Sleep was instantly cleared from Brian’s brain. He no longer felt tired. Staring at the shock on his parent’s faces left him feeling only dread. What was going to happen now? Unconsciously he shifted his weight, leaning on the hip that put him closer to AJ. He didn’t notice it, nor did he notice that AJ leaned closer as well. With all the stress the two had been through in the past few months it had become an unconscious gesture to move closer to the other for comfort and strength.
“What on earth is going on here?” Harold’s angry voice boomed through the kitchen. Just as it had when he was a kid, it had Brian wincing. When he’d been younger that tone had usually meant that he was going to be in a lot of trouble. He had to remind himself that he wasn’t a kid anymore, and that this was his house. His home. His life.
Defiantly he lifted his chin. “I was telling AJ good morning.” He explained to them.
“That’s not how you say ‘good morning’, Brian Thomas Littrell.”
Brian decided to go for broke. To make a point as well as needing the support, he slid his arm around AJ’s waist and leaned in to his lover. He felt AJ’s arm come around his waist, his hand ending in Brian’s hip pocket. “It’s how I tell him good morning, dad, every single morning.”
Color filled Harold’s face. “How dare you? You were raised better than this kind of perversion, Brian Thomas!” he exclaimed. One hand gestured angrily at them. “This is not what you were raised to be.”
Though he had known how they would be, Brian still found himself disappointed. He had hoped they would prove him wrong. He’d hoped they would understand his feelings and respect them. “What I was raised to be, Dad? You mean happy?”
“This is not happiness! This is wrong!”
“Why?” Brian countered. He felt AJ take his coffee cup but paid no attention. His hands were starting to shake. “What makes you say that what I feel and who I love is wrong? You raised me to believe that love was the most precious thing in the world!”
“Not like this! This is an abomination! We didn’t raise you to believe this was ok!”
Jackie put her hand on her husband’s arm, trying to pull him back and calm him down. As much of a shock as it was, she knew Harold’s temper and was afraid of this going too far. But Harold yanked his arm out of her grip. “No son of mine is going to be gay. Did he do this to you? Did AJ corrupt you?” Something flashed in Harold’s eyes. “Are you on drugs?”
A low growl from Brian’s side warned him that AJ’s temper was running short. He lightly squeezed AJ’s waist, silently begging him to keep his cool and let him deal with this. “I’m not on drugs, dad, and it’s not AJ’s fault. He didn’t ‘corrupt’ me. He loves me. For some reason, against all the odds, even with all my issues, he really loves me.”
The fingers that were in Brian’s pocket pinched his skin. He muffled a yelp and turned to look questioningly at AJ. The younger man quirked an eyebrow at him. “Be nice to yourself.” He said softly. He turned toward the Littrell’s, his expression calm. “I do love him, Sir, Ma’am. More than I’ve ever loved anyone else in my entire life. I understand this is a shock to you, but I think that once you calm down you’ll be able to see that this isn’t all that bad. Your son is happy, and so am I. He being gay doesn’t change who he is.”
“My son is not gay!” Harold shouted loudly. Stepping forward again, Jackie firmly gripped her husband’s arm.
At that moment something butted against the sliding glass door. A second later Nina came tearing into the room. She ran to where Brian and AJ were and slid round so that her back was to them and she was facing Jackie and Harold. Her hackles were up and snarls rumbled up from her chest. “Nina!” Brian said loudly. “No!” But she didn’t move. Brian watched his parents take a cautious step backwards, both of them carefully watching the snarling dog.
AJ was the only one who stayed level headed enough to handle the situation. He let go of Brian to step forward and put his hand on Nina’s head. Very quietly he murmured to her in Spanish. Brian watched as Nina’s body slowly relaxed and her snarls slipped away. Once she was quiet, AJ dropped down and let her lick at his neck.
“That dog’s crazy.” Harold swore.
From where he was still petting Nina, AJ looked up at the older man. “Crazy? You think that because she heard shouting and ran to protect her people that she’s crazy? I call that loyal.”
“Don’t you dare speak to me that way you little catamite!”
For just a split second AJ’s face was a mask of shock. Before Brian could step in, though, he watched as his lover suddenly dissolved into a fit of laughter. He dropped to sit on the ground and leaned back against the cabinets as he laughed until tears rolled down from his eyes. “A catamite? Oh my God!” he chortled as he climbed back to his feet. “Do we live in ancient Rome now? Jesus fucking Christ, that’s hilarious! He’s gay, not a pedophile!”
Inwardly Brian winced. He wished to God that AJ had used a better choice of words. Though he’d known it would make his dad angrier, he hadn’t expected his father’s reaction. Hadn’t realized how close to the edge Harold was. His dad let out a roar of anger and shot forward, grabbing hold of the AJ’s throat with one hand and lifting him to slam him against the refrigerator.
Instinct had Brian darting forward in just enough time to grab hold of Nina’s harness and hold her back as she started to snarl all over again. It took everything he had to drag her to the sliding glass door, his chest protesting the whole time, and push her out before he managed to snap it shut just in time. Then he spun back around to race into the kitchen.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AJ gasped in an effort to suck air in. He stretched his feet, trying to find something to stand on, to find a way to relieve the pressure on his throat. Black flecks danced in his vision at the lack of oxygen to his brain. Though his hands came up, trying to break the grip around his throat, he refused to strike at this man.
“Dad, dad!” Brian was shouting, his hands over Harold’s, trying to yank his grip off of AJ’s throat. Jackie was there too, pulling on his arm. They managed to get him to relieve the pressure some, but then he slammed his hand back again and AJ gasped.
The corners of his vision were hazy. He curled his fingers back, trying to loosen the fingers that held him. Again he heard Brian speak. “Dad, you’re killing him! Stop!”
Suddenly the pressure released and AJ collapsed down to the ground. He stayed there, on all fours, sucking air into his lungs. His throat felt like he’d swallowed razors, yet every gulp of air was like breathing heaven. He felt Brian’s hands on him, running over his arms and his back, but he couldn’t focus on it.
“What the hell is your problem?” Brian shouted at him. “You could have killed him!”
“I-I didn’t, I mean. I wasn’t.” Harold stammered.
AJ didn’t bother looking up at him. He jerked away from Brian’s hands and reached up to grab the counter as he tried to stand. Another pair of hands cupped his elbow on his free arm and he would have jerked away from that one too, but he realized it was Jackie helping him to his feet.
He locked eyes with her and saw the sorrow she felt there, as well as the guilt and shame. “I’m so sorry, Alex.” She whispered to him, her free hand coming up to stroke over his throat. The tears in her eyes disarmed him. He stood still and let her cup his face and kiss his cheek.
The other two men in the room were paying no attention. They stayed at one another, both furious beyond belief, and both feeling guilty. One for hurting another and the other for putting the one he loved in that kind of situation.
Right at the moment AJ didn’t care about their posturing. His own temper was just barely under the surface, and he wanted nothing more than to lash out at Harold. But he had been raised to respect his elders. Add on to that the fact that he recognized Harold’s temper and what he, AJ, had done to fuel it along. AJ knew that when he calmed down, he wouldn’t hold a grudge over it. But first he had to calm down enough for his temper to leave him.
Very gently he pulled away from Jackie. With deliberate casualness he stepped around everyone in the room and went straight to the sliding glass door. Without another word opened the door, snagging Nina’s harness so that he could safely shut the door.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Anger surged through Brian like jolts of electricity. He looked at the man he had thought he knew and realized that, at the moment, he saw only a stranger. “I want you to get your bags and get out of my house.” Brian said icily. Though he knew it meant his mother would leave too, Brian knew that there was no way he could let Harold stay there. Not after something like that.
“Excuse me?”
“You heard me. Get your shit and get the hell out of my house.”
The guilt flashed in Harold’s eyes again, side by side with his anger. “I am your father and I will not be spoken to like that…” he started to say, but Brian stepped forward and raised one finger in the air, effectively cutting his father off.
“The fact that you’re my father is the only thing that’s keeping me from physically removing you from my house. I will talk to you when I calm down, and once I know my boyfriend is ok.” Brian saw that Harold was starting to speak, but he continued to talk over top of it. “If you go home, that’s up to you, but if you stay I’ll call Mom’s phone for information.”
Brian turned to his mother and embraced her briefly. On her face was love, and an acceptance that eased some of his hurt. “I love you, Mom. I’m sorry.”
“I’m sorry too, son. I love you.” She kissed his cheek gently. “I’ll text you our hotel information. I won’t let him take us home.”
After one more kiss on the cheek, Jackie turned and gathered up her husband. Brian didn’t wait to watch them leave. He grabbed the teapot and filled it with water before setting in on to boil. While that was getting ready he gathered a large cup and some of the chamomile tea and got it ready. He stopped the water before it boiled, not wanting it to be too hot, and poured it into the cup. Once he set the kettle on the back burner, he picked the cup up and carried it outside to his lover.
Behind him he heard the front door open and shut. His parents were gone, and now he needed to focus his attention on the man he loved who was sitting on the bottom step of the porch, his arms wrapped around his knees, and a cigarette in one hand.