*** 

It's safe to say that after their fifth year, Brian would follow Justin pretty much anywhere. 

To another planet? Definitely. Starting Gayopolis on Mars would be a great semi-romantic getaway. 

To the shittiest, dirtiest, fucking ugliest apartment in the world? Yes, if that's what Justin wanted. 

But not New York. 

Because if there's one thing any self-respecting king knows, it's that one never attempts to take on a bigger kingdom. Not unless that king is ready to risk losing his throne entirely. 

It's like being popular in high school. You know you rule them all. There's no one higher up on the social ladder than you. But then you know that the second you graduate, the paradise is <i>done</i>. You may have worked your way up to the top of the social ladder in high school, but there's no fucking way you can take on college. You have a snowball's chance in hell. A freshman's chance of popularity. In other words: fuck, no. 

Brian rules Liberty Avenue. Tricks cower at his feet. Twinks idolize him, want to be him, or if not him, at least his. The lucky ones he's fucked in the past get to brag about him, as though their five-inchers have anything on his nine. 

And as for Kinnetik and the world of Pittsburgh advertising, Brian is the undisputed king. Once, Vance might have been competition for that title, but now it's clear that only Brian may wear that crown. The clients adore him, everything from his physical attraction to his overall strategy of selling sex appeal. 

Everything about Brian screams <i>sex</i>. His walk, his talk, his face, his ass. His lover. And because of that, he gets noticed. Respected. Worshipped.

But he can't imagine taking on a city that's so big and intimidating – beating out Pittsburgh in terms of population by over seven million people. A smaller city suits him better, where he has access to the conveniences of urban life but none of the pressure of huge, terrifying New York. Pittsburgh is as impersonal as he wants it to get, thank you very much. He doesn't need New York. Doesn't need Christopher Street and Chelsea and the West Village. He prefers Liberty Avenue, which may not be huge but at least it's familiar. 

To Brian and his friends, New York has always been a place. A place symbolizing success and accomplishment, maybe, but a place. Not like Pittsburgh, which has always been a home. 

People say "If you can make it in New York, you can make it anywhere." But Brian already <i>has</i> made it anywhere – in Pittsburgh. 

And that's where he intends to stay. 

Not just for the respect, the adoration, the worship. If that were all, he might consider leaving. There are <i>districts</i> in New York, and even if he couldn't quite conquer the entire city, he could at least handle Christopher Street. 

There's something else, though. It's the environment. 

In New York, you can't go into a club and see someone you know, not without making plans. There are so many fucking clubs – yes, <i>fucking clubs</i> – that there's no such thing as coincidences like that. But in Pittsburgh, there are less choices, and it's more personal like that. More of a home. 

Plus, there's that whole "rush" thing. Everyone is going somewhere fast. That's why they're making subways faster, cabs faster, streetlights faster. Everyone is running. In Pittsburgh, more people are content to just stay where they are.

And in New York, everything is expensive, and most of it's not even ritzy. The priciest neighborhoods are completely out of Brian's reach, but even the shitty ones are pushing it. 

Plus, there's one thing Pittsburgh has that New York will never have: the memories. 

You don't see a street corner in New York and think, "Oh, that's where so-and-so and I made out." Or go into a back room – do they <i>have</i> those in New York? – and find the exact spot where you fucked your first trick. Or at least, Brian doesn't. Brian won't. Pittsburgh is that place for him, and as far as he's concerned, New York can be that place for somebody else. 

And in New York… 

Brian can't look at streetlights and say a little silent thank-you that they exist. Because they're different in New York. 

Everything is different in New York.

And he'd rather stay home, thank you very much.