Midnight Whispers
QAF Brian and Justin Fanfiction
Author's Chapter Notes:

I'm glad everyone enjoyed the conversation between Brian and Gus. =)

Justin's POV

The distance from the stables to the gazebo had never felt so long.

At least we had convinced Mom, we could walk together to the makeshift altar. If she had reached her goal of walking me down the aisle, I would have truly become the bride as everyone joked.

"Don't faint," Brian warned me, squeezing my hand.

I took a shuddering breath, focusing on placing one foot in front of the other.

"And smile. We're getting married, not murdered."

An involuntary smile spread on my lips. Trust Brian to make a joke about marriage on the way to the minister.

We walked slowly between the rows of seats I'd carefully arranged with Emmett. Contrary to the failed rehearsal, Brian was behaving himself, and it was him keeping the slow and steady pace.

For the ceremony, only our family and closest friends were present. Brian's clients and the people I met and befriended in New York were invited to the reception, which was going to start in about an hour.

As we passed Debbie, she gave us a watery smile. I tried to return it, but I wasn't sure if I succeeded. I'd never been so nervous in my whole life.

It was the most anticipated moment—I was marrying Brian, and I felt like I'd swallowed a hedgehog. At the same time, I was happy being there, having overcome so many bumps in our relationship. All of them led to this very moment.

We finally reached the minister. My legs felt like jelly. I preferred it when I was walking. I wasn't sure I could stand.

The minister was the same woman who'd married Mel and Linz. She presented us to our guests, as if they didn't know us. If they didn't, our names were on the invitations. She tried keeping a straight face when she mentioned the reason why we were gathered in our backyard.

I was sure, for many, it was still a shock Brian Kinney was settling down.

Brian kept his eyes on mine while the woman talked, our hands clasped between us. It kept me grounded.

When she announced we should exchange our vows, she prompted me to go first.

I never liked being the first in anything, and this wasn't the exception. I'd hoped Brian would say his first, but it wouldn't do to start an argument.

"I, Justin Tayl—" I broke off, laughing nervously when my voice cracked horribly. Fuck. It hadn't happened since I was a teen.

"Twat," Brian mouthed to me.

I squeezed his hands harder. Clearing my throat, I started again. "I, Justin Taylor, take you, Brian Kinney, to be my husband in sickness and in health, through good and bad times. I promise to love and cherish you for the rest of our lives. You showed me what love was and taught me all kinds of things I wouldn't repeat now." I grinned, turning to our guests, who started laughing. "I love you, Brian."

Brian's eyes were shining with tears. It was the first time he heard my vows. I'd insisted we didn't share them until the wedding day.

He gave me a smile, composing himself. "I, Brian Kinney, take you, Justin Taylor, to be my husband, life partner, significant other half. Why limit to one term?" He chuckled, when I raised an eyebrow in amusement. He was being a goof as always. "I need to correct you, though. You taught me and showed me what love is. You made me believe in love when times were dark. I promise to protect you, be there for you, support you, scold you when you're being a brat, and most of all, love you. Forever."

Holy shit.

I slipped a hand from his to wipe my eyes. I had promised myself not to tear up like some silly fag, but it was impossible.

The minister requested the rings, and Gus brought them over, sharing a smile with Brian as if they had an inside joke. They probably had.

Placing the ring on Brian's finger, and having him do the same to me, sealed the deal.

The rings and the vows were proof we belonged together. Forever.

Next thing I knew, the minister declared us married and announced to us that we could share our first kiss as a married couple.

I was aiming for a short kiss, but Brian attacked me. He wrapped his arms around me, pressing his mouth over mine, devouring my lips. I responded in kind, though I could feel my whole face burning.

One of his hands sneaked under my jacket, his fingers curling around my hip, while his other hand stayed on the back of my head. If we continued like this, we'd skip the reception and head upstairs. I sure was seconds away from undressing him.

Then our bubble burst when I heard Michael shouting. "It's a wedding, not an intro for a porno!"

There was a distinctive slapping sound, probably Debbie hitting her son; and there were also many laughs.

Brian separated from me, but he didn't go too far. He pressed his forehead against mine, sighing.

We didn't need words.

Grinning, I took his hand, walking back down the aisle. Our family was already heading to the tables we had placed there. I had no idea how big the backyard was until we managed to fit a few dozen tables, chairs and a make-shift dance floor, along with a station for the DJ.

Brian tugged me closer, wrapping my arm around his waist as he bent his head to kiss my temple. "You should be proud you married an ad man. If I wasn't so good at creating bullshit out of nothing and working wonders with my words, everyone would be in tears by now."

"Huh?" I caught his eye, genuinely confused. What is he onto?

"What I said back there?" He looked me in the eye seriously. I nodded, urging him to talk. "It was a whim's moment speech. I completely forgot what I wanted to say." He looked so sad, yet so proud of his oratory skills. "Fuck, and I had these great vows prepared."

I knew I should be supportive, and admire his stone nerves for keeping his calm and not panicking when he couldn't remember what he had planned to say, but I was too busy laughing my head off.

Brian glared, tugging at my ear lightly.

"Do you think she does annulments? I don't think I want to be stuck with a senile man for the rest of my life."

"You little shit!" Brian gasped, stopping his gait and stepping in front of me. He seized my chin, making me meet his eyes. It was hard to keep a straight face. "Can't you be proud of me?"

"Oh, I am. It was a great speech, though there was no bullshit."

"No, there wasn't," he admitted softly.

I grabbed him by the collar of his suit jacket and smashed my mouth to his. So what if we had guests to greet, that I could hear arriving? It wasn't often when Brian was so open and romantic. I had to cherish every moment he had his guard down.

Sometime later, we were leaning against our table—yes, we had our table, because Emmett insisted we needed it—as we talked to Michael, Ben and Debbie. My back was against Brian's chest, and one of his hands was around me, his thumb stroking my hip. We each had a glass of champagne in hand.

Michael stated for the fifth time in the span of ten minutes how weird it was to know we were married, that Brian had finally made that step. I let him drone on, while I looked around us.

Our backyard was filled with so many people, and I barely knew a quarter of them. All our guests were staying in groups and chatting.

I loved the way Emmett decorated. I should have known trusting him on the round tables was a great idea. All tables except ours, our table was rectangular and seated a few feet away from the others so we'd always be seen by everyone. They were all covered in pale lilac cloths with an assorted bouquet of flowers in the middle. A table could seat twelve people, and I had made sure to place them so they'd know each other, or at least have something in common to discuss. Especially Brian's clients; they were the tricky part, but with Cynthia's help I managed.

"We should mingle," I said, tilting my head to look at Brian. "Now, before everyone starts eating."

He cringed visibly. "We'll hold a speech later—thank everyone for coming."

"But it's polite to do it in person," I protested. Slipping out of his arms, I grabbed his hand, tugging at it. "You'll have to drink after every single person congratulates us."

"Now, you're talking!" He beamed, downing his glass and taking a fresh one from the table. "Sorry, guys. Groom duties." He flashed our friends a smile, before allowing me to lead the way to a group of his clients.

"Don't get drunk, though," I warned.

"Christ. Why did I fucking marry a WASP? Always polite and expecting to be on his best behavior." I stepped on his foot, making him curse loudly. "Fuck you, Taylor. My new shoes."

Of course. My beloved fashion queen at his best. "Part of the tradition, dear."

"We're not Jewish. Thank God for that."

"Oh, I see why the animosity toward Mel. In school, we were taught to respect variety in life which means no judging people by their religion, color, or political opinion."

"Not sexuality, too?" He asked mock-shocked.

I laughed, squeezing his hand. "Behave yourself," I whispered, kissing his cheek as we stopped next to his clients.

Brian introduced them as some of his oldest accounts, and how well they worked together over the years. Apparently, he'd known them ever since he worked for Ryder, which had been way back, even before we met.

They congratulated us, shaking our hands warmly and offering advices on how married life would treat us. I absolutely hated when people said everything would change. I knew it wouldn't.

Knowing Brian and me, there wouldn't be a boring moment. Even if we fought, we always made up in the most amazing ways.

We walked around the backyard, always keeping our glasses filled, smiling and shaking hands.

When we were done with Brian's clients, I found a small group that fit exactly at one table. They were the people I knew from New York, the ones that mattered anyway.

After our San Francisco impromptu run-in with Ethan, we had to honor our promise to send him and Simon an invitation. I never thought they'd actually come. While we talked to them, it was the most awkward five minutes of my life. It wasn't that I cared much for him, but the way he kept looking at me as if I'd gone mad, it made me want to punch him. All I could hope was he wouldn't hurt Simon, or he'd answer to me.

"I think that's it," Brian declared, downing his glass.

We were on our way back to our table, when Gus chose that moment to come crashing into Brian. He smiled toothlessly, his eyes dancing between me and his dad. "Now? Can I do it now?"

I was about to ask what they were talking about, but a new group approached us. I was dizzy after how many people we talked to and how much champagne I ingested in the past hour.

The grey haired woman stopped in front of us, giving Brian a stern look. She looked vaguely familiar. "The invitation must have gotten lost in the mail. I had to hear through the grapevine that you were getting married!"

As my eyes slid to the people behind her, realization came crushing down. This was Brian's family—the people he never talked about, the people he hated the most.

"Did Debbie tell you?" Brian asked in a clipped tone. "Well, if you were expecting to meet your daughter-in-law, you're in for a disappointment, mother! That is never going to happen!"

Joan Kinney met my eyes, and the look on her face made me feel like a bug she wanted to squish. "Actually, I heard it from Nancy. Lindsay's mom," she explained when Brian stared at her vacantly.

I wanted to kick his family out, knowing they were going to cause a scene, but it was Brian's call.

"How wonderful! Simply fabulous. You still keep in touch?" Brian sneered.

"We met at the hair dresser."

"Beautiful. Well, mother, since you're here…" He hugged me to his side. "…let me introduce you to my husband, your son-in-law, Justin. You met briefly some years ago. He was naked and eager to have me back in bed fucking him. I'm sure, all dressed he doesn't have the same impact. I'd know." He kissed my cheek soundly.

It had been a while since I'd seen his ugly face, but then again no one had upset him so much.

"Brian," I hissed, embarrassed. I decided to salvage the situation. "Mrs. Kinney. Claire." I looked at his sister. She twisted her nose as if she smelled something nasty. My eyes moved behind Claire.

"And let's not forget the devil's spawns—John and Peter," Brian added snidely. His eyes narrowed at John.

Both boys were looking curiously at Gus.

"Ah, yes." Brian placed a hand on Gus's shoulder. "This is your cousin, Gus. Sonny Boy, this is my mother, which makes her your grandmother; my sister, your aunt, and her children."

"Hi. Nice to meet you." Gus waved politely. It was definitely Lindsay's side of upbringing. Like Brian had joked earlier, WASPs were always polite.

"Are you a fag too?" John glared at Gus.

I saw Brian's hand clenching on his son's shoulder, and placed mine on top of his.

"That's none of your business. If he decides he likes boys, we'll love him the same." I took Gus's side.

"This poor child, Brian. I never understood why you brought him into this world. Lindsay and that… person aren't good for him. If you married Lindsay, he'd have normal parents." Joan looked upset.

"Yeah, well, I have no idea why you brought me into this world!" Brian barked. "And by the way, Gus has normal parents. In my concept, normal means having a heart, two legs and two arms, along with a healthy dose of insanity to have a child—someone you can't control, but you grow to love as you see him developing into his own person. This makes Linz and Mel, and Justin and me very normal."

"And I'm lucky to have what not many have," Gus quipped up. He kept his back straight, not taking any bullshit from Brian's family. "I have two sets of parents—two moms and two dads. I love them all a lot."

My heart stopped for a second, then started beating faster. Gus considered me his dad too.

We exchanged a huge smile, before I bent and picked him up. I didn't even care he was heavier than I could hold, but I wasn't about to let Gus go.

"I wanted to ask if you wanted to be my daddy too, but then that mean lady made me show her how lucky I am. You aren't mad, are you?" Gus checked, his eyes wide and honest.

I swallowed back my tears. "I'd be honored to be your dad, too." I pressed a kissed to his forehead.

He beamed at me, wrapping his arms around my neck tightly.

During our confession, Brian managed to get rid of his family. I met his eyes, the very same shade as Gus's, over his son's shoulder. He sucked on his lips, watching us with so much love, I'd never thought possible to feel that way—so cared for, appreciated, protected.

We took Gus back to his mommies, where he exclaimed he had a new dad. At Linz's confused look, Gus hugged me around the waist, grinning up at me. I stroked his hair, giving Lindsay a sheepish smile.

I had a feeling they'd all been onto this, but coming from Gus made the wish more believable.

"Ah, that's wonderful, honey! At last, you'll have a dad who isn't going to screw up." Mel pinched Gus's cheek.

"Bitch," Brian said between coughs. As if the distorted word wasn't heard loud and clear.

I took Brian to our table so the reception could start, and to placate a fight between him and Mel before it started.

"Are you happy?" He said into my ear as we sat down.

"I doubted my day could get any better. Seriously. I married you, what could top that?" I bit my lip, taking his hand and resting our linked hands on his lap. "Then your son comes and declares himself as my son in front of your family."

Brian shrugged. "Yeah, well. He's my son; standing up for himself and not afraid to speak his mind."

"You got that right."

After a few bites of the appetizers, there was a horrid sound from the DJ's box. When we looked over there, Michael had the microphone in his hand.

"I'm going to kill him," Brian hissed. "He fucking promised no speeches."

I placed my hand on his knee in hopes to keep him calm and seated.

Michael covered in his long speech the whole period of time he'd known Brian, ever since they were in high school until recent years, and how he'd changed and grown up. He talked about the time Brian met me, and how I managed to get under his skin. That statement got a loud groan from my husband, and a huge, proud smile from me. Michael skimmed over the most important aspects of our lives, without embarrassing us too much. When he was done, our guests raised their glasses to us.

"Drinking; good. Did I mention how much I love this part of the wedding?" Brian said under his breath, raising his whiskey glass then downing all its contents.

Between the courses, we danced—a lot.

We had our first dance as a married couple, which was definitely not a typical song a normal person would choose as their first dance at their wedding. Brian had come to me not too long ago, asking if I'd decided on a song for our dance.

I was pouring over the seating charts, moving people around after recently discussing with Cynthia about Brian's clients, when Brian appeared from behind me. He wrapped an arm around my shoulders, kissing my neck sloppily.

"What are you doing?"

"Working on the seating plans. You? It's 2:57." I checked the clock in his study.

"Remind me to fire Steven. He fucked up again." Brian rested his chin on my shoulder, sighing loudly.

Steven, his event planner at Babylon. "What now?"

"It was a bad idea to bring back Sap's idea of fun in Studs N Suds. Steven, the fucking imbecile that he is, managed to turn the whole floor in an overflowing mess of bubbles. I haven't seen so many bubbles since I had the misfortune to experience Gus's joy of pouring half of the tube of Lindsay's scented bubbles in the bathtub. And he was five back then."

I frowned, turning my head to catch his eye. "He flooded the dance floor? Wasn't that supposed to happen in an inflatable pool?"

"Tell him that! I swear, no one does anything right if I don't supervise them." He rubbed his temple.

"Well, care to help me with these? They're your clients."

He peered at the papers in front of me, extracting the pen from my hand before changing a few names and removing some entirely.

"Say…" Brian said after a few moments. "Did you choose the song we're going to have our dance to?"

"Not exactly. I actually wanted to ask you. I have a few names written somewhere." I started shuffling through the myriad of papers on the desk. I was going to drown in them soon.

"Don't." He grabbed my hand. "I know the perfect one."

I eyed him warily, for a second expecting him to say the name of the song we had danced to at my prom.

"Do you remember what I told you when I first brought you here? When I proposed?" he asked softly, rising me to my feet and trapping me between his body and the desk.

I flushed at the memories. I had been in shock for hours.

"So, do you?" Brian raised an eyebrow.

"You said many things…"

He chuckled. "You asked if I bought the house, and I told you yes." He gave me an expectant look.

His words came back to me. "For my prince," I whispered, barely audible.

Smiling, Brian pressed further into me, nudging my nose with his. "I know what song I want to be ours. I haven't heard it in years, then I stumbled over it some time ago."

My mouth had gone dry. I had no idea what he was talking about, but I had a feeling I'd be in tears by the time he told me the name of the song.

Whatever Brian saw on my face made his smile slip. "Let me show you."

After he pulled the laptop closer, and typed in YouTube search bar, he beamed. Not a second later, the sweetest melody and Placebo started singing. I paid attention to the lyrics, but lost concentration after hearing exactly why he wanted that very song.

Never thought you'd make me perspire.
Never thought I'd do you the same.
Never thought I'd fill with desire.
Never thought I'd feel so ashamed.

Me and the dragon can chase all the pain away.
So before I end my day, remember…
My sweet prince, you are the one
My sweet prince
you are the one

"Brian," I choked out, wrapping my arms around him, burrowing my face into his neck.

"You don't like it."

"I do!" I titled my head to show him how much I loved his choice.

He smirked. "So, is this our song?"

I managed only to nod, unable to talk without bursting in tears.

Mom made sure to steal me right after my dance with Brian ended.

At least, Brian's DJ from Babylon wasn't a complete moron like his event organizer. He knew how to choose the songs. I'd given him a list, and besides the ones I highlighted, he was allowed to take liberties.

Daphne was next to steal me, then Debbie demanded she had waited long enough for this day to come and I had to make an old lady happy. I couldn't deny her, or anyone. I even coaxed Molly into joining me for one dance.

Before it was time to cut the cake, I was back in Brian's arms. We swayed on the slow song playing. I was grateful for the lazy beat, because my feet were about to fall off.

"Is this going how you wanted?" Brian ran a hand over my shoulder, smiling brightly.

"You kidding? It's so much better. Though, I'd like to take my shoes off."

He barked a loud laugh, before kissing me softly. "I'm not stopping you, but we don't want anyone to faint," he whispered.

"Asshole," I muttered, but laughed along.

Grinning, he smoothed the flower pinned to my breast pocket. It reminded me of a short while before the wedding had started, when he tugged me into his study. I was certain he wanted a quickie, just like Debbie who was yelling after us. Brian had paid her no mind as he locked the door behind us.

"Can't you wait until after the wedding?" I leaned against the door, mock-glaring.

Brian pulled something from his desk drawer, carefully unveiling the cloth in his hand and coming closer. He showed me his hand, palm up, where a small yellow flower lay. I recognized it immediately.

My breath caught as I searched his eyes, hoping I was seeing things.

I could clearly remember how difficult it had been to find Golden Gardenias from our last attempt at a wedding. Emmett had made sure to complain a lot about it.

"This is all I could find," Brian said in a low voice.

I opened my mouth, but nothing came out.

He picked the flower gently between two fingers and smirking, he ran it under my nose. "Now, you're stuck to love me forever."

"Like there was any doubt!" I laughed nervously. "God, Brian!"

Looking as smug as ever, he pinned the flower to my chest.

"Where did you find this, anyway?" I asked, catching his eye as he twirled me around.

"I have my ways."

"Keeping secrets, already?" I pretended to be upset.

"Secrets spice things up, or so I heard."

"Things are already spiced up enough. I doubt we'll ever be that kind of couple…needing extra help to get in the mood. Sure, we already had some dull moments, if I can call them that, but we always make it fun. Seriously, between you and me…I doubt we'd need anything besides us." I moved closer, pressing into him. "You make me so hard."

"Just wait until the baby arrives."

"I bet we'll still have time for this. In the meantime, we should make the most of it."

Chapter End Notes:

I know I'm slacking in answering reviews, but between work and writing something new and RL (of course)...there's virtually no time.

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