Thanks to WENDY, jenzipoops, lois-lane and mandzzzzzzz!

Sunday Afternoon Delights:
GET OVER IT
by Irina & PIG

"Brian, please."

"I said no."

"What's the big deal?"

"Fucking no means NO, Justin."

Justin sighed. He had promised Linds that he and Brian would be at the Gay and Lesbian Center tonight for their annual Gay Pride fundraiser to show support, but it looked like that was going to be an empty promise.

Brian absolutely refused to be associated with that particular establishment any further. He had managed to get a Corvette out of the cheap, talentless, suck ups, but he didn't see the need to have them in his life all the time.

Justin got up from the table, his empty dinner plate in his hands.

"That's so fucking predictable of you, Brian," he tossed over his shoulder.

Dumping the plate in the sink, he said, "If it was Fuck and Cum night at Woody's, you'd be the fucking coordinator, but something as serious as supporting your community - "

"Don't even start on me with that shit," he heard from the direction of the table.

Justin sighed. "Fine. Don't go. I don't care."

He switched off the tap and headed for the bedroom. "I'm just gonna change and head out. Could you do me a favor and put the dishes away?"

“Sure thing,” Brian called out, “As soon as I’m done doing the laundry, mopping the floors, and baking a pie.”

His words dripped with sarcasm.  Even though for the most part he lo…liked living with Justin and doing everything that went along with that, sometimes Brian felt like they were a fucking old married couple ­ something that he was never, under any circumstances, going to allow to happen ­ except for the fucking part. Of course

Brian got up from the table and walked over to his desk, picking up the slides for the new campaign.  At least he’d get some work done with Justin out of the loft. Peace and quiet ­ the two words that seemed to have disappeared from his vocabulary as soon as the blond twink had moved back in with him.

“Come with me,” he heard again from the bedroom.  “Please.”

Sighing exasperatedly, Brian turned around.  “I am not going to waste my valuable time mingling with those self-righteous, no balls, no guts rejects.”

“Everybody else will be there,” Justin countered.  “Lindsay and Melanie, Michael, Ben, Emmett, everybody.”

“Well, that’s their problem,” Brian shot back, returning his attention to the slides in his hand.

“I will be there,” he heard Justin say.  “Does that make me a self-righteous, no balls, no guts reject?”

Fuck. Brian squeezed his eyes shut and rubbed his forehead, trying to massage away the growing headache.

Turning back around, he met Justin’s intense blue eyes.  “That is not what I meant and you know it.”

He waited as Justin was obviously mulling over something in his head, hoping that the artist would just let it go.

No such luck.

“Look, I know that you hate the GLC,” the blond began, as he walked down the steps toward Brian.  “And after everything that they’ve done, I can’t blame you.  But…they do a lot of good work, too. For our community.”

Brian cringed at the word.

“For all of us.”

“They haven’t done a thing for me,” the ad exec replied.

“They did for me.”

Brian was caught off guard by the revelation.

“After the bashing…” Justin explained, “while I was stuck at the hospital. 

All the cards and flowers and all the support I got ­ I spent days reading those cards over and over again, trying to make some sort of sense out of what had happened.”

The blond looked away, then back at Brian and the brunet noticed a glimmer in the blue crystals staring back at him.

“It helped me get through it.”

‘Unlike me,’ Brian thought, his stomach churning as usual when he thought back to those two months.  Someone else had been there for Justin when he should have been.  Sighing, Brian wrapped his fingers around Justin’s neck, pulling the blond closer and planting a small, soft kiss on the pink lips.

“Give me ten minutes,” Brian whispered before covering Justin’s lips once again.

Justin smiled as he watched Brian head to the bedroom to get ready.

In the car, Justin wore Brian's ears out talking nonstop about anything that popped into his head. When they finally got to the GLC, it took Brian a good ten minutes to find parking and then finally, they were heading inside.

Brian wanted to complain when he found out that he'd be paying $40 each for himself and Justin. Fuck, that was a night at Babylon *with* a fucking shot right there! But Justin pushed him inside quickly.

The minute they entered, Linds saw them.  Waving hello, she left Gus with Mel, Ted and Emmett, and hurried across.

"You made it!" she said, grinning at Brian.

Brian accepted a kiss on the cheek less than enthusiastically and as soon as he was out of Lindsay’s grip, headed directly toward the bar in the corner of the big room, leaving his friend and his lover behind.  He would need a LOT of booze to help him get through the night.

He was finishing his first shot of scotch and calling for the other one when he felt his blood turn cold, his stomach dropping, his heart pounding like crazy in his ears.  The sole cause for this was a soft sound coming from across the room.  The sound he could no longer stand to hear.  The sound of violin music.

Putting the now empty glass down on the bar, Brian slowly turned around.

"I can't believe you got him to come!" Linds gushed, still hovering over Justin. "That must've taken quite some work."

Justin laughed. "You don't even want to..."

Justin lost his grin. That sound... the music...it was all too familiar. 

No. No. No. Please, God, no...

"Linds..." he started softly.

She lowered her eyes. "I didn't know he was going to be here."

Justin swallowed. He took a deep breath and turned around to look at the stage.

There he was. Ethan. His head was bowed as he concentrated on his playing.

Justin squeezed his eyes shut in an attempt to get the image of THAT face out of his head.

He was just seeing things.  Yes, that was it.  Ethan *couldn't* be here. Not now.  Not when things between him and Brian were so perfect.

"I'm so sorry," Linds told him softly, her eyes searching the crowd for Brian.

Justin chewed on his bottom lip as he watched his former lover. Ethan's hair had gotten a little longer.  His dress sense hadn't improved much - he had chosen to perform in jeans and a dark sweater.

"I need a drink," Justin muttered and walked toward the bar.  Tonight was supposed to be fun ­ him and Brian just being around their friends for a few hours while doing something good for the community.  It was not supposed to be another episode in the Cocks of Our Lives soap that had taken over their lives some time ago -culminating in the whole Ethan fiasco. Justin had hoped that time was all over, that he could stop feeling like a badly written character in a poorly scripted soap opera. Apparently fates and gods and whoever else up there had decided that he was just too happy and needed to screw his life up once again.

Justin didn't dare to even look at Brian. Instead he ordered a drink and downed a shot quickly, already asking for another.

"Sunshine!"

Deb was frantically waving at him as she made her way towards him.

"Oh, fuck!" he groaned.

Brian still hadn’t moved.  Not when Ethan’s playing got louder. Not when he saw Justin rush through the crowd toward him and down a shot of…something strong.  Not even when he heard Debbie’s loud shriek over the high-pitched melody. He just stared straight ahead while to his right, Debbie was in the process of suffocating Justin in a bear hug.

Finally, the whiff of the waitress’ strong perfume faded, which was a sign that she had left Justin to drive other people crazy. A moment later he felt Justin move closer to him.

“I’m sorry,” he heard Justin say. “I had no idea he was going to be here.”

Brian knew without even looking at his lover that Justin was telling the truth.  The teen would have never knowingly put Brian in this situation. 

Not after their conversation in Brian’s office a few weeks back.  Taking a deep breath, Brian finally made himself turn his head to meet Justin’s eyes, which were filled with guilt and remorse.

“He really takes this whole starving, tormented artist to heart, doesn’t he?” Brian managed a joke.  “I thought it was just a phase.”

Justin tried to grin, but it looked more like a grimace.

"I'm going to get a drink," he said softly. "Want one?"

He definitely needed one.  Actually, more than one.  More like twenty or thirty.  Something ­ anything to block out the sound of the violin crying out in pain.  Turning his back to the cheaply put together stage, Brian raised his hand to wave over the bartender.

At least he wasn’t the only one feeling like he’d rather be castrated than stay in this place another minute longer.

The bartender finally returned with their drinks ­ Brian’s shot of Scotch, while Justin got a double shot of Jim Beam ­ one that he downed in a quick gulp.  Before Brian even knew what was going on, the blond was downing his third drink and calling for his fourth.

“Thirsty?” Brian inquired, smirking slightly, finding the fact that Justin was just as uncomfortable with this situation as he surprisingly relaxing.

Justin licked his lips, feeling a trickle trying to get to his chin.

"Might as well get our money’s worth," Justin replied.

He smiled graciously at the bartender as he accepted his drink. That's when he noticed his mother.

"Oh, God," he groaned. "Brian, hide me."

Brian snickered.  “Oh, no, Sunshine.  You pay forty bucks, you get the full treatment ­ the open bar, the annoying violin music, and your mother’s prying questions.”

"Hi, honey!" Jenn kissed her son's cheek and smiled politely at Brian.  "I'm so glad to see you here."

"Brian and I wouldn't miss it for the world," Justin replied, shooting a wicked look at Brian.

He heard his lover's snort beside him.

Jenn did, too and gave Brian a quick look.

"Did you see who's here?" she remarked.

"Who?" he asked, although he already had a sneaking suspicion who she meant.

"Your friend," she told him. "I've finally seen him perform. He plays beautifully."

Justin gulped down his drink. "Oh. Yeah, sure."

He smiled quickly and turned back to the bartender.

"Another one," he requested.

Turning back to his mother, he asked, "Want a drink?"

She shook her head. "It's just the beginning of the show. There's a ten-year-old girl up next who plays the piano." She read off from her program.

"Great," Justin said with a sigh.

He took his drink, sipping it immediately.

"Oh, there's Debbie!" she said. "I'm going to go over and say hello.  I'll see you and Brian later."

She smiled at them both and left.

Justin heard the music stop.  Finally.  The deafening applause had him cringing and swallowing more of his drink.

Ok, enough was enough.  Watching Justin try to drown out the violin music as desperately as he was himself was fine at first.  Fun even.  But Justin seemed to be on the way to drinking himself into a stupor and it wasn’t even 8pm yet.

Moving closer, Brian covered Justin’s glass with the palm of his hand. “I think you’ve had enough, Sonnyboy,” he said, taking the glass out of Justin’s hand and pushing it away from the teen.  “There are some wonderfully expensive and ridiculously gross cheese puffs across the room,” he pointed to food bar piled with finger food.

Justin rolled his eyes heavenward. "I don't need you to fucking supervise my consumption, Brian."

He didn't mean to snap at his lover, but he wasn't feeling his greatest all of a sudden.  "Cheese puffs sound good though."

He walked away from Brian.

Grabbing a small paper plate, he helped himself to some appetizers.

"Try the mini-rolls," he heard someone say behind him.  "They taste like cum-stuffed pastry... they're almost as good as you."

Turning around to snicker, Justin's gaze landed on Ethan.

"I've had about ten already," Ethan continued. "I was starving." He grinned sheepishly.

Justin swallowed.  “I thought now that you have this big important deal, you’d have enough money to buy food,” he replied bitterly.

"I didn't expect to see you here," Ethan remarked as he piled more food onto Justin's plate.

The blond hadn't moved since Ethan had joined him at the food bar.

"Oh?" Justin picked up a roll, stuffed it into his mouth so he wouldn't be expected to say much.  Ethan was right; it was pretty good and it *did* taste like cum.

"I knew the moment you walked in. Nearly made me fuck up my - "

"Want another roll?" Justin cut across, his eyes landing on Brian, who was slowly making his way toward him.

Ethan cocked a brow. "What I want is - "

"Another roll," Justin interjected again.  "Here."  He stuffed one into Ethan’s open hand. "Brian," he said when his lover was at his side.  "You, um, remember Ethan?"

Turning to look at the violinist, Brian spread his mouth into a fake smile. 

“Yeah, the sound of a cat getting tortured brought it all back home for me,” he replied, staring straight into the brown eyes of Justin’s former boyfriend, his face cold and emotionless.

Justin lifted his plate in front of Brian's face.  "Have a roll. They taste like cum..."

Ethan laughed. "I'd love to stay and chat, but I must go and greet my adoring fans."  He touched Justin's cheek gently. "I'll see you around."

Justin jumped as if he'd been burnt.  Looking down at the floor, he realized he had dropped a couple rolls.

"Fuck," he muttered.

It wasn’t the first time that Brian had seen another man touch Justin.  He had seen it so many times, he had lost count.  Not only touch, but kiss, suck, lick ­ he’d seen Justin do things with other men that Justin’s mother should never even hear about. Yet he had never felt the amount of jealousy and anger and absolute disgust as when he watched Ethan touch Justin’s face.

Watching intently as the dark-haired man put some distance between them, Brian wished for the floor to open up and swallow the arrogant asshole ­ and he wasn't referring to himself.  When the grease covered head disappeared into the crowd, Brian turned back to his lover.

"I don't wanna hear it," Justin said quickly. "I need to get myself a fucking drink."

Justin walked away so fast, Brian had no way of stopping him.

Trying his best to ignore the sting in his chest that came from watching Justin obviously giving a shit that Ethan was there, Brian decided to give his troubled lover some space and moved in the opposite direction.  Finding Lindsay, he walked over to the group.  At least he’d do something semi productive while he was there and spend some time with his son, while keeping one eye on Justin.

Justin found himself nursing his drink in a quiet corner, watching everyone.

His head hurt and he was regretting ever coming to the GLC.  He should have stayed home and let Brian fuck him.

"Is this where you've been hiding?" Ethan blocked his view.  "I've been looking for you. I saw Brian by himself, so I knew he wasn't guarding you or keeping you on a tight leash."

"Go away," Justin mumbled before downing some more of his drink.

Ethan wasn't going anywhere.

"So you ran back to that asshole," he said softly.  "After everything he did to you."

Justin glared at him. He was *not* having this conversation. Not now, not ever and definitely *not* with Ethan of all people.

"Excuse me, my glass is empty."

He walked away from Ethan, not allowing himself to be pulled back.

At the bar while he was getting another drink, he felt an arm being slipped around his waist. Thinking it was Ethan, he moved away quickly.  Turning around, he saw it was Brian.

"Oh, it's you," he said, exhaling sharply.

“Who were you expecting?” Brian asked, smirking knowingly.

Taking his drink from the bartender, Justin sipped it quickly.

"Having fun?" he asked Brian with a fake smile.

"A shitload," the ad exec replied, taking the glass Justin was currently sipping and bringing it to his own lips.  He returned the glass to its previous owner and leaned against the bar, looking out into the crowd.

"Gus hates this place almost as much as I do, by the way," Brian informed Justin.  "Lindsay said he hasn't stopped crying since they got here. He's a loud little fucker."

He smiled proudly.

Justin laughed for the first time that night.  "Like father like son."

"Thank God for that," Brian shot back.

Justin stuck his tongue out.  He sipped his drink and gazed at the crowd.

"Very mature," Brian noted, smirking as he took the glass out of Justin's hand once again and finished off the drink.

"Hey!" Justin protested. "Now I gotta get another one."

"What you need is to get some food into your system.  Otherwise you'll be falling on your ass," Brian replied, placing the now empty glass on the bar.

"I'm not hungry," Justin assured him. "But I could use another drink."

Justin was about to order himself one when his gaze fell upon Ethan once more... talking to Jennifer of all people!

Oh, God.

"Brian,” Justin gave his lover an apologetic look.  "I'll be right back."

Ignoring Brian's, "Where the fuck are you going now?" Justin hurried off into the direction of his former lover and his mother, who was looking much too happy.

"Honey," Jenn greeted with a smile.  "Ethan was just telling me about the contract he got to tour with -"

"That's great, Mom," Justin said, although it was clear he didn't give a flying fuck.  "I just need to talk to Ethan real quick.  Look, there's Linds and Gus."  He pointed out the pair to her.  "He's gotten so big.  Why don't you go say hi?"

Justin grabbed Ethan's arm and pulled him a short distance away where there weren't as many people mulling around.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Justin asked angrily.

"What?" Ethan defended. "I was just being polite.  I couldn't just walk past her without saying hello."

He didn't pretend to not know why Justin was upset.

"Yes, you fucking could have."

"Why should I? That's rude. And I like your mom."

Justin glared.

"What's the big deal anyway?" Ethan wanted to know.

"The big deal is, *you're* not a part of my life anymore.  I don't want you talking to my fucking mother."

"Why? Because you know she likes me more than Brian?" Ethan smirked.

Justin gritted his teeth. "You don't know anything!"

Ethan leaned close so Justin could smell the alcohol on his breath.  He smiled smugly. "I know that Brian hasn't stopped staring at us from the minute you came over and pulled me away from your mom. Jealous, is he?"

Justin snorted. "He has no reason to be jealous."

He refused to turn around to see if Brian was indeed looking at them.  He'd deal with his lover afterwards.

"I'd say he has," Ethan pointed out. "I mean, I stole you once.  What's stopping me from doing it again?"

He ran a finger along the edge of Justin's ear.

Justin pulled away sharply, trying to figure out in his muddled mind what the hell was he thinking choosing Ethan over Brian.  "That's not going to happen."

"Willing to make a bet?"

"Fuck you!" Justin turned to move away, but felt a hand on his wrist.

"He says he'll change, but he won't," Ethan said.  "You never should have given him another chance."

Justin laughed mockingly in Ethan's face. "See, you *don't* know jack shit. 

*I* begged *him* for another chance."

Ethan snorted. "I don't believe you."

"Whatever."

Ethan sighed. He decided to try another tactic.

"Justin, I really am sorry for what happened.  I really did care a lot about you."

"I don't believe you," Justin tossed back in his face.  “And it doesn’t matter anymore.”

"I loved you... *love* you." Ethan squeezed the blond's hand.  "I really miss you, too. Even if you don't want to be with me anymore, can't we at least be friends?"

Justin shook his head.  “I’m only friends with people I can trust,” he ground out as he tried to pull his hand away, but Ethan’s grip was firm.

“Please?" he pleaded. "Oh fuck, here comes your *boyfriend.*  And he looks like he's upset.  Does he think I'm going to do something to you right here in front of everyone?"

Justin groaned. He finally pulled away from Ethan and searched for Brian, spotting him walking toward them.  Instead of waiting for Brian to come to them, he met him halfway.

Placing his palms against Brian's chest, he quickly said, "Leave it alone."

Brian paused.  He wasn’t big on making a scene.  Ok, maybe he was.  Making huge gestures.  Gestures that usually involved somebody getting their heart broken.  Usually him.  But he wasn’t big on putting his private life, his feelings up on display for everybody to see.  Not just their family and friends.  Everybody here knew their ridiculously painful history.  The Liberty Avenue had buzzed for days about their big break up after the Rage party.  The last thing he wanted was another gossip overload about his and Justin’s relationship.

But when Brian saw Ethan putting his hands on Justin, he didn’t care.  Even from across the room he could see that Justin was less than pleased with that as well, which calmed Brian down a bit.  He wasn’t jealous.  Ok, maybe he was.  But not because he was afraid that Justin would once again go off with the merry fiddler.  It was just the fact that Justin had at one point in time cared about the grease-haired fucker.

Even so, Brian stayed put for as long as he could, giving Justin a chance to deal with the obnoxious violin player in his own way, but when it became obvious that Ethan was too much to handle for the obviously drunk artist, Brian moved through the crowd with the intention of ending this whole charade right there and then.

When Justin told him to leave it alone, Brian heard, but he didn’t want to listen. He glared over the top of Justin’s head at Ethan who stood there, openly challenging him.

“Brian,” he heard.

Lowering his gaze, Brian met Justin’s gaze.

“I think you were right,” Justin said. “I do need some food.”

Of course, he knew that it was simply Justin’s way of getting both of them away from Ethan, but the way the blond wavered in his hands told Brian that if he didn’t get some food into Justin, Jennifer would get a front row view of her son becoming a falling down drunk.  And while it might be fun for some, Brian had no intention of listening to another lecture from either her or Debbie, which he was certain to get.  So, with one last glance at Ethan, he wrapped his arm around Justin’s shoulders and managed to maneuver both of them toward the food table.

Justin was having problems controlling his emotions, the shock of running into his former boyfriend mixed with alcohol turning out to be too much for him to handle.  Seeing Ethan again was one thing.  Having to listen to his bullshit was another.  He hated himself for still letting the other man get to him like that.  Justin didn’t care about Ethan.  Not anymore.  That was over and done with.  But the knowledge that he could ever have been so easily fooled still hurt.  It stung like a ten-foot long bee.

Friends.  Ethan said he wanted them to be friends.  Was such a thing possible? Could Justin *be* his friend again?  Did he even want that?

Justin felt Brian stop and realized they were at the food table.  He wasn't sure he could really eat anything, not with his heartbeat refusing to slow down and his stomach lurching.  Not to mention the spinning in his head.

He had simply given Brian an excuse, so that any *situation* between the two men could be avoided.  What he *really* needed was a fucking drink, but he suspected Brian wouldn't let him out of his sight now.  He'd have to content himself with cheese puffs and wiener rolls.

Justin watched Brian pick up a plate, placing portions of food on it. 

Looking at Brian, Justin began to feel overwhelmed.  He had really fucked Brian over on more than one occasion and yet, Brian always seemed to forgive him.  Brian never lied to him.  He loved him.  He really did.  Even though he never said it.  Justin glanced away from Brian and almost immediately, his eyes connected with Ethan's.  He was talking to another guy, but his gaze was fully directed on Justin. He was licking his lips slowly as Justin watched.  When he saw him watching, his expression changed to a smug smirk.

Justin looked away quickly.

Fuck.

Fuck.

Fuck.

What was wrong with him?  Why was this bothering him so much?  Ethan was a liar. Justin couldn't trust him.

"Justin?"

Looking up, he found Brian with a concerned look on his face.  Justin couldn't help it. His eyes welled up with tears.

Brian felt the familiar sting when he caught Justin staring at Ethan again and had to struggle with every fiber in his body not to show any emotions. 

Right now his main objective was to make sure Justin was alright.  He’d deal with his own issues later, when his lover wasn’t quite so plastered.

Putting the plate down, Brian wrapped his hand around Justin’s neck, pulling the blond closer.

“I think we should go,” he said quietly into Justin’s ear.

Justin squeezed his eyes shut to keep the tears from spilling out.

He nodded. "Ok."

He hugged Brian tight. Pulling away, he mumbled, "I got to pee. I'll meet you outside?"

Justin saw the sign for the men's washroom and headed for it.

Breathing a little easier now that Justin had agreed to get the hell out of here, Brian searched the crowd for the mother of his son to let her know that they were leaving and to finalize the plans for him and Justin to take Gus the next day.

Leaning against the cold tiles of the bathroom wall, Justin unbuttoned his jeans.  His thoughts were miserable ones as he drained his bladder.  He couldn't wait to be home... away from Ethan and everything he represented.

Sighing, he quickly re-did his pants and washed his hands.  He splashed some cold water on his face.  Staring at himself in the mirror, he wished he didn't look as confused and scared as he did at that moment.  He saw a figure come into the washroom and his blue eyes met familiar dark ones.

"Stalking me?" he asked loudly.

Ethan moved closer until he was standing beside Justin.

"I saw you come in and I knew it would be the last chance I got without Brian hovering around," Ethan replied.

Justin sighed. "I wish you'd stop. We really have nothing to say to each other anymore."

"That's not true," Ethan disagreed. "Justin." He sighed. "I really miss you.  Not a day goes by that I don't think about you."

Justin moved away when Ethan tried to touch him.

"You should've thought about that before you went fucking around behind my back!" Justin shouted angrily.  “You’re a liar and a cheater!”

“Takes one to know one,” the brunet responded angrily.

When Justin winced at how hurtful the truth of Ethan’s words was, Ethan grabbed Justin roughly by the shoulders and shook him.  "I fucked up.  I know I did. I said I was sorry! But Justin, I didn't know what to do."

He pulled the blond into his arms, holding him tight.  "It was becoming too much for me. I just wanted to see..." he whispered.

"See what?" Justin asked softly.

"I don't know..." Ethan sighed. "See what it was like I guess. I know.  It's a stupid excuse. I'm not making excuses though.  I know what I did was wrong.  I was an idiot. I threw it all away."

"I can't give you what you want, Ethan," Justin told him quietly, finding that even being this close to the other man, he felt nothing.  Absolutely nothing.  "Not anymore."

Justin felt the other man tremble. "Don't say that. Please. I *need* you. 

More than Brian will *ever* need you."

Justin tried to pull away, but Ethan wouldn't let him.

"I'm not going to leave Brian again," Justin said firmly. "You know how I feel about him."

"Can't you... can't we... he doesn't have to know."

Justin's eyes narrowed.

Ethan pulled back to stare at Justin. "He doesn't have to know," he repeated softly.

His lips found Justin's.

With everything inside him Justin fought the invasion, but his movements were uncoordinated and Ethan was far too strong for him, so Justin found himself being pressed even tighter to the other man’s body.

The clearing of a throat finally forced Ethan to let him go.

Glazed blue eyes clashed with the gleaming hazel.

“Brian,” Justin was finally able to free himself of Ethan, taking a few steps back to put some distance between himself and his former lover. 

“We…I…”

“Decided to travel down the memory lane?” Brian asked, his voice harsh, cold.

Justin swallowed. He closed his eyes and reopened them, but it didn't help. 

Trying to focus clearly was becoming difficult. Everything was a blur.

Justin opened his mouth to say something... anything, but he snapped it shut when he felt the bile begin to rise to his throat. He was really beginning to feel sick.

"What are you?" Ethan snapped at Brian angrily, unaware of Justin's current problem.  “His fucking father?"

“I’m the one who gets to fuck him every single night,” Brian spat out, moving closer.  “Unlike you.”

Justin groaned, both from the anger he heard in Brian's response and the fact that his head felt as though it was going to explode.

"We'll see how long that lasts," Ethan sneered.  "Considering the fact that you can never seem to keep your dick in your fucking pants!"

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Justin doubling over slightly, but he was too angry to react to the blond.

Brian sneered.  “That’s what he loves most of all.  My cock. Up his ass.”

"Why don't you give him a chance to be with someone who *really* loves him, Brian?" Ethan asked. "The only reason he's with you now is because *I* made a huge fucking mistake. You got lucky."

Brian tuned out the rest of Ethan’s tirade, more important things on his mind - like his lover looking like he was about to pass out. He rushed over to Justin just in time to catch the blond before he collapsed on the floor and emptied his stomach.

“Fuck, I shouldn’t have given you those fucking puffs,” Brian said, his voice smooth and calm, as he ran his hand up and down Justin’s back as the artist’s body trembled with convulsions.

“Oh, shit,” Brian heard from somewhere.

“He got it on my pants,” Ethan whined, but the ad exec couldn’t have cared less.

He reached for a paper towel, wet it in the sink and when Justin finally stopped heaving, Brian reached for his lover’s face and gently wiped his lover’s face.

“Feeling better now?” he asked, smiling at Justin.

Justin nodded in response, his eyes closed as he let Brian pull him in closer.

“I’m sorry,” he managed to utter, resting his head on Brian’s shoulder.

“Fuck it,” was Brian’s response, his fingers running through the soft blond locks. “I’m not the one who’ll be cleaning this shit later.”

He felt Justin pull away a little, far enough so that he could see Brian’s face. “That’s not what I meant.”

Brian closed his eyes briefly, then opened them. “I know what you meant,” he replied quietly.

Instead of saying anything more, Brian placed his hand at the back of Justin’s neck and pulled him in for a kiss, the two of them now completely oblivious to the fact that Ethan was still there, watching them intently.

Ethan knew that Justin loved Brian. He had always known it. Every night he and Justin laid together in his bed, he knew that Justin was thinking of Brian. He hoped with time it would go away, that Justin would get over it. 

Get over HIM.

But seeing them now ­ together like that ­ Ethan realized that he never stood a chance. Even if he didn’t fuck that guy and even if Justin hadn’t found out about it, it was only a matter of time before Justin realized that he couldn’t fight it anymore and went back to Brian. As much as Ethan hated the older man, he couldn’t deny anymore that Brian cared about Justin as much as the young artist did about Brian.

Casting one last glance at the pair on the floor, Ethan made his way out of the bathroom.

“You need a fucking tic tac,” Brian concluded when they pulled apart, gracing Justin with a smile ­ his way of letting his lover know that things were ok.  “We should get out of here before they make us clean this up.”

Justin laughed softly, groaning when the laughter made his head feel like it was about to be cracked open.

"Oh, God." He stopped in his tracks. "Did I really get puke on his pants?"

His mouth twitched into a smile.

“Look at it this way,” Brian said as he wrapped his arm around Justin’s shoulders and moved them toward the exit. “Now he has something to remember you by.”

June '03