The Nexus

Brae was up with the sun as it filtered in through the big bay window at the back of the apartment. He was curled up on the side of the couch, having fallen asleep with the tv on sometime late last night. Usually he'd be trying to recount the night before right around this time yet he'd been trying to be good and staying in. He couldn't remember what time he drifted off, once he'd flopped on the couch it all became a blur. Some infomercial was on and he pawed around for the remote to shut the TV off before shuffling into the bathroom. He was still sore from his trip down the stairs, though he'd learned to walk like he wasn't in pain a long time ago. The bruises were fading by the day at least, except the one on his face.

When he was cleaned up, he grabbed a shirt and jeans and got dressed before peaking into Cael's room to see if his twin was awake. He wasn't there, so Cael must have already started his day downstairs. Brae took a minute to remember what day it was and hoped he wasn't supposed to be opening. A quick check on his phone told him no; the post it note app was his best friend. If he didn't write things down the likelihood of him forgetting was pretty high.

Sighing, Brae got himself a mug of coffee and plopped down on the ledge of the window looking out across the street. He sat there for a while, just looking across what he could see of the city and of course, studying the pet shop right across from them for the millionth time. He didn't know when he picked up this habit, but it had become something of a ritual to spot the guy across the street just once a day, maybe more. This strange obsession made him feel weird, wrong even, yet here he was sipping away at his coffee and zoning out until he saw movement next door.

Brae perked, hoping it was Pet Shop Guy, or PSG as he'd abbreviated it to in his head. His cheeks darkened at the thought of how ridiculous that just sounded and he ducked his head like someone was watching. He knew Alphonse's name of course, it just made it less personal to think of him as an acronym. Glancing back down his heart sank; it wasn't PSG coming out of the shop. Or at least, not alone. A taller, thinner man was opening the door and speaking over his shoulder to someone just behind him.

Brae hugged his knees and laid his chin down on them as he watched PSG come out after the taller fellow and embrace him. It was hard to tell if these two were dating... or just friends with benefits... Brae saw the tall guy all the time, coming and going as he pleased and he'd obviously stayed the night last night and several times before. The pair kissed then and it wasn't just a friendly peck good bye. Braeden looked away, feeling all those gross feelings again and slipped from the window sill, coffee mug forgotten.

He paced around the apartment a few times, stopped in his room to check something in his drawer, but didn't pull out the cigar box. Instead, he paced back out to the living room and tugged at his hair for a few minutes. He was tired and down and just wanted to melt away somewhere so he didn't have to face reality. He'd tried so hard the past few days to be good and stay in so he didn't worry Cael more. His trip down the stairs had been bad enough. Of course, this was a perfect time to not have anything to facilitate this escape and Brae tried to calm himself down by sitting at the piano. His fingers ghosted over the keys as he thought of something to play in order to ease his mind.

Pressure was put down on the keys to start the first song that came to mind and as luck would have it, his mind decided to betray him. Brae found himself playing the intro to Hello by Lionel Richie and when he got to the words, he started to sing softly so it didn't carry downstairs. Towards the end, he started to get anxious and just let the song trail off, leaning forward and resting his forehead on the keys to make an obnoxious sound. Cursing, he pushed off the piano bench and grabbed his phone, keys, jacket and shoes, descending the stairs double time to get out on the streets once he was dressed. He'd let Cael know he was going out before he left, but he didn't stop long for chatter. He had plans later with Daen, but he was free for the day otherwise.

The phone was to his ear in a matter of seconds once he moved through the shop's main door and he made a quick right then left. Unfortunately this route brought him by the pet shop and that just made his need for Brittany to pick up even sharper. He was half way to their usual meeting place by the time she picked up. "Hey, I need to see you. I'm out."

"Braeden? Nice to hear from you, but you're out of luck. You owe me money from the last out of nowhere call I got." Britt sounded like she might be in the middle of something and he recognized that tone she was using and she wasn't likely to budge.

"Please don't be that way. You know I'll pay you as soon as I have it, Britt. For old ti---"

"Don't even try to pull that shit on me, Brae. If you're that desperate, call Ryan. He knows some people who might help you. Don't call me again until it's to pay me." The line went dead and Brae was hit with a sudden rush of anger. He chucked his phone at the sidewalk and cursed.

"Just fuck today!" Scooping up the poor battered machinery, Brae looked through until he found Ryan's number despite how cracked the screen was now. A short conversation and a meeting later, he found himself alone in an alleyway getting high. No matter how euphoric the feeling, it was still dampened by his dark thoughts of how pathetic this was; this need to be chemically altered to just feel like a person and not slime. He did more than he should have to compensate the gnawing, dragging down feeling he was combating and some time later he stumbled out onto the road.

The city was alive by now, the sidewalks getting busy and Brae just wanted to walk. His head was so muddled he had no idea where he was going, just that he was going and that was fine. He didn't know how much of the day passed during his wandering, but he was bent on keeping himself pretty destroyed for all of it so he didn't have to feel anything. Leaning against a street light, he stared unseeing at the other side of the crosswalk until a cold sense of dread prickled down his spine. It was followed by the light airy butterflies feeling in his stomach as he pushed the bad memories out. Jeff was standing on the other side of the street and time seemed to stop as the lights shifted and people surged around him. He was glued to the spot, not sure what to do: say hi or run for the hills.

Jeff was jonsing for a fix. Rebecca had gotten herself knocked up, by him or someone else...he didn't even know. All she did was go on about the damn baby and if she lost it Jeff would have to listen to her incessant bitching for years. That meant he had to find someone else to feed his dark desires, and ask luck would have it he spotted the very thing he needed right across the street from him. His lips curled into a smile, this was going to be fun.

He quickly crossed the street as soon as it was clear of cars. "Hey Braeden...long time no see. How've you been man?" He knew this mark would be easy, the kid had pathetically been trailing him around for years. "How funny that we ran into each other like this...my plans for tonight just got cancelled." It was a blatant hint, but he paused to see if Brae would take the bait.

Brae was transfixed. He wasn't sure if this was real at all. Jeff had disappeared from his life years ago and Brae had thought... hoped the man wouldn't come back or he would have gladly fallen into the sinkhole of his feelings for him. Jeff was coming toward him and Brae took a step back, unsure whether he should trust his eyes. He especially didn't trust what he was hearing, which was Jeff remembering and using his name. "H-hey..." He rubbed at his eyes real quick and looked back up at Jeff, who was still there. He fidgeted in place, fixing his glasses and offering Jeff a quick smile. "I'm, uh... I'm good. How are you?" Jeff was making his heart thump now that he was fairly certain the man was still there and this wasn't a bad trip. "You wanna... I dunno, get a drink or something?" The offer was out of his mouth before he could rethink it.

Jeff smiled again when Brae asked him for a drink. This was almost too easy. "Sure. I know a little coffee house up the way." He reached into his coat pocket to pull out a flask and he shook it, "We can spice up the coffee ourselves and catch up." He started walking that way and expected Brae to follow him. "So what are you doing in the city?"

Brae flashed a quick smile, ducking his head. "Coffee sounds great." Just like old times. The flask got another smile and a nod; if Jeff hadn't suggested it he would have anyway. Jeff started walking and Brae followed like a puppy. "Oh, uhm, I live here. Do you?" He caught up with Jeff, looking up at him instead of where he was going. Jeff never seemed to change in Brae's eyes and he found himself looking the man over before biting his lip and glancing away.

It didn't take long for them to get to the coffee shop, and Jeff stopped outside the door as he waited for Brae to hold it open for him. "Oh? Where do you live?" He knew that to really make this as strings free as possible he had to get more information out of Brae than he was willing to give. When they got in the shop, Jeff would of course make Braeden pay by faking having forgotten his wallet.

"Oh, uh, other side of town. Above a comic shop with my brother." He shouldn't have been surprised that Jeff withheld if he was living here or not. They got to the shop and Brae had hung back a few steps, not liking to go in firs to new places. Jeff waited though and Brae jumped at the door to open it for him, realizing that was what he wanted late. As for paying, Brae had to dig in his wallet and hope he had enough. He'd follow Jeff to a seat once he paid.

"A comic shop?" He arched a brow as if he didn't quite believe it. "Isn't that like...stuff for kids?" He settled into the seat next to Brae instead of across from him and pulled out the flask.

He twisted so that he could hide the fact that he was spiking their drinks, and he let his knee touch Brae's. "Tell me when to stop pouring."

Brae nodded. Jeff's next question had him hunching and then shrugging. "Uh, maybe..." He shifted his weight uncomfortably and settled into his seat. He watched Jeff spike their drinks, bouncing his leg anxiously until Jeff touched it. He swallowed hard and leaned his knee harder against Jeff's, glancing up at the other man to see if he minded. He'd let Jeff pour a good amount into his cup, however much would fit before nodding for him to stop. "So... What brings you... around here?"

Jeff put the flask away and then set his hand lightly on Brae's thigh. "Oh, doing this and that. Nothing much really. You saved me from having a boring night." He gave Brae a smile and took a sip of coffee.

Brae took back his coffee and drank a large gulp. Jeff's hand on him made him fidget but he didn't try to get Jeff to move his hand or anything. It was in fact extremely distracting. He had been having trouble focusing already thanks to the constant high he was sporting and now he was really lost. His cheek heated up and he smiled at Jeff. "I did?" He couldn't hold Jeff's gaze long before his cheeks were burning hotter and looked down at his cup, drinking some more.

"Yeah. I told you my plans got cancelled." He rubbed his thumb back and forth over Brae's thigh. "It's cute when you do that." He leaned a little closer, "So...got an ideas about what we could do tonight?"

"Right, right." Brae was spinning his coffee cup and keeping his eyes focused on it. Jeff made his cheeks blaze again and he ducked his head again, grinning. The question was met with silence at first, Brae chewing his lip and glancing back up at Jeff with a concerned look. Through the haze of his thoughts, a bit of resentment bubbled up. The last time Brae had made plans for them for the night... Well, it hadn't gone well. "I don't know. I'm really obliterated right now. Not sure you're really even here. I see shit sometimes." He had decided Jeff was really here, but some of his acid trips had been this real before so he just through it out there. "Oh, yeah, that's right. I'm still a 'strung out, drunken kid.' Sure you wanna babysit me this time?" He looked up at Jeff, his jaw clenched and was able to hold his eyes longer than before. His voice dropped. "I remember that. I have trouble remembering what the fuck day it is, but I remember that."

Jeff hadn't expected this to come up, and he was surprised Brae had the guts to say it. He ignored the first bit and gave Brae's thigh a squeeze. "I'm sorry about that Brae. I was being an asshole." He ducked his head so he could look Brae in the eyes and he smiled again, "Let me make it up to you?"

Brae hadn't really expected to spit that out either and he seemed to go shy right after saying it. Jeff squeezed his thigh and Brae just kept his eyes down, drinking more coffee and clenching his jaw. He got a sorry and that threw him. He looked back to Jeff, brows furrowed like he wasn't really sure what Jeff was saying. He met the other man's eyes and that gaze broke down the tiny bit of resolve he'd built up. "O-okay..." He thought maybe he'd push his luck to test and see if Jeff meant being sorry. "Can we go... back to your place?" Brae had always been denied access to Jeff's apartment the last time they'd been seeing each other.

Jeff's smile widened. He had Brae right where he wanted him. Rebecckah was out of town visiting her parents so there wouldn't be any interruptions for the night. "Let's finish our coffee first. Then we'll go." He pulled back some so he could take a big sip, but he didn't take his hand off Brae's thigh.

Brae studied the other man's face when he smiled. He wasn't sure if that was a yes or no... But then Jeff was saying they could finish their coffee and go and Brae's grin came right back. "Okay!" He let the resentment go, replacing it with hope to repair this relationship. e drank back most of his coffee, excited now to finally be allowed to a place he'd been told he'd never see. He reached down to lay his hand tentatively over Jeff's on his thigh, smiling over at the other man.

Jeff kept the smile on his face when Brae accepted his touch and he trailed his hand up a little higher, so he could rub his fingers lightly across the crotch of Brae's jeans. He sipped more coffee and then put the cup down, "On second thought, let's go now." He gave Brae a final grope, and then stood up and once again waited for Braeden to hold the door open for him.

Brae shifted, his heart beating faster. Jeff's hand on his crotch made breathing harder and he met the other man's eyes again, wetting his lips. Jeff wanted to go now and Brae could agree... He drank down the rest of his drink, unwilling to waste any of the liquor. Jeff made his breath hitch with the last touch and he was on his feet, getting the hint to hold the door this time. "Are you far from here?"

Jeff shook his head, "Not far." He reached out and took Brae's hand, to tug him along and make sure he didn't try to escape. Of course, Brae would likely read his own meaning into the gesture. It was a quick walk to his place and he pulled his keys out and let Brae in. "Home sweet home. Make yourself comfortable." He took his jacket off and hung it in the closet while Brae looked around. It was a nice place, clean, with mostly black decor with pops of different colors. The living area was black with red/orange.

Jeff moved past Brae over to a liquor cabinet and rummaged around in there until he pulled a bottle from the back. "Remember this?" It would be perfect for what he wanted--which was Brae completely drunk and compliant. "Let's have a glass for old times sake yeah?" Brae would probably remember the liquor not because it packed a powerful punch, but because it's what he'd drunk with Jeff that summer at camp.