- Text Size +

 

January 13 (Part Two)

Justin sat back with smile, taking in the newest details he’d added to the mural. It had been a good day so far and he’d accomplished a lot. Especially given the fact that Anna had taken the day off to visit her daughter and newest grandson, (something he’d failed to mention to Brian), and Brian was at work, leaving him to his own devices. And he’d spent the last two hours painting without interruption.

He supposed that he should feel bad about not taking a break between the two hours as he promised, but the restrictions had been chafing lately; and as long as he didn’t overdo it, he didn’t see any reason why he couldn’t work a bit longer if he was feeling up to it.

Plus it was just nice having the house to himself, surrounded by peace and quiet rather than all too helpful people hovering over his every move. No one there making sure that he was eating right. No one there questioning if he needed to rest for just a minute or two. (Honestly, if he wanted a nap, he would take a fucking nap.) No one there telling him that a certain activity is inadvisable for his condition.

He knew they only did this out of love and concern, but Justin had always been an independent person. Even as a child, he’d preferred to do things his own way and in his own time. It had been the bane of his mother’s existence as she'd never known how to deal with an assertive Justin, with very clear opinions about the things in his world; a son that didn’t really need her guidance.

It was part of the reason why she'd had such a difficult time when he came out; Justin was once again embarking on a journey she had no say in and was going places where she couldn’t follow him, no matter how much she wanted to smooth the path for him.

Sighing, Justin set his paintbrush aside and swiped a hand over his face. This was probably as good a stopping point as any. Plus, he was getting hungry since it was just after one in the afternoon and he hadn’t eaten lunch yet. Standing up, he quickly cleaned his brushes and had just set them in a jar to dry when the doorbell rang.

Frowning, Justin took off his mask and gloves, and laid them on a table as he walked past. He couldn’t fathom who could be at the door as he wasn’t expecting anyone; and Brian sure as hell would have told him if he was expecting a delivery today. Trotting down the stairs, Justin huffed in exasperation as the doorbell impatiently peeled again.

“I’m coming,” he called, doubting whoever was at the door would hear him, but saying it nonetheless just in case they could.

Striding into the foyer, he quickly ran a hand through his hair and then scrubbed his hands on his jeans to make sure there was no paint on them. God forbid he get paint on the handle and it dried; or worse, gets on one of Brian’s suits. That was a queen out he wanted no part of if he could at all help it. Grasping the handle, he opened the door and then stared at the people standing on his doorstep with a small frown.

“Mom, Deb,” Justin greeted hesitantly, wondering why they’d driven all the way out to West Virginia and why Deb was carrying a box with her. “What are you doing here?”

“Sunshine!” Deb greeted, kissing the air next to his cheek as she pushed her way into the house. Not that he’d tell her no, but it would have been nice if she’d waited until he’d extended an invitation. “We heard that Anna was visiting with her newest grandbaby today and figured that now would be a good time to visit since you were up here all by your lonesome.”

“Oh, really?” Justin said, desperately trying to hold onto that thread of calm that had enveloped him since Brian went to work, but now had shattered with the appearance of more well-meaning minders. “And where did you hear this?”

“Hello, sweetheart,” his mother said as she walked past, kissing him on the cheek before she followed Deb into the kitchen. Justin rolled his eyes and closed the door, knowing he had no other choice than to follow them. “A friend of mine at work is a cousin or an aunt or something, and she mentioned in passing that Laurell had her baby this weekend; why didn’t you say anything? I would have loved to have gone to the hospital and brought them a gift.

“Laurell said she didn’t want any visitors for the first couple of weeks,” Justin said as he entered the kitchen, watching Deb with a wary look. “She'd been inundated with family as it was the last couple of weeks and didn’t want any more people underfoot while trying to deal with a new baby.

“Well, it’s a good thing we heard about through Linda then,” Deb cackled as she began unpacking her box, taking out tray after tray of frozen food. “Otherwise you might have starved up here all by yourself.”

Justin tried not to take offense at the implication that he wasn’t able to care for himself; but given he’d just gotten rid of two mother hens just hours before, he was having a tough time not snapping at the woman he considered a second mother. He took a deep breath and then let it out slowly, releasing the tension in his shoulders as he did so.

“What is all of this?” he asked, still puzzled as too why Deb was filling his freezer with food when anyone could see that he had a full fridge.

“I thought that would be pretty obvious, Sunshine,” Deb huffed, setting aside one of the trays on the counter by the oven. She walked over and turned the oven on and then turned back to Justin with her hands on her hips and a hearty laugh on her lips. “You know, you cannot exist on sex alone! You guys have to eat to keep up your strength.”

Justin bristled at that comment, knowing full well that somehow Deb was blaming Brian for some made up offense in her head. It was as if she was implying that Brian couldn’t take care of him; and considering how he couldn’t seem to get Brian to stop hovering to save his life, that was a false assumption. He opened his mouth to set her straight, but was cut off by his mother, as always, playing the peace keeper.

“We just thought we would bring something over so you didn’t have to make something for yourself,” his mother said, shooting him a chiding look.

Justin’s mouth snapped closed, but he was hardly appeased. God, he hated when his mother infantilized him. She did this same damned thing after he’d been bashed. He hated it then, at a mere 18, and he definitely hated it now as a 30-year-old man. He did not need to be scolded like a child that didn’t know his own mind.

“You know, I have plenty of food here and am quite capable of putting together some soup and a sandwich on my own,” Justin said, trying to keep his tone even.

“Oh, I know that, sweetheart,” his mother said with placating smile, patting him on the cheek as if he was fucking ten. “But, we were in the neighborhood and thought why not stop by and keep you company this afternoon.”

Justin snorted skeptically and arched a brow, but otherwise ignored the blatant lie. He and Brian lived thirty minutes outside of Pittsburgh. His mom, he could potentially see as being in the neighborhood if she’d just shown a house nearby. His mom and Debbie, who just happened to show up with with a box full of food; not very likely.

“Besides, there is nothing like a hot meal that will stick to your ribs,” Deb said and she pulled a piece of foil off of the tray she’d set aside. “You’ve always been much too thin, Sunshine; and you’re eating for two now.”

Justin pinched the bridge of his nose, but decided not to say anything as he knew it wouldn’t do any good anyways.

“Now, you just sit your cute, little tush right there, Sunshine," Deb said, pointing to one of the stools by the counter. “While I put this batch of lasagna in and then get started on some garlic bread, and your Mom makes up a salad for the three of us.”

Justin turned around and rolled his eyes, but did indeed sit down at the indicated stool. He propped his chin on his hand and wearily watched his mom and Deb work with an ease that alluded to the number of family dinners he and Brian had held over the years. They knew their way around his kitchen, having taken it over at least once a month since they'd moved out here. They chattered amongst themselves until finally his mother turned around and eyed his clothing with a funny expression on her face.

“So, is it laundry day?” she asked, slicing the mushrooms she’d just cleaned.

“No,” Justin said, a wary frown on his face as he tried to figure out just where she was going with that question. “Why would you think that?”

“Oh, well,” his mother said, and the paused thoughtfully; she studied his appearance with a pensive frown that had Justin’s hackles rising once more. “It’s just that you’re wearing your painting clothes. I thought maybe it was because you were doing laundry.”

“Yes,” Justin said, drawing out the vowel; he had a bad feeling he knew where this was going. “What else would I wear while painting?”

“What do you mean ‘what else would you wear while painting’? Deb exclaimed, turning around to pin Justin with an incredulous look.

“Well, I can’t very well wear my Armani,” Justin joked, trying to lighten the atmosphere; because like hell was he going to have them interfering with this. “I’m pretty sure that if I were to do so, Brian would have a queen out of epic proportions.”

“You’re still painting?” his mother asked, nonplussed as she halted her slicing.

“Yes,” Justin said almost as if he were talking to a small child; he knew he would get his ass chewed for it likely, but really where the fuck was this going? So he decided to voice that thought and hope like fuck it wasn’t leading where he thought it was. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“I just thought…” Jen paused, shooting him a disapproving look; but whether it was for his earlier snark or his answer, he didn’t know. “What are you working on?”

“The mural for the nursery, of course,” Justin said, his head already beginning to ache; he just knew this wasn’t going to end well.

“I thought you were going to hire someone to do that,” his mother said with a frown, but continued slicing vegetables for the salad.

“No,” Justin said, his patience beginning to thin once again. “I want to do it myself; I designed it, and I want to paint it.”

“You should listen to your mother, kiddo,” Deb broke in at that moment, interrupting their little staring contest. “You need to be careful of what you do in your delicate condition.”

A frisson of irritation shot down Justin’s spine and he was this close to telling his two very well-intentioned, but absolutely annoying mothers to fuck off and leave him alone.

“It’s just that,” his mother said in that placating tone that always irritated him as a teenager; the one she used when she thought she knew better, but really didn’t know shit about what was best for him. “When you’re pregnant, sweetheart; you’ll find that you get tired much more easily and it might be better if you had someone to help you.”

“I think I’m perfectly capable of knowing just how far I...,” Justin began through clenched teeth, but then halted when he heard the front door slam.

He glanced at the wall clock over the table and frowned; it was far too early for Brian to be home, but he couldn’t think of anyone else it could be. The only other people that had keys to the house were his mom, who was there; Ted, who was at home with Blake; and Cynthia, who was on a trip. Turning on his heel, he hurried out of the kitchen and sighed with relief when he caught sight of his husband in the foyer.

“Thank God, you’re home,” Justin said as he threw himself into Brian’s arms and buried his nose into his husband’s neck, instantly grounding himself in the man that he loved. “If I had to deal with them for one more second, I would not have been held responsible for what happened. Do something! Before I lose it and kill both of our very well-intentioned, but annoying mothers.”

Brian chuckled, wrapped his arms around him and pressed a kiss to his temple as he muttered, “What is it with fucking mothers today? All I need now is to have Lindsay call and my day would be complete.”

“What?” Justin asked, frowning at the words; he studied Brian’s face and noted the lines of stress gathered on his brow and at the corners of his eyes. He turned what he said over in his head and wondered what the fuck Joan Kinney wanted this time. “What happened? Why are you home so early?”

“Later,” Brian promised, a small smile of gratitude on his lips as he pressed them softly to Justin’s. “For now, let me go slay your dragon, my fair damsel.”

“Fuck you,” Justin spat, his hackles instantly rising as he scowled at his husband. “It’s not me you have to save, but them; because if I hear one more word about how I should handle my own fucking pregnancy, I might just kill them both.”

“Easy there, tiger,” Brian laughed, catching him back in his arms and keeping him from doing just that. He pressed his lips to Justin’s ear, and murmured against them, sending a shiver down Justin’s spine. “Let’s go send our mommies packing and then I will show you just how much I appreciate you.”

Which of course is when the mother hens decided they couldn't leave well enough alone.

“Jesus fuck, Brian,” Deb exclaimed as she walked in the room, Justin’s mother on her heels. “Can’t you go a fucking day without get your dick sucked or fucking an ass? Think of Sunbeam! You can’t be expecting Justin to take care of your needs in his condition. He’ll be showing before you know it and then where will you be? Right, Sunshine?”

It was at that point that Justin, fed up with all the fucking minders in his life, simply snapped.

“Sure,” he said, his voice dripping in sarcasm as he turned and bared his teeth at the women he usually loved, but seemed determined to tread on every last nerve he had today. “You first.” Deb and his mother frowned at his words, not understanding what he meant, but it quickly turned into a gasp when he continued. “After all, you should probably slow down due to your age. I can’t imagine that you’re all that flex…”

Justin’s voice cut off as Brian quickly covered his mouth with his hand. Hissing, he glared at his husband, but subsided when Brian just arched a brow.

"That's enough of that,” Brian said, looking between the three of them with no little exasperation. “I'm thinking it's Sunshine's nap time; so, if you ladies don't mind showing yourselves out, I'm going to go tuck him in."

“Whatever,” Justin muttered after Brian released him; and then he stormed off to his studio without uttering another word, leaving Brian to smooth things over.

 

You must login (register) to review.