Once everyone finally calmed down, and the couple had changed into clean jeans and plain t-shirts, they all sat at the kitchen table to start to take care of business. Brian got on the phone with Kevin to give him the heads up about everything; Howie called their PR, public relations manager, and tried to make a few plans to figure out how to deal with things; AJ pulled out the laptop and started to surf the net to see how bad the damage was; and Nick pulled out the dual coffee maker that they only used for company and started coffee for when everyone would arrive.
The more that AJ searched, the more he found. It was everywhere. He felt his anger steadily growing as he read through the articles. Absently he pulled out a pair of headphones from the laptop bag, plugged them in, and watched the little news clips that he came across, little blurbs here and there.
They were the most popular topic in people’s blogs right then, it seemed. AJ read through some that were thrilled to see anything involving love. It was there he first came across the term ‘AROK’. He felt his eyes grow wide when he realized that there was a whole chunk of people who had dedicated themselves to the AJ/Brian, aka AROK, relationship. Fan fiction, pictures, and fan made videos. Holy shit.
Then he came across the TMZ site, and what they had up. There was an article first, with witnesses that had been interviewed. As he began to read he reached, without realizing it, down to his sweater to pull out his smokes and a lighter.
While talking to Kevin, Brian saw what AJ was doing and how engrossed he was in his reading. He shook his head ruefully and got up to grab the ashtray that he kept in the house for the random emergency moments that AJ smoked inside. It wasn’t often, because he didn’t usually want to smoke around Brian, most especially with his heart problems. But this was a special circumstance. More than anything they all needed to stay inside. So he opened the patio door enough to create some airflow and set the ashtray at AJ’s elbow. He was rewarded with that lightening sharp grin that always sent a thrill down his spine.
Now that he had the ashtray, AJ went ahead and lit the smoke that he hadn’t realized he’d grabbed. The more he read, the more pissed he grew. They’d interviewed people from the hospital who had seen the way Brian and AJ had interacted together through Brian’s surgery. There were testimonies that people had seen them out together. AJ cursed under his breath in Spanish almost non-stop.
Then he looked at the pictures. Picture after picture of AJ and Brian together. What the fuck? Who had made so many pictures of them? There was the picture they’d seen at the newsstand, but then there were so many more.
One of them had AJ’s curses growing louder and more elaborate. It was by far and above the most sexual of all the pictures, and the one that left the least amount of doubt. You could tell it had been snapped with a cell phone because the quality wasn’t great, and it was also obvious that they hadn’t known they were being watched when it happened. It was also going to create even more shit for them to deal with.
Hearing the curses coming from AJ’s mouth, Howie moved over to look at the screen and almost dropped his phone. “Good God, Age.” He mumbled to him when he recovered.
AJ winced and took another drag, sitting back in his chair. Yeah. That picture was not going to do them any good. In the picture, Brian was sitting in his big chair in his office. The chair was pushed back from the desk and against the wall. AJ had one hand fisted in Brian’s hair, forcing his head back, and his other hand over Brian’s throat. Their faces were close, not quite kissing yet, but it was obvious that it was going to happen. AJ’s face was caught by the shadows, but on Brian’s face there was pure lust. It was a look AJ knew well. The heavy eyes, half open, and the flush in his cheeks. His lips were parted slightly in anticipation of the kiss.
Yeah. That was not going to be good. If TMZ had that picture, then pretty soon it was going to be everywhere. AJ tapped his ashes into the ashtray and ran his free hand over his face. God, what the hell were they going to do! They hadn’t figured out what to say to the press yet, which was why they hadn’t come out yet. Still, it had only been a matter of time before something leaked. But these pictures…someone close to them had to have leaked them out. He put out his cigarette and lit another one.
That was when AJ’s mind started to go into overdrive. His eyes snapped back to the computer and he scrolled through the images, trying to date them in his mind instead of just be shocked by them. What he was coming up with was not pleasant. Each picture that had been taken, well, there were only four other people who had been in the house at the time, and two of them were here now.
AJ sat back again and looked at Howie and Nick. He couldn’t think that his friends would do something like this to him and Brian. But that left only two other people and the thought of that had AJ’s blood pressure rising. No. No fucking way.
He looked at Howie, locking eyes with him as Howie hung the phone up. Something must have shown on his face because Howie instantly was on alert. “¿Qué?” Howie asked him.
“Voy a matarlo.” I will kill him. AJ knew that his voice was hard. That was fine. He was beyond caring. At that moment he was beyond anger, beyond rage. Ice cold fury gripped him. Very slowly he stood up.
Howie stood as well, his body braced. He’d only seen AJ come close to being this angry once before, when they were younger, and it hadn’t been a pretty sight. Now…now he didn’t know what would happen, but he knew it wouldn’t be good. “Cálmate, AJ.” Calm down, he warned him. It was beyond that, though. Howie could see in AJ’s eyes that the simple word wasn’t going to work.
His knowledge burned under his skin, feeding his fury. AJ didn’t know what he would do, but he knew he had to do something. Had to find an outlet for this feeling inside of him. Had to make this man pay.
“AJ!” Howie snapped out. “¿Qué es?” What is it?
“Su padre. Él hizo esto.” His father. He did this.
The knowledge flashed across Howie’s face, chased by anger. Seeing that had AJ’s mouth quirking. He didn’t know how his grin looked to them; full of anger, and the threat of violence.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The look on AJ’s face had Brian panicking. “I gotta go, Kev.” He said softly. He didn’t wait for his cousin to respond before he hung the phone up. As he stood he kept his eyes on AJ’s face. Never, in all the years that he’d known AJ, had he seen him this angry. It frightened him. Not for himself, but for whoever had been the cause of it.
He put a hand on Howie’s shoulder, gesturing him back as he stepped around. Nothing else mattered right then but calming AJ down. Once that was done he would find out what had caused it. But right then he needed to get him calm. “AJ.” He said softly.
AJ’s eyes flashed to him, and Brian resisted shivering under that gaze. It softened only slightly when he realized who was talking to him.
“AJ.” Brian said again. He stepped closer, not touching him. Brian cocked his head, trying to figure out how to deal with this. Very gently he brought his hand up to run his knuckles over AJ’s cheek. God, how he loved that face. He said the only thing that came to mind. “I love you.”
He reached down, taking the cigarette and handing it to Howie, who put it out in the ashtray. His other hand turned, so that instead of stroking AJ’s cheek he was now cupping it. The fear that AJ’s anger had put in him now vanished. This was AJ.
Brian took that last step forward. He wrapped his arms around AJ’s waist and buried his face against the side of AJ’s neck. He didn’t speak. No words were needed. Right at that moment he was content to hold him in his arms. Slowly, AJ’s arms came up, wrapping around Brian. “Mi amor.” AJ whispered, moving their heads so that he could rub their cheeks together. “Te quiero.”
The icy quality had left AJ’s voice. With just a touch, and love, Brian had calmed him. Not a moment too soon, either. The alarm panel in the house buzzed, signaling someone at the gate. While Howie ran to deal with that, AJ and Brian broke apart. Before he could peek at the screen to see what had bothered his lover, AJ snapped the laptop closed and put it in the bag.
By the time there was a knock at the front door, the table was cleared and they were ready. Brian answered his door to find two police officers, as well as a group of men that Brian recognized from the security firm. He gestured them all in and led them back toward the kitchen.
They went to the formal dining room since its table was bigger and had more chairs. Brian sat down, gesturing for them all to sit, and launched into his explanation of what was going on, and what had happened. While he spoke AJ came walking in, Nick and Howie behind him, with a carafe of coffee and a tray full of cups. Nick had the canister with the cream while Howie carried in the sugar bowl. While his love and friends served everyone, Brian kept talking.
He picked up his own cup with AJ gave it to him and took a sip before finishing what he had to say. “So you see, this is going to create a huge problem. We wanted to let the local PD know because fans can create some public disturbance, and they also don’t care about blocking roads to park outside houses and such. We don’t want to create trouble in the city, and we’re sorry that it does.”
“Do you have any idea who could have done this to you?” The older officer asked them. “Is there any way to talk to them, or to stop this?”
AJ perched himself on the arm of Brian’s chair, one arm going around Brian’s shoulders. That gesture told Brian so much more than words could have. AJ knew, and he was worried about Brian’s reaction. This was a posture to support and protect him. But who would do this to them that would worry AJ that much? The answer came as quickly as he thought the question, and Brian froze.
He looked questioningly up at AJ and read the knowledge in his eyes. AJ leaned down to brush a kiss across Brian’s forehead. “Lo siento, mi amor.” He mumbled to him. I’m sorry, my love. Brian felt his heart break. He turned his face so that it was against AJ’s side, drawing strength from his nearness. It broke his heart further as he listened to AJ answer them. “There’s not a way to talk to the person, if we’re right on who it is.” A deep sigh, then. “It’s most likely Brian’s dad. He has some problems with us.”
Oh God, the thought that his father would do this to him was like a knife in the chest. Somehow, though, he managed to keep upright. To not let it show on his face. The only sign of weakness that Brian allowed himself was the comfort of leaning into AJ. But even that he didn’t maintain for long.
Over top of him AJ was still talking. “As for stopping it, well, once something’s in the press there’s no stopping it. All we can do is make our own statement. Do interviews and such like that. I imagine that PR has some views on that, D.”
“Yeah.” Howie spoke up. “We’ll set up something on a talk show for you two to go and visit and talk to them. A combined coming out and Brian’s heart surgery talk, so that the focus isn’t all on your relationship. Maybe an interview or two for papers or magazines.”
The older officer spoke up again. “We can put a police presence around your house during the day, gentlemen. Up patrols through the area, and clear out any that seem to be loitering too long. I noticed your wall and gate are a few feet up on your property. That makes our job easier, because if they’re by the gate they’re technically trespassing.”
“Exactly why we did it.” AJ said, flashing him a grin.
“On top of that, you call us if things get too serious.”
Once that was squared away, the cops took their leave with promises to be keeping an eye on things. From there it was time to deal with the security. There would be two trailers brought out to sit just inside the gate for a while. Though they offered the use of a room or so at the house, the head security, a Jason Wallace, insisted that they wanted to have the two trailers. So that they could rotate shifts easier without disturbing the house.
For the next few days there would be someone constantly patrolling the grounds, keeping an eye on things. They wanted to install cameras around and set up a section of Brian’s office with monitors to be able to view the grounds at a moment’s notice. They also showed them the call button on the panel by the door that would instantly alert them if someone managed to get up and into the house. “It’s rare, but anything can happen, and it’s not unknown for a crazy lunatic to manage to sneak their way to where they want.”
Jason also tried to convince them to stay at home for a while, but they adamantly refused. They agreed not to go out unless necessary, but they did not want to live under house arrest. So, anytime they left the house they were to take no fewer than two security per person, at least until this started to die down. It was frustrating, but it was for their safety.
It was hours later that everything was finally set to go. Security and their trailers had arrived and were set up by the gate. The cameras had been installed at top speed and there was now a hook up to the large TV screen that was in Brian’s office. With a change on the remote they were able to view all the cameras on that once screen.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Once everyone was gone, AJ didn’t waste time. He whispered something to Howie as he passed him, and blessed his friend for understanding. Without making a fuss, Howie got Nick and took Nina outside, leaving Brian and AJ alone.
AJ went to his lover and took him into his arms. Brian came easily, almost melting into AJ. Without a word the two headed up to their room. They left the door cracked for when Nina would come back, but didn’t bother to turn the lights on.
The way that Brian was moving broke AJ’s heart. His body was almost in shut down mode. He fumbled with the button on his jeans, unable to get his hands steady enough to do what needed to be done. AJ stepped up to him and took hold of the jeans, undoing them so that they slid down Brian’s legs. Gently he sat his love on the edge of the bed so that he could take his jeans and his socks. Once he tossed those in the dirty clothes he ushered Brian toward the bathroom. “Go ahead, go brush your teeth. I’ll turn the bed down.”
“There’s things to do, AJ.” Brian mumbled, pausing in the bathroom doorway. “So much to take care of.”
“Not right now. It’ll still be there in the morning, snuggles. Now go get ready for bed.”
While Brian was in the bathroom, Howie brought Nina to the door. He hesitated there until AJ stepped forward. “Is he ok?” Howie asked softly.
AJ nodded and hugged his friend. “It’s just a bit much. I’ll get him in bed and he’ll be fine. Thanks for your help, D.” AJ lifted his head, looking over Howie’s shoulder at Nick. “You too, Chaos. “
Just as he closed their door, ruffling Nina’s head as he did, the bathroom door opened. Brian shuffled over to the bed, taking a seat on the edge of it and staring down at his toes. For the moment AJ left him to his thoughts and went to do his own bedtime preparations. When he came back out, Brian was still sitting in the same spot.
After shedding his own clothes, AJ climbed into bed. He reached his hands out, taking hold of Brian’s shoulders, and gently helped him back into the bed. Once they were there, AJ pull the blankets up over them, and then brought Brian against his chest. He lay on his back so that Brian could curl against his side. It left Brian’s ear over AJ’s heart, which was one of Brian’s favorite ways to lie.
One of AJ’s hands stroked up and down Brian’s back. He didn’t try to speak to him. There was no words at the moment that wouldn’t sound meaningless. So he simply held him close and listened as Brian fought with the tears that wanted to flow. It was a losing battle. Soon that wet warmth hit his chest. He didn’t say anything about it. Didn’t speak when he heard Brian sniffle.
He lay there while his lover quietly cried his heart out, wishing there was something he could do to fix this. Wishing he could hurt the man who had caused them all their pain. Every tear that Brian cried, this man would pay for. AJ would see to it.