Chapter 4

Chapter Text

"Justin," Jennifer Taylor called through the bedroom door with anger and frustration. "You are not missing another day of tutoring. There is nothing wrong with you. Get out of that bed and get dressed right now, young man!"

Justin, who was huddled under his covers didn't even bother to respond. He was awake. He was always awake. He didn't think he had slept for longer than an hour or two since… Well, he wasn't going to think about that night. He'd think about the night he and Brian had made love instead. That was a blissful night. Everything since seemed like a nightmare in comparison.

It had been eighteen days since he'd seen Brian. Eighteen of the longest days of his life. At first, he had been hurt and angry and he'd driven Daphne's car to his best friend's house to cry out his heartache. But instead of feeling better as time went on, he felt worse. He'd gone through the motions for a while: school, art, hanging out with Daphne. But as time passed, he stopped even trying to pretend that everything was okay. He hadn't been out of this room except to go to the bathroom for six days.

"Fine. I'm going to take you to the doctor today," Jennifer said. "I'm taking you to a psychiatrist this time. The other doctors couldn't find anything wrong. Well, if it isn't something physical, then it must be something else."

She left and Justin moaned in frustration. He hated making his mother worry about him, but the truth was he was worried about himself. There must be something wrong with him. What was it? Why couldn't Brian love him the way he loved Brian? He'd felt…everything the one night they'd been together. He felt alive like he never had before. He felt like there could never be anything better than the two of them together.

And it wasn't just the sex. That was amazing; no question about it, but there was more to it than that. There had been something deeper. The way Brian looked at him as he had come. The way Brian had seemed to know just what he wanted and needed in and out of bed. Why couldn't Brian see that they were meant to be together?

Time seemed to pass in a haze as Justin's thoughts kept circling through the same thoughts over and over again, and it wasn't long before Jennifer had cajoled him into clean clothes and then into the car. He didn't really remember taking a shower or getting dressed. He didn't really remember the drive to the doctor's office or waiting in the reception area. He didn't register anything that was going on around him; he was so lost in his own thoughts and feelings.

"The fact that you were able to get him here at all seems to be a good sign," the doctor was saying. "Perhaps you could give us a few minutes alone, and I will attempt to speak with Justin."

Justin was vaguely aware of his mother leaving the room, but paid her no mind. When the doctor spoke again, it took him some time to process what he was saying through the jumbled thoughts still flying around his head.

"Justin, can you tell me what you are thinking about?"

Justin wasn't sure if he was speaking out loud or not, but he tried to tell the man what he was thinking about and he realized that the other man seemed to be listening, so maybe he was speaking. He tried to listen to his own voice and realized that he was rambling on and on about Brian. "He doesn't want me," he heard himself say and he was suddenly very aware of what he had just said to this complete stranger.

"Oh shit!" Justin moaned. "I didn't just say that. No. You can't… My mom doesn't know I went out!"

"Calm down," the doctor told him. "Take deep breaths. You are fine, Justin."

Justin tried to take deep breaths and slowly felt himself calming again. He also felt himself slipping back into the numb fog that was so familiar by now. He knew he wouldn't be able to talk anymore. The doctor kept talking to him, but Justin wasn't really aware of anything he said. When his mother returned, he didn't notice. He was peripherally aware of a nurse taking blood from his arm, but not enough to even flinch at the pinch of the needle.

When he became aware again, he was back in his room, buried under his blankets once more.

BJBJBJBJBJ

Brian waited outside the school feeling very self-conscious. He felt like a pervert, but he had no other way to make contact with Justin. He didn't have his phone number and he didn't know where the boy lived. All he knew was this school where Brian had dropped him off almost three weeks ago.

The last bell of the day rang and Brian watched the hordes of teenagers in tacky uniforms scramble out of the building like locusts devouring a crop. His eyes kept looking for that familiar blond head, but even as the crowds started to dwindle twenty minutes later, he hadn't found Justin. He had almost given up hope when he spotted the girl Justin had met outside the school that morning.

"Hey!" Brian yelled, jogging over to her in the least threatening way he could manage. "Hey! Are you Justin's friend?"

Daphne looked up at Brian with suspicion. "Maybe."

"Look, I know you don't know me and have absolutely no reason to trust me but I need to find Justin," Brian said.

Daphne narrowed her eyes. "Who are you?"

"My name is Brian Kinney," Brian said and tried to give her a charming smile, but he was too upset and hung-over to really pull it off. "I…"

Daphne turned to walk away, but called over her shoulder. "I know who you are. Justin doesn't need to see you."

"Wait!" Brian said and jogged to catch up with her. "Please. This is important. Justin could be… well, there might be something wrong with him. Has he been acting different lately? Withdrawn?"

Daphne stopped and opened her mouth to say something. She seemed to think better of it and closed her mouth again. It was a few minutes before she actually spoke. "What do you know about what's wrong with him?"

Brian closed his eyes. She had just confirmed his doctor's fears. Now Brian was even more worried, but he couldn't tell this little slip of a beta what the doctor had told him; nevertheless he needed her to find Justin. "I can't talk about it. Really. Not with anyone but Justin. But believe me when I say that there is an explanation. And I can make this go away if I can just talk to him. Please."

Daphne seemed to spend an eternity judging Brian's sincerity. "You hurt him before. Don't do it again."

"I won't. I swear." Brian said.

Daphne nodded. "Where's your car? I'll take you to his house."

BJBJBJBJBJ

"My name is Brian Kinney," the man at the door, who looked to be in his late twenties, said. "I need to see Justin."

Jennifer saw Daphne standing behind Brian and gave her a look. Daphne shrugged her shoulders in response.

"My son is not well," Jennifer said. "What is this about?"

"I know he isn't well," Brian said with a dark look in his eyes, one Jennifer couldn't really interpret, but she had a gut feeling she wasn't going to like what this man had come to say. "That's why I'm here. Have you ever heard of Imprinting?"

"Oh shit," Jennifer swore. Since she never swore, this brought the attention of everyone present directly to here. "You can't be…"

"I take it you have heard of it?" Brian asked.

"Yes," Jennifer said. "The doctor explained. He thought it might be… and he drew blood to test, but we haven't gotten the results back yet. But… you can't be. You're not… You're…"

"Too old?" Brian said with a half-hearted smirk. "Yeah. I get that. It doesn't change the fact that it's true."

"Wait; will somebody please explain what is going on?" Daphne asked speaking up for the first time. "What exactly is Imprinting?"

"I…" Jennifer was obviously reluctant to explain. "It's sort of an extreme version of love at first sight? Only with chemical and hormonal triggers."

"Something like that, though it's more like an addiction than love," Brian said impatiently. He was starting to feel agitated being this close to Justin and still not being able to see him or touch him. "Listen, can I just see Justin?"

"Brian, can you tell me why you think you might be imprinted with my son?" Jennifer finally asked.

Brian quirked an eyebrow at the woman. How did she want him to answer that? Did she want to know he'd had a limp dick for three weeks? "I've been to my doctor too. And the tests turned up positive."

Jennifer nodded. "I'll take you up to Justin. Daphne, could you keep Molly company in the kitchen?"

Brian followed Jennifer up the stairs almost on her heels. He wanted to fight this relief that was flooding through him. He was doing this for Justin, not for himself. As soon as he saw Justin curled up on his bed, sheets rumpled around him and his hair mussed from sleep, he knew that was a lie. Yes he was here for Justin, but he was also here for himself.

"Justin," Brian murmured even as he moved to touch the younger man. He sat on the bed and smoothed the hair from Justin's brow and waited for Justin to become aware of his presence. The blond slowly opened his eyes and a smile spread across his face as he focused on Brian for the first time in weeks.

"Brian." Justin sat up and wrapped his arms around Brian. For the first time in what seemed like forever, the fog lifted completely from his mind and he felt complete. They sat like that, just holding each other for the longest time. Eventually Justin pulled back just enough to look up at Brian, but careful not to lose contact with the other man. "Why are you here?"

"Because I had to come," Brian said.

Justin, who could understand that, simply nodded and buried his face in Brian's chest, absorbing the feeling of being in Brian's arms again. Neither noticed when Jennifer left the room and closed the door behind her.