Westpoint Tales
by Kiwi
Entangled Tales - 54 - Justin & Billy
"C'mon, Sunny." Justin picked up his bag and went upstairs, closely followed by Billy.
They stopped at the door of the bedroom, Justin pushed it open.
"Should I carry you over the threshold?"
"What? Like a bride, do you mean? I'm not a girl, Justin - but, if you want to . . . -"
No. You're right, you're not a girl. Come in, Billy."
They walked in; Justin dropped his bag, kicked his shoes off and dived onto the bed. Billy stood looking at him uncertainly.
"What's the matter, Sunny? Are you having second thoughts already? I want you to stay, but you can still go home if you want to."
"No, that's not it. This is where I want to be, but - well, I don't know the rules here. What do you expect of me?"
"I don't understand. I don't expect anything of you."
"Sure you do. This is your home, your room. I've surrendered to you, Justin. You're in charge now. What do you want me to be? Your wife, your whore, your slave? You make the rules."
Justin got up from the bed and stood looking out the window, thinking. He turned and looked at the boy standing by the bed.
"This is important, isn't it? Whatever I say is going to determine how we live from now on."
"That's right. That's exactly right. What do you want me to be?"
"Okay, then. First of all - this is my home and my room because Granddad lets me use it. It belongs to him really. He told you that you can live here as long as you want; so it's your home now too. I've got no more right to call this my room than you have. You follow me so far?"
"I follow you. But it was your room first, so it's your room."
"No, it's not, it's our room. Or, would you rather Granddad gave you another one for your own?"
"No. I don't want another room. I want to be with you."
"Cool. I really want you here too. So it's our room, okay?"
"It's our room. Thanks Justin."
"No, Billy." He crossed the room and knelt in front of him."Thank you. Thank you for being here with me. That's all I'll ever want - you, here, with me. These are the rules - three rules. Number one, be yourself. I don't own you, but even if I did, there's nothing that I would change.
Number two, be my friend, because I want to be your friend. Number three, love me, Billy, because I really, really love you. I love who you are, just as you are. Just be Billy and be with me, okay?"
"Justin! Oh, Justin, I love you so much!" Billy threw himself at him and they kissed passionately. When he broke away, he grinned at him.
"Thanks. You bloody are Superboy, you know."
"No, I'm not. I'm just a boy who loves you."
"You're not, you know. You are Superboy and I love you too."
They fell on to the bed and spent the next hour or two, loving. Later, Justin lay looking up at him.
"What'cha thinking about?"
"Money. That's about the only problem left. I've got no money."
"That's all right, Sunny." Justin grinned. "I'm not on the game anymore - the sex is free."
"No, Dork!" Billy grinned back and kissed him, briefly. "I'm not paying you and you don't have to pay me either, but I will need some money to live with. Bob said that they won't charge me board, which is cool, but I'll still need money for books and stuff. Mum might let me have some, but she can't afford much. I'll have to get a job. Any ideas where I can get work?"
"Granddad pays Jonathan and I, ten dollars per hour, ten hours a week, to clean the hotel."
"Ten dollars an hour? That's a hundred dollars a week! Shit man, you're rich! Do you think he might have some hours that I could do cleaning too?"
"I don't know, you could ask him. But, you don't have to - we're living together now so half of everything I've got is yours and vice versa."
"$50 a week? That'd be more than enough. But I can't just take your money, I'll work for it."
"You won't, Billy. Half of everything is yours. Are we a couple or not?"
"Okay. We're a couple. I'll take half, thanks. But half the work is mine too. I'm not just sitting doing nothing while you're working."
"Stubborn little beggar aren't you? So, we're agreed? We share the work and split the money."
"Yeah, we split 50/50."
"Everything?"
"Yes, everything."
"Deal. But wait, there's more. We've got other income too. Jonathan and I got paid for that magazine article, we spent a bit going up to get Tony and Jonathan has spent the rest of it on the R & R system."
"On the skin repair shop down the street?"
"That's it - the shop and the factory. It's making money now, but we haven't been collecting our share because it's all going back to set up a bigger factory. When we start getting paid out, it will be quite a bit, and half of mine is yours."
"I don't know, Justin. That's all nothing to do with me."
"It is - what's mine is yours. Please, Billy. This is the way I want it. We share it or I don't want any of it. They can give it away or something."
"But. . .I. . .Okay, we're together forever. How much are we talking about here?"
"A lot. Do we share it? Or do we forget about it?"
"We'll share it. I seriously want to build a life together."
"Good boy. I love you, Billy. Thanks. We are one - one life, shared."
"We're one." (kiss) "How much is a lot?"
"Well, it will get more, much more, as the factory grows and we get into more markets. But, at the moment it's worth about $500 a week."
"$500 a week! Fucking hell! That's - that's - $26,000 a year! I can't take half of that. It's too much, Justin."
"No it's not. Not if we're partners. Not if you love me, Billy."
"Justin!"
"Do you love me?"
"I love you."
"Enough to be partners?"
"Okay. We're partners."
"Good. Because I love you more. Plus, I've been thinking. We've still got to work out the details, but I think we can make money out of you too."
"Money out of me? You're not selling my arse, Justin. Been there, done that and I'm not going back there again."
"Billy, my love, we're not selling your arse. Number one, it's your arse and number two, there's not enough money in the world anyway."
"Okay then. But, if not that, then what?"
"Your burgers of course. There's an empty shop right next to the Adelphi. We could rent that and set up a shop selling 'Billy's Burgers'. We'll make a fortune."
"That'd be great, really great. I've always dreamed of doing something like that. But one little burger bar in a small town is not going to make our fortune you know."
"So, we'll have a hundred burger bars in a hundred small towns. Then two hundred, then three. The sky's the limit, Sunny. Maybe not even then - we could be selling Billy's Burgers on the moon one day."
"Do you really think we could do it? It'd be so good, but it seems like a dream."
"We can do it. We'll keep it simple, keep it 'green' and keep it growing. Maccas started with just one shop and we've got advantages on them. We can learn from the mistakes they've made, we've already got money coming in to kick-start it, and Billy's Burgers are much better. Simply the best."
"You really think so?"
"I know they are. Everybody loves your burgers, even your brothers and sisters do and you're not going to get harsher critics than them."
"And you really like them?"
"I love them, but I'm not a good critic. I'd love anything you make because I love you."
Billy rolled away, curled up into a ball, facing away from Justin, and the bed began to shake as he sobbed and cried noiselessly into the pillow."
Justin slid over and curled around him, holding him tight. "Billy? Billy, please don't cry. What's wrong?"
"Nothing!"
He uncurled and turned around, rolling on top of Justin and clinging to him.
"Don't you pinch me, Justin Reynolds. Don't you ever pinch me. If I wake up and find this was all a dream, then I'll just die!"
"You're not dreaming, Sunny. Or, if you are - we're dreaming it together."
"Together!" They kissed, dreamily. "So, we'll be partners, fifty-fifty. But, why would you even want to do this? I mean, you're already making a fortune with no work at all. You don't need to do this."
"But I do need to do this, for lots of reasons. It'll be a challenge, it'll be fun, and it will be for you - for your dream. You'll be happier if you're making money as well as me."
"Yeah. I will that. Thanks, Justin." (kiss)
Justin grinned. "Well, I'm not allowed to sell your arse, so this is the only other way, plus, it will be giving something back to Jonathan."
"Jonathan?"
"Yeah. Half of my share goes to him of course."
"Half of your share goes to Jonathan? That doesn't seem right. That will mean that I'm getting twice what you are."
"No, we get the same, fifty/fifty, but then I choose to give half of mine to him. That's our agreement, my brother and I share everything we make."
"But he's not involved."
"I'm not involved in his business, in the R&R system, but he gives half to me."
"Okay, that's fair, I suppose. But he doesn't get half of me. I'm all yours. Always."
"Always."
By now they had changed positions and Justin was lying on top of the, slightly, smaller boy. He suddenly sat up straight, knees astride Billy's hips, and stretched his arms up and out. The duvet slid off his back and collected on Billy's legs. He finished his stretching and grinned down.
"Now there's a beautiful picture."
"Funny. I was thinking the exact same thing."
"Snap!" Justin leant forward and kissed his hairline. "Come on, Beautiful Boy, time we were moving."
"I don't want to move." Billy pouted.
"Well, we have to. Quick shower, we'll have some dinner and then we've got to go out. Come and see if we can both fit in the shower at the same time."
"Cool, I like the sound of that!"
They fitted, snugly, together in the small shower, soaped up and washed each other, with a minimum of sexual play. Then they got dressed and headed downstairs.
"Hello Boys." Kathleen smiled a greeting. "Sit down. We're having Irish stew tonight. Have you had a good day?"
"Yes Ma'am. We have had an excellent day. Just lying around and talking and making plans."
"I guess you'll have a lot of that - making plans. I wish you well, Boys, but it won't be easy for you. Don't hesitate to come to Robert or myself if there's anything we can do. And, I'm talking to you as well, Billy."
"Thank you, Mrs. Reynolds."
"I don't think I like that, Billy. Mrs. Reynolds is far too formal. What do you call your grandmother?"
"Usually we just call her 'Ma', like everyone else does."
"No. That won't work either. You can call me 'Gran", Billy. Or, if you're not comfortable with that, just call me 'Kathleen'."
Billy blushed. "I couldn't do that. I'll just call you 'Ma'am', like Justin does."
Kathleen brought dishes of stew over, and stood smiling down at Billy. She rested a hand on his shoulder and squeezed gently. "Justin, I really like this boy."
"So do I, Grandmother. So do I."
"But we'd better stop embarrassing him. You're very welcome here, Billy. Please make yourself at home."
""Thank you, Ma'am. I'll try."
"See that you do." She sat down at the table with them. "So, what's the plan for tonight then?"
"We're going out. We've got to go and see Billy's mother and get some more of his clothes."
"Oh no, Justin. Couldn't we leave that until tomorrow?"
"Oh no yourself. We're doing it tonight. We owe her that much. Besides, when you don't want to do something, it's better to get it over and done with. Will Jonathan be back for dinner? We'll need him to drive us out there."
"No, he's not eating with us tonight. He said that he'll be back really late. You could try his phone, but he doesn't usually have it on."
"That's okay. I'll give Claire a ring, she'll take us."
"I could drive you out there, Boys. I'm not doing anything after we've finished in the dining room - about 8 o'clock."
""Thank you Ma'am, but I'll ask Claire. 8 o'clock's too late and besides, it's better if you don't come with us. It might look like we're stealing their boy away."
"Well you are - aren't you?"
"Yes I am. But just me."
"Whatever you think best. But the offer's there. I'll take you if you get stuck. It's about time you were learning to drive yourself you know. Jonathan does and he's no older than you are."
"Well, he is, by ten minutes. I don't know if I'll ever drive. Jonathan has tried to teach me but I'm hopeless. Driving scares me."
"Driving a car scares Superboy?" Billy queried. "Hell, Justin, even I can drive. I've got no licence but I can drive - been doing it for years."
"Great. When you're fifteen, we'll buy a car and you can drive us."
"Umm. I already am fifteen."
"I thought you were fourteen?"
"I was, but now I'm fifteen. I had a birthday a couple of weeks ago."
"You had a birthday? Why didn't you invite me?"
"You know perfectly well why I didn't. Anyway, I didn't have a party or anything, just a birthday."
"Did you keep me a piece of cake?"
"I didn't have a cake. I wasn't in the mood."
"Well, next time you'll have a cake - a ginormous cake. Perhaps we could get Ma to jump out of it for you."
"That would be a ginormous cake!" Billy chortled.
Kathleen laughed along too. "I think Ma's days of jumping out of cakes are over somehow."
The meal out of the way, Justin used the kitchen phone to ring Claire.
"Hey, Sweetcheeks. I didn't think we'd be hearing from you for a week at least. How's it going with your red-head kid?"
"He looked across at Billy and grinned. "Everything's great, Claire. And my red-head kid is fabulous!"
"Whoah! Too much information! What can I do for you? You can't be ringing to say that you're missing me."
"No, not that. Well, maybe a little bit. We need a ride, out to Billy's place to see his mum. Could you take us? I can't find Jonathan."
"I would, Sweetcheeks, but I can't. We've got no car here tonight. Mum's one is off the road and Dad' gone up-country, shooting bunnies. He won't be back until late. I could take you out tomorrow."
"No. Thanks anyway. We want to go out tonight. Don't worry about it, we'll find someone else."
"Okay. Sorry I can't help you, Sweetcheeks. Why don't you ring Dee? No, not Dee, she'll be busy. Ring Lucas, he won't be doing anything and he could probably do with some company."
"Why's that? Where's Shelley on a Sunday night?"
"You probably should ask Lucas that. But, it's no secret - they've broken up."
"No! What happened? Can I fix it?"
"You can't fix it, it's over. No sense in flogging a dead horse. Look, Sweetie, ask Lucas. He'll tell you."
"'Kay. I will. Thanks anyway, Claire. I still love you, 'bye Claire."
"'Bye Sweetcheeks, be good."
He hung up and Billy said, "What's this? Telling a girl that you love her, and I'm sitting right here?"
"Shut up, Billy. I do love Claire. I love lots of people, but all of them together don't add up to the love I have for you."
"Okay, I guess. I'm trying to be jealous here. Who do you love anyway?"
"You, mostly."
""I know that, Doofus. Who else?"
"I love Jonathan. I love Lucas, Peter, Jay, my family, your family. Lots and lots, but mostly you."
"Okay, Superboy. That's all right then, but you belong to me and don't you forget it." He hugged him.
"As if I could!" He hugged him back. "Now sit down and behave yourself while I ring Lucas."
A couple of rings and Lucas answered.
"Hey Lucas my friend. How are you tonight?"
"Hey Superboy. I'm fine. You?"
"I'm excellent! But, how are you really? You've broken up with Shelley?"
"Yeah, we've broken up. It's okay really - we'll still be friends. That's all we've been for a while now anyway."
"And you're really okay? You don't need a shoulder to cry on?"
"No, Justin. I'm really okay. It's been coming for a while now. If it hadn't have been for Carl, we probably would have finished weeks ago. We just grew apart, these things happen. Shell's spending all her time with Whozzat these days."
"Well, I'll believe you. But if you get lonely, anytime, day or night, just call and I'll come running. I love you, Lucas."
"Cool. Thanks, Superboy. I love you too. But what about your Carver kid? Aren't you with Billy now?"
"Yes of course. Billy's right here with me, but he would wait if you needed me. You're still my first friend. Lucas, the other reason I rang - we need a ride out to Billy's mum's place. Can you take us please?"
"Shit Justin. I can't. Mum's out somewhere with the car. I could take you tomorrow."
"We're going to have to buy you people your own cars. But wait, if I can get a car, can you take us?"
"Yes of course. I'd love to."
"Wait a minute while I ask my gran."
He was back in two minutes and picked up the phone. "Lucas? Grandmother says that we can have Granddad's car, but you'll have to come and get us. Is that all right?"
"Cool, Superboy. I'm on my way - see you in five."
"Thanks. You take care when you're running."
"I will for sure. See you soon."
They hung up and he grinned at Billy. "We're on our way. Lucas will be here soon."
"Okay. Justin, do you tell everyone that you love them?"
"Not everyone, just my closest friends, and my brother of course."
"And me?"
"Of course you. There should be another word, a different word because it is different, but 'love' is all we've got and I do love you, Sunny, more than I can say. I love you more than I've ever loved anybody, more than I thought I could."
Billy came over and hugged him again. "Thanks! That's about how much I love you too."
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