IN THIS LIGHT(NING) AND ON THIS EVENING

Timmy's life is hard. Not ghetto-hard, but complicated nonetheless.

He is a seventeen years old boy with two fathers – one very famous and the other very borderline – with twin siblings under the age of three and a boyfriend two years younger than him, who lives in Italy, which is 5000 miles away.

Some people don't get the connection between all these things, especially Timmy's parents, but there is one and it's extremely clear every time his fathers decide that the time has come for them to leave the nest for a little while and find themselves as a couple again, which happens illegally often for two men with kids who are actually used to have sex multiple times every day anyway, despite their children's presence in the house.

Blaine and Leo have a very weird backstory – someone would say insane – and most people wonder why they're still together after all that breaking up and making up. Timmy knows why. It's because they need each other: physically, emotionally and mentally. It's more than just love, they live off each other, if something like that it's even possible without being cheesy or creepy. After several attempts of basically anybody to fix the situation, it's now clear to everybody that Leo manages to be completely functional only when Blaine is with him. And Blaine, although he could go on with his life even if he was alone, he would be reduced to the ghost of himself, and a very sad ghost at that.

Sometimes this hunger they have for each other is under control and they can live a normal life – work, take care of their children, hang out with their friends - sometimes it's not, and they have to run away for a week end and fuck each other brain out, until they are ready again to face their everyday life.

Any teenage in the world would say Timmy is lucky because he gets to have the house to himself more often than not, but that's just a misguided notion of the situation. He has not the house to himself because, when he was fourteen, his beloved fathers decided that he was old enough to take care of his siblings by himself, and so they stopped to bring them over to their grandparents' house, leaving them with him ever since. Timmy is sure that this is totally Leo's fault. Leo hates his own fathers since that time they threw him out of the house when he was twenty, so he doesn't leave the twins with them if it's not strictly necessary. And apparently it's not, when Timmy can take care of them.

The first time his parents said to him they were going to leave the twins with him, it was all very epic.

They made him sit on the couch as they always do for special occasions, which up to that moment had included the announcement that they were going to marry and the announcement that they were pregnant – or at least some girl was and they were gonna keep her baby – and they tricked him into think that staying at home alone with his younger siblings was a good thing. It was not. But he was young and foolish, and he only thought of the power he was going to have. The fact that with great powers come great responsibilities didn't even cross his mind. Fuck Spiderman, he was going to have the time of his life! So, when he understood what he had gotten himself into, it was too late, and they were already gone to Hawaii.

This time they are in France, in some lost medieval town called Mehun-sur-Yèvre, and they're gonna be away for ten days. When he pointed out that they couldn't leave two toddlers alone with their brother for so long, Leo patted him on the head twice and just told him he was gonna be just fine. He was seventeen now, almost a man. Plus, they were giving him all the numbers to contact them, in case of emergency.

“But please, don't let any emergency happen,” Leo said, giving him one of those tensed smile that usually precedes a total breakdown. “Everything's gonna be fine. Just don't call, okay?”

Luckily for everybody, Blaine talked to him some hours later, explaining that he was taking Leo away before he could kill them all, that he was very stressed and really needed some time alone with him. Timmy would have protested, if he hadn't known how it was when Leo really freaked out. He has been there for too many crisis not to want Leo out of this house as quick as possible.

The moment his parents were finally out the door, he did the first thing he always does when they go away: he flew Alex over. That's when a monthly allowance like the one his father gives him comes in handy. The hardest part is convincing Cody and Vince that it's absolutely necessary for Alex to come to the States even in the middle of the school year, but he always manages. Or Cody always gives up when he sees that his son has already packed and he's ready to take a taxi and go to the airport.

Baby-sitting the twins with Alex is way easier – because the kids love him – and more fun – since Alex sleeps in his bed. Everything's perfect, really. They wake up, make them breakfast, take them to the playschool, go back home and fool around, sometimes even have sex, have lunch, maybe have sex again, then they go pick them up at four, play with them, make them dinner, put them to bed, and spend the rest of the night fooling around again.

Everything works perfectly fine, really, until it doesn't anymore.

Two days after his parents left, Hell breaks loose. It always happens this way. Emergencies, and tragedies and crisis never happen when his fathers are about to come back, only when he's alone and he's forbidden to call.

Everything starts with the loudest thunder ever heard by human ear, followed by a scream. A loud shriek that suddenly pierces through the night like a siren, waking both him and Alex.They have just fallen asleep, cuddling together in Timmy's bed, so the mere fact that they actually manage to open their eyes and be functioning is a miracle.

“What is this noise?” Alex asks, blinking a couple of times to try and shake sleep off enough to understand what's happening around him. His boyfriend is too warm to stand up, though. So he just lies there, frowning at the continuous sound.

Timmy frowns too. “A thunder?” He answers. Another loud rumble seems to underline his words, and after that the sound of the big storm that's going on becomes suddenly clear. It's raining hard, and the wind is slamming the shutters downstairs. Under all that, that piercing scream.

“No, the other one,” Alex complains, making a face as he tries to understand who or what is dying somewhere nearby. He barely knows where he is, let alone understand what's going on exactly.

Timmy ignores the thunders and listens. Every long scream now is followed by three irregular sobs. “That's Logan,” he sighs, recognizing his little brother's way of half-choking himself in desperation. Timmy leaves a tender kiss on Alex's nose as he gently pushes him off himself, so he can get off the bed.

Right on cue, and louder than anything else tonight – thunders, rain and Logan's screaming – Harper informs him of the situation, in a flat, uninterested voice. “Timmy, Logan is crying.”

When Timmy finally gets to his siblings' room, they are both standing, grabbing the bars of their nest-like bed. He turns the light on, since their night light doesn't make much light. Harper looks annoyed – but then she hardly doesn't – and Logan is screaming, red in the face. “What's up, buddy?” Timmy asks, picking him up and holding him close to his chest. The kid's so desperate that he cries without a sound, his mouth open, breathless, until he hiccups once and the air comes out again from his little lungs, together with a scream.

“He's scared of the storm,” Harper says. In that moment, Alex finally shows up in the room, rubbing his eyes, and she instantly puts her arms up, so he can pick her up too.

“It's just rain, Logan. There's nothing to be worried about,” Timmy says, gently. No matter how sleep deprived he is, no matter how annoyed he feels or how late he came to rescue his little brother, he always speaks tenderly to him. “Did the thunders wake you up?”

The kid nods, sniffing. Being hugged seems to calm him down. Timmy's arms are not like daddy Blaine's arms, but they will do. He rests his head against his brother's shoulder and hiccups again. Timmy brings him to the window, lulling him a little. “See? It's just water from the sky,” he keeps going. Logan shakes his head and hides his face in Timmy's chest. “You don't want to see it?”

“Noise,” he says, in a muffled voice.

Unlike his brother, Harper is not scared at all and she has basically driven Alex to the window, like the pilot of a gigantic robot. She keeps her hand on the windowpane and stares in awe at every lightening that lights up the room. “Logan doesn't like thunders,” she informs them, always her brother's translator.

“Oh, but you know what a thunder is?” Timmy asks, searching for his little brother's face. He noses Logan's cheek and he looks up, sniffing and shaking his head again. His eyes are red and puffy. “Sometimes in the sky, clouds are naughty like you and your sister. They steal toys from each other or they don't sleep enough so they are all grumpy and maybe they misbehave very badly and even hit each other. Some of them just cry, you see?” Timmy points out of the window. This time Logan looks and nods, but when the next thunder comes he's so startled that he shudders. “Some of them, instead, make their head bump, like this,” he goes on, bumping his head against his little brother's, and Logan chuckles. “And that's how thunder come from.”

Logan laughs a little but then another thunder makes him hesitate. “Really?” He asks.

“Yes,” Timmy confirms. “Look.”

He walks over to Harper and bumps his head with hers, just when the next thunder comes. The kids watch him in awe as he foresees another one, bumping his head with Alex too. That's a little mistake, though, because he can't really move away without giving his boyfriend a little kiss.

“Does clouds kiss too?” Logan asks, as his brother kisses Alex once more.

Alex chuckles as Timmy sighs and rests his forehead against his, trying to find the peace of mind to back away from him. “Yes, they do sometimes,” he answers, and then looking at Alex he adds, “If they love each other.”

Harper rolls her eyes, three years and such a diva already. “You're just like dads.”

Alex chuckles against Timmy's mouth. “Oh, I don't know about that,” he says, and then sighs, backing away from his boyfriend. “Okay, now, why don't we go back to bed? Timmy can read a story for us.”

“Why me?” Timmy protests as he finally manages to pull Logan away from himself and put him into his bed, right next to his sister, who's already slipping under the blanket.

“Because you're the son of a writer,” Alex answers, readily. “I'm just the humble son of a farmer.”

Timmy glares at him, as he picks up a random book from the twins' little bookcase. It's one of those big books with more images than text. This one is about a duckling who has to go to meet his family at the pond and while he walks there he meets all kind of different animals, like every main character in every kid's book. “You're so gonna pay me back for this, Alex.”

“I can't wait,” Alex says, smirking.

Harper looks from one to the other and frowns. “What does it mean?”

“It means,” Timmy says, clearing his throat, “that you now listen to the story and then go back to sleep.”

The twins nod simultaneously, then rest their heads on the pillows and watch him carefully as he reads; Harper holding her doll and Logan sucking at his thumb. Everything looks extremely peaceful now, even with the storm still raging outside, as Timmy opens the book and starts to read of Jimmy the duckling.

He knows that it won't take them a lot of time to fall asleep now. They like the sound of his voice speaking, it doesn't matter what he reads. Two pages tops and they'll be sleeping again, so he will be able to ravage Alex a little more, now that they're both awake again. Everything's gonna be alright, there's nothing to worry about.

But fate hates him. He must have done something in a previous life – or even in this one – for which he's been punished, because the moment he turns the first page, the lights go out and not only Logan starts to scream again, but his sister too.

“What's going on?” Alex asks, and there's a hint of fear in his voice too. Great.

“The lights went off,” Timmy says as he puts the book aside and picks up Logan, who's already standing again. “But the power generator should kick in any second. Dads had it installed two years go.”

Harper pulls at Alex's shirt and he picks her up, looking around. He doesn't like darkness. He's not really afraid of it, but he doesn't like it that much and the fact that he can't show how nervous he is because that would scare the kids makes him even more nervous. The twins are sobbing but clinging to them seems to keep their hysterics under control. They wait for a minute, and then two, and then three more just to be sure, but the lights don't come back and the generator doesn't kick in. “Timmy?” Alex asks, tentatively.

Timmy goes to the window, still holding Logan who has buried his face in his brother's neck and doesn't wanna know anything about what's happening right now, whatever it is. “The whole neighborhood is in the dark,” Timmy says, watching the street.

“What about the generator?” Alex asks, that hint of fear again.

“Apparently, it doesn't work,” Timmy sighs. “Here, take Logan. I'll go check.”

Logan instantly clings to Alex, who sways a little under the weight of both twins. “Wait! What...? Where?” Alex stutters, shocked. “Are you leaving me here alone?”

“It's gonna take five minutes,” Timmy says, moving blindly towards the door. Alex can barely sense his figure in the dark. “I think there are some candles in my desk. First drawer. Light them up and just stay with the twins.”

“Do you know that's exactly the line someone says before disappearing in an horror movie?” Alex says, more to keep him there a little longer than to inform him.

In the darkness, Timmy's chuckle sounds crystal clear. “That's a good way not to scare yourself even further, Alex,” he mocks him. “I'm gonna be alright. The only thing that could hunt this house is the gay ghost of Christmas past. Now, go get those candles. I'll be back before you know it.”

And then he's gone. Alex takes a deep breath and tells himself that this is ridiculous. This is just a house – a house he knows since he was three – and the lights just went off. No big deal. He can go through this. He has to go through this because of the twins. The twins need him. This seems to calm him down.

“Can we go find the candles?” Harper asks. She is scared, but she doesn't like to be, so she tries to focus on something else.

“Yes, that's exactly what we're doing,” Alex nods, walking carefully towards Timmy's room.

Finding something in Timmy's desk is not an easy task. He's usually a very tidy person, but drawers escape his control completely. He puts in there everything for which he has no other place, so they're always incredibly cluttered.

Alex makes the twins sit on Timmy's bed as he searches through the drawer. It's not easy to convince Logan to let go of him, but Harper takes over, and Logan clings on to her instead. “My friend says that monsters come out when it's dark,” Logan says. There's a sob that threatens to escape his lips, but his sister shushes it with a kiss on his cheek. She's incredibly tender with him when nobody's looking.

“Monsters never come out because they don't exist---oh, here they are!” Alex holds the candles in his palms as if they were precious things. He grabs the lighter too and lights them up. The room comes out of darkness, and he can suddenly see the twins' faces, a little ghostly but tender. “See, there's nothing to worry about.”

He has just finished speaking when the loudest, meanest growl they've ever heard comes from the hall. They all turn around and, a moment later, something big grabs Alex and slams him into the floor. Everybody starts to scream again, Alex included who kicks and trash on the ground in panic. The thing is way bigger than him and holds him tight. It doesn't even make an effort to pin him down.

Alex is so scared that he can only scream and it takes him five whole minutes and a kiss on the neck to realize that the thing is Timmy. “You idiot!” He screams, hitting him on his shoulder one, two, three times. “You're an asshole! And a bastard! Oh my God, how much I hate you!”

Unaffected by Alex's weak punches, Timmy rolls on his back and laughs. “You should have seen your face!” He says, breathless. “You really thought I was a monster!”

Alex blushes. “You could have been a prowler,” he protests.
“But you weren't thinking that,” Timmy can't stop laughing and he keeps rolling right and left on the floor, under his siblings' confused eyes. Whatever is happening is so weird that they're not even scared anymore.

“You are horrible and I hate you and I don't wanna be with you anymore,” Alex says. He walks past him. The plan is to storm out of the room, but he can't because Timmy grabs him and brings him down to the floor again. He hugs him tenderly and kisses him on his neck again. “Come here. You're not really angry at me.”

“I am,” Alex protests, pouting but not moving.

“You found the candles.”

Alex sighs and, won by cuddles as he always is, nods. “And you didn't make the generator work.”

“Couldn't even find it,” Timmy shrugs. “But, I found these.” He shows Alex three torches and he turns one on. The torches makes enough light to show their faces very clearly. The twins clap their hands, finally happy, and Harper instantly demands a torch for herself. “And, I also found Leo's old camping gear. We can go downstairs and camp in the living room. It's gonna be a little adventure and the kids will be too excited to be afraid.”

Alex chuckles, stroking his hair. “You are crazy.”

Timmy purrs under his fingers. “Say that again, but in a sweeter voice.”

Alex doesn't say anything, but the kiss he gives him is sweet enough.

*

When Blaine and Leo come back ten days later, the tent is still in the living room.

“Did we host a boy scout meeting and I didn't know?” Blaine asks as he takes off his coat. Both he and Leo seem very relaxed indeed. Leo just smiles the way he would if he were high. He's in this blissful state that always follows his holidays with Blaine, when no matter what happens, he's always okay with everything.

“Oh, that?” Timmy asks, as he helps them with their suitcase. “No, the lights just went out one night.”

Leo frowns just for a moment. “Is it me or aren't these two things related in any way?” He asks his husband. Blaine just shakes his head. He's not sure he wants to know.