Bach and Forth

"Sorry I was out when you called this afternoon," Brian told Justin as they assumed their positions on the floor of the loft facing the flickering flames in the fake fireplace. "By the time, I got your message, it was really too late to call you back. Cynthia said it had something to do with the symphony."

"Yeah, it did," Justin confirmed. "I was passing by Heinz Hall and noticed that there was an all-Bach program this Friday night and I wondered if you thought we should go. You know how I like Bach. And we haven't been to the symphony for a while. Ethan even mentioned that last week. If I could have got you on the phone, I could have picked up the tickets right then."

"I didn't know you were such a big Bach fan," Brian responded. "Is that Bach I hear when you have the earphones on and you're listening so loud that I can hear it all over the loft? I didn't think that was Bach. Maybe Bach wrote some stuff that I don't know about."

"OK, Kinney, that's funny," Justin laughed. "I think most of the stuff Bach wrote you don't know about. So maybe it is Bach I'm listening to while you're eavesdropping. Anyhow, how about the symphony on Friday? We could take Ethan and Tom up to Gino's afterwards. It would be fun."

"And all of this because you're such a big Bach fan?" Brian wondered.

"What else?" Justin countered, snuggling closer to Brian. "Me and old Johann Sebastian just happen to hit it off pretty well. I hope you're not jealous of J. S. Bach, Brian. He's dead you know, and I'm sure he wasn't my type at all - not like you are."

"I don't think he was your type at all either, Baby," Brian laughed. "Didn't he have about nineteen kids? And I have it on reliable sources that he never listened to music on earphones. But if you want to go to the symphony on Friday, it's OK with me. I guess you did already pick up the tickets."

"Well as a matter of fact, I did," Justin admitted. "I was afraid it would be a sellout. But I could turn them in until Thursday so I wasn't trying to push you into going or anything like that."

"A sellout?" Brian wondered. "Bach must be pretty big in Pittsburgh."

"Oh he is, Bri," Justin enthused. "Everybody I know is crazy about Bach."

"Then the symphony was dumb to make Friday night Johann Sebastian Bach bobble-head doll night," Brian decided. "They wouldn't have needed a promotion if they were going to sell out anyway. Not that a bobble-head doll promotion would be any help to attendance. People who like Bach don't want bobble-head dolls."

"How the hell did you know Friday night was Johann Sebastian Bach bobble-head doll night at the symphony, Bri?" Justin wanted to know. "You never know anything unless it has to do with advertising."

"You're missing something here, Honey," Brian pointed out with a broad grin. "This is advertising. Bobble-head dolls are a kind of advertising. You know Joe Wintrow. He thought it up and the symphony board bought the idea. Joe asked me what I thought and I told him there wasn't a soul in Pittsburgh dumb enough to go to the symphony because of a bobble-head doll give-away. I should have known you'd prove me wrong."

"Yeah, I guess you should have," Justin grinned back at him. "Seems like I'm always proving you wrong about something or other."

"Well don't get too overconfident, Sweetheart," Brian warned the kid. "Just what do you plan to do with the Bach doll when you get it?"

"I'll display it with my other ones over at Mikey's comic book store," Justin told him. "I know I'm not allowed to keep them in this state-of-the-art loft. Not that I don't remember the fuss you made when Dr. Dave wouldn't let Mikey display his comic book art in Dave's modern mansion."

"I'm not like Dr. Dave at all, Baby. You can keep your bobble-head dolls here if you want to," Brian contended.

"Yeah," Justin laughed, "As long as I kept them in a sealed box in the back of the closet, I guess I could keep them here."

"I don't think the box would have to be sealed," Brian conceded. "The back of the closet would be enough, seems to me."

"Thanks, Bri," Justin said with a trace of sarcasm. "You're all heart."

It was time for the silent period, which the guys enjoyed so much. Justin had his head resting on Brian's shoulder and he thought he felt Brian's arm around him a little more firmly even than usual.

After a while, Justin returned to the previously discussed subject. "I don't really need a bobble-head doll of Johann Sebastian Bach," Justin told Brian. "I shouldn't have tried to push you into going to the symphony. I'm going to take the tickets back. What do you think, Brian?"

"I think you should take the tickets back," Brian replied. "Before Thursday."

That response surprised Justin a bit. "Of course, before Thursday," Justin agreed nevertheless. "Don't I always do the right thing? I think maybe I'm glad we're not going. I just might have been feeling a little guilty."

"Don't get too glad too soon, Baby," Brian warned him. "We're still going to the symphony on Friday. We're just going to use the tickets I ordered when I heard about bobble-head doll night. We're taking Melanie and Linz with us and we're having pizza afterwards at Gino's with them and Ethan and Tom - all the pizza you can eat."

"Brian Kinney," Justin told him. "Just when I think I couldn't love you more than I do, you do something like this and prove me wrong. You're always proving me wrong."

"Serves you right," Brian responded mockingly.

"I'm the luckiest kid in the world," Justin cooed.

"Probably," Brian smiled at him.

"This night is absolutely perfect, Brian," Justin continued. "I couldn't be happier."

"Well there is one other thing, though," Brian explained. "Joey Wintrow expects bobble-head dolls to go over big at the symphony so he had a couple of mock-ups dolls made for Johannes Brahms and Ludwig von Beethoven. If Bach works out, they'll be coming up next season. I got him to give me advance copies so you'll have all three B's when you get the Bach doll on Friday."

"You got me Brahms and Beethoven bobble-heads too," Justin blurted out. "Where are they?"

"In an unsealed box in the back of the closet," Brian told him. "You can look at them later, before you take them over to the comic book store to display them."

Justin was - on this rare occasion - speechless. So another period of silence ensued.

Justin didn't ever stay speechless for long, so he finally broke the silence. "Brian," he challenged, "There is no way you could love me as much as I love you."

"Mind if I try to prove you wrong one more time?" Brian asked.

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