To Braden, being him was a piece of cake. The fine whores that bought him a nice percentage that kept his brothel open pleased him whenever and however he chose. Being a man of thirty and having his own business, along with the women suited him a treat. He liked to keep his appearance up to make sure that the women who came crawling trusted that sentimental look he gave, letting them know that everything would be offered to them, protection, money and pleasure, if they gave a little bit in return. He liked knowing that they were stupid and wouldn't think anything of a little bit more money to give to him, and then a little more after that, and more and more. In the end they would think nothing of handing over two thirds of their earnings to make sure nothing bad happened to them. Yes, he thought, being him was a piece of cake.
Until a young man arrived in his view.
Or should he say, a supposed young woman, seeing only the back of the figures head and their posture predicted otherwise to a young man. This young man was lean and quite skinny, and the make-up fooled him. He approached the teenage boy with a charismatic attitude, ready to gain another employee by any means. The teen was standing on the corner of a not so busy road side, when Braden spoke up to get the supposed woman's attention. He swung round with a surprised look, which quickly turned into a seductive 'candy eyed' look. It was only when Braden had got a good look at him that he realised the supposed woman was not a supposed woman at all.
"Hey, what can I do for you tonight?"
Braden took a moment to figure out why someone so attractive could be so male. But his mind changed when he considered that there were people out there willing to be with a man, of course not everyone had the same taste as himself, however much he hated it.
"I think it should be 'what can I do for you tonight'?" Braden replied in time before the boy got suspicious.
"Well that would depend on how much your pocket holds?"
"I'm afraid my pockets are quite empty, but I have a nice proposition for you"
"I believe I'm the one who should be doing the propositioning around here don't you?"
Braden ignored that comment, 'he's smart, smarter, and more difficult I dare say…' Trying to keep his cool and not loose a valuable piece on his chessboard, he cleared his throat and continued.
"You don't know what I have to offer yet"
"I don't need to, men like you only want what's best for them"
"And you don't?"
"That is a completely different story"
"Or one that could connect with your own…"
The teenager paused, then considered listening to the proposition
"I will offer you a place to stay, a much better salary than the one your making now, along with back-up in case anything goes wrong"
"And the catch?"
"You give me two percent of whatever you earn"
"You don't know how much I charge, in fact you don't even seem to want to know my name! I highly doubt that someone like yourself cares for the wellbeing of its employees or clients as much as the profit they make from said employees and clients. So thank you but no thank you"
"I only think that someone as beautiful as yourself may fall into the wrong hands."
The younger man paused and said that he would think about it.
"So what is your name anyway?"
"…Stewie Griffin"
"Beautiful…my name's Braden, and if you change your mind, come and find me…I'll see you around, Stewie…" Braden handed the boy a card, with his name and address printed on it. Braden walked away and went in search for another collection item.
The next day there came a knock at his office door.
"Braden, there's a Stewie Griffin here to see you…"
Piece of cake.
*
Stewie awoke as he had remembered falling asleep, except he didn't remember feeling this worse last night. His body ached at the lack of comfort, safe for the legs of a particular man, and he wondered if he were to continue nights like that from this point onwards. Brian yawned and stretched his upper body as the man lying on his legs stirred. Stewie turned his head up to look at Brian who smiled down and bent down to lay a chaste kiss on his forehead. As the brunette made a struggle to get up, his stomach made a terribly loud rumble, indicating that they had skipped supper last night, and that they were a long walk away from the nearest breakfast bar. Stewie sat quietly watching Brian get up and stretch walking around a while to awaken his legs, not admitting that Stewie had cut off the blood circulation during the night.
"Morning"
"Is it?"
"How did you sleep last night?"
"Terrible Brian, I tell you this, if we don't find a bank and get some money out for food and proper living accommodation I will gladly throw myself in front of a truck!"
"So will I…you know I'm sorry Stewie"
"For what?"
"For last night, I should have just left it"
"It isn't your fault that my damn mother thinks you're a pervert, besides, I would rather be living on the streets with you than at home without you!"
"Same here…"
Stewie's attention was drawn to a car that drove by, watching it disappear round a bend.
"So you love me huh?"
Not responding to the comment, Stewie sniffed and continued to stare away from the man next to him.
"Since when?"
"Oh it's not a big deal…"
"Stewie…?" Brian's voice was firm as though he was trying to get an answer from a child
"What?" Stewie turned to look at him.
Brian cocked an eyebrow
"Fine, if you must know Brian, my feelings for you cannot ever be expressed through words alone. End of!"
Satisfied, Brian felt warm and comfortable all of a sudden, and he made a move to pick up their luggage as Stewie got up after him. They walked away from the direction of Spooner Street and kept a sharp eye out for either a bank or a diner.
As big as Quahog may be, it was quite limited to restaurants in the section that Brian and Stewie were walking through, and it took them a good half hour of walking before they spotted a diner. 'Ernie's' diner to be precise was relatively clean, perhaps due to the fact that it was so far out of town that nobody bothered to travel that far to get to it, and the quite large red haired man seemed to think that it was strange for two grown men to come on foot with luggage into his diner of all places. He mentioned that business was so bad that the place was going to be closed soon. Stewie questioned whether that affected his ability to serve food, making Brian smile. They sat near the window and waited impatiently for their order of bacon eggs sausage mushrooms and beans, twice…each.
"So Stewie, I know we're heading in the direction of away from the house, but where exactly are we going to go? We can't just keep walking and sleeping in bus shelters, we need to find a bank, and we need to find a place to live."
"I know that Brian, I just need to eat for the time being, and thinking will come soon"
"Personally I can't stop thinking about how we will be able to afford anywhere, and as for jobs, well you'll have to give up the…" Brian looked around for the man behind the counter before he spoke again "…prostitution thing"
"Why on earth would I have to give up being a prostitute?"
"Well when an estate agent asks about our occupations, or rather your occupation what are you gonna tell him? Huh? That you're self employed? And if you did then they'll ask what it is that you do."
"Are you really that stupid?"
"No but apparently you are! Being a prostitute is illegal!"
"I know that Brian! But I know a person who can get us a house!"
"You what?"
"Look just leave everything with me, I know what I'm doing and what direction we need to be in"
Brian and Stewie's conversation was interrupted when the man bought two plates of breakfast to their table and lay them down in front of the hungry customers.
"Seconds will be here in ten minutes"
"Thank you" Brian replied
Stewie gave the man a smile before tucking into his meal. Neither Stewie nor Brian talked as they ate their way through a breakfast leaving nothing on the plates, but quite a bit of room for seconds. As the man watched them eat their seconds he looked at Stewie before heading out back to write their bill.
The two men daren't move for a minute for fear of tearing their full stomachs apart. After a minute of digesting, the man came and brought them their bill. Brian nearly choked on air when he read that the cost of two full breakfasts twice was nearly $40. Stewie checked his pockets, but found that he was only carrying ten, and Brian five dollars.
"Shit, Stewie what are we going to do?!"
"…Brian I know what you are going to say to this, but it may work…"
"What are you…?"
Stewie just stared into Brian's eyes, asking for approval
"No! Stewie you can't just screw your way out of everything?!"
"Who says I screw my way out of everything, besides, do you have a better idea?!"
"There's got to be another way around it! We could run for it!"
"On the full stomachs we have?! We won't make it past the seats we're sat in!"
Brian tried to protest, but submitted handing over his money to Stewie as Stewie slowly got up and walked carefully towards the man behind the counter. Brian watched as he leaned on the edge at an almost right angle, bringing his shoulders forward as he whispered something to the man, and handed his and Stewie's money over. The man then looked towards Brian who kept his eyes on the situation before him. He loved Stewie, but damn he could be a bastard when he wanted to be. The man and the teen then went through the door behind the counter into another room that he presumed was a kitchen. Stewie caught a glance at his lover before disappearing. Brian felt sick, he got up and tried to move as quickly as he could out the entrance of the diner with their bags before he heard anything. Why the hell did Stewie have to be a prostitute?! Of all the occupations in the world, he had to land a guy who managed to manipulate pathetic men into paying out. And then there was the fact that Brian had to land a guy in the first place! Why couldn't he be normal, hold down a job, get with a woman who gave him a family and a house with a garden and a street that didn't hold neighbours who had strange lives? He wished it once upon a time, but no matter how hard he had tried to fight it, he knew what he was a gay 35 year old man who was in love with a nineteen year old male prostitute who happened to be the son of his best friends. Now he was standing outside a diner waiting for said nineteen year old male prostitute to come out from doing…god he didn't want to know.
After what seemed like an hour, Stewie emerged from the single front entrance, looked at Brian, picked his suitcase up and began to walk down the path. Brian followed with his small bag, and said nothing to the younger man until they had both reached a quite busy area on the outskirts of Quahog.
Stewie hoped that this area would have a bank, because knowing him, the guy who he was going to see would want a deposit. They came across a little building that's only indication of being a bank was written on the handle bars, Stewie and Brian almost walked by it before Brian spotted the small text, alerting Stewie who went in and checked that his college funds were being withdrawn automatically and withdrew $5000 for the deposit. Making sure it was securely pocketed, Stewie told Brian that when they reached the destination, he should wait outside or in another building out of sight. Brian questioned this and Stewie replied that "it's best not knowing the guy or letting him know you" The white haired man fell silent inwardly telling himself that Stewie did some crazy things that involved some crazy people sometimes. He also told himself that Stewie wasn't stupid and knew what he was doing…hopefully. They arrived at a large building that held several floors, giving it the likeliness of an apartment block, except the roof wasn't flat, but slanted with black tiles. The bricks were a dark pink-orange colour, and the window frames were cream. The front door was wooden with a black knocker and handle. Stewie told Brian to wait somewhere else as he walked into the building, leaving Brian with the bags.
Stewie walked up to the middle floor of the building and knocked on the door that said 'OFFICE.'
"Come in" Stewie walked in to see Braden drinking a glass of wine and getting a shoulder massage from one of the many women who resided within the walls.
"Stewie what a nice surprise, did you do what I told you?"
"I did Braden, and I came here to ask a favour in return for my compliance"
"Oh? And what is that?"
"I need a house"
"A house? I thought you lived with your dear old family?"
"Well let's just say my job is no longer a secret…"
"I see, well what kind of house would you like?"
"One that covers a deposit of $5000. Nothing too shabby of course"
"Of course, nothing will ever be too shabby for you Stewie"
"I should hope not"
"Yeah I'll get you a house, where do you want it?"
"Close to work, near the shopping centre, local entertainment, the lot"
"Not too picky then? I think I can get you something…when do you want it?"
"As soon as possible"
"The soonest will be Thursday, I just need to kick the current residents out and shift them to something less you and a bit more into debt" He gave a sly smile towards the man in front of him
"It'll cost around $20,000, it's small, but cosy, just how you like it…"
Stewie gave him plastic smile
"I can give it to you for less if you give a little something more…practical"
"Thank you Braden but I'm fine with paying you the $20,000"
"Suit yourself, it means you'll be working double now, and you'll have to find someplace to sleep until moving day, we always have a bed for you here Stewie"
"No thank you"
Stewie handed Braden the money and turned to leave
"Oh and Stewie, it's only room for one…just remember that"
"…obviously" Stewie walked out of the door and down to meet Brian outside.
Stewie spotted Brian browsing in a clothes shop, and ran to tell him the news
"We've got a house?! When can we move in?"
"Thursday, but he said that it was only for one person, so we'll have so share everything, if you know what I mean…"
"Oh yeah…"Brain flashed a toothy smile towards Stewie, who proceeded to say that they would need to find accommodation in the mean time. They began walking from the shop and along the high street, when Stewie recommended finding a hotel to stay in, to which Brian replied "How the hell are we going to pay for a hotel?"
"You forget that I still have money in my bank account, and you have some too right?"
"Ah…not exactly…"
"Well how the hell have you been paying for the room you had back home?!"
"Well you know that night I found out what you did for your money?"
"Yes…?"
"Well I was on my own way to make money…by begging"
Stewie gave Brian the most shocked confused expression before he burst out laughing. The older man made no move as he held a scornful look while the brunette grabbed his stomach and let the tears run down his face. A minute of what Brian thought was a mocking laugh, Stewie calmed down, letting out the occasional snigger.
"I don't see why it was so funny…I didn't laugh at you when I found out what you did!"
"I know, I know…but still!" Stewie grew another smile as he began to release small laughs.
"It wasn't funny for me, I was kicked out of my apartment because I couldn't keep up rent, and I could barely afford to live with you guys"
By this time Stewie had stopped laughing.
"I know you're going to call me a complete hypocrite about this, but why on earth didn't you get a better job?"
"No one would employ a guy who had no qualifications or skills"
"That's not true…I think you're very skilful…" Flashing a smile in Brian's direction
Brian picked up on the hint, and they soon found their way to a nearby three star hotel, booking a secluded room near the top floor they ran up as fast as they could with their luggage. Using the key, they threw their bags in and locked the door behind them…