Over the next week Brian was at the hospital every single day, staying from morning until they booted him out at night. He stayed at a hotel near the hospital with his friends and gave them updates for the first day when no one else was allowed in. After that they put AJ into a private room in a wing of the hospital that actually allowed the others in to see him.
It became common for them to gather in his room for most of the day. The nursing staff loved coming into the room. They usually ended up laughing with them all and witnessing some hilarious jokes. They also witnessed the loving moments between Brian and AJ. It was bound to happen, and the two didn’t care in the least, but someone on the staff leaked it to the press. The administrator came down to see them, apologizing to them for the leak and saying that they were determined to find out who had leaked not only their sexual status, but the story of the accident.
They tried to reassure him that it didn’t really matter. It would have happened one way or another. That was just part of being in the lifestyle that they lived. You accepted that it would happen to you. What was really amazing was how long they’d kept it quiet.
On AJ’s seventh day there, Brian arrived at his hospital room to find AJ sitting up in the rocking chair they kept there, talking to Tony, making the other man laugh. On the third day at the hospital Mark had brought his life partner Tony in, at AJ’s insistence. Tony was a fan and so AJ had wanted to meet him. Surprisingly, both Brian and AJ had found that they really like the man. He was kind and sweet; a southern gentleman to the bone. Just as blond as Mark, with eyes that were a bright green, he was also a handsome man. He had an easy laugh and a personality to him that was just so likeable. They had come to like Mark as well. They had a feeling that even after AJ left they would still keep in contact with the couple.
“Hey, Tony.” Brian called out as he walked in. “He picking on you again?”
“Always.” Flashing a smile, Tony sat back a little on the couch against the wall. “I swear sometimes he can be as bad as Mark.” This was said with both love and exasperation. It was obvious to anyone who saw the couple talk about one another that their love was strong.
Brian bent down when he reached AJ and gave him a quick kiss. “You haven’t seen anything yet. Alex is on his best behavior here. You should see him on the road.” He teased as he took a seat on the couch by Tony.
“I shudder to think of it.” Tony joked back.
Pretending to glare, AJ shook a finger at Brian. “Don’t you be telling stories on me and think you can come off looking pure as snow here, lover.” He snorted and leaned back a little. “Don’t let him fool you, Tony. This man is evil when he wants. Him and Nick together? Talk about shuddering. For a while it wasn’t safe to wash your hair unless you tested your shampoo first.”
“Hey!” Brian exclaimed. “Don’t think I forgot about the shaving cream in my shoes. They were brand new!”
“I deny to my very end that I ever did that.” AJ put a hand over his heart and tried to look innocent, failing miserably. The sparkle in his eyes gave him away. “But you have to admit; whoever did it to you was smart. The look on your face when you stuffed your feet in there was priceless.”
Brian put on a long suffering expression and looked at Tony. “Do you see what I have to live with? And I agreed to marry this man!” He shook his head as if the idea baffled him. Tony laid his head back, laughing hysterically.
Smirking, AJ blew a kiss. “You know you love me.”
“Everyone has their faults.” Brian shot back.
“Hey! I have half a mind to boot you out of here, talking to me like that.”
“As if. What would you do without me?” Batting his eyes, Brian gave his corniest smile ever.
Smiling back, AJ promptly replied “Starve.”
Tony laughed even harder then. He shook his head at the banter between them. “Now you sound like Mark.” He said with a chuckle. “That man can’t boil water without burning it. It’s a good thing I’m a chef or he would never eat. He can cut someone open and piece them together, but ask him to cook dinner and you’re doomed. The ‘patient’ dies every time.”
“Hey now!” A voice called from the doorway. Three eyes turned to look and found Mark standing there with his chart. “What’s all this? Picking on the doctor when he’s not around. Don’t believe a thing he says about me. It’s all lies!” While they all laughed he came further into the room, perching on the edge of the bed. Since he was working he didn’t lean over and kiss his partner, but they shared a look full of love before Mark turned his gaze to AJ. “Here I am coming to give you good news and I find you in laughing at me behind my back. For shame, Alex. For shame.”
Since they had started to talk beyond patient and doctor, AJ had insisted that they call him Alex. It felt right to him. These were friends that knew him for who he was. Around Mark and Troy, even though they were fans, they didn’t get treated like Brian and AJ of the Backstreet Boys. In a short time they had all become friends, and were treated like Brian and Alex, a couple they were friends with. It was a nice feeling for both AJ and Brian.
“Good news? Am I free?” AJ asked excitedly.
Mark winked and handed some papers to AJ. When AJ saw what they were he let out a loud shout. “Awesome! My discharge papers! I’m free! Freeeeeee!” He hopped up from his chair, carefully not jarring the arm in the sling, and did a little dance. Thankfully they had allowed him to wear his own clothes the past few days, so he was in blue jeans, but he still had the hospital shirt on. It was easier to get over his arm since it had snaps on the sleeves.
“You’re free, but what I said still applies, Alex. Do not be lifting things until I see you again in a month. Keep that arm in the sling until then. I only want you to take it off to shower and to do the mobility stretches we taught you. Only once a day, mind. I’ll be checking in with Brian to make sure you’re following orders.”
“Yeah, yeah. I’ll remember.” Waving a hand at him, AJ continued to dance around the room. Brian rolled his eyes and gave Mark an amused expression. “I’ll watch him. If he does to much I’ll just bash him over the head and haul him to the bedroom.”
AJ froze in mid dance step. He turned to look at Brian and the look on his face was both a smile and a leer. “Hey now, that sounds promising. Will you spank me too?”
Rolling his eyes, Mark stood back up even as he chuckled at them. “Just remember, Alex. No lifting, no moving too much. Keep away from trying to do things that might stress your shoulder. No bending to lift things with your good hand. Let someone else get stuff like that for you. You’ll have to keep sex to some easier positions as well.” The last part he tacked on quietly, in case anyone outside the room was listening, but AJ, Brian and Tony all heard and started to laugh.
Now that he was free, AJ wasted no time in getting ready to go. He got a prescription filled at the pharmacy in the hospital and had it in his bag with the rest of his clothes. Tony walked with them through the hospital and toward the front.
“You sure you don’t want to slip out the back?” Tony offered them. His expression was kind. “I can bring my car back there and help you guys get out of here.”
Brian put a hand on his shoulder as he thanked his friend. “We know how the press works. They won’t back off unless they get something. Alex and I are going to talk to them. Plus, if they know he’s going home, or, well, back to the tour, they’ll leave the hospital alone finally. We don’t want to leave them here hounding innocent people.”
Before they had left the room, Mark had given AJ a different sling to wear out and about. A restrictive sling with a waist belt that basically strapped his arm to his abdomen so there was no chance of moving it. Thankfully it was warm enough outside that they didn’t need to worry about putting him in a coat, so he was able to just keep on the hospital shirt.
Taking a deep breath, Brian took hold of AJ’s right hand as they stepped into the front lobby. Cameras instantly started to flash through the glass doors outside, though the press was kept behind barriers a short distance away from the doors to better be able to allow patients inside.
“Wow.” Tony said softly. His eyes were slightly wide. “I’ve seen how they are outside, but they’re going insane at the sight of you two. Is it always like this?”
“Pretty much.” The couple said at the same time.
Tony shook his head. “I don’t envy you guys as much anymore. I doubt I could live with that. I’d go insane. Everything always on display like that. It would drive me crazy.”
“You adjust after a while.” Brian explained as they continued on to the door. “You don’t think you will, but you do. It almost becomes normal. Some days it still frustrates me, but I’ve learned to accept it as the price to pay for doing what I love. The only thing I love more than singing is Alex.”
The two took a deep breath as they reached the doors. Security was waiting for them and, at their nods, opened the doors and started to usher them all outside. They had talked to security and told them what they wanted to do. There was a grassy portion in front of the hospital that they had gained permission to use. It would allow them to speak as well as keep the press conference out of the way of hospital traffic and personnel.
Once they reached that spot, security and police had already moved some of the barriers, creating a small wall between the boys and the press. The grassy spot was a slight hill, which worked perfectly for their purpose. It put them up just enough to be visible for pictures of the heads of security. As they stepped up there, Tony stayed down by a security guard, out of the way.
Instantly questions were being fired from every direction at once, each reporter clamoring to get theirs answered.
Brian held a hand up, signaling them all to silence. Video cameras were rolling and cameras were flashing, but the crowd silenced. None of them wanted to miss a word of what was said. Once they were quiet, Brian looked around at them all. “AJ is just being released from the hospital and he’s still tired, but we both agree that we’ll answer a few questions. We won’t, however, stand here and create a mob at this hospital. If you wait to be called on and keep calm, we’ll answer as many as we can.”
Hands went up all over the place. Earlier they had decided that it would be Brian who would point and call on people, leading them through this. “You there, with the white cowboy hat. What’s your question?”
“Everyone’s abuzz with the story of your surgery, AJ. Can you tell us what happened? Rumors say that Brian’s father shot you!”
This was one question they had known would come and AJ already had planned what he would say in response. He gave the cameras his easy going smile. “You know that most rumors are based on truth but usually get blown up into something more than they are. Mr. Littrell had a shotgun that discharged accidentally. He did not intend to shoot me. If it was intentional, don’t you think he’d have been arrested by now?”
Someone at the back of the crowd called out “Rumor says he shot you because he found out you and Brian were an item!”
“What did I just say about rumors?” AJ chided them lightly. “People will put the worst spin on things if at all possible. This was just an accident, and one I hold no animosity toward Mr. Littrell over. Next question, please.”
Brian pointed out another person, a female this time. She practically bounced on her heels as she spoke. “Is it true, then, that you two are a couple? That you’ve been keeping your relationship secret for years from everyone around you?”
The two men looked at one another and chuckled. This one, Brian answered. “Years? Is that what’s being said? AJ and I celebrated our one year anniversary in March of this year. We got together at the end of the last tour. We did keep it from people for a while, but that was only so we could have the privacy to see where things went between us. Once we knew it was serious we told our friends and our family. Next we planned to tell our fans. We love one another, and we know we’ll spend the rest of our lives together. We knew that everyone would be happy that we’ve become happy.”
“Is it true you two are engaged? I didn’t know that gay couples were allowed to marry.” Someone called out.
AJ’s grin grew bigger. “In the state of California we’re allowed what they call a domestic partnership. We’ll have a ceremony and everything that goes with it. We don’t get the same rights as a straight couple, but it’s better than it used to be.”
The questions turned to touring questions for a while. Finally, Brian noticed AJ starting to droop slightly. He still tired easily and his refusal to take too much pain medication made it worse. So he stepped forward and called an end to the questions before directing security to get them out of there. Once they were all settled into Tony’s car and their friend was taking them to their hotel, AJ rested against Brian and yawned. “It felt good to be honest with them all.” He said softly.
Brian smiled and kissed the top of AJ’s head. “Yes, yes it did.” It had felt right to them both. They loved one another, and they deserved to be able to be true to themselves and the world. How this would affect their career, they weren’t sure. But they knew that above all else they had to be true to themselves. The time for hiding was done. Now was their time to be themselves.