Moonlight, Magic and Mystery – 13 “So birthday boy, what do you want to do tonight?” Brian asked as he traced circles on Justin’s bare skin. “Recover from my birthday morning?” Justin laughed. He loved it when Brian touched him. “No, I was thinking of something else.” He looked over Justin’s shoulder. “Ty, why don’t you go find Killer and stare at him for a change. You can watch him grow.” “He’s not going to grow anymore.” “Promise?” Brian asked with a laugh. “Because he can reach things off of the counters in the kitchen without even straining.” “I kind of like how he rests his head on the table when’s he’s sitting on the floor.” Justin giggled. “I don’t.” Brian glared. “Now back to tonight. Lindsay and Melanie have some kind of idea that they want to take you to a concert being held at PIFA. I was thinking that maybe you and I could go with the girls.” “You mean like on a date?” Justin’s eyes were wide. “A double date?” “I’m not into classifying things by stereotypical words.” Brian looked away, much like Killer did when he didn’t want to admit he was wrong. “So we’re just going to be going to a concert, something you aren’t remotely interested in, nor am I, with Melanie and Lindsay. And coincidently, it’s my birthday.” “That’s right and maybe, because it’s late, we’ll all have dinner at a restaurant a tad classier than the diner.” Brian huffed. “I mean I should feed all of you since we’ll be out late.” “Of course, I’d expect to be fed.” Justin bit the inside of his lip to keep from laughing. “I thought maybe mom could watch Gus, that way we don’t have to worry about him.” Brian looked up at the ceiling. “A concert really isn’t a good place for a child.” Justin agreed. “Especially a child who tends to pop things in and out of the air just for fun.” “So you’ll go with me?” Brian asked. “How could I resist?” Justin giggled. “We could go shopping this afternoon and find something hot to wear tonight.” “Whose birthday is this?” Justin laughed. “Yours or mine? Cause shopping is kind of your thing.” “But I’d be shopping for you.” Brian laughed. “And since it’s your birthday, you can’t refuse.” “I was hoping for a rent boy with a bow around his dick.” Justin joked. “I considered that, but thought I’d save that for an alternate universe Brian and Justin.” “Good plan, big boy.” Justin nuzzled Brian’s chin before he began to work his way lower down the older man’s body. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Later that day: “How did we end up with Gus again?” Brian asked as Justin pushed the heavy stroller into the men’s store. “Not that I’m complaining.” He peered under the stroller’s hood to reassure Gus with his smile that he didn’t mind having him. “The girls wanted some quiet time and since we’re all going out tonight, they didn’t want Gus to be left with a sitter, even your mom, most of the day.” Gus sat in his plush designer stroller, Doug tucked safely at his side. He chatted and giggled with his feline companion, explaining the amazing things they were seeing. “Oh, I like that.” Blue cashmere, the color of Justin’s eyes when passion overtook him, was displayed on a manikin. “We’ll take it.” Brian signaled to the hovering sales clerk. “And one just like it in black. He looks hot in black.” “Two?” Justin’s eye brow raised. “It’s your birthday.” Brian justified as he held up a pair of fine woolen trousers, a perfect compliment to either sweater. “Silk boxers under these and you’re all set.” “You mean you’re all set.” Justin laughed. “Wool makes me itch if it’s next to my skin.” Brian sighed with drama. “I’m not buying polyester.” “We have something very similar in a wonderful linen.” The sales clerk volunteered. “And there are some rather nice fine cottons.” It took them almost an hour before Brian was satisfied with Justin’s birthday clothing. Justin vetoed almost everything he was shown and only the stubborn set of Brian’s jaw and the flash of anger in his eyes, made the blond agree on a few of the man’s choices. Gus and Doug watched the proceedings with interest, only commenting to each other in a rather secretive way that made Justin slightly suspicious though he said nothing. Brian paid for their purchases ignoring Gus and Doug. He’d been listening to the two of them though he hadn’t wanted to alarm Justin. Apparently they were planning on visiting Ty and Killer at the loft and were plotting how to get them all there. It didn’t sound good. Gus was barely a year old and his judgment wasn’t the best, working as he did more on impulse and less on good sense. “That’s it for shopping.” Brian began, immediately sorry he’d spoken, as they were all popped back to the sidewalk in front of the loft. He hoped the sales clerk hadn’t noticed their disappearance. “Gus.” Brian began from his position directly in front of the stroller. “If you want to go to the loft, you only have to ask. I’ve explained that we can’t use our powers just for any old thing. They are too important to waste on unnecessary things. There might come a day when you’ll need all the strength and force you’ve ever possessed. You don’t want to find yourself running on empty.” “Da, Doug and I want to go to the loft.” Gus grinned up at him. His Wah cat had a similar grin on its furry face. “Did you hear what I said?” Brian tried to make his voice gruff. “Yes Da, Doug and me heared you.” Gus smiled. “We luv you, grouchy Da. No more popping.” He made his eyes go sad, but the twinkle in the corners gave him away. Justin snickered, leaned over and kissed the top of Brian’s head. “I’ll go back and pick up the jeep.” He offered. “You two can have a daddy, son bonding moment.” “Bye Jus.” Gus waved. “Bring ice cream.” “No, don’t bring ice cream.” Brian said. He looked at his son. “No popping ice cream into the loft.” Justin waved as he jogged down the block. The jeep wasn’t that far away. He’d stop and get some frozen yogurt. It wasn’t defying Brian, it wasn’t ice cream. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Justin’s breath quickened when he walked down the steps from the bedroom. He’d never seen quite the openness of Brian’s soul in the man’s face before. To make him smile, Justin turned around, modeling his outfit. “Do you approve?” he asked with a smile. “You’ll do.” Brian shrugged as he struggled to keep from ripping the clothes off the young man who stood a foot in front of him. “That’s it?” Justin laughed. He leaned up and kissed Brian quickly before moving to the birdcage. “Hey Frances, any ideas yet about what we should do with you?” Frances was lying on a makeshift bed fashioned from a pile of tissue. He was eating pieces of apple and watching a movie on Justin’s Ipod. “Keep the fucking cat away from me.” He said with a glare. “I let you visit with your wife.” “She’s pissed with me. She had no idea what I was doing, so don’t bother bringing her here again.” Frances refused to turn from the movie to talk to Justin. “Okay, fine with me. It was a pain in the ass anyway.” Justin turned. “We’re going out. I’m sorry, but Ty will be guarding you.” “That fucking cat is psychotic. It spends hours staring up at the cage from the counter or down at the cage when it’s in the rafters. It’s just weird.” “It’s a cat thing. He knows he’s not supposed to eat you. So get over it and think of this stay as a short, but not too comfy, vacation from real life.” Justin linked his arm through Brian’s. “This date thing is kind of cool. Have you decided where we’re going for dinner?” “Of course I’ve decided. I made the reservations myself.” Brian couldn’t resist and swept Justin into his arms for a mind-melting kiss that left them both breathless. “Maybe we should stay home.” He whispered his voice husky, but he knew he wouldn’t. This night was all about Justin. “Come on witch boy, your night awaits.” He pulled open the door to the loft to let them both out. Closing and locking the loft, Brian made sure to put a spell to keep out any intruders. When the two couples arrived at the concert, you could almost smell the excitement in the air. Neither Brian nor Justin were particularly interested in a violin concert. But the whole idea of a night out, as a date with Lindsay and Melanie, was what kept the excitement up. “The guy with the violin thinks he’s pretty damn special.” Brian snorted behind his hand to Justin who shushed him with a look. They sat in one of the better seats in the small concert room at PIFA. It enabled them to have a clear view of the stage, though Brian envied the ones who had managed to get seats behind the support pillars. At least they could sleep. The concert was longer than the boys wanted. Justin amused himself sketching the violist on the edge of his program. At least he looked interested which was more than Brian did. The man didn’t even pretend he was listening to the concert. Instead with closed eyes, he quietly snoozed the evening away. When the concert was over, Justin said. “How did you do that?” “Do what?” Brian asked puzzled. “Sleep without sleeping and wake up the moment everything is over.” “Ahhhhh, years of practice when I was forced to attend my mother’s version of worship of the gods at the local Church.” Brian laughed. “I could catch up on my sleep and yet play the role of the dutiful son.” “You were a brat, it’s a wonder she still puts up with you.” Lindsay laughed overhearing Brian and Justin. “I’ll have to ask her what you were like as a small boy. No doubt Gus is like his daddy.” “But he’s tempered with you.” Melanie smiled and kissed Lindsay’s cheek. “So he won’t be all that bad.” “Gag me with a spoon.” Brian muttered. “We have dinner reservations.” “We can’t leave now, we need to talk to the Ethan.” Lindsay said. “Who in hell is Ethan?” Brian asked. “Ethan Gold, the violist.” Justin giggled, sending shivers down Brian’s spine. “Remember, we were at his concert.” “Oh, him. He’s hinky.” Brian dismissed the artist. “Hinky?” Melanie snorted. “Meaning he isn’t interested in you?” “No, meaning there’s something about him that gives me an uneasy feeling.” Brian glared. “I don’t like him.” “You don’t even know him.” Melanie began, they didn’t notice that Justin was talking to the artist in question. “I saw you watching me.” Ethan began. “I was drawing you.” Justin showed him his program. “Hey, you’re good.” Ethan beamed. Everything was unfolding the way Chris Hobbes had predicted. The blond was under the spell of his violin music. Ethan smiled, his smile filled with evil, but an evil that Justin couldn’t perceive. Zane Hobbes was a powerful Wahjee and while he’d been banned from using his powers on humans or Wahjee, he hadn’t been banned from using it on things such as violins. “Can I see that?” Ethan asked, reaching for the program. Chris had told him it was necessary to get a piece of Justin’s art, preferably something he’d done while under the violin’s spell. Justin put his heart and soul into any artistic endeavor. Zane’s spell would be more powerful if he had a piece of the blond. “It’s just a few doodles.” Justin said as he handed the program to the musician. “I can do better.” “I like it. Can I keep it? It’s the first time anyone has cared enough to put my face on paper.” Ethan was already tucking the program into his violin case, not waiting for an answer. “Sure.” Justin shrugged. “I’ve come to claim my boyfriend.” Brian said, his voice smug as he put his arm around Justin’s shoulder. His eyes found Ethan’s and he almost said something when he looked into the blankness that was the musician’s soul. “Brian.” Justin beamed, his smile lighting up the room. Brian had called him his boyfriend. He’d never done anything like that before. The black magic that had been woven with Ethan’s violin music retreated under the onslaught of Justin’s joy. “Ethan, this is Brian.” He introduced. “Ian, your music was rather interesting.” Brian said between gritted teeth. “Ethan, Ethan Gold.” The musician glared. “Whatever.” Brian steered Justin around away from Ethan. “Time for dinner, birthday boy.” He kissed Justin thoroughly, feeling the glare of hatred on his back from the slimy banjo player. Justin could never resist Brian’s mouth, all thoughts of violin music left him as he melted into the older man’s mouth. “There you two are.” Lindsay said. “Melanie and I were looking for you. Brian, didn’t you say something about reservations.” Brian looked up from Justin’s lips., his trademark smirk in place. “I’m ready.” “Me too.” Justin said, but it was apparent that what the two of them were ready for wasn’t dinner. “You two can do that anytime. I want to eat. And Justin, it may be your birthday, but you should expand your horizons to more than Brian’s cock.” Melanie’s acid words didn’t bother Justin, he was used to her. “I would like to finish this date.” He said looking up at Brian. “I’m not sure when I’ll get another one.” The four left the concert room. Melanie, Lindsay and Justin, unaware of the glare of hatred from the violin player. Brian on the other hand, was all too aware. He was going to have to keep an eye on his witch boy, because for some reason, Justin had no clue how dangerous Ethan Gold was. But in time he would find out. Two days later, Justin took a short cut through the music building on his way to the main office of PIFA. He hadn’t been planning on seeking out Ethan Gold, but as soon as he crossed the threshold, the haunting strains of violin music caught his attention, pulling him up to the second floor to stand in the music room door and watch the young musician play. “Hey.” Ethan said with a sly smile when he caught sight of Justin. “I wasn’t expecting to see you today.” “I wasn’t expecting to be here.” Justin grinned. “I liked what ever it was you were playing.” “I was thinking of you. You inspire me.” Ethan let his hand linger on Justin’s arm. Justin shivered and moved away. There was something strange about the man. Ethan couldn’t help but be pleased that his violin had once again worked its magic on the beautiful blond. He hadn’t believed Chris Hobbes about this magic stuff, but now he did, or at least now he somewhat believed. Magic was a thing of fairy tales and bedtime stories, not real life. Real life consisted of pain and anger and drunken abusive parents who did their best to sap the very life out of him. He’d hungered for serenity when he was a child(;) only discovering as he approached his teens that he could become lost in the mysterious music a violin was capable of. Taking music as an elective in his ninth grade had introduced him to the power that could be woven with the right talent and touch. On his way to the music scholarship that had led him to PIFA, Ethan Gold had lost all ability to love, to be kind, to even care about anyone other than himself. If getting ahead and becoming rich and famous, meant stomping on Justin Taylor and destroying him, then so be it. That’s what would happen. The Hobbes family had guaranteed that Ethan would have the richness and recognition he so desperately craved. “We could go for coffee.” Ethan began, his voice suggesting much more than the black liquid. “I know of a good place that’s quiet, we could talk and get to know each other.” “Yeah, right.” Justin looked at him curiously. “You did notice my rather handsome boyfriend the other night didn’t you?” He asked. “I’m not so sure Brian would be all that thrilled with our getting to know one another.” “Oh, he controls you does he? I mean in this day and age, most young men, as talented and good looking as you are, would certainly be able to speak for themselves.” He shrugged and turned away. “To each his own.” He muttered. “Brian doesn’t tell me what to do.” Justin glared at the violinists back. “I’m my own man.” He thought, well sort of, I just don’t like to piss Brian off, much. “Then we can go for coffee.” Ethan beamed, though the smile never reached his eyes. Justin, who noticed everything about everyone, it was the artist in him, wondered how someone could walk and talk and breathe and have eyes as dead as two pieces of coal. And yet there was something that made him stay. He knew that Ethan wasn’t Wahjee, so it couldn’t be magic. “Uh look, I have to go.” Justin began to back out of the room. Maybe we’ll have coffee another day.” “If your daddy lets you.” Ethan mocked. Justin only shrugged, turned and walked out the door. He wanted to run fast, just to get away from the man in the music room. But he refused to show he was unnerved. Brian knew something was wrong as soon as Justin walked through the door. He didn’t say anything, Justin was unable to keep secrets for long. He knew it was only a matter of time. “Hey.” Brian said from the treadmill where he was just cooling down. “You have a parcel.” “I do?” Justin headed for the counter where a brown paper wrapped box sat. “What is it?” “Much as I’d like to have xray vision, I don’t.” Brian huffed. “Asshole.” Justin muttered absently as he studied the package. “Open it.” Brian commanded. “I’m going to. What if it’s a bomb?” “Considering it’s from the hotel we stayed at when we were at the White Party, I highly doubt it. They’d never get return guests.” Justin glared at him as he carefully removed the tape that closed the ends of the parcel. “Oh cool, it’s the bouquet I caught. You told me it was lost.” “Well it was lost, but sadly it’s been found.” Brian turned away from the blond to hide his smile. “You have a fucking wedding bouquet?” Frances snorted. Ty was lying on top of the cage, perfectly relaxed, an arm dangling inside only inches from Frances. Since Brian had ordered the cat to not injure their captive, Frances knew he was safe. A Wah cat never disobeyed its owner. “What a waste of flowers, two men don’t get married.” “Well, not here in Pennsylvania, but we could have a commitment ceremony like Mel and Linds.” Justin volunteered, dreamy eyed as he stared off into space. “Don’t hold your breath cousin. Brian Kinney is not the marrying kind no matter what the High Council might demand of him.” Frances stood up to pace the length of his cage, but a cat claw tapped him on the head making him sit down again. “No one tells me what to do.” Brian glared, taking the bouquet from Justin’s hand. “Who the fuck do you think asked the hotel to find this and send it to Justin? I knew it was important to him. It represents an ideal that he and yes, me, that we need to have to live in this crazy world. I don’t know if we’ll ever be married, but I do know this, we’ll always be together. We don’t need rings or public vows of devotion to love one another.” “You love me?” Justin asked in awe. “Just what the fuck is love Justin?” Brian asked as he turned the bouquet over and over in his hands. “Can it be found in a bouquet of flowers, or two bands of platinum?” he shook his head. “Love is so deep inside you it’s part of your genetic make up. You either have it or you don’t. It’s like hearing or seeing. Only it’s small, so small it can’t be seen and it needs to grow into something. It needs nourishment while you grow into a man, it takes years of soft touches, kind words and all around peace to grow from that tiny spark. Some of us aren’t so lucky. We don’t have that in our lives and the spark of love almost dies out, in some cases it does and once it’s gone, it can’t ever be lit up again. My spark was dying when I met you Justin, though you tell me I’m wrong. All I know is that since you came into my life, I find I am capable of love. It might not be a raging flame yet, but it’s a hell of a lot bigger than an almost extinguished spark.” Justin stood stunned and then he ran and threw himself into Brian’s arms. “I am so happy I think I might explode.” He whispered into Brian’s neck. “Don’t explode, it would be messy.” Brian teased, but his arms went around the boy and he held him tight, as if afraid he would disappear. “Give me a fucking break here.” Frances yelled from the cage. “I want to go home. I don’t need to watch this endless soap opera that’s your life.” Ty yeoweled. “And get this fucking cat off the cage. He knows he’s not supposed to be this close to me.” “Right, I forgot about you. Mom said she’ll keep you for awhile. After all, you’re more her relative than mine.” Justin snuggled closer to Brian if it was possible to be closer. “She’ll come and get you later. I think she’s taking you back to your wife. After all the two of you did exchange vows, you know, for better or worse, tiny dick or big one.” He snickered. “Don’t worry, mom’s working on a spell that will keep you quiet and out of my hair. And then she’s going to go to the council about the watcher system. You do know they aren’t supposed to kill the Wahjee that they’re watching, don’t you. Because apparently you managed to get the rules wrong.” Brian snapped his fingers and turned on some music. He dimmed the lights in the loft as he began to dance Justin around. Catching on to what Brian was doing, Justin let his small spark lights loose like he had on the last night of the White Party; when together;, they’d caught the bouquet. “Remember that night?” Brian asked, his lips close to Justin’s ear as they danced to the beat of familiar music. “You were radiant all in white. Who knew silk gauze fabric could be such a turn on?” he licked Justin’s ear before kissing it, followed by a nibble. “I thought you were an angel.” Justin grinned. “I’ll never forget how you looked in those white linen trousers. Your cock was outlined perfectly. All the guys there wanted to taste it like it was some kind of lollypop.” He snickered remembering. “And you said that it was my lollypop for that weekend, no one else’s. Which when you think about it, was kind of a romantic thing to say, considering.” “Or I wasn’t thinking right because of the booze.” “You weren’t drunk Brian. You never get drunk. You pretend you do, but you really don’t. Cause if you did, you’d be like your father and you refuse to be like him. I do know your secret identity.” Brian continued to dance with his blond boy. What Justin said was true, but Justin was the first and only person to actually discover his act. What did that say about the family and friends who had been around him since he was a teen? “You know what witch boy?” Brian purred into Justin’s ear. “If anyone is going to know my secret identity, you are the one I’d want it to be.” ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ “Hello Frances dear.” Jennifer had let herself into the loft. “Killer, you are such a good boy.” She let the exuberant dog wag his tail in greeting until she was sure it would fall off as she scratched behind his ears. “Such a good boy you are, guarding the loft from all the bad guys.” “The mutt sleeps most of the day.” Frances said. “If anyone guards anything, it’s that stupid cat.” Ty, who had been sleeping on a cross beam in the ceiling stood up and stretched. First his front legs, followed by a back stretch and arch finalizing in rear legs and tail. It was a ritual he loved. His days of guarding Frances were over and he was glad. The man never shut up. He was constantly trying out spells in an attempt to get out of the cage. At first it was amusing, but after awhile it was like the buzzing of bees, annoying to the tenth power. He jumped onto the cage setting it rocking wildly before daintily landing on the kitchen counter. “Meroww.” He said and butted his head against Jenn’s hand. “You are such a bad boy.” Jen laughed. “I’m taking your prey with me, my furry little friend.” She unhooked the bird cage from the ceiling. “I’m taking you to New York. I’d let you out Frances, but after what you were up to, I really can’t take the chance.” “Jennifer, you can let me out of here and make me large again. You know my powers have been reduced if not taken away. I’m your relative for crap’s sake.” “Yes you are dear and you were going to attempt to destroy my son. So I’m not really inclined to give in to your pleas. In fact, if I was given the choice, you’d be setting up camp in one of the out villages on one of the planets in the next universe.” She chuckled. “Unfortunately my sister objected.” “You’re a very hard woman.” Frances said. “Justin, well, I wouldn’t have killed him.” “We’ll never know how far you’d have gone, now will we.” Jennifer said pulling a cover over the birdcage. “If I were you, I’d keep quiet until we reach your home. If I hear one word from you, I’ll truly make you into a bird, perhaps one of those nasty little green ones.” She glanced around to make sure everything was in place. Killer looked somehow guilty sitting where he was in the bedroom doorway. “Killer, what are you up to?” Jennifer asked. “You look guilty about something.” She walked across the hardwood toward the dog who lay down with his front paws over his eyes. “Don’t hide from me Killer, I know you’re up to something.” Jennifer had to step over the dog in order to get into the bedroom. She stood still looking around, nothing seemed out of order. Killer crawled along the floor until his nose rested on her foot. “What is it?” she asked the dog. And then she saw it. The tell tale glow in a dark recess near the head of the bed. “Oh my gawd.” She picked up the amulet. “Justin, when did the amulet find you?” she asked out loud. The black jade was warm in her hand, she could feel the pulse of the heart of thing and she knew it would be matched to her son. Yet the amulet was supposed to belong to Brian. Everyone knew that. “Killer I wish you could talk. I’d sure like to know when this happened. Jennifer placed the amulet under the pillow she knew was Justin’s. “This is an interesting development.” She leaned down and patted the dog. “Thank you for letting me know. I’m sure it was hard for you to do this to Justin.” She patted his head and Killer whined softly. “But you have to understand. Justin didn’t find the amulet. The amulet found Justin.” She’d known immediately that Justin was linked with the amulet. It had his aura all over it. “We need to let the amulet do its work in bringing Justin and Brian together. I’m sure that’s what’s happening.” Though Jennifer wasn’t sure. The amulet had never been out of the Kinney Clan’s line, yet here it was apparently linked closely to Justin. She picked up the cage and making sure the animals were inside the loft, Jennifer left. She was still working out what she was going to do about Frances. And the first thing was to get the little rotter out of the loft. Not too far away, Brian read a report he’d received from the legal department at Ryder. He’d asked them to have one of their investigators look up Ethan Gold. He hadn’t trusted him from the moment he’d first met him. And he especially didn’t like the way Justin seemed pulled in each time he heard the banjo player’s music. Considering he wasn’t Wahjee, Brian ruled out magic. According to the investigators preliminary check, Ethan Gold was a student on a full music scholarship. His parents had both died in a fire a month before he’d graduated from high school. The fire investigation had shown arson and while the house was insured, as were the lives of the parents, the insurance companies were still looking into it. So if all goes well, little Ethan Gold will be rather wealthy. Brian pondered the idea. Maybe he should look into the fire and also find out some information on Gold’s parents. He’d ask legal to check into their background as well. He was startled when Michael walked into his office. “Hey Brian.” He threw himself into a chair. “The door was closed. When a door is closed it means you either knock, or you stay the fuck out of the room.” Brian glared, closing the file folder in front of him and carefully placing it in his bottom drawer. “Brian, I think that as your friend, your best friend since high school,” Michael began, ignoring Brian’s previous words. “That you need to stop doing what you’re doing and get your life back. It isn’t right, what’s happening.” “Mikey, I don’t have any fucking idea what you’re talking about.” Brian stood up. “I have a meeting in five minutes. I’ll talk to you later.” “But that’s just it, you won’t talk to me. You say you will, but you won’t.” “You need to get a life Mikey. I know you and the good doctor aren’t a couple anymore, but you need to find yourself someone.” “That’s just it Brian. It’s always been you and me against the world. Since Justin came along, you’ve forgotten your family, your friends. You’ve forgotten what we mean to each other.” “I remember everything Mikey. I know vividly what you and the family think about me and what I want and need. And I know what Justin knows about me. See there’s a difference. He knows me Mikey, knows me and he has since the first night we were together.” “Fuck Brian, what does he know? He’s just a damn twink who doesn’t know enough to go home. He’s using you. He should have damn well died. At least you’d have gotten over it.” Michael’s last words faded and he found himself face down on the floor of something that was rocking wildly. He thought it was an earthquake and looked for Brian, only to find himself in a strangely round tent that reminded him of a bird cage, staring into a face that looked a lot like an older Justin. “Welcome to my world.” Frances said with a giggle. TBC