Here by My Side- B/J AU series part 9/10

[guavejuice]

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Author:guavejuice
Pairing:Brian/Justin
Justin's POV
Beta:Kim predec2 Can't thank you enough!!
A/N:This is NOT a WIP
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Disclaimer:I own nothing but this story.
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Part 9

-A day after the Graduation Ball-

It turns out Brian was right. His parents didn't even bother to show up at the ball, but it was quite a night just the same.

Once we stepped into the great hall all decked out in our formal uniforms, holding hands, jaws dropped and we could literally hear people gasping. I had never felt so fucking proud. It's not as if we took the dance floor by storm or kissed or anything – as much as we wanted to – we just stood there. But it's the way people reacted that made me hiss “fuck, yeah!" under my breath. The only person who appeared happy about our appearance together was dear 'ol Debbie, who looked ravishing in a long, sparkly, red evening gown.

"Don't you two look handsome tonight,” she chirped. "And YOU certainly went all out tonight, kiddo,” she told Brian, rising up on her tip toes to give him a warm hug. He held onto her for a few moments before they broke the hug. "Fuck, I don't know what I’m going to do without ya," she said, suddenly wiping away a stray tear.

"It's only a six-month training period," Brian reminded her, looking sideways at me. He had already told me about his plan to go to West Point after graduating from St. George to obtain some more serious academic and military training before working toward becoming an Army attorney. When he first told me about it the other night, I curled against his glorious body after we'd fucked in his bed, complimenting him on his lofty goals, and expressing my deep appreciation for such inspiring movies as Few Good Men, which I had watched a few years back when I was really young, mainly so I could salivate over Tom Cruise. But then I realized it's so much more than that. Brian listened intently to my chatter, absently drawing small circles on my naked shoulder. He laughed it off at first, but then admitted he had wanted to become an Army or Air Force lawyer for a long time so he could defend injustices and strive for equality in the military.

Debbie, on the other hand, didn't know of Brian's plans until he had told her about it the day of the Ball. "I'm so proud of you, sweetie," was all she had been able to say at that point, too choked up to say anything else.
"Don't you worry, Deb, I'll be fine. As for you – you'll have Justin here to keep you company. You two could cheer each other up," he stated.

"I know that,” Debbie turned to me and smiled. "But it's… difficult. No offense, honey, you know I love you,” she explained. “But with Brian in West Point and with Michael moving to L.A. with Ben, it might be a loooong summer," she explained with a sigh. I don't think I've ever seen Debbie so deflated.

"You know I'll miss him like crazy," I answered her, glancing at Brian. "HE knows it, too. I already told him that in more ways than one," I added, my face warming as memories washed over me. "But then that's why we have Skype and Facetime and all that," I pointed out, trying to untangle the knot at the pit of my stomach. Brian's pending departure wasn't news to me, but hearing Debbie voice her concerns out loud made me a tad emotional.

"What's with the long face, Taylor?” Brian asked, noticing my expression. “We're supposed to be celebrating. Let's go piss off some homophobic hetero Army dudes while the night is still young. Shall we show them how it’s done?" he asked with a grin, extending his arm towards me.

Debbie's sorrowful expression changed instantly. "You can't dance even if your life depended on it, Brian," she teased, bursting forth with a hearty laugh.

"That's why I have a pro here to guide me. Coming, Taylor?" he asked me again.

It was worth it. It was SO worth it! Seeing Colonel Stockwell's stunned, pissed expression when Brian and I stepped into the middle of the dance floor in the Great Officer's Hall was only part of it, though. The main thing was not giving a fuck, just being wrapped in my man's arms, letting myself be surrounded by the music, feeling his sweet breath on my skin, letting him twirl me around, one, two three… ELEVEN times in a row, and then bending me over backwards into an elegant deep bow, pulling me back up and then… pressing our lips together in one deep, passionate, loving kiss. I could hear Debbie almost cheering at the back while the others gasped again louder than before, but fuck, it was an incredible, amazing moment. And right then, in that time and place, I didn’t care what anyone else thought; it was our time, and we only had eyes for each other.

_ _ _ _


The warm, night spring air welcomed us when we eventually stepped outside the Great Hall. I could still feel how flushed my face was, and how my heart was racing, but it was the most exhilarating feeling in the world.

"It was fucking fabulous!" Brian exclaimed. "And now we really must get outta here. Buy you a beer at Woody's?" He grinned at me while I was still struggling to catch my breath.

"Better slip into something more casual first," I answered him.

"No problem. I can help you with yours if you'll help me with mine," he suggested huskily.

Fuck, that night could have been so perfect if only Brian hadn’t needed to pack up and leave first thing in the morning.
_ _ _ _ _


-The next morning, Brian's room at the dorms-

I stretch my naked body across Brian's mattress, feeling rather exhausted but blissfully sated after fucking – and making love – deep into the night. I roll to Brian's side of the bed and reach out for him, only to realize he's already gotten up.

I lift my head and notice he's already dressed in his casual wear, not his St. George uniform, and that he's finishing up his packing.

"Hey," I call out to him softly in a sleep-filled voice.

"Hey, yourself." He smiles at me in that endearing way he has, and my heart almost melts.

"Rise and shine, Sunshine…I really must leave soon. It is, after all, West Point, and you don’t keep West Point waiting," he tells me with a grin, but I can see the sorrow in his eyes; the same sorrow I was feeling, knowing how terribly I was going to miss him.

"I wanted to give you something before you leave," I tell him softly, trying to memorize every line and every angle of him.

"I thought you already did, more than once last night," he replies with a typical smirk, making me blush.

"Not THAT,” I tell him as he continues to grin. “Something else. But it's in my dorm room…is there enough time for me to go get it? It'll only take a few minutes." He nods and I lift myself out of bed and hurriedly don my clothes that had been so haphazardly tossed on the floor last night. He gives me a quick morning kiss before I hurry out the window and over to my room.

_ _ _ _


-Fifteen minutes later-

"Here, I want you to have this," I tell him when I return a few minutes later and hand him a piece of paper, a little breathless from hurrying. It was the same paper I had kept in my sketch pad for so long – the one that I had used to scribble the lyrics to the song Weapon on that day in the library at school.

I clear my throat and try to hide the tears in my eyes from Brian, dismissing them as a side effect of my allergies to which he grins and mutters 'Bullshit'. I sniff loudly, and try to force a stoic smile.

"You don't have to read it now, you can read it later,” I tell him softly as he starts to open up the folded piece of paper. “But I want you to know those words meant a lot to me, and they still do. I can only hope they will mean the same to you, Brian," I say. He doesn't answer; he just clutches the paper in his fist, and grabs me in a deep hug.
"Take care, Brian. I…I love you," I whisper under my breath into the crook of his neck.

"You, too," comes the muffled response from him. I can't quite figure out if he meant that he wants me to take care as well, or if in his own way he meant to say he loves me, too, but deep down I feel it's both.

FUCK! I hate farewells…!

TBC…