"Hey Sunshine," Brian said into his cell phone after checking the caller ID

"Hey," Justin said, sounding a little despondent and more than a little drunk.

"What's up?" Brian asked.

They hadn't seen each other since Brian's trip to New York via Baltimore; that was almost three months ago.

"This sucks," Justin slurred.

"What are you talking about, and where are you?"

"I'm talking about you being in Pittsburg and me being here- and I'm sitting at the apartment." Justin refused to call the dump he lived in 'home.'

"Did something happen today? You sound as if you've been celebrating."

"No. Nothing happened and it's more like drowning my sorrow. I haven't sold a painting in like forever and you've been too busy to come here and I'm sick of missing you all the time."

"Hey now, we got through it all just fine when you were in L.A.," Brian said, trying to cheer Justin up.

"L.A. was different," Justin said.

"How so? It was further from the Pitts. We didn't see each other at all for what . . . almost six months?"

"Yeah, but I always knew I'd be coming home. It had a begin date and an end date."

"An end date that kept being extended and then there would have been other offers, other projects," Brian said.

"What are you talking about? I was going to work on Rage and then come home. There was no talk of other projects."

"I imagine you had all kinds of offers," Brian snarked, implying the innuendo.

"You didn't think I was coming back?"

"Honestly? No. I didn't think you would be coming back."

"I never had any plans to stay longer than to work on Rage. If I had been offered another project I would have turned it down."

"Well, that would have been stupid," Brian said.

"Oh, yeah, I forgot. It pisses you off when someone sacrifices their career for something they think is love." Justin sighed. "I love you Brian, I want to be with you. What's so hard about that?"

"And yet you keep walking out the door." Brian's voice was low, barely above a whisper.

"What?" Justin was getting pissed now. "I only walked out the door when you shoved me through it."

"Yeah, yeah, that's right, blame me," Brian growled back. "I don't live up to your expectations so you bolt. Well, I've got news for you, Sunshine, your sights are too high. You're never going to find that perfect guy, because he doesn't exist."

"Well, at least I'm looking, not hiding out, too piss in my pants afraid to feel anything for anyone. Afraid to even try."

"Fuck you."

"Fuck you, too," Justin shouted and hit the disconnect button, then threw his phone across the room.

"Fuck," he muttered to himself. How the hell had that happened? He had called Brian to tell him he missed him, not to pick a fight.

"Augh, my life is so fucked up," he sighed, standing up on wobbly legs. He stumbled to his bedroom and collapsed onto his bed.

"What the fuck was that all about?" Brian muttered as he closed his phone. Sighing he grabbed his jacket and headed out the door to go to Babylon. He had let his night manager have the night off.