HUGE thanks to Jewel, Wendy, Jenn and Lois!

Sunday Afternoon Delights:
JUST WHEN YOU THINK…
by Irina & PIG

Justin made his way through the regular Thursday night crowd at Woody's, his eyes searching through the many, many beautiful bodies for one man in particular. His man.

"Who are ya looking for?" someone asked behind him, seconds before he felt a hand on his ass.

Turning around quickly, Justin grimaced when he saw the slimy creature staring back at him with obvious lustful appreciation.

"Definitely not you," he mumbled under his breath before hustling away.

As he reached the bar, he saw Joey; the one bartender at Woody's who hadn't, in all his years of coming to the bar, hit on him. Obviously, Joey was straight - at least, Justin liked to think so.

"Have you seen Brian around?" Justin asked.

"What?" Joey tossed back with a wide grin. "No hello anymore?"

Justin stuck a tongue out. "Hello. Hello. Hello."

Pointing to the game-room, Joey said, "Your snookums is back there."

Justin chuckled as he waved goodbye and moved towards the room. He spotted his lover bent over a pool table, his full attention fixed on getting the black ball into a corner pocket.

Michael, who had been losing consistently for the past hour and a half, noticed Justin and decided this was an opportunity he couldn't pass up. Waiting until Brian pulled back to make the shot, he shouted, "Justin!" and waved cheerfully at the blond.

The clunk of the ball sinking into the pocket dowsed Mikey's joy.

"Didn't you hear me?" Michael grumbled. "Justin's here."

Brian shook his head. "He's got too much work to do."

"Guess again."

Justin leaned against the table, his head popping up close to his lover's face.

Brian broke out in a big smile, and then resumed his uncaring expression - in case anyone noticed. "What are you doing here?"

Justin shrugged. "Got bored."

"Have you finished all of your homework, young man?"

Justin nodded. "Yes, dear."

He moved his face closer until Brian took the hint and gave him what he was looking for - a kiss.

"Do you plan on staying here all night?" Justin asked.

"Why? You got someplace you wanna go?"

"Babylon."

Brian dropped the cue stick on the table and signaled to another man that they were through. Mikey made it to their side.

"I'd better head home," he said. "Ben should be done with his papers now."

He waved them goodbye.

Justin followed Brian to the bar. "So are you coming with me or staying here?"

Brian pretended to think about it.

Justin pinched his lover’s waist.

Laughing, Brian leaned over and rubbed his forehead against the blond's. "I got to go take a leak. Wait for me."

Justin watched the brunet walk towards the bathroom.

He turned on the stool and waited for Joey to come across and chat with him. He knew Brian had to do his primping in the bathroom and that would mean at least another five minutes.

He felt a body slide into the stool next to him. He looked to see if the guy was cute or not and felt his breath catch in his throat.

Sitting beside him was Kip.

Fuck.

He quickly turned the other way and decided to go find Brian and hustle him out of there.

Unfortunately, the higher force that had brought him here tonight had other plans for him.

"Don't I know you?" Kip asked, his eyes intently gazing into Justin's.

Before Justin could respond in the negative, Joey said, "Who doesn't know Brian Kinney's sugah-plum?"

The name Brian Kinney seemed to register quickly in Kip's memory banks. His eyes narrowed.

"I KNOW YOU!" he said, anger seeping into his voice. "You're... you're that kid!"

"Kid?" Joey was insulted. "Justin ain't no kid, are you, Mon?"

Justin wanted to laugh - Joey and his fake Jamaican accent were just so wrong.

"You are fucked!" Kip said.

"Right," Justin sarcastically replied. "*I'M* the screwed up one. ME." He snorted.

Kip's eyes narrowed. "Brian's even more fucked in the head though! How could he put his own boyfriend up to fuck with me? That's sick."

Joey's eyes lifted in surprise. "Huh?"

Justin glared at Kip. "Brian didn't *put* me up to anything!"

"Sure." Kip stood up.

"He didn't have to!" Justin snapped. "What you were trying to do to him was wrong."

"And Brian Kinney has all these morals and shit, right?" He snickered.

Justin gritted his teeth. "He got where he was by working hard, not by fucking his way to the top."

"He's a sick fuck," Kip muttered. "And so are you." His eyes landed on his previous employer coming up behind Justin. "Speak of the devil."

Brian saw him the moment he stepped out of the bathroom. His gut roiling as he flashed back to the hell he had gone through over Kip Thomas, Brian quickly made his way toward the bar. He did not want Kip anywhere near him; even less did he want the slime bag anywhere near Justin.

“What’s wrong, Kip?” he asked when his former employee turned to him. “Can’t find anybody with money to sue, you gotta hit on college students now?”

The other man just sneered. “At least, I don’t pimp my boyfriend to save my ass.”

Justin winced. Suddenly a night full of possibilities had turned into an evening from hell. He could see the puzzled look on Brian’s face, and prayed hard for his lover to not pursue this any further. Of course, it was a pointless hope.

“What the fuck are you talking about?” Brian growled, stepping closer to Kip, his fists squeezed tightly.

Kip stood up so as to not let Brian intimidate him with his size. He came up short, though. Literally. Brian was taller and broader in the shoulders. Still, Kip seemed to have grown a second pair of balls.

“Your little blondie over here,” he pointed at Justin. “That’s what I’m talking about.”

Brian glanced over at his boyfriend, trying to figure out what Kip meant. The guilty look on Justin’s face told him that his lover might know something about the gibberish spilling from Kip’s mouth.

Kip chuckled. “You know, after that little speech you gave me full of that moral bullshit and ethics, I’m surprised. I mean, hiring a hustler to fuck me would be one thing. But…” he sneered. “Sending your little fuck buddy to get me to drop the suit ­ well, that is a surprise, I’ll tell you that.”

Brian grabbed the front of Kip’s shirt, pulling him closer. “You fucking asshole,” he ground out, wanting nothing more than to punch the man’s lights out.

“Brian, don’t.”

Justin was quickly by his side, his hand on Brian’s arm.

“I’d listen to him.” Kip laughed.

“Why, you’re gonna sue me again?” Nevertheless, Brian let him go and stepped back.

Kip shrugged, smiling slyly. “Maybe we could just bypass that and go directly to fucking your boyfriend.” He looked over at Justin. “Last time we didn’t get too far.”

Brian felt as if his heart was going to pound right out of his chest. He thought Kip was fucking with him. He KNEW it. The man was a sleaze who would do and say anything and didn’t care who he hurt in the process. But…there was still the same look of complete and utter guilt written all over Justin’s face that Brian couldn’t quite explain.

He was able to calm himself long enough to ask his boyfriend what the fuck Kip was talking about.

“As if you don’t know,” Kip butted in.

Unable to look his boyfriend in the eye, Justin looked away. He couldn’t believe this was happening. The Kip incident was behind them. He never even thought about it anymore. And he definitely had not thought that Brian would ever find out.

“Justin?” Brian couldn’t honestly tell how he was able to keep his voice calm and collected.

“Nice performance. You could even get an Oscar for it,” Kip chimed in.

“Alright, man, you’re through,” Joey said, walking from around the bar. “Get out.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Kip exclaimed as the bartender pushed him toward the exit.

“We reserve the right to refuse service to anybody we want. And we want YOU out of this fucking bar.” He gave Kip a nudge that almost sent the man tumbling down the staircase.

The two men in the center of the drama, though, were still standing in the same spots ­ Justin with his head hung low and Brian waiting for the answer to his question.

Realizing that Kip was not lying, for once, Brian turned away from his boyfriend. He couldn’t believe what he had heard and being in the same room with Justin was the last thing he wanted right now.

Leaving the younger man behind, Brian hurried out the door and toward his Jeep.

It was about an hour later that Brian heard the loft door slide open. He was sitting on the couch, downing his third drink at the time and didn’t as much as turn around to acknowledge Justin’s presence.

Justin closed the door behind him. Leaning against it, he watched his boyfriend for a few minutes, not knowing what to say or how to even start explaining. Finally, realizing that he couldn’t stall any longer, he moved into the living room, stopping a couple of feet away from the couch Brian was sitting on.

“Brian?”

Brian could hear the uncertainty and guilt in Justin’s voice, but he couldn’t bring himself to do anything other than continue to sip Jim Beam and stare straight ahead.

“Brian, please,” Justin pleaded as he walked around the couch to stand in front of him.

The brunet slowly raised his gaze to meet Justin’s. He almost laughed at how young his lover seemed at the moment ­ like a little innocent kid who had done something wrong and was asking his parents for forgiveness. Except ­ what Justin had done was anything but innocent or easily erased by a simple ‘I’m sorry.”

Justin realized that as well. “I don’t know what to say,” he admitted honestly.

Brian leaned forward and placed his empty glass on the coffee table. “Why don’t you start by explaining to me WHAT THE FUCK YOU WERE THINKING?”

Justin jumped, startled. While the two of them had more than one fight in their relationship, there were only a few instances in which Brian had ever yelled at him. Apparently, this was going to be one of those times.

Brian got up from the couch and moved toward him. “Do you even fucking realize what you were doing? Or did you just get this idiotic idea in your head and didn’t stop to think about the consequences?”

“I was trying to help,” came Justin’s weak defense.

“Help?” Brian laughed bitterly. “You let some asshole fuck you! Don’t you find this a little ­ FUCKED?”

“He never got that far,” Justin tried to defend himself. “I swear.”

Brian shook his head. “I don’t believe you,” he said quietly, startled by the fact that it was the truth. Justin had lied to him about this for so fucking long, he didn’t know if he could trust the kid with anything anymore.

"I wasn't thinking, Brian," Justin tried to explain.

"That is fucking obvious," Brian snapped.

"I just wanted to help."

"By whoring yourself out?"

Justin grimaced at the bitterness and anger he heard in Brian's voice.

"I'm not a whore, Brian," Justin said firmly. "I love you and I'll do anything I can to help you..."

Brian snorted. "Bullshit!"

"It's the truth! I did what I had to do!" Justin defended. "And it worked, didn't it? You got off and..."

"I never asked for your fucking help, nor did I NEED it."

"Brian."

"I don't want to hear anything else about it, ok?" He turned and walked towards the liquor tray.

Justin chewed on his bottom lip, unsure of what to do or say next. Dealing with Brian was a difficult thing at times.

Sighing, he walked closer to his lover and slipped his arms around Brian's waist. Before he knew it, he was being pushed away.

"Don't fucking come near me!" Brian roared.

Justin stared at Brian in shock. "You..."

"How could you DO this?" Brian spat. "YOU... you..."

Justin started to tremble. "Please, Brian."

"No."

"Try to see my side."

Brian clenched his fist around his glass until his knuckles were white. "Just go, ok."

"What?"

"I don’t want to see you right now.” At Justin’s confused look, Brian shouted, “GET OUT!"

Justin stopped cold. Brian's next words hit him where it hurt most.

“Kip was right. You’re just a fucking whore.”

Justin winced as if Brian had punched him in the face. He couldn’t breathe, his heart pounding in his throat seemed to block the oxygen from flowing freely into his lungs. He watched in shocked detachment as Brian made his way into the bedroom.

Their bedroom… that now seemed so completely foreign to him.

Feeling like he was going to be sick, Justin hurried out the door and down the stairs. Bursting out the front of the building, Justin collapsed against the wall as he tried to gulp in the air.

What to do now? Where could he go? How was he going to deal? He took a deep breath, trying to compose himself, and walked towards the bus stop.

He wasn't sure how he got to Daphne's, but when he woke up the next morning, she was looming over him.

"Oh, good," she said with smile. "You're up."

He smiled weakly.

"I wasn't sure if you were still alive."

Justin started to get up, but a wave of nausea hit him and he fell back against the pillows.

"What time is it?" he asked, his mouth dry.

"After 6," she said with a cocked brow. "You've been sleeping all day."

Fuck.

"You showed up at my door at five this morning drunk out of your mind and puking on my steps," she told him. "My roommate is not very happy at the moment."

Justin couldn't believe it.

"What happened?" she asked him.

He sank deeper in the pillow. "Don't ask."

She snorted. "No fair! I spent all morning cleaning your fucking puke off my sofa too! Plus, I had to give you a bath 'cos you reeked."

"I'd say you got your due," Justin joked, making her blush.

"Fuck you!" She hit his arm.

"Is it like you remembered?"

"It must have grown."

They burst out laughing.

"Brian and I are over." It came out before he knew what he was saying.

She stroked his arm gently. "Brian would never break up with you. He loves you."

"He told me to get out of the loft." He sounded pitiful.

"I'm sure he didn't mean it," she tried to soothe.

"No, he meant it."

Sighing, she said, "Well, you'd better tell me what happened. But first, how about we get you something to eat?"

***

"He needs some time to get over it," Daphne advised.

Justin rolled his eyes at her. "It's been two days. He won't accept any of my calls. He hasn't been to the Diner or Woody's or even Babylon."

"Justin."

He fell back on the sofa, his legs hanging over the side. "We're over. He doesn't want me anymore."

"Don't say that," Daphne protested. "He cares about you."

"Not after what I did!"

Daphne swallowed. "You need to stop thinking about it. Let's microwave some popcorn and watch a movie."

Justin shrugged.

While she was in the kitchen, he dialed Brian's number again. No answer.

Fuck.

He flung his mobile across the room in rage. Who the fuck did Brian think he was? Ok, so Justin had made a mistake by manipulating Kip the way he had, but all he'd wanted was to clear Brian's good name. Brian should be kissing his feet, not tossing him out on his ass.

And as much as Justin wanted to ignore it, he couldn't get past Brian calling him a whore. It... hurt. Really, really hurt.

He was sick of trying to make Brian understand. He made a decision. The ball was now officially in Brian's court.

Meanwhile Brian had tried to lose himself in his work. Thankfully, he had more than enough of that in the office, with three new multi-million accounts on the line.

Sick of waiting for the layouts he had asked for four hours earlier, Brian left his office and made his way over to the other wing of the building where the art department was located.

“Where the fuck are the panels I asked for?” Brian’s loud growl carried through the room, startling most of the people there, but he couldn’t have cared less.

The director of the Art Department hurried over toward him. “Sorry, Brian,” he said in a small voice, smiling apologetically. “We’re a little shorthanded this week.”

“Why? Did somebody die?” Brian asked, annoyed with the excuses. He wanted the work done. It was that simple.

“No,” the other man answered. “One of our interns quit yesterday.”

Suddenly, Brian felt his blood grow cold. “Who?” he asked quietly, although he already knew.

“The one from the PIFA. Justin Taylor.”

Brian was already walking away before the guy finished the sentence, unable to believe that Justin would just quit like that. Of course, to anybody else it might have made sense. After all, the only reason Justin applied for that position was to get Brian back.

But it had become more than that. Justin was really good at what he did and he fit in perfectly with the department and the company with his fresh ideas and incredible talent.

And now he was quitting and one didn’t have to be a genius to figure out why.

Brian walked back into his office and slammed the door shut. He walked over to his desk and collapsed into his chair. Leaning forward, he buried his head in his hands, feeling a headache coming on.

He, however, didn’t have enough time to do as much as exhale as the door swung open to reveal a certain Liberty Diner waitress. Brian was sure that if he looked closer, he’d be able to see smoke coming out of her nostrils as the woman walked inside.

He saw Cynthia behind her, shooting apologetic glances at him and Brian almost felt sorry for his assistant. After all, he knew better than anybody what it was like when Debbie got mad. Nobody stood a chance against her then. So, Brian just shook his head and waved Cynthia away.

“Can I help you?” he finally asked when the door closed once again.

“Don’t you even try,” Debbie shot back. “That innocent act doesn’t work on me. It might work on my son and Sunshine, but I know you too damn well.”

Brian sighed loudly, realizing that his and little Sunshine’s personal problems were now public property of the inhabitants of Liberty Avenue.

“What do you want?” he asked, resigned to the lecture he was sure was to follow.

“What did you do? Huh? What did you do now?” She was practically screaming now and Brian could only hope that Cynthia could keep the curious employees far away from his office so that they wouldn’t learn all the details about his private life.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Or how it is any of your business.”

“I told you before, Brian.” She pointed her index finger at him. “I told you I didn’t want Sunshine hurt.”

“And I told you before that you should stay the FUCK out of it,” he snapped, unable to control his anger. Where did she get off lecturing him when she had no fucking idea what had happened.

“Have you even seen him?” She demanded. “How miserable he is?” She shook her head. “You know, not many things you do surprise me anymore, but you firing him…I just can’t…” She huffed, lost for words.

So was Brian, surprised by this new piece of information. “Firing him? I didn’t fucking fire him.”

“Well, then why did he come asking for his job back at the diner?”

Surprise, surprise. Something shitty happens and everybody automatically assumes it’s Brian’s fault. “Shouldn’t you be happy? You have your Sunshine back,” he sneered.

“As much as I love seeing Justin every day, I think you know better than anybody that he doesn’t belong there. He’s a smart, talented, intelligent kid who…”

“I know what he is,” Brian cut her off.

“Then how could you fire him?”

Brian groaned. “I didn’t!” he shouted as he rose from his chair. “He quit. HE did. Not me. So, why don’t you turn your fucking high horse around and go home.”

He had had enough of this. His head felt like it was going to fucking implode and he was at the end of his rope. The feelings of anger, betrayal, complete and utter shock that he had worked hard on pushing away for the past two days had suddenly all flooded back and Brian felt like he was drowning in it. Add to that was the fact that he missed Justin so fucking much, he couldn’t breathe, and it all evened out to Brian being one big fucking mess.

He watched with relief as Debbie finally walked out of his office, slamming the door behind her. Collapsing back in his chair, Brian dropped his head back and closed his eyes. Not even an entire bottle of Advil could get rid of this headache.

Realizing that Justin, for once, was doing what Brian had told him, the ad exec knew that it was up to him to fix this.

“Cynthia,” he said, pressing the intercom button. “Cancel my appointments for the rest of the day.”

---

Brian rang the doorbell once, and then leaned back against the railing. He had been here only a few times ­ right after he and Justin had gotten back together and before the teen moved into the loft once again. While he never let himself imagine that he and Justin would be together forever, Brian didn’t think that they’d be apart either.

Really, he didn’t think about any of it at all, opting to just live in the moment and enjoy it ­ the way he always lived his life ­ with or without Justin.

Except, somewhere along the way he realized that life WITH Justin was simply better.

Brian looked up when the door opened to reveal a disheveled Daphne.

“Brian.” She smiled at him. It was good to know he still hadn’t lost some of his fans. From the look she gave him, it was safe to assume that she knew everything. It was also safe to assume that she knew the reason behind his visit. “I’ll let him know you’re here,” she simply said.

Brian managed a smile and a nod of his head before she once again disappeared behind the door.

The ad exec stared down at his feet, surprised at the fact that he felt nervous about seeing Justin again. He figured it’d be a breeze. Ok, maybe he was lying a little to himself, but he’d come here for a reason. He knew what he wanted to say and that was that. But as he watched the door slowly open, Brian felt his mouth go dry.

“Hey,” Justin said quietly, his appearance even more disheveled than Daphne’s. If he didn’t know better, Brian would have thought…he mentally shook his head, trying to get rid of the horribly disgusting thoughts suddenly running through his head.

“Hey,” Brian replied, looking Justin over with an intense gaze. Debbie was right about one thing ­ Justin looked horrible. Well, he looked beautiful, as always, but anybody could tell that he was not feeling too hot at the moment.

“What are you doing here?” Justin asked, his voice small and quiet.

“Uhm…” Brian cleared his throat, the whole speech he had prepared on the way over suddenly lost somewhere in the depth of his brain. He realized that there was no way to beat around the bush, nor was he fond of the practice, so he decided to just go for it. “You don’t have to quit your job. What happens between us has no bearing on your career.”

“It’s not that simple,” Justin argued.

“It IS that simple. We both know that wiping tables and pouring coffee is not the future you want.”

Justin looked away, not sure of what to say to that.

Brian pushed away from the railing, standing straight. “Look, I think we’re both professional enough not to let our…personal relations affect our work. This is a great career opportunity for you that will open a lot of doors after you finish college. So, stop being a twat and come back to work.”

Justin gnawed his lower lip between his teeth. He finally made himself look up at Brian, feeling a tiny sense of hope inside. But what he saw in his lover’s eyes killed it instantly.

Brian was still hurt and betrayed. What did he expect? For Brian to get over it just like that?

Justin nodded his head slightly. “Ok,” he finally said.

Brian sighed, relieved that at least he was able to fix some of this mess. But of course, there was more.

“Look, about what I said…before,” he started, “I…” He didn’t really know what to say. How he could make up for what he’d said? While he still couldn’t forgive Justin for what he had done, saying all the shit he did was unforgivable as well.

“It’s ok.” Justin managed a smile.

“No, it’s not.” That was the truth. Brian had no right to say any of the things he’d said to Justin that night. Calling him a whore? Brian was the biggest slut of them all. He had no right to judge anybody else, least of all Justin.

“No apologies, remember,” the blond said, smiling, even though his eyes were glistening with the unshed tears.

Brian felt his own eyes moisten and had to look away. How the fuck did they get to this point once again? Why? Why did it have to be so fucking hard?

“I’ll come and get my stuff,” Justin said. It killed him to say those words, to even think of once again going back to the loft only to leave it behind.

Brian felt his stomach drop, hearing those words and remembering the complete devastation he had felt the day he came home after the Rage party to find all of Justin’s things gone. At least this time Justin was giving him a warning. Except…he didn’t want to hear it. Not now. Not for a long time.

He swallowed hard, trying to get rid of the lump stuck in his throat. “You don’t have to do that.”

He could see the hope light up once again in Justin’s eyes and he knew what the younger man wanted to hear, hoped to hear. Unfortunately, Brian couldn’t tell those words to him. Not yet, at least.

“Brian…”

The ad exec shook his head. “Just leave it at that for now,” he said quietly.

Justin nodded in understanding. “You’re not ready for me to come home yet.”

“Something like that,” Brian replied. In fact, it was exactly that. He wasn’t ready to forgive Justin yet, but he wasn’t ready to let go of him either. And as much as he hated living in this limbo, it was the only viable option for him. And for Justin.

The blond nodded once more.

“Do you need anything?” Brian asked, realizing that while he was dealing with all this crap, Justin once again was left without a permanent home. The kid was like a gypsy, having moved so many times since he was seventeen, Brian wasn’t sure he could even list all of the places anymore.

Justin shook his head. “No, I had some stuff left here. I’m fine.”

“Good.” Brian offered another smile to his lover before moving toward the staircase as Justin watched him leave. He stopped half way down the stairs and looked up. “Later.” Then turned away and quickly left the building.

“Later,” Justin whispered.

--- Brian walked through the door of the diner, in hopes of getting a quick lunch before he had to get back to the office. He nearly did a 180 when he spotted Debbie behind the counter. She, of course, saw him immediately.

“Is it true?” she shouted over the noise from the lunch-hour rush.

Brian groaned inwardly as he walked toward the counter and settled down on one of the stools. “Is what true?” He decided to play dumb.

She, of course, didn’t buy his act for a minute. “One thing you aren’t, Brian, is stupid.”

Brian took a deep breath, resigned to the fact that he’d have to tell her. “How the fuck did you find out anyway?”

He saw her shoulders slump in realization that whatever it was that she heard, was in fact the truth.

“It’s not exactly a private conversation when you’re having it in the middle of Woody’s,” Debbie replied.

Brian let out a groan. Although, it was surprising it had taken that long for the news spread.

“So, it’s true,” Debbie said.

Brian wished that he could tell her it wasn’t, but lying to her was pointless. He had learned that the hard way when he was fourteen. Besides, it seemed that everybody else on Liberty Avenue already knew.

He nodded.

“And that’s why you tossed him out?”

Brian grimaced at how that sounded. “I didn’t toss him out,” he argued. Although, in all honesty, that was exactly what he did. Toss Justin out on the street, disregarding Justin’s feelings or needs or wellbeing. He sighed loudly. “I just…I don’t know,” he admitted honestly.

Debbie’s facial expression softened as she leaned forward on the counter. “I assume you know that he did what he thought he had to do.”

“That doesn’t make it right,” Brian argued.

“I’m not saying it does,” Debbie replied.

“Then what are you saying?” Brian asked, annoyed.

“He was trying to save your ass, and as ill-advised as his actions were, I’m sure you of all people should understand why he did what he did.”

Brian’s eyebrow arched in a silent question.

“Everybody knows you love that kid. Even you. And the reason you’re so angry is because you know that if the tables were reversed, you would have done the same thing to help him, would have done ANYTHING to help him and it scares the shit out of you how much you’re ready to give up for him.”

“That’s not true,” Brian objected. “I’m not angry because I’m scared.”

“You are,” the woman insisted.

Brian shook his head. “He could have gotten hurt. Do you understand that? He could have gotten seriously hurt. Kip could have forced him, or done something and I…” Brian’s voice trailed off as he fought back the emotion that he had worked hard on containing all week long. That was the real problem ­ the danger that Justin had put himself in, the fact that the young artist was fearless and ready to dive into anything and everything for a just cause. It was one of the characterisitics that had made him fall in love with Justin in the first place, but it was also increasingly scaring the hell out of him. It was what had led to the bashing. With Kip, anything might have happened. Who was to say what else Justin might do in the future because he believed it to be the right thing to do and in the process get himself hurt or killed?

“So, you’re punishing him and yourself because of something that MIGHT have happened?”

Brian looked away, not having an answer for her.

***

Justin decided to head out to Babylon. He couldn't stay in the house anymore feeling sorry for himself - stuffing his face with crap and constantly wondering if he had made the right decision or not.

Besides, it wasn't as if it were a permanent thing, him not being in the loft. Temporary. He only hoped it were a temporary-temporary. He wasn't sure he could deal with living with Daphne another day. She was sweet, but she was a girl, and she drove him mad at times.

He missed living with Brian. His lover knew when to give him his space, respected his need to watch 'That 70s Show' without interruptions and didn't hassle him about fat content when he was searching the freezer late at night for double-chocolate chip ice-cream.

Then there were the lonely nights. No Brian holding him from behind, stroking his arm gently as he tried to soothe him into sleep. No Brian to give him extra warmth when the duvet just wasn't enough. No Brian's legs to rub against when his feet felt frozen.

He sighed. He'd go out and get drunk and try to forget the many, many things he loved about Brian Kinney.

Emmett and Ted were at the bar when he entered. They had a shot each and scoped out the crowd for prospects... not that Justin was even remotely interested.

His only option walked in close to 12 with Mikey and Ben following close behind. Justin saw the surprised look cross Brian's face when he spotted him.

He smiled, his expression apologetic.

Brian smiled back, his look telling the blond that he didn't mind him being there.

"Beer," Brian told the bartender before leaning against the bar counter next to Justin.

"Ooohh!" Emmett gushed. "I love this song!" He grabbed onto Ted's arm and pulled him towards the dance floor.

"How about it?" Mikey asked Ben.

The happy couple sped off to join the masses on the dance floor.

Justin felt nervous. He wondered if he should just leave. Would Brian prefer that? He knew the other man wasn't ready to forgive and forget just yet. He didn't care. He'd wait for Brian forever.

Brian chewed on his bottom lip. He couldn't believe Justin had come out tonight. Mikey had had to practically push him out of his loft, but now, he was glad that he had decided to come. He still couldn't forget what Justin had done, but he didn't want to lose the boy. He'd grown too attached and his feelings... well, he wasn't a complete idiot. He just wasn't ready for the complications of admitting it all.

Time. That was what they both needed.

Simultaneously, they looked at each other, both with their mouths open, ready to speak.

They laughed.

"Wanna dance?" Brian asked.

"Sure."

Hands entwined, the two men walked onto the floor of Babylon. Just as Brian slipped his arms around Justin's neck, the familiar beat to 'Forever Young' came on, causing them both to smile into the other's eyes.

Arms locked around each other and eyes never leaving the other, they danced the night away.

06-08-03