I know the jump ahead of a full year might have bothered some, but it needed to happen. Brian couldn't have gone and fought for custody of Gus without having a job and an income, etc. These were just natural things that he knew needed to happen before he could hire a lawyer, even Justin had told him that much and let's just say I saved us all a few chapters of the same old same old by jumping ahead a bit ;)

I am understanding your criticism of Justin and you're not alone with it, but I feel like I have to stick up for him a bit at this point ;) I know that people would have loved for him to just break up with Ethan and go back and reunite with Brian and yes, I would have loved that too, but I will honestly say that wouldn't have been realistic at all. At least not to me. And it would have been pretty boring and a lot less drama lol. 

I know that many people think that Justin behaves cold towards Brian, but really, he's just trying to keep his distance and do what he feels is best for Gus. He feels like he is protecting Gus from potentially very traumatic experiences. Justin has never stopped Brian from seeing Gus completely. He's just drawn a very clear line at overnight visits due to Brian's nightmares.

I know he threatened once in an argument, but who hasn't said stuff they never meant in an argument?

And like you so rightly said: Brian knows that his nightmares are the one thing that bother Justin and as far as we know, Brian has done nothing about them. Justin has asked him to get help, go to therapy or whatever, but as far as we know Brian hasn't done that and I am sorry to say, but that is on Brian, not Justin. Now we can argue whether Justin has a right to demand something like that or not, but as mentioned before: He's just trying to protect Gus. Something he has done for years and a role he is familiar with. 

I promise that we will find out more about Justin's thoughts soon. Very soon. The story will be shifting towards his point of view more from now on. The first half of the story was mostly about Brian and his experiences arriving and settling in Toronto, but there will be a shift very soon and Justin will start to play a bigger part again which also includes his thoughts and feelings.

Though (and I am very aware that I am saying this from the author's view, knowing how the story will end, etc.) I have to say that I think Justin has already given us very good hints into some of his thought process. A lot of those you mentioned in your comment: The kiss and how he later described it to Daphne (and I am absolutely sure if asked now, he would still feel the same about that kiss), how he told Daphne that he has never stopped loving Brian, etc.

He told Brian why he stopped visiting him at the hospital and why he didn't come and see him once he was released: He knew that Brian would be hurt about his relationship with Ethan and he didn't want to make things harder on Brian, so he stayed away. 

We talked about Justin maybe suffering from survivor's guilt and while I won't confirm or deny at this point, it touches on a very important aspect: We can't forget that Justin has also been highly traumatised in his young life. And yes, he is still very young! When Brian and Justin fled from Gilead, he was barely 24, hadn't finished school and all of a sudden found himself to be the father of a boy that was not his son. He was in his mid-twenties and took on that responsibility despite having just lost the love of his life, his mother and sister (very important people in his life) and many close friends including his surrogate mom. And even before all the trauma of fleeing from Gilead and life in Gilead happened, Justin had already been bashed by Chris Hobbs and had nearly died. 

I am not trying to make excuses for Justin, but I think we need to take into account how traumatic his life has been so far and why he might be clinging on to his "happiness" with Ethan even more because of that. He might have finally found some semblance of peace and maybe even some happiness after years of grieving and being in pain and then Brian shows up and without ever intending to starts to threaten all of that. 

Also for the record: Justin tried to get Brian to talk about his nightmare, even talked about his own experience with nightmares as a reference, but it was Brian who pushed him away back that night. I am not saying that Justin couldn't have done more afterwards, but Brian also played his part and didn't let Justin in when he offered support.

And really, at this point in time they are exes. How close are most people with their exes? I  know they didn't just break up and the situation is a lot more complicated than that, but it doesn't change that they are not a couple anymore.

It's a complicated situation that won't improve with the custody battle :( A lot will happen in the next chapters, many things will be set in motion and I hope that by the time all of that is over, people might understand Justin a bit better. 

At this point I feel a bit sorry for him as well - he is trying to protect Gus and is indirectly pushing Brian to get help. Maybe he is trying too hard, maybe he is not trying the right way, maybe he has gone too far. But the question is: Why is he trying so hard to protect Gus? Could it be so that he has a distraction and won't have to confront some other unwelcome thoughts and feelings?

Is he abstaining from Brian - so that he does not get into a conflict?

I won't say yes or no at this point because it's not that easy, unfortunately, but I will say: You are onto something. Just like you were onto something back when you realised the meaning behind Justin's joke to Ethan about pushing him back into his ex boyfriend's arms. 

I promise we can have this conversation again in a couple of chapter's time, but right now, I feel like I would spoil too much, so I am just asking for a bit more patience :) I promise there will be more focus on Justin's thoughts in the next chapters.

As always, thanks very much for your very insightful comment. I really love reading your thoughts! More will be up tomorrow :) Stay safe!