Away From the Sun – Part 6

Brian’s breathing evened as he felt Justin’s body relax into his.  He wasn’t sure how long they stood like that.  The only indication of time had been the water starting to turn cold.  Brian risked a glance down at his lover and was relieved to know that the wild, desperate look was now gone from Justin’s eyes. 

He shut off the water and helped Justin out.  The blond leaned against the sink while Brian picked up the towel he had dropped earlier.  He wrapped the towel around Justin’s torso and gently began to wipe away the traces of water.  He was so focused on the task at hand that he was startled when he realized that Justin’s gaze was following his every move. 

Brian paused his movements, staring intently into his lover’s eyes.  Justin raised his right hand and used it to pull Brian’s head closer to him, his lips brushing against Brian’s – lightly, barely touching, at first, then deepening the kiss as he slipped his tongue inside Brian’s mouth. 

Brian was the first one to break the kiss as he pulled away to examine Justin’s condition, afraid that Justin was once again slipping away from him.  To his relief, except for being slightly subdued, Justin was himself again.

He leaned down and kissed the blond, forgetting that he was still wet, his jeans soaked through. 

The two men maneuvered themselves out of the bathroom and down the hall into the bedroom, not breaking the kiss once.  Only when he lowered Justin on the bed did Brian pull away, much to the dismay of his younger lover.  Their separation was brief, with Brian quickly removing his remaining clothes.  Casting them to the side, Brian crawled on top of Justin, their mouths connecting immediately while Justin’s arms once again wrapped around Brian’s body. 

“I need you,” Justin breathed against Brian’s lips. 

Brian pushed himself up just enough so that he could see Justin’s face.  He didn’t want to rush this, not for a moment forgetting what condition Justin was in just minutes before.  But he was also ready to give his lover whatever he needed, and it seemed that right now what Justin needed was him. 

Nodding his head slightly, Brian reached over to the nightstand for lube and a pack of condoms that, he suspected, Ben left for them.  He quickly ripped the packet and took out the condom, rolling it onto his shaft.  Lube followed shortly after. 

He slid his hand down Justin’s chest and stomach, gliding it past Justin’s belly button and into the blond’s pubic hair.  Justin gasped when Brian’s fingers connected with the skin of his penis as the older man continued to trace a path down to Justin’s opening. 

Suddenly, Justin’s hand covered his.  Brian stopped, afraid that he somehow had hurt his lover, and looked up at Justin.

“No,” Justin shook his head.  “You.”

Brian held Justin’s gaze for a moment before moving up to position himself right above Justin’s smaller form as Justin’s opened his legs to make room for him.  Brian moved slowly, carefully pushing his cock past Justin’s tight muscles. 

~~~***~~~***~~~

It felt like the most natural thing, like that’s how they were meant to be – linked together, moving in unison, being as one.  They didn’t rush it, taking in every move, every sensation.  It was just the two of them.  The rest of the world, everything that had happened – none of that existed for them. 

Neither one of them spoke; only their breathing and a random moan serving as a soundtrack for their lovemaking. 

Brian was on top of him, his body covering Justin’s so completely, that for the first time in days Justin felt safe.  It was as if Brian was intent on making himself a shield between Justin and the rest of the world.  And Justin wanted nothing more than to let him.  Letting go of all the thoughts and worries, the only thing Justin focused on was the feel of Brian moving inside him. 

He wanted it to go on forever, to stay like this - connected to Brian for the rest of their lives.  His lover seemed to read his mind, prolonging it for as long as he could.  But it was Justin who finally let go first.  His body shuddered as the waves of orgasm washed over him.  A few seconds later Brian followed before collapsing on top of Justin.  Hair slicked with sweat, he buried his head in the crook of Justin’s neck.

Justin wrapped his arms tightly around Brian to keep him from slipping out, to keep them connected just a little while longer.  The two lovers just lay like that for a while, arms around each other, their bodies slick with cum and sweat. 

~~~***~~~***~~~

They spent the remainder of the day and evening in bed.

Justin stared out of the window, watching the sun setting above the trees.  He smiled when Brian flopped down next to him once again after coming back from the bathroom. 

“I had no idea the Agency had safe houses this nice,” the brunet said, looking around the room.

“They don’t.”

“What?”

“This isn’t a safe house,” Justin explained. 

“Whose is it, then?”

Justin considered for a second whether he should tell the truth.  “Mine.”

Brian’s eyebrows arched in a silent question. 

“Well, my mom’s, really.  She inherited it from her parents.”

“No shit.”

“We used to come here every summer when I was a kid.”  Justin smiled, remembering all the summers he spent here with his parents and little sister.  Deep in thought, Justin didn’t notice that he was the object of an intense gaze until he felt the bed shift as Brian moved closer to him, pressing their bodies together, his fingers beginning to draw circles on Justin’s chest. 

It came to a stop right below Justin’s collarbone, drawing Brian’s eyes down as well.  A few seconds later Justin was once again staring into a pair of hazel eyes as he felt Brian tug on something.  Only then did he remember that he was still wearing Daphne’s necklace. 

“This is new,” Brian said, a small smile playing on his features.

“It’s…Daphne’s,” Justin admitted.

Brian seemed to be amused by this piece of information, studying the cross in his fingers.  “Any other changes I should know about?” he asked, looking up at Justin, his patented tongue-in-cheek smirk firmly in place.

Justin slapped Brian’s hand away, taking the cross in his own hand and glancing at it.  “She gave it to me before I left,” he explained.  “Thought it would keep me safe.”  He remained quiet, remembering his last conversation with his best friend, wondering if he would ever talk to her again.

“You ok?” Brian asked, concern evident in his voice, smirk long gone from his face. 

Justin cleared his throat and looked over at Brian.  “I think I’m gonna start charging for every time you ask me that question,” he said jokingly.

“Twat,” Brian laughed, pinching the skin just above Justin’s left elbow. 

“Ouch,” the blond exclaimed, putting on an act of rubbing the spot where seconds before Brian’s fingers were. He met Brian’s eyes and his smile dissipated into thin air.  “I’m sorry.”  At Brian’s raised eyebrow, he explained.  “About freaking out like that,” he said quietly, referring back to his meltdown in the bathroom. 

He wasn’t sure what happened exactly.  One minute he was washing his hair and the next everything was spinning out of control, his chest feeling so heavy, he thought he would suffocate

Brian’s hand crossed the small gap between their bodies, lingering on top of Justin’s stomach.  “You scared the shit out of me,” he admitted.

“I just…I guess it just all kinda sneaked up on me, you know?”  He wasn’t sure if he knew himself, though. 

Ever since he had found out about Brian’s capture, Justin fought to keep everything he was feeling – anger, desperation, fear – inside.  He didn’t have time to deal with any of it, focusing all his energy on finding and bringing Brian home safely.  But finally seeing Brian here, feeling Brian’s touch on his skin – it was like the wall of the dam had been blown to pieces and Justin felt himself being pulled under water.

Brian nodded.

“I think you’re entitled to a few moments of…freaking out,” Brian smiled as he said the last two words. 

“You too.”

“Oh, I had more than a few moments,” Brian admitted.

“Yeah?”

Brian pushed himself up and over Justin’s body, pressing him into the mattress, burying his fingers in Justin’s hair.  “I had no fucking clue whether you were even alive.  What do you think?”

Justin’s smile disappeared, his expression matching that of his lover.  He reached out with his right hand and ran his fingers along Brian’s cheek and jaw, speechless at Brian’s display of honest emotion. 

“Let’s just forget,” he whispered.

Brian stared back at him quizzically. 

“That this week ever happened,” Justin added.  “At least for now.”

Brian lowered his head, touching their foreheads together.  “Works for me.”

~~~***~~~***~~~

Even before he opened his eyes, he was already searching for his lover.  Extending his arm, Brian ran the palm of his hand over the pillow lying next to him, expecting to encounter soft, silky locks of the blond.  Instead, the only contact he made was with the smooth surface of the pillowcase. 

He tried opening his eyes, but the bright light flooding the bedroom forced him to close them immediately.  Squinting, he managed to open his eyes again, searching the room for his lost lover.  He found Justin sitting on the edge of the bed, his back turned to Brian, elbows on his knees, deep in thought. 

The uneasy feeling from the morning before had suddenly begun to make its presence known as Brian watched Justin.  The blond, however, seemed to sense that he was being watched, because a few minutes later he turned around, meeting Brian’s eyes.  His expression did nothing to ease Brian’s concern.

“What time is it?” Brian asked.

“A little after ten.”

Brian nodded, unsure of what to say next.  A part of him, the one that was so content on staying here in that house forever with Justin, was telling him to just ignore the suspicious feeling in the pit of his stomach and just enjoy himself.  Yet, he couldn’t just let it go.  “Something wrong?”

Justin turned away - the gesture that did not escape Brian’s intense gaze - and shook his head. 

“You’re quiet,” Brian tried to push further.

Justin’s shoulders rose briefly, then dropped back down.  “I guess I’m just still processing everything that’s happened.”

With Justin’s back turned to him, Brian could not see the blond’s face to see whether the other man was telling the truth.  But the voice in his head that was telling him to drop it moments before was at it again.  And this time Brian let it win, choosing to believe Justin’s reason. 

“You know what I’m trying to process?” Brian rolled on his side and propped himself up on his elbow.  “What the fuck are you doing all the way over there?  Dressed?”

Even with Justin only briefly glancing at Brian over his shoulder, the brunet could see a tiny smile on his lover’s face.  Mission accomplished.  Brian reached out his left hand.  “Get your ass over here,” he said quietly. 

There was a pause before Justin turned around to face him, his expression serious once again.  He handed Brian an envelope. 

“It’s your plane ticket,” he said, answering the slightly raised brow and questioning look in Brian’s eyes.  “The little problem you had with the Columbians has been taken care of.”

Brian did not hide his surprise at that turn of events.  “How?”

“Lindsay sent a team in to finish what you started.”

“You should be the one running that place, you know that?” Brian said, impressed by what Justin had accomplished in just a few days.

Justin’s lips curved at the corners.  “No, thanks.”

Brian returned the smile.  Only now did he realize how much worse everything that had happened been for Justin because it put him back in the middle of the world that he thought he had left behind.  “So, what time does our plane leave?”

“Your plane,” Justin began, making an obvious emphasis on ‘your’, “leaves in four hours.  I’ll take the next one out of here.”

“You really think there’s a reason to split up now?” 

“You never know,” Justin replied, looking away once again.  “Better be safe than sorry, right?”

Brian studied the blond’s face carefully, trying to figure out what was going through his lover’s head at that moment, what it was that Justin was hiding from him.  “Right,” Brian repeated, trying to push away the feeling that there was something Justin was not telling him.  He did not want to focus on that right now.  There’d be plenty of time to find out what it was once they got back home.  For now, Brian had every intention of making the best out of their time here. 

He reached out and pulled Justin toward him.  “So…” He smiled once their faces were only a couple of inches apart.  “Four hours?”

Justin’s mouth stretched into a thin smile.  “Yeah.”

“I can live with that,” Brian said, brushing his lips against Justin’s.

~~~***~~~***~~~

Two hours later Justin was locking the door to the cottage.  He was trying his best to insure that Brian didn’t catch on to the fact that inside he was falling apart.  He let Brian get to the car before he turned around and followed, giving himself some time to get his nerves under control.  Letting out a slow breath, Justin walked up to the car and got in the driver’s seat. 

The drive to the airport was relatively quiet, with Brian making occasional comments.  But it seemed that the older man sensed something in Justin, and as much as the blond tried to appear normal – as if only in a few more hours they’d be reunited once again, as much as he tried to hide it, he couldn’t keep his feet from tapping or hands from shaking. 

“Relax,” Brian said as they sat down in the waiting area after Brian checked in.  “This is Paris. I doubt the Russians would follow us all the way here.”

Justin looked around them, but he wasn’t looking for the Russian agents.  He searched for men waiting for him, suspecting that his father sent his goons to make sure that Justin did not get on the plane with Brian. 

“Hmmm,” he responded absentmindedly, turning his attention to Brian when he felt the long fingers run up and down the back of his neck.  Justin sighed loudly and leaned back into the touch.  His heart was going a mile a minute.  He wanted nothing more than to get on the plane with Brian and go home.  But that was not an option anymore.  

A soft woman’s voice came on the intercom to announce boarding for a flight to New York in French, then in English. 

Justin’s stomach dropped as Brian’s fingers slipped down his back and away.  This was it.

“I guess that’s me,” Brian said, standing up and picking up the small duffel bag.  He took out the passport and plane ticket and the two moved toward the gate.  Reaching the line of people waiting to get on the plane, Brian turned to Justin. 

“What time is your flight?” he asked.

“Uh…in six hours,” Justin lied.  “You’ll be halfway to New York by then,” he tried, giving Brian a brave, encouraging smile.  “Ben will meet you in Pittsburgh.”

“I don’t need a bodyguard,” Brian replied, bringing up the argument that they had earlier that day. 

Justin couldn’t help rolling his eyes.  “You need a ride home, don’t you?”

Brian sneered, not willing to admit defeat.  Instead, he pulled Justin to him and brushed his lips against the blond’s.    “Alright,” he said when he pulled away.  “Time to go.”

Justin nodded and took a step back, letting go of Brian.  He watched as Brian walked toward the gate, moving further and further away from him.  Justin felt like he was going to suffocate, a large lump in his throat constricting the airflow into his lungs. 

“Brian!” he called as he rushed after his lover.  Brian barely had the time to turn around when Justin wrapped his arms around his neck, their mouths colliding immediately.  With every move of his tongue and lips, Justin tried to store the feel of this moment, of Brian’s taste in his memory.  After this, everything would change and never again would Justin feel what he was feeling as Brian’s hands ran up and down his back.  It was like taking his last breaths before dying and Justin desperately fought to stay alive just a little longer, clinging to Brian.  

It was a few minutes later when the two finally broke the kiss, both breathless, but didn’t pull away, their foreheads pressed together. 

 

“I’ll see you at home,” Brian said, his voice heavy with emotion.

Unable to utter a word or look Brian in the eye, Justin only nodded in response. 

Brian brushed his lips against Justin’s forehead and pulled away.  With one last glance, Brian gave his ticket to the flight attendant and disappeared inside the gate, leaving Justin behind.

Go to Part 7

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