Dynatosagni had decided to take a more direct, but not dissimilar, approach from Avaarha's (though he was unaware of her plans), one that he'd used, and successfully, many times. That is, he intended to catch Brian at a weak moment and either seduce him or use the attempt to instill doubt in Justin about Brian's fidelity. Unfortunately, at the moment, Brian and Justin were closer than ever. So he'd been watching Brian, and waiting. And today, he'd seen Brian's intense jealousy for that handsome stranger, as well as that handsome stranger's clear interest in Justin. Dynatosagni laughed joyfully. Very soon, Dynatosagni would have his chance.

*********

As it turned out, Justin's injuries were only first-degree burns. The emergency room doctor applied some Lidocaine/aloe vera topical gel to them to provide Justin immediate relief from the pain, which was still substantial, and gave Justin a tube of plain aloe vera gel to facilitate the healing process and a bottle of ibuprofen to reduce the swelling. Then the doctor sent Justin on his merry way. And merry he was.

Justin raised his eyebrows and teased, in a singsong voice, "You were soooo jealous! Brian Kinney was jealous!"

Brian scoffed, "Of Mr. Good Samaritan? Not likely."

Justin smiled brightly, his eyes twinkling. "Oh yeah, you were. You couldn't stake your claim on me fast enough."

Brian harrumphed and rolled his eyes. But he didn't deny it. He couldn't. As was always the case, he'd wanted to rip that guy's head off just for looking at Justin, for wanting him. Except that now, Brian was not tortured by the knowledge that other men might soon be sucking Justin off…might soon be fucking or being fucked by him. Course, back then, Brian hadn't known that Justin never let anyone but Brian fuck him. But that would have been little comfort. Whatever Brian'd said in the past, he'd never been comfortable sharing Justin with anyone. Not even on date night. Brian had been, as ever, a man of contradictions. He had been especially possessive after Ian, which was why Brian had offered to give monogamy a try shortly after Justin had returned to him.

"So we're partners now?"

Inner Justin whispered nervously, "Please say that we are. I need to hear you confirm it."

Brian snapped out of his haze and turned to look at Justin. Justin was wearing a confident expression, but it was, unfortunately, belied by his eyes; they held vulnerability.

Brian ignored Inner Justin. He clenched a fist and replied archly, "Are we?"

Justin was genuinely flabbergasted. "What?"

Brian turned his eyes back to the road. He stated coldly, "You wanted him."

"Who?"

"Mr. Good Samaritan."

Justin had forgotten all about that guy. Once Brian had arrived, nothing else had mattered. Especially after Brian had called Justin his partner and carried him out of the diner. Justin cracked a smile at the thought. It'd been so An Officer and a Gentleman. Justin laughed. "Him? Brian, please."

Brian narrowed his eyes and hissed, "You were hard."

Justin looked down. His chest tightened. There was no denying that the guy had turned him on. But then he took a deep breath and looked back up. "Brian. Brian. Look at me."

After a few long moments, Brian turned his head. His eyes held an accusation. Justin pressed his lips together and then said, as evenly as he could manage, "So what if he did? A lot of guys get me hard."

Brian's eyes flashed, and he turned away. Justin continued, "Yeah, a lot of guys get me hard. But a lot of guys get you hard, too. That doesn't mean I want to fuck them. Why would I? I have you. You're all I want."

Inner Brian whispered, "I need to know you mean that."

Justin's eyes widened.

Brian looked down and sighed. He was acting insane, and he knew it. But he also knew the danger of a little admiration where Justin was concerned. Mr. Good Samaritan was a threat, and not simply because he was hot. But making accusations wouldn't help. Brian had to trust. That was something he'd never wanted to do. He'd built walls and created rules so that he never needed to trust. Trust could be so easily betrayed. But now, trust and love were all he had to rely on. Brian smirked and said, with faux lightness and amusement, though he hoped Justin wouldn't pick up on it, "Good point. Why fuck anyone else when you have me?"

Justin smiled and breathed a sigh of relief. Brian had just been teasing him. Right? Probably to get back at him for teasing Brian about his jealousy, and about their being partners. Justin laughed as he exclaimed, "You shouldn't fuck with me like that!"

Brian smirked and drawled, "Sunshine, you're just too easy."

Justin was still uneasy, but he tried not to show it. Instead, he moved closer to Brian and nuzzled his neck as he whispered huskily, "I thought that's what you liked best about me." Brian began to pant as Justin started unbuttoning and unzipping his pants, and, just as Justin took Brian's cock into his mouth, Brian closed his eyes and breathed, "Not even close, Sunshine. Not even close."

At the same time, Inner Brian and Inner Justin whispered, "I love you."

*********

Kaila was uneasy. Something wasn't right, but she couldn't put her finger on what. Mr. Perfect's sudden appearance, his "saving" Justin, Brian's deep (and obvious) jealousy, the guilt coming off of Justin in waves. Circumstances were lining up in an extremely unfortunate way. It couldn't be coincidental. No way.

*********

Jacob was watching half-naked men dancing at Babylon. And he was excited. But not for the reason one might think. His new powers were quite extensive, as he was only just discovering. And his strongest powers involved the skill he had had in life and in death, getting inside people, at first figuratively and then literally. But now, he could "possess" people for more than just a minute or two at a time. And he thought he could make it possible for William to do the same. For the first time in so, so many years, Jacob and William could make love, in actual bodies, instead of just intermingling their incorporeal forms. True, that kind of union was incredible, something Jacob could never have dreamed of in life, but still, physical union was incredible, too. Pretty soon, Jacob and William would have both.