"Sense and Sensation"

Title: Sense and Sensation (Dream Series, Part 6)

Pairing: Brian/Michael

Rating: NC-17

Genre: Episode-Related.

Summary: When one rule predates the rest.

Author Notes: This is the missing scene from Seasons Two, Episode Eight. As such it belongs to my Dream Series. I recommend reading the other five stories in this series, "Only, Everything" - "Drifting" - "On Dreams Of You" - "Mind's Eye" and "Home." There are inside assumptions I've imposed in the series to which you should be aware. A dedication to the BrianandMichael list members for 'pleading' for a follow-up. And a big thank you to Alexis for the beta and good taste in liking it.

Spoilers: Up To Episode 208.

Sense and Sensation (Dream Series, Part 6)

by xof

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The bang of the loft's front door sliding shut echoed through the large space of Brian's home. Not that the sound registered to Brian, whose focus was directed at his computer screen. He hadn't shown his guests out after their impromptu pizza lunch and photo session. No need to when Michael could do it for him.

Brian knew Michael's first inclination was to clean up the mess everyone had left. Like in his own home, clutter was something not to be abided. The sound of pizza boxes and paper plates rattling followed hard upon the door's closure.

Not looking away from the screen, Brian was oblivious to his friend's voice calling from across the room. Michael's picture was still up on his screen. Three replies in less than twenty minutes. Brian bit his tongue as a wave of annoyance shifted through his system. He couldn't understand how Michael doubted his ability to pull other guys' interest. He was seeing the proof of that as the seconds ticked by and response number four and five bleeped on the screen.

A sudden grip on his shoulder finally dragged Brian's attention away from the computer. Michael stood at his side, smiling. "Hey, come and help me take down the backdrop?"

Nodding, Brian crossed the floor . all the while looking at Michael. The line of his body was hidden beneath baggy jeans and that loose shirt. But Brian knew what lay underneath. By sight and by feel. It was a damn shame it took such persuasion to get Michael to strip off the layers. Regularly, the only concession Michael made to building up his look was wearing tight t-shirts that drew more focus to his hobbies than his body.

Reaching up to take the black drape down, Brian laughed. "Such a shame to be so vertically challenged." Expecting Michael to laugh off their old joke, Brian turned only to have his eyes assaulted by his own camera's flash. "What the fuck?"

Michael laughed as he danced back from out of Brian's reach, snapping another picture as he got away. "No you don't. Turn about is fair play."

"Since when do you see me giving a shit about fair play, Novotny?"

Grinning as he dodged another attempt to get the camera, Michael answered. "Since never. Hence the weapon." One last sidestep and the chase ended as Brian pulled Michael into his body. Michael laughed, "Come on, man. Don't you want your image immortalized in clear digital quality?"

Rolling his eyes, Brian let Michael go. He stepped in front of the still raised drape and cocked a hip. In his best Emmett impression, Brian asked. "I've always aspired to be a star." He crouched down and waited for Michael to do his worst. "So how do you want me?"

Playing along, Michael flicked his unbuttoned dress shirt open. "Skin to skin."

Laughing despite himself, Brian stood and started the show. A quick hip shift and pop went one button. Flash. Side switch, heated glance and off came the next. Flash. Arms extended as a tongue licked over moist lips and open went the cuffs. Flash. Nipples visible, button yank to the navel. Flash. Head-drop back, two button pop and smooth flesh revealed. Flash. A slow head-lift, mouth open, eyes locked and shirt dropping to the floor. Flash. Flash. Flash.

One breath released as Brian stood still, intent on not moving until Michael looked at him directly. He watched as the camera was lowered, as Michael's eyes traveled the length of his torso. Took in those chocolate eyes as they followed Brian's fingers pulling at his denim fly. Heard the sound of Michael's deep breath. Then without warning.Brian pounced Michael's way.

"Oh shit, Brian." Michael narrowly missed Brian's extended reach and was chased over towards the couch. One minute he was racing free and the next Brian had him trapped. Camera safe between them, as Brian clutched him close.

"Gotcha, Mikey." Brian plopped down on the couch, pulling Michael to sit beside him. Successfully retrieving his camera intact, Brian put his arm around Michael's shoulders and leaned in until their foreheads touched. Indicating the camera, Brian spoke quietly. "You don't need any of this, you know. There's nothing to prevent you from finding 'the one,' or a dozen 'the-ones.' You shouldn't worry. Besides, what do the ads say? Love comes when you aren't looking for it."

Michael sighed, shaking his head against Brian's. "Thought you told me not to listen to the ads." Looking at Brian, he asked, "What if I've found love but turned my back to it?"

Not knowing if his friend was talking about David or even Ben, though suspecting the latter, Brian reminded Michael of a piece of advice he'd given him once before. "When in doubt, remember to do what's best for you. Decide without thought to what anyone else thinks or expects."

Smiling shyly at the memory of being in Brian's bed as he heard those words while worrying over whether to follow David, Michael completed the advice. "Not even you."

"Hmm. Yeah, not even me."

Chuckling a bit, Michael smiled. "So your advice is not to follow your advice?"

"Smart-aleck." Brian made a grab for Michael, intent on tickling him mercilessly. They roughhoused for a bit, till Brian gained the upper hand. He pulled Michael up onto his lap. Once Michael was facing him, Brian put a hand around his friend's neck. Fingertips teased along the back of Michael's hairline. One of Brian's trademark tale-signs of affection. "Don't sell yourself short, Michael Novotny. Just remember that you're fabulous."

Brian pulled Michael close, hugging him to his chest as his friend rested against his shoulder. Michael murmured a quiet, "thank you," against Brian's skin as his arms circled Brian's body. They sat together for a moment in silence, absorbing the warmth of fleeting peace. Brian closed his eyes, cataloguing each sensation of having Michael against him . the weight over his thighs, the prickle of soft hair against his neck, the brush of Michael's half exposed chest against his own.

Without conscious thought, Brian reacted to that touch. He could feel his groin tighten as his long fingers brushed down Michael's spine and reached under the cotton shirt to brand the skin beneath. As both hands ran from waist to neck and caused Michael to shift in his lap, Brian's eyes shut. He turned his mouth until it brushed against Michael's hair, then further down until he was nuzzling Michael's throat.

Inhaling as he buried his nose behind Michael's ear, Brian had to chuckle. "Sneak thief. When did you go dabbing through my cologne?"

Michael answered against Brian's neck, "When I was drying off earlier."

Brian breathed in the scent again, "Nice." He raised his hand to rub along the back of Michael's neck before teasing him with a quick tickle over the ribs. Michael jerked as he tried to get away, laughing as Brian kept him trapped. They wrestled together, with Brian holding Michael's arms behind the man's back. The motion of their play creating a friction that left their nipples hard and chests flushed.

Meeting Michael's gaze, Brian leaned in and turned to nip at his earlobe. Biting just enough to make Michael gasp, suckling when he squirmed closer.

"Wha. Ahh. What are you do. Doing, Brian?"

Humming his lips over the curve of that well played ear, Brian husked out an answer he knew he wanted to convey and to have Michael join in. "Daydreaming about fucking the hottest guy on the Net."

Pulling back, he arched his hips so Michael could feel his cock hardening through the denim.

Michael pushed back into Brian's movement, mouth opened slightly. "Dreaming about? Or with?"

"With, without a doubt." Brian didn't stop for a moment in taking what he wanted now that they had both acknowledged the desire. He jerked Michael's shirt roughly from the man's body before trapping Michael's hands once more. The arch of his friend's body laid him bare to Brian's teasing mouth. He traveled a jagged path over the pale skin beneath his lips, teeth and tongue. Taking the sound of Michael's urgent panting as permission for darker measures, Brian bit down over his nipple and felt the shudder traveling through Michael's body.

With a groan of pleasured pain, Michael pushed Brian back against the couch's backrest with the weight of his body - his hands still held behind him. He dove face forward into the curve of Brian's throat, kissing along its length until he reached Brian's face. Moaning softly, Michael leaned fully along Brian's torso as he moved to kiss the man who held him.

A sudden turn of his head and Brian murmured, "Not that."

Smiling as Brian avoided a second attempt, Michael asked, "Why?"

Brian let his head fall back against the top of the couch as he looked at Michael. Determined to make Michael understand that he wasn't rejecting him as he explained, Brian freed Michael's hands and then caught him around the waist so he couldn't get up if he tried. He deliberately dropped one hand down and started to stroke Michael's hard-on through the jeans as he answered. "Against the rules."

Eye lashing fluttering as he tried to think around Brian's tease, Michael's question was stymied for a moment as Brian pulled open his button fly. He managed to ask gruffly, "With Justin?"

Choosing not the speak, Brian nodded. His agreement was accompanied by a sudden dip of his mouth over the wet aching peak he'd tasted before. Teeth tormented the raised flesh, pulling slightly and then sucking till Michael cried out.

"Oh shit, Brian." Voice low, he repeated the plea. "Brian."

Murmuring against Michael's chest, Brian reminded them both. "Sandman, Mikey."

Michael gasped out a laugh as he pulled Brian's head back, burying his fingers in the brown hair. Smiling, Michael admonished his tormentor. "In a minute, Sandy." He leaned in playfully as if to kiss Brian but pulled away at the last second. "You set rules? Like you suggested with me and David, right?"

Brian sighed. "Yeah."

Arching an eyebrow, Michael shook his head and laughed with affection. And not a little admiration. "Good for him."

Frowning at that reaction, Brian protested. "Hey, you're supposed to be on my side."

Shifting further down against Brian's groin, Michael teased him. "Tell me the rules before I decide."

Brian knew he wasn't getting out of telling Michael now. But that wasn't going to stop his course. Pushing a hand down Michael's opened jeans, Brian cupped the hard cock beneath. Continuing to torment Michael with light strokes, he breathed his answer over Michael's damp skin. "Fuck who you like. Never twice. No names or numbers. Home by three." Brian traced his mouth along the line of Michael's jaw, stopping an inch over parted lips. "And no kissing."

Frowning with a thought, Michael started to ask, "But don't .." when Brian pushed him off his lap. With one firm jerk, Brian pulled down Michael's jeans and underwear - then waited as Michael kicked off his shoes and pants.

Brian looked up into Michael's eyes, fixing them with the heat of his own as he lowered his mouth over Michael's cock. He worked the length with a fierce rhythm, unforgiving in his technique. Michael moaned as Brian's fingers played over his balls, and as they ran between his cheeks.

Taking in Michael's sounds, his taste, his watchful eyes staring down - Brian opened his own jeans, groaning as he freed his aching cock. Blindly reaching into the pocket, he pulled out what they'd need.

Michael jerked forward as Brian breached his ass with slick fingers. He then pressed back into their persistent push, shivering as their length thrust inside again and again. Running his hands along Brian's arms to the man's wrists at his back, Michael kept one hand loosely circled around Brian's wrist as it worked to fuck him further. The feeling of the shell bracelet under his palm a welcomed but mindless touchstone.

His grip tightened firmly over Brian's wrist when Michael was opened enough to take Brian in. Michael pushed Brian back till he was sitting upright on the couch, watching as he put on a condom and started stroking his dick with lube. Straddling Brian's lap as he gripped the back of the couch with one free hand, Michael bit his lip as they both worked Brian's cock inside of him. Eyes locked as they joined.

Brian gasped out, "Oh fuck, that's good." He trust fully inside, squeezing his eyes shut briefly as Michael tightened his muscles to hold him fast within.

"Easy. Easy," Michael groaned out as he thrust down and pressed his body once more against Brian's. His own wet cock trapped between their heated flesh. On the cusp of having Brian start fucking up into his body, Michael whispered a word. "Wait."

Taking a deep breath, Brian opened his eyes and quirked a brow in question.

Grinning wickedly with shining eyes and flushed skin, Michael asked. "How much control do you have, Sandman?"

Smirking with a knowing tease, Brian answered. "Complete control." His smile broke with a gasp as Michael straightened his spine, pressing down against Brian's buried cock.

With a whisper, "Open your mouth and hold still."

Frowning in question, "Mikey?"

"I want to taste you. No kissing. If you don't respond, don't help . then it's not kissing."

Holding Brian's gaze, Michael leaned in and licked his friend's lips softly. Gently teasing inside and then he skirted the touch over Brian's teeth and tongue. Playing into Brian's welcome, Michael traced the full makeup of Brian's mouth. He took his time, unconsciously rocking his hips with each thrust of his tongue. Brian's cock stroked within his body with each dip and grind.

Sweat covered his skin and wet his hair as Brian clutched at Michael's hips. He tightened the grip, baring down hard in an attempt not to break. But wanting to. Wanting to kiss Michael, as his mind flashed with the memory of how his friend tasted even as his body hummed with the building tension of their current drift.

Brian thrust back against the couch, freeing his head from Michael's pleasing torture. Mouth opened still as he licked his tongue over his wet lips. He murmured, "Fuck." Grunting with the need for more friction, Brian began thrusting into Michael's heat. He reached between them, pulling at Michael's leaking cock with a harsh rhythm that mimicked the joining of their flesh. He listened as Michael cried out, felt it as Michael urgently circled up and down - riding Brian's dick as they fucked. Brian's head swam in a kaleidoscope of sense and sensation; idle thoughts seeped into the mix with the sounds of their mingled moans.

And then with a shiver that coursed through the length of his body, Brian growled as one thought freed his tangled mind.

The rules didn't hold for Michael. Couldn't.. They'd been broken in Michael's case before they'd even been made.

Clutching Michael's body, Brian slammed up into the siren's call of its fire - hearing his friend cry out and watching as Michael held onto the couch in a desperate attempt not to lose his seat in the wake of Brian's possession. So close. Michael's cock was dripping pre-cum over Brian's hand. Brian could feel his own balls drawing up. He gasped as the fire blazed through his entire system, sounding through his ears. One last thing was all they'd need.

Was all they wanted..

Without warning, Brian pulled Michael to him. Taking Michael's mouth with his own. He kissed him fiercely as they shuddered under the force of contact. With cries muffled in the wet mating of tongues and lips, both men came.

A beat, then several more passed.

Shaking, Michael hugged Brian. Brian's cock still inside. Brian's mouth still tasting his own.

Brian murmured into Michael's kiss, feeling the answered hum against his lip and then he eased them down from their heaven as the kiss ended.

After a moment Michael sat up. He looked into Brian's eyes guiltily and started to apologize.

Brian shook his head. "Don't say it, Mikey. Just listen." He twisted them around, holding Michael as he laid him down on the couch. Withdrawing and removing their protection, Brian rested his body in the cradle of Michael's parted thighs - draping himself half over Michael's chest. He laid his head on his closed fist and traced a touch over Michael's forehead with his other hand.

Pushing back the dark damp hair, Brian recited his explanation. "Michael Novotny. 555-3675 - home. 555-4821 - cell. 555-1013 - store." At Michael's confused frown, Brian leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to his bruised lips. "More than once. Understand?"

Kissing him again, Brian had to chuckle as Michael murmured into his touch. "I guess we should be glad it's before curfew."

Brian reached back and tugged his jeans back over his hips, having never fully taken them off with Michael over his lap. He lifted up off the couch and drew Michael to stand on shaky legs. Pulling Michael across the room, Brian grabbed his friend's discarded t-shirt from the floor as he spun him around and pressed him against one of the wooden columns that made up his bedroom. Brian slowly drew the soft cotton over his own damp belly, then cleaned Michael's chest as well. Throwing the shirt over his shoulder, Brian held Michael fast.

"I'm taking these rules seriously, Mikey. I agreed to them with the intent of keeping them. Haven't fucked up once."

Michael frowned as he asked, "Except for me?"

Brian shook his head, "With those that count. Or don't count, rather." He kissed Michael again, slowly caressing his tongue and lips. Looking at Michael as their kiss ended, Brian said. "There was another rule. One made a while back."

Grinning as he pulled Michael towards the bathroom so his friend could clean up for the second time that afternoon, "Remember. 'We can open our eyes, live our lives and when we need it most..'"

Michael finished with a gentle smile, "'We'll drift together.'"

"Exactly."

Finis