Loft - Early Morning – Next Day (Saturday)

"Huh?" Brian mumbled, half-awake, as he thought he heard someone speaking; as he became more alert, he realized it was Justin talking in his sleep. His partner's mumbling, as well as his thrashing to and fro on the bed, must have been what had awakened him. He reached over gently to nudge the blond's shoulder. "Justin?" he whispered to his partner urgently. "Wake up, Sunshine," he pressed him.

"I can't….I can't do it!" Justin cried in his sleep as his body shook almost violently. He made a motion with his hands as if he was firmly holding onto something and pointing it downward. "No!" he practically shouted. His body was coated with a light sheen of sweat as he continued to struggle with some unseen, dark vision.

Brian stared at him, concerned. Whatever his partner was dreaming of was definitely unpleasant. Was he actually remembering something again or was it some type of imaginary, horrible nightmare? "Justin!" he repeated more loudly this time. He sat up so he could capture his partner's slickened body in both his hands to still his thrashing. "Come on, wake up!" he almost shouted now. "Come, on, Justin!" he growled commandingly.

Justin suddenly bolted upright, startled out of his deep sleep. "What?" He muttered, his breath coming out in great, rapid heaves. "Leave me alone!" he shouted as he struggled to break free from Brian's strong grasp. "I don't want to!" he cried, twisting violently at his captivity. "No!"

"Justin! Listen to me! It's Brian….calm down and take some deep breaths! Come on, Sunshine – look at me!" With relief, he finally noticed the blond's eyes focusing on his own worried hazel ones as the body eventually stilled in recognition. "Brian?" he huffed out breathlessly, looking around their surroundings dazedly. "What happened?" he asked, his eyes taking on more of an alert look now.

Brian breathed out a sigh of relief. "You were having a bad dream or something," his partner told him. He was anxious to hear just what had gotten Justin so upset; the blue eyes were literally glistening with unshed tears because of the subject matter of his dream. "Do you remember anything?" he prodded him gently.

Justin looked out into space, trying to recall what he had been dreaming about. None of it really made any sense to him – the whole thing seemed so outrageous; was his dream based on something real that had actually happened to him? He squeezed his eyes shut, preferring not to capture the horrific images in his mind; but it was no use – the violent pictures were still vividly ingrained there. His eyes fluttered open as he felt two strong, warm hands turn his body and wrap themselves around his shoulders.

"What is it?" Brian asked him curiously. "What do you remember?" He fervently hoped it wasn't something that he had done in the past to upset his partner; they had long since moved on from previous episodes of Brian pushing Justin away while he wore his cavalier, non-caring façade in an unsuccessful ruse to show everyone the only thing he was ever concerned about was where his next good fuck was coming from; they had long ago moved beyond that. Hadn't they? He certainly hoped so.

Justin breathed out a couple of calming breaths before he focused his attention back on his partner, who lowered his hands to grasp the slender ones into his lap. "Tell me," he urged the blond, his eyes staring into the face he had long ago memorized – every line and every perfect feature. He could have recognized Justin in pitch darkness as long as he could still feel his beautiful face there.

The face he loved so much was now twisted in hurt and pain as he finally replied, "I…..I was with someone on a street somewhere. I didn't recognize the street or even who I was with. But I was wearing some god-awful pink tee shirt and so was he. Was that real?" he asked Brian, whose face clearly showed that it WAS.

Brian closed his eyes briefly in dread; Justin was apparently reliving one of the most trying episodes in their relationship – his damn involvement with that fucker Cody, who thought violence was the only way to get their point across. He had tried hard to keep his mouth shut while Justin was out "saving the world" and making it safe for all queers everywhere; what he had never told his partner, though, was how it had scared the hell out of him while he was involved with the Pink Posse; how terrified he was, especially after he caught Justin with that fucking gun. How he half expected to come home one day to the loft to find a policeman there, telling him that his partner had been shot and kill during some altercation with a straight guy who took offense to their campaign and decided to take care of his problem. Now it appeared that Justin was somehow reliving one of his adventures with the gay avenger, Cody. "Yeah, Sunshine, it was real," he reluctantly told him, as Justin frowned; he couldn't understand what his dream was telling him at all. "For a while, you were part of a group that tried to protest against straight people that didn't like fags being openly demonstrative in front of them. You and this Cody," Brian couldn't prevent the disdain that dripped from his voice at the sound of that man's name, "would go out on patrol at night, and sometimes I got the impression you actually stirred things up and incited the straight crowd to lash back at you. You came home several times with bruises as your badge of honor," he sarcastically told his partner softly, his voice filled with emotion as he recalled how many times his breath had been taken away by seeing the injuries on his lover's body; deep, red rivers of bruises, so contrasting against his partner's pale skin. "It scared the hell out of me, Justin," Brian confessed, surprising even himself at his candor; he had never actually told Justin that previously – even before he lost his memory. Somehow the fact that Justin didn't remember too much of that time in his life made it easier to admit his feelings to him now.

Justin's face was full of concern at his partner's admission; had he been so callous about his feelings that he had continued to participate in this activity despite knowing how his partner had felt about it? What kind of partnership was that? "I kept doing it, even though you didn't approve?" he asked the brunet, who seemed uncomfortable all of a sudden at his line of questioning.

"It wasn't that exactly," Brian clarified. "You really didn't know just how much it affected me. I found a gun you had one night – I found out later it wasn't loaded. But it scared the shit out of me – the thought that you were carrying around a fucking gun, Justin! And I told you that you were liable to get hurt as a result, but you were so full of anger back then – someone we knew had just been assaulted simply because he liked to dress up in drag and perform songs, for fuck's sake – you were so upset by it that you wouldn't listen to me. You felt like you were invulnerable somehow. But shortly after that you dropped out of the posse – you never really told me why, though," he told his partner softly, probingly. "What about your dream? It obviously had something to do with the posse – at least I never knew you to wear pink before or after that," he told his partner with a slight smile. "Pink was never really your most flattering color, anyway." He tried to say that with a teasing tone, but it did not produce the intended reaction from his partner; Justin, instead, became more sober as he apparently continued to contemplate just what he had dreamed about. "What did you see, Justin?" Brian probed. "Something bad?" he whispered, as his thumbs began to rub tenderly across the blond's knuckles reassuringly.

Justin took a deep breath and nodded. "We…..were together on some street. But we weren't alone. There was another man." He closed his eyes as the memory washed over him; his mind not quite believing the vision he had recalled. "He…he was kneeling on the sidewalk. Brian…" He felt the other man's hands grasp his firmly in comfort, silently urging him to continue. "God, Brian, I had the gun! I don't know if it was the same one or not, but…oh, My God! I was holding it in…..in my hands and I was pointing it at him! And….," Justin bowed his head apparently in shame, unable to meet Brian's gaze. "I told the man to suck on the end of the gun and I had it in his mouth like I was going to shoot him!" He wrenched his hands away from Brian's to place them over his face in shame. "I could hear him…..Cody…..telling me to shoot him! Oh, My God! Brian, did I DO that? Did I shoot someone?" He quickly uncovered his tear-filled eyes to look over desperately at his partner, whose own eyes were quickly filling with unshed tears of horror and sympathy.

As Justin's hands reached out for support, Brian immediately rushed to grasp them firmly; he brought both of them up to his lips to give them both a kiss of reassurance. "No, Justin – God, no!" He hastened to verify. "You did NOT shoot anyone! You would never do that, do you hear me?" he fiercely told him, his eyes flashing with just the thought that this passionate but gentle soul would EVER do anything remotely like that, no matter how much talk of bravado he may have engaged in. "You could NEVER do anything like that, do you understand?" He reached over to place both of his hands on either side of the ashen face to turn his head to meet his gaze. "I said – do you understand me? I don't know what you saw – it really may have happened – but you never HURT anyone." Not physically, he couldn't help thinking. If you only knew how much my heart broke almost two weeks ago, you would definitely know how much hurt you were capable of producing to me unintentionally. He quickly placed that thought in the back of his mind, however; there were more important issues to cover at the moment. "Justin…..do you understand me?" he repeated firmly, until he at last saw his partner nod in awareness.

Brian relaxed his hold on Justin slightly, but still kept his hands on either side of his lover's beautiful face. Slowly, he began to lean over like a moth attracted to a flame; it had been so long…so fucking long. So long since he had felt those lips he knew so well on his own, had tasted the sweet, soft taste of the man he cherished and craved like no other. Locking onto his partner's eyes for any sign of resistance, he was heartened to see none and made the rash, bold decision to take a brief taste of heaven.

Justin's breath hitched slightly as he realized what Brian was silently asking of him; perhaps physically reacquainting himself with Brian's kiss would be healing; at the very least, it would definitely be a new, pleasurable memory to hopefully replace the horrible one he had just recalled in his nightmare. He leaned toward the other man in a subtle invitation to continue, as he noticed his partner's hazel eyes quickly darkening into a sensual, black-tinged hue of desire.

"Justin," Brian almost reverently whispered his name, as his hands began to gently rub across the pale, soft cheeks he was so familiar with. Justin's breath caught in his throat at the much anticipated, tentative tendril of contact – soft but firm lips almost shyly, gently teasing his own, a wet, warm tongue gingerly licking across his own mouth, almost politely asking for deeper entrance. The touch was not wholly familiar, but it was certainly not unpleasant, either. He heard a quiet moan now from Brian as he finally opened his lips in a somewhat hesitant, but distinct invitation to deepen their kiss.

Oh, God. Just the touch of his lips on his partner's was enough to send Brian's body into sensual, thrilling overdrive. Who would have ever thought just this simple act alone would feel like heaven on earth? As they continued to kiss, he couldn't help his hands from traveling almost of their accord down the pale, well-memorized face to his partner's shoulders, then ever-so-slowly down his slender chest as he began to almost subconsciously rub circles over the small, taut nipples until they stood up like hard pebbles in his well-practiced hands. His heart began to pound furiously as he heard Justin's echoing moan in his ears as they continued to kiss passionately. Brian turned his head to adjust the angle deeper, both mouths so tightly suctioned against each other it was almost as if they were molded together permanently. Brian quickly reached up to grab the back of Justin's neck to push his lips even more firmly against his own as he continued to attack the now-swollen mouth; his other hand possessively snaked around the slim waist to pull his lover's body closer to his; Justin was now almost sitting in his lap, his own hands wrapping themselves around his partner's back as they continued to engage in a dance that Justin did not recall intellectually but both of their bodies knew so very well.

Justin's senses were reeling with sensory overload. The feeling of the warm, roaming, long-tapered hands, the soft but generous lips that were ravaging his own, and the expert tongue laving the inside of his mouth was quickly accelerating his feelings of arousal past the point of no return; if they didn't stop soon, it was going to be too late. He quickly analyzed their situation – would it be so wrong if they simply obeyed what their bodies so desperately wanted and just fucked each other senseless? They were both adults – they were partners, for God's sake! This was obviously what both of them wanted, so why was he even hesitating?

But the words Brian had said to him last night echoed in his mind…..

When we make love again, I want to see that look in your eyes that you always get when we're together. That looks that tells me that you love me, that I'm the only man in your life, and will always be the only man in your life; that I'm your partner in every sense of the word. And as much as it pains me to say it, right now it isn't there.

Brian felt the small, perceptible change in his partner slowly at first; a slight pulling back from their passionate duel. He tried to continue kissing Justin in hopes it was simply a brief respite from their passionate embrace, but after he felt the blond pulling away a little more, he realized he hadn't imagined it. Huge shards of disappointment floated to the surface as he broke their kiss with great reluctance; both men were breathing heavily from exertion, their lips a clear testimonial to their passion for each other. "Justin?" Brian whispered quietly, his face a clear picture of confusion as he bit back a pang of unfulfilled longing. "Did…..did I do something wrong?" He almost had to laugh at the absurdity of the question; it wouldn't have been so long ago that he wouldn't have been caught dead worrying about another man's feelings or needs. Before Justin came along, there was only one man Brian Kinney ever worried about – himself. He couldn't help marveling at the difference one petite, blond dynamo had made in his life, but he didn't regret it for one second – the benefits he had received had far outweighed what he thought he had given up. In truth, what he had given up hadn't been worth the effort to keep in the first place.

Justin took a few seconds to regain a more normal breathing pattern; this man had made him so fucking aroused with just a few minutes of kissing and caressing; his body definitely knew this man extremely well, and by the mind blowing speed in which the man had made him hard, he knew just what and where to touch him to make him horny as hell. From the looks he was being given at the moment, it appeared HE knew just where to touch this other man, too. Their faces were mirrors of each other's extreme frustration and pent-up yearning for the ultimate coupling.

Justin shook his head as if he couldn't believe what he was doing; but Brian's words last night wouldn't go away. He owed it to him to be honest with the man. "No, Brian," he assured him softly, his breath still coming out in soft pants from their exertion. "You haven't done anything wrong. You've been nothing but patient, loving and honest with me. Believe me," he added, "I realize how hard this has been for you, and how much you've endured the past couple of weeks. I may never be able to truly pay you back." He placed a couple of long fingers gently over the brunet's mouth before his partner had a chance to protest as he continued to explain, "I just can't do this right now," he said regretfully. "I agree with you. When we…..make love, that's what I want it to be – LOVE. You deserve better than just a horny encounter – although I suspect it would be one hell of an encounter," he added ruefully. He twisted his mouth in a plea for patience at the enormous request he was making – for both of them. "Can….you understand what I'm saying?" He covered his face with his hands. "Or am I fucking insane now as well as clueless?"

Brian grimaced to himself; he and his damn, almost noble notions of gallantry. Only for this man sitting in front of him would he even suggest some an incomprehensible idea. How pitiful had he become? So concerned over re-consummating their relationship for the right reasons that he would forsake an opportunity to fuck? He shook his head in disbelief, but he knew the truth – they both knew the truth. This wasn't just another fuck – this was Justin. Not completely whole, but still the man he loved so deeply he was willing to wait until the time was right for both of them. As painful as it was to consider, he didn't want to engage in a mindless fuck with him, either – he wanted that look of adoration and playful joy in his lover's face when they made love again. If he had to wait a little longer – maybe even a lot longer – then he would fucking just have to wait.

Brian sighed in frustration but also resignation and acceptance. "Yes," he whispered softly, nodding his head. "I understand, Sunshine. Only too well." He took a deep breath and let it out as he added, "And I agree with you. At least my head agrees." He looked down at the painful hard-on still bulging beneath his briefs. "Even if my body doesn't," he growled with a smirk. He smiled a little, though, to let Justin know it was still okay. He reluctantly turned and rose from their bed before he changed his mind and pinned the lithe body to their bed to fuck him thoroughly all day long. He deliberately averted his eyes from his partner's too-tempting body and muttered, "I think I'm going to go fix us some breakfast," he hastily decided. He risked a small glance back to provide a slight smile of encouragement to the younger man, who stared back at him wistfully. "I'll be in the shower first if you need anything," Brian told him before hastily turning toward the bathroom. He briefly longed for his partner to join him like he always did before pushing that non-helpful notion firmly aside and turning the hot spray on full blast, resigned to a quick jacking off to try and relieve the intense physical desire he was still experiencing.

Justin sighed in sorrow and pent-up yearning; how did things get so fucked up? And how long could he expect someone like Brian – a man that practically oozed sex – to meekly sit around waiting for him to decide when the time was right? Actually, if he recalled correctly, he had offered his body to him last night – it was his partner who had turned him down, albeit very politely and for very noble reasons. But then why did his body feel so damned empty and unfulfilled? This gallantry and nobility were quickly wearing thin – on both of them.

As Brian came out of the shower several minutes later, he looked over at their bedroom and noticed to his relief that Justin had gotten dressed and was putting his shoes on, his back thankfully to his line of vision. He quickly wrapped one of the large, blood red Egyptian towels around his lower body and stepped into the bathroom to brush his teeth and shave. By the time he had finished, Justin had fortunately moved into the living room area, providing Brian with a quick opportunity to completely getting dressed.

He noticed the smell of bacon frying and could hear the distinctive sizzle of the meaty slices as he walked toward the kitchen, observing Justin standing over their stove. How many times had he experienced just this normal but oh-so-familiar ritual each morning when they were together? Justin enjoyed sleeping in late immensely – especially after they had fucked and made love until all hours of the night before – but he enjoyed even more the opportunity to get up before Brian to make breakfast for him. His partner would never indulge in something so laden with grease like the bacon Justin was currently frying, but he could normally persuade him to at least eat some slices of cantaloupe, a couple pieces of whole wheat bread, and an egg-white omelet with him. Watching his partner in front of the stove performing the same, loving ritual now made his heart ache slightly with nostalgic memories of past meals together – when times were so much simpler than they were right now. Stop it, Kinney, he admonished himself – at least the man's ALIVE.

He quickly pushed the morose thoughts aside and smiled at his lover as he turned to recognize his approach. "Hey," he greeted him lightly, bending down briefly to bestow a light kiss on the blond's cheek. Justin smiled at him in return. "I hope you're hungry," he told him. "I wasn't sure what you liked, so I made a little of everything I could find." He frowned in puzzlement. "Actually, I couldn't find very much – just a little frozen bacon, a couple of eggs, two or three slices of wheat bread, and an overripe cantaloupe. You do eat from time to time, don't you?" he asked in a voice lightly laced with a teasing undertone.

Brian smirked; he had just been thinking yesterday of the need to buy some more groceries. He had almost convinced himself until a few days ago that he would never set foot in this loft ever again – not without the man who was presently standing miraculously next to him. "I was going to go to the grocery today," he informed his partner, who continued to look at him just a little skeptically. "Really," he insisted. "I…..just hadn't been here in a while," he explained. "I…couldn't. Not without you," he added revealingly, almost shyly.

Justin felt his heart swell at the emotional words being spoken so truthfully and eloquently by this proud, confident, beautiful man. Again he questioned how someone like him had wound up capturing this man's heart so firmly. He sincerely hoped that one day soon he would be able to return the depth of feeling so obvious on his partner's face and in the soft, brown expressive eyes that were flecked with flashes of sparkling gold and staring back at him so intently.

His face flushed and he cleared his throat a little awkwardly under the intense scrutiny. "Well….I'll just have to go with you to the grocery to make sure you buy the right supplies," he lightly retorted, smiling just a little at the man's mock look of abhorrence. "What?" he asked him, curious as to the reaction. Did this man not eat anything? "You DO eat food, don't you?" he asked him innocently.

Brian rolled his eyes. "Of course I eat food, Sunshine," he retorted, just a little miffed. "But my definition of food is vastly different from the high-carb, sugary, fried shit you are so fond of eating." He shook his head. "Where you pack it away is beyond me. And how the fuck you stay so small is even more of a mystery." He noticed the sudden look of déjà vu again on his partner's face and stopped. "What?" he asked him as he walked over to stand closer to him at the stove, being careful not to get too close as the bacon began to send smattering pops of grease into the air. He bit down a glare of reproach at what his partner's high-temperature bacon frying was sending onto his stovetop as he waited for a response.

This smells like yak shit. Will it make me SMALL? I'm hoping it will make you very, very LARGE.

Justin frowned at the recollection; more like a very brief flash of memory. For he somehow knew without a doubt that it WAS a memory. He didn't know how – he just knew. He shook his head to return to the present as he noticed Brian continuing to stare silently at him, the question unspoken again on his lips. "I….I just remembered something," he stated, this time with more certainty than he had previously. "You were lying on your side on the floor on some type of pillow, I think, and I gave you something in a cup that you said smelled like yak shit. I can remember you asking me if it would make you small, and I told you I was hoping it would make you…."

"Very, very large!" Brian completed for him; he smiled radiantly and unexpectedly scooped his partner up by the thighs to hoist him up in the air, the startled blond still holding his spatula in his hand.

"Brian!" he laughed. "Put me down!" he demanded, none too firmly, however; his partner's joy was too contagious. Brian finally placed him back on the floor but still held him loosely in his arms as he continued to smile at him elatedly. "You remembered that, Sunshine! Do you realize you said you remembered that?" He couldn't help quickly pulling the other man to him briefly for a sound kiss on the lips before he released him. "You fucking remembered that!"

Justin couldn't help smiling back at him. "Yeah….but why was I giving you something that smelled like yak shit?" he asked. "We didn't get into a fight and I was trying to poison you, was I?" he asked facetiously.

Brian smirked. "Well, it certainly tasted like poison, but I can assure you your motives were purely altruistic," he confirmed as a sudden serious look passed over his face.

Justin stopped smiling at the abrupt change to his partner's previous look of absolute joy. "Then why WAS I giving you that, Brian? What was it for? Huh? Tell me," he pressed the other man, transmitting a look that he wanted a straight answer to his question.

Brian paused; he really had preferred not to get in the middle of the big "C" issue; he would have rather postponed that conversation for a later time; hopefully by the time it became a subject at all, Justin would have all of his memory back and it would have been unnecessary. He could tell now that his hopes were premature; they were going to have to discuss it now.

Justin switched off the burner, placed the spatula down in the pan and turned to face his partner, his hands crossed in expectation. "About two years ago, I was diagnosed with testicular cancer," Brian said simply, keeping his voice even to try and not make a big deal out of it; he knew how emotionally fragile his partner was at the moment and the last thing he wanted was to give him any more to worry about. He rushed to reassure the blond, who he could tell was gearing up for an emotional entreaty about his health. "I'm fine now – the cancer is gone, Justin – completely gone. I just have to get yearly checkups, that's all. But I feel just fine and it's a non-issue now. As for the yak shit, it was some type of horrendous herbal tea Michael snookered you into getting me to try in hopes it would rekindle my life gate." He smiled and waggled his eyebrows suggestively in hopes that Justin would understand just what the hell that meant.

"Rekindle your life gate?" he repeated, grinning. "Did you get that line from some foreign soap opera or something?" he retorted. "Maybe an old episode of Kung Fu? I heard David Carradine was into some pretty kinky shit, you know."

Brian smiled at the quip. "No….you got that from some Chinese shyster down in Chinatown," he informed him, laughing to himself at the unintentional alliteration. "Who knows how much money he swindled out of you for that one? With your sex appetite, it was probably a fucking mint."

Justin glared at him in mock resentment. Somehow he had the feeling if the roles had been reversed, Brian would have done the same thing and paid any amount if he could have gotten their sex life back on track. His show of false annoyance gave way to concern, however, as he pressed the brunet, "Are you sure about your condition, Brian? You're not just telling me that so I won't worry?" He put both of his hands on the other man's biceps to get his attention. "Huh?"

"I'm not going to lie to you, Justin," he assured the other man, looking him directly in the eyes to verify his statement. "I've never lied to you before, and I won't lie to you now," he vowed clearly.

Justin nodded in relief; this man was becoming more and more important to him. The facets to partner's life were multi-layered and so complex, so fascinating; he couldn't wait to find out as much about him as he possibly could.

He realized his carefully-constructed breakfast was quickly becoming cold. "Your breakfast's getting cold," he told his partner, quickly looking around for plates. "Where are your plates, Brian?"

Brian smirked. "You mean paper plates, Mr. Taylor? That's your normal manner of elegant dining around here – less dishes to wash, you see." He motioned above Justin's head as the blond opened the cabinet to discover a stash of several hundred, thick white paper plates. Brian smirked knowingly as Justin pulled a few down from the bottom shelf of the cabinet and placed the oil-drenched bacon onto some paper towels to soak up the grease. Brian shook his head in disgust at the scene as he turned, instead, to grab a slice of some mushy cantaloupe which was still thankfully edible, at least more edible than the strip of bacon Justin quickly stuck in his mouth with a resounding crunch.

"Bacon?" Justin asked him, holding out the greasy plate to him in compromise. Brian snorted. "Not in this lifetime, Sunshine," he quipped, reaching instead for a piece of dry wheat toast.

"Ew," Justin muttered. "You're eating that bread dry?" he asked incredulously. "How can you EAT it that way?" he wondered, shaking his head in repugnance.

"One man's piece of shit is another man's sustenance, Sunshine," he replied smartly. "Too much pork will put too much pork somewhere else," he philosophized, reaching out to pat the still-trim belly of his partner, who promptly smacked him on the hand for his impertinence. That simply prompted Brian, however, to laugh at his partner's adorable look of resentment. God, it felt so fucking good to LAUGH for a change, he couldn't help thinking.

Rubbing his hands rapidly to divest them of any remaining crumbs of toast, he announced to his partner, who was quickly inhaling his own breakfast, "Time for another trip down memory lane, Sunshine."

Justin looked at him with great interest. "Where to?" he asked him curiously.

Brian knew there were a few more people to reintroduce his lover to; one in particular he wasn't necessarily looking forward to seeing again – Blake, Teddy's latest and greatest love. Despite his not-so-great impression of the man, he still owed him an apology; he was going to have to tuck his fucking tail behind his legs and tell him he was right – he had seen Justin that day at Babylon. "I'm going to make a couple of calls and ask some of your friends you haven't seen yet to meet us at Babylon – or Pulse, whatever you prefer to call it. This time I'm taking you inside in hopes you'll recognize part of the old club somewhere in all that remodeling." He twisted his mouth a little in regret. "Sometimes I wish I hadn't decided to change everything so drastically there," he admitted to his partner. "If I hadn't, maybe you would have recognized some of it that day and we wouldn't have had to be apart for so long." He didn't tell Justin that every day – every additional second, even – was sheer torture until he had been reunited with him again. He wasn't going to make that mistake ever again.

Justin reached up to place a warm, soft hand tenderly on the side of Brian's face. "You had no way of knowing," he whispered tenderly. "We're here now – that's all that matters anymore." He stroked the brunet's cheek a few times before removing his hand, but Brian still felt the warmth lingering on his face there anyway. "Why don't I clean the dishes while you make those calls?" he suggested, smiling as he began to scoop up the paper plates and what little silverware he needed to clean.

Brian nodded but stood standing there for a few seconds, watching his partner puttering around their kitchen as if he had never left. He knew there were still a lot of holes in returning their relationship to the way it was, but maybe for the first time since his partner's miraculous return, he felt a true sense of hopefulness washing over him. He gave Justin a brief smile and nod of agreement as he turned to the living room to retrieve his cell phone for their trip to put in place his partner's next stop on Memory Lane. The place where it all began - Babylon.