Finally

Chapter 2

Pain.  Lots of pain.  That was Brian's first thought as he tried to make his way out of the cloudy blackness his mind had been engulfed in.  Fuck, his head hurt.  He was going to fucking kill Anita for selling him bad shit yet again.  He really needed to find a new dealer.  He tried to open his eyes.  Ow.  He immediately closed them again.  Too fucking Bright.

"Brian?" 

Fuck.  Why the fuck is Michael yelling at me?

"Brian, can you hear me?"

How the fuck could I not hear you?  People in China can probably hear you. 

"Brian, I need you to try and wake up.  You're in the hospital.  You've been hurt."

Huh?  Brian tried a little harder to open his eyes this time.  Ow.

**********************************************

Justin searched the busy arrival area at the airport and almost dropped in relief to see Ben pull up in his and Michael’s car.  Ben immediately hopped out, had Justin’s bags in the trunk, Justin settled in the passenger seat, and was pulling back into traffic in no time.

“You look exhausted,” Ben commented.

“Baby on the flight from Italy,” Justin said, closing his eyes and leaning his head back against the seat.  Any feelings of sympathy Justin had been feeling for said baby had been squashed when the kid had only really settled for about forty-five minutes and then had fussed for the remaining hours of their flight.

Ben nodded in sympathy.  “So have you heard the latest?”

Justin nodded without opening his eyes.  “Yeah, I called Mom as soon as we landed.  He woke up a little, but is still too groggy to get much out of him.”

Ben nodded.  “So, you want to go to your mom’s or our place and get some sleep first?”

“Hospital first.”

“Justin, he won’t even…”

“Hospital.”  Justin’s tone brooked no argument.

Ben sighed.  “Hospital it is.”

Justin managed to open his eyes and smile at his worried friend.  “Thanks.  I really appreciate you coming to get me.  And I appreciate your and Michael‘s friendship.”

Ben smiled back.  “It’s no problem, Justin.  We care about you and Brian.”

Justin didn’t answer.  He just leaned his head back and closed his eyes, letting his weariness overcome him until they got to the hospital.

**********************************************

Justin shouldered his messenger bag, and leaned down to talk to Ben through the passenger side window.  "I'll tell Michael you're down here waiting for him."

"Thanks.  It's such a pain to not be able to use cell phones in there.  We'll drop your bags at the loft on the way home."

"Thanks for everything, Ben.  I really appreciate it."

"It's no problem, Justin."  Justin stood up and began to walk to the entrance.  "Get some rest!" Ben called after him.

Justin asked for directions, and made his way to the ICU on the second floor.  When he got there Michael was sitting by himself in a chair in a small waiting area.  He smiled when he saw Justin, getting up to pull the younger man into a warm embrace.  "Hey, Boy Wonder.  Long time no see.  You look like shit.”

"Yeah, long flight.  Ben’s waiting out front.  How is he?"  His eyes wandered to the large double doors. 

"He woke up."  Michael smiled.  "And he's crabby.  So we're figuring that's a good sign.  They kicked me out so they could change something or other.  He broke some ribs, his collarbone again...same side as the bike accident, and his right ankle.  As far as his head injury, well, they're guardedly hopeful.  He really hasn't been fully alert, but he seems okay.  He knows who and where he is, anyway."  Michael moved over to where Justin had sunk into a chair, rubbing his hand over his tired eyes.  Michael wrapped an arm around him.  "It's probably going to be a slow recovery, but that's something you know a little about, isn't it?"

Justin looked up and met Michael's gaze, smiling sardonically.  "Yeah, I guess I do."

"How long are you here for?"  Michael asked, searching Justin's face.  Justin knew Michael was asking for Brian's sake, and not simply being polite.

"For good,” Justin answered firmly.

"Because of this?  If this is the only reason you’re coming back he'll fight you."

"Not because of this.  I was on my way home before I got the Italy offer.  This just moves my timetable up a bit."

Michael smiled.  "Good.  On second thought, he'll probably still fight you, though."

"Um, duh.  I'm ready for that.  At least he'll be in a weakened state now."

"That's it, Boy Wonder; get him while he's down."  Michael stood up pulling Justin with him.  "Come on, they should be done.  I'll introduce you to his nurses, and then I'll leave you to it.  I don‘t want to keep Ben waiting too long.  They're pretty good about letting you stay in his room as long as it's just one person at a time.  Oh, and if anyone asks, I'm his brother."

Justin followed Michael through the double doors, letting the other man babble, as he steeled himself for whatever kind of bullshit confrontation Brian was going to subject both of them to before he gave in and let Justin take care of him.

Justin met Eileen, the evening shift nurse, and then followed Michael into the glassed in cubicle that was Brian's room.  Oh, God, Justin wasn't ready for the emotions that deluged him when he saw Brian's battered body.

Michael reached out and took his elbow.  "I know he looks like shit, but he'll be okay, Justin," he said softly.

Justin nodded, not bothering to wipe away the tears that were trailing down his cheek.  "I know...it's just..." Justin couldn't get anything else out around the lump in his throat.

"It's okay."  Michael led him to a chair by the bed.  "Looks like he's out again.  The doctor said he would sleep a lot over the next few days.  I remember when you first woke up after the bashing.  We'd only get you for about five minutes at a time before you'd drift off again."

"I remember feeling exhausted all the fucking time," Justin replied as he leaned in and kissed Brian's cheek, and then sat in the chair, taking Brian's good hand. 

Michael leaned down and kissed the top of Justin's head.  "I'm going to go.  I'll drop in tomorrow after I close up the shop, okay?  Call if you need anything."

Justin nodded.  "Thanks for taking care of him, Michael."

"Of course," Michael replied.  He moved to leave the room, but turned back.  "Oh, and our mothers will probably be here bright and early tomorrow morning so be ready for that."

"Fuck."

"Yeah, well, they're not really letting them back here so you can hide with Brian, but you'll have to deal with them eventually.  Welcome back, Justin."  Michael laughed and left the room.

Justin stroked Brian's hand with his thumb, taking comfort in the warm feel of Brian’s skin.  After only about ten minutes or so Justin laid his head down next to Brian's leg and promptly fell asleep.

**********************************************

Pain.  Fuck!  Brian slowly crept to consciousness again, and this time not only did his head hurt, but his whole fucking body hurt.  Huh.  He hadn't noticed that before.  What happened again?  Car accident.  Fuck.  His Vette was totaled.  He remembered Mikey saying something about a hospital...oh right...and morphine.  He pulled his hand away from Mikey and felt around until he found the morphine trigger the nurse had shown him earlier.  He pushed the button and waited.  Oh, yeah, there we go. 

Brian decided to try opening his eyes again, and slowly raised his lids.  At least his brain seemed to be in better working order.  He could actually form a coherent thought now. The room was dark, well there was light around the edges, but it was definitely dimmer than the last time. Was he alone?  No, wait, hadn't he felt Mikey holding his hand?  Mikey should be home with Ben.  He didn't need a fucking babysitter. 

Brian looked down and saw a mop of blond hair.  Justin.  What the fuck was Justin doing here?  He should still be in fucking Italy enjoying beautiful art and beautiful men.  Brian peered down at the younger man and could see his profile where he was resting his head on his arms.  He looked fucking exhausted. Knowing him he had hopped on the first flight home and hadn't bothered to get any rest until now.  Justin had dark circles under his red rimmed eyes.  Fuck. The little shit had been crying too. 

Brian came close to bumping Justin's head with his knee so the kid would wake up and Brian could send him on his way to get his ass back on a plane to Italy, or New York, or wherever he needed to be to get on with his life. 

Then Justin did this thing where he wrinkled his nose, and Brian remembered those countless mornings when they lived together and Brian would lay and simply watch Justin sleep.  And Justin would do that very same thing with his nose, and fuck if it didn't make the kid look like he was twelve, but Brian loved it.  Shit.  It made Brian happy. 

Justin made him so fucking happy.  And he was really hurting, doped up on Morphine, and turning into a total lesbian, but why the fuck couldn't he just let himself love the kid, and be with the kid, and be fucking happy for once?  Christ, he knew it was what Justin wanted.  He was paying attention to all those emails the kid sent and the phone calls too.  He knew Justin gave up his apartment in New York right before he left for Italy.  Justin was coming home…wanted to come home.  Why fight it anymore?  Why would he even want to fight it?  Life was too fucking short.

Brian reached out and stroked Justin's hair, and the other man didn’t even stir from his deep slumber.  Suddenly Brian’s eyelids drooped and he felt exhausted, but, even as he was being pulled back into sleep, Brian was forming a plan.

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