Daphne burst into the apartment that she shared with Justin, virtually dancing with excitement. Justin arched a brow at her steady and overly exuberant approach, even for her. She was waving the newspaper wildly in her hand similar to one who had just discovered via the news they had just won an elaborate prize. Taking another bite of his cereal he watched expectantly for her to speak, or explode - whichever came first.

Rushing to sit across from him at the table, she continued to bounce in excitement, her face flushed from what had been a quick-paced walk to return home. She laughed as she watched him eating, noting the cereal box in front of him. "I love it when you eat Wheaties. The breakfast of champions, "

"So they say, Daph," he mused, playfully not asking her what had her so excited, patiently waiting for her to reveal her secret. He knew her so well and realized she was going crazy inside wanting him to ask, yet he pretended to be oblivious to her excited agitation.

"Just think, Justin, someday your face could be on the box," she said, before jumping up waving the paper around madly in her hands once again.

Finally, after a few moments, Justin laughed before advising her, "Daphne, enough with the arms flailing before you hurt yourself, or break some of the few possessions either of us owns. Now, sit down, pour yourself some juice, and tell me what has you in such a frenzy."

"No time for juice. Have you seen this yet?" Daphne asked, waving the paper around wildly. "I just can't believe it!"

"Umm no, Daph. We don't subscribe to the paper, and as you are holding it - still - I have no clue what you are talking about," Justin answered in amusement.

"But you mean, your coach hasn't called you? Your mom? Anyone?" she asked in disbelief.

"I just woke up. My phone isn't turned on yet, and nobody ever uses the landline. Sometimes, I wonder why you even have one."

"Well, people call me on it."

"Wait, you asked if my coach had called? What's going on, Daph? Something to do with the Nationals - which starts tomorrow?" he asked in sudden concern.

Without further ado, Daphne flopped the paper down in front of Justin's inquisitive eyes to rapidly find them bugging out of his head. Justin's voice began to quiver as he read the bold headline:

Brian Kinney, former Olympic Champion named as a replacement judge

for Nationals competition beginning tomorrow.

Justin continued to read on silently, his eyes scanning back and forth across the print, absorbing each word of this stunning development. His lips parted as he gasped out a shocked response, "This is unbelievable, Daph."

"Oh my God, Justin, I have heard you go on about him for years. I knew he was your skating idol, for good reason obviously, but wow, isn't he the most beautiful man ever? Does he really look this good in the flesh I wonder?" Daphne sighed dreamily.

"The man is a God in every way. He is fucking perfect. Do you know what this means?" Justin nearly groaned in his realization.

"Uhhh yeah, you might get to meet your idol. Of course, why haven't you already? From what I read here, he lives here in Pittsburgh. He bought a club down on Liberty Avenue a couple of months ago. Why haven't you gone there?" she asked, confused why he hadn't sought out his hero.

"Training has been my life, along with trying to draw enough to help pay the bills and eat. I'm not a club boy, and what would I say if I went into his club and was blessed enough to get close to him: 'Hi, I'm Justin Taylor - your biggest fan.' How many times a night do you think he gets that and gets pissed off by it?"

"He might respond differently to you. After all - you're not exactly a troll..." Daphne beamed at him from across the table. She proudly stated, "You are going to live your dream, Justin. I just know it. And you are a talented artist. I'm just so happy for you. You, Justin Taylor, are gonna have it all!"

"Well, you are just a touch biased, Daph. I have to call my coach. He has to get me in for an extra practice today. Fuck, Daphne, I'm going to be skating for Brian Kinney. It doesn't get any bigger and better than this, " Justin said in awe, his smile brightening his face.

"It does get better, and it will. When I see that gold medal around your neck at the competition, and later when you are selected to the US team for the Olympics," she predicted.

"One step at a time. Nationals first, and surviving, knowing I'm skating for the legendary Brian Kinney. I have to go shower and try to get some practice in. Maybe I should add the quad into my program. It's never been perfected in competition; God, what a time it would be to be the first," Justin smiled, thinking of the thrill of making skating history, and in Brian's presence.

Frowning, Daphne said, "I think you should run that past your coach, Justin. One day before the competition is not a good time to change your program. It's perfect as it is. We've watched the film on the other contenders, you have this, Justin. Don't blow it trying to grandstand."

"Maybe you're right. I still need to practice, everything has to be perfect. It will be, Daph. It has to be," Justin whispered in determination before giving Daphne a quick kiss on the cheek before rushing off to prepare for the day that he hoped would be the beginning of a whole new life for him.

Brian sat on his Italian sofa leafing through the contestant information Lindsay had given him yesterday, finding himself more interested than he would have ever admitted to her. Damn the little minx, she knew him so well. He had thought he had severed all ties to that part of his life, now to realize it would never be fully gone. Those were his 'glory days'. So filled with hopes and dreams, uncaring of his lack of familial support; content with the encouragement of his friends, and the knowledge that he was the best. Proven unequivocally in multiple events to be the best at that time and still unequaled in his unique style and finesse.

He read the brief bios of each competitor, male and female alike, along with a face shot of each one. As he spread them out across the table, his eyes kept pulling back to the inviting and mesmerizing blue eyes of the blond named Justin Taylor. There was something so warm and innocent about that smile. Fuck, what a beautiful boy, Brian thought to himself. According to the statistics supplied, he had just turned twenty-one. He would be competing in the adult part of the competition. A bit older than most Olympic hopefuls - but if the talent was present, not an obstacle at all.

Brian had been nineteen when he won his first Olympic gold medal. Returning four years later to win two more in single and pair skating. His partner had been mediocre on his better days, but Brian had pushed him hard, never accepting the possibility of being second best, whether as a solo competitor or as part of a team. And Brian had very specific skills in pushing another man to be his ultimate best. That was before he had developed his 'one fuck only' policy. But he didn't include that in the equation. He did that to inspire his insipid partner to work harder to please him. All in all, it was a win-win situation.

That was seven years ago. Now Brian was just about to turn thirty, a sobering thought at best. He wondered if he would be able to do the honorable thing and not fuck any of the contestants. It would go against who he was, but he really didn't want to let Lindsay down, especially since it was so important to her. Brian didn't think it should be such a hardship. An ass was an ass, wasn't it? Surely, he could control his more basic urges until he returned to Babylon.

Then his gaze once again fell into the beautiful blue eyes of Justin Taylor, his eyes touching upon the full plump lips, ones that Brian could so readily visualize being put to the most pleasurable of tasks. He smiled as he continued to look at the photograph, surmising he could withstand the temptation; deciding if the body proved to be as delectable as his perfect face, he could always approach him at a later time. Bottom line, right or wrong, Brian Kinney always got what he wanted, and he had the unshakable feeling he would be wanting this boy very much.

"What?" he answered rudely into the ringing phone, not bothering to identify his caller or issuing a pleasant greeting.

"Hello to you too, Brian. I was just wondering if you looked over the file I gave you?" Lindsay prompted him to answer.

Pushing it aside, he offered a noncommittal response, "I may have glanced at it in passing."

"Admit it, Brian. You are curious. Just promise me you will judge them on skating performance and not on physical attributes, and remember hands-off during the competition," she reminded him.

"You seem so worried about me fucking my way down the line, such a suspicious nature you have. Of course, living with such a piranha I suppose I can understand that," Brian quirked.

"Brian, let's leave Melanie out of this. I'm just asking you to do the job appropriately. Can you please just do this for me?" she asked him once again, obviously not satisfied with the answer she had been given last night.

"Fine, Linds, I promise to behave myself at the Nationals. I will neither pull any contestants off the ice or into the back of the arena for a quick and mindless fuck," he answered as his gaze unwillingly pulled focus back to the beautiful blond.

"Thank you, Brian. I'm sure I will see you there. Now, don't stay out all night clubbing, and do all that you do - remember you need to sign in promptly at nine a.m. tomorrow morning," she needlessly reminded him.

"Yes, Wendy, I remember the drill. See you tomorrow," Brian said, getting out of the call before it dragged on endlessly.

On the other end of the line, Lindsay turned to face Melanie with a hopeful smile on her face, having it falter slightly at the look of concern on her partner's face.

"Hope you are doing the right thing here, Linds. I know how fond you are of Justin, we both are, and he will be a piece of sweet tempting candy to Brian," Melanie surmised.

"I know it's a risk, and I have no doubt how appealing Justin will be to Brian. However, I'm trusting Brian to treat this job with the respect that's due. He has lived this dream, he knows what it means. I don't think he will do anything to jeopardize Justin's chances, no matter how tempting he may be to him."

"I do hope so. That sweet kid needs this break, after what his asshole of a father has put him through," Melanie said through gritted teeth, remembering only too well the devastation Justin had lived when his father had thrown him out of the house upon learning his only son was gay.

"I'm so glad we found him at the GLC. He really needed a friend, one he could trust. If we hadn't met, I would have never discovered his additional artistic talents. This boy has a bright future ahead of him, but first, he needs to live his dream, and who knows, he might find another dream along the way," Lindsay mused, thinking of the vast possibilities of Justin's future.

Melanie looked at her incredulously, before she snapped, "No fucking way, Linds. You're not actually hoping to bring those two together? Brian is a louse, he will never commit to one man. Please tell me you didn't engineer this to get Justin exposed to his hero?"

"I'm not saying a word, Mel. Brian is much deeper than you realize, more than he even knows. He just needs the right spark to bring it to life, and I wouldn't be surprised if he finds that soon," Lindsay whispered back, continuing to be more than convinced of her thoughts and plans for those two.

"What exactly do you hope to accomplish? The impossible task of Brian Kinney finding love?" Mel asked in disbelief.

"Hmmm, eventually. But primarily, I'm hoping this introduction will be just what it takes to assure Justin in achieving his dreams of gold, and I have the feeling he will do just that."

Moving away to straighten up Gus' playroom, Melanie said, "I think you're making a big mistake, Linds. I just hope Justin doesn't pay with a broken heart, along with shattered dreams."

Watching as Mel retreated upstairs, she whispered, "I hope not either, Mel. Please don't make me wrong, Brian."

The United States Figure Skating Championship - Day 1 - 9:40 A.M.

Brian had just escaped the ramblings at the judges' table to go procure his third cup of coffee after arriving forty-five minutes ago. The competition was due to start in twenty minutes. He had been grumbling to himself the entire time as to why he had to be an hour early, just to sit at a table and judge. One thing was for certain, Lindsay owed him big time for this, and he damned sure intended to collect.

He was about to return to the front of the arena and his seat at the center of the judging table when he was forcefully crashed into by an oncoming force dashing blindly from around the corner. Cursing in irritation, he watched as his caffeine stimulation vaulted to the ground as his chest was rammed against the rushing newcomer. Brian instantly reacted, his hands reaching up to grasp the arms of the colliding man, a slow smirk passing his lips at the gasp that fell from the other, along with instant recognition of that face.

"Oh my God, Mr. Kinney, I-I'm so very sorry. I wasn't looking where I was going, " Justin stammered, knowing his pale face had to be flushing a glowing red by now.

Brian's eyes flickered, as he purred, "I must say that was the most unexpected slamming I have ever received. Perhaps, if you leave earlier you will arrive at your destination in a more timely manner."

"Oh no, I've been here. I seem to have misplaced my coach. I'm a bit nervous, you see, and excited, and so thrilled to meet you, sir," Justin babbled, inwardly berating himself at how pathetic he had to sound.

Instead of being typically annoyed as he normally would be, Brian smiled genuinely before saying, "Calm down there, little fella. It will be fine. A little tip for you, go out there and just do your program, forget who is watching, just be one with the ice. You do that and you will succeed. You are at the Nationals, you are already a winner, now it's time to show them all how much of one you are."

"Thank you, Mr. Kinney. I will try," Justin's face brightened and his heart soared at receiving advice from Brian Kinney.

"Please call me Brian. Just slow it down a bit in the meantime, save all that fire for the ice," Brian answered, turning his lip downward, allowing his eyes to slowly move down the body belonging to the face that he had been so curious about from the first moment he had seen it.

"Yes, I will - Sir, umm, Brian. Can I at least get you another cup of coffee before I go back?" Justin offered nervously.

"No, don't bother with that, it tasted like mud anyways. Now, I would suggest you go get laced up. I'll be watching," Brian told him, not missing the opportunity to brazenly move his eyes over Justin's backside, surprised and elated to find it even surpassed the perfection of his face, along with the bulging cock he had already noticed at a moment's glance.

"Thank you, Brian. I hope to put on a program that you will never forget," Justin answered before sauntering away with a smile, feeling giddy as a schoolgirl seeing the admiring look Brian had given his ass.

Brian smiled, uncaring that he had been caught, as he realized one point for decorum just got tossed out the window. Speaking just above a whisper, yet knowing Justin could hear him, "Knock 'em dead, Tiger."

He chuckled as he watched that elegantly curved back tense, along with the steady progression of that all too enticing bubble-butt until it sadly disappeared from his view. Oh yes, Mr. Taylor, when this is all over, we most definitely shall meet again - if I can even wait that long.

TBC