Although, I shouldn't have reacted the way I did the first time."

"What's done is done," Levi says, slipping his phone out of his pocket. "How about this, kids? If you both promise to share and be nice, you can play some games on my phone."

"Yes!" Both children fight for the phone first, shoving each other out of the way to try and grab it.

"Uh, excuse me!" Levi's voice is enough to earn both of their attentions. "Did Daddy and I raise you to be so rude like this? We don't fight over things in this house. We play fairly. We take it in turns. I'll flip a coin to decide who plays with it first." He reaches back into his pocket, taking out a ten pence piece. "Right. Kieran, you're heads. Gem, you're tails. Whichever it lands on, gets the first go. And then you take it in turns." He tosses the coin up into the air, letting it land on the back of his hand. He covers it with his free fingers, as not to divulge the winner immediately. "Now listen. Whoever's go is first, you get ten minutes to play a game. Then it's the other person's go. You can play ten minutes each at a time. Are we clear?"

"Yes, Daddy," they answer in unison.

Levi uncovers the coin, revealing heads. "Right. Kieran gets to play first." He passes the phone to his son, making sure not to drop it. "Play nicely. No arguing; no fighting; no shouting. Otherwise I take the phone away. I'll be monitoring to make sure you take equal turns."

Kieran excitedly unlocks the phone, before choosing a game to play. He sits on a little beanbag in the corner of the living room; Gemma takes a seat next to him, to watch him play. Levi chuckles at his kids, before turning his attention back to George.

"I'm going to give Andrew a call," George states, standing up from the sofa to leave the room, in order to have some privacy.

Levi nods, making the decision to spend the next few minutes observing his offspring on the other side of the room.

• • •

Chapter eighteen! Not the most action-filled chapter, but I hope you're still enjoying the story. xx