For the next week things went pretty smoothly with the group. AJ was surprised to find that he and Brian managed to keep things semi peaceful between them. The guys were wondering about what had happened to create this, but neither of them was telling. Oh, they still bickered quite a bit. That was normal for them, and a hard habit to break. It was too easy to take something said the wrong way. But, AJ didn’t mind so much. Their fighting made for much more intense sex.
Sitting on a couch backstage as they waited for everything to be set up for the show, AJ watched his friends through the cover of his shades. Brian and Nick were playing a game of ping pong at the table, Kevin was reading some papers in his hand like they were important, and Howie was, of course, on the phone. Sometimes he swore that the man lived with a phone in his hand.
The arena was already starting to fill up out there and soon they were going to have to start getting ready for the show, getting into costume and such. Then it would be time for the show to start and it would be AJ’s favorite part of the night. There was nothing he loved more than the energy of getting up on stage. It was always fun for him.
Looking discreetly at Brian, he couldn’t help but think that the nights at the hotel were becoming more fun than anything else. He was beginning to look forward to going to his room at night, whereas a week ago he had dreaded going to his room. But things between him and Brian were so, interesting, now. They weren’t perfect, not by a long shot. Neither of them could really even label what they were.
They talked at night, after the passion was spent. About little things, random things. Just casual chatter. Brian told stories from when he was a kid, and the things he used to do. AJ was slowly starting to open up, talking a little about his own childhood. They were so different it was insane. Their tastes in music were opposite, as well as their tastes in clothes, jewelry, and almost everything else except food. There they were very similar.
But outside of the hotel room they were either avoiding one another, or fighting, or not really saying anything. There were random moments of peace which hadn’t been there before. Sometimes they even let comments or sarcasm slide past, to the amazement of others. But it was only a minor improvement.
“Guys, time to change and gear up.” Kevin announced to them.
Not thinking anything of it, so lost in thought was he, AJ walked over to the wardrobe with all of them and got ready to change his clothes. He froze in the act of pulling his shirt off, remembering what he had on his body that he didn’t want the others to see, when he heard Nick exclaim “What the hell?”
Cautiously AJ turned his head to see what the commotion was. Nick was staring at Brian, who had taken his shirt off. Everyone’s attention was now focused on Brian. For a moment AJ just stared with the rest of them. Then he had to bite his cheek to keep from laughing. Just like he had, Brian had forgotten about changing in front of the others. But whereas AJ had remembered at the last second, obviously Brian hadn’t.
Little love marks marred Brian’s skin here and there, testament to the force of their lovemaking. When they got together in those hotel rooms or when they were alone on the bus, all thought went out the window except. All they focused on was the pleasure. Each time they swore they’d be more careful on marking the other, and each time they forgot all about it once that fire was lit.
“Holy shit, Rok! What the hell happened to you?” Nick demanded, gesturing to Brian’s chest and waist. Flushing, Brian tried to pull his new shirt on, but Kevin caught his arm, stopping him. “Who hurt you?” The older man demanded.
That was it for AJ. He couldn’t help the laughter that burst out of him. Four heads turned toward him, three looking both curious and annoyed, and one flashing a look of warning. But AJ just couldn’t resist. “Looks like Saint Littrell isn’t such a Saint anymore.”
“What do you mean?” Kevin demanded.
Oh, he would pay for this later. Brian was giving him such a death look that AJ knew he would get it when they were alone. But for now it was so much fun to rib him. He grinned widely. “Looks like he’s a bit of a freak in bed to me. No one hurt him, Kev. Those look like love bites.”
“Shut up, AJ.” Brian hissed out. He tried to yank his arm free from Kevin again. The shock that showed in Kevin apparently made him loosen his grip because Brian got his arm free and quickly yanked his shirt on.
“Love bites?” Nick’s voice was incredulous. He gave Brian an appraising look. “Rok, you got a girl you been holding out on me here?”
That started a whole slew of questions. Brian looked past them and gave AJ a look that promised retribution later on. AJ let his grin grow wider and gave him a small wave as he took his clothes and disappeared from the room. He was whistling to himself as he ducked into one of the private rooms they had backstage and started to change.
As he pulled his pants off and put on the pants for the show he couldn’t stop grinning. That had been too much to resist. Teasing Brian about being a freak, just like he did when they were alone, but no one knowing the truth of what was going on. Sure, he’d pay for it later. But the payment he’d end up giving would be even more fun. He shivered a little as he belted his jeans on. Those images stayed in his mind as he pulled his shirt off and prepared to put on the wife beater top.
“I would never have guessed it if I didn’t know you as well as I do.” A voice suddenly spoke from the doorway. AJ didn’t bother turning around. He knew that voice, and knew what Howie was looking at. So he simply stood there, asking “Guessed what, D?”
Howie stepped into the room, deliberately shutting the door behind him. “Don’t play dumb with me, AJ. Since when did you and Brian start sleeping together?”
The only defense was a good offense. AJ crossed his arms over his chest and turned to face his best friend and prepared to lie his ass off. “What the hell are you talking about, Howard?” he demanded. It didn’t really have any effect on Howie but to make him roll his eyes. “I told you, don’t play dumb, AJ. I know you. Aside from that, I’m observant.”
“Well, go observe someone else for a while.”
“First, you two get in that big fight that day at the hotel. I wondered what was going on then, when I cleaned the scratches on your back. But I ignored it, cause that possibility seemed so far off. But now you guys are suddenly acting, not nice, but a little less like ass holes to one another.”
AJ tried to talk, but Howie kept going, stepping toward him a little more with each point he ticked off. “Now Brian’s covered in love bites and other marks, and you’re taunting him before coming back here to change. You never cared about changing front of others. So I followed you, to talk, and I find you in here with more scratches on your back, and definite bite marks on your shoulders. So, don’t play dumb with me. How long has this been going on?”
Was there really any point in lying to Howie, of all people? Especially when his friend had taken the time to think and watch and had the evidence so neatly stacked up against him. With a small sigh, AJ gave up hiding, at least to Howie. “Since that day you cleaned my back. We’d been fighting and suddenly we were kissing. After you left, and he came back, I purposely pissed him off and kissed him. It just progressed from there.”
He watched Howie’s face, waiting for the recriminations that he was sure were coming. The criticism that he was positive would fall from Howie’s lips. But he only asked “Are you sure about this, Age?
“I don’t know.” AJ shrugged. He pulled his tank top on, looking down at the ground. “We don’t do just that, you know. We talk some too. I’m getting to know him a little better than before. Nine times out of ten he still pisses me off, but then there’s that other time that he smiles at me and laughs with me and it just feels right.”
For a moment the room was silent. When Howie did finally speak, his words caught AJ off guard. “You’re falling for him.”
AJ’s mouth dropped open for a minute as he stared at Howie. “The hell I am!” he finally exclaimed.
Sympathy tightened Howie’s eyes. “You are. I know you, Age. I see it. God, J, did it have to be him? Couldn’t you have fallen for someone else?”
“What’s wrong with him?” He found himself demanding. Despite his protests that he wasn’t falling for Brian-and he wasn’t!-he didn’t want to hear him insulted that way. “He’s a good guy!”
“There’s nothing wrong with him. I just don’t want to see you hurt again, J. I was there last time, remember? I heard what he had to say about you. You cried on my shoulder.” The reminder of that had AJ flinching a little. Howie pressed on. “I just don’t want to see that happen to you again. I’m trying to look out for you.”
“Well, maybe I don’t need you to look out for me.” AJ snapped at him. The old pain was trying to well up inside him, but he shoved it back down. “Bri and I decided that the past is the past. Everyone deserves a second chance, don’t you think? He…he’d never say those things about me now.”
“Are you sure, Age?”
Not wanting to talk about this, AJ furiously finished dressing. Howie didn’t know what the hell he was talking about. Things were different this time. They wouldn’t be like last time. “You don’t know him like I do, D. Things are different now.” They had to be different. He was going to make it different.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
After the show, once they were back at the hotel, Brian calmly waited until he and AJ were in the hotel room before he let out what had been stewing in his mind all night long. He shut the door behind him and took a deep breath before walking over to the main part of the room. AJ was already standing there, arms crossed over his chest, a smirk on his face. “Well, let’s have it.” He said.
That set it off. “What the heck did you think you were doing?” Brian hissed at him, striding up until they were face to face. “Why’d you have to make jokes like that? You keep that up and on telling how long it’ll be before someone figures out what’s going on here!”
“Oh, you mean like Howie has?”
Brian froze. He felt the shock run through him, turning his body numb for a moment. “What?”
“Yep, D came after me when I went to change and told me he’d figured it all out. But, he’s working with the knowledge of knowing me better than anyone else.” Something crossed AJ’s face, something behind the sneer that he was trying to keep hidden. It caught Brian’s attention and had him trying to look deeper. “Is it that big a deal, Littrell? You really care that much if the others find out that you’re having sex with a man?” AJ’s voice went a little deeper and he took that last step that put them a hair away from touching. “Or is it that you don’t want anyone to know you’re sleeping with me? Is that it?”
“I’m not ready to tell them anything yet until I know it all myself, AJ.” He found himself insisting. A part of his mind was logging away AJ’s words and the look that had been on his face for that momentary flash. “How can I tell them when I don’t even know quite what I am yet?”
“Are you sure about that? It has nothing to do with it being me? Are you sure you wouldn’t be a little bit easier about this if it was some other guy? Don’t want people to know the riff raff you let in your bed? Huh? You ashamed of me?” AJ poked at his chest, glaring harder.
What the hell? “Stop poking me!” he snapped out, knocking his hand away. “I have no idea what on earth you’re talking about, but you sound stupid. This has nothing to do with you and everything to do with me. What are you talking about, ashamed of you?”
The look on AJ’s face changed a little, turning more thoughtful. He sighed suddenly, the tension melting from his body, and leaned in to wrap his arms around Brian’s neck. He didn’t say a word, just rested there. Lost, Brian put his arms around AJ’s waist and held him.
Though neither of them spoke, Brian couldn’t help but wonder what that had been about. It must have had something to do with what had started all of this originally. He and AJ were going to have to talk about this soon. Things needed to be figured out. But how was he going to get him to tell him? As they swayed in the hotel room, Brian tried to plan a way to find out what was going on.