The flight home was quick and easy. Brian had expected some trouble at the airports, what with all the things that AJ was carrying on him. But Rex flew home with them and somehow he managed to make it a smooth process, presenting the right pieces of paper to the right officials at the right time. It amazed Brian. But then again, most of the things on that side of life amazed him.
Even his own reactions had been surprising. When they’d been sitting in the hotel room and he’d found out why AJ had been gone and what he was carrying with him, the logical part of Brian said that he should be upset about it. That he should be uncomfortable and annoyed with AJ for trying to be that hard and that tough. But he apparently wasn’t going to be logical. The greater part of him was both touched and amazed at the lengths AJ was going to just to keep him safe.
Not only that, but it gave him a large insight into the person that AJ had once been. Up until hearing about ‘Xander’, he had never known that AJ had lived that kind of a life. He’d known that he’d spent some time on the streets, yes. But there was a difference between hanging out on the streets and in being a part of a gang.
None of it made him love AJ any less. If anything, he loved him more. A part of his heart broke for the boy that AJ had been and for the man he was now who felt he had to cut that part of his life out. Or, at least, he had. It looked like AJ was embracing that part of himself now.
Thinking on all of this helped to keep Brian’s mind from dwelling on the fact that someone had shot at him. At random moments that thought would creep back in, and the fear and hysteria with it. He had to shove them back down so he wouldn’t make a fool of himself. If he didn’t, then his hands would start to tremble and his stomach would get that sick feeling in it.
All of this was just too much for his mind to process. There was too much that didn’t seem like it could be real. Things like this happened in the movies, not in real life. Not in his life. People didn’t get shot at just because their management didn’t approve of their homosexual relationship. People didn’t walk around armed to the teeth because their boyfriend had been threatened. He tried to tell himself that. Things like this didn’t happen to normal people. But it was happening to him.
How was he supposed to deal with this? It just seemed too insane, too unreal. Like some cheesy movie gone bad. But no matter how much he wished it, some director wasn’t going to shout cut. This wasn’t going to just go away. It was happening to him; to them.
AJ respected his silence and allowed Brian to stay quiet through the flight. He didn’t pester him for conversation or even push his company on him. No, he sat next to him, quietly staring out the window. It was a blessing to have someone who knew him and understood him so well.
Who would have thought that AJ would be that person for him? There were times Brian was still amazed at how far they’d come. From hatred all the way to love. Not a simple love, either. Not that steady, comfortable love that you read about in books or saw in movies or heard some people talk about. No, theirs definitely wasn’t like that. It was more like a wild thing, up and down and slamming into you with enough force to knock you on your ass. It wasn’t easy, and it wasn’t quiet. It was hard sometimes and loud and in your face. But he wouldn’t have traded it for anything.
He was drawn from his thoughts as the plane landed. Not much later he was standing with AJ and Rex in the airport terminal, waiting at the baggage claim. Rex stood between them, close enough that there was no doubt he was there as a body guard. He looked the part, looming over them the way that he was. But it also gave him the privacy to murmur quietly in their ears so that no one else would hear.
“I can’t stay with the two of you. Technically, it should have been Marcus who flew out and stayed with you guys. But Marc knew that me getting you through security would be easier. He also knew that this is my area more than his. I’ve got two hours till my plane leaves. In that time, I’ll go pick up everything you need from an old friend of mine and come swing it by the house. But I won’t have time to stay. I’ll have to jet and get back on the plane and back to the others. By now Jeff will realize we’re gone and most likely know where we are.”
Brian flashed a look to both Rex and AJ. He saw his lover nodding lightly to the words. But Brian couldn’t resist asking. “This going to cause you any trouble, Rex?” That was important to him. He didn’t want to create any more trouble for anyone than he had to. It had been one of the reasons he’d got onto the plane and left though no one had told him why they were leaving so quickly. The biggest part of him had been grateful to remove the threat away from those that mattered to him.
When their bags came around, AJ grabbed his and Brian grabbed his. Rex spoke softly behind them. “I won’t have any trouble. Marc would take the heat if there was any heat. In the eyes of management, we all go where Marc tells us to. He’s head honcho. But if there is heat, he’ll handle it.”
“We appreciate it, Rex.” AJ said when he turned back around. People milled past them, none of them stopping to say a word. Thank God no fans had spotted them yet. “Everything, man. I could of done this on my own, but not as smoothly.”
“Gee, thanks for the backhanded compliment, Age. My heart’s warmed just thinking about it.”
“Shove off, asshole.” AJ gave him a wide grin only seconds before the two embraced in that one armed man hug that guy friends gave. Once they were done, Rex turned and gave Brian a quick hug as well. “Be safe. Stick close to this guy, he knows what he’s doing.”
“I trust him with my life.” Brian said softly. It was a figure of speech, but it struck him how accurate it could be considered at the moment. The irony of it wasn’t lost on Rex either, who gave him a huge grin. A moment later, he practically melted into the crowd. Brian stared after him, amazed that a man of that size could pretty much disappear into the crowd of people.
AJ sidled up beside him, bumping their shoulders. “Come on, Littrell. Let’s get the hell out of here before someone spots us.”
They made it out of the airport and to the street where the usual array of taxi’s waited for the airport passengers who would need a ride. They quickly got inside of one and were soon on their way to AJ’s house. There were no words spoken between them, but it was a peaceful silence. Brian found himself relaxing a little for the first time since that gunshot had whizzed past his face.
By the time they reached AJ’s house, Brian was almost feeling calm again. They got their bags from the trunk, carried them up to the house after AJ paid the driver and let themselves in. But once they were in the door, AJ put a hand against Brian’s chest and shoved him back against the door. “God damn it.” He cursed.
Wide eyed, Brian looked past AJ to the living room. He saw instantly what had made AJ swear. The entire living room was torn apart. It looked like someone had come in and tossed everything around, breaking things as they went, throwing others on the floor. Someone had totally trashed his living room. Holy God. “Oh my God, Alex. Your home.”
AJ looked around, his eyes darting from here to there, then back over to Brian. “I can’t leave you here.” He swore softly. Reaching down to his shoe he pulled his gun out and clicked the safety off. “You stick right on my ass, Littrell, and I mean it. Try to keep between me and a wall. If I tell you to stay put somewhere, I don’t want you to fucking move. If I say run, then dammit I want you to run. Are we clear?”
As if he could argue with that tone of command in AJ’s voice. “Ok.” He breathed out. When AJ started to move, Brian stuck right on his ass as ordered. He couldn’t stop from looking wide eyed around the room as they went further in. Surprisingly, the gun in AJ’s hand didn’t bother him. It was the least of his concerns. Maybe another time he would freak out about it. Here and now, all he could manage to do was follow AJ and stare at the damage.
The dining room and the kitchen were just as bad as the living room. Dishes were shattered her and there. The kitchen table was knocked over and two of the chairs were broken. All the drawers had been pulled out and the things in them were dumped on the floor. Brian made a small sound of distress at the utter destruction of it all.
AJ didn’t say a word, just moved through the rest of the downstairs. He thoroughly checked the bathroom over, obviously looking for something. Or someone, Brian thought to himself. Once the bathroom was cleared, AJ turned to look at him. “I want you to stay in here.” He said softly.
When Brian opened his mouth to protest, AJ held a hand up for silence. “No, Bri. It’ll be easier for me to look around on my own and if something does happen it’ll be easier for me to handle it if I don’t have the most important person in the world to me to defend. I need you to promise me you’ll stay in here no matter what. Lock the door behind me and don’t let anyone but me back in here. No matter what, ok?”
“I don’t like this.” Brian admitted softly. He didn’t like the idea of AJ being off by himself with the potential for someone to still be in the house. “Can’t you just call the cops and have them come look things over?”
“They’d have the best intentions, but they’d only get in the way of me looking for things. There are some things I need to see before I let anyone mess anything up. Please, Bri, now more than ever I need you to trust me. Can you do that?”
When phrased like that, how could he not? “Of course I trust you. I’ll stay here. It doesn’t mean I have to like it, though.”
For a brief second humor lit AJ’s face. Then it was gone, buried back underneath that calm mask. With a sudden flick of his wrist, AJ brought one of the knives from his sleeve, the one with the serrated edge. He held it, handle out, toward Brian. “Take this.”
“What? No.”
“Take it, Bri. Dammit, don’t argue with me right now. Take this. Just in case something happens and someone tries to come in here, I want you to be protected. Take the damn thing.”
Brian looked dubiously at the knife. Reluctantly he reached up and took the hilt in his hand. “I don’t know how to use these things. It’s not going to be much use in my hands.” He said as he grimaced. AJ reached out, adjusting his grip on it. His eyes locked on to Brian’s and they were so serious, so steady. “It’s easy. Stick the pointy end in someone you really don’t like. Another time I’ll show you how to really use it, but for this, simple is best. Now, remember, don’t let anyone but me in here, and if someone busts in, use this. Don’t stop to ask questions. Most likely if they’re busting in after you they’re not here for good reasons and they’re going to be much more talented than you at hand to hand. Use any advantage that you have, Bri.”
One brief, passionate kiss and then AJ was gone. Brian barely remembered to lock the door behind him. Then he did the only thing he could do. He sat on the edge of the tub and waited. His mind raced a million miles a minute, his heart thudded, and his ears strained to listen to any sound that might warn him if something happened.
God, this wasn’t happening to them. It couldn’t be happening to them. He wasn’t sitting in AJ’s bathroom, holding a freaking knife, while the man he loved searched through a house that potentially still had the person inside who had ransacked the place. No, no way. It wasn’t true.
But he knew, as much as he wanted to pretend otherwise, it was true. Sweet God, what were they going to do? What was going to happen?
A knock on the door startled him so bad he almost screamed. Almost. Clutching the knife tighter in his hand, Brian stared at the door, his brain almost shut down. God. Oh, God. Panic skittered up his spine and froze his muscles.
A voice suddenly called from the other side of the door, melting everything inside of him. “Bri, honey, it’s me. Open up. Everything’s safe now.”
It was just AJ. Thank God. For one single, terrifying instant he had worried that it was going to be someone else. The someone who had done this to AJ’s home. What would he have done? He looked down at the knife in his hand as if shocked to see he still held it. What would he have done with this? Would he have really stabbed someone? Him? He’d never even liked going hunting with his dad back home! What on earth made him think he could take something lethal like this and use it to hurt someone, no matter the circumstances?
“Bri! Brian! Dammit, Littrell, open this door up!”
AJ’s voice brought him back to reality again. Almost mechanically he moved to the door and flipped the lock before stepping back. The door burst open almost instantly. AJ was there, his eyes scanning the room, seeking out a danger that wasn’t there. Once he was reassured on that, his eyes focused straight on Brian.
Something in that gaze held Brian still. He barely noticed as AJ slid the weapons in his hands back into their sheaths or when he held his now empty hands out to the sides. “Brian, love, everything’s ok.” AJ said slowly. His voice was low and gentle. God, he loved it when this new soft side of AJ came out. It was so rare, and so different from the side of him that Brian was used to fighting with. “Look at me, love. It’s ok. Do you hear me?”
“I hear you.” Brian looked at him like he was crazy. Why would he ask something like that? It wasn’t like he was deaf. But he couldn’t see the way he gripped the knife in his hand so hard that his knuckles were white. Or how pale he’d become; how much his body had started to shake. But AJ saw it and recognized it for what it was. Shock.
Taking a step forward, AJ held one hand out, palm up. “Will you hand me the knife, love?” he asked Brian. Surprised, Brian looked down at his hand. He was still clutching that knife. After a moment’s thought he held it in his palm and held his open hand out toward AJ. His lover reached over and quickly took the knife, sliding it up his sleeve. His eyes never left Brian. “Come here, Bri. It’s all ok now. I’m here, and I’ll keep you safe. Just come here.”
Something about AJ’s words broke through the fog that seemed to be trying to settle on Brian’s brain. Without conscious thought he found himself stepping into AJ’s open arms, letting himself be folded into that warmth and strength. Once he was, the shaking got worse. He was suddenly gripping tightly to AJ.
AJ’s grip was just as tight, just as fierce. “That’s it. I’ve got you. I’ve got you now, you’re ok.” AJ whispered in his ear. Standing in the middle of AJ’s guest bathroom, Brian did what he hadn’t allowed himself to do before. He broke down.