"Why is it always at dinner time that the phone rings or someone knocks on the door?" Michael asked lightly.

Ben smiled as he placed the bowl of salad on the table. "Want me to get it?"

"I got it," Michael said easily and went for the front door.

He opened the door, expecting to see a neighbor or a salesman. He didn't expect to find Justin standing on his porch, looking like a lost kid.

"I'm sorry," Justin whispered after a long moment of silence. "I…I shouldn't be here." He turned away and started down the steps. It had been stupid to come here. Michael wouldn't want him in his house.

"Wait," Michael said before the blond could get off the steps. The young man looked in need.

Justin turned back slowly, cautiously.

"Are you hungry?" Michael asked. He couldn't just let him walk away, not when he knew he'd come to talk to Ben. "We were just sitting down to dinner."

"I don't want to impose," he said softly.

Michael smiled a little. "Come have some dinner," he said. "I promise not to hate you while we eat."

Justin looked at the older man, surprised to find him smiling a little in amusement. "If you're sure."

"Get in here," he said and moved out of the doorway.

Ben looked up in surprise when Michael walked into the little dining room with Justin behind him. "Hey," he said with a smile.

"Hi," Justin said softly and Ben knew there was something wrong.

"We have enough for one more, right?" Michael asked lightly.

Ben looked at his husband in surprise. There seemed to be no anger in the man's face. "Of course."

Justin sat at the table feel a little uncomfortable while they started to eat.

"Brian said you ran off list night," Michael said after several minutes, not sure what to say.

Justin tensed and looked at him, expecting the familiar anger, but there was none. "I was upset," he admitted. "I didn't mean for it to hurt him."

"He's worried, not hurt," Michael assured him. "Mom is too."

Justin sighed. "I didn't mean to worry them," he said honestly. "I just couldn't stay."

"It's okay," Ben said gently. "I'm sure it was overwhelming."

Justin snorted. "Understatement," he muttered.

"What happened?" Michael asked then quickly added. "You don't have to answer that."

Justin shrugged. "Mom."

"Enough said," Ben laughed.

Justin nodded and looked at his plate, surprised to find he'd eaten most of it. "Then Deb showed up and I panicked," he admitted.

"You still have those attacks?" Michael asked, surprised.

He nodded.

"What happened today?" Ben asked after a few more minutes.

"What do you mean?" Justin asked slowly.

Ben looked at him with a raised brow.

"Why don't you two go to the living room and I'll clean up," Michael suggested, knowing the younger man was here to talk to Ben.

"Come on, Justin," Ben said lightly.

Justin stood up and met Michael's eyes. There was no anger or hate in them, just understanding, and some pity. "Thanks," he said softly.

Michael gave him a sad smile and Justin followed Ben out of the room.

Justin settled onto the couch next to Ben and bit his lip.

"Justin?" Ben asked gently.

Justin looked up, his eyes filled with fear and pain. "I got the results from my last blood work."

Ben tensed, knowing it hadn't been good news. "Not good?" He said softly.

He shook his head and sniffled, determined not to cry. "My T-cell count went down."

"What is it?"

"Just under five hundred."

"You're marked as stage two," Ben stated sadly.

Justin nodded and had to rub his eyes when tears started to fall anyway.

Ben wrapped his arms around him, careful of his shoulder. "It's okay," he said softly. "That's not too bad a count. You can get it back up."

Justin pulled back enough to look into Ben's brown eyes. "The doctor said the meds…"

"Will help," Ben finished. "But there is more you can do. My count was down much lower than that before. It takes work, but you can get it back up. You can keep yourself healthy."

Justin raised a brow at the man.

He smiled a little. "As healthy as possible," he corrected.

Justin pulled out of the man's embrace, but didn't move away from him. "Thanks, Ben," he said with a grateful smile.

"I didn't do anything," Ben pointed out.

"You listened to me," Justin told him as he wiped the remaining tears off his cheeks. "I just didn't want to be alone right now."

Ben opened his mouth to ask why the man hadn't gone to Brian, then closed it.

Justin nodded as if reading his mind. "Brian wouldn't quite understand."

"Because he doesn't have it."

He nodded again, flexing his right hand. It was starting to hurt.

"Can I come in?" Michael asked from the doorway.

Ben looked at Justin with a raised brow, letting it be his choice.

Justin nodded.

Michael smiled and walked into the room with three beers. He set one on the coffee table and held the other two out. "Something tells me you could use it," he said to Justin with an understanding smile.

"Thanks," Justin said taking the cold bottle. He watched Michael sit in the recliner, unsure what to say to the man.

"Eating right will help," Ben said drawing Justin's attention back to him.

"Not always an easy task," he admitted. "I don't have the appetite I used to."

"Really?" Ben laughed in surprise. "I can't imagine that."

"The doctor thinks some of it is from the meds and some from life," he said without looking at the man.

"Life?" Ben asked curiously.

"It's hard to have the desire to eat when you hardly have the desire to get out of bed," he whispered to his beer.

Ben and Michael looked at the young man in surprise.

"Have you talked to the doctor about this?" Ben asked after a minute.

Justin nodded. "I'm on meds for that too," he said bitterly. "I'm taking so many fucking pills it isn't funny."

Ben didn't know what to say so he tapped his beer against Justin's and gave him a knowing smile. Both men took a drink.

"Are they changing anything?" Ben asked after a minute.

Justin shook his head. "He wants me to stay with these for a little while longer then take another test."

"You've recently changed out."

He nodded.

Michael grabbed the remote and turned the TV on. He watched an old Spiderman movie while the two men talked about being positive. It reminded Michael of evening of Ben and Hunter talking.

He glanced over at them often. Justin slowly went from hunched in on himself to sitting up and even smiling a little. Michael actually smiled. Justin had looked so beaten and lost when he showed up.

He looked at the two for a minute.

He really wanted to keep hating the younger man for hurting Brian, but looking at him now, he just couldn't. Justin hurt Brian and himself by leaving, to protect Brian. The man had left because he was scared of infecting the older man.

He felt for Justin, he really did. He understood what he would be going through, at least up to a point. Michael might not be positive, but he lived in a house with two men who were so he understood a lot.

He could understand why Justin left Brian and the family.

"What?"

Michael blinked and realized both men were looking at him questioningly. "Sorry, I was thinking," he said honestly.

Justin looked down, embarrassed. "I'm sorry, Michael," he said softly. "I didn't mean to come in and take your husband's attention away, especially since you actually had an evening to yourselves."

Michael smiled a little. "It's okay," he assured him. "Ben is the best person for you to talk to."

Justin frowned at the other man's kind words. "I thought you hated me."

He laughed once. "I do, I did." He blew out his breath and started again. "We've never been that great of friends except when it came to Rage."

Justin nodded. There had always been tension between them.

"And I do hate how you hurt Brian."

He nodded again.

Michael stared right into the man's blue eyes. "But knowing the truth changes how I see things."

"You mean because you feel sorry for me," Justin corrected bitterly.

Michael shook his head. "I do feel sorry for you because no one deserves this," he said firmly. "But that's not why I want to put it all behind us. We have all changed and I think that means the two of us should change towards each other too."

"Truce?" Justin asked with a frown.

Michael shook his head and leaned over towards the man. He held his hand out. "Hi, I'm Michael," he said with a smile.

Justin looked at him for a long second then smiled. He took the man's hand and shook it. "I'm Justin."

Michael laughed once. "It's nice to meet you," he said then gave the blond a serious look. "Hurt my friend and I will hate you."

"I'll do my best not to," he said honestly.

Michael eyed him for a moment, reading honestly in his eyes. Maybe it really was time to give Justin an honest chance at friendship.

"Are you two going to kiss to make up?" Ben asked lightly after a minute, trying to hide his surprise and pleasure at his husband's gesture. He'd always hated the way he treated the younger man.

Both men laughed.

"Oh, I hate him too much for that," Michael laughed.

Justin smiled at him, easily hearing the tease in the words. Maybe it really was time to try and make a real friendship with the man, or at least something close to it.

They watched another movie and it was mostly comfortable. Justin had always known Michael was cool when he wasn't being a jerk.

"I guess I should go," he finally said and stood up. "Thanks for this evening. It was nice." It was and Justin was glad he'd thought to keep his meds close. He'd been able to take them when it was time without ruining the unexpected evening.

Ben smiled at the man. "Are you going to Brian's?" He asked. "One of us can take you."

"I'm not," Justin said tensely.

"Why not?" Michael asked with a frown. "Brian said you were staying with him."

"And just because he said something means I have to do it," Justin bit out.

Michael looked at the man in surprise.

Justin blew out his breath. "I'm sorry, Michael," he said. "I'm just-"

"Irritated with Brian?" He provided.

Justin sighed and nodded.

"He can be irritating," he agreed. "What's wrong though? It's only been two days."

"What's wrong is that I don't need someone dictating my life," he said honestly.

"What are you talking about?" Ben asked gently pulling the man's hand to have him sit back down.

Justin ran his right hand through his hair. "It's just that I've had no say in anything since I woke up at the hospital to find Brian there," he admitted. "Brian decided he was going to drive me home, then that I was staying with him. He basically ignored my opinion everything. He's stepped in and started controlling my life."

"Why are you letting him?" Ben asked.

"Brian is hard to refuse once he decides something," Michael explained and looked at Justin. "You really do need to tell him though. You let him make most of the decisions before."

Justin nodded. "I know that, but things are different now. I've learned to be fully independent, to run my own life," he said. "I can't just let someone come in and take that away from me. No matter how much I love him."

"You need to tell him that," Ben stated.

Justin nodded.

"Are you going to stay?" Ben asked. "Or are you leaving everyone again?"

He bit his lip for a long minute and the other men allowed him to think. "I'm going to stay," he finally said. He was so tired of being alone. "I just hope I can make it work here."

"Of course you can," Ben said with a smile. "You have family and that's what is important." He gently squeezed Justin's arm. "It may take time for them to come to grips with everything, but they will."

Justin sighed and leaned back into the couch. The pain pill was finally working so the pain in his rib the move caused was dulled.

"I don't know what I'm going to do, Ben," he admitted.

"Are you going to stay with Brian?" He asked simply.

Did he want to stay with Brian? He wanted to be with Brian, he loved him. He just wasn't the same as he had been when he left. Brian didn't know that yet.

He shook his head. "I can't," he sighed. "At least not right now. I need to figure out what I'm doing here first. He has to realize I've changed before either of us can honestly think about that."

"Very grown up," Ben observed with a raised brow and a smile.

"Had to grow up sometime," he said with a faint smile.

"Where are you going to stay then?" Michael asked calmly. "Mom will let you stay with her."

Justin visibly shuddered. "I love Deb, but there is no way I can stay with her," he said honestly. "Same goes for my mom. I'd be better off at Brian's."

Michael nodded. "Stay here," he said, surprising the other two men.

"What?" Justin managed after a second.

"You can stay with us for now," he said then looked at his husband. "If that's okay."

Ben smiled brightly, so happy with Michael's change of heart and his kindness. "I think that is a perfect idea," he said honestly.

"I don't know," Justin said slowly to Michael. "Do you think it's a good idea?"

"I think is a great idea," he said honestly. "We may have to work some things out between the two of us, but staying here will be good for you."

"No pitying or babying," Ben pointed out.

"Understanding and acceptance," Michael added. "I may not be positive, but I understand better than anyone else in the family."

Justin looked at the man, so surprised. Michael was constantly surprising him since he walked in the door.

He looked between the two men, seeing that they really meant it. They would let him stay here, and they weren't treating him like he was sick.

"I don't have any money to give you," he admitted softly.

"You don't have to," Ben said. "Family looks out for each other."

Michael smiled a little. "And you are family, especially to us now."

Justin frowned.

"We're related," Ben said with a gentle smile. "Me, you, and Hunter."

"By the disease?" Justin said bitterly.

"No," Ben said. "By blood."

Justin stared at Ben for a long minute, seeing he really meant that. He reached out and threw his arms around the man, not caring if it brought a sting of pain to his shoulder. He pressed his face into the man's shoulder and surprised himself by crying. Real acceptance.

Ben held the smaller man to his chest, surprised by his action. He held him though, rubbing his back as he cried softly.

Michael watched the two and was glad he put his past feeling aside. This was a different Justin, and Michael felt as if he already knew him better than the old Justin. He understood certain things in this man's life and knew how hard it was all going to be for him. Justin needed people who could understand and help him.

"Why don't you get some sleep," Ben suggested to Justin when he finally stopped his silent tears and pulled away. "It's been a hard day for you."

Justin wiped his face with the bottom of his shirt. "I don't know how to thank you," he said honestly.

"How about helping in the kitchen until we can work out rent or find your own place?" Michael asked lightly and was rewarded with a real smile from the man.

"I can certainly do that," he said standing up.

"Everything will work out," Ben told him. "It might take time, but it will."

Justin nodded, wanting to believe him.

"We'll start tomorrow by getting you settled in here."

"Thank you," Justin said softly.

"The door to the guest room is open," Michael told him.

"Thank you, Michael," he said looking into the man's eyes, letting him know how much the entire evening meant to him.

"Friends, family, enemies," he said lightly. "We're all three, but then all good families are."

Justin laughed once then yawned. "Especially this crazy one."

Michael laughed as the man made his way upstairs.

"You really surprised me tonight, Michael," Ben said honestly.

Michael looked at his husband and smiled. "Like I told him, I want to put old feelings aside and start fresh. He's changed, I've changed. As much as I want to hate him for what he did," he looked down for a second then back to his husband, "I understand why he did it and I can't hate him for that."

"It was kind of you to offer him a place to stay."

"Justin needs to be somewhere that he's understood," he said honestly. "Here, we can all help him."

"It sounds like you're going to be a good friend."

Michael smiled, hoping the man was right.

In so many stories I read Michael is cast in a more negative light. I wanted him to be more grown up now. To me it made perfect sense for him to accept Justin now, to want to help him. It was not a sudden change of heart for him. I'm not sure if I got it across that he was letting go of some of his anger as he understood what happened to Justin.