A/N: If you don’t want to read about sexual activities between Brian and Justin in this story, you might want to skip this chapter, or at least avoid the first 8 pages. Kiss me alright Chapter 25 – Helplessly aware When Justin’s eyes opened it was still dark and everything was warm and smelled so nice. He sat up on his knees a little awkwardly, yawned and rubbed his forehead. “Yes.” The prince lay very still and breathed quietly and Justin looked around the dark room and really wondered why he had woken up, although it wasn’t morning yet. “Hhh.” He sighed and scratched his ear. Then he crawled out of the bed and padded with small steps out of the room and into the corridor. The prince had given him a big Evian bottle for when he got thirsty in the night and had placed it on the nightstand in the room with the blue fur carpet. The prince was very clever. Justin blinked as he pushed the door open and hesitated for a moment in the doorframe. The curtains weren’t closed and one could see the big grey tower in the darkness in front of the castle window and all the dancing snow flakes, falling under the street lamps. Justin blinked again and slowly entered the room. He liked the soft carpet under his bare feet and walked directly to the nightstand beside the big bed. There was no red cup, but a wonderful glass that shimmered prettily in the white street lights. The bottle was heavy and a little of the water ran beside the glass and made everything wet. Justin’s fingers, his beautiful book, the thick mattress, the pants of his pyjamas and a few droplets even landed on his naked toes and the blue cat fur carpet. “Yes.” Justin looked up to the ceiling. He wasn’t sure if he liked the tasty prince water on his feet. It was cold and the carpet got all soggy. He rubbed his big toe in the wet spot for a moment and then grabbed for the glass. With big gulps he drank and drank until it was empty and licked the remaining wetness off the brim of the glass, before he sighed satisfied, and put it back on the bedside table. He was really very thirsty. With his palm, he wiped over the soaked cover of his fairy tale book and quickly shoved it under the pillow. Then he touched the wet fabric of his pants, didn’t like the cold feeling on his skin and sat down clumsily on the carpet to take them off. Three minutes later, a crumpled dark blue pyjama pants lay under the bed and Justin stood over by the window to watch the snow in front of the pane. And he pressed his forehead against the cold glass and breathed against it and everything was silent… so very quiet. He felt his long lashes brush the pane when he blinked. The tower on the other side of the street was tremendous and like black rock and so, so cold. It looked cruel and evil and Justin hated the thick wall door he knew was in there. And he felt small and his stomach pinched and he didn’t want to look at the grey tower anymore. It made him feel sad, even with all the soft white Christmas snow. “Yeah.” He felt his throat tighten and sniffed because his nose tickled. He really would’ve preferred to lie close to Prian again. With a clumsy move he wiped the back of his hand over his eyes, sniffed again and turned around to get his beautiful book from under the pillow. He hugged it close to his chest even though it was all wet and cold and with little steps left the room with the blue carpet and made his way over the dark corridor, back into the prince’s bedroom, where it was warm and so wonderfully comfortable. He walked around a bit undecidedly and in the end stopped close to Prian’s side of the bed. “Yeah.” The prince lay still and his pretty brown eyes were closed. Justin blinked his blue ones and sat down on the edge of the mattress to read his book. He couldn’t see much in the dark, but he knew exactly what the prince on page 22 looked like when he danced with the princess on the shiny floor in the ballroom. He stroked his fingers over the paper, looked up to the ceiling and felt very clever when he started to read. “The… the King's son conducted her to the most…the most honor… honorable seat…” He didn’t need to see the words. “…and…and afterward took her out to…out to dance with him…” They were all in his head. “…and she dan… danced so very gracefully. “He said and emphasized it wrongly. “…that they all… all more and more ad… admired her.” “Hh fuck,” Brian mumbled, his voice rough, and rubbed a hand over his face when he detected a slender figure sitting beside him on the bed. “What are you doing?!” “Yeah.” Justin curled a blond hair strand around his finger, never taking his eyes from the dark ceiling. “Of course reading.” “Reading?” Brian’s brain refused to work with this information. “Yeah.” Justin turned the page. “Certainly…certainly for Prian.” “What the fuck Justin…” Mister Kinney peered over at his alarm clock. “It’s fucking four in the morning. Go to sleep and stop blabbering about dancing princes and shit.” He turned to his side and snuggled his head into the pillow. “I’ll have nightmares.” “Yes.” Justin closed his book and sat still, not even thinking of leaving Prian’s side of the bed. After two minutes, Brian poked one extended finger in Justin’s side. “Go away.” “Hhh.” Justin sighed and looked at the wall. It was dark like the ceiling. Three more minutes went by and Brian sighed himself before moving back a little and lifting the blanket. “I’ll bite you if you touch me with your ice cold feet.” “Alright,” Justin said, stood up and tried to shove his book under Prian’s pillow. Brian grumbled something about fucking brats and the human right to get eight hours of sleep, then the book was tucked safely under the $350 Danish downs and Justin crawled stiffly beneath the warm covers, turned around two times, and after sixty-two seconds, finally ended up with his face against the prince’s chest and his naked legs stretched out alongside Prian’s. He liked to lie like this with Prian Kinney and blinked his long lashes against nice smelling skin. Brian decided he should feel extremely annoyed with this obvious invasion of his personal space, but then lay his chin on Justin’s head and felt too comfortable to form a suitable complaint. “Where have you been?” He said quietly and closed his eyes. “You weren’t in bed earlier.” “Yes.” Justin breathed in deeply. “Certainly drink…drink lots of water.” He liked Evian. “Hmm.” Three of Brian’s fingers found their way to the back of Justin’s head to play with blond hair. “What happened to your pants?” He rubbed his knee against a bare leg. “Yes, of course it’s wet.” Brian opened his eyes and furrowed his brows. “Did you piss?” Did he? Justin moved around to touch himself between the legs. No his underwear wasn’t wet at all. “Spilled the water?” “Yes.” Justin wriggled his toes under the blanket. They weren’t wet anymore. “Certainly on the… on the carpet.” He sounded scandalized. “You spilled water on the carpet?” “Yes. Of course the blue… blue carpet.” “Hm.” Brian brushed his lips over Justin’s hair and placed one hand in the boy’s neck. “Just wake me up next time you need something, alright?” “Yes. Prian sleeps.” “Well it’s night time.” “Yes.” Justin spoke with his lips against Prian’s bare chest. “Sleep with Prian.” “Hm.” Brian didn’t feel responsible for his left leg, which knotted all by itself around the kid’s slightly cool shins. Justin lay very still. He liked the sound of the prince’s heart. It was like the drumming of thick rain drops or mommy’s voice, humming lullabies. He hummed too for a moment and then breathed his hot breath on Prian’s warm skin. It got a little damp, but not as wet as the window pane. He touched it with his tongue anyway. “Stop licking me. It’s irritating.” Justin didn’t say anything, thought of thirty-four little way stones and licked the spot beneath Prian’s nipple five more times. Then he pressed the tip of his nose into his spit shiny work. He found it a little funny to not be able to see the prince properly here in the dark. But he tasted good anyway, even with all the black night surrounding him. “You’re good at ignoring people.” Brian snaked an arm around the boy’s upper body to pull him up. “Sleep now.” Justin blinked and stared with wide eyes into a close-up face he couldn’t see. He only felt warm breath on his cheek and as he pushed his nose just a little bit forward, it connected with the tip of Prian’s. He liked it and after a while put his hand in the softness of the prince’s hair, petting it stiffly. Brian shifted but didn’t pull back when Justin’s innocent touch made the skin behind his ear tickle. “I can’t fucking sleep with you breathing in my face all the ti-” He was interrupted in his half-hearted defence by a warm wet tongue touching his lips. A small mewling sound came out of Justin’s throat when he tasted the prince. He liked kissing Prian so much and wanted to lick him all over. His broad chest and strong fingers and soft bellybutton. Brian held still, curious and waiting, then curved his fingers around slim hips, tugging the boy closer and bringing his other hand to rest firmly on Justin’s neck, guiding the younger man into the kiss as he slid the very tip of his tongue out to have an almost imperceptibly taste. And he purred in approval when both tongues met in the darkness, touching and tasting each other carefully in a slow, open mouthed kiss. A quiet kiss. Slight wet sounds teased into the dark room when Brian pulled away, only to come back more hungry, one second later. Snaking between puffed lips and licking the warmth out of the boy’s mouth. His hand slid up and down on the back of Justin’s neck, squeezing lightly, taking control, guiding the sweet wet mouth back when the younger one lost his focus. And Justin opened up greedily, his lips parting without hesitation. The prince’s hand around the nape of his neck made him curiously lax, like a kitten picked up by its scruff. He melted against the larger body, wrapping his arm clumsily around Prian’s waist with a helpless whimper, trying to get closer somehow. Grunting, Brian pulled Justin flush to his body, encasing him and pressing their chests together. He could smell the kid’s fresh skin and hair and held him tighter. His fingers slipped from Justin’s hip up under the shirt of his pyjamas, palming flat against the hot skin, rubbing the smooth back as Justin sighed fluttery into the kiss. “You know…the professor was right.” Brain said in a low voice, licking Justin’s upper lip with a flat tongue. “You are very responsive.” He ran his hand down the boy’s side as he spoke, over his hipbone, towards his groin, brushing along the cotton-covered hardness his fingertips found. Justin arched. Eyes closed, wet lips parted, as his spine worked his body, pressing himself more firmly into Prian’s fingers. “Yes…my…” Justin thought of the magic mirror and all the white sperm shooting out of his penis and his hand shook when he tried to reach down to grab inside his underwear. “My…my dick.” He exhaled a shuttering breath. His head was full with clouds and fog and he couldn’t remember what Prian’s penis was called. “Yeah.” Brian dived into the clear, fresh wetness of Justin’s mouth again. “I know.” And he pecked the damp lips adoringly and whispered against them. “It’s hard, isn’t it?” Was it? Yes, his penis was pretty hard and throbbed and he really would’ve preferred to… “…see Prian.” And there was another kiss and then the prince was gone and the mattress swayed and bobbed up and down and when Justin opened his eyes, everything was beautiful and shone bluish like the water in the well. He blinked and pressed one hand between his legs, while he stretched his neck to look around for Prian. “Are you cold?” Brian folded his sweatpants before putting them away and walked back to the bed. Naked. Justin blinked again. Brian smiled slightly and slowly pulled the blanket off Justin’s body. “Yeah.” Justin looked up to the ceiling. It was blue too. “Certainly…certainly catch a cold.” “I turned the heat up.” “Yes.” Justin’s eyes flickered. He liked how the prince looked. Without clothes in the wonderful blue lights. Brian fetched a white bottle from the nightstand and crawled back onto the bed to lie down on his side again, facing Justin. He watched him for a moment, waiting silently for eye contact. And the corners of his mouth lifted again in a little smirk, when after 72 seconds finally Justin’s head turned. With a small sigh and surprisingly clear eyes. Justin lay perfectly still. His fingers covering the front of his underwear, his attentive gaze scanning Prian. He sighed again and licked his lips. The prince’s brown hair looked so soft and lovely. Brian furrowed his brows in slight amusement as he watched the near face studying him. “So much for the everyone stays in their own bed rule, huh?” “Yeah.” The blue eyes flickered back to the ceiling, but two clumsy fingers reached out to touch Prian’s face, feeling the light stubble. And after a while, Brian laid his own palm over Justin’s smooth cheek, sliding back through blond hair onto a warm neck, pulling the boy closer to kiss him with gentle lips, calm and slowly. Justin’s tongue was the first to sneak out, lapping the prince’s lips with little strokes before it slipped between them, searching for the wonderful taste of Christmas snow ice cream and dark red velvet. It made Brian’s stomach warm and downy and he moaned low in the back of his throat and wrapped his free arm tightly around Justin’s slim body, tugging him closer, his hand finding its way back beneath the light cotton fabric of a blue pyjama shirt, tender fingertips drawing a line over the delicate knots of the boy’s spine. Justin breathed heavily through his nose, refusing to part from the kiss. His upper leg first twitched a little and moved then in an awkward angle over Prian’s thigh, while his hand almost cramped on the front of his tight white briefs. He whimpered and tried to find relief by pushing his tongue deeper into the wetness of the prince’s mouth. Brian’s broad hand slid out under the edge of the blonde’s shirt and in one fluid motion on the firm roundness of a perfect butt, squeezing and kneading for a moment before he finally allowed his fingers to sneak under the thin underwear. His chest tightened for a second as his palm made contact with the soft, smooth skin and he spread his fingers savouring, to stroke up and down and deep between the warm flesh of Justin’s thighs. “Pull your underwear down a bit.” It was damp breath, mumbling against the pink corner of Justin’s mouth. And Justin wriggled his hips in response, mewled and dug his fingernails into Prian’s neck, his other hand tightening desperately around his cotton covered hardness. He felt dizzy and too warm and looked at the prince with weak blue eyes. Brian looked back and held the visual contact firmly as he hooked his thumb into the waistband of Justin briefs and shoved it down steadily, exposing the dark, leaking flesh underneath. “Hh.” Immediately Justin’s fingers pulled around his hard shaft, tugging roughly while he whimpered loud and helplessly in Prian’s face. His toes buzzed and the tips of his fingers tickled. He wanted to yell and cry and say so many things but couldn’t remember one single word. “Don’t.” Brian nudged his nose against Justin’s and stilled the trembling lips with a soothing kiss. “Don’t touch it like this. It’ll hurt.” He grabbed the hollow of Justin’s knee and pulled the boy’s leg up, placing it over his own waist, moving the smaller body in the right position until the tips of their hard cocks connected in the middle. He showed a slight smile when he reached behind his back to fetch the white lube bottle. “Good thing you didn’t eat everything.” The cap snapped open and he squeezed some of the clear gel onto his palm. “Hhh…” Justin’s head tilted back with a low groan, baring his throat. Prian’s penis was so warm and wet and jerked against his own. He wanted to lick it and wetted his flushed lip with a nervous flicker of his tongue. Brian bent forward to capture the younger man’s mouth. “Careful… it’s cold,” he mumbled between two kisses and wrapped his long arm around Justin’s upper body, caressing his back and pulling him closer, as his other hand reached for both of their shafts, holding them together and gently spreading the cool lube. Justin shut his eyes firmly, his whole frame stiffening, hot puffs of ragged breath against Prian’s cheek, when he was surrounded by icy wetness and in the next second felt nothing but a large, strong hand, sliding slowly up and down his penis. He clawed his blunt nails into the prince’s wrist, making little keening sounds, his chest rising and falling rapidly. “Justin.” Brian whispered against the boy’s lips, his hand firmly stroking their two erections. “Open you eyes.” “Hhhh…” “Justin. Look at me.” And Justin did after a moment with dazed blue eyes, feeling numb and far away. He wanted to touch the prince’s face but didn’t know where his hands were. And he opened his mouth to say something but his body shivered all over and all that came out was a weak mewl. “Good boy.” Brian squeezed his fingers around both shafts and carefully rubbed his thumb over the wet-shiny heads. “Look down. See what I’m doing.” Justin blinked lethargic, looking at Prian longingly. “Cer…certain…” Brian had to close his eyes for a second and snaked his tongue between sweet, dark red lips in the next. “Look.” He circled one finger around Justin’s cock head, breathing heavily himself. Justin looked unfocused up to the ceiling, moaned, and then brought his eyes down to the point where Prian held their body’s connected. “Yes- I-” He hiccupped and looked bewildered back into the prince’s face. They were together! “Hh!” He let out a strained huff, letting his forehead fall against the older man’s broad chest and burying his face into the damp skin, while his quivering fingers pressed half moon marks into Prian’s wrist. And Brian panted and kissed a damp blond head when his free hand found its way down on a round ass cheek. He rubbed it, using it to pull the boy even closer and let his middle finger run along a soft crack. Teasing, exploring and now and then pressing slightly against the puckered bud he found with ease. Justin shook all over, trying to move his hips but didn’t know which way. He gasped loudly into Prian’s chest, stretching his left leg out, while curling the toes on his right foot inwards, as the stroking on his penis got faster and tighter and the strong tingling deep inside his belly just got too much, making all his thoughts white and light and disappear. “Hhhfuck.” Brian cursed and pushed the tip of his finger into Justin’s warm little hole as his orgasm surprised him, shooting out of him as soon as the boy’s creamy wetness covered his hand and cock and stomach. He felt Justin squirm in his arms and pressed his finger a hint deeper into the tightness, feeling the pulsing contractions accompanying him into the lulling feeling of the post orgasmic afterglow. All light and high, until he slumped with a last weak groan around the smaller body. “Shit…” Closing his eyes and nestling his sweaty face into blond hair, resting his cheek on it, while he gently pulled his finger free, lazily patting the warm, firm globes of Justin’s butt. “That was…” …totally hot. Absolutely unbelievable. Fucking amazing. Three terms that came instantly to Brian’s mind, but even after a whole minute not out of his mouth. “Yeah.” Luckily Justin knew the right answer. “Certainly…certainly sperm.” “Yeah.” Brian agreed, combing his wide spread fingers through long hair strands. “That too.” And he lay there, boneless, blinking his heavy eyelids and watched tiredly as Justin battled with the need to fall asleep, firmly holding to one of the prince’s long fingers and poking his tongue out to touch the tip. Brian felt like he might smile about it but wasn’t sure if he really did, as the world changed from dim blue lights into comforting darkness… ------------------ When Brian Kinney woke up on this Saturday in December, it was 10.08 a.m. and the other side of the bed was empty. A familiar picture, just not the right one on this morning. “Damned brat.” He grumbled as he moved his long legs ungracefully out of the bed and scratched the itchy spot right beside his balls, while trudging towards the bathroom. “Needs a fucking collar and leash…” …His personal bathroom. A bathroom with an open door, lights on, a dripping tap, two towels on the floor and his $6.80 tooth paste (enriched with real mint from the Spanish highlands) smeared over the mirror and his luxury washing basin. Brian blinked at the whole scenario a little perplexed and ran a hand through his hair when he made his way to the toilet, swearing far too loudly for such an early hour. Three minutes later, his bladder was emptied, he had found his sweat pants somewhere beside the bed and the first cigarette of the day stuck between his lips, as he scuffed down the stairs without much enthusiasm, even though the tasty smell of fresh poured coffee swirled up his nose. He knew there was a good reason to employ a maid. “Good morning!” Emmett passed through the hallway with a big laundry basket in his hands and a much too happy smile painted over his face. “Hot Coffee, fresh eggs and bacon are in the kitchen!” Brian took a deep drag of his cigarette and looked after his ´servant´ with an irritated frown. Bacon and eggs? What the fuck! He rubbed the back of his neck, really hating such an enormous amount of stress only four hours after sunrise, and went into the kitchen to slouch down on one of the bar stools, where, like every morning, his three favourite things waited to make his day bearable: Hot, black coffee, a truckload of sugar and the newspaper (minus the birth- and death announcements because those were just boring). He poured himself a cup, dumped way too much sugar in it, took a careful sip and peered over the brim, when a young blonde guy in grey cargo pants and a one-size-too-small t-shirt entered the kitchen. With small steps and a blank gaze. Brian put his cup down and cleared his throat but said nothing, just watched as Justin stopped somewhere near the radio, swaying softly from left to the right and curled a long hair strand around his finger. Brian leaned back, crossing his arms in front of his chest, when the boy began to hum along with the song playing the radio. Very quietly and very off key and still swaying on his feet. “What are you doing?” Justin didn’t say anything. Brian smirked, stood up and went to stand in front of him. “You know this song?” Justin didn’t answer and held his unfocussed gaze aside, but stepped steadily from one foot to the other in clumsy movements. Brian watched him and drew his lips inside. Then he laid his arms on the boy’s shoulders, crossing the wrists behind his neck and pressed his forehead against Justin’s temple. “You are a lousy dancer,” he said it in a soft voice, finishing his statement with a kiss above a warm ear shell. “Yes.” And Justin swayed some more and nestled his head against Prian’s. “Hm.” Brian pulled him a little bit closer and shrugged. “Me too.” “Yes.” Justin’s left hand came up to lie on the prince’s almost naked hip, where the sweat pants sat too low. “Doesn’t matter.” The older one closed his eyes, joining in the slight swaying movements with his body but kept his feet firmly on the floor. “We’re both gorgeous.” “Yeah.” Three thin fingers patted the naked skin over Prian’s hipbone stiffly. “When did you get up?” “Yeah.” Justin’s gaze changed from the wall up to the ceiling. “Certainly seven…seven thirty.” “That’s early.” Brian rubbed his forehead lazily over pale skin and blonde hair, enjoying the young man’s unique scent. “Did you tell Emmett to make bacon?” Did he? Yes, there were… “…of… of course always bacon and eggs on Saturday.” Brian smirked but only briefly. “You know, Emmett is not a real servant.” “Yes.” “He’s here to help with the household.” “Yes.” “To put my shit away and to do the laundry.” Brian furrowed his brows. “And that doesn’t make any sense, huh?” Justin sighed. “Hm. Just don’t… tell him to polish your fucking noodle necklace or something.” “Yes.” Justin liked that. Certainly his butterflies would shimmer like gold and silver. “Good.” “Oh hey you two,” Emmett came into the kitchen, placing a pile of neatly folded dish towels next to the microwave. “Dancing to this corny old song… how romantic!” He sighed, tipped his head to the side and put a hand over his heart. “This reminds me of this one time were I asked Robert Gimson to dance with me in High School. God he was so cute.” He sighed again, then shrugged with a little smile and disappeared. “On the other hand,” Brian added as an after thought. “Tell him to hand wash your dirty socks next time you see him.” “Yes.” Justin blinked up to the ceiling, snuggling a little bit closer to the prince and wiggling his toes in his socks. He liked dancing with Prian in the kitchen so much. Even without rainwater. ------------------ At the castle it was pasta with smoked salmon and spinach salad for lunch on Saturday and afterwards the prince said he had to do some work. So Justin sat on the white couch and played with his little handheld console, while Prian was at his desk, working on his laptop. *beepbeep* *Bing* ´You performed at cars speed!´ “Yes.” Justin scratched himself behind the ear with his touch pen. ´You’re good at this! I think you should check out Calculations x 100´ “Yes.” Justin tipped with his pen on the screen a few times, until the countdown appeared. 3 – 2 – 1 “Yes.” Justin’s eyes flickered to the ceiling for a second, before focussing on his screen again, writing the right numbers down without a blink. He liked the funny melody, the little man was playing for him. Every time he wrote a right answer, an approving ´bling´ was to be heard. After the sixty-fifth ´bling´ Brian cleared his throat and shifted around in his chair, his forehead wrinkled with deep folds, as he tried to focus again on the documents he wanted to study. *beepbeep* *Bing* ´Your time is 01:08´ ´AMAZING!´ “Yes.” “Justin.” Brian sighed but didn’t take his eyes from the screen. “Turn off the sound, I can’t fucking concentrate.” “Alright.” “Good.” The boy blindly switched the sound button off and blinked when the little man said he should read a passage from ´The Legend of Sleepy Hollow´ in high-speed. “Yes.” He tipped his screen again with the touch pen and really wondered whether there would be a nice picture of the dwarf too. He liked Sleepy. He was like Plake. 3 – 2– 1 The text appeared on the screen and Justin started to read. Aloud, like the little man wanted him to. “He was… was in fact an odd mixture of small shrewd… shrewdness and simple credul… credulity.” He sighed. There were really tricky words in this tale. “His appetite for… for the marvellous and… and his powers of diges… digesting it were… were equally extraordinary,“ He pronounced the last word wrongly and got corrected by the man behind the desk. “It’s extraordinary.” “Yes.” Justin looked up to the ceiling for a moment and then back to his screen. “And… and both had been in… increased by his residence in this… in this spell… spellbound region.” He wasn’t sure if he liked this tale. It was a little bit scary. “No… no tale was too gross or… or monstrous for his… for his capa… capacious swallow.” He sighed again, rocking softly back and forth on the sofa. Brian scrolled down his page, flicking a gaze at Justin. “You don’t have to read this, if you don’t like it.” He didn’t? “Yes…of course read… read the text. The man says.” “What man?” “Yeah, certainly Doctor Kawashima.” He was a little bit fat and had glasses like the grandmother. Brian lifted one eyebrow. “Doctor Kawashima?” “Yeah.” He said Justin was amazing, too. Brian stared at Justin for a moment and looked then back at his laptop. “Yeah well, you don’t have to listen to him. He just makes suggestions.” “Yes.” Justin was really glad about it, because reading the tricky word tale was very exhausting. He yawned. “You want to take a nap?” Brian laid both of his hands on the keyboard and started typing. “Yes. Sleep with Prian.” There was a warm swirl in Justin’s belly. He liked Kitty nap’s with the prince. “No, I have to work.” “Yes.” “You can sleep here on the sofa if you want.” He could? Justin thought about it for a while and decided he would like to sleep on the white couch. It smelled like Prian and firesticks. So, he yawned again, put his console on the coffee table and needed 52 seconds to lie down in a comfortable position. On his knees, his upper body bent forwards, his head resting on the big seat cushion and his eyes blinking tiredly towards the terrace doors. He liked the castle gardens so much and his last thoughts before his eyes fell shut were of the green frog, jumping around beneath the pear tree to enjoy all the wonderful Christmas snow… “Ribbit-ribbit…” -------------------- In the late afternoon, the servant said he wanted to go to Borders to buy a little gift for his friend’s birthday and the prince decided it would be good for Justin to go with him and look for a new book. But as he helped Justin to close the zipper of the silver jacket and said ´Later´, Justin hit a hand against his forehead and started to scream loudly because he really didn’t want to leave the castle without Prian. Half an hour later, a tall handsome man marched grumbling into the local Borders store, closely followed by a young blond man who curled a thick hair strand around the middle finger. “I have unfinished work coming out my ass!” Brain stated loud enough for everyone to hear. “But of course you have to be a fucking drama queen again, and now I have to sit here, doing fucking book shopping, as if I have nothing better to do!” He drew his fingers tighter around Justin’s hand when he felt the boy stumble behind him. “Are you fucking happy now?!” “Yes.” Justin didn’t like the grandmother with the white hair staring at him and quickly looked up to the ceiling. There were many lamps and lights. “Ah, stop being so grumpy.” Emmett said and looked around for the Gay-Erotica department. “You can’t work the whole day. It’s the weekend.” “Shut up, servant, and go get your damn copulation handbook.” Mister Kinney said and pulled Justin close to his side when a big, bald guy barged into the kid unscrupulously. “Hey watch it, Fucker!” “Yes, of course broke my… broke my shoulder.” Justin rubbed the hurting spot and pressed his head stiffly against Prian’s arm. “You’re fine.” Brian told him, brushed a small kiss on his temple and threw a frosty glare after Mister Bigfoot. “Let’s go find the coffee bar.” “Yes. Certainly a cookie.” Justin really didn’t like coffee. “You had a whole bowl of cookies yesterday.” Brian guided the younger one towards the elevator, pushing the button. The doors opened and Justin wasn’t sure if he liked the small room as the prince pulled him inside. “Yeah.” He rocked nervously back and forth, staring up to the silver ceiling. “Of course no window.” “It’s an elevator. You don’t need windows in here.” Brian pushed the button for the 3rd floor, the doors closed and the cabin moved upwards. Justin breathed heavily through his nose and his stomach felt ill. He really didn’t like the silver room. It was too small. “Hey.” Brian looked in the boy’s face. “What’s the matter, you feeling sick or something?” “I… certainl-” The boy gagged and wailed then quietly, trying desperately to hold his gaze up. He really would’ve preferred for the doors to open again. “Ah ah. No puking, or you will clean it up yourself, brat.” Brian laid a broad hand on Justin’s lower back, rubbing his thumb soothingly up and down, while his eyes fixed pleadingly on the jumping numbers over the door. ´3rd floor. Doors opening.´ “About fucking time.” He pulled the boy out of the elevator as soon as the gap between the silver doors was big enough for them to fit through. “Yes.” Justin blinked. The lights were brighter in the big room and it smelled like coffee and tasty cream cake. “Are you alright?” Brian squeezed Justin’s hand. “Think you need to go to the toilet?” Did he? No. But he wanted to… “…certainly eat a cookie.” With chocolate and shaped like a star. “Yeah sure.” Brian snorted and led the blonde towards the coffee bar. “So you can puke it on my $500 shoes? Think again, twat.” Fifteen minutes later, Justin sat on a comfortable green chair and poked out his tongue to lick off the last cookie crumbs, sticking to the corners of his mouth. Brian watched him while blowing a long trail of smoke to the side and stubbing his cigarette out in the ashtray. “Finished? Drink the rest of your water.” “Yes.” Justin took his glass and emptied it, carefully lapping the last drops off the brim. “Good.” Brian got up. “Let’s go and find you a book.” “Yes. Certainly in the… in the castle.” Justin needed a few moments to get up from his chair and then took the prince’s hand in stiff fingers while he glanced up to the ceiling. “I meant a new book.” Brian stroked Justin’s thin knuckles as he left the coffee area and walked through the big sales room, looking around searchingly. “Yeah. Of course under the pillow.” He liked the big, soft pillows on Prian’s bed. “What about this one?” Mister Kinney stopped in front of a high book shelf, taking one of the books out. “Ooooh.” Justin looked at the big, colourful book mightily impressed. It had beautiful pictures of green woods and grey mountains with white Christmas snow on top. “Here.” Brian gave the heavy book to Justin and pointed to a nearby seating area. “Sit down over there and look through it.” “Yes.” With little steps and his eyes focussed on the pages, the boy went to the small brown leather couch and sat down blindly, placing the open book on his lap. Brian joined him after a while, bringing a selection of twelve other books and putting them down next to the kid. “You want this one?” Brian leaned over Justin’s shoulder, looking at the opened page. “Yes.” Justin liked the big book with the trees and mountains so much. Especially the pages 27 to 29 because there was a very big lake with black fishes and bright colored boats. “Hm. You can read about the different countries in it. And the Rocky Mountains and the Serengeti and all that shit.” He pinched his nose. “Yes. Certainly Harrisburg.” “Maybe.” Brian stroked absently through the soft strands on the back of Justin’s head, watching as the boy read a couple of lines about the Arctic. Justin liked all the pictures of the white snow and the blue sky and, “Ha!” there was a white bear coming out of the water! He turned around and looked up at the prince with a happy face. “Certainly swims in the well!” “It’s the Arctic Ocean.” “Yes.” Justin’s eyes flickered to the ceiling. He wondered whether the frog would like for the big white bear to swim in its well. Brian pointed to the other books he brought. “Look through the other books too. I’ll be right back.” “Yes.” Justin listened as the prince’s feet, on the green carpet, walked away and grabbed for another book. It was blue and a funny man was on the cover. “How your… how your body works.” Hh. He blinked up to the ceiling again. He wasn’t sure if he knew how his body worked. “Baby!” Emmett fell in the seat next to Justin, holding up an opened bag of skittles. “Want one?” He looked around and shoved a yellow one into his own mouth. “Where’s Brian?” “Yes.” Justin didn’t know where Prian Kinney was, but the little coloured things in the servant’s bag smelled rather tasty. ----------------- When Brian came back to the little seating area, Justin still sat there. His eyes focussed on an open book in his lap and his right hand buried in a little red bag. “What the fuck is that?!” Justin put one blue and two orange colored skittles between his lips, chewed carefully and looked up innocently at the prince. Brian took the bag out of the boy’s fingers. “Where’d you get this shit?!” Justin didn’t say anything. His mouth was full. Brian stared at him for a moment and then rubbed his left temple. “Did you look through the books like I told you?” Did he? Justin looked down at the book lying on his thighs. It was pretty and the most wonderful fairy tale. “What the…” Brian wrinkled his forehead, taking the book from the kid’s lap, “A Part of your World by S. Knoben.” before holding it up for Justin reproachfully. “I didn’t give this crap to you!” “Yes. Of course a… of course a merman.” Justin liked the pretty merman picture on the cover. He sat on a big stone in the middle of the well and his fishtail shimmered lovely in the sunlight. Mister Kinney pointed disgusted to the summary on the backside. “It’s fucking cheap gay schmoop!” “Yes. Certainly for Justin Taylor.” He would’ve really preferred for the prince to give him the fantastic book back. “Oh, shall I get you a copy too?” Emmett appeared with a little Borders paperback dangling on his right middle finger. “I can highly recommend it.” “Did you give this dung to him?!” “But of course I did.” “It’s lesbionic!” “It’s about two gay men.” Emmett assured. “Well about a gay man and his gay merman lover.” “It’s awful soft porn.” “It’s a bestseller, right Baby?” “Yes.” “It’s not.” Emmett pouted. “Well it should be. It’s hot.” “Yeah right.” Brian flung the novel back to Justin, “It will be.” gathered the thirteen other books and a half empty package of skittles into his arms and marched towards the stairs instead of the elevator because he didn’t feel like cleaning brat-puke off his leather jacket. “Shredded between the wood in my goddamn fireplace.” ----------------- It was almost midnight when Brian closed his laptop and made his way upstairs. The corridor was dark and only weak light came from the small slit under Justin’s door. He pushed it open, the old wood creaking quietly on the hinges. And he stood there in the doorframe, staring blankly at the picture folding out before his tired eyes. Thirteen books spread out on a thick blue carpet. Some of them opened, showing their black and white printed contends and bright images of beautiful landscapes, wild animals and different people. Houses and vehicles. Baby boys and old women. Showing life. Just a small part. But a whole new world to 18 year old Justin Taylor who lay between them on the floor. Sleeping. With freshly cleaned teeth in dark blue pyjamas, his feet bare. Blond hair and closed eyes, long lashes against pale cheeks. Breathing evenly. One hand on page 32 of a cheap gay novel, the other protectively around an almost emptied package of skittles. …looking young and innocent, maybe a little bit lost, but mostly peaceful and contented. Brian went to take the blanket from the bed and covered Justin’s still frame with it. And he switched off the lights… and when he looked for a last time through the dark room and saw the snowflakes dancing soundless in front of the window… blurring the sight of a dark grey mighty tower in the cold night… he went to close the curtains. -----------------