Take Me From This Pain, Brian's story

A/N: Read \"Kevin\'s Story\" for a humorous alternate POV to this chapter!

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Brian looked around the dining room curiously. Matt\'s father and his husband Cody were seated opposite him and Matt. They regarded the two boys pleasantly, though Brian could detect a hint of anxiety coming from the small redhead seated beside Matt\'s dad. He looked at Cody and smiled, hoping to ease the poor man\'s nerves.

Cody Jamison-Henshaw wasn\'t what either Matt or Brian had expected. Though Matt wasn\'t sure what type of man his dad would be attracted to, he somehow couldn\'t picture him the with the quiet bookworm he\'d returned with earlier. Cody was a study in the shy, quiet type. He was in his mid- thirties and short, almost like Brian, yet he still had an inch or two on the smaller blonde. He was also lithe and slender, lending him an almost feminine appearance. His startling blue eyes revealed warmth, though. He smiled back kindly at Brian in quiet understanding, not needing to be told what Matt was going to say. Relief and empathy filled his expression.

Grant Henshaw looked like an older version of his son, with shorter hair that was speckled with gray. He was still built solidly for his age, which Brian placed to be the mid-forties. His eyes mirrored Matt\'s as well and he regarded his son warily, sitting back in his chair with his arms folded.

\"Hey, Dad,\" Matt grinned sheepishly. \"How \'bout those Yankees?\"

He knew his father was waiting to see how Matt would accept his lifestyle. While Matt was a little annoyed he hadn\'t trusted him enough to tell him before, he knew he really had only himself to blame. He\'d told his father how he bothered little fags at school. Grant had never reacted one way or the other to it, and now Matt knew why. He also knew he would have to apologize now for his actions, even though he hadn\'t known he was hurting his dad at the time.

\"Cut the bull, Matt,\" Grant sighed then smiled. \"Especially since they choked in the playoffs. To the Sox, no less.\"

Brian and Cody shared a giggle then fell silent. Grant turned a questioning eye on Brian and back to Matt.

\"I suppose your mother told you about me, then?\" he asked quietly.

\"Yeah, she did. I\'m surprised she didn\'t tell you about me though.\"

\"You?\" Grant looked bewildered. Then he looked at Brian again with wide eyes, as if he\'d just deciphered some deep, longstanding mystery.

Brian blinked in surprise and looked at Cody for assurance. The older man smiled kindly at him again and Brian felt like he\'d just fallen into the Twilight Zone. \'Does everyone think I\'m Matt\'s boyfriend?\' he mentally cried and crossed his own arms.

Matt grinned at the pout that just settled over Brian\'s expression. He figured the small blonde eventually would get used to being labeled Matt\'s boyfriend. In fact, it might help Matt coax him into it in the long run.

\"So that\'s why you went to such lengths for him,\" Grant smiled at his son.

\"No, that\'s not why!\" Brian huffed. \"He just thinks it is.\"

All three turned to look at him curiously and he wanted to crawl under the table. He chose to look away in annoyance instead, studying the flowery design on the wallpaper and scowling.

\"Still in denial, huh?\" Cody whispered.

Brian turned to glare at him but felt it didn\'t quite reach his eyes. He raised a brow sadly at the man and looked down at the tablecloth.

\"Anyway,\" Matt faced his dad again. He didn\'t want to upset Brian right now. It had been a pretty hard night for him last night after their talk. \"I have a huge apology to make to you, Dad. After all that time you had to listen to me spout off homophobic nonsense.\"

\"Forget it,\" Grant grinned. \"I guess it was just a smokescreen.\"

\"Yeah.\"

\"So, Brian, Matt tells me you\'ll be going with him to Boston?\" Grant turned his attention to the small blonde beside his son.

Brian\'s eyes darted back and forth between himself and Cody and Grant could see that imposing male figures seem to make him nervous. Matt hadn\'t gone into great detail about Brian\'s problems with his stepfather but Grant could surmise what had happened. This boy had definitely been beaten, so often he was obviously used to it. But there was something in his demeanor hinted at other, more sinister violence. He didn\'t envy his son\'s role right now.

\"He asked me to,\" Brian finally replied. \"If it would be too much trouble . . .\"

\"No, not at all,\" Grant waved the statement away before Brian even finished it. \"I was hoping you would go with him.\"

\"You were?\" Brian looked skeptical.

\"Yes, someone needs to keep an eye on him.\"

Matt narrowed his eyes at his dad playfully.

\"I think it would be good for you, anyway,\" Cody piped in, looking at Brian intently. \"A change of scenery is just what you need, you know.\"

\"What do you mean?\" Brian\'s eyes widened. What had Matt told his father?

\"Just that Matt mentioned you\'d had nothing but unpleasant memories of California,\" Grant supplied enigmatically. \"The East Coast is a great antidote for that.\"

Brian looked bemused for a moment then smiled. These people seemed very nice to him and he was glad. He\'d been nervous about meeting them, but now he relaxed. Cody, especially, was very easy to be around.

\"So what are your plans for tonight?\" Grant asked.

\"Well, not that we don\'t want to spend time with you, pops,\" Matt grinned, \"but Brian\'s brother invited us to a casual get together with some of his and Jason\'s friends at the local mall.\"

\"Ah, to be young again,\" Cody chuckled.

\"We have to go out to dinner with some of Cody\'s colleagues anyway,\" Grant grinned. \"Tomorrow night, the four of us go to dinner, though.\"

\"It\'s a date,\" Matt laughed, looking at the befuddled Brian.

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\"Why are Kevin and Jason standing with those girls?\" Matt asked Brian about an hour into the party. \"I thought they were dating each other.\"

Brian shrugged. The kids were hanging out in the food court right now, waiting for everyone to finish eating before moving on to the arcade or bowling alley. They hadn\'t decided yet. Kevin and Jason each had a girl hanging on them, though neither looked the least concerned about this fact. Brian frowned as he watched his brother avoid his gaze for the fourth time that evening. Apparently he\'d been hiding something else from Brian, and that didn\'t sit well.

\"That\'s it!\" Brian hissed to Matt. \"Let\'s find out. He\'s definitely not going to tell me willingly.\"

Matt grinned as he followed the small blonde. This trip had been a good idea after all. Brian had finally broken out of his sullen shell and Matt had Kevin to thank for it.

\"Hey!\" Brian called as they approached Kevin and Jason. \"You haven\'t introduced me to these friends yet.\" He looked pointedly at the girls and waited.

\"Uh, uh, Marly, can you excuse me for a second?\"

\"Sure,\" she smiled and pecked Kevin on the cheek before he moved away.

\"Brian, can we talk over here?\"

\"Your cousin looks so much like you,\" Marly giggled.

\"Cousin?\" Matt laughed softly so only he and Brian could hear.

\"Yeah, I know,\" Kevin smiled and turned to pull Brian to the side.

Matt followed behind and winked at Jason, who shrugged. He stayed behind with the girl he was with, though.

\"What the HELL is going on here?\" Brian growled. \"Who is that girl with you? Who is the one with Jason? Why are you two pretending to be straight?\"

\"Slow down!\" Kevin hissed. \"One at a time! Yes, we\'re pretending to date these girls.\"

\"I KNEW it!\" Brian seethed. \"Why?\"

\"They were our dates to the dance last fall and they were both being bothered by this cheerleader bitch.\"

\"Go on.\" Brian was now tapping his foot impatiently.

Of all the fool things he could imagine. He didn\'t know why he was the last to know these things, but Kevin had apparently decided he didn\'t need to confide in his brother anymore. It made Brian feel a little sad, not to mention useless, but what could he do?

\"Trent\'s sister is an evil bitch!\" Kevin grunted.

\"Trent?\" Brian raised a brow. \"As in \'my good friend can\'t wait to meet you, Brian\' Trent?\"

\"Huh?\" Matt suddenly assumed a wary expression. He knew this trip was turning out to be too good to be true. He also knew Kevin would stop at nothing to separate him from Brian. \'Shields up, Captain!\'

\"Yeah, but he\'s not like that. In fact, he knows about me and Jay.\"

\"HE knows, but I DIDN\'T?\" Brian shrieked.

Kevin looked around nervously and shushed Brian. Matt hid his amusement. It was comical to see Kevin try to deal with the new attitude Brian was developing.

\"I promise, we\'ll tell you everything later.\"

\"You bet your skinny blonde ass you will!\" Brian seethed and stalked away.

Matt gave Kevin a smug but guarded look before following.

\"I can\'t believe him!\" Brian muttered. \"I knew he was building a new life out here, but he seems to think he didn\'t need to tell me anything!\"

\"Relax, Bri,\" Matt soothed kissing the small blonde boy\'s forehead. \"I don\'t think it was personal.\"

\"Easy for you to say.\"

About a minute later Kevin approached the two with two jock-looking guys following behind him. Both were as tall as Matt, and one had longish brown hair while the other sported a red buzz cut. Both were smiling amiably. Matt knew this was trouble. Brian was still too pissed off to care.

\"Hey, Bri, I\'d like you meet my friends Trent and Joe,\" he pointed them out. \"Guys, this is Brian . . . oh, and his friend Matt.\"

\"Nice to meet you,\" Joe said grasping Matt\'s hand.

\"Yeah,\" Trent said looking over the small blonde discreetly. \'Damn, too bad I promised Jason.\"

\"Yeah, nice to meet you, too,\" Brian replied with a smirk. \"This is actually my BOYFRIEND Matt. My, uh, cousin hasn\'t quite come to terms with it yet.\"

Matt covered his surprised expression nicely and snaked an arm around the smiling small blonde\'s waist while tossing a gasping Kevin a triumphant look.