Slowly, But Exceeding Fine; Chapter Sixteen
Title: Slowly, But Exceeding Fine
Author: lemon_bar
Rating: R
Summary: Sequel to 'A Thousand Beautiful Things'. Brian Kinney lives in the highest loft on Tremont Street. He has imported Italian fixtures, designer clothes and neon blue lights above his bed. He has also gone to bed every night for the past three weeks holding a teddy bear with movie-star glasses and a purple T-shirt, and can't help thinking the bear is just a placeholder.
Previous Posts: Chapter One; Chapter Two; Chapter Three; Chapter Four; Chapter Five; Chapter Six; Chapter Seven; Chapter Eight; Chapter Nine; Chapter Ten; Chapter Eleven; Chapter Twelve; Chapter Thirteen; Chapter Fourteen; Chapter Fifteen;
Chapter Sixteen: Only Words
Justin woke to the sensation of fur against his naked skin. He smiled, remembering his night with Brian, savouring the slight burn he could still feel. His smile disappeared as he blinked open his eyes and realized he was sandwiched between Mother Goose and Grimm. “You just let them in?” he asked when he noticed Brian standing at the foot of the bed.
“Yes,” Brian said, his expression clearly reading ‘duh’. “Emmett was just here to drop them off.” His smirk let Justin know that Brian was both amused and flattered at the planned seduction. Justin’s smile returned.
“I’m gonna have a shower,” Justin said. He forgot about modesty and hopped out of bed, still naked and trying to ignore two sets of doggy-eyes that were watching him. “Want to join me?” he asked, flashing a coy smile at Brian.
Brian let his eyes drift slowly up and then down Justin’s body, before he turned back to head down the stairs. “The mutts have to be fed.” Justin rolled his eyes and headed into the bathroom, part disappointed and part relieved. Brian had been amazing, and Justin had never felt closer to anyone before, but his old insecurities would not release him. As much as he wanted to be close to Brian again, and soon, there was a part of him that needed a moment to adjust to the idea of someone else getting so close to him - sharing his body for however long.
Under the warm water of the shower he replayed the night, from Brian’s entry into the loft, to the time they passed-out. They’d made love more than once, and each time had been something new. The first time had been intense. Justin had been expecting the pain but was unfamiliar with the pleasure, it had felt like a struggle to keep himself from flying apart and by the time they had climaxed and Brian had collapsed on him, Justin was embarrassingly emotion. He didn’t cry, he didn’t say much of anything, but there was little doubt that Brian knew and understood.
The next time had been slow. Sated caresses and idle touches had slowly grown until Brian was slipping inside him again. Justin had known what to expect completely then, and he hadn’t felt so overwhelmed and they’d moved so slowly with each other. They’d done it two other times, and Justin was strangely proud that he had managed to quell any flashbacks. There had been flickers of memory, but each time he fought to focus on Brian, and seemingly the older man could read minds because he would kiss or touch him in a way that he forgot all about Liberty Hospital and what had happened there.
Justin didn’t realize he’d been touching himself until a larger hand enclosed his and took-up his pace. “Hi,” he said, leaning his body back against Brian’s, letting his hand be guided. He came not long after, savouring the feel of Brian’s hand on him, of warm water on his chest and Brian’s breath in his ear.
“What are you doing?” Brian asked when Justin turned around and pressed Brian back against the shower stall.
“Returning the favour,” Justin said with a grin. He stroked Brian’s cock slowly, his mouth tasting the water on Brian’s skin, exploring this new ability to forget - or at least set aside the bad memories. He smiled when Brian came in his fist, and there was a sense of satisfaction that had him grinning and with a bounce in his step before he even had any coffee. Brian laughed at his antics but didn’t openly comment.
The buzzer sounded as Justin was pouring dog kibble into the bowls. Brian took the mug he’d been filling with him. “Yes?”
“Brian? Hi, it’s Molly. Is Justin there?”
Justin stood and brushed his hands off on his pants, shrugging at Brian’s inquiring look. He hadn’t been expecting his sister. Brian buzzed her in and waited before opening the door, approximating the time it would take for Molly to reach the top floor. “Christ,” Brian said as he opened the door to see Molly standing there. Justin was by his side in a moment.
“I told dad I was a lesbian,” Molly said.
It was silent until Justin found the words. “He hit you.” It wasn’t a question, and the tone sent warning flags-up for Brian, he glanced to the blond but Justin didn’t look to him.
“Come inside,” Brian said, taking charge of the situation. Molly seemed to be relieved to be welcomed inside, and followed Brian to the kitchen as he wrapped ice in a towel for the bruise on her cheek.
“Did he hit you anywhere else?” Justin asked.
“What?” Molly asked, seemingly confused.
“Dad. Did he hit you anywhere else? What did he do?” Justin asked, his tone startling even Molly.
“No, god, he just freaked for a second and slapped me. We were having a fight and I was looking to piss him off. He didn’t mean it. Dad wouldn’t smack me around,” Molly said. Justin scratched at his ear and then turned on his heel and disappeared to the bedroom. She watched him go and it dawned on her slowly. “Holy shit.”
“What?” Brian said, his tone warning.
“He - that’s what. Jesus,” Molly said.
“Don’t swear,” Brian said idly, handing over the ice even if the bruise wasn’t very dark, before following Justin to the bedroom.
“I’m fine,” Justin said as soon as he saw Brian. He looked anything but, pacing back-and-forth, his hair ruffled and eyes wild. Brian knew the look for what it was, anger and fear.
“Come here,” he said, watching closely as Justin stopped his pacing and walked slowly over. Brian gripped the back of Justin’s head, his fingers threading into soft blond hair and pulled Justin into his chest. “Just stand still a second.”
They were quiet, Justin trying to calm down and Brian listening closely as Justin’s breathing slowed. “I’m always the one falling apart,” Justin said. Brian stuck his tongue in his cheek and Justin rolled his eyes. “She doesn’t know,” he said. “Not about any of it.”
“Does it make a difference?” Brian asked.
“Probably not.” Justin turned and went back out to where Molly was standing by the counter, staring at the icepack in her hand. She saw him and started to say something but stopped when he hugged her tight. “Are you okay?”
“I didn’t know,” she said.
Justin hadn’t wanted his sister to ever find out what his father had done, but if she had to, he wouldn’t have wanted it to come-out like this. He had never once thought that Craig might do to her what he’d done to Justin. “Are you okay?” he asked, emphasizing the second word.”
“He hit me,” she said.
“It wasn’t right,” Justin said. “It doesn’t matter how angry he was, or what you were saying, he shouldn’t have done it. Not ever.”
“He did it to you.”
“It was wrong then, too.” Justin tried to believe it, but there was still a part of him that kept second-guessing, wondering if it was something he’d done, or said, if there was anything he could do to make it better.
Molly cried, but not for very long, and when she was done she wiped her eyes and seemed to shake it off as if deciding that it was time to move on. So Justin moved on. “You told dad you were a lesbian?” he asked, trying to picture it.
“Yeah.”
“Are you crazy?”
“That’s what mom said,” Molly smirked.
Justin paused a moment and looked at his sister closely. “Are you?”
“No. It was a show of solidarity, you know?”
“Don’t do shit like this because you think you owe it to me,” Justin said. “You don’t owe me anything. And whatever happened between mom and dad and I - it’s our problem, and we’ll deal with it. Don’t let anyone make it your problem.”
“I hated them before I even really knew,” Molly said. “What they did, I mean. Dad’s been acting so bad, and mom just takes it. Just all the time, she just does whatever he wants and he’s being an unreasonable ass. I hate her for always letting him get his way. She should make him change; she shouldn’t just bow to his whims! And he should know better!”
“Mollusc,” Justin said. “Mom’s doing the best she can.”
“What about dad?”
“No father has the right to hit their kid,” Brian said. He’d taken his laptop into the bedroom in an attempt to give the siblings some sense of privacy, but knew where this was going and thought he’d step-in before the question arose. He dropped a blanket and pillow on the couch and headed to the kitchen, fishing out the takeout menus and dropping them on the table.
“Brian,” Justin said, frowning, but Brian shot him a look that very clearly said to wait and ask later.
They ordered Thai and Brian and Justin ate with chopsticks, Molly periodically attempting to perfect her technique and always returning to her fork. She settled down on the couch, and Brian and Justin settled into bed. “I don’t feel right about this. I can afford a hotel or something,” Justin said.
“Then who would watch the brat?” Brian asked.
“I would stay with her.”
“Then who would watch me?”
“You’re all grown-up,” Justin said with a smirk. They kissed a bit, and Brian slid his hands down Justin’s smooth back, appreciating it more than ever that Justin was now both used to sleeping nude and also used to touch.
“Hm,” Brian said, taking Justin’s hand and sliding it down to prove just how ‘up’ he had grown.
“My sister is right there,” Justin said.
“What, you want to call her?” Justin scrunched his face up and Brian smirked, taking advantage of Justin’s distraction to flip the younger man over.
“This is just wrong. She’s already been traumatized once tonight.”
“I bet she’d think it was hot,” Brian said, kissing his way down Justin’s exposed chest.
“She could hear.”
“She’ll have sweet dreams,” Brian said, smirking.
“What if she comes to see what’s going on?”
“She should know better,” Brian said, his hands coaxing Justin’s thighs apart as his tongue laved a nipple.
“She’ll ask what was going on,” Justin said, his fingers tangling in Brian’s hair and his voice becoming increasingly breathy.
“She’s not five,” Brian commented before dipping his tongue into Justin’s belly button. Justin thrust his hips up involuntarily.
“I’ll tell her to ask you,” Justin threatened.
“I’ll say we were dancing,” Brian said.
“Dancing?”
“Hm. The horizontal tango,” Brian said. Smirking as he kissed lower, one hand grasping Justin’s cock as the other stroked up and down his thigh. After a moment, Brian lifted his head up and raised his eyebrows. “Well?”
“What?” Justin asked, his eyes glazed. “I’m out reasons.” He shrugged. “I must be a bad brother.”
“I’ll still give you a gold star,” Brian said with a smirk.
Justin leaned up, pressing his mouth close to Brian’s ear. “I can think of something else you can give me.” He closed his eyes and lay back, surrendering because he needed the bad memories to be chased away and he trusted that Brian could do it. He held Brian close, gripped his arms, his hair, his hips. He took Brian in, again and again, and wished he could keep him there, wished it could last for longer - forever. Wished everything that existed beyond their bed away so they would never have to leave their makeshift sanctuary.
…………………….
Molly had coffee ready by the time Justin woke, and Brian was sitting with the paper open at the table. Molly smirked when she saw him coming down the stairs, adjusting his sweatpants and tugging the T-shirt he’d thrown-on further down. Her eyes looked him over pointedly, and flicked to Brian and then back. Justin glared and her smirk turned to a full smile.
“Hmph,” he said, collapsing into a chair, unable to make the several extra steps to the coffee pot. He snatched Brian’s mug while the man was distracted and took a long gulp before placing it back. Molly snickered when Brian glared at the almost empty mug.
“Unbelievable,” she said, grabbing another mug and bringing that and the coffee pot to the table.
“Milk?” Justin asked.
“Get it yourself!” Molly said. Justin glared again and then settled for drinking his coffee black. After the first cup, he felt resuscitated. He and Brian had been up late, and his night hadn’t been restful. Rather than enduring nightmares, Justin simply hadn’t been able to close his eyes, his mind was racing with images of Craig hurting Molly the way he’d hurt Justin. There wasn’t a clear solution in any of this mess. Justin still thought his sister needed to be with her parents, but Justin couldn’t let her go back to that house knowing what he knew.
The thought of food was too much; he drank the coffee and let the dogs out while Molly put away the bedding and Brian got his suitcase together. It was a weekday and Justin had work and Molly had school. “I’ll be here when you get out,” he said, trying to ignore the large familiar building looming across the street. Brian, his shades on, was tapping his fingers on the steering wheel. Justin wondered if maybe they were making Brian late.
“Justin …”
“I’ll be here,” Justin said.
“I need to pick-up my stuff from home,” Molly said. She was wearing her clothes from the day before but she kept her uniform in her locker, refusing to wear it more than was absolutely necessary.
“Then we’ll stop there on the way to the loft,” Justin said. Brian’s eyebrows drew together and his fingers stilled. “We’ll figure something out,” Justin said, at once conscious that Brian wasn’t going to let him go back to his parent’s place alone and also that Brian and he both had to get to work.
“Thanks,” Molly said after a minute. Justin watched her head across the street to Saint James Academy, and then settled back into his seat.
“I’m sorry for all this drama,” Justin said as they headed towards the Nook.
“That’s what you get when you bring home a Princess,” Brian drawled. Justin snorted and then broke into laughter. It was like a dam breaking. He was fairly certain he was laughing so hard because he knew if he cried he’d never stop.
“I should probably head over to Liberty,” Justin said when he’d caught his breath. “Are you sure you don’t want me to find a hotel or something? I don’t know what I’m going to do. I don’t want her going back to … it could be a while.”
“Parents shouldn’t hit their kids,” Brian said, his voice tight, and Justin knew Brian had his own dark memories. He wondered if maybe Brian was being so supportive about this for his own reasons, and not simply because he was helping Justin. This struck Brian close to home as well. “You’re not fucking moving out of your home over this. She can take the couch. We’ll figure something out,” Brian was saying. The Jeep stopped by the curb outside of the Nook. Justin didn’t say anything. He grabbed his bag and unlocked the door. With his hand on the door handle he turned to Brian and stretched across the gap between them, kissing Brian’s cheek, then his lips when he turned to face Justin. Justin knew Brian wouldn’t hear the words, but he heard this Justin could tell by the way Brian’s eye softened briefly. Then Justin hopped out of the Jeep and shut the door, heading into the Nook, feeling Brian’s eyes on him the entire way.
on to Chapter Seventeen
Author: lemon_bar
Rating: R
Summary: Sequel to 'A Thousand Beautiful Things'. Brian Kinney lives in the highest loft on Tremont Street. He has imported Italian fixtures, designer clothes and neon blue lights above his bed. He has also gone to bed every night for the past three weeks holding a teddy bear with movie-star glasses and a purple T-shirt, and can't help thinking the bear is just a placeholder.
Previous Posts: Chapter One; Chapter Two; Chapter Three; Chapter Four; Chapter Five; Chapter Six; Chapter Seven; Chapter Eight; Chapter Nine; Chapter Ten; Chapter Eleven; Chapter Twelve; Chapter Thirteen; Chapter Fourteen; Chapter Fifteen;
Chapter Sixteen: Only Words
Justin woke to the sensation of fur against his naked skin. He smiled, remembering his night with Brian, savouring the slight burn he could still feel. His smile disappeared as he blinked open his eyes and realized he was sandwiched between Mother Goose and Grimm. “You just let them in?” he asked when he noticed Brian standing at the foot of the bed.
“Yes,” Brian said, his expression clearly reading ‘duh’. “Emmett was just here to drop them off.” His smirk let Justin know that Brian was both amused and flattered at the planned seduction. Justin’s smile returned.
“I’m gonna have a shower,” Justin said. He forgot about modesty and hopped out of bed, still naked and trying to ignore two sets of doggy-eyes that were watching him. “Want to join me?” he asked, flashing a coy smile at Brian.
Brian let his eyes drift slowly up and then down Justin’s body, before he turned back to head down the stairs. “The mutts have to be fed.” Justin rolled his eyes and headed into the bathroom, part disappointed and part relieved. Brian had been amazing, and Justin had never felt closer to anyone before, but his old insecurities would not release him. As much as he wanted to be close to Brian again, and soon, there was a part of him that needed a moment to adjust to the idea of someone else getting so close to him - sharing his body for however long.
Under the warm water of the shower he replayed the night, from Brian’s entry into the loft, to the time they passed-out. They’d made love more than once, and each time had been something new. The first time had been intense. Justin had been expecting the pain but was unfamiliar with the pleasure, it had felt like a struggle to keep himself from flying apart and by the time they had climaxed and Brian had collapsed on him, Justin was embarrassingly emotion. He didn’t cry, he didn’t say much of anything, but there was little doubt that Brian knew and understood.
The next time had been slow. Sated caresses and idle touches had slowly grown until Brian was slipping inside him again. Justin had known what to expect completely then, and he hadn’t felt so overwhelmed and they’d moved so slowly with each other. They’d done it two other times, and Justin was strangely proud that he had managed to quell any flashbacks. There had been flickers of memory, but each time he fought to focus on Brian, and seemingly the older man could read minds because he would kiss or touch him in a way that he forgot all about Liberty Hospital and what had happened there.
Justin didn’t realize he’d been touching himself until a larger hand enclosed his and took-up his pace. “Hi,” he said, leaning his body back against Brian’s, letting his hand be guided. He came not long after, savouring the feel of Brian’s hand on him, of warm water on his chest and Brian’s breath in his ear.
“What are you doing?” Brian asked when Justin turned around and pressed Brian back against the shower stall.
“Returning the favour,” Justin said with a grin. He stroked Brian’s cock slowly, his mouth tasting the water on Brian’s skin, exploring this new ability to forget - or at least set aside the bad memories. He smiled when Brian came in his fist, and there was a sense of satisfaction that had him grinning and with a bounce in his step before he even had any coffee. Brian laughed at his antics but didn’t openly comment.
The buzzer sounded as Justin was pouring dog kibble into the bowls. Brian took the mug he’d been filling with him. “Yes?”
“Brian? Hi, it’s Molly. Is Justin there?”
Justin stood and brushed his hands off on his pants, shrugging at Brian’s inquiring look. He hadn’t been expecting his sister. Brian buzzed her in and waited before opening the door, approximating the time it would take for Molly to reach the top floor. “Christ,” Brian said as he opened the door to see Molly standing there. Justin was by his side in a moment.
“I told dad I was a lesbian,” Molly said.
It was silent until Justin found the words. “He hit you.” It wasn’t a question, and the tone sent warning flags-up for Brian, he glanced to the blond but Justin didn’t look to him.
“Come inside,” Brian said, taking charge of the situation. Molly seemed to be relieved to be welcomed inside, and followed Brian to the kitchen as he wrapped ice in a towel for the bruise on her cheek.
“Did he hit you anywhere else?” Justin asked.
“What?” Molly asked, seemingly confused.
“Dad. Did he hit you anywhere else? What did he do?” Justin asked, his tone startling even Molly.
“No, god, he just freaked for a second and slapped me. We were having a fight and I was looking to piss him off. He didn’t mean it. Dad wouldn’t smack me around,” Molly said. Justin scratched at his ear and then turned on his heel and disappeared to the bedroom. She watched him go and it dawned on her slowly. “Holy shit.”
“What?” Brian said, his tone warning.
“He - that’s what. Jesus,” Molly said.
“Don’t swear,” Brian said idly, handing over the ice even if the bruise wasn’t very dark, before following Justin to the bedroom.
“I’m fine,” Justin said as soon as he saw Brian. He looked anything but, pacing back-and-forth, his hair ruffled and eyes wild. Brian knew the look for what it was, anger and fear.
“Come here,” he said, watching closely as Justin stopped his pacing and walked slowly over. Brian gripped the back of Justin’s head, his fingers threading into soft blond hair and pulled Justin into his chest. “Just stand still a second.”
They were quiet, Justin trying to calm down and Brian listening closely as Justin’s breathing slowed. “I’m always the one falling apart,” Justin said. Brian stuck his tongue in his cheek and Justin rolled his eyes. “She doesn’t know,” he said. “Not about any of it.”
“Does it make a difference?” Brian asked.
“Probably not.” Justin turned and went back out to where Molly was standing by the counter, staring at the icepack in her hand. She saw him and started to say something but stopped when he hugged her tight. “Are you okay?”
“I didn’t know,” she said.
Justin hadn’t wanted his sister to ever find out what his father had done, but if she had to, he wouldn’t have wanted it to come-out like this. He had never once thought that Craig might do to her what he’d done to Justin. “Are you okay?” he asked, emphasizing the second word.”
“He hit me,” she said.
“It wasn’t right,” Justin said. “It doesn’t matter how angry he was, or what you were saying, he shouldn’t have done it. Not ever.”
“He did it to you.”
“It was wrong then, too.” Justin tried to believe it, but there was still a part of him that kept second-guessing, wondering if it was something he’d done, or said, if there was anything he could do to make it better.
Molly cried, but not for very long, and when she was done she wiped her eyes and seemed to shake it off as if deciding that it was time to move on. So Justin moved on. “You told dad you were a lesbian?” he asked, trying to picture it.
“Yeah.”
“Are you crazy?”
“That’s what mom said,” Molly smirked.
Justin paused a moment and looked at his sister closely. “Are you?”
“No. It was a show of solidarity, you know?”
“Don’t do shit like this because you think you owe it to me,” Justin said. “You don’t owe me anything. And whatever happened between mom and dad and I - it’s our problem, and we’ll deal with it. Don’t let anyone make it your problem.”
“I hated them before I even really knew,” Molly said. “What they did, I mean. Dad’s been acting so bad, and mom just takes it. Just all the time, she just does whatever he wants and he’s being an unreasonable ass. I hate her for always letting him get his way. She should make him change; she shouldn’t just bow to his whims! And he should know better!”
“Mollusc,” Justin said. “Mom’s doing the best she can.”
“What about dad?”
“No father has the right to hit their kid,” Brian said. He’d taken his laptop into the bedroom in an attempt to give the siblings some sense of privacy, but knew where this was going and thought he’d step-in before the question arose. He dropped a blanket and pillow on the couch and headed to the kitchen, fishing out the takeout menus and dropping them on the table.
“Brian,” Justin said, frowning, but Brian shot him a look that very clearly said to wait and ask later.
They ordered Thai and Brian and Justin ate with chopsticks, Molly periodically attempting to perfect her technique and always returning to her fork. She settled down on the couch, and Brian and Justin settled into bed. “I don’t feel right about this. I can afford a hotel or something,” Justin said.
“Then who would watch the brat?” Brian asked.
“I would stay with her.”
“Then who would watch me?”
“You’re all grown-up,” Justin said with a smirk. They kissed a bit, and Brian slid his hands down Justin’s smooth back, appreciating it more than ever that Justin was now both used to sleeping nude and also used to touch.
“Hm,” Brian said, taking Justin’s hand and sliding it down to prove just how ‘up’ he had grown.
“My sister is right there,” Justin said.
“What, you want to call her?” Justin scrunched his face up and Brian smirked, taking advantage of Justin’s distraction to flip the younger man over.
“This is just wrong. She’s already been traumatized once tonight.”
“I bet she’d think it was hot,” Brian said, kissing his way down Justin’s exposed chest.
“She could hear.”
“She’ll have sweet dreams,” Brian said, smirking.
“What if she comes to see what’s going on?”
“She should know better,” Brian said, his hands coaxing Justin’s thighs apart as his tongue laved a nipple.
“She’ll ask what was going on,” Justin said, his fingers tangling in Brian’s hair and his voice becoming increasingly breathy.
“She’s not five,” Brian commented before dipping his tongue into Justin’s belly button. Justin thrust his hips up involuntarily.
“I’ll tell her to ask you,” Justin threatened.
“I’ll say we were dancing,” Brian said.
“Dancing?”
“Hm. The horizontal tango,” Brian said. Smirking as he kissed lower, one hand grasping Justin’s cock as the other stroked up and down his thigh. After a moment, Brian lifted his head up and raised his eyebrows. “Well?”
“What?” Justin asked, his eyes glazed. “I’m out reasons.” He shrugged. “I must be a bad brother.”
“I’ll still give you a gold star,” Brian said with a smirk.
Justin leaned up, pressing his mouth close to Brian’s ear. “I can think of something else you can give me.” He closed his eyes and lay back, surrendering because he needed the bad memories to be chased away and he trusted that Brian could do it. He held Brian close, gripped his arms, his hair, his hips. He took Brian in, again and again, and wished he could keep him there, wished it could last for longer - forever. Wished everything that existed beyond their bed away so they would never have to leave their makeshift sanctuary.
…………………….
Molly had coffee ready by the time Justin woke, and Brian was sitting with the paper open at the table. Molly smirked when she saw him coming down the stairs, adjusting his sweatpants and tugging the T-shirt he’d thrown-on further down. Her eyes looked him over pointedly, and flicked to Brian and then back. Justin glared and her smirk turned to a full smile.
“Hmph,” he said, collapsing into a chair, unable to make the several extra steps to the coffee pot. He snatched Brian’s mug while the man was distracted and took a long gulp before placing it back. Molly snickered when Brian glared at the almost empty mug.
“Unbelievable,” she said, grabbing another mug and bringing that and the coffee pot to the table.
“Milk?” Justin asked.
“Get it yourself!” Molly said. Justin glared again and then settled for drinking his coffee black. After the first cup, he felt resuscitated. He and Brian had been up late, and his night hadn’t been restful. Rather than enduring nightmares, Justin simply hadn’t been able to close his eyes, his mind was racing with images of Craig hurting Molly the way he’d hurt Justin. There wasn’t a clear solution in any of this mess. Justin still thought his sister needed to be with her parents, but Justin couldn’t let her go back to that house knowing what he knew.
The thought of food was too much; he drank the coffee and let the dogs out while Molly put away the bedding and Brian got his suitcase together. It was a weekday and Justin had work and Molly had school. “I’ll be here when you get out,” he said, trying to ignore the large familiar building looming across the street. Brian, his shades on, was tapping his fingers on the steering wheel. Justin wondered if maybe they were making Brian late.
“Justin …”
“I’ll be here,” Justin said.
“I need to pick-up my stuff from home,” Molly said. She was wearing her clothes from the day before but she kept her uniform in her locker, refusing to wear it more than was absolutely necessary.
“Then we’ll stop there on the way to the loft,” Justin said. Brian’s eyebrows drew together and his fingers stilled. “We’ll figure something out,” Justin said, at once conscious that Brian wasn’t going to let him go back to his parent’s place alone and also that Brian and he both had to get to work.
“Thanks,” Molly said after a minute. Justin watched her head across the street to Saint James Academy, and then settled back into his seat.
“I’m sorry for all this drama,” Justin said as they headed towards the Nook.
“That’s what you get when you bring home a Princess,” Brian drawled. Justin snorted and then broke into laughter. It was like a dam breaking. He was fairly certain he was laughing so hard because he knew if he cried he’d never stop.
“I should probably head over to Liberty,” Justin said when he’d caught his breath. “Are you sure you don’t want me to find a hotel or something? I don’t know what I’m going to do. I don’t want her going back to … it could be a while.”
“Parents shouldn’t hit their kids,” Brian said, his voice tight, and Justin knew Brian had his own dark memories. He wondered if maybe Brian was being so supportive about this for his own reasons, and not simply because he was helping Justin. This struck Brian close to home as well. “You’re not fucking moving out of your home over this. She can take the couch. We’ll figure something out,” Brian was saying. The Jeep stopped by the curb outside of the Nook. Justin didn’t say anything. He grabbed his bag and unlocked the door. With his hand on the door handle he turned to Brian and stretched across the gap between them, kissing Brian’s cheek, then his lips when he turned to face Justin. Justin knew Brian wouldn’t hear the words, but he heard this Justin could tell by the way Brian’s eye softened briefly. Then Justin hopped out of the Jeep and shut the door, heading into the Nook, feeling Brian’s eyes on him the entire way.
on to Chapter Seventeen