* Search for Missing Treasure *

* 3 *

It had been almost a week since his impromptu trip. Justin had called him a couple of days after he got home and explained about him and Quinn. Brian tried to sound happy for him and thought maybe he had pulled it off until he heard Justin say he was sorry.

He knew that Justin wanted to remain friends; he had even said so, telling Brian that he was one of the most important persons in his life. Brian sighed loudly. He knew that Justin was waiting for him to make the first move as it was up to him to decide if he could live with it. Since then neither one had called or emailed the other. Brian needed time. After all, it was him who had said that they weren't a couple as long as Justin wasn't home in the states and would have to see once he was back in the states.

It had been a month since he had gone to visit Justin and he still hadn't contacted him. He was feeling better about the situation but was scared, not that he would admit to it that talking to Justin would just bring all of the pain back.

Looking at his clock, he realized that he had to be in a meeting in about fifteen minutes. Standing, he began to collect his files and was ready when Cynthia knocked on the door to tell him it was time.

Walking into the conference room, he looked over the assembled people, there for the new restaurant in town. Dwyer's was a new restaurant chain that was getting rave reviews wherever it opened. Now, one was being built here in Pittsburgh and they were looking for a firm to help advertise it. If they liked what they saw here today, they might even use them nationally. That was what both Gardner and Brian were hoping for.

During the introductions, Brian had felt his gaydar go off and a little shock go through his system when he had shaken hands with Tristan Matthews. The shock went straight to his cock and he felt it twitch. Looking over the man, he was pleased to see a man of equal height and build but with jet black wavy hair that was cut stylishly short and amazing green eyes. It was then that he decided that after the meeting he was going to have to see about having a little fun, maybe a little visit to the bathroom.

Brian moved away from the clients and soon gave himself up to his presentation. By the time it was over, contracts were signed. Gardner and Brian were informed that Tristan was going to be staying in town to oversee the building, hiring, and opening of the new restaurant and would be working closely with them on the advertising campaign.

After shaking hands, Brian watched as all the party but Tristan got into the elevator. Brian couldn't believe his luck as he watched him go into the bathroom nearby. Looking at Cynthia, he smirked as he handed her his files and straightened his tie as he walked to the bathroom.

Stepping into the bathroom, Brian went about assaying the situation and then went in for the kill. Just has he grabbed hold of Tristan's jacket he was surprised to find him unmoving and stopped. "What? Don't tell me that I'm wrong. I'm never wrong."

Tristan slowly removed Brian's hand from his jacket and straightened it. "No, you're right. I am gay but you're wrong if you think I enjoy being treated like a piece of meat looking for a quick fuck."

With that Tristan finished his straightening and left the bathroom without a look back. Brian stood there in shocked surprise, trying to figure out what had just happened. He was never turned down. Straightening his own clothes, he turned and left the bathroom just as the elevator doors closed.

Walking back to his office, he sent a scowl at Cynthia when she opened her mouth, went in and shut the door.

That night at Babylon, Brian outdid himself. By the time he left with his last trick of the night he had assured himself that he hadn't lost it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Over the following week, Brian worked on the Dwyer account. While working, he had a hard time keeping his thoughts off of Tristan. He still couldn't believe that he had been turned down. That week at Babylon saw an increase in activity as Brian reaffirmed himself nightly.

After an extremely active weekend, Brian walked into his office, feeling satisfied and sure of himself once again. The day went smoothly, and that afternoon, when a call came from Tristan to set up a meeting for later in the week, Brian was unfazed by it.

The rest of the week went by, and Babylon saw it's Kinney levels drop back to normal.

Friday came, and without realizing it, Brian took extra special care dressing for work. Cynthia noticed that Brian looked hotter then usual but refrained from saying anything. The day went smoothly, and at three, Cynthia buzzed to let him know that Tristan had arrived. Brian unknowingly straightened his jacket as he rose after telling her to show him in. He knew he looked good.

Brian quickly hid his surprise as his eyes swept over Tristan as he came in. Gone was the impeccably dressed business man. In his place was a man who didn't mind getting dirty. Tristan stood there in boots, jeans, a tight T-shirt, and a jacket that seemed to have been thrown on just for the meeting.

Sitting back down, they began their meeting. Both men seemed to get lost in the project before them. When the meeting was over, Brian did nothing more then shake Tristan's hand and see him out the door. However, he couldn't help but watch him as he walked away. Catching himself, he looked around and found Cynthia sitting at her desk with a large grin on her face.

"What?" Brian scowled.

"Oh, nothing." Cynthia continued to smile and Brian couldn't help the smile that started on it's own, so he quickly went back into his office.

Over the next few weeks, Brian and Tristan had many meetings. Some of them in Brian's office, others were held at the site where Tristan's office was located. While the attraction was still there, Brian never made another purposeful pass. If the hands were held during a handshake a little longer then necessary, or a hand remained on a shoulder, it was all totally unconsciously done.

Meanwhile, the rest of the family began to notice the little changes in Brian. While he still went to Babylon and tricked, the numbers had slowly begun to lower. Brian even began to stay home and visit with Gus more. Of course Brian didn't seem to notice.

One night while going through one of his drawers looking for something, he found an old snapshot of Justin, and realized that he hadn't thought much about him lately and as he looked at the photo, he didn't feel the pain and sorrow that he had.

He still kept up with him through the gang, but still hadn't done so himself. Taking the snapshot, he walked over to the computer and turned it on, his previous search forgotten. Pulling up an empty email, he addressed it and stopped. He realized that he didn't know what to say. Finally, he began with a simple "How are you?"

Before long, he had a long letter telling him about everything that had been going on since last they had talked. Of course, he never said anything about how he felt about Justin and Quinn and avoided that subject completely. It was while he was writing it that it hit him that he liked Tristan, not just liked but respected him as well. It was with this revelation that he ended his letter to Justin and sent it before he changed his mind.

Two days later he was pleased to see an email from Justin. Taking his cue from Brian's letter, he barely talked about Quinn, but filled him in on what had been going on and what was coming up in his life. Brian smiled as he read it and dropped a quick little letter back to him.

A few days later, Brian was at Tristan's office having another late meeting. As the meeting wrapped up, Tristan looked at his watch, saw the time, and made a quick decision. "Brian, would you like to join me for dinner?"

Brian stopped packing up his briefcase and looked up in surprise. "Are you asking me on a date?"

Tristan tried real hard to keep from laughing, but couldn't keep the smile off of his face. He had heard all about Brian's rules and the things he didn't do. He had also heard about his one and only relationship.

Still smiling, he said. "Oh, that's right. Brian Kinney doesn't do dates. I guess we could make it a business dinner."

Brian quickly stopped Tristan from going on. "I could make an exception. What did you have in mind?"

"Well, I really need a shower after scrambling around the site for most of the day, I thought we could each go home, get cleaned up, and I'd come pick you up in, say an hour and a half?" Tristan said as he again looked at the clock.

Brian looked at the clock and nodded. 'That sounds good. Let me give you my address."

Tristan took the note and grazed Brian's fingers with his own as he did it. "Dress casual."

Brian nodded as he stepped out of the office. Once in his car, he stopped and wondered what the hell he was doing. On the drive home, he argued with himself about going, but never made a move to cancel.

As he was getting dressed, the phone rang. "Hey Mikey."

"Brian! Tonight is Awesome Abs night at Babylon. Do you want me to meet you at the diner for dinner before we go?" Michael said, thinking that tonight would just be them for awhile, before Ted and Emmett joined them.

"I can't." Brian said as he finished buttoning his shirt and looked in the mirror.

"What do you mean you can't?" Michael asked quickly getting agitated.

"Just what I said Mikey. I can't." Brian said going over to his closet and looking for a different shirt.

"Why not?" Michael began whining.

Brian sighed, "Because Mikey, I'm going on a date." Brian couldn't keep the smile off his face as he thought about Tristan, or keep it out of his voice.

"A date! Since when do you do dates?!" Michael asked almost accusingly.

Brian was beginning to get angry at Michael's insistence. "Mikey, surely by now you've learned that there are always exceptions to every rule." Brian quickly flashed on an image of Justin as he said this because he was finally figuring this out himself.

Michael, also thinking about Justin, to Brian's comment sulkily asked. "So who are you going out with?"

"I don't think you've ever met him, his name is Tristan and for now, that's all you need to know." Brian found a new shirt and began to remove the one he had on.

"Brian!" Michael began.

Brian cut Michael off. "Bye Mikey. I need to finish getting ready."

With that, Brian hung up the phone and finished getting ready, satisfied that he had picked the right outfit finally.

Just as he was doing a final check of his hair, the buzzer announced someone was downstairs. Brian laughed when he jumped at the sound and then scowled at his reflection. "What are you, a nelly bottom!? Get a grip."

Walking over to the buzzer, he told the person to come on up and released the door. Giving himself a final look over, he decided he looked good enough.

At the knock on his door, he opened it to show a smiling Tristan. Brian couldn't help but smile back. "Would you like to come in for a drink?"

Tristan stepped into the loft and looked around. "No thanks. We really need to get going. I managed to get us a reservation at this little Korean restaurant I've been wanting to try. I hope that's okay."

Brian nodded and grabbed his jacket, surprised when there wasn't a comment about his loft. "Yeah, that's fine."

Taking the stairs and then walking outside, Brian looked around nervously before heading toward his jeep.

Tristan stopped, smiled, and shook his head. "Uh, Brian? My car is this way."

Brian stopped before turning back. "I usually drive."

As he joined Tristan at his car, Tristan said. "Maybe it's time you let someone else drive."

Brian searched Tristan's face to see if he was meaning something else but only saw a set of green eyes that met his with an openness that he had found rarely in his life. Nodding, he climbed in the car.

Tristan drove and tried to think of something to say. Finally, he opted for talking about where they were going. "So, have you ever been to Mr. Mee's?"

Brian nodded again. "Once or twice."

Tristan did a mental sigh. This was going to be harder then he had thought. "Well? Is it any good or should we look for someplace else to eat?"

Brian turned and laughed a little. "It's good if you like kemchi. That's really about the only thing they have that is authentic. Everything else has been Americanized but it is good."

"Oh." Tristan said a little disappointedly. "I really was hoping for something a little more authentic."

Brian thought for a moment. "Do you care what ethnic as long as it's authentic?"

Tristan shook his head. "No, but you'll have to tell me how to get there."

Brian took out his cell phone and placed a quick call. "Hey Frankie, it's Brian. Do you think you could fit two more in tonight? You can? Great! We'll be there in about twenty minutes. Thanks." Turning to Tristan he said. "At the next light take a left."

Tristan followed Brian's directions but after about ten minutes, he asked. "So are you going to tell me where we're going?"

Brian grinned. "It's a little hole in the wall called 'Rosa's, and they make the best authentic Mexican food I've ever tasted."

Tristan nodded and continued to follow Brian's directions. "I'll take your word for it."

Minutes later, they pulled into a busy parking lot of what looked to be a rundown building. "Jeez Brian. If the parking lot is any indication, they're making money. Why don't they remodel?"

Brian laughed as they walked into the building. "Rosa says if they did that, then everyone would want to come. This way it stays with just friends and family, and the few who stumble upon it soon join them."

Tristan nodded his understanding when an over weight, grey haired, woman cried out. "Brian!"

As she moved toward them, she threw out her arms and embraced Brian in a bear hug. "It has been awhile! When Frankie told me you were coming, I couldn't believe it. But here you are. So, who is this handsome fellow?"

"Rosa, this is Tristan, Tristan meet Rosa." Brian said with a grin.

Tristan blushed as Rosa looked him over. "You are both too skinny. It's good you came here. I'll put some meat on those bones. Now come, come! Let's get you seated."

Tristan and Brian sat down, ordered, and in between visits from Rosa, got to know each other a little better.

Tristan didn't hide anything, but as he talked, Brian found himself liking and respecting him more and more.

Brian on the other hand, had a hard time telling Tristan anything. Finally, Tristan looked at him and said. "Look Brian, I know that your a very private person. I also know what I've heard about you around town both professionally and personally. So if it'll help any, why don't we start there. I'll tell you what I've heard and you can tell me if they're true or not. You can elaborate on your answers only if you want to and if I get too personal, just tell me so and we'll move on. Okay?"

Brian sighed, this was why he didn't do dates. He hated opening himself up to other people. Then again, he thought, maybe if he had, Justin... Brian quickly moved away from that thought. "Okay."

Tristan watched Brian closely and if he hadn't been paying attention, looking for something, he wouldn't have seen the quick flash of pain in Brian's eyes before he'd answered. With that Tristan made the decision to make it easy for Brian and started with some very non-personal questions and slowly worked his way into the personal ones.

Brian knew what Tristan was doing and was grateful. He answered all of Tristan's questions honestly and with as much explanation as possible. It was only as the questions got a bit more personal that he started to get more uncomfortable. Then came the questions he had been worried about.

Tristan knew his next questions was going to be difficult for Brian. "I've heard all about your rules: No dates, No names, No second times, No boyfriends.

Brian broke eye contact and played with the stem of his wine glass. "Well, there are always exceptions to every rule or else we wouldn't be here."

Tristan watched Brian play with his glass. "Have there been many exceptions?"

Brian stopped, looked up suddenly, and caught Tristan's eyes. He thought about saying something snide but finally opted for the truth. "This is my first real date, but you're not the first exception."

Tristan nodded. "That's what I heard. Do you want to tell me about him?"

Brian looked back down. "No, that's too personal."

Tristan nodded again and raised his glass. "He must have hurt you pretty badly." He said right before he took a drink.

Brian looked up quickly. "No more then I hurt him. I probably hurt him even more so."

Tristan sat his glass back down and looked carefully at Brian. "Well, if you ever want to talk about it, you know where to find me."

Brian nodded in relief, glad that Tristan was going to drop it.

Once their meal was paid, they rose to leave. Walking to the car, Tristan unlocked the door and opened it for Brian. "Thanks for bringing me here. You were right. The food was fantastic."

Brian climbed in and waited for Tristan. Once he was in, he smiled. "You're welcome."

Tristan smiled back. Starting the car, he began driving back to Brian's loft. The silence in the car was comfortable and filled by the quiet sounds coming from the turned down radio. Looking at the clock on his radio, Tristan saw that it was actually after midnight, and that he had really enjoyed himself.

Pulling up outside Brian's building, Tristan put the car in park. "I had a good time tonight Brian."

Brian looked at the door to his apartment building and back at Tristan. "Would you like to come up for a drink or something?"

Tristan smiled. "Maybe next time. I have to get up early in the morning and do a walk through check of the building structure. We're getting inspected in a couple of days and I don't want any surprises."

Brian nodded. "Okay, maybe next time."

Brian got out of the car and walked to the door. Turning, he watched the car go down the street and shook his head. Did he really just agree to another date?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Brian talked to Tristan over the next week and waited for him to ask him out again. The whole time he waited, he dealt with Michael and his constant questions and whining.

Finally, the tension of the whole thing got to him while he was at the diner once again deflecting Michael, when he finally snapped. "Mikey, Jesus! I know you're my best friend, but this is no more your business than what went on between Justin and me was. So be the best friend that you keep reminding me you are, and quit acting like my mother or a jealous lover!"

With that he threw down his napkin, tossed some bills on the table and stormed out of the diner, leaving a stunned and silent crowd in his wake.

Debbie walked up to the boys' table as she watched Brian leave. "Well, it's about time."

"Ma!" Michael looked at his mother in hurt shock.

"He's right Michael, it's time to grow up. Do you honestly tell him every personal aspect of your life?" Debbie asked, fixing her son with a hard stare.

Michael squirmed and looked down at his plate. "No."

Debbie nodded. "That's what I thought. Then why do you expect him to tell you everything? Why isn't he allowed to keep some things to himself? When he's ready to tell you something, he will and if he doesn't, then leave it alone. Until then, stay out of it."

Brian was finally tired of waiting for Tristan to ask him out again. Nervously, he dialed the number to Tristan's office.

When Tristan answered, Brian thought about making it a business call as he felt he must be crazy for doing this. However, taking a deep breath, he went on as planned before he could back out.

"Tristan, Brian. I was wondering what you were doing tonight?"

Tristan grimaced, he'd been waiting for this call from Brian but it couldn't have come at a worse time. "Hi Brian. Uh, the boss is in town looking over everything, so I'm entertaining."

Brian felt relieved but also disappointed. "Oh, okay. How long is he in town?"

Tristan sighed. "They flew in yesterday and will be flying out tomorrow."

Brian felt his heartbeat pick up. "Okay, well, how about tomorrow night I take you out to a nice relaxing dinner?"

Tristan smiled over the fact that Brian hadn't taken the out that he had been provided. "That sounds great. What time?"

Brian thought about it for a moment. "How about I pick you up at 7:00 at your place."

"That's fine, gives me time to shower and change. Care to tell me where we're going?" Tristan asked.

Brian smiled. "A little Italian place I know. Casual dress."

"Ummm, great! I can't wait. I'll see you tomorrow at 7:00. Oh! Let me give you my address." Tristan said, looking forward to tomorrow night.

Brian wrote down the address even though he already had it. Putting down the phone, he smiled.

The next night at promptly 7:00, Brian knocked on Tristan's door. When Tristan opened it, Brian walked in and looked around the fairly impersonal apartment. Turning to Tristan, Brian cocked his eyebrow.

Tristan shrugged. "The company owns the condo, so it's kind of hard to make it your own. Would you like a drink or do we need to head out?"

Brian took in the hotel like atmosphere. "Let's go on."

Tristan grabbed his jacket as Brian opened the door. In the elevator down, Brian thought about how tired Tristan looked, and knew that the night wasn't going to end as he had planned.

Brian unlocked and opened the passenger door before moving to his own.

Once they were on their way, Tristan asked. "So where are we going tonight?"

Brian smiled. "A little place called Nino's. They have some of the best Italian food around."

Tristan smiled back. "Oh good. Of course this means I'll have to work out a bit harder the next couple of days."

Brian laughed. "I know what you mean. Do you belong to a gym? If you don't, you could join me at mine to check it out. I highly recommend it."

Tristan smiled. "That would be great. I've just been going to the YMCA. What time tomorrow and where?"

Brian made a quick decision. "How about I pick you up around nine?"

Tristan smiled. "That's great. I'm glad tomorrow is Saturday. I can certainly use the day off. This has been a hell of a week.

They arrived at the restaurant and were quickly seated and their orders placed. It wasn't until Tristan yawned that they even realized that they had been sitting there talking for almost three hours, and that their table was one of just a few left occupied.

Brian and Tristan left the restaurant and strolled back to the car. Brian opened the door for Tristan before walking around to his side. As he climbed into the jeep, he noticed Tristan try to stifle another yawn and just had to comment. "I know I don't date much but I didn't think the evening was 'that' bad."

Tristan turned to Brian quickly to assure him that the evening had been great and he was sorry but stopped when he saw the huge grin on Brian's face. "Quit fishing. You know I've had a good time tonight."

Brian continued to smile as he drove. "I know, but when you were fighting that yawn, I just had to say something. Especially since I've been watching you fight them off for awhile."

Tristan grinned sheepishly. "I guess I didn't do too good a job at hiding them then. I was hoping you hadn't noticed. I'm sorry Brian, it's just that I'm so tired. While Dwyer was here, I was so busy that I didn't get much sleep, and to top it all off, he left here with a bunch of changes that I've got to spend some time working in along with everything else I didn't get done because he was here."

Brian pulled up in front of Tristan's building. "I know, and that's why I'm bringing you home instead of taking to out dancing or Woody's or even back to my loft. You go and get a decent night sleep and I'll see you in the morning at nine."

Tristan laughed. "What makes you think that I'd have gone back to your loft?"

Brian smiled and said honestly. "Can you think of a better way to end a great evening?"

Tristan shook his head as he laughed. "I'll see you in the morning."

As he turned to get out of the car, he stopped. Turning quickly back around he leaned over and kissed a surprised Brian.

Before Brian had a chance to make the kiss deeper, Tristan pulled away and climbed out of the car. Brian smiled as Tristan turned and waved before he walked in the door.

Putting the car into gear, he drove toward home. As he drove, he thought about the two dates he had had with Tristan and smiled as he licked his lips, still tasting Tristan there. Maybe this dating business wasn't so bad after all he thought as he found himself looking forward to his morning with Tristan.

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