AJ was the first to wake up in the morning. At some point he had shifted, and the pain that burned through his leg had him jerking awake. It took every ounce of his control to not jerk up and let out a hoarse shout. But he felt Brian still snuggled with him, and the last thing he wanted was to wake him up. So he sat there, eyes squeezed shut tight, breathing heavily as he waited for the wave of pain to abate. God, a pain pill sounded like a good idea right then.
Aches were always worse the second day. His throat was sore and dry and his body felt like he’d been in a fight. But it was his leg that was the killer. Ever so gently he extracted himself from Brian and scooted to the edge of the bed. There he grabbed his crutches, using them to leverage himself up. The pain got stronger as his leg lost its elevation. But he gritted his teeth and tried to hobble as quietly as possible out of the room.
In the bathroom he took care of business first. After washing his hands and brushing his teeth, he dug through his go bag until he found the ibuprofen that he kept in there. He popped three of them in his mouth and took them dry.
After that he made his way to the living area, stretching out on the couch and picking up the phone to call room service. As he ordered coffee and pancakes for them, he pulled his laptop over out of habit and opened it up. As the woman on the other end of the line flirted with him, AJ was distracted by the alert that let him know he had a message from Frick. He grew more worried when he saw his messenger list, and that Frick was listed in the online contacts.
“Yeah, honey, that’s perfect. Send it on up when it’s ready.” AJ said absently, setting the phone back in the cradle before she had a chance to respond. All of his attention was focused on his computer as he opened up the chat screen to read the offline message.
Frick: Enjoy my little surprise? ;)
Everything in AJ grew tight. That little son of a bitch. Furiously he typed his response.
James: ur a sonofabitch, u know that? U killed a good man
Frick: Oh, there you are! Good 2 see u, ‘James’
James: What’s ur deal, Dave. What do u want?
Frick: I want u 2 to pay for what u did 2 me. I wont let u get away with it
James: So u try to kill us? Is that it? Ur insane!
Frick: I warned you, didn’t I? How is lover boy doing, btw.
James: YOU LEAVE HIM ALONE
Frick: My my, temper there! I was just concerned, in case, you know, any more accidents had happened
James: U better back off, Dave. I will sic the cops on you if you hurt him again.
Frick: Bring in the cops, ‘James’, and I will go to the press with all the details of my love affair with Brian, and his current one with his band mate Alexander James… ;)
James: We’d survive the media. Would u survive jail?
James: Then again, being someone’s bitch every day might be just what u want out of life
Frick: This aint over yet mother fucker. Not by a long shot. It’s just begun!
Frick has signed off.
AJ sat back, furious all over again. That little fucking bitch. Did he really think that he was just going to be able to get away with it?This right here proved that Brian was right, though. They needed to tell the others what was happening, and fast. Security would have to be beefed up. Extra precautions would need to be taken. If it had been against just him, AJ would have let it go. But this person was after Brian, and that, he couldn’t allow.
A knock on the door pulled him from his thoughts.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The smell of coffee drifted into the bedroom, pulling Brian slowly out of sleep. He moved his good arm, reaching for the warmth that had been there all night. The lack of it had Brian stirring more. He blinked, his brain waking up as his eyes adjusted to the light.
AJ was next to the bed, one crutch under one arm, the other arm carrying a tray that he was setting on the night stand. The delicious smell of coffee, and was that…pancakes? A grin curved Brian’s lips as he shifted to sit up better. As he did, a shaft of pain ran down his arm and his wrist, freezing him in place.
When he opened his eyes again, AJ had a pill in one hand and a premixed cup of coffee in the other. He offered both to Brian with a smile.
Grateful, Brian took the pill and swallowed it down with that first drink of coffee. He couldn’t help but grin as AJ grabbed a pillow and put it on Brian’s lap, then placed his plate over that. Once Brian was set up with a syrup bottle in his hand, AJ moved to his side of the bed, setting his food and coffee on his nightstand, and gently climbed in. Once he was all set up, he gave Brian another grin.
They ate their breakfast quietly. Occasionally they bumped arms in a companionable way, but they were both content to eat in peace. When the food was done and they were sitting sipping coffee, AJ finally decided to speak up. What he had to say caught Brian off guard. He explained about the conversation he had with Dave, and his conclusions about talking to the others.
“You’re right, I know you are.” Brian sighed. He ran his hand over his face, wishing that things were easier. “We need to get them over here right away. Just, give me a few minutes to make myself feel human first, ok? Go ahead an call them in, I’ll be back out soon enough.”
To AJ’s surprise, Brian leaned in and kissed him before climbing out of the bed. He couldn’t help the small smile on his lips. It was always satisfying to catch AJ off guard, and right now, he knew that AJ had no idea what to think about where they stood. For now, Brian was willing to play on that. It was fun.
While in the bathroom he used the sink to give himself a quick, easy wash down, wanting to get any last traces of that sooty feeling off himself. When he was done with everything he made his way back into the bedroom, which was now full of voices. Everyone turned to look at him as he came in, but Brian just grinned at them all. He knew what kind of image it presented, him in his boxers, as he went back to the bed and climbed in under the covers, but he didn’t care. To add to that, he laced his fingers with AJ’s, letting them rest on the covers. From the corner of his eye Brian saw Nick wink at him.
“What’s going on, guys?” Howie was the first to ask. “I doubt you guys called us in here to watch you sit in bed together.”
Neither of the men chuckled. Instead they looked to one another for a minute, then back at the group. In that look Brian could see the nerves just under AJ’s skin. Because of that, Brian spoke up first. “No, we wanted to talk about the crash.” He paused, unsure of how to say what he wanted. What was the best way to say something like this? AJ squeezed his hand in a gesture of comfort, and Brian drew strength from it. “We’re pretty sure Dave caused this.”
Silence filled the room. Then, “Dave?” Nick sputtered. “As in, your Dave?”
“One in the same.”
“But, but why? Did…ohhh.” Nick looked from AJ to Brian and back again. “I take it you broke up with him for AJ, and he’s a little pissed.” It came out sounding like a statement, not a question.
“Actually, him and I fought in the hallway about the way he was talking about Brian.” AJ threw in. “He realized how much I cared for Bri, and he got even more pissed. Bri came out, saw us arguing, and, well…” Uncomfortable, AJ trailed off. Everyone was looking at him in surprise. At that moment, Brian remembered that, yes they were telling others about them being together, and AJ had expressed worry about that, but there was more here. No one knew that AJ was gay. How could he have forgotten that? Now he was the one squeezing AJ’s hand, trying to let him know without words that he was there for him. Love bloomed brighter in Brian’s heart.
In an attempt to draw attention over to him, Brian continued the story. “I found them squaring off, and I could see AJ was practically shaking he was so pissed off. When I got Dave back in the room, he wouldn’t tell me what he said, and he got even angrier. He said some nasty things, and threatened me. I booted him out.”
“He threatened me as well.” AJ added in. He still looked nervous, but determined to do this. “And this morning he was on Brian’s email and pretty much admitted that he’d done this without actually saying the words ‘I caused the crash’. He also let me know that this is just the beginning. He wants to make us pay.”
Everything they had dumped on them seemed to have rendered their friends speechless. It was Kevin who finally broke the silence. “I’ll get our security pumped up around all of us, but centered mostly on you two. You’ll both need to stay close to the hotels so that you’re not open and easy targets. Also, no more getting on any vehicle that hasn’t been checked first. We’ll all have to take extra precautions to make sure that everyone is kept safe.”
The conversation quickly turned toward security measures. They debated all the things they could do, and Kevin and a quick phone call to their head security to explain the situation and start the process. The whole time Brian just watched them all. He had no worries about the security portion of things. But he could feel AJ’s tension the longer that the conversation lasted.
“Um, one more thing.” AJ said when there was a lull. Eyes turned toward him. Kevin had just come back in from finishing his phone call, and his eyes went to AJ as well. If he hadn’t been looking carefully he would have missed it, but Brian caught a glimpse of the worry in AJ’s face. “Dave said that, uh, if cops are involved, he plans on going to the press with his story. His and Bri’s relationship, and the one he thinks that Bri and I have.”
That threat didn’t surprise Brian, though AJ hadn’t mentioned it before. He knew a way to chase away AJ’s nerves, and that was what he focused on. “He thinks? You mean, it isn’t true?” Brian asked, pretending to be shocked. He had to fight a chuckle when AJ turned to look at him, eyebrows raised. “Well, I, that is. Hmm.” AJ stammered before he cut himself off.
“You think you can just sleep with me and walk away?”
“We didn’t, but-“
“I’m not that kind of boy, Alexander. You can’t just use me and walk away from me!”
AJ’s eyes narrowed at the teasing note in Brian’s voice. He brought his free hand around, punching Brian in the shoulder. “You’re such a shit.”
“Yeah, but you love it.”
“Ahh, fuck you.”
“Please?” Brian batted his eyes.
Unable to help himself, AJ threw his head back and laughed. The sound had Brian smiling. He turned back to the others, who were all watching them and smiling. “I’m not afraid to tell the press that I’m in a relationship if it comes to it. I doubt that it will, though. That’s not Dave’s style. For now, let’s just stick with the extra security, and all of that stuff. The rest will sort out on its own I think.”
Kevin caught on to his cousins subtle cue, and rose to his feet. “You two had a hard day, and I bet you didn’t sleep perfectly.” He said. “Why don’t you guys relax for the day and let us take care of the rest of it. If you feel up for company later, you know how to get ahold of us, ok?”
With that, Kevin effectively ushered the other two men from the room. Before he left, he gave his cousin a wink and mouthed ‘Congrats!’
Alone with AJ again, Brian gave him a wide smile. AJ quirked an eyebrow at him in return. “Sure are funny there, Rok. You enjoy waiting till everyone was here to do that to me?”
“Naturally. Plus, it let them know that this was my choice.”
“Ahh, sneaky man I see. I’ll have to watch out for you.”
Brian kept grinning as he brought his arm out and pulled AJ against him. He leaned in and gave him a kiss that had both their toes curling. “You’re damn straight you will.” He told him when he pulled back. “But I promise I’ll make it worthwhile for you. You won’t ever regret it.”
“How could I, Bri, if I’m with you?”