Readiness Is Near (2/?)
Title: Readiness Is Near (2/?)
Author: blushemphasises/tinydancer
Pairing: Brian/Justin
Timeline: AU of late S4
Rating: Mature
Warning: None
Words: 2,660 (5,065 total)
Summary: Brian doesn’t usually try new things. He doesn’t think life has much more to offer him anyway. He’s done it all and anything he hasn’t tried is surely a path to his demise. Even a certain blond barista can’t change this, no matter how much he might complicate things.
Previous Chapters: One
A/N: Next chapter is up! Let me know what you guys think :) On AO3
Brian had planned to spend his entire weekend making up for lost time by fucking around as much as he can. He readily reacquainted himself with Babylon’s backroom as well as with the Baths, but unfortunately for him (and for his potential tricks), being in a so-called recovery period seriously handicapped the entire fuck-fest. In fact, he had only done half as many men as he would have liked before hitting a wall.
Brian’s not stupid. Considering his pre-Cancer sex life, he knows that things aren’t going back to the way they were any time soon. Hell, he’s even man enough to admit it’ll probably never go back to the way it was, especially considering the tick-tick, ticking of the clock. Brian’s pretty fucking terrified of that fact but maybe a little bit relieved too, and he’s scared shitless of that particular thought. Why in the fuck would he be relieved? Jesus.
He doesn’t know what to think, so he relents to simply not thinking about it at all and gets shitfaced.
So, on Monday morning, Brian’s shy of a full-blown hangover, proving to the world that yes, apparently even Brian Kinney makes stupid ass decisions every now and then. But being Brian Kinney, he manages to tone down the shitiness and get his ass out of bed for work.
He arrives at the café later than his usual time so he takes a moment to wonder if Justin-the-hot-blond-barista’s shift has ended yet. Which is a fucking ridiculous thought to have, because why the hell should Brian care either way? After all, he has a one-fuck policy he plans to stick by.
It turns out that, no, his shift hadn’t ended yet because Brian spots Justin almost immediately, looking as fresh-faced as ever and laughing with the customers.
Finally, when it’s Brian’s turn to order, he braces himself for the usual onslaught of when can we hook up again? Or, Up for another round? It’s something Brian has become familiar with; sometimes it’s a routine. Brian had already planned to let the kid down easy, Justin turned out to be a damn great fuck after all and he seems like a pretty decent guy. And anyway, Brian’s not completely heartless, he knows that wiping that huge and ever-present sunshine smile off Justin’s face would be something akin to committing a crime. Justin has a lot of friends in the café, it wouldn’t be wise to brush him off rudely.
But it turns out the kid doesn’t need to be let down easy, since there’s no onslaught. No when-can’s or can-we’s. In fact, there’s hardly even an acknowledgement of Friday night in Justin’s words or even his expression. He’s his usual flirty self, nodding when Brian orders and smiling with an “enjoy your coffee, Mr Kinney”, his eyes bright. Brian nods at him with thanks.
So nothing out of the ordinary, then. No, it doesn’t bother Brian and no, he doesn’t think about it while at work.
*
It happens again the next day, and then again on the day after that. Wednesday morning Brian watches Justin’s ass swerve around as he’s delivering plates to customers and can all the while feel something thrum in his veins.
Okay, so maybe it might bother him a little.
Brian isn’t usually one to give a fuck about things, especially something as trivial as a trick not acknowledging their fuck. But Friday night was pretty fucking memorable, especially since it was his first fuck - a sort of private welcome back party for his cock.
So Wednesday morning, as he watches Justin’s ass and his smile, Brian decides that he needs to get this something out of his system. By lunch break, he finds himself at the entrance to the Golden Gardenia café for the second time that day.
Luckily, or maybe unluckily, Justin is working the lunch hour and is busily wiping off the tables when Brian approaches him.
“When’s your next break?” Brian asks him without any sort of preamble and Justin, who apparently didn’t hear Brian approach, looks up from his work with a surprised expression.
“Oh hey,” he smiles at Brian like he’s genuinely happy to see him.
“Hey,” Brian replies. “So?”
Justin finally seems to remember that he was asked a question. “Oh, um.” He checks his watch, “in five minutes?”
“Five minutes?” Brian asks, raising his eyebrows.
Justin takes a moment to eye Brian and then he bites his lip, “Okay, make that two.”
Brian crosses his arms and then nods. Justin, the little fucker, smirks at that. “Be right back. Don’t go anywhere,” he says, and then disappears along with the tray of dirty dishes he’s carrying.
Justin comes back in less than two minutes, this time without the apron and dirty dishes. When Brian sees him, he gives Justin a small smirk and heads out of the café and only once looks behind him to check that Justin is still following.
Brian leads them to a secluded alleyway near the café and when he turns around, Justin surprises him by being the one to make the first move. He places both hands on Brian’s shoulders and leans up to kiss him with a startling fierceness.
Their lips fucking meld together and Brian switches their positions and then moves forward without breaking the kiss, until he finally has Justin pushed up against the wall. He presses their bodies close, revelling in the friction.
Brian’s about to reach for his own zipper when Justin pushes him back slightly.
“Wait…wait,” he gasps. “We can’t do this here in broad daylight.”
“And why the fuck not?”
Justin stares at him, “Maybe because we’re in public? Next to my work?”
Brian smirks, “Oh, so it bothers your precious sensibilities?”
“We’re in public and it’s lunch hour.”
“So?” Brian shrugs and then presses their bodies closer until he can feel Justin’s clothed, hard cock under his. “It’s hot.”
Justin apparently can’t supress a moan and doesn’t bother to argue any further when Brian goes in for another kiss.
Brian doesn’t waste his time worrying about it being lunch hour; he’s had a lot of practice after all. He does worry about getting come on his impeccable Armani suit but he has practice with that too so he manages not stain it, thank fucking god.
Justin writes his phone number on Brian’s black-no-sugar-to-go the next morning. Brian considers throwing it away but ends up saving the number in his phone’s address book and then has to convince himself that there was no weight to that decision. It didn’t fucking mean anything, and besides, it made Justin a hell of a lot easier to reach on Friday night.
Brian had just come home after a mediocre blowjob at Babylon and after considering going online for some good old-fashioned chat room sex, he finally relented to calling Justin and telling him to come over to the loft.
Justin ended up eating dinner at Brian’s. That would’ve been where Brian draws the line but apparently the kid was fucking starving and he made up for it by licking every last drop of the sweet and sour sauce off Brian’s cock.
*
Brian has a shitload of work to do on the weekend. Kinnetik is quickly making a name for itself in Pittsburgh’s advertising industry and that means more publicity, which means more new accounts to deal with. He ends up going in to work on Saturday afternoon and takes some of it home with him for later.
He’s actually relieved for a break when Lindsay and Gus drop by on Sunday for brunch but second-guesses that notion when Lindsay mentions a certain café that Brian just has to try out.
“I’ve already been there,” Brian cuts her off.
“You’ve been to the Golden Gardenia?” The disbelief in Lindsay’s tone makes Brian roll his eyes, though its probably not unwarranted. It’s not like Brian’s known for trying out new places after all, that is unless he’s taking his clients out to extravagant restaurants.
“Yeah. Their coffee’s great,” Brian pauses and then gives Lindsay a smirk. “Their barista even better.”
“Oh, I should have guessed.” Lindsay’s tone is disapproving but she smiles at him. “Well? I could really go for one of their waffles right now.”
Brian shrugs, “Why not take your husband then?”
Lindsay laughs as that, “C’mon, Brian! Just this once? Gus loves their waffles too, don’t you Gus?”
Brian only has to hear, “Waffles, Dad!” before he concedes.
*
There’s not much of a crowd when they arrive at the café so they manage to find a table for three quickly. Brian leaves Lindsay to fuss over Gus while he goes to order their waffles (“chocolate, strawberry and caramel, daddy.”) and his own coffee.
Somehow, he’s not surprised to see Justin working at the register. He smiles at Brian while handing the change. “Cute kid,” he says, apparently unabashed about the fact he was watching Brian. “Is he yours? He looks a lot like you.”
Brian considers telling Justin that it’s none of his business, before nodding, “Yeah, his name’s Gus.”
Justin smiles bigger at that, like he’s happy to hear it, but then he hesitates. “And his mother? Is that your -” he cuts himself off and quickly adds, “not that it’s any of my business.”
Justin is probably wondering whether Brian is actually a closet case and has a wedding ring to prove it. Brian raises his eyebrows, “Not that it’s any of your business… His mom is a friend. Gus is being raised by his two mommies.”
“Oh,” Justin nods. “Cool.”
It’s a little fucking unnerving talking to Justin about Gus. Its not like Brian usually talks about his personal life with his tricks. But even though he’s not completely comfortable with the idea, he’s not entirely uncomfortable either. Justin seems to be one of those guys who are easy to talk to.
The thought makes Brian realise that he hardly knows anything about Justin, except that he works long hours at the café.
“So,” Brian starts, raising his eyebrows. “Working on a Sunday afternoon too? Remember that all work and no play makes Justin a dull boy.”
Justin laughs, “Yeah, I know I’ve been working my ass off lately but you’ll be seeing a lot less of me soon. The new school term starts tomorrow.”
“College boy, huh?” At least Brian hopes he’s talking about college and not high school.
“Yep. PIFA, actually.” Justin says, although Brian didn’t ask. “Don’t worry, it’s not as pretentious as it sounds even if it is pretty fucking pretentious.”
Before Brian can reply, another customer joins the line so Brian leaves the counter with a “see you around” and heads back to their table.
Lindsay shoots him a curious look when Brian joins them, but she’s busy on the phone so she doesn’t say anything. Brian ignores the look and strikes up a conversation with his sonnyboy, who’s gotten pretty damn talkative these days.
Unsurprisingly, the waffles are fucking good.
*
True to his word, Brian sees a lot less of Justin starting Monday. It’s admittedly strange not seeing his ass swerving around first thing in the morning. It’s already been two weeks since the first time Brian stepped foot in the Golden Gardenia and every single day Justin had been working there. If Brian were a pitiful twat who had lesbianic thoughts, he would have thought that the café felt a little incomplete without Justin - Justin with his golden hair and bright, white smile seemed to fit in with the pretty picture of the café perfectly.
The next time Brian sees Justin, it’s Wednesday night at Woody’s and he and the rest of the gang are playing pool. Brian, as always, is on the winning team. He’s standing aside, waiting for his turn when he spots Justin standing nearby with some guy.
Justin seems to be in deep conversation with the other guy and apparently doesn’t notice Brian watching him. At first Brian assumes the guy is a potential trick but after a few glances towards their way, it seems obvious by Justin’s expression and folded arms that he’s fucking pissed off. In fact, the other guy looks equally pissed off and is talking to Justin with wide hand gestures and a fuming expression.
Although Brian’s not standing too far away, he can’t exactly hear what they’re talking about over the loud buzz of the crowd, though it’s fairly obvious they’re having some sort of argument. Brian knows it’s none of his business. Hell, he doesn’t even know why he keeps glancing towards them. But when he sees the guy shove Justin back with force and Justin’s head colliding with the wall behind him - Brian doesn’t even have to think about it, he gets up from his seat and strides over to them.
“Such a fucking traitor…” the guy is saying when Brian reaches them, and he actually has his hands on Justin’s shoulders like he’s about to shake them.
Brian interrupts him. “You know kid, if I were you I’d keep the violence to a minimum. I’m sure Woody’s won’t appreciate you turning this joint into your own little Fight Club.”
The guy, who had his back turned to Brian, lets go of Justin’s shoulders and turns around. “Who the fuck are you?” He spits out when he sees Brian.
Brian raises his eyebrows, Jesus the kid is angry. “Brian Kinney,” he says calmly. “Now get the fuck out of here.”
When the kid doesn’t budge, Justin steps forward. “Listen to him, Cody,” he says, his voice cold and calm.
Cody looks between the two of them with obvious anger but then he finally relents. “We’ll finish this later,” he promises to Justin, before he turns around abruptly and heads for the exit.
“Ex-boyfriend?” Brian asks after a moment of complete silence.
Justin finally relaxes his shoulders and then scoffs, “I wouldn’t say that.” He pauses and then looks at Brian for a moment, like he’s studying him. “You know, I could’ve handled that on my own.” His tone is careful and maybe a little curious.
It’s Brian’s turn to scoff this time. “Yeah, it sure looked like everything was fine and dandy.”
“I’m serious,” Justin folds his arms. “I didn’t need you to come save me or whatever. Trust me, I’ve dealt with worse.”
Brian doesn’t exactly want to think about what Justin means by worse. But he doesn’t get to think about it any further anyway, because Justin’s speaking again, this time with a small smile. “But thanks, I guess,” he says.
Brian shrugs, feeling uncomfortable. “It was nothing.”
“Okay,” Justin nods. “Let me buy you a drink.”
“I’ve already got a drink.”
“Okay then let me buy you another one,” he steps closer to Brian and the small smile grows into a smirk. “And then another one.”
“Are you trying to get me drunk?” Brian demands.
Justin shrugs and steps closer still, until Brian can count every fucking eyelash.
“If that’s what it takes…”
“For?” Brian asks, raising his eyebrows. Jesus, the kid recovered quickly. No one could have guessed what had happened not two minutes ago.
Justin doesn’t reply, only leaning forward and bridging the small gap that was left between them.
The kiss is long, sweet and fuck, maybe even a little familiar. Brian holds the back of Justin’s neck and pulls him closer, sucking and sliding their tongues together. Justin smiles against his lips and its only when he pulls back that Brian realises they’re in the middle of Woody’s and he’s making out like a fucking teenager in front of everyone.
Brian supresses a frustrated groan. Jesus, he can feel half the bar staring at him. He doesn’t even want to think about what the gang’s expressions look like, especially Mikey.
“C’mon,” Brian says, reaching for Justin’s belt loop and leading him towards the bathroom. He pointedly doesn’t look at the pool table.
Justin follows him easily.
Author: blushemphasises/tinydancer
Pairing: Brian/Justin
Timeline: AU of late S4
Rating: Mature
Warning: None
Words: 2,660 (5,065 total)
Summary: Brian doesn’t usually try new things. He doesn’t think life has much more to offer him anyway. He’s done it all and anything he hasn’t tried is surely a path to his demise. Even a certain blond barista can’t change this, no matter how much he might complicate things.
Previous Chapters: One
A/N: Next chapter is up! Let me know what you guys think :) On AO3
Brian had planned to spend his entire weekend making up for lost time by fucking around as much as he can. He readily reacquainted himself with Babylon’s backroom as well as with the Baths, but unfortunately for him (and for his potential tricks), being in a so-called recovery period seriously handicapped the entire fuck-fest. In fact, he had only done half as many men as he would have liked before hitting a wall.
Brian’s not stupid. Considering his pre-Cancer sex life, he knows that things aren’t going back to the way they were any time soon. Hell, he’s even man enough to admit it’ll probably never go back to the way it was, especially considering the tick-tick, ticking of the clock. Brian’s pretty fucking terrified of that fact but maybe a little bit relieved too, and he’s scared shitless of that particular thought. Why in the fuck would he be relieved? Jesus.
He doesn’t know what to think, so he relents to simply not thinking about it at all and gets shitfaced.
So, on Monday morning, Brian’s shy of a full-blown hangover, proving to the world that yes, apparently even Brian Kinney makes stupid ass decisions every now and then. But being Brian Kinney, he manages to tone down the shitiness and get his ass out of bed for work.
He arrives at the café later than his usual time so he takes a moment to wonder if Justin-the-hot-blond-barista’s shift has ended yet. Which is a fucking ridiculous thought to have, because why the hell should Brian care either way? After all, he has a one-fuck policy he plans to stick by.
It turns out that, no, his shift hadn’t ended yet because Brian spots Justin almost immediately, looking as fresh-faced as ever and laughing with the customers.
Finally, when it’s Brian’s turn to order, he braces himself for the usual onslaught of when can we hook up again? Or, Up for another round? It’s something Brian has become familiar with; sometimes it’s a routine. Brian had already planned to let the kid down easy, Justin turned out to be a damn great fuck after all and he seems like a pretty decent guy. And anyway, Brian’s not completely heartless, he knows that wiping that huge and ever-present sunshine smile off Justin’s face would be something akin to committing a crime. Justin has a lot of friends in the café, it wouldn’t be wise to brush him off rudely.
But it turns out the kid doesn’t need to be let down easy, since there’s no onslaught. No when-can’s or can-we’s. In fact, there’s hardly even an acknowledgement of Friday night in Justin’s words or even his expression. He’s his usual flirty self, nodding when Brian orders and smiling with an “enjoy your coffee, Mr Kinney”, his eyes bright. Brian nods at him with thanks.
So nothing out of the ordinary, then. No, it doesn’t bother Brian and no, he doesn’t think about it while at work.
*
It happens again the next day, and then again on the day after that. Wednesday morning Brian watches Justin’s ass swerve around as he’s delivering plates to customers and can all the while feel something thrum in his veins.
Okay, so maybe it might bother him a little.
Brian isn’t usually one to give a fuck about things, especially something as trivial as a trick not acknowledging their fuck. But Friday night was pretty fucking memorable, especially since it was his first fuck - a sort of private welcome back party for his cock.
So Wednesday morning, as he watches Justin’s ass and his smile, Brian decides that he needs to get this something out of his system. By lunch break, he finds himself at the entrance to the Golden Gardenia café for the second time that day.
Luckily, or maybe unluckily, Justin is working the lunch hour and is busily wiping off the tables when Brian approaches him.
“When’s your next break?” Brian asks him without any sort of preamble and Justin, who apparently didn’t hear Brian approach, looks up from his work with a surprised expression.
“Oh hey,” he smiles at Brian like he’s genuinely happy to see him.
“Hey,” Brian replies. “So?”
Justin finally seems to remember that he was asked a question. “Oh, um.” He checks his watch, “in five minutes?”
“Five minutes?” Brian asks, raising his eyebrows.
Justin takes a moment to eye Brian and then he bites his lip, “Okay, make that two.”
Brian crosses his arms and then nods. Justin, the little fucker, smirks at that. “Be right back. Don’t go anywhere,” he says, and then disappears along with the tray of dirty dishes he’s carrying.
Justin comes back in less than two minutes, this time without the apron and dirty dishes. When Brian sees him, he gives Justin a small smirk and heads out of the café and only once looks behind him to check that Justin is still following.
Brian leads them to a secluded alleyway near the café and when he turns around, Justin surprises him by being the one to make the first move. He places both hands on Brian’s shoulders and leans up to kiss him with a startling fierceness.
Their lips fucking meld together and Brian switches their positions and then moves forward without breaking the kiss, until he finally has Justin pushed up against the wall. He presses their bodies close, revelling in the friction.
Brian’s about to reach for his own zipper when Justin pushes him back slightly.
“Wait…wait,” he gasps. “We can’t do this here in broad daylight.”
“And why the fuck not?”
Justin stares at him, “Maybe because we’re in public? Next to my work?”
Brian smirks, “Oh, so it bothers your precious sensibilities?”
“We’re in public and it’s lunch hour.”
“So?” Brian shrugs and then presses their bodies closer until he can feel Justin’s clothed, hard cock under his. “It’s hot.”
Justin apparently can’t supress a moan and doesn’t bother to argue any further when Brian goes in for another kiss.
Brian doesn’t waste his time worrying about it being lunch hour; he’s had a lot of practice after all. He does worry about getting come on his impeccable Armani suit but he has practice with that too so he manages not stain it, thank fucking god.
Justin writes his phone number on Brian’s black-no-sugar-to-go the next morning. Brian considers throwing it away but ends up saving the number in his phone’s address book and then has to convince himself that there was no weight to that decision. It didn’t fucking mean anything, and besides, it made Justin a hell of a lot easier to reach on Friday night.
Brian had just come home after a mediocre blowjob at Babylon and after considering going online for some good old-fashioned chat room sex, he finally relented to calling Justin and telling him to come over to the loft.
Justin ended up eating dinner at Brian’s. That would’ve been where Brian draws the line but apparently the kid was fucking starving and he made up for it by licking every last drop of the sweet and sour sauce off Brian’s cock.
*
Brian has a shitload of work to do on the weekend. Kinnetik is quickly making a name for itself in Pittsburgh’s advertising industry and that means more publicity, which means more new accounts to deal with. He ends up going in to work on Saturday afternoon and takes some of it home with him for later.
He’s actually relieved for a break when Lindsay and Gus drop by on Sunday for brunch but second-guesses that notion when Lindsay mentions a certain café that Brian just has to try out.
“I’ve already been there,” Brian cuts her off.
“You’ve been to the Golden Gardenia?” The disbelief in Lindsay’s tone makes Brian roll his eyes, though its probably not unwarranted. It’s not like Brian’s known for trying out new places after all, that is unless he’s taking his clients out to extravagant restaurants.
“Yeah. Their coffee’s great,” Brian pauses and then gives Lindsay a smirk. “Their barista even better.”
“Oh, I should have guessed.” Lindsay’s tone is disapproving but she smiles at him. “Well? I could really go for one of their waffles right now.”
Brian shrugs, “Why not take your husband then?”
Lindsay laughs as that, “C’mon, Brian! Just this once? Gus loves their waffles too, don’t you Gus?”
Brian only has to hear, “Waffles, Dad!” before he concedes.
*
There’s not much of a crowd when they arrive at the café so they manage to find a table for three quickly. Brian leaves Lindsay to fuss over Gus while he goes to order their waffles (“chocolate, strawberry and caramel, daddy.”) and his own coffee.
Somehow, he’s not surprised to see Justin working at the register. He smiles at Brian while handing the change. “Cute kid,” he says, apparently unabashed about the fact he was watching Brian. “Is he yours? He looks a lot like you.”
Brian considers telling Justin that it’s none of his business, before nodding, “Yeah, his name’s Gus.”
Justin smiles bigger at that, like he’s happy to hear it, but then he hesitates. “And his mother? Is that your -” he cuts himself off and quickly adds, “not that it’s any of my business.”
Justin is probably wondering whether Brian is actually a closet case and has a wedding ring to prove it. Brian raises his eyebrows, “Not that it’s any of your business… His mom is a friend. Gus is being raised by his two mommies.”
“Oh,” Justin nods. “Cool.”
It’s a little fucking unnerving talking to Justin about Gus. Its not like Brian usually talks about his personal life with his tricks. But even though he’s not completely comfortable with the idea, he’s not entirely uncomfortable either. Justin seems to be one of those guys who are easy to talk to.
The thought makes Brian realise that he hardly knows anything about Justin, except that he works long hours at the café.
“So,” Brian starts, raising his eyebrows. “Working on a Sunday afternoon too? Remember that all work and no play makes Justin a dull boy.”
Justin laughs, “Yeah, I know I’ve been working my ass off lately but you’ll be seeing a lot less of me soon. The new school term starts tomorrow.”
“College boy, huh?” At least Brian hopes he’s talking about college and not high school.
“Yep. PIFA, actually.” Justin says, although Brian didn’t ask. “Don’t worry, it’s not as pretentious as it sounds even if it is pretty fucking pretentious.”
Before Brian can reply, another customer joins the line so Brian leaves the counter with a “see you around” and heads back to their table.
Lindsay shoots him a curious look when Brian joins them, but she’s busy on the phone so she doesn’t say anything. Brian ignores the look and strikes up a conversation with his sonnyboy, who’s gotten pretty damn talkative these days.
Unsurprisingly, the waffles are fucking good.
*
True to his word, Brian sees a lot less of Justin starting Monday. It’s admittedly strange not seeing his ass swerving around first thing in the morning. It’s already been two weeks since the first time Brian stepped foot in the Golden Gardenia and every single day Justin had been working there. If Brian were a pitiful twat who had lesbianic thoughts, he would have thought that the café felt a little incomplete without Justin - Justin with his golden hair and bright, white smile seemed to fit in with the pretty picture of the café perfectly.
The next time Brian sees Justin, it’s Wednesday night at Woody’s and he and the rest of the gang are playing pool. Brian, as always, is on the winning team. He’s standing aside, waiting for his turn when he spots Justin standing nearby with some guy.
Justin seems to be in deep conversation with the other guy and apparently doesn’t notice Brian watching him. At first Brian assumes the guy is a potential trick but after a few glances towards their way, it seems obvious by Justin’s expression and folded arms that he’s fucking pissed off. In fact, the other guy looks equally pissed off and is talking to Justin with wide hand gestures and a fuming expression.
Although Brian’s not standing too far away, he can’t exactly hear what they’re talking about over the loud buzz of the crowd, though it’s fairly obvious they’re having some sort of argument. Brian knows it’s none of his business. Hell, he doesn’t even know why he keeps glancing towards them. But when he sees the guy shove Justin back with force and Justin’s head colliding with the wall behind him - Brian doesn’t even have to think about it, he gets up from his seat and strides over to them.
“Such a fucking traitor…” the guy is saying when Brian reaches them, and he actually has his hands on Justin’s shoulders like he’s about to shake them.
Brian interrupts him. “You know kid, if I were you I’d keep the violence to a minimum. I’m sure Woody’s won’t appreciate you turning this joint into your own little Fight Club.”
The guy, who had his back turned to Brian, lets go of Justin’s shoulders and turns around. “Who the fuck are you?” He spits out when he sees Brian.
Brian raises his eyebrows, Jesus the kid is angry. “Brian Kinney,” he says calmly. “Now get the fuck out of here.”
When the kid doesn’t budge, Justin steps forward. “Listen to him, Cody,” he says, his voice cold and calm.
Cody looks between the two of them with obvious anger but then he finally relents. “We’ll finish this later,” he promises to Justin, before he turns around abruptly and heads for the exit.
“Ex-boyfriend?” Brian asks after a moment of complete silence.
Justin finally relaxes his shoulders and then scoffs, “I wouldn’t say that.” He pauses and then looks at Brian for a moment, like he’s studying him. “You know, I could’ve handled that on my own.” His tone is careful and maybe a little curious.
It’s Brian’s turn to scoff this time. “Yeah, it sure looked like everything was fine and dandy.”
“I’m serious,” Justin folds his arms. “I didn’t need you to come save me or whatever. Trust me, I’ve dealt with worse.”
Brian doesn’t exactly want to think about what Justin means by worse. But he doesn’t get to think about it any further anyway, because Justin’s speaking again, this time with a small smile. “But thanks, I guess,” he says.
Brian shrugs, feeling uncomfortable. “It was nothing.”
“Okay,” Justin nods. “Let me buy you a drink.”
“I’ve already got a drink.”
“Okay then let me buy you another one,” he steps closer to Brian and the small smile grows into a smirk. “And then another one.”
“Are you trying to get me drunk?” Brian demands.
Justin shrugs and steps closer still, until Brian can count every fucking eyelash.
“If that’s what it takes…”
“For?” Brian asks, raising his eyebrows. Jesus, the kid recovered quickly. No one could have guessed what had happened not two minutes ago.
Justin doesn’t reply, only leaning forward and bridging the small gap that was left between them.
The kiss is long, sweet and fuck, maybe even a little familiar. Brian holds the back of Justin’s neck and pulls him closer, sucking and sliding their tongues together. Justin smiles against his lips and its only when he pulls back that Brian realises they’re in the middle of Woody’s and he’s making out like a fucking teenager in front of everyone.
Brian supresses a frustrated groan. Jesus, he can feel half the bar staring at him. He doesn’t even want to think about what the gang’s expressions look like, especially Mikey.
“C’mon,” Brian says, reaching for Justin’s belt loop and leading him towards the bathroom. He pointedly doesn’t look at the pool table.
Justin follows him easily.