VERY IMPORTANT
Whatever is underlined is something that it’s being said, but not out loud.
Whatever is underlined plus in italics is something that it’s being said in both forms.
Whatever is in bold letters is written down.
Justin looked at his Mom cooking in the kitchen and wondered how he was going to tell her that he was going to move in with Brian. He took a deep breath and finally walked up to her.
“Dinner will be in a minute, sweetie.” Jennifer said, smiling at Justin.
“I have to talk to you. ” Justin said.
Jennifer looked at her son and wondered what was going on.
“What’s wrong, Justin?”
Justin sighed.
“Tell me.” Jennifer demanded.
“Brian asked me to move in with him. ” Justin told her and watched in amazement as his mother smiled from ear to ear.
“Justin! That’s great.” Jennifer said.
“You are not mad that I am leaving? ” Justin asked.
“Oh, honey.” Jennifer said. “I’m sad, but I can’t be mad at you. You have the right to have a life and a family.”
Justin smiled.
“I feel so bad leaving you.” Justin said.
Jennifer smiled and went to hug Justin.
“Baby, you are just a step away from me. It’s not like you are going to go across the continent.” Jennifer said.
Justin gave her a small smile.
“When are you moving?” Jennifer asked.
“Brian is coming to help me move my stuff tomorrow.” Justin said.
“So soon.” Jennifer whispered, but Justin didn’t see her talking.
Jennifer went back to finish dinner. She looked up at Justin and smiled.
“I’m happy for you, honey. You deserve this.”
Justin smiled and nodded. He couldn’t wait to be with Brian and his son at the loft. Jennifer looked at her son smiling and she smiled too. She was going to missed him and she really didn’t want him to leave, but she had to let go of him. She had to let him be happy and she knew that Brian was going to take good care of him and Eric.
***
“Oops.” Emmett said as he bumped against a vase in the loft and it fell in the floor shattering to pieces.
Michael bit his lower lip and looked up at his best friend. If glaring at people could kill them, Emmett would have been dead by Brian already.
“Just take deep breaths, Brian. You can count from one to ten…or a thousand to relax.” Michael said. “There is no need to kill anyone.”
Brian gave Michael a glare too before he moved away.
“I saw Eric’s room.” Jennifer said, walking in the loft with Debbie. “It looks wonderful, Brian.”
Brian gave her a small smile and nodded.
“Where does this go?” Ben asked, holding a box that said art.
“Fuck it! Just put it anywhere and get the fuck out.” Brian hissed. “Justin and I will fix it.”
Debbie laughed.
“Relax, kiddo.” Debbie told him smiling.
Brian took a deep breath and looked at Jennifer who was looking at him with a questioning face.
“I don’t talk like that in front of Eric.” Brian said looking at Jennifer.
Ted and Vic smirked at how Brian acted around Justin’s mother. Jennifer smiled and nodded.
“I hope not.” Jennifer told him.
“It’s just that these dummies that called themselves my friends are making a mess.” Brian said.
“We are helping you here.” Ted protested. “This is how you say thank you?”
Vic, Ben and Michael laughed out loud while the other just smiled a little.
“Let me give you a word of advice, Brian.” Jennifer told him smiling. “You are going to have an almost two year old boy living here.”
“So?” Brian asked.
“He is a kid, Brian.” Debbie said shaking her head. “There is going to be a mess everywhere.”
Brian frowned.
“No. He will be a tidy kid.” Brian said. “I’ll teach him.”
“You do that, honey.” Debbie told him laughing slightly with Jennifer and Vic.
Justin came out of the bathroom with Eric and put the boy down for a second to pull out another towel. Eric saw his window of opportunity and, letting go of the towel he was holding, made a run for it.
“Whoa!” Brian said as he quickly picked Eric up when he was trying to go down the stairs. “Someone get a broom and clean up that mess.”
Brian stared at Emmett who quickly went to get it.
“I’ll go get the baby gates.” Michael said. “They are in your jeep. I think.”
Brian nodded and kissed Eric on the forehead. Justin smiled at Brian and picked up his son. Lindsay and Melanie came in with Gus as Michael was leaving.
“Goo!” Eric screamed when he saw Gus.
“I’m going to go play with MY little brother.” Gus said to Lindsay and went towards the bedroom with Eric and Justin.
“We brought you guys something.” Lindsay said.
“Is it a new vase?” Brian asked and looked at Emmett.
Emmett rolled his eyes and kept on sweeping the broken glass on the floor. The others just laughed and kept helping by bringing in boxes and going back to get more. Brian kept watching all of them make a mess and then looked back at Justin, Eric and Gus and he smiled. He simply didn’t care if they broke anything else or if the boxes seem to be making the loft look awfully small. Justin was there with him and that was the important thing.
“I think we are done.” Michael said.
“Good.” Brian said. “Now you can go.”
“So fucking rude.” Melanie said under her breath.
Lindsay smirked and went to pick up her son.
“I will call you.” Jennifer said to Justin.
Jennifer was so happy that Brian had given Justin a cell phone so she could communicate with her son. If not she would have worried not being able to talk with Justin now that he wasn’t going to be living with her anymore.
“Don’t forget dinner tomorrow.” Debbie yelled.
“Be good.” Ben told them.
“Don’t screw it up.” Michael whispered to Brian. “I will have Ben kick your ass.”
“Stand in line.” Brian told him smiling and hugged him goodbye.
“Bye, Eric!” Gus yelled.
Lindsay, Melanie and Gus were the last ones to leave. Brian closed the door and turned around to look at Justin and Eric.
“Home sweet home.” Brian said as he walked over towards his two blonds.
Justin smiled, happy to be where he was.
***
Justin went into the loft and closed the door. He took Eric out of his stroller and walked with him to the bedroom. He put the sleeping kid on the bed and a couple of pillows around him. He then sat on the bed and rubbed his face, not sure if he was going to do the operation after all.
The doctor had told him that this was it. After this, nothing else could be done. If it didn’t work then it meant that Justin would not hear ever again in his life. He looked at Eric sleeping in the bed and smiled. He had a lot to think about. He didn’t know what to do. He had gone straight to Brian’s office and told him what was going on.
Justin smiled, knowing that Brian didn’t care if he did it or not. He had told him clearly that it wouldn’t change things. That he loved him no matter what. Justin didn’t know if he wanted to do it and then find out that he would be like this forever. He was terrified that he would never hear Brian or his son or anybody else for that matter.
Justin lay back in the bed watching Eric’s chest raise and fall. He closed his eyes and tried to forget about everything. Dreaming that one day he would be able to hear his son talking to him. Thinking of what it would be like to hear Brian say he loved him.
***
Brian opened the door as quickly as possible when he heard the screaming coming from the loft. For a minute he thought something had happen to Eric and Justin couldn’t hear him. But he found himself staring at Eric screaming just because he wasn’t getting his way while Justin tried to control him.
“No, no, no, no, no!” Eric screamed.
“Eric.” Brian said.
Eric looked at Brian and stared for a while at the man before he started screaming again. Justin took a deep breath.
“What is with him?” Brian asked.
“We went out and we went to this toy store. Just looking around and then he picked up this car and he said he wanted it and I told him no. So now every time I talk to him, he ignores me by screaming. ” Justin explained.
Brian looked from Justin to Eric was on the floor banging his stuffed animal into the floor.
“Why didn’t you buy him the toy?” Brian asked.
“He has tons of toys, Brian. ” Justin said. “I’m not going to spoil him. ”
“He’s not going to get spoiled over a toy.” Brian told him. “You should have bought him the toy. Tell him you will.”
“He has to know that no, means no. So don’t tell me how to deal with my son.” Justin said.
Brian rolled his lips inside his mouth and nodded. He felt hurt. Justin closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He knew that he had said the wrong thing to the brunet. He could see that Brian was hurt.
“Brian, I’m…”
“I have to be in New York in a couple of hours. I just came to tell you.” Brian said as he moved to the bedroom.
Justin went after Brian, not sure what he was going to say to the man. Brian had as much right as him to decide how to raise Eric and Justin knew it. He was happy that Brian loved his son and took care of him financially. He knew he had hurt Brian by saying that to the man. He should have said something else. Try to make Brian see that they shouldn’t spoil THEIR son.
“Brian.”
“I have to go, Justin. I don’t have time for this.” Brian told him dryly.
Justin swallowed hard.
“Let me do this. ” Justin told him. “How many days are you going to go? ”
“Three.” Brian told him.
Justin nodded.
“Go spent some time with Eric before you go.” Justin said caressing Brian’s face.
Brian stared at Justin for a moment before he kissed the blond. Justin had felt how stressed Brian was and he knew it was because of him. He was going to have to talk to the man later. Brian let go of Justin and walked out of the bedroom and towards Eric. He picked up the little blond who was sitting on his crib, playing with his stuffed animal and sucking on his thumb. Brian picked him up and smiled at Eric.
“You’re my son too.” Brian whispered to Eric.
Eric looked up at Brian and grabbed Brian’s nose and put his head on Brian’s shoulder.
***
Justin was late for class so he ran down the halls to his classroom. He was out of breath by the time he reached the room and tried to open the door, but it was locked. He looked inside, but there wasn’t anybody there. Then he saw a note hanging to the door saying that the class had been canceled.
“Fuck.” Justin whispered.
Justin turned around to go to the library. He could get some work done before his next class. Once he was inside the library, sitting at one of the tables, Hunter came and sat in front of him. Justin gave him a little smiled before he went back to writing. Hunter reached out for Justin so the blond would look at him. Justin looked up and waited for what Hunter had to say.
“I haven’t seen you in a while. ” Hunter said.
“I have been busy. ” Justin said.
“Have you been avoiding me? ” Hunter asked.
Justin took a deep breath.
“Brian was pretty pissed because of you. ” Justin signaled. “You crossed the line. ”
Hunter smirked.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know he was looking at us. ” Hunter said.
Justin raised a brow knowing that Hunter was lying to him.
“I will be more careful the next time. ” Hunter assured him.
“Look, you are my friend and nothing more. ” Justin told him.
Hunter pouted.
“He’s not like us. ” Hunter said.
“So? ” Justin asked.
“How can he understand when you have a problem because you can’t hear other people? How can he relate to you then? ” Hunter asked.
“I don’t need him to sympathize with me. I need someone that loves me. ” Justin pointed out.
“I can do that. We would be perfect for each other. ”
Justin smiled sadly.
“Except that I love him. ” Justin signaled.
Hunter rolled his eyes. They stared at each other for a while and Hunter smirked.
“How about a relationship based purely on sex? ” Hunter asked wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.
Justin laughed.
“No. He’s fucking perfect in bed. ” Justin told him.
“Do tell. ” Hunter said.
Justin shook his head and laughed when Hunter pouted again. After awhile Hunter got up and smiled at Justin.
“I guess I’ll see you around. ” Hunter told him.
Justin nodded and watched Hunter go. He hoped that Hunter wouldn’t cause anymore trouble for him.
***
Justin opened the portable crib and put it a couple of feet away from the kitchen. He was making a salad that he was going to eat with the lasagna that Debbie had sent. He was putting the chopped tomatoes in the salad when he felt a hand grabbing his shoulder.
“Aaaaah!!” Justin screamed with all his might.
“Jesus Christ, Justin.” Brian said as he turned Justin around quickly. “It’s me.”
Justin took a deep breath and started crying. Brian could feel Justin trembling in his arms. He looked at Eric who was screaming at them and crying while he looked at them with wide eyes not sure what was going on.
“I’m so sorry, baby. I didn’t mean to scare you.” Brian told him, caressing Justin’s face. “Come on.”
Brian took Justin’s trembling body and made Justin sit down. Then he went and picked Eric up and the boy calmed down. Justin looked up at Brian with teary eyes.
“Oh, baby.” Brian lamented.
“You are not supposed to be here. ” Justin told him. “What are you doing here? ”
“I came back a day early because I got the contract sooner than I expected. I wanted to surprise you, so I didn’t call. God, that’s the last time I do that. I promise.”
Justin nodded and then got up and hugged Brian. Brian felt horrible for scaring Justin.
“I missed you.” Justin told him.
Brian smiled.
“I brought you something.” Brian said and gave Eric to Justin.
Justin sat back down as Brian went to search on his carry on. When Brian came back, he was holding a long velvet box. He gave it to Justin and smiled. Justin opened it and pulled out a wrist chain. He looked at it more closely and saw that it had his name with Brian’s on it. Justin looked up at the brunet and smiled.
“You didn’t have to.” Justin said.
Eric leaned forward and licked the chain. Justin pulled him away and Eric started screaming and trying to reach for it.
“No.” Justin told him.
Eric pouted.
“Yeah!” Eric shouted.
Brian arched a brow and smirked at Justin’s shocked face.
“I said no, Eric. And when dada says no, it means no.” Justin told him.
“Yeah.” Eric said and stuck his tongue out ready to lick the chain that Justin was holding.
“Eric! That’s enough. Your father told you no.” Brian told him in a strong tone.
Eric gasped and his lower lip trembled. Brian felt so bad that he started walking to his son to pick him up to tell him he was sorry.
“Don’t you dare take it back, Brian. You are never going to learn how to discipline…our son.” Justin said looking at Brian.
Brian smiled a little.
“Well, our son is kind of weird.” Brian said as Eric slobbered all over the black velvet box.
Justin and Brian laughed. Brian went back to his carry on to search for what he had bought for Eric. He came back and gave his son the toy plane to Eric who took it and smiled, enthralled by it. Justin sat Eric on the floor and watched him play with his toy.
“You are so going to spoil him. ” Justin said and pouted.
Brian smiled and kissed Justin on the lips. Justin and Brian watched as their kid giggled, looking at his new toy. Then Eric licked the wing and Brian smirked. He wondered when his son would be past the stage where he had to lick everything he came in contact with. He looked back at Justin and smiled.
“Our son.” Brian whispered.
Justin caressed Brian’s face and nodded. Brian sat down with Eric to play. Justin smiled and let them play while he went to finish what he was doing.
Ponga, thank you for you help. My brain wasn’t working for anything that day.