Justin and Gabrielle in the Shadow of the Gods, Chapter Two
By Xie

Justin woke up early the morning of his emancipated minor hearing. He hadn’t slept for more than one uninterrupted hour in a week, and there were dark circles of exhaustion discoloring the skin under his deep blue eyes.

The boy turned carefully on his side, trying not to wake Brian. The older man had been waking with Justin every night, soothing his panic and chasing away the nightmares.

Justin bit his lip when he saw how, even in sleep, the lines of worry marred Brian’s perfect brow. His hand reached to touch him, but he drew it back. Let him sleep, he told himself.

Quietly he slid from under the duvet, and made his way to the living area, where he sat on the sofa. With a sigh, he tucked his knees under his chin, and stared blankly out the window, watching the sun rise, waiting for the moment when his fate would be decided.

Brian opened his eyes, and felt a moment’s panic when he didn’t see Justin. He got up, and made his way out to the living area, and saw him asleep on the sofa, his bare feet pulled up under him, his cheek resting on his hand. He once more sternly reminded himself to consult his physician about his heartburn or gastric reflux, or whatever was causing this strange burning sensation in his chest.

He sat down next to Justin, and gently woke him.

The teen’s golden lashes flew open, and he stared blankly at the back of the sofa before swiveling his cerulean orbs to look at Brian. Immediately, his feeling of terror subsided.

“Hey.”

Brian felt his own face break into a smile in response to the sunshine spreading over Justin’s. “Hey.”

Justin sat up, and Brian automatically shifted so their arms were entwined, and bumped noses with the boy.

Justin yawned a little. “What time is it?”

Brian kissed his nose. Maybe that bump had hurt. You never know. “Time to get ready to go.”

The ad exec and the teen showered together, and when Brian felt the nervousness start to suffuse Justin’s body again, he let his soapy hands gently soothe the tight muscles, especially the ones located at the opening to Justin’s ass. Whatever works, he thought as he slid his finger inside the tight ring.

Justin braced his hands on the slippery shower wall, and let his head fall back onto Brian’s shoulder. He focused all his awareness on the feel of the man’s finger on the little bundle of nerves deep inside him, and the pleasure radiating out from it. He dimly heard Brian opening a condom packet, and a few seconds later felt the head of Brian’s cock pressing carefully but firmly against his opening.

As Brian slid inside Justin, he let all his worries about the hearing, about Justin’s family and what they might do, all the ugly visions – of  Justin tied naked to Callisto’s altar, his life blood slowly seeping away, Brian helpless to do anything – all fade from his consciousness. The only thing that’s real, he thought, is this boy, his wet skin, his tight ass, his blue eyes, his soft hair…

Brian thrust into Justin again and again, stroking the boy’s prostate, holding off his orgasm until he knew Justin was ready. He took the blond teen’s hard cock in his hand, and started to stroke in time with his thrusts. He felt Justin’s ass tighten on his cock, and his own come started flowing into the condom buried deep inside him, just as Justin’s come spurted out against the shower wall.

Brian stood there, leaning heavily against Justin, his hand covering Justin’s against the shower wall.

____________________________________

Gabrielle shifted in her seat, wondering where Justin was. The hearing was supposed to start in a few minutes, and he hadn’t arrived. His lawyer was talking in a low voice on her cell phone, and didn’t look happy.

Xena put her hand on Gabrielle’s thigh, and silently wished the young woman would stop turning around every two minutes. It was exhausting just sitting next to her.

Finally, Justin walked in, Brian right behind him. The teen was pale and had his full lower lip caught in his teeth, but he walked steadily into the room. At the last minute, Brian stopped, and stood watching as Justin joined his lawyer. When Justin sat down at the table, the tall ad exec lowered himself into a front row seat, without ever taking his eyes off the blond.

Justin looked around the courtroom, then wished he hadn’t. Just as he’d feared, his parents were sitting on the other side, both staring at him. He felt the color flood from his face, and dragged his eyes away from them.

Melanie put her hand on his arm, and gently squeezed it. “Stay focused, Justin.”

He nodded, but kept biting his lip.

Gabrielle watched the exchange, and found herself gnawing her own lip. She wasn’t sure, but from Justin’s reaction, she thought the man and woman on the right side of the courtroom were probably his parents. She knew Justin had hoped the hearing would be routine, and that his family wouldn’t get involved.

Xena leaned down and whispered to the blonde, “Are those his parents?”

“I think so,” Gabrielle whispered back. “Poor Justin.”

Xena nodded. “And poor Brian.”

Gabrielle sighed, and wished she had her staff.

When the judge came in, everyone stood up. It looked for a moment like Brian wouldn’t, but in the end, he got to his feet briefly, then sat down just as quickly.

The judge read through the papers on his desk, and then nodded at Melanie. The brunette attorney stood up, and stated Justin’s request to be made an emancipated minor. “Your honor, as you can see, the young man is more than 17 years old, was already living outside his family’s home, has a job and a stable living situation, and desires to have his legal status formally recognized.”

The judge nodded. “Are the parents here?”

A sandy-haired man stood up. “We are, sir.”

The judge glanced at the man, who tugged the hand of a blonde woman sitting next to him. She stood up. “I’m his mother, we’re both here.”

“Do you have anything to say in response to your son’s petition?”

Justin’s father cleared his throat. “I’m Craig Taylor, and yes, I do. We did not make our son leave our home. He ran away, when we asked him to attend a residential counseling program for troubled youth. He has a history of deviant behavior and self control issues, and we feel this program is the best place for him. We oppose any effort to make him a legal adult, and insist the court allow us to care for our son as we judge best.” He and his wife sat down, both avoiding making eye contact with Justin.

The boy went paler than he’d ever been before, and whispered frantically to Melanie, who nodded. “Your honor,” she said, “The Taylors were not seeking to get their son help for behavior problems, they were attempting to send him against his will to a locked down facility to attempt to change his sexual orientation – an effort that is, in addition to being contrary to Justin’s basic human rights, entirely futile. Justin has no desire to have his sexual orientation changed, even if such a thing were humane and possible.”

She went on. “He also disputes his parents’ account of the circumstances under which he left home. His father told him he had a choice: Leave our house, or enter the conversion program. Justin made the only choice he could, and left. We believe that only the publicity following Justin’s imprisonment and near-death caused his parents to experience social embarrassment, and make an attempt to assert control over their son again. We seek only to have the court recognize what has already happened, and declare him legally emancipated.”

Craig Taylor jumped to his feet, a vein throbbing in his forehead, his eyes wild. “That’s a lie! We have always wanted to help Justin, to make him see the light about his disgusting lifestyle, to set him free from this confusion…”

The judge held up his hand, and Justin’s mother tugged on his arm until he fell silent. “Young man?”

All eyes turned to Justin, who paled and then flushed. But he got to his feet. He was aware of Brian’s eyes boring into his back, and he tried to let that make him strong.

“I’m sorry I’m not the son my parents want, but I’m who I want to be. I’m gay. I don’t believe it’s possible to change that, nor do I want to change it.” Justin stopped, and licked his lips. “Especially not in a place where I’m cut off from all contact with everyone and given electric shock treatments.” And he sat down.

There was absolute silence in the courtroom after Justin’s statement. Brian had his eyes locked on the judge, wishing he had powers of mind control so he could make the man rule in Justin’s favor.

Maybe he did, because after a few minutes, the judge gestured towards the lawyers and told them to approach. After a whispered conference, a smile broke out on Mel’s face, and she turned and made sure Justin saw it. Brian felt the vise that had been locked around his neck loosen, and sat back against his chair.

Gabrielle wasn’t sure what was going on, and hissed to Xena, “What happened?”

Xena shrugged. “His lawyer looks happy, it must be good.”

And it was. The judge accepted Justin’s petition, declared him an emancipated minor, and dismissed everyone.

But the Taylors apparently didn’t accept his decision with much grace, because Craig was dragged out of the courtroom by his wife, yelling and shaking his fist at Brian. “You pervert, you turned my son against me! If you think you’re going to get away with this, you’ve got another thing coming!”

Brian ignored the man, and focused on getting as close to Justin as he could without actually touching him. He knew the boy was close to the breaking point from all the well-wishers crowding around him. Brian caught Gabrielle’s eye over everyone’s heads, and raised his eyebrows.

The diminutive blonde pushed forward suddenly, creating a path directly to Justin. She firmly gripped his arm, and steered him to the door, effectively preventing anyone from touching him.

Brian followed in admiration, wondering exactly how such a tiny woman had such a big impact on the people around her.

Xena joined them on the front steps of the courthouse, and the three of them hustled Justin past the TV cameras. His parents were surrounded by reporters and were earnestly telling their story, and it was all Brian could do not to go punch Craig Taylor in the face. Instead, he slid into the back of Xena’s car, still not touching Justin until they were far from the cameras. Then he pulled him tightly into his arms, feeling Justin tremble against him.

Brian wished he had punched Craig after all.

_____________________

That night, everyone went to Babylon to celebrate Justin’s victory. Brian wasn’t sure that returning to the scene of his kidnapping was a good idea, but Justin seemed determined to go. Brian resolved not to let the boy out of his sight, and preferably, not out of his arms.

Justin visibly flinched when they passed through the chain curtain that separated the entrance from the dance floor, but Brian’s arm, thrown with deceptive casualness over his shoulder, calmed him.

Brian leaned down so his mouth was close to Justin’s ear. “There they are.” He gestured with his free hand towards the bar, where Xena, Gabrielle, Melanie, and Lindsay were laughing and tossing back jello shooters.

When they joined the lesbians, Justin noticed that Gabrielle’s cheeks were flushed, and her eyes were sparkling. I wonder, he thought to himself, if she’s drunk.

Xena seemed to be wondering the same thing, staring in a combination of perplexity and infatuation as Gabrielle told a long, rambling story to Mel and Lindz. She stopped talking, though, when she saw Justin.

“Justin!” The blonde hurtled herself into his arms. “Congratulations! I’m not exactly sure what happened today, but it’s wonderful, isn’t it?” She gave him a big kiss on the cheek, which he surreptitiously wiped away when she turned to greet Brian.

Justin stood next to the bar, Brian behind him, the older man’s arms around him, making him feel safe even in the crowded, noisy club. Brian tightened his hold on Justin, and bent towards his ear again. “Do you want to dance?”

Justin thought for a minute, then nodded, and followed his tall lover onto the dance floor.

Brian knew Justin was nervous, and decided to use the method of calming him that hadn’t failed him yet: Sex. He kept his arms around Justin’s shoulders, his hands cupping the back of Justin’s neck. He let his thigh press into Justin’s crotch, and bent his knees so he could nibble at Justin’s shell-like ear.

Justin was floating. His victory in court, Brian’s arms around him in front of everyone, and now this sensual onslaught on the dance floor, all combined to make him euphoric. He tipped his head back, feeling the beat of the music wash over him. Brian’s tongue was on his throat, laving the spot where Callisto’s knife had cut him, flickering over his pulse point.

They danced until Justin was clinging to Brian with exhaustion, and the ad exec shepherded the teen back to the bar. He bought him a bottle of water, and hovered until he replenished his lost fluids. Then Brian looked around, thinking he needed to get rid of some excess fluids of his own. He needed to piss.

Melanie and Lindsay were still at the bar, and he left Justin in their care while he went to the men’s room. As he headed for the back of the club, he saw Xena and Gabrielle dancing on the far side of the crowded floor. Gabrielle, he thought, really knew how to move. And Xena was … tall.

Lindsay beamed at her wife and at Justin. “I’m so happy for you,” she cried, kissing his cheek. She turned to Melanie. “And so proud of you!”

Justin smiled at the two women, and wondered again how Brian came to have a child with Lindsay. He resolved to get the ad exec to tell him the story soon. Just then, a man stepped up to the bar next to him, and ordered a beer. Justin recognized him as Erik from Gabrielle’s gym.

Erik took the beer from the bartender, took a long pull on it, and then suddenly noticed Justin next to him. He smiled, a slightly mocking glint in his dark eyes. Justin blushed.

“So, do I still remind you of your girlfriend, what was her name?”

Justin swallowed. “Gabrielle. And no, not at all. She’s short, and blonde, and you’re… tall. And…” he swallowed again. “Dark.”

The man leaned against the bar, and turned towards Justin. He put one finger on Justin’s hair, then moved it away. “You’re blond, too.”

Feeling unsure, Justin just nodded. Erik scanned the crowd, took another drink of his beer, and then glanced back at Justin. He admired the boy’s smooth skin, the deep blue of his eyes, the golden lashes with bits of glitter still caught in them. He glanced down at the boy’s ass, and felt a tightening in his groin. Nice. Very nice. He turned all the way towards the boy.

“So, your friend, Gabrielle? Is she your trainer?”

Justin hesitated. “In a way. She’s teaching me self-defense.”

Erik choked on his beer, and Justin looked at him in concern. “Are you okay?”

The man put his beer down on the counter. “I’m fine. It’s just that I run a martial arts studio, and we’re looking for teachers, especially women. A lot of women who study self-defense learn best from other women. You should bring your friend by.”

Justin brightened. He knew Gabrielle wanted some kind of work, and he thought teaching other young women to defend themselves would be perfect for her. He took Erik’s card and promised to give it to Gabrielle, just as Brian came back.

Brian couldn’t believe it when he looked towards the bar and saw Justin chatting with the dark handsome stranger from the gym. What the fuck? He understood it even less when he saw Justin accept the man’s card. He strode up to the boy, and slid his arm around his shoulders.

Justin glowed up at Brian, and let his most radiant sunshine smile light his face. “Hey.”

“Hey.” Brian bent down and kissed Justin’s lips, pulling their luscious fullness into his mouth, and biting a little at the lower one. Justin melted against him, and started kissing Brian’s throat.

Brian met the dark man’s eyes over Justin’s blond head, letting his own eyes say what he’d never put into words: Mine.

The man’s eyes narrowed. His powerful neck flexed, and his strong hands clenched, just for a second. Then a mask descended over his features, and he turned and walked away.

Continued here.