Little Brother, by Sue Castle. Rated NC17, no copyright infringement intended, spoilers for General Hospital episodes in the Cassadine arc.

"Wrong again, little brother."

Stavros' voice purred through Stefan's nightmares. It made no difference that he was awake for this one. He'd thought he'd escaped the curse of his brother's attention twenty years before, and for that if nothing else he'd had a grudging respect for Luke Spencer. Discovering that his own unnatural mother had managed to resurrect Stavros from a well-deserved death plunged Stefan head-first back into the nightmare. Stavros ran a deceptively light hand down the side of his face, brushing feather-light against his throat, smiling wickedly at him all the while. Even when they were children, Stavros had his own ways of ensuring Stefan's subservience.

Some things never changed.

Stefan's eyes closed as the hand moved lower, delving into his shirt and pinching one nipple painfully. Stavros' other hand joined the play, sliding unerringly to his groin and cupping his genitals with vicious enthusiasm and no gentleness. With his hands tied behind his back with sturdy rope, there was nothing he could do except what he had become adept at doing from an early age.

Endure.

The last thing Nikolas expected was for his brother to open the door as he raised his hand to knock. Unexpected, but perhaps serendipitous. Since he'd unwarily spoken his true loathing in the hearing of the father he'd thought dead, thereby ruining the charade he'd enacted to gain his grandmother's trust, he had no reason to keep the truth from Lucky any longer. Telling Gia had been a relief. Telling Lucky would be moreso.

If Lucky believed him, it would be a miracle.

From the look on his little brother's face, it would require a leap of faith Lucky might not wish to take.

"Get out of my way."

Not a promising way to begin. "Just -- wait, okay?"

"No, forget it. You don't have any business here!" Lucky's forceful words were followed by an attempt to slam the door in Nikolas' face. Nikolas didn't let it discourage him. He had no doubt the confrontation would get worse before it got better.

"No, Lucky, look." Nikolas forced his way in, leaving the door standing open behind him. "You think I'm on Helena's side and you're wrong." So completely wrong. "Nothing is the way it seems." I love you and I don't want to lose you. He bit back the words and tried to reason with his recalcitrant brother. "I couldn't tell you before, Lucky. I didn't want you to betray me to Helena." Because God knows you wouldn't remember if you did, and God knows what she'd do to me -- and to you. He didn't have time to say any of it. Lucky sneered at him.

"How convenient."

Not the adjective Nikolas would choose for the last several hellish months of his life. "It is the truth, all right?"

Lucky had always been obstinate, and Nikolas had deliberately misled him, so it was no surprise when he went on the attack. "You know, Nikolas, I thought you were my brother. I thought you were my friend." I thought you were my lover went unsaid. "I thought I could trust you. Guess I was wrong. You're a liar, like the rest of your damned family."

That hurt like a kick to the stomach. Nikolas tried to take a deep enough breath to answer, but Lucky didn't give him the opportunity to speak. "I should never have trusted you. And you know what? I'm never going to trust you again." His voice rose as he spoke until he screamed the final words, "So just get out of my face!"

He tried to muscle his way past Nikolas out the door, but Nikolas easily stood his ground. He wasn't going to allow things to stand as they were. It was too painful, for both of them. The first time he'd held Lucky, comforting him in the confusing days after Helena first returned his little brother to him, Nikolas had known he would sacrifice everything for Lucky's sake. The first time they'd lain together, after hiding a dead body to help a friend, that knowledge had solidified to solid steel. His resolve was the only thing that kept him sane in the weeks he'd been deceiving Lucky. Even that had begun to wear thin, to the point where some small part of Nikolas wondered if he'd blown his cover on purpose.

Shaking off the distracting thought, he took Lucky by the jacket lapels and pushed him back into the room. Neither one of them was leaving until they'd thoroughly discussed this situation. "Lucky, I need you to hear me out. I need you to listen to me." I need you. Hear me.

"Get your hands off me!"

Reacting to the barely-leashed rage in Lucky's voice, Nikolas raised his hands and backed off a few steps, carefully keeping himself between Lucky and escape via the front door. "Okay. All right," he soothed.

"Where's Elizabeth? What did you do to her?" An efficient counterattack. The only person who loved Lucky almost as much as Nikolas did, and so was willing to share, knowing it was the only way she'd ever have Lucky.

"Listen to me." He had to get through. Lucky wasn't paying attention.

"No! Elizabeth was on the yacht. You were there with Helena. You did something to her." Defiance gave way to determination in Lucky's face and Nikolas bit back a curse. "I'm gonna go find out what you did." He tried to get past Nikolas to the door again. Nikolas felt his temper slip as he clenched his fingers around Lucky's upper arm hard enough to leave bruises even through a jacket and sweater.

"God, Lucky, I'm not the enemy here!" he growled through clenched teeth. He was caught between slapping his little brother senseless and kissing him senseless. Each option had its own charm.

"You're not the enemy?"

Had there ever been so much scorn in a simple question? Nikolas shook the imprisoned arm once then let go before he gave into temptation and did shake some sense into the man. Frustrated, he repeated, "No, I am not."

"Then tell me where Elizabeth is."

Nikolas was irresistibly reminded of a scratched record he'd tried to play as a child. He forced a reasonable tone. "I can't do that, man." Because your brain is butter and my grandmother's been churning it. "I can't. There's still a chance that Helena could get that out of you." He put every ounce of sincerity he felt into the next words. "But I swear to you I'll tell you the rest. I will, little brother. All you have to do is stand there and listen to me. That's it." He leaned forward, staring intensely into Lucky's distrustful blue eyes. "Lucky, I am on your side. And our mother's, Luke's and certainly Elizabeth's." Because she loves you too.

"Then where is she?" It came out closer to a roar than a question. "You did something to her."

"No, I didn't." Nothing permanent, anyway, and nothing she didn't specifically urge me to do. "Elizabeth is safe. She helped me fool my grandmother, to prove myself as a Cassadine," and a particularly heartless specimen of one, much like my father, "but it was a trick."

"A trick?" Still more scorn.

"Yes," Nikolas repeated with as much patience as he could summon. "A trick. She loves you, man." Almost as much as I do. "She's alive and well. I promise you she'll be back when this is all over. Once we stop Helena."

Of course Lucky wasn't convinced. "You think I don't remember what happened? I was there. I saw her. I held her body in my arms. It was cold and pale. She wasn't breathing."

"Lucky, it was an act." Of course it was convincing. Helena wasn't easily misled. "It was an act to fool Helena. Laura gave us a drug to slow down Elizabeth's heart rate and breathing."

"Do you think I don't remember what I saw?"

"God!" It was a wonder Lucky remembered his own name, with the amount of tinkering Helena had done to his brain. Nikolas refrained from pointing this out, and Lucky plowed on.

"Elizabeth is gone because of you and your twisted family!"

"Man," Nikolas tried to interject. This was really not going well, and if Lucky didn't stop talking and start listening Nikolas would be forced into drastic action. Pinning him to the sofa and fucking him until he didn't have breath enough to talk would be a good preliminary move.

"And believe me when I say this. You will pay for it!"

Nikolas had taken his first step toward Lucky, either to gag him or toss him over the back of the sofa, when his mother's voice froze him in his tracks.

"No, Lucky, don't. Listen to your brother. He's telling the truth." She came further into the room and stood beside Nikolas. He appreciated the support, but Lucky didn't believe her either.

Brushing past him, Lucky appealed to Laura. "You can't actually believe Nikolas. He's on their side." Nikolas winced at the plaintive note in his brother's voice. Betrayal bled from the words. "Nikolas chose to be on their side, Mom."

Her voice, in contrast, was extremely gentle. "No. Nikolas chose to help you." Lucky opened his mouth to dispute that and she raised her hand to stop him from interrupting. "And I believe him; I've been helping him. He's on our side."

He'd played his part too well, for Lucky immediately protested, "There's only one side to the Cassadines. Their own side."

"No," Laura contradicted him patiently. "You're wrong."

"I don't think so!"

It took all the restraint drilled into Nikolas during his years of preparation to be the Prince to allow him to explain when every instinct he had agitated for action rather than words. Unclenching his jaw, he said urgently, "I have been faking my loyalty to Helena to get her to tell me her plans, Lucky. How she controls you. So I can set you free." Spitting the words out past teeth that wanted badly to grit, his enunciation diamond edged, there was no way Lucky couldn't appreciate his sincerity.

Laura jumped in with more support. "Your father was in on it too, until Helena got to him."

"The day Luke punched me at the Grill?" Nikolas took up the thread. "It was an act. Just like everything I've done since." And every day of it has been torture. Denying my mother. Denying Gia.

Denying you. Denying myself. He shook off the thought and turned back to the conversation to hear Laura admit, "Elizabeth was involved too, Lucky."

"So why are you telling me this now?" Lucky's cloudy blue eyes were narrowed with suspicion. Nikolas spread his hands wide in a helpless gesture.

"Well, because it doesn't matter any more." All that sacrifice. And he'd blown it, so close to the prize he could taste it. "I screwed up. Helena's on to me." Not wasting time with self-recrimination, Nikolas concentrated on convincing his brother to let him back into his confidence. "Look, everything I've done, hurting you and everyone around me, it took everything I had but it was the only way I could save you." He moved closer to Lucky instinctively. He and Lucky had always communicated better, more honestly, with their bodies than with words. But he had to try to break through. "You're my brother, Lucky. I love you. I respect you. Now I'm asking you for your forgiveness."

Too close now to deny the need he'd been fighting for weeks, he reached out and drew Lucky into his arms for a long, close embrace. For the first time in too long, Nikolas relaxed a fraction. Lucky's arms were his safe place, and he'd been out risking everything in the cold for so long, all he wanted to do was stand there holding his little brother forever.

Well, perhaps doing a few other things. Without the benefit of their mother's presence. Until they could, though, they had other things to worry about. Lucky finally drew away, and Nikolas watched him closely. Lucky wouldn't meet his eyes. That wasn't a good sign.

"I don't know what I'm doing anymore." He sounded lost and frightened. He subsided onto the end of the sofa as if his knees couldn't hold him upright any longer. "I feel like a stranger in my own life."

Nikolas could certainly relate to that. Sitting next to Lucky, he patted the strong thigh nestled next to his as much because he needed the comfort of the touch as to reassure Lucky. "Well, I've got to tell you, that makes two of us, that's for sure. I've been pretending to be someone I'm not. But that's over now. We're brothers again." Soon Lucky would be whole again, Nikolas would see to that, and when he was, they would never be separated again. "We'll help get you away from Helena. Together. All right?"

The lost note was stronger than ever when he answered, "I've tried. We can't do it. Just like you, and Elizabeth, and my parents, and Kevin -- everybody has tried. But Helena's very strong." Fear choked Lucky's voice. "I tried to defeat her by getting rid of the Ice Princess, but I've got a feeling she's got it back."

Nikolas pointed a finger at him, drawing Lucky's attention, then put every ounce of confidence he felt into his response. "You are stronger than you're giving yourself credit for. You can't give up."

Laura walked over and sat, joining them on the couch. Her presence squeezed Nikolas closer to Lucky, but he had no complaints. Quite the contrary.

"You can fight this, Lucky," she said firmly. "And you can beat it. You're not alone. We're all in this with you, and we will win."

"The people who love you are on your side, Lucky." I love you. I won't let you down. "We'll do this together. And we will make it."

Laura's voice took on a determinedly upbeat tone. "Lucky, once this is all over and we're all free and clear, we'll celebrate. All of us as a whole family. Remember the fun we used to have? You and Dad and me and Lulu --"

It was the wrong tack to take. Lucky sprang from the sofa and stood, quivering, as far from them as he could get, against the wall. "Stop! Just stop, please! Please, Mom. I can't go there. Helena's changed me!"

Nikolas was on his feet, wanting to take Lucky back in his arms, and from the way his mother crowded his elbow, he had the feeling she did too. But Lucky's body language screamed at them to keep their distance, and fearing he'd run if they pushed too hard, Nikolas contented himself with raising one placating hand toward his brother.

"No, Lucky. She tried, but you fought back. Don't give up now, man. Please."

"Listen to us," Laura cried softly. "Listen to your heart."

"Give us a chance," Nikolas added. Give me a chance. "Give yourself a chance. Please."

If it was humanly possible Lucky would have curled into himself to the point that he disappeared. "No. No." He pushed a shaking hand at them. "Both of you stay away from me." Tears washed his eyes. "I don't want to hurt you guys."

Laura continued to reassure him, even though he obviously didn't believe her. "You won't, Lucky. You can't."

"I can!" Lucky screamed back, his voice failing him as he continued, "and I will!" He took a ragged breath and said more quietly, but with intense sadness, "Isn't it obvious? Just forget about me. Forget about me and save yourselves." He made a break for the door.

Nikolas, expecting the move, caught him by the arm and stopped him in his tracks, swinging him around to face them. "Lucky, listen to me. I am not going to let you give up." Ever. For Lucky's sake, and perhaps even more, for his own. When Lucky made no further attempt to escape, Nikolas released him.

A tear trailed down Lucky's cheek as he stared hopelessly back at Nikolas. "I'm going to have to go see Helena. I'm not going to have a choice."

"You're strong enough to resist whatever she throws at you," Nikolas encouraged him. "I know that."

"Our love is much stronger than her hatred," Laura added.

"That's right." Nikolas leaned close, eyes locked with Lucky's. "Even with the programming you fought to save Elizabeth." Even if you were all too easy to convince that I no longer loved you. "You can do this. You can beat her. You know that."

"I want to believe that you're right," Lucky whispered.

"We are," Laura assured him.

"We're not going to give up." Nikolas made the simple words a vow. "Not any of us."

It was a long moment before Lucky spoke. Nikolas watched a myriad of emotions chase across the open face, fear, doubt, confusion, loss ... followed by understanding, determination, pure resolve. "Well, nobody's ever brought down the Spencers, right? Not Faison. Not Helena. Now with Nikolas we're just one stronger."

Nikolas restrained the shout of triumph he wanted to release and simply smiled at his little brother. The wisp of a smile he got in return made his heart sing. They were going to make it.

"And we have two things they're not counting on. We have love. And we have commitment to each other. And that's pretty hard to beat."

"Right," Laura said, and Nikolas heard his own relief echoed in her voice. She went to Lucky's side and drew him into a hug.

"That's right." He leaned forward, putting his arms around his mother and little brother, resting his chin on Lucky's shoulder, his cheeks touching theirs. For the first time in a long time, he felt like he was truly in the heart of his family.

Laura made a small movement and Nikolas responded by drawing away, breaking the knot of tightly-held bodies. She looked up at them both, tears in her eyes belied by the bright smile she gave them.

"I love you both very much," she said softly.

Nikolas quirked a smile at her, and Lucky mumbled, "Love you, Mom."

"I've got to get back to the hospital. Will you be all right?" The question seemed equally directed at both of them, but Lucky answered again.

"We will. Now." His arm came around Nikolas' waist from the back, a warm, reassuring weight across the small of his back. Fingers dug lightly into his side, and Nikolas gave Laura a smile at least as bright as hers had been.

"Good. Thank you," she told Nikolas, and he ducked his head. He didn't need thanks.

"I love him," he said simply, and felt the arm tighten around him imperceptibly.

Laura nodded, gave them another quick smile, and left the way she'd come, closing the door behind her. Nikolas didn't have to think about his next move. His instincts had been screaming at him for days to do this.

He left Lucky's side only long enough to put the chain on the door and flick the deadbolt closed. Then he returned, lifted Lucky's chin with one hand and slid his other around Lucky's shoulders, and kissed him the way he'd been needing to kiss him for weeks.

Lucky's hands came up, clutching his arms, sliding over his sides to rest against his ass, kneading there restlessly. Nikolas' eyes closed and he sank into the sensation of Lucky's tongue under his, Lucky's body rubbing against his, Lucky's warmth thawing the last of the ice with which he'd encased his heart in order to survive prolonged exposure to his grandmother. By the time they broke for air, Nikolas was light-headed. The cocky, needy grin his little brother shot him told him it would get worse before it got better.

He couldn't wait.

Knowing Leslie and little Lulu were safely out of town, Laura was on her way to the hospital, and all their enemies were on the other side of a bolted door for the moment, Nikolas gave in. Dropping ravenous, biting kisses along Lucky's jaw, neck, and mouth, he guided them both up the stairs. The journey took longer by far than usual, interrupted as it was by groping hands, gasps for breath, kisses that nearly sent them over the railing, and a sense of direction that was failing rapidly. Vertigo threatened by the time they finally made it safely to the door of Lucky's room.

Hunger made them clumsy, but neither cared. Breaking contact only to strip off hindering clothing, they stumbled to the bed. Driven by the need to mark, to claim, to remind Lucky that he belonged to Nikolas and no one would ever take him away, Nikolas sucked and bit the soft pale skin as he uncovered it. Lucky made no protest; on the contrary, he moaned and leant into the bites, winding his body as closely around Nikolas as he could, a willing captive to a Cassadine for a change.

The first time Nikolas made Lucky come, it was against his belly, rubbing and stroking the length of him, rolling his balls from side to side in the sac, strength with a hint of pain behind it, the way Lucky liked best. As he felt the spasms start, he sucked a nipple into his mouth and bit down carefully, the tiny jolt of pain just what Lucky needed to send him over the edge. Needy whimpers came from behind Lucky's tightly clenched teeth, his eyes squeezed shut in extremis, sweat standing out on his skin.

Nikolas had never seen anything more beautiful in his life than his little brother out of his mind with ecstasy.

He moved down Lucky's body, leaving bruises from his mouth, tiny brands Lucky would feel for days afterward. Connecting them in a way no one could deny and Helena couldn't break. Licking the soft hot skin clean, Nikolas closed his eyes and breathed deeply. The scent made him dizzy all over again.

Then Lucky's hands were on his shoulders, in his hair, drawing him up into a kiss that felt as if it pulled his soul from his body. Nikolas was shaking by the time Lucky stopped ravaging his mouth and began to ravish his body. He could do nothing but clench his fists in the sheets and hold on for the hurricane of sensation as Lucky caressed every inch of him. Ending at his groin, Lucky didn't hesitate, swallowing Nikolas to the base, then continuing to swallow around the bulk of him. Too soon, it was too much, and Nikolas forced one hand away from the sheets to clutch Lucky's hair, drawing him away. He wasn't ready to come yet.

Animal need, frustrated at being denied its prize, growled at him from Lucky's eyes. Nikolas met it with his own fierce want, rolling Lucky beneath him and taking his mouth again before burrowing between Lucky's thighs. Once his intent broke through the haze of lust clouding Lucky's mind, Nikolas had his willing cooperation. Lucky raised his knees and angled his hips up, opening himself with an inherent wanton skill. Nikolas had taught Lucky many things about sex, but this talent hadn't been one of them. It came from Lucky, and had from the first time they'd lain together over a year ago.

Nikolas slid his hands behind Lucky's thighs, holding him up and positioning himself. Lucky was writhing and whimpering, pain mingled with pleasure so acute it took him outside himself, and Nikolas drank it all in as he methodically worked himself into the tight heat. It was like shoving his cock in a vise for a few moments until he got past the tight ring of muscle, past the inner rings that rippled around him, then he felt the warm soft weight of Lucky's ass against his pelvis. He rested there, partly to give Lucky time to adjust, partly to catch his control so he didn't come as soon as he started to move.

Lucky was ready before he was, muttering frustrated encouragement. "C'mon, man, move it! Please, c'mon, Nikolas, fuck me already! Move!" He bucked as much as he could in Nikolas' hold, and Nikolas found himself laughing as he relaxed his hold and started to thrust. Looking down into his little brother's intent, incandescent face, he knew he could stay there forever and be happy.

Forever, of course, never lasted as long as one would hope. Lucky didn't help matters by dropping one hand to his own cock and stroking, adding a shimmy to his movements that nearly took the top of Nikolas' head off. His other hand roamed his chest, pulling at his nipples, and Nikolas' laugh turned to a moan in an instant. There was something compelling about the sight of his little brother, rocking with every thrust, taking everything Nikolas could give him. Pleasuring himself, his lips and chest and cheeks flushed red and wet with sweat, his cock leaking over his knuckles.

Control was no defense against such stimulation, and too soon, Nikolas felt his testicles draw up. Leaning forward, he slammed as deeply as he could reach into Lucky, then spasmed, shooting stream after stream into him. When he could open his eyes again, Lucky was jerking hard on his own cock, staring up at him avidly. The aftershocks as Lucky came, ass clamping around Nikolas' softening cock, were a particularly welcomed pain. Nikolas stayed still, as Lucky ground himself against Nikolas' groin, crying out as he came.

Lucky was still shaking when Nikolas slipped from his body, turned him over onto his side and drew him up into a full-body hug. Spooned tightly together, his face resting in the curve of Lucky's neck, one arm around Lucky's waist, one hand cupping lax genitals, Nikolas could finally relax.

"Trust me, little brother." They would survive this.

No matter who got in the way.

"Did you whisper in her ear, little brother? How brutal I was, how untrustworthy; all the things you used to say?"

Instinct fought training and won; even with his hands tied behind his back Stefan tried to fight off the unwelcome advances. Stavros had used this particular method to impose his will on his younger brother since they were children, Stavros barely in his teens the first time he'd forced Stefan to fellate him. Over the years it had become simply one more reason to hate his older brother.

One more twisted aspect of the love between them neither would ever acknowledge.

"How precious!" Stavros mocked him. "How brave!" Stavros pulled him from the chair and tossed him bodily over the table. "How futile!"

Knowing what was coming, Stefan kicked out, trying to catch Stavros in the groin and put a stop to the rape before it began. It would be worth the inevitable thrashing when Stavros could stand again. Unfortunately, his aim was off, and the only reward his efforts received was a cuff against the back of his head that slammed his face into the table and made him dizzy. Before he could shake off the effects of the blow, Stavros pulled his trousers and shorts down, laughing all the while.

The cool air of the lab made his bared skin prickle uncomfortably. Still, he'd been in this position before, and while he couldn't stop the inevitable, past experience had taught him he could minimize the physical damage. Taking a deep breath, he concentrated on relaxing his muscles as much as possible.

He wasn't allowed time to attempt another rebellious move. Stavros stepped on the trousers pooled between Stefan's ankles and leaned one arm against the small of his back, effectively pinning him in place. He closed his eyes and focused on breathing as his brother, not bothering to prepare him, rammed into him.

Stefan lost his breath. Pain ripped through him, immobilizing him and stealing the last of his resistance, ironically making the taking easier. As Stavros set his usual brutal pace, Stefan felt the world dissolve around him until his reality consisted of nothing but Stavros, dominating him, surrounding him, conquering him.

Surrender was sweeter than it should have been.

It always was.

Long-term muscle memory kicked in, and his body responded, disregarding the mental protests he was too well-trained to give voice. By the time Stavros sped up, signaling his impending orgasm, Stefan was hard. The edge of the table bit into his testicles; the hard surface battered his penis; sweat made his skin slick, and he rocked helplessly beneath his brother's movements. Stavros leaned over, clamping vicious fingers into his hips, leaving still more bruises, and hissed into his ear, "You are mine, worthless one. Did you honestly think you could escape me?"

Climax stole any response he might have been heedless enough of danger to give. Stavros didn't notice, consumed by his own orgasm. When it was over, he rested heavily against Stefan's back, panting against the side of his neck.

"Wrong again, little brother."

Always.

For the first time literally in years, Lucky felt completely at home in his own skin. He curled his hands under his cheek on the pillow, concentrating on the sound of Nikolas' breath against the side of his neck, the warm weight of the hand on his cock, the reassuring length of his big brother's body pressing along his own from head to foot. He closed his eyes and heard Nikolas say softly, "trust me."

Lucky couldn't help smiling. Trust Nikolas? Now that he knew the truth, how could he not? Trust him? Lucky did. With his life, his sanity, his heart. His soul.

Always.

end