A Beautiful Disaster

by Marguerite Labbe

  Dakota snickered, and a mischievous glint cut through the sleepy haze in his eyes. “Mind blown because you’re stuck with me for life? Because we’re making the biggest debut of our careers today? Or because of what happened after I finally got you naked last night?”

  “All the above. And the fact we eloped yesterday with no real preplanning.” Brenden brushed his mouth over Dakota’s and pulled back before he got any funny ideas. “You’re a bad influence.”

  “Bullshit. There was plenty of preplanning, and it was mostly done by me.” Dakota delivered a stinging smack to Brenden’s ass. “You’re the bad influence.”

  Brenden moved toward the hotel phone to get out of the range of Dakota’s hands. Dakota had been a fan of the casual affection and grabby hands before they’d become a couple. It had escalated since then, especially in the morning. Dakota seemed to think he could get Brenden to sleep in with him or get him back into bed if he touched him enough. Today of all days he could not be tempted. “I was about to order more coffee and breakfast since you’re awake. We should get fueled up for the day.”

  “Good idea. I need lots of food and coffee since you’re going to insist on working instead of letting me lure you back into bed.” Dakota scrubbed a hand through his already tousled hair. “Grab us food and I’ll take a shower to wake up. I can’t face your list yet.”

  “That’s because you don’t have my testicular fortitude,” Brenden said to Dakota’s naked backside as he walked to the bedroom. The thought of having to deal with Dakota’s daily morning nudity was a lot more fun than it had been before.

  “Bite me,” Dakota called back.

  Brenden had finished laying breakfast on the table when Dakota appeared, rubbing a towel over his hair. “I like our Chessie Con staff shirts, don’t get me wrong, but I miss my Rocket Raccoon tee. That’s my usual go-to for the first day of the convention.”

  “That’s because you are Rocket Raccoon, intergalactic pain in the ass.” Brenden gave him a tight smile as he poured them both a cup of coffee. “And don’t compare me to Groot. He’s adorable and I’m not, and I’m more on point than he is.”

  “Both of you cuss too much, though.” Dakota snagged a piece of toast and tossed an envelope by Brenden’s cup. “For you, opening day gift.”

  Brenden’s mental ongoing list of all the things he had to attend to came to a screeching halt. He picked up the envelope, fingering the edge with a sense of guilt. “But I didn’t get you anything.”

  “Bren, you’re letting me run the sound system that’s going to reach twenty thousand ears. I have a live podcast going on at the height of the show. And you gave me full rein for tomorrow’s after-party. That’s enough of a present. Any more and I’m likely to lose my mind.” Dakota sat down and pushed his chair back on two legs. “Go ahead, open it. I’ve been holding on to this for weeks.”

  Brenden thought Dakota’s estimate of the attendees was too generous by far. He knew what the presales figures were. He also knew that judging a con by that was a bad idea since a good percentage of people showed up at the door. He’d be happy with—

  “Stop fucking analyzing and open it already,” Dakota complained. “You’re ruining my anticipation.”

  “If you don’t consider all the angles, how can you anticipate?” Brenden slit open the envelope with his knife and pulled out a badge. He recognized Jackie’s work immediately. Unlike the other badges, this picture was of Brainiac with Brenden’s features and the title read Ruler of Chessie Con—Supervillain Extraordinaire.

  Brenden’s heart clutched. He had dozens of badges he kept in a shoebox in his office, but this one was special and he’d have to find another place for it. He’d hang it from his bulletin board. It caught him right in the chest at a time when Brenden didn’t need to be emotional. Damn Dakota. Trust him to have the perfect gesture. Brenden reined himself in before his emotions could welter up.

  “You made me a villain,” Brenden said neutrally as he slipped the badge over his head.

  “You have your moments. Mostly I picked him because of the baldness and your terrifying ability to think about multiple things at once. You’ve already gone into supercomputer mode. All the staff has that image, though only yours has the title.” Dakota cocked his head. “I thought you’d be more excited.”

  Brenden gave Dakota a horrified look. “I am. I love it.” He flapped his hands in agitation. “I can’t get emotional because if I let myself get started, it’s all going to come exploding out, and then I’ll have to put myself together again.”

  Dakota shook his head with a small smile. “Only you. I get it. I get you.”

  Brenden started on the rest of his breakfast as he went through emails and text messages on his phone until Dakota spoke up again. “So while you’re distracted, how about agreeing to be my permanent plus-one for Geek Wars?”

  “Didn’t I already vow to be your permanent plus-one for life?” Brenden enjoyed being Dakota’s guest on the podcast, but for the fans he’d garnered, he thought Tyson was a better fit for the show. “I thought Tyson was working out for you. You two are going to have a packed room for your live taping.”

  “He’s pretty awesome. I like hearing your voice when I’m editing.” Brenden lifted his head to find Dakota smiling affectionately at him. “It’s soothing.”

  “I’m going to remind you of this the next time you complain about my nagging.” Brenden pointed his fork at him. “I promise I’ll be a permanent regular guest. Then you won’t have to worry about scheduling when I’m wrapped up in another day job convention.”

  “Damn day job,” Dakota grumbled as he drowned his pancakes in syrup.

  Brenden eyed him long enough to make sure Dakota wasn’t offended and decided that was more of a morning grumble than a disappointed one. He went back to his own work. He didn’t taste one bit of the breakfast as he concentrated on the next call, the next message, the next thing to do, aware of the clock ticking down in his head.

  He was never going to be ready and it was going to be an utter disaster. He scrubbed a hand over his scalp as he tried to lay out all the ways this could go wrong and how to troubleshoot them before it got out of hand.

  Dakota pushed aside his empty plate and folded his arms on the table. “Okay, we can do one of two things: either you vent and let out all those pressure-cooker emotions, or I will pick a fight with you and you can vent them with us snarling at each other. I enjoy both, so I’ll leave the decision up to you.”

  Brenden blinked at Dakota, pausing with his coffee cup halfway up to his mouth as he tried to process what he’d said. “It’s too early in the morning for you to be high, and you wouldn’t toke up on a con day anyway, but what the fuck are you smoking?”

  “I don’t do that anymore.” Dakota straightened with a serious expression.

  “Since when?” Brenden tried to think back, and as far as he could tell, Dakota hadn’t been stoned since he’d moved back home and a long time before that. Mellow on a rare occasion, but that was as far as it had gone.

  “Since annoying roommates raided my stash and fucked themselves up.” Dakota shook his finger at Brenden. “I cannot be responsible for your meltdowns. Aden would murder me.”

  “I did not fuck myself up.” Brenden straightened indignantly and then narrowed his eyes at Dakota. “I know what you’re up to. Cut it out. I’m not going to fight with you just before we walk out that door.”

  Brenden checked his watch and his heart squeezed. Ten more minutes, and then they’d have to head down if they wanted time to check out everything before staff and volunteers started showing. He needed to get it together. He’d successfully pulled off more than one huge con. Just because this was his con wasn’t a reason to freak out.

  “You’re letting yourself go down a pessimistic hole. I can see the panic in your eyes from here, and that’s not the Brenden Nye I know. So pull it together and talk to me,” Dakota snapped.

  Brenden scrubbed his hands over his face as he felt his resol
ve crumble. Dakota’s timing, as always, was spot on and dickish. Deep down, Brenden knew he was right, but he was afraid to uncork that plug.

  “We’ve run through the worst-case scenarios,” Dakota continued. “And discarded the unlikely ones. We already know the venue isn’t a shithole. And we have a decent chunk of change from the presales.”

  “Not really.” Brenden had to point out that fact. “We reinvested it in the show. An investment that might not pan out.”

  “Sometimes shit happens,” Dakota said with a complacent shrug that had Brenden staring at him in disbelief. He couldn’t be that blasé about this. They had too much riding on the success of this con.

  Brenden groaned and laid his chin on his fist as he reached for Dakota’s hand. He had to pull it together. There was nothing they couldn’t accomplish together. “I don’t understand why you’re so relaxed.”

  Dakota squeezed his hand. “We both know presales aren’t a good barometer for the show. I’m expecting a shitload of people to flood us this weekend, and we’re not going to have a moment to spare for panicking. So spit out your most hysterical thought so I can shut that shit down.”

  Brenden stood up, threw his hands in the air, and turned to face Dakota as he followed. “What the hell were we thinking? This is insanity—”

  Dakota cut off Brenden’s rant before it could even start with a firm kiss. Well, that was one way to stop his protests. Dakota pulled back and grasped Brenden by the shoulders, giving him a gentle shake.

  “Bren, we’ve got this. In five minutes, you’re going to grab that clipboard of yours with your lists and con commandments. You’re going to march out like a general prepping for war. You’re going to order all your soldiers about, and the volunteers are going to scurry, knowing exactly what they need to do when they need to do it, and they will always know where they can go for an answer. And when the doors open, we will be ready for the horde.”

  “Assuming there is a horde,” Brenden said with a grimace and stopped himself from commenting further as Dakota scowled. If he kept this up, they would argue, and Brenden didn’t have time for that nonsense. “I’m being a jackass, aren’t I?”

  “Yep.” Dakota grinned and let his hands fall away. “For once, it’s not me.”

  Brenden shook himself all over, cracked his knuckles. Enough negativity. They were going to nail this, and it would be a nonstop madhouse of fun. He refused to allow anything less. “Okay, let’s go.”

  “You know how sexy I find it when you assume that ‘I’m in charge’ expression?” Dakota gave him a sly look, and Brenden shook his finger at him.

  “Put the flirting behind you. We’ve got work to do.” Brenden checked his watch again, feeling more settled. Once again, Dakota had worked his magic and got him back on track. The fact that after all these years, they still did that for each other was a source of constant comfort and stability. No matter what happened, they had each other.

  He scooped up his clipboard as Dakota slipped his phone in his pocket. He glanced around the room to make sure they weren’t forgetting anything and gave Dakota a light shove toward the door. “So if I’m the general, what are you?”

  “Head of guerrilla tactics,” Dakota said with a grin and reached for him.

  Brenden stopped him with a hand to his chest. “No time for love, Dr. Jones. We need to be downstairs ASAP.”

  “Bullshit, I’m starting this day off right.” Dakota caught him, dipped him back, and kissed him breathless. Another large bite of tension rolled off Brenden as he sank into the kiss. Oh yeah, Dakota had a way about him that got to Brenden every time.

  “Opportunist,” Brenden muttered, straightening his shirt when Dakota finally released him.

  “There, isn’t that nicer than starting the con off wrangling?” Dakota said with a wicked laugh.

  Brenden rolled his eyes, though he smiled. “True, but I’m sure it’ll happen.”

  “Yeah, me too.” Dakota caught his hand and squeezed it. “Until then, I love you, Goldenrod.”

  “I love you too, R2.” Brenden squeezed his hand back and took a deep breath. “Let’s go kick con ass.”

  Epilogue

  DAKOTA LIFTED his beer and tapped it against Brenden’s wineglass. “Here’s to another successful mega Chessie Con. May next year be even bigger than this year.”

  Brenden shook his head even as he took his sip. “I don’t think I can handle another jump like the last two. We’ve doubled attendance again.” He lifted his glass for his half of the toast. “Here’s to three years of wedded wrangling. May we keep on this road together for a very long time.”

  “Now that’s something I can drink to.” Dakota took a sip and sat back with his beer, allowing himself to relax after months of planning, weeks of running around preparing, and three days of utter insanity. For the third year in a row. And they were thriving on it. If someone had told him that moving in with Brenden would lead to where he was now, sitting across from his husband, then diving back into another year of conventions and a mega con after their yearly vacation and anniversary celebration, he’d never have believed it.

  Brenden leaned his head back, closing his eyes as he allowed himself a moment to decompress and relax. A rare state for him when they weren’t alone and at home, but in the last several years, Brenden had learned to let go some and live in the moment. Dakota supposed he’d learned to consider a situation and its consequences a little more. They’d slipped right into this balance that amazed him. Marriage had been both easier and harder than he thought, and it had been worth every crazy moment with him.

  A faint smile crossed Brenden’s lips, and he opened his eyes to look at Dakota. “I love it when you watch me like that.”

  Dakota grinned. “How do you always know?”

  “You have an intent stare.” Brenden touched his hand. He glanced around at the airport restaurant. “So you going to tell me where we’re headed?”

  Dakota loved this two-week tradition of theirs. He’d started it by whisking Brenden away for a honeymoon after their first big convention. And they’d needed every moment of their vacation to recover from the hectic year and enjoy their time as a couple. The following year Brenden had surprised him with a trip in return. Now it was his turn, and Dakota looked forward to making Brenden squirm before he revealed his plans.

  “Nope. Hand over your cell first.” Dakota shut off his phone and slipped it into a drawstring bag.

  Brenden clutched his phone in both hands. He was so fucking funny. Getting him away from his phone almost involved amputation. After a few days, he adjusted and loved being away from it. “But we’re not on the plane yet.”

  “Once we finish our drinks, we’ll head for the gate. You know the rules.” They were allowed to check their phones in the morning and in the evening, but otherwise, they left them behind or off if they were out on the town. Brenden wouldn’t have to worry about needing street maps this time. Well, mostly.

  Brenden’s grip eased, though he didn’t relinquish his phone yet. “What if there’s an emergency?”

  “Aunt Evelyn and Uncle Trev have our itinerary. They’ll know how to contact us if there’s a true need.” Dakota held out his hand and wiggled his fingers. He shouldn’t get such perverse delight out of making Brenden step away from his comfort zone, but hell, Brenden did the same to him all the time.

  Brenden started to hand the phone over and then paused. “What if it’s a professional emergency?”

  “You mean to tell me, after all this time, you don’t trust our crew?” Dakota gave him a challenging stare. “The hard part is done and you’ve earned your rest. Any snags can wait until you return, and I haven’t encountered a snag that they can’t handle.”

  Brenden pressed his lips together and handed over the phone, watching it go into the bag with a forlorn expression. Dakota stifled a snicker. Time to make him forget all about his addiction. “What if we want to take pictures?”

  Dakota almost laughed, because he’d anticipated Bren
den’s 101 reasons for why they’d need a phone. “Trust me, where we’re going, you won’t want pictures.”

  Brenden straightened as Dakota smirked. “I’m afraid to ask, but why?”

  “Weren’t you curious about why our luggage was so light for this trip?” Dakota watched the emotions flickering across Brenden’s face as he tried to gauge whether there had been anything off with their bags. “I booked us on a nudist cruise.”

  Brenden’s mouth fell open as his eyes widened in horror. “The fuck you did.” Dakota smiled, laughing inside. “Dakota, you cannot be serious. There’s no way I’m going on a nudist cruise.”

  “Come on, Bren. They even have karaoke.” Dakota slipped the phones into his carry-on bag and drained the last of his beer. “I’m counting on you to sing me a ballad.”

  “No, no, no.” Brenden shook his head and tossed back the rest of his wine. “I’m tying you to the bed and we’re staying in our rooms the whole trip. You’re out of your damn mind if you think I’m parading around naked all day long. There are some limits, Dakota.”

  Dakota was sorry he was just fucking with him because the thought of being Brenden’s prisoner for two weeks was intriguing. He eyed the prissy line of Brenden’s mouth with a tender ache. It still made him want to kiss him silly, but it also reminded him of how much he loved every single one of Brenden’s quirks.

  Brenden caught the look on his face and paused. His eyes narrowed and he poked his finger into Dakota’s chest. “You’re fucking with me.”

  “I am. Though now I’m regretting not finding a nudist cruise. But at least you stopped thinking about your phone.” Dakota caught his finger and brought it to his lips as Brenden’s eyes softened. “Have I told you today I love you?”

  “Don’t think you can charm me after that,” Brenden said even as he smiled. He wrapped his fingers around Dakota’s and tugged him close enough so he could steal a quick kiss. “I love you too.”