I didn't hold out much hope of Robert ever showing up at the flat. I gave him my card. He wasn't remotely impressed. Why should he be? To him, I was just a former glam rocker who still dressed exceedingly well.

But I knew one thing he didn't know.

Curt Wild. What Robert wouldn't give to meet his idol.

I hated to use Curt's name like that, but I had promised Arthur. His judgment was rarely, if ever, wrong. But more than that...I had a feeling myself about Robert and Bruno. These two were destined to be together. Onstage or in bed. Or both. My task was an easy one.

I simply had to get them there.

But first...they had to be in the same place at the same time.

*****

Curt grinned at me. How terribly self-indulgent of me to think that smile was solely for my benefit. Of course, Brian was standing behind me. The pair of them are a couple of lovestruck fools most of the time. So I considered it a real coup whenever they paid me the slightest bit of attention anymore.

"Curt, it's kind of you to do this. Honestly." I hate begging, and even though this didn't really qualify, it still felt like begging to me. I wanted to do this for Arthur. On my own. But I couldn't quite pull it off. But no matter.

It was good to have friends.

"No problem, Jack." Curt smiled that slow, sensual smile that brought a hectic flush to my cheeks. All right, I had Arthur, and God knows, I'm hopelessly besotted with the boy. But I'm not immune to Curt Wild's charm. I'd have to be dead not to react to that...that delicious curve of the lips and that insouciant sparkle in his eyes. Ahem...Arthur has nothing to worry about. Truly.

"You don't have to stay once Robert's met you. I don't want to impose-"

"Jack, will you stop it? I'm not the least bit irritated by you using me as bait." Again that lightning quick flash of the eyes and that hot yet sweet grin.

"Well, I know how sacred your time off is these days, Curt."

"Hey, I got my main man here with me. So...I'm cool."

He certainly was. Curt Wild reeked of coolness. He was one of those people who was utterly unaware of it, too. Which, of course, is why he stayed that way.

Brian handed Curt a can of soda. It was a standing joke between them that neither one of them was able to touch anything hard...except for each other. No drugs. No alcohol. Well, maybe the occasional glass of champagne on New Year's Eve, but that was an entirely different story.

"Don't forget, Jack," Brian reminded me in his tobacco-colored voice. "It's Tommy, not Brian."

I'm certain I looked outraged. It was one of my better looks. "I'm not the one who keeps forgetting, Bri-shit, Tommy." I had the grace to blush. Oh, not over my mistake, but the swear word. God had given us all so many colorful words to choose from that I felt  as though I'd failed whenever I cursed.

"I forgive you," Brian said, still managing to look like an angel who'd fallen to earth. His long, dark hair merely enhanced his natural good looks, and it contrasted well with his pale skin and his light blue eyes. He was a changeling, in every sense of the word, and some errant god or goddess somewhere had obviously switched Brian Slade for Tommy Stone. It was one of the wonders of my life that I had gotten to know both of them, and I have to say, Tommy was more than the sum of Brian's best parts. He was a reflection of everything that Curt loved most, and, I think, having the security of that love gave Brian the courage to finally be who he really was.

Curt took a sip of his soda. "When is this kid supposed to be here?"

"Any min-" The doorbell rang. "That's either him or Bruno."

"What's this Bruno like, Jack?" Brian asked, his voice deceptively casual. He didn't care much for surprises.

I thought for a moment. "It's hard to describe, but if I had to pick one word, I think it would be..."

Arthur opened the door. Speak of the devil...it was Bruno.

"...intense."

Bruno, for all his floppy hair and lambent blue eyes, was the total antithesis of Brian. Or Tommy. There was a well of pain so deep in him that it didn't take a psychic to see that this was one hard to know young man. Any resemblance I might have imagined between Bruno and Brian was illusory at best.

Bruno was a troubled boy who hid in plain sight. Brian had outgrown that particular image and left it behind long ago.

Brian held out his hand, but Bruno regarded it warily, as if it were a snake about to strike. Curt glanced at his lover, and Brian quickly pulled back his hand. "I'm Tommy Stone, and this is-"

"Curt Wild. You're Curt Wild," Bruno said with a faint but distinct trace of hero worship.

Curt chuckled. "You've heard of me, huh?"

"God, yes. You're famous. I...sorry," Bruno looked guiltily at Jack. "That was rude of me. I meant to say hello to all of you."

I smiled at Bruno. There was no denying that he was a difficult case, but he had the capacity to learn from his mistakes. Second chances were hardly the sole purview of God. It might not be up to me to give him that opportunity to turn his life around, but I was going to reach for it with both hands.

Bruno forced himself to look away from the shining light that was Curt Wild. "Tommy Stone. You and Curt-"

This time it was Arthur who interjected with a curiously graceful, "Yes, they are. They're our best friends." There was an underlying warning in that. My angel could be so dear when he was being protective of us.

The doorbell rang again. That would be Robert. I held my breath as I opened the door.

"Well, I'm here."

"I can see that. Why don't you come in and meet everyone, Robert?"

Robert balked, his blue eyes darting here and there. It was obvious to me that the boy was shy, but I wasn't sure how his behavior would come across to the others. "This is Robert Lewis. I found him at Frenchy's. Doing rather bad karaoke."

"Oh?" Curt prompted, having already been briefed on just what Robert had been singing. "What song?"

Bruno turned his head and those glistening eyes that always seemed on the verge of tears fixed on Robert. "Were you doing Gimme Danger?"

Robert almost smiled, and I took his arm, carefully leading him away from the front door. "This is Arthur's latest discovery, Bruno Capelli."

"Cool name," Robert declared, apparently impressed with something he saw in Bruno's eyes.

Bruno shrugged. "I dunno. I was born with it." But it was equally evident that Bruno found something captivating in Robert's eyes.

There was a dangerous lull in the conversation. Oh, no, I couldn't have that. One of them might get to thinking and that could be a problem. "Robert's from Scotland."

I was completely unprepared for the look of fear in Robert's eyes. "Robert? I didn't think that was a secret. If nothing else, your accent would give you away. You know that, don't you?"

"Umm...yeah, of course," Robert agreed shakily.

"You were in the States for a while, though, weren't you? What was that like?"

I wasn't wrong about that look. A strong puff of wind would blow the young man away. He was trembling. "I...it was...boring. Dead boring, actually."

I frowned. There was a story there, but I knew he didn't trust any of us enough to share it. Yet.

"I think maybe I should go."

Bruno stunned all of us by grabbing Robert by the arm. "Don't go. You haven't talked to Curt yet. Besides..." the dark-haired boy added, "I'd...like to hear you sing."

That admission must have cost Bruno a great deal. I couldn't even begin to imagine how long it would have taken me to open him up that much.

Robert shifted from foot to foot and bit his lip. "I don't know..."

"If you'll sing...I'll play."

Robert gave Bruno an artless but utterly disarming smile. "Okay..."

At once, Curt scrambled for a place on the sofa and slung an arm around Brian once he was settled there. "We're ready."

Bruno glanced at him with those poor, wounded eyes and asked, "This isn't like a real audition, is it? I mean...playing for Curt Wild and Tommy Stone...I dunno if I can. I'm so...um..."

Suddenly Robert was at his side, his blue-gray eyes kindness itself as they lit on Bruno's pale face. "Don't be nervous. Y'see, I'm a bit of a screw-up. So if anyone's going to come off bad here, it'll be me. Not you."

"What would you like me to play?" This was directed at me. I took my time thinking. "Do you know The Ballad of Maxwell Demon?"

I could hear the collective gasp behind me. I didn't dare look, but I could feel Arthur's hand sliding into the small of my back.

Bruno blinked, his sooty eyelashes fluttering for a few moments as they struggled to cover those expressive blue eyes. "Umm...I don't want to be rude, Jack, but...that's a mean thing to say...in front of Curt. I mean..."

God, I didn't expect this much of a reaction, or was it that I didn't expect this reaction? I was seeking a certain level of emotional response, but I truly had no intention of hurting Curt or Brian. I knew they understood...but did Bruno?

All at once Bruno was clearly fighting tears. "I know no one knows whatever happened to...to Brian Slade...but I always thought...maybe he died from a broken heart."

Arthur's hand tightened its grip on me. My love. When I dared to peek at Curt and Brian, Brian was snuggled tightly under Curt's chin, while Curt's fingers played restlessly with Brian's hair. "Bruno..." Curt said, his gray eyes somber, "thank you for being so...considerate of my feelings, but..." Curt paused and kissed Brian tenderly on the forehead. "I think Brian...wherever he is...would tell you...he's finally happy."

"Jack?" Bruno asked in a quavering voice. "Do you still want me to play it?"

"No," I said softly. Arthur rubbed his hand up and down my back, and suddenly I wanted nothing more than to be alone with him. "You can play...whatever you want."

Bruno looked in Robert's direction and gave him a diffident smile.  "Do you know Name?"

"Aye, I do."

Whatever awkwardness had been the bane of  Robert's existence, it was banished with the first clear, sweet notes of the song. It was one of the most moving renditions of the song I had ever heard.

When the last notes of the song faded away, I felt tears stinging my eyes. I never cried. Well, hardly ever. It played havoc with my eye make-up. But Robert's voice, freed from the confines of trying to be someone he most assuredly was not, combined with Bruno's guitar, which was softly evocative of another person, time and place, made me want to weep.

I could tell that the song had special significance for Bruno. The fact that Robert, of all people, knew such a song, and could sing it with such heartfelt intensity, was not lost on Bruno either. He was looking at him with his heart in his eyes, and unless I missed my guess, that was a look that was going to get Robert into a great deal of trouble.

"That was beautiful, man," said Curt. Brian nodded without saying a word, and it seemed as though he held Curt just a bit tighter.

"Yeah," whispered Arthur. My sweet, emotional Arthur. I wouldn't have him any other way.

Robert still hadn't moved. He was staring at Bruno, but I couldn't tell what he was thinking.

I took a deep breath and said, "Well, boys, if you think you can stand to be with each other seven days a week to begin with, you've got yourselves a gig."

"For real?" Bruno whispered.

"Yes, Bruno, for very real." Pause. "Now why don't you both take the rest of the night off to get acquainted?"

I was an inveterate matchmaker. It's a sickness. But I can't seem to stop.

Bruno blushed, while Robert merely looked puzzled.

"I have a long walk home. I'd better get started."

"Don't you have a car?" Robert asked.

"No. I...can't even afford the bus or the train, to be honest."

Robert's tongue flicked out to moisten his lips, and Bruno's eyes darkened. Bruno was clearly smitten, but Robert seemed completely unaware of  his scrutiny. "It's late. You shouldn't be alone. I can walk you home."

"How will you get back then?"

That stopped Robert cold. "Well," he said after what seemed to be great deliberation, "I could always stay with you, couldn't I?"

Bruno tugged on his lower lip with sharp white teeth, and I could tell he wanted to say something, but he didn't dare. "I..."

"Well?"

"There's someone there. I have a...a roommate," Bruno rushed to get out.

"Oh."  That definitely hadn't occurred to Robert, and from the look of him, he wasn't sure how he felt about that.

Reluctant to withdraw his offer, Robert continued, "I'll just find my own way back then."

"You sure?"

"Aye."

After they left, together, I might add, Arthur threw his arms around my neck and kissed me. That was by far the best part of the evening.

*****

The rest of what I know is mere hearsay. But I did hear it directly from Bruno. Much, much later.

Robert was perturbed by the look of the neighborhood where Bruno lived. "This is a bit dodgy here, isn't it?"

Bruno flashed him a quick look. "Can't afford any better."

"What does your roommate have to say about all this? Isn't it dangerous for her?"

Bruno sighed. "Him."

"What?"

"I said, my roommate is a him."

"Oh." They fell silent again for another half a block.

"Does he, um, you know, treat you well?"

"What the hell business is it of yours?" Bruno snapped. He was tired and hungry and he had a cross-examination of sorts to look forward to when he got home.

"I just asked a question."

"Well, don't."

Robert looked hurt, but his step never faltered. They walked for another block before he spoke again. "Look, I know something bad happened to you. I want to know if you're, um, safe, um, where you are."

Bruno stopped. "Are you bloody worried about me?"

"Aye. I don't know why. I don't even know you. But I like you."

"What do you want, Robert?"

"Want?" Robert looked momentarily confused. "I don't want anything."

"Everybody wants something. What do you want?"

You. The word came unbidden to Robert's lips, and he struggled not to blurt it out and further embarrass himself.

Ignoring Bruno's last question, Robert asked, "Is this where you live, then?"

Bruno nodded, keeping his head down and his thoughts private.

"Do you think I could come in for a minute and get warm? It's a little cold out here."

"No," Bruno whispered.

"Why not? He won't let you have any visitors? Or is it friends he objects to?"

"Stop," Bruno murmured, and Robert could hear the tears in his voice.

"I want to bloody help!" Robert said a bit too loudly.

There was a twitch of the curtain shielding the first floor flat's living room from view. Bruno gazed at Robert, a bit wild-eyed now, and said, "You've got to stop. Please. I don't want anything to happen to you."

"What's going to happen to you then when you bloody well walk in there?" Robert cried.

Bruno glanced quickly in both directions before pressing his lips to Robert's. Then before Robert could react, Bruno darted away and was swallowed up by the darkness.

For the longest time, Robert stood there, rubbing his fingers over his lips, wondering why things suddenly felt different.

Maybe someday he would be lucky enough to find out.

End