Time In A Bottle

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They took the elevator to the loft. Justin wasn’t sure he could manage the four flights of stairs just yet. His chest hurt where the tube had been to re-inflate his lung, and he was still weak from the loss of blood. Besides, Brian wouldn’t have let him climb the stairs even if he had felt well enough. He was glad his mother had consented to his going home with Brian, not to her condo. He needed to feel safe, and the only place that was right now was in Brian’s arms.  The elevator stopped at the top floor and Brian carried the overnight bag and three plants off. “Give me the keys, Brian. I’ll open the door.”

”Justin, the doctor said for you not to do anything strenuous. This door is heavy. I can get it.”

Justin looked at the man in front of him. “Brian, I can open a door. Give me the keys.” Brian reluctantly handed the keys over to Justin. When the door was open, Justin stood to the side and gave a mock bow, ushering Brian inside.

”Brat,” Brian said as he dropped the bag and set the plants on the counter.

”But you love me anyway, huh?”

”Yeah, I do” Brian pulled Justin to him in a careful embrace. “I do love you. I don’t know what I would have done if...” His voice choked and he couldn’t finish the thought.

”But I didn’t. I’m here with you now, and I don’t ever want to leave. No, I’ll never leave. This is where I belong. Think you can handle me for the next sixty or seventy  years?”

”Justin, in seventy years, I’ll be a hundred. It’ll be up to you to handle me by then. Are you up to it?”

”We’ll see how the first fifty go, then I’ll let you know. How’s that?”

”Deal. Let’s get your bag unpacked. You need to rest for a while.”

”I’ve been resting for nine days, Bri. I don’t want to rest. Let’s watch a movie.”

”Are you sure?” Justin nodded. “Ok. Pick something out and I’ll be right back. There’s a whole stack over by the DVD player. Cynthia loaned me a bunch of her movies. She figured you wouldn’t be up to doing too much. Probably all chick flicks, but look and see.”

Brian headed to the bedroom with Justin’s bag, while Justin looked over the selection of films. Ocean’s Eleven. George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon.  Hmmm. That’s the one. Justin popped it in the DVD player, then went to the stairs that led to the bedroom to check on Brian’s progress and help him put the clothes away.

Brian was sitting on the side of the bed facing the closet, his head in his hands. Justin just watched him for a moment debating on whether or not to go to him. Brian didn’t like for people to see him as being vulnerable, and Justin knew this is one of those times. “If I’m going to be here with him, it has to be on an equal basis,” Justin thought. “He has to learn to communicate with me.” Justin walked around the bed and sat next to Brian, putting his arm around him and leaning his head on Brian’s shoulder. He put his left hand on Brian’s thigh and just held it there. Neither man said a word. Finally, Brian took Justin’s hand and squeezed it to let him know he was alright.

”I’m sorry, Baby. I don’t know what came over me. I was putting your clothes away and this...this feeling just came over me. You were alive and you were here, with me, again. When we came in, and I thought about the fact that you could have died....I don’t know, it’s all mixed up in my head.”

”Brian, you’re exhausted. You’ve hardly slept in over a week. I’m fine and I’m here with you. Why don’t you rest for a while?”

Brian puts his forehead against Justin’s. “You’re the one who was injured and just got out of the hospital and you’re taking care of me already. I should be taking care of  you. How about we both lay down and rest. Let me just set the alarm and turn the phone off, or else  we’ll be awakened in an hour by a hoard of people who claim to know us” He stood and pulled  Justin up, too. ”Come on, let’s get some of these clothes off you.”

Justin let Brian remove his shirt and sweat pants. The long incision on his abdomen and  several smaller wounds were held together with strips of tape. They looked red against his pale skin. Justin didn’t like the looks of the healing wounds, not because he was squeamish about such things, but because of what it represented in his life. ”Not too pretty, is it?”

Brian could hear the pain in Justin’s voice. “Damn that Ethan. I could kill him for hurting my Baby,” he thought. Putting a finger under Justin’s chin and tilting his head up, he told Justin it wasn’t too bad, and the redness would fade in time. “You’ll always be beautiful to me. And perfect. Nothing will ever change that, Justin. Don’t ever think it will.” He kissed Justin tenderly on the lips, then on the tip of his nose. ”Now go lay down. I’ll only be a minute. Do you need a pain pill?”

”Yeah, just one, though. I want to wake up sometime tonight if only to see what you’re going to fix me for supper.”

”Brat, he said, but smiled as he walked to the stairs. “I think Gus has a can of Spaghetti-O’s here somewhere. How’s that sound?” He ducked just in time to miss  a flying  t-shirt.

”Brian? Thanks.”

”I should be thanking you, Sunshine. You always know what to do for me. I  guess you really are on to me.”

Justin went into the bathroom. Brian was in the kitchen when he came out, so he sat on the side of the bed, waiting for Brian to bring his pill and some water. “He’ll probably bring some juice or milk, too,” he thought, with a smile.

”Here you go. One pain pill, a bottle of water and a glass of orange juice. Just what the doctor ordered. Drink all the juice. It’s good for you” Justin did as he was told.

While Brian took the empty glass back into the kitchen, Justin snuggled under the covers. He  hadn’t forgotten how comfortable Brian’s big bed was even though it had been over four months since he last shared it with Brian. Justin watched as Brian set the alarm and locked the door. Brian wasn’t kidding about the hoard of people who could come over at any time. They needed some time to settle in before they’d be ready to entertain. Besides the fact that Justin had just gotten out of the hospital, the two of them hadn’t been together in 4 months and needed the time to sort themselves out.

Brian soon climbed into the bed and moved hesitantly toward Justin. “Hey,” Justin said. “Are you going to stay all the way over there until I’m totally healed? I need you closer. You won’t hurt me.”  Brian moved closer to Justin and cradled him gently in his arms.”

”I missed your not being here with me.  I missed you in my life. Promise me, no matter what, we won’t let anyone or anything tear us apart again. Promise me, Justin”

”I promise, but we have to remember to talk things out, Brian. That was a big part of what happened. I usually know when you’re  hurt or  angry, but I don’t always  know why. I have to know why. If I don’t, I won’t know what to say or do to help. You have to promise me that, Brian.”

”The best I can do is promise to try. I can’t change overnight, Baby. You may have to remind me every so often, and I may try to hold back, but I won’t let things get out of hand ever again.” Justin snuggled in closer to Brian and Brian held him as tight as he dared. The pain pill was already working on Justin’s sensitive body, and he would soon be asleep. Brian closed his eyes and let his mind empty except for the feel of his Baby in his arms. This is what it was all about and he intended to keep it forever. “I love you, Justin.”

”Love you, too,” Justin replied in a sleepy voice.

The loft was dark when Brian awoke. He realized Justin wasn’t in his arms any more, or even in the bed. Panic was setting in as he looked around. Seconds later, he heard the toilet flush and let out the breath he was holding. Justin washed his hands and came into the bedroom. “I woke up and you weren’t here. You had me scared for a minute.”

”Brian, Sweetie, relax. I’m ok and I’m here. I’ll let you know if any of  that changes, ok? Don’t hover. It makes me feel like I’m living at Mom’s. “ Brian was sitting up in bed and Justin leaned over to give him a kiss. It started out as a soft playful kiss, but Justin  was soon lying on the bed with Brian, arms around him, tongues probing. “Brian,” Justin murmured.” I  missed you so much. I need you.”

”What do you want me to do, Baby? I don’t want to hurt you. Remember what the doctor said.” Brian was kissing Justin’s neck and working his way down to his chest. He tongued one nipple and sucked it ‘til it was hard, then went to the other one and started with it. He slid down the thin, pale body he knew so well, taking care not bother the still tender incisions.

”Suck me, Brian” Justin had both hands on Brian’s head guiding him to where he wanted him.” Oh, God, Brian. Please.” He could feel Brian’s hard cock rubbing on his leg as he moved down against Justin’s smooth skin.

Brian swirled the tip of his tongue around the velvety head tasting his lover for the first time in months. He missed that familiar salty, sweet  taste, and now he couldn’t get enough of it. He wanted to stay right there for the rest of the week. He slid his mouth down the length of the perfect cock, relishing the feel of it in his mouth. He could tell Justin wasn’t going to last very long and he didn’t think he was either. He turned so Justin could reach him and they fell into a rhythm, Brian’s mouth on Justin, Justin’s hand around Brian’s cock. Justin was moaning and taking those short breaths that turned Brian on even more.

“Bri...Oh, God...so good...I...can’t..Bri. Justin arched his body as he came, filling Brian’s mouth with his juices. Brian swallowed every bit of the flow. The sensation of  Justin’s cum in his mouth, his moaning and his hand stroking his cock brought Brian to orgasm seconds later. His juices flowed over Justin’s hand onto his own abdomen and the sheets.

They laid like that for several minutes, ‘til their breathing slowed down then Brian moved up to envelop he lover in his arms. “Baby, Baby. I love you,” he said against the side of Justin’s head.

“Brian. I love you so much.” His voice was jagged, and Brian looked up to see tears on his cheeks. He misunderstood, and immediately thought he had hurt Justin, that they were tears of pain. “No, Brian. Remember what my mom said after my surgery?”

Furrowing his brow, Brian thought back. He smiled “Happy tears, Justin?”

”Yeah. Happy tears. This is where I always belonged.  I can hardly wait ‘til I can have you inside me. I want to feel you inside me so bad.”

”And that’s where I’d like to be, too. But I can wait, because I know it will happen soon. Now, I think we need a shower. And I know I’ve missed having someone wash my back. How about it? You up for the job?”

”Of course,” he said and was out of bed almost before Brian.

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Justin sat at the kitchen table tearing greens and cutting veggies for the salad. Brian was tending to the pasta and sauce. While waiting for the water to boil, he buttered and applied garlic to half a loaf of Italian bread and placed it on a baking sheet to put into the oven. They ate the simple meal, sitting side by side at the kitchen table, touching as often as possible. Brian made Justin go sit on the sofa while he cleared the dishes and loaded the dishwasher. When he was done, he grabbed two bottles of water from the fridge and joined Justin on the sofa. “So, what are we watching?”

”Ocean’s Eleven..”  Brian nodded settling back into the sofa cushion, while Justin lay down, using Brian’s leg as a pillow. They tried to outguess the crooks and couldn’t. Justin was yawning by the end of the movie.

”Ready for bed?”

”No,” Justin said with his eyes closed.

”Come on, Stud. Let me tuck you in. Need a pain pill?”

”Yeah, just one. For some reason I’m pretty sore.” His sly smile made Brian laugh.

”Hmmm, I wonder what that reason could be?” He went into the kitchen and returned with the pain pill. “Here, take this and finish the rest of your water.” He watched Justin swallow the white tablet and empty the bottle of water. “Ok, bed time, little boy.” He ignored the dirty look Justin threw his way as he climbed the stairs to the bedroom. Brian had changed the sheets on the bed and the fresh, cool sheets felt good. Brian sat with him until he fell asleep, which only took a few minutes. He leaned down, brushed some stray blonde hairs from his forehead and kissed him. He had intended on doing some work on the computer, but sat beside the sleeping boy for almost an hour, just watching Justin sleep. The perfect pale skin, his chest rising and falling in an even motion, the partially opened mouth all combined into the  one person who had captured Brian Kinney’s heart.

Reluctantly, like he was going miles away instead of across the living room, Brian got up and headed for the computer. He had missed a lot of work, only going in for important meetings, and he had a lot to catch up on.

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”What is that noise?” Brian thought as he was awakened from a sound sleep. He hadn’t planned on it, but he was up until almost three trying to fix the totally messed up copy for the new clients.  He looked at the clock. 7:45. He checked to make sure Justin was still asleep and pulled on  his jeans as he went to answer the door. “It could only be Mikey,” he mumbled to himself. Sure enough, when he opened the door,  his best friend was glaring at him and pushed past him into the loft. “Come on in, Mikey. Now what do you want at this ungodly hour?”

”I’ve been trying to call you since yesterday. Your phones are off, so is your answering machine.”

”I know. I turned them off. Now, to repeat my question, what do you want? I’d like to go back to bed.” Brian opened the refrigerator and poured himself a glass of guava juice without offering anything to Michael.

”My Mom told me that Justin is out of the hospital and staying here with you. Again. Jesus, Brian. Haven’t you learned anything the past four months? He...”

Brian interrupted. “That’s none of your business, Mikey. Justin is my business, and you need to keep your voice down. He’s still asleep.”

”Brian, he walked out on you at Babylon, in front of all your friends. With  that... that musician.”

”In case you’ve forgotten, that musician tried to kill Justin. And you know that I was partly to blame for what happened, too. I drove him away. He didn’t have any other choice but to leave” Brian walked over to the loft door and started to open it. “You can leave now, Michael. I don’t need this from you.”

”He’s only going to hurt you again. Surely, you know that. Is he that good in bed that you keep taking him back? Or are you feeling guilty?”

”Michael, what is wrong with you? Where was all this anger last week at the hospital?”

”At the hospital, I was there for you and Jennifer and my mom. It had nothing to do with Justin. I figured once you found out he was going to be alright, you'd forget him. I didn’t think you were taking him back. Not really. He’s no good for you. He’s too young. And all he does is hurt you. Can’t you see that?”

Brian grabbed Michael’s shirt to throw him out the door, when he heard his name. “Brian Don’t,” Justin said loudly as he came down the steps from the bedroom. “

Hello, Michael.”

Brian let go of his friend’s shirt and put his hand on Justin’s back and planted a kiss on the top of his blonde head. “Leave, Mikey. Now. Before I say something we’ll both regret.”

Michael glared at Justin without acknowledging his greeting. He glanced back at Brian, then turned his back to the two men and left. Brian closed the door behind him and leaned against it for a moment. “How much did you hear?”

”Most of it, I think. I was’t going to interfere, but I could tell you were getting into your protective, anger mode and figured I’d better do something. He really hates me, doesn’t he? I mean, since I left, he hasn’t been very friendly to me at the diner. And I got someone else from the school to help him with the comic. I figured he was just being loyal to you, his best friend, and I understood that. I didn’t...”

”Justin, don’t. It’s not worth it.” Brian had his arms around Justin. “He’ll either accept you as part of my life or he won’t. If he doesn’t then he’s not a part of my life anymore. If he makes me choose, he’s the one who’ll lose.” Brian stopped and realized what Justin had said about the comic. He looked at Justin. ”He never said you weren’t working on Rage with him. How long has that been?”

Justin shrugged. “A couple of weeks after...I left. He said....he said he didn’t want me there, considering what I did to you. One of my classmates, Dale, has a style similar to mine, and could use the extra money. They’ve been pretty good together.”

”No one said anything at all to me. I thought you were still working on it, just not at the store, so you wouldn’t run into me. I’m sorry. I know you loved that comic. You helped  bring it to life”

”Things change, Brian. Rage isn’t mine anymore. But as long as you are, that’s what counts.”

”I’m yours and you know it”

”Say that again”

Brian smiled and gave Justin a little kiss. “I’m yours. Forever. Unless you decide to throw me out when you re-evaluate our relationship in fifty years.” They held each other for a while longer until they were interrupted by distinctive growling from Justin’s stomach. Somebody’s ready for breakfast. What will it be”

”Got any Special K?”

Brian looked at Justin, then smiled. He remembered the first time Justin was in the loft and he asked him if he liked “Special K”.  Justin said it was ok, but he liked Cheerios better. “Thought you liked Cheerios better”

”Ahhh. Yeah. Cheerios and banana sounds good. Maybe some toast, too.”

”I guess your appetite’s coming back. Sit down. One bowl of cereal coming up. Here’s a banana. Nice size. What do you think?” He wiggled his eyebrows as he handed the piece of fruit to Justin. “Sit down. I’ll get the rest of the stuff.”

They ate breakfast quietly, each thinking his own thoughts of Michael’s visit. Justin knew Brian didn’t want to talk about it any more, so he brought up a different subject. “You must have worked pretty late. I woke up around one, and saw you at the computer. I was going to get up, but must have fallen  back to sleep.”

”It was about three when I finally quit. That proposal was in worse shape than I thought. They must have found someone to replace Bob and Brad.” Justin laughed. “I think there’s a special HR person who’s job it is to find at least one idiot to fill a job slot. It’s called The Idiot Factor. I’m sure someone’s written a book on it. I’ll have to with Barnes and Noble.”

Justin was holding his stomach. “Brian, don’t make me laugh. I’m still sore, you know.”

”It’s good to see you laugh. I really missed it, but, ok, no more jokes or funny stories ‘til Justin is completely healed. Promise,” he said, raising his hand in the Boy Scout salute.” Let me get this cleaned up and you figure out what you want to do today.”

”Actually, I really want to get outside for a while. Maybe take a walk. I’ve been cooped up too long. Outside is much better than those hospital corridors.”

”Ok, a walk it is. Go get some clothes on. I’ll finish up here.”

The sound of the phone startled Brian. He heard the answering machine come on. “This is Carl Horvath. I need for Brian or Justin to call me at 555-2677 as soon as possible. It’s very important.” Brian grabbed the phone just as the message was ending. He didn’t want Justin to have to deal with the cops just yet, even if it was Carl. They questioned him in the hospital, already. “This is Brian, Carl. What’s up?”

”Brian. I’m glad you answered. Has Melanie talked to you yet?”

”Mel? No. What’s going on? Does it have something to do with that bastard you have locked up?”

”That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. Look. Stay in the loft for now. Justin’s with you, isn’t he?  I’m on my way over. Don’t go out, ok? Ethan Gold isn’t in custody any more.”

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