A/N: Happy New Year to all our readers! We hope that you had a fabulous holiday season.

It's been a while since we updated this story, and so we present a mammoth chapter for your reading pleasure. Enjoy! :)

Justin's POV

He heard the door opening. Ethan made his way into the house, getting out of his coat and leaving the violin case carefully in its place, he walked over to the kitchen to get a glass of water, without acknowledging Justin's presence.

"Ethan." He called out from his place on the sofa. "How did you do today? Any luck?"

"Not much." Ethan responded, coming closer. "But I guess working on the street cannot possibly be as profitable as working for a big company." Justin noticed his subtly scathing tone and the hurt in his eyes.

"It can be much more pleasant though." He replied, choosing not to comment on how late it was or on the fact that Ethan had not come by the diner so that they could walk back to the apartment together. "Come here."

Ethan sat next to him, and Justin kissed him lightly on the lips. "One day, all your work will be rewarded. You'll see."

The love that had once united them was there no more - he couldn't not admit that. In its place it had left merely a bond that was just loyalty; the mutual understanding that they had chosen to be there for each other, regardless of all the fights and arguments.

Ethan was not perfect- but who was? Certainly not Justin himself, and even less so was Brian Kinney, however perfect he might appear to be to the untrained eye. Justin was no fool; he'd kept his ears and his eyes open. He knew Brian was unattainable and untamed like the wind. If Justin gave in, what would happen then? Brian would be bored with him in…weeks, days…possibly even hours?

And even though he knew that there was more passion in that moment he had kissed Brian than he could ever feel kissing Ethan - probably more passion than he had ever felt with Ethan - Justin was grateful to have the comfort of someone that wanted to be with him and only him; someone he could trust, that would come home at the end of the day and with no need for explanation would still lean into him to watch a boring movie on the old television set, putting aside whatever differences had emerged between them at the course of the day.

So he dug himself deeper into Ethan's arms and tried not to think of Brian Kinney at all. He wouldn't betray that trust, no matter how just a single look by those hazel eyes made him feel.

Brian's POV

The woman's voice was so annoying. It trickled through his poor abused ears into his unwilling brain and made him want to use the pen that was twirling between his fingers to commit suicide. She had that self-assured air about her that only the totally worthless but equally oblivious ever acquired.

Brian stole a glance at his watch. The meeting would be over soon. The presentation had gone a lot better than expected, considering he had little to do with it this time. Taylor had delivered, and he had done so beautifully. The client had loved the "improved" campaign, even though the only things that had changed were the coloring and the font. Brian gave her a tight lipped smile. For all her knowledge on art and her supposed exceptional aesthetic taste, she had failed to notice that there was only one big change: the one from blue to orange. Then again, the untrained eye was probably the best critic, since it would be the public that judged the campaign.

Orange. What the hell had Justin been thinking? When he had walked into the office, boards in hand, eyes downcast, having done nothing more than play a bit with his palette, Brian had thought that he just wanted to get fired. That maybe he really was shitting his pants about what had happened, unable to come to terms with kissing Brian and cheating, in a way, on his poor innocent perfect boyfriend, that he had just decided to do a crappy job and get fired.

Well, whether it was sheer luck or pure genius, the client had loved Justin's work- at least till next week when she'd probably come up with yet another reason not to be satisfied. There would be no firing today.

Brian was glad. He was starting to enjoy having Justin around.

He made it a point to let the client know that the intern had contributed greatly to the campaign, just to check Justin's reaction more than anything else. The blonde had been avoiding him all day, had barely looked up at him and had not spoken a word. When Brian had acknowledged his work, he had finally turned his head Brian's way, staring in surprise for only a few seconds. Brian was reminded of the night where Justin had clearly stated he did not want to have anything to do with Brian, and he didn't like the reminder one bit.

As the meeting came to an end, Justin, who had been the one putting up the boards, was the first to bolt through the door. Brian watched him leave from the corner of his eye, as he took his time to button up his coat. He would be leaving Vanguard and he knew that Justin would be too. He could just catch up to him and…no, there was no need to hurry. There was no need to run after an inexperienced kid whom he could have wrapped around his finger in the blink of an eye. Brian finished buttoning the coat and started gathering the paperwork, putting it all in a neat stack. There really was no need and no reason to even bother wondering what Justin's deal was. He shouldn't try to guess what the fuck was going on inside his blonde little head. He could hear the footsteps getting farther and farther away. But there was no reason to worry about that. None at all.

Brian gritted his teeth.

He grabbed his briefcase and completely ignoring Vance, made his way out the door. His long strides enabled him to quickly catch up with Justin, and not look like he was hurrying or anything. Not that he was. As if.

"What's the rush?" He put a hand on the younger man's back, only to have Justin look at him alarmed.

"No rush. Ethan will be here soon so we can walk home, that's all." Brian didn't fail to notice the emphasis on the word home, or the small sideways glances Justin kept throwing around, as if reluctant to be seen even walking along side him.

Brian removed his hand, but kept walking steadily next to the other man. "So what will happen if you're late?"

Justin shrugged and kept on walking.

"You know last night…" he started but he was interrupted before he could finish.

"I don't want to talk about it."

"You left like someone had lit a fire under your ass. Right after we kissed."

Justin looked around once again, wide eyed, checking if anyone had heard. "Last night will not be repeated. Ever. I have a boyfriend and no interest in you whatsoever, so please don't bring it up again. Now, excuse me but I have to go." He looked a bit bewildered at Brian and added quickly "Mr. Kinney."

So the polite approach doesn't work. Change of plans.

"I wonder why he's so worried about you staying alone for five freaking minutes." Brian asked, as if he didn't hear the last part. He pretended to think about it as he pushed open the doors of Vanguard. "Is he very unattractive?"

"No he is not." Justin glared at him.

"Stupid, then? He's got to be stupid. I bet he's a hillbilly with no taste and an IQ lower than Bush."

"Ethan is a very intelligent person with excellent taste. He plays the violin."

"Oooh, he's boring then! Why didn't you say so from the beginning?"

"He is not boring!" Justin came to a halt outside the building, glaring up at Brian, but not daring to yell at him, probably not having forgotten that the man was still his boss. "Just because you consider the ear-splitting, mind-numbing thumpa thumpa, and what I guess are the moans of your numerous tricks to be music, that does not deem actual music boring."

Way to go, tiger. "You know, you're getting pretty worked up over something a guy you have no interest in just said to you." He commented casually.

"What is this, psychology 101?"

Brian noticed that the other man, despite his fuming exterior, made no move to leave any longer, but kept staring at him right in the eye, trying to pass off his lust-filled expression as anger. Too bad Brian knew a thing or two about lust.

"Does he have a really teeny tiny dick?" he said, indicating with his forefinger and thumb.

Justin snorted. "That is so low, Brian."

Brian leaned back against the wall behind him, and watched with amusement as Justin's eyes followed his every movement, watched the younger man's body instinctively adjusting ever so slightly to have them perfectly aligned with each other, like a snake following the sound of the flute. Not interested. Yeah, right.

"You don't want to go back home. You want to stay here. Because being here with me is far more interesting than anything you could be doing back there with him." He put a hand out, touching the collar of Justin's coat to pull him just a bit closer, putting enough pressure to guide but not lead. But Justin leaned closer nonetheless. "And because I want you to stay here, too."

"I really have got to go…" Justin made one last meager attempt.

Brian let go of his coat, ceasing all physical contact and looked at him with a raised eyebrow. Justin did not move an inch.

He registered the sound of someone coughing in the background, but nothing would have been able to make him tear his eyes away right now. Unfortunately, Justin broke the connection, and turned to acknowledge the sound, becoming considerably paler as he did.

"Ethan…"

Brian pushed himself off from the wall and walked closer to the newcomer. "You're Ethan? Brian Kinney." He extended his hand and Ethan shook it quickly and with no conviction, keeping his gaze on Justin.

A handshake always reveals a lot about a person. And the weak one Ethan offered him just now told Brian he was dealing with an imaginative, boring, uninteresting, greasy snob. Who was horrible in bed. And obviously had an annoying voice, even though he had yet to speak.

"Justin, are you coming?" Ethan asked, not paying any more attention to Brian.

"Yeah, yeah, of course. Goodbye Mr. Kinney." Justin walked past him and started leading boyfriend-of-the-year by the invisible leash that apparently connected them.

"See you tomorrow, Sunshine."

Justin's POV

The walk back home had never been this unpleasant. Justin felt his mind racing with blinding speed, taking twists and turns with little respect toward logical thought. Ethan couldn't have heard anything. The distance between them couldn't have allowed it. And how long had he been standing there? What did he see? What could he have seen? Justin had no idea how visible the palpable need to kiss Brian he had experienced in those few brief seconds had been.

They made it inside the apartment before Ethan finally spoke. "Have you fucked him?"

"What?" Justin exclaimed. He was genuinely shocked, never having expected that to be the first thing to come out of Ethan's mouth.

"Doesn't matter…" Ethan went on, his tone calm but his expression and body movements being evidence of his inner turmoil. "It all makes sense now…everything…that's why you put so much effort into this job!"

"Ethan, I don't understand what you're saying. Could you…"

"It's why you kept the job, why you were the first one to leave in the morning, all those late nights at the dinner…you were going to see him."

"That is ridiculous! You know I was working…" Ethan didn't seem to believe him at all, and kept looking somewhere beyond Justin, beyond the apartment and the here and now. "Ethan. I swear, I was just working at the dinner, there were no secret rendezvous or anything like that."

"You were working for the campaigns at Vanguard. To please him. To make him proud."

Justin didn't find anything to say to that… how could he?

"He is very beautiful…" Ethan whispered, talking more to himself than to Justin.

Justin looked at him, trying to come up with something to say, all the while being drowned in guilt. He searched through it, needing to find some other emotion. There had to be more than guilt right?

"There is nothing between him and me." He wanted to say he didn't feel anything toward Brian and that he didn't want anything to do with him, but he couldn't. "I would never do anything to risk us, you know that…"

"Then quit."

"What?" He stopped, unable to believe what he was hearing.

"Quit Vanguard."

At Vanguard, the next day

Brian's POV

It was better than looking in the mirror. The expression on his face, the details…Brian stared at the sketch that Justin had done. Was this how other people saw him? Was this how Justin saw him?

Not interested? You can't take your eyes off me when we're together, and when we aren't, this is what you do. So why do you keep running back to that greasy little weasel? And why do I keep running after you?

Brian shook his head. Just one fuck, he told himself. All he needed was just one fuck and then the blonde would be out of system. That's all he needed…

"His drawings are incredible, aren't they?"

Brian looked up, surprised. He hadn't even noticed Cynthia entering the room.

"They're all right."

Cynthia scoffed. "Get off it, Brian. Justin's not here. You can compliment his work without denting your reputation." A cold glare from Brian was her only answer. "I was cleaning your desk and I saw that one. He's captured you perfectly."

Cynthia didn't realize the irony of her words.

"It would seem that way."

Brian closed the sketch book and casually tossed it aside, instantly regretting it when Cynthia picked it up.

"How did you get this, anyway? Do you want me to return it to Justin? Or I could –"

"Leave it." Brian avoided acknowledging the raised eyebrows. "I'll return it when it's time."

"Uh-huh." Cynthia made no attempt to leave, and instead, deposited herself on the small couch that was there. "How come you haven't slept with him yet?"

"Who says I haven't?"

"If you had, you wouldn't be obsessing about him now."

"Cynthia, when have you known me to obsess about anyone? And is there something in particular that brought you in here?"

Ignoring questions she didn't want to answer seemed to be Cynthia's specialty, because she acted as if Brian asked only one thing.

"There's a first time for everything, as I'm beginning to find out."

"Even when I was in high school, such teenage activities mercifully escaped me. Don't think that I'm about to start now."

"Right. Of course. Could it be that the young Mr. Taylor's boyfriend is a bigger obstacle than expected?" Cynthia was twirling something – a pen, maybe? or a ring? – between her fingers, and wasn't looking at him.

Brian sighed, and tried very hard not to take the bait. He tried.

"And you know that he has a boyfriend how…?"

"I asked Justin. I saw that guy come to pick him up a couple of days." Cynthia paused, and seemed to contemplate something before she spoke next. "This should be a piece of cake …that he's got nothing on you."

"Cynthia, you might be trapped inside High School Musical, but I'm not. If there's a point to this conversation, feel free to get to it."

Cynthia sighed. "For a high flying executive, you're being quite dense about this, aren't you? All I'm saying is…if Justin hasn't succumbed to your charms yet, why do you suppose that is? If Gucci was having free giveaways, why would I continue to shop at Liz Claiborne's? I'm just saying…lateral thinking, Brian."

The diner, later in the evening

Brian's POV

Cynthia had annoyed the crap out of Brian, and the fact that Justin had managed to avoid him the entire day didn't help improve the situation any. What the fuck was his problem, anyway? It wasn't as if Brian was going to eat him alive.

He spotted the blonde in no time. Thinking was not the lateral activity that came to mind. Against his better judgment, Brian made his way to the counter.

"Well, if it isn't my favourite artist. How are we doing this fine evening?" Brian drawled.

Justin sighed deeply as he turned to serve Brian, and the older man frowned as he noticed the dark circles around Justin's eyes.

"What can I get you, Brian? Coffee to go?"

"I'll have a coffee and a whole –"

"Whole-wheat turkey sandwich with no mayo? To go?"

My, aren't we curt today.

"And a side of your charming company. I'll be dining in, by the way." He seated himself at the counter, prompting another sigh.

Justin turned around and gave the order to the kitchen, and busied himself with fiddling with the coffee maker, his back to Brian.

"Aw, come on Picasso. How about you make some conversation? Where's your sense of customer service?"

It took Justin almost an entire minute to turn around and face Brian. "Why would you want to talk to me Brian? You don't even like me."

"I'm here, aren't I?"

"You're here because you're hungry. You're talking to me because you think I'll eventually melt like a tub of butter and let you fuck me and then you can just thr-" Justin seemed to have a change of heart as he stopped midsentence. "You don't even respect me, let alone like me."

That genuinely surprised Brian. "That's bullshit."

"Is it? Is that why you expect me to fail every time I work on something for you? I've been saving your ass from the very first day I started working at fucking Vanguard, and you still expect me to fall flat on my face each time I hand something in. That's some shit ass respect, Brian. Wow. Awesome. I'm so touched."

He left to serve another customer, muttering under his breath. Justin acted so self assured and high and mighty most of the time that Brian was surprised to find out that he actually wanted Brian's respect and good opinion.

When Justin finally returned to man his post at the counter, Brian spoke to him again.

"Justin, I do respect your –"

"Whatever, Brian. You don't have to try and play nice now to assuage my poor hurt feelings. Here's your order"

Well, someone was clearly feeling prickly. Brian decided to try another tactic.

"So, what did the boyfriend have to say about your boss? Does he like me?" Brian asked in an exaggerated whisper.

"He thinks you're beautiful."

"And you?"

"I think you're an idiot."

Brian laughed, and that managed to draw a hint of a smile out of Justin.

"So you both like me then? Maybe we can have a ménage à trois, though I don't particularly find Ian attractive."

Justin scoffed. "You wish. Neither of us likes you."

Brian smirked. Keep looking at me with those undress-me-eyes Sunshine, and we'll see about that.

"He thinks I'm beautiful. I can work with that." Brian leaned forward, and it wasn't without some amusement that he noted Justin move towards him unconsciously. "Did he get all hot and bothered that you have a gorgeous boss? But then, you said that he isn't the jealous type…I'm curious to know how that particular conversation between the two of you would have gone."

"Not that it's any of your fucking business, but Ethan thinks I should quit Vanguard. Which ironically enough, has been your anthem since I joined the company. Maybe I should hook the two of you up."

"What?"

"What?" Justin frowned at him. "Weren't you the one talking about a ménage à trois?"

Trust Justin to bark up the wrong tree.

"Quitting. Ian wants you to quit?"

"Uh-huh. Do you need more coffee?"

Brian impatiently pushed his cup forward. "And? Are you going to quit?"

Justin shrugged as he turned to get more coffee.

"So you're going to quit? Just like that?"

"Did I say that?" The world-weary eyes were back.

"Oh, I don't know. The art of translating the exact meaning of shrugs accurately is something I haven't perfected yet. Are. You. Going. To. Quit."

"I didn't say that."

"But you're thinking about it, aren't you?" What a fucking dick Justin had for a boyfriend. For about the millionth time, Brian wondered what the blonde saw in that fellow.

"I didn't say that either. But what are you getting so worked up about? You've been wanting me to get fired, like, forever."

"Let's get something straight. I didn't want you to get fired, I expected you to get fired. Because I hadn't seen what you were capable of doing. And of course, because I want to fuck you. But that's really beside the point, isn't it?

Less than half an hour ago, you were chewing me out for not respecting your talent. I dunno Sunshine…you know that you're talented. You could even be doing Steve's job. You know it, I know it and Steve probably knows it. But you're going to throw that away because you'd rather placate the feelings of some two-bit jealous boyfriend?"

Justin flushed. "Look, I didn't say that I was considering it, ok?"

This time, it was Brian who scoffed. "But it's been eating away at you, hasn't it? Besides, I thought going to PIFA was your dream; that this job was a money making venture to fund your education. What happened to that? Planning to sacrifice that at the Altar of Insecurity as well?"

Justin averted his eyes and pretended to busy himself with rearranging the cutlery. "I shouldn't have told you about this. You're blowing it way out of proportion."

"Of course I am. Keep the change." Brian pulled out a twenty dollar bill and placed it on the counter. He reached out and held Justin's chin, forcing the blonde to look up at him. "I do respect you. I hope you won't disappoint me."

Justin's POV

Justin was walking home, enjoying the peace and quiet that the midnight hour gave him. He smiled to himself. It was more like the way-past-midnight hour. He tried to concentrate on the stars above him, but his thoughts kept going back to the one topic he didn't want to think about.

What was it about Brian Kinney that got under his skin like this? Each time he had left Brian at the counter, he felt himself being drawn right back, as if he was being pulled by an invisible magnetic field.

He hadn't meant to be so rude and churlish with Brian. But he was exhausted. He had spent the better part of yesterday arguing over Ethan's ridiculous demand that he quit Vanguard. Justin had taken it for a joke at first, but as the argument had spiraled out of hand, he had realized that Ethan was dead serious about it. It had turned into an issue about how Justin could prove that there was nothing between himself and Brian, and a testament to his love for Ethan.

If only Ethan knew how absurd the whole situation was. First off, there was no way he could prove that there was nothing between himself and Brian, because there was. Only Brian didn't know about it. And he never would, if Justin had anything to say about it.

Second off, it was patently obvious to Justin that whatever love he and Ethan had shared had fizzled out sometime ago. But he wasn't willing to let go of the familiarity and companionship and togetherness that being with Ethan represented to him.

But he wasn't willing to sacrifice his dream for a man he didn't even love. Listening to Brian's little lecture had convinced him of that even more.

Don't worry, Brian. There's nothing to be disappointed about. I'm going to deal with this just like I've dealt with everything else.

Of course, that would mean endless arguments with Ethan, but Justin was determined not to back down. I'm going to call Ethan's bluff, he told himself. No fucking way that I'm going to give up my dream or sacrifice it at the Altar of Insecurity, he thought with a smile.

As he came in front of his decrepit building, Justin dug his hand into his jeans pocket, looking for his key. Then the other pocket. And then his jacket pockets. And then he rummaged through his messenger bag. And then he repeated the process three more times, just to be sure.

"Fuck!" Justin couldn't believe that he had forgotten his keys at home. Now how the hell was he supposed to get into the building? He pitched his weight against the entrance, hoping to force it open, but the door wouldn't budge. That's when Justin noticed the shining, brand new hinges. Just my luck that they decided to repair the goddamn door.

He knew that he would get an earful from the sleeping Ethan, but he pulled out his phone to call and ask to be let in. Except that his phone seemed as dead as a door nail, in spite of him having charged it before he left for the diner.

"Goddamn piece of shit!" Justin cursed the phone. "I could carry around a piece of brick and it would be more useful! Stupid fucking Apple and their stupid fucking –"

"Talking to inanimate objects could be a sign of mental illness Sunshine, especially if you can hear them talk back to you."

Justin jumped at the sound of Brian's voice, and successfully banged his head on the door. "Fuck! Brian, you scared the living daylights out of me! What are you doing here?"

"I was listening to some music. Around the corner."

Justin stared at Brian incredulously. "What?"

"Music. You know, the moans of one of my numerous tricks. In other words, music. Or should I say, in your words. "

Justin fought the urge to hit Brian and wipe the smug smirk off his face. He took in a deep breath. "In this neighbourhood? Really?"

Brian leaned lazily against the hood of his car. "Ok, so you caught me. I was stalking you. Happy now?"

Justin had a strong urge to pull Brian's pants down and give him the blowjob of a lifetime, just to force him to make some music of his own. However, he chose to clench and unclench his fists instead.

"Brian, it's really late, and I'm really tired and I really am not in the mood to play your mind games."

"Great. So why don't you go inside and get yourself a solid four hours of rest?"

Justin looked down and shuffled his feet, mumbling. This was sooooo embarrassing.

Brian frowned. "What did you say?"

Justin sighed. "I said, I can't go inside because I forgot my key."

Brian started to laugh, but stopped when Justin glowered at him. "Is that why you were talking to your phone? Battery's dead and you can't call Ian?"

"I don't know what the fuck is wrong with my phone. It belongs at the bottom of a river somewhere. The damn screen doesn't work…it has a mind of its own, it seems. Stupid piece of junk." Justin hit the phone against the door, hoping to kick start some life into it.

"Ok there, Rambo. Calm down. Here, use my phone and call Ian."

Justin stared at Brian's outstretched arm, holding his phone, and his face turned beet red.

"I can't."

"What, is your poor boyfriend going to throw a hissy fit because you'll call from my phone?" Brian was shaking his head.

"Don't be silly Brian. It's just…" Justin hung his head. Brian was going to love this. "I can't call him because I can't remember his number. I mean, it's on my phone, and that's how I call him but I haven't got it memorized and now my phone is shot and…" He broke off when Brian started guffawing.

"Aw, you really are a piece of work!"

Justin tried to glare at Brian, but failed. When Brian Kinney laughed, it was like…no! Don't go there, he told himself.

"Come on. Get in." Brian nodded his head towards the passenger door.

"What? Get in and go where? I live here, Brian."

"Yes, and short of breaking down two sets of doors, you're doomed to spend the rest of the night on the street. I'll take you to my place. Beats sleeping on the street any day."

"Are you crazy? Me? Sleep over at your place? No fucking way." Justin could only imagine where an arrangement like that would lead. He could barely stand to be ten feet away from Brian and keep his hands off the other man.

Brian rolled his eyes. "Jesus. You can sleep on the couch. Still beats the street. Now will you get the fuck inside the car?"

Justin shook his head. He didn't trust Brian, and he trusted himself even less. Ethan didn't even factor into the equation.

"No. I'm staying right here. Someone might come by and open the door…"

Brian scowled at him. "You're such a fucking princess. You seriously expect anybody to come by at this time of the night? Who won't be interested in mugging you? In this neighbourood?" He mimicked Justin. "Will you just get in the car? Now?"

Justin was determined to stand his ground, though the idea of Brian's couch was enough to make him salivate. "No. I told you. I'm staying right here."

Brian stared at him. "You're serious, aren't you?"

He nodded.

"Fine. Let me know how sleeping on the street works out for you. Unless you get yourself killed first. Or freeze to death."

Without a backward glance, Brian got inside his car and left.

Justin sighed as he leaned against the wall and slid down, hugging himself. It was cold. He knew he was being as stubborn as a mule, but he couldn't help it. Being alone with Brian, at his place, given the way Justin was feeling, was a surefire recipe for disaster. Besides, he was certain that Brian must have seen this as the perfect opportunity to corner him and fuck him into oblivion, and then after that, Justin would be discarded like a used Kleenex.

Justin stared at the street. Did Brian really have to leave though? It would have been nice to have some company, even if it would have been only for half an hour or so. And he had to admit to himself that even when he was arguing with Brian, he felt alive, the way he felt he was painting or sketching or…stop. Look for a distraction. He dug around once more in his messenger bag, and came up with a Granola bar. Well, it was something.

After he devoured the Granola bar, Justin decided to sketch. What else could he do in the middle of the night, camped outside on the street, with absolutely nothing else on him? He shivered involuntarily, wondering how much time had passed since he had left the diner. Would Ethan wake up in the middle of the night and wonder where Justin was? Maybe he'd come looking for Justin? Maybe –

The sound of a car pulling up disturbed his chain of thoughts, and he gaped as a frowning Brian got out of the corvette, carrying two cups of coffee from Starbucks.

"I thought I'd still find you here. I'm going to go out on a limb and assume that no one came by to let you in." Brian looked down at the Granola wrapper. "Hungry?"

"A bit. Thank you." Justin gratefully took the cup of coffee that Brian offered, and was disappointed when Brian turned around and walked to his car. Did he come by just to give a coffee?

His disappointment turned into surprise as Brian walked back to him, carrying his own cup of coffee in one hand, some sort of cloth in the other and a duffel bag over his shoulder.

"Ok, I'm going to ask you one last time. Do you want to come and sleep over at my place? Or at least inside my car? Which is parked right there?"

Justin held the warm cup close to his body and shook his head. Enclosed spaces at this time of the night seemed to be a bad idea.

"Brian, what are you doing here?"

"Leaving my star intern to brave the forces of nature on his own didn't make good business sense. Besides, I don't want to have to give statements to the police when they find your frozen body here in the morning. Or beaten black and blue and lying twenty feet away, wrapped in a garbage bag."

"Uh…thank you?" Justin couldn't believe that Brian was here. Why is it that as soon as I convince myself that he's nothing but a heartless bastard, he does something to prove otherwise?

Brian handed something to him. "Here. Cover yourself before you turn blue."

Justin realized that what he had assumed was a cloth was in fact a blanket. He took it gratefully, wrapping himself against the wind. With far more grace than Justin could muster, Brian put his own cup of coffee on the ground, kept the bag next to it, and then wrapped himself in the second blanket before sitting down next to Justin.

"You are one stupid, stubborn, annoying little twat. I hope you know that."

"Uh-huh. And this stupid, stubborn, annoying little twat says thank you and that he's very sorry for inconveniencing you."

"He better be. Has the coffee and Granola bar satiated your hunger? Or is that ogre inside your stomach looking for more food?"

Justin tried the wide-eyed innocent look. "Only if that bag of goodies has anything edible."

"Well, three o'clock in the morning is not the ideal time to hunt for gourmet catering, but I'm nothing if not resourceful. Here you go."

Justin grinned as he took the sandwich from Starbucks as well as a bag of chips. "What else is in there?"

Brian laughed. "You want more? There's another sandwich, a cookie and water. And a light sweater."

"I'm ok for now. Thanks. Actually, can I have the sweater as well?" The sweater turned out to be at least two sizes too big for Justin, and it was unmistakably one of Brian's own.

Justin was almost halfway through his sandwich when he noticed that Brian wasn't eating. "You're not having anything?"

"At this time? I'm not as crazy as you."

"Whatever. You can't afford to eat because you'll have to clock time at the gym, that's all."

"Awfully cocky aren't you, for a guy who forgot his keys and is sleeping out on the street? Food and shelter – so to speak – are being provided by me, so how about you attempt to play nice, difficult as that concept is for you?"

Justin giggled. "I'll try my best." Before he could think or stop himself, he had turned and planted a kiss on Brian's cheek.

Fuck. You stupid retard, Justin scolded himself as he looked away, shifting his position. This is exactly the kind of behavior –

He felt Brian's arm snake around his shoulders and pull him in closer. "You're such a fucking drama queen. Anybody ever tell you that?"

"Just my friend Daphne. And Kathy. And my mom. And Kiki. I guess that's quite a bit of anybodies." Being close to Brian felt good. Really really good.

Brian laughed quietly. "I guess I've been warned then."

Justin suddenly remembered that Brian smoked. His own pack of smokes was back at Vanguard because Ethan would complain if he came home from the diner smelling of smoke, and there was no point in carrying cigarettes if you couldn't smoke them.

"Uh, Brian? You wouldn't happen to have a smoke on you, would you?"

"Demanding, aren't we?"

Justin lightly poked Brian in the ribs. At least, he assumed that it was Brian's ribs. "Hey, I asked nicely!"

"Oooh, playing it rough…kinky." Brian leered at him, but Justin could see the humour in his eyes.

"You have such a one-track mind. Please and thank you?"

"Hmm…let's up the ante, shall we?

Justin looked curiously at Brian as he reached into his jacket, and pulled out two joints.

"Ready to play, Sunshine?"

He couldn't help but beam. Even better than a cigarette was a joint – also an item banned by Ethan.

Justin was tired as it was, and the joint helped him relax, giving him a nice, buzzed feeling. He was finally able to converse with Brian without snapping the other man's head off. It really wasn't Brian's fault if he was irresistible and Justin had zero self control, was it?

"Earth to Justin…where'd you go?"

Justin realized that he had missed whatever it was that Brian had been saying. "Sorry, just blanked out there for a bit…listen, Brian, I appreciate you being here with me…and I'm sorry I was such a prick earlier today."

"I'll put it down to you being a drama queen. Keep it up and we're going to have to promote you to drama empress though. We'll get you a nice tiara to go with – ow!"

This time Justin was pretty certain that he got Brian in the ribs. "You were saying something?"

"Stupid twat." Brian muttered. "Physical assault. This is the thanks I get for providing food, shelter and recreational drugs. So much for being a good Samaritan."

"And you call me a drama queen. Poor widdle Brian. Ok, tell you what, as payment for you being a nice guy, I'll draw something for you. Right now. And twenty years from now, when it's worth a million dollars, you can sell it off and retire and move to Palm Springs. "

"And I can sell the story of how you sat on the street drawing it to People magazine. Fabulous."

Justin giggled as he started to draw, keeping up a steady stream of conversation. He was buzzed, but not so high that he couldn't draw a decent picture. He started sketching the street lamp he saw in the distance, placing Brian underneath it, part of him in the shadows.

He felt Brian rest his head on Justin's shoulder, and he assumed that it was to get a better view of the drawing. What was this strange emotion he was feeling, having Brian so close to him? It was just physical attraction, right? He couldn't possibly be falling for the guy…?

"Think you can draw your own picture if you watch me long enough?" Justin spoke to Brian, hoping to distract himself from unwelcome thoughts.

When all he heard was steady breathing, Justin slowly turned his head to look at the other man.

Brian was fast asleep, head resting on Justin's shoulder.