Brian cued up the movie, Rebel Without a Cause, and the two men watched it.  Justin was fascinated as he heard Brian quoting many scenes of the movie.  While he'd heard the name James Dean, he'd never seen one of his movies.  Justin enjoyed the movie but was saddened by the ending.  

When the movie ended, Brian turned off the tv and asked, "What did you think?"

"It was good, but I can't help noticing that you were quoting large sections of the movie.  I take it, you've seen it many times." Justin said, not asking the questions that were forefront in his mind.

Brian said, "Hold that thought.  I want something to drink.  You want another water or I could make us ice tea?"

Justin leaned back into the leather couch and stretched his arms over his head.  "Water is good. I might float home if I drink too much more tonight," he said smiling and joking with Brian.

Brian went to the kitchen, grabbed two water bottles, and then returned to the living room. He untwisted the cap on his bottle, then took a long drink. "I guess quoting so much of the movie makes me thirsty.  Although I must admit I usually watch this movie with a bottle of Beam in front of me and it was weird not to have a few drinks."  He smiled, but Justin recognized the sly smile as Brian's way of joking. 

"Did you know that James Dean was probably gay?"  Brian said, sharing his knowledge of the star in the movie.   "When he returned to California he had a relationship with his pastor, and it was rumored that he also had a relationship with his mentor, Rogers Brackett, who got him his first break." Brian continued sharing trivia with Justin.

Justin was finding the conversation fascinating, enjoying seeing a part of Brian that he'd never been exposed to.  "How many times have you watched this movie?" 

"I don't know.  I've never really counted.  I know that Jim isn't real, but parts of him really resonate for me.  He is estranged from his family and hates all the fighting that happens at home.  He thinks his dad is weak.  Jim was even caught drinking and taken to the police station. His friendship with Plato reminds me of me and Michael. And then there is the whole thing about James himself, dying at a young age.  I always thought I'd be dead by the time I hit 30."  Brian explained how he felt some kinship with both the actor and the movie plot.

"Wow, you've really done a lot of thinking about the movie," Justin said as he reviewed the plot in his head.  "I can see there are parallels to your life. How did you find the movie?  I mean it is pretty old."

Brian sat for a few moments as he remembered his first exposure to the movie.  "Ironically, my Dad took me to see it. There was some church thing about the dangers in the world...  you know drinking, driving fast cars, gangs.  Anyway, Mom decided Dad should take me so I could see what could happen to me if I made bad decisions.  Ironic, if you ask me.  I'm now in recovery and starting a great life, whereas Dad is dead and Mom is still drinking her Sherry to calm her nerves."  

"Sounds like there are a lot of things you like about the movie and the actor.  Thank you for sharing it with me.  I'd love to watch another one with you sometime," Justin said as he thought of all the things he wanted to explore with Brian.  He enjoyed the glimpse into the man and was looking forward to learning more.

Brian curled his top lip over his teeth and made a slight grin.  " I guess I do have at least one hobby.  Even though I'm no longer drinking, the movie still resonates with me.  Maybe next time, we'll watch East of Eden.  It's another one about estranged fathers and sons."

"Is there a theme here?" Justin asked, somewhat surprised at Brian's choice of entertainment. The Brian he'd been talking with the last three months was filled with confidence and knew what he wanted in life, not one who struggled with family relationships.

"I never thought about it.  I try to stay away from my biological family as much as possible.  Maybe I was living vicariously through the movies... you know the happy ending."  Brian answered.  "Maybe it was wishful thinking on my part.  You know, a troubled kid eventually gets parents to change and show their love.  But, I don't need their acceptance or love.  I've learned that I need to believe in myself before anyone else can."

"I believe in you," Justin said, being honest with Brian about the changes he'd seen.  "I've seen how far you've come in the last few months and I know you can achieve anything you want." 

"Thanks.  I appreciate the confidence.  But you know, before I went to AA, I would have thought you were trying to get something from me by being my friend.  Now, I know you just are being my friend because you want to be.  That means a lot," Brian admitted.

Justin reached over to give Brian a hug and Brian returned the gesture, without even thinking.  Without thinking, Justin kissed Brian on the cheek.  "Thanks for sharing the movie.  It was fun, but if we're going to go to breakfast and the museum tomorrow, I've got to get home."

Brian was surprised by the kiss but found he didn't mind the gesture.  It was a friendly kiss, not romantic or sexual in nature.  It was not a new experience for him to have a friendly kiss, as Michael kissed him all the time, but this was different. He always thought that Michael wanted more than friendship and his frequent kissing of Brian was his way of pushing the envelope.  He realized he hadn't thought of Michael all week since their confrontation.  To his surprise, he didn't miss their interactions.

"Yeah, I guess you better go.  I'd offer you to stay here so you wouldn't have to go back and forth so soon, but all I've got is this couch and I don't think it would be super comfortable to sleep on.  Besides, if Gus saw you here in the morning, he'd start to grill us on whether we were dating," Brian said, laughing off the idea that the two of them might date.

"He just wants you to be happy."  Justin stood up from the couch and grabbed his messenger bag.  "See you in the morning.  I'll meet you at the museum and we can look around for a place to eat.  It's closer for me to go there than come back here."

"I hope the movie doesn't kick start your muse.  I need you to be awake and functioning to help Gus with photography ideas.  Don't want him to have to rely on me in that department.  You don't want to disappoint him," Brian teased Justin.  

Justin let out a loud belly laugh.  "I'm sure you would be able to guide him, but I promise to tell the muses to bother me at another time."

Brian walked to the door and let Justin out, then watched as he descended to the first floor in the elevator.  He closed the door and set the alarm.  

He realized that he'd enjoyed watching the movie with Justin.  It was different from watching a SciFi movie with Mikey.  He liked that he and Justin had talked about his fascination with the movie.  No one had ever asked him about his interest in James Dean films and he had never consciously thought about the parallels to his own dysfunctional home life until tonight.  It was uncanny how Justin helped him make connections.

Mikey's interests in movies were different, being more concerned about the costumes and special effects.  He thought Mikey would often have loved to live in a world where superheroes actually existed.  Maybe this was a result of Mikey feeling like he was not successful in real life.  Mikey dropped out of Community College and probably would not have survived high school except for Brian's interventions.  Mikey had a lame job at a local big box store that he really loathed but was too scared to leave.  Even if Mikey left, Brian doubted that Michael would have any idea of the type of job that would make him happy.  Brian guessed that if Mikey could work in the fantasy world, maybe with comics or action figures, it would be his dream job.  

Brian did not want to think about Mikey at this time and wasn't really sure he wanted to think about him in the future.  He was slightly saddened that Mikey had not reached out to him to offer his friendship and support, but he wasn't really surprised.  He hoped that his friendship with Debbie wouldn't be spoiled by the rift with her son.

He was tired.  The events of the day had kept his body on an adrenaline roller coaster.  Scrambling to find someone to pick up Gus and then the court hearing had the adrenaline pumping furiously.  After the reprieve from the court, he'd gone to Deb's only to find Lindsay there and the adrenaline had started pumping again.  When he left with Gus, he thought that the roller coaster would have stopped, but Gus' conversation regarding money and his Mom had his heart stomping again.  While the evening's activity involved searching for activities in Pittsburgh was not stressful, talking about his father and then watching the James Dean movie had his emotions running higher than normal.  

He wanted to celebrate his success in coping with all the stress during his day, and in the past he would have brought out his friend, Jim Beam, and enjoyed a drink or three. But tonight, while the thought quickly formed, it just as quickly dissipated. He knew he wouldn't drink.  Not only did he not have any liquor in his home...Thank you, Justin and Ted...  But he knew at this point in time, even one drink might lead to two or three or five drinks and he wouldn't do that.  He was thankful that Gus was sleeping in the next room.  Gus would be really disappointed if Brian started drinking again.  He started this journey so he could be there for Gus and while Gus was his motivation, he quickly realized he was doing this for himself.  

He didn't really want a drink and the fleeting thought was just old habits popping their head in his thoughts.  He was learning to celebrate the successes in his life without a drink in his hand.  He found he preferred talking to Justin rather than retreating into his thoughts with a glass of Jim Beam in his hand.  

He didn't want Gus growing up wondering if he was loved or with parents who frequently told him he should never have been born.  He couldn't control Gus' mothers and how they interacted, but he knew he could provide Gus a supportive and loving home when he visited.  He didn't want Gus to identify with James Dean the person or Jim, the character in Rebel Without a Cause.  

Yawning, he accepted his body's need for sleep and joined Gus in the bedroom, quickly falling asleep as he listened to his son's quiet breathing.

In the morning Gus and Brian rose, dressed, and were on their way to the Bicycle Museum by 8:30.  

"Dad, is Justin meeting us at the Museum?  I'm so excited to be going somewhere that none of us have been.  It was so cool when we all sat down at the computer last night to make lists of places to go,"  Gus said as he watched the landscape of Pittsburgh through the car window.

"Yes, Justin is meeting us there and then we will decide where to eat breakfast.  Be on the lookout for diners or other small restaurants as we get closer.  I'll let you know when we are almost to the Museum,"  Brian said as he followed the WAZE app on his phone as it directed him to the Museum.

"Okay, Gus.  We are just a few blocks from our destination.  Start looking for places to eat," Brian said as also looked at the streets.

Gus said,  "I see a J J's Family restaurant, Genoa Pizza, and there is an All India.  Wait, there is a Ritter's Diner.  What about there, Dad?"

Brian smiled as his son zeroed in on a local diner.  He and Justin had explored a number of diners in the area that was close to their AA meetings.  He found the notion that his son was choosing a diner for their meal appropriate.  "Sounds perfect.  Justin and I often eat at diners after our AA meeting. I see a parking lot over there," Brian said as he pointed to the left, " and we can walk to the Museum and then walk to the diner."  

"This is already an adventure.  I've been to Liberty Diner a gazillion times, but I don't think I've eaten at any other ones.  Can I have chocolate milk and pancakes for breakfast?" Gus said as his stomach growled.

"I'm sure they have those on the menu, but why don't you wait until you see the menu. There might be something else there you want to order," Brian said as he parked the car.  They got out of the car, paid the lot fee, and went toward the Museum just as Justin was walking up.

"Justin, we found a diner for breakfast.  Dad says you guys eat at diners after your meetings.  Since you had a meeting at our house last night and couldn't go out to eat, does this work?"  Gus said excitedly, hoping for Justin's approval.  

"Sounds good.  Let's go, I'm hungry." Justin said as he turned in the direction that Gus had pointed.  Gus started walking right away and he was a few feet in front of Brian and Justin.  

Justin said, "He seems really excited this morning.  It will be sort of weird to eat in a diner for breakfast, but I like Gus' thought process.  We did have a meeting last night, but couldn't continue our tradition of eating out.  This should be fun."

Brian said, "He's pretty observant.  Thank you again for coming over last night and hanging with us today.  I've been thinking about our conversation and I think I will ask Debbie or Em to watch Gus for a few hours next week so we can attend a traditional meeting.  Maybe, each of them could take one day and then I could do both meetings.  The meetings are early enough in the evening that Em could come over and cook with Gus on a Saturday night and I'd be back early enough that he could still hit Babylon."

"I'm happy to come over, but if you want to try something different, that's okay too,"  Justin said, proud that Brian was starting to plan his life to include future meetings.  "We could always skip the diner part."

"We could, but our conversations at the diner really help me process the information, so I don't know how I feel about that option," Brian said as he kept an eye on Gus who seemed to be getting further ahead of them.  

"Gus, slow down.  This isn't a race to see who gets there first.  I'm sure they aren't going to run out of food," Brian said in a loud enough voice for Gus to hear.

Gus turned around and smiled at his Dad and Justin.  "Okay, but you guys need to catch up."  Gus waved his hand at the two men, encouraging them to increase their pace.

"You'd think he hadn't eaten in days," Brian said as he quickened his pace.  "I guess we are not fast enough," he said as he turned toward Justin.

The three of them arrived at the diner a few minutes later and they were seated in a corner booth.  

"Does this look like the diner you guys go to?  It looks pretty like Liberty Diner to me.  Are all diners the same?" Gus asked as he picked up the menu from the menu holder at the back of the table.

"While all diners are different, they kind of do have a similar feel to them," Justin said.  "They usually are small and have a limited menu.  Most of them have a counter area like this one does," Justin explained as he pointed to the area in the front of the diner. "Also, you often seat yourself rather than being seated by a hostess, but sometimes in the evening, the hostess will seat you.  The turnover time is usually pretty quick in diners too,"

Gus looked at Justin as he explained about diners.  "What is turnover time?"

"Restaurants make more money when lots of people eat at them.  The quicker the people are given their food, the quicker they eat it, and new people can be served.  In a traditional restaurant, the people linger and visit while they eat their meal, but in a diner, the people typically get their meal, eat it quickly, and leave.  So the table turns over a lot.  The restaurant makes more money when more people are sitting in the seats," Justin explained to Gus.  

Gus thought about Justin's explanation.  "So diners make more money?  Why aren't there more diners?"

"Diners don't necessarily make more money than sit-down restaurants.  It's more about what people are looking for at the time.  Diners are made to get customers in and out very fast.  Diners are often very busy for breakfast and lunch because people need to get to work or get back to the activities they were doing.  For instance, we are here for a quick breakfast before we start our day.  Restaurants are designed for a more formal dining experience,"  Justin said as he tried to explain the differences to Gus.  He picked up the menu from the back of the table and perused it, looking to see if any of the options caught his eye.

The waitress came up to the table, setting three glasses of water on the table.  "Are you ready to order?"  she asked as she brought out her pad of paper and pen.

"Sure.  I'll have an egg-white omelet with mushrooms and green peppers with wheat toast and no butter," Brian said as he looked to see if Gus or Justin was ready.

"I'll have the Silver dollar chocolate chip pancakes and a glass of milk," Gus said as he nodded at his father.  "No chocolate milk."

Brian rolled his eyes and shook his head.  "Still chocolate, but it's the weekend.  And, no, don't even think about asking if we can learn to cook chocolate chip pancakes.  It sounds like a massive sugar overload."

Justin said "I'll have the gyro omelet.  I love gyro meat.  And a big pot of coffee."  

"Sure.  Your food will be out shortly," the waitress said after she finished writing down their order.  

While they were waiting for their food, Brian asked Gus, "Gus, I was thinking about asking Emmett if he was available next Saturday night so you guys could experiment with cooking while I went to an AA meeting.  I'd only be gone a few hours at most and then we could hang out the rest of the weekend together.  This way Justin isn't stuck coming over every weekend."

Gus looked at his father and then at Justin and said, "But Dad, Justin said he doesn't mind coming over."

"I know he said that but I don't like asking him to do it every weekend.  This way you get to practice cooking and I get to go to a meeting,"  Brian explained, hoping he could convince Gus to try his suggestion.

"I guess that would be okay.  Do you think he would do it if you aren't there?" Gus asked, surprised his father would offer Emmett to cook without his presence.

"If I give him Carte Blanche on buying the ingredients for whatever you guys decide to make, I'm sure he won't care who is in the Loft,"  Brian assured his son.

"What is Carte Blanche?" Gus asked.

"It means full permission to do as he pleases.  Emmett loves to cook and likes to use the best ingredients. Since I have almost nothing in my kitchen, he might have to buy a lot of cookware and ingredients.  He'll have fun in the store buying all the items for you guys to cook." Brian smiled as he envisioned Emmett clapping his hands in anticipation of shopping with Brian's credit card.

"But I was hoping we would learn to cook together?" Gus said, clearly disappointed in this plan.

Brian hadn't anticipated Gus' reluctance to carry out his plan.  "Tell you what.  Why don't you and Emmett shop for all the items and then when I get home, the three of us can cook the meal. I can go to a late afternoon meeting and could be home by 5:00 or 5:30."

"I guess that would work," Gus said, liking that idea better.

"But if we did it that way, we would have to cut out early on anything we decide to do that day.  We would have to be home by 3:00," Brian explained the drawbacks to Gus' option.  He didn't want to deter Gus from thinking about options, but he also wanted him to have a clear picture of the implications of each choice.

"What if I just came to the meeting with you?"  Gus offered up as a possible solution.

"The meetings are for adults.  It's not a place for children."

"Oh," Gus said, looking down at the table, clearly disappointed that both of his options had obvious drawbacks.

Justin entered the conversation, "We could try to hit an early morning meeting instead.  They have meetings as early as 8:00.  Is there anyone who could watch Gus until say 9:30 or 10:00 in the morning?"  He played with his water glass, making wet marks on the table.

"I doubt Emmett would be up that early on a Saturday and Deb often works the breakfast shift.  I guess I could spend Friday night with Gus and then take him home to sleep. When I was finished with my meeting on Saturday morning, I could pick him up again.  I could make a Friday meeting during the day before I picked him up and then I could do a Saturday morning meeting.  What do you think about that option, Gus?"

"If I went home on Friday night, do you think Mom and Momma would let me go with you on Saturday?"  Gus asked, wondering if there was a true solution.

"They should. After all, Lindsay really wants me to have a relationship with you.  I would think she would jump at the chance to have almost two days to herself," Brian said, trying to reassure Gus that this option might work.

At that point, the waitress brought their food.  

"Gus, we'll figure it out.  I'll think about some options and talk to your moms.  Let's eat so we can go to the museum,"  Brian said, trying to assure his son that he would come up with a viable solution.

They ate their breakfast and were ready to see the Museum in less than 45 minutes.  "Justin, we weren't there very long.  I think I understand your explanation about the diner being different from a restaurant,"  Gus said as the three of them walked toward the Museum.  

They spent about 4 hours in the Museum and everyone was fascinated by all the bicycles on display. There were so many bikes and Justin and Brian commented on some iconic bikes they saw, including the Monkey's 4 seater.  Gus thought it weird to try and have four people bicycling at the same time.  After they left, they grabbed some lunch at Pops and Sons Pizzeria where they enjoyed a hamburger and mushroom Pizza.

"Dad, is Justin coming over tonight for another meeting?"  Gus asked as they were leaving the Pizzeria.

"I'm free if your Dad wants me to come by," Justin said as he opened the door to let the three of them out of the restaurant.  Justin looked at Brian for confirmation.  

"You're welcome to come over, but I don't want you to feel obligated,"  Brian said, happy that Justin was interested in coming over.  

"I've got some things to do this afternoon, but I'll be over by 7:00.  Have a great afternoon," Justin said as he reached out and gave Brian a hug.  

Brian returned the hug as Gus watched the two men.  "Later," Brian said.

"Later," Justin said and walked toward his car. 

"Now what, Dad?  We still have a few hours until Justin comes over.  Can we go to the grocery and buy stuff to make dinner? We could call Auntie Em and get another recipe."

"I guess we can do that.  We could buy burger meat again.  We should get really good at making them before we invite everyone over," Brian said, letting Gus know that he had thought about Gus' request to have the family over.  

"You mean you'd invite everyone over for a meal we cooked?" 

"It's a possibility, but not until we learn how to cook more dishes.  Let's hit the grocery and buy some meat.  Maybe we'll ask Justin to try one and get his opinion.  He seems to be a connoisseur of burgers."

"What's a connoisseur?"  Gus asked, thinking about having Justin over for dinner.

"It's someone who is an expert. Justin loves burgers and coffee and always comments on both when we eat out after a meeting,"  Brian said, thinking of their discussion earlier about AA meetings.  He was going to have to come up with a solution that worked for everyone.  He knew that he could not go 2 days without a meeting, but he also didn't want Gus to feel that he was not important.

"Someday we'll be connoisseurs too.  We will be as good as Auntie Em" Gus proclaimed as they made their way to the car.

Brian and Gus went shopping and picked up the ingredients for burgers and also picked up some potatoes.  Gus wanted fries but Brian stood his ground, insisting on buying a salad and potatoes for baking.

"Let's head home and try our hand at cooking again."

"Sounds great.  I can't wait to try and make the burgers by ourselves. I bet Justin will really be impressed with our burgers," Gus said.  

They cooked the burgers and were just sitting down to dinner when Justin buzzed, announcing his arrival.

Gus went to the door to greet him.  "Justin, Dad and I made burgers using Auntie Ems recipe.  You've got to try one and tell us what you think!!!" Gus said before Justin even walked through the door.

Justin looked at Brian seated at the table with three places set.  "I hope you weren't waiting for me to eat?" Justin asked.

"No.  We just set you a place in case you hadn't eaten when you got here.  Dad and I want to cook a big meal for all the family, but Dad says we have to get really good at cooking before we do it.  You'll be the first person to try our cooking.  I hope you like it," Gus said as he sat down and waved Justin toward the table.   "Dad says you're a connoisseur of burgers... you know an expert."

Laughing at Gus describing his burger obsession, Justin said, "Well, I do have definite opinions about the burgers I eat.  So, I guess your dad is right when he says that I'm a connoisseur."  Justin joined them at the table where he picked up a bun off the bread plate and placed a burger on one side.  He asked, "Is there any ketchup?"

"I usually put ketchup on my burgers, but these don't need anything.  Aunty Em gave us the recipe," Gus explained as he picked up his burger to take a bite.  "Mmm," he said as he smelled and tasted the burger.

"Okay, I'll try it your way, but I still reserve the right to ask for ketchup," Justin said, as he grinned at Gus.  He took a bite of the burger and said, "mmm".  "You're right, they don't need ketchup.  I'll have to get the recipe from you or your dad," Justin said, before taking another bite.

They ate dinner and chatted about the bicycle museum.  They also discussed their future outings for the next few weeks.  After dinner, Justin helped Brian and Gus clean up, do the dishes, and then the three of them watched some television before it was time for Gus to go to bed.

"Are you going to hang out with us tomorrow, Justin?" Gus asked before he stood up from the couch.

"Not tomorrow.  I have to paint.   I have some work I need to finish."

"Oh," Gus said, the disappointment evident in his voice.  "Dad said he'd practice kicking the soccer ball around and give me some pointers.  He used to play soccer in school."  Gus placed the tv control on the coffee table and asked Justin,  "Maybe you could come watch me play sometime and take some pictures.  That would be really cool."  He walked over to Brian and gave him a hug and then looked at Justin, deciding he wanted to hug him as well.  He reached out and gave Justin a hug and Justin returned the embrace.   

"Night Gus.  I probably could come to one of your games and take some pictures.  I'll talk to Brian about when you are playing, see if it works with my schedule," Justin said and was rewarded with a huge smile from Gus.

Gus walked toward the bedroom and said, "good night", closing the door behind him.

"He's a good kid.  I'm glad that you decided to include him in your life," Justin said. "It's great that you guys are learning to cook together.  I can see he really is really excited about cooking a whole meal for your family.  The burger was really good and if that is any indication of your skills, I think you will be fine."  Justin turned toward Brian so he could see him as they were talking.  Now that Gus had gone to bed, there was a little more space on the couch.  

"Did you get your errands done?  I hate that you are spending so much time with Gus and me lately.  I hope you don't mind," Brian said, feeling that he needed to apologize to Justin.  

"Brian, I'm having a ball.  I don't do anything that I don't want to do. I'm finding that our friendship is something I was lacking in my life as well."

"Really?  You seem like you have everything together," Brian said, surprised at Justin's admission.

"When I was drinking I alienated a lot of people, not just my family.  I was lucky that my agent stuck by me, but I really believe that she did only because she saw the potential for making her money."  Justin rubbed his thumb and first two fingers together in the universal sign for cash. 

"Unfortunately I was not very dependable; saying I would show up for a get-together or offer to help someone do something and ghost them.  The first few times, I could blow it off as getting involved in painting, but when it happened the third and fourth or fifth time, they stopped calling.  It didn't help when I would call them or they would call me and I'd be obviously drunk.  They stopped calling and inviting me."

"Now that you're sober, you haven't renewed your friendships?"  Brian asked, surprised at Justin's estrangement from his friends.

"We've talked about amends and making up for your misdeeds.  I thought I had a lot of friends, but when I reached out to them after I stopped drinking, there was only one who was interested in restarting our friendship.  I'm not like you with a whole group of people that are your family/friends.  I've got my mom, my friend Daphne and now you.  At least, I call you my friend," Justin said looking into Brian's eyes, hoping to get an affirmation.

"Of course, I'm your friend.  You've gone above and beyond to help me out without any expectation of reward or payment.  That alone would result in my gratitude.  But, you're different.  We have fun together, you enjoy hanging out with me and Gus, and you've really helped me in my sobriety journey."

‘I'm glad.  I consider you a good friend too.  Sure, I offered to help you explore the city and help you find some new hobbies, but I just wanted to hang out with you and that was a good excuse,"  Justin said, admitting his secret.

"Me too.  Speaking of friends, I think it is time you met some of my friends.  I like the idea of inviting Ted here to have a meeting, so next weekend, if you are still willing, I'll see if he's available.  I think I will talk to Emmett and Gus too.  I think having them cook a meal together would be good for everyone.  I'll explain to Gus that he and Emmett can try out dishes and then we can make them again.  He's sort of the taste tester."  Brian said as he thought of asking Ted to join him in an official group.

"I think I'd like that.  I know we really didn't talk much tonight, but I'm beat.  Are you good?"  Justin asked as he stifled a yawn.

"Yeah.  I think just having you here so that I can process whatever's on my mind helps me stay sober."

Justin leaned forward and gave Brian a hug and then a kiss on his cheek.  

Brian returned the hug, but not the kiss.  He found the hug comforting and decided he liked it.

Justin picked up his messenger bag and walked to the door.  "I'll see you tomorrow night at our meeting?" he asked, clarifying that Brian was still free to attend.

"Yep.  Gus and I will probably just hang around here tomorrow.  I can't get him thinking that we will always have an outing every time we're together."

Brian opened the door and said, "Later"

Justin returned the now familiar phrase, "Later." and rode the elevator to the first floor.  

Brian watched Justin leave, realizing that he would miss hanging out with him.  The thought surprised him, but also made him smile. Like Justin, he was tired and readied himself for bed, falling asleep quickly. 

TBC