Previously On Queer As Folk: Brian and Justin left Pittsburgh for a getaway in Paris to celebrate Justin's birthday. Brian confessed to Justin that the reason he was so weird about relationships was because of his tumultous childhood and the abuse he suffered.
Chapter Ten
Justin awoke by himself. Getting up, he found a note on the bedside stand.
Justin,
Went to go get cigarettes, back soon.
Love,
Brian.
He set the note aside and smiled. Love, Brian. It still got to him sometimes. It had taken him five years to finally tell Justin that he loved him, but now that he head, Brian was constantly saying it. Glancing at the clock, Justin decided to take a shower so that he'd be ready to go sightseeing when Brian got back.
The hot water woke him up and he quickly brushed his teeth and got ready. When he got out of the bathroom, Brian was sitting on the bed, hands in his lap. "Good morning, Sunshine," he said, pulling Justin down on the bed and kissing him tenderly. "I was starting to think you were going to sleep all day."
"You wore me out last night," Justin admitted, kissing Brian's neck. His hands started to work their way down to Brian's belt.
"There'll be none of that, Sonny Boy," Brian pulled back from Justin. "We've got a big day ahead of us."
"Okay. I'm ready to go when you are, just let me check my messages real quick." He turned his cell phone on. "Wow, I have three messages, that's new."
"You just got home from New York," Brian reminded him.
"Michael, my mother, and Daphne," Justin said as each message played. "And you?" He heard Brian's voice.
"Happy birthday, Sunshine. I wanted to tell you that even though I haven't always shown it in the past, I love you. You've given me so much these past four years and I wouldn't take back even a second of the time we've had together, not for anything in the world. In case I haven't said it enough, I'll say it again: I love you and I can't wait to marry you. I'm so glad you came back to me."
Justin was silent for a minute. There were tears in his eyes. How could I have let this go? I'm so stupid! I don't deserve him. Quickly wiping the tears away, he turned back to Brian. "Brian, why did you leave me a voice mail? You were with me all day yesterday."
"I wanted to." Brian shrugged his shoulders. Justin leaned in to kiss Brian, but he grabbed Justin's arm, "It's time to go, Justin."
They left the hotel and tried to decide where to go first. "It's your turn to pick," Justin insisted.
"I don't really care. It's your birthday present. You decide."
"Fine...Montmartre."
"Montmartre it is." They'd decided to walk as much as possible to avoid spending a small fortune in cab fair, but since it was a considerable distance from their hotel, they got a cab.
Brian payed the driver when they got to Montmartre. "Let's go find the Moulin Rouge," he said, walking off with Justin in tow. Luckily, Montmartre was a small city and the streets were easily navigable. After a few minutes, they came upon it.
"It looks different that it does in the movie," Justin commented.
"Of course it does," Brian replied. "Don't tell me you expect to see an elephant in the courtyard, too."
"No." Justin laughed.
"You know, I could see you living here; if you'd been alive in the late 1800's or early 1900's," Brian admitted.
"Me, too. I could be the starving artist and you could be my rich lover." Brian laughed.
"You mean I wouldn't be the whore?"
"No you'd be the kind, rich man who saves the starving artist and gives him a reason to go on living each and every day." Brian leaned in and gave Justin a peck on the cheek.
There were no performances – the cabaret did not officially open until evening, but Brian bribed their way in so that they could see the inside, though they couldn't stay long. "We'll have to come back one night before we leave," Justin said.
"I think we will," Brian agreed. "Where to now?" he asked after they had looked at everything they were able to.
"Well, I think it makes the most sense to go by location: the majority of the places we want to see are in the eight arrondissement. The Opera house is in the ninth arrondissement, which is close, so let's go there."
"Ted would be in heaven," Brian muttered.
It didn't take too long for them to get to the Avenue de l'Opéra, and by the time they reached the Opera Garnier Justin had taken used up another memory card. Brian handed him a new one – he'd brought five – and they went in. "This is so beautiful!" Justin exclaimed, taking pictures of the ornately decorated Grand Foyer and Grand Staircase.
"Be careful," Brian whispered into Justin's ear.
"Why?"
"The Phantom of the Opera could get you." He couldn't hold back a laugh.
"Shut up, Brian. That is not possible. Even if he did exist, that was over 100 years ago."
"Too bad we couldn't go down and see the underground lake and cellars. That's something I'd like to see."
"I think I'd pass anyway." Justin shivered a little.
"Wuss."
"I am not!" Justin smacked Brian's arm.
"All right, you're not a wuss. I'm going to go outside for a cigarette, you stay in here and I'll be back in a few minutes."
"Okay." Justin continued to take pictures. Brian snuck off and pulled out the little noose that he'd put in his coat pocket to scare Justin. He waited out of sight until he was sure that Justin was distracted and then he silently walked up behind him and threw the noose over Justin's neck.
"Sing my angel!" Brian growled, before bursting out into laughter.
"Brian!" Justin exclaimed, hand over his racing heart. "You are such an asshole!" He swatted Brian on the arm. "I can't believe you!" Despite his anger, he couldn't keep a straight face once he saw Brian's smile. "I'm going to get you back for that."
"Just try it, Sunshine," Brian challenged him.
"It's on," Justin promised.
They stopped and got lunch at a restaurant before catching a train to the Bastille in the eleventh arrondissement. "There's the July column," Justin pointed. "And the Opéra Bastille."
"I'd rather see the actual Bastille fortress, but I'm about a hundred years too late."
"Oh, baby. If only we could go back in time just for you."
"Rage could do it," Brian jokingly grumbled.
After taking more pictures – of the attractions and of himself and Brian –- Justin led Brian off to their next destination, the Notre Dame cathedral. "I've wanted to see the real Notre Dame ever since I watched The Hunchback of Notre Dame as a kid," Justin confessed.
"Let me guess, you wanted Quasimodo to save you from the evil Claude Frollo so that you could marry Captain Phoebus, right?" Brian asked sarcastically.
"No. I just always knew I was different, I always could relate to poor Quasimodo."
"You're definitely sexier." Brian smacked Justin's ass.
"You're not so bad yourself. You know an awful lot about French literature. I never pegged you for the reading type."
"I read occasionally when I have nothing better to do."
"You mean when there's nobody around to fuck?" That earned Justin a smack on the arm.
Justin took more pictures of the exterior before they went in. "Look at the Grandes Orgues!" he exclaimed.
"The what?"
"Big Organs."
"I'll show you a big organ." Brian smiled devilishly, putting Justin's hand between his legs.
"Later," Justin said, smiling back. "We're in a cathedral, have some couth!"
"I never knew you studied French."
"A little, in high school. It was that or Spanish."
"Me, too." They ascended to the second floor and from there, up to the bell tower.
"I have to have a picture of you Quasimodo style," Justin insisted.
"Fuck, no." Brian scoffed.
"Please?" Justin begged, jutting out his lower lip and making it quiver.
"All right." Brian rolled his eyes, sighed, and went to stand next to one of the bells. He took the rope that dangled from Emmanuel, the bourdon bell, and scrunched his face up in Quasimodo fashion.
"That's great!" Justin enthused, taking several pictures.
"Okay, we're done with that," Brian said, walking back over to Justin.
"Let's go see the apse and then we can move on." The task thankfully didn't take long and they slowly made their way back down to the street.
"What's next on the agenda?" Brian asked when they had hailed a cab.
"The Eiffel Tower."
"Thank God there are elevators."
"Are you tired already?"
"I still have enough energy to whoop your ass," Brian promised him.
"Good, that's what I like to hear."
The ride was a little longer that the others, but Justin made the trip worthwhile for Brian; making sure that the driver's eyes were on the road, he crouched down and sucked Brian off. He felt that it was the least he could after all that Brian was doing for him. "That was great," Brian said quietly, "but don't think that that gets you out of my plans for tonight."
"I wouldn't dream of it," Justin replied, resting his head against Brian's chest. The driver caught Brian's eye in the rearview mirror and winked at him. What was it with all the cab drivers?
The Eiffel Tower was packed with tourists, though not as packed as Versailles had been; thankfully. Brian and Justin quickly shared a cigarette before going in. Getting into the lift, they began their ascent to the second level After perusing the second level, they decided on the restaurant Jules Verne for dinner, before continuing to the third level. "Wow, this is high up," Justin said, when they had reached the top.
"You aren't afraid of heights, are you?" Brian asked.
"Not really. I just didn't expect it to be this high up."
"Me either," Brian admitted, patting Justin on the back.
"You can see everything from up here!"
"Look, there's Babylon," Brian joked.
On the way down, they stopped on the second level and ate at the Jules Verne. "This food is amazing," Justin commented, enjoying his foie gras. "You have to try some." He held out his fork to Brian.
"How can you eat that?" Brian asked, trying not to look at the food.
"It's good!" Justin insisted.
"It's duck liver."
"So?"
"Nothing. If you like it, whatever. Just don't try to kiss me until you've used an entire bottle of mouth wash."
"You're so sweet. How's your roasted lemon rosemary chicken?"
"It's delicious. Would you like some dear?" Brian asked snidely.
"Why, yes I would, honey," Justin replied. Brian gave him a little and Justin smiled. "This is good, too. I love the food in this country!"
They finished their meals and crossed the Seine into the eight arrondissement – their last stop. "Where do you want to go first, the Champ-Élysées, Place de la Concorde, or the Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré?" Justin asked.
"I say the Champs- Élysées. We can save the Faubourg Saint-Honoré for tomorrow." The Rue de Faubourg Saint-Honoré was the largest shopping area in the city, one of the most fashionable in the world; Brian was dying to go, but knew that Justin would be bored.
"That's right, everything we want to see is in the same arrondissement as our hotel, I forgot about that."
"Come on," Brian said, pulling Justin behind him.
The Champs- Élysées was enormous. The avenue was lined on both sides by every kind of shop imaginable, including Prada, though Brian resisted the temptation to go in. As they continued walking along, they passed the Grand Palais and decided to check it out. The interior was breathtaking, and Justin once again used up another memory card, though Brian was a little more enthusiastic about taking pictures. While he'd never admit it, he wanted a memento of their happy trip together.
Continuing down the Champs-Élysées for what felt like an eternity, they reached the Place de la Concorde. Thank God, Brian thought. Justin took several pictures of the Obelisk of Luxor and the Fountain of River Commerce and Navigation; even insisting that Brian pose for some of them. "Why do you want pictures of me doing all this stuff?" Brian asked. "Wouldn't you rather have me take pictures of you, or a picture of the both of us?"
"Okay, just one more of you by the fountain and then we'll take some of both of us," Justin promised. He snapped a few more pictures of Brian sitting next to the fountain.
Thankfully, another tourist was nearby taking photos and didn't mind taking some group pictures of Brian and Justin. "Don't you like this so much better?" Brian asked between pictures.
"You know what? I think I do," Justin admitted, kissing Brian's cheek.
"I think I know of a place you'll enjoy," the tourist said, handing them back their camera.
"Really?" Justin asked.
"Yeah, it's a club called le Queen, you'll love it!"
"Thanks."
"Could you be any more cliché?" Brian muttered. "Calling a gay nightclub 'the Queen."
"Okay, so it's a little...cliché, but don't you think it sounds fun?"
"I suppose. How about we go our last night?"
"It's a date." Justin grinned. "There's just one more place on our agenda for today, the Arc de Triomphe." Brian groaned as Justin pulled him on to their next destination.
At long last, they got back to the hotel. Brian lay down on the bed, exhausted. His legs were killing them and oddly, he was starving. It's too late to eat anything else tonight, he reminded himself. Justin lay down next to him and got under the blankets. "Don't tell me you're going to sleep!" Justin teased.
"I'm not. I'm going to take a quick nap before I fuck your brains out," Brian assured him, taking his shoes off, followed by his socks and pants.
"That's what I wanted to hear," Justin said huskily, putting his arms around Brian. A few minutes later, they were both fast asleep.
They slept for a few hours and awoke sometime after the sun had gone down. Brian was the first to wake up, but he didn't get out of bed, not wanting to wake Justin. Instead, he just lay there, with Justin in his arms, thinking. In about a week and a half, they would be married. Brian, never really one to get too excited about anything, was actually looking forward to the wedding, mainly because it meant that he and Justin would be together and Justin would be happy, thus making him happy. Now let's just hope that my hatred of my parents will be enough to keep me from making the same mistakes that they did. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt Justin and lose him forever. The thought of living the rest of his life without his precious Sunshine caused his throat to constrict.
After awhile, Justin stirred. "Hey," he managed, yawning. Even though he hadn't been as tired as Brian, he'd needed the nap.
"Hey." Brian smiled down at Justin and kissed his forehead. "You're up."
"What time is it?" Justin asked, sitting up.
"After ten. We slept a little longer than planned, but oh well. It doesn't matter."
"Can we stay here forever?" Justin jokingly asked.
"I wish we could."
"I could paint and have my pieces in the Louvre." He closed his eyes and smiled. "That's my dream: the have at least one piece of my art in the Louvre where it can be adored and admired by hundreds of thousands of people forever.
"You know if I could buy it for you I would."
"Yeah." Justin kissed the bottom of Brian's chin. "This has been the best birthday ever." He laughed. "Even if it is two months late."
"I'm glad you're enjoying it."
"It's going to suck going back home after this."
"Maybe one day we'll come back. For our anniversary or something."
"I'll be right back." Justin got out of bed and went into the bathroom. "Hold that thought."
Brian checked his phone to see whether or not he had any voice mails; there was one from Lindsay saying that Gus was feeling better and that she hoped that he and Justin were having fun in Paris. Rolling his eyes, he hung up the phone.
Justin came out the bathroom wearing absolutely nothing. "I have a present for you," he said, holding his arms out. Brian noticed that Justin had put his nipple ring back in. "Do you like it?" he asked, laughing. The reason he had gotten the piercing in the first place was to entice Brian, who had loved it, though he never would have admitted it at the time.
"I love it," Brian replied, grabbing Justin and throwing him down on the bed. "And now I'm going to show you just how much."
Next Time On Queer As Folk: Emmett has to make a choice between his two great loves: Calvin and Drew. Calvin has a surprise of his own that makes matters even worse for Emmett.