Chapt 10


	Michael grabbed a couple of beers and showed him into the living room.  Ben was at the library researching something for his next novel, so the two men were alone in the apartment.  Michael handed Brian his beer and sat down in his easy chair, waiting for Brian to speak.  When Brian remained standing and didn’t seem to be making any effort to explain himself, Michael got impatient.

	“Damn it Brian, just say it!  Couldn’t find any hot tricks at Babylon?  Did you misplace your gold card?  What the fuck is it?”

	“It’s Justin, OK?” Brian said exasperated.

	“What about Justin?  If you got him involved in one of your crazy schemes I swear to god I’ll…”

	“It’s nothing like that.  And all my schemes aren’t crazy.  I seem to recall a few worked in our favor or don’t you remember?  Anyway, Justin is safe and sound at home,” Brian cut in.

	“Then what is it?”

	“I kinda outted him to Joanie and Claire tonight.”

	“You did what?” Michael yelled.

	“I inferred that Justin may be gay at dinner over at Claire’s.  It’s not like I meant to do it.  She was just so condescending and I couldn’t take it anymore so when she suggested Justin wasn’t like me.”

	“You took it upon yourself to set her straight.”  Brian glared in Michael’s direction.  “Sorry, poor choice of words.  Jesus Bri, did you even stop to think about what kind of damage you could cause Justin before you opened your big fat mouth?  He’s not out to them for a reason and it’s not because he needs their acceptance.  He just doesn’t need their shit either.  Every couple of months he sits through one family dinner and then its back to life as a happy fag.  Now he’ll have Joan praying for his soul and Claire preaching to her boys about how immoral their Uncle Justin is.  You’ve been here one week and already you’re back to controlling everybody’s lives,” Michael complained.

	“What are you talking about Mikey?” Brian questioned, surprised by the sudden change of topic.  Michael sighed heavily and looked Brian directly in the eyes.  Brian figured now was a good time to sit down and got comfortable on the couch, across from Michael.

	“I have always loved you but I realize now that the friendship we had before you left wasn’t particularly healthy for either of us.  You were the boss, the one in charge of everything, especially Justin.  He emulated you, hell we both did.  All I wanted was to be worthy of being your best friend.”

	“You were more than worthy.”

	“That’s because I bent and twisted myself around until I could be what you wanted.  By the time you left I had convinced myself that I could be another king stud just like you.  But then you were gone and I had nothing.”

	“Mikey, I’m sorry.”

	“No, it’s OK because without meaning to you did leave me something.  You left me Justin who let me be whoever I wanted and I have you to thank for that.  Ironically he became the King of Liberty Ave too.  Justin made me realize that none of my changes would have made you want me and the real me was the reason we became friends to begin with.  I don’t know who I would have become if you hadn’t left.”

	“Then I guess it all worked out for you,” Brian admitted.

	“Maybe, but what about you?” Michael asked, concerned.

	“I don’t know Mikey.  I guess that’s why I’m here.  In the past eleven years you must have pissed Justin off at least once.”

	“Oh yeah,” Michael chuckled.

	“So how did you fix it and make him understand why you fucked up?”

	“There’s no easy answer to that question when you’re talking about Justin Taylor.  He doesn’t believe in apologies and he doesn’t understand betrayal.  He’s a straight shooter who will accept nothing but the truth, as long as you’re a part of his inner sanctum.”

	“So what, I’m fucked?  Time to pack up and go home?”

	Michael shook his head and chuckled.

	“Not yet.  All I’m saying is that you have a little more consideration for the life Justin has made for himself.  You’re a part of that now and it’s up to him to decide how big a part.  And that of course also depends on what you’re looking for, which I’d love to hear personally.  When are you leaving town?”

	“God, it’s like everyone’s trying to get rid of me.  Well hold off on the bon voyage party cause I’m sticking around indefinitely.  I put a bid out on an agency and plan on settling down here.”

	Michael couldn’t keep the look of shock off of his face.

	“Does Justin know?”

	“Yup, told him tonight at dinner.   And before you start lecturing again I had planned on telling him in private but things happened.  So, are you going to help me or not?”

	“Don’t know.  Are you going to tell me what your interest in Justin is really about or not?”

	Brian smirked, amused by Michael’s attempt to get the upper hand.  This certainly was a new Mikey and he liked it.

	“I can’t answer that question yet but there is something about Justin that I’m attracted to.  I’m not quite sure what it means.  I just don’t want to hurt him anymore,” Brian explained as honestly as he could.

	“Well then I guess I’ll have to take your word for it but I have a really big boyfriend if you fuck it up.”

	“So what’s the plan?” Brian asked, getting down to business.

	Meanwhile Justin had barricaded himself in his room, attempting to shut out the world.  The phone was ringing nonstop and he could hear the hysterical voices of Joan and Claire coming out of the answering machine.  Using his pillow to block out the noise, Justin lay quietly on his bed.  His solitude was interrupted by the opening and closing of the door.  Emmett knocked lightly on the door before entering the room.

	“Sweetie, what’s going on?  There are at least half a dozen messages from your mom and Claire and none of them make any sense.  Come on, what could you have possibly done to bring about the wrath of god and the disappointment of anyone you have ever known?  Did you forget to brush your teeth?”  Emmett giggled, hoping to lighten the mood and Justin couldn’t help joining in for a moment of levity.  His neatly ordered world had blown up in his face tonight, but there was no changing it now.

	“Oh, I only broke all of her hetero fantasies by following the sinful path blazed by her first born son!” Justin exclaimed.

	“You came out?  Whatever happened to ‘it’s none of her fucking business’?”  Emmett asked in shock.  Justin had always been adamant about keeping his personal life away from his family.  After meeting the She-Devil once, Emmett had agreed wholeheartedly.  

	“Oh, it wasn’t my idea.  Brian stepped in to defend my honor and instead of helping, let’s just say he made it worse,” Justin explained.

	“Since you’re home alone, I’m assuming you acted the part of the perfect drama princess and hightailed it out of the situation.”

	“Well yeah, was I supposed to stick around and thank him for ruining my life?”

	Emmett let out a loud laugh.  Justin glared back.

	“Oh Princess, your life is not ruined and Brian didn’t mean to hurt you.  But it could get worse if you choose to shut him out now.  It’s not like you ever had the perfect family and you accepted that a long time ago.  So now the phone will ring a couple more times a day.  Big deal!  We’ll get caller ID and life will go on.  Now get your ass out of bed and get dressed.  We’re going to Babylon and that’s final.”

	Emmett’s tone of voice meant business, so Justin slowly crawled out of bed and began to examine the contents of his closet.  He had barely gotten started when Emmett left the room calling out behind him, “And wear the black leather.”  Grabbing it from the hanger, Justin went to start the shower.  God, he hated it when Emmett got all bossy and masculine. 

	As Michael put down the phone, he looked over in Brian’s direction.

	“It’s your lucky day.  Get dressed, we’re going to Babylon,” Michael stated.

	“Fuck Mikey, any other night.  I’m not in the mood to go tricking, as shocking as that may seem.”

	“Well that’s a good thing because I’d seriously have to kill you if that’s the term you used to describe Justin.”

	“Justin?  Will he be there?”

	“That’s what Emmett just said.  Now hurry up, we have one stop to make first.”

	Brian jumped off the couch, surprised by his good fortune.  He was ready to go minutes later and looking incredibly sexy in his tight worn jeans.  Michael shook his head, thinking some things never change.  He then looked over at a photo of him and Ben together and smiled knowing some things did.

	The bouncer only gave Justin and Emmett a cursory glance before motioning them in.  The music pumped through Justin’s body and he was already starting to feel better.  Emmett knew exactly what he was doing when he insisted they come here.  Justin was basically a kid when he first walked through these doors but even then it had the same effect on him.  There a sense of escape and the chance to be whoever he wanted.  Out there on the dance floor, he was Justin Taylor and that was it.  No need to worry about his finances, his abusive home life, the disappearing brother, or his studies.  So many years later and it still held that sense of freedom.
	Emmett and Justin through back a couple of shots immediately and headed to the dance floor.  While Justin got lost in the music, Emmett kept his eyes open for Michael’s arrival.  He hadn’t told Justin who Michael would be bringing with him but thought that was the only safe thing to do, under the circumstances.

	Brian immediately scanned both the bar and dance floor for the familiar blonde head.  He had never been known to go after someone but he knew when he was wrong and this was one of those times.  Mikey didn’t even have to tell him about Justin’s little excursion tonight and he was appreciative he had.  It had been nice to just sit down and talk to the other man.  It was one of the things he had missed most while he was gone.  They would never be as close as they were and that was all right.  Justin was most likely a better friend than he could ever be.  They deserved one another.
	Michael was the first to notice his two friends and gently shoved Brian in their direction.  Brian followed his gaze and walked straight for them, without another word.  His hand was clutched around a small paper bag that he held in a death grip.  Once Brian was directly behind Justin, he leaned in to whisper softly in his ear. 

	“I have something for you.”

	Justin whipped around in shock, practically knocking Brian off his feet with the swing of his arms.  Brian stumbled a tad before settling back on his feet.

	“Shit Bri, I’m sorry.”

	“It’s OK, I didn’t mean to startle you.”

	Justin smiled, eyeing the paper bag.

	“Whatcha got there?”

	“Why don’t you open it up and see for yourself,” Brian said with a smirk.

	Opening the bag, Justin couldn’t stop the giggles from erupting when he took out one of the lemon bars.  Taking a big bite, his eyes twinkled as he looked into Brian’s warm hazel ones.

	“Why thank you Brian.  How did you know I prefer lemon bars to silly sentiments and flowers?”

	“Mikey said he used to give you a box full of them every time he did something stupid.”

	“That’s true he did…when I was twelve.”

	Justin continued to laugh, as both men looked over Brian’s shoulder at Michael’s innocent smile.  He shrugged, happy to see his mission for the night had been accomplished.  Justin could be hell on wheels when he was pissed but he was also the type of person that enjoyed the simple things in life.  He had always been ruled by his stomach and had rather frequent cravings for lemon bars.  It was the easiest way to appease him before he discovered dick.  Michael felt good seeing his two best friends happy again, at least for now.  He could see a relationship brewing between them and with two men as relationship challenged as those two; it was going to be an uphill battle.  A boisterous Emmett interrupted his thoughts.

	“Well there you are Baby.  I was about to put our poor little princess down if he bitched one more time about the injustices in the world.”

	“Don’t think he wouldn’t go down without a fight.  So how bad do you think the damage is with the Kinney women?”

	Emmett made a face like he was sucking a lemon.

	“Let’s just say I wouldn’t be surprised if a priest showed up this week to perform an exorcism.”

	“Shit, if it was that easy Babylon would be out of business.”

	Both men laughed and turned to watch the floor show Justin and Brian were starting to create.  They had stopped talking and had taken to grinding up against each other.  Justin was touched that Brian would go to his best friend and take his adolescent advice on how to get back into Justin’s good graces.  It was better than any apology he could have received.  Brian had only wanted to talk to Justin but somehow they had ended up in each other’s arms and there was nowhere else he wanted to be at that moment.  Justin had very little to drink but felt light headed from the contact.  The closer their bodies got, the more he wanted.  Justin’s hips swung seductively back and forth, rubbing their groans enticingly together.
	All thoughts of the prior events of the evening disappeared as their eyes locked on one another.  Justin felt the heat of the gaze all over his body and unconsciously leaned forward.  Brian felt drawn in as well and bent down to touch his lips softly to Justin’s.  The gentle caress sent waves of pleasure down Justin’s spine.  Brian’s hands gripped his waist, pulling him in even closer.  While Justin’s nimble fingers brushed through Brian’s hair.

	“Bri, what are we doing?” Justin gasped as he pulled away.

	“I don’t know.  Do you want me to stop?”

	“No, but I don’t want to do it here.  Not with you.  How about I take Michael and Emmett home and then meet you back at your hotel room?”

	Justin appreciated his friends’ manipulations and didn’t want to leave them stranded.  Plus he felt it might a good idea to get a little distance before he passed the point of no return.

	“OK, just don’t be too long,” Brian said and gave one last lingering kiss.  Justin’s pants became uncomfortably tight from the simple gesture.  The moment Brian disappeared, Justin ran to grab the boys.  He yanked them both by the arms.

	“Time for good little boys to go home.  I’ve got plans tonight.”

	Emmett and Michael nodded their heads in understanding and immediately headed for the door.