Disclaimer: -sigh- Showtime and Cowlip are ignoring my pleas yet again. Still don't own 'em.

Rooftops
Chapter Seven

Michael hurried down the sidewalk in the direction of the Bruckners' brownstone. He'd been at the gym a little longer than expected this morning, pushing himself to do just a little more. He hadn't even realized that he was late until he had gotten out of the shower at Vic's.

He was so preoccupied that he almost walked right by the front steps. Catching himself on the failing he took the steps two at a time and rang the doorbell.

He didn't know what the plan was but Vic wasn't home so they weren't supposed to be in the apartment. Nevertheless he was in a pleasant mood.

Until the door opened.

Mr. Bruckner stood there, blocking Michael's entrance to the house. It wasn't that Mr. Bruckner had ever been particularly cruel to him but they both knew that he had heard what had been said in that kitchen.

"Michael." His voice wasn't exactly cold but it certainly wasn't welcoming in any way.

"Hi Mr. Bruckner, I'm supposed to meet Ben-"

"He's upstairs," he said curtly, opening the door to let Michael past.

Michael darted past him and up the stairs without another word. He had no idea what about him Mr. Bruckner found so offensive, and thus no idea how to fix it. He also had no idea how to deal with fathers, having never had one of his own.

He reached the top of the stairs and ducked into Ben's room, only to find it empty. He stood there for a moment before sticking his head out into the hall.

"Ben?" he called.

"In here," a voice echoed from a few doors down.

Michael entered the new room to find Ben seated on the edge of a large mahogany desk as a printer spat out pieces of paper.

"What is this?" he asked.

"My mom's office," Ben replied. "I'm almost done."

Michael looked around. He was almost uncomfortable being here. He wasn't really sure how Ben's mom felt about him. He would have walked right out if it had been Ben's dad's office.

Finally the printer ejected a final piece of paper and fell silent. Ben scooped up the pile and clipped them together, leaving them on the desk as he reached out for Michael. Using his belt loops he tugged Michael the few feet between them so that they were face to face and kissed him.

"How was the gym?"

"Good," Michael said, "Think I'm gonna be sore later though."

"Mmm…" Ben replied before kissing him again.

Michael pulled back a little, "Don't you think we should go back to your room before we start this up?"

Ben pulled off an exaggerated sigh, "You take the fun out of everything." He did, however, release his hold on Michael and pick up the document he had just printed, ushering Michael across the hall to his bedroom.

"It's just, I don't think your parents like me very much," Michael pointed out.

Ben snorted, "My mother adores you."

"Really?"

Ben nodded. "She thinks you're the best thing that has ever happened to me. I mean, I had a boyfriend at school last year but it never got anything close to serious, and she's sick of seeing me go out and party every night. She thinks you've really calmed me down."

Michael had gotten what Ben had implied when he said party. He wasn't disillusioned enough to think that Ben hadn't been more like Brian than he was comfortable admitting before he'd come around.

"Calmed you down?" he raised a skeptical eyebrow as he sat down at Ben's desk.

"She likes you." Ben told him, taking a seat on the bed, "She also likes to think that her baby can do no wrong. Let's just leave it at that."

"What about your dad?"

Ben frowned, "I don't really know what to say about him, Michael. He seems to be able to accept the fact that I'm gay but he's never really been that supportive of me seeing anyone. He knows I'm not going to grow out of it, but I think he keeps hoping…" he trailed off for a moment. "Don't take it personally. Especially with everything we're fighting about this summer he's just using you as another distraction."

"Am I a distraction?"

"Yes," Ben said immediately.

Michael frowned. That hadn't been the response that he was hoping for.

"But I am so happy to have you as a distraction. Now, will you come over here rather than sitting all the way across the room."

Michael grinned as he got up out of the chair and let Ben pull him down onto the bed.

"Here," he handed Michael the collection of papers that he had printed out.

"What's this?" Michael asked, not looking away from Ben.

"My narrative." Ben said, "I want you to read it."

Michael's eyes widened a bit, "Are you sure?"

Ben nodded. "I trust you."

Michael looked down at the thick document in his hands. "You have no idea how much you saying that means."

Ben was quiet for a moment. This was one of the moments where he wished that he had known Michael longer. Things like this threw him because he had absolutely no idea what Michael meant, or what to say to him.

Carefully, he placed a hand under Michael's chin, guiding him up to a warm kiss that quickly found Michael on his back with Ben pressed on top of him. His fingers found their way under the hem of Michael's shirt, sliding carefully over his abs. Michael tipped his head back letting a laugh bubble through his lips, his fingers curling in the sleeves of Ben's t-shirt.

However, as Ben shifted his weight Michael let out a pained groan. Immediately Ben shifted his weight so that none of it was pressed onto Michael.

"You weren't kidding about being sore, were you?"

"I'm fine," Michael insisted, "I just pulled something when I was lifting."

"Well," Ben sat down on the bed next to him, "What do you propose we do then?"

Michael scowled at him. "I'm fine, really."

"I wouldn't want to hurt you." There was a smile behind Ben's eyes now. "We could go watch a movie in the rec room."

"If by go watch a movie you mean make out on the couch, then sure."

"Mmm… you learn quickly," Ben smirked, heading for the door.

Michael followed closely behind him. "So, are you working tomorrow?"

"No," Ben said, "I have to on Thursday though, and then my parents want to have lunch and a 'talk.'"

Michael looked at him hesitantly. "Talk?"

Ben sighed, "I've been promising my mother that I would talk to my Dad about things since I got home. I guess it's just time to bite the bullet and do it."

"You can come to Vic's place if you need to get away after. I mean, I know after I fight with my mom I usually don't want to be around her."

Ben pulled him down onto the couch, "I'll be fine."

Sadly things never went quite as planned in the Bruckner house.

"So, classes are all set for next semester?" his mother asked him, "I know you said that you were having trouble getting into a few classes."

"I went and got signatures from a few professors. I've had most of them before so they didn't have a problem signing me in."

"What classes are you taking?" His father asked, picking at the salad in front of him, not looking up.

"Well, my writing seminar," Ben said, "obviously. And I'm also taking Argument and Persuasion, British Lit., Creative Nonfiction and my second philosophy."

The fork stopped moving and Ben looked at his father.

"You told me you were taking a few politics courses this semester."

"They don't fit into my schedule."

Both Ben and his mother jumped as his father suddenly banged his fists on the table, looking up to glare at Ben. "They should be all that's in your schedule!"

Ben sat back in his chair. He wasn't going to say anything if he didn't have to.

"I expect a reply, young man."

"I'm majoring in English."

"At Yale?" his father sounded incredulous, "What the hell are you going to do with a degree in English, Benjamin? Teach at a high school? We're paying good money for you to go there and you're throwing it down the drain."

"So stop paying; I'll apply for more scholarships," Ben snapped back, "I don't have any interest in politics or law, Dad. I'm sorry to burst your bubble but I like to write and I'm good at it. And I want to write and teach college."

"And you think I'm going to pay for that?"

"Peter," his mother tried to stop the building argument.

"Of course not," Ben snapped, "I would never be that irrational. I'm going to get tuition reimbursement somewhere and get a job on campus."

"You need to do something practical."

"I need to do something that I can halfway stand. I wanted to fucking cry every time I had to sit through that class last semester."

"Ben, I told you when you started going there that I wasn't going to let you waste your time with this writing thing." Lunch was completely forgotten now. "Now, you only have two years left. You have to be careful and shape up, take the classes you need."

"I am taking the classes that I need."

"No, you're at an Ivy League school and I expect you to take classes that are appropriate, that are going to enable you to send your kids there one day."

Ben was almost tempted to ask 'what kids,' but he didn't want to make his mother upset as well.

"Even if it wasn't law, Mr. Dean would have taken you on at his firm this summer. That experience would have been invaluable. But no, you're staying at that cheap hole-in-the-wall where you'll probably end up bussing tables for the rest of your life with the degree you're going for, and spending every other waking moment with that piece of trash."

Ben stood up abruptly, knocking his chair to the floor.

"Fuck you." He said very clearly to his father. "I don't know where you get off passing judgments on other people but I am happy with Michael, and I am happy writing. And you know what, I would rather work at the café until the day I die than end up as miserable as you."

He was so incredibly fucked. Saying that had to be pretty unforgivable. Instead of waiting for a response he used the moment of silence to dart past his mother and head toward the front door,

"Ben," his mother called after him, but he just kept going. He needed to get out.

He ran a few blocks, until he was sure they hadn't followed him, before slowing down. He pulled a cigarette out of the pack in his pocket and lit it. His hands were shaking and he wondered if even the nicotine rush would calm him down. He needed to be by himself and clear his head for a while. And there was no way that he was going back to that house today, but for now he couldn't deal with anyone, not even Michael.

Michael didn't even quicken his pace as the knocking at the door became frantic. It was just past ten and he'd already opened the door on three separate occasions to tell Vic's friends that he was stuck at work and would meet them at the club when he finally got out.

"Vic's-" he began, opening the door. Even as he saw who it was and tried to stop himself his voice continued, "-not here."

Ben managed to grin at him, "I wasn't really looking for him, but we can go chill up on the roof if you aren't comfortable without him here."

Michael rolled his eyes and held open the door to let Ben in. He really hadn't expected to see him, especially not looking as down as he did.

"Are you okay?" he asked, shutting the door.

Ben flopped against the arm of the couch and waited until Michael sat down next to him before speaking.

"I had that talk with my dad."

"Oh," Michael replied quietly, "It didn't go well, I guess."

"That's an understatement," Ben agreed. "We ended up screaming at each other. Technically, I'm pretty sure I heard him screaming that I was grounded as I left the house but I don't think that works now that I'm in college."

He sighed, reaching out and resting a hand on Michael's forearm.

Michael looked up at Ben, finally really seeing his face. His eyes were rimmed in red as though he had been crying and he looked away quickly.

Michael shifted the way he was sitting and leaned over Ben, pressing a kiss to his cheek, "I'm sorry."

He relaxed his weight on top of Ben, wrapping his arms up around his neck. Ben hugged him back as they made themselves comfortable.

"God, I can only imagine the screaming that's going to go on when I get home," he muttered.

"So, don't go." Michael laid his head on Ben's chest as Ben's fingers tangled though his hair.

"Stay here?"

"Why not?" Michael asked, "Vic's going out, and working in the morning. And considering the fact that he hasn't felt the need to check on me since I was nine or ten I think we'll be okay."

"Are you sure we can pull it off?" Ben asked.

Michael nodded.

Ben sat up and kissed Michael lightly. "You know I love you, right?"

A small grin grew on Michael's face and he leaned down to kiss Ben again.

Ben hadn't expected a response but slid his hands around Michael's back, holding him close.

It was hours later that they finally made their way to Michael's room. Michael left the door open slightly. It was Vic's rule that they weren't supposed to close it when they were in Michael's room alone, so in the odd case that he chose to check on them they wouldn't be in more trouble than they were already.

It was now that Michael was beginning to second guess his invitation. The only other guy he had ever really shared a bed with was Brian, and that was different. He wasn't sure if the invitation had implied anything. Despite what had happened at Brandon's party the previous weekend and the fact that he and Ben had spent the evening wrapped around each other he couldn't help but blush a little as Ben tugged his shirt up and over his head. He had obviously been working out more and more this summer.

There was a lump forming in his throat as he undid the button on his jeans. His mind was wandering and as Ben's hand came down on his shoulder he jumped.

Ben let out a chuckle. "Hey," he said quietly, sensing Michael's uneasiness, "I'm not going to make you do anything that you don't want to do."

Michael let Ben hug him from behind as he nodded in response.

If Ben was being honest with himself he knew that Michael wasn't ready for anything, and after they day he'd had he knew he was more exhausted than anything else.

He finished undressing and climbed into Michael's bed. Michael slid into bed next to him and Ben immediately wrapped an arm around him, resuming very much the position they had been in on the couch, Michael's back pressed to Ben's chest.

"I'm only here for another two weeks," Michael said.

"Shh…" Ben's arm tightened across his chest. "I know."

"I wish New York and Pittsburgh were closer together," Michael continued quietly.

Ben shifted so that Michael fell onto his back, so that they could look one another in the face. "Is there another time of year that you come to visit Vic?"

Michael shook his head, "Sometimes over my February break but this year I'll have to be working, and you'd be away at school anyway."

Ben nodded, trying to imagine not seeing Michael for such long stretches of time.

"I've got a long break over Columbus day weekend," he said in a hushed voice, leaning down closer to Michael. "Maybe I can come down for a long weekend."

"Are you serious?"

"Of course."

A wide smile pulled across Michael's face.

"Though, I wonder if your mother's rules will be as strict as your uncle's," Ben mused, once again pulling Michael close.

Michael chuckled, "She'll just be glad that I'm bringing home someone who isn't Brian."

Ben smiled too, leaning in and kissing Michael, knowing they should be getting some sleep.

Vic rolled onto his back, slamming his hand down on the buzzing alarm clock. The trick sleeping next to him hadn't even stirred. He looked at the young man for a moment, the same one whom he had found sleeping in his bed on several occasions now.

Sam was a great lay, but he marveled at how much the young man got by without a real job, sleeping the hours that he did. He didn't want to sound egotistical but Vic was proud to have a job that paid as well as his did.

He pushed himself out of bed without disturbing the other sleeping figure and headed for the solitude of the shower, enjoying the relaxed pace he could set in order to be ready for work. After letting the hot water undo the damage of the night before he pulled on a pair of pants before making his way to the kitchen for his first cup of coffee. The timer on the machine never failed him, and the streaming liquid was ready.

As he took that first exquisite sip from the mug his eyes caught on the guest room door. It was ajar.

That was odd. It was usually too early for him to be out of bed, but he hadn't known Michael to be up at this hour since he had been a child. And Michael always slept with the door tightly closed. Even in the event that it was ajar by mistake he knew Sam tended to be pretty loud when he went on his way in the mornings so he walked over to check in quickly, and shut the door.

As his hand settled on the doorknob he peeked inside the room. His heart stopped.

Michael was rolled onto his side near the edge of the bed, one leg sticking out from underneath the sheet. But the problem was he wasn't alone. His back was pressed firmly up against Ben's chest, and the older boy was curled up behind him, one arm wrapped protectively around Michael. Both were shirtless but he couldn't tell anything beyond that.

What startled him was how intimate they looked.

In fact, it startled him so much that he dropped his coffee mug, and it shattered as it hit the floorboards.

Michael had always been a heavy sleeper, but Ben surprised him by starting awake immediately. He jerked up into a semi-sitting position, though his arm never moved from around Michael, and his eyes locked almost immediately with Vic's.

"Fuck," Vic muttered quietly, bringing a hand up and pinching the bridge of his nose. This was going to cause problems on so many levels.

Finally he opened his eyes. Ben was still staring at him.

"Did you two…" he trailed off, assuming the implication spoke for itself.

Ben shook his head.

Vic sighed, well, at least he didn't have to deal with that hurdle yet.

"So, you've each got at least a pair of boxers on under there?" He didn't know why he was keeping his voice down, perhaps as not to wake Michael.

Ben nodded.

Vic sighed again, nodding. "I expect you to still be here when I get back from work. There have to be consequences for this."

Ben nodded again, he understood.

Vic walked back to the kitchen to fetch some paper towels to clean up the coffee. When he returned to the open doorway Ben had climbed out of bed. He was only wearing a pair of boxers but it was more than Vic had expected.

"Be careful, don't cut yourself on the mug," he warned, noting Ben's bare feet.

Mentally he was kicking himself, when had he become such a father? Oh, that's right, the day Michael was born and Debbie had handed him his nephew. That was a hell of a lot of pressure to put on a fifteen year old.

Once the coffee was mopped up and the broken pieces of the mug were cleared away Ben followed him into the living room.

"You should know better," Vic told him, his voice a bit louder.

Ben nodded. He looked appropriately ashamed, "Are you going to tell my parents?"

Vic just looked at him.

"I didn't uhh… tell them that I stayed here last night but I think they might kind of assume."

Vic sighed heavily, "Why did you stay here?"

"I had a fight with my dad."

"I'll tell them you slept on the couch," Vic promised.

"Thank you."

"But don't think that you're getting off easy with me."

"Of course not."

"It's early; you should get some more sleep."

Ben nodded, pausing for a moment before starting toward the couch.

Vic grabbed him by the arm and, knowing he would probably regret it later, pointed back in the direction of Michael's room.

Ben looked at him questioningly.

"Just go before I change my mind."

Ben didn't need to be told twice, he made his way quickly to Michael's room, this time closing the door securely behind him.

Vic sighed again and went to pour himself a new cup of coffee. Today was going to be a very long day at work.

As Ben climbed back into bed Michael stirred, rolling over and mumbling groggily at Ben.

"Where'd you go?"

"Bathroom," Ben kissed his cheek, settling into the bed and draping his arm over Michael once again.

"Careful," Michael muttered, rolling over so that he was facing Ben. He let Ben pull him close before he continued, "don't want Vic to catch us."

Ben smiled to himself before pressing another kiss to Michael's forehead.

"Go back to sleep."

Michael's breathing evened out in the next minute, his face buried against Ben's chest. Ben held him close as he made himself comfortable once again. Both of his arms wrapped around Michael's smaller frame. He felt secure here, and safe. There was something about being with Michael that took away all of the shit that he was going through at home. He hoped that he had the same effect on Michael, especially with all he seemed to be going through right now.

He relaxed, suddenly realizing how tired he was. He'd been stressing out for far too long and this was his first chance to relax. Letting his eyes close he felt himself slipping back into unconsciousness.

A/N: Wow, I posted this on lj almost a month ago. I can't believe I completely forgot to post it here. I'll get the next chapter up in a few days… someone hold me to that. Sorry if the formatting is a little messed up but my copy/paste job didn't work quite the way I want it to. Anyway, reviews are love and I am working on this on a regular basis, I promise but Junior year is rough and I'm taking some summer classes so gotta get prepped for that.

Until next time,

Megan