Brian had calmed only slightly when he stalked into his own house. He tossed his keys onto the counter in the kitchen, walked over to the fridge, pulled out a beer and downed over half of it in one gulp. "Fuck." He hissed then downed the last of the beer setting the bottle in the sink. He grabbed another beer out of the fridge before heading into the living room. Justin looked up from his textbook when Brian walked in and dropped into the chair next to the couch where Justin was sitting. Brian ran a hand through his hair and took a long drag on the beer not saying a word. "That bad, huh?" Justin said softly. Brian shrugged. "So, they actually knew he was gone?" Brian nodded. "I don't understand. How do you let your kid just walk away like that? Anything could have happened to Hunter." Brian let out an exasperated breath and shook his head. "Yeah." Brian snorted disgustedly thinking about Jason Kemp dead in a dumpster. "And, Michael is so non-chalant about the whole fucking thing. Like it isn't a big deal. Like Hunter can be replaced." He sipped the beer. "Then again, he pretty much has been as far as Michael is concerned." "Jesus." Justin breathed. "What do we do now?" "I'm going to call Gabriel." Brian said. "See what kind of legal legs we have to stand on. Maybe file for Hunter's guardianship." Justin chuckled. "What?" "We are slowly turning into a home for wayward boys." Justin laughed. "Yeah." Brian chuckled at the shear irony of the whole thing. "Who'd've ever thought that I, Brian fucking Kinney, would ever give a shit about other people's kids?" "Does Debbie know about this?" Justin asked. Brian shrugged. "Maybe she should." "What scheme are you hatching in that blond little head of yours, Sunshine?" Brian asked eying his lover suspiciously. "Well, I just wonder how non-chalant Michael will be once Debbie knows that he turned Hunter out on the streets?" Justin gave Brian a mischievous grin. "You are evil." Brian said shaking his head. "I'm sweet." Justin said moving over toward Brian. He leaned into kiss the other man. Brian pulled Justin into his lap deepening the kiss. "Jesus." Hunter said as he entered the living room. "You two are as bad as Michael and Ben." He walked over and sat down on the couch undaunted by the scene in front of him and switched on the TV. "Have a nice nap." Justin asked resting his forehead on Brian's. "Yeah." Hunter said sarcastically. "Slept like a fucking baby." Justin pulled himself up off of Brian and sat back down to his homework. Brian stared at the TV for a second or two then reached for the remote switching it off. "Hey." Hunter protested. "I talked to Ben and Michael a little while ago." A looked of terror passed over the teen's face. "Calm down. They aren't here or anything. They pretty much confirmed what you said." Hunter shrugged. "I thought I'd call a lawyer friend of mine. See about having you stay here permanently." "Why?" "So, you don't end up on the streets again." Brian stated matter of factly. "So, you don't have to hustle to live. So, you don't end up dead and tossed in a dumpster. Take your pick." "Wouldn't be the worst thing that could happen." Hunter said. "Don't say that." Justin said angrily. "Don't ever say that." Hunter shrugged. "Look, you're no angel, Hunter, we know that." Brian began. "Neither are we." He pointed to himself and Justin. "But, that doesn't mean that the world would be a better place if you were no longer in it." He shook his head. "I thought that once. I even took steps to try to end it all. I was 11, maybe 12." Brian paused noticing that Justin was looking at him oddly. "One night me and my old man were sitting watching TV. I think the news was on. And, this story came on about a boy who had saved his father's life. I don't remember all the details, but it was very heroic and the boy was given an award. The whole nine yards." Brian took a breath. "After the story went off and the weather or whatever came on, Jack looked at me all serious and asked, 'Would you do that for me, Sonny-boy?' I didn't know what to say. Truth be told, I'd just as soon let the old bastard die in a ditch. But, I didn't say that. And I guess I thought about it too long. He stood up, grabbed me by the arm, yanked me up off the floor where I had been laying and shouted the question at me again. I started to cry because he was hurting my arm, so he grabbed me by the throat and lifted me off the ground." "Holy shit." Hunter breathed. "Yeah." Brian said. "Then I really couldn't answer him because I couldn't breathe. And, he just kept getting more and more angry. Finally he just kind of tossed me at the door between the living room and the hallway. Told me to get the fuck out." Brian rubbed a hand over his face. "I went upstairs to the bathroom, opened up the box of razors Jack kept under the sink and ran one of them across my left wrist. It only hurt for a second or two." Justin let out a started gasp. "But, it only bled for a second or two, also. I hadn't really cut deep enough and the sight of my own blood made me light headed and I woke up a few minutes later on the bathroom floor. I could still hear the TV downstairs." "Brian." Justin said in a voice tight with emotion. "The point is, that if I had died that day." Brian continued. "There would have been a lot of things that wouldn't have happened that should have." "I'd be at Dartmouth right now." Justin said quietly. Brian smirked. "And, Michael wouldn't have made it through high school." Brian said with a small smile. "Gus would never have been born. John might have ended up a ward of the state or something. Who knows?" "So, my life has some kind of purpose?" Hunter scoffed. "Yeah, you just don't know what it is yet." Brian said and shook his head. "You sound like Ben." Hunter said with a small smile. "Well, you know what they say about us great minds." Brian said arching his eyebrow making Hunter roll his eyes. "The point is that no one deserves to be dumped on their entire life. You've had some really shitty luck, but that doesn't mean that if you offed yourself tomorrow that anyone else's life would be better for it. You do not deserve to live on the street and even though Michael and Ben seem to have lost their fucking minds it doesn't mean that you don't count." "So, you want me to stay here?" Hunter asked. Brian nodded. "And, for us be some kind of family?" "Not any type of conventional family I know of, but we get along pretty well." Brian said. "Yeah, these guys are probably the best set of parents you could ask for." John said from the doorway startling everyone. "They don't expect you to jump through hoops for them to care about you. They don't judge. And, Uncle Bri's loaded, so you won't have to worry about money." "Wise guy." Brian said as John dodged a cuff to the head. "You said something about a tutor?" Hunter began. "How's that gonna work?" "Easy." Brian said. "I'll surf the web, ask around. I know of one place in town I've seen advertised on TV. I'll call them." "And, they won't know about me being positive?" "Only if you want them to." "And, I can stay here as long as I want?" "Yep." "And, if I don't want to stay?" "You'll stay anyway." Brian stated firmly. "Okay." Hunter said after a moment of thought. "It's a deal." He picked up the remote again. "Now, can I watch TV?" Brian shrugged as Hunter switched the TV on and he and John settled down on the couch to watch the cartoon channel. -- When Justin arrived at the diner that afternoon, the lunch rush was in full swing. He hung his jacket in the back, grabbed his apron and hurried out into the dinning room to help clear tables. Once that was done, he'd be able to help Debbie and Betty take food orders. He'd been there almost 2 hours before the rush slowed down. "It's a mad house in here today." Justin said as he sat down at the counter. Debbie was making a fresh pot of coffee behind the counter. "Crazy crazy." she said switching the coffee maker to brew before sitting down next to him. "So," she began conversationally, "what's happening in your world, Sunshine?" "Not much." He sighed shaking he head. "John is going on a field trip this Friday with his class, his dad gets to go with them and take him for the weekend right after. Hunter showed up at our house a couple nights ago, so now he's staying with us. Brian has a slew of meetings this week. Apparently, a lot of his old clients from Vanguard aren't all that happy with how their new campaigns are being done. Even that homophobic asshole from Pool Beverages has been calling. Maybe he'll give Brian a big enough bonus this time to pay off the house." "Yeah, wait, what?" Debbie said looking at Justin strangely. "What did you say?" "That asshole from Pool Beverages, the one who hates gays." Justin said. "The wine cooler guy. It was pretty ingenious to change the name from Pool Side to Pool Boy. You should have seen the way the guys at Woodys ate it up. Well, drank it up." "Not that." Debbie spat. "You said Hunter is living with you and Brian, now?" Justin shrugged and nodded. "Since when? How did the fuck did that happen?" "I thought you would have known." Justin said feigning surprise. "I mean, Michael and Ben knew he was leaving. They gave him some money, though, so he wouldn't have to hustle for a while anyway." Debbie stared at him as if he'd suddenly turned green. "They did what?!" Debbie shouted. "They let that child walk out without trying to stop him?" "I'm sure they tried, I mean, who just let's their kid leave, right?" "Yeah, right." Debbie said looking at the clock behind the counter. "Listen, Sunshine, Kiki should be here in about half an hour, can you and Betty cover everything 'til she gets here? I need to go talk to someone." "Sure, Deb." Justin said. "We should be okay." Before he could even finish, Debbie was up and halfway out the door. "Where's the fire, Deb?" Betty called from pick up window. "Up my son's ass if I have anything to say about it." -- Brian intercom beeped two seconds before his office door swung open and Michael barged in. "You went to my fucking mother?" Michael shouted. "I tried to stop him, Brian." Cynthia said. "It's okay, Cynthia." Brian said motioning her off. "I'll take care of it." "I got a visit from Ma this morning." Michael continued. "Nice of you and your blond boy toy to tell her our business." "Your business?" Brian asked. "Your 'business' showed up at my house at three in the morning with no place to go, Michael. Your 'business' feels like he's something you scraped off the bottom of your shoe. So don't tell me about your fucking business, Novotny. Wait, I'm sorry, Novotny-Bruckner." Michael glared at him. "You should have already told her about dumping the kid back on the street." "I did not dump him back on the street." Michael said leaning across Brian's desk. "What the fuck do you call it then?" Brian asked leaning forward toward Michael. "He said he wanted to leave." Michael shouted. "He was determined to go." "And, of course, all teenagers know what they want and make excellent choices for themselves." Brian shot back. "He's 17-years-old for fuck's sake. How did you think he was going to support himself, Michael? Hmm?" "We gave him money." "Right." Brian drawled. "And, once that money was gone, how did you think he was going to earn money to live, Michael? I'll tell you how. By hustling." Michael looked shocked. "Don't look so fucking shocked. What was he doing when you met him? What other skills do you think he has acquired in the time he was with the two of you that would offer a plethora of money making opportunities?" Michael flinched. "Exactly. None." He stepped from behind his desk and grabbed Michael by the arm pulling him in closer. "Don't fucking blame me for your bullshit, Mikey." He said in a low, menacing voice. "You did this one all by your lonesome." Brian shoved Michael toward the door. "Now, get the hell out of my office." Michael looked as if he wanted to say something but then thought better of it and stalked out the office door. -- Brian opened the door to the smell of food cooking and the sound of laughter in the kitchen. He smiled to himself as he made his way toward the kitchen. "Honey, I'm home." He called when he got to the door. "Hey." Justin said crossing to Brian and giving him a quick kiss. "Hope you're hungry." "What are you cooking for a army?" Brian smirked. "No, but between this one and that one." He said pointing first at John who was chopping vegetables for salad and then Hunter who was loading French bread onto the bread plate. "I have to cook for twelve." "Right." Brian drawled. "And it has nothing to do with you being a bottomless pit as well." "Well, the bottom part is right." Justin said smiling mischievously and gaining a groan from both John and Hunter. "Not in front of the children, Dear." Brian mockingly admonished. He moved over to the stove to see what Justin was cooking. "That smells fantastic. What is it?" "It's pork roast wrapped in pancetta and roasted in wine sauce." Justin explained. "We also have polenta seasoned with herbs and Parmesan, and a mixed salad with homemade vinaigrette." "You have got to stop watching those cooking shows." Brian teased. "And, cannoli for dessert." Justin continued ignoring Brian's comments. "You get them from Romano's?" Brian asked moving to the fridge and looking for the bakery box. "Nope." Justin said proudly. "Made them myself." "You made homemade cannoli?" Brian asked. Justin nodded. "How'd they turn out?" "Awesome!" John said. "Yeah." Hunter agreed. "We shared one right after they came out of the oven. It kinda collapsed on itself, but it was the only one that didn't come out right. The rest look great." "My little gourmet." "Nothing little about me, Mister." Justin teased accepting the kiss Brian pressed to his lips with a smile. "Please, we're getting ready to eat." Hunter said then smiled. Brian smiled back realizing that it was the first time he'd seen the teen smile since he'd shown up on their doorstep. He had to stop himself from getting mad at the very thought of anyone hurting this kid. He could see a lot of himself in Hunter, which reminded him of how Justin said he identified with the teen. He shook his head. "So, is the table set?" "Set and ready for food." Hunter said. "Then let's eat." Each one of them grabbed food to take to the table. Brian smiled realizing that there had never been a time when he enjoyed sitting down to an actual meal the way he did now. His mother's food wasn't terrible, but the atmosphere and the company had left a lot to be desired. His family had never just sat around the table eating and talking and laughing the way he did with Justin, John, and now, Hunter. He had no idea what he had been missing. Justin caught his eye and smiled. Brian smile back then started dishing out the food. End chapter two.