Mette's Birthday cont.
Untitled
Pairing: Brian/Howie
Word Count: 1866
Rating: PG/PG-13
Summary: AJ doesn't like Howie. Oh dear.
Author's Note: Written especially for bubbleforest on this day of her birth. It is mainly slashstreet-inspired, where Mette plays Howie and I play AJ. It's meant to be towards the ridiculous side. Thank you to unoriginal27 and fueldesire for the speedy read-throughs and stuff like that.
Howie shifted his eyes from the stack of paperwork in front of him to Brian who was relaxing on the couch watching TV. Something on ESPN, Howie assumed, as he heard a various list of cities followed by a list of scores. He opened his mouth to say something, but alas nothing came out. He shrugged it off and returned to the papers on the table.
Brian watched Howie out of the corner of his eye, then looked at the stray M&Ms he had set aside on the cushion next to him for each time Howie stared at him, wanting to say something, but didn’t. It was the fourth time he had done that. No, fifth. He added a yellow M&M.
Brian cleared his throat. “Something the matter, dear?” he turned to look at him with a cheeky grin that millions of people knew and loved.
“Huh? Oh. I was just-nothing,” Howie stuttered, waving the hand which snuggly held a sparkly purple pen. It was his favorite pen; Brian had given it to him a few birthdays ago.
Unconvinced, Brian turned off the TV, grabbed the M&Ms off the couch, and made his way to the chair opposite Howie. “Then how would you explain these?” He lined the M&Ms on the sheet of paper the other man was currently looking at.
Howie knew he had some weird, quirky habits, but this was by far the weirdest and quirkiest. “Those are M&Ms?” he guessed, fully knowing he was dead wrong.
“An M&M for every time you looked at me like you wanted to say something.”
Okay, maybe not so weird and quirky. “I was just thinking.”
Brian chose a red M&M and placed it in his mouth. “Ooh, we’re getting somewhere! Thinking about what?”
“Just business things and stuff like that.”
Brian selected a green M&M next. “Anything I can help you with?”
He shook his head and attempted to concentrate on the words in front of him.
A blue M&M found its way into Brian’s mouth. “Okay. So about-”
“I think AJ hates me,” Howie exclaimed suddenly, slightly slamming his hands on the table.
Brian jumped a little in his seat. When his heart rate slowed down, he began to process what Howie had just shared with him. “What?” Good one, Brian.
Howie stood up and began pacing about the room. “He hardly looks at me, let alone talks to me. Oh, but when he does talk to me, he’s making fun of my height or hair or hair care products. Just because his hairline is receding does NOT give him the right to take it out on those who spend hours researching and practicing top-notch hair care!”
Brian listened intently. He was going to say something, but Howie wasn’t finished.
“Just today he accused me of stealing his eyeliner, but then took it back because he said I was too short to reach that shelf in his closet!” he exclaimed. “Brian, did I do something to him? Did I say something about his dogs?”
“You know how Aje is,” was all Brian could offer.
“But I don’t get it! He’s always friendly with you because, well, you’ve got him wrapped around your pinky. He and Nick get along great because he’s got Nicky wrapped around his pinky. He doesn’t think twice about crossing Kevin because he owes Kevin his life. And Kevin’s been around since the Dark Ages so he knows a thing or two about kicking ass.”
Brian chuckled. It was amusing to see Howie fretting over something completely unrelated to the well-being of his hair. This was actually a legitimate concern.
“This is not funny!” Brian immediately stopped laughing. Howie sat back down and started rubbing his temples. “I think I need a bath.”
Brian decided now would be a good time to talk. He slid into the seat next to Howie and rubbed his back with his right hand. “You’re getting too worked up over this. Why don’t you take that bath? There should be enough lavender bath salts for one more bath; I doubt we used them all last night.”
Howie nodded. “All right.”
“And I hung your shower cap on the little hook by the tub.”
“Thank you.” He began walking to the bathroom.
Brian remembered the two remaining M&Ms. “Hold on,” he said grabbing them both and walking up to Howie. “Here, you can have the yellow one because you need to be happy.”
Before Howie knew it, a small yellow candy was shoved into his mouth, followed by a loving kiss and then that grin again.
“Enjoy your bath. I’m gonna go find AJ and see if I can have a word with him.”
Howie kissed Brian again. “You’re too good to me,” he sniffled, pulling out a pack of sparkly purple tissues.
“Gotta go!” Brian exclaimed, smacking Howie’s butt before running away. He exited their hotel room and made his way down the hall to AJ’s. He pulled out his collection of key cards and selected AJ’s. Of course he had a copy of everyone’s keys; he was the only one responsible enough. Brian poked his head into the room. “Hel-lo?”
AJ was sitting at a table, naked as usual, on the computer. His eyes widened at the sound of Brian’s voice. “Brian! Come in, have a seat, man,” he offered, pulling up a chair next to him.
Brian gladly took the seat and curiously looked at the computer screen. “What are you up to?”
“Is ‘at Brian?” a voice from the computer asked.
“Yeah it is,” AJ nodded at the screen. “Just video chatting with Carter. Say hi!”
Brian leaned over AJ and waved into the little camera. “Hey Nick! Aren’t you just next door?”
“Yup!”
“Then why don’t you just come over?”
Nick made a face. “I’m updating my MySpace right now. I’m making a new video. You wanna be in it, Bri? AJ said no.”
“Uh, no thank you, Nick. Actually, you think I could have AJ for a little bit?”
“That gives me more reason to keep this thing on!” Nick exclaimed excitedly.
“Do you not want him to watch?” AJ asked, almost sadly.
“What-no! Not for that! I just wanna talk to him.”
“Oh well okay sure. I gotta upload and post a video anyway. I’ll pick you up in an hour, Aje?”
AJ groaned. “Yeah, I’ll be ready. Bye love.” Nick blew him a kiss before AJ ended the video chat and closed his laptop.
“What are you guys doing?” Brian questioned as AJ let out another groan.
“Fucker signed us up for couples’ boxing classes. That’s the last time I let him pick our evening activity,” he muttered, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms over his chest, still naked.
Brian put a hand on his shoulder. “I’m sure it’ll be a fun experience. It’s something new, and who knows, you might end up liking it!”
AJ mumbled a few profanities as he reached for a cigarette and lit it. “So what is it you wanted to talk to me about? I know we have a nail-painting date, but I thought that was tomorrow.”
“It is tomorrow. I wanted to talk to you about Howie.”
“What’s got his sparkly purple panties in a twist this time?” AJ rolled his eyes and let out some smoke.
“He’s worried that you don’t like him.”
AJ froze, then let out a small laugh, which then erupted into a cascade of laughter. “He-He thinks-Howie thinks I don’t like him?” he managed to choke out. “What the-where on earth would he get that idea?”
“Uh, maybe when you ignore him? Or maybe when you make fun of him. I don’t know, what do you think?” Brian demanded.
“Oh, it’s all in good fun. He knows that!”
Brian thought he saw AJ add a pelvic thrust with his last statement, or maybe he didn’t. Actually he probably did since thrusting has become an alternative way of breathing. Anyway. “He’s really distraught about this. You guys used to be pretty close, but when you and Nick started messing around, your Howie-time has severely diminished.”
“Fine, I’ll take him shopping or something,” he shrugged nonchalantly. “See, problem solved. Now gimme a kiss and be on your merry way.”
Brian denied AJ’s puckered lips. “Alex, I’m serious.”
Alex. He was serious indeed. AJ took one last drag of his cigarette and put it out in an ashtray. He lowered his eyebrows in deep thought. “Well, okay I guess I could try to be nicer to him. I mean, since it means so much to you,” he managed to say, rather reluctantly though.
Brian took AJ’s hands into his. “Thank you, it does mean a lot.” He kissed his hands.
“Brian, you are an excellent boyfriend. Tell me again, why is it we never worked out?”
“Because all you ever wanted to do was watch Britney Spears videos and have sex.”
“So exactly what was the problem there?” Brian glared. AJ laughed. “I’m kidding! But I promise, the first thing I’ll do when Nick and I get back from boxing, if it’s not icing my entire body, then it will be calling Howie to make plans for Saturday.”
“Thank you,” Brian said again, this time with a big smile. He held AJ’s head in his hands and kissed him softly. “Good luck with boxing tonight!”
AJ sighed as he stood up to walk Brian to the door. “Please pray for me.”
“I most definitely will.” Brian reached behind AJ and smacked his butt. “All right!” AJ simply laughed as he closed the door.
----------------------------
Brian looked up from the latest issue of Fine Gardening and his neatly piled M&Ms when Howie entered the room. “Honey, I’m home!” he greeted cheerfully, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek before sitting down next to him.
“How was your spa day with AJ?” Brian asked, closing his magazine and pushing it aside. He popped an M&M in his mouth and offered one to Howie who gobbled it up so he could tell his story.
“It was so relaxing! We got facials and the most amazing massages. Brian, you would’ve loved the massage.”
Brian forced a smile, eating another M&M. “You know those aren’t really my thing.”
“I know, but you would’ve loved it.”
“Did you and AJ get to talk at all?”
“We did, in the sauna. I was a little shy about going in there naked, but somehow he coaxed me into it. Anyway, he apologized for the neglect and bullying and suggested that we do the spa thing once a month to really spend some quality time together. I feel like we’re opening a new door and starting a new chapter in our lives and-”
Brian put a hand on Howie’s cheek. “Yeah, yeah I got it. I’m happy you had fun.”
“We should plan something for all three of us to do sometime.”
“That we should. What if we-”
“But first I’d like to thank you for fixing this,” Howie winked, putting a hand on his thigh.
Brian blushed as he looked deeply into his lover’s eyes. “Oh, Howard.”
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, METTE! The impossible has been done, y'all: I wrote Brian/Howie.
Pairing: Brian/Howie
Word Count: 1866
Rating: PG/PG-13
Summary: AJ doesn't like Howie. Oh dear.
Author's Note: Written especially for bubbleforest on this day of her birth. It is mainly slashstreet-inspired, where Mette plays Howie and I play AJ. It's meant to be towards the ridiculous side. Thank you to unoriginal27 and fueldesire for the speedy read-throughs and stuff like that.
Howie shifted his eyes from the stack of paperwork in front of him to Brian who was relaxing on the couch watching TV. Something on ESPN, Howie assumed, as he heard a various list of cities followed by a list of scores. He opened his mouth to say something, but alas nothing came out. He shrugged it off and returned to the papers on the table.
Brian watched Howie out of the corner of his eye, then looked at the stray M&Ms he had set aside on the cushion next to him for each time Howie stared at him, wanting to say something, but didn’t. It was the fourth time he had done that. No, fifth. He added a yellow M&M.
Brian cleared his throat. “Something the matter, dear?” he turned to look at him with a cheeky grin that millions of people knew and loved.
“Huh? Oh. I was just-nothing,” Howie stuttered, waving the hand which snuggly held a sparkly purple pen. It was his favorite pen; Brian had given it to him a few birthdays ago.
Unconvinced, Brian turned off the TV, grabbed the M&Ms off the couch, and made his way to the chair opposite Howie. “Then how would you explain these?” He lined the M&Ms on the sheet of paper the other man was currently looking at.
Howie knew he had some weird, quirky habits, but this was by far the weirdest and quirkiest. “Those are M&Ms?” he guessed, fully knowing he was dead wrong.
“An M&M for every time you looked at me like you wanted to say something.”
Okay, maybe not so weird and quirky. “I was just thinking.”
Brian chose a red M&M and placed it in his mouth. “Ooh, we’re getting somewhere! Thinking about what?”
“Just business things and stuff like that.”
Brian selected a green M&M next. “Anything I can help you with?”
He shook his head and attempted to concentrate on the words in front of him.
A blue M&M found its way into Brian’s mouth. “Okay. So about-”
“I think AJ hates me,” Howie exclaimed suddenly, slightly slamming his hands on the table.
Brian jumped a little in his seat. When his heart rate slowed down, he began to process what Howie had just shared with him. “What?” Good one, Brian.
Howie stood up and began pacing about the room. “He hardly looks at me, let alone talks to me. Oh, but when he does talk to me, he’s making fun of my height or hair or hair care products. Just because his hairline is receding does NOT give him the right to take it out on those who spend hours researching and practicing top-notch hair care!”
Brian listened intently. He was going to say something, but Howie wasn’t finished.
“Just today he accused me of stealing his eyeliner, but then took it back because he said I was too short to reach that shelf in his closet!” he exclaimed. “Brian, did I do something to him? Did I say something about his dogs?”
“You know how Aje is,” was all Brian could offer.
“But I don’t get it! He’s always friendly with you because, well, you’ve got him wrapped around your pinky. He and Nick get along great because he’s got Nicky wrapped around his pinky. He doesn’t think twice about crossing Kevin because he owes Kevin his life. And Kevin’s been around since the Dark Ages so he knows a thing or two about kicking ass.”
Brian chuckled. It was amusing to see Howie fretting over something completely unrelated to the well-being of his hair. This was actually a legitimate concern.
“This is not funny!” Brian immediately stopped laughing. Howie sat back down and started rubbing his temples. “I think I need a bath.”
Brian decided now would be a good time to talk. He slid into the seat next to Howie and rubbed his back with his right hand. “You’re getting too worked up over this. Why don’t you take that bath? There should be enough lavender bath salts for one more bath; I doubt we used them all last night.”
Howie nodded. “All right.”
“And I hung your shower cap on the little hook by the tub.”
“Thank you.” He began walking to the bathroom.
Brian remembered the two remaining M&Ms. “Hold on,” he said grabbing them both and walking up to Howie. “Here, you can have the yellow one because you need to be happy.”
Before Howie knew it, a small yellow candy was shoved into his mouth, followed by a loving kiss and then that grin again.
“Enjoy your bath. I’m gonna go find AJ and see if I can have a word with him.”
Howie kissed Brian again. “You’re too good to me,” he sniffled, pulling out a pack of sparkly purple tissues.
“Gotta go!” Brian exclaimed, smacking Howie’s butt before running away. He exited their hotel room and made his way down the hall to AJ’s. He pulled out his collection of key cards and selected AJ’s. Of course he had a copy of everyone’s keys; he was the only one responsible enough. Brian poked his head into the room. “Hel-lo?”
AJ was sitting at a table, naked as usual, on the computer. His eyes widened at the sound of Brian’s voice. “Brian! Come in, have a seat, man,” he offered, pulling up a chair next to him.
Brian gladly took the seat and curiously looked at the computer screen. “What are you up to?”
“Is ‘at Brian?” a voice from the computer asked.
“Yeah it is,” AJ nodded at the screen. “Just video chatting with Carter. Say hi!”
Brian leaned over AJ and waved into the little camera. “Hey Nick! Aren’t you just next door?”
“Yup!”
“Then why don’t you just come over?”
Nick made a face. “I’m updating my MySpace right now. I’m making a new video. You wanna be in it, Bri? AJ said no.”
“Uh, no thank you, Nick. Actually, you think I could have AJ for a little bit?”
“That gives me more reason to keep this thing on!” Nick exclaimed excitedly.
“Do you not want him to watch?” AJ asked, almost sadly.
“What-no! Not for that! I just wanna talk to him.”
“Oh well okay sure. I gotta upload and post a video anyway. I’ll pick you up in an hour, Aje?”
AJ groaned. “Yeah, I’ll be ready. Bye love.” Nick blew him a kiss before AJ ended the video chat and closed his laptop.
“What are you guys doing?” Brian questioned as AJ let out another groan.
“Fucker signed us up for couples’ boxing classes. That’s the last time I let him pick our evening activity,” he muttered, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms over his chest, still naked.
Brian put a hand on his shoulder. “I’m sure it’ll be a fun experience. It’s something new, and who knows, you might end up liking it!”
AJ mumbled a few profanities as he reached for a cigarette and lit it. “So what is it you wanted to talk to me about? I know we have a nail-painting date, but I thought that was tomorrow.”
“It is tomorrow. I wanted to talk to you about Howie.”
“What’s got his sparkly purple panties in a twist this time?” AJ rolled his eyes and let out some smoke.
“He’s worried that you don’t like him.”
AJ froze, then let out a small laugh, which then erupted into a cascade of laughter. “He-He thinks-Howie thinks I don’t like him?” he managed to choke out. “What the-where on earth would he get that idea?”
“Uh, maybe when you ignore him? Or maybe when you make fun of him. I don’t know, what do you think?” Brian demanded.
“Oh, it’s all in good fun. He knows that!”
Brian thought he saw AJ add a pelvic thrust with his last statement, or maybe he didn’t. Actually he probably did since thrusting has become an alternative way of breathing. Anyway. “He’s really distraught about this. You guys used to be pretty close, but when you and Nick started messing around, your Howie-time has severely diminished.”
“Fine, I’ll take him shopping or something,” he shrugged nonchalantly. “See, problem solved. Now gimme a kiss and be on your merry way.”
Brian denied AJ’s puckered lips. “Alex, I’m serious.”
Alex. He was serious indeed. AJ took one last drag of his cigarette and put it out in an ashtray. He lowered his eyebrows in deep thought. “Well, okay I guess I could try to be nicer to him. I mean, since it means so much to you,” he managed to say, rather reluctantly though.
Brian took AJ’s hands into his. “Thank you, it does mean a lot.” He kissed his hands.
“Brian, you are an excellent boyfriend. Tell me again, why is it we never worked out?”
“Because all you ever wanted to do was watch Britney Spears videos and have sex.”
“So exactly what was the problem there?” Brian glared. AJ laughed. “I’m kidding! But I promise, the first thing I’ll do when Nick and I get back from boxing, if it’s not icing my entire body, then it will be calling Howie to make plans for Saturday.”
“Thank you,” Brian said again, this time with a big smile. He held AJ’s head in his hands and kissed him softly. “Good luck with boxing tonight!”
AJ sighed as he stood up to walk Brian to the door. “Please pray for me.”
“I most definitely will.” Brian reached behind AJ and smacked his butt. “All right!” AJ simply laughed as he closed the door.
----------------------------
Brian looked up from the latest issue of Fine Gardening and his neatly piled M&Ms when Howie entered the room. “Honey, I’m home!” he greeted cheerfully, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek before sitting down next to him.
“How was your spa day with AJ?” Brian asked, closing his magazine and pushing it aside. He popped an M&M in his mouth and offered one to Howie who gobbled it up so he could tell his story.
“It was so relaxing! We got facials and the most amazing massages. Brian, you would’ve loved the massage.”
Brian forced a smile, eating another M&M. “You know those aren’t really my thing.”
“I know, but you would’ve loved it.”
“Did you and AJ get to talk at all?”
“We did, in the sauna. I was a little shy about going in there naked, but somehow he coaxed me into it. Anyway, he apologized for the neglect and bullying and suggested that we do the spa thing once a month to really spend some quality time together. I feel like we’re opening a new door and starting a new chapter in our lives and-”
Brian put a hand on Howie’s cheek. “Yeah, yeah I got it. I’m happy you had fun.”
“We should plan something for all three of us to do sometime.”
“That we should. What if we-”
“But first I’d like to thank you for fixing this,” Howie winked, putting a hand on his thigh.
Brian blushed as he looked deeply into his lover’s eyes. “Oh, Howard.”
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, METTE! The impossible has been done, y'all: I wrote Brian/Howie.