Chapter 29 - The Novotny Factor. (Sunday, June 12th)

"What the FUCK have you done to Brian?"

Ted was violently accosted within fifteen seconds of walking into the Liberty Diner. The normal background chatter immediately ceased. All eyes turned to stare at the enterprising Internet entrepreneur who was now being shoved back against the counter by a small angry man who had his fists rucked up in the fabric of Ted's shirt.

"What the fuck, Michael? Let go of me!" Ted demanded pushing away the little man whose face had gone so red he looked like a boiled lobster.

"No! I'm not letting you go until you tell me what the fuck you've done to Brian. Did you drug him or something?" the angry imp accused.

"I have no fucking idea WHAT the hell you're talking about, Michael. I haven't DONE anything to Brian. As far as I know, he's still back at the Residence asleep in bed with Justin. At least that's where he was the last time I checked the camera feeds on the site," Ted responded, his own temper flaring at being manhandled before he'd even had his first cup of coffee. "And why the fuck are you talking about drugs? What drugs? Are you telling me Brian's doing drugs? He better not be - that's against the rules of the contest."

"Well, if he's not being drugged then there's something seriously wrong with him. You have to do something, Ted. You have to stop the game and let Brian out of the deal," Michael's whining had abated from loud angry to loud concerned.

Ted managed to pry his overzealous friend's hands away from his shirt front and moved them both towards the back booth where Ted could see an exasperated looking Emmett waiting for them.

"What's with all the fucking yelling going on out here," an irascible Debbie charged out of the back and intercepted them before they'd managed to reach the booth. "Oh! Morning, Ted, Honey!" She added with an affectionate pat to the newcomer's cheek. "Now, Michael, tell me what the hell's going on and why the fuck you're yelling like a drag queen with her wig on fire." Deb pushed both the boys down into their seats and then pinched her son's cheek in greeting.

"Maaaa!" The coddling gesture didn't do anything to help Michael's already irritable mood.

"Sorry, Teddy," Em apologized quietly to his friend. "I've been trying to talk Michael down all morning but he just won't listen. He insists there's something WRONG with Brian." Emmett put his hand up as if to cover his mouth but didn't really whisper all that quietly, "I think he's a little JEALOUS, if you get my drift."

"Fuck off, Em!" Michael shot back. "I know what I'm talking about. I'm Brian's best friend. I've known him more than half my life. And I know when he's not acting like himself. There's something wrong with him and if it's NOT drugs then it could be a nervous breakdown or maybe he's been brainwashed or something. All I know is that's it's getting serious!"

"Okay, once again I have to ask, 'What the fuck are you talking about, Michael?' Brian is just fine. Here, see for yourself," Ted pulled a tablet computer out of his briefcase, tapped it a few times and then handed the device across the table to Michael who stared worriedly at the screen. "See? There's Brian right there. It looks like he's just getting out of bed."

Emmett leaned over so he too could get a good look at the action showing on the computer screen. As the group watched, they saw the familiar tall, lanky brunet getting out of bed, stretching and shuffling off to the bathroom. With a couple more taps, Ted switched the view so they'd be able to follow Brian's movements. By the time he'd pulled up the screen showing the big master bathroom, Brian had been joined in the shower by a small but enthusiastic young blond who was busily soaping up his bathing partner's backside. Both men were laughing and teasing each other, their words interspersed with tender smiles, gentle touches and occasional lighthearted kisses. It was a very intimate scene.

"That! That . . . that's what's wrong! See that?" Michael was so upset he could barely get words out, his voice creaking like a rusty gate hinge after a spate of wet weather.

Deb, her curiosity piqued, leaned over her son's shoulder now as well, and all four of them watched as Brian Kinney paused momentarily in his teasing foreplay, cupped the blond youth's cheek tenderly in his palm and then gazed adoringly into the boy's deep set, bright blue eyes. The fact that he immediately followed this action up by pushing the boy's face all the way around into the tiles while he donned a condom and then proceeded to fuck the living daylights out of the kid, was far less shocking to the assembled watchers. None of them had ever seen Brian act so caring or tender with another man. They'd all, at one time or another, seen Brian in action with a trick - and sometimes with more than one - but never dreamed they'd see the standoffish Stud being so gentle or kind. For Brian to let himself be emotionally vulnerable with a trick - or with anyone else for that matter - was so out of character. So disconcerting. So . . .

". . . So WRONG! That's what's wrong with Brian! It's that blond kid. He's done . . . Something . . . I don't know what, but he's done something to Brian. We have to get him out of there!" Michael’s voice was getting louder and his whining was almost as earsplitting and vicious as the sound of bullets strafing a battlefield. “It’s got to be that kid! Brian wouldn’t be acting like . . . like THAT!”

The act that Michael apparently found so abhorrent was Brian getting out of the shower and starting in right away to towel Justin off with long, languid, sensual motions. At the same time, the look on his oftentimes saturnine face became almost dreamy. And, what was even more unbelievable in Michael’s opinion, after the young man was dry, Brian took up a bottle of lotion off the bathroom counter and started to gently rub some into the boy’s shoulders and back. It was a completely non-sexual action and yet completely intimate. And so VERY unlike the Brian Kinney they all thought they knew.

“Awww! Isn’t that sweet!” Deb’s comment broke through the stunned and horrified silence that had enveloped the table as they watched this tender demonstration. “Looks like Brian’s finally got himself a boyfriend! Good for him! It’s about fucking time, too!”

“Ma! Brian doesn’t DO boyfriends. Or relationships. You know that. He can’t . . . It can’t be . . . I don’t . . .” Michael sounded like he was about to break into tears over his hero’s fall from the plinth of sexual prowess he’d kept Brian on all these years.

“Well, I’m sorry to be the one to break it to you, Sweetie,” Deb cackled at the incredulous look on her son’s face as he watched Brian moving on from rubbing his shoulders to playing with the little blond’s hair. “But, that,” she pointed to the computer screen and cracked a bubble with her chewing gum, “looks to me like Brian in a relationship. *HAH!*”

“FUCK THIS!” Michael jumped up out of the booth and pushed past his mother. “I’m going to go find Brian and get to the bottom of this! You guys just sit there and keep making jokes. I’m not going to  . . .” Whatever Michael was or was not going to do was lost to the group still sitting in the Diner as the apoplectic little whiner stomped out of the building, intent on rescuing his best friend from the perils of relationshiphood.

“Should we try to go after him or something,” Emmett was the first to break the shocked silence.

“Nah. He’ll be back,” Ted easily dismissed the temper tantrum and Michael. “He doesn’t know the address of the Residence and even if he did he couldn’t get past the security. Brian’s safe enough from him - at least for the time being.” The three longtime friends shared a conspiratorial laugh. “Now, Deb, I really have to order. I’m due over there in an hour. I need to meet the filming crew from Pittsburgh Out so they can get set up before the Sunday in the Sun events start. This is going to be huge. I’m going to be making so much money . . .”

Time started back up again and life went on at the Liberty Diner as usual. It seemed that Brian Kinney’s descent into the horrors of boyfriendness, as newsworthy as that might be, wasn’t exactly a life shattering experience for most of Liberty Avenue’s denizens. Except, of course, if your name was Michael Novotny.

The Residence was a hive of activity that morning. Brian and Justin had to dodge two burly guys toting big lighting fixtures as they made their way downstairs for breakfast. There were more moving men in the Greatroom and, from what Brian could see through the patio door, a whole horde of them out in the backyard. They joined the rest of the House Boys who were all huddled together in an out of the way corner of the kitchen, apparently trying to look inconspicuous.

For the most part, Brian had ceased to think of the fact that he’d been walking around buck naked for the past couple of weeks. Pretty much everyone else around him was naked too. Even the masked servants were scantily clothed, although they did sport leather jock straps and occasionally little leather boy shorts. All the other House Boys seemed to have forgotten the fact of their nudity as well.

Which is probably why it felt so odd to see all these fully clad people traipsing about in their idyllic domain. It reminded him again of the fact that he was flopping around in his all-together in a world where that wasn’t the norm. Of course, he knew that he was being watched by hundreds of online viewers everyday who were probably all salivating over his body all the time. It had nothing to do with whether or not he was comfortable with his body - that had never been an issue for Brian. But, to be the only one naked amid a crowd of people who WERE dressed singled you out. The looks he and Justin got from all the fully dressed people as they walked through the house weren’t helping matters much.

Yeah, it just felt really weird.

Brian could tell he wasn’t the only one that was a little bit uncomfortable with this invasion of the clothed. Everyone else was quieter than usual. Even the usually vivacious and outspoken Kerek was acting subdued this morning as he quietly spooned up his breakfast cereal. Justin practically ran across the kitchen as soon as they entered and took up a position on the far side of the table, using it as a shield of sorts. What was even more telling was that the kid who was usually a bottomless pit hadn’t even bothered to grab any food as he shot past the kitchen island where breakfast was set up.

Brian gave the two cameramen who were hovering by the coffee maker a withering glance. He poured a huge mug of coffee for himself, heaped up a plate full of food and made his way nonchalantly across the room at a casual pace. He could feel the men’s eyes on his ass the whole way but wasn’t going to give them the satisfaction of acting like it was bothering him. When he reached the table, he intentionally bent over far lower than was strictly necessary and slid the plate of food across to Justin, giving the staring men a nice direct line of sight up his asshole. The stupid fuckers! His little act earned him a grateful grin from the sweet little blond and a couple of appreciative snickers from the rest of his housemates. And it DID help to lighten the mood around the table a bit. Still, breakfast that day was a quiet affair.

Brian sat protectively next to his blond and sipped slowly at his coffee while the kid gobbled up the entire gargantuan serving of food that Brian had brought him. Brian had no idea where the kid put all that food - he was skinny as a rail, except for his ass, which was pleasingly plump in all the best ways. The kid sure could eat, though, and it amused Brian to watch him. Plus, considering all the hoopla going on outside, it was a good bet that he was going to need the sustenance to get him through the day. Brian decided he might even indulge in a bagel himself this morning.

“I’m going to grab a bagel. You want anything else?” Brian asked as he drained the last of his coffee mug.

“Thanks, but you don’t have to do that, Brian. I can get it myself. Just tell me what you want on your bagel and I’ll get that too,” the polite little WASPy boy replied with alacrity, scootching out from behind the table before Brian could object.

Justin took Brian’s order and then hustled over to the breakfast island to make the bagel and serve himself a second helping of bacon and eggs. He even braved the still lingering camera crew to get Brian a coffee refill, although Brian could tell that it made Justin uneasy to be so close to the staring men. The fuckers didn’t make it easy for Justin either - they didn’t move away from their posts right in front of the coffee maker, which meant that the boy had to reach around the fatter of the two to reach the hot carafe. The rude snort of laughter the fat one shot to his friend as Justin turned around, which was accompanied by a leer at the blond’s exposed ass as the boy walked away, was too much for Brian though.

“What the FUCK is your problem?” Brian was up out of his chair and half way across the kitchen before Justin had taken two steps. “Don’t you two have something better to do than hang around and watch us eat breakfast?” Brian demanded, using his imposing height to advantage as he strode menacingly towards the startled voyeurs. “If you want to ogle our asses, you can pay the twenty bucks an hour on the web site just like everyone else. But, in the meantime, keep your fucking eyes to yourselves.” Brian reached out and snagged both watchers’ coffee cups away and then gave them an unctuous smile. “Besides, I think your coffee break is over, boys. Get the fuck out of here. Now!” The two men did actually start to move away at that, but looked back a time or two over their shoulders. “Bye, bye!” Brian waved to them obsequiously, standing his ground until the disagreeable pair was completely out of sight.

“Assholes!”

Brian grabbed the last strip of bacon off the platter on the kitchen island before he made his way back to the table in the corner. He was uncomfortably aware that he’d done something a little bit revealing in regards to his feelings for the blond and that all the guys were watching him, grinning knowingly in his direction. He hoped to fuck that they wouldn’t make a big deal out of it. Brian hated that kind of attention. He tried to keep an unemotional poise as he reseated himself at the table. Luckily, nobody said a thing. Justin simply pushed the plate with his bagel over to him. Dane handed him the sugar for his coffee without a word. Malik snatched the business section of the newspaper out of Daniel’s hands and slid it across the table to Brian.

The rest of breakfast went much more smoothly after that. No more of the clothed crew dared to invade the sanctuary of the kitchen. And Brian basked quietly in the adoring glow of Justin’s smile every time the boy looked his way.

“Theodore,” Brian greeted his friend with the usual disdainful leer as soon as Ted made his appearance in the backyard of the Residence that morning. “Nice of you to finally make an appearance at this little Dog and Pony Show you’ve engineered.”

“Nice to see you too, Brian,” Ted replied laconically.

“I’d return the sentiment if I wasn’t still mad at you over that whole Daniel and Adrien thing,” Brian sounded inordinately angry, Ted thought, considering that he’d already taken care of that little matter. “You do know that if I hadn’t stepped in when I did you’d be facing a pretty hefty lawsuit right now, don’t you? I didn’t appreciate having to get involved like that, Theodore.”

“I . . . ah . . . I appreciate that you took action so expeditiously, Brian,” Ted stammered. “I HAVE taken steps to make sure it doesn’t happen again, you know. And Daniel did get punished.”

“Yeah. Whatever. Just make SURE it doesn’t happen again. I might not be able to stop the fucking asswipe the next time,” Brian admonished. “He’s still a fucking loose cannon - you DO realize that, right? He’s not going to stop for long. If it’s not me he tries to get back at, it’ll be someone else.”

“I’ll keep an eye on the situation, Brian. I promise,” Ted assured his friend.

The two old acquaintances stood together silently for a few minutes as they watched all the goings on happening in the large back yard of the Residence. Ted was acutely aware of Brian’s presence and his seemingly uncaring nudity. Brian was aware that Ted was checking him out - although it wasn’t the first time Ted had done this. Usually the former accountant wasn’t quite so blatant about it, though.

“See anything you like, Theodore?” Brian finally had to say something.

*Ahem* “Sorry, Bri. It’s just . . . well, in the flesh and all . . . it’s . . . different, you know?” Ted half apologized, but did avert his eyes from Brian’s crotch in the process.

“I feel like a fucking exhibit at the damned Zoo!” Brian complained. “Your crew spent the last fucking hour ogling all of us too. It’s damned annoying. And what’s with all the new cameras and shit. Are you really going to put our naked asses on display in Pittsburgh Out and, from what I heard the crew discussing, on local television? How the fuck did you manage that? And how the hell are you going to show porn on straight television?”

“Well, your naked asses won’t be in the magazine or on TV - they’ll be editing out most of the nudity and sex, of course - but they ARE going to do segments on the show. It’s fucking amazing. This should double our viewership - at least!” Ted was about to head off into his own little fantasy world populated by large glowing dollar signs and stacks of gold coins, but Brian ruthlessly brought him back down to earth.

“Yeah, and while you’re making bucketloads of cash, my naked ass is getting spread out over the net and television for hundreds of horny fuckers to see,” Brian groused. “Well, enjoy it while you can, Theodore, because when I win your little competition and get myself set up with my own ad agency, that’ll be the LAST you see of my ass. Once I’m established, I’ll be much more exclusive with who gets to ogle the goods. Then all those desperate fags on Liberty Avenue will come after you in retaliation for being the reason they no longer have access to Brian Kinney.”

“Speaking of Liberty Avenue,” Ted figured this was as good an opportunity as he was likely to get to broach the uncomfortable topic he needed to discuss with Brian. “You probably should reply to Michael’s emails. He’s threatening to track you down, storm the Residence and pull you out of here bodily if he doesn’t hear back from you pretty soon.” Ted looked away from Brian, trying to avoid the penetrating glare he was feeling from that direction. “He’s been watching the game - a LOT - and he’s  . . . well, he’s convinced himself that you aren’t acting like yourself. He wanted me to let you out of the competition.”

“What? What the fuck does that mean? I’m not ‘acting like myself’? That’s bullshit!” Brian rolled his eyes, unprepared to deal with yet another of Mikey’s flights of fantasy. “Just tell him that I’m fucking fine and I’m not leaving here until I’ve won the million dollars.”

“I’ve tried, Bri,” Ted didn’t really want to explain exactly WHY Michael was so upset, but he figured he owed his friend the heads up. “Like I said, Michael’s been watching and he . . . um . . . he . . . hethinksyou’vebeenbrainwashedbyJustin.”

“What?” Brian heard what Ted had said but the words had been fired off so rapidly that he figured he must have been mistaken.

“Michael’s convinced that you’re on drugs or else you’ve been brainwashed because you’re acting all . . . well, because of how you’re acting . . . around Justin.” Ted finished off lamely.

*Erghhhh!* Brian was speechless. He had no idea how to respond to Ted’s accusations. He didn’t really WANT to respond to them. And he definitely didn’t want to hear Mikey’s side of things. He didn’t have to. He could already hear Mikey’s high-pitched whiny voice, droning on and on like a malarial mosquito that’s trapped in your bedroom on the hottest night of August. Brian was well aware that his best friend would be the first to give him shit about whatever the fuck he was doing with the little blond. Mikey was the last person who’d want to hear that Brian was growing up or moving on. Brian knew he couldn’t escape the whiny wrath forever. He just thought he’d have a little more time to enjoy himself before he had to face the consequences - and Mikey.

“Mikey can fuck off!” Brian heard the anger in his own voice and tried to modulate it but was having trouble quelling his emotions. “I’ve never bothered to ask Mikey’s opinion about who I’m fucking and I don’t plan to start now.”

Brian might have said even more if he hadn’t been interrupted right at that most inopportune moment by the advent of a bouncy blond boy who breezed up to them, bubbling over with beauty and boundless energy. He bounced to a stop in front of Brian, bopped up onto his tiptoes and bombarded the big brunet with a flurry of kisses.

Brian could feel Ted's questioning gaze boring into his skin. In about thirty seconds the man was going to say something cutting, make some comment about Mikey being right, about Brian acting out of character. He imagined that Ted thought he, Brian, looked ridiculous, spending all his time with a little teeny bopper like Justin. In his mind, Brian could already hear Ted making fun of him.

So he panicked.

"Hey, Big Guy," Justin burbled, lacing his fingers with Brian's and starting to pull him towards the far side of the lawn. "They're ready for us over by the pool."

"I'll be there in a minute," Brian growled, yanking his hand away from the bodacious blond with maybe a bit too much force.

"What's wrong, Brian?" The concerned young man reached out a hand to rub Brian's arm. "Are you okay?"

"I SAID I'll fucking be there, all right? Or don't you understand English anymore?" Brian hissed the words and viciously tore his arm out of the kid's gentle grasp.

For about ten seconds, Justin's face registered puzzlement. But when Brian didn't relent, just stood there looking down his aquiline nose at him without any comment at all, that quickly changed to hurt. Brian could feel that little seed pearl of panic in his chest growing as he watched the boy's beautiful face crumple and all his enthusiastic energy drain out right in front of Brian's eyes. Then, even worse, the corners of Justin's mouth drooped into an angry frown, his lips screwed up tightly together and his eyes slanted into furious blue triangles. Brian had never seen his blond frown before. It made something in his chest flutter unpleasantly.

"Fine!" was all that the boy said, but Brian could hear volumes of anger hovering behind that one short word.

And without further comment, the now-much-less-bouncy blond turned on his heel and stomped off alone. Brian just stood where he was. He found that he was breathing heavily, his heart was beating a mile a minute and his palms were wet with sweat. That little pearl of panic in his chest had accreted several new layers of mingled fear and confusion and now felt like a twenty pound weight on his heart. But he had no idea what to do or say. All he could do was stand there and watch the boy's bounteous backside walking away from him.

What the hell had he just done?

"Shit," Brian muttered under his breath and bit worriedly at his bottom lip.

"You know, Brian," Ted haltingly murmured when Justin was finally out of hearing range, "you don't have to listen to Michael. I mean . . . well . . . Justin seems like a really sweet kid and . . ."

"Fuck off, Ted!" Brian spat furiously, turning and striding irately away from his purported 'friend' as fast as he could flee.

"Ooooookkkkkaaaaaayyyy," Ted sighed and looked around guiltily. "Well, at least it seems like Michael's concerns about Brian acting out of character are taken care of. It looks like the heartless Stud we all know and feel ambivalent about is alive and kicking," Ted tried to reassure himself.

Ted looked around and was relieved that nobody seemed to have overheard his conversation with Brian. He was feeling overwhelmingly responsible for having apparently precipitated the argument between Brian and the cute little blond. Ted had never seen his friend so enamored with another guy before. He'd actually enjoyed watching Brian and the kid together. He should have known better than to bring up the unpleasant subject of Michael Novotny. Now it looked like he'd singlehandedly derailed any chance Brian might have had with the dynamic blond boy. He'd kick himself if he thought it would do any good.

From across the yard, Ted could see the House Boys lining up for the announcement of the day's challenge. He watched as Brian darted several surreptitious glances at the little blond. Unfortunately, Justin was still fuming and pointedly ignored Brian. It was clear to anyone in the know that Brian regretted his thoughtless words but had no clue about how to even begin to fix things. His usual insouciant mask was completely missing. The distracted-looking brunet was radiating anxiety and distress, chewing at his lip and acting like he didn't know whether to scream or run and hide. And all the while, Brian couldn't keep his eyes off the still seething blond boy.

'Maybe', Ted thought, 'the heartless Stud isn't back after all? Maybe Michael was right? Something IS wrong with Brian - he's fallen in love'.

"Poor bastard!" Ted smiled bleakly and shook his head at his clueless friend's situation. "He has no fucking idea what's hit him. I think Brian Kinney may have finally met his match."