Midnight Whispers
QAF Brian and Justin Fanfiction

Sickness & Health, Good Times & Bad

Chapter 73

After lunch Justin worked on the lighting with the gallery people while a fascinated Peter watched how the lighting changed the look of the artwork. Charlotte continued her meetings with Rick before heading back to her hotel. Rick took Justin and Peter out to dinner at one his favorite restaurants, The Stinking Rose. It was kind of a tourist trap but Rick enjoyed it.

The restaurant was known for its use of garlic so Justin thought this was a good night for dinner there before Brian came into town. Rick was very impressed by Justin’s paintings and expected a great show so it was a festive dinner. Any bumps in the road forgotten.

Back in Pittsburgh Brian and John had another pleasant dinner. After dinner they talked about Claire and her prison sentence. They decided they wouldn’t mention it to Peter until they were back home in Pittsburgh. Brian was going to tell Justin when he spoke with him. He had learned a lesson about trying to keep things from his partner.

When Brian made his call to Justin later, Justin was already in bed and waiting. He was happy to hear from Brian that he and John were spending time together. He was horny and enjoyed a round of phone sex with Brian before going to sleep.

Earlier in the evening John and Peter had exchanged emails about their day’s activities. Peter was excited about spending time in San Francisco and anxious for John to arrive. He already had things he wanted his brother to see. Top of his list was the sea lions.

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Justin spent Thursday morning fine tuning the lighting. He and Charlotte met in the hotel suite in the afternoon. They went over his schedule for the rest of the year as well as getting Justin up to speed with the attendees of the opening night reception. Peter amused himself in his bedroom, watching some TV and catching up on his reading.

They ordered a room service dinner for the three of them. Charlotte headed back to hotel. Justin and Peter decided they needed a decadent dessert so another room service delivery was called for.

Brian had a very busy day at Kinnetik. He didn’t want any distraction while he was in California so he tried to make sure all loose ends were tied up. He and Ted went over financials which were a little strained with school tuitions and lawyer fees coming due for the custody work that included the private detective’s surveillance of Claire.

There were also the renovation costs for the Bloom building. Ted expressed a hope that Justin’s show would be very successful. Brian mentioned the signing of Kinnetik’s big new customer but Ted pointed out that was future revenue. Still nothing to worry about but reason to be concerned about making any other large expenditures at the moment.

Justin had made Brian promise to look over John’s clothing choices for the trip so he did that as soon as he got home. Their flight left early the next morning so all packing had to be completed and suitcases in the entry hall before going to bed. They were scheduled to arrive in San Francisco around 10AM. That would get them to the hotel in time for lunch and a rest in the afternoon so they were fresh for the reception that started at 7PM.

For dinner John prepared a roast pork using a recipe that he has learned in his cooking classes. Brian was impressed with his nephew’s new culinary skills.

After dinner they played a game of pool before going to their rooms to finish packing. Brian and Justin wanted to build a little anticipation so no phone sex tonight. They were holding out for hot reunion sex the next day.

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When Ted got home from work he took chicken breasts out of the refrigerator where they had been marinating before he went upstairs and changed his clothes.

When he came back down he took the chicken out in the backyard and fired up the grill. He knew that Blake was running some errors and would be home later than usual. All week packages had been arriving from Amazon in anticipation of Nina’s weekend visit.

There was now a child’s table and chairs in the turret of the front bedroom. On top of the table was a china tea set and a Madam Alexander doll occupied one of the chairs. The windows of the bedroom now had white lace curtains and a princess alarm clock adorned one bedside table. There was a matching princess night light on the other bedside table.

Once the chicken was done Ted went back inside. He covered the chicken with foil and started to assemble a garden salad. He was just about done when Blake arrived home.

Blake came into the kitchen with several bags of groceries and a shopping bag from a linen store. He put down his bags before giving Ted a hug and kiss.

“Teddy I found princess sheets, you know they were on back order with Amazon. I also picked up some pink and green towels for the guest bath. Viola told me that they are Nina’s favorite colors. I got all the ingredients to make chocolate chip and double fudge cookies. I also got apple juice and extra milk.”

Ted smiled at his lover. “Is there anything else for you to buy for this weekend? I haven’t seen you this excited since we decorated this house.”

Blake smiled and leaned his head on Ted’s shoulders. “I know I’ve spent a lot on money. I hope that’s okay?”

“Blake, you know I don’t care what you spend. I think all the stuff you bought is great. I just don’t want to see you get too disappointed if this whole custody thing doesn’t work out.”

Blake hugged Ted. “I know nothing is settled. I just want Nina to enjoy her weekend. Most of what I bought can be given to her no matter what happens about custody.”

Ted gave Blake another kiss. “Dinner is almost ready go upstairs and change. When you come down we will be ready to eat.”

“Okay. I’m going to throw these sheets in the washer so I’ll be a couple extra minutes.”

Ted smiled and shook his head as Blake grabbed the shopping bag and ran upstairs. Ted went to work putting away the groceries before he sliced the chicken and put it on top of their salad.

Over dinner Blake and Ted discussed their weekend plans with Nina. Ted continued to worry that Blake would be disappointed if the weekend was anything less than perfect.

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Friday morning Brian and a groggy John were out of the house early. The town car delivered them to the airport in plenty of time.
Like Peter, John had never flown anywhere. He resisted holding Brian’s hand but he stuck close to his uncle as they navigated through check-in and security. He felt a little more at ease once they got through security and relaxed in the Liberty Air lounge.

When they boarded the plane John choose the window seat. He was fascinated to watch all the other passengers come on the plane from the comfort of his seat while sipping on a glass on soda and munching on some cookies.

Since he had been too excited to sleep much the night before, John feel asleep shortly after they ate breakfast. Brian worked on his laptop until he also nodded off for a while.

In San Francisco Justin and Peter got up early and went down to the breakfast buffet at the hotel restaurant. Since things were pretty much set up for his show, Justin arranged for the car service to drive them out to the airport to surprise Brian and John.

Justin and Peter were waiting by baggage claim when Brian and John arrived. Brian spotted Justin immediately and quickly hurried over to grab him. Justin has a sunshine smile on his face as he threw himself into Brian’s arms tilting his face up for Brian’s kiss. The nephews smiled at each other and rolled their eyes at their uncles’ display of affection.

After they claimed their luggage and were in the car heading back to the city, John and Peter were still amused by the uncles. Justin sat as close as possible to Brian who kept his arm tightly around Justin’s shoulders.

When they got to the hotel John suggested that he and Peter have lunch in the hotel restaurant while the uncles went up to the suite. Justin made sure John and Peter promised not to wander away from the hotel. Brian was just really pleased by the suggestion and had nothing to say.

When Brian and Justin got in the suite they left Brian and John’s suitcases sitting in the middle of the living room before hurrying in to their bedroom. Clothes came off at record speed and the men were naked and embracing on bed moments after entering the suite.

Their first hurried coupling was quickly finished, taking the edge off and allowing them to more leisurely explore each other’s bodies. On their second round Justin rode Brian’s cock while Brian’s hands roamed over Justin’s smooth skin before he grasped Justin’s cock stroking him until he came on Brian’s stomach followed shortly by Brian’s release inside the blonde.

They were lying curled up together on the bed when they heard John and Peter enter the suite, talking loudly to make sure their uncles knew they had arrived. Brian and Justin got up and went in to shower and dress.

Now that the most pressing issue had been taken care of Justin was anxious to call room service and order lunch. Brian unpacked his suitcase while they waited for lunch. After lunch Justin decided to go to the gallery for last minute checking.

A reluctant Brian agreed to Justin’s request that he take John and Peter on a cable car ride from Union Square to the cable car museum. Brian only agreed because he didn’t want to argue with Justin on the day of his show. He was grateful that he was in San Francisco where there was little chance of meeting anyone he would ever see again.

John and Peter were excited about riding a cable car. They were also completely amused by Uncle Brian going with them. It really showed just how much he loved Justin that he agreed to do this. The boys had a great time on the ride with their uncle being somewhat incognito wearing a baseball cap pulled low over his face and sunglasses.

When Brian, John and Peter returned to the hotel Justin was back from the gallery and fidgeting around the main room of the suite. John and Peter went to their bedroom to get a little rest before the opening.

Brian and Justin also went to their bedroom. Brian sprawled on the bed and watched Justin nervously moving around the room.

“Sunshine, you know the show is going to be great. You always get like this before your shows and they are always a great success.”

“Just because they have been successful in the past doesn’t mean they will always be successful. Maybe one of these days people will decide my art is crap.”

Brian smirked. “How could that be when I am still your muse?”

Justin shook his head but did get a small smile on his face. He walked over and sat on the edge of the bed.

“Brian, please just hold me for a while.”

Brian opened his arms and Justin went to him. Brian held him tight with one arm and ran the fingers of his other hand through Justin’s soft blonde hair. Both men relaxed, breathing deeply just content to be together to be in each other’s arms.

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On the other side of the country Blake pulled up outside the apartment house where Viola and Nina lived. He climbed to the second floor and knocked on their apartment door. He heard running footsteps inside and a little voice asked. “Who’s there?”

“It’s Blake.”

A very excited Nina whipped open the door. She had an ear to ear smile on her face.

“Hi Blake. I’m all set to come to your house.”

Nina looked out in the hall past Blake. “Didn’t my Teddy Man come with you?”

Blake chuckled, he couldn’t wait to tell his partner about Nina looking for him.

“He’s waiting for us at home.”

Viola came out of the bedroom carrying a small suitcase. “Hello Blake. Thank heavens you arrived. Someone has been driving me crazy today asking when you were coming to pick her up.”

Blake took the suitcase.

“Well we have been looking forward to Nina’s visit too. I’ll stop by Sunday afternoon to pick you up to have dinner with us.”

Viola shook her head. “I’ll take the bus. There’s no need for you to come get me.”

Blake tried to argue bur Viola was firm that she was used to taking public transportation. She would be at their house in time for dinner at 5PM.

Nina gave her grandmother a hug and kiss goodbye and she and Blake went down to his car. One of Blake’s purchases this week had been a booster seat now installed in the back seat of his car. Ted had called Melanie to find out the brand of seat they used for JR and Blake had ordered the same one.

A ride in a car was a treat for Nina who was used to taking buses with her grandmother and mother. Nina chatted during the whole ride.

When they walked into the house Ted was waiting with a tentative smile on his face. Nina ran over to Ted. She stood in front of him and raised her arms.

“Teddy Man! I’m going to stay here for the whole weekend. Isn’t that great?”

Ted’s smile broadened as he picked up the little girl and she hugged him tightly around his neck.

“Nina! Blake and I have been waiting for day for you to come and spend some time with us. Tomorrow we are all going to bake cookies.”

Nina squealed with delight. A beaming Blake suggested they go upstairs so Nina could see where she would be sleeping. Nina kept her arms firmly around Ted’s neck so he happily carried her up the stairs. Blake followed behind them with Nina’s suitcase.

Once she saw the bedroom Blake & Ted had prepared for her, Nina squirmed to get down. She did a quick circle of the room checking out the alarm clock and night light. She ran her hand over the princess sheets on the bed and excitedly sat at the table set up in the turret.

Nina turned to the two men who looked almost as excited as she was.

“Who does this dolly belong to?”

Blake came over and stooped by the table. “She a present for you Nina. Do you like her?”

Nina’s eyes grew large. “She’s the most beautiful doll I ever sawed. Is she really for me to keep?”

Blake shook his head yes. Nina grabbed the doll with one hand and came over to give Blake a hug.

Ted suggested they go back downstairs and have dinner. Ted had made a meatloaf, sweet potato fries and green beans. The menu had been approved by Viola as all things that Nina liked to eat.

After dinner the three of them played a couple games of Candy Land, another Blake purchase. Blake helped Nina with her bath. She was happy to see towels in her favorite colors and delighted by her bubble bath and an ample supply of bath toys to choose from.

Ted waited in the bedroom ready to read Nina a bedtime story. She happily got into bed with the princess sheets. Ted sat on the side of the bed read her a story and watched her eyes get heavier and heavier. He started to stand but Nina reached out her hand and rested it on his arm.

“Teddy Man, please sit here with me until I go to sleep.”

Ted settled back onto the bed and stroked Nina’s hair until the change in her breathing let him know she had drifted off to sleep.
Ted made sure she was covered and that the night light was one before he went out of the room closing the door behind him.
He walked down the hall to his bedroom where Blake was already in bed. He was sitting up in bed and reviewing files. Blake smiled at Ted.

“Nina asleep?”

Ted nodded and walked over to the bed, leaned over and kissed Blake.

“She is adorable!”

Blake laughed. “She certainly is. I don’t think I will be the only one disappointed if this doesn’t all work out.”

Ted shrugged before he got changed for bed. Knowing that they would have a busy day tomorrow Ted and Blake turned off the lights early anxious to get a good night’s sleep.

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Brian and Justin slept for a little over an hour. They woke up in plenty of time to get dressed for the gallery. While Brian was still primping Justin called room service to order some food for them to eat before heading to the reception. He knew he would not have much chance to eat during the reception.

Justin was wearing a tan summer suit that Brian had purchased and a blue shirt selected by Brian as the perfect shade of blue to complement Justin’s eyes.

John and Peter came out of their bedroom dressed and ready. When the food arrived the boys and Justin made short work of it. Brian finally came out of the bedroom in his black suit and dark green shirt that brought out the green highlights in his eyes. Justin went over to give him a kiss.

“Not really fair to try and outshine my artwork.”

Brian laughed. “You don’t look so bad yourself Sunshine.”

They all walked over to the gallery together. Once inside the gallery Brian and John walked through looking at the displayed art.
Peter, since he had seem it all, stuck by a nervous Justin. Once he had seen everything Brian came over and gave Justin a hug.

“Great job Sunshine, as always. Everything looks awesome.”

Charlotte arrived with all her notes on the attendees. She gave a copy to Brian so he could look it over and brought Justin up to date on her contacts with art critics who would be attending.

There were a few people gathered in the lobby at quarter to seven so Rick opened the doors early. One of the gallery staff was checking invites as people came into the gallery. Rick and his wife Elaine were on hand to assist anyone who wanted to purchase a painting.

Justin stood nervously beside Brian until Charlotte waved him over to talk with a columnist for an art magazine. Brian was surprised to see Donna Brown come through the gallery doors. She smiled as she and another woman walked over to him.

“Donna, what a pleasant surprise. Is Leo with you?”

“No Brian, Leo is back home in Chicago. This is my sister, Helen Price, she lives here. She told me she had gotten tickets to Justin’s opening night so I flew out to come with her. Her cousin works for California Art magazine. He got her the tickets. He’ll be here later.”

Linda and Brian exchanged greetings. John wandered over near his uncle and Brian introduced him the Donna and her sister. John shook hands with both of the women.

Donna smiled at John. “It’s nice to meet you John. I think you must be sleeping in the bedroom Leo and I used when we visited your uncles.”

Brian chuckled. “Your room is ready and waiting for your next visit Donna. Peter and John are in bedrooms you didn’t visit while you stayed with us. They are down the hall from the guest room, over the garage. We hadn’t ever done much with them. Mother Taylor helped the boys with decorating the rooms for their use.”

“That was nice of Justin’s mother. I thought she was more into property management than decoration.”

John spoke up. “Grandmom Jen just decided what Peter and I needed and got Uncle Brian to supply his credit card to pay for it. She and her boyfriend Tucker put together some of the furniture for us.”

Donna and Helen smiled at the obvious affection in John’s voice when he talked about Grandmom Jen.

Donna put her hand on Brian’s arm. “Brian walk with us while Helen sees what painting she wants to buy.”

Helen put her hand on John’s arm and the foursome started to walk through the gallery. Justin waved at them while trapped talking to someone else Charlotte told him was “very important to your career.”

Helen stopped and looked at painting that Justin had done the day Brian played soccer with John and Patrick in the yard. Helen stepped back to observe the painting from different angles.

She turned to her sister. “Donna what do you think of this one. It seems so bright and full of life. It really speaks to me.”

John glanced quickly at Brian who nodded. As Donna and Helen stood observing the painting John told them that Justin has painted this while Uncle Brian had been kicking the soccer ball around in their back yard with John and his friend Patrick. He pointed out the three characters in the background.

Justin finally managed to get away and walk over to the group. He gave Donna a kiss on the cheek.

“Justin nice to see you. This is my sister, Helen, John was just telling us about this painting and how he and Brian were your inspiration.”

Justin got a big smile. “That’s correct you can see the figures in the background. They are Brian, John and John’s friend Patrick. It was such a beautiful weather day and I could hear the three of them laughing and having fun and I knew I had to try and capture it.”

Helen looked at her sister with a smile. “That settles it. This is the painting for me.”

Brian asked John to find Rick or Elaine Baily and ask them to come over here.

Donna frowned. “I’m feeling a little disappointed that Helen’s painting has a story that goes with it and was inspired by Brian. I don’t know anything about the creation of my painting.”

Justin laughed. “That painting was made with you and Leo in mind. It has warm, rich colors that blend but together make a bold statement.”

Donna smiled. “Wow that sounds good to me. I like that story. I can’t wait to tell Leo.”

Justin looked at a smiling Brian. “And don’t worry about the Brian angle. Brian is the inspiration for all my art.”

If anyone had been closely examining Brian’s face they would have seen pride and embarrassment flash across his face before the bland smile returned. Charlotte waved at Justin across the room so with a final smile at his partner Justin said good bye and walked over to his manager.

Rick came over with John. “I hear we have our first sale of the evening.”

Brian nodded. “Yes this is our friend, Donna Brown, and her sister Helen Price. Helen is interested in buying this painting. Take ten percent off our side of the deal.”

Rick shook his head. “I don’t work that way. Charlotte and I discussed this and we agree that any discount you or Justin authorize just comes off the top. No problem!”

Helen insisted he didn’t need to give her a discount but Brian waved away her objections. She went with Rick to complete the purchase while Brian and Donna continued to view the art. Brian snagged a couple of glasses of champagne from a passing waiter.

Meanwhile Peter was amusing himself watching people arrive. He spotted the friendly flight attendant when she walked up to the door with a man. Peter went over and let the door attendant that it was ok for the flight attendant and her friend to come in. An older couple right behind them had an invitation.

Elise, the flight attendant, introduced Peter to her boyfriend and it was his parents who had the invite to the reception. Peter insisted them come over and say hello to his Uncle Justin. When Peter spotted Peter he broke away again from Charlotte and her “VIP” of the moment.

Elise’s boyfriend’s parents were amazed and delighted to meet Justin. Elise leaned down to whisper in Peter’s ear. “Thanks for introducing us to your uncle. That gives me major brownie points with his parents”

The parents walked around with Peter as their guide. After spending so much time with Justin in the gallery Peter had learned quite a bit about Justin’s art. His tour group was pretty impressed by him and spotted a painting they were interested in. Peter was thrilled to go find Mrs Baily and bring her over to complete the sale.

Peter walked over to John to let him know that he had sold one of Uncle Justin’s paintings and was a little disappointed when John took credit for his own sale to Helen Price.

By the end of the night John and Peter were bored. Brian was concerned about Justin and Justin was exhausted from being pleasant to people and answering pretty much the same questions again and again. Charlotte had done an excellent job of cutting short any questions about the kidnapping attempt.

When the last guest had left and the door was locked. Rick and Elaine were effusive with praise. This had been one of their best first nights ever. Charlotte was happy with all the interviews Justin had given. She suggested she come to their suite to go over a few things.

Brian looked Charlotte directly in the face. “That is not happening. Justin needs to rest and relax.”

He said goodbye and goodnight took Justin by the arm and followed by John and Peter they went back to their hotel. Justin went into the bedroom to put on comfortable clothes. Brian ordered several desserts from room service along with a bottle of champagne.

Peter and John also went to their bedroom to change. When Justin came back into the main room, Brian had him sit on the couch as he massaged his feet. Justin moaned with delight. John coming out of the bedroom stopped and almost turned back until a laughing Brian told him it was safe to come out.

When the desserts and champagne arrived Justin got a huge smile on his face. If his partner was anyone but Brian Justin might have cried but instead he gave Brian a kiss and told him he was the best partner ever. Brian agreed he was the best and the nephews laughed.

Since John and Peter had each contributed to the success of the show’s first night; Brian decided they could each have a small glass of champagne. Justin was happy that neither boy really seemed to like champagne. Justin, John and Peter devoured the desserts and even though he had ordered them Brian still complained about the carbs they were consuming.

After dessert John and Peter said good night and went to their bedroom. Brian and Justin sat on the couch and talked about their week. Justin was delighted to hear that Ted and Blake were hosting Nina for the weekend. Brian gave Justin the letter from Claire to read. Justin kept looking up and saying “she can’t be serious” before reading more.

Brian brought Justin up to date on Claire’s sentencing and the fact that Jennifer had attended. Justin laughed when he heard about his mother’s second encounter with Joan Kinney. Justin told Brian he almost, but not quite, felt sorry for Joan. Brian said that he and John thought it was best to wait until they were back home to tell Peter about Claire’s jail sentence.

When they finally went to bed, they were both too tired to do anything but actually go to sleep. Now that they were together in bed both men got the best night’s sleep they had since last Sunday night.

The next morning all four of them went down to the breakfast buffet. Justin was committed to spending most of the day at the gallery so Brian agreed to take the boys to do some exploring. That is the term Brian preferred to sightseeing which he maintained he did not do.

That freed up Justin to have lunch with Charlotte and discuss the show.

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Early Saturday morning there was a knock at Ted & Blake’s bedroom door. Blake managed to get over to the door still half asleep and open it. Nina stood there with her teddy bear under one arm.

“Is it time to make cookies?”

Ted sat up in bed. “Cookies? What time is it?”

Blake looked at the clock radio beside the bed. “It’s six o’clock. I guess Nina is an early riser. I’ll take her downstairs and we can have breakfast. You can go back to sleep Teddy.”

“No I’m awake. I’ll make jelly omelets for breakfast.”

Ted and Blake took turns using the bathroom and splashing some cold water in their faces to help them wake up. After breakfast they settled Nina in front of the TV while they cleaned up the kitchen and had second cups of coffee.

When they got back to the living room, Nina was curled up on the couch sound asleep.

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