Queer As Folk - What Happened Next?

66. A Different Perspective

"Hold on, I still want you. Come back, I still need you."

"If you dare tell Michael, I swear..."

"I won't. I promise."

"He won't cope. I saw that when Ben was ill..."

"I won't!"

"Or anyone else.... I mean it..."

Ted gives one of his looks to Brain, pursing his lips as he delivers it. It tells Brian everything. He won't say anything, even though he doesn't agree with him. Brian thinks of something else...

"Or Blake Ted."

"You want me to lie to my own boyfriend," Ted states blankly. It's one thing not to say anything to anyone else but to lie at home too?

"Yes."

There's a muscle twitching in Brian's jaw as he turns away, back to his desk. "If this was turned around and I was telling you to keep shtum and told you that you couldn't tell Justin about me, would you? Ted blurts out.

The instant it's out of Ted's mouth is the instant he regrets it. The flash of hurt and regret that passes over Brian's face is one that he never thought he'd see. 

"Sorry." Ted shakes his head, annoyed at himself. "Sorry."

Brian perches on the edge of his desk, his fingers gripping around the wood as he takes a deep breath, ignoring the last comment. "So we're agreed. Babylon opens Thursday, I fly to New York Friday for Justin's opening, come back Monday and then Tuesday..."

"Yes, Tuesday." Ted nods in what he hopes is an encouraging fashion. 

~~~

"Honey, you will be careful won't you? And you..." Debbie doesn't give Michael a chance to answer her before turning around to her son-in-law, his husband. "...You need to look after him, and call me the minute you get back home, the minute! You hear me? Because I won't sleep until you do!"

"Deb, there's not going to be another bomb..."

"And how exactly do you know that?" Debbie's voice rises several octaves as she rounds on Ted. 

"Because I know. I've worked on this for months now. We've even had the police in to give it a once over."

"Oh my god!"

"Debbie, Debbie, it'll be alright," Ben's soothing voice rumbles over Debbie's objections as he takes her by the shoulders and looks into her face, trying to calm her down. Like mother, like son he chuckles internally to himself. Although Michael is completely the opposite for once and very calm about the whole thing. After all, it was him who persuaded Brian to not sell the bombed out club but to look at it as a 'fuck you' to the bombers. 

"In fact, you all need to be careful!" She tells them as she extracts herself from Ben's rather large hands and turns to the rest of the men standing in her house. 

"Yes Debbie, we'll all be careful," Emmett assures her from the middle of the room as he adjusts his neck scarf in the mirror above the electric fire. "We promise."