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Justin's jaw dropped as he watched Brian carrying a bag of sodas and what appeared to be a large pizza into his office. Seriously, he thought? Warden Kinney was indeed the biggest dick to walk the face of the earth. He was actually going to eat pizza, and force him to watch. It was unthinkable. Why now? Hadn't he suffered enough abuse - even if only mental - at the hands of this egocentric man? What could he possibly think to gain from this? "Uhhh, why am I here, Sir?"

 

Brian sighed. He was getting tired of the ‘Sir's' that fell too easily from his most aggravating prisoner's mouth. Undoubtedly, decorum dictated it... but coming from Justin it was only beginning to annoy him. Justin would be a free man soon; a man not forced to follow that strict protocol. He didn't see any harm in ending that formality tonight; as long as he didn't do it in front of the other guards, there shouldn't be a problem. "Justin, you are going to be released tomorrow morning. I think it's been well established that I view you in a much different light than the other prisoners. I would prefer it if you called me by name when we are in private."

 

"You are the one that told me I needed to extend proper respect to you - in public and in private." Justin was confused all the more; the man did complete reversals all the time. He never knew what man he would find each day.

 

Scowling, Brian bit out, "Yeah, well... at times I've said too damned much!"

 

Justin jumped at the end of the warden's harsh retort. He took a slight step back, watching as Brian placed the pizza and bag of soft drinks on his surprisingly empty desk. Where was all the work he normally had scattered about? Justin quickly decided that didn't matter. All that mattered now was getting through this meeting - or whatever this might be - in the quickest manner possible. Justin had the feeling the warden wasn't going to allow for it to be a quick meeting. Noting the tension on Brian's face, Justin cautiously asked, "Have I done something else wrong?"

 

"No!" Brian snapped. He rolled his eyes to the ceiling as he realized how he must have sounded to this entirely too sensitive young man. Grimly, he admitted to himself - how he always sounded. Softening his tone, Brian more calmly answered, "You haven't done anything wrong."

 

Biting his lower lip uncertainly, Justin asked, "Why am I here?"

 

Forcing himself to ignore the enticement of Justin's teeth working on his lip, Brian returned drolly, "I believe a jury of your peers indicated that they found you guilty of a crime; then, the next part of the process was bringing you here."

 

"Very cute, Sir." Upon meeting Brian's admonishing look, Justin amended, "I mean... Brian."

 

"I have my moments." Brian motioned to the seat across from his desk. "Pull the chair closer. We should eat this before it gets cold."

 

Justin eyed the pizza as if it was fashioned of the most exotic of ambrosia. "You're sharing a pizza with me? I just assumed that was your dinner."

 

"Hardly," Brian responded dryly. He motioned down to himself, his brow arching upwards. "Do you think I keep my body in this shape by gorging on large pizzas and soft drinks?"

 

Chuckling, Justin commented, "Hmmm. Probably not. I guess the metabolism slows down when you get older. I haven't run into that problem yet."

 

Brian's eyes became cold as they drilled into Justin. "Old? I will have you know I do eat what I want. I just happen to know when to eat it and in moderation. It's not age, it's a matter of conditioning."

 

"Conditioning... Okay. I guess that's one way to explain it." Justin bit his lip again... this time to prevent from laughing. He knew when he left Brian's office, his hate and mistrust would be back with him... but for now, he was beginning to relax in the warden's presence. He hoped nothing happened to change that.

 

"Forget it," Brian growled. "You're just a boy. You couldn't possibly understand." He gestured to the plates, napkins, and the bag of sodas. "Help yourself. I wasn't sure what soft drinks you preferred, so there is a mixture."

 

"Thank you. I- I can't believe you would do this." Justin moved forward and reached into the bag; he gasped at the bottle his hand closed around. "Pepsi. Oh my God. I can't believe it."

 

Brian smirked. "I take it you're a Pepsi man."

 

"And then some..." Justin unscrewed the cap; his eyes looked at it longingly for a moment before he placed the bottle to his mouth. His eyes closed as he took that first swallow; as he lowered the bottle he audibly moaned, unaware of how his brief display had affected an extremely attentive Warden Kinney. "God, that's good."

 

His voice roughening, Brian added, "Perhaps the pizza will be even more satisfying to your palate."

 

"Maybe." Justin reached into the box to pull off two large slices of mouth-watering pepperoni pizza. Laying them on one of the paper plates that Brian had stacked next to the pizza box, Justin sat down and began to wonder if his last night was actually going to be as bad as he had thought. He took a large bite of the pepperoni pizza, another moan sliding freely from his lips. Looking up to find Brian watching him in amusement, Justin grudgingly told him, "This is good. In fact, it's great... and not how I envisioned my last meal in prison."

 

"I'm glad it pleases you." A calculating look in his eyes, Brian added, "I must say - Brandon couldn't have accomplished this for you."

 

Justin continued to chew on the delicious meal that had been so surprisingly provided, before he smugly observed, "You know, Warden... one would almost think you to be jealous of him. Of course, I'm sure that isn't the case... but circumstances do point in that direction."

 

"You don't know me at all; if you did - you wouldn't make such a ludicrous accusation." Brian slowly bit into the pizza in front of him; his present irritation having more to do with the pleasure he had been having watching Justin enjoying his meal, than the ridiculous allegation his beautiful prisoner had just made. The thought was preposterous - beginning and end. He was not jealous - not now or ever. If he wanted a man, he got him - end of discussion. Did he still want Justin? Fuck yeah, he did. And he would have him at a time and manner of his own choosing. But jealous? No fucking way. What disturbed him was how a warmth spread inside him as he watched Justin enjoying himself. That wasn't him. He wasn't one to care about such trivial little matters. It was lesbianic and caused him to worry about this attachment he obviously had to the blond. What troubled him most of all was not knowing how to stop it.

 

"Is that a fact?" Justin asked, his brow arching as he took another long sip of the Pepsi that in his mind was fashioned out of the richest ambrosia. "Since you are wanting an informal last night, how about some honesty then."

 

Brian inclined his head. "Such as?"

 

"Okay. Why are you working the night shift - tonight of all nights? I'm told it's not common. And this little dinner in your office - exactly why did you go to this much trouble?" Justin realized he probably wouldn't get the truth from this man that kept so much to himself. It wasn't that he thought Brian was a liar... he just thought he was a man that held everything within; one might always get an answer from him, but not necessarily one that contained all the information. Case in point - his placement in solitary. As much as he might be coming to terms with why Brian placed him there - his methods still left much to be desired. Justin wasn't sure he would ever get over that.

 

His face becoming impassive, Brian had one clear thought - Brandon needs to keep his fucking mouth shut! "I realize you probably have it worked out in your little blond head that my presence here tonight revolves around you; let me assure you of this - it does not. Not that I have to answer your questions... but I will just make a point; periodically I work at night to supervise my operation. If I didn't do that, I wouldn't ever see some of the night staff members. I like my staff to know I am always aware of them... and of how they perform their duties."

 

Justin wasn't buying it, but he wasn't going to argue it either. For them, they had been getting along exceptionally well. He wasn't looking to rock the boat too much. "I see. And dinner?"

 

"It's not a big deal. I had to eat at some point... and I figured your last night here you might enjoy something other than prison fare." Brian's eyes swept over Justin slowly, the appreciation not hidden from his eyes. "Another plus for me - you are undoubtedly the most appealing dinner companion this place has to offer."

 

Snorting, Justin responded, "Oh, thank you so much, warden. That is such a compliment."

 

Brian grinned. "I thought you'd think so." He looked at Justin closely as he took small bites of his own slice of pizza. "What are your plans for when you get out?"

 

"Making sure that I am prepared to walk the path of law and order... and not a beeline back to this lovely establishment." Justin smirked at the eye roll that immediately commenced, quickly finishing off his first slice of pizza, before moving on to the next.

 

"Spare me," Brian muttered derisively. "I've known from the first day that you were out of place here. I can't envision any reality that would send you back here."

 

A pained look entered his eyes. "I used to think that too... but I ended up here, didn't I?"

 

"A fluke - pure and simple. The justice system isn't infallible. Thankfully, you are one of the rare cases that gets that chance at vindication. The time you've lost - which really isn't that much in the big picture - is inconsequential in comparison to what you do with your life when you get out." Brian looked at him in concern. He didn't want to see Justin struggle when he reached the outside. For some reason, he really cared about that. Right now he wasn't going to dwell on how attachments of any kind were both repellent and alien to him - he just wanted to stress to Justin how important it was that he got off to a good start. "Did you have a career before this all happened?"

 

"I had graduated from PIFA not long before this nightmare started. I hadn't landed a position yet. For the most part, I was doing some freelance projects. The pay wasn't great, but I was getting by." Justin remembered it too well. He had barely been paying his half of the rent. Now, he wondered if Daphne had rented out his room yet. She had been struggling as it was; he couldn't imagine her keeping his room open with his sentence being so many years.

 

Brian nodded. "An artist. I'm sure you'll find a permanent position. Pittsburgh has many prestigious advertising agencies." Rolling his lip under, Brian couldn't believe what he was about to offer. "If you need a personal reference, I'll vouch for you."

 

"Huh?" Justin mumbled, thankful he had just swallowed what he'd had in his mouth. "What will you tell them - that I was a model prisoner? No, thank you, Brian. I think I'll be fine."

 

"Credit me with some tact, Justin. I'm very good with words." Brian's eyes fell to Justin's mouth that had a trace of pizza sauce lingering in the corner. He wanted to lick it off. That... and so much more. "I'm good with many things."

 

Eyes widening, Justin looked at Brian apprehensively. That tone in his voice alarmed him, as had that look in his eyes, off and on as they spoke. Regardless of the twitch in his dick telling him otherwise, he needed to keep things impersonal with the gorgeous warden. No matter how much Brian could make him feel like he was the center of his universe - and when in his arms that was exactly how he'd felt - he knew that wasn't the case. Brian was a major player. He took his pleasure wherever and whenever he wanted. He couldn't let this man near his heart again. Justin swore he would never get another opportunity. "I'm sure you are, Brian." Justin dabbed at the corner of his mouth with a napkin... he needed to get out of here before he did something foolish. If Brian kept looking at him like that, he wasn't sure he wouldn't.

 

Brian's eyes darkened as he looked at Justin from across the desk. He was closing himself off from him - he could feel it. As much as he didn't like it, he also knew this wasn't the time to push him. There was much that Justin needed to come to terms with, some that concerned him, and others that didn't. Now wasn't the time to pressure him. Doing so now would only make him run. Brian realized that was the last thing he wanted. Although he didn't intend to push him tonight, he still wouldn't be himself if he didn't make his intentions known. If nothing else - he would stay true to form.

 

Justin could tell that Brian was about to make one of his moves again; nervously he stood to his feet, tossing his empty plate and bottle of Pepsi into the nearby trash can. "Uhhh, thank you for the pizza, and the soda... and the chat. It was really nice. If it's all the same, I'd like to get some rest before my big day in court tomorrow."

 

"Right. Maybe that's for the best." He reached for the phone, calling the one person to his office that he really didn't want near his beguiling blond... but it was the proper thing to do - and it was a way to say goodbye to Justin tonight without yielding to the temptation to push the blond adversely. He spoke crisply into the phone - "Justin can return to his cell now. Come and get him when you have a moment."

 

Brandon smiled on the other end. There was tension in the warden's voice. Things must not have gone well during their impromptu dinner meeting. As much as a part of him was glad, he did hope that Brian hadn't caused Justin any more pain. One thing was always a constant with him - he was honest with himself. There wasn't a doubt he wanted Justin for himself... but he didn't want Justin hurting either. Realistically, he knew that wasn't probable. Whether he wanted to admit it or not, Justin had deep feelings for the autocratic warden. Brandon hoped time changed that... but for now, Brian was winning that war. In matters of the heart, Brandon wasn't sure how to fight... or where to even start.

 

TBC

 

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