Previously On Queer As Folk: Brian and Justin celebrated Justin's twenty-second birthday in Paris and Brian bore his soul.

After another chance meeting at Babylon, Emmett slept with Drew.

Chapter Nine

Emmett had promised himself that he would tell Michael at breakfast, but he hadn't been able to do it. Instead, he'd decided to stay quiet to avoid blurting it out, which made Michael suspicious.

After breakfast, Emmett's cell phone had rung and he'd known who it was before answering it. "I told you, I can't see you again."

"Come on, Emmett. We need to talk."

"I have nothing further to say to you," Emmett insisted, hanging up.

Emmett's walk home was a miserable one. He felt guiltier than he'd ever felt before in his life and he had no idea what he was going to do. If he told Calvin, would Calvin leave him? That thought was unbearable. Why did I do it! Emmett asked himself, lost.

When he'd gotten home, he'd intended to relax because it his last day of unemployment, but his plans were ruined when he spotted Drew sitting on the porch. Sighing, he continued walking towards the house. "Why are you here?" he demanded, losing his patience.

"Come on. This morning you just gave me this bullshit story about how last night was a mistake and how we couldn't do it again. I know you better than that Emmett."

"Obviously you don't." Emmett unlocked the front door. Before he could in and shut the door, however, Drew forced his way in. "Don't make me call the cops," Emmett threatened, reaching for his cell phone.

Drew grabbed Emmett and kissed him, rendering Emmett powerless. They continued to kiss as they made their way up the stairs to Emmett's room. Fuck it, Emmett thought, surrendering. Without shutting the door, they began to rip their clothes off, lust having taken complete control.

Just as they were getting started, Emmett's cell phone went off. He snatched it up off of the floor and gasped when he saw who it was – CALVIN. "What? Who is it?" Drew asked, entering him.

"Drew, stop. It's Calvin." Fuck!

"The boyfriend?" Drew asked sardonically.

"Shut up!" Emmett picked up the phone. "Hey!" he said with fake cheer. His heart was pounding.

"Hey, Em!" Calvin replied.

"Where are you?" Emmett asked, hoping that the guilt in his voice was hidden.

"I'm still in Hazelhurst I just wanted to let you know that my flight is in an hour and I'll be in your arms before you know it."

"I can't wait!" Emmett replied. Another pang of guilt hit Emmett.

"I'll see you soon."

"Bye." Emmett hung up. "You have to leave," he told Drew.

"At least let me finish!" Drew begged, moving his hips. Emmett sighed, but figured that the quickest way to get Drew out of the house was to give him what he wanted. Drew pumped away, but Emmett did not enjoy the experience; he was racked with guilt and he was dreading having to confess to Calvin what he'd done.

At long last, Drew finished and collapsed on top of Emmett, all sweaty and out of breath. Emmett allowed him to lay there for a few minutes before he got up. "You have to go now," he said, handing Drew his clothes.

"Come on, Emmett!"

"No. Leave."

"Fine." Drew put his clothes on and left. Emmett locked the front door behind Drew and collapsed on the couch in tears. He started to panic. I need something to calm my nerves, he thought as he went back upstairs and grabbed his bottle of Xanax. Racing back to the kitchen, he got a glass of water and downed a pill. Now, for something to occupy his time. Emmett spotted brownie mix in the cupboards and settled on that.

Emmett enjoyed cooking. It calmed his nerves and distracted him from whatever was bothering him at the time. He was so preoccupied making the brownies, that he didn't hear Deb come in. "What the hell are you doing!" she demanded, a look of horror on her face.

"Making brownies," he responded lamely, looking at the mangled brownies that had just come from the oven.

"Emmett, honey, what's wrong?"

"Nothing. Why would you think that something is wrong?" Please just let it go, Deb.

"Well, for one thing, you're cooking, and secondly, you look like someone just sewed up your asshole."

"How very perceptive of you, Deb," Emmett relented, chuckling a little despite his aching heart.

"So what is?"

"If I tell you, it has to stay between us, okay?"

"I swear on Vic's grave," Deb insisted.

"Okay. Well, you remember Drew, right?"

"Of course. What about him?"

"I ran into him last week at Babylon and he was drunk out of his mind. He came on to me and we fell. Somehow, we ended up kissing. Thankfully, Brian was there to save me."

"Brian saved you?" Deb asked incredulously.

"Yeah. There's more. Last night, I ran into him again. He apologized and said that he wanted me back. I, of course, told him that I'm in a relationship, and happy, but he followed me out to the car and...I don't know what I was thinking, but we went back to his place and had sex."

"Oh my fucking God!" Debbie exclaimed.

"I know. I feel...I don't even know. There aren't words to describe what I feel like."

"It's all right Em, honey, it was just a slip. As long as it doesn't happen again." Emmett gave Debbie a look. "Jesus Christ! It happened again!"

"About an hour ago," Emmett confessed, unable to meet Deb's eyes. "Calvin's coming home tonight and I don't know what to do. Should I tell him?"

"That's up to you, sweetheart. If you do, you'd better be prepared; he might not want to see you again," Deb said.

"I can't lose him!" Emmett insisted, shaking his head. "I love him." His heart started to race again.

"I know you do."

"Then why did I do this?" Emmett demanded, breaking into tears.

"These things happen. It'll all work out in the end, I promise."

Carl came into the room. He was surprised to see Emmett in tears. "Is everything okay?" he asked.

"I ruined the brownies," Emmett lied, wiping his tears away. "Silly me... thinking that I could play Martha Stewart without paying attention and actually succeed."

"Calvin won't mind," Deb said, winking at Emmett. "Are you hungry?" she asked Carl.

"No, I'm fine."

"How are your kids?" she asked, leading him out of the kitchen nonchalantly. After the stroke, he'd gone to see his kids.

Emmett sighed, and began to run dish water. He scooped the crappy brownies into the trash and threw the glass dish into the dish pan, letting it soak. Looking at the clock, Emmett's heart began to beat even faster – Calvin would be home soon!

He quickly washed the dishes, dried them, and put them away. Walking out into the living room, he began to pace. The minutes passed slowly and dread began to set in; should he tell Calvin? No. Debbie was right, he didn't want to risk losing him, better not to say anything.

Calvin's car pulled up to the house. "Shit!" Emmett hurriedly ran up the stairs and jumped into bed, pulling the covers over his head. He heard the front door open and close.

"Emmett?" Calvin called.

"I'm up here," Emmett replied, mentally smacking himself.

Calvin rushed up the steps and entered their bedroom. Throwing his bags down, he jumped onto the bed. kissing Emmett. For a brief moment, Emmett forgot the guilt that racked him. Getting up to close the door, Emmett slipped out of his clothes and went to lie next to Calvin on the bed.

Over at the Novotny-Bruckner household, Michael, Ben, and Hunter were eating dinner. "They went to Paris?" Ben asked, surprised.

"Holy fuck!" Hunter exclaimed. At the reproachful looks from Michael and Ben he muttered,

"Sorry."

"That's what I thought when Brian told me," Michael admitted.

"Is that their honeymoon?" Ben asked, still in shock.

"No, it's Justin's birthday present."

"I thought Justin and I had the same birthday?" Ben frowned. "Brian's about two months late…"

"Don't ask me." Michael shrugged.

"That's a pretty expensive birthday present," Hunter said.

"Brian can afford it, trust me," Michael replied. "Which reminds me, I'd better call Justin and let him know that the new issue of Rage is a go." He got up from the table and grabbed his cell phone. It rang a couple of times and then went to voice mail. They're probably fucking like rabbits, Michael thought, shaking his head. "Hey Justin, it's Michael. I just wanted to wish you a happy birthday from all of us. We hope you guys are having fun in Paris, I know I certainly did. Be sure to take lots of pictures for us. Oh, and don't wear Brian out, okay? Bye." He hung up and chuckled.

Ben and Hunter had finished and moved their plates to the kitchen. "I'm going to go study for an English test tomorrow," Hunter said, heading to his room.

"He certainly has changed since we first met him, hasn't he?" Michael remarked, sitting down to finish eating.

"Yes, he has," Ben answered, sitting down next to him. "Thankfully."

"Definitely." His thoughts shifted to breakfast that morning. "Did Emmett seem weird to you at breakfast this morning?"

"Not really. Why?" Ben asked.

"I don't know, he just seemed a little...off. Like something was bothering him."

"It's probably nothing."

"Ben, Emmett and I lived together for five years, trust me, I know when something's up."

"If you've an already made up your mind about it, why did you ask my opinion?"

"I just wanted to know if it was just me or not. Maybe I should call him."

"Wait. Michael. I still think you're jumping to conclusions here. If there were something wrong, he'd tell you, right? Besides Ted, you are his best friend."

"I guess you're right. He knows that he could tell me anything and I wouldn't judge him."

"That's one of the things I love most about you," Ben confessed, nibbling on Michael's ear. "You are always so kind and loving."

"Not always. I have my moments."

"Like when?"

"Well, when Brian and Justin first started...fucking, I absolutely hated Justin. I was jealous that Brian would pick some stranger over me."

"I see," Ben said, smiling. "That's all in the past Michael. The Michael I know isn't like that."

"It's because of you." Michael smiled.

"What?"

"You're...you know, so calm and peaceful all the time. Remember, the first year we were going out and you wanted to go stay in Tibet to study with the monks? You have brought peace and love into my life. And Hunter and all of our friends' lives."

"Why are you so sappy?" Ben asked jokingly.

"I don't know. I feel a chocolate hankering coming on."

"You know, you're not the first person to say that about me," Ben admitted.

"Duh."

"Brian once called me Zen Ben."

"I remember him mentioning that."

"I guess that's how I've handled being positive so well for all these years."

Michael frowned at the reminder of Ben's illness. "Maybe," he whispered. He had finished his food and carried his plate and glass to the kitchen, with Ben in tow.

"I'll do the dishes," Ben offered, rubbing Michael's shoulders.

"No, you put in a long day, I'll do the cleaning." Ben's hands worked out a kink in Michael's muscles. "Did anyone ever tell you that you should've been a chiropractor?"

"I thought about it, actually, but teaching has always been my main passion."

"I dated a chiropractor once," Michael admitted.

"You did?" Oops, I probably shouldn't have mentioned that.

"Yeah, we broke up a few months before I met you. His name was David. We had some good times, but things didn't work out. Actually, we were both going to move to Oregon, but the night I was supposed to leave, Justin got bashed and I realized I couldn't do it. Brian called me and when I saw him in the hallway, Justin's blood all over him – crying – I just knew that I couldn't leave Pittsburgh. I went to tell him, but he convinced me to give it a try. We started to fight, and after that, we broke up. Thankfully, I met you." He kissed Ben.

"Mmmm lucky me," Ben murmured. "So, Brian cried that night?" He could not picture Brian crying over anything.

"That's pretty much the only time I've ever seen him cry. He didn't even cry at his dad's funeral. I can't blame him though, his dad was a jackass. Anyway, Brian was an absolute mess that night. He blamed himself for what happened to Justin, and deep down, though he wouldn't admit it at the time, he was in love and seeing Justin hurt killed him inside." Michael shivered at the memory.

"It must've been terrible for him."

"It was. I'm just glad that things worked out for them. Justin was pretty screwed up afterwards His right hand was damaged as you remember, but thankfully with time, it basically worked itself out."

"I'd actually forgotten about that. He's definitely a trooper."

"Enough about them. What do you say about you, me, a gallon of ice cream, and movie?"

"Sounds good. What movie?"

"You pick. I'm going to hurry up and do the dishes while you decide."

"Or I could help you with the dishes while I decide."

"Go," Michael ordered. Once Ben was gone, he started washing up. The dishes didn't take long, thanks to the dishwasher that Deb had bought them last Christmas.

Heading into the living room, Michael spotted Ben seated on the couch. "What did you decide on?" he asked, setting the carton of ice cream down.

"How about Pearl Harbor?" Ben suggested.

"I love that movie! Mmm Ben Affleck and Josh Hartnett, it's gotta be the best movie ever made."

"That's why I picked it," Ben confessed, putting his arm around Michael, who handed him a spoon.

They cuddled as they watched the movie. At one point, they got cold, so Michael went and grabbed a blanket off of their bed, stopping to peak in on Hunter – out like a light – before heading back down. Together, they managed to eat the whole gallon of ice cream. "Looks like we'll both have to make an extra trip to the gym tomorrow," Ben joked.

"I will, you'll be fine. You don't have an ounce of fat on your body."

"Neither do you."

"You're more muscular than I am," Michael pointed out.

"Is that a problem?"

"No, I think it's sexy," Michael replied, kissing Ben's neck. In the movie, there was a sex scene between Josh Hartnett and Kate Beckinsale. "We can do better than them."

"Yes, we can," Ben agreed, taking his glasses off.

"It's a good thing Hunter's asleep," Michael whispered.

"Would you like to move this upstairs?" Ben asked.

"Fuck it. It's nothing he hasn't seen and done before." Michael pulled his shirt over his head and threw it on the ground.

"You are so hot when you do that," Ben growled, unbuttoning his pants.

"You look hot when you do that," Michael countered, pulling Ben's pants down around his ankles.

Slipping a condom onto Ben, Michael took him into his mouth eagerly. Ben moaned quietly, closing his eyes in ecstasy. Michael was good at his job, and Ben was grateful to be on the receiving end.

When Ben climaxed, Michael lay down on the sofa next to him and pulled his pants off. Putting on a new condom, Ben set to work.

Next Time On Queer As Folk: Brian and Justin have some more fun in Paris.