Let's Get Political
X 5 X
As Brian emerged from the bathroom, he saw Justin hanging up the bedside phone. Laying his head down, Justin looked up at Brian and gave the man a satisfied smile. Brian gingerly sat down on the bed next to Justin, and laid his own head next to the blond's stomach.
"Who was that?" Brian asked nonchalantly.
"Debbie."
"Uh oh, did she call to chew me a new asshole?"
Justin chuckled and ran his fingers through Brian's hair. "No, but she does want us to have breakfast together this morning before going over to the convention site."
"She's waiting, savoring," Brian mumbled.
Justin's fingers stopped mid-motion and he looked at Brian in confusion. "Savoring? What are you talking about?"
"I knew she let us off easy last night for missing the convention. She has something planned."
"No she doesn't."
"She does," Brian said defiantly.
"Brian, I just talked to her. She was happy and she said it was no big deal. She was more surprised that we went on a date than anything. But she did forewarn me that she was going to want details," Justin said with a grin, rubbing his fingers through Brian's hair once again.
"Fuck," Brian groaned, knowing that this was just the start. All their friends back in the Pitts would want details too.
Justin laughed at Brian's discomfort, and secretly suspected the man was putting on a show because it was expected of him.
"Come on, we need to get ready," Justin said, giving Brian a light shove and crawling out of bed.
A half hour later, the men were dressed and primped and were heading towards the hotel's café in the lobby. Debbie was already seated, so the two men bypassed the hostess and sat with her.
"I'm glad you two could join me," she said leeringly but with a big smile.
"Only you could make a greeting sound dirty, Deb," Brian said with a smirk as he motioned for the waiter.
"So?" Debbie asked expectantly.
Justin knew what she wanted but decided to let Brian deal with her.
The older man rolled his eyes, put down his menu and looked at Debbie. "So, what?"
"So, what?" She shrieked. "So, what about your date? I want all the details! Don't leave anything out."
Brian shushed her. "Jesus, Deb, the guys in Pittsburgh will know before we get there if you don't keep it down."
"Then spill!"
Brian sighed and looked to Justin for help. The blond shook his head and looked back to his menu.
The waiter arrived, and before ordering Brian looked at Debbie and spoke. "Not until I've had coffee."
Debbie nodded, knowing there was no sense standing between a person and their coffee. She waited patiently until breakfast was over and knowing he couldn't delay the inevitable, Brian gave Debbie the details of his and Justin's first official date.
A short time later, satisfied that she had gotten all she was going to from her two boys, Debbie led them outside where they boarded a shuttle to the Fleet Center.
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The crowd was sitting in numbed silence as the first of the day's many speakers was up on stage. She droned on about something. Brian was sure there had to be a point to what she was saying, but he'd be damned if he could find it.
Debbie was wearing some god awful hat that she had bought. It had huge spirals of shiny foil in several colors that sprouted out of the brim and top. To make it her own creation she had taken one of her rainbow scarves and used it to tie the thing onto her head.
"I wish I could see the guy who has a rainbow stovepipe hat that makes him look like a gay Abe Lincoln," she said leaning over to Justin.
"There's somebody here wearing that?" Justin asked. "How do you know?"
"She knows everything 'fag'," Brian commented as he tried to stay awake and find a comfortable spot for his still tender ass.
"Asshole! I saw him interviewed on television," Debbie said annoyed.
"Why do you want to meet him?" Justin asked.
"We're kindred spirits, don't you think?" she said adjusting her hat to make the point.
"And what would Carl say about that?" Brian asked.
"Mind your own fucking business, Kinney. I just want to meet the man, not fuck him!" Debbie stated.
"Just like Alvin wanted to have lunch with Justin so that he could meet him. Not fuck him!" Brian said in that annoying falsetto voice of his. He followed that comment with a silly smirk.
"Brian!" Justin said. "That's not fair."
"Speak of the devil," Brian groaned as Alvin made his way down the steps to where Justin sat on the aisle.
"Hey, Justin," Alvin said with a big smile. "Where were you last night? I looked all over for you."
"Um … Brian and I went on a date," Justin said deciding to be truthful and relishing saying those words.
"Oh … um … that's too bad," Alvin replied.
"What the fuck does that mean?" Brian asked.
"I mean that I was wondering if you'd have dinner with me tonight," Alvin said to Justin completely ignoring Brian's outburst.
"Oh? Alvin, thanks for the invitation, but…" Justin began.
"Don't say no, Justin. I really enjoyed lunch yesterday and I thought you did too."
"I did, Alvin, but…"
"Please, Justin. I know we'd have fun."
Brian listened to all this and was about ready to explode. Suddenly he stood up and gave Justin a look that told him to stay in his seat and keep quiet. "Alvin, my man," he said smoothly, "you and I need to have a word."
"I … I don't think so," Alvin said taking a step back as Brian made his way across Justin and into the aisle.
"There's no thinking needed. Just come with me." Brian flung his arm around Alvin's neck. Justin had a fleeting suspicion that it was going to be some kind of sleeper hold or choke hold or something. Brian steered Alvin back up the steps and away from Justin.
"Do you think I should go help Alvin?" Justin asked Debbie.
"I advise you to stay put. I don't think Brian will appreciate being interrupted."
"But Alvin…" Justin said looking up the steps to where Brian and Alvin were disappearing from view.
"Brian won't hurt him, at least not physically."
"I know that, but he might say some awful things."
Debbie shrugged. "Brian needs to get this off his chest. Let him."
Brian steered Alvin out into the hallway and into a doorway where they could have some privacy.
"Let me go," Alvin said trying to get Brian's arm off his neck.
"Not until I make a few things clear," Brian stated leaning harder on Alvin and getting right into his face. "Number one, Justin is not up for grabs. Number two, Justin is not available for dates."
"But he had a date with me…" Alvin protested.
"He was making a point to me," Brian said. "A point which I shall always be grateful to you for bringing to my attention."
"You will? What point is that?"
"That having a date with Justin is a wonderful experience."
"Yeah, it is," Alvin said with a goofy grin.
"I'm glad you enjoyed your one and only date with him. There will never be another."
"Why not?" Alvin asked defiantly. He did not appreciate being bullied.
"Because Justin is my partner. We live together in Pittsburgh. We're in a … relationship." There he had said it.
"You are? I … I didn't know. Justin never said anything."
"Justin was trying to make me jealous or make me sit up and take notice or make me appreciate him more or make me want to take him on a date," Brian rambled on trying to explain exactly what Justin had been doing.
"You should appreciate him more. He's wonderful."
"I know," Brian admitted. "But it's time for you to move on to someone else. No more dates with Justin. They're only for me."
"Okay," Alvin said slowly. "If that's the situation, I'll back off."
Brian removed his arm from Alvin's neck and stepped back. Alvin breathed a sigh of relief. "I didn't mean to scare you, but Justin is mine."
"I understand now. You're very lucky."
"Yeah," Brian agreed. As he turned away to go back to his wonderful partner another thought occurred to him. "I hope you find someone as great as Justin for yourself," Brian said. "Oh, and Alvin, thanks for making me realize just what I have."
"Glad to be of service," Alvin said relieved that this encounter seemed to be over.
Brian made his way to the door back into the convention. He gave Alvin a little smile as he passed through. He walked down the steps to Justin feeling good about a lot of things.
"Where's Alvin?" Justin asked as Brian sat down. "What did you do to him?"
"I just pointed out a few facts of life to him, and then I thanked him for sending me on my first date with you."
"No shit?" Justin asked as his face lit up in one of those smiles, and then he kissed Brian long and hard. Debbie couldn't wipe the grin off her face.
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The day passed quickly as more and more people poured into the Fleet Center in anticipation of the night's main event. Brian scanned the enormous room and laughed inwardly. Brian's eyes found Justin's blond head a few meters away; Justin and Debbie were talking excitedly with Senator Baxter and several other unknown individuals. As if on cue, Justin's head turned in Brian's direction and gave the man a grin. Brian couldn't help but oblige with a silly grin of his own. Brian knew he was fucked. Ever since the first night that kid - no, man, Brian corrected himself - that man had won a spot within him that no other ever could. Not feeling like a stroll down memory lane, at least not with a crowd of tens of thousands of witnesses, he strolled over to Justin and whispered into the blond's ear. "Hey, I'm going to go look around for a bit."
"Be back in time for Senator Kerry?" Justin asked.
"I wouldn't miss it for the world," Brian said with a grin. Justin knew Brian could give a shit, that the older man was just humoring him.
Brian gave Justin a quick kiss, turned and walked away. He made his way out of the main room, into the corridors that ran around the exterior. Vendors of all kinds were set up; some selling hot dogs and soda, others bumper stickers and some t-shirts. Brian was lured in by one of the anti-Bush shirts. He began flipping through the racks, looking at all the designs. He decided to pick up t-shirts for the boys back home. Unsure what to get Melanie and Lindsay, he picked up several bumper stickers and car decals, one of which was a large circle, the pride colors painted on it with the word 'family' superimposed. The bumper stickers all had similar messages. Somehow that didn't seem like a good idea they way things were going between Melanie and Lindsay. Brian quickly paid for his purchases and watched as they were bagged, wishing the vendor would do so a little more quickly. He didn't want to be caught buying this shit. Had it been a value sized jug of lube, he could have managed it, but he was still working on feeling comfortable with this sort of thing.
Just as he was completing his purchase, there was a soft beep that echoed throughout the center's public address system and an announcement that encouraged everyone to head to the main room, where Senator Kerry would be speaking shortly. Brian rolled his eyes, knowing that those in charge really didn't care about the people as a whole getting to see and hear Kerry; they just wanted the room to look as full as possible for the TV cameras. Regardless, Brian complied and slowly made his way through the crowd back to the Pennsylvania delegation.
Justin and Debbie were seated with an empty chair between them. Brian took it and stuffed his purchases under the seat. Justin glanced at the bag and gave him a questioning look.
"Souvenirs," Brian smirked.
Justin chuckled and looked to the stage. The final preparations were being made by the audio specialists.
A few moments later, the highlight of the convention began.
Justin and Debbie were both amazed and impressed with the recounting of the Senator's valiant effort to save his family's pet hamster from certain doom. Brian, couldn't contain himself, and let loose a loud scoff and, "Fuck me!"
Debbie and Justin gave him dirty looks but Brian just shrugged them off.
"It says a lot about his character," Justin said, leaning into Brian.
Brian scrunched his face up, "That he'd save a rat?"
"Hamster," Justin corrected.
Brian rolled his eyes and looked back at the stage, dismissing Justin.
When the man himself finally came to the stage, Brian found himself on his feet clapping and cheering like the rest of the sheep. That was until the Senator gave his "reporting for duty" line. A dumbstruck Brian stood motionless and watched as Debbie, Justin and fifty thousand other people ate the line up and cheered wildly. Shaking his head he sank back into his seat. It was going to be a long night… and not the good kind.
The convention wrapped up and the crowds began to head back to their hotels. By the time Debbie, Brian and Justin arrived at theirs it was almost three in the morning. As the three slowly walked towards the elevators, and waited their turn to ascend to their rooms, Brian spoke. "I can't believe he didn't directly address the gay marriage issue."
"Yeah, I'm sure you're heartbroken," Debbie grunted.
Justin laughed at Debbie's comments and turned his eyes up to Brian. He could immediately tell that Brian was serious. "You mean it!" Justin said, a big smile spreading across his lips.
"Yes, I mean it," Brian said as if he were talking to the daftest person on the planet.
Debbie stared at Brian as if he'd just told her he liked pussy. "Well, he did mention it," she began to say, "sort of."
"The Democrats take the gay vote for granted," Brian said matter of factly.
"They do?" Justin asked.
"Well yeah, think about it. They advertise in our publications that they're," Brian made quote signs with his fingers, "our party. But we got nothing more than a second rate mention out of all of this."
"Well, maybe he didn't want to alienate people," Debbie suggested.
Brian shrugged. "Maybe, but even then, that's not showing leadership."
"We'll just have to wait and see," said Justin.
Their turn at the elevator arrived. They boarded with half a dozen others. Once on their floor they headed towards their respective rooms with a final 'good night' to each other.
Brian and Justin barely were able to get their clothes off and crawl into bed before sleep overtook them.
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Morning came much too quickly. They had a flight at 11:30, so the alarm had been set for eight. Brian and Justin both groaned when they heard the insistent buzz. Justin reached over and smacked the offensive object. It ceased squawking and Justin let out a loud groan.
"I don't want to get up," he said showing Brian his best pout.
"You are such a little baby sometimes," Brian chastised him.
"Like you want to get up right now?" Justin said petulantly.
"I'm always up," Brian said with a smirk.
"Jesus, Brian," Justin said looking at the bulge under the sheet. "Aren't you exhausted?"
"Politics is very stimulating."
Justin laughed out loud at that one. "You could barely stay awake at the Fleet Center last night."
"Some political things are more stimulating than others."
"Oh yeah, like what?"
"Like hanging chads."
"Hanging chads? What the fuck are you talking about?"
"You know those dangling pieces of paper on the ballots in Florida."
"Yeah, but what does that have to do with anything?"
"I have a cure for hanging chads."
"You do?"
"Uh huh, I've found a way to make them sit up and take notice." Brian's hand snaked under the covers and found Justin's semi-erect cock. "See, if you stroke a chad really carefully it will become firm and ready to be counted."
"No shit!" Justin giggled as Brian's hand had the desired effect. His chad was definitely becoming firm and ready for action. "You give politics a whole new meaning."
"Maybe I should run for office," Brian said his tongue in cheek.
"I'd vote for you," Justin panted as Brian's tugs on his cock got harder and faster.
"It's good to know I'd have your vote."
"Always," Justin gasped as he exploded in Brian's hand. Brian milked Justin's dick until he stopped shooting and then leaned in to kiss the lips that hung open in complete satisfaction.
"This has been a convention to remember," Brian whispered.
"It's the only one either of us has ever been to," Justin told him.
"I know, but maybe we could think about doing it again in four years."
Justin grinned from ear to ear. He knew he had had a good time at the convention and now he was sure that Brian had too. Sometimes it was hard to tell with Brian. He made so many cynical comments about everything. But better than knowing that Brian had enjoyed this convention was hearing Brian talk about the future, like they would be together and could go to a convention four years from now. Justin's heart soared.
"I'd like that," Justin said trying to stay calm and not act like a perfect fool.
"You just want to go on another date," Brian said with a smirk.
"You mean I have to wait four years?" Justin almost sounded hurt.
"No, Sunshine, I think I can arrange another one in at least a year or two," Brian said with his tongue in his cheek.
"Asshole!" Justin responded swatting him.
"Come on, get up. We have to catch a plane."
"Not until you promise me a date within the year," Justin said defiantly.
"Christ," Brian thought to himself, "does he think so little of me?" Brian looked at his lover. "Justin, I did learn something here in Boston. I promise we'll have many more dates and you won't have to wait a year for them to happen."
"Really?" Justin asked with a smile.
"Really."
"Then let's get back to the Pitts. I'm ready for my next date right now."
Brian groaned and followed Justin into the shower. He better figure out just how and where one went on a date in the Pitts. It was not in his frame of reference.
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As the plane touched down in Pittsburgh, Brian wondered how he would ever get his life back to normal. It seemed like they had lived in some alternate reality for the last few days. They had been mostly alone, albeit with many thousands of people, and Debbie. But it had seemed like they had finally had the trip that they had never been able to take together. It made up for the White Party and Vermont … almost.
They met Debbie at the luggage carousel and eventually got their bags. As they walked out into the concourse, Michael and Ben were there to meet Debbie, and suddenly everything was like it had always been, but maybe with a few fundamental changes.
2 days later…
Debbie's house buzzed with activity as the remainder of the family arrived for dinner. Everyone quickly seated themselves as Debbie piled plates and bowls of food on the table.
"Oh, I almost forgot," Brian said as he pulled out the bag of souvenirs. He began handing out the prizes. Ben and Michael each got a t-shirt that said 'equality now', very understated but to the point. Ted's said 'Just say no' on the front, with Bush on the back. Emmett's was tie dyed with a cartoon drawing of a donkey and elephant boxing. The girls appreciated their t-shirts that read 'Save the Environment, Plant a Bush in Texas'. Gus was the proud owner of two new t-shirts which said, 'I love my 2 mommies' and 'Boyz Rule'.
Chuckling Lindsay spoke, "Are you trying to push Gus one way or the other?"
Brian gave her an indignant glare, "It was the only other one small enough."
"Uh huh," an unconvinced Melanie drawled.
"Didn't you get anything for Hunter and Jenny Rebecca?" Michael asked.
"Granny Debbie bought every fucking thing there that was for a little girl. That kid's got all she's getting," Brian grumbled.
"Um …sure," Michael agreed. Jenny did have a huge bag of toys and clothes from his mother, but he would have liked Brian to get her something too.
"This is for you, Hunter," Brian said handing him a CD.
Hunter looked pleased and then he stared at the CD. "Who the fuck is John Cougar Mellencamp?"
"He sang at the convention," Justin said.
"He's a rock star," Ben added.
"He's a rock geezer," Hunter said and grimaced at his gift.
"Try it, you might like it!" Debbie told him giving him a gentle swat to the back of the head.
"Didn't you two get anything?" Ben asked, looking from Brian to Justin. Brian looked to Justin and merely smiled.
After dinner they all moved to the living room where Justin and Brian shared their date experience, much to everyone's bemusement. Brian couldn't help but notice the interaction between Ben and Michael. How comfortable the two were with each other and how well the label of partner applied to them. Turning his attention to Justin, who was rambling on about something from the convention, Brian could see Justin and himself taking the next step one day.