Date: Thu, 18 May 2000 04:02:58 EDT
From: D LS <dls_stories@hotmail.com>
Subject: Brian & Me Part 97-98

Well, folks, here we go again. :)

All of the usual caveats apply, of course.  The story's fictional, not meant
to imply or expicitly state anything about anyone mentioned.  You knew that,
right?  Just as you know whether or not you should be reading this.  So, I'm
leaving you to police yourself on that one.  I figure that, by part 97, you
should likely have a good idea what you're in for if you proceed.

I haven't done it in a while, so I'll put some story recommendations here
for anyone interested in what sort of thing my twisted little mind enjoys.
Storywise, that is. :)  The old favourites, like "Search & Rescue" (Matt
:P), "Lucky Me" (Lauren), "Some Kind Of Bliss" (Braan), and "NSYNC, Lance &
JC" (DCKevin).  And a relatively newer favourite with "Because I Love You"
(Lucas).  And, a couple of totally new favourites in "Millennium Love"
(Kenitra) which I've just started but am enjoying.  I also liked her "Ice
Storm".  Remembering the ice storm personally, I can definitely say it would
have been more enjoyable with Kevin around. :P  A couple of other new
favourites are both by Scotty T: "Mirrors" and "Beneath It All".  Granted,
the latter only has one installment thus far, but I've sort of got an inside
track to a bit of what's going to happen, and I have faith in Scotty's
talents. :)

Thanks to everyone who has written about the story in general, and the
crossover specifically over the last little while.  It's good to hear what
you think of what I do. :)

Big thanks to both Matt and Scotty for taking some time to read through this
one and giving their comments on it.  It's definitely better for both of
their input.

One final note:  I've got another story underway, and a few installments
finished already.  This one centres (never centering :P) on Lance, and it's
a bit more easy-going and frivolous than B&M is.  At least, that's how it
feels so far to me.  I don't have a release schedule for it yet, since it's
still pretty much a project that I work on when other things are being
difficult.  HOWEVER, I *have* decided to post it on my webpage rather than
on the archive.  B&M will still be posted here as well as there, but the new
one (no name for it yet) will be only on the webpage.  With a bit of luck,
and if I can come up with a name for the damn thing, the first installment
should be posted within a few days, and *maybe* even by the time you're
reading this.  Do let me know what you think of it if you decide to check it
out.  Once again, the website's address is:

				dls-stories.homepage.com

Thanks all.  ENJOY! :)


	PART 97

	Since Nick's plane wasn't going to be coming in until first thing
in the morning, it was just Brian and I for dinner at Jeff and Cindy's.
Erron had been invited, but he was doing his last shift at work before his
break to join us.  He had apparently been stocking up hours like mad in
order to take the time off.

	Brian and I were still not going to tell him about Nick's coming
along.  Whether it was merely to surprise him, or for the sadistic pleasure
of watching him squirm in the presence of the object of his desire, I don't
think either one of us could have said for sure.

	We got our bags - Brian's had made it safely this time - and loaded
them into the cab, giving the driver the address of the apartment.

	On the way, we made small talk about our week in Memphis, and what
we wanted to do during our time at the cabin.  That part was easy, since we
both planned on just relaxing as much as we could.  I was going to have to
write quite a bit, of course, but I was definitely looking forward to some
time alone with Brian, Nick, and Erron.  I had really missed not having
Nick and Erron around.

	Before we knew it, the cab was pulling up in front of my building.
Brian paid him before I could, and we climbed out to retrieve our bags.

	I thanked the driver as he set the last piece of luggage on the
curb and slammed the trunk closed.  He smiled and got back in, and was soon
merging with traffic again.  Brian grabbed his things, and I picked up mine
before following him to the front door.

	We managed to get the doors open without putting anything down, but
our luck only lasted to the interior door.  Since Erron was working, I had
to unlock it myself, and that was simply impossible with all of my things.
Dropping a couple of bags to the floor, I dug out my key and unlocked the
door, propping it open with my suitcase.  I motioned for Brian to go
inside, then joined him, picking my bag up behind me.

	We ran into the same problem, of course, when we got to the
apartment door.
  Repeating the procedure, we were soon both in the entranceway of the
apartment with the door shut behind us.  With a sigh, I dropped my things
and headed for the living room.

	"You know," Brian laughed.  "You carried all this stuff this far,
you could take it down the hall."

	"I could, but why would I want to?  There's a nice soft couch in
here waiting for me."

	"But there's going to be a nice soft boyfriend in the bedroom
waiting for you in a minute," he said, walking down the hall.

	I thought about that for all of a millisecond, then grabbed my
things and followed him.  "Okay, but I don't know if I like the idea of a
soft boyfriend.  Kind of defeats the purpose."  I yawned just as he looked
back at me.  I tried to cover it, but he caught me.

	"Well, since it looks like I get to play the part of your pillow
again, soft's probably better," he laughed.

	"First thing, soft is never better.  Second thing is that you don't
have to play pillow for me.  Why don't you watch TV or something for a
while.  We don't have to be at Jeff and Cindy's for hours yet."

	"Maybe I want a nap too," Brian said, putting his bags in the
corner.  "And maybe I just want to be close to you."  He turned and headed
for the bed, but was distracted by the bookshelves running along one wall.

	Walking over to them, he started to run his fingers over the spines
of the books.  He barely glanced at my collection of texts from school.
Apparently, sonnets and plays weren't his thing.  His finger stopped moving
as he reached the second bookshelf.  That was where I kept my personal
reading.

	"Quite the Stephen King fan, aren't you?" he laughed.  There were
four shelves of King books.  Everything that he had written, as a matter of
fact, as well as a couple of French translations and two books of
interviews with him.

	I thought back to my conversation with JC and smiled.  "After me,
he's the best author I've read," I joked, adding my luggage to his in the
corner.  The stuff that Kevin had arranged to have shipped to Toronto
before we left Denver was there waiting as well.  I watched as Brian moved
further down the shelves.

	"These are different," he commented, coming across the bottom
shelf.  "Hypnosis, hypnosis, self-hypnosis, aura reading, scrying,
witchcraft, cults, runes..."  he continued down the row of books before
looking up at me.  "Something I should know about?"

	"Nope.  Just my twisted side in tangible form."

	"You really into this stuff?" he asked, pulling out the book on
witchcraft and leafing through it.  He didn't seem to like what he found,
because he snapped it shut again.  I couldn't blame him.  Some of the
illustrations were very creepy.

	"Not really," I told him, coming over to look at the books with
him.  "This kind of thing just really interests me.  Nana was into it."  I
motioned to the books on scrying and hypnosis.  "This is sort of an attempt
to understand the mind better.  I don't know how much of what's in there is
possible, but some of it is.  With the way my brain works sometimes, I
wanted to see if I could bring it under some sort of control."

	"Just so long as you don't turn me into a chicken," Brian laughed,
plucking one of the hypnosis books off the shelf and leafing through it.

	"Don't worry, I have no desire to be sleeping with a chicken."  I
reached out and took the book that he was holding, leafing through it until
I came to the right page.  "Read this part here.  It's about the medical
uses of hypnosis."

	I handed it back to Brian, who started reading.

	"We might consider here the problem of the pervert, the individual
whose sex life takes some outlet generally disapproved by society.  This
outlet is often toward the same sex, giving us the typical homosexual.

	"Here we run into exactly the same problem as in the case of the
hysteric.  The sex life is on a very immature level and the individual
follows his line of action because of the pleasure principle.  The pervert,
in general, does not want to be cured.  He is quite happy as he is, so we
may count on very little co-operation, just as with the hysteric.  Lip
service to be sure."

	Brian started to giggle at that last, but I urged him to continue.

	"Plenty of assurance that he or she will do everything possible to
'reform', but experience soon teaches the operator to place very little
reliance on these protestations.

	"However, the subject does have one real advantage, which may not
appear so to him.  He is what he is because of the pleasure principle.  But
he is living in a very real world and the hand of society may fall with
brutal force on the pervert, much more so than on any of the cases so far
mentioned.  The results may be very unpleasant, so unpleasant in fact that
they will outweigh the immature pleasure drive which is the cause of his
trouble.  In this case he may give the doctor genuine co-operation when he
seeks a cure.

	"Even so, results are none too hopeful.  Rarely indeed does the
homosexual succeed in readjusting to a normal sex life.  The reason is the
same as with the hysteric.  The pleasure principle has led him where he is
and, he is quite satisfied with life - unless he crosses the law.  The
psychoanalyst would say there is a weak spot in his personality synthesis.
Instead of developing into a normal adult, facing adult reality, he became
arrested - fixated - at an earlier stage of development.  A more simple
explanation would be in terms of suggestion.  Seduced at an early age, this
experience - suggestion - made such an imprint on the sensitized brain
plate that it cannot be removed.  Inasmuch as the resulting activity is
pleasant, he does not try seriously to fight the trend but accepts it.
There will always be this weakness with the constant danger of a backslip
into the perversion."*

	I smiled at him as he closed the book and looked at me.

	"Well," he said.  "I don't know when I've been insulted in nicer
language."

	I laughed and nodded.  "That passage is why I bought the book.  I
was in a little used bookstore downtown a few years ago, and I happened
across it.  I was standing there laughing, and decided I just *had* to have
it."

	"So basically, if society smacks us around enough, we're supposed
to come to our senses and realise that gay isn't the way to go?" he asked,
laughing as he put the book back on the shelf.

	"That's about the size of it," I agreed.  "As long as it's so much
fun growing up gay, there'll never be a cure."

	"It sure was a blast," he said sarcastically, then brushed my hand
with his.  "But it's pretty enjoyable right now."

	"Careful," I warned him with mock concern.  "You'll never be cured
thinking that way."

	"Please tell me that's an old book."

	"Copyright 1957.  Newer books on it rarely mention homosexuality at
all."

	"Good," Brian said, turning back to the shelf.  He reached out and
pulled out a thick book about runes and prophesy.  "This looks
interesting."

	"It is.  I've read it a few times now."

	"We'll have to pick you up some runestones," he laughed, looking
through the pictures of different carved stones.

	I reached up onto the top of the bookshelf and pulled down a small
grey cloth bag and shook it for him.  "They came with the book."

	He rolled his eyes, but seemed genuinely interested in the book.
"Let's get you to bed," he said, tucking it under his arm and pulling me
toward the very soft-looking bed.

	"Just a minute.  There's something that I promised to show you."

	"I thought you were tired," he said suggestively.

	This time it was my turn to roll my eyes.  "Keep it up and you're
not going to be seeing *that* for a long time.  Sit down for a minute."
Brian sat down while I went to the closet and reached for the two frames
that were sitting on the top shelf.

	Bringing them down, I stood back and looked at the top picture.  It
was the one of Papa, smiling and looking at me from behind his bushy
eyebrows.  I smiled back and blew across the glass, getting rid of the
little bit of dust that had settled on it since the last time I had taken
them down.  Sitting with Brian again, I turned us both and laid out the
pictures on the bed, side by side.

	"Wow," he commented, looking from one to the other.  "These are
great."

	The pictures went together, and I had always wondered if Nana had
planned them that way.  Set the way they were, it appeared that Papa and I
were *almost* looking at each other, his eyes cast slightly downward and
mine slightly upward.  We also shared the same semi-smile, and what could
be seen of our shirts was done in the same shade of green.

	"You look a lot like him."

	"That's what everyone used to say."

	"I can't believe these.  She even got your eyes the perfect
colour."

	"I told you she was good," I smiled.  "I never really got the hang
of the colouring, so I always stuck with the pen and ink stuff, but she
could do just about anything she set her mind to."

	"What's this?"  Brian leaned over slightly and indicated the bottom
left corner of the picture of me.  "Who's 'Oggie'?"

	"I am," I whispered, remembering.  "I haven't thought of that in a
long time, but I am."

	"What?"

	"That's what Nana used to call me.  For almost as long as I can
remember, she called me 'Oggie'.  Ever since I started writing and drawing
with her."

	"I thought you said that your grandmother used to call you
'Nathaniel'."

	"My grandmother did.  My father's mother.  Nana was my mother's
mother.  She always called me 'Oggie'."

	"How did she get 'Oggie' from 'Nathaniel James Healy'?"

	I smiled.  "Told you she was odd.  Remember I told you that Nana
was into the stuff in those books?"  He nodded.  "Well, she was also really
interested in mythology and stuff like that.  Mostly Celtic mythology."

	"Why?"

	"I never really knew.  She was just really interested in it.
Mother used to say that she was pressured to marry my father because he had
Scottish blood in him."  I laughed.  "That's the kind of thing I can see
her doing, too.  She was completely nuts over it."

	"So how did she arrive at 'Oggie'?"

	"Ogmios is a Celtic god.  The god of poetry, charm and eloquence."

	Brian smiled and began to nod.  "Okay, I can see why she used it."

	"She was always the one that encouraged me the most with my
writing, and everytime she called me that, it backed me up a little bit
more."

	"I wish I could have met her."

	"Me too," I said wistfully.  "I miss her.  I miss them both."

	Brian put his hand on my knee and squeezed, but didn't say
anything.  He turned again and looked at the bottom left corner of Papa's
picture.  "And I take it his name was Angus?"

	"Nope.  But that's what she called him."

	"Another god?"

	I chuckled and nodded.  "Yeah.  Oenghus.  One of the Irish gods of
love.  Sort of like Cupid.  Papa used to love to sing, which is where my
mother got it.  Oenghus's kisses were supposed to turn into singing birds,
and the music that he made drew the listeners to his side."

	"That's sweet," Brian smiled.  "Did he have a special name for
her?"

	I nodded.  "Bitch."  Brian stared at me until I started to laugh,
then realised that I was kidding.  "He always called her 'love'."

	He shook his head at my joke, then smiled and picked up the picture
of me.  "You really should have these up somewhere, you know."

	"I know I should, but I just can't.  It's not right without her up
there as well."

	"What about the one that you're working on?"

	"Maybe."  I yawned as I thought about it.

	Seeing the yawn, Brian stood up and put the pictures on my
desk. "Come on.  You're going to sleep."

	"Okay, but you're not getting into bed wearing that shirt."

	Smiling, Brian pulled off the shirt, not bothering with the
buttons.  "Better?"

	"Much.  Now get over here, pillow-boy."

	He obediently climbed onto the bed and patted the place beside him.
With a contented smile, I jumped onto the bed with him and put my head on
his shoulder.

	"Ugh," I said.  "Too bony."  I readjusted myself so that I had my
head on his chest.  "Nope, not right either."  With another adjustment, I
wound up curled into a ball with my head on his stomach.  "That's better.
Nice and flabby," I laughed.

	"Hey!" Brian said, slapping my shoulder.  My head rose and fell
with his attempts not to laugh.  "You know," he said, running his hand
through my hair.  "If you moved just a bit lower..."

	"...I'd lose my soft pillow," I laughed.  "Like I need that thing
jabbing me in the ear!"

	"Well, the ear wasn't what I had in mind."

	I curled the other way, so that I was looking up at him.  "You're
insatiable."

	"You're around," he countered.  "What do you expect?"

	"How do you do that?" I asked him, turning my head a little to kiss
his stomach.

	"Do what?"

	"Sound horny and sweet all at the same time?"

	"It's a gift.  Now are we going to nap, or have some fun?"

	"I've got to vote for nap," I said, resting my hand on his chest.
"As much fun as fun sounds, I don't think I could stay awake through it.
I'm sorry."

	"Don't worry about it," Brian said.  "Besides, it's not nearly as
much fun if you're not awake."

	"And you would know this how?"

	Brian laughed and stroked my hair again.  "Just guessing.  What
time does Erron get home?"

	"He's working through the evening.  He should be here when we get
back from dinner, I think.  I can't wait to see the look on his face when
Nick shows up tomorrow."

	"And you're sure that this is a good idea, right?  Setting the two
of them up like this?"

	"Brian, we're not setting them up.  We're just introducing them.
If something happens between them, that's their business."

	"Nate, sweetie, we both know that you're lying through your teeth.
I'm just worried about Nick.  What if he's not ready for this yet?"

	I sighed and closed my eyes.  They had been trying to close for the
last few minutes, and it was a battle that I had been losing.  "Then he'll
tell Erron that, or he'll tell one of us.  Nothing's going to happen if he
doesn't want it to happen."

	Brian took a deep breath, then let it out.  "I guess so.  Nick's a
big boy, and we're both going to be there for him to talk to if he needs
to, right?"

	I tried to cut my yawn short to answer him, but it didn't work.
"Right," I said when it had run its course.  "Now stop worrying."

	I was curled up sideways on the bed, lying almost perpendicular to
Brian.  I felt his hand land on my stomach and undo a few buttons on my
shirt, then slip inside.  "Okay, you sleep."

	"What about you?"

	"I'm not that sleepy," he said.  "I'll wake you up in a couple of
hours."

	"So what are you going to do?"

	"Watch you," he said softly.

	"You know, if you weren't so damn cute, that might be just a bit
creepy," I laughed, snuggling against him.

	"Well I'll probably do a bit of reading too.  Now shut up and go to
sleep."

	"Yes'm."



	When I woke up again, I knew he was asleep.  Glancing up, I saw his
closed eyes and smiled to myself.  During my nap, I had managed to work one
arm around under him, and the other was lying straight down between his
legs, my hand resting gently on his knee.  His hand had moved from my
stomach, and was sitting on the small of my back instead.

	Raising my head a little, I checked the clock.  We had been asleep
for about two and a half hours, which left us with three more before we had
to leave for dinner.  I decided to let him sleep as long as he needed to.

	Gently lifting his hand from my back, I set it on the bed and sat
up, working my arm back out from under him and wondering how on earth that
could have been comfortable for him.  Brian moaned a little and rolled to
his side, which made it easier for me to extricate my arm.

	Once I was free, I stood from the bed and grabbed the lap quilt
from my reading chair.  Taking the still-open rune book from his hand, I
spread the quilt over Brian, who instinctively grabbed it and pulled it up
under his chin.  I smiled, thinking how adorable he was, then stepped
quietly to the door and into the hall.

	After a quick stop at the bathroom, I wandered out into the living
room to find Brian sitting on the couch.

	"You're supposed to be sleeping," I said, smiling at him.

	"I'm supposed to be sleeping with you," he answered, smiling back.

	"Well let's see what we can do about that."  I grabbed a book off
of the shelf in the corner and joined him on the couch.  "Now lay back
down.

	Brian obediently tipped himself over and lay his head on my lap.
"Mmm...  that's better."

	"You know, you've got to start telling me when you're tired too,
and we'll set the alarm.  What if we had slept through dinner?"

	He was already asleep again.  I sighed and lay the book on his
shoulder.  Not only did he make a wonderful pillow, but he wasn't bad as a
desk either.

	An hour later, I was lost in the book - 'IT' - when I felt a hand
grab my leg.  Jumping, I managed to stop a yell.  The book fell to the
floor and Brian started to laugh.

	"Scare you?"

	"No, no," I said, smiling.

	"Liar.  What are you reading?" he asked, picking the book up off of
the floor and checking it out.  "Ah.  Never read it, but I'm assured that
it's creepy."

	My heart was almost back to its normal rythm, so I slapped him on
the shoulder.  "What the hell are you trying to do?  Give me a heart
attack?"

	Brian laughed harder and sat up.  "Hey, it's not my fault that
you're a chicken."

	"Hey, don't start with the name calling until you've read it.  I
guarantee you'll never look at a clown the same way again."

	"Nick saw the movie."

	"Me too.  Better than most of the adaptations of his books, but
still nowhere near as good as the book.  Good casting, though."

	"Well maybe I'll read it when you're done with it," he said,
handing it back to me.

	I pushed it back into his hands.  "Go ahead.  I've read it about
six or seven times now.  I just wanted something to keep my mind busy for a
while."

	"Why don't you ever let your mind rest?" he laughed.  "You're going
to burn it out."

	"What?"

	"You're always thinking about something.  If you're not writing,
you're thinking about the story.  If you're not doing that, you're looking
around for characters in a crowd.  You're always keeping your mind occupied
somehow.  Like those books.  You were looking for a way to help you keep
your brain under control.  Why don't you just let it rest?  Think about
nothing for a while?"

	I didn't answer him for a few seconds.  "Well," I said quietly.
"Sometimes I don't much like where my mind goes when I just let it go on
its own.  So, I keep it busy whenever I can."

	Brian looked at me closely, then nodded, seeing that I didn't want
to go further with the conversation.  "Okay.  But can't you come up with
cheerier stuff to occupy it with than this?" He held up the book again.

	I laughed.  "I suppose I could, but why bother?  At least in there,
the bad things happen to other people.  Now, you get reading, and I'm going
to go have a shower."

	"Gee," Brian said, smiling.  "Read, or shower with you?"  Putting
his hands out, he pretended to weigh his options.

	"I didn't give you the choice, dear.  You're going to sit here and
read, while I shower.  That's your punishment for scaring the living hell
out of me."

	"You're taking away my shower privaleges?"  He started to pout
through his smile.

	"Well, I guess you could come with me."  Brian immediately stood up
from the couch.  "But then I'd have to come up with some other privaleges
to take away."  Brian immediately sat back down with a smile.  "I thought
you'd see it that way."

	"Don't be long," he said as I stood up.  He picked 'IT' back up and
opened to the first page.  "I might get scared."

	"Well, you know where I am if you do," I grinned as I headed for
the bathroom.




	"Jesus!" I yelled, jumping, as I stepped out of the shower.

	Brian looked up from his perch on the counter.  He was sitting with
his back against the wall and his feet in the sink.  He had the book
against his knees and was bent over it.

	"Scare you?" he laughed.

	"That's twice today," I said, putting my hand to my chest.  "What
are you doing in here?"

	"I got scared?"

	"Nice try."

	"I wanted to see you all wet and naked?"

	"That sounds more like it," I agreed, taking a towel off of the
hook beside the shower.  "How do you like the book?"

	"It's freaky," he said, shivering a bit as he helped me dry off.
There was more groping than toweling on his end, but I wasn't really going
to complain.  "Poor Georgie."

	I nodded.  "Bet I know what's going to be going through your mind
next time you walk past a sewer grate."

	Brian grimaced and started to get undressed.  "You staying?"

	"Sure, once I get some clothes on."

	"Now why would you want to go and do that?"

	"Get your ass in the shower.  Maybe make it a cold one," I laughed,
opening the door.  "I'll be right back."

	I heard the shower start as I grabbed some boxers from my drawer
and slipped on a light t-shirt.  Walking back into the bathroom, I jumped
up on the counter and grabbed the book again.  I laughed when I noticed
that Brian had made us matching bookmarks out of a flyer he had found.

	I took my bookmark out and sat it on the counter beside me, and
started reading again.  It was hard to concentrate when Brian started
singing in the shower.  I spent most of the time sitting there with my
finger holding my place as I listened to him.

	He very carefully slipped 'boy' or my name into the places where it
would normally have been 'girl', and I had to smile.  I got the feeling
that, even if I hadn't been there listening, he would have done the same
thing.

	He continued to sing as the water stopped and he stepped out of the
shower.
  Seeing me there listening to him rather than reading, he smiled and
winked at me as he dried off.

	I smiled back and pointed to the boxers and t-shirt that I had set
on the cabinet for him.  As soon as he was dry, he slipped them on and came
to stand in front of me.  I put my legs around him as he leaned in for a
kiss.

	"You put on quite a show," I whispered into his ear.

	"The singing, or the nudity?"

	"Both," I laughed.  "And you make a good distraction from reading,
too."

	"Oooh.  I'll keep your mind occupied anytime," he said, kissing me
again.

	"That time I was talking about the singing."

	"Oh that's nice," he said with a grin.  "I didn't hear you singing
for me."

	"Well, that could be because I didn't know that you were here," I
laughed.  "Or because I'm a horrible singer."

	"Everyone thinks that they're horrible," Brian said, lifting me off
of the counter and trying to put me down.  I kept my feet hooked around
him, and he put me back with a laugh.  "I want you to sing for me."

	"Well, we can't always get what we want," I said, standing up and
kissing him.

	"I guess that depends on what it is that we want," he sighed,
slipping his hands down the back of my boxers.

	"Or what we use to get it," I agreed with a smile, sliding my hands
down the front of his.

	"We're just going to get all sweaty again, you know," he said,
kissing my neck, then biting my earlobe.

	"Then we're just going to have to shower again, aren't we?  But," I
started to remove my hands, "if you've got objections..."

	"I didn't say that!" Brian laughed.

	"That's what I thought.  Now who's letting go first?"

	"Not you," he laughed, pressing himself to me and slipping his
hands back out of my boxers, resting them on my waist.  "I like those hands
right where they are."

	"But it makes transportation a bit... um... hard," I laughed.

	"I'm sure we can figure something out."

	We managed quite nicely, as it turned out.




	PART 98

	Cindy smiled confusedly as she opened the door and found the two of
us standing there.  Ushering us inside, she gave me a hug and told us that
Jeff was in the living room with Norry, then exused herself again and
headed for the kitchen.

	Brian and I started in the direction of the baby noises, and found
Jeff sitting in front of the TV.  He looked up when we entered and smiled.

	Standing, he gave me a quick, manly hug, and then offered his hand
to Brian.

	"Brian, this is Jeff.  Jeff, Brian," I said, introducing them.

	"Nice to meet you," Jeff said with a smile.

	"You too," Brian smiled back, sitting down on the couch.  I sat
down beside him, and immediately realised that we were too close.  I saw
Jeff's eyes narrow a little bit, and then look away.

	Brian noticed as well, and immediately looked uncomfortable.  I
started chastising myself for not better preparing him for it, but it had
been a long time since I had been around Jeff and Cindy, and I had
forgotten about their individual hang-ups.

	While they were both fine with my being gay, Jeff was still
uncomfortable when actually faced with it.  When Erron and I had briefly
dated, it had been abundantly clear that Jeff wasn't comfortable seeing us
as a couple.  Because of that, we had made sure not to spend a lot of time
with them, and not to be too close to each other around him.  I had always
resented it, but Erron had just accepted it as the way Jeff was.  Soon, we
had stopped dating and it became a moot point.

	"That's quite a setup you've got there," Brian said, moving away
from me a little bit on the couch.  I smiled at him, thanking him silently
for trying.

	Jeff looked back at Brian and smiled, though still seemed
uncomfortable.  "Thanks.  I just got it a month or so ago," he said.  Jeff
relaxed as he and Brian got into a discussion about the entertainment
system.  Jeff was a huge technophile, and was always happy to talk about
his new toys.  Brian had inadvertantly discovered the fastest way into
Jeff's heart.

	I smiled at the two of them, then stood and walked over to the
playpen that was sitting in the corner of the room.  Norry was lying there,
grinning in his sleep.  A trail of drool was running from his lip to his
hand, and he reminded me of Brian.

	I laughed quietly, then stood up again.  "I'm going to go visit
with Cin," I announced, then realised that neither one of them had heard
me.  They were engrossed in some sort of debate over speakers.

	I wandered back down the hall and into the kitchen.  Cindy was
stirring something that smelled wonderful, and keeping an eye on the rolls
that were in the oven.

	"Hey," she smiled, seeing me enter.  "What happened to your Nick?
I though we were going to get to meet the boyfriend."

	I rolled my eyes and laughed.  "I tried to call you a while ago,
but it was busy.  Nick's coming in from Orlando in the morning."  She
looked disappointed.  "But, you do get to meet the boyfriend."

	She glanced up at me, confused.

	"My Nick may not be here," I laughed.  "But my Brian is."

	"You and Brian?"

	I nodded and sat down on a stool in front of the counter.  "Me and
Brian.  Told you you were jumping to conclusions.  The tabloid thing was
too close for comfort, but completely wrong."

	Cindy smiled.  "Well, I'm glad.  Brian's cuter than Nick anyway."

	"That's a matter of taste," I said, grinning.  "Nick's pretty damn
adorable himself."

	"Don't let Brian hear you say that," she joked, still stirring.
"So how long have you been together?"

	"A couple of months or so," I said.  "I met him over a year ago,
but things didn't click until a couple of months ago."

	"Why not?"

	"Long story."

	"And not a pleasant one, right?"

	"How'd you guess?" I asked, smiling.

	"Women's intuition," she laughed.  "So things are good between
you?"

	"Things are excellent.  I can't remember when I was happier."

	"Me neither," Brian said as he walked into the kitchen.  "I was
wondering where you went."

	"I told you I was coming to see Cindy.  You and Jeff were busy
talking about woofers or some stupid thing."  Brian stepped behind me and
wrapped his arms around my waist, putting his head on my shoulder.

	Cindy turned away from us and bent back over the stove.  I nudged
Brian and he released me, stepping away a bit.  This was Cindy's 'thing',
and I was again kicking myself for not warning Brian about it.  It had
nothing to do with Brian and I being together.  She was much more
openminded about it than Jeff was.  But Cindy abhorred public displays of
affection.  She wouldn't even hold Jeff's hand in public.

	I'm sure by now you're starting to piece together why Erron and I
hadn't spent a lot of time alone with the two of them.  We loved them
dearly, and knew that they loved us, but it was frustrating to constantly
be dealing with their hangups.  Dating was hard enough.

	I knew that Cindy was embarrassed about turning away from us, but I
wasn't going to help her out of it.  I just smiled at Brian and tried to
let him know that I would explain later.  He looked uncertain, but he
smiled back.  "Sorry," he said, not even knowing what he was sorry for.

	"No, I'm sorry," Cindy returned, turning to face him.  "I shouldn't
have done that."

	Brian waved it off with a smile.

	A few minutes later, Cindy had several dishes sitting on the
counter. It looked like enough food to feed an army.  'Or Nick,' my brain
added, making me smile.

	"Could you guys take this out to the table?" she asked, motioning
toward the dishes.  "And tell Jeff that it's ready?  I'll get the rolls and
be right there."

	"Sure," Brian said, grabbing a dish.  I took another and followed
him from the room.

	"I'm sorry about that, Nate," Cindy said, grabbing my arm before I
could leave.

	"I know you are.  Don't worry about it, but he didn't know."  I
left the room and entered the dining room just us Brian set his bowl down.

	"Whoops," he whispered, standing beside me.  "What did I do?"

	"Nothing," I said, setting my own dish down and kissing him on the
cheek.  "I should have told you about that before, but it's been so long
since I had to worry about it that I forgot.  I'll give you the quick
rundown, and explain more later.  With Jeff, he's cool with us in theory,
but he's uncomfortable with it in practise."  Brian nodded.  "And with
Cindy, it's not us.  She doesn't like PDA's at all, no matter who's
involved."

	"So I can't ravage you at the table?" he asked, a gleam in his eye.

	"As much fun as that would be, I think we better not," I laughed.
"I'm sorry for not telling you about that before."

	"It's okay," he said.  "Now why don't I go and get Jeff, and you go
help Cindy?"

	"I love you," I said, kissing him.

	"It's hard not to," he laughed, then headed for the living room.

	I joined Cindy in the kitchen again and picked up the last bowl of
food.  She was arranging the rolls on a small platter.  "Does he totally
hate me now?"

	"No," I assured her, smiling.  "But you've got to give him a bit of
leaway.
  We spend most of our time when we're not with the rest of the guys around
people that we can't be ourselves with.  We just got back from a week of
being able to hold hands whenever we wanted, and being totally open.  In
the house, at least," I added, thinking about our close call with
Ms. Neale.

	"Okay," she said, and I could see the embarrassment on her face.
"I'll try not to be such a bitch."

	"Oh, why stop now," I laughed, nudging her and making her smile.
"You do it so well."

	"I don't know what he sees in you," she laughed, following me from
the room.  Jeff and Brian were already sitting down, and both stood when
Cindy stepped to the table.

	Once we were all seated again, the questions started.  How did we
meet?  What was touring like?  How did the other guys take us being
together?  What were we doing in Memphis?  What were our plans for our week
at the cabin?  I swear everything Jeff or Cindy said during the meal had a
raised inflection at the end of it.

	Brian and I took turns answering their questions as we ate.  By the
time we were finished, they were both pretty much up to speed on our
relationship.  We had glossed over the time Brian and I had been apart, and
my reasons for being in Toronto a couple of weeks before, but we had
managed to tell them enough to let them know that neither one of us really
wanted to talk about it.

	When they were satisfied, we moved the group into the living room
for coffee.  Jeff started playing with the stereo.  He knew that I was a
lost cause, so he was playing pretty much to Brian.  Cindy and I chatted
for a while about how things were going for her, and what the gang from
university was up to.

	The coffee was long gone when Norry decided that it was time to
make his presence known.  Cindy had just taken our mugs back to the kitchen
when he started to cry.  I stood up and went to the playpen, looking back
to Jeff, who nodded. Reaching in, I picked Norry up and held him, looking
into his grey-blue eyes.  He cocked his head to one side and watched me,
trying to figure out who was holding him.  Then he reached out a hand and
grabbed my nose, making me laugh.

	Norry laughed with me and started kicking his legs against my hip.
"Oh you think that's funny, do you?" I asked him, grabbing at his nose.  He
blinked and moved his head back, still grinning.

	"He's adorable," Brian said, looking at us.

	"And he's supposed to be sleeping," Cindy added, coming back into
the room.
  "Aren't you?" she asked as she peeked at him over my shoulder.

	Norry laughed again, making everyone in the room smile.  "Let me
see if I can get him to go back to sleep," Cindy said, putting her hands
out to him.

	I moved to hand him to her, but he leaned away from her and hugged
me instead, putting his chin on my shoulder.  I laughed and looked at
Cindy.

	"He must remember you," she smiled.  "Let me get a towel for your
shoulder.
  He's drooling all over you."

	"Don't worry about it," I laughed.  "Brian does it all the time."
I immediately regretted it.  Jeff looked uncomfortable again, but at least
it was the kind of comment that Cindy could take in stride.  She just
laughed and got me the towel, putting it over my shoulder.  Norry started
chewing on it.

	"He likes you," Brian said, smiling at me from the couch, where he
was now sitting between Cindy and Jeff.

	"What's not to like?" I asked with a grin.  "He just knows quality
people when he sees them."

	Norry reached into my collar and took out my necklace, which also
went straight into his mouth.  He pulled on it until the jade letter came
out, and then he grabbed it and stared.  "That's an 'N'," I said to him.
"Maybe when you're older, we'll get you one.  If we haven't convinced your
parents to change your name by then."

	"Better get shopping then," Jeff said with a smile.  "Because we're
sticking with Norton."

	"Well, I guess I know one kid who's going to resent his parents
then, don't I?" I asked Norry.  "Don't worry, I'll help pay for the
therapist."

	"What's wrong with Norton?" Brian asked.  "It's a bit
old-fashioned, but it's not that bad."

	"Thank you," Cindy said, turning to Brian.  "We've been trying to
tell him and the rest of them that since Norry was born."

	I stuck my tongue out at both of them, secure in the knowledge that
Brian couldn't grab it.  Norry tried, though, making Brian laugh.

	"Maybe if you sang to him," Brian suggested mischievously, "he'd go
back to sleep."

	I rolled my eyes at him.  "I'm not the one in the room who makes a
living by singing, though, am I?  Besides, we want him to go to sleep, not
give him nightmares."

	"You can't be that bad a singer," Brian insisted.

	"He's not," Cindy piped up, and I shushed her like crazy in my
mind.

	Brian turned to face her on the couch.  "How do you know that?"

	"Because he used to sing all the time in university," she said,
smiling.  "Didn't he tell you about that?"

	"No, no he didn't," Brian grinned.  "He told me that he's a
horrible singer, and he refuses to let me hear it."

	"Well, he's not the best singer, but he's far from horrible," Cindy
said, looking at me.  "He's not about to get a recording contract or
anything, but he can hold a tune."

	"Why won't you sing for me?" Brian asked me.

	"What's that, Norry?  You want to go into the kitchen?  Sure," I
laughed as I headed for the door.

	Brian, Cindy and Jeff laughed.  "That's pretty low, Nate," Jeff
called after me.  "Using a baby to make your escape."

	"Low but effective," I called back.

	"Fine," Cindy said.  "We'll just have to tell Brian about that
party you and Andy had in university.  What was the name of that exchange
student you were trying to impress again?"

	I was back in the room before she was even done. "Don't you dare."

	"No no, I want to hear this," Brian said, sitting forward in his
seat.

	"I don't think I ever found out what his name was," Jeff said,
ignoring my glare.  "Remember?  He wanted everyone to call him by that
nickname of his.  What was it?"

	Three pair of eyes turned to me.  Four, if you count Norry.
"Thor," I said, giving up.

	"Thor?" Brian asked, then started to laugh.

	"That's it!" Cindy said, laughing.  "I remember thinking that it
wasn't appropriate because he was well-built, but he certainly wasn't
Thor-like."

	I blushed.  "His name was Thornton.  It was a short form.  I hardly
think it's appropriate for you to be telling on me like this," I said.
"Right here in front of an impressionable minor."

	Cindy shook her head and continued to laugh.  "Nate was so in lust
with this guy," she said, turning back to Brian.  "He and Andy had this
party in our third year, and one of our friends brought Thor." She started
to laugh again as soon as she said the name.

	"Anyway," she said, composing herself.  "Nate spent the entire
night trying to get his attention.  By three or so in the morning, Nate was
finally drunk enough to actually speak to him.  They got talking, and a
small group of us formed on the balcony of the apartment."

	Jeff took up the story.  "So we were standing out there, and the
apartment building was built sort of around a pool in the centre.  There
was a walkway around the pool, separating it from the building.  The
walkway wasn't very wide, and Thor mentioned that he thought it would be
possible to jump from the balcony into the pool.

	"Now, we were four floors up, and the walkway didn't look that wide
from where we were.  Sober, no one in their right mind would have even
considered it, but at the time, it seemed like a great idea, and Nate
volunteered."

	I was blushing heavily now, and started to turn away from them,
gently rocking Norry back and forth.  Cindy started to laugh, then
continued.

	"So he strips down and climbs up onto the railing, holding Thor's
hand for 'balance'.  He's standing there in front of all of our friends,
buck naked wearing only his shoes.  We're all standing around him,
encouraging him.  Finally, he shouts 'Geronimo!' and leaps from the
railing.

	"I think we all realised that it was a bad idea about the time he
made it to the second floor.  We crowded around the railing, watching to
see if we were going to have to call 911.

	"Nate just barely cleared the walkway.  About two inches closer in
and he would have clipped the edge of the pool.  Probably have done some
serious damage."

	"Probably?" I asked, looking at her.  "I could very easily have
killed myself that night.  I still get the shivers thinking about it."

	"I can't believe you did it," Brian said.

	"Neither could we, the next morning," Jeff said.  "I don't think
Nate's been drunk many times since, have you?"

	I shook my head.  "You know that dream where you're falling?  The
one where you sit up in bed and gasp and wait for your heart to stop
racing?"  All three of them nodded.  "That's what it was like, only it
lasted a lot longer.  I was sure as soon as my feet left the railing that I
was going to die."

	"But did you get the boy?" Brian asked, smiling.

	"No," I laughed.  "He was impressed all right, but he was straight
as an arrow."

	Brian laughed and sat back in his seat.  "So what other things has
he done that I should be aware of?"

	"No you don't," I said as Cindy opened her mouth.  "One word out of
you and Norry here comes home with me.  You can have Brian."

	"Hey!" Brian protested.  Cindy and Jeff just laughed.

	I looked down at Norry and saw that his eyes were closed.  He was
gently chewing on a corner of the towel that Cindy had given me, and he had
a fistful of the sleeve of my shirt.  I smiled and turned around so that
Cindy could see him.

	"You're going to have to come more often," she said, standing up
from the couch.  "He really likes you."

	"Well, he's not so bad himself," I smiled, detaching him from my
shoulder and handing him to his mother.

	"I should probably put him to bed for the night," she said.

	"Brian and I should be going anyway," I said.  "We've got to pick
up Nick at the airport tomorrow, and then I have to go and talk to a class
at the high school.  After that, we hit the road."

	"Oh, before I forget, here's the key to the cabin." Jeff took a key
off of his keyring and handed it to Brian.  "I called the caretaker, and he
said everything would be ready for you."

	"Thanks," Brian said, smiling and putting the key in his pocket.
"It'll be nice to be away from people for a while."

	"Well you guys enjoy yourselves.  I doubt you'll even see another
person up there."

	"That's perfect.  A week of not having to look over our shoulders
for cameras, and not having to deal with anyone else."

	Cindy smiled and gave me a kiss on the cheek, thanking me for
coming to dinner.  She then shook Brian's hand and excused herself to put
Norry to bed.  Brian and I thanked her for dinner, and Brian stood from the
couch.

	Jeff walked us to the door, shaking both of our hands before he
opened it.  "Have a good time up there.  I put in one of those little
satellite dishes the last time we were there, so you won't be bored."

	I groaned and rolled my eyes with a grin.  "You just couldn't
resist, could you?  You had to go and turn it into a communications
centre."

	"Hey, I bet you won't be complaining when you're checking your
email."

	"But email is a necessity," I argued.

	"So is TV," he countered with a grin.

	"Thanks Jeff," Brian said, smiling at us both.  "I'm sure he'll be
the first one parked in front of it when we get there."

	Jeff laughed and opened the door.  "Just have a great time, and
we'll see you next time you're in town.  Don't worry about the key.  Just
leave it with Erron and we'll get it from him next time he's around."

	"Oh, we intend on enjoying ourselves," I told him.  "Thanks again
for letting us use it."

	"No problem.  Talk to you later.  And call more often!"

	Brian and I both smiled and walked to the elevator.  Jeff stayed in
the doorway until we stepped inside.

	"Well," Brian said once the elevator doors had closed.  "That was
interesting."

	I sighed and leaned against the side of the car, taking his hand.
"I should have warned you about them."

	"What's with them anyway?"

	"They're both freaks," I laughed.  "In their own lovable and
frustrating ways, of course."

	"Well, let's start with Jeff," he said as we stepped out into the
lobby of the building.

	"Okay.  How about we walk back to the apartment, and I'll fill you
in?"

	"Sounds good.  Can I hold your hand?"

	"Probably better not to.  Just to be on the safe side."

	Brian sighed heavily and let go of my hand as we walked out into
the night.
  "So what's the deal with Jeff?"

	"All right.  Jeff and Cindy met in our first year of university.
The first week of our first year, actually.  They started casually dating.
Cindy was in a couple of my English classes, and she had a class or two
with Andy as well.

	"So basically, Cindy melded into our burgeoning circle of friends.
Andy, me, Cindy, and a few other people from residence.  When she and Jeff
got really serious, she brought him into the mix as well, and he became a
good friend to all of us."

	"How long did it take for them to get really serious?"

	"They were engaged by Christmas of that same year," I said, smiling
at the shock on his face.

	"They got engaged a couple of months after meeting?"

	"Yep.  Everyone thought they were nuts, but look at them now."

	"So when did they get married?"

	"Not until the summer after graduation.  When Andy and I moved into
our apartment together for third year, Cindy and Jeff got an apartment in
the same building, but they waited to get married."

	"Pardon me for saying so, but neither one of them seem like they're
exactly 'fun' enough for you and Andy.  And what about Erron?"

	"I'll get to Erron later.  I didn't meet him until fourth year.
But you're right.  Jeff and Cindy were sort of the tether that kept the
rest of us on the ground.  You have to remember that when we met, I was
still completely in the closet, and I was a lot less outgoing than I am
now.  I was much more like those two than I was like Andy."

	"Yeah.  Jumping off of balconies sounds really withdrawn," Brian
snickered.
  "I can't believe you did something like that."

	"Well, I was already out by then, and Andy was making it her
mission in life to bring me out of my shell and get me a boyfriend.  Plus,
I had had more alcohol than many small countries consume in a year," I
laughed.

	"But when I came out, things sort of fell apart for me and Jeff for
a while.  Up until then, he and I had been the only guys in the group,
really.
  There were a few guys who tagged along every now and then, but not within
the core group.  Once I told them that I was gay, about six months after I
told Andy, Jeff sort of freaked out."

	"How bad was it?" Brian asked, looking over at me.

	"Not really bad, not really good.  Just strange.  He didn't know
what to think.  He was raised to think that it was wrong, but he knew me,
and that complicated things quite a bit.  What you saw tonight from him was
a huge improvement from his initial reaction.  He's a great guy, and I love
him, but he can't seem to get over actually seeing two guys together."

	"But he knows that we're together," Brian pointed out.  "What's the
problem with us sitting together on the couch?"

	"You kind of have to know Jeff.  He's come a long way just to
accept that I like guys.  He's just uncomfortable taking that knowledge to
the next step and actually having to deal with seeing it.  I used to get
really frustrated about it when Erron and I were together, but it's just
the way he is.  He'll either get over it eventually or he won't." I
shrugged.

	"He must have freaked when you started seeing Erron," Brian
laughed.

	I nodded and grinned, thinking about it.  "Eventually, we stopped
spending time with them if it was only the four of us.  It was just too
frustrating for us.  At parties, at least there were other people to
distract them, but one on one was tedious.  Jeff doesn't particularly like
Erron as it is, and he certainly didn't like us together.  But Jeff wasn't
Erron's biggest problem."

	"Who was?"

	"Cindy," I said, laughing.

	"So what's her problem?"

	"Well, remember when I told you that she didn't like public
displays of affection?"  Brian nodded.  "Well, it's a pretty serious
aversion.  I don't think you get the entire picture from Erron the friend,
but Erron the boyfriend is really really affectionate.  It took some time
before he learned to tone it down in front of her, which made everyone
tense."

	"She's that bad about it?" Brian asked.

	I nodded.  "Oh yeah, she's that bad.  You should have seen her when
she and Jeff got married.  The only thing making her nervous about the
entire day was having to kiss him in public like that.  They don't even
hold hands when someone else is around."

	"I feel sorry for Norry," Brian said seriously.  "Imagine growing
up like that?"

	"We're all sort of hoping that he'll manage to bring her around a
bit," I smiled.  "She's already more affectionate with him than with anyone
else if there are people around.  But the main problem between Cindy and
Erron was that she really adores him.  They get together for coffee all the
time.  His being so affectionate with me sort of disappointed her, and it
put a bit of a strain on the friendship.  Especially when you added in the
fact that Jeff doesn't care for him."

	"Does he know that Jeff doesn't like him?"

	"Oh yeah.  The feeling's pretty much mutual.  That was why Jeff's
attitude didn't bother him as much as it did me.  He just didn't care.  He
used to wait for Cindy to leave the room, and then climb into my lap, just
to bother Jeff," I laughed at the memory.

	Brian laughed as well.  "Sounds like Erron.  So are there any other
little quirks in the Jeff/Cindy situation that I should be aware of?"

	"Can't think of any," I said, stopping.  I turned to face Brian and
took both of his hands.  "But I do know that they both liked you, and
they're both happy for us.  Jeff might be a little squeamish about it, but
he's fine.  Cindy's ecstatic about it."

	"That makes two of us."

	"Make that three," I added, kissing him briefly.

	"So," he said, starting to walk again.  "How long were you and
Erron together?"

	"Oh no, that's a story for another time."

	"I could always ask Erron," he pointed out.

	"You could, or you could wait and hear the truth."

	"Fine.  I can wait."

	"Good.  Now let's get home."


To Be Continued...

*EXCERPT FROM:  HYPNOSIS, by Dr. G.H. Estabrooks, c 1957.

There you go, folks.  Hope you enjoyed it.  At least, if you didn't, you
didn't have to wait so long this time to not enjoy it. :)

Again, if you're interested, keep an eye on dls-stories.homepage.com for the
new story, as well as an html version of this and all the previous
installments of 'Brian & Me'.  Once I come up with a name for it, it'll be
there. :)

Thanks for reading :)

~*D*~