Cold Shoulder

The fake fireplace in the loft was ablaze as it often was. The guys were sitting on the floor in front of the couch staring at the flickering flames as they often were. What was different was that they were sitting about six feet apart which was very seldom, if ever, the case. Brian made a move to cut down the distance between them.

"Stay away from me, Brian," Justin ordered.

"I guess I'm getting the cold shoulder tonight," Brian complained.

"Cut it out, Brian," Justin told him. "It's not the cold shoulder that you're getting. It's this cold I have that I don't want you to get. One of us sniffling around here is more than enough. It's no fun and I don't want you to get it. So just stay away from me."

"Seems like I tried that once upon a time," Brian laughed, "And I don't think it worked."

"And it won't work next week either," Justin laughed back at him, "But right now it's the best thing to do. It's just a common cold and it will be gone in a couple of days. It's not like it's going to be fatal or anything. Lots of the kids at school have colds right now. The bug is going around."

"Probably spread by kissing," Brian conjectured with an arch smile.

"Probably," Justin gritted his teeth, "Which is just the reason that I'm not kissing anybody till this cold is gone."

"So everybody has to suffer because you have a cold, Kiddo?" Brian mused.

"Nope," Justin replied, "Not everybody. Just you, Mr. Kinney. I don't kiss anybody else."

"Well, I guess if you rest, drink lots of liquids, and eat chicken soup, you'll recover," Brian advised. "That's why I brought home that gallon of chicken soup. I even left work early to get it here for you. Modern Tombstones is going to have to wait an extra day for their mock ups on account of you."

"OK, Dr. Kinney," Justin joked. "Thanks for the advice, but if I need any medical opinions, I can call Dr. Marshall. And if Modern Tombstones complains, you can buy one of their products for me after I perish from this cold."

"Actually, Sweetheart," Brian informed him, "The medical advice does come from Dr. Marshall. That's what he told me when I called him."

"You called Dr. Marshall, Bri," Justin couldn't believe what he had heard. "Just because I have a cold you called Dr. Marshall. Why in hell did you need to do that?"

"Taking no chances," Brian defended himself. "Do you remember a year or so ago when I had that minor ankle sprain and you went ballistic and forced me to go to the emergency room? Same thing."

"Brian Kinney, it is not the same thing at all," Justin insisted. "You could have had broken bones. I have a little cold. All I need is some time and some rest."

"And liquids and chicken soup," Brian added, "But why don't you just slide over here and put your head on my shoulder and rest. I'm sure that will help."

"Let me tell you something about rest, Kinney," Justin laughed. "After I got rid of you this morning I went back to bed to get some rest. Just about the time I got to sleep, my mother came. She brought me some chicken soup and stayed for a while to tell me how to get rid of the cold. After I got rid of her, I went back to sleep and your mother stopped by with some chicken soup and more advice. She stayed a while too. After I got rid of her, I went back to bed and it wasn't long till Malcolm and Hunter were here. They had chicken soup from Debbie but no advice, thank God. The damn refrigerator is full of chicken soup or didn't you notice? Chickens all over the world are dying because I have a cold."

"Well it could have been worse," Brian chortled. "Debbie could have brought the soup over herself and then you would have got the advice too."

"She wanted to," Justin explained, "But she's doing a double shift at the diner because Alvin is out sick with a cold."

"I wonder if Alvin got any chicken soup?" Brian mused.

"I guess we could call and ask," Justin responded, "But I want to watch the 6:00 news to see what's going on about my cold. I expect it will be the lead story. Brian, you didn't need to tell everybody I have a cold. It's not like I won the Nobel Prize or anything."

"If they gave a Nobel Prize for being cute, I bet you'd win," Brian postulated.

"You are so full of it, Bri," Justin responded, "But you might be right, I'll have to admit."

"Or if they gave a Nobel Prize for thinking you know everything…" Brian continued.

"Nope, you'd win that, hands down," Justin laughingly declared.

"Or a Nobel Prize for whining and complaining…" Brian added.

"Mikey," Justin told him.

One of their usual periods of silence followed this exchange but periods of silence were not very satisfying when the gap between the guys was six feet, so it didn't last too long.

"You know what, Bri," Justin conjectured. "Sometimes they say a person is not really contagious with a cold after a few days so maybe I'm not contagious any more. Maybe I could just slide over and put my head on your shoulder. What do you think?"

That must have been agreeable to Brian because they both quickly slid over meeting in the middle of the previous six foot gap between them. Justin put his head on Brian's shoulder and Brian's arm went around the kid. Another ever-so-much-more satisfying period of silence ensued.

"Brian," Justin finally broke the quiet spell, "Thanks for worrying about me. I really do appreciate your concern about my health but don't you think there was an element of overkill there?"

"Yeah, probably," Brian admitted, "But you know what, Baby, I love you, and I love being responsible for you and I love taking care of you. I guess that's why I did it. It may have been overkill but I loved doing it."

Justin moved even closer and kissed Brian on the cheek.

"Thought you weren't kissing anybody till you were over the cold," Brian crowed, "But I guess you couldn't resist. I guess I must be kind of irresistible."

"Yeah, you are kind of irresistible, Bri," Justin agreed. "And while I certainly don't want you to catch my cold, you are completely irresistible."

"Can't help it," Brian pointed out happily. "If you're irresistible, you're irresistible."

"You know what else, Bri," Justin added. "It would be terrible if you caught my cold but if you did, then I could take care of you just like you took care of me."

Brian made an abrupt move to the left at this point, causing Justin to almost roll over onto the floor. "Stay away from me, Justin Taylor," he ordered.

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