Kindred Love: Boys to Men

Arriving In Pittsburgh

Justin's original plan for July had been to drive rather than fly to Pittsburgh not only because he'd need his car, but the amount of stuff he had to take with him would just be too expensive to ship to him, so they all had decided that it was best that he drive. His plans had changed a little now, but Justin still planned to make the trip by car, and Brian decided to go with him rather than flying back so that Justin wouldn't have to do the drive alone. Besides, Brian already knew the route from when he had visited Claire.

"You've sure got a lot of shit," Brian said, as he carried another big box of Justin's belongings and placed it into the trunk of his car. Justin shrugged.

"I know. Just like Mom, I'm a pack rat. You know, I think she still has my first pair of booties in storage somewhere," Justin told him, placing a smaller box in the trunk next to the one Brian had just set down. The back seat of the car, plus the trunk was now full. He was thinking that it was a good thing that was the last of his stuff he was bringing with him to Pittsburgh because it was doubtful that anything more would fit into the car.

"Between you and Emmett, I have no idea how there will be enough room for all of your stuff in that apartment," Brian smirked, looking at the packed full car.

"I think you're saying that so I'll leave some of this stuff here," Justin chuckled. "We'll make it work. If I have to, I'll bring some of it back on the next visit or throw some stuff away," Justin said.

Brian rolled his eyes at that. "Throw it away? Yeah, right," he mumbled and closed the trunk securely.

Justin laughed. Brian knew him so well. It was likely he wouldn't throw any of it away. He just didn't like to let go of things.

"So, I guess this is the last of it," Justin told Brian, smiling ear to ear. He was anxious to get on the road and see what awaited him in Pittsburgh.

"Yep. Are you ready to say goodbye?" Brian asked.

Justin nodded and grinned. "I'm ready," he answered.

Brian smiled and hugged the blond. He was so happy that he was taking this big step and moving to the Pitts. "Well, let's get to it then, shall we?" he said. He gave Justin a wink, and then the two of them walked inside the house.

"Mom? Dad?" Justin called out as they walked through the living room.

"We're in the kitchen, honey," Jennifer answered.

Justin and Brian made their way to the kitchen and saw that Jennifer was just closing a small cooler. Craig was leaning against the counter, and Molly was sitting at the table eating a snack. They all stared at the two boys expectantly.

"The car is all loaded up," Justin told them. Jennifer nodded, and her eyes got teary. She picked up the small cooler and handed it to Brian.

"Well, I made you guys some sandwiches, and put some snacks and bottled water in there too," she told them.

"Thanks, Jen," Brian smiled. "That will be nice because it will save us some time and money if we won't have to stop to get something to eat," he told her.

"We'll walk you guys out," Craig said. Brian and Justin nodded, and the family all headed outside to see them off. Once they were all outside, the dreaded goodbyes started.

"Brian, keep a close eye on him," Jennifer said with a teary smile, and gave the brunet a hug. He then leaned into her ear.

"I'll do my best to make him happy," he whispered. Jennifer pulled away from their hug and looked into Brian's eyes and saw that he was telling the truth. She smiled at him and nodded. She felt Justin would be safe with the brunet.

"Come here, Mollusk," Justin said to his little sister, who looked sad. She walked over to him and he hugged her tightly and kissed her forehead. "I'll miss you," he told her.

"I don't want you to go," Molly pouted.

Justin gave her a sad smile. "It's not forever. I'll be back soon to visit," Justin promised her. She nodded in response. Justin looked over at his father and then went to him and hugged him.

"I'm so proud of you, son. You'll do great, I know you will. I love you," he told Justin, making him smile. He was so relieved that his father wasn't upset that he wasn't going to the college he had wanted him to attend, and was supportive of his decision to study art.

"Thanks, Dad. I love you too," Justin said, feeling himself get emotional.

Brian finally had to pry Justin away from his mother's arms so they could leave. It seemed Jennifer couldn't stop hugging them and crying, so they were there for a while before they actually got in the car and hit the road. As Justin pulled out of the driveway and they headed toward the interstate, they could still see the family waving goodbye at them, and Justin wiped away a tear, embarrassed to be crying in front of Brian, yet again.

"It's okay, Jus," Brian said softly, caressing the back of Justin's neck. "I know you're going to miss them."

Justin nodded. "Yeah, I guess I just didn't realize it was going to affect me this way. I'm really leaving home," he sniffled.

"Yeah, it's hard to leave home at first, but don't worry. Things are going to be great. You have a lot of things to look forward to," Brian told him. Justin looked over at the brunet and smiled.

"Yeah," he answered, and wiped away his tears. He sighed and pushed away any last minute hint of regrets he had about leaving home. Brian was right. Things were going to be really good for him - and hopefully good for them, as in, he and Brian. He smiled at the thought.

"There's the smile I know and love," Brian said, seeing the blond's happy expression. Little did he know that he was the cause of it.

"So, Navigator, which way?" Justin asked.

"I-76 West. We'll be on that for a while, and if you want, at some point we can stop somewhere for a bathroom break, and I'll drive the rest of the way," Brian offered.

"Okay," Justin agreed.

Brian and Justin were enjoying spending their time together on their trip. It was a 6 hour drive, but they didn't mind. They used that time to catch up on some things. The weekend hadn't been very long for them to spend some quality time and talk, especially with all the family around. Now they could just relax and talk freely about everything. Even though they had spoken often on the phone, mostly it was just a quick hello and a quick update of what they were up to. They hadn't really had time for much more, since they both were pretty busy with work, school and finals.

As promised, Brian took over the wheel after a couple of hours. As they munched on the turkey sandwiches and snacks that Jennifer had packed for them, Brian told Justin a little about his Internship work he was doing, and also the latest gossip with their friends in the Pitts. They talked about most everything. Everything, that is, except what they really wanted to talk about and what was mostly on their minds, which was, how they felt about each other and their relationship. There was also still a lot they didn't know about each other when it came to their past relationships. They had been kind of tight lipped when it came to that sort of thing since it was a little awkward for them. Brian had been insanely jealous from the beginning when Justin had told him about his relationship with John, even though he hadn't bothered to tell Justin about a few of his own relationships he had a while back. He knew he would have to tell Justin about them eventually, and he wasn't looking forward to it. He knew the blond would probably be pissed that he wasn't honest with him about his personal life.

As they finally arrived in Pittsburgh, Brian smiled at Justin.

"Well, Sunshine, welcome back to the Pitts," he told him. Justin looked out the windows excitedly and watched as they drove past the shopping centers, restaurants and residential areas.

"We're here!" he said, hopping in his seat. Brian laughed at his enthusiasm.

"Geez, you'd think we were arriving at Disneyland or something," Brian teased.

"Stop making fun of me, I'm anxious okay? I'm really here. I'm going to start college, and be on my own, and... you're here with me," Justin said with a slight blush and smile. "Don't you think I have a good reason to be excited?" Justin asked.

Brian nodded in response, feeling himself blush a little bit, himself. He was happy and excited that Justin was there too. He had actually been dreading having to wait until the end of July for him to finally arrive. He'd been counting down the days since Justin had told him about his acceptance letter from PIFA.

"Emmett is going to freak out when he sees you. I'm glad we didn't tell anyone you were coming, it's better to surprise them all," Brian said, as he continued to drive to Emmett's apartment.

"I think so too," Justin smiled.

They eventually pulled up to the building that Emmett lived in and found a parking space. They stretched their legs a little after they got out of the car, then went up the steps, down the hall, and knocked on the last door on the left, labeled 208.

"Coming!" they heard a faint voice call out. A moment later, the door opened, and Emmett squealed at the sight of Justin, hugging him immediately.

"Oh my Gosh, baby, what are you doing here?" he asked.

"We wanted to surprise you," Justin smiled. He was so glad to see Emmett. He had missed him.

"Well, you certainly did that, honey!" Emmett said. "Come on in," he said ushering the two of them inside. "So, this is it, home sweet home. Can I get either of you something to drink?" Emmett asked them.

"Water," Brian said.

"Nothing for me, thanks," Justin told him.

"So is this just a short visit or are you here to stay?" Emmett asked Justin, and handed Brian a bottled water from the fridge.

"Looks like you've got yourself a roommate early," Brian told him.

"That's not a problem, is it?" Justin asked, hoping it wasn't to much of an inconvenience for him to be there so soon.

"Not at all, sweetie! I'm so glad you're here! It's been so boring in this apartment all by myself. I've practically begged Michael, Josh and Teddy to come over every night to keep me company since Ken moved out. You know me, I like a lot of people in a tight space," Emmett said flashing them a smile.

"Yeah, so I've heard," Brian said jokingly with an arched brow, earning him a small slap on his arm from the tall queen. Justin laughed at them.

"Feel free to looking around," Emmett told Justin.

Justin nodded and started to walk through the apartment, observing his new home for the first time. The space wasn't large, but it was plenty big enough for the two of them. He noticed the colorful curtains as well as the covers on the sofa and chairs. The kitchen was a lot smaller than he was used to, which wasn't a big deal. Most of the furniture looked used, but he was fine with that. He didn't need brand new stuff. He smiled as he continued to look through the old style apartment. He liked it.

"So what do you think, baby?" Emmett asked Justin.

"It's great, Em. I'm so excited," Justin told him.

"Let me show you your room," Emmett said, grabbing Justin's hand, and pulling him in that direction, with Brian following behind them. He opened the door and flipped on the light switch.

"Ken left his dresser and bed here because his new place is much bigger and he decided to get new furniture. He didn't have any kind of storage to put this stuff so he was actually glad to leave them behind. If you're having any of your own furniture sent here, we could always sell these or give them away," Emmett told Justin.

"Actually, Em, this is perfect. In fact, I was a little worried about that. I thought I might have to buy some furniture when I got here," Justin said, pleased that that was less money he'd have to spend. He needed to conserve as much money as he could.

Justin looked around the room. It was actually a pretty good size. He was thankful that the bed was a double, and not a twin. He liked a little room when he slept.

"What about the closet space?" Justin asked.

"It's pretty spacious," Emmett said, opening the closet for Justin to see. "This room is actually the larger one. Ken moved into this apartment by himself and used my room as his computer/study room. He loved living here alone, but found that with going to school and working full time, it was too stressful for him to fork up the money every month for a two-bedroom apartment. He didn't want to move so he put an ad in the paper for a roommate, and I answered it. When I moved in, my half of the rent enabled him to cut back some hours from work and concentrate more on school," Emmett explained.

Justin looked at him curiously. "Why didn't you move into this room after he moved out, Em?" Justin asked. Emmett just shrugged.

"I thought about it, but I decided that I like my room too much. I've lived in that room for almost 4 years now, and I have everything the way I like it. I don't mind you having the larger room, honey," Emmett assured Justin.

"Are you sure? I mean, you've been here so long. I don't mind switching," Justin offered.

"Nonsense. I already told you I'm happy right where I'm at. Besides, this room has that nice large widow which brings in lots of light. That will be great for when you're working on your art. I insist that you have this room," Emmett smiled.

"And it's a good thing too, because Justin has a shitload of stuff," Brian said, stepping in. Justin playfully elbowed him in the ribs.

"Well, there's an extra closet in the hallway if you still need a little room for storage. Most of that space was full of Ken's things when he lived here. He had a lot of stuff," Emmett said.

Justin looked at Brian. "Well I guess we should start carrying all my stuff up here," Justin said.

"I guess so," Brian sighed, dramatically.

"I'll help you guys," Emmett volunteered.

"Thanks, Em," Justin smiled.

With Emmett's help, they had all of Justin's things in his and Emmett's place in no time. The three of them sat on the sofa with their heads back, tired from going up and down the stairs with all of Justin's things.

"You've sure got a lot of stuff," Emmett said, catching his breath.

Brian started laughing. "I told you," he smiled.

Justin rolled his eyes. "Now I've got to put it all away," he groaned.

"You can do that later. Let's call up the boys and meet them for dinner somewhere," Emmett suggested.

"Sounds good. I can't wait to see them all," Justin smiled.

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

Emmett, Brian and Justin pulled up to Debbie's house around 6:00p.m. Once Michael had heard that Justin was in town, he'd called his mother, and of course she insisted that they all come over for dinner.

Brian used his key to let them in the door, and they all walked into the living room where everyone was lounging and talking as always. When they all saw Justin, there was a big commotion, and they each immediately got up from where they were sitting to take their turn to hug and kiss him.

Michael was the first to grab Justin in a hug.

"It's so great to see you again, Justin," Michael said excitedly.

"We've missed our little baby," Josh said, with a teasing smile.

Justin laughed and hugged him. "Shut up, I'm not so little anymore," he defended.

"So, I've noticed," Emmett said, looking Justin up and down. They all laughed, but Brian arched a brow at the man's flirty remark. He hoped that Emmett didn't try to make a move on Justin now that the two of them were going to be living together. He knew that Emmett had always thought that the younger man was hot.

"You can say that again," a voice said.

Justin turned around to see Todd standing there smiling at him. He smiled back at him and gave him a brief hug.

Justin hadn't spoken to Todd since his last visit to the Pitts. He didn't really consider him a close friend like he did the rest of the gang. Todd had an intimidating disposition which caused Justin to be a little nervous around him. It wasn't that he disliked the man, but he just didn't get him sometimes. He was complicated, not to mention unpredictable. It also didn't help that Justin had no idea what the real deal was between the other man and Brian. Even though he had insisted that they were just friends, Justin couldn't help wondering if there was more to it.

"Hey, Todd, how's it going?" Justin said, once they pulled away from their hug.

"Not bad at all," The tall blond answered.

"Yeah, just ask every queer on Liberty Avenue," Ted smirked. Todd glared at the other boy, but didn't say anything.

Justin saw Ted standing there and was happy to see the young man. He'd always liked Ted.

"Hey there, Teddy," Justin smiled. "By the way, that program you sent me to keep my finances in order has been incredibly helpful. I've been using it to set my budget, and especially with everything going on with school and moving out here, it's been a lifesaver. Thank you so much," Justin told him gratefully.

"I'm glad you like it. I wrote the program myself," Ted said proudly.

Todd rolled his eyes at them.

"Okay, nobody cares about your geeky exhibitions, Theodore," Todd said dryly. Ted frowned at him.

"At least I have ambition," Ted shot back.

"I have ambition," Todd defended.

"Yeah, if you call wanting to get nailed by every living thing that walks, ambition," Ted smirked.

"At least I get laid. Every guy you meet falls asleep before you can even get to first base," Todd laughed. Ted glared back at him and gave him the finger.

"God, children, can't you put your differences aside for once?" Brian rolled his eyes, irritated as he looked at Todd and Ted. He was so sick of listening to them bicker all the time. It got old really fast.

"Yeah, really. Justin just got in town. Don't ruin the happy vibe," Emmett stepped in.

They were interrupted by a loud squeal, and Justin was taken by surprise when Debbie suddenly grabbed him in a hug.

"Sunshine!" Debbie exclaimed, and then squeezed him in a hug so tight he thought his eyes might pop out of his head.

"Ma, you're going to kill him!" Michael said.

"Drama queen," Brian muttered. Josh smirked and nodded in agreement.

Debbie finally released Justin and then kissed his cheek, leaving a bright pink imprint of her lips behind.

"Sorry, honey. I'm just so glad to see you," she gushed.

"I've missed you too, Deb. The good news is, you're going to be seeing a lot of me. I need to start working to support myself now," he told her.

"Sure thing, honey. Let me know when you're settled and ready to work, and I'll have you come in and fill out some paper work and then we'll get you on the schedule. How's that?" she asked.

"Thanks, that sounds perfect," Justin replied.

"Well, you should at least take a week or so off. It's summer and you just graduated. You're young! Live a little," Vic said with a wink.

Justin laughed. "Yeah, I probably will take a week or so off before I start working. I really need to take some time to slow down and absorb it all - everything has been happening so fast. Two days ago I was in Philly, and I had my life, job and family around me, and was looking forward to my plans for July, and now I'm here, and everything is changing," Justin admitted.

"Well, get used to it, blondie, life is all about change, and you've got a lot more coming your way, I assure you," Vic told him.

They all chatted in the living room for a while until Vic announced that the meat lasagna was ready and for everyone to come and eat. After dessert, Justin was pleasantly stuffed and also feeling the excitement of the day catching up to him as he found himself yawning for the third time in the last five minutes. He was having such a good time though, that he didn't want to leave.

"They're not going anywhere," Brian whispered in his ear, as if he had been reading Justin's mind. He had been watching Justin closely and could tell that the boy was exhausted.

"How do you do that?" Justin asked him and gave him an incredulous look and laughed.

"I can channel into your mind. And what a scary place that is! You have a very, very warped mind, Sunshine," Brian teased. Justin giggled at him. Brian stood up from his chair and took Justin's hand so he would stand up as well.

"Well, everyone, we must be leaving now. The child must get some sleep after this crazy day --" Justin pinched Brian's arm, letting him know he didn't appreciate being called a child.

"Ouch!" Brian yelped but laughed when he saw Justin's expression. "I mean - Justin, is tired --" He looked at Justin who was now smiling at him to let him know that he was satisfied. "And I have to be at work early in the morning, so we're going to go. Em, you're welcome to stay if you like, I'm sure someone wouldn't mind dropping you off later," Brian said.

"Yeah, actually Teddy and I were thinking of going to Woody's to shoot some pool and have a couple of drinks. I know you guys have had a really long day with the drive and all. You go on ahead, and I'll see you later. And Justin..." Emmett said, and reached into his pocket.

"Here's your key to the apartment. I forgot to give it to you earlier," Emmett smiled, as he handed Justin his key.

"Thanks," Justin replied, and pocketed the key.

They said their goodbyes to the rest of the family, and then headed out the door and to Justin's car. The blond was about to get in the driver's seat, when Brian stopped him.

"I'll drive," he offered.

"Thanks, it's probably safer that way. I'm so fucking tired right now," Justin admitted, and got in on the passenger's side of the car. He reclined his seat as far back as it would go and was asleep in minutes, as Brian drove them to his Justin's new place. Once in a while, Brian would look over and smile at his beautiful sleeping blond. He'd wanted to kiss those sweet lips of his ever since he saw him when he arrived in Philadelphia, the day of Justin's graduation. Even though their one and only night of intimacy was so long ago, he could still remember how sweet Justin tasted, and the feel of his soft, warm lips on his. Brian got hard as he thought of that night, and sighed in frustration that he and Justin weren't together... Well, at least not yet.

He pulled up to the building, parked the car, and turned off the engine, before gently shaking the sleeping beauty.

"Justin," he called out softly. "We're here," he told him.

Justin opened his tired eyelids, and looked at Brian, a little disoriented. Brian smiled at him, and then he remembered where he was and smiled back. He stretched a bit before putting his seat in the upright position and unstrapped himself from his seatbelt.

"Come on, I'll walk to you to the door," Brian offered.

"No, you don't have to do that. I can make it on my own. Thanks, though," Justin said.

"I want to make sure you don't lose your way," Brian said.

"Brian, I know which apartment it is. I'm fine, really," Justin insisted.

"Just let me walk you to the door, brat," Brian said with a smile.

"Okay, okay," Justin replied, putting his hands up in defeat.

They walked up the stairs and to door 208. Justin got his key out of his pocket and unlocked the door and smiled. His first key to his first apartment. He opened the door slightly and looked at Brian.

"You hear that?" he asked.

"Hear what?" Brian asked with furrowed brows. He couldn't hear anything.

"It's the sound of independence," Justin beamed.

Brian chuckled and then nodded. "I'm happy for you, Jus," he said quietly.

"Thanks. Me too."

"Well, I'll see you tomorrow. I'll come on by after work. Is that cool?" Brian asked.

"Of course. Now that we actually live in the same city again, I plan on seeing you a lot," Justin told him, his eyes evident about how much he meant it.

Brian looked at Justin and wanted to kiss him right then, but held himself back. He still had this little voice in his head that was telling him he might mess things up. No matter how much he wanted to be with Justin, he was afraid he wasn't good enough for him, and had all of these doubts running through his mind. He still needed to think things through, and when he was ready he would talk to Justin about it.

He opted for kissing Justin's cheek instead of his lips.

"Goodnight," Brian whispered.

"Goodnight," Justin answered and smiled back at him, and then went into his apartment, giving Brian one last look before closing the door.

Justin could have swore Brian was about to kiss him on the mouth. He wished he had, but was grateful for any contact at all, and was still smiling, as he leaned against his door.

He walked to his bedroom and sighed when he remembered that nothing was unpacked yet. He decided to just put the sheets and duvet on his bed for now and in the morning he would start unpacking his things and put everything away. He was just too tired to do it right then, and sleep was sounding better by the second.