Brian walked into the diner and, spotting Mikey at one of the booths, joined him. Deb brought Brian a cup of coffee. She'd also brought a menu, but she didn't set it in front of him. Instead, she used it to smack him in the back of the head.

Brian looked at her sharply and cried, "What the fuck, Deb?"

Deb had her hand on her hip and was cracking her gum. Calmly, she informed him, "I received a frantic phone call from Jennifer Taylor last night."

Brian sighed and looked down at his coffee.

Confusion evident in Mikey's eyes, he repeated slowly, "Jennifer Taylor. Wait. Isn't that Justin's mom?"

Deb nodded slowly. Then she said, "You wouldn't believe what she told me."

Brian didn't respond. He simply drank his coffee.

"What did she say, Ma?"

"She said that not only was Brian seeing Justin again but also that they were living together. That, in fact, they were looking for a new apartment to share."

Mikey gasped. "You're moving out of the loft?"

Then his eyes widened. "…and you're going to live somewhere else with Justin?"

Brian sighed. "To describe it as moving out is a little strong. I'm merely subletting the loft for a while."

Mikey stammered, "But I thought Mrs. Taylor told you to stay away from Justin…"

Deb nodded. "She did."

"Isn't that bad for Justin? I mean, couldn't forcing him to remember hurt him? Isn't that why she told us all to stay away?"

Deb nodded again. "Yes, that's exactly why."

Brian scoffed. "Bullshit."

Deb's eyes widened. She countered, "She just wants what's best for her son."

Brian stared directly into Deb's eyes and repeated, "Bullshit. What she wants is to erase last year permanently. But whatever she does, whatever she tries to get us to do, Justin will still be a fag. And he'll still be in love with me."

Deb quirked an eyebrow. "And how do you know that?"

Brian shrugged. "He told me."

Suspiciously Deb asked, "Under what circumstances?"

Brian shot Deb an annoyed look and said defensively, "I didn't tell him anything. Not at first. And not much anyway. We decided that we wouldn't talk about the past. That'd we'd let his memory come back on its own."

Deb sighed. "How did you even see him again? His mother's had him locked up pretty tight. Or so she said."

Brian chuckled. "Yeah, their house was a real Fort Knox. Daphne brought him to Liberty Avenue, just like last time."

She pressed, "So it was a coincidence, was it?"

Brian replied flatly, "No. I knew he was coming."

Then he added defensively, "But he approached me."

Mikey cried, "What the fuck, Brian? You were finally rid of him! All you had to do was stay away!"

Deb was smiling now. She teased, "But you couldn't, could you?"

Almost simultaneously, an exasperated Mikey cried, "Was the sex really that good?" and a beaming Deb asked, "You love him, don't you?"

Staring straight ahead, Brian replied softly, "Yes."

Deb and Mikey looked at each other in confusion and then at Brian. In unison they asked, "Yes to which?"

Brian just smiled, tossed a five on the table, and left.

*************

Justin walked into Torso, beaming.

Emmett couldn't help but smile, too. He asked cheerfully, "Well, don't you look pleased as punch! Did something wonderful happen?"

Emmett had not thought it possible, but, at that, Justin smiled even more brightly.

He admitted shyly, "Yes."

Emmett ran up to the counter, to which Justin was headed, leaned forward against it, and cupped his chin in his hands. Eagerly, he exclaimed, while also tilting his head (still cupped in his hands), "Do tell!"

Justin sat in a tall chair next to the counter. He sighed in contentment. "Where do I even start? So much happened…"

Emmett replied softly, "At the beginning, Baby" and, temporarily uncupping one side of his face, patted Justin's hand.

Subdued excitement in his voice, Justin said, "Well…after work, I took Brian to see my apartment. He told me it was a dump…"

Emmett laughed. That was so Brian. When Justin looked at Emmett strangely, he cleared his throat and asked incredulously, "He did? That's not very nice."

Justin, now more at ease, chuckled. "Well, Brian's a tell-it-like-it-is kind of person, and it really is a dump. But I guess it's a good thing he thinks so because he and I are going to look for an apartment to live in together…"

Emmett's jaw dropped. "He asked you to move in with him?"

Justin smiled broadly and nodded.

"…and he's going to move out of his place so you can find a place together?"

Justin nodded again.

"Wow! How long have you been dating?"

Justin blushed. He stammered, "Well…uh…it's complicated, but, technically, only a couple of weeks."

"Oh…that's fast!"

Justin looked down. In a near whisper, he replied, "Yeah, but it feels so right."

Emmett watched Justin closely as he prodded, "You two must like each other a lot!"

Justin flushed with pleasure. "Actually, last night, Brian told me that he loves me."

Emmett was so astonished that his head slipped out of his hands, and he nearly banged it on the counter. Luckily, he caught himself just in time. He exclaimed, "Brian Kinney told you that he loves you?!!"

Justin's eyes widened. "I didn't tell you his last name. Do you know Brian from somewhere else?"

Emmett cursed himself inwardly. Nervously, he 'explained,' "Oh…well…I don't really know him…"

And clearly that was true. He never would have believed it possible for Brian to make such a turnaround.

"But I know of him…you know, people talk, and I see him around Liberty Avenue."

Justin seemed satisfied by this clarification. He nodded. Then he blushed and looked down as he asked, in a shaky voice, "So…is it really weird to move in with someone so soon? My mother flipped when I told her."

Emmett tilted his head and smiled (he was so proud and so happy. Clearly, the bashing hadn't bereft Baby of all his spunk). "You told her?"

Justin nodded. "I've never seen her so angry! I didn't even know she could get that pissed off. She's always been a regular June Cleaver."

In a soft voice, Emmett responded, "Well…for most people, that is a little fast. But I don't know what you meant by complications. For you two, this might be the perfect timing. All I can do is tell you something I learned recently."

Justin looked up. "What's that?"

Emmett, a pained expression in his eyes, continued, "Life is short. So short. My circle just lost a dear friend, someone we treasured. Out of nowhere, he was just gone. So I say fuck your mother (Justin's eyes widened) and anyone else who wants to criticize. Grab whatever happiness you can in life and hold onto it. Hold onto it with all the strength you have. Such things will be taken from us soon enough, through death or some other thing…it seems foolish to ever let them go willingly…"