One Year

January III

 

January 3rd, 2008 ~ Woody’s

"What are YOU doing here?" the blonde retorted. Recovering from his shock at seeing the older man, Justin was suddenly aware of why the man was there. "No, wait, I know. The great Brian Kinney couldn’t possibly go two days without a blow job in some dark alley. Were you that miserable with me that you needed to come back to your old stomping grounds to prove you’re still the king stud?" The younger man searched his lover’s face for any sign that he was wrong, but Brian’s face was a blank mask. "I can’t believe I fell for any of your bullshit," he seethed, suddenly tugging on the cowry shell bracelet.

"Stop that," Brian growled, pulling his sleeve back down. The idea that Justin would remove it so easily cut like a knife. He couldn’t decide if he wanted to kill or fuck him. But the last thing he wanted to do was cause a scene and have to answer a bunch of questions he wasn’t prepared for. He quickly glanced over his shoulder to see if Michael was back from the bathroom yet.

"Right, heaven forbid someone should see I’m wearing your fucking bracelet. What would your loyal subjects think? Well, don’t worry about it, Brian, your secret’s safe. I don’t want it anymore. I’ll go in the bathroom and drop it in the garbage can. When I’m gone you can sneak in and dig it out so no one knows." He spun on his heel to leave, but Brian caught his arm.

"Jesus Christ, how did I miss this drama queen act before?"

"Fuck y--"

"Oh, no, baby, I’m on top here. I’m not the one who followed you to spy. We had a deal, but you didn’t even last a day. Now give me one good reason why I shouldn’t call the whole thing off right here."

"I didn’t follow--"

"Brian, what’s going on?" Michael asked, suddenly appearing at his side.

Fuck. Brian released the blonde’s arm, willing him with his eyes to keep his mouth shut. "Nothing, we were just--"

"Is that your bracelet? Did this asshole steal your bracelet?!" He snatched it from Justin’s hand, flipping it over. Sure enough, it had Brian’s initials carved on one of the shells. "He did! Call the police, Brian, you can have the little shit arrested for pick pocketing."

"I didn’t steal it," Justin squeaked. "I—I found it on the floor."

"He’s lying," Michael accused.

"Shut up," Brian snapped. "He found it, and he was just giving it back." He took the bracelet from Michael and grabbed Justin’s arm again. "And now I’m going to show him how grateful I am," he purred for Michael’s benefit while his eyes bore into Justin’s daring him to argue.

Justin just nodded and Brian whisked him outside before Michael could protest. Hadn’t he seen that guy before?

 

***
 

Once outside, Justin found his nerve again and yanked his arm free as Brian dragged him down the alley. "I’ll just take your word for it, thanks."

"I’m not going to fuck you," Brian retorted. He pushed the blonde against the wall, holding him there with his hand on his chest. "Now tell me why you’re here."

"I came to see my mother," the blonde spat. "I didn’t know you were here, I thought you were going back to New York."

Brian realized there was no way the kid could’ve known he’d changed his plans since it was a last minute impulse at the ticket counter. He moved his hand from the blonde’s chest to around the back of his neck in a conciliatory gesture. "I thought I should stop here first and smooth things over with Mikey since I did ditch him on our vacation."

Justin grimaced. "I’m sorry I overreacted, Brian, I--"

"You know better," the older man chided, gently cutting him off. "I don’t want an apology, but I do want to know why you’re not in Paris. You’re supposed to be tak--"

It was Justin’s turn to cut him off. "You can’t tell me what to do, Brian. You have no right to dictate how I choose to spend the year anymore than I can tell you," he fished in Brian’s pockets for the cigarettes he knew were there, "when to quit smoking. We had a deal, remember?"

Brian took the pack back, their fingers brushing and holding for a moment before he put them back in his pocket. Then he nodded.

"Do we still have a deal?" Justin asked.

Brian pulled the bracelet out of his other pocket. "Yeah." He tied the leather cord back around the younger man’s wrist.

"Are you sure, Bri? What if Michael notices you’re not wearing it anymore?"

"I’ll tell him the truth," the older man replied. He let his fingers brush over the bracelet one last time before releasing his hand again. "It’s time for you to go," he said softly.

Justin opened his mouth to argue, but quickly closed it again. As much as he ached to touch the other man, to hold onto him and never leave again, that wasn’t the deal. If he’d learned anything about Brian Kinney over the last few weeks, it was that he always kept his word. "Okay," he conceded. "Take care of yourself." He leaned in and quickly pecked Brian’s cheek before jogging away.

Brian watched him, fighting the urge to chase after him, until he disappeared around the corner.

He found Michael stewing at their table when he went back inside. "What was that all about?"

"I thought you were the one who suggested a blow job or three," Brian reminded him as he signaled the waiter.

"Where’s your bracelet?" Michael asked, seeing his friend’s bare wrist.

"I let him keep it…as a souvenir," Brian replied flatly.

"What? You’ve had that bracelet since you were eighteen. It’s your lucky charm."

"I got something better."

 

***
 

Justin was surprised it was so late in the morning when he woke the next day, but then he remembered his mom and aunt were at their mother’s overnight. The combination of drinking some more after getting home and no noise in the house ensured he got a few extra hours of much needed sleep.

Relishing his time alone, for the first time since the doomed commitment ceremony actually, Justin wandered downstairs. He started the coffee while contemplating what to do with his day. He decided to start by picking up the paper and catching up on the world around him. He stepped out on the porch, but didn’t see the paper. His mother had complained at length about the delivery boy’s laziness the day before and now he understood. The wet paper was lodged in a snow bank at end of the sidewalk. Justin stepped back inside to slip on a pair of shoes and glanced around to make sure no neighbors were watching before he dashed out in his pajamas to pick it up. That’s when he saw Brian getting into a car across the street. Brian? "Brian!"

 

***
 

Brian started the car and pulled away. He was glad Justin hadn’t seen him standing there like some lovesick lesbian. What the fuck was he doing? Christ, that was the problem. He didn’t know. His entire life had been turned upside down in the last two weeks. This was why the kid needed to go back to Paris. Brian needed some breathing room to figure out what the hell had happened and he wasn’t going to get it if the blonde was right under his nose. Tempting him.

He glanced at the rearview mirror for one last look at the house, wondering what Justin was doing now. Suddenly the blonde appeared in the street, running after him.

Startled, Brian missed the stop sign.

 

***
 

When Justin saw Brian’s car pull away, he ran into the street and flailed his arms. He hoped Brian would see him and turn around.

He didn’t expect the man to run the stop sign at the end of the block and collide with another car.

 

***
 

~ 2 weeks earlier ~

Brian sat down with a bottle of water while Justin loaded a plate from the buffet. The blonde sat down with him frowning. "Aren’t you hungry?" he asked.

The older man raised an eyebrow. Good thing there was no one else around or they’d go hungry. "I figured you had enough for both of us."

"Sure, help yourself. I’m not that hungry anyway," Justin replied around a bite of salad.

"Really," Brian snickered as the salad disappeared in two more bites and the blonde speared a pickle next.

"Can I ask you something?" Justin asked.

Brian tore his eyes away from the pink tongue licking juice from the plump red lips. "Can you wipe your mouth first?" he replied coolly.

The younger man blushed, grabbing his napkin. "Sorry."

"Sorry’s bullshit," the older man snapped with more venom than he intended. The blonde eyed him warily, looking like he was about to bolt, and Brian immediately regretted his temper. He didn’t want to the other man to leave. "What do you want to know?"

Justin hesitated for a moment, still considering just leaving, but he really wanted to know. He had to ask. The younger man fixed his eyes on Brian’s and held his gaze. "Did you know Ethan was…with someone when you pulled him?"

"Yes," Brian replied without remorse. "What difference does it make?"

The other man’s eyes widened. "A hell of a lot! What kind of person goes around deliberately breaking people up?" the blonde seethed.

"I didn’t break you up," Brian reasoned. "You did."

"Because he cheated on me. With you!"

"Those are your rules, not mine."

"So you have no respect for the sanctity of someone else’s relationship? You really are a heartless bastard." Justin shot up, tossing his napkin on the table. "I hope you rot in hell."

"Whoa there, Goldilocks." Brian grabbed his wrist as he stormed past. Christ, what the fuck was he doing? He should just let the little twat go and have his tantrum. But he didn’t. "It’s not my fault you weren’t enough."

Justin stopped struggling, gaping at him in shock. Then his eyes filled with tears.

Shit. Before he knew what he was doing the older man stood and hugged the blonde to him. "Don’t cry, baby, he’s not worth it. Nothing’s worth it."

"I’m not worth it," Justin sobbed against his chest.

"Yes you are," Brian soothed, turning the other man’s face up to look at him. "You--"

Justin’s eyes suddenly widened, as if he just realized who was holding him. "You’re the one who said I wasn’t good enough," he hissed.

The stiffening body in his arms was like a cold bucket of water. Brian let go and took a step back. "What I meant was it’s stupid for people to make promises they can’t keep because nothing is ever enough. It’s human nature. Your mistake was expecting him to be faithful in the first place."

"Well, excuse me," Justin retorted. "I thought monogamy was part of the package when you love someone. I understand being tempted, but if you’ve made a commitment, you stick to it. How hard is it to keep your damn pants on?"

"I don’t know," Brian smirked. "I’ve never tried. Why bother?"

"Because that’s what you do when you love someone!"

Brian rolled his eyes. "I don’t believe in love. I believe in fucking."

The blonde shook his head. "I feel sorry for you."

"Why?" Brian snorted. "I wasn’t the one crying in my beer earlier."

Justin glared at him. He’d met jaded fags like this guy before. "Have you ever spent more than one night with anyone?"

"I’ve never spent that long with anyone," Brian clarified.

Justin nodded smugly. "That’s what I thought. No wonder you don’t know what you’re talking about. You don’t know what you’re missing."

"Is this the part where you wax poetically about moonlight strolls on the beach?"

"There’s no point," the blonde huffed. "You wouldn’t understand."

The younger man turned to leave again, but Brian held him back once more. He pulled the blonde to his chest and held him tight. He bent his head, his lips brushing the blonde’s ear. "Make me understand."

The breath against his ear made Justin shiver and he leaned closer, melting into the stronger frame. Then Brian chuckled, a low rumbling laugh in his chest that reverberated through the smaller body. Justin’s head snapped up and he met the other man’s mischievous gaze. The fucker was laughing at him!

The older man was very well aware of the affect he could have on anyone, this kid included, and the clinging grasp and clouded eyes were a sure sign he could get anything he wanted from this one. "Now that I understand," he mocked, laughing harder at Justin’s attempt at an indignant glare. The blonde started squirming, but Brian held on. He may have been teasing the other man, but he wasn’t completely unaffected by his presence either. Before he could think about it, he gave into his impulse and kissed him.

Justin froze in shock, his mind screaming to stop, but he just couldn’t make his body listen. When he felt Brian’s tongue teasing his lips, enticing them to open, they did so against his will. Then his own traitorous tongue welcomed him inside as well.

That first jolt of contact between their tongues sent a current straight to the older man’s dick. Christ, this kid was a complete surprise considering the hapless homo he’d been fucking. Brian almost lost his hard-on remembering the rotten blowjob the boyfriend gave him earlier, until he imagined this mouth on him and suddenly he couldn’t have been any harder. He tore his mouth away, a feral grin spreading across his face. "Let’s--"

Justin jerked away from him, wiping his lips. "Oh, my god…" What had he done? He didn’t want to have anything to do with this man. No, that wasn’t true, he wanted to everything with this man. Disgusted with himself, he instinctively turned and ran from the room.

And Brian followed him.

That was the first rule he broke.

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