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“Teddy! I’m so glad you’re back!” Melanie greets as she approached him at the terminal.
“Oh yes, good old Pittsburgh,” Ted replies, only somewhat sarcastically.
“Hey, don’t knock our hometown. There are wonderful and beautiful people in this fine city.”
Ted smiles. He really was happy for Melanie. She looked fantastic and so incredibly happy and he knew that a lot of it was due to Lindsay.
“You and Lindsay get settled in?”
“Yeah. Ted, you should see the house. It’s so great. It’s not a mansion or anything but it’s spacious and just screams home.”
“I’m sure you gave it the lesbian touch it was needing,”
Melanie gives him a light punch on the arm but smiles good naturedly.
“I got a raise at work too. And I know you are going to make sure I get a great refund on my taxes. Just like in-”
“1991. I remember how excited you were,” Ted finishes for her.
“And that was when I was working two shitty jobs. Now that I’m a lawyer, I expect 1997 to blow 91 out of the water.”
There’s a slight drizzle when they go outside and it’s cold as balls. Ted shivers and zips his coat all the way up as Melanie leads him to the parking lot.
“Sure didn’t miss this,” Ted comments as a gust of wind blows past.
“Oh, this is nothing compared to last week. It got down to the single digits then. Tomorrow is supposed to be worse too. Fuck February, right? Doesn’t help that we’re close to the mountains.”
“I just hope spring comes early.”
Melanie unlocks her car, pops the trunk for Ted’s suitcases and goes to sit in the driver’s seat. Ted closes the trunk and gets in beside her. He then leans his head back, closes his eyes, and sighs.
“Ted?”
“Hmm?”
“I’m really sorry things didn’t work out with Bill. I know how much you cared about him.”
Ted squeezes his eyes shut even tighter. He doesn’t want to think about his relationship failing after the best three years of his life. He was about to turn thirty for Christ’s sake! He wanted Bill to be the one. He thought he had been the one. He still wasn’t completely convinced that he wasn’t. He doesn’t even know how things went to shit.They were so fucking happy in Philadelphia and had moved out to San Antonio a year and a half ago when Bill got a job offer. They played house, bought each other flowers, made love every night. Until three months ago, that is.
“Teddy?”
Ted takes a breath, “I’m fine. Just thinking.”
“Are you o-”
“I really don’t want to talk about Bill right now, Mel.”
“Okay. That’s fine.”
Melanie pulls out of her spot and drives out of the parking garage. Ted appreciates the small talk that Mel has to offer and he even finds himself engaging in it. He’d do anything to get Bill out of his head.
“I’m really happy you’re staying with us. You are actually our first guest. It’ll be like the old times when we shared that cramped apartment together.”
“Oh god, I thought you said your new place had some room. I swear, if it’s anything like that apartment, I’ll just stay in a hotel.”
“Oh, it’s ten times bigger than that shit hole,” Mel laughs, “I just meant that I’m looking forward to having my friend around again.”
“Don’t get too attached to me. I plan on being in your hair two weeks tops. I should find a place of my own by then.”
“Well, hopefully you don’t move too far away.”
“No, I tried that and failed miserably.”
Melanie winces, “You didn’t fail, Teddy.Things just-”
“Fell apart. Completely,” Ted mumbles
“You still haven’t told me what happened.”
“Don’t worry. I haven’t told anyone.”
Mel seems to accept him shutting her down but maybe she’s just distracted by the asshole merging in front of them.
“You motherfucker! Who the fuck taught you how to drive?” Melanie shouts as the man speeds off.
“Ah, Pittsburgh. The roads are rough and the drivers are-”
“Rude as fuck,” Melanie seethes.
“Right.”
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“Ted! I’m so glad you decided to take Mel up on her offer,” Lindsay says kindly as they step into the house.
“I’m happy that both of you are okay with me crashing here.”
“Of course we are! I know we only met a handful of times but I always liked you a lot. Mel's missed you especially. She was disappointed when you moved away.”
“We have been friends since freshman year. I’ve missed her too. Where should I take my bags?”
“Follow me. Here, let me take one of them,” Lindsay offers as she reaches out her hand to take one of his suitcases.
Lindsay leads Ted to a room upstairs and down the hall. He sets his suitcase down at the foot of the bed and sits down.
“You’re probably tired after your flight. Dinner will be in a couple of hours. If you want to take a nap, Mel or I will wake you up when it’s ready.”
“Alright. Thanks, Lindsay. I didn’t sleep well last night so it will be good for me to get a couple hours of shut eye.”
Lindsay nods understandingly, gives him a smile, and softly closes the door behind her.
“Fuck,” Ted says, his breath hitching on the word.
There’s a phone in the room. Maybe he should try calling Bill, just to see how he’s doing. Bill laughed in his face last night as his new young arm candy lounged on the couch in his briefs but maybe he had enough time to think things over. He would pay Melanie for the long distances charges and…
No. No, he couldn’t call him. He wasn’t that pathetic. He wouldn’t be the one to call first.
It may have been a sign of strength but it certainly didn’t make him feel any better.
So with a heavy heart, Ted curled up on top of the bed covers and fell into a restless sleep.
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“You want more mashed potatoes, Ted?” Mell offers as she lifts the bowl.
“No thanks. It’s all delicious but I’m stuffed,” Ted says as he pats his stomach.
“...Ted, you had such small servings of everything-”
“Big breakfast,” he lies.
They probably don’t buy it but they let it go.
“I can’t wait for you to meet Michael and Emmett,” Mel tells him, “They’re good guys. Gay too.”
Ted hesitates. He doesn’t like the way she says it.
“Mel, I appreciate your interest in my love life but-”
Mel bursts out laughing before he can even finish.
“Teddy, no! I didn’t mean it like that. I just meant that you could go out with them to Babylon and you guys could hang out and get to know each other.”
Ted flushes, “Oh. I thought you were-”
“Trying to hook you up with someone? No, that wasn’t my intention. Although, I would approve if you fell for one of them. As long as it isn’t Brian.”
Ted knows what Mel says touches a nerve with Lindsay since she turns away from the stove and glares. Mel looks back with an eyebrow raised and says, “What?”
“Who’s Brian?”
Lindsay and Melanie speak at the same time.
“One of my dearest friends.”
“The sluttiest asshole you’ll ever meet.”
“Wow. I sense some conflicting feelings about this guy.”
Lindsay comes over to sit down at the table, gives Mel a pointed look, then turns back to Ted.
“Brian is...untamed. He’s charismatic. He’s successful. Handsome. He speaks his mind. He refuses to settle down and conform to what he says are “hetero societal norms.” He can be a lot to take but he loves his friends very fiercely. Even if he won’t admit it.”
“Hell would freeze over if he did,” Mel adds in.
Lindsay scoffs, “Anyway, you’ll get to meet him. He’s Michael’s best friend. He loves Michael very much, sort of like a brother. But Michael loves him in a different way.”
“Poor guy. I wish he could just get over him,” Mel says as she picks up the plates from the table.
“Brian can be a hard man to get over,” Lindsay answers.
“Don’t we all know,” Mel grumbles.
Ted would be a total idiot if he couldn’t sense the tension Brian brings to the room. Despite his own love life ending in shreds, he still enjoyed how happy and in-sync Lindsay and Melanie were. He doesn't like this brief moment of conflict.
“So...what did you make for dessert, Lindsay? I think I left a little room for that.”
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Ted spends the two days settling in and looking at apartments. He tries to get things off his mind by helping the girls’ with the chores and running errands for them. They catch on pretty quickly that he’s feeling anxious so today they told him that he’s going out. He didn’t know if he wanted to go out quite just yet but they already called one of their friends to come and meet him from the house so it’s too late to back out now.
“Ladies, I’m here!”
“I thought Brian was the one who didn’t knock,” Mel says as she turns to Lindsay.
“Maybe Emmett picked up some bad habits from him.”
Mel shudders then yells, “In the kitchen!”
A tall man comes in wearing an electric blue feather boa, red faux leather pants, a purple leopard print shirt, and platinum snake print boots.
“Emmett! You look...”
“Fabulous, I know,” Emmett finishes for Lindsay as he pops up his ankle and smiles.
Emmett takes a cookie from the cooling rack and turns to Ted.
“You must be Teddy! It is so nice to meet you. Mel and Lindsay have told me all about you. I just love your style. It’s so understated and subtle.”
“As you can tell, Emmett appreciates subtle fashion,” Mel cracks as she dissolves into giggles.
Emmett sticks his tongue out at her then takes Ted by the hand.
“Come on, baby. I’m taking you out tonight. I have a feeling we’re going to be wonderful friends.”
“Uh-”
“Bye Ted!” Lindsay calls out and waves
“Have fun, Teddy!” Mel says, still laughing.
“...Maybe I should change-”
“Oh, there’s no time now! It’s happy hour at Woody’s and the bus will be at the corner in five minutes! Mel said you you sold your car in San Antonio and I certainly don’t have the income to buy one. Now slip your coat on and prepare yourself for a grand old time!”
Ted manages to get his coat zipped up before he is pushed out the door.
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“My roommate Michael will be here any minute. Brian’s picking him up from the Big Q. He’s an assistant manager there, hates his job. You know, the usual.”
Ted takes a sip of his drink and and looks around the bar. He’s been to Woody’s before. He’d sneak out on his summers home to try to hook up with other men. His mom ended up finding out from her friend’s gay brother. She accepted him but it didn’t help them grow any closer either. He knows she loves him. He loves her too. But they didn’t quite get each other and probably never would.
It was weird being back at Woody’s. It brought up strange memories.
“Oh look! There’s Michael and Brian!”
He looks over to see a tall and handsome man but it’s the shorter one who attracts his attention. There’s just something about the smile that reaches his eyes and his cute nose. He seems kind and sweet.
“Emmett! Don’t you look ravishing this evening,” the tall man says sarcastically as he takes off Emmett’s boa and puts it around the cute one’s neck.
Emmett huffs and turns to him.
“Ted, I’d like you to meet a couple of my friends. The adorable man wearing the Captain Astro t-shirt and my beautiful boa is Michael and this asshole is Brian.”
Ted nods uncertainly, “It’s nice to meet both of you.”
Brian comes around and wraps his arms around Emmett’s shoulders.
“Honeycutt, why didn’t you tell us you had a new beau?”
“ He’s not my new beau. If you bothered to listen to a word anyone has said in the last week or so, you would realize that Ted is Melanie’s friend and roommate from college.”
“Shit, that’s tough luck. At least Lindsay gets orgasms out of the deal,” Brian scoffs before he goes to the bar.
“Sorry about Brian, Ted. He’s not exactly sober right now and he and Melanie have a complex relationship to say the least,” Michael tells him, “I’m Michael. It’s good to finally meet you. Mel just thinks you’re great.”
Michael offers him a big grin and a handshake. Ted feels himself smiling genuinely for the first time in weeks.
“It’s nice to meet you too, Michael. Thank you for being alright with me tagging along tonight.”
Michael pats him on the back, “It’s no problem at all. We’re always up for new friends. We’re all close with Mel and Lindsay but we tend to stick to our little bubble when we go out. You joining us makes it so we don’t have to look around for a new buddy.”
“Teddy can be our fourth musketeer!” Emmett throws in joyfully.
“Well, while the three of you are growing handlebar mustaches, I plan on fucking Jonathan here,” Brian drawls as he brings a surfer blonde over to the table.
“It’s Frederick,” the blonde reminds him.
“Shh,” Brian tells the man as he puts his finger on his lips, “Don’t ruin the moment. Now go wait for me in one of the stalls.”
Frederick rushes to the bathrooms in absolute glee.
“See you boys in about…” Brian pauses to calculate, “fifteen minutes? Maybe ten if he’s a quick shooter.”
“Brian, I don’t think this is a good idea. You have been drinking, you took some E-” Michael frets before he is interrupted.
“See you soon, Mikey,” Brian says pointedly.
As Brian stalks over to the bathrooms to claim his prey, Ted sees Michael’s shoulders slump.
“Just a typical night for Mr. Kinney!” Emmett informs him, “Now come on, baby. Let’s go get some cosmos. Want anything, Michael?”
“No. I need to be sober so I can drive Brian home.”
“Right. Let’s get our drink on, Mr. Schmidt!”
As Ted is led away from the table by Emmett, he looks back at the kind man they left behind and he feels his heart ache a little.
“Don’t worry. He’ll get over it as soon as Brian is back. Well, not over Brian but over the fact that Brian would rather fuck around than fuck him.”
“I don’t see why Brian wouldn't be interested. Michael seems sweet.”
Emmett raises an eyebrow, “Brian doesn’t do sweet, Teddy. And more importantly, Brian doesn’t fuck friends. He’s never thought of Michael romantically or even sexually and he never will. Michael just has a hard time accepting it. Even if Brian did like him that way, he still wouldn’t get with him. Brian doesn’t commit. Brian rarely fucks a man more than once. When he does, it’s purely for physical reasons. He cares about Michael too much to hurt him so he's doing him a favor because he’ll never change.”
Ted’s about to respond but Brian comes out of the bathrooms, zipping his pants up as he walks.
“Order me something?” Brian asks Emmett as he hands him a ten dollar bill.
“Fine. Now go sit your slutty ass down,” Emmett waves him off as he takes the money.
Brian gives him a shit-eating grin and goes to hang on Michael. Michael gets a hopeful expression on his face in response.
“It’s a vicious cycle, I’m telling you,” Emmett says, “Peter! Two cosmos and a beam, please!”
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Ted turns the key Mel gave him to use and quietly enters the house.
“So how was your time with the boys?” Melanie asks as he comes into the living room.
“Jeez, Mel," I didn't see you,” Ted jumps then admits, “I had fun. Michael and Emmett are both really nice.”
“I see you’ve left someone out,” Melanie conspires.
“Brian’s not mean per day. He’s just…”
“An asshole?”
“Sort of. Also self-centered and overly-confident.”
“That’s our Brian. Lindsay and Michael tell me that it’s all a mask and that he’s actually quite insecure but I haven’t seen any evidence of that yet.”
“He’s a great actor if that is the case.”
“Well, I was just about to go to bed. I’m glad you had a good time. It’s good for you to go out and have fun,” Melanie tells him.
“Well, you didn’t have to wait up. You did give me a key, remember?” Ted reminds her as he shows her the key on the key chain.
“I just wanted to see how things went. I love them but they can be a handful at times.”
“They invited me to Babylon this Friday. I think I might go.”
Melanie smiles and gives him a kiss on the cheek.
“I’m glad you had fun,” she says sincerely before she yawns and stretches, “Goodnight, Teddy. Oh, before I forget. Don’t make any plans for Sunday evening. Debbie, Michael’s mom, always has us over for dinner. You’ll love her. Everyone you’ve met will be there as well as Debbie’s brother, Vic. No one is a stranger to her and she’ll love you as soon as she sets her sights on you.”
“You sure I won’t be intruding?”
“Please, she would have my balls if I didn’t bring you.”
“Now Mel, I know how much you want a pair but your body doesn’t work like that-”
“Oh shush, you know what I mean!”
“Night, Mel.”
Things aren’t so bad right now. He starts his new job next monday. He’s making friends. He met a really cute guy who is single, even though he’s hung up on someone else. Ted can't judge him for that though since he was pining for someone else too. But he's getting through it. He hasn’t given in and called Bill. He doesn't know if that's a good thing or not. He misses him so much.
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On Friday, he goes with the boys to Babylon. They drink, shout over the music to make sure they can be heard by the rest of the group, and stare at cute guys. Well, Ted, Emmett, and Michael stare at cute guys. Brian drags said cute guys to the back room to get his dick sucked.
He's determined to have fun tonight and to keep Bill out of his head completely. So fuck it, he has some liquid courage. He can approach a guy and ask him if he wants to dance.
"Hey, Ted? Wanna dance with me?"
Ted turns and sees Michael there, smiling away. He's so sweet.
"Of course! Just let me put down my glass and we'll go."
Ted downs his drink in one go and lets himself be led to the middle of the dance floor. Michael puts his arms around his shoulders and they dance to the thumpa thumpa that fills Babylon. He honestly doesn’t know why Brian wouldn’t feel something for Michael. The man is so sweet, cute, and friendly. Who wouldn’t go for a guy like that? He understands that Brian might be more desirable physically but personality still means something and Michael has personality down pat.
“See any cute guys?” Michael says into his ear.
“Yeah, I think I do,” Ted says, a grin slowly forming.
“Who-”
“Hey, Mikey!” Brian calls out.
The moment is broken as Michael immediately pulls away.
“Brian’s back. Let’s go over to the bar,” Michael says then goes to Brian’s side like a puppy dog.
Fucking Brian Kinney.
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Ted keeps to his word and makes sure his Sunday evening stays free. He’s kept his weekend pretty quiet since Friday night. Yesterday, he just spent his day doing the girls’ taxes. Mel got way too happy with the refund he calculated for her and Lindsay was pleased as well. They kept saying he was a miracle worker which was bullshit but he was happy that they were so pleased about it.
“How are my girls?” a woman wearing a red wig greets Linds and Mel at the door.
“We’re doing great! How’s Vic, Deb?” Lindsay asks, concerned.
“He’s doing better. He had me worried with that last stint in the hospital but he’s only been improving. He even ran some errands today!”
“That’s great to hear!”
The woman smiles in response and turns to him.
“You must be Ted. It’s great to meet ya. I’m Debbie, Michael’s mother.”
“It’s good to meet you too, Debbie,” Ted responds as he holds out his hand.
“None of that, we’re practically family now!” Debbie laughs as she unexpectedly pulls him in for a hug.
“Oh! Uh, alright,” Ted says then awkwardly pats her back.
“Debbie’s the touchy-feely type, if you haven’t noticed,” Mel says.
“Hey! A good hug never hurt anyone. Sometimes it’s just what a person needs. Now come in. Everyone’s here. Except for Brian, of course. Little shit is running late yet again,” Debbie says as she leads them into the kitchen.
“Teddy! So glad you could come!” Emmett calls out. He’s dressed a bit less flashy tonight, with his bright green polkadot button down and tight white jeans.
“Here, sit between me and Michael. I just HAVE to tell you about the cutest shop I found downtown!”
They all talk for a while and Brian walks in right when the food is put down in front of them. Debbie chews him out a little but accepts the “Sorry, Ma” and the kiss on the cheek he gives her.
“So what have you crazy lesbians been up to?” Brian asks as he puts some salad on his plate.
“Not too much. Still getting things for the house and having fun with all the decorating,” Lindsay says.
Brian rolls his eyes, “Sounds like you gals know how to have a blast!”
Lindsay scoffs, “I think I remember a certain someone who went crazy with Italian fixtures and furniture in his loft last year.”
“But I hired an interior decorator and told him what I wanted. That way, I could do better things with my time.”
“Of course. Because what would Babylon do without their great god?” Melanie drawls.
“Hopefully they’ll never have to find out,” Brian retorts.
“Speaking of hiring people,” Lindsay cuts in, “Ted is an accountant. He’s starting with Wertshafter next Monday.”
“My condolences,” Brian says as he raises his glass of wine.
“Be nice,” Lindsay scolds, “Anyway, he did a terrific job with our taxes. Made sure we got a huge refund. He’s great with making sure you get the money you deserve back. I know you aren’t a huge fan of doing them. Maybe he can do them for you sometime this week. You are free aren’t you, Ted?”
“Well, I just found that new apartment and I was going look into getting some furniture and electronics put on hold so I could move them in by next week. But I should have some extra time in the evening.”
“See? Ted’s willing to be the next person you hire to do your mundane tasks so you don’t have to be bothered with them,” Melanie says.
Brian looks at the girls then sets his sights on Ted.
“Fine. Be at my loft around 7. Corner of Fueller and Tremont. Third floor.”
“O-okay. Sounds like a plan!”
Debbie offers them cannolis and decaf coffee for dessert and he ends up spilling some on his shirt. As Ted looks forlornly at the coffee stain, he can see Brian stifling a laugh.
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On Wednesday afternoon, Ted walks into Taylor Electronics.
He thought about going to Big Q so that he could maybe run into Michael, but Taylor Electronics was an independently run store and Ted liked to support local businesses whenever possible. He even ends up getting the owner to help him choose what he’s looking for.
“New in town?” Craig Taylor asks as they walk along the wall to the stereos.
“No, but it feels like I am. I haven’t spent much time in Pittsburgh since my summers home from college.”
“What college did you go to?”
“Temple University in Philadelphia.”
“Yeah, I know Temple. A buddy of mine from high school went there. I went to Dartmouth myself.”
“That’s a great school!”
“I worked hard to get in. My son, Justin, he won’t have to put half as much effort into getting accepted into Ivy League schools. The kid is so smart,” Craig boasts proudly.
“You must be really proud.”
“I am. He’s a few years away from applying to college. He’s only in the 8th grade. But once he does, I can’t deny that I’ll be trying to push my alma mater on him a bit,” Craig laughs then turns his head when he front door opens, “There he is now. Justin! Come give me a hand back here.”
A boy around 13 with light blonde hair comes to the back of the store.
“Dad, I need to work on my art project for class. Can’t I help with inventory later?”
Craig purses his lips but nods.
“Alright. But I expect you to put just as much effort into your other homework. I know art’s your hobby but you have a great streak going on with your grades.”
Justin rolls his eyes, “Yeah, fine. I’ll be back in your office, alright?”
“That’s fine. Maybe we can go out to eat tonight after I close up shop. Sound good?”
Justin nods, “Alright. I should be done with most of my stuff in the next hour or two. I’ll come back and help before you close.”
“That’s my boy,” Craig says as he ruffles Justin’s hair, “Justin, I’d like you to meet Mr. Schmidt. He just moved back to Pittsburgh.”
“Hi, Mr. Schmidt,” Justin says, already bored with the polite exchange.
“Oh, you can both call me Ted,” he insists.
“See you later, Dad!” Justin says as he ignores Ted’s request and walks away.
Craig turns back to Ted and gets back to business.
“Now, you said you were a music lover. You’ll want something that can fill your room with sound but not be overpowering so your neighbors won’t complain. Here we have a system that has 320 watts of power but smaller speakers which can be easily installed throughout the room. It gives you great control of where the sound is coming from, stays within your budget, and really produces a fantastic sound quality…”
Ted listens to Craig’s great sales pitches and picks out his surround system, television, cordless phone, and some kitchen appliances then arranges for them to be delivered and installed at his new address next week. He spends more than he was originally planning to but he feels okay about it. Like he has said before, he loves supporting local businesses and it’s an honor to support a family man like Craig Taylor.
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Ted is running a little late when he gets to Brian’s loft. He had to head back to the girls’ house and the walk was further than he thought it was going to be. He hates the idea of keeping a man like Brian Kinney waiting but 12 minutes late isn’t that bad. So he’s not shaking too terribly when he rings the bell.
“Yo,” a man who does not sound like Brian says over the intercom.
“Uh, hi. I’m looking for a Brian Kinney. Is this his loft?”
“Yeah, one sec. I’ll ring you in.”
The front door buzzes and Ted takes the elevator lift to the third floor. He knocks on the door. No answer. Then he knocks again. Seriously, what’s going on? He knocks a thir-
Shit.
Brian is home. In all his naked glory. Looking annoyed and a little confused.
“Hey, Brian...um we uh planned for me to um do your taxes today,” Ted stammers, trying to not focus on Brian’s erect and sheathed cock.
Brian stops and thinks then a light bulb seems to go off.
“Oh, right right. I forgot. Here, come in.”
“Maybe now’s not the best time.”
But Brian just shrugs.
“As good of a time as any.”
Brian leaves the door open for Ted and walks back into the loft. That’s when he gets an eyeful of the world of Brian Kinney.
Men. Everywhere. Fucking all over the loft. Brian plunges back into the next willing trick and starts thrusting.
“Where am I supposed to work?” Ted says, looking around.
“Over on the desk?” Brian pants out, as though he’s an idiot.
But when Ted looks over at the desk, there’s two couples occupying it. One man is riding the man sitting in the office chair and another man has his trick bent over the desk.
“I don’t think there’s room.”
Brian huffs, looks over, and calls out, “Hey! You two fucking on the chair! Get up so my friend can do some work. And you other two! Scoot over so he has some room!”
The two fucking in the chair grumble and continue fucking on the floor as the other couple scoot to the edge of the desk and keep going at it.
“There. Problem solved. Go on. W2s are in the bottom drawer,” Brian dismisses.
Ted hesitantly approaches the desk and puts his things down. He tries to ignore the couple next to him as he gets to work.
The orgy doesn’t settle down for a while. People keep sucking and fucking and Ted does his best to block it out and get Brian’s taxes settled. Of course people only start leaving when he’s gotten the results for his taxes. Brian is sort of out of it due to his alcohol and drug intake tonight. He can just leave him a note with the good news and sneak out.
“My refund is looking pretty good, Theodore,” Brian says as he snorts a pill.
“Yeah, you’re pretty lucky. In more than one way,” Ted says subtly.
Brian’s onto what he means and looks around the room, in disarray from its visitors.
“Yeah. Last minute get together. You know how it is.”
No. Ted really doesn’t.
“I bet you’re really fucking hard right now. Having all those hot guys around you,” Brian smirks as he stumbles over to him.
“Uh, I mean-”
“I can fix that.”
He knows that Brian is totally fucked up right now. It’s so obvious and he knows that he should just push him away. But he hasn’t come with someone else for over a month. And Brian is already unzipping Ted’s pants and pulling his cock out so he doesn’t see the problem of just going with it.
“You are so fucking hard. Look at you. Thanks for doing my taxes, Theodore,” Brian purrs before he opens his mouth and takes him down to the hilt.
Ted gasps as Brian starts to deepthroat him. Fuck, he’s good. Ted ends up having to clutch Brian’s hair to get him to slow down a little. He lasts longer than he expected to, considering the hard-on he’s had for the last couple of hours. He warns Brian when he’s about to come but Brian just keeps sucking and Ted ends up shooting down his throat. Brian swallows his come, wipes his mouth, and stands up on shaky legs.
“Not bad, Theodore. You lasted much longer than that ginger I sucked off earlier,” Brian says before he almost trips over the desk.
Ted quickly tucks his cock back in and zips his pants back up.
“Brian, are you alright?”
Brian giggles and puts his arms around Ted’s neck.
“Were you surprised when I sucked you off? You looked surprised.”
“Yeah, you took me off guard. I was under the impression that you thought I was pathetic,” Ted says as he tries to hold him up.
“Your impression was not that far off,” Brian laughs rudely.
“Gee thanks,” Ted answers sarcastically.
“You aren’t the only one who’s pathetic though. Look at me,” Brian admits then hiccups.
“What are you talking about?” Ted asks cautiously.
“I wouldn’t go and meet my d-dad who used to beat me just to give him money and drink with him if I wasn’t pathetic,” Brian answers, staring at him right in the eyes.
“...Brian-”
But Brian pulls away, sways on his feet, and, just as he looks like he is about to say something, throws up on Ted’s shoes.
“Ugh….” Brian moans.
“Shit,” Ted mutters, “Here. Let me get you into bed.”
He leads Brian to the bed. And pulls off the man’s shoes and pants before tucking him in.
As he goes to get a glass of water and some aspirin to put on the bedside table, he hears Brian speak.
“Ted?” Brian mumbles from under the covers.
“Yeah?”
“Can you call Mikey and ask him if he can come over?”
Ted pauses as he looks at Brian’s sad and intoxicated expression. He doesn’t like the fact that Michael feels like it’s his duty to take care of Brian. Brian is a grown man and he shouldn’t give Michael hope of a relationship.
But for the first time, he sees that Brian isn’t trying to do that. He’s just a man who needs his best friend.
“Yeah, Brian. I’ll call him.”
“And you’ll stay until he gets here?”
Ted’s taken back by his childlike question but answers, “Of course.”
Ted heads to the desk and makes the call to Michael. Michael immediately starts fretting and says he’ll be over as soon as he can. He hangs up the phone and finally looks down at his shoes.
“Brian, I’m going to go to the bathroom and clean off. Is that okay with you?”
Brian makes an a noise of approval so Ted goes into the bathroom to take off his shoes and clean them off. Shit. The vomit even soaked down to his socks. Gross.
He doesn’t feel too guilty when he goes out and steals a pair out of Brian’s drawer. He won’t miss them.
So, with his shoes cleaned to the best of his ability and a pair of stolen socks, Ted waits on the couch for Michael’s arrival. It doesn’t take long.
“Where’s Brian?” Michael says as he rushes into the loft.
“He’s in bed. He had too much to drink. Did some drugs. He asked for you,” Ted says as he stands up.
“Thanks for calling, Ted. He tends to overindulge sometimes,” Michael says as he rushes to the bedroom.
Ted watches Michael lay next to Brian and puts his arms around Brian’s middle. Brian starts mumbling and Ted can make out the word “Mikey” a few times and something about baseball. Michael just shushes him and says, “It’s alright, Brian. Get some rest.”
Ted sneaks out of the loft. He still thinks Brian is a heartless shit. But he does think that he’s finally witnessed the insecurity Lindsay and Michael insisted he had. Maybe Brian Kinney is human after all.
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“If you could just put those boxes in the kitchen that would be great. Is that the last of it?”
“Sure is, Mr. Schmidt,” the pimply college student says.
“Here’s a tip for the extra effort.”
“Hey, thanks!” the kid says, “See you later, man! Welcome to the neighborhood.”
The kid goes out the door and Ted looks around all what needs unpacked. Shit, this is going to take a while.
“Door was open. Can I come in?” Michael asks.
Ted turns around and sees Michael holding a plant. He tilts his head in question and Michael explains.
“It’s a welcoming present. Plants are par for the course when it comes to those, right?”
Ted laughs.
“Sure. Put it by the door. That way it can welcome me everytime I come through the door.”
Michael smiles good naturedly and puts the plant down.
“Need some help?”
And that’s how he spends the next three hours with Michael Novotny. They tell stories, they laugh, they struggle to put together appliances. Ted doesn’t even think of Bill once. How could he with Michael’s twinkling eyes and good sense of humor? And maybe, just maybe, Michael doesn’t think of Brian either.
Who knows? With his new apartment and his new friends, maybe this is the start of something too.