Unbrotherly Love

Part 8

Secrecy

Brian and Justin lay on the sofa together, snuggled under a blanket, watching X-Men 2. Claire had taken Molly to her apartment for the night for a "girl's night", and Justin and Brian could have jumped for joy. It was their last night alone before their parents were to return from their honeymoon, and they intended to put their time alone to good use.

They were less than thrilled about having to go back to hiding their affection for each other around their family. Over the last 9 days they had lived freely as a couple (except when Molly was around), and had gotten used to being comfortable that way. Now it seemed like such a huge step backward for them to have to go back to the way things were before. They had grown so much as a couple since their parents left, and they had no idea how they were supposed to hold back their feelings for each other around the family, once everything was back to its regular routine.

"Fuck, Hugh Jackman is so hot, even with that stupid hair," Brian commented.

Justin chuckled in response and nodded in agreement. "Well, he is Wolverine," he pointed out.

"Yeah. I guess it doesn't matter anyway, 'cause I'd still fuck him - stupid hair and all," Brian said with a grin.

Justin frowned and then smacked the arm that Brian had wrapped around him.

"Ow," Brian laughed. "Spouse abuse," he said, pretending to look wounded.

"You're not allowed to fuck Hugh Jackman," Justin told him.

"Would you feel better if it were a threesome?" Brian asked with an innocent smile.

Justin thought about that a moment and then smiled. "Hmm. That does sound hot," he said, and kissed Brian.

The two of them starting making out, and the movie was forgotten. They finally came up for air about 20 minutes later.

"I'm going to miss this," Justin whispered, tracing his finger over Brian's flushed lips.

"It's not as if we're breaking up, Jus. We just have to be careful about how we handle ourselves in front of our family and other people," Brian said softly, while running his hand through Justin's blond locks.

"I know... it's just that I'm going to miss being here with you like this. Just hanging out, watching a movie and snuggling on the couch, and you know, just reaching over and kissing you if I want to," Justin said, and then did just that, letting his lips linger a bit before pulling away from his boyfriend's mouth.

"I'm going to miss this too," Brian admitted.

"Christ, how the fuck are we going to do this? This sucks, Brian," Justin frowned.

"We'll get through it. Don't worry," Brian told him, soothingly rubbing circles on Justin's back.

"What if someone finds out about us?" Justin asked.

"If they do, then they do. I don't want to lie about us, but I will if that's what we've got to do. I really don't see the point though, since eventually people are going to find out about us anyway. I mean, we can't pretend forever, and I wouldn't want to. I'm not ashamed of us, and I don't want to deny what we have," Brian told Justin.

"And you think I do?" Justin asked defensively.

"I didn't say that," Brian said sternly. Justin sighed, then nodded before putting his head down on Brian's chest.

"I know. It's just that... well you know. My mom doesn't even know that I'm gay. I don't know how she'll react, but I have an idea that she's going to freak out. Your dad is a laid back kind of guy, and I think he might actually be okay with your sexuality, but my mom... I just don't know. And my dad?" Justin snorted. "When he finds out, all Hell is going to break loose," he said with a sigh.

"I know it might be too much to take in at once - first, that you're gay, and second, that you're in love with your stepbrother. Maybe we should start slower," Brian suggested.

"What do you mean?" Justin asked.

"Maybe we should just come out to our parents; get that part out of the way. Then in a few months when they've had a chance to get used to it, we can tell them about us," Brian said.

"But don't you think that if we come out to them at the same time they're going to assume that because we're both gay that there is something going on between us?" Justin asked.

"We don't know for sure what they're going to think. You could be right, though," Brian said thoughtfully. "We don't have to make any decisions right now," Brian told him.

"Good, because all I want to do right now is go to bed," Justin said with a teasing smile.

"Not to go to sleep, I hope, 'cause I've got other plans for you, blondie," Brian said huskily, finding Justin's cock, and rubbing it through his boxers.

Justin moaned and kissed Brian urgently, his dick fully erect now. "Come on, let's go," Justin said with breathless smile. Brian just grinned in response as Justin rolled off of him and pulled him toward his bedroom.

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

"Oh my, the weather was so beautiful. I didn't want to leave!" Jennifer gushed, as the family ate their dinner. Jennifer hadn't felt like cooking so they ordered in Chinese take-out.

"I had to remind her that we had children waiting for us back home, so we actually had to come back home," Jack chuckled.

"Sounds like you guys had a really good time," Justin said, taking a bite of his Chicken Lo Mein.

"We all have to go back there for a family vacation. San Diego is really beautiful. There's lots of things for families to do. They have Sea World, and the zoo... We went to this amazing place called Old Towne. It must have had 20 different authentic Mexican food restaurants to choose from," Jennifer rambled.

"It's not too far of a drive from Los Angeles either. We could always rent a car and go to Disneyland or Universal Studios or something," Jack suggested.

"Yay!" Molly cheered.

Jack laughed. "We can't go yet, kiddo. It takes a lot of planning to go on a family vacation," he told the excited little girl.

"Aww, but I want to go now," Molly whined.

Justin rolled his eyes at his annoying little sister, and Brian smirked.

"We'll talk about it again soon, and you can even help with the planning," Jennifer told her with an assuring smile, and that seemed to satisfy Molly enough to shut her up. She of course failed to mention that it probably wouldn't be for another year before they could have the vacation. They had already spent a fortune on their wedding and honeymoon. They couldn't afford a luxurious family vacation in California just yet.

"So what did you boys do to keep yourselves busy while we were gone?" Jennifer asked casually, and then took a bite of her sweet and sour chicken.

Justin and Brian looked at each other and tried not to smile. They weren't about to share the details of how they spent their time around the house. Somehow, they doubted their parents would appreciate knowing all the different places in the house where they had fucked, sucked, rimmed and rammed.

"Oh, you know, the usual. Just watched movies, ordered pizza; had the guys over a few times," Brian answered. Justin nodded in agreement.

"Did you spend any time at your father's house?" Jennifer asked her son.

Justin frowned. "No. I never said I would," Justin said, trying to hold his temper.

He hated that his mother was always trying to fix things between him and his father. Craig was a selfish prick who wanted to control his life, and Justin couldn't stand being around him anymore. Craig's hostility towards his son continued to get worse after their falling out over his quitting baseball. He seemed incapable of saying anything civil to Justin, and he had no qualms throwing in the fact that he was ashamed to have a quitter for a son, each time they saw each other. Justin had finally given up on the idea of them getting along, and tried to avoid him as much as he could.

"I know you didn't, I just thought that maybe you two might take the opportunity to talk and work things out," Jennifer told him.

"Mom, just drop it, okay?" Justin said, his frustration rising.

"I just think that you should talk to him."

"Mom..."

Brian looked at his boyfriend with worry, knowing that he was getting upset. Craig was a sensitive subject for the blond. Jennifer wasn't leaving it alone, and Brian could see that he was getting angrier.

"Justin, he's still your fa --"

Justin dropped his fork, causing it to clank loudly against his plate, and then looked at his mother in exasperation.

"I know that, Mother! But the problem is, he doesn't seem to remember what it's like to actually act like a father. When he stops giving me shit for wanting to be myself instead of a carbon copy of him, then maybe we can talk. Until then he can fuck off," Justin hissed.

With the exception of Brian, who saw the outburst coming, they all stared at him in surprise. Molly had her hand over her mouth, surprised at her brother's yelling and cursing.

"Justin!" Jennifer gasped.

"Don't speak to your mother that way," Jack said sternly.

"Sorry," Justin grumbled, and kept his eyes on his food, desperately hoping someone would change the subject. He had lost his appetite, but he didn't want to act like some stupid drama princess by leaving the table and running to his room and slamming his door, so he opted to take another bite of his food, which had seemed to have lost its flavor.

There was a bit of awkward silence then at the table, and Justin continued to fume as he picked at his dinner with his fork. Suddenly, he felt a hand on his knee. He immediately looked over at Brian, who was giving him a look that was silently asking if he was okay. Justin gave him a weak smile and nodded, as if reading his mind. Brian gave him an uncertain smile, but returned his attention back to his own food. He would talk to Justin about it later.

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

Justin sat alone in his room, sketching in his pad, when he heard the knock on the door.

"Who is it?" he asked.

"It's Mom," Jennifer replied. Justin sighed and rolled his eyes. The last thing he wanted was to talk to his mother about his father again. "Can I come in?" she asked when Justin hadn't invited her.

"Yeah," Justin called out dryly.

Jennifer let herself into the room, closed the door behind her, and came over to Justin's bed to sit next to him. She looked over at the drawing of Brian's face, and smiled.

"That's very good," she told him.

"Thanks," he said quietly, continuing to shade in some of the features.

"I'm glad you're doing what makes you happy, Justin. You have great potential as an artist. I'm proud of you for going for what you really want, instead of what your father wants," she told him, smoothing away a blond strand of hair that hung in his eye.

Justin looked up at his mother's soft expression. "You are?" he asked.

"Yes."

"I don't think he's ever going to get over it," Justin sighed.

"I know that he does love you, Justin. He always will. It's just hard for him to accept that you're growing up, and that you're capable of making your own decisions. I don't think he ever dreamed that you wouldn't want the same things that he wanted for you."

"Well, that's just too bad," Justin said.

"You should have seen how happy he was when he learned I was pregnant with a boy," Jennifer recalled with a smile. "He was so excited and looking forward to doing all the things that fathers and sons do. He was already planning your future before I gave birth," Jennifer chuckled.

"And now I'm just a big, fat disappointment to him," Justin said sadly.

"He'll come around. Just give him some time to accept it," Jennifer said. Justin couldn't help but think of his two best kept secrets presently, and how his father would react to them. Even if Craig eventually got over Justin's decision to give up baseball for art, he doubted that his father would ever get over him being gay. He'd heard him make snarky remarks about homosexuals before. He inwardly sighed, as he thought he might as well get used to the idea of his father hating him for the rest of his life.

"I love you," Jennifer told her son, seeing the sad look on his face. She knew how much Justin wanted his father to accept him.

"I love you too," Justin said, accepting his mother's hug. "I'm glad you had a good time on your honeymoon," he smiled.

"Thanks, sweetie. We really did."

"And... Jack is a good guy, and I know he'll be good to you. I'm glad you married him," Justin admitted.

"Me too," Jennifer said, her eyes a little teary. Her son didn't say things like this to her very often, so she couldn't help but get a little emotional over it. She kissed his forehead. "Goodnight," she said.

"Night, Mom," he told her.

As Jennifer opened the door, Brian was standing there about to knock. "Goodnight, Brian," she told him quietly.

"Night, Jen," Brian replied.

"Don't you two stay up too late," Jennifer told the teen. He saw her wipe her eyes and sniffle as she left the room, and wondered what had been said between the two. He looked inside the room and saw Justin sitting on his bed, working on a sketch.

"Hey, is it safe to come in?" Brian asked in the doorway. Justin looked up and smiled at him.

"Yeah."

Brian walked in and made sure to close and lock the door behind him before walking over the blond's bed.

"Who's that guy you drew?" Brian asked with a smirk, as he leaned over to get a look at the sketch. He sat down next to his boyfriend and placed a light kiss to his temple.

"Oh, just the hottest fucking guy I know. He's a pretty good fuck, too," Justin smiled.

"Really. You should introduce us," Brian laughed, and then leaned in to kiss his boyfriend. Justin snaked out his tongue and slipped it into Brian's mouth, causing the brunet to moan into the kiss. Eventually they pulled away from each other.

"Are you okay?" Brian asked.

Justin knew Brian was referring to his outburst at dinner, and sighed. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just got pissed off. My mom was pushing me about talking to my dad, and I really want nothing to do with him. I hate him. I fucking hate him," Justin said, gripping his sketch pencil tighter.

Brian looked into Justin's blue eyes, and saw the sadness and hurt there. He cupped his boyfriend's face in his hands and shook his head at him slightly. "No, you don't. You love him, and that's why it hurts so bad," Brian told him.

Justin felt himself tear up, as Brian's words hit home. He took a deep breath and tried to keep himself from bawling. He didn't want to cry like a silly little faggot. He felt so pathetic. Why was he so weak?

Brian saw the look on Justin's face and could tell he was straining to hold his emotions back. "Justin," he said softly, still holding his face in his hands. "It's okay to be sad. It's okay to cry," he told him.

At those words, Justin felt the stinging in his eyes intensify, and his vision blurred as his eyes welled up. He felt himself letting go, now, and not a moment later, he felt Brian gather him in his arms and hold him for a few minutes, as he let go of his emotions that he had been bottling inside for a while. Justin had never allowed himself to cry over this, and had tried to convince himself that the situation with his father didn't affect him that much. He knew that wasn't true though. The real truth was that he missed the relationship that he had with his dad, and sometimes even caught himself wishing that he had just stayed with baseball like his father had wanted, because then at least the man would still love him.

Brian gently rocked Justin, and lovingly caressed his hair right above the back of his neck. "Shhh, it's okay," he whispered into his ear as Justin sobbed.

"Brian..." Justin choked out. "My dad is never going to love me again," he hiccuped.

"Shush, baby. You don't know that," Brian whispered. Justin shook his head at Brian, and looked at him.

"When he finds out that I'm gay, that will be it. He'll really hate me... even more than he already does," Justin said, continuing to cry.

Brian didn't say anything. He didn't want to give his boyfriend false hope. He had no idea how Craig would react to Justin being gay. He couldn't guarantee him that the man would be okay with it. The only thing he could do was offer him support, so he just continued to whisper comforting words to the one he loved.

"I want you to sleep in here with me tonight," Justin sniffled. Brian didn't need to think twice about his decision.

"I'm not going anywhere," Brian promised. He pulled off his own shirt and removed his pants, and then did the same for Justin, leaving them both in just their underwear. He pulled back the covers so they could crawl under them. He next flipped off the lamp on the nightstand, and spooned up behind Justin, stroking his arm softly with his fingers, the way he knew Justin liked.

"I love you, Brian," Justin said, and then turned his face to kiss him. Brian met his lips, and kissed him back tenderly. Justin turned his body around so he could wrap his arms around the brunet as he kissed him. The kiss grew more urgent the longer it went on, and the need to be as one was overpowering. "I need you," Justin panted, and rubbed Brian's cock through his underwear.

Brian nodded at Justin, and then kissed his neck softly. "I'm here. I'll give you what you need," he whispered, and started removing Justin's boxers. The blond's cock was rock hard, and as he gripped it, Justin moaned and started moving his hips.

"Brian," Justin pleaded.

"Yes, Sunshine?" Brian replied calmly, as he stroked the blond tortuously slow, teasing him.

"I..." Justin panted harder.

"You what? Talk to me," Brian urged, nibbling lightly on his earlobe.

"I want you inside me," Justin finally gasped.

Brian placed two fingers into Justin's mouth, and the blond eagerly sucked on them, getting them wet, growing even more excited knowing where the fingers were going to be any moment. When Brian felt his fingers were wet enough, he removed them from Justin's hot mouth, brought them down to his ass, and inserted them into his tight, winking hole.

Justin moaned, and Brian shushed him. "Quiet, Sunshine. We're not alone in this house anymore," Brian warned. Justin nodded, forgetting that they had to be more careful now.

Brian's fingers worked in and out of Justin, causing him to squirm and buck back on the plunging digits, trying to get them deeper inside of him. It took everything in him to keep from screaming out in pleasure.

"Feel good?" Brian asked huskily.

"Oh God. Yes. I want more. More, Brian," Justin begged.

Brian let go of Justin's cock, causing the other boy to let out a small groan. He reached into the top drawer of the nightstand and pulled out a condom and lube. Soon his sheathed dick was pressing against Justin's entrance.

"I'll always be here for you. Don't ever forget that," Brian told him, and then pushed the head of his cock inside his angel. He was continually amazed that every time he made love to Justin, it felt like the first time. He was always so tight. His love for the blond grew more and more intense each time he was inside of him.

Justin bit down on his lip to keep from shouting out as Brian expertly pumped in and out of him over and over. He wanted to scream dirty things to his lover as he rode him, but he knew that he couldn't do that with their family just down the hall.

"God, you feel so good," Brian whispered in between kisses.

"You do too... I'm so close, Brian," Justin said breathlessly, oblivious to the beads of sweat rolling down the side of his face.

Brian nodded. He was close too. He grabbed a hold of Justin's cock and started stroking it in time with his thrusts, and soon Justin was about to shout out that he was coming, when Brian covered his mouth in a deep penetrating kiss as he released his own climax. They rode out the blissful waves together.

Brian kissed and caressed Justin's face and neck as they came down from their high. "I love you," Brian whispered. Justin smiled back at him and nodded, wrapping his arms behind Brian's neck to hug him.

"So you're staying tonight?" Justin asked hopefully.

"I'll stay. But we have to at least put on our underwear in case someone walks in," Brian told him.

"No one is going to walk in, the door's locked," Justin pointed out.

"I'm going to unlock it. It will be too suspicious if we sleep in here with the door locked," Brian told him. Justin sighed with a nod. He hated that they couldn't sleep naked together like they'd been able to for the last 10 days. He loved feeling Brian's skin against his. He loved waking up in his arms.

Brian rolled out of bed and picked up his underwear that had been tossed on the floor, and pulled them on. He then walked over to the door and unlocked it, though he left it closed. When he returned to the bed, Justin was pulling on his boxers.

"I should probably put on my T-shirt, too," Brian said.

"I guess," Justin said quietly, and got back under the covers. Brian looked at him, and could tell he wasn't happy about any of this.

"I know it sucks, but you wanted me to stay with you, so in order to do that, we have to do whatever we need to so we don't get caught," Brian reminded him.

"I know, I understand. But I don't have to like it," Justin pouted.

Brian chuckled at his lover and gathered him in his arms. "You're so cute when you pout," he said, kissing his cheek.

"Whatever," Justin said in annoyance.

"Night," Brian whispered.

"Night," Justin replied, closing his eyes. "Thank you," he added.

"Any time," Brian smiled, and felt his eyelids grow heavier.

They were both asleep within minutes.

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

Brian awoke to the urgent need to urinate. As quietly and carefully as he could, he got up from Justin's bed. He glanced at the clock and saw that it was after 7:00a.m. Slowly, he opened the door so it wouldn't make much noise. As he was coming out, he ran right into his father, who was dressed for work and had been heading back down the hall towards the kitchen.

"Dad," Brian said, a bit startled.

"Morning, Sonnyboy. Didn't expect to see you coming out of there. Did you sleep with Justin last night?" he asked, taking in Brian's bed head and sleepy eyes.

"Uh, what? Why would you think that?" Brian stammered. He was still only half awake, and his head was unclear. He wasn't sure if Jack was implying anything.

"Well, you're coming out of Justin's room at --" Jack looked at his watch. "7:23 in the morning. It just made sense to ask you if you slept in there last night," Jack said. It finally dawned on Brian what his father was asking.

"Oh, right. Yeah. Justin was upset about his father, and we stayed up talking about it until late. I guess I fell asleep in there. I just got up to go to my own bed," Brian lied.

Jack nodded at him, not sure whether to shrug off his son's strange behavior. He had the guilty looking face right now. Jack had always told Brian that he shouldn't ever lie - because he was fucking lousy at it. He decided to let it go. It was early enough to write it off as tiredness.

"Well, I'm on my way to the kitchen to get the coffee started. Since I'm assuming that your lazy ass is going back to bed, I guess the next time I'll see you is tonight at dinner," Jack smirked.

"You're just jealous that you can't sleep in," Brian smiled. "And that you're no longer young and have the summers off," he added with a chuckle.

"Damn fucking right, I'm jealous. Look at you and Justin; you two have it made. Enjoy your youth to the fullest while you can, Sonnyboy, because before you know it, it will be gone," Jack told him, patting him on the back, and then walked away.

Brian shrugged and immediately headed towards the bathroom to relieve himself. When he was finished doing his business, he decided it would be best to go to his own bed. He didn't want to have to explain anything to anyone else today. That had been a close call with his father. He was pretty sure that Jack hadn't suspected anything. He knew though that they had to be even more careful. It would seem strange if he was repeatedly seen coming out of Justin's bedroom in the morning or vice versa. Brian sighed, and decided to worry about it later. He was too tired to think about it right now. He made his way back to his own bedroom and climbed into his own bed, laying on his own cold sheets, and pulled his own covers up over him. It seemed so big; so lonely in that bed without Justin. He much rather would have liked to have gone back to the blond's bedroom and climbed into his warm bed, and to have snuggled up to his body which always heated up at the touch.

Justin, and his warm body was still on Brian's mind when he finally fell back asleep.

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

Justin was in the backyard sunbathing and reading a book, when his cell phone started ringing.

"Hey, Emmett," Justin answered, having looked at the Caller ID.

"Hi, sweetie. How are things over in the land of romance with Mr. Wonderful?" Emmett asked.

"Fantastic - except that our parents came home yesterday from their honeymoon," Justin said, rolling his eyes.

"Oh, sorry. That sucks," Emmett said sympathetically.

"Yeah, but oh, well," Justin shrugged. There was nothing they could do to change things. "So what's up?" Justin asked.

"Well, I wanted to give you a little heads up on something," Emmett said.

"Really? On what?"

"Michael... he's not in a good mood these days. He keeps talking about how you and Brian are doomed to fail, and how your relationship is just temporary... and..." Emmett paused.

"And? What, Em?" Justin asked, not liking the hesitance in his friend's voice.

"And, well he says that once people find out about you two that it will be enough controversy to break you up, anyway," Emmett finished.

"What does he mean, 'once people find out about us'?" Justin asked, angrily.

"Well, I'm not sure, exactly, which is why I was giving you a heads up. Michael is very jealous of your relationship with Brian, and I'm not sure how far he would go to see that you two don't stay together," Emmett said.

"Shit," Justin said under his breath. "Why can't that fucking whining little prick stay the fuck out of our business?" Justin spat. He was so pissed with Michael he could hardly see straight. That asshole was going to try to break him and Brian up. Well, not if he could help it...

"I don't know, but if I were you, I'd watch what I said around him, Justin. You never know what he might do with certain information," Emmett warned.

"Thanks, Em. We owe you," Justin said gratefully.

"No, prob, sweetie. I'll continue to watch him closely," Emmett said.

"Thanks. I'll talk to you later," Justin said.

"Okay, later."

Justin felt like throwing his cell phone on the ground, just to get out his aggravation.

"What's wrong?"

Justin looked up to see Brian standing there in his swimming trunks.

"Hey. You're finally awake. I thought you were going to sleep the whole day away," Justin smirked.

Brian leaned in and pecked his boyfriend on the lips. "It's only noon. We're teenagers, and it's summer. We're allowed to sleep until noon. Besides, I got up early this morning and had trouble getting back to sleep, which is probably why I was tired enough to sleep until now," Brian told him.

"Yeah, I was so disappointed when I woke up and you weren't there," Justin frowned.

"Sorry. I got up to go to the bathroom, and ran right into Dad. I decided it was more safe to just go back to my own room," Brian explained.

"Oh."

"Don't worry though, I don't think he suspected anything," Brian assured him.

"Good."

"So, who were you just talking to, and why did you look like you wanted to murder someone?" Brian asked, sitting in the lawn chair next to Justin's.

Justin sighed. "It was Emmett, calling to warn us about Michael."

Brian frowned. "Warn us about Michael... why?" he asked.

"Emmett said that he's been talking shit. He's not happy about us being together, and says that we're not going to last, blah, blah, blah," Justin said rolling his eyes.

"So what? Why should we worry about that? Who gives a shit what Michael thinks?" Brian asked.

"Well, he said to Emmett, that when people find out about you and I, that the controversy is going to be enough to break us up," Justin said.

"Is that some kind of hidden threat that he's going to tell people about us?" Brian said, feeling his own anger rise.

"That's what I was thinking, which is why I was so pissed when you came out here," Justin explained.

"Looks like I'm going to have to have a little talk with Mikey," Brian said, shaking his head, and seemingly deep in thought.

"Let's not think about it right now. Want to go swimming?" Justin asked.

"Sure," Brian nodded.

The boys had really been grateful for a pool that summer. Shortly after Jennifer, Molly and Justin had moved into the Kinneys' house, Jack had a pool built in the backyard, since Jennifer's house had always had one, and the kids loved it so much. They all ended up being relieved that the decision to have a pool put in was made by June, because it seemed that that summer would be even hotter than the last.

Brian suddenly pushed Justin into the shallow end of the pool, making him yelp before he fell into the water.

"Hey!" he protested, once he came up to the surface.

"That was payback for the last time you did that to me!" Brian laughed, and then dived into the deep end.

Justin swam over to him and they splashed each other, and played around. A couple of hours later, two very pruned and golden tanned teens finally got out of the pool and laid out in the sun to dry.

"Hey, Justin," Brian said softly, as he turned his head in Justin's direction.

"Hmm?" Justin asked, his eyes closed.

"We're going to be okay," Brian assured him.

Justin opened his eyes, and turned to face Brian, who had a serious and determined look on his face. He reached out his hand, and Brian took it in his, squeezing it slightly and smiling at him.

"I hope so," Justin answered.