Brian finished his afternoon in a whirlwind of activity, reading two proposals, reviewing three campaigns, and completing the preliminary work on another. Remembering Justin's visit at mid day, sucking his cock while sitting in his chair, encouraged him to finish his work so he could go home at a reasonable hour.

Cynthia knocked on his office door, opening it when he said to come in.

"I'm leaving a little early, Brian. My mom wants me to run some errands with her." She placed several papers on his desk. "These are the notes from the Brown conference from this morning. I've highlighted the areas where he changed his mind from the last conference."

"Good. I think I'll leave too, surprise Justin."

"Did I tell you he called earlier in the day? He wanted to be sure you would be free when he got here." She informed Brian as she picked up the files from Brian's outbox.

"No, he didn't, but he was busy." Brian smirked.

Cynthia recognized that smirk and was glad to see it on Brian's face. "Glad you enjoyed his visit. I'll be late tomorrow. Mom's got another appointment with the doctor," Cynthia reminded him as she turned to leave the room.

Brian shut down the computer, picked up his briefcase, and turned off the light.  When he got to his car, he placed his briefcase in the back seat, put on his seat belt and left Kinnetik's parking lot.  Soon he was on his way to Britin and the smile on his face indicated how pleased he was at that prospect.  Unlike a few days ago where the thought of Justin staying in the guest house saddened him deeply.  While Justin still had not rejoined him in their bed, he appeared to be closer to forgiving his unfortunate mishap at Babylon.

"Kinney," Brian answered as he hit the button of his Bluetooth.

"Hey, Dad. You busy?" Gus asked, remembering his mom's directions to always find out if his dad was available to talk.

"I'm on my way home. What's up, Sonny Boy?"

"I was wondering if you'd made a decision about this weekend... you know.. can I come out to Britin? You said you'd let me know, and tomorrow's Friday."

What a whirlwind week; Justin moved out, Gus got into the soccer finals, reconciliation, and tomorrow it's Friday. "Sure. We can practice your soccer. What time do you finish with practice?" Brian changed lanes on the highway as the car in front of him was going too slow.

"Practice ends at 6:00, with my shower and everything I should be ready by 7:00. Can you pick me up from school? Otherwise I have to get Mom to pick me up, and then it would be closer to 8:00," Gus explained as he calculated the times in his head.

"Everything okay at home? You seem really anxious to get away for the weekend," Brian asked as he heard the exaggerated time frames.

"Just the usual bullshit, Dad. At least you and Justin don't fight all the time. I really can't wait to leave and go to college. All that estrogen is making me crazy," Gus admitted.

Brian's heart clenched at the obvious unhappiness of his son. "I thought things had gotten better?"

"Dad, I don't want to bother you with my problems. I just want to come to Britin this weekend. Maybe we can talk then."

"You know you can come anytime, Sonny Boy. I'll let Justin know and I'll pick you up at school. What time do you have to be there on Monday?"

"Nine a.m. There's some special teacher meeting in the morning and we don't have to go first hour."

"Maybe I can swing getting you there by 9:00 so you can spend the whole weekend with us."

Gus' voice rose in excitement. "That would be great, Dad! Two whole days without females!!"

Brian grinned. "I'm almost home. I'll see you tomorrow."

Brian pushed the button for the garage door opener, parking in the garage. They had yet to discuss a new vehicle for Justin, but since he wasn't able to drive, it was a moot point. He pulled out his briefcase from the back seat, and closed the car and garage doors. He walked into the mud room, taking off his shoes and hanging his coat.

"Evening Mr. Kinney," Rosa greeted him. "Dinner will be ready in half an hour."

Brian nodded in her direction and went to the office to put down his briefcase. He glanced at the mail, noting nothing of importance and then went upstairs. Loosening his tie, he envisioned Justin lying on the bed, waiting to greet him, and his cock got hard at the thought. However, when he opened the door to the bedroom, Justin was nowhere to be seen. Quickly changing clothes, he put on a black wife beater and a pair of worn blue jeans, and left to find Justin.

Justin was in the media room, listening to the band Bowling for Soup. He looked up when Brian walked in. "You're early. I didn't expect you home until later."

Brian walked to the couch, leaning over to kiss Justin on the head. "I got a lot done today. Seems your visit spurned me on. I haven't been this productive in weeks." Brian walked to the front of the couch, sitting down next to Justin.

"Glad I helped you out," Justin said and grinned.

"Gus called on my way home. He wants to come out for the weekend. Seems that Muncherville has too much estrogen for his taste. I told him I'd pick him up after soccer practice."

"That'd be great. The last time we saw him, it wasn't a great visit," Justin commented as he remembered the bad shoe shopping debacle.

"Maybe we can make some new, good memories for him, too," Brian said, alluding to Justin's visit that afternoon.

Justin laughed, holding his side a little. "Don't do that. It still hurts to laugh that hard. Besides, I hardly think Gus would want to see me giving you a blow job."

Brian leaned over toward Justin, giving him a soft kiss on his cheek. "That would scar him for life." He stood up and lent his hand toward Justin. "Rosa said dinner would be ready in half an hour, so I think we should head toward the kitchen."

Justin took Brian's hand and eased himself off the couch. They walked toward the kitchen, where Rosa was finishing setting the table. Brian grabbed a plate and filled it with salad, placing it in front of Justin. He grabbed a second plate and put the Jambalaya on it, placing that one to the side of Justin. Justin smiled at Brian's thoughtfulness. He watched as Brian filled his own plate, and then sat down next to him to eat his dinner.

"Rosa is a great cook, but I still think you make a better Jambalaya," Brian said as he ate his third bite of the spicy concoction.

Justin smiled at the compliment.

"What did you do after you left Kinnetik?" Brian asked, trying to make conversation.

Justin had just taken a bite of Jambalaya so he had to finish it before answering. "I had the service take me a few places... ran some errands." Shit. That was close. I'm not ready to talk to him yet. I need to see if he continues to drink before I mention my talk with Blake.

"I'm glad to see you getting out."

"Me too. I like the grounds and they've been peaceful, but I'm ready to get out more, now that I'm feeling better." Justin drank some soda and took another bite of his food.

"Do you need help bringing your stuff back to the house?"

Justin looked at Brian, deer in the headlights, unable to respond for a moment.

"I didn't take that much over."

"It took you and Carson most of an evening," Brian stated, demonstrating that he had been paying attention.

"It did, but that was more because I couldn't think straight and kept changing my mind regarding what I wanted." Justin pushed his plate away, signaling he was finished.

Brian picked up his plate and Justin's, taking them to the dishwasher. "It will be nice to sleep next to you again. I've missed you," Brian admitted.

Justin felt his stomach clench at the statement. "I never said I was sleeping in our room," Justin informed Brian in a firm voice.

"I thought we could make some more memories," Brian teased as he went to kiss Justin.

Justin pulled away from Brian. "Don't make fun of me, Brian. This afternoon..."

"I thought since you came to Kinnetik..."

Justin stood up, walking to the window, unable to face Brian. "This afternoon," he repeated, waiting a few moments before continuing his thought. "...was a start. I wanted to replace my picture of you getting your cock sucked with me sucking your cock, but I'm not ready to go back to..."

Brian walked toward Justin, pinching the bridge of his nose with his finger. He wanted to touch Justin, but saw the stiffness in his back and his head hanging down. He stopped several feet from him.

"But Gus will be here this weekend."

Justin turned around. "Brian, I can't."

"You can't, or you won't," he spat, the venom obvious in the words. Brian walked to the liquor cart, pouring himself a glass of Beam.

"Life is not picture perfect, ours included. Gus needs to know that. We're not doing him any good by pretending." Justin sighed as he watched as Brian downed the drink quickly and poured himself another. He moved to sit back down at the table. "Look at my parents. I thought everything was great and then one day I go home to find out they are getting a divorce and mom's selling the house."

"Your father's a jerk," Brian hissed as he downed the second drink.

"Leave my dad out of this. We're not talking about him," Justin demanded. "Can't we talk about this like adults?" Justin motioned for Brian to join him at the table.

"You're my partner, Justin. I want you in the same room as I am. Easy enough concept?"

Justin ran his good hand over his face and took several deep breaths. "Yes, I'm your partner, but I can't do that right now. I need time. You hurt me," Justin said, trying to talk softly, hoping to bring Brian down from his escalating anger.

"When? When will you join me?" Brian asked as sat down at the table. "What we will tell Gus? I want him to feel safe here. I think he's having a rough time at the Munchers' and..."

"He's my son too, and I don't want him hurt. I think he needs to know that right now we're having a disagreement, but that we still love him."

"That sounds like so much bullshit!" Brian walked over to the liquor cart and poured a third drink, downing it quickly. "He's not five years old!"

"Stop! Just Stop! Maybe I should've stayed at my studio," Justin said in exasperation. He stood up to leave the room.

"Don't you walk out on me!" Brian demanded.

"We're not getting anywhere and if I stay, I may regret what I say to you. I think I need to leave for now." Justin walked out of the kitchen and into the media room, where he sat in the darkness.

Brian poured another drink, but slammed it down on the cart instead of drinking it. "Shit! Goddamn motherfucker! Why do I do these things?" He sat down on the floor against the wall and felt the tears fall down his face.


Brian heard the front door open and felt his heart sink again. Since he didn't hear the door open again, he thought Justin went for a walk. He got off the floor and walked out the back to Justin's studio. Flipping on the lights, he saw it was empty. Justin hasn't come back to the studio. Maybe he'll come back to the house. He returned to the house and waited in the media room, hoping Justin would return soon.

Justin opened the door to the house about an hour after he left. He'd been walking the grounds, trying to sort his feelings, but unfortunately he'd not been successful. He walked up the stairs, not bothering to look for Brian. He undressed and got into bed, closing his eyes, giving in to his exhaustion.

Brian waited in the media room, hoping Justin would come and talk to him, but realized that wasn't going to happen. He went upstairs and got ready for bed as well. He lay in his room, unable to sleep, knowing that Justin was down the hall. He glanced at the clock on the nightstand and realized he'd been lying there for almost an hour and a half. He got out of bed and went to the guest room. Justin had not closed the door tight so he was able to open it and look in without disturbing him.

He crept into the room like some lovesick teenager sneaking into his boyfriend's bed, trying not to wake anyone up. He sat down on the floor, putting his hand up towards the bed, reaching for Justin's hand. Finding his hand, he grasped it, feeling the warmth and vitality of his partner. Justin didn't wake up, but shifted toward him. He lay his head on the bed and fell asleep.

In the morning, Justin woke up with his hand in Brian's. He looked down at the sleeping man, his heart filled with love. He brought their joined hands to his mouth, giving Brian's hand a sweet kiss. Brian stirred at the movement, waking up. Brian let his hand go.

"Shit. My hand's asleep." He shook it, trying to get the feeling back into it.

"Duh. What did you expect?" Justin smiled at the thoughtfulness. "How long have you been here?"

"Since about 2:00. I couldn't sleep," he admitted sheepishly.

Brian stood up and motioned to sit on the bed and Justin scooted over to make room for him. Brian kissed Justin good morning and then sat up.

"I'll wait until you're ready, but promise me you do intend to move back at some point in time."

"Can't have you losing feeling in your hand every night," Justin teased as he sat up to look Brian in the eye.

Brian frowned. "I'll stay in our room if you want."

"That would be good, although it was nice finding you here this morning." Justin leaned over and kissed Brian deeply.

Brian reciprocated. Brian pushed Justin back toward the pillow, kissing his neck and then down his chest. "Is this okay?"

Justin hesitated. Brian stopped and kissed his way back up to Justin's mouth.

"You'll tell me when?"

"I love you, Brian." Justin smiled at him, then sat up, throwing his legs over the edge of the bed. "I won't turn down your help in showering. Up for it?"

"Of course. I've got a 9:30 meeting this morning and Cynthia will be in late. We better get started."

Brian helped Justin shower and dress, and then shaved and showered and dressed himself as well. Everything took under an hour. "I can't believe we did this in such record time. Usually it takes much longer," Brian commented, tongue-in-cheek.

"We both have things to do today. Are you staying for breakfast?"

"No, I'll grab some Starbucks on the way into the office. I'll let Rosa know Gus will be here this weekend. She'll want to go to the market to pick up some additional food. That boy can eat."

Justin laughed at Brian's fake lament. "You know you could eat just as much as Gus if you were running around a soccer field for two plus hours every day. You just choose to spend your exercise time in bed with me," Justin teased as he gave Brian a quick kiss on the cheek.

Brian raised his eyebrows. "Your wish is my command." He checked his watch. "I do have time for a quickie."

Justin laughed. "Go, you. Run Kinnetik and I'll see you and Gus tonight." Justin shooed Brian out the door.

He watched Brian get in the car and raise the garage door. Once the door closed, Justin returned to the kitchen, where he ate his breakfast and decided what to do for the day. His first order of business was to read the pamphlets Blake gave him and maybe do some research on the net.


TBC