Fic: Full Circle [ 2/3 ] [Three's A Crowd 'verse]
Title: Full Circle
Author: museme87
Pairing: Brian/Justin
Rating: NC-17
Wordcount: 5,993
Warnings: strong language, sexual situations
Summary: Brian knows that weddings change everything, but he didn't figure today's would end like this.
Author's Note: Written as a gift fic for k_innetik. This is part two of a three part series I started last year, and the series is now complete but being posted in intervals. As I mentioned in part one, this is set in my Three's A Crowd 'verse, +2 years after the end of TAC. Apologies for the long wait, and I hope it was worth it! Thanks to L for the beta work.
As soon as they get in the door of their suite, Justin slips his hand down Brian's pants. Brian briefly tries to process how the fuck Justin did that so quickly and then remembers his belt coming loose between the tenth and eleventh floor. Any other thought of that particularly hot make-out session in the elevator is dismissed when Brian feels Justin's tongue slipping across his Adam's apple. He can't fucking concentrate on anything else with Justin doing that.
The door slams shut as Justin pushes Brian against it in a scramble to touch every part of him. Their tongues tangle, Brian aggressively staking any and all claim to Justin's mouth. He palms Justin's sweet little ass, his fingers digging into muscle as Justin relaxes. When he coaxes a satisfied groan from Justin's throat and has a hard dick against his thigh, Brian smiles against Justin's swollen lips.
"Bedroom?" Justin asks, his breathing heavy.
Brian snickers. "Are we a couple of breeders?"
"Are you always so worried about your numero-uno-homo image?"
"Do you really even have to ask?"
Justin nips at his chin, his palm cupping Brian's crotch in a way that always has Brian rolling his hips into the touch. Brian feels his resolve on fucking Justin over the couch wavering, deciding that the wall or the floor or, fuck, any surface in their immediate area might have to do instead. Especially so when Justin decides to trail his mouth from Brian's chin to his lips, blunt teeth sinking into soft flesh as Justin brings their hips together hard.
As Justin's name slips past his lips, Brian thinks he catches Justin smiling. Arrogant little twat. Though it doesn't seem like arrogance when Justin has the skill to back it up. Brian can feel himself slowly spiraling toward the brink. And like some goddamn teenager, Justin could probably have him coming in his pants, but Brian won't give him the satisfaction. He's not about to settle for anything less than blond boy ass.
"Floor," Brian grunts as Justin grinds against him.
"And get rug burn on my ass? No thanks."
Just as Brian's about to smack Justin hard on the ass-it'll burn one way or another-he feels the tickle of Justin's breath against his ear and his breathing grows shallow.
"Get in the chair." And then, Justin's voice dropping lower and filled with need, "I want to ride you."
It's a tempting offer, one that has Brian smacking Justin's ass again with just the right amount of force. Justin gasps in a way that's music to Brian's ears, driving straight to his cock and making his balls ache. He's let Justin take control up until now, but it's time to get serious. Justin can drag their fucks out for hours if given the opportunity, and while he's entertained the idea, they don't have all the time in the world. The last thing he needs is Mother Taylor and Deb to come calling.
"Later, in bed , so I can watch in the mirror," Brian says breathless, kissing Justin sloppily on the lips. "Take our time." Another kiss. "Savor it." Another. "But if I don't get my cock in your ass soon, Sunshine, I might lose my fucking mind."
Justin must understand the sentiment because he scrambles to the nearest surface-the table in their small dining area-as Brian tears at a condom wrapper with anxious hands.
~*~*~*~
The ceremony portion of what Brian dubs as The Most Hellish Day of His Life 2013 is as painful to sit through as he expected. Or, quite possibly worse. Bored out of his fucking mind, he lets his thoughts stray. Unsurprisingly, they take him back to a couple hours ago when he had Justin's legs on his shoulders and was buried balls deep in his ass.
Hard, he attempts to get Justin's attention, but only earns a pinch to the thigh and scathing look from his misty eyed sort-of-partner. Justin mouthes, behave, as if he's a fucking three year old. And Brian returns it with a fuck you. Justin rolls his eyes and, shaking his head, turns his attention back to Drew and Emmy Lou's sickening vows.
He finds out a couple minutes later that Justin doesn't approve of cell phone use during fake weddings either.
~*~*~*~
Brian places his second whiskey for the night on the table and sits back down in his designated spot. The table is otherwise empty, thank the fucking Lord. With everyone else mingling or dancing, he takes a moment to relish the peace and quiet. Peace and quiet, of course, being defined as not being subjected to his toddler's whining about wanting cake or Theodore and Blake's constant professions of eternal love and devotion. Brian figures he must have pissed off Emmett at some point to land a seat at this particular table.
Checking his watch, Brian wonders at what time he could get away with taking Justin up on his offer of riding him all night. Definitely not now. Justin's obviously engrossed in whatever sort of conversation he and Mikey are having out on the dance floor. A long time ago, Brian would have given anything if Michael and Justin could've gotten along just to spare himself the bitch fest. But now that they do, he has a sneaking suspicion that they conspire against him at every opportunity.
Just as he's about to go split them up for that very reason-too much laughing is never a good sign from those two-Brian catches Mother Taylor approaching. Briefly, he wonders if he can slip away, pretending that he never saw her coming. Then Brian remembers that that sort of thing has never worked with any mother ever.
Or Justin, for whatever reason.
"Mother Taylor," he greets as she sits next to him, using an overly polite tone. "Still dressing to kill. Glad to see you and Tucker haven't fallen into one of those pesky ruts."
She sends him one of her admonishing looks. "No one gives a compliment quite like you, Brian. I hope you don't mind if I join you."
"By all means."
Silence lingers between them for a few moments, Brian taking the opportunity to take a swig of his Beam. If Jennifer's slight awkwardness is any indication-Justin stiffens his shoulders the same way when something is on his mind-he's going to need all the liquid courage to get through whatever the fuck Jen has in store for him.
"Elise was darling today."
Brian raises an eyebrow over his tumbler. "Are you defining darling as wiping out half way down the aisle, shouting about her 'fucker' shoes, and publically berating her fathers for not allowing her to wear her bee slippers?"
"She is a little bit of a handful, isn't she?" Jen says, expression apologetic.
"Wow, you're just full of understatements tonight."
"If it's any consolation, Justin was the same way at that age. Well, minus the colorful vocabulary, of course. But she certainly gets it honest."
"If anyone knows how to make a scene, it's Justin."
Brian thought he was going to have one on his hands earlier, after he made some off-hand comment to Justin post-ceremony. He's not exactly unfamiliar to the look of Justin on the verge, and it's only becoming all the more frequent these days. Probably the kid's fault; Brian likes to blame her for a lot. And it's not as if she doesn't point fingers at him often enough.
Thankfully, he knows just how to make Justin ease up-with a strangled half-apology-half-defense and Justin's dick down his throat. Impromptu blowjobs always do the trick, even if Justin puts up that we-can't-Eli-is-going-to-walk-in-any-minute smokescreen. What Justin still doesn't seem to understand is that Eli is Brian's daughter in that respect; she's too busy fussing over her clothes to bother them. So, Brian figured he'd easily have time for an I'm-sorry-for-my-inappropriate-behavior-dear-even-though-we-both-know-I'm-not blow job when they brought her upstairs to change before the reception. And as expected, Justin chilled the fuck out after.
Glancing back to the dance floor, Brian watches Justin with Michael-the way Justin smiles and nods, moves with Michael and dips his head to laugh. As much as Brian hates these events, he likes to see Justin having a good time with their family.
Brian manages to pull himself away from the sight and back to Jen, who looks strangely worried. At first he'd thought maybe she'd come over to bitch him out about something-he can think of any number of things that could have gotten back to her in the past week or so-but it's pretty obvious now that that's not the case. Brian's pretty fucking certain that he'd prefer her bitching him out in her own nice, country club approved way to this.
"Brian, I don't mean to pry-"
"Cut the bullshit, Mother Taylor. We both know you do," he says lightly, brow raised.
Jennifer hesitates. "I'm just a little concerned about you and Justin."
"Me and Justin?"
"Deb may have mentioned at our last PFLAG meeting that, um, well, that Rage and JT are breaking up in the next issue."
The fuck? Rage and JT calling it quits? That's news to him, and usually Justin can't shut up about his and Mikey's pet project. He normally gets a rundown of the plot every morning after Justin's biweekly meetings at Red Cape, whether he asks Justin about it or not. So yeah, that's a little weird.
"…and you assumed that because that fucking comic reads like a dramatic retelling of our relationship that there's something wrong."
"I know it's not my place," she says, hands up in defeat. "It just seemed like things were working out so well for the two of you, especially since Elise's adoption."
As far as Brian knows, there's nothing wrong between the two of them-no catastrophic fights, no ultimatums, and definitely no decrease in fucking. Maybe Justin wouldn't measure the health of their relationship by those exact terms-admittedly they are a little superficial-but those work for Brian.
Brian isn't sure what to make of the new info, but he does briefly think back to the past couple of weeks to see if maybe he missed one of his usual indicators for Justin's pissy mood. It's odd for Justin to keep something like this from him, and Brian's torn between letting it go and asking Justin about it when he least expects it.
"You'll have to ask Justin. I didn't even know anything about the next issue until now."
"Really? That's not like him." She pauses. "I'm sorry I mentioned anything, Brian."
Yeah, admittedly, so is he.
"I wouldn't lose any sleep over it, Jennifer. Justin's been on a baby kick since last week and I suspect after tonight he'll all but tie me up by my balls and demand a marriage proposal."
He takes another drink, trying to take his own advice. Things have been okay. Or at least he thought so. Justin wouldn't have brought up the baby thing if he didn't feel they were in a comfortable place, though the idea of being in a comfortable place makes Brian a little queasy to think about. Maybe this whole plot came about after that discussion. Maybe Justin's ready to walk because Brian isn't willing to give him any more of a family than they already sort of have.
Shit.
"Are you considering having another child?" Jennifer asks, surprised.
"Justin considered it in that delusional blond head of his after dinner with Daphne. You know, one of the perks of being a cocksucker is that you can't be burdened with screaming kids unless you're some masochistic asshole. You'd think Justin would have caught on to that by now."
Jennifer smiles at him indulgently, polite as ever. She probably doesn't think he feels that way, that he's just putting on a show for her. It's not true. He does feel that way. At least, about every kid that isn't Gus or Eli. They're the exceptions to the rule. They're not his burden; he, against everything he imagined, somehow cares about them more than he's ever cared about anything. But another kid? Definitely a pain in the ass that he doesn't need.
"You do very well with Elise."
"Eli is different."
"I had my reservations at first," she admits, eyes downcast. "Justin and I must have had a conversation about you and how you would fit into his life a dozen times before he came home. It takes a lot of selflessness and commitment to raise a child and-"
"And those aren't my strong suit," he provides.
"They are, just in your own way. I didn't understand that when I first met you, but I do now. You've built a very loving home with Justin for my granddaughter, Brian. You can see it when you look at her that she's loved and well cared for."
Brian guesses she is. He and Justin have had their fair share of ups and downs over the past two years, but they go out of their way to make sure Eli isn't affected by it any more than possible. Sometimes he thinks that she deserves more than what he can give her. But that would mean giving her and Justin up, and Brian doesn't think he could ever do that.
He watches her now, dancing out on the dance floor with Blake in her bee slippers. She's all wide, Sunshine smiles, laughing to the point that she's crying because she's having so much fun. Well, so much fun with Blake. Her kiddie crush on him is enough to boggle Brian's mind.
Jennifer must realize that he's preoccupied because she stands with one of those apologetic smiles. Brian's not too disappointed to see her go-he really does need to do damage control on Mikey and Justin-but senses that there's still something on her mind. He cocks an eyebrow, waiting. Not a moment later, Jennifer caves.
"I think that, if it came down to it, you could love another baby. I didn't think I could love anyone more than Justin and then Molly came along. And well…" She laughs. "You just find room. Try to keep an open mind."
He peers up at her. "You're just giving me this little pep talk because you want another grandchild. Don't think I can't see through you."
Her mouth thins. "Alright, you got me. Justin's the only chance I have since Molly is still insisting she doesn't want a family."
"She could still fuck up with her boyfriend at any moment."
"Don't even suggest that."
"Don't worry, Mother Taylor. Tattoos and piercings aren't hereditary," he says, grinning.
~*~*~*~
Justin must sense him because the moment Brian steps up behind him Justin slips away from Michael. His hips still sway slightly with the beat of the music-some disco number that only a queen would play at a wedding-and Brian's immediately aroused by the feel of Justin's perky little ass against his crotch. Winding his arms around Justin's waist, Brian pulls him closer, desperate for contact.
"You're going to have to learn how to share, Mikey. You've had him all night," Brian says over Justin's shoulder.
Michael, still dancing, just shakes his head. "Please! We hardly ever get to see you two."
"The fuck you do. Biweekly comic meetings, breakfast at the diner three times a week, and dinner at Deb's on Friday nights."
"You don't come every Friday."
"A man can only stomach so much before things start feeling frighteningly domestic and monotonous. Which reminds me: you promised to come to Babylon with me and have yet to make good on it."
"You don't need me for company. Justin can go with you."
"Justin doesn't like leaving the kid."
"The kid has a name," Justin says, lightly elbowing him in the stomach. "And it's not that I don't like leaving her. I just prefer going when she's staying with Mom, so that we can do whatever the fuck we want without having to worry."
Between the two of them, Justin's the worrier, and that didn't come as a surprise at all. What was surprising to Brian is how he worries too, in his own way. Sure, it took a while, but by the time Eli's second birthday came around-before her transformation into devil child extraordinaire-Brian admits to being a little freaked when she stayed somewhere that wasn't Jennifer's. Of course, the only time he ever lost sleep was when Theodore and Blake had her, which also happened to be the only time he'd ever called to check up on her as well.
So while they have no shortage of babysitters, Brian does have his preferences. And maybe it is a little unsettling when they don't have to stop fucking every thirty seconds to see if Elise is really awake or if they're just hearing things. He'll take unsettling though, especially when he's really desperate. And lately he's been fucking desperate beyond belief. A trip to Babylon has been in order for weeks, but they haven't had anyone to pawn the kid off on for a whole weekend.
"Well she's always welcome at our house," Michael says. "It's nice having her around, especially when Jenny's there. Speaking of which, Ben and I were thinking about taking Jenny to Kennywood next Wednesday. Maybe you guys could come too?"
"This conversation is in danger of getting boring as fuck."
"Brian," Justin sighs all disappointed. "We'll talk to Gus and see if he wants to go. Thanks for inviting us along."
"Yeah, thanks, Mikey."
Brian knows Michael is ready to defend is good intentions, but Ben waves him over to their table before he can say so much as a word. While he loves Michael, he's thankful to have Justin to himself for awhile. So thankful, in fact, that he rolls his hips against Justin's ass, making Justin squirm.
"You're happy to see me," he laughs.
"I am. Always."
Justin turns in his arms. "What were you and my mom talking about?"
"Putting the kid up for adoption."
"She has a na-"
"I know. I'm just fucking around with you."
"Why do you do that?"
"Because it pisses you off." Brian dips down and draws a long, heated kiss from Justin's lips. "And the fuck is always hotter when you're a little bit pissed at me."
"I would be amazed if you actually thought of something other than sex," Justin says, shaking his head, amused.
"Yeah?" Brian's hands drift lower, holding Justin's hips steady so that he can force their cocks together. "I could say the same about you."
"I think about other things!" He pauses. "And you still didn't answer my question. What did Mom want?"
"Unfortunately not the permission to take Elise that I'd hoped for."
Brian treads lightly here because he's not sure he wants to ask about the next issue of Rage. Things genuinely seem good, at least right now. He's had the pleasure of experiencing a Justin who was ready to give up on him, and this doesn't feel like that person. Standing here, moving against Justin with the beat, breathing him in-Justin strikes him as overwhelmingly content.
But what if it's not gotten to the point of a fucking Fiddler yet? What if there's only a minor annoyance that Justin's trying to work through in his comic rather than let it affect their lives? Brian's never been one to overanalyze, and he sure as hell never was one to give a shit about other people's feelings. This isn't other people, though; this is Justin. And maybe even more than that, this is the two of them trying to make it through this together. Brian's not sure he wants to jeopardize the good thing they've had going for the past couple years (minus a couple bumps).
"Your mom might have mentioned something about the new issue of Rage."
"Oh?"
"Yeah, something along the lines of Rage and JT foregoing couples' therapy with a nice lezzie alien and calling it quits."
"Rage and JT wouldn't go to an alien for couples' therapy. Do you even read our comic?"
"Sunshine, I think you're missing the point."
"What does it matter to you if Rage and JT are breaking up?"
What the fuck does it matter? Brian can hardly contain his derisive laughter. He can't fucking believe Justin honestly asked him that. Justin gets bashed, so does JT. He and Justin fight to bring down Stockwell while Rage and JT protect Gayopolis from a politically-minded hog. And that's just the tip of the goddamn iceberg. Brian prefers not to think about all the other sketches he's found laying around over the years.
At this point, it seems like the only thing that Rage and JT have done that he and Justin haven't is tie the knot like a pair of breeders. But hell, it's not like they aren't practically married, as all their friends love to point out at every opportunity. Not that Brian would lower himself by acknowledging their unsolicited opinions in the first place. They're together because they want to be. Well, at least Brian thinks Justin still wants to be with him.
Fuck.
"I'm just curious to know if JT's motivation for leaving our favorite well-endowed superhero may have something to do with JT's desire to expand their quaint little super family."
For a moment, Justin stares at him like he's just proposed celibacy-lips parted and brow knit. Then his expression breaks into one of sheer amusement. Brian fails to see what's so fucking funny about it.
"You think that JT's leaving Rage because you don't want to have a baby with me?"
"One, I have a baby…toddler…demon spawn with you. I-"
"It's not exactly the same, Brian. I decided to have her, and you reluctantly agreed to raise her with me. You missed out on her entire first year, not to mention the pregnancy. I know that doesn't matter to you, and I love you for the fact that not being there doesn't change how you feel about her. I really do. All I'm saying is that it'd be nice to actually decide to have a baby together from start to finish, our decision."
"What do you want me to do? Help you jerk off into a cup? Help you shoot your load up her twat with a turkey baster?" he asks, a little exasperated.
He gives Brian that look, a cross between do-you-have-to-phrase-it-like-that and you're-being-so-fucking-ridiculous-right-now. Brian can almost feel Justin shutting down on him, and he hates that. This is exactly why he didn't want to ask Justin about the goddamn comic in the first place. While today hasn't been perfect, he'd hoped it would at least end painlessly between them. The last thing he wants to do is fight with Justin about something that they're never going to have.
"Would you if I asked?" Justin asks.
"This is starting to get into dangerous territory that can only end in my dick getting left out in the cold tonight, so I'm stopping here."
He does stop, resolved not to say another word about this ever again. His eyes shut, trying to concentrate on the pulse of a finally decent song. It's hard, though, when he's anticipating that Justin will pull away from him at any minute. Nerves set on edge, Brian waits for it, but the heat of Justin's lithe body, wrapped in his arms, never disappears.
"Brian?"
"What?"
"JT isn't leaving Rage over a baby. It's just something Michael and I wanted to explore in the story." He leans in and kisses Brian's neck. "And as for us, I was just thinking about it. You were on my mind a lot when I was going through everything with Eli. I wanted you there. I wanted her to be ours."
Brian relaxes against the feel of Justin's soft lips against his skin. He's relieved that it's nothing more than some plotline-original, for once, and not lifted from their lives. And Brian wants to believe Justin when he says that he was just thinking about a kid, though he's still ready to queen out at any moment at the slightest indication otherwise.
Even though there's no way in hell he'd ever tell Justin as much, a small part of him that he tries to deny at every turn does hate that he missed out on Eli's first year. It sounds real fucking lesbianic, but he does just a little bit. The only times when he feels detached from her are those moments when someone asks him about something he wasn't around for-their decision to have her, her birth, her first words. Then he's quickly reminded of the fact that there was a time when she wasn't a part of his daily life, that he wasn't her daddy and he didn't get to look forward to her being a complete pain in his ass each morning.
"She is ours. Except for when she's yours. She's been yours all fucking day, by the way."
Justin smiles for him-that stupid love sick smile that Brian recognizes from when Justin was only a teen. He always gets this way when Brian talks about Eli like this.
"I'm happy, Brian. If you don't want another kid then we won't have another kid."
"Whatever the hell you're feeling isn't going to just disappear."
"I have you, and I have Eli. We're all living under the same roof. More importantly, we haven't killed each other yet. I have more than I'd ever thought I'd have five years ago. This isn't a deal breaker for me."
When Justin phrases it like that, Brian wonders whether it would have been a deal breaker for him. The obvious answer is a resounding yes, complete with fanfare. He's too fucking…mature…to consider adding another screaming kid to the house. He doesn't do infants and is overwhelming okay with the fact that he missed most of those moments in Gus' and Eli's lives.
But if Justin had said that it was too important to him to give it up, would he have been able to deal with that? Or would he have let Justin and Elise walk like he has so many times in the past? Brian's not really sure how unsettled he feels about all that.
"Then why the hell didn't you just tell me about the new issue?" Brian asks, pushing the rest of that shit out of his mind for now.
"Because I thought you'd freak out, which you did."
"You just had to point out that you were right, didn't you?" Brian leans in a little closer, his lips to Justin's ear. "You know how I feel about know-it-alls, Justin."
"I know you like to reprimand them. And I know how much you like me over your lap."
"Two very non-exclusive things. Let's go upstairs."
"We can't," Justin says, though the twitch of his cock gives him away. "Emmett and Drew haven't cut the cake yet."
"Fuck the cake."
Justin turns suddenly obstinate. "I am never going to have my own wedding cake, so I'll be damned before you deny me any other wedding cake, Brian."
Brian would have taken an opportunity to point out just how similar Elise is when she's pissy-right down the to the goddamn expression-but thinks Justin probably wouldn't have appreciate it.
~*~*~*~
"I think you spiked my drink."
Brian gives Justin a look suggesting he has no fucking clue what Justin's talking about, and Justin returns it with a definite I'm-not-buying-it-asshole. Still, Justin doesn't seem to mind it much, just pretends to act all offended. If he were really pissed, he wouldn't be nearly as giddy and slutty.
"I think you're losing your mind."
"You knew I didn't want to drink tonight. You-"
Brian cuts him off with a kiss, his tongue forcing its way into Justin's mouth. Justin almost melts against him, and he's amazed at how Justin's still able to keep with the rhythm of the song even in his sorry state. Not that he's that drunk. It's just that whiskey and Justin prove to be an interesting combination-a personal favorite, really.
With his hands busy on Brian's hips, Justin pushes against Brian's tongue clumsily, and Brian opens for him without question. The warmth radiates off of Justin. So fucking hot. So familiar. Brian wants to claim it-skin against sweaty skin-wants to claim all of him. And judging from the feel of Justin's cock against his thigh, Justin wants it too.
"You taste like cake."
"Only because you forced it down my throat," Brian says.
"It was yummy. Don't pretend like you didn't like it. And don't start bitching at me about calories and after seven and…and…I don't know." Justin looks at him seriously. "No bitching."
Brian grins. Tipsy Justin is one of his favorites to deal with, maybe second only to insatiably horny Justin. Though Brian's pretty fucking certain that with a couple shots of whiskey Justin could be well on his way to insatiably horny.
"Promise." He bumps noses with Justin. "But only if you promise to force something else down my throat later."
"After Elise is in bed, I'm going to fuck you so hard," Justin whispers, eyes glazed with want.
"Don't get too far ahead of yourself, Sunshine. No one said anything about that."
"You like it."
"You're starting to make me regret spiking your drinks."
"So you admit to it."
"Guilty as charged."
"Well, I knew you were doing it. I needed something after today, even if I said I didn't. It's been long."
Soon after he met Justin, Brian discovered that Justin rambles a lot when he's drinking, more so than usual, which is an impressive feat in and of itself. As intolerable as the rambling can be sometimes, drinking also tends to lead to a considerably more touchy-feely Justin. Which, again, impressive.
Justin's touchy-feely now, his hands wandering along Brian's skin and dipping just below the waistband of his pants. They're not so much dancing to the steady thumpa-thumpa as they are almost fucking upright. Justin finds what he's doing to Brian amusing-Brian feels the smile against his lips.
"Where do you two think you are?" Deb asks, gliding towards them as Carl leads her across the dance floor. "The backroom of Babylon?"
"I wish," Brian says, tongue pressed into his cheek. "We don't get interrupted there."
"This is a wedding reception, not a bathhouse. Christ, I think you made some of Drew's closest case buddies cum in their pants over there. Frankly, I'm disappointed in you, Sunshine."
"In me?" Justin says, indignant. "What about Brian?"
She points her finger at Brian, her eyes still trained hard on Justin. "I expect this sort of behavior from him. It's a miracle he's kept it in his pants this long."
"Can't disagree with you there," Brian mutters.
"So how about you show some respect for just a while longer and then get those cute little asses upstairs and fuck your brains out. You understand?"
Brian rolls his eyes. "Yes, Ma. I'll be sure to keep four inches between us at all times."
"Damn right you will."
Deb stares them down, so Brian moves away from Justin and assumes waltzing position just to be a smartass. Justin swats Brian, glancing over his shoulder to watch Deb's expression shift from stern to hopeless. As if to prove a point, Brian dips Justin-making him laugh-before pulling him back up again.
In hindsight, he should have realized that Justin immediately stopped laughing much earlier. But as it is, he only recognizes its absence when Deb's face falls into concern. Justin feels wrong to him all of a sudden-his body rigid and leaning heavily against him. Ducking down, Brian tries to get a look at Justin's face, but Justin has it tightly buried against his shoulder.
"Justin?"
"Sunshine, honey…" Deb starts, her hand reaching out and then slowly drawing back.
"Justin?" Brian says, firmer this time.
When Justin doesn't answer him, Brian starts to freak the fuck out. Something happened. He doesn't know what, but he can just fucking tell that something's wrong. Justin's breathing is heavy; Brian feels the weight of it against his chest. It's all wrong.
Shit.
"Justin, if you don't fucking answer me right now I swear to God…"
"I-I'm fine."
He doesn't sound fine. And as Justin eases away just slightly from him, he can feel the tremble in Justin's bad hand. Yeah, not fucking fine at all. Brian reaches out, almost out of habit, and steadies it.
"What happened?" Deb asks, tone one of motherly concern.
"Nothing. I…I almost blacked out…or something. Anxiety. I…"
"Honey, why don't you step outside and get some air? It might do you good."
"I can get you a glass of water, Justin," Carl offers.
"No, really…I just…thanks, but it's fine. I'm…fine."
Deb's not convinced for a minute, but Brian doesn't want to subject Justin to any more maternal smothering. Taking Deb's advice, he slowly leads Justin towards the double doors of the hotel ballroom and into one of the halls. Without even being prompted, Justin sits on one of the chairs, his head in his hands.
Brian doesn't say anything, just sits in the chair next to him. He doesn't like the look of this at all, and Justin's silence is doing jack shit for his nerves. As much as he wants to reach out and touch him, Brian's worried that contact might make Justin worse than he already is.
It takes at least a solid minute, but Justin slowly comes back to himself. A wave of relief washes over Brian, and he's just about to make some shitty remark before he notices it, before he knows.
Holy. Shit.
It's written all over Justin's face. Part of Brian doesn't even know who he's looking at because something has fucking shifted inside Justin with this and…and…fuck. He knows this, has seen it once before. Gus' first birthday. Almost twelve fucking years ago. He should have figured it out sooner. They told him it could happen. It was possible that it never would, but that it could. So many years have passed, though. He never thought that, after all this time, Justin would…recover anything else. Brian's almost afraid to speak to Justin, but the look of sheer panic on Justin's face forces his hand.
"Talk to me," he says softly.
"I can't," Justin answers, voice breaking at the end.
"Do you want to go upstairs?"
Justin shakes his head slowly. "The wedding…"
"I think Emmett would understand if you skipped out on the bouquet toss."
"Elise…"
He can tell that there's too much going on in Justin's head for him to process much of anything. Brian wishes he'd prepared for this, that he knew what to say. This short exchange and the silence between is fucking gutting him, and he has no fucking clue how to make it stop. And if he's feeling like that, he can only imagine what it must be like for Justin.
"I'll get your mom or Deb or the Munchers to take her tonight. Given the circumstances, I'm sure they would."
"I don't want anyone to know yet. Mom will freak out, and…"
"Let me handle it then. I won't say a word."
Justin shuts his eyes. "Brian."
"Come on."
As they walk to the elevator, Brian worries that Justin's going to collapse at any second. He's so unsteady on his feet. But as much as he may want to, Brian doesn't try to help him because Justin's shied away from every attempted touch. He tells himself that it doesn't matter-that this is about Justin, not him, about Justin's needs, not his-but that doesn't keep him from feeling like he's taken a knife to the stomach with Justin's every shift away from him.
Endnotes: Part three should be posted shortly. As I mentioned in the header, it's written and ready for beta. And for those of you looking for TAC updates, I'm mid-way through chapter 10.
Back to Part I >>> Continue
Author: museme87
Pairing: Brian/Justin
Rating: NC-17
Wordcount: 5,993
Warnings: strong language, sexual situations
Summary: Brian knows that weddings change everything, but he didn't figure today's would end like this.
Author's Note: Written as a gift fic for k_innetik. This is part two of a three part series I started last year, and the series is now complete but being posted in intervals. As I mentioned in part one, this is set in my Three's A Crowd 'verse, +2 years after the end of TAC. Apologies for the long wait, and I hope it was worth it! Thanks to L for the beta work.
As soon as they get in the door of their suite, Justin slips his hand down Brian's pants. Brian briefly tries to process how the fuck Justin did that so quickly and then remembers his belt coming loose between the tenth and eleventh floor. Any other thought of that particularly hot make-out session in the elevator is dismissed when Brian feels Justin's tongue slipping across his Adam's apple. He can't fucking concentrate on anything else with Justin doing that.
The door slams shut as Justin pushes Brian against it in a scramble to touch every part of him. Their tongues tangle, Brian aggressively staking any and all claim to Justin's mouth. He palms Justin's sweet little ass, his fingers digging into muscle as Justin relaxes. When he coaxes a satisfied groan from Justin's throat and has a hard dick against his thigh, Brian smiles against Justin's swollen lips.
"Bedroom?" Justin asks, his breathing heavy.
Brian snickers. "Are we a couple of breeders?"
"Are you always so worried about your numero-uno-homo image?"
"Do you really even have to ask?"
Justin nips at his chin, his palm cupping Brian's crotch in a way that always has Brian rolling his hips into the touch. Brian feels his resolve on fucking Justin over the couch wavering, deciding that the wall or the floor or, fuck, any surface in their immediate area might have to do instead. Especially so when Justin decides to trail his mouth from Brian's chin to his lips, blunt teeth sinking into soft flesh as Justin brings their hips together hard.
As Justin's name slips past his lips, Brian thinks he catches Justin smiling. Arrogant little twat. Though it doesn't seem like arrogance when Justin has the skill to back it up. Brian can feel himself slowly spiraling toward the brink. And like some goddamn teenager, Justin could probably have him coming in his pants, but Brian won't give him the satisfaction. He's not about to settle for anything less than blond boy ass.
"Floor," Brian grunts as Justin grinds against him.
"And get rug burn on my ass? No thanks."
Just as Brian's about to smack Justin hard on the ass-it'll burn one way or another-he feels the tickle of Justin's breath against his ear and his breathing grows shallow.
"Get in the chair." And then, Justin's voice dropping lower and filled with need, "I want to ride you."
It's a tempting offer, one that has Brian smacking Justin's ass again with just the right amount of force. Justin gasps in a way that's music to Brian's ears, driving straight to his cock and making his balls ache. He's let Justin take control up until now, but it's time to get serious. Justin can drag their fucks out for hours if given the opportunity, and while he's entertained the idea, they don't have all the time in the world. The last thing he needs is Mother Taylor and Deb to come calling.
"Later, in bed , so I can watch in the mirror," Brian says breathless, kissing Justin sloppily on the lips. "Take our time." Another kiss. "Savor it." Another. "But if I don't get my cock in your ass soon, Sunshine, I might lose my fucking mind."
Justin must understand the sentiment because he scrambles to the nearest surface-the table in their small dining area-as Brian tears at a condom wrapper with anxious hands.
~*~*~*~
The ceremony portion of what Brian dubs as The Most Hellish Day of His Life 2013 is as painful to sit through as he expected. Or, quite possibly worse. Bored out of his fucking mind, he lets his thoughts stray. Unsurprisingly, they take him back to a couple hours ago when he had Justin's legs on his shoulders and was buried balls deep in his ass.
Hard, he attempts to get Justin's attention, but only earns a pinch to the thigh and scathing look from his misty eyed sort-of-partner. Justin mouthes, behave, as if he's a fucking three year old. And Brian returns it with a fuck you. Justin rolls his eyes and, shaking his head, turns his attention back to Drew and Emmy Lou's sickening vows.
He finds out a couple minutes later that Justin doesn't approve of cell phone use during fake weddings either.
~*~*~*~
Brian places his second whiskey for the night on the table and sits back down in his designated spot. The table is otherwise empty, thank the fucking Lord. With everyone else mingling or dancing, he takes a moment to relish the peace and quiet. Peace and quiet, of course, being defined as not being subjected to his toddler's whining about wanting cake or Theodore and Blake's constant professions of eternal love and devotion. Brian figures he must have pissed off Emmett at some point to land a seat at this particular table.
Checking his watch, Brian wonders at what time he could get away with taking Justin up on his offer of riding him all night. Definitely not now. Justin's obviously engrossed in whatever sort of conversation he and Mikey are having out on the dance floor. A long time ago, Brian would have given anything if Michael and Justin could've gotten along just to spare himself the bitch fest. But now that they do, he has a sneaking suspicion that they conspire against him at every opportunity.
Just as he's about to go split them up for that very reason-too much laughing is never a good sign from those two-Brian catches Mother Taylor approaching. Briefly, he wonders if he can slip away, pretending that he never saw her coming. Then Brian remembers that that sort of thing has never worked with any mother ever.
Or Justin, for whatever reason.
"Mother Taylor," he greets as she sits next to him, using an overly polite tone. "Still dressing to kill. Glad to see you and Tucker haven't fallen into one of those pesky ruts."
She sends him one of her admonishing looks. "No one gives a compliment quite like you, Brian. I hope you don't mind if I join you."
"By all means."
Silence lingers between them for a few moments, Brian taking the opportunity to take a swig of his Beam. If Jennifer's slight awkwardness is any indication-Justin stiffens his shoulders the same way when something is on his mind-he's going to need all the liquid courage to get through whatever the fuck Jen has in store for him.
"Elise was darling today."
Brian raises an eyebrow over his tumbler. "Are you defining darling as wiping out half way down the aisle, shouting about her 'fucker' shoes, and publically berating her fathers for not allowing her to wear her bee slippers?"
"She is a little bit of a handful, isn't she?" Jen says, expression apologetic.
"Wow, you're just full of understatements tonight."
"If it's any consolation, Justin was the same way at that age. Well, minus the colorful vocabulary, of course. But she certainly gets it honest."
"If anyone knows how to make a scene, it's Justin."
Brian thought he was going to have one on his hands earlier, after he made some off-hand comment to Justin post-ceremony. He's not exactly unfamiliar to the look of Justin on the verge, and it's only becoming all the more frequent these days. Probably the kid's fault; Brian likes to blame her for a lot. And it's not as if she doesn't point fingers at him often enough.
Thankfully, he knows just how to make Justin ease up-with a strangled half-apology-half-defense and Justin's dick down his throat. Impromptu blowjobs always do the trick, even if Justin puts up that we-can't-Eli-is-going-to-walk-in-any-minute smokescreen. What Justin still doesn't seem to understand is that Eli is Brian's daughter in that respect; she's too busy fussing over her clothes to bother them. So, Brian figured he'd easily have time for an I'm-sorry-for-my-inappropriate-behavior-dear-even-though-we-both-know-I'm-not blow job when they brought her upstairs to change before the reception. And as expected, Justin chilled the fuck out after.
Glancing back to the dance floor, Brian watches Justin with Michael-the way Justin smiles and nods, moves with Michael and dips his head to laugh. As much as Brian hates these events, he likes to see Justin having a good time with their family.
Brian manages to pull himself away from the sight and back to Jen, who looks strangely worried. At first he'd thought maybe she'd come over to bitch him out about something-he can think of any number of things that could have gotten back to her in the past week or so-but it's pretty obvious now that that's not the case. Brian's pretty fucking certain that he'd prefer her bitching him out in her own nice, country club approved way to this.
"Brian, I don't mean to pry-"
"Cut the bullshit, Mother Taylor. We both know you do," he says lightly, brow raised.
Jennifer hesitates. "I'm just a little concerned about you and Justin."
"Me and Justin?"
"Deb may have mentioned at our last PFLAG meeting that, um, well, that Rage and JT are breaking up in the next issue."
The fuck? Rage and JT calling it quits? That's news to him, and usually Justin can't shut up about his and Mikey's pet project. He normally gets a rundown of the plot every morning after Justin's biweekly meetings at Red Cape, whether he asks Justin about it or not. So yeah, that's a little weird.
"…and you assumed that because that fucking comic reads like a dramatic retelling of our relationship that there's something wrong."
"I know it's not my place," she says, hands up in defeat. "It just seemed like things were working out so well for the two of you, especially since Elise's adoption."
As far as Brian knows, there's nothing wrong between the two of them-no catastrophic fights, no ultimatums, and definitely no decrease in fucking. Maybe Justin wouldn't measure the health of their relationship by those exact terms-admittedly they are a little superficial-but those work for Brian.
Brian isn't sure what to make of the new info, but he does briefly think back to the past couple of weeks to see if maybe he missed one of his usual indicators for Justin's pissy mood. It's odd for Justin to keep something like this from him, and Brian's torn between letting it go and asking Justin about it when he least expects it.
"You'll have to ask Justin. I didn't even know anything about the next issue until now."
"Really? That's not like him." She pauses. "I'm sorry I mentioned anything, Brian."
Yeah, admittedly, so is he.
"I wouldn't lose any sleep over it, Jennifer. Justin's been on a baby kick since last week and I suspect after tonight he'll all but tie me up by my balls and demand a marriage proposal."
He takes another drink, trying to take his own advice. Things have been okay. Or at least he thought so. Justin wouldn't have brought up the baby thing if he didn't feel they were in a comfortable place, though the idea of being in a comfortable place makes Brian a little queasy to think about. Maybe this whole plot came about after that discussion. Maybe Justin's ready to walk because Brian isn't willing to give him any more of a family than they already sort of have.
Shit.
"Are you considering having another child?" Jennifer asks, surprised.
"Justin considered it in that delusional blond head of his after dinner with Daphne. You know, one of the perks of being a cocksucker is that you can't be burdened with screaming kids unless you're some masochistic asshole. You'd think Justin would have caught on to that by now."
Jennifer smiles at him indulgently, polite as ever. She probably doesn't think he feels that way, that he's just putting on a show for her. It's not true. He does feel that way. At least, about every kid that isn't Gus or Eli. They're the exceptions to the rule. They're not his burden; he, against everything he imagined, somehow cares about them more than he's ever cared about anything. But another kid? Definitely a pain in the ass that he doesn't need.
"You do very well with Elise."
"Eli is different."
"I had my reservations at first," she admits, eyes downcast. "Justin and I must have had a conversation about you and how you would fit into his life a dozen times before he came home. It takes a lot of selflessness and commitment to raise a child and-"
"And those aren't my strong suit," he provides.
"They are, just in your own way. I didn't understand that when I first met you, but I do now. You've built a very loving home with Justin for my granddaughter, Brian. You can see it when you look at her that she's loved and well cared for."
Brian guesses she is. He and Justin have had their fair share of ups and downs over the past two years, but they go out of their way to make sure Eli isn't affected by it any more than possible. Sometimes he thinks that she deserves more than what he can give her. But that would mean giving her and Justin up, and Brian doesn't think he could ever do that.
He watches her now, dancing out on the dance floor with Blake in her bee slippers. She's all wide, Sunshine smiles, laughing to the point that she's crying because she's having so much fun. Well, so much fun with Blake. Her kiddie crush on him is enough to boggle Brian's mind.
Jennifer must realize that he's preoccupied because she stands with one of those apologetic smiles. Brian's not too disappointed to see her go-he really does need to do damage control on Mikey and Justin-but senses that there's still something on her mind. He cocks an eyebrow, waiting. Not a moment later, Jennifer caves.
"I think that, if it came down to it, you could love another baby. I didn't think I could love anyone more than Justin and then Molly came along. And well…" She laughs. "You just find room. Try to keep an open mind."
He peers up at her. "You're just giving me this little pep talk because you want another grandchild. Don't think I can't see through you."
Her mouth thins. "Alright, you got me. Justin's the only chance I have since Molly is still insisting she doesn't want a family."
"She could still fuck up with her boyfriend at any moment."
"Don't even suggest that."
"Don't worry, Mother Taylor. Tattoos and piercings aren't hereditary," he says, grinning.
~*~*~*~
Justin must sense him because the moment Brian steps up behind him Justin slips away from Michael. His hips still sway slightly with the beat of the music-some disco number that only a queen would play at a wedding-and Brian's immediately aroused by the feel of Justin's perky little ass against his crotch. Winding his arms around Justin's waist, Brian pulls him closer, desperate for contact.
"You're going to have to learn how to share, Mikey. You've had him all night," Brian says over Justin's shoulder.
Michael, still dancing, just shakes his head. "Please! We hardly ever get to see you two."
"The fuck you do. Biweekly comic meetings, breakfast at the diner three times a week, and dinner at Deb's on Friday nights."
"You don't come every Friday."
"A man can only stomach so much before things start feeling frighteningly domestic and monotonous. Which reminds me: you promised to come to Babylon with me and have yet to make good on it."
"You don't need me for company. Justin can go with you."
"Justin doesn't like leaving the kid."
"The kid has a name," Justin says, lightly elbowing him in the stomach. "And it's not that I don't like leaving her. I just prefer going when she's staying with Mom, so that we can do whatever the fuck we want without having to worry."
Between the two of them, Justin's the worrier, and that didn't come as a surprise at all. What was surprising to Brian is how he worries too, in his own way. Sure, it took a while, but by the time Eli's second birthday came around-before her transformation into devil child extraordinaire-Brian admits to being a little freaked when she stayed somewhere that wasn't Jennifer's. Of course, the only time he ever lost sleep was when Theodore and Blake had her, which also happened to be the only time he'd ever called to check up on her as well.
So while they have no shortage of babysitters, Brian does have his preferences. And maybe it is a little unsettling when they don't have to stop fucking every thirty seconds to see if Elise is really awake or if they're just hearing things. He'll take unsettling though, especially when he's really desperate. And lately he's been fucking desperate beyond belief. A trip to Babylon has been in order for weeks, but they haven't had anyone to pawn the kid off on for a whole weekend.
"Well she's always welcome at our house," Michael says. "It's nice having her around, especially when Jenny's there. Speaking of which, Ben and I were thinking about taking Jenny to Kennywood next Wednesday. Maybe you guys could come too?"
"This conversation is in danger of getting boring as fuck."
"Brian," Justin sighs all disappointed. "We'll talk to Gus and see if he wants to go. Thanks for inviting us along."
"Yeah, thanks, Mikey."
Brian knows Michael is ready to defend is good intentions, but Ben waves him over to their table before he can say so much as a word. While he loves Michael, he's thankful to have Justin to himself for awhile. So thankful, in fact, that he rolls his hips against Justin's ass, making Justin squirm.
"You're happy to see me," he laughs.
"I am. Always."
Justin turns in his arms. "What were you and my mom talking about?"
"Putting the kid up for adoption."
"She has a na-"
"I know. I'm just fucking around with you."
"Why do you do that?"
"Because it pisses you off." Brian dips down and draws a long, heated kiss from Justin's lips. "And the fuck is always hotter when you're a little bit pissed at me."
"I would be amazed if you actually thought of something other than sex," Justin says, shaking his head, amused.
"Yeah?" Brian's hands drift lower, holding Justin's hips steady so that he can force their cocks together. "I could say the same about you."
"I think about other things!" He pauses. "And you still didn't answer my question. What did Mom want?"
"Unfortunately not the permission to take Elise that I'd hoped for."
Brian treads lightly here because he's not sure he wants to ask about the next issue of Rage. Things genuinely seem good, at least right now. He's had the pleasure of experiencing a Justin who was ready to give up on him, and this doesn't feel like that person. Standing here, moving against Justin with the beat, breathing him in-Justin strikes him as overwhelmingly content.
But what if it's not gotten to the point of a fucking Fiddler yet? What if there's only a minor annoyance that Justin's trying to work through in his comic rather than let it affect their lives? Brian's never been one to overanalyze, and he sure as hell never was one to give a shit about other people's feelings. This isn't other people, though; this is Justin. And maybe even more than that, this is the two of them trying to make it through this together. Brian's not sure he wants to jeopardize the good thing they've had going for the past couple years (minus a couple bumps).
"Your mom might have mentioned something about the new issue of Rage."
"Oh?"
"Yeah, something along the lines of Rage and JT foregoing couples' therapy with a nice lezzie alien and calling it quits."
"Rage and JT wouldn't go to an alien for couples' therapy. Do you even read our comic?"
"Sunshine, I think you're missing the point."
"What does it matter to you if Rage and JT are breaking up?"
What the fuck does it matter? Brian can hardly contain his derisive laughter. He can't fucking believe Justin honestly asked him that. Justin gets bashed, so does JT. He and Justin fight to bring down Stockwell while Rage and JT protect Gayopolis from a politically-minded hog. And that's just the tip of the goddamn iceberg. Brian prefers not to think about all the other sketches he's found laying around over the years.
At this point, it seems like the only thing that Rage and JT have done that he and Justin haven't is tie the knot like a pair of breeders. But hell, it's not like they aren't practically married, as all their friends love to point out at every opportunity. Not that Brian would lower himself by acknowledging their unsolicited opinions in the first place. They're together because they want to be. Well, at least Brian thinks Justin still wants to be with him.
Fuck.
"I'm just curious to know if JT's motivation for leaving our favorite well-endowed superhero may have something to do with JT's desire to expand their quaint little super family."
For a moment, Justin stares at him like he's just proposed celibacy-lips parted and brow knit. Then his expression breaks into one of sheer amusement. Brian fails to see what's so fucking funny about it.
"You think that JT's leaving Rage because you don't want to have a baby with me?"
"One, I have a baby…toddler…demon spawn with you. I-"
"It's not exactly the same, Brian. I decided to have her, and you reluctantly agreed to raise her with me. You missed out on her entire first year, not to mention the pregnancy. I know that doesn't matter to you, and I love you for the fact that not being there doesn't change how you feel about her. I really do. All I'm saying is that it'd be nice to actually decide to have a baby together from start to finish, our decision."
"What do you want me to do? Help you jerk off into a cup? Help you shoot your load up her twat with a turkey baster?" he asks, a little exasperated.
He gives Brian that look, a cross between do-you-have-to-phrase-it-like-that and you're-being-so-fucking-ridiculous-right-now. Brian can almost feel Justin shutting down on him, and he hates that. This is exactly why he didn't want to ask Justin about the goddamn comic in the first place. While today hasn't been perfect, he'd hoped it would at least end painlessly between them. The last thing he wants to do is fight with Justin about something that they're never going to have.
"Would you if I asked?" Justin asks.
"This is starting to get into dangerous territory that can only end in my dick getting left out in the cold tonight, so I'm stopping here."
He does stop, resolved not to say another word about this ever again. His eyes shut, trying to concentrate on the pulse of a finally decent song. It's hard, though, when he's anticipating that Justin will pull away from him at any minute. Nerves set on edge, Brian waits for it, but the heat of Justin's lithe body, wrapped in his arms, never disappears.
"Brian?"
"What?"
"JT isn't leaving Rage over a baby. It's just something Michael and I wanted to explore in the story." He leans in and kisses Brian's neck. "And as for us, I was just thinking about it. You were on my mind a lot when I was going through everything with Eli. I wanted you there. I wanted her to be ours."
Brian relaxes against the feel of Justin's soft lips against his skin. He's relieved that it's nothing more than some plotline-original, for once, and not lifted from their lives. And Brian wants to believe Justin when he says that he was just thinking about a kid, though he's still ready to queen out at any moment at the slightest indication otherwise.
Even though there's no way in hell he'd ever tell Justin as much, a small part of him that he tries to deny at every turn does hate that he missed out on Eli's first year. It sounds real fucking lesbianic, but he does just a little bit. The only times when he feels detached from her are those moments when someone asks him about something he wasn't around for-their decision to have her, her birth, her first words. Then he's quickly reminded of the fact that there was a time when she wasn't a part of his daily life, that he wasn't her daddy and he didn't get to look forward to her being a complete pain in his ass each morning.
"She is ours. Except for when she's yours. She's been yours all fucking day, by the way."
Justin smiles for him-that stupid love sick smile that Brian recognizes from when Justin was only a teen. He always gets this way when Brian talks about Eli like this.
"I'm happy, Brian. If you don't want another kid then we won't have another kid."
"Whatever the hell you're feeling isn't going to just disappear."
"I have you, and I have Eli. We're all living under the same roof. More importantly, we haven't killed each other yet. I have more than I'd ever thought I'd have five years ago. This isn't a deal breaker for me."
When Justin phrases it like that, Brian wonders whether it would have been a deal breaker for him. The obvious answer is a resounding yes, complete with fanfare. He's too fucking…mature…to consider adding another screaming kid to the house. He doesn't do infants and is overwhelming okay with the fact that he missed most of those moments in Gus' and Eli's lives.
But if Justin had said that it was too important to him to give it up, would he have been able to deal with that? Or would he have let Justin and Elise walk like he has so many times in the past? Brian's not really sure how unsettled he feels about all that.
"Then why the hell didn't you just tell me about the new issue?" Brian asks, pushing the rest of that shit out of his mind for now.
"Because I thought you'd freak out, which you did."
"You just had to point out that you were right, didn't you?" Brian leans in a little closer, his lips to Justin's ear. "You know how I feel about know-it-alls, Justin."
"I know you like to reprimand them. And I know how much you like me over your lap."
"Two very non-exclusive things. Let's go upstairs."
"We can't," Justin says, though the twitch of his cock gives him away. "Emmett and Drew haven't cut the cake yet."
"Fuck the cake."
Justin turns suddenly obstinate. "I am never going to have my own wedding cake, so I'll be damned before you deny me any other wedding cake, Brian."
Brian would have taken an opportunity to point out just how similar Elise is when she's pissy-right down the to the goddamn expression-but thinks Justin probably wouldn't have appreciate it.
~*~*~*~
"I think you spiked my drink."
Brian gives Justin a look suggesting he has no fucking clue what Justin's talking about, and Justin returns it with a definite I'm-not-buying-it-asshole. Still, Justin doesn't seem to mind it much, just pretends to act all offended. If he were really pissed, he wouldn't be nearly as giddy and slutty.
"I think you're losing your mind."
"You knew I didn't want to drink tonight. You-"
Brian cuts him off with a kiss, his tongue forcing its way into Justin's mouth. Justin almost melts against him, and he's amazed at how Justin's still able to keep with the rhythm of the song even in his sorry state. Not that he's that drunk. It's just that whiskey and Justin prove to be an interesting combination-a personal favorite, really.
With his hands busy on Brian's hips, Justin pushes against Brian's tongue clumsily, and Brian opens for him without question. The warmth radiates off of Justin. So fucking hot. So familiar. Brian wants to claim it-skin against sweaty skin-wants to claim all of him. And judging from the feel of Justin's cock against his thigh, Justin wants it too.
"You taste like cake."
"Only because you forced it down my throat," Brian says.
"It was yummy. Don't pretend like you didn't like it. And don't start bitching at me about calories and after seven and…and…I don't know." Justin looks at him seriously. "No bitching."
Brian grins. Tipsy Justin is one of his favorites to deal with, maybe second only to insatiably horny Justin. Though Brian's pretty fucking certain that with a couple shots of whiskey Justin could be well on his way to insatiably horny.
"Promise." He bumps noses with Justin. "But only if you promise to force something else down my throat later."
"After Elise is in bed, I'm going to fuck you so hard," Justin whispers, eyes glazed with want.
"Don't get too far ahead of yourself, Sunshine. No one said anything about that."
"You like it."
"You're starting to make me regret spiking your drinks."
"So you admit to it."
"Guilty as charged."
"Well, I knew you were doing it. I needed something after today, even if I said I didn't. It's been long."
Soon after he met Justin, Brian discovered that Justin rambles a lot when he's drinking, more so than usual, which is an impressive feat in and of itself. As intolerable as the rambling can be sometimes, drinking also tends to lead to a considerably more touchy-feely Justin. Which, again, impressive.
Justin's touchy-feely now, his hands wandering along Brian's skin and dipping just below the waistband of his pants. They're not so much dancing to the steady thumpa-thumpa as they are almost fucking upright. Justin finds what he's doing to Brian amusing-Brian feels the smile against his lips.
"Where do you two think you are?" Deb asks, gliding towards them as Carl leads her across the dance floor. "The backroom of Babylon?"
"I wish," Brian says, tongue pressed into his cheek. "We don't get interrupted there."
"This is a wedding reception, not a bathhouse. Christ, I think you made some of Drew's closest case buddies cum in their pants over there. Frankly, I'm disappointed in you, Sunshine."
"In me?" Justin says, indignant. "What about Brian?"
She points her finger at Brian, her eyes still trained hard on Justin. "I expect this sort of behavior from him. It's a miracle he's kept it in his pants this long."
"Can't disagree with you there," Brian mutters.
"So how about you show some respect for just a while longer and then get those cute little asses upstairs and fuck your brains out. You understand?"
Brian rolls his eyes. "Yes, Ma. I'll be sure to keep four inches between us at all times."
"Damn right you will."
Deb stares them down, so Brian moves away from Justin and assumes waltzing position just to be a smartass. Justin swats Brian, glancing over his shoulder to watch Deb's expression shift from stern to hopeless. As if to prove a point, Brian dips Justin-making him laugh-before pulling him back up again.
In hindsight, he should have realized that Justin immediately stopped laughing much earlier. But as it is, he only recognizes its absence when Deb's face falls into concern. Justin feels wrong to him all of a sudden-his body rigid and leaning heavily against him. Ducking down, Brian tries to get a look at Justin's face, but Justin has it tightly buried against his shoulder.
"Justin?"
"Sunshine, honey…" Deb starts, her hand reaching out and then slowly drawing back.
"Justin?" Brian says, firmer this time.
When Justin doesn't answer him, Brian starts to freak the fuck out. Something happened. He doesn't know what, but he can just fucking tell that something's wrong. Justin's breathing is heavy; Brian feels the weight of it against his chest. It's all wrong.
Shit.
"Justin, if you don't fucking answer me right now I swear to God…"
"I-I'm fine."
He doesn't sound fine. And as Justin eases away just slightly from him, he can feel the tremble in Justin's bad hand. Yeah, not fucking fine at all. Brian reaches out, almost out of habit, and steadies it.
"What happened?" Deb asks, tone one of motherly concern.
"Nothing. I…I almost blacked out…or something. Anxiety. I…"
"Honey, why don't you step outside and get some air? It might do you good."
"I can get you a glass of water, Justin," Carl offers.
"No, really…I just…thanks, but it's fine. I'm…fine."
Deb's not convinced for a minute, but Brian doesn't want to subject Justin to any more maternal smothering. Taking Deb's advice, he slowly leads Justin towards the double doors of the hotel ballroom and into one of the halls. Without even being prompted, Justin sits on one of the chairs, his head in his hands.
Brian doesn't say anything, just sits in the chair next to him. He doesn't like the look of this at all, and Justin's silence is doing jack shit for his nerves. As much as he wants to reach out and touch him, Brian's worried that contact might make Justin worse than he already is.
It takes at least a solid minute, but Justin slowly comes back to himself. A wave of relief washes over Brian, and he's just about to make some shitty remark before he notices it, before he knows.
Holy. Shit.
It's written all over Justin's face. Part of Brian doesn't even know who he's looking at because something has fucking shifted inside Justin with this and…and…fuck. He knows this, has seen it once before. Gus' first birthday. Almost twelve fucking years ago. He should have figured it out sooner. They told him it could happen. It was possible that it never would, but that it could. So many years have passed, though. He never thought that, after all this time, Justin would…recover anything else. Brian's almost afraid to speak to Justin, but the look of sheer panic on Justin's face forces his hand.
"Talk to me," he says softly.
"I can't," Justin answers, voice breaking at the end.
"Do you want to go upstairs?"
Justin shakes his head slowly. "The wedding…"
"I think Emmett would understand if you skipped out on the bouquet toss."
"Elise…"
He can tell that there's too much going on in Justin's head for him to process much of anything. Brian wishes he'd prepared for this, that he knew what to say. This short exchange and the silence between is fucking gutting him, and he has no fucking clue how to make it stop. And if he's feeling like that, he can only imagine what it must be like for Justin.
"I'll get your mom or Deb or the Munchers to take her tonight. Given the circumstances, I'm sure they would."
"I don't want anyone to know yet. Mom will freak out, and…"
"Let me handle it then. I won't say a word."
Justin shuts his eyes. "Brian."
"Come on."
As they walk to the elevator, Brian worries that Justin's going to collapse at any second. He's so unsteady on his feet. But as much as he may want to, Brian doesn't try to help him because Justin's shied away from every attempted touch. He tells himself that it doesn't matter-that this is about Justin, not him, about Justin's needs, not his-but that doesn't keep him from feeling like he's taken a knife to the stomach with Justin's every shift away from him.
Endnotes: Part three should be posted shortly. As I mentioned in the header, it's written and ready for beta. And for those of you looking for TAC updates, I'm mid-way through chapter 10.
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