“Urgh.”

Brian could feel himself coming to; the early morning sun had already started to seep through his eyelids and the blissful barrier between sleep and wakefulness had begun to disappear. Just as he was about to open his eyes, he felt something brush his leg.

“What the fuck?” He mumbled gruffly.

Even with his eyes closed, Brian could tell that whatever it was, it was watching him - closely.

He quickly lifted his head and squinted against the bright sunlight that was shining through the windows. Looking around, Brian knew instantly he wasn't at the loft, but where was he? He raised his hand to block out the light and looked around. Ah, yes, he was at Justin’s.

He’d almost forgotten what it was that had woken him when he suddenly felt it brush against his leg once again. He looked down anxiously - and that’s when he saw it. An angry looking cat was now sitting by his feet, watching his every move.

“Justin?” He whispered. “Are you awake?”

“I am now,” he yawned, smacking his lips together loudly. “Morning.”

Brian couldn't help but smile at the sight of Justin next to him on the sofa, curled up into a tight little ball with pillow marks covering his face.

“I take it you’re not a morning person?” Brian smiled teasingly.

Justin shot him a look before returning the smile and closing his eyes. “Not really,” he laughed, his voice gravelly from sleep.

“So, you never told me you had a cat.”

“I didn't?”

“No, you didn't. And it’s been staring at me for the last ten minutes.”

Justin laughed sleepily. “Her name’s Dowager and she’s harmless. Stroke her, she loves that.”

Brian reached out, but the cat glared at him menacingly, hissing as his hand touched her back.

“What did you do to her?” Justin asked, his eyes still firmly closed.

Brian scooted closer to Justin. “I tried to stroke her - just like you suggested,” he said, as he attempted to stroke the cat once more - only for her to turn her back on him and meow angrily.

Justin laughed. “She’s not really a morning person either.”

It was as though Dowager knew she was being talked about because she turned her nose up at Brian one last time and sulked off up the stairs.

“I think she was trying to figure out a way to kill me and dispose of my body,” Brian whispered seriously.

“That must be it,” chuckled Justin as he rested his head on Brian’s shoulder and opened his eyes slowly. “Woah, I can’t believe we passed out like that. What time is it?”

“Me either.” Brian stretched languidly, his muscles sore from spending the night curled up on Justin’s tiny sofa. “It’s just after eight.”

“In the morning?”

Brian shook his head and laughed. “Yes, in the morning.”

“Did you sleep okay?” Justin asked.

“Yeah, you?”

Justin stretched before answering. “Mmm, yeah.”

“Urgh,” Brian moaned, as he felt his shoulder stiffen up as he moved.

Justin looked at him worriedly, concern was written all over his face and the physiotherapist in him taking over. “What’s wrong?”

Brian rolled his shoulder and tried to loosen the muscles that pinched tightly at his neck. “My shoulder is fucking killing me,” he admitted.

Justin crawled across the sofa and slid behind Brian.

“Let me take a look. Does this hurt?” Justin asked as he dug his thumb into the taut muscle beneath his shoulder blade.

“Ah. Fuck! Yeah, that hurts.”

“Wait here,” Justin said as he hopped over the back of the couch and ran up the stairs.

“What are you doing?” Brian called up.

“Take off your shirt.”

Brian looked up, trying to see what Justin was doing, but the couch was placed at an angle where you couldn't see up the stairs. “What the fuck?” he laughed.

“Take off your shirt,” repeated Justin, as he made his way back into the living room with a tiny bottle in his hand.

Brian did as he was told, and removed his t-shirt. Hissing as he lifted his arm.

“Scoot forward a little for me,” Justin asked, as he situated himself back behind Brian on the sofa, and placed a pillow in front of him, much to Brian’s dismay. He’d rather enjoyed feeling Justin’s morning woody pressed firmly against the bottom of his back.

Justin wrapped his legs loosely around Brian’s hips and ran his hand softly over both of his shoulders.

“What are you doing?”

“What does it feel like I'm doing?” Justin replied teasingly as he started rubbing the oil between his hands, warming it up. “I'm giving you a massage.”

“Oh.”

Justin stopped moving his hands, “Would you rather I didn't?”

“No, no, carry on.” Brian sighed as Justin’s fingers began working the rigid muscles of his neck. “The pain is lower, though, it’s right by my shoulder blade,” he explained, reaching a hand around to show where he was hurting.

Justin pushed his hand away. “I know, but first, I need to work the surrounding areas. It won’t do you any good if I only work on where you’re hurting. Your whole back is tight.”

“Ahh,” Brian moaned, as Justin applied pressure to his Trapezius muscles and began working on a particularly stubborn knot.

“Is the pressure okay?”

Brian nodded. “Yeah. It feels really good.”

Justin worked in silence for few minutes before resting his forehead gently against Brian’s bare shoulder. “Try and relax, you’re really tense.” His fingers slid across Brian’s back to his injured shoulder blade and began to rub in a soft circular motion.

“Mmmm...I didn't know physiotherapists were so good at giving massages,” Brian sighed, as he felt his muscles loosen slightly.

“They’re not usually. I'm also a trained massage therapist.”

“Really? Brian hummed appreciatively.

“Yeah. I don’t use it much now, though.”

Brian leaned back a little, loving the feel of Justin’s thighs holding him in place. “You really should,” he groaned enthusiastically.

“Take a deep breath for me.”

“Why?”

“Because this is going to hurt,” Justin said softly as he increased the pressure and a muscle inside Brian’s shoulder blade twitched as his fingers pushed across it.

Brian exhaled loudly as he felt a rush of pressure leave his body.

“You okay?” Justin asked as he kissed Brian’s shoulder softly before continuing on with the massage.

“...Yeah,” Brian finally breathed, “It hurt, but fuck, it felt good.”

Brian stood up and started to stretch, rotating his shoulders forward and back to see how they felt. After just ten minutes of Justin working his magic, he felt as though he had a brand new body. Well almost. His leg was still fucked.

“Good. Do you still have the ice packs I gave you at our first session?”

“Yeah.”

“You’re going to need to ice it a couple of times today to stop it swelling.”

Brian nodded reluctantly. He hated those fucking ice packs.

“Would you like something to eat?” Justin asked as he wandered into the kitchen and filled the kettle with water.

Brian followed, leaning himself up against the breakfast bar and taking some of the weight off of his injured leg. “I’d love a coffee if you have any?”

“I do, It’s that instant kind, though. Is that okay?”

“Do you have any sugar?”

“Yes,” laughed Justin, as he took the sugar bowl out of the cupboard.

“Then it’s fine. I’ll just put enough in to take away the taste.”

Justin rolled his eyes as he pulled two mugs out of the cupboard and held them out in front of him. “Which do you want?”

Brian looked between the two and started to laugh Why in God’s name was Lionel Richie’s face looking at him? “Your taste in mugs is outstanding.”

Taking a look at what he’d chosen, Justin’s cheeks flushed red. “And because you mocked me, you’re no longer getting a choice,” Justin huffed teasingly, handing Brian the ‘Show me your Kitties,’ mug and keeping the, ‘Is it tea you’re looking for?’ one for himself.

Before Brian could comment further, his phone rang loudly in his pocket.

“Hi Mikey, what’s up?” Brian said as he ran his hand down Justin’s back in a silent apology.

Mmm, he felt so warm.

“Hey. Are you home?” Michael asked.

Brian wasn't in the mood to give much away. “No. Why?”

“I was talking to Emmett this morning at the diner, and we haven’t seen you in forever…”

“Forever? It’s been three days, Mikey,” Brian laughed. He loved his best friend, but my God, he was dramatic sometimes.

“Whatever. Will you be home at noon?”

“I can be.”

“Good,” Michael said excitedly. “We’re bringing lunch.”

“Alright, I’ll see you both then.”

Brian ended the call and sighed.

“Problem?” Justin asked, as he handed Brian his coffee and pushed the sugar towards him.

“No,” Brian smiled gratefully, as he added three heaped teaspoons of sugar to his coffee before he’d even tried it. “Mikey and Emmett have invited themselves over to the loft for lunch. Apparently ‘they've not seen me enough.’”

Justin laughed as Brian rolled his eyes.

“Aww, they miss you,” Justin teased.

Brian scoffed, as he added another spoonful of sugar to his coffee. “I saw Mikey three days ago.”

“Well, it’s completely your fault they miss you,” Justin told him.

“Uh huh, and why is that?” Brian asked, watching as Justin spread a thick layer of full fat cream cheese onto a toasted bagel and offered him half.

“You’re very irresistible.”

Brian placed his bagel down onto the counter top and reached over, doing the same with Justin’s.

“Is that so?” Brian smirked, as he stepped towards him, his hand finding Justin’s hip and squeezing it gently. For some reason, he was unable to stop himself from touching him this morning. Maybe it was because they’d (innocently) spent the night together and he’d seen first-hand just how warm and utterly fuckable Justin looked when he first woke up.

Justin nodded. “Yep. You really only have yourself to blame.”

“I see,” Brian teased back, his voice lower and more playful than usual. He breathed, stepping closer - pressing Justin against the counter where there was no escape.

Justin lowered his eyes and Brian enjoyed the way he was rooted to the spot

“So what would you suggest I do?”

Justin breathed heavily as Brian leaned forward and kissed the corner of his lips.

“Well, uh… for a start,” Justin began, his voice wavered slightly from the unexpected kiss. “You’re far too handsome.”

Brian smiled and licked his lips. “That’s true. I am.”

“Yeah, you really need to stop that.”

“Never,” Brian laughed.

Justin ignored him and continued. “And kind.”

Brian scoffed. “Well, that’s a first.”

“What is?”

“No one has ever called me kind before.”

Justin scrunched up his nose. “Your friends must have.”

“Nope.”

“Well, clearly they need to take a closer look at you.”

Rolling his eyes, Brian gave Justin’s sides a quick squeeze before he moved away.

“I’ll be sure to tell them,” he grinned, as he took a sip of coffee and made a face.- there was not enough sugar in the world that could make this instant shit taste any good.

After breakfast – and many, many kisses later, Brian was ready to head out make his way home.

“Thanks for the coffee – even if it did taste like cat piss,” Brian teased as he leaned against Justin’s front door.

Justin handed Brian his crutches. “Well, I pride myself on being a good host,” he grinned, pressing a gentle kiss against Brian’s cheek – hesitating slightly before moving onto his mouth. Brian’s lips parted as Justin’s tongue brushed over them, demanding access.

“Whose idea was it to take things slowly again?” Brian asked, pulling his head back reluctantly.

“Mine,” Justin said quietly. “Sorry. I don’t want you to think I’m leading you on…”

“I get it,” Brian assured him. “Honestly.”

Justin rested his head against Brian’s shoulder. “I know you do. It’s just – I ask if we can take things slowly… and then I can’t seem to keep my hands off of you.”

“Or your mouth,” Brian grinned.

Justin laughed. “Or your mouth.”

“That’s completely understandable, though,” Brian smirked. “I'm irresistible.”

Justin laughed. “Ah, so modest.”

He loved the way he could make Justin laugh with the smallest of things. He knew Justin was feeling guilty, guilty for wanting to take things slowly and to keep their relationship professional - especially while he was still under his care at the hospital, but the way things were going lately – with the flirting, secret glances, and kissing, it was anything but.

But hell, Brian wasn't innocent either. He had been hitting on the blonde way more than Justin had made the moves on him. He could be to blame. Knowing his track record, he probably was.

“Are you going to be okay going down the stairs?”

“You've seen me do stairs at the hospital a hundred times,” Brian scoffed. “I’ll be fine.”

“You've never done stairs this steep before,” Justin explained. “It’ll be easier if you hop down them, especially if your shoulder is still acting up.”

Brian nodded before turning to make his way down the stairs to the waiting cab.

“Wait,” Justin said, as he rushed to Brian’s side. “I'm going to help you.”

“I’ll be fine,” he repeated.

“The last thing we need is for you to land on your ass at the bottom of my concrete stairs.”

Brian nodded and reluctantly let Justin guide him down to the waiting car.

“I’ll see you tomorrow?” Brian asked, leaning in for one last kiss. What the hell, he couldn't help himself.

“Yep. See you tomorrow.”

****

Brian didn’t have long before Michael and Emmett were due to arrive, so he had a quick shower and pulled on a white t-shirt and his favourite light blue jeans before settling himself on the couch and flipping through the latest issue of Adweek. He was halfway through a story about cross-platform media measurement when he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket - it was Justin.

Now that I have successfully converted you into a Jane the Virgin fan, next time I’ll let you choose what we watch. How does that sound? =)

Brian could feel himself smiling at Justin’s promise of a next time. His fingers brushed over the keys as he typed out a quick response.

Sounds great. Next time you’ll come over to mine, we’ll order something far less calorific than pizza and I’ll introduce you to the legend that is, Marlon Brando. He’s hot - and, as far as I know, he had all of his own teeth, unlike the guys from Swamp People you have the hots for.

His phone buzzed almost instantly with a reply.

I think you’ll find that if they got dental surgery, brushed their hair and you know, weren't hunting alligators - they’d be quite the catch. Oh, and Marlon Brando? Really? You think he’s hot?

Brian rolled his eyes. Yes, really. Why do I feel like you have never seen any of his movies?

Actually. I have.

The Godfather doesn't count, Justin. Everyone has seen that. I'm talking about the classics - like On the Waterfront or A Streetcar Named Desire.

Alright, fine. I’ll let you bore me with your Brando collection - but not ordering pizza? That part of the date is definitely not debatable.

Date? What the fuck? Was last night a date? He really should know if it was, right?

Before he had the chance to respond, his phone alerted him to another message.

Shit, Brian. I didn't mean a date, date. I mean, technically I did, but not yet. Fuck. Ignore me. See you tomorrow =)

Brian couldn't help but laugh. He could just imagine Justin sitting there with his phone clutched tightly in his hand, stressing out over the message he’d just sent. Part of him wanted to tease him and keep him waiting, but that didn't seem fair.

It’s a date. He saw when Justin had read his message, and he couldn't stop himself from wondering what his reaction was. Was he smiling just as much as he was? Fuck, he had it bad.

Luckily he didn't have much time to think about it as he heard the elevator stopping at his floor.

“Dahling, we’re here!” Emmett sang as he pulled open the heavy door to the loft - Michael was following behind carrying the bags of food.

“Oh, don't worry, Em, I've got it,” Michael said sarcastically as he watched his friend walk in ahead of him and sit down next to Brian on the couch.

Emmett threw his arm around Brian and kissed his cheek loudly. “I'm not worried, sweetie,” Emmett grinned back, “I knew you’d be okay.”

Michael laughed as Brian wiped at his face and squirmed out of Emmett’s embrace.

“Get off me,” Brian laughed, as he pushed Emmett away.

“We missed you last night,” Michael said, as he unloaded the food onto the island in the kitchen before making his way over to the sofa to join them.

“Yeah, baby. Woody’s wasn't the same without you.”

Brian shook his head and laughed. “I'm sure you all managed just fine.”

Emmett shook his head. “We had to wait in line for a pool table. Can you believe it?”

Brian looked at him pointedly. “You don’t even play.”

“That’s not the point,” Emmett shrugged, “I was with Teddy and he wanted to play.”

“If all you had to show off was Theodore, then it’s no wonder that you were waiting there all night.”

Emmett smacked Brian’s arm. “Stop it,” he warned teasingly. “We all know you love Teddy just as much as the rest of us.”

“Be still, my beating heart,” Brian mocked lightly, as he held his hand up to his heart, making Emmett giggle.

The truth was - and he’d never admit this to anyone, but he did love Teddy - Well, maybe not love, but he’d definitely grown to appreciate the man and consider him a friend. That’s something he would never have imagined.

“So, where were you last night”? Michael asked with a hint of jealousy evident in his voice.

Brian cleared his throat. “With Justin.”

Why was he so uncomfortable telling them where he was? He’s a grown man, he can hang out with whoever he wants, whenever he wants.

They both responded at the same time.

“All night?”

“Oooooh,” Emmett clapped excitedly. Tell us everything.

Before Brian could answer either of them, Emmett got up and ran into the kitchen and grabbed a couple of cartons of food.

“WAIT. Before you tell us anything, I need me some Pad Thai.”

He made his way back into the living room and handed Brian his noodles.

Michael looked up, “Hey, where’s mine?”

“In the kitchen. I'm not sure if you’ve noticed, but I only have two hands,” Emmett responded playfully as he sat back down next to Brian.

Michael stuck his tongue out before bringing his food over to join them.

With a mouth full of noodles, Emmett began to speak excitedly. “So, spill. Leave nothing out. Go on.”

“There isn't anything to tell,” Brian explained as he moved his food around the carton with his chopsticks. “We dropped Gus off at the Munchers, then we went back to his place and…”

“OOOOH,” Emmett exclaimed animatedly.

“...we ordered dinner,” Brian smirked, the look of disappointment on Emmett’s face was priceless.

“That's all?” Emmett asked, a hint of disappointment evident in his voice.

“And we watched some T.V.”

Michael scrunched up his nose. “Really? That’s all you did?”

Brian wasn't sure whether or not to be offended by Michael’s complete disbelief that he was capable of just hanging out with someone he liked, and not taking things further. He’d changed – why were the people that knew him so well finding this so hard to accept? It’s not like he’d changed overnight if he was being honest with himself, he had started to change even before Adam came along. But yet everyone seemed to still see him as the asshole that he once was.

Emmett seemed to be one of the only people in his life that acknowledged and accepted the change - for some unknown reason, that neither of them was quite sure of, they’d become closer than ever over the last year.

“Yes, Michael. I'm sorry to disappoint you.”

Emmett, having already forgotten his disappointment over there being no juicy goings-on between Brian and Justin to report back on casually asked, “so what did you end up watching?”

Brian smirked at how easily distracted his friend was.” Jane the Virgin.”

“Ohh, I love that show,” Emmett sighed dreamily. “Who are you rooting for, Michael or Raphael?”

“I really haven’t put too much thought into it.”

“What are you two even talking about?” Michael asked it was obvious to Brian he didn't like that he wasn't part of the conversation. Emmett waved his hand in his direction, telling him to be quiet.

“Oh please,” Emmett scoffed, placing his empty carton of food onto the table, turning his body so that he was facing Brian and bringing his legs under him. “You have to like one more than the other, you can’t be cheering for them both.”

“Then I guess I liked Raphael. He’s hot.”

He couldn't believe he was having this conversation.

Emmett nodded, “Michael is adorable and super sweet, but Raphael...Raphael is divine. And Rogelio! Rogelio seems so vain but once you get to know him, he is a total sweetheart. I want to have a spa day with him.”

Emmett tried to go on about the show but Brian poked his side, and he stopped.

“Is Justin still your physiotherapist?” Michael asked out of nowhere.

Brian nods. “Yeah, why wouldn't he be?”

“I don’t know. But do you really think you two should be hanging out outside of your appointments? Isn't there some sort of rule against that?”

Of course, Michael would turn this into sort of ethical bullshit.

“I told you, nothing happened,” Brian replied frustratedly.

That’s not entirely true, but Michael doesn't need to know that.

Michael looks at him sadly. “Maybe not yet, but you want it to, don’t you?”

“So what if I do? I don’t see how that’s any of your fucking business.”

Calm down, he’s just concerned about you…

“I just think that it might be too soon.”

“Too soon for what, baby?” Emmett asked, looking between his two friends.

“Too soon after Adam.”

Standing up, Brian hobbled over to the kitchen and pulled the refrigerator door open roughly, taking out a bottle of water. “What the fuck does Adam have to do with this?”

Michael squirmed a little in his seat. “Nothing, I just - I don’t think you should rush into anything.”

“I know what I'm doing, Mikey.”

“I know you do, but…”

“Will you just leave it alone?”

Michael nods. “Yeah, sorry.”

Emmett cleared his throat. “Are you guys ready to watch the movie?” Brian was sure he’d sensed the tension between him and Michael and was grateful for the distraction.

“What did you bring with you this time? Brian asked. “And so help me God if it’s another Barbara Streisand movie,” he teased. “ There are only so many times I can watch Yentl with you.”

Emmett laughed as Brian joined him again on the couch, and threw his good arm around his shoulders.

“Don’t worry. I wouldn't do that to you - again. No, today, for our viewing pleasure, I thought we could watch My Own Private Idaho. Who doesn't love River Phoenix?”

“You used to have a thing for him, remember?” Michael chuckled, as he popped in the DVD and took a seat next to Brian. Brian looked at him and they smiled.

“Who could blame you? He was gorgeous. Another great legend gone too soon,” Emmett sniffed.

Brian rolled his eyes. “I wouldn't go that far.”

After about ten minutes, Brian felt Michael link his arm and rest his head gently on his shoulder. “I'm not hurting you, am I?” he whispered.

“No, you’re okay.”

Michael snuggled in a little closer and looked up. “Hey.”

“Hey,” Brian whispered back.

“Are you sure about Justin?”

Brian could feel himself tensing up.

“Shh, just hear me out,” Michael said quietly, as he kissed Brian’s shoulder. “I just don’t want you getting hurt, but if you’re sure you know what you’re doing… then... I'm happy for you.”

“I know what I'm doing, Mikey. I promise. Nothing has even happened yet. I just… I really like him.”

“Okay. Then I hope everything works out,” Michael told him sincerely.

****

“Don’t forget you have a Skype meeting at one with Lawrence Jones,” Cynthia reminded him.

Brian groaned, he fucking hated that man. It wasn't that he was a bad person, he was just annoying as fuck – but his company brought in a lot of money so he sucked it up.

“Alright, and don’t forget I have to lea…”

“Leave at 1.30 for your physio appointment. I know.”

What would he do without Cynthia?

“Alright, Lawrence, it’s been great talking to you. I’ll have Cynthia send over the minutes for the meeting and I’ll have Jake from the art department make the changes you requested and have them on your desk by six this evening. How’s that sound?”

“Amazing as usual, Brian. I look forward to seeing what your team can do with all these new ideas we've talked about.”

“Great. I’ll check in with you tomorrow.”

He disconnected the call and let out a sigh of relief. The meeting with Lawrence wasn't as bad as he expected it to be, which was good – although he could have done without it being a video call. Watching the guy devour a giant meatball sub as they discussed his latest ad campaign was enough to put him off his own lunch.

By the time he’d called Cynthia into his office to go over everything that had been discussed in the meeting, it was time for him to head out for his appointment.

“Do you think you are coming back to the office or going straight home?” she asked, helping him put on his jacket.

“I might head home,” he tells her. “I'm taking some work with me just in case.”

“Go home,” she tells him. “You look tired - and you’re always far too distracted when you come back from your hospital appointments,” she winked.

Did she know something?

He shoved the last few files into his briefcase and headed out the door. “Alright, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Once Brian had arrived at the hospital, he thought briefly about getting them both a coffee, but he remembered how difficult it was trying to carry them both the last time and by the looks of it, Kathy wasn't in the coffee shop to help him out again.

By the time Brian got to the Physio department, his leg was aching and he was looking forward to Justin working his magic on it.

“Well hi there, sugar,” Kathy greeted him loudly. “You’re looking mighty handsome this afternoon, I just wanna take you home and sop you up with a biscuit.”

Brian looked at her for a moment, and for the first time in forever he found himself speechless, what could he even say to that?

“Uh, thanks. I guess?”

“Now, why don’t you sit your cute little butt down over there, and I’ll let Jessica know you’re here,” she told him as she snapped her gum loudly, and picked up her phone.

Brian turned around quickly, propping himself up against the reception desk, he asked. “Jessica? You mean Justin, right?”

She couldn't be that stupid, could she?

“I'm afraid not, sweet cheeks. You’re seeing Jessica today. Justin called in this morning and said he wouldn't be here.”

Shit. Did he call in sick? But he was fine yesterday, wasn't he? What if he regrets what happened at the weekend. Not that much actuallyhappened between them, but still.

He didn't have much time to think about it because Jessica called him in from the doorway of Justin’s room.

“Brian, would you like to come in?”

No, not really.

He pulled himself up off of the reception desk and followed Jessica into the room. Her head was down, reading over his notes.

“Hi, I'm Jessica,” she said, still not looking up. “Can you climb up onto the table for me?”

Brian looked at her wearily before barking out, “Of course I can.”

Jessica breathed out a laugh as she went and washed her hands. “Right, of course, you can.”

He didn't like her already.

Brian hobbled over to the table and sat on the edge, back rigid, despite the fact that it had been turned into putty the previous morning.

“Right, lay down for me.”

Brian laid down and watched as Jessica pulled his pant leg up.

“Have you been doing your exercises?”

“Yes.”

He was probably being rude, but he didn't care.

“Okay, let’s see how well you’re doing with the heel slides,” she said. “Bend your knee for me, that’s right, don’t forget to make sure your foot stays flat on the bed.”

He knew all of this, what the fuck?

“Not bad.”

Brian could feel his hand tensing by his side. Not bad? He’d been doing those fucking exercises every night for the past few weeks - and his knee was a lot better than it was.

She wrapped her hand around his thigh muscle and squeezed “Your muscles up here are still overcompensating. Did Justin give you any other exercises?”

“Yeah, we've been working on static hamstring holds.”

Jessica nodded as she made a couple of notes in his file.

“Right, well roll over.”

Brian raised his eyebrow and chuckled, which only intensified once he saw the blank expression on Jessica’s face.

Justin would have found that funny.

Rolling over onto his front, Brian made himself comfortable.

“Bend your leg and try and bring it down nice and slowly for me – I’m going to provide a little resistance.”

Everything was going fine with the hamstring holds, Brian could even feel his knee getting stronger. That is until Jessica changed the angle slightly, turning his foot outwards.

“Ah, fuck!” He cursed, as pain ripped through his knee and down into his hamstring.

Jessica jumped at the sound of his voice. “Oh my, God. I’m so sorry,” she said, as she struggled to help him up.”Are you okay?”

“I'm fine,” Brian muttered as he pushed her hand away. ”Are we done?”

Of course, they weren't, he had only been in there for about ten minutes, but he’d had enough. If Justin couldn't treat him, no one could.

“I'm really sorry,” she tried apologising again. “It says here in your file that you’ve been successfully doing your hamstring holds, so I just assumed you had moved onto the next level - Oh, God - please let me check your knee.”

Brian pulled his pant leg down and hopped off of the bed as fast as he could before Jessica could take a look.

“Uh, I don’t think so.”

“Can you at least let me see if everything's okay?” she all by pleaded.

Brian could see how nervous she was, and a teeny tiny part of him felt bad for her, but his leg was killing him and all he wanted to do was get out of there and go and find out what the hell was wrong with Justin. So he picked up his crutches and headed for the door.

“Justin will have a look for me once he’s back.”

He didn't wait to hear what she had to say as he made his way out of the room.

“Bye, Kathy,” he said, as he hobbled past the reception desk.

Kathy looked up from her game of Solitaire and smiled warmly at him. “Finished already, darlin’?”

“Yeah, let’s say things didn't go so well,” he smirked.

He saw Kathy’s eyes flick over to “Justin’s” door and watched as she smiled softly at Jessica - who was standing there awkwardly, looking as though she wanted the ground to swallow her whole.

Kathy turned back to look at him. “Will we be seeing you on Wednesday?”

“Only if Justin is in,” he told her.

She nodded her head and gave him a little wink. “Of course.”

Brian hurried outside - well, as fast as one can hurry while on crutches, to the taxi rank outside and ordered a car to take him to Justin’s house.

He knew he could text him, call him even and find out what was wrong, but he had the sudden urge to see him, to hold him. Fuck, what had gotten into him?

Brian was out of the cab as soon as the car pulled up outside of Justin’s Brownstone apartment.

The cab driver looked at him worriedly as soon as he’d noticed the steep steps leading up to Justin’s front door. “Are you going to be okay, sir? Would you like me to help you?”

Brian shook his head and held his crutches in one hand as he hopped over to the railings. “I’ll be fine from here, thank you.” He watched as the driver got back into the car and drove off. It was only then that he realised that he probably should have accepted the man’s help. For the last few weeks, he’d been practising climbing stairs at some of his physio appointments, but the steps outside of Justin’s were particularly steep – and very much made out of concrete. Something he didn't want to end up sprawled out on after falling over. He remembered the last time he was here, and how Justin helped him up them. Maybe he should call him, tell him he was outside and see if he’d come out and give him a hand. It was worth a shot.

“Hi, you’ve reached Justin. I'm sorry I'm not able to take your call at the moment, but if you leave your name and number I’ll call you back as soon as I can.”

Brian wasn't sure why he bothered listening to the entire message; he must have looked like a fool balancing on the steps on one leg with his phone clutched tightly to his ear.

Where the hell was Justin?

He shoved his phone back into his pocket and hopped up the remaining few steps, sighing with relief when he made it to the top without killing himself.

Brian knocked on the door and waited patiently for Justin to answer. He knocked again after a couple of minutes - just in case he was in the shower or something.

Then suddenly he heard something - a muffled scream from the other side of the door.

FUCK!