Close to Home II

+ Thirteen +

"Where's the fucking corkscrew?" Brian demanded banging around in the drawers in the kitchen.

"Sitting on the fucking counter next to the fucking wine bottles," Justin retorted. He was arranging the food on the dining room table.

"Fuck!" Brian reacted.

"Calm down, Brian. It's just a party. And it's your friends."

"And your mother."

"And your son … and his mothers."

"And your best friend."

"And yours."

"What the fuck are we doing this for?"

"It seems to me that it was your idea. Shouldn't it be me asking you that question?" Justin asked with a wry grin.

"Can we call them and cancel?" Brian asked with his puppy dog eyes.

"Sure, they ought to be here in about five minutes. You could meet them at the door and tell them the party's cancelled."

"Maybe you could…"

"Fuck you, Kinney. There are a lot of things I would do for you, but that isn't one of them."

"You're no help at all," Brian griped.

"I'm no help? What the fuck have I been doing all day? I've cooked and cleaned and slaved over a hot stove to make this party perfect for you, Asshole!"

"I know, I know," Brian said contritely. "I'm just nervous."

"You'd think this was the first fucking party you'd ever thrown."

"It is."

"What? You've never hosted a party?"

"Unh unh." Brian grunted. "Just orgies."

"Christ, one of these days we have to sit down, and you can tell me the saga of your former life."

"I don't think that's a good idea."

"Why not?" Justin asked.

"Might turn you off me."

Justin snorted. "I can't imagine that it's any worse than some of the things I've learned so far." Brian raised his eyebrow in that quizzical look. "Shit!" Justin said wondering what Brian's life must have been before he ended up in that wheelchair.

"Do you need any help?" Brian asked deciding changing the subject might be a very good idea.

"I think we're ready," Justin said. "Emmett should be here any minute with the hors d'oeuvres he promised to bring."

The buzzer indicated that someone awaited without. Justin went to the intercom and buzzed them in. He did a last minute scan of the loft. They had moved all of Brian's exercise equipment against one wall, leaving the bench out front for people to sit on. They had brought up some extra chairs from Justin's loft and grouped them near the ramp to the bedroom. Everything seemed to be in its place. This was as good as it was going to get.

As Justin pulled back the loft door, Emmett's head came into view on the elevator. "Hi, hi, hi," he called. Justin raised the gate for him and he carried his two large trays into the loft. "Where do you want these, sweetie?" Emmett asked Justin.

"I'll take one over here," Justin said indicating the coffee table by the sofa, "and you can put the other one on the counter."

"Hey, Brian," Emmett called seeing the man sitting near the end of the kitchen counter. "Want to try one of my delicacies?" He extended the tray towards Brian.

"They look good, but I don't think so," Brian said not sure his stomach could take anything at this point.

"Still watching your figure?" Emmett asked. Even Brian had to chuckle at that.

"Thanks for offering to bring the hors d'oeuvres, Emmett. Justin has had his hands full all day, and I'm not much help."

"You are so," Justin piped in.

"Highly debatable," Brian countered.

"You two are so cute together," Emmett gushed watching the two of them banter back and forth.

"I don't do cute," Brian said sternly.

"Yeah, just like you don't do relationships," Emmett teased.

The buzzer indicated that some other guests had arrived. Justin went to let them in. Emmett watched Brian glance apprehensively at the door and fidget with the position of his chair.

"They're your friends, Brian," Emmett said trying to reassure him. "They're happy to be invited here. They're glad you're back."

"Am I … back, I mean?"

"Bigger and badder than ever."

"You are so full of shit!"

"I know, but you love me anyway."

Debbie and Vic came through the loft door. Vic carried what could only be a cake box. Debbie grinned from ear to ear.

"I told you I'd bake a cake and it's a masterpiece," Vic crowed taking his box to the kitchen.

Debbie came and gave Brian a big hug. "I'm so happy to be here, kiddo," she said.

Gradually the rest of the guests arrived. Brian tensed up when Jennifer and Molly walked in. He busied himself filling wine glasses so that he didn't have to meet them directly. He saw Ted and the munchers arrive carrying a sleeping Gus. Everybody made a big fuss over the baby until Lindsay brought him over to Brian.

"We should put him up in the bedroom so he can sleep in peace," she said.

They made their way up the ramp, Brian leading the way. He took the baby carrier from Lindsay and held it in his lap. He stared at the sleeping face of his son before setting the carrier in the middle of the bed.

"I guess we should get back," Lindsay said when Brian made no move to leave.

"You go ahead," Brian told her. "I want to look at him for a few minutes."

Quietly Lindsay made her way back to the rest of the group. Michael and Ben had arrived. Michael wanted to know where Brian was. When Lindsay told him, he immediately went to find Brian in the bedroom.

"So this is your son?" he said as he arrived beside the bed. "He looks just like you."

"Then I guess he must be mine."

"I want you to meet Ben."

"Um … sure, Mikey. Where is he?"

"Come on." Michael led Brian down the ramp and over to a tall man … that Brian knew he had fucked before. Was it at the White Party? Just before his accident? Brian shook Ben's proffered hand seeing recognition in his eyes. They needed to talk. Michael blathered on about Ben being a professor and how happy they were. Brian said all the right things, all the time wondering what would happen if Michael found out Brian had fucked his boyfriend.

The buzzer indicated that some other people wanted in. Brian released the door and waited for them to appear. It was Trey and Cynthia.

"Did you two come together?" Brian asked with a mischievous grin.

"Asshole," Cynthia responded.

"We met at the front door," Trey said. "Looks like a great party, Brian."

"Thanks Trey, Justin's in the kitchen. Why don't you take Cynthia over to get a drink?"

Trey nodded and as they walked towards Justin, Cynthia turned and grinned at Brian. "I'll see you Monday morning," she said.

He gave her a little non-committal grin and turned back to the door. Brian had seen a young girl hovering behind Trey and Cynthia in the doorway. She must have come up with them. "Hey," he said to her. "Are you Daphne?"

"Yeah," she smiled. "You must be Brian."

"What gave it away?" Brian asked waiting to see how she would answer that.

"The wheelchair was my first clue."

"Did you need more than one?"

"Justin said you were gorgeous, and he was soooo right," she grinned.

Brian liked her immediately. She was honest and forthright and didn't spew bullshit and she thought he was hot. "You're very fuckable yourself," Brian responded. He took her hand and pulled her closer. He could swear she was blushing through her dark skin.

"I think you're entirely too smooth, Mr. Kinney. You could sweep a girl … or a boy off their feet."

"You think so? Even from this sitting position?"

"I'd say you already proved that with Justin," she giggled.

"You say the sweetest things, Miss Daphne."

"Hey, Daph," Justin said coming up beside them and giving Daphne a kiss on the cheek. "I see you've met Brian."

"Oh, yeah."

"What does that mean?" Justin asked.

"Get me a drink and I'll tell you," Daphne said dragging Justin towards the bar. She glanced back over her shoulder giving Brian a big smile.

"Pretty girl," Ben said coming up behind Brian.

"Yeah.

"Brian, I…"

"Ben, I didn't know it was you when Michael told me about his boyfriend," Brian said.

"How would you? We barely spoke."

"Yeah," Brian snorted, "just fucked."

"I think it might be wise to keep that between the two of us. What do you think?"

"I think that makes perfect sense, professor," Brian said staring into Ben's eyes. He could see relief flood those eyes as he finished his sentence. "Agreed?"

"Agreed," Ben said moving away.

Brian sighed. Things just got better and better. He wondered what was next on the horizon to fuck up his life.

"Bri?"

"Hello, Theodore," Brian replied. "I didn't see you come in."

"That's me, the invisible man."

"Are you seeing anybody these days?" Brian asked more to make conversation than that he really cared.

"'Fraid not."

"Same old, same old?" Brian sighed. "I heard you and Emmett were an item for a while."

"I'm surprised that made it onto your radar screen."

"It didn't. Michael told me."

"Of course."

"Listen, Ted, you don't have to run yourself down all the time," Brian said wondering why these words were coming out of his mouth.

"It's kind of redundant when there are people like you to do it for me."

"Not anymore."

"No? I won't know what to make of my life," Ted said in mock horror.

"You have a life?" Brian asked.

"Apparently we all have lives and they keep right on going, even when life throws us a curve."

"Yeah," Brian agreed.

"I'm really pleased you're doing so well, and this Justin of yours is … dynamite."

"He's pretty special, but don't let me catch you getting your fuse anywhere near him," Brian warned.

Ted smiled but raised his hands in mock surrender. "Wouldn't dream of it," he said. "And Bri, it's good to have you back."

"It's good to be back," Brian said feeling much more like admitting that than when Emmett had said the same thing to him only minutes before.

Brian was sitting in his wheelchair, mulling over what Ted had said, when he felt someone else come up behind him. He sighed as he turned to see who it was.

"Brian, I don't think you've met Molly. This is Justin's sister," Jennifer said.

"Hi, Molly," Brian said looking at the pretty freckle-faced teenager.

"Hi," she responded obviously sizing him up. Jennifer moved away to let them talk.

Someone else who doesn't like me, Brian thought. "Nice to meet you. Justin told me he had a sister."

"He mentioned you too," she said warily.

"Only good things, I hope," Brian replied.

"Depends on what you mean by good."

This was really going well. When in doubt, go for the truth and see what shakes down. "Did he mention the chair?"

"Yeah."

"Does it scare you?"

"A little bit."

"Why?"

"How do you do … things?" she asked.

"Any … thing in particular?"

Molly blushed and then tried to think of something intelligent to say. "How long have you been … injured?"

"Almost three years."

"Is it hard?"

Brian looked into her eyes. He saw sympathy, but he didn't think it was pity. "All the time."

"I'm sorry."

"You had nothing to do with it. It was an … unfortunate accident."

"Do you love my brother?" she asked boldly.

"Yes," Brian said wondering if his face showed the surprise he felt at admitting this to a perfect stranger.

"That's good then," she replied and walked off to find her mother.

"Did the mollusk give you the third degree?" Justin asked bringing Brian a shot of Beam. "I thought maybe you could use this."

"Thanks. I knew there was something I liked about you," Brian grinned. Justin let him throw back the drink before he leaned in and gave Brian a sweet, gentle kiss with just a hint of tongue. "Did you call her mollusk?"

"Yeah, that was her nickname when I wanted to bug the shit out of her."

Brian snorted. "She wanted to know if I love you."

"Oh? And what did you tell her?" Justin asked curious about Brian's reaction to that question. Justin knew that Brian loved him, knew it deep inside, with every fiber of his being. But he had to wonder how Brian would answer that question to his sister.

"One word answer - YES!"

Justin smiled one of his best smiles and leaned back in for a deeper and much more demanding kiss. When he finally released Brian's lips, the man whispered breathlessly, "Can we send them all home now?"

"Not yet," Justin chuckled. "Go, circulate."

"Yes, dear," Brian said wheeling over to where a group sat on the sofa.

-----

Brian lay on his bed, Justin riding his cock for all it was worth. He had become very expert at triggering reactions in Brian. His hand snaked across Brian's groin along that sensitive line. He was almost ready to shoot and he wanted Brian to come with him. Simultaneously he clenched his anal muscles, squeezed Brian's groin with his hands and leaned in for a kiss. He felt Brian groan and the shudders passed through both of them as they shot their loads.

Justin allowed himself to sink down on top of Brian. He had learned that this did not hurt his lover and Brian seemed to like it when they stayed in close contact. He could feel Brian's dick slide out of his ass, but he didn't mind because strong arms came around his back and held him close. He sighed contentedly while he waited for his breathing to slow down.

After a few minutes he rolled off Brian's very comfortable chest and grabbed a tissue to clean up. He watched Brian slide the condom off his flaccid dick. They were so good together.

As Brian tossed the condom into the wastebasket, he emitted a soft chuckle.

"Hey, what's so funny?" Justin asked looking at him strangely.

"Your sister."

"Why? What did she do?"

"She wanted to know how we did … things."

"She did not!"

"Yes, she did," Brian said with a laugh.

"Fuck! What did you say?"

"I turned it back on her and asked what things?"

"You didn't! What did she say?"

"She changed the subject."

"Lucky for you. I wish I had been there for that conversation," Justin said.

"She probably would have made you answer her."

"Would not!"

"Would so!"

"You are such an asshole," Justin said punching him in the upper arm.

"Ow!" Brian reacted.

"Was that before or after you told her that you love me?" Justin grinned.

"Before. She seemed quite satisfied with my response to her love question," Brian said smugly. He could barely believe how easily that answer had tripped off his tongue.

Justin gave him one of those blistering smiles and leaned over for a kiss.

"I think the party went really well, don't you?" Justin asked.

"I don't know. I have nothing to compare it to."

"Then take my word for it," Justin stated.

"They sure ate enough food and left us with a huge mess to clean up."

"It's not a big mess. We can clean it up in an hour or two tomorrow."

"That's good. It needs to be done before Monday morning," Brian said with a self-satisfied look on his face.

"Why's that?" Justin asked.

"I'm going in to Ryder for the morning."

"You are?" Justin smiled. "Just Monday … or every day?"

"You are never satisfied, are you?" Brian demanded trying to look angry. Justin merely grinned. "I'll try it Monday, and if it isn't too horrible, I might go back."

"Have I told you lately how proud I am of you?" Justin asked playing with one of Brian's nipples. He knew this had some interesting results especially when his other hand stroked Brian's groin. He would do that in a minute.

"Are you … proud of me?" Brian asked and Justin could see that he was serious.

"Yes, I am. And everybody was very impressed with you at the party."

Brian snorted. "Like I care what they think."

"You do, or you wouldn't have been so nervous beforehand," Justin challenged him.

"It was because I'm a party virgin. I didn't know what to expect," Brian protested.

"Hearing you and virgin in the same sentence is pretty … unfuckingbelievable."

"Christ, what the hell did they tell you about me?" Brian demanded.

"They said a few things, but not nearly all I want to know."

"Later," Brian said with a smirk.

"Oh, Mom told me she has three places for us to look at. We could go tomorrow or Monday afternoon when you come home from work."

Brian smiled. He liked the sound of that. He was getting a new car, a new home, and a new job … sort of. His life was changing so much, and all for the better. But the most important part of it all was right here in bed with him. Without Justin he would have none of the other things.

Justin's hand brushed gently across Brian's groin, and Brian groaned in response. "Let's talk about that later," he moaned as the pressure of Justin's strokes increased.

"Later," Justin whispered as his lips captured Brian's.

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