Midnight Whispers
QAF Brian and Justin Fanfiction

 

"Hey there, Sunshine. I didn't hear you come in," Brian said as he walked upstairs into the kitchen from the gym. Justin was putting away groceries.

"Yeah, I didn't want to interrupt," Justin told him.

"You can interrupt me any time the way you did last time. Sit down in the chair. Raise your legs and spread them. And start playing with yourself," Brian quipped.


Justin just laughed.  "Well, as much as I'd love to, I'm kinda on a time crunch. I'm making dinner for tonight," he informed Brian, kissing him. "I'm making pot roast."  


Brian groaned. "God, I apparently didn't fuck you good enough yesterday. You're totally fucking straight," he complained as he jumped up and sat on the counter.

"Trust me; I'm not straight. I love your dick up my ass too much to be straight," Justin replied with a laugh.

"Why do you have so much food?" Brian asked.


Justin just stared at him.  "Molly's asking Tucker to adopt her tonight. So, they're coming over. Where have you been? I told you this. I honestly don't know if you seriously tune me out or you're just always fucking with me," Justin said.


Brian shrugged and hopped off the counter.  "A nice homecooked meal. Two nights in a row," he commented, ignoring his remark.

"Three nights in a row," Justin told him.


Brian put his hand over his heart.  "You're cooking three nights in a row? How sweet."

"I'm not cooking tomorrow. Debbie's cooking," Justin said, giving him a sideways glance.


Oh, yeah. That...He forgot.


"Did you forget to tell me something, dear?" Justin asked.


Brian rubbed the back of his neck.  "Yeah, pretty much," Brian said uncomfortably. "Sorry?" Brian asked.


Justin snorted.


"So, we're going?" Brian prodded.



"Yeah. How can we not? She really thinks this is the beginning of putting us all back together," Justin said sadly.


Brian came up behind him and started squeezing his shoulders. "We can always say you have food poisoning," he suggested, making Justin chuckle.

"No, we have to go. For Debbie," Justin said. He waited a moment before he elbowed Brian. "Thanks for the warning, dick head," he told him.


Brian kissed his cheek. "I'll be back in a little bit. I have to go run some errands. Later."

"Later," Justin called over his shoulder. A few minutes later his cell phone rang, and it was Theresa. "Hey, what's up?" Justin answered.

"Hi, I have to ask something, and I wanna ask you first before we ask Brian tonight," Theresa said.


Justin smiled. He already liked this.


Later that night while Justin was putting everything together to place on the table, his mom, Molly, Lilly, and Tucker came in.


"Hey, sweetie," Jen said, kissing his cheek.

"Hey, mom. I put Lilly's highchair in the dining room," Justin told her.

"Why are we eating in the dining room? We can just eat at the table," Brian asked him. Then Brian figured out why.

"Hey, is everybody decent?" he heard Theresa yell.

Brian narrowed his eyes at Justin, who was just smiling.

"Why the fuck are my parents here?" Brian asked.

"Because I'm going to ask Sawyer to adopt me," Justin said simply.

"And what else?" Brian asked.

"Hey, boys! I brought wine," Theresa sang as she walked over and kissed Justin's cheek.


Brian leaned against the counter and crossed his arms.  "What the fuck are you guys doing here?" he demanded.


Theresa put her hands on her hips.  "You know, I'm really fucking sick and tired of your attitude. You're gonna fucking shut up and stop bitching at me, or just don't fucking talk. Go upstairs while we all have a nice, quiet, fucking dinner," she told him.


Brian stood there for a minute and then smiled. He leaned over and kissed her cheek.

"Good job, Mother." Brian laughed.


She rolled her eyes and smacked his forearm. She looked over at Sawyer. "He really is a fucking pain in my ass," she griped with a laugh.


They all went and sat down at dinner. Near the end, Justin nudged Molly, who was sitting next to him.

"Go ahead," he whispered to her.

"I think I'm gonna be sick," she whispered back.

"It's not like you're telling them you're pregnant. You're asking Tucker to adopt you. It's going to be fine," Justin whispered back to her.

"What are you two whispering about down there?" Sawyer asked.


Molly looked like a deer caught in headlights.

"Molly wanted to ask you guys something," Justin said and nudged Molly. Justin smiled and nodded to her.

"I've been thinking about this for a while now," Molly said, looking over at Tucker. "I was wondering...You adopted Lilly. And I was wondering if... if you would adopt me, too," she asked.


Tucker was completely shocked by the question. He hadn't seen it coming.

"When...when did you decide this?" Jennifer asked.

"I've been thinking about it ever since he...he killed Laurie. Even before that, maybe. But I don't want to be his daughter anymore. And you've been such an amazing dad to Lilly...so I was wondering if you would be my dad, too?" Molly whispered, her voice trembling.


Tucker was just absolutely stunned. He cleared his throat.  "I...I would be honored to..." Tucker looked over at Justin. "If it's okay with you," he asked Justin.


Justin smiled.

"He wasn't too butt hurt when she asked you instead of him. But it would have been really weird to adopt her, since they're brother and sister," Brian said.


Theresa leaned over and punched him in the arm. "Will you shut the fuck up? This moment doesn't concern you," she scolded him.


Justin cleared his throat.  "How I feel in this situation...it doesn't matter HOW I feel. Because this isn't about me. This is about Molly...but I fully support Molly's decision," he said.


Tucker smiled and cleared his throat again. "Molly...I would love to be your dad."


Molly jumped up and ran around to the other side of the table to hug Tucker.


After a few minutes, Brian nudged Justin. "Well, go on then, dear. This is why you invited my parents over, too, right?" Brian asked him sarcastically.

"Now what's going on?" Theresa asked warily.


Justin narrowed his eyes at him before turning back to the table and clearing his throat.  "Well...after Molly told me what she wanted to do, it actually got me thinking. I feel the same way about Craig that Molly does," Justin said.


Brian wrapped his arms around Justin's shoulder and looked at Tucker.

"Think you're ready to adopt all three Taylor kids?" he asked Tucker, whose eyes widened, making Brian chuckle.


Justin shoved him back.  "You know you really are an asshole. Just shut the hell up!" he snapped at him, which only made Brian laugh even harder.


Theresa smacked him. "Will you stop it?" she told him, pointing her finger at him.


He pushed her finger.  "Put that thing away before you hurt yourself," he snarked, rolling his eyes.


Justin turned his head back to Tucker.


Tucker held his hands up.  "Please don't say a word. I know how he is," he reassured Justin, laughing.


Justin made a face, refusing to look at Brian. He cleared his throat. "He, um...he hasn't been a dad to me for a long time...and for the past year I've had someone who's been my dad," Justin said, looking over at Sawyer.


His eyes widened.


"So. I was wondering if you'd..."

"Adopt him. He can even take your name. I'm..." 


Theresa placed her hand over Brian's mouth to shut him up. She was surprisingly strong.


Sawyer was too stunned to move.

"Really?" he asked.


Justin nodded.  "I don't want to see his name on my birth certificate, either. And I'd rather see someone's name who loves me like their own son," Justin explained.


Sawyer nodded his head and looked over at Jennifer.


Justin briefly closed his eyes in realization. His mom! He had never asked her. "I didn't even discuss it with you first," Justin said.


But she smiled.  "I'm okay with that," Jen said.


He looked back over at Sawyer.


Brian finally pulled his mom's hand away from his mouth. "Will you leave me alone?" Brian demanded, earning an eye roll from her.

"I'd really love to do that, Justin. I'd be honored," Sawyer said.


Justin glared at Brian.  "Brian wants you both back on his birth certificate, too. He's just too scared to ask," Justin blurted out.


Brian whipped his head around to stare at him. Justin just smiled back at him.


Theresa gasped.  "Oh, my God, really?" she exclaimed. She stood up and bent over to hug Brian, practically in his lap.

"Will you get the fuck off me? Fuck you, Sunshine!" Brian growled.

"FUCK!" Lilly yelled. Everyone stopped and stared at her.


Jennifer glared at Brian. "I told you not to say it. I told you that she would repeat what you said. I told you three times. I told you not to say it!" Jennifer reprimanded him.

"I didn't teach her that. Someone else said it in front of her, and then probably made a big, fucking deal over the word, and now she wants to say it. If I had said it, then I wouldn't even have reacted to it. So, now she likes the word," Brian said, defending himself.

"Hey, guys. Are we early?" Lindsay asked.


Brian turned around and saw Gus, Lindsay, and Melanie.  "What the fuck are you three doing here?" he asked.

"FUCK!" Lilly yelled again.


Molly laughed.

"Lilly, you can't say that," Jen told her.


Gus went running over to Theresa and sat in her lap.

"Stop cussing in front of her," Justin told him.

"Is Daddy saying bad words again?" Gus laughed.

"You know you ruin every moment, right? Like you totally screw it up," Sawyer laughed.

"Oh, my God, can you all just get out of my house now?" Brian complained as Lindsay and Melanie sat down.

"Justin asked us to come over," Melanie said.

"Why?" he asked Justin.

"Your mom and dad wanted to ask us something," Justin said innocently.


Brian eyed him suspiciously.


Theresa cleared her throat.  "Well. As you know, we're getting married in June. And typically, the married couple goes on their honeymoon," Theresa said, looking over at Sawyer.

"We still are going away after we get married, but..." Sawyer trailed off.


Theresa got excited.  "We want to go on a family vacation with the two of you and Gus," she said, peering over at Brian and Justin. "And we want to go to Disney World," she said excitedly.


Justin covered his mouth.


Brian's eyes widened and his face grew red.

"I am NOT..."


Gus jumped off Theresa's lap and stood up before Brian could get the words out.  "WE'RE GOING TO DISNEY WORLD!" Gus yelled. The group started laughing as he jumped up and down. He launched himself into his father's lap and grabbed his shoulders to shake them. "WE'RE GOING TO DISNEY WORLD!" He shouted again and again.


Brian glared at Theresa and Sawyer. "You think you won by getting my son involved. The joke's on you. Jack and Joan Kinney are staying on my birth certificate, and I'm not calling you Mom and Dad ever again," Brian declared as Gus jumped off his father's lap and ran around the dining room, screaming about Disney World.

"You know, it's totally worth it. Don't call me Dad again. Seeing you standing in front of Cinderella's castle with Mickey ears on and taking Gus on Dumbo. That's all I need." Sawyer laughed.


Brian looked over to Justin who was laughing.  "Oh, you just laugh it up. See how long you can go without me fucking you." Brian pulled his chair out and walked out of the dining room, but Justin couldn't stop laughing.

"Oh, my God. That's worth everything in the world. I can't wait to see him singing ‘It's a Small World'," Justin burst out laughing, pounding his hand on the table.



Later that night after everyone had left, Justin was still chuckling envisioning Brian playing tourist at Disney World this summer. He had been so excited to get that call from Theresa today. What the fuck was going through her head that she thought this would be a good idea? Taking Brian on a family vacation to Disney World? She had to be mentally insane. He took the dogs out before locking the house up and walking into their bedroom suite.

Brian hadn't talked to him for the rest of that night. So, Justin knew that Brian was ignoring him. He went about the room, whistling the song to Pirates of the Caribbean as he hopped into the shower. He thought maybe Brian would cave in and join him, but he didn't. So, he ended up just lying down in bed. Brian was still typing away on his laptop. Justin took a glance at it and sat up.

"Holy shit!  You're planning our anniversary trip to London?" Justin asked.


Brian snorted.  "HA! I already did that. Now, I'm fucking cancelling it. You wanna go to Sam's birthday party. You wanna go back to Boston for my parents' wedding. You wanna go to Florida this summer. You wanna go sooo many fucking places," Brian complained.

"You do remember I told you that at the end of the summer we're going to Cynthia and Mark's lake house for two weeks with Sawyer's family and Gus, right?" Justin asked.


Brian glared at him.  "Well. You wanna go to all these fucking places? Then you don't need a trip to London," he said smugly.

"So, you wanna cancel our anniversary trip? Our first wedding anniversary?" he asked.


Brian smiled again. "Call it what you will. If you wanna go to all those places, then you don't have time to go to London." 


Justin smiled back at him and then leaned down. Suddenly, Justin pulled both Fred and George into their bed.


Brian jumped up.  "What the fuck are you doing? They're not allowed on the bed!" He yelled.

"Oh, no. You see, darling, when you're in the bed, they're not allowed. But seeing as how you're not sleeping in my bed tonight, then there's no reason why they can't sleep with me in my bed," Justin said, smiling back at him. Justin then lay down with his back towards Brian. "Shut the light off on your way out," Justin sang.


That little asshole! That little shit! Brian was pissed now! He grabbed some weed out of his closet and stormed out of the room and headed downstairs. He went and sat on the back porch and lit his joint up. When the fuck had his life turned into this? He was kicked out of his own bed because of a domestic dispute? For cancelling his wedding anniversary trip? He shivered out of disgust.

"God, what the fuck have I done?" Brian groaned. His life used to be so easy. He could fuck any guy he wanted. He never had to answer to anyone. He didn't have a million people who were blood related to him crawling up his ass and getting into every detail of his life. How had his life changed so fucking drastically in a year? Why did he fucking let his life turn into this?  He sighed.

He went back upstairs to his room and shut the door. Justin's back was turned, and the dogs were lying at his feet. He picked them up and put them back on the floor; they groaned as he woke them up. He got back into bed and lay on his back, staring up at the ceiling for a while. "You know, I was actually finalizing the trip. I wasn't cancelling anything," he stated quietly.

"I know," Justin replied.


Brian looked over at him. That little fucker. He jumped up and covered Justin's body with his own as he started snickering.

"You're a fucking asshole," Brian told him.


Justin turned his head slightly so Brian could see him and chuckled. "Yeah, I know that, too," Justin said.


Brian kissed him hard on the mouth. He grabbed the lube and slid inside of Justin. Oh yeah, now he knew why he had changed his life. For this right here.


The next day, Brian was driving Justin's SUV to Debbie's. "This is a fucking dumb idea," Brian grumbled.

"I know. But Debbie really misses how things used to be. The least we can all do is try for her," Justin told him.


Brian scoffed.  "That's fucking bullshit and you know it," he said.


Brian was right. It WAS bullshit. Justin wanted no part of tonight. But he was doing it for Debbie. All for Debbie.

When they pulled up to Debbie's house, neither one of them moved. They just sat in the car. "I know you don't want to go in there. Neither do I. We can just make up some excuse to leave early," Justin said.


Brian still didn't move.


Justin unbuckled his seat belt and leaned towards Brian. He reached down and started unzipping his pants.


Brian raised an eyebrow.

"I have one idea how to make you feel better," Justin said as he pulled Brian's cock out of his pants. He put his head down into Brian's lap and swallowed him whole.


Brian leaned his head back and groaned, tangling his hand in Justin's hair and lightly pushing his head down. The things this boy could do with his tongue.

After a few minutes, though, he picked Justin's head up. "Ride me," Brian told him, his voice raspy with lust.


Justin sat back in his seat, slipping out of his jacket while kicking his shoes off. He pulled his jeans and underwear off and dropped them onto the floor, as Brian pushed his seat back and snuck his hand down into the door to pull out some lube and spread it over his dick.

Justin threw his right leg over Brian and sat in Brian's lap. Justin licked his own fingers and pushed them inside himself.


"Fuck, that's hot," Brian said, licking his lips.


Justin closed his eyes as he pushed two fingers inside himself, but Brian pulled his fingers out and replaced them with his own lubed-up fingers.

"Fuck," Justin hissed, holding onto Brian's shoulder.


Brian scissored his fingers, and then pulled them out. He put his cock right at Justin's hole.  "Sit down," he whispered huskily.


Justin slowly sunk down onto Brian, burying his face in Brian's neck as Brian wrapped his arms tightly around Justin's waist.


"God, you feel so fucking good, Sunshine," Brian murmured into his neck.

They started a slow ride that quickly became a rough one. Justin was bent at an odd angle because of the roof, so their thrusts were off, but in a magnificent way. Brian hit Justin's spot at all different angles.


"Fuck," Justin hissed into Brian's ear. It was a matter of minutes before they were both cumming. Justin collapsed back into the passenger side. Brian reached into the pocket in the door and pulled out a few of their cum cloths, but he felt something.

He threw the cloth at Justin before cum got on Justin's precious seat. But Brian knew what he had touched:  another used condom.

Justin was chattering about something, but Brian paid no attention to it. He was so lost in thought as he cleaned off his stomach, tugging his shirt back down and pulling his pants up so he could button them.

How the fuck was someone getting into their cars, and why were they hiding used condoms? His mind instantly went to the fucking fiddler. But it didn't matter who he thought it was. He didn't understand how they were getting in.

"Come on before Debbie as a hard attack," Justin said as he kissed his cheek and hopped out of the car. They walked right in and started hanging up their jackets.

"It's about fucking time! How long does it take the two of you to cum?" Debbie demanded.


Brian rolled his eyes and threw his jacket on the couch.


"You two were the first ones here!" Debbie told him.

"If you had Sunshine's ass around YOUR dick all the time, you'd know exactly why I can't go more than a few hours without fucking it," Brian told her as he smacked Justin's ass, passing him and letting Debbie kiss his cheek.

And then Michael appeared, rattling on and on like he used to; like no time had passed. Brian never felt uncomfortable until Michael showed up. It just wasn't in Brian's nature to feel awkward. Brian looked around the room. "Where's Ben and the little hustler?" he asked the group.

"Hunter had some college event tonight. Ben went with him," Debbie called out.


Lovely.

"I've been selling out of all the Marvel stuff so fast, I can't put it out on the shelf fast enough. Comic books are really making a huge comeback! You have to come see the shop. I'm trying to get in contact with Brett Keller again, but he changed his phone number, and he hasn't answered any of my emails. I wanna try and see if he can get one of the Marvel or D.C. characters to come to the shop to sign autographs. From the movies or tv shows, it doesn't even matter," Michael said excitedly.

"That's great, Michael," Brian said, bored.

"There's another Comic Con next week. I'm gonna see who I can talk to there who's well-known to try and persuade them to come by the shop.  I mean, they know I created Rage. I'm gonna see if they can get me a booth and we can sell some of the comics there," Michael blathered on and on.


Who was he fucking kidding? He was living in his own little dream world. He was always living in that dream world.

"Here, I got you some wine," Justin said as he walked over to the couch and handed Brian a glass.

"Thanks," Brian said.


Michael never even skipped a beat, totally ignoring Justin. Brian observed that it didn't faze Justin, though, as he turned back to the kitchen and sat down in his usual spot. It was nice to see Justin back in his old seat. There was something normal and reassuring about that. It was nice to think back a little to a few years ago when things were better. Easier. When Michael was normal!

"Hey Bri, you're gonna want to hear this story that Emmett's telling," Justin said with a chuckle.


His saving grace. Brian hopped up to walk over and sit between Justin and Horvath.

"Thank you," he whispered.

"Ok so while this guy is fucking me, he asked me to cum in a cup. So, I'm thinking, okay, you don't want to get anything on the sheets. Keep it clean. No big deal; I can do that. So, I cum in the cup and he takes it into the kitchen and puts the cup on the counter. Still no big deal, right? He makes some hot chocolate, and then he spoons my cum into his cup!" Emmett said. The room erupted into laughter and a round of 'eeww's.

"That's disgusting!" Melanie said.

"He said he liked salty and sweet together," Emmett said.


Justin was practically in tears laughing.

"Who does that?" Blake laughed.

"Oh, that's not even the end of it. He asked me if I wanted to take a sample cup home, because he gets them free from work, mind you. That way, I could jerk off into it and just put it in the fridge until he came back to get it," Emmett said.

"Oh, God," Horvath groaned.

"Sorry, sweetheart," Debbie said, kissing the top of his head.

"Where the hell do you find these guys?" Ted asked.

"Where do I? I don't find them anymore. I already have the best guy there is," Emmett said, leaning over and kissing Calvin's cheek.

"Does he tell you these stories a lot?" Blake asked.

"Oh, all the time. It's like our nightly ritual. He always seems to come up with a bedtime story better than the night before," Calvin said with a laugh.

"God, you two make me sick," Brian said, proceeding to make a gagging sound.

"Emmett should write a book." Lindsay chuckled.

"Brian's had a couple of sick ones. That guy who liked to wear diapers and have Brian spank him. Didn't he ask you to change his diaper after he went to the bathroom in it, too?" Justin reminded him with a grin.

"Oh, gross," Lindsay laughed.

"Did you do it?" Ted asked. The room erupted in laughter again.

"Let me grab that for you," Justin said as he stood up and walked over to Debbie to help her with the food. Michael sat down in Justin's spot.

"I was thinking we could go to Babylon tonight. We still haven't been there together in ages. What's the next contest that you're doing? Maybe you should do a superhero contest," Michael babbled.


Justin turned around and stopped. He raised an eyebrow and then shook his head. The group was just watching the three of them. He placed the lasagna down before walking to the other side of the table and sitting between Emmett and Lindsay.

"You should tell him to get the hell up," Melanie grumbled.


Justin shook his head.  "He's not worth it. Debbie's having a nice night, and I wanna keep it that way," he said. Emmett, Ted, Calvin, and Blake were whispering about something. Justin tried to hear but he couldn't. Ted was getting...well, Ted-like. All snippy about something. Then he almost laughed out loud when he saw Ted and Emmett playing Rock, Paper, Scissors.

"God, you guys!" Calvin said quietly, standing up and rolling his eyes. He walked all the way around the table, and then made a face and hand gestures to them. Come on, already.

Emmett shoved Blake towards Michael. He cleared his throat. "Hey, Michael. I was reading online and saw something about Captain Astro maybe coming back," Blake reported. Michael whipped around and started talking to him. Calvin yanked Brian to stand up and sat down in his place. Justin turned and saw Emmett and Ted were moving seats. Brian walked over and sat next to Justin, in Emmett's previous seat.

"Hey," Brian said.


Justin smiled.  "That was nice of them. But in about three seconds, you know he's going to freak out," he whispered.


Michael turned back to the chair that Brian had just vacated and jumped back. "What?" He asked and looked around. "Why are you sitting over there? Calvin, get out of his seat," Michael demanded, moving closer and trying to push him out.


"Michael, stop that," Debbie growled, smacking him in the back of the head.

"Ma, quit it," Michael whined as he turned back to Calvin, who was looking the other way. Michael was about to demand that he move, but then he looked around. Everyone was sitting down. His face was red. The table was super quiet.

"So, Theresa made Disney shirts for us to wear when we go to Disney World in June," Justin blurted out.


Lindsay laughed as Brian glared at him.


"I'm sorry; I couldn't think of anything to say," Justin said.

 

"Wait; did I just hear that correctly? Brian Kinney is going to Disney World?" Ted asked.

 

"No, I'm not, actually. THEY are," Brian told him.


Emmett laughed and jumped up. Everyone watched as he ran to the front door and threw it open.  "THE PIGS ARE FLYING AROUND THE NEIGHBORHOOD!" Emmett screamed.

 

"Emmett, get in here before the neighbors hear you!" Debbie told him.


Emmett came back to the table, laughing. "Hell has frozen over. Pigs are flying. Lord, take me now! Brian Kinney is going to Disney World and meeting the Mouse himself!" Emmett said.

 

"Will you shut the fuck up?" Brian snapped.

"Gus can't stop talking about it. He's so excited," Mel said.

"Is that how they bribed him to go? Getting Gus excited?" Blake asked.


Justin, Lindsay, and Mel all laughed and nodded their heads.

"Please. Brian's not going to Disney. He wouldn't be caught dead there," Michael said. But the group ignored him.

"She got shirts for each of us to wear at the different parks," Justin added.

"Gus was on his iPad all night, watching these YouTubers, whatever the hell that means, going into the parks. He's so excited," Melanie said.

"Oh, I told him we're going to sit down and research everything. We're gonna pick out all the food we wanna eat. We're gonna plan our fast passes. He and I have a lot of YouTube videos to watch this week!" Justin informed them.

"I can't believe Gus is going to Disney World. How exciting!" Debbie said.

"Yeah, and what's Jenny supposed to do? She just gets left behind?" Michael griped. It was quiet for a moment, and then they kept talking.

"It's funny that this even came up. We were talking about next summer going down to Orlando with the kids. I know Jenny would just love Sea World," Lindsay said, with Melanie nodding in agreement.

"You can't just take her without..."

"We're gonna try and get that in, too. We're definitely going to Universal. I can't wait to tell Gus that. He loves Harry Potter. We're getting shirts for that, too," Justin said.

"Fuck me," Brian groaned as he put his head into his hands.

"Oh, you have to go meet Gaston. He's so dreamy. Give him a big, wet kiss for me," Emmett said.

"I bet you're gonna miss Gus while he's gone," Blake said.

"Oh, you have no idea," Lindsay said.

"The kid has a busier summer then we do. Going to Boston for a wedding. Then going down to Florida. He's barely gonna be home by the time he goes to Montana," Melanie said.

"Why the fuck is he going to Montana?" Brian asked.


Justin looked over at him.  "I already told you this. Your grandparents' lake house. We're taking Gus up there. Stop making me keep tell you."

"The fuck I am! I have one tripped planned. London. Then I'm coming home. You all can do whatever the fuck you want," Brian told them.

"We can hang out while they're gone," Michael chimed in.


Brian covered his eyes again.


Justin leaned towards Lindsay.  "I think I just found a way to get Brian to go to Boston, Florida, and Montana now," he whispered.


She covered her mouth with her hand like a good WASP and tried to hold in her laughter.

"How long have they had their lake house?" Calvin asked.

"I guess since Sawyer was a baby. When they got married, one of the things Cynthia asked Mark for was a lake house some place where they could go to every summer, and then their kids, grandkids, and great grandkids could go as well. Well, they've gone in the winter, too. But when Sawyer was two, his father was finally able to build Sawyer's mom her dream house on a lake. I've seen pictures. It's beautiful," Justin said.

It always amazes Brian how much Justin knows about his family, but how little he actually did. But in his own defense, there are a lot of them, and he's only known about them for a year.

Everyone was enjoying the conversation, except Michael, of course. He was sulking. He tried to add to the conversation, but they acted like he wasn't there. It was sad, really, that Michael's life had come to this.

"Debbie, your cooking is amazing," Calvin said, rubbing his stomach.

"That's why I had to get out of here so quickly before she made me fat," Emmett joked.

"This is nice. I'm so happy you're all here, and we can still enjoy a nice family meal," Debbie said.

"These have always been so fun, Debbie. And we all enjoy a nice, homecooked meal by you," Melanie said. They held up her glasses to her.

"Just like old times," Lindsay said.

"Yeah, those old family dinners were fun. The best ones were right before Gus was born," Michael said.


The room fell silent. No one knew what to say. How could Michael say that? Debbie had tears in her eyes.

"Thank God Ben and Hunter weren't here to hear you say that!" Justin said. Everyone stared at him.


Michael glared at him. It was as if Michael had now realized that Justin was there.


"I know that was a total dig at me. But you've insulted half the people in this room. Emmett and Ted are happy with Calvin and Blake, and are welcome to any family dinner. And your mom is married and happy. All three of them have a right to be here, as well as your own husband and son. And not only them, but Gus and your own daughter. It's such a good thing Ben isn't here," Justin said, shaking his head.

 

"You mind your own fucking business about Ben," Michael warned him.


Justin laughed.  "Oh, like you mind your own business when it comes to my husband? My marriage?"

"Brian IS my business," Michael said.


Justin wanted to pull his hair out.  "God, Michael!  What fantasy world are you living in? Brian isn't your friend anymore. You pushed him away. You've pushed everyone in this room away, including Ben and Hunter. No one wants to even be around you."

 

"Yeah, because you poisoned them all about me," Michael said.


Justin threw his head back and groaned, then flipped it back up. "You're absolutely right, Michael. I give up.  I forced everyone to hate you. I gave them the Kool-Aid and they all drank it. I did all of this. I'm the one who ruined your life, and I did it on purpose. Are you happy now? Is that what you wanted to hear?" Justin asked him.

 

"You DID do that! This whole family was perfectly happy until you showed up! You were nothing but a one-night stand, and you didn't listen to me. You should have stayed away. You had all those chances and you kept coming back like some fucking pathetic dog!" Michael said.

"I wasn't happy," Brian said. Everyone looked at him. He was going to let Justin go off on Michael. He didn't need to come to his aid. All he had to do was sit there and be there for him, and only step in when he had to. And this was that moment. "I wasn't happy. And I didn't know it. I wasn't happy until he came along," Brian told him.


Justin looked over and smiled.

"You just felt sorry for him. He made you take him back over and over again," Michael said.


Melanie snorted.  "Yeah, right. Make Brian Kinney do something he doesn't want to do? That's why I had to wait months for him to sign the papers to give up his rights to Gus. That's why he kept coming back to my house after I threw him out so many God damned times. Forcing Brian to do something that you want him to do is a fucking joke. He'll do the polar opposite just to screw you over, and then laugh about it," Melanie said.


Brian chuckled softly.  "You'd think that wasn't a compliment, but it actually was," he said.

 

"I was thinking the same thing," Lindsay chuckled.

 

"Michael, he didn't force Brian to do anything. Brian loves him. He always has. Please stop all this. It has to stop," Debbie said, getting choked up.

 

"He ruined my life! He turned everyone against me," Michael said again.

 

"Don't you get tired of repeating yourself?" Justin asked him. "You sound like a broken record. Why don't you go into the living room? Take five minutes to yourself, think of a good one, and I'll be sitting here until you come back with something new."

 

"Why?  So you can sit here and keep on brainwashing them?"

 

"But you can't use brainwashing anymore, because you've said it 800 times. Keep quiet for five minutes and think of a good one, and then fire one back at me. And we'll all be here, and we'll see if the crowd laughs," Justin told him. Eyes widened all over the kitchen. There were mouths that were being covered as to not laugh out loud.

 


"You can't talk to me like that in my mother's house! And you shouldn't even be here. You never should have been here."

 

"That's all you can come up with after a whole year of this? Holy shit, that's terrible! God, enjoy your dessert, Michael," Justin said, pushing his chair out.

"Why do you all let him dictate your life? You're all too stupid to see what he's really all about!" Michael told them.


Debbie let out a sob and covered her face.

 

"Michael, do you see that we're all calm? None of us are getting emotional. We're all just sitting here. Doesn't that make you sad? We all used to fight with you because we cared," Justin said, trying to let that sink in for Michael.

 

"You don't speak for anyone here," Michael told him.

"He doesn't speak for me. But I couldn't agree more with everything he said," Melanie said, sitting back and crossing her arms.

"You forced us to choose. And none of us wanted to. None of us needed to," Emmett said.

"Everything was fine until you got scared and finally realized that Justin was back for good, and Brian was marrying him. You just couldn't accept that. You did all of this to yourself," Ted quietly said, which surprised Brian, because Ted had never spoken to Michael like that.

Carl was more direct. "I'm done with this. You need to leave now!" he told him.


Michael scoffed.

"You can go to hell! This is my mother's house!" Michael snapped at Carl.


Debbie slammed her hand down on the table as everyone stopped and stared at her. She was crushed.

 

"That is my husband," Debbie whispered. "And this is his house, too!" she cried. "All I want is for us all to be here. Together. Why are you doing this? I can't take this anymore," Debbie sobbed at the table.

"You need to leave, Michael," Carl said again.


Brian stood up.  "Don't bother. He's not going to leave until he runs us all out of the house," Brian said as Justin stood up with him.

"Dinner was really great, Debbie. Thank you," Justin said as he leaned down and hugged her. "I'm sorry," he whispered to her.

"You should have died!" Michael said.


The room stopped all of a sudden.


"You've had so many chances. When Hobbs hit you. The bomb. Your father murdered the wrong person!" Michael said.


Justin was too stunned to move. But Brian wasn't. He yanked Michael up by the back of the collar and dragged him out of the house and down the steps and shoved him onto the sidewalk.

 

"You're no fucking friend of mine. My best friend would be thankful that his best friend didn't lose the guy he loved. That's what my best friend would do. You're nothing but a piece of shit. You're a piece of shit who goes to my bars and my clubs and fucks around on your husband. You're the piece of shit that won't take care of his dying husband anymore! You need fucking mental help. You need to go check yourself into a hospital, and not come back until they pump you full of drugs to make you fucking normal again!" Brian snarled.  When he turned around to get his coat, he saw that everyone was standing on the porch.


"You cheated on Ben?" Debbie cried.

"No, I didn't," Michael said.

"I saw you at Woody's," Justin said.

"I don't have to catch you. You're fucking around in Woody's and Babylon. My employees have told me. And before you spew out any lies, I DO have you on camera," Brian said as he took his coat from Justin and put it on. "You need to check yourself into a hospital. I'm not doing anything for you. You have to get off your ass and do it yourself. And you'll be hard pressed to find anyone up on that porch besides your mother who will help you," Brian said as he walked away.


Justin trailed behind him and they both got into the SUV and drove off.  They sat in silence for a while, neither knowing how to break the ice.

 

"That went well," Justin finally commented. Brian looked over at him. Justin sat back and sighed. "I don't know why I keep hoping that something will change. That it'll get better. It just never does."

 

"I played nice for Debbie. I'm not doing that again. We just won't go over there. If she wants to have a family dinner, she can come over to our house to cook for everyone," Brian said.


Justin nodded.  "Yeah, I agree with that," he said. "At least the whole night isn't ruined. We still have time before Gus goes to sleep to do something with him," he added, but then he looked at the time. "Okay; not really that much time," Justin chuckled.


When they walked into the house, they could hear Sawyer in the living room. "Why did he go down so fast?" Sawyer asked.


Brian and Justin turned the corner to see him sitting on the couch, talking on his phone.

"He literally just got so sick the day we came home, and we took him to the vet. That's when we found out he had cancer," they could hear Josh talking on speaker.


Justin cleared his throat and Sawyer smiled sadly at them.

"What's wrong?" Justin whispered.

"Sam's dog that she's had since he was a puppy was sick. They had to put him to sleep this afternoon," Sawyer whispered back.

"He'd been more tired since he had the lump removal surgery. And we just thought it had kicked his ass. But he just wasn't himself. And Sam didn't want to put him through chemo, because they said it would be really hard on him due to his age; he was 16. He didn't gradually get worse like you would expect. He just woke up one day and it had gotten bad, and he'd stay about the same and then one day it would get worse again. I just went yesterday to refill his pain meds and he was wagging his tail, looking out the window," Josh said sadly.


Justin went and sat down on the couch next to Sawyer. "Sam woke me up crying about midnight, because she said Calloway was just shaking in pain. She burst out sobbing, because she knew we would have to take him to the vet," Josh said, clearing his throat. "She lay with him on the kitchen floor all night. She just wanted to spend the day with him. So, your mom took the babies, and her friend Stephanie took the dogs on the other side of the house and watched over them. I just let her have time with him and stayed out of her way. They I drove them over...Sam won't even get out of bed now; she's a wreck," Josh reported.

"Have you gotten her to eat or drink anything?" Sawyer asked.

"I got her to drink some water, but that's about it. She's had this dog since she was 14 years old," Josh said.


Sawyer chuckled.  "I know," he said.


Josh cleared his throat. "I'm going to go. I wanna see if she'll let me make her something to eat," Josh said before he hung up.

 

"Is she okay?" Justin asked and then made a face. Of course, she wasn't and he waved Sawyer off to not answer him.


Teresa was coming down the stairs.  "Gus is knocked out," Teresa said and stopped. "Hey, guys. How was dinner?" she asked as she walked around and sat next to Sawyer.


Brian groaned.

"Don't ask," Justin warned her.


She squished up her face. She knew it hadn't gone well. Then she looked over at Sawyer.  "What's the matter?" she asked.

"Sam had to put Calloway down this afternoon," Sawyer told her softly.


Teresa's face fell.


Sawyer rubbed his face. "They just found out he had cancer, and he just went downhill really quickly."

"She has like a million dogs, though. I'm sure she'll be okay. She'll just get another one," Brian offered.


Sawyer looked over at him.  "This was her first dog. This was her baby. She loved him more than any of them. She loves them all...but he was her first dog," Sawyer said.

"They're like your family. They literally feel like your own kid," Teresa told him.


It was a concept that Brian knew nothing about. He had never had a pet before. He had two obnoxious dogs living in his house, and if he were to give them up right now, he'd be fine with it. He wouldn't, of course, because that would devastate Justin.  It wasn't like he wished harm on them. As much as George's cast annoyed him and pissed him off when he banged into his walls and made a little scratch mark on them, he actually felt bad for him. He felt bad that he had been hurt.

"Derek and I got Calloway for her.  We snuck him into the house, and we were literally just trying to see how long Sam could hide him from my parents. She hid an eight-week-old puppy for three weeks," Sawyer chuckled.


Brian's parents always had the best stories, Justin thought.

"One morning she was annoyed, so she just stomped down the stairs into the kitchen where we were having breakfast, and this little puppy is following her, and she just makes this statement," Sawyer said. He sat up and put his hands on his hips. "I've had a dog for three weeks, and I've been hiding him from you guys, and you two haven't figured it out yet. It's boring as hell, and I'm not doing it anymore and I need twenty bucks to go get him dog food," Sawyer mocked her, making the other three chuckle.

"And that was that. We all had a dog. But I'm pretty sure my parents knew all along she had the dog up there," Sawyer declared with a smile.


Justin chuckled and stood up.  "I'm gonna go upstairs and take a shower. Thank you for watching Gus for us," Justin said, hugging Teresa before heading upstairs.

"So, she gonna be okay?" Brian asked.

"Eventually. Josh said she's really heartbroken. She's just lying in bed, sobbing," he said, scrubbing his face.


Teresa scooted closer to him. "Are you gonna be okay?" she asked.


Brian surprisingly looked at Sawyer.  "Yeah, I guess so. I loved that dog, too. I wish I would have known this would happen; I would have gone home to say goodbye to him," he said, clearing his throat.

"I thought this was her dog. Why are you upset?" Brian asked.


Both Teresa and Sawyer looked at him. "Have you ever had a pet?" Sawyer asked.


Brian scoffed.



Sawyer nodded.  "Then you won't understand."


Brian shrugged.  "I guess I don't."



After Brian's parents went back to his grandparents' house, he went and had a drink and watched an old Western movie for a little while. After about an hour he went back upstairs. He stopped at his bedroom door, because he heard Justin talking.

"So, if you ever get sick or hurt, I promise I'll do everything I can to help you...just don't get cancer, okay? Because my heart would really be broken if something bad happened to either one of you," Justin said softly.


Brian peeked his head in and saw Justin sitting on the floor with the dogs.

"Sam is so upset...and she's told me a million times how much she loves her dogs. Especially Calloway, because he was her first. And I know if something happens to you, I'll feel the same way, because you were my first dogs," Justin whispered as they rolled around in his lap.

 

"Just don't get cancer, guys," Justin whispered. He sounded really sad.


Brian just couldn't understand this feeling. They were animals. He didn't realize that Justin loved them that much. "And I would be even more heartbroken because Brian picked you guys out just for me. You guys are so much more special to me because he gave you to me," Justin said softly.

Brian was surprised this was affecting Justin so much. But that's one of the things Brian loved about him; that Justin could still surprise him. He cleared his throat and gave Justin a minute before he came into their bedroom.


"Hey," he said as he shut the door and started taking his clothes off.

"Hey. I went and said goodnight to Gus. He woke up really fast and requested pancakes in the morning," Justin told him with a smile.


Brian walked over and kissed him.  "Have I told you how much you turned me on tonight?" Brian asked.

Justin laughed. "What exactly turned you on?"

"Keep quiet for five minutes and come back at me and see if the crowd laughs," Brian quoted with a chuckle.


Justin gave him a sunshine smile. "I thought I was very clever with that, too," he said.


 

The next morning, Gus rode with Justin to PIFA. Justin had to pick up a project to finish working on. It was fun walking with Gus around his school. He ran into a professor and a couple of classmates. "This is my son, Gus." Justin loved saying it. He loved saying he had a son...but he kept getting those thoughts in the back of his head again. He wanted to have a baby. He wanted a child that was blood-related to him. He wouldn't love Gus any less, but he'd love to give Gus a brother and sister from his side of the family.

He shook his head. He needed to stop thinking like that. It wasn't going to happen. He needed to just bury it in his subconscious and not think about it again.

He brought Gus to Kinnetik to meet up with Mel, who was finishing some paperwork and took him home. Justin was walking out to his SUV that was parked down the street when he heard that annoying voice.


"Well, look who I ran into," Ethan said.

 

He looked up and saw him standing in front of his door.  Justin groaned. "Please don't start this again. Haven't you gotten bored of this by now? How can you keep going on like this?" Justin asked. He had just finished dealing with Michael last night. He couldn't deal with Ethan this morning.

 

"I just wanted to talk. Why can't you handle talking to me? I think it's because you still have feelings for me. I think that your marriage..."

 

"...is falling apart. Brian doesn't love me. He's going to leave me and I'm fooling myself, and he just feels sorry for me. Yes, I've heard it all before. Now can you please move?" Justin asked as he tried to get into his car.


But Ethan wasn't budging.  "What is it about me that gets you so worked up?" he asked.


Justin rolled his eyes. "Come on; I don't feel like doing this today. Why don't we schedule a time and I'll give you five minutes to just go on and on and say the same old bullshit?" Justin begged.


Ethan laughed.  "So, you DO want to spend time with me. I knew it."


"Right when Brian's back is turned. I knew it."


Justin spun around and saw Michael.  "God! What the fuck?" He growled, covering his face and moving backward.

 

"Justin's getting worked up talking with me today," Ethan told Michael.


Michael went over and stood next to Ethan.  "Brian would love to know that. His perfect, little blonde-boy ass cheating on him. Again. I always told him you weren't worth it. I always knew you'd do it again," he sneered.

 

"God, aren't you two bored with this? Come on; get out of my way! I have to go," Justin said as he stepped forward, but Michael snatched his keys out of his hands. "Are you serious?" he asked him. He held out his hand. "Okay; come on. Just give them back," Justin said calmly.


The two of them laughed.


Justin walked across the street and sat on a bench to pull out his phone. Brian was in a meeting.

 


"Hey what's up?" Daphne asked.

 


"Can you please come and get me? I'm at the corner deli. I need you to get here right now," Justin said.


"I'm actually just getting into my car right now to run errands. Are you okay?" she asked.

 

"I'll tell you when you get here," he said and hung up.

 

"Calling your girlfriend to come save you?" Ethan sang.

 

"He never could defend himself. You know he slept with her, right?" Michael revealed.

 
Ethan's eyes widened.  "What? He slept with Daphne? I'm sure Jayden would love to know that," he asked, bursting out laughing.

 

"Yep. He called his little girlfriend, because he's pathetic and can't get his keys back from us," Michael mocked him.


Justin rubbed his face.

 

"You know, I kinda like you. How have we never been friends before?" Ethan asked Michael.

 

"I don't know. I mean, I love your work. You got the little fucker out of my hair for a little while. Why did you have to cheat on him? He would have stayed with you forever. But then he came crawling back to Brian, and he felt sorry for him and took him back. And he has a tight ass. That's why he kept him around. At his beck and call. Fucking pathetic," Michael spat.


Justin just sat there. God, were these two assholes REALLY going to become friends now?


"I guess it's finally sinking in. He can't even argue back," Michael told Ethan.


Justin groaned into his hands. "I'm not wasting my breath anymore. I don't need to defend myself to you," he told them.

 

Daphne pulled up at that exact moment, so he walked back across the street to get into her car. "You're a pathetic piece of shit, running away into a little girl's car! You never deserved Brian. You stole everything from me! Chris Hobbs should have killed you. Your dad should have killed you. But I hope you die and really get out of our lives!" Michael shouted.


Justin had stopped when he opened the door. He stomped over to Michael.  "I'm not a pathetic piece of shit. You fucked up your whole pathetic life and you can't take any responsibility. You're so obsessed with me and Brian, because you can never have what we have. You live in this fucking superhero world. You're a fucking loser, and you have no one to blame but yourself. GROW THE FUCK UP!" Justin screamed at him as someone pulled him back. When had Emmett appeared?


"What is going on?" he asked.

"I'm fucking out of here! I'm serious. Stay the fuck away from me or else! I've had enough." Justin stormed back into the car and slammed the door before Daphne sped off.


Michael's face being red was an understatement. It was purple. Ethan just laughed. Emmett snatched up Justin's keys before Michael had a chance to take them back.

"What is the matter with you?" Emmett asked Michael.

 

"Me? Why do you always assume it's me? Why are you always taking his side? You're supposed to be my best friend. Or have you forgotten that?" Michael demanded.

 

"Oh, I'm supposed to be your best friend? Look around, Michael! The world has changed. We've all changed. We've all grown up. I'm not standing behind, waiting for you to catch up," Emmett said, making made sure Justin's car was locked and armed before he stormed down the street to Kinnetik.

 

Brian was in meetings, and when he got there Jayden was coming out as he was putting on his jacket. "Is Ted here?" Emmett asked.

 

"No, he has the day off. Justin called and told me that you were there with him. I'm going over there and taking the keys away before they break into Justin's car," Jayden said.

 

Emmett stopped him and held up his keys.


"Oh, good. Are you sure it's locked?" Jayden asked.

 

"I checked all four doors and the trunk. They're not getting in there," Emmett said, rubbing his face.

 

"Justin doesn't want to go back. Daphne's driving him home, and she'll come back here later; then we're just gonna drive it back up to his house," Jayden told him.


Emmett handed off the keys.

 

Brian had been in back-to-back meetings all day. It had been one of his busier and more productive days at Kinnetik. But he didn't have time to sit. He hadn't had anything to eat or even so much as a sip of water. He had been on a late conference and had just started getting ready to leave when Jayden came in.

 

"Hey. Why are you here so late?" Brian asked.

 

"I was waiting for you. Daphne's gonna be here soon. I have Justin's car keys," Jayden told him.


Brian looked up at him. He didn't need to ask why, because Jayden kept talking. "Ethan and Michael cornered him at his car today. Michael snatched the keys out of his hands. He called Daphne to pick him up. Emmett was walking by and took the keys back from him. They had a bad fight."

 

"Why didn't anyone tell me? And why didn't he call me?" Brian bitched.

 

"Justin flat out said not to. Because, and I quote, ‘by telling you now and getting you out of your meetings to go and confront them is giving them what they want'," Jayden said.

 


Brian shook his head.  "I'll see you in a little bit," he grumbled. He zoomed home in record time. He started walking around the house. He didn't hear Justin or the dogs. It was eerily quiet. He walked up the stairs and into his room to see the lights on up there. The dogs were sleeping in their beds. He walked into the bathroom and saw the back of Justin's head. He was sitting in the bathtub. Steam was rising. He walked over to looked at him. He could see it on his face.

 

Brian grabbed a stool and sat down on it. "Are you okay?" he asked.


Justin looked down and shrugged. "As much as I don't think any of the bull shit he says is true...it's still awful hearing someone say that you should have died. That your own father should have killed you. And have someone still wishing that you would die," Justin said quietly.

 

Brian dug his fingers into his eyeballs. What the fuck was wrong with them? How was this enjoyable for them? He picked up Justin's hand and rubbed his wet arm up and down. Now was the time to say something wonderful. Romantic. Something to make him feel better. Some poetic bullshit.

 

"My opinion on that subject is the only one that matters. Not that everyone else doesn't agree with me, but it's just my opinion that counts. And I'm thankful every day that those fuckers didn't kill you. Because you belong with me," Brian said.


Justin looked up.


"Something's wrong with them. And they're jealous. Everything about you makes them jealous. It eats away at them. You're everything that they can never be. Do you want me to tell you all the reasons why? Because if you do, we'll be here till next week and the water will be freezing," Brian said.


Justin gave him a soft smile.  "Thank you," he whispered and then looked down at the water again. "They're trying to emasculate me. I hate it. I don't know why they just don't leave me alone. I stand up to them all the time, and it just never even matters. They come back in full force," he said.

 

"Well, we're just gonna have to take things to the next level," Brian said.


Justin nodded his head.  "I've been thinking about this for a while, but I've never had the guts to do it," Justin said as he looked over at the bathroom counter.


Brian grabbed the papers there and looked them over. He made eye contact with Justin.  "Are you sure you wanna do this? Because we can never go back once this is published," Brian said.


Justin nodded. Brian didn't say you...he said we.  "I've been writing him in less and less. I've had this comic written for a few months now. I just was hoping I wouldn't have to do it," Justin said.


Brian nodded. He couldn't read it; he put it back on the counter.  "How does Zephyr die?" Brian asked him.


Justin took a deep breath.  "Readers have never been too attached to Zephyr. It's like, you either have a sidekick, or some love interest that is as big as them. You can't have both. And everyone loves J.T...I've been writing about Zephyr less and less. I have that he's been plotting against Rage the entire time. Ever since J.T. came along, he's been secretly poisoning him. Trying to kill him, so Rage would only have Zephyr...so they find out and Rage has to kill him. But he can't do it.  ,J.T. kills him so Rage doesn't have to. Thousands of strands of glass pierce him all over and he bleeds to death," Justin said sadly. Like he was losing a friend.

 

"The poison almost killed J.T, and Rage had to save him, so he gave some of his powers to J.T. So that was why he was able to kill him the way he did," Justin explained.


Brian nodded sadly.


"Melanie hooked me up with one of her lawyer friends who deals with business cases. I'm gonna meet with him on Monday. I've been saving everything I can for over a year to prove that he hasn't helped with Rage," Justin told him.

 

It had to be done. Michael had been warned over and over again, and nothing seemed to have gotten through to him. Maybe losing his comic book would help. "If it doesn't get better, I'll take the comic bookstore," Brian vowed.


Justin nodded his head again.

 

The doorbell rang then. "That'll be Daphne and Jayden with your car. Finish up and come to bed," Brian said, kissing his cheek. He went downstairs and opened the front door. "Let me just open the garage door and you can just park it in there," Brian instructed.

 

"Stop," Daphne said when he went to turn around. "Come out here," she said.


Brian followed her out to the car and stopped. He walked all around it.


"We found it like this," Daphne said. How could this happen, and no one reported it? Someone had taken a knife to the car and sliced it all over. Digging into it. Slashing it. The windows were all scratched.

 

"Uncle Robert said I can take it right now to his body shop, and they can get started in the morning on repairing it," Jayden told him. It was one of the few times that Brian was shocked. This wasn't just an easy fix. The frame was being cut open.

 

"Don't tell Justin about this. Not tonight. I'll tell him in the morning. Tell Robert I'll pay whatever it takes to get it done as fast as he can," Brian said.


Jayden shook his head.  "He doesn't charge family. I already sent him pictures of it. He said it would take a little while, but he can fix this," Jayden told him.


Brian nodded his head.  "Thank you," he said before turning back around and entering the house. He was stunned. He was speechless.

 


 

The next morning, Brian was procrastinating telling Justin, but he couldn't do it forever. He had to tell him.


"I think I'm gonna be running about an hour late to Kinnetik today. I have a longer class today and have to help with a final project," Justin said.


Brian cleared his throat.  "I'm gonna drive you," he told Justin as he walked to the fridge.


He gave Brian a strange look.  "Daphne dropped the SUV back here. I can drive myself," Justin said. He looked back toward the fridge, but then turned back around to look at Brian's face. He shut the door and walked closer to him. "What's wrong?" he asked.


Brian cleared his throat.  "Your SUV is at my Uncle Robert's shop," Brian told him.


Justin just stared at him. "Why?" 

 

"They took a knife to it," Brian said simply.


Justin just stared at him. The look on his face was devastating. He was heartbroken.


Brian ran his hands through his hair and then sat down on the kitchen chair and did something he normally only did for sex, but he pulled Justin to sit in his lap, both of his legs dangling to one side. "Talk to me," Brian said.


Justin sat there for a minute.  "They'll never know what it's like to be given something so precious. They're physical objects. I can touch them. I have four things that are more precious to me than anything in this world," Justin said as he looked around the kitchen.

 

"You gave me this house. This house was telling me that you wanted a life with me. Not just a life of yours that I was in, and you dictate how it was. You wanted a life to share with me. This house was a dream that you have made come true. It's not just walls and floors and ceilings. It's a home that you gave me. The day you gave me this house was the best day of my life, because it literally was the first day of the rest of our lives. It was the day that you told me I came first in your life," Justin said, looking down at his rings.  "You gave me this as a commitment. To be with me. To love me. That I'm the only one for you. That we're in this together," Justin said. He looked up at him.

 

"You gave me Fred and George because it was something that would make me happy. It was another dream. It wasn't something that you ever wanted. It's something that you despise. But you gave them to me to see me happy," Justin said. And then he got choked up.

"You gave me an SUV to make sure I was staying in Pittsburgh. You gave me freedom to go anywhere I wanted at the drop of a hat. It was a birthday present that I had wanted," Justin said, covering his eyes. "They have no fucking idea what it means to be given these things from the person you love most." He squeezed his eyes.


Brian rubbed his back and just let him talk. He took his hands away from his face.

 

"My dad tried to make Britin not feel like my home anymore. He broke into it and violated me in the worst way. And then my dogs almost died because of him. And now the car you gave me is fucking ruined," Justin cried.


Brian leaned forward.  "If it makes you feel any better, that's technically not the one I gave you. It's the second one," Brian whispered gently.


Justin let out something between a scoff and a chuckle.  "I don't count when Ali totaled the car," he said. Brian's cousin, Ali, had driven the car, and been hit by a drunk driver the night of their rehearsal dinner. The car had been completely totaled and couldn't be fixed. So, Justin got a new one. It was the exact same one, but still, it was the second one.

 

"I never even considered that as my second car because that happened," Justin said with a groan. "God, they ruined it! They took these things that mean the world to me and ruined them," Justin said.

 

"You're right. They don't know. And they'll never know. Don't let them take these things away from you. They're still yours," Brian told him. Brian had no idea that was how Justin felt about the things that he had given him. Sure, he knew he was happy. But he hadn't realized that the meanings went so deep for Justin.

"And what changed your mind?"

"I finally thought of one good reason to do it."

"And what is that one good reason?"

"To prove to the person that I love how much I love him...that I would give him anything, do anything...I'd be anything to make him happy."

That was why he had done it. To make this man happy. To let him know that he was in. He was all in. He was making that commitment that he was one hundred percent in!

"It doesn't matter, Justin. We can just get rid of this one, and I'll go pick you out a brand new one. Or if you wanna do it this time, you can," Brian told him, but Justin shook his head.

"I don't want another fucking car. I want nothing to do with my own car. I'll just get a ride from everyone. Take the bus. Catch an Uber. I don't care, but I'm not getting another car," Justin said.


Brian pulled Justin's head down to his shoulder. He might change his mind about that.

 

You must login (register) to review.