A/N: Okay, you twisted my arm! Here's the next part of the story that begins their eventual wedding ceremony and honeymoon - hope I do them justice! Thanks to everyone who has been reading my "fairy tale' and especially those who have taken the time to encourage me - I greatly appreciate it. Hope you enjoy! Keep the feedback coming - I LOVE it!
"Justin? Are you here?" Brian carefully draped his coat on the back of the recliner before searching for his partner in the loft.
"Down in the studio," he heard in response. Walking down the spiral staircase, he observed his partner in a typical position: peering intently, paintbrush in hand, at a work-in-progress – an abstract painting of dramatic color and texture. Unlike recent works, however, even an untrained eye could tell this one was much more vibrant and uplifting in nature, as opposed to the somber and stark pieces his fiancé had worked on during the ordeal with Prescott. Besides, the vibrant smile he received as his partner looked over at him would have been answer enough anyway.
Walking over to steal a sound kiss from the blond, he smiled in return and scrutinized his partner's latest effort. "Very passionate," Brian proclaimed, "Just like its creator." He wrapped his arms around Justin's torso and nuzzled his neck. "But if you can put your paintbrush down for a second, I've got some travel information for you," he whispered, breathing in his partner's ear. He received a sigh of pleasure in response before the other man promptly set his brush down on the nearby palette and turned around in his arms, placing his hands to circle the brunet's neck.
Eyes twinkling with excitement, he demanded, "Tell me now," as he lightly fidgeted on the balls of his feet, "Before I have to resort to methods of torture to get you to talk." When the brunet just smiled and didn't offer any immediate information, his partner moved to place his slender hands at the other's waist with the intention of tickling the news out of him.
"Uh, uh, uh, no, you don't, Sunshine!" Brian declared, swiftly capturing the other man's hands in his own. "Is that any way to treat your future husband?" He tried to sound stern as he asked his question, but the curled-under lips and sparkle in the hazel eyes gave him away instantly; he never could say no to this man, anyway, and the little twat knew it.
"Bri-an." The blond, changing his battle tactics, decided to resort to good old whining with a little bit of the puppy-dog look in an attempt to be successful. "Come ON! You can't say that and just drop it NOW! Spill!" he insisted, twisting in the other man's firm grip in a futile effort to dislodge himself.
Laughing now, Brian taunted, "Is that the best you can do, little boy?"
"Actually, no," Justin answered calmly. A little TOO calmly, Brian thought and with good reason, because suddenly he felt a kick from the other man that caused the brunet to lose his footing and sprawl ungracefully onto the floor.
As Justin lay on top of his partner, Brian still managed a firm hold on the younger man's waist as he murmured sarcastically, smirking, "Even after all this time, you still know how to knock me off my feet, Sunshine."
"I know," Justin replied solemnly, just before bursting out laughing. Brian couldn't help joining him, chuckling as he abruptly pulled the blond down for a passionate kiss. "You're SO easy," he teased the other man.
"And you LOVE it," Justin agreed readily, smiling.
"Yes, I do," Brian easily agreed before turning more serious, his hazel eyes looking at the other man tenderly as he reached to try and control an errant lock of the soft, blond hair. "And I LOVE you."
Kissing his fiancé once more, he finally loosened his hold and allowed Justin to sit up as he sat alongside him. "Now where were we, before you tried to ravage me?" Brian asked innocently.
"BRIAN! I'm about to EXPLODE here! Tell me, you asshole!"
"Okay, Sunshine," Brian laughed, "since you asked so NICELY." As he stood up, he reached a hand out to his partner. "Come upstairs, and I'll SHOW you."
"Seems I've heard that line BEFORE," Justin joked, receiving a quick swat on his ass in response. "Ouch!"
"That's for being so impertinent," Brian chastised him. Pulling the other man towards the stairs, he asked, "Do you want to see where we're going or not?"
"Are you KIDDING?!" Justin squealed, now jogging full steam ahead up the spiral staircase in front of his partner. As he reached the upstairs landing, he looked down to see his partner walking rather nonchalantly up the steps. "Will you fucking HURRY UP!?" he screamed, as Brian simply laughed at him.
"Ah, youth, so impatient, so eager, so IRRITATING……but so adorable," he whispered as he stood next to his now huffy partner who was standing with his arms crossed. Placing a chaste kiss on the blond's cheek, he waggled his long index finger at him, motioning for the other man to follow.
Eagerly tagging along behind him, he stood on his tiptoes to look over the brunet's shoulder as Brian reached into his jacket pocket on the recliner and pulled out two envelopes. "Signed, sealed, and delivered, Sunshine," he announced, as he placed one of the envelopes in the slender hand.
Justin hurriedly opened up the envelope to peer at the contents. Letting out a squeal of joy, he cried, "We're leaving tomorrow!? Shit!" Now totally ignoring the other man, he began to rapidly pace and forth as his brain wheels went into overdrive. "What am I going to wear? We're going to Vermont, where it's cold, but then we're going to Greece, where it's WARM! How am I going to pack? How can I be ready before tomorrow morning!? What about your work? What about MY work? Should I leave someone a key to the studio in case they need to show a painting when I'm gone? We'll need to give them the security code, too. Fuck! Well, don't just stand there – we've got a LOT to do!" For a second, Justin looked at the other man, hands on hips, before he finally threw up his hands and rushed into their bedroom to search for their luggage.
Brian's lips curled under in amusement. What have I gotten myself INTO to? Watching the blond whirlwind bustling around the loft, he felt an emotion he wasn't quite sure how to identify. Love? Certainly. Relief that his partner and the man he loved was finally rid of the dark cloud that had hung over him for the last 18 months? No doubt. But there was something more…..happiness. Happiness and contentment, he finally decided. Two emotions he wasn't really sure he was capable of feeling until his son was born and Justin came into his life and refused to leave – a fact that he would forever be eternally grateful for. Which was good, because the blond devil running around their loft at the moment would take a lifetime to tame, he thought ruefully, as he followed the other man into their bedroom to see what he was doing.
Clothes were splayed out all over the bed now, and pieces of luggage were strewn on the floor. Laughing to himself, Brian commented, "Sunshine, we're going to be gone for three WEEKS, not three YEARS. We can buy some other clothes once we get to Greece," he stated reasonably.
"But, Brian, what are we going to wear to Vermont? It's still fucking COLD there, but I hate to have to take a damn coat that we won't need once we get to Mykonos."
"So just take a lighter jacket. We won't really be in Vermont very long – just overnight, and after all, after we get married, I don't really think we'll be doing much in the way of outdoor activities, except maybe relaxing in the hot tub on the balcony outside our suite. You'll be much too occupied by the indoor workouts," he sexily drawled.
Justin's ears perked up and his eyes twinkled. "Hot tub? Outside our suite?" His mouth got wide as he smiled radiantly. "Really? Do we get room service, too?"
Brian smiled indulgently. "Only YOU would be worried about food. Yes to both, Sunshine. Really. Now pack a few DECENT clothes for Greece and your sketch pad, but leave a lot of empty space for some NEW clothes and some of those horrible tourist trap trinkets you always seem to be fascinated with," he added, trying to sound gruff but failing miserably. The little twat always had that effect on him.
"Okay," Justin agreed, as he started to go through their closet to find just the right apparel to place in his suitcase. Noticing that Brian hadn't moved from his spot near the entryway, he remarked, "I know how much you enjoy walking around without any clothes on, but can't you at least start packing something so we don't get thrown out of the airport before we even leave the Pitts?"
"Mmmm…I'm having too much fun watching YOU agonize over what to take," he teased. "And, furthermore, I don't think I'll need much in the way of clothes. I read where Mykonos has a nude gay beach on the island. So I should be right in style, Sunshine," he drawled, ducking as a pillow went whizzing by his head. "Hey!" he growled. "Not near the head!"
"Well, you may fit right in on Mykonos, and in your normal unclothed state you may be able to just whizz by the security checkpoint at the airport, but your sexy little derrière may get just a little frostbitten in Vermont, and that would be a travesty before it gets properly warmed up," he chided. "So get your ass over here and HELP ME PACK!"
Laughing, Brian acquiesced. "Okay, Sunshine, I'll do it for you. Got to protect one of my best ass-ets, I suppose. Although yours comes in a close second," he admitted teasingly as he neared the bed, receiving the second pillow smack in his stomach this time. "Oomph!"
"Seriously, though, Brian, what do we tell everybody about where we're going? I didn't know we were leaving TOMORROW. I mean, I'm sure they can understand us wanting to get away after everything we've been through with the trial and all, but I haven't told anyone we're leaving so soon. I've got to at least tell my mom and Daphne. And you know how Michael will be if you don't let HIM know. He'll think you've fucking deserted him or something."
"Now, Sunshine, you don't give me enough credit. I didn't get to be such an advertising genius by not planning ahead," he advising, receiving a rolling of the eyes in return. "I've already told both Mother Taylor AND Mother Michael that we are leaving on a little vacation starting tomorrow, and they've agreed to watch over things while we're gone. Theodore's going to mind Kinnetik, with a little help from Cynthia, and call me on my cell ONLY if it's an emergency. Of course, with Theodore, running out of bottled water could be an emergency. But that's what the MUTE button on my phone is for," he announced, smiling as if he had just invented the wheel again.
"Well, aren't you just the cleverest little husband-to-be?" Justin pronounced, dropping his task momentarily to wrap his arms around the other man's waist. "I think you deserve a little reward, don't you?"
"You're DAMN right I do…..only you have so many fucking clothes all over the bed, there's no ROOM for any proper reward," he growled.
Releasing his hold on the brunet, Justin abruptly turned and swept all his clothes off the bed in one grand movement. "NOW there's room," he announced, smiling broadly as he began to tug Brian toward the bed.
Just before they both stumbled onto the mattress, Brian grumbled, "Good thing those were all YOUR clothes and not MINE," before Justin laughed and pulled him down for a passionate kiss.