Justin smiled softly and took the flower. Brian brushed the fingers of the hand holding the flower against Justin's hand when they touched. That sent a shimmery jolt of heat through Justin. He swallowed hard and asked, "Uh … would you … like to come in for a minute?"

Brian smirked. "No, I'd like to stay out here, with the dog shit."

Justin scrunched his nose, blushed, and stepped back. Brian stepped over the threshold and into the living room.

Justin said, "Just give me a second. I'm going to put this in water."

Brian rolled his eyes, which caused Justin to duck his head a little in embarrassment and move more quickly into the kitchen. He grabbed a tall, thin vase from a cupboard, filled it with tepid water, crushed a quarter of an aspirin into the water, and slid the flower into the vase. Then he stood in front of the sink for a moment, looking at the flower. He absently drew his thumb along the petals and looked out the window. A neon inferno of orange and pink swirled down toward and around the horizon. The nearby water towers, oddly, seemed shimmery, as though Justin were seeing them through the waves of heat accompanying an actual fire.

Justin blinked a few times and swallowed hard. Sunset always reminded him of his mother. That's when people turned on lights and drew nearer to home, to each other, to chase away the darkness and the cold. Brian made him forget how lonely he sometimes felt, even living with Daphne. Justin felt a keen ache in his chest then, like a torrent of tears painfully suppressed, swallowed down. He wondered if someday sunsets would evoke sad memories of Brian, too. Justin hoped not. But 'the maybe' made the air a little thicker. Made the world slow. He glanced at the rose once more and smiled, though more dimly, before turning and walking back to the living room.

Brian was standing in the same exact spot. Justin smiled. Brian had vowed never to sit on any more of Justin's furniture, after the couch.

Daphne took that moment to come out of Justin's room. Seeing Brian and Justin sort of near the door, she grinned and said, "Have fun! But don't do anything I wouldn't do."

Brian narrowed his eyes. "Do you give head? Do anal?"

Daphne's eyes widened, and her cheeks burned. Justin burst out laughing.

Brian shrugged. "If not, I promise nothing."

Justin smiled brightly at the thought of Brian doing either in the near future and walked more quickly to Brian's side.

Brian smirked at Daphne and opened the door. Daphne was at this point smiling nervously and shaking her head. Brian actually placed his hand on Justin's waist then guiding him gently through the door. Daphne, noting this, sighed and tsked. But Justin, his eyes widened in surprise, and he felt a wave of heat emanate from Brian's hand. Once they were outside the building, Brian surprised Justin again by taking Justin's hand in his and leading him to the town car at the end of the block. He opened the door and waited for Justin to get in before getting in himself. Then he slid an arm around the boy.

Justin felt like he'd entered paradise. He leaned his head on Brian's shoulder. For a few minutes, he relished in the feeling of Brian's strong arm around him, the warmth of his body next to his, the softness of the fabric of Brian's suit against his face, and even Brian's smell. But then he sat up and turned a little, so that he was partially facing Brian. Brian looked over at Justin in surprise.

If asked, Justin probably couldn't have explained why he'd wrenched himself out of heaven. He just needed more connection. A non-physical one. He wasn't sure what to say. He couldn't ask about the movie because Brian had shown a decided non-interest in that. Justin didn't want to talk about the pitch. Already, work invaded too much of their interaction. Justin sure as hell couldn't tell Brian Daphne thought Brian was getting his creeper on. This momentary panic over a conversation topic just reinforced in Justin's mind his determination to maintain some semblance of his own life even while dating Brian. Time apart would give them more to talk about. Justin ended up mentioning the most interesting idea he had come across that day. "So, my painting professor wants me to pick a different subject for my final project this semester."

Brian's voice rose an octave. "Oh?"

"Yes. I usually … well in the past I've …"

Then Brian did something that surprised him (and sickened him a little) … he finished Justin's thought. " … painted the attack?"

Justin froze. That was his standard reaction to anyone else mentioning it. But he was only thrown for a moment. He replied solemnly, "Yes." Then he shook his head and got his brain back to his original train of thought. He thought this could be good … sounding Brian for a layman's perspective of 'good' or 'interesting' art. "What kinds of subjects do you think are most intriguing?"

"What?"

"Think about the kinds of paintings you like. What kinds of things were the artists looking at?"

"Ah. That doesn't matter."

Now it was Justin's turn to quirk an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"No matter what the subject, assuming I know what that is – with some paintings it's hard to tell – but whatever the subject, the ones I like are the ones using sex."

Justin laughed and ran a hand over his face. "PLEASE say you're not telling me that the only quote unquote art you like is actually porn."

Brian plastered a fake smile on his face and replied in a voice comprised of equal parts annoyance and amusement, "No, smartass … Take Degas's ballerinas. He painted them alone and in groups, with different color schemes, in different poses and places, and even at different distances from the viewer, but they are all fluid … in motion … with fuzzy brush strokes that give the paintings both an ethereal floaty look and a smudgy look. Freshly fucked … All warm and glowing … in slow motion like the air itself has texture … and with a nuance of color that seems almost Technicolor up close. What you choose doesn't matter if you can paint it while also painting sex."

Justin's eyes nearly popped out of his head. He knew Brian was smart and creative and observant … but sometimes his sensitivity shocked Justin. He smiled and shook his head. He wasn't convinced. "Why?"

Brian shrugged. "Sex sells."

Justin chuckled. "In advertising, definitely."

Brian shook his head. "Not just in advertising. In everything." Unconsciously, Brian slid his hand over Justin's and threaded his fingers down through Justin's.

Justin closed his eyes and breathed in and out slowly. It didn't even occur to him to wonder whether Brian thought he was a complete freak. Justin wanted to enjoy Brian's hand on his, their fingers laced together, just for a moment. And … he was a little lost in thought. Painting sex without actually painting sex was a fascinating idea. He'd need to avoid interpreting his joy too literally. He didn't want to simply paint Brian's body, although that idea DID thrill him. He had to get at how Brian made him feel, what Brian was to him, in a different way, obliquely. He wasn't sure how to do that. His contemplation was broken when Brian said softly, "We're here."

TBC…tomorrow … sorry I'm writing this so slowly. Hope it's not too weird.