| "This is a nice place." Justin said as Brian led him in to the house. "Lindsay and Emmett both e-mailed me and told me that you had moved." "I kept the loft, I just don't live there anymore." Brian led Justin into the living room and offered the young man a drink. “There’s some guy renting it right now.” "No, thanks." Justin said as he sat down on the couch. Brian sat across from him in an armchair. For several minutes they just stared at each other, amazed that they were really there. "Where did you go?" Brian finally spoke. He winced when he realized that he voice had come out strangled. He knew that Justin could see how hurt he was. "I was in New York for a while and then I just drove around." Justin shrugged. "I was in Los Angeles for a few weeks." He wondered whether Brian had seen the reports about himself and Damien, it seemed like everyone else had. "I heard about Damien Bryant." Brian's voice was stone cold as he seemed to read Justin’s thoughts. "Seems like everyone did." Justin sighed. “I was surprised that you left all that.” Brian truly had been surprised. After seeing pictures, almost daily, of Justin and Damien flitting around Los Angeles hand-in-hand, he thought Justin was really gone for good. “Why did you leave?” "I didn't belong there. One of the things that I learned while I was away was that I belong here." Justin hoped that Brian interpreted the unspoken "with you" at the end of that sentence. He wanted so much to throw his arms around Brian and tell him that he still loved him more than anything. "Where are you going to live?" "With my mom until I find a job and an apartment." Justin replied. "I still have enough of my inheritance to live off of for a while, but I'll need a job." "Are you going back to school?" Brian was avoiding asking all the things that he really wanted to know so he was making small talk. Justin nodded. "Next fall." "So you're just going to work until then?" Another pointless question. "I guess so." Justin shrugged. "I should get going." The small talk was killing him and he was sure that nothing was going to come of their talk. He stood to slip his jacket on. "Can we get together some time this week?" Brian asked. He realized that he wasn’t ready to tell Justin all the things he was thinking tonight, but he knew that he had to soon. "Why?" "I want to hear about your trip. And I think we need to talk." Brian admitted. Justin realized that he wasn't the only one who had grown as a person in the past three months. Brian didn’t pretend not to give a shit anymore. "Sure." Justin replied. "Tomorrow? We could go for dinner." Brian's voice was almost pleading. Justin wondered where it was coming from. "Sure. I can meet you somewhere." He agreed. "I'll pick you up." "Is this like a date?" Justin asked. When Brian didn't answer, Justin nodded silently knowing that Brian didn’t know what to define their evening out as. "I'll see you tomorrow night." As he turned to leave, Brian stopped him. He pulled him into a hug and inhaled the scent of Justin's hair, a smell he had missed. "I missed you." Brian's voice was almost inaudible, even against Justin's ear. Justin wasn't even sure that he heard him. As Justin walked outside and began walking he thought about that hug and those barely spoken words. Justin looked up to the sky and wondered if he had come back to a place that he had never been. --- "Hey, Brian." Michael said with a goofy grin as he slid into a booth at the diner the next morning. Emmett and Ted were both usually busy in the mornings these days so Michael reveled in his breakfasts alone with Brian. "Hi, Mikey." Brian said as he took a sip of his coffee. He was lost in thought about Justin, trying to figure out what he was going to say to him at dinner, and wasn’t in the mood for idle chitchat with Michael. "Tonight is going to be so much fun." Michael exclaimed with a big smile. When Brian looked at him with confusion, Michael reminded him. "It's the leather ball!" "Oh. I can't go." Brian said simply. He had completely forgotten about it and was sure that he wasn’t going to be missing anything. He had no interest in it anymore. Nothing interested him without Justin, something he planned to remedy that evening. "What do you mean you can't go?" The look on Michael's face almost scared Brian. It was a mixture of anger, disappointment, and suspicion. Michael seemed to be getting that look lately whenever Justin's name was mentioned. "I have a date." Brian said simply, he no longer cringed at the word. It didn’t matter what it was called, as long as he was spending time with Justin. "With who?" Michael demanded. The look was intensifying and Brian decided not to tell Michael that he was taking Justin out to dinner in hopes of working things out. "None of your business." Brian took another sip of his coffee and returned to his newspaper. Michael sat staring at Brian angrily. When Brian looked back up, Michael started in on him. "It's him, isn't it?" Michael exclaimed. "I thought he was out of our lives!" Brian was taken aback by Michael’s vehement assertion. "He can be out of your life, but don't expect me to push him out of mine." Brian tried to remain calm, but he hated having to defend his relationship with Justin to Michael. He knew that Michael had been relying on him a lot since is break up with Ben, but had been convinced he would move past that. Now, after seeing how threatened Michael was at the chance that Justin would be back in his life, Brian wasn’t so sure. "He left you, Brian." Now Michael was whining. "Yeah. And now he's back." Brian signaled for more coffee, knowing he was going to need it. "In the last three months..." Michael whimpered. "I thought you and I..." "No, Michael. You know that isn't going to happen." Brian felt a throbbing in his temple. "Brian..." Tears came to Michael's eyes. "No." Brian slammed his coffee cup down and stalked out of the diner after shouting, "Deb, cancel my breakfast!" --- "You look nice." Jennifer Taylor said to her son. Justin was standing in front of the mirror wearing some of the clothes he had bought in L.A. His outfit consisted of a pair of thick charcoal colored pants and a tight white v-neck sweater. "Where are you off to tonight?" "Dinner with Brian." Justin replied as he fixed a hair that was out of place. "Really?" Jennifer sat down on Justin's bed, a look of concern crossing her face.. "Are you going to tell him?" "Tell him what?" Justin asked absently as he looked himself over in the mirror. "That he's the reason you came back. That you love him." Jennifer said. Justin looked at his mother with shock. "Mother's always know, Justin. Just be careful and tell him what you need." Justin walked over to the bed and sat down next to his mother. “Is it bad that I want him to tell me first?” Justin asked. He knew that his mother would know what to say, and after having been gone for a while he felt that he could confide in her. “It’s not bad to want to hear it first. But if you feel it, and I believe you do, tell him no matter what.” Jennifer, though in the past she had wanted Justin to be with someone his own age, truly believed that Justin and Brian belonged together. “What if he doesn’t love me back?” Justin asked painfully. “Would he be taking you out tonight if he didn’t?” Jennifer asked raising an eyebrow. Justin threw his arms around his mother and hugged her tight. “I’m glad I’m home, mom.” He said. “I am too.” She kissed his cheek. She held her song for several moments. In his time away, she had worried about him everyday and now that he was home she couldn’t stop worrying. --- Brian knocked on the door of Jennifer Taylor’s condo. When she opened the door, he smiled. “Hi, Jenn. It’s been a long time.” “Hi, Brian.” She said with a light smile. She hoped that this time would be different for Brian and her son. “Come in. Justin’s just finishing getting ready.” Brian stepped into the house just as Justin reached the bottom of the stairs “Hi, Brian.” Justin said. It felt strange for him to be talking to Brian again. There had been a time, right after he met Damien, that he thought he might never see Brian again. “Hey.” Brian said. His breath was taken away at the site of Justin. He looked beautiful. To Brian, it was like he was dying of thirst and Justin was his water. “Um, are you ready to go?” “Yeah.” Justin said as he slipped on his leather jacket. “I’ll see you later, mom.” He kissed his mother on the cheek and followed Brian out of the condo. During the ride to the restaurant, Justin told Brian about his trip. He talked about Juliette Duquette and her long dead son. He had brought along the newspaper print out from the library and he showed it to Brian. “That’s you.” Brian said with confusion. “No. That Mathieu Duquette. It was years and years ago. He was murdered.” Justin said sadly, thinking of Juliette and the afternoon that he met her in the coffee shop. “And you met this guy’s mother?” “Yeah. Her name was Juliette. She died during her sleep that night.” Justin was still saddened by what had happened, but he knew that Juliette had gotten what she wanted, to see her son’s face once more. “That’s a little bit too Outer Limits for me.” Brian said with a smile. He was happy that the conversation was coming easily between the two of them and hoped that it stayed that way once he said what he had to say. “What have you been doing?” Justin asked. “Same as usual. Working. I’ve been spending a lot of time with Michael since he and Ben broke up.” Brian winced, wishing that he hadn’t mentioned Michael, remembering the conversation from that morning. “They broke up? Michael didn’t say anything when I saw him at Deb’s the other day.” Justin said. He couldn’t help feeling a little suspicious of Brian’s relationship with Michael, but pushed the childish feelings aside. “It was a couple of months ago.” Brian shrugged. “Ben was an asshole to him.” “So you came to the rescue?” Justin teased. “Something like that.” The tone in Brian’s voice told Justin that Michael wasn’t someone that he wanted to be discussing. “So… How’s work?” Justin asked to fill the silence. “It’s been going well. I think I may be up for a partner sometime this year.” He smiled. Being promoted to partner was something he had been working his entire career at Ryder for. “That’s awesome, Brian.” Justin exclaimed with a smile. Brian beamed. “I’m pretty happy about it.” He replied as the arrived at the restaurant. During dinner Justin talked more about his trip and all of the things he saw. Justin was careful not to mention Damien because he saw the reaction Brian had to hearing about it the night before. He talked a lot about Maria and his time in New York. He talked about all of the books that he read and all of the things that he learned. When it seemed like Justin had nothing left to say, Brian began. “I really missed you a lot. I wish I wouldn’t have missed you when you called.” He regretted bringing up the phone calls the minutes the words left his mouth knowing that it would remind Justin of the trick that answered the phone the first time. “I understand. You were busy.” Justin’s voice lost all of the excitement it previously held. “Justin… about that morning when the guy from work answered…” “That was someone from work?” Justin asked with confusion. “A trick from work.” Brian admitted painfully. “He was the last one I brought home.” “Why?” Justin asked. “Because of you.” Brian admitted. “I wanted to know that I could give up tricking before you came home. Now I know I can. I’ll admit, there’ve been a couple of guys in the backroom at Babylon, but the last one was a couple of weeks ago.” “What are you telling me, Brian?” Justin wasn’t sure he could believe that Brian wanted a monogamous relationship just like that. “Could we try… one more time?” Brian had a hard time getting the words out, knowing that it had always been Justin who needed him, and now it was the other way around. “Try the whole thing? The relationship? The monogamy? The partnership?” Justin watched Brian’s face and was surprised when he didn’t wince at the words he once hated. “I realized that you’re the only person in the world who can completely satisfy me.” Brian said. His heart ached as Justin sat silently for a moment, pondering what Brian had just told him. Finally, after several minutes, he spoke. “I don’t want to rush.” Justin said. “This time I want to take it slow.” “How slow?” Brian groaned. “I want the dates, the flowers, the candlelit dinners, the romantic sentiments.” He couldn’t believe that he was actually telling Brian everything that he wanted “And then you’ll be mine again?” Brian asked. Justin nearly fell off his chair. Brian hadn’t complained at all. “I’ve always been yours.” Justin said quietly. Brian reached out and took his hand. “I’ve always been yours too, Justin. But now you can have me all to yourself.” Brian said. “I’ll do the dates, and the flowers, and the dinners, and the sweet nothings… I’ll do it all.” “There’s one more thing I need.” Justin said solemnly. “Anything.” “I need the words.” Justin looked down and the back up at Brian. “You’ll get them.” Brian said. “But not right now. I want it to be special when I say it.” “Who are you and what have you done with Brian Kinney?” Justin asked with a smile. “He met this wonderful blond twink a few years ago and nothing has been the same since.” Brian smiled. “Let’s get out of here.” --- “Are you sure?” Brian asked as he and Justin lay in his bed when Justin’s hand moved to stroke his cock through his pants. “We don’t have to tonight if you don’t want to.” “I want to.” Justin breathed. He slipped his hand under Brian’s shirt and started touching his chest. “This is a part of it.” “What about taking it slow?” Brian threw his head back as Justin scraped his finger nails over his nipple. Justin knew exactly how and where to touch him to make him hard instantly. “We can take it slow.” Justin pulled Brian’s shirt up to expose his nipples. With a smile, he leaned down and lightly licked one nipple. “See? Slow.” Brian leaned back and let Justin have free reign over his body. He closed his eyes. “More, baby.” Brian breathed as Justin continued to use his mouth on his nipples. “That feels incredible.” Justin continued to alternate between nibbling, sucking, and licking on Brian’s sensitive nipples. He couldn’t believe that Brian wasn’t pushing his head lower. “Tell me what you want.” Justin whispered as he licked down Brian’s chest and drew circles with his tongue around his navel. Brian was lost in the feelings having Justin’s mouth on him evoked and didn’t hear him. Justin looked up and saw the pure pleasure on Brian’s face. He moved his mouth lower and licked alone the waistband of Brian’s pants. “Oh god, Justin!” Brian moaned. “You’re torturing me!” Justin smiled and continued to lick Brian’s tummy as he opened his pants. “Yeahhhhh…” As Justin’s mouth engulfed his cock in it’s warmth, Brian arched his back and let out a low growl in his throat. The sensations Justin’s mouth created were too much to take. As Justin expertly slid Brian’s cock in and out of his mouth, Brian writhed on the bed. “I need to be inside you!” Brian suddenly exclaimed, knowing that if Justin continued he was going to cum. He pulled Justin off his cock and started to undress the both of them, needing to feel skin against skin. “Hurry, Brian.” Justin cried as Brian applied lube and slipped a condom on. It was like they both knew that they could take their time later, now they just needed to be joined. Brian lifted Justin’s legs over his shoulders. As he swiftly pushed himself inside Justin, the both cried out. Neither of them had felt the same pleasure since they had last been together. “I… missed… you… so… much!” Brian ground out as he slammed his dick in and out of Justin, who was moaning in ecstasy. “No… one… makes me… feel… like this….” He continued. “Shut up and fuck me, Brian!” Justin exclaimed. “I’m going to come soon!” "Wait for me, baby!” Brian exclaimed. When they did come, perfectly in sync, they both cried out each other’s names. --- As Michael walked grumpily into the diner for breakfast he saw them. Brian was sitting in their regular booth, but this time he had Justin on his lap and they were feeding each other pancakes. It was disgustingly romantic and made Michael want to vomit. “Morning.” Michael said shortly. “Oh, hi, Michael.” Justin said with a smile as he slipped a fork full of syrupy pancakes into Brian’s mouth. Even though they were in the diner, feeding each other was an immensely erotic experience and they both knew that they would be going back to Brian’s house for another round as soon as they were finished. “Michael.” Brian said shortly. He forked more pancakes for Justin and ran them over the young man’s lips before letting him pull the fork into his mouth with his tongue. Once Justin was finished chewing and had swallowed, Brian pulled Justin’s lips to his for a sweet kiss. “Mmm… syrup tastes even better on your lips.” “Can’t you two keep that in the bedroom?” Michael asked angrily. “Some of us don’t want to see it.” Justin, assuming that Michael was upset that he didn’t have someone to be romantic with, said, “I was sorry to hear about you and Ben. Don’t worry, you’ll meet the right person.” “What the fuck do you know?” Michael demanded, eyes blazing. Justin was taken aback and looked at Brian for help. “I probably should have told you that Michael thought that he and I were going to be a couple.” Brian said. He wasn’t about to keep any secrets from Justin, his friendship with Michael be damned. Sure, his friendship with Michael was important to him but he wasn’t about to sacrifice what he had with Justin just because Michael was deluded and jealous. “Oh.” Justin replied, looking down at the table. “And then you had to come back.” Michael spat. “Don’t blame how I don’t feel about you on Justin, Michael.” Brian became angry and protective. “There was never anything beyond friendship between you and me. Deal with it.” Justin knew how Michael must be feeling. He knew how much Brian’s words could hurt when he set his mind to it. As Michael walked, dumbstruck, out of the diner, Brian buried his head in Justin’s chest. “It’s ok, Brian. It will all work itself out.” “What the hell am I supposed to do with him?” Brian was really upset. “After all this time you would think he would know.” “When did this happen?” “After Ben dumped him.” Brian replied. He held Justin against him like a lifeline. He knew that, no matter what happened with Michael, he would be happy as long as he had Justin with him. “Do you want to get out of here?” Justin asked. “Yeah.” Brian replied. Justin climbed from his lap and Brian stood. “I should take you home. Mama Taylor will be worrying by now.” “I called her after you fell asleep last night.” Justin informed him. “Let’s go back to my house then. I think I have some syrup that we could have fun with.” Brian winked. “Rain check?” Justin asked. He was trying to keep his promise to himself to take things slow and spending every waking moment with Brian wasn’t taking it slow. “Got something better to do?” Brian asked a little hurt. “Just going to go home and draw for a while. Slow, remember?” Justin smiled. “Right.” Brian took the boy’s hand. “Can I see you tonight?” “Sure.” Justin nodded, thinking that they would go to Babylon or something. Brian had other ideas, but he decided that he was going to keep them a secret. “Wear something nice, ok?” Brian had a sneaky glimmer in his eyes and Justin knew that he was up to something. “OK, I will.” They held hand as they drove back to Justin’s mother’s condo. Before Justin got out, Brian kissed him thoroughly. “See you tonight.” Brian whispered before Justin slipped into the condo. As he drove back to his house, anxious to make plans for the evening, he reveled in how amazing the night before had been. --- Step #1 : The Date Brian straightened his tie and checked his appearance in the mirror one last time. He was wearing a dark gray suit with a red shirt and tie. He thought he looked very nice. Everything was planned for his perfect evening with Justin and he was hoping things would progress to the relationship soon. He was already getting impatient with taking it slow. He grabbed his keys and hurried out to the Jeep. As he drove to Justin’s, he couldn’t believe he was nervous but he was. The butterflies in his stomach were a new feeling. He supposed it was because he wanted to evening to go perfectly. When Justin opened the door at Brian’s knock, he nearly fell over. Brian was standing there smiling at him, dressed to the nines. He knew that he didn’t look half bad himself in a black suit with a blue shirt. Now, seeing Brian, he wondered if he should have worn a tie. “Hey.” Justin said with a smile. “Hey yourself.” Brian replied. If he wasn’t trying so hard to make everything perfect he would have dragged Justin back to the house and made love to him all night. But that could wait for later. “You look amazing.” “So do you.” Brian pulled Justin close and kissed him. “We’d better hurry. We don’t want to be late.” Justin was a little bit confused, but followed Brian out to the Jeep. Step # 2 : Flowers As Brian opened the passenger door of the Jeep for Justin to climb in, Justin saw the flowers sitting on the seat. They were beautiful orchids with a few sprigs of baby’s breath. “Oh, Brian, they’re beautiful.” Justin lifted the flowers and inhaled the scent. "I thought you’d like them.” Brian said. He had contemplated buying a dozen red roses, but knew that Justin would appreciate the orchids more. Now he knew that he made the right decision. “Where are we going?” Justin asked. “You’ll see. Get in.” Brian said with a wink. Justin laid the flowers on his lap once he was seated in the Jeep. Brian closed the door and ran over to his own side of the vehicle. “The date… the flowers…” Justin said quietly. “You really are amazing, Brian.” “There’s more to come.” Brian took Justin’s hand as they drove. Justin was confused as they pulled into a residential area. Even more confused when Brian pulled the Jeep into a driveway and shut it off. “Where are we?” Justin asked. “Wait.” Brian said. He got out of the Jeep and opened the door for Justin. He took his hand and led him around the back of the house. Justin nearly fainted when he saw what awaited them. Step #3 : The Candlelit Dinner A beautiful bistro table was in the middle of the patio. There were candles on the table as well as all around the patio. On the table were two covered plates. Brian pulled out Justin’s chair and Justin sat. It was then he noticed the bottle of champagne chilling next to the table. “Brian, this is beautiful.” He breathed. He looked into Brian’s eyes and knew that the most important part of the evening was still to come. He got butterflies in his stomach just thinking about it. Brian poured them each a glass of champagne. “To us.” He said as he raised his glass. Justin agreed and the touched their glasses together. “And for dinner…” Brian said as he slipped the lids of the plates, “… Pepperoni pizza.” Justin laughed at Brian’s choice for dinner. “I know it’s your favorite.” “You are too much!” Justin said with a smile. “Flowers, candlelight, champagne, and pizza.” Justin laughed. “How did I ever get so lucky?” “We both got lucky.” Brian promised. As they ate they talked about anything that came to mind, simply enjoying each other’s company. After they were finished eating, Cynthia appeared at the patio doors. “Hello, gentlemen.” She said sweetly. “May I take those plates?” Brian nodded and Cynthia disappeared into the house with the plates. “This is Cynthia’s place?” Justin asked. He was sure that Brian’s assistant couldn’t afford a home like this. Brian shook his head. "It’s her parent’s place.” He replied. Moments later, Cynthia appeared with two plates. On each plate was a piece of cheesecake with caramel drizzled over the top, another of Justin’s favorites. “Enjoy.” She winked at Brian as she disappeared back into the house. “How did you trick her into this?” Justin asked as he dove into his cheesecake. “She offered.” Brian replied. And she had. He had called her earlier in the afternoon and asked where he should take Justin and she had come up with the idea of using her parent’s patio on her own. Her parents were out of town and she was house-sitting. She had always imagined how romantic the patio would be for a candlelit dinner and was happy to help Brian out. “Wow.” Justin said with amazement. After they had both finished their dessert, Brian took Justin’s hand and led him across the backyard to a lit fountain. Rose bushes surrounded them and the moon shone down on them. Step #4 : Romantic Sentiments “Justin, there are some things that I want to say.” Brian looked into Justin’s eyes and smiled. “You are the most beautiful, amazing person I have ever met in my life. When you left, everything was wrong. I don’t ever want to lose you again. You make me the person that I have always wanted to be.” Tears came to Justin’s eyes as Brian continued. “I want to spend the rest of my life making you happy. And I want you to know that you are the only person that I have ever or will ever love. Justin Taylor, I love you.” Justin threw his arms around Brian as soon as the words had escaped his lips. “I love you, too.” He cried. The whole evening had overwhelmed him and he couldn’t have imagined a better moment to hear those words from Brian’s lips for the first time. They stood holding each other for a long time. When they finally let go, they made their way to the Jeep and headed home. They both knew what they needed. --- “Morning, baby.” Brian said when he saw Justin’s eyes flutter open the next morning. Justin snuggled closer into Brian’s embrace. “Mmm, morning.” The events of the previous evening brought a contented smile to his lips. “Last night was amazing, Brian.” “I hoped you’d say that.” Brian grinned. “I hate to have to tell you this though. We left the flowers in the Jeep last night and they’re probably dead by now.” “Don’t care. You can always get me more.” Justin winked and reached up to kiss his lover. “Will it always be like this?” He purred. “Yup. Forever and ever and ever.” Brian tightened his embrace on Justin. “Are you going to move in soon?” “What happened to going slow?” Justin asked. “Well, I think I covered all the steps last night. I want you here with me every night.” Brian said. “In time.” Justin promised. “In the meantime, I can still spend some nights here.” He hoped that would be enough for Brian. He really needed a normal beginning to a relationship. “Ok.” Brian grumbled. In truth, however, he was happy just to have Justin back with him.\ --- Six Months Later “Should we send an invitation to Michael?” Justin asked. He and Brian were sitting at Brian’s dining room table addressing invitations to their commitment ceremony. Michael and Brian had started talking to each other about a month after the incident at the diner, but Michael was still angry about Brian’s choice to be with Justin. “You can send him one, but he won’t come.” Brian grumbled. He didn’t want Michael there anyways; he wanted the day to be perfect for himself and Justin. “I think that’s everyone.” Justin said as he licked the envelope to Michael’s invitation. They had decided to keep it small. Jennifer, Debbie, Vic, Lindsay, Melanie, Emmett, Ted, Michael, Daphne, and Cynthia were the only people that they were inviting. They only wanted the important people there. "Can you believe we’re really going to do it?” Justin asked. “Yup.” Brian smiled. “You just want me to move in.” Justin chuckled knowingly. He had promised Brian that their first night of living together again would be their wedding night. “Damn right.” Brian reached out and touched Justin’s hand. “I sleep better when you’re with me.” “I love you.” “I love you, too.” The End |
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| PART 3 Reach out to me Call out my name And I will bring you Back home to stay |