Something I Can Never Forget

Downsizing they had called it, but really, it was an all out housecleaning. One of the board members from the branch had been skimming money off the top, just enough not to add up and be dismissed as errors in records. But then he'd gotten greedy, and he'd taken too much, or rather, just enough. Just enough to be noticed. And suddenly an entire section of the company, along with several members of the board had to be fired and replaced.

It had started that he needed the money, rent was too high, accidents had happened, things like that, his way of life not willing to be sacrificed because of the size of his paycheck, then, it had just been because he could get away with it, taking a little more and a little more and a little more until finally it was just too much and he was looking at a piece of paper that dismissed him as though he were of no importance.

No charges were pressed, no black list, he'd just been dismissed. What right did this guy, who ran this company from a million miles away as though it were his own personal play thing, have to just...let him go? What made him so much better that he'd just cast him off like one too many coats on a warm winter's day? This 'Elijah Diaz', founder and president? So what if he'd started the place? That didn't make him any better than the people that kept it running, right? And this man had kept this company running since the day it'd been established in his area. He'd worked hard and given his time just like everyone else, why shouldn't he be given little 'quirks'? Little rewards? He deserved it! Not to be laid off like some...common worker! For weeks he'd sat and stewed and brooded over the events, taking in letter after letter of offers for jobs that just didn't pay enough.

No, he didn't want another job. He wanted his job, the job where he'd been comfortable and could handle things without a worry or a care in the world. And he wanted better pay that they'd been giving him. Yeah. He wanted what he deserved, damnit. And he'd see that he got it too.

Nearly a month after being laid off, he'd moved almost across country and just a few miles from Elijah. He knew these big business, spoiled playboy types. They always had secrets and something they wanted to keep people from finding out. And if this man did, he was damn well going to find out, and he was going to use it to get his old job back. No. A better one. He was going to be living in the lap of luxury again! One John Porter sat in his car outside Elijah's house every day for nearly three month, outside his gym, his office, his 'lover's' home.

Most times, people would have thought that having a gay lover was enough to blackmail someone, but no, John knew better. With all the sudden waves of open-minded, liberal media that went around now, it wouldn't have gotten him far to try and out Elijah. And it wasn't as though he could play the 'out of wedlock' card on something like this, that just would have backfired on him. No. It wasn't until just a few weeks back that he finally got his big break, posing as a patient in a hospital he'd followed the two men to, lingering outside a door unseen. That's when he'd heard it. Oh how perfect it was!

Sitting in Elijah's office, across from the other man, he couldn't help but grin like the cat that'd swallowed the canary. "I know something you don't want anyone else to know." He chuckled. "And I'll keep it quiet if you'll just give me what I want."

That had been almost six hours ago, and Elijah had refused, relentless that he had nothing he wanted to hide, nothing to be ashamed of. And oh how John planned to prove him wrong. It had taken time and a lot of convincing, but he had gathered together seven different popular newspapers and told each and every one (for a well paid fee of course) exactly where Elijah Diaz had abandoned his ex-lover and impregnated male lover. It wouldn't be long now, no, soon, that place would be swarming, John there and ready to lead the attack.

There came a knock at Bryant's door around five, the time Ms. Withers was supposed to drop by.

Most of his day had been spent watching different kinds of talk shows, one of them awkwardly be about men denying that they were the baby daddy of some random woman, almost as if someone was literally poking cruel fun at his current situation. A little while ago he had taken the time out to put on a rather loose fitting blue sweater that had been rather big on him before, but now did the job of hiding most of his protruding belly, it was actually quite comfortable. It had been in the middle of a hooting and hollering spell on one of the talk shows that the knock had finally registered within his mind, looking over at the book on the counter next to him where he had marked off a few shirt and pants for Ms Withers...and she had just happened to be a little early to show up. He dismissed it with a soft shrug before pulling himself up off his increasingly comfortable chair, letting one of his hands wander over his stomach as he felt the baby detest the sudden movement with a sharp kick, almost as if trying to comfort it with a simple touch. He had already been contemplating names for the new addition, finding that he was much more into the spirit of having a baby on the way than he had ever thought.

He had opened the front door with little thought as to just who was waiting for him outside of it, eyes widening considerably when he had opened them long enough to take notice to the fact that there were people camping themselves out across his long, and not one of them was Ms Withers. "What...in the hell...are you doing on MY lawn?!?" Bryant was needless to say, a little more than pissed at just what was happening, not entirely sure just why there was a group of people on his lawn, knowing somewhere in the back of his mind that he was missing an ever important part of this little puzzle.

"There he is! That's him!" John yelled from the front of the yard. "Bryant, Bryant, how does it feel to be the first man in history to be pregnant?!""Bryant, have you found out the sex of the baby?""Have you thought about the possibilities of birth defects to a baby born to a man?""How does it feel to know the man who got you pregnant has completely abandoned you?""Do you regret anything, Bryant?" Suddenly they swarmed, pouncing like wild beasts to their prey, each of them with microphones and small recorders, shoving them into Bryant's face as soon as they could, reaching and crowding arm over arm until they were the closest to him, forcing closer and closer. Some pushed at the door trying to force their way in, others were working on getting pictures, cameras suddenly appearing from inside the tents that had been set up.

"The public has a right to know!" They howled like wolves to he slaughter. "Is it true the other father is successful business mogul Elijah Diaz?!""Has he made any claim at all to the unborn child or your relationship?""Was your relationship based on anything beside sex?" They kept at it, badgering and begging for more.

He had barely been able to take notice to the man that had officially sent him to the slaughter before he was damn near tackled by every single reporter that had shown up, finding it rather difficult to breathe as they kept on pushing themselves closer and closer until he was afraid that he would literally explode. The muscles in his cheek seemed to be working overtime as he listened to the questions being flung at him, it was one thing to piss off Ms Withers or even Elijah, but it took a lot more to piss off Bryant and once that had happened, there really was no way to avoid being hurt severely. "Get those cameras out of here! You have no right to be here, and frankly, the public has a right to know absolutely shit about my private life. and that is exactly how it is going to stay!" His nostrils were flaring madly as he tried his hardest to keep from punching the living daylights out of the reporters that were pushing their microphones into his mouth, eyes finally managing to narrow against the form of the man that had been the first one to start all of this madness....and Bryant was going to kill him; with his own bare hands at that.

Somehow he knew that he had to get back into his house and lock the door behind him, there was only one person he knew of that could get these people to back off, and that just happened to be Ms Withers, that and the fact that he was feeling extremely faint and light headed from all of this sudden stress. Eyes looked similar to those of a deer caugh in headlights, finding a sudden burst of energy, enough to push his way back to his front door and shut it with a rather loud slam, quickly locking it and blocking it off with anything he could manage. Chest heaving with each breath as he finally managed to make it over to his phone, quickly dialing the number that would take him directly to the person he wanted to talk to, his tones incredibly dark and clearly pissed. "Something happened here...and I am tempted to commit murder..." He knew that there had to be something going on about this on the news, it shouldn't take her long to notice that he was indeed in a situation that any hormonally unbalanced person would resort to violence.

"Hm...Stay inside, lock all your doors and windows, try to cover them up if you can." Ms. Withers was inside a store for knocked up ladies, bags in her arms and a phone to her ear, somewhere on the other side of town. It took all of four minutes for her to be in Bryant's front yard. Someone had to have been the one to teach Eli how to drive in emergencies, right? In all the noise and over the sounds of plotting on ways to get inside, anyone could have heard the click of Ms. Withers' heels, feet heavy and weighed down by the obvious anger in her face. Most times, Ms. Withers naturally looked like an angry person, but right now...well, if looks could kill...The sea of people at the door seemed to part for her and as he made her way to the front, she turned towards them. Adjust her glasses, she cleared her throat, one hand motioning for the mics to be brought in nice and close.

She had something to say. "The first person that tries to force their way through a window or door, tries to get footage or picture of anything inside, tries to scream, yell, or bellow, will be thrown in jail so quickly their heads will spin. And I will personally see to it that their licenses are revoked. You want to sit out here and wait, that's just fine, but 'freedom of the press' or not, anyone does anything stupid, and I'll have so many lawsuits on you you won't get out of court until this kid's got grandkids." She paused. "And you..." She pointed over at John. "Just wait." Oh, she knew. Ms. Withers knew all. With that, she slipped in the front door. How? Because she's Ms. Withers, it was just possible.

Somewhere else, Elijah was sitting in his office, finishing off the day's work, packing his stuff up and getting ready to leave. It wasn't until he was in the lobby that he noticed the odd glares and stares and whispers, one employee pointing to a nearby television set running the daily news. Where he saw Bryant. And about a million screaming reporters. "Oh dear god..."

At first, he was having problems just trying to blockade each and every window that he possibly could, not one to question Ms Withers especially at a time like this. The painful shocks that racked his frame enough to send him almost tumbling onto the floor, gripping his stomach with a look of pure pain mixed with a look of fear. All of this stress was doing nothing for his current state, things were already shaky with him being a pregnant male, but if the reporters kept this up than he just might end up losing the baby...and he would kill with no regard for consequences if they did that. A look of pure and utter joy crossed over his facial features when he noticed that the one person that could help him had made her way inside and had also made the reporters back off a little from the house, he had never been so happy to see anyone else in his entire life. "Oh god, so glad you're here" He looked the part of a little child who had found comfort, and even though he knew that most of this was to cover Elijahs ass, he didn't care, just as long as someone was physically there.

Teeth took to lightly nipping at his lower lip in an effort to squelch his cries of pain, knowing that if he didn't relax soon, that serious damage could be done to his baby; and he would sooner die than let that happen. A few deep and somewhat calming breaths were taken in before immediately being exhaled, knowing that right now there really wasn't much that he could do but sit here and protect his child, and let the killing and or maiming to the all too capable woman beside him if things came to that.

She gathered Bryant around the arms and shook her head. "Sit down, dear, you'll work yourself into early labor." She led him over to the sofa and had him sit, bringing a pillow for behind his back and another for under his feet, which she brought up on the couch as well. "Relax, deep breaths, in and out. I'll finish up." Ms. Withers was obviously a lot stronger than she looked, moving the kitchen table in front of the door with what appeared to be ease, and pulling out every sheet and comforter she could find along with a few of her own that she'd bought on her way out the store, pinned them over the windows so not even the slightest crack of light could work it's way inside the house, flicking on a lamp for them.

When she was finally done, she went and sat at Bryant's feet, hair a little messier, a light sheen of sweat on her forehead and nose, but otherwise completely composed as she pulled over several bags that were on the floor from when she'd come in. "Now then, I got you a bit of clothes, though there wasn't much I could get that wasn't frilly or obviously female, mostly shirts and maternity pants..." Which, by anyone's standards, were the most comfortable pants in the entire world. "Also, some vitamins and healthier food, if you can't cook, I'll prepare it for you, or at the very least show you how." She began unpacking...what could have been a small store. Ms. Withers looked over and smiled. "It'll be alright, dear." She murmured, patting him lightly on the leg.

Most would have thought that she did this for Eli, but really, she had liked Bryant. He'd been a good boy. And even she knew no one deserved to be left alone, expecting.

Elijah sat in his car, engine off, radio off, not moving, his head pressed so tightly against the outer wheel that it was at the point of bruising, the pain not reaching him where he was. His hands gripped in his hair until strands broke from the scalp and tore out tiny bits of skin, his knuckles white and yellow. He didn't know what to do! He didn't know what to do! He didn't...he couldn't...but he had to do something! Oh god, what was he supposed to do?!

Bryant really had very little clue as to just what he was going to do now, there were literally a couple dozen reporters and photographers lined up outside of his door just waiting for him to step out of his little safehouse. One of his eyebrows was raised at the rather large amount of things that were placed out in front of him, it made his living room look like he had died and gone to baby world, everything under the sun that could be needed was there. "Umm...thank you.." No matter how much he tried, he couldn't help but be downright pissed off at Elijah for ignoring him, it was bad enough that he was now viewed as a freak by the worlds population, but to go through all of this pretty much alone was unexcusable. Fingers seemed to toy around with the elastic waistband of one of the pants, wondering just how fat that he would be getting before this was all said and done.

His face seemed to visibly pale as he barely managed to grab the nearest trash can before he literally got sick, one of the ever lovely side effects of being pregnant, from what he had read on the internet. Eyes barely half lidded in nature as he managed to pull his face away from the soiled can, another five to six months of this was definately going to be pure torture.

Ms. Withers was already there with a glass of water and some napkins, waiting until Bryant could rinse out his mouth and clean up a little before she took the trashcan, holding it as far from herself as possible, finding another empty one to put back by Bryant just in case. She was half tempted to clean the dirty one by tossing it on the idiots outside the door, but of course, not even she was quite that evil...unless they tried something stupid before she had the chance to clean it, of course. She went back to sitting down at Bryant's feet, sorting out the clothes and diaper bags and baby supplies she bought, already prepared to baby-proof an entire house, more bags in her car for her own house because, yes, she did plan to see the baby more than just once. Somehow, all of it seemed oddly familiar, nostalgic of all the days she'd spent taking care of Elijah when he'd still refused to take care of himself.

Right now, though, didn't quite seem the best time to offer to cook dinner. So she sat, quietly, not quite sure of how to completely handle this or what they were going to do, but certain she wasn't going to let anything bad happen so long as she had a say in it.

Somehow, Elijah could already see it. The scandals were mounting up, the enormity of the rumors would start, the exaggerations people would make, the jokes that would be thought up...he couldn't stand it. Not because of his own reputation, but because of the reputation of everything he'd worked for. His company, his business, the contacts he'd made, the branches he'd opened, what was going to happen now that people found out that not only was he gay, he had somehow managed to impregnate this man that he had been fucking. They hadn't been in a real relationship, honestly, Eli had never told Bryant anything in the way of feelings beyond that he hated him, he'd whispered it to him a million times or more, then they'd made love in a thousand different places, but no one except maybe Ms. Withers had even known!...that was it! He could, he could just deny it, right? Say he wasn't the father?

Who would be able to prove otherwise? Any and all evidence could and would be disposed of, including tapes from security and he could replace the things in his office and in his home and report his credit card as stolen...it was perfect. He finally leaned back, body tense and hands gripping the wheel tight enough to nearly split the skin of his knuckles, chuckling softly to himself over his plan and how absolutely perfect it was, he started the car and took off. Tire skid and screeched as he finally drove up to the house he'd gotten far too used to frequenting, the nearly black tint hiding just how disheveled he was before he collected himself, running his hands through his hair and straightening his clothes and sunglasses before stepping out of the car.

He was immediately swarmed, the pack of reporters and photographers shinning their lights in his face and demanding answers from the man who looked entirely like he was only there for the photo op. That's right. That's how it needed to look. All he had to do was walk up there and deny it all.

He forced his way to the front of the porch, standing at the entryway and shooing the reporters back as they tried to get in for a statement.

"I would just like to say that..." While I support whatever lifestyle those around me choose... "That..." I am not the father of this person's child and... "that..." Whoever would spread such heinous lies about me will be charged to the fullest extent of the law...that was what he was supposed to be saying, but somehow, he couldn't force the words out of his mouth. He stood there, a little paler, his voice cracking ever so slightly as he stared at all these expecting faces, these waiting people.

The millions probably waiting at home to hear the same news. "That I have no comment at this moment."

That said, he turned and pulled a key to the door from his pocket, fairly well forcing his way into the house, Ms. Withers already fully prepared to stab whoever it was trying to get in with the nearest lamp.

If there really had been a way for Elijah to come through that door without upsetting Bryant, it certainly wasn't popping into mind at the moment. The sound of breaking glass accompanied by someone almost physically pushing the door in was enough to send Bryant into a tiny fit of shaky breaths, only to realize that it was actually the father of the baby that had broken in and not just some reckless reporter looking for the new big scoop. He knew for a fact that he shouldn't be upset with Elijah for walking out on him like he had, but a part of him just didn't want to listen to that as his eyes turned inexplicably cold in a matter of seconds, knowing that Ms Withers was more than capable of barricading them up again without him having to lift a finger. "So...why did you decide to come back? The free publicity" The part inside of him that loved Elijah like no other had been taken over by the part of him that felt hurt and angry; as well as cold and betrayed...it wasn't like he was going to welcome him back in here with open arms, he had left him over a week ago without so much as a word!

"Exactly." He said wryly, closing the door again and pushing the table back over the hole he'd made, a mental note to put up a board as soon as they could. "I'm sure the investors are all sitting at home, watching me break into my gay, miracle-baby father/mother's house and jumping at the chance to go and buy more stock." He should have been nice, really, he should have, but his mind wasn't entirely there at the moment. "I came to publicly deny all allegations and break off any remaining linking to this bizarre wonder of science before it ate my company and my life's work from the inside out." As he spoke his voice was level, entirely serious, completely honest, just as every time he'd told the other man that he'd hated him after their passionate bouts of amazing sex.

He didn't so much as attempt at sugar coating the truth or hiding any detail from the other man, eyes watching just about everything but him as he removed the sunglasses and tucked them into his coat pocket, looking over all the mountains of things that Ms. Withers had bought. The woman herself stood, taking the trashcan and disappearing towards the back of the home to wash it out so it wouldn't start to smell, a single look given to Elijah that told him all he needed to know. If he tried something stupid, it wouldn't have just been Bryant he was dealing with, it would have been her too. As she disappeared, he walked towards the couch, certain that Bryant was beyond any semblance of angry at the moment, but not much seeming to care.

"I came to do all that, thinking about the good of my company and my work and my stock and my options...and I got in front of the cameras, so damn used to having those microphones shoved in my face and the lens glaring at me from two feet away I don't think it felt much worse than being in a second home." He kept his eyes elsewhere, reaching out and picking up a toy teether, fiddling with it in his hands. "And I stood there and babbled like an idiot that I didn't have any comment." He glared at the teether as though in some way it had managed to be the cause of the entire situation, tossing it back into the pile. It was very possibly the most he had spoken their entire relationship, and it was probably the hardest thing Bryant had had to hear.

"Did you know that I never once told you 'I love you'? I never so much as said that I gave a damn. In fact, the majority of the time, I was more content to tell you that I hated you than anything else." He crossed his arms over his chest, going to sit down on the other end of the sofa. "I should be able to walk away from this without feeling like I've done a damn thing wrong. It's not like some fairytale story with a prince in shining armor. We fucked in a fancy hotel one night, so high off our asses we barely knew where we were, then...we just kept going at it." He smirked and shook his head. "But I'm sure you've thought all of that over just fine on your own." His arms unhinged and he ran one hand through his hair, raking it hard back against his scalp, the already red and worried surface showing through.

"This scares the living shit out of me, I'll be honest. The masses outside, the media, the organizations, I can handle. It's you. It's...that." He motioned towards his belly. "I don't love people, Bryant, we've both seen how that ends. I don't know how to be a lover or a father or a husband or whatever the hell I'd have to be..."

There had never been anything in his entire life that had been harder to hear than listening to Elijah talk about wanting nothing more than to go out there and deny everything that had gone on between them, but it didn't exactly surprise him all that much either to tell the truth; though that didn't make it hurt any less. "Than why didn't you? if you want out of all of this so bad, it should have been all to simple to just give one of your nice little speeches and you'd be scott free" Nice Bryant, well right now he was pretty much dead and buried for the time being, leaving only all of the anger and resentment left behind from past years. "Let's think about this for a minute Elijah, Nicholas may be dead, but if he weren't...just what would he think of his older brother shielding himself off from the outside world? Even I know he'd be disappointed..."

That was quite a low blow, but for the other to even think that Bryant was enjoying all this extra attention and being referred to as a freak of nature, he was dead wrong! His arms were crossed over his chest in a defensive manner, allowing a quick glance to be given to the last place Ms Withers had been standing, almost as if he regretted being alone for this. Hearing Elijah refer to him as if he was nothing more than some kind of one night stand and something that could easily be thrown aside, it was enough to cause a painful tremor to run through his chest. "If all you came here to do was tell me how much you hate me, than might as well show you're way right back to the door."

He visibly winced at the reminder of his elder brother, hands clenching into fists. "It should be easy, right?" He muttered, scratching at the back of his head. "I've said it a million times before, I even waited until I knew it would hurt you the most before I told you for the first time." He smirked, hand wandering down and the heel of his palm pressing hard against the outward cup of his eye. "I should be able to, but I...I can't, alright?" He almost growled, spitting out the words as though he had never said them before in his life, never faced with a situation that he was so completely inept at handling. "I came here completely prepared to give a damn speech, to deny the living shit out of everything, because that's the way it was supposed to be. It wasn't supposed to be...we weren't supposed to have..."

He slammed his fist down against his own knee, easily enough force behind it to bruise the tender flesh, frustrated at not being able to do much of anything. "I can't force myself back outside just to tell all those people a bunch of stuff that I know are probably the worst lies I'd ever have to tell, and I can't sit here and tell you that I'll suddenly become this perfect lover and great father because that'd be just as big of a lie and much worse." He ground his fist down into his leg. He didn't know what to do. "It sounds so goddamn stupid coming out of my mouth; I can't even make the words sound like I want them to, I end up yammering off whatever I can manage to form into coherent thought." He sighed and his hand relaxed some, gripping down on his knee cap instead, probably tight enough to dislocate the thing were he to give it a good tug.

"I don't know what to say, something like an apology wouldn't measure up to what I've done to you, and something of affection wouldn't mean a damn thing after everything I've said. But I am sorry. And I do...I love you." Elijah sighed softly, still so immensely frustrated with himself at not being able to express exactly what he wanted. He stood and moved across the couch, taking a closer seat to Bryant. "I know that's not enough, nothing could ever be enough to undo what I've done to you...and to this person between us..." One hand reached down, barely grazing the small bulge of his belly, so completely gentle in contrast to his previous, angered fists. "But I don't...I don't want to be apart from you, either of you." His eyes finally managed to meet Bryants. "I love you. Both of you."

[oooh cliff hanger again! Kitty is sooo evil! >:O but after such a long time with no update, I felt the need to get something up to make it up to the few reviewers we have had ^^]