Part Four



Life without Michael was fine for Justin but he hated the way Brian was suffering. Brian tried to hide how unhappy he was, but Justin knew him too well. In the months since they had confronted Michael at the store, followed by the barrage of phone calls, they had been very busy, but not so busy as not to notice that very few of their friends called anymore. Ted they saw at work, but Emmett seemed to be avoiding them like the plague. Debbie refused to speak to either of them the few times they had come into the diner, so they had finally begun going to the deli up the road instead. Vic called occasionally, but he continued to say that he couldn’t openly support them. And of course, Michael and Ben were completely out of the question.



Surprisingly, Melanie had proven to be their biggest supporters. As a lawyer, she was very clear about what Michael had done and the consequences of those actions. She had seen the sacrifices that both Brian and Justin had made in their campaign to stop Stockwell and knew from Ted just how tight things were for them financially. She had a better perspective on the whole thing than anyone else in the family, despite her antagonistic relationship with Brian.



In fact, Mel had also begun to be Brian’s biggest supporter when it came to his right to spend time with Gus. When Lindsay would have stopped Brian’s visits in retaliation for his inability to afford to keep writing unlimited checks, Melanie had stepped in.



“Linds, that’s not right and it’s not fair,” Mel had argued. “I don’t like the asshole, but he loves Gus and he’s been there for both Gus and the two of us over the past three years. Just because he and Justin are strapped for cash right now is no reason to punish them. Or Gus.”



“It’s not punishment,” Lindsay denied. “He’s proven that he can’t even take care of his own finances. Why should we trust him to take care of our son?”



Melanie shook her head in disbelief. Did Lindsay actually believe the bullshit she spouted? “He’s broke because he spent all his money to stop Stockwell. You know that. And he and Justin have been working their asses off to make the new business a success. I’m sure that once they are established, Brian will be happy to help out when we need him to. He’s not doing this to spite you, Linds.”



“They don’t even have furniture at the loft!” Lindsay said. “What kind of an environment is that for Gus?”



Mel chuckled. “The kind that will probably be a lot of fun for him. He won’t have to worry about running into something or breaking something when he gets all wound up. You know that Brian and Justin deserve to see Gus. They love him.”



“Fine,” Lindsay huffed. “Gus can go over this weekend.”



Melanie knew that Lindsay was only agreeing because it was the annual King of Babylon contest and she figured that Brian and Justin would say no so that they could attend the event. According to Ted, however, neither Brian nor Justin had been back to Babylon since they had run into Michael. In fact, Ted said that they rarely went out at all. They spent most of their time either working or at home together. If they did go out, it was to the Redwood Tavern, a gay bar in Squirrel Hill that had both a traditional pub and a small dance club in the same building.



“I still can’t believe that Brian and Justin are trying to bankrupt Michael,” Lindsay said. “Brian really has corrupted Justin.”



Melanie rolled her eyes. “The only corruption is coming from Michael. He’s the one who stole the money from Justin. He’s the one who broke the law, Linds.”



“I know he shouldn’t have done that,” Lindsay said. “But Brian and Justin don’t have to sue him over it.”



“They asked him to pay the money back before they got a lawyer involved,” Mel said. “They gave him plenty of time, but he refused. They tried to settle out of court. Again Michael refused. If Michael goes bankrupt, it’s his own damned fault.”



“I can’t believe you are siding with Brian on this,” Lindsay said. “First Gus and now Michael.”



“I’m not siding with Brian,” Mel denied. “I’m siding with Justin. And Michael is acting like a child who has been told he can’t have all the cookies. He’d rather smash cookies into the rug than share. Well, he needs to grow the fuck up.”



“I don’t know how you can say that,” Lindsay said. “Brian is the one who needs to grow up. And Justin.”



Mel snorted in disbelief. “Justin is the most mature one of the bunch. And Brian has grown up a lot since he met Justin. Before Justin, he would have never given up everything to stop a guy like Stockwell. He would have kept his mouth shut, gotten him elected and taken the promotion to open the New York offices of Vanguard. Before Justin, Brian would never have been as involved in Gus’ life. Before Justin, Brian never would have helped you and I work out our problems or paid for our wedding. Brian has grown up a hell of a lot more than I ever believed he could. I’m not sure why you can’t see that.”



“You just wait,” Lindsay said. “He’ll be back to the same old Brian soon enough. Drinking, drugs and tricks galore.”



“Somehow I doubt it,” Melanie said.



She didn’t say so, but she was beginning to have doubts about Lindsay as well.



BJBJBJBJBJ



“Melanie just called,” Justin told Brian as he entered the office where Brian was finishing up for the day.



“What did she want?” Brian asked. Things had been going better between the two of them lately and he was trying to be a little more charitable towards his former nemesis.



“She talked Lindsay into letting us have Gus this weekend,” Justin said. “We’ll pick him up on Friday and keep him until Sunday afternoon.”



“Melanie talked Lindsay into this?” Brian asked. “Did the world just shift on its axis?”



“Lindsay has been a real bitch since everything with Michael,” Justin said as he leaned against Brian’s desk, their legs brushing.



“Since before that,” Brian admitted as he looked up at Justin from his seat. “I didn’t tell you, but she’s come to me a few times for money after Stockwell. When I told her we were broke, she got… well, let’s just say she threatened to keep Gus from us.”



“She can’t do that,” Justin exclaimed.



“She can,” Brian said. “Remember, I gave up my rights to Gus.”



“And yet, you’ve been financially supporting him, and Lindsay I might add, ever since,” Justin said. “There has to be something that could be done. You should talk to Walter about it.”



“As long as she keeps letting me see Gus, I’m not going to do that,” Brian said. “We’ve alienated enough people.”



Justin slumped at that. He felt really bad about how everything was playing out. As angry as he was with Michael, he hated what this was doing to everyone he loved. “We could still drop the suit.”



“No, we can’t,” Brian said as he pulled Justin down into his lap and wrapped his arms around him. “Michael can’t get away with this shit. If people can’t accept that, then fuck them. We don’t need them.”



“You miss them,” Justin said. “I miss them.”



“Yeah,” Brian sighed and leaned his forehead against Justin’s. “But if they can’t see that Michael is wrong in this, if they have to blame us for something that Michael did, then I really don’t want to be around them anyway. As long as I have you and Gus, I don’t care about the rest of them. We’ll make new friends.”



“I’m glad we’re together,” Justin said. “I’m not sure I could have handled all of this without you.”



They were both quiet for a moment as they remembered that not very long ago, Justin had been with Ethan and they had both been miserable.



“Well, we are together,” Brian said. “And I made a promise to you.”



Justin and Brian recalled that promise. After their reunion, Brian and Justin had made love at the loft and lying in bed together afterwards, the two of them had made several promises to each other.



“You promised never to push me away again,” Justin said. “Even if you think it’s for my own good.”



“And you promised to be honest with me when you have doubts about us,” Brian reminded him. “And that you would remember how I feel about you, even when I can’t actually say the words.”



“With promises like that to hold onto, I’m pretty sure we can get through anything,” Justin said quietly.



“And we’ll get through this,” Brian promised. He kissed Justin deeply and held him tightly. “I want to fuck you.”



“I want you to fuck me too,” Justin said a little breathlessly. “So you should probably take me home.”



Brian looked around the office. “Everyone has gone home.”



Justin chuckled and stood up before reaching down to pull Brian to his feet. “And if we break the no fucking in the office rule, it will just be that much harder to not break it the next time. Before you know it, we’ll be fucking all day and nothing will get done around here. Come on, it’s only a few blocks.”



“Yes dear,” Brian drawled.



BJBJBJBJBJ



“Emmett? Is that you?”



Justin was standing in line at the post office when he noticed the tall southerner and left to go catch up to him. He caught him at the corner before the taller man could disappear.



Emmett turned and gave Justin an uncertain smile. “Justin. Honey. How are you?”



“I’m doing pretty good, all things considered,” Justin said. “Can we go for coffee and talk? Please?”



Emmett looked torn. “I’m not sure that’s such a good idea.”



“Why?” Justin asked, allowing all the hurt and disappointment to be seen in his eyes and face. “I don’t understand, Em? I thought we were friends.”



Emmett looked extremely guilty then and sighed. “Oh Sugar.”



“Please, Em, just talk to me for a few minutes,” Justin said. “After that, if you want me to leave you alone, I promise I’ll never bother you again.”



“Okay, one cup of coffee,” Emmett agreed.



They walked in silence to the small coffee shop across the street and ordered. It wasn’t until they were seated at a quiet table in the back of the shop that Justin spoke again. “Can you tell me what I did that was so awful that you’ve been avoiding me for months? You stopped taking my calls.”



“I know that Michael was wrong,” Emmett started.



“Fucking right he was wrong,” Justin said. “He cheated me out of my share of the profits from the comic book.”



“I know,” Emmett said. “But trying to put him out of business and take Rage from him in retaliation? That’s a little over the top, don’t you think? I know it’s not really your fault. It’s Brian. But that doesn’t make it right.”



“What are you talking about?” Justin asked. “I’m not trying to put him out of business. And the only reason I offered to buy Rage was so that he could have a way to pay off a portion of his debt without losing his business.”



“Baby…” Emmett looked like he didn’t believe a word of what he was saying.



“Seriously, Emmett,” Justin said. “I’m not sure what bullshit line Michael has been feeding you, but that’s not what happened at all. We tried to give him an opportunity to pay the money back. He refused. So we got the lawyers involved. Even then, we tried to be fair about it. Yes, we asked for interest and legal fees, but that’s standard practice. And I offered to buy Michael out so that the cash he would have to cough up would be significantly reduced. He can’t do anything with Rage without me. He doesn’t have another artist. And after he cheated me, there’s no chance that he’ll be able to hire one. The publisher won’t work with him. He broke faith with his contract with them. Rage is dead as long as he’s involved. I was being generous when I offered him $80,000 for the rights.”



“But it was his dream,” Emmett said.



“It was both our dream,” Justin corrected. “And we created Rage together every step of the way. I don’t care what he felt about my relationship with Brian or about me personally, there’s no excuse for cheating me out of my part of the profit. You realize that we could have pressed criminal charges? He broke the law, Emmett. We’ve given him every chance to put things right and he refuses. He refuses to even acknowledge that he did anything wrong.”



Emmett shook his head. “He’ll lose everything if you win in court,” Emmett said.



“Probably,” Justin agreed. “Everyone has tried to tell him that. His lawyer and Ben both tried to tell him that at the settlement meeting. He’s so blinded by jealousy and hatred that he just can’t see that. We don’t want him to lose everything, Em. But I’m not going to just let him get away with theft.”



“Michael isn’t a thief,” Emmett defended weakly.



“Yes, he is,” Justin said. “He lied to me and the publisher from the very beginning. This wasn’t a crime of opportunity. He was very deliberate about making sure that I believed we weren’t making much from the sales. He insisted on handling the money. He lied about the publisher wanting to pay us collectively. He lied about how often we were supposed to be paid. He stole almost $120,000 from me.”



“Well, you have Brian,” Emmett said. “I’m sure you can afford to miss it.”



Justin huffed a laugh. “Did you know that Brian was behind the Concerned Citizens for Truth?”



“The group that stopped Stockwell with those ads?” Em asked.



“That’s the one,” Justin said. “Only it was a group of one. Well, two. Brian went into debt, sold off everything of value and lost his job in order to protect this community. We’ve been living without furniture for almost six months now. There have been times when we weren’t sure if we were going to have enough money for groceries.”



“But the new business…?”



“Is growing,” Justin said. “But it takes time. We have to make sure that the business is going to make a profit before we can start to pay ourselves. We’ve slowly worked our way into a reasonable salary, but we still aren’t making combined what Brian used to make alone at Vanguard. And we still have to pay off those debts. That money would have made a huge difference to us.”



“I didn’t know,” Emmett said thoughtfully.



“No, you and the rest of the group decided that Brian was an evil bastard a long time ago and that Michael was an innocent victim,” Justin said. “So of course, everything bad that happens is Brian’s fault and Michael couldn’t possibly be wrong even when he so obviously is.”



“Brian has always been an asshole,” Emmett said. “Look at the way he’s treated you.”



“Brian and I have both hurt each other,” Justin said. “But that’s no one else’s business but ours. And we’ve worked through our problems. Brian has changed a lot over the last three years, but no one seems to be willing to see that. Well, Mel has noticed. And Ted. The rest of you seem to ignore anything that doesn’t meet with your warped view of Brian Kinney.”



Justin stood up and looked sadly at Emmett. “Brian said that we don’t need friends who believe the worst of us. I guess he’s right.”



Justin turned to go, but Emmett grabbed his wrist. “Ben’s leaving him.”



Justin shook his head. “I’m surprised he stuck around this long.”



“Sweetie, you have to understand that he feels like he’s losing everything,” Emmett said. “I can’t leave him too.”



“I didn’t ask you to,” Justin said tiredly. “I never asked you to choose sides. But you should really take note of Ben’s actions and do what you can to protect yourself; he’s going to self-destruct and the fall out could be ugly.”



Justin pulled away and walked from the shop without looking back. Brian was right: they didn’t need friends like that.