Justin hated to travel alone. It wasn't that he was afraid of flying, or being away from home. It was more that he didn't like feeling lost and helpless in an unfamiliar place. He'd been on vacation with his parents when he was a kid. He'd gone to California alone for an art show, but he'd had his agent to show him around. His first trip to New York had been a complete disaster, and he'd spent the entire time locked up in his hotel room. And he'd gone to Vermont and London and Paris and half a dozen other places on business, but that had always been with Brian.

Brian. Brian was supposed to have been with him.

Justin stared out of the plane's tiny window and watched as the wings were buoyed by the air currents. It was hard to believe that something that looked so fragile could actually keep that huge plane aloft, along with more than a hundred passengers. Hell, he didn't really want to think about that. He closed the shade and leaned his seat back, trying to relax.

Eight paintings were, as he flew across the Atlantic, arriving at the Mintmark Gallery in London to be hung. Justin's agent Sally had arranged for the internationally renowned gallery to give him a show, a very prestigious honor in the art world. He and Brian had planned for months so that they could attend the opening together, but at the last minute there was an emergency with one of Brian's clients and he'd had to fly to Chicago instead.

Justin wasn't angry. He knew that business had to come first. Even with the profits his paintings were making these days, it was still Brian's income that they relied upon the most. Kinnetik kept them both in the manner to which they had become accustomed. It was the profits from the agency that allowed Justin to fly first class to London and spend a week there at one of the best hotels in the city without blinking an eye at the cost.

So he wasn't angry, but Justin was disappointed. The grand adventure he had planned for them was now going to be a solo act. Shopping on Bond Street wouldn't be as much fun without Brian there to tease him this time. Seeing the crown jewels at the Tower of London again wouldn't be the same without Brian to make snarky innuendos about beefeaters. There would be no afternoon trysts in some deserted alley or nights dancing in SoHo. Since overcoming his panic in crowded spaces, Justin had longed to try as many new clubs as he could while he and Brian traveled for Kinnetik or for his shows. Well, maybe he'd still dance, but it wouldn't be the same without Brian there.

Justin wanted to enjoy the trip, but now all he had to look forward to was the opening and going to a few museums that Brian hadn't wanted to go to on their last trip.

The sun was peeking over the horizon and the flight attendants were beginning preparations to distribute breakfast. Only a couple more hours and they would be landing in London and Justin had barely slept a wink all night. He got why they called these flight red-eyes. He knew he would be bleary-eyed by lunchtime. Brian had arranged for their room to be held the day before so he could check in as soon as he arrived. Otherwise he would have to wait until the normal check in time of three pm. This way, Justin figured he could take a nap this morning, get to the gallery this afternoon, and still have a bit of time to explore before heading for bed.

The opening wasn't until Saturday and it was only Wednesday now. Justin would need to go to the gallery a couple times to make sure everything was being set up properly-paintings hung right side up and all that-but he would have the rest of his time to be a tourist. And even without Brian, Justin intended to see what London had to offer a young gay man in the way of delights.

BJBJBJBJ

The Royal Victoria and Albert Museum was great, Justin decided on Thursday afternoon. In some ways it was nice not having to debate with Brian about what they would see. Brian had firmly nixed that particular museum off their itinerary on their last visit. And he planned on making visit to the Globe Theatre on Friday, another thing Brian had refused to do.

Justin decided to grab a late lunch at one of the pubs near the museum before heading back to his hotel to change. He had tickets to a show that night and had reservations for dinner after. As he sat at a table and waited for his fish and chips to arrive, Justin thought about how much his life had changed in the three years since he was last in London. Brian had whisked him away to Vermont for a surprise civil ceremony just before that trip. It had been one of the happiest days of his life.

That happiness had been tempered soon after by Michael's betrayal. The two of them had set aside their own dreams to help Michael achieve his, only to find out that Michael had used his new gay comic book to write slanderous and hateful things about Justin. Brian had tossed Michael out of their home and out of their lives that night, just before their trip to Paris. The betrayal had hung like a pall over what should have been an exciting and wonderful trip.

Since then, they had been happy, but Justin knew that Brian still missed Michael. Their lives were too intertwined to ever make a clean break. Debbie would still visit, but Brian and Justin had stopped going to see her. In fact, the last time either man had been to her house was for Vic's wake. That had been a horrible time for all of them. Justin could tell that Brian wanted to comfort Michael, but he held himself apart and they had only stayed for an hour. They hadn't even been there when Ben, Michael's partner had finally showed up.

That was something that set Justin's teeth on edge. Despite everything, Michael seemed to have been blessed these past years. He had found a great guy-Ben was a college professor, teaching literature-but Justin couldn't begrudge him that, really. What really ate away at Justin was the fact that he had found new investors for the comic and was still printing his trash for the world to see. He continued to use the business plan Brian had set up for him and was doing quite well for himself. And then, last year, he and Ben had eloped to Canada and adopted a street hustler named Hunter.

He had his white picket fence in suburbia, he still had his friends and family supporting him, and from the contents of the latest issues of Rage, it seemed like he had absolutely no regrets about what he had done to Justin or Brian.

Brian had lost his friends and family. Emmett still came around, but he was more Justin's friend than Brian's. Ted had been tossed with Michael that night, and, though Brian had bailed him out of a jam once or twice since then, Brian refused to let him back into his life. Lindsey had sided with Brian right after the incident, but Mel had always preferred Michael to Brian and it was soon clear that the two wouldn't give up their friendship with the asshole, so Brian had slowly given up on them. They still saw Gus on a regular basis, but things were strained, especially after Mel decided that she wanted a child and chose Michael as the father. And Debbie...Well, Debbie was Michael's mother, and no matter how much she loved Justin and Brian, Michael would always come first.

So Michael had his friends, his family, his career, and Brian had lost everyone that was important to him besides Justin and Gus.

And Michael still called to whine about how unfair Brian was being not to forgive him.

Justin simply couldn't understand the asshole.

BJBJBJBJBJ

Justin was on his way out of the Globe the next day when he heard someone calling his name. He stopped and looked around the small courtyard outside the theatre and almost groaned when he saw who it was. Michael Bruckner, nee Novotny, was rushing over, happily pulling on the hand of a man Justin could only assume was Ben.

"Wow, Justin," Michael gushed. "Imagine running into you in London of all places."

"Michael," Justin said with a frown and then turned to Ben, allowing his face to soften slightly into a neutral gaze. "And you must be Ben. I've heard a lot about you from Debbie."

"Nice to finally meet you, too," Ben said, and Justin could tell that he felt slightly awkward. "Debbie said that you have a show opening here this weekend. Michael has insisted that we go."

"Where's Brian?" Michael asked, looking around. Even after all this time, Michael still had a one track mind.

"He's not here," Justin said coldly and turned back to Ben. "And while I can appreciate the gesture, I would appreciate it even more if you didn't come to the opening. I have nothing against you Ben, and I really don't know how much you even know about the history here since, but I have nothing to say to your husband and I don't want him anywhere near me or my husband."

"Hey, you shit!" Michael yelled, drawing the attention of several people in the courtyard.

"Michael," Ben said angrily. "Please don't make this any worse."

"I'm not the one being rude," Michael bleated. Then he turned a nasty glare at Justin. "So why isn't Brian here? Trouble in paradise?"

"Shut up, Michael. You are way out of line," Ben insisted. "I apologize, Justin. We'll leave you alone. Good luck with the show."

Ben dragged Michael off, though Justin could hear Michael whining and complaining the entire way. He shook his head. As much as he hated to see Brian suffer, Justin was glad he didn't have to put up with that on a regular basis any longer. Poor Ben. He didn't have a clue what he'd married.

BJBJBJBJBJ

Justin had a leisurely day on Saturday. He still suffered from mild anxiety in stressful situations, though the severity had greatly diminished since the first days after the attack. His headaches were more manageable now, too. He'd also found that the more relaxed he was starting out, the easier it would be to deal with stress and anxiety. Which was why he had booked a full day at the hotel spa: massage, salt scrub, mud bath, facial, manicure, pedicure... It wasn't something Brian enjoyed the way Justin did, though he had gotten Brian to the spa back home once or twice and he now enjoyed baths with Justin on a regular basis.

After the spa, Justin had an early, leisurely dinner in the hotel restaurant, after which he went back to his room to dress. When he opened the room door, however, he found a suitcase on the bed and could hear the shower running. Brian.

Justin grinned and shed his clothes on the way to the bathroom. He was quiet when he opened the bathroom door, and so when he stepped into the steam shower, Brian turned to Justin in surprise. Justin didn't give him a chance to say anything; instead, he kissed Brian as though he hadn't seen his partner in weeks, not days.

"You made it," Justin said once they had pulled apart.

"I have to go back to Chicago after we get home on Tuesday," Brian warned him. "But I didn't want to miss this."

Justin grinned. "Thank you. I really missed you."

Brian smirked. "Are you going to show me how much?" Justin didn't bother to answer; he just dropped to his knees.

BJBJBJBJBJ

The opening was a success. It reminded Brian of the school show that had first launched Justin's career, only now Justin didn't panic each time Brian left his side for a few minutes to get them drinks. When Brian returned after his third trip to the bar, however, the first thing he noticed was that Justin was agitated. The second thing he saw was Michael. And of course Michael spotted him as well.

"There you are," Michael said with satisfaction. "I knew you'd be here."

"What are you doing here?" Brian asked coldly as he handed Justin a glass of wine. Then he took Justin's free hand in his own and gave it a squeeze.

"Ben and I decided to come to London for vacation," Michael said, cheerfully oblivious to Brian's anger. "I thought it would be a good idea to show Justin our support, since we're here. Familiar face and all that."

"After I specifically told him that he isn't welcome," Justin muttered.

Brian didn't acknowledge Justin, but he heard him. "Where's Ben?"

Michael looked guilty. "Oh, um... He didn't feel all that well, so he stayed at the hotel."

"Does he know you came here after Justin asked you not to?" Brian asked coldly.

"Justin can't tell me what to do!" Michael said loudly, drawing the attention of several guests.

"Since this is his show, I rather think he can," Brian said as he pulled Michael outside, leaving Justin to deal with the critic who was hovering nearby. "Now answer my fucking question."

"No, he doesn't know," Michael pouted. "He told me not to come. But I knew you would be here and I was sure that you'd want to see me."

"Fuck, Michael, if I wanted to see you I would see you in Pittsburgh," Brian sighed and ran a frustrated hand through his hair. "You just don't get it. You haven't changed at all."

"Of course not," Michael said, sounding proud that he was still the whiny kid obsessed with his best friend.

Brian shook his head. "You are going to lose the best thing that ever happened to you if you don't pull your head out of your ass. Ben's not going to wait around while you spend all your time and energy chasing after me. You can't keep coming to my office and calling me all the time. Let it go, already."

"Ben's not the best thing that ever happened to me," Michael contradicted. "You are."

Brian snorted. "No, I'm not. I don't love you Michael. I used to love you like a brother, but you ruined that. I don't love you and I don't want you in my life."

"What did I do that was so horrible?" Michael asked. "It's just because Justin's got you all fucked up. If you dumped him, you'd see. We could be Brian and Mikey again."

"We'll never be those kids again," Brian sighed. "Go away Michael. Don't come near Justin again. Don't call me or try to talk to me. If you continue to harass us, I will get a restraining order. Go away and don't come back."

"You don't mean that," Michael said.

"If you don't leave now, I'm going to call the security guard and have him remove you from the premises." Brian's face was hard and left no room for argument.

Michael stared at Brian dejectedly for a long minute before walking away.

Brian watched him go and felt like he had been kicked in the gut once again. Instead of standing on the sidewalk brooding as he would have preferred, Brian went back into the gallery. He found Justin talking quietly with his agent Sally. When Justin spied his approach, he broke away from Sally and walked over to meet him.

"You okay?" Brian could hear the concern in Justin's voice and see it in his face.

"Not really," Brian sighed. "Why does he keep doing this shit?"

"I don't know," Justin said. "Do you want to leave?"

Brian forced a smile and shook his head. "I'm not as pathetic as that. We'll stay and celebrate your success. We aren't going to let Michael's ambush ruin your night."

Justin grabbed Brian's hand and squeezed it tightly. They stood like that for long minutes, gazing into each other's eyes and holding tightly to each other until Sally came back wanting to introduce Justin and Brian to one of London's most influential critics. They set aside Michael's visit for the rest of that night but it followed them around for the rest of their trip like a black cloud, and while Justin napped on the flight home, Brian swore to himself that he would put an end to Michael's shit once and for all.