Golem

The next morning, Brian woke to find himself alone in Julian's bed. Usually, he would wake with the other man wrapped around him, but there were times when Julian would rise early and make his way downstairs long before Brian ever gained consciousness. Today was apparently one of those days.

Brian briefly considered his clothes from the previous night before tossing them aside to rout through 'his' drawer for something clean to wear. He managed to come up with his favorite jeans, which he had searched the entire loft for repeatedly in the past two weeks, and a black t-shirt. Deciding they would do for now, he quickly showered and dressed before heading downstairs. e foe found Julian in the kitchen, rinsing dishes and popping them into the dishwasher.

"There's coffee," Julian said, looking up at Brian with a smile.

"Thank God," Brian returned, his voice still slightly husky from sleep. He snagged a mug from the cupboard and reached for the coffeepot, only to have Julian gently push his hand aside as he pressed himself in between Brian and the counter.

"Coffee tax," Julian teased.

Brian rolled his eyes but paid the 'tax' anyway, leaning in to press his lips lightly against Julian's. The coffee was forgotten almost immediately as Brian gave in to the welcoming heat of his lover's mouth, bringing a hand up to cup the back of Julian's neck as he deepened the kiss.

"Eeeeew," said a young voice, drawing the two men out of their heated kiss. "That's just...gross."

Brian bristled. It was entirely too early in the fucking morning to deal with a miniature homophobe.

"Give it a few years, Noah, and you won't think that kissing is disgusting at all," Julian assured him. He ran a hand down Brian's back in a soothing gesture, assuming that his lover was simply irritated by the interruption.

Noah wrinkled up his nose. "I don't think kissing is gross. But you were licking him....or something."

Understanding dawned, and Brian let himself relax. The boy hadn't been disgusty thy the sight of two men kissing, but by the kiss itself. It was perfectly understandable for the kis to think that what he had seen them doing was gross. Hadn't he thought so himself the first time he caught Claire french-kissing her boyfriend? Of course, that thought still disgusted him, but he was pretty sure that was beside the point.

"There are different kinds of kisses," Julian said, trying to find a way to explain. "That...well, it's a grown-up thing. It's one of those things that adults do with the person they love."

Brian bit his lip to keep from contradicting what Julian had just said, and his lover gave him a sharp look. He gave Julian an apologetic smile.

Noah seemed to be turning over the idea of grown-up kisses, giving it serious consideration. "Do all grown-ups kiss like that?" he asked, looking pensive. "I mean, is it required?"

Julian looked completely dumbfounded, and Brian had to turn his head to hide a smile. He squashed his amusement and reached out to ruffle Noah's hair fondly. "It's not required, and not everyone does it. But the people who 't, 't, they're really missing out. Give it a few more years, and you won't be so disturbed by it."

"If you say so," Noah replied. He didn't sound convinced.

*

One of Brian's biggest worries about the sudden expansion of Julian's family to include one precocious little boy was that he and his lover would always be saddled with the child and never have a moment to themselves. He needn't have worried, though. Nicky and Paul were usually willing to babysit with little notice, and Noah sometimes had sleepovers with Gus and his mommies. Their time together now required a little more planning, but Julian's foster father status hadn't proved to be the giant pain in the ass that Brian had feared it would be.

Even though he did his best to distance himself from the boy, Brian found that he was actually coming to care about the little guy. As far as kids go, Brian thought that Noah was a good one, quite possibly second only to Gus. Of course getting him to admit that aloud would be a miracle. Still, his behaviors toward the child gave him away. Several weeks after his placement in Julian's home, Noah wheedled Brian into reading him a bedtime story; it was then that Julian knew without a doubt that Brian had completely accepted Noah's place in Julian's family.

*

Brian continued to spend a good deal of time with Julian and Noah, as well as spending time alone with Julian. He was surprised by just how much the domesticity of the situation didn't bother him. And by how much he enjoyed the quiet times spent with the two of them.

*

"He's been quiet again lately," Brian noted one night, his eyes following Noah as he headed up the stairs towards his bedroom.

"I know," Julian replied, concern evident in his tone and in his expression. "Thatnot not all either. He's...well, he's been regressing."

"Regressing?"

"He talks baby-talk sometimes. And he's been sucking his thumb a lot. Stuff like that. I know something's wrong, but he won't talk to me. When I ask him about it, he just gets all teary-eyed and promises to do better and begs me not to send him away...." Julian paused, fighting to keep his emotions under control. He sounded as if he wanted to cry himself.

Brian cupped the back of Julian's neck and squeezed gently, silently offering comfort and support. Julian gave him a wan smile. With an effort, he changed the subject of the conversation to the problems he was having with his latest novel, and Brian let him. What the hell did he know about kids, anyway?

*

A few weeks later, Brian went to pick Julian up for a night at Babylon and was surprised when the other man met him at the door with a frightened-looking Noah clinging to him. He let himself be ushered inside, a feeling of dread settling into the pit of his stomach.

"I'm going to have to back out, Brian. Noah isn't feeling well," Julian explained.

"And you couldn't call me to let me know?" Brian snapped.

"It was kind of sudden," Julian replied coolly.

"What's really going on?" Brian demanded, his voice calm but hard as stone.

Julian sighed. "Noah doesn't want me to go."

Brian's mouth tightened angrily, and his jaw tensed visibly.

"Brian," Julian began, his tone pleading, but Brian shook his head. He didn't want to hear it.

"I've got somewhere to be." With that, Brian turned and let himself out of the house.

Later, he would have second thoughts, wondering why he had been such a self-important shit, but at that moment, all he could think was that he would be damned if he was going to play second-fiddle to some attention-starved little brat.

**************


Like it? Hate it? Please take a minute to let me know!