Prologue:

Justin Taylor, artist, moved from Pittsburgh to New York City in 2005. For over a year he and Brian Kinney tried to maintain a long-distance relationship. Brian kept the loft and rented out the mansion that was dubbed 'Britin'. It was difficult because Justin couldn't afford to fly home very often, and Brian was often too busy with work at his company, Kinnetik, to get away. One weekend, Brian arranged for a ticket for Justin to fly back to Pittsburgh to visit, but then the ad exec ended up working most of the time. That was the last straw for Justin. He spent an evening alone at the loft, crying to himself, waiting for Brian to return. When he finally arrived, Justin told him that the strain was too much and they would have to end their relationship. Justin felt that he truly needed to focus on his art to be successful and the back and forth was too impossible for both of them. Brian reluctantly agreed, although it broke his heart. It broke Justin's, too.

Brian threw himself into his work and visited his son Gus in Toronto often to deal with the loneliness of not being with Justin any longer. He sold 'Britin' but maintained ownership of Babylon. Justin painted prolifically and got noticed at a few art shows. He began to work more with computer design, too.

In 2008, at the age of twenty-five, Justin met a man named Payton Cunningham at a meet and greet where new artists are introduced to art investors and patrons. Payton had inherited a large sum of money from his parents and made a number of business deals that kept the bank account full. He was a young-looking forty year old on the prowl. He decided to pursue young Justin and soon romanced him enough to convince him to move in to his Manhattan penthouse.

Justin's mom, Jennifer married Tucker and found happiness with him. They often took motorcycle rides in the Pennsylvania hills. Justin was happy for his mom, although he found it rather amusing that both he and his mother were with men in their early forties. Justin's sister Molly lived with their Mom and Tucker. Molly had worked for a local florist since high school and found some real satisfaction in her job.

Brian branched out Kinnetik and opened an office in Toronto. He spent half of his time there and half back in Pittsburgh. This afforded him a lot more days with Gus and Lindsay. He soon hired a top notch ad man, Garrett, to run the Toronto office and business there took off. The night life in Toronto pleased Brian and he enjoyed taking a number of men back to his hotel. He tried dating once or twice, but it seemed that no one could hold his interest for very long. He did establish a small circle of friends in Toronto and always enjoyed his time there.

In 2011, marriage equality came to New York and gay couples could marry. Payton proposed to Justin and they married right away. Life was good and comfortable. Justin loved Payton, although he teased him often about being the 'trophy husband.' Payton was always concerned about appearance and he got Justin interested in going to the gym with him to work on their physiques. Payton always made sure when they were going to the parties with the A-list gays in town that they were dressed in all of the latest fashions. With Payton it always seemed to be about what other people thought and Justin got caught up in it all. Payton made sure they got invited to the right parties and had the right friends.

That same year, Brian's mother passed away. A few weeks after that, he got a call from a lawyer that his divorced sister, Claire, had been committed to a mental health facility. Her two sons, John (20) and Peter (18) were legally adults, but he was their guardian until they turned 25. At first, Brian thought that he'd just let the boys have Claire's house and check in on them occasionally. But he soon found out that Claire ended up with almost nothing in the divorce and her asshole ex-husband legally owned the house. By the time everything got settled, Brian had the boys living with him and they'd cut all ties with Claire's ex.

The apartment that beneath Brian's loft became available, so he took his bonus check from work that year and bought the place for John and Peter. It was ironic, because John, who'd once accused Brian of molesting him, was now indebted to his 'fag' uncle. There was no name calling after Brian set them up in their own place. They were a little uneasy living so close to Liberty Avenue, but nevertheless grateful for a place to live. After so many years of an unstable home life (Dad's gone, Mom's crazy) they had a paid for home and a caring uncle to look after them. They got jobs, went to college, and paid Uncle Brian a modest rent. Brian left the Toronto office to Garrett and spent more time back in Pittsburgh to keep an eye on his nephews. He'd still visit Toronto occasionally, but Pittsburgh was his home.

In 2012, Payton began talking to Justin about their having a child with a surrogate mother. They went through agencies and many dollars until they found someone willing to bear their child. Her first pregnancy, however, was a miscarriage, and then things started to fall apart. Payton became more distant and irritable. He started spending less and less time at their luxurious home and more time away on business. Justin started to put the pieces together – Payton was having an affair with Massimo, an Italian art student they'd met at a cocktail party. When Justin confronted his husband with the evidence they had a huge argument. Payton announced that he was moving to Italy to be with Massimo. They initiated divorce proceedings. While the settlement was being negotiated Justin had very little money and had to share an apartment with an actor in (shudder) Brooklyn.

Then, as if things couldn't get worse, Justin got a call from his twenty year old sister, Molly, that their mother, Jennifer, had died suddenly and violently. On one of her motorcycle trips with her young husband, things took a tragic turn. A deer jumped out in front of the motorcycle and both Tucker and Jennifer were killed. Justin packed up what little he had and moved back. Molly, Jennifer and Tucker had all been living in the townhouse that Jen bought after her divorce from Craig Taylor.

After Jennifer's death, Justin took over the master bedroom and settled in with his sister to help her cope with the tragedy. He was touched to see so many of his friends at his mother's wake. Debbie and Carl were there, as well as Michael and Ben. Ted and Blake came with Emmett. Brian showed up after the services started. Later he gave Justin a hug and said, "Your mother was a great lady. If there's anything you need, let me know." He left soon after their conversation.

Justin's divorce came through. The judge divided the estate evenly. Payton was very wealthy, so that meant that a considerable amount of money was due to Justin. Much legal wrangling went on, but the upshot of it all was that Justin had a small fortune set up in an account in Pittsburgh that he could tap into at any time. Justin was happy living with Molly. He bought a simple new bed frame and mattress for the master bedroom and a dresser from a second hand store. He did whatever else needed to be done around the townhouse to make it theirs and not remind him too much of the family he lost. He established a relationship with the Most Wanted Gallery in downtown Pittsburgh, working mostly with computer generated art.

When Justin moved back to Pittsburgh he had to endure many phases of grief over the loss of his marriage and his mother. There was the 'angry at everyone' phase, and then there was a 'sit alone in the dark' phase. For almost all of the first three months he stayed at home, worked on his art and worked out with weights at home. He didn't socialize or hit the bars. When Deb did a short trip to the hospital for a couple of days to get over an infection, Justin visited her, but then retreated back to his shell.

Finally, on Justin's thirtieth birthday in 2013, Molly got tired of his self-pity and dragged him to Woody's. She asked Emmett to call everyone and they had a little get-together for Justin. Brian attended and bought Justin a drink. They were cordial and shared a quick hug, but nothing more.

Justin knew he still had feelings for Brian – hell, he knew they'd always be there – but after ending his relationship with Payton he wasn't looking for anything with anyone else. He enjoyed having a nice conversation with Brian, though, and it warmed his heart that they could have that.

Brian grudgingly went along to the party for Justin. It was the first time they'd seen each other or spoken since Jennifer's wake. Brian's heart tugged slightly to see Justin looking so withdrawn. After telling some old stories and laughing a little, though, the sunshine smile was beginning to come back.

Brian knew that he'd always care about Justin, but didn't want to get too close and get hurt again. He didn't really blame the blond for every bump they'd had along their twelve year history, however he felt he needed to guard his heart.

In the weeks after that reunion, Justin hung around with the guys more often. They'd meet at Woody's or Babylon and have a few drinks. Justin started tricking again, occasionally hooking up with someone from a bar. They were a way of having some release, but he knew that they weren't what he was looking for. He started flirting with Brian. After all, he was still hot and gave him butterflies in his stomach. Deep inside, Justin hoped that maybe, one day, they could connect again.