Thanks to all those who support us and make this story possible, love you all. A Couple Days Later Justin’s POV I’m at work once again; watching as one of the employees comes scurrying out of Brian’s office with Brian’s bellows right behind him. I don’t know what’s up with Brian but I do know that something has to be done about it before every one of our employees quits on us. I shake my head and go back to my office to wait until all the employees go home because I know Brian will still be here after everyone else has left for the day. He has been pushing himself, as well as everyone else, too hard. I can’t stand around and let him continue doing it because if all the employees don’t quit, he is going to run himself into the ground. Once all the employees had gone home for the day, I went into Brian’s office without knocking, knowing that this would set him on edge but not really caring. I just needed to deal with this destructive thing he has going on. “What the fuck do you want? Don’t you know how to knock?” Brian growled out in his best attempt to be intimidating. “Yes I do.” I say simply as I walk further into his office. “I need to talk to you about some things.” “What, did we lose more accounts because of the incompetence of the fucking idiots that work here, for now?” Brian asked me with more than a little bite in his voice. “No, we didn’t and we have Liberty Air and Brown back and I’m sure we are going to get Dandy Lube back as well so you can stop stressing about that. Sometimes shit happens Brian and you have to deal with it, but you can’t let it eat at you like this.” I try to reason with him. “Things happen? Things happen? That was millions of dollars of revenue that just fucking flew out the window.” Brian shouted, jumping up from his desk. “Yes, we all know how important it was and we did everything in our power to fix it and it was fixed, but the point of the matter is that you can’t get yourself this worked up Brian; you’re still sick and you’re driving everyone up a fucking wall.” I scream back, trying to get through to him. “Well, everything was fine here until you came along, so maybe it’s not my employees that are incompetent.” Brian says, striking out at me in a very obvious way to try to get me off his back but I’m not going to let that fly. “Yeah, let’s blame it on that.” I say snidely. “But let’s get down to what the real problem is, okay?” I stand there looking at him, waiting for him to tell me something real; even though I’m pretty sure he’s not going to. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, that is the problem. Now I have work to do; could you get the fuck out of my office.” Brian snarled and I know I have him close to his breaking point and I have to tread lightly because he could go either way. “Brian, please,” I try to change tactics. “You’re running yourself into the ground and if you don’t do something, you’re going to make yourself sicker and then where will Gus be? I know that you love that little boy and would do anything for him, so please slow down for him. And if he’s not reason enough and you won’t do it for you…then do for me.” I finish hesitantly. “You?” Brian questions softly. “What do you have to do with it?” Normally if Brian had said something like that, it would have been harsh and anyone would have been able to tell that he was cutting the other person down. But just now when he said it, I could hear the thinly disguised hope and uncertainty in his voice. I don’t know how to answer his question out loud, although I think my eyes are saying it pretty plainly because I don’t know how much of myself I expose to this man; I don’t know how he’ll react. But then I see Brian’s eyes start to dim again and I know the look in my eye isn’t doing it for him and he’s erecting those walls again that slipped for a minute. I know that no matter what consequence it has for me, I have to put myself out there for Brian and trust that he won’t break my heart. “Because I care about you, Brian.” I say softly and he looks into my eyes again, obviously hoping and waiting for something else. “I care about you a lot. I’m not sure I’m ready to label it as more but I do know that I have never felt this way about anyone.” I say softly, holding his eyes, trying to show him everything, with not only my words but also my apparent emotions. I watch as Brian searches my face and I see a little fear appear on his at my words and I’m afraid of what he’ll say. Did I read the situation wrong and just stick my foot in my mouth? After what seems like hours but is only minutes, I resign myself to the fact that Brian doesn’t feel the same way about me and I have just made him uncomfortable with my declaration. “I’m sorry; I shouldn’t have blurted that out.” I say softly, trying to hold back the tears as I turn towards the door, wanting nothing more than to escape his presence and go somewhere to lick my wounds, which feels like huge holes throughout my body. “Wait.” Brian calls out to me and I feel him sit up and pull me back into his arms. “I…I…I feel the same way.” Brian seems to have to force the words out. “I don’t know if this is,” he hesitates once again, “love because I have never felt that for anyone but Gus, well and maybe my friends, a little. So I don’t know but I like the way I feel when I’m with you and I’m scared.” “What are you scared of, Brian?” I ask as I turn around in is arms so I’m looking up into his face. “I’m scared of the way I feel when I’m with you. I need control, it’s so important to me and when I’m with you no matter what we are doing I feel like I’m spinning out of control.” he says, looking into my eyes as well. “I’m sor…” I start but he cuts me off before I can finish. “Don’t be sorry Justin; you have nothing to be sorry about. But please let me finish what I have to say before I chicken out.” he almost pleads with me and I can’t do anything but nod because I know he needs to say whatever it is, as much as I need to hear it. “I’m also scared of what will happen if we try this and it doesn’t work. I mean it’s not just the two of us, us being involved includes our children. Not that I want us to fail or anything; it’s just that Gus already cares so much for you and Kyla is the fucking greatest little girl.” he says. Although I’m listening seriously to what he is saying and I know his fears are founded, hell they’re my fears too, but I can’t help but smile at the way he thinks of my little girl. “I’m scared that I won’t be able to live up to your expectations.” Brian continues and as I open my mouth to add my thoughts, he quietly shushes me. “I’m scared that one day you’ll realize that you deserve so much better than me and I don’t know what I’ll do then,” he pauses for a minute and I think he’s done so I open my mouth to tell him that I feel the same way, that everyone has these fears but he stops me once again. “But most of all, I’m scared of never feeling again the way I feel when I’m with you. Never knowing the heaven that’s in your arms.” he finishes. His words and the sentiment behind them have reduced me to tears. Tears that I do not notice until he wipes them away. First he brushes away the tears with his fingertips but when they refuse to stop coming, he continues with his lips. After a second of stilling my tears with his lips, his lips meet mine in a lingering kiss. Both of us sharing our feelings for each other and our insecurities about those feelings with our lips. There is no demand in our lips meeting; we are just trying to feel each other. The kiss continues for so long, us even breathing against the other’s lips when our bodies demand air. His hand is on my hips, holding me close to his body and mine are in his hair pulling his mouth closer to mine. We finally break the kiss and rest our foreheads against each other, just looking into each other’s eyes. “Let’s go.” I say. “Go where?” Brian asks in a surprised voice and I know he would have rather stay here like this forever, which I completely understand because I want to as well, but I know we can’t. “Well, we could go to my house and pick up Kyla or your’s and pick up Gus.” I say, smiling softly at Brian. “Okay.” he agrees, Later that night after we have the kids in bed and we are lying in post coital bliss, I look over at Brian and our eyes met once again. I know neither of us are sure how to proceed from here but that we both plan on trying our hardest to make us work and for some reason I just know we are going to pull it off. We might never have a prefect relationship by other’s standards but we will be happy, all four of us. AN: I sort of stole Brian’s speech from a movie, can anyone guess the movie? I have no ties to that movie I just thought it fit. Guess the movie and I’ll tell you if you’re right. Also I apologize for the short chapter but I tried everything to make it longer and I just spent days staring at it so it’s short, sorry.