Chapt 11


	Justin stood in complete shock, staring dumbfounded at the father he hadn’t seen in months.  The last time they had seen each other was in the dorm room when Justin had been given his walking papers.  The look on his father’s face now was practically identical to what it was that night.  There was obvious distain and maybe a little sadness under the surface.

	"I was hoping by now you would have gotten these disgusting ideas out of your head but instead I find you here embarrassing not only yourself but our family as well.  How could you stand there and allow this pervert to make a public announcement like that?"

	Craig was fuming by the end of his little tirade but Justin on the other hand was stock still, with the exception of the tremors that had begun coursing through his body.  His hands fidgeted nervously, as his gaze darted around the street.  His whole persona seemed to be resorting back to JT and Brian felt sick to his stomach watching the transformation.  He was about to step in, when Hunter did instead.

	"Where the fuck do you get off talking to Justin like that?  He’s your goddamn son and you just threw him out like he was yesterday’s trash.  And for what?  From what I’ve heard, Justin was a model student.  He loved his family, participated in every boring ass club that catered to country club brats, and has an amazing future as an artist.  But none of that matters anymore just because he takes it up the ass.  That is completely fucked up!"

	"Hunter, watch it," Michael warned.

	"No, he needs to hear this.  At least I knew from the moment I was born that my family was fucked up but JT here was lulled into believing that family actually meant something.  Only now am I realizing what I missed out on.  Justin has lived with that knowledge for the last 3 months."

	"How dare you talk to me like that, you little shit.  You’re just another faggot aren’t you?  You all are, so I have no reason to stay here and listen to this."

	Craig started to walk away from them, when Brian called out.

	"What about your son?  Isn’t that reason enough?"

	Craig stopped moving, keeping his back to the other men.  Finally he turned slowly around and locked eyes with Justin, ignoring the other men around him.  They stood there for what seemed like an eternity before Craig’s stone cold voice replied.

	"I don’t have a son anymore"

	And without saying another word, Craig turned and quickly walked away.  Not once did he look back.  A single tear cascaded down Justin’s cheek, his eyes still following the distant form of his father.  Nothing else penetrated his mind.  It was really over.  If he was no longer a Taylor then who was he?
	Hunter reached out a hand to lightly touch his shoulder.  Justin flinched but remained in place.  Before Hunter could do anything else, Brian was shaking his head in his direction and standing directly in front of Justin.

	"Sunshine, come on Sunshine.  Look at me.  Your dad doesn’t know crap and I’m not gonna let him turn you back into a shell.  Do you hear me?"

	Brian tugged roughly at Justin’s shoulders, gripping him on either side.  Justin continued to stare straight ahead as Brian shook him repeatedly.  Hunter tried to intervene but one look from Brian and he was staying put.

	"Justin, I’m serious.  I am not going to let you disappear again.  If your father doesn’t realize what an amazing fuckin man you are then he doesn’t deserve to have you in his life.  He’s lucky to have you as a son."

	Brian paused, trying to formulate his thoughts and feelings before continuing on.  He took a deep breath and focused again on Justin’s deep blue eyes.

	"And I got fuckin lucky when you walked into my life.  Now you better snap out of this because I’m not putting up with it a moment longer.  I’ve got to protect what we have together, which includes keeping your ass sane."

	Justin eyes suddenly shifted to meet Brian’s, wide open and alert.

	"What did you say?" Justin asked softly.  Brian couldn’t contain his grin.

	"You know what I said Twat so don’t think you can trick me into repeating myself.  How about we go feed that bottomless pit of yours?  If you’re real good then I might even play hooky for the rest of the day."

	Brian playfully jabbed Justin in the stomach, enjoying the laughter that erupted from his mouth.  Before Justin could move out of reach, Brian grabbed him by the back of the head and pulled him into a deep kiss. Once they parted, they remained in each other’s arms.  Brian’s hands slipped under Justin’s shirt and lightly stroked his back.
	Michael and Hunter had been watching their interactions in complete shock.  One moment Hunter was certain Justin was going into complete shut down and now they were behaving like horny teenagers.  Michael had never seen Brian so open and affectionate with anyone before.  The two of them were in complete sync.  Michael felt almost like he was eavesdropping on a private conversation.  He was ready to skip out on lunch, when Justin turned to him smiling.

	"So are we going to just hang out on the street all day or go spend Brian’s money on an expensive lunch."

	Justin’s eyes twinkled and Michael honestly couldn’t imagine saying no to anything he wanted when he looked at him like that.  It was like a kid at Christmas after he received the most extraordinary toy and that toy was Brian Kinney.  Usually Brian would distance himself in a situation like that but he only pulled Justin closer, nuzzling his neck.

	"The prince has spoken.  Let’s go," Brian announced and began to drag Justin down the street.  Michael and Hunter followed closely behind, still awestruck by the range of emotions that Justin had experienced in such a short period of time.  Brian put the moment behind them but there was no way he was going to just let things drop.  Craig Taylor was not going to get away with treating his son like shit, not when that son is Justin.  He would be getting a visitor very soon.
	Lunch was filled with laughter and good conversation, although Brian couldn’t wait to get Justin alone.  His lover had rebounded quickly from his meeting with his father and Brian wanted to make sure it wasn’t just an act.  They had spoken very little about his past, but Brian knew that it was his father’s fault Justin had ended up on the street.  He could only imagine all the thoughts running through Justin’s head.
	Once Hunter and Michael had said good-bye, Brian decided to take Justin to the gym with him.  Running on the treadmill always helped him to relax and give him a moment to think.  That’s exactly what Justin needed.  Once their work outs were finished, Brian met up with Justin in the steam room.  A couple of men followed Justin’s progress over to one of the benches.  Brian casually threw his arm over Justin’s shoulders, staking his claim.  Justin was unaware of the power play going on and relaxed into a corner of the room.  Brian sat down close by, their thighs touching slightly.

	"So you want to talk about what happened today."

	"No Brian, not really."

	Justin closed his eyes and leaned back against the wall.

	"Come on Justin, I can’t help you if you don’t let me in.  For a little while the light was on and nobody was home.  You scared the crap out of me and I think I deserve to know what’s going on.  Don’t shut me out now."

	Justin sighed and reached out to grasp Brian’s hand, his eyes remaining shut.

	"My dad wrote me off within five minutes of finding out I was gay.  There wasn’t a moment of indecision or contemplation over whether he was making the right choice.  He never even checked to see if I was all right or if I was even alive.  I haven’t seen him in three months and not once in those few moments this afternoon did he look relieved to know I was living and breathing.  It just made me realize that I can never go back.  There will never be another family Christmas or afternoon watching old movies.  It’s all over.  I was waiting for nothing."

	Brian squeezed Justin’s hand tightly.

	"You weren’t waiting for nothing.  Maybe you were just waiting for Hunter to find you…."

	"And bring me to you?" Justin interrupted.

	Brian smirked.

	"Yeah, sure why not?  You lived through absolute hell for 2 months just so you could end up in my bed."

	"If that’s what I had to do to meet you, then maybe it was worth it."

	Justin’s eyes opened and connected with Brian’s.  There was such sincerity and emotion there that Brian was left speechless.  Instead he squeezed the hand in his tighter and leaned in for a gentle kiss.  They sat in silence for a little longer, just enjoying each other’s presence.

	"So did you really mean that?" Brian asked suddenly shy

Justin loved seeing this new vulnerable Brian.

"Yeah, I did."

This time Justin was the one to initiate their next kiss, which quickly deepened into a rather passionate make out session.  Before Brian could lose complete control, he was leading Justin out the door