Work Text:
Justin stood at the bedroom window and felt the warmth of the sun on his face. He imagined going out and enjoying the unseasonably warm March afternoon and shuddered. He wondered if he would ever be able to leave this sanctuary. Justin scoffed inwardly. Sanctuary? This was not a sanctuary, it was a prison. There was a time when he had walked the streets without fear, but those days were long behind him now. These days, just the thought of taking a step outside of his door was enough to send him into a panic so deep that it took days to recover. And it wasn’t like he could do so even if he wanted to.
Stepping away from the window, Justin sighed. There was no use dwelling upon the past. The Justin Taylor who had bravely walked Liberty Avenue in search of love was long gone. That boy had been filled with dreams and hopes. The man he was today was a shadow of that boy, one who knew that love was an illusion used to fool the masses. Hope was simply the carrot dangled in front of the horse’s nose to get him to comply with his master’s bidding. The fantasies of a seventeen year old child were gone and in their place were desolation and the harsh realities of life.
His rooms were rather spacious and comfortable for what they were, really. He had two rooms, one he used for his studio and the other for everything else. Since his life revolved around his art, he supposed he didn’t need anything more. As long as there was something to be created, he could forget about the nightmare his life had become over the past three years.
Three years didn’t seem like such a long time in the grand scheme of things. It was his twenty-first birthday; he had finally reached the age of adulthood. He was now old enough to go to the clubs and bars he had once snuck into like the brave and foolish child he was. If things had turned out differently, he might have had a celebration with friends from college, or even Brian, on that auspicious day. As it was, this day was just like every other day. There was no party. There were no friends. There were no visits from his parents or sister. There wasn’t even a fucking candle in the dinner roll on his meal tray.
Justin was alone and forgotten while the rest of the world continued to turn without him.
BJBJBJBJBJ
Brian stared out of the loft’s window at the street below as he lifted his glass. “Happy birthday, Sunshine, wherever you are.”
It had been almost three years since Brian had last seen Justin, but not a single day passed when he didn’t think about his blond lover. Not a single day passed when something didn’t remind him of Justin’s brilliant smile, or his soulful blue eyes. Not a day passed when he didn’t remember Justin’s laugh or the way he could bring life to a room just with his presence.
Brian swallowed the last of his Jim Beam and poured another. He had spent three years searching for Justin, but he still had no clue where the boy had disappeared. Not a boy anymore, he reminded himself. Justin was a man today. Twenty-one years old. He had been more mature at seventeen than Brian had been at twenty-nine.
Brian recalled the night he discovered Justin was gone. He’d gone to the hospital, the way he had every night since the bashing. Justin had been in a coma for three weeks, but Brian had come to sit with him every night. No one else knew he was there, except for the night duty nurse. That night she had come up to him when he found Justin’s room empty.
“He’s gone,” Brian had said dumbly.
“He was gone when I came on my shift,” she had told Brian kindly. “His family had him moved. I don’t know where.”
“He’s alive though?” Brian asked. “I mean, he’s still okay?”
“As okay as he can be,” she sighed. “He hadn’t woken up when they moved him, though he had begun showing signs of waking up.”
Brian knew what she meant. He had done plenty of research on brain injuries and comas in the weeks since the prom. Justin had begun to move restlessly and twitch, though he had yet to actually open his eyes. It wasn’t like on television where a coma patient just wakes up and everything is better. It took time for the body to reboot.
Brian had left the hospital after getting as much information from that nurse as she could give him, which wasn’t much. The next day, he started making calls. Jennifer refused to take his calls, so Brian began calling rehab facilities in the area. Once he had gone through all of those in Pittsburgh, he moved on to the neighboring counties and then the rest of the state. His search turned up nothing. He continued to call Jennifer and leave desperate messages until her phone was disconnected.
Craig Taylor left a voice mail on Brian’s phone three weeks after Justin disappeared stating that Justin was dead and telling him that if he didn’t stop harassing his family, he would press charges. But Brian refused to give up. Two weeks after that, Brian drove past Justin’s childhood home. He found out from a neighbor that the Taylors had packed up their house and moved. There was no sign of Justin when they left, and the neighbor told him about how distraught Jennifer had been since the loss of their son. Apparently, Brian wasn’t the only one Craig had told that Justin was dead.
Debbie and the rest of Liberty Avenue bought the story, but Brian refused to believe it. There was no funeral, no obituary, nothing. Debbie arranged for a memorial service which Brian refused to attend. After that, Justin became nothing more than a memory for the rest of the gang. But for Brian, he was an obsession. He knew in his heart that Justin was still alive out there and he needed Brian.
Brian put a private investigator on retainer the next day. It had been three years of searches and dead end after dead end, but Brian refused to give up. His Sunshine was out there somewhere and Brian would find him if it was the last thing he ever did.
BJBJBJBJBJ
“Lindsay,” Brian called out as he walked through the gallery in search of the mother of his child. He was carrying a stack of legal papers in his hand. “What the fuck is this shit about?”
“In the back,” Lindsay called out. Brian followed her voice until he found her in the office, looking through a magazine. “Look at this, Brian.”
“I didn’t come here to fucking read Cosmo,” Brian barked, but he accepted the magazine that was thrust into his hands. It wasn’t Cosmo. It was an art catalogue. The page that Lindsay was showing him was of a sculpture that looked remarkably like him. “What am I looking at?”
“Don’t you see a remarkable resemblance?” Lindsay asked.
Brian saw it, but shrugged as he tossed the magazine carelessly onto the desk. “I probably fucked the artist. So what?”
“Doubtful,” Lindsay scoffed. “This guy is a complete recluse. No one, not even his agent, gets to see him. I just thought it was amazing how similar this bust is to you.”
“Who is this guy?” Brian asked as he wandered around the office.
“He just goes by Solskin,” Lindsay said. “Very mysterious.”
Brian snorted. “Enough with the tangent, Linds. Tell me what the fuck is going on with you and Melanie? I got papers from some lawyer about Gus. I want to know what the fuck is happening. First you two can’t wait for me to sign over my rights and now you’re giving them back?”
Lindsay took a deep breath and stood up to face her friend. “I told you that things have been going downhill lately.”
“She cheated on you, you cheated on her… same old shit as far as I can tell,” Brian said. Lindsay’s eyes filled with tears, but Brian was immune to her tears by now. Almost four years of being yanked around by her and her bitch of a partner had hardened him to her crocodile tears.
“We can’t make it work this time,” Lindsay finally said. “She’s… She won’t forgive me and I don’t blame her. And even if she did, I’m not sure I would want to go back. I’m… I’m happier with Sam.”
“Fine you two want to break up, there’s nothing I can do to stop you,” Brian said. “In fact, I’m so tired of this shit, I think you probably shouldn’t be together. But what the fuck does any of that have to do with the custody papers I received today?”
Lindsay took another deep breath. “Well, Melanie… she’s afraid that she’d resent Gus as he gets older. He’s a reminder of me and of you and right now she hates us both.”
“Fucking bitch,” Brian hissed. “She’s his goddamned mother. That’s what she’s been screaming at me for the past four years, at least. And what’s your excuse?”
“Sam is doing a series of murals in Denmark and wants me to go with him,” Lindsay said. “I’ve never had an opportunity like this before and I’m going to take it. But I can’t drag Gus all over Europe for a year or more. He needs stability. You can give him that. It’s not like you go out all the time anymore.”
Brian wanted to break something he was so angry. “You two are really something, you know that? Fine, I’ll take Gus, but don’t think that I’m going to give him back to the two of you. You aren’t going to flit in and out of his life. Next month when you and the bitch decide that you can’t live without each other and want your happy little family back, you can just fuck off. If I take Gus, I’m keeping him.”
“Brian…”
“Make up your fucking mind, Lindsay,” Brian gritted out between his teeth. “There’s no going back. Either you are his mother or you aren’t.”
“He’s your son too!” Lindsay said angrily.
Brian rolled his eyes. “Yes, he is. And I’m going to do my fucking best to make sure that he knows that he’s loved. I will take care of him and never once will I let him believe that I care more about myself than I do about him.”
Brian stormed out of the gallery before he could do anything that he would later regret. He had to go pick up his son from daycare, since his mothers were no longer willing to do so.
BJBJBJBJBJ
“Mr. Kinney?”
“Yeah.” Brian watched Gus play on the park swings as he answered the call on his cell phone. It had been almost a month since Lindsay and Melanie had both deserted the boy, but Gus seemed to be handling it okay for the most part. Gus’ stories about his moms fighting all the time made him wonder if the boy wasn’t relieved to be away from them.
“Mr. Kinney, this is Jack Weston,” the voice said. It was the private investigator that Brian had been working with for three years. “I think we might have found him. That hunch you had about that sculptor paid off. I have some pictures if you’d like to confirm that it’s him.”
“When can we meet?” Brian asked, feeling hopeful for the first time since Justin disappeared. After a quick search on the internet, Brian had found that Solskin means ‘sunshine’ in Danish.
“I’m free now,” Jack said.
“I’m at the park near my loft with my son,” Brian said. “There’s a coffee shop a couple blocks over, on the corner of Hughes and Tremont. We could meet there in say fifteen?”
“I know the place,” Jack said and hung up.
“Hey Sonny Boy, we’ve gotta go. If you hurry, I think we could get a hot chocolate,” Brian called to his son. Gus rushed over, his cheeks pink from the chilly April wind and a huge smile on his face.
“Can I have mine with whipped cream?” Gus asked.
“You sure can,” Brian said as he lifted his son up and swung him over his shoulder. Gus clambered around until he was settled on Brian’s back for a piggyback ride and they set off for the coffee shop.
Fifteen minutes later, Gus was happily sipping on his drink while Brian looked at the photos that Jack handed to him. “I had to use a telephoto lens, so the quality isn’t the greatest, but I’m pretty sure that’s your guy.”
The photos were taken of Justin through a large window on the fifth floor of some gothic looking building. It was definitely Justin; Brian would recognize his boy anywhere. “Where is he?”
“St. Bartholomew’s Respite Home,” Jack said. “It’s a private psych hospital outside of Bangor, Maine. I was able to get some information from one of the orderlies. The kid’s been there pretty much since he disappeared. The kid’s father had him declared incompetent and had him committed. He has no access to the outside world: no computer, no phone, not even a fucking television. The orderly said he seems sane enough to him, but no one ever comes to visit and no one has ever thought to revisit the court order. The orderly thinks that the father is paying off someone at the hospital to keep him there.”
“What about his sculptures?” Brian asked. “How are they getting out?”
“The orderly I talked to is the one who has been smuggling the stuff out,” Jack said. “He takes the clay sculptures to be bronzed and then brings them back for the kid to finish. He also sneaks in marble for the kid. Then the orderly sneaks the finished works out at night and ships them off to an agent in New York. The money goes into an account in the kid’s name and the orderly gets a small percentage.”
“What about his health?” Brian asked. “He was hurt pretty bad the last time I saw him.”
“I know from his records in Florida that he was recovering from his injuries, but there have been no new medical records since he was moved to Maine,” Jack told him. “I can’t even say for sure that he’s seen any sort of doctor in the last two and a half years.”
Brian shook his head. “Craig Taylor has a lot to answer for.”
BJBJBJBJBJ
“Where we going Daddy?” Gus asked.
“Maine,” Brian said. He had packed up a few suitcases and put them into his SUV before setting off just before dawn. It was a long trip and he wanted to get as far as he could before stopping for the night. He counted himself lucky that Gus had slept most of the morning and they were now on the far side of New York, heading to the Massachusetts border. “Justin is there.”
“Your Jussin?” Gus asked. He had heard stories and seen pictures of Justin his whole life. His daddy loved Justin. “What’s he doin’ there?”
“Some bad people locked him up,” Brian said. “We’re going to go rescue him.”
“Like the princess in my storybook?” Gus asked.
“Just like that princess,” Brian said with a smirk. He could picture how Justin would react to being called a princess.
It had been almost a week since Brian had seen the photos of Justin in the coffee shop. Brian’s first instinct had been to drop everything and go, but the more he learned of Justin’s plight, the more he realized that he was going to have to go in prepared for a fight. It could take weeks or even months to straighten out the legal mess and then he wanted to press charges against Craig and possibly sue both Craig and the hospital for wrongful imprisonment. It would take time for an investigation and the subsequent court cases.
Brian had to think of the long term. Gus wasn’t in school yet and his absent mothers couldn’t object to Brian taking the boy away for a while. Brian’s partnership at the agency had taken a few days to work out, but he was able to dissolve the partnership and get a hefty payout from Gardener Vance. His loft had been listed with a realtor and his furniture put into storage. He had no desire to go back to Pittsburgh when this was all over with, but if Justin wanted that, they could. As far as Brian was concerned, there was nothing left for him there. He had more than enough money put away to get them started again in someplace new. In fact, he had enough money to keep them going for a couple decades without ever working, assuming they didn’t try to settle in Manhattan or Beverly Hills. He would eventually get bored if he didn’t work, but it was good to have the freedom to start over if that’s what they decided together.
Cynthia had arranged for Brian and Gus to have a small furnished apartment near the hospital. They would stay there until Justin was released. After that, Brian didn’t really care where they ended up as long as he had Justin and Gus with him.
BJBJBJBJBJ
The first indication that something was going on was the knock at the door. No one ever knocked. Privacy was not a right here, it wasn’t even a privilege. Justin called out for the person to enter and, when they did, Justin got his second indication. As soon as the door opened, he knew that Brian was there. The hair on the back of his neck raised and Justin could smell that ridiculously expensive French milled soap that Brian always used.
“Justin.” Brian whispered his name like a prayer.
“Jussin!” A young voice, one that Justin had never heard and yet recognized, moving toward him at a rapid rate was the only warning he got before Justin had a small boy wrapped around his legs, almost knocking him off his feet. He stroke his fingers through the silky fine hair before the young boy tilted his head up. “We found you. Daddy says we’re gonna rescue you like a princess in the tower. But you don’t gots a tower.”
Justin chuckled through his tears, tears he hadn’t even realized were falling. “No tower, but I sure could use rescuing.”
By this time, Brian had crossed the room and added his arms to the ones already wrapped around Justin. “Fuck, I’ve missed you Sunshine.”
Justin reveled in the love that was coming from the two Kinney men as he cried for the first time since he realized what his father had done to him. The three of them stood there holding each other for what seemed like hours, but was not nearly long enough. Eventually, however, Gus’ four year old curiosity got the better of him. He broke free from the embrace and began to look around Justin’s rooms.
“You don’t have much stuff, Jussin,” Gus said.
Justin knew what the boy was seeing and had to agree. There was only a lumpy single bed, a small table with one chair, and a small dresser in the room. “The other room has my studio, Gus. All the interesting things are in there.”
“Why don’t you go check it out, Sonny Boy,” Brian said. “But don’t touch any of the tools in there.”
“’Kay Daddy,” Gus said and then he was off to explore.
“I can’t believe you’re here,” Justin said as he buried his nose in Brian’s neck and inhaled the essence of Brian. “I can’t believe you brought Gus.”
“He goes where I go these days,” Brian said. “A lot has happened in three years.”
Justin laughed ruefully at that and turned his face up to Brian. Brian smiled and kissed Justin’s lips. It was a kiss that spoke of love and longing and finally getting the one thing that each of them wanted more than the world.
“At least that hasn’t changed,” Justin said breathlessly when they finally broke for air.
“That will never change,” Brian told him and rested his forehead against Justin’s.
“Daddy! Come see this!”
Justin and Brian both chuckled at Gus’ exuberance. “We should make sure he hasn’t destroyed anything.”
“He can break it all,” Justin said. “There’s very little here I want to keep once I’m gone.”
“About that…” Brian paused for a moment. “We’re working on it, but it will still be a few days before we can get you in front of a judge and out of this place.”
Justin nodded. “I’ve waited this long, I can wait a few more days.”
“We’ll be here to see you every day,” Brian promised.
“Look Daddy,” Gus said as he tugged Brian’s hand to pull him over to one side of the room. “It’s you.”
Brian saw the large sculpture and was completely blown away by the imagery. It was a life sized bronze of Brian and Gus from the night of the boy’s birth. The love and emotion in the piece was evident to anyone who saw it. “That is me. And that baby was you. That was the night you were born.”
“I was really little,” Gus said as he stroked the bronze baby’s head.
“Very,” Justin agreed. “But so beautiful. I’ll never forget your father’s face the first time he looked at you. It was love at first sight.”
“Twice in one night,” Brian said quietly. “It was a pretty special night.”
“Jussin, Daddy said you were an artist,” Gus said. “He’s got pictures you drew. Where’s your pictures?”
Justin bent down do that he was at Gus’ level and said, “Well, before I came here, I was hurt pretty badly. The doctors did everything they could for me, but they couldn’t fix everything. I can’t see anymore, so I can’t draw or paint like I used to. Now I show people what’s in my heart and my head with these sculptures instead.”
“Cuz you can touch them and feel them?” Gus asked.
“Exactly,” Justin said with a smile.
Brian was glad that Justin couldn’t see the grief that he was sure showed in his eyes in that moment. None of the reports had included the fact that Justin was now blind. It didn’t change how he felt about his blond in the least, but it did make him sad to know that Justin couldn’t see the love that was in his eyes every time he looked at him.
“Sunshine,” Brian said sadly. “I didn’t know. There was nothing in the information I got…”
Justin shrugged as he stood back up. “I doubt that anything in my records here are accurate. I didn’t come here directly from Pittsburgh. There was a hospital in Florida first. When it became obvious that I was never going to see again, my father got custody and sent me here. I was still pretty drugged up, but I remember coming here. I had panic attacks and they had to keep me sedated a lot. I still have panic attacks if they try to make me leave these rooms. But I was never incompetent.”
“I know,” Brian said as he held Justin in his arms again.
“My father sent me to a fucking mental institution,” Justin sobbed. “I’ve never even had a single meeting with one of the doctors here. He didn’t put me here to help me but to hide me away from the world, to punish me for not being what he wanted. Certainly can’t have his blind faggot son out on the streets embarrassing him.”
“When we sue your father for every penny he owns, he’ll know embarrassment,” Brian said. “That’s if he’s lucky and doesn’t end up in prison for kidnapping and unlawful imprisonment. Our lawyers are already putting everything together. He’s not going to get away with this.”
Justin snuggled closer into Brian’s arms, soaking in the warmth and security that he offered.
BJBJBJBJBJ
It actually took almost two weeks before the judge could hear their case. In that time, Justin had been seen by several impartial psychiatrists and doctors to evaluate his mental and physical health, not to mention the many meetings and depositions with their team of lawyers. Every day, Brian and Gus went to the hospital and spent hours with Justin. They talked about everything that was happening with the case and what they wanted to do when it was all over, but for some reason they spoke very little about what had happened over the past three years. It was almost as if they were afraid to revisit those miserable times when they had been apart.
One thing that they had been working on together during those two weeks was getting Justin past his panic attacks. He still refused to go anywhere alone or with someone he didn’t trust implicitly, but he had gotten to the point that as long as Brian was with him to talk him down whenever the anxiety began to build, he was okay. They had taken walks over the hospital grounds, visited the common areas and even took a day trip with one of the orderlies to shop for a suit for Justin’s court appearance.
The day of Justin’s competency hearing arrived and Brian was right beside him. Gus was spending the day with the teenaged daughter of one of their lawyers. Tina had spent some time with Gus while Brian and Justin had meetings with her father, so the two were well acquainted and had planned a day of movies and junk food. Brian escorted Justin into the courthouse, one of the hospital orderlies following behind them closely. Until the court said otherwise, Justin was still in the custody of the hospital and couldn’t be left unattended.
“Your father is here,” Brian whispered to Justin as they entered the courtroom. Craig Taylor glared at Brian and his son before turning back to speak with one of the lawyers.
“It’s not surprising,” Justin muttered. “Technically, he’s my guardian, even if he hasn’t bothered to see me in three years. He never even came to the hospital.”
Peter, one of their lawyers, approached them and soon they were seated behind one of the tables awaiting the appearance of the judge.
“All rise for the honorable Judge Maria Hardwick,” the court bailiff called out. “This court is now in session.”
The judge took her seat and gestured for everyone to sit. “I’ve read over the reports from six different doctors and psychiatrists. I’ve read the statements taken from all interested parties. Now I would like to hear from Mr. Justin Taylor.”
“Your honor,” the self-important lawyer beside Craig stood up and began to object.
“Sit your ass down,” Hardwick said with a glare. “This is not a trial, nor is it open court. This is a competency hearing. I don’t really care what you lawyers have to say. I will say this, if what I have read in these reports is true, you sir will be very busy in the next few months keeping your client out of prison. Now, Justin, please come forward.”
Brian stood and led Justin up to the witness stand. Justin squeezed Brian’s hand gratefully once he was seated.
The judge nodded to Brian and then said, “Justin, I would like for you to tell me in your own words what exactly has led you here today.”
“I suppose it started when my father found out that I’m gay. He hit me and threw me out of the house,” Justin said. “He was violent with me and with Brian, my boyfriend, on several occasions. He later said I could move home if I would pretend to be straight. I refused and went to live with a friend for the remainder of my senior year.”
Justin paused and took a deep breath. “Things weren’t great with my peers at school. I was bullied quite a bit that year because of my sexuality. And then, the night of my senior prom, I was hit in the head with a baseball bat by one of my homophobic classmates. I suffered from severe head trauma and was in a coma for more than three weeks as a result. When I woke up from the coma, my parents had moved me from Pittsburgh, where all of the friends who had supported me after he tossed me aside were, and shunted me off to some hospital in Florida. I learned recently that my father told everyone I was dead.
“Once it became apparent that I was blind and wouldn’t be getting any better, my father arranged for me to be moved to the hospital here. I’ve been locked up there for two years, nine months and six days. I was not allowed contact with anyone other than the orderlies. I was not allowed to be part of the patient groups. I had no access to a telephone or computer to seek assistance. I received no treatment from any of the doctors. My only contact with humanity was when one of the orderlies brought in my meal trays.
“I did make friends with one of the orderlies and he brought in supplies for me to work on my sculptures and helped me get an agent and sell some of my work. I understand that my pieces sell pretty well now.”
“I see,” the judge said. “Before being sent to St. Bart’s, did you ever meet with any psychologists or psychiatrists to be evaluated for competency?”
“No,” Justin said. “I was pretty drugged up then. They had me on a lot of anti-anxiety medications, probably more than was necessary, but I was never so far gone that I would have forgotten something like that.”
“Thank you Justin, you can retake your seat.” Brian once again rose and led Justin back to his seat. “Ladies and gentlemen, I think it is rather clear that Justin Taylor is not only in his right mind but has been for the past three years. The custody granted by the state of Florida was meant to be temporary, only intended to last as long as Justin was heavily medicated. It seems pretty obvious to me that he was kept heavily medicated intentionally far longer than necessary in order to keep control over him and lock him away.
“I can’t do anything in this hearing about the injustices perpetrated against this young man, but I can encourage him to pursue restitution in both civil and criminal court.” The judge paused and met eyes with Brian who nodded to her with a smirk. This man would make sure that Justin Taylor was taken care of. “The ruling of this court is that Justin Taylor is fully competent and free to leave the care of St. Bart’s at his will.”
The judge’s gavel rang out and the room erupted in noise, making Justin nervous. “Brian, can we get out of here?”
“We’ve got a meeting with the DA, but her office is in a very quiet hall,” Brian said. “Let’s go.”
“Justin!” Craig Taylor grabbed Justin’s arm before the two men could move. Justin cringed and Brian removed Craig’s hand with a painful grip.
“You touch him again and you’ll lose that hand,” Brian growled. He didn’t wait around for anything else to be said. He ushered Justin out into the hall and down a side corridor to the DA’s office.
“Justin, my name is Margaret Miller,” a woman said when they entered the quiet office. “I’m the DA. Brian and I have gone over the facts of your case and I read the deposition you gave to your lawyers for the competency hearing. Now that the hearing is over, we can use your statement in prosecuting your father, if you are willing to press charges.”
Justin nodded. “I’ve lost three years of my life because of him. He deserves to face the consequences for his actions.”
Justin could hear the smile in her voice when Margaret said, “I’m very glad to hear that. I’ve got officers ready to arrest your father and the director of the hospital for kidnapping and unlawful imprisonment. Judge Hardwick signed off on the warrant and I was just waiting for the go ahead.”
Justin listened as Margaret made the call. Before Craig Taylor could even leave the courthouse, he was being placed under arrest.
BJBJBJBJBJ
Justin carefully groped his way around the small living room in the apartment where he, Gus and Brian would be living until after Craig’s trial and the lawsuits were settled. It was strange being somewhere other than his little two rooms at the hospital. For three years he had known his surroundings like the back of his hand and now he had to acclimate to a new setting. It took almost an hour, but eventually, Justin was able to move around the apartment without bumping into things every couple of feet.
“Feel better now,” Brian asked as Justin sat beside him on the sofa.
“Yes,” Justin said. “We’re going to be here for a while and I want to feel like I can be at least a little bit independent.”
Gus had returned from his day out with Tina and had been excited that Justin was staying with them now. After dinner, however, his exciting day had caught up to him and he was now sleeping in one of the two bedrooms.
“How did Gus come to be here with you?” Justin asked. “I never would have thought that Mel or Lindsay would have let him leave the state with you.”
Brian snorted with disdain. “Until a few weeks ago, they wouldn’t have. But then their relationship imploded because they are both selfish bitches and Gus was too much of a burden on them while they try to find themselves. Mel says he reminds her too much of Lindsay and me, both of whom she can’t stand these days. And Lindsay ran off to Europe with Sam, some painter she’s fucking. Legally Gus is mine now and there’s no way in hell they are ever getting custody of him again after this shit.”
“It’s hard to believe they would do that,” Justin said sadly. “What about the rest of the gang? What happened to them?”
“Well, I don’t see them nearly as much as I used to,” Brian said. “After… after you disappeared, everyone thought that you were dead, but I refused to believe it. I spent a lot of time searching for you. When I wasn’t searching, I was working. We sort of grew apart. I know that Emmett and Ted were together for a while, but Ted blew that when he got in over his head with drugs. He’s recovering now, but he’s had a rough time of it. Emmett moved on, but he tries to be supportive of Ted in his own way. I got Ted a job at Vanguard, the agency I was working for, and he was doing pretty well when I left.
“Things didn’t work out with Mikey and Dr. David,” Brian continued. “He later met a professor from Carnegie Mellon and they are living very happily together in the suburbs like Stepford fags.”
Justin chuckled. “That’s hard to imagine. Is he still totally hung up on his comic books?”
Brian smirked. “He bought a comic store. That’s how he met the good professor. Ben was doing a course on homoeroticism in popular fiction and wanted to include a lecture on comic book heroes.”
“What about Deb and Vic?” Justin asked.
Brian sighed. “Vic died a couple months ago. He was one of the few that I really kept in touch with. We went to lunch every week. I went to the funeral and it was the first time I’d seen most of them in almost a year. Debbie took it very hard, but she’s been dating a recently retired homicide detective for a while and Carl seems to be keeping her together. He’s been trying to convince her to retire from the diner so that they can get an RV and tour the country.”
Justin smiled at the thought of Debbie being unleashed on the wider world. The two men sat there in silence for a while before Justin spoke again. “Brian, what happens now?”
Brian sighed. “Well, we have to stick around here for a little while. With your father’s trial and then the lawsuits we’ve got going, we’ll be spending quite a bit of time in court over the next couple months.”
“It’s a good thing that this isn’t a larger city or it might take years,” Justin said. “After it’s done, then what?”
“Then we are free to go wherever you want to go,” Brian said. “I sold my share of the agency. I thought it was time to try something new, though I haven’t got a clue what yet. We can go back to the Pitts if you want. Or we can go someplace completely new and start over, just the three of us.”
“That sounds good,” Justin said. “I mean, I’d like to see the gang, but they were always your friends. I was just the kid who latched on to you and wouldn’t let go. I know Debbie cared, but the others… Like I said, they were your friends. I have no reason to go back to Pittsburgh to live.”
“So where would you like to live?” Brian asked.
Justin shrugged. “I don’t really care about the where. I care more about the how.”
“So how do you want to live?” Brian asked with a smirk.
“Quietly,” Justin said tentatively. “I know you’ve helped me get over some of the fear and panic, but I’m not real comfortable with a lot of people around. I don’t think I could live in a city right now.”
“So no cities,” Brian said easily.
The Brian that Justin remembered had thrived on the nightlife of Liberty Avenue, and so Justin said, “But what about you? I don’t want you to be miserable either.”
“Listen, Sunshine,” Brian said as he turned Justin’s face towards him. “When I said that my life revolved around work and finding you, I meant that. When you disappeared, a lot of things came into focus for me. I don’t need the drugs or the booze or the tricks. I just need you. No matter where we end up, as long as we’re together, I’ll be happy. Okay?”
Justin nodded and kissed Brian. “Okay. What about some place near the ocean?”
“Which ocean?” Brian asked. “We could get a place down in the Carolinas or we could head west, maybe to Oregon or Washington State. Or we could go to another country. The world is filled with oceans.”
“Let’s go west,” Justin said. “We could get some place not too far from Seattle or Portland. Or we could head into Canada and live near Vancouver. I hear it’s beautiful there.”
“Lot’s of islands,” Brian mused. “We could find our own private island. You could sculpt and I could maybe write a book. We could head to the mainland every once in a while for supplies and maybe a night on the town when you are up to that.”
“Maybe we should consider the mountains, too,” Justin said. "Colorado and Montana are beautiful, and there’s skiing in the winter and lots of space.”
“We could live cheaper in Montana,” Brian mused. "The price of land there is a lot more reasonable. We could buy a big place with a lake and a view of the mountains. Then again, we could go tropical and head for either the Caribbean or Hawaii.”
“All of those options sound good,” Justin said wistfully. “But how practical are they?”
“Well, between my savings and investments and the money you’ve made off of your sculptures, I’d say it’s more practical than you might think,” Brian said. “Why don’t we have a realtor start checking things out for us while we wait around for the legal shit to be over?”
Justin gave Brian a huge smile and then kissed him deeply. “Sounds like a plan. Now, are you going to take me to bed and fuck me? I’ve missed that.”
“I’m not going to fuck you,” Brian said with a smirk. “But I will make love to you. All. Night. Long.”
BJBJBJBJBJ
“Jussin!” Gus called out and Justin obligingly followed the sound his voice into the toddler’s bedroom.
“What’s up Gus man?” Justin asked.
“Can we go to the park today?” Gus asked. He was determined to get Justin out of the apartment.
“Daddy’s not here,” Justin said a bit nervously.
They had been living in the tiny apartment for a month and a half and Justin still refused to go out without Brian at his side. That was okay for Justin, but since Brian had been spending more and more time with the lawyers, Gus was starting to feel claustrophobic. He was a little boy and needed the fresh air and sunshine.
“I know the way to the park,” Gus said. “I can make sure we don’t get lost.”
Justin sighed. He wasn’t sure that he was ready for this, but it wasn’t fair to keep Gus cooped up all the time. “Okay, Gus. But you have to promise that you won’t wander off and you’ll come when I call you.”
“Yes!” Gus crowed. “I’ll get my jacket!”
Soon enough, they were making their way out of the apartment and down the sidewalk. The park was actually only two blocks away and there were no busy streets in between. Justin was nervous about the outing, but he was surprised to find that he wasn’t panicking. Gus led him to one of the benches near the swings and Justin sat down.
“You stay where you can see me at all times and come back when I call. And no talking to any strangers older than ten years old,” Justin reminded Gus. Gus agreed again and was soon rushing off to play with the other children on the swings and playground. Justin’s hands itched to be able to draw something while he waited and listened to Gus’ laughter. When one of the mothers joined him, he found himself chatting with her before he realized what was happening. Time flew by and Gus came over several times to fill Justin in on his amazing feats until Justin decided that they should head back to the apartment.
Brian was there when they returned. “Daddy! Justin took me to the park and we had so much fun! I helped Justin not get lost.”
“You did?” Brian asked with a smile. He’d worried that Justin would never get up the nerve to venture out without him. “I’m very proud of you. Both of you.”
“I’m pretty proud of myself,” Justin admitted. “I didn’t expect you to be back so early.”
“It’s not really early,” Brian told his lover. “It’s after six already.”
“I’m starving,” Gus said.
“I suppose I lost track of time,” Justin chuckled. “I guess we’ll have to settle for pizza instead of the meatloaf I was going to make.”
“Yay, pizza!” Gus shouted with one fist in the air. “I want sausage and pepperoni.”
“Make mine a veggie special,” Brian said.
Justin made the call while Brian and Gus cleaned up and changed their clothes—Gus into pajamas and Brian into jeans—and then Gus settled down in front of the television with his favorite DVD playing.
“So how did things go with Peter?” Justin asked as he put together a tossed salad to go with their pizza. He was getting more comfortable in the kitchen, but it had been a slow process learning to cook without the benefit of sight.
“Pretty well,” Brian said. He sat at the counter and watched Justin work. The blond had made huge strides in the weeks since his release. The hospital had never bothered to teach him any skills to cope with his blindness, so now Justin had to learn on his own. The only thing he would let Brian hire a coach for was to learn to read Braille and to use the special computer programs and gadgets for the blind. “He’s confident that we’ll win the lawsuit against your father, whether or not the man gets jail time for his crimes. And the hospital is already trying to negotiate a settlement.”
“The only real question is if Craig will go to prison,” Justin said with a sigh.
“He’ll be punished for what he’s done,” Brian said firmly. ”He’s not going to get away with this.”
Justin shook his head. “Why not? Chris Hobbs certainly wasn’t punished for what he did. He barely got a slap on the wrist, whereas I’ll be paying for the rest of my life for what he did. And why not? The fag deserves what he got.”
“You didn’t deserve any of this shit and Hobbs won’t get away with what he did. He’s next on my list,” Brian murmured as he pulled the blond into his arms. He swore to himself that every person who had hurt Justin would pay.
BJBJBJBJBJ
Justin sat beside Brian in the courtroom. They were in the same seats they had occupied for the full three weeks of the trial. It had taken three weeks to go over all of the evidence that the DA and Brian’s lawyers had been able to piece together. There wasn’t a single bit of Craig’s life that hadn’t been examined and reexamined in front of a jury of twelve citizens. Justin and Brian’s relationship had been fodder for the defense attorney, but the judge hadn’t been very receptive to its inclusion. Each time the lawyer attempted to make them out to be perverts, Judge Marcus Johnson had struck him down. Justin rather suspected that the man was either gay himself or had someone close to him who was.
Finally, after weeks of testimony and long, drawn out arguments, both sides had presented their closing arguments and the jury had gone off to deliberate. After only six hours, they were all called back to the courtroom for the verdict. Justin clutched at Brian’s hand as the Judge read out the various charges. Each and every time, the jury foreman returned with a “guilty.” Each and every guilty found Justin crying just a little harder. They were tears of relief and tears of satisfaction, but they were also tears of sadness. His father, the man he had once looked up to and loved unconditionally, was going to prison for the horrible things he had done.
Brian pulled Justin into his arms and allowed the blond to cry into his chest. They watched and listened to the rest of the court proceedings. When Craig’s lawyer assured the man that they would appeal, Brian just laughed darkly. When the hospital’s director had turned on Craig in return for a reduced sentence, Craig’s fate had been sealed. There was nothing that an appeal would do to change that.
“Sorry,” Justin murmured once the noise around them had died down and most of the spectators had cleared out.
“Hey, it’s okay,” Brian said. “He’s your father. He may be a fucking bastard, but he’s still your old man. Did I ever tell you about my old man?”
“A little,” Justin said as he sat up and wiped at his tears with the sleeve of his shirt. “Mostly that he was a drunken asshole.”
“He was that,” Brian agreed. “But he was still my old man. For years before he died I helped pay off his gambling debts. He’d call, and I’d want to tell him to just fuck off, but time after time I found myself heading down to the lodge to give him money. In the end, I pitied him. I pity your father too. He had the best kid in the world and he threw it away because of his bigotry. It’s okay to cry, but don’t you ever for a minute think that he was right. Don’t compromise who you are for him.”
“Never,” Justin vowed softly.
BJBJBJBJBJ
“There are plenty of islands in Maine,” Justin pointed out to Brian. They had been reviewing possible houses that the realtor had sent them for the past three hours and hadn’t found one that suited them.
“Too fucking cold in Maine,” Brian said. It was only early November and they had already had snow twice. “The west coast has the warm trade winds to keep away the worst of the cold.”
“It rains a lot,” Justin pointed out. “I like the idea of being so close to the mountains and the ocean at the same time, though.”
“And so far away from the Pitts,” Brian snarked.
“What about Hawaii?” Justin suggested. They had decided against Montana because of the lack of gay-friendly laws and higher rates of hate crimes.
“Too many people on not a lot of livable land,” Brian said. “But we should really think about going for vacation someday.”
“Sounds good,” Justin said. He was quiet for a moment. “Molly called me while you were out this morning.”
Brian set aside the folder he had been looking over. “She did?”
Justin nodded. “She’s twelve now, you know. She and mom are living in Texas with my Aunt. She said mom pretty much had a breakdown after everything that happened. Now with Craig going to prison, she’s even worse.”
“Molly could come stay with us,” Brian offered.
Justin smiled sadly. “I offered. She likes living with Aunt Melinda and our cousins. Plus, she wants to be there for Mom, even if she can’t really do anything to help. She said she’d like to come visit us after we get settled, maybe for Spring Break.”
“Then we’ll fly her up,” Brian said and kissed Justin’s forehead. “We really do need to settle on a place soon. The lawsuit will be finished in the next couple weeks and I’d like to move on before winter sets in.”
“I want space to work again,” Justin said wistfully. “I miss creating. I mean, I can make small pieces here, but…”
“But you need a real studio to do the work that’s been percolating in that brain of yours,” Brian said.
“Yeah,” Justin said.
Brian opened his laptop and began scanning through the new listings that the realtor had emailed. “Listen to this. This house is on its own private island on the Gulf of California, nearly 2,500 acres, though most of those are undeveloped. It’s only a few hundred yards from the Baja shoreline. There’s a bridge that connects it by road, but the road goes through some backwoods and the fastest way to civilization is by boat.”
“Sounds pretty isolated,” Justin said. “I like that part.”
“Me too,” Brian admitted. “The house is absolutely huge: six bedrooms, each with a private bath; two half baths; formal and informal dining rooms; formal and informal living rooms; library; game room; exercise room; indoor and outdoor pools; a conservatory—what the fuck is a conservatory anyway?—an office; staff quarters for up to four couples over the garage and boathouse… shit, half of Pittsburgh could live on this property. And there’s a guest house, a pool house, a greenhouse… I’m sure we could make one of those into a studio for you.”
“We’d need to find out a few things,” Justin said practically, though he was rather excited by what Brian had read to him so far. “Like whether the power lines are buried or not. How often they lose power, if there’s a generator, if there’s protection from flooding… that sort of thing. Not to mention we’d need to figure out schooling for Gus. How old is the house?”
“The website says it’s only three years old,” Brian said. “There was a house there before, but it was just a simple fishing cabin. The new house was built with all the latest technology in beating the elements, special paint and treatment for the wood, all that shit to protect against the corrosive effects of salt air. And it has solar panels and a wind turbine to generate power, and it says there’s enough battery storage to keep the entire property going for a week in an emergency.” Brian clicked on the photos. “Oh. We’d have a private beach too. From the photos, it looks like the island is built on a slant. The house is at the peak, surrounded by bluffs, but the south side of the island angles down to a private beach. It’s really very beautiful.”
“Can we really afford a place like that?” Justin wondered.
“Between what I’ve put away and invested over the years, what you’ve made from your sculptures and what you’re going to get from the lawsuits, we could buy this place and keep it fully staffed for a couple decades and still afford a pretty decent penthouse in New York,” Brian drawled. “Seriously, Sunshine, I wouldn’t even suggest it if we couldn’t afford to buy it.”
“How much have I made from the sculptures?” Justin asked. “I never bothered to ask. Carlos just told me he’d put the money into an account for me. I had to practically force him to take a percentage for his help. He said getting to see the work I did was all the payment he needed. I finally got him to agree to five percent and the cost of the supplies he bought for me.”
“I can’t believe you still haven’t gone through the portfolio I had the accountant prepare,” Brian sighed. “The file’s compatible with your voice program.”
Justin shrugged. “There always seems to be something better to do with my time than listen to hours of boring financial information being read by an automated voice. You could just tell me.”
“Justin, you’ve made more than two million dollars from your sculptures in the last two years,” Brian told his partner. “If you were to accept a couple of the commissions that your agent has been begging for, your income next year could double that.”
“Oh. Really?” Justin looked nonplussed.
“Really,” Brian said with a chuckle. “You are a very talented artist, no matter what media you choose to use.”
“I think we should brush up on our Spanish, because it looks like we're moving to Mexico,” Justin finally said with determination.
Brian smiled and kissed Justin’s cheek. “Te amo, mi rayo de sol.”
BJBJBJBJBJ
By the time Justin and Brian were ready to leave Maine, they had accomplished much. Craig Taylor was imprisoned for at least twenty years, they had a hefty settlement from the hospital, and money from Craig’s personal accounts. The only money they hadn’t taken from the man had reverted back to Jennifer and Brian insured that it would be more than enough for the two Taylor women to live on indefinitely. Craig’s company had to be sold in order to pay off his debts. Justin and Brian were pleased that Craig was being punished for his actions.
The sale for the island house had been completed before the lawsuit went to court, so they were able to hire a decorator and a staff for the property through the real estate agent. The house was now clean and decorated for their arrival. Everything that they would need was already in place. All they really needed to do was get there.
Two days after the final ruling, Justin, Gus and Brian loaded up in the SUV and headed towards Pittsburgh. Despite Brian’s protests that there was no reason to head back there, Justin wanted to see Daphne and Debbie. The rest of the gang, if they were around, would get a chance to say goodbye to the couple who were set to start their new life.
It took two days of leisurely travel before they reached the Pitts and the hotel downtown where they would be staying for the few days they had planned to be there.
“Are you sure you just want to show up at the diner?” Brian asked Justin the next morning as they dressed.
“I want choc’ chip pancakes,” Gus said stubbornly.
“You heard the man,” Justin chuckled. “He wants chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast and what better place is there for such a culinary delight?”
Brian rolled his eyes, though Justin couldn’t see him. “Fine. We’ll get chocolate chip pancakes for the two little boys. I, as the grown up in this family, will have an egg white omelet.”
“Right, grown up,” Justin scoffed. “Let’s go, old man.”
Fifteen minutes later, the small family walked into the diner. Gus held Justin's hand and Justin held Brian’s arm as the brunet guided him to a table.
Brian leaned over to whisper to Justin, “The whole gang is here. I told you this was a bad idea.”
“At least we’ll get it over with all at once,” Justin replied.
“Brian Kinney, where the fuck have you been?” Debbie’s harsh voice echoed through the small restaurant and everything seemed to go silent at once.
“Daddy and I rescued Jussin from the tower,” Gus told her loudly.
“Oh my god, Justin,” Debbie whispered with more emotion than any shout could have conveyed. “You’re alive. Hey you assholes, Sunshine’s alive!”
Suddenly, Justin was being surrounded by what seemed like a hundred people all touching him and hugging him. His anxiety level skyrocketed as he was pulled away from Brian, until Justin was panicking and hyperventilating.
“Enough!” Brian shouted. When everyone stopped at once, Brian carefully pulled Justin away from the gang and into his arms. He whispered soothing words to him while Justin buried his face in Brian’s chest. He breathed deeply of Brian’s unique scent and felt his heart rate begin to slow back to normal.
“Can we sit and maybe get something to eat,” Justin asked no one in particular. “We’d like to catch up with everyone, but… I can’t really handle everyone talking to me at once.”
“Holy shit, baby, you can’t see, can you?” Emmett asked.
Justin chuckled darkly. “That’s a remnant of Hobbs.”
Brian took charge and soon they were seated and the crowd sat or stood around the booth as they listened to the tale of how Justin had been locked away and how Brian had finally found and rescued him.
“We all thought Brian was crazy,” Debbie admitted. “He just wouldn’t give up on finding you.”
“I’m glad he didn’t,” Justin said softly.
“So that’s where you’ve been for the last few months?” Mikey asked Brian. “I was pretty pissed when I found out you sold the loft and never said anything.”
“I tried to tell you all before, but you never believed me,” Brian shrugged.
“So does this mean you guys are back?” Ted asked.
“No,” Justin said. “I can’t really stand being around people as much as I would have to be here. We’ve bought a house out on the west coast. We’ll live there for a while.”
“Maybe for good,” Brian said. “We’ll see.”
“I’m gettin’ a tutor,” Gus said proudly. “Big boys get tutors.”
“A tutor?” Debbie asked. “What about school?”
Brian shrugged. “The house we bought is pretty remote. It will be easier to keep Gus at home. When he gets older, if he wants to go to a regular school, we’ll work something out.”
“Can I get my pancakes now?” Gus whispered to Justin loud enough for everyone to hear.
The gang all laughed and Debbie stood up with her pad and pencil. “Let me guess, two orders of chocolate Chips pancakes and an egg white omelet?”
BJBJBJBJBJ
The house was even more amazing in person than it was in photos and videos. The decorator had done an excellent job of combining Brian’s love of clean lines and Justin’s desire to have the decor be comfortable, practical for raising a small child and fitting for a home on the ocean. Even Gus’ room had a slightly nautical feel to it without being too gimmicky or tacky. She had commissioned to have high berths built on either side of the large room. It gave plenty of storage underneath while it also made the once huge room feel smaller, cozier, but still with plenty of room for Gus to play and possibly have friends sleep over someday.
Justin was more than happy with the studio that was set up for him in the pool house and Brian loved his new office and was already planning out the first book he would write. It was a mystery based loosely on the death of the young hustler that had Debbie up in arms a while back. It would be a twist on the old noir detective stories. This detective would be gay.
They hired staff to help run the huge property and happened to luck into two very nice families. The first family, Carlos and Eric Garcia, had three young kids, ages two to six that they had adopted. Brian had the two apartments above the garage renovated into one large apartment for them. Carlos was hired as the housekeeper and Eric as the maintenance guy. The other family had two children, ages three and five, with a third on the way, so Brian had the two apartments above the boathouse converted for them. Juan was hired to be the gardener, and Teresa was a certified teacher who would take on the schooling for all seven children living on the island.
The seventh person they hired was a retired chef from Los Vegas named Sherry that reminded them both of a female Vic in a lot of ways. She got the the guest house all to herself, and would spend her time cooking. She would cook mainly for the main house most of the time, but Justin had decreed that at least once a week, all of the families would get together for dinner.
Before the first week was up, Sherry, Justin and Juan had already sat down and planned out what fruits and vegetables they wanted to plant in the garden and the green house. Juan had also informed them that there were wild cherries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries and grapes on the island, as well as olive, avocado, lemon, orange, lime, apple, pear, fig, peach, apricot, pecan, and almond trees that needed a bit of tending, but should produce plenty of fruit for all the island’s inhabitants. Sherry was already making plans for what she could can, what she would cook right away and what she would share with the families.
Getting used to taking a boat to the closest village was interesting. It was about thirty minutes shorter by water than by car, so the family chose that method as long as the weather was good. Gus got sea sick the first couple times out, but eventually got better. He loved being out on the water too much to give it up just because he got a little nauseous. Carlos and Eric often took him with them on fishing trips, along with Frankie, Eric and Carlos’s oldest and the only other child interested in fishing.
Gus loved life on the island and loved his new friends. He rarely mentioned his mothers. He loved spending time with Teresa when she was teaching them. He seemed to soak up knowledge like a sponge and was soon working well above his peers. He spoke Spanish like a native speaker. Teresa took everything in stride and just let him learn at his own pace. She did try to keep up a semblance of order in their classes, to prepare all of the kids for one day entering mainstream education.
Gus also loved being around Sherry as she cooked, soaking up the attention she gave him. But he also loved tagging along after Juan as he planted or harvested food. He loved watching Eric fix a fence, or change the oil in one of the cars, or repair a toilet.
Mostly, Gus just loved having his Dad and Justin right there any time he wanted or needed them. It was easy to forget that there was a life before the island when his whole world was a happy and loving place. And so he didn’t ask about his mothers because they were irrelevant.
Brian’s first book became a surprise best seller. Mostly because he marketed it himself, rather than going through a traditional publisher. He knew that most gay-oriented novels were relegated to the junk pile, if they even got published to begin with. So Brian self-published and marketed directly to bookstores that had a strong gay and lesbian clientele. He got the word going on the newly emerging social media sites and offered a digital version of the book. Before long, mainstream bookstores were clamoring for the book and he was on the New York Times best seller list for almost six months. Oprah even used it for her book club.
In the meantime, Justin’s art continued to sell just as well as it had while he was locked away. He found that life on the island was just as peaceful as he had hoped when he and Brian were planning the move. It took time, but he eventually felt bold enough to head into the village without Brian or Gus along. James or Eric would drive him in the car or on the boat and Justin would go to the local cafe for a coffee before heading to whatever shops he needed to visit that day. He began to know his way around town and many of the villagers began to know him. The small town was almost as comfortable as their island.
Molly came and spent that first summer with them, and it soon became an annual thing. Even through her college years, Molly spent most of her summer breaks on the island. Jennifer eventually got better and started to visit as well, but she was never the same as she had been before. Every time she looked at Justin, it was as though she couldn’t really be sure if he was real or just a figment of her imagination. Her visits were much briefer than Molly’s and less frequent as well. It was better for all of them that way.
After a couple years, Justin felt brave enough to leave their little protected world. So Brian took them to San Diego for a night out at the clubs. It wasn’t like going to Babylon, but it was fun and something that Justin decided that they should do more often. Soon they were making regular trips to San Diego, then Los Angeles, and then trips to other parts of the world.
It took time, but one day, Brian realized that it had been several years since Justin had last had a panic attack. When he mentioned it to Justin, the blond had smiled at him and kissed him.
"You really were my knight in shining armor," Justin told him. "You saved me from the evil lord."
"My princess," Brian chuckled. "I'd do it all again for you."
The End