Living Well Is the Best Revenge

Considering the Possibilities, a slashfic in four parts

Rating: NC-17 for graphic male-male sex

Pairings: AJ Quartermaine/Nikolas Cassadine, Juan Santiago/Lucky Spencer, Mac Scorpio/Stefan Cassadine, Jason Morgan/Sonny Corinthos, Ned Ashton/Jasper Jacks, Marcus Taggert/Alex Garcia, Cesar Faison/you'll see

Disclaimer: "General Hospital," with its related characters and themes, does not belong to me. I make no money from this venture.

Dedication: This slashfic is for Anders Hovre and Ewan McGregor.

Wherein Jax gets an earful, Jax gets a knee in his groin, and Jax doesn't get what he wants. Wherein Emily squeaks; Juan growls; and Nikolas purrs. Wherein Mac can't find his gun; wealthy Europeans read Twain; and The Monkees turn out to be a hit in Puerto Rico.

Notice: I was in the middle of writing when Carly lost Sonny's baby in May of 2000. This slashfic assumes that she never miscarried. The Nikolas Cassadine of this fiction is Tyler Christopher's character.

Be aware that this story will explore a sexual relationship between Juan and Lucky. Juan is seventeen years old; Lucky is eighteen.

"Considering the Possibilities" Part One: Living Well Is the Best Revenge; or, It's Nice to Be with You

Lila died.

Everything changed.

Alan not only grieved for his mother but was shaken at the loss of the last good Quartermaine. Lila had been a classy woman with enough backbone to marry Edward. She'd been recognized by one and all as a true gentlewoman.

Alan turned to Tony for help. They'd been best friends for a long time, including when their lives had been going beautifully. Then they lost their children, destroyed their lives, ruined their careers, and were alone in the world. Even then they'd managed to help each other. They resurfaced, rebuilt their lives. Finally Monica left Alan, as Bobbie had left Tony, and Alan in his grief naturally went to Tony, his best friend and colleague.

Jason came home at the news of his grandmother's death. He went to where he considered home to be: not the Quartermaine mansion but Sonny and the penthouse. Carly was living in Jason's old penthouse, and the children lived all over that floor: Sonny's place, Carly's place, Johnny and Francis' place. Faced with a homecoming, seeing Carly and Michael and Sonny and the new baby, Jason didn't know where to begin. These four people had dominated his thoughts. He went to Michael first, who hugged him trustingly at a word from Carly and a nod from Sonny. Then Carly grabbed him, talking away about how happy she was. Then he gently removed her and turned to embrace Sonny, who hugged him right back, and he knew that he was home. That night, he didn't sleep in Carly's apartment, and he didn't sleep on Sonny's sofa; he slept in Sonny's bed, where he belonged.

AJ saw Jason at the funeral. He wondered whether Jason would stay, and whether Jason still hated him or no longer cared. He saw Jason speaking with Emily. Did Jason even know that their mother had gone? Jason had been close to the women, Lila and Monica and Emily, not to the men.

Then Jason came over to him. Jason's eyes were red and shiny; he was sure that his were, too. "You moved out of the house?" Jason asked.

"Yeah." So? He could feel himself getting defensive already. He told himself to calm down; this was neither the time nor the place.

"Good."

"Are you staying in Port Charles?"

"Yeah."

"With Carly?"

"With Sonny."

Carly would change that. "Michael must be happy."

"He doesn't remember me."

"That must hurt. Having loved him like that, and now he doesn't remember you." Boy did he know that feeling too well.

"We'll just start over," Jason said. AJ wondered if he could possibly mean- "Emily says you started over. Left the house, stopped drinking, got a job with the Cassadines."

"I have experience from ELQ, but I can't work for Grandfather and I don't want to work for Jax. So I'm Stefan Cassadine's assistant, which is a lot more work than it sounds like." Ned was back at ELQ, which Edward loved and Jax both loved and hated. Ned was also actually living at home for the first time in a long time, which Jax just plain hated. Jax had threatened to move in too, and Ned had decided to take the threat seriously and accept it, so now Edward was having a fit at the idea of Jasper Jacks in his house. Of course really it was Monica's house, but she was gone. She'd left AJ in charge of it. If (very big if) anyone bothered to ask AJ, he'd tell Jax to move right in, just to drive Edward crazy.

"You're living at Windemere?" Jason asked.

"Yeah."

Sonny came over. AJ wished that Jason would just get to the point. It really was unlike Jason to stall like this. Jason was a very direct person. Sonny gave him a nod, "AJ." "Sonny," he said. They had nothing to do with each other anymore. Sonny said to Jason, "You ready to go?"

Jason held his hand out to AJ. AJ was almost too surprised to take it. Their handshake was firm and too long to be a formality. Then Jason left with Sonny.

"You okay?" Nikolas' hand rested on his back only a moment.

"You think he stopped hating me?" AJ asked, still watching Jason go. He turned to Nikolas.

"Your circumstances are different now. Maybe so are his. You don't have your grandfather and Carly tearing you apart anymore. Jason would never offer you his hand unless he meant it as a gesture of good faith."

"Em told him that I'm working for Stefan and living at Windemere and sober."

"Does she know?"

About-? "God, I hope not."

"She may have told Jason, if she knows."

"Jason wouldn't care. But he doesn't know."

"She knows about Juan and Lucky."

"Because she walked into L&B and found them standing in the middle of the room kissing."

"I know that they like to live dangerously in general, but that's still a bad place for a liaison: far too public."

"Invite them to Windemere, where the well-paid servants are the souls of discretion."

"I'm glad that your grandmother knew the truth."

"So am I." It had been a relief to trust Lila, to confide in her, to gather support from her. He couldn't tell Grandfather, he didn't want to tell his father, he definitely would not tell Ned, he didn't trust Emily to keep a secret, and his mother was gone, but he'd told Lila. All of it. All that he was, all that he felt. And she was happy for him, proud of him.

He knew about Lucky and Juan; they knew about him and Nikolas. He knew about Ned and Jax, their pride and competition, their strict rules regulating business from personal, their wealthy upper-class continental romance. He knew about Stefan and Mac, raising other people's children, having blonde women leave them for Luke Spencer. He knew of the nights that Mac spent at Windemere, and of how Stefan's eyes softened for Mac in a way that AJ'd only thought to see for Nikolas. He knew that those blonde women could never be Luke's partner as Roy DiLucca was.

"Your father's coming," Nikolas said, and slowly faded into the crowd. AJ watched Nikolas go, then turned to his father. Alan embraced him briefly but meaningfully.

"I haven't seen Mom," AJ said.

"I spoke with her," Alan said. "She sends her regrets."

She sent her regrets? That was it? Well, how terribly comforting. "Is Grandfather all right?"

"Could you come over tomorrow? For lunch, or dinner?"

"Sure," AJ said. "I'll be over tomorrow night. Did you see Jason?"

"I didn't get a chance to speak with him. I saw him with you, though. That's a good sign."

"He's staying in Port Charles."

"He's staying?" Alan asked. "Not with Carly?"

"With Sonny."

"That's even worse."

"Is it? Anyway, at least if he's there he'll take care of Michael and Corintha."

"That's good."

"You're all right?"

"Aside from some uncharitable thoughts about my father outliving my mother, I'm fine," Alan said. "I wish that your mother had come, but it's good to see Jason again. How are you? Living and working with the Cassadines must be different from ELQ."

"The only difference is that we destroy each other's lives and they outright kill each other," AJ said. "Other than that, it's pretty much the same, only I don't have Grandfather harassing me. And their servants actually listen to them."

Nikolas watched AJ and Alan. He felt a hand on his shoulder. "Are you ready to go home?"

"Yes," he said, and took his eyes from AJ. He walked with his uncle from the cemetery. First his uncle, then his father, then his uncle again. Regardless of biology, Stefan was his father; Stavros was part of the tradition of Mikos and Helena. He and Stefan and Alexis were different, the new Cassadines. Oh, he knew that Alexis wasn't entirely innocent, and Stefan could play the game better than any of them, even better than Helena. But there was a difference. Stefan was capable of love. Stefan would do anything to protect him because Stefan loved him. Helena wanted to protect him because she loved Stavros, and he was Stavros' son, and she would do anything, kill anyone, to get what she wanted. She'd even brought Faison back from the dead to wreak havoc on her victims. Mac had taken care of Faison, and that adventure had brought Mac and Stefan together. It was weird, to see them in public together, Stefan arrogant and proper, saying, "Commissioner Scorpio," as though mere hours before they hadn't been sharing each other's bodies. Not that Nikolas was about to picture his uncle-father in bed with someone. He wondered what Helena would say if she knew. Or, for that matter, his own mother. Or Felicia. Why did everyone find Luke Spencer irresistible? The only Spencers that Nikolas liked these days were his sister and Lucky.

He saw Lucky just then, tall and blonde and handsome, walking with Juan toward Emily and Elizabeth. He and Juan got along much better these days, thanks to Lucky. Juan caught his eye and nodded; he nodded back and got into the car with Stefan.

Lucky hugged Emily, then Juan did. "You okay?"

"My mother didn't even come," she said. "She's off with her boyfriend. Dad made some pathetic excuse for her."

Lucky personally thought that the Quartermaines treated each other like shit. What was with these big money, big name familes? Quartermaines, Cassadines - - he was glad that he was a Spencer. He came from nothing, he had a small family, and as long as insane freaks like Helena and Faison kept their distance, he had a great life. "I saw Jason."

"He's staying," she said. "Which should be great as long as Carly stays away from him."

"How likely is that?" Elizabeth asked.

"I'll stop by Sonny's and check out the situation," Juan offered.

"I'm really sorry," Lucky told Emily. "Your grandmother was a great woman."

"Yeah, she really liked you," Emily said. "She even liked Juan when Grandfather was throwing a fit over him. She even liked Sonny. And she always kept close to Jason."

"Guess she liked strays," Juan suggested.

"Like me," Emily said softly, hugging herself.

"Come on, you're not a stray," Juan said.

"You're a Quartermaine," Elizabeth said. "For better or for worse."

"Your dad's coming," Lucky said.

"Hey, I'm gonna go make sure Jason's safe from Carly," Juan said. "You're okay?"

She hugged him. "I'll see you later."

Lucky hugged her. "Dr. Quartermaine," he said. "I'm sorry about your mother."

"Thank you, Lucky," Alan said. "Juan."

"Dr. Quartermaine. Bye, Emily. Elizabeth." He left with Lucky. They walked across the cemetery and down the street. "I really liked Mrs. Quartermaine."

"Lila was wonderful," Lucky said.

"How can Emily have a great grandmother like that, and Elizabeth, and you, you all have grandmothers who love you and look after you and try to keep you safe and happy, and then there's Nikolas' grandmother, who's just a sociopath in high heels?"

"She's a Cassadine," Lucky said. "They're like that."

"Nikolas is a Cassadine."

"Nah, Nikolas is a Spencer."

"Oh. So names don't matter, it's just who your family is. And Nikolas is your mother's son, and your brother, so he's a Spencer."

"Right."

"So is Emily a Quartermaine?"

"No way. Jason's only half-Quartermaine, so he left them and went Morgan. And Ned's not really a Quartermaine; he's a business player, but he isn't a real Quartermaine at heart, so he's an Ashton. And Emily's a Bowen."

"So who are the Quartermaines?"

"Edward."

"No kidding."

"Tracy."

"Who's Tracy?"

"She's Edward's daughter, Alan's sister. She's a Quartermaine. And Monica might be one, too."

"Hunh. So what about me?"

"What about you?"

"Well, I'm a Santiago, a Morez, and a Rivera."

"Let me think about it."

They went into Sonny's building. The doorman knew them by sight and let them in without question. They took the elevator upstairs and saw Johnny standing guard. "Hey, Johnny," Lucky said.

"Can we get in without an appointment?" Juan asked.

Johnny knocked and opened the door. "Lucky Spencer and Juan Santiago are here."

"Let 'em in," Sonny said.

"Thanks," they told Johnny, and entered. Sonny was sitting on the sofa with Jason, Sonny in his suit, Jason in jeans and a shirt, motorcycle jacket over the chair. "Hey," Sonny said.

"Emily says you're staying in Port Charles," Lucky told Jason.

"You aren't dead," Jason said.

"Oh, right," Lucky said. "No, not anymore."

"Congratulations," Jason said, confused but amused.

"I didn't tell you?" Sonny asked. "He just got back last night," he told Lucky and Juan. "There wasn't much time to fill him in on everything. Jason, this is Lucky, he's not dead. He and Juan spend way too much time here."

"Corintha really likes me," Juan said. "Did you meet Corintha? Or, wait, is that-"

"I met Corintha," Jason said.

"Where are the kids?" Lucky asked.

"Francis took them and Carly to the park," Sonny said. "She wanted to go to the funeral, but I didn't think that would help the Quartermaines."

"But you went," Juan said.

"They're used to hating me," Sonny said. "Carly's wound is too fresh. You want something to eat?"

"Anything," Juan said.

"You gotta learn food," Sonny told Juan. "I could hand you a raw potato and you'd think it was gourmet food." He left them for the kitchen. Juan sat in Sonny's vacated spot and Lucky took the chair.

"Good to see you," Juan said. "Or do you not like me?"

"You aren't with Emily anymore."

"No," Juan said. "We're still friends."

"You came after Lucky died," Jason said. "Now you two are friends?"

"Yeah," Juan said. "I'm a lot more popular these days. The Quartermaines don't hate me as much anymore, since Emily and I are just friends. Elizabeth likes me, Lucky likes me, even Nikolas is starting to like me. Sonny likes me, too, for Sonny. Michael and Corintha like me. I should tell you, though, I'm living with Taggert."

"Taggert?" Jason repeated, eyes wide, smiling.

"Yeah, just so someone's keeping an eye on me. You know, so I don't have to go back to Puerto Rico. He keeps me out of trouble, gives me a curfew. Since I'm well-behaved and I get good grades, Taggert lets me see Sonny."

"Do you want something?"

"Emily is worried that you'll get back together with Carly."

Jason nodded. "Tell her not to worry. Carly and I are friends."

"That's all? Does Carly know that?"

"She will."

"Okay. Emily's really happy to see you."

"I was happy to see her."

"You're staying? For good?"

"For good," Jason said.

Sonny fed them. Carly brought the kids over and cornered Jason. Juan and Lucky left only after Carly had left. They walked through Port Charles to Bobbie's, where Juan lived. They ducked behind the house and into the shadows at the corner. Juan slipped into Lucky's embrace, pressing his mouth to Lucky's. Lucky leaned back against the wall. He was used to Juan in jeans; now they were wearing suit pants and the material was thinner, softer; he slid his hand down over Juan's bottom and felt indecently close. He sucked Juan's tongue into his mouth.

Juan said, "I'd better go."

"Yeah," Lucky said.

"Get your hand off my butt."

"Sorry." Lucky removed his hand.

"See you tomorrow."

"Bye." They kissed again and Juan went into the house. Lucky walked home slowly. Lila, Emily, Jason, Carly, AJ, Nikolas, his thoughts wandered from person to person. He loved his brother. They got along very well; he could be very close to Nikolas. He respected Stefan, sometimes even liked the guy. He felt better now that Stefan was over his mother. When Nikolas had told him that Stefan was with Mac Scorpio, he'd almost questioned Nikolas' sanity. But Nikolas had insisted, and AJ had corroborated it. He didn't know whether Stefan knew that he knew. Stefan probably knew about him and Juan. Emily knew, now. Nikolas and AJ knew. Since Emily knew, she'd tell Elizabeth.

He hated keeping secrets, but he didn't want the world to know about him and Juan. Not yet. But they'd been at L&B, and they'd been trying to write song lyrics, only the lyrics got really stupid...

"It's nice to be with you."

"It's nice to be with you?" he asked, laughing.

"That's a song!" Juan protested. "It's from The Monkees."

"The Monkees? Are you kidding me? Hey, you know The Monkees? They're in Puerto Rico, too? And they sing songs that stupid?"

"It's nice to be with you," Juan said. "Come here and tie my shoe."

"That cannot be the next line."

"It is, really. It's nice to be with you, come here and tie my shoe, my nose is turning blue-"

"Okay, what's the next line?"

"Are you mocking my song?" Juan demanded. "That's classic!"

"You made it up."

"You flatter me."

His lashes dropped and he leaned closer. Juan almost gave in but left the sofa, smiling. "We're supposed to be working," Juan said.

Lucky knew that Juan and Emily had been very affectionate, always touching each other. It was hard for him not to want the same thing, but he knew that it was different. They didn't dare get comfortable touching each other, because if they did it too often in private they might start to do it in public. But he wanted that closeness, that easy affection. He stood, too. "We're writing a love song. We need to practice. Gain experience. How can I write about how nice it is to be with you if I'm all alone?"

"Oh, research?" Juan asked. "What is it we're researching?"

"Each other," Lucky said, and came up close. Juan was the only guy he knew personally with both ears pierced. He liked it. He kissed Juan, putting one hand on Juan's neck and the other on one slim hip. That was when he heard someone squeak, and it wasn't Juan.

That pretty much outed them, being caught kissing. Not making out, not even using tongue, but definitely kissing, and definitely on purpose.

He knew that he and Juan weren't careful enough. But if they were outed, how serious could it be? Okay, it could be very serious, they could end up harassed, beaten, threatened, or dead. So it was a good idea to keep it secret. Which meant that Emily needed to keep quiet. But there were a few people that Emily told everything: him, Juan, Nikolas, Elizabeth, and Jason. That meant that Elizabeth and Jason would know very soon. Maybe then Sonny would know, if Jason knew. Would Sonny care? Some people were very careful about who looked over their children, and gay men were usually the first to go. But Sonny knew Juan, trusted Juan, liked Juan. Loved Juan, from what Lucky could tell, although Juan didn't realize it. And Sonny didn't seem like the homophobic type, although that was hard to know sometimes, too.

The next day was Saturday. Lucky was going to meet his friends at Kelly's. He went to Windemere first, for no particular reason, just to see Nikolas. Mrs. Lansbury had been fired after Stefan had realized that she'd been informing Helena. The new housekeeper, Rebecca, wasn't as aware of the twisted Cassadine history, which was sort of a relief to Lucky. When he was let into the house, he went up to Nikolas' room. He knocked. "Nikolas?" There was a thud, then laughter, mutters and mumbles, and finally Nikolas opened the door.

"Lucky," Nikolas said, smoothing his hair. "Hey."

Lucky smiled. Nikolas was too well-bred to blush. "You coming to Kelly's?"

"Yes," Nikolas said. "Come in, let me find my shoes."

Lucky strolled in through the doorway. "Hey, AJ."

"Lucky." AJ was putting on his shoes and socks, too. Lucky assumed that they'd been making out, he'd startled them and one of them had fallen off the bed, and now they were going to pretend that they'd done no such thing. AJ had his own room elsewhere, but as far as Lucky knew the two of them shared Nikolas' bed every night. They were the first males he'd ever seen kiss in person. It had just been a little kiss, the brush of lips to lips, and he'd only seen it once since then, but it had done something to him. Nothing erotic - - hello, Nikolas was his brother - - but something like validation, like recognition. Two weeks later, he'd kissed Juan. Good god, now that was erotic.

Nikolas tied his shoes and found his car keys. He walked over to AJ. "Good luck tonight."

"Thanks," AJ said, clearly needing all the luck he could get. Nikolas kissed him briefly and said, "I'll wait up for you."

"Don't bother," AJ said.

Nikolas kissed him again and left with Lucky. "He's okay?" Lucky asked once they were on the docks.

"AJ?" Nikolas asked. "He's going to eat at home tonight, with his family."

"I guess he should. Family solidarity, now that Lila's gone."

"I just hope that for once they don't use their own pain to hurt each other. He doesn't need that. And they shouldn't subject Emily to it. With Monica gone, and now Lila."

"You think we could invite Emily to eat with us tonight? It would mean less support for AJ, but it would be better for her."

"What if she invites us to eat with her?" Nikolas suggested.

"That's sneaky," Lucky said. "Would she do it?"

"You can talk her into it. You can talk Emily into anything."

"And you can't?"

When they got to Kelly's, Emily was there, talking with Elizabeth, who was too busy listening to pretend to work. The two of them were hunched over the counter, whispering, Elizabeth wide-eyed.

"Busted," Lucky murmured.

"She's telling Elizabeth about you and Juan?" Nikolas asked softly.

"Well, if it keeps her mind off Lila, I guess it can't be all bad," Lucky said. Elizabeth spotted them and swallowed. "Hi, guys," Elizabeth said.

Emily turned on her stool. "Where's Juan?"

"Not with us," Nikolas said. "What's going on?"

"Does Nikolas know?" Emily whispered to Lucky.

"Does Nikolas know what?" Nikolas asked. "Is everyone keeping secrets from me? You know that I have serious psychological problems with people keeping secrets from me. Next you'll tell me that you're my half-sister."

"And would anyone be surprised?" Elizabeth asked.

"So what's the secret?" Nikolas asked, taking a stool to Emily's left while Lucky sat to her right side.

"Nothing," Elizabeth said reassuringly. She left the counter to serve a table. Emily whispered to Lucky, "Does he?"

"Does he know what?" Lucky asked, frowning in pretend confusion.

"You know, you and Juan," she whispered.

"Me and...Juan? Oh, that. Yeah, Nikolas knows."

"He does?!"

The door opened. "Hey, Elizabeth," Juan said. She dropped a plate of hot eggs and bacon onto the floor and spent a moment staring at him, wide-eyed, speechless. Emily laughed. Juan moved to help Elizabeth clean up the mess but that only flustered her more, so he went to the counter. "What's wrong with her?" Juan asked, sitting beside Nikolas.

"Emily told her about you and Lucky," Nikolas said.

"She did?" Juan asked, worried.

"What'd you say?" Lucky asked Emily. The four huddled together over the counter.

"I just said that I saw you and Juan kissing, and that you said that you were, you know, together. Boyfriends. That's when you guys came in."

"I am so dead," Juan muttered.

"No you're not," Emily said. "She's not mad, she's just...surprised. I only told her a minute ago. She has to get used to the idea. Maybe if she sees you kiss, like I did."

"No way," Juan said quickly.

"You knew about this?" Emily asked Nikolas.

"Yes," Nikolas admitted. "I made a disparaging comment about Juan and Lucky told me."

"Have you seen them kiss?"

"Yes."

"Really?!"

"Wait," Lucky said. "This doesn't bother you at all?"

"Me?" Emily asked. "Of course not, you know that."

"And you want to see us kiss?"

"Sort of. I'm curious. I've never seen two guys...do that."

"Well, we can't show you here," Lucky said.

"Where do you kiss?" Emily asked. "Not at L&B anymore, right?"

"It's hard to find a place," Lucky said. "Anyone can walk past any place at any time. That's why we were kissing at Windemere when Nikolas saw us."

"You can kiss at my house," Emily said. "As long as you stay out of Grandfather's way."

"How are things at your house?" Lucky asked.

"Not too good," Emily said. Elizabeth joined them across the counter. "Ned's been great, and Dad's trying. We're having a family dinner tonight. AJ's coming. I wanted Jason to come, but Ned told me it's not a good time. I don't want to go; I'm sure that Grandfather will attack AJ for something. I know Grandfather's upset, he really loved Grandmother, but hurting AJ won't help."

"What if someone else were there?" Lucky asked. "Would that keep things calmer?"

"Jax is coming," Emily said. "That'll only make it worse."

"Jax?" Juan repeated. "If Ned's inviting Jax, can't you invite us?"

"Well, they told me not to invite Jason, but no one said anything about you," Emily said. "Would you come? I know, it'll be awful, everyone yelling at everyone else, you'll be horrified."

"We've all met the Cassadines," Lucky said. "Your family's nothing."

"The Cassadines are your family, too," Emily said.

"No, Nikolas is a Spencer," Juan said.

"He is?" Nikolas asked.

"Do you know your aunt Tracy?" Juan asked Emily.

"I've heard horror stories," Emily said. "But really nobody talks about her."

"What time should we come tonight?" Elizabeth asked.

"You're all coming?" Emily asked. "I love you guys. Come at eight. We're dressing for dinner," she said, rolling her eyes.

It occurred to Nikolas that he ought to warn AJ that he was coming. It occurred to Nikolas that AJ might not want an audience for the evening's humiliation. If Edward was going to erupt, AJ would no doubt get the worst of it. But Nikolas wanted to be there, wanted to support AJ, and, truth be told, he wanted to witness first hand the abuses that AJ suffered. Edward's tirades were infamous, and he knew all of the Quartermaine insults and arguments from Emily's laments, but he'd never seen it himself.

He told Stefan that he'd be dining with Emily. He dressed and went around to pick up Elizabeth. He knew that she was anxious about interrupting a grieving family, crashing a dinner party, and seeing Lucky and Juan, but she didn't mention any of it. They met Juan on the front porch and waited a few minutes for Lucky. Then as they rang the bell, Jax drove up to the house.

Reginald opened the door. "Miss Emily's guests," he said. "Mr. Jax. Welcome."

"I see Emily called in the reinforcements," Jax said. "She's a smart girl."

AJ had told Nikolas that Jax and Ned were lovers, and that the Quartermaines all knew it but wouldn't admit it. Nikolas wondered if Jax might not be a good choice for Ned, after five wives and Alexis. Clearly something didn't work between Ned and women.

Reginald ushered them into the sitting room. Emily and Ned were sitting on the sofa, talking. Emily jumped up and went to them. She curtseyed to Nikolas gracefully, then grabbed Juan's arm. "I am so glad that you guys are here. Grandfather is being awful. AJ isn't here yet. No one told Grandfather that you're all coming; he'll have a fit. Elizabeth, where did you get that dress?"

Jax and Ned stood at the other end of the sofa, talking business. They'd been friends for a while, had gone through a lot before they'd become lovers. Nikolas watched them surreptitiously.

Alan came in, greeted them. Edward arrived, all politeness to Elizabeth, all frowns and sarcasm to Jax, ignoring Nikolas and Lucky and Juan. AJ came in; Emily hugged him; Edward blustered and took Elizabeth's arm, heading off to dinner. Alan took Emily in, and the others followed. Although Edward (and AJ) hadn't known of the extra guests, Alan had, and had told Cook and the servants, so there were correct place settings and food for all of them. They took their places around the table: Edward was at the head, with Elizabeth to his right, Lucky beside her, then AJ, and Jax beside AJ. Alan was at the foot, with Jax to his left and Emily to his right. Beside Emily was Juan, then Ned, and Nikolas beside Ned at Edward's left.

Emily was too young and inexperienced to count as the hostess. Nikolas beat out Jax as the ranking male guest because he was, after all, a prince, if young.

At first, the meal went fine. Nikolas and Elizabeth managed to charm Edward. Lucky talked to AJ, having wanted to get to know his brother's lover better anyway. (He preferred "boyfriend" to "lover", really, because the word lover just made him think of sex, even though that wasn't fair.) Ned and Juan talked about L&B. Jax, finding AJ occupied, talked with Alan and Emily.

Then Elizabeth mentioned AJ working for Stefan.

"How's he doing over there at Windemere?" Edward asked Nikolas.

"He's doing very well," Nikolas said. "Stefan's very pleased, and he's a hard man to please."

"Of course he's doing well," Edward said. "How much can he mess up playing secretarial assistant to Stefan Cassadine?"

"AJ has a great many responsibilities," Nikolas said. "The Cassadine holdings-"

"Oh, don't tell me about it," Edward said. "I've been running ELQ since before you were born. You tell your uncle - father - uncle -"

"Uncle," Elizabeth said.

"Uncle," Edward said. "Thank you dear. You tell your uncle to keep an eye on that boy. I can't tell you what state my company was in after he was through with it."

"I'm sorry that you're dissatisfied with AJ's management of your corporation," Nikolas said. "He's doing very well now. Perhaps he's learned since then."

"Learned?" Edward asked, and laughed. "The only things that boy's learned are self-pity, blaming others, and the fastest way to mix a martini."

"I don't drink martinis, Grandfather," AJ said from the other end of the table. "That was Katherine and Dr. Ramsey. I drink vodka."

"You don't," Emily said. "You've been sober since-"

"Dr. Ramsey?" Alan asked.

"Here we go," Ned murmured.

"Are we supposed to congratulate you on every day you don't drink yourself into a stupor?" Edward demanded. "Why should we be glad that you're out of a mess you got yourself into in the first place?"

"He's an alcoholic, Grandfather, he-" Emily began.

"And we're supposed to feel sorry for him?" Edward asked. "Not me!"

"Don't worry about it, Em," AJ said. "Don't bother."

"He couldn't make it in the corporate world, so now he's proving himself to the world as Stefan Cassadine's secretary. That's the best that you can do? And you move out of here to that musty old gargoyle mansion-"

"No offense," Ned told Nikolas.

"You know why he really hired you," Edward told AJ. "Because you used to try to run ELQ, and he thinks that he'll get information from you. Little does he know how incompetent and uninformed you are. Even Jax didn't bother to hire you, and he's desperate to bring me down."

"Stefan doesn't care about ELQ, Grandfather," AJ said.

"Oh, you think so?" Edward laughed. "What else did he tell you?"

"Would you like to know how much money Stefan has?" AJ asked. "Would you like to know how rich <i>Nikolas</i> is? I know exactly. Investments, estates, accounts, all of it."

"I'm curious," Jax said.

"Do you know how much money I make working for Stefan?" AJ continued. "Do you know how important my work is, how much money passes through my hands, how tight Stefan's security is? Stefan trusts me. Nikolas trusts me. And I make more as 'Stefan's secretary' than I did running ELQ."

"That's because I paid you for the job you did," Edward said. "If you'd been competent, I would have paid you more. Ned makes much more than you ever did."

"Father!" Alan said. "You can't-"

"I knew it," AJ said. "I knew you changed the CEO salary when I came in."

"Of course," Edward said. "If you'd done half the job Ned does, you'd have gotten half his salary. But you never did, did you? Running around with Carly, getting drunk-"

"At least I don't own leather pants," AJ muttered.

"And thank god for that," Ned said. Nikolas was inclined to disagree.

"I never would have 'run around with Carly' if it weren't for you!" AJ told Edward.

"It's my fault you got her pregnant?"

"It's your fault she came into this house, it's your fault that I married her, it's your-"

"When will you learn to take some responsibility for yourself?"

"When you do!" AJ shouted.

"Now do you see, Alan, what your parenting has done?" Edward asked. "One's a hoodlum, one's a drunken screw-up, and-"

"Don't say anything about Emily," Ned said firmly.

"I was only going to say," Edward began, "that poor dear Emily hasn't gotten the life she deserves because her father isn't the parent that she deserves. He can barely keep his own life together, let alone look after anyone else's. And this is what becomes of it," Edward said, motioning to AJ. "Utter failure!"

"You never let me be anything else!" AJ shouted.

"You blame me!" Edward protested. "You ruined your life, little Michael's, Jason's-"

"Do we have to drag Jason into everything?" AJ asked.

"Did you have to drag him down with you?"

"If I'm so interested in ruining everyone, leave me alone! Leave me to rot at Windemere, far away from you and your precious family," AJ said. "I'll stay away from your company and your money and your house and your life. In fact, I'll go now." He rose and strode for the door. Emily ran after him.

"Mr. Quartermaine," Nikolas said. "I thank you for bringing ELQ to my attention. I hadn't considered it, but I will suggest it to my uncle. Thank you for dinner. Dr. Quartermaine, Ned." He rose.

"Thank you," Elizabeth said. "The food was delicious." She followed Nikolas. A moment later Lucky and Juan were with them in the hallway.

"His face!" Juan whispered to Nikolas. "He turned red when you said that. You totally got him."

"You won't do it, will you?" Elizabeth asked.

"Stefan might not consider it worth his time, but I will mention it to him," Nikolas said.

Emily found them. "AJ left. I hope he's going back to Windemere. Nikolas, you'll call me when you get there, if he's not there?"

"I will," Nikolas said.

"Em, I'm sorry," Elizabeth said.

"No, I'm sorry," Emily said. "That was awful. Right in front of all of you."

"Why does AJ come here if he knows your grandfather's going to do that?" Juan asked.

"This family's approval means everything to AJ," Emily said. "He wants to be accepted. He wants Grandfather to be proud of him."

"It's never going to happen," Juan said.

Nikolas wondered, as he went home, if what Juan said were true. Was it possible for AJ to get Edward's approval? When he got home, he went to Stefan's study.

"How was your dinner?" Stefan asked, removing his glasses.

"Awful," Nikolas said. "Could you take over ELQ?"

"Why would I want to?" Stefan asked.

"Because I don't like Edward Quartermaine."

"I'll consider it. I believe that AJ's returned."

"Good."

"Has Edward insulted you?"

"He called this place a musty old gargoyle mansion."

"That's fairly accurate," Stefan said, mouth quirking. He rose and came around his desk. "If Edward mistreats AJ, destroying an old man's livelihood will be a false revenge, and will not strengthen their relationship."

"I know."

"What would make you feel better?"

"To prove to Edward that AJ is successful and happy. Living well is the best revenge."

"Very good. AJ's well on his way to doing just that, but I can see to it that Edward is forced to notice," Stefan said.

"I won't say that the Quartermaines are worse than the Cassadines, but they do have a talent for ruining each other."

"The hallmark of any great family."

Nikolas hugged Stefan. "Thank you."

"For what?" Stefan asked.

"Rearing me."

"The pleasure was mine, I assure you," Stefan said.

Nikolas kissed him and went upstairs. He found his bedroom empty, so he went across the mansion to AJ's room. He found AJ lying across the bed, fully dressed, staring at the ceiling. "AJ?" He sat on the bed.

"Get out."

"AJ-"

"Get...out," AJ said, not moving his eyes from the ceiling. Nikolas hesitated. "Stefan locked up the liquor," AJ said. "You don't need to worry about the vodka."

"He did?"

"I asked him to."

"Tonight, when you got here?"

"Yes. He didn't ask any questions, he just agreed to do it. Knowing Stefan, he'll even lock up the cooking sherry."

"AJ-"

"Get out!"

Nikolas left.

Back at the Quartermaine mansion, Emily had gone to her room. Alan yelled at Edward, lost, and walked off in disgust.

"And you!" Edward said to Ned. "Bringing that pirate into my house-"

"It's Monica's house," Ned said.

"Alan gave it to her," Jax pointed out helpfully.

"And she gave it to AJ," Ned added. "She drew up the papers and gave them to me when she left. As soon as he signs, this place belongs to AJ."

"She gave my house to that no-good-"

"Does he know?" Jax asked.

"No. She doesn't want AJ and Emily to know that she's not coming back. But," he told Edward, "if you give another performance like tonight, I will tell him, and I will advise him to send you packing."

"Kicked out of my own house by that upstart - you listen here, Ned, I will not-"

"He'd do it, too," Jax said. "Oh Edward, don't worry, you won't be out on the streets."

"You can get a room at the hotel," Ned said.

"He wouldn't kick me from my own home," Edward said. "He hasn't got the backbone. He's more self-destructive than anything else. And you! AJ's not here, Monica's not here, and Alan's upstairs, so this is my house and I want you out!" he told Jax, pointing to the door.

"All right, Edward, I'll stop bothering you," Jax said, smiling. "Thank you for your hospitality. Ned, good night," and he left.

"So, Ned, when are you going to tell AJ that he owns my home?"

"Not until I absolutely have to," Ned said.

Upstairs, Emily was in her pajamas, sitting on her bed, hugging her knees to her chest. There was a knock at her window. She hurried over to admit Juan and Lucky.

"We just wanted to make sure you were okay," Juan said.

"Grandmother's gone and we don't even slow down, we just keep going. How can Grandfather keep doing it?"

"You know he loved her," Lucky said, "and you know that he must miss her."

"Some people just grieve differently," Juan said.

"I can't believe my mom's not here," Emily said.

"She'd be here if she could," Lucky said.

"Oh, come on, Monica Quartermaine? If she wanted to be here, she'd be here," Emily said.

"Jason came," Juan reminded her. "That's good."

"He said he's staying away from Carly," Lucky added. "He's smart and he knows how she operates. I think he'll be okay."

"I have to get going or I'll miss my curfew," Juan said. "You're okay?"

"I'm okay," Emily said. "You guys go ahead."

Juan and Lucky tore through town to make Juan's curfew. When they got to the brownstone, Taggert was waiting outside for Juan.

"Good evening, Lieutenant," Lucky said.

"I'm not late," Juan said quickly.

"Good night, Mr. Spencer," Taggert said politely, pointedly.

"O...kay," Lucky said. "Good night, sir. Later," he told Juan, and left.

"I'm not late," Juan told Taggert. "Besides, it's Saturday night. Shouldn't you be out on a date?"

"I'd rather spend my evening with you," Taggert said pleasantly.

"That's real nice," Juan said, "but what about Dara? Or Hannah? Or Detective Gar- ow, ow, ow! Okay!"

Sunday morning, Lucky took his sister out for the day. They went to Kelly's, where LuLu was always treated as a minor celebrity. When Elizabeth went on break and Bobbi was with LuLu, Lucky pulled Elizabeth aside to talk. "Are you okay about Juan?"

"I wish you'd told me. I know why you didn't. Lucky, I didn't know that you're..." She glanced around and whispered, "Bisexual?" He nodded. "I didn't know that Juan is, either. And I never thought, it never crossed my mind, that you were anything more then friends. I knew I'd see you with someone else at some point, and last night I was thinking that if you're with him then it'll be okay for me, because you have to keep it secret, so I won't see you actually being with each other, but that's what's awful, isn't it? When you were with me, we were together, and people knew it. We spent all of our time together, and we did things for each other. And when Juan was with Emily, they were always touching each other, spending their time together. But you and Juan can't do that. You have to be just friends, all of the time, you can't relax, you can't be together. So I want you to know that, when it's just among the five of us, and we're hanging around, if you want to be more than a friend, that's okay."

"I don't want you to be uncomfortable."

"Well I don't want you to be unhappy."

Nikolas was unhappy. AJ was avoiding him. Stefan confirmed that the liquor was unavailable, which was good, but then Nikolas had to worry: if AJ wanted a drink, AJ would get a drink. The PC Grill's bar had standing orders not to serve AJ (thanks to Ned), but the rest of the city had no such understanding.

AJ propped his forehead on his fists and rubbed his eyes with his thumbs. I really should have slept last night. He blinked rapidly and looked down at the letter he'd been writing. God, what drivel. He threw it away and tried again. When you were writing on behalf of Stefan Cassadine on behalf of Nikolas Cassadine, who happened to be a prince, you wanted to sound coherent, at the very least.

"AJ."

Hello, wake up, scary bearded man's arrived. "Yes?"

AJ staggered to his room. He was being sent on a business trip. He was being sent to Japan. He was being trusted to fly to another continent, alone, to do business, alone, unsupervised. Holy Hell.

I need a drink.

No...

I need sex with Nikolas.

Yes. Sex with Nikolas. That will do nicely.

AJ could admit that his sexual history wasn't particularly admirable. Julia? Who was he kidding? He'd only wanted to get her from Ned anyway. Keesha and Carly had been Jason's first. He still felt bad about Keesha, but Carly had been an unmitigated disaster.

It had crossed his mind that he was still trying to compete with Ned. Ned got Jax, half-corporate pirate and half-Fabio. So AJ got Nikolas: younger than Jax, handsomer, smarter, richer, more cultured. Ned got an international playboy so AJ got a prince; it was that simple.

Oh, stop it. It wasn't like that at all.

Carly left him and took Michael, Sonny was blackmailing him (and choking him to death in the PC Grill), Edward fired him, he left the house because he knew he'd be kicked out anyway. He decided to get a job, but he didn't know where or how. Emily had told Nikolas about his miserable condition, and Ned had told Alexis, he knew that much. He wasn't sure what in the world happened then, until Stefan Cassadine approached him with a job offer. Stefan thought that he might do nicely, having been CEO of ELQ. Good thing Stefan hadn't asked Edward for a reference. At first he planned to turn Stefan down flatly, until Stefan told him what his duties would be.

His own grandfather had never suggested that he do anything like that. Buy a crane, yes, but that was about it. He almost made Stefan repeat it. He realized, even drunk, what a chance this was. Stefan had one demand: that he be sober. Stefan wouldn't hire him if he were drinking. He couldn't blame the guy. So he got sober, Stefan hired him, and he worked his ass off. Stefan suggested that he move into Windemere, and since he was spending all of his time there anyway, he agreed. Nikolas had moved back home, and he had to see Nikolas periodically anyway; he was managing the guy's life, after all, and needed signatures occasionally, besides which Stefan liked to keep Nikolas involved in general, to keep Nikolas educated and aware. As he saw Nikolas more and more, he realized that he wanted to see more of Nikolas: specifically, more naked parts of Nikolas. Stefan touched Nikolas a lot, and since Stefan was Nikolas' uncle-father and European anyway, AJ didn't mind, except that he wanted to touch Nikolas too. Specifically, naked parts of Nikolas. He didn't dare actually try to touch Nikolas, and he certainly didn't ask the guy to undress. This was his job, and if he upset Nikolas Stefan would kill him anyway.

Then one day when he asked for Nikolas' signature, Nikolas signed, looked up from the desk, and kissed him, right on the mouth. And didn't stop. Except a minute later, to inhale and ask, "Is this okay?"

What was he supposed to say? "Yeah," is what he said, and he kissed Nikolas again.

Neither of them had been with a male before. Nikolas had been with Sarah Webber and the infamous Katherine, neither of which was worth his time, only one of whom he'd actually had sex with. AJ knew why he wanted Nikolas - - smart, friendly, educated, cultured, handsome, sexy, was that enough reason or should he continue? - - but he wasn't sure why Nikolas wanted him. They spent a few days kissing, and then kissing some more, and then a week after their first kiss AJ took up residence in Nikolas' bed, where he'd been for two weeks before his grandmother died. Only a week before, he'd gone to Lila and told her about Nikolas, about himself and Nikolas, took Nikolas to her. She was happy for him and proud of him. He couldn't imagine how he'd feel if she'd died thinking that he was a drunken loser.

Well, he was an alcoholic, there was no denying it. But he didn't have to drink. As long as he stayed sober, he'd be fine. And he didn't have to mess up everything, did he? He didn't have Michael, okay, there was that. And he didn't have ELQ, but he had a job that was, in his opinion, better. And he didn't have Carly, who made a really lousy trophy wife; he had Nikolas.

Sort of.

He didn't actually have Nikolas. "Get out" wasn't going to win anyone's heart. And Nikolas, having spent the first sixteen years sheltered and pampered and away from people like Katherine, wasn't used to being told to "get out," AJ was sure.

After getting some much-needed sleep, AJ felt clearer. He decided that the fact that he wanted Nikolas and not a drink said something about his feelings for Nikolas but did not necessarily point to another dependency. He found food downstairs and started to go over what Stefan had given him for Tokyo. He finished there, spoke with Stefan at length, and went to bed again. In the morning, he packed and ate and called Emily to tell her he'd be gone. He didn't want to leave the continent without telling anyone. She sounded as though she missed their mother and grandmother, but she was pleased that he was doing something positive and important.

"What time do you leave?"

"Not for another few hours, but I have to finish up some work first."

"I saw Jason last night. He wants to see you."

"Jason?"

"I have to go or I'll be late for school again. Call him at Sonny's before you go, please?"

"What does he want?"

"I don't know. Promise me you'll call him. Good luck in Tokyo. I have to go. Bye!"

Jason? AJ hung up the phone. Why would Jason want to talk to him? He was finished with Carly, he was staying away from Michael - - my only son and I can't go near him.

Emily didn't trust AJ to call Jason, so before she left she called Jason herself. Which was why an hour after her phone call, Jason walked into AJ's office in Windemere.

"Hello," AJ said, wary.

"Nice desk."

"Someone went a bit overboard with the Gothic. Em said you wanted to talk to me." He stood; he didn't like sitting while Jason was standing.

"It's about Michael."

"I haven't been near Michael. Sonny made it nice and clear to me."

"I know. I talked to Sonny, and Carly, and Michael. You can be an okay guy, AJ, when you aren't listening to Edward. I've been separated from Michael and I know that it hurts. He's older now, and I don't think that he'll be as confused if we explain it to him. If you want to see him, you can. We can work out a schedule. If you want to see him."

"If I want to see him? Of course I want to see him! He's my son!"

"When you get back from Tokyo, we can talk."

"You don't hate me anymore."

"You don't hate me, either." Jason shrugged and left.

AJ couldn't believe it. He dropped into his chair. He and Jason weren't killing each other. He could see Michael. He wondered what name Michael was using now. Morgan, Quartermaine, Benson? God forbid, Corinthos? Jason was talking to Sonny on his behalf. Carly must be livid. But she must have agreed to it; Jason wouldn't talk to him behind Carly's back, not about Michael.

It was definitely time to leave Port Charles before things got any weirder.

AJ went up to finish packing. He zippered his garment bag and raised his head.

"You're going to Tokyo?" Nikolas asked.

"Yeah."

"Were you going to tell me?"

"I figured Stefan would tell you." He hefted his garment bag over his shoulder and picked up his suitcase. He went down to his office to get his briefcase and laptop. Nikolas was following him silently, simply trailing him through the house. When he got to the front door, he felt a hand on the back of his neck; Nikolas stepped around to stand in front of him, quite close.

"Kiss me good-bye," Nikolas said, voice low with sadness and want, both of which did wonderful things for AJ's ego. I am such a bastard. He kissed Nikolas. He ended up kissing Nikolas a lot longer and deeper than he'd intended. "Good-bye," and Nikolas' mouth was gone, and Nikolas' hand was gone, and AJ was alone again.

That evening, Juan went to Sonny's. Johnny let him in; Sonny was talking to Francis and Jason was talking to Michael. He went over to Corintha. "Where's Carly?"

"Shopping," Jason said.

Francis departed; Sonny walked over to them. "How's my girl?" and he took Corintha from Juan. Juan frowned; he knew a hickey when he saw one. Nikolas had been trying to hide one last week, which had made him consider Nikolas and AJ's sex life. He'd tried to picture AJ sucking on Nikolas' neck, maybe even biting. Now he had to wonder who'd been with Sonny. Oh please let it not be Carly, oh please. "Emily said she saw you yesterday," he told Jason.

"Yeah," Jason said.

"Did she tell you anything about me?"

"Anything like what?" Sonny asked.

"Nothing. If Emily knew anything about me, and she told you, would you tell Sonny?"

"Not if it's nothing he needs to know," Jason said.

"Okay, if she does tell you anything, it's nothing he needs to know," Juan said.

"Are you talking about you and Lucky?" Jason asked.

Juan sat on the floor. "Oh god."

"Am I not supposed to know?" Sonny asked, smiling. Not the scary smile where he bared his teeth, but the amused smile.

"She told you," Juan told Jason.

"Sonny already knew," Jason said.

"Does everyone know?" Juan asked. "How did you know?" he asked Sonny.

"I've seen you with him," Sonny said. "Don't worry, I won't run and tell all of my friends. I don't think that Benny really cares."

"Just don't tell Carly," Juan said.

"I don't tell Carly anything," Sonny said.

"Are you sleeping with her?" Hey, he might as well ask; the worst Sonny could do was kill him.

"Sleeping with Carly?" Sonny asked. "No, I am not sleeping with Carly. Sleeping with - - where do you get that?"

Jason scratched his own neck.

"Oh," Sonny said. "Forgot about that."

"It's not Carly?" Juan asked, relieved. "Then who is it? The only people you're ever with are Jason and Benny and Johnny and Francis." He thought about what he'd just said. Then he looked at Jason. Jason smiled at him. He looked back at Sonny. Sonny laughed and gave Corintha back to him. "When did this happen? I thought that you were straight. Were you together back- - does Carly know?"

"Carly knows," Sonny said. "I made sure Carly knows."

"I got back Saturday night," Jason said.

"So it's only been three days? Not before?"

"If I'd had Jason before, he wouldn't have gone, because if I had Jason I would not have touched Carly."

"Can't blame you for that," Juan said. He wondered whether there was any significance to Nikolas and Sonny both getting hickeys - - was it something genetic in AJ and Jason? There was no good way to ask. "Do Francis and Johnny and Benny know?"

"Yes, but no one else," Sonny said. "That means you don't tell anyone."

"Can I tell Lucky?"

Sonny thought about it. "Lucky, and nobody else. I can't start you off lying to your boyfriend."

"I wish I could tell Edward Quartermaine," Juan said, "just to see his face."

Jason laughed. Sonny said, "Maybe at the next board meeting."

"Mrs. Quartermaine willed her stock to Emily," Juan said. "She wants to sell it but she doesn't know to whom. You could buy it from her."

"No, I don't take money from little girls," Sonny said. "She should keep it."

"She doesn't want to have anything to do with ELQ."

"What are you talking about? Her house, her food, her clothes, her name, her privilege - - where does she think it comes from?" Sonny asked.

"Her parents are rich doctors," Juan said. "ELQ's been trouble."

"She won't sell it to Edward," Jason said. "Maybe to Alan."

"If she wants to upset Edward, that would work," Sonny said, "but to really upset him, she'd give it to Jax. Or bring in another outsider."

"What about Nikolas Cassadine?" Jason asked. "He's her friend. He probably knows more about business than Alan anyway."

"What about you?" Sonny asked Juan. "You want stock?"

"Oh, no," Juan said. "Not if I have to deal with those people." But Jason's mention of Nikolas stuck with him. He knew, as Jason did not, that Nikolas and AJ were lovers. He'd heard Nikolas' parting comment to Edward last night. When he saw Emily in school Tuesday, he asked her if she still wanted to sell her stock, and if she'd sell it to Nikolas. She had been considering selling to Ned, but on Tuesday evening Emily saw Nikolas and asked him if he'd like stock in ELQ.

Nikolas said he was interested. He spoke with Stefan about it. Stefan advised him that it could be educational. So he bought Emily's shares of ELQ.

Friday, Nikolas got together with Emily, Elizabeth, Lucky, and Juan for dinner at the Grill. After they discussed Elizabeth's art classes, Emily said to Nikolas, "What's wrong? You've been depressed and distant all week. It's like talking to someone who's listening to somebody else."

"I'm sorry," he said.

"Is something the matter?" Elizabeth asked.

"You know what it's like," Emily said. "It's like my dad right after Mom left."

"Your wife left you?" Elizabeth asked Nikolas.

"I'm serious," Emily said.

"I'm fine," Nikolas said.

"You're lying," Elizabeth said.

"You don't have to tell us what it is," Emily said. "I just want to know if something's wrong, if I can help."

"I thought that doom and gloom was just a temporary Cassadine thing," Lucky said. "It strikes once a month. He'll be fine in a day or two."

"In a day or two AJ's coming back," Emily said. "Jason's arranging it so that AJ can see Michael regularly."

"That's great!" Elizabeth said.

"Really?" Juan asked. "Don't Jason and Sonny and Carly hate AJ?"

"AJ was only acting like that because of Grandfather," Emily said. "That made Carly and Jason upset, so Grandfather got upset and AJ reacted, and they all exaggerated each other. But now that AJ's gotten away from Grandfather, Jason thinks that they can all get along, at least for Michael's sake. Jason's willing to try, and so's AJ. Jason talked to him and as soon as AJ gets back from Tokyo they're going to work out a visitation schedule."

Nikolas was floored. AJ hadn't told him a thing. Not a word.

Oh boy, talk about reality setting in: AJ was a father, AJ had a son. Nikolas' little sister wasn't all that much older than Michael.

Well, he knew that AJ was older than he was. AJ was Jason's older brother, and Jason was older than Robin, who was older than he was. There were a few too many age gaps in there. AJ was an alcoholic; Nikolas wasn't old enough to drink in this country. AJ's age had given him pause at first. Yes, that was ironic, considering he'd been planning to marry Katherine, but Katherine was an aberration in many, many ways. But Nikolas, once he'd gotten over his belated adolescent rebellion (during which he did his best to alienate Stefan and act like an idiot), was a mature young man, and he felt fully capable of entering into a relationship with someone older than he was. Besides, he didn't care how old he was, he wanted AJ. So he took AJ. And had AJ. For all of three weeks, two of which they actually had sex. Sex. With a man. Oh dear lord. He'd had no idea.

AJ came home Sunday morning and reported directly to Stefan. Then he slept. Then he unpacked, made himself presentable, and called Emily to tell her that he was home. He also got Jason's number from her, and called Jason. He went to the penthouse.

Jason, Sonny, Carly, Michael, and Corintha were all there. Jason led Michael by the hand; Jason and AJ crouched down before the boy. "Michael," Jason said. "Michael, this is AJ."

"Hi, Michael," AJ said.

"I told you," Jason said, "that Sonny is Corintha's father? AJ is your father."

"Oh god, Jas," Carly said.

Jason ignored Carly. "AJ is your dad. He wants to spend time with you. He lives somewhere else. You can go with him to where he lives sometimes. He can take you to the park." AJ was crying but doing his best not to show it. Carly came over and took Michael to the sofa. Jason and AJ went to the table and talked out a visitation schedule. AJ would spend time with Michael at the penthouse and the park and other places familiar to Michael with Jason, or Sonny, or Carly, at first, to get Michael used to him. Then AJ could take Michael out alone. Then, assuming that Stefan didn't mind, AJ could keep Michael for more than a few hours: for a day, a weekend, a week.

AJ couldn't believe that Jason was fighting Carly on his behalf, so that he could see Michael. He was never more grateful for Jason's influence over Carly. Sonny wasn't making any obvious objections. Carly was clearly not looking forward to shared custody but wasn't denying him, although he could see that she'd have a thing or two to say once the kids were out of earshot.

He spent some time with Michael, then had to go back to Windemere to get some work done. He completed the paperwork on the Tokyo deal. He'd need Nikolas' signatures. He could leave that to Stefan, but it was his job and his deal, and he shouldn't leave the most important detail to Stefan. It was hardly professional. So he tracked down Nikolas, who was reading in the library.

"Nikolas."

Nikolas looked up from the book. "Yes?"

"I need your signature."

Nikolas set aside the book and drew up his feet, accepting the papers. He read over them briefly, accepted the pen, and signed. He handed it all back to AJ. "Have you been to see Michael?"

How does he know? Emily strikes again. "Yeah. I'm seeing him again tomorrow."

"I'm glad."

"Yeah." Nikolas didn't seem inclined to say more, so AJ left.

AJ didn't see Nikolas the rest of that evening. He worked the next morning, spent the afternoon with Michael and, of all people, Sonny, and grabbed dinner at Kelly's on the off-chance of seeing Nikolas there. Then he did what he'd been dreading: went to the Quartermaine mansion. There was to be a board meeting, called at the last second of course because Edward always hoped that no one would come. AJ wasn't living there anymore but he walked right in anyway, and into the sitting room where the others were assembled.

Edward was there with Tracy's proxy. Alan was there with Monica's. Ned, Jax, Sonny, and AJ. AJ assumed that Edward had Lila's shares, until Alan said, "Where's Emily?"

"Reginald!" Edward bellowed.

"She sold it, didn't she?" Ned asked.

"Not to me," Jax said.

"You tried to buy it from her?" Sonny asked.

"Yes," Jax said.

"She inherited your grandmother's shares," Alan explained to AJ.

"She doesn't know the first thing about business," Edward said.

"She's smart enough to understand the issues," AJ said.

"For once I agree with Junior," Ned said. "The first and only time ever, he's right."

Emily came in. "What do you want, Grandfather?"

"Your proxy will be fine, my dear."

"I can't give you a proxy," Emily said. "I'm not voting."

"Not voting?" Edward asked.

"I sold my shares," Emily said.

"To whom?"Alan asked.

"God, not Jason!" Edward exclaimed.

"Who else could it be?" Ned asked.

"Don't worry, I'll get them right back again," Edward said.

Emily ducked out and came back again. "He's here." Nikolas came up behind her, smiling cheerfully.

"Nikolas?" Ned asked.

"Cassadine!" Edward shouted.

"Mr. Quartermaine," Nikolas greeted. "Dr. Quartermaine, Mr. Ashton, Mr. Quartermaine, Mr. Jacks, Mr. Corinthos."

"Nikolas?" Alan and Jax asked.

"Cassadine!" Edward shouted.

"Emily, why didn't you just sell to me?" Ned asked.

"Or me, dear?" Edward asked. He glared at Nikolas. "Taking advantage of my granddaughter! Did that father - uncle - father-"

"Uncle," Emily said.

"Uncle of yours put you up to this?!"

"Emily approached me of her own accord," Nikolas said. "I did consult with my uncle, and he suggested that being on the ELQ board might be a learning experience."

"He was right," Alan said.

"I know that I'm so terribly young, and of course I'm just a girl, Grandfather, so I could never understand any of what you're talking about, and I didn't want to ruin your big important corporation with my confused vote. So I sold it. To someone I can trust." She left.

"Well, there's no need for you to bother yourself here," Edward told Nikolas. "I'm sure that you have other things you'd rather be doing than stand around here with these old men discussing boring dreary old business. So here, why don't you give me your proxy - - you can trust me to vote for the best of ELQ, it's my company. Or why don't you just sell your stock to me, hmm?"

"I'll give you a better price for it," Jax said.

"Emily likes me," Ned said.

"Come on, leave the kid alone. Are we going to talk business or not?" Sonny asked.

So they talked business. Nikolas listened to Ned lay out the plan. Edward and AJ knew ELQ; Jax and Sonny knew business. Alan was intelligent and, after all of this time, familiar enough with the operations. Nikolas listened as Ned, Edward, and Jax argued. Sonny spoke too, actually coming down on Jax's side. It was Edward and Ned against Jax and Sonny. AJ tried to speak but Edward shouted him down. Alan sided with Edward. Ned asked for AJ's vote. AJ sided with Jax.

"Nikolas?" Ned asked.

Edward looked ready to launch into a speech to cajole Nikolas and then bully if that didn't work, but Nikolas didn't give him the chance. "No," Nikolas said.

"No?" Edward repeated.

"I said no, Mr. Quartermaine."

"My dear boy, you don't understand," Edward said.

"I understand perfectly, Mr. Quartermaine. I'm voting against this plan. If you'd let AJ speak, he could have told you why. This has already been tried with ElectraSteel in Seattle and with UberOber in Berlin. They both failed, using the same strategy that you and Mr. Ashton carefully outlined for us. Profits suffered for the next three years. ElectraSteel only survived by merging with Bickerson. You wouldn't want to have to merge with another company, would you, Mr. Quartermaine?"

"You don't know what you're saying," Edward said.

"How do you know this?" Ned asked Nikolas.

"You knew about this?" Jax asked Ned.

"Yes," Ned said. "But neither of those corporations cut costs in shipping and-"

"UberOber cut costs comparable to the ones you're suggesting," Nikolas said. "I'm not confident that your strategy will work any better than theirs did."

"Are you trying to sabotage ELQ?" Edward demanded of Ned.

"It looks and sounds wonderful, on paper, in theory," Nikolas said. "But in practice, it fails, and I'm not interested in failure."

"How do you know about this?" Ned asked Nikolas.

"I've spent my life 'standing around with old men discussing boring dreary old business,'" Nikolas said, smiling. "And my uncle likes to keep me informed about my estate."

"Your estate?" Jax asked. "Are you involved with those companies?"

"I prefer to keep my investments low profile," Nikolas said. "If we're finished here, I really have to get back to my musty old gargoyle mansion. Mr. Quartermaine." He excused himself and closed the doors.

"You knew about this!" Edward yelled at Ned.

"You knew, Junior?" Ned asked.

"Is it my responsibility to tell the CEO of ELQ that what he's attempting is a twice-proven failure?" AJ asked. "I'm just an alcoholic secretary."

"ElectraSteel and UberOber tried it years ago," Ned said. "How'd you hear about it?"

"My employer likes to keep his work low profile," AJ said. "Bye." He left.

"Edward," Sonny said, "maybe you should fire Ned and hire Nikolas." He left. Alan left, satisfied that Edward wouldn't learn a thing from this endeavor.

AJ didn't feel vindicated himself, but he felt triumphant over the meeting anyway. Nikolas had shown up both Ned and Edward, a mighty feat. He had seen a spark of admiration in Ned's eyes, a spark of respect for Nikolas. He wanted to tell Ned that Nikolas, who "wasn't interested in failure," was interested in him. He, Alan James Quartermaine, had kissed Nikolas Cassadine. Had had sex with Nikolas.

I saw him masturbate.

And, good god in heaven, what a performance that was! That gorgeous young body taut with arousal, those hands sliding over silken skin, back arching, head thrown back, lips parting and wet, the most beautiful aching sounds coming from that throat, knees bent, legs splayed, heels digging into the mattress, one hand fisting over that hard shaft, fingers of the other hand dropping down, lower, and Nikolas finger-fucked himself, one slender finger disappearing inside that tight hot body, the other hand stroking and pulling, and Nikolas' hips twitched, "aaahh," and Nikolas' hips thrust, and Nikolas came.

So AJ fucked him. How could AJ not? After such a performance? Just the beginning of the performance, as Nikolas gradually worked himself, teased himself, drew it out forever, engaged in masturbation foreplay, had almost made AJ come.

You hadn't seen erotica until you'd seen Nikolas Cassadine stroking himself.

AJ'd had no idea that Nikolas was an exhibitionist. He'd never expected to see anything like it. Until he'd realized that Nikolas hadn't known that he was watching. Which made him feel dirty, and not in a good way, knowing that he'd seen something intensely private that hadn't been meant for his eyes. He'd apologized and been ashamed, waiting for Nikolas to hate him. But Nikolas didn't hate him for it. Nikolas had been terribly embarrassed, yes. Angry, no. He'd asked if Nikolas did that regularly.

"Only when I'm thinking about you," Nikolas said, and kissed him, and that ended the discussion.

The thing was, he'd believed Nikolas.

And he wanted to ensure that Nikolas never masturbated again. Well, maybe if he could watch.

Nikolas' unconscious exhibition had taken place on their third day as lovers. Nikolas had never touched his asshole like that before, but had liked AJ's fingers there. Hearing this confession, AJ's fingers decided to take up permanent residency in Nikolas' ass. And when they were there, Nikolas' body made the most enticing writhing motions, to say the least.

AJ knew that Stefan knew that he and Nikolas were lovers. He knew that Nikolas' estate was extremely important to Stefan; Stefan had denied Nikolas' paternity (or what Stefan had thought Nikolas' paternity was) to save Nikolas' life and to establish Nikolas as the heir, a great sacrifice on Stefan's part. Even more precious to Stefan than the estate was Nikolas himself. So AJ knew that if he were Nikolas' lover, and Stefan hadn't said a word of protest, or glared, or even hinted at displeasure, he must be doing something right. AJ was literally fucking with the most important thing in Stefan's life, and Stefan wasn't even trying to stop him.

After the board meeting, AJ worked and snacked and went to bed. He closed and locked the door, then stripped and slid beneath the covers. He closed his eyes and imagined Nikolas. He sucked on his finger, trying to relax. He lifted his hips and lowered his wet finger. Circled his anus, stroked across it, pushed against it. Inside. Keep breathing. Nikolas was good at this part, good at stroking him just the right way, good at stretching him, good at lubing him up, good at fingering him, good at fucking him. Oh yeah, Nikolas was good at this... It might be easier if he had some lube, but that was in Nikolas' room, and he wasn't about to go asking for it. Nikolas had licked his asshole, their last night together. Oh god that had felt good. Nikolas' tongue was wet, and warm, and strong, and it licked all around, and it started to probe inside, and then Nikolas' tongue was fucking him, yes...

He came. He collapsed, boneless, opening his eyes. Nothing like getting fucked by a memory and yourself. He'd been doing that for years, though, fucking himself over with the past.

Stop mixing metaphors and reality. Clean yourself up and get some sleep.

Two days later, Jax stopped by the Quartermaine mansion. He'd hoped to see Ned but got Edward instead. Edward tried to kick him out, but Ned came downstairs. "Didn't expect you," Ned said.

"Have you heard anything from Tokyo?" Jax asked.

"Are you giving him ELQ information?" Edward demanded of Ned.

"No, I'm not," Ned said. To Jax, "You mean about a deal a few days ago?"

"Right."

Ned nodded. "I got three calls today, and one yesterday. Grandfather, have you heard anything about Junior's business dealings?"

Edward frowned. "I've gotten a few phone calls myself. People asking me whether my grandson's working for Cassadine. People congratulating me on the deal my grandson made. People wanting to know why I ever let him leave ELQ."

"What did you tell them?" Jax asked, amused.

"What do you think!" Edward shouted. "I told them that no Quartermaine ever stops working for ELQ. They all think that it's part of some plot to overthrow Cassadine!"

"If only," Ned muttered. "He was impressive in Tokyo. People are talking. He's done some good work for Stefan, and there are more deals in the works."

"I did some checking," Jax said. "After dinner the other night, and the board meeting, I wanted to know just what the estate entails."

"And?" Edward asked.

"He's richer than you are. He's richer than I ever was." Jax paused. "He's richer than the three of us put together. And AJ has his hands all over it."

Richer than...was it possible? "Not good," Ned said.

"With any luck, AJ will screw it up and Cassadine will lose everything," Edward said. He meant Stefan and they both knew it.

"AJ knows all about ELQ," Ned said. "He knows what we have and what we want. He has the perfect opportunity to get his revenge."

"Should've been nicer to him," Jax admonished Ned.

"How was I supposed to know he'd ever do something right?" Ned asked.

"You get him back here," Edward told Ned. "I want him back in this house and back at ELQ!"

"With his head full of Cassadine secrets, of course," Jax said.

"Of course," Edward said, smiling, and left.

"What about you?" Ned asked Jax.

"It serves my purpose better if AJ's with ELQ," Jax said. "Then you're kept busy looking after him and I can work while you're distracted."

"Good. I'll work on AJ, and you make a move on Cassadine. Let's go talk about this somewhere private." They went up to Ned's suite and locked the door.

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"Considering the Possibilities" Part Two: "The Other Kind of Sex"
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