That brings me to what, globally, I loved about this story. It’s not a story driven by plot and conflict. In fact, when opportunities for conflict loom, you charmingly take them away, as if to say ‘uh-uh. That’s not on the menu today. I think you’ll find the house special more than satisfying.’
First we, and Brian, realise Justin’s slept over for several nights. Drama? No. Sure, Brian tries ordering takeaway and going to Babylon, showing he’s a little unsettled. But the way his life has been going feels too good, so when Justin appears, it’s friendly and natural between them; like before, no games. Sure, Brian does his stay-if-you-want-I-don’t-fucking-care routine, but he doesn’t give the performance too much energy. It’s as if he’s half-realising that’s not worth the energy. And Justin’s onto him, so he’s not going to bother fighting about it.
Yes, Brian flips out when Justin presses his buttons re Gus. But it’s almost like, though he doesn’t say so, Brian mirrors his childishness to himself in his own behaviour. ‘Take that, fucker!’ is not only funny, it’s also a bit pathetic, and really a relatively low-key gesture. He scowls back into the diner like a little boy. Before Brian gets to say he doesn’t want a relationship, Justin does. So Brian loses his usual platform. His standard drama is denied.
When we next see them together, that argument has disappeared like a bad phone conversation. I love that you don’t make it into a big plot point, but show it to be something the protagonists ultimately consider too trivial to acknowledge. Life goes on. Clearly their modus operandi is enjoying being together. It’s that simple.
We basically learn, without distractions, how Brian falls in love.
This morning as I lay half-awake I thought of another story. “Dreaming of Kimchee”, by Banana Yoshimoto. I read it about 2 years ago so excuse me if I’m completely off here, but the flavour of your story recalled the flavour of that one, which I haven’t thought about for a very long time. The story and characters have nothing in common with yours, but it’s about a woman who has an affair with a married man, and despite dire predictions, he turns out not to be a moral failure but a true partner to her, and his ex finds happiness with someone else. Maybe the story’s refusal to be founded on conflict is why you reminded me of it.