Justin

Justin gets home in time to greet Eleanor at her door: her roommate Kira works even longer hours & isn't home when they get inside her place. Though Zach cleared up the whole Eleanor moving to Denver thing, the conversation left Justin uneasy: he relies on her being there, though they both work a lot & must spend time apart, she's always there when he wakes up in the morning, curled up against him. The thought that he might some day wake to find her gone clutches at his heart, and he grasps her in a desperate embrace, "You wouldn't leave me, Elle, if you had to leave here, would you? I'd go anywhere for you...," he whispers hoarsely. She smiles at him, her sparkling smile that she shines only for him, when they are close like this, locked in a tight embrace. "I know that, Justin...when I get my money we're going to travel extensively, I expect you to be with me wherever I go," she says with a little laugh, and then, teasing his hair, she looks him in the eyes and speaks seriously, "I'd never go anywhere without you, Justin. I'm not as expressive as you are about how I feel, but you are more important to me than anything or anyone else. We're very alike, we're both solitary by nature, but I think we are better at being ourselves together than we were when we were alone."

He releases his fear in a groaning sigh and kisses her. Trusting anything is difficult, but he needs to trust this or his life has no meaning. She didn't come easily: he worked for her & waited, and still sometimes cannot really believe he has her, like itt could vanish as though it never were. Eleanor presses herself against him, her breath is warm in his ear as she whispers, "Let's make love, right here." "Let's go to my room," he whispers back: Kira is a photographer's assistant, she has no set hours & can come in at any time, there isn't need to risk the embarassment.

"Right here," she insists, "Right now," tightening her grip around him as she wriggles out of her suit. She was a shy girl when he met her, he would watch her friend Xtina boss her around, it was so contrary to the power in her stride, the brilliance in her eyes when she would speak about things that meant something to her, he had to hold himself back from whispering to her that she was better than that. She's bolder now, confidence grows in her daily and Justin is proud knowing that he in part has nurtured it. He thought the best life he could live would be to sink back into the obscurity from which he came, untouched, leaving no mark of his existence on the world. Eleanor has touched him, aand he's touched her, they've given each other the better part of their souls, and when she someday comes into the greatness he knows she heading towards, the part of him that is part of her will partake in her glory.

There is no refusing her what she wants, and it's her roommate she'll have to deal with if they are interrupted. When they make love, she opens to him fully, he tastes her soul in the sweat he kisses from her breasts, breathes her essence from her lips. She growls & calls him 'Tiger', sighs & calls him 'pussycat', she cries his name out loud and moans that she loves him.

This time, they were dressed again just in time, barely escaping Kira walking in on them making love.

It can't go on much longer, he thinks, the situation has come to head. Kira complains openly about his being always in their house,and his house has grown increasingly rancorous, with Diego perpetually joking that Justin & Gavin should pay extra rent for their extra 'roommates'. They need their own place, surely she must see that.

Kira says bluntly what Justin is thinking, "Get your own place already!"

Justin cooks dinner, which temporarily calms the situation. Kira may not want him around all the time, but having him around at dinner time is another story. When he offered to get a place with her after her mother cut her off, Eleanor refused because she wanted to do it on her own. She's got her job, so she could be just as independent sharing rent with him as she is with Kira. That is, she has her job if his upcoming appointment with Mercedes goes well. He's only got one more day to come up with a way to tell Mercedes he's taking her off his roster that won't make her want to take it out on Eleanor, and so far he's got nothing.

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