That all changed one night outside Babylon when Brian spotted an angel standing under a streetlight. The persistent blond twink had managed to irrevocably worm his way into Brian's life and heart, and Brian knew he wouldn't have it any other way.  Now he was happily married, and had been for nearly a decade. Kinnetik had recently been named top advertising agency for the United States east coast, and was listed in the top ten worldwide. And, most amazingly, he was the proud father of not only a son who was now attending PIFA, but he also had a precocious and adorable daughter!

Justin shifted in his sleep, snuggling even closer to Brian, and letting out a loud snort before settling once again Brian couldn't help but shake his head in amusement.  Normally, Justin was the one who couldn't sleep before a big event. He was the more sentimental of the two, and had been known to lie awake all night, usually keeping Brian awake too, because he was excited or anxious.

Not tonight.

No, on the night before their daughter started kindergarten, the tables had completely turned. Justin was sound asleep while Brian lay awake. But then who could blame him? His baby was growing up!

It seemed like only yesterday that he'd held her for the very first time. As soon as he looked into her face, with the beautiful blue eyes, the wisps of blond hair, and the cute button nose, he knew he was totally fucked. There was no way he would ever be able to deny Miss Lily Rose Kinney anything!

As she grew up, she looked more and more like her daddy, but had a lot of Brian's mannerisms. She was smart, feisty, stubborn, a total diva when it came to fashion, and she loved with her whole heart. She was definitely Brian and Justin Kinney's daughter.

With a stifled groan, Brian looked at the bedside clock and saw that it was a little after three in the morning. He had less than three hours before he had to get up, and he still hadn't slept at all! With another resigned sigh, he rolled onto his side and placed his arms around Justin, pulling him in tight and closing his eyes, willing sleep to come.

~~~~~

Justin turned onto his side and glared at Brian who was sleeping the peaceful sleep of the dead. How on earth the man could lie there, dead to the world, the night before such an important event was a mystery to the blond.

He looked at the clock and saw that it was a quarter to five in the morning. He'd been awake for over an hour. He couldn't believe that his baby would be starting kindergarten in a few hours.

It wouldn't be long before she'd graduate high school, go to college and get married! Then she wouldn't need either of them anymore!

Ok, maybe he was getting a little bit ahead of himself, but this was his little girl!

Brian snored loudly, causing Jusin to glare at him once more. He cleared his throat, hoping to wake his husband, only to be answered with a softer snore and a grunt.  Sometimes the man was insufferable!

In addition to the usual pains a parent experiences when their child starts “big kid school”, Justin also had other worries.

He well remembered what he'd gone through in school: the bullying, the harassment, and the abuse, which led up to the bashing; all because he was what the other kids considered to be different, or wrong.  And while Lily was an adorable child who could charm anyone she met, she was still different in both good and not-so-good (at least according to some people) ways.

She was smart, already able to read simple books and count to 100. She was fashionable, and already knew the names of the top designers of the world, and had clear opinions of what labels she would and would not wear (Yep, she got that from Brian). And she was artistic and was already known to carry a sketchpad and pencil wherever she went, and had her own easel set up next to Justin's in his studio.

But she also had a non-conventional family, and knew more about politics and LGBT issues than a lot of adults, and she didn't mind giving her opinion whether asked for it or not. Justin knew that might not go over so well in school, especially when she got a little older and her classmates understood more about the world and its issues.

The sound of the alarm pulled him from his thoughts and caused him to groan loudly. He'd had very little sleep, and it was time to face the world and get Lily ready for her big day.

~~~~~

Lily held tightly to her Daddy's and Papa's hands as they walked down the crowded hall. She had already been to the school a few days earlier, and had met Miss Frost, and saw the classroom, the library, the cafeteria, and the playground (Lily had loved that part), but there had only been a few other kids and their parents there at the time, but now the hallway was full!

She was glad when her papa gripped her hand a little bit tighter. She didn't want to get lost. Finally, they turned the last corner, and Lily recognized the mural of Disney characters on the wall. She knew Miss Frost's classroom was nearby, because she had spent several minutes looking at the mural during her first visit.

“Mr. and Mr. Kinney! It's good to see you again,” Miss Frost said as they walked into the classroom. She shook their hands, and then bent her knees so that she was on the same eye level as Lily. “And it's so good to see you, Lily. Are you excited about starting school?”

“I guess,” she whispered shyly.

“We're going to have lots of fun,” the teacher promised. “We'll have storytime and go to the playground, and your daddy and papa told me you like to draw and paint, so we'll do some of that too. How does that sound?”

“Really?” she asked, finally showing some interest.

“I promise! Now give your daddy and papa a hug so we can get started. There's an empty seat right over there next to Dylan, so why don't you sit there, and color for a few minutes. Okay?”

Brian lifted her into his arms, and his heart broke at the sight of two big tears threatening to fall from her eyes. “Come on now, Sunbeam,” he said, suppressing his own emotions. “You're a big girl now. You're going to rock this whole kindergarten thing and show everybody how it's done. Right?”

“Right, Papa,”she said, even though she didn't sound too convinced.

“Daddy and I will be back to pick you up this afternoon. You have fun and learn a lot so you can teach Daddy. He needs all the help he can get.”

“Hey!” Justin said, swatting Brian on the arm and earning a patented Brian Kinney smirk and a grin from Lily. Brian hugged and kissed his daughter and then passed her over to Justin. “Bye baby. You have a great day,” Justin told her. “Papa and I both love you very much.”

“Love you too, Daddy.” she said.

Justin placed her back on the floor, and watched as she went to sit next to the boy Miss Frost had pointed out to her a few minutes earlier. It didn't take long for her to forget her fears and let her charming personality take control. As they turned to leave, Brian and Justin watched their princess chatting away with her new friend as if she didn't have a care in the world.

“Keep your fucking shirt on!” Debbie yelled, as someone banged his coffee cup on the counter, demanding a refill.  “You bang that cup at me one more time, and it will be the last fucking thing you ever bang, got it?”  She had a deceptively sweet smile on her face, while holding a coffee pot full of steaming liquid right over the man’s most sensitive body parts.

“Got it, Deb,” he squeaked.  “Sorry!”

“I’ve got to hand it to you, Deb. You sure know how to keep them in line,” Ben said with a chuckle as his mother-in-law came to their table and started refilling cups.

“After all these years, I’d better!” She said wryly.  If I didn't they’d run all over me!”

The ringing of the bell over the door announced a new arrival, just as Deb leaned over to refill Michael's coffee mug.

“Brian! Sunshine!”

“Jesus, Ma,” Michael yelped, rubbing the ear she had just screamed into.  “It's not like you haven't seen them lately!”

Debbie chose to ignore her son.  “So, how did it go, kiddos?” she asked, hugging first Brian and then Justin.

Brian smiled at the only woman he’d ever considered to be his mom.  “It went ok.  A few tears from Sunbeam, but nothing major.”

“How did what go?” Ems asked.  “What's going on?”

“My granddaughter started school today,” Debbie answered proudly.  “She's growing up so fast!”

“Too fast,” Brian mumbled as he slid into the booth next to Ben.

“What's the big deal?” Michael asked.  “It's just Kindergarten.  It's not like she’s going off to college!”

“And who was it that flew all the way to Canada an entire week before JR started Kindergarten, then moped around our house for hours after we took her to class that first day?“ Melanie asked.  “I think you even cried!” Everybody in both booths laughed except for Michael.

“Whatever,” he snapped with a scowl.

“You cried?” Emmett asked, still chuckling.

“No, I didn't!” Michael snapped, glaring at his flamboyant friend, “And I only went to Canada so Ben and I could help out the girls financially by taking JR school shopping!”

“Yeah, that was the reason, Michael.  Sure it was!” Melanie said, just before they all dissolved into laughter once again.

~~~~~

“Ok, everybody clean up your tables, then come over and sit on the reading rug,” Miss Frost said, pointing to a rainbow colored round rug in the middle of the classroom.

Lily carefully put her coloring pages and crayons away, making sure everything was neat and tidy.  Her daddy had taught her to be careful with her art supplies.  When she was done, she ran over to the rug and plopped down between Dylan and a little girl who had been sitting at the table next to her.

“Hi,” Lily said.  Five years of being Brian and Justin Kinney's daughter, not to mention having Debbie Novotny as her grandmother, had taught Lily to never be shy.  “My name's Lily.  What's yours?”

The other little girl clearly didn't have Lily’s outgoing personality, and silently looked down at the carpet.

“She won't answer you,” Dylan sneered.  "She's nothing but a crybaby.  She cried when her mommy left her this morning!  I didn't cry!  I’m a big boy!”

Lily didn't know what to say about that, since she almost cried when her Daddy and Papa left.  Before she could think of a response, the teacher interrupted.

“That's enough, Dylan.  Since you can't be nice to Lily and Riley, you can come sit next to me.”

Dylan scowled, then got up and stomped over to Miss Frost, making a point of dropping down beside her with a loud, put upon sigh.  He couldn't resist sticking his tongue out at the two girls while the teacher wasn't looking.  Lily decided she didn't like him very much.

As the teacher picked up a story book and was about to read it, Riley finally overcame her shyness.  “Hi,” she whispered, “My name is Riley.” The girls grinned at one another and scooted a little closer together, then settled in to listen to Miss Frost.

~~~~~~

“Do you think she’s ok?”  Justin asked Brian.  After leaving the diner, they had spent the morning in Brian’s office.  Justin had sketched some ideas for a painting he was planning to start later in the week, and Brian worked on his latest ad campaign for Liberty Air.

“I’m sure she’s fine,”  Brian assured him.  “She’s probably having so much fun she hasn’t even thought about us once.”

“Is that supposed to make me feel better?” Justin asked dryly.  “Because it really doesn’t.”

Brian left his desk, and sat down beside Justin on the sofa.  “Come here,” he murmured, pulling the blond into his arms.  “I don’t like it anymore than you do, Sunshine, but she’s growing up.”

“You really think she’s ok?  I don’t want her to go through what we did, Bri.”

“Times have changed, Justin.  I’m sure she’ll be just fine.  And if someone gives her a hard time, they’ll just have the displeasure of meeting Lily Rose Kinney’s pissed off Papa.”

Justin couldn’t help the huge grin that spread across his face.  Brian always made him feel better, and he had no doubt that the former Stud of Liberty Avenue would do everything in his power to protect their little girl.

Lily would be just fine.

“Hello?”

“Justin?  It’s April Randall, Riley’s mom.  I hope I’m not calling too late.

“Not at all,” he answered.  “We’ve just finished dinner.  What can I do for you?”

“I was wondering if you’d agree to letting Lily have a sleepover with Riley on Friday night.  I could take her to our house Friday afternoon after school. Then we could either bring her home or you could pick her up sometime on Saturday.”

Justin wasn’t sure he liked the idea.  As librarian, April was a trusted member of the school’s faculty. But Lily had never stayed overnight with anyone, except Jennifer.  She hadn’t even stayed at Debbie’s.  He knew she was growing up but he just didn’t know about a sleepover.  “I’m not sure,” he told her.  “I’d have to talk it over with my husband.  Can I let you know when I take Lily to school tomorrow morning?”

“Of course,” she answered.  “Take your time.  It’s only Monday, so there’s no hurry at all.  Look, you get back to your family time and I’ll talk to you tomorrow.  Be sure and say hello to Lily for me.”

“I will,”  Justin said.  “Good night.”

“Good night, Justin.”

He ended the call and flashed Lily a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes.  “That was Miss April,” he told her.  “She said to tell you hello and that she’ll see you tomorrow morning.”

“Miss April?  I like her!”  Lily said excitedly.  “She reads the best stories!  She uses voices and everything!”

“Hey!”  Brian laughed.  “I thought I was your favorite story reader.  That’s what you’ve always said!”  He put his hand over his heart in mock hurt, which only made his husband and daughter laugh.  “I get no sympathy,” he joked.

“Nope!” Lily and Justin both laughed.  “None!”

Later, after Brian read Lily her bedtime story and made sure she was asleep, he made his way to his and Justin’s bedroom. Finding his husband already lying in bed with a pensive look on his face, Brian peeled off his clothes and climbed between the sheets, snuggling closely.  “So, are you going to tell me what April said to upset you?”

“It’s silly,” Justin said with a sigh.

“If it upset you this much, it’s not silly.  I saw the look on your face when you were talking to her.  Something is wrong.”  He slowly ran his fingers through Justin’s long tresses, scratching his scalp.  It was a guilty pleasure of Brian’s that he enjoyed just as much as Justin did.

“She invited Lily for a sleepover with Riley,” he said.  “I told her I’d talk to you about it.”

“A sleepover?  At their house?”

“Yeah.”

“You’ve talked to April more than I have.  What do you know about the family?”

Well, you know she’s the librarian at Lily’s school.  Her husband is a psychiatrist and he has an office at the mental health facility across from Allegheny General.  They even call him Doc.  I know she’s worked at the school for six years and everyone just raves about her.”

“I think they sound like good people from what you’re telling me.  But what do you think?  Should we let Lily go?”

Justin sighed.  “I don’t know.  The only person who’s ever kept her overnight is Mom.  What if she gets scared in a strange place and we’re not there?”

Brian squeezed him a little tighter, sensing that Justin needed the comfort.  “They live in the Pitts, don’t they?”

“Yeah, over near Bridgewood, I think.  Why?”

“Well, we could always stay at the loft Friday night.  That way if Lily needs us, we’d only be a few minutes away.  Hell, we might even make it to dinner at Deb's.  She's always bitching because we don't go, so we could surprise her for once.”

Justin relaxed slightly in Brian’s arms.  “I guess we could,” he agreed.  “I’m still not sure I like it, but I trust April.  She’s been at the school for several years, and all the kids seem to love her.  I guess we have to let Lily grow up sometime.”

“I just didn't think she'd grow up so quickly,” Brian said with an audible catch in his voice.

With thoughts of their daughter on their minds, the men held each other tightly, finally allowing sleep to take them.

~~~~~

With Brian working on a major ad campaign for an up and comping cosmetic company and Justin finishing up three paintings for his Christmas show in Chicago, the week flew by. Before they knew it, Brian and Justin were at Lily’s school saying goodbye to her on Friday morning.

“Now you be good and mind Miss April,” Justin said as he knelt in front of her.  “Remember your manners and call if you want to talk to me or Papa.”

“I will, Daddy.  I’ll be good. Promise.”. Lily looked at him with those big blue eyes, which made Justin want to lock her away and keep her five forever.  He knew he couldn’t but it didn’t stop the desire. So with a deep sigh, he hugged her one last time and stood up, letting Brian take his place.

“You packed Oscar, right?” Brian asked her, referring to the stuffed giraffe Emmett  gave her the day she was born.  It was her favorite and she refused to sleep without it.

“”Yes, Papa. Daddy put him in my bag this morning.  He's still sleeping.”  

“Ok, you have a great day at school and enjoy your sleepover with Riley.  We'll call you tonight  at bedtime.”  He grabbed her in a hug that would rival one of Debbie's, then stood up and turned to face the librarian.  “You take care of her,” he said in a tone  I that made it clear he was serious.

“Absolutely,” April promised.  “She'll be fine.”

They handed Lily's overnight bag to April with strict instructions to call them if there was any kind of problem. Each lost in their own thoughts, they lingered outside the school, clutching each other’s hands and watching their daughter until Lily walked into the school and was out of sight.  Only then did they finally turn and walk to their car.

After an extremely long day at Kinnetik, during which Brian constantly took his frustrations out on Ted and Cynthia, only to have Ted look at him with amusement and Cynthia snap right back at him, Justin picked him up, and they headed to Deb’s.  It had been a couple of months since they had made it to family dinner and she had been demanding that they make an appearance for a while.

It didn't take them long to reach Debbie's house and soon they were standing on her porch.  Justin reached out to ring the doorbell but before his finger touched the button, the door swung open.  “Brian!” Michael yelled, bouncing like an overexcited puppy and completely ignoring Justin. “I didn't know you were coming.  Come on in!  We’re just about to sit down for dinner.”

He grabbed Brian's hand and practically dragged him inside, nearly slamming the door in Justin's face.  “Look who's here!” He shouted to the rest of the family.

“Well it's about fucking time you decided to show your faces at a family dinner!” Debbie exclaimed before pulling Brian and then Justin into bone-crushing hugs.

Everyone wandered into the kitchen where the food was set out buffet style and helped themselves, then settled into chairs in the den.  Every chair, as well as a few spots on the floor were filled with family, just the way Debbie liked it.

“Wait a minute,” the redhead said after a few minutes of conversation.  “Where is my granddaughter?  Is she staying with Jennifer tonight?”

“No,” Justin told her, “she's at her friend Riley's house for her first sleepover.  We’ll pick her up tomorrow afternoon.”

“Don't ​you think she's a little young?” Lindsay asked.  “I mean, she's only five, and you don't really know these people, do you?”

“I’ve met her mother.  She’s the librarian at the school and has been for several years.  Everyone loves her and she’s great with Riley.” Justin answered, his hackles starting to rise.  Lindsay was constantly sticking her nose where it didn’t belong, either with his career or his and Brian’s relationship.

“But you don’t really know them, do you?  I just don’t think it’s very responsible to let your daughter go spend the night at the home of someone you don’t even know.  I mean, anything could happen!”

“Lindsay!” Brian growled.  He was in no mood to have the mother of his oldest child question his and Justin's parenting decisions.

“I agree with Lindsay,” Michael said imperiously.  “You don’t know anything about these people and she’s way too young to be staying with strangers!”

Justin had had more than enough.  He’d endured the interference of Brian’s two “best friends” on more than one occasion, and it always seemed like they wanted to dictate the way the Kinneys lived their lives.  If it didn’t meet with Michael and Lindsay’s approval, then they would push and push until they either got their way or made Brian miserable.  This time he was determined to stop it before it went too far.

“The way we raise our daughter is not up for debate!,” Justin shouted, his voice razor sharp and startling everyone.  “We never said anything when Gus was allowed to stay with strangers only a couple of weeks after you moved to Canada. For the record, he was about the same age as Lily is now.  And what about the time you left JR with Eli and Monty, Michael?  What exactly did you know about them when you had just moved into the neighborhood?”

“That’s none of your business!” Michael screamed.  “Besides, Eli and Monty are good people.  They’re well known in the community and we knew we could trust them!”

“That’s enough!” Brian’s patience had run out.  “We came tonight because we wanted to see our family.  We didn’t come here to be criticized or judged.”

“That’s not what we’re doing,” Lindsay simpered.  “I just feel that Lily is much too young to be staying with people you don’t know.  I realize that neither of you have much experience in parenting and that’s why I’m trying to help.”

Brian just stared at the woman, who had been one of his best friends since college.  He knew exactly what she was trying to do.  Every time she got into one of her moods, she accused Brian of not being there when Gus was a baby.  He’d traveled to Canada at least twice every month and Gus had stayed with Brian and Justin in Pittsburgh during the holidays and in the summer. But somehow, Lindsay still saw that as Brian never being there for his son.  Brian was sick of it!

“That’s it!  Justin, we’re leaving!”, he snarled.  They grabbed their jackets and headed toward the front door.  Finally, Debbie came out of her shocked state and realized what was happening. She glared at the two troublemakers before running to her surrogate sons.

“I’m so sorry,” she said, tears streaming down her cheeks.  “I don’t know what’s wrong with those two.  We all know you would never do anything to put that precious child in danger.”

“We know,” Justin said before grabbing her in a bear hug.  “We’ll call you in a day or two.”

She watched them walk toward their car and wondered how a night that had started so happy could have ended up so wrong.  With a sigh, she closed the door and walked back into the living room where the rest of her family was waiting.

~~~~~

Justin sighed as he ate a sandwich the next afternoon.  Brian had refused to eat anything and had barely said a word since they left Debbie’s the night before, reverting to his old habit of retreating into himself and putting his walls up when he was hurt or threatened.  Over the last several years, he’d gotten better about letting Justin in when he was upset. But last night had been different.  His number one fear was that he’d be a terrible parent, just like Jack and Joanie. And once again, Michael and Lindsay had used that fear against him.

Justin would never forgive them for that.

He finished cleaning up the kitchen and sighed as he looked at his sullen husband, sitting quietly on the sofa, staring at nothing.  “Brian, are you ready?” he asked.

Brian still didn’t say a word, just stood up and walked to the door, stopping at the kitchen counter to grab his wallet and keys.  Justin followed him out into the hall and waited for him to lock the door and set the alarm.  As they waited for the elevator, he gently grabbed Brian’s chin and forced the older man to look at him.

“Hey, she’s fine,”  He murmured.  “Ignore those two.  They obviously don’t know what they’re talking about.”

“Maybe they’re right,”  Brian answered, leaning into his husband and burying his face in Justin’s neck.  “I mean, she is young and we don’t know April very well, let alone her husband.  Maybe we shouldn’t have let Lily go.”

“Stop that!”  Justin growled.  “I’ve talked to April several times.  She’s a lovely person and she wouldn’t have the job she has if she wasn’t responsible.  You’ve seen Riley. She’s a very sweet little girl.  She had to learn that from her parents.  And also don’t forget, Lily is very mature for her age and she’s a great judge of character.  She will be fine.  Now let’s go get our princess.  I’m sure she’s wondering what’s taking us so long.”

Brian was still nervous as they waited on the front porch of the modest brick home a few minutes later.  Finally, he heard footsteps approaching and the door swung open.  He heard Justin gasp beside him mere seconds before he recognized the man standing in the doorway.  He was older, as were they and his hair had receded to the point that there was more bald space than covered scalp. But the eyes and facial features were still the same.  Brian instincts took over and he pulled Justin to safety behind him.  “What the hell are you doing here?” he growled loudly and viciously.  Standing with a shocked expression was someone neither of them had ever wanted to see again: Chris Hobbs.