Chapter 10:
The next couple of weeks went by quickly, they had established a routine. Brian stayed at home with Gus, and Justin went to work at Kinnetik, at 12 he gathered his material and went over to the loft to bring Brian the work he couldn't get over the net. The first couple of times Justin tried to leave before dinner but Brian had insisted and Gus' pleading face hadn't helped any. So Justin had stayed until Gus was asleep and then went home. Brian would bring him to the door and give him a kiss. It was a kiss much like the ones he used to give Michael but somehow both of them knew that they were more and they silently agreed not to adress that topic until Gus was better and they could deal with their 'relationship'.
After a whole week of Tai food for dinner Justin started to bring over groceries and began to cook for them. He had always enjoyed cooking for Brian. He loved the challenges it brought, no carbs after 7 pm or cooking with less fat and yet make Brian like it. Justin could always tell if Brian liked his creations which most of the time he did even though he never said so and he frequently commented on the mess Justin made while cooking and that there was no need to cook as they could get everything delivered. But Justin knew that Brian enjoyed their dinners, he had just never learned to appreciate a quite dinner at home. Growing up he tried to avoid being home, if his mom wasn't too drunk to think about food and when he was at Debbie's, dinner was never quite and even there he was faced with people that would blame everything that went wrong on him.
"Gus' appointment is tomorrow," Brian stated one evening.
"That's great, so what are you planning on doing with him once he gets the all clear?"
"That's the thing, I have no clue, I don't want him in daycare and Lindsay is still in therapy, God knows when she will be back to normal."
"You could hire a nanny."
"I don't want some stranger living in my apartment!"
"Have you ever thought about building a daycare at Kinnetik? I mean a place where all your employees could bring their kids and have them close by, I bet you have the room."
"That idea is not half bad Sunshine! I will call Ted." With that Brian got up and grabbed the phone.
"Theodore! How much would it cost me to build a daycare at Kinnetik for my employees?"
"Not too much, I want it to be the cheapest solution for them"
"Well, you do that and get back to me tomorrow!"
Brian hung up and turned to Justin.
"Ted thinks its possible but he has to go over all the numbers and talk to HR to find out how many kids we would need to accommodate. He thinks it might take a few weeks to set it up."
"That's great, so Gus can come to work with you until then, I am sure Cynthia would love the company, and I did promise him to show him my neat computer!"
Justin smiled at Brian, he was so proud of the way Brian handled the current situation, contrary to what everyone, except Justin and maybe Emmett believed, Brian was a great father, he actively listened to Gus. He always told Gus what was going on carefully not to hurt him but he never lied to him. As far as Justin could tell he didn't go out much either and he knew for certain that he would never bring a trick home when Gus was there.
The next day Justin was working on a new account, he was dissatisfied with the finished product and he couldn't decide on whether to use blue or orange lettering. Just as he was about to take a break he was greeted by a little whirlwind that threw himself in his arms.
"Justin, I am all better!"
"Whoa buddy, watch out you almost threw me there! The doctor said you are all better huh?"
"uhuh and Daddy said I could visit with you while he talks with Uncle Ted, but he said I had to ask first, please Justin can I?"
"Of course you can stay with me, you know I never get enough of your company."
He looked up and saw Brian standing by the door smiling. He nodded his head to him and mouthed that he would take Gus while he was busy discussing the daycare.
Justin had always admired that Brian seemed to get done everything he set his mind too much more quickly than anyone else, so he was only mildly surprised when he found out that Brian had set up the Kinnetik daycare in less than a week.
Brian was torn, he was looking forward to getting back to work but he also knew that he would miss spending so much time with Gus it had been much easier than he had imagined it in the beginning. But most of all he was afraid of loosing Justin again, yeah they were still working together but without the work Justin had no reason to come by in the afternoons. So when Monday came he was for the first time in weeks not looking forward to the evening. He dropped of Gus at the new room they had set up for the ten kids that would need daycare and after ensuring Gus that he would still be only a couple of doors down he reluctantly got back to work. He had been afraid that he couldn't stop thinking with Justin in such close proximity but as it turned out he was swamped with work that Cynthia had loaded on his desk. He was so engaged in his work that he didn't react to the knock on his door.
"Um Brian, I am sorry, you didn't hear me knocking, I was wondering, you mind if I go to lunch with you, I mean with Gus and you?" Damn, why was it so hard to ask Brian to go to lunch with him they had been so close, why should eating together change? 'Because he doesn't need you anymore!' a little voice inside his head whispered to him.
"What? Oh, its lunch, damn I said I'd take Gus!" With that he jumped up quickly.
"Don't worry, it's only almost time, I was just wondering you know, but I see you've got plans already." Only then did the words register with Brian and he smiled on the inside, he could get time with Justin still, going out to lunch wasn't as good but better than nothing.
"No, we can go together, you mind going to the sandwich place across the street, they are fairly decent and Gus likes them."
"Sure, you know me, I eat almost anything!"
"You can drop the 'almost' I doubt here is anything you don't eat!"
"Cynthia, I am gone to lunch, I'll be back in an hour or so."
"Sure thing boss!"
So they had turned their dinner routine into a lunch routine and although it wasn't as intimate and comfortable as before, they savored every moment. Brian missed spending his nights with Justin, He missed their conversations that didn't involve Gus and most of all he missed the goodnight kisses. But in Brian's eyes it was Justin's turn to take the initiative, he had begun the kisses and Justin had never shown a sign that he wanted more. Although Brian had initiated more contact and Justin never backed away he never attempted to deepen their kisses. Justin on the other hand believed that Brian was still the old Brian and that only Gus held him back and he was ever more certain that he would not settle for half of Brian, he wanted it all, the good the bad and the ugly. He just didn't have the guts to confront Brian about it. Truth be told he was scared of losing him completely, if he couldn't get him as a partner, a good friend was the next best thing.