Later that night...
Justin stood in the doorway of Brian's office, quietly admiring the handsome man sitting behind his desk, the remnants of his steak dinner in front of him. Gus had long ago delivered his father's meal, using one of the plastic serving trays like the ones that were used at the Sit-A-Spell restaurant. It had been a silly memento to ask for, but it had represented a part of his life at the time, so he had requested one when the two of them had left to head up north. Back then, though, he had no idea where his path would lead him - and who and where it would lead him TO. But he was so thankful that it had led him here.
He still had to almost pinch himself to believe that here he was, in this grand house, living with the man of his dreams as a member of a small family unit. For that was what he considered him, Brian, and Gus - a family. And while he still missed his own sister - and Daphne - terribly, the past few weeks with Brian, getting to know him and his son better as he fell deeper and deeper in love with both of them - filled him with immense joy.
His job, too, was going extremely well; it was even better than it had been at StrataG - that is, before he found out Marcum's true colors. While he realized he was the ‘low man on the totem pole' at Kinnetik - having to prove himself to the other employees - they all treated him with respect and seemed genuinely impressed with his work. And Brian had turned out to be a fair but impartial boss. He did his share of critiquing his work, but when he did find some issues with it, his suggestions were professional and relevant. Fortunately, Brian understood his need to feel like he was part of the team, and did not outwardly show any favoritism toward him. In fact, most of his suggestions for improvement were channeled through Will Klosterman, the Art Director, rather than to him directly, at least in the office. That was the way that Justin expected it to be; he did not want any special attention or favors given to him.
Outside the office, however, while they did discuss projects in the comfort of their new home, both men seemed to instinctively understand that they wanted to reserve that time for more pleasurable pursuits, getting to know each other more deeply, both intellectually AND physically. Britin - as Brian had decided he wanted to call their home - was an amazing retreat for mind and body. True to his word, in the week between the time the movers had arrived at the loft and today, Brian had managed to get an astounding amount of changes done. As promised to his son, he had had a playground installed in the backyard and a trampoline (with a security net around it; that was a given with Gus around), along with something none of them would have ever imagined: somewhere Brian had found an actual kiddie train ride from a bankrupt amusement park that was being auctioned off, and had installed it for his son. Now, whenever Gus wanted to ride on a train, all he had to do was step outside the back door, hop on board the passenger car behind the scaled-down version of the locomotive, and wait (rather impatiently) for Brian or Justin to activate the switch for him. The elongated, oval-shaped track wound around a scenic acre of the grounds, and Gus never seemed to grow tired of the activity.
With all the amazing additions Brian had made to their home's backyard, there was no doubt that Gus would soon become one of the street's favorite children as soon as the other kids discovered the fantasyland hiding there. For now, however, the small family thrived in their new surroundings, and treasured their relative obscurity and privacy.
That was all about to change tomorrow, however, for Brian had decided to throw caution to the wind and invite not only Mel and Lindsay out to the house for a barbecue (they had agreed to drop Gus off earlier this evening at the loft and let him spend the night at Britin tonight), but also Ted and Cynthia and some other friends to show them the new house - and to formally introduce them to Justin as his partner.
That last part found Justin feeling decidedly nervous. He was just now becoming more comfortable around Mel and Lindsay, but now Brian wanted to invite several more of his friends and work associates here for an impromptu housewarming party? He had been somewhat taken aback when Brian had suggested it, a little surprised that he would encourage social relationships with his co-workers outside the office, and even now - more than a few days after Brian had first mentioned it - he wasn't sure if it was a good idea or not. For one thing, his ability to ‘fly under the radar' at work was going to be a thing of the past once they found out he was living with Brian, He wasn't sure how he felt about that, to be honest. Would Brian's colleagues look at him differently afterward, and walk around on eggshells whenever he was nearby, or whisper behind his back? Would they coddle him, or be afraid to speak their minds when he was around? He didn't want to earn any accolades except through his own merit, nor did he want any special treatment from anyone, and he was afraid that might happen after tomorrow.
Brian clearing his throat turned his attention back to the present as he blinked to peer over at him, realizing he had been daydreaming. "Uh, I presume you are the head chef?" Brian inquired politely from his place behind his desk. "I asked the waiter to go find you, but all he did was come back here, deliver my meal - and then promptly fall asleep over there on the couch." He cocked his head over toward the leather couch situated in the corner and grinned.
Justin chuckled softly as he observed Gus curled up on the sofa, lying on his side with a light throw covering his body, the menu pad and pencil clutched in his arms as he slumbered away, oblivious to their conversation.
"I guess you just can't get reliable help anymore," Justin deadpanned as Brian rolled his chair back from the desk and rose from his seat.
"Or maybe the gourmet chef is working their staff too hard," Brian teased back, curling his lips under. Walking over to his son, he gently scooped him up into arms and carried him over to the doorway, pausing for a moment to lean over and gently kiss Justin on the lips. "Come upstairs with me," was the silky plea.
"But the dinner dishes..."
"Leave them, Justin," Brian commanded.
"And have bugs crawling all over your desk tonight?" The former waiter in him couldn't let the soiled dishes remain where they were as he promised his partner, "You put Gus to bed and I'll be up by the time you're back in the master bedroom."
Brian nodded then. "You'd better be. Wouldn't want you to get dishpan hands - or my dick to get soft."
Justin grinned as the two set off in different directions, Brian heading up the steps with his precious cargo, while Justin gathered up the dishes and placed them on the restaurant tray to carry them back to the kitchen.
True to his word, a few minutes later Justin joined his partner in their master bedroom, stopping just inside the massive space to peer over at Brian, who was sitting up with his back to the headboard, his legs crossed at the ankles in their king-sized bed, wearing only a pair of loose-fitting sleep pants and a pair of reading glasses as he perused some business magazine. Until they had moved in here together, Justin hadn't realized that Brian used glasses to read while he was in bed, but for some reason he thought they made him look quite sexy. Of course, Brian was always sexy to him no matter what.
"What?" Brian called over to him as he looked up and noticed Justin hesitating.
Justin smiled. "Nothing. Just enjoying the view," he answered.
Brian smirked as he laid the magazine down onto the nightstand beside him; suddenly the newest advances in smart technology didn't seem quite so interesting. "Well, the view's even better over here," he promised as he patted the mattress. "Come closer, and I'll show you."
Justin laughed at the cheesy line as he approached the bed, stopping for a moment to pull his tee-shirt over his head and toss it onto a nearby chair and then stooping to slip out of his shoes and jeans, discarding them next to the shirt before turning back around to look at his lover. His face warmed as he noticed Brian's eyes raking down and then back up his body appreciatively.
Brian scooted over more to the side as Justin walked over and slid in beside him; within a few seconds, his partner was raining light kisses all over his neck, jaw, and shoulders, Brian's hands caressing him everywhere as Justin sighed with pleasure. "That feels so good," he murmured as Brian gently pushed him down onto the bed so he was lying on his back.
Draping his longer frame over Justin's, Brian stared down into his eyes for several seconds before he asked unexpectedly, "You are happy here, right?"
Justin frowned. "Why would you ask that?" he replied.
Brian shook his head slightly in dismissal. "No particular reason. I just want you to be comfortable here, too. This was a big change for both of us."
Justin smiled at him. "Well, sometimes I do feel like I need one of those maps like you get at the big box department stores to find my way around," he admitted. "This house is huge, Brian!"
"Too huge to be a real home?" Brian pressed softly.
Justin furrowed his brow as he peered up into the concerned face. "You're not having buyer's remorse now, are you?" he asked. "Little late for that; once you've laid track down, it's yours, Tex," he teased him. He shook his head in amazement. "I still can't believe you found that train ride for Gus. He may not want to go back home at all now."
Brian grinned, liking the thought of irking Melanie with that for some reason. "Yeah, I know." He turned more serious as he admitted, "If I could, I would have him here with me full-time. But I know that's not possible." He let out a deep breath. "God, I miss him when he's not around - even if he CAN be a deterrent at times to other activities." Justin smiled; Brian's son DID seem to have uncanny timing when they had been at the loft and wanted to be alone. But he understood what he was saying perfectly, and his partner's undying devotion to his son was one of the things he admired and loved the most about him.
Brian shook his head. "No, I wouldn't renege on my contract now, even if I could," he confirmed. "You saw the way Gus's eyes lit up over this house and the backyard when the agent showed it to us. I wasn't really looking at the size of the house when I was trying to decide what to buy; it was more like the feeling I got from being here." He paused. "It's kind of hard to explain. But it just felt...right."
Justin nodded. "I think I understand," he told him.
Brian twisted a strand of Justin's hair around two of his fingers as he reminded him, "You still haven't answered my question, by the way."
"Brian, I don't know why you're asking me that now. I thought I had convinced you before that I wanted to live with you. Why are you having second thoughts about what I said?"
"Maybe because you've seemed kind of preoccupied today."
Justin frowned, his fingers lightly gripping Brian's muscular, upper arms as his partner lay on top of him, their legs intertwined. "How so?"
"Just...quieter than normal; more reflective. Even at work today, you seemed a little out of focus somehow. Not quite as tuned in to your art as you normally are. It's hard to explain. Am I wrong?"
Justin sighed, signaling that Brian's perception was correct. "It's not that exactly," he began. "Not about moving here. I think this house is incredible. And living with you...and Gus...it makes me very happy, Brian. Happier than I ever thought I could be."
Brian stopped playing with his partner's hair to stare into his eyes. "I'm glad to hear that. Then what, Justin? What has been on your mind so much lately?"
"It's...about tomorrow."
Brian laid his hand against Justin's jaw, his fingers slowly brushing against his skin. "What? You're a former waiter who doesn't know how to barbecue?" he teased. "That's okay - I'm a master griller. You serve, I'll grill. We'll be the perfect team."
His partner shook his head. "No, it has nothing to do with that."
"Justin..."
He sighed again. "Brian, I thought initially you were just going to invite Melanie and Lindsay out to the house tomorrow. Then I find out you're inviting not only then, but some of your other friends, and even some people from work."
A slight twinge of irritation flickered across Brian's face as his fingers stilled. "I have to confer with you first on those kinds of things?" He quickly shook his head, instantly regretting what he had just said as he noticed Justin wince in reaction. Shit. "I guess I should have asked you first. But I didn't think it would make any difference." One side of his mouth lifted up in concession. "I'm not used to living with someone, either; or having to check with anyone else before I make decisions. Guess we both have a learning curve here. If you want me to change it back to the way it was originally, I can always..."
"No, Brian," Justin told him quietly, feeling a little regretful himself and just a bit selfish. "That's not what I meant. I don't care how many you invited to come. It's just that...I'm a little nervous about it."
"Why?"
"Well...The people from Kinnetik are bound to figure out now that we are more than just employee and employer. I don't want them to think any less of me, because you and I are...involved. I'm afraid they're going to think I only got where I did because I was fucking the boss."
"Other way around."
"I'll let that go for now," Justin responded as Brian arched one brow a little in surprise. It wasn't that he hadn't considered it, but the two of them had never openly discussed it. "You know what I'm saying. That was one of the reasons why I was hesitant to come work for you in the first place, so I'm a little surprised you would invite them, then. You know how important it is for me to feel like I'm contributing on my own to your company's success, and not being given a job merely because of our relationship."
Brian pressed his lips together tightly as he dropped his hands to rest on either side of Justin's neck. "Justin...it's not like I'm inviting the whole company to come. It's just Cynthia and Ted; I've already told you they are not gossipers. And just some friends of mine that I want you to meet. And I want them to meet you."
"You do?"
Brian smiled. "Of course I do. It's not like you're some dirty little secret of mine. I'm...proud of you, Justin. I want them to get to know you, and for you to get to know them."
Justin's heart pounded over Brian's words. "That sounds kind of permanent, Brian," he whispered at last.
Brian stared into his lover's eyes, mesmerized by how brilliantly blue they were, how luminous. "It is," he found himself whispering back. "I intend for you to be here for a long time, Justin. This is your home now, too. If you want it to be."
Justin's eyes glistened. That was quite a statement coming from this man. He was still somewhat anxious about tomorrow in a way - wanting so badly for the people Brian cared about to like and accept him in his life - but just hearing Brian expressing such a commitment to him and to their relationship made it less overwhelming. "You know I do," he finally whispered back, his voice slightly choked with emotion. "I..." He wanted so badly to say those three, momentous words to his lover, his partner, his everything. But somehow he was still afraid; afraid that he might never hear those words repeated back to him, and that he might be pressuring Brian to feel an obligation to say them, whether he meant it or not. So he held back. "I wouldn't want to be anywhere else."
Brian nodded then, reaching up with his right hand to thread his fingers through some of Justin's hair. He loved feeling the soft texture of it, and seeing how it shone under the subdued lighting in the bedroom. Hell, he loved everything about this man. So why couldn't he state that out loud? Instead of analyzing his reasons, however, he leaned down to kiss the soft, warm lips before replying against his mouth, "I'm glad to hear that." Pulling back enough to gaze into his eyes, he suggested, "Now let's take advantage of our little train engineer being in dreamland, and forget about tomorrow for now, okay? Everything will be fine; you'll see." Justin nodded back at him with a smile, as the two kissed once more, this time more passionately.
As Brian proceeded to make love to him, Justin chose to concentrate on the caresses, words, and sounds coming from his partner, pushing his niggling doubts to the back of his mind. There would be plenty of time to worry about that tomorrow. For now, he only wanted to concentrate on the present, and on this incredible man who was such an important part of his life now.
The Next Morning...8:00 a.m.
Toot! Toot!
Brian groaned as he slowly came to consciousness and blinked at the sunlight splashing through the tall windows; surely not, he thought. But then he heard it again, and he knew he hadn't imagined it while in his sleep. His first thought was that his neighbors were going to kill them. His second thought was that he was possibly going to kill his son first.
Disentangling himself from his lover's embrace as gently as he could, Justin stirred slightly in his sleep but did not wake up as Brian slid out of bed and shuffled over to one of the windows overlooking the backyard, turning the old-fashioned knob downward to swing the window outward as he looked down and noticed his son sitting behind the engineer's spot in the train locomotive, getting ready to yank on the rope to toot the steam engine horn once more. Thinking he'd better get the security alarm installed soon in the house so his son couldn't slip out again without his notice, he called down in hopes of getting his son's attention. "Gus!" he hissed from the open window as loudly as he dared without disturbing his lover several feet away.
Thankfully, his son had good hearing, because he watched as the little boy cocked his head toward him and smiled. "Hi, Daddy!" he chirped brightly as he beamed radiantly up at him.
Brian shook his head in amusement, unable to avoid returning his smile. "Hey, Sonny Boy," he called down to him softly. "Listen, don't sound the horn again, okay? Justin's still asleep." And I imagine the neighbors are, too, he thought silently.
"Okay, Daddy," Gus called up to him as Brian placed his pointer finger over his lips in hopes his son would tone down the volume a bit. "But I want to take a ride. Can you come down and turn it on?"
Brian sighed. What had possessed him to find that contraption in the first place? Was he trying to encourage his son to grow up and seek a job steering some stinky, pollution-spouting steam train for a living, while he wore some godforsaken ensemble from the days of cattle rustlers and bank robbers? No. He knew why he had done it; because it had made his son extremely happy, and that made him happy.
"I'll be down in a few minutes, Sonny Boy," he promised as Gus nodded back up at him excitedly. He shook his head again and chuckled, noticing Gus was still wearing his pajamas but no shoes, even though he had still managed to locate his engineer's cap and scarf - and the ever-present whistle around his neck. Softly latching the window shut again, he turned around to look over at the bed as his heart skipped a beat at the sight in front of him. He had never thought he would ever relish waking up with a man in his bed on a daily basis - and going to bed with the same person at night - but he was beginning to like that idea, at least when it involved this beautiful man.
He resisted the urge to walk over and kiss those inviting lips good morning as he crept back around the end of the bed and headed toward the bathroom, only to be stopped when he heard a sleep-laden voice.
"I'm awake," Justin told him softly as his eyes fluttered open and he turned his head to peer over at his partner. "What time is it?" he asked, as he stretched his arms above him to try and wake up further.
Brian walked back over to the bed and sat down on Justin's side. Reaching down, he brushed his fingertips over Justin's warm lips. "A little after eight," he told him. "Did I wake you?"
"Not you," Justin confirmed with a smile as Brian nodded. "I think it was our resident engineer. Was that a horn I heard, or did I just imagine it?"
Brian laughed. "No, you heard right. I'm on my way down to start up the locomotive."
Justin grinned; not too surprised that Gus was already raring to go. "And just who found that ride for him?"
Brian groaned. "Guilty as charged." He stared into Justin's eyes before he advised him, "I told Sonny Boy I'd be down in a few minutes. I think that gives me just enough time for a quick shower. Care to join me?" He waggled his eyebrows as Justin laughed.
"Sounds like a plan."
Brian grinned as he reached down to pull his sleepy partner up to a sitting position, taking advantage of the situation to kiss him briefly. Pulling him off the bed, the two lovers headed toward the adjoining bathroom.