ALL I ASK OF YOU
Part 3

The boys were all together for once, sitting at Woody’s on a Saturday night. Although they didn’t need a reason to get together, they had one tonight: Ben was gone. He had taken an early flight and left. Mikey seemed to be coping well, but just to be on the safe side, the guys had arranged it so they’d all be with him tonight.

“Oh, check out the hottie that just walked in,” Emmett giggled. He was slightly drunk….they all were for that matter.

Five pairs of eyes focused on a tall, shirtless blonde with thick biceps and abs to die for. Ted sighed dreamily. Justin snorted and rolled his eyes, knowing the guy was far from his type. Brian noticed the guy trying to catch his eye while Mikey turned away immediately.

“I’d fuck him.” Brian announced with a stupid smile. He winked at Justin.

“I’m surprised you haven’t yet,” Ted joked.

Brian sipped on his beer and pointed at Ted…or who he hoped was Ted. “You know Teddy; I take my fucks very seriously.” Ted snorted but Brian ignored him and continued. “For example, I would fuck him…him…and…him.” The guys took in the three guys he pointed out. “However, I would never ever fuck you.” He laughed as he searched for a cigarette in his pocket.

“So baby, you must be so thrilled!” Emmett burst out excitedly, trying to change the topic. He knew how insecure Ted felt about himself and Brian never made it easy for him. “You’re gonna have your own little place!”

Mikey looked at him as though he had lost his mind. “Huh?”

Emmett clapped his hands. “You know sweetie! You get to stay at Ben’s.”

“Oh shit! I totally forgot about that,” Mikey covered his eyes and groaned. The boys waited, unsure what Mikey was so worried about. “I have got to find a place to stay!”

“What?” Justin and Emmett asked in unison.

“That wasn’t Ben’s place remember? I need to find a place… and fast!”

Justin bit his lip and blinked. He wasn’t sure if he had heard what he did. He knew he was not at his most sober but he could’ve sworn he just heard Mikey say he had nowhere to stay. “Um…are you for real?” Mikey nodded despairingly.

“Well, look, you can have your old room back.” Justin offered.

Mikey laughed. “Don’t be ridiculous. That’s your room now.”

“Then there’s the couch?” Justin persisted.

Emmett waved his hands around excitedly. “Oh! Can you imagine us three as roomies? We’ll have a blast!”

Lighting up his cigarette at last, Brian looked at him strangely. “You two will be queens in no time.” he stated. He wasn’t really listening to the conversation. He had noticed a yummy morsel at the door.

Justin hit him lightly before turning back to Mikey. “It’d be great! This way, we can work at all hours of the night and stuff.”

Brian cleared his throat. “You three have gone completely insane.” His eyes flirted with the young twink at the door.

Mikey couldn’t help but agree. “It’ll be way too cramped guys. I’ll just have to find somewhere else. I just refuse to stay by Ma though. She’d drive me nuts!” Justin shrugged. He was too tired and too drunk to think up anything else.

Ted, finally coming out off his 5-minute slumber said, “Well, there’s always Emmett’s room. You do spend most of your time by me anyway.”

Emmett’s eyes lit up. “Are you serious Teddy?”

Ted smiled up at him, his puppy dog eyes on max. “Very serious. I would love for you to move in with me Emmett Honeycutt.” Emmett melted in his arms, his lips covering Ted’s.

Brian groaned, noticing them kissing as he tore his eyes away from the twink’s. “That’s disgusting!” Justin laughed and inched closer to Brian, his mouth seeking his boyfriend’s. Justin stuck out his tongue and felt Brian’s teeth pulling it into his mouth.

“Guys!” Mikey whined.

“So it’s settled!” Emmett said with a goofy grin.

Justin and Mikey grinned at each other. “Looks like we’re gonna be roomies, huh?”

Brian’s forehead crinkled. “What the fuck are you two girls going on about now?”

Justin poked him in his chest. “Mikey’s gonna move in with me. Isn’t that great?”

Brian licked his lips and looked around the table. Everyone was staring at him strangely. “What?” he muttered.

“Weren’t you listening?” Mikey asked. Brian shrugged.

“He was too busy flirting with that Twinkie in the back,” Ted pointed out with a smile.

“Fuck the twink! Has everyone lost their fucking minds?” Brian asked angrily.

“What’s wrong with Mikey and me sharing a place?” Justin questioned. In his drunken state, he felt the need to argue.
Brian glared at him. “It just won’t work, that’s all.”

“You don’t know that-“

“I do.”

“Didn’t you like living with me?”

“That was different.”

“How?”

“I was fucking you-“

“Yea but-“

“He won’t be.”

“Brian-”

“Leave it.”

“But-“

“I said to fucking drop it, ok?” The boys watched the exchange in silence, not sure what was going on and too drunk to really care.

“I think if I don’t leave now, I’m gonna pass out,” Emmett groaned as he stood up, pulling Ted with him. “So it’s settled, right guys?” Mikey nodded. Justin looked at Brian, who was peeling off the beer label and ignoring him.

Justin nodded. “I guess so.”

Mikey and Justin were at Brian’s working on the comic book. Their own apartment was in a mess, thanks to Emmett who was now having a hard time leaving it. He refused to part with anything and as a result, had boxes littering the floor. All day he had been ordering Ted, Michael and Justin around until the latter two used the excuse of the comic book to get them out.

“Well, what do you think we should do?” Mikey said.

“Lower your voice. He’ll be home soon.” Justin whispered.

“Oh sorry! Did you talk to Ma and Lindsay?”

“Yea, they’ll think up something, I’m sure.”

Brian walked into the loft, jacket in his hand. He called out to Justin but heard only whispering. “What the fuck are you two pansies whispering about?” he asked after opening the fridge and taking out a beer. Unscrewing the cap, he took a long gulp. Justin had gotten up and was leaning over the counter, his lips pouting for a kiss. Brian sucked on Justin’s bottom lip briefly then said softly, “So why are we whispering?”

Justin laughed. “Who’s whispering?”

Mikey called, “Justin, come check this out!”

Brian followed taking in the comic book graphics on the computer. “So are we going out tonight?” Justin shrugged, looking at Mikey.

“We got a lot to do…but I guess we could meet you somewhere later?” Mikey offered.

Brian walked into his bedroom. “You mean like the last time?” he said over his shoulder.

He changed into a pair of sweats and a vest already deciding not to go out tonight. He would catch up on some much needed sleep. He was just too stressed at work with too many accounts. And he was worried about Justin. The nagging fear that he was going to lose him again was not going away. Sometimes at work, his thoughts would run on Justin. Was he with someone right now? Was he thinking about someone else right now? It maddened Brian. Fidelity was never important to him…until now. Even though he refused to be, he wished Justin was.

At least Justin would be around tonight, Brian reasoned. He could talk him into spending the night for once.
When he emerged from the bedroom, he saw Justin seated in front of the computer with Mikey leaning over him, his chin on the top of Justin’s head. Brian refused to let it get to him. He knew there was nothing in it. Mikey would never fall for Justin. And as much as he didn’t trust Justin with anyone right now, he knew Mikey wasn’t his type.

“Hey, you can still go you know.” Mikey said when he noticed what Brian was wearing.

“I think I’ll stay in.” Brian said.

“Are you sure?” Justin persisted. “It’s ok if you want to go out.”

“Tell me something. Is there a particular reason you two don’t want me around in my own fucking loft or am I to assume I’m just no fucking fun?”

“That’s not what he meant, Brian.” Mikey said. Brian glared at him before turning back to the soup he was heating. Justin and Mikey chose to ignore him the rest of the night as they worked on their comic book.

Brian woke up just after 1 am with the need to pee. He would have moved right off the bed if he didn’t notice Mikey and Justin packing away their stuff and talking in hushed tones. “What about Brian?” Mikey asked quietly.

“I don’t know. We’ll have to figure something out.” Justin whispered back.

“He’ll kill us if he finds out.”

“No he won’t. He’ll be fine. Besides, he deserves this.”

Brian closed his eyes and hoped he was dreaming. This could not be happening to him, he thought. He was not only going to lose Justin again, but his best friend as well.

Two days later:

Brian staggered into the loft, his shirt out of his pants, his hair tousled. A bottle of liquor was in his right hand, his jacket in the other. He was totally unprepared for the shouts of “Surprise!” that greeted him. His loft had balloons and streamers up and the whole gang was smiling up at him goofily. He noticed the Happy Birthday banner then and groaned. Fuck. Was it another year already? he thought. Brian so tried to forget this day every year yet there were those who made in essential that he remember.

He tossed the jacket on a chair and allowed himself to be hugged and kissed. Deb and Vic made him his favourite cake, loaded with fat and too many calories. She left her lip stains on both his cheeks as she went on and on about something. Brian wasn’t concentrating much. He was too busy staring at Justin…who was sitting next to Mikey and laughing about something. Brian felt jealousy rush through him, warming up his insides.

He knew Justin had kissed him and wished him Happy Birthday but for once, he wished the blonde would be affectionate with him. He knew in the past he wouldn’t allow Justin to be sweet with him when other people were around but…he was beginning to care less now. He was beginning to feel like 32 and wanted someone in his life…no, not someone…Justin. He needed Justin.

“Let’s open your presents!” Lindsay suggested, coming off Melanie’s lap to dig through the pile on the table. Brian hit her hand lightly and grinned.

Justin caught his eyes and smiled. Brian thought Justin looked incredibly young tonight and the t-shirt didn’t help matters. Though there was little light in the room, Brian still noticed the trace of a dark circle forming under his boy’s eyes as well. Too many late nights, Brian mused. “Let’s see…who wants to go first?”

Brian saw the excited gleam in Mikey’s eyes and turned to his best friend. Mikey placed a small box into Brian’s hand. Ripping the paper off, Brian discovered a comic book. Mikey explained. “It’s an advanced copy of the second edition. We’ve been working like crazy to get it ready in time. We owe it all to you, Brian.”

Brian gave him a mocking smile. “As much as I adore this present, I feel as the birthday boy, I’m entitled to demand something.”

Deb laughed. “No sexual favours please!”

Brian raised his eyebrows before turning to look at Justin, who was looking at him strangely. “I want just one thing.” Brian said coldly. “And that is for Mikey and Justin to stop fucking around behind my back.”

Everyone shut up. Deb was about to say something but Vic squeezed her hand to keep her quiet. Brian didn’t lose eye contact with Justin. He could tell Justin was angry. His nose flared slightly and his eyes narrowed. Standing up, Justin felt the tears burning at his eyes. He couldn’t believe Brian sometimes. And this time, he had gone too far.

“I have a better idea,” Justin said angrily.

“Oh really?” Brian mocked.

“Yea! Me…out of your life for good!” Justin grabbed his jacket and stormed out of the loft, tears streaming down his face. He was crazy to think Brian would ever change. Brian would never love him. He had wasted even more of his precious time on the old bastard.

“How dare you?” Mikey asked angrily. “Have you gone completely insane?”

“What?” Brian shouted. “You’re supposed to be my friend!”

“You’re not making any sense, Brian.” Mikey tried to reason with him. He grabbed his jacket and as he put it on, glared at Brian. “Let’s just hope this time the damage you’ve done can be fixed.”

Brian turned to the rest of his friends. “Who’s next?”

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