Author’s note: This is a short continuation of episode 217. I know that things are spiraling downward for Brian and Justin, but I can’t let them lose each other without fighting for them. I apologize if I’ve taken either of them out of character so much that they aren't recognizable.

Justin Taylor shuffled through the sitting room of the large house and walked out onto the spacious front porch. He watched the last rays of the winter sun slip behind the trees in the west, bringing a chill to everyone who was adventurous to remain outside. Huddling down into his new coat, he stared across the snow-covered grounds.

He wondered, not for the first time, why he was here. Because I made plans to come here for spring break, he decided. Just because Brian goes back on every single promise he’s ever made doesn’t mean I have to stay home and wait on him like some pathetic loser.

So he’d gone to Vermont, to the place they’d made plans to go to together. He’d met several guys near his age, who had happily admitted him into their group, but it just wasn’t the same. Everyone here was a couple.

Everyone, that is, except Justin.

At dinner, the other guys had made plans to go into the nearest town, to a bar one of them had heard about. "It’s not exactly Splash, but it might be worth checking out," Brad offered.

"Come on, Justin," Drew suggested. "Go with us."

Justin hadn’t agreed, but he hadn’t said no either. He walked out while they were still discussing what they should wear.

He enjoyed a few minutes of solitude before his new friends spilled out the front door. Before he knew what was happening, both his hands were grabbed and he was pulled forward. "What’re you doing?" He tried to stop.

"Resistance is futile," Andy tried to sound menacing. "You are under our control."

"Wait!" The sharp tone in Justin’s voice made them pause. "I-I need to go back to my room. I-I can’t wear this." He looked down at his jeans.

His four companions looked at him and then at each other. "You look okay." They continued pulling him toward Brad’s car.

*&*&*&*&*

After a small amount of searching, they found the tiny building with the neon sign next to the door.

FEVER

Not exactly Babylon, Justin decided, but maybe he could forget about being alone for a couple of hours.

It turned out that most of the clientele was from out of town. Justin had picked the most popular snowboarding area in Vermont. He danced with college guys from Dartmouth, Harvard, Penn and other schools he couldn’t remember the names of. He was taking a break when one of the bartenders walked over to where he was. "Where’re you from?" he asked.

"Pittsburgh." Justin tried not to stare at the dark-haired beauty who stood beside him.

"I’m Tony."

"Justin."

"Nice to meet you." The other man’s smile was infectious. "Are you here alone? I haven’t seen you with anyone for more than one dance tonight." Justin looked away. He had no intention of discussing his personal problems with a total stranger, even if he was cute. "Sorry. You don’t have to talk about it."

"There’s nothing to talk about, really. My boyfriend and I were supposed to come here together, but--"

"You had a fight?"

Justin grimaced. "We don’t fight. That would require communication."

"Ouch. He takes you for granted?"

Justin looked away again. "He’s gone to Chicago, on business."

"Yeah, I had a boyfriend like that once. Everything and everyone came before me, before us."

Justin gazed up at his companion. "What did you do?"

"I got the hell out. He always promised that things would be better… But they never were."

Justin squeezed his eyes shut, trying to prevent tears from falling. "Hey." A hand touched his shoulder lightly; Justin opened his eyes. "I get off in about an hour. Why don’t you stick around? We can talk some more."

"I don’t know." Justin shook his head. "There’s nothing to talk about."

"Okay," Tony’s face was close to his. "We don’t have to talk." Justin looked at the other man’s face in surprise. "I’d love to spend some time with you."

"I-I don’t think that’s a good idea."

"I’ll be honest, Justin. You’re the most beautiful man I’ve seen in a long time. I’d like to try to help you forget about your problems for a while. No strings, okay?"

Justin stared at the bartender for a long minute. He was shorter than Brian, but had the same dark hair. The muscles of his chest were well defined under the thin t-shirt. Why can’t I enjoy myself while I’m on vacation? Justin wondered. "I can wait an hour, until you get off work, but I’m not promising anything."

"Cool." Tony kissed him lightly on the lips and then walked back around the bar.

*&*&*&*&*

True to his word, Tony walked out from behind the bar almost exactly an hour after his conversation with Justin. The crowd had diminished greatly, leaving in pairs.

Justin followed the bartender out the door and up the street to a small pancake house. "I’m always starving after work. Do you mind?"

"No." They walked to a booth in the back. "Brian says--" He stopped speaking abruptly.

Tony looked around. "Brian is your boyfriend?"

"You don’t want to hear about him." Justin sat down and opened the menu.

"It sounds like you need to talk about him." Tony smiled. "What does Brian say?"

Justin wouldn’t look up. "That I’m a bottomless pit when it comes to food. He says that mostly when we’re at the grocery store."

"So, you live together?"

"Yeah. Well, *I* live with *him*. It’s his loft, he never lets me forget that."

"Is he older?"

Justin nodded. "He’ll be thirty-one in a couple of months."

"And you’re still in college? No wonder you guys have problems."

"It’s not the age difference." Tony looked a question; the teenager opened his mouth to explain, but changed his mind. "It’s complicated."

The bartender stared at his companion for another minute. "Yeah, it sounds like it." He was trying to think of what to say next when the waitress came over to take their order.

*&*&*&*&*

Their meal was uneventful as both men silently agreed not to discuss anything personal while they ate. Tony could see that Justin had serious things on his mind and he did his best to make the teenager smile.

When they were finished, they walked out of the restaurant and up the street. "My apartment is over there," Tony pointed, "on the next block." He walked several steps before he realized that Justin had stopped. "Justin?"

"I can’t go back to your place." Justin looked down.

"Sure, you can. No strings, I told you. Brian will never know."

"*I’ll* know." Justin was quiet for several seconds. Tony silently waited for him to continue. "Brian doesn’t believe in monogamy. He’ll fuck anything with a pulse and a dick. I’ve spent the past several months trying to be like him, but I’m not and I never will be. I want someone who puts me first and who wants to be with just me. How can I ever ask that of Brian when I keep sleeping around on him?"

"Do you really think he can change? Just because you want him to?"

"I don’t know," Justin shrugged. "I have to stand up for what I need. If Brian’s not the one I can get it from…" Justin couldn’t finish the sentence.

Tony searched for something to say to the young man, to encourage him. The trouble was, he thought Justin was making a mistake. It was obvious that he loved this Brian very much. "Okay, well, let me give you a ride back to your room."

Swiping away a tear that was puddled in his eye, Justin turned away from his companion. "Thanks, but my friends are still here. I’ll go with them."

Without realizing what he was doing. Tony gathered the teenager into a hug and whispered into his ear, "Best of luck to you, my friend."

Smiling, Justin pulled away from his companion. Neither of them said anything as he walked away.

*&*&*&*&*

Justin climbed the stairs, wondering how he was going to manage to get to sleep tonight. He was tired from the trip yesterday and fell asleep as soon as he crawled between the sheets. Only when he woke up this morning did he miss Brian. He wasn’t accustomed to sleeping alone or showering alone or eating alone or…

Stop it! he admonished himself. Brian’s not here - deal with it.

Justin slipped the key into the lock; the door was open. I know I locked this door before we left, he thought. Opening the door slowly, he peeked inside. The lamp on the bedside table was on. I know I turned that off, he remembered.

As he walked into the room, he saw a figure sitting in the overstuffed armchair next to the bed. "Brian?!"

"Who were you expecting?" The older man remained seated.

Justin’s first instinct was to rush over to where his lover sat and cover him with kisses. When he thought of the last conversation they’d had, he stopped himself. "I-I thought you were in Chicago."

"That was only an overnight trip." Brian stood up. "If you’d stayed around, you would have known I came back yesterday afternoon."

"If you’d told me what your plans were, maybe I’d’ve waited for you."

"Come here, Justin." Brian beckoned to him. Justin walked slowly across the room, stopping just out of arm’s reach. "I should have explained why I had to leave, but I was upset. My new boss was looking for a reason to fire me and I had to give him a better reason to keep me."

"Did you?"

"Yeah. I got an account he’s wanted for years." Taking a step forward, he caressed Justin’s shoulders. "Now, ask me if it was worth it."

Justin was reveling in the closeness of his lover. "Was it?"

"He made me a partner." Brian’s face remained impassive.

"Congratulations."

"Thank you." He pulled Justin’s coat off and dropped it onto the floor. "You were the first person I wanted to tell, but I couldn’t find you. You weren’t at the loft. You weren’t at Babylon. Mikey told me where you were. I thought about it all night before I decided to come up here this afternoon."

"Why couldn’t you tell me all this before?" Justin sat on the edge of the bed and heeled his shoes off. "I thought--"

"You thought I was blowing you off for some ordinary business trip. I told you - I was upset." Brian sat down beside his lover. "As much as I say it’s only a job, it means a lot to me. I couldn’t let that asshole can me without a fight."

"Michael tried to tell me that, but I wouldn’t listen. I decided to come here anyway."

"I was planning on us coming here together, just as soon as I got home from Chicago."

"Why didn’t you tell me, Brian? I would’ve understood."

"I know that now. You deserve better, Justin. I never mean to hurt you."

"I know. Everything you say and do affects me, Brian. Don’t you know that by now?"

"I should." Glancing sideways, he asked, "Are you still angry?"

Justin smiled shyly. "When have I ever been able to stay mad at you?" The both sat silently for a long minute before the teenager looked down. "There was this guy…"

"Anyone I know?" Brian tried to forestall something he knew he didn’t want to hear.

"I doubt it." Justin wouldn’t look up. "He’s a bartender at the only gay club in town."

"How was he?" Brian asked quietly.

"How should I know? We didn’t do anything."

"Why not? You could have."

Justin shook his head. "No, I couldn’t." He paused for several seconds. "Brian--"

"Don’t say it!"

Justin looked puzzled. "Don’t say what?"

"Whatever it is you’re about to say. What you think has to be said."

"But--"

Brian kissed the teenager softly on the mouth. "You’re here. I’m here." He glanced at the bedside table. "There’s a bottle of very expensive champagne on ice." Placing his hands on the back of Justin’s head, he touched their foreheads together. "Can we please not ruin it by saying a lot of things that aren’t necessary?"

Justin opened his mouth to argue. He knew this was the perfect time to clear the air with Brian; if he missed this chance, he might not get another one.

But he said nothing. One look into those warm hazel eyes and he was lost, and he knew it. He kissed Brian, plunging his tongue into his mouth wildly. When he pulled back, they were both breathing hard. "Partner, huh?"

"Yeah." He pulled Justin’s shirt off and started unzipping his jeans.

"Does that mean you get to work less? That you’ll be home more?" Justin started working on his lover’s clothes.

"It means just the opposite. I’ll have more to do and less time to do it." Naked, both men jumped onto the four-poster bed and started writhing together. Brian pushed the smaller figure over on his back and started kissing and licking down his torso.

Justin closed his eyes, surrendering to the pure sensual pleasure of Brian’s mouth on his skin. After several minutes, he opened his eyes. "Shit!" Brian looked up. "I-I didn’t bring any condoms." A smile took over the older man’s face. Reaching down, he retrieved a small foil packet out of his pants pocket and held it up. "You’re a genius," Justin laughed.

"Just being a good partner," Brian winked.