Road Trip

A discussion was already in progress as the guys settled themselves on the floor in front of their fake fireplace. It really was more discussion than dispute.

Justin was insisting," I don't think I should go if you don't. You were supposed to go too."

"You knew I might not be able to go from the start," Brian protested. "I told you I might have this client in town on Saturday and if I did I couldn't go. I said I'd go if I could but I can't. You can and you should."

"I don't like to be away from you, Bri," Justin replied.

"One day," Brian said. "Not even a whole day. You'll be leaving at eight in the morning and you'll be back by ten in the evening. Geez, Kiddo. I'm going to be busy most of the day anyway. I'll have the fireplace lit when you get back and you can tell me all about it."

"You'll have to have dinner all by yourself," Justin warned him.

"That might be a welcome change," Brian smiled at him. "But I won't have to have dinner all by myself. I'll check with Mikey and Linz or maybe Chuck, and then maybe I can have a quiet dinner without an argument."

"This is not an argument, Brian," Justin insisted. "This is a discussion. We're a couple and we have to discuss things."

"Well I'm not going to argue about whether this is an argument or not," Brian laughed at him. "One argument at a time is enough."

"Well if I do go," Justin laughed back at him, "I'm not sure I like the idea of you maybe having dinner with Chuck - just the two of you. Chuck is cuter than me."

"I don't think so," Brian countered.

"Then I don't guess I should argue with you about that since you don't like arguments," Justin smirked.

"And I don't think you should be jealous about me having dinner with Chuck either," Brian contended. "You're going to be with Ethan and I'm not jealous at all, you know."

"Yeah, but you also know Tom's going to be with us too," Justin laughed at Brian.

"You're absolutely right, Baby," Brian told him. "If Tom weren't going to be there, I wouldn't want you to go. And maybe you better make sure that if Ethan's in the front seat of the car, you're in the back, or vice-versa."

"I guess maybe I am glad you're just a little bit jealous." Justin concluded.

"If I were going along," Brian countered, "I could show you the exact spot on the Turnpike where we had the flat tire going up to New York to bring you back, Kiddo. Emmett and Ted fixed the tire while Mikey and me had a romantic interlude in the shadows."

"Brian Kinney, that's not going to work," Justin laughed. "I know for sure that you have never in your whole life had a romantic interlude with anybody - but me. So there. And anyhow, I thought you had that flat tire beyond Harrisburg, and we're only going as far as Harrisburg."

"Nope," Brian remembered. "It was just beyond Breezewood. I'll never forget that night."

"Or the next day either, I bet," Justin teased, "Speaking of romantic interludes."

"And, by the way, Sweetheart, speaking of romantic interludes," Brian asked with a slight smirk of his own, "Just how many have you had without me?"

"None," Justin told him. "You snatched me from the cradle before I had a chance to live."

"And pursued you despite your vain attempts to dissuade me," Brian laughed. "Please accept my apologies."

"Your apology is accepted," Justin condescended," But probably unnecessary. I think things worked out pretty well - so far."

"How come Ethan isn't already in Harrisburg, Baby?" Brian asked. "Doesn't he have to rehearse if he's going to play with the Harrisburg Symphony?"

"He was up there earlier in the week for a few days," Justin reminded him. "Of course they had to practice together. It's a hard piece they're playing."

"Some modern crap I guess," Brian pointed out, "By somebody nobody ever heard of."

"Wrong, Mr. Know-It-All." Justin smiled. "It's the violin concerto #2 in D-minor, opus 32, by Henryk Weniawski.. It was written way back in the eighteen-hundreds - even before you were born I think it's dedicated to Pablo Sarasate, and it's a well known piece to us music lovers. I guess you want me to spell out that name. It's W-E…"

"Don't bother," Brian interrupted. "I'm sure I can spell it just as well as you. G-O-O-G-L-E."

"You're funny, Brian," Justin told him. "I'm glad I found you."

"Yeah," Brian answered. "I guess it was hard finding somebody to snatch you from that cradle."

"Well I was pretty particular," Justin smiled. "I knew what I wanted."

"And you still do," Brian concluded. "So I guess you're going then. I don't see why Ethan thinks you're such a lucky charm though."

"That's a really mean thing to say, Brian," Justin pouted. "Look at all the lucky things that have happened to you since I became a part of your life."

"I'll think about all those lucky things in my spare time while you're gone," Brian decided, "And there's still a 90% probability that I'll be here when you get back."

"You'll be here, Kinney," Justin seemed sure. "You'll be here and you'll be lonely, and you'll have the fireplace lit waiting for me."

"Could be," Brian mused, "But I bet you will come back, and you'll be glad to get back, and you might be a little lonely too."

"Could be," Justin admitted. "You know what, Honey. I really like our arguments. I don't like to argue with anybody as much as I like to argue with you. And this has one of our very best. I love you, you know."

"Yeah, I do know," Brian squeezed the kid. "I don't mind arguing with you either. And I think this has been one of our best arguments too. You know what that means?"

"No, I don't know what that means," Justin replied. "So what does it mean?"

"I guess it means," Brian jibed. "That you should go away more often."

So Brian got an elbow to the ribs but he didn't mind that either.

Return to Fireside Chats