Disclaimer: This is fanfiction only. No money is being made whatsoever, I just love Queer as Folk. Characters are out of character and Brian is a little younger.

Chapter 2

JUSTIN THE FROG

The snows melted and the bitterly cold winds died down and a gentle wind, a warm wind that smelled of green things growing took its place. The sun shone brighter and stronger. And finally, things began to grow. Spring had come.

One day, Brian went for his walk as usual. All winter he had gotten stronger and stronger and now that spring had come, he was well enough to walk around for a while before getting tired.

And as he walked today, he could feel the warm wind healing him even more. He walked by willow trees that were just shooting out new leaves. There was a pond with new reeds growing and ducks and swans eating up the old growth from yesteryear. Many of the ducks had a passel of fluffy yellow ducklings. A bit beyond that was a grove of cherry trees adorned with the pink leaves of the cherry blossoms. Soon they would fall in a pink rain but it was not quite time for that.

Robins and bluebirds, swallows and goldfinches were flying around, having recently migrated home. The twittered and tweeted, searching for worms and extra grasses and brush to pad their nests.

Brian walked a bit further and then a bit further than that. He was careful to avoid the mud and mud was everywhere. And in the mud, growing wild everywhere were the bright yellow of daffodils.

The sky was blue, the clouds were like cotton balls and the yellow sun was strong and warm. Brian took another healing breath and felt the good spring air do him good. Yellow duckings, yellow flowers, yellow sun. Brian dug into his pants pocket.

"Ahhhh, there might be a lot of beautiful things in nature that are yellow," he murmured, "But none are more beauteous than you, my sweet drop of sunshine," he said to his golden ball.

Brian had come to love his golden ball more than ever. More than anything. It was his talisman, his rock. He drew strength from it and secretly...he liked to play with it too, like a real ball, throwing it up and catching it and sometimes catching it with his foot too.

In this way, strolling along, throwing his ball up, sometimes catching, sometimes missing it, Brian meandered along, not really paying attention to where he was going. And so it was, he suddenly looked up and gasped. He had no idea he was heading here but here he had come and he realized this was his destination all along.

A giant willow tree was towering above him, its branches trailing on the ground. The leaves were just starting out, bathing the giant tree in a pale golden yellow. Brian could see that when the leaves had grown out they would form a fully enclosed bower and he would be completely hidden.

Brian stepped through the branches and saw that the space inside would be huge. And inside, near to the trunk was a dilapidated and forgotten well. It was from this well water that the willow was drawing its strength.

There was even a very old bucket attached to a very old string. Brian dropped it in and drew up a small amount. The water was cold and clear and sweet. This would make a perfect, private hideaway.

Brian would never admit it but he had become a very private and solitary person. He preferred being alone and he had never taken another lover since....it happened. Every time he had an urge, he would think about his surgery and dark and reddish visions would flash through his mind and he just wouldn't be able to go through with it.

"Who's that? Who's there!?" called an echoing voice out of the well.

"Hello! Who's there!? Are you stuck? Should I get someone??" called Brian.

There was a splashing noise, a kind of scrabbling and then a very large green frog jumped out of the well and onto the side.

"No, no! It's nothing like that! There's only me and this is my home. Nobody's been to draw water from my well in a long time so hearing the bucket after all these years was quite startling." The frog said in a croaky voice.

Brian stared at the frog, who was large enough to fill his hand. It was green and smooth with powerful hind legs that would make a Frenchman cream in his pants. His eyes were huge and black and bulbous. It was very ugly.

"You're a frog," Brian said simply.

The frog stared back at Brian who had brown eyes and dark brown hair. The hollows of his cheeks were turning into dimples. He had a nice chin and was tall and thin which Brian was turning back into lean muscle he was wearing leather pants and a creamy silk shirt. On his head he wore a circlet of gold encrusted with a single ruby that rested on his forehead. He was very handsome.

"You're right," said the frog.

"You can talk."

"Very astute of you to notice."

Brian sat on the edge of the well and continued to stare. "You're a frog that can talk."

The frog propped its head on one of its front legs and looked sideways up at the addled prince. It looked...bored.

"Yes, I think we covered that," the frog said, and bingo, it sounded bored.

Brian shook himself. "I'm sorry, I didn't know frogs could talk."

The frog shrugged in an ‘I don't know what to tell ya here!' type of way. "You learn a new thing every day?" he suggested unhelpfully.

"What are you doing here?"

The frog sighed and propped his head on both front arms. He rolled his bulbous eyes and then blinked them sideways in a way that was terrible to behold. He had decided the prince was addled or very stupid or both. He began to speak in a voice reserved for children and the elderly, slowly and distinctly.

"I'm a frog. I live here. I swim and eat bugs and hop and haven't seen anybody in as long as I can remember. What are you doing here?"

"I...I don't know. I was looking for a place to be alone. I guess I found it."

"Why should a handsome fellow like you want to be alone? I'm sure lots of maidens would be clamouring after you."

"Well, first of all, I'm into dudes. And second of all, I guess you're right but I've been there, done that. I guess the clamour got to me after awhile."

At this speech the frog looked at him with a bit more interest as if he realized he was a bit more than a half wit. "I see," he said simply.

Brian looked at the frog. The frog looked back at him and blinked in that queer sideways way again. There was a bit of a silence.

"So, uhhhh....what do we do now?" asked Brian.

"I dunno...." answered the frog, "Did'ja wanna fight about it? I know froggy kung fu!" he whispered conspiratorially.

"HUH?? Fight about what? NO!!" Brian yelled, shaking his head a little in confusion.

"Oh thank GOD!" the frog deflated several sizes in sheer relief, ‘because well, I'm me and you...you're you and...and well you know....bigger..." he trailed off lamely in a bit of a confusion.

Now it was Brian's turn to look over as if the frog was addle-pated.

"Look, why don't you tell me your name? Do you have a name?"

"Of course I do," said the frog, "It's Justin."

"That's a weird name for a frog."

"And what did you think my name should be?" a hint of a warning.

"Oh, I don't know, like Greeny or Hoppy or Warty..."

"And just what pray tell is your name?" asked Justin.

"I'm Brian. Prince Brian."

"Gee...that's a funny name for a Prince," said the frog sarcastically, "I would have thought it'd have been Ill-Mannered...or Insensitive...or Insulting... or Horse's A-..."

"OK! OK1 I get your point! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Justin it is! Oh dear! This isn't going very well at all!"

"Well how did you think things were going to go?" asked Justin.

"Well usually, I don't have any problems chatting up guys. If I was in the village, by this time I'd have some guy bent over the town....he he he....I mean....never mind!" Brian trailed off nervously, smiling a little too widely.

Justin just looked at him wide eyed for a few beats. "OOOOO......Kayyyyyy then...well....I'm going to go now...feel free to enjoy the loneliness for as long as you like but don't fall in the well....or hit your head on the tree....Seems like it's taken enough of a beating already!" he said not quite under his breath and then jumped back into the well.

After the splash of the frog going down and away, the space under the willow tree seemed very empty and silent. Brian tried to do as the frog had said and enjoy the loneliness but suddenly the little hideaway seemed too silent and lonely.

Eventually, he wandered back over to the well.

"Froggy! Frog! Uhhh...Justin! Justin! Come back! I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings! I haven't really talked to anyone or made a friend in a long time! I guess I'm rusty! Justin!? Are you there? If you come back, I'll...I'll...I'll...." Brian racked his brain. "I'll show you my most precious possession!"

The frog's head broke the surface of the water. "Oh very well! But do stop shouting! The sound is going all through me!!"

"Oh! Sorry." Brian said in a lower tone and dropped the bucket into the well. "Here. Elevator service!"

"And so, a bit against his better judgement, the frog got into the bucket and Brian hoisted him up again.

"So what did you want to show me?"

"Look, first of all, I wanted to say I was sorry. I'm not simple or crazy, I've just been mostly alone for about 6 months. I guess my social skills are a little rusty."

"How is it that the Prince of the valley has been alone for 6 months? Were you on sabbatical and living in a cave?"

"No! I've been sick. I nearly died."

"Oh. I see. I'm sorry about that. I'm glad you're finally all right."

"Me too. I was pretty low there for awhile. But my Dad gave me a present and I took comfort in it. It became my most precious possession. Behold!" And he took out the golden ball from his pocket.

"Wow, is that gold!? That's pretty impressive. Wait...why's it shaped like that? Is that...is that....is that a testicle? Ewww!! Oh, Brian!"

"Wait! It's not what you think!!"

"I think you had a sickness in your balls, had one cut or mangled, and to comfort yourself you had a replacement made out of gold which you now carry around like a creepy trophy," said the frog.

Brian deflated. "Oh. So it is what you think....Wait!" he yelled as he saw the frog about to jump away again, "It's not exactly like that! Yes, I was sick and yes I had to have a nut removed but the prosthetic is made out of smooth and polished wood and it's in there now! This...this is just a sort of....plaything....a comforter...a talisman. My Dad gave it to me. And I love it."

"Oh. I guess I can understand that. I often wished I had more attention from my parents."

"Where are your parents?"

"My parents abandoned me before I hatched into a tadpole."

"Oh! That's terrible!"

"Mehh! It's a reptile thing," said the frog breezily.

"Oh, I see."

"Although technically, I'm an amphibian," clarified the frog.

"Right."

There was a pause.

"Aaannny-way..." Brian soldiered on. Why was this so difficult? "I can do tricks with it." And he attempted to amuse Justin by showing him. He tossed it as high as he could in the air and caught it easily in a palm. He tossed it from foot to foot a few times and then tossed it very high in the air and attempted to catch it again. But this time the ball slipped from his fingers. Brian grabbed with his other hand and it slipped out of those fingers. He grabbed and grabbed and grabbed again but the smooth ball slipped away from him each and every time. At last the ball simply jumped away from him, landed on the edge of the well, teetered back and forth a few times between falling on the ground and into the well. Brian made a frenzied grab for it, knocked against the stone it was teetering on and dislodged it. The ball, the brick, and nearly the Prince of the Valley fell into the well with a splash. As it was Brian ended up lying on his midriff halfway in and halfway out of the well.

"NOOOO!!!!!" he screamed, "SHIT, NO!!"

The frog watched all this with great interest. "That was indeed a great trick." He looked down into the well. "So...is there a trick to getting it back?"