I sparked an interesting discussion over on LJ when I posted this. In the Ethan/Justin relationship in the show (I know, most of us try not to think about it) who do you think topped?
Which leads me nicely onto a warning. This chapter does contain Justin/Ethan smex. SORRY!
"Holy shit Justin, where the hell have you been?" Ethan grabbed him as soon as he walked through the door of the large mansion the pack owned. His arms around Justin felt warm and Justin let himself lean into him for a moment before he pulled away. Ethan frowned, leaned forward slightly and sniffed. He sighed heavily as he ran a hand through his hair. Justin tugged at a thread coming from one of the buttons on the coat. "You've seen Brian." Justin looked up at Ethan, considered lying for a second, but knew Ethan would see through it in an instant, he would also be able to smell it on him.
"He…um…found me," he replied, shrugging and Ethan narrowed his eyes, cupped Justin's face in his hands.
"Did he hurt you?" Justin shook his head, gently shrugged Ethan off, side stepping him and his searching eyes. Ethan frowned again and, for some unknown reason, Justin felt anger bubbling under his skin.
"No…he bought me coffee." He said and spun on his heel up the stairs. He felt Ethan follow.
"What's your fascination with him Justin?" Ethan asked, something other than curiosity in his eyes, something unreadable, dark and almost terrifying. Justin turned at the top of the stairs, took a step back and found himself up against a wall, Ethan looming in front of him.
"He helped me Ethan," Justin said as Ethan's fingers clamped around Justin's arms. Ethan seemed to shiver, his whole body practically undulating before Justin's eyes as he got himself under control. Justin had seen it before when Ethan was furious with another pack member, the anger was sometimes enough to force a turn and Justin swallowed hard.
"He's trying to manipulate you," Ethan said, letting Justin go.
"I feel like everyone is," Justin muttered as he opened the door to the room he had been given. Ethan followed, shut the door behind him.
"Justin…" Ethan began and Justin turned, anger fuelling him, making his mouth work when he should have just stopped and let Ethan talk.
"No, he was there, where the hell were you Ethan? You said the pack looked after each other? Well no one looked after me last night." Justin was shaking by the time Ethan reached him, pulled him close and ran a hand through Justin's hair, his fingers snagging on a clump of mud.
"Justin you ran away from us, from me, last night." Justin looked up and Ethan cupped his face again, fingers pressing in behind his ears.
"I did?" He asked and Ethan nodded, genuine concern on his face. Ethan leaned forward, pressed his lips to Justin's and Justin cursed his body's need for contact as it reacted almost instantly. A slight smirk played on Ethan's lips when he pulled away, pulling at the corners of his mouth.
"Yeah." He breathed, running his nose along Justin's collar bone, breathing in at Justin's pulse. "Something caught your attention and you were off. Half turned. I was too far gone to stop you." He stood up, looked at Justin imploringly. "I'm sorry."
There was a niggling sense of doubt in Justin's mind at those words, and Brian's words echoed in his head.
They're the worst kind of dangerous, the kind that pretends not to be
"Brian…"
"What the hell did he say?" Ethan's demeanour changed almost instantly and Justin saw a hint of the wolf behind his eyes. "He's at it again." He added, almost to himself and Justin frowned.
"What?" He asked, placing a hand on Ethan's arm. He felt the muscles under the skin tighten.
"Sit." Ethan gestured at the bed and Justin knew it wasn't an offer, it was a command. He sat, folded his hands into his lap and wished he had been able to pull some clothes on before hand. He felt vulnerable and Ethan probably knew that. "A few years ago, there was a kid…" Ethan trailed off with a sarcastic laugh. "I say kid, but he was no older than you. He seemed it though. He was…I was…I was in love with him Justin. And Brian took him from me." Justin watched as Ethan wrung his hands, twisted his fingers together and shifted next to him. Justin placed a hand over Ethan's moving ones, stilled them and Ethan looked up at him, eyes open and full of honesty for almost the first time since Justin had known him.
"What do you mean?" Justin asked, dread filling his veins.
"Brian seduced him, tried to turn him." Ethan stood suddenly, running a hand through his hair again and Justin let him pace across the small room. "He killed himself." Justin couldn't help the gasp that escaped his throat and he stood, wrapped him arms around Ethan's waist, and buried his head into Ethan's shoulder blades. Ethan's body was stiff in his grasp. "I just don't want…I would hate for something to happen to you Justin." Ethan unwound Justin's fingers from his waist and turned, resting his hands on Justin's shoulders, his thumbs stroking along Justin's pulse. "Don't make me feel that pain again." Ethan said and Justin kissed him, leaned forward and pressed his lips to Ethan's. Ethan breathed in through his nose, pulled Justin tight against his chest and Justin felt his heart thudding through his ribs.
The bed hit the back of his knees and Justin found himself falling backwards, his breath escaping his body as Ethan landed on top, his hands either side of Justin's head as he leaned down and kissed him hard, his hips grinding against Justin's.
"Justin…let me…" Ethan breathed against his neck and Justin nodded, not knowing what he was letting Ethan do, but not caring, not when Ethan nipped at his neck, his fingers opening the buttons on the coat, running along Justin's ribs.
"I need to shower." Justin groaned at when Ethan licked at his nipple and Ethan lifted his head, grinned up at him.
"No you don't. You smell like you. Like the animal you are." He said, leaning down and biting gently at Justin's hip. Justin arched upward, a moan escaping his lips as Ethan's hand closed around his cock, twisted hard. Before Justin had turned he had never found a slight edge of pain a turn on, but it was something obviously to do with the animal inside him, the primal part of him that like it now, that yearned for it, that whined when Ethan dug his fingers into his hips, pressing in hard enough to bruise, or when he swiped his thumb roughly over the tip of Justin's cock, nail scraping slightly, making Justin's hips buck upwards. Ethan pulled the hand clamped at his hip away, pressed two fingers to Justin's lips. Justin sucked them in, wrapping his tongue around them as Ethan continued to twist his hand around his cock. Ethan groaned himself when Justin licked between the two fingers, the skin soft on his tongue. He pulled them out, leaving a trail of saliva along Justin's lips and leaned down to lick at it as he lifted Justin's leg over his shoulder and pressed the two fingers into him. Justin wrenched his mouth away, gasped in air as Ethan curled his fingers and made Justin see stars behind his tightly clamped eyes.
"Justin…" Ethan's voice was harsh in his ear and Justin opened his eyes to see Ethan sitting back, ripping a condom wrapped open with his teeth. His fingers still curled inside Justin as he rolled it on. Justin whined as he pulled his fingers out but bit on his bottom lip when Ethan pushed in. "Fuck, Justin." Ethan groaned as he pushed in all the way and Justin shifted, urging him to move, to make Justin feel something other than the overwhelming sense of fullness. Something other than Brian's fingers trailing over his palm.
It didn't take Ethan long to come, hips stuttering as he bit down on Justin's collar bone. Justin held him close after, feeling the way his body shook. He ran a hand down Ethan's spine, along the bumps of bone under his skin and Ethan's practically purred into Justin's neck.
"What was his name?" Justin asked and Ethan shifted, pulled out of Justin with a groan and Justin winced.
"Dale." He said simply and Justin nodded, pulled him down again, stroking his fingers through the damp hair at Ethan's temple, pushing the images of doing the same to Brian from his mind as he felt Ethan drift off to sleep.
Brian felt him the moment he entered the limits of the city. It was the invisible tether between them, between sire and childe. The one Brian felt with Mikey. Mikey noticed how he stiffened and touched his arm gently.
"Roman?" He asked and Brian nodded, breathing in deeply, ignoring the scent of Justin that still hung in his nostrils from earlier. He did not need to be thinking about Justin right now, especially not when Roman was within minutes of arriving and could read Brian's thoughts as easily as an open book. He pushed the images of Justin away, to the back of his mind, hiding them among memories of killing and blood and mayhem, memories that Roman wouldn't have to pick through, he had been there.
"You ok Bri?" Mikey asked and Brian nodded. "I mean, you know how Roman is, he'll exploit anything that you're worried about."
"Mikey...enough. Ok? Enough." Mikey nodded once, but Brian could tell there were words on the tip of his tongue he was desperate to say. "There is nothing to worry about. Just...relax."
"My thoughts exactly." The door flew open and Brian internally sighed, ever the exhibitionist, Roman smirk at he stood on the threshold of Brian's office, two henchmen flanking him. Brian forced himself to grin back, holding his arms out.
"Roman. Welcome." Roman's hands were cool around his face, his fingers pressing into the skin at the back of Brian's neck as he kissed Brian's cheek. He pulled back and cocked his head to the side, his hands still framing Brian's face. It was unusual for Brian to be shorter than someone, and it felt belittling to look at up at Roman, even if he was only an inch or two taller.
"Still so beautiful Brian." He whispered, pressing his mouth to Brian's. Brian felt Roman's fangs slide out, scrape over the inside of his lower lip as Roman pulled away, pressing a tongue to the tip of one of his fangs.
"I have you to thank for that." Brian replied, tasting blood, and Roman let out a cruel laugh.
"You would never thank me." He said, sweeping a lock of dark hair off his forehead. "Michael, always a pleasure." He greeted Mikey and Mikey, dutifully, bowed slightly. Roman nodded to him, shooed his out of the office with a flick of his hand when he straightened.
"So, what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?" Brian asked, indicating at his seat behind the desk. There was no way that Brian would ever sit in that seat when Roman was in the room, even though Brian was Governor of Pittsburgh, Roman was his maker, that trumped everything.
"Oh Brian, playing coy really doesn't suit you. I think you know." Roman accepted the glass of whiskey Brian handed to him with a smile, his fingers brushing over Brian's. "After all, you had your big burly soldier looking over my shoulder recently."
So Roman had known Ben was there. Brian shrugged slightly, he couldn't swear to the fact that Roman hadn't had spies in Pittsburgh since he'd left. It was the way they worked.
"You really think it's a wise idea to go public?" Brian asked, sitting down and crossing one leg over the other. Roman ran his finger around the rim of the glass, it squeaked slightly. His eyes were dark when they lifted to Brian's.
"No, but I'm tired Brian, of hiding in the shadows. They know we exist. Yet they continue to bury their heads in the sand and carry on like there isn't something hungry waiting in the shadows for them." Roman's eyes flashed and Brian had a sudden image of Roman reaching for him, chin covered with blood, hungry look in his eyes as they flashed with lust. Brian shook his head and Roman smirked.
"Still implanting images Roman." Brian said, pressing his fingers to the bridge of his nose. Roman let out a small laugh, lifted the glass to his lips.
"Only the good stuff." He said, holding the glass out in front of him, twirling the liquid round. "That wasn't an image Brian, it was a memory and you know it." Roman suddenly stiffened, sitting up in his seat as Brian caught the scent of Lycanthrope on the air.
"Brian…" Mikey's worried face appeared around the door frame and Brian nodded, standing, bowing slightly to Roman.
"I will take care of this." He said as he shut the door. Mikey was practically vibrating with pent up energy next to him and Brian laid a hand on his arm. "Stay here. Make sure he stays here." He said, nodding in the direction of the office. Mikey nodded.
Brian felt the urge to rip out Ethan's throat right there in the middle of the dance floor, as he walked through the club. The kids timing was impressive, almost like he knew tonight was the worst time to show up.
Brian stopped on the dance floor, closed his eyes and zeroed in on the scent, opened his eyes as he found himself standing in front of the culprit.
"Justin." Justin spun on his heel, eyes wide. Brian narrowed his eyes, flicked them briefly around the club.
"He's not here." Justin said, crossing his arms. "He'd probably kill me if he knew I was."
"Why can I only smell him then?" Brian asked, stepping closer to Justin. Justin took a step back, fingers closing around the edge of the bar. "Was it a good fuck?" He asked and Justin swallowed.
"I…" Brian leaned in closer and his eyes followed the movement of Justin's throat, watched at his pulse speed up, the small twitch in his neck thumping against his skin.
"Did he make you come? Did you call out his name when you came? Or was it me that you were thinking of?" Brian asked, his voice low, saying the words directly into Justin's ear. Justin's hips arched into him, pressing against Brian's thigh and Brian pulled away suddenly, leaving Justin with heavy eyes, his breath catching in his throat.
""You know what? I don't care. You picked the wrong night to come flaunt your new found sexual conquests. Get out of my club." Brian wrapped his fingers around Justin's arm, gripping hard and Justin struggled, some of the residual energy from last night still ran through his veins because he managed to wrench himself free.
"I didn't come to flaunt." He said, anger rolling off him in waves. Brian crossed his arms.
"Well why did you come then? Because I'm a little busy right now and I don't have time to show you what you're missing by being with Ethan so…"
"Dale." Justin said. The name was so simple, one small syllable but Brian stiffened, body going colder than normal as a familiar feeling of failure and guilt washed over him, a flash of Dale's stricken face
"What?"
"Dale. I know what happened. And I came to tell you, that I'm no longer confused."
"Well good for you, Pet. Did you come up with the conclusion all on your own? Or did have help?" Brian asked, sarcasm dripping over his words and Justin glared.
"You can't use me as a pawn in your war against Ethan anymore. I know who's side I'm on. And it isn't yours." Justin's face was set, a look of determination in his eyes, but a slight waver in his voice gave his fear away. And Brian could still smell his desire though, even through the stench of Ethan. He tried to ignore the almost overwhelming jealousy at the image of Ethan covering Justin's body with his own.
"You obviously know nothing of what happened Sunshine." Brian said, his voice low as the nickname slipped out. "And I don't care to tell you if you are willing to believe lies so easily, all for the sake of a quick fuck. Now get out of my club." Brian signalled at the bouncer who pushed his way through the crowd towards them. "Now." Justin glared, and shook his arm free from the bouncer.
"Goodbye Brian." Justin turned, walked through the crowd and Brian tried to push away the feeling of loss and dread as the crowd swallowed him up.
"Everything alright?" Roman asked as Brian shut the office door behind him. He took the few steps across the office to the desk, took a large mouthful of whiskey, then nodded.
"Everything is fine." He replied and Roman raised an eyebrow. "It's fine inow/i." He corrected and Roman nodded.
"Now." He said. "Where were we?"
"You were dredging up my memories." Brian replied. Roman laughed, leaned across the desk and ran his fingers down Brian's face, curling them under his chin.
"Still so much hatred in there for me Brian. You're going to have to let that go one day." He said and Brian leaned back far enough that Roman's fingers fell away.
"So." Roman said, clapping his hands and rubbing them together, his face full of an almost childish glee. "What have you got planned for my visit?"
Roman had been in Pittsburgh for a few days, revelling hard like the old days, drowning himself in blood, alcohol and women. The odd man if he took his fancy and he looked like Brian. Roman had a type, and he stuck to it. Flaunting it in Brian's face, laughing when Brian asked him to slow down.
Brian's feelings for Roman were mixed, so convoluted, a dangerous concoction of hatred and revulsion, love and desire and duty. He hated it sometimes, hated that he still felt how Roman felt, deep in his bones he knew that Roman was thinking about him. He also knew that Roman could take him whenever he wanted, older and stronger as he was. But that he didn't. And Brian respected him for that.
It was a good thing that Brian had most of the Pitts Police force in his back pocket. Roman was leaving a string of destruction in his wake, drained bodies that had Brian biting his tongue to stop him from saying anything. When one corpse turned up outside the club, a crumpled pile of too pale limbs, blond hair and wide blue eyes, Brian snapped. The body looked too much like Justin for his liking and Brian knew that Roman was aware of more than he was letting on.
"Roman." Brian shouted through the mansion at the edge of the city that he had been past down to him when Roman had left him Pitts. Brian hated it, it was too big, too gaudy but Roman had always loved it. He appeared at the top of the stairs, licking blood off his fingers. Brian felt the blood lust stir in his belly as Roman walked down the steps, trailing his fingers over the railings.
"You yelled?" He asked, shaking his head. "So uncouth Brian, I thought I taught you better than that?"
"You may be my maker, and you may have been the Governor of this city once, but its mine now. You do things my way." Brian gripped at the railings, his knuckles going whiter than normal. Roman cocked his head to the side, looking amused yet confused at the same time. Brian could feel the underlying anger though.
"I think you forget yourself Brian." He said, turning on his heel to go back up the stairs. Brian could hear the faint gasps from upstairs, the dying gasps of a girl in pain and he reached out, wrapped his fingers around Roman's arm. Roman snarled as he spun faster than humanly possible, pressed Brian into the wall, his fingers squeezing around Brian's throat.
"You've gone soft Brian. Stopping killings, letting werewolves into your club, run around like they own this city. You don't think I didn't smell that blond kid on you. You don't think I didn't smell your desire for him." Roman's whispered, his fangs out, pressing into Brian's neck. Brian arched up, his fingers clutching at Roman's vice like grip around his neck, his body reacting to the close proximity of Roman. Roman licked at Brian's skin, pressing his hips into Brian's. "It stops now." He said before he pressed his mouth to Brian's.
Brian tasted blood on his kiss as Roman's tongue licked into his mouth and his body hummed with he need to feed.
"If you had killed you would be able to fight me." Roman said, words harsh against Brian's lips as his hand pressed hard into Brian's crotch. Brian growled, arched his hips towards the touch and felt Roman's smirk. "But maybe." Roman continued pulling Brian's pants open and pushing them down his thighs. The harsh drag of denim against Brian's skin made him hiss. "Maybe you don't want to fight me. Maybe you've grown bored with fighting me." He said and Brian wound his hand around the back of his neck, pulling him forward to kiss him again, to stop him talking. The need for something other than the almost feather-light touch of Roman's fingers against his now hard cock over taking what little sense Brian had.
Roman's touch changed, his fingers gripped hard and twisted and Brian bit down on Roman's lip, dragging his teeth along the delicate skin. Roman growled, swiped his thumb over the head of Brian's cock. Roman dragged his mouth away, grinning at Brian, his fangs tinted pink with Brian's and the girls blood.
"Let go Brian." Roman whispered into his ear, twisted his hand again. Brian felt it build up in his belly, lust twisting with anger as it rose up his chest, catching in his throat. "Come for me." Roman sunk his fangs into Brian's neck and he came, an almost guttural cry escaping his throat as his head fell back against the wall and Roman drank from him.
"Now." Said Roman as he pulled away, licked at his hand delicately, a line of blood falling from the corner of his mouth. Brian resisted the urge to pull him back and lick it off, swallowed down the nausea that rose up his throat. "No more talk of 'your way' Brian. Don't make me angry. Don't make me hurt you, or anyone you care about." Roman kissed him then, harsh and punishing but Brian still found himself reacting to it, cock twitching valiantly as Roman pulled back and licked at his lips.
Brian watched as Roman walked back up the stairs, blocked his ears against the terrified whimper that escaped the girl as Roman shut the door of the room, and tried to swallow down the dread, that if he wasn't careful, something might happen to Mikey.
Or Justin.
Brian sighed heavily as he hung up the phone. Talking to the officers of the Pitts was getting annoying. Roman's antics were weighing on Brian's mind, the senseless killings he had tried so hard to put a stop to had started again, and now there were rumours that even Emmett had joined in, his love of anything with a pretty face had taken over. Brian needed to have a word and remind him who ran the city. He didn't blame him, no one could, it took every ounce of strength Brian had not to drain the person he was feeding on sometimes, the blood lust took over, pumping through his veins, the animal instincts that made them almost invincible.
Justin was also weighing on his mind, the anger in the kids voice as he said goodbye had been taunting Brian for three days. Add that to the fact that Ethan had obviously spun some vicious lie to him, made Brian all the more infuriated. Why Ethan felt the need to play games with people Brian would never know.
Somehow Justin had crawled under Brian's skin, without even trying and Brian was finding it harder and harder to get him out. And he had no idea why, why the kids eyes were usually the last thing he saw as he closed his own, why the feel of Justin's almost too hot skin under his hands was always there, burning his palms as he wrapped his fingers around his own cock.
Brian squeezed the phone in his hand, heard the plastic crack satisfyingly in his grip. He needed to fuck the kid, get him out of his system and move on. It was affecting his life and it needed to stop.
"I want a party." Roman announced and he appeared in the doorway of Brian's office, the smell of sex and blood was heavy, like a storm cloud around him as he walked to the chair in front of Brian's desk and flopped down. He flung his leg over the edge of the chair and slouched. Brian raised an eyebrow. Despite being centuries old, Roman still had the ability to behave like a spoilt child sometimes.
"What kind of party?" Brian asked and Roman sat up, leaning his elbows against his things, his chin in his hand. He had the glow of a fresh kill about him and Brian mentally cursed yet another phone call to Officer Horvath.
"Fancy dress." He replied, grinning slightly, pressing his tongue to a fang.
"Serious?"
"Deadly. I want people to dress up." He said, standing up and stretching his arms above his head. There was a strip of pale skin between his shirt and his pants and Brian felt the urge to bite at it running through him. Roman smirked as if he knew exactly what Brian was thinking. "Oh, and invite the werewolves." Brian's felt like he had been punched in the stomach and blinked up at Roman before his brain kicked back into gear.
"What?" Roman leaned forward, his hands pressing into the piles of paper of Brian's desk.
"Brian." He said, running a hand through Brian's hair. Brian couldn't help himself from arching slightly into the touch and Roman smirked again. "I'll need their help when we go public, their support. Invite them."
"You want to rule them." Brian said as Roman's hand wound into the hair at the back of his neck. Roman tugged slightly to the side and bared Brian's neck.
"Yes," he agreed, whispering the word onto Brian's lips, "but initially I'll need their support. Invite them Brian, don't argue with me." He let Brian go suddenly and stalked out of the office, leaving Brian with a throbbing headache building in the back of his head, and the feeling that things were about to go horribly wrong.
"Dammit."