Midnight Whispers
QAF Brian and Justin Fanfiction

Brian didn't know what to make of it.  The blond kid from the diner, Justin, was his Picasso.  He assumed that the insolent kid was toying with him, which had incensed him.  But then a short time later he spied Justin hastily leaving the back room, and it looked like he was crying, although he couldn't be positive.

Now he began to doubt everything the kid had ever said to him.  Did he make all of it up as part of a scheme, or was he being truthful?  Brian was disappointed in the outcome of his much anticipated meeting, and departed Babylon in an unusually foul mood. 

Charging up the steps to his loft, he still couldn't fathom why the kid had bothered to meet him in person.  Justin had to know that he would be pissed to find out the blond knew his identity, yet hadn't said anything. The night had gone nothing like he had planned.  Brian felt even more frustrated and confused.  He grabbed a bottle of Beam, and in true Kinney fashion, proceeded to get shit-faced. 

 

Justin was so upset, he flung himself onto his bed, and let the tears flow.  He was mostly angry at himself for getting his hopes up.  Of course Brian thought he was playing some twisted game with him!  They hadn't had an amicable interaction in months.  Did he really expect the man to be happy about his revelation?  This whole situation sucked, big time. 

Morning rolled around all too quickly.  Justin was still brooding about the disastrous events of last night, feeling dejected and depressed.  He called in sick to work, because he found that he didn't possess the energy to get up out of his bed, and make the trek to Liberty Avenue.  He shut his cell phone off, and put his answering machine on.  He just wanted to be left alone.

 

Daphne was beginning to panic.  She had tried to reach Justin since early this morning, with no luck.  Justin would have called her if things had gone well last night, of that she was sure.  When Daphne showed up at the diner, and found out that he had called in sick, her anxiety began to mount. It just wasn't like Justin not to answer his phone, especially if he knew it was her.  There was nothing left to do, but go to his apartment. 

Daphne made a quick stop at her place.  She snatched the extra key Justin had given to her, and sped off again in her car.  Daphne banged loudly on the apartment door, and before a despondent Justin had a chance to walk over and answer it, impatiently let herself in with the key.

"Justin, I've been worried about you," she admonished.

"As you can see, I'm still alive Daph."

"Barely," Daphne remarked as she drank in his disheveled appearance.  He looked absolutely miserable.

Justin went to lay back down on his bed. 

"What the fuck's wrong?" Daphne asked her best friend.

"Everything.  Brian thinks I purposely deceived him to humiliate him."

"What?"

"He wouldn't give me a chance to explain anything.  Just said "Fuck you", and walked away."

"That was a shitty thing to do.  You should forget about him Jus."

"Believe me, I wish I could."  Justin paused and than added, "The worst thing is, I was falling in love with him Daph." 

Daphne stayed with him for a while, listening to him queen out, berating himself for being foolish enough to believe that the man had a heart, and that he was human.  The more Justin went on, the more Daphne realized how much he was hurting inside.  She eventually said goodbye, giving him a tight hug and a peck on the cheek, and making him promise to call her tomorrow.

Daphne Chanders didn't know Brian Kinney, but he was responsible for Justin's unhappiness.  Therefore, she embarked on a mission to help her friend, which included giving that asshole Kinney, a piece of her mind.  Fortunately, Daphne had remembered the name of the agency Brian worked for because Justin had mentioned it once.  Being a resourceful person, she easily located the address of the firm in the business section of the phonebook.  She scribbled it down on a piece of paper, and was on her way.

 

Brian Kinney was already having a shit day.  So he wasn't surprised when Cynthia entered his office, with a foreboding look on her face. 

"What?" Brian snapped.

"Uh...there's a girl here to see you, says that she's a friend of Justin?"

"Tell her I'm busy."

Cynthia slipped out the door to give Brian's message to the young lady pacing in front of her desk. 

Brian suddenly heard loud voices coming from just outside his office, and recognized one of them as his assistant's. 

"I told you, you can't see him,"  Cynthia warned.  But Daphne had already pushed past her.  Although Cynthia tried to grab hold of her by the arm, Daphne managed to shake her off. 

"It's okay Cynthia," Brian said, trying to avoid a physical altercation between the two young women. 

Cynthia turned to Brian and questioned warily, "You sure boss?  I could get security."

"They'll be no need for that.  Thank you Cynthia."

Cynthia was miffed at his casual dismissal, and gave Daphne an icy glare, as she turned to leave.

"Have a seat Miss..."

"Daphne, Daphne Chanders, I'm Justin's best friend."

"I see.  I suppose he sent you here?"

"No, as a matter of fact, Justin doesn't even know I'm here."  She resented the way he referred to Justin as "he", and purposely emphasized his name.

"Listen, Mr. Kinney..."

"Brian," he corrected.

"Okay, Brian.  Justin is very upset about what happened last night.  He thinks you hate him."

That's about right, Brian thought to himself. 

"He deceived me with his little mind games."

"How did he manage to do that?  You're the one who called him and started this entire charade.  He just went along with it.  He didn't know it was you until recently."

"And he didn't say a word when he found out," Brian sputtered.  "Figured he'd have the perfect opportunity to make me look like an ass."

"I don't think you have any trouble doing that all by yourself," Daphne shot back.  "You don't need any help from him."


Brian smirked in amusement at the girl's spunk.

Daphne continued her lamenting, her features animated.  "I don't know why, but the truth is he likes you a lot, maybe even loves you.  When you didn't even let him explain his reason for not telling you who he was, he was crushed."

Brian sat quietly behind his desk, not reacting to anything Daphne was saying.  However, he was listening to every single word.

"He was afraid that you would freak once you found out it was him.  And now I realize he was right.  You don't understand, and you're too...too much of a jerk to give him a chance.  Well I've got a newsflash for you, Justin is Picasso.  He's still the guy you talked with for hours on the phone.  He's still the guy you were once so anxious to meet.  It's your loss if you miss out on someone as special as Justin."

"Are you finished?"  Brian asked, seemingly unruffled by her rant.

"Yes," Daphne answered abruptly, pursing her lips tightly, in an effort to control her emotions.

"Good, because I have to get back to work.  It was such a pleasure to meet you Daphne," Brian said with a sardonic lilt, as he came from behind the desk.

"Sorry I can't say the same, Brian.  You should think about what I said." 

Daphne sprung up from the chair, and snipped, "I'll show myself out." 

Brian was impressed by the defiant slip of a girl, as she left with her head held high.  He admired her fiery spirit, and loyalty to her friend.  She had barged into his office, determined to say her piece, and she had.

To his surprise, he actually did find himself thinking about the young man from the diner.  Daphne was right, whether he was ready to admit it or not, it was Justin who conversed freely with him all those nights, sharing his dreams and heartaches.  Brian had indeed been the one to encourage the relationship, by calling the younger man time and time again. 

'What were the exact words Daphne had used?'  "He likes you a lot, maybe even loves you."  Instead of those words scaring him, they actually made Brian smile.  No wonder the kid had been looking at him strangely lately.  And if Brian was being completely honest with himself, he was smitten with the young man he knew as Picasso, and was going to miss their intimate talks.  Fuck, he must really be going insane!

Brian had a crucial decision to make.  Was he going to let his pride get in the way, and let Justin go?  Or was he going to go after the kid, and take a chance by putting his feelings out there, which is something he'd never done before. 

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