Chapter 33 - Polka Dots and Moonbeams.

The rest of that week had gone remarkably well, as far as Brian was concerned.

He and Justin had fallen into a sort of routine that seemed to work well for them both. They’d spent their nights back in 1941, with Brian whiling away his evenings - after Justin hurried off to his duties for the RAF - at the White Lion, chewing the fat with Daphne and the rest of her boys. Then Brian would go to the Palace to sleep, waking up whenever Justin finished his mission and could make it back to Covent Garden, so that they could enjoy a pleasant morning fuck before breakfast.

After which they’d spend most of the day in 2016, with Brian working and Justin either napping or helping out on the artwork for his clients. The young artist was getting rather good on the various photo manipulation applications and other art software Brian was teaching him. It was certainly showing in the work Brian was putting out for clients that were wowed by what they were seeing. Brian really did think that Justin’s talent was wasted on him being a mere pilot.

As soon as Brian’s work was done, he’d drag Justin off to do something twenty-first-century-ish. They’d gone to a 3D movie on Thursday afternoon. The way things appeared to jump off the screen and fly straight at the viewer was pretty cool - even Brian had to admit that. Justin, however, spent most of the movie trying to reach out and grab at the imaginary objects, his hands waving wildly in the air, and almost jumping out of his seat when something dangerous appeared to approach. Brian kept a reassuring hand on the boy’s thigh throughout most of the picture, trying to calm him. That experience had astonished the young man so much that Brian thought Justin would never stop raving about it afterwards.

On Friday, he’d finally taken Justin swimming in the hotel pool . . . after taking him shopping for a bathing suit and somehow managing to get Justin to accept the fact that, yes, he could actually wear the skimpy speedos in public without getting arrested. Justin had been so distracted by the swimming suit itself that he’d barely bothered to marvel over the strange fact that the pool was indoors. Brian was still laughing about the way the kid had tried to keep his towel on until the very last second before he jumped in the water. And he’d given Brian one of THOSE looks - the jealous, disapproving looks he was so good at - when Brian himself had simply dropped his own towel on a lounge chair and flaunted himself as he slowly strolled over to the pool. But, after they were both in the water and therefore mostly hidden from view, they’d had fun swimming and splashing and goofing off together.

One good thing about all the time they were spending in 2016, though, was that Justin seemed to be worrying a lot less about Brian holding his hand or even kissing him in public. Brian had made a point of the hand-holding thing, even though it would normally be out of character for him, just so he could acclimate the youngster to that aspect of the future. He wanted Justin to feel comfortable in his own skin. He wanted him to be able to be himself, not hide in the closet, and to appreciate that part of what the future offered. It was the biggest selling point the future had, as far as Brian was concerned. So, when Justin had let him actually kiss him in the pool that afternoon, in front of a crowd of people, Brian figured he’d won the reticent man over pretty much completely.

They’d spent so much time in the pool, however, that they were running a little late by the time they finally did get out. They only barely had enough time to get up to Brian’s room, shower, change and make it back through Duckett’s Passage before Justin would have to rush off to the air base for the night’s mission. They were almost out the door of the room before Brian thought to check his messages one last time before he went off the grid for the night. So, with Justin visibly chafing at the added delay, Brian jogged back over to the house phone and hit the button to play back his waiting messages.

“Hi, Brian,” Lindsey’s voice echoed out of the speakerphone on his desk. “I’m just calling to confirm our flight details with you. We land at Heathrow on Sunday at 11:50am, flight number BA554. Are you still picking u . . .”

Brian could literally hear the phone being wrestled out of Lindsey’s hands before she could even finish her question and then he heard the voice of his favorite little person.

“DADDDDDDDDY!!! Daddy, I come see you in two days. I am sooooooo ‘cited, are you ‘cited, Daddy? Mommy has already putted all my clothes in the case and all I has to do is pick which stuffed aminal I want to bring with. I want to bring all of them, Daddy, because they’ll be so sad I leaved them at home, but Mommy says that Mama will look after them . . .”

Brian would probably never admit it to anyone, but every time Gus called him ‘Daddy’ his heart thumped and he fell a little more in love with his amazing little boy. Who knew he’d fucking love being a father as much as he did? He sure hadn’t expected it.

“I just ‘cided I’m gonna bring my cuddly hipsapotimus because I thinked he would be your favorite, Daddy. If you want, I will let you cuddle him when you go to sleep, okay? TWO DAYS, DADDY!!!!! That is . . . MOMMY, HOW MANY HOURS IS TWO DAYS? . . .”

Lindsey's laugh could be heard in the background as she answered an excited Gus.

“I see you in forty eight hours, Daddy . . . which sounds long, but it isn’t. Can we has pizza for dinner? And a sleepover and make a fort with pillows andddddddddddddd eat cookies in bed while we watch Paw Patrol . . . on’y don’t tell Mommy about the cookies, ‘kay?”

Jesus, did his kid ever take a breath?

“I gotta has my bath now, Daddy, cos Mommy says they don’t ‘low stinky boys on to the plane. I love you as much as a bunny loves carrots and a doggy loves bones.”

Then the kid hung up, like he’d not just stolen the phone out of his mom’s hand.

“Applesauce, Brian. I think I already love your son and I haven’t even met him,” Justin spoke up from where he’d come to stand behind Brian, his arms around the bigger man’s waist.

“What’s not to love? The kid is fucking adorable,” Brian admitted proudly as he grabbed his keys and started walking to the door. “I can’t wait to see him.

“I wish I could see the two of you together,” Justin sighed. “I bet he looks just like you. You two are going to have so much fun together this week.”

“You only have to wait a couple of days, Blue Eyes, then you’ll get to meet my Sonny Boy in person.”

“Really? I’m going to get a chance to meet him?” Justin answered, the shock in his voice causing Brian to pause and look back at the man following him with an affectionate look. “You won’t mind me butting in on your time with your son? I mean, I don’t want to be a bother or anything.”

“Of course you’re going to fucking meet him, Justin. I was hoping the three of us could hang out together. He’ll love you, you know. You two are almost the same height,” Brian teased, earning himself a slap to his rear from the height-challenged pilot walking only a step behind him.

“Hey, you! I might not be as tall as you are, but I’m trained to take you out with my bare hands, so you better stop making fun of me, Buster!” Justin warned. “I also happen to know ALL your ticklish spots so, if you don’t want to pee your pants next time I get ahold of you, you better back off.”

“Damn, Blue Eyes! You play dirty.”

“Darn right I do, Mister. Just let that be a lesson to you.”

They kept up the running banter all the way to Duckett’s Passage. As soon as they’d slipped through the portal - hand in hand - Brian brought up something that he’d been wanting to ask for a few days.

“Speaking of Gus’ visit, I was wondering if you could maybe get a few days in a row off anytime in the next couple weeks. I was thinking it might be fun to get out of the city for a couple days or something. We could take Gus to the country or the beach or . . . I don’t know, just somewhere quiet and peaceful . . . and I’d like it if you’d come with us.”

Justin froze, bringing Brian to a halt as well since they were still holding hands. “You mean it? The two of us . . . going away together? Like on a holiday? Together?”

“Of course, together, you twat! But with Gus in tow it will be the THREE of us, provided you think you can put up with both Kinney men at the same time,” Brian corrected him. “I kind of wanted to take Gus down to Brighton for a day or two, maybe see the sun and play in the water? What do you say?”

Forgetting that they were out in public, in the wrong time period, Justin flung himself into Brian’s arms. “I think it’s the most wonderful idea I’ve ever heard in my entire life, Brian!

“And my idea has the added benefit that I can watch you in those sexy little swimming shorts at the same time,” Brian teased him, taking advantage of having his man in his arms to leave a kiss on the smiling lips.

Brian might have gone on kissing his happily wriggling boy for longer, too, if Justin hadn’t been startled by the sound of people passing by the end of the alley, causing him to abruptly pull away. Brian hated the empty feeling he was left with, but knew better than to complain. The guilty look in Justin’s eyes as he stepped back was enough to let Brian know he felt just as awkward about it.

“I’m sure I can get some time off,” Justin stated as they both started walking again. “I’m owed it - I haven’t taken even one day of leave since I arrived and I’ve covered for the other guys tons of times, so if I can’t get the CO to just sign off on it, I should be able to get a buddy to cover for me. When did you want to do this?”

“How about next weekend?” Brian proposed. “I’m planning to take the entire week off to spend with Gus. We could head down late in the day on Thursday, maybe, and come home on Sunday? So, the 19th through the 22nd? Would that work for you. I know it’s the middle of the week here, but that shouldn’t matter with your schedule as much. What do you say, Blue Eyes - want to go on a seaside holiday to Brighton with me?”

“Don’t you mean ‘Bri - Tin’,” Justin asked with an impish waggle of his blond brows and a giggle that went straight to Brian’s dick.

It took Brian a second or two to get the joke - mostly because he was a bit distracted by that damned giggle - but then Justin’s pun caused him to laugh a bit too. “Aren’t you the clever chap, now? ‘Bri-an’ and ‘Jus-Tin’ - Bri-Tin. I guess that clinches it though, we have to go to Britin since the damned place is named for us. Right?”

“Definitely!” Justin confirmed, adding in another giggle, which he suspected was only because the little brat knew how much of sucker Brian was for that damned, adorable noise. “I better get a move on though. If I’m planning to ask for leave, I sure as shootin’ better not show up late. See you in the morning?”

“I’ll be waiting,” Brian smiled at the bold pilot now jogging backwards as he waved goodbye, wishing he could have kissed Justin before he left.

“So, now to plan for a weekend at the beach . . .” Brian mused aloud as he made his way towards the White Lion for his evening pint.

The day had finally arrived and Brian couldn't get out of the office quick enough; Gus was finally here. Their plane had touched down at Heathrow over an hour and a half ago and Lindz had just called to say they were sitting in the back of a black cab en route to the hotel. If it wasn't for that damn meeting with Britcom that had run over, Brian would have been at the airport picking them up himself, but as it turned out, Gus was beside himself with excitement at riding in a real London taxi, so the change in plans was probably for the best.  

“I’ll have my cell with me”, Brian told Cynthia as he put his jacket on and shoved files into his briefcase on his way out the door. “But only call me if . . .”

“If it’s a balls on fire emergency, yes, I know, Boss,” Cynthia laughed. “Have a great time with Gus.”

Brian didn’t bother to respond as he was already out the door and halfway to the elevator. He wanted to change into something more Gus-friendly before he picked his kid up; Armani was not meant to come into contact with grubby little hands. He burst through the door of the hotel suite two minutes later, surprising Justin who had still been asleep on the big bed, with Brian’s pillow clutched tightly in his arms.

“Rise and shine, Blue Eyes. It’s time to go collect our Sonny Boy!” Brian hollered as he pulled his tie off and tossed it on a nearby chair.

Justin looked over at the bedside clock - he’d gotten pretty good at the whole digital world thing, Brian thought - and then bolted out of bed. “We’re late! Wasn’t his plane supposed to land an hour ago? You should have woken me up, Brian.”

Justin frantically pulled on the first pair of pants he found, which happened to be Brian’s and were far too large on the shorter man, causing Brian to laugh out loud.

“It’s okay. We don’t have to rush. My meeting ran late, so I arranged for Lindz to head directly over to her hotel and we’re going to meet them there instead of at the airport. Which is a bummer, actually, because I figured you’d get a kick out of seeing a modern airport. But I’ll just take you there when we see Gus off instead.” Brian disappeared into the toilet cubicle for a minute and then reappeared without his jacket or dress shirt and with his pants gaping. “Let’s get going, though. I can’t wait to see Gus. It feels like it’s been ages.”

Justin had already managed to find some of his own clothes - a pair of the jeans that Brian had finally convinced him were perfectly acceptable casual wear in 2016 and a long-sleeved polo shirt in a blue that perfectly matched the young man’s azure eyes. If Brian weren’t in a hurry to go get his son, he would have thrown Justin back on the bed, immediately stripped all those clothes off him and eaten him alive. But, for once, propriety ruled and Brian shook off that idea in favor of getting to Gus faster.

“Do I look okay?” Justin fretted as he smoothed his hair down and began lacing the new trainers that Brian had purchased for him the day before.

“Calm down, you look more than okay. You look gorgeous. And Gus isn’t going to care how you look as long as you’re with me,” Brian proclaimed, walking up to give Justin a reassuring kiss at the same time. “Although, it wouldn’t hurt if you bribed him with some of your M&Ms.”

Justin looked over at the bedside table where he still had a small bag of the purple chocolate candies that he’d been nibbling on for the past few days. He seemed to be contemplating Brian’s suggestion for half a minute, but then, with a shake of the head he dismissed the idea and turned back to face Brian.

“Too much candy is bad for children.”

Brian laughed again. “Not to mention that it would mean there was less for a certain pilot with a killer sweet-tooth, right?”

Justin didn’t answer except to swat Brian’s rear with a back hand as he walked past him to grab the leather jacket that Brian had bought him despite his repeated protests about it costing too much. Brian paused to admire the handsome young man for a moment. Justin looked every bit the modern twenty-something you’d see walking down the street of any major 21st Century city. It was remarkable, actually, how easily he seemed to have adapted.

But there was no time to muse over that now. There was a Gus-ster waiting for them. Time to get a move on.

Brian bustled Justin out of the hotel and down the street. It was only about a ten minute walk between the two, but Brian was in such a hurry he figured they made it in under eight. Poor Justin had to practically jog to keep up with Brian’s longer-legged pace. But the younger man was almost as excited as Brian to meet Gus, so he didn’t complain. When they reached the hotel itself, Brian did break into a full-out run up the steps.

Brian felt Gus before he saw him as the little boy ran at him at lighting speed and wrapped his arms tightly around his Daddy’s legs the minute they set foot in the hotel lobby.

“Daddddddddddy,” Gus shrieked as he lifted his arms in the air, demanding to be picked up. “I missed you SO much, Daddy. I  flied on a plane today and sawed the clouds and we goed by the sun and it was SO bright but I didn’t look at it,” the little boy prattled off excitedly all in one breath.

“That’s awesome, Sonny Boy,” Brian replied in between blowing raspberries on Gus’s cheeks. “Guess what?”

The little boy pulled back and looked in to Brian’s eyes. “WHAT?”

“I missed you more.” Brian didn’t care how goofy that sounded, it was true, he hadn’t realized how much he’d missed his kid until he had him in his arms.

“Someone’s been waiting not-so-patiently for you, standing here with his nose pressed up against the window since the minute we arrived,” Lindsey laughed. “I thought he might explode.”

“Hey, Linz,” Brian smiled warmly at his friend before giving her a quick kiss hello. “Sorry I couldn’t pick you guys up at the airport, my meeting ran over.”

Lindsey shook her head. “It’s fine, we got to go in one of those famous black cabs; Gus loved it, didn’t you, Gussy?”

Gus nodded eagerly as he played with the collar of Brian’s shirt. “I’m glad you waited here for me, Sonny Boy. It was a nice surprise when I walked in.”

It was then that Brian turned and held out his hand, pulling Justin towards him.

“Sonny Boy, Lindz, I’d like you to meet a special friend of mine. Guys, this is Justin.”

Gus waved shyly and buried his face into Brian’s neck. “Hi, Jussin.”

Lindsey looked slightly taken aback but hid it well. “Hello, Justin.”

Justin didn’t want to waste time passing pleasantries with Lindsey, though. “Hey, Gus,” Justin immediately turned and greeted the little boy with a big smile and a little wave. “Your Daddy has been really looking forward to seeing you. I thought HE might explode with excitement.”

Gus laughed at Justin’s joke and snuggled into Brian’s arms a little more.

Justin then turned to Lindz, who was watching him carefully. “It’s nice to meet you, Lindsey,” he said, offering his hand.

The woman gave him one of her famous tight lipped smiles and shook his hand. “You too, Justin.”

“Daddy,” Gus tugged again on Brian’s collar and bent to whisper desperately in his ear. “I need to go potty.”

“Alright, Sonny Boy. Let’s go back up to your room and you can go there.”

“Back up? Lindsey scoffed playfully, “we haven’t even been up to the room yet. Someone didn’t want to miss their daddy.”

They all laughed as Lindsey led them over to the corner where she’d stashed their carry on bags. It looked like the porter had already taken most of the larger cases up for them, but Justin still gallantly offered to carry what was left while Brian carried Gus. That left Lindsey with only her handbag and nothing to occupy her other than staring at Justin all the way upstairs in the elevator. As soon as they’d all made it through the door of the room, Gus tugged Brian into the bathroom with him while Justin offloaded his burdens.

“So, Justin, how is it you know Brian?” the nosy woman asked at the first opportunity. “Brian’s only been over here in London a month or so, and none of his friends back home have heard of him acquiring any ‘special friends' yet . . .”

“I . . . Uh . . . Well, I’m . . .” Justin stuttered.

“Justin is a pilot,” Brian intervened before the poor blond could get too tongue-tied. “He’s on special assignment over here with the RAF. And we met the first week I was here. I’d fallen in the alley behind a pub I’d been having a drink in, and had twisted my ankle and knocked my head a good one. Justin showed up, dressed in his uniform, and rescued me. So, of course I fell for him right then and there. I’ve always been a sucker for a man in uniform.”

“Oh, Brian. Leave it to you to pick up a man in the alley BEHIND the bar. How drunk were you at the time?” Lindsey tittered with laughter. Then she dropped her voice to just above a whisper and added, “although, you don’t usually remember their names, let alone introduce them to your son.”

“Let’s just say Justin is special and leave it at that for now, huh?” Brian shot a warning look his friend’s way. “And I wasn’t drunk. I was having a cigarette out there and got caught in a rainstorm, then fell when I was trying to get to cover.”

“Poor Daddy,” Gus spoke up, concerned for his father. “Did you cry? Is your head still hurted?”

“Nah, I’m fine now, Gus,” Brian assured him with a smile, bending down closer to where his son was standing and rapping with a knuckle on his skull in demonstration. “This thing is as hard as rock. It’ll take more than a little knock to do me in, Sonny Boy.”

Gus stroked Brian’s head gently. “Were you running when you weren’t ‘posed to?”

Justin laughed. “Yeah, he was.”

“Did Jussin kiss it for you and make it all better?” Gus asked, still really concerned about his father’s noggin. “When I falls, Mommy always kisses my ouchies.”

“Yep. Justin kisses me better all the time,” Brian replied, with a knowing look at his now blushing blond.

Lindsey cleared her throat, breaking the tension in the room and redirecting everyone’s attention to her. “Well, we’re all glad you’re okay, Brian.” Then she moved over to stand closer to Brian and Gus, sort of insinuating herself between them and Justin. “So, what’s on the agenda? I’m sure I’m going to crash soon - I didn’t get much of a chance to sleep on the flight over here,” she looked down pointedly at her son, “but I’m probably good for a couple more hours.”

“Are you guys hungry?” Brian asked, earning himself a cheer from his son, who was hopping around like a kangaroo in his excitement. “I’ll take that as a ‘yes’.” Brian chucked and bent to pick up Gus again. “How about some authentic London Fish and Chips? There’s a street vendor just down the block and, since it’s not raining today, for a change, we can sit in the park and enjoy the sunbreak. What do you say, Sonny Boy?”

“YAYYYYYYYYYYYY!” Gus enthused, very loudly.

“Okay. That’s the plan then.” Brian hefted Gus higher on his hip and smiled over at Justin. “Lead the way, Blue Eyes. We’re right behind you.” Then, as an afterthought, he looked back over his shoulder at Lindsey and added, “you’re okay with that, right, Lindz?”

“Of course,” she replied, although she didn’t look all that thrilled by the prospect of eating greasy fried food out of a used newspaper.

Brian didn’t have time to worry about her fastidiousness though. He intended to focus on Gus for the next ten days. Lindsey was a big girl; she could entertain herself. Besides, she was getting a free, all-expense paid trip to London for fuck sake, so he didn’t want to hear any bitching about anything. She could just suck it up and eat fried food and damn her silly vegetarian ways for one afternoon. So, mentally dismissing his old friend, Brian turned his attention to the two boys he really did want to spend time with.

Brian looked at the mess of coloring books, crayons, candy wrappers and toys already spread out over the carpet in his hotel suite and shook his head. Nestled amid the clutter were his two boys, their heads together, debating whether to color the hipsapotamus purple or blue, since they didn’t have a grey crayon. Gus was dressed in atrocious lime green pajamas decorated with a ‘scawy’ T-rex on the top and scales on the pants that made him randomly roar out loud whenever he felt the urge. Justin was wearing a ridiculously baggy pair of Brian’s sweats that made him look about twelve. Both of them were being totally adorable and Brian wasn’t going to even mentally berate himself for thinking such a lesbianic thing.

Both boys looked as happy as could be. Brian had thoroughly stuffed them full of fish and chips then - after he’d begged Lindsey to let him take Gus for the night - brought his pack back to the hotel to settle in for a ‘Boys Night’. They’d had the concierge send out for supplies - hence the toys, coloring books and candy - while the three of them had climbed into the huge bathtub together and splashed around until they’d all become wrinkly. Then there had been a couple of hours of playtime, with Brian being forced to drive a little toy car around in circles on the floor while Gus narrated what the pretend people in the cars were doing and, every so often, directing his dad to crash his car. Now, even though it was still pretty early, Gus was already yawning and rubbing tiredly at his eyes; he was obviously feeling the jet lag and ready for bed.

“Alright, Sonny Boy, it’s time to pick a movie before bed,” Brian explained as the little boy got up and began throwing pillows from the suite’s sofa onto the floor.

“I wanna watch, ‘The Good Din’sor’,” Gus replied as he jumped enthusiastically on one of the large square seat cushions.

Brian walked over and picked the bouncing boy up in his arms. “Put me dowwwn, Daddy,” Gus laughed as he kicked and wriggled his legs in mid air. “I’m tryna build a fort.”

“Oh, are you now?” Brian replied teasingly. “And who said you could do that, huh?”

“Yooooou, Daddy. You said we could, on da phone, member?”

Brian grinned at the indignant little boy in his arms. “Hmmm.”

“Daddy, peeeeeeeeaaaassss?”

“What do you think, Justin?”

“I think that’s an excellent idea, Gus,” Justin exclaimed, grabbing a couple of pillows off the bed along with the large bedspread. “I used to do this all the time as a kid. It’ll be fun. Come on, Brian. Pull that chair over here, closer, so we can put the blanket over it.”

Brian did as he was told; he’d never made this kind of thing before. His mother would have shit herself if he’d ever messed up the house like this or dared to put her good sheets on the floor. So, basically, he was a pillow fort virgin. Brian would do anything for his son, though. Anything. Including tearing all the sheets off the bed, pulling all the chairs and tables around into the correct positions and piling pillows wherever Gus directed.

“This is SO cool,” Gus shrieked as the fort took shape right in front of his eyes. “I can’t wait for us to sleep in it.”

Brian shook his head, there was no way in hell he was spending the entire night in that thing. “We’re not going to sleep in it, Sonny Boy. We’re just going to watch the movie in here, okay?”

“Nuh huh,” the little boy replied determinedly. “If it’s ‘cos you are scawed of the dark, Daddy, I have my big flashlight wiv me, okay? It keeps monsters and dragons away.”

“What about goblins?” Justin asked seriously as he happily played along.

Gus thought long and hard before he nodded his head. “Yep, we are safes from them too.”

Brian couldn’t help but smile at his Blue Eyes and the wonderful way in which he and Gus got along. For the past couple of hours, there had been this funny feeling in his stomach whenever he’d watched his two boys together. They were so fucking cute. He didn’t even mind that they were constantly ganging up on him to get away with whatever mischief they had in mind. He was more than happy to indulge them.

“See, Daddy,” Gus pointed to the pallet of blankets Justin had finished arranging on the floor inside the tent. “It’s just like a bed. We kin sleep there, just us boys. It’ll be sooooooo fun. Right, Daddy?”

What could he fucking say to that? Of course he’d be sleeping in the goddamn fort, but if he was going to wake up with a sore back in the morning, then so was Justin.

Brian threw his hands in the air. “Alright, alright, we’ll sleep in the fort.”

“Yessss,” both his boys high fived - something that Gus had taught Justin earlier in the afternoon, and which the time-traveller seemed to think was hilarious fun.

“Right, get under the covers.” Brian said as he scrolled through Netflix to find the requested movie.

“Wait, I gotsta put this outside first,” Gus said as he scrambled out of the fort and placed a piece of paper onto the roof of the fort.

Brian leaned over to look at this all-important paper and smiled. Gus had created a ‘No Gurls’ sign and included stick figure pictures of the three of them. You could tell which one was Justin by the scribble of yellow on that figure’s head along with the huge smile on his face. Brian noted that his stick figure wasn’t smiling and looked a little worried. Hmmm. He needed to work on that - at least while his Sonny Boy was around.

“All ready now, Gus?” he asked, getting a big smile and a nod from the boy before his son crawled back into the fort and settled himself on a pillow next to a grinning blond who immediately wrapped the boy in his arms.

“Yep. We’re ready. You can start the movie now, Daddy.”

Brian followed directions, using the remote to start the movie playing, and then got down on his hands and knees and crawled in under the overhanging blankets himself. It took a minute or two for them all to get arranged, but by the time the starting credits on the movie were over, Brian was set up with a pile of pillows behind him, a blond curled up at his side and his Sonny Boy next to the blond. Then, just as the first baby Dinosaur began to romp across the screen, Justin pulled his coveted bag of M&Ms out of his pocket and sacrificed a handful to the boy.

And the rest of the evening was spent in the damned blanket fort, on the floor, and Brian didn’t even care that his back was going to hurt like a bitch the next day, because he had his boys with him and that meant all was well.