Funny How Love Is (Maylor AU)

Chapter 94

A brief moment passed where neither of the men attempted to speak above the sound of the ongoing, wasted shower before Brian took in a deep breath and blurted out, "I love you, Roger."

The music instructor's head lifted ever so slightly. "What?"

This was Brian's chance to take back what he said, however, he had no intention of doing so. With his future set in stone now—a future in which being with the person he truly wanted to spend the rest of his life with was no longer an option, ruined by a mistake he'd so carelessly made—he felt this was the only time he'd be able to share the feelings he'd have to keep to himself once the sun rose in just a few hours. "I said, I love you."

The professor unconsciously held his breath while waiting for the music instructor's response he worried was never going to come, and when the trickle of water stopped abruptly and the surface supporting his back vanished, his heart nearly skipped a beat. He pivoted his torso to witness Roger towering over him, his eyes puffy and red and his cheeks streaked with the lingering remnants of his despair, Brian's confession twisting the knife in the blonde's already stabbed wound. "You...You don't love me, Brian."

The older of the two scrambled to his feet, trying to convey the truth behind his admission with the meek retort of, "Yes, I do."

"No, you love the idea of me. That's all everyone ever loves."

"Well I'm not everyone, Roger, am I?" he replied, failing to hold back the smirk that appeared on his lip before he went on to say, "I love you, just as you are." Brian bit his lip and looked down, daring to take Roger's hands in his and giving them a slight, reassuring squeeze. "And I know I'm going to be with Chrissie when I get back, but it's not because I love her. You're the one I love, Roger, and I'd go so far as to say that...I think you love me too." His attention flickered up to meet the blonde's eyes that glistened in the dim lighting in the room—the white glow reflected from the moon and snow outside fighting for dominance with the incandescent hue coming from the lamp. "You're just too afraid to admit it."

The music instructor shook his head, slipping his hands out of the professor's as a fresh tear traced his jawline. "No. Don't. Don't do this."

"Don't do what?"

"This!" Roger snapped, gesturing between the two of them, "Telling me that...that you love me?" A dejected chuckle slipped past his lips as he shook his head again, Roger's eyes traveling down Brian's still bare chest. He fought the temptation to cling to the honeylike skin with a deep breath, repressing the fatal attraction and glancing up into the hazel eyes he'd have a hard time forgetting. "You don't love me, Brian," he tried to convince him, "I know that you think you do, but you don't, because you don't even know me."

"That's where you're wrong," the professor growled, refusing to accept the blonde's rejection. "I do know you—maybe even better than you know yourself—and I know that if we went back and I never told how I feel, or gave you the chance to admit that you feel the same way, you'd go right back to Tim and...and no one wants that, Roger, especially not you." His hands found their way to his upper arms, clothed with the shirt that he now painfully realized was his own.

The blonde flashed the older man before him a small, crooked, defeated grin. "It's too late for that, Bri. It doesn't matter anymore."

"Why?"

Roger scoffed, tired of playing this game. "You don't get it, do you? We weren't meant to be each other's heroes. We weren't meant to make it this far." His wavering gaze never left Brian's as he plucked the professor's hands from his arms and placed them tenderly by his sides, saying softly, "All we had was tonight. All we ever had was tonight."

Brian swallowed the lump that formed in his throat, hanging his head and asking with a strained voice, "So, what are you saying, Roger?"

"I'm saying we need to make the best of whatever time we have left," the music instructor answered, risking the elimination of the distance between them and losing control of his hands as they found their way to the taller man's chest. The sensation that traveled from the blonde's fingertips through both their bodies was undeniable, breathing life back into their dying night.

"But Rog—"

"Shh," Roger whispered, bringing a single finger up to Brian's parted lips, silencing the older man. He tried to finish his sentence, but the blonde denied him the luxury, holding out the calming noise longer with each attempt.

When the professor finally surrendered, Roger smiled, leaning in and replacing his finger with his lips. The pair instantly melted into the fleeting moment, stumbling back into the bathroom and soaking up every piece they could of each other before their time ran out; before the era that defined them in ways they never thought imaginable came to an end—a new day dawning and taking its place; a new era to explore.