CHAPTER 11

Brian kissed Blaise, his firstborn, on his cute, button nose, then released him from the safe cradle of his arms. “He soooo got that from you, babe.” He gave his husband an amused look, shaking his head. “I mean, only you have the talent of asking questions that are smart, embarrassing, and hilarious at the same time.”

“Excuse me?” Bart exclaimed, feigning shock. “I didn't put him there by myself, you know. Last time I checked, his papa was a smart-ass librarian.” He flashed a grin in his soulmate’s direction.

Brian shrugged, returning the grin. “My bad, smol bean, I thought I was only an ugly chick…or so someone I won’t name said.”

“Um...a... what?” Albert almost choked on his lemonade. “And who was the asshole calling you that horrible name?”

“He called Bart a snot. Bart said he hated him.” Julien answered in a flat voice, pointing to the librarian. “Bart hated me, too. And Elias. And everyone else.” The blond young man shrugged, the shadow of an amused smile playing on his pink, full lips.

Brian left his seat, went where his husband sat, and took his lips in a possessive kiss. “Aww, my sweetheart just wanted a bit of attention, someone to see him,” the librarian said when he broke the kiss. “Eight years later, and he still leaves me breathless.”

Albert turned to the librarian, his forehead creased by a small frown. “Thinking about it, you didn’t tell me how the two of you met, or if you did, it was the very abridged version. Can I please have more of your story? Not the juicy parts, just… how it happened.”

“I had a crush on the wrong guy, and I kept going to parties to meet him.” Bart started in a faraway voice. “I hated parties, but was hoping to get myself noticed by him. I can tell you I wasn't very wise at that age,” he shrugged, grinning.

“I hardly had time for parties except that one frat party at college.” Brian waved his hand in a dismissive gesture. “Was way too busy working, school, track, study groups, and helping out at home.” Sensing his walk down the memory lane was about to take a dark turn, he came back to Albert’s question. “Anyway, very long story short, the boss heard my dear husband here dropping F-bombs, and sent him to volunteer in the library. I stuffed an apple in his mouth, called him a snot, like Julien said, and the rest is history.”

For some reason, a leaden silence followed the librarian’s words, but it only took a few seconds, but Edward, who didn’t say anything until then, broke it after only a few seconds with a soft laugh. “My big brother here was busy, all right; you won't believe how many times our parents and I found him asleep with his face in his college books at the kitchen table. Mama used to turn the coffee pot on and we would bet on how many minutes it took for him to wake up.”

Albert laughed wholeheartedly. “Oh yeah, I remember we used to do that when we were at school, around seventh grade, when Brian started drinking coffee and spent the nights studying and reading about anything and everything.” He shook his head, smiling at the memory. “Man, it was funny. Your mom had it down to the second.” The man fell silent for a bit, then started talking again, when another memory from the happier times popped into his mind. He turned to Edward, grinning. “Hey, Shadow, do you remember when we hid the coffee and Brian looked for it for half an hour?”

“You were two meanies,” Bart playfully pouted, then shook his finger at the two men. “My poor husband, to have such a younger brother and best friend!” He exclaimed, tsking.

Brian gave his beloved an affectionate look and laughed softly. “Oh, don’t worry, babe, I got them back, we always pulled pranks on each other.” The librarian stopped a bit, looking between his brother and best friend, then continued, visibly delighted by the memory.“I looked up how to turn the hot water heater off, then used the rest of the hot water, so when Light went to take a shower it was freezing. The sound that left the bathroom was hilarious.I asked, Hey! Light, how was the shower?”

Albert ran a hand over his face and flashed a grin to the librarian. “That was a lesson to never mess with your coffee again, learned the hard way.” He huffed a laugh. “Speaking of pranks, I just remembered how I once hid Shadow's homework in your father’s car. Oh, man, seeing him scrabble to find it was so funny!”

Ten years passed since Brian came to The Base, and he wanted to mark the milestone by throwing a small party, with Lawrence, Serge, Mr. Parker, Elias, Leon, Ardan, Alasdair, principal Peyton Bloom-Hunter, and Ezra, his husband, as guests. For some reason, the librarian chose to celebrate the event right after the fair, instead of in the summer, when it happened.

Of course, Albert was invited, too, and at first he was tempted to decline, pretending he was busy, but the party was planned for a Sunday, so his reason wasn’t valid. He also tried to hide behind his children, but Chad and Monica encouraged him to go, leaving him no choice but to accept the invitation.

The real reason why Albert didn’t want to be there was that he didn’t know how to behave in Lawrence’s presence, and wanted to avoid possible awkward situations. However, he couldn’t risk ruining his friendship with Brian over something the librarian would most likely see as a whim, so he decided to have a good time and ignore the biker.

At first, Albert was intimidated by Elias’s and Ardan’s imposing presences, but there was something about the men which made him relax and feel at ease. He enjoyed every minute spent in the company of the other guests, laughed at their jokes, listened to their stories, and got engaged in the lively, interesting conversation, much to Brian’s relief and contentment.

To Albert’s surprise, Lawrence wasn’t there, and that was one of the reasons why he wasn’t tense at all. However, after a couple of hours, when the guests started to leave one by one, thanking Brian and Bart for being the gracious hosts they always were, the biker still didn’t show up, and the baker didn’t know how to feel about that.

On one hand, Albert was relieved; he could now spend some quality time with Edward, who was like a younger brother to him, and his husband, Julien, a sweetheart he instantly became fond of. On the other hand, however, he was a bit disappointed that the biker didn’t come, because it meant he was worried about nothing.

What if Lawrence realized how uncomfortable he felt around him and declined Brian’s invitation? Or even worse, what if the librarian told him not to come, because his best friend, who didn’t like his company, was also going to be there? Thinking about that, the baker felt guilty and ashamed for being openly hostile to the biker, who acted around him the same way he did in the presence of the poor souls who found shelter and protection at The Base.

Albert also felt sorry for putting Brian in an unpleasant situation to choose between him and Lawrence; he didn’t doubt that, in time, this would have a negative impact on his friendship with the librarian. Rick was right, you are nothing more than a useless burden for everyone around you, he mentally scolded himself.

Once that mean little voice in Albert’s head took over his mind, it made the man think the worst about himself, all the good mood from earlier vanished, and he spiraled into self-loathing. Not even the happy giggles of Brian’s and Bart’s children, who were playing in the yard with their younger cousins, Edward’s and Julien’s kids, couldn’t distract him.

That was until, without any reason at all, Albert looked in the direction of the dining-room’s doorway and saw him standing there. The biker looked like someone just gave him a good run for the money; his hair, usually neatly combed, was a mess, but, from his expression, he couldn’t care less. His dark- brown eyes were shining with so much joy, that one would have believed he just hit the big jackpot at the lottery.

“Finally, your die-hard fans decided to set you free just in time for jokes and funny stories.” Bart greeted the biker with a shake of his head. “Man, you look like a tornado spun you around and then spat you back out.”

“The description is not flattering, but it’s accurate.” Brian huffed a laugh and gestured to one of the empty seats. “Please, sit down and fill your plate. The menu is buffet-style, so choose what you like.”

“Everything looks great, and I bet it tastes deliciously, too.” Nostrils flaring in delight, Lawrence started to fill his plate. “The truth is I’m famished; the little ones have a lot of energy, and I’m not getting any younger.”

Brian nodded in approval, smiling softly. “Who was it, this time? Your greatest admirers again? Judging by how messed up your hair is, they had at least an accomplice this time.”

“You guessed right on both accounts.” A tender smile softened Lawrence’s features. “Terry, Tracy, and…little Ben. He let me catch him and talked to me, can you believe it?”

Little Ben, like in the five-year-old who was beaten and starved by his mother’s husband? Saint almost killed that pile of shit.” Brian clenched and unclenched his fists, anger boiling inside him. “I would’ve ended the sleazy bastard, if I were him.”

“That makes two of us.” Anger was boiling inside of Lawrence, who was there when the rescuers brought Ben and six other little children, aged five to eight, all victims of neglect and abuse. However, his voice remained calm, because he glanced at Albert, who was terrified by the sudden change in the librarian’s expression. “Anyway,” he changed the subject, “a few days ago, at the library, I was about to ask you if, by any chance, you could help me with something.We got interrupted, and, well…old age and stuff.” The biker smiled sheepishly. “I know it’s a challenge, but…”

“Challenge accepted.” Brian smiled mysteriously as he left the room. He came back a few minutes later, holding a long, thick roll of papers in his hand.He gestured to it with his head. “Blueprints for a chopper's engine. Here you are, choose what you need.”

“How in Odin's name did you do that?” Lawrence asked, eyes wide with disbelief. He turned to the baker. “Our mutual friend here really is a magician.”

“Night has always been like that.” Albert shrugged with a smile. “He just… knew things. I guess he paid much more attention to details than the rest of us. He still does.

Brian smiled at his friend’s interaction with the biker. “A librarian never tells the secrets of the trade,” he replied, winking.

Lawrence nodded in agreement. “No, he doesn’t, and it’s the same with us bike builders.” He looked at the librarian. “I think you should have one, too, brother. A nice chopper, to take your man for a ride and feel the breeze in your hair.” A dreamy look took over his feature when he said the last part.

“No, thank you.” Brian refused with a laugh. “I prefer to stick to cars; they are much safer and keep you warm and dry in bad weather.”

“One builds their bike as safe as they want.” Lawrence’s reply came right away. “Weather can represent a problem, but there are many brands of waterproof equipment you can choose from. In a way, it’s like with a car: if you want extra features, you’ll have to be prepared to pay extra.” The biker stopped talking, took a few more bites of food, then continued. “I built my old lady with my own two hands, and there’s no greater satisfaction than knowing this as I ride it.” He suddenly turned to Albert. “Do you want to try?”