Midnight Whispers
QAF Brian and Justin Fanfiction
Author's Chapter Notes:

Justin continues to recuperate in the hospital as the two men come to an understanding. Gus looks at Tristan in a new light as the two of them discover a shocking revelation regarding Kayla. 

 

Pulling up at the curb to Kayla's house, Gus noticed a different car parked in the driveway.  It resembled Kayla and Tristan's mother's car.  Was their mother, Charlene, back home? 

 

 

Hefting his bag over his shoulder, he walked up the sidewalk to the front door.  He figured his best friend was probably going to be a little pissed at him for not answering her calls earlier, but he figured once he explained, she would understand and be more than willing to let him stay with her for a while, at least until he figured out what he was going to do. 

 

 

Seeing a light on inside, he knocked a couple of times on the outside door, hearing the muffled sounds of footsteps growing closer as the interior door was swung open.  Just as he surmised, Kayla and Tristan's mom peered out from the living room at him, blinking a couple of times to adjust to the darkness. 

 


"Gus!  Hello, there," she greeted him in a subdued tone of voice.  "I'm glad you're here," she added. 

 


Gus frowned slightly at the slightly peculiar statement.  "Hello, Mrs. Callahan.  Is Kayla home?" 

 

Before she could respond to his question, however, Gus heard his best friend's voice calling out to him from behind her, except that it oddly sounded weak and pain-filled.  "Gus?"

 

 

Hearing what appeared to be an accompanying sniffle, he waited just long enough for Mrs. Callahan to push the door open wider before he sidled his way past her into the room. 

 

 

What he saw made his heart lurch; Kayla was sitting hunched over on the sofa.  She was nursing a left black eye and her cheek was red like she had been in a boxing match.  Her lower lip was cut and so was the skin above her left eyebrow.  Her hands, which were wrapped around her knees, showed evidence of bruises as well, like someone had forcibly held her in place. 



Gus rushed over to her, his eyes wide with shock.  "Shit, what happened to you?" He exclaimed as he sat down next to her and swept her up into his arms, just barely able to hold back his own tears of distress over her condition.  It was as if a dam had broken when Gus held her as Kayla's face clouded over and she began to cry anew against Gus's chest. 

 


"Owen," she managed to stammer out the one word after several seconds, and Gus felt a rush of rage lance through his body.  He slowly rocked Kayla back and forth to comfort her before swallowing hard, knowing he had to ask her an extremely difficult question. But it was an answer he had to know. 

 


"Kayla, did he...?" He found that he couldn't quite complete his question or look her in the eyes as he peered over at her mother; luckily, however, Kayla seemed to understand what he was trying to ask her as she shook her head against his chest. 

 

 

"No...He didn't touch me like that."

 

Gus inhaled a deep breath before letting it out between slightly parted lips. Thank God.  Not that what Owen had done could be taken lightly or even understood, but if he had sexually assaulted her, he knew that would have been even worse.



"Tell me what happened, Kayla," he urged her softly as he continued to hold her.  "Please." 

 

Kayla pulled back just enough to look Gus in the eyes as she began shakily, "I...I got a text...from Amber." 

 

 


"Who's Amber?" Kayla's mom, Charlene, inquired from several feet away as she leaned against the fireplace mantel.  Gus lifted his gaze to peer over at her in barely-concealed disgust.  This woman spent so much time away from her family that she was simply clueless about her daughter's life.  Suddenly, he realized how lucky he was to have been raised by a father that loved him so deeply and was constantly involved with his life, and he felt ashamed at how he had treated him less than 24 hours ago. 

 

"She's the captain of the cheerleading squad," he quietly informed her. 

 

Charlene Callahan's face broke out into a surprised smile as she looked at her daughter.  "You got onto the cheerleading squad?  When were you going to tell me, Kayla?" she asked as Gus shook his head in disapproval. This woman just didn't get it. 

 

"Just ignore her," Gus whispered in her ear as he turned his attention back to his friend.  "What did Amber's text say?" 

 

 

Kayla hiccupped, "She...She told me to come to the school parking lot. Something about the squad having some type of 'secret meeting.' She said it had something to do with one of the other schools stealing our mascot."   



Gus nodded.  "So you went to meet her at the parking lot?" 



"Yeah," she whispered painfully.  She took a deep, shuddering breath before closing her eyes, her face filling with torment. 



"Hey, look at me," Gus entreated as he squeezed her hand. 

 

 

Kayla opened her eyes to look at her best friend as he nodded at her encouragingly. 

 

 

"Tell me what happened," he pleaded with her softly.          

 

 

She took another deep breath before she let it out.  "I...I took the bus to get to school.  It was dark by then...and...When I got off the bus and looked around, I couldn't find anyone.  I was getting freaked out about it, and turned around to head back toward the bus stop when he...he grabbed me from behind and..." Her face filled with horror as the tears began to cascade down her face once more.  "No!" she cried out as she shook her head.  "I can't! I can't!" She hugged her knees and sobbed as Gus wound his arms around her reassuringly. 

 

 

"It's okay," he soothed her, giving up on getting his friend to say anything else for now.  "It's going to be okay..."  As he rocked her gently back and forth in his arms, he suddenly realized someone was missing.  "Where's Tristan?" he asked Kayla's mother. 

 

 

She shrugged.  "He rushed out a while ago," she told him.  "He took one look at his sister, asked her who did it, and took off like a shot..."

 

 

Kayla stilled in his arms as she looked up at him in horror.  "Oh, my God!  You have to go get him!" she cried out. 

 

 

"I'm sure he'll be fine," he reassured her, although inside his heart was pounding at the thought of Tristan confronting a bulked-up, angry Owen.  "I'm not leaving you here like this," he told her, torn between needing to be with his best friend and being worried about her brother. 

 

 

But Kayla wouldn't be placated.  "No!  You have to, Gus!  He'll kill Owen if he finds him!" 



Gus blinked at her in realization. She was right; if Tristan did find Owen, he would beat him to a pulp. Her brother may be slighter in stature than Owen, but he was in much better shape physically and was very strong.  If Tristan was given the chance, he had no doubt he would seriously hurt Owen - or worse. Truthfully, he wanted to do the same thing at the moment, but he knew that wouldn't help the situation if he and Tristan were sitting in some jail cell, charged with assault or possibly murder. 

 


He finally nodded with some reluctance.  "Okay.  I'll go look for him, but only if you promise to call the police and tell them what happened - right now.  Do you promise?" he pressed her as he looked over at her mother who nodded in agreement.  "I mean it, Kayla," he added for good measure when she didn't immediately answer him.  Owen was NOT going to get away with what he had done. 

 

 

She took another deep breath before nodding.  "Okay," she sniffled as her mother picked up the cordless phone located nearby.  Walking over to the couch, she sat down on the other end and wrapped her arm around her daughter's shoulder as Gus rose to his feet. 



"I'll be back soon," Gus vowed as he looked at Mrs. Callahan, who had finally apparently realized how serious the situation was.  "Take care of her," he ordered her before he turned to go, hoping he had made the right decision by leaving his best friend with her transient, part-time mother. 

 

 


Same Time - Alleghany General Hospital

 

 Eyes closed, Brian rested his head on Justin's hospital bed as he sat in a chair next to his lover; his Sunshine was finally stable now, but everything else was still spinning out of control.  After Justin's medical crisis had been averted, Brian had discovered that Gus had made good on his promise and had left the hospital.  He had texted him to make sure he was okay, and his son had sent him a short reply back, verifying that he was on his way to crash at Kayla's house for a while.  He still held out hope, however, that his son would be back home in the not-so-distant future.  Justin, however, was another matter.  He sighed as he lifted his eyes to gaze at the pale but still astonishingly beautiful face.  Once Justin recovered, would he ever see him again?  Or would he leave like Gus did, only never to return? 

 

 

"I'm so fucking sorry, Sunshine," he murmured, not caring that it was normally not his way to apologize for anything.  It was the truth, though.  At that moment, he couldn't feel any sorrier than he already did.  "If...If it hadn't been for my stupidity, you wouldn't be lying here right now..."  He reached to take Justin's hand in his to hold it.  "Please...wake up," he pleaded, but Justin remained still and motionless.  Scooting closer, he placed his head down on Justin's chest, needing to hear the reassuring, regular cadence of his lover's heart beneath him.  Feeling totally exhausted, both mentally and physically, his eyes began to close against his will.  Before sleep overtook him, however, he managed to whisper, "I love you, Justin." 

 


Gus drove out to Owen's house first, figuring they probably wouldn't be there and finding that he was correct; it was too obvious a location, and Owen's parents would no doubt be home.  He then tried some of the local spots where most of the kids from St. James normally hung out - the mall, the cinema, and several restaurants, but he was unsuccessful.  Where could they be, then?  Kayla had told him it happened at school; was it possible they were still there somehow? 

 

 

Making an abrupt U-turn, he headed back toward the academy; reaching it in record time five minutes later, he pulled in and doused his headlights, using the overhead security lights to help him search the cavernous space.  If Kayla had come from the direction of the bus stop and had headed in at the first available entrance, she would have likely approached from the other side of the building.  Opening up the driver's side window, he took a deep breath of the cold, night air to calm himself as he slowly cruised around to the back of the school, careful to listen for anything that might seem out of place or abnormal in the silence. 

 

 

Gus swallowed the bile in his throat over his own anger as he thought about his helpless and unsuspecting best friend being viciously attacked in this same parking lot earlier while he continued to crane his neck and listen for anything out of the ordinary.  Suddenly, he heard what sounded like a guttural scream coming from several yards away.  Coming to an abrupt stop and barely taking time to put the Jeep into park, he hurriedly opened the door and dashed off in the direction of what he had heard. As he rounded the back corner of the school, he heard another, almost inhuman scream erupt and the sounds of scuffling as he pulled up short. There, under the glow of one of the security lamps, were Tristan and Owen. 

 

 


 

Same Time - Alleghany General Hospital

 

The feeling of someone caressing the back of his neck and running their fingers through his hair slowly seeped into Brian's consciousness as he let out a soft moan of pleasure; as his eyes fluttered open, however, he realized where he was, and that Justin...Justin was...

 

 

He lifted his head then as his eyes fell upon a pair of bright, blue orbs staring back at him.  He blinked as he thought he imagined Justin smiling back at him, but that wasn't possible...was it?  "Is...Is this a dream?" he wondered, not aware that he had even said it aloud until Justin shook his head in response.  Now it was Brian's turn to smile as he scooted back from his chair and rose to loom over his lover's body in the bed.  Taking his right hand, he placed it against one soft, warm, slightly stubbled cheek before he leaned forward to kiss the inviting lips; the two of them sharing a kiss that was filled with love, forgiveness, relief, and happiness. 

 

 

As they finally broke for air, Brian briefly rested his forehead against Justin's, inhaling the familiar, comforting scent; his heart leaped with joy as he heard Justin whisper, "I love you, too," his warm breath ghosting over his face. 

 

 

"You...you do?" he asked softly as he pulled back to stare into Justin's face. 

 

 

Justin nodded with a smile.  "Yeah, Romeo.  I do." 

 

 

Brian couldn't help smiling back at him as he brushed some hair back from Justin's face.  "Ditto, Juliet," he told him softly.  "Ditto."

 



Gus's mouth dropped open in horror as he observed Owen sprawled out on the pavement in front of him with Tristan's foot braced on top of his lower back; Tristan had the other boy's left arm pulled back in a twisted position close to the breaking point, and Owen's bloody face was contorted in pain as he screamed in agony. 

 

 

"Tristan! No!" Gus shouted as he rushed over to his side, trying furiously to pull Kayla's brother off the other boy.  But like a pit bull, Tristan wouldn't let go, even as Gus grabbed him from behind by the waist to try to dislodge him. 

 


"Get off me, Gus!" Tristan yelled, pulling Owen's arm further back and making Owen scream again.  It took all the strength Gus had, but he finally managed to pull Tristan away from the other boy as Owen writhed around on the ground in misery. 



"Let me go, Gus!" Tristan snarled in fury.  "He needs to pay!" He growled as he struggled to break free from Gus' grip. 

 

 

Gus did as he was asked, but quickly stepped in front of Tristan to avoid any more physical confrontation between him and Owen.  "He WILL pay," he assured him firmly.  "Your mom's already called the police." 



"That's not good enough!" Tristan yelled.  "Did you see what he did?!" Tristan's voice broke with emotion as he recalled seeing his broken and bruised sister a few hours ago. 



"Tristan, listen to me!" Gus demanded.  "Yeah, I saw what he did.  And believe me; I want to beat the fucking shit out of him just as much as you do."  He looked over at the other boy who was continuing to moan in pain as he told his friend, "But being in jail for assault won't help Kayla. She's going to need both of us.  Are you listening to me?  This asshole is not worth it." 

 


Tristan took a deep breath as his eyes changed from a look of rage into something akin to pure hate.  "Do you know why he came back here, Gus?  Do you?"

 


That made Gus think; why was Owen here?  After assaulting Kayla, he would have been an idiot to stick around at the 'scene of the crime,' so to speak.  And while Owen was an asshole and a prick, he wasn't stupid.  Gus shook his head.  "No," he admitted in confusion. 

 

 

Tristan peered down at the injured boy in unadulterated disgust and contempt.  "He came back here to take pictures," he spat out. 

 


"What?!" Gus cried out in astonishment.  "What are you talking about?" 

 


"I looked at his phone when I found him here and noticed him taking pictures.  He made a fucking Facebook post to brag about what he had done...complete with photos of Kayla's...blood."  Tristan could hardly say the word aloud; just the thought made him want to puke. 

 

 

 

 

Gus was floored as well as utterly disgusted; it wasn't enough that Owen wanted to hurt her physically, but now he was trying to boast about what he did?  As he turned around to glower at Owen and to tell him how contemptible he thought he was, he wasn't prepared for the other boy suddenly rearing up to punch him in the face.  As he fell back onto the pavement in reaction, his nose bleeding from where the other boy had hit him, he watched as Tristan jumped on Owen and grabbed him by the neck.  He tasted the coppery blood on his lips as it trickled down his face, but he was too angry to care as he scrambled up from the ground, prepared to do battle with Owen as well before a pair of headlights temporarily blinded him and he heard a single, brief 'whoop' of a siren as a police car came to an abrupt halt right in front of them. 

 

 

"Freeze!' a deep, female voice boomed out beside them a few seconds later.  "Stop right there!"  A policewoman opened up the driver's side door of the vehicle, her gun aimed at the trio as another male officer joined her.  A couple of seconds later, another police vehicle pulled up beside the other one as two additional, male officers emerged to stand beside her. 

 

 

"You!" the woman barked as she looked at the largest of the three boys who was struggling to stay upright.  "Are you Owen Stevens?" she demanded in a take-charge tone.

 

 

Owen breathed out heavily, his entire body wracked with pain as he cradled his severely injured arm across his chest.  "Yeah," he told them as he glared over at his assailants.  "And I want to charge both of these assholes with assault!" 



"Did you attack Kayla Callahan?" was the unexpected, unsympathetic response.



"No! I never touched her!" Owen lied blatantly as Gus gasped at his audacity and Tristan bristled beside him.  Gus reached over to unobtrusively grab Tristan's arm in a silent bid to keep his friend from doing anything foolish; he could clearly hear Tristan's heavy breaths of anger beside him, however, knowing he was barely controlling his temper.



"She stated that you called her from her friend's phone to get her here and then you assaulted her," the female officer continued.  "Are you claiming that she's lying?"

 

 

"That's exactly what I'm saying!" Owen snarled.  "She's a no-good bitch!" 

 

 

"Why, you..."

 

 

"Tristan, no," Gus hissed beside him as he gripped his arm tighter.  "There's a way to prove that he's the one who's lying.  Wait."  He quickly pulled his phone out of his jeans pocket and dialed Amber's cellphone number; a few seconds later the familiar strains of "Barbie Girl" could be heard playing in Owen's pocket as the other boy started in reaction, rushing to explain as the female officer stared over at him.



"That's... That's my phone," he stammered in response to her unspoken question.



The female officer arched her eyebrow at him skeptically as the male officers could be heard softly tittering.  "You have "Barbie Girl" as your ringtone?"



"Yeah!" Owen insisted as his forehead broke out into a nervous sweat as everyone stared at him accusingly. 

 


The female officer turned to her colleague as she instructed him curtly, "cuff him."

 

 

"But...But..." Owen sputtered as the male officer walked over and none-too-gently grabbed Stevens' arms to pull them behind his back.  Owen cried out in pain as the cuffs were firmly clicked into place and the officer began to read him his rights as he led him over to the police car.  Owen continued to vehemently deny his culpability as he was pushed into the backseat of the car and the door was closed a few seconds later to lock him securely in the vehicle. 

 

 

"Who are you two?" she asked Gus and Tristan brusquely as she scrutinized them.  "What're your names?"

 

 

"Tristan Callahan," Tristan informed her as she nodded. 

 


"Is the victim your sister?" She inquired as he nodded back at her.  "And you?"

 

 

"Gus Kinney, ma'am.  I'm Kayla's best friend.  I heard what happened and I thought I'd better go see where Tristan ran off to. I sort of thought he would be looking for Owen." 

 

 

"Well, you're lucky neither one of you were seriously hurt," she told them.  "Next time you leave justice up to the cops, okay?" 

 

 

Both boys nodded as she scrutinized their conditions. "You want the paramedics to come and take a look at you?"

 

 

Tristan and Gus shook their heads as she nodded back at them.  "We'll need you to come down to the station at least by tomorrow to get your statements, you understand?"  The boys nodded in confirmation as she reached inside her pocket to retrieve a business card with the necessary information on it.

 

 

Indicating with a tilt of her head that everything was under control and that the other police car could go, she clapped a hand on Tristan's shoulder as she admitted, "I would have done the same thing in your place."  She squeezed his shoulder briefly before letting go.  "Now go get some rest and get those injuries taken care of."  She glanced over at her police car, seeing the angry, young man seething in the lit interior of the vehicle as her colleague waited beside the car.  "He's not going anywhere tonight, I can assure you. You let your sister know that, okay?" 

 

 

Tristan nodded at her gratefully before, with a smile and a nod at both boys, she turned and headed back to her police car.  A few seconds later, the vehicle headed out of the parking lot, and it was almost as if nothing had ever happened. 

 

 


 

Justin sat up in his hospital bed, impatiently waiting for the doctor to finish up his exam.  Brian stood quietly to one side, grinning like a fool.  He watched as Justin glared over at him, thinking he was enjoying watching his lover being poked and prodded, but truthfully Brian was just really, really happy.  He supposed he shouldn't feel that happy, especially after what had transpired between him and Gus, but in his heart he knew his son would be back eventually, and right now he was focused on his beautiful, blond lover presently sitting awake and alert in the bed next to him. 

 

 

Dr. Kellerman smiled, pleased, as he finished up his exam.  "Everything seems to be going well," he reported as Brian sighed in relief.  "I think you were a very lucky young man.  It'll take some time for your body to heal," he advised him.  "But if you continue to improve the way you are now...I think you could be discharged perhaps as early as tomorrow as long as someone will be able to help care for you during your recovery." 

 

 

"Don't worry, Doc," Brian spoke up then.  "I'll see that he's a good, obedient little patient while he's in my care." 

 

 

Justin opened his mouth to protest that no decision about that had been made yet, but Brian quickly silenced him with a stern look.

 

 

Dr. Kellerman cleared his throat as he closed the chart and stood up.  "Well, I'll check back with you later," he told Justin.  He turned to smile at Brian.  "And I'm sure your uncle here will take good care of you once you're released."

 

 

Justin frowned.  "Uncle?" he blurted out without thinking as Brian cringed.

 

 

Dr. Kellerman laughed.  "I'll let YOU explain," he told Brian with a wink before he turned and headed back out of the room. 

 

 

Brian sat down on the edge of the bed as Justin eyed him intently.  "Uncle? What did he mean by that?" he asked curiously.

 

 

Brian grinned.  "It was the only way they would tell me how you were, and let me in here to stay with you," he explained as he stared into Justin's face.  "But believe me," he added huskily as he drunk in the sight of his lover.  "My thoughts are anything but uncle-like right now when it comes to you." 

 

 

Justin blushed at the sultry tone of Brian's voice.  He sighed.  "You can stop staring at me, you know; it's starting to freak me out.  I'm going to be fine." 

 

 

"No, I can't," Brian told him as he reached over and caressed his cheek.  "I can't help it.  You look good enough to eat. And as soon as you're better, that's exactly what I'm going to do."

 

 

Justin turned an even darker shade of red as he groaned, his body rebelling against him.  He wanted Brian so badly at the moment, but he knew he was in no shape at the moment to even entertain such a notion.  "You are so bad," he accused him as Brian grinned back at him impishly. 

 

 

His smile faded, however, as Justin asked softly, "Is Gus outside?  I'd like to talk to him."  Justin knew it wouldn't be the most pleasant or comfortable of conversations, but he knew they had to talk things out if he had any hope of being an important part of Brian's life.  He had to make Gus understand how he practically fell in love with Brian from the first moment he had seen him.

 


Brian's face clouded over with regret. "No, he decided to go stay with Kayla for a while," he told him softly. 

 


"Oh," Justin face fell as guilt washed over him.  Not only had he unintentionally hurt Gus, but now he had been responsible for him leaving his own home.  "Brian..."



Brian shook his head as he placed his fingers over Justin's lips before he could say anything further.  "We'll be okay, Sunshine; we'll all be okay - don't worry," he reassured him as he leaned in and kissed him on the forehead.  Just then, his cellphone rang. As he retrieved it from the portable hospital table nearby, he recognized the caller's name as Kayla's mom, Charlene. 

 


"Hello?  Mrs. Callahan?"



"Yes.  Hello, Mr. Kinney."  There was a slight pause before Charlene quietly informed him, "I think you might want to come over here.  I have something to tell you." 

 


 

Fifteen Minutes Later - Kayla's House

 

 

Gus sat on the front porch steps with a bag of ice pressed against his bruised face; hearing the front door opening, he turned to observe Tristan walking out of the house with a similar bag of ice in his hand. 

 


"She's asleep, finally," Tristan informed him as he sat down beside him on the steps. 

 


"Good.  She's a fighter," he told Kayla's brother.  "She'll be okay; it's just going to take some time," he advised him as Tristan nodded in agreement. 

 


They sat there a few moments in companionable silence before Tristan softly inquired, "Where were you tonight? Kayla told me she tried to call you and you wouldn't answer."



Gus took a deep breath and blew it out.  "Don't ask," he responded with a shudder as the prior scene from the loft filtered through his mind.  Tristan gave him a nudge, however, to keep him talking as Gus sighed in resignation, needing to discuss it with someone who wasn't directly involved.



"You remember Justin? The boy from my school?"



Tristan tensed up; yeah, he knew him far too well.  What had he gotten himself into? Was Gus going to talk about his boyfriend now?  Pressing his lips together for a moment, he finally nodded.  "Yeah... I remember."

 


"Well, it turns out... he's got a boyfriend."  Gus couldn't help laughing ironically over the preposterousness of that statement.



Tristan frowned, halfway jubilant over that unexpected piece of information, but also inexplicably angry on behalf of Gus for the perceived injustice that had been done to his friend. "So he just led you on this whole time?"



Gus thought for a moment.  How should he answer that?  He knew deep down that wasn't the case.  Finally, he shook his head no.  "Actually, he told me from the start that we couldn't be anything more than friends, and that he was seeing someone.  I guess I just didn't want to believe that." 

 

 

Tristan frowned in confusion.  "Oh."  He shook his head.  "I don't understand then, Gus. What happened exactly?" 

 


Gus took a deep breath to steel himself.  "Well...It turns out that Justin's boyfriend...was my dad."  He rubbed his hand over the top of his head restlessly. 



"What?!"  Tristan's eyes threatened to bug out of his head. Surely he hadn't heard Gus right.  "I could swear you just said that Justin was your father's..."

 

 

"You heard me right," Gus verified flatly.  "Not only that.  I found out about it when I walked in on them... having...having..."   He shook his head.  "Shit." Even now, it was hard to believe. 

 


"No!" Tristan exclaimed, shocked, as he realized immediately what he was trying to say.  As he thought about what that scene must have been like, though, he couldn't help the laughter that threatened to bubble up inside of him. 

 

 

"Hey!" Gus growled as he heard what sounded like Tristan holding back a chuckle.  "Whose side are you on, asshole?" 

 


Tristan couldn't help it; the indignant look on Gus' face was simply too priceless.  "I'm sorry, Gus.  Really," he said by way of an attempt at apologizing.  "But it's...It's just too freakin' funny...!"



Gus huffed as he tried to remain angry, but as he thought about it he realized Tristan was right. What would have been the odds?  Tristan's laughter was contagious as he finally smiled back at him ruefully in reaction. 

 


"I mean, come on!" Tristan told him as he gave him a playful shove.  "It is pretty funny when you think about it... as if watching your father having sex wouldn't be traumatic enough!"



Gus nodded.  "Yeah, that's certainly true," he conceded. 



"...And then to discover that he's fucking an 18-year-old that you have a crush on?  I mean, we should have been playing the fucking lottery!"

 

 

Their shared laughter rang out around them for several minutes until they finally settled down. Tristan gazed over at his friend sympathetically.  "It really hit you hard, huh?" he asked softly.

 


Gus sighed.  "What an idiot I was. But, yeah, I mean, I really thought I had a chance with him, you know?"  He gazed out onto the dark street below, lost in thought, the only illumination provided by the streetlights and interior house lights of the homes nearby. 

 

 

"I do know," Tristan replied quietly, unable to look Gus in the eye.  "I, too, had the same kind of feelings about someone."

 


"And what did you do about those feelings?" Gus asked by his side, already knowing who Tristan was referring to.

 

"I tried a few times to show him how I felt, but he didn't feel the same way."



"Maybe he was just scared about his own feelings...." Gus replied as Tristan finally turned to stare at him in surprise.  Gus smiled as he advised him softly, "Maybe you should have an honest talk with him about your feelings, instead of kissing him all the time when he's not ready."

 

 

Tristan grinned at him.  Gus was right; he had gone about the whole thing the wrong way.  Luckily, he now realized he had a second chance to try all over again. 

 

 

"Good advice," he murmured as they stared into each other's eyes. Gus smiled at him in encouragement as Tristan took a deep breath before stating simply, "I like you, Gus Kinney." 

 

 

"Well, that's a coincidence," Gus murmured back at him, noticing how Tristan's dark-colored eyes were reflecting like sparkling prisms off the streetlamp nearby.  "Because I happen to like you, too, Tristan Callahan." 



"That's good to know," Tristan told him as his smile grew wider.  "Maybe we should go out on a date or something to see what develops, then."



"Yeah, I think that's a good idea," Gus told him softly as he slid closer to the other boy, smelling the intriguing scent of Tristan's cologne and feeling the warmth beneath the other boy's shirt as their upper bodies touched. 



Tristan put his arm around Gus's shoulders.  "Glad that's settled," he told him. "So what are you going to do about your dad?"



Gus bit his lip anxiously.  "I think I overreacted a bit," he confessed. 



"You think?" Tristan smirked as he moved the bag of ice away from Gus's face.  "Let me see how it looks," he softly demanded as he peered at the bruised cheek.  "It looks a little swollen, but not bad," he reported as they stared quietly into each other's eyes.  This time as they leaned in toward each other, there was no confusion and no surprise; just heady anticipation as their lips gently met.  It was a first, preliminary, genuine kiss, and it didn't last long, but both of them had a smile on their face as they pulled back from each other a few seconds later, and Gus could feel his heart racing in reaction. 

 

 

Just then, a horn sounded, startling them a little as they turned to observe a Jeep pulling up behind Gus's vehicle at the curb.


"Gus!" Brian cried out as he jumped out of the car.  His son stood up and walked down the walkway toward his father. 

 

 

"Mrs. Callahan called me. Did you break your nose?"

 


Suddenly feeling vulnerable and like a little kid again, Gus didn't answer as he walked over to his dad and slid his arms around Brian to hug him tightly. 

 


"I'm so sorry, Dad," he murmured against his father's chest.  "I'm so fucking sorry; I've been a real brat.  I should have stayed there at the hospital to be with you instead of leaving when you needed me the most."

 

Brian was momentarily surprised by the tender gesture and the heartfelt admission, but he closed his eyes in relief as he held his son firmly in his arms.  "It's okay, Gus.  It's okay," he murmured, his chin resting on his son's head as they stood there together. 

 

 

Finally after several seconds, Brian loosened his embrace as Gus peered up at him anxiously.  "Is...Is Justin going to be okay?" 

 

 

Brian smiled. "Yes, he's awake and the doctor's says he's going to be fine." 



Gus sighed in relief, a huge weight rolling off his shoulders.  "Good," he told him sincerely.  "I'm so glad to hear that."  He bit his lower lip as he peered up into his father's kind face.  "I...I love you, Dad.  So much.  You're the best dad anyone could ever have."



Brian felt himself choking up as he replied, "I love you, too, Sonny Boy.  And you're the best son a father could ever have, too."

 

 

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