Chapter 7: I'm An Open Book

  Though they were completely spent and still out of breath, they looked at one another with big, goofy smiles. It had been a rough morning, but like with any other hurdle that appeared between them, they cleared it without incident. Perhaps it would be a good birthday after all. Dillon had off from his tech school, which he usually had to attend Tuesday through Saturday for some dumbass reason, and his folks had given him the ok to stay over into Sunday. That left him with plenty of time to remind Dillon over and over and over how much he loved him and that he belonged to Tony.

  After his initial reminder, Dillon surely remembered that no other human on their planet, or being in their universe, could curl his toes like he could. That was because Tony loved Dillon more than any other human on their planet, or being in their universe. True love was, doubtlessly, the most potent aphrodisiac, but not only that. It gave what they did meaning, something that too few people ever ended up with. They were the lucky ones that had found their soulmate so early in life. As Tony looked down into Dillon's eyes again, it reaffirmed a fact he already knew: Dillon was his soulmate and in that moment, the rush of love he felt for him was unlike any other he'd ever felt before. 

  By that point, they were both a sweaty, out of breath mess. As if that mattered to either of them, since they were always on top of their personal hygiene. Sweat was just sweat and they both loved each other's scent after a good sweat. It wasn't a body odour scent, it was a fresh, masculine scent that mixed wonderfully with Dillon's Irish Spring bar soap and his old spice deodorant and cologne. In the past, Dillon had complimented him on the sandalwood soap he had used at the time. He had said it mixed well with the scent of a hard day's work at the shop. Ever since, Tony had used that sandalwood bar soap religiously. It did wonders to keep his skin moisturized as well.

  As gently as he possibly could, he pulled out of Dillon. The whole time, he kept his eyes on him and slowed down or stopped if saw him grimace or hiss in pain. Even after round two, they were both still rock hard. Despite that, they were exhausted and oversensitive from so much stimulation. If they tried for a round three, it would probably fry their nervous systems. Two was a good, even number. Besides, the only thing either of them had the energy to do was lie there and exist. 

  Once Tony fully pulled out, he rolled off of him and reached for the towel on the floor. Dillon had originally laid it out there because he thought he would be used hard, but Tony was glad he had thought of it. There were two loads of Tony inside of him and he'd need something to clean up with. Eventually, they'd have to suck it up and force themselves into the shower but right then, they just wanted to lay next to one another. After Dillon slid the towel under him and wiped up, he curled up next to Tony and laid his head on his chest.

  "I love you, dude. Only you, forever. Only you," Dillon mumbled into his skin. 

  "I… can't fully understand why, but you damn well remember I feel the same. Only you, kid," he replied kindly into his hair, with a kiss to the top of his head that pulled a content sigh from him.

  Tony repositioned his arm to drape it across Dillon's shoulders and hug him closer. Then with his foot, he fished the comforter closer and pulled it up and over both of them. At first, he had decided not to, because they were both rather sweaty and still had climax on their skin, but he eventually thought, 'Screw it, I'll wash everything later.' They were both way too comfortable to abandon the comforter or get up to shower. As they settled in further, Tony found that his mind had started to wander.

  Their relationship had been wonderfully strong as of recently, ever since he had earned Dillon's trust back. It made him incredibly happy that he was able to prove his loyalty and the return of their intimacy strengthened their bond infinitely. Despite how great things were between them, Tony couldn't help but feel guilty. There were still things that he had hidden from Dillon, which to him was unacceptable at that stage of the game. 

  After a few minutes of silence with his own thoughts, he decided to rectify that issue then and there. If he truly loved Dillon and promised his loyalty, then he needed to also promise his honesty and transparency. It was time. Dillon needed to know his past, that he had a brother, the things he'd been through, it was time he demonstrated his own trust in Dillon and tell him his origins. Naturally, he wouldn't be able to do it all in one go. It would take time, as there was a lifetime to tell and explain. One thing was for certain though, Dillon would be there to support him and help him through the harder bits. 

  Of course, he couldn't help but be nervous as he gently squeezed Dillon's shoulder to get his attention. Some of the things he would confide in him were things he'd never shared with anyone and some of them would force him to admit certain lies he had told him in the past. The biggest was Ethan's true identity. Tony had lied to Dillon and said that Ethan was just a childhood friend. At the time, his brother had barely had a year clean and the only reason that he didn't tell Dillon he had a brother at all was to protect him. Ethan, at one point, was not an influence that he felt Dillon should be exposed to. Now that Ethan had well over a year clean however, he felt more confident in their introduction.

  He knew it was wrong to lie to him, even just by omission originally, but he felt that the risk was worth it. The task fell to him to protect his Dillon from such a toxic influence. That was especially true after he saw how much the kid enjoyed the pain medication the paramedic gave him when he broke his arm. After his experience with Ethan's addiction, it wasn't that hard for him to tell when someone felt really good. Luckily, Ethan was sober and Dillon hadn't been on pain meds for many months, so there was nothing to worry about.

  "Mmm? Wassup?" Dillon whispered in response to his shoulder squeeze as he reached his hand out and rubbed slow, light circles across Tony's belly and chest.

  "Uhm… y-y'know how you said I could tell you anything 'n you'd still love me? I-is that still true?" He asked nervously, which prompted Dillon to lift his head and turn to meet his gaze.

  "Absolutely, man. That's why I'm here, for you to lean on… is everything ok?" He asked with an edge of concern in his voice. "Let me help. There's nothin' you could tell me that would make me love you any less- unless you were unfaithful again, of course."

  "No- no, no it's not that. Honestly, since Thanksgiving, I haven't really had the same issue with temptation. I don't even look at girls much anymore. Not in that way. As I've said, I learned my lesson, and I'm loyal only to you now," Tony assured as he took his hand and laced their fingers together. There was a look of obvious relief that flowed down Dillon's features. The tension he carried eased and he gave Tony a small smile. It was a silent bid for him to continue, so he did once he took a moment to gather the words he wanted to use. 

  "Since we've been together, uh… don't think yer questions about my past, family, or where I came from have gone ignored or unnoticed. Uh… I th-think- uhm, it's time for me to answer those questions… s-so I- er, you can ask me whatever you want. I'm an open book now. It's been weighin' on me for awhile, how I haven't been completely forthright with you. No more though. I promised you my loyalty so I need to be transparent and trust you'll love me through my mistakes. 

  I, uhm… like I said, I'll let you ask the questions, I don't really know where to start, heheh. B-before that though, uhm there's one th-thing I need to confess. Fuck… uhm, w-well I… I lied to you again, about w-who Ethan is. He's n-not a friend, he's… my brother," Tony stopped for a moment to think of the next series of words he wanted to use. As he spoke, his gaze had drifted downwards out of shame. When he glanced back up to gauge Dillon's reaction, there was extreme hurt and disappointment in his eyes. 

  "Again! Again, you lied! Why can't you just tell me the fuckin' truth from the start?! Why hide the identity of yer own fuckin' brother?! You mentioned you had one, but then lie to my face about who it is? Why? Actually, the reason doesn't matter. Regardless of the reason, I'd be less upset if you had been upfront from the start. All these LIES, DUDE! What the FUCK?!" Dillon quickly sat up and moved over, but thankfully he didn't go anywhere. Of course, the kid had every right to be upset. He had failed spectacularly on the honesty front.

  "I know, I'm sorry Dill… I uh, I'm tryin' to be truthful now though. I never should have lied to you, but my reason for doin' so was because of who Ethan was. When we met and first became a couple, he was a heroin addict. An addict involved with dangerous people, people I needed to protect you from," Tony said softly as he turned towards Dillon and lifted his shirt to expose the four inch scar on his right side below his ribs. He was sure that Dillon had noticed it at some point, but wasn't comfortable enough to ask about it. "Those people- hey, look here for a sec? Those people almost got me murdered. This scar is a reminder that I'm lucky to be alive. 

  Was it wrong to lie? Yes. But before I told you about Ethan, he needed to have his shit together. Two Octobers ago he did just that and I'm tellin' you about him now because he's been clean for over a year. I swore to him, myself, and you that when he made it to that milestone in his sobriety, I'd tell you. So I am, though I should have sooner. You have to understand, Dill. I couldn't risk yer safety like that. I had to keep you separate. I'd have never forgiven myself if he brought such toxicity into our lives… That doesn't seem to be an issue anymore though. I trust Ethan now and I believe he'll stay sober, thank God," he finished. While he spoke, he had started to itch his arms out of stress. A bad habit sure, but who the hell cared? It comforted him as he waited for Dillon's verdict.