As they began their ascending journey towards Justin's dorm, Brian tensed. Every muscle and nerve ending he possessed was on high alert. Being enclosed in close proximity with this blond, away from the rest of the world was almost more than he could handle.

They'd only been in this tiny space for a solitary moment and already he'd pictured fucking the other man against the door. On the floor. Against this railing. His eyes followed the movement of the lights with each passing floor.

Light beads of perspiration joined the raindrops stowed away on his hairline as he wondered why it was that time exceeded all possible space when one was losing patience. 'Seriously, the twelfth floor could just as well have been on the fucking moon.'

Though of course he was only in a hurry to get off of the elevator to resist the tempting pull this blond had on him. He hadn't understood the intensity of the attraction, and he never much cared for anything that made him feel less than genius.

Right now the little blond 'unwelcome thought provoker' was unknowingly trying his best to get taken hard and fast right the fuck now. He was humming 'All I ask of you', though Brian had barely made out the tune as he was far too busy imagining that same humming around his rapidly rising erection.

The elevator stopped. Relief fleeting as he noted it was only floor seven and two giggling girls stepped on. Justin apparently knew them as they were practically throwing themselves at his feet. Brian chuckled to himself,'Mr Popular'.

Quickly he caught those blue eyes and offered him and the girls a small nod, then shivered. He made a show of rubbing his hands together as if the cool autumn rain was seeping in. In reality the shiver had had nothing to do with the weather. It had been those goddamn eyes.

Though Brian had wanted to shamelessly stare at the artistry of the man beside him, he nervously avoided anymore eye contact. He slowed his racing thoughts to a steady walk. He focused on the task at hand. 'Get in. Get the book. Say goodnight. Leave.' Yes, he could do this.

Taylor was his student, he couldn't risk his roommates drawing their own conclusions. He stopped himself before he let himself further imagine what delicious conclusions they may have been. He tried once again to focus on his quick escape plan.

Justin wasn't helping with his ridiculously 'dare he call it cute' laugh as he happily chatted with the two naively flirtatious women, that were a penis short of being the blond's type. He however was very much the blond's type and was very much experiencing some extreme straining discomfort in his prized possession.

The elevator came once again to a halt, this time delivering the ballerinas, he'd learned, to the eleventh floor. Then it was just the two of them again. Brian's pulsating cock screamed for attention. 'OK. The three of them.'

"This is our stop." Justin's delicate voice announced. Brian, however was already pressed against the door as if he could open it sooner by the power of will. The chime of freedom sounded and the brunet spilled into the hallway. Thus bringing an end to the Longest. Ride. In. History.

Approaching his door, Justin was reveling in the erotic thumping of his Professor's heart. 'Yes. Lust most definitely sounded good on him.' Too fast to control himself, his mouth imagined how delicious said sound would taste. He gulped, pushing the burning need down his now equally burning throat.

"My humble abode." the blond gestured with a grand sweep of his arm as they entered the large common room of his triple dormitory. The unit was equipped to house eight students, though for now it held only Daphne, Ethan, the new shy kid whose name he'd hadn't managed to get, and himself.

Tossing his keys and bag onto the kitchen's counter, he turned to observe the taller's man awestricken face.

"Christ. This place is nicer than my apartment." he shot a grin to Justin then continued his walk through. The place was incredibly spacious, aptly decorated and much cleaner than Brian had envisioned a home of several college students. "Maybe I should've been a student." he attempted to joke, but let his humor fall away as he remembered exactly why that had never been. Phantom tremors found the broken dream at the end of his wrist. "So about that book." he said in effort to change the subject.

"Oh right." Justin fumbled having clear forgotten the purpose of this man being in his home. "It's in my room." he motioned for the teacher to follow him.

He had been listening with intent interest at the man's rapidly changing chords. He had never before heard a more complex human. He had started lustful, slowly merging into nervous, humorous but then something had shifted. Brian had become saddened again, which had in turn saddened the vampire himself. He wished he had had the ability to hear the puzzling man's thoughts.

Now, as they entered his exceedingly large room (originally meant for three students) the brunet's song had found yet another tune. This one pleasant, sweet and damn near crippling in intensity.

Brian let out an audible gasp at the sight of the beauty before him. It was exquisite. He stepped forward and carefully let his fingers trail along it's smooth top. "This is incredible." he whispered as much to himself as to Justin.

With it's grandeur demanding his attention, the Bosendorfer 290 Imperial grand piano sat center stage of the room. If he'd believed in it, Brian Kinney could have found himself falling in love. It was gorgeous, and costing the better half of his salary, he briefly wondered how a college student could afford it. More so though, his fingers itched to play it. Of course that was out of the question. His hands hadn't touched ivory in eleven years.

Using every ounce of his heightened senses, Justin stood desperately trying to take in as much of the brunet as he could. His mind fervently memorizing his every flawless feature. Trying to catalogue every note he'd ever played. Trying to hold onto the scent of the immense awe and admiration the man was feeling now. Evidently, Brian Kinney's passion for music further increased with the piano.

Against his own intentions, he thought about the ease with which he could compel the brunet right now. Taste him. Indulge. How effortlessly he could take what he wanted and make him forget. 'No.' he lectured the monster within. 'He was never going to play with this man.'

Though he was unsure as to why, if he'd never known anything else, the blond knew this... He was never going to drink from Brian Kinney. He was never going to manipulate the golden man's reactions. Perhaps it was because he'd found the Professor so uniquely intriguing. Perhaps because he'd been completely enthralled with the labyrinth of emotions constantly churning inside him. Perhaps because he was enjoying his own maelstrom of contradictory emotions the brunet was bringing out in him.

He approached the piano, placed the book onto it's surface, then danced his hands lightly across it's keys. "Do you play?" he inquired.

"Huh?' Brian's head snapped up, drawing his focus from the beautiful instrument, to the beautiful boy. 'What had he asked? Oh play?' "No." he said quickly, then added "Not anymore. I did once, a lifetime ago." his latter words escaping in a hushed trail. He let his eyelids fall, and embraced the portrait of Mikey he'd found there.

'There it was again. The sadness. The regret.' Justin tilted his head slightly as he observed the taller man who was lost somewhere in his yesterday. Eyes closed, he looked softer, younger, and the new addition of this youth like vulnerability had the blond wanting to pull Brian close. He didn't.

He took a step back from himself and observed this reaction. 'What did it mean?' It had been too damn long since Justin had felt the desire to appease anyone's pain. To comfort. To care. Tolove? ' No. Love was bullshit.'

Though even as he reiterated this knowledge to his heart, it chose to ignore him. 'Was it possible that Brian Kinney was meant to become a beacon of light in his world full of darkness?'

He was retrieved from his thoughts by the brunet's words and movement. "You're composing?" Brian inquired genuinely impressed. He reached to get a better look at the prodigy's written song.

Justin's ever ready reflexes allowed him to reach the sheet music just before the Professor. Feeling somewhat foolish, he hugged the papers to his chest and grinned shyly. "Oh. It's just a sonata I've been toying with for a while now. It's not finished. Please," he said softly "No ones ever heard it." He felt ridiculous, not unlike a child afraid to have their latest finger painting critiqued; but found relief when he heard the teacher laugh lightly.

"So," the brunet drawled "Perhaps I was wrong about you Mr. Taylor. Could it be that you're not the pretentious twat I've perceived you to be? That in fact you are modest?" he said the word with mock horror.

Justin relaxed. An amused Brian was an exhilarating encounter. He had the distinct feeling that this alluring brunet's smiles were too far and few between. In truth, he himself hadn't many reasons to smile in nearly one hundred years.

The student arched an eyebrow and met Brian's eyes, "Oh no. You were correct. I am absolutely a fucking talented twat." he shot the other man a look and a smirk challenging him to dispute his statement.

Brian relaxed. He was decidedly discovering that spending time with Justin Taylor wasn't entirely dreadful. Of course that realization would pour down upon him when hadn't had an umbrella. He blinked and refocused on the task at hand. 'Get in. Get the book. Say goodnight. Leave.' Yes, he could do this.

Justin too, had apparently just recalled the reason for the Professor's visit. "So," the two men said in unison reaching for the nearly forgotten book.

Fingertips kissed. An instantaneous surge of desire began there and continued to flow through the length of their bodies. The lines of reality blurred. Both men shared the same waking dream.

Ragged pants and sensuous moans twirled within a warm beam of light. Velvet touches found flesh. The scent of rose dominated the air as whispered names softly sang.

Long beyond the point of pondering these brief but intense visions, both blond and brunet found themselves standing but a whisper's width away from what they both craved.

Soft falling rain knocked on the glass of a nearby window, it's hypnotic sound erasing the world. Leaving only it's steady tapping and Brian's beating heart to fill the room.

Brian saw nothing but blue eyes and pleading lips.

Justin listened as the teacher's song played through his veins. His insides quivered. His outside shivered.

Anticipation grew like weeds on an abandoned house.

Within a moment too perfect to measure, desperate mouths crashed together.

The iciness of the blond's lips, left Brian to worry that the rain had lowered his temperature. Roughly grabbing the back of Justin' s neck, he pressed their bodies together. Wanting nothing more in that moment than to become the trembling man's sweater. To fully wrap his body within his own and provide an euphorically scorching heat.

Searching tongues soon found a passionate rhythm. Their slow dance rapidly gained momentum as they further explored one another. Justin's delicate fingers quickly found auburn locks. Twisting and tugging with enough strength to elicit a moan from Brian. A sound that echoed in the depth of Justin's throat. 'Fuck.' The action sent his scent wafting into him. 'He needed to taste him.'

The Professor's skilled tongue protruded further still. The blond's lust and hunger rose together. The burn in his throat intensified with the burning need of his now unyielding hard on.

Against his better judgement, he tilted his head to provide a more accessible angle to the heat of Brian's mouth. The teacher welcomed the change with a deepened kiss oozing with an exciting harshness. A newfound fierceness that spawned an animalistic hiss from the very depths of Justin. Though the student knew he had to pull away, it was proving to be impossible.

As the brunet's hands trailed every inch they could reach, his tongue was doing the same. The blond's mouth was intoxicating. Providing a delectable flavor the teacher had never before tasted. Uniquely sweet and uncharacteristically cool. He couldn't get enough. From the moment he'd first laid eyes on these perfect lips, he'd known kissing them would be good. No one had warned him that it would make him fucking delirious with it's mind-blowing intensity.

As his fingers caressed the student's back, he was surprised at the firmness. For a man of small stature, Justin's muscles were deliciously toned. The texture, coolness and alabaster tint sent Brian an image of an angel chiseled from stone.

Indeed feeling as if he were floating, Brian tightened his domineering hold on the gorgeous fallen angel he'd seemingly caught in midair.

Eventually finding the blond's ass, his hands ran along every scrumptious centimeter. The curves fitting Brian's grip with effortless perfection. He couldn't help but wonder if his cock too would merge with it so seamlessly.

Still fully clothed, the teacher had known this story was just beginning. However, his throbbing cock was urging him to skip ahead to the ending.

He was about to pull away only long enough to begin 'Operation Naked', when Justin broke the kiss first. Albeit most of his parts were adamantly picketing the move, his stupid mind was thankful. Justin was still his student. 'Hell, he'd only ever addressed him as Professor for fuck's sake.' Disregarding his imagination's 'Detention' role play scenario, he sighed.

Too quickly both men unclasped their grasps. Mumbled appologies met the air.

"I'm sorry, that shouldn't have happened." Brian said.

"No," Justin assured him softly, but found it achingly necessary to turn away as his canines were hurriedly unsheathing. 'He wasn't going to hurt this man. Not tonight. Not ever.'

He hadn't wished to end the most phenomenal kiss he'd ever had among a century's worth of lips; but he hadn't had a choice.

"It was my fault," he began again only to be aptly silenced by the teacher's protest.

"We just got a little caught up." Brian reasoned sensibly, picking up the novel. "No worries. I'll see you tomorrow Justin." 'Christ, it was Mr. Taylor to him.'

Justin felt anger consume him. He had never hated this curse born upon him more than he did now. The feelings mercilessly attacking him were foreign and vicious. He'd desired the feel of the man inside of him as equally as he'd desired his blood.

The student worried that Brian now felt rejected or ashamed. But, he had called him by his first name, which caused a plethora of new tingles to spiral through him.

He listened.

Lust was still present, though it was not to be out-shined by regret. 'This had nothing to do with him.' He wanted to scream. He wanted to reassure the taller man that he was perfect. He couldn't. He wouldn't.

Under no circumstance was he going risk bringing himself too close to that entrancing neck. Those wondrous eyes. That beating heart.

He knew with unbridled certainty that one taste would never be enough. One drop would merely tease the monster, eventually he would erase the life from dazzling hazel.

With more strength than he'd had, he turned back to meet those startling eyes once again. He attempted a smile. It was weak.

"No worries." he parroted "Goodnight Brian." he giggled unexpectedly at the glorious tempo that the brunet's song played upon hearing his name.

'Christ. His name on those lips.' had Brian's already leaking cock begging for all kinds of silly things, not least of which had included fucking this blond on the fifty thousand dollar grand piano. He instead nodded lamely and waved the book in the man's direction.

Silently, they approached the door and were thankfully rescued from a second farewell as they were met by two of his entering roommates.

With a small smile that held no meaning, Brian ducked into the hallway. Anxious to get home. Have a shower, a drink, a smoke, and jerk off. Not necessarily in that order. Some things just held a higher priority.

Once Brian had exited the dorm, the blond met the questioning faces of his roommates.

Daphne was wearing a mischievous grin and knowing gaze; while Ethan was trying his 'jealous boyfriend' face on for size. It hadn't fit.

As much as he hadn't wanted his Professor to leave, Justin was elated at Ethan's timing. After such an intense yearning, he'd needed to feed as soon as possible.

"Well, I see that maybe I'm not the only one whose had an busy night." Daphne leaned in an placed a chaste kiss on Justin's cheek, "Night handsome." she added before twirling off towards her room.

The instant her lips had met his flesh, Justin was hit hard by a wave of nausea. An unexpected, unexplained bout of vertigo assaulted him crudely. His mind hazed causing him to momentarily lose his balance. 'What the fuck was that?' he wondered through a disorienting cloud of confusion.

"Goodnight." he'd manged to whisper long after the dancer had already turned to leave. He brought a hand to his temple, as he tried desperately to theorize what had caused the sudden dizziness and pounding in his head.

Determinedly convincing himself it was just further proof that he was in need of a drink, he locked eyes with Ethan.

"Do you desire me to taste you?" he spoke slowly in a barely audible tone.

Hurriedly pulling his shirt to expose his slender throat, the violinist spoke "Yes. Taste me."

As gently as his rampant hunger would allow, Justin sank his teeth into the heat of Ethan's flesh. Feeling instant gratification as scarlet life found his throat. When he was finished, he met the musician's eyes once more and compelled him to forget that he'd fed.

Emerging from his trance, Ethan smiled and pulled the blond into a kiss he hadn't wanted. Though he had returned the action to humor the kid, Justin had found the entire exchange disturbing. It felt utterly and completely wrong. Breaking away from his roommate, realization struck. From tonight forward no other would dare to compare to a Kinney kiss.

"I need to go to bed." he told the brunet.

The fiddler traced his finger lightly along Justin's cheek,"Yeah you do look exhausted. You're practically the walking dead."

Outwardly Justin smiled at the irony in the other man's statement. Inwardly he smiled in anticipation of falling into a certain Music professor dream filled slumber.

On route to his room, he caught a flicker of movement in the small hall mirror. 'Could it be?' he wondered suspiciously and slowly backed up to face the mystery. He peered into the reflective surface. No one peered back. 'Of course not.' he told himself with rolling eyes. His reflection had long ago vanished into nothingness.

Deciding that his tired eyes and still dizzy thoughts were merely playing tricks, he retired to his bedroom. 

His plans to release his sexual build up had been put on hold the second Brian entered his apartment.

A familiar voice enveloped the darkness. A voice he hadn't heard in too damn long. A voice that, somehow both warmed his heart and ripped it from his chest altogether. Deb.

Switching on the lights, and gathering his mail from the floor, he listened to her continue to talk to his answering machine.

"I know you're listening to me Kinney. You son of a bitch, (he heard her smile) Look, (her tone turned somber) you know why I'm calling. Tomorrow's always so hard on you. Vic and I just worry honey. I suppose you're not going to pick up. Well, (a pause) we miss you here, asshole. Call if you can. (a sigh) We fucking love you. (another pause) OK."

His mind swam in thought as his eyes swam in unshed tears. He intended to allow the rest of himself to swim in pool of liquor.

Promptly preparing a shot of beam (or three), he closed his eyes. The following day was the anniversary. Marking eleven years since Michael's passing. Relieving hazel of it's prison, the brunet opened his eyes. Upon doing so, his gaze found his past. It sat untouched and uncovered where it had since the day Deb had first bought it for him.

She had hoped he'd start playing again. Her hope had been vastly misplaced. Until now.

He warily approached the piano as if it were something frightening. In honesty, it fucking terrified him. He hadn't wanted to touch it, yet he couldn't bear the thought of letting it go. He'd needed it, If only to remind him that life was grossly unpredictable and one cruel motherfucker.

Unsure as to whether it was the warmth of the alcohol or the coolness of Justin's kiss,the brunet felt confident. Stronger than he had in years.

With his mind alternating thoughts between Mikey and Justin, Brian did something that surprised even him.

In one swift motion he pulled the sheet from the forgotten instrument, whilst simultaneously removing (at least one) of the covers he'd placed over his own heart.

Unveiling his past. unveiling his pain.

He took a seat on the smooth wooden bench as his fingers instinctively took their rightful places. They were home.

Bronze caressed ivory with effortless precision. Hardly noticing the tremor in his hand,the pianist from the past played in the present. Brian couldn't stop himself from envisioning Justin Taylor as his music filled the night for the first time in over a decade.

His lips tingled. The essence of tonight's kiss still lingered there. The blond's addictive taste still haunted him.

That kiss had ignited not only the passion in his loins, but the passion in his heart. Something he'd long accepted he'd never find again.

That kiss had been his muse. That kiss had been nothing at all really. That kiss had been everything.

Clearly feeling the effects of the liquor, Brian was thinking crazy. He was beginning to believe that he'd taste it always. For now and tonight, existing tomorrow and the rest of his life.