"You can do it baby! I trust you. Just play along with him. Pretend he's Brian." Deb looked at Justin imploringly. No matter what they had said or done to talk Michael into staying, he had stubbornly refused. Someone would have to go with him.

Justin sighed, knowing that the woman had done far too much for him to deny her anything. He rolled his eyes heavenward and nodded.

Deb would have shrieked if the situation were a happy one. Instead she smiled brightly at him and pulled the boy into her arms. "Thank you sunshine. I know my son's in good hands."

Justin pulled away and eyed Michael, who was standing in the doorway, staring at him with raised eyebrows. "Can we go now?"

"Yes!" Justin ground out just as hotly.

"Good luck sweetheart!" Jen called out as she watched her son stalk out of the front door. "He'll be fine Deb." She reassured her friend as the woman resumed her previous place beside her at the table.

Deb patted Jennifer's hand as it rested on her forearm, a calming anchor in the storm she felt she had been pulled into. "I know. They both will." Her smile wavered and she picked up her pen. "Now. How about you pass me that recipe for the stuffed mushrooms."

Vic and Jennifer exchanged looks, but said nothing, knowing that Deb would deal with her worry in her own time and in her own way.

***

Justin paced the floor of the loft for a fifth time. He felt like he was forgetting something. For the past hour he had been working to make the loft 100% Brian free. Any trace that eluded to the true identity of Brian Kinney was tossed into the bottom drawer of the cabinet in the bedroom where he knew it would be safe. Only he and Brian knew the location to the key that unlocked it. It did, after all, contain their most private...possessions.

This was definitely not his idea of fun. He had a huge paper due the next week in his art history class. How was he supposed to balance babysitting the amnesia victim with eight to ten pages of themes in modern sculpture?

The doctor had told them that Michael would be extremely tired for the next few days. He had simply walked into the apartment, gone to the bedroom and as soon as Justin had a chance to check on him a few minutes later, he had found the man fast asleep. So maybe it wouldn't be so bad after all. If he would just sleep a lot and let him do what he had to do, it would go smoothly and then... Then what?

When would they say enough is enough? How long would they have to...or be able to, play along with Michael? What were they going to do if Michael's memory didn't come back right away? Brian would never stand for being thrown out of his own life. His home, possessions, job, friends...that was Brian's life and Justin had seen the man fight tooth and nail to keep all of these things intact.

Hadn't he been completely livid when Justin had forgotten to set his alarm? He had merely lost a good chunk of his wardrobe, some kitchenware, electronics...Okay so it had been thousands of dollars worth of stuff that Brian had worked hard to obtain. Still, the fact remained that he had gone ape shit afterwards and that had only been a fraction of the things that Brian held dear.

Justin checked on Michael quickly before grabbing some clothes from his drawer and heading for the bathroom. Maybe a shower would help him relax.

He worked the shampoo into a thick lather in his hair and stood in the spray, letting the hot water wash the white suds down his back and into the drain. The pounding water was soothing and he could easily imagine that Brian was there with him. Sharing a shower as they so often did, gave them plenty of opportunities to play around in the steam. And Justin believed that opportunities were not lengthy visitors. You took them where you could get them.

Though their trysts were in no way habitual, there was a certain structure, or method to the madness. His lover would usually begin by stroking him casually, until Justin's erection stood high and proud against his belly.

Justin let his fingers slide over his chest towards his stomach and down further until they were buried in the soft patch of blonde curls. He teased himself by barely letting his fingertips glide over his shaft, but the member responded happily, springing up to attention. He gripped his cock and began moving his fist up and down, slowly, languidly as Brian might have.

When he was hard, Brian would usually begin preparing for the main attraction.

Justin grabbed the lube from the small inset shelf and squeezed out a small amount on the tip of his middle finger. Replacing the tube, he went to work, one hand on his rapidly hardening dick and the other sliding over his ass, down his crack, into his hole. He worked his finger in the tight orifice, moving in circular motions as was his lover's way. He moaned more with the thought of it than the actual feel. His senses were on overload and his body tingled with the orgasmic feeling that his finger was causing, but the thought that it was Brian doing it instead of himself was enough to get him going. And get him off.

Next Brian would place Justin's hands against the glass and penetrate him slowly. Making what should be a quick fuck into a slow, heavy torturous seduction scene.

Justin looked at the shelf. No dildo. He finally spotted it on the counter top. He turned to step out and get it.

"Need help?"

Justin yelped at the unexpected voice. "Um...n-no. Thanks." Never before in his life, had Justin been a modest person. Yet he shrank back into the shadows of the shower and huddled there, pleading silently for Michael to go away.

"Yeah. You seemed to be doing okay on your own." He could hear the smirk in Michael's voice.

Justin grabbed the bar of soap and began scrubbing his chest idly. "I'll be done in a minute."

"Don't rush on my account."

The door to the shower was pushed open and Justin pried one eye open, watching as Michael stalked him unnecessarily in the enclosed area. "M-Brian..."

"Yeah?"

"What are you doing?"

Michael laughed softly. "If you don't know...then we've been doing something wrong." With that, Michael lowered himself to his knees in front of the uncomfortable young man.

"Don't-" before he could protest any further, Michael had taken his stiff cock into his mouth, sucking with a power that could have put Hoover out of business. Justin fell unsteadily against the shower wall, his knees weakened by the new sensation. "Ahhh..."

A small chuckle was emitted from Michael, as he witnessed the effect he was having on the young man. The vibrations of the small laugh, sent shivers up Justin's spine and his fingers threaded through Michael's hair, involuntarily.

Just when he though it couldn't get any worse...or better...he felt something probing the entrance of his ass. Michael grinned around Justin's cock and waved the dildo at him. He had obviously picked it up on his way to the shower. Justin was torn. He couldn't let this go on. Yet as he felt the thick rubber object begin it's probing once more, he whimpered. "Put it in," he cried pathetically.

Michael obliged him without another thought, pushing the dildo into his ass almost roughly. The blonde moaned at the feel of all ten inches making their way back and forth, in and out of his passage. The joint sensations of the dildo and the vacuum - er mouth - were slowly driving him to the brink. Michael slowed the motions of his mouth and Justin relaxed, hoping to get a moment to collect himself, only to be thrown into another wave of ecstacy as the dildo began thrusting all the harder, all the faster. With one last shout, Justin came in Michael's mouth.

***

After Justin had made a hasty retreat from the shower, Michael began soaping himself. The water was getting really cold but he wasn't sure which knob did what. There was one central knob and there seemed to be about three others to the side. He considered for a moment, asking Justin for help, but that idea was vetoed quickly. This was his apartment. He must have been in this shower millions of times. He knew how to do it. If he only concentrated.

So much didn't add up. He could remember only bits and pieces of his past. Even the last few days were extremely hazy. It seemed odd that he couldn't even remember ever being in there. There were condoms and lube on a small inset shelf in the wall. There was no telling how many men he had fucked in that very shower, but still...he could remember nothing.

Vic and Justin had said that he took something and passed out. At some point he had hit his head. He reached back and gingerly ran his fingers over the large goose egg that had risen at the back of his head. The spot was tender and he knew it must have been a pretty hard blow to have caused such a bruise. A hard blow and some bad shit. He would have to call Anita and see what she had given him.

Taking his time, he washed his hair, working around the painful lump. Once he was rinsed off, he turned the shower off and grabbed one of the crimson towels from the towel rack beside the door. He wrapped it around his waist and shook his head like a dog to get a bit of the excess moisture from his hair.

Wiping the condensation from the mirror with his hand, Michael looked at his reflection. ‘Brian Kinney' stared back at him and he sighed. He just didn't feel right. But what was Brian Kinney if not self assured? With that thought in mind, he squared his shoulders and lathered his face for a quick shave.

***

Justin winced as yet another of Brian's favorite Armani suits ended up in a pile on the bed. He was seated on the edge of the mattress watching Michael pick through Brian's wardrobe piece by expensive piece. So far, he had deemed everything unsuitable. Besides that, nothing fit.

"Up for a shopping trip?" Michael's voice flowed out from the closet.

Justin dodged another flying suit and looked up at the man in confusion. "What?"

"Shopping. Obviously my new trainer is doing his job...among others." Justin rolled his eyes at the lecherous comment. He wondered if that had been the remnant of Brian telling him about fucking his trainer. Not that it was a big deal. It was just that, when there were faces and names to match the tricks, Justin couldn't help himself. He got jealous. Michael pressed on, shedding the Ralph Lauren shirt that he had only just buttoned up. "Everything I have is getting too big. I need something smaller."

The mind itself was an enigma to be sure. But the mind's ability to cope and explain things away was definitely an incredible thing to see. Justin was amazed that anyone could so willingly believe that they had gone down a size in clothing and shrunk several inches in height, seemingly overnight.

Now he wanted to go shopping. Michael...shopping...with what? He didn't have any money on him. Brian had his own money with him. Justin definitely didn't have any cash to spare. What would he tell him when Michael asked about his money, wallet, i.d., credit cards? "How about we do that tomorrow?"

Michael looked at Justin suspiciously. "Why tomorrow?"

"Because you promised me a quiet evening in." Justin tried not to laugh. That reasoning wouldn't even have held water with the real Brian.

"Right." Michael seemed skeptic but he played along. "Well we can go tomorrow afternoon then. After we have lunch with the guys."

Justin nodded, happy to have the first semi-crisis averted.

***

Michael sighed. He didn't know why but Justin was up to something. He didn't remember anything about wanting or promising a night in. Not that he remembered much anyway.

After half an hour of reassuring Justin that he would be fine, the kid had finally relented taken off. He had a study date with Lee. He promised that he wouldn't be more than an hour since they really only had to brainstorm for a joint project. He also promised to bring home a video and some Thai for dinner. Now Michael was standing at the window, watching as Justin sped off in the jeep. His teeth were clinched as he watched him take off at break-neck speed. Why the hell had he agreed to let him use the jeep?

He let it go, knowing that he had to get out. He didn't know why but he couldn't sit there all night. He needed something. Wanted something. And suddenly he knew just what that was.

He could look for someone online. But for some reason, his password eluded him.

Throwing on a pair of jeans, a belt and one of his tighter tanks, he checked the mirror behind the desk and nodded with satisfaction. He would just have to find a trick the old-fashioned way. He was going to Babylon.

To Be Continued...