A Simple Twist of Faith
~ 1 ~
Justin woke early, wanting to head out as soon as possible. His mind was filled with thoughts of Ethan as he set about packing the last few necessitites for the weekend. It had been weeks since they'd been together and his excitement was building at the thought of being in his lover's arms once more.
Quickly eating a bowl of Cocoa Pebbles, he dialed Ethan's cell. When he picked up Justin's heart pounded and his body ached for his lover.
"Hey, baby."
"Hey, yourself," Ethan beamed. "When are you leaving?"
"In about an hour. I've got to stop by Mom's and give her the key so she can watch Wolfram."
"Drive careful, they're calling for rain today."
"Nothing is going to stop me from being with my one true love."
"I love you. See you soon."
"Love you too. Bye."
An hour later Justin kissed his mother goodbye and drove off. He was halfway there when out of nowhere a truck swerved and slammed broadside into his small car. Metal against metal was the last sound he heard. His last thoughts were of a tall dark haired man with hazel eyes.
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Brian Kinney was sitting in the diner, having his normal breakfast of coffee, cigarettes and Michael's whining when a wave of sadness overcame him. It caught him so off guard that he wasn't aware of the tears that fell from his beautiful eyes.
"Brian?" Michael saw the fear that crossed his best friend's face and wondered what was going on.
Brian stood and dropped his cup of coffee on the floor before bolting from the diner. Michael quickly followed screaming his friend's name. Brian ran the two blocks to his loft, took the stairs two at a time and fumbled with the lock. Michael caught up to him and took the keys, unlocking the heavy door for him.
Brian silently crossed the room and stood before a painting he had bought two years before from the GLC art show. He wasn't sure why, but right then he needed to be there, inside that painting.
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Two hours later Justin was being rushed to the nearest trauma center. Once there it was determined that he was in a coma and the doctor's contacted Jennifer. They found her name on a note in the car and assumed she was his mother. She rushed to his side and once there called Ethan to let him know of Justin's condition.
Justin's condition worsened over the next few weeks and the doctors were advising that he may never get better. Jennifer refused to believe that her son would die and maintained a vigil at his bedside.
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Justin sat in the dark closet unsure of where he was. The clothing didn't look familiar, in fact it was way too expensive to be Ethan's or his. Running his hands over the soft material, he smiled at the lables; Prada, Armani, Dolce and Gabbana. Whoever owned these was definitly a fag. No straight man was that much of a lable queen.
He was sitting in the dark again when he heard a voice. Slinking back into the corner he hoped that he was safe here in the closet. A thin beam of light shone at his feet and he heard footsteps coming closer to his hideout.
His heart pounded in his chest and sweat formed on his brow as he listened to the creak of the door as it opened.
Brian stood staring at the young blonde crouching in the corner in disbelief.
"Who the FUCK are you?"
"You can see me?"
"Well duh, you're sitting in my fucking closet. What the fuck are you doing in there? And how the hell did you get in there?"
"I don't know. The last thing I remember is driving to see Ethan."
"Who the hell is Ethan?"
"My partner."
"So if you have a partner, why the fuck are you sitting in my closet?"
"I don't know."
Brian ran a hand through his hair and leaned in closer. "Okay, this is not getting us anywhere. Come on out of the closet and we'll start this over."
Justin reluctantly takes his hand and almost pulls back at the feelings that come over him when he touches the older man. Brian sighs deeply, having felt the pull himself.
"Look, lets just start at the beginning. I'm Brian." He looks at Justin expectantly for a moment before continuing. "And you are?"
"Justin. Justin Taylor."
"You're Justin Taylor?"
"All my life."
Brian pulls Justin with him down the stairs and stops in front of the watercolor.
"You own one of my paintings."
"This is fucking crazy. How the hell did you get in my loft?"
"I don't know. I swear I just woke up here."
"You just woke up here? I'm not buying it. What the fuck is going on here? Did the munchers put you up to this? Or Emmett? Are you my birthday gift from Michael?"
"I swear to you Mr. Kinney, this is not some joke and I am certainly not a gift. I'm just as confused as you are. The last thing I remember is kissing my mom goodbye and going to see Ethan."
"Well then let's call your mom, you can ask her why the fuck you ended up in my closet and not in this Ian's bed."
"Ethan."
"Whatever."
Brian crossed the room to the phone and held it out for Justin. Justin looked at him and shook his head.
"Brian, I can't call her."
"And why the fuck not?"
"Because until you, noone could see me."
"Well that would be because you were hiding in my fucking closet and noone's been here for a week."
"A week?"
"Yeah, I've been in New York on business for a week."
"So you've been gone a week. That means, that I've been in your closet for seven days with no food and I'm not even the least bit hungry."
"And?"
"And I haven't needed to use the bathroom."
"Yeah?"
"Well isn't that kinda strange? I mean, you would think that I'd at least need water and food."
Brian shook his head and sank down into the chair behind the desk. "Okay, listen give me your mom's number and I'll call her and find out what's going on."
Justin gave him the number and listened closely as Brian dialed.
"Hi I'm looking for Jennifer Taylor."
"Yes, this is she."
"HI Mrs. Taylor, my name is Brian. I'm calling about Justin."
"Oh, you must be a friend of his."
"Sort of. How is he?"
"Well the doctors aren't sure if the coma is reversible or not. He was injured pretty bad in the accident."
"Accident?"
"You didn't know? I'm sorry, Brian, I thought you knew. Justin was in a serious accident a few weeks ago and has been in a coma ever since."
"I see. What room is he in?"
"212. I'm sure he'd love it if you'd visit him. They say that coma patients can hear you."
"Thank you Mrs. Taylor."
Brian hung the phone up and reluctantly turned to face the young blond.
"Well what did she say?"
"Um, I'm not really sure how to tell you."
"Just tell me."
"She said that you were in an accident a few weeks ago and are in a coma."
"A coma? That can't be possible. If I'm in a coma then how am I here?"
"I was wondering that myself."
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Ethan sat next to his partner's bed holding his hand. He let his tears flow unchecked as he spoke to his lover.
"Hey there Justin. The sunrise was so beautiful this morning. I wish you could've been there to paint it for me. I miss your voice baby. It's just too damn quiet around the apartment without you. Wolfie has taken to sleeping on your side of the bed. I think he misses you. So see you've gotta get better soon and come home."
Ethan looked up when the door opened to find Jennifer there.
"Hi Ma," he said kissing her cheek.
"How's he doing today?"
"The same."
"Don't worry, honey, he'll wake up soon. I just know it." Jennifer wiped the tear that fell down his cheek.
"Yeah, I know. I just miss him so much."
"Well don't give up on him. You'll see one day we'll walk in here and he'll be sitting up wondering what the hell all the fuss was about."
"And bitching about the food."
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"Look kid, I don't know what the fuck is going on but this is all a little too Twilight Zone for my tastes."
"You know, Brian, I don't know either. All I know is that apparently I've somehow managed to transcend time and space. My body is in a hospital room across town and my spirit or my soul or what the fuck ever is stuck here with you, a man I don't even fucking know."
"Well you being here is no picnic for me either kid."
"Well excuse me, so sorry to cause you so much fucking trouble. I'm sure that I can find someone else who can see me and help me figure out how the hell to get back into my body and wake up."
"Don't be such a fucking drama princess."
Justin sat on the floor and cried uncontrollably until Brian sat next to him and took him into his arms. Stroking his hair, Brian tried to soothe the young man.
"Please stop crying, I can't handle tears. Fuck, listen kid, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell at you or be so hateful. I'm not used to this kind of thing."
"I'm sorry, I know it must be strange for you to come home and find some strange man in your bedroom."
"Well no, that happens on a regular basis." Brian's laughter broke the mood and Justin smiled shyly up at the handsome man.
"Sunshine," Brian whispered.
"What?"
"Nothing."
"No what did you say?"
"Sunshine. When you smiled, it lit up the whole room. Like sunshine."
Justin smiled again and wiped the tears from his eyes. "You know you really are a sweet guy."
"Shhh, don't tell anyone."
They were interrupted by the phone. Brian answered it and was not surprised to hear Michael's voice.
"Mikey, I was wondering when you'd call to check in."
"Fuck you. I just wanted to see if you wanted to go to Babylon."
"I'm not sure tonight is good for me." Brian's gaze found Justin standing in front of the windows looking out at the city's lights. He reached over and flipped off the lights. Justin turned slightly and smiled.
"Thanks."
"You're welcome."
"Oh, you have somebody there," Mikey said bringing Brian back to the conversation.
"Sorta."
"Sorry to interrupt. Go back to your trick. When you're done we'll be at Babylon."
"Later Mikey."
"Who's Michael?"
"A friend."
"Just a friend?"
"Definitly just a friend."
Justin watched the emotions that spread across Brian's face before he gained control and put the mask back on.
"Um, look Brian, I'm not sure how long I'm gonna be stuck here like this, it could be another hour, a week, forever." Justin looked away to hide the tears that threatened to spill again. Emotions under control again he continued. "And since you seem to be the only person who can see me, do you think that maybe we could be friends?"
"You and me?"
"Yeah, you and me."
"I think we could arrange that." Brian pulled the young man into his embrace and held him close.
Justin felt safe in Brian's arms and wrapped his own around his new friend. Several minutes later they broke apart, both men aware of the attraction they shared for each other.
Brian crossed the room and fixed himself a drink, offering Justin one. Declining, Justin watched as Brian drank a double Beam and poured another. His mind wandered and he thought about what it would be like to be kissed by this man. His body responded to his thoughts and he felt his cock harden at the thought of being with Brian.
Brian studied Justin and couldn't believe his eyes when he saw the young man get an erection. "Well it's nice to know that in the afterlife I'll still be able to get it up," he said breaking the silence.
"Oh shit. Sorry."
"Don't be sorry, I'm actually kinda enjoying the view. If you weren't just a figment of my imagination I'd kiss you in a second."
"Do you think it'd work?"
"Well I can touch you and you can feel me, right?"
"Yeah."
"Then it would work." Brian sauntered across the room slowly, drawing Justin into his embrace. Slowly lowering his head Brian captured Justin's lips and pushed them open gently with his tongue. Justin closed his eyes and allowed Brian entrance into his soul.
The kiss lasted longer than Brian had intended and when they broke apart, both men were breathless. Brian stared down into Justin's eyes and swallowed hard. Pulling away, he turned his back to the young man.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked you to do that."
"I wanted to. I take it you felt it."
"Yeah, every second."
Brian put a finger under Justin's chin and brought his face up to look at him. "It's okay to feel it, Justin."
"I know, it's just," he stopped.
"Ian."
"Ethan."
"Well isn't it funny how you ended up in my closet and not his. Maybe someone's trying to tell you something."
"Look Brian, I don't know why I ended up here. Hell I don't know why I ended up like this at all. I just want to be myself again."
"Let's go." Brian grabbed his hand and pulled him out the door.
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