From his vantage point in their bedroom, Justin immediately recognized the voice of his friend. His heart began to pound anxiously as he rose quietly from the bed and grabbed his jeans and long-sleeved, navy tee-shirt he had been wearing last night; walking over to the bedroom panels and stepping down into the main living area of the loft, he spied his friend standing in the open doorway with Brian. All of a sudden, he found himself at a loss for words; seeing his best friend with his lover was almost surreal and extremely awkward.
"Nico?" he called out softly, almost feeling like he was imagining what he was seeing. After what Brian had told him about his encounter yesterday, he never thought he would see his best friend – well, former best friend – and his lover in the same room together.
At the sound of his voice, two heads turned over to peer at him intently. From their indecipherable expressions, it was hard to tell what either man was feeling at the moment, but Justin didn't have any problem recognizing his own emotions – apprehension, nervousness, and uncertainty, mixed in with a just a bit of hopefulness. Why exactly was Nico here? Did he want to try and reconcile their friendship? Or was he still deluding himself that he had a chance to be more than that with him? Surely he wasn't going to try and cause trouble between him and Brian, because if that was his intention he was wasting his time; Justin's heart had already been firmly captured by his partner and it wasn't negotiable.
"Justin," Nico responded softly at the blond as he gazed over at his friend. He tamped down his still-strong feelings for him as he looked into the beautiful face that he had fallen in love with. It had been six months since he had seen Justin, and while time had served to mute the sharper edges of his emotions somewhat, his breath still caught in his throat at the sight of the other man.
After Kinney had left his apartment yesterday, Nico had initially sat in deep resentment on the couch, fuming over the other man's audacity in coming there to confront him. He certainly hadn't needed a reminder as to who had come out victorious in the contest over winning Justin's affections. The fact that his friend and Kinney were still together was surprising to him, but it spoke volumes in regards to Justin's strong feelings for the man.
As he had continued to sit there, however, he grudgingly found himself contemplating what Kinney had said. Was he willing to permanently give up his and Justin's long-time friendship over some sense of wounded pride? Was he really coming out ahead by shunning Justin and acting like he didn't exist? Perhaps most importantly of all, if he did agree to resume their friendship, could he learn to deal with his friend being hopelessly infatuated – maybe even in love – with that arrogant, cocky man? He thought back to how he and Justin had met in Chicago and had bonded instantly as two kindred, artistic souls, alike in so many ways that they could have been brothers in another life.
As he remembered all the good times they had had together, though, he eventually found himself smiling in fond reminiscence. Finally, he decided he didn't want to just throw all of what they had away. And deep down, he realized that he had practically pushed Justin into accepting his ring; it had been an impetuous, hurried decision on his part when he had asked Justin to marry him, and he hadn't really provided Justin with sufficient time to think it over. It had hurt like hell at the time – and it still did, to a certain degree – and he wasn't convinced his heart could handle seeing Justin involved with another man, but for their past friendship's sake, he ultimately decided he wanted to give it a try.
As he stood there, though, and noticed Kinney staring at him pointedly with suspicion, he felt just a bit of his fortitude faltering as he nodded slightly at his friend.
Justin tentatively walked up to him and stood a few feet away. Nico noticed him glance over at Brian for a moment to gauge his reaction before he turned his attention back to him and admitted, "I'm surprised to see you."
Nico twisted his lips wryly. "That's makes two of us," he responded honestly. He could feel the tension in the air as the three of them continued to stand near the open door; he glanced over at Kinney, who did nothing to hide his wariness toward him as he kept a watchful eye on his movements.
Justin finally broke the stalemate, asking softly, "Would you like to come in?"
Nico's eyes fell for the first time upon the expansive, open space of the impressive loft that belonged to Justin's lover and he felt extremely out of place; it was almost obscene in its scope compared to his own hovel of an apartment. Kinney had left a business card on the kitchen table with his address written on the back as he had walked out of his apartment yesterday; it was the only way Nico had been able to find Justin when he couldn't locate him at his own apartment over his shop. But as he stood there looking at the expensive space and realizing he was standing in the doorway of the place where Justin and Kinney undoubtedly spent many a night in the man's bed making love, he knew if he was going to talk to Justin, he definitely couldn't do it there.
"Uh, no," he answered at last, shaking his head as he looked over at Kinney, who continued to stare at him in open distrust. "But I would like to talk to you." He licked his lips nervously. "Not here, though." Nico silently hoped that Justin would surely understand why as he suggested, "Can we go somewhere else and maybe grab a bite to eat or something?" Anything to get away from this place – and HIM…..
Justin stood there, unsure of what to do. He really did want to try and straighten things out with Nico – just seeing him here had bolstered that desire, in fact; there was no doubt he had missed his best friend terribly. But at the same time, he didn't want to upset Brian, and his partner was practically shooting daggers back at the other man. Hadn't it been Brian's idea in the first place, though, to try and convince Nico to speak with him? He had known nothing about it until afterward. Now, then, was apparently going to be the test of how much Brian trusted him – and believed in his love for him.
He turned to his lover. "Brian, would you mind if Nico and I went out for some breakfast? I'll be back later," he promised, making sure Brian knew he meant exactly that – that this was a temporary reunion and he had every intention of returning back to where he belonged – in his partner's arms.
Brian concentrated on looking into Justin's crystal blue eyes and studiously ignored the other man standing much too close to him for his comfort. He knew he had brought this situation on himself – he had been the one who had gone to Chicago to try and convince Alvarez to speak to Justin. He would have preferred that he had done it by phone, but he supposed that had been too optimistic and not very realistic to hope for. So he had no one to blame for this rather uncomfortable situation but himself as Justin stared at him questioningly.
He looked over at the dark-haired man almost smugly before walking over to Justin and wrapping his arms around his waist. "Just don't forget your way back here," he whispered huskily before he leaned down to capture Justin's lips with his own; Nico had to turn his head at the demonstration – the feelings under the surface were still too raw, even now.
Justin sighed softly as he responded readily to his kiss for a few seconds, losing himself in the sensation before he realized Nico was still standing there watching and broke it off, a little embarrassed. "I won't," he whispered in promise before the brunet released him. Brian smirked slightly at the other man, giving him a definite "hands off" look, before he nodded and left them alone, walking nonchalantly over to the coffeemaker to begin scooping grounds into the filter. The two other men were effectively forgotten – at least Brian was giving them that impression, anyway – as Justin turned to smile apologetically at his friend for his overzealous kissing demonstration.
"I'm ready," he replied, reaching over to grab his lightweight, ivory-colored jacket hanging over the back of Brian's desk chair and turning to go. He could see his partner opening the top cupboard to retrieve his coffee mug as he motioned with his hand for Nico to lead and the two men left the apartment together, Brian's stare silently following their movements as the loft door was closed shortly afterward.
Justin led Nico over to the elevator as they entered; both men stared at the floor in uncomfortable silence as the car slowly began its descent. The trip downward seemed to take forever until the creaking finally stopped and the door was swung open for them to exit.
As they walked outside, Justin turned to his friend. "What do you feel like eating?" he asked, trying to at least engage in some polite conversation.
Nico shrugged. "You pick," he said simply. He really wasn't very hungry at the moment; seeing Justin again – especially with Kinney hovering close by and smugly kissing him – had made his stomach tie up in knots. He knew he had to get his jealousy under control but he couldn't just turn it off like a light.
Justin nodded. "Well, there's a decent coffee shop about a block down the street," he ventured, relieved just to find Nico actually talking to him again for a change. He had almost convinced himself that he would never have the chance to do that – until Brian had decided to go to Chicago and confront Nico yesterday. He still couldn't quite believe that Brian had been willing to do that for him, because he knew his partner didn't care for his friend. But just knowing that he had done that because he loved him – he was still getting used to that wonderful thought – made his heart warm with gratitude that he had.
"Sounds okay," Nico responded neutrally. They had walked a few steps before he firmly grabbed Justin's forearm to get his attention; the blond turned to look at him in puzzlement, glad that Brian wasn't privy to his action in case he misread it somehow. "Actually, Justin, I'm not really hungry at the moment. Couldn't we just go somewhere private and talk instead?"
Justin hesitated; he had told Brian they were going to get something to eat; would Brian be suspicious if the two of them wound up somewhere else? The last thing he wanted to do was make Brian not trust him again, but he desperately wanted to right things with Nico. He let out a breath of indecision before finally suggesting, "Well, there's a small park down this way with some benches. We could go there."
Nico nodded. "Yeah…..that sounds good," he agreed. Justin looked down at Nico's hand still grasping his shirt sleeve before his friend realized what he was doing and released him with a half-hearted smile. Justin nodded at him before turning to begin walking down the sidewalk toward the park. Their movements were watched closely by Brian, who was standing by his loft windows observing their interaction.
As he watched Nico take Justin's sleeve, he fought to control his urge to rush downstairs and flatten the man where he stood. Just the observance of the man touching his lover, whether in a romantic way or not, still made his blood boil with jealousy. Even though he knew Justin loved him, and logically he knew he had nothing to worry about, it still didn't prevent him from wanting to go down and snatch his lover away, back into his arms where he belonged. But he also knew he had to trust that Justin loved him, not Alvarez, and would return just like he promised.
Brian's observation remaining unbeknownst to Nico and Justin, the two men remained silent as they walked, the air pregnant with tension, until they had reached the park. It was just a city park, approximately a half-acre of woods with a center fountain depicting a group of steelworkers working on a downtown skyscraper and a ring of four park benches surrounding it. It was small as parks normally were measured, but it still provided a small parcel of peace in a rather crowded part of Pittsburgh as Justin led Nico down the cement walkway and took a seat at the end of one of the wooden benches. The park was fortunately void of any other mid-day visitors at the moment, providing the two long-time friends with some much needed privacy.
Nico stood there for a few seconds before he joined Justin on the bench. From their vantage point, the park provided them with a relative haven from the bustle going on not more than a hundred yards away at the street; the only sounds that could be heard at the moment were birdsong and an occasional rustling of the leaves as each waited for the other one to begin.
Justin's adrenalin kicked in as he nervously sat there, wringing his hands in his lap. Now that he and Nico were finally alone, he found himself inexplicably at a loss for words. They had left on less than positive terms six months ago, and the amount of words that had been spoken since then could be counted on two hands. Now that he finally had a chance to speak to his friend, however, he realized he didn't know how to start.
He was spared from his dilemma when he heard Nico softly say, "I never expected to see Kinney at my door yesterday." The brunet couldn't bring himself to say 'your boyfriend.' It still hurt too much to think of the other man that way, even though by now he realized he would never be able to use the same term when referring to himself – at least not when it came to Justin.
Justin raised his eyes to look over at Nico, deducing the other, unsaid meaning behind his words. "You mean you never expected the two of us to still be together." He recalled clearly what Nico had said to him before – that Brian would use him and discard him immediately afterward after he broke his heart and hurt him.
Nico huffed softly. "Yeah…I guess that's what I mean." He stared into Justin's eyes for a moment before asking simply, "Are you happy, Justin? Really happy?" He recalled Kinney's look of satisfaction yesterday when he had told him that he and Justin were still together and he had 'gotten what he wanted.' Could the same be said for Justin, though?
Nico's heart dropped just a little with disappointment as he recognized Justin plastering a genuine, happy smile on his face as he verified, "Yes, I am." All he could do was silently nod, the lump in his throat making it hard to speak.
Justin hesitated for a moment, afraid to hurt Nico any further but tired of playing games or vacillating; he wanted to be truthful with him, even if it was painfully truthful. He had kept things from him before and he knew how harmful that had been. "I love him, Nico," he said sincerely, "…..and he loves me." Justin's heart warmed just at the thought. Brian LOVED him….. He had finally admitted what Justin had longed to hear – what he had hoped to hear….last night, and it had felt so wonderful.
Nico sighed and swallowed hard; he was afraid of that. The last ember of hope that he had had regarding any future with Justin beyond friendship quickly eroded and died then. When it was all said and done, though, wasn't Justin's happiness the most important thing? Apparently, he and Kinney had managed to stay together for six months; hell, he wouldn't have even counted on them being together for six days. That must count for something; it was certainly a big revelation for him. Perhaps Kinney really did love him. For Justin's sake, he certainly hoped so.
He nodded then. "I'm glad you're happy, Justin. Really. I just hope it lasts – I really do mean that," he vowed. If it made Justin happy, that ultimately was what mattered the most.
Justin smiled back at him softly in gratitude. "Thanks, Nico," he told the other man. He stared over at him almost shyly as he admitted, "I've missed talking to you – I still think of you as my best friend."
Unspoken in that statement, but readily picked up by Nico, was the additional meaning…..but that's all we will ever be – best friends. He had to admit, though, he had missed his best friend, too.
"So have I," he whispered, pursing his lips together as he stared over at his beautiful friend….his compassionate, full-of-life friend who was apparently in love and ecstatically happy with the arrogant ad executive.
Justin smiled tenderly at him in relief. "So do you think we can start over?" he asked hopefully.
Nico stared at him for a few seconds before saying, "Well, I wouldn't want to start all the way over. I've won too many of our bets in the past to start all over," he teased now.
Justin grinned at him. "Seems I've won a few of those myself," he pointed out as Nico grinned back at him. "Okay, so maybe we can just back up a little ways – say about seven months?"
Nico let out a soft whisper of breath and smiled slightly. "Sounds about right," he agreed softly. His expression sobered as he admitted, "Justin….you know Kinney and I don't see eye to eye – and never will."
Justin snorted softly at the understatement. "Yeah…I realize that. But Nico, I need to be straight with you. I felt terrible about what I did to our friendship and I'm very relieved that you're talking to me again. But Brian isn't going to go away. I really do love him, and I believe he loves me. I know nothing's ever guaranteed, but I hope we can be together for a long time." He paused to stare into Nico's eyes, still noticing the remnants of pain that lingered there. "I'm not saying this to hurt you, Nico. I just feel I need to make sure I'm honest with you this time; can you handle that?" he asked pointedly. He held his breath, dreading what his friend might say. "Can you handle Brian and I being together?"
Nico considered that. He appreciated Justin's bluntness; he felt he owed him the same courtesy. "Do I like the guy, Justin? No," he admitted readily. "And do I really want to be around him? No again." He paused for a second, though, before he added to Justin's relief, "But that doesn't mean you and I still can't be friends. I just don't think I prefer to include your…..your boyfriend when we get together. Can you handle that?" he asked bluntly, finding himself tripping over the boyfriend word. He really had missed Justin, but to have to see his friend and Kinney together, pawing each other and being lovey-dovey? That would be too much.
Justin licked his lips thoughtfully. He certainly knew there was no love lost between Nico and Brian. And he could certainly understand why it would be extremely uncomfortable – for both of them – to be in each other's company. He wasn't sure what Brian would think about him continuing to be friends with Nico, but he didn't want to lose the man he had been best friends with for years now, either. Brian had gone to Chicago on his behalf; he must have realized this might be the result. He had to believe that Brian trusted him or he wouldn't done that.
"Yeah," Justin told him at last. "I can handle that." Justin smiled at his friend. "How long are you in town?"
"I was only planning on being here for the day," Nico informed him. "I wasn't even sure I'd be here that long," he admitted. "It sort of depended…."
Justin nodded, realizing what he was trying to say. "Well, there's a great indoor rock-climbing facility a few miles from here. Up for a little competition?" he queried his friend with a challenging glint in his eye.
The dark-haired man stood up. "You bet," he said. "And I know just who's going to come out on top, as always."
Justin snorted as he rose to stand next to his friend. He gave him a playful shove. "You wish!" he exclaimed, his eyes twinkling. "First man to the top has to buy the other man dinner."
Nico laughed. "Good – then that'll be two dinners in a row from you!"
The two men's conversation and laughter echoed from the wooded park as they walked companionably back out toward the street.
Loft – 8:00 p.m.
Brian sighed as he flipped his laptop closed; he knew continuing to stare at the same page over and over again was pointless and totally unproductive. Justin had been gone for six hours now – six long hours. He trusted Justin - he knew he loved him, and he loved Justin in return – but the waiting was torturous. Had he done the wrong thing in visiting Alvarez and convincing him to give Justin another chance? Was the man feeding him a pack of bullshit about how wrong he was to continue in a relationship with him? Had he somehow turned Justin against him? All sorts of doubts coalesced in his mind as he sat there at his desk, imagining all kinds of unpleasant scenarios.
A few seconds later, he quickly raised the laptop lid back up as he heard the loft door being swung back; he pretended to concentrate intently on the screen as he heard Justin drop his jacket in a nearby chair and softly tread over to the couch where he was working, his legs propped on the coffee table and the computer balanced on his thighs.
"You're back," he stated unnecessarily as Justin came up and wound his arms around his neck from behind; he was inordinately pleased to find that Alvarez wasn't with him. He had half expected the man to come bounding in behind Justin like some eager puppy dog. "Have a good time with your little friend?" he asked, trying hard to keep his voice nonchalant as he continued to stare at the same computer screen he had been staring at countless times before. It was as if his world had stopped turning until Justin came back; in a way, it had.
He felt Justin's lips sliding down his neck as he whispered, "Yeah…..but I'm glad to be back here with you."
Brian's lips curled under in relief at the reassuring tone of his lover's voice and the familiar touch of his lips on his skin. "Did you two not kiss and make up?" he quipped. He could feel Justin's lips breaking out into a smile.
"Something like that," the blond told him. "We talked it all out and we're still friends. But he did tell me he'd prefer not to be entertained by you, though."
Brian snorted as he turned his head to gaze into the soft blue eyes. "Well, that's fine by me. He's not exactly my kind of queer, either."
"And just what is your type of queer?" Justin asked as he smiled back tenderly at his lover.
"Why don't I show you?" Brian drawled as he suddenly reached up and pulled a startled Justin over the back of the couch; he somehow managed to finagle his lover into his lap, facing him, as he peered up into the amused sapphire eyes. He reached up to curl his hand around Justin's neck and bring their lips together for a deep, heartfelt kiss that said nothing aloud but everything in implication.
Justin braced himself against Brian by grasping the brunet's taut shoulders as they continued to kiss; their lips opening as of one accord so they could slide their tongues inside. He moaned softly against Brian's arduous onslaught before they finally broke apart several seconds later, both men trying frantically to catch their breath.
"Does that answer your question?" Brian murmured huskily, reaching over to cup Justin's cheek and lightly stroke it.
Justin smiled almost dreamily; Brian's kisses always had a dizzying effect on him. "I think it does," he responded solemnly before his lips broke out into an even wider smile.
Brian continued to gently stroke Justin's face as he asked softly, "And just where is your bosom buddy?"
Justin was finding it a little hard to concentrate now, with Brian's hand sensually stroking his cheek; his lover's other hand had found its way to his ass and was now kneading a different kind of cheek. "Uh….he went back home," Justin managed to sputter out somehow as he leaned his head into Brian's adroit hand.
When Brian smiled that certain tender smile and said "Good," Justin's heart did a flip flop. He continued to lightly caress Justin's face while his other hand possessively continued stroking his ass, up and down, up and down. Justin jumped slightly in surprise and desire as Brian's warm hand snaked inside his loose-fitting chinos and a finger began to run up and down the crease. "Because I have something in mind that is strictly for couples only."
"Oh?" Justin whispered, his breath now coming out in short, shallow pants as his cock began to harden considerably at Brian's touch and his voice. "Anything I'm…..I'm familiar with?"
Brian grinned widely now, almost like a predatory animal; he thought he was doing a stupendous job of hiding his enormous relief that Justin had returned to him - alone. "Oh, you're very familiar with it. Let's go to the bedroom and I'll remind you."
Justin smiled as he twisted one corner of his mouth up in both amusement and anticipation. "Sounds like a good idea," he whispered back. "I always was much more of a hands-on learner."
Brian lifted one eyebrow at him before he smiled tenderly and rose from the couch, holding Justin up firmly in his arms as he placed both hands on the other man's ass to support him. "We can start with the first lesson now," he intoned as Justin obediently placed his hands around Brian's neck. Brian kissed him once more soundly for a few seconds before he began to walk the two of them over to the bedroom to provide him with a tactile demonstration. He was in agreement that his lover was a fast learner, but with this particular form of education, he knew it might take a lifetime to perfect.
A/N: Okay - this really IS the end! Hope you enjoyed this story and will leave me with your parting thoughts. I also hope you'll keep an eye out for my next story - the sequel to "The Wedding Present." In the immortal words of Brian Kinney - "It's Coming!" LOL! Thanks for reading.:)