February 15

Justin placed the phone into the crook of his shoulder and nodded as he grabbed the packages from the delivery boy. He handed several folded bills over to the boy; and then smiled and waved him off as he started to pull out some bills to make change. He mouthed a quick 'thank you' and waved as the smiling boy ran off to his car.

Watching to make sure the gate closed behind the delivery boy, Justin closed the door, unconsciously nodding once again at what the man on the other end of the phone was saying, and then walked towards the kitchen with his loot. Setting the packages on the counter, he began to pull out plates, cutlery and glasses, and set them on the table.

"No, that's fine Sydney," Justin said, when he could finally get a word in edgewise; he understood that the man was upset, but God could he go on. "I completely understand."

"I just feel so bad postponing it since it was only a week away," Sydney said, still fretting over the fact that he had to postpone Justin's show due to some emergency work that needed to be done at the gallery. But really, Justin was fine with it. "But if I don't get this taken care of immediately; it could potentially lead to other problems."

"Well, it's not like you could predict something like this," Justin soothed, pulling out several take-out containers, and setting them on the table, his mouth watering as the scent of garlic naan filled the air. "And better to take care of it before it could cause structural damage."

"I'm so glad that you're so understanding, Justin," Sydney sighed, the tension noticeably draining out of his voice. "The gentleman, and I use that word very loosely, that I was potentially lining up for the show after yours wasn't nearly so; I had to scrap that idea when he threw a fit knowing that I was more concerned with keeping your show than placating him."

"Who were trying to get in for next month?" Justin asked, smiling when Brian leaned into the door and motioned that he was going to go get changed. Justin nodded and stared at his filthy husband, wondering not for the first time just what he'd doing in the stables all this time. But then he shrugged and continued his conversation.

"Sam Auerbach," Sydney said, sounding not at all happy about it.

"Oh, him," Justin huffed disdainfully, not even bothering to hide his dislike for the man that had caused so many problems for the munchers. Not that he cared one way or the other about the drama that had occurred between Mel and Lindsay, but he did have serious issues when said drama spilled over onto Gus.

"Yes, him," Sydney laughed, knowing full well what Justin thought of the man.

The feud between Justin and Sam was well-known within art circles; and everyone knew better than to try booking them for the same show unless they wanted fireworks. Like that Los Angeles gallery that quickly learned he meant business when Justin pulled out of the show at the last minute. There were just some things he would not tolerate and being in the same room with sleazy Sam was one of them.

And fuck it; he was a well-respected artist and could pull the prima donna act if he so chose on the occasion; artists were known to be notoriously temperamental and it worked for him in that particular instance.

"Usually, I would chalk this up to one artist being jealous of another's success," Syndney continued once he'd stopped laughing. "But my gut tells me there is more to the story."

"Yeah, there is," Justin grumbled, grabbing some spoons out of the drawer and setting them into the trays of Chana Masala, Aloo Gobi, Rogan Josh, Chicken Biryani and basmati rice. "But it's old family business, and best left in the past."

"Oh, that," Sydney said flatly, obviously recalling the Sam/Lindsay incident without Justin having to say a word.

"Yeah, that," Justin said, pursing his lips as Brian walked in; and then he quickly changed the subject, as he didn't need Brian getting all grumpy due to muncher drama. "So, when were you thinking of moving the show to?"

"I was thinking March 14?" Sydney offered; Brian's head popped up and he frowned. "We'd do the invitation-only opening Friday evening with cocktails and hors 'd oeuvres; and then open to the public on Saturday to run through...possibly March 20? That will give me the five weeks that I originally wanted, but will give me a few days of transition for the next show on the March 25."

"Sure," Justin nodded, waving Brian off, and mouthing 'later' as he grabbed a beer for Brian and a bottle of water for him out of the refrigerator. "Shall I come in and we can go over the details some time next week?"

"How about we meet at Eleven Contemporary Kitchen in the strip?" Sydney hedged, sounding oddly nervous; Justin cocked his head at his tone, but then shrugged it off and chalked it up to him dealing with the mess at the gallery. "That way we could avoid all of the…you know, stuff going on here. Is there a particular day that would be best for you?"

Justin paused as he pulled out his phone and quickly typed in his code; he studied his schedule. "Any day but Tuesday works for me; I have hospital tour and a doctor's appointment that day."

"Great," Sydney said, and just could hear the faint rustle of papers in the background. "I'll make a reservation and then get back to you."

"Sounds good," Justin said, walking over to the table and sitting down. "Was there anything else that you needed?"

"No, I'll call back with the time and day for our meeting no later than Monday." Sydney said, bringing a close to their conversation.

"Thanks, Sydney," Justin said, spooning food out onto his plate and then cocked his head as he studied; a move that had Brian freezing and watching him warily. Honestly, he acted as if eating with him was a new form of torture. "And sorry to hear about the gallery and that it made such a mess of everything."

"I'm not," Sydney laughed again. "Honestly, the only reason I invited that ass back to the gallery was because some of my patrons were asking for another show. I couldn't care less if he never showed his face in here in the gallery, or even Pittsburgh in general, again. Talk to you soon, have a good evening and say hi to Brian for me."

"Bye Sydney," Justin said, still laughing as he hung up the phone, and then addressed Brian. "Sydney says hi."

Justin stood and walked over to the refrigerator, quickly riffling through it until he found the container that he wanted and then walked back over and sat down. Brian watched him with a bit of trepidation, but didn't comment on the plastic container in his hand. That was a first.

"What was that about?" Brian asked, loading his plate Aloo Gobi, focusing more on the cauliflower than the potatoes, the Chana Masala, a small portion of the Rogan Josh and then finished with a small helping of basmati rice. Unlike Justin, who happily piled the food on.

"Sydney needs to postpone the show due to some pipe issues," Justin said, adding a bit more of the Biryani, since that was what he'd been craving all afternoon.

"Pipe issues?" Brian asked,an odd not in his voice as he tore a small portion of naan off and dipping it into the Rogan Josh on his plate.

"That's what he said," Justin shrugged, humming with pleasure as he took bite of his Biryani. "Something about needing to close the gallery due to a problem with the pipes. To be honest, I didn't really pay all that much attention as he just kept babbling on and on."

"Hmmmm…" Brian hummed absently, his brow furrowed, a pensive frown on his face; something that was happening more and more often lately. And it was really starting to worry Justin.

"So, he asked if he could postpone it until March 15," Justin finished, carefully watching for his husband's reaction. "We're going to go over the details this week." But Brian just nodded absently; Justin huffed in exasperation. He'd find out what was going on eventually. Clearing his throat, Justin nodded to the food. "I hope you don't mind; I just didn't feel like cooking and I had a craving for it."

"Like I care," Brian smirked and his eyes flashed with mischief as he tucked his tongue in his cheek. "You know I'm easy, Sunshine."

"Yeah, right," Justin snorted, taking another bite of his food and humming. It was good, but he was right when he thought that it really needed something earlier. "The only thing easy about you is…well, that should be obvious."

"Twat." Brian said without heat, rolling his eyes when Justin just grinned unrepentantly.

"Your twat," Justin snickered and then picked up the container he'd taken out of the refrigerator. He slowly peeled the plastic wrap from the top and then dumped a healthy dollop of the contents onto the corner of his plate.

"What are you doing?" Brian asked, watching Justin with that same wary look he'd gotten earlier. Justin just rolled his eyes and started mixing the dollop into his food.

"Eating?" Justin stated slowly, looking at Brian as if he'd grown another head. What the fuck did it look like he was doing? Seriously, he'd no idea that Brian was this squeamish when it came to food.

"You are NOT feeding that shit to my child Sunshine!" Brian huffed, wrinkling his nose at Justin's latest culinary creation.

"And why not?" Justin demanded, purposely adding more just to watch Brian cringe. "If Sunbeam wants Chicken Biryani and butterscotch pudding for dinner; Sunbeam will damn well get…"

"Justin," Brian whined - yes, he actually whined - his face pained as he watched Justin take a big bit of his food; and then he turned a bit green as Justin hummed with happiness. that combination really did work as well as he thought it would.

"I will be eating this with or without your approval, even if I have to go to my studio to do so" Justin stubbornly stated, wrapping his arm around his plate as if to protect it; he wouldn't put it past Brian to try and take it from him and dump it. "And if I have to hide myself away to do so, you won't like me."

"Fine," Brian sighed, keeping his eyes firmly fixated on his own plate. "Just don't come bitching to me if you end up with heartburn, as I will feel absolutely no sympathy for your predicament."

"Please," Justin snorted, happily going back to his dinner. "You, as well as I, know that I have a cast iron stomach. The likelihood of that happening is slim."

"That's what you said about the chili cook off as well, and what happened?" Brian groused, stabbing a piece of lamb with his fork and then pointing at Justin with it.

"It was the five-alarm chili," Justin shrugged, completely unconcerned with Brian's dire predictions. He'd think he knew his stomach better than Brian, thank you very much. "Anyone would have had trouble after eating that; but damn it was so worth it. And if I do end up with heartburn now, it will still be worth it."

"Whatever," Brian said, making Justin grin as that was a sure sign that he'd won the discussion. Brian only used that when he couldn't think of anything better to say.

Justin hummed to himself, content as he continued to eat his dinner; but it was a short-lived thing as he knew that he needed to tell Brian what he'd discovered, or really, what he'd remembered the other day. He had considered not mentioning it, knowing that Brian would likely flip out and go all caveman on him; but then he realized, if the roles were reversed, he'd want to know if it had happened to Brian.

Chewing on his bottom lip, he toyed with his food as he tried to figure out the best way to bring the subject up. There really wasn't an easy or soft way to say it; but, on the other hand, he didn't want to bring on a heart attack by blurting it out either. Taking a deep breath, Justin looked up from his plate and startled to find Brian watching him with a pensive frown; almost as if he already knew something was up.

"Just spit it out already, Sunshine," Brian sighed, setting his fork down.

"Something happened the other day," Justin began, and then trailed off as he shook his head in frustration. "No…well, it didn't really happen then; more like I remembered something while I was at the store the other day."

Justin quickly filled his husband in on the odd incident; one he couldn't even remember when it happened, but it had to have been a good two to three weeks before. Brian listened, a grim moue on his face as his expression grew darker and darker, making Justin shift in his seat uneasily. He knew that Brian wasn't mad at him, and that he was really mad at the situation, but Justin hated when he got this way.

When Justin finished, Brian exhaled explosively, his eyes trained onto some far off thing that only he could see, his lips rolled under as he thought things through. Justin stirred his food around; he was no longer hungry, but took a bite anyways as he knew he needed to eat for Sunbeam's sake.

"I've been thinking," Brian began and then trailed off as he stared at Justin, uncertain how to put whatever was on his mind into words. Sucking on his bottom lip, he stared for a few moments longer and then sighed and began again. "Since the loft was broken into, I have been considering upping the security…"

"No," Justin said automatically, already knowing where this was headed.

"Justin," Brian sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Just, please; listen for a moment. I've been considering upping the security for a while now; both here and at the loft. I think we should definitely make sure we update to the best they have available and that we should even look at getting security personal to…"

"No," Justin said again; mentally cursing the asshole responsible for this because he'd known, he'd just known that Brian was going to go here. "I don't want a bodyguard, Brian."

"Justin." Brian stated a bit more firmly, an implacable expression in his face.

"No," Justin spat, feeling his anxiety ratcheting up at the mere idea of this bodyguard following him around and always watching him. "I hate the idea of someone always there, looking over my shoulder, watching everything I do! I hate the idea that some…goon is going to be there shadowing me and watching eery moment of every day; that they are going to be right there, breathing down my neck.

"Justin," Brian sighed rubbing a hand over his face.

"And I hate the idea that I can't go anywhere without them there," Justin continued, not even listening to his husband anymore. He just wanted to live his fucking life the way he wanted, was there anything wrong with that? "And telling me what I can or cannot do. That I can't even go to the fucking store without…"

"You already do!" Brian yelled, slamming his fist down on the table, his words stunning Justin into silence. They stared at each other for a long moment; Brian panting and his eyes wild as the met Justin's, which were wide with surprise. Brian sighed heavily as he slumped back into his chair, and said in a softer, but weary tone. "You already do, Sunshine; which is precisely the problem!"

"What?" Justin choked out, not getting where Brian was going with this; ad he already hired someone without even saying anything to him?

"What the fuck do you think the stalker is doing, Justin?" Brian asked, his eyes filled with a mixture of frustration, anger, fear and concern. "He isn't sitting in his house, watching you from afar; not anymore. He's fucking shadowing you, following you, breathing down your neck, looking for the next opportunity to interact with you. He's not sitting at home pasting your photos in a scrapbook. Or well, he's not just doing that any longer. You just said it yourself! He was there, at the store, close enough to grab you so you wouldn't fall."

Justin studied his hands; he hadn't thought of it like that. Or maybe he had and that was why he was protesting so vehemently to the bodyguard; he already felt watched and... hunted; and he didn't really want another person there, watching his every move.

"Could it be a coincidence?" Brian asked, and then shrugged. "Maybe. Do you really want to take that chance?"

Justin chewed on his bottom lip, his eyes misting as he shook his head no.

"I get that you hate the idea of someone dogging your every move," Brian said, leaning forward to slide a finger under his chin, tipping it up so that their eyes met. "And I'm not asking that of you. When you're at home, so long as the gates are closed and security patrols the area, it's not needed. Or if we're together or with friends or family, again, it likely won't be needed. I'm just asking that, if you are going out alone somewhere, that you have someone there to watch your back. Is that too much to ask?"

Justin averted his gaze and thought about it; he still didn't like the idea, but he really couldn't find fault with what Brian was asking. He did have one condition though.

"Only if you do the same," Justin said, a steely look on his face, shaking his head when Brian went to protest. "No; you want me to do this? You do it too. You think I don't worry about you? That I don't sit at home on pins and needles until you get home every night, wondering if something is going to happen?" Justin's voice cracked, and a tear slid down his cheek as he stared Brian in the face. "He is after you too. And, in fact, he is even more violently fixated on you. If you expect me to do this, Brian; then I expect – no – I demand that you do the same. Because if anything were to happen to you…"

Justin took a shuddery breath, because he didn't even want to think of what life would be like with out Brian in it. Brian made a choked sound in the back of his throat and shot out of his chair; he yanked Justin into his arms and pulled him into his body. Justin sighed shakily, tears still on his face as he buried his face into the crook of Brian's neck, and clung to his husband as if he were the only real thing in the world.

"Okay, Sunshine," Brian kissed his temple, his own breath shallow and his voice rough with suppressed emotion. Stroking Justin's back, he buried his face into Justin's hair and whispered. "I promise."