Hit the Road, Jack AU series Part 3/6

[guavejuice]

Banner by
guavejuice

Author:
guavejuice
Pairing:Brian/Justin
Timeline:AU
Beta: Judy
bigj52 Can't thank you enough!!
Summary: Six months after Jack Kinney's funeral a deep and poignant family secret is revealed.
Disclaimer: I own nothing but this story.
Comments are love.

Part 3



"Who is this guy?" Justin asked as he sat up, letting the duvet slip off his naked body. He sat on the edge of the bed, placing his hand on Brian's shoulder.

"Marvin Telson? Fuck if I know," Brian answered absently, still holding his phone in his hand.

"He's probably one of your former clients," Justin suggested.

"Not likely," Brian nodded. "I usually remember my clients, especially those who turned out to be some of my greatest accounts," he said, not hiding the pride in his voice.

"Well, maybe this guy Marvin has heard of your genius advertising skills and is considering becoming a future client. No wonder he left you a recorded message and sounded so eager to meet with you," Justin said, flashing a small smile.

"How did I ever get along without you?" Brian replied huskily, leaning into his partner's petite frame.

"You didn't," Justin's smile grew wider. He planted a kiss on Brian's forearm.

"I guess I could ask Cynthia about it later, once I get to the office," Brian said. He checked his phone for the time on the screen display. "It's almost 10 a.m. Gotta go now, Sunshine," Brian told Justin. He cupped Justin's chin, gently stroking his jawline, then pressing their lips together in a deep soft kiss.

Half an hour later, after they showered and had a light late breakfast, Brian was suitably dressed and ready to leave the loft to head downtown to Kinnetik, his successful advertising agency.

"I should get going too," Justin said. "There's a new project I'm working on this week so I better head downtown to my studio."

"Need a ride?" Brian suggested playfully. Justin's art studio was situated a few blocks away from Brian's office.

"Don't mind if I do," Justin replied. He walked back to the bedroom, pulled on his favorite pair of jeans, a grey T-shirt and his pale blue Adidas jacket. He slipped into his trainers, grabbed his backpack, and hurried back to the living area to join Brian, and leave the loft together.

Brian stood at the door, looking as handsome as always in one of his many designer suits.

"I'm ready," Justin exclaimed. Brian was checking his phone again, seemingly preoccupied with something else.

"Is everything okay?" Justin asked.

"It depends," Brian muttered in reply. "Listen to this…" He said, putting the speaker phone on.

"Mr. Kinney, it’s Marvin Telson. Sorry to be bothering you again this morning but I was waiting for you to contact me. Please try to do so as soon as possible. And by the way, I suggest you open your inbox. I sent you an email and didn't get any reply from you on that either. I really must meet with you in person. Have a good day." The recorded message ended and Brian closed his phone.

"What the fuck was that?" Justin spoke after a tense pause. Brian seemed confused and troubled.  Any trace of the playfulness he and Justin shared earlier in bed dissipated.

Brian shrugged, but didn't answer. Justin stood by the door for a few more minutes, noticing the distinctive look on Brian's face. The same look Brian always had when he felt he was losing control over any given situation. Those were the times where Brian felt he was not on top, and as a result always seemed to be slipping into a black hole of uncertainty, letting old hidden skeletons creep out of their closet.
Justin knew he had to do something to send Brian something to hang onto, to pull himself out of the slippery slope.

"When did he send this?" Justin asked, hoping it would take Brian's mind off those unexplained messages.

It did the trick. Brian started checking his phone again to verify the time of day both messages were sent.

"I wonder why I didn't hear the incoming messages or noticed he sent an email," Brian said.

"Your phone kept ringing," Justin mentioned. "But I urged you not to answer because we were otherwise engaged, remember?" Justin said, trying to lift Brian's spirits.

Brian smiled lovingly at his partner but he was clearly distressed.

"I guess I better check my emails before we leave," he said. "You know I don't like to open my emails through my phone," he pointed out and walked towards his work area. "It will only take a minute," he said, while opening his laptop and going through his recent emails.

“Fuck! Where is it?” He lifted his eyes from the laptop screen.

"Where is what? What's going on?" Justin seemed confused and slightly terrified.

"The letter… the fucking letter Clair gave me the other day when we met her at the storage unit. Where the fuck did I put it? This is so fucked!" Brian kept mumbling, almost losing himself in a fit of anger, that was probably caused by the content of Marvin's email.

"Calm down, Brian, let me help you look for it," Justin said. He took a closer look around the work area, browsing through some papers Brian left on his desk, but to no avail.

"I guess I have no choice but to call Clair and let her know I lost the damn letter," Brian hissed. "The bitch will have a field day, telling me off for being an irresponsible jerk of a brother."

"Would you stop being such a drama queen?" Justin had to intervene. "You don't even know what the letter is about. For all you know, this has something to do with your dad, which understandably sucks and not in a life-affirming way. But don't worry, whatever it is we'll get through it together."

Brian took a deep breath, and wrapped his arms around Justin's neck. They stood together for a couple more minutes, until Brian dropped his arms from Justin's neck, and started brushing his fingers along Justin's lower back, cupping the perfectly rounded globes of his ass. "What's that?' He suddenly whispered, his fingers digging inside the back pocket of Justin's jeans.

"Why the fuck was the letter in the back pocket of your pants, Sunshine?" Brian asked with a raised eyebrow.

Justin shrugged, as he smiled knowinly at Brian. "I guess I left it there just in case, since you seemed not to give a fuck about it," he said.

"Give it to me. Let's see what the old bastard wanted and why the hell it’s Mr. Telson's business," Brian pressed.

"Wouldn't you prefer to get to the office first?" Justin suggested.

"No!" Brian barked. "Give me the damn thing."

"Here you go," Justin said, handing the envelope to Brian.

TBC…

.