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Since the day he met Athelstan, Ragnar knew fate brought them together. They met at a block party, and he couldn’t believe he never met him until now. Athelstan told him he had just moved in the week before, and that he was a high school teacher. While Ragnar is a twice divorced contractor and father of six, with two of them in college.
After hours of talking, the younger man came over to Ragnar’s house for a drink. One drink turned into a few and at one point, Ragnar leaned in and kissed him, and to his surprise, Athelstan kissed him back. They ended up making out against the fridge until Athelstan pushed him away and ran out to the back porch.
When Ragnar followed him outside, he saw he was throwing up in the grass. The younger man apologized profusely, saying it was the alcohol and the food from earlier, but Ragnar said there no sorry needed. After letting him brush his teeth, he Athelstan home and the older man asked him out. To his surprise, the younger man said yes, and they’ve been together ever since.
Four years later they got married. Björn and Gyda has long since graduated from college, Ubbe and Hvitserk are now in college, and Sigurd and Ivar are still in high school. The kids love Athelstan and are always happy to see him, but Ivar’s the only one who's hated him from the beginning.
Every time Ivar does or says something to put his stepfather down, Athelstan just brushes it off. He knows where Ivar’s coming from and hopes that in time, he’ll come around. Athelstan loves him even during the times he’s hard to love.
After coming home from a long day at work, Athelstan saw Ragnar’s truck sitting in the driveway and Sigurd sitting on the porch. Getting out of the car, Athelstan walked up the driveway and that’s when he heard yelling coming from inside. “Sigurd hey, what’s going on?”
His stepson rolled his eyes and said “Dad and Ivar are fighting again, so I came out here.”
Sighing, Athelstan nodded and asked “What about?”
Sigurd said “Something about Ivar’s attitude, surprise, surprise.” Before standing up. The yelling stopped when they got inside, and Athelstan found his husband sitting on a chair, rubbing his face with his hands.
When the older man looked up, he gave them a little smile and said “Hey.”
The younger man sat his stuff down while Sigurd went upstairs. Athelstan came and stood beside him, putting a hand on his shoulder. “What happened?”
Ragnar sighed and shook his head. “That boy is so angry...Ever since they got home, he’s had a nasty attitude. We went from talking to yelling and it ended with him screaming that he hates us, and that he wants to go and live with his mom.”
Sighing, Athelstan moved and stood behind him, rubbing the older man’s shoulders. Ragnar said “I don’t know how much more of this I can take. He hates us no matter what we do-“
“Shhh, I know, My Love. I know it’s hard, but he’s just going having a tough time. He’ll come around.”
The older man shook his head and said “I wish I could believe that.” Before looking up at Athelstan.
The younger man leaned down and kissed his forehead before wrapping his arms around his neck for a hug. Patting the older man’s chest, Athelstan stood back up and said “I’ll get started on dinner.”
Ragnar said “No.” Looking back up. He smiled and the older man said “I forbid you from making dinner tonight.”
Raising an eyebrow, Athelstan smiled and asked “You forbid me?”
The older man nodded and said “Yes, I forbid you. You just sit and relax, and I’ll take care of dinner tonight.” Before taking the younger man’s hand in his. He kissed the side of Athelstan’s hand before squeezing it. “I love you.”
“I love you too.”
While waiting for dinner, Athelstan was working on his laptop while the boys were still in their rooms. When Ragnar yelled “Wash up!” Athelstan saved his work and closed the laptop and headed into the kitchen.
“What are we having?”
The older man turned to him, a proud smile on his face and said “Chili dogs.” Turning and presenting the food to him.
Athelstan chuckled and said “Oh no.”
“What?”
The younger man asked “What? What do you mean, ‘what?’ Have you forgotten what happened last time, My Love?”
Ragnar chuckled and said “Oh, come on! That was just that one time, I can usually handle Floki’s chili.”
“You mean lava?”
The older man rolled his eyes and said “Whatever. That time just happened to have a different outcome...And we know never to touch Floki’s chili again. But we’re not eating Floki’s chili, are we?”
Before wrapping an arm around the younger man’s waist. “We’re eating mine. My harmless, bean-less, not-lava chili dogs.” Before pulling him closer to kiss the younger man’s temple.
As soon as the boys came into the kitchen, Ivar said “Finally, I’m starving!” Taking his place at the table, Sigurd following behind him.
Every time Athelstan looked up while they were eating, Ivar would be glaring at him and Ragnar. The silence was becoming uncomfortable, so Athelstan to the boys and smiled “How was your day today, boys?”
Sigurd shrugged and said “Good. We’re doing this project in my AP Lit class. Something about The Canterbury Tales.”
Athelstan’s eyebrows shot up, and he smiled. “Oh really? What’s the project?”
The younger man blushed and said “I-I can’t remember what, I’ll have to ask my teacher about it tomorrow.”
The older man nodded and said “Okay, that’s fine. If I can remember correctly, I did a project on The Canterbury Tales when I was in high school. When you find out you can come to me and I’ll help you the best I can, okay?”
Sigurd smiled and said “Great, thanks!”
The older man smiled and when he looked over at Ivar, his smile faltered. Clearing his throat, Athelstan asked “And you, Ivar? How was your day?”
“Why do you care?”
“Ivar.” Ragnar said, shooting him a warning look.
The younger man rolled his eyes and said “Fine. My day was great, Step Father. Rainbows and sunshine. I asked a girl out at school today, and she and her whore friends laughed in my face. Then Sigurd ditched me at lunch to hang out with his friends-“
“Ivar, I’m allowed to sit with my friends at lunch. I don’t have to hang out with my siblings 24/7.”
Glaring at his older brother, Ivar said “I know, but you said you would his time. But no, that’s okay, I’ll sit with the other freaks. No big deal, Brother.”
Turning back to Athelstan, the younger man just put on a smile and said “Oh and I’m sure you heard the little argument we had earlier. So overall my day today was shit, Step Father. Anything else you want to ask me? No, go ahead, I’m curious.”
Athelstan blushed before looking over at Ragnar. The older man rubs the younger man’s back before Athelstan shook his head. “No, i-it’s fine.”
Ivar smirked and said “That’s what I thought.”
Ragnar said “Hey, now that’s enough.” pointing a finger at him.
Sigurd sighed and stood up. “Jesus Ivar, why do you have to be such an ass?!”
Ivar asked “Me, an ass? Why Brother, I’m offended.”
“Oh, don’t give me that crap. Ever since mom and dad got divorced, you’ve been a nightmare for everyone! Athelstan has been nothing but good to us, but you treat him like it’s his fault that you’re crippled!”
Ivar pointed a finger up at him and said “You shut the hell up.”
Athelstan stood up, saying “Sigurd-“
“No, it’s true! You always treated him like shit and blame him for everything! Do you know why mom and dad broke up, Ivar?”
“Sigurd, enough!”
Sigurd ignored them and leaned down “It’s because mom never gave a shit about us. All that woman cares about is herself, the guy she was fucking behind dad’s back, and you.” Shaking his head, Sigurd said “But I don’t understand what the hell our mother saw in you-“ and got cut off by Ivar punching him in the face.
Sigurd fell on his ass on the kitchen floor, and Ivar threw his glass at him, yelling “Fuck you!” Sigurd ducked in time and the glass flew right by his head, crashing into the floor.
Athelstan got down on the floor next to Sigurd while Ragnar went over to grab Ivar. Ivar pushed his father away, causing him to trip backwards over Ivar’s chair, and Ivar saw he had an opportunity. He grabbed his ceramic plate and aimed for Athelstan’s head before throwing.
Before Ragnar could react, Sigurd pulled Athelstan’s down just in time for the plate to fly past their heads, crashing into the other shards. As soon as Ragnar was back on his feet, he moved over to the two on the ground, but Athelstan said “We’re fine. We’re fine, it’s okay.”
His hands balling into fists, Ragnar turned and marched over to his youngest, grabbing him tight by his arm. The boy protested as Ragnar hauled him up over his shoulder, carrying him off into the living room. Ivar lunches at his fathers back, screaming “I hate all of you!” Before Ragnar sat him down.
Keeping him pinned to the chair, Ragnar leaned in close and pointed a finger at him, race red in anger. “You listen to me, and you listen good, because I want this to drill itself into your skull. If you hate us till the end of time, fine. Go ahead. But you will never pull that shit ever again, is that clear?”
When Ivar didn’t answer, Ragnar barked out “Is that clear?! It’s a yes or no question, Son!” And Ivar jumped.
Ivar nodded and said “Yes.”
“Good. Now I am truly sorry that your mom and I couldn’t work things out, I really am. But if you want to blame anyone for that, blame me, not him. Athelstan has been nothing but good to you guys since day one. He loves you guys like his own, and this is how you repay him? You could’ve really hurt him, or your brother.”
The older man waited in hopes his words would sink in before he continued. “Now we’re going back into the kitchen and you will apologize to your brother and your step father. And so help me Gods Ivar if you ever do something like that in my house again, I will kick your ass. Do I make myself clear?”
Father and son stared at each other for what get like a lifetime, before Ivar nodded and said “Yes, Sir.” Ragnar pulled back and nodded before helping Ivar out of the chair, carrying him back into the kitchen.
When he saw Athelstan was gone and Sigurd was cleaning up the mess, Ragnar asked “Where did he go?”
Sigurd said “I told him I’d clean this up and said he was going out to the garage.” Glancing over his shoulder at them, he said “I’d keep him away, if I were you.”
Ragnar sat him down at the table before saying “I’ll be right back, don’t move.” And headed out to the garage. When he got there, he found Athelstan sitting in his car with the doors closed, crying.
Ragnar came up to the car and tapped on the window, causing the younger man to jump. When he saw it was Ragnar, he opened the door and got out, Ragnar pulled him into a hug. The younger man hugged back and buried is face into his husbands shoulder.
“What did I do?” Athelstan asked. “I must have done something to make him hate me so much. He’s scaring the hell out of me, Ragnar.”
The older man sighed and said “You did nothing, My Love. I can’t believe he did that, if I were a different man I would have throttled that boy. I told him that I’d kick his ass if he ever did something like that again. He will apologize to you and Sigurd, I promise. Hopefully, I won’t have to persuade him any further, Gods know I can get creative.”
Athelstan broke the hug and shook his head. “You know it won’t do any good.” The younger man wiped his tears away and said “It doesn’t matter, anyway. I just want to finish my work and go to bed. I don’t want to see him again for the rest of the night.”
Ragnar shook his head and said “No Athelstan, it does matter-“
“Please, Ragnar. Not tonight, okay?” The younger man pleaded, and the older man sighed.
“Okay, not tonight. Come on, I’ll help you take your stuff to our room if you want it there.”
The younger man said “Yes please, thank you.”
Ragnar put an arm around him and said “Anytime, Babe.” He pulled Athelstan against him and kissed the top of his head before petting his hair. “Come on.”
Athelstan stayed by his side as they walked back inside, avoiding eye contact with Ivar as they headed into the living room.
They grabbed the younger man’s stuff and headed down the hall to their bedroom. After leaving the younger man alone to work, Ragnar went back into the kitchen. Sigurd was gone and Ivar was still sitting at the table.
Sparing a glance at his son, Ragnar said “Your step father doesn’t want to see you again tonight so if I were you, I’d use this time to think about what I’ve done. But I’ll help you upstairs so you can apologize to your brother, and tomorrow you can apologize to Athelstan then.”
He carried Ivar out of the kitchen and sat him in the stairlift and waited for him at the top. When they got to the room he shares with Sigurd, the older brother was reading and listening to music. He didn’t even spare a glance at them as Ragnar sat down on Ivar’s bed, only reacting when the older man smacked his leg.
Pausing and taking an earbud out, Sigurd asked “What?”
“Your brother has something he wants to say to you.” Ragnar looked over at Ivar and gestured for him to speak.
Ivar sat up and looked over at his brother, swallowing. “I’m sorry for throwing the glass and plate at you. I was just mad that you were talking bad about mom, and I won’t ever do it again. And you’re right, I am an ass, so I’m sorry for that too.”
They waited for an answer as Sigurd looked at Ivar and then Ragnar before sighing. “It’s alright. But do it again, and I swear I’ll kick your ass and shave your eyebrows off again, understand?”
The younger brother nodded and said “Yeah. So we’re good?”
Sigurd nodded and said “Yeah, we’re good.”
Ragnar smiled and slapped Ivar on the back. “Good job. Now I won’t be here tomorrow so I trust that you will keep your promise. When I get home, I better see a smile on Athelstan’s face, or it’s your ass. Got it?”
“Yes, Sir.”
The next day Ivar was in the living room watching TV while Athelstan was in the kitchen getting his lesson plans ready for next week. Building up enough courage, he got up and using his canes, he went into the kitchen and stood before the older man.
Athelstan looked over at him and Ivar asked “Can we talk? And don’t worry, I’m not here to throw anything else at you.”
Nodding, the older man said “Yeah, sure.” And got up to pull a chair out for him, helping him sit down. Sitting back in his own chair, Athelstan asked “What’s on your mind?”
Ivar sighed and leaned forward on his arms. “I’m sorry about what I did yesterday. I was mad Sigurd and wanted to take it out on you too. It won’t ever happen again, I’m sorry.”
The older man’s face softened and Ivar said “And I’m sorry about everything else I’ve done since I was eight, you don’t deserve of it. Ever since you and my dad started dating, I hated you. I thought my dad wasn’t fighting hard enough to stay with my mom, but I understand now that there was no saving them. But I always hated you, and wanted to hurt you. And I know you hate me-“
Athelstan shook his head and said “I don’t hate you, Ivar. I’ve never hated you.”
Raising an eyebrow, the younger man asked “You don’t?”
The older man chuckled and said “No. Though there’s been many times where you’ve scared me, pissed me off, and made me cry, but I don’t hate you.“
Ivar nodded and said “I wouldn’t be surprised if you did. You don’t have to like me.”
Athelstan shook his head and said “I know I don’t, but I do. I love you guys. Growing up my whole family hated me, I could never figure out why. No matter what I did, I was never good enough. No matter how hard I worked, they were never proud of me. They never told me they loved me or that they even liked me, and it hurt.
But I told myself that if I ever became a parent, things would be different. I’d always tell my kids how much I love them, tell them I’m proud of them. I’d tell them how beautiful and special they are, and that I would always be there for them. Even if they hate me. I love you guys and I love your dad.”
The younger man nodded and said “I know...I’m really sorry for hurting you. Do you think we could start over? Be friends or something, maybe?”
Athelstan smiled and nodded. “Of course. I’d love that.”
When Ragnar walked through the front door, Ivar and Athelstan were sitting on the couch watching TV together, laughing. Ragnar’s eyebrows shot up and when he closed the door, they looked over at him and smiled. Ivar said “Hey dad!”
Ragnar said “Hey. What’s up?”
Athelstan got up and said “We’re just hanging out. I’m gonna get dinner started, care to join me in the kitchen for a minute?”
The older man said “Yeah, sure.” And followed him into the kitchen. “Ivar apologized?”
The younger man nodded and said “Yep. We’re good now. He even asked if we could start over be friends.”
Ragnar pretended to fall back against the fridge while clutching his chest. “Really? He asked that, my son asked that?”
Athelstan grinned and said “Yeah, and he meant it. After eight years of knowing Ivar, I can tell when that boy is lying. But he wasn’t. I think we’ll be okay.”
The older man smiled and said “I hope so. He needs to learn to get a grip on his anger, but baby steps, right?”
“Baby steps.”