February 24

Emmett sighed and hurried after his favorite blond; although, he really wasn't his favorite blond at the moment since he was likely to get Emmett killed due to his actions. But despite how hard he'd tried to convince Justin that this wasn't a wise idea, the blond just stared him down and told him that if he didn't come with him, he'd find someone that would. And just like that, Emmett had caved like a house of cards under a stiff wind.

What was it about the Taylor-Kinneys that had Emmett caving to their will with a mere bat of their eyes in Justin's case, or an arched eyebrow in the case of his less jolly other half? They were going to drive him mad with all of their subterfuge and maneuvering of each other. Although, he supposed it was sweet in a weird way; but he knew he should've just turned down Justin's offer for lunch today.

He slid into the passenger side of Justin's SUV, because it was definitely Justin's SUV, and not Brian's, as Big Bad had told everyone from here and sundry, and closed the door. He cast an exasperated glance over at Justin, just to let him know what he thought of this venture; but Justin expertly ignored it, and instead, started the car and pulled out onto the drive.

Well, he supposed that Baby would've grown immune to that look, considering how many times he'd been on the receiving end of, and withstood, the patented Brian Kinney death glare. He supposed his puny look of disappointment had nothing on that.

"Brian is so going to kill me for this," Emmett muttered as Justin headed towards the interstate that would take them into to town and directly to Carnegie Mellon. And he had been looking forward to a quiet day of puttering around at home.

"Brian isn't going to do a thing because he's not going to find out," Justin snorted, easing onto the highway and then punching the gas to speed up. Emmett grabbed the pocket in the door in preparation for another adventure in what Justin called driving. Sometimes, he wondered how the boy managed to get his license.

But then, he just chalked it up to the one truth in life – Justin learned all the rules, then acted like an angel until he got what he wanted and then promptly forgot them.

"You say that now," Emmett sighed, giving in as gracelessly as possible, just knowing that there would be hell to be paid since he couldn't talk his Baby out of this misadventure. It would be like trying to tell Michael that Brian would never see his as husband material – completely useless. "But Big Bad always finds out."

"Who's going to tell him?" Justin huffed, looking away from the road long enough to cast a derisive expression his way. "Me? Not likely." Justin changed lanes with the barest look, nearly cutting someone off. Really, New York had been bad for that boy's driving skills. "You?" And then he paused to ponder that and shrugged. "Well..."

"He just has this way of knowing things as soon as he looks at me," Emmett defended, his knuckles blanching as Justin continued to lane hop. He was so glad it was the middle of the day and not rush hour. "It's like he has a built-in bullshit detector. He does the look – you know what look I'm talking about – and the next thing I know, I'm confessing all my sins and telling him about the time that I briefly had a career as a male escort…."

"You were a male escort?" Justin asked, flicking an incredulous glance his way as they careened down the interstate; Brian really needed to enroll this boy into remedial driving lessons. "I never knew that."

"It was very short-lived," Emmett shrugged, waving it off with his free hand, because like hell was he going to let go of his handhold. "Didn't even last out the day. They told me that I would be expected to escort women as part of the job, and then, wink, wink, nudge, nudge, whatever happened on our downtime was our business if I wanted to make a little extra cash. I shuddered at the mere thought of some society matron pawing me like I was her new favorite toy and got the fuck out of there."

"That must have been horrifying," Justin laughed, flicking his turn signal on after the fact; someone really should have told him that you need to indicate that you're changing lanes before you did it.

But then again, that went back to those rules that Justin ignored when it benefited him; something that Emmett should have learned when a cute, little, bubble-butted blond came along and demolished all of Big Bad's rules with nothing more than a Sunshine smile.

"You have no idea, sweetie," Emmett said, shuddering at the thought of being anywhere near girl bits. Really, once had been enough to make him realize the horrifying fate he'd escaped that day. "I saw a small sampling of the clientele as I was leaving and let's just say; if that's what you can expect, I wasn't all that impressed."

"Poor Em…" Justin laughed, and then scowled as someone got in front of him and had the nerve to go the speed limit. "Terrorized by all those female bits; although, I don't blame you. I'm not sure I could do it either. Having sex with Daphne was bad enough; especially when she decided I was her new favorite toy and dumped her boyfriend in some misguided belief that we were now boyfriend and girlfriend. Never mind the fact that I was queerer than a three-dollar bill and was routinely getting fucked by Brian at that time."

"You always were the exception to all his rules," Emmett said; tittering a bit at the double meaning that comment. "Not that I blamed him once he got a look at that cute, little, bubble-butt. If I'd have thought that you'd have even spared me a glance, I so would have tapped that. But alas, they all want God Kinney."

"Yes, they all wanted him," Justin smirked, changing lanes again to go around the person in front of him; thankfully he didn't flip the other person off as he passed, but he did give them a what-the-fuck look. "And well, still want him to be truthful about it, but I'm the one that got him. Eat your heart out Pittsburgh."

"At least when he finally fixated, it was with someone I could stand," Emmett said, bracing himself as they careened onto the off ramp, speeding down it as if they were still on the interstate until they were just at the end and Justin finally applied the brakes. "Some of his tricks, while admittedly gorgeous, were as dense as a ten-foot concrete slab."

"Dense as a brick didn't work for you?" Justin snickered, looking briefly to make sure there weren't any cars coming before he went on his merry way, abusing traffic rules right and left as if they were mere advisories and not concrete laws.

"Oh, honey," Emmett shook his head, still amazed that a trip that should have taken about an hour, took nearly half that. "They were well beyond that. Definitely the 'just sit there and look pretty' types. It's no wonder they couldn't hold his interest."

Justin pulled into the university area, navigating the roads as if he knew where he was going; which he likely did. Justin never did anything half-assed. And this had been no spur of the moment idea. He'd planned this from the very start, including inviting Emmett along because he'd known that Emmett would cave into his desires.

"Fuck," Emmett muttered again, refocusing on the reason for this visit now that he was no longer concerned with his immanent death at the hands of his very good, but slightly reckless friend. No, his death will likely be a long, drawn out thing at the hands of his very irate husband. He just couldn't win. "Brian is so going to kill me."

"You're always free to leave," Justin said as he swung into the parking lot, and because life always favored him, found a parking spot immediately. "The only reason I asked you to come with me is that Brian has been acting like a caveman lately; and I promised him that I would never be alone until they caught the person who broke into the loft and gallery. If you feel you can't handle this that bus over there will take you back. In fact, it might be better for you in the end as you have looser lips than…"

"Now that's just rude, Baby," Emmett said, cutting him off and breathing a sigh of relief when the car stopped moving; he didn't care how he did it, but he was definitely driving them home. "But I'm going to overlook it because I love you and I know you're stressed."

Justin turned off the SUV and looked over at Emmett, arching his brow in a perfect imitation of Brian. And that was just so unfair; he couldn't use that trick too! The puppy dog eyes were bad enough; he didn't need to be subjected to the Kinney arch as well.

"And Brian really would kill me if I left you here by yourself," Emmett continued, ignoring the way the little brat snickered at him. "And sweetie, I am far too young and pretty to die and deprive the world of all the fabulousness that is me; even if it means they can only look and long from afar these days."

"And they say Brian is the egotistical one," Justin teased, unlatching his seat belt and opening the car door. "How is it that we've never seen this coming?'

"My flame burns far too hot and bright," Emmett preened as he opened his own door, sending a small smirk over at the blond; who just rolled his eyes. "It blinds you to all of my pesky flaws."

"Okay, Miss Scarlett," Justin huffed, climbing out of the car. "Get your ass out then if you're coming with me."

And then he slammed and locked the doors, not giving Emmett much of a choice, but to follow him on his hair-brained task. While he could understand the reasoning behind the trip, Emmett really didn't like that Justin was keeping it from Brian.

"I just don't see why you didn't just go to dinner with them and find out what they wanted with Brian at your side," Emmett complained, getting out of the car and following Justin.

"Because I don't trust Ben not to open his mouth and let out the fact that he was having dinner with us to Michael, and where it was being held," Justin stated implacably, all humor draining from his face as his lips compressed into a thin line. "And you know that little prick would just love to come down and make a scene, whining to Brian about not coming to see him and saying that he was acting unreasonably and all that bullshit. And right now, Brian is already enough on edge; he might actually kill him this time and then where the hell would I be when my baby daddy is in prison?"

"Well, when you put it like that…" Emmett reluctantly said, following his friend through the corridors; because, of course, he knew exactly where Ben's office was located. He had to wonder if it was because he'd been there before or he'd managed to wring that information out someone. Shaking his head, Emmett muttered under his breath. "Drama princess."

"I'm just protecting my free access to the best sex known to man," Justin said, trying to inject some levity into the coming confrontation. "No one could blame me for that."

"Yes, I'm sure that's the main reason why," Emmett snickered as Justin stuck his tongue out at him and turned a corner.

"Plus, if we do it this way, he has no time to plan what he's going to say, nor can he get word out if it was indeed an ambush," Justin said, restating his reasoning behind the trip as he stopped near a cracked door. "Here we are; now, you just sit there and look pretty, while I find out what the fuck he wants."

Emmett squawked at that and swatted a sniggering Justin on the arm. "See I ever help you again."

"You love me and you know it," Justin said as he knocked on the door; and truth was, the brat was right. Justin had become the brother he'd always wanted, easily replacing the bigoted assholes that shared his blood.

That was likely why he was doomed to forever chasing after Justin, trying to make sure he didn't get into too much trouble. And if he did, that Emmett was right there to help bail him out of whatever misadventure he'd been dragged into.

"Come in," Ben called out; Justin pushed the door open and stepped into the room with Emmett at his heels. Ben held up a single finger as he continued to write something on the paper in front of him. And when he finished, he looked up, his eyes widening in surprise to see them there. "Justin, Emmett; this is a surprise."

"Ben," Justin nodded politely, ever the little WASP even when he was gearing up to rip someone a new one. "How have you been?"

Emmett waved, but didn't say anything as this was all Justin's show; he was just the support. And he wanted the dynamics of this meeting to be clear from the get go. Ben set down his pen and sat up as if immediately sensing that this wasn't a social call.

"Fine," Ben nodded; he sat back with his hands clasped in his lap. "And yourself?"

"I've been well," Justin said lightly, his hand unconsciously coming up to rest on his baby bump as he said the rest. "Although, Sunbeam seems to think that my bladder is a trampoline, so that's always fun."

"I can imagine," Ben smirked, and then gestured to the chairs in front of his desk. "Please, have a seat. How can I help you? I assume that you came here for a reason."

"I did," Justin said as he sat down, his own hands clasped in his lap; and really, it was like they were trying to out polite each other, much like Justin and Lindsay tried to out WASP each other. A game Justin always won. "I wanted to find out what this news is that you thought I'd like to know; and why you'd think that I'd care one way or the other."

"Ah," Ben said, and then sighed when he noticed the look on Justin's face; the one that told him that he was in no mood for games. "The dinner."

"Yes, that," Justin said, jumping right into the topic at hand; and Emmett had to respect the fact that he didn't try to draw it out, but simply cut through the bullshit and got right to the heart of the matter. "Call me crazy, but I'm not too trusting of either you or Michael right now. Michael is obvious; it goes without saying why I don't trust him. But you, it's because of your continued interference and your absolute inability to allow Michael to face the consequences of his actions."

"I see," Ben said, drawing the words out, but he kept quiet as if he'd sensed that Justin had more to say on the matter and he didn't want to interrupt him. Too bad his husband couldn't learn that trait; it would save him a well of hurt and disappointment.

"It tells me a few things about your character that I can't condone right now," Justin stated bluntly, not really caring if Ben liked his assessment or not. And it did seem to cut to the quick given the way Ben swallowed heavily at the words.

"Not when it's not just my own health that I'm looking out for," Justin continued with a small frown on his face; Ben had the grace to flush. "But the most important of these is that, no matter what sob story you sell to me and Brian, you will always put Michael first." Justin paused to watch Ben's reaction to that, and smirked when he found the confirmation he needed. "And that's fine; he's your husband and it's natural that you would want to protect and support him."

Justin paused again; but this time it was for impact judging by his next words. Emmett was surprised, and supremely proud of his brother in everything but blood's calm demeanor throughout that entire spiel.

"But this wasn't a little argument between friends, Ben," Justin said, the first sparks of anger lighting his eyes until they shimmered like blue flame. "He sought me out, verbally attacked me, broadcasted sensitive information to the public at large and ended up being the cause of an anxiety attack that had me hospitalized overnight because my blood pressure worried the doctors enough to admit me."

Ben remained silent, but he did look uncomfortable and squirmed in his seat with each transgression Justin listed. So, Emmett supposed that earned him some points; but he was still of the wait and see where this goes mind. Ben had been just as bad as Michael in Emmett's opinion, but it was due to his inaction rather than his actual actions.

"Which is a serious problem as I, likely, can't take drugs to stabilize it since I'm allergic to a lot of the meds," Justin said, his voice quivering for a moment; likely due to remembering what the doctors told him that day. "Having high blood pressure could mean that Sunbeam isn't getting the blood flow needed and could be underweight or even be born early; and those are the minor side affects. So, I need to know that this isn't going to be another ambush, because like hell am I going to go through that again."

Ben opened and closed his mouth several times, trying to find the words to reassure Justin, but he seemed to be at a loss for words. But Justin didn't say anything; he just sat there, patiently waiting for the other man to answer. Which was a hell of a lot better than Emmett, who wanted to choke the answers out of him.

"I understand," Ben finally said; and then he sighed and ran a hand over his face. "And I don't blame you for not trusting Michael; or me for that matter. I know that you have more important things to worry about; and that's why I wanted to have dinner – to impart some news that would hopefully bring you a little peace of mind. I really did just want to apologize to you and Brian and give you that news. But I can see where my prior actions would make you hesitant to believe me."

Justin continued to stare at him skeptically, but nodded in acknowledgement anyways.

"Yeah, sorry," Justin said, not sounding sorry about it at all. "I just don't see dinner in the cards at this juncture; while you may be genuine in your assertions, I don't trust Michael as far as I could throw him. I just have a bad feeling about this, and I am going to trust my gut as it's rarely led me wrong."

"Fair enough," Ben nodded, sitting up in his chair again; he set his clasped hands in front of him and leaned against the desk. "I can tell you now, and you can pass the information onto Brian. No dinner necessary; although, Hunter will be disappointed as he was looking forward to catching up with you."

"Tell him that he's free to come to the house anytime," Justin conceded; And Emmett still found it funny that an unlikely friendship blossomed between the two once Hunter had stopped chasing Brian. "Well, within reason. I'd love to catch up with him as well."

"I'll let him know," Ben said with a small smile. "The reason I asked to see you was, first of all, to apologize for my actions after the restaurant incident. I could say that I was acting under false pretenses, which was the case for the first day, but I won't insult your intelligence that way. It's true that I hadn't heard about the hospitalization until the next day when Deb came to ask Michael if he knew what was going on. He'd merely said that you'd had a disagreement and…"

Justin snorted at that; talk about the understatement of the year. But then again, that was so Michael, and Emmett couldn't help but remember several like moments where Michael painted either himself or the situation in a better light than it had originally been cast. And he was sickened by the fact that he hadn't noticed it for so long.

"Yeah, he downplayed it quite a bit," Ben acknowledged, his smile turning into a frown. "He simply said that you'd had a disagreement and that he didn't want to see anybody; I couldn't see any harm in running interference until everyone cooled down, so when Em and Ted came calling, I sent them away."

"And after?" Justin prompted, his arms crossed over his chest.

"Well, as you said, he is my husband," Ben said, wincing as even he'd recognized the lameness of the argument. "And I also didn't want Brian to end up regretting his actions if he lost control. I know what that's like."

"Okay, we'll go with that for now," Justin said, still looking skeptical, but willing to set it aside for the time being as he, apparently, had bigger fish to fry. "What is this news that you think will bring me 'peace of mind.'"

"Michael and I will be moving," Ben stated bluntly to the both of them.

Emmett's mouth gaped as he stared at the other man, as there hadn't been a hint of this on the Avenue, and it was nearly impossible to keep that kind of gossip under wraps. Emmett turned to Justin, whose eyes were bugged out at the announcement; and then shook his head when Justin looked over and arched a brow. No, he hadn't heard a thing about it.

"It's just temporary," Ben hedged, holding up a hand to halt their questions. "I was offered a chance to do a summer seminar on the hidden gay subtext in various forms literature and media; and I've accepted it as of last week."

"Okay," Justin said slowly, obviously wondering how that added up to Ben and Michael moving; which was the question Emmett was wondering himself.

"But, I still have to be here until May 6, and the seminar begins May 19," Ben continued, running his hands through his hair. "That doesn't give me much time to find a place to rent and settle into. So, after a long discussion about everything, and explaining to Michael that it might be a good idea if he got away to let things cool off a bit, he's going to head out there early and set up house for us."

Justin's eyebrows rose at that announcement, but he remained skeptical. And Emmett didn't really blame him after everything that Michael had put him through lately. This seemed to be more of the same Novotny lip service, where he promised to do something and then never delivered. Emmett had a hard time believing it himself.

"And I know you have no reason to trust that he'll stay away," Ben said, echoing Emmett's thoughts. "But I'm hoping that for once he'll listen to reason and stay put. He seems keen on it; although, it is more from the stand point of thinking that Brian will miss him and welcome him with open arms when he returns."

"Of course, he does," Justin sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. He already seemed to be developing a headache at that thought. "When is he leaving?"

"By the end of March at the latest," Ben said as he flipped through a few papers on his desk. "There are several things he needs to wrap up and he's training Hunter to manage the shop while he's gone. That should give him a little over a month to find a place and settle in. We'll be gone through mid-August."

"Well," Justin said, obviously tired of the entire thing and looking to end the conversation now that he'd gotten what he wanted. "First of all, congratulations on the seminar; I assume that it isn't through the university and that's why you have to find your own lodging?"

"No it's not," Ben shook his head, a rueful grin on his face. "I'm doing a favor for a friend; but unfortunately, while it pays well and is about a subject I'm passionate about, it doesn't come with lodging. Hence, why it pays so well."

"Well," Justin said again, falling back into the perfectly polite WASP that Jen raised him to be. "Thank you for telling me; congrats again and good luck. But I think I'll reserve judgment until I see how things play out." Justin paused as he stood, preparing for their departure. "I want to believe you; but I know Michael and the way that he acts. I have a lot of doubts that he'll actually do as he's promising you. But, I also can't deny that it would be a relief if he does."

"I understand," Ben said as he stood as well. "All I can say is, he said that he would stay away from you and Brian until he leaves for Seattle and that he's looking forward to the time away. I guess we'll all have to wait and see if he follows through. And again, I'm sorry for…"

"Really, Ben," Justin cut him off, holding up a hand to fend off any further apologies on his part. "While I'm not happy with your actions, I can understand them, as I would do the same with Brian; it's not you that owes me the apology. But I won't allow Michael anywhere near me to do so. He's finally crossed a line with me; and I don't ever foresee a time where we'll reconcile."

"I understand," Ben nodded and held out his hand to Justin. "It was good to see you, Justin. And I hope in time that I can regain your trust; but I'll also understand if that never happens."

"You too, Ben," Justin said, politely shaking the other man's hand. "Be sure to send your brat kid around; I've missed him."

And then they both silently walked out the door, still utterly stunned by the news and wondering what was going to happen next. And all Emmett could really think as they walked away was – well, this was game changer.