The weekend passed far too quickly for Brian's liking. Bar none, this had been the most pleasurable one of his life. It was amazing to him that he could make such an assessment. Over the years, he had engaged in a large number of lustful frenzies, even orgies, in his downtime. Nothing had compared to the immense pleasure he had received during his possession of Justin. The young man was incomparable in every possible way.

He glanced over at the bedside clock. It was almost four in the morning. He had fucked Justin, over and over. Finally, exhaustion had claimed each of them. Already, he had fucked him several times. The urgency hadn't lessened in any of his possessions. That was a great cause for alarm if he allowed himself to dwell on it. Brian didn't intend to waste valuable time with Justin to do that. All that mattered now was enjoying the pleasure this man gave him; he was equally exhilarated in the knowledge that he did the same for Justin.

Brian had never been much of a believer in destiny; however, now he wasn't so certain. The odds that he had met Justin in a place he never frequented stood out in his mind. What if Gus hadn't talked him into their excursion in Central Park? Would they have still met somewhere else? The pragmatic side of him told him that their worlds wouldn't have ever collided otherwise, and yet, another part of him that had never felt so alive protested that this meeting had been meant to be. Somehow they would have found each other.

He had awakened only a short time ago feeling Justin slightly stirring in the bed. Presently he was still, but his movement had been enough to bring him out of his own slumber. It wasn't much of a surprise. Brian was accustomed to sleeping alone. He never allowed men to sleep over. When the fucking was done - they were gone. No exceptions ever. Justin broke all of his previous rules. The arrangement he had made with Justin was one that he had never contemplated making with another man. He had used hustlers in the past, primarily when he was out of town on business... but this long-term offer he had extended to Justin was foreign for him. The fact that he wanted Justin so fiercely to even go to these lengths did disturb him, but he hadn't spent much time on those thoughts. All that mattered was that he wanted Justin. At this point, nothing could detract from that.

When he felt Justin stirring more restlessly, Brian turned the bedside lamp on low when it was obvious Justin was having the beginnings of a nightmare. He reached out to awaken him, a frown creasing his brow, when he heard the clearly legible babbling.

"No! Please..." Justin whimpered, his voice the one of a broken man. "I'll do a-anything. Don't put me in the dark. Please, Dad. Don't lock me up again!"

Dad? Locked in the dark? This had better be only a nightmare, Brian thought. His eyes glittered in a mixture of rage and concern as he firmly pulled Justin into his arms. "Justin. Wake up. It's just a dream. You are safe."

Justin continued to thrash, in his mind, his father's hands were like bands of steel wrapped around his young arms. "Noooo," he squealed. "Don't h-hurt me, anymore. P-please, Dad. Don't hurt me!"

Brian knew it wasn't considered wise to startle someone from a nightmare, but he couldn't let this continue. With one deft flick of his wrist, Brian brightened the light in the large bedroom; he maintained a firm grip around his young lover, his intention to both awaken him and do so without causing him any discomfort. "Justin! Come out of it. You're with me now." When Justin continued to resist his efforts, Brian became more insistent when the cries of distress were clearly overtaking him. "Justin! Shit! Wake up!"

His eyes slowly flickering open, Justin could feel his body dripping in sweat, the tremor in his legs not abating. He squinted as his eyes became accustomed to the light, wearily seeking the voice that had pulled him from his greatest nightmare - Brian's voice. "B-Brian... I guess I had a bad dream. I'm sorry I woke you. That's part of the reason I thought it best if I slept alone."

Instantly, Brian sat up in the bed; he padded naked over to the small bar in the corner of his bedroom. Opening the small refrigerator, he pulled out a bottle of water, returning it to Justin without any delay. Sliding back into bed with Justin, he watched as Justin took a couple of long, gulping swallows. "Okay, Blue Eyes. Talk to me."

"What's there to say? We all have bad dreams. Right?" Justin didn't intend to go into the long story of his tortured past. That was exactly what it was to him - the past - revisiting it would only bring it more fully into his present. When he looked over to meet Brian's impatient, and penetrating stare, Justin realized that Brian didn't intend to let it all rest. "It's nothing really. Okay?"

"Nothing?" Brian bit out. "I can't view it in such simplistic terms, Justin. You were terrorized. And you kept mentioning your father. I can't forget the fear I heard in your voice... that I could see in your every expression." Brian affixed a stern, and deeply encompassing gaze on his young lover. "Don't forget that I took a vow to protect you. I take my obligations very seriously. Now, I want to know what the fuck happened in your past to inspire this level of fear."

"My dad is an asshole. Let's just leave it at that!" Justin shuddered as he thought of his father's face, each and every time he had cornered him. He'd like to think the man in him could stand up to him now... but the teenager had quivered in the deepest of dread every time he came near.

Brian's eyes slid around the room, seeing nothing; rage toward this nameless and faceless man swelling within him. "Tell me about him, Justin." His voice was low and fashioned of the most impenetrable ice. "I want to know everything. I need to know it all if I am to adequately protect you."

"It's not necessary, Brian. I ran away from that life years ago when I was still a teenager. He can't force me back now. I am free of him..." Justin's voice was vehement, the anxiety in his tone belying the context of his words.

"Free of him..." Brian murmured almost absently. "That explains how a dream about him has you drenched in sweat; the quaking tremors of a man that feared for his very life. Yes, Justin. I can see how free you are of this man."

Justin recapped the water, his hand reaching out to place it on the nightstand; laying down in the bed, Justin turned to face Brian, sadness, yet acceptance in his eyes. "I'm just trying to forget my past, Brian." Justin bit at his lip uncertainly for a moment, a thought suddenly coming to mind. "Uhhh, in the beginning, you said something about me needing to travel with you sometimes. I- I well, I'd prefer it if we didn't go back there. If we did... I would want to stay in the hotel, or wherever we were staying the entire trip."

Finally, they were getting somewhere. "Where is home, Justin?"

"New York is now." Justin smiled briefly at Brian, smirking at the eye roll that quickly followed his answer. "I'm from Pittsburgh."

"Pittsburgh," Brian mused. "That's quite the coincidence. My son lives in Pittsburgh. He lives with his two moms. I don't go there for business, but on occasion, I try to visit my son there. For the most part, he comes to see me."

Justin groaned. It appeared staying out of Pittsburgh might suddenly prove challenging. He thought about what Brian said for a moment, a sudden recollection occurring to him. "I remember the young boy with you at Central Park. Clearly, I was distracted at the time... but I do remember that."

"Yes. That was my son, Gus." Brian's eyes became soft in remembrance. How he loved that little guy. He would do anything for him; his only wish was that he would get to see much more of him. But as long as that viper was in his life, his visits were far less frequent than he would like.

"You love him a lot..." Justin observed, realizing he really didn't speak the words in avoidance of his own problems; he did so in the continued surprise of his increased knowledge of Brian Kinney. The man was a paradox. He would never understand him. Justin continued to find himself more and more intrigued about him. He only hoped that he had the chance to uncover all the many layers.

Nodding emphatically, Brian answered, "Yes, I do." Casting a penetrating look on his beautiful blond, Brian told him, "There isn't anything I won't do for those I care about, nor for those under my protection, which leads me back to our subject. Tell me about your parents - your father in particular. I'm assuming they still live in Pittsburgh?"

"My father owns several electronic stores in Pittsburgh. He does very well for himself." Justin's eyes became shadowed, when he told him, "My parents divorced years ago. She got a large settlement and dropped out of sight quickly afterward. I always had the feeling Dad forced her to move away."

Brian gritted his teeth. "So, your mother chose money over being a parent. That's truly fucked up!"

Justin shrugged his shoulders, yet felt the slight temptation to defend his mother. "I was young, so I don't know everything that happened." Flopping down on his back, Justin turned his face away from Brian's probing gaze. "So much of that time is confusing to me. I was bitter at first that she would leave me there - with him; now that it's over, I'm kind of thankful that she escaped him."

Rolling onto his side to face Justin, Brian slid his arm around his blond's waist, turning him so Justin's back was against his front, his arm tightly holding him. If Justin was to go back to sleep, he hoped his close presence would keep this nightmare at bay. At this point, it didn't appear that Justin was seeking any deep divulging of his past, but Brian knew how to maneuver a man. If he needed to display a sensitivity that he felt to very few people, he could do that. For some reason, protecting this man was very important to him.

Sighing as the comforting stroke of Brian's hand against his stomach soothed him, instead of arousing him at different times, Justin felt himself relax back against him. Justin was certain that Brian wasn't finished fishing for answers quite yet. A part of him wanted to rebel against giving him any more private information, and yet, another part of him thought it was the right, not to mention, the smart thing to do. Suddenly, Justin found himself speaking, thinking that maybe the fact that they weren't currently face-to-face, made it easy to share his most private, and personal hell. "I don't have the nightmares every night anymore." A bitter laugh escaped. "I used to, though. Hell, I used to take caffeine pills just to stay awake."

Brian's eyes closed at that confession. The fury toward all that had inflicted such pain in Justin's life continued to swell in him. He needed to know it all. The fact that he was getting far more involved with this man, and his life, than he normally did with any man no longer fazed him. He was beginning to accept that it was just how it would be with Justin. Disputing it wouldn't change anything. Justin belonged to him... and he intended to keep him safe - no matter what that entailed. His fingers continued to move tenderly on Justin's skin, for the first time having nothing to do with any sexual intentions. His voice was soft when he whispered, "Tell me what he did to you, Justin."

"Dad was always rough around the edges. It was his way or none at all. I was always walking on eggshells around him." Justin's voice cracked when he admitted, "However, when he found out I was queer... Well, things got really bad."

Momentarily, Brian's hand tightened around Justin's waist, his fingers stilling when he asked, "Did he hit you?"

"At first. Then, I learned a trick that stopped him for a while, but it didn't last for long."

Brian was afraid to ask, yet knew he had to know. "A trick?"

"I would shut my mind down... in effect, blocking the pain - both mentally and physically." Justin shuddered in remembrance. The night that stopped working was when his terror truly began. "He wanted to break me. I think he thought if he did, that I would give in and be who he wanted me to be. I remained strong and just avoided him as much as possible."

Brian knew without a doubt he was going after Justin's father. Every word he spoke, only solidified that in his mind. Justin was in his protection. He owed him that much. Not only that, but he was also a father. Child abuse whether a young child or older was the most repugnant of crimes. He wouldn't tolerate it... most especially when administered against a caring man such as Justin. It was just a matter of finding the best method to destroy the worthless man. "I don't think your story ends there..."

"No, it doesn't." Justin felt chills coursing through him as he remembered his next brand of punishment. "I came out at school; I was in high school at the time. After a while, I got a boyfriend. My dad found out through a business acquaintance. The beating was so bad I couldn't get out of bed for nearly a week. Every night I cried myself to sleep; it was then that he said he couldn't tolerate my disgusting presence any longer."

Barely able to keep his tremendous rage in check, Brian asked, "What did he do next?"

"He said he couldn't bear to look at me. As quick as he could manage it, he pulled me from school and set me up in home-schooling on the computer. I was so stupid. I had the chance to report him, but I was too fucking cowardly." Tears began to slide down Justin's cheeks as he told his story. He couldn't look at Brian right now. Not only was he ashamed, but he also felt worthless. Every time he thought of his father, he felt broken and weak. More than anything, he just wanted that to end. "When he would come home, he would discharge the staff. After my dinner, which I ate alone, the beatings would start, and then he locked me in the dark closet for the rest of the night."

"Cowardly?" Brian hissed. "You were abused by the one person who is supposed to be committed to your care. He betrayed that trust with the most vicious form of abuse. The man should be in prison, Justin. Give me his name, Justin. In either event, I will find him, but making it easier would be in your best interest."

Justin turned his head on the pillow, his tear-filled eyes meeting hazel ones that were burning in savagery. "W-what are you going to do?"

"I'll tell you what I'm going to do. I am going to destroy him, Justin." Brian leaned down to brush his lips softly against Justin's; his kiss wasn't about staking a possession in this instance, but this kiss was about comfort. He would protect this man from those that threatened him. Brian didn't care how much Justin was complicating his life. Right now, all he cared about was righting past wrongs.

When his lips were released, Justin shook his head. "No. You need to stay away from him, Brian. He's dangerous... and I don't want him to hurt you too."

Brian smiled at him in a way that was resonant with the humoring of a small child. "Silly boy," Brian purred, a menace clearly discernible in his voice. "I could bring him down from a distance without even going near him - if I chose to do so. I'm not sure I'll keep my distance, though. Breaking him face-to-face will give me too much pleasure." Pulling Justin's unresisting head against his chest, Brian began to stroke Justin's hair, his eyes cold as they stared into the distance. "Go back to sleep, Justin. I'm not going to let anything happen to you. We'll discuss this more in the morning."

Justin nodded; his eyes drifting shut. Nothing would happen tonight. Perhaps tomorrow he could convince Brian how dangerous his intentions could be. "Okay. Goodnight, Brian."

"Goodnight, Justin." Brian reached over to shut off the light, his arms tightening protectively around his young lover. He would destroy Justin's father. No matter what he needed to do to accomplish it, he would ruin him. Justin would once again feel safe to walk the streets of his hometown, or anywhere else he chose to be.

Not once did Brian think about how deeply he was becoming entrenched in Justin's life. All that mattered was making him safe. Brian had every intention of doing just that.

TBC