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Title: The Offer Still Stands…
Story Type: AU
Word Count: 5115
Rating: R, Porn…
Warnings: Anti-Michael, Passion and Lust…
Beta Queen: bigj52
Summary: Brian and Justin deal with the aftermath of Michael’s destruction…
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, plot, etc. are property of their respective owners, including, but not limited to Russell T. Davies, Cowlip, and Showtime. The author of this story is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended…
The Offer Still Stands…
Chapter 6 ~ Psycho Killer Qu'est-ce que c'est…
Psycho Killer
Qu'est-ce que c'est
fa fa fa fa fa fa fa fa fa far better
Run run run run run run run away
~ Talking Heads
It didn’t take long for Justin to finally fall asleep, because Brian had seen how upset he was so he grabbed his medication from the medicine chest. Although he rarely used it anymore it was nice to have it on hand in case he had nightmares from the bashing. Brian now sits in their suite at the Fairmont, talking with Carl on the phone as Carl and the police go through the loft. Brian had left the door unlocked, figuring that there wasn’t anything left to steal.
Initially Carl thought that Brian and Justin had been robbed, but after walking through the crime scene and the fact that Brian told him that nothing seemed to be missing from what he could tell. Then he remembered, and told Carl that he had unlocked the door when they got home. After that admission it became obvious that whoever did this had a key and knew the alarm code and that meant only one thing.
They figured it must have been someone that Brian knew and the only people who had a key were Lindsay, Ted and Michael. It obviously wasn’t Ted because they had been with Ted all night and Lindsay just wouldn’t ever do something like this. So it had to be Michael. Brian’s stomach dropped when he realized this. Carl wasn’t in much better shape as he hated to think that Michael could be capable of creating such chaos. It was obvious that whoever did this wasn’t very smart or they would have jimmied the lock to make it look like a break-in and of course they wouldn’t have locked it again afterwards.
Carl was now performing an official police investigation, taking pictures and video taping everything and then the loft was dusted for fingerprints. Because of the nature of the scene it was considered a felony, due to the property value of the destruction being over ten thousand dollars. Of course the dead giveaway was the hammer found in the bathroom; it still had fingerprints on it and belonged to Michael. Carl remembered that Michael’s prints were already in the system from when his store was broken into and they were taken to eliminate his from the others left at the scene.
The police worked at the loft throughout the night. Now it was considered a crime scene, meaning that Brian and Justin couldn’t remove anything from the loft. Not that there was much of anything left that wasn’t broken. For once Brian didn’t reach for alcohol which surprised him because it was his standard MO. He called Ted the next morning asking him to come over to the hotel. He was secretive about what was going on until he got there so he wouldn’t end up telling Emmett what had happened.
Brian’s still pacing the floor as he talks with Ted, explaining that through the process of elimination it must have been Michael. They’re both still in shock as they decide not to tell anyone about what’s happened just yet, saying that Carl had explained he needed to build an actual case proving Michael’s guilt, not just going on their gut reaction. It’s all Brian can do not to hunt Michael down and beat him to a pulp. He just can’t understand why he would do something like this.
Brian wakes Justin to tell him that he and Ted are going to the diner to get breakfast and that he’ll be back soon. Justin’s still groggy from his medication and rolls over and goes back to sleep. When they get to the diner they agree not to mention what’s happened to see how Michael reacts. They sit down in one of the booths, noticing that Michael looks nervous and his eyes keep shifting back and forth between the two of them. Finally Michael comes over and asks if they want coffee. Brian just stares at him, making him feel even more nervous.
In the light of day Michael regrets destroying all of Brian’s possessions. He never really meant to hurt him, thinking to himself all he really just wanted to do was make Justin pay for stealing Brian away from him. He’s still angry about last night feeling like Justin ruined his first date with Brian, and possibly their first night together. Of course this makes no sense because Brian was never his, but then again he’s not thinking rationally these days.
Brian never eats a big breakfast but today’s an exception as he and Ted order eggs, bacon and toast. Michael’s acting skittish as he tries to figure out what’s going on with Brian; surely he must know about the loft by now. At least he expected him to come in and complain that the loft was vandalized last night. He’s not his usual self, hovering around their table trying to make small talk. He keeps spilling coffee on the customers and dropping dishes which sets off his nerves as he remembers the sounds of Brian’s china breaking last night.
“For crying out loud, Michael, what is with you today? That’s the third stack of dishes you’ve broken. You break any more and it’s coming out of your pay.”
“Sorry, Ma, I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”
Brian gets a call from the insurance company and makes arrangements for him and Ted to meet them at the loft later that morning. It’s just about that time that Carl comes into the diner. Debbie’s face breaks into a big smile. She’s so happy to see him, until she realizes he’s not there to eat. He stops at Brian’s table to let them know they have released the crime scene and the fingerprint analysis was back. It was definitely Michael who destroyed the loft. Michael’s heart rate increases when he sees Carl come in, talking with Brian. He squirms a little and then heads for the bathroom. But Carl calls out to him, asking if he can talk with him outside. Michael responds with, “No. Can’t you see I’m working right now?”
Now he’s caught Debbie’s attention as she asks, “What’s this all about?”
“I’m sorry to have to do this, Deb, but Michael is being arrested on suspicion of destruction of property. It’s a class C felony.”
“What? No, that can’t be right. He would never do anything like that.”
“I’m sorry, Debbie, but I have to take him in.”
“Just wait a minute. When did this happen? I just know he’s innocent.”
“It was last night, and we have indisputable proof.”
“No, it couldn’t be Michael. He came home early last night. He was with me.”
“I’m so sorry, Deb but I’m afraid I’m not wrong about this.”
“Didn’t you hear me? I said he was with me; he never left the house last night. Tell them, Michael!”
Michael’s in shock. He never thought that he’d be caught, considering how many tricks Brian has brought home. He just figured that they’d blame one of them.
Debbie tries again. “Say something, Michael!”
Michael’s eyes keep shifting back and forth between Carl’s and Brian’s, stunned that he’s being arrested. Debbie is now standing between Carl and Michael with her hands on her hips asking, “So, just who is it that he supposedly vandalized?”
Carl looks sadly at Deb and says, “Brian’s loft.”
Now Debbie’s anger turns to Brian. “So you’re just going to have your best friend arrested? I can’t believe you’d stoop so low, kicking him when he’s already down. Haven’t you caused him enough pain?”
Brian can’t help himself as he shouts back at Debbie. “Debbie, the loft is completely destroyed… I mean everything, dishes, furniture, clothing, bathroom fixtures and Justin’s paintings. Nothing survived… NOTHING…”
“I just can’t believe this. Michael would never hurt a fly, let alone his best friend. There must be some kind of mistake.”
No matter what anyone said at this point, Debbie wouldn’t believe them. She was so sure Michael was innocent, and she’s never been angrier with anyone as she is now. Finally she just stands there, watching, as Carl handcuffs Michael, reading him his rights and leading him to his squad car. Debbie calls after them, “I’ll call Mel and she’ll have you out in no time.”
Debbie storms over to Brian and slaps him across his face. “How could you have your own best friend arrested? Shame on you!”
Brian doesn’t react. He understands how shocked she is, because it took him all night to wrap his brain around all this himself. He looks down at his cold breakfast and says to Ted, “I guess we should be heading out. I want to stop by the hotel and check on Justin and then we have to meet the insurance assessor at the loft.”
~~~
Justin woke up at the hotel. It took him several minutes before the previous night’s nightmare registered. His breathing starts to race as he calls out to Brian. He gets up and finds Brian leaving a couple of new sketch pads and a set of charcoal and colored pencils on the table next to a half dozen lemon bars. He pulls him into a kiss and sits down with him. Brian looks down at the floor and then back up, taking a deep breath. “I know this will be hard to understand. It certainly was for me, but Carl’s arrested Michael. It seems that they found his fingerprints at the loft on some of the damaged things.
Justin shakes his head and squints at Brian questioning him, “Michael?”
“I know it doesn’t make any sense.”
Brian holds him close, running his fingers through his hair, telling him everything will be alright. Justin can’t help the shaking that returns, along with the fear in his eyes.
“I know that Michael has never been supportive of our relationship, but I never thought that he hated me.”
“This didn’t just happen to you, so he must be really mad at me as well. I just don’t know what would set him off like this”
Justin tries to put on a brave face, saying “He’s been acting strange since that night you came over to their house and asked me to come back home.”
“Yeah, that was a crazy night. He said some absurd things about him and me being together. As a matter of fact he said some strange things last night about us having our first date.”
“You can’t be serious?”
“I know it sounds irrational now thinking back on it. Besides, didn’t Emmett say something about him having a date last night?”
Ted pipes in with, “Yeah, just before you two showed up he said that he was meeting someone, acting like he wanted us to leave so they could be alone.”
“I just can’t imagine how he could have ever thought that I was interested in him sexually. I mean, I made it clear that morning at his shop last week that nothing was ever going to happen between us.”
Then Brian kisses Justin on the top of his head and asks if he’s going to be alright, letting him know he has to go to the loft and review all the damage with Ted and the insurance assessor. Justin tries to smile but it’s obvious he’s nervous. He hugs Brian for several minutes, finally releasing him and telling him to go and do what needs to be done. After Brian and Ted leave he digs into the lemon bars as he mulls over the room service menu, trying to decide what he wants for breakfast. A little while later there’s a knock on his door that scares the hell out of him. He slowly opens the door to see his mother standing there with her arms loaded with shopping bags from Nike World and Abercrombie and Fitch.
She tries her best to smile at him as she tells him that Brian called her from the diner and told her what happened last night. That he asked her to go and pick out some new clothes for him as everything he owns was destroyed at the loft. The two of them order room service and discuss the previous night’s events, starting with how strange Michael was acting at Woody’s.
She tells him that Carl has already identified Michael’s own hammer that was left at the scene as well as Michael’s knife that has traces of paint and fibers from the furniture and bed on the blades. She just shakes her head, finding it hard to believe someone they considered a friend could do something like this. Justin frowns a little and says, “Michael has never liked me, he’s tried to hide it. But I knew how he felt. He has always been jealous of my relationship with Brian but I never thought that he hated me.”
“I’m so sorry, darling. I know how awkward that must have been for you.”
“It’s not your fault. You have nothing to be sorry about. Let’s just let it go for now.”
“You’re right. Let’s change the subject. Now Brian asked me if I could speed up the sale of the house because, for the time being, the two of you will be living here at the Fairmount.”
“Wow. I hadn’t even thought about that…”
“I talked with the owners and they’re delighted to put a quick sale on the property. As you know they had to move to Europe suddenly and the place is currently vacant. They have no problem with you and Brian taking possession early so you can start decorating.”
“That’s great because I think I’ll go stir crazy spending so much time cooped up here.”
“Brian asked me for a list of decorators that can help you with purchasing everything you’ll need for the new house. I brought you my laptop for you to use to research furniture and appliances. Brian said he thought a complete remodel of the kitchen was in order and possibly all the bathrooms.”
“Yeah, I know how much he loves a big shower and I definitely want a Jacuzzi and a new kitchen.”
“This house is amazing; I just know you and Brian are going to be happy there.”
“I appreciate you bringing over your laptop. I’m going to have fun researching all our new furniture.”
“Anything I can do to help, just let me know.”
“Wow. I feel so much better than I did when I first woke up. Thanks for coming over and shopping for me. I really appreciate it, and I just love all the new clothes you bought me.”
“No problem, sweetheart. Now I’m sorry I have to eat and run but I have a house to show a client in an hour.”
With that Jennifer bends down and hugs her son good bye, hoping that he’ll be alright the rest of the afternoon, knowing how frightened Brian said he was last night. She really couldn’t imagine just how much stress he must be under. Justin walks her to the door and then locks it up tight. He wanders around the suite checking everything out and then decides on a nice hot bath to try to relax.
~~~
Melanie had to wait around and talk to the district attorney about Michael’s case before she could see him. She was still hoping that there had been a mistake, because she just couldn’t fathom that the father of her child could be capable of such violence and destruction. She hasn’t been to the crime scene, but she has seen the photos and the video that the police took the night before. She really thought that it must be some kind of joke until she saw all the damage; it frightened her seeing just what Michael had done. So again she questions if they really have the right person, knowing how many men Brian must have had through the loft.
Finally she was able to meet with Michael; she stands up as he walks in and sits down at the table. Michael looks up at her with a puzzled expression on his face asking, “When do I get out of here?”
“First tell me what happened. How could you have done something like this?”
Michael just shrugs his shoulders and says, “I don’t know. I guess I was just really angry at the time.”
Melanie’s a little taken back by his statement as she asks him to explain. His eyes dart everywhere but at her face. It’s obvious that he’s ashamed of his actions as he fidgets with his hands finally saying, “I must have been temporarily insane.”
Mel just stares at him for a few minutes. “Maybe, but I don’t think so… The police have the hammer you took with you and left behind. That in itself proves that the crime was premeditated. Therefore in the eyes of the law you can’t plead temporary insanity.”
“Why not?”
“Because you had the forethought to bring a weapon with you. You had already decided that you were going there to commit a crime. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
“I guess so. I mean, I was just so mad at Brian. I thought that he was finally ready to have a relationship with me.”
“What? Why would you think that?”
“Because he told me that he wanted to pay for my education.”
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“Why doesn’t anybody understand this? It’s so obvious. He wants me to become better educated so that I’d be a better partner for him, so we could finally be together.”
“Did he say he wanted to be in a relationship with you? That you’d be partners?”
“Well, not in so many words, but when I went to see him at his office yesterday I explained that I finally understood what he wanted from me and he said we were on the same page. He even made a date with me for last night.”
“You and Brian went out on a date last night?”
“We were supposed to, but he ended up bringing Justin with him and then he acted like he didn’t know what I was talking about.”
“Is it possible that you misunderstood him?”
“No. I don’t see how.”
“Well, you must have, don’t you think?”
“I don’t know anymore. All I know is he made me so furious. I just couldn’t watch them. They were talking about the new house they’re buying, then they were showing Ted and Emmett pictures of the place and not paying any attention to me.”
“Michael, where is all this jealousy coming from?”
“Jealousy! You think I’m jealous? Well of course I’m jealous. I don’t know how he expects me to act, but I’m not willing to be just his bit on the side. I want what he has with Justin… It just isn’t fair. I want him so much and I know he loves me.”
Now Melanie thinks Michael really is unstable but unfortunately it won’t hold up in court because of his actions. “Michael, I don’t think Brian loves you the way you want him to. Can’t you see that he’s in love with Justin?”
“Justin, Justin, Justin… I’m so sick of hearing about Justin! Don’t you see I went over there last night to scare Justin? I have to get him out of Brian’s life so we can start our future together.”
“You’re really frightening me here, Michael. Can you hear what you’re saying?”
“I know what I’m saying. I’m saying that I wish Justin was dead… That I wish that Brian never met him, because if he hadn’t, I just know that Brian and I would probably be married by now.”
“Brian, married?”
“Yes. You see I found them last night in his desk.”
“You found what?”
Michael holds up his left hand and then realizes that the cops took away all his personal possessions. He shakes his head and says, “I found our platinum wedding bands. I guess the cops put it with my things when they arrested me.”
“You’ve stolen a wedding band from Brian’s desk?”
“Yes and it fits perfectly, so don’t you see he was planning on asking me to marry him. He just had to find a way to break it off with Justin.”
Melanie just gawks at him, thinking about what Michael just confessed. She realizes that Brian really is in love, only with Justin.
“Michael, I really don’t know how to react to everything you’ve said here today, but one thing I know for sure is you need to hire an attorney who specializes in criminal law and that’s not me.”
“What? Now you’re dumping me too?”
“It’s not that, Michael. It’s because I’m not experienced enough with criminal law to properly represent you.”
“I can’t afford to hire another attorney. Do you think Brian would pay for my new lawyer? After all he is my fiancé now.”
Melanie just shakes her head, stunned by his response. “I really don’t see that happening. After all, he’s the plaintiff in this case. He wouldn’t hire a lawyer to fight against his own case.”
“Do you really think he’ll press charges? I know he loves me and I love him.”
“If you love him then why in the world would you destroy his home and possessions?”
“I told you I was angry. Think of it as a lover’s spat.”
Melanie feels like they’re talking in circles and she’s getting angry with Michael for being so ridiculous about everything. “I’m sorry, Michael, but I can’t help you. You’ll have to seek other counsel.”
~~~
Lindsay is patiently waiting at home to get the full story because Brian’s and Justin’s phones just kept rolling to voice mail and Debbie is too hysterical to make any sense. When Mel finally comes through the door she looks totally freaked out.
“I need a drink. Make it a double.”
“Mel, it can’t be that bad. From what Debbie said it was just vandalism.”
“It’s worse than you can image. Michael’s completely delusional, yet at the same time he seems to know right from wrong. So there’s no way they won’t charge him.”
“What do you mean… delusional?”
“I mean, you know how he’s always carried a torch for Brian? Well, he’s now convinced himself that Brian wants to have a relationship with him, and he actually thought him and Brian had a date last night. But when Brian showed up with Justin he seems to have gone off the deep end.”
“What was he arrested for if not vandalism?”
“Oh, it’s vandalism alright but he went over there last night and literally smashed and slashed everything. It’s a complete loss. He’s being charged with a class C felony, meaning a huge fine and lots of prison time, depending on the judge.”
“He told me he wanted to hurt Justin. That he wished that he was dead.”
“Dead? I can’t believe this. Michael would never hurt anyone. He’s too much of a sissy.”
“Trust me, Linds, he’s totally unstable and I wouldn’t put it past him not to go after Justin if he was released.”
“Melanie, you must have misunderstood… Michael?”
“They just have him in a holding cell. He hasn’t been charged yet but apparently he found a platinum wedding band in Brian’s desk drawer and now he’s thinking that he and Brian are getting married.”
“Brian getting married? Why would he have a wedding band?”
“That’s a totally different story.”
“Maybe it was his father’s?”
“I don’t know, Linds, but I do know that I want to petition the court for sole custody of JR. I don’t want him around her should he get out.”
“Do you think he’s on drugs? Maybe he’s hallucinating?”
~~~
Brian and Ted are walking around the loft, taking in the damage and collecting anything that can be salvaged while they wait for the insurance assessor. Ted’s in shock. Sure he saw the pictures that Carl had but it’s so much worse in person than it looked. Brian says he needs to call a crime scene clean-up service and restoration, that he doesn’t want his regular cleaning service to have to deal with this mess. Ted’s feeling useless and asks what he can do to help out now while they wait. Brian shrugs his shoulders; he’s still too shocked at all the destruction.
Finally when Brian says that he can clean out the fridge, Ted’s grateful for something to do. He starts dumping leftovers in the sink and starts the garbage disposal, it starts making an awful sound like silverware is down in there. He turns it off and then puts his hand down through all that disgusting food trying to fish something out. It’s small and he’s having a hard time retrieving it, but when he finally frees it and pulls it out he’s surprised it appears to be a wedding band.
Brian comes over to look at it as Ted rinses it off under the water. Brian takes it from Ted and inspects it; he immediately goes over to his desk drawer and finds the empty ring box. Ted asks the obvious question. ”What is it?” Brian just glares at Ted and then his expression changes. He figures that Ted already knows just about everything about his personal life. He’s still holding the Tiffany’s box, and says, “Last weekend when we were in Chicago I bought Justin a new watch. When I was looking for the perfect watch he was fooling around and trying on rings, so when he wasn’t looking I had the manager set aside the ones he liked best.”
“Brian… This isn’t just a ring. You know it’s a wedding band.”
“Yeah, I know I said rings. I wanted to surprise him on his birthday in a couple of weeks.”
“Wow, Brian I never thought I’d see the day.”
“I’m sure you know by now, that if you say anything to anyone, I’ll have you killed and then I’ll fire you.”
“Zipping, zipping. Your secret’s safe with me.”
“Now I just wonder where the other one is?”
“I can’t believe that Michael would put it down the garbage disposal.”
“This shocks you, after looking around all the damage to this place?”
“No, I guess not. I mean the whole thing shocks me.”
“Yeah, me too. I just wish I understood why he did it.”
~~~
.
Justin’s curled up on the sofa in their suite trying to distract himself by drawing, but he can’t help but feel completely lost, thinking about what happened last night. He’s still frightened, even though he knows nothing’s going to happen to him where he is. It’s like his fears from being bashed have all returned and he can’t help feeling paranoid. He wishes Brian would come back or at least call. He keeps checking his cell phone for messages but there are only ones from Lindsay and some hysterical ones from Deb. He just can’t deal with anyone right now so he turns his phone back off and absentmindedly watches TV with the sound turned off.
Debbie’s at her house, pacing in the living room and angry with the world. She’s sure that Michael’s innocent. Or that everyone’s just blowing this all out of proportion. Emmett’s sitting on the couch, watching her pace, trying to comprehend what Debbie is saying but he’s sure he’s heard her wrong. He can’t wait until Carl comes home then he can get a straight answer about what’s happened. He keeps trying Ted and Brian’s phones, hoping they’ll pick up. He’s considering calling Justin but he doesn’t want to upset him anymore than he already is.
Finally Debbie makes up her mind and storms out of her house and goes over to the loft. Ted and Brian are boxing up the few things that weren’t destroyed last night along with a box of mementos from Brian’s life that was stuck in the back of the closet. Brian found most of his shoes that never saw the eye of the hurricane and his leather jackets and winter coats. The box of sex toys from under the bed, all the toiletries from inside the medicine cabinet, his stash box, the kitchen’s small appliances, by some miracle his computer and printer as well as the DVD player are still there. The TV didn’t fare so well, as the screen is completely smashed. But the sound system completely missed the mayhem and finally the first picture that Justin drew of him that he purchased at the Gay and Lesbian center art show.
Brian and Ted are just sitting in the middle of all this chaos, smoking a joint as their eyes scan everything to see if they missed anything of value that survived. They both look up as they hear the loft door being pulled back and see a stunned Debbie standing there with her mouth hanging open. “What in the hell happened here?”
Brian just stares at her, wishing she’d just go away. He doesn’t have the time or the patience to deal with her tirade today. “Welcome to the aftermath of hurricane Michael.”
For the first time in her life she’s speechless as she looks out in despair. “How could this have happened? What would posses him to do so much damage?”
Neither Ted nor Brian responds to her questions because they know there’s nothing to say. Debbie moves farther into the loft, scanning the room, taking in more of the pandemonium as she shakes her head asking why? She finally sits down with them on the floor and Brian hands her the joint. Ted’s a little shocked; he’s never seen Deb smoke before. But it’s obvious that Brian and Deb are old smoking buddies. They sit in silence and smoke as the pot does its job to take the edge off their hopelessness.
~~~
It’s late afternoon when Brian finally comes back to their suite; he’s brought with him Justin’s favorite cookies, Thai food and a stack of movies he borrowed from Ted. Justin smiles and jokes, asking if they’re all porn. At least it breaks the tension as the two of them pull each other close and hold each other. Brian can tell it’s been a rough day for Justin and that his nerves are shot. He picks up Justin’s new sketch pad and looks at all the drawings smiling back at him. He’s glad that Justin had something to take his mind off things.
Slowly they unwind from the day and feast on Thai food and cookies. Justin gets a huge smile on his face when he sees that Brian’s brought him milk to dunk his cookies in.
It’s the little things in life that make all the difference.
TBC…
