Please, don't worry. Criticism or your own thoughts - it's what the comment section is for! And as long as it is constructive (and your comments always are!), I don't mind if it's criticsm. People have different opinions, we like different things. It's just a fact of life. And how sad would it be if we all liked exactly the same things, stories, movies, etc.

So please, don't feel bad if you point out something in a chapter that you didn't like or something that didn't make sense to you! 

I admit that my stories are fully written, finished and I never make changes based on someone's comments after I start posting. Not because I don't care about the comments I receive or because I am not open to constructive criticism, but because I write the stories that I like. I write what I would like to read. And if someone feels differently about that, that's the way life goes, you know? By the time I start posting a story, I have probably read it 4-5 times, made tons of changes, etc., but it will be a finished product that I am happy with :)

I have to disagree with one thing you said though: "not thinking or caring about Brian at all". I don't think that's true. We know that Justin still cares about Brian and has cared. We saw him in the hospital, we heard how he felt about their kiss, we saw how he helped Brian the night of the nightmare. We saw how he urged Brian to get help after the episode with the nightmare. I have said before and I agree: Justin might not have chosen the best way to get Brian to do what he wanted him to do (i.e. looking for help), but why did he want Brian to get help for his nightmares and trauma? Because of Gus? Of course! But also because he wanted Brian to be well...because he cared about Brian's wellbeing!

Justin himself mentioned to Brian very early on in the story that he pulled back from him because he didn't want to hurt him any further after he told Brian about Ethan. This happens to many people after new partners enter their lives. Only few people manage to stay really close and good friends even though new partners are involved and while I know we would have all loved for Justin and Brian to be together right away or at least be friends, it's just not how I see them in this universe. Not after all the trauma they have been through, not after all they have lost respectively... 

Did Justin overreact in fights with Brian? Did he overreact to some of Brian's actions (Brian filing for custody and Justin getting the info about his nightmares/ or the chapter of Gus going to Brian's office and Brian returning him home to Justin and Ethan)? Yes, he did, but I think everyone who has been through a divorce or break-up knows how easy it is to get caught up in those fights. We have the worst fights with people we love and care about, not with people we couldn't care about less. It's just human nature. If we didn't care, we wouldn't fight back so hard. 

I know we can go back and forth about Justin's character, but it's not that he never cared. And after the revelations of the last chapter, we can even assume that he cared about Brian too much and was well aware of the fact that he cared about him too much and forced himself to build a barrier, forced himself to stay away from Brian because he knew that he cared too much...

I understand that people are angry with Justin for how he treated Brian, I absolutely agree with that feeling, but I can't say that I think the way he acted has anything to do with him not caring about Brian. Quite on the contrary. (Of course that's the writer in me defending him from criticism, because I made him do these things *lol* And I don't mean to argue with you, I totally understand what you're saying, just trying to explain my point of view!)

As for seeing more of Justin's struggles: As I mentioned, we will get more insight into Justin's thoughts and feelings (like we did in the last chapter) in the second half of the story, but the main focus of this story will be Brian's way back into a normal life and a new relationship with Justin. The main focus will be on Brian and how he will react to certain revelations and actions from Justin. So yeah, we will find out more about Justin's motivations, but some of it only through Brian's eyes when he finds out himself. 

I know that might not be what some people are hoping for, but it's the way this story is structured :/ I apologise in advance :(

As for Gus and Justin - there will be something coming up in the next chapter. This chapter was focused on Brian and Justin. Gus will follow in the next chapter. I promise!

As for the park - yes, I thought about it, but as mentioned above, some things we will only find out through Brian's eyes when he finds out. This is one of those things.

I agree with you, on the show it was always a little too easy for Justin to come back to Brian and it won't be in this story. As Brian's reaction showed us: He is not going to forget about the last year and what happened between them and he won't just take Justin back with open arms. Something he always did on the show...

And yes, it's okay to feel sorry for Ethan - I feel really sorry for him too :( We will hear from him in the next chapter as well...

There will still be a lot of things Brian and Justin will have to figure out before they can even start to think about a relationship, it won't be easy and it won't be fast, but hopefully, they have started moving in the right direction now that Justin seems to have started to figure out his feelings ;)

As always, thanks for your insightful comment and for sharing your thoughts on the story. It's much appreciated :)

Stay healthy! :)