~*~ Brian waited, because what else was he going to do? He’d really hoped Justin's smile was sincere, that he would be at the diner, but by the time the clock read 2:50AM, Brian was beginning to doubt that sincerity. Had he been wrong in the way he handled things? Maybe paying Justin to perform hadn’t been the best idea he’d ever had. But he really hadn’t thought it through that far. All he wanted was some time with him and thought the club would be the only guaranteed way to convince Justin to give it to him. By the end of the evening, Brian definitely felt something. He was sure Justin had too. But sitting there by himself with only the after club crowd for company, he thought maybe he’d only been seeing what he wanted to. Maybe Justin was only doing what his job entailed. ~*~ Later that day, Brian said goodbye to Michael, seeing him off at the airport, relieved they’d never been able to have the soul baring talk Michael had been pushing for all week. Brian had come to realize a couple of things from Mikey’s visit. Though they’d been friends for a long time, best friends, Mikey's reassurance and approval was something Brian no longer needed. There was a time when he relied on Michael to keep him straight, to keep him grounded. It was clear now, being around him for the past week, those times were over. Michael was now a long distance friend, worthy of monthly phone calls and semi-frequent e-mails, but things would never be the same between them. Brian had to stop living in the past and concentrate on the here and now. Walking into Long and Foster Realtors, he intended to do just that. “Yes, Mr. Kinney. I’ll let Ms. Taylor know you’re waiting.” He sat in the small but tasteful foyer, staring at the vibrant and colorful artwork adorning the walls in front of him. He wasn’t sure exactly what he was looking for in office space. Tommy had suggested some areas more reputable to set up business, but Brian, if he were really going to do this, wanted to stay close to Liberty Avenue where he felt most at home. Cost, Tommy said was not a factor and Brian wondered just how much Payne Information Systems, Inc. was willing to contribute to this venture. Sure, Tommy could take a write-off on the start up, but Brian decided to tread carefully and not be completely indebted to his friend for the next twenty years. His plan, though Tommy didn’t know it yet, was to become a huge fucking success and pay back every dollar spent on making it happen. He’d buy out Tommy’s portion of the company and truly be in business for himself. It would take a while, he had no illusions to that fact, but his ultimate goal was definitely in sight. Brian heard a door open and looked up just in time to see Jennifer Taylor step into the hall. He squinted his eyes, making sure it was really that Mrs. Taylor, but it didn’t change his perception at all. She was still walking toward him and obviously was just as surprised to see him, as he was to see her. Of all the realty services available, the chances of Tommy choosing this one was eerily strange. He stood up when she reached him, rolling his lips inward before saying, “Hello, Mrs. Taylor.” “Brian. I’m… certainly surprised to see you.” One eyebrow rose in question. “I thought I had an appointment.” “It was made through the office of a… Mr. Payne? Your name wasn’t mentioned.” “A friend was doing me a favor.” She looked knowingly at him, no doubt trying to size up exactly what he meant by ‘friend’. “Well, shall we go into my office?” “Look, Mrs. Taylor, I don’t know if…” “It’s Jennifer, if we’re going to be working together. And this is business. I don’t see any reason we can’t put aside any… differences we may have had in the past.” Brian wasn’t so sure she was right, but he was more than a little curious. Maybe he could use this to his benefit and acquire a little knowledge while looking for rental space. He nodded and then quietly followed her into her office. Keying her password into the computer, waiting for the screen to come up, Jennifer tapped her manicured nails on the desk and then looked over at Brian. “Why aren’t you in new York?” “I was. Until recently.” “And now?” “I’m moving back. Starting my own company.” Her features didn’t give anything away, but the tone of her voice did. “With your partner.” “Business partner.” She blushed slightly. “I’m sorry. I just assumed…” “Look…" She sighed and sat back in her chair, pushing her long, blonde hair away from her face. “Have you seen him?” Brian crossed his hands on the desk in front of him. “We’ve run into each other. But I thought he might have told you that.” Sadly, she slowly shook her head. “No.” She met his eyes and he could tell she was forcing herself to stay strong, to hold her own with him. “Justin barely speaks to me. If he does, he’s short and… bitter.” He shrugged, disinterested. “It’s called family. Why should yours be any different?” “For Justin’s sake, I wish it was as simple as that. He’s still very angry, Brian. Angry at Chris Hobbs, at what happened that night… he’s,” she hesitated, “he’s a different person than he was before.” Brian snorted. “You expect him to be the same? Act like nothing happened after being bashed in the fucking head?” She shook her head. “No. I wasn’t saying that at all. I’m just saying… I don’t know. Maybe… maybe I was wrong. Maybe, asking you to leave wasn’t the best thing for him.” “My staying wouldn’t have been either.” “You didn’t see him. He was so determined to get well. He thought that if he worked hard enough, pushed himself hard enough… he’d be released and he’d be able to find you. That was his goal, Brian. The only thing that kept him motivated.” “He never showed up.” “I know. He never went.” He stared, the question of why not on the tip of his tongue, but he couldn’t force it further. He wasn’t sure he wanted to know the answer. “Every day that you refused to speak to him or respond to his e-mails, every day you ignored his attempts to contact you, he became harder and harder to deal with. He’d fly into rages, sometimes for hours at a time. And the nightmares… he’d have them every night. I couldn’t help him because it was you he wanted. It was you he always woke up screaming for. He went to stay with Debbie because he didn’t…” she blinked back a few tears, “he didn’t want to be around me. He honestly felt it was my fault that you left.” “He was wrong.” “Maybe.” Brian pinched the bridge of his nose. So much fucking drama. “I didn’t give a fuck about what you wanted, Mrs. Taylor.” “Jennifer.” He shook his head. “Whatever. I thought it was better for Justin and I knew it was better for me.” “Maybe we were both wrong.” Brows furrowed, he asked, “How’s that?” “He trusted you. He might have talked to you, because God knows he wouldn’t talk to anyone else. He still doesn’t… I don’t think.” Brian shook his head. “He seems fine to me. Just because he’s still pissed at you doesn’t mean he needed some kind of divine intervention. There’s nothing I could have done for him.” She shrugged. “You may be right. Maybe your staying wouldn’t have changed anything. But I shouldn’t have been so quick to blame you and I’m truly sorry about that. I was just…” “Being a bitch?” She grimaced. “Reacting.” “Well, I may have done a little of that myself.” She nodded. “I’m worried about him, Brian. He’s got new friends I don’t know and he’s working as a waiter in some bar I’ve never heard of. I feel like I don’t know my own son anymore.” Brian crinkled his brow. “Why the fuck are you complaining to me? Maybe you should try talking to Justin.” Jennifer sighed, looking almost defeated, and then turned to her computer. “So what kind of price range are you looking at?” Clearly, that was going to be the end of the conversation about Justin. At least he’d gotten a partial view into where Justin’s head was. Although, judging from the little that Jennifer knew, things could possibly be more fucked up than they were both aware of. Brian already knew Justin had pulled away from all the people who cared about him. He may have tried to avoid the gossip in the past couple of years, to distance himself from anything that might render him ‘interested’, but if he happened to catch small details here and there, well… They wrapped up the meeting intent on getting together early the following week, before an awkward goodbye in which neither of them knew exactly what to say. It didn’t help that their last encounter was in the hallway of a hospital where high emotions and misguided blame was abundant. Now, two years later, maybe they could come to a mutual understanding and drop all the pretense of disliking one another on principal alone. ~*~ Friday nights at Babylon were much different than they used to be. Not that there weren’t still plenty of hot guys for the picking, or any less booze and drugs to be had. The music, the lights, the club’s wild attempts to out theme the previous night… that was all the same. Brian had been to the backroom once already, enjoying an enthusiastic red head, and while that too, was no different, not having anyone waiting around to comment on his conquests seemed to make it all a little less enjoyable. Brian would never admit it to anyone else, but lately, he’d been wondering what his life would be like if he hadn’t moved to New York. Would he be one of the washed up has- beens at Ryder getting the axe by Gardner Vance? Or would he be a partner in the agency by now? With Ryder’s counteroffer when he’d handed in his resignation, he was fairly certain he could have asked for just about anything at the time, and received it no questions asked. Why had New York City been such a temptation when there were plenty of things tying him to the Pitts? Things that should have kept him from wanting to leave. His friends? Spending time with his son, being a part of his day-to-day life? Why wasn’t that important enough? At least now he’d have the chance to make up for lost time, assuming Lindsay would stand up to Mel and allow Brian more visitation privileges. He hadn’t been around much for Gus’s first three years. He intended not to ever make that mistake again. And then, there was Justin. This… thing, whatever it was. The fucking mystery that turned his life on axis, that made him vulnerable and made him do things unthinkable such as proms and romance. How the fuck had Brian let it happen? How did Justin manage to get in when he was so successful in keeping everyone else out? The only thing Brian did know for sure was that two years did little to change it. Justin still had this remarkable hold on him and this time, instead of running from it, Brian intended to explore it. He owed Justin that much. Where it would take them, assuming he could convince Justin of his intentions, he didn’t know. But more than anything, he was anxious to find out.