They arrived in Pittsburgh and were picked up by the car service. Justin lay his head on Brian's shoulder, feeling suddenly very tired from their whirlwind tour of New York. He yawned and quickly closed his eyes succumbing to exhaustion. Brian placed his arm around Justin's shoulder, pulling him close to him as he too closed his eyes allowing the hum of the car lull him to sleep as well. Too quickly for both men, the service pulled up in front of the loft.
"Mr. Kinney, we've arrived."
Brian blinked as he heard his name called. He shook his head to clear the sleep from his body and shook Justin slightly to wake him as well.
"Mmm?" Justin said, the sleep making his voice groggy.
"Wakey, wakey. We're home."
"Oh." Justin stretched, showing a little skin on his torso.
Brian grabbed their bags and they took the lift up to the Loft, dropping the bags at the door.
"Bed is calling. I've got a meeting in the morning and I need to be brilliant and you have a meeting with Mother Taylor."
They quickly got ready for bed and fell asleep within minutes, Brian with his arm around Justin's torso.
In the morning, Brian woke Justin with a blow job and then Justin returned the favor and then they joined each other in the shower. Brian grabbed the shampoo and poured some in his hand and proceeded to wash Justin's hair.
"What time are you meeting Mother Taylor?"
"11:00."
"I would love to be a fly on the wall for that conversation."
"She'll be thrilled about the show and I know she will like that I'm moving here." Justin said as he turned around and rinsed the shampoo out of his hair. He grabbed the soap to wash Brian's chest.
"Well she won't need convincing but I'm not sure the other folks will be as generous."
"You really think it will be a problem?" Justin asked as washed Brian's chest.
"I think Lindsay will be the biggest protester." Brian turned around and grabbed the shampoo to wash his own hair. Since their height difference was substantial, it was difficult for Justin to wash his hair. "She's always harping on how New York is your chance. I doubt she's going to change her mind especially now that you've landed a show." Brian leaned down and kissed Justin who gave him a huge "Sunshine" smile at the thought of his upcoming show.
"I'm finally going to live what I've always said, ‘that you are my future' not New York. I think our plan will work out well. I'm worried about Michael. When he hears that you're supporting me, I'm sure he will have lots to say."
"At least you've had some practice explaining things. I think Jake was a good test subject." Brian turned off the water and grabbed the towels, giving one to Justin and taking the other for himself. "I have every confidence in your ability to handle the masses, but I have to get to Kinnetik so you'll just have to tell me all about it tonight."
Dressing in the new trousers and shirt Brian purchased for him, Justin got ready for his meeting with his mother. He felt like a 17 year old with his purchases, remembering how his mother used to take him shopping so he could look presentable at the country club brunches he was forced to endure. However, after looking at Brian eyeing him in his new ensemble, he changed his mind. The appreciative look he was giving him told him Brian was pleased... very pleased.
"It's a shame I can't undress you and fuck you into the mattress; you are hot, but Brown Athletic calls."
"Keep those thoughts up." Justin said with a knowing smirk and licked his lips, teasing a little, but Brian just shook his head and left the loft.
Justin ate a bagel and looked at the mail after Brian left. He had a couple hours till he met up with his mom, so he called Daphne.
"Justin, how are you? I've been crazy busy trying to get everything ready for my office opening. It's only two weeks away. I'm holding you to your promise to be there." Daphne sat down on her favorite overstuffed blue chair and propped her feet on the coffee table, making herself comfortable for a long chat with her dearest friend.
"Well that is one of the reasons I'm calling." Justin sat on the bar stool and gave himself a little push, turning himself around, something that Brian always frowned at.
"Justin Cole Taylor. You promised you would be here and that was only a few weeks ago. I will fly up to New York and drag you back myself if I have to and I'll enlist the services of one Brian Kinney to help me," Daphne said, her voice raising slightly as her ire increased.
Justin laughed at her unnecessary threats.
"Don't think I won't do it."
"You won't need to send Brian after me," Justin said calmly, waiting a few seconds to drop his latest news. "Especially since I'll be living here from now on."
"Justin!!!!!! Oh MY GOD!!!!!" She yelled into the phone and he moved the ear piece out of the way. When she stopped screaming he put the phone back to his ear and asked, "Are you finished yelling in my ear? I would like to hear for another few decades."
"You're moving back here. When? How? What happened? Dish!!" she said, and then stopped for a few moments. "Justin, everything's okay? Right? This isn't a need to move? Please tell me you're okay. You seemed to be doing fine when we met for lunch last week."
"I'm fine. More than fine. I got a call from Carol, my agent. She showed some pieces to Bretano's and they want to show my work."
"So if you're showing your work in New York, why aren't you staying there? You moved there so you could paint. You're really confusing me."
"I got a few pieces in a show, but those are pieces I'd painted while I was here visiting Brian. Everything I painted while I was in New York was uninspired and crap, but anything I painted here was great. I decided that I needed to move back so all my work can be wonderful. I made the decision before I found out about the show. The two aren't connected."
"So you're telling me it took you two years to figure this out? That doesn't sound like the Justin Taylor I've known since we were in kindergarten." Daphne pulled out a pigtail that she had at her right side and refastened it, more for something to do then it needing to be tightened. She then did the other pigtail as well as she waited for her best friend to enlighten her on this convoluted thoughts.
"I'm slow?" Justin said in a teasing voice.
"Bullshit. Out with it."
"I've been scrambling for so long to find time to paint that my energy was more on the idea of painting then creating. After I had the gig as a birthday stripper and I had time to paint, I found I was really uninspired. I was only inspired when I was here, with Brian. I had all the time in the world to paint, but no inspiration. I figured if I couldn't paint, then why be in New York. I could paint just as well in Pittsburgh but at least I could do it where I could see Brian."
Daphne mulled over Justin's explanation and thought back to her last few encounters with him. Each time she had gone New York, Justin barely had time to turn around, much less paint and she remembered her last visit a few months before his accident. Justin had been able to spend a good portion of his day with her, but he didn't talk about his art, something that she had found odd and a little disconcerting. Justin had always talked about his art with Daphne, talking about his latest piece or ideas he'd had for a new piece or if nothing else about a new exhibit that he absolutely must see. She hadn't thought about it until now since she was really appreciative that he'd had time to spend with her and they'd gone shopping for some small gifts to take back with her.
"So you're moving back. Where you going to live? Do you need a job? I think my friend Miranda said something about needing a part time assistant." Daphne stood up from her comfortable chair and put her phone on speaker as she walked to the kitchen to make her lunch for the day.
"I'm going to live at Britin with Brian, and he told me I can try painting here for six months without having to work."
"You'll be a kept man. Boy Toy. You'll finally live up to your name." She grinned as she grabbed the lettuce and cheese from the fridge.
"Daphne, not you too." Justin frowned at Daphne's teasing. He knew that many people would think that was their arrangement. Sex on demand while Justin drabbled in painting or whatever made him happy.
"I'm teasing, stupid boy. And yes, I'm calling you boy cause today you're really showing how you can be really dumb. Brian loves you. I've known that for years and he doesn't just love you for your body, although it's surprising you two don't spontaneously combust, it's not about the sex. That first night after the accident when he brought you home, I just wanted to hug him tight and assure him you'd be fine. He was so upset and he hated that you didn't remember your relationship with him. It just about killed him."
"Really?"
"Yeah, Really. He's not the same man who picked you up from under a streetlight, Justin. How is he with you moving home? Is it freaking him out?"
"The one good thing that came out of the accident is the talks we've had. I get the impression we never talked about a lot of the stuff we've discussed in the last few weeks. It's great. I mean... well you know, before... I didn't bring up a lot of stuff because I knew he didn't like talking, but after the accident when I didn't remember stuff I just asked. He didn't get mad because he knew I was trying to piece together my life. I'm sure there was stuff that he would have never talked about before that he shared now." Justin opened the freezer to see if there were any casseroles or other premade meals from Debbie in there. He wanted to stay home with Brian tonight so they could start planning his move. He knew that while Brian complained about Debbie and her need to feed them, he did appreciate her caring and the occasional casserole was the closest he would come to having comfort food.
"You didn't answer my question. I take it Brian is okay with this move?"
"It's complicated. He wants me home. He misses me. Don't you ever tell him I told you that, he would kill me. He really freaked about the birthday stripper thing- more so I think because I got in the accident, but I don't think he really liked the whole thing anyway. Either way, to guarantee I don't find a similar gig here, he offered to support me for six months."
"So he really is going to be your sugar daddy?"
"No. I'm going to paint and hopefully the pieces I have in the show will sell and I can pay my way with those until I get another show." He placed the casserole on a dish and set it in the fridge to defrost. He'd stop at the market after visiting with his mom and pick up the makings for a salad and a few pieces of fruit.
"That is so exciting. I've always known you were talented. Tell me about the show. I want to know all the details." Daphne grabbed some turkey and a hardboiled egg and put those in the salad. She didn't mention that she knew Brian wasn't Justin's sugar daddy no matter what anyone else thought. She kept that thought to herself though. She didn't think Justin needed to hear anything more about their living agreement. Brian was going to marry Justin once, there's no way that Brian would offer Britin for anything less than forever, no matter what the circumstances were right now.
"The show is at Bretano's." Justin picked up the pad of paper that was by the phone and a pencil, starting to doodle the logo for the gallery. "I'll have six pieces in the show. I think there are 5 artists - so about 30 pieces total. The opening will be in early December, before all the holiday parties start. Carol says that is a great time to have a show. She said people get busy with the season but early December people aren't tired of parties and dressing up. She told me the show last year was a huge success and she mentioned the artists too. All of them are accepted in the up and coming circle so I hope she is right." He'd filled the first paper and walked over to his sketch pad and started sketching a new piece with Brian as his subject.
"I'll have to put the dates in my calendar. This is so exciting. I'm opening my practice and you are getting your first big show. Who would have thought this is where we would be a few years ago?" Daphne placed some crackers in a bag and placed a fork and knife in her lunch tote.
"Oh and Brian and I are buying an apartment. It has the most gorgeous view and it has a doorman." Justin said.
"What? You're buying a fucking apartment. Why would you buy an expensive ass New York apartment if you're painting here?" Daphne checked her lunch tote and put it back in the fridge. She grabbed a small container of peach yogurt and went back to her blue chair. "Brian is really going all out."
"He said he doesn't want to use my old place, it's not nice enough for him. He insisted we buy a new one. So now I'll have a country manor and a house in the city. He must really love me," Justin said with a touch of awe in his voice. "I mean it, Daph. I guess I never really thought about it, but he bought me Britin and now he's buying an apartment in New York." Justin doodled a new sketch of Brian but this time he drew a huge smile on his face, one that only he got to see.
"I just don't understand why you need an apartment if you're going to live here." Daphne grabbed the nail file by the lamp and filed a few rough nails.
"Oh I forgot that part."
"You forgot. Are you absolutely sure that you have recovered all your memories from the accident?" Daphne frowned at Justin's words. She was worried that Justin wasn't being completely honest with her. She vowed to talk to Brian about the situation as soon as possible.
"Well Carol wants me to come to the city a few times a month so I can be seen. You know, talk to the critics, go to openings and we need a place to stay."
"So Brian's going to go with you 2-3 times a month to New York?" Daphne asked. This seemed a bit extreme for someone like Brian with his own expanding and hugely successful business. She knew Brian was in love with Justin but she highly doubted that he would be accompanying Justin 2-3 times a month to New York. "Did you just look at places or did you actually buy one?"
"Well we signed some papers. Brian said we haven't bought it yet till we have something called a closing. I guess I should ask my mom about it. He seemed to be amused that I didn't know how it all worked, but I've never bought anything before, just rented."
Daphne was feeling a little less apprehensive after Justin's explanation but she still wanted to talk to Brian. While she was thrilled to have Justin back in her backyard, she wondered if this was too much too soon.
"You decided to come back home and paint because you're creativity stalled."
"Yes."
"Any other reasons you wanted to come home?"
"No, not really."
"Justin this seems very sudden. I mean the last time I was in New York you didn't say a word about returning to Pittsburgh. True you didn't talk about your paintings a lot, but I know sometimes you get stuck. Creativity gets stalled. Justin what aren't you telling me." Daphne used her calm voice and realized if she didn't get a satisfactory answer, she might resort to some counseling techniques.
"It's not important. It doesn't matter anymore." Justin said very softly, hoping that she would leave the statement alone.
"Justin.... What do you mean anymore?"
Justin's phone alarm went off. He sighed a breath of relief; he didn't have time to finish the conversation and maybe Daphne would forget by the next time they talked.
"I got to go, Daph. I'm meeting my mom at 11:00 and I promised her I'd be there on time since she has a meeting at 1:00. Talk to you later."
"I heard you Justin, but we aren't finished with this conversation."
"Yeah, I know... Later Daph." Justin hung up the phone. He grabbed his wallet and cell phone and walked to the bus stop. He wondered how Daphne managed to get him to tell things that no one else could get out of him. The bus drove up a few minutes later and he got on. He decided he should tell her the truth, the whole truth, not just the reason he shared with Brian and maybe she could help him with a plan.