The Biggest Prick in Pittsburgh- AU series part 6/12

[guavejuice]

Banner and manips by the amazing urugwaj thank you so much!!

Author:guavejuice
Pairing:Brian/Justin.
Other Characters:Vic, Debbie, Micheal, Ben, Rodney.
Beta:Kim predec2 Can't thank you enough, my dear!!!
A/N:This is NOT a WIP. I'll be posting regularly.
Click Here for previous chapters
Disclaimer:I own nothing but this story.
Comments are love.


Part 6

"It was so long ago, I wouldn't know where to begin," Vic points out almost sadly.

"Well, just start at any given point, and we'll see where it goes," Justin offers.

Vic nods as he begins in a soft, but stable voice, “I've always known I was gay. I grew up not so far from here. Debbie is three years older than I, plus we have another sister who's younger than we are, but I don't think you'd be interested in her. When Debbie's son Michael came out his senior year in high school, she practically forgot about us. She wouldn't even call on holidays or birthdays; nothing. Michael's dad was gay as well. He was a fucking drag queen,” he tells Justin with an ironic laugh. “Can you believe that? Hell, my poor sister had to change her own family name and assume that name for Michael’s sake, so her sister wouldn't find out and tell the rest of our big, conservative, Italian family."

Justin sits in stunned silence, typing quietly on the laptop he has brought with him.

"I swear I don't know how I would have ended up if it hadn't been for her," Vic continues as he glances over at his hardworking sister.

Justin lifts his eyes from his laptop and looks right at Vic.

Vic lets out a sigh, trying to shake off his sadness all of a sudden. "So… I guess you're ready to hear the rest of it now,” he tells him.

"Look, we can continue some other time if you don't feel up to it at the moment," Justin answers.

"No, it’s fine," Vic reassures him.

"There was this gorgeous Italian kid in my class when I was in senior year. His name was Tony. We’d been flirting before when he'd been in detention, but I obviously never told anyone except Debbie. God, the guy was a pisser of a kisser, but he was hot. He looked like Tony Curtis in Spartacus, if you know what I mean. If my mom or his dad had found out what we'd done in the locker rooms after school, they would have cut my head off. But luckily no one ever found out, and I wasn't brave enough to do what I really wanted to do: ask him to be my date at the senior prom. I had to take Connie Conseulo, instead.” He shook his head in disbelief, even now. “God, what a joke,” he muttered in disgust.

"I never got to go to my senior prom, either," Justin admits softly after a slight pause.

"You? You strike me as a bold, young man, Justin," Vic says with surprise.

"Maybe. But the guy I wanted to take as my date chickened out, and I didn't want to take just any girl," Justin concludes.

"So did you fuck him?" Justin can’t help asking a few minutes later. “Your young Tony Curtis?"

"Hell, no," Vic huffs as he lets out a short, dry laugh. "My young Tony Curtis was sent to a military school right after we graduated from high school. In fact, I think he was killed in Vietnam for all I remember… what a waste…"

"And what did you do then?" Justin inquires as he leans back in the booth.

Vic shrugs. "There was nothing much I could have done, so I ran away," Vic discloses, his mind going back in time to a moment long ago.

"You ran away?" Justin exclaims, his eyes wide.

"That's what lots of lost boys used to do back then, and sadly, they still do…" Vic answers in a somber voice.

"That's why Debbie is so fond of run away boys?" Justin asks quietly.

Vic smiles wistfully as he tells him, “And then some.”

Was Brian one of those lost boys? A sliver of a thought crosses Justin's mind like a flashlight, but he's not saying anything out loud.

"Where did you run away to?" he asks instead.

"The Big Apple, the City that Never Sleeps; New York City," Vic announces as if he was that 18 year old boy again with his new-found freedom "It was fucking hell to try to make it out there back then, being a young gay kid, even in the Big City," Vic remarks.

Justin stops typing to gaze over at Vic thoughtfully. He recalls the way the school board treated him and his friend Daphne in their senior year of high school when they tried to prompt mutual understanding and created the Gay/Straight Student Alliance. It lasted two days and ended up with Justin being suspended from school, despite his mother's vehement protest.

"Back then we could only dream of equality, GLAAD, FLAG and all that shit," Vic says. "But fuck, we had Studio 54, Danceteria, and all those hot places. That was worth all of it. I even got to see Liza, believe it or not, and Andy Warhol and a few of his ‘gang.’”

"You did?" Justin asks, impressed. Vic obviously knows his gay idols, alright.

"Yup, that was a few years after I landed in New York City, and when I got a job as a pastry chef," he mentions. “Fuck, black bottoms were my specialty," he grins.

Justin chuckles again, his face turning red.

"I meant the cakes," Vic clarifies, obviously amused by the sultry, double-meaning effect his statement has on Justin.

"And that's when I met Roberto," Vic blurts out, his voice softening as he says the name. "I don't know how we survived more than three years together. The man was impossibly sexy and never said he loved me, but damn, he was clearly in love with me – head over heels – and I felt the same way about him. He was stubborn as a mule, though, and refused to admit it. He never said we were a couple and he kept fucking around, which is why he didn't want us to move in together, even though we practically already were. I spent most of my time at his crummy, one-room apartment in Williamsburg.” He grinned. “Except for the times when I decided I couldn't stand him and moved out to stay with friends I had met at the club or at the café where I was working. Yet we couldn't stay apart for more than three or four weeks, and even when we tried, we'd always bump into each other on the street, in a club, at the café…not to mention the makeup sex was more than worth it each time around," Vic says with a sly smile.

That sounds familiar, a voice resonates in Justin's head as he continues typing, waiting for Vic to take a sip of water and collect his thoughts.

"And then one day – I think it was after the Stonewall Riots and all the anti-gay movement – Roberto decided to officially ask me to move in with him. His timing sucked, because at about the same time I got a job offer in Los Angeles. But after a lot of thought I decided, much to my dear Sis's disapproval, to follow my heart and move in with Roberto instead of moving to L.A…"

"And then?" Justin asks in rapt fascination, being the romantic that he is.

Vic looks at him awkwardly as he reveals sadly, “We broke up after three weeks. For good. We survived three and a half years with all the tricking and heartache, but after we officially made that commitment to each other, he still couldn't stop tricking. I just couldn't stand it. I loved him so passionately, but it just wasn't worth it." He sighs. “I wanted more from him.”

"He cheated on you?" Justin asks in astonishment, sitting on the edge of his seat.

"You could say that,” Vic answers dryly.

"Damn," Justin huffs in a decidedly non-journalistic manner. There he is sitting with this amazing strong, older gay man, listening to his life story as it unfolds bit by bit and feeling such an uncanny connection towards him, yet he knows there's something more here.

No wonder Brian feels so strongly about Vic, Justin can’t help thinking, wondering if Brian ever felt the same type of agony over their own break up while they were walking down the same type of rocky road toward a stable, committed, relationship. The bump in the road was Ethan Gold, an intern with the magazine who literally took advantage of Justin's declining relationship with his editor at that point. Justin knew he was making the biggest mistake of his life at the time, because he clearly wasn't in love with Ethan. But he somehow thought, much to his mom and best friend Daphne’s disapproval, that having a few less-than-mediocre fucks with this guy in his cheap imitation of a loft would help make a point to Brian that he can do without him.

But then after he found out that the sleazebag had fucked another guy on the side, a heartbroken but rather somber Justin had realized it was Brian who could actually give him all he ever wanted, and that it was Brian who never broke his promises to him. Considering Justin was still one of the top journalists at Out and Proud Magazine, it wasn't easy for either one of them to see each other at work every day and then come back to an empty apartment, but luckily it didn't take much to convince Brian to take Justin back.

Talk about a hot as hell reunion fuck!

"Are you okay, Justin?" Vic says after a slight pause, noticing the faraway look in his younger companion’s watery, blue eyes.

"Yeah, I’m fine; fucking allergies," Justin shrugs in explanation, pulling a paper napkin from the dispenser on the table and wiping his teary eyes. "Holy shit, look at the time," he blurts out as he notices the clock on his IPad screen.

“Would your hubby be worried?" Vic smiles.

"He's not my hubby, yet,” Justin hastily replies. “But I think he might be slightly wondering where I am at this time of night, even though he would never say that out loud," Justin reveals.

"I know Brian Kinney far too well, believe me," Vic discloses with a smile. "And I can tell you that he's the most content I've seen him in years," he informs him.

Justin smirks quietly to himself, relishing the thought of Vic's statement.

"So, what happened after you and Roberto broke up?" he asks.

"He passed away a couple of years later. We never knew anything about AIDS back then, but apparently it was already present when we were fucking each other bareback in all the backrooms and back alleys," Vic informed him somberly.

"So…Did you…?" Justin sounds alarmed.

"God, NO!" Vic booms out adamantly. "I was fucking lucky to get out in one piece, so to speak, but some of my good friends didn't. After Roberto died, I decided to surrender to Debbie’s ongoing requests and return here to the Pitts. I've been living with her for what seems like forever now, playing host to herds of her lost boys."

"So that's how you met Brian?" Justin asks curiously, someone figuring what Vic’s answer would be.

"Indeed," Vic nods in affirmation. "I’ve known him since he was fourteen, back when he used to spend hours in Debbie's kitchen with my nephew Michael. Hell, if I'm the biggest prick in Pittsburgh, then Brian Kinney sure comes in as a close second. But don't tell him I said that,” Vic adds with a smile.

Justin nods. “I won’t,” he promises him as Vic nods in response.

"Well, I’d better head back home myself now,” Vic tells him, suddenly feeling a little tired as he stands up. “You should join Rodney and me at one of our Sunday lunches soon. Maybe you might even convince Brian to eventually join us," he suggests. "My sister makes the best ziti."

“Thanks,” Justin tells him softly with a smile as he shuts down his laptop and moves to leave as well, pondering everything Vic had told him and deciding that the man had much more depth to him than he would have ever imagined.


TBC…

Comments

[shadownyc.livejournal.com]

I'm glad the interview went well. I look forward to reading how it will impact Brian and Justin's relationship. :)

[guavejuice.livejournal.com]

Thank you SO much for your amazing ongoing support my dear Car.
The first part of the interview went well indeed. There's more to come.
*hugs you tight*

[techgirl-on-ij.livejournal.com]

I finally had time to read this story and I'm really enjoying it :)

[guavejuice.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much my dear techi. I always appreciate your supportive feedback and it means a lot to me to know you're enjoying it.
I hope you're well, hon
*hugs*

[yumyumpm.livejournal.com]

This reads so like Brian and Justin only it was Vic and Tony. I like that Vic, in this version, didn't contract AIDs. Love the storyline and can't wait for the next installment.

[guavejuice.livejournal.com]

I'm so thrilled you got that Vic/Tony- B/J vibe because that's what I was going for. And NO I couldn't 'kill' Vic *sigh*
Thank you so much for your supportive kind feedback. It means a lot to me.
*hugs*

[bksbracelet.livejournal.com]

I think Justin may get some insight into her lost boy during this interview process

[guavejuice.livejournal.com]

I guess he will ;)
Thank you so much for your supportive thoughtful feedback, Chris, It means a lot to me.
*hugs*

[weenlau.livejournal.com]

Oh, this chapter made me teary eyed like Justin. :'(

[guavejuice.livejournal.com]

aww... thank you so much for your kind heartfelt feedback, Laura. It means a lot to me.
*hugs*

[spike7451.livejournal.com]

What a brilliant interview.

Parallel stories somewhat.

[guavejuice.livejournal.com]

As I see it pre-show Vic was quite a character so I guess his and are somewhat parallel to Brian and Justin's...
Thank you so much for your supportive kind feedback my dear Lyn. It means a lot to me.
More to come soon
*hugs you tight*

[urugwaj.livejournal.com]

I see Justin as a good listener. And are you trying to make me hate Ethan even more? ;)

[guavejuice.livejournal.com]

Justin can be a great listener :)
And as for Ethan... I think the more Justin looked back on it (even in an alternative universe ) the more he realized his fling with Mr.Gold was simply a huge mistake.
Thank you SO much for your thoughtful supportive feedback. I'm so thrilled to know you enjoy it. It means a lot to me.
HUGS