Blond Enigma – 4– ___________________________________________________________________________________________ Justin led Brian through the house to his bedroom. He hadn’t planned on having Brian spend the night and he was a little nervous about how to proceed. He could have him stay in Gus’ room or the guest room, but they were beyond that even though they had only been together the one night. He thought he should offer Brian the choice though. “You can use Gus’ room, but I think the bed is too small for you. Or there is the guest room, but the mattress is a soft one, I knew Daphne would be using it. It could be too soft for you.” His voice trailed off. “I think I read this story to Gus a few weeks ago.” Brian said with a grin. “I bet the bed in this room is juuuuussssst right.” He opened the door. “I even have my very own Goldilocks, though I hope I don’t scare him away. In my story Goldilocks gets into bed with the big Poppa Bear and lives happily ever after.” “I think you’re mixing fairy tales Brian.” Justin chuckled, “I don’t remember any queers living happily ever after.” “Since when do you and I live vicariously through others? We make our own story Sunshine. We can do what ever we want. I want us to live happily ever after. But you have to want that too to make it work.” “Let’s see if we can survive tonight. One day at a time, that’s my motto.” He quipped. “Deal” Brian stepped through the door and looked around. “Jeeze Sunshine, you do minimalist decorating everywhere but in here. Renaissance Princess has to be what you were going for.” He was amazed at the deep navy ceiling and walls; the heavy oak canopied bed enveloped in velvet draperies the color of a good merlot. He flipped a light switch and then stood back open mouthed when the wall beside the bed lit up. It was an entire wall of glass panels over the navy that was backlit to show the painted scene of a woodland grotto in trompe-l’oeil. The room was at least twenty five by thirty. A floor to ceiling water feature built from local rock nestled in a corner beside the glass wall, making it appear to be part of everything. On the far wall was a fireplace that would rival one in a Renaissance Great Room. It was flanked by two floor to ceiling mirrors edged in thick gold frames. Thick grass green carpeting covered the floor; it felt like the plush luxurious grass of golf green as Brian waded across it to reach the bed. “This is fucking amazing Justin.” He looked around. Justin laughed. “I can turn the sun on or the moon and the stars.” He fingered the electronic wall switch changing the lighting to brighten. Suddenly flowers and animals appeared in and around the trees. When the light changed a full moon appeared and twinkling stars mesmerized Brian. Then a final push and it was once again subdued hidden lighting of an interesting wall feature. “Where is the bathroom and the closets?” “The door to the bathroom is part of the glass wall. I managed to conceal it rather well don’t you think?” Brian studied the wall for a few minutes and eventually found the door. “There’s no door knob.” “You just have to give it a push, it’s on a hinge that moves both ways. I didn’t figure I’d need a lock on it, but if you’re shy there is one on the other side. The closet is actually off of the bathroom. Go on, push on it, I think you’ll like this part.” Brian gave the wall a push and sure enough it pushed into the bathroom revealing another spectacular room. There was a small alcove with a toilet and a bidet behind a three quarter wall of opaque glass block. A three-inch thick slab of misty green free-formed glass jutted out of one wall. A highly polished brass sink gleamed in the center of it. The wall it appeared out of was mirrored and looked to be seamless, though Brian didn’t think it was possible for a mirror to be that large without seams. A brass onyx box stood on one end of the slab of glass. Justin opened it to show Brian that was where toothbrushes and other necessities were. What fascinated Brian the most was the part of the room that held the open shower made of marble and a spa tub made from what also looked to be marble, appeared to be outside. The ceiling was glass and the walls were on the other side of what appeared to be a small garden complete with birdbath and flowering plants. “Why didn’t I see this when we were at the pool?” Brian asked. “Because it’s built with a reflecting gas sandwiched in-between the glass panes. With all the shrubs and plants outside, they only reflect back upon them so you get the impression the garden outside is fuller than it is. Inside, it’s kind of like a sunroom, or atrium. The gas also protects from UV rays. My cats can’t go outside, so I brought the outside in. The ceiling panels retract.” He pushed a button “If you like to use the spa and feel like you’re outside, it’s kind of cool.” He grinned like a child over the wonder of it all. The closet is through that door” he pointed to a door set into the wall that actually was a wall. He grinned. “It’s kind of a big closet. I have high hopes that someone with a clothing fetish may move in someday.” He opened the door to show Brian the well appointed but almost empty closet. “This part is for linens.” He pointed to two doors. “There’s lots of hanging space and more drawers than I can fill. Lots of space for shoes too.” “You sound like you’re selling the place.” “I could be selling the idea of the place.” Justin admitted. “It is big enough for two to share without one or the other whining about not enough space for his suits and his socks.” “What do the others think of this part of the house?” Brian looked around. He could only imagine what Mikey, Ted or Emmett would think, let alone Deb or Vic. “You are the only person other than Fang and Thor who have been in here since the day it was completed.” “And Fang and Thor – they liked it?” Brian grinned at him. “They love it. It’s the shower, I can’t keep them out because there isn’t a door and they love the water.” He pointed to the showerhead near the floor. “That’s for them. I keep the water in the bedroom water feature too cold for them, so they stay out of it, but they like to watch the water bubbling. Nothing is worse then letting the buggers get too cold, they’ll bug you unmercifully until they’re satisfied.” “Sounds scary, I’ve never been all that fond of cats, and the ones I have been around didn’t strike me as wanting to be hot and they sure didn’t like water. Where are these mystery cats? You talk about them, Gus talks about them and draws them, even if they are pink, but I never see them.” “Tonight isn’t a good time, but they’ll be back in shape tomorrow.” “Would you consider it too much of an imposition if the Poppa bear and Goldilocks used the spa before bed? It looks inviting and I could use the hot water and jets.” “After the day from hell that we both had. I think a soak in the tub is more than welcome.” Justin moved closer and began to unbutton Brian’s shirt. “Let me help you Poppa Bear” he put his head to one side and looked up into the hazel eyes. “You know, I kind of like thinking of you as the Poppa Bear.” “Twat, keep it up Goldilocks and you’ll be sorry.” “Kiss me Brian.” Justin stood close. He put his arms around Brian offering his lips. Brian looked deeply into the sapphire blue depths, he nodded slightly, then bent down to cover Justin’s sweet lips with his own, his tongue slowly slipped into Justin’s mouth and as the kiss deepened he began to fuck the charming orifice with his tongue, eliciting deep moans from both of them. With a groan Justin pushed him away. He swayed slightly. He was sure all his blood had left his head and rushed to his cock. “Fuck Brian, that was incredible.” He could barely breathe. Brian, anguish on his face, turned away from Justin. “You’re everything I remember and more Justin. I don’t know if I can do this. I know we want to take things easy, to find out if it’s more than sex. But Justin, holding you, touching you,” he paused, “kissing you --- I want you – I want you in everyway I possibly can – I want to suck your cock, drink your juices – I want to make love to you until you scream my name. I want you.” “I want all that and more Brian. I want to do all that and more. I’m greedy I want all of you. I want your body and I want your soul. But most of all I want your heart. I want every happily ever after fairy tale ending that was ever written. I want it all, but I’m willing to wait until you want the same thing.” “I can’t Justin, you don’t know me. You don’t know what my life has been. You can’t expect someone who was treated like shit for the first eighteen years of his life to all of a sudden be some kind of fairy tale Prince willing to give his heart to his Princess.” “I can’t know what your life was like because I wasn’t there, hell I wasn’t even born for most of those eighteen years. But I do know you, Brian Kinney, the man that is standing here in my bathroom. I know how I feel about you; how I’ve felt about you from the moment I met you. I know that using the lame excuse of your childhood doesn’t impress me one damn bit. You should be more than past that. If you aren’t – see someone professional and work it out. Do you think for one minute my life was a bed of roses? Well trust me it hasn’t been. You at least didn’t look like a fag while you were in school. You were tall and into sports. I was a short, slightly built blond kid who liked to draw pretty pictures. Do I have to draw you one to explain my school years?” he snorted, “My dreams of becoming an artist were put on hold, but never finished, because fucked if I’ll let some homophobic pricks win.” “Every damn time you don’t let yourself love or be loved, you’re letting your parents win. How fucked is that?” he walked around Brian who was standing with his head bowed. Justin cupped Brian’s chin with his hand. “You are a handsome and brilliant man. You are kind, compassionate and generous with your time and your money. You are an amazing kisser and I love you very much Brian Kinney.” He reached up and gently kissed the taller man. “Now stop being a jerk and take your clothes off. I’ll start the jets and retract the roof. We’ll spend some time in the hot water relaxing. You can hold me and I’ll hold you and we’ll start moving forward with our relationship.” “You really mean that don’t you?” Brian asked “You want to have a relationship with me?” “Do you think I’d put up with your stubborn Irish ass if I didn’t” Justin grinned at him, his blue eyes dancing. “Not a fucking chance.” ___________________________________________________________________________________________ Brian climbed up and into the high canopied bed, he felt like he was in some kind of historical romance novel and he almost laughed out loud. The bed was comfortable. Holding the heavy bed covers up for Justin who got in from the other side did make him smile. “I can’t see you in here all alone. This bed was intended for at least two.” Brian traced the trusting face that lay on the merlot colored pillowcase. Justin preening under the attention, admitted. “It is kind of a big bed. But I’ve never been one to be lonely in it for long.” “Really?” Brian looked at him. “Should I be jealous?” “Brian Kinney jealous.” Justin loved to tease this man. “Could be. I usually have two guys in here.” “You do?” “Yeah, in fact they’re in here now.” Justin had noticed the suspicious lump at the foot of the bed. Thor and Fang must have decided they were feeling well enough to move to their favorite sleeping spot. “I hate to break it to you babe, but it’s just us two chickens here.” He paused looking at Justin. “I’d like to kiss you, a gentle one, before we sleep.” “I’d like you kiss me.” Was the simple reply. Brian bent down to kiss Justin when, “Justin, something is sucking on my toe.” “Really” Justin grinned. “Imagine that.” “It isn’t funny, what the fuck is in the bed.” Brian was holding himself ridged. “It’s one of your fucking cats isn’t it?” “Could be. Thor has a sucking fetish, toes are his specialty, I think he was weaned too young.” Justin giggled. “Get him off me.” Brian said with his teeth clenched. “I don’t want to kick him; he just got back from the vets. The little fucker is not only sucking my toe, he’s kneading my foot with his needle sharp claws. You know Justin, you could have them declawed.” “Otherwise you’d kick him?” Justin looked at Brian with narrowed eyes. “I could never declaw them. You know what they do? Cut their little fingers and toes off at the first joint. That’s how they remove their claws. Then the have tiny little mangled feet.” He looked horrified at the thought. “There’s a good chance.” Brian was honest. “There’s only one guy I’d let suck on my toes and he doesn’t have fur.” “Well, speaking of fur – Justin held the blankets up and made some scratching noises on the taunt bed sheets. Brian felt the cat move away from him. He watched the lump at the bottom of the bed divide into two and move slowly up toward them. “Justin, I can’t sleep with a cat under the covers, or even in the room for that matter.” He began. Brian blinked, and then blinked again, when two pink skinned cats poked their heads out of the blankets. Their ears looked like giant bat ears, their faces were wrinkled, their eyes alive with curiosity. “Purrrrt” they both said looking at Brian. They both lunged for him at the same time, butting their heads against his chin, their purrs loud and raspy as they loved him. “Two more guys added to the Brian Kinney fan club.” Justin said with a grin. “Hey guys, I’m here, I’m the guy who feeds you.” “You’re the guy who had their nuts cut off as Gus so eloquently put it.” Brian said. He was sitting up now with the two small cats in his arms. He kissed each of their foreheads, their purrs became louder. “One of these guys has a dental problem. I think he needs braces or something.” “That’s Fang.” “Appropriate.” Brian let the cats continue to bump their heads under his chin and purr as he tried to pat them without letting one of them go. “No wonder you guys are cold. You have no clothes on.” “They’re Sphinx cats. They don’t have any fur. Melanie’s parents raise them. I was there on spring break and couldn’t resist these guys. I’m not allergic to them either.” Brian scrunched down in the bed, his arms full of wiggly cats. He turned on his side so the two young cats were between him and Justin. “Justin, these guys are the butt ugliest cats I’ve ever seen in my life.” He caressed their heads and scratched their ears. They both looked at him with slit eyes, content with their new admirer. “But if I was ever going to have a cat around, this is the kind I’d pick. Not to sound too queenie, but I love these guys.” “Somehow I knew you would Brian” Justin said. He was on his side facing Brian; the two of them patted the kittens. “You can see why they’re cold all the time.” “We have to get them a heated bed of some kind. There’s a big pet store at the mall. If we get up early enough we can have breakfast at the diner before we go. Maybe we could get Gus; I bet he’d love to come.” Brian sounded excited and happy. Justin lay on the pillows and watched his face bright with anticipation of their outing tomorrow. “You want them to have a heated bed so they’ll stay out of ours.” Justin teased. “I don’t trust the sucking one, there’s too many of my body parts exposed under these blankets.” Justin giggled. “I know someone who would love to suck on one of those body parts.” “You do?” Brian’s heart began to beat wildly. He forced himself to remember to breathe. He felt like a virgin bride on his wedding night. He, Brian Kinney, recipient of too many blow jobs to count was suddenly shy. ___________________________________________________________________________________________ Brian woke up, Justin in his arms, a wet cat nose buried deep in his neck another one close to his side. He lay still for a few minutes wondering how he’d managed to sleep with all the wildlife and Justin. Today they would definitely be buying a warm bed for the two homely young kittens. As if reading his mind, both kittens woke up and stretched, both of them kept their blue eyes on him. Up close and personal like they were and in the sunlight that was filtering through a shaded skylight, Brian got a truly good look at the two. Intelligent blue eyes looked at him; a soft paw reached out and touched his face. He blew hot air at Fang, the adventurous one and his eyes shut. He opened them and meowed and for some reason hit his brother. Thor rolled backwards in an attempt to escape his brother’s wrath; he almost fell off of the pillow and onto the floor, but Brian’s quick reflexes saved him. He meowed gratefully. Suddenly for no reason at all Fang jumped on Thor and began to bite his neck. Thor yelped and the chase was on. Brian watched as they chased each other up the canopy drapes over the top and down the other side. Over and over again, until finally one of them discovered the open bedroom door and the chase continued through the house. “Brian” Justin said sleep hazing his voice. “Go back to sleep. It’s just the ‘cat crazies’ it happens every morning about this time and every night about ten. We didn’t get it last night ‘cause they still weren’t feeling well. I guess they’re better now.” “You’re kidding right?” Brian asked. He could hear the young cats thundering through the house, skidding on the hardwood, crashing into tables. “Don’t they get all bruised? Shit, they’ll look like we really have been kicking them.” “They don’t seem to get bruised. This is a normal cat thing Brian. You can set your watch by them. It happens every day and whenever there is a thunder storm coming. Some people even say that cats can warn about tornados, you just have to watch them.” “I’d rather watch you.” Brian kissed Justin’s forehead and Justin made a noise that sounded like a purr and snuggled closer to Brian. “This is nice Justin.” He kissed the top of Justin’s head. “Time to get up and shower sleepy head.” “I don’t want to move.” Justin began to let his hands roam over Brian’s chest and back, smoothing his skin and stroking his muscles. “I love how toned your body is. It completely turns me on.” He kissed Brian’s chest, flicking his nipple with his tongue before suckling on it greedily for a few seconds. “I’d paint you laying on the merlot duvet, naked, perhaps eating a Granny Smith apple, you know, one of the tart green ones. If Thor and Fang would cooperate they could be stretched out beside you. The painting would sell hundreds of copies. It would appeal to the horny queers and the horny women. The kitties would reel in the lesbians. It would make a super centerfold for Playgirl. Or we could market it as a poster in the higher end stores.” “Would you shut up?” Brian requested. “I’m not letting you display me for the world to look at.” “Why not, you’re pretty good looking.” Justin was honest in his assessment. He couldn’t understand why Brian couldn’t see it. “If I wanted to be a model, I might have looked into it years ago. Right now I want that bubble butt of yours out of bed and into that fancy shower. Then we’re heading to the diner for breakfast, after that we see if everything is back to normal at muncherville and we collect Gus for a trip to the Cats R Us store.” Justin giggled. “There’s no such place. But in an effort to keep peace, I’ll get up.” “Good because if we stay in bed one more minute I’m going to forget all my good intentions about starting over slowly and fuck you into the mattress.” “Brian you say the most romantic things.” Justin cooed into his ear. “I’m so horny you could probably convince me it was a good thing.” Brian moved quickly and was hovering over Justin in a flash pinning his hands over his head. “I only want to claim a morning kiss Sunshine.” He bent down and began to kiss first Justin’s forehead, and then down his nose, ending in a passionate embrace at his lips. “Did I tell you how hot you look with your gold earring flashing through that blond silk you call hair?” he leaned in and nibbled on Justin’s ear, rolling the lobe between his lips. “Where you trying to drive me insane that night in Babylon with the gold chain linked between this?” he nuzzled the pierced nipple, flicking it with his tongue. “And this?” he moved lower, his tongue trailing down Justin’s torso until he reached the pierced button. He began to pull on the ring as he rimmed the orifice. Justin was moaning and squirming under his administrations. He deftly flipped Justin over, preparing to let his tongue taste another hole when Justin squirmed out from under him. “You can’t only at night, you can’t do it in the daylight.” He said, panic in his voice. “Justin, why not? Justin, look at me.” He reached for the blonde whose entire body had turned crimson with embarrassment. “I did it on our first night, you didn’t mind then.” “Brian, it’s not that.” He sighed. “I don’t want to tell you.” Justin tried to get off of the bed and into the shower. “You’d better tell me Sunshine or I’m heading out the door this is pissing me off.” “You wouldn’t understand. I was drunk, the guys in my fraternity, well, they kind of encouraged me. It was a dumb thing to do.” “What the fuck did you do?” Brian was very curious now. “I dated a lot at Dartmouth. The place is full of queer boys who’ve been banished to the Ivy League by asshole fathers.” He hated to finish his story. “I got the reputation as a pretty good top. But there was this bunch of friends of mine. They said I might as well have Property of Brian Kinney on my ass, cause I wasn’t about to bottom for anyone. It was an ongoing argument. One guy in particular was desperate to fuck me. He was mega rich and figured he could do what he wanted. But it wasn’t going to happen. He told my buddies that the only thing that would stop him was if I DID have Property of Brian Kinney on my ass. So one night, after we left one of the clubs, we were all pretty wasted,” he sighed heavily. “Justin for gawd sake don’t tell me you did it.” Brian was horrified. To answer him he turned over exposing his asshole. Clearly tattooed on the inside of his left cheek, though in small letters was. ‘Property of BAK” Brian looked at it and began to laugh, he laughed so hard there were tears running down his cheeks. He rolled on his back laughing. The two cats came into the room, jumped on the bed and watched this strange human laughing. Justin watched him for a few minutes and then got off the bed and stomped into the bathroom. The sound of the shower water hitting the marble tiles galvanized the two cats to run into the bathroom, leaving Brian alone and doing his best to control himself. He realized the laughing at Justin’s little drunken mistake, was probably not a good idea. But it struck him funny nevertheless. Brian pulled himself together and followed Justin into the bathroom. As the shower was open Justin couldn’t hide. He smiled at the two young cats who were running in and out of the warm water and stepped into the spray behind his blond bed partner. He took a bar of soap from Justin’s hand and began to run it over his back. “I’m sorry I laughed” “Sorry is bullshit.” Justin mumbled. “I know, but in this case it isn’t. I kind of like your tattoo. You could have had it removed.” “I know, but ---- Justin turned and wrapped his arms around Brian. “I was going to wait until I found out how you feel about me. Should I have it removed?” “That’s up to you. But I really do like it.” “It certainly cut down on the variety of sex for me.” Justin admitted. “Not many guys want to cross big bad Brian Kinney.” “I’m sure that in Dartmouth you managed to do alright.” “I wasn’t celibate if that’s what you’re asking.” He grinned at Brian. “In fact I was rather well known.” Brian felt a twinge of jealousy, but he managed to cover it with a long and searing kiss under the spray. ___________________________________________________________________________________________ “Hey guys, you both look rested.” Michael said as they walked in the diner. “We thought the two of you wouldn’t come up for air until at least noon.” “There is more to a relationship than sex Mikey.” Brian began to a chorus of hoots and laughter. “Even though I do own his ass.” he giggled and everyone looked at him strangely especially when Justin hit him on the ear. “Let’s just forget you said that.” Michael turned to Justin. “What kind of a bet did he lose for you to get him to tell us that bullshit?” Justin ignored Michael and beamed at Brian then reached up and kissed him, slipping just a little bit of tongue into the cinnamon flavored mouth. “Hmm, hot” Justin murmured. “Of course” Brian replied. He put his hand to the back of Justin’s head, cupping the blond hair and pulling him closer for a serious kiss when he felt like he was being tackled . “I sneaked up on Daddy” Gus squealed. “You guys are allllllways kissing.” He sounded disgusted. “Not always Sonny Boy.” Brian said. He helped Gus into the booth, letting him sit beside Michael “Big boys can sit beside Uncle Mikey.”. Melanie and Lindsay were at the door; they waved but kept on going. It was nice getting away for a change. They had agreed to drop Gus off at the diner to save Brian and Justin some time as they had started their day late. Brian sat down and pulled Justin down on his lap. Justin put his arm around Brian’s neck, kissed him again and then slid off Brian’s knee. “I’m a big boy now Brian.” He said mocking him. He got up and found a chair, placing it at the end of the booth. “I like having you on my knee.” Brian grumbled. “That might have been cute when I was seventeen, but it gets old fast at twenty four.” Justin smiled at him though and his smile and the look of love in his eyes, took the sting out of his words. “Mr. Taylor, I sometimes forget you are all grown up. I guess when I look at you I see this blond kid leaning against the lamp post.” Brian put his hand over Justin’s. “I know this is going to sound corny, but if we live until we’re a hundred. You’ll always be that boy to me.” “Puuuulllleeeeze Brian,” Michael rolled his eyes. “Way too much sappiness this early in the morning.” “My Daddy loves Jus and he loves Thor and he loves Fang and he loves Gus.” Gus declared, defending Brian. Justin held out his arms and Gus stood on the seat and threw himself into Justin’s arms. “I don’t like this place. I want pancakes at your house.” Gus said. He glared at Michael. “Jus makes pancakes with smiles on them. He makes ants on a log too.” He laughed “Ants, ants, ants on a log.” He squealed and started to laugh. “Calm down Gus” Brian said and he looked at Justin. “You give my kid ants?” “Celery sticks, filled with peanut butter and raisons on top, ants on a log.” Justin explained. “Little kids like them.” “Jus can eat a zillion ants on a log. I can eat ten.” Brian grinned a wicked grin. He was about to say something when Justin glared at him. Brian chose to remain silent, but the grin didn’t go away. ___________________________________________________________________________________________ They did stay for breakfast letting Gus entertain the table with stories of what went on at his house and a few stories about his fun with Justin. Brian realized that Gus hardly ever mentioned anything that the two of them did together before Justin came along and he realized that it was Justin that had made all the difference in both of their lives. The visit to Petcetra was fun for all of them. Brian impressed the staff by purchasing an elaborate heated water bed for the kitties as well as a multi level kitty condo lined in sheepskin. There was barely room for the three of them when everything was loaded into the jeep and despite the coolness of the day they were forced to ride with the top open much to Gus’s delight. Justin saw the flash of the message machine when they came in the door. “Brian, it’s work” he’d checked the caller ID. “I have to listen to this even if it is Sunday.” “Live it up Sunshine, you don’t have to explain work to me.” Brian, with Gus’ help carried in the things for the cats. Thor and Fang watched intently as they found the perfect spot for the kitty condo by the window looking out in the back yard. The hardest thing was finding a spot for the cat’s bed. Brian kept trying to consult the new bed owners who refused to offer any suggestions, these conversations with Fang and Thor kept Gus amused. Finally the small boy said to him. “Daddy, the kitties sleep with Justin. If you put their bed in his room, they’ll be the happiest.” “Hmmmm” Brian said standing in the doorway to Justin’s room. “It’s a good thing this bed is covered in something that matches.” He found a spot for the elaborate bed in the corner farthest away from the canopied bed. He filled it with warm water and made sure the heater was safely installed and secure before adjusting the merlot colored sheepskin over the mattress. He unrolled the small tent like thing that went over the bed and installed the support frame, and then he and Gus sat cross legged on the floor a few feet away while they watched Thor and Fang explore the new addition to the bedroom. Finally Thor entered the covered dome. He looked startled for a moment when the waterbed mattress moved, but in only a few moments, he must have felt the heat and he curled up, shutting his eyes in contentment. It wasn’t long before Fang followed his brother Gus held up his hand for a high five and giggled when he had to show his father how to do it. They hadn’t shared many of these kind of moments before and Brian was pleased with how good it felt to do so now. Justin was about to enter the bedroom when he heard Gus say. “Now you and Justin can sleep in the big bed and have sex without the kitties.” “Gus,” Brian was shocked at his son’s words. “Daddy, I’m not a stupid little kid.” Gus sighed deeply to emphasize his point. “The moms have sex all the time even in the afternoon.” He sighed again. “Gus, please go into your room and play, mommy and I are going to have some quiet time.” He mimicked Melanie’s voice. “They aren’t very quiet your know Dad.” “That’s waaaay more than I wanted to know about your mommies.” Brian said. “But I could use a lot of quiet time with Justin and maybe someday he’ll let me.” “Did you cry and look sad last night?” Gus asked. “Justin let you sleep over.” “That may work for you Gus, but us big guys don’t need to do things like that.” Brian would never admit that it was probably the deciding factor in Justin letting him stay. “Maybe if you tried it Daddy, Justin would let you stay forever and ever and you would have a real house like me and my mommies.” Justin walked into the bedroom. He leaned down and kissed Gus and then Brian. “Gus, don’t encourage your daddy to try tricks. He does enough of them now.” Brian rolled his eyes. “I do not.” He muttered. “Brian I have a big favor to ask. I have to fly to New York tonight to put out a client fire. The meeting with the client is first thing in the morning. I can get a shuttle back to the Pitts in lots of time for Gardner Vance’s big secret meeting, so that isn’t the problem. The problem is the kitties. I can’t take them to the cat sitter because they really shouldn’t be near other cats for another few days. Surgery is hard on their systems and I don’t want to add additional stress by sending them away. Can you spend the night here please?” “I have been relegated to the roll of kitty sitter.” Brian teased. “Somehow that’s not the partnership I envisioned.” “Really,” Justin asked, “just what kind of partnership did you have in mind?” “Later for that discussion Sunshine.” Brian looked around the comfortable surroundings and realized that he could live here and with Justin. “You pack; I’ll drive you to the airport. We can drop Gus on the way.” Everything went smoothly and Brian had Justin at the airport in plenty of time to catch his flight to New York. The last thing Justin said to him had him puzzled but he didn’t waste time thinking about it though Justin words were odd. “Brian, if you get dinner at the diner and bring it home, make sure you bring a lemon square for the kitties, they are not good about sharing and if you want one there had better be two in the bag.” ___________________________________________________________________________________________ Brian stopped at the loft and picked up his clothes for the next day. He wasn’t going to stop and the diner but Justin’s words kept running through his head so he stopped. “Hey Mikey” he said as he walked in the door. “Don’t you ever eat at home?” “You should talk, I suppose you’re here for supper.” “I’m going to take it out. I’m cat sitting tonight and I don’t want to leave them alone too long.” He smirked at his words and how strange it felt saying them. “Are you nuts?” Michael asked. “Nope, still me.” Brian gave in his order and added two lemon squares to it at the last moment. “You want to come over? We could watch a movie or something.” “Sure, I’ll meet you there.” Michael was pleased to have Brian to himself for once even if it was at Justin’s house. Michael followed Brian’s car through the streets to Justin’s house. He pulled up in the wide driveway beside his friend. “Come on in Mikey” Brian said and he pulled out the key to unlock the door. Quickly setting the alarm and shutting the door behind him, he handed Michael the bag from the diner. “I forgot to pick up beer and I know Justin ran out yesterday. Make yourself at home Mikey, I won’t be long.” The door shut behind Brian and Michael stood in the large foyer looking around. He thought Justin’s cats would appear, but they were probably sleeping. He wandered into the kitchen to put the bag from the diner on the counter. He unpacked the two white boxes and peeked into them both. Brian was having the turkey meatloaf for supper and two lemon squares. As soon as the lid to the lemon squares was opened the tantalizing aroma drifted into the warm cozy den where the kitties were sleeping. Two heads popped up, eyes still closed, but noses twitching. Lemon squares. Two sinewy bodies rose up from the warmth, both of them stretched all the sleep kinks out of their bodies starting with their front legs, arching their backs then stretching the hind legs. They moved as one on the hunt for their favorite treat. There was a stranger in the house. A stranger near their lemony prey. Fang turned right and moved through the shadows down the hallway close to the wall, Thor turned left and keeping low went around to the other entrance to the kitchen. Two heads peeked around the corner. The stranger was standing close to the tall silvery cold box. Silently they communed and agreed to attack from above. Like a puff of wind they both sprung up on the counter behind the stranger. The pads of their feet made no sound and they slowly moved to jump up on their favorite kitchen perch soundlessly landing close to the dark head that continued to look away. They both agreed to observe before attacking and together they crouched ready to spring only the very tips of their tails twitching in anticipation. Michael stood by the kitchen counter unnerved. He was being completely creeped out by the feeling he was being watched. He stood still, hoping to hear another sound, but there was nothing, only the beating of a distant clock and the gently swish of something that sounded harmless. Looking at his watch, Michael realized that almost ten minutes had gone by since Brian had left. He probably wouldn’t be gone too much longer. He could pick up cold beer two blocks down at a corner store. Michael looked into the box with the lemon squares and decided Brian didn’t need to eat two, in fact he probably intended the other one for Michael anyway. He picked up the square and brought it to his mouth. Seeing their treat about to be eaten, Thor and Fang launched themselves off the top of the refrigerator with a banshee scream, letting their primordial instincts take over. Fang landed on Michael’s head and Thor landed on his shoulder. Michael screamed and jumped away from the counter into the center of the room. The lemon square dropped and his hands instinctively reached for whatever was attacking him. He touched the hot skin of both cats and he recoiled, what ever it was that had him - felt terrible. He tried to shake them off of himself, but they clung for dear life as both of them were beginning to regret their actions. Screaming - Michael headed for the door. Fang and Thor continued to howl too as now they were terrified. Michael reached the door and found the handle flinging it open as the same time as the two kitties jumped off of him and ran into the bedroom, climbing to the top of the canopy and moving quickly to the center where they were effectively hidden. Michael, bleeding in a number of spots ran into Brian on the front porch of Justin’s house, knocking the bag of beer out of his hand where they smashed on the cobblestones. “Brian, we have to get out of there, Justin has some kind of attack animal in the house. Whatever it is - it’s vicious.” He was panting and the whites of his eyes where almost obliterated by the wide fear filled pupils. “I see you met Fang and Thor” Brian drawled. “Stealing their lemon squares were you?” Brian continued on in the door. He looked around for some sign of the kitties. A lemon square was on the floor, the package it came in upside down on the counter. “Mikey, go get cleaned up.” He ordered. “I’m bleeding, they fucking clawed me. I’m going to get rabies.” Michael squealed. He refused to step back inside the house. “There is no way I’m coming back inside. I’m calling animal control to come and get those damn animals and don’t give me any bull shit about Justin having cats. I know cats; these were not cats, more like something out of a horror movie. Just skin and claws and teeth, that’s all.” “I wouldn’t advise calling anyone Mikey; I’d only have to tell them you were never here.” Brian cleaned up the mess in the kitchen. But he put the lemon square on a crystal serving plate and cut it up in smaller pieces. He figured the cats wouldn’t mind that it had been on the floor. “You’ve probably scared the little guys to death. They’re still young and they aren’t used to strangers stealing their treats.” “You’d take the side of Justin’s pet monsters over me?” “I’m not taking sides Mikey. You were in their house and stealing their treat. You can’t expect them to act any differently.” “I’m going home. Ben will have something to put on my wounds.” Michael’s voice was more subdued. He looked over at Brian who was now sprawled comfortably on the white sofa among the multi colored silk cushions, looking very much at home. “You really love him don’t you?” “I’m not sure how I feel Mikey. I mean what’s love? I sure as fuck don’t know. But I do know I want to be with Justin in the morning when I wake up and in the night when I go to bed. I want him there when I come home from work and I want him with me when I go out. I want him as my partner and I’m not interested in any other man sucking my dick or letting me fuck him. I’m only interested in Justin’s attention. I want to dance with him, laugh with him and cry with him.” He looked at Michael his eyes reflecting the feelings he had for Justin. “Mikey, I want to grow old with him.” Michael looked at his long time friend and realized that Brian had finally grown up and along with him growing up Michael had as well. “I’m going home to Ben. Because everything you just said is how I feel about him.” He turned to leave. “Tell Justin hi for me, maybe we can get together, the two of you with Ben and I later in the week.” Brian sat for a while thinking about what he said to Michael and realized that every word was true. His supper sat on the counter getting cold while he thought about Justin and soon two very subdued kitties crept out of the bedroom and up onto his lap, where they lay stretched out lengthwise on his long warm body while he scratched behind their ears and whispered soft words of comfort to them. ___________________________________________________________________________________________ It was almost five o’clock and Brian waited nervously for Justin to arrive at Vanguard. Of course only Cynthia knew what state he was in and she’d never tell. He hated the thought of Gardner Vance offering a partnership to Justin and expecting that money would buy him, all the while hating what Justin represented and wanting to hide Justin’s slight disability as if it was something to be ashamed of, rather than the badge of honor that it was. Cynthia buzzed his office. “Mr. Taylor has arrived and is in the main boardroom with Gardner.” Brian left his office, buttoning up his jacket, smoothing back his hair and headed for the board room. “Brian, I’m glad you can join us. I was just telling Justin here that we would like him to join the firm as a partner. He needn’t worry about his little problem with his hand; we’d see that he could work behind the scenes.” Justin looked at Brian, his eyebrows raised. “Mr. Kinney is this how you feel?” he asked his voice was low and Brian could hear the hurt in it. “Actually Mr. Taylor, there is only one partnership I’d like you to be in. It’s a joint venture and the length of tenure is life. As for keeping to the background in this particular partnership, I don’t think that would work, because the other partner has a tendency to have no idea about relationships and needs to be constantly reminded, in kind and gentle way if possible as his feelings, though buried deeply, do get hurt more often then he’d like to admit.” “And Mr. Kinney, this partnership, would there be some kind of commitment?” Justin looked at him. “You do mean an exclusive partnership?” “I mean Mr. Taylor, a full blown, till death do us part, ceremony in the location of your choice, though I understand Vancouver is lovely this time of year.” His eyes spoke volumes. “The words do include ‘forsaking all others’ is that exclusive enough?” “And the annual wage Mr. Kinney, Vanguard is offering a substantial amount of money.” “Well, they say that money can’t buy love, so I’m afraid that the offer doesn’t come with anything other than half of everything I own, but all of my heart.” “I think we have a deal Mr. Kinney.” Justin beamed at him. “Gardner, unless you want to see some good old fashioned love making, I’d suggest you leave now, and don’t forget to lock the door.” Brian grinned at him. “We’re celebrating our engagement.”