After that fateful day, Justin tried to believe Brian's decree that his days of supporting himself as an exotic dancer would not make a difference to his art, and he dutifully went up to his studio, spending the day there.  Every day Brian would come home and find Justin in the studio, the music blaring and several canvases propped up in the drying area.  However, Justin was still troubled and he was not the artist he desired. 

Taking out the crimson tube of paint, he squirted some on his palette and then squirted some Cerulean blue and also some Titanium white.  Mixing the colors together he came up with a deep shade of purple and begun his next painting.  After painting for several hours he stopped, stepped back and sighed.  To him it was just a lot of swirls on canvas, obviously lacking the creativity needed to be a world-class painter.

He'd been in his studio for two weeks and nothing he painted was a piece of art worthy of showcasing.  He slid down the wall and looked at the studio surrounding him.  Here Brian had furnished an artist's wet dream; high-end camel hair brushes in 20 sizes were available to him to paint the thinnest of lines to the widest of brush strokes as well as 40 canvases, pre-stretched in 5 sizes, with the understanding that he could order a different size if he wanted.  There were three tubes of every color of paint and four palettes to mix them.  Brian had provided him with everything he needed to be a first class artist, but the one thing he could not provide was drive and creativity.  It seemed that both were sorely lacking in Justin's studio.

Why did he think he was a painter of a high enough caliber to be successful in New York?  He had been so happy when Carol had called to tell him about the show and attributed his sudden success to the extra time he had to paint.  And of course, the extra time was a direct result of his dancing.  Looking at the canvas in front of him, he wondered how he could have fooled himself, Carol and everyone else.  He really didn't have any talent and had been swooped up in the momentum. 

His lack of ability to paint anything new since returning from New York was just a sad wakeup call and made him realize that he was not really talented and the show was a fluke.  He was somewhat relieved as his fears about the cancellation of his show and any future shows were now a moot point.  He didn't really need to worry about any revelations regarding his "secret".  No one would care that he supported himself for a brief moment as an exotic dancer since he wouldn't be remembered past the opening night of his show.  He had returned to Pittsburgh, supposedly to follow his dream of painting and to be with Brian, only to find it all falling apart. 

His lie of omission to Brian regarding his other reason to come home was really a moot point.  It didn't matter that he supported himself for a short time as an exotic dancer so he could paint since it appeared that he couldn't paint even when he had all the time in the world.  His inability to paint had not been a result of being away from Brian and missing him, but rather an inability to paint at all.  He guessed that the few pieces that were going to be in the show was his one chance at fame and now he would have his 15 minutes and return to obscurity. 

He was saddened by the thought that his goal of painting was really a lie and his dream would never be fulfilled.  For so long he'd only thought of one thing and that was being a success in the art world.  He always attributed his lack of success to lack of time to paint and then he convinced himself and Brian that if he moved back to Pittsburgh where there were no constraints on his time, then he would have success with his art. 

He placed his brushes in turpentine and went down to his bedroom to shower the smell of the chemical off his skin.  The house was quiet, Brian had gone to work and the housekeeper was off on Wednesdays.  After his shower, he roamed the large house, stopping in each room and taking in the furnishing, making note if it was his or Brian's influence in the decorating of the room.  He counted 5 rooms where his influence was prominent and the rest were Brian's.  He walked outside and wandered around the grounds of their property, again noting where Brian's influence was prominent and where he was the deciding factor.

He remembered Daphne was off on Wednesdays as well and returned to the house to call her.

"Hey," he said when she answered the phone.

"Hey.  What's up?"  Alarms went off in her head.  She's seen Justin a few times since he returned but he always seemed subdued.  It was very unusual for him to call in the middle of the day. 

"Not much.  I can't paint worth shit lately so I should just give up trying.  I don't know why I thought returning here would make it better.  It's all a farce."

Daphne listened and while she heard his words, what wasn't spoken was even louder in her head. Her friend was retreating.  She wondered if he decided against telling Brian about the stalker and just decided that he should give up painting, keeping Brian forever be in the dark. 

"Did you eat lunch yet?  I was thinking of coming into the city. The grocery stores out here are lame.  I thought I'd make some linguini with clam sauce and there aren't decent clams this far out." 

"No.  I've been running errands all day.  It is amazing how much stupid little shit I have to do; go to the cleaners, go to the bank, run to the mall to pick up my favorite lipstick.  When I was in school, I always thought I was busy, but now that I have my practice, it seems that I have more to do and less time to do it in," she said, giving Justin a review of her morning, filling in the silence from the other end of the phone.  She recognized her friend's need to talk, even though he didn't say anything.  The therapist in her had alarm bells going off in her head.  He was crying out for help and she knew she had to help him.  "Do you want me to come out there?  I have a car and you don't." 

Justin frowned at the mention of his lack of transportation.  While he wanted a car, he now questioned if it was prudent to ask Brian for this extravagance.  He didn't relish asking him for rides all the time and he didn't want to run up a big bill with the service.

"That would be good.  I know that it's a pain to drive out here, but as you pointed out, I don't have a car.  I guess I could make linguini another day.  I have the time now."

"Ok.  Give me an hour and a half.  I have one more errand I need to run and then I'll be out.  Want me to pick up food on the way or do you want to eat out there?"

"There's a pizza place about 1 mile from our place-  Tony's-  its right off the highway exit.  I'll call it in and you can pick it up on your way out.  It will be hot and then we won't have to wait for delivery.  They are so slow in delivering, not like it is in the city."

"Okay.  See you then."

Daphne didn't want to break Justin's trust, but she could hear the despair in his voice.  Justin had actually caught her as she was returning to her apartment and she had just finished putting her purchases away.  Glancing at her watch, she made a decision and she hoped he would forgive her.  She drove the short ten-minute drive to her destination and parked her car.

Walking into the building, she was still as impressed as she had been several years ago when Brian opened Kinnetik.  Justin's painting added a sophisticated touch to the boutique agency and she was so proud of her friend.  Approaching the receptionist, she fervently hoped that Brian was not busy and if he was, she hoped he would take a few minutes to see her anyway.

"Mr. Kinney please," she politely said as she announced her desire to see the important man.

"Is he expecting you?"

"No.  Please tell him that Ms. Chanders is here to see him."

"He's a very busy man and doesn't usually see people without an appointment."

Daphne took a calming breath understanding that this woman was only doing her job, keeping her boss from unimportant interruptions.  She heard the click-clack of heels and looked up to see Cynthia walking down the hallway.

"Daphne.  I haven't seen you in ages.  What brings you to our establishment?"

"I came to talk to Brian.  It's important."

Cynthia looked at the receptionist and nodded a confirmation that it was okay to disturb her boss.  The receptionist picked up the phone and punched in Brian's exchange.

"Kinney.  I thought I told you I didn't want to be disturbed."

"Yes sir, Mr. Kinney, but Cynthia said it was okay to buzz you.  There is a Ms. Chanders here to see you."

He felt a mix of surprise and trepidation as he heard Daphne's name.  He knew Daphne was very loyal to Justin but she was also worried about him and her presence at Kinnetik would not be an unplanned visit.  He wondered how much she knew about the situation with the "critic/stalker" and figured he would find that information out in just a few minutes.  He clicked on the work he had on his computer and saved it for a later time.  He thought twice about his decision to come to work today, maybe he should have just stayed home and fucked Justin to the mattress.

"Send her in and don't disturb us unless the building is on fire."

As Daphne walked into Brian's office, he got up from his chair and walked to her, grabbing her hand and kissing it.  Looking her over, he smiled and said, "Slumming today.  I think you must be hanging out with my partner or his return is having a negative influence on your wardrobe."

Daphne had to laugh at Brian's levity and that relaxed her a bit.

Brian waved her to the couch and sitting area in his office and they both sat down.  " I'm sure my couch is not as nice as yours, but I don't have people telling me their deepest desires and greatest tragedies either."  He smiled as he saw her tip her hand to his comment.  "To what do I owe your presence at my humble establishment?  I've already completed the art for your business cards and the sign on your door."

"Justin." The one word perked his ears but he didn't think he needed an additional explanation.

"This have anything to do with the "Important issue" he had to help you with upon his arrival that precluded him from coming home and getting fucked to an inch of his life?"

Daphne had the decency to blush slightly at Brian's comment.

"Amazing that I can still get you to blush after all these years.  But, I assume you are here to enlighten me on that conversation."

"I'm worried about Justin.  He doesn't seem like himself.  He's lost confidence in his ability to paint."

"Straight to the point.  I always liked that about you.  Why don't you share what you know?"

"He called me a little while ago, said he was coming into the city to buy ingredients to do some cooking.  Said he can't paint and that his return to the city was a farce."

"You know we really should call him Drama Princess," Brian said as he listened to her.

"Do you know what he is talking about?" she asked, hoping that Brian did know and she wouldn't have to break all of Justin's trust.

"I have an idea.  What do you know?"

"You first.  He'd kill me if I told you."

"Seems the lad is less than forthcoming with the whole truth regarding his return to lovely Pittsburgh.  He told me about the critic and evidently, he's now decided that his whole career is ruined.  I imagine that is why he has decided that he can't paint.  A sort of self -fulfilling prophecy."

"So you know about the critic?"

"Indeed.  But now it's your turn to tell me about the latest drama."

"I'm not exactly sure, but I think he's decided he can't paint, doesn't have any talent and that moving back here was a mistake.  Well, not exactly a mistake, because he's with you, but a mistake because he can't paint any better here than he did in New York."

Brian listened intently, wanting to alternately shake Justin and make him see reason and hurt that his partner was in such pain.  "Does he know you're here?"

Shaking her head and frowning she said, "No.  He would kill me if he knew.  Brian, I'm worried about him.  You're right; it is becoming a self -fulfilling prophecy.  He says he can't paint and now he can't.  He can't keep this up if he's going to have a show in a month.  He's got to be ready and if he's not then Carol really will drop him."

Daphne took her phone out of her purse and looked at the time.  "Shit.  I told him I had an errand to run and I would be there in an hour and a half.  It's almost that time now and it's a half hour to Britin."

"You were headed out there?"

"I didn't tell you.  He called me- gave me some lame excuse about coming into the city to buy clams for linguini- said he should do something useful today so he was going to cook."

"Whenever he makes linguini with clams, he makes this great garlic bread from scratch- uses a bread machine.  He appears to be cooking rather than painting.  Guess he feels he can be a success at that."

Brian stood up and walked to his desk, clicking on his calendar and reviewed his appointments for the next few days.  Mentally checking all the appointments, he pushed the button and asked Ted to come into his office.  Daphne watched Brian, unclear what his plan was but trusting that this was the right move, even if Justin was angry.  They couldn't let him throw his art away.

"Ted, something has come up.  I need you to handle all the meetings for the remainder of the week.  I should be back by early next week."

"Sure thing, Bri." Ted looked at Daphne, sitting on the couch, but didn't say anything to her.  He decided that this involved Justin and where Justin was concerned, Brian would do anything for his partner.  He nodded at her and left to review the files that Brian had handed him. 

"Brian?" Daphne asked, not sure she had any real clue what he had in mind, but was thankful it appeared that he had a plan.

"I have an idea."

"How can I help?"

"Go on out to the house, eat lunch with him, and I'll be there in a little while.  I have some phone calls to make."

"Okay."  Daphne pulled out her phone and called Justin.  "Hey.  I'm still in the city.  Did you call in the pizza yet?"

"No, not yet.  I was making the dough for the garlic bread.  I'll do it now. See you in a bit."

Daphne looked at Brian as she clicked off her phone.  "He was making dough for garlic bread.  You were right.  Brian, I hope your idea works or we are going to be in trouble.  We've got to fix this."

"We will.  Now go.  I'm a busy man," he said tongue in cheek. 

Brian watched Daphne leave and he ran his hand through his hair several times.  Sunshine.  I love you but sometimes you are the biggest drama princess in the world.  I guess it's time that the King of drama takes over.

TBC