CHAPTER 2 - THE FIRST TIME EVER HE SAW HIS FACE

BRIAN

Hunter has taken that moment to enter, having, no doubt, been waiting nearby for the yes from Gus about staying over. He looks around the silent room and bursts out laughing. 

“This is a joke!” He exclaims, then stares at his Grams, as he calls Debs. His face falls as she looks absolutely serious and firm in her conviction, as she often says. 

“When did you get here and how did you get in?” I ask gently. “Hunter?”

“Huh? Uh, was parked up the road and the door was ajar. So that means either Gus or his carrier, as he calls her, was the last one in. And judging by the faint trace of sulphur, it was V3, which is what I call her…” The look he gives her is as cold as it is hateful. “...for the curious, this is short for vacuous vindictive virago, who was the last one in. We all know that she never closes a door behind her, as it makes escaping from wrath and responsibility so much easier.”

“How dare you two speak of me like that?!” Lindsay fumes. “I am his mother,  and…”

“Excuse us, but Michael has just been accused of attempting to murder Justin by his mother!” Blake exclaims. “Your pisstulence about being called a deserved twasticle has to wait!” He takes a few breaths. “Debs, you can't be serious?”

“Very.” She replies. “Drinks anyone?” She asks as she heads to the cart.

“Ma, don’t be so ridiculous! What a thing to say!” Michael exclaims, but she continues to pour the drink then takes her seat next to Jennifer. “How could you even think that of me?!”

“Because of the way Carl has been. Before, he would talk about it and give me progress updates, then it stopped. About six months ago he stopped talking about it. And they began to change towards you, but you, of course, didn’t notice; or maybe you did and thought that they were just being moody as the anniversaries came around again...”

“Grams, come on!” Hunter again interrupts. “There is no way on earth Michael could do that!”

“Thank you, Hunter, an unexpected source of support, but appreciated…”

“He’d have no chance against him! Uncle Justin could easily, and sometimes happily would, kill him!”

“She’s not talking about recently, Hunter.” Carl interrupts, his eyes never leaving Michael’s pale face. “She’s talking about his prom. Michael bashed him on prom night.”

“His prom?” Gus gasps. “Gramps, are you...? For fuck sake, why?!” 

“Because he was, and still is, jealous of the love I have for Justin. They both are, but she just tried to separate us instead...”

“I am not! Why would I be, when I have Ben?! I did not do such a horrific thing!” Michael yells. “You know what? You are obsessed! And your obsession with finding out who attacked him is warping your mind!” He stands up. “I can’t believe you...and you call yourself my best friend! I demand a full apology from both of you for this, I have never been so hurt and humiliated!" 

“Who?” Gus asks. He looks around the room before he locks onto Lindsay. “So you’re the reason he went away?!”

“I am, like Michael, not to blame for anything that happened to Justin!” She rises her face contorted with fury. “Come on, Michael, let’s go! We are not…”

“Leaving. Nobody is leaving until this is sorted out!” Mel bellows. “Hunter, shut the door and everyone sit down!”

“So how did this happen, Papa, Pops? You said you would tell me when I am old enough; looks like the time is now!” Gus bites out, now glaring at Michael.

“This is far too grim for young ears such as Jenny! Like I said, this…”

“My name is Jay-ray, Mr Novotny, and has been for a year! As for grim, I read the article about it…”

JUSTIN

I watch my attempted killer’s face flicker with annoyance at the bastardisation of her name as he calls it. Naturally, with all things to do with change in anything that he considers his, it is my fault! 

“When?! Mel, did you know about this?!” Lindsay exclaims.

“It is a matter of public record.” Mel snarls. “Now back to it, why are you two accusing Michael of this?”

“Wrongly accusing me you mean?!” He declares, then turns to Ben. "You surely don’t believe this, do you? Does anyone believe that I am capable of this?!” The silence is chilling.

“Brian, did you beg Michael to go to the hospital with you despite knowing he was with someone on the night Gus was born?” Emmett whispers. 

“What? No I didn't, I told him to fuck the shit out of him. It was him who said he would come.”

“I thought so.” Emmett nods, gets up and sits nearer to us. “Over the years I always thought there was something odd about that, especially as the story would change depending on who he was talking to.” 

“Emmett!” Michael shouts. “I have been your friend for years, even before he came along, and…”

“His name is Justin!” Emmett thunders. “Or Sunshine. And you tried to take his Sunshine away! You get that look. And the first time I saw it was the night they met.”

“What do you mean the night they met?!” Michael snaps. “You had gone with Ted!”

“No I hadn’t, well not completely. I had started to follow Ted, but I saw Brian freeze. I hadn’t seen that happen ever…”

“Wait, Uncle Emmett.” Gus interrupts. “Can they tell us? Starting with Pops?”

I look across at Brian and smile. “So go ahead, Stud, what were you thinking when you saw me?”

BRIAN

I reach across and pull Sunshine onto my lap, and there it is in his eyes: the fire of jealousy that Michael always gets when Justin and I are, behaving like Ken and Ken Stepford Fags, you know, the thing you hate more in the world. 

“Are you sitting comfortably, Sunshine?”

“Yes Stud, you may begin…”

Start of flashback

LIBERTY AVENUE, FIFTEEN YEARS AGO 

BRIAN

That guy was so mediocre it was embarrassing. I can't believe that I am going home alone and hopped up, well not hopped up yet. As I sling my jacket into the jeep, I wait for Mikey to say his goodbyes. Don't get me wrong, I ‘love’ Ted and Emmett, Emmett more than Ted, but they can just be a bit vanilla and like warm flat champagne by the end of the night, especially a school one!

Out of the corner of my eye, I spot something in steam rising from the streets: a flash of gold and plaid. Plaid! Who the fuck wears plaid on LA?! Focusing, I see him. My heart stops and my cock throbs, for there leaning against a lampost is a nymph! I have to have...save...him from the...oh fuck, he is gorgeous! My legs follow the mind of my cock and I am up close, and hopefully about to be very personal, in seconds.

He is everything, I don’t go for. Young. Blond. So very blond. Blue eyes. Big blue eyes that I can lose myself in…

Flashback interruptus

“Love at first sight it! I knew it!” Gus crows.

“And whilst we have been interrupted, I had best have been the warm flat champagne back then?!” Emmett bridles.

“That you were.” I reply.

“I always knew you loved me, especially when you…”

“Especially then.” I squeeze his hand and wink at Ted, who nods. “So, as I was saying…”

“There is no as you were saying!” Michael shouts. “I did not kill him, nor was Lindsay responsible for their separation! People make their own choices, and he...”

“Oh, shut up!” Ted barks. “Mr Vanilla wants to hear this!” He looks across at Jay-ray. “Um, how much detail are you going into?”

“Uncle Ted, be quiet!” Jay-ray groans before glaring around the table. “Okay, anyone who interrupts from this point onwards will be stabbed with my fork! I am having sex, have walked in on Gus and Hunter when I forget to knock. They give me tips! Say can I stay, please?!”

“Jay-ray, come on, you can't stay for this, just come with me and Grammy Jen, okay?” Carl reasons, with a mutinous look she stomps to the door. “Grams will let us know when that bit is finished, won’t you?”

“Sure, honey.”

I wait for the door to close then sip some wine. “So, as I was saying…”

Restart of flashback

BRIAN’S LOFT - TWO HOURS AFTER GUS’S ARRIVAL

BEDROOM

BRIAN

He is on his stomach, resting on his elbows, and although he is trying to control the trembling, he can’t. I lick down his back and get to that peachy butt. Instinctively, he tenses up.

“Easy, I am going to make you feel so good.” I whisper up at him. Slowly he relaxes and when I  kiss them, he lets out a soft moan and sinks onto his wrists. 

Bracing myself, although I think it will be fine, I part them. And there it is, a pretty pink knot winking at me. I swipe from top to bottom and he squeaks. Five minutes later, I was having a bit of a problem, as he was squirming all over the bed, so I resorted to pinning him under me, I use just enough weight to keep him in one spot, but not enough to cause him to panic

“Aha! Ah!” He groans.

“Now you know what rimming is.” I murmur, I take my time savouring his juices as I slide up his body. “Turn over and put your legs on my shoulders.”

“But I thought…” He looks dazed as he does as he is told.

“You thought wrong.” I mutter, and stroke his legs.

“Wait. In school they taught us about safe sex.”

“And now you are about to get a practical demonstration.” As I start to prepare him, I am dimly aware through my lustful thoughts of my phone ringing, but I ignore it. All I want to do is have him. Not fuck him. Not screw him. But have him. Have this moment with him. “It will heat up.” I smile at his protest of the coldness of the lube.

“Just go slow, okay?” I nod and start to enter him, he stiffens and cries out. “It hurts! Ow! Oh, does it always hurt?!”

“Sometimes, but that’s just part of it. Now just relax. I want you to remember this, I want you to remember no matter where you are, no matter who you are with, I will always be there.”

As I bottom out, we kiss. He tastes of a sweetness I didn't realise was missing from my life. My tongue and cock are in sync, but this time there is no frantic squirming, there is just the welcoming into his body. He is giving himself to me. As the pleasure starts to shoot from my toes, I am driven by two thoughts: one, that my son is called Gus, not Abraham, and two...it seems I have finally met my match!

We had finished the second round in the shower the next morning, I was getting him dressed when Mikey barged in.

“Shouldn’t you be gone?!” He grumbles, and…”

Flashback interruptus

“That’s when I first saw it. Properly saw it.” I look at Michael. “The look Ems mentioned earlier, you had it when we got to yours and you said, what is he doing here? When I said he has nowhere to go, you sulked in the back of the jeep, all the way to the hospital, then I put it down to worried excitement as I had missed the calls. But it was there again when we we were kissing in the back of the jeep, but it wasn't the kissing that annoyed you, it was me trying to blow him and saying I was going to fuck him. I was going to fuck him all night. Wasn’t it? You almost caused an accident getting me to stop, saying you didn't want to hit that doggie.” He rolls his eyes and curls his lip. “Debs, get them back in, please.”

“Carl! You can come back!” She hollers.

“About time!” Jay-ray grumbles as they return. “Gramps almost had to handcuff the pair of us to the sink! Where are we?”

“In the backroom of a clearly overly obsessed mind!” Michael hisses. “You know what, I am going! I didn’t kill him and you, Mel, can't keep me from…”

“That’s twice now.” Mel interrupts. “Twice you said kill.”

I tighten my grip on the glass. Catching the action, Justin turns my face towards him. “Stud?”

“Michael, why did you say kill twice?” I demand, turning to look at him.

We all look at him. “I didn’t mean to say kill, I am just…”

“Lying! As usual!” The appearance of David Cameron stuns everyone except me, Carl and Ben.

“David?! What are you doing here?!” Michael gasps, going paler.

“He has to be to corroborate your story.” My voice is calm, but I am volcanic inside, as this is the part that could break my Sunshine and me. “So back to the word kill…” I look at Justin searching for understanding, how could I tell him that?

“I died?” Justin holds my gaze. “How long?”

“I don't know. When they got you in the ambulance, you flatlined, but by the time we reached the hospital you were back.” I wipe away a tear. “I couldn't tell you because you were back and that was, and is, all I care about. Please forgive me.”

“I can’t forgive you, because you did no wrong. You, as usual, protected me. You saved my life that night by calling my name.”

“For fuck sake! Can you hear him?!” Michael screams. “I did not mean to say kill, I am in shock at being accused of murder, attempted murder!” 

“The garage was deserted apart from me, Justin, and the medics. I remember one of them shouting he’s flat, he's flat! It echoed so loud, but then I heard something else. As I got into the ambulance, I heard, home run. And you always say that when you have achieved something you never thought you would.”

Michael scrubs his face then shakes his head. “So me using a baseball metaphor to describe an achievement makes me an attempted murderer, does it?”

“No.” David replies. “You having a cracked kneecap and crushed ball socket on the night Justin was attacked makes you that. It was cracked when Brian hit you with the same bat, and crushed when you fell out of the cab, rushing to join me!”