29 Birthday Kisses

Zacky's 29th birthday came faster than expected that year. The five Avenged Sevenfold guys had just recovered from Johnny's hectic birthday bash before it was time for Zacky to throw his annual celebration in his home. This year, he had planned big. So far, he had about sixty people coming. Quiet lot for a birthday celebration. Of course, Zacky, being Zacky, had to have his house crazily decorated, and cans after cans of beer and cider and all sorts of alcohol lined everywhere. The giant speakers set up around the party area were going to be blasting all the Avenged Sevenfold hits, along with some of his old, timeless classic favourites.

Saturday, ten o clock, and the party was in full swing, Johnny was already hammered, spending half the night hitting on every half decent girl there. Jimmy was the centre of attention, entertaining everyone with his party antics. Above the loud buzz of the crowd, his loud, unmistakable laugh could be occasionally heard.

Matt and Val were running late that night. They had just barely arrived on time, signalling it was time to sing Zacky his birthday wishes. Jimmy brought in the cake. The expected chorus of the 'Happy Birthday' song chimed in (Johnny having to be different and singing his own version), and soon people were joining along, smiling at Zacky, who was blushing wildly in the centre of the room, as Brian made a spectacle of him.

"Alright," Val had announced, standing up on a coffee table so her tiny form would be seen. "Mr. Vengeance needs 29 birthday kisses from 29 lucky ladies. Who's first?"

There was a flurry of girls flocking to a very eager Zacky. He took each one on the cheek, unable to contain his laughter when Jimmy tried to get Johnny to join in the queue.

"Kiss 29? Anybody?" Val shouted, watching the crowd expectantly. There was a problem. 29 kisses, only 28 girls. Zacky began to get worried - weird things like that stressed him out - smiling over at Val, hoping she would kiss him once again.

Suddenly, Brian gave a cheeky smile as he stepped foreword out of the crowd. "I'll be your 29th kiss."

Not thinking he was serious, every burst out in laughter. Brian stood, perfectly serious, his intense brown eyes fixed on Zacky. Not too concerned, Zacky shrugged. "Okay." He thought it was only going to be a friendly, kiss-on-the-cheek kind of thing like the other girls had done. Boy, was he wrong.

Brian gave another roguish grin before stepping foreword. Swiftly, he planted his hand on Zacky's hip, pulling the rhythm guitarist towards him so they were barely an inch apart. Without warning, he leaned in. Zacky tried to turn his face so Brian's moist lips could hit his cheek, but he wasn't quick enough. He felt the sensation of Brian's mouth pressed against his, warm and wet lips sealing the space between them. For a second he pulled away, but only reaching a grand distance of 1 millimetre before Brian, hungry for more, kissed him again. Their lips moved in perfect harmony, both men forgetting where they were and what they were doing. Zacky even felt Brian's other hands grasp his side. It wasn't until Matt gave a nervous laugh did they breathlessly break apart.

"Wow," Brian breathed, his lungs gasping softly for air. His head was light, his hands, which hand just released themselves from Zacky's body, were tingling. He gave another cheeky smile as Zacky blushed red.

There was an uneasy tension growing in the room. In an effort to calm the situation down and return to normality, Johnny announced they were gonna start up some karaoke. Jimmy had already taken the first microphone. The crowd of people were coming back to their senses, moving away to join conversations and snack on food.

Brian was also coming back to his own senses. Gasping at the realisation of what he had just done, he gathered himself before leaving the room. How embarrassing! He had let his feelings slip. And in front of all those people too!

"Damn!" He hissed, heading through the house and out the back door. He needed some air. Yes, that was it. He wasn't thinking clearly.

However, the kiss was . . . Electric. Amazing. Perfect. Powerful. Everything kissing a girl didn't have. Brian, despite the embarrassment, wanted more.

"I think Zacky enjoyed that," he mused after a while, pulling a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket and lighting one up. The noise inside had died down considerably. They had obviously finished listening to Jimmy's wild karaoke singing.

Brian inhaled the smoke and blew out a puff, exasperated. Why was he so anxious all of a sudden. That kiss was just becoming stressful. It spun so many questions now that they did it - Does Zacky like me? Will we still be friendly towards each other? Is he ashamed? Does he hate me now?

"Oh Zacky!" Brian exclaimed, throwing the semi-smoked cigarette away into the darkness of the night.

"Yes Brian?" A soft voice behind him smoothly asked.
Brian jumped, clapping a hand to his chest as he turned around to see Zacky, standing there that smug little grin on his face, bottom lip stuck out in a self-satisfied manner. "Jesus Baker! Are you trying to kill me or something?"

Grinning from one ear to the other, Zacky sat himself down on the step beside Brian. He shivered as a breeze blew past. Brian itched to place an arm around his shoulders. "So . . ." He began after a while.

It was Brian's turn that night to flush. "Y-Yeah. About that. I just wanna say that I'm sorry. I made you uncomfortable and," he took a steady, deep breath "I shouldn't have done that to you. On your birthday."

Zacky gave a giggle. "Um . . . I'm not sure if it's hormones talking, but . . . Actually, I liked it." He leaned closer, eyes sparkling with mischief. "And I want another one." He said boldly.

Brian gave a laugh. "How drunk are you?"

"I've only had one glass of wine!" Zacky said frankly. At Brian's questioning stare, he chuckled. "Honestly!"

"Alright, alright!" Brian said. "I believe you." Then he kissed his lips for the second time that evening. Zacky was more submissive this time, letting Brian bite his bottom lip and slip his tongue into his mouth. All the things they didn't do earlier. After a minute, the guitarist stopped suddenly and pulled away.

"Why'd you stop?" Zacky whispered, eyes fluttering open.

"A-Are you sure about this?" Brian asked, not meeting Zacky's gaze. "I mean, I'm a guy and you're a guy and . . ."

Zacky rolled his eyes. "If I didn't want this, would I have come outside and kissed you again?" Brian shook his head. "If this relationship is going to work, you're gonna have to wise up, Mr. Gates."

The lead guitarist raised a quizzical eyebrow. "Relationship?"

"You didn't expect me to let you go scot-free after a kiss like that. Did you?" His green emerald eyes sparkled with more playful mischief than Brian had ever seen before, and he knew that the smaller man was 100% serious.

"Well then," Brian chuckled, leaning closer, ready to kiss Zacky once again, "I hope you're ready to put up with me for the rest of your life?"

Zacky followed his lead and brought his face closer. "I don't have a choice do I?"

"No, you don't." Brian chuckled. "And babe?"

"Yeah?"

"Happy Birthday." Then with that he sealed their lips, indicating he was Zacky's, forever.