Hey, this is my second QAF story. I had another one posted on ATP. I'll get it posted on here again soon.
I don't own Queer as Folk. I don't have any money and I'm not making money off this story. So don't sue, I only have seven dollars and I need that for the movie tomorrow.
This story is un-beta'd. It's great. I mean the un-beta'd part. Don't complain about spelling unless you want to beta for me.
One shot, there will be no more after this. I have a time-line to explain how long Justin was gone and what he was doing during that time somewhere. If you want it email me, or leave a review.
If you want to archive it, email me at umblgumber@hotmail.com
Later-Ashley
~*~
As Justin Taylor walked into the Liberty Diner, he saw a lady behind the counter. He walked up to her, "I'm looking for Brian Kinney, do you know where I could find him?
"Probably at Woody's or Babylon, any reason why?" Justin knew the lady but he could tell that she didn't recognize him.
"No, just a friend looking for a favor."
"He hasn't given 'favors' for years. And don't you go and mess him up," she said over protectively.
"I don't want that kind of favor," Justin said as he walked out of the diner.
~*~
For once when Justin walked into Woody's no one was looking at a person standing next to him, but were staring straight at him. Where the lady at the diner didn't care to notice him, people here did. It might not have been for who he was, but for how he looked.
He saw the familiar hair and knew that he had found Brian. He walked to where the man was sitting and tapped him on the shoulder lightly, "Hey," he said softly.
Brian turned in his chair ready to tell the guy off when he noticed who is was, "Justin?" he asked disbelievingly.
"Hi Bri," Justin said, sitting down in the chair next to Brian's, and ordering a drink, "How have you been the past few years?"
"I've been good, but what about you? What are you doing back in The Pitts?" Brian asked, looking suspiciously at the bruise peeking out from under Justin's tee-shirt sleeve and also at the one that he had seen on Justin's side as he sat down.
"I came back to take a friend up on a favor that he told me to take a few years ago…" Justin's voice trailed off, and Brian knew exactly what he was talking about.
The last time that Brian had talked to Justin had been when he told him that if he ever needed into to give him a call. Brian didn't think he would ever hear from him, but he must have been wrong.
"Do you want to go and see what I've done to the loft?"
"Sure," Justin wasn't one to talk about things in public.
Brian and Justin finished their drinks "Meet you at the loft?" Justin asked.
"Yeah, see you there," Brian reached out and gave Justin's hand a light squeeze before walking towards his Jeep.
Justin watched the retreating form of Brian before turning towards the direction of his own car, and bumping into someone.
"I'm sorry sweetie, wasn't watching where I was going," came the familiar voice.
"Oh, it's fine. It was my fault also," Justin didn't lift his head to look the person in the eyes.
"Don't I know you from somewhere?" the guy asked.
"You've probably seen me at Babylon before. I danced on the bar there for some time," it wasn't a lie.
"You're probably right. It was nice meeting you. I'm Emmett by the way," the guy stuck out his hand and Justin had no choice but to shake it.
"I'm Taylor, I've got to go. Maybe I'll see you around sometime," Justin didn't give him a chance to reply as he walked off and got into his car.
~*~
Justin made it to Brian's loft, no matter how long he had been gone, he always remembered the way. He parked his car next to the Jeep, before walking to the door and ringing the buzzer.
"Justin?"
"Yeah, hurry up, I don't want to run into anyone else," the door's lock was released and Justin hurried to get through and into the elevator.
Brian was waiting at his door when Justin got to the top floor, "So, let me give you a grand tour before we get to the reason that you are here."
Justin walked into the loft and waited for Brian to close the door behind him before commenting on the works of art that were covering the once bare walls, "Shit Bri, these are some of the more expensive ones. If you wanted some, you should have emailed me, I would have painted you some free of charge."
"We all need to make a living Justin, it just so much happens that these really match my décor. And the one that you did that was of the pride flag, but you couldn't really tell what it was? That one is hanging up in the diner," Brian officially owned around seventeen of Justin's paintings.
"Wow, I still can't believe that you put them up in the loft," Justin said, amazed.
"Well I could tell that the loft was where they belonged. You must have been thinking of the loft as you painted them," Brian said before walking to the refrigerator, "Can I get you something to drink?"
"Water would be good," Justin said as he walked to the couch and sat down.
"So, lets just get right to it. What are you doing here?"
"I told you already, taking a friend up on his offer of a favor."
"I mean it J, what happened that made you need to take me up on that offer?" Brian pushed just a little; knowing that sometimes that's all that he needed to do to get Justin's to spill it.
"Wednesday was spent recovering somewhat from two broken ribs. Thursday was spent fighting with a nurse to keep her from giving me Tylenol. Friday was spent filling out final papers, getting myself out of the hospital. Saturday and Sunday were spent in and out of airports and on about five different planes. And today was spent driving here and looking for you," Justin said, as though it would answer Brian's question.
"Why were you in the hospital?"
"Domestic Violence," Justin said bitterly.
"How long?" Brian was beyond pissed, and if he had known what was going on, he would have gone and killed the fucker that was doing this to Justin.
"About four months…" Justin's voice trailed off.
Brian didn't know what to say. All he knew was that Justin wasn't going back to the bastard that had been doing this, "I don't have clean sheets on the spare bed in the room that I had put in a few years back, but I can have Maria do it tomorrow while I'm at work, so you'll have to sleep in my bed tonight. You really don't want to sleep on this couch, it's not as comfortable as it use to be."
"Do you mind if I shower first?"
"Be my guest." Brian said, motioning to the bathroom that he was sure Justin knew where it was.
Justin had missed Brian's shower. It was just something about it that he could never find anywhere else, not even in the mass amount of hotel and motel rooms that he had stayed in. And he was happy to be in it again. As he was washing, he heard the phone ring in the background.
Pulling a towel out from under the sink and wrapping it around his waist Justin walked into Brian's bedroom and grabbed his bag of clothes before walking back into the bathroom. He pulled a pair of pajama pants out, along with a white tee shirt and put them on before walking back into the bedroom.
"Yeah, tell Gus that I said 'hi' and that I'll be over to get him sometime later on this week," there was a pause, "Hey sonny boy, what are you doing?"
Justin's heart broke when he thought of the little boy that he left behind so many years ago, his thoughts about the dark haired little boy were broken into by Brian, "You want me to order some Thai or something?"
"Do you mind if I just sleep for now? Can we talk about everything tomorrow?" Justin could hear the small hint of desperation in his own voice and hoped that Brian hadn't noticed it.
"Sure, I'm going to go take a shower also. Just make yourself comfortable," Brian walked to the bathroom, and shut the door lightly behind him, leaving Justin alone in the loft for the first time in years. He sat on the bed, on the side that he had always slept on, figuring that Brian wouldn't care.
As soon as his head hit the pillow his eyes started to droop, but he could hear Brian in the background moving around, turning out the lights after getting out of the shower.
"Justin, you still awake?"
Justin just closed his eyes, not wanting to talk, just wanting to sleep and get ready to face tomorrow.
"Good night, Sunshine," he heard Brian barely whisper.
~*~
Sometime during the night Justin started crying in his sleep, Brian wasn't sure what the younger man was dreaming about, but did what he had always done. He pulled him close and told him that everything would be all right, Justin held onto him tightly.
Sometime later Justin had finally quit crying, but kept his hold on Brian, not wanting to be left alone. Brian just moved his hands in a circular motion on Justin's back, hoping to calm him some.
Both men fell asleep some time later, still holding onto each other.
~*~
"So, you going to talk about it, or do I need to get you drunk?" Brian asked the next afternoon, having spent the morning at work, he wanted to know what happened to the younger man.
"After I'd left with Ethan, our relationship started to fall apart. About the time that I called you, I started seeing a new guy, Julian. He seemed like a great guy, the kind Debbie would have liked for me. He was possessive. And at first I thought it was from a bad relationship in the past, someone leaving him or something," Justin paused and took a deep breath before looking out the windows, "I guess we we're together for a few weeks before he started hitting me…he'd apologize, and I'd take him back."
Brian pulled Justin into a hug, just trying to calm him, not saying anything though. He pulled him towards the couch, and had him sit between his legs in a position that was too familiar to the couple.
"I don't know why I kept taking him back. At first it was because I thought he was truly sorry. I finally got over that, but he'd threaten me if I tried to leave him. I finally couldn't handle it. After he fell asleep I started getting my stuff that I had at his apartment together, taking it to my car. I was about to leave when he woke up…we started fighting in the hallway, and only thing that kept him from hurting me worse was the guy in the apartment next to us. He walked out when Julian got in one of his harder hits, and pulled him off of me. I ran after that," Justin's hands shook slightly before being grabbed by the bigger, tanned ones that were Brian's, "Now I'm here."
Brian squeezed Justin, "You can stay here as long as you need. Though, you might have to tell everyone who you are, cause Gus is coming over later this week. He's on spring break, wants to spend some time over here, something about his moms not letting him see his boyfriend. He thinks I'll let him get away with it."
Justin was amazed by the amused look on Brian's face, "So he ended up being gay?"
"No," Brian confessed, looking unhappy, "He's bi, I think it's just because he can't figure out which one he likes more."
Justin laughed, "I figured he'd be straight."
"Don't insult him like that, at least he inherited some taste from his old man."
"Did you just call yourself old?" Justin questioned, turning to feel Brian's head, as if checking for temperature.
"I have no idea what you are talking about," Brian pouted, moving away from Justin, towards the phone where it sat on the island, "You hungry? We can order in, or go out. It's up to you."
"Let's go out, I feel like surprising a few people," Justin said, standing up and walking towards the guest room where his bags were, "Where we going?"
"Where do you want to? The diner would be the best to scare a few people, cause everyone there pretty much knows you," Brian called to him, from his own room.
"Sure," Justin called back, changing into a pair of jeans and a tee shirt.
"Nice to know you have gotten some fashion tips," Brian said sarcastically from where he stood leaning on the doorframe.
Justin flipped him off, laughing, "Bite me. I just like being comfortable," he replied slipping on a pair of thong shoes.
"No, you like to attract attention to the fact that you still can't wear something that matches in the very least."
"The shirt is black, it matches the shoes and these are jeans! It all matches," Justin replied, taking a few seconds to look over Brian who had on the tee shirt and jeans also, but the shirt was matched to a pair of black boots that were not doubt designer, he muttered, "Queen."
"You are just jealous," Brian said, walking out of the loft with Justin following, "So to the diner we go."
~*~
"Brian," Debbie said as soon as she saw the older man, "Did someone find you last night? He came in here looking for a favor."
"He found me," Brian said, motioning to the man that was just entering the diner, who walked towards him, muttering something.
"I still can't believe you threw my shoe out the window, Bri." Justin grabbed for a napkin to wipe off his hands, "You will pay for that."
"Yeah, yeah, Sunshine," Brian said pulling Justin over to a booth, "Debbie, can we get something to eat over here."
Debbie was in shock; she hurried to the booth and pulled Justin out of it and into a hug, "Sunshine!"
Brian watched for a few minutes before he said anything, "Debbie, he needs to breath."
"What can I get you boys?" Debbie asked after wiping her face of tears and getting out her order pad.
"The usual for me," Brian said, without even looking at the menu.
"What about you Sunshine?"
"A B.L.T. sandwich with mayonnaises and a Dr. Pepper," Justin replied, after looking at the menu for a few minutes. Debbie walked off to put in the order and Justin put the menu back into its rightful place.
"And what happened to burgers and shakes?" Brian asked with a smile.
"The south. I would have preferred tea, but for some reason, anywhere north of the Mason-Dixon line doesn't carry it," Justin told him, thinking of all the differences between the south.
"Now tell me, why exactly are you wearing a shirt advertising, poorly might I add, a breakfast food?" Brian asked, motioning to the tee shirt Justin had on.
"Grits. Gays Raised In The South. Something I got for Julian, but liked a lot, so I took it," Justin replied automatically, he got asked about the shirt a lot.
As Brian was about to say something the door dinged open, "Bri, where were you last night? We were supposed to play pool at Woody's."
"Mikey, I got busy, had things to attend, people to see," Brian said, motioning to Justin, "You remember Justin."
"Holy fuck!" Michael exclaimed, looking at the other man.
"Hiya Mikey," Justin replied, looking behind him to the other man, Ben. How are you?"
"Good, thanks," Ben replied, looking healthy, to the surprise of Justin.
Justin watched as Brian moved to join him on one side of the booth, allowing Ben and Michael to join them, "So, Justin," Michael's voice interrupted his musings, "What are you doing back?"
"Had to take someone up on something. Needed to take a break and everything," Justin replied not telling a reason, but giving a good enough one that Michael would seem nosey if he asked any more. He tensed a little when Michael opened his mouth to say something, but calmed when the felt Brian's hand brush against his arm under the table, it was soft and he was trying to figure out if it was an accident or intentional.
"How goes the painting? Last I heard you were in the south, Memphis or somewhere?" Ben asked, cutting Michael off.
"Memphis. It was great. The south if different, we went to a lot of places just being tourists. I had never been there, but Julian, he was raised there, so he had all kinds of things to say, and tell me," Justin could easily talk about Julian, just not their relationship.
"Who's Julian?" Michael asked, his voice had a bit of bitterness in it.
"A guy I met. He's a great sculptor," Justin informed him, "We dated for a bit, before you ask."
Brian's hand was now on Justin's lower thigh, squeezing it lightly, supportively, "Mikey, how did that comic thing go?"
Michael's attention was off of Justin quickly when Brian mentioned the comic book convention he had just gotten back from with Ben. He was talking about a rare comic he found when Debbie came with the food, "You guys should eat more than this, wouldn't want you to die of exhaustion."
Justin felt as if it was surreal. Being back in the Pitts in the diner, all they needed were Ted and Emmett and everything would be exactly like it was.
"Brian, who is your friend?" came he high-pitched voice from the front of the diner.
"Thank you, Em, I feel so loved," Justin stated before Brian had a chance to talk.
"Taylor? How do you know Brian?"
"It's me, Justin," Justin barely had time to think before Emmett was hugging him.
"I'm going to kill you, Sunshine," Emmett told him, finally letting him go, "I knew I knew you last night. I just couldn't figure out who you were."
"Where's Ted?" Justin asked, looking for the other man
"Business trip," Emmett answered, before going back to the subject at hand, "Now what are you doing back? Tell me everything, including why you are wearing a Grits shirt."
Justin told Emmett what he had told Michael with a little more detail. Brian's had stayed where it was on his thigh through the entire meal, until Justin placed his hand under the table and their fingers automatically interlaced.
~*~
"Everything's the same," Justin said, later the day as he sat at Brian's computer, checking his email.
"Yeah. Except the fact that some of the queens are older, excluding me," Brian replied from the couch.
"Yeah, you always wanted to be Peter Pan. Lindsey told me as much."
"But the difference is, now I need a new Wendy, Linds is getting far too old," Brian replied as the phone rang, "Hey sonny boy. Yeah. If you want to. I know. Same to ya."
Justin went back to his emails waiting for Brian to get off the phone, not wanting to be nosey. When he finally heard the 'bye's and the sound of Brian dropping the phone he asked, "So when's Gus coming over?"
"An hour or so," Brian replied moving to the computer area, "So, anything interesting?"
"Not really. A few from my agent and one or two from Julian, apologizing," Justin's voice was void of feeling.
"You talked about him easily at the diner…"
"It's not that hard, he's really a great guy. Just has problems in the relationship area. I loved his art long before I met him. He was great, everything I always thought I wanted. But after a while, I saw what he really was. I cared for him, a lot, but I couldn't give him what he wanted from me, my heart, and it made him really angry. Which brings me to where I am now."
"He doesn't deserve you," Brian stated, confidently.
"Did you?" Justin whispered, it almost went unheard.
"You know the answer. I know you well enough, Justin, to know that there's something you were looking for when you came back here. And I want to know what it was, so that I can work on getting on with my life," Brian said it without looking at Justin.
"I don't want just the words anymore. They've been said too many times by people who didn't truly mean them."
"That's good, because I still can't give them to you. I won't promise you anything, except to try. It's a take it or leave it deal, and it's more than I've ever offered anyone," Brian finally turned towards Justin, "All you have to do is make the decision."
~*~
The car came to an abrupt halt, and Justin hurried out quickly. He entered the Big Q, looking for the arts and crafts section, looking for a worker as he went.
Finding one he asked him, "What's the biggest canvas you've got?"
"Um, I'm not sure," the much younger boy stated, leading Justin to where there were canvases lining the shelves, "I'm pretty sure this is all we have."
Justin laughed at the irony of it all before grabbing five of the biggest, best-brand packages he could find and attempting to get to the front of the store without causing any objects to fall from shelves. His phone rang and he laughed again.
"Damn it," he muttered, smiling, "He's doing it in spite of me." He grabbed the phone out of his pocket after he sat down the canvases, "Yeah?"
"Oreos, milk, and coffee," came the voice on the end of the line.
"Oh, planning on pigging out?" Justin smiled.
"Not for me and you know it. Was just reminding you, cause I know that you are going to forget them."
"No, never. I have them right here," Justin lied, just looking at his items sitting on the floor.
"Sure. See you when you get home," the other person ended the call before Justin could reply.
Justin left the packages there, quickly moving to get the other items, before moving to check out again. He smiled at the cashier, a lady who looked to be in her late fifties, and his grin got bigger as she blushed and turned away.
~*~
"Justin?"
"Yeah Gus?" Justin replied; as he paused in the painting he was working on to take a drink of his coffee and stealing one of the cookies on the boy's plate.
"You're staying around this time, right?" Gus asked, pulling the plate out of Justin's reach.
"For as long as Bri will have me. Why are you so worried?"
"Just wondering. I can't help that I'm curious about my dad's relationship."
"Speaking of relationships, how is your boyfriend?"
Gus blushed a bit, "He's okay, but I think he wants to date this girl that has been interested in him forever, and I think I'm going to let him."
"Oh, and who will you be dating during this time?" Justin wanted to know who Gus had been staring at when he picked him and his boyfriend up from school a few weeks ago.
"He's the jr. high football captain. He was at my birthday party last week, I think I have a picture of him in my bag, from when I was taking pictures for the school paper," Gus was rambling, Justin expected it.
"Does your dad know?" Justin asked, remembering the kid.
"Why would it matter?" Gus replied, looking up from where he was digging through his messenger bag.
"He knew the elder Hobbes, Topher's dad, and there's some bad blood between the two," Justin replied off-handedly as he started painting again.
"Topher's parents split, he's living with his mom," Gus replied, pulling a folder out.
"I can't imagine why," Justin whispered to himself, louder to Gus he said, "So let me see them."
Gus held the photos out to show Justin, waiting for the praise that he hoped would follow, "The edge's are blurry, just a bit, did you want it like that?"
"I didn't want it to be like that, but it ended up like that. The editor said that they'd just cut that part out."
"Oh, okay, they are great, I like the black and white ones," Justin said, pointing with the end of a paintbrush, "Shows the emotion better."
"I've got hundreds of black and white ones of dad I should show you."
Justin smiled, knowing that the photos where how Gus figured out his father, "I'd love it Gus."
~*~
Justin didn't like going to Lindsey and Mel's house, cause he could see the accusations in their eyes, they were still angry with him because he left. He left them and Gus and Brian, and that was something that he was sure that they weren't ready to forgive him for. As he rang their doorbell he wished he could be anywhere but there.
"Justin," Mel's voice was the same, the lawyer voice that he heard many times.
"I'm just here to get Gus, we've got plans to go-"
"I know, let me get him," Mel didn't invite him in.
Justin could hear talking through the door, and the sound of Gus stomping down the stairs, no doubt almost tripping over his feet cause he wasn't watching where he was going, Justin knew from experience.
The boy in question appeared in front of him pulling a bag over his head and keeping a vice grip on his camera, "Let's go," Gus told him, hurrying off the porch and towards Justin's car.
"Things with the moms that bad?"
"You have no idea. They are so angry that I'm interested in Topher. They've been telling me that he's nothing but bad news. He's the class representative and he's a great guy," Gus said, angrily. He put his bag and camera in the back seat.
"No one told you what happened during my prom did they?"
"What? No, why?"
"Topher's dad hit me in the head with a baseball bat. Your dad was with me, he went to my prom. But Chris, that's Topher's dad, got off with nothing. I think that all they are doing is worrying that Topher is just like his dad, or that you are going to turn out like your father if you don't stay with a guy for longer than you have. They live in a lesbian world, it's different than the fag one that we live in."
"I'm bi though," Gus protested weakly.
"Yeah, but they over-look that. They just don't want you to end up like Bri," as Justin said this his phone rang, he looked at the caller I.D., "Speak of the devil."
Gus tried to block out what Justin was saying to his father and was shocked when the car jerked to a stop, "You're kidding me." It was said in a whisper. Gus watched Justin shut off the phone. "Damn!" he started driving again, speeding to the loft.
"Justin?" Gus questioned.
"Someone's waiting to see me."
Gus didn't ask any more questions.
~*~
There was a familiar car outside of the loft when Justin pulled up a few minutes later. He grabbed his phone and pulled the keys out of the ignition after shutting the car off. He turned to Gus, "I'll check out you photos after I get rid of my guest okay?"
Gus just nodded, and grabbed his bag and camera before getting out of the car. He walked to the front of the car and stood there.
Justin took a deep breath, preparing himself for what was to come before looking to see Gus waiting for him. He hurriedly got out of the car and joined the boy before going and punching in the security code and heading to the elevator.
During the ride to the loft Justin could feel Gus's unasked question, he wasn't sure if he wanted to answer it. His chance was taking away when the elevator stopped and Brian jerked it open.
The older man grabbed Justin by the front of his shirt and pulled him into a lip-bruising kiss. Finally stopping but keeping their foreheads together he murmured, "I'll kill him for you later," before pulling away and taking a good look at his son, "So let's go talk about Topher Hobbes."
Justin wasn't sure who'd he'd rather face, his guest or Brian. He took a deep breath before following the two into the loft. He saw his guest sitting on the couch, looking very out of place, "Justin."
As the dark brown eyes of the man in front of him looked him over, Justin sat his phone down on the counter, along with his keys, "Julian."
"I've tried to call you a few times these past two months. You didn't return my calls," the black man said as he stood in front of Justin.
"You beat the shit out of me. I think that's grounds for not returning your calls," Justin retorted.
"I know I messed up, but you should have let me explain."
"More like tell me some well rehearsed lie. I don't want that life Julian. You know that I don't want anything like that ever."
"I'd pick physical abuse over emotional," came the harsh reply of Julian.
"You did both. You gave me pain, soothed it with pretty words, and then did it again. You hurt me worse than I thought possible."
"What about now? You're with the man you said would never love, at least I could do that."
"Brian has nothing to do with us. He may be the man who everyone always thought can't love, but sometimes the truth shows through in the most crucial moment. And it did with Brian, when I had no one else to turn to, I knew I could turn to him," Justin replied. He knew that Julian would throw the things that he had said about Brian back at him, and use it to get him back.
"He's just a rebound," Julian countered.
"No. You were a rebound. Ethan was a rebound. You may have be what I wanted once upon a time, but not anymore."
"He'll never say the words."
"Never is a long time, but it's a length of time I'm prepared to wait."
"Don't underestimate me Justin. I know who you were and I know who you've become. I know more about you than this guy could ever wish to know. I know-"
"That's not what matters. What matters is that he's what I want, and for once I'm not trying to make someone else happy, I'm trying to make myself happy. You're fighting a losing battle. My hearts always been Brian's and always will be. No matter what happens," as Justin said this, his cell phone rang. He grabbed it and answered, "Hello. Oh hey. Yeah I know. Something came up. Someone actually. I'll tell you later when I bring the pictures over. Bye."
"I went to therapy for it. I went to all the right programs and everything," Julian said, quietly, hoping to get Justin back.
"Maybe it will help you in your next relationship, but it won't help you with what we HAD. I can't be with you anymore," Justin told him, moving to open the door, "Email me sometime after you've gotten over it, we'll talk. Maybe get together and go and find the best B.L.T. in town."
"Maybe," and Julian was gone just as quickly as he came. Justin lowered himself to the floor and just sat there until Brian came and got him.
"How'd it go?" Brian asked.
Justin smiled at him, "You were listening, don't act like you weren't. You and Gus both had your ears plastered to that door."
"I have better things to do than worry about your melodramas."
"Such as question your son about his new crush?" Justin raised an eyebrow.
"He's a Hobbes."
"Not all sons are like their fathers. Look at me and you. And I look at it as a form of pay back for all him homophobic actions."
"Want to order Thai or go out to eat?"
"Let's take Gus out to eat, just not the diner."
"Of course, we don't need any loud, flaming red-heads smacking her gum in our ears while we talk," Brian replied, moving towards his room.
"I was thinking to celebrate my new show, but that's a good excuse also," Justin replied off-handedly, walking to tell Gus that they were going out to eat.
"Congratulations." And like Julian said, Brian would never say the words, but sometimes when he said other things, they translated into those words.
I don't own Queer as Folk. I don't have any money and I'm not making money off this story. So don't sue, I only have seven dollars and I need that for the movie tomorrow.
This story is un-beta'd. It's great. I mean the un-beta'd part. Don't complain about spelling unless you want to beta for me.
One shot, there will be no more after this. I have a time-line to explain how long Justin was gone and what he was doing during that time somewhere. If you want it email me, or leave a review.
If you want to archive it, email me at umblgumber@hotmail.com
Later-Ashley
~*~
As Justin Taylor walked into the Liberty Diner, he saw a lady behind the counter. He walked up to her, "I'm looking for Brian Kinney, do you know where I could find him?
"Probably at Woody's or Babylon, any reason why?" Justin knew the lady but he could tell that she didn't recognize him.
"No, just a friend looking for a favor."
"He hasn't given 'favors' for years. And don't you go and mess him up," she said over protectively.
"I don't want that kind of favor," Justin said as he walked out of the diner.
~*~
For once when Justin walked into Woody's no one was looking at a person standing next to him, but were staring straight at him. Where the lady at the diner didn't care to notice him, people here did. It might not have been for who he was, but for how he looked.
He saw the familiar hair and knew that he had found Brian. He walked to where the man was sitting and tapped him on the shoulder lightly, "Hey," he said softly.
Brian turned in his chair ready to tell the guy off when he noticed who is was, "Justin?" he asked disbelievingly.
"Hi Bri," Justin said, sitting down in the chair next to Brian's, and ordering a drink, "How have you been the past few years?"
"I've been good, but what about you? What are you doing back in The Pitts?" Brian asked, looking suspiciously at the bruise peeking out from under Justin's tee-shirt sleeve and also at the one that he had seen on Justin's side as he sat down.
"I came back to take a friend up on a favor that he told me to take a few years ago…" Justin's voice trailed off, and Brian knew exactly what he was talking about.
The last time that Brian had talked to Justin had been when he told him that if he ever needed into to give him a call. Brian didn't think he would ever hear from him, but he must have been wrong.
"Do you want to go and see what I've done to the loft?"
"Sure," Justin wasn't one to talk about things in public.
Brian and Justin finished their drinks "Meet you at the loft?" Justin asked.
"Yeah, see you there," Brian reached out and gave Justin's hand a light squeeze before walking towards his Jeep.
Justin watched the retreating form of Brian before turning towards the direction of his own car, and bumping into someone.
"I'm sorry sweetie, wasn't watching where I was going," came the familiar voice.
"Oh, it's fine. It was my fault also," Justin didn't lift his head to look the person in the eyes.
"Don't I know you from somewhere?" the guy asked.
"You've probably seen me at Babylon before. I danced on the bar there for some time," it wasn't a lie.
"You're probably right. It was nice meeting you. I'm Emmett by the way," the guy stuck out his hand and Justin had no choice but to shake it.
"I'm Taylor, I've got to go. Maybe I'll see you around sometime," Justin didn't give him a chance to reply as he walked off and got into his car.
~*~
Justin made it to Brian's loft, no matter how long he had been gone, he always remembered the way. He parked his car next to the Jeep, before walking to the door and ringing the buzzer.
"Justin?"
"Yeah, hurry up, I don't want to run into anyone else," the door's lock was released and Justin hurried to get through and into the elevator.
Brian was waiting at his door when Justin got to the top floor, "So, let me give you a grand tour before we get to the reason that you are here."
Justin walked into the loft and waited for Brian to close the door behind him before commenting on the works of art that were covering the once bare walls, "Shit Bri, these are some of the more expensive ones. If you wanted some, you should have emailed me, I would have painted you some free of charge."
"We all need to make a living Justin, it just so much happens that these really match my décor. And the one that you did that was of the pride flag, but you couldn't really tell what it was? That one is hanging up in the diner," Brian officially owned around seventeen of Justin's paintings.
"Wow, I still can't believe that you put them up in the loft," Justin said, amazed.
"Well I could tell that the loft was where they belonged. You must have been thinking of the loft as you painted them," Brian said before walking to the refrigerator, "Can I get you something to drink?"
"Water would be good," Justin said as he walked to the couch and sat down.
"So, lets just get right to it. What are you doing here?"
"I told you already, taking a friend up on his offer of a favor."
"I mean it J, what happened that made you need to take me up on that offer?" Brian pushed just a little; knowing that sometimes that's all that he needed to do to get Justin's to spill it.
"Wednesday was spent recovering somewhat from two broken ribs. Thursday was spent fighting with a nurse to keep her from giving me Tylenol. Friday was spent filling out final papers, getting myself out of the hospital. Saturday and Sunday were spent in and out of airports and on about five different planes. And today was spent driving here and looking for you," Justin said, as though it would answer Brian's question.
"Why were you in the hospital?"
"Domestic Violence," Justin said bitterly.
"How long?" Brian was beyond pissed, and if he had known what was going on, he would have gone and killed the fucker that was doing this to Justin.
"About four months…" Justin's voice trailed off.
Brian didn't know what to say. All he knew was that Justin wasn't going back to the bastard that had been doing this, "I don't have clean sheets on the spare bed in the room that I had put in a few years back, but I can have Maria do it tomorrow while I'm at work, so you'll have to sleep in my bed tonight. You really don't want to sleep on this couch, it's not as comfortable as it use to be."
"Do you mind if I shower first?"
"Be my guest." Brian said, motioning to the bathroom that he was sure Justin knew where it was.
Justin had missed Brian's shower. It was just something about it that he could never find anywhere else, not even in the mass amount of hotel and motel rooms that he had stayed in. And he was happy to be in it again. As he was washing, he heard the phone ring in the background.
Pulling a towel out from under the sink and wrapping it around his waist Justin walked into Brian's bedroom and grabbed his bag of clothes before walking back into the bathroom. He pulled a pair of pajama pants out, along with a white tee shirt and put them on before walking back into the bedroom.
"Yeah, tell Gus that I said 'hi' and that I'll be over to get him sometime later on this week," there was a pause, "Hey sonny boy, what are you doing?"
Justin's heart broke when he thought of the little boy that he left behind so many years ago, his thoughts about the dark haired little boy were broken into by Brian, "You want me to order some Thai or something?"
"Do you mind if I just sleep for now? Can we talk about everything tomorrow?" Justin could hear the small hint of desperation in his own voice and hoped that Brian hadn't noticed it.
"Sure, I'm going to go take a shower also. Just make yourself comfortable," Brian walked to the bathroom, and shut the door lightly behind him, leaving Justin alone in the loft for the first time in years. He sat on the bed, on the side that he had always slept on, figuring that Brian wouldn't care.
As soon as his head hit the pillow his eyes started to droop, but he could hear Brian in the background moving around, turning out the lights after getting out of the shower.
"Justin, you still awake?"
Justin just closed his eyes, not wanting to talk, just wanting to sleep and get ready to face tomorrow.
"Good night, Sunshine," he heard Brian barely whisper.
~*~
Sometime during the night Justin started crying in his sleep, Brian wasn't sure what the younger man was dreaming about, but did what he had always done. He pulled him close and told him that everything would be all right, Justin held onto him tightly.
Sometime later Justin had finally quit crying, but kept his hold on Brian, not wanting to be left alone. Brian just moved his hands in a circular motion on Justin's back, hoping to calm him some.
Both men fell asleep some time later, still holding onto each other.
~*~
"So, you going to talk about it, or do I need to get you drunk?" Brian asked the next afternoon, having spent the morning at work, he wanted to know what happened to the younger man.
"After I'd left with Ethan, our relationship started to fall apart. About the time that I called you, I started seeing a new guy, Julian. He seemed like a great guy, the kind Debbie would have liked for me. He was possessive. And at first I thought it was from a bad relationship in the past, someone leaving him or something," Justin paused and took a deep breath before looking out the windows, "I guess we we're together for a few weeks before he started hitting me…he'd apologize, and I'd take him back."
Brian pulled Justin into a hug, just trying to calm him, not saying anything though. He pulled him towards the couch, and had him sit between his legs in a position that was too familiar to the couple.
"I don't know why I kept taking him back. At first it was because I thought he was truly sorry. I finally got over that, but he'd threaten me if I tried to leave him. I finally couldn't handle it. After he fell asleep I started getting my stuff that I had at his apartment together, taking it to my car. I was about to leave when he woke up…we started fighting in the hallway, and only thing that kept him from hurting me worse was the guy in the apartment next to us. He walked out when Julian got in one of his harder hits, and pulled him off of me. I ran after that," Justin's hands shook slightly before being grabbed by the bigger, tanned ones that were Brian's, "Now I'm here."
Brian squeezed Justin, "You can stay here as long as you need. Though, you might have to tell everyone who you are, cause Gus is coming over later this week. He's on spring break, wants to spend some time over here, something about his moms not letting him see his boyfriend. He thinks I'll let him get away with it."
Justin was amazed by the amused look on Brian's face, "So he ended up being gay?"
"No," Brian confessed, looking unhappy, "He's bi, I think it's just because he can't figure out which one he likes more."
Justin laughed, "I figured he'd be straight."
"Don't insult him like that, at least he inherited some taste from his old man."
"Did you just call yourself old?" Justin questioned, turning to feel Brian's head, as if checking for temperature.
"I have no idea what you are talking about," Brian pouted, moving away from Justin, towards the phone where it sat on the island, "You hungry? We can order in, or go out. It's up to you."
"Let's go out, I feel like surprising a few people," Justin said, standing up and walking towards the guest room where his bags were, "Where we going?"
"Where do you want to? The diner would be the best to scare a few people, cause everyone there pretty much knows you," Brian called to him, from his own room.
"Sure," Justin called back, changing into a pair of jeans and a tee shirt.
"Nice to know you have gotten some fashion tips," Brian said sarcastically from where he stood leaning on the doorframe.
Justin flipped him off, laughing, "Bite me. I just like being comfortable," he replied slipping on a pair of thong shoes.
"No, you like to attract attention to the fact that you still can't wear something that matches in the very least."
"The shirt is black, it matches the shoes and these are jeans! It all matches," Justin replied, taking a few seconds to look over Brian who had on the tee shirt and jeans also, but the shirt was matched to a pair of black boots that were not doubt designer, he muttered, "Queen."
"You are just jealous," Brian said, walking out of the loft with Justin following, "So to the diner we go."
~*~
"Brian," Debbie said as soon as she saw the older man, "Did someone find you last night? He came in here looking for a favor."
"He found me," Brian said, motioning to the man that was just entering the diner, who walked towards him, muttering something.
"I still can't believe you threw my shoe out the window, Bri." Justin grabbed for a napkin to wipe off his hands, "You will pay for that."
"Yeah, yeah, Sunshine," Brian said pulling Justin over to a booth, "Debbie, can we get something to eat over here."
Debbie was in shock; she hurried to the booth and pulled Justin out of it and into a hug, "Sunshine!"
Brian watched for a few minutes before he said anything, "Debbie, he needs to breath."
"What can I get you boys?" Debbie asked after wiping her face of tears and getting out her order pad.
"The usual for me," Brian said, without even looking at the menu.
"What about you Sunshine?"
"A B.L.T. sandwich with mayonnaises and a Dr. Pepper," Justin replied, after looking at the menu for a few minutes. Debbie walked off to put in the order and Justin put the menu back into its rightful place.
"And what happened to burgers and shakes?" Brian asked with a smile.
"The south. I would have preferred tea, but for some reason, anywhere north of the Mason-Dixon line doesn't carry it," Justin told him, thinking of all the differences between the south.
"Now tell me, why exactly are you wearing a shirt advertising, poorly might I add, a breakfast food?" Brian asked, motioning to the tee shirt Justin had on.
"Grits. Gays Raised In The South. Something I got for Julian, but liked a lot, so I took it," Justin replied automatically, he got asked about the shirt a lot.
As Brian was about to say something the door dinged open, "Bri, where were you last night? We were supposed to play pool at Woody's."
"Mikey, I got busy, had things to attend, people to see," Brian said, motioning to Justin, "You remember Justin."
"Holy fuck!" Michael exclaimed, looking at the other man.
"Hiya Mikey," Justin replied, looking behind him to the other man, Ben. How are you?"
"Good, thanks," Ben replied, looking healthy, to the surprise of Justin.
Justin watched as Brian moved to join him on one side of the booth, allowing Ben and Michael to join them, "So, Justin," Michael's voice interrupted his musings, "What are you doing back?"
"Had to take someone up on something. Needed to take a break and everything," Justin replied not telling a reason, but giving a good enough one that Michael would seem nosey if he asked any more. He tensed a little when Michael opened his mouth to say something, but calmed when the felt Brian's hand brush against his arm under the table, it was soft and he was trying to figure out if it was an accident or intentional.
"How goes the painting? Last I heard you were in the south, Memphis or somewhere?" Ben asked, cutting Michael off.
"Memphis. It was great. The south if different, we went to a lot of places just being tourists. I had never been there, but Julian, he was raised there, so he had all kinds of things to say, and tell me," Justin could easily talk about Julian, just not their relationship.
"Who's Julian?" Michael asked, his voice had a bit of bitterness in it.
"A guy I met. He's a great sculptor," Justin informed him, "We dated for a bit, before you ask."
Brian's hand was now on Justin's lower thigh, squeezing it lightly, supportively, "Mikey, how did that comic thing go?"
Michael's attention was off of Justin quickly when Brian mentioned the comic book convention he had just gotten back from with Ben. He was talking about a rare comic he found when Debbie came with the food, "You guys should eat more than this, wouldn't want you to die of exhaustion."
Justin felt as if it was surreal. Being back in the Pitts in the diner, all they needed were Ted and Emmett and everything would be exactly like it was.
"Brian, who is your friend?" came he high-pitched voice from the front of the diner.
"Thank you, Em, I feel so loved," Justin stated before Brian had a chance to talk.
"Taylor? How do you know Brian?"
"It's me, Justin," Justin barely had time to think before Emmett was hugging him.
"I'm going to kill you, Sunshine," Emmett told him, finally letting him go, "I knew I knew you last night. I just couldn't figure out who you were."
"Where's Ted?" Justin asked, looking for the other man
"Business trip," Emmett answered, before going back to the subject at hand, "Now what are you doing back? Tell me everything, including why you are wearing a Grits shirt."
Justin told Emmett what he had told Michael with a little more detail. Brian's had stayed where it was on his thigh through the entire meal, until Justin placed his hand under the table and their fingers automatically interlaced.
~*~
"Everything's the same," Justin said, later the day as he sat at Brian's computer, checking his email.
"Yeah. Except the fact that some of the queens are older, excluding me," Brian replied from the couch.
"Yeah, you always wanted to be Peter Pan. Lindsey told me as much."
"But the difference is, now I need a new Wendy, Linds is getting far too old," Brian replied as the phone rang, "Hey sonny boy. Yeah. If you want to. I know. Same to ya."
Justin went back to his emails waiting for Brian to get off the phone, not wanting to be nosey. When he finally heard the 'bye's and the sound of Brian dropping the phone he asked, "So when's Gus coming over?"
"An hour or so," Brian replied moving to the computer area, "So, anything interesting?"
"Not really. A few from my agent and one or two from Julian, apologizing," Justin's voice was void of feeling.
"You talked about him easily at the diner…"
"It's not that hard, he's really a great guy. Just has problems in the relationship area. I loved his art long before I met him. He was great, everything I always thought I wanted. But after a while, I saw what he really was. I cared for him, a lot, but I couldn't give him what he wanted from me, my heart, and it made him really angry. Which brings me to where I am now."
"He doesn't deserve you," Brian stated, confidently.
"Did you?" Justin whispered, it almost went unheard.
"You know the answer. I know you well enough, Justin, to know that there's something you were looking for when you came back here. And I want to know what it was, so that I can work on getting on with my life," Brian said it without looking at Justin.
"I don't want just the words anymore. They've been said too many times by people who didn't truly mean them."
"That's good, because I still can't give them to you. I won't promise you anything, except to try. It's a take it or leave it deal, and it's more than I've ever offered anyone," Brian finally turned towards Justin, "All you have to do is make the decision."
~*~
The car came to an abrupt halt, and Justin hurried out quickly. He entered the Big Q, looking for the arts and crafts section, looking for a worker as he went.
Finding one he asked him, "What's the biggest canvas you've got?"
"Um, I'm not sure," the much younger boy stated, leading Justin to where there were canvases lining the shelves, "I'm pretty sure this is all we have."
Justin laughed at the irony of it all before grabbing five of the biggest, best-brand packages he could find and attempting to get to the front of the store without causing any objects to fall from shelves. His phone rang and he laughed again.
"Damn it," he muttered, smiling, "He's doing it in spite of me." He grabbed the phone out of his pocket after he sat down the canvases, "Yeah?"
"Oreos, milk, and coffee," came the voice on the end of the line.
"Oh, planning on pigging out?" Justin smiled.
"Not for me and you know it. Was just reminding you, cause I know that you are going to forget them."
"No, never. I have them right here," Justin lied, just looking at his items sitting on the floor.
"Sure. See you when you get home," the other person ended the call before Justin could reply.
Justin left the packages there, quickly moving to get the other items, before moving to check out again. He smiled at the cashier, a lady who looked to be in her late fifties, and his grin got bigger as she blushed and turned away.
~*~
"Justin?"
"Yeah Gus?" Justin replied; as he paused in the painting he was working on to take a drink of his coffee and stealing one of the cookies on the boy's plate.
"You're staying around this time, right?" Gus asked, pulling the plate out of Justin's reach.
"For as long as Bri will have me. Why are you so worried?"
"Just wondering. I can't help that I'm curious about my dad's relationship."
"Speaking of relationships, how is your boyfriend?"
Gus blushed a bit, "He's okay, but I think he wants to date this girl that has been interested in him forever, and I think I'm going to let him."
"Oh, and who will you be dating during this time?" Justin wanted to know who Gus had been staring at when he picked him and his boyfriend up from school a few weeks ago.
"He's the jr. high football captain. He was at my birthday party last week, I think I have a picture of him in my bag, from when I was taking pictures for the school paper," Gus was rambling, Justin expected it.
"Does your dad know?" Justin asked, remembering the kid.
"Why would it matter?" Gus replied, looking up from where he was digging through his messenger bag.
"He knew the elder Hobbes, Topher's dad, and there's some bad blood between the two," Justin replied off-handedly as he started painting again.
"Topher's parents split, he's living with his mom," Gus replied, pulling a folder out.
"I can't imagine why," Justin whispered to himself, louder to Gus he said, "So let me see them."
Gus held the photos out to show Justin, waiting for the praise that he hoped would follow, "The edge's are blurry, just a bit, did you want it like that?"
"I didn't want it to be like that, but it ended up like that. The editor said that they'd just cut that part out."
"Oh, okay, they are great, I like the black and white ones," Justin said, pointing with the end of a paintbrush, "Shows the emotion better."
"I've got hundreds of black and white ones of dad I should show you."
Justin smiled, knowing that the photos where how Gus figured out his father, "I'd love it Gus."
~*~
Justin didn't like going to Lindsey and Mel's house, cause he could see the accusations in their eyes, they were still angry with him because he left. He left them and Gus and Brian, and that was something that he was sure that they weren't ready to forgive him for. As he rang their doorbell he wished he could be anywhere but there.
"Justin," Mel's voice was the same, the lawyer voice that he heard many times.
"I'm just here to get Gus, we've got plans to go-"
"I know, let me get him," Mel didn't invite him in.
Justin could hear talking through the door, and the sound of Gus stomping down the stairs, no doubt almost tripping over his feet cause he wasn't watching where he was going, Justin knew from experience.
The boy in question appeared in front of him pulling a bag over his head and keeping a vice grip on his camera, "Let's go," Gus told him, hurrying off the porch and towards Justin's car.
"Things with the moms that bad?"
"You have no idea. They are so angry that I'm interested in Topher. They've been telling me that he's nothing but bad news. He's the class representative and he's a great guy," Gus said, angrily. He put his bag and camera in the back seat.
"No one told you what happened during my prom did they?"
"What? No, why?"
"Topher's dad hit me in the head with a baseball bat. Your dad was with me, he went to my prom. But Chris, that's Topher's dad, got off with nothing. I think that all they are doing is worrying that Topher is just like his dad, or that you are going to turn out like your father if you don't stay with a guy for longer than you have. They live in a lesbian world, it's different than the fag one that we live in."
"I'm bi though," Gus protested weakly.
"Yeah, but they over-look that. They just don't want you to end up like Bri," as Justin said this his phone rang, he looked at the caller I.D., "Speak of the devil."
Gus tried to block out what Justin was saying to his father and was shocked when the car jerked to a stop, "You're kidding me." It was said in a whisper. Gus watched Justin shut off the phone. "Damn!" he started driving again, speeding to the loft.
"Justin?" Gus questioned.
"Someone's waiting to see me."
Gus didn't ask any more questions.
~*~
There was a familiar car outside of the loft when Justin pulled up a few minutes later. He grabbed his phone and pulled the keys out of the ignition after shutting the car off. He turned to Gus, "I'll check out you photos after I get rid of my guest okay?"
Gus just nodded, and grabbed his bag and camera before getting out of the car. He walked to the front of the car and stood there.
Justin took a deep breath, preparing himself for what was to come before looking to see Gus waiting for him. He hurriedly got out of the car and joined the boy before going and punching in the security code and heading to the elevator.
During the ride to the loft Justin could feel Gus's unasked question, he wasn't sure if he wanted to answer it. His chance was taking away when the elevator stopped and Brian jerked it open.
The older man grabbed Justin by the front of his shirt and pulled him into a lip-bruising kiss. Finally stopping but keeping their foreheads together he murmured, "I'll kill him for you later," before pulling away and taking a good look at his son, "So let's go talk about Topher Hobbes."
Justin wasn't sure who'd he'd rather face, his guest or Brian. He took a deep breath before following the two into the loft. He saw his guest sitting on the couch, looking very out of place, "Justin."
As the dark brown eyes of the man in front of him looked him over, Justin sat his phone down on the counter, along with his keys, "Julian."
"I've tried to call you a few times these past two months. You didn't return my calls," the black man said as he stood in front of Justin.
"You beat the shit out of me. I think that's grounds for not returning your calls," Justin retorted.
"I know I messed up, but you should have let me explain."
"More like tell me some well rehearsed lie. I don't want that life Julian. You know that I don't want anything like that ever."
"I'd pick physical abuse over emotional," came the harsh reply of Julian.
"You did both. You gave me pain, soothed it with pretty words, and then did it again. You hurt me worse than I thought possible."
"What about now? You're with the man you said would never love, at least I could do that."
"Brian has nothing to do with us. He may be the man who everyone always thought can't love, but sometimes the truth shows through in the most crucial moment. And it did with Brian, when I had no one else to turn to, I knew I could turn to him," Justin replied. He knew that Julian would throw the things that he had said about Brian back at him, and use it to get him back.
"He's just a rebound," Julian countered.
"No. You were a rebound. Ethan was a rebound. You may have be what I wanted once upon a time, but not anymore."
"He'll never say the words."
"Never is a long time, but it's a length of time I'm prepared to wait."
"Don't underestimate me Justin. I know who you were and I know who you've become. I know more about you than this guy could ever wish to know. I know-"
"That's not what matters. What matters is that he's what I want, and for once I'm not trying to make someone else happy, I'm trying to make myself happy. You're fighting a losing battle. My hearts always been Brian's and always will be. No matter what happens," as Justin said this, his cell phone rang. He grabbed it and answered, "Hello. Oh hey. Yeah I know. Something came up. Someone actually. I'll tell you later when I bring the pictures over. Bye."
"I went to therapy for it. I went to all the right programs and everything," Julian said, quietly, hoping to get Justin back.
"Maybe it will help you in your next relationship, but it won't help you with what we HAD. I can't be with you anymore," Justin told him, moving to open the door, "Email me sometime after you've gotten over it, we'll talk. Maybe get together and go and find the best B.L.T. in town."
"Maybe," and Julian was gone just as quickly as he came. Justin lowered himself to the floor and just sat there until Brian came and got him.
"How'd it go?" Brian asked.
Justin smiled at him, "You were listening, don't act like you weren't. You and Gus both had your ears plastered to that door."
"I have better things to do than worry about your melodramas."
"Such as question your son about his new crush?" Justin raised an eyebrow.
"He's a Hobbes."
"Not all sons are like their fathers. Look at me and you. And I look at it as a form of pay back for all him homophobic actions."
"Want to order Thai or go out to eat?"
"Let's take Gus out to eat, just not the diner."
"Of course, we don't need any loud, flaming red-heads smacking her gum in our ears while we talk," Brian replied, moving towards his room.
"I was thinking to celebrate my new show, but that's a good excuse also," Justin replied off-handedly, walking to tell Gus that they were going out to eat.
"Congratulations." And like Julian said, Brian would never say the words, but sometimes when he said other things, they translated into those words.