Hunting Hunter

It was early for the fireplace to be lit, but Brian was sitting there waiting for Justin. There were things he wanted to know.

When Justin arrived, Brian motioned for him to take his accustomed place on the floor. "Over here, Twink," he ordered his blond companion, "I need to be filled in about your big success today."

"Aren't you hungry, Bri?" Justin asked, "I can tell you everything while we're eating. There's a lot to tell."

"Nobody eats until I hear what happened," Brian insisted, "I had these damn meetings all day, but I think I know you were the big hero. That's about all I know. I missed all the fun."

"Well you got the call from Mikey this morning, so you know Hunter was missing and that he had left a note telling them not to worry, that there was something he had to do, and that he would be back in two or three days," Justin began.

"I talked to Mikey from the office a little later so I know a little bit more than that, "Brian said, "But I want to hear it all from you."

"Ben wondered if it could have something to do with Malcolm," Justin went on, "So I did some checking and found out that Malcolm was gone too." Justin told him, "That scared Mikey. He decided that they had eloped to some place where gay marriages are allowed."

"Isn't Hunter underage?" Brian asked.

"He's sixteen, Brian," Justin said, "And that's legal in some places. But I didn't think it was an elopement so I talked Mikey out of that. They didn't want to report Hunter missing because the custody business would be complicated if Hunter ran away. And he didn't really run away from them. He loves being with them."

"That's when I talked to Mikey," Brian told him, "He said you were really great, that you just took over and told them not to worry."

"I didn't do all that much," Justin replied, "I just told them I could try to track down Malcolm and that Hunter was probably with him, but I didn't think it was an elopement."

"How did you think you could track him down?" Brian wanted to know.

"I knew that Malcolm's parents live in Cincinnati so I decided to start there," Justin responded, "I figured I could get their phone number and I did."

"And?" Brian interjected.

"And I got Malcolm's mother. She recognized my name. She said she had heard about me. I wonder what she heard," Justin laughed, "But before I could ask her any questions, she asked me if I wanted to talk to Malcolm."

"They say great detective work is 95% luck," Brian remarked.

"Probably is," Justin agreed, "So I guess I'm not all that much of a hero. Hunter was there. I talked to him too. Malcolm's parents did not know Hunter was on the lam."

"Hunter seems to be an experienced lammer," Brian laughed, "But was there some reason for them to be lamming in Cincinnati?"

"Yeah," Justin told him, ""Malcolm's birthday is tomorrow and his family is throwing this big party at the country club. They had invited an old boy friend and an old girl friend of Malcolm, so Malcolm wanted Hunter to be there too, and Hunter really wanted to be there to protect his interests."

"Just one old boyfriend - just one?" Brian marveled, "That's weirder than the girl friend as far as I'm concerned.

"This was a serious boy friend," Justin told him, "It was the one Malcolm came out to his parents with, and they like him. Malcolm really wanted them to get to know Hunter."

"So why did Hunter have to run away to get there? Couldn't he have told all this to Michael and Ben?" Brian wanted to know.

"Seems he had mentioned a Cincinnati trip to them a few weeks back and they told him it was not a good idea for him to go," Justin informed him, "He didn't mention the date so they didn't see the connection there. They thought the Cincinnati thing was already over."

"I think Ben should have figured it out though. Lucky they had you. So how come you were over at Ben and Mike's till now?" Brian asked him.

"I don't know if you'll agree with me on this, Honey," Justin said, "But I promised Malcolm and Hunter that I would try to fix things up with Ben and Michael so Hunter could stay for the party."

"Fat chance of that, I suppose," Brian remarked.

"Well, Sweetheart," Justin explained, "Actually, I did it. Ben was easier to convince than Mikey but I did it. I convinced them that is was something Hunter just had to do and it would be a lot better if they cut him some slack on this. They called Cincinnati and talked to Hunter. All is well, the problem is solved and everybody seems to be happy."

"I sometimes forget you're a miracle worker, Baby, but Ben and Mikey have been real good to Hunter," Brian thought, "I don't see why he had to do that to them. He owes them a lot."

"Brian, Honey," Justin told him, "There are some things a person just has to do. Wasn't there ever anything you just had to do no matter what? A few years back, there was something I had to do. My parents loved me and I loved them. Then I met you. I had to give them up to be with you and I did, even though you made it very clear you didn't want me."

"I guess I didn't make it all that clear to you, Baby," Brian replied, "You weren't much for taking 'No' for an answer."

"Because 'No' was not the right answer, Bri. It wasn't, was it? But I did what I had to do, Brian," Justin said, "I had to do it, and it was the smartest thing I ever did. I was terrified but I still did it. I understand Hunter's situation better than you or Mikey or Ben. He just had to do it. It doesn't mean he doesn't love and respect Mike and Ben. He just had to do it regardless."

"Well you are a hero if you concocted a happy ending for this story," Brian marveled, "Is there anything you can't do?"

"Yeah, I think so," Justin, "But I guess it would be better if I didn't tell you what."

Brian circled the kid with both arms and squeezed. "You are something else," he told Justin.

"Well, I'm gonna be a lot less after you crush me," Justin tried to laugh.

"Sorry, Baby," Brian answered, "It's just something I had to do. Can't control myself. Want me to quit?"

"Not if it's something you have to do, Honey," Justin groaned, "Broken ribs heal."

Brian loosened his grasp on the kid but noticed that Justin was still holding him tightly. "Is there ever anything these days that you gotta do?" he asked the kid, "Or are you heroes beyond stuff like that?

"Yeah there is," Justin said, "Even though I've really got everything I ever wanted now. Can we please eat? Even us heroes get hungry."

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