This is my first (and possibly only) attempt at writing for Ste and Brendan. Please go easy on me, whilst equally telling me if you think something isn't great.

I hope you enjoy.

"Come back to bed Bren".

He could hear Ste calling from the bedroom, his voice still husky as it was first thing in the morning. Brendan stayed silent, not responding to Ste and carried on as he was, making coffee and toast all round.

He'd not had the best night's sleep, too nervous and jumpy to ever really appreciate it, so he decided to bite the bullet and get up at 7:30am on the Sunday. He knew he'd regret this decision later on in the evening; he needed to be on top form all day.

Brendan heard the door creaking, which means Steven had given up on the idea of a lie-in and had followed him into the kitchen. He felt arms wrap themselves around his waist and felt Steven brush his nose up against the nape of his neck, making him squirm. Steven knew it was Brendan's only ticklish spot.

"Go back to bed Steven, I'll bring these through. Enjoy your morning off, no children, no deli, no nothing. We have the morning all to ourselves".

"Well, a lie-in loses its appeal when you're not in the bed with me".

Ste was slowly moving his hands south of Brendan's waist, with one destination in mind. Brendan stopped him, grabbed hold of his hands and turned himself round in Ste's hold.

"Oi, no touching. I've got big plans for us today, I don't want you distracting me before we've even stepped out of the door. We start now, we'll never leave the bedroom"

"Aw Bren, you make it sound like a hardship".Ste was smirking, not giving in that easily and was placing little bites and kisses on Brendan's collarbone.

He loved how delicate he could be in Ste's arms, yet be so muscular, so manly and so strong, at the same time. Ste saw the sides of Brendan that no-one else would ever experience, he was the reason Brendan discovered he had these sides to his personality.

Ste nabbed the piece of toast Brendan had just finished buttering, took a bite and strolled over to the sofa, robe on but unashamedly undone.

"What are your big plans for today then Bren, where we off to?"

"Well, I thought seeing as you've got the day off tomorrow, Leah and Lucas are with Amy and it's a bank holiday tomorrow, we'd make the most of the alone time. Head to the coast for the day, have a drink or two and then I've got us a table booked for dinner."

"Brendan Brady, dead romantic you. It's alright though, I won't tell anyone. I promise". Ste was grinning like a Cheshire cat, all bambi-eyed and in awe of the man he loved. Even after almost two years since they reunited in Dublin, Ste continued to be pleasantly surprised with Brendan.

He was amazed at how much love Brendan had to give, how easily it came to him these days. He was even more amazed at why Brendan had chosen him to devote all of his love to. Ste still found it hard to believe what a man like Brendan saw in a boy like him. OK, technically he wasn't a boy, but even now he still didn't define himself as a man, but every day, with the help from Brendan and his admiration for him, his acceptance of himself was improving.

Equally, Brendan was dependant on Ste's love to keep him grounded, to keep him level headed, maybe more now, than ever before. Now he had a taste of how good life could be, experienced true happiness for the first time in his 30+ years, the thought of losing that, of losing Steven, pained him.

The two of them had overcome more obstacles than either would care to count, but everything was out in the open. There were no secrets any more albeit there were still things that needed addressing in more depth, but the truth being out there was more than enough for them at the present.

Ste finally understood why Brendan was the man he used to be, why he'd lashed out in the past, why he'd struggled so hard with his sexuality and ultimately why Brendan had such a protective kind of love, for Ste himself and those few in his circle. Seamus Brady. The man who had taken everything away from Brendan. Finding out had been an eye opener for Ste, in more ways than he'd ever care to count. He felt like he'd had the rug pulled from beneath his feet, questioned how people could be so evil, yet simultaneously he felt like he understood the world better. He didn't like it, but he understood it. And from that moment on, he vowed to love Brendan like he deserved until the end.

Brendan carried the coffees over, took a seat next to Ste, mouth full of toast, crumbs in his moustache. He placed the mugs on the table, could see Ste in all his naked glory out of the corner of his eye.

"Do you have no shame? Distracting me from my breakfast in that attire"

"That's me plan that is, but now I know you've got this big day all planned out I better cover up. Don't want to miss out on a chip butty at the seaside now, do I?"

"Oh, I see how it is. Well, in that case, I'm off for a shower". Brendan stood up, gulped down his coffee and headed off in the direction of the bathroom.

He was up earlier than necessarily for the day, so he thought he'd try and kill two birds with one stone, have a shower and have Steven, together. He turned the shower on, full power, burning hot and stripped himself of his clothes. He brushed his teeth whilst he was waiting for the room to steam up and once he was satisfied it was humid and sweaty enough in the bathroom, he made his way back in to the lounge where he knew Ste would be.

"Steven, I forgot something". He stood in the doorway, eyes dark, body covered with a light sheen of sweat and a small smirk playing on his face.

"Right, and what would that be?" Steven asked mischievously in return.

"You". Brendan pulled him up from the sofa, threw the robe off of his shoulders and guided Ste into the makeshift sauna that was the bathroom.

If this was how today started, Brendan was feeling more and more at ease about what he was intending to do tonight.