The darkness outside added a hush to the quiet inside their home. Brian sat at his computer reading his last few emails from work and Justin was flipping channels on the 60 inch TV in the media room.  Justin's mind mulled over the conversation he and Daphne had at lunch rather than pay attention to the programming.

"Lots of my clients are off today and I could have been booked solid, but I haven't had a day off in months and since you just finished your show, I thought it'd be great to spend the time together," she said as they got out of the car at the mall.  "I just wanted some Justin time, you know, like when we were kids and carefree.  Well, the only thing we worried about was whether your mom or my mom would let us use the car."  She giggled at the memory of many ‘negotiations' with her mom to get said car for an extended period of time.

Justin smiled at his friend as he remembered.  "I'm glad my memory has mostly come back.  It really sucked there for a while," he said alluding to his car accident a few years back. 

"Me too.  It was really tough on every one when you couldn't remember your and Brian's relationship.  I don't ever remember him being so solicitous.  He even came to me for advice on how to help you remember.  Having you forget what the two of you had after you had worked so hard to get to that point was just devastating."

"We've talked a little about that time.  I'm so glad that he was there for me.  I don't know if I would have made the recovery I did if he hadn't spent so much time and effort on me."

"He loves you and he was finally ready to admit it.  I'm glad it worked out for you guys.  Brian Kinney may be a hard ass to the public, but when it comes to you, he will do anything to keep you happy."

Justin smiled and remembered how he pounded Brian into the mattress before he left to attend his meeting with Leo Brown.   Yep.  Few would imagine the stud of Liberty Avenue being on the receiving end. 

"Brian is special, but we are here to talk about us and enjoy each other.  No more talk of the Brian and Justin show."  He started to walk towards the mall, looking at the people and cars in the lot.

Cars pulled in and out of parking spaces and small children waiting for their parents to hold their hands and cross the lot.  A couple of teens were giggling with each other as they shared a bag of donuts.  The wind blew the trees at the edge of the lot.  It was a nondescript day in Pittsburgh, but in a car at the far end of the lot sat a man who watched Daphne and Justin.

She reached out and squeezed Justin's arm as she pointed toward the entrance to the mall.  They were quiet as they entered the mall and started walking toward  Old Navy since Justin had mentioned he wanted new jeans.

"I can't believe we've known each other for almost 23 years and we're still shopping at the mall together," Daphne said.  She giggled when Justin frowned at the mention of the number of years they'd been together.

"23 years is a long time, but I guess that's right since we met in Kindergarten.  "Who would have thought that 23 years later we'd still be best of friends?" Justin said as he turned into Old Navy.  "I know Brian hates me shopping here, but I see no reason to spend $200 on a pair of pants that I'm just going to get paint on.  I'll allow him to dress me in DIESEL jeans when we go out, but for every day Old Navy is just fine."  Justin picked up several pairs to try on and walked to the dressing room.  Daphne waited outside for him to come and ‘model' them.  He walked out a few minutes later and she smiled at him and nodded her head. 

"Looking good.  Shame those are for painting.  Brian does have the right idea when he dresses you."

"I'm almost 30. Brian does not dress me," Justin said with slight indignation.

"Uh huh," Daphne said.  "Next pair."

Justin tried on three more pairs of jeans and Daphne liked all of them. 

"Your body looks good in anything.  I'd buy all four."

"Nah.  I only need two.  I still have two pairs that are wearable."  He chose two of the pair of jeans and took them to the counter to check out. "Where to next?  Didn't you say something about Bath and Body Works for some candles?"

"Yes.  I like to have candles or reeds for my office.  The scent is a very strong relaxer."

They went to Bath and Body Works and bought five bottles of scented reeds and a few bottles of lotion.  Then they made their way to Hot Topic and browsed there for a while.  They walked on the upper level of the mall and popped into a few shops and then Justin's stomach growled.

"Some things have not changed in 23 years.  Your stomach still demands to be fed every few hours.  I swear I do not know how you stay in such good shape."

"I get lots of exercise," Justin said with a smirk on his face.

"Please.  I do not want to hear about your sex life, especially since mine is nonexistent at the moment."

"I can't help it that you broke up with Greg.  He seemed like a good guy."

"We didn't really break up as much as we're taking a break.  I'm ready to settle down and he's not sure."

"Wow.  I never thought I'd be the one in the stable long term relationship."

"Me either, but you have Brian and well, Brian is...."

Justin waited a few moments for Daphne to finish her statement but she was silent.  He didn't feel the need to put a word in the blank, as they both knew that Brian and Justin's relationship was unique.  Daphne came closest to understanding it, but even she did not garner the full picture. 

"Let's go to Max and Erma's. They have great burgers," Justin finally said when he realized that neither he nor Daphne was going to comment on the earlier statement. 

They walked toward the restaurant and put their packages at their feet.  Looking at the menu, Justin waved toward the waiter to signal he was ready.

"I'll have the Bacon Cheeseburger and fries and a large Coke," Justin said.

"I'll have the Black Bean Rollups and a Coke," Daphne said.

 "So you and Brian going to Debbie's for Thanksgiving?"

"Probably, but we might go to mom's this year too. I almost have Brian agreeing to spend some time with my mom.  Now that Molly is living in France; it's just her and Tucker. Two people is a really small Thanksgiving and as much as Brian says he hates the holidays, he does enjoy the get together."

"Who would have thunk Brian Kinney enjoying family meals?" she said in a mock teasing voice.  She brought up her hand to her mouth, pretending surprise.

"True.  When I first met him 10 years ago, he begrudgingly went to Debbie's for holidays and often that was an excuse to see Gus.  Now Gus is a big part of our lives and he doesn't gripe, well not much," Justin said as he thought of their planned outing to the zoo with Gus on Saturday.

"I'm sure she could go to Debbie's," Daphne said as she brought the conversation back to the original question.  She unrolled her silverware and placed the napkin in her lap.

"Oh, Deb's invited her, but I don't know.  Our group is a little much at times. At least Thanksgiving is a little calmer than Christmas with the singing elves that drop their pants in the front yard."  Justin giggled as he pictured the scene in his head.

The same man from the parking lot came into the restaurant and was seated a few tables away.  He watched the two of them as they talked animatedly and was ecstatic that the waitress didn't balk when he stated he wanted to be seated in their section. Pretending to read the paper he bought on the way in; he eavesdropped on their conversation and learned that Justin was with a man named Brian and that they'd been together for a long time.  Brian sounded like a real pain; his plan to get Justin back was pushed to the forefront.  Justin deserves a man like me.  I appreciate my family and would never balk at spending time with them, especially during the holidays.

Daphne giggled. "Yeah, that's true. We all love Debbie, but she can be over the top."  She took a drink from her water glass and watched the other patrons.  She looked at Justin who was watching a same-sex couple with a small child at their table.  They were taking turns coloring with the little boy and handing him cheerios.  The interest Justin showed in the little boy was intense.

"Do you ever think of being a father?"

Justin heard the word father and had to rewind the question in his head before answering.

"Uh, I'm Gus' dad."

"It's great that you feel so close to him, but I'm talking about being a father to your own child."

"No," Justin answered quickly and played with his silverware for a moment before looking longingly at the couple again.

"You're not fooling me, Justin Taylor.  I see the way you are looking at that little boy and his parents.  And I know you consider Gus your son, but he's not your child.  And you're not raising him full time, Mel and Lindsay are."

"I don't think it's in the cards, Daph.  I'm back and forth between here and New York.  I travel for shows and we're too busy."

"Lots of people travel for their jobs.  If you want a child, your job shouldn't stop you."

"I don't know.  I really don't think it's a good time.  My career is taking off and even if I wanted one, I don't think Brian would go for it.  He's made it really clear that children aren't in his life plan."

"He's made a lot of things clear that aren't in his life plan, and I think he's changed most of those from the time he met you... Just think about it Justin before you decide against anything."

"Ok.  But I really don't think I'll change my mind.  A child is a huge responsibility.  There are days I can't even take care of myself."

Their food arrived and the conversation turned to plans for upcoming holidays and ways to convince Brian to go to Jennifer's.  It was after 2:00 when they left the restaurant and returned to Daphne's car. 

"I'll take you home.  Even though I'm not working today, I should check my messages and I have a few errands to run before I meet with Greg."  She blushed a little when she said his name.

"You liar.  You're really not broken up with him.  What gives?"

"I told you.  We're working on things, but I really like him; probably love him."

"Yee-haw.  Maybe you'll be the one with the baby, not me.  I can be Uncle Justin."

Daphne hit him on the arm and he winced slightly as he laughed at their antics.

"I'll see you at Thanksgiving.  Debbie invited me and my parents are out of town so I'll be stopping by."

___________________________________

"Ok."  He got out of the car and walked to the front door of the house.  He looked at the house.  There really is plenty of room for a child here.  He shook his head and decided he was foolish and went to his bedroom to change into his new painting jeans before going to his studio to take advantage of the few hours of sunlight left. 

Justin's career had taken off once he returned to Pittsburgh, a fact that did not escape either man.  Brian had been so concerned that Justin would be ruining his career before he even got started if he returned to Britin and Justin was just as adamant that he couldn't paint in New York.  After Justin's car accident, Brian wanted to keep Justin close by and reluctantly had agreed to let him try and paint in Pittsburgh.  That had been 3 years ago and Justin made several trips to New York each month and spent a week there every few months to keep up to date on the art scene.  Carol, his agent was pleased with the arrangements, despite her initial trepidation.  Justin's shows were always successful and he was becoming an artist that needed little advertising for his work.  And to his credit, he had kept up the agreement they had made early in his career, to come to New York regularly and be seen in the art circles.

After Brian finished his work he came over to the couch.

"I found our copy of  The Hobbit. Thought it would be a good idea to watch it again since we're seeing the next installment in a few weeks."

Michael had bought tickets for the new movie and had splurged by getting them in the VIP lounge at the local cinema.  They would be treated like celebrities, their food and drink orders were taken right there in the room and delivered to them while they watched the movie in a small intimate theatre set up for just 40 people.  Justin wasn't sure who was looking forward to it more; Brian or Michael.  He'd watch the Brian and Mikey show often enough to understand that they both loved the genre, but Brian would never admit to his indulgence.  He'd played along with the notion of VIP treatment and seeing the new movie in a special setting, but Justin knew he was as excited about it as Michael.

Justin found the first movie entertaining, but he tired of the endless conversations Michael had with Brian regarding the genre.  He didn't truly understand how Brian who was the owner of one of the largest boutique advertising companies in Pittsburgh could be so interested in endless discussions about sci-fi movies.  He liked action movies and anime.  The art alone could keep his attention for hours even if the plot sucked.  But Justin had been witness to more than one discussion of the merits which Star Wars movie or which Star Trek movie was the best.  To him, they were both fun movies, but he failed to see the fascination of either universe nor could he see watching them over and over like Michael obviously did.  He decided long ago that Michael's fanaticism with comics lead him to Science Fiction and it was an early bond between him and Brian.  Brian, he thought, had outgrown the love of comics but he still liked Science Fiction. It was one of the ways that appeared to cement their relationship and while they had both left their childhood fascination behind, their friendship was still solid.  Justin had his friendship with Daphne and while their worlds had veered in different directions, he couldn't imagine leaving her in the rift behind. He imagined Brian felt that way about Michael, too.  Therefore he just smiled when the mention of the latest Avenger or Star Wars or Star Trek movie was brought into the conversation and readied himself to watch another movie with great graphics. 

After the movie ended, Brian put the disc back in the plastic box and shelved it on the bookcase. 

"I'm going to take a shower.  Want to join me?" Brian said as he headed toward the staircase.

"I'll be right up.  I have to send Carol an email before tomorrow.  I forgot I promised her I would take care of it this afternoon."

"Ok.  I'll warm up the shower for you."

Justin watched Brian walk up the stairs, admiring his ass and still trim body.  Brian watched everything he ate and religiously worked out.  He was just as enticing to Justin as he was the first night on Liberty Avenue.  Justin felt himself get hard as he remembered that night and Brian's promise to keep the water warm.  He hurried to his office, booting up the computer to send the requisite email.

As the computer booted up, he glanced over at the mail sitting in the bin.  There was an envelope addressed to him with no return address.  He didn't get a lot of mail and was curious who would be sending him such a large envelope.  Grabbing the letter opener, he slit open the envelope and peered inside.  Taking out the contents, he found several pictures of himself in various stages of undress in a tuxedo shirt. There was a small computer written note inside as well. It read, "I'll be in touch".

A cold chill ran through Justin's body as he dropped the note and sat unable to move.