"Sunshine? Where's my little artiste?" Brian shrugged out of his tie the moment he opened the loft door, then rushed to dispose of the rest of his suit and pants.

"I'm in the kitchen, Brian," Justin answered, thinking, some things never change. First thing he does when he gets home is take off his clothes, he smirked. Moments later, a shiver ran down his spine as his partner, dressed only in his briefs now, sensuously snaked his long arms around his lover's waist and pulled him back into a passionate kiss.

"Mmmm…..What smells so good? Besides you, that is," he deadpanned as he and Justin came up for air, both panting breathlessly.

Justin smiled back. "Chicken teriyaki. Should be ready in about 10 minutes…..that is, if you quit distracting me, old man." Brian jumped adroitly to dodge the blond's hand that was about to slap his ass.

"Old man? That will cost you later, twat."

Justin winked. "I'm counting on it. Now let me finish dinner." Brian gave his partner a chaste peck on the cheek. "Yes, Dear," he replied in falsetto. Walking back to the couch, he picked up the paper to peruse while Justin finished fixing dinner in the wok set up on the stove.

"By the way, Brian, I almost forgot to ask you. Did you arrange for a delivery to be made today?"

Brian peered from over the top of the paper. "What type of delivery, Sunshine? For Kinnetik?"

"No. A delivery here to the studio. A very expensive delivery, I might add. Did you have anything to do with that, Mr. Kinney?"

Brian rolled his eyes. "You're going to have to be more specific than that, Justin. Exactly what kind of delivery was it? Was there a hustler on your doorstep this morning? If so, that was misdirected. It was supposed to be delivered to ME."

"Very funny, Brian. Are you telling me the candy wasn't your idea?" If Brian was kidding, he was doing a very convincing job of it, Justin thought.

"Candy? Now why would I have something that is shit full of carbs like that delivered here? I'd have to be at the gym for a week straight, or at least spend the week in bed fucking you non-stop. Although that wouldn't exactly be the worse punishment I could think of." Brian's eyebrows rose and he leered suggestively at his partner, making Justin blush momentarily. But when his lover hesitated, his curiosity intensified.

"Well," Justin stammered. He wasn't sure just how much to say about the mysterious delivery. He knew Brian. If he told the man there was a card with the candy that read, "From your secret admirer," and Brian hadn't sent it to him, he was NOT going to be pleased. How much should he say to him? For better or worse, he chose the lesser of two evils.

"Yes?" Brian continued to stare at Justin, waiting for an answer.

"Well," Justin repeated. "A delivery came this morning just before 11:00, when Emmett arrived to go to lunch with me. There was a box of fancy-looking chocolates inside, and they tasted FANTASTIC. Emmett then told me that he recognized the brand name as one George had told him about. Said they were made with real flecks of 24-carat gold and cost $508.00 a POUND." Justin looked closely at Brian for his reaction.

Brian blinked his eyes as if he were trying to clear his brain. Surely he hadn't heard Justin right. "Did you say $508.00 a POUND? Holy shit," he exclaimed when Justin nodded affirmatively. "I've never heard of chocolates being that fucking expensive. Where did they come from?" He looked intently at the artist. His curiosity was definitely piqued now, along with another feeling he refused to acknowledge. One that he always seemed to get whenever someone else paid special attention to his partner.

"That's what I'D like to know," Justin replied, averting his eyes somewhat. Again he debated. Should I tell Brian about the card? What good would it do if I did? It would only make things worse. Aloud, he added, "There wasn't a return address on the box, only my name and the studio's address. There wasn't any sender's address anywhere." Well, at least that PART was the truth. "I figured YOU had sent them for some reason."

"Sunshine, I confess that in times of rare, extreme insanity I may have done something similar to that," Brian admitted grudgingly. He did not even want to think about last year when he feared he was about to lose the man he loved so much to that arrogant man, Lane Prescott. "But I prefer to see my gold in a Rolex, not EAT it inside some fucking candy."

"Oh. Well, I really didn't think it was too likely, I guess. Maybe it was a well-to-do studio patron who was thanking me for the artwork?" Justin really didn't believe that, however. Not after he saw what the accompanying card had said. By now, though, he just preferred to try and forget about it, and concentrate, instead, on the almost naked man lounging on his couch that consistently made his heart beat faster and his senses go into overload at the sight of him.

"That would be one hell of a thank you, Sunshine." Brian began to rack his brain for an answer, before he was quickly sidetracked by the sight of his lover strolling over languidly to straddle his legs over the older man's thighs. "Forget about the dessert, Brian," he purred. "I want to start on the appetizer first." As Justin slowly pulled the briefs down Brian's long legs, all thoughts about the outrageously-priced chocolates in the refrigerator were quickly forgotten for the rest of the evening.

The Next Day

"Sunshine! How nice to see you, baby! Come and give me a big hug!"

"Now, Deb, I remember the killer hug Michael said you gave him when he returned from Portland. I think he called it the "Venus Flytrap" hug," he joked. "Go easy on me, okay?" Smiling, he returned the hug affectionately while the redhead ruffled his blond hair.

"It's so GOOD to see you, Sunshine. Are you eating enough? Is that asshole treating you right?" She stood back to studiously scrutinize one of her surrogate sons.

"Yes, Deb, Brian's treating me just fine. Don't worry," he reassured her. "I was in the area today to pick up some supplies, and thought I'd just stop in for a minute to say hello. I miss you and the other guys, now that Brian and I live farther away. But the art studio's doing great, and I LOVE the new loft. It's so nice to have my studio right downstairs and the neighborhood's great. And Brian's commute is shorter, so we can spend more time together now." He blushed slightly at the thought of just what type of activities Brian and he were participating in with their extra time. Well, we're both certainly getting a workout.

"Well, you tell that man I'm keeping tabs on him to make sure he treats you right, Sunshine." She looked him over closely. "Still doesn't appear he's feeding you enough, though. Kiki!" Deb shouted to the tall, dark-haired waitress standing behind the counter. "Get Sunshine here a triple decker burger, large onion rings, and a large Chocolate shake – on me!"

"Deb, I'm fine – you don't have to do that," he began.

"Don't you fucking start with me, Sunshine! You're going to eat all of it, or I'm going to arrange for a feeding tube to be placed in a particularly sensitive part of your anatomy." She wagged a gaudily-colored fingernail at him. "You got it?

Justin couldn't help laughing. God, he loved this woman. "I got it, Deb," he said penitently, sitting down at one of the counter chairs to await his "feast."

Justin had to admit. The burger tasted great. He always thought the hamburgers the diner served with the toasted buns could not be beat. He had missed this special kind of "cuisine." He was just about to dig into another onion ring when he heard his name called by the front door.

"Justin Taylor?" The man calling his name was tall, with graying, dark brown hair. He wore a casual pair of navy Dockers and a beige polo shirt. In his hand was a small, white delivery envelope about 9 inches long.

"That's me," Justin answered, a little puzzled to hear his name called here at the diner. He no longer worked at the diner since he and Brian had moved to Lawrenceville about a year ago.

"This is for you," the man replied, handing Justin the small package. He promptly turned around and headed out the door before Justin could utter another word.

Looking at the package, Justin again noticed no return address on the package, only his name with no delivery address. How did the man know I was here? He felt Debbie's eyes on him curiously as he ripped open the Mylar packaging and glanced inside at the hard, rectangular-shaped, Robin's egg blue box insulated inside between some bubble wrap. The name Tiffany's was inscribed tastefully in small letters at the lower right-hand corner.

With slightly shaking hands, he slowly opened up the hinged lid of the box and looked inside. Strapped within the box was a flexible, platinum colored bracelet composed of two intertwining shaped braids. He looked inside the package and the box, but did not find a card this time.

"Ooh. Sunshine. Shit! That is gorgeous! Where did it come from, honey?" Debbie hadn't seen anything so beautiful since Emmett had generously bought her a diamond bracelet several years ago from George's estate money.

Justin swallowed the lump in his throat. "I don't know, Deb," he replied, concerned. He picked the bracelet up to study it more closely, and turned it over. That was when he realized there was an inscription on the back of the bracelet:

It said, "Two hearts and two bodies that will soon be united as one. Your secret admirer"

Justin closed his eyes briefly. This was starting to get a little spooky. First the expensive chocolates yesterday, now this bracelet from Tiffany's. He was convinced Brian was not behind these gifts. But who? These gifts were EXPENSIVE in the extreme. The idea they were from some art buyer didn't seem too likely. After all, they were already paying thousands of dollars for one of Justin's paintings as it is.

And while Justin had certainly had his share of admirers over the last several years, most of them were just ordinary working-class men from the Pitts, hardly the types who could afford to purchase gifts of this magnitude. Besides, Justin hadn't even so much as flirted with another man since Brian had made good on his promise to share his bed only with him. With Brian's increasing devotion to his partner, Justin hadn't felt any need to seek out any other man's affections, nor was he interested in doing so.

Not really knowing what to do with the bracelet, he finished up his meal and quickly bade Debbie goodbye. He finally stuffed the box inside his jacket pocket as he walked out of the diner. Looking around a little self-consciously, he did not notice anything in particular out of the ordinary, or anyone looking at him differently. Nevertheless, he walked briskly up the street to catch the bus back to the Blackbird Studios loft, anxiously anticipating Brian's return and the loving, secure feel of his partner's arms around him.

"Did you have the package delivered today as I instructed you?" The black-haired, green-eyed man looked up as his assistant approached his office.

"Yes, sir," the man assured his superior. "The detective was able to follow Mr. Taylor to the Liberty Diner. He arranged for the courier to deliver the package there later today. Mr. Taylor then took the package with him on the bus back to his living quarters."

The man nodded approvingly. "Good. You know what to do tomorrow?"

"Yes, sir. It will be done as you had requested." Nodding respectively, the assistant left his superior's office.

The black-haired man smiled. Soon, Angel. Soon.

.