Anything Goes - Part 16

Home, Sweet Home

Brian cursed under his breath when he heard the loud knock on the door.  Quickly rising from the couch and crossing the loft, he hurried to open the door before the banging woke up Justin.  Sliding the door open, he wasn’t in the least bit surprised to see the mother-brigade on the other side of it. 

“Be quiet,” he said as Jennifer and Debbie, armed with bags of what he suspected was food, pushed past him and headed into the kitchen.  “He had a rough night.”  If that wasn’t an understatement of the century, he didn’t know what was.  First, it took him nearly two hours to get Justin released from the hospital and, picking up his prescription on the way, to get him to the loft.  Then, Justin’s temperature shot up again.  On top of which, it turned out that the antibiotics they were giving Justin in the hospital irritated his stomach in a pill form, so the teen spent the rest of the night puking his guts out.  Justin was in such bad shape that more than once Brian wanted to take him back to the hospital.  But Justin, practically crying, begged him not to.  It was after four when Brian finally got a hold of the doctor to get a different prescription.  Not wanting to leave Justin alone, he coerced Michael into going to the pharmacy.  Finally, about an hour after Justin took the pill, his fever broke and he was finally able to fall asleep.

But Brian couldn’t.  He was afraid to even leave the bedroom.  He just sat at the foot of the bed, watching Justin sleep peacefully.  Making sure the teen didn’t stop breathing.  Didn’t choke on his own vomit.  He sat like that for hours, until the sun began to come up.  Confident that Justin was, indeed, ok, Brian laid down on the couch, giving in to much needed sleep.  That, of course, didn’t last long.

“From the looks of things, he wasn’t the only one,” Debbie said, looking him over.  Unshaven, his hair a mess, his clothes wrinkled…he was sure he was a sight to see.  But all he wanted at the moment was the two women gone and his head hitting the pillow. 

“How’s he doing?” Jennifer asked.

Brian pulled up a stool, slumping on it tiredly.  “He’s better.”  He figured there was no reason to worry the woman and give her another reason to stay here longer than was necessary.  If Justin wanted to, he could relay all the glorious details to her later, if he even remembered any of it.

“I want to see him,” Debbie said, beginning making her way toward the bedroom.

“No,” he said, jumping off the stool and blocking her way.  The last thing he needed was a woman in his bedroom.  Especially one of Justin’s mothers.  “He had a hard time falling asleep.  I don’t want you to wake him up,” he explained, pushing Debbie in the opposite direction.  “I think it’s time for you to go,” he said, handing Debbie her purse.

“Are you sure you don’t need any help?  He can be a handful when he’s sick,” Jennifer offered.

“You couldn’t have warned me yesterday?” he snickered, making the woman smile.  “No, it’s fine.”  He continued moving both of them toward the door.  “I’ll have him call you as soon as he wakes up,” he said in a dutiful voice while he opened the door and maneuvered the two women out of the loft.  “Have a nice day,” he waved to them before sliding the door shut. 

With that all taken care of, he knew that they would not be disturbed for at least four-five hours, Brian headed to the bedroom to see how much damage was done from the noise.  Not surprisingly, he was greeted by Justin’s blue eyes staring back at him.

“How long you’ve been awake?” he asked.

“From the second bang,” Justin replied, smiling slightly.  “You look as bad as I feel,” he said to Brian who flopped down on the bed next to him.

“Gee, thanks.  See if I ever clean up after your puke again,” Brian pouted.

“Is that why my stomach hurts like crazy?”

Brian nodded, scooting closer to Justin and propping himself up on his elbow.  “How do you feel?”

Justin shrugged.  “Better, I guess.”

Brian leaned in, his lips touching Justin’s forehead.  “I think your fever’s gone,” he concluded, looking down at his boyfriend.  “Hungry?  We’ve got enough food to feed an army.”

Justin shook his head.  “Just thirsty.”

Without another word, Brian got up and left the room, returning a couple minutes later with a glass of water in his hand.  After Justin gulped down the water, he took the glass from his lover, putting it on the nightstand before collapsing on the bed.

“Brian?”

“Mmm?” he forced himself to look up.

“About what happened…”

“No,” Brian shook his head.  “We’re not gonna talk about this now.”

“But…”

“Justin, I’m tired and you’re sick.  I’m sure there’ll be a time much better suited for a conversation like that.  This isn’t it.” 

Justin nodded in defeat.  “Ok.”

Satisfied with Justin’s answer, Brian buried his head in the pillow once again.

~~~***~~~***~~~

Peeking out of the bedroom, Brian watched his lover move methodically around the kitchen.

“What the hell are you doing?” he called out as he finished tying his tie.

“Making breakfast,” Justin called back from the kitchen.

Finally done with getting ready for work, Brian made his way to the kitchen.  “Shouldn’t you be in bed?  Recuperating?” he asked, pouring himself a cup of coffee as Justin put a plate with eggs and bacon in front of him. 

“I feel fine.  Besides, I start the new job Monday, so I have to get ready, go get a few things from my apartment,” Justin explained.

Brian put his cup down and stared at him.  “The only place you’re going is back to bed.  I don’t need you to have a relapse.  The doctor said a week.”

Justin just rolled his eyes.  “No, the doctor said that it usually takes about a week, but young healthy people like me usually get back to normal earlier.  Which I am.  I feel fine.”

But Brian wasn’t convinced.  “I don’t care.  I’m not risking cleaning up puke after you again, so get your ass in bed and stay there.”  When Justin was ready to object, he added.  “If you don’t, I’ll send Debbie on you.”

The threat had the intended effect as the teen made a hasty dash for the bedroom without another word. 

After finishing his breakfast, Brian went in to check on his sick lover before he left for work.  He wasn’t surprised in the least to find the blonde peacefully working on a sketch, lost in his own little world.  Brian stood there for a moment, watching Justin draw.  He had seen it so many times, he’d lost count, but it never ceased to amaze him how beautiful the artist looked as he worked on bringing to life whatever or whoever it was that had the privilege to become his inspiration. 

“Brian?”

Justin’s voice brought him back to the present. 

“What?”

“Do you think…maybe…” Justin hesitated.  “I should probably get my things from the apartment.”

Brian knew this conversation was coming.  Somehow he was able to dodge it up until now, but Justin was pretty much back to normal and his focus, as it should be, was on the fact that even though he officially had moved back in, all of his things aside from a few shirts and a couple of pairs of pants were still back in his apartment.  Brian couldn’t understand why he would have a problem with that, considering he had wanted nothing more than for Justin to move back into the loft since they’d gotten back together.  But now that Justin was finally here, something was stopping him from making the final plunge. 

Exhaling sharply, Brian shrugged his shoulders.  “Can we talk about this later?  I’m gonna be late for a meeting,” he said, leaning down to give his lover a kiss.  He knew that Justin was less than satisfied with the answer, but it was the best he could do at the time.  He needed time to think.  Time away from Justin. 

~~~***~~~***~~~

“Nick said he’ll drop by later today after work,” Caleb said.

He and Justin were currently planted on the couch in front of the television, eating pizza that Caleb was so kind to bring with him and watching the Cartoon Network.

“Great,” Justin exclaimed.  “I’m so fucking bored.  Any change of scenery is great.”

“Gee, thanks,” Caleb pretended to be offended.

“Oh, you know what I mean.”

Caleb snickered.  “Yeah, anybody who isn’t your mother or Debbie or even Brian would work as your entertainment.  I get it.”

Justin smiled at him.  “You try staying in bed for five days.”

“Actually, I wouldn’t mind it…as long as I had company.”

They both laughed.  “Yeah, well, unfortunately my company had to go to work, so I’ve been stuck here all alone.”

“Speaking of, how are things with you two?” Caleb asked, changing the subject.

Justin’s smile faded, replaced with a frown.  He shrugged his shoulders.  “I don’t know.  I mean, he says he wants to make it work.”  He paused.  “He won’t talk to me.  About what happened, he won’t talk to me.  And I don’t know what to do.”

“Maybe he got the right idea.  Just forget and move on.”

But Justin knew better.  He shook his head.  “That’s the thing.  He didn’t forget.  He just moved on.  With that thing still hanging over our heads.”

Caleb put his hand on Justin’s shoulder, rubbing it gently.  “It’ll be ok.  You’ll see.”

A trace of a smile graced Justin’s face as he moved into Caleb’s embrace.  “I don’t want to lose him, Cale.”

“You won’t lose him.”  Caleb ran his hand up and down the blonde’s back, trying to comfort his friend.  “He loves you.”

“What the fuck?!”

Both of them looked up, surprised to see Brian walking through the door. 

“You’re home early,” Justin smiled at him, pulling away from Caleb and getting off the couch.

His day was light and Brian decided to surprise Justin by spending the rest of the day together.  He knew that the teen was getting cabin fever from being stuck inside for the past five days, but afraid that it was too early for Justin to go outside, Brian decided to give the teen the next best thing...himself…in bed…for the rest of the day.

But from the looks of things, Justin had a different idea. 

“What the fuck is he doing here?” Brian demanded, not giving a shit that he was acting like a jealous husband.  He wanted answers…NOW.  Justin was supposed to be in bed…resting, not playing house with his friend on the couch…in Brian’s loft.

“He’s here because I invited him,” Justin replied, immediately going on a defensive, his smile long gone.  “What is your problem?”

“Maybe I should go,” Caleb said quietly, rising from the couch.

“Yes, maybe you should,” Brian barked at him.

“No!” Justin countered, his eyes not leaving Brian’s for a moment.  “You’re MY guest.”

“In MY house,” Brian shot back. 

Deciding that getting between the two lovers wasn’t in his best interest, Caleb grabbed his jacket from the couch.  “Justin, I’ll talk to you later.”  When Justin nodded, he made a hasty exit.

Justin waited until the door closed shut before going into the bedroom and leaving Brian standing alone in the middle of the loft. 

Brian knew that he just made a complete ass of himself, not only in front of Justin but also Caleb.  Unfortunately, he knew he couldn’t claim temporary insanity.  He knew exactly what was wrong with him.  He felt this way before…the twinge in his stomach…the urge to take the sucker who had his arms around Justin and throw him out the window.  Telling himself that he didn’t get jealous didn’t work either.  It turned out it was yet another rule that he broke…because of the blonde twink currently occupying his bed.  The only thing left to do was to eat crow and follow his lover into the bedroom. 

But when he made his way up the steps leading up to the bedroom, he was surprised to find Justin not in the bed sulking, but stuffing his clothes, whatever he had in the loft, into a duffel bag. 

“What the fuck are you doing?” he managed to ask, his stomach sinking.

“Going home,” Justin replied in monotone voice, void of any emotion, any feeling at all. 

Brian swallowed hard, trying to get rid of the growing lump in his throat.  Didn’t help.  “I thought…I thought you were…here.”

Zipping up the bag, Justin slung it over his shoulder.  “So did I, but obviously I was wrong.” 

“Look, I’m…sorry…about Caleb.”

“No, you don’t get it,” Justin shook his head.  “This isn’t about Caleb.”

“What is it about?”

“You don’t trust me.”

Brian sneered.  “Well, can you fucking blame me?”

Justin shook his head.  “No.”

“Well, then…”

“But I can’t live like that either, Brian.  You have to decide what you want.”  Justin watched Brian’s face, waiting for the exec to say something…anything.  When he didn’t, Justin continued, “Look, I knew it was too soon.  Moving back in here.  It will be better if I stay at the apartment.  Better for both of us.  Give you some time.  Give me some time.”

When Brian still didn’t say anything, Justin slung the bag over his shoulder, walking out the bedroom.

Brian knew this was it.  The d-day.  Justin was right.  He had to decide NOW what he wanted to do.  Watching Justin get closer and closer to the door as he stood at the top of the stairs was not what he wanted. 

“Stay.”

It was one simple word, but Brian had no idea how much power it held.  The teen stopped cold in his tracks.  Slowly turning around, he met Brian’s eyes.

“Are you sure?” Justin asked.

Brian nodded.

~~~***~~~***~~~

“It won’t take long,” Justin repeated as he made his way into his room, leaving Brian in the living room with Nicholas.

Brian watched his lover disappear behind the door as the teen went to finish packing, painfully aware that he was the object of an intense gaze from the other man in the room.

Finally, he snapped.  “What?”

Nick bit his lower lip as he made his way over to the couch, sitting on the opposite end from Brian.  “When Justin moved in here he said that he wanted something permanent finally.”

Brian knew exactly where this conversation was going, but he wasn’t about to discuss his relationship with anybody, especially not Justin’s best friend.  “Yeah?  So?”

“So…I hope you know what you’re doing, so he doesn’t have to look for a new ‘permanent’ in two months.”

He didn’t owe the man any explanation or promises or any sort of acknowledgement that he understood what Nick was talking about.  But something inside him needed to make sure that Nick and everybody else understood.  He was giving his best here.  Everything he had.  “I know what I’m doing.”  That was all he would ever say on this matter.  Shooting Justin’s friend a lopsided smile, Brian rose from the couch to go help his lover pack.

Go to Part 17

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