As planned, Gus and Justin went to his Mother's home after school to get his Lego's and whatever else he decided he needed.  They drove up to the house and Justin parked the car in the driveway.  They walked up to the door and Gus got out his key and inserted it in the lock.

"Did you use your key a lot, Gus?  I mean were you home by yourself?" Justin asked, trying to discern if this was a common occurrence.  He knew Gus was responsible but overall, he still thought Gus was too young to be left on his own.  If Gus was still living here, he'd have a conversation with Brian about it, but since Gus was now living with them, it wasn't necessary.  He would have to do a little research regarding an appropriate age for a child to be left alone.  While he was protective of Gus, he didn't want to smother him either."

"Sometimes.  I mean if I didn't have after school activities, I would come home and call Mom or Momma and let them know I got here."

"How long were you home by yourself?"

"Until they got here. Usually 6:00 or so.  Jenny would be here with me so we would play together." Gus put the key back in his back pack and dropped the pack by the door.  ‘I'm hungry.  Can I have a snack before we get my Lego's?"

Justin was fuming when he heard that Gus regularly watched his little sister for several hours while his parents worked.  He knew there were lots of parents who couldn't afford daycare and had to scramble for after school care, but his moms both had good jobs and he knew Brian gave them more than enough money to pay for daycare for both kids, even if J.R wasn't his child.  The upside was if his Moms argued about the custody thing, this situation would be in their favor.  They had a live in nanny who would be there for Gus.

"Sure.  Let's see what your Moms have."  They made their way to the kitchen where the big clock on the wall ticked loudly.  Several of the oak cabinets were open as were several of the drawers, alluding to a hasty exit in the morning.  There was a cereal bowl with milk and a few spoon fulls of cereal left on the table and a half eaten piece of toast smeared with jelly on a plate.

Again Justin cringed.  He would never leave the kitchen in such disarray, Brian would have a fit and honestly he'd grown used to seeing a spotless kitchen.  He would find something for Gus but they would clean up their mess; no way was he leaving any trace of their visit for the girls to criticize.

Opening the pantry, he saw a package of Fig Newtons and grabbed those.  He got out the milk from the fridge and poured Gus a glass and put several newtons on a plate.  He also grabbed a banana from the fruit bowl.  Gus sat at the table and peeled his banana, taking several bites before placing it on the table. 

"Bananas are my favorite.  I could eat two or three of them every day," Gus said after he swallowed. 

"I like them too, but I don't think I could eat two or three a day.  I haven't had Fig Newtons in a long time.  I think I will grab a few for myself.  They look good."  Justin got up and grabbed a few newtons for himself and placed them on a napkin.  Biting into the first one, he smiled and nodded his head in appreciation.  "Yep. Still yummy."

They finished their snack and Gus put his glass in the dishwasher and threw his napkin in the trash.  "Okay, let's go get my Legos.  I was thinking we could bring home some of my Star Wars toys to put in the city.  I have an R2D2 and a C3PO and Uncle Michael bought me a Leia and a Lando Calrisian too.  I have a Jabba the Hutt somewhere too.  I think I need to buy some aliens for my Cantina and I need a few ships too.  This is going to be so awesome, Pappa Justin."

While Justin was not a Star Wars fan; in fact he didn't know a lot about Science Fiction, he's been indoctrinated into the fandom by Brian and Michael.  Brian secretly loved the genre and of course, Michael, being the comic geek was well-versed in the story lines.

"Time to gather your toys.  Where are your Legos?"

Gus led Justin to several parts of the house where he kept his prized toys.  There were figurines in the basement, set up so they could strategically spy on the person doing the laundry.  He had several on one shelf posed in a tactical watch position.  Several bins in the hall closet held various Lego sets and there were additional boxes of Legos in Gus' room.  There was also a large bucket of Legos in the toy room.   Gus placed each container by the door.  When he was done, he had at least 10 sets of Legos.

"Wow, Gus.  You could really build a city with all these."

Gus' eyes got very wide as he looked over his collection.  "My friend, Tommy has way more.  I asked for some for my birthday but only got a set from Dad and Uncle Michael.  Mom and Momma gave me clothes and books."

"Those are good presents too, Gus," Justin said, wanting to acknowledge the value of all the presents.  Justin opened the door and started carrying out the many bins and boxes of Legos.  "Come on, we need to load these up and see if there is any room for anything else in the car.  I don't think your father had any idea how many Legos you actually owned."

They loaded up the car and took a few books, clothes and other toys with them.  The car was packed pretty tightly and Justin was glad Gus was big enough he could sit in the front seat.  When they got home they unloaded all the Legos into the special room and Gus took the other items to their respective new homes. 

"Papa Justin, let's go build a part of my new city," Gus said after he finished putting all his toys and clothes away.

"No.  I think you need to do your homework and then we can see what time it is."

Gus stomped his foot and frowned at the response, "But  Pappa, I haven't played with them in almost a week and I really need to start my city."

"Gus.  I said no and that means no.  If you continue to argue, you won't get to play with them at all today.  Now, go do your homework," Justin said, his voice very firm.

Recognizing the tone as a serious one, Gus murmured, "okay" and went to get his backpack from the front foyer where he'd left it.

Justin went to his studio and opened his email to check his correspondence.  He was expecting several emails from Carol regarding some opportunities for upcoming events and he was anxious to see if any word had come of the shows.

It was still early, only 5:00 pm and he had several hours before he had to relieve Chloe, but Gus would need to eat in an hour, therefore he did not have a lot of time.  He decided that he would draw a few sketches in the short time he had.  He knew Gus would finish his homework and then either go find Chloe and Colin or play in his room.  He'd been really good about respecting Justin and Brian's need to work in the afternoon and after all he had just spent several hours with Justin picking up his Legos.  Justin grabbed some charcoal and a sketch pad wanting to make some landscape sketches.   He set his timer, knowing that he tended to get lost in his work.  When it went off, he put the charcoal down and let the picture sit on the table.  After spraying it to set it, he put his supplies away and closed the door to his studio. 

Making his way down to the main floor, he heard Chloe, Gus and Colin in the kitchen.  Colin was sitting in his high chair, bib around his neck and his little fingers were digging into the plastic lip trying to eat the food he'd earlier dropped.  His little face was a mess as were his fingers and he understood why Brian preferred to eat after the children were finished.  Something very unappealing about dinner when it was smashed between a 6 month old fingers. Justin made his way to Colin and kissed the top of his head. 

Looking at Gus he asked, "Did you finish your homework?"

"Almost.  I got hungry so came in to eat dinner."

"Okay.  Let's see what Rosa left for you," Justin said as he opened the fridge and looked at the containers on the shelf.  There was meatloaf, mashed potatoes and green beans.  Justin took out the containers, fixed a plate for Gus, then put it in the microwave to reheat.  "Go wash your hands."

Gus washed his hands and when he came back he got the milk out of the fridge and Justin poured him a glass.   Justin sat down next to him while he ate his dinner.

Colin had finished his dinner at this point in time.  Chloe had cleaned him up and gotten him out of his high chair.  "I'm going to take him to the nursery to play.  Gus should be finished with dinner by 7:00 and you can take over."

"Sounds good," Justin said as Chloe brought the baby down toward Justin for another kiss.  Gus reached out and kissed his brother also. 

"Thanks for going to my house and getting the Legos Pappa Justin.  I can't wait to build the city.  Do you think we can start after dinner?"

"Homework, first," Justin said, reminding him of the rules. 

"But after..."

"If we don't have time tonight, tomorrow is Friday and you get to stay up a little later on the weekend.  We can definitely find time to play over the weekend."

Gus frowned, but reluctantly nodded in agreement.  He knew when to push and this was not one of those times. 

Justin had poured some milk for himself and drank a bit and then placed his glass on the table. 

"How was your math test?  Did you remember the steps we talked about last night?"

Gus ate a bite of meat loaf and swallowed before answering.  "I think I did okay.  I was one of the last kids to finish the test, but I double checked my work like you told me too.  It was a good thing since I added wrong one time and missed a part of an answer.  That is a good trick.  Thanks Pappa."

"It's not a trick, Gus.  It's just good practice.  I always check my work.  Especially when you see all your friends are finished; you have a tendency to hurry because you think you're doing something wrong.   Often times they are the ones that did something wrong by not checking their work.  Mistakes can be very costly.  That is why Uncle Ted double and triple checks his work at Kinnetik.  Your Dad would be very mad if Ted made a mistake and cost him a lot of money."

"I guess I never thought of math in those terms.  Dad's business is very important and Uncle Ted would be in big trouble if Dad lost money because he didn't check his work.  I'm going to always pretend that every math problem is one I'm doing for Dad's business and it better be right," Gus said with the seriousness of a person much older in years.  He knew his father's business was very important and Justin's example really hit home with him.

Justin nodded realizing that he just made math relevant for his son and he was very proud.  Gus was a smart child, but when a teacher or parent is able to relate school to real life, it becomes more important and relevant.  Kids have shown that learning has to have a personal impact to really stick and now he'd shown Gus how important math is, not just some random problems in a book that his teacher assigned to him.  He would have to tell Brian about his conversation and of course, he knew that Brian would tease him about his PSA but he was still really happy with the conversation.

Gus finished his dinner and then said, "I'm going to go finish my homework and then play with Colin for a bit.  Do you think I could feed him his last bottle?"

"Sounds like a plan.  I'm going up to the nursery now and relieve Chloe."  Justin watched Gus put his plates in the dishwasher and clean the table where he ate and then go to the media room where he had a small desk to do his homework.

Justin walked upstairs and went into the nursery.  Chloe was reading Colin a book about everyday objects.  There were pictures of hands, feet, shirt, shoes and some common foods.  Each page had one object on it and Chloe named the object and told Colin a little about it.  He looked at each page and appeared to pay attention.  When Justin walked in the room, his focus left the book and he looked toward the door. 

"Hi there, big boy.  Time for Ms. Chloe to go eat her dinner and for me and Daddy and Gus to play with you."  He walked in the room and reached for Colin.  Picking him up, he kissed the baby on the forehead and then rested his head on his shoulders.

"He just got a new diaper.  He took a long nap this afternoon so he might not go to bed until 8:30 or so.  Night Justin," Chloe said as she smiled and left the room.

"Let's put you on the floor and practice your crawling.  Gus said you were getting up on your hands and knees a lot this afternoon," Justin said as he put Colin on the floor.  He put several toys just out of his reach and watched as the little boy pushed on his belly to reach them.  He tried a few times to get on his hands and knees and rock but couldn't quite figure out how to move his limbs to move forward.

Brian joined him shortly after he put Colin on the floor.  "Gus is finishing his homework.  Thanks for the math talk.  I know he's said that he wants to work at Kinnetik when he gets older.  This really hit home for him."

Justin leaned over to kiss Brian briefly on the lips and then turned his focus back on Colin. "Gus spends a lot of time in my studio and we mix paint to form new colors and I've shown him a lot of different techniques with brushes and washes.  While he's gone to Kinnetik often, I don't think he really has an idea what happens there.  He knows Ted works for you and handles money, but this helped a little."

"You are so good with him.  I guess I will take him with me and start showing him more about what I do.  Sounds like he does have some business interest after all." 

They watched Colin play and reach for the toys for another half hour and then recognized the sounds of distress coming from his mouth, announcing he was getting hungry.  Gus heard the noises and came to the door.

"I heard him on the intercom.  Can I still feed him?  I'm almost finished with my homework."  He looked from Brian to Justin, hoping to see a nod of affirmation.

"Sure.  Go down and get the last bottle. It should be in the fridge.  Warm it for 10 seconds and bring it up," Justin said.  He moved to where Colin had scooted himself across the floor and picked him up, giving him a few kisses on his face.

"I know you're hungry.  Your brother is getting your bottle right now," He said calmly and softly to his son.  He knew that Colin really didn't understand his words, but he felt the soft soothing tones would calm his son.

Gus appeared shortly and sat in the rocker.  Justin placed the baby in his arms and Gus proceeded to feed his brother, singing a few songs to him as he ate.  Brian and Justin looked at their sons, both filled with incredible happiness.  Colin finished his bottle very quickly.  "Ready to change him, Dad," he said as he looked at his father.

"I thought since you were so eager to feed him, you would change him too," Brian teased. 

"Uh..," Gus seemed to stumble on his words.  "I might..."

"Your father is teasing you Gus.  Changing a squirming baby is difficult.  We'll put him in a fresh diaper and sleeper.  Why don't you give him a kiss and go finish your homework."

Gus leaned over and kissed his brother and then hugged both Justin and Brian. 

"You're evil.  You know that?" Justin said, smiling as he gathered the supplies to change Colin and get him ready for bed.

Brian just grinned but didn't respond.  He assisted Justin in getting Colin ready for bed and then they sang him a little song before placing him in his crib.  They closed the door, made sure the baby cam was on and then returned downstairs to join Gus. 

Gus had finished his homework and was in the media room playing a video game.  He looked up when he heard his fathers enter.  "Dad, can we play with the escape room.  It was really fun figuring out the clues."

"One game and then it's time for you to head to bed."  Brian sat next to Gus as they started clicking on items in the room for clues.  They got through about half the room when Gus let out a huge yawn.

"Sonny Boy, we can come back to the game later.  It's time for bed now."

"But Dad, I'm not tired," he protested.

"Says the boy with a yawn so big I could see his tonsils," Brian said.

"Gus, remember what we said about bed time.  School nights are not negotiable," Justin said as put down the magazine he was reading.  "Tomorrow is Friday so you will have a little more time over the weekend to play."

"Okay."  He hit save on the screen and hugged his father.  "I'll go get ready for bed."

"We'll be up in a few minutes to tuck you in," Brian said.  He shut off the computer and watched as Gus walked up the stairs.  "I've got a few emails I need to check.  Do you have anything, Justin?"

"I'm good.  I can go up and tuck Gus in if you want to get started," he said, offering to help his husband.

"No, tucking Gus in is important and a few minutes isn't going to make a lot of difference."

Justin returned to his magazine, finishing the article he was reading and then placed it on the coffee table.  "Ready?"

"Sure," Brian said. The two men went upstairs and tucked Gus in for the night.  Each man gave the little boy a kiss and hug and told him to sleep well.  They walked out of the room and shut off the light.  Pulling the door to, they retired to the main floor; Brian to his office and Justin to the media room.  Brian worked for a about an hour and then came into the media room.

"Bed," Brian said as he tilted his head toward the stairs.

"Sounds like a plan.  I think you can see my tonsils too," Justin said as he let a huge yawn open his mouth.

"I'll have to investigate when we get to bed," Brian said as he held his laugh in check.

They ascended the stairs and got ready for bed.

TBC