Turned Off

Brian and Justin were sitting in their accustomed positions on the floor in front of their electric fireplace watching the fake flames dart up and down and back and forth. They were not talking because they did not need to talk. It was enough for them to sit cuddled together under their blanket. They had made some big decisions and solved some serious problems in front of that fireplace, and they had even toasted marshmallows with its heat. Brian had not been very fond of the fireplace in the beginning, or marshmallows either, but had been converted. He liked the arrangement now as much as Justin did. The spring had arrived though and, logically, it seemed that the heat of the fireplace would soon become a problem.

"You like this fireplace, don't you?" Brian broke the silence to ask Justin. "It's just the best thing in this loft," Justin replied continuing, after a brief pause, "After you, of course."

"I guess that pause was planned to scare me," Brian countered, "I wouldn't like to come in second after a fireplace." Justin laughed at him: "How can you be so sure you'd even be second? You could be third or fourth maybe."

"This fireplace makes you brave, Little Twink," Brian responded, "But I'm pretty sure I have you just where I want you." "Well," Justin responded, "I'm pretty sure you have me just where I want to be," and after another pause, "And vice-versa too, I hope."

Brian bent over and kissed Justin. "What was that for?" Justin asked. "To shut you up," Brian responded, "Did it work?" "What will you do if it didn't?" Justin wanted to know?" "Try it again," Brian answered. "Then it didn't work," Justin smiled. Brian kissed him again. He felt he had to keep trying.

It was a while before the conversation resumed. "It will be too hot for the fireplace before long," Brian pointed out, "Then what will you do when you want to get smart-alecky?" "I guess I'll have to improvise," Justin replied. And there was a little more silence.

"I know something you don't know," Brian said finally. It was unlike Brian to be the silence breaker, but he usurped Justin's usual prerogative because he had something he wanted to tell the kid. "Is it worth knowing?" Justin responded.

"Don't you start again or I'll never get to tell you what I want to tell you," Brian cut him off, "Why aren't you your usual inquisitive self tonight?" "I guess I'm just so happy to be here with you that nothing else seems important to me," Justin replied coyly. "You are not going to seduce me, Baby," Brian insisted, "At least not until I tell you what I learned today."

"Bet I could if I tried hard enough," Justin insisted, "But we'll do it your way. What is this important information you have?"

"Well," Brian began, "The Ace Fireplace guy was in the office today to plan the fall campaign, "They have a new model coming out." "I don't want a new model," Justin cried, "I want this one, and no advertising guy is going to sell me a new model either." "Will you shut up and let me finish?" Brian gritted his teeth, "I don't want to sell you a new model. I want to tell you something about this model. Something you'll be glad to find out."

"I know about this model," Justin maintained, "It makes you nicer than you usually are." "If you don't shut up," Brian insisted, "No fireplace in the world will keep me nicer than I usually am."

"Well why don't you go on and do it," Justin groused, "Instead of messing around?" That broke Brian up and he started to laugh. "Maybe I won't tell you at all." Brian proposed. "Oh yes you will," Justin insisted.

"Well, I was telling Clem about how much we like the fireplace and how much we will miss it during the summer and he told me that the heat can be turned off. All you have to do is …" Brian said before he got interrupted. "…"Move the purple bar as far as it will go to the left, hold down the red button, and click the green one to the right," Justin finished Brian's sentence for him.

"How the Hell did you know that?" Brian wanted to know. "It's in the instructions," Justin told him, "The instruction book that you said you didn't need to read." "Well, why didn't you tell me?" Brian asked. "I thought you knew," Justin smiled at Brian, "You said you could figure everything out without reading the book so I thought you had figured that out."

"Justin," Brian responded, "Honey,… Can you tell me why I love you so much when you are so exasperating?" "I guess," Justin replied, "It must be because I'm so lovable."

"That can't be the reason," Brian sighed, "That just can't be the reason…. You know you wouldn't get away with this stuff with anybody else. You couldn't have pulled this on Ethan."

"So?" Justin answered, "I wouldn't want to get away with this stuff with anybody else but you. I love you. Sometimes you just don't seem to get it. Why in the world would I want to irritate Ethan or anybody else? You're the only guy in the universe I'd want to irritate… that I will ever want to irritate… for ever and ever… and you know why, too. You have to know ." Justin ran his hand through Brian's hair.

"Well I guess that's my answer," Brian surrendered. "I guess that's why I love you so darn much. Can you tell me though why I can't irritate you as much as you irritate me?"

"You probably could if you just took the time to learn," Justin consoled him, "Maybe if you had an instructional manual. No, I guess that wouldn't work. Want me to teach you?"

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