The Perfidious Lover
Jan. 23rd, 2007 08:22 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
oh_ameliaTitle: To Hell With Anything Else
Author:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
hsbfc
Chapter: 20/?
Rating: NC-17
Warnings: language, sex
Summary: Justin moves to Pittsburgh after ending a four year relationship. What happens when he meets Brian and his past and present collide?
PREVIOUS CHAPTERS
CHAPTER 1:: CHAPTER 2:: CHAPTER 3:: CHAPTER 4:: CHAPTER 5:: CHAPTER 6:: CHAPTER 7:: CHAPTER 8:: CHAPTER 9:: CHAPTER 10:: CHAPTER 11:: CHAPTER 12:: CHAPTER 13:: CHAPTER 14:: CHAPTER 15:: CHAPTER 16:: CHAPTER 17:: CHAPTER 18:: CHAPTER 19
Brian entered the diner and his eyes immediately focused on Deb, Derek and Nathan. He shook his head in disbelief at what he saw.
Deb was scowling at Nathan and patting Derek’s arm, Derek was holding an ice pack on his face, and Nathan was leaning back against the counter with an expectant look on his face. He looked at the grinning boy and motioned to the back of the diner. He took off his coat and sat down with his back against the wall.
Nathan slid off the bar stool and followed Brian to the back of the diner taking a seat across from the angry looking man.
“What the fuck is that?” Brian asked once Nathan joined him.
“That is Derek being manipulative,” Nathan said, nodding at the two people he just left. “You should recognize it.”
“Yeah, but Deb?” Brian asked in disbelief. “Didn’t you tell her who he is?”
“Of course I did. But apparently, if you make a big enough donation to The Vic Grassi House, you’re a saint in her eyes. To hell with anything else you’ve done,” Nathan scoffed. “He sure did his homework. So, where are things with Justin?”
“He said he needs a clear head and that he needs to talk to Derek,” Brian said as played with the salt shaker on the table.
“What the fuck for?” Nathan asked as he took the shaker from Brian. He also grabbed the pepper shaker and put them on the table behind him, out of the other man’s reach.
“Closure, probably,” Brian answered as he clasped his hands together before realizing what he was doing and started to strum his fingers on the table in an agitated manner.
“Yeah.” Nathan nodded his head. “That makes sense. I get the feeling that things never really ended. They just stopped.”
“Yeah, well I’ll—”
“Brian!” Michael screeched as he approached the table. “What are you doing all the way back here? Come sit with me at our regular booth,” he said, ignoring Nathan.
“Michael, I’m in the middle of a conversation right now,” Brian told his friend as he gestured to the man sitting in front of him.
“With him?” Michael asked incredulously, finally acknowledging the younger man.
“Do you see anyone else sitting with Brian?” Nathan turned his head around in a dramatic fashion as if he were looking for someone else that Brian could be talking to.
“I wasn’t talking to you.” Michael scowled at him. “I was talking to Brian.”
“Hey, sweetie.” Deb came to the table and gave her son a kiss on the cheek.
“Hey, Ma.” Michael grinned and rolled his eyes.
“I didn’t see you come in,” Deb said as she wiped the lipstick off her son’s cheek.
Nathan looked at Brian, held up his hand as if to shield his mouth from the others and snickered. “How could you miss it?”
Debbie ignored him and turned her attention to Brian and Michael. “I just thought I’d tell you boys that we’ll have an extra person at dinner tomorrow.”
“Tell me you didn’t invite Derek,” Nathan growled, quickly turning his head to look into the woman’s eyes as he tried his best to hold his temper in check.
“So what if I did?” Debbie asked as she placed her hands on her hips.
“Are you fucking insane?!” Nathan exclaimed as he leaned forward, his palms flat on the table.
“Now you listen to me, you little shit—” Deb pointed her finger at Nathan.
“No, you listen, Deb,” Brian interrupted. “Don’t you think you should have asked—I don’t know—Justin before doing something so fucking inconsiderate?”
“You just got finished telling me how much you care about Justin, how he’s become like one of your own, and yet here you are doing something that is sure to hurt him,” Nathan exclaimed as he rubbed his hands on his face.
“Who is Derek?” Michael asked.
“Justin’s asshole ex-boyfriend,” Brian answered while glaring at Deb.
“Don’t give me that look.” Debbie shook her finger at Brian. “I only asked him after he got a call from Sunshine asking to meet. Anyway, Derek explained to me what happened—”
“I’m sure he did,” Nathan said sarcastically, interrupting the red-wigged woman.
“So apparently you don’t know as much as you think you do,” Deb said haughtily.
Nathan took a deep breath, shook his head, and asked, “So are you calling Justin a liar?”
“Of course not,” Deb replied indignantly.
“Because everything I know was told to me by Justin,” Nathan stated slowly. “So either Justin is lying, or Derek is. What’s it gonna be, Deb?”
“The fact that you are Justin’s best friend doesn’t allow you to be impartial. Of course you’ll be biased.”
Nathan tried to keep his temper in check, but felt like he was quickly losing the battle. “What about you? You’ve only heard Derek’s version on what happened. Don’t you think you should have all the facts before making any decisions?”
“I stand by my decision,” Debbie stated as she crossed her arms on her chest. “And don’t even think of showing up at dinner tomorrow.”
Nathan gave Debbie his very best ‘DUH’ look before snorting, “Wasn’t planning on it.”
Brian looked up at the woman who he considered a second mother with disappointment in his eyes. It was like he didn’t even know her. Deb had been one of the few people in his life he thought that he could always count on. He shook his head and added, “You can count me out, too.”
“No fucking way, Brian,” Michael whined. He clenched his fists at his side and glared at Nathan, his nostrils flaring.
“So you’re just going to abandon your son at Christmas?” Debbie asked trying to guilt Brian into coming. She knew that Gus was Brian’s one soft spot. “You know the girls are taking Gus to Florida for Christmas this year. How do you think it’ll look if you’re not there?”
“Don’t ever try and use my son against me, Deb,” Brian said as he got up and put on his coat. “I’ll make sure I see Gus before he leaves. You crossed a line. And the worst part is that you can’t see it.” He exited the diner with Nathan, leaving a stunned Michael and Debbie behind.
~~~~~
“Brian!” Michael called after his friend. “Brian, stop!” He ran to catch up with the two men. He was out of breath when he did catch up. With his short legs, he had to walk almost twice as fast. “What the hell was that back there?”
“That was none of your concern, Mikey,” Brian stated.
“The hell it’s not! That’s my mother! Do you realize how upset she is? How can you be so inconsiderate?” Michael asked as he waved his arms around frantically.
“I’m not the one being inconsiderate, Mikey. If you were listening you would have realized that.”
“All I know is that ever since you met Justin you haven’t been the same.”
“That’s not necessarily a bad thing.” Nathan snickered.
“Fuck you.” Brian flipped the younger man off.
“I’m kidding.” Nathan held up his hands in defense.
“And you,” Michael turned his attention to Nathan. “You come here and start insinuating yourself into our lives.”
“I’m not insinuating myself anywhere. I came here because Justin is my friend. It’s not my fault if everyone latched on.”
“Yeah, right,” Michael snorted. “I bet you just want him for yourself.”
“Oh, my God. What is it with people thinking I want in Justin’s pants?” Nathan laughed. “That is the last thing I want. And if I did,” he said as he looked down at the short man. “It wouldn’t take me months to do it. Why the fuck do you care anyway?”
~~~~~
“Justin,” Derek greeting the blond as he opened the door. He stepped inside the apartment and looked around. He couldn’t believe that Justin was living in this dump after their home in New York. And the furniture…he just couldn’t imagine how he lived like this. He plastered a smile to his face and said, “Nice.”
“Derek,” Justin replied evenly as he shut the door. He did a double take as he looked at his ex-boyfriend. “What happened to your face?”
“Nathan trying to play hero,” Derek said as he lightly touched his bruised face. “He packs quite a punch for someone so scrawny.”
“He’s not scrawny,” Justin said as he sat down on the couch and propped his feet up on the coffee table. “He’s just tall. Now, what do you want?”
“I believe it was you who called me,” Derek answered feigning ignorance as he sat down on the chair by the couch.
Justin shrugged his shoulders and tilted his head. “You show up at my door after months of no contact. Call me curious.”
“I’m concerned for you, Justin.”
Justin’s eyes widened in shock as he heard Derek’s obvious attempt at acting like a caring human being. “Bullshit.”
“No, I am,” Derek insisted as he clasped his hands together. “When I heard that you were ‘involved’ with Brian, I knew I had to come talk to you.”
“Who I am involved with is none of your damn business. Nothing about my life has been your business since we broke up.”
Derek looked at Justin through narrowed eyes and spoke in a voice a person would use when speaking to a child…slow and almost condescending. “Justin, we were together for 4 years. Surely that means something.”
“It doesn’t matter how long we were together, Derek.” Justin stood up and turned to go to the door. “So if that’s all you wanted, you can leave now.”
“Justin, please listen.” Derek grabbed Justin’s hand, stopping him. The desperation in his voice sounded almost sincere.
“What?” Justin decided to humor him and let his ex talk. He yanked his hand from Derek’s grip and crossed his arms on his chest.
“Over these past few months I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about our relationship.” Derek looked up at Justin with wide eyes, biting his bottom lip. “Your leaving was a real wake-up call. I realized how horribly I treated you.”
“And?” Justin stared down at Derek blankly. He shifted his weight back and forth.
“I decided a change was in order,” Derek said as he stood up, facing Justin, looking him in the eyes. “I didn’t want to be that man who caused you so much pain. I wanted to be someone you could be proud of.”
“That’s great, Derek,” Justin said, not believing a word coming out of the man’s mouth.
“I know you think I’m not sincere, but I am,” he said as he cupped Justin’s cheek in his palm. “And I know you’ll never be truly happy in a relationship where you’re constantly doubting your importance to your partner.”
“You don’t really know me anymore.” Justin pulled away from Derek and shook his head. “You say you’ve changed since I left you, well so have I. I’m not the same person I was then.”
“But you are, Justin. You are if you stay involved with Brian.” Derek sighed. “It made me sick to my stomach when I heard you were back in the same kind of relationship as ours.”
“My relationship with Brian is nothing like ours was,” Justin said as he held the door open for Derek to leave.
“But it is,” Derek insisted, not moving from where he was standing. “I know Brian. I know he’d never be in a monogamous relationship, especially not in this short amount of time. And I know that that’s what you crave. And that’s what I’m willing to give you.”
CHAPTER TWENTY ONE
Author:
hsbfc Chapter: 20/?
Rating: NC-17
Warnings: language, sex
Summary: Justin moves to Pittsburgh after ending a four year relationship. What happens when he meets Brian and his past and present collide?
PREVIOUS CHAPTERS
CHAPTER 1:: CHAPTER 2:: CHAPTER 3:: CHAPTER 4:: CHAPTER 5:: CHAPTER 6:: CHAPTER 7:: CHAPTER 8:: CHAPTER 9:: CHAPTER 10:: CHAPTER 11:: CHAPTER 12:: CHAPTER 13:: CHAPTER 14:: CHAPTER 15:: CHAPTER 16:: CHAPTER 17:: CHAPTER 18:: CHAPTER 19
Brian entered the diner and his eyes immediately focused on Deb, Derek and Nathan. He shook his head in disbelief at what he saw.
Deb was scowling at Nathan and patting Derek’s arm, Derek was holding an ice pack on his face, and Nathan was leaning back against the counter with an expectant look on his face. He looked at the grinning boy and motioned to the back of the diner. He took off his coat and sat down with his back against the wall.
Nathan slid off the bar stool and followed Brian to the back of the diner taking a seat across from the angry looking man.
“What the fuck is that?” Brian asked once Nathan joined him.
“That is Derek being manipulative,” Nathan said, nodding at the two people he just left. “You should recognize it.”
“Yeah, but Deb?” Brian asked in disbelief. “Didn’t you tell her who he is?”
“Of course I did. But apparently, if you make a big enough donation to The Vic Grassi House, you’re a saint in her eyes. To hell with anything else you’ve done,” Nathan scoffed. “He sure did his homework. So, where are things with Justin?”
“He said he needs a clear head and that he needs to talk to Derek,” Brian said as played with the salt shaker on the table.
“What the fuck for?” Nathan asked as he took the shaker from Brian. He also grabbed the pepper shaker and put them on the table behind him, out of the other man’s reach.
“Closure, probably,” Brian answered as he clasped his hands together before realizing what he was doing and started to strum his fingers on the table in an agitated manner.
“Yeah.” Nathan nodded his head. “That makes sense. I get the feeling that things never really ended. They just stopped.”
“Yeah, well I’ll—”
“Brian!” Michael screeched as he approached the table. “What are you doing all the way back here? Come sit with me at our regular booth,” he said, ignoring Nathan.
“Michael, I’m in the middle of a conversation right now,” Brian told his friend as he gestured to the man sitting in front of him.
“With him?” Michael asked incredulously, finally acknowledging the younger man.
“Do you see anyone else sitting with Brian?” Nathan turned his head around in a dramatic fashion as if he were looking for someone else that Brian could be talking to.
“I wasn’t talking to you.” Michael scowled at him. “I was talking to Brian.”
“Hey, sweetie.” Deb came to the table and gave her son a kiss on the cheek.
“Hey, Ma.” Michael grinned and rolled his eyes.
“I didn’t see you come in,” Deb said as she wiped the lipstick off her son’s cheek.
Nathan looked at Brian, held up his hand as if to shield his mouth from the others and snickered. “How could you miss it?”
Debbie ignored him and turned her attention to Brian and Michael. “I just thought I’d tell you boys that we’ll have an extra person at dinner tomorrow.”
“Tell me you didn’t invite Derek,” Nathan growled, quickly turning his head to look into the woman’s eyes as he tried his best to hold his temper in check.
“So what if I did?” Debbie asked as she placed her hands on her hips.
“Are you fucking insane?!” Nathan exclaimed as he leaned forward, his palms flat on the table.
“Now you listen to me, you little shit—” Deb pointed her finger at Nathan.
“No, you listen, Deb,” Brian interrupted. “Don’t you think you should have asked—I don’t know—Justin before doing something so fucking inconsiderate?”
“You just got finished telling me how much you care about Justin, how he’s become like one of your own, and yet here you are doing something that is sure to hurt him,” Nathan exclaimed as he rubbed his hands on his face.
“Who is Derek?” Michael asked.
“Justin’s asshole ex-boyfriend,” Brian answered while glaring at Deb.
“Don’t give me that look.” Debbie shook her finger at Brian. “I only asked him after he got a call from Sunshine asking to meet. Anyway, Derek explained to me what happened—”
“I’m sure he did,” Nathan said sarcastically, interrupting the red-wigged woman.
“So apparently you don’t know as much as you think you do,” Deb said haughtily.
Nathan took a deep breath, shook his head, and asked, “So are you calling Justin a liar?”
“Of course not,” Deb replied indignantly.
“Because everything I know was told to me by Justin,” Nathan stated slowly. “So either Justin is lying, or Derek is. What’s it gonna be, Deb?”
“The fact that you are Justin’s best friend doesn’t allow you to be impartial. Of course you’ll be biased.”
Nathan tried to keep his temper in check, but felt like he was quickly losing the battle. “What about you? You’ve only heard Derek’s version on what happened. Don’t you think you should have all the facts before making any decisions?”
“I stand by my decision,” Debbie stated as she crossed her arms on her chest. “And don’t even think of showing up at dinner tomorrow.”
Nathan gave Debbie his very best ‘DUH’ look before snorting, “Wasn’t planning on it.”
Brian looked up at the woman who he considered a second mother with disappointment in his eyes. It was like he didn’t even know her. Deb had been one of the few people in his life he thought that he could always count on. He shook his head and added, “You can count me out, too.”
“No fucking way, Brian,” Michael whined. He clenched his fists at his side and glared at Nathan, his nostrils flaring.
“So you’re just going to abandon your son at Christmas?” Debbie asked trying to guilt Brian into coming. She knew that Gus was Brian’s one soft spot. “You know the girls are taking Gus to Florida for Christmas this year. How do you think it’ll look if you’re not there?”
“Don’t ever try and use my son against me, Deb,” Brian said as he got up and put on his coat. “I’ll make sure I see Gus before he leaves. You crossed a line. And the worst part is that you can’t see it.” He exited the diner with Nathan, leaving a stunned Michael and Debbie behind.
~~~~~
“Brian!” Michael called after his friend. “Brian, stop!” He ran to catch up with the two men. He was out of breath when he did catch up. With his short legs, he had to walk almost twice as fast. “What the hell was that back there?”
“That was none of your concern, Mikey,” Brian stated.
“The hell it’s not! That’s my mother! Do you realize how upset she is? How can you be so inconsiderate?” Michael asked as he waved his arms around frantically.
“I’m not the one being inconsiderate, Mikey. If you were listening you would have realized that.”
“All I know is that ever since you met Justin you haven’t been the same.”
“That’s not necessarily a bad thing.” Nathan snickered.
“Fuck you.” Brian flipped the younger man off.
“I’m kidding.” Nathan held up his hands in defense.
“And you,” Michael turned his attention to Nathan. “You come here and start insinuating yourself into our lives.”
“I’m not insinuating myself anywhere. I came here because Justin is my friend. It’s not my fault if everyone latched on.”
“Yeah, right,” Michael snorted. “I bet you just want him for yourself.”
“Oh, my God. What is it with people thinking I want in Justin’s pants?” Nathan laughed. “That is the last thing I want. And if I did,” he said as he looked down at the short man. “It wouldn’t take me months to do it. Why the fuck do you care anyway?”
~~~~~
“Justin,” Derek greeting the blond as he opened the door. He stepped inside the apartment and looked around. He couldn’t believe that Justin was living in this dump after their home in New York. And the furniture…he just couldn’t imagine how he lived like this. He plastered a smile to his face and said, “Nice.”
“Derek,” Justin replied evenly as he shut the door. He did a double take as he looked at his ex-boyfriend. “What happened to your face?”
“Nathan trying to play hero,” Derek said as he lightly touched his bruised face. “He packs quite a punch for someone so scrawny.”
“He’s not scrawny,” Justin said as he sat down on the couch and propped his feet up on the coffee table. “He’s just tall. Now, what do you want?”
“I believe it was you who called me,” Derek answered feigning ignorance as he sat down on the chair by the couch.
Justin shrugged his shoulders and tilted his head. “You show up at my door after months of no contact. Call me curious.”
“I’m concerned for you, Justin.”
Justin’s eyes widened in shock as he heard Derek’s obvious attempt at acting like a caring human being. “Bullshit.”
“No, I am,” Derek insisted as he clasped his hands together. “When I heard that you were ‘involved’ with Brian, I knew I had to come talk to you.”
“Who I am involved with is none of your damn business. Nothing about my life has been your business since we broke up.”
Derek looked at Justin through narrowed eyes and spoke in a voice a person would use when speaking to a child…slow and almost condescending. “Justin, we were together for 4 years. Surely that means something.”
“It doesn’t matter how long we were together, Derek.” Justin stood up and turned to go to the door. “So if that’s all you wanted, you can leave now.”
“Justin, please listen.” Derek grabbed Justin’s hand, stopping him. The desperation in his voice sounded almost sincere.
“What?” Justin decided to humor him and let his ex talk. He yanked his hand from Derek’s grip and crossed his arms on his chest.
“Over these past few months I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about our relationship.” Derek looked up at Justin with wide eyes, biting his bottom lip. “Your leaving was a real wake-up call. I realized how horribly I treated you.”
“And?” Justin stared down at Derek blankly. He shifted his weight back and forth.
“I decided a change was in order,” Derek said as he stood up, facing Justin, looking him in the eyes. “I didn’t want to be that man who caused you so much pain. I wanted to be someone you could be proud of.”
“That’s great, Derek,” Justin said, not believing a word coming out of the man’s mouth.
“I know you think I’m not sincere, but I am,” he said as he cupped Justin’s cheek in his palm. “And I know you’ll never be truly happy in a relationship where you’re constantly doubting your importance to your partner.”
“You don’t really know me anymore.” Justin pulled away from Derek and shook his head. “You say you’ve changed since I left you, well so have I. I’m not the same person I was then.”
“But you are, Justin. You are if you stay involved with Brian.” Derek sighed. “It made me sick to my stomach when I heard you were back in the same kind of relationship as ours.”
“My relationship with Brian is nothing like ours was,” Justin said as he held the door open for Derek to leave.
“But it is,” Derek insisted, not moving from where he was standing. “I know Brian. I know he’d never be in a monogamous relationship, especially not in this short amount of time. And I know that that’s what you crave. And that’s what I’m willing to give you.”
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2007-01-24 07:27 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-25 12:42 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-24 08:17 am (UTC)I hope you are not letting Justin fall for Derek's bullshit, because it sounded fake from where I stand (and I'm really an ocean away).
I so like the Brian/Nathan interaction and the way the formed a team. Nathan was leaning back against the counter with an expectant look on his face. He looked at the grinning boy and motioned to the back of the diner. Brian is smart and so is Nathan and probably Brian needs a smart friend, because we all know Michael is nor like that.
no subject
Date: 2007-01-25 12:46 am (UTC)Brian does need a better friend in his life than Mikey.
no subject
Date: 2007-01-24 08:45 am (UTC)You do realise that I want more, and really really soon? *makes big puppy eyes*
Wyn.
no subject
Date: 2007-01-25 12:47 am (UTC)More is coming soon.
no subject
Date: 2007-01-24 08:59 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-25 12:48 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-24 10:36 pm (UTC)And Justin, please, don't listen to Derek!!! Get him out of here!!
Great Chapter!!!
no subject
Date: 2007-01-25 12:49 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-25 01:07 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-25 01:42 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-25 03:39 am (UTC)I am grateful, though, that you don't wait months before updating. So, thanks for that (even though sometimes it feels like months!).
no subject
Date: 2007-01-25 03:48 am (UTC)I promise to try and get more out soon!