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Stemming from a dysfunctional family in mild poverty and a tragic event that left Nathan a broken child as he grew up. Nathan meeting Rita had changed him for the better and saved his life in the grand scheme of things. Having two twins and the challenges that they brought also being shown in this story as well. I refined it as best as I could for now, and right now it feels good enough to upload.\n\nNathan's age at the beginning is around the age of 10, when he meets Rita it's around the age of 20. There is mention of rape, a murder suicide and a brief mention of Rita and Nathan fucking. That's it for the NSFW stuff.", "description_bbcode_parsed": "I wrote this a long while ago as I tried to build on the deeper history of Nathan, where he gets his inspirations and how he becomes the dad he is now. Stemming from a dysfunctional family in mild poverty and a tragic event that left Nathan a broken child as he grew up. Nathan meeting Rita had changed him for the better and saved his life in the grand scheme of things. Having two twins and the challenges that they brought also being shown in this story as well. I refined it as best as I could for now, and right now it feels good enough to upload.

Nathan's age at the beginning is around the age of 10, when he meets Rita it's around the age of 20. There is mention of rape, a murder suicide and a brief mention of Rita and Nathan fucking. That's it for the NSFW stuff.", "writing": "Nathan woke up hearing his alarm clock rattle in his head, in a flash he got up out of bed and started getting dressed. His room was a mess, much like his life, as he knocked over things to get to a chair that had his uniform resting over it. He got himself dressed as fast as he could and left his room to rush to the kitchen to make some breakfast. His mother sat at the messy table minding her business with a few of his brothers too eating at the table.\n\n``Hey dipshit.'' Said one of them greeting Nathan,\n\n``Hey fuckwit.'' Nathan replied,\n\n``Don't touch my cereal this time.'' Threatened another back, then glaring at another brother. Nathan grabbed his cereal and poured himself breakfast; he hated the cereal, some generic brand that tasted like shit. He carried his bowl away and ate in his room, he would have rather not eaten if he had to eat with his brothers. Then he could he some thumps, like drunk movements on the wooden floor of the corridor outside his room.\n\n``Have you been stealing my ciggies again, you little shit?'' Growled his father, Nathan hesitated and shook his head. ``Yeah yer have.'' His father entered his room and grabbed him by the shirt collar. ``If you keep stealing my cigarettes then you and I am going t' shove em up yer.'' He yelled as he violently shook Nathan before stumbling out of his room, Nathan's heartbeat pounded as he fell onto his bed, quivering. He carried his bowl of cereal back to the kitchen and dumped it in the sink; he was no longer hungry. He grabbed his bag and left immediately with one of his brothers having a laugh at him, `aw Nathy's emotional,' mocked them; his mother only saying `shut up and eat, Nathan be a man' as Nathan left. Nathan walked to school which was 2 kms away from where he lived, he pulled out a cigarette from a hole in his backpack and lit it with the lighter in his pocket. He breathed it in deeply as he walked feeling tired and dead inside. After a while a mate of his joined beside him as they walked to school.\n\n``Hey Nathan, got a smoke for me?'' He asked, Nathan nodded, handed him a cig and the lighter. ``Cheers mate.'' He said as he grabbed it, he lit it and inhaled it. ``I needed that, how are you?'' He asked with a rushed tone.\n\n``I'm ok, Dad fucking confronted me about the cigs.''\n\n``I wish I could stand up to my dad, honestly.'' His mate replied, an awkward silence was felt with him starting to panic slightly.\n\n``Yeah, but it fucking sucks. What's up with you btw? You always clam up when you say your dad.'' Nathan sighed. \n\n``He... um. Does your Dad do anything else aside from hit you?'' He asked,\n\n``So, he hits you? That sucks mate. And my Dad likes to yell at me, most of the time drunk.''\n\n``He does more than hit me, Nathan.'' His mate coughed as he inhaled more of his cigarette.\n\n``Like what?''\n\n``He touches me.'' The awkward silence hit once more; Nathan didn't know what to say. His mood was dark and detached from earlier, hearing that his mate gets fiddled by his dad didn't feel all that important.\n\n``Yeah?'' Nathan said inhaling his cigarette. ``Is that all his does, Corey?''\n\n``Mate, he does more than that. I fucking hate it.'' Corey replied, his tone shifted to emotional and Nathan sighed; he didn't want to deal with this.\n\n``I hear ya. I hope it gets better soon.'' Nathan said as he tried to change the topic.\n\n``It won't.'' Corey replied inhaling his cigarette once more, he looked down and sighed. ``You don't care, do you?''\n\n``Corey, I just had my Dad shake me like a sack of crap yelling in my face. I'm not in a good mood to talk about anything.'' \n\n``Fine, I get ya.'' The rest of the walk was mostly silent. As they got to school, they walked past everyone as they made their way to their classroom. Some of the kids were actually in groups for once, and mourning? Nathan groaned as he felt something happened and he didn't need another thing for him to deal with. ``What's going on?'' Corey asked as they walked past a few students.\n\n``Mr Malcady found Tyson Grey in the boys bathroom.''\n\n``Yeah? What's up with that?''\n\n``Tyson killed himself.'' Nathan continued to walk as he left all the grieving people behind, Corey stayed behind completely silent. The school day was full of mourning, an assembly was held with the principle telling people that things were going to be alright. `Talk to your mate if you are suicidal' and other slogans he could say before getting off the stage. Nathan did his first classes on an empty stomach before getting something to chow down in second lunch from another mate. When it was time to go home Nathan left immediately with his head hanging down, he couldn't shake this awful feeling and sadness from inside him. He got home and ran into his room until dinner was called, he wanted to avoid his father as much as possible. Dinner was served with fish and chips from the local store nearby. As he and his brothers ate, they could hear their parents fighting in another room.\n\n``Why didn't you get anything for me you stupid broad.''\n\n``You don't get anything because you were fucking drunk all day.''\n\n``What the fuck do I eat then? Huh!?''\n\n``I don't fucking know, eat your own fucking toe nails! Get your own dinner for once!'' Nathan and his brothers blocked it out as they all ate chips; this was something they all didn't want to make a joke about. After dinner Nathan went to his room, collapsed on his bed and fell asleep. He woke up throughout the night hearing his father stomping around muttering slurs completely drunk. As the next morning came up the same cycle happened, he got out of bed, made his breakfast in his room. It was pure chance whether his dad would go at him or any of his brothers. This time it was rather calm with their father completely smashed and sleeping on the lounge, so smashed that Nathan crept up to his pack of cigarettes and pocketed a bunch. Nathan grabbed his bag and left his home to walk to school. He lit a cigarette along the way, breathed it in and exhaled it deeply. As he got closer to his school, he noticed that his mate Corey was nowhere to be seen as he was well past the area that Corey tends to show up at. Nathan ignored the feelings of worry and just assumed he was late. School was uneventful as Nathan sat through his classes, the same routine of getting some food from another mate and studying, but Corey never showed up once; maybe he was sick. Once school ended, he left to go home, but with the intention to check out Corey's home to check on him and hang out. Nathan kept feeling this sickening worry arise in him, it felt wrong but he had no proof of anything. He walked down the footpath to Corey's front door; it was opened with a fly screen door closed. He knocked on the fly screen door, silence. He thumped on it again and called out for someone to answer. Still nothing. He opened the screen door and entered the house; he remembers Corey's father saying ``you're always welcome to visit.'' He entered the living room and smelt something foul and awful, he turned a corner to Corey's bedroom and then dropped to the ground to vomit; Corey and his father's body laid on his bed. A knife was imbedded in Corey's father's chest, Corey's neck slit open with another knife clutched in Corey's hand. Corey was completely stripped naked with his father wearing nothing but socks with his underwear down at his ankles. Nathan stumbled out of the room and into the kitchen where the phone was, immediately calling the police over. He waited outside of the house as per command of the police and couldn't stop shaking. A police car turned up with 2 policemen exiting, \n\n``Are you Nathan?'' One of them asked, Nathan nodded as he continued to shake in shock.\n\n``T-they're in one of the rooms.'' Nathan replied. \n\n``Alright, stay here.'' They said as they entered the house, it felt like it was eternity to Nathan as he waited for them to come back. Then it hit him, when it all finally sunk in; Nathan began to cry and sob as he sat outside. One of the policemen left the house and came over to Nathan, sitting down next to him.\n\n``Mate I need to ask you a few questions.'' He said as he took off his hat, ``When did you turn up at this residence?'' Nathan gulped and shook more as tears poured down his face.\n\n``Right after school. My mate didn't show up and- I wanted to- to- to- to check on him.'' Nathan struggled to speak. The policeman wrote down on a notepad and breathed deeply as he looked at Nathan.\n\n``Thank you for calling us, we are going to do an investigation on what happened here. Did your mate ever say anything to you?''\n\n``Only that his dad touched him.'' Nathan then broke into a sob, the policeman shook his head and stood up.\n\n``Alright fella, thank you. Where abouts do you live? Me and Charlie will take you home.'' Nathan looked up at him and continued to cry, he wiped his eyes as he barely stopped himself from hyperventilating. He told them where he lived and was given a ride back to his house. Upon arrival his brothers all cheered as if they saw him being arrested and taken back home, his mother left the house demanding on what happened. After everything was explained and Nathan was off the hook, he walked straight to his room and collapsed on his bed after throwing his bag across the room. He laid on his side staring into the wall as he continued to be in mourning and in shock. He wished he cared what Corey said yesterday, he wished he was able to listen. He was just in such a bad mood yesterday he didn't want to care about anyone else; but all he wanted to do now is speak with Corey once more. He wept to himself in his room, no one coming in to bother him; he even said no to fish and chips for dinner. Until late in the night his father came into his room and shook him awake to bitch about Nathan stealing his cigarettes. Nathan snapped, screamed at his father and was met with being punched repeatedly until he started crying once more. \n\n``Don't you fucking dare stand up to me, you piece of shit!'' Nathan gained more bruises across his battered body. Bleeding and crying Nathan sulked in his room unable to sleep. Thinking over and over that everything was his fault, he rolled over aching across his abdomen and laid there until he finally fell asleep again.\n\nFast forward a decade and Nathan was on the road in his truck. He left home as soon as he could, especially when his father got even more physical with his aggression. It helped that he was more or less `kicked out' for finishing school. Nathan couldn't handle his dysfunctional family any further, the combination of his brothers being cruel, his mother never caring to give a shit and his abusive father; Nathan had to leave as soon as he could. Traveling to an entirely different city as he finds a new start in his life. He rented a house, got a temporary job and lived a simple life for a couple of years. He bought grog and cigarettes to feed his addiction while he worked a low-end job as a manual worker. He made a few mates along the way, those who loved to get hammered with him on a Saturday night. Until one fateful night he was invited to a mate's party. It wasn't a crazy party that Nathan was expecting as other people like family members were there to keep it tame. He drunk from a can of XXXX and sat on a chair as people cheered happy birthday. \n\n``Oi Nathan, I got someone for you to meet. Another fenny' fox like ya.'' A mate of Nathan's said as he pushed through a few folks to get to him. Nathan looked up and saw Rita, slight rotund, strong looking and beautiful in every way. \n\n``Pleased to meet cha, I'm Rita.'' Introduced Rita, Nathan stood up and shook hands with her; he couldn't stop staring at her. She was stunning, beautiful, her voice was not like nails on a chalkboard; and her smile was infectious.\n\n``I'm Nathan, good to meet you too.'' He finally replied, his mate peaced out leaving them together. They talked for an hour, then two, then a third hour; they wanted to learn about each other so much. Rita asked about Nathan's job, how he lives and where he came from. Even asking about his family. Nathan's pained expression was too hard to hide and he began to open up like a book to this complete stranger while her easy-going attitude turning him into butter. He was so worried he was scaring her off, but she listened intently; she even reassured him that it was alright. After the party, Nathan and Rita continued to talk, this time about similar interests. Nathan learned how Rita was training to be an electronics technician, wanted to fix more things than what she currently did. Nathan admired how strong she was, she was older than him too and that she wanted a job that isn't generally what women get these days. She sounded so strong, so sure of her skills and experience, her confidence wasn't arrogant in any measure either. He felt so small compared to her, despite towering over her physically. When it came to going home, Nathan asked her if they were to meet again, she laughed and replied with ``of course'', filling Nathan with much hope and joy. They met every chance they had, on the days that neither were working. Nathan learned more of Rita and she learned more of him. Once it was more official, they began to kiss and Nathan confided in Rita more than he did before, feeling ever pathetic and unworthy as he did; but Rita only encouraged and reassured him back. At times he cried as he drunk a beer talking about his childhood, his father in particular; Rita listened with great concern, kissing Nathan comfortingly as she hugged him close. To Rita she wanted a younger man, someone who wasn't a complete burly, arrogant and old-fashioned kind of man. Nathan was this anxious, lonely and deprived fox who needed love and support; something Rita was determined to give him. As for Nathan, he had always felt attraction for those who were older than him, often feeling they got their lives sorted out while he was barely holding on. Together Nathan felt inspired and determined to get his life sorted, with Rita eagerly supporting him as many steps of the way it was needed.\n\nRita gave Nathan inspiration, desire to improve and the right push to get his life to turn around. A bad day? ``It's going to be alright; people have bad days''. Then Nathan tried to stop drinking so much, the issue came it was so hard to cope without it. ``I'll come over and keep ya company. You can do this, Nathan.'' Then the day Nathan met Rita's parents, and it left him feeling worthless and anxious; he feared his appearance, mental state and lack of success to really disappoint them. But Charlie and Audrey surprised him. They were eager to get to know him for one, they heard about his life from Rita. Nathan explained that his father got injured at work, got on the dole and spent the rest of his time at home drinking, smoking and doing nothing. His mother was cold, dismissive and uncaring. His brothers and he never got along neither, in fact they revelled in each other's dismay. Charlie and Audrey were just like Rita, they they listened to his story, reassured him and comforted him in the process; their down to earth attitude made Nathan feel relieved. Nathan apologized about his state, knowing he is probably not ideal but added that he was improving thanks to Rita. They reassured him that he seems to be doing his best and that they understand how challenging it can be with a rough childhood like his. Nathan really felt at home, warming up to Charlie and Audrey who were more than happy to have a hug and a handshake. \n\nA year passed; Nathan still smoked but he managed to stop being a heavy drinker since he moved in with Rita; soon they began to talk about having kids.\n\n``I want to marry you, Rita.'' Nathan said, he held her hands and smiled at her.\n\n``I want to marry you too, Nathan. But I do worry about us having kids.'' Rita said, she shook her head and smiled slightly. ``I want our kids to be healthy, that means you need to stop smoking.'' Rita poked Nathan on the chest. Nathan felt a pit fall inside him, he wanted to do this but it felt so impossible. Before he could complain he suddenly remembered chunks of his childhood, like his abusive father. What kind of life would he have had if his father wasn't a drunken bastard? What did smoking do to his life also? It clearly isn't healthy, it's addictive even and maybe that also played a part in his awful childhood. Nathan sighed, he smiled and nuzzled Rita as he decided that yes, he was going to stop smoking.\n\n``I'll do it. I can do it. I know I can, especially with you. I don't want our children to go through what I did as a kid, I want them to be healthy and happy. I don't know how long it will take, but I will do it.'' Rita laughed in bliss as she embraced Nathan tightly as he proclaimed.\n\n``Atta boy, Nathan. I just knew you would.''\n\n``What if I drop my job? What if I actually do a course in something meaningful?'' Nathan dropped, feeling increasingly hopeful as his mind dawned on something that meant a lot to him.\n\n``That's an idea for sure. What do you have in mind?''\n\n``I want to become a teacher. Not a highschool teacher, I don't think I'm smart enough for that but a primary school teacher, maybe preschool, kindi or child care even.'' As Nathan thought about it, he wanted to teach but more so to help guide and nurture young kids. To undo what his father did to him.\n\n``Aw that could be interesting, but why do you want to work with kids?'' Rita asked.\n\n``Because... deep down I feel like I can give a lot to the development of a child. I often wonder and wonder about the what ifs of my life, like what if my dad wasn't such a bastard and what if my mum cared. But I feel like, perhaps my awful experience had a purpose, to teach me what is good and what kids want. That I can help raise, nurture a kid through their early learning or primary school times to give them confidence, give them self-worth and... be happy. I want to do good things, Rita. And I think my calling is to be a teacher, maybe a special teacher, I don't know but I want to be.'' Nathan explained as best he could, Rita kissed Nathan and squished his face between her hands.\n\n``I can see why, love. You have my support.'' Rita giggled. Nathan's journey began once more as he slowly quitted smoking by doing roll ups instead of buying a pack. He slowly worked his way by reducing the amount of tobacco in his cigarettes until he finally could go on without smoking; his determination pushing him to do what's right for his future kids and himself. He went to university using all the money he made during his crappy job of 5 years and became qualified to teach, even doing a degree in child care. Nathan and Rita married with Rita's family and some close friends attending; Nathan made all the attempts to make sure his family would never attend if they could. He chose Rita's surname as his own as a way to distance and hide himself from his family even more; Nathan and Rita became Mr and Mrs Skye. Charlie and Audrey celebrated and welcome Nathan into their family with glee, delighted that their daughter had married; they truly liked Nathan too as they got to see him change over time. He called them Mum and Dad, barely holding a tear as it was the first time he ever called someone that in such... bliss. He began work in the local primary school as part of his education. He enjoyed it his time at `Sunrise state school' until one day when an angry parent came to complain. \n\n``Why the hell are you the teacher? I am not going to let a male teach my son, I'm going to go to another school where the teacher is a proper teacher, not a pedophile!'' She yelled at him and the principle, she asked for the meeting when she found out from her husband who her child's teacher was. Nathan stood silent, broken and became a shell of a man; he didn't know what to say and he felt devastated. The principle looked at Nathan and knew he had done nothing wrong, saying he isn't fired and that this was just a hysterical mother. Nathan came home and cried as he sat on the lounge, his chest felt heavy as he broke down. Eventually he made himself a coffee and laid back watching the tele anxiously waiting for Rita to come home. When she came home, he greeted her and she knew something bad had happened; she could tell he was crying and his face was just distraught. He explained what happened, the angry and horrified mother because he was a male teacher with her young child in his class. He cried and rested his head against her as she hugged him close comforting him by whispering encouragement in his ear.\n\n``You're not a pedophile, Nathan. You know that, I know that. Don't listen to that hysterical bitch.'' Rita said as she comforted Nathan. Nathan sobbed and then calmed down, then he suddenly remembered Corey, the mate he had when he was in late primary school. Nathan began to cry even more, coughing as his chest hurt from the pain of the memory. He explained to Rita what happened, how he had a good friend called Corey back when he was a young kid. He briefly mentioned that he stole cigarettes from his father and shared with Corey because they both got into smoking at a young age. Then he mentioned the day that Corey died, Nathan wishing ever since that he cared and listened. Rita listened in silent horror as Nathan detailed the day he remembers so vividly; when it came to the murder suicide Nathan went pale and became silent.\n\n``I feel responsible, Rita. That I didn't do anything, I was a stupid kid who didn't think much of it. I wish I did more.'' Rita hugged Nathan tightly and gave her sympathies. \n\n``It's not your fault, Nathan. You were a kid; you didn't know better; you were already having a bad day. The talk of suicide at your school didn't help; probably gave him the idea. Maybe not, but it didn't help. Once suicide becomes a topic or happens, it becomes a trend. I don't think Corey blames you, especially if he knew you would come over to check on him.''\n\n``I still failed him.'' Nathan cried, ``There were so many warning signs. I wish he was still alive; I wish I could say sorry. I want to go back and hug him tight and tell him that I cared, that I love him and don't want him to hurt himself.''\n\n``It's ok, Nathan. You're gonna be alright.'' Eventually Nathan calmed down and his cries waned. He mentioned that the pedophile remark from the mother triggered a flashback of his friend and his bastard of a father. ``You've come a long way, Nathan. When I first met you, you were a heavy drinker and a smoker; although very charming of course. But you have overcome that, you overcame your family too. The fact you are able to cry about this is good, better than bottling it up. You're strong now, Nathan. Keep going, my big strong man.'' Rita squeezed Nathan really tight before letting go. ``Now, I'm gonna make dinner, you just lie here and chill, ok?'' Rita kissed Nathan before getting up to the kitchen. Nathan breathed deeply as he tried to find his peace, slowly and surely, he composed himself and relaxed on the lounge; but his mind still drifted over to Corey. \n\nThen came the fated moment of trying for a baby, Nathan and Rita waited a little while longer as Nathan was off smoking for a good while. They had sex plenty of times before but never without protection. This time when he had entered her, it was so much more powerful and intimate than it had ever been before. They had waited for the right time and both were so excited to have a baby; it was the best sex they have ever had in the time they were together. Months passed as Nathan and Rita waited for the baby to develop, Nathan finishing his education in flying colours and was given a new school to work at as part of the conditions of being a teacher. Nathan and Rita moved to their new town with Nathan's new job, Rita having to quit her job anyway due to becoming pregnant. Their new place was slightly bigger as the education gave them a temporary home so Nathan could teach. As they went to get Rita an ultrasound one day they were met with a surprise. The doctor exclaimed in pleasant surprise to them that they had twins; two little baby boys. Both Nathan and Rita were delighted, neither upset at the extra `bubba' in the womb. Nathan taught at the school like normal while Rita stayed at home looking after herself; Nathan promising to Rita that she can return to work while he looks after the two boys a short while after being born. Rita expressed that she never felt so loved to hear that, as he respected her wishes to not be homebound when she could be working. When the day came and Rita went into labour, Nathan left his job in a hurray with kids and teachers cheering at him as he left class so he could drive home to take Rita to the hospital. She squeezed his hand incredibly tight as she gave birth in agony, but when the two baby boys came out it was worth it; they were beautiful to them. Nathan kissed Rita on the cheek, congratulating her on successfully giving birth; she smacked him and laughed in pain as a silly gesture. They named their boys Elijah and Tobias. They took the boys home and placed them together in a cot, unwilling to split them apart yet. Rita and Nathan embraced tightly as they looked down at them feeling complete in their marriage. \n\nRita recovered slowly and began working again as an electronics technician once the boys were able to go off breastmilk. Nathan occasionally took his baby boys to school so he could still work, but it didn't always work out. However, the teachers and the grade 1 kids that Nathan taught loved them so it didn't matter that there was a bad day every so often. Time past and the boys were now 3 and a half when Nathan's contract at the school had run its course. The education department had given him a permanent job across Australia, all the way over in Western Australia. Nathan and Rita looked up the location and began looking for a home to buy, after searching and calling the real estate in the town they finally decided on a house near the beach. They had to mortgage it but it was manageable with both of the jobs that they would do. Rita said goodbye to her job, Nathan was given a farewell by his co-workers and his class; bringing both the twins and Rita to join. \n\nThey travelled by car to the otherside of the continent, not being able to afford a plane ticket. The trip was long but they got to see so much of the Australian outback, the animals and the locals who lived in the small rural towns. After a week or so of driving they finally made it at the town, Port Hedland. Tired and worn out they drove down the last long road to the residential area where their new home was, driving up the steep driveway they finally stopped where the real estate agent was waiting for them. Once settled in their new home, everyone thought it was a good idea to crash. The twins slept with Nathan and Rita on their bed as they fell asleep. As Nathan rested in bed he reflected on his life, how far he has come from the boy he once was to the man he is now. Everything had changed when he met Rita and he owed everything to her to give him confidence to become who he is now. It then sunk in that it wasn't just her, the events in his life also shaped him. He didn't want to become an abusive or drunk father like his, but more so he wanted to be caring and loving. He saw everything his father did wrong and slowly became the opposite; even if for a time he smoked and drunk too much. He never wanted to hurt his boys, he wanted them to grow and prosper. \n\nNathan did the shopping and the work around the house as Rita searched for a job, securing one at an airport shortly after arriving, and she was thrilled. Then the day both Rita and Nathan shared their suspicions with the boys, they weren't what they expected. It was the way they acted and functioned; they saw it when the twins were really young but they haven't changed. They took the boys to a child psychologist who analysed them and observed them. \n\n``I have in good conscience that both Elijah and Tobias are autistic. They're sort of like the opposites in some ways of each other.'' She explained, Nathan and Rita felt uncertainties begin to rise. ``As you've seen, they do not like to be without each other; they even refuse to function if they were to be split from each other. Observing them I got a grasp on how they work, and I think it's extraordinary.'' She explained, ``With your permission we did a brain scan and both seem more or less normal until we get to the specifics. Elijah has a lacking function in problem solving, thinking, and as you have noticed his speech skills are delayed. Tobias has a lower function of the emotional part of his brain, I believe he does understand emotions but his reaction and natural use of expressions are very limited. It can still develop but it will be slow. But,'' She turned and gestured to the boys in the play pen, ``They function very well together, very well infact. They may be delayed in some areas of their brain but I believe that when together they function almost normally. I believe they have some form of one-unit functional syndrome; I wish I had a name for that.'' Nathan and Rita looked at their boys and felt a sense of wonder.\n\n``So, if I understand this correctly. The boys function only together?'' Nathan asked to be sure.\n\n``More or less, although there are still the other autism symptoms that effects them. For starters, Elijah is extremely sensitive to emotions; he isn't just sensitive, he gets really affected by the environment around him. Tobias isn't but that might be because he doesn't react, maybe even feeling it lesser to a degree than what is considered normal. Tobias is quite capable to problem solve and when together he is the predominant one who solves the puzzle with Elijah holding onto it. While Tobias can do it by himself, he really doesn't want to, while Elijah is incapable to process it entirely. I have noticed Tobias and Elijah get distracted really easy from the task, loud sudden noises or sudden changes in the room. They probably will have an aversion to crowds, that's another symptom of autism. Watching them play with the blocks I also noticed that they have a specific pattern to how they play with it. Same coloured blocks were placed in the same spot every time they did it; then they'd just knock it down. I tried to encourage them to do something new but they absolutely refused to.'' She explained, she was rather intrigued and almost excited by all of this. ``Another interesting fact, have you two noticed how close they are?''\n\n``They are very close, we figured it might just be because they're twins.'' Rita replied.\n\n``For the hour that I have observed them they do everything with each other, not just most things but everything. They figure out problems, they lie down together, they play together, they really love hugging each other and I even saw them take turns at kissing each other. Curiously I have seen Tobias imitate expressions with Elijah, which is quite encouraging; plus, it looks like they're having fun doing it. And perhaps they are copying what you two do to each other, or it could mean something else.'' She smiled pleasantly, ``When did Tobias start talking?'' \n\n``Around the normal time babies do I believe.'' Nathan answered.\n\n``I asked him who he loves more, you or Rita. He said Elijah.'' \n\n``Oww.'' Rita jokingly said with a laugh.\n\n``I did ask Elijah and Tobias answered for him. Said, `Me'.'' Nathan and Rita looked at each other feeling a hint of sadness; they wanted their boys to love them more than each other, but that wasn't the case. ``Are you two alright?'' The child psychologist asked with concern.\n\n``We're a bit hurt, honestly.'' Nathan replied. ``It's a bit hard to hear that, we hoped that either of us would be their favourite.''\n\n``I'm sorry, but I do know they love you two.''\n\n``We can tell, it just stings. I mean, parents want to feel loved by their kids. But we understand.''\n\n``If it was alright, I would like you two to keep bringing them here so I can evaluate them in the future. In a couple of months, would be fine?'' She asked, Nathan nodded and turned to Rita.\n\n``That should be fine.'' Nathan replied, Rita squeezed Nathan's hand and then slapped her legs with a nod.\n\n``Yeah, a couple months should be fine.'' Rita stood up and went over to the twins and picked them both up while Nathan made the appointment. Driving home Nathan and Rita were silent, neither were sure what to say. Once home they took the boys inside and let them go to their room while they have a discussion.\n\n``How are you feeling, Rita?'' Nathan asked as he started making coffee.\n\n``I don't really know, hun. I guess we should have seen the signs.'' She smiled for a moment and then breathing deeply. ``I'm not afraid of raising them though, they're still our boys. But they won't be easy unlike everyone else's. I never thought I'd have autistic boys.'' Nathan turned to Rita and sighed with a smile.\n\n``I'll be looking after them.''\n\n``Hm?''\n\n``I did education for child care, I'm a primary school teacher. I will nurture them.''\n\n``You won't be doing it alone you know.'' Rita said as she folded her arms.\n\n``Of course. But I have the skill, experience and qualifications; plus I reckon I can make raising our boys as a full-time job. They already are a full-time job but, you know what I mean.'' Nathan cleared his throat momentarily. ``We'll do everything we can for them. I'm not going to abandon them and I want them to grow well'' Nathan left the coffee machine and hugged Rita tightly.\n\n``You sweet fella you.'' Rita said in an endearing manner. \n\n``I reckon taking them to child care every so often will benefit them too.''\n\n``Oh, but they can be expensive.''\n\n``It won't be every day of the week, Rita. We'll gradually do it, maybe they'll make a friend.''\n\n``Now that would be great!''\n\nMonths passed as Nathan took the twins to the daycare. The day care workers were sweet and caring, but they had no idea how to deal with them. The twins isolated themselves from the other kids away from the noise and every time a kid messed with anything the twins were playing with got them mad and physical. Discipline was almost a frequently occurrence when the twins went to day-care, having to be put in a corner together away from the rest when they got into trouble. Nathan and Rita came to the conclusion that they did not want to interact or be friends with anyone but each other. It was hard at first but they accepted that fact, hoping that they will change as they got older. At the very least through day care Elijah started speaking, although broken, slurred and hard to understand; which didn't mean much when Tobias would repeat what he would say but correctly. On Nathan's days off he kept the boys at home and looked after them as Rita worked. He laid on his bed with the twins, lifting one up above him at a time. He saw many smiles from Elijah as he was held up before him, many laughs were had. Tobias never looked like he was ever happy, frowning, grouchy looking then looking plain or expressionless. Despite how he looked, he never struggled out, never refused once; it was exactly as the psychologist said, he doesn't know how to express himself nor does he automatically react. Nathan cuddled his two boys close as they laid in bed for an afternoon nap, after a tiring day of playing, feeding and interacting with the two boys. Nathan's worries of the boys disappeared completely and that flowed onto Rita as they got untold pleasure in witnessing anything the boys did. \n\nEven when one day they began to suck and lick on each other's privates in a 69 fashion in their room; Nathan and Rita were horrified when it was discovered. They questioned everything about how they could have learned that. They asked Tobias where he and Elijah learned to do that, his answer was ``We don't know''. They were asked if anyone taught them that, Tobias replied ``No, we just did it. It's fun''. Rita and Nathan looked at each other, still confused and worried about what they had seen; but neither felt like their boys were lying or hiding anything. One day at the daycare Nathan asked the staff privately if any child or anyone had shown or told the twins anything distasteful. All of them said they saw and heard nothing of the sort, asking what this was about. Nathan cleared his throat and explained it was a sex act, that is not normal for `play sex'. The staff were speechless, horrified but didn't take Nathan for a kidder; again they said nothing of the sort was ever witnessed in daycare. Nathan and Rita talked that evening, going over everything they knew and had to come to the conclusion that the twins must have just done it, no one influenced them. They looked at each other as they accepted that their boys are even more different than they first thought. \n\n``Perhaps they'll be more than just brothers.'' Nathan carefully said with concern. \n\n``Maybe.'' Rita huffed as she nodded at Nathan.\n\n``They are very close.''\n\n``Really close.'' They paused for a moment and Nathan looked at Rita.\n\n``We shouldn't... stop them from being close.''\n\n``We can't do that anyway. They'll throw such a fit, it will make them struggle even more than they currently do.''\n\n``Yeah. Exactly.'' Nathan moved closer to Rita, putting an arm around her as they laid on their bed. ``Maybe they'll outgrow it. But, in case they don't we shouldn't expect them to.''\n\n``Well... at least they have each other?'' Rita chuckled in uncertainty. \n\n``They sure do. They sure do.'' Nathan sighed as he nuzzled Rita's head. When the `event' would occur it would occur rarely, but it would happen. Then the day Nathan witnessed them strip naked and go running when he took them out to the shops. Nathan scurried them back, grabbing their clothes, apologising to people as he picked the boys up. Dressing them back in the public bathroom was met with annoyance and some clawing from the twins. Nathan explained what happened at the shops to Rita, who looked at him in amazement before laughing. \n\n``Is this another thing our crazy boys do?'' She laughed with endearment. \n\n``I don't know. I hope not for their safety. But if this does become more regular, then we really need to step up are A game.''\n\n``You're not wrong.'' Over time Nathan and Rita slowly convinced the boys to do it at home rather than public; especially as Nathan's fears of a predator would find them. ``If you two ever get those feelings, any sensation to take your clothes off. You're only allowed to do that at home. Otherwise, mummy and daddy will get upset.'' Nathan said as he carried them both one day. ``At home you are allowed to do that, at home you are free to do just about anything we allow you two to do.''\n\n``Ok.'' Tobias and Elijah said, Elijah closely copying his brother.\n\n``Good boys.'' Nathan smiled and kissed them both on the forehead. The wonderful thing that the twins are, they were good at following rules; To much of Nathan and Rita's delight. One day Nathan went to pick up the twins at the daycare, when he entered, he saw something he wasn't expecting. The twins were actually playing and talking to one other kid. Nathan smiled widely in excitement and went to speak to one of the staff with a wag on his tail. ``Hello, I just came in and I see my boys playing with another boy.'' Nathan said with bright eyes.\n\n``Hello Nathan, and yes they are.'' Replied one of the staff, she was also amazed and happy; she knew how asocial the twins were. \n\n``How long have they been playing?''\n\n``They've been playing since about midday, so about 2 hours.''\n\n``I don't recognize that boy, is he new?''\n\n``I believe so, his mother signed him up and dropped him off today. If you want to wait I'm sure you can meet with them.''\n\n``I definitely will, I am so pleased to see them playing with another kid.'' Nathan sat down and grabbed a magazine as he waited, he could have taken the boys home but he just had to meet the other boy's mother. An hour passed when the staff got Nathan's attention; the mother had just arrived. Nathan stood up and began to introduce himself, his tail still wagging excitedly. ``Hello, pleased to meet you. I'm Nathan and I see that your son is playing with my boys.'' \n\n``Hello! My name is Lauren, is that so?''\n\n``Yes indeed. My boys are autistic and doesn't want to socialize with any other kid. I've never seen them interact with another kid before. Never. Forgive me for how excited and surprised I am, but I am just overjoyed that they are playing with your son.'' Nathan explained, his bright eyes and attitude was contagious to the mother who smiled back.\n\n``Aw that's so sweet, I had no idea. At first I thought you were upset, but I'm glad that's not the case.'' Lauren replied.\n\n``Would it be alright if they have a play date someday?''\n\n``That's a really nice idea, yeah. I'll have you meet my husband and I'll meet with your wife over coffee.'' Nathan smiled pleasantly and nodded.\n\n``That sounds lovely.'' They exchanged details and picked up their kids to take them home. Nathan got talking with his boys about what they did and they talked about how their new friend was friendly. Once home and when Rita came back, Nathan told her what happened; she shared in his surprise and joy. They contacted the other family and all four met for coffee at a coffee shop while the kids were at daycare. A date was made for the boys to play at Rita and Nathan's residence with Laruen and her partner Robert joining them for the afternoon. As Rita, Nathan, Lauren and Robert talked they all looked over to the twins playing with their new friend Danny. Elijah and Tobias shared with their toy cars and their barbie doll with Danny who engaged with them happily. \n\n``So, tell us about Danny?'' Rita asked feeling intrigued. ``We talked so much about our boys we never did get to ask about yours.''\n\n``That's no problem.'' Lauren said. ``Danny is our sweet boy, unfortunately he's got a health condition that will affect him for his entire life; it is a great worry for us.''\n\n``We got worried about how much he coughed, we thought it was whooping cough at first. Then we got him scanned and found out from the doctor that he has Cystic Fibrosis.'' Robert clarified.\n\n``Oh my god, I'm so sorry.'' Nathan said feeling instantly concerned.\n\n``We appreciate it, so far he's doing mostly fine but it's degenerative; over time it will get worse. We hope we can get him to live as long as possible.''\n\n``What exactly is Cystic Fibrosis?'' Nathan asked, wanting to be sure. Lauren and Robert looked at each other, breathed deeply and then looked back. They explained to Nathan and Rita that it's a chronic illness, lung weakness and issues, mucus building up in the lungs and causes infections to occur. As they finished explaining Lauren smiled sincerely.\n\n``But we are so glad that Danny has friends now, especially with how selective your boys are.''\n\n``And we're so glad too.'' Nathan replied, ``I can safely say we are honoured to have our twins be friends with your son. I hope we can have it a regular occurrence that they can meet and play.'' Nathan looked over to the boys again and smiled as he watched them play. The fact that they have made a single friend has been a great blessing, especially with how special Danny is. One day when Danny was over, Nathan found the twins and Danny sleeping together in the afternoon. He took a photo and shared it with Lauren and Robert, who adored the picture. \n\nNathan, Rita and their boys lived as they would until the day Nathan and Rita hear about two kids needing a proper home. Nathan and Rita heard from a friend who was a friend of a case worker in the US. Nathan and Rita at first showed no sign of wanting to adopt, until Nathan heard from their friend of the deep seeded suspicions that they and the case worker had. A pit built up inside in him and he just had to do something; not doing something would be against his current nature. Nathan saw the pictures of the two kids and that pit grew; something felt very wrong when he saw them. He took Rita aside and they talked, Rita saw how aching Nathan was and knew it would be a big task to raise 2 different kids in their home. But she smiled, she told him that she was willing to adopt them if they haven't been already, knowing that Nathan was clearly up to the task as well. She had never seen Nathan this thorough in his planning, the care, the signing of documents and providing identity. Then the police check, the buying of fresh clothes, cleaning the house and setting up their rooms. Then working extra hours, a temporary second job to save up the money for the plane tickets. Then the blessing of family friends and those who loved Nathan and Rita came, hearing from Rita about Nathan's desperate dedication to get everything set up, right and appropriate. One friend giving them their second-hand consoles with games included, an old couple who sold their large SUV for a fraction of the price. Then Lauren and Robert came and helped Nathan clean and sort the house as they left Danny with the twins.\n\nThen everything became the timeline now.\n\n", "writing_bbcode_parsed": "Nathan woke up hearing his alarm clock rattle in his head, in a flash he got up out of bed and started getting dressed. His room was a mess, much like his life, as he knocked over things to get to a chair that had his uniform resting over it. He got himself dressed as fast as he could and left his room to rush to the kitchen to make some breakfast. His mother sat at the messy table minding her business with a few of his brothers too eating at the table.

``Hey dipshit.'' Said one of them greeting Nathan,

``Hey fuckwit.'' Nathan replied,

``Don't touch my cereal this time.'' Threatened another back, then glaring at another brother. Nathan grabbed his cereal and poured himself breakfast; he hated the cereal, some generic brand that tasted like shit. He carried his bowl away and ate in his room, he would have rather not eaten if he had to eat with his brothers. Then he could he some thumps, like drunk movements on the wooden floor of the corridor outside his room.

``Have you been stealing my ciggies again, you little shit?'' Growled his father, Nathan hesitated and shook his head. ``Yeah yer have.'' His father entered his room and grabbed him by the shirt collar. ``If you keep stealing my cigarettes then you and I am going t' shove em up yer.'' He yelled as he violently shook Nathan before stumbling out of his room, Nathan's heartbeat pounded as he fell onto his bed, quivering. He carried his bowl of cereal back to the kitchen and dumped it in the sink; he was no longer hungry. He grabbed his bag and left immediately with one of his brothers having a laugh at him, `aw Nathy's emotional,' mocked them; his mother only saying `shut up and eat, Nathan be a man' as Nathan left. Nathan walked to school which was 2 kms away from where he lived, he pulled out a cigarette from a hole in his backpack and lit it with the lighter in his pocket. He breathed it in deeply as he walked feeling tired and dead inside. After a while a mate of his joined beside him as they walked to school.

``Hey Nathan, got a smoke for me?'' He asked, Nathan nodded, handed him a cig and the lighter. ``Cheers mate.'' He said as he grabbed it, he lit it and inhaled it. ``I needed that, how are you?'' He asked with a rushed tone.

``I'm ok, Dad fucking confronted me about the cigs.''

``I wish I could stand up to my dad, honestly.'' His mate replied, an awkward silence was felt with him starting to panic slightly.

``Yeah, but it fucking sucks. What's up with you btw? You always clam up when you say your dad.'' Nathan sighed.

``He... um. Does your Dad do anything else aside from hit you?'' He asked,

``So, he hits you? That sucks mate. And my Dad likes to yell at me, most of the time drunk.''

``He does more than hit me, Nathan.'' His mate coughed as he inhaled more of his cigarette.

``Like what?''

``He touches me.'' The awkward silence hit once more; Nathan didn't know what to say. His mood was dark and detached from earlier, hearing that his mate gets fiddled by his dad didn't feel all that important.

``Yeah?'' Nathan said inhaling his cigarette. ``Is that all his does, Corey?''

``Mate, he does more than that. I fucking hate it.'' Corey replied, his tone shifted to emotional and Nathan sighed; he didn't want to deal with this.

``I hear ya. I hope it gets better soon.'' Nathan said as he tried to change the topic.

``It won't.'' Corey replied inhaling his cigarette once more, he looked down and sighed. ``You don't care, do you?''

``Corey, I just had my Dad shake me like a sack of crap yelling in my face. I'm not in a good mood to talk about anything.''

``Fine, I get ya.'' The rest of the walk was mostly silent. As they got to school, they walked past everyone as they made their way to their classroom. Some of the kids were actually in groups for once, and mourning? Nathan groaned as he felt something happened and he didn't need another thing for him to deal with. ``What's going on?'' Corey asked as they walked past a few students.

``Mr Malcady found Tyson Grey in the boys bathroom.''

``Yeah? What's up with that?''

``Tyson killed himself.'' Nathan continued to walk as he left all the grieving people behind, Corey stayed behind completely silent. The school day was full of mourning, an assembly was held with the principle telling people that things were going to be alright. `Talk to your mate if you are suicidal' and other slogans he could say before getting off the stage. Nathan did his first classes on an empty stomach before getting something to chow down in second lunch from another mate. When it was time to go home Nathan left immediately with his head hanging down, he couldn't shake this awful feeling and sadness from inside him. He got home and ran into his room until dinner was called, he wanted to avoid his father as much as possible. Dinner was served with fish and chips from the local store nearby. As he and his brothers ate, they could hear their parents fighting in another room.

``Why didn't you get anything for me you stupid broad.''

``You don't get anything because you were fucking drunk all day.''

``What the fuck do I eat then? Huh!?''

``I don't fucking know, eat your own fucking toe nails! Get your own dinner for once!'' Nathan and his brothers blocked it out as they all ate chips; this was something they all didn't want to make a joke about. After dinner Nathan went to his room, collapsed on his bed and fell asleep. He woke up throughout the night hearing his father stomping around muttering slurs completely drunk. As the next morning came up the same cycle happened, he got out of bed, made his breakfast in his room. It was pure chance whether his dad would go at him or any of his brothers. This time it was rather calm with their father completely smashed and sleeping on the lounge, so smashed that Nathan crept up to his pack of cigarettes and pocketed a bunch. Nathan grabbed his bag and left his home to walk to school. He lit a cigarette along the way, breathed it in and exhaled it deeply. As he got closer to his school, he noticed that his mate Corey was nowhere to be seen as he was well past the area that Corey tends to show up at. Nathan ignored the feelings of worry and just assumed he was late. School was uneventful as Nathan sat through his classes, the same routine of getting some food from another mate and studying, but Corey never showed up once; maybe he was sick. Once school ended, he left to go home, but with the intention to check out Corey's home to check on him and hang out. Nathan kept feeling this sickening worry arise in him, it felt wrong but he had no proof of anything. He walked down the footpath to Corey's front door; it was opened with a fly screen door closed. He knocked on the fly screen door, silence. He thumped on it again and called out for someone to answer. Still nothing. He opened the screen door and entered the house; he remembers Corey's father saying ``you're always welcome to visit.'' He entered the living room and smelt something foul and awful, he turned a corner to Corey's bedroom and then dropped to the ground to vomit; Corey and his father's body laid on his bed. A knife was imbedded in Corey's father's chest, Corey's neck slit open with another knife clutched in Corey's hand. Corey was completely stripped naked with his father wearing nothing but socks with his underwear down at his ankles. Nathan stumbled out of the room and into the kitchen where the phone was, immediately calling the police over. He waited outside of the house as per command of the police and couldn't stop shaking. A police car turned up with 2 policemen exiting,

``Are you Nathan?'' One of them asked, Nathan nodded as he continued to shake in shock.

``T-they're in one of the rooms.'' Nathan replied.

``Alright, stay here.'' They said as they entered the house, it felt like it was eternity to Nathan as he waited for them to come back. Then it hit him, when it all finally sunk in; Nathan began to cry and sob as he sat outside. One of the policemen left the house and came over to Nathan, sitting down next to him.

``Mate I need to ask you a few questions.'' He said as he took off his hat, ``When did you turn up at this residence?'' Nathan gulped and shook more as tears poured down his face.

``Right after school. My mate didn't show up and- I wanted to- to- to- to check on him.'' Nathan struggled to speak. The policeman wrote down on a notepad and breathed deeply as he looked at Nathan.

``Thank you for calling us, we are going to do an investigation on what happened here. Did your mate ever say anything to you?''

``Only that his dad touched him.'' Nathan then broke into a sob, the policeman shook his head and stood up.

``Alright fella, thank you. Where abouts do you live? Me and Charlie will take you home.'' Nathan looked up at him and continued to cry, he wiped his eyes as he barely stopped himself from hyperventilating. He told them where he lived and was given a ride back to his house. Upon arrival his brothers all cheered as if they saw him being arrested and taken back home, his mother left the house demanding on what happened. After everything was explained and Nathan was off the hook, he walked straight to his room and collapsed on his bed after throwing his bag across the room. He laid on his side staring into the wall as he continued to be in mourning and in shock. He wished he cared what Corey said yesterday, he wished he was able to listen. He was just in such a bad mood yesterday he didn't want to care about anyone else; but all he wanted to do now is speak with Corey once more. He wept to himself in his room, no one coming in to bother him; he even said no to fish and chips for dinner. Until late in the night his father came into his room and shook him awake to bitch about Nathan stealing his cigarettes. Nathan snapped, screamed at his father and was met with being punched repeatedly until he started crying once more.

``Don't you fucking dare stand up to me, you piece of shit!'' Nathan gained more bruises across his battered body. Bleeding and crying Nathan sulked in his room unable to sleep. Thinking over and over that everything was his fault, he rolled over aching across his abdomen and laid there until he finally fell asleep again.

Fast forward a decade and Nathan was on the road in his truck. He left home as soon as he could, especially when his father got even more physical with his aggression. It helped that he was more or less `kicked out' for finishing school. Nathan couldn't handle his dysfunctional family any further, the combination of his brothers being cruel, his mother never caring to give a shit and his abusive father; Nathan had to leave as soon as he could. Traveling to an entirely different city as he finds a new start in his life. He rented a house, got a temporary job and lived a simple life for a couple of years. He bought grog and cigarettes to feed his addiction while he worked a low-end job as a manual worker. He made a few mates along the way, those who loved to get hammered with him on a Saturday night. Until one fateful night he was invited to a mate's party. It wasn't a crazy party that Nathan was expecting as other people like family members were there to keep it tame. He drunk from a can of XXXX and sat on a chair as people cheered happy birthday.

``Oi Nathan, I got someone for you to meet. Another fenny' fox like ya.'' A mate of Nathan's said as he pushed through a few folks to get to him. Nathan looked up and saw Rita, slight rotund, strong looking and beautiful in every way.

``Pleased to meet cha, I'm Rita.'' Introduced Rita, Nathan stood up and shook hands with her; he couldn't stop staring at her. She was stunning, beautiful, her voice was not like nails on a chalkboard; and her smile was infectious.

``I'm Nathan, good to meet you too.'' He finally replied, his mate peaced out leaving them together. They talked for an hour, then two, then a third hour; they wanted to learn about each other so much. Rita asked about Nathan's job, how he lives and where he came from. Even asking about his family. Nathan's pained expression was too hard to hide and he began to open up like a book to this complete stranger while her easy-going attitude turning him into butter. He was so worried he was scaring her off, but she listened intently; she even reassured him that it was alright. After the party, Nathan and Rita continued to talk, this time about similar interests. Nathan learned how Rita was training to be an electronics technician, wanted to fix more things than what she currently did. Nathan admired how strong she was, she was older than him too and that she wanted a job that isn't generally what women get these days. She sounded so strong, so sure of her skills and experience, her confidence wasn't arrogant in any measure either. He felt so small compared to her, despite towering over her physically. When it came to going home, Nathan asked her if they were to meet again, she laughed and replied with ``of course'', filling Nathan with much hope and joy. They met every chance they had, on the days that neither were working. Nathan learned more of Rita and she learned more of him. Once it was more official, they began to kiss and Nathan confided in Rita more than he did before, feeling ever pathetic and unworthy as he did; but Rita only encouraged and reassured him back. At times he cried as he drunk a beer talking about his childhood, his father in particular; Rita listened with great concern, kissing Nathan comfortingly as she hugged him close. To Rita she wanted a younger man, someone who wasn't a complete burly, arrogant and old-fashioned kind of man. Nathan was this anxious, lonely and deprived fox who needed love and support; something Rita was determined to give him. As for Nathan, he had always felt attraction for those who were older than him, often feeling they got their lives sorted out while he was barely holding on. Together Nathan felt inspired and determined to get his life sorted, with Rita eagerly supporting him as many steps of the way it was needed.

Rita gave Nathan inspiration, desire to improve and the right push to get his life to turn around. A bad day? ``It's going to be alright; people have bad days''. Then Nathan tried to stop drinking so much, the issue came it was so hard to cope without it. ``I'll come over and keep ya company. You can do this, Nathan.'' Then the day Nathan met Rita's parents, and it left him feeling worthless and anxious; he feared his appearance, mental state and lack of success to really disappoint them. But Charlie and Audrey surprised him. They were eager to get to know him for one, they heard about his life from Rita. Nathan explained that his father got injured at work, got on the dole and spent the rest of his time at home drinking, smoking and doing nothing. His mother was cold, dismissive and uncaring. His brothers and he never got along neither, in fact they revelled in each other's dismay. Charlie and Audrey were just like Rita, they they listened to his story, reassured him and comforted him in the process; their down to earth attitude made Nathan feel relieved. Nathan apologized about his state, knowing he is probably not ideal but added that he was improving thanks to Rita. They reassured him that he seems to be doing his best and that they understand how challenging it can be with a rough childhood like his. Nathan really felt at home, warming up to Charlie and Audrey who were more than happy to have a hug and a handshake.

A year passed; Nathan still smoked but he managed to stop being a heavy drinker since he moved in with Rita; soon they began to talk about having kids.

``I want to marry you, Rita.'' Nathan said, he held her hands and smiled at her.

``I want to marry you too, Nathan. But I do worry about us having kids.'' Rita said, she shook her head and smiled slightly. ``I want our kids to be healthy, that means you need to stop smoking.'' Rita poked Nathan on the chest. Nathan felt a pit fall inside him, he wanted to do this but it felt so impossible. Before he could complain he suddenly remembered chunks of his childhood, like his abusive father. What kind of life would he have had if his father wasn't a drunken bastard? What did smoking do to his life also? It clearly isn't healthy, it's addictive even and maybe that also played a part in his awful childhood. Nathan sighed, he smiled and nuzzled Rita as he decided that yes, he was going to stop smoking.

``I'll do it. I can do it. I know I can, especially with you. I don't want our children to go through what I did as a kid, I want them to be healthy and happy. I don't know how long it will take, but I will do it.'' Rita laughed in bliss as she embraced Nathan tightly as he proclaimed.

``Atta boy, Nathan. I just knew you would.''

``What if I drop my job? What if I actually do a course in something meaningful?'' Nathan dropped, feeling increasingly hopeful as his mind dawned on something that meant a lot to him.

``That's an idea for sure. What do you have in mind?''

``I want to become a teacher. Not a highschool teacher, I don't think I'm smart enough for that but a primary school teacher, maybe preschool, kindi or child care even.'' As Nathan thought about it, he wanted to teach but more so to help guide and nurture young kids. To undo what his father did to him.

``Aw that could be interesting, but why do you want to work with kids?'' Rita asked.

``Because... deep down I feel like I can give a lot to the development of a child. I often wonder and wonder about the what ifs of my life, like what if my dad wasn't such a bastard and what if my mum cared. But I feel like, perhaps my awful experience had a purpose, to teach me what is good and what kids want. That I can help raise, nurture a kid through their early learning or primary school times to give them confidence, give them self-worth and... be happy. I want to do good things, Rita. And I think my calling is to be a teacher, maybe a special teacher, I don't know but I want to be.'' Nathan explained as best he could, Rita kissed Nathan and squished his face between her hands.

``I can see why, love. You have my support.'' Rita giggled. Nathan's journey began once more as he slowly quitted smoking by doing roll ups instead of buying a pack. He slowly worked his way by reducing the amount of tobacco in his cigarettes until he finally could go on without smoking; his determination pushing him to do what's right for his future kids and himself. He went to university using all the money he made during his crappy job of 5 years and became qualified to teach, even doing a degree in child care. Nathan and Rita married with Rita's family and some close friends attending; Nathan made all the attempts to make sure his family would never attend if they could. He chose Rita's surname as his own as a way to distance and hide himself from his family even more; Nathan and Rita became Mr and Mrs Skye. Charlie and Audrey celebrated and welcome Nathan into their family with glee, delighted that their daughter had married; they truly liked Nathan too as they got to see him change over time. He called them Mum and Dad, barely holding a tear as it was the first time he ever called someone that in such... bliss. He began work in the local primary school as part of his education. He enjoyed it his time at `Sunrise state school' until one day when an angry parent came to complain.

``Why the hell are you the teacher? I am not going to let a male teach my son, I'm going to go to another school where the teacher is a proper teacher, not a pedophile!'' She yelled at him and the principle, she asked for the meeting when she found out from her husband who her child's teacher was. Nathan stood silent, broken and became a shell of a man; he didn't know what to say and he felt devastated. The principle looked at Nathan and knew he had done nothing wrong, saying he isn't fired and that this was just a hysterical mother. Nathan came home and cried as he sat on the lounge, his chest felt heavy as he broke down. Eventually he made himself a coffee and laid back watching the tele anxiously waiting for Rita to come home. When she came home, he greeted her and she knew something bad had happened; she could tell he was crying and his face was just distraught. He explained what happened, the angry and horrified mother because he was a male teacher with her young child in his class. He cried and rested his head against her as she hugged him close comforting him by whispering encouragement in his ear.

``You're not a pedophile, Nathan. You know that, I know that. Don't listen to that hysterical bitch.'' Rita said as she comforted Nathan. Nathan sobbed and then calmed down, then he suddenly remembered Corey, the mate he had when he was in late primary school. Nathan began to cry even more, coughing as his chest hurt from the pain of the memory. He explained to Rita what happened, how he had a good friend called Corey back when he was a young kid. He briefly mentioned that he stole cigarettes from his father and shared with Corey because they both got into smoking at a young age. Then he mentioned the day that Corey died, Nathan wishing ever since that he cared and listened. Rita listened in silent horror as Nathan detailed the day he remembers so vividly; when it came to the murder suicide Nathan went pale and became silent.

``I feel responsible, Rita. That I didn't do anything, I was a stupid kid who didn't think much of it. I wish I did more.'' Rita hugged Nathan tightly and gave her sympathies.

``It's not your fault, Nathan. You were a kid; you didn't know better; you were already having a bad day. The talk of suicide at your school didn't help; probably gave him the idea. Maybe not, but it didn't help. Once suicide becomes a topic or happens, it becomes a trend. I don't think Corey blames you, especially if he knew you would come over to check on him.''

``I still failed him.'' Nathan cried, ``There were so many warning signs. I wish he was still alive; I wish I could say sorry. I want to go back and hug him tight and tell him that I cared, that I love him and don't want him to hurt himself.''

``It's ok, Nathan. You're gonna be alright.'' Eventually Nathan calmed down and his cries waned. He mentioned that the pedophile remark from the mother triggered a flashback of his friend and his bastard of a father. ``You've come a long way, Nathan. When I first met you, you were a heavy drinker and a smoker; although very charming of course. But you have overcome that, you overcame your family too. The fact you are able to cry about this is good, better than bottling it up. You're strong now, Nathan. Keep going, my big strong man.'' Rita squeezed Nathan really tight before letting go. ``Now, I'm gonna make dinner, you just lie here and chill, ok?'' Rita kissed Nathan before getting up to the kitchen. Nathan breathed deeply as he tried to find his peace, slowly and surely, he composed himself and relaxed on the lounge; but his mind still drifted over to Corey.

Then came the fated moment of trying for a baby, Nathan and Rita waited a little while longer as Nathan was off smoking for a good while. They had sex plenty of times before but never without protection. This time when he had entered her, it was so much more powerful and intimate than it had ever been before. They had waited for the right time and both were so excited to have a baby; it was the best sex they have ever had in the time they were together. Months passed as Nathan and Rita waited for the baby to develop, Nathan finishing his education in flying colours and was given a new school to work at as part of the conditions of being a teacher. Nathan and Rita moved to their new town with Nathan's new job, Rita having to quit her job anyway due to becoming pregnant. Their new place was slightly bigger as the education gave them a temporary home so Nathan could teach. As they went to get Rita an ultrasound one day they were met with a surprise. The doctor exclaimed in pleasant surprise to them that they had twins; two little baby boys. Both Nathan and Rita were delighted, neither upset at the extra `bubba' in the womb. Nathan taught at the school like normal while Rita stayed at home looking after herself; Nathan promising to Rita that she can return to work while he looks after the two boys a short while after being born. Rita expressed that she never felt so loved to hear that, as he respected her wishes to not be homebound when she could be working. When the day came and Rita went into labour, Nathan left his job in a hurray with kids and teachers cheering at him as he left class so he could drive home to take Rita to the hospital. She squeezed his hand incredibly tight as she gave birth in agony, but when the two baby boys came out it was worth it; they were beautiful to them. Nathan kissed Rita on the cheek, congratulating her on successfully giving birth; she smacked him and laughed in pain as a silly gesture. They named their boys Elijah and Tobias. They took the boys home and placed them together in a cot, unwilling to split them apart yet. Rita and Nathan embraced tightly as they looked down at them feeling complete in their marriage.

Rita recovered slowly and began working again as an electronics technician once the boys were able to go off breastmilk. Nathan occasionally took his baby boys to school so he could still work, but it didn't always work out. However, the teachers and the grade 1 kids that Nathan taught loved them so it didn't matter that there was a bad day every so often. Time past and the boys were now 3 and a half when Nathan's contract at the school had run its course. The education department had given him a permanent job across Australia, all the way over in Western Australia. Nathan and Rita looked up the location and began looking for a home to buy, after searching and calling the real estate in the town they finally decided on a house near the beach. They had to mortgage it but it was manageable with both of the jobs that they would do. Rita said goodbye to her job, Nathan was given a farewell by his co-workers and his class; bringing both the twins and Rita to join.

They travelled by car to the otherside of the continent, not being able to afford a plane ticket. The trip was long but they got to see so much of the Australian outback, the animals and the locals who lived in the small rural towns. After a week or so of driving they finally made it at the town, Port Hedland. Tired and worn out they drove down the last long road to the residential area where their new home was, driving up the steep driveway they finally stopped where the real estate agent was waiting for them. Once settled in their new home, everyone thought it was a good idea to crash. The twins slept with Nathan and Rita on their bed as they fell asleep. As Nathan rested in bed he reflected on his life, how far he has come from the boy he once was to the man he is now. Everything had changed when he met Rita and he owed everything to her to give him confidence to become who he is now. It then sunk in that it wasn't just her, the events in his life also shaped him. He didn't want to become an abusive or drunk father like his, but more so he wanted to be caring and loving. He saw everything his father did wrong and slowly became the opposite; even if for a time he smoked and drunk too much. He never wanted to hurt his boys, he wanted them to grow and prosper.

Nathan did the shopping and the work around the house as Rita searched for a job, securing one at an airport shortly after arriving, and she was thrilled. Then the day both Rita and Nathan shared their suspicions with the boys, they weren't what they expected. It was the way they acted and functioned; they saw it when the twins were really young but they haven't changed. They took the boys to a child psychologist who analysed them and observed them.

``I have in good conscience that both Elijah and Tobias are autistic. They're sort of like the opposites in some ways of each other.'' She explained, Nathan and Rita felt uncertainties begin to rise. ``As you've seen, they do not like to be without each other; they even refuse to function if they were to be split from each other. Observing them I got a grasp on how they work, and I think it's extraordinary.'' She explained, ``With your permission we did a brain scan and both seem more or less normal until we get to the specifics. Elijah has a lacking function in problem solving, thinking, and as you have noticed his speech skills are delayed. Tobias has a lower function of the emotional part of his brain, I believe he does understand emotions but his reaction and natural use of expressions are very limited. It can still develop but it will be slow. But,'' She turned and gestured to the boys in the play pen, ``They function very well together, very well infact. They may be delayed in some areas of their brain but I believe that when together they function almost normally. I believe they have some form of one-unit functional syndrome; I wish I had a name for that.'' Nathan and Rita looked at their boys and felt a sense of wonder.

``So, if I understand this correctly. The boys function only together?'' Nathan asked to be sure.

``More or less, although there are still the other autism symptoms that effects them. For starters, Elijah is extremely sensitive to emotions; he isn't just sensitive, he gets really affected by the environment around him. Tobias isn't but that might be because he doesn't react, maybe even feeling it lesser to a degree than what is considered normal. Tobias is quite capable to problem solve and when together he is the predominant one who solves the puzzle with Elijah holding onto it. While Tobias can do it by himself, he really doesn't want to, while Elijah is incapable to process it entirely. I have noticed Tobias and Elijah get distracted really easy from the task, loud sudden noises or sudden changes in the room. They probably will have an aversion to crowds, that's another symptom of autism. Watching them play with the blocks I also noticed that they have a specific pattern to how they play with it. Same coloured blocks were placed in the same spot every time they did it; then they'd just knock it down. I tried to encourage them to do something new but they absolutely refused to.'' She explained, she was rather intrigued and almost excited by all of this. ``Another interesting fact, have you two noticed how close they are?''

``They are very close, we figured it might just be because they're twins.'' Rita replied.

``For the hour that I have observed them they do everything with each other, not just most things but everything. They figure out problems, they lie down together, they play together, they really love hugging each other and I even saw them take turns at kissing each other. Curiously I have seen Tobias imitate expressions with Elijah, which is quite encouraging; plus, it looks like they're having fun doing it. And perhaps they are copying what you two do to each other, or it could mean something else.'' She smiled pleasantly, ``When did Tobias start talking?''

``Around the normal time babies do I believe.'' Nathan answered.

``I asked him who he loves more, you or Rita. He said Elijah.''

``Oww.'' Rita jokingly said with a laugh.

``I did ask Elijah and Tobias answered for him. Said, `Me'.'' Nathan and Rita looked at each other feeling a hint of sadness; they wanted their boys to love them more than each other, but that wasn't the case. ``Are you two alright?'' The child psychologist asked with concern.

``We're a bit hurt, honestly.'' Nathan replied. ``It's a bit hard to hear that, we hoped that either of us would be their favourite.''

``I'm sorry, but I do know they love you two.''

``We can tell, it just stings. I mean, parents want to feel loved by their kids. But we understand.''

``If it was alright, I would like you two to keep bringing them here so I can evaluate them in the future. In a couple of months, would be fine?'' She asked, Nathan nodded and turned to Rita.

``That should be fine.'' Nathan replied, Rita squeezed Nathan's hand and then slapped her legs with a nod.

``Yeah, a couple months should be fine.'' Rita stood up and went over to the twins and picked them both up while Nathan made the appointment. Driving home Nathan and Rita were silent, neither were sure what to say. Once home they took the boys inside and let them go to their room while they have a discussion.

``How are you feeling, Rita?'' Nathan asked as he started making coffee.

``I don't really know, hun. I guess we should have seen the signs.'' She smiled for a moment and then breathing deeply. ``I'm not afraid of raising them though, they're still our boys. But they won't be easy unlike everyone else's. I never thought I'd have autistic boys.'' Nathan turned to Rita and sighed with a smile.

``I'll be looking after them.''

``Hm?''

``I did education for child care, I'm a primary school teacher. I will nurture them.''

``You won't be doing it alone you know.'' Rita said as she folded her arms.

``Of course. But I have the skill, experience and qualifications; plus I reckon I can make raising our boys as a full-time job. They already are a full-time job but, you know what I mean.'' Nathan cleared his throat momentarily. ``We'll do everything we can for them. I'm not going to abandon them and I want them to grow well'' Nathan left the coffee machine and hugged Rita tightly.

``You sweet fella you.'' Rita said in an endearing manner.

``I reckon taking them to child care every so often will benefit them too.''

``Oh, but they can be expensive.''

``It won't be every day of the week, Rita. We'll gradually do it, maybe they'll make a friend.''

``Now that would be great!''

Months passed as Nathan took the twins to the daycare. The day care workers were sweet and caring, but they had no idea how to deal with them. The twins isolated themselves from the other kids away from the noise and every time a kid messed with anything the twins were playing with got them mad and physical. Discipline was almost a frequently occurrence when the twins went to day-care, having to be put in a corner together away from the rest when they got into trouble. Nathan and Rita came to the conclusion that they did not want to interact or be friends with anyone but each other. It was hard at first but they accepted that fact, hoping that they will change as they got older. At the very least through day care Elijah started speaking, although broken, slurred and hard to understand; which didn't mean much when Tobias would repeat what he would say but correctly. On Nathan's days off he kept the boys at home and looked after them as Rita worked. He laid on his bed with the twins, lifting one up above him at a time. He saw many smiles from Elijah as he was held up before him, many laughs were had. Tobias never looked like he was ever happy, frowning, grouchy looking then looking plain or expressionless. Despite how he looked, he never struggled out, never refused once; it was exactly as the psychologist said, he doesn't know how to express himself nor does he automatically react. Nathan cuddled his two boys close as they laid in bed for an afternoon nap, after a tiring day of playing, feeding and interacting with the two boys. Nathan's worries of the boys disappeared completely and that flowed onto Rita as they got untold pleasure in witnessing anything the boys did.

Even when one day they began to suck and lick on each other's privates in a 69 fashion in their room; Nathan and Rita were horrified when it was discovered. They questioned everything about how they could have learned that. They asked Tobias where he and Elijah learned to do that, his answer was ``We don't know''. They were asked if anyone taught them that, Tobias replied ``No, we just did it. It's fun''. Rita and Nathan looked at each other, still confused and worried about what they had seen; but neither felt like their boys were lying or hiding anything. One day at the daycare Nathan asked the staff privately if any child or anyone had shown or told the twins anything distasteful. All of them said they saw and heard nothing of the sort, asking what this was about. Nathan cleared his throat and explained it was a sex act, that is not normal for `play sex'. The staff were speechless, horrified but didn't take Nathan for a kidder; again they said nothing of the sort was ever witnessed in daycare. Nathan and Rita talked that evening, going over everything they knew and had to come to the conclusion that the twins must have just done it, no one influenced them. They looked at each other as they accepted that their boys are even more different than they first thought.

``Perhaps they'll be more than just brothers.'' Nathan carefully said with concern.

``Maybe.'' Rita huffed as she nodded at Nathan.

``They are very close.''

``Really close.'' They paused for a moment and Nathan looked at Rita.

``We shouldn't... stop them from being close.''

``We can't do that anyway. They'll throw such a fit, it will make them struggle even more than they currently do.''

``Yeah. Exactly.'' Nathan moved closer to Rita, putting an arm around her as they laid on their bed. ``Maybe they'll outgrow it. But, in case they don't we shouldn't expect them to.''

``Well... at least they have each other?'' Rita chuckled in uncertainty.

``They sure do. They sure do.'' Nathan sighed as he nuzzled Rita's head. When the `event' would occur it would occur rarely, but it would happen. Then the day Nathan witnessed them strip naked and go running when he took them out to the shops. Nathan scurried them back, grabbing their clothes, apologising to people as he picked the boys up. Dressing them back in the public bathroom was met with annoyance and some clawing from the twins. Nathan explained what happened at the shops to Rita, who looked at him in amazement before laughing.

``Is this another thing our crazy boys do?'' She laughed with endearment.

``I don't know. I hope not for their safety. But if this does become more regular, then we really need to step up are A game.''

``You're not wrong.'' Over time Nathan and Rita slowly convinced the boys to do it at home rather than public; especially as Nathan's fears of a predator would find them. ``If you two ever get those feelings, any sensation to take your clothes off. You're only allowed to do that at home. Otherwise, mummy and daddy will get upset.'' Nathan said as he carried them both one day. ``At home you are allowed to do that, at home you are free to do just about anything we allow you two to do.''

``Ok.'' Tobias and Elijah said, Elijah closely copying his brother.

``Good boys.'' Nathan smiled and kissed them both on the forehead. The wonderful thing that the twins are, they were good at following rules; To much of Nathan and Rita's delight. One day Nathan went to pick up the twins at the daycare, when he entered, he saw something he wasn't expecting. The twins were actually playing and talking to one other kid. Nathan smiled widely in excitement and went to speak to one of the staff with a wag on his tail. ``Hello, I just came in and I see my boys playing with another boy.'' Nathan said with bright eyes.

``Hello Nathan, and yes they are.'' Replied one of the staff, she was also amazed and happy; she knew how asocial the twins were.

``How long have they been playing?''

``They've been playing since about midday, so about 2 hours.''

``I don't recognize that boy, is he new?''

``I believe so, his mother signed him up and dropped him off today. If you want to wait I'm sure you can meet with them.''

``I definitely will, I am so pleased to see them playing with another kid.'' Nathan sat down and grabbed a magazine as he waited, he could have taken the boys home but he just had to meet the other boy's mother. An hour passed when the staff got Nathan's attention; the mother had just arrived. Nathan stood up and began to introduce himself, his tail still wagging excitedly. ``Hello, pleased to meet you. I'm Nathan and I see that your son is playing with my boys.''

``Hello! My name is Lauren, is that so?''

``Yes indeed. My boys are autistic and doesn't want to socialize with any other kid. I've never seen them interact with another kid before. Never. Forgive me for how excited and surprised I am, but I am just overjoyed that they are playing with your son.'' Nathan explained, his bright eyes and attitude was contagious to the mother who smiled back.

``Aw that's so sweet, I had no idea. At first I thought you were upset, but I'm glad that's not the case.'' Lauren replied.

``Would it be alright if they have a play date someday?''

``That's a really nice idea, yeah. I'll have you meet my husband and I'll meet with your wife over coffee.'' Nathan smiled pleasantly and nodded.

``That sounds lovely.'' They exchanged details and picked up their kids to take them home. Nathan got talking with his boys about what they did and they talked about how their new friend was friendly. Once home and when Rita came back, Nathan told her what happened; she shared in his surprise and joy. They contacted the other family and all four met for coffee at a coffee shop while the kids were at daycare. A date was made for the boys to play at Rita and Nathan's residence with Laruen and her partner Robert joining them for the afternoon. As Rita, Nathan, Lauren and Robert talked they all looked over to the twins playing with their new friend Danny. Elijah and Tobias shared with their toy cars and their barbie doll with Danny who engaged with them happily.

``So, tell us about Danny?'' Rita asked feeling intrigued. ``We talked so much about our boys we never did get to ask about yours.''

``That's no problem.'' Lauren said. ``Danny is our sweet boy, unfortunately he's got a health condition that will affect him for his entire life; it is a great worry for us.''

``We got worried about how much he coughed, we thought it was whooping cough at first. Then we got him scanned and found out from the doctor that he has Cystic Fibrosis.'' Robert clarified.

``Oh my god, I'm so sorry.'' Nathan said feeling instantly concerned.

``We appreciate it, so far he's doing mostly fine but it's degenerative; over time it will get worse. We hope we can get him to live as long as possible.''

``What exactly is Cystic Fibrosis?'' Nathan asked, wanting to be sure. Lauren and Robert looked at each other, breathed deeply and then looked back. They explained to Nathan and Rita that it's a chronic illness, lung weakness and issues, mucus building up in the lungs and causes infections to occur. As they finished explaining Lauren smiled sincerely.

``But we are so glad that Danny has friends now, especially with how selective your boys are.''

``And we're so glad too.'' Nathan replied, ``I can safely say we are honoured to have our twins be friends with your son. I hope we can have it a regular occurrence that they can meet and play.'' Nathan looked over to the boys again and smiled as he watched them play. The fact that they have made a single friend has been a great blessing, especially with how special Danny is. One day when Danny was over, Nathan found the twins and Danny sleeping together in the afternoon. He took a photo and shared it with Lauren and Robert, who adored the picture.

Nathan, Rita and their boys lived as they would until the day Nathan and Rita hear about two kids needing a proper home. Nathan and Rita heard from a friend who was a friend of a case worker in the US. Nathan and Rita at first showed no sign of wanting to adopt, until Nathan heard from their friend of the deep seeded suspicions that they and the case worker had. A pit built up inside in him and he just had to do something; not doing something would be against his current nature. Nathan saw the pictures of the two kids and that pit grew; something felt very wrong when he saw them. He took Rita aside and they talked, Rita saw how aching Nathan was and knew it would be a big task to raise 2 different kids in their home. But she smiled, she told him that she was willing to adopt them if they haven't been already, knowing that Nathan was clearly up to the task as well. She had never seen Nathan this thorough in his planning, the care, the signing of documents and providing identity. Then the police check, the buying of fresh clothes, cleaning the house and setting up their rooms. Then working extra hours, a temporary second job to save up the money for the plane tickets. Then the blessing of family friends and those who loved Nathan and Rita came, hearing from Rita about Nathan's desperate dedication to get everything set up, right and appropriate. One friend giving them their second-hand consoles with games included, an old couple who sold their large SUV for a fraction of the price. Then Lauren and Robert came and helped Nathan clean and sort the house as they left Danny with the twins.

Then everything became the timeline now.

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