"Justin, wait!" Liam called to him. But the blond was gone seemingly in a flash, hurriedly pulling the heavy, metal door open in record time and escaping before he could say another word to him.  He shook his head. What had just happened here?  Fuck. 

"Struck out, eh, Brady?" Brian snickered from a few feet away, enormously relieved - and just a little surprised, frankly - that Justin hadn't cooperated.  He walked over to smirk at his unlucky cousin, as the other man glared back at him.  "Once more I come out victorious.  I take it your little dinner didn't go quite as planned...cousin?"  He walked over to his portable wet bar, pouring himself a glass of Beam and turning back to smugly face the other man.

Liam shook his head in disgust, realizing Brian must have seen what had happened.  "You just don't get it, do you, mate?" he growled, highly perturbed. The only problem was, he didn't know if he was more upset with himself for pushing his attentions on another man whose heart already belonged to someone else, or the ‘someone else' who was such a callous asshole.  Of course, Brian had always been that way, at least to a certain extent.

Brian sat down in the nearest chair perpendicular to the couch, downing another swig of his glass before replying, "Oh, do tell. Enlighten me, then."

Liam studied the other man for a moment, wondering if it was even worth it. But he genuinely liked Justin.  Maybe too much. But for his sake, and because he knew how deeply he cared about his asshole of a cousin, he would try and do the noble thing and help him, even if it meant cutting off his own head to do it.  "It had nothing to do with me just now, and everything to do with YOU."

"Really."

Liam huffed.  "Yeah, man, really.  Do you realize how much he cares about you?  Why, I can't imagine," he muttered as an afterthought.

"Excuse me?  This really is none of your damn business, anyway," Brian growled.

"Whether it is or not, you're an idiot."

"Okay, I'll bite.  What the fuck are you talking about?  I didn't get rejected, dear cousin; YOU did."

"This isn't ABOUT rejection, Brian.  It's about you risking losing the best thing that's ever happened to you.  Don't you realize that?"

Brian's face darkened.  "Like I said, Brady, this is NONE of your fucking business. You don't know shit. Stay the hell out of it." He belted back the rest of his drink and slammed the shot glass down onto a side table as he glared over resentfully at the other man.

"Whether it is or not - and whether you throw me out on my ass afterward or not - I'm going to speak my piece.  Justin told me over dinner what had happened between you. Yes, the whole thing," he added as Brian arched one eyebrow in question.  "Including the mistakes that he's made.  He didn't come right out and tell me he loves you, but anyone with half a brain can see that just by the way he talks about you.  What he just did should tell you that, too.  But you know what?  If you don't get your head out of your ass and see what's right in front of you, you're going to LOSE that boy.  Maybe not to me - although, fuck knows I would jump at the chance - but to someone who appreciates him for who he is."

Brian pursed his lips tightly together in agitation, feeling the sting of truth staring back at him.  "Like I said, dear cousin, this is NONE of your fucking..."

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Liam retorted.  "And I don't care.  I'm telling you...trust me; you are going to lose Justin if you don't make some changes.  As much as he loves you, he is too amazing a person to stick around and be your perpetual whipping dog."

"Don't you think I fucking KNOW that?" Brian suddenly blurted out.  That's what I'm afraid of, came unbidden to his mind.

Liam shook his head in confusion.  "Then why don't you do something about it?"

Brian sighed heavily as he brushed his right hand through his hair, mussing it up.  "He's never going to stay with me."

Liam snorted.  "Not if you keep treating him this way. He knows he made mistakes with your relationship," he continued, noticing his cousin not denying there WAS a ‘relationship.'  "And I can tell he regrets what he did.  But I can tell he's trying to repair what he did.  You, however, are NOT making it easy on him."

"Why should I?  I didn't leave.  I didn't go fuck the first person who offered him all that romantic, worthless bullshit."

"No, I'm sure you didn't.  I know you well enough - even though it's been years - to believe that.  But I'm not saying you have to spout poetry at him."  He shook his head sadly.  "I know your parents treated you like shit growing up, Brian.  But that man loves you.  A lot.  There's no reason to think he wouldn't keep loving you - if you only find some way to let him know how you feel about him."

"He already knows that," Brian stated unequivocally.

"Really?  How?  You don't remind me of someone who wears their heart on their sleeve.  And I don't think Justin's talents include being a mind reader."

"No, that's all a bunch of crap.  He just...knows, that's all.  He's smart."

"Well, that I can agree with," Liam replied.  "But I can also tell just by what little I've heard and seen that he's the type of man who needs to know that somehow."  He paused, eyeing his cousin sympathetically despite his own disappointment from what had happened earlier.  "All I'm saying is...find a way. Before it's too late."

Brian remained stonily silent as Liam sighed.  "Okay, I'll go, then." He half-smiled.  "I'm sure I can find a fleabag motel around here somewhere."  He stood up and reached for his duffel bag, only to stop when Brian finally spoke up again.

"You don't have to do that.  A promise is a promise."

Liam turned to face him, surprised.  "But...?"

"I said...you can stay."

"Are you sure?" Liam pressed, clutching the strap of the canvas duffel bag in his hands.

"Yeah," Brian replied quietly, their conversation swirling around in his head.  Part of him wanted to go after Justin, to try and talk to him like Liam had urged him to do.  But another part of him was afraid; afraid of both exposing his feelings too much, and afraid of, yes, rejection.  He knew his cousin was right; he had no doubt how Justin felt about him.  But he never was and never would be the mushy, sentimental type.  So how was he to reconcile the two?   He stood up.  "Get some sleep," he told his cousin.  "I have to be up early tomorrow.  You can stay here for the week, but I have to work while you're here.  I'll get you a pillow and blanket."  His cousin watched silently as Brian walked back into his bedroom and emerged a minute later with the bedding, handing it to him.

"Thanks."  He studied his cousin carefully as Brian nodded before turning to go.  "But you aren't going to...?"

Brian turned around to warn him tersely, "I said stay out of it, Liam," was the sharp rebuke.  "It's my problem, and my business."

Brian was almost back to the bedroom when he heard his cousin finally respond.  "Just think about what I said, Brian," he called out to him quietly.  "Before it's too late." Brian stopped for a moment before, without another work, he walked into his bedroom and shut the blinds, leaving Liam shaking his head sadly.

Daphne's Apartment

"What?"

Daphne peered over at her friend in concern as she walked over to the couch, silently holding out a bag of Oreos to Justin as he shook his head.

"Now I know something REALLY happened," Daphne decided as she plopped down cross-legged beside him, placing the bag of cookies down on the coffee table in front of them.  "What did he do this time?"

Justin huffed.  "Why does it always have to be about him?"

"Because it is," was the simple answer.  "So spill. Why the hound dog face?"

"I don't look like that," Justin maintained. Daphne fixed him with a dubious stare until he finally signed in resignation.  "Okay, so it IS about him...and his cousin."

Daphne's eyes grew bigger.  "Oh, that's right!  You said his geeky cousin was coming to visit this week. Did you get to meet him at Woody's tonight?"

Justin nodded grimly.  "Yeah, I met him, all right.  All 6'2" muscled inches of him."

Daphne frowned. She wasn't surprised with it being Brian's cousin that he would be tall - after all, Justin had said Brian described him as a lanky beanpole, or words to that effect.  But the other word didn't quite fit her mental image of him.  "Muscled?  I thought he was supposed to be all teeth and a nerd."

"Yeah, so did I. But it seems that Brady - or Liam, as he likes to be called now - discovered the wonders of dental cosmetic surgery and bulking up."  Justin shook his head as if he could erase everything that had happened earlier, but he knew he couldn't.  "Where do I start?" he murmured at last.

"Daphne turned her body to face him then to prepare herself.  "At the beginning," she declared.  "And don't leave out a word."

Fifteen Minutes Later...

"He tried to kiss you - in Brian's loft?!"

Justin nodded.  "He tried...but at the last minute I turned my head, and he wound up giving me more of a peck on the cheek."

Daphne grinned.  "I bet Brian didn't like it, though. I can't believe he would try that in Brian's loft!"

"Brian doesn't know. He was in the bathroom," Justin told her, unaware of how wrong he was.  "Wouldn't have mattered anyway," he added glumly.

"Oh, come on, Justin!  A hunky guy makes a move on you, and Brian wouldn't care?  You know better than that!  You told me his reaction to that guy after the King of Babylon contest - not to mention...well, you know..."  Her voice trailed off.

"Maybe," Justin conceded.  "But it doesn't matter.  I got up and left right after that happened, so Brian's never going to know."  Justin shook his head.  "I think I'm going to stay away from there while Liam's visiting anyway.  I don't need any more drama. Besides, Brian no doubt wants to have more space so he can bring his Trick of the Day home with him and demonstrate his sexual prowess to his cousin and taunt him with his superiority.  I get the impression after seeing all their photos together that there was a lot of competition going on when they were growing up.  I think this is just an extension of it."

"And you're the prize," Daphne observed dryly.

"No, I am not," Justin told her emphatically.  Letting out a deep breath, he rose from the couch.

"Where are you going?"

"I...I don't know.  I can't sleep.  I guess I'll just take a walk; maybe try to clear my head a little bit."

"Justin, it's three in the morning.  Don't you have class at 8?"

"I'll be okay.  Tomorrow's class doesn't start until ten. I won't be gone long."  He leaned down to kiss her on the cheek.  "Thanks for caring," he whispered.  "You go onto bed; I'll be fine."

Daphne nodded as she watched him head toward the door, unconvinced.  Waiting until Justin had left - and knowing there was really nothing she could do at the moment to ease his pain - she finally did as he asked and headed off to bed, silently cursing the enigma known as Brian Kinney.

One Week Later...

"Fuck!"  Brian threw his phone across the couch in frustration. He had tried to call Justin countless times this week, but it kept going to voicemail. He had even resorted to calling Daphne's cell, but received the same response.  If he didn't know better, he would swear the two of them were in cahoots together in refusing to answer their phones.  In all likelihood, they were.  He didn't really stop to think why his inability to reach Justin was bothering him so much, but it did.  It wasn't as if Justin were the only man in the Pitts he could fuck, was he? Far from it. But deep down he knew it was much more than that.

His cousin, as it turned out, hadn't been much of a bother.  Three nights this past week he had wound up staying over at some guy's place that he had hooked up with earlier in the week, and the other nights he had mainly headed down to Liberty Avenue on his own, bragging later that all he had to do was reveal to everyone within earshot that he was Brian Kinney's cousin, and they were practically knocking each other down in a puddle of drool in an attempt to get to ‘know him better.' He had bragged several times that he had had more than his share of action during his stay - to the point of exhaustion (said with a typical, shit-eating grin, of course).  Brian decided that as long as the ‘action' didn't involve Justin - and apparently it had not, or he felt sure his cousin would have pointed that out - he really didn't give a fuck WHO his cousin did. Chances were, also, that whoever it was, Brian had had him first anyway.

Letting out a frustrated breath, he looked up as his cousin slid the loft door open and entered, a goofy-looking grin on his face.  "Hey, mate!" he greeted him enthusiastically.

"Airline ought to love you," Brian snickered, observing his cousin's slightly unsteady gait.  "You think it's wise to get plastered just before you catch your flight?"

Liam flashed a lopsided smile at him, nearly tripping over his own feet as he staggered up to the couch and plopped down unceremoniously next to Brian. "Not to worry," he reassured him.  "I'll sleep it off on the way home."  He hiccupped.  "Such a shame I can't stay," he lamented.  "It's been fun getting to know all the boys here. And the stories they tell about you. Do...Do you know that you're a fucking legend, cousin?"

Brian snorted.  "Legend nothing; I'm in a class by myself."

Liam rolled his eyes and grinned.  "Should...should I sing Wing Beneath My Wings now?"

"No, thanks," Brian replied quickly in distaste.  He glanced down at his Armani watch.  "Better get your stuff together, Casanova.  My rejects will just have to learn to live without you from now on."

Oddly, that statement seemed to bring Liam out of his drunken state as he peered over at Brian.  "One of them was never one of your ‘rejects,' by the way.  Never was, and never would be.  Call him."

Brian was silent for a moment before he seemed to deflate.  "I've tried," he admitted.  "He won't answer his phone."

Liam hefted his duffel onto his shoulder and stood up as he heard a cab's horn honking outside.  "Are your fucking legs broken, man?  Go talk to him in person!"  His voice softened as he added, "Go...before it's too late.  He's worth it."  He shook his head, almost disbelieving what he was about to say. But he knew Brian wasn't really the person he always pretended to be.  "You're worth it."  He stood there for a moment before the cab's horn blew again.  "Take care, mate. And...Tell Justin I said hello." He half-smiled at his cousin before turning to head out the door. "If he ever changes his mind...tell him he knows where to find me."

Brian sat there for several seconds in the silence before, his mind made up, he reached for his car keys lying on the coffee table in front of him. A few minutes later, his ‘Vette roared to life as he headed toward Daphne's apartment.