Dogwalker!Justin Title: Dogwalker!Justin Written By:hounded Timeline: Justin is a sophomore in college. Brian is 32. They had never met before this. Rating: PG for language and implied sexual situations Author's Notes: This is an AU in which Brian and Justin never meet that night under the street light. Brian goes to New York in Season One, even though he didn't get the job -- he ends up getting a better one. Justin graduates high school in Pittsburgh, then goes to art school in New York City. Thanks to buster_cat for your purrrfect beta skills.
Dogwalker!Justin
The elevator stopped at the floor below Brian's, and one of his neighbors got on with her dog. He smiled and nodded at her in that distant, almost-not-really-a-smile-and-nod way that he used when he saw guys he'd had sex with. She smiled back, but all she said was "Hi."
Her dog completely ignored Brian, and he thought as they rode down that it was insane to have a dog with long hair that was both black and white, guaranteeing that you'd always have visible dog hair on you no matter what you wore.
Unless you wore a lot of tweed.
Brian shuddered at the thought of wearing tweed.
They got to the ground floor, and Brian gestured politely for the lady and her sleek dog to exit first. He surreptitiously brushed at his suit to make sure there was no dog hair on it before he left the building.
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Brian saw his neighbor and her dog a few times after that, and once or twice he saw her husband with the dog. One day he was standing in the lobby when a blond high school kid came in with the dog on a short leash.
Brian glanced at him, then glanced again. Nephew? Godson? Dogwalker? He decided it was the last, due to the fanny pack. Dogwalkers always had fanny packs. He'd seen them on the streets and in the parks ever since he'd moved to New York from the Pitts, usually with multiple dogs, and always with fanny packs.
Brian stood where he always did, as far as possible from the dog, who ignored him the way she always did. Since the kid wasn't his neighbor he didn't bother with even the hint of a smile or nod.
Until the kid flashed him a smile that probably could have earned him a five figure income as a model in a toothpaste ad. Brian immediately upped the estimate of his age to college rather than high school, but didn't say anything.
The guy and the dog got off on the floor below Brian's. Brian was watching what was possibly the nicest ass he'd ever seen disappear down the hall when the kid turned around, caught him looking, and grinned at him over his shoulder.
After the elevator door closed, Brian let himself smile.
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The next time Brian saw his neighbor, he was coming home from an after-hours club at around 4 AM. She was waiting for the elevator, pajama bottoms showing under her fashionable coat and above her rain boots. She had the dog on a leash, and looked tired.
Brian was a little drunk, but even so, he was surprised to hear himself asking her if everything was okay.
She looked surprised. "Yes… no. I'm not sure." She started to cry, and bit her lip and turned her head to the side, embarrassed. "Sorry."
Brian frowned, but respected her attempt to get control of herself.
When they got on the elevator, she took in a deep breath. "I'm sorry. I just… had a miscarriage. And Melody…" she nodded at the dog "has been having some health problems." She sort of half-laughed and half-cried, "I guess she's feeling the stress, too."
That must be the reason for the dogwalker, Brian thought. He made sure his voice sounded warm, slightly impersonal, and hopefully not drunk. "I'm sorry."
She just nodded, kept her eyes averted from his, and got off at her floor.
After three hours of sleep, Brian showered, put on one of his endless supply of perfect suits, and got in the elevator to start another day of convincing the gullible American consumer that he or she couldn't exist for one more moment without any of the crap his clients wanted to sell them. He felt so good that he forgot to frown and worry about dog hair getting on his suit when the elevator stopped one floor down and the blond dogwalker got on with the dog… Melody.
Brian decided a little early morning head-fucking would be a nice way to start the day. "Is she feeling better?"
The blue eyes swiveled towards him, but Brian had to admit the kid hid his surprise almost instantly. "Yes, but I came early, just in case." Then he smiled.
Melody looked at Brian when he spoke, but apparently he wasn't interesting enough to her to earn more than a glance. He almost laughed at the boredom in her eyes, and wondered briefly how many guys had seen it in his.
Then the dogwalker reached down and rested his hand on Melody's head, and she looked up at him, her white plumed tail moving gracefully back and forth. Her eyes softened and filled with something Brian had seen a few times in Lindsay's eyes when she was looking at Gus. For a second he missed Gus, missed Lindsay and Debbie and Michael… he slammed the door shut on his thoughts, and looked disinterestedly away from them both.
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The days went by, and Brian didn't see his neighbor, the dogwalker, or the dog. He was working late hours, and staying late at the clubs, trying to get relaxed enough to get some sleep. Every morning he searched his face for signs of stress and fatigue. Of age. Every morning he put on his SPF 4000 moisturizer and his costly French anti-aging cream, satisfied he'd held off the ravages of time for one more day.
In fact, that morning he felt pretty good about his skin in general – until the blond dogwalker joined him for the downward elevator ride, his skin glowing with the cold morning air. Brian adjusted his age downward again, maybe to junior high. He glared at the boy's full lips and smooth skin and perfect fucking hair. I bet he doesn't have bed head in the morning, he thought, getting more irritated by the minute.
"I'm Justin."
Brian looked at him in surprise. His voice had sounded confident, strong, not at all like a kid in the ninth grade. Brian frowned, then said, "Brian."
"This is Melody." Justin gestured at the dog.
Brian nodded. "I know. We've met."
Justin looked surprised. "She doesn't act like you've met. She's usually very friendly with people she knows."
He snorted. "Apparently she doesn't like me."
"She probably thinks you don't like her."
Brian laughed. "It's not her. It's the hair. We can't all go to work covered in dog hair."
Justin smiled. "It brushes right off denim."
They got off the elevator, and went out onto the sidewalk. "My clients might object to me showing up at the office in jeans."
Now Justin laughed. "I can't imagine you caring what your clients think. Do you?"
Brian shrugged. "Not really, but sometimes I play the game."
Justin looked at him for a minute before he nodded. "Well, we'd better get to the park. See you around."
Brian watched the kid… Justin… and his world class rear end as he crossed the street, Melody on a leash at his side.
Brian went out after work, and didn't come home until the next morning at 6, leaving himself with not much more than the time he needed to shower, change, drink six or seven pots of coffee, and get to work. He'd woken up at some guy's place, something he didn't usually do. But he hadn't been getting much sleep lately, and he'd been wasted. At least he'd gotten out while the guy was still sleeping, the next best thing to leaving before he fell asleep in the first place.
He was waiting for the elevator when Justin came in the door. He raised an eyebrow at the early hour; it was still dark outside.
"Hey." Justin smiled at him, pulling off his gloves and shoving them in the pocket of his jacket. "You look like hell."
Brian wasn't sure whether to laugh or call him an asshole, so he settled for ignoring the comment. "You're here early."
He nodded. "I have a class at 8 on Thursdays."
Brian felt surprised, but didn't show it. "You're in school?"
"Art student. I'm in my sophomore year at Cooper Union."
Brian's surprise bordered on shock. "You're at Cooper Union? What's with the dog walking?"
Justin shrugged. "The tuition's free, but I still have to eat and pay rent." He frowned a little. "How do you know about Cooper Union?"
"I'm in advertising." Brian looked at Justin more closely. "That's quite an accomplishment, getting into the Harvard of art schools."
Justin grinned at him as the elevator door opened and they both got on. "I'm very accomplished."
Brian laughed. "And modest."
"Not really. What does that get you?"
Since that was more or less Brian's motto, he didn't argue with him. He must have still been drunk from the night before, because he heard himself asking if Justin wanted to get coffee after he walked Melody.
Justin looked surprised, but just for a second. "I have some other clients. Melody doesn't get along with other dogs very well, so I have to take her by herself. Then I take five other dogs to the park at the same time." He looked at Brian, and Brian noticed for the first time how blue Justin's eyes were. "How about tomorrow? The Starbuck's on the corner, at 8?"
Brian didn't say anything at first. It wasn't just Justin's eyes, it was the whole idea of making a date to meet for coffee with an artistic genius – because Cooper Union didn't admit any other kind of student – who was probably not out of his teens yet, when he hadn't had any kind of a date since he was in college himself.
A kid who walked dogs to pay his rent. He almost shook his head. But he didn't. He just said, "Okay."
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The next morning, if Brian'd had Justin's phone number, he'd have called and cancelled. As it was, he contented himself with cursing all the way to the corner. Justin came in a minute or two after Brian sat down with his triple shot latte, got himself a cup of coffee, and smiled as he sat down. "Hey."
Brian sipped his coffee. "How was Melody?"
Justin sipped his. "She's fine. Erica said she's been sleeping through the night again, so hopefully she's okay now."
"Erica?"
Justin frowned. "Her owner. I thought you must know her, if you know Melody."
Brian shrugged. "We chatted in the elevator one night for about two seconds. She told me about her miscarriage and that Melody had been sick." He drank some more coffee, then noticed Justin looked shocked. "What?"
"I didn't know she'd lost the baby. She didn't tell me." He really seemed upset.
Strange, thought Brian. She tells a stranger in the elevator. Or maybe not strange. Who the fuck knows.
Justin stared into his coffee. "Sometimes I wonder if I'll ever have kids. I always used to assume I would, then when I realized I was gay, I figured I wouldn't. But the world's changing so fast, it seems like anything can happen now." He laughed. "Although I guess if you have kids, dogwalking and art aren't exactly the best way to support them. So maybe it's a good thing if I want them, I'd really have to work at it." He grinned at Brian.
Brian thought suddenly about Gus. He hadn't seen him in… a year? Two years? He pushed the thought out of his mind, and drained his cup. "Where are you from?" That was sufficiently banal to divert them from the topic of offspring.
"Pittsburgh."
Brian choked on the last bit of foam in his cup. "Jesus."
"You, too?"
"Born, raised, and couldn't get out of there fast enough."
Justin nodded. "I miss it sometimes, not so much the city as the people." He made a gesture with his hand that Brian couldn't quite interpret. It was almost dismissive. "But I like it here, now. And in the art world, there's nowhere else to be."
"Or advertising." Brian pushed back his chair. "Speaking of which…"
Justin just looked at him, and gave a slow blink. Brian stared across the table at Justin's eyes. And mouth. He almost cleared his throat, but caught himself in time. "When do you have to be in class?"
Justin smiled, but not the grin he'd given Brian before. "Not until noon. Don't you have to go to work?"
Brian kept looking at him. "I can be late."
They went back to Brian's loft, and two hours later, Brian was leaning against the tile in his shower, Justin resting his forehead on his chest while Brian ran the soap idly across his shoulders and tried to think when the last time he'd fucked a guy he actually knew had been. Justin shook the water out of his eyes, and smiled up at him through the steam.
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It should have gotten weird. But maybe since it started out weird, it just got kind of normal instead. Brian kept running into Justin and Melody in the elevator. He and Justin kept going for coffee. Justin kept coming back to Brian's loft when they had time. And Brian kept wondering what was going on, and trying not to think about it.
One November evening he found himself walking with Justin and the dog across the street to the park. It had rained all day, and he tried not to think about what the wet grass was doing to his Prada shoes. He snuck a glance at Justin's mud-stained sneakers and felt a moment's horror.
They went inside a fenced dog field, and Justin let Melody off the leash.
"I thought you said she didn't like other dogs?"
Justin draped the leash around his neck. "She's okay as long as she's off the leash."
They sat on a bench and watched the dogs running and playing. Melody ran faster than the other dogs, lapping the field over and over again, a little train of slower dogs trying to keep up and dropping away one by one.
"There's a greyhound who's here sometimes. He's the only one who can keep up with her."
"What kind of dog is she, exactly?"
"She's a Borzoi. A Russian Wolfhound."
"Ah. I should know that."
Justin nodded. "Right. They're used in advertising a lot. Mostly fashion."
Brian watched her fly around the perimeter of the field. "She's beautiful."
Justin looked pleased, almost like Brian had complimented him instead of the dog. "I know. She is. Erica really loves her. It's hard to have a dog like this in the city."
Melody veered off course and ran over to them. Justin laughed and rubbed her ears, and fed her little bits of something from his fanny pack. She nibbled the treats from his fingers, then turned her dark eyes on Brian. He put his hand out and touched her nose with one finger. He could have sworn Melody was laughing at him. "I've never had a dog."
Justin rested his hand on Melody's neck. "Neither have I. Not a dog of my own. I'd like to have one someday, but I have four roommates and no time."
Brian didn't have any roommates, but he definitely had no time. He didn't say anything.
They walked back to the building. Erica and her husband weren't going to be home until late, so they took Melody back to the loft for a while. Brian refused to think about dog hair on his furniture. It was leather. It would brush off.
They had food delivered, and Justin let Brian feed a little bit of Chinese beef to Melody. The dog was definitely warming up to him, he thought as he felt her lips delicately take a little piece of meat from his fingers.
After Justin put Melody in her apartment, he came back up to Brian's loft. They were lying in bed afterward, Brian playing with Justin's hair, when Justin said something about his mom.
"What?" Brian had been half asleep.
"My mom is going to come here to spend Christmas." Justin's voice sounded sleepy. He liked to chatter after sex, and Brian didn't always listen that closely. He didn't say anything now.
Justin kissed Brian's chest and gave a little sigh. Brian tried to decide if it was a contented sigh, or if something was wrong. He fell asleep before he came to a conclusion.
He woke up in the middle of the night, and Justin was sitting at the foot of the bed tying his sneakers. Brian poked at him with his foot. "Don't go. It's only 3."
Justin looked back at him. "I couldn't sleep."
Brian poked at him again, and grinned. "Then don't sleep."
Justin smiled, and toed out of his shoes.
Brian laughed as Justin crawled up the bed, shedding his jeans on the way. "You're easy."
This time Brian kissed him and held him after they fucked, and when Justin sighed, he was positive it wasn't contentment. The words "What's wrong?" had never in his life passed his lips, and they weren't going to now. He just listened carefully to what Justin was saying. Something about his sister visiting his dad while his mom came to New York next month.
"Your parents are divorced?" Considering half of all marriages ended that way, he had a 50/50 chance of being right.
Justin nodded. Brian just stroked his hair.
"My dad wasn't too happy to have a gay son. He still isn't."
Brian's hand stilled for a minute. He thought about his own fucked up family, and his sister's fucked up kids. He thought about drunken phone calls asking for money, and his mother's eyes narrowing as she told him he was going to burn in hell. "Yeah, well, maybe you're not too happy to have an asshole for a father."
For a minute Brian thought he'd made a mistake, but Justin finally laughed. "Don't hold back or anything, Brian."
Brian smiled, and kissed his hair. "I never do."
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The next night when Brian got home from work, he started to change to go out, and hesitated. He picked up his phone instead. "Lindz?"
He heard her startled voice on the other end of the line. "Well, hi there, stranger."
Brian frowned. "How's Gus?"
Her voice got a little softer. "He's fine. Great. Did you want to talk to him?"
He can talk? Brian wondered, but didn't ask. "Sure."
He heard whispering in the background, and then a child's voice. "Hi."
His throat suddenly got tight. "Hey, sonny boy."
Gus didn't answer, and a minute later Lindsay came back on the line. "He's at that age where they don't know what to make of the phone." She paused, then went on. "You should come visit him. We tell him about you, but…"
He closed his eyes. He remembered a time when he'd made a lot of promises, none of which he'd kept unless they involved checks and expensive presents. "Yeah. Maybe I will."
Lindsay sounded sad, but just said, "Good. We'd like that."
He sat there staring at the phone after they hung up, then got dressed and went out.
Brian had been sure he needed to drink and dance and fuck a stranger or two, but when he got to the club, he felt irritated at everyone and everything. He didn't like the music or the men, and they had the heat up too high or something.
He was pushing towards the coat room to reclaim his leather jacket and get out of there when he saw a flash of blond nearby. He stopped and watched Justin dancing with a group of friends his age, two guys and a girl. After a minute, Justin turned his head towards Brian, saw him, and smiled.
It was that same high-wattage smile Brian had seen the first time Justin had looked right at him. Brian felt stupid at how glad he was that he could make Justin's face do that. Justin said something to his friends, and walked right into Brian's arms, and pulled him onto the floor.
Dancing and drinking and getting laid were exactly what he'd needed after all.
They ended up outside the club, arms around each other as the cold air dried the sweat on their skin, kissing and laughing and trying to get a cab. Brian slid his arm around Justin's waist, and then worked it under his t-shirt. "I'm going to Pittsburgh weekend after next. Do you want to come with me?"
Justin looked at him in surprise. "What are you going to the Pitts for?"
Brian cleared his throat. "To visit my son."
Justin stared. "You have a SON?"
He nodded. "He lives with his mothers. I'm really just the sperm donor, but…"
Justin pressed his lips together for a second. "I don't think that's true."
Brian shrugged, and didn't look him in the eye. "If you don't want to come…"
Justin went up on his toes, and kissed him. "I didn't say that. I'd love to."
Brian looked down at him, and felt a strange sensation, something not all that different from what he'd felt the night Lindsay had put Gus into his arms for the first time. He didn't let himself remember that night too often. He didn't let himself think about it now.
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He wasn't sure which surprised Lindsay the most: That he'd shown up at all, that he'd brought someone with him, or that the someone he'd brought with him was Justin.
They sat in the living room talking, and Melanie and Lindsay kept staring in perplexity at Justin, realizing they were being rude, and then smiling warmly at him and offering him cookies or coffee or cocoa. Fortunately, the whole thing seemed to amuse the hell out of him, so Brian just sat back and enjoyed the show.
Gus had been napping when he got there, but after around an hour, he came down the stairs. He stood on the bottom step, staring at Brian, his lip caught in his teeth.
Brian stood up, feeling a pang in his heart. He took one step closer, and it hit him that the last time he'd seen that face was in a photo album, looking at pictures of himself as a kid.
Justin was staring at Gus, thinking pretty much the same thing, when a streak of red and brown flew down the stairs, past the little boy, and into the living room. Without so much as a pause, a medium sized, short-haired dog hurtled himself at Justin, tail frantically wagging while he tried desperately to get up to his face.
Lindsay and Melanie jumped up, mortified, yelling, "Rusty! Off! Get down!"
Justin had fallen back under the onslaught, laughing. "Don't worry," he said, grabbing the dog's paws and setting them on the floor. "I love dogs."
"It's true," Brian offered helpfully. "He does."
Justin's hand went to his absent fanny pack, and he smiled and took a cookie off the table. He broke off just a crumb, smiled at the dog, and in a firm, happy voice, said, "Rusty, sit."
The dog stared at Justin uncomprehendingly, but he held the tiny piece of cookie up over his head, moving it slowly backwards. The dog followed the treat with his eyes, tipping his head back while his hindquarters gradually sank lower and lower, until he was sitting.
And Justin popped the cookie into his mouth and said, "Good boy!"
Mel and Lindz were staring at him. "How the fuck did you do that?" Mel asked.
Justin shrugged, and smiled at Gus as the little boy walked closer. "Do you want to try?" He held out a cookie bit to him.
Gus nodded, and took the piece of cookie. Rusty stood up and wagged his tail expectantly. "Just tell him ‘Rusty, sit,' then hold it over his head…… but move it backwards so he doesn't just jump up and grab it…" Justin guided Gus' hand. Rusty sat more quickly this time, and Justin made sure the cookie got into the dog's mouth quickly, too.
Gus laughed, and leaned on Justin's leg. "Do it again!"
Justin showed Gus three more times, then stopped. "That's enough. Dogs get bored if you do tricks too often. Just practice three or four times every day, and soon he'll sit whenever you tell him to."
Justin didn't seem to be paying any attention to anyone but Gus, but Brian let his arm slip down off the back of the sofa and brush the hair on the back of Justin's neck, just for a second. He smiled at Gus, who had glanced his way. "Hey, sonny boy."
Gus contemplated him for a minute, then smiled shyly back. Brian wanted to give him a hug, but it struck him that Gus really didn't know him. Instead, he swiped his hand over Rusty's head.
The dog put his front paws on the sofa between Brian and Justin, with Gus standing behind him. All three of them were petting him, and his tail thumped hard as he butted his head first into Brian's hand, then Justin's. Gus finally gave Brian a more open smile. "He likes you."
Brian grinned at his son. "I like him, too."
Justin watched the two faces, so alike, and then looked at the dog. "Good boy."
Melanie and Lindsay didn't have a guest room, so they stayed at a hotel downtown. That night, when Brian came out of the bathroom, he saw Justin standing at the window, staring out at the lights and the river. Brian walked up behind him, wrapped his arms around him, and kissed his neck.
Justin laid his hands over Brian's forearms, and tipped his head back. They kissed for a long time, and finally Justin turned around. Brian just held him.
"Gus is great."
Brian nodded. His throat was doing that tightening thing again.
Justin laughed. "And so is Rusty, although they need to train that dog."
"I think you may have inspired them in that direction."
Justin looked at Brian, went up on his toes, and kissed him. "I'm definitely a good influence."
Brian kissed him some more, then whispered in his ear, "You really are."