Date: Fri, 28 Jun 2002 20:23:53 -0700 (PDT)
From: rimpigfl <rimpigfl@yahoo.com>
Subject: THE MARINE NEXT DOOR 12

Disclaimer: This is just a story. And it's about a Marine - actually
several Marines. None of them are real one, of course. Kind of a melding of
a lot of Marine's I've had the honor to have known in my life. Any
resemblance to any actual Marine is purely coincidence - but if there is, I
do wish he'd write me! Anyway, you know the drill, if you don't like sex
between males, what are you doing here? And if your Country, State,
Province, City, Town or Village won't let you read this kind of stuff -
MOVE!!! Somewhere where you can!

This story is dedicated to my friend PUP, who just LOVES Marines and
stories about them. I hope he loves this one. And I kind of hope it would
come true for him.

This is the continuation of Ty's Story. You have heard now from all four of
the main characters.  At the conclusion of Ty's Story, Brian will return as
the narrator.

THE MARINE NEXT DOOR - Part 12
by RimPig (c) 2002

TY'S STORY, Continued:

A few months later, Brian graduated from Nursing school. His mom, as the
nursing supervisor of the hospital, got to hand him his degree and pin his
nursing pin on him. Tim, Domingo and I were in the audience and when Bri's
mom pinned him, the cheer that went up from just the three of us would have
done and entire Marine company of guys proud! I certainly was proud of
Brian.  Prouder of anyone than I'd ever been in my whole life. It was a
rough three years for us. But we hung in there and made it through. Our
love for each other had never dimmed. We were, if it were possible, more
deeply in love with each other than we had ever been.

We hung around the graduation reception for a short while and then Bri's
mom came up to me.

"Why don't you two slip out now and go home. I know that you have some
celebrating of your own to do." she said quietly.

I blushed. His mom was always doing that to me! You'd think after all this
time I'd be used to the fact that she just speaks her mind without pulling
any punches, but it's still a bit disconcerting to me. Especially when it
comes to me and Bri.

But disconcerting or not, I loved her suggestion. I told Dom and Tim that I
was going to take Brian home and they gave me knowing grins. I then went
over to where Brian was.

"Your mom suggested to me that we go home and have our own celebration." I
whispered in his ear.

He looked at me and then started giggling quietly. "That sounds like Mom!
But she does have some very good ideas, sometimes!" he said quietly while
he surreptitiously stroked the back of his hand against my cock. I went
almost instantly bone hard!

"Now look what you've done!" I laughed. "How the hell am I going to get out
of here without everybody seeing that I'm hard!"

"Let 'em look! They can just envy the fact that I'm going home with that!"
he giggled again.

We made it out the door and to my Jeep. It was very uncomfortable driving
with a hardon, but I didn't have much choice as Brian kept his hand on my
crotch, stroking it the whole way home!  And I wasn't about to tell him to
stop! It felt too good!

We made it back to our apartment and inside the door before we started
stripping each other. A trail of clothes led from the door of the apartment
to the door of our bedroom. But I grabbed Bri's arm before he could get
inside. I pulled him into my arms for a quick kiss and then reached down
and lifted him into my arms and carried him to the bed.

Talk about 'caveman' mentality! Ever since that first night, I have loved
carrying Brian in my arms. It was like saying 'Yes! This is mine!' but it
also gives me a feeling of being his protector.  And I knew, from the very
first night, that it was something that he loved because it gave him that
feeling of male protection which he missed by not having his father around.

I laid him on the bed and got in next to him. I took him in my arms and
kissed him deeply. He returned my kiss with such fervor it all but took my
breath away. Despite the years that we have been together, nothing has
changed in our feelings towards each other except to make them
deeper. There was no one that I would rather be with than Brian and he was
clearly showing me tonight that he felt the same.

I could feel Brian's hard cock pushing against my stomach as I held him. I
knew he was incredibly horny but I wasn't going to rush things. It had been
a while since we had all the time in the world to make love to each other
and I was going to take full advantage of it.

I took one of Brian's hands in mine and began to gently suck at his index
finger. I moaned and looked into my eyes. He knew what my actions meant. He
knew that I was not going to stop until my tongue had tasted almost every
part of his body. He also knew that I was not about to let him cum before I
finished. I rolled him over onto his back and got over him, sitting on his
hips, his hard cock trapped beneath me where he couldn't get to it. I
continued sucking each of his fingers into my mouth and then licked the
palm of his hand. I moved on to his wrist and then the rest of his forearm
and into the crook of the elbow where the sensitive skin caused shivers to
go through Bri's body which I could feel. I continued up the inside of his
arm until I reached his armpit.

I raised Bri's arm above his head and buried my nose in his pit, taking
deep breaths of his scent. It was strong and male. Ever since that first
night, I have loved the scent of my lover. There was something about it,
some kind of 'throw-back' to a more primitive time, in my attraction to
it. I know that the special sweat glands in a male's armpits and groin
exude pheromones which are meant to attract a mate. Bri's certainly
attracted me! I have come to believe, that on some unconscious level people
can still react to this natural attractor. And it is this attraction to
male pheromones, along with other factors, which biologically determines
that a guy will be attracted more to members of his own sex. I know that
the scent of other males is stimulating to other males, even those who
consider themselves heterosexual, which I have come to believe is one of
the reasons that most guys experiment with gay sex at some time in their
lives.

I licked through both of his pits and then attacked his neck and ears. He
was quickly writhing beneath me, begging me to fuck him. But he knew
better! He knew I was not about to get him off until I had devoured
practically every part of him. When we could find the time, this is the way
I loved to make love to him. To stimulate his whole body until we were both
so hot that when it finally came time for me to enter him, the resulting
explosion was stupendous!

For the next hour, I worked on his body. In some parts, like his back and
legs, I would not only lick but massage as well. The only area of his body
I avoided was his cock. I left his balls and the trench of his ass for
last. By the time my tongue reached the entry to his body, I was dripping
enough cock-honey to lube him without any gel and his hole was spasming
open and closed, practically sucking my tongue inside of him - desperately
wanting my cock.

Finally, I pushed his legs up to my shoulders and put the head of my cock
at his hole. I began slowly circling his opening with my cock, miking my
cock-honey out of my piss-slit so that it soaked his hole with
lubrication. I always loved fucking him this way, using only what nature
had provided us to fuck, as males are designed to. I slowly pushed forward
and my cock began its descent into his hot, wet insides. No matter how
often I fucked him, Bri's hole was always like a tight sheath around my
cock. Somehow he had learned how to ripple the muscles in his asshole,
causing it to massage and milk my cock from one end to the other. As I
bottomed out in his hole, I covered his mouth with mine as he groaned into
it. I knew that groan! It was Brian's way of telling me that he once again
felt one with me - as I felt with him.

I slowly began to fuck him, taking only short movements in and out of his
chute. I built slowly until I was dragging my entire cock out of his butt,
leaving only the head inside his ass-ring, and then plunging full in to
where my pubic hairs were crushed against his ass. I set up a rhythm which
I knew that would allow me to hold off cumming for a while and just enjoyed
the feel of his butt and the moans and tremors of his body. I could feel
the head of my cock grazing lightly over Brian's butt-nut and could see the
tremors in his cock each time I did. One of the things about making love to
him this way was that it guaranteed that he would get off on my cock
fucking him alone. He didn't need to touch himself at all. I really loved
the feeling of being able to get him off with just my cock.

Finally, I couldn't take anymore and I could tell from how hard Brian's
butt-nut had become that he couldn't either. I began banging way at his
butt as hard as I could and within moments, Brian was shooting cum all over
his chest and abdomen. The clenching of his ass around my cock as he came
did it for me. I buried my bone in his butt and shot like my balls were
trying to come out through my cock! As I held myself up by my arms over
him, I could feel cum leaking out of his butt-hole around my cock.  I
wanted to rest, but I had two jobs left.

First, I slowly pulled my cock from his ass and leaned down and began to
lick all of Brian's cum from his body. I loved the taste of his cum, it was
always so sweet with very little saltiness to it.  Then I raised his legs
again and, locking my mouth to his hole, sucked my load from his ass and
licked up any cum which had run down the trench of his butt. Finally,
lowering his legs, I crawled up next to him and collapsed on my side,
pulling him to me. He kissed me all over my face.

"That was incredible, Ty! I don't think I've ever wanted you more than I
did today! How did I ever deserve having someone like you to make love to
me?" he murmured in my ear.

"I'll answer that when you can tell me how I was lucky enough to ever find
you!" I said.

And I meant it! I have to believe there is a God! I was so desperately
lonely when I met Brian. I'd had a lot of fun with a lot of guys, but it
had all become very empty and meaningless. What I wanted was someone to
love who would love me. But the guys I was finding for sex were too much
like me! They were using sex as a substitute for any kind of real emotional
involvement or commitment. But I didn't want a substitute. I wanted that
involvement! I wanted that commitment!

At first, I couldn't believe that Brian was it. I mean, I felt it. But he
was still a virgin when we met. I was the only man who had ever made love
to him. And, while I knew he was incredibly loving and giving and
everything I was looking for, I just didn't believe at first that he was
ready to make the kind of commitment to a relationship that I wanted. But I
was quickly convinced that Brian was an entirely different kind of male
than the one's I had been finding. He wasn't interested in "the hunt". He
wasn't interested in conquest. He wanted love, he wanted to make love. He
was ready to find one guy and make a life with him without going through
all the "sowing his wild oats" that so many guys seem to need - and end up
sowing so many oats that they never get around to harvesting them! Never
get around to finding the one thing that they need. Someone to really love
who really loves them! The substitute of 'hot' sex for love becomes a total
way of life for them. And many of them end up very lonely.

I didn't want to end up that way, and Brian didn't either. This is not to
say that either of us in any way 'settled' for the other. We were hot for
each other the moment we met. But the rest of it, the love, the respect we
have for each other, the commitment we have to each other - that grew as
well, almost from the first moment. There were times, I would look at Brian
sleeping in my arms and tears would come to my eyes as emotions of
gratitude and love welled up inside of me. He doesn't know about those
times. Maybe someday I'll tell him - like on our 50th Anniversary!

Speaking of anniversaries!

After Brian went to work for the hospital and became the nurse supervisor
for the AIDS ward, our 4th anniversary together was coming up. I called his
mom one day at the hospital and talked to her about what I wanted to do for
it. I wanted to re-create that dinner that Brian had cooked for Tim,
Domingo and me the first night that we met. I wanted to borrow her wedding
china, linens and crystal that Brian had used that night.

"Ty, I'd be glad to lend them to you, but I've got to ask you a
question...uh...who's going to cook?" she asked with some hesitation.

It was no secret that I am not someone who is comfortable in a kitchen. I
can make coffee and I can maybe scramble a couple of eggs and put toast in
a toaster, but that's about the extent of it.  Brian's tried to teach me
but while he was in school, we ate an awful lot of take-out and delivery!

"I just figured I'd order something in." I told her.

"Nope! That just will not do! You don't do take-out for a romantic dinner!
When is this?" she asked.

"Next Wednesday." I told her.

"Ok, I'm taking half a day off and I'm coming over there. I'll cook the
dinner. I'll make all of Brian's favorites and you and I can set the table
and get it ready. Then I'll leave and all you'll have to do is serve it!
Ok?" she said.

"I can't ask you to go through all that trouble!" I told her.

"Trouble? Nonsense! What's a mother for? Look, Ty, maybe I haven't said
this to you but I want you to know that I think that the day Brian met you
was the luckiest day of his life. I had no idea that a relationship could
ever make someone so happy! Certainly mine never did! You're the best man
I've ever met, next to my son. I think the world of you - and if you didn't
already have Brian and you went for women, I'd make a play for you myself!"
and with this she laughed.

I was blown away! I knew that she approved of me, but I didn't know she
thought THAT highly of me!

"I don't know what to say, other than I owe you everything for having
Brian, raising him the way you did and letting him become mine! He is the
best thing that ever happened or is ever going to happen in my life! And,
if I did go for women, I'd certainly take you up on that!" I laughed as
well, because the only other alternative was to cry, I was so touched by
her words.

"Ok, before we both start bawling over the phone, you meet me at the
apartment at noon on Wednesday. Listen, did he use the silver candlesticks
that night?" she asked.

"Yes, come to think of it, he did!" I suddenly remembered that.

"Yeah! I figured he did. He loves those things. All right! I'll bring them
along, too! See you Wednesday!" she said, hanging up.

Next, I told Tim and Domingo that I was going to go out for an hour or
so. I had an important errand to run and that I'd tell them about it when I
got back. I hopped into the Jeep and headed over to a jeweler that had been
doing business with our garage for the last year of so. I had in my pocket
Brian's high school class ring, which he never really wore, not feeling
very attached to a high school he only spent a year at. The man who I had
been bringing his car to us was named Richard and he owned a small shop
near our garage.

I found the shop and walked in, but I didn't see Richard. Richard was about
50 and was tall with black hair. I'd always gotten the feeling that he was
gay, particularly the way he always looked at me, kind of like he was
undressing me with his eyes. Nothing overt, actually subtle, but you don't
have to be gay or around other gay guys very long before you pick up on
things like that. I guess that's what we call 'gaydar'.

Anyway, a very nice looking man, somewhere in his forties, came up to me
and asked it he could help me. I told him I was looking for Richard. He
apologized, saying that Richard was up in Los Angeles on a buying trip and
asked if there was something he could do for me, that he was Roger,
Richard's 'partner'.

I don't know what it was exactly. Just the way he said 'partner' that led
me to believe that he meant that in more than business. The same way I
described Brian as my 'partner'.  And, to me anyway, Roger was obviously
gay - same feeling of being undressed visually.

"My name is Ty, I'm one of the owners of the garage where Richard brings
his car to be worked on." I explained.

"Oh, so you're Ty! Richard has spoken of you!" he said with a smile. Well,
that confirmed a lot of things to me!

"Yes, I wanted to purchase two rings." I told him.

"Getting married?" he asked, with just a hint of disappointment in his
voice.

"No, they're for me and my partner." I said, using the same word. "We've
been together four years next week. I feel it's about time we had rings." I
said.

He smiled at me. I guess that confirmed some things for him, too.

"What did you have in mind, Ty?" he asked.

"I want something really simple. I'm not into fussy jewelry and neither is
Brian." I said, actually using Brian's name. If that didn't confirm things
for him, nothing would!

"I see. Well, I do have two matching bands, very plain yellow gold. Each
has a one half carat diamond in it. Now, the stones are small, but of very
high quality VS1 and D color. You don't find a finer stone." he said and
opened one of the show cases and pulled two rings from a display and lay
them on a black velvet mat on the counter.

They were beautiful! The small diamond's sparkled like little suns,
flashing colors of light! And then bands surrounding them were simple,
polished gold. They were exactly what I was looking for! Beautiful but not
ostentatious. I picked up one of the rings and put it on the ring finger of
my left hand. I was shocked when it fit perfectly!

"Well, that won't have to be sized!" Roger said.

"How much are they?" I asked.

"We're asking $2,000 a piece for them." Roger said.

Fuck! I only had $2,000 to spend. I guessed I could just get one for Brian.

Roger noticed, I guess, that I blanched when he told me the price.

"Ty, how much did you plan to spend on the rings?" he asked me quietly.

"I've only got $2,000. I guess I can just get the one for Brian. I really
want to see my ring on his hand." I said.

"Well, let me see. Now, Richard tells me that you guys really take good
care of his car and you're the only honest mechanics he's ever found. He
also says you don't charge near what you could for the work you
do. Considering how often that damned car of his acts up - and he still
refuses to get another one - I figure you've saved him at least $2,000 over
the last two years. So we'll make the cost of these rings $2,000 for the
both of them." he said.

I couldn't believe it! I looked up at him and he was smiling. I was
completely blown away by his generosity! I never would have expected this!
I didn't know what to say!

"I'll take them! Thank you so much!" I said.

"Well, I can't have you running around without a ring, too! After all,
someone might get the mistaken impression that you were 'available'! We
can't have that, now can we. A lot of hearts could get broken that way!" he
laughed.

I stood there blushing. I still can't get used to the idea that guys
evidently really do find me very attractive. Oh, I know I'm not ugly or
anything. I don't scare dogs or children! But it's just that I know how
incredibly beautiful that Brian is to me. I don't think that I even
compare! But he keeps telling me how beautiful I am to him. I guess I'm
kind of glad I can't see it. I remember guys who were so convinced of what
hunks they were that the only thing they could ever 'marry' would be a
full-length mirror!

"Ok, now there's just one thing. Do you know Brian's ring size?" he asked.

"Well...no, but I brought a ring of his with me." I said, pulling the class
ring out of my pocket.

Roger took the ring and pulled out this long round metal rod with a
handle. It had marking all the way down it like a ruler and was thicker
towards the bottom than towards the top. He put the rod through the opening
in Brian's ring and let it drop onto the rod until it stopped. The
measuring makes told him what size the ring was and gave Brian's ring back
to me. Then he picked up the other diamond ring like the one I still had on
my finger and dropped it onto the rod.

"Well! If Brian hasn't grown any since he wore his class ring last, we
won't have to size this one either! It's exactly the same size!" he said.

I've got to tell you. I don't believe in coincidences. I knew right there
and then that I was meant to buy these rings for me and Brian! I took the
one off my finger and handed it back to Roger.

"Just wrap them up together. I think he's really going to love them." I
said.

"I certainly hope he does! But, if he doesn't, both of you come back with
them and pick out something he does like. We'll give you full trade in for
them." Roger told me.

"Thanks, that's very nice of you. But I don't think that's going to
happen. I know Bri is going to just love them." I assured him. "By the way,
how long have you and Richard been 'partners'?" I asked.

"We've been together for almost 25 years now." he smiled at me. "It feels
really strange saying that, I forget how long a time it's really been."

"Are you still...close?" I asked him, not knowing how else to put it.

"Are we still in love?" he laughed at my awkwardness. "Yes! We're still
very much in love. I love Richard more every day. The love is different
than it was at the beginning. It's deeper, richer, more meaningful now. How
long did you say that you and Brian had been together? Four years?"

"Yes, four years next Wednesday." I said.

"Ah! You two are still on your honeymoon!" he laughed. "But haven't you
found, even in four years that the love you feel for him has changed?"

"Yes. Just like you, I love him more every day. There is a bond between us
that is incredible! I don't even remember how I ever lived when he wasn't
in my life. That's why I wanted to get rings for us. We'll probably never
have a ceremony or anything, but I wanted something that said to the world
that we were together. I guess I'm pretty old fashioned, huh?" I shrugged.

"Not at all! Ever noticed the ring on Richard's finger?" he asked.

"The big gold one with the green stone?" I asked.

"Yes, that's the one. Green Imperial Chinese Jade, very old and very
valuable. See!" he said, holding out his hand. There was an identical ring
to the one that I'd seen Richard wear.

"Wow! That's really nice!" I said.

"I've worn this ring for over 20 years. Richard bought them when we were
first starting out both in love and in this business. We really couldn't
afford them, but Richard insisted. He wanted something valuable to show me
how much he valued me!" Roger said.

"That's it! That's exactly how I felt about these! I do value Brian so
much! And I think that these rings say that." I said.

"I couldn't agree with you more. Tell you what! Richard will be gone for a
few days yet. When he gets back, one of us will call you. We'd love to have
you and Brian over for dinner one night!" he said.

"That would be really nice! I'm sure Brian would love that as well! We'll
look forward to it!" I said.

We finished the transaction of putting the rings on my credit card and I
walked out of the store with them in a small box. Roger had wrapped the box
in white tissue paper and had even tied it with 'rainbow' ribbon.

When I got back to the shop, I told Dom and Tim about the rings and about
the dinner that Brian's mom was going to cook for us. They both
congratulated me and said that it didn't seem like it was four years
already. I said that I didn't either, that it felt sometimes like I had
only met Brian last week! Domingo guessed that I felt that way when I was
so horny for Brian and we all laughed.

That Wednesday, I met Brian's mom at the apartment at noon. She gave me all
the stuff to set the table with and went into the kitchen and started
cooking. I told her I needed to run to the store, that I wanted to get a
bottle of champagne to celebrate.

"You don't own a champagne bucket, do you?" she asked.

"No. What's that?" I asked.

"Oh, it's metal and it stands on long legs. It hold's the champagne in ice
until it served and keeps it cold while you drink it. If you go over to
that rental place over on Cohoya, you should be able to find one to rent
for the night." she said.

"Ok. I'll run and get that, too."

I rented the champagne bucket and went to the liquor store. I asked what
their best champagne was. They guy told me it was this stuff called Dom
Peringnon. I'd never heard of it, but at $90 bucks a bottle, it had better
be the best! I bought a bottle and headed back to the apartment.

I showed the bottle to Brian's mom.

"Yep! That's the best you can buy. I don't even want to know what it cost
you! Let's put it in the fridge and get it chilled. Go set the ice bucket
next to the table. You'll need to fill it with ice and put the champagne in
it right before Brian comes home." she said.

"But how am I going to know that? He never leaves when he's supposed to!
He's always getting home late." I said.

"Oh, I can take care of that!" his mom said and went to the phone.

She dialed the number to the hospital and asked for the desk on Brian's
floor.

"Belle, this is Beverly...Yes, dear...No, that's fine. I don't want to talk
to Brian. I don't want Brian to even know I called, ok?...No, nothing's
wrong. Ty and I are fixing up a little surprise for him. It's their
anniversary....Yes! Four years now! Isn't it wonderful!... Anyway, Belle,
Ty needs to know when Brian leaves the hospital. Could you call him when
you see Brian leave?....Good!  You've got the number, right?...Ok, thanks,
Belle!...Yes, alright. Good-bye."

Beverly turned to me. "Belle will call you when Brian leaves the
hospital. That should give you plenty of time to get things heated up and
ready. That is if you're going to eat first." she laughed.

I could feel the red rising in my face. Beverly always seems to have that
affect on me. I don't know if I'll ever get used to the fact that Brian's
mother knows that we're lovers and is happy about it. God knows, I cannot
picture either my mom or dad being as open and accepting of me sleeping
with another male!

Beverly finished cooking and gave me a list of everything that I needed to
do when Belle called. I tried to thank her for what she had done because
without her, I don't think I could have pulled this off half as well.

"Ty," she said, taking my had in hers. "Brian is my only child. My only
desire is to see him happy.  God knows his childhood wasn't what it should
have been! But for the past four years, Brian has been the happiest I have
ever seen him. And I know that the one and only reason for that is you.
There is nothing that I wouldn't do for the two of you! I hope you know
that. All you ever have to do is ask." she said, and then she reached up
and kissed me on the cheek.

I reached out and hugged her tightly to me. I truly felt like I had another
mom.

"Well! With hugs like those, no wonder Brian's smiling all the time!" she
laughed as I let her go.

I found myself laughing with her.

She left and I sat down, looking at the table, remembering that first
night. Brian had been like this eager little puppy when I first met him. I
knew right away that he was attracted to me. His eyes told me everything I
needed to know. And I kept catching him, whenever he got close to me,
taking deep breaths. I knew I was hot and sweaty and my scent was really
strong. I could tell that it was turning him on and that was such a turn on
to me! I have always loved the scent of a male's body. I don't like
perfumes and such! And to find somebody who felt the same way was somehow
extremely exciting to me!

The only thing I wasn't sure of was whether or not Brian knew that he was
attracted to me. I mean, he didn't seem like he knew the score at all. He
didn't come on to me the way most guys did. Didn't drop any hints, nothing!
I just thought at first that he was afraid because I was a Marine. Little
did I know that he was a virgin! It wasn't until that night, when I went to
take a shower, that I found out. I remember how he trembled in my arms when
I kissed him for the first time. It has always been deeply meaningful to me
that I was the first man to ever kiss him or ever make love to him.

Since everything was ready and all I had to do now was wait for Belle to
call with the news that Brian was on his way home, I decided to lie down
and take a nap. I had a feeling that it was going to be a long night and I
would need all the strength I had to make it through. I was dead asleep
when Belle finally called to let me know that Brian was on his way and to
wish us well on our anniversary. I couldn't believe how the staff at the
hospital had just accepted us as a couple. It was nice to know that people
could look past the prejudices in this world and recognize that two people
really loved one another and were committed to each other.

I went to the kitchen and, following Beverly's list, started getting things
ready. I heard Brian's key in the door and I was leaning on the doorframe
of the kitchen when he opened it and saw the table all set with his
mother's china and the champagne chilling in the champagne bucket. He came
over to me and I took him in my arms. He'd been working so hard and so many
hours lately he had completely forgotten about our anniversary, which is
what I had figured. That's why I planned this surprise for him.

The dinner went really well. We laughed and talked and reminisced about
when we first got together, how scared we both were of this love which was
now the very center of our lives. When we'd finished eating, I got him to
close his eyes and I went into our bedroom where I had stashed the rings. I
came back out and put them in front of him and told him to open his
eyes. He looked down and saw the box. I told him to open it.

The look on his face when he saw the two rings I had bought was worth three
times what I paid for them! He started to put one on, but I stopped him. I
took the ring away from him and got down on my knees next to him. I put the
ring on his finger using words from a wedding ceremony I had been to a few
months before when an old friend of mine from the Corps had gotten married.
I remembered those words because, when I heard them during the ceremony, it
was like a knife went through my guts! I wanted so much to 'marry'
Brian. To have a ceremony which would gather all our friends and family and
show the world how much I loved him. But I knew that was never going to
happen.

Brian cried when I put the ring on his finger, saying those words and
kissing the ring once it was on him. He took the other ring and saying the
words I'd just said to him, put that ring on my finger and kissed it. I
couldn't help myself, the tears were falling from my eyes as he did it. As
I heard him pledge his love to me forever, I just lost it. I knew he meant
those words as much as I did.

I then picked him up in my arms, just like that first night - and many
nights after - and carried him to our bed. I made love to him and he made
love to me. It was incredible to me that after four years of making love to
Brian, he turned me on more now than at the beginning! At first, I loved
him because he was so cute and so loving. Now, I loved him because he was
so incredibly strong and honorable! What he had gone through to be with me
and to still live out his dream of becoming a nurse, had moved me to
respect him in ways that I never thought possible. I guess I always thought
of myself as the 'strong' one in the relationship. These last four years
had taught me that Bri was every bit as strong, if not more so, than I am.

But a real surprise lay in store for me that night!

After we had made love for the second time, we were laying there, basking
in the after glow of our love when Brian suddenly said that he needed to
talk with me about something. Just the way he said it told me that this was
very serious. I was worried for a moment. I couldn't imagine what was so
important that it was necessary to talk about it right then.

Brian started to tell me about this kid named Scott. He was only 16 years
old and was HIV+!  He'd gotten the virus by hustling, selling his young
body, just in order to eat and have someplace to sleep! His own parents had
thrown him out on the streets when he was only 15 because they found out he
was gay! Fucking bastards! To do that to your own child! I wanted to go and
kick their asses! Luckily Bri wouldn't tell me who they were or where they
lived. I swear I would have gotten out of our bed right then and gone and
done it!

He also told me about this grunt that Brian and I, along with Tim and
Domingo, all knew named Jason. I met Jason when he brought this old
Mercedes 280 convertible to us to repair. We saw a lot of that kid with
that car! But he loved it and took real good care of it. We'd all
eventually figured out that Jason was gay. He'd had a few three ways with
Tim and Domingo but Brian and I had never participated in any with him. But
Jason got to know Brian real well when he started volunteering on Brian's
ward. Well, according to Brian, there was a budding romance between Jason
and this kid, Scott.

I was more than a little condescending towards this at first. After all,
Jason is on 19 and Scot is only 16, for God's sake! What the fuck could
they know about love! That was when Brian pointed out to me that I was
being an asshole and that we were not that much older when we first fell in
love. I really hate and I really love when he does that! Every so often, he
reminds me that it is NOT my job to run anybody else's life!

I figured out real quick, however, where this was leading. This kid
desperately needed a home. He couldn't go into foster care because I knew
from a buddy in the Corps what was likely to happen to him there! My buddy
had been molested in the first four foster homes he'd grown up in! I
couldn't see that as any kind of solution for this poor kid. I figured out
that what Brian wanted was for this kid to come and live with us! I guess,
if Brian had been a veterinarian, we would have owned at least a dozen dogs
and cats. But, no! Brian was as nurse, so I guess we were going to be
rescuing a kid instead!

Not that I didn't think it was a good idea, mind you! I saw that we could
have a really good influence on this kid. After all, he'd get to see two
guys who were very committed to each other and very much in love. God, what
I wouldn't have given for THAT when I was growing up!  Would have saved me
a lot of fear and soul-searching when I was young and trying to figure out
what all these strange feelings I was having for other guys were! And,
certainly, he would be a lot safer with us than a lot of gay guys who might
use him for sex and then throw him out. Plus, there was this added factor
of Jason.

I remembered that story Brian had told me about that army of lovers in the
ancient world - the Sacred Band. How they believed that no male would ever
disgrace himself by cowardice in front of his lover. I figured that Jason's
presence in Scott's life would do a lot to help this kid, just the way that
Brian being in my life had made me better for it.

I think I shocked poor Bri when I not only told him what he was going to
ask before he asked it, but said 'yes' without him even having to ask. I
knew that Brian had an unerring sense about people. He just knew somehow
who was worthwhile and who wasn't. If this wasn't a good kid, despite
everything that had happened to him, Brian would not have even mentioned
him to me.

After having settled that, we made love once more and then called it a
night. I would have to go with Brian in the morning to the hospital to meet
the kid, but as far as Scott coming to live with us, I considered it a done
deal.

I was very surprised the next morning when I met Scott. He was, despite the
bruises from the attack on him which had landed him in the hospital, an
incredibly cute kid! He reminded me somewhat of Brian when I first met
him. Not that he looked like him, but that he had that same eager yet
vulnerable quality. And when I saw the way the he and Jason looked at each
other, I knew that, regardless of their ages, they were already very much
in love. Brian had been right - as usual.

I went on to work and told the guys about the little addition to our
family. They razzed me about not only did I want to marry Brian, now that
we had a 'kid', I'd HAVE to! But I didn't mind. I saw the hurt and fear and
need in Scott's eyes and that desire to be a 'Big Brother' just came out in
me. Just the way it had with Brian. I wanted to protect this kid. I wanted
to try and make his life better than it had been. I didn't want to sleep
with him like I did with Brian when we met, but I did want to nurture him
somehow.

And I was excited, because I knew that our lives were going to change. And
I really down deep felt that it was going to be a very positive change for
all of us!

The end of Part 12 of THE MARINE NEXT DOOR

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RimPig