Once Bitten
By Rebel

Brian took his coffee over to the sofa. The puppy hurried after him, eyes locked on his bare feet. When Brian sat down, he pounced.

"Hey!" Brian poked at the puppy with one long toe. "That hurts."

Justin rolled his eyes. "Jesus, Brian. He barely even has any teeth."

Brian glared at him over the rim of the coffee cup. "He has teeth. Believe me."

Justin sat down next to him and scooped the little dog into his lap. Brian watched Justin's strong hand tickle and tumble the puppy all over his legs, and down into the space between them.

Twice Shy
By Rebel

Justin didn't look at Brian. Brian knew that was a bad sign.

Justin didn't say anything. Brian knew that was a very, very bad sign.

Brian rubbed between his eyes and wondered if he was allergic to dogs, but decided it was a reaction to the wall of unspoken words that wasn't coming from Justin.

Brian put his hand on the puppy's head. "Justin…"

He cut him off. "I know. We can't have a dog."

Brian sighed. "It wouldn't be fair to him, even if we wanted to." It was uncharacteristically conciliatory, but he hated it when Justin seemed resigned.

A Hair of the Dog
By Rebel

Justin got up, and the puppy sat on the sofa next to Brian, head tipped to one side. He looked at the floor, very far below, and Justin, very far away. He made up his mind, and half-jumped, half-slid off the sofa.

"Hey!" Brian grabbed at the little black dog, and kept him from wiping out on the hardwood below. Justin was standing by the kitchen counter, a half-smile fighting with the frown on his lips. When the puppy got over to him and started scrabbling imploringly at his legs, the smile won. He leaned over and picked him up.

That Bit Me
By Rebel

Brian looked at Justin, puppy in his arms.

Justin shifted from foot to foot. "I guess I'll take him to the shelter. They said I could come anytime after 10."

Brian glanced at the clock. "It's not even 8."

Justin nodded. "I thought I'd take him to Mel and Lindz's first. Maybe they'd like a puppy for Gus."

Brian looked at Justin for a long time, then shrugged. "I'd offer you a ride, but I don't want dog hair all over the car."

Justin gave a short laugh. "Don't worry Brian. It would never have crossed my mind to ask."

Snakes and Snails
By Rebel

After Justin left, Brian cleaned up the kitchen, got dressed, and went to the gym to meet his new trainer. Time may be marching on, he thought, but fuck if it was going to march over Brian Kinney's body any harder than it had to.

The trainer was good, so Brian had a really great workout. The trainer was also hot, so Brian had him, too.

He looked around the locker room. It was full of the same guys in the same stages of undress, talking about the same things they always did.

Brian decided to shower at the loft.

And Puppy Dog Tails
By Rebel

Brian was toweling his hair when he heard the loft door open. Justin didn't come in. He figured he'd give the guy a few minutes to mourn the loss of the hairball.

He was pulling on a pair of jeans when he heard Justin talking in a very specific tone of voice Brian immediately knew meant plans had changed. It was Justin's puppy voice.

Brian walked to the top of the stairs. Justin was on the floor, the puppy inside the circle of his crossed legs.

"Justin…"

He didn't look up or answer. He just kept playing with the puppy.

Continued here...