I apologize for the lateness of this part. It is entirely because I'm lazy and procrastinate. And because months go by far too quickly. -_-

                Max growled as the phone rang, waking him from his nap. Cursing, he fumbled blindly for his cell phone, unwilling to lift his head from the pillows. After a couple of rings he managed to grab it off the side table and brought it to the general vicinity of his ear. "What?"

                'Don't you mean who?'

                Max gritted his teeth. One sentence and he already hated the person on the other end of the line. "Who is this and what do you want?"

                'Fair enough. My name is Brett and I'm calling for JJ who is…ah…' There was a pause as if the speaker was talking to someone else. 'Who is apparently progressing quite rapidly towards becoming totally wasted.'

                Arg. Thinking. Full sentences. Bad. "JJ?"

                'Yeah, JJ.'

                "You got a cold or something?"

                'Something like that. Anyway, he…er…I won't be able to meet you tonight. He's… arg… I'm… busy. Yeah.'

                "Oh. Well…I'll just go back to sleep then."

                'Right.'

                "I'll, uh, see you tomorrow then I guess."

                'Right.'

                "OK, bye." Max dropped the phone to the bed then, after a minute, picked it up and turned it off before flinging it across the room. Hopefully it'd land on something soft. He hadn't heard anything breaking. Damn, sleep deprivation sucked.

*              *              *

                Brett put his cell phone back in his pocket. "Charming friends you have, gay boy."

                "Eh?" JJ blinked blearily at him.

                Brett sighed. "Never mind. You know, for a guy who doesn't like to drink, you're doing it pretty well."

                "Oh, I love drinking. That's not the problem."

                Brett waited a minute but JJ just trailed off. "Er, right…"

                "How come you aren't drunk yet?"

                "I figure one of us ought to be able to find our way home later."

                "Oh! Our way?"

                Brett nodded. "You aren't in any condition to go home by yourself."

                "Then walk me back! What kind of a man are you, if you can't walk a sweet, innocent thing like me home?"

                "A straight one. And since when are you innocent?"

                "Mmm…" JJ considered. "Now?"
                Brett sighed. "It's obvious you survive on your looks alone."

                "What's that mean?"

                "Never mind."

                "So…why can't you walk me back?"

                "JJ, where do you live?"

                JJ pondered that for some time, looking around the room. He started to point then lowered his hand. "I live…umm…I live… Hey, I live with Danny! You know where she lives."

                "That I do."

                "So why can't you?" JJ tried to make a decisive-looking hand gesture and nearly fell off his stool. "Whoa!"

                "Think about it, JJ. You live with Danny. Now, why wouldn't I want to drank you home drunk off your ass?"

                "Umm…" JJ tried to reason through the problem. "My ass!"

                Brett nearly fell off the stool himself. "Excuse me?"
                "You don't want to drag my ass home, so it must be my ass that's the problem. Or home. You don't want to go home?" JJ blinked hopefully. "My ass isn't really that bad, I-"

                "JJ!" Brett cut him off. "It isn't your ass."

                "Oh…then you do want to take me home with you?"

                Brett twitched. "The problem is Danny."

                "Huh? How? Oh, don't worry, Danny thinks it's cute."

                "What…No, don't answer that! The problem is, I doubt she'll approve of me bringing you back drunk."

                "Ohh, so that's the problem. Why didn't you just say so?"

                Brett almost fell onto the bar in exasperation. "Yes, JJ, that's the problem."

                "My ass is cute though."

                "I'm sure it is."

                "If you want…"

                "No! I'm not getting arrested for your public indecency."

                "What are you getting arrested for? Do I need to get my handcuffs?"

                Brett stared at him for a minute. "Fine. That's it. We're leaving."

                "What now? The handcuffs? You know, if you really wanted to play with them, all you had to do was ask. Or is this why you were talking about my a-"

                "Now, JJ. Before you scandalize the other customers anymore."

                "Aww…"

                "We aren't here to entertain the barkeep, JJ. I'm going to drag you back to my place where you'll sleep on the couch and if you hit on my brother I'll kick you out."

                "Can I hit on you?"

                Brett considered refusing and decided he was too tired to argue. "Fine."

                "Yay!"

                He shook his head as he paid the tab. Glowing at JJ, who was trying to put his coat on, he mumbled under his breath. "Better be a cute ass, for all this trouble."

                When the bill was paid, he went to rescue JJ from the waitress who seemed to have decided that 'help' was now synonymous with 'grope'.

*              *              *

                Brett managed, with the dexterity of one who has performed criminal labor all their life, to unlock and open his front door with one hand and hold JJ up with the other. He then struggled inside, pulling his barely aware burden with him, and shut the door. He threw his keys into a nearby basket and dragged JJ across the room with the intent of dropping him on the couch.

                JJ did make an effort, it should be noted. Tightening his arms around Brett's neck and snuffling closer probably wasn't much help, but it was an effort. Really.

                "Come on, JJ, let go of me. We can't do this if you won't-"

                Nearly at his goal Brett halted and made a face. "Great, now what?"

                Josh was already laying on the couch with a magazine in his hands and a very surprised look on his face.

                "Well, hell. I guess we'll just have to use my bed then." Brett half-lifted JJ so he was an easier burden.

                Josh squeaked. That was the only way to describe the noise he made. Brett froze, staring. He'd never heard Josh make that particular noise before. He quickly realized why he'd uttered it, Josh had apparently decided that his brother was going to have wild, crazy, gay boy sex with JJ. Brett's older brother instincts kicked in and a very evil idea formed in his head. A truly, awfully, evil idea, that only older siblings can so quickly conceive of to torture their younger siblings with. He smirked and moved his hand to JJ's ass. "Hey, Josh."

                Josh made a vaguely affirmative noise.

                "Is that porn?"

                "No!"

                "Oh. Why are you out here then?"

                "I…ugh….I…Ahh!" Josh flung the magazine aside and fled to his room.

                Brett laughed. "Damn, I love having a younger brother."

                He nearly jumped through the ceiling when JJ licked his cheek though.

                "What the hell?"

                "Mmmph." JJ bit his neck lightly then licked the wound, making Brett shiver despite himself. "Told you I had a cute ass."

                Brett tried to think though the alcoholic haze and rising hormones that were fogging his brain as JJ set about demonstrating his foreplay skills. OK, first point…um…well…er… Oh, that felt good. No! Wait, that could count. All right, second point, the – hell yeah – person Brett was now making out with was a guy. And he did not like other guys. Not in the kissing-sexy sort of way, at least, though he did like them in the drinking buddies fashion. His body was doing its best to counter that argument with another tempting 'Ah, who cares, he's hot and skilled and you can top him. By the way, did you notice what he just did with his tongue?' line of reasoning. Fourthly…wait, wasn't he only on three? Was that last bit another point, putting him up to four already/ Ahh, fuck it. Good idea actually. No! Wait! Trying to think! Must make brain work!

                Ah, fuck thinking. A part of his mind told him. Then push gay boy onto that oh-so-handy couch and fuck him.

                Wait…couch…the one he'd just kicked Josh off of… "Fuck!"

                Well, he tried to swear, at least. But with JJ's tongue in his mouth it was really more of a 'Frshgk!'  noise. With a great effort of will, made possible only by the complete turn-off thoughts of his brother were, Brett shoved JJ away. Incidentally, he shoved him onto his back on the couch. His dying libido cheered, but that was unimportant now.

                Holy shit. He'd almost fucked his brother's girlfriend's roommate. And that was quite a mouthful, though he hadn't even said it. His brother's girlfriend's roommate who just happened to be a guy, a gender that Brett really wasn't attracted to usually. And a cop. And his brother was in the other room. Their place wasn't nearly soundproofed enough for the rather rough and tumble sex JJ had been offering. Skill level not withstanding, this was a horrible, awful, very bad idea. Not a good bad idea, like his ideas to torture his brother with, but a very bad idea. "Shit."

                JJ struggled to sit up. "What's wrong with you?

                Mental note – Arousal makes JJ sober up. "This is a bad idea."

                "What?"

                "I ain't into guys."

                JJ glared at him. "Didn't seem that way three minutes ago."

                Brett glared right back. "Congratulations, JJ. You managed to make a guy horny. One for the record books, I'm sure."

                "Don't you-"

                Brett covered JJ's mouth with his hand. "Quiet. We're both male, drunk, and alive. No rational talk about sex will happen here. Sleep. If you're still horny tomorrow…Well, you'll be hung over. That won't be a problem."

                "What the hell is wrong with you? You're-"

                "JJ." Brett snapped in his authoritarian older brother tone. "Go to sleep."

                "But…"

                "Go to sleep, JJ. We'll deal with this when you're sober."

                JJ was going to continue protesting but Brett simply walked off. He went into his room and shut the door behind him with a decisive slam. JJ stared after him. "He left! He actually left! He just walked away!" He flopped back onto the couch, moving to a comfortable position. "Bastard."

                It was a long few minutes before he spoke again. "He could've at least left me a pillow and a blanket."

*              *              *

                About half an hour after Brett's return home, Josh's door slowly opened and he peered into the main room. Seeing no one and nothing offensive there, he stepped out of his bedroom and quietly walked over to his brother's bedroom door and, with the expression of a person doing something they really didn't want to but couldn't help doing, he leaned against the door and listened.

                Nothing

                Visibly relieved he then moved over to the couch and took a closer look. JJ was asleep, curled into a ball and snoring. Josh frowned down at him then at Brett's door. "He was just going to drop him off on the couch. He was just messing with me! That bastard!"

                He straightened and turned, about to storm into his brother's room to give him the yelling he so thoroughly deserved, but a blanket flew out of seemingly nowhere and hit him in the face. He spluttered, pulling the offending cloth from his head. "Hey!"

                Brett stood his room, door open. "You're such an idiot. Cover the drunk, would you?" And he turned away, shutting the door behind him.

                Josh glared after him. Damn it, he really hated having an older brother sometimes.

*              *              *

                "I'm going to get back at you for that."

                "Sure, sure."

                "I will!"

                "That's what you always say."

                "I really will!"

                "How old are you again?"

                "Arg!"

                JJ blinked as Josh stormed into his room, slamming the door behind him. He shifted his gaze to Brett, who was cooking. "Happen often?"

                "Only when I really get to him. Danny's been a bad influence."

                "Mm…."

                "Pancake or omelet?"

                "Ngh!"

                "I'll take that as neither. Don't handle hangovers well, do you?"

                "Bite me."

                "Not when you're that shade of green."

                "Later then?" JJ tried to leer suggestively.

                "Still can't move, eh?" Brett smirked, pulling eggs and milk from the fridge.

                "Shut up."

                "You are an awful drunk, JJ." Brett frowned at him, waving an egg in a threatening manner.

                "Mmmf." JJ agreed.

                Brett poked him with a spatula. "Get off my counter. I need that space."

                JJ, who'd been slumped over the aforementioned counter with his head on his arms, glowered at him. "no move."

                "Move, cave boy."

                "No. Ow!" JJ whimpered, clutching his head and sinking to his knees. Yelling was a bad idea.

                He looking up as he heard clinking. "Are you cooking around me?"

                "You won't move." Brett replied pragmatically.

                JJ made an annoyed noise.

                "Don't you dare collapse on my kitchen floor."

                JJ growled. "I wasn't going to!"

                "Sure you weren't."

                "I wasn't!"

                "Stand up then."

                "Huh?"

                "Stand up. You're getting in the way."

                "I'm what?"

                "In the way."

                "You're mean.

                "I get that a lot. Now move. My kitchen isn't big enough for you and my cooking."

                "Well, I'm not hungry."

                "Do you want me to go get Josh?"

                "Fine, I'll move!" JJ attempted to stand but had to be helped to his feet. He staggered out of the kitchen and collapsed on the couch. Again. "Stupid couch."

                "Don't diss the furniture!"

                JJ stuck his tongue out in Brett's general direction, though he couldn't see him. "Whatever…"

                He lay there for an indeterminate amount of time, until he heard a door opening. He looked over the couch back in time to see Josh rush out of his room into the kitchen. "Brett!"

                JJ blinked and pushed himself to a sitting position to better watch what they were doing. They seemed to be talking or, rather, Josh was talking as Brett cooked. Josh finished whatever intense looking yet quiet speech he'd been making and began eating the omelet his brother handed him. Apparently Brett's reply was what Josh wanted to hear because the younger brother quickly finished his food and dropped his plate in the sink. He then said something else to Brett before running out the door.

                JJ blinked then called to the other man. "Ne, Brett?"

                "What?" Brett began cooking some food for himself.

                "What was that about?"

                Brett didn't respond. JJ laboriously crawled off the couch and into the kitchen. "Hey, Brett…"

                "Yes?"

                "Where'd Josh go?"

                "Out."

                "Where?"

                "To meet someone."

                "Oh?"

                "Oh."

                "How long'll he be gone?"

                "A few hours, maybe."

                "Maybe?"

                "Yeah."

                "Maybe less, maybe more?"

                "Maybe."

                JJ pouted at him. "You're no help."

                "Sorry."

                He growled and grabbed Brett's pants, using them and his shirt to pull himself up. He wrapped his arms around Brett's neck for support, watching him as he cooked. "Hey…"

                "What?"

                "You cook often?"

                "Only thing that wakes that brat up."

                "Hmm…"

                Brett was silent.

                "You're pretty good at this."

                "Practice."

                JJ grinned. "Hey, Brett?"

                "No."

                "I didn't even ask yet!"

                "You were going to."

                "You don't know what I was going to ask!"

                "You were going to ask me to fuck you senseless."

                "Actually, that's pretty close."

                "Skills."

                "Yeah…" JJ nuzzled his neck. "So?"

                "I already said no."

                "Aww, c'mon…"

                "No."

                "Please?"

                "No."

                "Why not?"

                "Josh."

                "Huh? Josh?"

                "Yeah. My brother, remember."

                "What about him?"

                "It'd upset him to find out I was fucking you."

                "So we won't tell. He isn't here."

                Brett removed the pan from the stove and slid the finished omelet onto a plate. "As much as I love the idea of uncomplicated sex, it wouldn't be that easy."

                "Why not?"

                "JJ, have you ever had an uncomplicated relationship?"

                JJ thought that over as Brett began to eat. He was still draped over his back. "Well…That's different!"

                "Have you ever had uncomplicated sex then?"

                "Not really."

                "Well then…"

                "Why would it be such a big deal?"

                "Gay men disturb him."

                "Why?"

                "He thinks it's unnatural. And he doesn't like the idea of being part of someone else's fantasies."

                "What about girls?"

                "Girls don't tend to be as perverted as men. They go more for romance than pure, hot sex. Or, at least, they seem to."

                "What about Danny then?"

                "She's the hot sex kind of girl?"

                "Totally."

                "She's reality. You should know, you live with her."

                JJ blushed slightly. "Sound proofing."

                "Spoiled brat."

                "So…?"

                Brett sighed. "JJ, don't you have to work today?"

                JJ blinked. "Well, damn."

*              *              *

                Max sighed as he opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling. How nice to wake up naturally. It'd been too long since he'd slept through the night. Nightmares and phone calls…

                Throwing the covers off he stood and stretched, looking for his phone. He'd thought he had left it on the side table but it wasn't there now. It took him a minute to remember the call the night before and his phone tossing. Looking around, he found it on the floor, half hidden under the hotel table. He was staying at some motel tucked away in New York's endless sprawl of buildings and nearly un-findable if you didn't know where to look. Or, rather, the right people to ask.

                Picking up the phone he checked his missed calls. Two from friends, one from a 'friend' and a fourth from his current employer. He shrugged and sat in the lone chair. Most of the calls could wait, but he'd better return the last. The phone was picked up on the second ring.

                'Hello?' It was a nice voice, Max mused, smooth and deep with just a hint of an accent. It sounded vaguely European, probably eastern.

                "Hey, you called?"

                'Yes. Were you out with your friend?'

                "Sleeping."

                'Oh? You have changed your plans?'

                "A bit."

                'Anything I should be aware of?

                "Not really. Might delay things, but you're not rushing now, are you?"

                'Not if it causes mistakes. But do not take too long. Someone may take an interest in you.'

                Definitely not a native English speaker. "Yeah, I know. They are cops, after all. So, what did you want to talk about?"

                'Just checking that you are there and ready.'

                "Ready?"

                'To move. That there are no unanticipated problems.'

                "Ahh, nothing major. I'll get moving today, don't worry. I'll find a place later and make arrangements. Everything will be done within two weeks, like I promised."

                'Perhaps. I had another reason to call. There is a small problems. The Raven brothers. Apparently they're hitmen, with extensive criminal contacts.'

                Raven? What a stupid name. Simple names for simple boys. "Great."

                'Pardon?'

                "I think I can use that…"

To be continued…