Thank you everyone for your reviews, and I hope you're enjoying the story. As always, Zevgirl does an awesome job of cleaning up after me :)

"If you're having so much trouble making the lines straight, how about using something called a ruler? Now fix this and get it back to me before noon!"

Justin grimaced, pausing beside the glass block wall outside Brian's office. He lowered his eyes as a short brunette hurried out, pretending not to notice her reddened eyes as her high heels clicked away.

"Oh, thank God you're here. Maybe you can appease his royal highness since no one else can."

Justin turned around, already smiling as he faced Cynthia. "Not even you?"

"Not even me." She rolled her eyes. "He came in early and has been like this since. Won't tell me what crawled up his ass."

Justin sighed. If Brian had chosen to not tell his assistant about his mother's death, then Justin would refrain also.

"I'll see what I can do, okay?"

She patted his arm gratefully and headed briskly toward her own office. Justin straightened his shoulders, breathed deep, and entered the lion's lair.

Brian was standing before the window, his back to Justin, sipping from a Starbucks cup. Justin waited quietly until he turned around, grinning at Brian's startled expression.

"Still driving them with a whip?"

"None of them can do the job you could." Brian set the coffee on his desk, looking everywhere but at Justin. "I'm sorry I didn't come home last night."

"Sorry's bullshit." Justin stepped closer, noting the dark circles under his lover's eyes. "Michael said you were okay, so I didn't worry." He decided not to tell him that Michael had also recommended that Justin keep a close eye on Brian. "Anything I can do to help?"

"If you're talking about the funeral, it's taken care of. Mother, dear, left me a note specifying exactly how she wanted it. Took all the fun out of planning it. I was looking forward to ordering black roses." Brian picked up a sample sketch of an ad. "It will be held tomorrow at eleven." He turned the ad around for Justin's perusal. "What do you think?"

Justin took the sketch, tossing it on the desk. "I think you should take the day off. I know work gives you something to keep yourself occupied, but you're not really up to this." Neither are your employees.

"I'm fine. If you want someone to console, go see my sister." Brian sat down and turned to his computer. "Now if you don't mind, I need to get some stuff done since I won't be here tomorrow."

"Brian . . . ."

"I'm. Fine."

Justin bit his lip. "You're not, but I'll give you some peace." He approached his partner and placed a kiss on his cheek. "I'm still on to you," he whispered. "You don't fool me."

Ignoring the icy glare from his partner, he left, his shoes squeaking mercilessly on the polished floor.

"So, how do you like your Dad's new house?"

Gus glanced over at Michael, who was smiling far too much for this early in the morning. His "uncle" had picked him up at 8 A.M. for his first day at the comic store. Justin had woken him at 7:30 with a full minute of loud knocks at his bedroom door, and Gus barely had a chance to shower and dress before Michael was barging in the front door yelling for him. Having ignored Justin's goodbye, he now wished he had grabbed coffee on his way out. There had been no sign of his dad.

"It's okay."

"That pool is pretty cool, huh?" Michael nodded to himself as he drove toward Liberty Avenue. "Your dad said I can bring JR over for a swim whenever she wants."

"She doesn't like to be called JR anymore."

"Yeah, she told us that, but I keep forgetting. She still seems like my baby girl, you know?"

Gus rolled his eyes. Why did parents have such a hard time letting their kids grow up? Did they want their children dependent on them forever?

"Anyway, I got some errands to run today after I show you around, but don't worry. Ashley agreed to come in and give you some first-day training."

"Ashley?"

"Yeah, she's my other employee. I used to run the store myself, but these days, I'm going back to school." Michael grinned, clearly proud of himself. "Ben suggested it. I get a discount at the college where he's a professor, so we can afford it. So I need help running the store. I had another guy working with Ashley, but he resigned, so you're a godsend."

Yeah, right. More like a dad-send.

"I'll pay you what Ashley makes. That alright?"

"Sure." What else could he say?

"You getting used to having Justin around?"

Gus grit his teeth. "He's annoying."

"Really?" Michael turned his attention from driving to give Gus a closer look. "Justin's pretty easy-going, and he was looking forward to getting to know you again. He used to babysit you a lot, you know."

The thing was Gus actually remembered Justin from when he was little. Not in a solid sense, but in flashes of color and movement: light reflected on blond hair, a larger hand guiding his own as he held a crayon, a blinding smile when Gus managed to complete a somersault. Maybe if he had been younger, he might have enjoyed Justin's return. He was not a naive child anymore, however, and there were other images he could not forget: the sadness radiating from his dad whenever Gus used to ask where Justin was, the time he caught a glimpse of Dad placing a picture of Justin in the bottom of a drawer, the steely glare Dad gave anyone who said Justin's name.

In the end, he said nothing. Uncle Michael was not a bad guy, but Gus did not know where he stood. He definitely did not want Michael repeating things to his father.

Michael parked on the street across from the store. Unlocking the door, he led Gus in, flipping the sign in the window to open. Dust motes danced in the musty air, falling to rest on stacks of comic books. A younger Gus had spent hours here in the past, resting on a beanbag in the corner and perusing the latest Spider-Man while his dad visited with Michael. Now it appeared he would be standing on the other side of the counter.

Michael led him to the storage room first, explaining how the boxes of comics were arranged and showing him all the titles.

"When you have free time, come back here and look through all these. Familiarize yourself with what we stock so that when people ask you if we have something, you'll know."

Periodically, the bell hanging over the front door would chime, and Michael would leave him to go help a customer. During one such prolonged interruption, Gus went to the window by the back door and stared out at the alley, wondering if he had time to sneak a smoke before Michael returned. His moms frowned on smoking and marijuana, but maybe Michael wouldn't care? He seemed to recall his dad talking about the times he had shared weed with his best friend.

"Thinking about running away?"

He whirled to find a petite brunette with a pixie-cut and nose ring eyeing him from across the storage room. She wore a hot-pink tank top and a black denim mini-skirt with flip-flops. Her fingers and toes were painted black, but she wore little makeup. She was grinning while snapping her gum in a manner that reminded him strongly of Grandma Debbie.

"Trust me, it's not that bad here. As long as you're not allergic to dust and comic books."

"Are you Ashley?"

"I prefer Ash, but Mr. Novotny won't use it. You the new employee?"

"I'm Gus. I'm only here for the summer."

"Not from around here?"

"I live with my moms in Toronto." He waited to see how she would react. Most people looked confused when he mentioned his two mothers, but Ashley merely cracked her gum.

"Oh, that's cool. I've never been to Canada."

"My dad wanted me to have a summer job while I'm visiting him, so he stuck me here. Mr. Novotny's his best friend."

"He gay?"

"How'd you know?"

She laughed. "Most people around here are. This is Liberty Avenue, you know."

"Yeah, I know. Been coming here all my life."

Michael walked in, carrying his keys. "Hey, Ashley, I see you've met Gus. Can you show him around? I'll show him the cash register tomorrow, but he can help you with inventory and learning where everything is." He squeezed Gus's shoulder. "I gotta go find a new suit to wear to your Grandma's funeral tomorrow, so I'll be back later, okay?"

He left, the bell ringing in his wake. Ashley headed out to the front, beckoning to Gus to follow. Twirling around, her arms spread wide, she surveyed the empty store.

"Welcome to our kingdom. Kinda dreary, I know, but it's an easy job, and Mr. Novotny's nice." She placed her back up against the checkout counter and pushed herself on top. "You gay too?"

"Me? No."

"Girlfriend back home?"

"Nope."

"I had a boyfriend during the school year, but I finally figured out he was a dick. So that's done." She pulled her gum out of her mouth and tossed it the nearby wastebasket. "Sorry about your grandmother."

"It's okay. I've never met her."

"Wow, really? Why not?"

"She and Dad didn't get along."

The bell chimed, and a boy sauntered in, smirking when he saw Ashley.

"Hey, Ash. Where's Rod? Haven't seen him lately."

"He quit a few weeks ago, Keith. This is his replacement." She flipped her hand at Gus.

"Ah, that sucks." He glanced at Gus. "No offense, man, but Rod was one of my best customers."

"Keith, take your business elsewhere. You know if Mr. Novotny catches you dealing in his store, he'll call the cops." Ashley shot him a glare, hopping back off the counter.

Keith held up both hands, palms out. "Hey, relax. You think I'm stupid? I don't do that stuff when he's around." He pinned Gus with narrowed eyes. "You gonna be a problem, man?"

Hell, maybe this summer wouldn't be so bad after all. Less than a week here, and he'd found a distributor. A little weed and a hit of coke would go a long way to easing his misfortune.

"It's cool." Gus leaned against the counter, crossing his arms. "In fact, I wouldn't mind a little of your business."

Keith leafed through some comic books, eyeing Gus. "You wouldn't, huh? How do I know I can trust you?"

"You can get me in trouble just as easily. My dad's best friends with Mr. Novotny. He finds out I'm buying, and I'm in big trouble."

"Well, I'll think about it, okay?" Keith gave Ashley a wink and walked out just as two younger boys entered. Ashley grabbed Gus's arm and dragged him to the storage room.

"Hey, just so you know, Keith's bad trouble. I'm not your mom, and you can do what you want, but I just wanted to warn you since you're new here."

"Trouble?"

"He gets his stuff from people who don't mess around. I heard a buyer got shot when he didn't pay up. Just thought you should know."

"Okay." He gave her a warm smile. "Thanks."

The rest of the morning passed uneventfully. Michael dropped by at lunch, armed with several boxes from the diner. Then he was out the door, headed to a class. Gus didn't mind; Ashley was amiable and interesting. Her sister was deaf, and Ashley knew American Sign Language. She wanted to become an interpreter when she graduated from high school. Gus had no idea what career to pursue, and the thought of the impending decision filled him with dread.

"My dad owns an advertising agency. I guess I could always work there if I can't decide."

"He have a partner? I like Mr. Novotny's husband. He's so nice and damn, but he's hot!"

Gus grimaced. "He has a guy living with him, but it's complicated. See, they met sixteen years ago when I was born. I don't know the whole story, but it sounds like they were always getting together, breaking it off, and then reuniting again. Finally, after five years, my dad's boyfriend left for New York to pursue an art career. He never came back. Suddenly, a year ago, I guess they ran into each other again, and Justin moved back to Pittsburgh to live with my dad."

"Sounds romantic." Ashley paused to ring up a customer's purchase. "You like him?"

"I wish he'd never come back."

Ashley frowned. "Why? Aren't they happy?"

"Like I said, it's complicated."

"Try me. I love a good romance."

Gus sighed. "First, you need to understand that my dad is twelve years older than Justin. They met when he was only seventeen."

"You're kidding!"

"Nope. I don't get it either, believe me. But they hit it off. My mom said they had a turbulent but passionate relationship. She said Justin was the only man my dad ever loved. But then he went to New York and never came back."

"What happened?"

"My moms said they don't know. Dad wouldn't talk about it."

"But now they're back together! That's awesome."

"No it isn't." Gus scratched his head in frustration. "What happens if Justin leaves him again? I don't know if I can trust him, and I don't want to see my dad get hurt. I have no confidence that he's going to stay, and if he leaves, it will kill my dad. He's been so different since Justin came back . . . happier than I can ever remember. But there's no way Justin's going to be happy living in the Pitts. He's a well-known artist."

"I can't imagine anyone wanting to live here," said Ashley. "It's so boring. You're lucky to live in Toronto. Maybe you should give Justin a chance, though. Who knows what happened between them before?"

Gus shook his head, clenching his fists. "I won't let him hurt my dad. I'm his only family, so I have to watch out for him, you know?"

"So responsible," Ashley laughed. "I can't stand my dad!"

We take care of each other, thought Gus. It's the way it's always been.

It's how it always would be. Let Justin run back to New York; Gus would be there to pick up the pieces.

Brian hadn't come home.

Justin stared listlessly out the front window, waiting for headlights to appear in the driveway. It was midnight, and doubtlessly, Brian was drinking himself into another stupor at his office. The drinking didn't worry him. The fact that they had not had sex since Brian's mother died, did. Sex was Brian's passion. He rarely went an entire twenty-four hours without at least one fuck, usually much more than that. For him, it was sustenance, a form of religion worthy of Brian's respect. It was also their main form of communication, a frenzied storm of give and take, a rhythm of love where words weren't needed.

In the old days, Justin would have worried that Brian was taking his needs elsewhere, but he wasn't worried about that now. Since they had started barebacking, Brian had discovered a new appreciation for monogamy. Sex had become a new world of intimacy and pleasure that Brian had never known and would not now give up. Just thinking about how it felt . . . Brian coming inside him without a condom . . . made Justin hard. No, Brian wasn't out tricking; he was sure of it.

He heard movement in the kitchen. Gus was probably getting a snack or something to drink. Michael had dropped him off after his shift, and following his usual routine, Gus had retreated to his room. When Justin called him for dinner, he ate quickly and returned to seclusion. Justin had tried to ask him questions about his first day at the comic store, but the answers were sullen and short.

"Dad not coming home again?"

Accusation practically dripped from Gus's words. Justin sighed and turned to acknowledge the moody teen.

"Apparently, not. He's having a hard time with this, I think. Don't take it personally. I'm sure he doesn't mean be ignoring you."

"I wasn't worried about that." Gus looked out the window for a moment. "I never met his mother. What was she like?"

Surprised that Gus was actually engaging him in a conversation, Justin paused to think. "I met her once, but we didn't talk. She didn't like that your dad was gay. Brian told me she was very religious. And cold. I don't think he had a happy childhood."

"So she was a bitch?"

He sounds just like his father, Justin thought. Direct and uncompromising.

"Seems that way. Sorry this had to happen at the beginning of your visit here. We weren't planning on such a rough start."

"And what were you planning? Bonding activities to bring us all together?"

Clever boy.

"Well, yes." Justin stepped closer to the teen, wishing for any kind of connection. He hated the tension between them. "We didn't want you to feel left out or uncomfortable."

At first, Gus looked as if he would respond, but merely shrugged instead. Retreating into the darkness, he headed back to his room. Justin remained by the window for another hour before exhaustion finally sent him to bed.

Brian never appeared.