4 and a half years later...
"Is this the last box?" Brian asked, drenched with sweat and irritated that Justin hadn't just let him pay for movers this time.
Justin laughed, "Not exactly, I have two boxes full of DVD's with just about every movie made from 1977 to 1990".
Brian moaned, "You kept them all? Where do you think they are going to fit in my loft?"
"Uh, don't you mean our loft?"
"Fine, where are they going to go in our loft? Your apartment is like 450 sq ft, how in the world did you accumulate this much stuff during college?" Brian asked bewildered.
"Brian, you sent me the god-damn movies. Practically every month, a new John Hughes romantic comedy or Steven Spielberg directed action movie showed up with your care packages of condoms and junk food. Do you know how many condoms I threw out getting ready to move?"
Brian laughed amusedly at Justin's rant. It was true; the movie bit had kind of been their thing while Justin was away at college. Brian would buy them and sneak quotes into their conversation to test if he had watched him.
"You were supposed to use the condoms, Sunshine!" Brian lectured.
"Brian, I could fuck three men a night and not have used all the condoms you sent me. Hell I even kept the entire dorm stocked freshman year. I just put a bowl in the men's room and told everyone to help themselves".
"Well, I hope you used at least some of them yourself" Brian asked knowing full well that he had. He and Justin agreed to not be monogamous during the long time between his school break visits home and his occasional weekend trips but they never really discussed their activities. The only rules were no bottoming for anyone else, no overnights and no kissing on the lips. Brian found it more than easy to comply and rarely indulged.
Brian lifted the last remaining box to load into the U-Haul before Justin locked the door to his tiny studio apartment and dropped his keys off at the landlords. As they settled into the truck, Brian stared at his partner, amazed at the fact that he was finally coming home with him for good.
"I can't believe it's over" Justin sighed "It went so fast"
Brian smirked, "Speak for yourself".
To Brian, Justin's four years at college had been tremendously difficult. He kept himself busy building his company and spending time with Gus, but man could only live on phone sex and weekend visits for so long. Michael had turned out to be a big help; keeping him entertained and not letting him get to lesbianic pining away for his lover.
To Justin, the decision to leave was the hardest part. He did end up getting accepted to PIFA and it would have been easy to just stay in Pittsburgh but in the end, Columbia was a better fit and tuition was covered, the deal was just too good to turn down. Brian had been adamant they could make it work and once they settled into a rhythm of visits and chat sessions, it seemed that it would, Justin relaxed about it and thoroughly enjoyed his undergraduate studies.
They only had two major fights in their years apart. The first when Brian refused to attend Justin's high school prom and the second, two years later when Brian had cancelled their Spring Break snowboarding trip to Vermont to attend to a work obligation. Justin got over the prom easily enough; he hadn't really wanted to go that much anyway. Most of the kids at his high school had never accepted he was gay and High school was not a happy time. The missed Vermont trip hurt more. It was the first and last time Justin doubted they could make it work. Brian more the made up for the missed trip with tickets to Italy that Summer to celebrate Kinnetik's record profits and Justin's making the Dean's list.
As they drove, Brian filled Justin in on the latest happenings with Gus and his mom. Lindsay and Melanie had a commitment ceremony last Christmas on their fourth anniversary. Shortly after they decided to have another baby; using Michael as a donor when Brian declined. Mel was having a challenging pregnancy and as concerned as he was for her well-being Brian was relieved she was distracted enough that he had a reprieve from her constant interference when it came to Gus.
Justin, in turn, updated Brian on his job search after his numerous declines of Brian's offer for a job at Kinnetik. Justin did spend his four years wisely, making connections, internships and volunteering at various galleries. He had a few leads for positions that would allow him to continue to paint and try to make enough to be a not-so-starving artist.
"It's getting late" Justin mentioned as his stomach growled.
Brian laughed, interpreting the comments as a "Let's eat". Brian was amazed at how Justin could eat whatever he wanted and stay so trim. Brian, at nearly thirty five, spent a lot of time working out and watching his carb intake. It was difficult to watch Justin scarf down a cheeseburger and fries and not gain an ounce.
As they finished their meal, the waitress brought the check. Brian grabbed for it but Justin stopped him.
"Aaugh! I don't think so" Justin yanked the black leather folder containing the check from Brian's hand, "Remember our deal".
Brian rolled his eyes at how strictly Justin stuck to their "who pays" arrangement but let the folder go knowing it was pointless to argue. The ratio of dinner checks was quite unbalanced with Justin picking up perhaps 1 check for every 50 that Brian did, but those one off times were important to him so Brian never kept up a protest long.
Justin paid the check and they went on their way. It was late by the time they made it back to their loft. They hauled Justin's stuff into the elevator and methodically worked the cardboard containers up to the loft in an assembly line fashion. When the truck was unloaded Justin threw himself exhausted back on the bed and rolled around.
"I'm so happy I get to sleep in this bed every night, it is so much more comfortable than that dinosaur Murphy bed in my apartment" Justin exclaimed.
Brian watched enchanted by Justin's glee as he rolled around like a child on the king-size plush mattress, "Well hopefully, you're just as excited about the company as the mattress"
Brian kneeled on the bed and fell forward so he was lying on top of Justin. He stroked his hair and ran some sweat soaked stands through his fingers. "Are you really finally here to stay?" he asked still unable to believe he was here for good.
Justin nodded and kissed him gently, "You know that I am" he murmured.
Brian kissed along his jaw and neck, tasting the salty sweat from their move.
Justin moaned and looked at the landscape of boxes covering the floor of the loft, "Mmm, that feels good but I should unpack" he asserted before moving his neck so Brian could have better access completely contradicting his own words.
Brian took the invitation and undressed quickly, urging Justin to do the same. His head lolling back against the mattress, Justin breathed deep and looked down at Brian's body. Hazel eyes coupled with a sexy smile, broad shoulders tapering down into well-muscled abs and powerful thighs, a thick, meaty cock rising to meet Justin's own greedy lips. Salty pre-come burst onto Justin's tongue as Brian let loose with a full-throated growl, grabbing him by the back of the head to thrust all the way in. Orgasm crashed over Brian like a runaway train, wrecking and unraveling him.
Justin lifted his head smiling, "Guess I don't have to ask if you liked that"
"That, that was pretty fucking amazing. So now that we're living together, I guess you will still blow me?"
"Of course, I have to prove I was worth the wait"
"Well, I'm pretty fucking convinced already" Brian stated as he kissed his clavicle working his way down Justin's body to return the favor.
Justin fell asleep shortly after coming, totally exhausted from his move and their lovemaking. He slept curled inside Brian's arms, his true home regardless of where he lived the last few years.
When he woke up the next morning he was alone. Climbing out of bed and plodding to the kitchen for some coffee. He found Brian's note informing him that he had to pick Gus up from swim practice and that he was bringing home breakfast. Justin laughed as he wiped up the sugar granules that Brian had spilled on the counter, still amused by the ridiculous amount of sugar the man took in his coffee.
Just as he was settled onto the couch with the paper and coffee, Brian returned with Gus.
"Go take a shower buddy" Brian called, handing him his swim bag, there are some clean clothes of yours in the closet. I cleaned out the drawers for Justin's things.
Gus nodded, nearly eleven now he was growing fast and Justin thought it wouldn't be too long before he caught up with his own 5'9" frame. "Hey Jus" he hollered, "Glad you're back for good so Dad will stop whining about how much he misses you" he laughed as Brian playfully kicked his foot out hitting him square in the behind, shoving him towards the bathroom.
"Hey Gus" Justin called, "How's swimming?"
"Good, I broke my best time in 100 backstroke," Gus bragged proudly before closing the door to run his shower.
Brian set a bag of pastries on the counter and brought one to Justin and was rewarded with his million watt smile. They shared the paper and Brian looked over the business section watching Justin chuckling at the cartoon strips. "I can get used to this" he smiled sincerely.
"Me too" Justin said, "I can't imagine it getting any better". Justin let his foot run up Brian's side as they sat on the couch tickling him in the spot just under his rib cage.
Gus emerged from the bathroom, showered and dressed and holding a small black bag. "Here Justin" Gus tossed the bag at him. "I found this in the closet under my clothes"
"Gus, NO!" Brian cried recognizing the package, reaching for it but falling short, before Justin caught it.
"What?" Gus asked pulling a chocolate covered doughnut from the bag, "It's just a graduation gift, right?"
Justin pulled the small red velvet box from the bag, "Brian, what is this?"
Brian looked in feigned disgust at his son once again ill-timing. "Gus, I am praying someday you will gain some finesse for timing". Brian rose from the couch hoping to preserve a little of the moment he had actually planned. He found the CD and switched it on playing the song he had planned to play.
Love I get so lost, sometimes
days pass and this emptiness fills my heart
when I want to run away
I drive off in my car
but whichever way I go
I come back to the place you are
Justin held the box, hands trembling as Brian slid to the floor in front of him on his knees and removed the Sunday paper Justin was clutching in his other hand.
Brian started by taking the box from Justin and opening the lid revealing the simple engraved gold band and paraphrased the quote from When Harry Met Sally, one of Justin's favorites of the many they had watched together.
"I love that you crinkle your nose when you're looking for the exact right color of paint. I love that you can eat 2000 calories and still be hungry an hour later. I love that you light up like a Christmas tree when you get excited about something as simple as a pastry. I love that I can still smell your scent after you leave our bed. I love that you are the last person I want to talk to before I go to sleep at night. I love that you make me the best homosexual, the best man, I will ever be. I'm asking you now because when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible." Brian paused to take a deep breath, "Justin Michael Taylor, will you marry me?"
Justin fingered the band and read the inscription, "Finally the real thing" remembering Brian's description after their first time he started crying and shook his head up and down, unable to speak.
"Yes, of course" he answered and flung himself into Brian's arms, kissing him deeply.
The End
Please let me know if you enjoyed this AU with elements of canon. I wrote this primarily because I was intrigued by the aspects of role reversal between Justin and Brian. I realize that I took Brian very OOC to accomplish this evolution as Justin helped him realize who he really was. Thanks for your patience during these less-Brian moments.
The 80's movies was just for fun because I'm married to a man much older than me and we feel our age difference mostly in lost cultural references and I thought it was a fun way to keep Brian cognizant of Justin's age while still showing him as more mature than Brian in most ways.