A Time of Adversity
Julesmonster


“Adversity is like a strong wind. It tears away from us all but the things that cannot be torn, so that we see ourselves as we really are.” Arthur Golden

Part One

Brian stared at the bills that had come in the morning mail and sighed. If he and Justin tightened their already tight budget any more they wouldn’t be able to feed themselves. They had already cut out everything but the bare necessities. Brian had even, after much persuasion from Justin, given in and begun shopping for groceries and toiletries at the Big Q. The worst part about that change was the loss of his Voss water, imported beer and guava juice. Two months after Brian had put everything on the line to stop Jim Stockwell from being elected mayor, they were still reeling financially.



Brian had risked everything, including his job at Vanguard. He didn’t regret it. At all. The way Justin had looked at him when he had begun helping him plaster anti-Stockwell posters to the wall was more than enough to make up for any inconvenience now. Justin had been proud that Brian had stood up for their community and Brian was proud of himself. So even if it took them years to get out of debt, he thought it was worth it.



It was the debacle with Stockwell and Gardner Vance’s reaction to Brian’s stance that had been the impetus for Brian to finally take the leap and start his own agency. They were just starting out, but he had brought over a couple clients and Cynthia was with him again. A newly clean and sober Ted was on board, keeping track of the numbers. Best of all, Justin had taken an active role in the new agency, becoming Brian’s partner and acting as a one man art department. And they were already seeing some interest from new clients. The only problem was that until everything was a little more settled, any money that came in went directly towards keeping the business going. New offices and all the equipment had been a huge investment. Brian and Justin both drew a small salary, but it was a pittance and probably would still be for another six months or more.



“Justin,” Brian called out. The blond was in the kitchen working on dinner. Since their new financial situation, they couldn’t afford to order take out or eat out at restaurants so Justin was relegated to kitchen duty. He didn’t seem to mind much. In fact, Brian rather thought he enjoyed the domesticity of it.



“What’s up?” Justin asked as he wiped his hands on a dish towel and walked over to where Brian was working at the table. There were only a couple pieces of furniture in the loft these days. Brian had sold off all the old furniture when the bills had come due for the advertising spots; only the bed had been spared. Since they still needed some place to work, Justin had bought a junky old kitchen table and two chairs from a thrift store for fifty bucks.



“Have you heard anything from Mikey about the proceeds from Rage?” Brian asked. He hated to do it, since he had always intended that any money Justin earned from that would go towards his education. But Justin had been expelled from PIFA because of his political stance and was now fully committed to building Kinnetik. Since Brian had made Justin an equal partner, it was best for both of them.



“He sends a check once a quarter when he gets our share from the publisher,” Justin said. “I don’t expect anything until next month,” Justin said. “Are we that desperate?”



“We are,” Brian sighed. “I thought we’d have another month before some of these bills came due.”



Justin looked over Brian’s shoulder and saw what he meant. “I’m not sure how a couple hundred dollars is going to help, but every penny of it is going into the joint account when it comes.”



Brian frowned. “What do you mean? A couple hundred dollars?”



Justin shrugged. “That’s all I’ve ever gotten. Well, the first issue made a little more, but not much.”



Brian frowned again. “Do you have the contract you signed with Michael and with the publisher?”



Justin nodded and went to the file boxes were currently being stored. He quickly located the right file and handed it to Brian before going back to the kitchen to finish dinner.



Half an hour later, Brian had read through every word of the contracts and was even more confused than he had been before. Rather than blurting out his suspicions, Brian helped Justin clear off the table so that they could eat. He was quiet through dinner and Justin left him to his thoughts. It wasn’t until they were in bed after a rather satisfactory round of fucking that Justin brought up Brian’s brooding.



“Can you tell me what has you so pensive?” Justin asked as he lay with his head on Brian’s chest.



Brian stroked his fingers through Justin’s hair with one hand and reached for his cigarettes with his other. After he lit one, he said, “Something isn’t right with what you’re getting for Rage.”



“What do you mean?” Justin asked as he sat up and took the cigarette from Brian’s fingers for a drag.



“I mean that Rage is making a lot more money than those checks you’ve gotten would indicate,” Brian said as he stole the cigarette back. “You and Mikey are supposed to be getting 40% of the net profits to split. Even after you take out printing costs and all the other fees the publisher tacks on, that should be a good chunk of money. Rage hasn’t had an issue that has sold fewer than 50,000 copies. At $5 a copy, you can expect that at least half of that is net profit.  That’s $125,000 in profit per issue. You should be receiving 20% of that, or $20,000 for each issue. And there have been five issues so far so it should be close to $100,000.”



“That’s… Brian, I’ve never…” Justin was stunned by what Brian said. “You think someone’s stealing from us?”



“It gets worse,” Brian said quietly. “Your contract with the publisher states that payments would be made monthly, not quarterly.”



Justin was quiet as he thought about everything Brian told him. “You’re saying that if I had been receiving my fair share for the past year, we wouldn’t be in the mess we’re in. I could have been helping with the debt and everything all along.”



“I’m saying that I think someone is fucking stealing from you,” Brian said angrily. “I could give a shit about paying off the debt.” Justin gave him a look and Brian relented. “Okay, it would be nice not to have to worry about being able to pay the bills every month. But we’ll get there soon enough with or without this money. The point is that it isn’t right that you’ve been screwed out of your share of the profits.”



Justin nodded slowly. “So what do we do about it?”



They both knew that Michael was the most likely culprit. He had been eager to handle the business aspect of their partnership. The funds from the publisher came to him directly and he was supposed to split the proceeds between them.



“First thing tomorrow, we are calling the publisher and telling them that they need to send your percentage directly to you,” Brian said. “And then we’ll see.”



Justin nodded. “Maybe it was just a clerical error. Or somebody at the publishers.”



“Maybe,” Brian said. “We’ll see.”



Brian crushed out the cigarette butt and pulled Justin into his arms so that they could settle to sleep. Sleep was a long time in coming for either man, however. All Justin could think about was how hurt Brian would be if Michael was behind this. All Brian could think about was the new car Michael had bought and the improvements he had recently made to the store.



BJBJBJBJBJ



The next morning, they met in Brian’s office and made the call to the publisher together. “Hey Jake, it’s Justin Taylor here. I had a couple questions for you. My partner Brian is here as well.”



“Hey Justin,” Jake said cheerfully. “I saw the proofs for the next issue and they look spectacular.”



“Thanks,” Justin said. “I’m glad you think so.”



“I’m guessing that you didn’t call about that however,” Jake said. “What’s up?”



“We were wondering if you could do a couple things for us,” Brian said. “We’re getting ready for a meeting with our accountant and Justin misplaced his check stubs from his percentage. Could you fax over an accounting of the payments that have been made to Red Cape?”



“Sure,” Jake said. “I’ll have my assistant do that right away. It shouldn’t take more than an hour or so.”



“That’s great,” Justin said. “Also, can you send my next payment directly to me?”



Jake paused. “Is there a problem with you and Michael?”



“No problem,” Justin lied. “I just thought it would be easier on Michael if he didn’t have to bother with my portion.”



Jake sighed. “I never quite understood why he insisted that it be set up that way.”



“I thought that you guys were the ones who requested the single payment?” Justin said.



“No, we have no problem cutting two checks,” Jake said. “I’ll make the change before they mail out your next payment this week.”



“Thanks, Jake,” Brian said. “And the next time you’re in town, we should definitely go to dinner.”



“Plan on it,” Jake said before hanging up.



Justin turned towards Brian. “Michael definitely said that the publisher insisted on a single check.”



Brian nodded. “Let’s wait and see what the report says and then we’ll have to discuss what we’re going to do about it.”



“You mean confront him?” Justin asked.



“Maybe it would be better to do this through a lawyer,” Brian said irately. “I’m not sure I could see him right now without wanting to punch him.”



“I think we both deserve to hear his reasoning for this,” Justin said. “And no matter what, he’s your oldest friend. I think he deserves at least a chance to explain.”



“I don’t think it will do any good,” Brian said. “Fuck! How could he do that to you?”



Justin huffed a rueful laugh. “He hates me. He always has. I can understand it to some degree. As far as he’s concerned I stole you from him. I suppose this was just his way of getting back at me.”



Brian looked confused. “What do you mean, he hates you?”



“Brian…”



“What?” Brian said with confusion.



“Michael has hated me from the very first day,” Justin said with a sigh. “He’s always made snide remarks. And he’s done his level best to keep us apart.”

Brian nodded. “That’s just how he is. Like you said, he was jealous. But I thought he got over that when you two started to work on the comic together. You seemed to get along great then.”



“As long as it was about the comic, sure,” Justin said. “But that was only because I was doing something for him. The comments never really stopped, even before Ethan. Once the Rage Party happened and I left with Ethan, even working on the comic was like torture. He never let up. But he was always like that when we were alone. Brian, trust me on this, he hates me.”



“Why would you do the comic at all, then?” Brian asked.



Justin shrugged. “Because he’s your friend. I thought it would be a way for him to get over everything and see me as a person he could respect. Maybe we could get along for your sake. It resulted in a temporary truce, but obviously it was all a lie. He set this up from the beginning.”



Brian leaned back in his chair and ran his hands over his face in frustration. “It certainly looks that way. How could I have missed something like this?”



“You?” Justin huffed. “I’m the one who trusted him to handle the money. I never once thought to make sure he wasn’t cheating me.”



BJBJBJBJBJ



When the fax came through, their worst fears were confirmed. According to the publisher’s accounting, they had paid out more than $240,000 to Red Cape Comics over the past year. Justin had received less than $1500 from Michael.



“Now what?” Justin asked.



“Now we head over to beard the lion in his den,” Brian said grimly. “After that…” Brian shrugged. “We could press charges.”



As that thought hung in the air between them, the two men grabbed their jackets and explained where they were going to Cynthia before heading out. They would walk, since Brian’s Jeep had been a company vehicle and had gone away with his job at Vanguard. They had been walking a lot over the last couple months. Luckily, the shop wasn’t far from Liberty Ave.



Justin shook his head as they walked. “I couldn’t put the man in jail, no matter how much he’s stolen. I do want that money. We’re barely making ends meet right now.”



“So if he doesn’t pay up, we hire a lawyer,” Brian said. “What will happen to the comic if you two dissolve the partnership?”



“Under normal circumstances, one of would have to buy the other out,” Justin said. “With this, who knows? I know that I could probably still produce the comics without him. I may not have as much experience with comics as he does, but I’ve learned a lot over the last year and could certainly finish out the story lines we have going right now. If he bought me out, he’d have a harder time finding an illustrator. Especially since it will get around that he screwed me over.”



“Let’s see how this goes,” Brian said. “We’ll give him an opportunity to make things right. If he doesn’t, then we can bring in the lawyers.”



A few minutes later, they walked into the comic shop and Justin took a good look at some of the improvements that had been made over the past few months. He’d never thought much about it before, but now… Justin wondered how much of his money had been put into this shop. Had he paid for the gaudy new display cabinets? Had his money funded the new paint job or the purchase of all those new comic related toys?



“Hey Brian!” Michael gushed as soon as he saw the brunet. He didn’t even look at Justin. “What’s up?”



Brian put the copy of the publisher’s accounting he’d brought with him on the counter in front of Michael along with copies of the four checks he had written to Justin. “Explain this.”



Michael frowned at Justin, already blaming the blond for Brian’s attitude, before looking at the papers in front of him. Both Brian and Justin could tell when he realized what he was looking at because he paled noticeably. “These… These aren’t…”



“They’re right,” Brian said. “Jake forwarded them this morning. They’ve paid more than $240,000 to you over the last year. You, in turn, have kept that money and lied through your teeth while paying Justin a pittance.”



“He didn’t deserve any more than that,” Michael said defensively. “He just drew the pictures. It was my story! It was my fucking dream!”



“We both came up with Rage,” Justin said angrily. “And I worked my ass off to make it a success.”



“I don’t care who came up with the idea,” Brian said calmly. “The two of you created the fucking thing together. And you both signed a contract to share equally the rights and proceeds from it. Michael, according to my calculations, that means you now owe Justin $118,000. If you pay up in the next thirty days, we won’t charge interest.”



“I’m not paying that fucking twink anything,” Michael shouted. “I don’t have that kind of money!”



“Sell off some of these useless fucking toys that you probably over paid for,” Brian said. “It’ll at least be a start.”



“I’m not selling anything, and I’m not paying him anything,” Michael said stubbornly. “He’s a user. He used me and now he’s using you. Again!”



Justin was seething, but he had no chance to defend himself because Brian was already doing so. “He fucking helped you go for your fucking dream, you selfish asshole! And now he’s helping me achieve mine.”



“He’s a fucking stalker twink who just won’t go the fuck away,” Michael retorted. “I told you that you should have left him to die.”



Justin suddenly knew why Brian had punched Michael at the party at Mel and Lindsay’s a while back. He grabbed Brian’s arm before he could hit the man again. “He’s not worth it.”



“You stay the fuck out of this,” Michael turned on him.



“Stay out of it?” Justin laughed harshly. “I’m pretty sure it was me you stole money from and just admitted you wished was dead. I think I’m right smack dab in the center of this. You fucking lied to me and to Brian. You stole my money. Brian and I are struggling to make ends meet; we had to sell off our fucking furniture! And you never once thought…” Justin paused and collected himself. “We could press charges and get your ass sent to jail for embezzlement, but we decided not to do that. Don’t fucking make me regret that decision.”



“Fuck you,” Michael said.



“No, fuck you,” Brian said. “After all the shit you and I have been through, this is how you treat my partner? Well fuck you. You’ve got a month to get the money together. You’ll be hearing from our lawyer. Let’s go Sunshine.”



Justin nodded and followed Brian out of the shop.

Part Two



“He did what?” Melanie asked in disbelief. Brian and Justin had gone directly from Michael’s shop to see Melanie.



“Here’s all the paperwork,” Justin said as he handed her the file of papers, including the contracts, the accounting from the publisher and the checks Justin had received from Michael.



Melanie looked through it, but she knew that Brian and Justin had no reason to lie about something like this. “Are you asking me to represent you?”



Brian and Justin shared a look before Justin said, “We don’t want to put you in the middle of this, especially when you’re trying to get pregnant.”



Mel sighed. “I’m actually glad all this came out now. There’s no fucking way I’m having a kid with a man who would do something like this to his friends.”



“Mel…” Justin didn’t like the idea that they were causing so much turmoil for her.



Mel waved him off. “This isn’t your fault. And honestly, I’ve been having doubts about using Michael for a while. I mean, he and Debbie are a bit much to handle. This just pushed me past my limit for tolerance. As for acting as your lawyer, I’ll give you a name of a really great litigator; I don’t feel comfortable taking the case considering I’ve been friends with both parties, even if I think Michael is a snake for doing this.”



“Thanks,” Brian said. “We appreciate your help.”



Both Justin and Mel looked shocked at Brian’s gratitude, but neither of them commented upon it. “Well, um, just let me get that name for you. I’ll see if I can get you in to see him today.”



Once Mel was out of the office, Justin turned to Brian with a smile. “You were very nice to Melanie.”



Brian shrugged. “If she isn’t going to use Mikey as a sperm donor, that puts you back in the running. If that’s the case, I want to be on her good side. We could possibly work out shared custody.”



Justin nearly choked on his own tongue. “What?”



“You heard me,” Brian said with a smirk.



“You’d… you’d want that?” Justin asked carefully.



“Yeah,” Brian said. “I mean, how hard can it be? Besides, you’d make a great dad. And maybe they’d loosen up a little about Gus, too. Our kids might not share blood, but they would share parents at least.”



Justin’s smile was incandescent. “I think that would be really great. If they ask. I don’t want to get our hopes up.”



Brian shrugged again. “If it doesn’t work out, we’ll figure something else out later.”



When Melanie returned, she found Brian and Justin kissing rather passionately. She rolled her eyes at them before clearing her throat to get their attention. It still amazed her that Brian had changed so much just because of this one young man. Justin really was a special person.



BJBJBJBJBJ



“You do realize that this is an offense punishable by 4-6 years in prison,” Walter Reed told the two when they met him at his office a few days later. He had already reviewed all of the documents that Brian and Justin had faxed over the previous afternoon and was rather amazed at Michael Novotny’s audacity. He hadn’t really even done anything to hide what he had done. He had just hoped that no one would notice.



“We aren’t interested in putting him in jail,” Brian said. “He’s family. Not by blood, but in every other way. It would cause too much damage.”



“He’s been like a brother to Brian for a lot of years,” Justin explained. “Debbie, Michael’s mother, would be devastated. We couldn’t do that to her.”



Walter nodded. “Since this is a private partnership, it’s up to you whether or not you press charges. From what I can see here, however, it looks like a pretty clear case of embezzlement. We should be able to easily win repayment of the funds, interest, and punitive damages.”



“We’re not trying to bankrupt him,” Justin said. “We just… we want what he owes me.”



“If we settle out of court, we can control that,” Walter said. “If we go before a jury, there’s no telling what they will award. It would definitely be in his best interests to settle out of court.”



“Michael is pretty hard headed,” Brian said. “He may not listen to the good advice of his lawyer.”



“In which case, it will not be your responsibility,” Walter said. “The dissolution of the partnership is an issue, however. We probably should make that part of the settlement. Otherwise you’ll just have to give him the money back to buy him out. I assume you want to retain rights to the comic.”



“I do,” Justin agreed. “I can keep it going without him. I doubt the opposite is true.”



“Alright then,” Walter said. “I will have him served tomorrow. He’ll have a week to respond. After that, we file the suit with the city.”



“We gave him a month to pay up,” Justin said.



Walter noted that on his pad and looked at the two men. “In that case, we’ll give him until the date you verbally agreed to.” “He’s got 25 days left,” Brian said.



BJBJBJBJBJ



Once they left Walter’s office, Brian and Justin headed back to Kinnetik. They took a cab, since the office was too far away to walk.



“I’m actually surprised that no one has said anything about this,” Justin said after they were on their way.



“You mean the rest of the family?” Brian asked. “I’d guess that Michael won’t say anything until he’s served with the suit. And Melanie can’t say anything.”



“I guess,” Justin said. “The shit’s going to hit the fan when it does come out. Somehow, we’re going to be the bad guys.”



“Well, we already know Mel’s in our corner,” Brian said, “mostly because it’s your corner.”



“And we can be pretty sure that Lindsay will side with you,” Justin said. “Ted’s still so grateful to us for hiring him that he’ll side with us.”



“I wouldn’t be so sure about either of them,” Brian said. “Lindsay can be pretty unpredictable. And Ted resented me for a lot longer than he’s liked me. He’s more likely to remain neutral out of fear for his job. I think Emmett’s a better bet.”



“Debbie will stick by Michael,” Justin said quietly. It was painful to both men to believe that they could conceivably lose their relationship to the woman who had been surrogate mother to both of them at times in their lives when they were most vulnerable.



“He’s her kid,” Brian shrugged. “She should.”



“He’s a lying sack of shit,” Justin muttered. “And a manipulative one at that.”



Brian chuckled darkly. “Yeah, he is.”



Justin felt bad for saying what he had almost immediately. “I’m sorry, Brian. I know this really sucks for you. He’s your best friend.”



“No, you were right the other day,” Brian said as he took Justin’s hand and squeezed it. “He’s my oldest friend, not my best friend. You’re my best friend. You have been almost from the very beginning. You understand me in ways that Michael never has and never could. Sometimes I think you know me better than I know myself.”



Justin leaned over and gave Brian a kiss. “You’re my best friend too. Just don’t tell Daphne I said so.”



BJBJBJBJBJ



The papers were served the next morning and by lunch, Brian and Justin had gotten calls from almost everyone in the family who hadn’t already known. Predictably, Michael had ranted to everyone, making himself out to be the victim. If one listened to Michael’s version, Rage had been a conspiracy to bankrupt him from the very beginning.



“How could you do that to him?” Lindsay scolded Brian. “He’s your best friend.”



“He used to be my best friend,” Brian countered. “And then he fucking stole more than $100,000 from Justin. We gave him a month to come up with the money, that’s more than fair. And we haven’t taken this to the cops. Embezzlement is a criminal offense, you know.”



“You wouldn’t do that,” Lindsay said, scandalized.



“I just said we wouldn’t,” Brian said. “That doesn’t meant Michael doesn’t deserve to go to jail. I think we’re being rather lenient on him.”



“But Brian, there’s no way he can come up with that kind of money,” Lindsay pleaded.



“Jesus, Linds,” Brian huffed. “Listen to yourself. He pocketed more than $240,000 over the past year, half of which wasn’t his. Where the fuck did that money go? We aren’t trying to steal from him. We aren’t trying to bankrupt him. But fuck, we’re barely making it right now and he… You know what? I don’t want to discuss this with you.”



“Brian, you can talk Justin around,” Lindsay tried again.



“I could, but I won’t,” Brian said tersely. “Does your sudden loyalty to Michael have anything to do with the fact that Mel was planning on carrying his kid?”



“She won’t even consider him now!” Lindsay said.



“Then find someone else,” Brian said. “Find someone who didn’t steal from his friends. You both thought Justin was a great choice before, so why not him now? I have to go. I have a meeting with a client.”



Brian hung up the phone before she could reply. When he looked up, Justin was standing in his doorway. “They know.”



“How many calls have you gotten?” Brian asked.



“Three,” Justin said.



“I’ve got you beat,” Brian chuckled. “I got seven. Debbie was first, followed by Ben, Melanie, Emmett, Debbie again, then Hunter, and finally Lindsay.”



“Vic called me,” Justin said quietly. “I’d already listened to Debbie bitch and Lindsay plead. I stopped answering my phone after talking to Vic.”



“What did he say?” Brian asked seriously.



“He said that he understands why would press to get the money back, he also thinks Michael was way out of line, but ultimately he has to support Michael,” Justin said with a shrug. “He has to stand by him as long as he’s living with Debbie if he wants any peace at all.”



Brian nodded. “I think Lindsay is just pissed about the baby. She’ll come around. Emmett thinks we’re being harsh, but he also thinks Michael was wrong. Hunter just swore at me before he hung up. Ben… well, I think he’s torn. He doesn’t want to believe that Michael would do something like that to anyone, especially to you. Melanie just reiterated her support.”



Justin nodded and “Why is it that Michael does something so monumentally wrong and it’s somehow your fault?” Justin shook that thought away because there really was no answer. Then he smiled as another thought occurred to him. “I can’t believe that Mel called you to offer support.”



Brian smirked. “I can hardly believe it myself. You ready to meet with Norton?”



“The boards are set up in the conference room,” Justin said. “Cynthia was giving him a brief tour before she takes him there. If the work keeps rolling in like it has this week, I think we might need to hire some more staff.”



Brian grabbed his suit jacket and straightened his tie in the mirror in his bathroom. “Ted thinks we should sign at least two more accounts and then we can afford to expand a little bit.”



“Can we afford to start paying ourselves better?” Justin wondered. “Right now, Cynthia and Ted are bringing home more individually than we are together.”



“If we get this account, we can,” Brian said. “So let’s go sign this guy.”



Justin smiled at that and followed Brian out of the room.



BJBJBJBJBJ



That Saturday, Brian and Justin bought a new sofa to celebrate landing three new clients in one week. They still weren’t at full salary, but they were now at least making enough to be able to pay the bills and have a little left over at the end of the month, and they had given themselves a small bonus for the hard work they had accomplished. Justin had suggested that they use the money to buy several pieces of furniture for the loft, but Brian had insisted that quality costs, so they blew the entire bonus on just the sofa.



“Just you wait and see,” Brian said. “This sofa will be the focal point of our decorating. It was worth every penny.”



Justin rolled his eyes, but had to agree that is was a great sofa. It was comfortable, but still maintained Brian’s minimalistic standards. The red leather was both beautiful and practical. It would be much easier to keep clean than any of the fabrics Justin had preferred. He lay down on the sofa and propped his head up on the arm rest. This would be a great place to watch a movie on a lazy evening… once they bought a television.



Brian moved Justin’s feet so he could sit and then replaced them into his lap. “What’s going through that brain of yours?”



“I was just thinking that this will be a great place to watch television if we ever can afford such a luxury,” Justin teased.



“Just think about how much we’re saving in cable bills, though,” Brian said. “Do you know how much we were paying every month before I had it shut off?”



“Too much,” Justin agreed. “I’m glad we at least still have the stereo.”



Said stereo was currently playing the soft jazz both men preferred on a quiet evening. The mood of their music often changed with whatever activities they were performing. When Justin painted, the stereo was usually playing blues or R&B. When he cooked, he liked pop or rock. When Brian was working from home, the stereo played oldies. They usually left the dance music for Babylon, and though Justin liked some country, Brian forbade its inclusion on the common stereo. Justin could listen to it with headphones if he wanted.



“You know what I miss more than television?” Brian asked.



“The gym,” Justin said. He knew that Brian missed not only having a place to work out, but a place where he and his friends could meet up.



“Yeah,” Brian sighed. “I also miss take out. I love your cooking, but sometimes it’s nice just to have the food brought to you, ready and waiting without all the extra work after a long day.”



“I miss the Jeep,” Justin said. “I know it was yours, but you gave me rides all the time. Now it’s either take the bus or walk.”



“With the rare cab ride,” Brian agreed. “The Jeep was great. We’ll get something even better soon. Maybe a classic Corvette.”



Justin snorted. “And how exactly do you intend to get Gus around in a sports car with no backseat?”



Brian frowned at that. He really hadn’t considered needing to take Gus places, but Justin was right. He couldn’t put Gus into a two-seater car. He still had to use a booster seat. “Well, we’ll just get two cars then. Maybe an SUV. You can haul groceries in it.”



Justin sat up and swatted Brian’s arm. “Who says I’m doing the grocery shopping once we can afford two cars? We can hire a housekeeper who will do the shopping.”



Justin shifted around so that he could curl up next to Brian. The two men sat in silence for a time, both lost in their dreams of when Kinnetik really took off.

Part Three



Brian watched Justin work at the drafting table, sketching out the ideas that Brian had been tossing at him all morning. They were working on a campaign for a top end European car company known for producing high-performance vehicles that had traditionally been out of the reach of even most wealthy Americans, let alone the average American consumer. The company had recently developed a line of cars that they wanted to market to upper middle-class Americans, competing with BMW and Mercedes, but were having difficulty breaking into the market. The larger advertising agencies were just not giving them what they wanted, so they had expanded their sights to include smaller, boutique agencies like Kinnetik.



Brian had found this out through a former client who was currently locked into a contract with Vanguard. Joe Norris, the CEO of the Keller Office Supplies chain of stores, wanted Kinnetik to succeed so that when the his contract was up with Vanguard, his company could once again use Brian’s genius to continue their rise to the top over the larger chains, like Staples. Brian had already taken them from a small regional chain store and introduced them to the national market, and Joe wanted to keep growing. So when Joe had heard about Sheffield Automotive’s search for a new agency through their VP for marketing at a conference, he had suggested Kinnetik and set up the introduction.



Now Brian and Justin were working their asses off to come up with a spectacular presentation.



The funny thing about working with Justin, Brian mused, was the way the kid just seemed to be able to read his mind. Unlike the art department at Vanguard, Justin never had any trouble understanding what he wanted to convey. He just got it. And the small suggestions and improvements that he made, even on the fly as they were brainstorming, simply made Brian’s vision even better. It was like they fed off of each other’s energy and ideas. Brian had never been more creative than when he worked with Justin and the results so far had been unbelievable. Brian was sure that at least two of the campaigns that they had developed since opening Kinnetik would garner awards and they had only been working together for a couple months now.



“What do you think of this?” Justin asked as he held up a rough sketch. “We start out with close-up images of the details of the vehicle, showing the lines of the car and intersperse those images with those of a panther showing the similarity in their sleek lines. We could even do some morphing, especially in the print ads. As the campaign rolls out, we slowly unveil more and more of the vehicles. And the panther will eventually morph into a woman with the entire line of vehicles. She gives the camera wink before climbing into a car and driving off.”



“With the tag line: ‘Luxury Unleashed,’” Brian said with a smirk. “The ultimate amalgamation of luxury and performance. It will have every hetero male going through a midlife crisis creaming in his jockeys. Can we get the art done before the meeting next week? I’d like to give them a rough idea of the morphing animation.”



Justin sighed. “I can do the animation, but if I spend all my time on that, I’m not sure how I’m going to get the finished print boards done in time.”



Brian nodded. “I guess it’s time to suck it up and hire one of those artists Cynthia has been interviewing for the past couple weeks.”



Justin frowned. “Even if we found someone today, wouldn’t they need time to give notice and everything?”



Brian grinned. “That’s the beautiful part, she’s only interviewing for an entry level position, so most of these kids are just coming out of college and most of them don’t have real jobs to worry about.”



“Okay, how soon can she get them in to see us?” Justin asked.



“Us?” Brian smirked. “I’m not the head of the art department. You are. It’s your job to hire your team. And she has four interviews set up for this afternoon.”



“Brian! What the fuck do I know about hiring people?” Justin said. “What if I fuck it up?”



Brian smiled and kissed Justin. “You won’t. You know how I work. You know how you work. You’ll figure it out. Cynthia has already screened out the ones who are completely unqualified or unsuitable. Now, let’s order lunch and we can review their resumes and portfolios together before your first meeting.”



An hour later, Brian watched as Justin compared two of the candidates’ portfolios with an intense look of concentration on his face. “Brian, you realize that all of these candidates are a lot more qualified than I am. They’re going to take one look at me and laugh.”



“No they won’t,” Brian said. “If for no other reason than because you will be their boss. And it won’t take them long to realize what a fucking genius you are. The work you’ve done for Kinnetik has been consistently beyond anything that the art department at Vanguard or Ryder ever created. You have an instinct for what will draw people in and you are so fucking talented that it’s scary. With or without a degree, you know more about this business than most people who have been doing the job their entire lives. Don’t doubt yourself. If I didn’t think you were the best choice for the job, I would have never asked you to be my business partner.”



Justin’s eyes were wide with the praise and then he got that huge Sunshine smile that made Brian’s world light up. “Thanks.”



“So what do you think of the candidates?” Brian asked, ready to change the subject.



“This guy, Mark, is really great with the graphics,” Justin said. “If I hired him, I could leave the morphing in his hands. But Jenna seems to be more creative and adventurous. She has huge potential for bringing fresh concepts and ideas to the table. Kyle and Helen are both really talented as well.”



“Well, talk with all of them and see what you think,” Brian said. “We may not be able to hire all of them yet, but keep the door open. We should be ready to add another person to your team soon.”



Justin nodded just as Cynthia entered Justin’s office. “Justin, your first appointment is here.”



BJBJBJBJBJ



In the end, Justin hired Jenna but told Mark and the two other candidates that he would like to get back in touch with them once Kinnetik was ready to expand further. Jenna, as Brian had predicted, was waiting tables and was happy to start right away. She had to work around the shifts she had been scheduled that week, but there was only one that interfered with office hours, and then she was free from the other job.



Justin found working with Jenna to be a pleasure. She was bright and funny and she didn’t let Brian intimidate her. She also found some pretty innovative shortcuts that could save them time and energy in the long run without losing any of the quality they needed. When the time came for the presentation to Sheffield, the entire team was included in the meeting and Jenna was floored that Brian and Justin both gave her credit for the work she had done.



The team from Sheffield loved the concept that they had created and were excited to see the final product. They shook hands when the meeting was concluded and promised to have the signed contract back to Cynthia by the end of the week. To celebrate, Brian took the entire staff—all five of them—out to dinner. Afterward, Brian took Justin to Babylon to have their own celebration. They had been so busy that nights out at the club or Woody’s were rare, so they went with the intention of really having a great time dancing the night away.



Unfortunately, that wasn’t in the cards.



“Brian!”



Justin and Brian both groaned. They hadn’t been at the bar for more than thirty seconds when the familiar voice interrupted. Almost as one, they turned to face the interloper.



“Yes, Mikey?” Brian drawled.



“Where have you been?” Michael asked. “You never come out anymore.”



“Well, I’m here now,” Brian said. “Justin and I have been working hard to build our business, but tonight we’re going to celebrate.”



“So things are going well with Kinnetik,” Michael asked.



“Very,” Justin said. “We just hired a new employee and got another really big account.”



Michael barely even glanced at Justin before turning his attention back to Brian. “So I guess that means you won’t need the money now, huh? Since you guys are becoming so successful you can drop that lawsuit, right?”



“The lawsuit has nothing to do with Kinnetik,” Brian said tersely. “It’s not about how much we need the money, Michael. It’s about the fact that you fucking stole it!”



“This is all your fault you little shit!” Michael screamed at Justin. Now that it became clear that Brian wasn’t going to just give in to Michael’s manipulations. He tried to take a swing at Justin, but Ben, who had appeared from the crowd just in time, grabbed him. Justin took ahold of Brian and prevented him from hitting Michael in retaliation.



“Maybe we should just go,” Justin said quietly.



Brian glared at Michael for a few seconds longer before turning to Justin. Upon seeing the younger man, his face softened and he nodded. “We can celebrate at home, I guess. The crowd here is a lot less appealing these days.”



Brian and Justin left the club without a single look back.



BJBJBJBJBJ



The weeks that followed the confrontation at Babylon were hectic for Brian and Justin as they got the Sheffield campaign rolling and continued to work on the accounts that were already in place. Slowly but surely, their staff began to grow as the accounts continued to come in. Not a week had gone by that they hadn’t gotten one new client. With an influx like that, they needed to hire new staff just to keep the current accounts running smoothly. Mark, Kyle and Helen had all been added to Justin’s team, along with a really great web designer named Clive. Clive was like Justin: he had little formal training but was a genius at what he did and he got along great with the team.



Brian’s staff had slowly increased as well. He now had two ad execs, both with a few years’ experience under their belts and a lot of potential to become really great. He also had three copywriters who could eventually work their way up. Cynthia had been busy and hired on a young corporate lawyer to deal with the various contracts rather than sending them out all the time. She had also hired a new assistant for Brian, an assistant for Justin and she and Ted now shared an assistant. Since Brian had made her COO, her work load had increased drastically.



The deadline for the lawsuit came and went. Walter kept Justin and Brian updated on the status of the suit, but like most things in the legal profession, the wait for a hearing could take a while. In the meantime, Walter’s office was going over every possible defense Michael’s lawyer might come up with. Brian had heard from Lindsay that Michael hadn’t been pleased when Melanie not only refused to represent him, but had told him she no longer wanted him to be the father of their second child. There had been a huge blowup from that announcement. But Melanie had offered to recommend a lawyer for Michael and Ben, calm and cool as ever, had accepted.



Three months after the discovery of the missing money, Justin and Brian were called into Walter’s office for a preliminary meeting between both parties. Neither could see this meeting going well. Michael just couldn’t accept that what he had done was wrong.



“I’m glad everyone could make it,” Walter said once Brian and Justin had taken their seats around the conference table. They were the last to arrive. Michael, Ben and their lawyer were already there. Michael refused to look at anyone. He looked like a child pouting in the timeout corner. “Let’s get down to business, then.



“It is clear from our research that Caliph Publishing dispersed $242,576 over a period of 11 months to Michael Novotny care of Red Cape Comics for the equal disbursement between Michael Novotny and Justin Taylor as co-creators of Rage. Justin Taylor received $1,478 from Michael Novotny during that same period. This is in clear violation of the contract that was signed with both Caliph Publishing and with Justin Taylor. Mr. Taylor has given Mr. Novotny ample time to repay those funds with no penalty, however Mr. Novotny refused to do so.”



“Mr. Novotny no longer has the funds to make a repayment of that size,” the other lawyer stated.



“We believe that a large portion of those funds were invested in Red Cape Comics,” Walter said. “In both capital improvements and in inventory. Mr. Novotny can certainly liquidate that same inventory in order to repay his debts.”



“I’m not selling off my inventory,” Michael said heatedly. “That asshole doesn’t deserve shit from me.”



“Mr. Novotny,” the other lawyer hissed, and was soon joined by Ben.



“Michael, you aren’t helping here.”



Michael huffed and sat back in his seat so the other lawyer continued. “So if we were to settle, what exactly do your clients want from this?”



“We believe it would be in everybody’s best interest to settle,” Walter stated. “We would ask for the full $119,810 be turned over, as well as $4,792 in interest and $10,000 for legal fees. In addition, my clients are willing to buy out Mr. Novotny’s rights to Rage for $80,000, reducing the total amount to $54,602. Considering we could press for punitive damages in court, I think that is more than fair.”



“They aren’t taking Rage,” Michael said angrily. “That’s mine!”



“Without me, there is no Rage,” Justin pointed out. “You don’t have anyone else to draw the damned thing, Michael. It’s worthless without me and I’m never going to work with you on it again.”



“No way,” Michael said. “I won’t fucking do it.”



Both Ben and the lawyer leaned in to have a whispered conversation with Michael. Both men looked extremely frustrated when they sat back up.



“I’m sorry, but my client is not willing to give up the rights to the comic book,” the man said. “Nor is he willing to settle.”



Walter nodded. This wasn’t a surprise. Brian and Justin had warned him that Michael Novotny was stubborn to the point of self-destruction. “Just so you know, if this goes to court, we will seek punitive damages and complete rights to Rage. Your client could very well end up with nothing: no comic book, no money and no store.”



Michael paled, but he shook his head again when both Ben and the lawyer tried to get him to see reason.



“I guess we’ll see you in court,” Walter said.



Michael stormed from the room and Ben and the lawyer followed him out. Brian and Justin simply sat until the door closed behind the departing group.



“Well, that went well,” Brian drawled sarcastically.



“We’ve given him every opportunity to make this right,” Justin sighed. “He’s just so fucking blinded by his anger towards me that he can’t see that.”



“We’ve got a couple months before this will go before a jury,” Walter stated. “Perhaps he’ll see reason.”



“I wouldn’t count on it,” Brian sighed.

Part Four



Life without Michael was fine for Justin but he hated the way Brian was suffering. Brian tried to hide how unhappy he was, but Justin knew him too well. In the months since they had confronted Michael at the store, followed by the barrage of phone calls, they had been very busy, but not so busy as not to notice that very few of their friends called anymore. Ted they saw at work, but Emmett seemed to be avoiding them like the plague. Debbie refused to speak to either of them the few times they had come into the diner, so they had finally begun going to the deli up the road instead. Vic called occasionally, but he continued to say that he couldn’t openly support them. And of course, Michael and Ben were completely out of the question.



Surprisingly, Melanie had proven to be their biggest supporters. As a lawyer, she was very clear about what Michael had done and the consequences of those actions. She had seen the sacrifices that both Brian and Justin had made in their campaign to stop Stockwell and knew from Ted just how tight things were for them financially. She had a better perspective on the whole thing than anyone else in the family, despite her antagonistic relationship with Brian.



In fact, Mel had also begun to be Brian’s biggest supporter when it came to his right to spend time with Gus. When Lindsay would have stopped Brian’s visits in retaliation for his inability to afford to keep writing unlimited checks, Melanie had stepped in.



“Linds, that’s not right and it’s not fair,” Mel had argued. “I don’t like the asshole, but he loves Gus and he’s been there for both Gus and the two of us over the past three years. Just because he and Justin are strapped for cash right now is no reason to punish them. Or Gus.”



“It’s not punishment,” Lindsay denied. “He’s proven that he can’t even take care of his own finances. Why should we trust him to take care of our son?”



Melanie shook her head in disbelief. Did Lindsay actually believe the bullshit she spouted? “He’s broke because he spent all his money to stop Stockwell. You know that. And he and Justin have been working their asses off to make the new business a success. I’m sure that once they are established, Brian will be happy to help out when we need him to. He’s not doing this to spite you, Linds.”



“They don’t even have furniture at the loft!” Lindsay said. “What kind of an environment is that for Gus?”



Mel chuckled. “The kind that will probably be a lot of fun for him. He won’t have to worry about running into something or breaking something when he gets all wound up. You know that Brian and Justin deserve to see Gus. They love him.”



“Fine,” Lindsay huffed. “Gus can go over this weekend.”



Melanie knew that Lindsay was only agreeing because it was the annual King of Babylon contest and she figured that Brian and Justin would say no so that they could attend the event. According to Ted, however, neither Brian nor Justin had been back to Babylon since they had run into Michael. In fact, Ted said that they rarely went out at all. They spent most of their time either working or at home together. If they did go out, it was to the Redwood Tavern, a gay bar in Squirrel Hill that had both a traditional pub and a small dance club in the same building.



“I still can’t believe that Brian and Justin are trying to bankrupt Michael,” Lindsay said. “Brian really has corrupted Justin.”



Melanie rolled her eyes. “The only corruption is coming from Michael. He’s the one who stole the money from Justin. He’s the one who broke the law, Linds.”



“I know he shouldn’t have done that,” Lindsay said. “But Brian and Justin don’t have to sue him over it.”



“They asked him to pay the money back before they got a lawyer involved,” Mel said. “They gave him plenty of time, but he refused. They tried to settle out of court. Again Michael refused. If Michael goes bankrupt, it’s his own damned fault.”



“I can’t believe you are siding with Brian on this,” Lindsay said. “First Gus and now Michael.”



“I’m not siding with Brian,” Mel denied. “I’m siding with Justin. And Michael is acting like a child who has been told he can’t have all the cookies. He’d rather smash cookies into the rug than share. Well, he needs to grow the fuck up.”



“I don’t know how you can say that,” Lindsay said. “Brian is the one who needs to grow up. And Justin.”



Mel snorted in disbelief. “Justin is the most mature one of the bunch. And Brian has grown up a lot since he met Justin. Before Justin, he would have never given up everything to stop a guy like Stockwell. He would have kept his mouth shut, gotten him elected and taken the promotion to open the New York offices of Vanguard. Before Justin, Brian would never have been as involved in Gus’ life. Before Justin, Brian never would have helped you and I work out our problems or paid for our wedding. Brian has grown up a hell of a lot more than I ever believed he could. I’m not sure why you can’t see that.”



“You just wait,” Lindsay said. “He’ll be back to the same old Brian soon enough. Drinking, drugs and tricks galore.”



“Somehow I doubt it,” Melanie said.



She didn’t say so, but she was beginning to have doubts about Lindsay as well.



BJBJBJBJBJ



“Melanie just called,” Justin told Brian as he entered the office where Brian was finishing up for the day.



“What did she want?” Brian asked. Things had been going better between the two of them lately and he was trying to be a little more charitable towards his former nemesis.



“She talked Lindsay into letting us have Gus this weekend,” Justin said. “We’ll pick him up on Friday and keep him until Sunday afternoon.”



“Melanie talked Lindsay into this?” Brian asked. “Did the world just shift on its axis?”



“Lindsay has been a real bitch since everything with Michael,” Justin said as he leaned against Brian’s desk, their legs brushing.



“Since before that,” Brian admitted as he looked up at Justin from his seat. “I didn’t tell you, but she’s come to me a few times for money after Stockwell. When I told her we were broke, she got… well, let’s just say she threatened to keep Gus from us.”



“She can’t do that,” Justin exclaimed.



“She can,” Brian said. “Remember, I gave up my rights to Gus.”



“And yet, you’ve been financially supporting him, and Lindsay I might add, ever since,” Justin said. “There has to be something that could be done. You should talk to Walter about it.”



“As long as she keeps letting me see Gus, I’m not going to do that,” Brian said. “We’ve alienated enough people.”



Justin slumped at that. He felt really bad about how everything was playing out. As angry as he was with Michael, he hated what this was doing to everyone he loved. “We could still drop the suit.”



“No, we can’t,” Brian said as he pulled Justin down into his lap and wrapped his arms around him. “Michael can’t get away with this shit. If people can’t accept that, then fuck them. We don’t need them.”



“You miss them,” Justin said. “I miss them.”



“Yeah,” Brian sighed and leaned his forehead against Justin’s. “But if they can’t see that Michael is wrong in this, if they have to blame us for something that Michael did, then I really don’t want to be around them anyway. As long as I have you and Gus, I don’t care about the rest of them. We’ll make new friends.”



“I’m glad we’re together,” Justin said. “I’m not sure I could have handled all of this without you.”



They were both quiet for a moment as they remembered that not very long ago, Justin had been with Ethan and they had both been miserable.



“Well, we are together,” Brian said. “And I made a promise to you.”



Justin and Brian recalled that promise. After their reunion, Brian and Justin had made love at the loft and lying in bed together afterwards, the two of them had made several promises to each other.



“You promised never to push me away again,” Justin said. “Even if you think it’s for my own good.”



“And you promised to be honest with me when you have doubts about us,” Brian reminded him. “And that you would remember how I feel about you, even when I can’t actually say the words.”



“With promises like that to hold onto, I’m pretty sure we can get through anything,” Justin said quietly.



“And we’ll get through this,” Brian promised. He kissed Justin deeply and held him tightly. “I want to fuck you.”



“I want you to fuck me too,” Justin said a little breathlessly. “So you should probably take me home.”



Brian looked around the office. “Everyone has gone home.”



Justin chuckled and stood up before reaching down to pull Brian to his feet. “And if we break the no fucking in the office rule, it will just be that much harder to not break it the next time. Before you know it, we’ll be fucking all day and nothing will get done around here. Come on, it’s only a few blocks.”



“Yes dear,” Brian drawled.



BJBJBJBJBJ



“Emmett? Is that you?”



Justin was standing in line at the post office when he noticed the tall southerner and left to go catch up to him. He caught him at the corner before the taller man could disappear.



Emmett turned and gave Justin an uncertain smile. “Justin. Honey. How are you?”



“I’m doing pretty good, all things considered,” Justin said. “Can we go for coffee and talk? Please?”



Emmett looked torn. “I’m not sure that’s such a good idea.”



“Why?” Justin asked, allowing all the hurt and disappointment to be seen in his eyes and face. “I don’t understand, Em? I thought we were friends.”



Emmett looked extremely guilty then and sighed. “Oh Sugar.”



“Please, Em, just talk to me for a few minutes,” Justin said. “After that, if you want me to leave you alone, I promise I’ll never bother you again.”



“Okay, one cup of coffee,” Emmett agreed.



They walked in silence to the small coffee shop across the street and ordered. It wasn’t until they were seated at a quiet table in the back of the shop that Justin spoke again. “Can you tell me what I did that was so awful that you’ve been avoiding me for months? You stopped taking my calls.”



“I know that Michael was wrong,” Emmett started.



“Fucking right he was wrong,” Justin said. “He cheated me out of my share of the profits from the comic book.”



“I know,” Emmett said. “But trying to put him out of business and take Rage from him in retaliation? That’s a little over the top, don’t you think? I know it’s not really your fault. It’s Brian. But that doesn’t make it right.”



“What are you talking about?” Justin asked. “I’m not trying to put him out of business. And the only reason I offered to buy Rage was so that he could have a way to pay off a portion of his debt without losing his business.”



“Baby…” Emmett looked like he didn’t believe a word of what he was saying.



“Seriously, Emmett,” Justin said. “I’m not sure what bullshit line Michael has been feeding you, but that’s not what happened at all. We tried to give him an opportunity to pay the money back. He refused. So we got the lawyers involved. Even then, we tried to be fair about it. Yes, we asked for interest and legal fees, but that’s standard practice. And I offered to buy Michael out so that the cash he would have to cough up would be significantly reduced. He can’t do anything with Rage without me. He doesn’t have another artist. And after he cheated me, there’s no chance that he’ll be able to hire one. The publisher won’t work with him. He broke faith with his contract with them. Rage is dead as long as he’s involved. I was being generous when I offered him $80,000 for the rights.”



“But it was his dream,” Emmett said.



“It was both our dream,” Justin corrected. “And we created Rage together every step of the way. I don’t care what he felt about my relationship with Brian or about me personally, there’s no excuse for cheating me out of my part of the profit. You realize that we could have pressed criminal charges? He broke the law, Emmett. We’ve given him every chance to put things right and he refuses. He refuses to even acknowledge that he did anything wrong.”



Emmett shook his head. “He’ll lose everything if you win in court,” Emmett said.



“Probably,” Justin agreed. “Everyone has tried to tell him that. His lawyer and Ben both tried to tell him that at the settlement meeting. He’s so blinded by jealousy and hatred that he just can’t see that. We don’t want him to lose everything, Em. But I’m not going to just let him get away with theft.”



“Michael isn’t a thief,” Emmett defended weakly.



“Yes, he is,” Justin said. “He lied to me and the publisher from the very beginning. This wasn’t a crime of opportunity. He was very deliberate about making sure that I believed we weren’t making much from the sales. He insisted on handling the money. He lied about the publisher wanting to pay us collectively. He lied about how often we were supposed to be paid. He stole almost $120,000 from me.”



“Well, you have Brian,” Emmett said. “I’m sure you can afford to miss it.”



Justin huffed a laugh. “Did you know that Brian was behind the Concerned Citizens for Truth?”



“The group that stopped Stockwell with those ads?” Em asked.



“That’s the one,” Justin said. “Only it was a group of one. Well, two. Brian went into debt, sold off everything of value and lost his job in order to protect this community. We’ve been living without furniture for almost six months now. There have been times when we weren’t sure if we were going to have enough money for groceries.”



“But the new business…?”



“Is growing,” Justin said. “But it takes time. We have to make sure that the business is going to make a profit before we can start to pay ourselves. We’ve slowly worked our way into a reasonable salary, but we still aren’t making combined what Brian used to make alone at Vanguard. And we still have to pay off those debts. That money would have made a huge difference to us.”



“I didn’t know,” Emmett said thoughtfully.



“No, you and the rest of the group decided that Brian was an evil bastard a long time ago and that Michael was an innocent victim,” Justin said. “So of course, everything bad that happens is Brian’s fault and Michael couldn’t possibly be wrong even when he so obviously is.”



“Brian has always been an asshole,” Emmett said. “Look at the way he’s treated you.”



“Brian and I have both hurt each other,” Justin said. “But that’s no one else’s business but ours. And we’ve worked through our problems. Brian has changed a lot over the last three years, but no one seems to be willing to see that. Well, Mel has noticed. And Ted. The rest of you seem to ignore anything that doesn’t meet with your warped view of Brian Kinney.”



Justin stood up and looked sadly at Emmett. “Brian said that we don’t need friends who believe the worst of us. I guess he’s right.”



Justin turned to go, but Emmett grabbed his wrist. “Ben’s leaving him.”



Justin shook his head. “I’m surprised he stuck around this long.”



“Sweetie, you have to understand that he feels like he’s losing everything,” Emmett said. “I can’t leave him too.”



“I didn’t ask you to,” Justin said tiredly. “I never asked you to choose sides. But you should really take note of Ben’s actions and do what you can to protect yourself; he’s going to self-destruct and the fall out could be ugly.”



Justin pulled away and walked from the shop without looking back. Brian was right: they didn’t need friends like that.

Part Five



Brian entered the loft later that evening to find Justin working on a painting. He’d had a dinner meeting with one of their clients and Justin had gone home alone. Justin hadn’t been feeling very chipper after his encounter and Brian had suggested that Justin skip the meeting and make it an early night instead. Justin had agreed, if for no other reason than he wasn’t feeling up to being cheerful for the client. Painting, however, helped him think and put things into perspective.



“Feeling better?” Brian asked as he stepped behind Justin and wrapped his arms around the blond.



“Much,” Justin said. “I was just reeling a little. I know we talked about the fact that we don’t need friends who don’t believe or support us, but there was still a part of me that hoped that there was another reason for Emmett’s absence. He said that Ben’s leaving Michael.”



Brian sighed. “It was bound to happen. Even Ben has a limit of what he’ll put up with. I suppose he’s reached it.”



“I wonder what’s going to happen with Hunter,” Justin said.



“We’ll see,” Brian said. He let Justin go so he could clean his brushes. “The meeting with Norton went well. He’s thrilled with the response to the campaign.”



“That’s great,” Justin said with a smile.



“He wanted to tell us in person that we’ve reached the results goal and will be receiving the promised bonus,” Brian said. “Ted told me that we’re actually finally turning a real profit, so we can not only reward ourselves with a portion of that bonus, but we can finally begin drawing our full salary. Maybe in another few months, we’ll be able to afford to draw our back-pay as well.”



“That’s great news,” Justin said with a huge grin. “So we can finally go out to eat without counting every penny?”



“And hire a housekeeper,” Brian agreed. “Why don’t I order in Chinese tonight?”



“Make it Indian,” Justin said. “I’m in the mood for lamb curry and naan.”



Brian made the call and then headed for the shower. When he returned, Justin was on his laptop looking at listings for domestic help. “Do you really think we can afford to do this now?” Justin asked. “Maybe we should wait until the debt is completely paid off.”



Brian grinned as he sat down beside Justin on the sofa. “I forgot to tell you. Ted also said that our portion of the bonus should be enough to pay off the last of the debt. As soon as the bonus check comes through, you and I will be debt free.”



“Thank god,” Justin murmured.



“I think you and I deserve a vacation soon,” Brian said. “Someplace warm, with sandy beaches and half naked men.”



“Sounds great,” Justin said. “But I’m not sure we can get away for a while. There’s a lot going on right now.”



“We’ll go over the holidays,” Brian said. “Everything usually slows down between Christmas and the New Year, before the final rush for the Super Bowl and winter sweeps. That will give us a few months to make sure we’ve got a few dollars put away. It can be our Christmas present to ourselves.”



“Gus’ birthday is coming up,” Justin reminded Brian. “He’s going to be three. We should do something great for him.”



“Now that we have a little money again, Lindsay is going to be sniffing around for a handout,” Brian said. Since Lindsay’s threat, Brian had become much more cynical where she was concerned. “She’s already started calling, asking how business is going. She even said she would feel so much better letting Gus spend time here if she knew that we were doing better financially.”



“That seems so coldblooded,” Justin said ruefully. “I’m not totally surprised, though.”



“Why?” Brian asked.



Justin shrugged. “It’s the country club wife mentality, I guess. I can’t count the number of women I’ve seen do the same to their ex-husbands. They dangle the kids just out of reach so that they can get a little extra alimony and then spend the money at the hairdresser or on a new outfit. The man goes along with it usually because it’s easier to humor the woman than to fight in court over visitation rights. The ones who are still married do the same thing, but they use sex or the threat of divorce to get their way.”



“Great,” Brian snorted. “How long does this usually go on?”



“Until the kid is eighteen and can choose for him or herself,” Justin said. “Or until the guy gets sick of it and sues for shared custody. He usually still has to pay alimony though. Divorce is pretty expensive.”



“We’re never getting divorced,” Brian declared suddenly. “I refuse to pay to keep a man who I can’t fuck.”



Justin laughed at that. “We’d actually have to be married first. And if I got you down the aisle, there’s no way I’d let you go.”



Brian pushed Justin into the sofa and began to kiss him wildly. Before they could get too carried away, however, the buzzer rang. Their dinner had arrived.



BJBJBJBJBJ



“Brian, I think you need to deal with this,” Cynthia said as she entered Brian’s office a couple weeks later.



“Not now,” Brian muttered. He was right in the middle of reviewing the boards for the presentation to Rainbow Television, a cable station that catered to the GLBT community. “Can’t you take care of whatever it is?”



“Brian, you really need to deal with this personally,” Cynthia insisted.



With a huff, Brian set aside his work and followed her out to the lobby where a delivery man was waiting. “You Mr. Kinney?” Brian nodded and the man shoved a delivery slip to him. “Okay, then sign here.”



“Wait, what am I signing for?” Brian asked. “And who sent whatever it is?”



The man frowned. “I was told to deliver two vehicles to this office. They came directly from the factory. I don’t know much beyond that. There’s a letter in the envelope there along with the keys and paperwork. But I gotta get moving. The rig is blocking traffic.”



Brian was reeling. Two vehicles? He signed the delivery slip after making sure that there wasn’t a payment agreement in there. Things were getting better, but he and Justin weren’t quite ready to buy a new car. Once the slip was signed, the man headed out. Brian ripped open the envelope and scanned the letter. As he did so, he began to grin.



“Cynthia, go get Justin,” Brian said.



“What? Why?” Cynthia asked. “What does the letter say?”



“Just go get him,” Brian insisted.



Moments later, Justin came out to the lobby, followed by half the staff. Word had spread pretty quickly about the mysterious delivery and everyone wanted to know what was going on.



“What’s up, Brian?”



“Here, read this,” Brian said.



Dear Mr. Kinney,



I wanted to personally thank you for the excellent work you and your team have done on our campaign. The results from your marketing strategy have been more successful than we could have dreamed. You have made a household name of Sheffield Automotive and for that I am truly grateful. We were almost on the brink of financial ruin if this new line did not succeed, but you have saved our company.



Your contract specifies a bonus for results above a certain percentage of sales, but to me that bonus seemed a bit feeble, especially since you have more than doubled that goal. I have enclosed the bonus check for your team, but I have also decided that you and your partner, Mr. Taylor, should know my personal gratitude.



So I have selected and am sending each of you a token of my regards in the form of a vehicle. If the color or style is not to your liking, simply let me know and we can exchange the vehicle for something more to your taste.



And, my deepest gratitude,



Edgar Sheffield



“Brian?”



“Let’s go check out our cars,” Brian said. He turned to Ted and handed him the letter and another envelope. “There’s a bonus check in there. Make sure that Jenna gets a share.”



Ted took the papers, but followed Brian and Justin outside along with most of the staff. In the parking lot, in the once empty spaces reserved for the two owners of the agency, sat two brand new Sheffield luxury vehicles from their new line. One was the sleek and sporty roadster in a black cherry finish, exactly like the one in the commercial Brian and Justin had designed. The second was the line’s only SUV in gleaming black. Brian and Justin grinned at each other and walked over to the cars.



“I guess we don’t need to go car shopping now,” Justin said. “It looks like Sheffield took care of the registration.” He pointed to the temporary tags in the rear window of the SUV.



“We’ll need to get them insured,” Brian reminded him.



“I’ll get right on that,” Cynthia told Brian before ushering the rest of the staff inside.



“We should call and thank Edgar,” Brian said.



“No desire to get a different model or change the color?” Justin teased.



“Nope, this is perfect,” Brian said and kissed Justin soundly. “What about your SUV?”



“Not a thing I would change,” Justin said. “Did you see the entertainment system in this thing? Gus is going to have a field day. It has DVD and a game system.”



“He’s a little young for the games, but the DVD should work great,” Brian said.



“Brian, there are plenty of games made for kids his age,” Justin said. “Most of them are educational. We’ll get a couple for his birthday.”



“And a system for him to use them on in the house,” Brian said. “So, whose car are we driving home tonight?”



BJBJBJBJBJ



As Kinnetik grew and Brian and Justin celebrated each new accomplishment, many members of the old crowd were moving in different directions. Ben and Hunter had left Michael when he simply could not stop obsessing over Brian and Justin. Ben tried to stand by his partner, but there really was no excuse for what Michael had done to Justin and his obsession with Brian had reached unbearable levels. How a man who professed to love him could spend all day everyday plotting ways to get back his “best friend” was beyond his understanding. When Michael refused to make amends with Justin, or even listen to the advice of the lawyer and then continued to blame Justin for everything, Ben lost all respect for his partner.



Hunter, who had never had a stable home, recognized the way the Michael was self-destructing. When he was given the choice to stay with Michael or leave with Ben, his choice was an easy one to make. He and Ben moved to an apartment near the college and the two of them were starting over.



Emmett, who had at first sided with Michael out of misplaced faith, was wary of Michael after his talk with Justin. But he couldn’t abandon the man completely, so he continued to listen to Michael bemoan his fate. He had slowly begun avoiding Michael recently, however, in an attempt to simply get a break from the constant griping. It wasn’t good for anyone to be around that all the time.



Vic and Debbie were barely speaking to each other. Vic continued to keep in contact with Brian, despite his declaration that he needed to keep family loyalty. The more Vic heard both Debbie and Michael rant about Justin and Brian, the harder it became to hold his tongue. And so little comments began to slip out until Debbie was well aware how Vic felt. Because of his illness and because Vic was her brother, she would not throw him out of the house, but they were no longer speaking to each other and life was becoming unbearable for the older man. The work he and Emmett were doing with the catering business was improving, so at least he had that to keep him occupied.



Ted, who had recently been promoted from Chief Accountant to CFO of Kinnetik, was actually doing better than most of the old gang. He still saw Emmett, though he refused to discuss Brian, Justin, or Michael at all. He still had lunch regularly with Mel. He still went to his AA and NA meetings regularly and had met a rather nice man who he had been dating for a few weeks. They were taking things slowly, since they were both in recovery and didn’t want to do anything that could jeopardize that recovery process, but Matt was a smart, funny and handsome man and he was definitely interested in exploring a relationship with Ted.



Lindsay and Melanie, on the other hand, were having a very difficult time. Lindsay, who had been rather unenthusiastic about Mel’s desire to have a baby, was now harping on her daily because she turned Michael down. She continued to try and keep Brian and Gus apart in retaliation for his months without money. Though Brian had now begun helping with Gus’ daycare fees again, Lindsay was still being spiteful. Her reasons for siding with Michael over Justin in the lawsuit she kept to herself, but it had more to do with the fact that Justin had Brian than it did with who was right or wrong.



Melanie, however, knew her partner better than Lindsay liked to believe. She saw the things Lindsay was doing and they made her question everything about their relationship. Melanie spoke to Brian and Justin regularly. She made sure the Gus got to see his father, even when Lindsay was being uncooperative. And she knew, without a doubt, that Lindsay was really being such bitch only because she was still clinging to some weird fantasy of her and Brian and Gus living happily together in a mansion near the country club. Even if she had still wanted Michael to be the father of her child, Melanie wasn’t sure that she wanted Lindsay to be the other mother.

Part Six



“Where are we going tonight?” Justin asked one Friday evening. He and Brian had gotten into the habit of making Friday nights an unofficial date night. Most weeks they would go to dinner and then to the Redwood Tavern.



“Your mother wants us to have dinner with her and Molly,” Brian said.



Justin frowned when he heard that. “Since when do you and my mother plan dinners without me in the middle of it? And since when do you agree with me having to badger you or bribe you with promises of sexual favors?”



Brian chuckled. “Since Mother Taylor and I came to an understanding.” When Justin simply stared at Brian, waiting for further explanation, Brian sighed. “We had lunch a couple weeks ago and we talked about everything that’s been going on with Michael, Debbie and the lawsuit. Somehow I found myself spilling my guts about how everyone sort of either decided I was to blame for everything or chose to stay out of it. She was pretty sympathetic.



“Anyway, the result of that conversation is that she sees now that you are my top priority,” Brian continued. “And I think that makes her like me a little more than she already did. And I… I guess I like having her on my side, our side. She’s a smart woman and a lot like you in some ways. So I guess I can tolerate the occasional family dinner.”



“I see,” Justin said as he attempted to process what he had just learned. “I’m glad you two are getting along, but could you give me some warning if we’re going to see her in the future?”



Brian chuckled. “Sure, Sunshine. I’ll make sure you have plenty of time to prepare for any future meetings with Mother Taylor.”



They arrived at Jennifer’s condo and found that there were a number of cars parked by the townhouse. “Are you sure it’s just dinner for the four of us?” Justin asked.



“Not anymore,” Brian said with a look of consternation on his face.



Justin chuckled but let them into the house. There had to be at least ten other people there, besides Molly and Jennifer. Jennifer, broke away from a conversation with a man Justin vaguely recognized to come and greet them. “Brian, Justin. I’m so glad you could come.”



“What’s going on, Mom?” Justin asked after giving his obligatory hug and kiss.



Brian kissed Jennifer’s cheek in greeting before giving her his famous smirk. “Yes, Mother Taylor. Do explain. I understood that we were coming to dinner with you and Molly.”



Jennifer actually had the grace to blush. “Well, that was my original intention, but then I found out that Charlie and Dan were going to be in town and I really wanted you two to meet them. And of course, I didn’t want it to look too contrived, so I thought inviting a few other people along would make things little less pressured.”



“Who are Charlie and Dan?” Justin asked.



“Charlie and Dan are a wonderful couple that I met through Dan’s sister, who was a client of mine last year,” Jennifer explained. “Come on and I’ll introduce you.”



Brian and Justin meekly followed a determined Jennifer over to where two very handsome men were standing near the fireplace in the living room. One was tall with raven black hair and looked like he had to at least be a quarter Native American by his build and coloring. The other man was a bit shorter with light brown hair that he allowed to grow out into soft curls. Both men were fit and Brian would have fucked either of them back in the days when he was still haunting Babylon’s backroom. They both looked to be somewhere around Brian’s age.



“Charlie, Dan, I’d like for you to meet my son Justin and his partner Brian Kinney,” Jennifer said. She oversaw the introductions and then left them to get acquainted on the pretense of seeing to dinner.



Charlie, the taller of the two men, chuckled. “I was sure that Jennifer had ulterior motives when she invited us over. Now I understand what they were.”



“You could enlighten the rest of us,” Dan said with a smile at his partner.



“Dan, this is Brian Kinney,” Charlie said as though his partner should recognize the name. Dan still looked blank and Charlie shook his head in fond exasperation. “Brian Kinney who was once the top exec for Vanguard and took Stockwell to the top of the polls before being ousted and then turning around and toppling him. The Brian Kinney who recently opened Kinnetik with a partner.  Wait, Justin, you’re Brian’s partner in Kinnetik? I assumed that Jennifer meant you were together.”



“We are,” Brian said. “We’re both business partners and life partners.” He ignored the way Justin beamed his description.



Dan, who seemed to finally understand what was happening, smiled. “So you are the infamous Brian Kinney. And Justin that must mean that you were the talent behind those amazing political posters.”



“That’s me, I guess,” Justin said still confused. “Should we know who you are?”



“Jennifer never gave you our full names,” Charlie said. “I’m Charlie Lightfeather and this is my partner Dan O’Brien.” Brian smirked as he recognized the names. “Justin, these two are the force behind Prism Political Marketing.”



“The agency that has basically gotten every major gay candidate that they’ve worked with elected?” Justin asked as he turned from Brian to the two men. “That’s pretty impressive work the two of you do.”



“We do what we can to make sure that the GLBT community is represented,” Dan said. “That’s the only way we’ll ever changes the discriminatory laws that still exist around the country.”



The four men spent time discussing politics and the recent arrest of Jim Stockwell before Jennifer called everyone to the dinner table. Dinner was an interesting event. Justin and Brian discovered that many of the guests were either directly or indirectly involved with gay rights politics. Where Jennifer had met so many influential people, neither Brian nor Justin knew. It did make for some lively debates over the wonderful meal, however.



Once the dinner was over and the guests began to leave, Brian and Justin went back to their earlier talk with Dan and Charlie. This time, the discussion turned toward lighter topics. Charlie and Dan, despite their frequent visits to Dan’s sister, were still unfamiliar with Pittsburgh and its nightlife.



“Brian, we should take them out,” Justin said.



“I have heard much about Liberty Avenue,” Charlie said. “I understand there are some great clubs there.”



Justin and Brian exchanged a look before Justin said, “There are, though we don’t go down there very often any more. We tend to prefer some of the smaller venues away from Liberty Ave these days.”



“But we could make an exception for you,” Brian said. “Just be forewarned that we may run into some of our former friends who are not very happy with us these days.”



“Oh?” Charlie asked.



“It has to do with a lawsuit I filed against Brian’s former childhood friend,” Justin said. “We created a comic book together, but Michael attempted to cheat me out of the profits. It’s a very messy situation, so we removed ourselves from the old hangouts.”



“If you won’t be comfortable, we could go somewhere else,” Dan said.



“No, that’s alright,” Justin said. “Babylon is the best nightclub around. You should experience it at least once.”



With that decided, they all said their goodbyes to Jennifer. Justin promised to call her over the weekend. And then they were on their way toward Liberty Ave. Brian and Justin had driven the roadster, so they rode with Dan and Charlie. The foursome arrived just as Babylon was really starting to gear up. Brian led them past the line waiting at the entrance and with a smile to the bouncer, they were inside.



“I see it pays to know the bouncers,” Dan mused.



“Brian knows pretty much everyone on Liberty Ave,” Justin said dryly. “Or rather, they know him. He was a bit of a legend around here before I came along to destroy his reputation.”



Brian laughed at that and agreed, “I used to be known as the Stud of Liberty Ave and had some rather unique ideas regarding relationships and commitment. Justin changed all that for me without my consent or cooperation. Somehow I ended up in a committed relationship without ever agreeing to anything.”



Dan and Charlie both laughed as Justin led them over to the main bar. Since the gang usually went to the back bar, he thought they might be better off there. He ordered a round for everyone and then distributed the drinks. They watched the crowd and it became obvious that the men around them were surreptitiously watching Brian and Justin. As the foursome talked, there was interest in all of them simply because they were all good looking well-dressed men, but there was special interest in Brian and Justin.



“They’re all watching you,” Charlie commented when there was a break in the conversation.



Brian smirked. “They always do. But it’s worse now because we haven’t been here for a few months. Justin, let’s dance… remind them all what they can’t have anymore.”



Justin grinned and let Brian lead him to the dance floor. Once there, their bodies began to move in sync and the passion between the two men was almost palpable.



“I can see why everyone watches them,” Dan commented as he finished his drink.



“Yes,” Charlie said. “They are quite the sight.”



“Let’s join them,” Dan said and then pulled his partner to the floor.



The night seemed to pass quickly as the four men enjoyed both the music and the company. Justin spotted Emmett once, but the southern man just waved and went about his evening. Ted and his date, Matt, stopped over to say hello at one point and Brian made the introductions. He would never say it to Ted, but Brian was happy that he seemed to be moving on after his melt down last year.



And then Brian spotted Michael. The man had seen them and was headed straight for them. “Brace yourselves for Hurricane Michael.”



Justin grimaced and Dan and Charlie looked intrigued by the warning.



“Brian!” Michael slurred. He was obviously drunk and higher than a kite. Even as he said Brian’s name he latched onto Brian like a clinging vine. Justin had never seen Michael quite this messed up. He was crying even as he began to hump against Brian’s leg. “You love me right? You said we’d always be together. Retire to Florida.”



“I think the boat has sailed on that one, Mikey,” Brian said as he tried to peel Michael off of him. “You need to go home and sober the fuck up.”



“No,” Michael said stubbornly. Justin couldn’t be sure if he was saying he didn’t want to go home or he wouldn’t let go of Brian. Both seemed to be true. “Can’t go there. It’s empty. But you could come with me. You could fuck me.”



“Shit,” Brian muttered before forcefully removing Michael from his personal space and holding him at arm’s length. “That’s never going to happen Mikey. You need to go away now.”



“You need to make him go away,” Michael said nodding towards Justin. “It’s all his fault. Make him go away, Bri.”



“Justin isn’t going anywhere,” Brian said. “You need to get your shit together, Mikey. Go home, sober up.”



There were numerous men around them watching the interplay, ready to relate this latest chapter of the saga to the rest of Liberty Ave.



“It’s all his fault,” Michael repeated belligerently. He turned to Justin, pulling roughly out of Brian’s grasp and nearly toppling over. When he righted himself, he approached Justin. “That fucking basher should have killed you.”



When he took a swing at Justin, nobody was surprised. Brian had, in fact, been waiting for that. So, apparently, had the bouncers. Two of them stepped in front of Justin before Michael could do more than pull back his arm. Brian caught his arm before he could swing. In the end, Michael was escorted from the club with much shouting and crying.



“Sorry about that, Brian,” another of the club employees said. “I’ll talk to Sap and see if we can ban him for a while.”



“Don’t bother on my account,” Brian sighed. “I don’t come here often enough to make it worth the effort.”



“He’s been causing problems for a while now,” the guy said. “Drinks too much and spends all night ranting. He’s gotten into scuffles with a few of the regulars in the last few weeks. He may just get banned anyway. Gary told me he’s already been banned from Woody’s. Anyway, don’t let him keep you and Justin from coming around.”



“We’ll keep it in mind,” Brian told him before turning back to Justin and their guests.



“Sorry about that,” Justin said to Dan and Charlie. “Michael is the guy I’m suing. He used to be Brian’s best friend, but… well, he hates me and has never made that a secret.”



“Why don’t we get out of here,” Brian suggested. “We can go for coffee at the waffle place you like so much, Sunshine. Unless you two want to call it a night?”



Dan smiled. “I love waffles.”



Charlie groaned. “You had to mention food.”



BJBJBJBJBJ



At the restaurant, Brian and Charlie watched with horror as Justin and Dan scarfed down plates of waffles, eggs, a variety of breakfast meats and a milkshake a piece.



“I love this place,” Dan said as he wiped his face and pushed his empty plate aside.



“I know,” Justin said. “You should try their disco fries sometime.”



“Disco fries?” Charlie asked.



“They melt mozzarella cheese over steak fries and then pour brown gravy over the top,” Justin said.



Brian and Charlie both groaned at the thought of all that cholesterol on one plate, but Dan looked intrigued. “Maybe we should get an order. Just so I could try them.”



“Absolutely not,” Charlie said. “If I have to watch you eat that, I might just have a heart attack out of sympathy for your arteries.”



Brian laughed but had to agree with Charlie. “I hate watching Justin eat that shit.”



“That’s why you always steal some when I order them,” Justin said.



“Well, I can’t let you eat them all,” Brian said. “I like having you around.”



Justin grinned and gave Brian a kiss as a reward. He turned back to Charlie and Dan. “So, you never said why the two of you are in town.”



“We’ve actually been considering moving up here,” Charlie confessed. “Most of our contacts are based in DC, but we actually travel extensively for our work and can really be based anywhere. DC has become rather oppressive lately. It’s almost impossible to have a life away from work when we’re there.”



“So, since Diane lives here, and we’ve really liked the city the few times we’ve visited, we thought we might just move up here,” Dan said. “It will give us a place away from the insanity that is politics.”



“We have a few politicians around here,” Brian said with tongue in cheek. “But they usually stay well hidden from us mere mortals.”



“Pittsburgh is actually a pretty great city,” Justin said. “The GLBT community is pretty active and you saw Liberty Ave.”



“Of course, those businesses aren’t the only gay places in a city this size,” Brian said. “Many of the smaller city districts have a section with gay friendly shops or bars.”



“For instance, lately we like to go to the Redwood Tavern in Squirrel Hill,” Justin said. “There are some areas I would steer clear of, but those tend to be the die-hard blue-collar neighborhoods.”



“Mother Taylor knows all the best areas,” Brian said. “She’ll be invaluable if you do decide to settle here.”



“Where do the two of you live?” Dan asked.



“We live not far from Liberty Ave,” Justin said. “Our loft is actually within walking distance of Babylon. And Kinnetik is on the edge of the district, so it’s pretty close as well.”



“Is that a good neighborhood?” Charlie asked.



“It depends on what you’re looking for,” Brian said. “If you want a converted loft, like where we live, it’s great. But it isn’t a traditionally residential area. There are a lot of mixed use buildings but the houses in the area are pretty rundown.”



“We were considering a place we could fix up,” Charlie said. “I like to dabble with renovations. It relaxes me.”



“It makes me crazy,” Dan said. “I can’t stand the chaos. But the work he does is really amazing, so I don’t complain too much. He’s renovated our last three houses and they were all great. I just wish he’d let me stay in them for more than six months after they are completed.”



“We should think about a house,” Brian said to Justin.



Justin’s eyes widened with shock. “A house?”



Brian shrugged. “It would be good for you to have space to paint. And I wouldn’t mind having a separate office to work at home. Gus could have his own room.”



“Gus?” Charlie asked.



“My son,” Brian said. “He’s three and he lives with his mothers, but he does stay over sometimes. It’s a little rough in a one room loft.”



“We’ll talk,” Justin said, shelving the idea for the time being. He wasn’t sure how he felt about moving out of the loft. Sure, he agreed with Brian’s reasons but the loft was special.

Part Seven



Dan and Charlie dropped Brian and Justin off at the loft, so Justin had to drive Brian back out to Jennifer’s to pick up his car the next day. Brian went off to the gym for a couple hours while Justin went inside to actually talk to his mother.



“So, how did your evening with Dan and Charlie go?” Jennifer asked over coffee.



Justin rolled his eyes. “Brian and I are perfectly capable of making our own friends, Mom.”



“I know that, dear,” Jennifer said. “I just thought that since they’ve been considering moving here, it would be good for them to know another gay couple.”



“And…” Justin prompted.



Jennifer sighed and rolled her eyes. “And I thought it wouldn’t hurt for the two of you to have friends that could be both of your friends, rather than just yours like Daphne or just Brian’s like what’s left of the old gang.”



“Well, your meddling worked this time,” Justin admitted. “But don’t think Brian and I will appreciate your continued interference.”



“So you had a good time?” Jennifer asked.



“Until Michael showed up at Babylon,” Justin said. He filled her in on the events of the evening. And she looked saddened by Michael’s behavior.



“I just wish Debbie wasn’t so blinded where her son is concerned,” Jennifer sighed. “I can understand trying to protect your son, but she has to see that what he did was wrong.”



Justin knew that Jennifer had also lost a friend in the fallout, but unlike Debbie, Jennifer had other friends. Debbie had alienated most of her friends in her defense of Michael.



“Michael learned his single-mindedness from somewhere,” Justin said.



“I suppose so,” Jennifer said.



“I think Brian really enjoyed last night,” Justin said. “All of his old friends are very… stuck in the past and not many of them have the drive or intelligence to really challenge him. Dan and Charlie are both very successful, ambitious and smart. Brian can relate to them in a way he never could with Michael or Lindsay.”



“I hate to say it, but maybe it was for the best that all this happened,” Jennifer said. “I’ve never liked the way Brian’s friends treated either of you, but it was not my place to say anything. Perhaps now that you have made strides towards a real relationship, it’s time for you to have friends who respect you both and with whom you can relate on more than just one level.”



“Ted’s been great since he came to work for us,” Justin said. “He’s been careful to keep things professional, but I know that he’s really grateful for the chance to turn things around. And he’s seeing someone he met at his meetings. Matt is a great guy. He was a big time litigator but he got caught up in the high pressure cases and used drugs to self-medicate. He’s clean now and has started his own small practice and takes limited cases so that he can control the stress levels without drugs.”



“I hope things work for them,” Jennifer said. “For all his griping about Brian in the past, he at least has some potential to be more than a bar buddy.”



“I sometimes wish Brian never figured out about the money,” Justin admitted. “As awful as Michael is, Brian loved him. And we both believed that we could count on him and the others to be there for us.”



“Well, honey, as hard as all this has been, at least you know who your friends are,” Jennifer said.



“I wish Daphne was around,” Justin said. “I know I can count on her.”



“Well, you and Brian have Molly and I too,” Jennifer said. “Ted may be taking a hands off approach, but I doubt he would stay at Kinnetik if he didn’t believe you were right to do what you did. And I know that Melanie has been surprisingly supportive.”



“Melanie has been a surprise,” Justin admitted. “She’s made sure that we still get to see Gus, even if Lindsay is being unreasonable.”



“She’s got a good head on her shoulders,” Jennifer said. “I’m sure that she can see just how much Brian has changed for the better and is simply responding to those changes.”



“He’s still Brian,” Justin said quietly. “But he’s focused more on making Kinnetik and our relationship work and on being a good father to Gus now than he was before. I think it’s more a matter of his priorities have changed than Brian really changing.”



“Perhaps you’re right,” Jennifer said. “Whatever the case, the rest of us can now see what you saw all along.”



BJBJBJBJBJ



Justin looked around the loft as he headed to the kitchen to fix dinner later that week. They hadn’t bought any more furniture since the sofa, despite the fact that they could once again afford such things. “We need to furnish this place,” he told Brian, who was sitting at the table and working on his laptop.



“Why furnish it if we’re going to sell it and get a bigger place?” Brian countered without looking up from the computer.



“You’re still on about that?” Justin asked. He had thought it might be a passing thought brought about by Dan and Charlie’s talk of houses. He should have known better.



Brian shrugged and finally closed the computer. “We need more space. You need a studio. I need an office. Gus needs a bedroom. And we both need a bigger closet.”



“I concede to all of those points,” Justin said. “However, I just can’t imagine you settling into quaint little bungalow with a white picket fence.”



Brian shuddered at the mental image that gave him. “Okay. I’ll concede that one to you. What about a penthouse? Or a larger loft?”



“The place below us is up for sale,” Justin said. “We could renovate and combine the two spaces.”



“We could,” Brian agreed. “We’d have to check out our condo association contract and get an architect in here. But Justin, you realize that if we change this place, it won’t ever be what it is now. What makes it special is the open feeling. Even bringing the other floor into play, we’d still have to chop it up into rooms to get all the things we want.”



Justin sighed as he pulled the salmon steaks from the fridge. “I know. It was just an idea.”



“Why are you so reluctant to look for a new place?” Brian asked as he walked over and then pulled Justin into his arms.



Justin set the salmon on the counter and leaned into Brian’s embrace. “This was your first place. It was our first place together. It was the place we first fucked. There’s a lot of memories here.”



“Not all of them are good,” Brian reminded him. “We can take the good memories with us and make new memories wherever we end up.”



“I know it’s irrational,” Justin said. “I know you’re right. Maybe I’ll feel better if we start looking.”



“We won’t move until we find a place we can both feel comfortable,” Brian said. “I’ll ask Mother Taylor to start looking, though.”



Justin enjoyed the comfort of Brian’s arms for a few moments longer before pulling away so he could get to work on dinner. Brian went back to the table and began clearing away his computer and putting his papers back into his briefcase. Once that was done, he washed off the table and then began setting it. It didn’t take long for Justin to grill the salmon and vegetables, so by the time Brian was finished, Justin was serving up their meal.



“Melanie called me today,” Justin said. “She wondered if we wanted to take Gus for the weekend. She and Lindsay are going to some couples retreat. I think they might be having some issues again.”



“Things are always rocky in lesbian land,” Brian said with a smirk. Both Brian and Justin worried, however, about what a breakup between the two women could mean for their relationship with Gus.



“It still seems so strange to me that Mel is the one advocating so strongly for us to see Gus,” Justin commented.



“Me too,” Brian admitted. “But I can see why. Melanie is a lawyer and her mind catalogues facts and figures like a lawyer. She builds a case in her mind and then makes a judgment based on that case. Mel always saw my behavior as proof that I was a horrible person, but she has reevaluated that judgment based upon more recent facts.  Lindsay’s mind doesn’t work that way.”



“No,” Justin said. “She’s nothing like Mel.”



“Just like Mikey, she sees me as her property,” Brian said ruefully. “She could share me with Mikey because he wasn’t a threat in her mind. But you…”



“She thinks I’m trying to take you away from her?” Justin asked with surprise. “That’s insane.”



Brian shrugged. “It’s not just my attention that she wants, as we both know. Though that is part of it. She wants the material things she thinks she’s entitled to and she wants me to provide them. It’s like you said, in some warped fashion she sees me as her husband, required to pay for her upkeep.”



“Unfortunately, Gus gets caught up in her schemes,” Justin sighed. “There has to be a way to prevent her from keeping up the emotional blackmail.”



Brian shrugged again. “We talked about this before. I’m not going to do anything unless she tries to keep me from Gus. Then all bets are off.”



“Is Michael still calling you?” Justin wondered. Brian had changed his cell phone number three times since the discovery of the theft but Michael always seemed to find out the new number. And while he worked on getting that, he pestered Cynthia.



“Cynthia has threatened that if he keeps calling the office, she’s going to report him for harassment,” Brian said. “But he hasn’t gotten the new number yet.”



“He needs to settle this before it goes to court,” Justin sighed. “This is going to break him.”



“It’s already breaking him,” Brian said. “Ted told me that since Ben left, he’s been an absolute wreck. He’s drinking too much, taking drugs, taking risks… The store has been closed more than it’s been opened lately.”



“What I don’t understand is why Debbie isn’t trying to talk sense into him,” Justin said. “I get that she blames me, us, for this, but she should at least be aware that Michael is self-destructing. Even if she doesn’t agree with us suing him, she could try and make him understand that by not settling, he’s risking everything.”



“Where do you think Michael learned his blind stubbornness?” Brian asked. “Let’s not talk about them anymore.”



Justin nodded. “Did you see the final art for the Jenkins presentation?”



“No talking about work either,” Brian said with a smirk.



Justin ate his food in silence for a few minutes. “Then what did you want to talk about?”



“I was thinking that when we have Gus here this weekend, we could take him to the zoo,” Brian said. “It’s supposed to finally be good weather this weekend.”



“Sounds like fun,” Justin said. “I heard from Dan. He and Charlie are going to be up again this weekend to look at houses. They wondered if we could get together.”



“As long as they don’t mind having a three year old around,” Brian said. “We get so little time with Gus, I don’t want to use a babysitter when he’s with us.”



Justin agreed with that. He stood up and began clearing away their now empty plates. Brian helped put the dishes into the dishwasher before taking Justin’s hand and leading him to the bedroom.



“One good thing about no television,” Brian said. “There’s a lot more time for fucking.”



“I think we’d find time for fucking even if we got a TV,” Justin said with a smile as he let Brian remove his clothes.



BJBJBJBJBJ





Justin let Melanie into the loft on Friday afternoon and looked around expectantly for Gus. Melanie gave him a rueful smile. “I’m sorry. I really tried.”

Justin sighed. “What was it this time?”



Mel shook her head. “She decided that Brian would surely not have time for Gus since he turned her down when she asked for more money this week.”



“That’s the third time she’s asked in less than two weeks,” Justin said with exasperation. “He already gave her more than $1000 between the first two checks. What did she want this time?”



“I have no idea,” Mel sighed. She sat down on the sofa and leaned her arms on her knees before burying her face in her hands. When she looked up at Justin, there were tears in her eyes. “We were supposed to go to this retreat to work on our relationship, but Lindsay… I don’t know the person she’s becoming. She keeps using Gus like a pawn in some chess game that only she knows the rules of. I can’t let her keep doing that to our son. And I refuse to bring another child into this mess, no matter how much I want one.”



“What are you going to do?” Justin asked. He sat on the sofa and put a comforting hand on her back.



“I’m going to talk with Brian,” Mel said. “I think it’s time we worked together to fix this fucking mess.”



“If she’s keeping Gus from us this weekend, I think he might just be ready to pursue his rights legally,” Justin told her.



“He’s got a case,” Mel admitted. “Probably a better case than I do.”



“You won’t lose Gus,” Justin said. “Anyone can see how much you love him. And Brian and I will both speak on your behalf.”



“Thanks,” Mel said. “I… I want to leave her, but I’m afraid that she’ll try and keep me from Gus. What if she tries to do to me what she’s been doing to Brian?”



“You won’t let her,” Justin said.



“Won’t let who do what?” Brian asked from the doorway. Neither of them heard him come in. “Where’s Gus?”



“Lindsay…” Mel said.



“Fuck,” Brian muttered. “She can’t keep pulling this shit!”



“I know,” Mel said. “I’m… I’m going to leave her. But I need to make sure I don’t lose Gus at the same time. If we don’t handle this right, we could both lose Gus.”



Brian sighed and grabbed a glass of Beam. He sat at the other end of the sofa and pulled Justin into his lap. “We’ll need another good lawyer.”



Mel nodded. “Matt practices family law. I’ve spoken to him and he’s agreed to take the case.”



“This is going to get really messy,” Brian said.



“Things are already messy,” Justin reminded him.

Part Eight



“I’m glad you two came,” Charlie said when Brian and Justin met them at a restaurant the next evening. “But I thought that you were bringing your son?”



“Gus’ mother is being a bitch,” Brian said. He explained what was happening while they waited at the bar for their table to become available. By the end of the tale, both Charlie and Dan were livid.



“That’s just not right,” Dan said. “If you need any help, don’t forget we have some pretty influential friends who owe us favors.”



“We appreciate that,” Justin said. They were momentarily interrupted by the Maître D’ who had arrived to show them to their table. They took a moment to get settled and then Justin turned back to Dan. “How did the house hunting go?”



“Really great,” Dan said enthusiastically. “We found the perfect place. It’s finished enough for me to live comfortably, but has a few projects that will keep Charlie busy for a while.”



“It’s in Squirrel Hill, near Shadyside,” Charlie said. “It’s an older home, one of those three story stone houses that seem to populate that area. But it has plenty of land around it, unlike most of the houses around there. The garage needs to be torn down and completely rebuilt, and the basement is like a dungeon. I figure I can work on the garage and turning the basement into livable space. Right now, all that’s down there is the washer and dryer and furnace. I’d like to put in a media room and an exercise room at the very least. Once that’s done, I’ll probably replace the current deck with something better.”



“We put in a bid,” Dan said. “Jennifer seems to think we’ll have a good shot at it since the house has been on the market for a few months with little interest.”



“So it looks like we’ll have to start packing up the house in DC,” Charlie said.



“We’re definitely looking for a new place too,” Brian informed them. “The loft is getting a little small.”



“One room for two people can get cramped, not matter what the square footage,” Justin said.



“We saw a place that might be of interest to you then,” Charlie said.



“We don’t want a traditional house,” Brian said warily.



Charlie chuckled. “I would never presume that you would. No, this was one of the first places Jennifer showed us before she knew what we were looking for.”



“You mean the place in Shadyside?” Dan asked. He turned to Justin. “You’ll love this space. It’s a building that was converted from an old high school into condos. The condo we looked at used to be the auditorium. The old balcony was turned into three bedroom suites. There’s a study and office underneath. The living spaces are all open with high ceilings.”



“They replaced all the flooring when they did the renovation, but the kept some of the art deco details,” Charlie told them. “But the best part of the place was the master bedroom suite.”



“They put it where the old stage used to be,” Dan said. “It’s huge. They left the orchestra pit and opened that up to the under-stage area. They put in a game room and exercise room down there.”



“Call your mother, Sunshine,” Brian told his partner.



Justin rolled his eyes. “Brian…”



“Call her now,” Brian insisted. “I want to see this place tomorrow.”



Dan and Charlie chuckled as Justin pulled out his cell phone. “Mom?”



“Hello Sweetheart,” Jennifer said. “I thought Charlie said you and Brian were having dinner with them tonight?”



“We are,” Justin said. “In fact they’re sitting here listening to my end of the call.”



“Oh, well then, what can I do for the four of you?” Jennifer asked warily.



“Dan and Charlie were telling us about some of the places you showed them and one in particular caught Brian’s interest,” Justin said.



“The school renovation,” Jennifer guessed. “I thought of Brian the first time I saw it, but I didn’t think you were interested in moving.”



“I didn’t think we were either until recently,” Justin said with a chuckle. “But the loft has gotten a little small. We agreed to check some places out.”



“So you want to see the Linden Street loft,” Jennifer said. “When?”



Justin looked at Brian who nodded. “Tomorrow if you have time to show us.”



“I’m free until lunch,” Jenifer told him. “I’ll make the arrangements and meet you at the loft?”



“I’ll fix breakfast,” Justin said. “And thanks Mom.”



Justin hung up the phone and Brian smirked. “So Mother Taylor will be by in the morning.”



“Yes,” Justin said. “You’ll be happy to know that you’re getting your way…as usual.”



BJBJBJBJBJ



The two couples went out to the Redwood Tavern after dinner. It was rather close to both the house Charlie and Dan wanted to buy and to the loft on Linden Street, as Brian pointed out helpfully to Justin. They had a good time, spending more time playing pool in the pub than in the club portion of establishment, and went home at a fairly decent hour.



The next morning, Jennifer arrived and the three of them had breakfast and discussed what they were looking for in a new place. Jennifer said it sounded like their needs would match what Linden Street offered, but they should wait and see for themselves. She also asked if they were planning on selling the loft.



“We could rent it out,” Brian said. “But since it’s mortgage free, any money that it brings in could reduce the mortgage on the new place drastically.”



“I suppose it depends on how well Kinnetik is doing these days,” Justin said. “We did get a couple of substantial bonuses recently that we could put towards the down payment.”



“I could easily list the loft for $1,200 a month,” Jennifer told them.



“The question becomes will the income be more than the difference in mortgage,” Brian said. “I’ll have Ted run the numbers before we make a decision.”



Jennifer noted the way Brian continued to use the word we when discussing the sale of the loft. She wondered how literal he was being. She knew that no amount of prying would give her the answers. Until Brian was ready to tell her, she would get nothing from him.  She hoped it meant that he was actually thinking in terms of commitment, but she couldn’t say so to either Brian or her son.



Once breakfast was finished, Jennifer drove with them over to the loft on Linden Street. The building was in a relatively nice neighborhood. It had obviously seen some improvement in recent years. There were plenty of quaint shops and restaurants within walking distance and the residents of the area looked to be mostly young professionals.



They parked in the lot beside the building and Jennifer explained, “The building has a pool and gym facilities. They’re left over from when this was a high school, but have been renovated along with the rest of the building. The unit you are interested in has a separate door, giving you direct access to the parking lot, as you can see. But there’s an interior door as well.”



Jennifer led them up the short flight of stairs to the door near the rear of the parking area. “There are three assigned parking spots reserved for this unit, so you’d have close access to your door. There’s also plenty of parking for guests. And Brian, I know how you feel about security. The unit has an alarm already installed, and both doors are monitored by the building security team.”



Brian was impressed to hear that. He loved the loft, but after the break in he was sometimes leery about leaving Justin there alone when he had to travel for business. Having security on the premises would make Brian feel a lot better when he was away.



When they finally entered the loft, Brian and Justin booth froze momentarily as they took in the large open space. The original windows were still in place and gave the room lots of natural light. The hardwood floors gleamed in the sunlight. The unit was empty, so they couldn’t see how the previous owner had furnished the huge room, but both could imagine. Brian’s preference for modern furniture and minimalist decorating would be perfect in this space.



The huge room was basically divided with the kitchen in the center of the room. There were no overhead cabinets, but the u-shaped black granite counter had plenty of storage in the sleek red lacquered cabinets below and at the bottom of the u was raised breakfast counter. On the exterior side of the kitchen was a living area complete with a large gas fireplace. On the interior side of the kitchen was the dining area.



As predicted by Dan, the orchestra pit was still open to the room, separated by a half wall of glass blocks. On one end of this wall was a set of steps leading up to the master bedroom and on the other side a set of steps leading down to the lower rooms. Justin led them down and they found the media room, the game room, and a utility room with plenty of storage space.



Jennifer then called them back up to look at the rooms below the balcony. There were two rooms separated by another sitting area that was open to the main room with large windows letting in more natural sunlight. The study was closest to the main part of the building and there were built-in bookshelves that made the room look cozy. Justin could imagine Brian working there quite easily. Across the way, however, the other room looked perfect for a studio. The large space had windows on two walls and the natural light made it perfect for painting.



“I thought this might do for a studio,” Jennifer commented. “You’d need to do something to protect the floors or change them and you might want to add a utility sink, but since there’s a guest bathroom on the other side of this wall, that shouldn’t be difficult.”



Brian nodded his head thoughtfully. “We could leave the floors as they are and just refinish them if we ever sell the place. And you’re right; the sink really shouldn’t be too hard to add.”



Justin was excited at the prospect of having a real studio where he could work. Even though he was no longer pursuing his degree, art was still a major part of who he was and a space like this one would allow him the freedom to experiment in other mediums as well, something he’d been longing to do.



They went back out to the main room and took the stairs near the dining area to the upper floor. There were three guest suites up there, each with a private bathroom and a large walk in closet.



“Gus could have his own room,” Justin said. Again, the rooms had plenty of windows.



“Let’s go see the master suite,” Jennifer said. “I really think you’ll like it.”



They went back down to the main room and then took the stairs up to the master suite. The suite opened up to a large sitting area with windows along the back wall. Towards the interior of the building, the first door led to a walk in closet that was almost as large as the upstairs bedrooms. The master bathroom had a huge shower, as large as the one at the loft, a soaking tub big enough for two, and double sinks. The hardware was all very modern and done in brushed steel. The bedroom area, on the exterior side of the suite, was separated from the sitting area with another half wall of glass blocks and again had two walls of windows, but the landscaping outside did a lot to ensure that there was a sense of privacy even without window coverings.



“There’s a playground and large grassy area out back, and a lot of the residents bring their children there to play,” Jennifer said. “Many of them are just starting families, so there are other kids Gus’ age. And the pool and gym are just down the hall.”



Brian looked at Justin with a raised brow. “What do you think Sunshine?”



“I love it,” Justin admitted. “I could definitely see us living here.”



“We’ll put in an offer,” Brian told Jennifer.



BJBJBJBJBJ



The date of the hearing had finally been set and as the day approached both Brian and Justin had second and third thoughts about going through with the lawsuit. They were no longer at a point where they needed the money, and watching Michael self-destruct, even from a distance, was not fun for either of them. Finally, Brian decided that he would try to talk to Michael one more time.



“Are you sure you don’t want me to go along?” Justin asked as Brian prepared to walk over to the shop from Kinnetik.



“I think he’ll be more open to listening if I go alone,” Brian said.



Justin nodded at that. “Well, I’ll be here if you need me.”



Brian left and Justin couldn’t help but feel bad about everything. He had never wanted to destroy Michael, but the man just wouldn’t be reasonable. Shaking his head, Justin went back to his office to get to work on a new campaign that they had signed recently.



An hour later, Cynthia came into the office and her face was pale. “Justin, Brian just called. He needs you to meet him at Allegheny General. Michael… well, Brian said it looked like he tried to kill himself.”



“Fuck!” Justin swore as he dropped everything and grabbed his jacket and car keys. “Does Ted know?”



“He’s waiting for you,” Cynthia said. “I’ll hold the fort.”



Justin nodded and headed out. He met Ted by the front door and the two of them drove to the hospital together. When they got there, Brian was in the ER waiting room, but he wasn’t alone. Debbie was there shouting and swearing at Brian.



“This is all your fucking fault!” Debbie ranted as she sobbed.



Carl had a tight hold on her, and she collapsed into the man’s arms as Justin walked up to them. He noticed that Vic, Emmett, Melanie and Lindsay were all there as well. None of them were saying a word to anyone. Justin went over to a visibly shaken Brian and wrapped his arms around him. Brian held him tightly as he worked through his emotions until he felt like he wasn’t going to fall apart.



“What happened?” Justin asked quietly as Brian pulled back a little.



“The door to the shop was unlocked, but the lights were all off,” Brian said. “So I knocked at first and then I went in to look for him. He was in the back room, sitting at that shitty desk he loves so much. There was a bottle of rum almost empty and an empty bottle of sleeping pills. There was a note, too.” He shook his head. “I didn’t bother to read it. He was still breathing when I found him, but his heart stopped twice in the ambulance on the way over here. They… they aren’t sure if he’s going to make it. And even if he lives, there’s a good chance that he’ll have some sort of brain damage.”



“Has anyone called Ben and Hunter?” Justin asked.



“They were at Ben’s parents, Hunter had a few days off of school, but they’re on their way back now,” Brian said.



Just then Carl came over to them. Debbie was sitting with Vic and crying on his shoulder. “Brian, I really appreciate what you did, getting Michael here and doing CPR and everything. But… well, Debbie’s upset enough right now and having the two of you here is making it worse.”

Brian sighed. “We’ll go.”



“Can you call and let us know how he’s doing when you find out?” Justin asked.



“I’ll make sure that someone does,” Carl said.



Justin nodded his thanks and then he and Brian left the hospital.



BJBJBJBJBJ



“We’re dropping the suit,” Justin said as he drove the SUV back to the loft. There was no way they were going to be able to work now.



“Yeah,” Brian sighed. “Seems like too little too late.”



“Brian, you can’t blame yourself for this,” Justin said quietly. “Michael made some very bad decisions and this is the result. There will be enough people blaming us, we can’t blame ourselves too.”



“I know you’re right,” Brian sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. “But… Fuck, Sunshine, he was just sitting there and he… I thought he was dead. And all I could think was that it was just another play for sympathy to get out of paying the money back. How fucked up is that?”



“The sad part is I wouldn’t be surprised if Michael did think that way,” Justin said gently. “He could get rid of the law suit and patch things up with you and Ben all in one fell swoop. He knew that both of you would be there if he was on death’s door. And if he died, well, then the problems would be gone anyway.”



“The fact that he’s so fucked up to even think that way says something, though,” Brian said quietly.



“It says he needs help,” Justin said. “He needs professional help. It’s not a simple matter of him obsessing over you, or hating me. He’s obviously got some serious problems.”



“Problems I didn’t want to see,” Brian said.



They pulled up to the loft and went inside, both lost in their own thoughts for the moment. Once they were safely away from prying eyes, however, Justin pulled Brian into an embrace. “No one could have predicted that Michael would do what he did. He shunned every offer we made to try and help him. He refused to accept that he was heading for disaster. Even if you had been right beside him, you don’t know that it would have made a difference.”



Brian held onto Justin like a lifeline and buried his face in the crook of his neck. He knew what Justin was saying was true, but it didn’t feel true yet. Right now, Brian was just too overwhelmed with guilt and fear to accept the truth of Justin’s words. So instead, he clung to him and hoped that Michael would survive.

Part Nine



They didn’t get a call from Ted until the next morning. “Justin? I just wanted to let you and Brian know that Michael’s condition has been stabilized. He hasn’t woken up yet, so they still don’t know if there will be any brain damage.”



“Thanks for letting us know,” Justin said. “Did Ben and Hunter get there okay?”



“They’re here,” Ted said with a dark laugh. “Debbie tried to get them thrown out, but Ben still holds Michael’s medical proxy and power of attorney. Ben’s taken over the decisions and there’s not really anything that Debbie can do about it.”



“Sounds pretty messy,” Justin sighed. “Tell Ben that we’re here for him if he needs anything at all.”



“I’ll do that,” Ted said. “I’m going to stick around for a little longer and then head home to shower and change. I’ll be in the office before lunch.”



“Take your time,” Justin said. “We can get by for a few hours without you. Besides, if Brian can’t be there, I’m sure he appreciates having someone he trusts will tell him what’s going on be there.”



“Thanks, Justin,” Ted said. “But I’ll still be in for a few hours this afternoon. I’ll stop back this evening. They think it’s probably going to be a while before they see any change in his condition.”



“Alright,” Justin said. “I guess we’ll see you this afternoon then.”



Justin hung up and found Brian just emerging from the shower. He relayed what Ted had told him and he could see that Brian was somewhat relieved to know that at least they now expected Michael to live, though he didn’t say so.



“We’ve got a meeting with Cameron Cosmetics this morning,” Brian reminded his partner. “We should get going.”



“My car or yours?” Justin asked with a small smile.



BJBJBJBJBJ



In the end, it was three days later before Michael woke from his self-inflicted coma. Ted kept the couple up to date on his condition and was extremely understanding about Brian’s desire to know what was happening. When he did wake, it became clear pretty quickly that Michael would not escape this particular incident unscathed. He was not mentally incapacitated, but he did have difficulties with some motor skills and it would take months of physical therapy before he could recover as much as possible. He would never totally recover.



Ben came to visit Brian and Justin at the loft a couple days later, surprising them on Sunday afternoon as they were packing. “Are you moving?” Ben asked as he looked at the boxes scattered around the loft.



“We bought a new place over on Linden Street in Shadyside,” Justin told him. “Would you like coffee? And I made honey nut bran muffins for Brian this morning if you’d like one.”



“Thanks,” Ben said with a tired smile. “I’ve been living on hospital food for too long.”



Justin got the food together while Brian went to sit with Ben at the table. “How’s he doing?”



Ben sighed. “He’s alive and aware just how close he was to dying. The hospital is making him see a psychiatrist and it seems to be helping. He’s finally beginning to understand how much of his situation was his own making.”



“We dropped the suit,” Justin said as he set a plate and mug in front of Ben. “We never wanted something like this to happen.”



“I know,” Ben said with a sad smile. “He was wrong to do what he did. When it was discovered, he should have owned up to his actions. If he had, none of this would have happened. I think he’s starting to see that. He wants to talk to you. To both of you.”



“Is that a good idea?” Brian asked. “We don’t want to upset him.”



“I suggested that it might be best to do this when the psychiatrist is present,” Ben said. “He can help Michael see when he’s becoming unreasonable and keep things from getting too upsetting.”



“How are things between the two of you?” Justin asked carefully.



Ben took a sip of his coffee as he considered his answer. “Well, we’re doing okay for the moment, but I’ve told Michael that the only way I’ll stay after he leaves the hospital in a couple weeks is if he agrees to continue his sessions with the psychiatrist and if we begin couples counseling. We can’t continue to ignore the problems between us. And despite appearances, they don’t all have to do with the two of you. Michael has never dealt well with the fact that I’m sick.”



“Sounds like you’ve got everything under control,” Brian said with admiration.



“Tell that to Debbie,” Ben sighed. “I swear that woman needs a little counseling herself.”



Brian snorted. “Always has.”



“So when’s the move?” Ben asked, ready to change the subject.



“Next weekend,” Justin said. “We don’t have all the rooms furnished yet, but then again, we never finished refurnishing this place. We can live with sparse décor for a while.”



“Maybe if things go well with this visit, you and Michael could come over for dinner sometime after he gets out,” Brian suggested warily.



“I’d like that,” Ben said.



“Either way, you’re always welcome to come by,” Justin said. Brian glared at him, but Justin smiled. Unlike many of the old gang, he knew that Ben would never just drop in without calling first.



“Thanks,” Ben said. “These muffins are great. I’d love the recipe.”



BJBJBJBJBJ



“I’m not sure this is a good idea,” Brian told Justin as they rode the elevator up to Michael’s floor in the hospital on Wednesday evening.



“Ben said that Debbie is working tonight,” Justin reminded him. “So she won’t be around to give us a hard time. And Michael’s doctor will be there.”



“I know,” Brian sighed as he took the blond’s hand and stepped off the elevator. “I just… I’m not even sure how I feel about all this. I mean, how do we move past this?”



“Let’s hear what he has to say before we make any decisions,” Justin said.



They quickly found the right room and paused just outside the door before entering. Michael was lying in the bed and Ben was sitting beside him, holding his hand. Mikey looked like he needed the reassurance as much as Brian needed Justin. The doctor was near the window, but gestured for Brian and Justin to take the two seats that had been brought in for them.



“Thanks for coming,” Michael said quietly. There was a slight slur to his words and both Brian and Justin knew that it was due to the motor damage.



“Of course we came,” Brian said.



Michael carefully nodded his head. “Yeah. Ben told me that you dropped the lawsuit.”



“We did,” Justin said. He didn’t mention why. He figured that went without saying.



“I wanted to thank you and say that I’m going to figure out a way to pay back the money I took,” Michael said. “And if you still want to buy the rights to Rage… I guess you were right. I can’t do anything with it without you. Unless you...”



“I’m sorry,” Justin said regretfully. “I really don’t think I can go back to working together like that again. At least not right now. But if you sign over your rights to Rage, we can just call it even.”



Michael and Ben shared a look and then Michael nodded. “Okay. That’s more than fair.”



They were all quiet for a few moments, but Brian eventually had to ask. “Why, Mikey? Why did you do it?”



“Do what?” Michael asked. “Take the money? Try to break you guys up? Try to kill myself?”



“How about you pick one,” Brian said with a small smirk.



Michael smiled back at him and they shared a moment of shared memory that was lost on the others in the room. Then Michael’s smile faded as he considered the question. “I’ve been trying to figure all of that out. Since I woke up, things seem really different. I mean, I remember doing those things, but… the emotions and reasoning that I was feeling then seem foreign, like they were someone else’s feelings. I know that what I did was wrong, and I’m sorry that I did any of those things. But I just don’t know why I would do any of that.”



Brian looked at the doctor for some sort of explanation. “When Michael took the sleeping pills, he caused his body to shut down, and his brain didn’t receive enough oxygen. As a result, certain connections have been lost. I’m sure you know that he’ll have some hard work ahead of him to get back his motor functions back. But there was also some emotional and cognitive damage. Basically, portions of his brain died and the other parts have to find new ways to perform the old tasks. Michael may never be able to connect to the emotions and thoughts that he had before.”



“In some ways, I feel like that’s a good thing,” Michael said quietly. “I don’t want to go back to being the person I was.”



“You have a chance to start fresh,” Justin said.



“Exactly,” Michael said. “I know that what I did to the two of you was unforgivable, but I hope that maybe with time we can maybe try to start fresh too?”



“It won’t ever be the same as it was,” Brian warned. “It can’t be. I can’t let you treat Justin the way you did.”



“Nothing in my life will ever be the same,” Michael said. “I’m learning to accept that. And like I said, I don’t want to go back to the person I was. But I would like a chance to see if we could all be friends.”



“We can try,” Justin said. “Why don’t you and Ben plan on coming for dinner in a couple weeks. You can see our new place and we can see how things go from there.”



“Thanks, I’d like that,” Michael said. He was obviously tired from the discussion. Brian and Justin stood and said their goodbyes, promising to get in touch with Ben once they were settled in the new place.



BJBJBJBJBJ



The move went well. They hired a moving company to get everything done quickly and efficiently. And Justin had spent some time ordering furniture for the new place which was delivered the day before the move. They had furnished pretty much all the rooms except for the guest bedrooms and Brian’s study. Brian wanted to do his study himself and there was no rush for the guest room. As long as they had a bedroom for themselves and one for Gus, they were happy.



Justin’s studio looked pretty empty, but all of the proper equipment had been added, including the new sink. The only furniture in the room, aside from the storage cabinets and drafting table, was an old leather chaise. Justin had found it in a consignment shop and bought it despite Brian’s protests. Justin refused to spend a lot of money on a piece of furniture that would inevitably get paint on it. Since it was Justin’s room, Brian eventually gave up the fight.



They had finally decided to keep the old loft and rent it out. Ted predicted that it would be a better investment to do it that way, and Brian had come to rely upon Ted’s advice in such matters.



The same weekend that Brian and Justin moved, Charlie and Dan moved as well and Michael was finally able to go home from the hospital. It was also the same weekend that Melanie finally left Lindsay. She showed up at their doorstep late on Sunday evening with a suitcase and Gus in tow.



“I’m sorry to just drop in on you guys,” Mel apologized after putting Gus to bed in his new room. “I just didn’t really know where else to go and I knew you at least had the room for Gus here.”



“The guest room isn’t furnished yet, but you’re welcome to the sofa for now,” Justin said. In fact, their new living room had two sofas flanking the gas fireplace. The red sofa from the loft had been moved into their bedroom here and they had bought two matching black leather sofas and a love seat. In the center of the grouping was a huge plum colored leather ottoman that could be used for extra seating, for putting one’s feet up, or to set drinks on the tray Justin had purchased just for that purpose.



“What happened?” Brian asked. “Why the sudden departure?”



Mel shook her head. “I didn’t choose to leave. We were fighting again and she… well, let’s just say that she made it very clear to me that I was no longer welcome. I told her I wasn’t going anywhere without Gus. Her response was to pack his bag.”



“She’s going to change her tune quickly,” Brian said. “You need to get Matt on this first thing tomorrow morning. See if you can get her to sign over her rights before she changes her mind.”



“I’ve already called him on the way over here,” Mel said. “He said he’ll have the paperwork ready in the morning and he and I can go and talk to her together. I’m prepared to give her the house and pretty much anything else we bought together in exchange. Maybe her greed will win out and make things simple.”



“What about us?” Justin asked quietly. He didn’t want to bring this up right now, but he knew that Brian never would.



“I’ve already talked to Matt about that as well,” Mel said. “If she signs over her rights, I’ll give you two shared custody.”



Brian and Justin exchanged a look that spoke volumes and then Brian said, “Let her know that if she agrees, we’ll pay her $5,000 a month for the next year for her to start fresh and do whatever the fuck she wants to do with her life. After that year, there will be no more money, however.”



Melanie gave them a small sad smile. “That should appeal to her greedy little heart.”



Brian and Justin exchanged another look. “You know you’re welcome to stay as long as you need until you can get on your feet. We’ll even order furniture for the guest room so you don’t have to sleep on the sofa.”



Mel laughed at that. “Thanks. I may just take you up on that. I’m not sure how I’m going to cope trying to raise Gus without Lindsay.”



“You won’t be alone,” Justin told her. “We’re here for both of you.”

Part Ten

Brian and Justin went to work the next morning and tried to concentrate on the projects that were awaiting their attention, but both of them were too anxious to hear how Mel’s meeting with Lindsay had gone to get much done. By lunchtime, they had both given up all pretense of work and went out. While they were on their way to the restaurant, they got the call from Mel and they invited her to join them so they could talk.

They were already seated and sipping their drinks when Mel arrived. The waiter came over immediately to take her drink order. “I think you should bring champagne for all of us. We have some celebrating to do.”

Brian and Justin smiled at that and nodded when the waiter looked to them for approval. Once he was gone, Justin asked, “So, she agreed?”

“She did,” Mel said. “She’s obviously been thinking about leaving for a while, because she’s already got plans to move to Arizona with some friend from college. Caroline owns a gallery there and offered Lindsay the opportunity to show some of her work and a place to paint.”

“Caroline?” Brian asked. “Wow. She was from a family even richer than Lindsay’s and actually accepted that she was a dyke. She panted after Lindsay all through school, but Lindsay thought she was better than Caroline. She’s not the prettiest girl around. I always thought Caroline was too good for Lindsay.”

“I expect that Lindsay will be very happy being her little woman,” Mel said.

“So they’re already together?” Justin asked.

Mel waited for the waiter to pour their champagne before answering. “Not yet, but it was apparent that was the intent on both sides. Lindsay was very clear about that. I think she was trying to hurt me. I don’t think she realizes that I stopped caring a while ago. But enough about her. She signed all the papers and Matt is filing them with the county. The three of us are now officially Gus’ parents.”

“The three of us?” Justin asked.

“Yes,” Mel said kindly. “You are as much Gus’ parent as any of us.”

“To new beginnings,” Brian said as he raised his glass.

“To family, however weird it may be,” Mel countered.

“To Matt, who made this possible,” Justin said.

They clinked their glasses and drank before all laughing with giddy relief and joy.

BJBJBJBJBJ

Having Gus and Mel living with them turned out to be an unexpected treat for Justin and Brian. Gus loved being with his Daddy and Jus. They took turns dropping him off and picking him up from daycare and Brian found that he enjoyed spending his evenings playing with Gus. It only took a couple days to get furniture for the guest room and soon they were all settled into a happy routine.

In the weeks after the move, Brian and Justin still kept their Friday night dates and went out with Charlie and Dan on Saturdays when the two men weren’t traveling for their work. They had dinner with Ben and Michael a couple times and, though things were a bit strained at times, they were slowly rebuilding a healthier relationship than the one they had before. Brian knew that he would never be as close to Michael as he had once been but he was growing to accept that. But with new friendships coming along, he was content with the turns his life had taken. They even had Ted and Matt over for dinner a couple times.

As Melanie adjusted to life after Lindsay, she watched Brian and Justin. They were a great couple and great fathers to Gus. Justin had made a huge difference in Brian’s life and his attitude. Though she and Brian still sniped at each other occasionally, there was none of the previous animosity that was present before.

“I think I’ve found a place to live,” Melanie told them after Gus had been put to bed a few weeks later. Lindsay had already sold the house and made her move to Arizona, so Melanie felt like it was about time she got on with her life as well. “But I wanted your opinion before I signed anything.”

While Brian and Justin had enjoyed having Mel stay with them, they were actually rather glad that she had found a place of her own. The only thing that tempered that happiness was the thought of Gus going with her.

“Where?” Justin asked.

“Actually, here,” Mel said as she looked hesitantly at Brian. “One of the units on the third floor is on the market. It’s a three bedroom place. It would give us all our own space, but would make things a lot easier for everyone where Gus is concerned. This really is a great neighborhood, and Gus has already made a few friends in the building. He’d go to school with these kids. And the playground and pool are great.”

Justin and Brian shared a look before they both broke out in wide grins. Brian said, “That sounds like a great solution.”

“Possibly even perfect,” Justin agreed.

Mel let out a relieved breath. “Good. I wasn’t sure…”

“Listen, Mel,” Brian said. “I know you and I have had out issues over the years, but I think we’ve been doing a pretty good job working together raising Gus for a while now. Even before you came to live here.”

“You’re right,” Mel said. “We have. That’s actually something I wanted to talk to you about. I still want to have a baby. I think Gus should have a sibling and this is something that I’ve always wanted. You know things didn’t work out with Michael, but I haven’t given up the idea.”

“Okay,” Justin said. “Does the fact that you’re bring this up to us mean that you want one of us to be the father?”

“Well, I was thinking of you specifically,” Mel told him. “We’d set up shared custody, just like with Gus. The three of us would be parents to both children if you agreed.”

“We should probably think about it and discuss it before we make any decisions,” Justin said cautiously.

“What’s to think about,” Brian said. “We’ve talked about the possibility.”

“That was a while ago,” Justin said. “And it was all hypothetical.”

“Nothing has changed as far as I’m concerned,” Brian said. “I think Gus should have a sibling, too. And I’d love the chance to be involved from the start with this child. We could be a part of all those early milestones we missed with Gus.”

“I’d like that too,” Justin admitted.

“Besides, a second child won’t change things much,” Brian said. “We’re already making accommodations for Gus, so another child won’t make a huge difference in how we live.”

“Okay,” Justin said with a bright smile. “If you’re sure, then I’m in.”

Mel smiled as well. “I’ll make an appointment with my doctor.”

BJBJBJBJBJ

The procedure to get Mel Pregnant went well and was successful the first time. Her bid was also accepted on the condo in their building, so by the time she was three weeks pregnant, Brian and Justin were helping her and Gus move up to their new home. It didn’t have the same open feeling that their place had, but Melanie decorated it with warm colors and cozy furniture and it really was quite comfortable.

Though the old gang was slowly coming back together, attempting to bury their differences, the three adults decided not to share the fact that Melanie was pregnant with Justin’s child until she was further along in her pregnancy. Because of her past condition, the doctor had emphasized the need for her to reduce her stress levels drastically. Everyone concerned believed that Debbie, Michael and the rest of the gang knowing would only create stress. For the time being, only Jennifer and Melanie’s family knew about the baby.

The first real gathering of the old gang happened at Gus’ fourth birthday party. Despite it being October, the weather was warm and they decided to have the party in the outdoor pavilion near the playground at their building. Most of Gus’ classmates from daycare were invited, along with their parents, so the gang really had to be on their best behavior. It helped, some. There were still a few pointed remarks from Debbie, but Melanie cut them short when she took Debbie aside and told her that if she wanted to be around Gus, she was going to have to curb her desire to deride his two fathers.

Before long, Thanksgiving was upon them. Brian and Justin had both been extremely busy all fall preparing for the Christmas season at Kinnetik, so the long weekend was a welcome relief from the stress. They had been building the company for just under a year, but it was already making the larger agencies sit up and take notice. Vanguard was reeling as they stole more than half of their regional accounts. Their staff had grown over the months and they now took up two floors of the building and would soon be pressed to renovate the third floor if they kept growing.

It was decided that since Brian and Justin would be leaving for vacation the day after Christmas, they would host Thanksgiving, leaving Jennifer to host Christmas. Melanie and Gus would spend some time with Brian and Justin and some time with her family on each of the holidays. There was no invitation from Debbie, though Ted told them that she was planning on having everyone over as usual. Ted would not be there, since he was going with Matt to visit his family for Thanksgiving and they would go to Ted’s family for Christmas this year. Emmett promised that he would spend a little time with everyone in turns. Even Ben and Michael promised to come by for dessert.

“I told you we should have hired a caterer,” Brian complained as Justin pressed him into service preparing the turkey to be stuffed. “This is disgusting.”

“That’s why you’re doing it and not me,” Justin smirked.

“Twat,” Brian grumbled. “I could just refuse, you know. Then where would you be?”

Justin rolled his eyes. “Just get the innards out so I can stuff the damned thing.”

Brian did as he was instructed and then quickly washed his hands. Once he was finished, he leaned against the counter and watched Justin work. “How long exactly does it take for the bird to cook?”

“About five hours,” Justin said. He was currently giving the bird a massage with olive oil, which was giving Brian some very interesting thoughts.

“So we can go do something more interesting?” Brian asked hopefully.

“Not really,” Justin said. “I have to baste it every half hour. I’ve also got to make the pies and put them in the oven to bake. Once that’s done, it’ll just about be time to start on the side dishes.”

“Fuck,” Brian muttered. “Is that why we have two ovens?”

“Yep,” Justin said with a smile. “If we didn’t, we’d have to buy an electric roaster.”

“This holiday shit is a lot of trouble,” Brian said. He left Justin to work and went to turn on the parade. He wasn’t particularly a fan, but he knew that Justin would like to watch from the kitchen. Brian sat down and thought about how much he would rather spend the morning fucking. Maybe he could steal Justin away between bastings. That would give him half an hour.

“I can hear you plotting from here,” Justin said with a chuckle. “Let me get this bird into the oven and then you’ve got my undivided attention for half an hour. But no more. I have to get the pies made.”

Brian smirked and went back to the counter to wait.

BJBJBJBJBJ

Brian negotiated an extra half hour in bed out of his twink by agreeing to help with the pies. After they were put in the oven, they set to work on the side dishes. While Brian chopped vegetables for the salad, Justin peeled potatoes and made cranberry sauce from scratch. Jennifer arrived just in time for the pies to come out of the oven and soon took Brian’s place in the kitchen, much to his relief. When Mel and Gus arrived, Brian had plenty to keep him entertained. Molly, Gus and Brian went up to Gus’ room where they played games and avoided everyone until it was time to eat.

When they finally emerged, Charlie and Dan had arrived and the table had been set with a simple black cloth to go with the simple white china. Jennifer had brought an elegant centerpiece and everything looked festive.

“Ready to carve this beast?” Justin asked as he carried the platter holding the turkey to the table.

“Ready as I’ll ever be,” Brian said. It was a rather daunting task. Knowing that his Sunshine would put this on him, Brian had secretly watched videos on YouTube on his computer at work to get pointers. Everyone took their seats around the table and Brian was glad that Justin had insisted that they get a table that had expansion leaves. Having everyone important to them there was pretty great.

“Before you start Brian, I thought we might take turns telling what we’re grateful for this year,” Jennifer said.

“She always does this,” Molly complained teasingly. “It’s best just to give in and get it over with.”

“I’ll go first,” Justin said from beside Brian. “I’m grateful for having friends and family here with us to share the day.”

“I’ll drink to that,” Mel said as she lifted her glass of wine.

One by one they each took their turn. Everyone got a chuckle from Gus’ statement. “I like our house and the pool and living close to Daddy and Jus. Only it would be better if we had a dog.”

Brian went last. “It’s been a pretty… crummy year in a lot of ways. But… in others, it’s been pretty great. I have new friends. I have my son close by. And in a few months, our family will grow even more. Kinnetik is going great. All of those things are happening because of Justin’s presence in my life. So I’m most grateful for him.”

Justin swallowed back a few tears and would have leaned over to kiss his partner, but Brian wasn’t finished. “Justin, I know that we’ve had some rather tough times, and I can’t guarantee that there won’t be tough times ahead of us. But whatever comes our way, I want to face those things together. Will you agree to making this little arrangement permanent and legally binding?”

Before Justin could answer, Jennifer asked. “What does that mean exactly? Are you getting married.”

Brian shuddered. “Did you hear me mention marriage or a wedding?”

“No, asshole,” Mel muttered.

“Then don’t go planning any big wedding,” Brian said. He turned back to Justin. “What I’m proposing is a legal domestic partnership.”

Justin smiled at Brian. “I’m in.”

There were cheers as the two men kissed to seal the deal, but eventually Jennifer had to speak up. “Well, you go right on and sign whatever you want, but you aren’t going to deprive me of throwing a party to celebrate.”

“He did say no Big Wedding,” Charlie said with a laugh. “I didn’t hear him say anything about a small one.”

Brian scowled at his friend for a moment but then gave in and smirked. “Fine, Mother Taylor. Do what you have to do. I’ll show up. I’ll even make sure that Justin’s dressed appropriately.”

“Hey, what’s that supposed to mean?” Justin huffed.

“It means, Sunshine, that there will be no paint spattered cargo pants,” Brian said.

“As if you’d actually give me free rein,” Jennifer scoffed. Everyone laughed and soon Brian began carving the turkey while Mel explained why a legalized domestic partnership was different than marriage in the eyes of the law.

“It’s actually more binding,” Mel said. “There’s no prenuptial agreement. Basically, everything they own now and in the future becomes joint property. There’s no such thing as a quickie divorce, either. If they ever want to dissolve the partnership, it will require a long and involved legal process. That’s why most couples never bother. It’s actually more binding than marriage and, unlike a marriage or civil union, is recognized in all fifty states as long as they register their partnership if they were to move to another state.”

“The legislators who made the law wanted to differentiate the practice from traditional marriage,” Charlie said. “Many say that it was prevent gays from taking that step, but as far as I’m concerned, you shouldn’t get married if you aren’t willing to make the sort of commitment that is required for a domestic partnership, whether you are gay or straight.”

“We made our partnership legal a few years ago,” Dan told the group. “I have never once regretted taking that step.”

Part Eleven



Brian and Justin lay in bed later that night, each lost in their thoughts about the events of the day. Michael had surprised them both by congratulating them when Brian told them their news. He seemed genuinely happy for them. Emmett, on the other hand had been shocked by the news. Not that he hadn’t been happy for them, but not in the same way. It was like Brian could see his thoughts and they were filled with doubts and memories of Brian as the asshole who would fuck anyone hot with a cock.



“I want to add a codicil to our agreement,” Brian finally said into the darkness of their bedroom.



“What kind of codicil?” Justin asked.



“Well, I was thinking,” Brian said. “It’s been a while since either of us tricked.”



“Even when we do, it isn’t all that often anymore,” Justin agreed carefully, trying not to get his hopes up.



“Exactly,” Brian said. “So I was thinking maybe we cold modify our agreement to reflect that.”



“What did you have in mind?” Justin asked.



Brian was quiet for a few minutes. “I still don’t think I can promise complete monogamy, but I’m willing to give it a shot. So what I was thinking is this: we don’t trick unless we both agree. Like if we want to bring someone home from the club sometime. And if either of us slips up, we talk about it and decide together if we want to keep trying.”



“Okay,” Justin said. “I’m sure we can make it work.”



“Good,” Brian said as he rolled on top of Justin and then kissed him breathless. “Wanna fuck again to seal the deal?”



Justin chuckled “A simple talk about monogamy has you so worked up? I’ll have to keep that in mind for the future.”



BJBJBJBJBJ



Brian was wary about Christmas. The day after Thanksgiving, small decorations began appearing in their home without Brian’s knowledge or consent. When the wreath appeared on the door, Brian could no longer ignore Justin’s maneuverings.



“Justin,” Brian said as he hung his coat up by the door. “Why is there a dead tree branch on our door?”



Justin, who was pulling cartons of food from a takeout bag onto the table in the dining area, rolled his eyes at his partner. “It’s a wreath Brian. And it’s there because I hung it there.”



“But why?” Brian insisted. He slipped off his shoes and headed up to their bedroom to change into more comfortable clothes.



Justin followed him up, as Brian had known he would. “I did it because decorating for Christmas is fun and it will be good for Gus.”



Brian changed clothes and considered Justin’s reasoning. “How exactly is a fucking wreath on the door good for Gus?”



“Brian… kids love Christmas,” Justin said. Then he saw a flash of pain cross Brian’s face. “Well, most kids love Christmas. And they love it because it’s fun to believe in magic and Santa Claus. Gus is just old enough to really be into everything this year and I want him to have a Christmas that he’ll always remember. I want him to have a happy childhood and part of that is having a great memories of Christmas.”



Brian sighed. “Fine. Decorate to your heart’s content. But don’t think I don’t know you want this as much for yourself as you do for Gus.”



Justin laughed and kissed Brian on the cheek. “Thank you. Now, come on. Dinner is getting cold.”

Of course, once Justin had permission, he went completely overboard. It seemed like every surface in the new loft was slowly taken over by Christmas cheer. And then, a few days before Christmas, Justin dragged Brian and Gus out to look for a tree. Not content to go to the local tree lot, Justin made Brian drive the SUV out into the middle of nowhere to a tree farm where they were led through rows of trees until Justin and Gus could agree upon the perfect tree. Brian bitched and moaned the entire time, but he actually had fun. They stopped on the way home at an apple farm where they got hot cider and cider donuts for an afternoon treat before going back and setting up the tree.



The three of them spent that evening decorating the tree. Gus had a great time hanging the ornaments that Justin had picked out for their tree. Mostly they were simple glass balls and silver bows, but there were several special ornaments interspersed with the plain ones. When Brian looked closer, he saw that there was one for each year of Justin’s life. His mother must have given them to the blond. Justin had also picked out a brand new ornament for each of them and they were marked with their names and the year. Brian’s ornament was a classic corvette, just like he had mentioned in passing. Gus got a polar bear. Justin’s was a family of snowmen.



“We have to hang our stockings,” Gus insisted once the tree was lit.



“Okay,” Brian said. He looked at Justin for help.



“The stockings are in the box in the utility room,” Justin said. “There’s one for each of us.”



“Right,” Brian said. His mind was suddenly filled with panic. He knew that Justin would make sure that his and Gus’ stockings were filled. But who was supposed to fill Justin’s? The obvious answer was him, but what the fuck did he know about stockings? He’d need some help with this one.



After Brian and Gus had hung the stockings, it was time for Gus to go to bed, so Brian took him up and read to him from the Night Before Christmas, currently Gus’ favorite book.



“Will Santa come here or to Momma’s house?” Gus asked after the book was done.



“Well, I’m pretty sure that he’s coming here,” Brian said. They had discussed it with Mel and since they had more room, they would do the gift thing here and she could keep Gus busy Christmas eve while they got ready.



“Then we should have a stocking for Momma too,” Gus said reasonably. “And one for the new baby.”



“I see,” Brian said. “Well, I’ll talk to Justin about that and see what we can arrange.”



“Good,” Gus said. “I love you Daddy. And Papa Jus too.”



“Papa Jus?” Brian inquired. It was the first he had heard this new moniker.



Gus nodded sleepily. “He’s my daddy too, but I can’t call you both Daddy. That would be silly.”



“I guess it would,” Brian admitted with a smirk.



“Do you think Jus would like if I called him papa?” Gus asked.



Brian kissed Gus’ forehead. “He’ll love it because he loves you. Just like I love you.”



“Night Daddy,” Gus yawned.



“Night Sonny Boy,” Brian said.



BJBJBJBJBJ



Brian recruited Mother Taylor to help him figure out what to buy to fill Justin’s stocking. Since there was only two days left before Christmas, Brian found the shopping experience less than ideal. He had Jennifer on the phone almost the entire time he wandered through the stores looking for the perfect small gifts to add. He had also promised Justin that he would take care of Mel and the baby’s gifts if Justin made sure to get them stockings.



“Are you sure this is the kind of thing Justin will expect in his stocking?” Brian questioned Jennifer for the hundredth time. He looked at the small box of chocolates skeptically.



“It’s the kind of thing I’ve put in his stocking since he was a little boy,” Jennifer assured him. “And I was with him when he bought the gifts for yours and Gus’ stockings, so I know he still remembers.”



Brian shrugged and grabbed another box of the chocolates for Mel’s stocking. “Alright. I’m trusting you on this. But I want to get one thing that’s just from me.”



“Okay,” Jennifer said teasingly. “Just remember that this is supposed to be from Santa. Gus will pay attention to what’s in the stocking, so no condoms.”



Brian rolled his eyes. “I know better.”



“I have to go,” Jennifer said. “I have a meeting with a client in half an hour. Good luck.”



“Thanks for your help,” Brian said.



Brian walked out of the confectioner’s and wandered down the street to a little gift shop and wandered inside. He found the perfect addition for Justin’s stocking sitting right inside the door. He smirked as he carried the small item up to the counter. Maybe this Christmas thing wasn’t so hard after all.



BJBJBJBJBJ



Christmas morning dawned bright and early. In the four years that Brian and Justin had been together, this was the first where they were actually living together for the holiday so Brian wasn’t expecting Justin to jump out of bed eagerly at 7 in the morning. Nor was he expecting that he would be as excited about opening gifts as Gus. Mel called as soon as Gus woke up and warned them that they were on their way down. Justin quickly dressed, leaving Brian to get dressed alone. Any plans Brian might have had about an early morning fuck were completely dashed.



Brian walked down to the main living area and found Justin making coffee and putting a frittata into the oven to heat. As Brian looked around their home, he was overwhelmed with a feeling he could hardly recognize. Though he had been with Justin last night as they set up Gus’ gifts and prepared everything, seeing the gifts under the tree and the lights and decorations everywhere, somehow their loft had been transformed into a magical place. Brian just stood and tried to take it all in.



“Justin, why does it all seem so different today?” Brian had to ask as he joined Justin in the kitchen.



Justin walked over and gave him a gentle kiss. “Christmas is magic. I’m pretty sure I told you that.”



“I guess you did,” Brian said. He savored having Justin’s arms around him for a moment before pulling away. “I should get the video camera set up.”



“It’s already on the tripod near the tree,” Justin told him. “You just have to turn it on.”



As Brian was doing that, there was a knock on their interior door. Justin let Gus and Mel inside and Brian had just enough time to turn the camera on before Gus spotted all the gifts. The joy and wonder that Gus displayed melted Brian’s heart and he was glad that Justin had convinced him to make the holiday special for Gus. He had been right that it was as much for Justin as it was for Gus, but he hadn’t realized that it was for him too.



BJBJBJBJBJ



The rest of Christmas was a happy time. It was the best Christmas that Brian could remember. Gus was a maniac as he tore through his gifts from Santa. Mel had been surprised but pleased with her stocking and the stocking for the baby. Justin had gotten misty eyed when he found the small statuette in his stocking. It was a minimalistic representation of two men with their arms around each other while one held a baby and the other had a small child clinging to his leg carved from stone and polished to a high shine.



They had decided against exchanging gifts because they were planning on the trip to Antigua being their gift to each other, but Brian wasn’t surprised that Justin had also used the stocking as an opportunity to get Brian something small. He found a small canvas, about the size of a post card, and Justin had painted a portrait of Justin, Brian and Gus together. It was beautiful and Brian knew just where he would put it in his office.



After the gifts and a late breakfast, they had split up so that Justin and Brian could head over to Jennifer’s and Mel could take Gus to see her family. Of course, their arrival was delayed by a couple rounds of fucking, to make up for the lack of morning fuck. And of course there were more presents once they arrived at Jennifer’s.



The next day, they boarded a flight to Antigua and spent ten amazing days just relaxing in the sun, making up for the traumatic years they had experienced since first meeting. Justin’s father, Brian’s father, the bashing, Ethan, Stockwell, losing everything, starting Kinnetik, Michael’s theft, Lindsay’s selfishness… it had all been more stressful than either of them realized until they had some time to sit back and finally unwind.



They stayed at a gay resort with a rather free attitude towards sex, but neither of them even contemplated bringing someone to their bed. Neither of them thought about anyone or anything but being alone together at last. There were no interruptions. No work. No family. Nothing but the two of them growing closer and rediscovering why it was they loved each other.



When their time was up, they flew back to Pittsburgh with a renewed conviction that they could face just about anything as long as they were together.

Part Twelve



The weeks and months that followed were interesting for both Brian and Justin. Justin had begun working on a new issue of Rage and Kinnetik was thriving. They were even nominated for several awards, including a Clio. The awards ceremony was being held in New York in March, so the pair decided to make a trip of it and planned on spending the week. Brian wanted to shop now that they were doing well enough to afford such a luxury. Justin wanted to see some of the museums and galleries. They left enough time for them to do both things.



Brian insisted that Justin bring his portfolio with them, so as they browsed through the various galleries, Justin met with some of the managers and showed some of his work. Much to Justin’s surprise, there were two who were interested in carrying a couple of his pieces on a trial basis. Brian promised that they would ship the pieces in question after they had their lawyer look over the contract.



The night of the awards, Brian presented Justin with a brand new custom tailored Armani tuxedo. Together, they were possibly the best looking couple in attendance. Just being nominated was a boost for their business, but when their names were called and they were presented the award, they both knew that Kinnetik was about to experience another major leap in their client listing. Companies would begin seeking them out, rather than the other way around.



They celebrated in their hotel suite that night with champagne and lots of sex.



Back on the home front, things were getting pretty busy as well. Jennifer made it her mission to plan the perfect wedding for the couple. She hired Emmett and Vic to plan and cater the event, but insisted that Brian and Justin be involved with every aspect of the decision making process. Two evenings in a row of wedding plans were more than enough for Brian, however. Once or twice, it looked like Brian was about to revolt, especially when they had spent nearly two hours discussing flowers, but he stuck it out and eventually, they came to an agreement. After that, Brian continued to give an opinion when asked, but he left most of the planning up to the two Taylors and Honeycutt. His excuse that Kinnetik was just too busy was actually a valid one, so everyone let him be.



The wedding date was set for the end of June, about a month before Melanie’s due date. The invitations to the relatively small affair were sent out at the beginning of April. It was just before Easter when the invitations arrived on various doorsteps. So when the family gathered for the holiday, it was the topic on everyone’s tongue.



At least it was until Melanie showed up at Debbie’s for dinner.



She had not been around the family much since her pregnancy began to show. And since she had decided against telling anyone before that, not a single soul, other than Ted, knew that she was expecting.



All talk of Brian and Justin died the moment she walked through the door. “What?”



“Um, Mel, you’ve put on some weight,” Emmett said carefully.



She laughed and rubbed her belly. “I guess I have.”



“I thought you decided against getting pregnant after Lindsay left?” Debbie said.



“No,” Mel said carefully. “I decided against using Michael as the donor. Sorry, Michael.”



Michael waved off her concern. He had come to terms that the person he was before was not one he would ever want to be again, and he couldn’t blame her for not wanting that man to be the father of her child. “It’s okay. I understand. Besides, Ben and I have Hunter. We’re good.”



Mel smiled at him, but she knew that Debbie probably wouldn’t be as forgiving.



“So, who did you use?” Debbie asked. “Tell me it wasn’t one of those sperm banks.”



“No, I used a friend,” Mel said slowly. “I asked Justin. He and Brian agreed to shared custody. Since we’re already sharing custody of Gus, it makes things pretty easy.”



There was silence in the room as that news sank in. Everyone could feel the tension mounting as Debbie got set to explode, but Michael was quick to intervene. “Ma. Don’t.”



“But Sweetie…”



“This doesn’t have anything to do with me or with you,” Michael said. “And I, for one, am happy for all of them.” He turned to Mel. “Congratulations.”



“Thanks,” Mel said with a smile.



Vic, attempting to change the subject to safer grounds, asked, “So where’s Gus?”



“With Brian and Justin at Jennifer’s,” Mel said. “He was with my family for Passover.”



“You really are sharing custody,” Emmett said with some awe. “Brian’s really that involved?”



“He is,” Mel said. “That’s part of the reason I bought my place in their building. It makes things easier for Gus. And when the new baby comes along, we’ll be close by to support each other.”



“I never thought I’d see the day that you and Brian would get along,” Emmett said. “Let alone voluntarily share custody of two children.”



Mel was quiet when she responded. “Without Lindsay there to confuse the issue, we actually get along really well. He’s changed and so have I. And Justin is a wonderful father to Gus and he will be to the new baby as well. Gus asked Justin at Christmas if he could call him Papa.”



“And Brian’s okay with that?” Debbie asked in amazement. It was one thing for her to find out that Brian and Justin were getting married, but that Brian was sharing his son with Justin… it seemed so unlikely.



“They apparently had a talk about it before Gus asked Justin,” Mel said. “According to Gus, Brian thought it was a great idea because Justin loves him. Which is true. So, how has everyone been? I’ve been so busy lately with a new case that I haven’t been around as much as I used to be.”



For the rest of dinner, they all caught up on each other’s lives, but there was still a cloud above all their heads and none of them could be sure when the storm would start.



BJBJBJBJBJ



“So what did you have planned for this evening’s entertainment?” Justin asked. Dan and Charlie had been put in charge of the bachelor party and the two were driving Brian and Justin through Pittsburgh to an unknown destination.



“Well, we decided that despite the fact that you two are about to become a staid married couple, that you might just enjoy a night on the town,” Charlie teased.



Dan chuckled. “Actually, we were given some very explicit directions about what was a proper send off for the Stud of Liberty Avenue and his partner, the former King of Babylon.”



Brian groaned. “Please don’t tell me you listened to the gang.”



“We are merely the emissaries on this mission,” Charlie said as he turned the car towards Liberty Avenue.



“You didn’t,” Justin sighed.



“We did,” Dan said with a smirk.



They pulled up to Babylon and there was a parking spot marked off for them. The usual line of patrons was missing, but they could hear the throb of the music even from outside. Brian took Justin’s hand and gave him a smirk.



“One last time?”



Justin smiled back and nodded. “We’ll fuck the night away. And after that, you’re all mine.”



“And you’re all mine,” Brian reminded him before capturing his lips in a heated kiss.



The foursome walked inside and the entire club seemed to stop momentarily before a loud chorus of “Congratulations!” rang out around them. Soon, Brian and Justin were being greeted by numerous men. Many of them were former tricks of one or both of the two men. Some were merely familiar faces from years of going to the same clubs and bars. All of them wanted the opportunity to wish them well.



Once the seemingly endless greetings were out of the way, the party really began. The normal go-go boys had been replaced with professional strippers. Brian and Justin were led up to the stage and seated in two ornate chairs to receive their lap dances. Once the pros were finished, however, Justin proceeded to give Brian a lap dance as well, much to the delight of their friends and well-wishers. For many, it brought back memories of the night Justin had won the King of Babylon contest. Unlike that evening, however, Brian cut the dance short and dragged Justin to the back room, to the cheers of all around them.



There were drinks and dances after that, and Brian and Justin both selected several tricks to fuck in celebration, always going to the back room together. Their eyes would meet and they would kiss each other as they fucked their chosen tricks in tandem.



After several hours of this, Brian and Justin emerged from the back room once again and found their friends by the bar.



“So, one last hoorah for the Stud,” Ted said with a smile.



“Maybe not the last,” Justin said with a smile at Brian.



Brian smirked back at him. “But definitely the end of an era.”



Everyone laughed at that.



Charlie held up his glass of Beam and said, “A toast. To the beginning of a new era.”



“Here, here,” the others all agreed.



“To Brian and Justin,” Ben said.



“And to a long and happy future for them,” Michael said. “No one deserves it more.”



Ben hugged Michael and Brian kissed Justin as the others all drank.



BJBJBJBJBJ



Brian and Justin went to Walters office the next day. “Are you sure that this is what you both want?”



“We’re positive,” Brian said.



“Alright then,” Walter said. “Let’s go over the various documents you’ll need to sign.”



For the next three hours, they reviewed and signed documents. They also examined their various financial holdings, though most of them had already been combined after the Stockwell incident. By lunch time, they were truly and properly tied to each other. Their domestic partnership was legalized and it would take a team of lawyers and a judge months to dissolve it.



“Well, I suppose congratulations are in order,” Walter said once the last document was notarized.



“We’re going out to lunch with Mother Taylor to celebrate,” Brian said. “We’d love if you would join us.”



Walter looked regretful. “I would love to, but I have a meeting in half an hour. I will definitely be at the wedding on Saturday, however.”



“We’ll look forward to seeing you there,” Justin said. “And we wanted to thank you for all that you’ve done for us this past year.”



Walter smiled at Justin. “I was just doing my job, but I’m glad that I was able to help you two. You deserve every happiness.”



“We intend to be very happy,” Brian said. “We’ll talk soon. I want to set up an educational trust for Gus and the new baby.”



BJBJBJBJBJ





Justin walked up the stairs to the nursery. Over the past few weeks he and Brian had worked to set it up for the new baby. They had found out that Mel was having a girl, so the room was filled with more feminine things than Gus’ room, which had a city theme with buildings, airplanes, cars and trucks painted on the blue walls. Brian had forbade Justin from turning the room into a pink wonderland, so he had gone with a soft mauve that faded upward into blue. The effect was that of the sky at sunrise. Over that, Justin had painted a garden mural with large flowers in every shape and color and plenty of grass and greenery. There were even butterflies flittering about through the air and hanging from a mobile hanging over the baby’s crib.



There was only a month left before Mel’s due date and they were all really excited about having a new baby join their weird little family. It was odd, but even Mel and Brian’s occasional snipes hadn’t been a problem. They had found a way to raise Gus together and they all knew that they would continue to make things work with this new child. As things stood right now, Gus alternated weeks between their homes. But with them all living so close, there was a lot of give and take to make things work with schedules. And even when Gus was staying with them, Mel often came down to spend time with him in the evenings.



They had heard from Lindsay only once since her departure from their lives and that was to request that Brian send her check a little early. She had never once asked about Gus or the family. Brian hadn’t asked her about her new life, either. There were only a couple more months and then Lindsay’s year would be up.



Justin knew that Brian had sent Lindsay an invitation to the wedding. They had talked about it and had discussed it with Mel as well. None of them expected her to show, but she had been Brian’s friend for a very long time and he felt like he should invite her. Justin suspected that Brian still hoped that Lindsay would come around for both his and Gus’ sake. Justin feared that if she did come it would only be to get more money from him.



“What are you doing up here?”



Justin turned to find Brian standing in the doorway and smiled. “Just picturing how this room will look when our little girl is in it.”



Brian snorted. “You’re such a sentimental twat.”



“I’m your sentimental twat,” Justin pointed out. “And I have the papers to prove it.”



Brian got a small smile on his face at that and walked over to put his arms around his partner. “You ready for tomorrow?”



“Not really,” Justin admitted. “How did our quiet little celebration turn into the event of the year?”



“Mother Taylor,” Brian snorted. “And a bevy of clients who wanted to celebrate with us.”



“Right,” Justin sighed.



“Just think, if we get through tomorrow, we’ll have two weeks alone,” Brian said. “Two weeks of fucking and sucking.”



“And museums,” Justin added.



Brian rolled his eyes. “Why did I let you convince me to go to Paris instead of a nice private resort in the Caribbean?”



“Because you want to shop?” Justin suggested.



Brian considered that. “Probably. Though Milan would have been a better option for that.”



“Maybe we can go there for vacation next year,” Justin suggested. “And maybe go to Rome as well.”



“Europe has too many museums,” Brian complained playfully.



“I’ll make it worth your while,” Justin promised suggestively.



Brian pulled him close, letting their bodies align perfectly. “You always do.”

Part Thirteen



The wedding was being held at a private resort outside the city. Normally used for corporate retreats, the place was perfect for their purposes. They ceremony was being held down by the small lake on the property in a meadow that was ringed with wildflowers of every shape and size. More than two hundred people were in attendance, a testament to both Brian and Justin’s likability and the fact that Kinnetik was really taking off.



Once the guests were all seated, Brian and Justin entered. They hadn’t bothered with a wedding party, though Mel, Ted, Ben, Michael, Charlie and Dan had acted as ushers for the guests. The two men walked up the aisle together to the Unitarian minister who was waiting under the arbor for them. There was more than one person who commented about how happy and content the couple seemed as they kept their eyes trained on each other. The vows were exchanged and then Gus brought the rings up to his Daddy and Papa. Rather than sending him back to his seat, Brian scooped the boy up into his arms and he stayed there for the rest of the ceremony.



The reception was held inside the nearby lodge with the guests spilling out onto the large deck which overlooked the lake and the mountains. Emmett had outdone himself with the food and the décor. There was dancing and toasts and plenty of laughter and fun. Brian even deigned to eat a small piece of cake, despite his no carbs past 7pm rule.



As the party began to wind down and those guest who weren’t close to the happy couple began to disperse, Brian and Justin said their goodbyes before escaping, leaving the old gang gathered around one of the tables to discuss the event.



“Leave it to Brian to have more than two hundred people at his ‘small ceremony,’ Michael said with a laugh.



“He wasn’t exactly given much choice,” Ted said. “Once the clients found out they were getting married, most of them wanted to come. And Jennifer was shooting for a wedding of more than 500 guests. This really was a compromise on everyone’s part.”



“Well, Emmett and Jennifer did an amazing job,” Ben said.



“I just wish Ma would have come,” Michael said quietly. “I just don’t understand why she’s being so stubborn about all this.”



“She blames them for what you did,” Ben reminded him. “She’s never been able to accept any of your faults. Before, she could blame Brian. This time, she blames Brian and Justin.”



“I know,” Michael said sadly. “I just wish she wouldn’t. It took almost dying for me to face up to my responsibility for my actions but I finally have. And it’s so much better than blaming other people. I can’t change the things I don’t like if I don’t accept that I’m in control of my life.”



“Wow, Michael,” Mel said. “You really have grown up a lot.”



“Blame Ben,” Michael chuckled. “And therapy. It’s made a huge difference in how I see myself and my relationships.”



“I wish Lindsay had been more willing to really commit to therapy,” Mel said sadly.



“How are you adjusting?” Ben asked. “You and Lindsay were together for a long time.”



“It’s been hard,” Mel admitted. “But Brian and Justin have really made a huge difference. Not just with Gus. At first, when Gus would spend time with them, I sat at home alone and was miserable. But Brian and Justin both went out of their way to invite me to come down whenever. It took some time to get used to a Brian Kinney who actually can stand my presence, but they both keep me from feeling alone and overwhelmed.”



“Who would have guessed that Brian Kinney would not only settle down with one man, but become a pretty good friend to boot?” Emmett asked. He had ditched his catering duties momentarily to joint heir discussion.



“Justin did,” Michael pointed out. “He saw something that none of the rest of us would or could.”



“I suppose that’s the real reason we’re here today,” Ted said. He lifted his almost empty glass of champagne. “To Justin Taylor-Kinney, seer of things unseen and worker of miracles.”



The others laughed and sipped their champagne.



BJBJBJBJBJ



The phone rang in the middle of the night and Justin groaned. They had just returned from their trip to Paris, hadn’t even been in the country for six hours, and were exhausted. Justin tried to roll over and simply ignore the intrusion, but when the house phone stopped ringing, his cell phone began. Then Brian’s cell phone. Then the house phone again.



“Answer the fucking phone,” Brian muttered, his face buried in Justin’s shoulder.



Justin groaned again, but reached out to pick up the phone. His voice was gravelly when he said, “Hello?”



“Thank god.”



“Melanie?” Justin said, now a little more alert. “What’s going on?”



“My water broke,” Mel said. “We need to go to the hospital but I don’t know what to do about Gus.”



“I’ll call my mom,” Justin said. “She can bring Molly here or Brian can drop him off over there. We’ll be up in a minute and I’ll get you to the hospital.”



“Alright,” Mel said quietly. “But please hurry? This fucking hurts.”



Justin hung up the phone and immediately called his mother while Brian rolled out of bed and grabbed some clean clothes for both of them to put on. By the time Justin had Jennifer’s agreement to watch Gus at her house, they were both dressed and headed towards the interior door.



“I’ll drop Gus off and meet you at the hospital,” Brian said as they rode up the elevator together.



Justin was so distracted by thoughts of Melanie and their baby that he hardly heard Brian. The door opened before they could even knock. “Thank fuck. I want this kid out of me.”



Brian snorted and went to Gus’ bedroom to get him ready to go. Justin was left with Melanie, who looked like she was about to burst. “Um…”



“Just get me to the hospital,” Mel said.



BJBJBJBJBJ



Justin paced the hall in front of Mel’s room while he waited for Brian to arrive. They had planned to do this together. They had planned for both of them to be Mel’s birthing coach, but it was taking Brian longer to get there than Justin liked and Mel was just about ready to deliver. Justin wasn’t sure he could do this alone. But he couldn’t leave Melanie to face this without him.



Strong arms wrapped around him from behind. “Hey Sunshine, take it easy.”



Justin relaxed into Brian’s arms. “Thank god you’re here. The doctor said she’s almost ready to deliver. I thought we’d have to do this without you.”



“Not a chance,” Brian said and kissed Justin’s temple. “Now let’s go take care of Mel.”



An hour later, Brian and Justin both wished they had found someone else to be Mel’s birthing coach.



“Wow, that’s gross,” Brian said with detachment.



“Shut the fuck up, asshole,” Mel swore between gritted teeth.



“One more push and I think your little girl will be ready to join us,” the doctor said. “Wait for the contraction, and then I want you to give me everything you’ve got.”



“I already gave you everything,” Mel growled. She was tired and cranky and just wanted this to be done with.



“Just one more,” Justin said encouragingly. “Just one more and we can hold our little girl.”



The contraction hit and Melanie growled as she pushed. Brian and Justin were on either side of her and she gripped their hands as she gave it everything she had. At last, the doctor was able to pull the baby the rest of the way and Mel sagged back into the bed, exhausted.



“Wow,” Brian said again, but his voice was filled with wonder this time.



“Yeah,” Justin agreed. He watched as the nurses cleaned their baby off and then wrapped her in a blanket. When they handed the baby to Mel, he was right there, looking over her shoulder at the precious little girl they had made together. “She’s beautiful.”



“She is,” Mel said with tears in her eyes. “She’s so fucking beautiful.”



“You did good, Mel,” Brian said from her other side. Then he surprised them all as he leaned over and pressed a kiss to her temple. “You did real good.”



BJBJBJBJBJ



Zoe Jennifer Taylor was able to come home from the hospital with Mel the next day. Gus adored his new baby until she started crying and then he promptly decided that she should be returned to the hospital until she was old enough to be more fun. For the first few weeks after the birth, Mel stayed in the guest room beside the nursery at the loft. The arrangement allowed them to help each other with late night feedings and gave Mel time to fully recuperate.



When Mel finally went back to her apartment, taking both Zoe and Gus with her, the loft seemed suddenly empty.



“They’ll be staying here all next week,” Brian said when Justin chose to mope around the loft rather than fuck.



Justin sighed. “I know. I just miss her. I mean, I always miss Gus when he’s gone, but I’ve gotten used to it.”



“They’re right upstairs,” Brian reminded him. “You can go up and see Zoe anytime you want. In fact, why don’t we go visit now and get it out of your system. Then we can come back here and do some serious fucking. We’ve had to be considerate of little people and Mel for weeks. We finally have the chance to fuck as long and as loud as we want and you’re moping.”



Justin laughed and kissed Brian’s cheek. “Admit it, you miss Zoe too.”



Brian curled his lips between his teeth before grinning. “Of course I miss my little Moonbeam. Now let’s go see her and Gus and get on with the marathon of fucking.”



Justin chuckled, but followed Brian to the interior door. He still couldn’t get over how much Brian seemed to dote on Zoe. He was the one who had come up with the nickname for the baby. Her dark hair and pale, perfect skin had earned her the moniker. Brian had said that she couldn’t be a sunbeam with hair that was almost black and porcelain skin. The muddy blue that her eyes had been at birth had begun to brighten, so that they truly stood out in contrast to her complexion. In all, she was a beautiful baby and would surely be a beautiful little girl.



“You realize that we moved back up here to get away from your hovering,” Mel teased as she opened the door to her condo.



“You might have,” Brian said as he snatched Zoe from Mel’s arms. “But Zoe and Gus love for us to hover, isn’t that right my little Moonbeam.”



Mel rolled her eyes. “She’s going to think that’s her name.”



“It is,” Gus said as he practically threw himself into Justin’s arms. “It’s Daddy’s special love name for her. Like I’m Sonny Boy and Papa is Sunshine. Uncle Ben explained it to me.”



“Uncle Ben is a very smart guy,” Justin said.



“You guys want anything to drink?” Mel asked as she went to the kitchen.



“We’re fine,” Brian said. “And we aren’t going to invade for long. Justin was going through withdrawal, so I told him we could come up for a few minutes.”



Mel returned with a warm bottle of formula and smirked at Brian. “Which is why he was the one to take her as soon as the door opened.”



Justin took the bottle from Mel. “Well, I’m going to take her now. I’ll feed her and then we’ll get out of your way.”



“Brat,” Brian murmured in Justin’s ear as he took Zoe from Brian’s arms. “Come on Sonny Boy. It’s just about your bedtime, isn’t it? Why don’t I help you get ready and then we can read a story.”



Once the two Kinney men were out of the room, Mel flopped down onto the couch beside Justin. “I really don’t mind you guys coming up to see the kids.”



Justin smiled at her before turning his attention back to Zoe. “Thanks. We didn’t get to be a real part of Gus’ life when he was this age, so it’s all pretty new for both of us.”



“I know,” Mel said. She leaned her head on Justin’s shoulder and looked down at Zoe. “Even though I was there for Gus’ early days, this is new in a lot of ways for me too. Lindsay was always the one who insisted on doing everything for Gus back then. I’m learning as I go, too.”



They sat quietly and watched Zoe eat. By the time Brian returned, Zoe was finished and already sleeping in Justin’s arms.



“Ready to go?” Brian asked.



Justin sighed. “Yeah.” He gave Zoe one last kiss to the top of her head before handing her back over to Mel. “Thanks, Mel.”



Mel smiled at him. “Anytime.  I mean that. Part of the reason I got this place was so that we could all come and go when we want or need to.”



“Goodnight, Moonbeam,” Brian whispered before leaning forward to kiss the baby’s head.



BJBJBJBJBJ



Once back in their loft, and after several rounds of that long and loud fucking that Brian had promised, Justin and Brian lay in bed together. Only the light from the full moon outside their window was lighting the room. Justin lay with his head on Brian’s shoulder and his leg hooked over top of Brian’s. Brian had one arms wrapped around Justin’s waist, holding him tightly to his side.



“Do you know what tomorrow is?” Brian asked.



Justin frowned and lifted his head to look at Brian. “Not a clue.”



Brian smirked. “Tomorrow it will be exactly two years since we lost everything. Two years since I lost my job and we gave up every material possession we had to take down Stockwell.”



“That was a pretty tough time,” Justin agreed as he laid his head back down.



“Followed by more tough times,” Brian said. “Finding out Michael stole the money,  having the family divided. Lindsay acting like a bitch. And then Michael almost killing himself.”



“And yet, things have turned out pretty great for us,” Justin said. “Kinnetik is doing great. The gang has come back together for the most part. Debbie even sent us that congratulations card after Zoe was born. We’ve made two pretty great friends in Dan and Charlie. We got married. Gus is ours officially now. And we have Zoe too.”



“Yeah,” Brian said and Justin could hear the grin in his voice. “Seems like a lot of good shit came out of the bad shit. I wonder if that’s a karmic requirement. You have to survive the bad shit to get to the good shit.”



“I don’t know,” Justin said thoughtfully. “But I do know that surviving the bad shit makes me appreciate the good shit even more.”



Brian snorted. “Yeah.”



“And as long as we’re together, the bad shit doesn’t seem quite as bad,” Justin said softly.



“Then I guess we’ll just have to stay together forever,” Brian said.



“You can count on it,” Justin told him and then leaned up for a kiss.



“I am,” Brian admitted into the darkness of the night and pulled Justin a little closer and held him a little tighter. “I am.”



The End



“Every adversity, every failure, and every heartache, carries with it the Seed of an equivalent or greater Benefit.” Napolean Hill