ICE STORM

Part 5

 

When Justin returned from the kitchen, everyone had found a quiet activity to occupy some time. Ted was listening to his Discman with his head resting on the back of the couch and his eyes closed. Lindsay sat at the window sketching. Ben had returned to the table, and was working his way through what looked like students’ papers. Debbie was crocheting a rainbow afghan for a PFLAG fundraiser. It looked to Justin that Vic had fallen asleep reading the newspaper.  Michael and Emmett had moved to the hall area with the Battleship game. They were trying to keep it down but occasionally, “E7”, “B3”, “hit” or “miss” could be heard. Mel was trying to get somewhere on the puzzle. Her frustrated face made Justin smile to himself.

 

His smile grew much wider when he saw Brian watching his son sleep. Not wanting to disturb the moment, he retrieved his backpack and sat in Vic’s lazyboy. It really was the most comfortable seat in the house. He was sitting on the edge of the seat, leaning forward looking into his backpack, when Brian plopped down into the chair sideways behind him.

 

“I’m bored,” the older man sighed.

 

The chair’s sudden movement lurched the teen forward, but a strong hand caught him and pulled him back until he rested against his chest. They enjoyed several long kisses but eventually Justin pulled back.

 

“Bri, we’re not home, we can’t spend the afternoon having sex here. I think our little trip upstairs is it until the storm is over.”

 

“Okay, not now, but don’t make any hasty decisions. We could be stuck here longer than we want to be. What the fuck am I saying? We’ve already been stuck here longer than I wanted.”

 

“Well, stop complaining. You get like this whenever you don’t have any work to do. You need a hobby.”

 

“What?” Brian asked incredulously.

 

“If you haven’t brought anything home from work to work on it is impossible for me to study. You are constantly distracting me. Have you noticed, I hardly ever study at home anymore? I go to the library or to Daph’s. It’s the only way I can concentrate.”

 

“It’s not my fault you have the attention span of a gnat.” Brian offered, as he brushed Justin’s bangs out of his eyes.

 

“Okay, smartass, next time you have a campaign to work on at night, I’ll start with your little activities.”

 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” protested Brian, combing his fingers through blond hair.

 

They were talking quietly, almost whispering, but everyone could hear them and found the exchange quite entertaining.

 

“First, you casually ask what I’m doing and if I need any help.”

 

“And people wonder why I’m selfish. I try to help and it gets thrown in my face,” said Brian, smiling as he traced the edge of Justin’s ear with his finger.

 

“If I say no, you politely leave me alone.”

 

“See!”

 

“For two minutes, then you start with the questions. Is there anything you can get me? Am I comfortable? Hungry? Thirsty? Do I need the computer? Would I like to listen to music?” Justin continued as he ran his finger tips over the stubble on Brian’s face as if he were reading Braille.

 

“I was under the impression that you wanted me to be more considerate,” smirked Brian.

 

Mel wasn’t having much luck with the puzzle as her attention was on the couple in the easy chair.

 

“I do, but not when you are keeping me from studying,” said Justin, stretching his neck so Brian could rub it.

 

“It doesn’t end there. I know you try to leave me alone but you can’t find anything to capture your attention. After flipping through the TV channels about a dozen times you give up and try to find a DVD, to no avail. So, with a loud sigh, you head for the kitchen. You go through the fridge and the shelves even though we both know you won’t eat anything. Then you go to the bedroom to read.”

 

“There you go, I eventually leave you alone.”

 

“The thing is you never read. The same book has been on your side of the bed for months and I doubt you’ve made it past the first chapter.”

 

“I usually make sure I have more interesting things to do in bed. You know that.”

 

“By this time, at least an hour has passed and you decide to take a shower.”

 

“You know me, cleanliness is next to Godliness.”

 

Justin now played with Brian’s hair making it stick straight up. “On the rare occasions that I haven’t joined you in the shower, you walk around naked when you are through.”

 

“Air drying is better for the skin,” explained Brian with a wicked smile.

 

“You are such a study in contradictions. For someone so meticulous about your ‘designer’ clothes, you sure do walk around without them a lot.”

 

“All that matters is that I look good.”

 

“You always look good,” said Justin, giving his lover a soft kiss. “What was I saying again?” He asked after the kiss, having lost his train of thought.

 

“You were complaining that you can’t study at the loft because I walk around naked.”

 

“Not complaining really but how is anyone supposed to resist that?”

 

“You have resisted a couple of times,” countered Brian.

 

“Twice,” Justin corrected. “And what did you do those times?”

 

“I continued to occupy myself so as not to disturb you,” smiled Brian, as he ran his thumb along the collar of the boy’s sweater.

 

The teen laughed, “The first time you went on to watch my favorite porn movie. The second time, you took the toy box to the kitchen and proceeded to scrub each one, one at a time. That was it. I couldn’t take anymore.”

 

“Proper care will prolong the life of anything, Sunshine.”

 

They both laughed and shared a few more kisses.

 

Ben couldn’t help but smile. He always thought there was more to this relationship than what it was that he could see and what the others told him. Now he witnessed it for himself.

 

This time, Brian pulled away from the kiss. “What’s in there?” He asked motioning to the backpack. “This might be a good time for me to learn more about art so I can stop nodding and pretending that I know what the fuck you are talking about.”

 

“I love that you sometimes listen even if you don’t understand.”

 

“Give me a text book and hopefully I will understand more in a little bit.”

 

“I didn’t bring any textbooks, too heavy.”

 

“So, what else is in there? There must be something to do.”

 

“Let me see,” said Justin, leaning forward to look through the bag once again. “We didn’t do these last Sunday,” he said holding up two pieces of paper.

 

“We were otherwise engaged,” smirked Brian.

 

“Yeah,” sighed Justin.

 

“Am I to believe that you haven’t looked at them, so you could cheat?”

 

“Are you questioning my integrity?” Glared Justin.

 

“No Sunshine, I was just teasing. I would never do that,” explained Brian quickly.

 

“Okay, but you know I hate those little quips you dole out so freely. I am not going to take that shit and we talked about it. It comes down to respect and I don’t feel respected when you say that crap.”

 

“I didn’t mean anything by it. It’s just a habit. I’m sorry and I am trying to stop. Really!”

 

“Okay,” said Justin smiling. “Here one for you and one for me.”

 

“I need a pencil and something hard to write on.”

 

Both men sat down and got comfortable. Justin took his watch off and placed it on the coffee table beside him. Brian was looking at it wistfully.

 

“Why are you staring at my watch?”

 

“Just remembering some of the more interesting things we have timed with it. It’s the best present I ever gave you.”

 

Justin smiled. “Get set. GO!”

 

They both began their identical copies of a New York Times Crossword puzzle.

 

Debbie smiled, pleased to see things going well for her two adopted sons.

 

Vic, who hadn’t really been sleeping, was relieved to hear Justin demand respect and receive it.

 

Gus started to fuss, so Brian pulled him from the playpen and returned to his puzzle. Gus happily slapped his hands on the coffee table and tried to steal Brian’s pencil so he could eat the eraser.

 

“Sorry to wake you,” said Brian, noticing Vic sit up.

 

“That’s okay. Where did you get the crosswords?”

 

“Brian subscribes to the New York Times on line, so I always print two copies of it so we can see who is faster,” explained Justin.

 

“Do you do it every week?” Mel gasped.

 

“Almost, unless we are busy doing something else,” smiled Justin. “We tend to sleep late on Sundays and then lounge around for the afternoon.”

 

Brian glared at his young lover for revealing their private activities, but a slurpy kiss from Gus softened his attitude.

 

Mel was stunned at what she was seeing and hearing. Brian was being playful and affectionate. The only hint she had ever had to this side of Brian was from his interactions with Gus.

 

“The Times has the hardest puzzles. Do you both finish them?” Vic asked.

 

“Sometimes we get stuck. It’s funny that what I get stuck on is different than what he does. So if we combine our answers we almost always finish it,” Justin continued.

 

“That is because you complement each other,” smiled Vic. Brian rolled his eyes.

 

Everyone laughed when they heard Michael exclaim, “You sunk my battleship.” He sounded like a spoiled whiny kid.

 

The timer on Justin’s watch sounded.

 

“I missed three,” sighed the teen.

 

“Four,” admitted Brian. “But I had a baby crawling all over it and scribbling on it.”

 

“Excuses, excuses,” smiled the teen.

 

“Did you get 27 down?” Brian asked.

 

“Trajectory.”

 

“That is what I thought, but it doesn’t fit. The third letter has to be an ‘o’ to fit with 33 across.”

 

“That’s your mistake. The answer for 33 across is Manet not Monet.”

 

Justin’s stomach started to rumble loudly and everyone heard it. Gus giggled, pointed at Justin’s tummy, and said, “Jusin hungy, me too!” Brian laughed happily.

 

“Maybe, we better get dinner started,” said Debbie. Mel just stared dumbfounded.

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