Grand Gesture: Gus
By: Julesmonster


It should have been a happy day. It should have been a wonderful day for all of them, but it hadn't been. The twins had cried the entire way to the preschool for their first day away from Justin and Juliette, and Justin had cried the entire way to the studio. And then Brian got the call from Gus' school. His ten-year-old son had been in a fist fight and they couldn't reach his mothers. So Brian had to reschedule an important meeting with a client to go pick up his son, who had been suspended from school. Needless to say, he wasn't happy and the day was less than wonderful.

"Mr. Kinney?" the principal greeted him at the front door to the elementary school. "I'm sorry to have to pull you away from your work."

"It's fine," Brian sighed. "Can you tell me what happened?"

"From what we can gather from the other children, Michael Stewart, one of Gus' friends made a comment about Gus' brother and sister," the woman said. "Gus apparently reacted badly and took swing at Michael. The teacher had to break up the fight. Gus has never behaved in such a violent nature, and he refuses to tell us what provoked him. Unfortunately, school policy is very clear about fighting. Even a first offense requires a two day suspension."

"I'll talk to him," Brian said. "Where is he?"

"In my office," the principal said. Brian followed her down the hall and through the main office. Gus was sitting slouched on the sofa when Brian saw him. When he saw his dad in the door, he seemed to slump even further.

"Gus," Brian said firmly. "We need to go."

"Gus has his homework for the next two days," the principal told Brian. "He needs to keep up with his work. And we'll se him back in class on Friday morning."

"Thank you," Brian said and waited for Gus to pick up his backpack and follow him out of the office.

Once they were in the car, Brian waited until they were on the highway towards Britin before he spoke again. "Care to tell me what this is all about?"

Gus just shrugged. And stared out the side window away from his father.

"How about what Michael said that made you angry?" Brian tried again.

Gus ignored him again.

"Fine. If that's the way you want it to be, there will be no TV, no game system, and no computer until you are ready to talk."

Gus' eyes widened. Brian almost never punished him. And even when he did, it was usually something small, like having to clean up his room, or the bathroom. He was rarely grounded for anything. Well, his moms grounded him, but not his dad.

"Sure you don't want to talk?" Brian tried one last time as they pulled up in front of the house.

Gus looked at him with tears in his eyes. "Michael said you and Justin love the twins more than me."

Brian's shoulders slumped. Of course. The books Justin had insisted they read had all warned that this might become an issue. Okay, so what was he supposed to do to reassure his son that it wasn't true?

"And you believed him?" Brian asked as he got out of the car. Gus clambered out of the tiny back seat and looked at his dad.

"They get to live with you," Gus shrugged. "It would be natural for you to love them more."

"No it wouldn't," Brian disagreed. "I love you just as much as I love Evie and Jamie. You were my son first and you will always be my son, no matter where you live."

Gus shrugged, clearly not buying it. "Sure."

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Lindsey picked Gus up after work. Juliette had taken the SUV to pick up Justin and the twins from preschool a little before that, and Brian was left alone to think about what his son had said. He took out the books on parenting Justin had shelved in the den and reread the appropriate sections. By the time Justin got home with the twins, Brian wasn't sure what he could do besides what he had already done.

"Juliette is giving the twins a bath, and we picked up pizza for dinner," Justin said as he sat on Brian's lap. "So we have a few minutes alone if you want to talk about it."

"I just don't know what to do to help him," Brian said. "And these fucking books are useless. I told him he was just as important, but he didn't believe me."

"Then it think it's time we figured out a way to show him," Justin said. "You are much better at showing than telling."

"But how?" Brian asked. "If I buy him stuff, the wicked witch accuses me of trying to buy his love. And we already have him three weekends a month. I'm not sure they will agree to any more time."

"Well, he'll be here this weekend," Justin said. "That gives you three days to figure out what we need to do. And don't think you're leaving me out of whatever plan you concoct. He included me, and it's important that he knows I love him too."

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Brian thought for a full day and came home from work on Wednesday with a plan of action to discuss with Justin. Gus' birthday was coming up and the munchers were planning a birthday party for the next weekend. The weekend following, Brian and Justin were taking Gus on a trip. Lindsey had agreed that it might be a good thing for the boy to spend some time alone with his two Dads.

Justin had approved Brian's plans and had even added a few touches that Brian hadn't considered. They spent Thursday and Friday setting their plans in action for both that weekend and the weekend away.

When Juliette drove up to the house Friday afternoon with Gus and the twins, Gus was still looking as down as he had on Tuesday. He climbed out of the SUV after the twins and made his way slowly into the house. Instead of going to the den, like he normally would, he told Justin he was going to his room to work on homework.

He hadn't been in there for more than an hour before Jamie ran into the room screaming, "Save me! Save me Gus!"

Gus raised his eyebrows in an unintentional reflection of his father. "From what, Jamie?"

Jamie landed on Gus' bed and hid himself behind Gus' back. He whispered very seriously, "The tickle monster!"

Justin burst into the room with Evie right at his heels. "Ah ha! There you are! Gus can't save you!"

And then Justin was on top of both of them, tickling two squirming boys. Evie piled onto the heap of male bodies and tried to help her two bothers, but was soon caught up in the laughter and squeals of uncle. Eventually, they were all breathing hard, little shocks of laughter still erupting occasionally, and laying on Gus' bed in a pile.

"Okay," Justin said. "Time for dinner. Your Dad went to pick up Chinese and should be back by now. We're having a picnic in the den and watching a movie tonight."

Gus, feeling better, smiled at Justin and let Evie drag him out of the room and down the stairs.

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Justin looked over his family with a small smile. Brian was dozing on the sofa with Evie and Jamie curled up on his chest, the two blonds sleeping peacefully through the end of the movie. Evie was drooling on Brian's shirt, a fact he would no doubt bitch about later, but Justin knew it wouldn't keep him from letting the girl sleep on his chest again next time. Jamie, who had an oral fixation they couldn't break, had his thumb half in, half out of his mouth. Gus was sitting next to Justin on the love seat, watching the last minutes of the movie through tired eyes, his head perched on Justin's shoulder. Justin loved times like this. Times when it seemed like the rest of the world didn't exist.

"Should we wake them?" Gus asked. Justin must have missed the end of the movie, because when he looked back at the TV, the credits were rolling.

"No, your Dad and I will put them to bed in a little bit," Justin said. "Why don't we go get you ready for bed?"

"I don't need help," Gus said. "I'm not a baby."

Justin smiled as he pulled Gus to his feet. "I know that. Maybe I can just keep you company for a bit."

Gus nodded. "Okay." They went up the stairs and Justin watched as Gus pulled out his pajamas and went to the bathroom to change and to brush his teeth. When he came back to the bedroom, Justin was sitting on the side of the bed and patted it. Gus tossed his dirty clothes into the hamper and went to sit beside Justin.

"Get into bed," Justin instructed. "I want to tell you a bedtime story." Gus rolled his eyes but did as instructed. "Okay. Once upon a time, long ago, as many as ten years ago, a baby was born."

"Me right?" Gus said in a bored tone.

"Yes, you," Justin grinned and ruffled Gus' hair. "The night you were born was the night I first met your Dad. I was lucky and he brought me to the hospital with him."

"That's when you helped pick out my name?" Gus asked.

"It is," Justin agreed. "It was also the night I fell in love with two very special people."

"My Dad, and…?"

"You," Justin said. "I loved you from the moment that I saw you. And I loved your Dad from the moment he first held you. His face was filled with joy and wonder that I don't think he knew was there. You've seen the picture Uncle Mikey took. Well, how could I not love the two of you? And Gus, in the ten years since that night, I've learned to love both you and your Dad more everyday. That hasn't changed because Evie and Jamie came along. And it won't change because you live in a different house most of the time. Nothing is going to change the way I feel about you."

Gus looked down at the comforter clasped in his small hands. "Can I… can I call you Papa, like the twins do?"

Justin's eyes filled up with tears and he swallowed back a lump in his throat. "I would love it if you would."

Gus looked up at Justin with tears in his own eyes and wrapped his arms around his papa. "Thank you, Papa. That was a good story."

Justin kissed the top of Gus' head and tucked him in. "Goodnight, Gus."

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"Get your jacket and let's go," Brian told Gus after breakfast the next morning.

Gus looked up at his dad with a frown. He had felt better about things with Justin after last night, but he was still pretty shaky overall. "Where are we going?"

"Shopping," Brian said.

Gus groaned but one look from Brian silenced any real protest. "What are we shopping for?"

"Clothes," Brian said. "I am going to introduce you to the fine art of designer fashion. Your mothers have filled your head with their hippy-chic madness long enough."

"If you say so," Gus shrugged and followed Brian out to the Corvette. He was glad that he was finally big enough not to have to crawl into the minuscule back seat and clicked the seatbelt closed on the passenger side.

They talked a little on the way to Station Square where Brian swore the best shops in Pittsburgh were located. It was light and meaningless stuff: stuff about school and the twins and Justin. There was nothing even remotely emotional about the entire trip, yet Gus somehow felt like he was being given a gift. He couldn't remember the last time he and his dad had spent a day alone together. It was usually the family, and before the twins, it had been his dad and Justin—the thought of his talk with Justin, Papa, the night before made Gus smile—and he loved those times, but this was even better.

Once they had arrived, Brian began filling Gus in on the pros and cons of the various shops and their merchandise. "Never, ever buy something from the Gap. That is not real fashion. That is the clothing world's version of fast food."

Brian led Gus to another store and began showing him some of the designer labels that Brian considered to be important. "Gucci, Armani, Versace, Zegna, John Varvatos, Dolce and Gabbana, Hugo Boss, Paul Smith, Marc Jacobs, Roberto Cavalli, Ferragamo, Fendi…these are the names that I want you to remember, Gus. These are the best of the best. There are others that we will learn about later that occasionally have something worthwhile to offer."

Brian went over cut and color and style. He explained fit was as important as the label and how tailoring was essential. And then Brian did something completely out of character. He told Gus to pick out an outfit for Brian and one for himself. "Whatever you want, I'll buy it and we'll wear them tomorrow. Here's your chance to make me look like a twat. But I hope you'll take into consideration the things I talk about."

Gus nodded and began looking in the kid's section first. He wasn't looking to wear anything as dressy as a suit. Why his dad wore one to work everyday boggled the boy's mind. But he did want to make his dad proud. He had been paying attention.

He found that most of the big names his dad touted didn't make stuff for kids. But his dad said this was a good store, so he relied on the stuff about cut and color and fit. He walked around the department three times, Brian trailing along behind him, before he began picking up hangers. Three pairs of jeans, two pairs of khakis, three sweaters and the long sleeved t-shirts. He handed them all to Brian and then went back to the men's section and repeated the entire process, with Brian by his side helping him find the right sizes. Then they went back to the dressing rooms to try on their various outfits.

They actually laughed and teased each other as they came and went from the cubicles to show off the outfits. Brian was pleased at how well Gus had done, and made sure to praise him. When it was all said and done, Gus picked a white silk t-shirt under a black cashmere v-neck sweater with black jeans for his dad. For himself he found a black and white striped jersey with a white t-shirt underneath and a pair of black jeans. Brian smiled and then bought all of the clothes they had tried on.

"Now for Justin," Brian said. "You pick just one outfit for tomorrow."

"What's so special about tomorrow?" Gus asked even as he began looking at clothes he thought would look good on his papa.

"You'll find out tomorrow," Brian told him.

Gus picked another pair of black jeans and a black athletic sweater with a single white stripe across the chest for Justin. Then Brian led him back to the kids section and he picked out a white sweater with two black stripes and black t-shirt for Jamie to go with a pair of black jeans. Brian paid for the clothes and turned to Gus.

"Now for the tough part," Brian said. "We need to get something for Evie. They don't carry any girl clothes here, kid or grownup. So we'll have to find another store. But there is one down the way that sells designer kids clothes that I think could work."

Gus followed his dad to the other store. Gus was immediately assaulted by the frilly dresses and pink confections that the store had on display. "Dad, are you sure we can find something here? This is so… pink!"

"I know," Brian sighed. "You don't know how hard it was for me to keep Justin from going overboard after we found out one of the twins was a girl. The occasional pink dress is cute. And entire closet is absolutely disgusting. I promise, though, they do have other clothes."

"No dress," Gus declared. "If we're all wearing jeans, Evie should too."

"I told you, whatever you want," Brian said and let Gus wander around the store a few times as he began to find what he wanted. The black jeans were easy enough to find for the toddler, but getting just the right sweater seemed to be a bit harder.

"I don't know Dad," Gus sighed. "I don't think polka dots are right, but I want to stick with black and white like the rest of our family."

Brian grinned. Gus didn't even realize that he was beginning to think of them as a whole, a cohesive family. "We can try another store."

Just then Gus discovered a little white sweater with stylized black hearts on one shoulder. "This is it!" A black t-shirt later and they were ready to go.

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After they ate lunch out, Gus got to show his two overly excited siblings what he and their Dad had bought for them to wear on Sunday. Justin smiled as he watched Brian watch his son with open pride. Gus was telling the uncomprehending toddlers about cut and style, things he had obviously been taught by Brian.

The next day, they were all dressed in their new almost-matching outfits, looking like a cheesy Stepford family and piled into Justin's SUV. "Where are we going?" Gus asked as soon as they left the driveway.

"You'll see," Brian said.

Twenty minutes later they pulled up outside a photography studio. Gus almost groaned, but he knew better. Besides, this weekend had really been fun so far, and maybe his dad could make this fun too.

And it was fun. The photographer joked around with them, getting them to mile and laugh. He took pictures of all of them together, and then all of them separately. He took pictures with Gus and each of his two dads, then Brian with the twins and Justin with the twins. Gus' favorite part, however, was taking pictures with just him and the twins.

When it was all over, the photographer smiled at them and promised he'd have prints for them soon.

Afterwards, they all went to dinner at Debbie's house before Brian drove them to Melanie and Lindsey's to drop Gus off.

"We'll be here next weekend for your birthday party," Brian promised his son. "And then the weekend after that, we're all going to go away for a few days."

"We are?" Gus asked with surprise. "Where?"

"That's a surprise," Justin told him with a smile. "Now give us all hugs. And remember, you can call either your Dad or me if you need us. Or even if you just want to talk. Anytime."

Gus nodded and gave out the mandatory hugs before going into the house, his backpack slung over his shoulder.

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Lindsey had outdone herself with the party this year. Brian knew she was attempting to help Gus accept his place in both families, but Brian was pretty sure that his plan was already working to make Gus feel secure. Brian and Justin were late arriving, as the party was scheduled to start before the end of the twins' normal nap time, but Gus seemed to sense the moment they arrived, because he left the cluster of boys in the back yard to greet them.

Jamie and Evie immediately latched on to their older brother and spent the next two hours following him around, except for the moments they were lured away by gullible adults with cake. Brian and Justin gave Gus his gift from the twins with the other gifts, but told him they would give him his gift from them after the party. As a result, Gus rushed through the last stages of the party as quickly as his mothers would allow.

Justin frowned, not liking this turn of events, but Brian just smirked. He hated all those annoying kids running around hopped up on sugar.

Once everyone but immediate family had gone, Gus turned to his dad expectantly. Brian grinned. "Okay, Sonny boy. There are actually two gifts from your papa and me. This is the first."

Brian handed Gus a big flat box wrapped in bright paper. Gus was sure that Justin must have wrapped it; it was too messy to be store wrapped and his dad simply didn't do wrapping. He tore off the paper and lifted the lid from the fancy white cardboard box inside. The first thing he found was a framed picture. It was one of the ones taken the week before of Brian, Justin, Gus, Evie and Jamie. They were all laughing and smiling at the photographer. Gus remembered that the man had made some joke about Burt and Ernie—including silly voices—that he hadn't totally understood, but he found funny anyway.

Under the framed picture was a picture album. He carefully opened the cover and flipped through the pages. It was filled with pictures of him with his dad or with Justin at first. Then there were pictures with him and the twins. There was one of him holding Evie the day the twins came home from the hospital. There was one of him pushing Jamie on the swing at the park. Then there were more pictures that had been taken the week before at the studio. Again, his favorite was the one with him and the twins. He was crouching down to tell them something and they were looking at him with something akin to hero worship. It made him proud to be their big brother.

He'd always felt that way with JR. And he'd mostly felt that way with the twins. Suddenly, he wasn't sure why he had let Michael's words hurt him so much.

He got up and hugged his two dads as hard as he could. "Thank you."

"It's just a little reminder that no matter where you sleep at night, you are a part of this family," Brian said pointedly. "And we love you."

Justin agreed with a nod. "And now for the fun part of your present." Justin handed Gus an envelope.

Gus looked at the envelope with a frown. Fun gifts didn't usually come in envelopes. With a tiny shrug he began to tear at the paper. There was no card inside, just a small slip of paper with four words on it. "We're going to Disney."

"We're going to Disney?" Gus asked with breathless excitement. "When? How? When?"

"I told you we were going away next weekend," Brian said and then bit his lips to hold back his own grin.

"We're actually leaving on Saturday," Justin explained. "And we'll be there for a week. You'll have to do some work to keep up with your classmates, especially after missing two days already."

"I'll do it on the plane," Gus promised. "And before bed."

"Juliette is going with us to help with the twins," Brian said. "So that we can take a couple afternoons while they nap to do the big kid stuff I know you'll want to do."

"This is so AWESOME!" Gus shouted and hugged Brian and Justin in turn. "Oh and the twins are going to love meeting Mickey Mouse! They're going to have a great time too! This is so great!"

"Happy birthday, Sonny boy."

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"I don't think he's going to sleep all week," Lindsey complained later. "You are officially out of the doghouse with him."

"This time the grand gesture wasn't really necessary," Justin pointed out. "It was subtle manipulations that made the difference."

"I think he knows we love him," Brian shrugged, echoing his son's favorite form of communication. "That's what matters."

"And we get to go to Disney World," Justin grinned. "I think that's my favorite part."

"You want to see Mickey, too?" Brian teased.

"Hell yes," Justin said. "And then, when the kids are all in bed and Juliette watches over them, you and I can spend a little grownup time in Downtown Disney."

"And then we can spend a little grownup time in our suite," Brian said with a leer.

"Enough," Mel groaned. "I really don't need to hear anymore."

"What's the matter, Mel," Brian mocked. "You want to meet Mickey too?"

"God you are twisted," Mel said with exasperation. "Only you can make the happiest place on earth sound dirty."

"It's a gift," Brian smirked.



The End