Armed with the measurements from their new residence, they took a cab to Cliff Young Ltd.  Justin's eyes popped at the collection of furniture.  Walking over to the first leather sofa of the group, he plopped down none too gently as he frequently sat down that way.  He sat in the middle and then on either end.  He pushed on the back and then laid his head back to see the height of the back.   He then kicked off his shoes and lay down lengthwise on the sofa and noticed that his feet touched the end.  Sitting up, he put on his shoes and moved to the next groupings of furniture.  Brian watched in amusement; leaving the initial comfort test to his partner. 

The salesman stood off to the side watching in a mix of abject horror and amusement but kept his face neutral as he recognized the look of two people ready to buy.  While this was a high-end furniture store, he still saw a number of customers who only wanted the cheapest items and really didn't want to pay the price for a quality piece.  He cringed when he remembered the couple and their 4-year-old daughter who came in the week before and allowed their child to jump on the beds as if they were trampolines.

Justin tried every couch in the living area and waved Brian over when he finished.

"I think there are three that might work but we need to give them the fuck test," he said with a teasing smile on his face.

"And what pray tell is the fuck test?" Brian asked although he had an inkling of where this conversation was going.

"A couch has to be convenient for fucking."

"Sofa" Brian interrupted.

"It doesn't matter Brian, now..."

"Yes, it does. A couch is something that *shudder* the munchers would have, these top of the line, expensive pieces of furniture are sofas. And since I have to sit and fuck on these, too, we are looking at sofas."

Brian was laughing to himself at the helpless look on the salesman's face. Justin just rolled his eyes and continued like he was conceding to some great sacrifice.

"Fine, the sofa... can't be too tall or too short.  Not only do we have to be able to lie down on it together, but we need to be able to fuck in the back.  I need you to stand behind me as I stand at the back so we can judge the height of the sofa."   Justin smiled at Brian as if he just requested a glass of water.

Brian had a history of exhibitionism and thought nothing of Justin's request.  Once Justin had positioned himself in the back of the first couch, he rocked his body into the couch, testing it for correct height.  The first couch was too tall and Justin shook his head before Brian even came behind him. 

As Justin stood behind the second couch, the salesman looked his way as he pushed his groin into the back.  He thought he'd seen everything in his years of selling furniture, but he didn't remember anyone ever try to get off in the showroom.  When Brian went to stand behind Justin, and grabbed his hips, pushing the young man into the sofa, he realized they were testing the furniture for another purpose.

"Gentleman, please refrain from that type of behavior here.  We have a reputation," he said, choosing brevity rather than go into detail.

"I guess that means we will take our money elsewhere," Brian said as he turned Justin around and kissed him on the mouth.

They exited the store and Brian hailed another cab.

"It's a shame.  I really think the third couch would have been the one.  It had the softest leather and I think it was the perfect height," Justin said ignoring the fact they were just asked to leave. He also changed his next sentence a bit at the glare he got from Brian, such a label queen. "I know we will find the perfect sofa.  After all the day is young as you always say," Justin smiled and laid his head on Brian's shoulder. 

Brian gave the cabbie the address for Safavieh.  As they drove, he reached out for Justin's hand and clasped it.  They reached their destination in twenty minutes and Brian paid the cabbie.

"Ready to try on more furniture, Sunshine?" Brian teased only half-heartedly.  He enjoyed seeing Justin so carefree, especially after the last few weeks where he appeared despondent all the time.  Knowing Justin, one little talk from Carol was not going to make the world right, but it definitely had taken the pallor of gloom away from him. 

Justin pulled open the door to the showroom and walked amongst the preset rooms getting a feel for the store and its contents.  He felt even more at ease in this store that he had in Cliff Young.  This place looked like Brian's loft, beautiful pieces but with some aesthetic to them.  He'd always appreciated Brian's taste even if it was minimalistic.  Unfortunately, none of the sofas met his expectations.  Shaking his head, he walked to Brian and they left the store.

Catching a third cab, they rode to Roche-Bobois.  Justin smiled as he walked in as the groupings agreed with his artistic sensibilities.  There were very traditional settings like his grandfather had in his home to very modern settings that looked as if they belonged in a movie set for some Science Fiction show.  He walked around the store twice before he walked to any specific sofa.  He repeated his actions of plopping down, pumping the backs and laying on the sofas.  He found several to his liking and motioned for Brian to join him. 

Brian sat down gently on the sofa as was his usual way and then they lay on the length of the sofa.  Justin lay next to him to gauge the width of the sofa and then lay on top of him to allow Brian to test the support of the couch.  They kissed each other for a short moment and both nodded their agreement of its acceptance.  Next Justin walked to the back of the sofa and stood behind it, thrusting his body to mimic of being fucked.  Ignoring their earlier dismissal he couldn't refrain from grabbing Justin's hips and thrusting into them.  Of course, the close proximity of each other had other effects and they quickly walked to the back of the store and located the bathroom.

Walking into the stall, Justin pulled down his pants and held his hands up against the wall.  Brian unzipped his trousers and let them drop to his ankles but dug in his pocket for the ever-present packet of lube before they dropped.  He tore it open squeezed it on his fingers and thrust two fingers into Justin.  While the intrusion was anticipated, Justin still gave a little grunt at the initial breach.  Brian worked his fingers quickly in and out of the tight channel; Justin thrust his body on the fingers signaling his eagerness and readiness for Brian to proceed. 

Brian handed Justin the condom packet which he quickly tore and placed the latex barrier on Brian.  Brian turned Justin around again and Justin braced the wall.  Brian thrust into Justin, relishing the tightness of Justin surrounding him, enjoying the squeeze that Justin used to add to his pleasure.  Quickly he felt the familiar tingling in his balls and the swell before his buttocks and increased his thrusts.  Justin pushed back hard and encouraged him.

"Harder.  Yeah.  Oh Yeah.  Come for me, Brian.  Now."

Brian gave two deep thrusts and he felt himself fill the condom.  Grabbing Justin's cock as he came he felt the familiar shot as Justin, too, came quickly.  Brian nuzzled his nose into Justin's neck, breathing in the familiar and comforting scent of his partner.  As he felt himself losing his erection, he held the edge of the condom as he pulled out.  Justin sighed a familiar sound, a mix of disappointment and longing but grabbed some tissue to clean both of them up.  They put themselves back to presentable fashion and left the stall to wash their hands.

"I'd say that sofa was a good fit.  What do you think?" Brian asked in a teasing fashion.

"Oh, I'd say it wins first prize.  Let's go buy it unless you think you want to try some more sofas.  I think I could be up for a few more trials," Justin said, the glint of mischief evident in the twinkle.

Brian dried his hands and ran his fingers through his hair as he attempted to regain his look.  Justin shook his head as he again accepted what a beauty queen Brian was.  He thought Brian had more product and spent more time in the bathroom than Daphne or even his mother who obviously had more years to hide on her face.

"As much as I'd be up for a few more trials, we do have some other things to accomplish while we're here.  I promise I'll make it up to you when we return to our hotel.  After all, when you return to Pittsburgh, you will not have the luxury of trying on furniture since you will be painting all the time."  Brian's remark reminded both of them the reason they were in New York in the middle of the week.  For the first time in a while, Justin smiled at the mention of his painting and Brian took that as a good sign.

They looked at each other and agreed they were presentable, as presentable as two men who just fucked in the bathroom of an exclusive store in Manhattan.  Making their way to the sofa seating ensembles, they signaled the salesman who assisted them in their purchase.  After the sale was complete and logistics of delivery were agreed upon, they made their way outside again and caught a cab to Keetsa to buy a mattress. 

The mattress stores were used to people lying on their mattresses and they did not get as many stares or frowns in those stores, but Brian and Justin enjoyed "the show" they put on for the public as well as the salesman. After they left the store, they laughed hysterically when the salesman readily agreed to deliver the mattress in two weeks at no extra charge, sure that he did that to get them out of his showroom before all the buyers and the salespeople got more than an eyeful.

They argued or rather loudly discussed the choice of dishes for the apartment; Justin wanted Fiesta ware as it was colorful and struck his artistic nature, while Brian wanted Jasper Conran Wedgewood.  They settled on the Fiesta ware since they wouldn't be in the New York home very often or stay for long.  Brian doubted they would use the dishes very often and he would not have to look at the offensive dinnerware. It was almost 7 when they left Bloomingdales and Brian was very vocal about his dislike at buying anything in a department store.  Justin just tuned him out; after all it was a partnership and their dishes were mostly in his domain.  Brian rarely walked into the kitchen except for a glass of water and he would not be caught cooking.  This argument Justin had won, hands down. 

Brian disliked losing to Justin, even if he really didn't care about the dishes and announced that all the remaining pictures and furniture were going to be ordered online.  Justin was tired after the long day and he agreed.  He decided he would get Brian to go shopping in New York once they were settled.  For now, they had the important things; a couch to fuck on, a bed to fuck on and plates to eat off.  His cock and his stomach, the two most important body parts were appeased.

The next day they got up late, ordered room service and had sex most of the morning.  When Justin refused to order room service for lunch, they showered and went to find a café for lunch. They placed their orders; Brian a salad and Justin a sandwich and waited for their food to arrive.

"Thanks for arranging this trip," Justin said as he watched a young couple with a little blond boy walk in the front door.  He watched as they grabbed a high chair and gave the child a piece of paper and some crayons to keep him occupied.  The child seemed very content.

"It needed to be done," Brian said, dismissing the thanks.

"You know me so well.  How did you know it would work?  I mean I doubt I would have thought to call Carol and tell her what was going on,"  Justin looked at the young child coloring and wondered if that is what he looked like at that age; happily occupied with making a picture.

Brian frowned and then smiled at Justin.  "A person gets to know someone pretty well after 7 years.  Besides, I knew if I didn't fix this, I would have one angry therapist calling me day and night until I did."

Justin laughed so loud at Brian's statement that several people in the restaurant stopped and looked his way, trying to decipher what was so funny.  When they could see no obvious physical reason for the loud laughter, they returned to their individual meals.  "You're afraid of Daphne.  That is so funny.  Wait till I tell her that big bad Brian is afraid of a 5' 2" woman."

"I'm not afraid of Ms. Chanders.  We have an understanding when it comes to the care and feeding of one Justin Taylor.  She would just have my hide had I not been able to get you to see reason," Brian said in a very matter of fact words devoid of emotion.

Justin knew better than to egg Brian on, but he found it endearing that Brian would listen to Daphne when it came to helping him.  He admitted without saying the words that sometimes even Brian Kinney needed help.

"We saw Carol, shopped for the apartment and we still have the rest of today. I was hoping you would let me go to MOMA.  There is a great exhibit there on Inventing Abstract that I would love to see."

Brian didn't answer Justin right away.  Brian had been on more trips to art museums in the last 7 years then he had in his previous 29 years, but he never begrudged him those visits.  However, Justin tended to judge his art against other pieces in a museum, a risky endeavor at this point in time.  Justin was talented and usually, he critiqued the art with a reasonable eye and recognized the differences between his art and the ones he saw in the galleries.  After what they had just gone through with Justin's crisis of faith in his talent, he wasn't sure this was a good idea. 

"Brian..."

There was no response from Brian; he was still trying to figure out what he wanted to say.

After a few moments of silence, Justin said, "Oh." He understood Brian's reluctance was a direct result of this visit.  He knew that he often compared his work to those of other modern artists.  "Carol says I'm good and Tim Callen says I have talent beyond my years."

Nodding his head, he was glad that he didn't have to spell out his fears for Justin. "But what do you think?"

Justin looked over to the little boy happily coloring and then watched as he picked up his masterpiece to show his parents.  They smiled and appeared to praise him but he was too far away to catch their words.  He smiled back and continued coloring.  He envied the little boy, the praise from his parents sufficient to give him the confidence to continue his piece.  He understood Brian's reluctance given the reason for their trip and nodded slightly acquiescing to Brian's hesitancy. 

"We'll go after my show.  It's here for another 3 months."

"You need new clothes for the opening.  Let's go shopping for those.  I know I won't get you away from your canvases for very long in the next month.  And it will be novel to shop with you when you don't have bits of paint under your fingernails."  Brian offered a substitute outing that he knew Justin would agree to, even though he would not enjoy it as much.

"Sometimes I think you are a stunted designer, the way you love to dress me up,"  Justin teased, knowing that Brian was a huge fashion queen but that was more due to Brian wanting to be the best homosexual he could be and that included dressing to the nines.

Brian smirked at Justin's appraisal, half agreeing with the assessment.

They decided on Odin to start their shopping.  Justin wanted something unique but that would show off his individualism.  Brian liked that it was a small shop with very individual service.  Even as a small shop, there were quite a few customers and no public bathroom so they followed rules of decorum and refrained from their performances the previous day.  With two casual but trendy coats and trousers and a handful of dress shirts, they entered the checkout.  Justin refused to get a tie and Brian acquiesced for the time being.  He was fairly certain, he could enlist Carol in the proper dressing of her newest Protégé.  They had the items delivered to West Virginia, not having room in their luggage for the purchases.

It was the last night of their short trip and both men were pleased with the visit.  Brian felt it was cause for celebration and suggested a visit to Splash.  They needed to both let loose and this was the place.  Justin loved to dance and while Brian was not the best dancer in the world, together they made a stunning couple and always drew eyes.  This would be an advantage as well; another reason for Justin to be proud of himself.  Brian wanted Justin to have as many positive moments this trip as possible and there was no better ego booster than having numerous guys trying to pick you up.  He should know as this was his modus operandi for many years; until Justin came along and lost some of its appeal. 

They went to Splash, paid the cover and let loose.  Brian enjoyed his normal glass of Beam and Justin had a few drinks as well.  They danced, were propositioned, went to the back room a few times for a quick blow job and were immersed in the New York scene.

"I think we should come back here again.  Tonight was awesome,"  Justin said as he kissed Brian deeply on the lips as they were sitting at the bar nursing a last drink.

"Agreed.  But for now, it is time to leave.  We have a very early flight in the morning and we must return to reality."

Reluctantly, Justin agreed and they finished their drinks and walked outside to call a cab.  The cab took them to the hotel where they quickly showered and jerked each other off before falling into bed.

"Thank you,"  Justin whispered as he was about to fall asleep.

"Any time," Brian said as he curled himself around Justin falling asleep in minutes.

In the morning they caught their plane and landed in Pittsburgh an hour later. 

TBC