Mayor Kinney

* 9 *

The ringing of the telephone woke Brian and Justin at quarter to seven the next morning.  They had fucked until after three and didn't appreciate the interruption of their sleep when they still had fifteen minutes before the alarm went off.

 

"What?" Brian said picking up the portable phone next to the bed.

 

"Brian, it's Lindsay.  Did I wake you?"

"Yes, you woke me!  What the fuck do you want at this time of the night?"

"Have you seen the morning newspaper yet?"

"How the fuck could I have seen the morning paper when I was sleeping, until you so rudely woke me?" Brian asked in his most sarcastic voice.

 

"You should get a copy." 

"Why?"  The line went dead.  "Lindsay?  Lindsay?  Fuck!"  Brian slammed down the receiver.

 

"What was that all about?" Justin asked trying to pry his eyes open.

 

"There must be something in the fucking newspaper that Lindsay thinks is important enough to wake us in the middle of the fucking night."

"Brian, it's almost seven," Justin said reasonably.

 

"Well, it doesn't feel like morning.  I needed those extra minutes," Brian griped.

 

"What's in the paper?" Justin asked finally getting his eyes to stay open.

 

"How the fuck should I know?  She hung up before she told me."

"I'll go get a paper," Justin said trying to launch himself out of bed.

 

"Stay put.  I'll go."

Justin collapsed back against his pillow happy to stay put and let Brian do the dirty work for once.  Brian got up and threw on some sweats and his jacket.  He ran down the stairs to the newspaper boxes on the corner.  He bought one of each and without looking at them ran back to the loft.  He arrived shivering at the bed a couple of minutes later.

 

"What do they say?" Justin asked sitting up.

 

"I didn't look.  I just grabbed them and ran back before I froze my fucking balls off."

 

Justin giggled and picked up a paper.  There was nothing too strange on the front page, just the usual problems in Iraq, a few more dead soldiers to bring back to their parents and loved ones.  Justin flipped the page over and gasped.  There on the top of page three as big as life and twice as bold was a picture of him and Brian kissing.  It had to be from the inaugural dance.

 

"Oh… My… God…!"

 

"What the fuck is it?" Brian asked.  "You look like you saw a ghost."

"I did."  He handed the paper to Brian who groaned as soon as he saw the picture.  "Where do you think they got it?" Justin asked.

 

"How in Christ should I know?  And why now?  That was two weeks ago."

"Somebody who was a guest must have had a camera and has just realized what they had on their film," Justin mused.

 

"You're probably right."

 

"What's going to happen now?" Justin asked rather fearfully.

 

"Fuck if I know!"

Justin stared at Brian for a moment.  He could tell that he was just as worried.  Their life had barely returned to some semblance of normal the last week or so, and now this.  Justin sighed.  Nothing was ever easy.  He began to scan through the other papers to see if the picture was in all of them.  It was nowhere else and for some reason that made Justin feel a little better.  Brian was reading the article with the picture in the first paper.

 

"It's not in any of the other papers," Justin said, "at least not that I can find."

"It says here that they got the picture from an invited guest at the party," Brian said, "who wishes to remain anonymous.  Are we surprised?"

"No," Justin admitted as he began gathering up the papers that were spread all over the bed.  "But I bet they showed it to someone whose initials are JS and he knew just what to do with it."

 

Brian snorted thinking of how gleefully Stockwell would have accepted that photo.  Justin shuffled some more papers around.  Suddenly he froze.  There on the bed in a different section of one of the newspapers was another picture of Brian.  He grabbed it and looked more closely.  Brian was standing next to Bruce Springsteen, smiling, and there on the other side of Bruce was Michael.

 

Justin stared in disbelief.  Then he read the caption to the photo about Springsteen receiving an award of appreciation at City Hall.  The mayor had brought a friend to meet the 'Boss" saying that they were both big fans and had fashioned their own teenaged band after Springsteen's.

 

"What the fuck is this?" Justin asked.

 

"What?"

 

"This!" Justin said with gritted teeth and shoved the paper in Brian's face.

 

"Oh, that," Brian said softly seeing immediately that he was in more trouble than ever.

 

Justin stared at him waiting for an explanation.  His arms were clasped across his chest in that kind of pose that said 'please don't hurt me, but I'm ready because I know you're going to'.  He knew his teeth were clenched so hard it was almost painful.

 

"I invited Michael when we … when we had the fight."

"Trust you to run right back to good old Mikey."

 

"Justin, Michael and I were very huge Springsteen fans.  I knew Michael would love to meet him.  I … I didn't mean to hurt you.  I was going to invite you."

"But you didn't.  You picked a fight with me instead and then invited Michael."

"I didn't pick a fight.  It just happened.  It … seemed like a good idea at the time," Brian said weakly.

 

"I just bet it did."

 

Brian was at a loss to what more he could say.  He looked at the two pictures lying side by side on the bed.  Each of them should have been a happy moment of history captured to look back on years later.  Instead each of them spelled disaster.  Brian wondered why nothing ever worked out quite the way he wanted it to.

 

With a sigh he got up off the bed and shucked off his sweats.  He went into the bathroom and turned on the shower.  A look in the mirror while he waited for the water to heat up revealed the face of someone who wasn't very happy.

 

"Right back to where I started from," he mumbled.

 

"What did you say?" Justin asked.  The boy stood in the doorway studying him.

 

"Nothing," Brian muttered.  "Nothing."

He started to open the shower door when he felt Justin's hand grab his arm.  "Don't do it again.  Don't shut me out."

 

Brian stared into the blue eyes that looked just about as sad and hurt as his own.  He decided to tell Justin what he was feeling.  "I said that I was right back where I started from."

 

"What does that mean?" Justin asked when Brian didn't explain right away.

 

"It means that I'm a major fuck up.  Everything I do always turns out for shit."

Justin was stunned.  "No it doesn't," he said trying to make Brian feel better.

 

"How can you even say that with a straight face?  Look at the list of my fine achievements when I try to do something that I think is for the best.  There's Mikey's birthday party.  That got me a punch in the face.  There's your prom, and I don't even want to think about the consequences of that.  Now there's the dance and kiss at the inaugural.  That ought to be good for some major fallout.  And now my inviting Michael to meet Springsteen."  Brian shook his head, sloughed off Justin's hand and walked into the shower closing the door behind him.

 

Justin watched him through the glass.  Brian was right about some of what he had said.  Things did have a way of turning out pretty crappy for him.  But sometimes they turned out good.  He opened the shower door and stepped in.

 

"What do you want?" Brian asked in a most ungracious tone.  "Leave me alone."

"You forgot all the good things you have done for people, ones that have turned out well."

"Such as?"

 

"Such as Mel and Lindsay's wedding."  Brian turned to look at him then.

 

"Go on."

Justin thought he had Brian's attention now.  "Such as Gus."

 

"Yeah, he's a pretty good one, isn't he?"

 

Justin smiled in agreement.  "I bet there's lots of things that you have done that I don't even know about."

Brian had to admit to himself that there were a few things.  He had helped Ted stay out of jail, although some of the other consequences of that weren't so great.  He had helped Michael sell the Captain Astro comic and buy his store.  He had done good occasionally.

 

"Is this why I keep you around?" Brian asked suddenly.

 

"What?" 

 

"To cheer me up when I feel like shit."

"It's just one of the many perks of the job," Justin stated with a grin.

 

"But there are other better perks."

"Like what?"

 

"Like this."  Brian's hand closed around Justin's cock and tugged.  He felt it rise and swell in his hand.  The kid was so easy.

 

"Umm," Justin moaned.  "That's definitely a good perk."  He licked his lips through the falling water.

 

Brian had to kiss those lips.  He leaned in and claimed them for his own.  "Am I forgiven?" Brian asked.

 

"You could have asked Michael right from the outset if you had just told me that was what you wanted to do."

"But I didn't want to invite him.  I wanted to invite you."

"I'm confused.  Then why didn't you?"

"Because I'm a fucking stupid ass!"

 

"That's a given, but what's the real reason?" Justin asked with a smirk.

 

"I came home all excited to tell you about Springsteen, and you weren't here."

 

"That's it?"

 

"No, that's not all.  Then you came home and you were tired and a bit testy and you pissed me off."

"Well, pardon me!"

"I know.  It was stupid.  I'll try not to do it again."

"Good."  Brian waited expectantly.  Justin sighed, "I'll try to be home whenever you have a big announcement to make."

 

"That's the least you can do," Brian said with a grin.  "Come here."

Justin stepped forward and Brian dropped to his knees.  He took Justin's semi-erect cock into his mouth and tongued all around it.  He released it and using his hand to hold it up he sucked the shaft, tugging each time on the bulbous head.  Justin moaned his appreciation.  Brian swept this tongue through the slit and Justin cried out. 

 

Brian gently pushed him back against the wall out of the direct line of spray.  It gave the boy something to steady himself against.  Then he attacked anew.  His tongue and lips worked the throbbing shaft while Justin moaned and pushed into Brian's mouth.  With a final thrust and swallow from Brian, Justin came in his mouth.  His shout of release was partially drowned out by the water, but he continued to moan as Brian sucked him dry.

 

When Brian released the softening cock he stood and kissed his lovely boy.  Justin leaned against him thoroughly spent and satisfied.

 

"God, that was great!" he managed to get out.

 

Brian smiled at him and held him against his chest for another minute or two.  As he felt Justin's thumping heart begin to slow down he took Justin by the shoulders and held him away from his body so that he could look into his eyes.

 

"Are we all right?"

"Yes, but promise that you won't shut me out or walk away when we fight.  I need you to tell me what's wrong.  Then we can fix it."

"I'll try."

"That's all I'm asking."

 

They kissed again and they both could feel their cocks harden between them as they deepened the kiss.

 

"Do we have time?" Justin asked.

 

"One of the perks of my job," Brian said.  "I can be a few minutes late."

"Good," Justin said and turned his back to Brian displaying his lily white ass in all its glory.

 

"Hard and fast," Brian declared.

 

Justin nodded.  "Just like us," Justin stated.  Brian gave him that funny look that meant he understood that statement on all levels.  Also that was exactly the right way to do it given the way they felt.

 

Brian donned the ever present condom and quickly entered Justin.  It hurt more than a little but not in a really bad way.  Soon they rocketed their way toward release and came within seconds of each other.  They leaned against the glass gasping and trying not to slip to the floor of the shower.  Once their legs regained some strength they kissed and stepped out.

 

"Ready to take on the world, little boy?" Brian asked.

 

"A little exercise first thing really sets you up for the day."

Brian snorted.  "They should have some shots of us in the shower in the morning paper.  That would get everybody going first thing in the morning."

"Don't even say that as a joke.  That's the last thing we need."

 

They finished toweling off and went to get dressed.  Justin started the coffee and popped some bread in the toaster.  They quickly downed their breakfast such as it was.  Brian went to look out the window to find the limo parked in the street.

 

"I wonder why Chuck didn't buzz?" he said.

 

"Maybe he did while we were in the shower."

 

"I guess I better get down there.  I wonder if he has seen the paper."

 

"He may want you to be more careful for the next while."

 

"Yeah," Brian said, gave Justin a quick kiss and headed down to the limo.

 

Chuck hopped out when he saw Brian.  He immediately opened the door of the car for Brian to get in.  He glanced around nervously the whole time.

 

"I guess you saw the picture?"

 

"I did.  How did they get that?"

"Somebody's out to get me," Brian said ruefully.

 

"They may have succeeded.  We need to be really careful the next few days.  I'm going to start surveillance on the loft again.  Don't go anywhere without us knowing."

"Okay," Brian agreed.  "This really sucks."

"Yeah, just when I thought things had quieted down."

 

"I should have told you and Phydeau when I hired you.  There probably never will be a quiet time."

 

"That's okay.  Keeps things interesting."

Brian got in the limo and Chuck pulled away.  The drive to City Hall was mostly in silence. 

 

Brian was lost in his own thoughts.  He still felt that he had a black cloud hanging over him and everything he did.  At least he had Justin.  That was the one positive thing.  They were okay in spite of everything.  He needed that boy more and more.  He wondered what would be waiting for him when he got to his office and the fallout from the picture began.  He didn't have long to wait to find out.

 

The limo pulled up to the main entrance and Brian could see a small cluster of protesters with placards.  He groaned.

 

"Want me to take you around to the parking garage and you can go up in the elevator from there?" Chuck asked.

 

"No," Brian decided.  "I'll have to face this sooner or later, so it may as well be sooner.

 

Brian stepped out of the car to chants of, "Resign, resign.  We don't want a fag for mayor."

 

Brian was about to sweep past them like they weren't even there, but he stopped and turned towards them.  Chuck had gotten out of the limo to make sure Brian got inside safely.

 

"Mr. Mayor," he said with a worried tone to his voice, "I think you should go right in.  Ignore them."

"No," Brian replied and walked towards the group.  Justin said he walked away and shut people out when things got difficult.  He'd try facing them this time.  It had worked during the campaign.  "You want me to resign?" he asked the group.

 

"Yes," they chorused.

 

"So the…what…ten of you who are here today get to decide who the mayor of Pittsburgh should be?"

The group looked at each other not really knowing how to answer that.

 

"We don't care who the mayor is, as long as it isn't you," one man said bluntly.

 

"Or another fag?" Brian asked.

 

"Yeah," some of them agreed.

 

"I was elected like every other mayor … almost.  I intend to serve my term and do as good a job as I can.  What does my personal life have to do with that?"

"You're setting a bad moral tone."

"Why?  Because I love my partner and show some public affection.  Some of you should be so lucky."

A few of the protesters looked a little chastened at that comment.

 

"If any of you would like to actually talk to me instead of shouting insults, I'll tell my secretary to make you an appointment.  Now I need to get to work."

Brian turned and marched into the building.  If he had looked over at Chuck he would have seen a big grin on the man's face.  That was one of the things Chuck liked about Mayor Kinney.  He had balls.

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