Rating: NC-17
Warnings: None.
Summary: Five years post-513. This story is anti-angst medication. Nothing bad ever happens here (that’s not completely true, but it’s definitely kept to a minimum).
Disclaimer: I’ve read somewhere that, since disclaimers have no legal footing, they’re merely an expression of the author’s guilt. *hmmm* I don’t feel guilty.
Feedback: It’s my first series. So, yes, absolutely. Also, please feel free to point out any mistakes.
A/N:
silvaofhope is one v. amazing beta. Thank you.
Previous chapters:
[Ch 01] [Ch 02] [Ch 03] [Ch 04] [Ch 05] [Ch 06] [Ch 07] Present, September 2010
Brian stopped typing the memo he was writing for Cynthia when his concentration was interrupted by a tinny noise coming from the adjoining room. He recognized the ringing tone of Justin’s mobile phone and heard the blond pick up the call seconds later. Brian didn’t mean to eavesdrop but it was eerily quiet in the house and Justin’s voice carried easily into his office. From the bits and pieces of the conversation that reached his ear, Brian could hear that Justin’s voice sounded tense. There was a strain in his undertone that Justin would get when he was frustrated. Brian wondered who he was talking to but thought he had a pretty good idea.
As if to confirm his suspicions, the next piece of his talk reached Brian loud and clear. The blond must have raised his voice. “I’m not saying I won’t show any of my larger works ever again. I just want my smaller pieces shown too.”
…
“I know all about the fucking trends.” Justin was getting agitated from what Brian could tell. “But I think that there is more than enough prospective clients for other trends,” he almost spit the last word, “and different styles. The people who appreciate new ideas and experiments didn’t just disappear when all major galleries started showing large canvasses, you know.”
…
“Get me a minor one then.” Now he was really getting pissed off.
…
“I don’t care for the whole image to uphold thing. I’m an artist! People expect an artist to do things they don’t anticipate. They’re going to attribute it to me just being eccentric.”
This was not Justin’s first argument, as Brian was very well aware of. And he knew exactly what the fight with his agent was all about. Justin had a few dozen very impressive pieces in his studio that he was trying to bring his agent to pick up. But Peyton was hesitant lest to miss out on the current hype among the New Yorker art connoisseurs who fawned over large scale work. He didn’t want Justin to give over this playfield to new up and comers when large scale was the work Justin became famous for.
“Then find me a gallery outside of New York that would!” Brian heard Justin exclaim before the blond ended the call. Brian returned his attention back to his work, finishing the memo for Cynthia, just as Justin walked into the room.
The blond locked eyes with Brian and held his gaze for a few seconds, silently willing him not to ask questions. Brian wasn’t going to. Justin sank down on the soft rug before the white leather sofa and leaned his head back into the cushions. Soon after, Alex climbed into his lap and his attention was diverted from the talk he had just had with his agent.
„You know, Molly’s going to stay here the whole weekend.” Justin said suddenly, looking up from the book in his lap that he and Alex were perusing since she had made herself comfortable in her daddy’s arms half an hour before. Emma and Molly were still outside in the garden, enjoying the last warm days of a late summer.
Brian looked up from his computer screen. “I wonder what dirty little thoughts are crowding your brain right now, blondie.” He said with a smirk.
“We haven’t been to Babylon together in forever.”
Together. The fact was, Brian realized suddenly, that he couldn’t remember when the last time was that he had been to Babylon for fun, not work. And whenever that was, he was sure, Justin had been with him. He also realized that Justin didn’t know that. He probably thought that Brian was frequenting the dance club whenever he spent a night alone in the city. The truth was that, though he did spend a night at the loft occasionally, it was mostly to catch an early flight the following morning or when he had to work all night to meet a deadline.
He tried to remember the last time he had been with a trick. He couldn’t. Every thought of sex was accompanied by a vision of a certain blond spread wantonly across the bed, the couch, the kitchen counter, the recliner, the tiled wall of the shower stall, the coffee table, the rug in front of the fireplace, his desk at Kinnetik-. Brian re-focused his thoughts on the conversation at hand, pushing the dreaded M-word back into the depths of his mind, for later inspection. He wasn’t too sure how he felt about the whole domesticity thing.
“Babylon it is. Wear something slutty.” Brian replied, earning himself a seductive grin from Justin.
They were almost out the door when Justin turned around and made to go inside again, calling out to Brian that he forgot something and would be back in a few seconds.
“Molly, could you please call Brian every couple hours?”
“Why?” She asked, scrunching up her forehead.
“Make up an excuse. Like, you can’t find Emma’s favorite toy or ask if Alex had her vitamins yet. Or something. Be creative!” Justin encouraged her with an enthusiastic nod and a grin.
Molly grinned back, suddenly understanding where Justin was coming from. Brian would want regular updates to know that the twins were okay. But they both knew he’d never come forth and ask for it.
“Don’t worry, I’ll keep him entertained.”
“Thanks, Mollusk. We just want to relax tonight and I don’t want him to worry. But don’t tell him I asked you to, okay?”
“I get it.” Molly agreed.
“It’s not that he doesn’t trust you or anything, you know that, right?”
“I do know. Really, it’s fine. It’s kinda cute, actually.”
“Yeah…” Justin dragged out slowly. “Don’t tell him that either.” He turned to leave but poked his head inside again. “There’s no extra pair of shoes for you in it, just so we’re clear.”
Molly was stunned for a second before laughing out loudly and rushing him outside.
Walking into Babylon was exhilarating. It was like diving into a sea of boiling men, music, and the smells of sex, sweat, and sin. Justin looked around, his blood raced. He loved the atmosphere, reveled in all the sensations, all the time perfectly aware of Brian’s firm hand on his neck, holding him possessively. He loved that, too.
They made it to the bar, hungry looks from dozens of men following their strides. Justin scanned his companion up and down. Brian looked fucking hot in his simple, worn blue jeans and black t-shirt, clinging to his chest and abdomen, accentuating his defined muscles. Fuck, Justin thought, he looked exactly like he did the night Justin met him.
Brian signaled the bartender for two JB shots and downed the first. He pulled Justin in by his neck and kissed him, let his tongue invade the blond’s mouth, tasting. He grabbed Justin’s ass and rubbed their cocks together. Justin moaned unrestrained into Brian’s mouth and wound his arms around Brian’s neck, pushing himself tighter against the taller man. The brunet sucked on Justin’s tongue furiously and pulled him up on his toes to explore more of the wet, hot cavity, bruising soft and full lips.
Justin broke the kiss, panting, his chest heaving, and muttered against the corner of Brian’s mouth, “Fuck.”
Brian grinned a wolfish smile and licked the blond’s lips, enjoying the lingering sweet and innocent taste of his lover.
“Hmmm. You taste like seventeen.” Brian told him. And he always would, Brian added to himself.
Justin flushed furiously at the statement, which made Brian chuckle. He pulled the blond’s face closer and whispered in his ear, “Ten years... Ten fucking years and I can still make you blush. I love that.”
Warmness spread through Justin’s veins, starting in his toes and quickly flooding his entire body as love and surprise dueled in his eyes. He smiled into his lover’s face in adoration. Brian watched the emotions wash over Justin’s face and pulled him onto the dance floor before Justin could respond.
Brian pushed his tongue and half an E along with it into Justin’s mouth. Justin kept dancing with his eyes closed, his head thrown back in the ecstasy of music, lights, and Brian’s touch. Brian sucked on lightly on Justin’s neck, all the while rubbing his erection lazily on Justin’s hipbone.
Brian noticed a presence behind Justin’s back and opened his eyes to glare at the intruder. A muscular, but not overly so, dirty blond had put his hand on Justin’s waist and was rubbing his impressive package on Justin’s ass, that was accentuated by the tight dark blue denim. Brian was ready to tell the guy to fuck off when he noticed Justin’s smile widen, eyes still closed, and rubbing his behind teasingly on the stranger’s crotch.
Justin’s twinkling eyes found Brian’s. The blond was definitely in the mood to play and Brian felt slightly nauseous when jealousy roared its ugly head in his gut. He wanted the intruder gone but Justin was enjoying the attention. There were times when seeing Justin fuck someone else gave him a rush. Now, the thought of his partner being touched by someone else, someone to whom Justin would be nothing more than an exceptionally talented trick, was making him sick. Fuck!
Brian turned away and grabbed the first guy in sight, pulling him closer and starting to move against him. The guy looked like Christmas had come early and pressed his crotch closer to Brian’s, whispering in his ear, “You want me to suck you? I have a very talented tongue.”
The only tongue Brian was interested in at the moment was a certain blond’s but he was occupied otherwise. Fuck, Brian thought again. How could he have been so wrong? He let the anger wash over, welcomed the white and blinding heat of it. Right when he thought things were going really well… “Fuck!” He exclaimed and tried really hard to keep his eyes on his new dance partner. He didn’t see the confused look on Justin’s face when he had left him to dance alone with the dirty blond.
Justin tried to swallow down his disappointment, turned to face the muscular man who was pushing up against him. He swayed his hips in time with the music, but his equilibrium was off, he was no longer in the mood for dancing. He spun around to watch his lover but found Brian gone. Fuck. How could the evening have turned around so quickly? One minute they were having fun, rubbing against each other, teasing, building up heat, the next Brian was gone and no doubt halfway down some stranger’s throat or ass by now. Justin brushed off dirty blond’s hands, and moved towards the bar. He needed something strong.
He paused mid-step when he neared the counter and saw Brian swallowing two shots in quick succession, a smirking Emmett standing close by. The man waved, smiling brightly, when he saw Justin approach.
Brian, at Emmett’s greeting, turned his head to see the new arrival. Realizing, it was Justin, he immersed himself again in his drink. Emmett made a face at the blond and hurried to get away from what he suspected would become a major blow-up.
Justin leaned sideways against the bar, so he could see the side of Brian’s face who refused to acknowledge his presence and kept staring stoically straight forward. Justin was ready to rip him a new one until he saw the hard lines around Brian’s mouth.
He changed tactics. “Brian, what the fuck just happened?”
Brian ignored him.
“You left me there on the dance floor. We were having fun and suddenly you’re snatching a trick and the next minute you’re gone. That was a shitty thing to do. I thought you’d gone to the backroom.”
Brian suddenly became agitated and exploded into Justin’s face. “Sunshine,” he sneered, “I haven’t been to the backroom for over a year!”
Justin froze, just staring at him. His brain tried to wrap itself around the idea behind the statement, but he found it difficult to pull together coherent thoughts right now. He remembered how to blink and wetted his eyes a few times before finally pressing out, “Brian, are you saying-?” He grabbed the brunet’s hand that rested on the counter, but Brian shook him off.
Justin took a quick sweep of the room to see how much of an audience they had drawn, then reached for Brian’s upper arm with both his hands and pulled him towards a less crowded corner under the stairs. He spun Brian around, seeking out his eyes but Brian was refusing direct eye contact and focused instead on the wall behind Justin’s shoulder.
Justin looked at him, waiting for a reaction. He then placed a soft kiss on the corner of the taller man’s mouth, another on the cheekbone, then next to his nose, his temple. Justin peppered Brian’s face with tiny, feather light kisses and murmured between kisses, “I love you. I love you. I love you. I fucking love you!”
After a while Brian pulled away a few inches to look him in the eyes. Justin took Brian’s face in his hands and repeated, while looking deep into his eyes, “I love you.” Then reached up on his toes and pressed an open-mouthed kiss to his lips. When he pulled back, he said, “I didn’t know.”
Brian just watched him. “Fuck.” With it, he pulled Justin in and clutched the smaller man to him like a drowning man would hold onto his lifesaver.
“Over a year?” Justin asked into the shirt.
“Give or take.” Brian answered. Then added in an almost mumble so Justin had difficulties understanding him, “Not since the girls-“ He cleared his throat. “Actually, since Maddie’s test came back positive.”
“I didn’t know.” Justin repeated and did the math quickly. It was closer to two years, but Justin decided now was not the right moment to point that out.
“I know you didn’t.”
“So, what now?” Justin asked tentatively.
Brian feigned he didn’t understand. “What do you mean - what now? You can still fuck the guy if you want.” But please don’t.
“I don’t. I never wanted to fuck him. I was just playing, like we used to. I don’t want him. Or anyone else besides you. I haven’t, for a long time now.”
“How long?” Brian was holding his breath on the inside.
“Since New York?” Justin answered but it came out as a question.
“You came back almost three years ago.” Brian stated.
“I know.”
“Sunshine.” Brian keened. “Everything is a big drama with you, isn’t it?”
“I learned from the queen.” Justin gave a toothy grin.
“Come on, princess. You owe me a blowjob.” Brian said and pulled the blond towards the backroom.
“I do? What for?”
“You let someone else touch what’s mine.”
Justin laughed in response and let himself be pushed onto his knees in front of Brian.
Read Chapter 9