Chapt 3 Hunter watched Justin for a little while as he furiously sketched in his book, like a man possessed. There was so much Hunter wanted to ask him, so many questions about his past, what he wants from the future, and why today was the day he had decided to say more than "hot" or "cold". Instead of berating the beautiful blond, he just watched him. Of all the people to unlock the door to Justin’s mind, Brian Kinney was the last person Hunter had suspected would do the trick. Even more shocking was Brian’s response to Justin. For weeks Hunter had been trying to get Brian to look at him as more than a bug at the bottom of his shoe. None of his best moves seemed to work but one look at Justin and Brian hadn’t been able to look away. The only person Hunter had ever seen him so open and kind to was Michael and his eyes had never roamed over Michael’s body the way they did Justin’s. Part of Hunter was jealous as hell at the attention Justin had received and another part was scared shitless of the turmoil Brian could cause if he pursued a quick fuck with Justin. Hunter could handle the kick out the door at the end of the night. Justin, on the other hand, was fragile and would most likely want more. There was no way Justin’s first sexual encounter since the trick should be Brian Kinney. If Justin were ready to get back in the ring then fine Hunter would find him someone good and gentle. It was what Justin deserved and Hunter would make it happen, even if he had to physically guard Justin from Brian. Curiosity finally got the best of him, as Hunter edged closer to Justin and took a peek at his drawing. He wasn’t incredibly surprised to see Brian front and center but the way he was drawn is what struck him. It was practically what had happened today, before Hunter intervened. His drawing had captured the exact moment Brian had reached to touch Justin’s arm, except in the sketch Brian’s fingers were lightly wrapped around Justin’s forearm. The two men’s eyes were locked on one another and Justin had a faint smile touching his lips. Hunter spoke softly. “It’s really good, looks just like him. If I hadn’t of stopped him from touching you, would you have?” Justin looked up startled. His hand shook slightly, as he seemed to process Hunter’s question. Then he looked down again at his drawing, almost like it was the first time he had noticed it. His finger’s traced the contours of Brian’s face, down his neck, and over to the point where Brian’s fingers touched Justin. “Don’t know, maybe” he whispered. His eyes remained on the drawing. Hunter knelt down in front of him and lightly cupped his chin in his palm. Their eyes finally met, full of questions. “Why? He’s not a god, even if he does have the body of one. Hell, I’d be the first to line up and list off his physical attributes. He’s the guy I’ve been telling you all about. The one who won’t fuck me, despite my best comes on lines. He’s got all the makings for your most memorable fuck. Is that what you want? A good fuck? If he touches you, it’s only going to be here,” Hunter lightly caressed Justin’s thigh with his other hand, “but not here.” Hunter pointed directly at Justin’s heart, his voice softening. “You don’t know that. Maybe it’s him I’ve been waiting for all along.” “Waiting?” Hunter questioned, suddenly confused. “Waiting.” Justin stated and suddenly stood up and walked into the other room. Obviously, he felt he had shared enough for one day. Hunter was left dumbstruck. What was it Justin thought he was waiting for and could he be right? Was Brian it? …. Meanwhile at the gym, Brian was trying his hardest to find out all he could about the mysterious blond without looking like he gave a damn. Not an easy thing to accomplish when Mikey didn’t seem interested in the topic and Ben knew absolutely nothing. Asking random questions about the weather was getting him nowhere so Brian decided to be a little more direct. “So Mikey stop beating around the bush, who’s the new kid?” “A friend of Hunter’s. I already told you that.” Brian groaned inwardly. It was like pulling teeth. “A friend of Hunter’s tells me nothing. How about where he’s from and how long he’ll be sticking around? Are him and Hunter fucking?” “Brian, damn. Can you be a little less crude,” Ben asked exasperated. “Sorry Professor, just trying to get a little more information on your latest foundling.” Mikey finally piped up, “He’s not our latest anything. Hunter is dealing with it. I don’t even know that much about him. They’re friends from the street and Hunter, I guess, takes care of him. The kid got kicked out of his house 2 months ago, tried to hustle but got messed up his first time out, and ended up being adopted by Hunter and a group of hustlers. As far as I can tell, he’s really fucked in the head and doesn’t talk much. He carries around some ratty old sketchbook which Hunter considers the Holy Grail of Justin’s heart.” “So they’re fucking?” Brian could feel his heart clench as he asked. “Jesus Brian, are you even listening to me? They’re not fucking! The kid would probably have a fucking heart attack if someone tried to give him a hug. Hunter’s like a lion protecting his cub, not fucking it. Why do you even care?” “I don’t, just wondering,” Brian stated nonchalantly and went back to lifting weights. Justin was obviously a head case and it would be best to forget he even existed, but he couldn’t. He kept seeing those deep blue eyes and hearing his soft sweet voice. As much as he desired the young creature, he had also been affected my Mikey’s story. Justin had been through hell and the regular Kinney approach just wasn’t gonna cut it. Maybe after they fucked, they could even be friends. He almost laughed out loud at the thought. Well it looks like he finally had something in common with Mikey’s little hustler, a soft spot for a sweet piece of blond boy ass. Over at Deb’s, the Bruckner clan were the last ones to arrive. Brian wanted to get there early, so he didn’t miss any of the introductions. He was more than a little curious to see how Justin would react to all of the people. Deb had almost choked on her wine, when she noticed Brian walk in 15 minutes ahead of schedule. He, of course, had made some bullshit excuse of a disappointing blowjob that took less time than expected. His mind was elsewhere as the lezzies and Emmett talked about his latest catering success. Finally the door opened and Mikey walked in first. One by one they filed in, until a reluctant Justin paused just inside the threshold. His eyes darted around the room like a scared cat, but seemed to noticeably relax once he found Brian. Brian smiled reassuringly and was pleased when a light blush crept up the younger man’s cheeks. Hunter noticed the exchange and stepped over to his left to block Brian’s view. Hugs and words of welcome flew left and right, before Hunter cleared his throat and motioned over to Justin, “Everyone this is my friend, Justin. He’s gonna be staying with us for a bit. Justin, “he motioned for the blond to step up beside him so he could see everyone in the room, “this is Debbie, Michael’s mom and her brother, Vic. Over there is Melanie and Lindsey, their son Gus, Emmett, and you’ve already met Brian.” Justin scanned the room, nodding his head in greeting at all of the eager faces, until he got to Brian. It was only then that he opened his mouth and mouthed the words, “Hello Brian.” Brian couldn’t hear him but could easily read his lips. Just above a whisper himself, he replied, “Hello Justin.” His greeting pleased the blond and suddenly a smile lit up his face and practically the whole room as well. “Sunshine!” Debbie exclaimed, causing everyone to stare in her direction. Brian knew what she meant though, with a smile like that it was the only word to describe him. “ Come on Sunshine, we were just sitting down for dinner. It’s time you got a taste of some real Italian cooking.” Debbie reached over to wrap an arm around Justin’s shoulders, but he ducked quickly before she could make contact. Deb looked ready to say something but Brian beat her to the punch, “Sounds good Deb. Let’s go.” Attention momentarily shifted to Brian, which was just enough time for Hunter to place himself as a barrier to anyone looking to make contact with the blond. He nodded a quick thank you in Brian’s direction as they ventured into the kitchen. Maybe Brian could be more of an ally than he had originally anticipated. At least he was trying to take a little of the pressure off. Brian had maneuvered himself over so that he was directly across from Justin at the table. Their eyes met repeatedly over dinner, although Brian was having a lot of difficulty figuring out what was going through the kid’s head. At first everyone had tried to drag Justin into a conversation, but soon gave up when his answers never strayed from “yes” or “no”. Once Lyndz had tried a new tactic, asking a question that required a larger response. Hunter had nipped that one in the bud as well, when he chose to answer the question instead. So eventually everyone gave up and Justin was left to eat quietly. Hunter chatted away with everyone else, taking moments here and there to check on Justin’s progress. Without even being asked, he had refilled Justin’s plate with pasta sometime during the meal. Justin continued to eat, as if nothing had happened. After dinner they moved into the living room and continued to chat about everyone’s latest, when suddenly the door swung open and Ted stumbled in drunk and high. “Hello everyone, it looks like my invitation must have gotten lost in the mail. Don’t worry, I figured I would just stop by anyway.” Emmett visibly tensed, as Ted got closer. His breath smelled like a brewery and his eyes were completely blood shot. Debbie took a few steps forward. “Teddy, maybe you should go. Now’s not really a good time.” He started to cackle and laugh like a crazed hyena. “Not a good time, it’s family night. Where else would I be but here with you and Uncle Vic, The Munchers and their son, Brian, My Dear Sweet Emmett, and the happy little Brucker/Novatny family, complete with an adopted son. Or is it two sons? Who are you?” Ted asked as he stumbled closer to Justin, squinting his eyes to get a better look. “Quite a looker,” he continued and pulled Justin by the waist against him. Terrified, Justin let out a loud yelp, clawing at the fingers wrapped firmly around his middle. Before Hunter could even respond, Brian had pulled Justin out of Ted’s reach and into his own arms. “You stay the fuck away from him, Ted. Now listen to Deb and take a walk. I’m not putting up with your shit, so don’t push me. We’ll talk tomorrow, but not tonight. You hear me, Teddy?” Brian threatened. As soon as Justin’s body had connected with Brian’s, he wrapped both arms tightly around Brian’s chest. His whole body trembled as he clung to him. Ted stepped back, looked one more time around the room, and headed out the door in a rage, mumbling all sorts of swears under his breath. Emmett leaned into Michael’s sudden embrace, while everyone else stood in shock. Brian gazed down at the top of the golden head and out of nowhere found himself laying a gentle kiss on top. With both hands, he rubbed up and down Justin’s back until the shakes had almost completely stopped. He continued to lightly stroke Justin’s hair, soothing him with words of comfort. While the crowd gathered around Emmett for moral support, Brian and Justin stayed exactly where they were and Hunter looked on. Even at his most desperate, Justin had never returned an embrace until now. Watching them together, Hunter again felt that mixture of sadness and elation. Justin was coming back but it wasn’t Hunter who was making it happen. What if Brian WAS what Justin was waiting for, then where would that leave their friendship? Would he even need him anymore?