I Will Remember You

Chapter 23

~ Stuck in the Middle ~

Wednesday, Dec. 11

Justin and Brian were reclining on the sofa at Brian's condo watching a movie when Justin's cell went off. Rolling off the taller man, Justin wandered over to where he'd left his jacket. Checking the caller id, he recognized his mom's number. "Hey." He answered.

"Justin." His mom sounded worried. "Have you heard from Molly?"

Becoming concerned at his mother's tone of voice, Justin replied. "No, mom. Not since dad came and got her." Glancing over at Brian, who had sat up on the sofa, listening, he asked. "What's wrong?"

"Your father just called and says she skipped school today and hasn't been home since. I've called her friends and no one has seen her since this morning. I'm worried, Justin. This isn't like Molly at all." Jennifer was becoming frantic by this time. Justin had been her last hope, although she had doubted Molly would have risked trying to get in touch with her bother. "Is there anyone else you can think of to call? Any idea of where she might have gone?"

"No, mom. I can't think of anyone, but I'll let you know if I do." Justin was getting more than worried himself, although he knew that Molly wouldn't have just left without a plan in place. She was too smart for that.

They talked for a minute more then Justin hung up the phone and walked back over to the sofa. "It looks like Molly may have run away." He said. "No one seems to know where she might be hiding out though."

Brian was a bit surprised. He wondered what would have pushed the girl into something so rash. "Where have they looked?" Brian was concerned as well. He knew the streets were no place for a teenage girl.

A bit distracted, Justin replied. "Called the police, and her friends. Checked the bus stations and the airports. No luck. She wouldn't have left without someplace safe in mind. I can't imagine where she would have gone though." Pacing around the room, Justin absently rubbed the back of his neck, which was becoming tense. "I can't just wait around here. I need to do something." He voiced his frustration as he stopped and began straightening things on Brian's desk.

Brian walked over and encircled the young man's waist from behind. For once, he didn't have a solution. They stood that way for several minutes, Justin taking what comfort he could from his lover. With a sigh, Justin turned around. "Maybe I should go back to Mom's, just in case they hear something."

Even though he didn't want Justin to leave, Brian understood. "Your mom can probably use the support."

Relieved that Brian understood, Justin gave the taller man a soft kiss then collected his things and headed home.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Friday, Dec 13~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As the week wore on with still no word on Molly, Justin was becoming more and more anxious and was grateful for Brian's calming presence. He'd ended up spending the previous night at Brian's. Not that he had planned to; he just sort of woke up in the morning still there.

They were just finishing up dinner at the condo on Friday evening when Justin's cell went off. Checking the caller id out of habit, he didn't recognize the number, but answered anyway, just in case. "Yeah?"

There was a pause, then a hesitant voice came on. "Hey, Jus."

Justin recognized his brother's voice immediately. With a pang, he realized just how much he'd missed talking to him. "Hey, Tee. What's up?"

Tee cleared his throat, a sure sign that he was nervous. "Just wanted to let you know that a certain young blond of our acquaintance showed up on my doorstep this afternoon. Thought you might be worried."

Justin's breath caught. "Is she ok?"

The last bit caught Brian's attention. He mouthed 'Molly?' at Justin, to which the younger man nodded. Brian shook his head. The girl had some moxy, going all the way to Arizona by herself.

Tee let out a breath he'd been holding. "She's fine, kinda tired. She's sleeping right now. I told her I was going to call you. She hasn't told me what's going on though."

So Justin filled him in on everything that had happened. "She needs to get back here, Tee. Mom's worried sick."

"I'll take care of her, Jus. Don't worry. I'll see that she makes it home ok." Tee promised.

They talked a bit more then Justin hung up and turned to Brian. "The imp went all the way to Arizona by herself."

Brian smiled slightly. "Why sound so surprised? She's *your* sister after all."

Justin returned the smile; relieved to know the brat was safe. He called his mom to tell her the news.

Jennifer wasn't quite as relieved as Justin, especially when Justin couldn't tell her where in Arizona Tee lived. She had to be content in the knowledge that at least her daughter wasn't alone.

Craig, however, nearly hit the roof when Jennifer called to tell him where his daughter had run off too. He made all sorts of threats concerning what would happen if Molly weren't returned to him immediately. Threats that were meaningless considering no one knew exactly where Tee and Molly were.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Brian lay with Justin curled up in front of him, his arm over the blonde's chest, legs entangled. Having drifted off for a while, Brian was now wide-awake and thinking about Molly. It seemed a little strange that she would have chosen Tee of all people to run too. Perhaps they had grown close during the time she had spent with him and Justin over the summer. And Tee *had* chosen to talk to Molly instead of Justin when Brian had pressed him to call.

Well, he supposed it didn't really matter why, just that she was safe. Tee wouldn't let anything happen to her, of that Brian was sure. With a smile, Brian thought that having a teenage girl in his apartment was certainly going to change the boy's lifestyle.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Mon., Dec. 16 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Justin rolled out of bed Monday morning, ready for his first official day of work at Kinnetic. He'd spent most of the weekend with Brian and Gus, going to the zoo, the park, and the diner, watching cartoons on the TV. He loved watching how open Brian was with his son. The indifference that Brian normally portrayed was gone when Gus was present.

He and Brian had talked a bit about how they would handle working together and decided that it would be best to keep things on a purely professional basis while in the office. They had both agreed that there was no need for any of the other employees to know anything about their private lives.

Since the previous Art Director had already vacated his office, Justin was able to move in and arrange things to suit himself. Brian had left him to get situated, saying that they would meet later in the morning to discuss upcoming projects.

After he had finished arranging his office, Justin decided to meet some of the other employees. He'd already met Cynthia, Brian's assistant/Junior Ad Exec. Jessica had just been hired the previous week as the secretary. Justin wasn't very impressed with her abilities. Ted had also come to work for Kinnetic recently as an accountant. He was also taking care of the HR paperwork, so Justin had to sit in his office for a while filling out forms.

Justin quickly realized that Ted was a born gossip (maybe it was from hanging around Em so much) and one of his favorite topics seemed to be Brian Kinney. He didn't seem to realize that there was anything going on between Justin and Brian however, for which the blond was grateful. He didn't really want to become the subject of office gossip.

However, Justin wasn't opposed to listening. He learned that Brian still had quite a reputation on Liberty Avenue, although his tricking seemed to have tapered off a bit. Ted surmised that it was probably due to Brian's starting his new business. There were still nights when the ad exec showed up at Babylon, looking for new prey. Justin quickly figured out that just about any night he hadn't stayed over, Brian had gone out tricking.

Although the day went smoothly after his talk with Ted, Justin couldn't help but feel a bit depressed at what he'd learned. Every time Justin started to feel that there was something between them, Brian would do something to prove that it wasn't anything special.

That night after having dinner together at Brian's condo, Justin announced that he was tired from his first day at work and was going to spend the night at home. The truth was, he didn't like feeling as if he were just a convenience. As was typical, Brian had reacted indifferently when Justin left.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Tues., Dec. 17 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hearing voices outside his office, Justin realized that the morning was almost gone and he had hardly moved from his desk. Standing up and stretching muscles which were stiff from sitting in one position for too long, he also realized it had been awhile since he'd had a bathroom break.

Since the employee restroom was all the way at the other end of the building and Brian's office was much closer (with its own private bathroom), Justin decided to stop there first. Not noticing anyone in the office, Justin didn't see any harm in using the closer facilities. He had just started to reach for the door handle when he heard the unmistakable sounds of someone in the throes of an orgasm.

Determining that it would be bad form to catch his boss jerking off in his own bathroom, Justin made a hasty exit. He was returning from his trek to the restroom when he saw a man he didn't recognize exiting Brian's office, stopping for just a moment to shake the brunet's hand, then leaving the building.

Curious, Justin stopped and asked Brian who the man was.

"Just the assistant to one of the client's I'll be pitching to tomorrow." Brian replied. "We were just going over some preliminaries in preparation for the meeting."

That meant that the man had been in the office when Justin had come by just a few minutes earlier. Justin felt a wave of nausea wash over him. Even at work, he couldn't escape it. Without another word to Brian, Justin went to his office and closed the door. Pushing all thoughts of Brian and his tricks out of his mind, Justin concentrated on his work. He could be just as professional as the next guy.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

That evening, Justin kept trying to come up with a way to broach the subject of Brian and his tricks. However, every time that he was the verge of saying something, he would chicken out.

Brian could tell something was wrong by the way Justin was acting, but assumed that if Justin wanted to talk, he would. He guessed that it had something to do with Molly or Craig.

Somewhere during the evening, Justin finally came to terms with Brian's tricking. He convinced himself that it didn't matter since they had made no commitment to each other. Whatever Brian did when they weren't together was Brian's business, not his.

Justin also decided that if Brian thought this was a one sided relationship, he was wrong. Justin felt perfectly justified to go out and find his own tricks now. It would have been the perfect situation except that there was just one problem. Justin had no real interest in anyone except Brian, no matter how hard he tried to convince himself otherwise.

Glancing at the clock, Brian decided that it was getting late and they both had to be up early the next morning. Not knowing what sort of mood Justin was in, he thought it best to ask about the blonde's plans. "It's getting late. Are you planning to stay the night?"

Although Justin wanted to stay, he didn't want to make assumptions. "Do you want me to?"

Not really understanding the depth of Justin's question, Brian responded in his usually non-committal way. "It's your call."

Which was not the sort of answer Justin was looking for at all. Not feeling that he was wanted at the moment, he made his decision. "Then I guess I'd better go."

Hurt by Justin's apparent rejection, Brian stayed on the couch, resolving not to watch the younger man leave.

Walking over to where he'd laid his jacket, Justin paused for just a second. "I would have stayed, but don't want to interfere with any other plans you may have." Then he walked out.

Turning around at the blonde's comment, Brian watched him walk out the door. 'What the fuck was that about?'

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Wed., Dec. 18~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Molly gave a heavy sigh as the scenery outside the bus became more and more familiar. After two days, Tee had convinced her to return with him to Pittsburgh and they were nearly at the end of their journey. Her brother had promised her that he would intervene on her behalf to convince their father to let her return to her mother's house. If that failed, he'd said he would let her return with him to Arizona without telling anyone that she had even been here.

Leaving Molly at a restaurant eating what she called 'real food', Tee promised to return within a couple of hours. Catching another bus, Tee headed toward his father's office building, someplace he had sworn he'd never visit. Finding Craig's office, Tee breezed past the frantic secretary and entered the lion's den.

Craig looked up angrily at the interruption, while the secretary offered apologies on Tee's abrupt entrance. Waving the young woman away, Craig motioned for Tee to close the door. No reason for the entire office to hear what was bound to be a loud argument.

"What the hell do you mean barging in here like this?" Craig demanded. "And where's Molly? I should have you arrested for kidnapping."

So much for a peaceful confrontation, Tee thought. "Molly's safe. And it would be hard to make a kidnapping charge stick since I wasn't even in the state when she left." Tee paused for emphasis. "On the other hand, you're welcome to join me in jail on an assault charge. I seem to remember quite vividly falling down a flight of stairs."

Craig sneered. "You'd never get that to stick. It was an 'accident'."

Tee smiled pleasantly. "Maybe, but how well do you think your reputation would stand up under the charge that you almost killed your bastard, gay son right in front of your teenage daughter? It wouldn't really matter if you were convicted or not, once the news got out." Going in for the kill, Tee added. "Not to mention, your fiancé's father doesn't seem too happy with you having one gay son. Imagine his reaction to this." Craig's fiancé's father was a rather well placed politician who would not like this kind of scandal touching his family. An interesting tidbit that Tee had learned from Molly.

Narrowing his eyes, Craig sat back. He'd underestimated the boy and was beginning to realize his mistake. "I take it you want something, otherwise I'd already be sitting in a cell somewhere."

With a crocodile smile, Tee responded. "Molly wants to go home; her mother's home. I'm here to see that it happens."

Craig snorted. "The hell you are."

Tee continued as if Craig had not interrupted. "I understand that Jennifer is back in town and planning to stay until the hearing in January. Since your complaint seems to be mainly with Justin, you could actually come out looking like the good guy if you were to let Molly return to her mother."

Craig digested that bit of information. He knew Molly was unhappy about the situation and that was bound to reflect upon him at the hearing. "I won't have my daughter living in the same house as that deviant."

Sensing victory, Tee relaxed just a bit. "That can be arranged. Do we have a deal?"

Knowing when to fold his cards and wait for the next hand, Craig reached for the phone and called the Social Services caseworker. Explaining to the women that Molly's mother had returned, Craig stated that he felt it would be safe to let Molly return home as long as neither of her brothers was living in the house.

Smiling to himself, Tee noticed that Craig made a point to include both his sons in his condition. Knowing the fight was far from over, Tee was relieved that he'd at least been able to do this much for his little sister. It would be up to Jennifer now to continue this in the courtroom.

With a nod, Tee let himself out of the office and returned to where he'd left Molly. He had a feeling that he'd better start watching his back. Craig Taylor was not a man who liked to lose.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Verifying with Jennifer that she had received the ok from the SS people to bring Molly home, Tee and the young woman arrived at the townhouse shortly before Justin returned home from work. Tee managed to stay in the background while the two women had a tearful reunion. Conley, who he had only briefly met just before the wedding, thanked him for seeing Molly safely home.

When Justin arrived, an elated Molly greeted him at the door, eager to fill him in on her adventures over the past week. While Justin was thrilled to have his sister home safe and sound, he was even more relieved to see his brother again.

Jennifer insisted on fixing dinner for everyone, including Tee. While he was reluctant at first to stay, he couldn't turn down Justin's quiet request that he not leave until they had a chance to talk.

No one seemed to know what had brought about Craig's change of heart concerning his daughter and Molly kept her suspicions to herself. Tee had no intention of offering any insight into the resolution of the situation.

While Justin did feel a bit hurt by his father's insistence that he not live in the same house as Molly, he refused to let it spoil the evening. He assured his mom he'd be able to crash at a friend's until he could find something permanent. He considered asking Brian, but he didn't think he could handle Brian's indifference again. He wanted Brian to want them to be together, not just let it happen because it was convenient.

After dinner, Molly began calling all her friends to tell them about her week. Seeing as how the young woman had forgotten them, Justin suggested to Tee that they go someplace quiet for a drink and talk. Since it was still rather early, they headed over to Woody's and found a back table where they would be less likely to be interrupted.

Not really sure where to start, Justin stuck with small talk. "So how's it feel being back in the Pitts after all this time?"

Tee smiled a bit. He wasn't entirely comfortable yet either. "Cold. We're still wearing short sleeves back in Arizona. I don't think I've been up here during this time of year before."

Justin laughed a bit. "Yeah, I remember my first Christmas back in SC. We were running around in shorts and playing football in the yard. I couldn't believe it."

Tee smiled. "I guess that's what I'm used to. Never had a 'white Christmas' in the south. Hardly ever see any snow at all. Guess I'll miss out this year again."

Justin sobered. "You don't have too. You could stay."

Tee sighed heavily. As much as he wanted to stay with his brother and sister, he wasn't so sure it was a good idea. "I don't know, Jus. I think I would just be in the way here."

A little hurt by that, Justin asked, "Why would you think that? Molly and I love you, Tee. Can you say that about anyone back in Arizona?"

Wincing a little, Tee knew Justin was right about that. "I love you both too, Jus. That's why I don't think now would be a good time for me to be here."

Justin sat back, puzzled. Then a though struck him. "This is about Brian, isn't it?" That's what had started this whole mess in the first place.

Realizing that he couldn't lie about it, Tee nodded. "You didn't trust me concerning him before. I can't expect that has changed any."

Justin took a swig of his beer as he tried to collect his thoughts. Before they had figured out that Tee's Brian and Justin's dream dancer were the same person, his brother had admitted to being attracted to the brunet. The only thing that had kept them from having sex was that stupid bet they had made. They were both too stubborn to lose, so they just flirted around the edges of a relationship.

One thing that Justin knew without a doubt was that his brother would do anything for him, including putting his feelings aside if he thought Justin would get hurt. Just like Justin would do for him. And that's what Justin believed Tee had done by going to Arizona. Tee had left the door open for his brother to find his way back to Brian.

Only, Justin didn't think that Brian really wanted him. Oh, Brian accepted Justin's company when it was offered, but Justin didn't really believe that Brian would miss him if he were gone. He certainly wouldn't go flying across the country to try to get him back.

Reaching a decision, Justin faced his brother. "Brian and I just work together. We made a couple of attempts at rekindling that flame, but it's not going to happen. I don't think your being here will make any difference in that regard." He hoped he sounded convincing.

Tee watched Justin as he made his little speech. He could tell his brother was holding back, but he wasn't sure what was really going on. Maybe he should stay for a little while at least. It looked like his brother and his friend might need a little nudge to get them back on track. Tee believed that Justin and Brian belonged together, even if they weren't so sure about it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Having decided that they'd had enough serious talk, Justin and Tee decided to play a game of pool. A couple of shots of tequila, a few beers and several games later, the two brothers were pleasantly buzzed and almost back to their normal selves. By the time the rest of the gang started to trickle in, it was like the boys had never parted.

Emmett and Ted were the first to arrive, with Brian only a few minutes behind them. Michael and Ben put in an appearance later, but said they wouldn't be able to stay long.

Once Brian arrived, Tee began to pay close attention to the way he and Justin were interacting. He noticed the hurt expression that crossed Brian's face as Justin consistently snubbed him. He also saw the pained look on Justin's face when Brian left briefly with a trick. Shaking his head, Tee decided he was going to have his work cut out for him before he'd get to the bottom of this.

They had started up a new game, Tee and Brian versus Justin and Emmett, when Justin suddenly remembered that he still hadn't found a place to spend the night. "Emmett, I was wondering if I could ask you a favor." Justin said, turning toward his friend.

"Of course, baby. Anything for you." Emmett gushed.

Justin smiled. He explained about his father's condition to Molly returning home. "I could really use a place to crash for a couple of nights. Just until I can find something permanent."

The hurt look on Brian's face came and went so fast that it would have been missed if Tee hadn't been looking right at him when Justin made his request to Emmett. 'What the hell are these two doing to each other', Tee wondered to himself.

"Like I would turn down the chance to have such a hot guy share my apartment." Emmett teased.

Brian felt as if he'd just been hit. Why hadn't Justin just come over to his place? He'd been spending almost every night there anyway. At least until last night, which Brian still didn't understand. Well, he wasn't going to let some twink turn him into a lovesick lesbian.

Walking over to Tee, Brian put a companionable arm around his friend and said. "I guess you're looking for a place to crash as well?"

Tee winced to himself. He understood what was happening and could have cursed at his bad luck. Brian needed to sooth his injured pride and he was using Tee to do it. Knowing that Brian would only be hurt worse if he refused, Tee managed a smile. "If that's an offer, I'd be a fool to turn it down."

Meanwhile, Tee thought to himself. 'Justin insisted that there was nothing going on between him and Brian. Let him try to say that convincingly now.'

And so Tee found himself back in the very spot he'd been trying so hard to avoid; stuck between his friend and his brother. At least this time he had his eyes wide open. He'd just have to make this work to all their advantage. That is, if he didn't kill someone out of frustration first.

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