Ivo walked into the bedroom where he found Joni sitting on his bed, hiding his face from him.

"Hey, what happened?" He asked softly, walking closer until he sat beside him. Joni was still looking away, his hand on his face, it was obvious to Ivo that he was crying, and he placed his hand on his shoulder, "Joni?"

Joni shook his head, embarrassed, he didn't want to cry in front of Ivo or anyone; it made him look so weak.

"It's alright, talk to me," Ivo urged, rubbing his shoulders.

"I talked to Kasper," Joni told him, his head was aching now, and tears burned his eyes.

"And?"

Joni felt uncomfortable; he pulled his legs up, knees close to his chest, hiding his face against them. 

Then he looked up, still away from Ivo, and gave a dry laugh. "I'm a slut, no, a whore, apparently," he shook his head, his hand going to his forehead. "He was right though... he doesn't care...he doesn't like me... it was just sex, just one night of sex."

Ivo frowned, "are you talking about Misha now?" he asked, Joni only nodded. "You're not a slut or a whore and ... Misha does care for you."

"No he doesn't," Joni shook his head, "he hates me. And... gods..." Joni looked up, laughing again without joy, "he thinks that I'm a slut too... whatever, perhaps I am... you know, whatever."

"He said that?" Ivo was getting angry, angry at his younger brother who was acting like a stupid ass.

Joni was silent again, hiding his face against his knees, his hands in his hair. "Joni, come on, it's alright..." Ivo urged him to look up, he wasn't used to handling crying young men, but he tried."

"God I feel like an idiot!" Joni wiped the tears away, "I'm sorry, you don't need this now, you don't need this," he shook his head, trying to stop crying.

"Come here," Ivo pulled him close, holding him against his chest, "sounds to me like you had a shitty day, it's okay..." Ivo stroked his back, "You're not a slut, don't ever believe it," he told him. "Misha is a bloody idiot and that other boy... don't believe them, Joni."

"I guess our plan went to hell," Joni muttered, his head resting against Ivo's chest, he stared at the wall in front of him, feeling exhausted now, exhausted and hurt; Misha didn't care, he didn't feel the same way and he would just have to accept it.

 Ivo stroked his hair gently; Misha would hear about this later, he would truly get an earful."I'll talk to Misha," Ivo said, "I'll tell him the truth about us."

"I don't think it will help," Joni sighed, "it's true that he finds me disgusting because of our relationship, but... knowing we lied...I don't have high hopes," he closed his eyes, words that both Kasper and Misha had used echoing in his mind, it hurt. His chest felt heavy, he felt so foolish, foolish that he had believed Misha could feel the same way about him.

"He'll regret it later if he lets you go," Ivo said, "he'll come around."

The doorbell interrupted them, and Ivo sighed, "Wait here, I'll go and see who it is." He said getting up, Joni nodded and laid down on the bed, he just felt so tired.

He closed his eyes for a second, hearing Ivo leave the room, walking towards the hall, to the front door.

"Okay, where is he?! Where's my son?" To his surprise, he heard his father's voice screaming and with surprise he sat up, angry steps nearing the room, "Joni?!" Before Joni had time to do anything, his father had already found his way into the room, looking at him; anger clear in his eyes.

"We're leaving! Get into the car Joni!"

"Dad-?"

"No buts, NOW!"

Ivo stepped into the room, "sir-"

"Oh, don't you even try!" Asko pointed at him, "You sick pervert! Seducing young teenage boys, you're disgusting!"

"Dad," Joni got up from the bed, realizing how bad this might have looked, "he hasn't done anything, calm down."

"Don't you try to defend him!" Asko took another look at his son; his tear-stained face, the bed, the man. "What have you done?!"

"Sir, calm down, nothing has happened," Ivo tried to stay calm himself.

"Nothing has happened?!" Asko almost laughed, "He's Seventeen! Only Seventeen! What did you do to make him cry?! Huh? Did you try to force him?"

"Dad, stop it, he didn't do anything!"

"Joni, get into the car, NOW!" Asko shouted at him, Joni shook his head, Asko grasped his arm and started dragging him towards the hall, and Ivo followed. "You get into the car and wait for me there! No buts! Don't make me drag you!"

Joni had never seen his dad this angry, he watched helplessly at Ivo who nodded his head at him, signaling that he should just do as his father asked. Joni put his outdoor clothes on and left the house.

"And you," Asko narrowed his eyes at the taller man, "don't you ever come near my son again, or so help me God!"

"Sir, I assure you, I have done nothing to your son."

"Why the fuck should I believe you? I know you've been dating him, I know it! He is seventeen years old, you're over thirty, you should know better! You truly disgust me! Just stay away from my son!"

Ivo could see that it was pointless to try and talk to the man now when he was this furious, he didn't even give him a chance to try.

Asko left the house and walked to the car where his son was already seated. "I can't believe you, Joni," he said when he started the car, shaking his head. "This," he tried to calm down, "he is fourteen years your senior!"

"Dad...it's not what you think," Joni tried to tell him, his dad gave him a stern look, shaking his head while concentrating back on the road.

"You're just a teenager, that MAN did wrong, seducing his brother's school friend!? And YOU should think better! You are too young for such a relationship!"

Joni started to get pissed off, he was hurt and tired, and on top of everything he didn't need this from his father. He didn't want to listen to his rant.

The drive home was tense; as soon as they pulled to the driveway Joni got up and hurried to the house.

"I'm not through talking with you young man!" his father shouted as soon as they were in.

"It's none of your business!"

"Yes, it is! And you are grounded! You will never go to that house again!"

"Fuck you!"

Asko grasped his arm, "Don't use that tongue with me! What were you thinking?? What on earth were you thinking?"

Joni glared at him with his eyes glimmering, Ivo had been nothing but good to him, what should it matter even if they had been together? "He is a good man! He has never hurt me! Why the fuck should it matter?? And don't try giving me that crap about my age!" Joni shouted.

"He is a grown man Joni! What could he possibly want from you other than..."

"Other than sex??" Joni asked, pulling his arm free, "Of course, I can't have anything else to offer than that. Oh, all the gay men just can't wait for their chance to shove it in me? Right?!"

"I didn't say that, I'm saying that he's too old, that you are too young for him! I won't accept it! You are getting out of hand!"

"SO I'm seventeen! So fucking what? Guess what Dad? I love sex, I freaking love it! I love it when they fuck me! Oh yes, I do." Joni was mad, he didn't care, why should he? He was already labeled as a slut, perhaps even by his father?

Asko's eyes widened, he looked at him in shock and disbelief, "You... Go to your room! Now!"

Joni did, he ran upstairs and banged the door shut after him.

Asko tried to calm his breathing, this was not his little boy, his little boy didn't just tell him that... He squeezed his hands into fists; his daughter began to cry in her room, the shouting must have woken her. And his wife soon rushed into the hall and gave him an angry look before rushing upstairs to her youngest.

"Okay, what on earth was that?" Katja asked after putting the children to sleep. Asko was seated in the kitchen with a bottle of beer.

"He's been sleeping with a man fourteen years older than him," he said, taking another sip. "You heard what he said; hell the whole neighborhood must have heard him," he stood up, walked in front of the window, staring out. "He is getting out of my hands; I don't know what to do anymore. I think... the best thing, would be to send him away for some time, somewhere he can't get into so much trouble."

"Just where would that be?"

"My parents, up north, for the holidays at least," he told her.

"Asko," she walked closer, standing behind him, her chin against his shoulder. "I don't know... It doesn't sound like the best way," she said carefully.

"Well, he's my son. He's eighteen soon and I don't like the way he is going. I have to do something while I still can."

"Then talk to him! Try to understand him! Asko, I'm afraid that this... sending him away will do more harm than good."

He turned around to look at her, "he's been sleeping with some thirty-year-old Russian, he's... promiscuous and... you know... I don't want him getting ill with something with this attitude of his! How could it be worse than it is!"

Katja stared at her husband for a while. "Trust me, it could be worse, you can't keep him from the world, I'm sorry, but he'll make his mistakes and he needs you to be there for him. He needs to have someone he can trust, someone to turn to when he's... well fucked it all up!"

"I've made up my mind Katja, I'll send him there, and it will be for the best. That's final," and with that he walked away, leaving her alone in the kitchen.

^^**^^**^^**^^^**

Misha felt oddly like a child who had just told on someone, it was a weird sensation that didn't want to leave him, never mind the fact that he knew he did the right thing. Joni was too young for Ivo, it couldn't continue; this illicit affair. He felt slightly relieved, but mostly, he felt foul... the way he had treated Joni that day...

He returned home late, later than he had planned, after dropping by the pub and having a few drinks with friends. But even that hadn't washed away the stupid feeling of incomprehensive guilt, but it truly had to stop! Especially after Joni behaved the way he did... Dating his brother and then coming on to him; sick!

Ivo sat in the kitchen, drinking beer, thinking how things couldn't have turned out worse than they were. Instead of helping Joni, somehow, he had made it worse. And he knew just who it was that had told his parents...

He waited, exhausted and angry, finally, he heard the front door opening and since Dima was spending the night with Eva, it could only be Misha. Without a hurry, he walked over to the hall to meet him, still holding his beer.

"Had fun?" He asked flatly, taking a sip of his beer.

"Had fun," Misha answered cockily, the alcohol in him not making him drunk but lending him its bravado. "Wasn't it you who said that a little alcohol is always fun?" He added, aiming at pissing Ivo off. "Did you? With him?"

"Do I look happy?" Ivo asked, raising his eyebrow, "I suppose you're feeling very proud of yourself?"

So Ivo knew or suspected. There was no reason for Misha to beat around the bush then.

"You knew we didn't, neither me nor Dima ... We didn't think it was something intelligent to do, for you to get involved with the brat," he took off his jacket and hung it up, trying to dismiss Ivo's hard look.

"You asked if I had fun with him?" Ivo spoke slowly, "I did, I like him, I like him a lot... and today I had to comfort a seventeen-year-old boy, who was crying because apparently he had a quite nasty day."

"Spare me teary stories of how I hurt him because obviously, you don't know the whole truth," Misha snorted, "your BOYFRIEND was coming onto me."

Ivo gave him a tired, unhappy smile. "Yes, for some reason, Joni really likes you," he started, "we never slept together Misha. We slept on the same bed, but I didn't touch him; I could see from early on that he didn't want it, all he saw in me was a friend... and what he saw in you," he shook his head sighing.

Misha felt surprised, stunned in fact, they didn't? They really didn't? Then... why the act? Why the hell had they... Was it because of him?

"I knew he was an idiot," he muttered quietly. "I told him a million times I have no interest in him," It wasn't a complete lie... okay; part of it was, he did have an interest.

"You are so fucking blind!" Ivo couldn't help but raise his voice, "No interest in him my ass! I know you have an interest in him and today he tried to tell you about his feelings, and what did you do? threw him away? What words did you use? Probably not as bad as that idiot he met before you, but... God dammit Misha! Don't you understand what you did?!" Ivo had the urge to walk over to his brother and shake him.

"Just fuck off, Ivo, I have no patience to go through the same fucking he loves you talk again," Misha answered tiredly, the whole situation feeling surreal to him. "I'm going to sleep."

"Well go, by all means, go!" Ivo waved his hand, "you won't have to see him again. I think his father will take good care of that chance happening anytime soon, perhaps the knowledge will make you happy," Ivo was already walking towards his room, but then he turned to him and added, "If I were you though," then he shook his head, "ah, why bother? Why would you care? Even if you just lost the one person that could come to mean more to you than any other?... Just so you know; they don't come along that often, and I should know. Well, goodnight then, little brother."

Misha watched as his brother walked into his room, closing the door after himself. He didn't want to start to examine his feelings deeper; he didn't want to think what it would mean to never see Joni again. He wouldn't miss him, right?