Set as soon as the end credits roll…
*
Brian scooped up a spoonful of the jambalaya and put it in his mouth. He chewed carefully, very aware that Justin was closely observing his every move. It tasted good. Really good, if you considered this had been a mess all over his kitchen the night before.
"It's not bad," he said. He wouldn't be right to give the kid too much encouragement. Justin just smiled. He was so easily pleased.
"It's always better the second day," he smiled.
Brian gave a half nod and put the next spoonful in his mouth. When he looked up, he was aware Justin was gazing at him and Brian knew immediately what he wanted for desert but he was also aware of the candles and the layout of the cutlery and the plants. Suddenly, he was reminded of that one time he'd tried to go on a date. He'd been about twenty and he'd got bored after the first course and ended up fucking the waiter before ditching the guy he'd gone to the restaurant with, letting him pay the bill. But this was different. It was less tense, more enjoyable and the silences were … comfortable. Brian couldn't help smile.
"I, erm, I put my stuff in that bottom draw like you said," Justin said after a relatively long silence.
"Oh. Okay."
"There were a couple of things in there, I didn't know what you wanted me to do with them so I've left them on our bed." Brian raised an eyebrow half-bemused, half-angry at the word 'our'. "Er, your bed," Justin corrected anxiously and Brian smiled a bit.
"This isn't a permanent solution," he reminded the kid slowly. "You're just here until we can find you somewhere more appropriate."
Justin nodded, he understood. He was just grateful to be out of his parent's house and he'd try and drag this arraignment out as long as was physically possible. He'd promised himself he'd end up living with Brian, he'd even told Daphne but he hadn't expected it to happen so quickly.
"But, until then," Brian continued, "you can sleep in the bed. It wouldn't be fair to make you sleep on the couch for a prolonged period of time. But don't go getting the impression that we're some couple, okay? Because we're not!"
"Okay," Justin nodded again and popped a spoonful of food into his mouth to stop him grinning too much.
"I'm just doing you a favour as a … passing acquaintance," Brian continued. Justin couldn't help smile at the other man's reluctance to even call him a friend. "And," Brian added seriously, "you can pay me back."
"I'd be happy to," the kid reassured him with a knowing smile, which assured Brian that Justin knew exactly what Brian would be expecting as payment.
Brian took his last spoonful of jambalaya and announced he needed a piss and left the table. As he walked through his bedroom to get to the bathroom, he saw the contents of his draw laid neatly on the bed. One day, he smiled, Justin would make an excellent wife for someone. There was an old sock. A couple of pens and an old mobile that had become obsolete about nine months ago. There were some used plane tickets and part of an ad campaign that he'd abandoned a while back. But Brian hardly noticed any of that because there, in the middle of all the other items, was a sketched picture in a frame. The one of Brian that Justin had drawn. The one that Brian had bought from the art showing at the GLC.
Brian swore sharply under his breath. He heard Justin clattering plates noisily as he tidied up from dinner. Brian knew he could put this picture in a box and Justin would never mention it again or Brian could bring it up and tell the kid that he'd been thinking about him, that he didn't want other people to see him the way Justin did. But emotionally, Brian Kinney was a coward, so he picked up the photo and the rest of the objects and put them in a box, which he tucked at the back of his closet. Some things are better left without discussion.
