*~Partners~*

"Hey Sunshine!" Brian sang out as walked past the large steel door with his bag and a bottle of champagne. "Come congratulate me. Your partner just made partner."

Lowering his bags Brian looked around only to discover that Justin was not there. Moving into the bedroom with his luggage he noticed that the new sweater he'd bought Justin about a month ago was not hanging in the closet as it normally did. Placing the bottle on the nightstand he opened the dresser and saw that some of the youth's other clothes were missing as well. For a moment the newly-made partner stood in silence. He wouldn't have gone to Vermont . . . and without telling him? It soon sunk in however that that was precisely what Justin had done. On the dresser was the second ticket; Justin had gone alone. Brian's mind raced with possibilities as he stood and placed his hands on his hips. Before he could change his mind he reached into the closet for his other suitcase and packed yet another set of clothes for the intense weather.

In less than 20 minutes he was ready to go and the instant he heard the buzzer he raced outside and climbed into the waiting cab. On the short ride to the airport he called ahead and purchased a one-way ticket to Vermont since he'd taken the other ticket with him and it was two way and he certainly had no desire to leave before Justin did. Brian only hoped he was able to get to him before too much time was lost, or before the younger man grew so angry with him that he refused to speak to him. He had hated to feeling of coming home to no one when he had been so certain that Justin would be there waiting for him and he wanted to be reconnected with his lover as soon as possible. The plane ride seemed much longer than his brain told him it was and the entire time all he could think about was that he couldn't believe what he was doing. Since when did Brian Kinney ever chase anyone, especially across states? Then again, this wasn't the first time Justin had him crossing state lines to get him back.

A little more than three hours later he finally found himself at the front desk of the B&B that Justin had found a few days ago. He informed the man that he was Brian Kinney who Justin had also put down when he'd booked the room a few days ago and apparently never called to change it. Grabbing a hold of his baggage again Brian made his way to the second floor and quietly slipped his key into the lock before he slowly opened the door. The inside was exactly what Justin had described to him only it was a little difficult to make out details for the room was void of all artificial light. Fireplace. Jacuzzi. Extremely nice. Placing his things down he looked around and finally found what he was seeking.

Lying on his side on the enormous bed was Justin, sleeping soundly on top of all the covers in all his clothes, as if he'd just curled up there to rest. Brian smiled and walked over to the bed, carefully sitting down on the edge and gentle touched the side of the young man's face. After a moment, he felt the soft skin beneath his fingertips begin to move and as he continued to softly caress him the eyelids slowly twitched. Brian grinned as he caught the first glimpse of cobalt peeking out from beneath their hood of skin. Before his eyes opened fully however, Justin reared up and moved his hands up in preparation to either protect himself or shove the invader away.

"Whoa!" Brian said moving his own hands up in the air in surrender. "It's all right, it's me."

Justin squinted his eyes and then seemed to realize that the image of Brian's before him was neither a vision nor a dream.

"Brian?"

Laughing a little, the dark haired man lowered his hands and slid closer to him.

"Yeah," he said softly. "Way to make me feel welcome."

"What are you doing here?" Justin questioned.

"I have big news," he confessed as he reached to touch the side of his face. "You weren't there when I got home, so I came to find you."

"You came all this way just to tell me something?"

Brian cocked his head slowly.

"Partly, yes"

Justin did not say anything further he only continued to look into Brian's eyes until his lover gave him a little smile and very carefully kissed his mouth.

"And I missed you."

"You missed me?" Justin asked arching an eyebrow.

Brian gave him a look and leaned in to rest his forehead against his. Satisfied, Justin moved closer to him and all but crawled into his lap as he slipped his arms around his neck.

"So, what's your big news?"