Ten Forty-Seven

A reproachful sounding Brian had called Jimmy the morning of his birthday, saying that he wasn’t going to be able to make it home. Something about an Schecter interview and talks of a new custom-made model. He called them f**king fags because they wouldn’t reschedule, despite the fact that it was his boyfriend’s birthday. Brian couldn’t say that, though.

“I’m so sorry, babe, I wish I could be there,” were his exact words over the phone, causing a half-asleep Jimmy to wake up very quickly. He blinked once, twice and began to rub the sleep from his eyes.

“Why can’t you?” he asked, rubbing sleep out of misted blue eyes, stretching slightly in the bed that he was hoping to share with the man over the phone that night.

“Schecter won’t reschedule my interview,” Brian replied, sounding upset about it and Jimmy sighed, frowning a little. He knew something like this would come up; he’d had a gut feeling, but he’d pushed it down. "Fucking fags...they don't understand."

”It’s okay, Bri, don’t hurry home,” he replied, though inside he begged with every fiber of his being for Brian to be playing with him. He heard a sigh from his boyfriend on the other end of the line.

“I’m sorry, Jimmy. I’ll probably be by tomorrow or something, all right?” came his disembodied voice and Jimmy fought the urge to sigh again, biting his lip for a second before he said anything.

“All right,” he responded, running his fingers through his black hair, currently very mussed from his sleep. He turned his neck one way and then the other as he spoke. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” Click. He looked at the phone and sighed, a slight pout moving to form over his full lips, blue eyes tinged with sadness that he wouldn’t have let anyone else see.

Jimmy therefore took to sulking in his house with the tub of ice cream he had been planning on sharing with Brian once he got there, curled up on the couch, watching old horror movies and wishing that his boyfriend was there with him. He ended up falling asleep there about halfway through the third movie, at about two in the afternoon. There was nothing better to do he rationalized. Sure he could have called Matt or Zack or Johnny, but he didn’t want to spend time with them. He wanted Brian.

He awoke as the sun faded from the windows of his beach house and he sighed, putting his chin on his knee, drawing it up close to his chest, and a look akin to a pout came on his face.

“I miss you,” came his low voice, his slight lisp falling off his tongue as he muttered the phrase, a soft sigh escaping him as he cocked his head to the side slightly, watching the sun fade. Who was going to hear him? He exhaled sharply, his lips curling slightly into a grimace, and then turning that expression into a frown.

Maybe he should put on some music, he thought as he sat there, all wrapped up in the blanket. He moved to his stereo, thin fingers pass over the power button, The Art of Shredding assaulting his ears. A small smile played at his face.

He shut his eyes as the sun disappeared from the horizon completely, shivering as the February air decided to come back with a vengeance and he drew the blanket tighter around his shoulders. It was one of Brian’s; it was a Guns’N’Roses flannel blanket, and it smelled like him. He knew he was being a girl about it, but he liked the comfort of having something that smelled like Brian. He always thought Bri was kind of silly for having it, but he was glad at the moment, sighing a little as the clock ticked closer to the time when he was supposedly born. Ten forty-seven at night was what his birth certificate said when he was born. He couldn’t remember if he’d told Brian this, but he wasn’t even there anyway, so he tried to push the thought away.

He snuggled further into the blanket, wearing boxers and nothing else as the flannel caressed his skin, comforting him slightly. He twisted his lips into a grimace as his eyes took in the red lighting that illuminated the darkened kitchen.

Ten forty showed on the fluorescent clock in his kitchen and he sighed again, moving to sit up and shut his windows, flicking on the living room light in the process, flopping down again afterward, letting his head fall back on the couch for a second before glancing over to the clock again.

Ten forty-two. What was he waiting for? He wondered this as he watched the numbers move from two to three, the lights going out and coming back as the time passed, each minute seeming like an eternity.

He flicked his tongue over his lips and shut his eyes, forcing himself to look away from the clock as he let his head tip back again, staring at the ceiling again before letting his eyelids cover his eyes again. He tried to stop himself from looking at the clock; he did this every birthday, waited for that exact moment. He never quite understood why.

A few minutes passed and he looked over again. Fuck, it was ten forty-six. One more minute and he was inching his way to twenty-six. He watched the clock for a few seconds. Come on, thirty more seconds and it would be another birthday without Brian. He shook his head and looked away again, a soft sigh being caught on his lips as a pair of…

Oh, what a liar.

His lips curled into a smile as he felt the familiar weight on his lips and he pressed back. It was a soft kiss, upside down. He could feel the breath tickling his neck as the kiss continued, sending a small shiver down his spine. He felt strong hands curl against his shoulders and his hands threaded through long, shaggy, dark brown hair, and his fingers moved to massage the scalp.

The surprise had long since worn off as their lips moved against each other’s, a low noise slipping from Jimmy’s lips as he felt the same, skilled tongue swipe across his lips as he always did before the kiss was broken. It was like a promise of things to come, at least to Jimmy.

As the kiss broke, Jimmy smiled a little wider, pulling his head back slightly and whispering against Brian’s lips, “Liar.” His eyes looked up at the chin of Brian, seeing the bit of beard there and he kissed it instinctively, earning him a low chuckle.

The brunette above him shook his head; his head moved forward again, his thin lips brushing against Jimmy’s full ones, sending another shudder through the thinner man beneath him. “Sneaky,” he riposted in a low voice, his telltale smirk on his lips. He nudged his chin with his nose. “Look at the clock.”

Jimmy broke away from Brian’s lips, seeing the red lights flashing ten forty-seven and he couldn’t help but laugh. Brian laughed as well, and it was the most welcome sound in the world as the thinner man looked back at the other leering over him, the smirk gone in place of a grin.

“Happy birthday, babe,” he said, hopping over the back of the couch to sit beside his boyfriend, who instantly moved to wrap his lithe arms around him, leaning his head on his chest, a sigh unlike his previous one escaping his lips.

“I love you so much,” Jimmy whispered, and he felt two fingers slip beneath his chin and force him to look up into sparkling amber eyes, a smile present on his face.

“I love you more,” Brian replied before leaning forward and pressing another soft kiss to Jimmy’s lips, as if to silence any more protest. Their arms linked around each other and the thinner man moved to straddle the larger one, eyes slipping shut as the kiss deepened, filling the both of them with need and passion.