Where I Belong

The Date

After a quick shower, Brian rushed around his loft, keeping in mind that this was not one of those times that he should be fashionably late. He hadn't expected to be getting back to his loft so late, but a last minute meeting had been set up by a new potential client. They had gotten word how brilliant Brian Kinney was, and after a disaster with a previous ad agency, the owner of the company immediately contacted the Ryder Agency, hoping that Brian Kinney and his hardworking staff could fix and improve what the last agency had screwed up. As always, Brian dazzled them, and landed the account, but unfortunately it took a bit longer than he thought it would, and now Brian was rushing around -- something he hated to do. He liked to take his time, which was one of the reasons he was often late showing up to places. But this time was different. For some reason, he felt the need to be punctual. First impressions were everything, though why that mattered to him at this particular time, was unknown to him.

It was a good thing that Brian had already decided earlier in the day what he was going to wear tonight. He opened his closet and quickly fished out the clothing he had already mentally picked out, and got dressed. He was busy styling his damp hair, when he heard a knock on his door. He groaned out in frustration. Why did everyone constantly feel the need to show up at his place unannounced? If he didn't leave very soon, he was going to be late. He decided to ignore the knocking - maybe whoever it was would think he wasn't home, or that he was passed out drunk, or fucking some trick, and would go the fuck away.

No such luck.

He heard his loft door slide open, and he sighed in annoyance. Mikey.

"Brian?" he heard Michael call out as he walked into the loft.

Brian didn't answer him, as he walked into his bedroom to put on his socks and shoes.

"Didn't you hear me calling you? Why didn't you answer your door?" Michael asked with a frown as he stood in front of the steps that led to Brian's bedroom.

"Maybe because I was fucking busy, Mikey," Brian answered, as he tied his laces, not bothering to look up at his best friend.

"You don't have to bite my head off, asshole," Michael muttered. Brian smirked and finally looked up at the other man.

"Well, being that you just walked into my loft uninvited, I think I have a right, wouldn't you agree?" Brian asked, staring his friend in the eyes. "So glad I gave you a key for emergencies," Brian said sarcastically, and then got up to grab his wallet and coat.

"I thought we could go shoot some pool at Woody's. Emmett and Ted said they would meet us there," Michael said, ignoring Brian's previous comment.

"If you had called first, you would have known that I already have other plans," Brian told him.

"What, are you off to the baths?" Michael smirked.

Brian slipped on his Hugo Boss jacket, and then grabbed his keys. He then put his arm around Michael's shoulders, and walked with him to the door. "Ba-bye, Mikey. Tell Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum I said hello," Brian said with fake enthusiasm, and walked out the door with him, closing it behind them, and then set the alarm.

"But Bri --" Michael started to say. Brian quickly leaned in and gave Michael a peck on the lips - a sure way to get him off his back.

"Gotta go, Mikey," Brian told him, and hurried down the steps. He figured it would be faster than taking the elevator, and he also wouldn't have to deal with Michael's questions.

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

Justin nervously looked himself over in the full length mirror and then ran his fingers through his hair.

"God, Jay, you've already checked your hair out five times, and each time it's been fine," Katie told her adopted brother with a chuckle. She thought it was cute that Justin was all nervous and excited.

"I just want to make sure I don't look like a total spaz," Justin told her. Katie rolled her eyes back at him.

"Justin, you have never, nor will you ever be a spaz. Stop being ridiculous," Katie told him. Justin looked back at her and smiled.

"I know, you're right. It's just that this feels like a big deal. Brian told me before that he doesn't believe in relationships, and he also said that he didn't do dates, and now here I am, waiting for him to pick me up. I just don't want to screw it up," Justin admitted.

"Well, look at it this way. If you screw it up, it won't be because of your hair, or how you look tonight, because you look fucking hot. If you were straight, and not like a brother to me, I would so want to snag you for a boyfriend," Katie said with an honest smile.

"Uh... thanks, I think?" Justin laughed.

"So do you know where he's taking you?" she asked. Justin nodded.

"An Italian restaurant called Piccolo Mondo," Justin told her.

Katie's eyes went wide. "Wow! He certainly has expensive taste. I've heard that place is really nice," she told him.

"Oh, that's just great," he said with a frown. He was uncomfortable around high maintenance people. His own biological family was that way, and he couldn't stand that about them.

Katie could see Justin's mood change, and walked over to him and leaned her head on his shoulder.

"Come on, don't think the worst. Give tonight a chance. First impressions are everything. If he turns out to be a lousy date tonight, just tell him you'd rather be friends," Katie suggested. Justin nodded at her in agreement.

It was then that they heard a knock on Justin's door. Katie and Justin smiled at each other excitedly.

"Well? Go on and answer it," she urged.

Justin nodded and gave himself one last look in the mirror before answering his door. As he took in Brian's appearance, the first thing that came to his mind was, 'Fuck the date, I'd rather have <i>you</i> as my main course.' Brian looked amazing.

"Hey," Brian said with a smile, taking in Justin's appearance. He looked hot, tonight. Not that he ever didn't. Shit, he even looked hot when he was working behind the bar at O'Connell's. Justin was wearing dark fitted pants, and a sky blue button up shirt, and a dark blazer over it. He looked good enough to eat.

"Hi," Justin replied back, and continued to stare at the tall drink of water. Soon they heard someone clearing their throat.

"Shouldn't you guys get going before you're late for your reservation?" Katie asked. Brian looked up and noticed for the first time that his half sister was in the room.

"Yeah, I guess we should, after all the effort I put into trying to get here on time," Brian smirked.

"Well, have fun you two, and make sure to have him home by midnight," Katie teased. Justin let out a forced laugh and then gave her a dirty look.

"Katie's a big kidder," he told Brian, who just nodded, and gave him a tongue in cheek smile. They waved goodbye to her and walked down the steps from his garage apartment.

"What happens after midnight? Do your balls turn back into pumpkins?" Brian asked with a laugh.

"Ha-ha! You really should do stand-up," Justin said sarcastically. Brian just laughed again.

They made small talk on the way to the restaurant. The more they talked, the more Justin started to relax. He was looking forward to maybe having a glass of wine or something. He was still feeling ridiculously nervous going on this date with Brian. He wasn't even sure why he was so nervous. He'd been on plenty of dates before. He knew this was different though. Brian didn't "do" dates, but for some reason, he was making an exception for him.

Justin was impressed when they arrived at the restaurant. It was spacious, and had a very warm and friendly environment. It was busy, and Justin looked around the large room, noticing that everyone seemed to really be enjoying themselves, as well as the food and drink.

When they were seated, Brian immediately ordered them a couple of glasses of Merlot. Justin continued to look around the room, taking notice of the large chandelier hanging from the ceiling. Brian watched as the other man continually observed his surroundings and smiled at him.

"Is it to your standards?" he asked.

Justin smiled, knowing that Brian was teasing him. He took a sip of his wine before answering. "It's very nice. Not only because of how it looks, because it's definitely classy, but it just has a great atmosphere. A warm, friendly, even romantic feel, to it," Justin told him.

Brian was tempted to make a sarcastic remark about romance, but something told him to bite his tongue, for once. So instead, he just nodded, and then concentrated on the menu in front of him, even though he already knew what he wanted to order.

After they ordered dinner, they took the opportunity to get to know each other better. Brian mainly stayed with the subject of work, not really wanting to talk about his life growing up or his past. Justin noticed, but didn't say anything. They were having a good time, and he didn't want to put a damper on the evening by bringing up things that Brian felt uncomfortable talking about.

"So tell me about having Daniel as a father, growing up," Brian said, cutting into his New York steak. Justin grinned at him.

"Daniel is a great father. He's always been there for me when I needed him. He's so dedicated to his family. I've never met a more kind, compassionate man. When my parents kicked me out of the house, I couldn't believe that he took me in without a second thought. I mean, it wasn't even up for discussion. I showed up at his door with bags in hand, with the intention of asking if I could stay for a couple of days, just until I could figure out what I was going to do. He took my bags from me and set them inside the house, and then, and I'll never forget this; he took me into a big hug, and just held me for a few moments, then said, 'If they can't accept you for who you are, then with them, is not really where you belong. Welcome to our family.' And that was it. I instantly became part of their family," Justin said with a smile.

Brian smiled back at the blond. He was happy for Justin and was glad that he was taken in by Daniel's family. Who knows what might have happened if he hadn't. He only wished that he had known about his biological father when he was growing up. His life might have been a lot different. He might have been... happy.

"Do you ever talk to your biological parents?" Brian asked.

Justin shook his head. "No, and I'm more than fine with it being that way. The only thing is, they won't let me see or talk to my younger sister. I send her birthday and Christmas cards every year, but that's the most contact I've had with her," Justin said sadly.

"Fortunately, my sister, Claire, is a homophobic cunt, so I don't care whether or not I see her. In fact, the farther away from her, the better," Brian smirked.

Justin was a bit surprised by Brian's comment, and wondered if the other man might be a little buzzed from the wine. It was the first time he had said anything about his family. Or maybe, it could be that Brian was feeling comfortable enough to open up to him a little bit. He hoped that was the case.

Conversation continued to flow as they ate their dinner, and they were both having a good time. When the waiter asked if they cared for dessert, Justin didn't hesitate to ask for the dessert menu. Brian chuckled at the blond and shook his head, as he watched the man look over the menu, intently. Justin looked up at Brian with a questioning look.

"What?" he asked.

"After all that garlic bread, the salad, and the huge-ass serving of Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo, how is it even possible that you have room for dessert?" Brian asked.

"There's always enough room for dessert," Justin simply answered with a smile, and then turned his attention back to the menu. Soon after, the waiter came back to their table.

"Did you decide on what you would like?" the waiter asked.

Justin smiled at him, and nodded. "I'd like The New York Cheesecake with berries and whipped cream," he told him, handing him the menu.

"Very good choice," the waiter assured him.

"We'd also like a couple of cups of coffee... and could you also bring two forks?" Justin added, and looked over at Brian, who was raising a brow at him.

"No problem," the waiter replied with a smile, before walking away from their table.

"Two forks?" Brian asked with an amused look.

"Oh, come on. You can't miss out on dessert at a place like this. And look at it this way -- you won't feel guilty about eating a whole piece all by yourself, because you'll be sharing with me," Justin told him with an innocent smile.

Brian didn't argue, and decided to just indulge for once. When the cheesecake arrived, he grabbed one of the forks and actually enjoyed sharing the dessert with Justin.

After leaving the restaurant they got into Brian's jeep. Justin turned toward Brian and smiled.

"Dinner was great, Brian. Thank you," Justin told him.

Brian just smiled back at him and nodded, grateful that the younger man was pleased.

"So what now? Are you planning on taking me home or are we going to keep this date going?" Justin asked. He was having a good time and hoped that Brian would want to spend some more time with him tonight.

"It's up to you. If you want to go home, I'll take you home. Otherwise, I'm sure we can find something to do for fun," Brian said, giving Justin an irresistible smile, that made his cock jump at attention.

"What did you have in mind?" Justin asked.

"Well, let's see. We could go to the movies..." Brian suggested.

Justin wrinkled his nose in response. "Nah. There's nothing good playing right now," he said.

"We could go bowling." Brian kept a straight face, though he was only being half serious with these suggestions.

"Can't say I've ever been a fan," Justin replied with an apologetic smile.

"Ever play darts?" Brian asked. That just made the other man laugh.

Brian sighed loudly, pretending to be annoyed, and then seemed to be thinking about something. Justin waited for him to say something, feeling the anticipation starting to get to him. What did Brian have going on in that head of his? He was relieved when Brian finally said something.

"Well, I know this really great place where we can park and make out like a couple of horny teenagers..." Brian suggested with a tongue in cheek grin.

Justin laughed at him. "Oh, you do, do you?" he replied.

"Yeah," Brian whispered, and then without thinking, he leaned in and brushed his lips against Justin's. As soon as Brian's lips touched his, Justin felt a great need inside of him, and moaned, kissing him back sensually.

When they pulled away from each other, Brian smirked at the blond. "Is that a yes?" he asked.

"Let's go," Justin answered.

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

After letting himself into his apartment, Justin closed his eyes and leaned against the door for a moment, letting his head fall back against it, as he smiled with a sigh. He could still taste Brian's mouth on his, and still smell his scent all over him.

He finally opened his eyes and then walked towards his bedroom to strip off his clothes, leaving just his boxers on. He plopped himself onto his bed, landing on his back, and laughed a little, at his own ridiculous giddiness. It had been a while since he had felt like this. This thing with Brian was all so new and exciting. He had no idea what would happen between them, but he liked Brian a lot, and hoped that the older man would continue to want to see him.

Justin lit a cigarette and stared up at the ceiling, thinking of his evening with Brian.

After dinner, Brian had driven them to a special spot he knew, that overlooked Downtown Pittsburgh. Brian and Michael used to go to this place a lot to get drunk or high, or to just hang out, when they were younger. They simply called it, "The Spot".

It had been years since Brian had gone there, and he smiled as he remembered the first time he and Michael had discovered it.

At the age of 14, they were too young to work, so to earn some extra money, they used to walk some of the neighbors' dogs. Sometimes the neighbors would refer them to their friends, and that was how they accidentally found "The Spot". On this particular day, Michael and Brian had been asked by one of their neighbor's friends, to walk her two large German Shepherds. It was an unfamiliar neighborhood, and as they walked the dogs along the road, the two canines had spotted some kind of small, furry, animal of sorts, and took off running after it, leading them into a wooded area.

They began to explore the area, and that was when they came upon "The Spot". It soon became their favorite place to hang out. The lights of the city made the view even more beautiful at night, and it turned out to be one of the best places to see fireworks on the 4th of July.

It had also become a good place for Brian to bring his tricks to fool around, since obviously he couldn't bring them home. This was a place where he was certain not to get caught. He knew there was no way his homophobic parents would ever tolerate or accept him as a gay man. "The Spot" was perfect for privacy, and he used it to his advantage as much as he could. And though he still visited the place from time to time over the years, he hadn't brought a trick back there since college. He didn't need to once he finally moved out of his parents' house.

Brian parked his jeep, but before he turned off the engine, he opened the sunroof. Not only because it gave a nice view of the clear night sky, but it was ideal if either of them wanted to smoke. It was a perfect night for this. There wasn't a cloud in the sky, and the stars were out, shining brighter than ever.

"Wow, Brian, this is incredible. I never even knew about this place," Justin said, with an impressed smile. He unbuckled his seatbelt and and looked at the view ahead of them.

"Well, promise not to tell anyone about it. It's top secret," Brian said, giving him a little wink. Justin chuckled at him and nodded.

"Boy scout's honor," he promised, and saluted. Brian smirked at him, and reclined his seat back a bit so that he was now leaning with his head tilted back, staring at the sky through the sunroof. Justin did the same, and they were quiet for a while, just looking at the sky, both of them a little lost in their own thoughts.

Justin's mind drifted a bit, thinking about Alex. This was the kind of place his ex would have taken him to. He liked doing romantic things with Justin. It was too bad everything with him turned out to be all bullshit. It was a real shame, because Justin knew that they could have shared something really wonderful together.

After a few minutes of silence, Brian looked over at Justin and noticed that he had sort of a sad, reminiscent look on his face.

"He's not worth it," Brian whispered.

Justin looked at Brian, stunned, wondering how he knew exactly what and who he was thinking about. He continued to look at Brian, but wasn't sure what to say. He didn't really want to talk about Alex. They were having such a good time tonight, and there wasn't anything that would kill the mood more than talking about an ex.

Brian turned on his side a bit, and leaned closer to Justin. "You're amazing, Justin. And to be honest, for my own selfish reasons, I'm actually glad that he was too stupid to realize it and fucked up, because then maybe I wouldn't have my chance with you." Brian had surprised himself as soon as the words had left his mouth. He'd never said anything like that to someone before.

Justin smiled brightly at Brian's words, and leaned in and kissed him. The kiss was soft and slow, and they enjoyed taking their time exploring each other's mouths. Surprisingly enough, for the next hour, their make out session never even went below the waist. Sure, there was "petting", but mostly, they just did a lot of kissing, seemingly not able to get enough of the other's mouth. Neither of them had done this sort of thing since high school, and it was different and exciting.

This was especially different for Brian. Usually, it never took long to get right down to the fucking. When he was really horny and with a trick, he knew exactly what he wanted and didn't like wasting too much time with kissing. But this was different. Justin wasn't a trick that he wanted to fuck and then never talk to or see again. He liked him. A lot.

Though Justin was rock hard as he and the gorgeous man next to him necked in the jeep under the stars, he enjoyed just being there with him. There was no real urgency tonight. Their affection towards each other was relaxed - at least for the most part. Not that it didn't get more intense. There was definitely a point where some "heavy petting" started up, and the heat between the two men radiated out of them. Every window was fogged up from their panting. It wavered back and forth, though, from intense to relaxed, and there was something about it that made it very intimate.

There was a point where they actually took a break and smoked a cigarette and talked for a while... Then they went right back to devouring each other's mouths. Before they knew it, it was after 1:00a.m.

Justin reluctantly pulled away from the other man, and sighed. "Brian, as much as I don't want you to, you should probably take me home now," he said regretfully, as he smoothed away some of Brian's sweat-matted hair from his forehead.

"What, you getting tired of me already?" Brian smirked.

Justin laughed. "No, it's just that I have a full day tomorrow. I have class in the morning, and then I have to be at the restaurant at noon to fill in for one of the waiters," Justin explained.

Brian nodded at the blond, and gave him one last peck. "Fiiiiine," he said, rolling his eyes with a sigh. Justin laughed, knowing that he wasn't really upset with him.

When Brian dropped Justin off at home, they shared one last kiss in the jeep. It wasn't really long, but it was nice, and they both smiled at each other when they pulled away. As he drove home, Brian felt a series of emotions running through him. He was confused, happy, and cursing himself for actually enjoying his date with Justin. The man who didn't "do" dates, actually went against his own standards and took someone out. And holy shit, he actually had a good time.

And they didn't even fuck. Brian shook his head. When was the last time he had made out with a guy like that and not had sex? Uh, how about never...

He actually enjoyed the feel of holding Justin in his arms. He thought about the genuine looks that they shared. The tenderness in their touch. The heat in his chest as well as the knot in his stomach every time their lips met. It was inevitable... He was officially turning into a lesbian. For a man who didn't "do" romance, he certainly played the part well. He would even go as far as to say that their night had been ridiculously romantic.

And the scariest thing about it? He liked it.

That thought alone, scared the shit out of Brian, and he then stepped on the gas pedal. He needed to get back to the loft as soon as possible. He needed a few drinks.

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

Later that week, it had been decided that Brian would pick up Daniel and Alice and they would all go to munchers' together for dinner. Brian was a little nervous that Melanie would be her usual cunt self, and be rude or possibly make snide remarks about him to his biological father. He knew that she wasn't happy about them coming to dinner, simply because Lindsay had sided with him instead of her. He hoped at least for Gus' sake that she would be civil to him and his guests, and not be judgmental.

When Brian rang the doorbell, he certainly didn't expect Melanie to be the one to answer the door, and having a polite smile on her face, nevertheless!

"Hi, I'm Melanie. You must be Daniel and Alice. So nice to meet you. Please, come in," Melanie said, stepping aside so they could enter her home. She made eye contact with Brian as he walked through the door behind them, and he gave her a look that said she better damn well behave herself.

They all walked into the living room to sit down, and were making small talk, when Lindsay came downstairs, with Gus on her hip. Daniel and Alice turned to see Lindsay and the adorable 9 month old baby in her arms, and their faces immediately lit up.

"Hi, I'm so glad you could make it," Lindsay said with a smile. She walked over to Brian and handed him his son, then kissed him hello. She then held out to her hand to Daniel. "I'm Lindsay. It's so nice to finally meet you. Brian has told me so much about you," she told him.

Daniel took her hand and shook it, as did his wife, Alice. "It's really great to meet you too, Lindsay," Daniel smiled. He turned to see Brian smiling down at his son as he held him. "And who do we have here?" he asked with great interest.

"This is your grandson, Gus," Brian said with a big smile.

"Would you like to hold him, Daniel?" Lindsay asked, seeing the delighted look in the man's eyes.

"I would love to," he told her, reaching out his hands to take Gus from his daddy. "Hey, there, Gus," he whispered adoringly. Gus gave his grandpa a big smile and then made an unintelligible sound. They all laughed, even Melanie.

"I think you're a keeper," Lindsay said with a chuckle.

"He's beautiful," Daniel said, not able to stop smiling. He always had a soft spot for children. "Ohhh, look at this. Yep. I can see he has his Great Grandfather's eyes," Daniel observed. They all sat down, and he continued to hold and play with his grandson until finally his wife spoke up about it.

"Oh, no. You'll never get your son back now," she joked to Lindsay and Melanie. "Well, Danny, are you ever going to let me hold him?" Alice asked anxiously. Daniel gave his wife a sheepish smile, and handed her Gus, who immediately took to her, as well.

Brian sat and watched the interaction between his son and new grandparents, and smiled. So far things had been okay that evening. There hadn't been a tense moment yet, and Smelly Melly was actually acting like a decent human being. He hoped the rest of the evening would go smoothly.

Dinner was lively, with lots of conversation among them all. Daniel and Alice talked about their children, and the O' Connell's restaurant. Lindsay spoke about her love of art, and a bit about her upbringing. Even Melanie was actively involved in the conversation, talking about her practice, and went so far as to offer Daniel and Alice some free legal advice, should they ever need it.

By the end of the night, it was already decided that Lindsay and Melanie, and of course Gus, would be over to the Jenson's home for dinner the following week. Just before Brian, Daniel and Alice left for the evening, Melanie pulled Brian aside to talk to him privately.

"Look, uh..." Melanie started to say, trying to figure out the right words to say to Brian Kinney, when he turned out to be right.

"Yes?" Brian asked with a bored, nonchalant expression, but on the inside was gloating that Smelly Melly was about to apologize to him.

"I'm sorry that I judged them. They really are great people," Melanie admitted. Brian just nodded at her slowly.

"And just so you know, they're welcome to visit with Gus any time," she added. Brian stared at her like he wondered who the Hell this woman was and where the real Melanie resided. He then gave her a small smile.

"Good," he said. He turned to walk away, but then paused and looked back at her. "Know that I would never let anything happen to my son," he told her seriously. Melanie nodded at him, and then looked away for a second, feeling a little guilty about what she had said before.

"I know," she said softly. They both looked at each other then, an unspoken truce having been made between them.

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

A few days later, Brian sat in his loft, alone. He had a glass of beam in one hand, and his eyes were glued to his cell phone, which was sitting on the coffee table in front of him.

He hadn't seen or talked to Justin since their date. He'd lost count of how many times he had tried to pick up the phone and give the him a call. Every time though, he would either lose his nerve, or talk himself out of it. He was still confused about his feelings for the younger man, and wasn't sure what to do about it. He'd kind of hoped that Justin would call him. That would have taken some of the pressure off.

"Fuck this," Brian said out loud, and stood up, grabbed his cell and his jacket, and headed out the door. He was going to find a hot trick to fuck at Babylon. Maybe that would help to clear his head.

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

Babylon was packed, which was to be expected for a Friday night. Justin had decided that he needed to get out of the house. He couldn't just sit around forever and wait for Brian to call. What kind of pathetic loser was he? He was sure that Brian would have called him by now - at the very least to say he didn't want to date him anymore, but he hadn't heard from the other man at all.

He wondered if he had done or said something to scare Brian off. It didn't make sense to him, though. Brian had seemed to really enjoy their date, and being with him that night. He could even tell that Brian had seemed to not want the night to end as much as he didn't. He had no idea what had gone wrong. After the whole situation was practically driving him insane, he finally decided that he was going to try to stop analyzing it, and let it go.

In the meantime he just wanted to go out and have a good time. Tonight he had wanted to dance, and that's exactly what he intended to do. After a few drinks, he headed out to the dance floor alone, not caring whether or not he had a dance partner. He knew if he wanted one, it wouldn't take long to find someone. He had some good moves, and hot guys always wanted to dance with him.

As he expected, just moments after Justin had stepped out onto the dance floor, a tall, built, dark-haired hottie had come up behind him and started grinding his hips into him. They danced several songs together, and had been having a pretty good time, until Justin felt someone tap him on the shoulder. He turned around, surprised to see the dirty blond man standing there, staring at him, and he frowned at him.

"Alex, what are you doing here?" Justin asked, over the loud music. He knew that Alex wasn't into clubs. It wasn't his thing. That had been one of the few things between them that they didn't have in common.

"I wanted to see you," Alex said with a sad smile.

"How did you know where to find me?" Justin asked.

"I didn't. I went to your apartment but no one answered the door. This was the next place I checked," Alex told him.

Justin turned around to look at his dance partner and saw that he had already found someone new to dance with.

"What, is that your new boyfriend or something?" Alex asked bitterly.

"No, I just met him. We were just dancing," Justin told him.

"It looked like there was more than that going on from where I was standing," Alex said accusingly. Justin frowned at his ex-boyfriend.

"I don't even know why I'm trying to explain anything to you. I don't owe you anything. It's none of your business," Justin told him.

"Look, I didn't mean to upset you. I just really want to talk to you. Please?" Alex asked. Justin sighed. He didn't want to talk to Alex, but maybe if he did, they could get some things straight, and then he would leave him alone.

"Fine. But make it quick," Justin told him.

"Let's go outside. It's hard to hear in here, and I don't want us to have to shout over each other," Alex said. Justin reluctantly nodded, and then followed Alex outside to the back entrance of Babylon. There were a few guys getting sucked off against the brick wall next to them.

"Okay. You wanted to talk, so talk," Justin said, his arms crossed over his chest.

Alex nodded and then sighed heavily. "I want you to come back, Justin," he said.

Justin looked at him like he was crazy, and felt like laughing. Alex saw the look on the blond's face and put out his hand, signaling that he wanted Justin to hear him out.

"I know I made a huge mistake. I am human, after all. I just want you to give me another chance. We can start slow, if you want. I just... I can't live my life without you in it," Alex said, his eyes a little watery.

Justin looked at his ex-boyfriend, and felt himself wanting to give in. He wanted to believe that the other man was telling the truth. He wanted what they had, back. But then he reminded himself that they didn't have what he thought they did. He didn't trust Alex. They couldn't have a relationship if there wasn't any trust.

"Allie... I --"

"Justin, please," he begged.

Justin sighed and then looked at his feet for a moment before looking into Alex's eyes again. "I'm sorry, Allie. No. I can't," he whispered.

Alex's expression turned angry, and he grabbed Justin roughly by the elbow. "I told you I was sorry! What the fuck else do you want from me?" he yelled. Justin was surprised by Alex's outburst, but glared back at him. He shook free from the other man's hold.

"For you to leave me the fuck alone!" Justin yelled back.

Alex suddenly slammed Justin back against the brick wall, hard, knocking the breath out of the blond. "I'm not going anywhere," he said in a dangerously angry tone, all of his weight against Justin, holding him roughly in place.

"Get off of me!" Justin yelled, struggling to try to get away, but was unsuccessful. Alex was way stronger than him. Justin looked over at the men who were getting sucked off, but they didn't seem to be paying any attention to what was happening around them, or even care.

"Not until you agree to give me a second chance," Alex growled.

"Get the fuck off of him!" A voice yelled, and Justin looked up to see Brian pull Alex off of him. Alex was about to lunge for Justin again, when Brian punched the man in the face, sending him backwards onto the concrete from the force of the blow.

Brian shook out his hand that he'd used to punch Alex, only minimally noticing the sting, and then immediately walked over to Justin.

"Are you okay?" he asked. Justin only nodded, still in shock from the events. It had all happened so fast, and he briefly wondered how he had lost control of the situation so quickly. Brian hugged him, knowing that he needed comfort. "Come on, let me take you home," he offered. Justin still remained silent, and nodded at him again. As they were walking away they heard a muffled groan.

"Justin, I love you! Don't leave," Alex pleaded. Justin winced at the words, and turned his back to him again, and allowed Brian to lead him back to his jeep.