There were caterers in and out of the house. He knew Justin was on edge because in the last year he had gotten overly cautious of who was allowed inside. Today would be the first time they would have anyone of their friends or family over.

 

They had told everyone that it was being catered for and they didn’t need to bring anything. So of course, they all were bringing their own dishes. Debbie was making her grandmother’s Tiramisu. Emmett was bringing something that must be created in hell called fried okra. Did the Southerners have to fry everything? Michael and Ben were bringing some vegan dishes that will probably not be touched. Mel and Lindsay were making Deviled Eggs because the kids could help. He also suspected the people from his mother’s side would bring things too.

 

This whole idea had been his own and now he regretted it more than anything. So much had changed in the eight months since the funeral of his mother. First, Claire took her youngest and left her husband. She was coming to the dinner, but he hadn’t seen or heard from her since the funeral. Hadn’t even known she left her husband until Deb heard it at church. Saint Joan’s daughter leaving her husband was big news. He guessed they had never seen her wear sunglasses to the mass, or more than likely didn’t care just like they didn’t when his mother would come with bruises and black eyes. Claire had followed in their mother’s footsteps and married an abusive asshole that got her pregnant. It turned her into an angry and hate filled woman who was as far from the big sister as he remembered.

 

He remembered the ten-year-old girl that jumped in front of six-year-old him and taken a boot to the face from a two-hundred-pound man. She lost three adult teeth. Marrying the same kind of man as their father had damaged her more. And it made her raise rotten demon seeds; well, he had nothing against Peter.

 

“What’s the scowl for?” Justin asked, breaking him out of his thoughts.

 

“Nothing, just guess I wasn’t really prepared for this. Everything alright upstairs?” he asked.

 

Justin nodded and held up a white device with a screen on it. “Good. So, freaking out already?”

 

“I do not freak out.” It was mostly true. There were a few times when a client was wavering that he might have gotten a little intense. Or when Justin got hit, or when he was carrying around that gun and running with that psycho Cody, or the bombing. “I don’t care what these people think of me.”

 

The look Justin was giving him said he didn’t believe anything that was coming out of his mouth.

 

“It’s okay to want your family to like you or in your case die with envy. Don’t think I didn’t see your search history. Stalking them to see what they liked and couldn’t afford just to get it to shove it in their faces.”

 

Brian looked away from Justin, his eyes landing on all the work Justin had done. All the artwork on the walls was Justin’s. Not from arrogance but because they were paintings and drawings of everything and everyone that meant anything to them. Over the mantal was a painting Justin had done from a photo of their wedding day. It was the moment they kissed, the photo was from the back of the aisle, showing the heads and some faces of their guests as they looked back at the photographer. Justin included it all. Even Jenny Rebecca as she sat on the ground trying to pull her sandals off. She had hated being in the dress or any dress, she was an overalls and tee kind of girl, it would probably be her first and last time as a member of a wedding party. Gus had been standing so tall beside him, growing up so fast. Seven years old now and going on forty.

 

The rest of the paintings were no less amazing. There was one of Lindsay, Mel, Justin, and him with the kids. One of Emmett dancing at Babylon, he had done that one from memory. It was from the start, when Justin forced himself into their group. Little twat. There was one of Ben and Michael under the mistletoe. Justin had promised to give it to them someday, they didn’t know that Justin had made one just slightly different and was gifting it to them this Christmas. There was also a portrait of Ted, just Ted. Brian had questions about it, but Justin just shook his head and said it belonged there. Paintings of the house in the snow. A painting of Daphne as a small girl playing in a dandelion field and a boy that you could only see the back of his blond head. There was also another little boy in the painting. The boy had black hair and looked very much like Daphne.

 

 That’s when he found out Daphne has a brother a year older than the two. Apparently he was Justin’s first crush. When he was fourteen he became too cool to play with Daphne and Justin. Then when he was seventeen he went to college, graduating early from high school. Brian had learned more about Jacob Chanders than he ever wanted to know. Daphne was bringing her brother to dinner, something that had him on edge. Jacob was straight, but he had just gotten out of a long relationship. A perfect time to try something new, and if Mikey was anything to go by first childhood crushes never fully die.

 

“Earth to Brian,” Justin said, snapping his fingers in front of Brian’s face.

 

“I’m not a dog, don’t snap your fingers and expect me to come.” His voice sounded harsh even to his own ears.

 

Justin just laughed like it was funny. That was the thing about Justin, he was never scared of him no matter how hurtful or hostile he was. It took a long time for him to not treat Justin like garbage; something he regrets to this day. If it wasn’t for Justin’s persistent, the annoying blond twink he would still be stuck with Gardner, having to listen to that idiot. Getting fired was the best thing that ever happened to him, he doesn’t take on any client he doesn’t want, no matter the money.

 

“I know, if you were a dog you’d listen to me. While you’re miffed I should tell you that your cousin is going to come out of the closet today. He called and asked Monday while you were out of town.”

 

That was going to turn the day even worse than he suspected. Sitting down on the couch, he pulled Justin onto his lap. His husband was straddling his lap, he had his famous Sunshine smile plastered on his face.

 

“First…miffed? Who are you? Second, when were you going to tell me about this?”

 

Justin leaned down and started kissing up his jaw. “Now,” Justin said, his lips still on Brian’s jaw.

 

“I see. Which one is Leo?”

 

“The redhead, he was the only one of your cousins that wasn’t in the fight. He’s bringing his boyfriend too because the boyfriend wanted to be there for him. Remind you of anyone?” Justin’s eyes showed old pain.

 

It was a feeling he knew well. Craig never accepting him had hurt his Sunshine more than the younger man would admit. Just like Jack, the old man didn’t have to hit to hurt Brian. That wasn’t to say he didn’t hit him, he loved to hit his wife and children. It was something he would never do to his family. Justin would never use sunglasses indoors. He wouldn’t “walk” into doors or fall down steps.

 

“I don’t like this.”

 

“That’s why I’m telling you now.” Justin grabbed the white device with the screen on it and handed it to Brian. “Here, I have to go for a bit.”

 

“Where? It’s Thanksgiving, everywhere is closed.”

 

“I have to talk to someone.”

 

“Everyone you know is coming here.”

 

“Not everyone, trust me, please.”

 

It would be easy to trust Justin on this, but something was off about his face. Clearly he was hiding something and didn’t want him to know. They had been monogamous for over a year. At first he thought it would be the end of him but there was something to having the freedom of it all. No longer did he have to try and stay on top…at least out of the bedroom. He had a sneaking suspicion about where Justin was going.

 

“You’re going to the prison, aren’t you?”

 

Instead of looking caught or ashamed Justin just looked at him and nodded. “Yes.”

 

“Christ Justin, you had to become pen pals with a murderer, didn’t you?”

 

While Justin was in New York when no one back home was able to talk to him, he got a pen pal. He joined a pen pal seeking group. Justin didn’t read the full description and it turned out it was a writing to felons’ thing. His pen pal was a fifty-year-old man who killed his boyfriend twenty years ago but still professed his innocence and the worst part was Justin believed him. Good thing the man won’t get out for ten more years.

 

“Nobody visits him anymore. I’m the only one. I won’t have him alone on Thanksgiving.”

 

“Fine, when he gets out and murders you, don’t blame me.”

 

 

 

Justin had gone an hour before their first visitor got there. Still carrying the white device with the screen, he opened the door and almost dropped it.

 

“What the fuck are you doing here?” he snapped.

 

The redhead, Leo, blinked a few times. “I was invited, remember? Justin said we could come early so we wouldn’t be walking into a bunch of people.”

 

“Not you,” Brian snarled. “YOU!”

 

Standing at his open front door was none other than the Fiddler himself.

 

“I had no idea this was where we were coming until I saw the car in the drive,” Ian said. Brian had to give him a little credit, he wasn’t wary of his anger.

 

“What’s going on?” the redhead asked with a confused face.

 

“I stole his boyfriend.”

 

That was it, Brian was going to kill him and hide the body. There had to be somewhere no one would look. Brian refused to say anything to the boyfriend stealing comment.

 

“You did?” Leo was shocked.

 

“He didn’t deserve him; he broke his heart over and over again.”

 

“I was always honest with him, you were the one telling him lies, hurting him.”

 

“I’m just glad Justin got away from you. You would have killed his spirit if he had stayed. Hopefully, he’s living a great life.”

 

Leo looked between them. “Justin? Like your husband?”

 

Ian’s naturally tanned skin turned a bit red with anger. It just made Brian smirk. In the game of who got Justin, he would always win. Loud crying started to come from the white device with the screen on the floor.

 

“Is that a baby?” Leo questioned.

 

“Yes. I guess you can come in, but you have to stay in the kitchen but out of the caterer’s way.”

 

Austin Lewis Kinney-Taylor and Victor Jacob Kinney-Taylor were born seven months ago. If Brian had known about Justin’s first crush Jacob, Victor’s name wouldn’t be Jacob. Justin had told him it made sense since Daphne was the egg donor. They had gone to an agency to find a gestational surrogate. Paula was an amazing woman; she’s already been a surrogate to three other families with no issue. She always says she’s a weirdo who loves pregnancy but the parenting part not so much. She’s got two of her own, but they are in their teens now.

 

Justin didn’t want anyone to know at first because he was worried she would lose them, even though she had a great pregnancy, her words. Then after what was considered safe time, he still didn’t want to tell anyone because he didn’t want unsolicited advice. Then the babies were born, and he didn’t want to tell anyone because she had six months to change her mind. Six months passed and Justin said it was so close to Thanksgiving, why not just wait until the holiday. He didn’t understand what Justin was so scared of. This is what he wanted, a house, husband, and baby. Now he’s got two plus Gus, what more could he want? As crazy as it sounded, Brian suspected the convict had something to do with it. You hear it all the time some tired old house frau falls for some felon, leaves her husband, and has a prison wedding. Of course, if he called Justin a tired old house frau he might as well become a monk.

 

Brian made it to the twins’ room and found Austin crying and Victor patiently waiting to be tended to. If he believed in reincarnation then he would be sure Victor was his namesake in a new life. He stayed upstairs changing, rocking, and feeding the babies longer than needed. It was just that he didn’t want to go and deal with Ian again. It had been years, but he still annoyed him. That smarmy smile on his face, there was a time that Brian remembered him purposely leading Justin away from him as they talked. That was after making Justin reject his invitation to come to a charity event at the Center.

 

Just as he got both babies back to sleep the doorbell rang again. The sitter was late, he just hoped they would get here soon because he knew Justin would probably chicken out again and not tell anyone about them. Sometimes he didn’t understand anything the blond did.

 

It was Debbie, Carl, Michael, Ben, and Hunter. With the sulking face of Hunter, he thought it was better not to ask how the girlfriend was. Not that he wanted a drama free Thanksgiving, but he didn’t want anything off script. He wanted to be in charge of all the surprises.

 

His cell phone rang in his pocket. Pulling it out he saw it was Justin. He answered expecting his husband to ask to bring some lost soul to dinner. That would be something Justin would do.

 

“Where are you?” he asked as he answered.

 

“Get off me,” Justin said but his voice sounded far away.

 

“What would your husband say if he saw you now?”

 

There was a laugh and the sound of someone kissing…loudly. What the hell was going on? What it sounded like was his husband was having an affair. He did have form for it. But everything was going so well…well, that wasn’t the complete truth. His husband had been off since they knew the surrogate was pregnant. Brian had just put it to being too overprotective. But what if it was something different? What if Justin had realized the baby was a mistake.

 

“Okay, okay, enough of that. Take your pants off,” Justin said, Brian could hear the joy in his voice.

 

There could be an explanation for that. Maybe Justin was doing a portrait. Why on Thanksgiving he didn’t know but stranger things have happened.

 

There was another laugh, deeper than Justin’s. “Like what you see?”

 

“I’ve seen it before. Or did you forget?”

 

“Of course not. That was a night to remember. I would love to recreate it.”

 

“Now?” Justin asked.

 

“Yes.” There was only moaning after that, not wanting to hear any more of his husband fucking another man, he disconnected the call.

 

 

 

Unluckily for him, his mother’s family started showing up. Matt and his wife, he didn’t remember her name. Scott and his wife, he didn’t remember her name either. Their kids excluding Leo who was now hiding upstairs with Justin’s ex-boyfriend. Could this day get any worse?

 

“What the fuck did you just call me?”

 

So, it could…great. All he wanted to do was make his family drown in their own jealousy. Is that too much to ask?

 

He found the disturbance. Ted was using some ten-dollar words and it appears just like his mother, his uncles didn’t have an education further than the eighth grade. Leo was still hiding; at this rate he would never come down from where he was hiding. As he listened to Ben calm the situation down he realized he didn’t know where Leo and Ian were hiding upstairs. He had just told them to stay away from his room, the nursery and Gus’s room. He was still surprised his son was able to keep a secret so well. His guess Gus told his mothers and they decided to keep the secret to themselves.

 

“I’ll be right back,” he told no one in specific.

 

“What the fuck are you doing in here?” he demanded when he found them in Justin’s studio.

 

“I’m sorry, the door was open, and I saw the art. It’s amazing,” Leo said with awe in his voice.

 

“Yes, it is, now get out.”

 

“His art has changed, it used to be less…depressing,” Ian said, still looking from piece to piece. Ethan was after Justin’s violent works after the bashing. There were some violent, depressing works there. “He drew me?”

 

“What? No, he didn’t,” Brian protested.

 

“Yes, yes he did. Look.” Ian was pointing at a newer piece of Justin’s that he wouldn’t show him. They must have pulled the covering off. It was Liberty Avenue as it was when they met. There was Vic and Deb walking into the Diner. Him, Ted, Michael, and Emmett coming out of Woody’s. And as much as he hated it, further down on the sidewalk was Ian, violin raised to his chin, playing. An old homeless woman applauding. There were also other familiar faces just in mid-walk. His eyes stopped on a hunched over figure, the bright eyes had a wild look to them as the man looked in a mirror, it was Blake. An open newspaper with the tagline Quarterback Princess covering him in the cold.

 

Homophobia alive and well. It had been the headline on one of the sports mags when Drew came out. On the street corner there was Hunter talking to an old creep in a car. The Hunter in the painting wasn’t the Hunter he met or even the one now. No, this Hunter was twelve if a day. That made Brian look closer at them again. Vic was tired looking, his clothes wrinkled and a hospital band on his wrist. Deb with bags under her eyes and makeup failing to cover it up, it was a woman almost broken. Ted was walking behind Michael, his eyes red and face blank. Michael’s eyes watching Brian with every move, love so clear in those eyes. Emmett in bright clothes but his face solemn. Ben standing in from of another man, tears clear on his face with the look of devastation. Did Justin paint his imagination of what Ben looked like finding out his boyfriend gave him HIV? The faces of the others were also different from what he first saw. Sad defeated and broken people just going on with their business. It took a moment before he placed the people walking around. It was the ones they lost in murders, sickness, and the bombing. What was happening to Justin? This painting was grotesque in its meaning. Why would he paint this?

 

“Just get out. Stop being a fucking coward and come out to you family. Justin did it at seventeen, something I didn’t even have the balls to do until I was an adult.”

 

Following the two downstairs it was like watching a condemned man and his guard.

 

“This is a beautiful home,” his grandmother said as he reached the bottom of the stairs.

 

“Thank you,” he said out of shock. She hadn’t said anything homophobic to him or anyone else, but he still didn’t trust her. He wished Justin was here if only to answer the questions building in his head.

 

“When did you get here?” Matt asked Leo. “And what were you doing upstairs? Who is this?”

 

This was going to be a disaster. Fuck Leo and Ian for coming and ruining his revenge. If anyone was going to piss off them he wanted it to be him.

 

“I got here an hour ago, I was waiting until I got the courage to come down and this man is my…boyfriend.”

 

There was silence, complete and uncomfortable silence.

 

The bad dye job that Matt called his wife stepped forward and pulled her son into a hug. That wasn’t what he was expecting, he thought she looked like one of those women that try to make their children get conversion therapy.

 

“What?” Matt asked, sounding like he was hit by a freight train.

 

“I’m gay and this is my boyfriend.”

 

“You can’t be gay, you’ve been with Sarah for years,” Leo’s brother Thomas said.

 

“She’s my best friend, she’s married now. She goes to these things with me even though she has her own family. I can’t ask it of her anymore.”

 

“But you went to college on a baseball scholarship,” Scott’s son Hooper said.

 

“Gays can be athletic,” Ted said. “Not me but others.”

 

“I was on the track team…unofficially, I could outrun them all. You do that when five huge guys are chasing you in their pickup,” Emmett added.

 

“I was prom queen,” Lindsay said.

 

“Softball captain,” Mel told them.

 

“Got a soccer scholarship,” he added.

 

“Football captain.” That from Ben.

 

“If you turn on the game, you’ll see my beautiful boyfriend former professional quarterback Drew Boyd who now is a commentator for Sports Day,” Emmett said, his glee was hard to hide.

 

“Face it, we’re everywhere,” Brian told Matt.

 

“You did this,” Matt said, pointing his finger at him with spittle coming out of his mouth.

 

“Dad, he didn’t do anything but make me realize I can’t keep living like I was. I want to be happy, something I haven’t been since I was eleven when I realized I liked Karen Knight’s brother Keith and not her. It was actually pretty sad how I followed him everywhere.”

 

“Is that why you started going to that Methodist church that summer when you were fifteen?” Thomas asked.

 

“What can I say, I wanted to know if all the rumors about preachers’ kids were true. The answer is yes, they are.”

 

“I could have told you that,” Lindsay said with a smirk, earning a light shoulder tap by Mel.

 

Ian’s hand slid into Leo’s when the redhead’s hands started to shake. He should have tried with a smaller number than his whole family to out himself. His mother at least looked like she would accept him. It was all Justin needed.

 

Matt’s eyes seemed to follow his to Leo and Ian’s hands. “I can’t believe I raised a f-

 

“MATTHEW RAYMOND BELL, YOU WILL BE QUIET!” the little woman in the wheelchair said. His grandmother had been pretty quiet during the coming out but now she was standing and glaring at her son before turning to her gay grandson…the redheaded one. “Come here,” she said firmly to Leo.

 

Leo let go of Ian’s hand and walked slowly to his grandmother. “Yes, grandma?”

 

“Come here,” she said. Leo leaned down, even standing, she was short. “Closer.” Leo leaned down some more. “Closer.” Now Leo leaned down his face at level with hers, which is probably how he missed her right hook coming at his face.

 

“Did you really think I would stop loving you because you’re gay? You’re not the first gay kid in our family.” All eyes went to him. “Not him, his mother.”

 

He broke out into laughter. “My mother a muncher? You need to get checked out; your mind is taking a walk.”

 

“I know what I know. Robin Peters was the love of her life. She loved that girl; I caught them a few times. It was a different time, but I wouldn’t risk my husband kicking my child out or worse. But then Jack Kinney came into the picture. He wanted Robin from the beginning, but she turned him down, she only had eyes for Joan. Jack Kinney didn’t like being turned down, he thought he was God’s gift.” Several eyes shifted to him. He was nothing like his father. “I loved my daughter, but she was hotheaded. Jack made her believe that he had slept with Robin, and they were getting married. She ended things with Robin without telling her why. Joan being spiteful had sex with Jack and got pregnant with Claire. Robin got accepted to Sarah Lawrence and never looked back. Joan wanted something to latch herself onto, that’s where religion came in. She became fanatical about it. The day she left with you and your sister; she had just found out Robin became some big-shot doctor. Jack always thought she trapped him, she always thought he trapped her. He knew her feelings for women, I think that is a reason he wasn’t even ashamed of it. After all, he was beating the lesbian out of her.”

 

The room was quiet, he was processing that there was more to his mother than he thought. How could she be so vicious to him if she were queer too? He hoped that even if she couldn’t do it in public that she accepted him and more importantly her. “I need to take a drive. Emmett, take over until I get back.” Emmett nodded.

 

“Brian?” Ian’s voice sounded harsh. It looked like no one escaped his grandmother’s afterschool special story.

 

“What?”

 

“What about you know what, upstairs.”

 

“Shit.” He could either take them with him, he would never get them out unnoticed, tell his enemy and his cousin to watch them, not knowing their experience with babies or tell everyone about them. “You watch them,” he said pointing to Justin’s ex. “Anything goes wrong I’ll set Justin on you, trust me, you don’t want that.”

 

The two started to go upstairs, ignoring questions from Matt as they went. Brian was out the door and in his car before he knew where he was going. Just as he started his car, Justin’s pulled into the drive, parking behind his. Great. His cheating husband returns.

 

Justin got out of his car as well as a gorgeous black man got out of the passengers. He noticed the slight flinch the man gave as he stood up, then he walked slowly like someone had received for the first time.

 

“I told you Daphne wouldn’t be here yet,” Justin told the other man. Brian decided to let his presence be known. The two men stopped in their tracks. “Brian! What are you doing outside?”

 

“You don’t want to know. Who’s this?” he asked, knowing the answer already.

 

“This is Jacob.” There was Justin’s huge Sunshine smile, but it wasn’t directed at him.

 

“I guessed. I thought he was coming with Daphne?”

 

“She said she would be late; she’ll be here before dessert is served.”

 

“So, pick him up at the prison?”

 

The two shared a smirk, pissing Brian off at the familiarity.

 

“Not exactly. But then Jacob called me for help, and I’ve been with him for a few hours.”

 

“Oh, I know all about your “help” that you gave him.”

 

Justin must have read the anger on his face. “Is there something wrong?”

 

“You called me by accident. I heard all of what you were doing.”

 

“Did you hear him screaming? That was the best. Big, bad Marine my ass,” Justin said with a laugh.

 

His husband was being way too causal about running around on him. Sex was one thing, but Justin never had just sex.

 

“No.”

 

“I told him he was a big baby, I wasn’t even using a tattoo gun, just a pen.”

 

Well, now he was lost.

 

“What?”

 

“I thought you heard. Jacob wanted his tattoo on his ass fixed. He found an artist that specializing in that sort of thing.”

 

“My ex’s name was on my ass. Don’t ever get a partner’s name on your body. I wanted something me but couldn’t put it into words and the tattoo artist was getting annoyed. Justin turned that bitch’s name into a lion, I liked it. Then the tattoo artist inked it.

 

Turning to Justin, “Who did you tell to get off?”

 

“The tattoo artist brought his dog in. He also recently broke up, the reason he’s working on a holiday, he couldn’t leave his dog home. He’s so cute but a giant.”

 

“It was the dog you kissed, right?” Pieces falling into place.

 

“Air kissed; he was very drooly.”

 

“One more thing, what was it about already seeing him naked?” He hated that he was jealous enough to want answers.

 

“We grew up together, we went skinny dipping all the time when our families went on vacation together. Saw Daphne just as much, pretty sure that’s what made me gay.”

 

“ASSHOLE!”

 

They hadn’t noticed said woman had pulled up at the bottom of the hill and walked up.

 

“You made in earlier than you said,” Justin said jovially.

 

“I’ll get you back for that last comment.”

 

“I’m sorry Daphne I meant it in the best way.”

 

“Eww, gross,” Jacob said with a grossed-out face.

 

“What did you recreate?” he asked.

 

“The tattoo artist let us drink, he did shots. It was hard with him on his stomach.”

 

“You can’t drink while getting a tattoo you moron,” Daphne ranted at her brother.

 

“It wasn’t real, the jerk gave us alcohol free, bastard,” Jacob said.

 

Makes sense why they weren’t drunk now.

 

“What are all of you doing out here? The real show is inside,” Ted said. That couldn’t be good.

 

“How bad is it?” Daphne asked.

 

“Wasn’t great when I left,” Brian told her.

 

“Well, I’ve been filled in, let’s go,” Jacob said excitably.

 

As they entered they heard screaming and cursing. “Welcome to the Thunderdome,” he said under his breath as he shut the door behind him.

 

 

 

Jennifer and Molly came in before they could find out what was going on. Once Brian was able to make out what they were saying, he groaned.

 

“What the fuck is Ethan doing here?” Justin asked. “And why the fuck is he coming down the stairs with one of my sons?”

 

The anger was quick, Brian needed to calm him down before Justin went Terminator.

 

“Calm down, Ethan is Leo’s boyfriend. He’s been taking everything they’re throwing at him, I guess he isn’t exactly who I thought he was.”

 

Justin was looking at him with wide eyes. “You called him Ethan, not all your fun nicknames for him.”

 

“Don’t make a thing of it.”

 

Leo was behind Ethan with the other baby. They weren’t wearing the same clothes they had been, but they spit up more than any twenty babies should combine.

 

The arguing stopped seeing the babies. “Whose babies are those?” Matt asked, a bit harshly.

 

“They’re mine,” Justin said, going to Ethan and practically snatching the baby out of his arms.

 

“They’re beautiful Justin,” Ethan said, he sounded like he meant it. Justin just glared at him and handed Brian the baby then he went back for the other one.

 

“What are you talking about?” Jennifer asked.

 

“Sorry mom, I meant to tell you before this.”

 

“What? Couldn’t find the time to tell me I had grandchildren? When did you adopt them?”

 

“They aren’t adopted. We found a gestational surrogate to carry them, and a friend donated her eggs,” Justin told them.

 

“I donated the eggs,” Daphne said happily. “That’s why Jacob’s here he wanted to see what Justin and my genes looked like mixed together.” Jacob nodded.

 

“What’s their names?” his grandmother asked.

 

“Austin Lewis and Victor Jacob,” he said, his eyes seeking out Debbie and Michael.

 

“Is that okay, Deb?” Justin asked nervously.

 

“It’s more than okay. He would have loved them.”

 

“I do have a question, why are we just hearing about these babies, they look like they are six months old,” Jennifer asked.

 

“I kind of was being stalked, but it got resolved today.”

 

“WHAT!” several people yelled, including himself.

 

“Turns out it’s not a great idea to tell people in prison too much about yourself that they can locate you after getting out of prison.”

 

“I thought he was going to be in prison more for decades?” he asked. His husband had a knack for getting into trouble without even trying.

 

“Not him, his cellmate, he shared the letters.” Brian rolled his eyes, of course.

 

“That’s why you haven’t wanted anyone to know about the boys?” he asked.

 

“He had a way about him that he knew everything, but he didn’t know about them. I just wanted them safe.”

 

“What happened today? How do you know it’s resolved?” Jennifer asked.

 

“Oh, yeah, I went on a date with him.”

 

“WHAT?” Brian couldn’t believe Justin was so reckless. What was he doing going on a date?

 

“He got picked up for questioning about some robbery.”

 

“Did I take ‘shrooms? This is insane,” his cousin Hooper said.

 

“Oh, I’m ruining Thanksgiving,” Justin said, embarrassment on his face.

 

Brian didn’t think that was the most important thing right now.

 

“Let’s all just go eat and later Brian’s young man can explain why he was dating a criminal while married to my grandson.”

 

Brian didn’t like anyone taking charge in his own home, but he was just too tired to fight it. The babysitter finally arrived, and she took the babies upstairs.

 

“You all wait in the dining room. I need to speak to Sunshine for a moment alone.”

 

He could see that Justin tensed up, but his shoulders were set. “We don’t need to talk. I’m not a child and I’m definitely not your child.”

 

“Oh, I think we have a lot to talk about,” he said between gritted teeth.

 

“Guess we know who wears the pants in the relationship,” Scott said loudly.

 

“What does that mean?” Justin asked, his pale face reddening with anger.

 

“Calm down, you know how the breeders are.” He was finally able to get Justin off into his office.

 

Once the door was shut Justin started in before Brian could open his mouth.

 

“What is Ethan doing in MY home?”

 

“Like I said before, he’s Leo’s new beau. You were the one to tell Leo to invite him.”

 

“That was before I knew it was Ethan. I don’t want him here.”

 

It wasn’t like Brian wanted him in his house, but he had agreed…apparently to see this out. Leo wanted to feel safe and with those jackals he could see why. Any sign of weakness and they would pounce. If they got their way Leo would be married to a woman before the week was out.

 

“He’s here for Leo, but if you really want him gone you can tell him.” He wasn’t about to look like some jealous husband. There was a time he didn’t think he could stand the sight of Ethan Gold, even his name sounded pretentious.

 

“Fine. Doesn’t mean I have to like it.”

 

That’s what Brian had been telling himself every time Justin got him into something like this…well maybe not exactly just like this.

 

The food was served, and Brian could finally relax. His grandmother looked impressed, but she was the only one. It was good to see Leo’s mother was sitting on the other side of her son, ignoring her husband. They always did say a gay boy’s best friend was his mother. He guessed he was the exception to the rule.

 

Then of course, it had to be Ted again to make things go to hell.

 

“So, Joan was gay, Brian’s gay and now Leo’s gay…how many other gays do you have living secretly in your family? My vote is Hooper.”

 

“Shit,” he said groaning before Hooper jumped up, fists clenched as he glared at Ted.

 

“I’m not a deviant,” Hooper bellowed.

 

“Neither is he. There is nothing wrong with him being gay. I’ve known it since he was six,” Leo’s mother said, now standing up too. She pulled something out of her purse. It was a hair tie, she put her hair up in a bun. By the look on her husband’s face, it wasn’t a good sign.

 

“You have?” Leo asked, hurt and confusion warring on his face.

 

“Of course, I did. And it had nothing to do with how you acted or talked.”

 

“What then?” the newly outed redhead asked.

 

“You asked me if boys can marry boys. I said they could, but it wouldn’t be legal. Your father came in then and you asked what legal meant. He told you that legal is doing things the right way and illegal is doing the wrong thing and getting locked up. I could have killed him. No matter what I said after that, you thought you were going to jail because you wanted to marry Timmy Lewis.”

 

“Timmy Lewis? You wanted to marry that asshole?” Thomas asked.

 

“He was nice to me, no one else was. You acted like I didn’t exist. Anyway, he’s some big CEO of a tech firm now. Married to a man named Herbert.”

 

“Timmy Lewis is gay? Is there anyone in this fucking ‘burgh who isn’t gay?” Thomas snapped.

 

“I’m not,” Carl said, after he swallowed a piece of turkey.

 

“And we don’t hold it against you Carl,” Emmett said, earning laughs from their group and some from his mother’s family.

 

“Ethan, can I talk to you in the other room?” Justin said, startling everyone around the table. While the family was gearing up for a fight, Justin had been there sitting and stewing about something. As much as he wanted to follow the two that would look possessive.

 

“How does it feel that your husband banged Leo’s new boyfriend?” Hooper asked.

 

“Are you talking to me? I don’t think there is any hot guy that we haven’t fucked,” Brian said, enjoying the horrified faces.

 

“Brian, please, think of the children when using that language,” his grandmother said sternly.

 

Justin and the fiddler were taking longer than he liked. A server came in bringing some food, but he didn’t bother to even look at them.

 

Looking over to Gus and JR to see what they were doing. JR was drawing on her plastic plate with cranberry sauce and Gus was trying to figure out how to eat a turkey leg. “Who gave him the turkey leg?” he asked.

 

“Huh?” Lindsay asked before looking at her son. “Gus, that’s way too big for you. How did you get it?”

 

“The nice caterer man with the star on his neck,” Gus said happily before trying again to eat the turkey leg like it was a chicken leg.

 

“Brian would you have a word with your caterers and tell them not to give the children anything without our say so,” Lindsay said with a sniff. Telling staff what they can and can’t do was something Lindsay was used to being raised rich. There was no way he would treat a person working on Thanksgiving to make ends meet.

 

“How long are they going to take?” Leo said, looking at the kitchen where Justin and Ian went to talk. What did they need to talk so much about? They only dated for a short time, they moved fast but Justin had been young and naïve at the time.

 

“Maybe they rekindled their affair,” Molly said, smirking.

 

“Molly! Such a thing to say about your brother. Insinuating he would cheat,” Jennifer said, dabbing her napkin on her still clean face.

 

“He did it before,” the teen said with a shrug.

 

“WHAT?” Brian’s grandmother said it was the first time she looked angry. “I can handle a lot of things, but I will not watch history repeat itself. I will not stand by while your fella runs around with other men. No telling what disease he’ll bring home. I put my foot down.”

 

“I don’t think you stand for a lot,” Brian said, eyeing her wheelchair. They had to put in a temporary ramp for her. “First, you have no clue about my relationship with Justin or what was talked about behind closed doors. There are a lot of rumors and speculation but the only two that know the full truth is me and Justin.”

 

“Well, she isn’t wrong though, he did cheat on you. I was there, I saw it,” Michael said before Ben pulled him back and glared at him.

 

“You saw what you wanted to see, Justin kissing Ethan. What you didn’t see was all the times I let him down and hurt him. I didn’t just hurt him, I wanted to hurt him. His bashing didn’t stop it, I don’t think I had it in me to be a good person to him.”

 

“What the hell, Brian? You were great to him, you put him through school until he got expelled, you made sure he was clothed, fed, and had a roof over his head. You did everything for him.”

 

“I did. I kicked him out not once but twice. I told him after taking his virginity that he was nothing but a fuck. If I would have taken him to his prom like he asked, he would have left with me, Hobbs wouldn’t have gotten near him. I pressured him into group sex when I knew it made him uncomfortable.” There were embarrassed looking faces from most of his mother’s family. “It became a game to me; see how far I could push it before he would break. I don’t mean break mentally just trying to see where his line was and I’ve got to tell you, it’s further than you can believe. The things he’s done for me, I have no way to describe it. So, what if one time when he was nineteen he got starry-eyed for a fiddle player who promised him all the things I wouldn’t give him, good on him. Everyone in this room, including you Mikey, would have given up a long time before he did. Just think of the stupid things at nineteen you did before you judge him.”

 

“I forgot Michael at Roxy’s, drag club that no longer exists, I used to work there and some of the girls watched him while I waited tables.”

 

“I knew I wasn’t imagining that,” Michael said, accusatory.

 

“Oh hush, you loved it.”

 

“Must be his drag queen side,” Emmett said giddily.

 

“I posed naked to make money for college for a month,” Mel said, Lindsay blushed so she must have known.

 

“There goes my appetite,” he said. Mel flipped him off, followed by Gus copying her. “Turning my own son against me.”

 

“But you do it all the time, Dad.”

 

“Busted,” Lindsay said, giving a mock glare to all three of them.

 

“I broke into my ex-girlfriend’s house and stole her dog. He was really mine, but she asked if she could keep him for a weekend and then she broke up with me,” Hooper said, not at all looking guilty. He shouldn’t if the dog was his.

 

At that moment Ian came back in with his face, annoying him. “What are we talking about?”

 

“Stupid things we did at nineteen,” Daphne said, eyeing Ian. She was team Brian even when he was an ass.

 

“Where’s Justin?” he asked.

 

“He wanted to talk to one of the caterers after we talked.”

 

“So, did you do anything stupid at nineteen?” Emmett asked, knowing what Ethan’s would be.

 

“Yeah, hasn’t everyone.”

 

“Well, share, isn’t that’s what Thanksgiving is about,” he said, pushing the fiddler.

 

“I stole one of Justin’s art pieces that could have gotten him in an exclusive art program.”

 

There was nothing funny about that. “What are you talking about?” Jen asked.

 

“I fucking knew it,” Daphne said, her eyes burning with fury. “Just after they got together Justin was offered a slot in an art competition. The winner would get a semester at Royal College of Art, the semester paid for by the sponsors of the competition. But the piece he worked on for months just disappeared. It took him so long because he had to work with his hand.”

 

“He would have gone to London and been gone for a whole semester.”

 

Ignoring his own anger, he helped Daphne’s brother hold her back while she tried to jump across the table to get to him.

 

“I dressed in drag on a dare and performed on amateur night then slept with the bouncer, that led to a yearlong relationship where I didn’t know I was the other man ending with me being chased by a 6’5 drag queen in heels,” Ted said shocking everyone. He shrugged. “College.”

 

“Got drunk and fought the school mascot, too bad it was when he was out of uniform and just finished his krav maga class,” Thomas said. That earned a lot of chuckles from both parties.

 

“Had an affair with a jazz singer and didn’t know what color Joan would be born,” his grandmother said. His friends laughed, his mom’s side did not.

 

“Slept with my brother’s girlfriend,” Leo said, looking at Thomas with fear in his eyes.

 

“What the hell? Which one?”

 

“Tilly.”

 

“If you’re gay why’d you sleep with his girlfriend?” Daphne’s brother asked. Everyone looked at him. “What? Is it bad to ask? To get you all to stop staring at me, I’ll tell you mine. I regret it deeply. When I was nineteen I shot a man while in Reno. I didn’t have a reason, just wanted to watch him die.”

 

Emmett giggled at clapped his hands. Brian got the joke, but it was clear, some didn’t because they were looking at the man with horrified expressions.

 

“When I was just a baby, my mama told me, “Son Always be a good boy, don’t ever play with guns” But I shot a man in Reno just to watch him die. When I hear that whistle blowin’ I hang my head and cry,” sang my uncle Matt’s wife. He was starting to like her. It was odd she married such an asshole. “It’s Folsom Prison Blues by Johnny Cash.”

 

Jacob winked at Matt’s wife causing Matt to glare at the young man. Alright he could see why Justin had a crush on him. He was good-looking, funny, and charming. Good thing he was straight, or he would be more worried than he already was. But he might have to had fight Justin for the man too.

 

“Come on, Dad. We told ours,” Hooper said, big smile on his face.

 

“Slept with my bio professor so I would pass. I was working two jobs to put myself through college. I got the offer, and I did it.”

 

“Dad, she took advantage of her position. Her just asking was sexual harassment,” Hooper told his dad.

 

“I never said it was a woman.”

 

The table got deathly silent, Leo coming out was shocking, but they seemed to be alright for the most part. There was no way Leo’s mom would let him down and Matt looked terrified of his wife. But this was something else, this wasn’t coming out. This was admitting that a person with authority used that against them to have a nineteen-year-old straight boy in his bed.

 

“Stop looking like that, I knew what I was doing. I was nineteen not nine. Hell, it was fifteen minutes at best and I got an A for a class I was failing all semester. If all my professors where like that I probably would have gotten a better job.”

 

Brian had prided himself on his people reading skills. The man was telling the truth. He didn’t care, which made him think that maybe Scott was a little queer himself.

 

“OOOKKKay, who is next?” Daphne asked.

 

“I was in an orgy,” Scott’s wife spit out, probably to get attention off her husband. “I wasn’t nineteen, I was twenty though.”

 

“I’m going to need so much therapy,” Hooper said. Learning his dad banged his professor for a pass and his mom was in an orgy would throw anyone.

 

“Wait…didn’t you get pregnant when you were twenty?” this gem from Matt’s wife.

 

“What? Am I an orgy baby? Please don’t tell me someone like Mr. Collins is my real father.”

 

“Oh, please, there wasn’t a way I was getting pregnant they way we were having sex. Also, I would never have sex with Joe Collins, your father on the other hand.”

 

“DAD!”

 

“Oh, grow up. I was high as hell that night, I thought he was someone else.”

 

“A woman?”

 

“Mostly.”

 

“Why do we not have popcorn?” Ian said, with a huge grin on his face. He was elbowed by Leo, causing his smile to lessen but only a little.

 

“Lindsay, you haven’t gone yet,” Ted said, trying to calm the room.

 

“I slept with Brian.”

 

“That’s no fun, we all knew that,” Michael said.

 

“Fine, I was top.”

 

The ground needed to open up and swallow him whole. She would bring that up, too much tequila and not enough things to do around campus at 3am. Yes, he let Lindsay peg him when they were in school. It was only the once and she had begged because some girlfriend told her she was terrible in bed. All eyes were on him, some looked confused but not his friends and some of his mother’s side.

 

“How could she top?” his grandmother asked. No, he was wrong, now he wanted the earth to swallow him whole.

 

“Well, you see Mom, when a-

 

“Don’t finish that,” he growled at his Uncle Scott who he seemed to have more in common with than he originally thought. Maybe he would actually get to punch someone today after all. He was just glad his father’s sister and her spawn turned down the invite.

 

“Justin is sure taking a lot of time,” Daphne said just before they heard a noise in the kitchen.

 

As he got up, Justin stuck his head out of the door. “Um…Brian, would you mind calling the police.”

 

Going to the door he tried to push passed Justin, but the younger man wouldn’t let him. “Let me in,” he demanded.

 

“I don’t think that’s a good idea until the police do a crime scene thing.”

 

Carl got up and put his game face on. “What’s going on in there?” he asked, detective voice strong, even though he was retired.

 

“It’s nothing, really. I just kind of killed someone.”

 

There was no stopping everyone rushing the kitchen, even with Carl yelling about it being a crime scene. He was glad the nanny was upstairs with the boys. Noticing Mel and Lindsay by the door he turned and looked back at the table for Gus and JR.

 

His grandmother had taken Lindsay seat and was cleaning JR’s face. She looked up at him and smiled. “I’ve seen enough dead bodies to last me a lifetime.”

 

“Were you in the medical field?” he asked hopefully.

 

“No. Best leave it at that. Go on and see what your young man did. If he needs a lawyer I know a good criminal one.”

 

There were more layers to that woman than to the Earth. But knowing the kids were safe with the maybe-murderer, he pushed his way into the kitchen.

 

Carl kneeled down and felt for the man in caterer’s clothes pulse. The ex-detective took a deep breath. “He’s not dead just knocked out. What happen?” He asked as he stood up.

 

“Fine, I got a pen pal and we talked for a while until I started to visit him. He showed his cellmate my picture and let him read my letters. He got out a while back and started stalking me. Even before he started to send me weird letters. Once he was out he said he would rob a bank and we would live the rest of our lives together. I told him it was stupid. He was picked up today because they think he robbed a bank a few days ago. But they let him go and I didn’t know that. I didn’t know until we all were at the table. I went to talk to Ethan in the kitchen and he left my stalker came in. He was wearing a caterer’s outfit, guess he thought he could blend in, which he did. I almost had him talked into leaving me alone when he wanted one for the road. When he got too handsy, I hit him with that.” Justin said, pointing at a cast iron skillet. The man would be lucky if he remembers his name. “I’m I in trouble?”

 

“I say no but it’s up to the current police. It sounds like you are defending yourself. I know I’m going to regret this, but does anyone have handcuffs?” Carl asked.

 

“Not here,” Hunter said, talking for the first time today.

 

“I do.” Emmett said, pulling a red fur pair of handcuffs seemingly out of nowhere. “They really do the job.”

 

Carl sighed and resigned himself to his life now and took the handcuffs. “You all go back in there and finish dinner. I have to stay in here and wait for the police. Do stick around in case they have questions.”

 

Brian glared at his trouble making husband. This was supposed to be him showing off how much better he was than them. That was until his husband’s new prison boyfriend showed up.

 

“So, where were we?” Jennifer said, looking uncomfortable but trying her best to fix everything, much like her son.

 

“You haven’t told us your regret, Mom,” Molly said. “I don’t have one but when I do I have so many ideas now.”

 

“Don’t you dare young lady,” her mother chastised. “When I was nineteen I was dating a man named…Viper,” she said, a red tent covering her cheeks. “Don’t interrupt me,” she said stopping both of her children when they looked like they were going to ask questions. “He was sweet, my parents hated him. So, when I was nineteen I ran away with him to Las Vegas and got married. It was annulled soon after, my parents insisted, and I could never not listen to them.”

 

“Mom how could you?” Justin asked, his blue eyes wide.

 

“Don’t you start with me. What I did was tame compared to you.”

 

“True. So, this is what we’re doing telling stories?” Justin asked.

 

“Regrets we have when we were nineteen,” Debbie said.

 

Justin shifted in his chair. Brian could feel how tense he was. “You don’t have to say yours, we all know it,” he said to his husband.

 

“What?”

 

Brian nodded to Ian before looking back at Justin.

 

“You think Ethan was my regret from that time? Well, he’s not. If I didn’t have that experience I wouldn’t know how much you really loved me. You’ve already said it at least five times now, no take backs.”

 

“If I wasn’t the regret, do you even have one?” Ian asked.

 

“Doesn’t everyone?”

 

“Well, spill most of us already have,” Mel told him.

 

Justin looked at Gus and JR. “Should they be hearing any of this?” he asked.

 

“They’re wearing earphones and listening to kids’ stories. So, tell us,” Lindsay said. Brian was shocked, he hadn’t even noticed when they did it. Probably when they all sat back down.

 

“Well, I wasn’t nineteen yet. Just a few weeks shy. My dad cut my tuition off, so I got a job as a go-go dancer at Babylon, this was before Brian bought it. I was invited to a party by the boss, and he said I could have the weekend off to finish my project. I should have never taken the drink from him. I already knew I was in too deep with the coke. But I took it, and everything got really unfocused. I was led into a room with sex swings and the Sap and some gross friend of his tried to put me in. I could see others already in them, they were so out of it. I hadn’t yet felt the full effect, so I kicked the Sap in the nose and ran out of there. Lou the bouncer at Poppers lived near and was passing by. He saw how I was and asked if I wanted to go to the hospital or the police. I told him no, I just wanted to go home. I was too out of it after that, but he already knew the way and what floor thanks to our “man connoisseur” over there,” Justin said with a smirk.

 

Any other time he would have made a joke, but nothing was funny about what Justin had told them. Every face around them had a deep emotion about them. Ranging from Rage, horror, and sadness.

 

“I’ll kill the bastard,” Debbie said taking the words right out of his mouth.

 

“No, you won’t. It doesn’t matter anymore. He lost the club and Brian bought it and I heard before he went to prison for tax evasion four of his former employees had gone to the police and accused him of rape. Turns out all they needed was that homophobe Stockwell out of the department.”

 

“I told my parents I would be interning at St. Peter’s but instead I went backpacking across Europe with my boyfriend,” Daphne said. She clearly knew Justin’s story already; he was jealous of that. He knew it was stupid because at least Justin had her to talk to during that time.

 

“But you don’t regret that,” Justin pointed out, his smile returning.

 

“Not one-bit, best summer ever.”

 

“I’m so going to tell mom and dad,” Jacob said with an evil grin.

 

“Then I’ll tell them you never had a job in Italy, that you went there because you met a model and followed her there.”

 

“You wouldn’t dare.”

 

“Wouldn’t I?”

 

Alright, you two stop. I feel like I’m watching my children argue,” Matt’s wife said.

 

“What’s yours Michael?” Ben asked his husband.

 

“I don’t have one.”

 

“Bullshit, his biggest regret at nineteen was fucking that goth guy at Babylon. He broke Michael’s skin while trying to suck his blood.”

 

“I hate people touching my neck, now I have another fear,” Molly shook her head.

 

“I never said it was his neck.”

 

“God, just shut the fuck up Brian. I’ll tell yours.”

 

“Go ahead, I have nothing I regret.”

 

“Simon Valentine.”

 

“Fine.”

 

“Oh, no. You’re not getting away without telling us who Simon Valentine is,” Justin said, raising his eyebrows.

 

“It’s nothing.”

 

“Simon Valentine was the kid that got the internship for Ryder in the first place. Brian convinced him to go to Los Angeles and live out his dream of acting. He came back five years later after escaping a cult.”

 

“Look I’m not proud of it but I’d do it again. He cheated to get that spot. All I did was take what was rightfully mine.”

 

“You’re a psycho,” Justin said but Brian knew it wasn’t what he really thought because the smile on his face.

 

“Your turn Zen Ben,” he said to get attention off him.

 

“I broke up with my college boyfriend because he was too clingy. After a lifetime worth of horrible boyfriends, I realize now how good of a guy he was.” Ben looked at Michael. “Not you, you’re the best.”

 

“I’ll go next,” Hunter said, a gleam in his eyes that didn’t mean anything good. He had stopped hustling at fifteen so at least it wouldn’t be one of those stories.

 

“I stole a motorcycle, wrecked it then told the owner that his roommate stole it. The guy kicked his roommate out and the dude became homeless.”

 

“Correction, you’re the psycho,” Justin said to Hunter. “What happened to the man after that?”

 

“Not a clue.”

 

“He’s fine. Got a job and was able to get a place of his own,” Ben told them.

 

Hunter’s head swung around and looked at Ben in confusion. “How do you know?”

 

“You told me when it happened. I couldn’t let a nineteen-year-old college kid suffer because of you. You are my son.”

 

“Who else hasn’t gone?” Daphne asked.

 

“I sold my Aunt Lula’s jewelry she left me for the bus ride and living money when I came to Pittsburgh. I wish I still had it; I regret it to this day.”

 

“Honey, if your stories about her were true, I’m sure that’s why she left them to you. She wanted you to have a better life than you would in Hazlehurst,” Debbie said gently.

 

Carl came back into the dining room. “The police just arrived; they’ll want to question all of you.”

 

“Carl, you haven’t gone. Share your big regret at nineteen.” Ted said.

 

I was smoking in my mother’s house, which she didn’t allow. When she came into my room without warning I threw the joint out the window. It landed in front of my little sister. She knew what it was and smoked it. So, I had to explain to my mother why my eleven-year-old sister was giggling and couldn’t remember what she was talking about. Got kicked out after that, joined the Army, then the department and that was that. Now, get ready to answer some questions.”

 

 

 

After the police left, the party died down. His grandmother and her family left just leaving his group. The nanny left and now all of them were just the gang. Daphne and her brother had even left. Justin’s mom was gushing over the twins. Gus was running around introducing everyone to his brothers. That caused JR to do the same, they were all one big family so no one tried to explain it to her.

 

“I’m still very angry you kept these two from me. I missed those sweet newborn weeks,” Jennifer said.

 

“Me too. You’re lucky there are witnesses or I’d tear a strip out of you two,” Debbie added.

 

They all seemed to be forgiving them, just giving them a little trouble. This day didn’t go anyway he thought it was. Found out his mom was a lesbian. His uncle was a little AC/DC. His cousin was fucking Ian. This better be the last family dinner with him. And his idiot husband doesn’t know you should not make friends with felons who like to show their crazy cellmates their letters.

 

“Justin, this is the last time you’re going to date a felon right?” he asked.

 

There was a defiant look in his husband eyes. “Maybe, maybe not. He wasn’t that bad.”

 

“UNTIL HE TRIED TO KIDNAP YOU!” Debbie yelled upsetting the babies. Among other things, he didn’t say that she was already worried for Justin.

 

“Ok, I might have made a mistake. Let’s just drop it.”

 

“I’m officially never doing this again. I don’t want anyone coming here again,” Brian told them as he grabbed Justin and pulled him down on his lap.

 

“Justin?” Blake said, looking at him intently. None of them asked what Blake’s regret was because that was when he started doing meth, so they knew it.

 

“Huh? Oh, yeah.” Justin got back off his lap, slipping out of Brian’s arm. “Be right back.”

 

“What’s going on?” Ted asked his boyfriend.

 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” The smile on his face was giving away whatever it was he thought was good news.

 

Suddenly music started playing and a loud voice filled the room. Opera, he hated opera, but he knew someone who loved it. What the hell was going on? Before he could ask it out loud he had his answer. Blake was on one knee with a ring box that had a set of matching sterling silver rings in it. It was a wedding ring.

 

The music lowered and Blake began to speak. “We’ve been through so much, separately, and together. We have the worst meeting story ever, but you gave me another chance. More than I deserved. We’ve both felt the bottom of the world, but we made it through.” Brian decided to keep the fact that the bottom of the world was just Australia to them. “Will you, Theodore Schmitt marry me and be my husband?”

 

Ted looked stunned but quickly came out of it. “Yes. Yes. A million times yes.” There were cheers and kissing, it was all very nauseating. But he guessed it made them happy.

 

Finally, Justin came back in carrying a painting. It was of Ted and Blake in black tuxes in front of a waterfall.

 

“Oh, it’s beautiful,” Lindsay gushed while Ted just nodded looking like he was speechless.

 

It was a long twenty-minute wedding talk and questioning Blake how long he had been planning it. But the painting only made him remember the one upstairs. The one with dead faces and people at their worst.

 

“Sunshine,” he said lightly, hoping only Justin could hear him.

 

“Yeah?” Justin said, his sunshine smile in place.

 

“Ethan and Leo went into your studio. When I went in there they had the painting you had been working on uncovered.”

 

“Which one?”

 

“I thought there was only one.”

 

“No, I’m working on a series. The first is about the devastation when things are out of your control. The second piece is finding your own peace. Do you want to see?” He could tell Justin didn’t like that he saw his painting.

 

“I want to wait until you’re ready to show. They sound amazing.”

 

The doorbell rang, bringing them out of the moment.

 

“Who the fuck is it now?” he snapped.

 

“I’ll get it,” Justin said, giving him a kiss before getting up. “And when I get back I want to hold one of my kids,” he said looking at those who had been passing the babies around.

 

Justin came back with Claire following him. He was surprised she was there; he didn’t think she would be after not turning up earlier.

 

“Didn’t think I’d see you today,” he said, not getting up.

 

“I just wanted to tell you I’m moving.”

 

“Thought you already did.”

 

“No, further. I’m going to move to Ireland, since Grandpa Kinney was born their I can get a visa. I need a change.”

 

Brian looked at her, he noticed she looked freer than he had ever seen her. “But you don’t know anyone there.”

 

“Great Uncle Brian offered me a place to stay.” He forgot about the old coot. The man was crazier than a bag of bedbugs. “Turns out he spent years trying to get mom to move them with him, he knew what Daddy was like. We could have been somewhere that getting a drink of water didn’t earn a smack or a punch. I don’t think I’ll ever forgive her for not taking him up on it. That’s why I am, I won’t have my own son live that life. His father could get to him here, but he won’t bother if we’re out of the country, too lazy. I just wanted to say good luck, and I’m sorry about John.”

 

“It wasn’t that you believed him, that you should have done now I think on it. It was that you taught him to hate me because I was gay. You were the only one who knew, and you still taught him that.”

 

“I know it won’t make up for it but I’m sorry. I did what I thought to protect my sons.”

 

She wasn’t talking about the arrest, she was talking about his abusive husband, their mother, and their father. If John had their own views, then he wouldn’t be smacked around.

 

“Alright, you’ve said what you came to say,” he told her. She ducked her head and sighed. He didn’t know what she expected.

 

“I hope this is the thing you need to start a new life…a happy one for both of you,” Justin said, getting up and hugging Claire who accepted the hug. What the fuck was going on? Justin really was too much of a softie. After she was gone they were quiet for a while.

 

“Dad, did you see my brothers?” Gus said, climbing up on his lap.

 

“I did, do you like them?”

 

“Uh huh, I’m going to be the best big brother to them. Mama said I already am to JR. I’m going to show them how to draw and play hide and seek. Oh, and teach them to always wrap it up.” There was a burst of laughter around the room.

 

Mel glared at Brian, but he was innocent here. If someone had told his son to always wrap it up it wasn’t him. “Not me.”

 

Justin sighed and raised his hand hesitantly, earning glares from Lindsay and Mel. “I forgot little ears were listening. I took Gus out for hot chocolate and a teen I work with at the center found me. He was gushing about his new boyfriend and said they were going to start going…you know. I told him never trust anyone, I don’t care if you’ve been with him for five days, five months, five years or five decades. Until you can trust that person with your life, always wrap it up.”

 

“I guess it’s never too young,” Lindsay said with a sigh.

 

“Dad?”

 

“Yeah, Gus,”

 

“Wrap what up?”

 

 

 

Finally, everyone was gone just leaving him, Justin, and the twins. Austin was giggling as he chased Victor, since both had just started crawling it wasn’t much of a chase.

 

“Well, I think it was a successful holiday,” Justin said as he scooped up Victor who had just crawled headfirst into the coffee table.

 

“I see he takes after you,” Brian snarked.

 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Victor’s crying started to wane while in Justin’s arms. Even though he was angry with Justin he couldn’t help but think he had the perfect family. Never in his life had he thought it was possible until the day Justin came back from New York, telling him that he was more important than getting turned down by every agent he spoke with. He remembered laughing and telling Justin that it made him feel special.

 

After everything he threw at Justin he never really went away. Even when he ran away to New York the first time he used Brian’s credit card so the older man could find him. When the little twink left with Ian, the blond wasn’t gone for long. Everyone is young and dumb at some point in their lives. Then Justin left because he wanted more than Brian would give him. That was all on him, he wanted Justin to live the rest of his life as a friend with benefits. Now thinking back on it, he was proud Justin walked out. It made him know that Justin thought more of himself, that he was the gay man that Brian had always wanted him to be.

 

“What was that supposed to mean, Brian?” Justin asked again.

 

“You invited your stalker to our house.”

 

“No, I didn’t. I didn’t even tell him where I lived.”

 

“He’s a stalker Justin, he didn’t need you to. He could have killed you; don’t you know that? What are you going to do next? Serial killer for tea? Vacationing with terrorists? You scare me sometimes with your naivety.”

 

“I’m not as naive as you think. I made a mistake, if we are going over mistakes, let’s start with you-

 

“Let’s not. Fine, I’ll drop it, but you need to stop being so…

 

“Blond?”

 

“I was going to say idiotic but that works too.” Brian groaned, Justin had wanted the babies, Brian wanted Justin, so he gave a little. That little turned into twins and an overprotective husband. What he didn’t expect was he would also be overprotective, not just of the twins but of Justin too. He wouldn’t be able to handle losing Justin, and his husband had a knack for trouble.

 

“Do you think we should invite everyone back over for Christmas?” Justin asked, leaning his head on Brian’s shoulder.

 

Putting his arm around Justin’s neck and bringing him in for a kiss. “Fuck no,” he said as he pulled away. “I say we go to the Bahamas and turn off our phones.”

 

“That would be fine except your son will want you to be here and everyone will want to see the twins first Christmas.”

 

“Fuck everyone.”

 

“Not anymore.”

 

Brian rolled his eyes at Justin; he really was such a twat. “I just want you, the boys and Gus. No one else. Ask me again in five years.”

 

“You’re such a curmudgeon. I don’t see it being any better in five years.”

 

“Would you like to have them come over every holiday?”

 

“I like Leo but would prefer never to see Ethan again.”

 

“What did you two talk about before you were almost kidnapped by the convict?”

 

Justin sighed and buried his face into Brian’s chest before pulling away and mumbling something.

 

“I didn’t catch that?” Brian said, surely not hearing what he thought he did.

 

“I told him I was sorry.”

 

Brian’s head snapped up, looking at Justin in shock. “What the fuck do you have to apologize for to him?”

 

“I used him. I don’t think I realized it until I saw him again. I wanted what everyone else had, so instead of looking for the real thing, I made Ethan that person. I didn’t love him; I didn’t even love you at that point. I was infatuated with you, attracted to you, and just obsessed really. It wasn’t until after Ethan that I found out what love really was. It was you spending day after day walking me everywhere because I was terrified of walking alone. I had to lose you to find you.”

 

“No one is that gay, never say that again.”

 

Justin laughed, making Brian smile. He was grateful the blond understood him better than anyone. He would never be good with emotions but as long as he sometimes tried, Justin went with it.

 

“Alright, let’s watch Rudolph,” Justin said giddily.

 

“Are you a child?”

 

“Thanksgiving is over, it’s Christmas time now. Tomorrow I’m putting up the tree.”

 

“Is it too early to ask for a divorce?”