Justin realised almost immediately that he had overdone his clothes, so to speak. He had wanted to blend in and fit into the time and locale. However, looking at the men walking up and down Liberty Avenue, Justin knew that it was too much. Too on the nose. He ran his fingers through his short hair. It made him look a bit too young, almost illegal. The jeans seemed too baggy. The white t-shirt under the plaid shirt made him look extremely out of place. Justin sighed. If there had some sort of guide book about appropriate looks in the year 2000, he would have undoubtedly looked better. As it was, here he was.

Justin looked at his wristwatch. He was losing precious time, loitering around like this, giving in to negative thoughts. He had a mission to accomplish, and accomplish it he was going to, whatever his clothes were. He reached into his pocket, just to check. The vials were there, small but dangerously potent. He had to find his man, before the guy found another blond. The other blond. The real blond.

"Hey gorgeous, you look lost. I could help you find what you're looking for."

"Fuck off," Justin said coldly, not even looking at the person who spoke to him. He absolutely had no time for this nonsense.

Justin saw the lamp post, and smiled tightly. This was the spot. If he waited here…if he waited here... he had planted some obstacles, but wasn't willing to take any chances.

He moved much closer to the exit doors of Babylon, and then paused. He could go inside, but that was too high of a risk; he could miss his guy altogether. Justin saw a black jeep; it was likely the vehicle they had told him about. He could go to the jeep, Justin thought, but that would leave the lamp post wide open to risk. He looked around, and saw exactly the person he needed – an inebriated man, all alone, leaning against Babylon's walls.

"Hey."

The man looked at Justin.

"Look at me, and listen carefully. You're not drunk. You're just pretending to be drunk. I'm going to stand underneath that lamp post. You keep watching me. If anyone looks like they're about to get in my way, you're going to harass them until they leave. Except Brian Kinney. When he comes to talk to me, you're free to go. Do you understand me?"

The man nodded, eyes suddenly lucid and alert.

Justin watched the man stand next to the wall in front of the lamp post, and smiled. This was better. He went and leaned against the lamp post, and breathed in deeply. He glanced ahead, and the coast seemed clear. So far, his obstacles seemed to have worked. There was no denying it; he was as nervous as hell. If he fucked this up, if he made a mistake…

He wasn't going to fuck this up. This was only Plan A, after all. If he failed now, he would have to go for Plan B.

Failing simply was not an option.

It didn't take too long. Justin saw them walking out of Babylon. He took another deep breath. It was show time.

When a pair of brown eyes fell upon him, Justin held the look. He wondered briefly if he should play up the young, virginal innocence.

"How's it going? You had a busy night?"

And just like that, Justin's mind went blank for a moment. Despite everything he had been told, Justin was not quite prepared for the visceral physical reaction. Brian Kinney was much better looking than he had prepared himself for, and had that aura about him that people with power and strength had. That, combined with what Justin knew Brian was going to be…this was definitely the man.

"I was waiting for you," Justin simply said.

Brian looked amused. "Oh, really?"

"Yes. You're Brian Kinney. I was told to come and find you. You and I…we're going to do amazing things together."

The man grinned at Justin. "I just bet we are…"

Justin beamed as he was led into the black jeep…it was actually going to happen. For some reason, Brian seemed to find his smile amusing, tracing his finger's around Justin's lips.

"Hey! HEY! What about us?"

Justin watched as a tall brunette hollered at Brian from the sidewalk.

"You can ride with Ted," Brian intoned, as he revved the engine, driving away.

Justin watched as Brian threw his jacket towards the couch and walked towards the kitchen. The place was beautiful, and Justin felt a strong pull of sadness, remembering how his friends were living.

"Coming in?"

"Huh? Oh yeah," Justin said, stepping inside.

"Shut the door."

Justin turned around, grabbing the door. He closed his eyes. He could walk away now. Beyond this point, there was no going back.

Exhaling, Justin shut the door.

Brian had taken his shirt off, and was pouring water out of a water bottle on himself.

Justin felt his breath hitch, and tried to ground himself and bring levity to the situation. "This is a…it's a really nice place. My friends would be jealous. Your kitchen is amazing."

Brian grinned. "Do you like Special K?" he asked, as he removed his shoes.

Justin was mesmerised by the sight of Brian, shirtless, wet, and barefoot. It took him a few seconds to respond. "I have no idea what that is."

Brian rolled his eyes, but seemed amused nevertheless. He pulled out a small cellophane packet from his pocket.

"Is that some kind of drug?"

"Well, it's not something you eat with bananas, that's for sure."

He had always been curious what these other 'drugs' people spoke about in hushed voices actually were, but Justin realised that he had a job to do. He reached into his own pocket, and pulled out two vials, each with what seemed to be identical red fluid.

But Justin knew how to tell the difference between the two.

Brian frowned. "What the fuck is that? I've never seen anyone taking something like that before."

Justin smiled. He knew he could just compel Brian, but he wanted the man to do this out of his own volition. "It's going to change your life. So much power, so much strength…you're going to be able to fly."

Brian grinned. "Liquid LSD, huh? Where'd you get it from?"

"The lab. We made it."

Brian laughed. "You're a cheeky little shit, aren't you?"

Justin shook his head. "No, we really made it. Well, the Professor did. I was mostly just a look-out." Seemingly casually, Justin picked up one of the vials, opened it, and gulped down the contents. "It's your turn. That is…if you really want to. You can say no. You can stay…normal. This will change your whole life."

Brian grinned again. "Right…I'm going to fly, aren't I?"

"Yes, but…we have to have sex first. After you drink it."

Brian walked towards him, and pulled Justin against him. "Why'd you think I brought you here?" He started kissing Justin slowly, and Justin gave himself into the kiss willingly. As he felt Brian's hands undoing his pants, Justin felt a physical urgency he had never experienced before. The kiss was becoming heated, and Justin knew that it wasn't going to be much longer before he lost all his senses. Justin pulled back slightly.

Brian tugged at his t-shirt, and Justin tried to take it off before pausing, realising that he was still holding the vial for Brian in his hand. Silent challenge in his eyes, Justin put the vial back into the pocket of his jeans.

Brian didn't miss a beat. Without breaking eye contact, he reached into Justin's pocket, and removed the vial.

Brian popped the cap, gulping down the contents in seconds.

"C'mon. Let's fly."