Author’s Comments: This chapter is a continuation of the previous chapter. This chapter takes place on the same day and continues into the next chapter. We are back to normal chapter lengths. Lois, thank you for the beta...you are the greatest!
Chapter 14 – First Times Meanwhile at the Loft…(Day 18) Justin wanted to get an early start on the day, so Brian allowed Gus to sleep late, while he packed a few items. Brian also packed the two additional outfits that he and Gus had purchased for Justin. Justin had not protested too much about the first outfit. Brian was thinking things had gone pretty well, but he decided not to push his luck and mention the other outfits. Brian’s plan was to keep them hidden away in Justin’s closet and let him find them in due course…and deal with any fallout then. Gus and Brian showered together and quickly got dressed. Of course Gus was very concerned that Justin had left before he had awakened, but Brian assured him that Justin would be joining them later. Gus seemed relieved. Over a scrumptious breakfast of juice and cereal and milk, Brian went over the day’s activities with Gus. “Did you know that the house has furniture in it now?” Brian casually asked, watching for Gus’s reaction. “Really?” “So I guess you would probably like to see your room, huh?” This would be the first opportunity that Gus would have to see his room all furnished and ready for him sleep in it. “My room?” “You know Justin left you a little surprise in your room at the house,” Brian teased. “He wouldn’t tell me what it was, but he told me to be sure to have you check it out.” Suddenly Gus couldn’t finish his breakfast fast enough. He could hardly wait to see Justin’s surprise. So with the car properly loaded, father and son were on their way to West Virginia. *** Arriving at the house, Brian helped Gus out of the car, while Thomas unloaded the bags from the car. “Well Sonny Boy, are you ready to see the house?” Brian asked gleefully. Gus nodded an excited yes. Passing under the ivy-covered archway, Brian and Gus entered the foyer. Brian helped Gus off with his coat and hung it on the coat rack. They took a few steps so that they could peek into the nearby room. “Things sure look different, huh Gus?” Brian commented. “We can actually see where we’re going this time.” Thinking this was how things started before…Gus had to ask, “Are we going to be dark again, Dad?” “No Gus, with Justin safely at work, this time there should be no surprises,” Brian said hesitantly, still thinking in the back of his mind that with Justin, one could never really tell what was going to happen next.” Brian gave Gus the tour of the lower level of the house, and they even got a chance to peek into Justin’s studio. Gus especially liked the media room and the comfortable chairs. Gus also noticed that The Yellow Submarine was all queued up and ready for viewing. Brian just smiled. Brian had not paid much attention to the media room before, but he was pleasantly surprised to find that duplicate copies of his collection of Marlon Brando, James Dean, and Humphrey Bogart movies were comfortably tucked away on a special shelf. “This house is really big, Dad,” Gus commented during the tour. Brian took this to be ‘mini-Kinney speak’ for ‘Dad will you carry me’. So Brian lifted Gus into his arms. Gus hugged his dad upon being lifted up. After touring the first floor, Brian and Gus moved upstairs. Brian showed Gus where he and Justin would be sleeping. Gus liked the fireplace in the their room. Now Gus was ready to see his room. Brian slowly led Gus to his bedroom door. Brian had a blindfold hidden in his pocket. He quickly slipped the blindfold over Gus’s eyes. “Are you ready to see your room?” Brian asked with a smile. “C’mon Dad, I can’t see.” “Are you sure you’re ready?” “Dad!” “Ok. Here goes,” Brian said, removing the blindfold. Gus had already entered the room and immediately located the oversized teddy bear that Justin had insisted Gus would absolutely need in his new room. Gus’s first move was to go and hug the teddy bear. After seeing the teddy bear, Gus took in the furnishings for his room. Brian lay comfortably across the bed, while Gus checked out each toy and every book that had been placed in the room. Finally Gus joined his father on his bed. Gus loved everything about the room and he hugged his father to say thank you. Gus started to look through his drawers and closets and found out that Justin had already put Gus’s clothes away in the room. So pretty much, Gus was all moved in. Brian was just as surprised as Gus by this turn of events. Brian left Gus alone to let him get acquainted with his room, while Brian returned downstairs and entered his office on the lower level of the house. He placed few calls. “Cynthia, so is my company still standing?” Brian began with a smirk. “Only because Justin been in the art department most of the morning,” she quipped. “He completed his finishing touches to the boards, so they’re ready for your review. “Brian, the boards really look great.” “That’s good. Justin’s not answering his cell phone. Can you get him to call me?” “He’s not here. He got hungry, so he left for an early lunch. He’s at the Diner. Murph and George mentioned that they want him to review another campaign, so he agreed to come back. Then I think he’ll be heading to the house soon afterwards.” “Is anything else going on I should know about?” “Just that Susan Weaver wants to meet the art director for her campaign. She stopped by again.” “Susan isn’t usually this much trouble. Rudolpho Silvestri must still be giving her a lot of sleepless nights.” “So the next time she shows up…what do you want me to tell her?” “It’s not long until the first meeting. Things will take care of themselves.” *** Justin drove into the driveway while Gus and Brian were outside practicing soccer moves. They both waved and smiled. After quickly changing into a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt, he located the outfit for Gus, which Emmett had purchased. Justin took a moment to lay the clothes out on Gus’s bed. The highlight of the outfit was the cowboy hat. While rummaging through his closet, Justin happened to notice the extra suit bags hanging in there. He remembered that Brian had just been shopping again, so he didn’t think anything about new additions to the closet. Eventually his curiosity got the better of him and Justin unzipped each bag, so that he could get a look at Brian’s new outfits. To his surprise, he noticed that the clothes were not Brian’s size. At that point Justin knew that HE had several new outfits, and he just shook his head. Over the last year, he and Brian had talked about Brian constant need to buy things for Justin. Brian had finally accepted that he didn’t need to show his love for Justin by constantly buying things for him. Justin knew that he and Brian would have to have THE TALK again, once Gus was gone. Justin positioned himself at the window in the spare bedroom and watched his two favorite people at play. He noticed how much fun Brian and Gus seemed to be having, so Justin grabbed his sketchpad and began to sketch. Justin smiled as the images formed on the page. *** “I was thinking of inviting Melanie and Lindsay for lunch tomorrow,” Justin said, when Brian had come inside to grab water for himself and Gus. “You’ll do anything to keep from painting, won’t you?” Brian teased. “I had lunch with Lindsay today. She wants to see the house. I thought maybe you would join us.” “Sunshine.” Justin leaned in and starting nibbling on Brian’s neck. “I thought you could take a break from work, pick them up, come out for lunch, and then go back to town.” “Justin.” “How bad can it be?” “Justin.” “Think about it?” Brian let out a sigh of defeat. “All right. Just lunch and a quick tour and back to town.” “Promise,” Justin said, sealing his declaration with a passionate kiss. “Lindsay I don’t mind, but I guess this means I will have to put up with Melanie too?” “It’s only for a little while.” “At least I already know that tomorrow will be totally fucked.” “I promise to make it up to you,” Justin said, punctuating with eyebrow motion. “Big time!” Brian said with a laugh. “ But let me go take the water outside to Gus. He’s waiting.” *** Later that day, Justin finally told Gus that he was going to meet the horses. Gus mistakenly thought they were all going to the zoo, so he was really excited. Gus decided he wanted to dress like Brian and Justin, but he did grab the cowboy hat. Now dressed in Jeans and a sweatshirt, everyone was ready to head off. There were still surprises in store for Gus. When they arrived at the stables, Justin talked with Chuck, who was to be Gus riding instructor. Justin carefully went over his plans. Chuck smiled and assured Justin that everything was ready. Chuck noticed the slightly worried expression on Justin’s face, and Chuck once again tried to reassure him that everything would be fine. Chuck returned with two ponies, just the right size for Gus. After he got over his surprise that they were not going to the zoo, Gus’ eyes got wider as he took in these unfamiliar surroundings. Gus initially watched from a distance, clinging tightly to Brian’s leg for support. After watching Justin and Chuck stroking and feeding the horses, curiosity got the best of Gus, and he slowly ventured over for a closer look. Holding tight to Justin’s hand, Gus finally started to pet each of the ponies. Gus learned the ponies’ names and spent some time talking to the horses, but never once releasing Justin’s hand. Brian, however, was content to watch this entire interaction from the fence line. Finally, Brian decided to come over and to observe the horses at closer range. Only with Justin’s hand on the small of his back, did Brian finally consent to actually pet the horses. Eventually Gus became brave and was ready to fed carrots to the ponies. Gus was all smiles. Chuck noticed that Gus seemed to like one of the horses better than the other. “So Gus, would you like to ride him,” Chuck asked cheerfully. Gus nodded yes. Things were going so well, that Chuck immediately lifted Gus onto the horse’s back. Once Gus was settled, Chuck led the horse and rider into a small circular area. Brian and Justin moved back to the fenced area and watched with smiles and waves. “You realize now I’m going to have get him a horse,” Brian mumbled to Justin as he watched the events unfold. Justin just smiled. Later, Chuck gave an undetected signal to two of his assistants. While Brian and Justin were watching Gus riding his horse, Chuck’s two assistants approached, each leading a horse. Thinking they were somehow in the way, Brian attempted to back up. Justin gently put his hand on Brian’s arm to stop him. Brian considered the situation for a moment. He immediately felt Justin’s hand move to his back. Feeling the hand on his back and looking at the horses, Brian recognized the setup. “Justin?” Recognizing the start of a drama queen moment, Justin slid his arm around Brian’s waist. The contact of skin on skin, made Brian relax. “Justin?” “Brian, all you have to do is just sit on the horse. C’mon this is for Gus,” Justin said quietly. “Look at how much fun he’s having,” Justin said, pointing over toward Gus, who was eagerly riding his pony and waving. “Justin?” Brian looked over a Gus and saw him smiling and waving. So Brian let out a deep sigh and resigned himself to the inevitable. “You realize that you’re going to pay for this, Sunshine. Right?” Brian commented just before he mounted his horse. Justin nodded acceptance. Brian mounted the gentle Palomino, while Justin mounted a Chestnut Bay. Each held on tightly to the reins as the assistants led the two additional horses into the circle. Once Brian calmed down, he realized that this wasn’t so bad. Of course, he was not about to admit that to Justin. The riding experience was made much more palatable as Brian continued to contemplate the various punishments he was going to met out to Justin in return for this particular stunt. There was no way that Brian could allow Justin to get away with this…no way at all. Justin looked over at Brian during the ride and clearly read the expression in Brian’s eyes. Justin knew it was only a matter of time before Brian exacted his punishment. When the hour was over, Chuck and the assistants helped everyone to dismount from there respective horses. Gus and Brian headed to the car, while Justin paid for the riding lesson. Both Brian and Gus besieged Justin with hugs and tickles, when he finally reached the car. Justin quickly got inside the car, seeking the comfort of the SUV for safety. Brian and Gus finally entered the car, and they were now ready for the trip home. “That was fun,” Gus commented. “Can we do that again?” “So Gus, I take it that you like the horses,” Brian said with a laugh. “I think next time we’ll have to ride the trails,” Justin suggested. “Won’t that be fun?” Justin continued looking over at Brian. “We can all go riding together.” “Look, I know you and Lindsay having been riding horses since you were kids. But you’re going to have to take pity on the rest of us,” Brian said. “I know it was a bit surprise. But after you got over the shock, what did you think?” Justin asked sheepishly while they were riding back to the house. Brian didn’t say anything. Back at Bri-tin before exiting the car, Brian leaned over and gently kissed Justin. “Thank you for a most excellent adventure.” Justin just smiled. Gus also leaned forward and wrapped his arms around Justin’s neck from his position in the rear of the car, and said, “Thanks Justin.” *** Everyone showered quickly and headed down to the kitchen, where Teres was preparing dinner and talking to Thomas. Gus propped himself on one of the stools and started to tell Teres and Thomas all about his riding adventure, causing laughter all around. After dinner, Gus called his mothers and recounted his adventure with the horses to them. He even told Lindsay and Melanie about Brian and Justin riding horses too. Melanie and Lindsay couldn’t stop laughing, about what they were hearing. Before Justin could extend the invitation for lunch tomorrow, Lindsay relayed that Debbie expected them for an early dinner on Saturday. Brian, much to Justin’s surprise, cheerfully agreed immediately. *** Eventually, Brian, Justin, and Gus moved to the media room to watch the DVD of The Yellow Submarine. This was the moment everyone realized that Bri-tin became home. Although Gus and Justin had watched the movie like a hundred times, for it was clearly their favorite movie to watch together, and Brian had seen the movie many times as well, this time watching the movie was somehow more special. Brian’s mind drifted back to the first time he had watched this movie. It was almost six years ago when Jennifer had included the video of the movie in a duffle bag of clothing for Justin that she dropped off at Brian’s office. This was when Jennifer handed a 17 year-old Justin over to Brian. This was also when Brian had first learned that Justin wanted to be an animator. Back then, he and Justin had watched the movie together, and during that viewing Brian had tried to come to terms with the fact that Justin was now in his life. Now six years later, Brian knew he couldn’t even begin to imagine his life without Justin. And Brian started to think about the letter again. ‘It’s only time isn’t good enough, Brian. The shadow of the lovers’ embrace is the ultimate Talisman Of Time. Now is the time!’