ALL I ASK OF YOU
Part 1

Brian woke up, his arm reaching for a familiar body, but all he felt was cool sheets. He opened his eyes and realized he was alone. Half sitting on the bed, he looked around the loft but it was empty…and so quiet. The clock on the bedside table said it was 8 am. He collapsed on the pillow and groaned.

So Justin didn’t bother spending the night, he thought. He must have left last night, after their two-hour sex-capade.

For the past six months, things were pretty much back to normal. Just one thing had changed. Justin still lived with Emmett. Brian had to admit, it bugged him. He had gotten so used to Justin’s body snuggling next to him in the night; the wet morning kisses and sharing showers…the arguments over stupid things; his humming while he worked on the computer; the mess he made when he cooked…everything. Simply put, he missed everything. But no matter how many times he had offered to let Justin stay, the blonde would laugh it off thinking Brian was joking with him.

He was glad that Justin was finally becoming more independent. But he was incredibly scared too. He had this nagging fear Justin would leave him again. Because of it, he had found himself actually getting jealous when he knew Justin was with someone else. It was absurd really, Brian Kinney jealous…but this kid just made him feel so much…feelings he wasn’t even aware he had…feelings he wasn’t sure he cared to have. Brian didn’t know what to do. It was all still so new to him. For crying out loud, he even got upset when Justin spent time with Mikey working on the comic book. They were back to talking, although they never brought up what had happened. Brian had told them to stop acting like a bunch of queens and get on with it. They both needed the money so they had no choice. And surprisingly, they were getting along great. He could tell they were getting incredibly close. And it bothered him.

Brian realized he was just overly suspicious of everyone and anyone Justin was with…and that included Mikey. That was the worst part, because Brian was beginning to feel as though he was losing his best friend. He barely saw him anymore, and when he did, it was only because he was with Justin working on the comic book.

With a sigh, he got off the bed and headed for a shower. He wasn’t going to think about this now. He had a client at 10 and a meeting with Vance at 1. He could tell it was going to be one of those days already.

“Sweetie, breakfast is ready!”

Justin walked out of the bathroom holding the towel around his waist, his wet hair dripping. “Be there in a sec!” He hurriedly put on his clothes before pumping some gel into his hair.

Ted was reading the newspaper and munching on a bagel while Emmett scooped butter on top of blueberry pancakes when Justin came into the kitchen. “Deb’s gonna say we deserted her,” Em joked.

Justin sat down and looked at the pancakes. They were in such a sorry state, he had to do his best to hide his amusement. “Oh, I’m sure she’ll see us around soon enough,” Ted started choking on his bagel to fight off making a sarcastic comment. Em ignored him, as did Justin.

“So you came in pretty late last night. I thought you were at Brian’s?” Em asked.

Justin nodded. “Yea, but I have an early class this morning so…”

“You haven’t really spent a night there in ages… Are you two…you know…ok?”

Justin laughed. “Of course! Why wouldn’t we be?”

Ted coughed loudly and Emmett gave him a mean look. “I’m just wondering. It’s just that…well nothing… You’re right.”

Justin shrugged. “I don’t want Brian thinking he has to take care of me anymore,”

“Well, he’s not. You and Mikey are working pretty hard. The second edition should be out soon,”

Justin nodded, taking a bite out of the pancakes. They were pretty thick and chewy. “Yea, we may have to pull an all-nighter this week. And with Ben not feeling too good…”

They sat in silence for a while, their thoughts on Ben. He had been getting sick more often lately. He had stopped teaching and was at home most of the time, or at the hospital. The boys hadn’t seen him in ages.

“Mikey’s checking out ticket prices to Tibet,” Ted announced after his coughing fit.

Both boys looked at him shocked. “What?”

“Yea, Ben thinks it’s the best thing.”

“But Mikey didn’t even tell me anything!” Justin said. “And I saw him like two days ago.” Ted shrugged. “I’ll talk to him later,” Justin said, getting up from the table. He kissed Em, grabbed his bag and left for school.

“Are you looking for anyone special, or will I do?” Brian whispered into his boy’s ear. Justin was leaning against the bar at Babylon, Ted and Emmett at his side.

He grinned when he felt Brian next to him, his mouth immediately seeking his lover’s. Brian put his arms around Justin’s neck and sucked on his warm tongue. The boy tasted like cigarettes but Brian just couldn’t seem to get enough. When Justin finally pulled away, he was moaning.

“So who were we looking at?” Brian asked looking into crowd.

Justin shrugged. “Slow night,” Brian was just about to suggest they get out of there when Justin asked, “Where’s Mikey? He didn’t come with you, did he?”

Brian saw green immediately. His forehead crinkled in confusion and his straight nose flared slightly. “How the fuck should I know where he is? I’m not his keeper.” His arms dropped to his side.

Justin watched him closely. “I just thought you would have spoken to him today. I tried calling him but no one answered. And the store was closed.”

Brian shrugged. “You seem to know more about him these days than I do.” he muttered. He turned to look into the crowd.

“Brian.” Justin kissed his arm. “I’m just worried about him. And with Ben-“

“Mikey’s a big boy ok?” Brian said angrily. “If he needs us, he’ll call. End of story. Ok?”

Justin nodded and slipped his arms around Brian’s waist. “So how was your day?”

Brian still couldn’t get over his jealousy. He hated how much time Justin spent with Mikey. He hated how much Mikey spoke about Justin. He hated how concerned Justin got over Mikey. It was crazy! They were supposed to hate each other and only be friends because of him. They weren’t supposed to develop any friendship. Brian pulled away from Justin. “I need to unwind. See you later,”

Justin watched him walk towards the backroom and closed his eyes. He wasn’t sure what had just happened. All he knew was that he still couldn’t bear the thought of Brian with someone else. It was too much. Telling Emmett and Ted ‘bye’, he left Babylon and headed for home.

Brian came out of the backroom 10 minutes later. He couldn’t find anyone interesting enough… especially when he knew there was a blonde, blue eyed boy waiting for him outside. He knew he had overreacted earlier. Justin was right. Mikey needed him now. He had to stop avoiding his calls. He had a duty to his best friend. And he was being stupid. Mikey would never do anything to hurt him, he loved him too much.

Making his way to the bar, his eyes searched for a familiar face. Emmett and Ted were dancing close by. “Where’s Justin?” Brian had to shout the question.

Emmett broke out of the embrace. “He left.”

Brian turned away quickly so Emmett wouldn’t see his hurt expression. Justin leaving without him was yet another sign that the boy didn’t need him as much as before. Lighting up a cigarette, Brian headed for the exit. For the first time in a long while, he felt his age…31. He felt old and tired and lonely. Hugging his leather jacket tighter, he took a pull of his cigarette and headed for home.

- top - [ 1 ] [ 2 ] [ 3 ] [ 4 ] - home -