Early the next afternoon the two men were laughing at each other as Brian turned the car into the driveway. They’d just come from Dr. Lorry’s office where they had received the results of Brian’s blood work. The appointment had left them both in a good mood. Everything had come back normal, and a physical exam showed that Brian seemed to be in excellent health.
They planned to celebrate in their own special way, but those plans were put to a halt when they reached the top of the driveway. A car sat there, waiting for them. Even through the windows they could clearly see who it was.
Brian parked the car, but neither of them got out. Instead they just stared. “I can’t believe it.” Brian muttered. “How many people are going to just drop in on us?”
Annoyed, AJ let out a soft growl. “This one’s probably my fault.” He admitted with a sigh. He’d recognized both people in the car. “I called Howie the other day, remember?”
For another minute the two sat there and stared at the other car. Then they reached for their buckles and climbed out of the car, both mumbling “Fuck” under their breath. When they got close, Nick and Howie climbed from their car, and Brian was all smiles. The host in him wouldn’t let him be anything but polite. It amused him, though, to see that AJ still wore his scowl and was standing with his hands on his hips.
Howie stood in front of AJ, all grins. “Hey, Age.”
“Don’t you ‘hey, age’ me, you little shit. What the fuck are you doing here?”
Amusement rippled across Nick’s face. He leaned against the car, and after a second, Brian joined him. “Ten bucks on J.” Nick whispered. A chuckle slid past Brian’s lips. “You think I’d bet against my own man? Shit, Carter.”
The two friends had raised their voices slightly by then. “You did what?” AJ shouted. Instantly he winced, one hand coming up to his throat. Seeing that had Brian sighing. Though the turtleneck AJ wore covered his bruises, there was no hiding the slight soreness that AJ still had when he spoke. AJ had taken to wearing something over his throat in an effort to keep Brian from paying too much attention to it. Each time Brian had to look at those bruises it upset him all over again. After a few days to age they were now a dark purple, almost black in some areas.
“Everyone deserved to know what’s going on! Age, you guys aren’t alone in this. You know Kev would have been here but his woman’s pregnant, so Nick and I decided to come. You guys need anyone you can get on your side.”
From there the argument turned Spanish, and Nick and Brian sighed. There would be no understanding them now. Brian slapped Nick in the stomach. “Get your bags, Frack. We’ll get you settled in while those two bicker.”
As usual Nina was bouncing around when they came through the door. After saying a quick hello to her, Brian opened the door again and let her outside to go maul her favorite person.
Fifteen minutes later Brian and Nick were settling in at the table just as Howie and AJ walked in, Nina at their heels. A carafe of coffee sat in the center of the table, and four mugs were placed out as well as a sugar bowl and a creamer bottle. Howie sat next to Nick and AJ took the seat next to Brian, rolling his eyes briefly before pouring his coffee.
“No blood.” Nick commented wryly. “You two finish your bicker?”
“Lay off, Nick.” Howie said with a friendly shove.
Brian reached out to grab the creamer for AJ but he was caught halfway there by Nick’s hands. “Look at this, D!” Nick exclaimed, continuing to hold on to Brian’s hand. It took a second for Brian to realize why and then he was grinning at AJ, sharing a privet look between them.
“A new tattoo, Bri?” Howie asked, looking up at him. “Pretty basic. You know, it almost looks like…”
They couldn’t help laughing when Howie trailed off, his eyes going wide. “AJ, let me see your hand!” he demanded. Deliberately AJ lifted his right one, enjoying the annoyance that flashed in Howie’s eyes. Brian couldn’t help the chuckle that built in his throat as Nick continued to hold his left hand and Howie reached to grab AJ’s left.
The two hands were held side by side. Brian watched the surprise transform their faces before turning into large smiles. Barely a day old the two tattoos were still pretty fresh looking, and slightly tender. Brian held no regrets on getting them done. It had surprised AJ when he’d suggested that they go get tattoos, but his lover was always willing to look at new ink. When they’d got there and were looking at the artwork and Brian had suggested what he’d wanted to do, it had surprised AJ at first, but Brian had watched as everything about AJ had softened. His bad temper had disappeared.
Being the type of couple they were there was no way they would ever be able to be married. To add on to it, in Brian’s mind they weren’t the most traditional people or couple around. Because of that, he wanted to do something different to show his commitment to AJ. The idea of wedding band tattoos had come to him a while ago, but it hadn’t seemed right to do it until then. He’d sifted through the books but hadn’t been able to find what he wanted.
So while the artist had finish with his current customer, AJ and Brian had taken a piece of paper and a pencil and sat in the waiting area to sketch out what they wanted. It took them a bit, but they finally settled on a band design that looked almost Celtic with a cross at the top where a stone would usually sit. The cross was long, stretching from the bottom of one knuckle to the top of the other, and very intricately done.
Once they’d had it roughly drawn out they spoke with the artist and he had helped them refine the drawing, and then happily tattooed them on the ringer on their left hands. They now had matching tattoos in lieu of wedding bands.
“I take it you two are done hiding?” Nick joked, releasing Brian’s hand. The smiles the two men gave were answer enough.
“Well congratulations.” Howie said. He looked from one to the other, noting the smiles that both men wore, and the happy glow to their eyes. “I think it’s a wonderful idea.”
Grinning wide, AJ lifted his leg, propping his foot up on the back of the chair next to him, and lifted his pant leg up to show them his other new tattoo. “You know me, I can’t get just one.” He joked while they looked at his leg. It was words inscribed in a circle around his calf. Más que mi propia vida – More than my own life.
“I like it, J. It’s perfect.” Howie said quietly. He understood the words without having to be told. AJ put his leg down and grinned. “I know.” He rasped out.
With everyone smiling, Nick chose that moment to speak up. “So you gonna pull off your shirt and show us your throat or do I get to keep guessing what it looks like? That turtleneck hides it pretty well.”
Shocked, Brian looked from Nick’s calm face, to Howie’s expectant one, to AJ’s annoyed one. His gaze went back to Nick and settled there as he felt his own annoyance start. “Is that the whole reason you guys came out? Because of this shit with my dad?” he demanded.
“Well duh, Rok. Shit goes down we’re gonna be here to show you guys our support.” Nick said. His tone suggested that he thought he was stating the obvious.
Suddenly Brian’s coffee lost its flavor for him. He set his cup down carefully. With infinite care he turned to look at AJ. “Did you do this?” he asked him quietly.
Fire flashed into AJ’s eyes for a second. “If I’d known they were coming I would have told you, Brian. Trust me, this was a surprise to me too.” He turned his sharp glare to Howie. “If I’d know they were planning this I would’ve talked them out of it.”
“AJ didn’t know.” Howie was quick to reassure. He sensed the rising tempers on both of them and wanted to diffuse the situation quickly. “After I talked to him and he sent me the picture of his throat I called the guys and we talked between us. J didn’t have any clue.” Almost instantly Howie realized that he hadn’t made things better; in fact, he’d made it worse. It was there in the way AJ winced and Brian’s eyes flashed.
“You sent him a picture?” Brian asked slowly. “Is that what you were talking to Howie about when I came in? Why you were talking in Spanish?”
“I needed to talk to someone, Bri, and D’s my best friend. Of course I called him. I was pissed. What else was I supposed to do?” AJ put his own cup down to turn and stare at Brian. The two stopped paying attention to anyone else but each other.
“You could’ve talked to me, Age. This is privet business between us and my parents. There’s no need for all of Backstreet to be involved.”
“I didn’t involve all of Backstreet! I called the man who’s been my best friend for fucking years!”
“An told him things that got him worried enough to come on out and bring Nick with him!”
Hesitantly, Howie cleared his throat. “Uh, guys...”
Brian and AJ turned at the same time and said “Stay out of it!” before turning back to one another. Howie threw his hands up and slid down in his chair. “Staying out.” He mumbled. “Way, way out.”
There was annoyance on Brian’s face, and temper lighting up AJ’s eyes. “Are you saying that just because we’re dating I’m not allowed to tell my best friend something unless I tell it to you first?” AJ demanded. The two rose to their feet at the same time, practically nose to nose.
“I’m telling you that when it concerns us and our relationship I want you to have the decency to talk to me first before you go telling everyone and sending them pictures.”
“How was I supposed to talk to you when you were still stuck in that guilt trip bull shit? I didn’t want someone to feel sorry for me; I wanted someone I could bitch to and rant to without worrying that I was hurting them! If I’d ranted to you like I did to him you would have ended up being upset and I would’ve ended up trying to make you feel better. I just needed someone I could rant to.”
A flash of hurt ran through Brian’s eyes. “I could have put it aside for you, AJ, if you’d just trusted me enough to ask me.” That said, Brian turned to leave. AJ reached out and grabbed his arm, stopping him. “I trust you more than anyone in the world, Bri.” He said, his voice suddenly soft and gentle. “I was trying not to hurt you.”
But Brian was shaking his head. “You trust me with little bits, but not everything. You don’t trust me enough to tell me what Dad said to you.”
AJ bowed his head and took a ragged breath. “Again, I didn’t want to hurt you, Bri.” He let go of Brian’s arm to run his hands over his face. “Wrong or right, I just wanted to protect you.”
“By doing that, you show exactly how little your trust for me is.” With those parting words, Brian snapped his fingers to call Nina to him and headed out the back patio. AJ stared after him, watching the door close with a hurt expression on his face. Neither Howie nor Nick spoke a word. They watched AJ as he stood still for a moment. Then, surprising them, he spun and slammed his fist into the wall, denting the plaster, before heading out of the dining room and up the stairs.