Summary: That which does not kill us..

Timeline: Post 513. All canon assumed. Spoilers for all seasons.

Warnings: Strong language. Explicit sexual content depending on the chapter.

Disclaimer: I own nothing except my thoughts, and even then sometimes, I rent. All recognizable characters are the property of CowLip and Showtime. 

Author's Note: This is a work in progress. I am a slow writer - there's no getting around that - but I promise that it will be completed. Comments feed the muse. Just sayin'.

4/8/22  So. That author's note was written a long, long time ago. I wrote it with the best of intentions, I swear. But life happened, and for reasons I won't go into here, I couldn't bring myself to continue writing a story with this subject matter. But that little folder has lived on my desktop for all this time, and I have never forgotten where I left our boys. And so, one day a month or so ago, I opened it up and spent some time reminding myself just how much I love Brian and Justin and Queer As Folk. I still have reservations writing about cancer for 'entertainment'. I am no medical professional, nor have I personally experienced anything like what Brian is going to go through. But I've done more research for this than anything else I've ever done, and I've tried to treat it with the sensitivity and respect it deserves. Please forgive any inaccuracies.

I don't even know if anyone will give it a chance again, but I owe to those of you who trusted me and read it all those years ago (and to the boys) to keep my word and try to finish this beast. I hope you'll join me.

Brian and Justin don't meet on Liberty Avenue. But a murder trial starts an odd domino effect. 

Brian Kinney and Justin Tayler had been married two years. They live in Britan with six year old Gus, 18 month old Aaron, and six month old Jessi. Extended  friends and family lived with them, helping with the children and the compound.  Gus’ mother had just returned to the states and was rebuilding her relationships after a year's absence.  

Their friends, James and Emmett, lived in another house  on the property. James was in charge of security and managed the property. James’ mother, Ronni and her husband, Dante, lived on the third house on their property and Ronni managed the house staff but in the next six weeks she would be giving birth to her first grandchild for James and Emmett.  She hadn’t realized how much harder it would be to have a child at her age but it would be worth it when she held her son’s baby in her arms.

Brian’s father, Kevin, would be moving out very soon.  He was moving into Brian’s childhood home. He also was going to open a new shelter. With Brian’s help Kevin, along with friends were opening Legacy Center.  It would be an escape for teens that had been thrown out or mistreated because of their sexuality.  Kevin had run a similar place in Atlanta but he left that in the care of friends.  Tom and Natalia, as well as his ‘adopted’ daughters, Brandy and Sally, would do a good job keeping the place running smoothly.  Brandy and Sally were also about to be parents so the family was growing.

Life at Britan was full of life and love.  And although they may face the ups and downs of life, together this tribe can make it through anything.

This is totally away from cannon. Everyone is different...really. I hope you guys like it. It's something new and that got into my head and wouldn't leave me alone until I put it down. There will be more. Let me know what you guys think...always love that.

Categories: QAF-U.S. FICTION Characters: Brian, Gus, Jennifer Taylor, Justin, Lindsay, Molly Taylor, Ted
Challenges: None
Series: None
Chapters: 15 Completed: Yes Word count: 92352

Our fourth and final (I think) in the Man I Hate? the series has begun.  Brian and Justin along with their boys, Aiden and Gus, along with Ted and Victor with their new ward, JR are heading home from the cabin. The boys will be heading back to school in a couple days.  Ted and Victor are going to build their own cabin near Brian and Justin's and they are thrilled to be able to help with JR.  They had always wanted a family and now they had one.   

Justin's ex is threatening to take Aiden away and while Brian and Justin fear they may lose one of their sons, Ted and Victor may be adding one.  

(Child abuse will be mentioned in a past memory at the beginning of this story.)

Brian is betrayed by Michael, so he heads off to New York.

It has been five years since Brian and Justin had reunited at their Montana cabin.  Little Aiden is just completing kindergarten.  Although he would always have his health issues, they were well controlled as long as he stayed on his medication.  Gus was the son they are worried about.  He is 15 and completing his sophomore year.  He had gotten in with the wrong crowd.  He’d been living with his moms more and more who were too wrapped up in their own problems that they lost track of what Gus was up to.

Now it is up to Brian and Justin to try and get their kind and caring son back before it is too late.

Justin regrets leaving Brian the moment he turned his back. He had this wild notion that Brian would come after him. He deluded himself into thinking that Ethan loved him. All Justin wanted was to feel loved. But shortly after he moved in with Ethan, he started changing. He knew it was happening, but he couldn't get himself out of it. He fell down a rabbit hole of depression, fear and humiliation. How does he get away from Ethan?

Sequel to "Can I Come Back Home to You?"  The epilogue left you guys with a lot of questions. Who's dead? Who killed someone? What's this big emergency? Well, you'll get all those answers. But first, we left Brian and Justin as they were going on their honeymoon. Enjoy, everyone!

What if Brian had taken the job in New York in season 1? After three years in New York, Brian returns home to Pittsburgh to find that things and more importantly people have changed. 

This was one of my first attempts at fan fiction and I am not 100% happy with it. Still I decided that some people might like and appreciate it anyway. 

After being thrown on the streets by his own family, Justin accepts the first offer to get some money, even though the outcome is denigrating. He ends up as one of the dancers at Boys Peep Show. Brian is trying to escape his miserable life by visiting the very establishment Justin works in. When Brian decides to end his marriage with his best friend, he chooses to save Justin from the terrible life he has.

This story is about the journey to finding friendship, rediscovering love, reconnecting with family.

Brian and Justin’s relationship has taken many twists and turns along the way, but they both want to find a way to move forward together. Will they be able to work things out, and accept each other’s needs, or will they go their separate ways?

Justin didn't think that this day could get any worse; and then Pipp (Lindsay) walked in with her entourage and proved him wrong. But at least there was eye candy to ogle. Alternate Universe - Coffee Shop. 

No one had been more shocked than Brian when Melanie, of all people, had suggested that, since she didn't really celebrate Christmas, but J.R. was heading to Pittsburgh to be with her dads, perhaps Brian and Justin would rather come to Toronto to have a more subdued celebration with Lindsay and Gus.

"Lindsay never really gets to enjoy the decorations she puts up, since we're rushing around and then traveling during this time," Mel had explained. "I just thought it would be nice if you and Justin wanted to come to our place instead… You know, let Linds and Gus go all out, and then have a nice quiet holiday at home." 

"Quiet" was all Brian needed to hear before he agreed. 

***

Brian and Justin travel to Toronto to spend Christmas with a small part of their chosen family.

Brian is a popular senior in high school.   He's pretty much the Brian we know and love, but all things change when he encounters Justin Taylor the preacher's daughter.  Their love will be something you will never forget.    This fic is loosely based on the movie of the same name.   All mistakes are mine.

After a motorbike accident, Brian Kinney, a 30-year-old successful ad executive and a motorcycle rider, suffers a near fatal head injury.

Once a rising star of the advertising circuit and a prominent figure in Pittsburgh's gay night, Brian is discharged from the hospital and admitted into a rehabilitation facility.  While in rehab Brian meets staff member Justin Taylor, a young therapist who's a neuro-injury survivor himself unbeknownst to Brian.  With Justin's guidance, Brian embarks on journey of self discovery that will reveal more than he ever expected to learn.

*FEATURED STORY FOR MAY 2019*

It's the year 2010:  Justin comes home to Pittsburgh for a special occasion.

*THIS STORY IS NOW COMPLETE!*

Brian has just lost his mother, and he doesn't quite know how to feel about things.  He decided to open a box she had in her closet that has always caught his attention, and when he does things will never be the same.   Inside the box are mysterious letters, and a photograph that will change his life forever.

This fic is set about 12 years after the end of S5 and is part of the Gus/Dani Homecoming!future. Short version - Justin came back to Pittsburgh and he and Brian have been together through all that time, living in a house on the river that they bought after selling Britin. With thanks to SandiD - who put up with my pernickityness and complete inability to explain what I meant and did a wonderful image; if I stuffed it up at the end, then that's my clumsiness.

The story is complete and will be updated weekly.

Thank you Kim... Predec 2...for creating this lovely banner for me.  

While Justin is in Hollywood working on Rage the Movie, he meets someone who will rock his and Brian's world.

When is enough, enough for Justin and Brian? 

It seems like it’s one thing after another for Brian and Justin.

After the attack they receive news that will change their lives, but will it be for the better? Are they strong enough, not only individually, but together to battle the latest fight? 

Follow their story to see. 

Michael seems to find that something is wrong with his best friend. But what if what was wrong was something right?

In Aftershock, we see how Justin's bashing at the end of Season One affected Brian. It ended without revealing how the bashing affected everyone else who loved and cared about Justin. The series skipped from that iconic scene of Brian sitting in the hospital right after Justin was admitted, to a month later at the beginning of Season Two, so we have to use our imagination about what went on at the hospital after Michael joined Brian. I hope you will find my perspective interesting.

Many thanks to my beta, Judy, for her help and my darling Granddaughter, Marika, for her evocative banner. And also thanks to those who asked me 'what about the others' when they read 'Aftershock'. Their questions led to this sequel.

Brian Kinney is a professional escort with a clients list that includes most of Pittsburgh's gay, wealthy men.

Justin Taylor is a wealthy, young, handsome gallery owner from NYC who hires Brian for a one night stand at his hotel room while on a business trip to Pittsburgh.

Where will they both go from here? *STORY IS NOW COMPLETE!*

Justin Taylor is a young under butler at Master Brian Kinney's estate in the late 1880's in Pennsylvania. Brian keeps  a painful, dark secret from his past. Could a chance encounter between the master and the under butler on a cold, October night lead to a brighter future?

The lives of the the Liberty Avenue gang and their families.

Brian and Justin have been dating long distance when they learn they are to become parents.

Justin has returned from NY. He and Brian are ready to start their own family.

Based on the photograph taken by Sami Drasin for Entertainment Weekly.  One-shot. The gang all gets together to celebrate Debbie's 75th birthday.

Why does it have to be White Picket Fence, why not yellow?

WARNINGS: Unbeta'ed, AU, OOC

I still can't believe this is my life. Two days ago I was the stud of Liberty Avenue and a successful adman, today... today I am a father. I still recall the words he whispered in my ear that night, as we all sat in Lindsay's hospital room: "You deserve to be loved Brian. Don't let anyone make you think you can't, don't let them win. Show them they are wrong"

I've dedicated all my life to show Saint Joan, Jack and every homophobe out there that underestimating me was a mistake. I became a successful businessman, being the head of the advertising department in Ryder's Advertising. I had the money, the looks, the gang and everyone wanted me... but I was still hallow.

I've proved them all wrong in everything, but one thing. I ended up believing their words, that I was unwanted, that no one will ever love me, that I was not desired, that I should have been aborted.

However, all that changed two days ago. When, I met a fallen angel under a streetlight, no matter how lesbian I sounded, to me that was true. Looking so innocent and pure, he was just asking for me to pick him up. I don't normally go for blonds, but I wanted to be in that world- that world of light- at least for a night.

The slave trade is alive and well in our AU society.  The community is mostly split half and half on the issue; half of society is for slavery and half is against.  However, Brian Kinney had never put much thought to the subject, despite the fact that his best friend, Michael, and Michael's mother, Deb, were both major players in CAST, a group against the sexual slavery of men and women.  But this all changes when Brian accompanies Michael to a slave auction, where he is introduced to a beautiful 18 year old slave named Justin, just now coming up for bid.  Born a free man, Justin's life was turned upside down when his father sold him into slavery at the tender age of 15, only three years before he was to be sold.  Chaos ensues.

Justin and Brian have been together for over twenty years. They have a large family, with all the good and bad it involves. One morning their world is thrown into turmoil. Got the idea from Safe Passage, good movie but changing quite a bit.

The third and last part of my series "Please don't take my Sunshine away"

Will Brian and Justin's relationship survive going through cancer? What will Justin do when he discovers a few secrets Brian kept from him? Will he forgive him? Or will it be the end of our favorite couple?

What if Brian and Justin hadn't moved so fast after the bombing? What if they had talked things over and began a more open relationship? Would have Lindsay had the same success into making them part ways? Or would they have stayed together?

The wedding is here but not all is happy. Oneshot

Gus has a favorite toy much to Brian's chagrin.

One shot. Justin goes to Wonderland. 

***Featured Story for May 2017***

Written for the Spring is in the Air Challenge.  Set after the bombing of Babylon and before the girls leave for Canada.

Post 5-13. Justin decides what to do with his life after his art show. He's miserable in New York without Brian...I know it's been done before, but I have a million ideas, and need to get some of them out!

Sequel to HIDDEN? Brian and Justin just had a new baby and are fighting over the sex. Boy or Girl? Twins, Triples, Single? And someone from the past wants to make amends with Justin.

This time last year I stumbled onto Midnight Whispers and this site became my new addiction. At first I just lurked, then I found the courage to review, and back in July I posted a story of my own. So what better way to celebrate the end of 2016 than submitting a new fic?  Happy 2017!

According to public opinion, Brian and Justin became acquainted beneath a lamp post in front of Babylon. But the truth is, and as quiet as it's kept, they were in and out of each other's lives on numerous occasions long before that fateful night. Enjoy!

Shout out to Kim (Predec2) for the absolutely amazing banner she created for me.  Thanks, Kim...you're the best!

Sequel to Whispers are as Loud as a Shout...Lindsay and Michael combine forces...big mistake...huge!

Brian's little girl announces she is getting married. When Brian meets her soon to be father in-law, Justin, both of their lives are mystically changed forever. But have they met before?

A new friend (thanks, Giotto!) pointed out that there are still people interested in Queer as Folk. I have 600 pages of this story typed up, the rest is still a manuscript - as in, handwritten. Actual pen, actual paper. The story itself is finished, it just needs typing and proof-reading. I think I'll have about 1,000 pages when I'm done.

I recently lost a lot of stuff due to a computer crash; so I decided to finally put this here, where it will hopefully be safe for a while. (I once did have the whole thing typed up. I'll do it one more time, but I really don't want to do that again after that!)

So. This story is my take on what happens when Justin returns from New York. Some places in Pittsburgh are my invention, others actually do exist, or rather, they existed at the time I wrote this. I used a lot of the characters we saw in the series, and I created a few more.

I'm not giving any warnings - if you watched QaF, you know what to expect. (I don't write explicit f/f, or f/m - the explicit m/m scenes all have Brian in them.) Hope you enjoy!

Banner by Janet - so beautiful, thank you!

Justin Babysits the kids, fun happens.

Gus has one wish for Christmas.

This is a short story about Brian visiting Gus in Canada, on his 6th Birthday.

Lindsey and Mels reaction to Gus's question. 

(Third in the 'Family series ')

Melanie deeply loves Lindsay and Gus.

My entry for the Picture Challenge 2016.

I thank my dear friend and beta, Predec2, once again for helping me with this story.

What if Michael Novotny. wasn't Michael Novotny?    What if that picture that Debbie chose in the newspaper was mislabeled?   What if i soldier with breaks in his memory comes back to claim the family that he lost a long time ago?    This is what happens.

The Girls Enjoy their Photo Shoot.

The story is a snapshot from the Disappointed in you story, it was requested by Elaine  ( emac66) in a review so this is for you and I hope I did you proudly. For every review, I thank you all from my heart. 

Ten years after leaving for New York, Justin's alone.

*This story is dedicated to my dear friends Alois and Annie-Eliza.*

Post Ep 122 AU.  Her son's night terrors after the bashing force Jennifer to trust in Brian to help him heal.  Along the way, some surprises emerge. 

At the age of 3, Gus Peterson-Marcus was abducted and grew up in a struggling single parent household, as Dylan Tanner. After an explosion that ends the life of two of his family members and 1 critically injured, he learns that his whole life has been a lie. Ignoring all the rest of his problems, Dylan focuses on protecting the last remaining sibling of his real family. But it seems like his biological family has other plans in mind, starting with leaving the past in the past, including his dying little brother. 

This is a AU story. Where Brian and Justin are married with their son Ryan, but Brian leaves Justin and their kid for another man or so it seems. Will Justin fight for his love it or does Brian push Justin over Mt Kinney yet again?

After Justin's departure to Hollywood, Brian has a surprise - a life-altering surprise. All story is from Brian's perspective, watching him cope with the new challenge.  This story in mpreg, so if it's not your cup of tea, please approach with caution. :)

After successfully taking down Stockwell, Brian fails to bring his dream business, Kinnetik, to life. Instead, he has to come to terms with failure and rely on his partner. Can his renewed relationship with Justin handle the change? How will he handle hitting rock bottom?

When Michael falls deathly ill, Ben has never been more afraid in his life. No, scratch that. When Michael falls deathly ill and disappears out of thin air minutes before the ambulance arrives, Ben has never been more afraid in his life. All he wants to do is find his husband, alive and well, and to feel like he's not going crazy. He'd also love it if this duck would stop stalking him and breaking into his house. It's the last thing he needs right now.

Continuation in the Tricky Series.  As the boys' wedding day approaches, a new family member threatens to turn the Taylor-Kinney household upside down. Will they survive? Will their wedding even take place? *STORY IS NOW COMPLETE!*

New take on Episode 301. What would have possibly happened if Justin had been the one to punch Michael instead of Brian? Thank you Deb Tanner for the idea!