What They Won't Tell You At The Water Cooler by Lupin111, Xrifree
FeatureSummary:

A/U. Brian's the boss. Justin's the intern. Ethan's the boyfriend. How complicated could that possibly get?

 

A collaboration between Xrifree and Lupin111


Categories: FEATURED STORY, QAF-U.S. FICTION, Alternate Universe Characters: Brian, Ethan, Justin
Challenges: None
Series: None
Chapters: 15 Completed: Yes Word count: 49297 Read: 63674 Published: November 09, 2015 Updated: December 29, 2015
Story Notes:

A/N: So, this story is the result of Xrifree and Lupin111's imaginations taking some strange twists and turns, and winding up in an alternate universe where Brian never met Justin under a lamp post, and Justin had a boyfriend called Ethan.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Disclaimer:

 

 

 

Based on the show ‘Queer as Folk’ by Showtime. All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended and no profit is made from this work.

 

1. Chapter 1 by Lupin111

2. Chapter 2 by Lupin111

3. Chapter 3 by Lupin111

4. Chapter 4 by Lupin111

5. Chapter 5 by Lupin111

6. Chapter 6 by Lupin111

7. Chapter 7 by Lupin111

8. Chapter 8 by Lupin111

9. Chapter 9 by Lupin111

10. Chapter 10 by Lupin111

11. Chapter 11 by Lupin111

12. Chapter 12 by Lupin111

13. Chapter 13 by Lupin111

14. Chapter 14 by Lupin111

15. Chapter 15 - Epilogue by Lupin111

Chapter 1 by Lupin111
Author's Notes:

By Xrifree & Lupin111


19 year old Justin Taylor was not having a good day. Evidently the day was still young, but previous experience had taught him that if something didn't start well, chances are it's going to end pretty crappy too. He hoped against hope that things would improve just this once.

 

Today was going to be his first day of work at Vanguard, a renowned advertising agency in Pittsburgh and god only knew he needed all the good luck he could get. Less money was not a possibility he wanted to consider. Ever since his parents' divorce, he had been flipping through the yellow pages like a maniac and had already landed a job at a diner on Liberty Avenue the week before.

 

Chances were his father would freak if he ever found out Justin was going to be working on Liberty Avenue. But he had lost the right to be freaked out about anything the minute he had refused to keep paying for Justin's art school now, hadn't he?

 

Besides, Justin liked working at the diner. Sure, it was minimum wage and serving tweaked out queens who kept grabbing his ass at two in the morning had more drawbacks than positives, but at least he was somewhere he felt like he belonged. More than he did at St. James Academy, anyway.

 

Debbie, a loud, colorful waitress there - also known as the patron saint for queers everywhere - had instantly taken him under her wing and shown him the ropes. His upbringing had not equipped him to survive at the diner, but Debbie's saucy comebacks and vulgar sexual innuendos to the patrons were education enough.

 

Now Justin was able to tell when a Couple's Surprise plate was edible and when it might lead to a not so pleasant surprise, what nosy questions were too nosy to ask Kiki the waitress- formerly known as Kenny the waiter- and when it was better to just reply with a wink and a smile at a flirty customer- instead of telling them to shut their mouth and keep their hands to themselves.

 

Altogether, working at the diner was a nice experience but there was no way it could pay the rent, so a second job was needed. Attending PIFA was out of the question for now, but Justin hoped he'd be able to save enough money to go next year, while helping his mother and Molly out as much as he could too. Besides it would be nice to work somewhere where he'd be able to create.

 

Justin Taylor, Junior Artist, Vanguard Advertising. It had a nice ring to it. Although Justin Taylor, Creative Director, Vanguard Advertising sounded even better, that would probably take 30 years to happen, if it ever did, and Justin was pretty sure he would have left the advertising world by then.

 

"Up so early?" Ethan asked from his place on the bed.

 

"I'm already running late." Justin replied, while putting on his shoes. He went over to the cracked mirror Ethan had rescued from a garbage truck, to fix his hair hurriedly. Breaking a mirror meant seven years of bad luck. Not a good sign.

 

"Oh right. First day at work."

 

Justin nodded absentmindedly.

 

"Are you nervous?"

 

"That's the understatement of the year."

 

Ethan got up and came to stand behind Justin in front of the mirror, placing his chin on the teen's shoulder. "You know you don't have to do this. You can just stay here… have breakfast with me…"

 

"And I take it you'll pay for the food, and the cat's food and the rent and the heat and everything else?"

 

Ethan thought of it for a second. "We can figure something out. Maybe I'll work the streets more. Maybe even all night. People feel exceptionally romantic at 4 in the morning. They'd like some violin."

 

Justin looked at Ethan in the mirror. "That sounds good. Only problem is you won't have a cell phone to call me from the hospital when someone mugs you and beats you up."

 

"Well, we don't want that to happen." Ethan said and started kissing his cheek and down his neck.

 

Justin smiled. "No we don't. Now let me get my coat and go to work ok?"

 

Ethan begrudgingly moved away to sit on the bed again and watch Justin getting ready from there.

 

"Just call me the minute things get too tough for you over there. So I can come rescue you and we can go to that bistro we love and have hot chocolate." Ethan said after a minute.

 

Justin let out a disgusted grunt. "God I hate that place. And frankly I don't appreciate you putting me down before I even start working there."

 

"I'm not putting you down. I'm just saying, it's not going to be Liberty Diner. You're going to have to work hard there."

 

"Then I'm going to have to work hard there." Justin answered, sipping on a cup of coffee hurriedly. He ended up burning his tongue. Severe tongue burn probably counted as another bad omen, right?

 

Ethan kept staring at him pensively. "I asked around about that Brian Kinney guy."

 

"Who?"

 

"Your future boss. He has a reputation and is not one of the most sympathetic people to work for."

 

"Well, I'll have to make him into one then." Justin replied, getting tired of all of Ethan's jinxing.

 

"He'll probably be an asshole with no taste who won't appreciate your talent. And he'll have you do tasteless tacky advertisements for baby wipes and colognes."

 

Justin stopped on his way to the door. "They make great ads over there."

 

"Come on; is there such a thing as a great ad?"

 

"There will be once I'm through with it." Justin replied, trying to self-boost his confidence.

 

"Are you mad at me?" Ethan asked.

 

"No, I'm not mad at you."

 

"Yes you are. You are pursing your lips. You are super mad at me right now."

 

Justin let out a long sigh. "I have to go Ethan."

 

"See? And you haven't even worked an hour there yet. By the end of the week you'll have my head in a toilet or something."

 

Justin laughed half heartedly at Ethan's feeble attempt to lighten the mood. The truth was he was a little annoyed at the other man. And he'd be a lot more if he caused him to be late on his first day at work. "Bye." He tossed, turning his back.

 

"No kiss goodbye?"

 

The blonde sighed once more, but moved over to the bed to kiss Ethan on the lips.

 

"You'll do great." Ethan decided to finally encourage him. "They are lucky to have you."

 

Justin smiled and left, a lot less sure of himself than he had been that morning.

 

If a black cat crossed his path on his way to Vanguard, he'd probably just leave the whole damn thing all together.

 


 

At Vanguard

 

Justin had made it to work, well ahead of time. Ethan had managed to spook Justin well and good. Vanguard seemed much bigger and far more imposing than it had been when Justin had come for an interview. Everyone seemed to have somewhere to go and something to do, and the butterflies in his stomach were trying very hard to escape. Damn Ethan and all his jinxing!

 

Wendy, the receptionist, was mercifully nice. She smiled at him kindly, and told him go to the office of the Art Director who hired him, one Steven Matthews. Steven had been very nice and pleasant going at the interview, and Justin had found it easy to impress him.

 

He found Steven's office and was about to knock, when he noticed that the door was ajar and he could hear voices inside. Justin took a few steps back, wondering if he should interrupt, when he heard his name being mentioned.

 

" – Justin Taylor. His work was pretty impressive. This is his resume." Voice 1 said (it sounded like Steven.)

 

There was a slight pause.

 

"Who the fuck is this Taylor? Jesus, Steve, I leave you in charge for a week, and you hire some nineteen year old kid? I hope he can colour inside the lines. Did you bother reading his resume? He hasn't even completed his course at…at PIFA! What kind of person gets into PIFA and then decides to take time off? We probably have coat stands with a better sense of purpose. I can't go away for one goddamn week before this place turns into a nuthouse. One mistake and he's out – got it? No one is getting paid to babysit around here."

 

The butterflies inside Justin's stomach? They were dead after hearing that. He took several more steps backwards, and stood standing there, frozen. This was not a good way to start his new job. He almost wished he had been late, so that he wouldn't have heard that. Justin seriously considered turning around and leaving. Let Ethan work longer hours till he finds another agency to work for. Then he paused.

 

Ethan. Who would undoubtedly laugh at him and say 'I told you so' if Justin didn't manage to even last an hour at Vanguard. Fuck noJustin thought. I don't need a babysitter, and I can certainly colour inside the lines. I guess I'll just have to prove my worth.

 

The door suddenly opened, and this he's-so-fucking-hot-he-cannot-be-real brunette walked out.

 

He was the handsomest, hottest man that Justin had ever laid his eyes upon. That face, that body…the inside of his mouth suddenly felt very, very dry.

 

"Justin!" Steven was right behind the brunette. "Good to see you here nice and early."

 

Justin managed to smile, though he was struggling to find the right words.

 

"Brian, this is Justin Taylor, the junior artist we hired. Justin, this is Brian Kinney, one of the partners at Vanguard."

 

Holy fuck, the man was gorgeous!

 

Brian looked Justin up and down, and then turned to Steven. "Does he talk, or do I have to pull a string?"

 

"Uh…pleased to meet you, Mr. Kinney. I've –"

 

Brian cut him off. "Whatever. Steve, I want the visuals for Spring Breeze on my table by three o'clock."

 

With that, he was gone.

 

The rest of the day flew past Justin. He didn't have much time meet the staff; in fact, he didn't have any time to do anything at all. It turned out that the visuals for Spring Breeze had not been touched for the entire length of Brian's absence, and Steve was scrambling to throw something together by three o'clock. Justin got paired up with a copy writer named Kathy, and the two of them were given the brief and told to produce 'at least' four concepts, because they supposedly had a week to have worked on it.

 

"Welcome to advertising, kiddo." Kathy said with a wry smile. Justin liked Kathy. She was at least 28, and apparently had worked as a feature writer at a women's magazine before switching to copywriting.

 

When they had finished the third concept, Justin nervously asked Kathy if they had to formally present them to Brian. Justin was so not looking forward to that.

 

Kathy laughed. "Are you kidding? You just joined today, and Spring Breeze isn't even my account. I'd like to see Steve try and explain to Brian how the two of us were working on these visuals for the better part of last week.

 

Nah, we'll have to have this shit together by two o'clock, and Steven or Josie will go over them with Brian. But don't worry, if Brian likes them he'll never know that it's our ideas, and if he doesn't like them, well, you better get used to making coffee for Steve, and I'll be back to working on the accounts I'm assigned to."

 

Justin didn't know whether he should be relieved or disappointed. One way or another, there was no way he was going to get stuck making coffee in both his jobs.

Chapter 2 by Lupin111
Author's Notes:

By Xrifree & Lupin111


Brian decided to head straight for the diner instead of returning to Vanguard. He had just finished the presentation to the Spring Breeze client and was in an exceptionally good mood. He hadn't expected that. In fact, Brian hadn't expected the meeting to even go ahead as scheduled; he had been certain that Steve hadn't got the visuals done in his absence and Brian had already bought time from the client when Steve and Josie surprised him with some exceptional work in the afternoon. Brian had made some changes, but overall, he was pleased. Who knew that Steve could actually stick to a deadline and produce good work at the same time?

Steve had certainly been busy last week. He had actually worked on Spring Breeze and managed to hire an artist. Brian smiled to himself. That Justin Taylor was delicious. Brian had noticed him walking around the creative department. That ass alone would have been enough to interest him, but the kid was actually good looking, with a brilliant smile. Brian was sure that he had to be gay; the fact that Justin was practically drooling when he had first seen Brian was not lost on him. A week at the very worst, Brian thought. That's probably how long it'll take me to fuck him. He thought briefly about HR, but then dismissed the thought. The kid was nineteen. Practically a PIFA dropout. He wouldn't last more than a week, anyway. Brian would be surprised if he could even design a clearance sale ad. Blonde, good looking and nineteen. The likelihood of Justin actually being talented or even capable was slim to non-existent. Yup, perfect for a slow Wednesday afternoon, Brian thought to himself as he entered the dinner.

"Brian! When did you get back? How was Chicago?" Michael motioned him to come over (not that Brian would have gone anywhere else) and Ben smiled at him. He noticed Ted and Emmett.

"Last night. Chicago was –"

"Chicago was great, the men were hot, and you got your dick sucked off? Right?" Emmett interrupted him.

Brian frowned at him. What was with him? "That would be a summary of my first half an hour in Chicago, yes."

"Great. Now that we have confirmed what everyone already knew, can we move onto a more interesting topic? What time does his shift start?"

'Whose shift?" Brian couldn't believe that they actually had something of value to talk about that no one at the table was even interested in what he had been up to. Well, except Mikey, but he didn't really count.

"Sunshine's."

"Sunshine?" Brian looked around the table. Debbie hired someone called Sunshine?

Emmett was rolling his eyes. "Well obviously that isn't his real name – we can't remember his name, and Deb calls him Sunshine."

Brian looked at Emmett's bright pink t-shirt and snorted. "Sunshine and Rainbow Brite? I'm sure the two of you will make a charming pair."

Emmett glared at him, and Ted chuckled. "You know Brian, you'll probably find him hot too. Amazing ass –"

"Teddy, it's his smile!"

"Em, his smile makes him gorgeous, but really, it's his ass that counts."

Ben laughed. "Did either of you bother speaking to him? He's very smart…great personality."

"Only you, Professor, would value personality over a perfect ass." Brian found himself growing increasingly curious to meet this 'Sunshine'.

"Say what you will Brian, but one day, you'll realize what I mean."

"Heaven forbid." Brian rolled his eyes.

"You know, if I took Sunshine to Babylon, I think we could clean up the floor. He works the graveyard shift, and Deb said that the crowd can't keep their hands off him." Emmett seemed highly taken with his idea. "Oh my god, it's perfect! Do you think Debbie will give him a night off?"

Michael smiled indulgently. "I seriously doubt that, Em. But you could always ask."

"What is it about this…this Sunshine? There are plenty of men with good asses – or has all that technicolour finally affected your eyesight?"

Emmett laughed. "Brian, there is a good ass, and then there is the perfect ass. Trust me – when you see Sunshine, you'll be all over him."

Brian scoffed. "On the contrary, I already caught sight of the perfect ass today, in my art department no less. By Wednesday, I'd have done him, and then maybe I'll look for your Sunshine for dessert."

"Don't be so hasty to jump to conclusions." Ben was thoughtful. "For all his perfect ass and gorgeous smile, that kid is smart and he doesn't seem like someone who'd settle for just some roll in the hay. Not everyone who looks good is empty-headed."

Michael grinned and kissed Ben on the cheek. "And you are living proof of that!"

"Ugh, save us the domestic bliss quotient. So tell us Ben, what is such a dazzlingly bright fellow doing, bussing at some corner diner?"

"I think he has a full-time job somewhere else…and he's very young. Just eighteen or nineteen. He's left home, so I'm sure every penny helps."

"Oooh, fresh young meat!" Emmett clapped his hands in glee. "Brian, try keeping a straight face and telling me that you'd rather do your art department trick than an eighteen year old, bubble butted Sunshine! Though at that age, I might have trouble smuggling him into Babylon…"

Despite his apparent disinterest, Brian was very curious to see this Sunshine. For all his campiness, Emmett recognized talent when he saw it, so if Emmett was gushing about this Sunshine, Brian knew that guy must be hot. Well, this week was getting better and better…Justin Taylor at work, and Sunshine at the diner. Brian smiled in anticipation.

 



Justin was in seventh heaven. Steven had come back from the presentation with a rave review. More importantly, Brian had liked the visuals and Justin couldn't think of praise higher than that. He had spent what time was left after he and Kathy had finished the project getting acquainted with the ad executive's work. The man was a genius. He had a knack for making any product seem attractive. And sexy. He sure as hell based a lot of his material on sex appeal. Which was to be expected, Justin figured. When you were that hot, you obviously start realizing that sex sells more than anything else.

Justin thought of one of his classes at PIFA. He remembered his professor once saying that what people like is always based on three things: blood, royalty and sperm. And Brian had certainly invested on the public's horniness.

After he had heard Steven saying that the boss had loved their work, Justin had suppressed the urge to barge into Brian's office and say: "It was me! I did that!"

He pushed open the door to the apartment he shared with Ethan, balancing a hot coffee and dozens of papers in one hand, his keys dangling from the other. After Steven was done giving them all the credit in world- which was definitely well deserved, Justin thought grinning, he had immediately loaded them with the universe's biggest pile of papers and told them to start working on their next project.

Justin was no fool. He knew the Art Director was milking the opportunity to take credit for their work while he just sat on his ass and did nothing. But Justin was willing to let it go for now. He was excited that he had this opportunity to be creative, and actually have his work appreciated, even though Brian didn't know it was his work.

Brian Kinney. The man was a mystery. Justin was certain that he had to be gay. He kept replaying their meeting in his head.

If he had been single, Justin would probably sleep with him in the blink of an eye.

He pushed such thoughts away from his mind though. The fact was he wasn't single. And he probably shouldn't even think in such a way. Ethan had been nothing short of perfect from the start. Justin could never do that to him.

As soon as the door opened, Justin was greeted by violin music. Ethan gave him a small smile in acknowledgement, but didn't otherwise move from his place in front of the window.

Justin took the stack of papers over to the coffee table, and immediately got to work.

An hour later, his eyes were killing him, he was starting to get a headache from Ethan's music - it did nothing to help him concentrate, and he was seriously considering the possibility that the advertising world was not the perfect place for him.

The screeching of the violin mercifully stopped, and Ethan came to sit next to him on the floor.

"Do you want to go eat out?" Ethan asked.

Justin tore his eyes away from the illustration. "Sorry, I'm busy. Can we order?"

"Sure." Ethan shrugged. "How was work?"

"Fine…" Justin replied absentmindedly. God, this colour was killing him. Maybe orange would be better?

"Do you…"

"Ethan, I'm sorry, could we talk later? I have work to do and my shift at the diner starts in a few hours…" Justin interrupted.

"Jesus, it's not like you are the president of the company or something. I'm sure you can do this later." Ethan said annoyed.

"I want to make a good impression Ethan. They just hired me, I can't exactly slack off, you know?" Justin tried to reason with him.

"Well, this job was supposed to be temporary. And since you started working there, it's as if the world depends on your efforts. They aren't going to fire you for a little delay."

Justin snorted. "You haven't met my boss."

"Great. When am I going to see you then?"

"We live together. You see me every day…"

"Yes I see you every day. And you are always on the run. It's like I'm living alone." Ethan replied heatedly, rising to his feet.

"Why are you getting so worked up over this?" Justin asked incredulously. Hadn't Ethan been ignoring him from the time he got home because he was too busy practicing the violin?

"Why is this job so important to you?" Ethan shot back.

"You know that already." said Justin, glaring back at him. "Look, just… let me do this and on the weekend…we'll go out… I'll buy you dinner to celebrate that I got hired ok?"

"What's there to celebrate? The fact that I have to set an appointment to see my own boyfriend?"

Justin sighed heavily. "Please… can we just let this be for now? I don't want to fight."

"Fine." Ethan replied, even though it was evident in his posture that it wasn't fine with him in the least. He picked his keys up from the table, and taking his jacket and violin case, he moved towards the door.

"Ethan?" Justin called out. "Where are you going?"

"I have to work too you know." he replied acidly.

"What about take out?"

"I'm not hungry." Ethan tossed and closed the door behind him.

 


 

Justin walked into the diner from the backdoor, hoping to avoid Debbie. He was hungry, and wanted to grab something to eat from the kitchen without having to answer her twenty questions. Ethan had no doubt grabbed something to eat on the way, he thought. Justin had actually stopped to shower before starting his shift, and now he was out of time to actually eat something. I hope at least the tips will be good tonight.

When Justin crept in from the back, Kiki looked at him, and shook her head. She quietly passed him a lemon bar and a muffin. "Hurry up and eat that before Debbie comes, and get your ass out there."

Justin smiled at her gratefully before wolfing down her offerings, and then made his way to the floor. As soon as he walked out on to the floor, he was summoned.

"Hey Sunshine, over here. How are you this evening, baby?"

Justin smiled at Emmett and walked over to his booth, notebook in hand, where he could see Ted and Ben, and the backs of two other men. One of them must be Michael…but who was the other guy? That group kept expanding by the day.

"Hi Emmett, what can I get you gentlemen this…Mr. Kinney?" Justin couldn't keep the surprise off his face. Brian Kinney was here? At the diner?

"Mr. Kinney?" Emmett frowned. "Brian, you know Sunshine?"

"Hello Taylor. I didn't know you moonlighted here. And it's Brian. Mr. Kinney sounds like you're talking to my father."

Justin struggled to keep his voice uniform and answer Brian. He did not want Brian making another snarky remark "Uh…I've been working here for about a week now."

When in doubt about what to say, smile. So Justin flashed Brian one of his biggest, brightest smiles. Then he thought of something to say. "What can I get you guys?"

Brian leered at him. "You? Are you on the menu?"

"Er…uh…you're funny Mist...er… Brian."

"He'll have a coffee. I'll have some fries." Michael looked embarrassed on behalf of Brian. Ted, Emmett and Ben also gave their orders and Justin was relieved to make his way back to the counter.

Brian Kinney, his boss, the hottest man in the universe, was here. At the diner. Well, at least Justin could be sure that he was gay. Justin felt embarrassed. Brian will think that he's a total douche, working at a diner till the crack of dawn…how many junior artists bussed tables in their spare time? Ugh. Of all diners that Brian Kinney could possibly frequent, he would have to pick this one.

When Justin turned around to find Brian seated at the counter, with his friends looking on curiously from behind, Justin's embarrassment only increased. The lazy, seductive smile on Brian's face only served to heighten Justin's discomfiture.

Justin exhaled slowly and plastered another smile on his face. "Mi…Brian, can I get you something else?"

"What time are you done here?"

"I'm closing. The diner that is. I mean I have the closing shift. I always have the closing shift." Jesus Taylor, get a grip!

Brian frowned. "And you start at nine everyday at Vanguard? Are you hiding a battery pack somewhere on that body of yours?"

Justin turned scarlet as Brian's eyes roamed over his body. "It's nothing…I can manage without an issue."

"Hmmmm…I thought you might want to join us to go to Babylon. Get someone to cover for you here."

Those damn butterflies started fluttering again. "Oh I couldn't…I'm not a member at Babylon, and there isn't anyone else here…Debbie hired me specifically for the closing shift…"

Brian smirked. "And we wouldn't want to disappoint Deb now, would we?"

"Umm…no…"

Brian leaned forward, and instinctively, Justin leaned towards him, as if Brian was about to tell him a secret.

"So let me get this straight: you would rather stay here and work till three in the morning because you're afraid of disappointing Debbie, instead of coming with me to Babylon, where you could drink, dance and be the centre of my evening. Have I got it right?"

Justin felt his eyes widen. "Centre of your evening…?"

"Aw Sunshine, you didn't think I was just making conversation with you here, did you? I want to fuck you. An evening at Babylon is the perfect appetizer for a booze-filled fuckfest – one I guarantee you will remember for as long as you live. So, why don't you go to the kitchen, ask Kiki to cover for you, and we can get the hell out of here?"

"You…you want to sleep with me?" Justin couldn't believe what he was hearing. Brian Kinney wanted him?

Brian gave an exaggerated sigh. "Isn't that what I just said? Unless 'I want to fuck you' has an altogether different meaning where you're from?"

"But we can't. You're my boss. Isn't it against company policy?"

"Company policy?" Brian held his left hand up as he crossed his heart with his right hand. "I promise not to tell, and you can do the same. Fuck company policy. Besides, it isn't company policy – if I can fuck the client, I sure as hell can fuck a junior artist. At any rate, it isn't as if you're going to be at Vanguard for long."

Justin's heart rate, which was galloping at a thousand beats per minute all this time, suddenly stopped.

"What do you mean? Am I being let go? Did I do something? Did Steven say something?" Justin couldn't believe it. Steven had loved the work he did for Spring Breeze. Brian had loved the work he did – he had saved Steven's ass. Why was he being fired?

Brian looked at Justin with some amount of surprise. "Exactly how long are you planning on staying at Vanguard? I may want to fuck you, but business is business. We don't keep freeloaders. And you, my dear sweet Sunshine, are a freeloader."

"A freeloader?"

"A freeloader. A talentless hack that cannot contribute anything useful. What did you do at work today? You haven't even met anyone in the Client Service department – I know, because I asked them. First day of work at one of the biggest agencies in Pittsburgh, and you didn't so much as venture out of your cubicle. You'd be lucky if you last a week. What did you do today?"

Justin felt trapped. He knew that Brian didn't know that he and Kathy were responsible for the visuals that Brian presented. Telling him now would certainly land Steven in trouble, and Steven in trouble meant Justin in bigger trouble.

"I helped Kathy with some visuals…"

"Of course you did." Brian was back to smirking. "We're wasting time here. Get Kiki to cover your shift."

"Brian, we work together! It would be totally unprofessional!"

"So then you want to wait till you get fired? I should ask you again at the end of the week?"

Justin stared at Brian. This man was serious. He suddenly felt anger starting to bubble inside of him. Justin hadn't flirted with Brian – he had been as tongue-tied as a school kid. Yet, here he was, being picked up like some street corner hooker for a cheap fuck. He might be young and broke and PIFA drop out, but he was not some bargain basement product on sale for the highest bidder. Brian Kinney propositioning him was not altogether different from being pawed on by the graveyard shift customers.

Justin's tone was bordering on icy. "Were I to get fired, by the end of this week, month or year, the answer to your question would still be no. Sleeping with someone with whom there is a degree of mutual attraction is one thing, even if I were to meet such a person at some nightclub, but being propositioned as if I were the daily special off the menu isn't really my thing."

Evidently no one had spoken like that to Brian before, because he took a moment to recover before answering Justin. "So you're finding fault with my approach?"

Justin shook his head in exasperation. What was it with men today? First Ethan, and now Brian."I'm seeing someone Brian. I have a boyfriend. Whatever your approach would have been, the answer would still be no."

Brian tapped his index finger against the counter. "Interesting. So in order of importance as to why you won't sleep with me: your job comes first, your affronted pride comes second and your boyfriend comes a poor third. Good to know."

Justin's indignant protests fell on deaf ears, as Brian made his way back to the booth.

Chapter 3 by Lupin111
Author's Notes:

By Xrifree & Lupin111

"Rachel and Joey? That's stupid. Ross is her lobster" Justin stated, doing the weird lobster-walking-on-the-beach sign with his hands for emphasis.

"It is not stupid!" Kathy exclaimed indignant.

They were having their coffee-and-cigarette break that had quickly become routine. Around them were a dozen Vanguard employees, all gathered in the one room that didn't have a "no smoking" sign. Justin figured he could get his nicotine fix just by inhaling the fumes in that place. But he nonetheless enjoyed his cigarette immensely. He couldn't smoke at home. Ethan said it was a disgusting habit and he would not tolerate it at the apartment.

He liked Kathy. Her weird theories about "Friends" aside, she was a fun person to be around.

"Besides, Joey is hotter. And I think David Schwimmer is gay… does he look gay to you?" she asked, as though Justin was an expert of the sort.

"Tell you what. Next time I'm in Hollywood I'll hit on him. And then you'll have your answer." He replied.

Kathy laughed good-naturedly.

"Justin!" Steve approached them. "Here you are. Brian wants to see you in his office."

"What about?" Justin asked, confused. After yesterday's drama, he wasn't sure he was up to facing the lovely Mister Kinney.

"No idea." Steve shrugged. "But you better get over there fast. He doesn't appreciate waiting." he added and with that he left.

Justin put out his cigarette in a hurry. So much for his 10 minute break.

"Fuck. Did you do something?" Kathy asked worried.

"I don't think so" Except maybe turning down his advances….

"Well, he never asks to see any of us for good… Just…don't get fired ok? I kinda like you."

"I'll do my best." Justin reassured her.

 


 

When he made it to the office a couple of minutes later, Brian was busy yelling at someone over the phone.

"Are you listening to yourself? What kind of bullshit excuse is that?" Brian was saying to his rant-of-the-day victim. "I don't care. Just make it work." He hung up the phone, annoyed.

"Taylor…" he said after finally noticing Justin standing awkwardly next to the door. Brian got up from his chair to close the door behind Justin. "How nice of you to finally come. I've been waiting for you for god knows how long."

"I was on my break…" he tried to justify himself.

"And your point is?" Brian said, raising one eyebrow.

"It won't happen again." Justin replied in his most professional tone.

"You're right. It won't."

Justin could not help but notice how close to him Brian was right now. And the long look he was giving him… it felt like he was trying to read his mind or something.

And, god - what cologne was that? It smelled really really good…

"Take a seat." Brian indicated, after what seemed ages, and moved behind the desk to sit on his 'throne of power'.

Justin sat down and looked at him expectantly.

"This" Brian pulled a large envelope out of seemingly nowhere and let it down on the desk with a considerable thud "is my current project. Callisto Furniture. Now the visuals, as you can see…" he opened the envelope at the correct page without even looking "is shit."

Justin looked down at it. It wasn't that bad…maybe it needed a little fixing here and there…

"It's not perfect…"

"It is shit." Brian repeated. Well, obviously Justin's opinion didn't matter that much. "The stupid Art Director that was responsible did nothing of what I asked him to."

"And you're telling me this because…?"

"It's obvious isn't it? I want you to take over."

"Me?" Justin asked surprised. A whole project on him?

"Yes, you. You don't have to do much really. The general idea is there. You just have to make it actually worth looking at."

Justin was lost for words. "Um… yes… ok…"

"Ok? Great." Brian smiled. "Are we done?" He didn't wait for an answer and just went ahead and started busying himself with some other issue.

"Done? But… you haven't told me what you want."

"Instructions are in the envelope." Brian commented absentmindedly.

Justin took a long breath before getting up. "I'll have it ready by Monday."

If he didn't know better, he would have sworn Brian chuckled. "You'll have it done by tomorrow. The client can't wait any longer."

Brian then went on ignoring him, filing away papers.

"But… Brian…" he tried to get his attention "You have to give me more time…"

"Let's get things straight. You work for me, not with me. So, I would appreciate it if you referred to me as Mr. Kinney. It's only a sign of good manners, don't you think?"

Wow. Talk about cold.

"Mr. Kinney. What you are asking of me is impossible." Justin tried reasoning with him.

Brian stood up with a long-suffering look. He leaned his weight on the desk.

"It is not impossible. It is just… hard."

God, those eyes. Justin couldn't help but stare into them. At least he tried to. It was surely better than getting distracted by Brian's lips. He felt himself flush at the proximity.

"But… if you are not up for it…" Brian went on, his stare making it perfectly clear that he was fully aware of the effect his voice was having on Justin "we can always find something else for you to do. Maybe you can… color something. If you can work it around your breaks of course."

Justin grabbed the damned envelope and excused himself with no other comment. He left the office with a lot of unanswered questions and definitely a lot hornier than when he came in.

 


 

Justin had spent the rest of the day at work redoing the visuals. Brian had given him just printouts, and Justin had to go from creative group to creative group, looking for the original computer files. And when he did find them, he realized that they had been formatted such that Justin couldn't do any changes to it. He had spent more time reformatting the damn visuals than he had revising it.

Justin was beginning to see Brian's point. The visuals were press ads for modern, yuppie furniture…and these visuals looked like an Ikea catalogue that had been shot by an avant-garde French cinematographer, with everything basked in blue light and slightly out of focus. Ugh…who would want to buy furniture like this? Well, maybe I'm being a bit too harsh, Justin thought, remembering Ethan's flea-market couch.

He looked over at Brian's instructions. Brian (or one of his minions) had rewritten the entire copy. The colours had to be redone completely, which meant each image had to be manipulated all over again. And then the backgrounds…Justin frowned, as he went over the instructions once more. Brian clearly thought that Justin was incapable of creative thought. The instructions were precise, and seemed better suited to a computer operator than a junior artist.

Justin's eyes narrowed. He wasn't expected to do anything creative – this was assembly line work, and the trick was only whether Justin could beat the clock and have each section – living, dining, bedroom etc – finished on time. Justin glanced at his watch. If he worked on it without a break, he could finish it all just before he was supposed to start at the diner. He'd have to come early tomorrow to get everything printed and mounted and ready on time, but he supposed that that wasn't the worst of it. Well, at least Brian wasn't making a secret of what he thought of Justin's talents…or lack thereof.

Justin sighed deeply as he dialed Ethan's number…this wasn't going to be pretty.

"Justin? Are you calling me with some good news? Like you quit your job?"

"Ethan! I've been here less than a week – why would I quit?"

"A guy can always hope. Anyway, I was about to call you – listen, Lara and John are having a small get together at their place tonight, and I thought that we could grab a bottle of wine and head there –"

Justin hated Lara. He hated John even more. They had less personality than a shoelace. "Ethan, I have work tonight."

"Can't you call in sick?"

"Ethan, you know I can't." Justin felt his stomach tying up in knots – he hadn't even told Ethan about working late at Vanguard, and they were already heading towards an argument.

"Why not? People fall sick all the time."

"Not people who need the money. And I feel bad about lying to Debbie."

"Sure. Of course. You feel bad about lying to Debbie, but you don't feel bad about ditching your own boyfriend."

"Ethan, please. I'm not ditching you – I didn't even know about Lara and John's thing! I just don't want to –"

"Whatever , Justin. Why'd you call?"

Justin sighed again. "Look, I got some extra work here that's due tomorrow so I have to work late…I'll head to the diner from here and then see you later, ok?"

Ethan laughed incredulously. "Are you kidding me? You've been there less than a week and you're already doing overtime?"

"Ethan –"

"If you can spare the time, pick up a bag of cat food for Wolfram on your way back."

With that, Ethan cut the line.

 


 

Brian Kinney. Justin was doing something as mundane as clearing dirty plates, but he couldn't stop replaying the conversation in his office. Brian oozed pure, raw sex. He felt himself harden in spite of himself. Stop it. Think dead kittens. And puppies. And Ethan.

But that was proving to be a very difficult task. Justin had just barely managed to finish revising the visuals before practically sprinting to the diner. And then all he could do was replay the conversation over and over again in his head, seeing Brian, complete with the double entendres. It was bad enough that he was working for the hottest man in the universe; the hottest man in the universe wanted to sleep with him. As insulted as Justin was by the thought, he was also flattered.

"Well, who fucked you across the table?"

"What?" Kiki's voice brought Justin back to earth.

Kiki grinned. "I know that look – that's the sex look."

"The sex look?" Justin tried his best nonchalant voice.

"Yeah…the look people get when they're thinking of sex. The sex look."

"Ha ha ha! I was actually thinking about work. Nothing sexy about that at all." Well, that was a lie. Brian's campaigns were all about sex. He could make cat litter sexy. Cat litter…Wolfram…shit. Ethan was going to skin him alive when he got home.

Justin watched as Kiki cleared a table across him. This campaign for Callisto had none of Brian's touches to it. Unless the endless blue lighting was supposed to be a throwback to porn movies, Justin thought with shudder. The visuals were efficient, but not sexy. Ironic, considering that the store was named after one of Zeus' lovers, he thought. I wonder that Brian didn't pick up on that…

The stupid Art Director that was responsible did nothing of what I asked him to.

Of course! Brian must have given a totally different brief, and the only sexual element that got translated visually was the creepy blue lighting! Suddenly, the wheels in Justin's head started working faster than he could blink.

What if…what if he were to design a secondary campaign? One that would probably be more in line with something Brian would come up with? Something that looked like furniture Brian Kinney would buy? Something raw, sexual and almost animal…and yet classy. Human figures…modern and sexy, blended together with the furniture…men, women…as if the Kama Sutra had been sketched by the love child of Marcel Breuer and Giorgio Armani.

Justin rushed to the back and quickly sketched the ideas that popped up in his head before he forgot them…and as the pictures formed in his mind, he was assaulted by another brainwave. An animation…a short 15 second spot…he could base it on just one of the visual! Of course, he wouldn't be able to do a voice over, or come up with effective copy, but he could cover it up if he could find a sultry instrumental riff…maybe Roxanne?

He had his laptop with him. Justin glanced at the clock. His shift finished at three in the morning…that gave him six hours until he was due at work. If he didn't waste time travelling back and forth and stayed at the diner all night, he could try and finish his campaign. Then, if he had time, he could rush back home to quickly shower and change, and if he didn't have time, he could ask Daphne to go pick up a set of clothes for him and drop it off at the diner so he could shower and change here itself and rush back to work – he would anyway have to get there as early as possible because he would have two campaigns to take printouts for instead of one. And get them mounted.

Fuck. He literally wouldn't get a wink of sleep. But if he could pull this off – if he could earn Brian Kinney's respect – it would totally be worth it.

First things first. Justin called Debbie, and asked if it was ok if he spent the entire night at the diner, after closing up. After painstakingly explaining to her – at least five times – that yes, he was alright, and no, he wasn't hiding from anything or anyone and it truly was just because of work, and no, he didn't want her to come over – he finally got Debbie to say ok. Next, he called Daphne to ask her to help out, and that went much easier. His third call went out to Kathy, whom he begged for just two copy lines that he could rotate for his visuals, so that there would be some visual-verbal connect.

And the last call he made was of course the most difficult.

"What? You're spending the night at the diner? The entire night? So that you can work? Justin, are you out of your fucking mind?"

"Ethan, I'm so incredibly sorry…but I really need to do this. Brian hates me! I just want to be able to show that I'm good."

"Justin, if they can't appreciate your talent, you should just walk out of there. You don't need to prove yourself to anyone – we can find you another job somewhere – Starbucks is always hiring, and it wouldn't have one tenth of this stress."

Justin struggled to keep his voice under check. "I don't want to work at Starbucks. I want to be at Vanguard. And I want them to realize that I'm not some freeloader."

"Freeloader? What the hell is that? And aren't you going to at least change your clothes? You must be stinking."

Justin grimaced. Well, that was nice to know. "Daphne said that she could pick up some clothes and drop it by…" his voice trailed off as he braced himself for the next onslaught.

"Daphne? I should've known that she would encourage this nonsense. I dunno Justin…this job, this company…it's fucking retarded. And you haven't even been there a week. And I'm guessing that there's no cat food at the diner for Wolfram? Yeah, I thought so. I guess I'll see you whenever then."

For the second time that day, Ethan hung up on him. Justin turned around to see Kiki quickly walking out of the now empty kitchen.

Ok. Clear your mind Justin, and think about nothing but this campaign for the next six hours. You can do this. You will do this.

 


 

"Justin, you're amazing!" Kathy said, as she helped him mount his visuals.

Justin hadn't had time to go home and get dressed, and he had barely managed to brush his teeth and wash his face before Daphne dropped him off at Vanguard. He had sprinkled himself with a heavy dose of cologne that Daphne had wisely brought with her. Better to smell like a perfume garden than the Liberty Diner, Justin figured.

He was still running out of time, and when Kathy walked in early, asking if he needed any help, Justin almost kissed her. Almost. Together, they printed and mounted all the visuals, and Justin actually thought that he might have time to grab a bite to eat when Cynthia came. It was barely nine thirty.

"Justin." She looked at him sympathetically. "Brian wants you in his office, with the visuals for Callisto."

Justin nodded weakly. Kathy looked at him.

"Do you want me to help you carry some of these in there?"

"No, I can manage. Though I'd love it if you could just stand next to me for moral support."

Kathy squeezed his shoulder. "Justin, this shit is brilliant. You're gonna be just fine."

Justin took a deep breath, and together with Kathy, they headed towards the lion's den.

 


 

"What the fuck is all that?" Brian frowned at Justin as he walked in with his laptop and twelve visuals balanced precariously under each arm.

Justin decided not to answer him – or look at him - and placed his laptop on Brian's desk before setting the visuals down.

"Good morning Mr. Kinney."

Brian raised an eyebrow. "You look like shit. I guess one day of hard work really might kill you. Pity."

Justin tried not to fall for the bait. Dead kittens and puppies. And a dead Bambi.

Kathy was already beginning to look worried.

"Mr. Kinney, all the revisions you requested on the Callisto campaign has been done. I have the printouts with me here, and I…hope…trust…hope…that you …that they are what you were expecting."

Brian was looking at him expressionlessly.

Justin bulldozed ahead, while his courage still held sway. "I also…I also took the liberty of working on an alternative campaign for Callisto." Brian's mask slipped a little bit, as he arched an eyebrow at Justin.

"I have several visuals prepared for that as well…and a short – 15 second – animation."

Now the surprise on Brian's face was slightly more evident.

"The copy…it's just rough copy, but it's more the concept and the style that I…that we have right now…anyway…um…let me start...show…let me…us…let us show you the work."

Chapter 4 by Lupin111
Author's Notes:

By Xrifree & Lupin111

As Justin presented the work to him, Brian was seriously beginning to doubt his previous impression of the blonde. The effort that Justin had put in was evident, and the independent concept could not be called half bad. It was, in fact, quite good.

But still, it annoyed him to the nth degree that Justin had just utterly dismissed his wishes and done something completely off the map.

"You know I asked some very specific things from you. This…" he gestured at the original visuals Justin had brought with him, "is certainly not what I told you to do."

Justin looked at him for a while, clearly baffled. "But…isn't it good?"

"It's not a matter of whether it's good or not. As an employee, you are supposed to do what we ask of you, not go your merry way and do whatever the fuck comes to mind."

"Mr. Kinney…" Justin replied, picking his words carefully. "I am confident that working in an art department has a lot to do with taking initiative and creating what is best for the product. I'm an artist, I create. I wasn't hired to carry out chores with no input of my own, just as much as I wasn't hired to make coffee."

A stifled gasp escaped Kathy's lips.

"You've been working here for less than a month. Don't you think that you should learn the ropes first, before starting to apply your 'artistic input'? I had my reasons for asking what I did for Callisto furniture. I didn't just wake up on the wrong side of the bed one morning and think 'let's do a crappy job on this ad'."

"Well, in my opinion, what you had instructed me to do was inadequate. It doesn't do justice to the product. And I think that when you compare the two campaigns, you can see that yourself."

Kathy put her hands over her mouth and looked between the two of them with wide eyes.

The kid had nerve. Just as Brian was about to answer, the door opened and Vance came in, without even knocking. What the fuck was going on today? He had specifically told Cynthia he was not to be disturbed, for fuck's sakes.

"Brian, I need to…" Vance stopped mid-sentence. "Oh. I see you are busy. I'm sorry for the interruption. Anyway, I need you to do something about this Eyeconic Optics account. I just talked to Betsy on the phone and she doesn't like what we've put together so far."

"She was perfectly happy with it at the presentation yesterday."

"What can I say? She says she wants it to be changed. She's insufferable really. Maybe it's her time of the month." Vance added, grinning goofily at his own joke.

Brian repressed the urge to roll his eyes. "I'll see what I can do."

"Is that for the Callisto account?" Vance asked, noticing the visuals.

Brian nodded absentmindedly.

"Well done! Exactly your style, my friend. I don't know how you come up with these things. This is a brilliant man, people, you mark my words," he told Justin and Kathy, wagging his finger toward them. "You're going to learn a lot from him."

Brian gave him a tight-lipped snarl. He noticed Justin trying to contain the sunshine smile that was threatening to take over his features.

"I'll leave you all then." Vance said, when no answer seemed forthcoming, and excused himself from the office.

Brian ran his fingers through his hair, frustrated. How was he supposed to tell the kid off when his own partner had just deemed his work equal to Brian's own?

"Kathy, could you leave me and Taylor alone?"

She nodded, and after a short worried glance at Justin, moved to the door.

"And tell Cynthia I want to talk to her later on your way out."

When they were alone in the room, he pulled a cigarette out of his pack hurriedly. He needed to think.

"Are you allowed to smoke inside the building?"

Brian let out a surprised laugh. "What are you going to do, tell on me?"

"No, of course not… I… I just…" the blonde began to say, fidgeting.

"Stop acting like a spaz and sit down." Brian cut him off.

Justin sat on the chair carefully, looking at him as if expecting him to go off and fire him at any second.

Brian sighed. When had he become the big bad wolf?

"You want one?" he asked, extending his hand that was holding the pack.

"Sure." Justin answered, smiling and surprised. He took one and put it between his lips.

Brian leaned across the desk to light Justin's cigarette, and the want in the blonde's eyes was so evident that Brian found himself lost in them for a few seconds. Why was the kid so stubborn? It was obvious that he wanted Brian, just as much as Brian wanted him.

He lit his own cigarette and looked down at the files Vance had left on his table, without really seeing them. In the silence that followed, Brian thought over what had happened. Justin's presentation was impressive. He wouldn't go so far as Vance had and call it brilliant, but the talent was there.

"You did it all by yourself?" he asked, doubtful.

"Of course."

"No one helped you, not even Kathy?"

"No!" Justin exclaimed, looking offended.

Brian thought for a while. Justin seemed sincere.

"You know, I'm not being unreasonable here. I need to be able to trust you to do what I ask."

Justin looked ready to disagree at first, but finally nodded and said, "I understand."

Brian sighed again. Either the kid had a whole lot of beginner's luck on his side, or Brian had someone who could prove really useful in his hands.

"Ok, Taylor, here is what we're going to do. I've been working on this project for weeks, and that bitch over at Eyeconics doesn't seem to be satisfied with a goddamn thing. Quite frankly, I'm getting frustrated. I don't know… maybe I've lost my interest in it, but I don't see anything wrong with it. So, maybe a more 'artistic' perspective is what this needs. You come up with something, and you do it by Monday, and then I'll go join Vance in writing odes to your genius, ok?"

"You don't need an excuse to fire me. You can just tell me." Justin replied, apparently forgetting his previous timidity.

"This is not a punishment, Taylor. It's a challenge. So stop whining and get to work."

"Ok." Justin murmured, putting out his cigarette reluctantly, and gathering the folders in his hands.

When Justin was near the door, Brian called out to him.

"Oh, and Taylor."

The blonde turned to him, expectantly.

"Good job."

The blinding smile Brian was on the receiving end of convinced him that this wouldn't end well.

At least not for Justin's boyfriend.

 


Justin breathed deeply, taking in the nicotine-filled air in the designated smoking room. After that meeting with Brian in the morning, he had wanted to eat wads of nicotine, not just smoke it. He could see the sun set in the distance, and he absently crouched down on the floor as he started sketching the scene before him while his thoughts drifted off.

What a man. What a man. Justin couldn't figure out whether he hated Brian or liked Brian. What he knew for certain that Brian Kinney was very dangerous to his well-being. One look into those deep hazel eyes and Justin was totally lost. It was easy for Brian to call him a spaz; Brian didn't have to concentrate on work and look at his own face at the same time.

Justin shook himself. He had a boyfriend. It simply would not do to start fantasizing about a boss who probably hated him. A boss who hates you and wants to get into your pants at the same time, a voice inside his head said. Justin leaned against the wall. This wasn't helping at all, and very soon, images of dead puppies and dead kittens were going to start losing their power, and what was he going to do then?

Justin tried to think of the Callisto campaign he had done; thank heavens for Vance – Justin was fairly certain that if not for Vance walking in, Justin wouldn't have gotten the 'good job' at all. He had begun to wonder if Brian genuinely wasn't too pleased with the work he had slaved over, but he had his answer when Kathy came beaming later in the day with several changes Brian had wanted done before the visuals were presented to the client. Changes to Justin's campaign. Nothing and nobody could wipe the stupid grin off Justin's face after that.

Justin didn't want to lose his momentum, so he had spent the rest of the day doing the changes that Brian had wanted. Brian had scribbled out some copy, wanting Justin to incorporate it into some below-the-line promotional material as well, so his entire day was pretty much spent on polishing up the Callisto campaign. Which Justin had done willingly, until Steve had come around four fifteen to dump two new briefs on his table.

Justin put a pause on his thoughts for a few minutes as he concentrated on the sunset he was capturing.

Steve was such a fucking idiot. He hadn't been able to give Justin any guidance whatsoever; Justin was certain that Steve didn't understand a word on either of the briefs. Steve had said they were due in two weeks, but when Justin read the briefs, they had been written two weeks ago…meaning that both projects were due by Monday. Which meant that Justin had to rearrange his entire schedule. The Eyeconics campaign for Brian obviously took precedence over everything else, but there was no way that Justin could ignore the work given to him by his immediate supervisor.

Justin sighed. How was he to finish three campaigns by Monday? He thought of coming in during the weekend, but Kathy had informed him that he wouldn't have clearance at his level, and that it made far more sense for him to work late and have everything finished by Friday evening. So he had three campaigns to crack, and anything else that would be dumped on his table before the weekend.

He had already called Debbie and sweet-talked his way out of all his shifts between now and Friday. Debbie said that she'd get Kiki and Loretta to cover his shifts, but that meant that Justin would have to work all his shifts, plus Kiki's and Loretta's shifts over the weekend. Effectively, he'd be spending his whole weekend at the diner…and probably sleeping in his cubicle during the week.

He just had Ethan left to call. He had tried to text Ethan earlier, but had discovered that his phone (already years old and rightfully belonging in a museum) was slowly dying on him. The screen was barely working. I guess I'll just have to leave a voicemail, since Ethan was still probably working the streets. Justin giggled to himself…that made Ethan sound like a hustler, not a street musician.

Justin put his pencil down and massaged his right hand with his left. It had been over a year since the bashing, but his hand still went into spasms when it was overworked, and Justin knew that he was definitely overworking it. And he still had more work left to do. He looked at his sketch, wondering if he should add anything more to it.

"Don't overdo it…from where I'm standing, it looks pretty good."

Justin jumped at the sound of Brian's voice, and turned to find Brian leaning against the doorframe. How long had he been standing there?

"Bri…uh…"

What was he doing here again? Justin closed his sketch pad, and scrambled to his feet, while his face rapidly turned the colour of the setting sun. Technically, it was after five o'clock, but Brian probably thought that he was slacking off. Just what I need.

"Can I see that?"

"What? This? It's nothing, really…" Justin did not want Brian to see what was inside the book…especially one particular sketch…

"Good. I love looking at nothing. Always so interesting." Before Justin could protest, Brian stepped forward and plucked the book out of Justin's hands.

"Mr. Kinney that's…" Fuck.

It was very difficult to read Brian's expression as he flipped through the book – he had sketches of Ethan, Daphne, Kathy, the view from Ethan's apartment (funny how he still thought of the apartment as Ethan's place), Debbie, Kiki and the newly completed sunset. There was also a sketch he had done earlier that day during his lunch break, of Brian and Cynthia, deep in conversation at Cynthia's table. He wondered what Brian was thinking, but was too scared to ask.

It seemed to take an eternity, but Brian finally closed the sketch pad and handed it back to Justin. But when Justin tried to take it, he realized that Brian still held onto one end.

"Why'd you drop out of PIFA?"

At least he wasn't commenting on his own mug shot being featured in there.

"Uh…I…uh…just wanted to take some time off, you know…" Justin wasn't at all comfortable explaining the concept that was Craig Taylor to Brian. He tried tugging on the book, but Brian's grip was too strong.

"No, actually, I don't know. Why did you want to take time off?"

Short of jumping out of the window, he would have to walk past Brian to leave, but that was still more desirable than standing around explaining his fucked up family, or worse still, why he had sketched his boss.

Fuck it, Justin thought. Now that he's seen it, let him keep the damn sketch book. Justin let go of the end he was holding.

"I have to go finish some work. Excuse me"

Brian didn't move an inch, and Justin felt as if his whole body was on fire as he brushed past the other man on his way out. Oh my fucking god…what is wrong with me?

By the time Justin made it back to his own table, he wasn't sure if his body had started to spontaneously combust. Nope, he was still in one piece. Just barely, but still in one piece. He hadn't even managed to ask Brian what he was doing there, or whether he had been looking for Justin. Double fuck.

He quickly dialed Ethan's number, eager to leave a voicemail, and was surprised when Ethan picked up on the third ring.

"Hey handsome, are you still slaving away for corporate America?"

"Ethan, I thought that you'd be out working by now…"

"What, now? I came in for a break. What are you still doing at work? Shouldn't you be on your way home?"

"About that, I'm going to have to work late this week…I have these three campaigns that I need to finish by Monday."

"Oh."

There was such a long pause that Justin was beginning to think that Ethan had hung up on him.

"Ethan? Listen, I'm –"

"Jus, this is fucking ridiculous. You know that, right? You've been there less than a week. Isn't there anybody else there that can do this shit?

"Ethan, I need to prove myself here. I have zero qualifications and even less experience. If they ask me to do cartwheels and juggle at the same time, I have to shut up and do it, whether I want to or not."

"Why is it that you'll do anything anyone asks you to, except me?

"That's not true and you fucking know it."

"Justin, this is Pittsburgh, not feudal Russia. Just walk out of there!"

"I need this job; we need this job. How are we going to pay rent –"

"We'll manage somehow. You can work at a Starbucks."

"I'm not working at Starbucks. I'm not doing two jobs where I have to be on my feet all fucking day." Justin started rubbing his temple; it was the same damn argument, all over again. He should just record himself speaking and play it back to Ethan.

"And what about your shifts at the diner? Did you call Debbie?"

"Yeah…she said I didn't have to come in for the rest of the week…but I'd have to work double over the weekend to cover up for it." Justin braced himself for onslaught that he knew would be come. And Ethan didn't disappoint.

"What the fuck Justin! You promised to spend the weekend with me! Remember? You fucking scheduled me in, and now you're actually cancelling? I'm your boyfriend Justin, not your roommate!"

"I'm sorry Ethan, you know I didn't mean to cancel…I just…look, this is only temporary, until I prove myself here, and then I won't have to put in all this extra time."

"Isn't that what you said yesterday? Wasn't this mega campaign you worked on last night supposed to prove your capabilities? So what the hell happened with that campaign?"

"Bri…they liked it, but it's just one campaign. They need to see more; they need to know that I'm reliable and –"

"I need to know you're reliable; I need to see more! I've barely seen you all week! Justin, did it ever occur to you that maybe you're just not cut out for Vanguard?"

Justin actually stopped breathing for a minute. "What the fuck is that supposed to mean?"

"It's supposed to mean that it's not normal for a company to work their employees to the bone like this. If you have to keep proving yourself to them over and over again like this, maybe that's because you're just not good enough. Maybe they're trying to tell you that and you're too blind to see it."

Justin was too shocked to say anything. Even all of Brian's drama earlier in the day hadn't insulted him in the way that Ethan just had. Is that what he thought; that Justin's work just wasn't good enough? Is that what everyone thought? Is that what Brian thought?

No one helped you, not even Kathy?

"Ethan, I have to go now. I'll catch you later."

 


 

By the time Justin walked into the diner on Saturday morning, he was ready to wring somebody's – anybody's – neck with his bare hands, he was that frustrated. From Wednesday evening till Saturday morning, all he had done with Ethan was argue. He was beginning to feel like he would soon be nagged to death.

If Ethan had just complained about Justin cancelling on him and not having enough time for anything or anybody except work, he would have been genuinely sorry. But Ethan's comments from Wednesday about Justin's work not being good enough was a thorn in Justin's side. He was furious with Ethan for doubting him and was terrified that Ethan might be right, which made him all the more angry. His inability to discuss the point with Ethan in any manner or form only increased his frustration.

Brian didn't help matters. Justin had expected his sketch book to materialize on Thursday, but it hadn't. When it hadn't appeared by Friday, Justin was pretty certain that he wasn't getting it back. Brian had even sent Cynthia to inform Justin that he was to be ready to present the work to the Callisto client by ten o'clock on Monday, but the sketch book failed to make an appearance. Of course. Because I'm plucking money off trees like him, I can just afford to lose shit like that.

"Hey Sunshine, I tried calling you yesterday to confirm your shift, but your phone was switched off." Debbie interrupted his chain of thought.

"Yeah, sorry about that, Deb. My phone is on its last legs; it switches on and off at will, and the screen doesn't work sometimes either." Thinking about his phone only helped increase his blood pressure.

"Oh, did you try and get a new one? You can upgrade them or some shit like that, right?"

"Yeah, well, the people at Apple are such fucking nitwits." Justin said, as he wore his apron.

"They have such a niche demographic anyway - fucking rich hipster photographers and scarf-wearing editors, and now they finally have the new iPhones, but you have to make an appointment to do an upgrade. Of course, in their infinite wisdom, they've decided that you have to make the appointment in person, starting from nine fucking o'clock in the morning. Which is perfect for me, since I do most of my work from free-trade coffee shops in the afternoon, right? Stupid fuckers. I went during my lunch break and they're sold out already. Ugh!"

Justin saw Debbie try hard not to smile, and that only incensed him further. He continued with his rant.

"Of course, if you're willing to drop $850 on an outright purchase, they're glad to help you right away. Because they probably think I eat dollar bills while I sip my organic coffee and nibble on fucking biscotti. Since I'm only eligibly for an upgrade through my provider, I have to wait. Stupid stupid assholes. They can all go eat a bag of dicks."

Debbie was very wise to keep her comments to herself.

End Notes:

Thanks a million to everyone reading, reviewing and following :)

Chapter 5 by Lupin111
Author's Notes:

By Xrifree & Lupin111

In the five minutes Justin had used to take his cigarette break, the diner had filled to capacity and all hell had broken loose. Debbie was running up and down and the moment he stepped back into the diner, Justin's name was being called out from all directions, so he quickly got to work. He didn't fail to notice that the empty spot next to Michael had been filled by Brian.

As he was walking past their table with a nod to his boss, Emmett asked him for some water. So as soon as he got the order for another costumer, he moved back to their table, glass of water in hand.

"Here you go, Em. Anything else?" he asked around, his gaze pausing on Brian.

"No, that's all sweetie."

"Hard day at work?" Ted asked sympathetically, noting Justin's tired exterior.

"You could say that." Justin replied, ready to move on to place orders on other costumer's tables.

"Oh, you look exhausted!" Emmett commented. "Why don't you come to Babylon with us when your shift's over? You didn't last time." He suggested.

"He can't. His boyfriend might get jealous." Brian said before Justin had time to reply, his eyes scanning Justin quickly, before lingering on his face.

"Really? Is he the jealous type?" Emmett asked.

"Not that much." Justin answered, even though it was far from the truth. Ethan could get quite fanatical, but something about confessing that in front of Brian didn't feel right to him. "But I can't come anyway, I'm sorry. I've been on my feet all day, I could use some rest."

"Some other time then. You should definitely come."

"Don't push him. If he doesn't want to come, it's his loss." Brian said looking at the blonde challengingly, as Debbie moved around Justin to place everyone's orders on the table.

"Next time I will come…" Justin told him. "Mr Kinney." He added quickly. He wasn't sure if they were supposed to be informal at the diner, but he was not in the mood to deal with any of Brian's mind games today.

"What the hell are you Mister-Kinney-ing him for?" Debbie asked surprised. "Just call him Brian."

"It's office etiquette."

"Yeah, it's office etiquette, Deb. Courtesy, ever heard of that?" Brian asked her, tongue in cheek.

"Well, you aren't in your office, smart ass. But then again, you do have a big, big age difference; maybe he should call you Mister."

Emmet and Ted burst out laughing at that, Michael looking a little worried but smiling nonetheless.

Justin couldn't help but grin.

"Will I ever get to order around here?" a guy from a nearby table called out to Deb.

"Yeah, yeah. Don't get your dick in a twist" Debbie told him, popping her bubble-gum.

"Maybe you should keep your comments on the side with him Deb." Brian noted.

"Asshole." Deb scolded him, but somehow her hand still found its way to his head, and messed up his hair affectionately a little before moving on.

Ten minutes later, Justin was cursing himself for getting stuck with all these shifts over the weekend. He had to place orders, do refills and cover the register all at once. He could clone himself or split in two, and still he wouldn't be able to do everything in time at the diner today.

"I asked for a fucking coke." The guy who had yelled at Debbie before told him as he was passing by hurriedly, balancing four plates in his hands. "Do I have to write it down for you?"

"Right away." Justin tossed quickly behind his back.

As he moved to the guy's table, he felt a sudden tug and the next thing he knew, he was falling head first, coke spilling all over the floor, with the plates clattering down and smashing on the floor.

"Oh my god, I am so sorry!" A patron, the one that had pushed him by accident told Justin, helping him up, just as the guy at the table started yelling.

"What the fuck is wrong with you? Are you blind?" the guy said, furiously wiping his sleeve, where a small amount of the cola had ended up.

Justin felt dozens of stares on his back, as the two men kept yelling at him simultaneously, one apologizing and the other getting more and more infuriated by the second. Justin felt blood rushing to his cheeks, as he tried to control the situation, brushing the apologizing customer off quickly, reassuring him that no he wasn't hurt, and yes it was ok, he could gather the broken shards on his own, and that the costumer could leave.

"What about me? Do you have any idea how much this cost?" the client from the table exclaimed, showing his outfit- of doubtful taste.

"I will get you a new coke." Justin told him as apologetically as he could, considering the fact that his hands were bleeding from landing on the broken plates and his knees were sore from the hard surface.

But the guy would have none of that. "And what about my clothes? Are you going to pay for those, or will I just get countless credit on fries and hamburgers?"

"Jesus, Bob, give the kid a break, it wasn't his fault" someone from a nearby table commented.

"Not his fault? No, probably not. It's the manager's fault for hiring people who can't even balance a freaking tray. Tell me" he turned to Justin "are you always this incompetent, or is this a special occasion? Are you completely stupid, is that why you work at a second class diner?"

Justin did his best not to glare at the fucktard, who was bloating with anger like a muted frog. He gave Debbie a warning look before she could comment and repeated "I'll get you a refill" before moving behind the counter and grabbing another bottle.

He opened it and walked over to the guy's table with a proud strut. And before either the guy or Justin himself had time to realize, he pulled the contents over the asshole's head.

"On the house."

A round of applause ensued, Emmett in particular laughing and hoping up and down excited from his place on the couch.

Bob, realizing he wasn't especially popular with this crowd, made his way out of the diner cursing and swearing never to come back again.

"We will miss you, be sure of that!" Debbie exclaimed sarcastically, causing more laughter among the patrons.

 


 

"Shit."

Justin removed a small shard of glass from his palm, his blood spilling profusely over unwashed plates in the diner's kitchen sink in utter disregard of health regulations.

He didn't know what had gotten over him to diss that guy like that. Well, all the accumulated anger and frustration had to come out some way, right?

He heard the door opening behind him, and was ready to tell Deb that he was fine and he'd be back out in a few minutes, but turning around he saw that it was Brian who had entered the room.

"How are your hands?" he asked.

"Fine. I'm fine." Justin told him, clearly more aggressively than he had meant.

First Ethan, then Brian and now this. They all had him feeling like a fool, and Brian was the last person he wanted to see right now.

"Give me your hands." Brian told him, putting a first aid kit that had materialized out of nowhere down on the counter next to him.

"I'm fine I…"

Brian yanked Justin's hand without comment. Justin wanted to glare, but Brian's hands were warm and his touch soft.

"This is going to sting a bit." Brian told him, soaking some cotton in peroxide before placing it on Justin's palm to disinfect the wound.

Justin flinched a little but didn't otherwise complain.

"Brave boy." Brian said in a low tone of voice, smirking.

They stayed in silence for a while, Brian taking care of his bleeding palm.

"How did you know where the first aid kit was?" Justin asked, unable to contain his curiosity.

"I've known the Novotny's since I was fourteen." He shrugged. "All in all I've spent half my life in this joint. I know every nook and cranny."

Brian put a band aid on a deep gash on Justin's right palm, and moved on to the left.

"Entertaining. That show you put on out there." He commented.

"I have no idea what came over me. I shouldn't have."

"He was an asshole. He deserved it. Besides" he looked up to Justin's face "I like you better this way. You should be like that more often."

Justin resisted the urge to pull his hands away. "Somehow I don't think you would appreciate it if I acted like that in my other job."

Brian let out a little laugh. "You're damn right I wouldn't. You would get fired in a second so don't you dare pull a stunt like that over at Vanguard." he told Justin in a hushed voice, sounding more like he was praising him than warning him. "I think it's ok now." He said, letting go of Justin's hand.

"Thanks…" Justin wanted to say or do something, really badly. Problem was, he wasn't exactly sure what that was. He felt like the most desirable thing to do was to lean in, just as close as they were right now, and capture Brian's lips in an unexpected kiss.

Instead, he opted for something safer.

"He did have a point. The guy. I mean, I'm not exactly a Wall Street investor."

"Oh don't give me any of that self-pitying shit." Brian told him.

"It's not self pity, it's just the truth."

Brian looked at him closer still, if that was even possible. "So you are not a big-shot. You work at "a second class diner" as he called it. Your job is basically shit."

"You didn't have to say all that out loud, you know."

Before Justin could look away, Brian continued. "You also have to manage two jobs, one that, if I say so myself, must be pretty fucking exhausting, considering who your boss is. That guy has probably never worked as hard in his life, so he knows squat."

Justin smiled at him, his pride at hearing these words from Brian outweighing his awkwardness. "Thanks."

"It's the truth." Brian threw Justin's words back at him. "Don't let it get to your head."

Justin smiled even wider. "I'd never do that Mr. Kinney."

Brian groaned. "Mr. Kinney, Mr. Kinney… Just call me Brian. You already use my last name like a curse half the time."

"I don't!" Justin complained quickly.

Brian smirked, content to let Justin fidget by himself. He leaned back against the counter, and looked at Justin like he could see straight through him. Justin felt his breath catch a little bit.

"So, do you drive, or does your boyfriend pick you up after work?"

"No I don't have a car. We usually just walk back together if we finish work at about the same time." Justin answered, not commenting on how Brian used the word boyfriend so mockingly.

"Usually?"

"Well yeah… I don't think he'll come pick me up tonight. We… we've been at loggerheads these last few days." Justin admitted.

"What are you fighting over? Are you cheating on him? Or he is cheating on you?"

"We aren't fighting. Just… every relationship has its ups and downs." Justin replied. "And no one is cheating on anyone." He added, making it perfectly clear. The way his heart had skipped a beat when Brian had said that, was not something he wanted to revisit or let the older man know about. Are you cheating on him?

Justin would never ever cheat on Ethan. He repeated that to himself like a mantra. Never. Not for anyone.

Not for Brian.

Unfortunately his brain had ceased diplomatic relations with the rest of his body, because Justin could feel himself react under Brian's scrutiny, moving unknowingly just an inch closer, his gaze never leaving Brian's hazel eyes.

"Well, get your stuff. We're going." Brian said out of the blue, breaking the spell.

"What? Where?"

"I'm taking you home."

"My shift isn't over yet."

"Who cares? You're fucking injured here." Brian commented, smirking. "Besides, the crowd is decreasing. Deb can handle it."

"Brian you don't have to… I live just a few blocks away. Anyway, I want to walk."

"Then we'll walk."

"But… what about Babylon?"

"Babylon can survive a night without me."

"But…" Justin searched for some other excuse, but came up with none.

"Come on we'll just walk to your apartment." Brian leaned in a little more, staring at Justin straight in the eye. "Why are you so afraid of me?"

"I'm not afraid of you." Justin told him, never tearing his gaze away.

"Great. I'm not going to take advantage of the situation, I promise. Unless you want me to."

 


 

Justin stole a glance at Brian, and quickly looked away. He was being walked home by Brian Kinney. It seemed like a high school date, and Justin was mortified to find himself blushing, instead of finding the situation merely amusing. Thanking heaven that the darkness was hiding his face, Justin turned his head just to be safe.

"You ok?"

"Yeah...I...uh, thought I saw something."

"Hmmm...You're incredibly talented Justin. I'm sure you realize that. Plus, you're dedicated. If you put half the effort into PIFA that you put into the diner, the sky would be the limit for you. I don't understand why you dropped out."

"Didn't have much of a choice…no tengo dinero." That just slipped out. Totally not trying to impress anyone with more hidden talents.

Brian laughed. "Sí? So how'd you pay for the first year?"

"My dad was kind enough to foot the bill. Well, technically, he was still married so my mom so she sorta made him pay for tuition. Now they're divorced, so he doesn't need to pretend to be nice anymore."

Brian took a moment to reply. "Well, fuck him then."

"Yeah, fuck him." Justin laughed.

"So no more PIFA?"

"Not unless I wake up to find that the money tree has finally grown. Well, maybe next year, if I manage to save enough money."

Justin felt his hand starting to cramp. He winced; he knew that he had been overworking himself, and the extra shifts didn't help any. The little accident in the diner was the icing on the cake. Justin knew that if he didn't do something, his hand would start spasming very, very soon.

He pulled his hand out of his pocket and stretched it, trying his best to appear natural. Fuck. Still cramping. There was nothing else to do but try and massage the tension away, which he tried to do gingerly, avoiding the wounds of the evening as well as Brian's prying eyes. He wasn't very successful at either.

"Are you bleeding?" Brian's voice managed to be concerned and surprised at the same time.

"Uh…no…just cramps…it's nothing…"

Brian stopped walking, and quietly took Justin's right hand in his, slowly repeating the motion Justin was doing. Justin actually gasped at the touch, which Brian mercifully mistook for one of pain because he apologized before he continued, even slower and way softer. Justin felt his insides slowly turn to mush.

They stood that way for several minutes, and Justin was beginning to feel that he was hypnotized. Brian's hand was slowly massaging his own hand, but Brian didn't take his eyes off Justin for even a second. And Justin was mesmerized. All he could do was stand there, staring right back at Brian, the gap between them being nothing more than a foot, if that. He could smell Brian and warning lights started flashing inside his heavily compromised head.

"I think it's ok now." Justin knew that his voice was throatier than normal, but there was absolutely nothing he could do about it.

Brian held the look for a minute longer before he slowly let go of Justin's hand and continued walking. They were so close that Justin could feel the side of Brian's body brush against him as they walked. Brian had his arm casually on Justin's shoulder, and he didn't know why that made his heart beat at twice its normal pace.

It was Brian who eventually broke the silence, and his voice was devoid of its usual scorn.

"The same thing happened at work, when you were sketching…what's wrong with your hand?"

"Old war injury. It acts up when I overwork it."

"Uh-huh. How'd you hurt yourself? Did you trip while playing hopscotch?" Brian turned to Justin, smiling.

He contemplated lying for briefly, before opting for the truth. There seemed to be no reason to lie to Brian.

"Not quite. A classmate of mine – someone I was stupid enough to give a hand job to - decided that the best way to prove that he wasn't gay was by taking a baseball bat to my head. Lucky for me that he was a pretty bad shot."

"Fucking Christ! Justin –"

"Naah, it's ok. I'm ok with it. I mean, not ok, but whatever, right? I can't change the whole world, and all I can hope for is that he'll get what's coming to him eventually."

"Justin, he took a baseball bat to your head!"

Justin smiled briefly. "Yeah, yeah he did. But I don't really wanna think about all that right now...I suppose it could have been worse; I could have actually liked the guy. Can you imagine how much worse that would have been? Like some twisted Stockholm Syndrome!"

Brian was forced to concede the point.

"So you haven't been living on your own for too long then…how are you finding it?"

"It's ok I guess…I dunno…I feel so unprepared and unsettled in a way. Life seems so overwhelming. I think it's also not helping that things with Ethan are sort of weird right now. I miss having a sense of security that comes from knowing that you're with the right person and that that person is always there at the end of the day. Everything just seems so full of tension…having someone who is that rock for you makes such a difference. But who knows…that's probably just a very unrealistic expectation to have."

Justin didn't understand why he was saying all this. Maybe it was exhaustion, maybe it was the strange pull he felt towards Brian, but right now, he felt like he could talk to him about anything.

"Unrealistic expectations…or is that just an excuse that we use to lower our standards?"

"If I'm looking for something that no one can give me, isn't that unrealistic?"

Justin stopped walking when he realized that they were outside his building, and his movement brought Brian to a halt. Brian didn't remove his arm from Justin's shoulder, but turned around to face Justin, closing the gap between them even further. They were so close that Justin could feel Brian's breath on his face.

"It might be that you haven't looked hard enough." Brian's voice was low, and Justin's eyes locked with Brian's. They were speaking in a language all their own.

"We're here."

"I know."

Brian moved his head downwards, and Justin leaned forward, meeting him half way. Their lips met, and all capacity for thought left Justin. In his entire life, he had never been kissed like that before. When Brian's tongue met his, fire seared through his body.

The kiss was deep and hot and frantic, and he felt Brian's hands grip the back of his neck, even as his own hands found their way around Brian's back. He could feel that Brian was as hard and aroused as he was, and without breaking the kiss, they tumbled against the building door, which easily opened under their combined weight. Falling backwards, the kiss was finally broken, though Justin was saved from falling flat on his back due to Brian's arms being around him.

But that near-fall did more than break the kiss; it jostled Justin back into reality.

Ethan. Fuck. He was standing in the lobby of Ethan's building, kissing Brian Kinney as if his entire life depended in it. FUCK. What was he thinking?

"I…I'm sorry…it…I…that…should never have happened. I'm sorry.'

Justin turned around and practically ran up the stairs, too scared and ashamed to turn and look at Brian.

Chapter 6 by Lupin111
Author's Notes:

By Xrifree & Lupin111

He heard the door opening. Ethan made his way into the house, getting out of his coat and leaving the violin case carefully in its place. He walked over to the kitchen to get a glass of water, without acknowledging Justin's presence.

"Ethan." He called out from his place on the sofa. "How did you do today? Any luck?"

"Not much." Ethan responded, coming closer. "But I guess working on the street cannot possibly be as profitable as working for a big company." Justin noticed his subtly scathing tone and the hurt in his eyes.

"It can be much more pleasant though." He replied, choosing not to comment on how late it was or on the fact that Ethan had not come by the diner so that they could walk back to the apartment together. "Come here."

Ethan sat next to him, and Justin kissed him lightly on the lips. "One day, all your work will be rewarded. You'll see."

The love that had once united them was there no more - he couldn't not admit that. In its place, it had left merely a bond that was just loyalty; the mutual understanding that they had chosen to be there for each other, regardless of all the fights and arguments.

Ethan was not perfect- but who was? Certainly not Justin himself, and even less so was Brian Kinney, however perfect he might appear to be to the untrained eye. Justin was no fool; he'd kept his ears and his eyes open. He knew Brian was unattainable and untamed like the wind. If Justin gave in, what would happen then? Brian would be bored with him in…weeks, days…possibly even hours?

And even though he knew that there was more passion in that moment when he had kissed Brian than he could ever feel kissing Ethan - probably more passion than he had ever felt with Ethan - Justin was grateful to have the comfort of someone that wanted to be with him and only him; someone he could trust, that would come home at the end of the day and with no need for explanation would still lean into him to watch a boring movie on the old television set, putting aside whatever differences had emerged between them during the course of the day.

So he dug himself deeper into Ethan's arms and tried not to think of Brian Kinney at all. He wouldn't betray that trust, no matter how just a single look by those hazel eyes made him feel.

 



The woman's voice was so annoying. It trickled through his poor abused ears into his unwilling brain and made him want to use the pen that was twirling between his fingers to commit suicide. She had that self-assured air about her that only the totally worthless but equally oblivious ever acquired.

Brian stole a glance at his watch. The meeting would be over soon. The presentation had gone a lot better than expected, considering he had little to do with it this time. Taylor had delivered, and he had done so beautifully. The client had loved the 'improved' campaign, even though the only things that had changed were the coloring and the font. Brian gave her a tight lipped smile. For all her knowledge on art and her supposed exceptional aesthetic taste, she had failed to notice that there was only one big change: the one from blue to orange. Then again, the untrained eye was probably the best critic, since it would be the public that judged the campaign.

Orange. What the hell had Justin been thinking? When he had walked into the office, boards in hand, eyes downcast, having done nothing more than play a bit with his palette, Brian had thought that he just wanted to get fired. That maybe he really was shitting his pants about what had happened, unable to come to terms with kissing Brian and cheating, in a way, on his poor innocent perfect boyfriend, that he had just decided to do a crappy job and get fired.

Well, whether it was sheer luck or pure genius, the client had loved Justin's work - at least till next week when she'd probably come up with yet another reason not to be satisfied. There would be no firing today.

Brian was glad. He was starting to enjoy having Justin around.

He made it a point to let the client know that the intern had contributed greatly to the campaign, just to check Justin's reaction more than anything else. The blonde had been avoiding him all day, had barely looked up at him and had not spoken a word. When Brian had acknowledged his work, he had finally turned his head Brian's way, staring in surprise for only a few seconds. Brian was reminded of the night where Justin had clearly stated he did not want to have anything to do with Brian, and he didn't like the reminder one bit.

As the meeting came to an end, Justin, who had been the one putting up the boards, was the first to bolt through the door. Brian watched him leave from the corner of his eye, as he took his time to button up his coat. He would be leaving Vanguard and he knew that Justin would be too. He could just catch up to him and…no, there was no need to hurry. There was no need to run after an inexperienced kid who he could have wrapped around his finger in the blink of an eye. Brian finished buttoning his coat and started gathering the paperwork, putting it all in a neat stack. There really was no need and no reason to even bother wondering what Justin's deal was. He shouldn't try to guess what the fuck was going on inside his blonde little head. He could hear the footsteps getting farther and farther away. But there was no reason to worry about that. None at all.

Brian gritted his teeth.

He grabbed his briefcase and completely ignoring Vance, made his way out the door. His long strides enabled him to quickly catch up with Justin, and not look like he was hurrying or anything.

Not that he was.

As if.

"What's the rush?" He put a hand on the younger man's back, only to have Justin look at him alarmed.

"No rush. Ethan will be here soon so we can walk home, that's all."

Brian didn't fail to notice the emphasis on the word home, or the small sideways glances Justin kept throwing around, as if reluctant to be seen even walking alongside him.

Brian removed his hand, but kept walking steadily next to the other man. "So what will happen if you're late?"

Justin shrugged and kept on walking.

"You know last night…" he started but he was interrupted before he could finish.

"I don't want to talk about it."

"You left like someone had lit a fire under your ass. Right after we kissed."

Justin looked around once again, wide-eyed, checking if anyone had heard. "Last night will not be repeated. Ever. I have a boyfriend and no interest in you whatsoever, so please don't bring it up again. Now, excuse me but I have to go." He looked a bit bewildered at Brian and added quickly, "Mr. Kinney."

So the polite approach doesn't work. Change of plans.

"I wonder why he's so worried about you staying alone for five freaking minutes." Brian asked, as if he didn't hear the last part. He pretended to think about it as he pushed open the doors of Vanguard. "Is he very unattractive?"

"No he is not." Justin glared at him.

"Stupid, then? He's got to be stupid. I bet he's a hillbilly with no taste and an IQ lower than Bush."

"Ethan is a very intelligent person with excellent taste. He plays the violin."

"Oooh, he's boring then! Why didn't you say so from the beginning?"

"He is not boring!" Justin came to a halt outside the building, glaring up at Brian, but not daring to yell at him, probably not having forgotten that the man was still his boss. "Just because you consider the ear-splitting, mind-numbing thumpa thumpa, and what I guess are the moans of your numerous tricks to be music, that does not deem actual music boring."

Way to go, tiger. "You know, you're getting pretty worked up over something a guy you have no interest in just said to you." Brian commented casually.

"What is this, psychology 101?"

Brian noticed that the other man, despite his fuming exterior, made no move to leave any longer, but kept staring at him right in the eye, trying to pass off his lust-filled expression as anger. Too bad Brian knew a thing or two about lust.

"Does he have a really teeny tiny dick?" he said, indicating the size with his forefinger and thumb.

Justin snorted. "That is so low, Brian."

Brian leaned back against the wall behind him, and watched with amusement as Justin's eyes followed his every movement, watched the younger man's body instinctively adjusting ever so slightly to have them perfectly aligned with each other, like a snake following the sound of the flute. Not interested. Yeah, right.

"You don't want to go back home. You want to stay here. Because being here with me is far more interesting than anything you could be doing back there with him." He put a hand out, touching the collar of Justin's coat to pull him just a bit closer, putting enough pressure to guide but not lead. But Justin leaned closer nonetheless. "And because I want you to stay here, too."

"I really have got to go…" Justin made one last meager attempt.

Brian let go of his coat, ceasing all physical contact and looked at him with a raised eyebrow. Justin did not move an inch.

He registered the sound of someone coughing in the background, but nothing would have been able to make him tear his eyes away right now.

Unfortunately, Justin broke the connection, and turned to acknowledge the sound, becoming considerably paler as he did.

"Ethan…"

Brian pushed himself off from the wall and walked closer to the newcomer. "You're Ethan? Brian Kinney." He extended his hand and Ethan shook it quickly and with no conviction, keeping his gaze on Justin.

A handshake always reveals a lot about a person. And the weak one Ethan offered him just now told Brian he was dealing with an unimaginative, boring, uninteresting, greasy snob. Who was horrible in bed. And obviously had an annoying voice, even though he had yet to speak.

"Justin, are you coming?" Ethan asked, not paying any more attention to Brian.

"Yeah, yeah, of course. Goodbye Mr. Kinney." Justin walked past him and started leading boyfriend-of-the-year by the invisible leash that apparently connected them.

"See you tomorrow, Sunshine."

 


 

The walk back home had never been this unpleasant. Justin felt his mind racing with blinding speed, taking twists and turns with little respect toward logical thought. Ethan couldn't have heard anything. The distance between them couldn't have allowed it. And how long had he been standing there? What did he see? What could he have seen? Justin had no idea how visible the palpable need to kiss Brian he had experienced in those few brief seconds had been.

They made it inside the apartment before Ethan finally spoke. "Have you fucked him?"

"What?" Justin exclaimed. He was genuinely shocked, never having expected that to be the first thing to come out of Ethan's mouth.

"Doesn't matter…" Ethan went on, his tone calm but his expression and body movements being evidence of his inner turmoil. "It all makes sense now…everything…that's why you put so much effort into this job!"

"Ethan, I don't understand what you're saying. Could you…"

"It's why you kept the job, why you were the first one to leave in the morning, all those late nights at the diner…you were going to see him."

"That is ridiculous! You know I was working…" Ethan didn't seem to believe him at all, and kept looking somewhere beyond Justin, beyond the apartment and the here and now. "Ethan. I swear, I was just working at the diner, there was no secret rendezvous or anything like that."

"You were working for the campaigns at Vanguard. To please him. To make him proud."

Justin didn't find anything to say to that… how could he?

"He is very beautiful…" Ethan whispered, talking more to himself than to Justin.

Justin looked at him, trying to come up with something to say, all the while being drowned in guilt. He searched through it, needing to find some other emotion. There had to be more than guilt right?

"There is nothing between him and me." He wanted to say he didn't feel anything toward Brian and that he didn't want anything to do with him, but he couldn't. "I would never do anything to risk us, you know that…"

"Then quit."

"What?" He stopped, unable to believe what he was hearing.

"Quit Vanguard."

 


At Vanguard, the next day


It was better than looking in the mirror. The expression on his face, the details…Brian stared at the sketch that Justin had done. Was this how other people saw him? Was this how Justin saw him?

Not interested? You can't take your eyes off me when we're together, and when we aren't, this is what you do. So why do you keep running back to that greasy little weasel? And why do I keep running after you?

Brian shook his head. Just one fuck, he told himself. All he needed was just one fuck and then the blonde would be out of system. That's all he needed…

"His drawings are incredible, aren't they?"

Brian looked up, surprised. He hadn't even noticed Cynthia entering the room.

"They're all right."

Cynthia scoffed. "Get off it, Brian. Justin's not here. You can compliment his work without denting your reputation." A cold glare from Brian was her only answer. "I was cleaning your desk and I saw that one. He's captured you perfectly."

Cynthia didn't realize the irony of her words.

"It would seem that way."

Brian closed the sketch book and casually tossed it aside, instantly regretting it when Cynthia picked it up.

"How did you get this, anyway? Do you want me to return it to Justin? Or I could –"

"Leave it." Brian avoided acknowledging the raised eyebrows. "I'll return it when it's time."

"Uh-huh." Cynthia made no attempt to leave, and instead, deposited herself on the small couch that was there. "How come you haven't slept with him yet?"

"Who says I haven't?"

"If you had, you wouldn't be obsessing about him now."

"Cynthia, when have you known me to obsess about anyone? And is there something in particular that brought you in here?"

Ignoring questions she didn't want to answer seemed to be Cynthia's specialty, because she acted as if Brian asked only one thing.

"There's a first time for everything, as I'm beginning to find out."

"Even when I was in high school, such teenage activities mercifully escaped me. Don't think that I'm about to start now."

"Right. Of course. Could it be that the young Mr. Taylor's boyfriend is a bigger obstacle than expected?" Cynthia was twirling something – a pen, maybe? or a ring? – between her fingers, and wasn't looking at him.

Brian sighed, and tried very hard not to take the bait.

He tried.

"And you know that he has a boyfriend how…?"

"I asked Justin. I saw that guy come to pick him up a couple of days." Cynthia paused, and seemed to contemplate something before she spoke next. "This should be a piece of cake…he's got nothing on you."

"Cynthia, you might be trapped inside High School Musical, but I'm not. If there's a point to this conversation, feel free to get to it."

Cynthia sighed. "For a high flying executive, you're being quite dense about this, aren't you? All I'm saying is…if Justin hasn't succumbed to your charms yet, why do you suppose that is? If Gucci was having free giveaways, why would I continue to shop at Liz Claiborne's? I'm just saying…lateral thinking, Brian."

 


 

The diner, later in the evening


Cynthia had annoyed the crap out of Brian, and the fact that Justin had managed to avoid him the entire day didn't help improve the situation any. What the fuck was his problem, anyway? It wasn't as if Brian was going to eat him alive.

He spotted the blonde in no time. Thinking was not the lateral activity that came to mind. Against his better judgment, Brian made his way to the counter.

"Well, if it isn't my favourite artist. How are we doing this fine evening?" Brian drawled.

Justin sighed deeply as he turned to serve Brian, and he frowned as he noticed the dark circles around Justin's eyes.

"What can I get you, Brian? Coffee to go?"

"I'll have a coffee and a whole –"

"Whole-wheat turkey sandwich with no mayo? To go?"

My, aren't we curt today.

"And a side of your charming company. I'll be dining in, by the way." He seated himself at the counter, prompting another sigh.

Justin turned around and gave the order to the kitchen, and busied himself with fiddling with the coffee maker, his back to Brian.

"Aw, come on Sunshine. How about you make some conversation? Where's your sense of customer service?"

It took Justin almost an entire minute to turn around and face Brian. "Why would you want to talk to me Brian? You don't even like me."

"I'm here, aren't I?"

"You're here because you're hungry. You're talking to me because you think I'll eventually melt like a tub of butter and let you fuck me and then you can just thr-" Justin seemed to have a change of heart as he stopped midsentence. "You don't even respect me, let alone like me."

That genuinely surprised Brian. "That's bullshit."

"Is it? Is that why you expect me to fail every time I work on something for you? I've been saving your ass from the very first day I started working at fucking Vanguard, and you still expect me to fall flat on my face each time I hand something in. That's some shit-ass respect, Brian. Wow. Awesome. I'm so touched."

He left to serve another customer, muttering under his breath. Justin acted so self-assured and high and mighty most of the time that Brian was surprised to find out that he actually wanted Brian's respect and good opinion.

When Justin finally returned to man his post at the counter, Brian spoke to him again.

"Justin, I do respect your –"

"Whatever, Brian. You don't have to try and play nice now to assuage my poor hurt feelings. Here's your order"

Well, someone was clearly feeling prickly. Brian decided to try another tactic.

"So, what did the boyfriend have to say about your boss? Does he like me?" Brian asked in an exaggerated whisper.

"He thinks you're beautiful."

"And you?"

"I think you're an idiot."

Brian laughed, and that managed to draw a hint of a smile out of Justin.

"So you both like me then? Maybe we can have a ménage à trois, though I don't particularly find Ian attractive."

Justin scoffed. "You wish. Neither of us like you."

Brian smirked. Keep looking at me with those undress-me-eyes Sunshine, and we'll see about that.

"He thinks I'm beautiful. I can work with that." Brian leaned forward, and it wasn't without some amusement that he noted Justin move towards him unconsciously. "Did he get all hot and bothered that you have a gorgeous boss? But then, you said that he isn't the jealous type…I'm curious to know how that particular conversation between the two of you would have gone."

"Not that it's any of your fucking business, but Ethan thinks I should quit Vanguard. Which ironically enough, has been your anthem since I joined the company. Maybe I should hook the two of you up."

"What?"

"What?" Justin frowned at him. "Weren't you the one talking about a ménage à trois?"

Trust Justin to bark up the wrong tree.

"Quitting. Ian wants you to quit?"

"Uh-huh. Do you need more coffee?"

Brian impatiently pushed his cup forward. "And? Are you going to quit?"

Justin shrugged as he turned to get more coffee.

"So you're going to quit? Just like that?"

"Did I say that?" The world-weary eyes were back.

"Oh, I don't know. The art of translating the exact meaning of shrugs accurately is something I haven't perfected yet. Are. You. Going. To. Quit."

"I didn't say that."

"But you're thinking about it, aren't you?" What a fucking dick Justin had for a boyfriend. For about the millionth time, Brian wondered what the blonde saw in that fellow.

"I didn't say that either. But what are you getting so worked up about? You've been wanting me to get fired, like, forever."

"Let's get something straight. I didn't want you to get fired, I expected you to get fired. Because I hadn't seen what you were capable of doing. And of course, because I want to fuck you. But that's really beside the point, isn't it?

Less than half an hour ago, you were chewing me out for not respecting your talent. I dunno Sunshine…you know that you're talented. You could even be doing Steve's job. You know it, I know it and Steve probably knows it. But you're going to throw that away because you'd rather placate the feelings of some two-bit jealous boyfriend?"

Justin flushed. "Look, I didn't say that I was considering it, ok?"

This time, it was Brian who scoffed. "But it's been eating away at you, hasn't it? Besides, I thought going to PIFA was your dream; that this job was a money making venture to fund your education. What happened to that? Planning to sacrifice that at the Altar of Insecurity as well?"

Justin averted his eyes and pretended to busy himself with rearranging the cutlery. "I shouldn't have told you about this. You're blowing it way out of proportion."

"Of course I am. Keep the change." Brian pulled out a twenty dollar bill and placed it on the counter. He reached out and held Justin's chin, forcing the blonde to look up at him. "I do respect you. I hope you won't disappoint me."

 


 

Justin was walking home, enjoying the peace and quiet that the midnight hour gave him. He smiled to himself. It was more like the way-past-midnight hour. He tried to concentrate on the stars above him, but his thoughts kept going back to the one topic he didn't want to think about.

What was it about Brian Kinney that got under his skin like this? Each time he had left Brian at the counter, he felt himself being drawn right back, as if he was being pulled by an invisible magnetic field.

He hadn't meant to be so rude and churlish with Brian. But he was exhausted. He had spent the better part of yesterday arguing over Ethan's ridiculous demand that he quit Vanguard. Justin had taken it for a joke at first, but as the argument had spiraled out of hand, he had realized that Ethan was dead serious about it. It had turned into an issue about how Justin could prove that there was nothing between himself and Brian, and a testament to his love for Ethan.

If only Ethan knew how absurd the whole situation was. First off, there was no way he could prove that there was nothing between himself and Brian, because there was. Only Brian didn't know about it. And he never would, if Justin had anything to say about it.

Second off, it was patently obvious to Justin that whatever love he and Ethan had shared had fizzled out sometime ago. But he wasn't willing to let go of the familiarity and companionship and togetherness that being with Ethan represented to him.

But he wasn't willing to sacrifice his dream for a man he didn't even love. Listening to Brian's little lecture had convinced him of that even more.

Don't worry, Brian. There's nothing to be disappointed about. I'm going to deal with this just like I've dealt with everything else.

Of course, that would mean endless arguments with Ethan, but Justin was determined not to back down. I'm going to call Ethan's bluff, he told himself. No fucking way that I'm going to give up my dream or sacrifice it at the Altar of Insecurity, he thought with a smile.

As he came in front of his decrepit building, Justin dug his hand into his jeans pocket, looking for his key. Then the other pocket. And then his jacket pockets. And then he rummaged through his messenger bag. And then he repeated the process three more times, just to be sure.

"Fuck!" Justin couldn't believe that he had forgotten his keys at home. Now how the hell was he supposed to get into the building? He pitched his weight against the entrance, hoping to force it open, but the door wouldn't budge. That's when Justin noticed the shining, brand new hinges. Just my luck that they decided to repair the goddamn door.

He knew that he would get an earful from the sleeping Ethan, but he pulled out his phone to call and ask to be let in. Except that his phone seemed as dead as a door nail, in spite of him having charged it before he left for the diner.

"Goddamn piece of shit!" Justin cursed the phone. "I could carry around a piece of brick and it would be more useful! Stupid fucking Apple and their stupid fucking –"

"Talking to inanimate objects could be a sign of mental illness Sunshine, especially if you can hear them talk back to you."

Justin jumped at the sound of Brian's voice, and successfully banged his head on the door. "Fuck! Brian, you scared the living daylights out of me! What are you doing here?"

"I was listening to some music. Around the corner."

Justin stared at Brian incredulously. "What?"

"Music. You know, the moans of one of my numerous tricks. In other words, music. Or should I say, in your words. "

Justin fought the urge to hit Brian and wipe the smug smirk off his face. He took in a deep breath. "In this neighbourhood? Really?"

Brian leaned lazily against the hood of his car. "Ok, so you caught me. I was stalking you. Happy now?"

Justin had a strong urge to pull Brian's pants down and give him the blowjob of a lifetime, just to force him to make some music of his own. However, he chose to clench and unclench his fists instead.

"Brian, it's really late, and I'm really tired and I really am not in the mood to play your mind games."

"Great. So why don't you go inside and get yourself a solid four hours of rest?"

Justin looked down and shuffled his feet, mumbling. This was sooooo embarrassing.

Brian frowned. "What did you say?"

Justin sighed. "I said, I can't go inside because I forgot my key."

Brian started to laugh, but stopped when Justin glowered at him. "Is that why you were talking to your phone? Battery's dead and you can't call Ian?"

"I don't know what the fuck is wrong with my phone. It belongs at the bottom of a river somewhere. The damn screen doesn't work…it has a mind of its own, it seems. Stupid piece of junk." Justin hit the phone against the door, hoping to kick start some life into it.

"Ok there, Rambo. Calm down. Here, use my phone and call Ian."

Justin stared at Brian's outstretched arm, holding his phone, and his face turned beet red.

"I can't."

"What, is your poor boyfriend going to throw a hissy fit because you'll call from my phone?" Brian was shaking his head.

"Don't be silly Brian. It's just…" Justin hung his head. Brian was going to love this. "I can't call him because I can't remember his number. I mean, it's on my phone, and that's how I call him but I haven't got it memorized and now my phone is shot and…" He broke off when Brian started guffawing.

"Aw, you really are a piece of work!"

Justin tried to glare at Brian, but failed. When Brian Kinney laughed, it was like…no! Don't go there, he told himself.

"Come on. Get in." Brian nodded his head towards the passenger door.

"What? Get in and go where? I live here, Brian."

"Yes, and short of breaking down two sets of doors, you're doomed to spend the rest of the night on the street. I'll take you to my place. Beats sleeping on the street any day."

"Are you crazy? Me? Sleep over at your place? No fucking way." Justin could only imagine where an arrangement like that would lead. He could barely stand to be ten feet away from Brian and keep his hands off the other man.

Brian rolled his eyes. "Jesus. You can sleep on the couch. Still beats the street. Now will you get the fuck inside the car?"

Justin shook his head. He didn't trust Brian, and he trusted himself even less. Ethan didn't even factor into the equation.

"No. I'm staying right here. Someone might come by and open the door…"

Brian scowled at him. "You're such a fucking princess. You seriously expect somebody to come by at this time of the night? Who won't be interested in mugging you? In this neighbourood?" He mimicked Justin. "Will you just get in the car? Now?"

Justin was determined to stand his ground, though the idea of Brian's couch was enough to make him salivate. "No. I told you. I'm staying right here."

Brian stared at him. "You're serious, aren't you?"

He nodded.

"Fine. Let me know how sleeping on the street works out for you. Unless you get yourself killed first. Or freeze to death."

Without a backward glance, Brian got inside his car and left.

Justin sighed as he leaned against the wall and slid down, hugging himself. It was cold. He knew he was being as stubborn as a mule, but he couldn't help it. Being alone with Brian, at his place, given the way Justin was feeling, was a surefire recipe for disaster. Besides, he was certain that Brian must have seen this as the perfect opportunity to corner him and fuck him into oblivion, and then after that, Justin would be discarded like a used Kleenex.

Justin stared at the street. Did Brian really have to leave though? It would have been nice to have some company, even if it would have been only for half an hour or so. And he had to admit to himself that even when he was arguing with Brian, he felt alive, the way he felt he was painting or sketching or…stop. Look for a distraction. He dug around once more in his messenger bag, and came up with a granola bar. Well, it was something.

After he devoured the granola bar, Justin decided to sketch. What else could he do in the middle of the night, camped outside on the street, with absolutely nothing else on him? He shivered involuntarily, wondering how much time had passed since he had left the diner. Would Ethan wake up in the middle of the night and wonder where Justin was? Maybe he'd come looking for Justin? Maybe –

The sound of a car pulling up disturbed his chain of thought, and he gaped as a frowning Brian got out of the corvette, carrying two cups of coffee from Starbucks.

"I thought I'd still find you here. I'm going to go out on a limb and assume that no one came by to let you in." Brian looked down at the granola wrapper. "Hungry?"

"A bit. Thank you." Justin gratefully took the cup of coffee that Brian offered, and was disappointed when Brian turned around and walked to his car. Did he come by just to give a coffee?

His disappointment turned into surprise as Brian walked back to him, carrying his own cup of coffee in one hand, some sort of cloth in the other and a duffel bag over his shoulder.

"Ok, I'm going to ask you one last time. Do you want to come and sleep over at my place? Or at least inside my car? Which is parked right there?"

Justin held the warm cup close to his body and shook his head. Enclosed spaces at this time of the night seemed to be a bad idea.

"Brian, what are you doing here?"

"Leaving my star intern to brave the forces of nature on his own didn't make good business sense. Besides, I don't want to have to give statements to the police when they find your frozen body here in the morning. Or beaten black and blue and lying twenty feet away, wrapped in a garbage bag."

"Uh…thank you?" Justin couldn't believe that Brian was here. Why is it that as soon as I convince myself that he's nothing but a heartless bastard, he does something to prove otherwise?

Brian handed something to him. "Here. Cover yourself before you turn blue."

Justin realized that what he had assumed was a cloth was in fact a blanket. He took it gratefully, wrapping himself against the wind. With far more grace than Justin could muster, Brian put his own cup of coffee on the ground, kept the bag next to it, and then wrapped himself in the second blanket before sitting down next to Justin.

"You are one stupid, stubborn, annoying little twat. I hope you know that."

"Uh-huh. And this stupid, stubborn, annoying little twat says thank you and that he's very sorry for inconveniencing you."

"He better be. Has the coffee and granola bar satiated your hunger? Or is that ogre inside your stomach looking for more food?"

Justin tried the wide-eyed innocent look. "Only if that bag of goodies has anything edible."

"Well, three o'clock in the morning is not the ideal time to hunt for gourmet catering, but I'm nothing if not resourceful. Here you go."

Justin grinned as he took the sandwich from Starbucks as well as a bag of chips. "What else is in there?"

Brian laughed. "You want more? There's another sandwich, a cookie and water. And a light sweater."

"I'm ok for now. Thanks. Actually, can I have the sweater as well?" The sweater turned out to be at least two sizes too big for Justin, and it was unmistakably one of Brian's own.

Justin was almost halfway through his sandwich when he noticed that Brian wasn't eating. "You're not having anything?"

"At this time? I'm not as crazy as you."

"Whatever. You can't afford to eat because you'll have to clock time at the gym, that's all."

"Awfully cocky aren't you, for a guy who forgot his keys and is sleeping out on the street? Food and shelter – so to speak – are being provided by me, so how about you attempt to play nice, difficult as that concept is for you?"

Justin giggled. "I'll try my best." Before he could think or stop himself, he had turned and planted a kiss on Brian's cheek.

Fuck. You stupid retard, Justin scolded himself as he looked away, shifting his position. This is exactly the kind of behavior –

He felt Brian's arm snake around his shoulders and pull him in closer. "You're such a fucking drama queen. Anybody ever tell you that?"

"Just my friend Daphne. And Kathy. And my mom. And Kiki. I guess that's quite a bit of anybodies." Being close to Brian felt good. Really really good.

Brian laughed quietly. "I guess I've been warned then."

Justin suddenly remembered that Brian smoked. His own pack of smokes was back at Vanguard because Ethan would complain if he came home from the diner smelling of smoke, and there was no point in carrying cigarettes if you couldn't smoke them.

"Uh, Brian? You wouldn't happen to have a smoke on you, would you?"

"Demanding, aren't we?"

Justin lightly poked Brian in the ribs. At least, he assumed that it was Brian's ribs. "Hey, I asked nicely!"

"Oooh, playing it rough…kinky." Brian leered at him, but Justin could see the humour in his eyes.

"You have such a one-track mind. Please and thank you?"

"Hmm…let's up the ante, shall we?

Justin looked curiously at Brian as he reached into his jacket, and pulled out two joints.

"Ready to play, Sunshine?"

He couldn't help but beam. Even better than a cigarette was a joint – also an item banned by Ethan.

Justin was tired as it was, and the joint helped him relax, giving him a nice, buzzed feeling. He was finally able to converse with Brian without snapping the other man's head off. It really wasn't Brian's fault if he was irresistible and Justin had zero self control, was it?

"Earth to Justin…where'd you go?"

Justin realized that he had missed whatever it was that Brian had been saying. "Sorry, just blanked out there for a bit…listen, Brian, I appreciate you being here with me…and I'm sorry I was such a prick earlier today."

"I'll put it down to you being a drama queen. Keep it up and we're going to have to promote you to drama empress though. We'll get you a nice tiara to go with – ow!"

This time Justin was pretty certain that he got Brian in the ribs. "You were saying something?"

"Stupid twat." Brian muttered. "Physical assault. This is the thanks I get for providing food, shelter and recreational drugs. So much for being a good Samaritan."

"And you call me a drama queen. Poor widdle Brian. Ok, tell you what, as payment for you being a nice guy, I'll draw something for you. Right now. And twenty years from now, when it's worth a million dollars, you can sell it off and retire and move to Palm Springs. "

"And I can sell the story of how you sat on the street drawing it to People magazine. Fabulous."

Justin giggled as he started to draw, keeping up a steady stream of conversation. He was buzzed, but not so high that he couldn't draw a decent picture. He started sketching the street lamp he saw in the distance, placing Brian underneath it, part of him in the shadows.

He felt Brian rest his head on Justin's shoulder, and he assumed that it was to get a better view of the drawing. What was this strange emotion he was feeling, having Brian so close to him? It was just physical attraction, right? He couldn't possibly be falling for the guy…?

"Think you can draw your own picture if you watch me long enough?" Justin spoke to Brian, hoping to distract himself from unwelcome thoughts.

When all he heard was steady breathing, Justin slowly turned his head to look at the other man.

Brian was fast asleep, head resting on Justin's shoulder.

Chapter 7 by Lupin111
Author's Notes:

By Xrifree & Lupin111

 

With the publishing of this chapter, all the chapters we published in 2010-2011 is now on MW. From next week, it will be all new material :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Brian rubbed at his eyes, chasing sleep away. There was something fundamentally wrong with being awakened by the sun this early in the morning, with your ass freezing from the stone-cold sidewalk and your back hurting like a motherfucker.

Not to mention… boho-chic…? Not his thing.

But it wasn't only this firsthand experience of the less than fabulous beggar lifestyle that ticked him off, it was the fact that waking up, cuddling someone - even if it was only for warmth and nothing else - was completely contradictory to his belief system. When you started cuddling, then came the expectations, and eating in bed and calling each other, heaven forbid, honey and booboo and muffin or whatever the fuck other sickly pet name more suitable for a hamster, or the dinner table.

All in all, waking up next to anyone was a real come down from even the most life affirming fuck fest. No one looked as hot in the morning. You were both a drooling, sweaty mess, with morning breath and full bladders.

With these thoughts in mind, he got out of Justin's embrace quickly. The blonde let out a disgruntled noise at the changing of positions and quickly used Brian's shoulder to get comfortable again, claiming Brian's hand for his own. Brian could shake him awake, he really could, but something in Justin's too-innocent-to-be-true expression - radically different from his awake self - just begged to be messed with. So, in an uncharacteristically childish manner, Brian opted for slowly blowing air in his ear and at his neck and watched as Justin squirmed his way into consciousness. Brian suppressed a laugh. Justin looked bewildered for a second or two, until his gaze settled on Brian and he finally smiled sweetly and said "Good morning."

Brian smiled in spite of himself.

Maybe waking up next to a certain Justin Taylor wasn't that bad.

"What time is it?"

"Too early, or too late, depending on your perspective" Brian's watch informed him.

Justin stretched his hands above his head. "Well, it's a good thing I require minimum amounts of sleep lately. Also, you make a very comfortable human pillow."

And there, the twat had to go and make him smile again. "At your service. Anything else you'd like? Food or… a song, or a backrub maybe?"

"Now that you mention it, a backrub would be nice right about now." Justin said, keeping a perfectly straight face.

"And here I thought you should be sucking up to me, not the other way around."

"Well, everyone rushes to assumptions from time to time." Justin replied, a smile forming at the corner of his lips, threatening his façade.

Brian's response was interrupted, as the building door opened behind them. Justin's neighbor greeted him, in obvious confusion, and left to go to work, leaving Justin holding the door open.

"So…um…"

"I should be going." Brian said quickly, getting up and gathering the blanket and all the other salvageable items. Something told him that if the next person to come down the stairs was Ian, things wouldn't turn out too well.

"Yeah…" Justin was standing indecisively, keeping a hand on the door to keep it from closing. "Oh wait. Your sweater."

"Keep it."

"No, no. Just hold the door a bit and I'll give it to you."

Brian did just that, and the blonde pulled the sweater over his head and handed it to him.

"Thanks for… everything."

"Sure." He dismissed it quickly.

"No, really, thanks. I think your presence had a lot to do with me not getting mugged or anything."

Brian nodded. "How is your boyfriend going to take it?"

"Probably not well." Justin answered awkwardly.

"Hmm… So, will you be at the office later, or should I expect resignation papers?"

Justin looked at him closely, silent for a while. "I'll be there."

 


 

Banging against the door proved, once again, futile. He must have been waiting for over ten minutes outside the apartment door; Justin was sure of it. It couldn't be that Ethan was still sleeping at this hour; he always woke up early…maybe he wasn't inside. But where could he possibly be? What if… what if something was wrong with him? If he had passed out or…

Justin ran anxious fingers through his hair. One thing at a time. Go to Aaron's across the hall. Use his phone to call a locksmith. Get in the apartment and…

"Justin?"

"Ethan!" he breathed a sigh of relief at seeing him walking up the stairs. "What…"

"Let's get inside first." Ethan indicated to the door, and opened it using his keys. "What were you doing out there?"

"I forgot my keys."

"Your phone?" Ethan asked absentmindedly. He put down the violin case and got out of his coat slowly.

"Dead. You… you just came back?" Justin's freshly awakened mind had a bit of a problem understanding that particular concept. Ethan shrugged. "And where were you?"

"Out."

"Out? Ok…"

"I got tired of waiting, so, I went for a walk." Ethan said, moving to the kitchen.

It took a few minutes for that to sink in as well, but Justin was sure it didn't have to do with having just woken up. "You went for a walk… when? Now?"

"Couple hours ago."

"Why are you lying?"

"Lying? I'm not…"

"I was outside the building all night. I would have seen you if you went for 'a walk a couple hours ago'."

"You spent all night in the cold? Why didn't you go to Daphne's?"

"That's not…" He sighed. This was going nowhere. "Ethan, where were you?"

"Fine. I was out all night. It's not like you would've noticed, you were out too."

"Not by choice." He looked at Ethan for a while longer, confused. "I don't understand why you feel the need to lie."

"I just didn't want to fight first thing in the morning, that's all."

God, that's what they had become? One of those couples…"Are you going to tell me where you were?"

"Jesus… I was just… out. I needed a few hours to myself. What about you?"

"I was with Brian Kinney."

"What?"

"He kept me company." Justin knew he was being annoying, but hell, he was enjoying it. "Nothing special, we just talked."

"Talked? Yeah, I'm sure that's all you did."

"It is all we did. I don't know what you were doing though."

Ethan looked around the small kitchen, coming to a decision. "You are quitting."

"Don't be ridiculous."

"You are quitting, Justin. You can't go back to Vanguard. He obviously wants you."

"And what if he does? You have to trust me, not him."

"If you weren't interested as well, you would quit. Why else would you want to continue working there?"

"Because it's a great opportunity? Because I need the job?"

Ethan scoffed. "If you don't quit…" he hesitated.

"If I don't quit what? You're going to break up with me over it?"

"You are always late, you're always busy," Ethan started accusing, his voice rising, "and now this? There is no way he hasn't tried something."

"You're right." Justin breathed in deeply. No reason to hide anymore. "I kissed him." He went on before Ethan could interrupt him. "But I still choose to be with you. I'm never going to let anything happen again. Your turn."

"My turn?"

"Yeah, your turn. Tell me who you were with."

"No one!"

"Ethan…" Justin knew he was lying, even though he didn't have a shred of proof. He just felt it in his gut.

Ethan seemed to think it for a second or two. "I was just at Woody's."

"You? At Woody's? You hate that place. You hate bars in general. You hate the music they play, the "uncivilized, barbaric" people that gather there. At least that's what you said last time I suggested we go there."

"Then you're not the only one with surprises up his sleeve."

"I can see that." Justin nodded. The thoughts whirling around in his head finally came to a stop and something in his brain clicked.

"You thought I'd be asleep. You were sneaking back into the apartment at this time because you thought I'd be asleep." Ethan started to protest, but Justin went on. "Is it the first time? Or do you just leave all the time and come back in the morning? Lie down next to me and pretend like you were sleeping all night?"

Ethan didn't respond. Justin didn't need any further explanations.

"Great. Anything else you'd like to share?"

"Justin" Ethan leveled his tone again, sounding compromising. "If you just left Vanguard. We'd have more time for us and I wouldn't have to worry about him."

Justin could almost laugh. It's like someone had pushed the replay button, and they were caught up in an eternal repetition. "I am not going to quit Vanguard. I need to work, and there isn't any better job out there."

"Starb…"

"Jesus Christ can you shut the fuck up about fucking Starbucks already! At Vanguard I do something I enjoy, I work as close to my field as is possible right now. Would you give up the violin to make macchiatos?"

"How do you expect me to trust you around him?"

"I just do. I'm not a cat in heat, I can control my actions."

"With him practically throwing himself at you?"

"So what? It wouldn't be the first time. I'm sure Woody's or wherever else you went tonight was filled with men throwing themselves at you. Isn't that why you went? To have sex with someone else?"

"Of course not!" he exclaimed, but Justin kept looking at him suspiciously. The answer was too quick, too dramatic. It sounded like a lie.

"So you were there alone."

"Justin… Do I really have to explain this?"

"Yeah, I think you do."

"Look. You just said you kissed Kinney! So maybe I wanted to flirt a little. That doesn't mean I fucked the guy! For fuck's sake, the diner sees you more than I do! What did you expect?"

"Why is everything that happens automatically my fault?"

"Justin…"

"No, really! All the while you expect me to be the perfect boyfriend, it never crossed your mind that we may both be at fault? Have I ever given you the impression that I care if you flirt or go out alone? You can do it if you want; I'm not your nanny. But if you still feel like you need to do it behind my back, the root of the problem is deeper."

Ethan remained silent. Justin started gathering the things he needed for work in a hurry. He didn't even have enough time to take a shower, if he wanted to make it on time. He wasn't sure he wanted to spend another minute inside the apartment anyway.

"Are you going to Vanguard?"

"Yes. This is my decision Ethan; it has nothing to do with you."

"Are you coming back?"

"No…at least not now. I'll stay at Daph's for a while and… I don't know. I'll get my things in the afternoon."

 


"Why are all the chiropractors in Oregon?"

Cynthia glanced at Brian, an eyebrow raised questioningly. "What happened to you?"

"Nothing. Stiff back. I fell asleep…on the couch."

"Uh-huh." Cynthia reached over and picked up the requisitions that Brian had just signed. "He went out for lunch and now he's at a meeting."

"What?" Brian had a fairly good idea who Cynthia was talking about, but he'd be damned if he'd admit to anything. His policy was the same as that of the US government. Deny everything.

Cynthia sighed. "Justin Taylor. I know that you had wanted to know when he got into work today, and don't think I missed your surreptitious trips to the Art Department. There's a visualizers meeting in the Production Department today and Steve sent Justin for it."

"Justin's a junior artist, not a fucking visualizer."

"You can tell that to Steve next time you see him. Does he have a sister?"

"Who? Steve? How the fuck should I know?"

"Not Steve, Justin. I was wondering about the girl who came to meet him…but if you don't know…I guess I'll ask Kathy."

Brian hated how Cynthia dangled the bait in front of his face before slowly making her way out of his office. He had seen octogenarians move faster. Oh, fuck it.

"What girl?"

Cynthia spun around, beaming. "The one with reddish brown, curly, almost frizzy hair?"

"I don't think Justin has a sister…"

"Well, he came from lunch with this huge rucksack and then she turned up a while later and took it away."

That certainly was a very curious nugget of information, and Brian wondered what it could possibly mean. "Cynthia, I hope someone has already pointed out what a gossip you are."

"Oh pffffffffffffffft. You love it as much as I do. Especially when it's about a certain blonde artist. I'll keep you posted if I find out anything else." She winked as she left his office, this time with the alacrity of a sixteen year old.

For all the theories he came up with, none were able to plausibly explain the girl and the rucksack. But there was no resignation letter on his table and Justin was clearly in the office, though out of sight, so Brian took consolation in the fact that the rat-faced Ian had been unsuccessful in luring Justin away.

Not that he cared personally if Justin had resigned. Not at all. It would have been a shame, simply from a business perspective. Purely a business perspective.

Knowing that Justin would be in the Production Department today, Brian cooked up an urgent list of things for him to do, and sent it down to the Art Department. Which gave him a perfectly legitimate reason to haul Steve into his office and chew him out for sending the wrong fucking person for the wrong fucking meeting. Again, it was purely business. Brian simply did not want his staff wasting time. It was unproductive. That's all.

When Brian walked into his office at about six in the evening, after being bored to tears for almost two hours while Vance droned on and on about refurbishment ideas and their ensuing cost, he had successfully convinced himself that all his actions from the previous day (and night) were for the benefit of Vanguard.

Then he found a sketch of himself, standing underneath a lamppost, completed and mounted and lying on his table. He couldn't figure out how to convince himself that the smile that found its way onto his face had anything at all to do with business.

 


 

At the diner

Brian wondered what Justin was thinking. The blonde had given him an almost shy smile while taking their order, but was busy ever since, attending to practically every other table in the diner. In fact, he was so busy that Brian wondered if he was getting paid for every plate that he carried, as opposed to the number of hours he worked.

"Well?"

Brian looked at Emmett's impatient face and realized that he had completely missed the question. For the sake of appearances, he rolled his eyes and plastered a sardonic expression on his face.

"What do you think?" That should hopefully buy him time and trick Emmett into divulging what the original question was.

"How could I possibly imagine what you think, Brian? You want to hit Woody's first?"

Brian smiled to himself. It was a good thing he was this brilliant. "Let's skip Woody's and go straight to Babylon."

Which would, of course, mean that they'd hang around the diner until it was a respectably late enough hour to enter Babylon. And of course, he wasn't really in the mood for Woody's. Of course. Thus the new plan.

"Great! I'll ask Ben to meet us there then. He's been marking papers all week; I think he'd enjoy the break."

Brian smiled indulgently at Michael, took his drink and drained it.

"Hey! I had barely touched that! Asshole." Michael threw a balled napkin at him, and successfully caught Justin's eye in a second. "Justin, can I have another Coke?"

Perfect.

He was thirsty.

 


He slipped quietly past the kitchen into the washroom and splashed cold water on his face. Justin was quite relieved that, for once, Steve had managed to fuck up at work. After all the drama of the last 48 hours, give or take a few hours, Justin had wanted to do nothing more than take a timeout. A Production Department meeting for visualizers had been perfect. He didn't really have to pay attention, it wasn't really his job, and nobody had expected him to make any contributions whatsoever.

Ethan had lied to him. In all likelihood, Ethan had probably slept with someone, unbeknown to him as well. Justin tried his best to be rational about it. Ethan had almost has much as admitted that it wasn't the first time that he had snuck out; that was as plain as day. They weren't in high school; nobody just flirted. Where to take that relationship from here? Justin refused to think about it for the moment.

And he, fool that he was, had passed up the opportunity with Brian, due to some misplaced sense of honour and loyalty. He had certainly wanted to sleep with Brian. Truth be told, he still wanted to sleep with Brian. And yet…if it was wrong then, it was wrong now. Just because Ethan might have cheated on him, Justin had no right to stoop to that level. They were on a break, not at a break-up. This was not going to turn into a reenactment of Friends.

Justin shook his head. If he was being honest, Ethan and doing the 'right' thing weren't the only problems. He knew that he could never be satisfied by becoming just another notch on Brian Kinney's belt. It didn't matter that Brian had turned more and more human, and more and more likable in the last few days. He was a predator by nature, and any friendship he had with Justin notwithstanding; any sexual encounter between the two would be nothing more than a one-night stand.

And that would be an absolutely lousy road to take.

It was perhaps because these thoughts, and their first, second and third cousins had taken up residence in Justin's head the entire day that Brian Kinney decided to turn up at the diner and not leave.

Justin had felt like a schoolboy; tongue-tied and addle-brained. He had taken their order, tried his best to smile at Brian and not blush, and made it back to kitchen in record time. He had hoped that the men would leave, but none of them showed the slightest inclination of indulging him.

So Justin decided the best course of action was to just act as if everything was normal and stay the hell away from Brian without seeming to avoid him. Which meant keeping himself busy busy busy. The diner had probably never been this efficient since…well, since forever. He took everyone's order, cleaned all the tables, mopped the floor if someone so much as dropped a breadcrumb on the floor, and it fresh coffee for everyone.

Look dead straight, smile, appear nonchalant, be busy. Repeat from the beginning. On loop.

The looking dead straight proved to be a problem. He found himself glancing at Brian's table often, when he was certain that no one would notice him. Or looking at the reflection of their table in the glass.

Pathetic. Taylor, you are so lame that it isn't even funny.

And on that note, his eyes, with a will entirely their own, glanced at the table again.

"Justin, can I have another Coke?"

Shit. Had Michael noticed him being a complete douche?

Smile plastered on his face, Justin nodded and went to get Michael his Coke, and picked up a plate of fries for another table. If he timed it just right, he should be at Brian's table for a maximum of seven to ten seconds.

Of course, Justin never factored in unforeseen circumstances, such as Debbie.

As soon as he had placed the Coke in front of Michael, Debbie swooped in, whisking the plate of fries away from him.

"Sunshine, you sit down right here, right now."

"But Debbie –"

"Don't you argue with me. You've been working like a dog all evening, doing three people's work. You're done for today sweetie. Take off that apron, and go have some fun." Loudly kissing him on the cheek, and then leaning over to subject Michael to the same thing, she went to deliver the plate of fries.

Before Justin said anything, Emmett clapped his hands in glee.

"You got an early evening! We were going to head to Babylon soon, do you want to join us? It'll be funnnnn!"

Justin smiled at Emmett, wondering how he should reply. It probably would be fun, but…he glanced at Brian, wondering what his reaction was, and was embarrassed when the brunette caught his eye and smiled.

"Indeed, Sunshine, why don't you join us?" He drawled. "I heard you were bored to tears at work today…I assure you, this would be a wholly different experience…unless of course, your boyfriend doesn't like you having fun?"

Justin rolled his eyes and struggled not to smile. If only he knew. "I'd love to join you Em, but I really don't think I'm dressed for Babylon."

"Well, of course you're not. Which is why between us, we – uh, they –" he indicated to Ted and Brian, "have two vehicles. Plus, we still have time for Babylon. Come on Teddy, let's take Justin to his place so he can wear something fabulous!" Emmett had already squeezed out of the booth and was tugging Ted's hand. "We'll meet you guys at Babylon then; you two can go pick up Ben since there's time. Now, Justin, I'm thinking that you should do electric blue or a real nice red tonight. What colours do you have?"

Justin let himself be guided by Emmett, but the image that was stuck in his head was that of a smiling Brian.

Chapter 8 by Lupin111
Author's Notes:

By Xrifree & Lupin111

 

 

 

 

 

 

This place is loud, was the first thing that registered in Justin’s mind once they were inside Babylon. The place was almost uncomfortably full, with dancing and drinking men, seemingly in their 20s, maybe 30s…a different crowd from Ethan and his usual intelligentsia groups of late.

With a start, he realized he’d missed it - sneaking out of his parents’ house to Liberty Avenue and Babylon itself a couple of times. He didn’t particularly miss the wide-eyed teenager he was back then, but he definitely, truly, did miss the scene.

“He’s over there” Emmet said with a playful smile, pointing out the person Justin didn’t know he had been subconsciously looking for. Very obviously looking for too, apparently.

Seeing Brian in his natural environment was definitely doing… something to him. If the charm was on occasionally when he saw Brian at work or at the dinner, was the charm fucking on right now. A commanding presence at most times, Brian now radiated a carefully calculated pull. Justin wondered how many years that had taken to perfect. Not mingling with anyone who was dancing, but sitting by the bar, watching from afar. Biding his time. He didn’t have to mingle. Justin thought it would be near impossible to miss him, and sure enough, there wasn’t anyone in a close radius that didn’t spare Brian at least a couple of fairly heated glances.

He finally noticed Justin, and Justin felt more than saw Brian looking him over. Appreciatively, Justin thought, with a thrill. Justin was no shrinking violet, occasional stammering and making a complete ass of himself in front of a certain someone notwithstanding. He knew he looked good, and even if he didn’t get it from his boss, he knew that he turned a couple heads as soon as he walked in. It was a good feeling, being wanted. He hadn’t really indulged in it in a while. He was a feeling a certain degree of freedom after his fight with Ethan. That brought along with it a tiny pinch of guilt, which he quashed.

Justin also cared that he turned said boss’s head, though.

 

 


 

 

Michael and Ben had quickly taken off to the dance floor, determined to make their rare night out well spent. Emmett and Ted had taken up positions next to Brian, and Justin had obviously followed.

Incredibly, he was nervous. Justin felt like this was his first time coming out to Babylon, as opposed to the first time since he started dating Ethan. He mentally wagged a finger at himself. Thinking about Ethan at this point would simply not do.

“Drinks are on me! Well, Justin and my drinks are on me, anyway, until I’m drunk enough to be generous to all of you.” Emmett started to wildly gesticulate at the bartender.

Brian rolled his eyes. “So that Justin can drink something with an umbrella in it? You want to make this his first and last trip to Babylon? Two more.” Brian told the bartender, motioning at his drink. Justin thought it looked like a scotch. “You can get yourself something pink and shiny.” Brian added, looking at Emmett.

“This isn’t my first trip here, you know.”

“Let me guess…you haven’t been here since you met the ball and chain.” Brian said, smirking, and Justin found it more than ironic that Brian was actually right.

Brian’s eyes wandered off to a passerby’s chiseled chest that was covered in neon blue paint.

“Actually,” Justin moved a bit closer to be heard better, and only for that reason, “I heard about Babylon back then, when I was 17; tried coming here when I wanted to lose my virginity.”

Of course he wasn’t trying to monopolize Brian’s attention. Of course not. Justin was just trying to carry on the conversation.

That made Brian actually turn towards Justin.

“So what happened?”

“I stood under that streetlamp outside for ages. Took me another visit to gather the courage to walk in. Can’t say that first night was a total waste of time, though. I did get my first blow job.”

“Go on…” Brian raised an eyebrow.

“To be honest, it wasn’t much.”

“A blow job is a blow job. They always count for something.” Ted stated.

“Wow, you really have no standards, do you?” Justin wondered if Brian was really annoyed by Ted’s interruption, or whether he was imagining it. “So? Go on.”

“He approached me.”

“Obviously.” Brian said, tugging Justin’s t-shirt gently towards him. As Justin involuntarily moved closer, he felt a tingle through his fingertips like they had a mind of their own, and wanted to go through Brian’s hair.

“He wasn’t the best looking guy that I had seen, but he had something about him. He looked at me, and I knew he wanted to fuck me. It was a heady feeling…something new.” Justin smiled to himself, and Brian slowly smiled back. “He was taller.” Brian gave him an amused smirk.

“Older.”

“Naturally.”

“We wound up in the backseat of his car. I watched him moving low, ever so slowly across my body and I couldn’t believe it was actually happening. My hands were almost shaking with nervousness, but I was hard in an instant.” He saw Brian’s eyes dropping to his lips as he spoke, and thought for a second that the way Brian’s attention was focused solely on him, his gaze pinning Justin down, was more exciting than the memory of that night would probably ever be.

Brian was his boss, and in small recess of Justin’s mind, he knew that all this was inappropriate. He shouldn’t even be out at a club with his boss, let alone discussing his first blowjob. And yet…Justin had no more fucks left to give.

“He had some maneuvering to do to fit in the car, and I guess I felt awkward in a way, because he looked uncomfortable. But when he finally got me in his mouth…” Justin closed his eyes, trying to mentally recreate the physical sensation he had felt at the time. And indeed he did, but he couldn’t help his brain from replacing the man from Justin’s memory with Brian. He allowed himself a few beats to contemplate that. The not-bad but not quite ideal sensation around his cock, replaced by Brian’s experienced lips…Brian looking up at him from below…he opened his eyes, and Brian was still looking at him.

A heady feeling, indeed.

Justin took a breath and continued. “Those thoughts started fading real quick. Sure I was still nervous, but I liked that I was nervous. I was focused in a way I had probably never been, up till then. I was present. And then…” He hesitated.

“And then what?”

“And then I didn’t care at all. I just wanted it.”

The sharp breath he took after he said exactly matched Brian’s.

“I’m sure you can relate to that.”

“Sure can.”

Unprompted, Brian said “I would have loved to have been the first to fuck you.”

Justin fought hard to hide his shock at Brian basically reading his mind.

“Scared little under-age virgins are not quite my thing, but I can tell I would have made an exception.”

Brian held Justin’s jaw in his palm, and Justin felt his mouth go dry. “I would have taken good care of you.” Brian went on, and damn him for making what might have been vulgar sound so damn sincere. 

Justin’s breath hitched involuntarily as Brian let go, but he didn’t turn away.

“Still, married life has regretfully taken you away from us.” Brian commented, turning to look at the dance floor once more. Justin shook himself, as if waking from a trance. “But I’m sure the fiddler can satisfy you enough.” Brian added, sounding not sure of that at all. Brian then stood up, clearly having made non-verbal communication with a man who was dancing.

 


 

The man Brian dragged into the backroom was a welcome distraction. It had taken most of Brian’s willpower to sit still and listen to Justin talk about his first blowjob, without pouncing on the blonde and dragging him into the backroom.

Ted was right; a blowjob always counted for something, and as lame as the one Brian just received had been, it still served to ease the throbbing that Justin had caused. Hard as it was to admit, it was becoming quite apparent to him that Justin was having an entirely unprecedented effect on him.

He could ignore Justin.

He didn’t want to ignore Justin.

There was no way the fiddler was satisfying Justin. Brian knew that instinctively. He knew it from the kiss he had shared with Justin, he knew it from the undisguised longing he saw in Justin’s eyes, and he knew it from the passion Justin brought to everything he did and said. No way that rat-faced violinist gave the blonde what he needed. What Justin thought he wanted was another matter entirely.

What Brian wanted to do was to spin Justin all around Babylon before taking him back to the loft and fucking him senseless. He didn’t even want to just take Justin in the backroom. It was very unfortunate that Brian had let Justin get under his skin like this.

Unaligned stars and an evil twist of fate had made sure that Justin had run into some useless geezer when he had ventured out here for the first time. What would have happened if I had been the one to see him under the streetlamp, Brian wondered. No fiddler, no working for Vanguard, no lame blowjobs…and none of this interminable, lust-filled purgatory that Brian now found himself in. Well, if the expression in Justin’s eyes was anything to go by, this lust-filled purgatory the both found themselves in.

Something was drawing him to Justin. Debbie’s nickname for Justin was prescient. Justin – Sunshine – had Brian orbiting around him, without having any idea of what, if anything, would happen.

Justin was making him wait. And Brian found himself waiting, without even knowing if ever there would be anything. Logic and instinct told him that Justin and the weasel wouldn’t last. But…

It was a damn good thing that Brian was a master performer.

No one would know. His hands were tied, his ego was bruised and his mind was beyond confused. But whatever turmoil Justin was putting him through, the world wouldn’t know it.

That’s what Brian kept telling himself as he walked back onto the main floor.

Nobody was where he had left them.

Upon closer inspection, he noted that at the far end of the bar, Ted was desperately hitting on a man who seemed too drunk to realize that he was capable of punching in a higher weight bracket.

Brian started to scan the room again. Tall and lanky Emmet and the luscious Justin shouldn’t be too hard to find.

“Was he good?”

Suddenly, Justin had materialized in front of him.

Justin didn’t wait for him to answer. “I bet he was just tolerable; you weren’t gone for nearly long enough to have gotten a half-way decent blowjob. Come on…” Justin took Brian’s hand, and tried to lead him towards the dance floor.

“Where? Are you offering me a better blowjob?” It was worth asking, even though the answer was a foregone conclusion.

Justin smiled beatifically, and tilted his head to a side. “Come dance with me.” His voice was almost angelic. “Please?”

Brian sighed as he felt some of his resolve crumble.

 


 

Justin had a vague notion of where Brian had disappeared to, but he didn’t dwell on it. He had bigger things to worry about, if he chose to actually think about it.

Things like how badly he was attracted to Brian. Or how scary it was that their thoughts were so in sync. Or how his body so miserably betrayed him whenever Brian was within a 50 mile radius.  

And in Brian’s absence, Justin realized that he was still having fun. Being with Emmett was fun. Dancing was fun. Drinking was fun. Watching Ted hit on men (and fail) was fun. Watching men make-out on the dance floor was fun. All of this was fun.

It was easy to stop worrying about Ethan. A bit too easy.

Which begged the question – why had he not been having any for so long? When had he become a sequestered housewife, unable to do so much as go out and dance without his partner’s approval?

Though, if Justin was honest with himself, it wasn’t fair to put all the blame on Ethan for that. Ethan hadn’t forced Justin to acquiesce to all his wishes; Justin had chosen to do so, because that had given him the stability he had craved.

Lord, he needed more alcohol.

Stepping onto the dance floor, mixing in with the heat of so many bodies, most of them half-naked, was welcome relief. The feeling on the floor was quite primal; the artist in him pictured some prehistoric pack, grouping together for heat and safety.

From here on, the night was his to lose.

Justin knew he could have sex with any or all of them. But he didn’t need it. He just felt good being out on the dance floor, losing himself to the beat, not having to worry about controlling boyfriends and being judged for being part of the masses. It felt good to flirt, and to be flirted back to. It felt good to be wanted by strangers and not feel guilty. It was a freedom he had not experienced for a very long time. The freedom to not think, to not care, and to not feel.

He danced with his hands and mouth and hips. His eyes, he kept mostly to himself. Men wanted to be looked at, and he didn’t give them that luxury. He looked at Emmett, and he looked up at the lights, drowning himself in the music. He knew people would flock around him, begging him to dance with them, to look at them. He rewarded select men with brief glances, which kept them hovering around him. But he didn’t look at them long enough for it to be a personal invitation.

He danced with several random men without really looking at them. The first, a well-built black man, who smelled very good, probably having just walked into Babylon. But when he whispered his name – Jeff – into Justin’s ear, squeezing Justin’s ass a little too tightly, Justin cut him loose and moved, falling into step with a guy called Daniel. Daniel was a brunette who was almost as young as Justin, and almost as exuberant. Almost. When Daniel got too hands-on, it was time move on.

That’s when he saw Brian.

 


Justin finally found out how he was superior to Brian.

Out on the dance floor.

Brian could move, but left to his own devices, the man struggled to find a beat.

Which worked out just fine, because Justin was there to guide him.

He put one arm around Brian’s next, pulling the taller man down.

“I’ll barter with you.”

Brian smiled indulgently.

“Return my sketch book, and I’ll teach you how to dance. You can look respectable on the dancefloor even without me.”

Brian shook his head, swaying his shoulders to the music, smiled and put both his arms around Justin’s neck. Such close intimacy felt very good.

Justin circled his arms around Brian’s waist. Their foreheads were touching, and the tips of their noses softly caressed the other. Their hips were practically glued together, and Justin led the dance, moving Brian’s pelvis with his own, his hands moving Brian’s body exactly how he wanted.

The beauty of dancing – especially at Babylon – was that Justin could touch Brian at will, and no one would think twice about it, even Brian. It was just dancing. Two people enjoying the music, the atmosphere and the moment.

Except Justin knew that he was enjoying something more than that. He was enjoying being able to be with Brian without feeling guilty and scared and worrying about consequences.

And then Justin felt Brian do what he had been craving to all evening…Brian ran his fingers through Justin’s hair, gently playing.

Justin looked at Brian, smiling with both his lips and his eyes.

There was such little distance between their faces; Brian moved forward and Justin instantly mirrored him. Their lips met in a kiss – soft, teasing, and playful with a hint of what it could become.

Justin wanted it to continue. He wanted to keep kissing and dancing all night, with no need for rules or thought or boundaries. But tease that he was, Brian pulled away, keeping his arms around Justin’s neck, body still moving in unison.

Justin didn’t have it in him to get scared and flee. Besides, he was enjoying himself way too much. Instead, he managed to merely raise his eyebrow at Brian.  

In response, Brian nipped at his ear. “You should get used to being kissed by your friends.”

Justin laughed. “You make a habit of hitting on all your friends?”

“Only the very special ones.” Brian flirted back.

Justin laughed again.

He would probably regret this the next morning, but for now, Justin didn’t care.

 

Chapter 9 by Lupin111
Author's Notes:

By Xrifree & Lupin111

 

 

 

The overwhelming smell of roses was disconcerting. Justin liked roses, but this was just…too many roses. And there was a band around his forehead which was also itchy. Annoyed, Justin reached to scratch his head.

“Jus, put your hand down.” Ethan hissed at him. “You’re making a scene and you’re going to ruin the flowers.”

Justin blinked twice, trying to focus on Ethan, who was standing several feet in front, facing him. Focusing was a bit hard, because there was some netting hanging in front of his face. Justin touched it, and was horrified to discover that he was wearing a white veil, with roses adorning his forehead.

“Why am I wearing a veil?” he asked stupidly.

“Oh, not this again.” Ethan signed in annoyance, his voice a whisper. “You refused to wear a gown, even though you knew how much I wanted a traditional wedding. You even fussed so much about having to wear a white suit. It’s like you don’t want to do anything I ask you to do. Can’t you at least wear the veil? Can’t you do anything I ask you to do, without complaining?”

Belatedly, Justin realised that, yes, indeed, he was wearing a white suit, complete with a white veil and a bouquet of red roses in his hand. Ethan was also in a crisp white suit, minus the veil and the flowers.

What the…

Justin looked around. A church. He was inside a church. With red roses EVERYWHERE. The whole thing was garish and hideous. But that wasn’t the worst of it. The church was full of people. Daphne was seated right at the front. Next to her was Kathy, and five of Justin’s friends that he hadn’t seen since he left St. James’ Academy. His music teacher from Grade 5 was also there, chatting away with his mother. He thought he saw Emmet, with Ted, Michael and Ben.

Ethan’s cousin from New York was there, and so was Ethan’s grandmother. The place was teeming with people that Justin didn’t even recognise. He looked all around the church, but didn’t see Brian anywhere. Why isn’t Brian here, Justin wondered. Why isn’t Brian here at…

Oh my fucking god, Justin thought.

Why isn’t Brian here at MY WEDDING!!!! I’m getting married to Ethan!!

How had he agreed to this? How had he just bobbed along, agreeing to roses and a veil and to GETTING MARRIED?!?!?!

“Ethan, look…”

“Well, shall we get started then?”

It was then that Justin realized that they were being married by the Pope.

The Pope was wearing the bright red cassock, with a long white sash. He was really tall for the Pope, and the white and gold mitre on his head made him look even taller. He was also quite slim, for the Pope. And young. And so sexy. And…HE WAS BRIAN.

Brian was the Pope, and Brian was marrying him to Ethan.

What in the fuck was going on?

Brian had started to speak.

"Dear friends and family, we are gathered here today to witness and celebrate the union of Ethan Gold and Justin Taylor in marriage. In the years they have been together, their love and understanding of each other grew, matured and finally died.” Here, Brian paused to give each of them a thumbs up signal.

“They are now content to live their lives together as married partners, sharing all the burdens and curses of this mortal life. To all those present I say: we are gathered here, not to witness the beginning of what will be, but rather what already is! Before we proceed, is there anyone present here that objects to this union of Ethan Gold and Justin Taylor in holy matrimony?”

Justin stared at Brian in open amazement. How could Brian do this? How could he just stand there, reciting, and allow Justin to marry Ethan? How could Brian not do anything?

“Excuse me…I wish to object to this union.”

Nope, that wasn’t Brian. The entire church watched, as a man rose from the aisles and came to stand in between Justin and Ethan, right in front of Brian. As he walked, Kathy rushed in front of him showering the man with rose petals. Justin realised that it was Jeff, the needy, good-looking man he had danced with the night before, at Babylon. What was he doing here?

“You? Who in the hell are you?” Ethan demanded.

“I’m Jeff. I met this man at Babylon.” The last sentence was almost an accusation, as Jeff pointed towards Justin. “We danced, and we really seemed to click. We were the two best dancers there. It’s kind of absurd that he is standing here getting married, when he and I didn’t even get to go on one date. I mean, seriously. He cannot get married until he and I are at least formally introduced. I told him my name last night, and instead of responding, he moved on to some other guy. Does that seem fair to you?”

“This is ridiculous!” Justin and Ethan cried in unison, for entirely different reasons.

“Well, the gentleman has a point.” Brian solemnly said. “I will have to consider his objection quite seriously.”

Ethan scoffed. “Nonsense! I’ve waited far too long to get married, to have it delayed by some tweaked out queen that Justin tried to pick up at some third rate club. I knew something like this was going to happen, which is why I came prepared.”

With that, Ethan dramatically pulled out a gleaming butcher’s knife from the back of his waistband.

“Ethan! What are you –”

Justin didn’t get a chance to finish. In a swift motion similar to moving his violin fiddle, Ethan rammed the knife into Jeff’s chest.

“There. Done. Can we carry on now?” Ethan asked Brian, as he tucked the knife back into its hiding place, wiping blood off his hands with a handkerchief.

Justin ran to catch Jeff as he fell, and almost tripped on his veil in the process. Blood smeared his white suit.

“Wake up! Oh my god Jeff, you have to wake up! You can’t die! We didn’t even get to have sex yet!” Justin’s pleas were entirely ineffectual, because Jeff was not moving. “Ethan, you killed him!”

“Well of course I did. What else was I supposed to do? Jus, you’re ruining your suit. We won’t be able to dry clean it if you keep hugging that man. Could we please get on with this?”

“Right, of course.” Brian replied obligingly. He paused, as Kiki came up from behind, handed Brian a cup of coffee, and then went to sit down in the pews, amongst the guests. “Is there anyone else present here that objects to this union of Ethan Gold and Justin Taylor in holy matrimony?”

“Me. I object.”

Justin stared aghast, as yet another man walked over and stood near them, completely unaffected by the dead body Justin was holding, and the blood that was pooling at the altar.

“For fuck’s sake. What now?” Ethan demanded angrily.

Kathy ran up to the altar again, and threw some flower petals at this second man, before she went back to take her seat.

The man was Daniel, the touchy-feely guy from Babylon.

Brian frowned. “Justin, you really should have sorted this out before you decided to get married. Can you see how you’re inconveniencing people?”

“Incon…Brian, what is wrong with you!”

“Ugh, so much drama. I can’t even get married in peace.” Ethan complained. “Wait, I’ll fix this.” He added to Brian, as he once again unsheathed the knife, and plunged it into the gut of Daniel.

Justin watched in horror as Daniel fell to the floor, moaning.

“Damn, I think I missed him.” Ethan said, and he stabbed Daniel several more times. Brian yawned, clearly bored with the bloody mess unfolding in front of him.

Justin let go off Jeff, who was now no less dead than when Justin had caught him earlier. Blood all over him, he grabbed Brian’s cassock, shaking him. “How are you just standing there, not doing anything? How can you marry me off to Ethan, and let him kill Jeff and Daniel and just…just…not do anything? How can you let this happen?!”

“Me? What on earth do you expect me to do?” Brian asked, confused. “You chose to marry Ethan. I figured you knew what you were doing.”

“Louder!” Debbie screamed from the pew. “We can’t hear you!”

“Sorry.” Brian raised his voice noticeably. “Justin, this is your husband, your wedding, and your flunkeys. Your now-dead flunkeys. Were you somehow expecting me to do something? Like what, exactly?”

“Wha…huh? I just thought that you’d…” Justin sputtered, at a loss for words and feeling nauseated with all the blood and dead bodies around him.

“Uh uh. No way. Enough fucking men are talking to MY husband!” Ethan screamed, brandishing the much-bloodied knife in the air. With his crazed shout, Ethan stabbed Brian. Brian staggered back, his blood turning the red cassock a deeper shade of red.

“See what you’ve done?” Ethan asked Justin. “Now we have to find someone else to officiate the wedding.”

Justin couldn’t believe this was happening. Jeff was dead. Daniel was dead. BRIAN was dead. Or maybe Brian could be saved…Justin ran to Brian, leaving Jeff and Daniel in a bloody heap.

“Brian!! BRIAN!!! Come on!! You can’t die, you have to wake up!! Just….please…I beg you!”

Michael, Emmet, Ted and Ben rushed up to the altar. Justin was relieved that finally, others were coming to help.

But his relief was short-lived.

The men stood around Brian holding hands.

In a high-pitched voice, Michael started singing.

“Let's dance in style, let's dance for a while

Heaven can wait, we're only watching the skies…”

 

The other three men joined in the singing.

 

“…Hoping for the best but expecting the worst

Are you gonna drop the bomb or not?”

 

Now the whole church was singing with Michael, Emmett, Ted and Ben.

Suddenly, Brian stood up, a bright white light emanating from all around him, while he was still caked in blood. He raised his hands high. “Rise, children. It is time.”

On Brian’s command, Jeff and Daniel stood up, both of them also drenched in blood and a white light emanating around them. The three of them joined the singing.

“Forever young, I want to be forever young

Do you really want to live forever, forever and ever?

Forever young, I want to be forever young

Do you really want to live forever? Forever young”

 

As they sang, Brian, Jeff and Daniel started levitating, and looking up, Justin saw that the church roof had parted in two.

Justin tried to run to Brian, catch him before he levitated away, but this time, Justin did manage to trip over his veil and fall down, banging his head hard against the floor.

 

 


 

 

Justin woke up, disoriented and gasping for breath. He was on the floor in between the couch and the coffee table. He must have hit the bookcase that was near the couch in his sleep, because the flower vase was overturned, and several roses were on the couch, while the vase itself was on the floor.  

Justin sat upright, panting. It took him a few seconds to realize that he had fallen asleep on Daphne’s lumpy couch in her dorm room.

A rerun of Friends was playing, and, annoyed with the noise, Justin muted it. He noticed Jennifer Aniston and Hugh Laurie engaged in conversation inside an airplane. Ross, Emily…and Rachel’s wedding.

Of course.

 

 


 

 

“…You dreamt that Ethan went on a murdering spree, killing off every guy you’ve looked at twice.” Daphne deadpanned.

“Yes.”

“At your wedding ceremony, with your hot boss officiating.”

“Basically,” Justin said putting out his cigarette. “Is it bad that I saw Brian there? At my wedding? It’s bad isn’t it?”

“Well it’s not good…”

“Fuuuuuck.” Justin groaned, and let his forehead hit the couch in resignation. “I am a terrible person.”

“Because you wanna fuck your boss, or because your dreams basically end like Jesus Christ Superstar?”

“Somehow, I feel like you’re not taking this seriously enough.” He gave her a nasty side-eye glance, and caught her smiling. He stifled a smile of his own.

“It was a dream Justin, it doesn’t have to mean anything,” she finally said, putting aside her books, finishing what she had been doing before Justin started narrating his mess of a love-life. “Only means what you want it to mean.”

Justin squeezed his eyes shut for the next few minutes, and cursed his luck. Sure enough, Daphne turned to him again with renewed interest “Do you want it to mean something?”

“I don’t know. I really don’t,” he added quickly, seeing her happy reaction. “I know you’ve never been that fond of Ethan.” He heard her scoff, but at least she tried to hide it. “But even if we’re going through stuff right now, doesn’t mean I’d just leave him like that. You know he’s been there for me.”

Through some of the shit with his parents. After Hobbs. Back then, meeting Ethan had seemed like the best thing to have ever happened to him. A fairytale, with violin music and noble intentions. And now his unconscious was coming up with all sorts of gruesome alternate realities. Had his perception of Ethan become that distorted by the latest revelations?

Had it ever been correct?

“I know,” she reluctantly agreed. “But past kindness is not enough of a reason to be with someone, if that’s all that’s left.” She gave him a sympathetic squeeze on his shoulder. “Just take your time and sort through it, ok? No one will disturb you here.”

Right on cue, a loud bang from the kitchen startled the both of them.

“Except maybe Chad,” she said, referring to one of her roommate. “You ok in there, buddy?” A vague sound of confirmation came from the kitchen, followed immediately by the clanking of more pots falling. Daphne mumbled a ‘sorry’ to Justin and left, to “make sure the idiot was still breathing.”

 


 

“Well, you look like hell"

"Nice to see you too, Lindsay" Brian retorted, slowly making his way out of the bed with a groan.

"It's noon." She informed him.

"It's Sunday. And the keys I gave you are supposed to be for emergencies. You don't seem to be on fire."

Lindsay murmured a reply he didn't catch and didn't care enough to decipher, as he got the coffee going, the sunlight from the tall windows blinding him. She waited patiently on a bar stool as he gathered his whereabouts and attempted to put together breakfast. She refused coffee, and tried not to snigger as Brian showed off his skills, munching on a particularly curvy banana.

After a few minutes of mostly comfortable silence, Brian rolled his eyes at her. "Ok, what is it? Why the visit?"

"Am I not to wait until you put on your morning face creams?" She teased him, but her eyes avoided him.

Brian looked at her in contemplation, chewing slowly. "That can wait."

"I'm hearing stories that you're trying to date a twenty year old; maybe you can't afford to wait."

"He's nineteen."

Lindsay smiled, delighted in faux shock

Brian grimaced. "And where did you hear all this?"

"Around. Here and there. Through the grapevine."

"The grapevine should keep his goddamn mouth shut, when he's not doing your taxes."

She hummed noncommittally. "It's your fault that your life's so interesting."

"I know my life. What's interesting about yours?"

"Nothing, by your standards I'd assume." At Brian's persistent look she finally budged. "Melanie and I were thinking about giving the whole baby thing another shot." She tried to sound nonchalant, but she looked up at him expectantly, biting her lip nonetheless.

"And you've come here for my blessings?"

"I've come here because we want you to be the father. Like we'd planned the first time.”

"You mean you want me to be the father, and Melanie is going to be gritting her teeth in the background."

She didn't deny it. "We don't want the sperm donor to be some random guy. Melanie and I are on the same page as far as that goes. You were fine with it last time."

"Last time was a while ago." He looked at her, thinking, sipping on his coffee. "You've tried before. Maybe Mother Nature's telling you to stop trying."

That gave her pause.

"You don't really believe that." She said finally.

"Of course not. But you do."

"I can't say the thought hasn't crossed my mind. It's certainly what my family thinks."

"Fuck your family."

She smiled. "I knew you'd say that." She let out a deep breath. "I'm kind of terrified. Gosh it feels good to say that out loud."   

"And you want me to talk you into it? Or to be an excuse so that you don't have to go through with it?"

"A bit of both, I guess"

"I thought you really wanted this."

"I do. WE do. It doesn’t make it any less terrifying." 

"Would it be less terrifying if I did it with you?"

"Yes." She answered immediately. "If you can take this on, then I can."

"Not very flattering, Linds."

"I wasn't going for flattery. I was going for honesty." She paused. "I'm so scared that it’s not going to work. Or that it is, and I'll be a total fuck up at it."

"Melanie won't let you fuck up."

"I know" she smiled. "I know." She got a distant far-away look in her eyes, and fell silent for a while. Brian, content to have a lull in the conversation, wordlessly filled a mug with coffee and passed it on to her.

“Still.” She said finally. “If… when we do decide it’s the right time. You should be the father. If you want. Just because it would be easier for me that way, I don’t want to force your hand." He snorted. "Figuratively. I want this to be as much about you as it is about us."

"You'll be the kid's parents. Not me"

"I know. But we're not going to exclude you. We want you to be there."

"As long as I don't get in your way too much"

She pursed her lips in dissatisfaction.

“Wouldn’t it be nice? Visiting on weekends…”

He groaned.

“Park dates?”  He let out a snort, and she kept going amused, openly teasing “Your little son, calling you daddy, going around this...very…” She looked around, unimpressed. “Loft?”

“Daughter.”

When she looked up surprised, he shrugged. “Hypothetically speaking.”

“Hypothetically speaking, I think it’d be good for you. Some responsibility.”

“I have plenty of responsibilities.”

“Clearly,” she deadpanned. “Some joy too. Something honest to god good.”

He didn’t know how to answer that.

She put down the unfinished mug. “Think about it.”

She turned back to look at him at the doorway.

"You didn't say you're not trying to date him."

He blinked back at her.

"You didn't go all 'I don't date, I fuck there are guys crying over me in all parts of the United States of America’ on me," she clarified, affecting a ridiculously deep voice.

"Your point?"

"Nothing. I just thought you'd run for the hills screaming at the implication."

"Maybe I'm not as immature as you think."

"Hmm. Maybe. See you around. Daddy."

"Ok, now that is just creepy. That's just wrong. Don't."

"It's not sexual, Brian."

"Just... No."

 


 

 

Justin thought it ironic that he had to come to Woody’s, a bar, in search of quiet and solitude. The noise level at Daphne’s dorm room had gone from annoying to debilitating. After Chad’s attempt at redecorating the kitchen, he had decided to have a ‘jam’ session with his friends in living area. On the couch. The same couch Justin slept on. All this, from pre-med students.

He had gone from a sleeping nightmare to a waking one. He was craving a drink and some peace to sort through his thoughts. The short chat with Daphne had helped bring a lot of clarity, but still.

Justin was making a beeline to the bar, when he paused. There was Brian, looking as good as ever, sitting alone, drinking.

Justin wondered if he would be disturbing Brian by going to the bar. At the same time, Brian spending any length of time alone at Woody’s, seemed highly unlikely.

As Justin stood there, staring at Brian and wondering where he should go, he saw another good-looking blonde make his way to Brian, clearly being of a more decisive mind than Justin.

A pang of jealousy twisted somewhere inside Justin’s stomach.

Stop it, he told himself, still watching Brian and the blonde man. Quite plainly, the man was coming onto Brian.

Justin rolled his eyes. So fucking obvious, he thought. Be subtle, be flirty. Don’t be such a clown, for fuck’s sake. Nevertheless, the man was quite good-looking, so, Justin figured that his obvious attempts would still yield a positive result.

To his surprise, Brian displayed zero signs of being remotely interested, and the man was shooed away without much ado. 

Brian must have something quite serious on his mind, or be in a really foul mood, Justin thought. He made up his mind, sliding into the empty barstool next to Brian.

Brian watched Justin, as he asked the bartender for a drink.

“I thought married life had regretfully taken you away from us.” Brian commented. “But I’m sure the fiddler will not be happy with you being here. And at Babylon last night.”

Justin huffed. “I don’t really appreciate you constantly implying I’m some kind of settled, prudish, borderline celibate man just because I don’t sleep with 5 different guys a week.”

“I couldn’t have put that better myself.” Brian replied. “Also, I’m not saying it’s because you’re not fucking around. Though I would definitely recommend that you start doing that immediately. I’m saying it because frankly, Justin, you look bored.”

“Bored?”

“Yes. Bored bored bored. Bored Sunshine, going around being bored, because actually doing anything about your life scares the shit out of you.”

Great. Brian thought he was bored, and afraid. Daphne thought he was…a variant of bored and afraid. Fabulous. He didn’t really want to discuss his major flaws with Brian right now.

“Right, I’m the one who’s bored, when you’re the one sitting around day drinking. Alone. Why are you drinking alone, refusing blow jobs by hot young men?'

“Are you spying on me now?”

Justin laughed. “Oh, please. It was kind of hard to miss. The great Brian Kinney, refusing sexual advances by nubile young men. It makes us mere mortals wonder, you know.”

“Apparently, we’re all fucking mere mortals.”

Brian didn’t look amused, and Justin became worried. “Did something happen?”

“Yes. No. Maybe. Fuck if I know. The munchers want to try again for a baby.”

“Uh-huh.” Justin wasn’t quite sure who Brian was referring to, when he said ‘the munchers’, but he figured that he good fill in such minor details by way of Debbie. “So they want to have a baby. How does that affect you?”

“I’m the reluctant front-runner for the sperm donor position.”

“Oh.” There was probably a more articulate response than merely ‘oh’, but at the moment, Justin couldn’t figure out what it was. Trying to decide whether to stay with your cheating boyfriend or leave him was a big decision, but deciding whether to father a child or not was considerably a bigger deal. “I guess you’re trying to figure out what the right decision is.”

Brian made an incoherent noise, in way of a response.

“I’ll assume that mumbling was an affirmative answer to my question.”

“I could be the man everyone expects me to be, and say no fucking way. Or I could be the man everyone wants me to be, and say sure, why the fuck not.”

“Uh-huh.” Justin certainly knew a thing or two about expectations himself. “And what is it that the man you are wants to do?”

“I don’t give a shit. I could toss a coin and decide. Do you have a quarter on you?”

“Come on, Brian. Of course you care. If you didn’t, you wouldn’t be sitting around in a bar all alone, drinking.”

“I’m not alone. You’re here.”

That gave Justin reason to pause. Briefly.

“And we’re still discussing a choice you supposedly don’t care about. If you really didn’t care, you’d be teasing me, and hitting on me, and maybe even telling me what I have to do at work tomorrow.”

“I teased you. I think.”

“Yes, well. You haven’t hit on me and you haven’t given me any orders.”

Brian looked at him devilishly. “Do you miss my not hitting on you?”

As a matter of fact, Justin did, but he wasn’t about to go admitting that to Brian Kinney of all people.

So Justin chose to roll his eyes instead. “I had forgotten about the size of your ego. Which, really, should shrink a size or two. I mean, here you are, accusing me of being bored and scared, when you’re sitting around drinking for the same reason. You’re afraid too. Doing things can be frightening. Making choices and changing things is fucking scary. I get why you’re sitting here, mumbling into a glass of scotch. I’m in the same fucking boat. Whatever the choice you make, it could end up being the worst decision of your life. It’s easier to not make that choice and do nothing.”

“Easier for you.”

“Easier for both of us. For everyone. If you don’t say yes or no, the ‘munchers’ will go somewhere else and make your decision for you. If I don’t…well, we’re talking about you.”

“I’m not fucking scared.”

“Uh-huh.”

“At least I know the little bugger will be good-looking.”

Justin stared at Brian, surprised.

“You mean, you’re going to say yes?”

Brian didn’t answer him, choosing instead to pull out his phone and make a call. Justin could only assume that he was calling ‘the munchers’. Justin listened to Brian’s side of the conversation.

“Linds. If you want to balloon up to the size of a cow I'm not gonna stop you….obviously…obviously, yes, I’ll do it…what else do you need? Do you want to do it the traditional way? Assuming it's still you, and not Melanie of course. I know you love navigating your way around the three rows of teeth in her vagina but I'm not sure I could pull it off…you'll be the kid's parents. Not me…I want to do it. Not just for you…Wendy,  I know you’re scared. But you know that this is the right thing for you to do. And, that just makes it a really easy decision for me to make…whatever. Now go break the news to that bulldog partner of yours.”

And that was the end of the phone call.

“You’re really going to do it then. Congratulations.”

“It’s only fear when you let it control you.” Brian stated simply.

 

 

 

Chapter 10 by Lupin111
Author's Notes:

By Xrifree & Lupin111

 

 

 

When Justin stepped out of Woody's, he realized that he had no idea where he wanted to walk to. The thought of Daphne's warm couch was comforting, but the thought of Chad sitting on said warm couch, jamming away was quite off-putting.

Justin figured that he would walk around for a bit, and then maybe go to the diner. Debbie was sure to offer him something to eat, and by the time he then got home, he was sure that even Chad would have gone to sleep.

He was really impressed by what Brian had done. Having a child was a big fucking deal, even if it included having three parents. It was daunting and scary and life-altering.

And Brian had decided that he was going to do it. Brian was taking the plunge, taking a step into a scary, unknown, undoubtedly chaotic future.

Because it's only fear when you let it control you.

And Brian was right. Justin was bored with his life, but too afraid to actually do anything to change it. Because life was easy. Well, easy-ish. Well, not even easy-ish, but it was familiar. And he had gone through so much change that even unhappy stability was still stability.

But it was ridiculous. He couldn't possibly go on like this, having the hots for his boss, having his boyfriend cheat on him, and acting as if none of that mattered or affected him.

Daphne was also right that past kindness was not enough of a reason to be with someone. And Justin had to admit to himself that that was all what was left right now.

Breaking up with Ethan wouldn't mean that his past with Ethan got erased. It wouldn't mean that he didn't appreciate what Ethan had done for him, or what Ethan had meant to him. They could still be friends. It would just mean that it was time to move on. Time to be a man and deal with whatever life had to offer him next.

Even Brian Kinney was afraid. But Brian didn't let that fear control his life; he dealt with it. And if Brian fucking Kinney can decide to be a father, I sure as hell can break up with Ethan.

Justin took out his clunky phone, and swore into the wind as he struggled to get it to work.

When all this drama is over, he thought, I'm going to treat myself and buy a new fucking phone.

"Hello, Ethan? Listen, are you at home? I want to drop by. I want to talk to you."

 


 

Justin sat on the ramshackle sofa, while Wolfram mewed piteously.

"Are we…are you…is there any cat food left?"

Ethan shrugged. "Not much. I was going to go out and buy some, but then you called so I had to stay back."

Justin bit the inside of his cheek to stop himself from saying anything. It was incredible how Ethan found a way to blame every little thing on Justin. Even when Justin wasn't there.

"So, where are you staying?"

"Ethan, I told you. I'm staying with Daphne."

"Oh. I thought…oh. Well. I didn't realise that there was enough space in Daphne's dorm for one more person."

Justin couldn't believe how they weren't even able to have a proper conversation anymore. We were living together less than a week ago. How did we become this distant in a week? Or had we been like this for a while, and I just didn't notice, Justin wondered.

He cleared his throat. "Ethan, I wanted to come here tonight because -"

"Justin, stop. I know what you want to say. I kind of figured it out. But before you say something you might regret, I want you to hear me out first."

Justin sighed, then shrugged. He supposed that Ethan was finally going to actually explain to him about the other guy. It would waste Justin's time, but he figured that he could let Ethan talk first, seeing as how Justin was going to breakup with him anyway.

"Justin, I don't think this will come as any surprise to you when I say that I'm really disappointed. I thought we had something special. I thought you and I were of the same mind, and we would go on to achieve great things together. As a couple. As a unit. As two people who stood for the same things. But…"

Justin frowned. Ethan was sure taking the long route to explain away a one-night stand. Or two-night. Or whatever the fuck it was.

"…since you joined Vanguard, things changed so much. You changed. You sold out, Justin."

"What? What are you…what?"

"Justin, come on. Working at an ad agency, selling cigarettes and diapers and –"

"I don't sell fucking diapers. Or cigarettes. I cannot believe that you -"

"Justin. Please. You're a corporate drone now. You're not an artist anymore. You're just a paid shill for guys in suits with fancy cars and expensive gadgets. I can't be with someone like that. I need to be with someone who respects his own creativity, someone who can't be bought over for a tiny cubicle and a cheque every two weeks. I can't be with you anymore, Jus. I need to be with someone I can connect with creatively, and respect."

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Justin exploded. "Of all the bullshit to tell me…you are breaking up with me? You cheated on me!"

"Justin, if you didn't sell your dignity for money –"

"Sell my dignity? I was working so that we could pay rent! So that we could eat and pay for heating in winter. I can't fucking believe this."

"You could have worked at Starbucks. I told you to work at Starbucks."

"You and your fucking Starbucks! That's not 'selling my dignity' to the corporations?!"

"You wouldn't have compromised yourself as an artist. I tried to tell you, but you never listen."

Oh my fucking god, Justin thought. After all this, I am getting dumped by Ethan because I dared to get a fucking job in my field to pay the goddamn rent. Justin was incredulous. He had worked his ass off, for the both of them to live decently. He had refused Brian's advances multiple times, to stay faithful to Ethan. And now he was getting dumped. Because he was a 'corporate drone'.

The whole situation was so absurd that Justin started laughing.

"What are you laughing at? Jus, what you've done to yourself is tragic. It's not funny at all. Anyway, I'm going to leave now, I have somewhere to be. And I can't watch while you pack…we shared so much…we could have done so much together, really been a power couple…but...you can pack up your stuff and take it to Daphne's. Or wherever. Leave the key in the mailbox."

"You're right, Ethan. What I've done to myself is tragic. Tragically stupid. But don't worry. I'm smartening up, starting right now. Try not to kill Wolfram while you try to 'achieve great things'. And next time you cheat on someone, try not to get caught."

 


 

The good thing about wine was that after a couple glasses Justin couldn't tell the difference between the good and the cheap kind, if he ever could have in the first place. So Ethan's stash of cheap store-bought Rosés and few good full-bodied reds started to blur relatively quickly. He didn't finish any of the bottles, but like hell he was leaving without opening and tasting every single one. He got a particularly intense feeling of satisfaction when he popped open the most expensive one, the one he knew that Ethan had been saving for their anniversary and poured it down the drain. It might be spiteful, but hey. He had earned the right to.

In any case, it was his wine dammit. It wouldn't go to whoever Ethan hooked up with next.

It sure made the meager packing he was doing go by much easier. Whatever he hadn't already brought over to Daphne's could fit in a duffle bag he fished out from under Ethan's bed. Their whole relationship could fit into it, if Justin cared to get photos and other trinkets. He didn't. His personal things took even less room, leaving the duffle bag relatively light.

"Isn't that just the most pathetic thing?" he asked Wolfram, while raiding the fridge for whatever artisanal cheeses Ethan had stashed away in it. The cat did not respond.

"Calling me a sellout…" he elaborated, to Wolfram's indifference. His speech was just on this side of slurred by then, but he was concentrating too hard on not doing something stupid - like smashing Ethan's stuff - to notice. "You know what's selling out? Pretending to listen for hours on end of an analysis on Godard, because that's what Ethan's friends are talking about this week. At your birthday party. That's selling out."

He wanted to be able to say that he had been duped and this affair had all been some huge mistake, but now that it was over, he knew that wasn't entirely true. Ethan was talented and attractive and intelligent and romantic. Ethan was also, somewhat regrettably, not right for him. Stalling and wallowing in self-pity while whatever bond they'd shared disintegrated piece by piece, until there was hardly anything left for either of them to recognize was the mistake. He had to suck it up and move on.

"I have a job and a hot boss and I won't listen to Rachmaninoff for at least a year. So I got the better end of that deal."

He gobbled the rest of the cheese down, and grabbing the nearest bottle, made for the door.

"You were cool though, Wolfram. We're ok. We're ok."

Walking to Woody's was no smooth task, when one was drunk and carrying shit and was feeling the urge to do something destructive. But it was closer than Daphne's, and didn't have her loud roommate and Woody's had more alcohol. Nothing sounded more fun than alcohol did at the moment! Plus Brian might be there. Justin caught himself smiling at the thought of seeing him and found he didn't care. Whatever this night might bring, he was ready for.

He did not expect to get carded though. "You must be new." He told the cute bartender staring down at him and the bottle he rescued from Ethan's apartment. "I come here all the time."

He looked around the bar for any sight of Brian, but to no avail. But he did spot Ted a few feet away, trying to talk someone up.

"See, this is my friend Ted. Ted! Hey Ted!" He had a slight suspicion that the man was trying to ignore him, but he did acknowledge him after some more shouting. Ted stalked over to where Justin was, the tips of his ears tinted red. Justin swung an arm around the man's shoulders. "Please tell this person you're my friend and there is no problem with me being here."

"I wouldn't go as far as calling us friends," Ted mumbled, which Justin found frankly rude. "He's with me. It's fine."

Justin lost the plot somewhere at this point, because he was too busy sniffing the back of Ted's neck. He smelled of Head and Shoulder's shampoo and clothing detergent. Justin found it relaxing. Ted didn't seem to appreciate it.

"Hey. Justin. Your Debbie's…? You're Brian's…" Ted tried to find a suitable word, and instead seemed to settle for trailing off into questioning silence.

"I'm not Brian's." Justin replied stubbornly. He gasped, realizing something for the first time. "I'm not anyone's!" It made him want to jump up and down, while at the same time making him a bit nauseous. He elected to blame the wine for that.

"Okaaaay…did you drink this whole bottle?"

"Honestly, I think I probably spilled most of it on the way here." The walk to Woody's had mostly been a blur, and with the way he had been trying to hold both the bottle and the bag with the same hand, it was a miracle any of the wine was still in the bottle. A lot of it had found its way to the front of Justin's shirt, which probably had not helped him make a good case before the bartender.

Ted had him sit on the nearest empty stool and drink water. He looked helplessly back to where he had been sitting before Justin's arrival. The man he had been drinking with had moved on to drinking with some other patron already, and Ted made some snide comment about Brian always finding a way to ruin his dates. Justin stared in wonderment at the realization that Ted not only smelled good, but apparently got dates!

"I think… I'm a little drunk."

"You think?" Ted looked around worried. "Why are you carrying that?"

"I just got dumped!" It seemed so hilarious. "This is all my stuff!" He took the last swig from the bottle. "Isn't that great? I was going to dump him and then nope! Dumped."

"Ok. Ok. Fuck."

Wow. Teds could curse!

"I've got better things to do than babysit you tonight."

"Do you, really, though?"

Ted glared at him.

"Really?"

"Shut up. We're getting you to Brian's"

"You're a lot less fun than Emmet. I think it's important that you know that," he informed Ted as they walked to his car.

"Don't I know it." Ted deadpanned while loading Justin to the backseat. "If you feel the need to vomit," he pointed a finger in Justin's face. "Wait till we get to Brian's."

 


 

He felt a strong desire to immediately throw his arm over Brian's shoulder as soon as he saw Brian standing by the heavy door to his loft, barefoot and wearing what Justin would bet were the softest jeans ever. Or better still, hug him.

However, the ride over to Brian's place, and the wind blowing in Justin's face through the open car window had rejuvenated him, and he was able to not do anything stupid like that. It was hard though.

Justin had made some half-assed protests during the ride there; he had even thought of telling Ted to just take him to Debbie's instead, but the booming in his chest upon seeing Brian again confirmed that he had been right in letting Ted drag him here.

Brian for his part didn't put up much of a fight when Ted dropped Justin at his doorstep. He took one look at Justin with his sad bag, and ushered him inside. He even thanked Ted, which the other man obviously had not expected.

"The inside of your home is phenomenal. " Justin found himself finally saying, after having sat down at the island opposite the fried.

"It's an old, reclaimed factory. The outside looks like shit but the inside is amazing." Brian smiled softly, obviously liking the compliment. "What were you expecting?" "A sex dungeon?" Brian sniggered. "Have you eaten anything or are you running on empty?"

"I'm fine. Really, the buzz is starting to wear off." That wasn't exactly true, but Justin was certain that he wasn't as drunk as when he had first landed up at Woody's.

Brian hummed thoughtfully while opening the fridge. "You sure? I have some bacon if you want, though god knows how long that's been there. Eggs and cheese and…"

"No. No cheese. Thanks."

"Plain toast? Some crackers?"

Justin nodded, and was content to watch Brian get to work for a couple minutes, making him toast and tea – the man even had some tea, who knew- and walking around switching off the lights around the loft, and finally locking the door.

Justin watched as Brian slowly stretched his arms at the door…those long arms, the taut chest…

He replayed that image in his mind, mixing it with the memory of the kisses the two of them had shared, with the memory of dancing with Brian at Babylon.

There was no reason to wait anymore…Brian was single, and now, Justin was single too.

Justin pushed himself off the stool, and walked towards Brian. No, he thought, there was no need to wait at all.

Chapter 11 by Lupin111
Author's Notes:

By Xrifree & Lupin111

 

 

This was certainly an eventful weekend, Brian thought. First Babylon, then Lindsay, then Justin, then…Justin. A clearly tipsy Justin. What exactly he was supposed to do with Justin was anybody's guess. Oh right. He remembered. Justin wanted toast. How fucking ironic – the person he had been salivating after for the last umpteen weeks was right here, in Brian's own house, and his job was to make fucking toast.

Brian locked the door, and stretched. He knew that Justin could be tempted to sample goods on display, but past experience had taught him that that was all Justin was going to indulge in.

Sighing, Brian turned around, and almost collided with Justin, who had crept up on him.

Justin had kicked off his shoes at some point, and was barefoot. The sight of him was so tempting, and there were a million things Brian wanted to do, but self-control he didn't know he had came to the fore. He put an arm on Justin's shoulder, intending to guide him back to the kitchen.

"Justin, you sure you're ok? Did you need something?"

Justin did not budge. "Yes," he said. Justin ran the back of his fingers across Brian's face. "God, you're beautiful," he said, his voice hoarse. "I thought I could put you out of my mind…ridiculous. You've been haunting me since the day I met you. Kiss me, Brian."

Brian was so surprised by Justin's word that it was his turn to remain motionless. Was this the same guy who turned on his heel and disappeared every time Brian so much as touched him? Was Justin actually…?

Justin snaked his arms around his back, binding his body against Brian's. On his tiptoes, he kissed Brian.

Justin tasted of wine. He tasted of wine and lightness and pleasure and the promise of a lot more to come. Brian bent into him, kissing him back, guiding Justin backwards into the heart of the loft. There were a million things Brian wanted to say, but for now, the only thing that mattered was feeling the warmth of Justin's body against his. In one fluid motion, Brian pulled off the t-shirt Justin was wearing.

Justin pulled away slightly, giggling throatily – whether it was from the alcohol or the lust, it was hard to say. "Take off your clothes, Mr. Kinney. The show works both ways."

Brian raised an eyebrow, but didn't have to be asked twice. He threw off his half-buttoned shirt over his head. Justin's hands were on his jeans in a trice, undoing the button. Brian stopped him. Briefly.

"We'll be more comfortable on the bed," he stated, going back to the frenzied kissing and simultaneously moving towards the bedroom.

It was hard to believe that this was actually happening. That Justin had finally given in because…because he was drunk?

Brian gently pushed Justin back, staring into his eyes, looking for something he was afraid he wouldn't find.

But Justin was a man possessed. He shimmied out of his pants in no time, and since Brian had stopped kissing him, Justin clearly thought that it was ok for his hands to travel south, inside Brian's jeans, doing what his lips had been doing moments ago. He started kissing Brian's stomach, moving upward. "What's the matter?"

"Justin, are you sure you want to be doing this? You're going to have to deal with what happens here and Ian and…"

"Ethan and I broke up…you and I don't have to wait a single moment longer." Justin reached up to kiss Brian again. His cheeks were flushed. "I'm all yours."

Hearing Justin's words, something clicked…their conversation earlier at Woody's, Justin's drunken state, his coming on to Brian…now it all made sense. He had broken up with the fiddler.

And this was nothing but a drunken, rebound fling.

In that moment, Brian's heart dropped to his stomach.

He didn't want this to be a drunken, rebound fling.

It was as simple as that.

"Justin, stop. Wait. We can't do this."

"Brian, come on." Justin reached up again, but Brian gently pushed him away, and tried to move himself away from Justin.

"Justin, we're not doing this. Not tonight. I don't want you like this." As much as Brian wanted Justin, he didn't want Justin like this. Not under these circumstances. Not as some mindless, drunken fuck to get the fiddler out of his system. When he and Justin finally had sex, it was going to have a lot more meaning that just some romp.

Brian saw realization begin to dawn in Justin's eyes that he was serious.

"You're saying no. You are saying no. You don't…I…" Justin looked crestfallen, and in spite of himself, Brian began to feel awful.

"C'mon, how about I make you that toast?"

Justin stared at him blankly, before shaking his head. He walked about aimlessly, before sitting on the arm of the sofa.

"I want to go home."

"Where's home?" Brian wanted Justin to look less like someone whose puppy had been shot.

"I don't know. What does it matter? Even…I thought…fuck it. I'll go to the diner. Maybe Kiki…maybe Debbie…you don't want me here. I should go." Justin rose to his feet unsteadily.

"Maybe, you should go lie down, and get some sleep. We'll figure out where home is in the morning, ok?" There was no way Brian could take Justin to Debbie and feel ok about it. Justin was clearly upset, and Brian, against his better judgement, just wanted to make Justin feel better.

Ugh, I'm turning into a lesbian, he thought.

Brian walked over to him, and Justin leaned into him tiredly.

"Come on, the bed is this way." He guided Justin onto his bed, cursing himself because he would now have to sleep on the couch.

Justin slipped under the covers, and Brian turned to leave. Before he could, Justin held onto his hand.

"Could you sleep next to me? Just…lie down next to me?"

Brian smiled. He wasn't going to reject Justin anymore for the evening.

"Sure. Just let me go switch off the lights, and I'll be with you."

"Thank you."

 


 

It had been a long time since Brian had had anyone sleep in his bed, in the literal sense of the word. He was always adamant about having any hookups gone by the time he closed his eyes each night –or early morning, as it were, and the few times someone had spent the night had not been for a lack of trying on Brian's part.

It was easier that way. Most amount of pleasure with the least amount of bullshit for all parties involved and all that.

It felt novel, then, to have Justin, breathing deeply and steadily next to him in the dark, with the blue neon light of the bedframe illuminating his body. It felt significant somehow, in a way that falling asleep on the side of a pavement, cuddling for warmth, hadn't. Justin's body heat was pulling him closer, but he denied himself that indulgence. He was not going to start cuddling men he wasn't even having sex with.

Justin, in his sleep, didn't seem like he had any such considerations. He kept turning toward Brian, stretching out an arm or a leg occasionally, until Brian's backing up had him almost half way off the bed. Sleeping with someone, in the literal sense of the word, when you're not even drunk or exhausted out of your mind, on a real bed and not half sitting on the side of some pavement, was hard work, turns out. There was all this space to be allocated, not even taking into account how the hell duvets were supposed to be shared.

He decided to just go with it at some point, and let Justin hug the side of his body as he saw fit. Justin, for his part, mumbled something in his sleep that sounded suspiciously like Brian's name followed by some kind of combination of the words 'shut up', and 'breakfast' and either 'kitten' or 'mitten', which Brian was in no state to try and decipher, wrapped whatever limbs he could around Brian's (very weirded out) body, put his head on Brian's chest like he owned it, and promptly went back to a mostly quiet sleep.

Brian felt his body unfreeze by inches, until he could actually relax, his hyperactive mind giving way to drowsiness and warmth and finally, at some ungodly hour, sleep.

His last though was that at least he did still find the occasional snoring annoying rather than endearing, and for that he was grateful.

The erection rubbing against the side of his thigh, on the other hand, was a much more familiar situation, Brian realized, come morning. Every rational part of him was screaming that, hey, this would be a good time to wake Justin up and make the most of that half hour they still had before they had to leave for the office.

His pride though, would not stand for being Ethan's last minute replacement, no thank you. Plus, that new found part, the one he didn't really have a name for yet, decided that there was no way in hell his first time having sex with Justin would be a quickie before work, especially while the guy still smelled like booze from the night before.

He untangled himself from Justin, who stirred and finally blinked awake just as Brian was about to make his way to the shower. Justin's embarrassed look confirmed that he had quickly realized he was hard, but he made no comment on it.

"Did you want to take a shower?" Brian asked, unable to pass up the opportunity to see Justin squirm uncomfortably.

"No.. um… I'll just go after you… it's fine." Justin resolutely wrapped the duvet around him tightly, angling his hips away from Brian's view, probably trying for subtle but more or less failing.

The warm shower spray hit Brian's body, loosening his muscles as he worked a soapy lather over his skin. There was the day ahead at work to be considered, but his thoughts kept wandering back to his guest. If things had turned out differently last night, Justin might have been here with him right now. Then again, Justin might have left, embarrassed with himself, and thinking he'd made a mistake, never to be seen again. Brian wondered, if Justin had taken him up on his offer of the first turn showering, would he be in here by himself jacking off now? Would it be to thoughts of Brian, or of the fiddler? As it was, there was no one stopping him, from doing it now either, while Brian was showering. In the middle of Brian's loft, on his bed. He wouldn't. But he could be. Brian found that he didn't mind the thought one bit.

He turned the water to cold.

Whatever means Justin had employed to get rid of his little problem, Brian wouldn't know. He found the man snooping through Brian's cupboards for breakfast.

"So listen…" Justin started. Brian made some vague sound of acknowledgement as he picked out his suit for the day. "Last night, you were very generous… and um…"

"Yes?"

"I think I have a pretty good idea of what happened. But um… I was a bit drunk and I might be not quite remembering things, so…"

Brian waited for him to finish that train of thought.

"I didn't, by any chance, hit on you, right?"

"You did."

"Shit."

"Just be ready to leave in ten."

"We're going to turn up at the office together?"

Brian put the suit down and looked at Justin with a sigh. "Do you have any other way of getting there on time that I'm not aware of?"

"I thought you might be embarrassed to turn up there with me. You sure you don't care if people talk?"

"Have you met me?"

Justin smiled. "Fine, let me take a quick shower first."

"Don't be late, your boss will be pissed," Brian told Justin as he passed Brian, on his way to the bathroom.

 


 

"I'm famished, because you have no real food, but hey, at least we made it to work on time."

To Brian's mild surprise, they actually had made it to the office on time. Mainly because he had insisted that they didn't stop at the diner to pick up breakfast; now, his stomach seemed to be agreeing with Justin's.

"Food is sold at more than one location in this city, for your information." Brian replied. And he would soon have to go in search of said locations. They walked into the office, and Brian ignored everyone he saw, looking for Cynthia.

Justin rolled his eyes. "I bet you're hungry too."

"I have a ten o'clock meeting. I have no time to be hungry." Brian made his way to Cynthia's desk, and Justin was following him, it seemed. Cynthia was nowhere to be found, so Brian started riffling through her papers on her table, looking for what he wanted. "Wait there, I want to brief you on something I need this afternoon. If I can just find it in this mess."

"I'm going to go get myself a croissant. Maybe a sandwich. And coffee or something. I can grab something for you, if you like."

Brian was about to shush Justin, when he realized that it might make more sense to have him actually go and get them breakfast first.

"Well, if you go to the place around the corner –"

"Brian. I need to talk to you." Cynthia had materialized, seemingly out of thin air.

"Then feel free to do so, preferably quickly."

Cynthia, like some demure schoolgirl, looked at Justin, making signs with her eyes.

Brian rolled his. "For fuck's sake, what is it? Who cares if Justin hears?"

Cynthia sighed in her patented world-weary fashion. "Betsy called, was incredibly difficult, and then cancelled your ten o'clock."

"Why the fuck did she do that? Doesn't she have a campaign to brief us on?"

"She…um…" Cynthia glanced at Justin again.

"I should leave." Justin said.

"STAY. What in the fuck, Cynthia?"

She gave that damn annoying sigh again. "Betsy said that she didn't want to have a creative meeting if Justin wasn't going to be there. She thinks…well…she insists that the new creative person we've 'hired just for Eyeconics'," Cynthia made air quotes, "should be at all creative meetings and presentations because 'he is the only one who truly understands the account'." She gave Brian a look. A look that said serves-you-right-for-having-this-discussion-in-front-of-him.

Fucking Cynthia. Fucking Betsy, Brian thought.

"I want a black coffee and a plain croissant. I'll brief you when you come back."

Justin waved his hands as Brian tried to give him money, and bolted out of the office, clearly more embarrassed for Cynthia than either Brian or Cynthia herself.

Brian turned to Cynthia, motioning her to follow him as he walked into his office. "Did you explain to Betsy Justin's role in this office? Does she understand that he is not god's gift to Eyeconic Optics? Did she want the orange changed to some other colour now?"

"I tried to explain to her that Justin was just an intern. She still loves the orange, and wants us to do the final artworks for it. She wants the meeting rescheduled to include him. I rescheduled for Wednesday, and I told Steve to make sure that Justin will attend. I'm not talking to her again."

Brian could not fathom how Justin had managed to wrap Betsy around his little finger. She was a raving lunatic. "Just make sure Justin sits in a corner. Quietly. Christ. Betsy needs to have her head examined."

Cynthia just stood there, looking at him.

"What? I don't have time to waste. Whatever your judgy little look is trying to say, spit it out."

"I was just wondering if Betsy was the only person who needs to have her head examined. You walked in to the office with Justin today!"

"So?"

"So, people are already talking. You walk into the office on a Monday morning with one of the youngest, hottest intern that – well, people are going to assume that you spent the night, or the weekend, together. You know, two people in the same office sleeping together. Having sex. Inter-office romance. Things Hugh Grant movies are made of."

"Like I give a flying fuck what people think. In any event, Justin did spend the night at my place."

Cynthia's eyes suddenly became the size of two large dinner plates. "WHAT?"

"Oh relax. He was drunk and broke up with Ian and had nowhere else to sleep. Nothing happened." Brian thought for a moment. "And even if something did, it's nobody's business who I sleep with."

"But it might be HR's business who the new intern sleeps with, especially if it is one of the partners. And the way this crowd gossips, someone is going to tell HR."

"Like I said, we're not having sex. If HR has a problem with the new intern getting some shut eye, they're the ones who need to have their heads examined."

 


 

The coffees he bought from across the street kept Justin's hands warm and he tried to supress the extra spring in his step. The Eyeconics client had specifically asked for him. The look on Brian's face had been priceless. Newbie Justin, with one foot barely in the advertising world, and clients were asking for him. Ha!

He did notice the looks, going back into Brian's office. There were a few too many lingering stares. Some whispers. A couple of people he didn't remember ever talking to before wished him good morning, or smirked. Justin figured it was inevitable. News travelled fast. He gripped the coffees and bag of croissants a smidge tighter, and asked Cynthia to be let into Brian's office anyway. It wasn't like Brian and he were dating. Brian was just… being a very good friend. Surprisingly good.

Everyone would get over it.

Brian was on the phone, but glanced up and motioned for Justin to put the coffee and pastry on his desk, as he finished his call.

He reached for his blazer, presumably for his wallet, but Justin was having none of it.

"Can you really afford to be buying me anything?" Brian asked teasingly, though he had stopped trying to locate his wallet.

"Oh shut up." He said it instinctively, and there was a tiny second of panic because they were at Vanguard and Brian was still his boss, but Brian just raised an eyebrow and gave him an easy going smile in return.

"You were telling me to shut up in your sleep, too."

"That's… not entirely surprising."

"Yeah, guess I bring it out in you, huh?"

Justin got a text just as he was about to answer, since apparently his phone was kindly back to working today. It was from Daphne, and the message depleted his good mood dramatically. She was asking about Ethan, which wasn't the bad part, but also informing him that her roommate Chad had decided, sometime between when Justin had been getting dumped by Ethan and rejected by Brian, to have a party tonight. He was more than welcome to come apparently, because Chad "digged his general vibe" (he could feel Daphne's eyes rolling as she wrote this) but Daph herself would much rather spend the night at some other friend's house and get drunk there instead.

The thought of having to stay up with Chad's buddies chugging beer and watching him fail to hit on girls, with no Daphne in sight, after a shift at the diner, was honestly the last thing he wanted to be doing tonight. Or any other night. He cursed under his breath.

"I'll probably have to ask Debbie if I can stay with her tonight," he explained at Brian's questioning look. "There's going to be a party at Daphne's house tonight, hosted by her knuckle-dragger roommate."

"God forbid you go to a party, Taylor."

"I'm not really into the whole horny-hetero-bro thing these days. Besides. I have very important work in the morning."

Brian made a sceptical sound, as he sipped his coffee. "You could stay at the loft again tonight. I'm not doing anything. Your stuff's still there anyway."

Justin took a moment to make sure he hadn't misheard. "You want me to spend the night?"

Brian shrugged. "I'm going to the diner. You're going to the diner. I'll pop in at Woody's and go back to the loft, your shift'll be over and you'll need a place to sleep. Suits us both just fine."

If Brian was going to be infuriatingly casual about this, Justin wasn't going to make it weird. Besides, he could freak out about it in his own time. "Fine. Ok."

"Ok. Now shoo. I've got a meeting in half an hour. Actually, wait. This is the brief for Cliptic; get the files from Janice and rework the changes marked. I need it by three."

Justin walked out of the office and to his desk even more confused than he'd been when he had entered it. Which seemed to be his general MO nowadays. Still, he felt a secret thrill at the thought of spending the night at Brian's again.

And not because someone dragged him there, but because he was actually invited.

"I've had a terrible day and it's not even ten," said Kathy, as she unceremoniously plopped herself on to his desk, interrupting his thoughts. "Well, well. Someone looks like the cat that got the cream."

"I do?"

"You definitely do. Boyfriend trouble gone?" she asked. "Oooh, croissants. Can I have one?"

"Help yourself." She kept waiting for an answer to her first question until he told her. "We actually broke it off for good."

"Awww, poor boy. Are you ok?"

"I'm fine. More than fine."

"Mmm…I bet you are."

"Sorry?" He questioned her, when no other explanation seemed forthcoming.

"Nothing. Just. Lots of talk today."

"About?" He coughed lightly and took a sip of his coffee. He was not liking where this conversation was going.

"You and Brian. Honestly, people are already making bets on whether or not you're sleeping together."

"We're not." His throat was feeling a little constricted all of a sudden, and he coughed again.

"If you say so."

"We're not sleeping together." He repeated, more insistently.

"Ok, ok, relax! I'm just repeating what I heard people say. You have to be careful, Jus. If people at this office get a sniff of you trying to sleep your way to the top, you're going to be in big trouble."

"That's ridiculous. Kinney doesn't do those kinds of favours for anyone." He wouldn't, Justin thought, right? Even when Brian had made it more than apparent that he wanted to have sex, even when they'd kissed outside Ethan's apartment, work was work. Brian had been riding his ass harder than any other intern in this agency since the start.

She smiled genuinely, and Justin felt relief wash over him instantly.

"Just be careful." And barely skipping a beat, she moved onto the next, much less stress-inducing topic of conversation. "Anyway, you won't believe the morning I've had."

Justin elected to let Kathy tell the animated story of her awful morning, and not pay much thought to her warnings.

For the rest of the day, when others looked at him funny, he smiled politely and suppressed any growing sense of panic.

It didn't help much though, when Brian sauntered over to his desk at two thirty, demanding the Cliptic visuals. Mercifully, Justin had finished them before the three o'clock deadline. Brian reminded him, with Kathy right there, that Brian expected him to be ready to leave by six.

From the corner of his eye, Justin could see her looking at them suspiciously, but he just smiled mutely, and when six o'clock came round, he just said his goodbyes and left without any further comments.

 


 

Justin stirred the chicken and cream sauce, deep in thought. He hadn't necessarily meant to go grocery shopping with Brian, but he thought it absurd that Brian was starting the week with not a gram of real food in his home. Brian was all 'I'll order Thai', but Justin thought that the better option was for him to actually cook dinner, especially since he had three hours to spare before his shift at the diner started, and his multiple bosses had not piled work on him to take home.

Besides, Justin had no idea how long this arrangement with Brian was going to last, if it would even last more than tonight, and he certainly couldn't have Brian paying for all his meals. Speaking of which, Justin wondered exactly what this arrangement was going to be. There was only one bed and…

And Brian had made it patently clear the night before that the horizontal mambo would not be happening. Justin sighed. He was so utterly confused. Yes, he had been drunk, but not blackout drunk that he lost his memories. Plus, Brian had confirmed what happened in their very brief conversation in the morning.

Brian had distinctly refused sex. The same Brian Kinney that had been hitting on him since the day they met. When Justin had been available, willing…for fuck's sake, he had even initiated it!

Justin sighed again. Brian gave new meaning to the notion of wanting what you couldn't have and not wanting what you could. Or…or Justin was stumped as to why Brian had suddenly lost interest. It couldn't be that the man had suddenly sprung a dislike of Justin; he wouldn't have told Justin to stay with him if he had. Which brought Justin back to his original thought: exactly what this arrangement was going to be. He also wondered about what Kathy had said. How badly sleeping at Brian's place affect his reputation at work? Would it be worse if he spent more than two nights here, or would it be worse if it was just last night and tonight? And…it could be that Brian was picking Justin up from some mid-way meeting location. Justin sensed being stared at.

Brian was eyeing him from the sofa he was sprawled on.

"What?"

"What are you making?"

"Chicken penne pasta...unless you wanted something else?"

"That's fine. Are you moonlighting tonight?"

"If you mean the diner, yeah. I always have the evening shift."

"We pay you a decent salary. You shouldn't have to work like a crazy person to save PIFA tuition."

"Actually, I do. I have three more years left; diner money allows me to eat, Vanguard money will go for tuition."

"You could get a loan."

"Right. I could get a loan, pay sky-rocketing interest rates, and be an impoverished artist for the rest of my life. And I'd probably still be working at the diner, just to pay the interest fee. No thanks. Dinner's ready!"

Brian nodded thoughtfully, and stood up, walking towards the bedroom.

Justin frowned. "Brian, dinner's ready."

"I'm not deaf; I heard you the first time." Brian called out from…somewhere in his bedroom. He promptly walked out with what looked suspiciously like a blanket and a pillow, placing it on the sofa. "You're taking the couch. You can use these, when you come back at some godforsaken hour after your shift."

"Uh-huh. Thanks." Justin needed no further confirmation; sex with him was apparently something Brian had suddenly lost all interest in. Against his wishes, Justin's shoulders slumped. "Umm…won't I need a key to get in?"

Brian had already sat down to eat.

"Damn it. Yes. There's a spare…in the drawer next to my bed. You can grab that before you leave."

"I'll grab it now, before I forget."

"Aaah, yes. I remember you have a tendency to forget your keys."

Justin rolled his eyes as he went to look for the spare key.

"ONCE. I forgot my keys ONCE."

He could hear Brian laughing, while clanking cutlery as he served himself dinner.

Justin stared at the bedside table, complete with three drawers, and decided to start with the top one.

He started rummaging: condoms – of course, lube – of course, Advil – naturally, spare key – ah-ha!

As he turned to go back and eat, something on top of the drawer caught his eye.

It was his long-lost sketchbook. The one Brian had taken and never returned. Justin stared at it in surprise. Brian had brought it home, and actually kept it…in such a personal space. His hand went out instinctively to take it, but he stopped himself. He kept the sketchbook exactly where it was.

Justin took a deep breath, composing himself before he joined Brian for dinner.

Chapter 12 by Lupin111
Author's Notes:

By Xrifree & Lupin111

 

 

One night at the loft turned into another, and within the week, Justin found himself sleeping there semi-permanently. He was more than grateful to be away from Daphne's loud, LOUD roommate, and having the ability to do some work in whatever downtime he could find between Vanguard and the diner. He couldn't honestly claim that his concentration on his projects had dramatically improved or anything. Living with Brian Kinney wasn't something that allowed for much concentration. Whenever Brian was around, Justin found himself spending most of his time talking to him, enjoying his presence, feeling for that tentative pull that had been slowly forming between them.

As the week progressed, he quickly realised that he hadn't slept so deeply and comfortably in years. Something told him it wasn't because of whatever overpriced pillows that adorned Brian's couch.

Justin insisted that they didn't show up at work together again. He felt a bit ridiculous, because he had to wake up and leave much earlier than Brian to take public transport to get to Vanguard on time. He knew Brian found it unnecessary, and just went along with it to put Justin's mind at ease.

Kathy still made a few offhand comments now and then that made him uncomfortable, but he wasn't going to dwell on it. She certainly wasn't the only one.

Everything and everyone was inversely proportional, it seemed to Justin. The nicer Brian was, the bitchier everybody else became. They were on the second week of sharing living space, and, incredibly, he had not had sex with Brian, though the whole world and their mother seemed to think so. It was absurd, really.

It's not like he didn't want to have sex with Brian. Of course he did. But ever since his drunken attempt, which Brian had resoundingly refused, Justin had tried to stay away from anything physical with Brian. Which was not easy, given that he practically lived with Brian. A man with zero inhibitions. Justin had lost track of the amount of cold showers he needed.

But Brian was his boss, and Justin completely understood how inappropriate it was, if they were to be involved sexually. Or emotionally. Or both. Being roommates was one thing, sleeping with the boss, literally, was something else altogether.

He glanced at Kathy, who was absorbed in whatever she was reading. Her behaviour was disturbing him, because they were supposed to be friends. Office friends, anyway. Justin sighed loudly. When oh when would the drama end, he wondered.

"Justin."

He looked up to see Steve standing at his desk.

"Hey Steve."

"Can you come to my office for a bit? I need to brief you on something."

"Sure." Justin grabbed a pen and his notebook, and followed Steve.

Once Justin sat down, Steve closed the door, looking embarrassed.

"Justin, I'm really sorry to be doing this. I like you, I think you're great and…anyway."

Justin did not like the sound of this. Steve continued to talk, unable to look at him in the eye.

"Jared and Susan from HR would like to speak to you, and since I'm your direct supervisor…well…whenever you're ready, we should meet with them."

Justin felt sick. He wanted to get up, run to the bathroom, and throw up. His hands felt clammy. He wanted to ask what this was about, but he knew. This was all about the whispering and looks and rumours and snide remarks and smirks and all the other bullshit people did to others when they were too bankrupt to worry about their own fucking lives.

"Fabulous," he said, sarcasm dripping from his voice. "Let's go."

"Now?" Steve seemed taken aback.

"Well, why not? It's not like it's a meeting I need to prepare for, is it?"

He was going to hold his head up high, and deal with this. Justin knew he had done nothing wrong. Nothing at all. He hadn't slept with Brian. They had only kissed, and that had been weeks ago. The whole thing was fucking ridiculous. Goddamn rumours. Instead of having the guts to ask him to his face, his backstabbing colleagues had run to HR. At least now he would have the opportunity to set the record straight.

Steve had called Jared or Susan, and was saying that they would be coming in five minutes. Justin looked at him coldly. Fucking spineless dickwad, he thought.

He followed Steve into Susan's office, and briefly wondered if Brian would have been summoned as well. Then he remembered that it was only low-level disposables that ever got hauled in front of HR. Justin contemplated standing through the whole meeting as a show of defiance, and then decided against it. These people were entirely too stupid to understand what that gesture meant.

He sat down.

Susan cleared her throat. "Justin, I'm sure you know why we called you here."

"As a matter of fact, I haven't the foggiest notion as to why you called me here."

Susan and Jared looked at each other. Steve stared at his shoes.

"Justin. We've received several complaints about you."

"Really? Steve, you could have told me yourself if I my work wasn't up to standard. Is there any specific accounts, any specific ads that I worked on which you thought was substandard?" Justin knew that the meeting was about Brian and not his quality of work, but he wanted them to admit that there was nothing wrong with his work at the outset.

"Oh, no no. Your work is great! I have no problem with your work." Steve finally looked up. "I even told Susan and Jared – I have no issue with your work at all."

"Great. So what do you have an issue with?"

"Me? Nothing! Nothing at all. I don't have any problems with you. I…I'm just here as your boss."

"Does anyone else have a problem with my work?"

Jared sighed. "Justin, this isn't about your work."

"Aaaah. Just to be clear then, these complaints about me, details of which I'm sure you will tell me, has nothing to do with the work I do, for which I get paid. I just want to be clear on this."

"Umm…well, yes, yes, it has nothing to do with the work product itself." Susan cleared her throat again, and Justin briefly wondered about rudely offering her a glass of water. She continued to speak haltingly. "The complaints pertain to your inappropriate relationship with a senior member of staff at Vanguard. People are not happy about it."

"Like I said earlier, I haven't the foggiest idea what you're talking about. I'm not having a relationship with anyone, inappropriate or otherwise."

"That's not what people are saying. Several people have spoken to us about your relationship with Brian Kinney. He's a junior partner here, and it's very inappropriate for someone at your level to be…you know…"

Justin stared at Jared blankly, silently challenging him to finish that sentence.

"…it's inappropriate…for you to have a…relationship with him."

"But I'm not having a relationship with him! Or with anyone! Inside or outside this office."

"Justin, that is not what people are saying." Susan responded.

"People will say a lot of things. Isn't that what rumours are? How can you just blindly believe gossip you hear?"

"That's exactly what I said." Steve piped up, and was thanked for it by glares by both Susan and Jared.

"People are upset, Justin. You must try and understand that."

"Upset about a non-existent relationship?"

"Well," Susan cleared her throat again. "You are getting a lot of work from Brian. He has you working on several key accounts, and frankly, it is highly unusual for a junior artist with no experience to be given so much high profile work. It has come to our attention that you've been in attendance at all of the Eyeconic Optics client meetings; that is one of our biggest accounts, and it is baffling why a junior artist is working on the account at all, let alone attending every single meeting. You're clearly being given an elevated status by Brian due to…um…due to your…um…relationship outside…due to your private relationship outside the office. It is unfair to other staff, and they are not happy."

That nauseous feeling Justin was having hit him in full force.

He thought they would ride him about this supposed relationship with Brian, he'd get told off and reprimanded for a mistake he hadn't made.

But he was wrong. This was looking much, much worse. It looked like they might suspend him, or even fire him. Likely the latter.

He was fucked.

"I'm only attending those meetings because the client asked for it."

Susan looked at him curiously. "How would you know that?"

"I…"

Shit. Justin didn't want to get Cynthia into trouble, and he couldn't mention Brian's name either. "That's the impression I got. How can you blame me, because I'm being given work? I do everything I'm told to do, by anyone. If I shouldn't be working on the accounts that I am, isn't that an issue for Steve and Brian to work out?"

"That's not the point. The point is that you are being given special favours by Brian, and it is unfair to other staff, and they aren't happy with you being elevated just because you have a personal, sexual relationship with the boss."

"Susan, with all due respect, none of these people have a clue what they are talking about. I am NOT having a relationship with Brian. I am not having sex with him. I have never had sex with him. If you – or anyone else – is not happy with the accounts I am working on, please talk to the people who give me work. I'm being blamed for work I have no control over and a relationship I am very specifically not having. This is ridiculous."

"I'm sorry Justin, I understand what you are saying, but we need to give priority to the wishes and feelings of our permanent, long-term staff."

He was being fired. That's where this was going.

"And who exactly are these 'permanent, long-term staff' that are so unhappy about a non-existent relationship? I think I have a right to know."

"Well, you know, Amanda, Harvey, and their team, mostly. And Chelsea and Alex." Steve supplied.

"Steve! I don't think it's important who complained." Jared finally spoke again.

Amanda, Harvey, and their team – Justin was certain that they had been the original team that had done those godawful ads for Callisto Furniture. He hadn't a clue who Chelsea or Alex were. He didn't even know if Alex was a man or a woman.

"Justin, we don't want this to be ugly, or more stressful or complicated than it has to be. We'll give you two weeks of severance pay, and Steve will give you an excellent reference. But today will be your last day. I hope you understand that we don't want to be doing this, but we have to think of our long-term staff."

Justin scoffed. "You mean you have to think about the people you can't fire because they've been here too long, so you're choosing to fire the guy who's not permanent and who hasn't done anything wrong, because it's easier? That's the basic translation of what you're trying to say, right Susan?"

"Justin, it's not…"

"I want four weeks of severance pay."

Jared spluttered. "But you haven't even been here for a year!"

"No shit. Isn't that the very reason you're firing me like this?" Justin rolled his eyes at the imbecile that Jared clearly was. "I want four weeks severance, or…or you will have to wait until I speak to my lawyer and explore my options." He didn't have a lawyer, but he was sure that Daphne knew a pre-law student or two. Or he could ask Ted…and accountant was bound to know the intricacies of severance payments.

"Look, we're giving you two weeks. That's more than generous –"

Jared was interrupted by Susan.

"Four weeks of severance is very generous, as Jared said, but as a gesture of goodwill, we'll pay you that. Here are some papers you will have to sign, and Steve will have your recommendation letter ready by the end of the day. If you could just wrap up whatever work you can, and give Steve a status update before you leave…we're sorry that things had to end this way. We really are."

Justin shook his head. Ethan might have actually predicted the future, and what's more, he might very well end up working at Starbucks after all.

 


 

Word was going around by noon that someone from the art department had been laid off. Brian didn't pay much attention to it - or anyone - for that matter, it was the art department for fuck's sake. That is, until he caught sight of that shorty who was usually following Justin around giving him a dirty look, and he put two and two together.

He asked Cynthia about it, and she confirmed it hesitantly, saying some bullshit about not sharing that info earlier because she didn't want to 'upset him into doing anything stupid'.

Upset him.

He was decidedly furious, walking into Vance's office. The man seemed more smug than usual, and was probably a little caught off guard, as opposed to being shocked.

"I was going to tell you myself," Vance said, nonchalantly continuing to spread cream cheese on his bagel. He seemed quite pleased, even though Brian had just barged in. Brian wanted to tell him to shove the butter knife up his ass. "Though it makes sense the intern told you before I could get to you…"

"Yeah, sorry to ruin your moment." It was quite apparent that he'd been more than eager to deliver the news. "And it was Cynthia who told me. What the hell are you doing?"

"Taking care of a liability?"

"You didn't think to ask me?"

"There was no reason to ask you. Human Resources took care of it."

"But you told them to."

He smiled and gestured with his hands, as if to say there was nothing he could have done. "They received complaints."

"Then either they, or you, should have come to me. I'm his boss and I'm partner. I don't hand off my responsibilities to junior staff, or have them take the fall for me."

"You wanted this to be a bigger deal than it was strictly necessary?" Vance feigned a surprised expression, finally biting into the bagel and chewing slowly.

"There was no reason for it to be a deal at all. Justin Taylor is a great intern. And he's that. An intern. He doesn't have any position of importance here; he's insignificant in the grand scheme of things in this company."

"Which is why I don't regret him getting fired."

"Which is why there was no reason for him to be fired."

"He was obviously a distraction."

Brian let out an exasperated groan "He works in the art department. You didn't get rid of some big player, trying to tear down the company from the inside."

"Oh come on, Brian, it was a sexual harassment suit waiting to happen."

"That is ridiculous. You don't know the first thing about what was going on between me and Taylor."

"I know there was something going on. And I know that whatever promises you made to that young man, they were going to end up biting you in the ass."

"Promises? I don't need to bribe people to fuck them, Vance. They usually line up by themselves. Though I guess that's a hard concept for you to grasp."

"Interoffice romance…" Vance started to say, looking like he was reciting from some manual.

"Don't start bullshitting me about interoffice romance; you've asked Cynthia out twice this month. Or did you think I wouldn't find that out about that either?" It was his turn to watch with satisfaction as Vance's expression turned momentarily sour.

"Again. Why didn't you come to me?" Vance coughed, and repositioned the bag of bagels on the desk. He coughed again. Awkwardly. Brian got it. "You want me to tell you what I think? I think you wanted to have the satisfaction of presenting this to me as a done deal, you smug son of a bitch. With your fucking bagels."

Gardner Vance looked like a man who knew he'd bitten off more than he could chew, and had no intention of owning up to that mistake. He'd considered this some easy victory, but hadn't predicted exactly how much it would piss Brian off, and now he was backpedalling, fast.

"Look, Brian, at the end of the day, this kind of situation…it's bad for morale, it's bad for our image, and it's bad for business."

"There's no impact on business whatsoever, and you know it. This is you trying to put me back in my place. You've been itching to find some way to one up me since I made partner."

"Well, I'm sorry you see it that way."

"What I see is you showing off on the back of a 20 year old in need of money." The whole thing made Brian feel inexplicably dirty. He looked into Vance's eyes, and knew, without a doubt, this was not a person he wanted to deal with every day, for the rest of his career. "Don't go over my head again."

Chapter 13 by Lupin111
Author's Notes:

By Xrifree & Lupin111

Justin went to the loft. It wasn't until he'd used the spare key, and pulled the heavy door close behind him, that it even registered that the first place he wanted to be was not Daphne's, or anywhere else. It was here.

Stepping into the large space calmed him down significantly. He still felt like cursing, and throwing a tantrum, but it was still an improvement.

He had been fired. He'd worked so hard for this, and yet.

And yet.

He riffled through Brian's liquor stash, but decided to just have something to eat instead, and tried to not spend his day looking at the clock, waiting for the hours to go by and Brian to get there.

Justin got a text from Kathy asking what had happened, and thought that at least it was good to know she wasn't the one who got him fired. He couldn't let go of the nagging feeling that given enough time, she might have been, and didn't know whether to feel bad for himself, or guilty for thinking about her that way, with no evidence at all except her bitchiness in the last few weeks.

He called the diner and told them he wasn't coming in that day. Justin didn't have it in him. Whatever his next move, he needed to clear his head. Justin realised that for the first time in a long while, he didn't have two jobs to get to, or paperwork to fill out, or any expectations. He could just relax, close his eyes and get caught up on a lot of missed sleep. Allowing himself to be selfish for a day felt so damn good.

He turned off his useless phone, took a shower and slept like a log, not even bothering with the couch. He slept right on Brian's bed, with the pillows smelling like the man, and when Justin finally came to, it was like he'd shaken off the weight of the world from his shoulders – weight he didn't even know he was carrying. He felt strong. So what if he'd lost the damn job. His life was probably going to be harder from now on, but Justin could do hard. He hadn't known much else these last several years.

Justin was watching TV when he heard the door open.

Brian arrived at the loft with an air of insecurity about him that was none too common for him. It seemed as if not knowing exactly what to say or do was putting him on edge. Brian gave off the impression that he was a person unused to comforting people, which Justin imagined he probably was.

Justin relaxed in his presence, as Brian moved uneasily through the loft, taking off his suit and changing his clothes. He looked like an agitated, caged animal, but still, Brian hadn't bailed. It wasn't Justin's presence in the loft that was making him uneasy, it was his inability to help, Justin figured.

"You could sue." Brian said finally, sitting on the couch next to Justin, who was watching him calmly all this time.

"I'm not going to sue, Brian. I don't have the money. And it would lead nowhere."

"I can help you."

"You're not going to help me sue your own company, Brian," he repeated in the same tone.

"It's Vance's company." Brian replied dryly. Justin figured that there was a story there, but didn't press for details. He wordlessly took Brian's hand between his own, and Brian fell into contemplative silence.

After a while, Brian started exhaling loudly, like he had to get something out. Justin gave him his time, until Brian had had enough of it. "How can you be so calm? I'm furious!"

"I'm not calm. Or I wasn't this morning." Seeing Brian indignant on his behalf was certainly helping. Justin thought about how to explain this as best as he could. "At least I'm secure in the knowledge that I didn't have to give head to get ahead." Justin declared after a few beats, with finality.

"It wouldn't have worked anyway. Even if you had."

"It wouldn't have?" Justin half-teased.

"No. I'm not in the business of giving chances to people who don't deserve them. I wouldn't have kept you around just because…" Brian hesitated. "You… walked into my office that first day, and you didn't take no for an answer. And you proved to be a stubborn, talented son of a bitch. That's why I kept you around."

"Well, it's not like it's out of the realm of possibility. It's not like the implication is sending me into a spiral of shame. When I had to make it on my own, at first, I thought about hustling, though I don't think I'd ever have gone through with it. Hell, who knows, right? But to work your ass off, and still have it handed to you at the end of the day? I can't say that it doesn't make me a bit mad."

"So why aren't you more riled up?"

"Because there's no point." Justin could see that Brian, unused to going down without a fight, was going to keep pushing. He'd get into an argument with Vance, if he hadn't already, he'd go around making enemies he didn't have to inside the company. And for what?

Justin continued. "Even if there was some way for me to return to Vanguard, I wouldn't want to work there anymore. I need work, but I don't need this thing over my head; it would drive me nuts. Vanguard was always supposed to be temporary anyway." He wanted to clear the air. There was nothing to risk anymore beyond his pride, and if he was coming out of this hellish day with something, it would be answers. "Besides. I can't say I hadn't foreseen trouble, even though I didn't imagine getting fired. We weren't exactly being appropriate."

"No?"

"No. This. Whatever it is…" he gestured between them, and was pleased that Brian didn't disappoint him by doing something stupid, like pretend to be ignorant. "I know we didn't let it interfere with the job…"

"We wouldn't have. Not in that way."

"I know. But. They made accusations, because I gave them reason to." Justin took a deep breath, and powered through it. "Because I want you. Because I was curious about what it'd be like, between us. If we gave it a shot. And I guess it was more obvious than I intended it to be."

"It's not entirely your fault. I had a lot to do with it. If just intent is the cause of you getting fired, I share the blame."

"Oh I blame you a LOT." Justin responded, slightly nervously.

Something had shifted. Justin had made his confession and…Brian was still here. He hadn't laughed, he hadn't got upset…the air felt thick with anticipation. Justin's throat was suddenly dry. He wanted to say more, but couldn't. He wanted Brian to make a move, and, not knowing what Brian would say or do scared him.

"Your friend Kathy seems to blame me too. She was staring at me all day like I'd killed her precious puppy." Brian chuckled lightly, and moved forward to brush away the hair from Justin's face, sweeping the wayward strand behind his ear. "I got too cocky, and didn't think. Vance has it out for me, and I'm sorry you were collateral damage. But I'm not sorry for wanting you either."

Justin moved, without sparing another thought, as if grazing his lips against Brian's was the most natural thing in the world. Suddenly, he realized that this was what he had been waiting for…what he had been craving for weeks. Even before he had moved here, since that night outside Ethan's apartment building…

Justin found the kiss returned with fervor, Brian almost immediately pulling him closer, tighter, the palm of his hand finding the nape of Justin's neck.

"I wasn't sure…" he said, trying to catch his breath, and he almost had to let out a giddy laugh, because Brian was kissing him again before he could finish the sentence, and pushing him down. He was no longer seated on the couch, but was lying on it, Brian practically on top of him.

"You haven't made a move." Justin managed to get out. Brian was moving his tongue along his jawline, and Justin instinctively moved his hips into Brian's.

"I've made plenty of moves." Brian was too busy to say more. He was tugging at Justin's t-shirt, kissing the side of his torso now, and Justin moaned involuntarily. It was so easy to get lost in this…Justin knew that he only had a few moments of sense and sanity left before he drowned himself in Brian.

And it was important to say what he wanted to, before he lost complete control. He reached out, gently tugging at Brian's face. "Not since I started sleeping here." He had to look into Brian's eyes for that, wanting to see the answer clearly. "Why not?"

"Because." Brian paused, taking time off to indulge in a short, deep kiss before he continued with his answer. "I wanted you to come to me. Not after you'd been dumped by Ethan, or while you were drunk and stressed and not thinking. Preferably, you wouldn't be fucking fired either, but…life isn't perfect, I guess."

They both smiled at that, and Justin placed a soft kiss at the corner of Brian's mouth.

"You said his actual name. I wasn't even sure you knew it."

"Of course I know it, don't be a twat. I listen to what you say."

Justin hid his smile against the light stubble on Brian's cheek. There was no need to waste any more time on words. He sat up on the couch, moving Brian up with him. He quickly pulled Brian's shirt over his head, not bothering with any buttons, throwing it away somewhere he didn't care to know. Brian grabbed at his waist, and pulled him closer, practically onto his lap, and Justin involuntarily let out a loud yelp which dissolved into shared laughter as he settled there.

They were carefree, and that was a big part of what made this so right.

He'd imagined the way his skin would come alive under Brian's ministrations, the heat that would develop at the first skin to skin contact…he'd felt the beginnings of it when they'd kissed outside Ethan's building.

What he didn't expect was the easiness of it all, the unexpected sense of freedom that came with finally being able to be with Brian this way, to let himself have this. It was, without a doubt, incomparable to any thrill that a forbidden affair would have had. This felt real, like he could trace the edges of it with his fingertips, as surely as he could touch Brian, and feel his every move responded to and reciprocated.

They didn't make it to the bedroom, but again, they didn't even try to, neither of them willing to separate long enough for that.

Besides, Brian informed him, with the both of them coming down panting, sweating and still clinging to each other, he intended for them to try out every available surface in the loft. And they set about fulfilling that goal as soon as they could.

The next time Justin spoke in actual sentences was when the sun had truly set, the sound of traffic outside had subsided, and the loft was lit only by the moon and the streetlights, because neither of them had switched on the lights inside.

"I kinda was afraid that if we fucked, you'd grow bored of me," Justin said. They were lying on the rug in the living room, and right now, it didn't seem scary or awkward to make such a confession.

"I kinda hoped that if we fucked, I'd be bored of you."

"Mhhhm. Feeling bored?"

"Not even close."

End Notes:

A/N: A HUGE thank you to everyone who is reading, reviewing and/or following this story. Just wanted to say we truly appreciate it. We know we've been pretty awful, taking so long to start updating this story.

 

In any event, we have finally reached the finish line - the next chapter will be the last! A small Christmas gift to all you awesome readers :)

There will also be a tiny epilogue after that.

Chapter 14 by Lupin111
Author's Notes:

By Xrifree & Lupin111

He was finally sleeping in Brian's bed, and not the couch. He was waking up cuddled and sated and happy. That feeling carried him through looking at job ads, shifts at the diner shift, and climbing back in bed with Brian night after night.

It had been four days since he had been fired, so Justin had picked up extra shifts at the diner. He had to make money somehow, until he found a second job.

In fact, that's exactly what he was doing now, sitting at the diner on one of his breaks, looking through job postings, until his cellphone started beeping.

Caller ID informed him that the call he was receiving was from Vanguard. Wondering if it was Brian or Kathy or maybe even Steve, Justin answered.

"Hello? Justin? This is Cynthia."

"Oh. Hi Cynthia. Is everything ok? Is Brian…is everything ok?" For the life of him, Justin couldn't imagine why Cynthia would call him, especially now that he was no longer working at Vanguard. Unless...

"Everything – and everyone – is fine."

Justin sensed the teasing smile in Cynthia's voice, and he blushed. Mercifully, he didn't have to say anything, because Cynthia continued to speak.

"I actually wanted to give you a message from Betsy. She of the famed Eyeconics account." Cynthia made no attempt to hide what she thought of Betsy. "We were supposed to have a meeting with her this morning, but it got cancelled because…well, because she was upset that you weren't at the meeting, and she became downright apoplectic when she heard that you no longer worked here."

"Oh." Justin wasn't sure what he was supposed to say. The one thing he knew was that he was flattered and relieved that someone other than Brian recognized the contributions he had made while at Vanguard.

"Betsy insists on speaking to you; I didn't know if it was ok to give her your contact information, so I assured her that I will have you call her back within the day. If you have a piece of paper, I can give you her number now."

"Umm… yes, yes of course."

Justin wrote down Betsy's contact information, and chatted a bit with Cynthia before hanging up the phone.

He stared at the number, wondering. It was impossible to imagine what Betsy could possibly want to discuss. In any event, he couldn't keep Betsy waiting; he had to call her back soon. Justin wondered if his idiot phone would last through another conversation, and then decided against taking that particular risk. He would simply ask Debbie if he could use the diner phone.

 


 

It had been hours since his conversation with Betsy, but Justin was still struggling to believe that it had actually happened. He wanted to discuss it with Brian, but didn't want to pounce on him as soon as he walked in through the door. Dinner was a better time, so he waited. However, when dinner actually rolled around, Brian had another topic he wanted to discuss. Justin had expected this conversation with Brian at some point though, which had given him mild, intermittent panic attacks. Especially because he himself was somewhat distracted, and not really in a frame of mind to deal with the topic. However, Brian hadn't run and he seemed determined to see it through, so the panicky animal in Justin's ribcage contained itself within the first few seconds.

"I don't know if I can do this. This thing…this serious…and you just coming out of a relationship. Waking up together and sharing dinners and monogamy and white picket fences…" Brian stated, but he kept still, and looked Justin in the eye.

"Well you seem to be doing great with the waking up together and the sharing dinners." Justin replied. "I am a little disenchanted with the whole relationship thing right now. Turns out, it can kind of suck."

"Well relationships generally…"

"Don't start." Justin interrupted Brian before he could go into a diatribe. "I also can't do that thing you do. Going out, fucking whoever. Or being with someone who goes out and fucks whoever. I don't think my self-esteem could take it right now, or ever. Or even if it's more a self-respect thing as opposed to a self-esteem thing."

"I figured that you couldn't."

"Right now, I just know I want a place to live, preferably not someone's couch. And an education. And you. I know I want you."

"Me too."

"So we can figure it out. Right?"

"I don't know. I don't know what I can and can't do. I've never tried."

"How about sharing your beer? Can you do that?"

Brian smiled, and passed the can of beer.

"Speaking about white picket fences and what I want in the future, something very interesting happened today." It wasn't the best segue, but Justin had waited all day to tell Brian what happened with Betsy, and he couldn't wait any longer.

Brian raised an eyebrow. "You won the Lotto?"

"Funny. I spoke to Betsy. From Eyeconics."

"Ugh. Betsy? Betsy Fowler?" Brian grimaced. "She threw another hissy fit today, because you weren't at the meeting. I told Vance to deal with it, since this entire mess is one of his creation. What did she want?"

"Weeell. Betsy wants me to join Eyeconics. She offered me a job!" Justin didn't even try to act normal. He was beaming, as if he had in fact won the Lotto.

"Seriously? Wow. Congratulations, Sunshine." Brian leaned over and kissed him. "Good for you. I know exactly how we're going to celebrate this."

Justin laughed, seeing Brian's expression. He could well imagine what Brian's idea of a celebration was going to be.

Brian continued, "She's a fucking lunatic, but you seem to like her, and she clearly likes you. What does she want to hire you as?"

"I have to meet her tomorrow morning, to finalize everything. And formalize it. She said she wants me to be the Brand Manager for Eyeconics. Basically deal with Vanguard in every aspect, and make sure everything is done as per her wish, because apparently, I'm the only one who understands her vision for the brand. And any other creative work that might come up, like working with the visualizing…merchandising…department and…oh my god, I am so excited and so relieved! An actual job. Not a trainee, not an intern. A proper job with a proper salary and medical and dental and holy fuck…this is so unreal."

Brian was smiling too, and Justin smiled even more, seeing him. Brian motioned for Justin to come to him. "Don't sign a damn thing until I see the contract," he said, pulling Justin onto his lap. "Betsy is recognizing the value of your hard work and your talent, which is excellent. Doesn't mean you're not going to negotiate for the best fucking deal you can get."

"Mmmm." Justin placed butterfly kisses on Brian's face. "You know, you better enjoy these home cooked meals while you can…because after a month at Eyeconics, I'm going to have enough money – first and last - to finally move into my own place."

"I'm planning to enjoy a lot more than the meals."

 


 

Brian lounged on his couch, enjoying the silence that filled the loft. It had been a while. Justin, while not noisy per se, was also not silent. He was also not invisible, which meant that there was little space in the loft to 'be alone'.

Now that Justin had moved into his own place, Brian was back to being the king of his domain. Brian had lived on his own for way too long to, and it hadn't been quite easy sharing space with Justin. Part of the reason could simply have been that his place was not exactly spacious enough for two people, but that wasn't something Brian considered at all. What Brian knew was that he liked having his own space. He liked being able to brood in silence when he wanted to, sleep for hours without being woken up by noises in the kitchen, not have his suits crushed by too many clothes in the closet, and also not have to have his spotless living space marred by duffel bags and the like.

At the same time, and though Brian was loathe to acknowledge it, he kind of missed Justin. It was disgustingly lesbionic to admit this, but it was nice waking up next to someone else, especially when that someone else was cheerful, undemanding and full of warmth. Now, he rolled over in the morning, and the whole damn bed was empty. And as much as Brian loved being alone, he also missed the companionship that Justin had brought. The blonde had known how to be there, without getting in the way.

Justin had also brought with him a rare sense of home that Brian had never known, except when he was at Debbie's. Warm light, the smell of food, laughter and affection. That was what he missed the most.

Well, he had seen Justin's new place – in fact, he had insisted on it. It was decent, but wasn't a patch on the loft. It shouldn't be too hard to make Justin spend a night or two here, Brian thought.

Change was coming. Change was already here. Brian could sense it. Lindsay was pregant. Justin had got himself a job and an apartment. Everyone was moving forward with their lives.

Brian reached for his cigarettes, and then remembered that they were on his bedside table. He decided to forego smoking in favour of staying still, watching the streetlights reflect off the balcony window and ceiling.

Tomorrow would be another frustrating day at work. Ever since Justin had been fired, Brian was struggling. That incident had brought to fore all his issues with Vance, and it was impossible to ignore them any further. He hated Vance, was loathe to work for a man who had not one quality that Brian could respect and it was absurd that he was making money for Vance hand over fist. It was worse now, because Vance had a bruised ego to deal with; with Justin and Betsy joining forces, Vance had been banished from all things Eyeconics. Vanguard wouldn't last twelve months without Brian, and yet, Vance was happily riding roughshod over him.

Brian stared at the shadows. He didn't need Vance. He didn't need Vanguard. There was no way in this - or any parallel universe - that Eyeconics would stay at Vanguard if there was no Brian. Callisto furniture wouldn't either. He could let them experiment with Amanda and Harvey, but that would be an experiment doomed to fail. Brian was quite certain that Brown Athletics would follow him as well. Did he really need to stick around at Vanguard, taking this shit from Vance?

He could be ready in four months or so to move out of Vanguard. Three clients would more than tide him over initially; he wouldn't need a huge set-up to service them. And once they brought in the money…

Brian swung his legs off the couch. It was time to switch on the lights and get his laptop. He had a business plan to start working on.

 


 

"Mr. Kinney, my boss is very specific about my work, our brand and the people we choose to collaborate with."

"Is she now?" Brian was drawing the syllables out, voice low, and it was doing things to Justin that no eyewear presentation should ever, ever do.

"Yes. She demands only the best." They had been going at it like this for a while; the opportunity to one-up Brian on his home turf, now that Justin had some modicum of power over the man being too tempting to resist. He could feel some nervousness emanating from the other people in the room, like they were ready to break up a fight at any moment, and Justin had to suppress a laugh at the thought.

"I'm sure you provide her with that."

"I absolutely do, but this isn't about what I provide, it's about what you do."

Brian's eyebrows rose challengingly. "Have I proven myself lacking in your eyes?"

"Well, the presentation isn't over yet." Justin smiled.

The intern from the new arts department dropped a board, loudly, and rushed to put it back into place, his cheeks turning pink. Justin winced with sympathy for the poor kid.

The presentation continued, and though he teased Brian, he also kept it professional. He was not planning on disappointing Betsy in the least. As always, Brian's work was stellar, but Justin knew what Betsy would be happy with, and he insisted on a few changes to the visuals. Work was work, and Justin was a very busy man indeed.

"Wow, you really hate that guy Kinney, huh?" Justin's new colleague, a short redhead and probably his favourite person at Eyeconics, whispered to him as they were making their way towards the elevators.

Justin made a vague sound, in acknowledgement of the remark. His mind was back in the conference room, and who he knew was waiting for him there. "I think I forgot something."

"Oh, we can…"

"It's fine, you go ahead. Tell Betsy everything went fine. Never mind, I'll tell her myself," Justin added, when she looked at him appalled at the prospect. "When I get back. Just go ahead without me. I'm getting lunch next, anyway."

He rushed her out into the hallway, and didn't step back into the conference room until she had turned the corner. Justin closed the door behind him, finding no key, but feeling like time was too much of the essence at the moment to worry too much about it. Brian had already sent everyone away. Smart man.

He had barely taken a breath before he was in Brian's arms, mouth hot on his, Brian's clever fingers working blindly at the buttons of Justin's shirt and quickly ridding him of it.

"You really know how to drive a hard bargain." Brian was whispering in his ear, and there was that fake professionalism all over again. Justin wanted to devour him.

"You've seen nothing yet." His hands in turn found Brian's belt buckle.

"Is that really the intern Steve got to replace me?" Justin managed to get out, in between harsh, urgent kisses. "Looks like a scared little lamb." It was hard to make coherent sentences when Brian did that damned thing with his teeth that managed to drive Justin insane every time.

"Mmmmm…he's trying. It's not working out very well. His predecessor had a couple of good things going for him.

"Just a couple?"

"Are you jealous?"

"No." There was, in fact, a pang of it; not being the one to see Brian every day at work, to be able to work with him, be around him in this context. He'd even missed seeing Brian yell at someone on the phone. Still, he wouldn't trade the things he could have with Brian now. "Honestly, I probably feel sorry for the kid. Knowing the shit he'll have to go through with his boss."

"Hey. I think I was quite easy on you, I barely even hazed you."

Justin pushed Brian forcefully against the wall at that, with his palm flat on Brian's chest, and enjoyed the astonished look on Brian's face when he got the wind knocked out of him. He had pushed Brian harder than he probably should have, especially considering the shove sent a framed picture cluttering down.

"Oops," Justin said with no real conviction.

"Not afraid someone will hear?"

"Let them. I don't even work here anymore."

"Taylor."

Oh, and Brian's shirt was coming off now. Justin took a second to marvel at the fact that he could look so openly now, that this was allowed and something he could have.

"I think you might be getting a kick out of this," Brian said, feigning shock at Justin's assumed moral indiscretion. "Getting caught." Brian's hand was making its way south, leaving a hot trail behind in its wake. "To think, anyone could walk in at any moment and see us like this…"

Justin swallowed hard. "Maybe I just get off on antagonizing you."

"That sounds more like a statement of fact than a theory."

Brian, with his hands around the now-exposed skin of Justin's waist, was guiding him backwards. Justin, unable to see where they were going, was trusting that Brian wouldn't let him fall or miss his step. And that was its own kind of little thrill, catalogued in an ever growing list of little thrills. Justin only stopped when the back of his knees found the side of the table.

"Or maybe I just like getting you in trouble," Justin countered.

"I'd get into trouble for you. Gladly. All I can think of right now is how I need to have you on this table. I thought about it, back when you worked here. Constantly. That we could fuck in my office. Vance's even. The fucking cafeteria."

"So, what's stopping you?"

Brian groaned into his neck, sending shivers down Justin's spine. As he sat on top of the desk, Brian making his way down his body, Justin managed to sober up enough to make something clear. "No but really, I'm going to need those revisions by Monday."

"You're serious." Brian, hair sticking out in all different directions due to Justin's wandering fingers, and in the process of getting the pants past Justin's ankles, looked at him with such a dismay that Justin had to let out a loud laugh.

"Of course"

"Can't believe I'm into you. Annoying little shit."

"Brian…"

"Yes?"

"Just shut up and kiss me."

 


 

A/N: Merry Christmas to all our wonderful readers! Hope you all had a great holiday, and thanks so much for reading and reviewing this story.

Just the epilogue left, which you'll have by New Year's Eve  :)

Chapter 15 - Epilogue by Lupin111
Author's Notes:

By Xrifree & Lupin111

After almost two hours of a water cooler with no water, someone had finally replaced the empty bottle. Some people were filling up their water bottles. Others were milling around, just because it gave them an excuse to not do anything.

Kathy wandered up to the water cooler, empty bottle in hand.

"Hey Kathy. Is the copy for Chopin's ready?" Matt asked her.

Kathy shrugged. "Almost. It's such a shit campaign, pardon my French."

"We're going to lose that account soon, if we aren't careful," Matt said, implicitly agreeing with her.

"That's all we need." Rob, who had been munching on a power bar, butted into the conversation. "Do you think Kinney is going to take Chopin's as well?"

Everyone frowned. Rob had a habit of talking with his mouth full, and the result was disgusting.

"He's already got some of our best accounts – it wouldn't surprise me." Kathy said finally. She tried to fill her water bottle, but the crowd right in front of the water cooler wouldn't budge.

"Kinnetic, right? That's what his agency is called? I can't believe Brian Kinney started his own agency. I always thought he'd just takeover Vanguard. And I can't believe that he stole Brown Athletics, either. The nerve of the guy." Matt handed his notebook to Kathy, as he bent down to tie his shoelace.

"You talking about Brian? I saw him the day before," Julia said. She was one of those people who were milling about the water cooler, doing nothing.

"Really? Is he trying to poach you? Did you interview for him?" Matt asked, looking up in shock and excitement.

"Pffft. I wish. My sister-in-law had her baby over the weekend, so I was visiting her. And he was in the maternity ward…with Justin!"

"What? No way! Did you speak to them?" Rob spluttered. Most of the crowd were talking at the same time, not giving Julia a chance to respond.

"They're still together?"

"They had a baby? How?"

"Justin Taylor? The one who went to Eyeconics from here? He had a baby with Brian?"

"Guys! I don't know. I didn't speak to either of them. But Brian was carrying this baby – and Justin was there too, fussing, and someone was taking pictures of them, or the baby, or who knows. And people were congratulating Brian, so…I'm pretty sure it's his kid."

"Cynthia. She was probably the surrogate. I mean, she did follow Brian out of here. I think she always had a thing for him," Matt stated.

"Don't let Vance hear you say that," Kathy suggested.

"Vance had a thing for Brian? Is that why he fired Justin? Why'd he ever let Brian leave?"

Kathy rolled her eyes. "Oh for fuck's sake. Vance had a thing for Cynthia. Everyone knew that."

Rob stage whispered, "I hear he has a thing for Patty now."

"Well, it's Vance. I don't think a pregnant Cynthia would have done it for him."

"Matt, it's not Cynthia." Amanda, who no one had noticed, joined the gossip session. "I saw her last month; she was getting her car serviced. Believe me, the woman was not pregnant."

"He probably paid for a surrogate," Kathy said. "I hear Kinnetic is doing really well…and he minted money when he was here. I mean, he drove a fucking vintage corvette. Those things don't come cheap."

"Another reason Justin was hooking up with him from the get go. Money, power…he sure had his eye on the ball." Amanda griped.

Matt laughed. "You're still pissed about the Callisto fiasco, aren't you?"

"We did perfectly fine work on it; less than two weeks here, Justin redoes the whole thing and steals the account from us. And now it's at fucking Kinnetic. Goddamn right I'm still pissed."

"Didn't you help him on that, Kathy?"

Kathy shrugged, clearly unwilling to make enemies of her present colleagues. "I just had to give a few lines, that's all. Anyway, I don't think Justin was sleeping with Brian when he was here – I asked him then, and he said no."

"Oh please," Rob said, his mouth still full of food. "I'm sure he was lying. I'm pretty sure the two of them hooked up after one of those Eyeconic presentations. They were locked in together long enough, that's for sure."

"Yeah, but Justin was with Eyeconics then."

"What I want know is, is Justin still at Eyeconics, or has he moved to Kinnetic?"Julia wondered.

"I think he's still at Eyeconics. Patty told me that Vance tried to arrange a meeting with Eyeconics a few weeks ago to get the account back, and he was offered a meeting with Justin. He is evil. I never trusted him," Amanda said.

"Yes, we know," Matt said, glaring at her. "That's why you got him fired, and we ended up losing three of our biggest accounts because of that. Thanks a bunch, Amanda."

"Hey! It wasn't just me, ok? Don't blame me for all of this. Not like any of you were ok with the two of them sleeping together when Justin was here either."

"Except, like I said, they weren't sleeping together," Kathy said, finally filling her bottle and making a move to leave the conversation and get back to work. She paused briefly. "Next time, you should pay more attention to what they won't tell you at the water cooler."

 

 

THE END

 


 

A/N: We both  would like to once again apologise to all the readers that we kept waiting for years and years. Finally, this story is finished :)

Thank you all for reading, reviewing and following this story. Hope everyone will have an amazing 2016!

This story archived at https://midnightwhispers.net/viewstory.php?sid=3434