News of the Day

It had been a few nights since the guys had a free evening to sit together in front of their fake fireplace and they were looking forward to it. Oh, they communicated with each other pretty well all the time, but there was something special about their fireside chats and they both knew it. They just sat there together for a while, making up for lost time. They could communicate without talking - and sometimes that was safer.

"I stopped at the diner today," Justin finally told Brian. "Know who I saw?"

"Debbie, I guess," Brian responded, "Wasn't that who you were going to stop by to see?"

"OK," Justin decided, "If you're gonna be that way, I'm not gonna tell you."

"Yes, you are," Brian replied with some certainty, mussing up the twink's blond locks.

"Ted and Chuck were having lunch together," Justin revealed.

"Are you telling me that Chuck is the new Brian Kinney on Liberty Avenue and he's dating Ted Schmitt?" Brian reacted, "That could make all of us Brian Kinneys look bad."

"You're funny, Bri," Justin told him. "You know very well that Chuck is a stock broker and Ted is an accountant. I'll bet they have a lot to talk about. I think that Chuck is doing pretty well filling in for you though, from what I hear. Maybe they'll forget you at Babylon in time. But you don't need to worry about that cause you have me."

"Yeah," Brian sighed, "Don't they say bad luck comes in bunches?"

"I never heard anybody say that," Justin replied.

"Well they should," Brian insisted.

"Cut it out, Brian," Justin complained, "I'm just trying to tell you the news and you're picking on me. Don't you want to know what's going on around town?"

"Yeah, I guess so," Brian admitted, "How is Chuck doing at Babylon?"

"Well, Emmett said Chuck is doing a lot of tricking and he treats all the tricks real nice. They all fall head over heels for him," Justin related.

"Well that won't work," Brian confided, "Maybe I better call Chuck and clue him in on a few things."

"Brian," Justin reasoned, "There is a difference. Chuck is trying to find somebody to make a life with. You were just interested in sex so you didn't need to have all the tricks fall in love with you. You didn't even want them to like you. You could treat them rotten and get away with it. That way none of them could catch you."

"I don't recall that I treated you all that well either," Brian declared, "But that didn't get rid of you."

"I am a special case, Kinney," Justin responded. "I'm not like other people."

Brian had to laugh. "I can't deny that you're not like other people," he told the twink. "And I can't deny you're a case." Then he pulled the kid closer, "And I can't deny you're special either."

"Brian, you're getting mushy," Justin told him.

"I thought you liked it when I get mushy," Brian sounded surprised.

"I didn't say I didn't like it," Justin came back "I just said you're getting mushy. Actually I like it a lot."

"OK," Brian decided, "Back to the news of the day."

"Damn, I guess I ruined it just when you were getting mushy," Justin complained about himself, "I talk too much."

"Never, Baby," Brian assured him. "You never talk too much."

"Oh well, just a lost opportunity," Justin complained. "Anyhow, Emmett thinks there might be something developing between Chuck and Blake. Remember Blake?"

"Yeah," Brian allowed. "That wouldn't be so bad. Blake turned out pretty well after a bad start. Is Ted OK with that?"

"Emm thinks so," Justin told, "Emm thinks Ted will feel worse about losing Chuck than he would about losing Blake."

"Actually, Ted should be used to losing guys," Brian thought out loud, "But he never had most of the guys he's lost."

"Ted will find somebody," Justin maintained.

"Maybe not, Sunshine," Brian replied, "I don't think Ted wants anybody who would want him. That's too bad. So what else is new at Babylon?"

"I think that's about it," Justin concluded, "Chuck's following in your footsteps pretty well, and that's about it."

"Are my footsteps the only ones he following in?" Brian wanted to know.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Bri," Justin replied tentatively.

"I think you do," Brian smiled at him. "See, I was talking to Mikey on the phone today for a long time and he told me …"

"Shit, Brian," Justin gave up, "I would have told you but you were picking on me and I didn't want to hand you any more ammunition. Why didn't you tell me you knew? You just wanted to trap me. You're just looking for a reason to get mad at me. You're a mean man, Brian Kinney."

"What am I going to pick on you about? It's not your fault they had this year's King of Babylon contest and Chuck won. I think it's great." Brian responded. "Our friend Chuck is following in both of our footsteps. I think that's neat."

"You do not think it's neat at all, Brian," Justin protested, "And you're picking on me right now. You're still mad because I won the damn King of Babylon contest even after I've apologized like a hundred times. I'm just going to sit here and pout. Keep your arm around me though because this loft is cold, OK?"

"Wouldn't want you to get a chill," Brian agreed.

It took a little while before Justin's head fell onto Brian's shoulder. That made the both of them happier.

"It's OK if you want to be mad, Bri," Justin restarted the conversation. "I should have told you about the contest. So if you want to get mad, go ahead and get mad. I guess I deserve it."

"I wasn't thinking about getting mad, Baby," Brian informed him, "I was thinking about getting mushy."

"What goes for mad also goes for mushy," Justin smiled up at him, "So if you want to get mushy, go ahead and get mushy."

"And I guess you deserve that too," Brian laughed at him.

"Guess so," Justin told him.

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