Chapter 42 - Sling-capades. (Saturday, July 9th)

“Teddy! Em! Get your asses in here boys, Vic’s quiche is getting cold,” Debbie hollered affectionately at the two men standing on her doorstep as she alternately hugged them and then swatted their behinds to get them moving.

“Good morning to you too, Deb,” Emmett replied as he scooted inside before he got a second tap on his tush.

“Tell me, Deb, why in the world would you want to spend your day off from the Diner serving food at your own house?” Ted asked, even as he moved to join the rest of the family around the brunch table.

“This isn’t work, Honey. This is family. It’s different. Now sit!” Deb asserted as she bustled around the kitchen carrying serving platters and pitchers of juice and such. “Michael, don’t be a rude little shit - It’s time to put that laptop away,” Deb ordered as she handed her son a large plate of crisp bacon slices and browned breakfast links. “I like looking at a nice dick as much as the next person, but not while I’m eating breakfast sausage! Hah!”

“Ma! Do you have to be so . . . graphic, all the time?” Michael complained, but followed directions anyway and closed up the laptop computer which he slid underneath his chair.

“I’m not the one watching porn at the breakfast table, dear,” Debbie gave her son a slap to the back of his head in passing as she went back to the counter to grab the second quiche.

“You’re still obsessing over Ted’s show,” Mel asked derisively as she glowered at Michael. “I would have thought that even you would get tired of watching Brian’s naked ass 24/7 after a month and a half. He can’t be THAT fascinating.”

“You don’t know the half of it,” Ted murmured to Mel who happened to be sitting next to him. “Matt, the bartender at Woody’s, forced me to give Michael a free pass to the site so that he would finally leave the bar. It was getting a little ridiculous. The bar stool he’d been planted on for the last month was showing a permanent impression of his ass print.”

Mel snickered at Ted’s joking description, although it wasn’t that far from reality. Michael HAD been spending pretty much all his free time at Woody’s watching the Summer of Sin on their big screen televisions. But, since he could only afford to buy one or two drinks a night, and just milked those for hours, Matt had been getting a little miffed at the annoying freeloader. It was either give the guy a pass to the website or have him banned for life from Woody’s, so Ted finally relented. Since then, Michael had been basically glued to his computer, carrying it with him everywhere he went - even to work where he would watch during his breaks - and pretty much everyone who knew him was getting more than a little fed up.

“I’m not obsessing any more than anyone else,” Michael responded to Mel once he’d freed up his hands and served himself a piece of quiche. “Tell her, Ted. You get as much as 5,000 hits a day on your site because of the game, right? I’m not any more obsessed than the rest of them,” Mel continued to look skeptical at Michael’s insistence that he wasn’t obsessed. “Besides, it’s a really interesting show and I don’t just watch Brian. All the guys are pretty hot. Well, most of them. All except for the stupid little twink that keeps harassing Brian all the time. When are you going to get rid of that troublemaker, Ted?”

“Are you talking about Justin?” Lindsey asked, pausing in the act of spooning a forkful of scrambled eggs into Gus’ mouth. “I actually met him when I was out at the Residence with Ted last week. I was really impressed with the painting he produced. I was amazed that it was the work of someone so very young. He needs training, of course, but he does show potential." Turning back to feeding her son, she added, "I CAN see what you mean about him tagging along after Brian too much, though, Michael. Justin sort of insinuated himself into a private discussion we were having about Gus. He was more than a little disrespectful too. I was surprised Brian didn't call him on it - you know how much Brian normally likes to guard his privacy and if it had been one of us he'd have bitten our heads off - but he just let this kid butt in, virtually take over the conversation and then blew me off to drag Justin away upstairs. I thought that was a little rude even for Brian."

"Sounds like typical Brian Kinney to me," Mel intoned, raising her glass of mimosa in a mock toast to the absent stud. "What did you expect? His son versus a hot piece of ass? Was there ever any doubt which Brian would choose?"

"Mel," Lindsey chided her partner, more out of habit than anything else.

“It’s not Brian’s fault. I’m sure it’s that stupid kid. He was probably the one behind that rude email Brian sent me a few weeks ago as well. Brian’s never acted like that to me before. And now he’s not even responding to my emails at all,” Michael looked over at Ted with contempt, as if the Internet Producer was at least in some part responsible for foisting off the unwelcome blond boy on his Best Friend. “I really don’t know why you’re still keeping that little chicken in your game, Ted. He’s not really up to the same level as the rest of the contestants. Can’t you get rid of him somehow?”

“What are you talking about, Michael? I ADORE sweet little Justin. He’s such a cutie! And he and Brian make a dreamy couple,” Emmett nosed into the conversation, not willing to let anyone put down one of his favorites. “Since we lost my beautiful Great Dane, and Kerek’s all alone now, Brian and Justin are THE ruling couple in the Residence. You can’t get rid of Justin, Teddy. You just CAN’T!”

“Brian’s not part of any COUPLE! That’s fucking ridiculous, Em. You know Brian doesn’t do relationships or boyfriends or any of that shit. He’s Brian ‘Fucking’ Kinney, for Pete’s Sake!” Michael was so vehement about this pronouncement that he spat out half a mouthful of food as he spewed out the words. “I really should go see him and let him know how badly this kid is hurting his reputation. I mean, if even Emmett, who KNOWS Brian, thinks that he’s somehow involved with this annoying brat, just think what everyone on Liberty Avenue is thinking. You have to let me see him, Ted!” Ted just shook his head and tried to avoid meeting Michael’s eyes, so the insistent man turned instead to Lindsey. “Hey, you said YOU were over there this week, Lindz. That means you know where this house is at. Since Ted is still being all secretive about this shit, you can tell me where it is and then I can just go see Brian without his help.”

Lindsey started to speak up, but Ted rushed to interrupt her before she could get out even one word. “No. Lindsey can’t do that. If she DID tell you anything about the Residence or it’s location, then I would sue her boss for breach of the Confidentiality Agreement he signed and which she’s subject to as his employee. If I see you anywhere within a mile of the place, Michael, Lindsey will be losing her brand new job and she understands that. Right, Lindsey?” Ted looked intently at Lindsey, who nodded her head and pretended to zip her lips closed.

“Fuck! Come on, Ted. You know that Brian wouldn’t mind.” Since Michael’s end run hadn’t worked he switched over to his tried and true ‘whine-them-into-submission’ mode.

“Actually, I think Brian WOULD mind. He doesn’t need any distractions. If I’d known Lindsey was going to blindside him with more of that hypocritical shit about not letting him see Gus unless he dropped out of the game, I wouldn’t have let HER in to see him either,” Ted gave both the girls a disgusted look which caused Lindsey to blush with embarrassment and Mel to look back defiantly. “What you guys don’t seem to realize is that this ‘Game’ is serious shit for Brian and the others. They’re competing for real money. It’s more of a job than a game, really. And if Brian does well and manages to stay in the contest for the whole summer, Gus will be one of the primary beneficiaries once Brian opens up his own agency. All that money he pays you two for Gus’ support has to come from somewhere, you know. If you were really his friends, you wouldn’t be harassing him with shit that would distract him from doing his best to win.”

“Especially since Brian winning the game means that he gets to spend more time with his beautiful, blazing blue-eyed beauty,” Emmett gushed dreamily. “I just think it’s so sweet the way Brian’s been taking Justin under his wing and sort of mentoring him. They’re just so scrumptious together. When those two get paired up, the sex is so hot it’s likely to melt the monitor on my computer one of these days!” Emmett dramatically fanned himself with one hand and pretended to swoon until he got the requisite amount of laughter. “And, no matter WHAT you say, Michael, I think Brian’s definitely more serious about that sweet young thang than I’ve EVER seen him act with any other guy. In fact, I think that this just might be the boy to cause Brian to break all those tired old cliche rules of his.”

Michael started to protest, always ready to restate Brian’s mantra that ‘he didn’t do relationships or boyfriends or even overnight guests’ for the thousandth time. Both Emmett and Ted rolled their eyes at this unnecessary repetition. From what they’d both seen lately, Brian’s old credo no longer held true - at least not where a certain young blond was concerned. But every time they tried to speak up to correct his misapprehensions, Michael just shouted them down, refusing to even listen to their reasoning and maintaining over and over again, that they had to be wrong. That he was Brian’s Best Friend. That he knew Brian better than anyone . . . ad nauseum.

“Michael, you are thirty years old,” Vic, who normally tried to stay out of family politics, felt he HAD to step in at this point. “When you go on and on about how Brian’s your Best Friend, you sound like you’re about ten. You really should be able to live without your childhood best friend for a whole summer by now. You need to get a life of your own and butt out of Brian’s. And I think Brian’s perfectly capable of speaking up for himself if he needs to. He doesn’t need you standing up for him or putting words in his mouth, especially when he isn’t here to correct you if you’re wrong.” Michael didn’t say anything but looked back at his uncle like a petulant child who wasn’t happy about being scolded by an adult. “Besides, I think it’s a good thing that Brian seems to be forming a relationship with this Justin. He’s cut himself off from the rest of the world for too long. If Brian’s finally opening up and letting someone in . . . well, it just proves what I’ve known all along, that Brian isn’t as tough as he seems. I actually think this contest is exactly what he needed to start growing up . . . which he is.”

“Uncle Vic, you don’t know Brian like I do . . .” Unfortunately, it didn’t look like Michael was in the mood to back down, no matter how many people contradicted him.

Luckily for everyone, Ted’s cell phone started ringing right at that moment, providing the room with just the distraction needed to FINALLY change the topic.

“Yeah . . . Okay. Yeah, I guess you’re right. I’ll head over there now and I’ll let you know what happens. Bye.” Ted folded up his napkin and tossed it on his still half-full plate. “Sorry about having to take that call, Deb. It was the guys over at the Residence. I’m afraid there’s a bit of a problem and I’ve got to go deal with it.”

”What? Someone can’t get it up? Or did you run out of lube?” Debbie guffawed loudly at her own jokes and good-naturedly waved Ted’s apologies off, still yelling after him even as the front door was swinging closed. “You better hurry over there and start greasing them up. It’s the big Saturday Sausage-fest today, isn’t it? I’m sure they need your expertise, Honey. Hah!”

When Ted did walk into the Residence about fifteen minutes later, he found the Stud who’d been the primary topic of the Brunch conversation snuggling on the couch in the Greatroom with the evil twink who was supposedly corrupting Brian’s morals and single-handedly ruining Brian’s Liberty Avenue rep. The sight was so unexpected that Ted actually paused and stared at the pair for several minutes. The couple was so caught up in each other that they didn’t notice they had an audience, so Ted had more than enough time to observe this rare, unguarded-Kinney moment.

Brian was propped up in the corner of the big sectional couch with the slender frame of the younger man positioned between his legs and Justin leaning back against his chest. Justin’s knees were raised and his sketchpad was braced up against them, his pencil scratching away at the paper with a repetitive homey sound. Their two heads - one white-blond and the other a sultry auburn - were held intimately close together as they conversed quietly. Brian’s chin was resting where he could look over the busy artist’s shoulder at whatever was being set down on the paper. One of Brian’s arms was coiled around the slim waist, holding the boy tightly against him. The other was perched on the back of the couch so that his fingers could casually play with the slightly longer blond hair at the nape of Justin’s neck. Their legs were so intertwined together that you couldn’t really tell where one man ended and the other began.

“I hope to fuck Michael’s watching right now,” Ted laughed softly to himself. “THIS should drive him completely around the bend!” *Hehehehe* “Brian doesn’t do boyfriends . . . RIGHT! Shit, Michael, you’re either in denial or blind.”

Ted decided not to disturb the adorable couple. Intruding on his friend’s intimate and very private moment felt wrong. Instead, he proceeded past their snugglefest without saying a word and jogged down the stairs to the Break Room where his first problem of the morning was waiting for him. Well, second, if you counted Michael’s temper tantrum at brunch . . .

Inside the small room, Ted found Campbell, the Lead Site Manager, who usually took on the role of one of The Master’s masked servants while he was supervising the rest of the staff at the Residence. Next to Campbell was Daniel, who had turned one of the straight-backed computer chairs around and was straddling it while he chatted with the ‘servant’, both waiting for Ted’s arrival. The ball gag that Daniel had been wearing all week was lying on the computer table next to Daniel’s elbow. Both men looked up expectantly when Ted opened the door.

“Morning!” Ted greeted them succinctly and sat down in the second computer chair. “Campbell. Daniel. What’s up?”

“Daniel is requesting that we get rid of the gag,” Ted’s employee stated the issue succinctly and then sat back while the boss handled things.

“It’s fucking uncomfortable,” Daniel launched into his angry complaint. “My jaw is fucking killing me and the rubber is starting to chafe at the corners of my mouth. I can’t keep wearing this damn thing all the time or I’ll be rubbed raw. If you force me to do this and I’m injured as a result, I WILL fucking sue you regardless of your damned waiver. You can’t deliberately cause me injury and expect to get away with it.” The pompous pain in the ass finished defiantly and then leaned back to await Ted’s response.

Luckily, Ted had already received a heads up from Campbell about what Daniel would be requesting and he’d had time on the drive over to think this through. That didn’t mean he had come up with any real solutions, but at least he wasn’t blindsided by the rebellious demands. Daniel’s haughtily worded approach wasn’t exactly reassuring though. If he’d meant to win Ted over to his side he sure wasn’t going about it very wisely.

“I appreciate that you might be experiencing some discomfort from the arrangement,” Ted tried to start out diplomatically. “That was actually part of the reason we decided to go with this as your punishment. It wasn’t meant to be a pleasant experience for you.” Ted saw Daniel begin to bristle at this statement and hurried on before the other man could voice his disapproval. “However, I agree that it wouldn’t be appropriate to keep the disciplinary measure in place if it truly is causing you physical injury. But how can I be sure that letting you remove the gag won’t leave us right back where we started a week ago? I don’t see much evidence that you’re at all apologetic for your actions or that your attitude has changed much.”

“Well, no, I’m not apologetic, because I never agreed that I did anything wrong. The Twink and the Groid fucking overreacted and I won’t apologize to them or you because they’re too ‘sensitive’ to handle themselves in this game. It’s not my fault that some people don’t have thick enough skins,” Daniel responded insolently, looking down his nose at Ted and implying that he too was just as big a wuss. “But, I HAVE done what you asked and towed the line all week. I’ve been a good, obedient, little boy. That’s got to fucking count for something.”

“Not really, since if you didn’t you’d have been kicked out,” Ted could be just as defiant as anyone. “But, I did speak to The Master on my way over here and we’re in agreement that you should be released from your punishment . . . for the time being.” The triumphant smile on the smarmy face across from him was not at all reassuring to Ted, but he had already decided what to do and decided to carry on as planned.

“You will still be held to all the same rules as the rest of the contestants. You do understand that if anyone tells you NO or asks you to STOP when you’re engaged in sexual contact with them, that you must do so immediately. We’re not going to put up with you claiming that you didn’t know someone didn’t want to let you fuck them. I don’t care what the circumstances are - if we have even one more complaint about you abusing a situation, you’re out on your ass. Do you understand?” Ted waited impatiently while Daniel apparently had to think this through - which irked Ted more than anything since it should just be a given that you stopped when someone told you to.

When Daniel finally nodded his agreement, Ted carried on. “And we’re agreeing to let you remove the gag, but we still expect you to watch your mouth. No more derogatory or racially biased comments. If you provoke someone by mouthing off to them - and we WILL know it if you do since everything is on video - you’ll be the one kicked out and not them. I don’t care what the fuck they do, if you incited it, you’re the one who’s going to be through here. As gay men we have to put up with enough trash talk being thrown at us by the rest of the world, I won’t force anyone here to have to put up with it on our home territory, so to speak.” Daniel huffed a mirthless little grunt of a laugh and rolled his eyes but didn’t say anything to antagonize Ted.

“If you can abide by these restrictions, then I will agree to let you get rid of the gag,” Ted finally conceded, albeit reluctantly. “But I’m still advising Campbell and the others to keep a close eye on you for the remainder of the summer. You’ve had more than enough chances already. If I find ANY reasonable grounds to kick you out, I will, and you won’t have even enough time to catch your breath. Do you understand me?”

Daniel grudgingly nodded. It was obvious that he was barely holding back a stream of invective against Ted’s onerous restrictions, but for the moment at least, he was controlling his tongue. Ted wasn’t under any delusion that Daniel would be able to keep it up for very long. He just hoped that when Daniel did finally let his true self show, nobody got hurt before Ted could get rid of him.

After Daniel swaggered out as if he’d won some major concession, Ted spent a few minutes discussing other matters with Campbell and then made his own way upstairs. The couch only had one occupant now - Brian was nowhere to be seen. Justin however smiled up at Ted, giving the older man a glimpse of that gorgeous, big, blindingly bright smile that had apparently won over the Stud of Liberty Avenue, and Ted could easily see why.

“Hey, Justin,” Ted managed. “Everything going okay around here lately?”

“Yeah. It’s been good. Thanks for asking,” Justin replied, setting aside his sketchpad in order to direct all his attention towards Ted. “By the way, I just wanted to thank you for that tip you gave me last week about Mel . . . I think I was able to resolve that little matter for Brian. He was really worried about his son, you know. But the girls seem to have backed off.”

“No problem, Justin. I was happy to help,” Ted replied, after looking around to make sure they were alone and lowering his voice so that, hopefully, none of the cameras would pick up his words. “Mel might be my friend, but she can also be more than a bit judgmental when it comes to Brian. Those two just seem to rub each other wrong sometimes. And I wasn’t about to let her get away with that hypocritical shit about Brian’s participation in the Summer of Sin being so bad for Gus, when I knew for a fact, as her accountant, that she still receives some residuals from her own morally-questionable modelling activities.”

“Well, I don’t know Mel myself . . .” Justin looked over at Ted and, remembering that both he and Brian were still friends with the woman no matter what she’d done, changed what he was going to say. “I guess I just have a hard time dealing with hypocrites. But, all’s well that ends well, right? As long as Brian isn’t being forced out of the game for some ridiculous reason, I’m happy.”

“I hope that my news doesn’t change that,” Ted offered, with a little trepidation. “Just thought you should know that, as of this morning, I’ve agreed to let Daniel take off the gag.”

“What the fuck? Why did you do that,” Brian cut in angrily, coming up behind Justin and wrapping a protective arm around the boy’s chest. “You know he’ll just start up shit again.”

“Yeah, but I don’t think I could get away with keeping him physically gagged for another month and a half. Actually, I was surprised he put up with it as long as he did,” Ted shook his head and frowned. “I just wanted to give you guys a heads up. My staff knows to keep a close watch on him though. And if he causes any more trouble, he’s out. I promise.”

“Yeah, right. He’s a sneaky, manipulative little fucker. I can’t see him doing anything overt that would get him kicked out. But that doesn’t mean he won’t still be causing trouble somehow.” Brian sounded concerned and his grip around Justin’s body tightened instinctively.

There might have been more discussion about the issue, but right then a pair of masked servants came into the Greatroom and moved to the bingo ball machine to begin the selection of the next pair of contestants due in the Passion Pit. Daniel himself came into the room then as well, followed by a couple more House Boys, so the conversation between Brian, Ted and Justin was put on hold. Everyone’s attention was taken up for the moment by the selection process.

“Daniel.” The servant with the balls announced the first name. “And . . . Justin.” The second name was read and immediately met with a round of groans from everyone present except Daniel himself.

“Shit!” Justin muttered under his breath and returned Daniel’s gloating smile with a grimace.

Behind him, Justin heard Brian echoing his prior statement, “Shit!”

*Ahem* Ted cleared his throat apologetically. “Good luck, Justin,” Ted said quietly and then moved off, knowing that his presence there wasn’t going to help much at this point.

“So, what do you think the chances are of getting Daniel to agree to let ME top?” Justin asked, as he watched the gloating Asian man making some stupid boastful remarks to the other boys.

“Slim to none,” Brian answered, his grip on Justin’s shoulders becoming almost painfully tight as he contemplated the distasteful prospect of Daniel and his boy together. “He’s wanted in your ass from day one. I’m surprised you’ve been able to avoid him this long, Sunshine.”

“Me too. Oh well. It was inevitable, I guess,” Justin sounded resigned but not really all that upset.

“Hey, Jus. You okay?” Malik came up to them with a tense look that eclipsed that of either Brian or Justin.

“I guess. We all knew this was coming eventually, right,” Justin tried to reassure his friend.

“Yeah, but today of all days . . . I figured you’d be a lot more freaked out by this,” Mal seemed more confused by Justin’s lack of worry than anything.

“Why would I be freaked out? I mean, yeah, it’s not like I’d ever voluntarily choose Daniel as my partner, but other than that, it’s no big deal.” Justin answered.

“No big deal? Wow. I really thought you’d be more upset about this. I didn’t think you’d want your first time with Daniel to involve restraints,” Mal replied with evident confusion.

"What restraints? What the hell are you talking about, Mal?" Brian pounced on that one word - 'restraints' - with evident fury.

"Haven't you guys been paying attention this morning?" Mal was incredulous, but both Brian and Justin simply looked at each other, completely perplexed. "Damn, you guys . . . This morning when The Master announced that there was a new toy down in the Passion Pit, he wasn't talking about just another fun vibrating dildo. They’ve replaced the bed with a sling,” Malik explained to the oblivious pair who’d been too wrapped up in each other to notice anything else going on around them.

“A sling? What . . .” Justin, the neophyte, apparently didn’t have a clue.

“A sex sling. You know - big leather cradle hung from the ceiling by chains, complete with leg and wrist restraints to keep you in place. Not exactly your thing, I wouldn’t think, Cupcake,” Malik couldn’t help teasing his innocent friend.

“Oooohhhhhhh. That kind of sling. Shit! That’s . . . different,” Justin was chewing on his lip as he thought about the complications of this new parameter.

Justin was about to reply, ready to just dismiss Mal's concerns or at least play them down when he felt the arm still wrapped around his chest from behind start to shake. He craned his neck around to get a look at Brian's face and immediately knew that something was seriously wrong. Brian had that open mouthed, blank-stare look that Justin had only seen twice before. Specifically, when the usually composed man was inordinately upset by something. He knew that whatever it was, it must be serious if it could throw Brian like this.

"Mal, could you . . ." Justin tipped his head to the side and pointed with his eyes, giving his friend a silent plea that he needed a minute alone with Brian.

"Yeah, sure. But, if you need anything, just holler. We'll all be watching. If Daniel DOES get out of hand, we'll be there in a heartbeat. Okay?" Justin smiled a thank you and Mal headed off to arrange the potential rescue squad.

As soon as they were alone, Justin turned in Brian's arms and looked up into the alarmingly pale face of his companion.

"What is it, Brian?" He whispered urgently.

"You . . . You can't, Justin. You shouldn't . . ." Brian looked down at the small, delicately boned boy, who seemed so vulnerable in so many ways, and couldn’t find the words to continue.

“I don’t understand, Brian,” Justin could feel the bigger man trembling now under his hands but didn’t know how to help him. “Tell me what’s wrong. Is it about Daniel? I’m not that worried about him, Brian. I was prepared for this. I knew it was going to happen someday. I’ll be fine.”

“It’s different . . . When you . . . When you’re tied . . .” Brian was panting now, seemingly unable to catch his breath, and on the verge of panicking. “When you’re with someone you can’t trust and . . . and you can’t . . . can’t get away . . .” Brian’s eyes had that vacant, far away look, as if he wasn’t looking at Justin anymore but rather through him.

Justin reached up with both hands and cradled Brian’s face. “Shhhh. It’s okay, Brian,” He ran his thumb across the trembling raspberry red lips to stem the stuttering half-coherent explanation. “I know you’re worried about me, but I’ll be okay. I won’t let him hurt me. I’ll be okay,” Justin tried to reassure his concerned lover but didn’t seem to be getting through to him. “You’re okay, Brian. You’re okay.” He kept repeating, more worried about the panic-stricken man in his arms than he was for himself. “Brian. Brian, listen to me. It’s going to be okay. You’ll be watching, right? And so will Mal and the rest of the guys. I’ll be fine. Daniel won’t have a chance to do anything to hurt me. Okay? You won’t let him. Right? Everything is going to be okay.”

Once again, Justin watched in amazement as Brian miraculously pulled himself together in mere seconds. All it took was a couple of deep breaths, a long blink and then Brian rolled his neck till it cracked. When he opened his eyes again and looked at Justin, the panicky look was gone and all that was left was the smooth, blank, cavalier Stud that everyone else saw all the time. It was fascinating and terrifying at the same time to have been allowed behind that mask, even if only for a second, and even if the result was the sense of dread that Justin had caught from Brian’s momentary panic.

Justin didn’t have any clue what had caused Brian to become so spooked. Again. But there had to be something really scary in the man’s past to cause someone so supremely confident to lose it so completely. Justin wanted to help Brian so badly, but didn’t know if even he would be granted access to those deeply hidden secrets. Whatever they were.

“You ready for me, Cupcake?” a sneering drawl interrupted Justin’s musings.

“Yeah, Daniel. As ready as I’ll ever be. I’ll meet you downstairs in a minute,” Justin dismissed the bully boy but didn’t bother looking in the creep’s direction.

“So, I’m going to go do this but I’ll be right back. You okay now?” Justin asked, trying not to sound overly concerned or nagging, knowing intuitively that this back-in-control Brian wouldn’t appreciate any coddling.

“Yep. Peachy. Just . . . just be safe, okay,” Brian’s terse reply was tempered with a heavy dose of misgiving.

“I will. Later.”

“Later, Sunshine,” Justin was reassured a little bit at hearing Brian’s voice sounding almost back to normal.

Daniel was waiting for Justin at the door to the Passion Pit with a huge smarmy grin on his face. Justin rolled his eyes at the overtly eager man. You’d think that Justin’s ass was some kind of Shangri La or something the way Daniel was panting so hard over the idea of just once getting inside it. If Daniel thought he was coming off as intimidating, or even enticing, he was way off. More than anything else, Justin simply found that attitude pathetic.

As soon as Paal and Kerek came out the door at the end of their session, Justin hustled inside. He just wanted to get this distasteful experience over with as soon as possible and get back upstairs to make sure Brian was still holding up. He wasn’t really all that scared of Daniel and didn’t think the brute would be able to do anything really horrible - not with four of his friends watching from upstairs, two of The Master’s servants standing by and about a thousand online queers glued to their computer monitors. He wasn’t exactly thrilled with the idea of letting Daniel in his ass, or with sharing his first experience in a sling with such a jerk, but he wasn’t frightened, either.

Daniel, meanwhile, was too busy gloating and strutting around to notice, at first, that Justin wasn’t reacting the way he would have expected. “So, any chance I could talk you into letting ME top this time, Daniel,” Justin asked matter-of-factly, interrupting the bully boy’s swaggering.

“Not a chance, Cupcake. That ass is mine today,” Daniel boasted with what he probably assumed was a sexy leer, but which Justin found even more pathetic than his strutting.

“Well, it was worth a try, I guess,” Justin was nonplussed at the expected response. “Whatever. Let’s just get this over with.” He moved over to the center of the room where the big round purple velvet covered bed had once stood and looked at the Passion Pit’s new addition. Suspended from the ceiling by thick, sturdy-looking chains, was a studded black leather cradle. It hovered about three feet from the ground and had straps with velcro closures for restraining ankles and wrists. Justin had only ever seen a sling on the porn sites he’d visited, so he was curious about this one, but overall, he didn’t find it all that daunting. Or at least he wouldn’t, if he were getting to try it out with anyone other than a sadistic Daniel.

“Time to hop that pretty little ass of yours up there, Cupcake,” Daniel’s demeaning use of his nickname only pissing Justin off even more.

With a little bit of trouble because of the awkward height, Justin eventually managed to slide into the cradle part of the sling. Daniel made a big production out of raising up his legs and strapping them into the ankle cuffs. Justin only balked when Daniel went to seize one of his wrists.

“That really isn’t necessary, is it? It’s not like I’m going anywhere, Daniel,” Justin clarified, trying to wrench his wrist out of the very strong grasp that was digging into his tendons and probably going to result in bruises.

“It’s all part of the show, Cupcake. You wouldn’t want to disappoint our viewers now, would you?” Daniel corrected him and then proceeded to force his wrist into the restraint anyway, making a show out of inspecting the velcro closure and ensuring it was tight enough.

“Fuck you, Daniel,” Justin huffed, his tone conveying more contempt than real anger at the big oaf’s high-handed approach to this particular fuck. “You really are a complete ass - you know that right?”

“Poor little Cupcake. Can’t handle the big leagues with the big boys? Don’t worry, I’ll show you the ropes. And the whips and paddles too . . .” Daniel’s laughter at his little joke was eerily disconcerting and the first thing so far that caused Justin any real concern. “You do look very appetizing all wrapped up in that sling, though. Your skin is so very pretty and pale. Although it should look even prettier once I’ve decorated it with a few big red marks. I think I saw a riding crop in here somewhere . . .” Daniel started to turn away and look through the nearby dresser for the toy he was interested in.

“NO. No fucking way!” Justin stated loudly. “I’m not letting you near me with a whip or paddle, Daniel. Not in your wildest fucking fantasy. If you try it, I’ll have the rest of the guys and all Ted’s staff in here in two fucking seconds,” Justin threatened, too pissed off to be intimated by this blatant scare tactic. “You can fuck me, you can even strap me into this fucking sling, because that’s part of the game. But I won’t let you hurt me. And if you try it I’ll have your ass packed out of here so fast you won’t know what hit you.”

“Party pooper!” Daniel pouted, but was still mindful of Ted’s earlier warnings, so he decided not to press the issue. “Fine. But you don’t know what you’re missing. You would have loved it, Cupcake.”

“I seriously doubt it. Now, how about you get on with the actual fucking already. We only have an hour in here, and you’ve already wasted a good ten minutes with all your stupid posturing. You’re not getting any younger, you know,” Justin prodded, hoping to get Daniel moving and then move on past this unpleasant experience sooner rather than later.

“Impatient, aren’t we? You just can’t wait to get some of this, can you,” Daniel drawled, as he pawed at his still limp dick and rubbed the tip of it up and down Justin’s upraised thigh.

“I’d rather be fucked by a 250 pound bull dyke with a strap-on than let your piddly little weiner anywhere near my ass, Danny. But since that’s not part of the game, and this is, I’ll do what I have to in order to get through this. So, anytime you’re ready . . .” Justin tried to project an unconcerned and bored tone, sure that if he betrayed any hint of fear, it would only egg Daniel on.

In his current position, Justin didn’t have the best angle to see what the fuck his partner was doing down by the end of the sling. Whatever he was trying, though, seemed to be taking an inordinate amount of time. Justin really couldn’t do anything other than hang there strapped into the sling and wait. It was a bit annoying.

“Uh, Daniel . . . Anytime you’re ready . . . I’m getting a little bored here,” Justin finally spoke up after he’d been waiting a good five minutes. “I thought you WANTED to fuck me. So, why don’t you get on with it already . . . Ow! Fuck! What the hell?” Justin’s goading was viciously interrupted by the sudden and painful introduction of three pudgy and un-lubed fingers into his ass.

“Still bored?” Daniel snarled angrily, but then smiled at the look of shocked pain on his victim’s face. “Oops. Did I forget the lube? So sorry, Cupcake. I guess all your nagging distracted me.”

“Fuck you, Daniel,” Justin panted out furiously. “No wonder you’re sleeping alone these days, if this is your idea of foreplay.” Justin grunted a little as Daniel’s thick fingers probed a little deeper but didn’t really do anything more than just annoy the fuck out of the boy - it certainly wasn’t getting him aroused at all. *Unnhhhh* “If this is the best you can do, I think I’d rather just skip the fumbling foreplay and move on to the fucking already, Daniel.”

Justin waited as patiently as he could while the clumsy fingers kept prodding at him and Daniel continued to fumble around with himself out of Justin’s direct line of vision. Justin tried not to vocalize any indication of pain - even though Daniel wasn’t being at all gentle - knowing that Brian was watching and that he didn’t want to cause his worried lover any more anxiety than necessary. It wasn’t really that bad, just extremely uncomfortable and unpleasant, and he’d probably be a little sore and bruised by tomorrow. If only Daniel would get on with it . . .

When no appreciable progress had been made after another five minutes had elapsed, Justin pulled himself up using the leverage of the wrist cuffs so he could look down at Daniel’s crotch. The man was still only half hard. Justin groaned and let his body fall back. “Daniel, if you can’t do this, then just let me out of here and I’ll take over. This is getting embarrassing.”

“Shut the fuck up,” Daniel hissed, and moved around so he was at least facing directly towards Justin at last. “If you weren’t just lying there like a fucking sack of potatoes this would probably be easier. It’s not exactly a turn on.”

“Sorry. Oh. Ah. So good. Sooooo good,” Justin mocked in a bored voice. “Is that better?”

“Stupid little fucker . . .” Daniel muttered but finally managed to get his limp dick at least hard enough to roll a condom onto it and then poke at Justin’s exposed hole, albeit a little weakly. “There we go.” Daniel muttered encouragingly to himself, not really paying any attention to Justin in the process. “Oh yeah. Oh yeah. Oh yeah,” he kept mumbling, although Justin didn’t know what the fuck he was ‘Oh yeah’ing about since the guy’s dick was barely an inch inside and so far all his efforts were leaving Justin flat.

Somehow, though, Daniel managed to get himself all the way inserted into Justin’s ass - or at least far enough that he was able to let go of his hold on his dick so that he could grab onto Justin’s hips. Justin still could barely feel anything other than a bit of residual pain left over from Daniel’s inexpert fingering. It was probably a good thing that he wasn’t very hard though, since Justin could tell that the asswipe hadn’t used any lube beyond what was already on the pre-lubed condom. And, besides the tiny initial pinch of the tiny pecker entering him, the only other sensation Justin was feeling was an ache where Daniel’s painfully hard fingers were gouging into the thin skin of his hips as he roughly pulled the sling to and fro. Justin gritted his teeth and tried to ignore the small flashes of pain in the hopes that Daniel would finish soon.

But, instead of Daniel getting harder and the fuck actually progressing, it wasn’t long before Justin felt the man’s dick going soft again. That was it. He wasn’t about to give the Roid Queen any more leeway. This was just too ridiculous.

“Stop. Daniel, stop! Let me the fuck out of here. You obviously can’t finish this and I’m tired of waiting while you try,” Justin demanded, wiggling enough even while strapped into the sling that Daniel’s soft penis slithered out altogether. Daniel didn’t make any move to undo the wrist cuffs, though. He just stood there glowering at Justin as if it was his fault Daniel couldn’t keep it up. “HEY! SOMEBODY COME GET ME OUT OF HERE!” Justin yelled, looking directly into one of the cameras.

Less than a minute later the door of the Passion Pit slammed open and both of that day’s servants came barrelling in.

“Is there a problem?” the older of the two asked, looking at Daniel menacingly.

“Yes. There is. Daniel is having a bit of a problem completing his part of this little challenge. I’ve offered to switch positions with him so we can finish up and complete our task, but he seems reluctant. However, I’m not inclined to just hang around here while he tries to get it up again. And either way, I want out of these restraints,” Justin announced, prompting the second servant to immediately reach up and undo the velcro tabs holding the wrist cuffs closed.

“It seems to me that Justin here has a point,” the older servant observed to a scowling Daniel.

“It’s not my fault he’s so fucking frigid that my dick practically froze off when I tried to fuck him,” Daniel rushed to come up with some way to save face.

“I’ve seen the kid fucking and ‘frigid’ is NOT a word I would use in any description associated with him,” the servant replied with a chuckle. “That’s irrelevant though. Your hour in the Pit isn’t over yet, so either you two fuck or you will be considered to have failed this challenge and I will report it as such to The Master. If I were you, Daniel, I’d take the boy up on his offer and let him take over. From what the other’s have said, he must be pretty good at it - none of them have complained about not being adequately topped. And at least you won’t have failed the challenge. But it’s your call.”

Justin was already out of the sling, rubbing at his sore, bruised wrists to restore the circulation. He tried not to gloat, but it was pretty hard to stop himself. Daniel’s face was puckered up in an angry pout and he looked like a toddler about to throw a tantrum. Add to that the fact that everyone both at the Residence and online had just witnessed Daniel’s impotence, and Justin almost couldn’t help breaking out into peals of laughter.

“Fuck! Damned useless fucking twinks. Just fucking lying there. Sack of potatoes . . .” Daniel was muttering under his breath and glaring at everyone as if they had all conspired to cause his little malfunction.

Justin simply stood there with the two servants and let him rant for a minute or two. It was a foregone conclusion that Daniel would cave. He wasn’t the type to just quit, especially if there was a risk that he might get kicked out of the competition for failing to complete a challenge. Justin knew it was only a matter of time before he conceded and they switched places. So did Daniel.

"Shit. Fine," Daniel conceded grudgingly a few minutes later, and shuffled reluctantly towards the sling without looking up at either the servants or Justin.

The servant in charge simply nodded at Justin and then led his associate back out of the room. Justin politely helped Daniel position his legs in the ankle cuffs but didn't bother with the wrist restraints. Then, with an emotionless efficiency, he quickly prepped Daniel - using more lube than needed, but not wanting to be accused of being vindictive - slipped on a condom and was pumping into the sling-bound man in only minutes.

"Mmmm," Daniel moaned involuntarily even though he had been determined not to capitulate so far that he betrayed any sign of enjoyment.

"Yes. I believe THAT would be your prostate gland. Although I wouldn't really know since you weren't able to find mine earlier," Justin couldn't completely hold back all the snark that was trying to break out. "Oh, look. He CAN get hard. This might not end up being a completely useless fuck after all."

It took longer than Justin was used to, but eventually he did manage to get Daniel close to a climax. He'd been holding himself back, determined to prove a point to this intransigent bully about just who had the real skills here. It was past time to end this show, though, so he redoubled his efforts and made sure that he was hitting Daniel's sweet spot repeatedly. Justin could feel that his partner was close but suspected it would take more than just the usual stimulation to bring this tough customer off. He didn’t think just fucking him or even stroking him off would cut it. Wracking his brain for some solution before he gave up and let himself come without waiting for Daniel, Justin remembered Kerek's advice from a couple of weeks earlier about how Daniel couldn't get off without a little added pain. He figured it was worth a try.

Letting go his grip where he'd been holding onto the chains of the sling to help guide the pace of the fuck, Justin reached forward with both hands and roughly twisted Daniel's nipples. Hard. And held them like that while he slammed into the man's ass about five more times. To Justin's everlasting relief, the maneuver worked like a charm. Within just moments Daniel's dick had woken up and he was spurting a thin stream of viscous white. Justin greatfully let himself go and easily found his own release seconds later.

It wasn't the best fuck of the century. It didn't even constitute a  miniscule blip on the Richter Scale of sexual performance. There'd been no real skill involved and it was completely devoid of passion. The best that could be said was that both parties reached orgasm - and considering Daniel's handicap, that was a huge achievement. But at least it was over.

Justin wasted no time pulling out and disposing of the full condom before practically running out of there. He was disgusted by Daniel and everything related to him or this last fuck. All Justin wanted right then was to get away from Daniel and back to Brian. Then he wanted a long, hot, very thorough shower. And then he wanted to forget the whole thing ever happened.

He'd barely got the door open though before Brian was there and Justin found himself wrapped up in strong reassuring arms. It felt so good. So right after that last hour of feeling so incredibly wrong. And even if it hadn't been as traumatic an experience as it could have been, it had been bad enough. Justin couldn't think of anything that would soothe him more than finding Brian ready and waiting to comfort him.

"I've got you, Sunshine," Brian whispered as he swooped Justin up the stairs, ignoring everyone and all the questions thrown at them.

Brian seemed to know exactly what Justin needed. Without wasting a second, he hustled them both into the big master bathroom and had Justin well lathered under a therapeutic rain of hot water without the boy having to voice a single request. Justin simply stood there and let the water wash everything away while Brian took control. Justin was thankful that he didn’t have to do anything or even think. Brian took care of everything. And he was so tender. So gentle. His hands gliding softly over Justin's skin, unerringly finding each sore spot or bruise and delicately caressing the hurt away. Justin had never felt so treasured in his entire life as he did while Brian was taking care of him.

“Brian,” Justin eventually turned to face his showermate and finally found the energy to speak. “I want you inside me, Brian. I want to feel you and remember you there. You’re the only one I want.” Justin had wanted to add the word ‘ever’ to that sentence, but hesitated to open up that much for fear he’d scare Brian off and instead hoped that somehow Brian would understand the unspoken declaration behind his words.

“I . . . I can’t, Justin. You’re hurt . . .” Brian’s hands had already drifted lower and were resting lightly just above the swell of Justin’s tush, his head bent so that his lips were just touching the sensitive patch of skin behind his left ear and the vibrations of his words tickled amongst the small wet hairs at the nape of his neck. “You should have called for me, Justin. I couldn’t tell how bad he was hurting you. I would have stopped him. I  . . . I should have stopped him. You’re bruised. You’re . . . you’re hurt,” Brian’s voice broke and caused Justin to look up, suddenly afraid for Brian a lot more than he was worried about his own minor injuries. He watched Brian’s fingertip as it brushed over one darkening blot of blackness on Justin’s wrist as if he could merely wipe the blemish off the otherwise perfectly pale skin. “He had no right to hurt you. To even touch you . . . I could kill him for this. He had no right . . .”

Brian’s words spooked Justin but even worse, now that they were standing so close and still, Justin could also feel the constant, invisible tremors that had begun to ripple through Brian’s frame. When he’d said he could kill Daniel, the trembling was evident in his voice as well. That chilling blankness that Justin had glimpsed in Brian’s eyes earlier was also back and the man was again on the verge of panic.

And all of a sudden their positions were reversed and it was Justin holding Brian together.

They both needed each other so much right at that moment that it was almost overwhelming. This was something that neither had ever experienced before. This level of innate trust and desperate, pulling need. But no one could save them except for themselves. And there was only one way to do that.

“Come on, Brian,” Justin took Brian’s hand in his own and started to lead him out of the shower towards their bed. “It’ll be okay. We’ll BOTH be okay. I’m not that hurt and I need you right now more than I think I’ve ever needed anything. You won’t hurt me. You couldn’t ever hurt me.”

Brian followed almost blindly and didn’t protest when Justin pulled them both down onto the bed. Their bodies fit together so well and were so accustomed to each other by now that they didn’t even notice how it happened, they just found themselves entwined in each other’s arms with nothing between them. Nothing at all. Not even one of Brian’s intrinsic invisible barriers. For once they were both completely naked in body and in soul.

“Nothing hurts when I’m with you . . . when we’re together, Sunshine,” the words were spoken so softly that Justin wasn’t sure they were even uttered aloud. Maybe Justin didn’t really need to hear the words to understand what Brian was saying. “Together we are stronger than this. We’re stronger than anything.” Justin felt it too.