Kindred Love: Boys to Men

Walking On Eggshells

Justin sat on his bed sketching for what must have been hours; he couldn't be sure. There was no concept of time when he really got into his art. An hour could feel like 10 minutes, and sometimes on the particularly rough days when things weren't going quite as he wanted them to, 10 minutes could feel like an hour.

Justin sighed, as he shaded some of the features on the beautiful face that looked up at him from the page. He'd drawn this face too many times to count. Each time it was different. He'd always managed to file away some of this man's expressions in his mind for later. But no matter how many times he had studied his facial expressions and had captured them on paper, he was beginning to think that he would never figure Brian out. Even though they were such close friends and he felt he knew the other man very well, he just didn't get him sometimes, and his behavior as of late had been very mysterious.

Justin wasn't sure what was going on with Brian. It had been a little over a week since Justin had moved to Pittsburgh, and things were pretty much the same between the two of them - strictly friends. That would have been okay, except that Justin could tell that something was going on with Brian and was positive he was keeping something from him. It was as though Brian wanted to tell him something, but when he opened his mouth to say it, he would either say something totally off the wall, or just simply said, 'never mind', and then would have a strange, unreadable look on his face.

There were also a few times that Justin could swear that Brian was going to kiss him. He was more than willing to comply, but every time they seemed to share a "moment", Brian would pull away from him emotionally and physically. It confused the Hell out of Justin, and he just wished that Brian would tell him what he was thinking. They had always been able to tell each other everything.

Even during that first summer that Justin came to Pittsburgh to visit Brian, when they shared their first kiss at that party, things had been a little tense, but the very next morning they had talked about it, and then they just went on as friends, well, kind of. Justin knew that things were different after that. Their feelings were out in the open then, and it wasn't easy to ignore. Justin's feelings still remained strong for his best friend, and though Brian had written him that incredible letter in his sketchpad, they had never spoken of it. It was 4 years ago; maybe Brian's feelings had changed. Maybe that was what the problem was. Could it be that Brian no longer wished to pursue a relationship with Justin, and he wasn't sure how to break the news to him? At this point, Justin had no idea what to think.

Justin sighed as he looked at his sketch. Brian's eyes seemed lustful yet fearful, and the corners of his mouth were slightly turned up. This memory of Brian had been recorded in his mind from the previous night, and Justin's brows furrowed as he thought back to the last evening's events.

Justin had come home that night from the diner, and was a bit surprised as he walked through the door of his home. At least four different audible appliances were on at once, and the only word that came to Justin's mind at that moment was: chaos. It was noisy. Emmett always had some kind of noise going on in the background, whether it was music or the television, and sometimes even both!

Justin noticed that every light in the apartment except for his bedroom light, was turned on. He could hear Emmett's greatest hits Madonna CD playing loudly from the stereo in his bedroom. Also, one of Emmett's favorite gossip shows, True Access Hollywood, was blaring on the television in the living room. The noise coming from the bathroom indicated that Emmett was in there blow drying his hair, on full blast mode, no less. He glanced toward the kitchen, and happened to see the microwave on, and noticed a hot pocket wrapper on the counter. Justin was amazed that they hadn't blown a circuit from all the electricity they were using at once.

Emmett just simply couldn't stand it when it was too quiet in the apartment. Not only that, but let's face it - Emmett was just a loud and vibrant person. Everything about him was loud, and that included his personality and clothing. But those were the qualities that his friends loved about him the most. Justin wasn't exactly accustomed to living with someone as boisterous as Emmett, but he was getting used to it, and found that he really enjoyed and welcomed it, and even more, he loved that Emmett could always put a smile on his face and make him laugh.

Justin walked over to the television and turned it down low, and then headed to the bathroom to talk to his roommate.

"Jesus, Em, are you trying to send me to the funny farm?" Justin laughed, as he watched Emmett blow dry his hair. Emmett frowned and turned off the hair dryer.

"I'm sorry, honey, did you say something?" he asked.

"Do you always have a million things on at once?" Justin asked.

"Well, no, not all the time, but I was just getting ready to go out to Babylon. You see, I started off with listening to 'Like A Virgin' as I was picking out what I was going to wear. Then I turned it up so I could hear the music while I showered. When I got out of the shower, I happened to glance at the clock and realized Access Hollywood was on, and went to turn it on. Then when I did that, I saw a commercial for Stouffer's Lasagna and remembered I hadn't eaten all day, so I popped a hot pocket in the micro. I decided to blow dry my hair while I waited for it to be ready, and then that's when you came in," Emmett said with a smile, as if it were the simplest explanation in the world.

"Well, when you put it that way, I guess it makes sense," Justin chuckled.

Emmett smiled at Justin, and then turned his attention to himself in the mirror as he rubbed some product in his hair and started styling it.

"By the way, Brian called. He said he was coming over to hang out and watch a movie. I told him fine, but that was before Christian called and asked me to meet him at Babylon. So I guess you and Brian will have to battle over who's making the popcorn, since I'll be busy shaking a tail feather on the dance floor... " Emmett paused. "Or I may be busy shaking something else," he smirked, then started applying his eyeliner.

Justin laughed lightly at his friend's comment. His mind was more focused on the fact that him and Brian would possibly be spending an evening alone together. He frowned as he wondered if Brian would want to go to Babylon now that Emmett wouldn't be there in the apartment with them. As of late, Brian seemed to be avoiding being alone with Justin. They had hung out a lot, but mostly with some or all of the gang present.

"You guys can meet us there, if you like. The more the merrier," Emmett smiled, dabbing a small amount of body glitter to his face.

"Yeah, I'll ask Brian if he wants to do that when he gets here," Justin replied. He looked at Emmett and grinned. "Wow, Emmett you look hot tonight," he said, taking in Emmett's appearance.

"Thanks, honey," Emmett smiled back.

"So do you really like Christian or is this a 'just for fun' type of thing between you two?" Justin asked.

Emmett shrugged. "I don't know. I guess we'll see what happens," he said with a wink. Justin nodded.

A half an hour later, Emmett left, and Justin proceeded to turn everything off, except for the living room lamp. He frowned as he sat on the sofa and thought that Emmett's way of living must have already rubbed off on him, because suddenly it was way too quiet in the apartment. He decided to turn on the television, and started flipping through the channels as he waited for Brian to show up. Not too much later, the doorbell rang and Justin got up to answer it.

"Hey," Justin smiled, as he saw the handsome brunet staring back at him in the doorway.

"Hi," he said and smiled back at Justin.

Justin opened the door wider for Brian to walk in.

"Uh, isn't it kind of quiet - and darker than usual in here?" Brian said with a slightly confused look. Justin smirked.

"Emmett went to Babylon to meet Christian," Justin told him.

"Oh," Brian frowned. Justin noticed the look on Brian's face.

"He said we could go to Babylon to meet them if we wanted... I mean, if you don't want to hang out here, that is," Justin told him. Brian looked up at Justin with an expression he couldn't quite read.

"Actually, I was just looking forward to watching a movie and relaxing," Brian said.

"That sounds good," Justin said, feeling a bit relieved that Brian didn't want to go to Babylon. He was hoping that maybe he could find out what was going on with the brunet. "So what did you bring?" he asked.

"Nothing. I thought Emmett might have something worth watching here," Brian smiled.

"Hmm, well I'm not sure because I haven't really had a chance to go through all of his DVDs since I've moved in. Let's take a look," Justin suggested.

Brian plopped down on the sofa as Justin walked over to the cabinet where Emmett stored his CDs and DVDs, and started naming off some titles. After naming about 10 movies that Brian said no, hell no, and made gag noises to, Justin finally pulled one out and smiled.

"Oh, I remember this movie," Justin said.

"What is it?" Brian asked.

"Reality Bites," Justin answered.

"Ohhh yeah, that movie with Ethan Hawke... good choice, Sunshine," Brian smiled. Justin laughed and immediately went to put the DVD in the player.

Justin went back to join Brian on the sofa, but refrained from sitting right next to the brunet or cuddling with him, even though he wanted nothing more than to do those things. He just wanted to be close to him. He had loved it when they had cuddled all night on his couch back in in Philly. It seemed so long ago, when in fact it had only just happened almost two weeks ago. Justin wondered again what had changed since then.

As the movie credits started rolling, Justin forced any thoughts about him and Brian out of his head and tried to focus on the movie. It had been a while since Justin had seen the movie Reality Bites, and he had kind of forgotten what the movie was about.

As Brian and Justin watched the movie together, they both felt a pang in their hearts and their fears and insecurities were reminded as they watched the relationship between the two characters go down the drain. The perfect movie for them to watch. The two main characters are best friends. The guy admits he has feelings for the girl. Girl rejects guy, but then realizes later that she feels the same way. They have sex, and then he gets afraid because he's never slept with anyone he's loved before. So he runs away and blows her off. Their friendship is ruined and both of them regret starting anything to begin with.

Justin was starting to feel like a real ass for suggesting the movie, that is, until the end, when Ethan Hawke and Winona Ryder end up together despite everything. Justin felt his heart pitter patter, as he watched the characters kiss at the end, and unconsciously reached out to touch Brian's hand that was resting on sofa. Brian jumped a bit when he felt Justin touch him, but couldn't help feeling that it felt right.

Justin realized that this movie spoke loud volumes. It was screaming loud and clear to him. You never know what could happen, but despite ups and downs in a relationship, it's possible that things will work out in the end. Sometimes transitioning from platonic to romantic was tough. Justin was sure they could get through it though. He just needed to talk to Brian and ask him what he wanted.

Justin felt something move under his hand, and looked down to notice that his hand was covering Brian's. He blushed a shade of pink and instantly removed his hand from where it was and replaced it in his own lap. It felt a lot colder there.

Justin didn't dare look into Brian's eyes. He was too embarrassed. He kept them on his now cold hands, that lay on his lap.

"So, uh, great movie," Justin said, knowing he sounded lame, but felt he had to say something to ease the tension between them.

"Yeah, Ethan Hawke is so fucking hot," Brian commented as the end credits rolled.

"Yeah. I loved it when he had his long hair," Justin said, and pressed the stop button on the DVD player.

"Your hair has kind of been growing out," Brian pointed out. Justin finally looked over at Brian.

"Yeah. I thought I could use a little change," Justin smiled.

"I like it," Brian told him, scooting closer to the blond and then reached out to touch the soft, golden locks. "You look really good like this," Brian said softly.

Justin's heart sped up and he felt a chill go down his spine as Brian ran his hand through his hair.

"I'm glad you like it," Justin whispered, and turned his head to face the brunet. It was then that Brian gave him the look. Justin had never seen this look before, and he studied Brian's facial expression carefully so that he could draw it later. Brian's face was full of emotion. He looked as though he wanted to devour the blond, yet at the same time as if he wanted to run out of there as fast as he could. His eyes darted back and forth from Justin's eyes to his mouth. This was when Justin was sure Brian would kiss him. Hell, if he didn't, then he would make the first move; he didn't care. He just ached to feel Brian's lips again, as he had in Brian's bedroom on his last day in Pittsburgh all those summers ago.

"Brian," Justin whispered. Suddenly, Brian seemed to be snapped back into realty, and backed away from the blond.

"Uh, it's kind of late. I should get going," he said lamely.

Justin frowned in confusion. "Wait --" Justin started to say, but Brian was already standing up and heading for the door.

"I'll see you at the diner tomorrow," he told Justin, and then walked out of the apartment, leaving Justin to stand there wondering what in the Hell had just happened.

So now here he was, back to the present, sitting on his bed and trying to analyze Brian's behavior and that mysterious expression from last night. His thoughts were interrupted by a knock on his door.

"Come in," he called out. The door slowly opened, and Emmett poked his head in the room.

"Hey, sweetie. You've been in here for hours without coming out, I was just checking to see if you were still alive," Emmett joked. He held out a small tray to Justin. "I thought you'd might like to take a break and have some milk and Oreos," he smiled.

"I never say no to Oreos," Justin said. He set his sketch pad down beside him and then took the tray and placed it on his lap.

"My, my. That's an intense expression, if I ever saw one," Emmett commented as he picked up the sketch pad and looked closely at Justin's most recent work of art, before sitting down on the bed next to him.

Justin's eyes dropped, and he dunked his cookie into his milk and took a bite.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Emmett asked softly.

Justin just shrugged his shoulders, and continued eating his cookies.

"Okay, I don't know what's going on with you and Brian, but let me just tell you right now that I could see it from the first day I saw you two together how much you cared for each other. It's so obvious. Now, he's never said a word to me about his feelings for you besides the fact that you're the best friend that he's ever had and how you mean so much to him, but I know that he loves you. You should have seen how ecstatic he was when he found out you were coming to live here in the Pitts. I'd never seen him in such a good mood," Emmett said.

"Really?" Justin asked with a hopeful smile.

Emmett nodded at his friend.

"So I guess my question to you is, what in the world is stopping you two from being together? I know you feel the same way he does, so don't even try to deny it," Emmett said, wagging his finger at Justin.

"I wasn't going to," Justin sighed.

"I knew it! You do love him. So what's the problem, sweetie?" he asked.

"I don't know, that is what I've been trying to figure out since we arrived in Pittsburgh. He's been acting strange," Justin told him.

"Strange, how?" Emmett asked.

"Like being distant, quiet, and he's been avoiding every chance of being alone with me," Justin said.

"Well what about the other night? Didn't he come over and watch a movie with you?" Emmett asked.

"Yeah. One minute we're talking, and then he was running his fingers through my hair... He gave me this look, and I thought he was going to kiss me, and then - I don't know. He bolted out the door before I got a chance to do anything about it." Justin sat the tray on the floor, having left the glass and plate empty.

Emmett sighed, and took another look at the sketch and studied it carefully. He then put his arm around the blond, and gave him a warm, assuring smile.

"Honey, he's scared shitless, is all. Don't you see? He's afraid that he's going to lose you. That if he gives in to his feelings of love for you, then things might change and then he wouldn't have you as a best friend or anything else," Emmett said.

"I'm scared too, Em. But my feelings for him are too strong to just ignore. I've loved him for a very long time - even before I even realized that I was gay," Justin admitted.

"Oh, baby," Emmett said, and gathered Justin into a big hug. "Okay, you have a few options to choose from right now," he told him. Justin pulled away from their hug and looked at Emmett curiously.

"What?" he asked.

"You can talk to Brian and straight out ask him what he wants," Emmett suggested.

"I thought about that, but I don't want to put any pressure on him. It might scare him away," Justin told him.

"Okay, well the other option would be to just wait it out and see what happens," he told him.

"And if that doesn't work?" Justin asked.

"Then we could always test his feelings by seeing how he reacts to you being interested in someone else," Emmett smiled.

"You mean make him jealous?" Justin asked.

"You'd be surprised at what a little jealousy can do," Emmett said with a chuckle. "Trust me, sweetie, I know."

Justin thought about it a minute. He didn't want to try to make Brian jealous on purpose. He didn't want to make the other man feel bad. He just wanted him to tell him what it was he felt.

"For now, I think I'm going to wait it out and see if he approaches me first," Justin said.

"I think that's best too, for the moment. But if you need my help with a plan later, you just holler," he offered.

"Thanks, Em, I might take you up on that."

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

Justin busily worked his shift at the diner. Brian had been right. The tips were much better here, than back home at the cafe, not to mention he liked working in a mostly gay community. He never had to worry about anyone giving him a hard time for being homosexual, and he felt right at home. He could be himself. Everyone had been so nice to him, and he must have got hit on a hundred times already since he started working at the diner.

Two weeks had gone by and things between Justin and Brian were about the same, though they tried their best to make it seem like everything was fine, when it was so obvious it wasn't. For the first time ever in their friendship, they had tension, and Justin had no idea what to do about it. He hoped it would get resolved soon, because he really missed his best friend.

The bell above the door chimed, notifying someone was coming into the diner, and Justin looked up and smiled as he saw Michael, Brian and Todd. They took their usual table in the back, and Justin walked over to them.

"Hey, blondie. You're looking good, as always," Todd winked.

Justin laughed. He'd gotten used to Todd's flirting, and didn't mind it, really. He never noticed Brian's reaction when Todd made those kinds of comments though. Brian desperately tried not to show emotion over it, but it was hard. In fact, every time he witnessed a guy hitting on Justin, he had to force himself not to jump in front of the blond, shield him with his body, and shout, "Get away from him! He's mine!"

"I love making him blush," Todd smirked to Michael, who chuckled at him. Brian just sat there with a blank face and tried to ignore them.

"What can I get you guys?" Justin asked, pulling out his pad from his apron pocket, and his pen from behind his ear.

"Double cheeseburger and a coke," Michael answered.

"Philly steak sandwich with a side of fries, and root beer to drink," Todd answered. Justin nodded at them and then looked at Brian.

"I'm not really that hungry. I'll just have ice water," Brian said. Justin could tell that Brian looked a little upset, but didn't say anything. It wasn't a good time to ask him what was wrong when Michael and Todd were sitting right there.

"Okay, I'll be back in a minute," Justin said with a smile.

Brian watched as Justin walked away, and couldn't help let his eyes linger on the blond's ass. He felt himself harden in his jeans, and shifted uncomfortably in his seat, willing his cock to go down. All he could do lately was think about Justin and how much he wanted him. He just didn't have the courage to do or say anything about it.

Todd watched Brian carefully, and smiled to himself when he caught the brunet checking out Justin's ass as he walked away from their table. He knew that Brian felt something for Justin. He'd always known it since the day he met Justin. Nothing had changed since that summer. The two of them still had that strong sexually charged energy between them. It practically radiated off of them in waves, bouncing from one man to the other. Todd had been purposely flirting with Justin just to test his theory out, and by the scowls Brian thought Todd didn't notice, he just knew he was right. He was usually right about these kinds of things.

A while later, Justin brought the gang their food. He was standing there chatting with them for a few minutes as they ate, when suddenly someone interrupted them.

"Justin?" a voice asked. Justin turned around to see a familiar face in front of him and gave the man a big smile, then quickly walked over to him and gave him a big hug.

"Cameron! Wow, it's really good to see you," Justin said.

"I didn't think you'd be out here until July," Cameron ecstatically.

"Yeah, there was a change of plans. I decided to come earlier. I was anxious to get here and start the next phase of my life," Justin smiled.

"How long have you been in town?"

"A few weeks."

Cameron nodded and then took in Justin's appearance. He hadn't seen the blond in years, but he was still hot - even hotter than he was the last time he saw him. They had kept in touch mostly through email over the years. He was excited when he learned that Justin was moving to Pittsburgh. He attended PIFA and was happy knowing that Justin was going to be attending there as well.

"Well, you look great," Cameron said with a genuine smile.

"Thanks, so do you," Justin blushed.

"We should get together when you have the time. Let me give you my new cell number, and we can maybe go for coffee and hang out some time and catch up," Cameron said.

"Yeah, I'd really like that," Justin said. He grabbed his cell phone from his pocket and they each programmed the other's number into their phones.

"So, can I get you something to eat?" Justin asked.

"Actually, I just came to get a some coffee and lemon squares to go. I've got to be at work in 20 minutes," Cameron told him.

"Okay, I'll be right back," Justin said, and left to get his order.

Cameron smiled as he watched Justin.

"Hey, Cam!" Todd called out. Cameron turned to see his mutual friend, and walked over to their table.

"Hey guys," he said. They all nodded, and Cameron noticed that Brian didn't acknowledge him and just silently sat there and drank his ice water.

"So you still got the hots for young blondie, huh?" Todd smiled.

"Well, what can I say? What's not to like?" Cameron replied.

"Looks like your 1-year relationship with Kyle ended just in time," Todd said. He glanced at Brian who was shooting daggers at him.

"Who the fuck are you, the matchmaker?" Brian snapped. Todd put his hands up in defense.

Michael just sat there nervously, his eyes going from Todd to Brian and then up to Cameron, to see his reaction.

"Whoa, man. I'm just saying. Cameron here, is now single, and Justin is single. There's an obvious attraction and they both have art and PIFA in common," Todd said.

"I think you should mind your own fucking business for once," Brian spat.

They all stared at Brian in disbelief. Todd frowned at his friend. Brian didn't usually speak to anyone that way. He was always so laid back and hardly ever rude. In fact, Todd had told him before that sometimes he thought the brunet was too damn nice for his own good.

"Here, you go, Cameron. One coffee and a couple of lemon squares, to go," Justin said, handing him his order with a grin. Cameron pulled some bills out of his wallet and handed them to Justin.

"Thanks. I hope to hear from you," he told the blond. He turned to look at the others briefly. "I'll see you guys around," he told them, and walked out the door. Everyone at the table was silent and and there was a heavy feeling of tension in the air.

"What's eating you guys?" he asked.

"I've got to go," Brian suddenly said. "Mikey, let me out," he told his cousin, and Michael slid out of the booth so that Brian could leave. Once Brian stood up, he glanced at his friends and mumbled "See ya," and headed straight for the door.

"Did I miss something? What's with him?" Justin asked with a frown.

Michael looked at Todd, who then just shrugged. "Fuck if I know," and went about eating his lunch.

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

Brian stood outside of Justin and Emmett's apartment and waited for someone to answer the door. They weren't getting to the door fast enough, so he rang it a few more times.

"Don't get your thong in a bunch, I'm coming!" he heard Emmett yell. Suddenly the door burst open, and an irritated Emmett stood before him. He was wearing a flamboyant robe, and had some sort of green concoction spread all over his face. He wore a large headband which was securely pinned to his hair.

Brian started to laugh hysterically as he took in Emmett's appearance.

"Am I interrupting something?" he asked.

Emmett glared at Brian and crossed his arms. "As a matter of fact you are. If you must know, I was busy applying my homemade Avocado facial mask," Emmett said, annoyed.

"If you say so," Brian laughed.

Emmett put his hand on his hip and glared at Brian. "Was there an actual reason you came by or were you planning on standing outside my apartment all night being a judgmental asshole?" Emmett hissed.

"Uh-oh, watch out -- she's mad," Brian teased. Emmett rolled his eyes, and was about to slam the door in the other man's face when Brian placed his foot in the door, stopping him.

"Em, wait! You know I was only teasing," he said with a little smile. Emmett sighed. He couldn't stay pissed at Brian.

"You know that cute little smile isn't always going to work, Bri," he said, as he opened the door for Brian to enter his home.

"Well, we'll deal with that when it happens," Brian smirked.

Emmett walked back over to the sofa, put his right foot up on the coffee table, and started applying clear nail polish to it. Brian was about to make a smart ass remark about it being "Gay Spa Day", but then decided against it.

"So, what brings you by?" Emmett asked, his eyes never leaving his task at hand.

"Um, actually, I wanted to talk to Justin. Is he in his room?" Brian asked.

Emmett didn't look up at Brian as he shook his head.

"He sure isn't," he answered.

Brian frowned, and waited for Emmett to say more, but he didn't. "Okay... so are you going to tell me where he is?" he asked as if he were speaking to a 5 year old.

"He went out with Cameron," Emmett said nonchalantly, still focusing on putting the polish on his toes.

Brian felt sick to his stomach. He knew this was going to happen. It was only a matter of time. He wasted a bunch of time being a scared pussy, and now Cameron has come along to sweep Justin off his feet, and it might be too late for him now. He was blowing his chance with Justin.

"He did?" Brian asked, trying not to show how much it destroyed him to hear that.

"Yep."

"Well, you mean like, it was a date?" he asked.

"Well, Cameron picked him up here, and they planned on eating somewhere, so I guess that could constitute as a date," Emmett answered.

Brian pinched the bridge of his nose. He had a headache. Or maybe it was heartache?

Emmett finally looked up at Brian, and saw his distraught look. He felt for the guy.

"Look, Brian, you and I have been friends for years, and I love you, so I'm going to give you some advice. I know that you love Justin. So what I suggest you do, is stop with the bullshit and just tell him how you feel. Talk to him. At least then you guys could come to some sort of understanding instead of all this tension and dancing around. And do it soon; not only are you making yourselves miserable by dragging this out, you're driving me crazy, as well," Emmett said.

Brian gave Emmett a surprised look. The tall queen always had a no-nonsense attitude, and now he was giving Brian a reality check. It was exactly what he needed.

"I want to, Em. Believe me. It's just that I'm terrified of losing him," Brian admitted.

"Well, like my Aunt Lulu used to say, 'Honey, life is all a gamble. You can't sit here and worry about what might or might not happen, or you'll never do anything. You've got to be willing to take chances,'" Emmett quoted.

Brian smiled at his friend. He was right.

"Talk to him, Brian," Emmett said, placing his hand affectionately on the other man's shoulder.

"I will."

Brian thanked Emmett, and gave him a hug, then left the apartment.

He would go home and think about what he needed to say to Justin, and then tomorrow they would sit and have their long overdue talk about their feelings and what it was they wanted. Brian felt better already just knowing that they would be getting everything out in the open. He smiled to himself as the thought occurred to him that soon Justin would be exactly where he was supposed to be - with him.