Justin woke up feeling that there was something he should be remembering.  He was beginning to think that even though he hadn’t been bashed yet, there were gaps in his memory.  He decided to call Daphne and asked her to come over. 

"So, this is where you're living now?"  Daphne asked as she looked around the loft.

Justin blushed.  He felt guilty because since moving in with Brian he hadn't spent as much time with Daphne.   To be fair, he had been very busy working at Ryders.  He was also seeing a side of Brian that he hadn't been aware of the first time around.

"I'm missing something.” Justin stated as he lay his binder on the counter.  “Brian still has his rights to Gus, but after Lindsay and Mel split, he gave them his rights.”

"Hmm, well you can always try to stop it then.  I think want your missing is your sister's birthday."  Daphne suggested.

Justin slapped his head.  Daph was right.  He rummaged through the pages until he came to the timetable he’d made of events and realized this might be the day when someone broke in and robbed the loft.

Brian opened the panel to the bedroom and stood there... naked.

Daphne's mouth opened.  "Oh...oh, my god..."

"Justin, a word?"

Justin giggled as he went to the refrigerator and pulled out a shaker with some green stuff in it and scampered over.  Before Brian could let loose, Justin did a preemptive strike.

"Sorry, Bri.  This is my friend Daphne.  Here's your creatine and soy protein shake.  I thought you had an appointment with your trainer," he said as he handed the container over.

"Thanks," Brian brushed a kiss to Justin's head.  He ducked back into the bedroom closing the panel.

"Oh my God!  He's to die for!"  Daphne gasped.

"Yeah."  Justin was bursting with pride.

Brian came out of the bedroom, dressed for the gym.  "What's your plans for the day?"

Justin remembered his snippy response from last time.  "I think I'll stay in, maybe look over some work stuff."

"Okay.  If you go out don't forget to set the alarm."

Justin nodded as Brian left.  "Daph, this is the day the loft gets broken into."

Daphne's eyes widened.  They had gone over this when Justin had explained his 'dream'.  "The thing that led to you're going to New York?"

"Yeah," Justin bit his lower lip.  He wasn't about to let that scenario play out.  He'd ended up living with Debbie last time and while things were different at the moment, he didn't want to jinx it and end up back there. 

"What are you going to do?"

"I'm not sure.  I know, I have a drawing I did of Molly.  Would you drop it off for me?  Tell her I'll get her something better later."

He found the picture and wrapped a ribbon around it and handed it to Daphne.

"Are you sure you don't want me to stay?"  Daphne asked as she stepped out the loft.

"No," Justin smiled.  "It will be all right."  And it would he thought as he shut the door.  Brian had the locks changed earlier in the week.

Justin was cleaning up the kitchen after having fixed himself something to eat, when he heard a rattling of the door.

"Fuck," someone said.

"I thought you said this would be easy pickings," another voice snarled.  "Move aside, I'll break it down."

"No.  no."  The voices were muffled. 

Whoever it was wasn't listening, he slammed into the door which, fortunately for Justin, was too heavy to break down.

"Stop." Someone on the other side of the door shouted.

Justin grabbed the phone and called 911.

"Let's get out of here."

By the time Brian arrived home the police had arrived and whoever had tried to break in was long gone.  Justin apologized but he showed them the dents in the door.

"Have you had any strangers in the house lately?"  one of the police officers asked when he found out that Brian was the owner.

"Uh, no, just family and close friends," Brian replied.  And Justin realized that that was true.   Brian had been surprisingly selective about his fucking.

Once the police were gone, Brian slumped on the sofa. 

Fuck, if you hadn't been here, they could have cleaned me out."  He pulled Justin onto his lap.  "Are you okay?"

"I am now," Justin assured him as he snuggled into Brian's embrace.  He was happy that they were avoiding a whole lot of shit.

A week later Brian came home from work looking spooked.  Justin, of course, asked what was wrong. 

"I had a strange visitor today," Brain started, taking a moment to grab a beer.  "Marty, normally known as Mysterious Marilyn."

"Mysterious Marilyn?"  Justin asked, he'd seen a man leaving Brian's office earlier in the day.  The man had stopped and looked at him strangely.

"Yeah, he's this cross-dresser that tells fortunes."

"So, what did he want with you?"

"The other day the gang was in Woody’s, Michael was regaling us with this dinner he and David had with these two really old queers.  Evidently doc wants Mikey to move in with him and he can't make up his mind.  So Mysterious Marilyn is sitting at the bar and she suggested we consult with her."

Justin couldn’t help laughing.

"What'll it be, boys?  Palms, tarot, spin around the Ouija?  Only twenty bucks, she said.  Well, Ted decided he's going to give it a try and offered her ten.  She, of course, countered with 'Mysterious Marilyn senses you're an accountant'."

Justin hoots.  "I'm sure that pretty much everyone on Liberty knows that about Ted."

"Any way she pointed to Mikey. 'You, the one with the boyfriend, sit.'  Mikey, of course, does just that and she tells him to put his hands on the Ouija board.   She asks the spirits - 'What is his true loves name? and the planchette starts moving.  B...R...I."

Justin's jaw dropped.  He always known that Michael had a thing for Brian and Mysterious Marilyn had asked for his true loves name.  But what the fuck was a planchette?

Brian snickered. "It’s that pointer thing they use.  Anyway, Mikey pulls his hands away.  'That's not my boyfriend’s name." Brian mimics Michael. 

"That wasn't the question.  And, frankly, he's a bad bet.  Now let's ask about your boyfriend."

"Okay, that's spooky."  Justin admitted.

"That wasn't the strange part.  He came to see me about Ted."  Brian went to his bar and poured himself a glass of Beam.  "According to him...her...whatever, Ted's going to have a rough time in the future.  He's going to get fired, start an internet porn site, get arrested, and become a crystal queen."

Justin knew that all that was true.  "Why is he telling you all that?"

"That's what I wanted to know."  Brian took a pull from his glass.  "He wants me to change things."

"How are you supposed to do that?"

"I have no fucking idea."

Justin thinks on it.  Then he does everything he can think of to take Brian's mind off of things.  He started by taking Brian's jacket off, and actually hanging it up.  Then he took Brian's hand and guided him to the sofa and pushed him down.  Next, he caught the boots by the heel, jerking them both off at the same time.  He debated tossing them, but one thing he's learned is doing something like that would not earn him the attention he wants.  Setting the boots aside, he pulled Brian's socks off.  He’d always had a thing for Brian's bare feet.

Then the most singular thing happened.  Brian's stomach growled.  For once the beast was not his.   Justin jaw dropped and he looked up to find Brian shrugging.

"I didn't have lunch."

"Well, we can't have that, now can we?"

~QAF~

By morning he'd come up with what he felt was the perfect plan.  Joining Brian in the shower, he soaped up Brian's back, massaging it while he was at it. 

"Brian?"   he stated with deliberate casualness.  "Have you ever thought of starting up your own agency."

Brian looked over his shoulder, his lips rolled inward.

"You are the best ad man in the agency."  Justin pointed out as he moved around Brian and went down on his knees.

"That's true."  Brian agreed with a touch of arrogance.

Justin stared at the erection rising in his face and licked his lips.  All thoughts of helping Ted flew out of his head.

Much later when he'd gotten his head on straight and were dressing for work, Justin once again broached the subject of Brian opening his own agency.  He knew that there was still a chance that Brian might end up in New York, but just in case he thought he should throw his suggestion out there.

"You know if you ever did open your own agency, Ted might come in handy for the financial end of it."

Brian looked thoughtful and nodded before kissing him on the forehead before snatching up his briefcase and leaving.

Feeling good about himself, Justin went about his day, until later that night when Brian came home.

"I mentioned your idea to Mikey, and he said I'd be a fool to consider it."

Bummer.