Inevitably, morning came. AJ cursed it as the sunlight teased at his face. He didn’t want to get up. Wrapped warm in Brian’s arms, snuggled in as close as he could get, there was nowhere else that he wanted to be. But that sunlight kept shining on his eyes. It was irritating enough that he finally patted around until he found the edge of the blanket and lifted it up to cover his head.
Brian’s chuckle shook his chest, which vibrated AJ’s head. Scowling, AJ kept his eyes closed and just snuggled in even closer. The last thing in the world that he wanted was to come out of his warm cocoon.
“You planning on stirring before noon?” Brian’s teasing voice cut through the quiet of the room.
Grunting, AJ buried his face. This only made Brian chuckle again. One of his hands started to stroke lazily up and down AJ’s arm. The gesture was soothing. Enjoying it, AJ gave up on going back to sleep. There really was no point, now that he was actually awake. But that didn’t mean that he had to get up and out of bed. He was quite content to stay where he was.
A kiss was pressed to the top of his head. The sweetness of the gesture had AJ smiling. His heart filled almost to bursting with love. Though he had yet to say those three words to Brian, the love he felt still made his heart grow. Soon enough he would say them. AJ could admit to himself that he was afraid to. Part of him wanted to wait, to have Brian say them first. The other part wanted to scream them out to the world.
Had they come far enough now that it would be safe to say those words that changed their life? How Brian reacted would be the most important thing. Oh, he knew that Brian wouldn’t deliberately hurt him. But it was the unintentional actions that worried AJ the most. What if Brian didn’t love him back? What if, in the end, this was just an interesting interlude for him? AJ didn’t think that his heart would be able to withstand that.
But at the moment there was no point in courting trouble. He was in the arms of the one he loved and that was good enough.
Turning slightly, AJ pressed a kiss against Brian’s chest. “What time it is?” he murmured.
“Half past ten. We slept in this morning.”
“Huh.” AJ grunted and shifted again. “We were up late.”
“True. Worth every minute, I think.”
Wasn’t that the truth? Their nights together were some of AJ’s favorite moments in life. Not just the passion, but the closeness of it all. The feeling of being connected to a person who was like his other half. It was like being whole for a short while. When they were apart, which really wasn’t that often, AJ felt as if part of him was missing.
“We should get up.”
AJ shook his head. “Don’t wanna.”
“But Kev’s probably wanting to talk to us before the interview this afternoon. After that we’ve got the show an all. This morning’s really the only free time we’ll have.”
He knew that, which was why he was content to laze around in bed. Not that he thought there would be any problems. Kevin had looked pretty cool about things, just confused. “Kev will be fine, Bri. You worry too much about shit. Overanalyzing, again.”
“I can’t help it. Knowing my cousin, I doubt he’ll be cool. He’ll probably blow a gasket over us being together. I’d like to get that over and done with if you don’t mind.”
“He isn’t gonna blow.” AJ sighed. He pulled the blankets off of his head. The light made him squint but he still looked up at Brian. “I think he’ll surprise you. He’s confused, yeah, but he loves you. He’ll understand.”
“Yeah, right.”
“Want to bet on it?”
Brian quirked an eyebrow at him. “A bet?”
Warming to the idea, AJ shifted and propped his head up on his hand, his elbow right by Brian’s shoulder. “Yeah, a bet. I bet you he’ll be perfectly fine with us as an item.”
Smirking, Brian laced his hands behind his head. He had that cocky look on his face that made AJ want to chuckle. “If he blows a gasket, and I win, what do I get?” he taunted him. That threw AJ for a minute. He thought about it, wanting to make it something fun. Something interesting. His eyes drifted around the room, settling on his suitcase. The grin that spread over his lips was very evil.
He looked back at Brian, still grinning. “When I win, you have to wear that vibrator in public. It’s made to stay in with movement. Plus, it has a neat little remote I want to try.”
Just like he’d thought, the consequences had Brian’s eyes going wide. They flashed over toward where they’d dropped their toys and then back up to AJ’s face. “In public?” he squeaked out.
“Yep. To the interview and photo shoot, to be exact.”
“Jesus!” Brian protested. But AJ could see in Brian’s eyes that the idea excited him on some level. God, he loved this part of Brian. Discovering it had been interesting, and surprising. But underneath all that little altar boy demeanor laid the heart of a freak. Who would have guessed? It made the two of them perfectly matched in that area.
Brian bit his lip thoughtfully. Watching, AJ held back a little shiver. He loved when Brian bit his lip. Hell, when he bit either of their lips. But he pushed that thought aside as he watched his lover warm to the idea of this. Suddenly Brian flashed him a wide grin. “If I win, you have to do it.” He warned. AJ just shrugged. He’d figured as much.
Lifting up a little, Brian sealed the bet with a kiss. “You’re on, buddy.” He said as he lay back down. Then his eyes twinkled. “You realize what this means though, right?”
“What?”
“You have to get up.”
Eyes narrowed, AJ looked down at him. “Well, shit.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Fifteen minutes later the two were walking down the hallway to Kevin’s room, whispering to one another as they went. Despite what they were potentially headed toward neither one of them could wipe the smiles off their faces. It was Brian who knocked on the door. Some of his nerves were coming back, evident in the way that he shuffled from one foot to the other.
Rolling his eyes, AJ nudged him. “Quit flipping, Rok.” He told him. “It doesn’t count as a win if you instigate a fight about us, either. It has to be something he does on his own.”
“I’m not promising to hold my tongue.”
“Listen to you!” AJ teased him. He couldn’t help but smile. “I’ve been such a bad influence. You never used to be this temperamental.”
“Shove it.”
AJ made sure no one was in the hallway before leaning in and licking the shell of Brian’s ear. “I will, later.” He whispered huskily. Just as he pulled back the door in front of them opened. Kevin stood there, dressed already for their interview later, a wry smile on his face. “Wondered how long it would take you two to make your way down here.” He said dryly. Opening the door wider and stepping aside, he gestured them in.
With a smug smile for Brian, AJ moved into the hotel room. Oh yeah, this bet was his. He was totally winning this one. Not that there had ever been any doubt about it.
AJ smirked as looked at the bed where Nick was laying, pillow over his head. That was right. Howie had the single this time around. Automatically they all moved to the window where a table, two chairs, and Kevin’s bed were situated. As he took one of the chairs, AJ couldn’t help but scowl a little. Management had been stingy on paying for their hotels lately. Sometimes they got nice rooms, almost junior suites. Other times they had these stupid little rooms with barely enough space to sleep and live in.
Naturally, Kevin sat on the bed while Brian took the other chair. None of them bothered to lower their voices, as Nick could sleep through Armageddon if he was tired enough. It was a side effect of growing up with siblings, he said. AJ just shrugged. He’d never had to worry about that.
“I’m sorry if I made you guys uncomfortable with my questions yesterday.” Kevin stared out. He looked at them with an honest apology written on his face. It stunned Brian, but it made AJ feel even more smug. Oh yeah. He’d won this one for damn sure.
Chuckling, AJ met Kevin’s eyes. “I bet I made you more uncomfortable, so I’d say we’re even.”
“Hell.” That brought the image back to Kevin’s mind, making him shake his head. “I don’t want to even think about that, Age, so shut up. The last thing I need to think about is how kinky my cousin can be, thank you very much.”
“You think that was bad? Shit, Train.”
“AJ. Shut up.”
The three of them laughed. AJ glanced over at Brian and gave him an ‘I told you so’ look. Brian just stuck his tongue out at him. In response, AJ wrinkled his nose and made a funny face. Of course, Brian couldn’t resist making one in return. It probably would have continued on for a while, they could really get going sometimes, but Kevin stuck a hand between them and calmly said “Now, now children.”
Now that he had their attention again, Kevin gave them his familiar smile. “Now, I won’t say you two didn’t shock me. I’ll even admit that it threw me for one hell of a loop to think of you being with another man, Bri. But I thought about what you said after I left. About how you say that you’re not gay, not really. How it’s what you find inside him that attracts you. That’s really how you feel about him?”
“It is.” Brian said with a smile. He gave AJ a fond look that had AJ’s heart flip flopping. This was the closest they ever came to uttering those life altering words. The emotion in Brian’s eyes took his voice away. “Like I said, AJ could be a girl and I’d still be attracted to him. It took me a little while to come to terms with it, but I found a peace. We have no idea what we are, or where we’re going, but I’m happy with what we have.”
Kevin’s smile grew a little softer. He turned to look at AJ next. “What about you? I don’t mean to sound like an ass, J, but you’ve hated him for such a long time. I can’t just sit back and say it doesn’t worry me. It does.”
That was a natural thing, and one AJ had suspected. He told himself not to be bothered that Kevin didn’t trust him. “We had a bad past, Kev. We just recently worked past that. But I think it says something about how we feel that this happened between us even before we worked it out, don’t you think?”
To all of their surprise, Nick spoke up from the bed. No one had realized that he’d woken up. “You guys started all this between you before you even fixed whatever it was that happened?” he asked in surprise. He hadn’t got out of the bed, but his head was peeking out from the covers.
Brian fielded this question. “Pretty much. That’s how strong it was for us.”
Shaking his head, Kevin gave AJ an apologetic look. “That doesn’t really answer things, though, Age. I’m sorry to pry, but he’s my cousin and I love him. I don’t want to see him hurt.”
Now, that was a little hard not to get upset over. The practical part of AJ understood it. Knew that Kevin loved Brian, and they were family, and he would see it as his job to protect his cousin. He knew that Kevin had hated the fight between them and had seen Brian hurt more than once. But the soft heart inside of him ached. Why was it that Kevin always saw Brian’s side of things, and the pain there, but he had never questioned the pain on AJ’s side? He never stopped to think that AJ was hurting just as much as Brian was. Not then, and not now. The implication was there that AJ would hurt Brian again.
To AJ’s surprise, Brian sat forward in his chair, eyebrows drawing down as he scowled. “I think I’m capable of protecting myself, Kev.” He said sternly. Looking back and forth between Nick and Kevin, Brian spoke in a firm voice. “You guys have acted for a long time like AJ just hurt me and hurt me over and over, and that I just laid there like a little puppy and let him kick me. I gave as good as I got quite a few times. Just because I don’t fight with you doesn’t mean that I don’t fight with him. He may have been a jerk, but I was one too, and you need to quit blaming him for everything. Have trust. He won’t hurt me.”
If he hadn’t admitted to himself that he loved Brian before, that would have done it for AJ. He had to force his eyes not to fill with tears. For a moment he just sat back and let the others talk while he tried to control his emotions.
“We don’t mean it like that, Frick.” Nick said gently. He sat up a little, rubbing at bleary eyes. “We just, you’re always so nice. Too nice, sometimes. It kind of makes people want to look out for you, whether you like that or not. You’re my best friend, and sometimes it seemed like he was walking all over you. Was I just supposed to sit back and not care?”
“You’re supposed to have faith that I can take care of myself, Frack. But I can still appreciate the love that was behind the gesture.” Brian sat back and relaxed slightly, He put his arm on the table, letting his hand toy with AJ’s absentmindedly. “I’m not going to say this because I’m proud of it, but to show you guys that I can handle myself. You remember how badly we were bruised that day you were at the door Nick, and we said the fans attacked us.”
“I remember.” His faced changed to one of shock. “Wait a sec, Age said yesterday that you guys…”
When Nick trailed off, Brian nodded at him. “Yeah. Enough was enough. AJ and I were arguing in the room, and he just started to tell me what he thought of me. It was a pretty…heated…speech.”
AJ cocked his head as he tugged on Brian’s finger. “I was mad.” He said softly, almost apologetically. He hadn’t been nice that day, and thinking on it made him feel a little guilty. “I was also rude. You didn’t deserve it.”
“It’s ok.” Brian said gently. He gave AJ a smile that set AJ’s heart fluttering, and had the other two in the room smiling as well. After a second Brian turned his gaze back to his friends. “Anyway. He was poking me as he just kind of verbally vomited. It irritated me. The next thing I knew I was pushing him. Well, he jumped back at me and we were rolling all over the place. He may have bruised my jaw, but I split his lip, bruised his ribs…”
“Made me hit my fucking temple and cut it open on the dresser.” AJ added in.
Brian rolled his eyes. “That too. Now, like I said, I’m not telling you this because I’m proud, but so you guys will understand that I can, and I have before, stood up to him. Maybe with everyone else I stay calm, and I joke and I let people get to me. But with AJ it’s different. I fight back with him when I’m mad.”
The other two seemed to digest this for a moment. Then Kevin surprised them all by turning to AJ and saying “I owe you an apology then. If you two have worked out the past, whatever that may be, and are ok now in the present, I won’t rag on you for what happened. Friends?” He held his hand out.
For a moment AJ looked at his hand, then reached out and shook it. “Brothers.”
Smiling again, Kevin leaned back on his arms. “I was thinking, there’s no need for management to know anything about this.” He told them. There was a twinkle in his eyes. “Seems like if they did they might change things around. We don’t tell them, they’ll leave our shit the way it is.”
In that comment the two men saw what Kevin was offering them. A way to stay together in their room, and to be together out in public without drawing too much attention. It was a kind gesture. By saying this, he was telling them that he not only approved, but was on their side.
“Thank you.” They said softly together.
“No problem. Now why don’t you guys go get something to eat. We’re meeting in the room at the end of the hall in an hour to start getting ready for the interview.”
After a few rounds of hugs and jokes and well wishes, Brian and AJ found themselves back in their own hotel room, smiling at one another. For a minute they didn’t speak. Brian just stepped into AJ’s open arms and was held close.
When they finally pulled back, AJ smiled down at him. He could see the happiness on Brian’s face. “You know what this means, right?” he asked his lover as a smile grew on his face.
“What?”
“You lost the bet.”
Brian stared at him for a moment, slack jawed. “Shit.” He finally said.
God, he loved it when Brian broke down enough to curse. Pulling his lover even closer, AJ bent down and kissed him fiercely. “Don’t swear at me.” He growled, low and deep. “God, you know that turns me on. We don’t have time for that.”
The bet was momentarily forgotten. Brian wound his arms around AJ’s neck and pulled their bodies closer. “Better make it quick then, Age.” Brian said right before capturing AJ’s lips in a fierce kiss.