Diffrent Path

Chapter 7…

Brian awoke the next morning feeling very sore but deliriously happy and relaxed. He stretched his body feeling the stretch from his head to his toes. He opened his eyes and looked over at the pillow next to his. Where there should have been a blond head, there wasn’t.

Then the brunet laying on the bed became aware of the smell of coffee filling his loft. He crawled out of the bed, making a face as his well-used ass protested the motion. He walked over to the steps, down to the main floor.

“Sunshine… “ The blond in question stood by the stove cooking. Blue eyes looked up from Justin’s task at the stove to meet Brian’s amused gaze.

“Good morning Brian…” The younger man blushed as Brian raised an eyebrow at the breakfast setting on the dinning table. Coffee, fresh bagels, cream cheese and in Justin’s pan was what Brian could only guess was an omelet.

“I couldn’t sleep…still used to it being school …” Brian looked at the time and saw that it was after noon. He smirked, rubbed his eyes and turned back into the bedroom only to emerge seconds later with a pair of Justin’s boxers on.

“Looks great, I’m starving…” He took a seat and poured himself a cup of coffee and opened the paper to the business pages, laying the arts section besides Justin’s plate. He looked up as Justin placed the omelet on his plate, before leaning down to place a kiss on the older man’s lips. They shared a smile before settling down to feed their bodies. The weekend was spent mostly in the loft.

Brian and Justin really did not feel like company. Their focus was on each other. Saturday was spent between Brian doing some work and Justin drawing, watching movies and indulging in each other as often as they could. Sunday was pretty much the same. As the clock passed five Debbie’s voice rang from the answering machine.

“Family dinner 6 o’clock… be there … asshole! And bring Sunshine along! You both need to come up for air…..” Brian and Justin looked at each other. A smirk curled the brunet’s lips as he rose from the bed, sweat still sticky on his body. He looked back at the sated blond sprawled on their bed.

“Come on sunshine… we need to haul ass if we are going to get to Deb’s by six…” Justin smirked as he gracelessly crawled out of the bed and walked over to Brian.

“You would shock her to death if you were actually on time…” The only answer he got as he passed Brian was a firm smack on his ass. Justin jumped at the sting but looked back over his shoulder and licked his lips. Justin smiled widely as Brian’s eyes darkened as his half-hard dick rose once more to the occasion.

“We wouldn’t want that …are you up for one more, Sunshine?” Justin’s breathless laughter was smothered in a deep kiss as Brian caught up with Justin in the shower stall.

At 6:15 on the dot, Brian and Justin walked into Debbie’s house hand in hand. They were smirking as they meet Debbie’s not so amused look as they entered her kitchen.

“You’re late…” she said with a playful glare.

“You would die from shock if I was on time and you know it, Debbie…” Brian said with a smile as he kissed her cheek before taking a seat at the table and pulling Justin down beside him. But not before pulling the blond’s chair closer. The girls and Gus were already seated and Ted and Emmett were helping Deb and Vic in the kitchen.

Soon the table was filled as everyone dug into the food.

Everyone’s attention seemed to be on the two people sharing one unit of personal space at the end of the table. They did not act differently but their bodies just seemed to have a need to be in contact. The dessert was put on the table when the front door opened and a voice rang out.

“Mom! Uncle Vic… I’m home!”


Michael was dead tired as he drove the moving van into his mom’s driveway. He had his doubts when he stepped on that plane and he should have listened to them.

When he and David got to Portland he was nothing more then a convenient distraction. David had continued to make decisions without consulting him and disregarding every feeling he had. Frankly, Mikey had gotten sick of it, told David it was over, packed his things up and left.

He had driven most of the night and the next day. He had only stopped for a few hours to eat and catch some sleep on the moving vans bench seat.

He was looking forward to a hot meal and to sleep, even if it was on his mom’s couch since Justin lived in his room. As he stepped inside he called out to his mom.

He heard voices in the kitchen and moved in that direction. He smiled widely as his mom hugged him and his friends and family stood up to greet him.
Even Justin gave him a warm hug.

He was a bit worried about Brian. He had expected a little more of a greeting from the hazel-eyed man than a lukewarm hug.

Soon Michael was seated at the table with a big helping of his mom’s lasagna and was trying to explain why he was there.

But while he was doing that, he observed everyone at the table. Mostly he watched Justin and Brian. He was confused as he watched Justin sneak a small kiss for the third time in five minutes. They were not even sexual, they were just affectionate.

As he cleared his plate he started on the Chocolate cake his uncle had made. He was still watching Brian and realized that Justin was not the one initializing all the kisses and touches. For the most part it was Brian.

‘What the fuck was going on here?’ Michael asked himself. He felt insanely jealous as he saw Brian whisper something in Justin’s ear and get a smoldering look back.

Mikey’s brain shut down. That look. That look was the look that tops gave their bottoms, the look that Brian had that always made Michael weak to his knees.

‘Is Brian letting the twink….nah... never… he wouldn’t … riiight?’ Michael was a little quiet but everyone thought it was because of David.

Debbie knew better and as everyone went home, she pulled him along upstairs.

“You can sleep in sunshine’s room since he’s been staying with Brian since graduation.” Michael looked at her in confusion. He sat down on the bed. He looked so young, so confused at that moment.

“What is going on, mom...?” Debbie sat down beside him.

“Since his birthday and the prom Brian has been different. He has been less of an asshole and has been treating Sunshine like...well, like a lover or a partner instead of a fuck buddy.” Her eyes were shining with happy tears. “He is showing Sunshine that he cares… I think it is so wonderful. That persistent little boy did what we couldn’t…” She looked at Michael.


The dark man beside her looked torn between jealousy and joy. He felt elated for his friend. Michael also felt jealous because he had for a long time told himself that he was in love with Brian and that Brian’s affectionate hugs and kisses were the other man’s way of telling him that the feelings were returned.

However, if he was honest with himself, he knew that Brian had never felt that way about him. With a sigh he stood from the bed and started to get ready for bed, unsure what the future would bring now.


Justin kept his game face on as the night continued. He was a bit surprised that Mikey had shown up but he welcomed the man just as warmly as anyone else. He was surprised to see Brian being slightly standoffish.

He discreetly responded to Brian’s physical cues. He had early on found little things that Brian did when he needed something but would not allow himself to ask for it. For example he would stoke his thumb on some body part of Justin’s where you could feel the beat of his heart, like his wrist. It was almost always the need for kisses.

These touches were easy to separate from the normal touches. They were bold and calculated. The ‘need you’ touches were always hesitant. Some other things were a kiss on the neck or ear, “I just need you close.” There was also a big hint that he was going to say or do something that needed your attention. He would never look at you, even if he was speaking to you.

Justin smiled and laughed softly as Brian leaned in and placed a slightly open-mouthed kiss on his neck, making him shiver. Brian’s warm breath tickled the blonds skin as he whispered in a well-formed ear.

“Are you going to fuck me when we get home, Sunshine?” The blond gave the older man a smoldering look, meeting hazel eyes that seemed to darken as well.

The night continued quite pleasantly after that. And if someone took note that Justin sat a bit closer to Brian, no one said a word about it. But as Gus started to fuss, the party started to break up with Justin and Brian leaving almost before the girls.

Brian sat deep in thought as he drove the jeep home. He knew that Mikey would not let this rest. He would be picking on his relationship with Justin as a dog with a bone. He had hoped, a bit selfishly that Mikey could have made it work for a few weeks at least with the doc.

He had needed time, time away from being the legend ‘Brian fucking Kinney.’ Mikey always seemed to cast him in that role. The hero, the unchanging friend. He loved Mikey, he really did but the Italian really needed to find another focus. He looked over to the blond sitting serenely beside him. He had.