Speed Of Light

“Where are we going?” Justin asked as he and Brian were walking down Liberty Avenue.

“Mikey’s shop,” came the clipped answer.  Justin didn’t question Brian; if it was important to Brian, then so be it.  Justin quickened his pace to keep up with Brian’s longer strides.

“The gate’s down,” Justin commented as they stood in front of the locked door.  He shielded his eyes as he peered in between the bars of the gate.  The store was dark, with only the red emergency exit sign lit towards the back.  “Bri, where’s Michael?” Justin asked Brian. 

Ignoring Justin’s question, Brian pulled out a ring of keys. Within moments, Brian had the gate open and was just inside the door. 

“You know the alarm code,” Justin said more as a statement of fact rather than a question.

“Deb’s birthday,” Brian said, rolling his eyes.  “Not very imaginative,” he mumbled as he flipped on the light switch.  The overhead fluorescent lights hummed into life making the dreary shop a little less dreary.

“I don’t understand why he never decorated the place,” Justin commented as he looked around.  “He’s using posters for wallpaper.”

“He’s a cheap little shit,” Brian snarked.  He stood behind the counter studying the cash register.  Pressing a few buttons, the computerized machine buzzed and dinged.  Brian smirked as he quickly mastered the thing.

“Coffee!” Brian announced, arching a brow at Justin.

“Is that hint?” Justin asked.  Brian shrugged, offering Justin a crooked smile.  Justin sighed as he held out his hand.  Brian placed several twenties in Justin’s palm.  Justin looked at the cash and then up at Brian.

“Breakfast for you, coffee for me,” Brian declared as he spun the ‘open’ sign in the door announcing that the store was ready to do business.  Within a few moments a delivery man came in with several boxes.  Justin left Brian to deal with them as he went to get breakfast.

Around one in the afternoon, Justin came by with more coffee and a dry turkey sandwich on whole wheat.  Brian showed his appreciation with a peck to Justin’s cheek.  Brian took advantage of Justin’s visit to hit the bathroom as well as have lunch.  Justin took a look around, noting the subtle improvements Brian had made in the short time he was there.

The store had been very busy with customers but when there was a lull, Brian did a little rearranging of the displays.  He also spoke with several of Michael’s distributors, negotiating more favorable contracts.   His magic touch paid off as evidenced by the overflowing cash register at the end of the day.

It was close to 9 at night when Brian finally closed up shop.

“Escort me to the bank, Sunshine?” Brian asked as he tucked the bank bag into his inside jacket pocket.  When their task was done, Brian offered to buy Justin a round of drinks at Woody’s.

“Theodore, is Kinnetik still in one piece?” Brian snarked as he and Justin joined the boys at a large table.  Michael hadn’t gotten there yet.

“Just barely,” Teddy announced to the company at large.  “Cynthia was about to kill Michael and you for doing this today of all days.  You know Brown only wants to deal with you.”

Just then Michael walked into the bar wearing a three-piece suit.

“What are you dressed up for?” Emmett asked as they all turned to stare at Michael.

“I think Michael looks rather smart,” Ben piped up to defend his husband before Michael could answer.

“He does look rather handsome,” Ted admitted.  “Too bad Kinnetik doesn’t run on looks alone,” he grumbled.

“We can’t all have my advantage,” Brian said smugly.

“Will somebody explain to me why Michael’s doing a Brian Kinney imitation and why Brian is dressed is in his old but very fashionable and sexy jeans,” Emmett demanded.

“It’s their own version of Freaky Friday,” Ted began to explain.  “Michael bet Brian that he couldn’t run the shop for a day.  Brian took the bet on the proviso that Michael stand in for Brian.  We were okay until Leo Brown demanded an explanation for his latest ad.  For a minute I thought we were going to lose the contract but Cynthia did a lot of schmoozing.  Oh, you’re going golfing with Mr. Brown this weekend,” Ted said to Brian.  “And escorting his daughter to the country club dance next month.”

The guys had a good laugh at Brian’s expense.

“So how did your day go?” Emmett asked.  Brian said nothing as he handed the receipt for the day’s take over to Ted as judge.  Teddy’s eyes opened wide as he took a good look at the bottom line.

“Holy...this is just for today?” Ted asked.  Brian merely nodded, offering a little smile.  Michael plucked the receipt out of Ted’s hand then began to babble in disbelief.

Ben winced at the unintelligible nonsense his spouse was spouting.  Emmett scooted over to take a peek and gasped at the amount.  Brian’s smile turned very smug.

“There’s an old saying one of my professors at PIFA once said, I believe it’s appropriate,” Justin whispered into Brian’s ear as he took a nibble of the delectable earlobe within his reach. 

“What’s that?” Brian asked as he caressed Justin’s thigh.

“Light travels faster than sound; that’s why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.”  Brian and Justin giggled as they raised their glasses toasting their own brilliance.

“What’s so funny?” Michael wanted to know.

“Nothing,” the bad boys said together.  Brian bought another round of drinks for their table.

When it was time to go home, Ted walked Brian and Justin out.

“Brian, you were taking quite a risk today.  What if Leo really wanted to break our contract?  That contract is worth millions,” Ted said exasperated at Brian’s audacity.

“Theodore, I thought I trained you better than that,” Brian said as he arched a brow then waited until Ted got it.

“Wait a minute, Leo knew.”  Brian nodded.  “So you don’t have to escort Leo’s daughter?”

“Well, I had already promised to take her.”

“Hey!” Justin griped as he gave Brian a little smack to his arm.

“Networking, Justin, I’ll be networking.  And so will Nancy.  Leo’s grooming her to take over the business and besides, she’s a lesbian.”

“Oh.  But Bri, I still don’t understand why you did this?  What do you know about selling comics?”

“Think about it, Justin.  Michael practically raised me on comics, I may not like them but certainly I know a thing or two about them.  And Debbie was worried about the store.  A lot of the smaller businesses on Liberty have been closing.  Debbie was concerned that Michael would go under too.  Besides, Sunshine, I can sell almost anything.”

“So you switched for a day on the pretense of a bet,” Ted caught on.  “That’s brilliant.”

“Theodore, you are sworn to secrecy under penalty of death and at risk of breaking your accountant’s oath,” Brian ordered.

“My lips are sealed,” Ted said making the lock and key sign.

“So is Michael’s store okay?” Justin asked as he slipped his hand into Brian’s.

“It’s fine,” Brian assured him as they bid Ted a goodnight then walked toward the loft.

*****

“Ma, are you sure Brian won’t find out?” Michael asked into his phone.

“No, sweetheart, he won’t,” Debbie replied.

“Okay.  Bye Ma.”

“Bye, honey,” Debbie said as she snapped her phone shut.

“He doesn’t know I know he knows?” Brian confirmed as he sipped his coffee while sitting at the diner counter.

“No, kiddo and thank you.  It all went as planned.  I can sleep better knowing that he’s financially secure.”

“Ted will keep an eye on things.”

“I know he will and with you playing guardian angel, I won’t have to worry,” Deb said as she topped off Brian’s coffee then got herself one.

“To the speed of light,” Brian quipped as he clinked coffee mugs with Debbie then took a satisfying sip.

-end-

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