Intermission I heard a sniffle that caught my attention. It couldn't be Mikey because he was here in my arms and he was deliciously kissing me. But if it wasn't him. I opened my eyes. 'DEBBIE?!' I yelled, instinctively tightening my hold on Michael's body. 'MA!!!' Michael would have jumped up if my hand hadn't been glued to him, pressing him to stay on my lap. He pushed himself off of me and immediately got on his feet, covering his dick. I would have chuckled if I weren't just as shocked to see her. Instead, I tried to hide behind him. 'When are you going to learn to close the goddamn door?' he asked me through clenched teeth, never tearing his eyes off his mother. 'You were the last one to come in,' I shot back the same way. We had no idea what she was going to do next. But I still had time to notice she'd brought a tupperware with her and that she was... crying? My mind was going round and round, ticking off all her possible following acts. She held a hand to her mouth, muffing a sob, and gave one step towards us. I grasped both Michael's forearms and pulled his back to my chest, stepping backwards and bringing him with me. She stopped, and then came two steps ahead. I wrapped my arms around Michael's chest and pulled him to me so fast he almost lost his balance; that gave her the advantage of cutting the safe distance that separated us. Deb stretched her arm in the direction of Michael's face and I was so sure she was going to smack him that I could almost hear the slap. However, her next action stunned us both: she hadn't aimed at Michael, she'd aimed at me, and I just flinched when her fingertips feather-touched my cheek, ending up holding my chin, between her hand in a... caress. My jaw hung open. Michael looked at us with wide eyes, while I couldn't possibly avoid her intent look, piercing through me. No, she wasn't mad. She was overwhelmed, to say the least. Surprised, for sure. Shocked? Definitely. But she wasn't nearly as furious as we had imagined she might be. 'You finally came to your senses, kiddo,' she whispered, another tear rolling down her face. Oh, God! What is that supposed to mean? I chewed on my lip. It couldn't be what I thought it was, now, could it? She kept on caressing my face. Her eyes, I never thought they could resemble Mikey's so much as they did that moment. She looked at me pleadingly. I didn't want to get the message. No, that was all too much for me to take. I wasn't ready for that. 'I never thought this day would come. The day you would allow Michael to enter your heart.' 'Michael entered my heart long ago, Deb.' The words stumbled out of my mouth before I even realized what I was saying. She smiled at me. I remember that smile. She used to do that whenever she saw Mikey and I together, leaning our foreheads, hugging, kissing. And she also did that when I went to her house utterly broken, and Mikey wasn't there yet. I tentatively leaned into her touch. She was no threat. I was so relieved. I felt Michael relax in my arms, as well. 'How long have you been here, Ma?' She tore her eyes off me to look at Mikey for the first time. 'Long enough, sweetie, to hear the most beautiful love declaration,' she smiled to him. He blushed intensely, avoiding her eyes. 'And to witness the hottest scene I've seen in years, not to mention the hottest kiss,' she whispered, wiping her tears. 'Ma, please.' Still smiling, she enveloped us both in her arms. But it didn't last long. 'Wait a second!' she almost yelled, steeping back, hands on her hips. Uh-oh! Here it comes! 'When the fuck were you two planning on telling me this?!' Mikey sighed, shaking his head. I rolled my eyes. 'Okay, why don't we all sit down and talk for a while, huh? That is, after we put on some... clothes. Mom, would you turn around, please?' 'Michael, it's not like I haven't seen you naked before.' 'It's not for me, it's for Brian!' 'That goes for him, too.' He turned to me, ignoring her. 'Brian, could you please go put something on?' 'And you're just going to stand naked, covering your dick while we all have a nice conversation?' I asked, amused. 'Fine. Let's both go to the bedroom.' Then he turned to Deb. 'And could you at least turn around, now?' 'What? And miss two beautiful butts? Not in this life, honey. Go, you two. And no fooling around and making me wait, will ya?' She shook her finger in our faces. Neither one of us spoke a word while we put on a pair of sweats each. I gave Michael one of my shirts, since he hadn't unpacked yet, and we went straight to the living room to patiently try and explain ourselves to Deb. 'So, when did this all start? And where is Ben in all this? And Sunshine? Don't you tell me you're doing this behind their backs! I taught you two better!' I felt Michael's hand shyly searching for mine and I laced my fingers to his. He looked down at our hands entwined and then back at Deb. 'They already know,' he said, simply. 'Good. Oh, so that makes me the last one to know?!' Michael was already tense and he snapped. 'This is not a competition, you know? This is our life, our happiness! And we're trying to do the best we can, okay? After so many years we've been longing to be together we were all too considerate with our EX-boyfriends! YES! You taught us better. That's why we went to talk to them first thing, today! They were the first to know. They were part of our lives, they deserved to hear it from our mouths, don't you think? So don't you come here demanding to be included as a priority!' He took a deep breath and calmed down a little. 'You are a priority and we meant to tell you. We were going to your place to tell you. Until you came breaking through.' 'I knocked, Michael.' 'I didn't hear a thing, did you?' He turned to me. I just put my hand in the air and shrugged, never wanting to butt in on their Italian mother-son discussion. 'Of course you couldn't hear. You were too busy diving into each other's mouth.' Silence filled the air for a while. They were both pouting. It was impossible not to snicker at the scene. Mikey gave me one of his death stares. 'Sorry, Mikey, but it was true. We were really too busy.' 'That's why I haven't seen you for days.' 'Two days, mother. I just came back.' 'Deb, what is it that you came here for, anyway?' I asked, changing the subject. 'I came to bring you some of the tuna macaroni I prepared. Your favorite, remember?' 'I still want to know who the fuck told you that was my fav-' 'You little shit. Take it. And eat it all. You're skinnier than ever!. Oh, my God!' she giggled. 'It's Michael, isn't it? He's wearing you out, isn't he?' 'MA! Would you please!!!' I smiled to her and wrapped my arms around Michael, biting seductively at his neck. 'Yeah, Deb, I just can't stop fucking him!' 'BRIAN! MA! Would you cut it out?' But I was already joining Deb's heartfelt laughter at Michael's demure behavior. If she only knew his demureness would stay far, far outside this apartment's doors... 'Okay, Brian, do you at least have an oven here?' she asked. 'Of course I do. A microwave oven.' 'I was talking about a real oven. Christ, you kids don't even have a decent oven! How can anybody live without an oven?' 'Well, if your IQ has not dropped I can still teach you how to use this fancy device.' I smiled my most innocent smile. 'Oh, and let me guess, that would be the ONLY device in the kitchen you'd know how to operate, am I right?' 'Ha, ha, ha! You'd be surprise with my other abilities, Deb.' 'Spare me the details,' she said, standing up with her pasta in her hands, heading for the kitchen. 'Michael, why don't you go take a shower? And make sure to wash your hands!' 'What for, so that you can harass Brian, while I'm not around?' he half- yelled, but was unceremoniously ignored. 'Don't be silly,' I said, turning him in my arms. 'I can defend myself. Besides, she's already game.' 'My mother is never game, Brian. Don't you know this already?' His lips were inches from mine, teasing me. I kissed him. 'Brian, could you come here and give me a hand?' 'Go, Brian, or she'll come back to beat us some more,' Mikey whispered still kissing me. 'If you let me, I will... with a major hard-on.' He pushed himself off me and got to his feet. 'Don't you dare!' But I could see the smile spreading across his lips before he disappeared into the bathroom. 'Where was I when all this happened?' She asked, opening the drawer and retrieving a spoon. 'Depends on what you mean by this.' I opened the cupboard to get some plates and hand them to her. 'When did you know?' she asked, pouring huge amounts of pasta on each plate. 'Whoa! Deb, nobody is that hungry here!' 'Don't stall me, Kinney.' I sighed. 'Go straight to the point. What exactly do you want to know?' 'I want to know when you realized you loved Michael.' She went to cover one of the plates and put it in the microwave, but didn't turn it on. 'I've always loved him.' 'You know what I'm talking about, Brian.' 'Fine. It's been a while.' 'How long is a while?' 'Does this matter?' She turned to face me and her look gave me the answer. 'A few years.' 'How many years, Brian?' 'I didn't count them, Deb. Five, ten, fifteen. who cares? I love him and that should be enough, shouldn't it? Why do you need to know this anyway?' 'To evaluate the extent of the damage you caused to Michael and yourself, depriving you both of the happiness that is clearly displayed in both of your faces.' 'Why does it always have to be me that is the one to blame?' I looked at the ceiling, searching for a clue. 'It became a sort of a habit, I guess.' She scooted next to me, folding her arms. 'Years, Brian. You're in love with Michael for years and only now you decided to make a move?' 'It wasn't me who made the move,' I said, almost embarrassed. I already knew we had wasted a goddamn long time, but hearing it and from myself, made all the waiting absurdly meaningless. 'You mean it was Michael?' Her voice dropped to a whisper at the last word. I just stared at her, no reply. She shook her head in disbelief. 'How could you be such a pussy and let Michael come to you after all the years he spent at your beck and call? You could have at least gone to him, instead. He deserved that.' 'Well, he was already happy with Ben,' I said in a controlled voice, that would reveal just how pissed I was to those who knew me. 'Oh, he was, but do you think he wouldn't trade Ben for you the moment you said how you felt, dickhead? Was that so difficult to realize?' 'It is when it's your best friend that you're talking about. It is when he's the most important person in your life and you'd rather die than lose him. I wouldn't risk all this for just a fuck. Would you?! I don't think so, Deb. How can you ask me to risk that?' 'You idiot. Can't you see you could never be just a fuck for him? How could you not see that he's always loved you?' 'I KNOW he's always loved me. I always knew. Just like I always loved him back. Only I didn't think it was that kind of love. Sure he loved me as a friend, but I was afraid all he wanted was to fuck his hot best friend. That he'd get over me the minute after. And though I wanted it just as much, I couldn't do that. I couldn't do that to him. to me. I wasn't ready. He wasn't ready, and it would kill us both.' 'So now you're ready?' she asked softly. I just plain and simple glared at her. I knew she'd see it in my eyes. I had this disturbing feeling that it would be all blatantly written across my face. That I was so fucking, completely in love with Michael that anyone on the planet could see that. I saw tears forming in the corner of her eyes. 'Goddamn it, kid, why do you have to do things the hard way? Why didn't you just simply go there and tell him?' 'It wasn't the right time.' I faced the floor. 'There's no such thing, Brian. Sometimes we have to make the right time.' 'Yeah, whatever. We're together now, that's what matters.' We stood silent for a while. 'Just don't break his heart.' 'What if he breaks mine?' She looked at me, surprised. I bet she'd never thought about that. She never saw that between Mikey and I, my heart would be the most damaged one. Mine was the one that wasn't used to being broken. I was the one who never opened up for love. 'He won't,' she hugged me. 'Let him love you with all his heart. And just love him back with the same abandon.' 'I'm already doing that.' I hugged her back. 'Oh! Am I interrupting something?' I heard Michael's voice behind me. Deb and I quickly pulled away and smiled to him. 'No,' I said, a little uncomfortable, stretching my arm for him to come to me. I enveloped him in my arms and kissed the top of his head. 'Humm, you smell good.' 'It's your shampoo,' he said sarcastically, wrapping his arms around my waist. 'That's why I said it was good.' I pulled him into a kiss. I just couldn't get enough of his mouth. 'Okay, now you two cut that shit out for a few minutes and eat. Then you can get back to fucking each other to death.' 'Don't give me any ideas, Deb.' She stayed with us while she force-fed us. She wanted to make sure we ate. I guess she was afraid we would follow her suggestion about fucking each other. Well, she wasn't all wrong because the last thing we were going to do that afternoon was eat. There were so many more interesting things to do. When Deb left, there was this sense of mission accomplished in the air. We had managed to pass phase one and two of Brian and Mikey's New Adventure scot-free. or almost. I still didn't know how Michael's talk with Ben had gone, nor had I told him anything about Justin. So, while we were doing the dishes - which took us twice the regular amount of time two normal people would take, since we're a couple of worthless asses at anything related to that room in the house - we took the opportunity to tell the other how our conversations had been. Of course I spared Michael of Justin's venom and disbelief in our future together. And something tells me Michael did the same to me. I never expected his talk with Ben could be that harsh, but I understood Ben perfectly. Who wouldn't have been pissed at being put aside? However, there was one thing I would have done differently: I guess I would have miserably begged him to stay. I could never afford losing Michael after having had his love. Then again, how could Ben fight against 18 years of love? That's the difference between Ben and I, Michael loves me and there's nothing he can do to reverse that. Actually, there's nothing anybody could do to change that, except me. Except if I fuck it up. And let's face it, I'm a master in that art. Work done, we went back to the cushions and had all those things that I had set for us with my most wicked intentions. We spread them over each other, playing, laughing, teasing, until all that was left were our sticky bodies. Mikey used his long tongue to lap the marshmallow on my navel and his eyes locked on mine. For a few seconds I could say time stopped. my heart began to beat differently. I heard nothing, except my shallow breathing. He came closer and kissed me gently, reaching my tongue and bathing it with his, lazily dancing them together. When he pulled away, I didn't even dare to open my eyes, I just let him do whatever he wanted to me. He's just touching me... sliding his warm palm on my skin... brushing his knuckles... checking... feeling. It's not a tease. It's more. It's different. It's paralyzing. He touches me and my heart pounds wildly in my chest. I close my eyes. Will he understand what he'll see in them if I look at him? I shudder underneath his fingers. He grasps at my hip, digging his fingers at the side of my butt. Some conscious part of my mind reminds me he might like that particular spot, he does that a lot. He releases his hold to caress my thigh... the outside, the inside, the back... I feel a heat on my stomach but no hands, just the warmth of him. He's near, I can tell. He's not touching me anymore and I squirm at the lack of him. He sees it, senses it, hears my thoughts. His hands resume their task. I sigh, relieved. He touches my chest, feeling the beat of my heart. I rest my hand over his, entwining our fingers, smiling. When I open my eyes, he's boring into me, telling me all the things I never knew I needed to know. His face approaches mine. His forehead leans on mine. 'You're beautiful,' he whispers. I... blush. It's different to hear this now. He's told me that before, but now, it took a different angle. I smile goofy at him. He disentangles his hand from mine and touches my face. I close my eyes again and bite my lower lip. I'm a mess of emotions. I'm one exposed nerve end, emotionally. It's scary how he makes me feel... I never thought I was capable of feeling that. I'm still not used to it. He kisses my eyelids, one then the other. They flutter open, a will of their own. My eyes seek his. My mouth needs his. He kisses me... tenderly. I gasp. Mikey. His lips... his tongue... his mouth... warm, soft. He takes me into his arms, one arm around my neck, the other encircling my waist.... I'm his... He knows it. I feel myself melting down, fusing with him. He presses me firmly against his body. My arms go instinctively wrap to themselves around him, pulling him to lie on top of me. He rests his weight on me. I open my legs to him, hooking my feet together, right above his hip, entrapping him. He's mine. He's inside me. Oh, God, this is so good... I never want it to end. And he knows it because he takes his time, slowly torturing me, thrusting into me, touching me. My mouth releases low gasps and moans that I can't control. He kisses me again and softly asks me to open my eyes whenever they involuntarily shut. I know what he wants. He wants to see how he touches my soul with his every move. He wants to see me cumming and I give him that. I would give him anything. 'Brian, you're beautiful when you're being fucked,' he whispers against my cheek, while holding me in his arms. 'I love it when you fuck me, Mikey.' I kiss him. I'm as much his as he is mine. My legs entwine his, closing the distance between our bodies - if that was at all possible - and we rest in each other's arms, falling asleep. 'Brian...' '...mmm...' 'Brian... phone.' 'mmm... Mikey...' 'Cell...' 'What?...' 'Your cell... ringing.' My hand blindly searched the floor and the coffee table for the damn thing that had pulled us out of our slumber. 'This had better be fucking important,' I half growled to whoever was on the other side, going back to Mikey's warmth, sneaking into his arms again. Tbc.....