Midnight Whispers
QAF Brian and Justin Fanfiction

Justin's POV

One month before the wedding, we decided to have the ceremony in the backyard at Britin. It would be a lot cheaper and Daphne wouldn't feel like we were changing plans because of her. Ever since she'd mentioned she couldn't fly, Brian and I had been thinking of alternatives.

We found the best one the other night when insomnia kept both of us awake. We'd also concluded that we had to stay away from Vermont because it was cursed. That state and us didn't mix. At all.

Of what I knew, Emmett hadn't done anything concrete with his friend from the cabana in Vermont, which meant we were safe to change plans.

To announce to everyone the change of plans, we invited them over on a warm Saturday in late May. If we'd had this genius idea last week, we could have killed two birds with one stone since we celebrated Brian's birthday last weekend. No one made a big deal of out of it, but as Michael had joked, next year would be fun since he was turning another dreadful milestone—forty.

On his birthday, which had been on a Wednesday, I decided to do something nice. I worked really hard on cooking oysters and lobster. I had no idea why I complicated my life so much, but it wasn't every day when my fiancé turned thirty-nine, and I knew how he felt about his age. Might as well grow old in style and experience the delicacies in life.

After nearly setting the kitchen on fire while preparing the sauce for the lobster, I should have realized nothing was going to work the way I wanted.

It was warm outside for the middle of May so I spread a blanket in the backyard, carried plates, silverware and glasses then decided to shoot Brian an email. I knew he checked his computer more frequently than his phone.

 

To: Brian Kinney

From: Justin Taylor

Subject: bday boy

Hello dear,

I hope you're having a great day! *insert big Sunshine smile*

I have a special surprise for you at home.

Are you coming any time soon?

Love, Justin

 

His reply came two minutes later.

 

To: Justin Taylor

From: Brian Kinney

Subject: RE: bday boy

Sunshine, I'm in over my head. I have no idea when I'll get home.

What other surprise? Wasn't that silk tie enough? And the blow job. We can't forget the blow job.

Brian Kinney

CEO Kinnetik

 

To: Brian Kinney

From: Justin Taylor

Subject: RE: RE: bday boy

Oh. It was nothing…

See you when you get home.

Don't stay too long. The 3 o'clock rule still stands.

Love you.

 

I sulked until around midnight. I was busy pulling my pillow out of Cupcake's teeth when I heard Brian walking slowly upstairs. Cupcake forgot about our mini war and rushed out, barking loudly.

"Shh! Don't wake… Justin." Brian appeared in the doorway, smiling at me sheepishly.

"Home early, I see. Three hours to spare until curfew," I joked, walking to him.

"I won't bore you with my shitty day." He dipped his head to kiss me. "Mhmm. Now it's all better."

"Hungry?" I whispered against his lips, threading my fingers through his hair.

"Mhmm. For you?"

"For food, silly man." A sense of dread filled me. "You didn't…eat, did you?"

"I had a slice of pizza around noon, I think. And that's because Cynthia reminded me it was nice to offer food on my birthday."

"You ate pizza?" I tried not to laugh.

"I know. I had one slice and it only had cheese and tomatoes."

"I see. Well, I have healthy food prepared for you."

"Your other surprise?" He smirked.

"Yes, the dinner." His face fell comically. "What, were you expecting some trick to join us?" I hoped that wasn't the case.

Brian snorted, cupping my cheek. "You made dinner for me. Why didn't you say so?"

"It wouldn't have been a surprise otherwise." Good to know he wasn't thinking of tricks.

"Oh, well. I can break my rule on no carbs after 7 for once. It's not my birthday every day. What did you cook?" He was already walking us down the stairs and to the kitchen, his arms around me.

"I planned on having dinner outside…but since it's night…" I shrugged.

"Dinner under the stars? How awfully romantic."

"Brian, can you be cooperative?"

"I am." He grinned. "I'm not saying no to dinner outside."

We carried the thankfully still warm dishes outside, and after a second trip to the kitchen, I brought out a bottle of white wine.

Brian was sprawled on the blanket, smoking, puffing small circles in the air.

"You know…" He said after a long time, while I plated the food. I knew he always needed time to talk when he was ready.

"What?" I glanced at him, bringing a piece of lobster to his lips.

He eyed it warily, and I nudged his lips with my fingers. Obediently, he opened his mouth and made a show of taking the food from my hand, wrapping his tongue around my fingers.

I stared at him as he chewed, then his eyes opened. "Lobster?"

Of course he was familiar with it. "Did I cook it right?"

"I think so." He laughed. "Let me try more." Moving so he was leaning on his elbow, he started picking at the food. His eyes landed on the oysters. "You don't need food to get me in the mood."

I leaned closer to peck his mouth. "I had no idea…you know…getting older and all that," I teased.

His eyes narrowed.

"But you don't need any aphrodisiac. You're right. You're always horny."

He laughed, rolling on his back again to finish his cigarette. "Remember when you stole Theodore's Viagra?"

"Worst mistake of my life. My ass hated me for days."

"You weren't complaining at the time." Brian winked, smashing the butt of his smoke on the edge of a plate. "Anyway, you know how you always have certain expectations of some day…like you have it planned out in a way and when it actually comes…it's anything like what you imagined."

"So you had a bad day?" I asked casually, deep down feeling sorry for him. No one was supposed to have a horrible time on their birthday.

"Besides the amazing morning you gave me." He turned to wink. "My day was shitty. I made the mistake to stop by the diner at Debbie's insistences." Cringing, Brian lit himself another cigarette. Not surprised, I realized it was pot. I decided to let it slide. He needed it. "Thankfully, no one jumped out screaming 'Happy Birthday' but she made a show of leaning over the counter and hugging me. I'm not exactly a hugger."

I chuckled, shifting so I was lying on the blanket with my head on his chest. "You so are! You like to cuddle. Who would have thought?"

"That's confidential, and if it ever leaves our inner circle, I'll have you murdered."

"Our inner circle? Are we four year olds, Brian?"

"Don't you want to hear about my day? I thought that's what most couples did at the end of the day. They talked about their day."

"Sure. Go on. We're not most couples," I added under my breath.

"We can skip the boring day I had and get to fucking."

"Keep talking," I encouraged him, knowing once he was started, he had to finish.

"Okay, so after Debbie finished hugging me and giving me coffee—"

"Which you didn't drink, I hope. We talked about diminishing the number, Brian. I want you around for a long time."

"I can't say no to coffee. Then, when I was about to leave…"

"You ran into Michael, I know. We talked, because I bailed on him. We had to work on Rage, but I wanted to finish my painting. So I stayed home."

"Yeah, and he was the one screaming the dreaded words, hugging and kissing me in front of the whole diner. I wanted to split his head open."

"Why didn't you? It would have spared my ears bleeding when he lashed out at me for being irresponsible."

"He said that?" Brian lifted his head to frown at me. "Asshole."

"Well, he's right. I kept promising to meet and work on Rage, but every time something came up."

"Anyway, after I disentangled from him, I went to work. Cynthia and Theodore were waiting in my office, and I expected bad news, but they pointed to my desk. They were even afraid to show me they got me a small cupcake with a candle in it."

"That's sweet. They're sweet." I nodded, stealing the blunt from him.

"Sometimes. That was the highlight of my day at work, because not an hour later, Fred came to me sheepishly to say there was a problem. I hate hearing those words."

"Fred? From the Art Department?"

"Who else? We're in permanent conflict, which reminds me he's been with me for too long. They never last more than three months, he's somehow made it to five months."

"That means he's good at what he's doing, even though he fucks up sometimes."

"Not when we needed the storyboards for tomorrow, Sunshine."

"The heart pills?" I asked, unsure which campaign he was talking about. He had at least three running at the same time. No wonder he was always tired.

"No, the toys…the teddy bears. Which currently have red eyes and look like something ripped from a kid's nightmare not something meant to put them to sleep."

"You'll figure something out. You always do," I assured him, turning my head to kiss him.

"Artists and I simply don't mix."

"Excuse me. What the fuck am I?"

"You're an exception." He laughed, crushing me to his chest.

"And Lindsay?"

"Fine, I see where you're going. Artists who are my employees and I don't mix. Better?"

"I think so. What else happened?"

"Wasn't my ruined storyboards enough for your little sadistic soul?"

I sat up, choking on the smoke I just inhaled. "Little sadistic soul? That's a new one. And so fucking funny."

"Glad to know I can amuse you."

oOo

On the last Saturday of the month, I was the first up. I hadn't slept much since Daphne decided to spend the night and catch up, and when I made it to bed I managed to wake Brian who was in a playful mood.

After letting Cupcake out, I prepared the strongest coffee I could, yawning in my hand. All I could think of was everyone's reactions to our news. They'd be relieved hopefully, not having to travel to Vermont for a wedding that could take place anywhere.

With the money we saved from the trip, we could do something more nicely for the ceremony—buy different and more flowers, or change Brian's tux. Every time we visited the tailor, he had to complain about something regarding his tux. The same went with Daphne, but she had a sound reason—her dress got tighter with the small bump now present. I wasn't allowed very often to touch it because the initial excitement of carrying my baby had vanished with the appearance of morning sickness.

Daphne chose that moment to stumble into the kitchen, scowling at me. It seemed to be her favorite reaction to me.

"Do you want some tea?" I offered, hating seeing her sick.

"I'm going to throw it up in a few." She slumped at the table, putting her head on her folded arms.

"You can't throw up tea!" I retorted.

"Wanna see?"

I sighed, sitting next to her with my mug of coffee. "Then what do you want? Anything."

"I want to get over this morning sickness! God, Justin, it's like you poisoned me. I talked to both Linz and Mel. They weren't so sick when they were pregnant."

"You heard the doctor. Each body reacts differently."

She reached for my hand, smiling weakly. "I don't want to be such a bitch, but barfing all the time isn't fun."

"I can attest to that." Brian appeared in the doorway.

He had the worst case of bed hair I'd ever seen on him all my life. I took part of the blame for running my hands through it half of the night, though.

He walked to me, tying his silky robe. When he reached me, he bent and kissed me deeply, humming, before lifting his head and smiling at Daphne. "Good morning."

I was reduced to a pile of goo on the floor.

Daphne burst out laughing. "What happened to your hair?"

Brian stole my coffee. "Ask Sunshine. He played with it the whole night." He gestured to me with the mug making the liquid slosh out and spill on me.

"Watch out!" I jumped to my feet, peeling the soiled shirt off.

Brian watched me surprised, before joining Daphne in laughter. "Payback for all the times you spilled your drink on me at Babylon or Woody's."

"That was years ago, and it happened ONE time. Don't mistake me with Emmett," I grumbled.

"Ah, don't mention him. He's going to flip when he hears about the change."

I pulled him closer, by the robe's tie. "It's our wedding. We can have it anywhere."

Brian smiled, kissing me.

"Think you can have it on the moon?" Daphne broke our moment.

"You can't fly," I said as seriously as possible.

"Bummer."

oOo

The first to arrive were Mel and Linz who were staying for the whole weekend. They couldn't make it on Brian's birthday, so he shouldn't have been surprised when Gus rushed to him with a large present box, nicely wrapped. The pretext of inviting them over was Brian missing Gus, not like it wasn't true.

"What have you got there, Sonny Boy?"

"It's for you, Dad. Your present."

Brian glanced to Mel and Linz suspiciously before taking the box carefully.

"Go on. Open it," Gus insisted, rocking on his feet.

"I hope it's something decent in there," I whispered to Lindsay.

"It's decent, but he might try to kill both of us."

"Me too?" I grimaced.

"No, Mel and I."

"Oh, good." I sighed in relief. At her amused look, I grinned back. "What? Better you than me."

Slowly, as if the contents of the box were going to jump out and bite him, Brian unwrapped his present. On a white cloth were two cans of Brian's favorite beer and a small bottle of Beam. That truly was a decent present coming from our favorite girls.

Brian smiled at them, a true smile, something he rarely showed others. "Thank you, Linz, Mel. It's beautiful."

"There's more, Dad. I picked it for you." Gus pointed to the white thing I mistook as a cloth. It was actually a shirt, as I realized when he pulled it out. He shook it a few times to unfold it, showing the writing on the t-shirt. "Like it?"

The look of horror on Brian's face told me he didn't like it, but he managed a grimace. "You picked it up yourself?" he managed to ask.

"Yes. Mommy told me you might not like it," Gus added quietly, glancing at Lindsay. "But I knew you'd like it. Look at the back of it, too."

"Beautiful, Gus." Brian pulled his son in a hug, raising an eyebrow at Lindsay, over his shoulder. She shrugged, shaking her head.

The curiosity was too much. I walked to them. "Can you show me the present too?"

Brian gave me a tight smile, handing me the shirt before taking Gus away, probably to the entertainment room. I wasn't exactly a fan of his silly games in there, so Gus was his perfect companion for playing the Wii games.

I looked at the shirt in my hands and burst out laughing.

On the front it said: I AM AN OLD FART. GET OVER IT.

On the back it said: OLD MEN FART. IN THEIR SLEEP.

I couldn't stop laughing. My sides started hurting, but it was too much.

"Have I mentioned lately how much I love Gus?" I turned to Lindsay.

"I was pro buying the shirt," Mel offered with a smile.

Lindsay shook her head. "At least the alcohol should keep him from getting too upset over the shirt. Though, coming from Gus, he can't hate the gift."

Between chuckles, I managed to sputter out. "I can imagine him in this shirt, drinking JB and watching TV."

Daphne joined us in the living room, curious what the ruckus was about. At least, she was feeling better.

In the early afternoon, the rest of the family started appearing, one by one—Michael and Ben with Hunter, Debbie, Ted and Blake, Emmett, and Mom with Molly, along with Tuck too. I wondered if I'd ever warm up to him. He was a few years older than me, so I hoped I'd never have to call him anything other than Tuck.

We ordered pizza when I realized I'd forgotten to defrost my chicken last night. All thanks to Daphne distracting me.

The delivery boy didn't get lost for once, and after tipping him hefty for that, Brian and I took the stacks of pizza to the kitchen, to sort them out.

My hand started shaking as I slapped yet another Salami post-it note to a box.

"It will be okay." Brian took me in his arms. "They should be happy we're not dragging them out of the state anymore."

"I guess, but I expect some will be shocked. Let's get over with it."

We carried the boxes into the spacious living room, setting them on the coffee table. Then we stood by the fireplace, looking at our family and friends. Brian kept an arm around me as I leaned into his side.

"This scene looks oddly familiar," Debbie acknowledged, her eyes filled with worry.

Of course, they thought of the worst.

"Yes, I have a strong sense of déjà vu," Emmett agreed. "And if you're going to say what I think you want to say, let me say something first." He held his finger up as if to make a point.

"No need," Brian cut him off, smiling. "The wedding's not off."

"Though, there's been a small change. Itsy bitsy." I grinned at them.

"Yes. We decided to move the venue to our backyard." Brian beamed at our guests.

No one seemed to share our enthusiasm.

"Hold me, Teddy. I'm going to faint." Emmett made a show of falling backwards, in Ted's arms. It would have been funny if anyone besides me was laughing.

"That's all?" Mom asked, as if checking whether there was any other news.

Brian nodded, squeezing my shoulder. "That's all, Jennifer. Doing it in the backyard saves us money. We have the baby coming, but until then we have the honeymoon."

I turned to gape at him. "We said no honeymoon." I'd specifically told him to drop it. I didn't need a honeymoon.

"You did, Sunshine. I never agreed to such a thing. If we're doing this lesbianic act, we might as well do it thoroughly."

"Where?" I tried not to smile at the idea of Brian working on this secret project, and failed. It proved how much he loved me.

"It's a surprise," he explained, kissing me quickly.

Emmett regained his sense, suddenly standing and holding his hands out, motioning for everyone to quiet down. "What do you mean you're changing the location? One month before the wedding?" He seemed relatively calm.

"Is there a problem? We didn't actually have anything set in stone there, right?" I asked, wondering what the big deal was.

"Is there a problem, he asks." Emmett stared in horror at me. "No. No problem at all, sweetie. What the hell did we talk about for the past three months, Justin? Everything is prepared for Vermont!" He exploded, making me jump.

"Cancel it, then," Brian said coolly. "Whatever the cost. We're doing it in the backyard."

Emmett glared at him, hands on his hips. "It's easy for you to say! What about me? My reputation! I'm so mad at you two right now…I'm going home." He stormed to the door, but stopped in the hallway, turning to us. "I hope it rains buckets." Then he was gone.

"Drama queeeen!" Brian shouted after him, but I could tell he was tense. He was just as worried as me.

"He's right, you know?" Debbie found her voice. "You should have thought of everything before deciding to do it out of state."

"At the time we chose Vermont because it was legal there for same-sex couples to marry, but then we decided it didn't matter. It still won't be legal in Pennsylvania, so why have everyone travel to Vermont when they could drive half an hour to get to the location?" I grinned, proud of my thinking.

The conversation flowed, from our spur decision to marry in the backyard to daily life. While Molly was talking with overflowing interest in attending Prom in a few years, because it looked really exciting, I got up, excusing myself to call Emmett. I had to apologize.

He answered rather fast, which meant he wasn't really upset.

"I'm sorry," I blurted out.

"You should be. Now get your ass to the stables."

My heart did a little jump. "You're still here?"

"Where would I go? Are you coming?"

"Give me five."

Returning to the living room, I couldn't help but smile at the sight. Our nearest and dearest were spread around the room, talking, eating and laughing. To my surprise, Brian was with the kids, playing cards.

I had to check him for a fever. Making a beeline to him, I wrapped my arms around his neck from behind, leaning over his to kiss his temple. He smiled that special soft smile, reserved only for me.

"Join me, Sunshine. I'm outsmarted by brats."

"You're fine." I pointed to the stash of candy in front of him.

"I haven't played cards in years. I'm rusty."

I laughed, kissing his cheek. "Emmett's still here. He's at the stables. I'm going to him."

"Oh. I should have known he didn't leave. Take pizza with you, and apples for the horses." He nudged my cheek before stealing a kiss and pushing me away so he could go back to his game of cards.

oOo

Emmett was lounging on the hay in front of the stables.

I made sure to stay away from the dried grass. Allergy medicine or not, I was still wary around things that set off my reactions. I had no idea I was allergic to hay until I moved in here with Brian. After sneezing for the umpteenth time and wiping tears, scratching every available skin on my body, I decided it was safe to let Brian handle the hay while I went in search of my Claritin.

"Pizza?" I held the box out, smiling at Emmett.

He pretended not to hear me, lying there with his arms behind his head, staring at the sky. "I always wanted to fuck in hay."

"Who didn't?" I grumbled, slouching lower against the other door of the stables.

"Oh, so you haven't tried it yet? Afraid you'll get something more than cock up your ass?" He laughed, glancing at me.

"Actually, I prefer to enjoy my fucking, without getting itchy or sick."

"Is there anything you aren't allergic to?" He raised an eyebrow, fighting off a smile.

I grinned. "Brian."

We burst out laughing.

"Seriously, I'm sorry for earlier," I added quietly, once we calmed down.

"A little heads up would have been nice."

"Next time." I winked.

"Let's hope there won't be a next time. You're marrying just once. Besides, I have to admit." He looked around, smiling. "This location is superb."

We sat there in front of the stables, eating pizza and discussing new ideas for the wedding.

"You need to work on the new seating arrangements, and decide how you want the aisle, and especially the place you want it installed."

"Maybe at the gazebo?" I suggested, nodding in its direction.

"I can work with that. Anything in particular you might like?"

I shrugged. "You're the expert, Em."

"I found the other day my old notes for your wedding. Are pigeons still a no-go?"

I gaped at him, because I couldn't believe he kept the notes for the last time we tried getting married.

"Definitely. Unless you want them to poop on our guests." Brian joined us. He crouched next to me, smirking.

"But they're romantic," Emmett protested.

"Emmett, no birds. Now, can I have my fiancé back?"

"He'll all yours. But with this change, we'll have to meet more often so I can change everything!" His voice rose so high it got borderline hysteric.

"We'll meet next week at the diner," I pacified him.

As he walked toward the house, Brian pulled me inside the stable. We stopped next to Schwarz—my beautiful horse. I still couldn't believe I had a horse.

People don't buy people horses, but then again Brian isn't anyone. It shouldn't have surprised me when he introduced me to the two most beautiful horses in the world.

His horse was a female—Gray Lady, and she was probably the only female and only pet he loved. I'd seen him with his cat, with Cupcake, but he was never so attentive and affectionate to them. He'd told me a long time ago: the first time he brought me to see the house, that he always wanted a horse.

While Schwarz was all black, which was what his name meant in German, Gray Lady was a light gray. I'd made the mistake to point out she needed a bath the first time I met her. It triggered bad reactions from both her and Brian. How could I know the dark gray parts were actually her fur, and not dirt? When I tried feeding her, she nearly bit my hand off, and only recently became friendly, but I was still wary around her.

Chapter End Notes:

Thank you all for reading and reviewing. I will find the time this weekend to respond. :)

I will add to my facebook group (Addicted-to-romione-bedward Fanfiction) pictures of the horses.

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