"Are you absolutely sure?" Justin asked, worried.

"Never been so sure of anything else in my life," Brian confirmed. "Good thing I can see myself in the mirror; I'd have been depressed for eternity if I couldn't see my reflection."

Justin fought a smile, joining his partner in front of the tall mirror. "You look hot."

Brian caught Justin's eyes in the mirror and grinned, before examining their reflections.

After spending two days talking about Justin's life until the present as well as everything Brian needed to know regarding vampires - including which myths were true and which ones were a big joke - Justin took Brian to his house. They holed up for an entire week, occupying themselves with each other's bodies and short hunting trips to nearby towns.

On Saturday, Brian insisted he wanted to head to his loft and pack his clothes since, after much debate, Justin had convinced him to move into his house. What Justin didn't expect from their trip to Brian's loft was for Brian to get the urge to visit Babylon when he saw his club clothes.

It was too soon for him to be in such a crowded place, but Justin couldn't dissuade him. Brian was wearing the tightest pair of jeans he possessed and a black sleeveless top that perfectly showed off his sculpted body. His trim physique had been highlighted by the change, and now he looked exactly like he wanted to.

Justin had a pair of leather pants that seemed painted on his legs, paired with a tight blue shirt, which made his blue eyes shine beautifully.

"If, by any chance, it gets to be too much, let me know," Justin insisted, as they left Brian's place.

"Stop worrying. My willpower is strong."

"Not when you're barely two weeks old! You won't be able to control the monster."

.

.

.

The security man at the club's entrance, greeted Brian warmly, saying he'd been missed.

"Hey, Bob!" Brian clapped the man on the back, making him wince.

Justin smiled, pulling Brian inside by his hand. "Easy, Brian. Don't hurt your employee," he whispered.

"Oh no!" Brian glanced back in time to see Bob rubbing his shoulder. "Do you think I hurt him?"

"Control over your actions, remember? We talked about this. Don't use full force."

On their way to the bar, they had to pass a large group of people. Brian stiffened at Justin's side, his breathing cutting off. Sensing something was wrong, Justin changed direction and took Brian to his office. Once inside, Brian fell onto the sofa, head in his hands.

Justin knelt at his side, running his fingers through Brian's soft hair. "It's okay. We can leave."

Brian kept his mouth clamped shut, still not breathing, and shook his head.

"Brian, it's too soon. I planned to slowly introduce you to socializing in a crowd. We could have visited one of your friends, then maybe the diner. But this is insane."

Brian's eyes narrowed and he opened his mouth to argue, but then he stiffened further, his eyes focused on the door.

Justin patted Brian's head one more time before going to the door. Michael was on the other side, clearly upset. "How could you allow him to come here? He's clearly not okay!"

Justin blanched, thinking Michael knew their secret, but then he realized what Brian's friend was implying. Brian was supposed to be sick. "He insisted, Michael. You know it's impossible to say no to Brian. We will leave as soon as Brian finishes the paperwork he left behind."

Michael huffed but lost some of his aggressiveness. He made to come closer, but Justin stopped him. "Don't tell me - you're keeping me away from seeing him! How is he, anyway? Is the radiation helping? I heard he started the new treatment."

Justin had lied to all Brian's friends about why he hadn't been around in the past week. His plan had been to keep Brian away for at least a month, tell them he'd been scheduled for surgery, and that this was pre-surgery preparation. He doubted Brian's friends knew much about medical procedures, considering how rarely people informed themselves about such things.

"Michael, Brian's not well. I doubt he'd want you to see him like this."

"He's my best friend!" Michael pushed past Justin, who moved away just in time or Michael would have hurt himself, because running into Justin would have been like running into a brick wall. "Brian! God, you look terrible."

"No shit?" Brian's tone was clipped. He glared at his friend, fists balled at his sides.

"I think you'd better go," Justin said again, sensing Brian was close to snapping. The temptation of Michael's blood as he stood so close, thrumming with anger and anxiety, was too much.

"You can't dictate whether I should leave or not!" Michael lashed out at Justin. "Besides, Brian's only keeping you around for convenience."

It happened before Justin could react. Brian shot off the couch and pinned Michael to the wall, his hand around his friend's neck, nearly lifting him off the floor. "Don't you dare speak like that about Justin!"

"Brian!" Justin commanded. He'd never used such a tone before. To his surprise, Brian let go of Michael, who crumpled to the floor, staring at his best friend in terror. "You won't turn against your friends, no matter what they say. Now, help Michael up. We're leaving."

Brian looked dejected, reaching out a hand to Michael, who tentatively accepted it. "Sorry."

"No, I'm sorry, Brian. That was rude and uncalled for." Michael turned to Justin. "You'd better get him home and take care of him. He's so cold and looks like… well… like death."

Brian barked a laugh, waving to his friend, before allowing Justin to lead him out of the club through the back door.

"We've had enough excitement tonight to last a century. We're going to my house. From now on, you will listen to me. When I say you are ready to be around people, you will see them. Until then, only phone calls."

"Okay, Justin."

oOo

Justin's front door opened with a loud bang. Brian stopped in his tracks, halfway into the living room, carrying a heavy cardboard box filled with his possessions. His eyes were fixed on the intruder.

"Ethan, what a surprise!" He faked good cheer, placing the box on the floor.

"Where's Justin? Is it true? Daphne said she saw you departing soon."

"Ah, our witchy witch…" Brian shrugged. "Justin's in town tying up loose ends."

Ethan huffed. "So you're leaving? Just like that? What about your friends?"

"What about them? It's been several months since Justin allowed me to socialize with others. I saw everyone as often as I could. I'll miss them, but I want to see the world," Brian explained.

"You have forever to do that! When you come back… some of your friends may no longer be around, or it might be tricky to be around them since you won't age!" Ethan tried to reason with Brian.

Justin applauded from behind his old friend, having returned home in time to hear the speech. "Spare me all that bullshit," he muttered. "You're just bummed I'm leaving you behind. Although, this time I intend to keep my promise and stay in touch. We'll email you from where we settle down… if that happens." Justin smiled at Brian. "We plan on seeing the whole world. And all thanks to Daphne, we can enjoy the sun."

"The power of the rings will die when she dies…." Ethan reminded Justin.

"All the more reason to enjoy the sun while we still can," Brian noted seriously, going to stand beside Justin. "We'll write you," he stated with a smirk.

Ethan rolled his eyes, folding his arms across his chest.

"You can't keep me here, Ethan. I have so much to show Brian. I want to be alone with him somewhere no one knows us," Justin said softly. "I promise not to forget you, my friend." He walked to Ethan, enveloping him in a tight hug.

Slowly, Ethan returned the hug, sighing in defeat. "Be happy. Enjoy your adventures!"

"We will." Justin kissed his cheek, squeezing him one last time.

Ethan shook Brian's hand on his way out. He stopped right outside the door, turning to the happy couple. "Until next time, Jus."

Justin nodded, waving happily, securely ensconced in Brian's arms.

He was ready to fully enjoy his life, now that he had a mate, someone to share the joy, the sorrow, the good, and the bad of life as vampires.