1. Of First Dates and Other Tales by FadedSouls
His first date with JC was at a club somewhere Los Angeles, hidden away at the back of the VIP area, the entire time spent making out, hands gripping clothes and mouths moaning each others name, as faceless strangers did their best to ignore them. They didnīt talk much, and AJ didnīt really care, as he had a whole list of things he would rather be doing with his mouth at that particular time.
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His first kiss with Brian was chaste and delicate. They were hidden away in Brianīs room, and had just had their fourth date, working out at an otherwise empty hotel gym. The second and third dates had been MacDonald’s in the back of the tour bus and then later the re-watching of Titanic for the fourth-thousand time. After walking Brian to his room, and being invited in to watch whatever was on TV, they had sat in comfortable silence for close to half an hour, Brian leaning up against him, snuggling close as a rerun of Sex in the City had Carrie pining for Big and Samantha fucking the man of the week in ways even AJ didnīt know he could pull off. As the commercials reclaimed the screen, he got up to leave -- it was getting late and he really did need at least a few hours before they were off again. Brian stopped him and gently cupped his face, leaning in slowly to place a soft and innocent kiss on his lips.
His first kiss with JC was in the recording booth as they were laying down the tracks for Treat Me Right, and it had come out of nowhere. The other three were off getting something to drink, everyone else had left for the day, and it was only the two of them left. One second they had been talking about the music, listening to what they had already recorded and talking about what needed to be changed. The next, JC had turned to look at him, before he’d leaned in and kissed him. The kiss had been intense, hard and raw, and it had left AJ wanting more, so as JC began to pull back he followed, not letting the kiss end, wanting more and taking it, JC letting him without reserve.
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His first argument with Brian was over who ate the last slice of pizza, which was soon followed by the one over who snored the loudest. How it had gone from one to the other was something no-one knew, but while the first argument had been filled with laughter and small amounts of food being thrown at each other, the second soon turned into a loud and heated argument when Brian dared suggest he should go see someone because clearly it could not be natural to snore that loudly and there was probably something seriously wrong with him. AJ in turn reminded Brian that it was in fact him who had kept Nick awake for the better part of their early years in Europe, and that Nick had never been so relieved as he was when he was finally deemed old enough to have his own room. It didnīt end until Howie all but knocked the door off its hinges, informing them that they were equally loud snorers, but even that couldn’t surpass their current level of yelling, and if they didn’t stop he was going to brutally torture and murder them both, and he was going to enjoy it.
His first argument with JC was in the back of the club, over the redhead sprawled all over JC’s lap, half naked and high as a kite. But it wasn’t about JCīs hands all over her ass, or JC’s lips on her neck, it was about the fact that JC was staring at him while it was happening, all but ignoring whatever it was the girl was doing to him. AJ never quite understood why it bothered him so much, but when he told JC about it he all but threw the girl to the floor as he got up, hands grabbing AJīs collar as he pushed him back against the wall, face inches from his own, asking AJ what the fuck he was getting so upset over. They stood like that for a while, JC pushing him against the wall and he pushing back, yelling at each other without the words having any real meaning, drowned in the loud music and flashing lights, fighting just for the hell of it.
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The first time he had sex with Brian they’d just gotten back from rehearsals for the new tour, and had been discussing who would get to have the first shower, both feeling the need to smell like something other than a five-day sweat. The discussion had ended with him winning, but the first shower hadn't been his prize. Brian had decided they could both have the first shower, and from there things had lead to soft wet kisses, hands touching everywhere, and finally Brian laying back on the bed, beckoning AJ to following him, love written all over his face.
The first time he had sex with JC was only minutes after their first argument, as JC finally got tired of pushing him up against the wall and decided to drag him along to the nearest room with a door that closed and enough space for two people. They ended up in what looked like a small room used for storing cleaning equipment, and there JC was the one who found himself pushed against the wall as AJ decided to take control of the situation. He kept that control for all of five minutes, until JC, missing his shirt and soon his pants, bit down on his shoulder, sucking hard and making AJ forget what he was doing for a second. And a second was all it took, as he found himself spun around, JC back in control, mouth back on his shoulder and neck, and he didnīt care who had control anymore.
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The first time Brian met JC after everything that had happened, he looked at JC with a sadness in his eyes that he couldnīt quite cover up, a knowledge of what was going on and who it was he was sharing his man with. He never said a word, smiled and behaved like Brian would, joking and laughing and pulling pranks with Nick that belonged ten years in the past. He would kiss AJ in a corner, let him lean in close and nibble on his neck, and never say a word when AJ went off to talk to JC in private, even though his eyes were fighting off tears.
The first time JC met Brian after everything that had happened, he saw the sadness in Brian’s eyes, and knew he had caused it. He watched as Brian acted like everything was all right, pulling pranks on Howie along with Nick, laughing and looking like he had a great time. He watched as Brian let himself be led into a secluded corner, watched as Brian let himself be loved without saying a word, without asking why he wasn’t the only one in AJ’s life. He watched as Brian accepted that he would always be sharing his man. And when the time came for JC to be alone with AJ, he told him it was over. He had watched Brianīs love shine brighter than the sun, and he knew he could never match it, could never love AJ as much as Brian did, and knew he was never meant to.
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The first time he told Brian he loved him, it felt like an eternity passed as he waited for Brian to say it back. It only took him half a second.