Part Two



Brian looked out his office window and thought about the months since Justin’s release from the hospital. In some ways, his life hadn’t changed at all. He still spent his evenings with Justin, only now they were in the loft instead of the hospital and they could order out or cook as they liked. In other ways, his life was drastically different from anything he’d ever known. He had shared space with Justin before, but he had not shared his life with him then. Now, he found himself considering Justin’s feelings and reactions to even the smallest decisions Brian made. It had started with something so small and simple that Brian could hardly pinpoint the moment when his brain began to shift from “Free and Single” towards “Relationship” mode.



The morning after Justin came to the loft, Brian was getting ready to take his shower before running out the door to work. They had made love again before the alarm went off and now he was running behind. Justin followed Brian into the bathroom and began to look around, chatting with his lover while Brian showered. At some point in the conversation, Justin brought up the fact that Brian’s towels were getting a little old. Brian had shrugged and told Justin if he wanted new towels, he should just buy them. Brian simply didn’t care about the towels.



Justin had backed off the subject, saying he hadn’t meant that they needed new towels right then, but Brian could hear something in his tone that said something else was concerning his young lover.



“What is it Justin?” Brian asked.



Justin sighed. “They aren’t 100% cotton. They are a poly-blend.”



“And that bothers you?” Brian asked as he shut off the shower and grabbed the towel from Justin’s hand.



“Not bother, really,” Justin shrugged. “But cotton towels dry better. Like I said, there’s no need to go out and buy all new towels right now. But maybe when we do buy new towels, we should get cotton.”



“Okay,” Brian agreed and left the matter there. He had to get to work and didn’t have time to discuss the towels just then.



Unfortunately, the towel issue stuck in his mind for the rest of the week. Every time he showered or dried his hands, he thought about the towels and wondered if having 100% cotton towels would really make a difference. By Saturday, Brian hated his old towels and demanded that they shop for new ones. Justin had smiled and gone with him happily. They had found new towels, 100% Egyptian cotton, and had bought them. Brian, who had always insisted on the very best sheets, had never realized what a difference having good towels could make.



After that, Brian had begun considering Justin’s opinion on everything he purchased, from toothpaste to toilet paper. He had even called his younger lover from the grocery store on several occasions to solicit his opinion on cheese varieties or the brand of water. It had become almost second nature by now.



Things had escalated from there. Brian asked Justin’s opinions on almost everything. He had even gotten advice about work from Justin. It wasn’t that Brian doubted his own ability to handle situations that arose; it was simply the fact that having someone who cared and wanted to help him made him feel so damned good. And, as Justin had pointed out on more than one occasion, Brian had been offering that same support to Justin since the hospital.



They had fallen into a comfortable routine in the weeks since Justin’s release. Brian worked and Justin painted during the day. Justin’s physical and occupational therapy sessions had dropped off to be replaced by sessions with a psychologist who was helping him adjust to his new circumstances. He met with Doctor Jack Reyes twice a week, once alone and once with Brian. The doctor was helping them both adjust, really. Brian, loathe though he was to participate in the beginning, had found the sessions to be beneficial. He wasn’t sure that he could have dealt with the changes in his life or Justin so well without Jack’s help.



In the evenings, they would spend time together, often just talking or watching television. Sometimes friends would come over or Jennifer would bring Molly by. Fridays, they went to Woody’s and Babylon, though they never stayed late. They had learned quickly that Justin had developed a dangerous sensitivity to alcohol since the injury and couldn’t drink at all without a severe reaction. He would dance with Brian and enjoy the music and atmosphere for a while, but eventually the noise and crush of people would become overwhelming and Brian would take Justin home.



They had argued more than once about the fact that Brian refused to go out without Justin anymore. Justin felt like he was holding Brian back, but Brian had argued that he simply didn’t want to go without Justin. The truth was a little more complicated and Jack had forced them to talk it out in one of their joint sessions. Brian admitted that he was afraid that if he went alone, he would more than likely end up picking up some trick and he didn’t want to fall into his old habits. It was partly because he knew Justin would be hurt by the action and partly because he was growing to accept that the way he had been before was self-destructive, unhealthy and unsatisfying in the long run. Brian didn’t say so, but almost killing himself had forced him to reevaluate everything in his life, including the reasons for many of his past behaviors. After that session, Justin stopped pushing.



Things weren’t all roses for them. A few weeks after he had come home, Justin talked Brian into taking him out to an abandoned parking lot and letting him try to drive. It had been a complete disaster. It wasn’t that Justin didn’t know how to drive, but his reaction times were delayed to the point of being dangerous. He had to think every step out and it took him long seconds to do something simple, like hit the brake. After almost crashing the jeep into a light pole, they had both agreed that driving was not going to be an option for Justin. This had led to several days of depression that had only begun to lighten after Justin’s next appointment with Jack.  



Another failed attempt that had nearly broken them both had come when Justin decided to try taking a college course for the spring semester. It had been eight months since the injury and Justin had reasoned that he should be well enough to make the attempt. It was a life drawing course, and should have been fairly simple, considering it was mostly drawing, but the speed with which the professor covered new techniques and the required research paper proved to be too much for him. This time, Brian was the one who found a way to bring Justin out of his funk.



Brian had gone to the school and spoken to several of the professors about private lessons. While the structured academic setting of university was not for Justin, he was a talented artist and could still learn from a patient instructor. Now Justin took lesson twice a week from two professors respected in their field.



Brian smiled as he recalled how happy Justin had been when Brian had told him. Seeing Justin smile again had been even better than the blow job he’d gotten as a thank you.



“You looked blissed,” Cynthia said from Brian office doorway. Brian turned to her and scowled. “Hey, no offense, but that doesn’t work on me.”



Brian sighed. “Right, what’s up?”



“Ryder just called,” Cynthia said as she picked Brian’s suit jacket up from the sofa and handed it to him. “He wants you in his office. Sounded big.”



Brian stood and pulled on the jacket and allowed Cynthia to straighten his tie. “How big?”



“Holly was crying,” Cynthia said. “But she wouldn’t tell me why.”



Brian frowned. “Reschedule the afternoon. I have a feeling I’m going to need my time free.”



“Will do, boss,” Cynthia said and watched Brian go out the door and down the hall.



Brian took a deep breath before knocking on Ryder’s office door. Holly, her makeup tear-streaked, had waved him through. When he heard the deep voice of Marty Ryder call him in, Brian opened the door. It had been almost two weeks since Brian had last seen his boss. Marty seemed to be out of the office quite often these days. So, Brian wasn’t prepared for the pale and sickly looking man who was sitting behind Ryder’s desk.



“Brian,” Marty wheezed out. “Have a seat.”



“Marty, pardon me for saying so, but you look like shit,” Brian said after taking a seat across the desk from his boss.



Ryder chuckled, but it was raspier than usual. “Tell me about it. That’s why I wanted to talk to you. I’ve got lung cancer. The doctors are doing what they can for me, but the prognosis isn’t great. I need to put my affairs in order.”



“Shit Marty,” Brian gasped. “You’re…?”



“Dying,” Ryder nodded. “Unless there is some miracle, I’ve got about a year. Of that, maybe six months will actually be worth living. I want out. I don’t want to spend my final days here, in this office. I want to take my wife on a cruise of the Mediterranean, like I always promised. I want to spend time with my kids. I want to make these last months count.”



Brian nodded slowly, “So what happens to the agency?”



“That’s why I called you,” Ryder said. He was interrupted by a coughing spell and it was several minutes before he could go on. “Sorry. The cough is bad today. I have two options, Brian. I’ve been offered a tidy sum from Gardner Vance to purchase the agency outright. Six months ago, I would have jumped on the deal, but over the last six months, I’ve watched you pull in four new accounts, lock in contracts with several of our clients who had been on the fence, and basically keep this place running while I’ve been out visiting specialists.”



“You are offering to let me buy the agency?” Brian asked.



“I know you can’t afford to purchase it for what Vance offered,” Ryder said. “I’m willing to take a lower price if you are interested in buying me out.”



Brian was in shock. Ryder, while he had always respected Brian’s talent, had never really liked him personally. “Why? I mean, why me?”



“Like I said,” Ryder shrugged, “you’ve settled down a bit, proved you are more than a reckless hot-shot talent. You’ve got brains, drive, and talent. That counts for a hell of a lot in this business. None of my kids want the place and none of them could run it if they did. And to be frank, I’d rather my legacy wasn’t consumed by that man’s mediocre company. But you want it. You want it more than Vance and will do more with it than he would.”



“You’re right, I do, and I will,” Brian said. “Give me time to talk it over with my partner?” Brian paused for a minute, surprised that he had used the term partner, but realized that it was true. Justin was his partner.



Ryder raised an eyebrow. “Partner? Is that the reason for the sudden changes? Well, good for you. Talk it over. Have Holly give you a copy of the Vance file. It has the offer he made as well as the details for the counteroffer I want to make you. Look it over and get back to me. Sooner is better.”



“I’ll let you know,” Brian nodded and headed out.



BJBJBJBJBJ



“Cash, I’ve only got about forty percent of the purchase price. If I liquidate my stocks and empty my retirement accounts, that number goes up to eighty percent,” Brian told Justin as he stared at the figures on his computer screen, trying to make them come out another way. “I suppose I could borrow the money, but I don’t like taking on that kind of debt if I don’t have to. Interest is great if it’s in your favor, but sucks when its not.”



“What about taking on a partner?” Justin asked. He was in the kitchen cleaning up the dishes from their dinner.



“Who?” Brian asked and looked up. “I don’t trust many people, and those I do trust don’t have this kind of money.”



“Do you trust me?” Justin asked. “Because the settlement money came through last week. I could buy forty-nine percent, leaving you with the controlling interest, and be your silent partner.”



Brian got up from his desk and walked over to Justin. “Are you sure about this? I mean, that’s more than half of the settlement. You could invest that money in much safer ways.”



“I think you are a good risk,” Justin grinned and wiped his hands on a towel. He met Brian beside the refrigerator and looped his arms loosely around his neck. “And I like the idea of sharing this with you. I might never be able to hold a real job, but at least I’ll know I’m contributing something to our life together. And then you won’t need to touch your retirement accounts and can save most of your stocks as well.”



“We’ll just be cash poor for a while,” Brian grinned as he held Justin tightly. “We may actually need to use that allowance your mother set up from your trust to help pay the bills for a few months.”



“So, we’re going to be partners?” Justin asked.



“We already are,” Brian told him. “This will just make it official. Although…”



“What?” Justin asked while nuzzling the sensitive spot on Brian’s neck.



“Nothing important,” Brian groaned as he started pulling Justin towards the bedroom. “Let’s go celebrate our partnership.”



BJBJBJBJBJ



“So you are Brian’s partner,” Marty Ryder smiled as he shook Justin’s hand a few days later. “You are the man responsible for all the positive changes I’ve seen over the past months.”



Justin smiled but shook his head. “No, that would be Brian. I’m just reaping the benefits.”



“You did luck out with him, Kinney,” Ryder said with a chuckle. He didn’t wait for Brian to reply, but instead went on to introduce them to his lawyer. Brian then introduced his and Justin’s lawyer and they all sat down at the conference table to hash out the final details of the deal. It took nearly two hours to come up with the final agreement, but when it was done, they were all satisfied.



“I’ll have the final contract drawn up and sent over tomorrow,” Ryder’s lawyer said before he left, Brian’s lawyer on his heels, eager to discuss one of their mutual colleagues.



“How about lunch, to celebrate?” Ryder asked once they were alone.



Justin looked at Brian who grinned and nodded. “That sounds… wonderful, Mr. Ryder.”



“It’s Marty,” Ryder said as he ushered Justin out the door, leaving Brian to follow behind.



Brian shook his head and allowed them to chat as he followed them to the elevator and down to the street. Marty was in rare form today. It was like the old days, with Marty doing his best to win a potential client with his wit and charm alone. Only Brian couldn’t understand why he was turning that charm on Justin. Then he realized that to Marty, Justin was the spouse of an important business contact. He was treating the younger man the same way he would the wife of any client.



He realized that he had been lost in his own thoughts for too long when he saw that Justin was looking a bit flustered.



“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to pry,” Marty was saying as Brian came up and wrapped a reassuring arm around Justin.



Justin gave a shaky smile, “No, it’s fine. I just don’t… talk much about it. I don’t get out… much, you see, and… friends and family… all know details already, so…it just doesn’t come up. I don’t mind… talking about it. Really.”



Brian knew they were now talking about the assault, and his first instinct was to cut the conversation off, but Justin seemed like he was recovering from the shock okay, so he remained quiet. They had arrived at the restaurant and had to wait while they were seated and drink orders were taken before Ryder was able to continue with his questions.



“I didn’t realize the connection at first,” Ryder said. “The media coverage never mentioned Brian by name, but I assume he was the boyfriend who stopped the attacker?”



Justin nodded and took a sip of his water. “He was. He saved my life.”



Ryder gave Brian a sidelong look but said to Justin, “I won’t ask how you became involved with a man so much older than you, but I am interested to know more about what happened. As I said, the media coverage left out many of the details.”



“Well, you’d have… to ask Brian,” Justin said. “They aren’t sure if it was the from the… initial attack or from the surgery… they did, but when I finally woke up after… it was all over, I couldn’t remember anything. Well, that’s not true. I remembered Brian.” Brian smirked and nodded. “Everything else is just… a blank. I’ve had to rebuild… all of my relationships and learn… second hand about my life before.”



“Oh, I’m sorry,” Ryder said. “It must be difficult.”



Justin shrugged again. “It’s not as bad as you might think. Because I can’t remember… what I’m missing, I don’t miss it. Does that make sense?”



“It does,” Ryder agreed. “Has that been the only side effect?”



“No,” Brian answered this time. “There have been a few others.”



Justin smiled and took Brian’s hand. He knew that Brian wasn’t comfortable talking about this. “My brain doesn’t work… the way it used to. All of the essential… knowledge is still there, as is the ability to learn, but it takes me twice… as long now to process things. I can’t go to college… because I can’t learn… the way most people do. I can’t drive… because my reaction times… are too slow. I can’t work, at least not in a… traditional job. If you knew me before, you would know… that my speech has slowed… considerably. I’m not stupid, though some… might assume so; I just take… more time to do everything now. I was an artist… before the attack, and my art is what keeps… me going most days. That and Brian. And I’m learning how to… live day by day.”



Ryder nodded thoughtfully. “When the doctors told me that I was dying, I was angry. Angrier than I have ever been in my life. I kept thinking that it couldn’t be true, that this couldn’t be happening to me. Slowly, with my wife’s help and a few sessions with a therapist, I’ve come to realize that I just have to be grateful for every day that I have. Though some days are still easier than others.”



“It’s cliché, but as they say, one day at a time,” Justin said.



The rest of the lunch was a lot less intense, and Brian was grateful. It wasn’t only Justin he wanted to protect form reliving that awful night. Hell, Justin didn’t remember what happened. But Brian did. He hated thinking of Justin lying there in a pool of blood. He hated the overwhelming sense of helplessness that hit him every time he thought about it.



“It was a pleasure to meet you, Marty,” Justin said as they reached the building where the agency was located.



“The pleasure was all mine,” Ryder returned.



“I’m going to take Justin home,” Brian announced. “I’ll be back in an hour.”



“No, Brian, I can take a cab,” Justin protested.



“Justin…”



“Why don’t you just take the rest of the afternoon off,” Ryder suggested. “Do something to celebrate.”



“Good idea,” Justin smiled. “I have just the thing.”



Brian shook his head and admitted defeat. He couldn’t beat both of these men. “Alright, let’s go. I’ll see you in the morning Marty.”