Who Needs Close Friends?

"So I hear the Langans are moving out," Brian opened up a discussion.

Justin was vacantly gazing at the fake flames aflicker in the fake fireplace - and enjoying the feel of Brian's arm around him – but the words brought him back to reality.

"Yeah," he replied. "They're moving out to Friendship Village. That's a big retirement place. They cook for you and clean for you and all. You don't have any work to do at all."

"Sounds pretty much like what I've got here," Brian grinned at him/

"Yeah, it does, Mr. Kinney," Justin grinned back. "But someday I'll be old and tired – and we might be looking to Friendship Village too."

"There might be another twink available by then," Brian projected. "So maybe you could move to Friendship Village and I could still stay here."

"Don't think so, Kinney," Justin came back at him. "Where I go, you'll go – and you'll want to go too. I figure I can handle that situation if it ever develops."

"No hope then, I guess," Brian said rather contentedly. "That ball and chain business is real, I guess."

"Well maybe not for everybody," Justin admitted. "But it is for us – not that I think of myself as any ball and chain."

"Are there any balls and chains that think of themselves as a balls and chains?" Brian asked rhetorically, but Justin answered by snuggling up a little closer to Brian.

"The Langans will be selling their apartment then?" Brian conjectured.

"You know Bri," Justin began to wonder. "You aren't usually interested in what goes on in this building. Bet you haven't ever said anything at all to the Langans except 'hello' and 'goodbye'."

"You forget that crazy reception you had right here in my loft," Brian remembered, "Where you invited all the people who live in this building – and they all came – to get acquainted."

"And some of them did too," Justin remembered too with a laugh. "Maybe not so much with you but with each other. I'm not complaining though. You were a great host in our loft. They all learned you could say more than 'hello' and 'goodbye'."

"Well you didn't see the fisheyes they used to flash at me when I'd occasionally bring a friend home to visit," Brian informed him. "That was before you got here so you don't know."

"Well some of the people moved in after I got here – so they don't know about your sordid past," Justin laughed. "And I bet the rest have forgotten."

"Maybe," Brian conceded. "None of them seem to mind our sordid present."

"Something is going on here that you haven't got to yet, Honey," Justin decided. "You are not usually interested in goings-on around here at all – and you seem pretty interested. How did you hear about the Langans moving? I knew a couple of weeks ago but I didn't bother to mention it even - cause I didn't figure you'd be interested – but you seem to be."

"You know that old lady on the second floor who never shuts up?" Brian asked.

"Miss Griswold," Justin did know. "I can't imagine you having a conversation with Miss Griswold. Damn. I must have missed it."

"Cut it out, Twink," Brian commanded. "I was not ever having any conversation with Mrs. Grisham at all – and you know that too, I bet. She was talking to somebody else though and I heard her say the Langans were selling and wanted everybody here to tell their friends."

"Yeah, Mrs. Langan did," Justin confirmed. "She asked me to do that a couple of weeks ago when she told me about them moving."

"Guess I'm too late then," Brian figured. "We could still luck out though."

"What are you talking about, Brian? Justin wanted to know. "Am I missing something?"

"Nah, it's OK," Brian told him. "I guess you spread the word then? Justin Taylor is always ready to help."

"I think I'm still missing something," Justin responded, though he might not have been missing anything at all. Justin was quick.

"Well, you know," Brian said. "I kind of like not knowing the other owners here all that well. I'm not sure I want any of our friends living in this building. I don't think I'd want Ted and Blake just a couple of floors below us. Or even Chuck. And I bet Jason and Brandon would be interested. And they are looking for a bigger place aren't they?"

"Yeah they are," Justin confirmed. "Since they decided it was forever for them they want to get settled in a bigger place."

"Did they both decide that?" Brian grinned at him. "Or was it just Jason who decided all by himself."

"Now you cut it out, BK," Justin cut him off. "You know very well how much Brandon loves Jason. I bet he loves Jason a lot more than you love me."

"Something tells me I'm supposed to say something here," Brian conjectured.

"Well if you think so," Justin seemed to agree, "Maybe you should."

But Brian did not say anything at all. Oh he responded all right and Justin got the message well enough too. It was a while till the conversation started up again.

"I think the Langans have a buyer, Bri," Justin informed him. "It's not completely settled yet but it's gonna go through OK, I'm sure. A couple by the name of Rodgers – Vince and Dolly, I think. They're both physicians, I think."

"Sounds OK to me," Brian seemed to relax. "They'll be handy to have around when you do some of your experimenting in the kitchen."

"You'll miss my cooking when we move to Friendship Village," Justin warned him wryly. "You'll be stuck with the professional chefs they have out there."

"Sounds awful. But that's not for a long time yet. Right?" Brian supposed.

"Nope," Justin agreed. "Not for a real long time."

And it was actually a kind of real long time too before the discussion resumed. But the guys were quite satisfied that they were not yet ready for Friendship Village.

"Hey Brian," Justin broke the silence. "You didn't think I wanted any of our friends living that close to us, did you? Gee whiz – you'd be always down there visiting and I'd be sitting up here alone in front of the fireplace, hoping for you to get back. I know how you are. I didn't tell anybody about the vacancy. I knew the Langans wouldn't have too much trouble finding a buyer – and they didn't either."

"Well I suspect it will be you who gets thick with the new medics," Brian laughed," And it'll be just 'hello' and 'goodbye' for me."

"You know, Bri," Justin told him. "I hope you might get better acquainted with them a week from Thursday when they have dinner here."

"So we decided to invite them to dinner, did we?" Brian was definitely amused.

"Yeah," Justin answered. "I knew you'd want to do that so I didn't need to mention it to you before. Not that I was keeping secrets or anything like that."

"Well," Brian concluded. "I'm glad I have you here to figure out what I want. But I'll know the new people better than I ever got to know the Langans – and even before they're even moved in."

"The Langans are coming too, Bri," Justin informed him. "I knew you'd want to have them up to say 'goodbye.'"

"Yeah, that's exactly what I wanted," Brian told him.

Then Brian threw both arms around the twink and squeezed. There were some things he wanted that Justin didn’t need to tell him..




 

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