magnetic - Mason Mount x OMC

chapter twenty eight - family history

Suitcase packed, Finn headed to the private airport that Mason had told him to meet him at. After a busy work week, he desperately wanted to just collapse on his sofa, but he knew Mase wanted to take his kind off it being an international weekend.

Plus it was the effort he'd wanted from the footballer; and effort he was definitely getting. The car pulled up onto the run, and after a brief security check, Finn was sat on a private plane sipping champagne.

"Jesus, Mase. This is fancy as hell."

"Well, I aim to impress. Plus, with the way your royalties are going, I won't be able to impress you like this for long." Mason smiled.

"Oh shut up." Finn laughed. "Anyway where are we going?"

"Thought some spring sun would be fun, so St Tropez awaits..."

"Ahhhh! I've never been so very excited."

Mase glowed at the singer. "Just a couple days to escape the world."

***

The pair had arrived in St Tropez and immediately settled into a villa that Mason had organised for the weekend, over looking the town. They sunbathed, got into a very competitive pool volleyball tournament, and got acquainted in the bedroom.

"When did you know you were bi?" Finn looked into Mase's eyes, still in the post sex haze.

"Think I always knew, but from puberty I wanted to shag anything that moved. That made me pretty sure I liked both."

"Have you ever been in a relationship with a boy?"

"Erm yeah, not super long though. I was with my most recent serious ex for 3 years from 19 to 22 years old. But the relationship before that, although we'd kept it secret, was with a boy. And I was 18 when that started." The footballer explained.

"How did it come about?"

"I went to school with him, grown up together, really good mates. Got drunk at a house party one time and ended up kissing, maybe when we were about 17. Then eventually started dating months later. Ended when I went to play football in Holland. He struggled with the bi thing towards the end anyway so probably would've ended without the move. Any other question?!"

Finn laughed, wrapping himself in Mason's arms. "One more, who knows you're bi?"

"Well I could write you a list, but a fair few people. All my family, I told them when I had my first boyfriend. Some teammates who I'm mates with off the pitch like Ben, Dec, Christian. A lot of the England lot too. I'm fairly open about it to those I know I can trust. Just not broadcasting it."

"Questioning over." Finn laughed again.

"You're turn in the hot seat now, Mr O'Hara. Same question, first boyfriend?"

"Actual relationship, I was 19. Had been with boys before but not seriously. Next!"

"How many boyfriends in total?"

"2 serious ones."

"Both from Manchester?"

"One scouser actually, that went down well at home!" Finn said sarcastically.

"I bet!" They both laughed til silence naturally fell. "How old were you when your mum died?"

This wasn't the first deep conversation the pair had had, Mason knew Finn's mum had died. But in this new chapter of their story, it felt like they were getting to know each other again.

"14." Finn answered. "Paddy was 17 and Sam was 12."

Finn averted his gaze from the footballer's face. Mase kept his eyes bang on him, keeping his eyes soft and caring.

"I remember it like it was yesterday, even though it feels like a different lifetime ago. We knew she only had days left at that point. We used to take it in turns to sit with her during the nights in case she left us then. But it was one morning, we were all in the room and that was it. Knocked into a different life."

"I can't imagine how that felt, yet alone being so young." Mason held him tighter.

"I definitely look back on it differently now. Afterwards, I really struggled to remember like family holidays or fun stuff I used to do with my mum because I just blocked it out and decided to be mad at the world. Whereas now, I can actually remember her, her face, things she said.

I still feel bad for Paddy. He had to become a fully fledged adult overnight and pull us all together. All the rest of us had the luxury of breaking down, fucking up. But he couldn't and he didn't. Dad was off the rails, Sam was understandably lost. And I was just a nightmare that first year."

"No wonder you are so close as brothers." Mase commented.

"Yeah, I mean Patrick pretty much raised Sam. Every thing from homework, giving him his lunch money to teaching him to shave and what sex was. He was honestly amazing. And he somehow still managed to start a business in the midst of everything, and kept us all a float."

"You don't really reference your Dad in that." Mason observed.

"Feels easier to some how forget his part in it." Finn replied. A pause came over them.

"If any of the three of us spoke about Dad, you'd get three different stories. Paddy was 17 and had 17 years of a fairly normal Mum and Dad. He has the most tolerance for him and the one who Dad leans on the most. Sam probably struggles to remember a time when Dad wasn't a mess and so it's sort of normal for him. For me, I remember Dad before and I struggle sometimes to forgive him for breaking down like he did when we needed him most. What I didn't want to be doing in the months after Mum dying, was walking the streets at night trying to find which pub doorway he'd passed out in.

His family helped us get him sorted eventually, and he was sober again for a few years when I was like 17 til I was 21. Then, he relapsed again and we've sort of been on an up down road ever since. I hate that I see so much of myself in him, physically and sometimes in my temperament. But it is getting easier to have a relationship with him. It's hard because I know he loves us, but sometimes the bottle is too enticing."

Finn looked up at Mase, who was intently paying attention.

"Thanks for sharing that will me." he smiled. Finn just rested his head onto the footballer's chest.

"He's doing fairly good at the minute. So hopefully that means he can be in my life going forward. But there's why you may not meet him for a while."

"Ahh meeting the parents on the cards is it, O'Hara?" Mase tickled him.

"It's actually only meet the parent for you." Finn tried to say with a straight face but giggles fell out.

"That is dark, F!" They both laughed.

***