Brian walked into the kitchen and fought back a sigh to find it a complete disaster once again; he would be so happy when this shit was over. Because while it had been his idea, and it was definitely for a good cause, he was tired of finding icing and candy over every inch of his kitchen. Why Justin couldn’t do this in Emmett’s industrial-sized kitchen, he didn’t know.
All he’d done was mutter something about conflicting work styles and taken over the kitchen; which Brian took to mean that Justin made a complete fucking mess, like he does with any art project, and Emmett’s neatnik screamed in horror every time they shared counter space.
He was just thankful that this was the last lot that needed decorating.
Picking up a piece of discarded gingerbread, he toyed with it for a moment and the tossed it aside and sat down on one of the stool’s to watch the gingerbread house come together under Justin’s skilled hands. He was always in awe of Justin’s artistic vision, and his talent definitely didn’t stop at paints. While he may have needed the help of Emmett’s pastry chef friends to bake the gingerbread and mix the various icings and make the various candies he was using, he was a master at making the buildings come to life.
It had been an idea that Brian and Justin had kicked around after Justin had read an article about the world’s largest gingerbread town. An event that had taken place in Bergen, Norway since 1991, the gingerbread town was made up of two thousand ‘houses’ and was exhibited from right after Thanksgiving on through Christmas and the proceeds were given to Save the Children.
When he was done, Brian had made an offhand comment about how it would be cool to do something similar, but on a smaller scale for the Annual Kinnetik Holiday Benefit. And that was all it took. Justin had clapped his hands in joy and had run off to Emmett like a five-year-old hopped up on too much candy and chaos had ensued.
The town Justin and his artist friends, and Emmett and his pastry friends were making only had about fifty gingerbread buildings, divided up into fifteen lots. There were five larger buildings - like the church - and ten with smaller buildings or houses. Justin was currently finishing up what Brian thought was a school, but might have been a gym.
“Is this the last one?” Brian asked, and inadvertently startled Justin into squeezing the icing tube a bit too hard and squirting a string of icing out of it.
Luckily, Justin had jerked back at the same time and the white icing fell with a plop on the table rather than on the house he was decorating. Brian did not want to deal with the resulting artistic queen out had he’d caused Justin to accidentally mess the design up.
Justin glared as he swiped the icing away with a damp cloth. “Yes, this is the last lot. And the next time I have a brilliant idea, remind me of this moment and talk me out of it. If I never have to build another gingerbread house again, it will be too soon.”
Brian smirked; he couldn’t really blame Justin because he himself was getting sick of the scent and sight of gingerbread. It had always been one of those seasonal foods that he never understood the appeal of; that and fruit cake.
“We’ll figure out something else for next year,” Brian said, barely biting back a snicker when Justin shot him an ‘over my dead body’ look. “Or more than likely, you’ll just have to pawn it off on someone else. There are plenty of PIFA students that would love to work with the ‘Great Justin Taylor,’ and have a chance to display their work no matter the medium.”
“Ha ha; you’re a riot,” Justin grumbled, setting the cloth aside as he studied his creation; and with a sigh and a determined frown he went back to piping the icing.
Brian silently watched for a minute before he was distracted by the various bowls on the table. The dark brown frosting he was pretty sure was chocolate, but he couldn’t figure out what the tan icing was.
Dipping his finger into the bowl, he scooped up a dab and sucked it into this mouth, closing his eyes and humming with pleasure as the flavor exploded across his tongue. Opening his eyes, he smirked when he caught Justin staring at his mouth, his cheeks flushed with arousal. It was always good to know that he could affect his husband so.
Justin looked up and met his eyes, and huffed with irritation when he noticed Brian watching him. Grumbling under his breath, he turned back to the gingerbread house in an effort to ignore Brian.
Which Brian was having none of.
“Caramel?” he asked as he made a production of dipping his finger back into the bowl and scooping out another dollop and sucking it into his mouth.
Justin squirmed, but continued his piping without a hitch. “Yeah, that’s the caramel icing.”
“Hmmmm…” Brian hummed and dipped his finger into the bowl filled with dark-brown icing, scooped a bit up and ate it. Yup. Chocolate. “So, what is it for?”
“Huh?” Justin said a bit absentmindedly; he licked his lips and cast a glazed look Brian’s way. Brian smirked internally; got you. He held up the bowl and arched a brow. “Oh, it was for one of the other lots. I don’t need it anymore, but I haven’t gotten rid of it yet.”
“Really?” Brian asked, a small spark igniting in his gut as he stared at the frosting and then back at Justin, nearly salivating at the thought of licking it from his skin.
“Yes,” Justin said, drawing out the vowel as he watched Brian warily from the corner of his eyes.
But Brian just hummed again, and ignored the look as he contemplated the best way to get Justin naked and covered in frosting. If he were to attempt anything straightforward, he knew Justin would put him off in favor of finishing his task. But if he…
Getting off the stool, Brian walked over to the refrigerator and opened it. “Want a bottle of water while I’m in here?”
“Sure,” Justin called over his shoulder, his brow furrowed as he went back to frosting the school house, adding the last few details to it and the soccer field in front of it.
Grabbing two bottles of water out of the fridge, he set one on the counter as he passed, as he had no intentions of drinking it. But if he'd only pulled out one bottle, it might clue Justin into his intended mischief and he was already suspicious enough. Opening the second bottle Brian walked silently over to the table behind Justin, and stood just a shade to close to him.
“Here you go,” he said, holding the opened bottle out in front of him.
“Thanks,” Justin said as he set the piping tube aside, and then spun around and gasped as he crashed into the extended bottle just as Brian had planned. Jumping back, Justin swatted at his wet shirt and swore under his breath. “Fuck; that’s cold!”
“I'll just bet,” Brian said, barely biting back a grin as he blatantly admired the way the shirt clung to Justin’s chest. “You know, you should probably take that off.”
Detecting something off in his tone, Justin looked up and studied Brian with a suspicious glare.
“You wouldn’t want to catch a chill now,” Brian smirked as he corralled Justin and shepherded him until Brian had him crowded up against the counter. “Would you?”
“What are you doing?” Justin asked as Brian slid his hands under his long-sleeved knit shirt.
“Helping out?” Brian said, all innocence as he slid the material up until it bunched up under Justin’s arms.
Justin crossed his arms over his chest to prevent the removal of said shirt; but then hissed and quickly pulled them away when the icy material clung to his chest. Brian, being the resourceful shit that he is, used the distraction as the perfect opportunity to do one of his favorite things - get Justin naked. Or, well, at least partially naked. To become fully naked when he could convince Justin that the school house he was working on was perfect as it was.
“Brian…” Justin protested as Brian reached over his shoulder and dragged the bowls of caramel and chocolate icings toward him. “I really need to get this done. Emmett will kill me…”
“It will still be there in the morning,” Brian dismissed with a wave of his hand, cutting off Justin’s angry retort by dipping his finger into the caramel icing and painting Justin’s lips with it.
Swooping down, Brian captured his husband’s lips, cutting off anything he might he might have said. Licking Justin’s lips clean of the icing, he nibbled, and sucked and bit until Justin’s lips were kiss swollen. Licking into his mouth, Brian teased and taunted until Justin drove his hands into Brian’s hair and pulled him closer, giving as good as he got until the need of air finally had them pulling away.
“And I know for a fact that this,” Brian said a tad breathless still, pointing to the gingerbread house on the table, “doesn’t have to be there until late afternoon tomorrow.”
And with that Brian lifted Justin onto the counter and pressed him flat against it, snickering when his husband hissed as the cold tile hit his back. Scooping up the chocolate icing, he dipped his fingers into it and started painting lines across his chest in an abstract manner, and then followed it up with the caramel icing. Setting them aside, he licked a long, wet stripe up Justin’s chest to his nipple, and sucked it into his mouth, taking the mix of chocolate and caramel with it.
Delicious. But then again, Justin always was.
Justin’s breath hitched, and he arched into Brian’s mouth as he threaded his fingers into Brian’s hair and yanked, muttering in a low, raspy voice.
“Oh, fuck it; I give up.”