“Well I’m sorry Mr. Remson, but Kinnetik is booked up all the way through the Christmas rush.” Brian tried to make his voice sound sympathetic, but it was far too satisfying turning away yet another client who had refused to follow him.  He was smirking and leaning back against his chair like a king on his throne.

He glanced up as Cynthia slid into his office, carrying a large stack of files. It was a common occurrence and so Brian waved her in as Remson continued to beg him to reconsider.  Brian blocked him out for the most part and leaned forward as he examined what she was putting in front of him.  He was confused to see at the top of the pile was a newspaper, opened up to the obituaries. He looked at her and then she pointed to a specific one.  Brian stilled and sighed sadly when he saw who it was for; Beatrice Rivers.

He didn’t even notice it, but Cynthia left the office. “Mr. Remson, I have to let you go.  I’ll consider what you said and get back to you.”  He informed distantly, and then he hung up without waiting to hear what the man said in response.

He grabbed the newspaper and read through the obituary carefully. It was vague and simple – probably written by someone who didn’t know her very well.  He knew her children had basically written her off, so he doubted that it was done by any of them.  He also didn’t think Justin had written it, because he was closer to the woman than anyone else.  After reading it he set it back down on his desk and looked over at his phone. Maybe it finally was time to give Justin a call…

Just a few hours later, Brian was pulling up the drive to Beatrice’s home. It gave him an odd sense of déjà vu, and it felt better than he expected it to pull up to the place he lived at for the majority of last year.  As he drove slowly up the long drive he saw a mass of cars up at the door and he frowned, wondering who could have descended upon the manor.

He stopped his car at the back of them all and swiftly walked up to the door. He didn’t bother knocking and strode confidently into the home.  He immediately heard voices coming from the back sunroom and frowned.  Someone was shouting up a storm.  And if they were shouting at Justin they were in for a world of hurt.  He walked quietly down the hallway to the sunroom and found a group of people practically surrounding Justin, looking as if they were about to pounce on him. As for Justin, he was holding himself very well, standing tall and not letting them move him an inch.  Brian was proud.

No one noticed him right away, not even Justin who was looking in his direction. However, the small group was making it impossible for Justin to see him.

“I don’t give a shit what the will says – she was our mother.  The house should be ours.”  One of the group said and took an aggressive step towards Justin.  Brian tensed, ready to jump in in a moment’s notice. 

“I don’t know what to tell you. She left it to me.  This is my house now – get out.”  Justin demanded, pointing towards the door.

“Who the fuck even are you?! Some little faggot that manipulated our mother into putting you into her will?”  This came from a woman who looked shrill and Brian rolled his eyes at the unoriginal insult.

“We’re not going anywhere until you give us our house back!” Another shouted at Justin and Brian decided he’d heard enough.

“It sounds to me that Mr. Taylor has made it clear he doesn’t want you in his home. If you refuse to leave I’ll call the police and have you all arrested for trespassing.”  He spoke loudly, causing everyone in the sunroom to jump and face him.

“And who the hell are you?” One of Beatrice’s sons asked him angrily, crossing his arms over his chest.

“His lawyer.” Brian fibbed smoothly and walked through the group to stand next to Justin.  He could see his former lover’s eyes on him intently, but Justin didn’t call out his lie.  Brian knew he wouldn’t – not in front of all of them.  He pulled out his cellphone and waved it in front of them.  “Should I call them now?”  He asked.

The group looked at each other and seemed to come up with a collective decision to leave. “You’ll be hearing from our lawyer.”  One of them threatened before walking away.

“I’ll be waiting.” Brian sing-songed and then turned to Justin once they were alone.  “Hey.”  He said uncomfortable.

“Hey.” Justin murmured, not seeming too pleased to see him.  “My lawyer, huh?”

“It got them to leave, didn’t it?” He defended himself with a small smile.  Justin flashed him a weak smile and nodded.  “I called you a few times but you didn’t answer so I thought I’d come by and see if you were ok.”  He explained, as if he needed to justify why he was there. 

“I’m ok.” Justin answered and then slowly meandered out of the sunroom and into the kitchen.  Brian followed, looking around at the familiar halls of the manor.  Justin grabbed a bottle of wine and poured himself a large glass and then held it out to Brian in case he wanted some as well.  “I told her not to do it…But I guess she went through with it anyways.  They’ve been calling me for days.  I didn’t think they were going to actually show up here.”

“I bet they’ve been waiting for Mommy Dearest to pass away so they can swoop in and claim her fortune. Greedy little brats…”  He murmured darkly as he set the bottle aside without pouring himself any.  “Why did she leave it to you?”  He asked curiously.  He didn’t think Justin was undeserving, but it was surprising she left everything to him when they’d lived together less than a year.

“She said she wanted me to be able to live and paint for however long I wanted. She thought it’d be good for me – since you left.”  Brian could tell Justin was trying to keep the hurt and accusation out of his voice, but he didn’t.

They were silent then, neither really knowing what to say to continue the conversation. Brian couldn’t believe how quickly they grew apart.  Just a few months ago these silences were comfortable and pleasant.  Now he was practically squirming because the air was thick with awkwardness.  Luckily, Justin broke it for them. He should have expected him to – Justin always did all the heavily lifting in their relationship.  “I heard that Kinnetik is doing really well.  Congratulations.” 

Brian nodded a bit, leaning an elbow on the counter. “I have clients flocking in.  It’s been busy.”

“Good. I’m glad that it took off.”  Justin spoke stiffly, but Brian could hear the sincerity in his voice.

Brian nodded slowly and they fell into silence again. He looked across the kitchen island and was a bit surprised by how Justin looked exactly as he remembered him.  Even though it had only been a few months, it felt as if it had been so much longer.  As he looked at him he couldn’t help but feel the weight of the distance between them. He didn’t want that to come between them.  They’d been through too much together; Justin had been there for him for the worst year of his adult life.  So, he decided it was time to do some heavy lifting of his own.

“You know…” He said slowly as he stepped closer to Justin and reached into his pocket.  “This is a big place.  You might get lonely if you live here all by yourself.”  He commented with seeming innocence.  However, inside he was shaking with nerves.  He was about to do something he had once promised himself would never happen.

“I think I’ll get used to it.” Justin said softly, clearly picking up that something was going on.

‘Since that first night Justin has been doing all the work in this relationship. It’s time I did my part.’  Brian thought before taking out a small box from his coat pocket and placing it on the counter.  “Or maybe…We could share it.”  He murmured softly, and then rolled his lips into his mouth as he looked down at the box, avoiding Justin’s eyes.

Justin was silent until he took the box and opened it up. “Are you proposing to me?”  Justin asked and Brian nodded slowly.  “Brian Kinney is proposing?”  He asked again and Brian rolled his eyes.

“Is it really that crazy an idea?” He asked defensively.

“But you don’t want to live here.” Justin pointed out and Brian sighed, displeased that it wasn’t a quick yes.  Though he supposed he deserved the doubt.

“It’s not that I didn’t want to live here. I thought I wanted our old life back.  But then I got back there and it was…boring.  And I…”  Brian struggled but could see the doubt in Justin’s eyes and knew he’d have to make it clear that this was what he wanted.  “I missed you.”  He finished honestly.  “I missed living here with you.”

“And so you figured, ‘Why don’t I propose’?” Justin asked suspiciously.

Brian sighed a little and moved closer to Justin. “Actually after I realized I missed you I realized that I loved you more than everything else.”  His declaration caused Justin to stand up a bit straighter and he hid a smirk.    He had Justin’s attention – now he had to make the deal.  “I’ve loved you longer than you know, but I always let all of those distractions get in the way.  But these last few months I’ve realized that none of them matter.  None of them mean as much to me as you do.  And I’m sorry that I didn’t realize that sooner.”

 Justin was silent, but looked back down at the ring for a long time. Brian felt his nerves begin to overwhelm him. He struggled to stop his hands from shaking so he shoved them into his pockets so Justin wouldn’t see. After what felt like an eternity had passed and Justin still hadn’t said anything, Brian fearfully filled the silence. “So?” He asked and Justin looked back up at him with a raised eyebrow.

“‘So’, what? You haven’t asked me anything yet.” Justin said and Brian could see a mischievous glint in his eyes. Realizing what was happening, Brian felt a swell of confidence. He stood up a bit straighter and even jutted his chin out a bit.

“Will you, Justin Craig Taylor, legally bind yourself to me for the duration of our lives?” He asked and Justin let out a hard laugh and playfully slapped his chest. Brian thought it was only fair – Justin had messed with him so he was going to have to take it as well.

“Are you kidding me? You’re asking me to marry you and still can’t manage to make it romantic?” Justin rolled his eyes, shook his head, and then crossed his arms over his chest. “Wow me, Mr. Kinney.” He demanded and Brian sighed and stepped even closer to him and then looked into Justin’s eyes with a fiery heat that had been lying in wait since he left three months earlier.

Immediately Justin took notice.

He raised a hand and placed it on the side of Justin’s neck, using a thumb to stroke his cheek. “You were there for me through the hardest year of my life. When I had nothing to offer you but an admittedly poor attitude, you stayed by my side happily and supported the both of us. That’s the kind of dedication no one else has ever given me before. And I want to give you what you’ve given me. I want to love you. I want to be there for you. I want to share a life with you – here. So, will you marry me?” He asked as he grabbed the box from the counter and held it in front of Justin.

“Yes.” Justin answered and went to take the ring again. Brian jerked it back.

“If I have to say it, so do you.” He reprimanded playfully and Justin rolled his eyes but reached up to take Brian’s free hand and hold it between both of his.

“Yes. I will marry you.” He spoke very clearly and confidently. Then a broad smile broke out over his face and Brian swooped in for a deep kiss.

“By the way…” Brian said slowly after he broke away. “I had testicular cancer.”

Justin immediately stiffened and jerked away to look at him in shock and fear. “What?!” He demanded in a shrill voice.

“Yeah, but its okay-.” Brian tried to placate him but Justin wouldn’t have it.

“Why didn’t you tell me? How long have you known? Are you okay? What the fuck, Brian?!” Justin began pacing in the kitchen until Brian reached out and grabbed his shoulders.

“I’m fine, Justin. I’m fine. I went through chemo while I was in Pittsburgh and I’m in complete remission – there aren’t any more signs of cancer.” He assured but could still see the fear and concern in Justin’s eyes. “I promise. The only reason I didn’t tell you earlier was because…well things were hard and I didn’t want to make them worse. I worried that if I told you you’d go back to working three shifts a day and I couldn’t watch that happen again.” He explained and slowly Justin’s fear began melting away to sadness.

“But Brian…If something was wrong I-.” Brian interrupted him this time.

“I know you would have helped. That’s why I didn’t tell you.” He said and then pressed a soft kiss to Justin’s forehead. “I’m not sorry. And I’m fine now. Okay? I’m fine. I’m fine.” He repeated as Justin reached up and wrapped his arms around his neck and held him close. He could feel a slight quiver in the smaller body and tightened his hold.

When Justin collected himself again, he took a step back but kept his arms wrapped around Brian’s neck. “Well things won't be boring with you, will they?” Justin teased lightly and Brian smirked a bit.

“I’m many things; you should know boring isn’t one of them.” He winked and then took Justin’s hand from around his neck to put the ring on it. “I got one for me too.” He admitted as he reached into his other pocket. Justin took it and slid it onto Brian’s hand as well, a tender smile on his face.

“You really want to do this?” Justin asked him before letting go of his hand.

“I do.” Brian answered purposefully. Justin’s eyes shot up to his and then he smiled.

“I like the sound of that.” He said softly before pressing another kiss against Brian’s lips.

“And what about you, huh? You really want to do this? It’s been a few months…I wouldn’t blame you for having reservations.” Brian said using one hand to touch his ring, getting used to the feel of it on his finger.

Justin scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Oh please. I’ve been waiting. I knew you’d come back. I’ve always known that this was where we’d end up.” Justin tapped Brian’s ring and smiled sincerely.

“Yeah you have.” Brian agreed and then looped an arm around Justin’s waist and tugged him close so their bodies were pressed next to each other. “Now, Sunshine, I think we have some celebrating to do.”

“Right here?” Justin asked hesitantly as he glanced around the kitchen.

“This is your house now. We need to christen every room in here.” Brian said and used his arm hooked around Justin to pick him up and put him on the counter top of the island.

“Nope. Our house.” Justin corrected and Brian smiled and nodded.

“Yeah. Ours.”

"Just one thing..."  Justin said slowly before Brian could begin divulging him of his clothes.

"What?"  He asked, his hands fidgeting, wanting to get a touch of the smooth skin he knew was hiding.

"What are we going to call it?"