Planting the Seeds  

Pittsburgh

It had been a week since Brian had made his ill-fated trip to Hanover to visit Justin.  He had spent the week trying to get Vance off his back. He was working fifteen hour days, sometimes more, and that was not enough to suit Vance.  Brian knew he wasn't happy having Brian as a partner and he knew if he fucked up Vance would do his best to get rid of him.

He thought about Justin a lot.  Jennifer had been no help in getting Justin back, and he was at a loss how to proceed.  He had told Lindsay that only two things would get Justin back to Pittsburgh, his mother and Gus.  Lindsay had refused to make up any story using Gus that might bring Justin back and Jennifer didn’t believe there was anything wrong with Justin.  Therefore, she wouldn't help him.

Being Saturday night, Brian decided he was going to Babylon.  He needed to get blown, maybe even find some decent trick to bring back to the loft.  His quota of sex was way below par. He would do something about that tonight.

Brian arrived at Babylon just after eleven.  He had gotten a great idea for a new ad campaign, and he felt he deserved this night out and all the sex he could find.  He headed immediately to the back room. There were a lot of the usuals, but no one interesting. He was about to leave when a young blond left a group and stared blatantly at him.  Brian felt his cock twitch in response.

He gave a quick jerk of his head and the man was at his side immediately.  His hand reached for Brian's package. Brian groaned. He needed this. The man squeezed his hardening cock and opened Brian's shirt.  Brian pushed on the man's shoulders, forcing him to his knees and wanting him to get on with it. He didn't need any foreplay. The blond unbuttoned Brian's jeans and pulled out his growing hard-on.  He began licking and sucking the pulsing rod. The guy wasn't much of an expert at blowjobs, but Brian was very ready to get off. Within a minute or two Brian felt his orgasm building, and then he was coming and coming into the guy's mouth.  He groaned and relaxed as the man milked him dry.

As soon as he was done he shoved his dick back into his pants and went out to the dance floor of Babylon.  He didn't even look back at the guy who had just serviced him.

He found Emmett and Michael by the bar.  "And where are your little wives?" he asked sarcastically.

"Teddy's at work and Ben had a function at the university," Emmett explained.

"We saw you come out of the backroom," Michael said.

"So?"  Brian didn't have to explain himself to anyone.

"You haven't been around all week," Michael griped.

"I do work, Mikey, despite the popular belief that someone just gives me money for no fucking reason!" Brian stated.

"I just meant that we haven't seen much of you," Michael tried to explain.

Brian didn't want to listen to whining or guilt trips from his best friend.  "Are you still working on Rage?" Brian asked.

"Kind of."

"What the fuck does that mean?"

"I have some ideas for the next issue, but I can't find anyone who draws the same way as Justin did."

"Have you been looking?"

"I put up some notices at PIFA and a couple of people replied, but their work looks really different.  It wouldn't be the same."

"What about asking Justin to work on it again?" Brian asked.

"No fucking way!  That little cheater doesn't want anything to do with me, and I don't want anything to do with him."  Michael was adamant. "Besides nobody even knows where he is."

"I do."

"You do?  Since when?"

"He's at Dartmouth studying business."

"No fucking way!" Emmett said, having taken all of this in.

"How do you know, Brian?" Michael asked.

"Let's just say I know."

"Then why are you suggesting that we work on Rage when he isn't even in Pittsburgh?"

The kernel of an idea was beginning to form in Brian's mind, but a lot of it would hinge on Michael's attitude towards Justin.  "Are you willing to let Rage be a one shot wonder?" he asked Michael.

"I don't think I have much choice about it, if I can't find anyone to draw it," Michael admitted.

"Would you work with Justin if he agreed to do it?"

Michael grimaced.  "I don't know."

"Mikey, what did he do to you?" Brian asked bluntly.

"It's what he did to you that I can't stand."

"If I can live with it, why can't you?"

"I don't know," Michael said again.

"It seems stupid to let Rage die when it started off so well.  You both could use the money," Emmett said reasonably.

Michael looked at him, not wanting to admit that he was right.  "He'd never work with me again," Michael said lamely.

"I know," Brian said.  "He wants to give his share of Rage to Gus and have you kill off JT if you continue the comic."

"How….how do you know that?" Michael asked.

"Justin told me."

"You talked to him?"

"Yes."

"Brian, what is this all about?  You keep suggesting that I work with Justin, then you tell me all the reasons that it will never happen."

"I wanted to see if you had any interest in it happening."

"Well, I don't!" Michael stated.  "I hope I never see him again."

"Fine," Brian said.

"That's it?  Fine? What the fuck are you trying to pull?"

"Forget it, Mikey.  Pretend I never mentioned it."  Brian prayed Michael's natural curiosity would get the better of him.  He had planted the seed, now he hoped to harvest the fruit.

Michael stared at his friend.  He didn't want to work with Justin, but he did want the comic to succeed, even more than he wanted the money from it.  "Brian, tell me what's going on," he asked his longtime friend.

"Only if you will listen with an open mind, and hear me all the way through."

"Okay," Michael said, not sure what he was getting into.

"Let's go to the loft where we can talk.  You too, Emmett," Brian said, hoping Emmett would be a voice of reason.  

Dartmouth

Justin sat in his room.  It was Saturday night and he was all alone.  The group from last weekend had asked him to go out with them, but he had refused.  He noticed that Ric wasn't part of the group. He knew he had treated the guy abominably, but that couldn't be helped.  He couldn't be around Ric or any other gay guy.

He could go down and watch TV in the common room, but he didn't really want to.  He didn't really want to do anything. What was the point?

He thought back to spending Saturday nights at Woody's and Babylon.  He'd never do that again. He had grown to hate going to those places and cruising for tricks to bring back to the loft.  He only did it to please Brian, and that still hadn't been enough for him. Their relationship, if you could call the fucking dysfunctional time they spent together a relationship, had been a disaster for both of them.  Brian had lost his freedom and a lot of money and Justin had lost his self-respect. Now he had even less self-respect. He had traded it all away for a place to live and the price of tuition.

Justin lay down on the bed.  He didn't cry. He didn't think he had any tears left after that scene with his father.  He closed his eyes. Sleep would come soon. That was all he had the strength for most of the time.  Sleep.

Pittsburgh

Brian refused to say any more about Justin while he drove the two men to the loft.  He got them each a beer and they sat in the living room.

"I want you to hear me out without saying anything," Brian started.

Both men nodded.

Brian began the story.  He told them about Justin going to his father and the promises he had to make in order to get his father's help.  Michael was about to protest when Brian gave him a look that shut his mouth in a hurry. Brian told them about his trip to Hanover and the defeated boy he had found there.  He conveyed his worries about Justin's state of mind and about his future. Both men listened intently.

When Brian stopped talking, Emmett said, "Poor, Sunshine."

"That's just it, Emmett, he isn't Sunshine anymore.  You'd hardly recognize him. I doubt that he has smiled since that night at Babylon.

They all knew what night Brian meant.

"I don't see what this has to do with me, Brian," Michael said.

Brian sighed.  "I want to give Justin back his life.  I know he's not happy at Dartmouth, but he'll stick it out because he thinks he has no other choice.  I know only too well how stubborn he can be. To do that I need to get him back to Pittsburgh and show him that he can have another life here.  I need your help to do that, Michael."

Michael shook his head.  "I don't know."

"I want him back!" Brian said emphatically.

"You should help him, Michael.  Nobody should have to deny who they are.  Remember how unhappy you were when you worked at the Big Q and pretended you weren't gay," Emmett reminded him.

Michael grimaced.  "Okay," he said, "but I don't know what I can do."

"I'm going to tell you," Brian said.  He began to describe the plan he had devised at Babylon.  He prayed it would work.