Next Morning
"Damn it!"
Tony slowly opened one eye and turned his head toward the sound of his partner's voice – it wasn't Fin's normal "time to get up" of "I want a morning fuck" voice. There was nothing sensual or tender in that voice. It was a voice that Tony was used to hearing from time to time when the man he loved was angry and upset instead.
He raised himself up in their bed to look for his partner, noticing the double French doors were open from their bedroom out onto their attached balcony; from the looks of the sunshine already pouring in, it had to be after 9:00 a.m. A warm, slight breeze was slowly ruffling the sheer, maroon-colored curtains back and forth in the open doorway, hinting at an unusually warm day for mid-day spring.
On warmer days like these, it wasn't unusual to find his partner out on the balcony; Fin often liked to sip his first cup of coffee out there in the morning when it was warm and peruse the morning newspaper and online news sources before heading into the Senate office building. Tony relished days like these, however, because on Sundays he could normally convince his partner to ease up just a little and take things a little more slowly. Something was obviously bothering Fin, however, from the sound of his exasperated voice.
Tony slowly turned to plant his feet on the hardwood floor and reached over to a nearby chair back for his royal-blue, knee-length silk robe; wrapping it around his waist and tying it, he plodded out to the doorway toward his partner.
Fin noticed his approach out of the corner of his eye and sighed as he made contact with his lover. "I don't believe this!" he growled, swiveling his laptop toward the blond. "Look at this!"
Tony walked over to study the color photo that was flashed on the screen. It was from one of the rag news sites on the web – something with the ridiculous name of the Pulse of Pennsylvania. He raised his eyes in surprise before commenting, "Well, at least they got my good side. I wonder if I could get a print of it."
The photo was the one apparently taken last night by some stranger's cell phone while they were dancing at Brian and Justin's reception. The two were looking deeply into each other's eyes, their hands wrapped firmly around each other's waists as they swayed in time to the hypnotic beat. Fin had a tender smile on his face as he gazed down at the younger man, who was lovingly staring back at his partner. It was obvious by the looks on their faces, as well as the proprietary placement of their hands on each other's backs, that this was a couple in love. Even if it had been 'normal' for two men to be dancing with each other, it would be readily apparent that this was not the case of two casual friends enjoying a good time at a social occasion. Their deep emotion was written all over their faces.
"This isn't funny, Tony!" Fin groused, rubbing one hand through his tousled, brunet hair. "I haven't even started my candidacy for governor yet and I've already got a big controversy on my hands! My opponent's going to have a field day with this!"
Tony placed his hands on his hips in disbelief. "Fin…..you call this a big controversy?"
Fin huffed. "What would you call it?" He pointed to the large caption under the photo, which said, Gubernatorial Candidate and His Lover Exposed at Party.
Tony walked around the square, glass-topped table to take a seat next to his agitated lover. Despite how far they had come over the past few weeks, it was apparent that he was more comfortable with being out in the open then his partner was. "I call it two people in love having a good time at your son's wedding," he replied softly, placing one of his hands comfortingly on the brunet's shoulder and giving it a slight squeeze. "The only exposing going on there is the asshole who had the audacity to take the photo in the first place."
Fin sighed at his lover's soothing touch. "This is going to be even harder than I realized, Tony," he confessed, turning to gaze into the soft blue eyes. "I'm not naïve. I know I'm going to be the subject of intense scrutiny for the next several months. I know every inch of my life – our lives – is going to be put through a fine-toothed comb. I know we will be hounded everywhere we go from now on, and I was expecting that to happen."
He shook his head in exasperation. "I was just hoping, I guess, that for one night – just one fucking night – you and I could actually enjoy ourselves without having to worry about someone breathing down our backs and making a record of it for everyone on the web to see." He flipped the laptop shut in disgust. "I still can't believe how fast these things get posted. Next thing you know they'll be writing about the pajamas I woke up in this morning."
Tony snorted softly as he gazed over at his lover's present attire – he was wearing a pair of lightweight, beige, silk lounging pajamas that hugged his gently-muscled hips; they were tantalizing perfect against the man's bronzed skin. "I know you – remember, we sleep together; you didn't have any pajamas on when you woke up this morning. You put those on just to come out on the balcony."
Despite Fin's lack of modesty when it came to parading around their rather secluded home, when he was any place on the grounds where there was even the slightest chance that he could be caught by a long-range telephoto lens of any magnitude, he always made sure he was somewhat clothed. It surprised Tony that the man didn't refuse to be seen at all with him, too, but he wasn't about to point that out, especially this morning. They did have an elaborate security system as well as guards 24/7, so both men were fairly certain that their home was the one place where they could let their guard down as well as their inhibitions about political correctness.
Fin curled his lips under. "Okay, I'm busted. You know me too well." He smiled tenderly at the blond. "I was just using that as an example. You know what I'm trying to say."
Tony dropped his hand and laid it in his lap to peer intently back at his lover. "Actually, I'm not totally sure," he admitted, staring into the hazel eyes. "You're not sorry you came out to the press about you and me, are you?"
Fin reached over to squeeze his partner's hand and shake his head. "No fucking way," he avowed, making Tony's heart warm at the sound. "I'm not saying that at all." He intertwined their fingers together as he added, "I guess I was just rethinking what you had said about Brian being my campaign manager. After this, maybe that's not such a good idea. It's going to be bad enough with our relationship being played out in the public eye; once they realize that Brian is not only my out-of-wedlock son but gay as well? I'm shocked this article didn't bring that up – surely the man who was at the wedding knew about my connection with him." He let out an agitated breath. "Tony, they're going to use this to their advantage to pull all the right-wing conservatives into their camp, I just know it."
"Fin, surely that's not a surprising revelation. You knew that was going to be the case before I brought up Brian's name. They would do that whether he's in charge of your campaign or not. We'll just have to draw from your own supporters – the liberal, gay, and just good-old common-sense constituents. Stop second-guessing yourself, Senator – it will work out, you'll see." Tony's eyes bored into his partner's with that I'm not taking any prisoners look he had perfected so long ago; it was the same look he employed whenever he was in court, passionately pleading a client's case that he felt so strongly about.
Fin lifted his gaze to peer out thoughtfully at their backyard; from their second-floor viewpoint, he could just barely make out the stables behind the large thatch of thick pine trees gracing their lawn; he noticed both Samson and Willful, their two horses, were out in the paddock, no doubt enjoying the warm sunshine of what promised to be a beautiful spring day. For just a moment, he wished he could be as carefree as their horses were.
He turned to look back at his partner, who hadn't taken his eyes off him. He smiled wryly. "I guess I'm queening out a little, huh."
Tony twisted his mouth and grinned. "Your words, not mine." His face sobered a little as he softly said, "Nothing worth fighting for is normally easy, Fin," he shrewdly pointed out. "Someone has to take the first steps. And I don't think Brian is the kind to back down from a fight; I think he's the perfect campaign manager and just the person to take the bull by the horns and run with it – all the way to the Governor's mansion."
The older man reached over to place his hand lightly on his determined partner's cheek. "How did I get so lucky to find you, Counselor?"
Tony smiled. "You can thank the white-collar embezzler I was prosecuting." The two of them had met inside the Federal District Courthouse in Harrisburg several years ago when Fin had scheduled a luncheon date with the county prosecutor; at the time Tony was working under him as an assistant. From the moment he had been introduced to the fiery blond with a passion for justice, he couldn't take his eyes off him. He still couldn't.
Fin smiled as he leaned over to place a brief but firm kiss on the resolute lips.
"Careful, Senator," Tony chided him. "You don't know who might have climbed one of the pine trees back there to get a better look."
Fin smiled against the other man's lips as he began to untie Tony's sash holding his robe together. The blond gasped as he felt Fin stroking the pale skin of his thighs before he honed in on his cock and gave it a firm squeeze. "Well, in that case, let's give 'em a show to remember," he huskily whispered as he deftly pushed the silky garment off his partner's shoulders and Tony chuckled. For just a few minutes, the real world was quickly – and blissfully – forgotten.
Britin – Same Time
"Want some, Daddy?"
Brian smiled down tenderly at his son, who was standing next to him at the kitchen table holding out a bottle extended toward him, and shook his head. "Thanks, Little Man, but Daddy's full right now. My tummy doesn't have any more room, even for chocolate milk."
Truth was, he hadn't really eaten much – just a piece of dry wheat toast and a few bites of an egg white vegetable omelet that Lindsey had literally scrambled together about an hour ago. He was too restless at the moment to eat much; Justin was still running around upstairs getting his things together for their trip and if they didn't leave in the next few minutes, they stood the risk of missing their flight altogether.
He sighed in impatience as he scooted back from his chair and reached down to pick his son up; it was time to take matters into his own hands and hurry a certain blond along. "Come on, Sonny Boy, let's go find Justin and find out what he's up to, okay?"
Gus nodded as he placed one little hand around his daddy's neck and held on tight to the plastic jug of chocolate milk with his other. "He's upstairs, Daddy. He's in his 'tudio."
Brian chuckled. "Oh….the 'tudio. I should have guessed. Well, let's go get him. It's time for him and Daddy to leave for our trip."
As they walked out of the kitchen, Brian was glad that he had managed to mollify his son somewhat over the fact that he couldn't go with them; he had to promise to bring him back a souvenir and also take him on a trip when he got back. He recalled how much his son had enjoyed his recent fishing trip with his newly-discovered great-grandfather, Sean; he had been so immensely proud of the not-so-big fish he had caught that day. Truth be told, he had enjoyed it immensely, too; it had given him a chance to get to know his grandfather better and he had been quite impressed with the man's acceptance of him and his son.
Perhaps when he and Justin got back, the three of them could take Sean's boat back out for an encore expedition. Justin would be welcome, too, but he had the distinct impression that Justin didn't quite have the same enthusiasm for the sport as his son and Sean did; he seemed to prefer a different kind of hooking up….He smiled as he thought about just how much time they were about to devote to that particular sport as he slowly ascended the steps in search of his favorite blond artist.
As they neared the studio he could hear a lot of rattling near the door. He shook his head in amusement as he gently placed Gus down on the ground and clasped his hand. As they entered the spacious, sunlit room, he spied Justin hurriedly grabbing several sketchpads and a box of charcoals from a brown wicker storage basket that he kept underneath his drafting table.
"Justin….."
The blond popped his head around the table legs suddenly to eye his husband sheepishly. "I was just getting some supplies to draw with."
Brian smirked; he knew there was no way his husband was going on a honeymoon empty-handed. To Justin, not having art supplies was almost as bad as going without a hand or a foot.
"Justin, if we don't leave right away there's a good chance we're going to miss our flight, and then you won't need any supplies," he warned the other man, placing his hand on his hip impatiently. "We need to go NOW….unless you'd rather honeymoon in the Ozarks instead."
"Now," Gus repeated solemnly as he, too, placed a small hand on his hip in a perfect imitation of his father. "Come on, Jus'n," the little boy scolded. Suddenly thinking of something, he turned to his father inquisitively. "Daddy, what are Ozarks? Is that a fish?"
Brian couldn't help laughing. "No, Sonny Boy. That's the place where all bad little husbands go when they're running late for their own honeymoon," he told his son as he gazed pointedly over at his wayward husband.
"Okay, okay, I'm coming," Justin groused as he quickly stood up and, wiping his hands on his jeans to get the dust off, rushed over to the two 'men.' "I'm ready," he announced as he reached over to gently tousle Gus' hair affectionately and smile gently at him. "I just need to grab my suitcase."
"I'll help you, Jus'n," Gus volunteered.
Justin nodded as he glanced over at Brian and they shared a mutual, tender look. "I'd like that, Buddy."
As he dutifully followed his 'second father' down the hallway, heading toward the master bedroom, Brian's heart warmed as he watched the two walk away, Gus' little hand clasped comfortably in his husband's. My two guys, he couldn't help thinking as an unexpected lump formed in his throat as he watched them go, thinking how damn lucky he had been in his life. He not only had a ready-made family, but thanks to Justin, he also had a new one he was going to enjoy getting to know better. Thank God they weren't anything like Jack and Joan Kinney; now he could look forward to a real family for a change.
Fifteen minutes later, the two men were finally on their way to the airport in Justin's SUV. Thankfully, Justin had taken Brian's advice and only packed one suitcase for their two-week trip; he had tried to convince the blond that with the activities he had in mind for them, he could pack quite lightly, but Justin had merely glared at him and told him he wanted some additional activities that actually included being clothed as a prerequisite, a condition that Brian reluctantly agreed to. He knew there would be plenty of time for their normal 'recreational activities' on their trip, anyway; even though they had been together for some time now, their passion for each other hadn't diminished at all. In fact it had gotten even more sweet and intense over time.
He glanced over at Justin, who turned in his seat to smile at him. He fulfilled an urge to reach over and take his husband's hand to give it a squeeze as he noticed the excitement in Justin's eyes. "That eager to finally have some private fucking time with me, Sunshine?" he teased as his hand lightly stroked the soft, warm flesh.
"Got an awfully high opinion of yourself, don't you?" Justin quipped, twisting his lips playfully.
Brian released the pale hand to reach over and squeeze Justin's thigh through his jeans. "Sure do….and I've worked hard to get there; very hard."
Justin rolled his eyes at the typical innuendo, but couldn't help grinning as he placed his hand over Brian's to still it when it threatened to creep closer to his cock. "Very well deserved, too," he agreed, smiling as he held onto the wandering hand. "But you're just going to have to wait to cement your reputation a little longer."
"But we've got plenty of time for a blow job," he pointed out.
"You can drive and give me head at the same time?" he asked innocently, his blue eyes twinkling.
Brian snorted. "Not hardly," he quipped. "I had something else in mind." He curled his lips under and looked over at Justin hopefully in that irresistible, naughty-little-boy look that normally got him whatever he wanted.
Justin smirked as he twisted his lips in amusement. "Some things never change," he complained good-naturedly as he began to unlatch his seatbelt and Brian grinned. Yes, it was going to be a great fucking honeymoon…..
Two Hours Later
"Ah," Justin sighed as they made themselves comfortable in their first-class seats; they had chosen the two located in the last room in front of a partition that separated the more upscale, leather seats from the economy class seats section. "I could get used to this," he said as he settled into his wide, soft-gray seat.
Brian smiled over at him. "For someone who's never been a label queen, you sure like the finer things in life, Sunshine, at least when I'm footing the bill," he quipped. "You make more enough money now to afford this same luxury on your own, you know."
Justin grinned. "I know….I just don't like to waste my money if I don't have to."
"Now you tell me," Brian replied. "If I'd known it didn't matter where you sat, I could have put you back near the bathroom for the flight. Then I could have gone back there periodically to drag you in for a fuck or two and it would have saved me a lot of money."
Justin smacked him lightly on his thigh. "I don't think so, Mr. Kinney. There's only one way I want a sore ass on this flight and it's not by sitting back there in an aisle seat."
Brian leaned over to whisper in the younger man's ear. "Don't worry, Sunshine, I definitely plan on your ass getting sore later by much more pleasant means. You can stay right where you are."
Justin couldn't help shivering a little at Brian's sexy promise as he rolled his eyes. "Gee, thanks."
The two men's conversation was interrupted as a flight attendant walked up; she was tall, with green eyes and brunet hair, wearing a tailored, navy-blue two-piece pants suit with a pair of stylish, silver wings on her lapel.
"Mr. Kinney?" she asked, smiling courteously. Brian nodded as Justin looked over at them curiously. "Here's what you requested," she advised him, handing him two tall glass flutes of liquid. It was apparent from the color of the drink that it wasn't Brian's normal concoction. As the woman glanced down at the striking couple, she noticed the gleaming bands of gold on their hands and somehow she just knew. "Oh, and congratulations," she said with a wink as she turned and left.
Brian smiled at her graciously as she left; he turned to face his husband to hand him one of the glasses. "I thought this was more appropriate than our usual shot of Beam," Brian explained almost shyly as he held his own glass out toward the blond and lifted it slightly.
Justin's face broke out into a beaming smile at the unexpected sentimentality. "Brian…." he murmured emotionally.
Brian responded with a shrug. "Just don't expect me to spout a bunch of sappy shit to go with it," he warned softly. "I already was forced to endure that at the ceremony." He gave Justin a warm smile, however, as he whispered, "Here's to a great honeymoon, Sunshine," before he raised his glass and clinked it gently against his husband's before taking a small sip in salute.
Justin smiled back at him before he, too, downed a bit of the effervescent drink, his blue eyes peering over at his husband lovingly as he drank. As he put down his glass on the tray, he started thinking about the subject of their toast. "Tell me more about Ireland, Brian," he asked. "I've always wanted to go there. Where are we staying? What are we going to see there?"
"Who said we were going anywhere beyond our bedroom?" he whispered huskily, reaching over to squeeze Justin's thigh briefly before their hands found each other to link together. "I warned you already about not over packing."
Justin huffed. "If that's all we were going to do, we could have just stayed at Britin – or the Ozarks, for that matter. No offense, but I want to see something besides your dick while we're there." He glanced around to make sure no one was overhearing their conversation, before, satisfied that none of the other passengers seemed interested in their discussion, he said, "I'll guess I'll just have to check it out for myself." He reached over to the back seat pocket with his free hand and pulled out a small-sized paperback.
Brian eyed the book curiously. "Where'd that come from?" He noticed the front cover said Ireland at a Glance. "You didn't even know where we were going until last night."
"I picked it up at the bookstore when you went to the men's room," he reported, turning to smile at his husband triumphantly.
Brian shook his head in amusement. "Wonderful," he commented. "And just what do you want to find out about in there?"
Justin snorted. "Well, I won't know until I see it, now will I?" He quickly began to flip through the pages, finding himself getting excited as he glanced at all the glossy color photos of the Irish countryside.
As Justin dwelled on one page in particular, Brian couldn't help leaning over to see what his husband was reading about. The top of the left page was emblazoned with the caption, Romance in Ireland. He rolled his eyes silently at his sentimental husband before he noticed what was spelled out on the other page. "The Twenty Best Places to Kiss in Ireland?" he murmured as he laid his head on the blond's shoulder and huffed. "An ass is an ass, no matter where you kiss it."
Justin twisted his head to look at him and smiled a little sheepishly as he realized he had been caught. He pointed to one part of the page in particular in an attempt to slightly veer away from the main subject. "Look – there's a waterfall there," he said, unable to keep the excitement out of his voice. "And all these castles! And look – caves!"
"And sheep," Brian whispered. "Plenty and plenty of sheep."
"And that's baaaaad for ewe how?" Justin couldn't help asking as he looked at him innocently.
"I'm going to pretend you did not say that," Brian retorted, as he took a nip at Justin's earlobe, evoking a slight shiver in response. His warm breath washed over Justin's cheek as the blond turned again to look at him, unable to keep the anticipation of their trip out of his eyes. Brian couldn't help smiling at his husband-turned-kid-in-a-candy-store; it was almost as if they had just met and Justin was once more exploring the exciting world of being a newly-outed gay man. "Sorry, Little Bo Peep, but you'll have to put your tray table back up for now," he advised as the seatbelt light came on and the plane's engine began to come alive with sounds of impending departure. The flight attendant from before hurried down the aisle and retrieved the two now empty champagne glasses from their grasp as they raised their tray tables and seats in preparation for leaving.
As Justin complied and latched his seatbelt together, he decided to keep his book grasped firmly in his right hand for later perusal as he gazed out the window, daydreaming eagerly of their trip together. He felt Brian squeeze his other hand as he twisted around to look at him. "Happy?" he asked quietly, his lips curled under a little almost shyly.
Justin smiled back at him radiantly. "Yes," he simply answered his eyes aglow with anticipation; he looked around to notice they were unobserved before bestowing a quick kiss on Brian's lips. "I love you," he whispered softly as he pulled back slightly to stare into the hazel eyes tenderly staring back.
"Me too, Sunshine. Me too." As the plane slowly backed up, Justin placed his head on Brian's shoulder and sighed in contentment; he didn't give a fuck who noticed.
