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March 5 – (26 weeks)

"So," Mel said, looking at Justin and relaxing back into her seat, enjoying the relatively calmness of her day for once. "What were you reading when we came in?"

Mel nodded her head towards the thick packet of papers that Justin had been shuffling through when she, Ted and Blake had descended onto the booth that he'd taken up residence in. She hadn't even realized that they would be meeting up with Justin that afternoon when Ted and Blake had come to her office and all but dragged her out of it, with her weakly protesting the entire way.

As the newest lawyer at the firm, Mel was always working ridiculous hours, trying to prove that she was worth the faith that they'd placed in her despite the short time that she'd been there. The only time that she wasn't working these days was in the late evenings and on the weekends when she made time for Gus and Jenny. But even then, she'd often bring home work to do for after they went to bed; she just couldn't afford to slack off if she wanted that coveted junior partner spot.

Plus, it also meant that she could avoid Lindsay and her over the top interest in Justin's pregnancy; something that she still didn't understand. She knew that Lindsay had always had a bit of a soft spot for Justin, likely seeing and noting the similarities between the two of them; hell, Mel loved him nearly as much just for being one of the few people to knock Brian Kinney on his ass with a few well chosen words.

But lately, her interest in him and his career had taken an odd turn, most notably around the times that Justin and Brian were planning their first wedding; and then again when he came home and they planned their second. She'd done a complete one-eighty both times, going from supporting the relationship between them to telling Brian that he was holding Justin back from achieving his goals. And Mel had agreed with her that first time; but now, she wondered what the hell that had all been about since it was obvious that Lindsay had expected Justin to break off with Brian and stay in New York for some reason.

Something that had not happened much to Lindsay's aggravation.

And Mel couldn't explain why; even she'd known that eventually the two of them would find their way back to each other; and she didn't profess to know or love Brian or Justin in the same way that Lindsay always had.

Shaking herself out of her thoughts, she smiled at Justin, who was still holding up a single finger as he finished chewing, marveling at how good it felt to just be with her friends again. She was really glad that Blake and Ted had dragged her out of the office now. It'd been a long time since she'd just simply sat down and enjoyed the company of people that she liked and admired without having to be extra careful of every little thing she said or did.

"It was just an article about natural birth vs. medicated birth," Justin said once he'd swallowed his food.

He grimaced when Mel raised her brows in surprise. Last she heard, Justin had been pretty well set on his birth plan and wasn't about to budge no matter what other people said about it. (And good for him; she'd gone that route too and she didn't regret it one bit.) So, that he was potentially thinking of changing it up now was surprising to say the least.

"Don't get me wrong, I haven't changed my mind on being medicated despite Lindsay waxing poetic about natural birth," he continued, rolling his eyes as he did.

Mel huffed and didn't blame him one bit; even she'd nearly lost her patience with Lindsay's pontificating over the 'spiritual and life-enhancing nature of natural birth.' Spiritual and life-enhancing her ass; did Lindsay really forget that Mel had been present for the entire birth and recalled every scream, cry and nasty thing she'd said during it? Please, sister. She still couldn't believe that Lindsay had even had the audacity to go there.

"It was just an interesting comparison by someone who'd gone through both and I was curious as to what she thought on it," Justin said, shrugging as he popped a piece of broccoli in his mouth; his only nod to eating something of nutritious worth.

And even then, it had been at Deb's behest, with her staring him down until he'd sighed and actually began grudgingly eating it. Likely, because Brian had given her strict instructions to make sure that Justin ate something other than grease.

"I do acknowledge that Linds said it was a wonderful experience, but…" Justin sent an apologetic look her way, but Mel just held up a hand and cut him off. There was no need for him to apologize for doing it the way he wanted.

"Oh, Baby; don't let her kid you," Mel smirked, drawing the attention of everyone at the table. "Linds was nowhere near as serene as she claimed to be. I find it amusing that she conveniently forgot screaming for drugs at the last minute; and then being an utter bitch to the nurse when she was told it was too late."

"So, she didn't opt for a natural birth?" Justin asked, his brow furrowed with confusion.

"Oh, she did," Mel said, rolling her eyes as she remembered the conversations she'd had with her wife on this subject. "Went on and on about what a natural process it was to give birth and how she wanted to feel in touch with her body, as well as she didn't want to be confined to a bed while it was happening. Which is all very valid, don't get me wrong."

Justin's eyebrows rose into his hairline; he rolled his lips between his teeth, in that way he always did when he was desperately trying not to comment, and instead made a noncommittal sound of curiosity.

"But it was nowhere near the transcendent, spiritual experience that she made it out to be." Mel huffed, shaking her head at the things Lindsay was saying that day in an effort to persuade Justin to her way of  thinking; how quickly one tends to forget reality when they are viewing the world through slightly smudged, rose-colored glasses.

"I'd have a hard time believing that it was," Blake piped from where he'd been feeding Luc his bottle. "My contractions never reached the excruciating pain that others talk about, but it still hurt like fuck and I was still threatening to cut off Ted's balls if he ever came near me again."

"I thought you were going to do the epidural route?" Justin asked, staring at the other man with no little amount of confusion.

Mel couldn't comment on that for herself as, although she and Ted were still close friends, she and Blake didn't know each other as well. She did find the friendship between the two youngest members of their group interesting and telling however. She could easily see how they'd become close due to being outsiders of the original group at one time and having partners with a significant age difference between them.

"It never got to the point where I thought I needed it," Blake shrugged; and Mel had heard about the way Blake had barely even flinched at his contractions in the beginning. The lucky bastard; she wished that it had been that easy for her. "Maybe I just have a high pain tolerance? But I had the doctor prepare one just in case I needed it. I just never reached that point where I couldn't take the pain anymore."

"I wish she would have gone that route," Mel muttered mostly to herself, garnering the others attention once more, and snickering as they were all practically salivating at the hint of gossip. Fucking queer men…they were worse gossips than women sometimes.

"Do tell…" Justin drawled, sniggering and ginning unrepentantly when Mel arched a brow at his obvious digging for fresh dirt on Lindsay; and really, Mel shouldn't say anything as this was her wife, but lately, she'd been having doubts on Lindsay's intentions when it came to Justin and she didn't like that feeling at all.

"Yes, speak slowly and enunciate," Ted quipped, a sly grin on his face.

And then, for some reason unbeknownst to Mel, Justin threw his head back and laughed at that comment, while Blake huffed and smacked Ted on the arm, shaking his head when Ted just smirked.

"You're terrible," Blake huffed, rolling his eyes as he set the bottle aside and lifted Luc onto his shoulder to burp him.

"I'm guessing that's an inside joke?" Mel asked, looking between the three of them; the all flushed guiltily and shared a knowing look between them, so Mel figured she'd hit the nail on the head with her assessment.

"Sorry," Justin said, always the first to apologize; he screwed his face up into a sheepish moue and shrugged. "It's more that you had to be there."

"Just one of those charming times that Brian was demonstrating his non-jealousy over Justin," Blake smirked, sending the other two into more laughter. "He really wasn't happy that morning; not at all. Well, he wasn't until you showed up and you had your little tête-à-tête or whatever the that was. And then, suddenly, everything was right in the world again."

"I beg to differ," Justin groused, absentmindedly rubbing his ass. "When I got back to the loft that night, he made sure I knew just how pleased he'd been by my performance. He wasn't nearly as cool about it as you'd think."

Mel caught on at that point, vaguely remembering Ted telling her this story a few years back. She'd laughed her ass off knowing that the Great Kinney had had his ass handed to him by the sweet little twink he had been taking for granted.

"King of Babylon?" Mel asked, arching a brow and nodding when they all just grinned.

"That would be it," Ted snickered; and Mel knew that for all that they were friends now; Ted had enjoyed Brian's comeuppance just as much as she had back then. "But we're getting off track; I want to hear about Lindsay's labor meltdown."

"Well, I wouldn't call it a meltdown," Mel said, not wanting to make more of it than it was. "But she was definitely screaming for drugs by the time she crowned; something she conveniently forgets; she chooses to focus on the natural part of it, rather than the fact she became a raving bitch."

Justin rolled his eyes again, but said nothing; and, again, Mel didn't blame him after what happened nearly two weeks ago.

"And then, when she finally gave in and demanded them, and she was told that it was too late to do it," Mel grimaced. God, she'd wanted to smack Lindsay herself for her attitude that night. Yes, she got it; she was in pain. But to treat people like they were less than you because you weren't getting your way was wrong. "Well, she grew really nasty. I was actually embarrassed for her; that was when I started trying to call Brian because I was so done with her attitude."

"Should have known better," Ted snickered, popping a fry in his mouth and chewing. "Everyone knows the King ignored his phone when he was out sucking and fucking." Ted paused and flicked an apologetic look over at Justin. "Well, retired King now."

"Oh no," Justin disagreed, not at all put out by Ted's words; and Mel supposed that he would need to have a thick skin after being around and dealing with Brian and his former reputation every day. "He's still the uncontested King; I know that. It's just the the Stud title that he's retired from these days."

"Ah," Mel said; and well, that made sense. Kinney was still a bit of a God around these parts and the Avenue did go out of their way to protect him and his Prince, as they referred to Justin. "Well, at least one good thing came from his sucking and fucking that night; it brought you into our lives, Baby."

"And he thought he'd get rid of me," Justin smirked, looking far too smug for his own good. But, when you've tamed the untamable, you were allowed to be smug. "I knew the morning after that I was different just by the way Michael was acting; he asked Brian didn't he get enough yet, and Brian just smirked and said that there was never enough."

"I've never heard that part of the story," Ted said, perking up with interest; and Jesus, the man was a worse gossip than Emmett was at times.

"Don't tell him I told you though," Justin said in a hushed voice, wrinkling his nose. "He likes to pretend that he was talking about sex in general and not about me in particular. But, it's kind of hard not to realize I was different even then, because I'd heard how he treated his usual tricks – throwing their clothing at them and kicking them to the curb before the sweat has even dried on their body. Whereas with me, he showered with me and then was helping me to dress when Mikey walked in."

"I bet he loved that," Mel said, rolling her eyes; she'd never understood Michael's absolute dislike for Justin.

Yes, she knew that he'd had feelings for Brian; and Brian may have kept him on a bit of a leash, but anyone with a brain could have seen that Michael just didn't have what it took to keep Brian's interest. Kinney needed someone to challenge him; to stand up to him and tell him when he was being an ass. That was never going to be Michael; and taking it out on Justin wasn't going to change the fact that if Brian hadn't fucked Michael by then, even before Justin had been in the picture, it just wasn't going to happen at all.

"Foaming at the mouth doesn't even begin to describe his reaction." Justin snorted, shaking his head in disgust.

And again, they all shared a look between them that spoke of years of friendship and knowing each other in ways that others could only hope. And it made her a little sad. She wished that she could share in that closeness; but she'd lost that when they'd decided to move to Canada, separating themselves from their Pittsburgh family. It was one of her very few regrets with the move.

"Well, as enlightening as this is," Ted said, turning back to Mel with a wicked gleam in his eyes. "I want the dirt on Miss Prim and Proper. So, she turned nasty did she?"

"Oh, yes," Mel said, saying to hell with it; maybe it was time to start obtaining that closeness that all the boys seemed to share and that she envied. "I could tell that the nurses were ready to knock her out if it got her to shut up. And the mouth on that woman… refined and serene it was not. She could have given Brian a run for his money when it came down to the sheer foulness of her language."

"And to think," Ted drawled, a mocking lilt in his voice. "You'd think that butter wouldn't melt in her mouth."

"Actually, I'm not surprised at all," Justin huffed, stabbing at his remaining piece of broccoli and pointing with it. "She always seemed to bite her tongue on the things she wanted to say; and much more often than anybody realized; especially when things weren't going her way."

"You mean," Mel said, a knowing smile on her lips; and now it was time to do a little digging of her own. "Like when you announced that you were coming home after three years, rather than staying in New York to pursue 'your' dream?"

Because she knew exactly what Justin was talking about; Brian and the others were blind to it, having been around Lindsay for far too long not to be snowed by her act. But Mel, knowing her better than others, and Justin, all too aware of the games his set liked to play, knew better than to take what she said at face value. Something that was evident when Justin met her smile with one of his own.

"Exactly like that," Justin nodded; and then his expression grew pensive as he looked away from Mel. "Although, that wasn't, and still isn't, my biggest gripe with her."

And that was something else that she knew; or at least she'd thought she did.

"I know, Baby," Mel said, sighing and feeling a bit guilty in the part she'd played that had Justin and Brian together, but separated for nearly three years as Justin pursued his art. "She shouldn't have gone behind your back and manipulated Brian that way."

Mel bit her lip, and then dug down deep and finally said all the things that she should have said years ago; she'd had no right sticking her nose into Brian and Justin's business. And she was ashamed to this day that her actions had derailed a marriage that, while they now say that neither of them was ready for at the time, was still something that they'd both wanted.

"I know that I wasn't much better then," she said, shifting uncomfortably in her seat. "And I'm sorry for that." She paused and considered her words. "Lindsay should have stayed out of it. That she went behind your back and had, not only manipulated him into shoving you off that infamous Kinney Cliff in the first place; but then she even went to hims and tried to guilt him into telling you to stay in New York, was disrespectful to you. Well, it was disrespectful to both of you; but especially you, as she treated you like a child that didn't know his own mind. And I'm sorry for my part in it and for not telling her to butt out much sooner."

"There is that," Justin said in a neutral tone, his face unreadable for the most part; but there was something – maybe it was a glimmer in his eyes – that told her there was something more going on here. And it also made her realize that maybe she didn't know what upset Justin the most about this situation.

So, she took a stab in the dark and hazarded a guess.

"There's more," Mel said, her eyes narrowing as Justin looked away; his silence was very telling in this matter.

"Oh, there is a whole lot more," Blake muttered, likely not meaning to be overheard, but it had stood out in a moment of unnatural silence in the diner; as if even the patrons knew something was amiss. "Justin has always been far too polite to say anything though."

"Blake." Justin hissed, sending a quelling look Blake's way; one that the other blond blatantly ignored.

"Don't give me that look," Blake hissed back, his mouth in a tight, white line and blue eyes flashing with anger. They stared at each other for a long moment before Justin huffed and looked away. "You know that you should have done something about that a long ass time ago. There was no excuse for her behavior."

"Stop it, Blake," Justin said in a steely voice, and this time Blake huffed and turned his attention to putting a sleeping Luc into his carrier.

Mel was getting a bit tired of all the cryptic conversation.

"Baby," Mel said, addressing a silently fuming Justin. "What happened?"

Justin blew out an exasperated breath and shot another irritated look Blake's way; and again, Blake ignored it in favor of just staring Justin down.

"Sorry, Mel," Justin said, in a tone that said anything but; and Mel had to applaud him on not breaking under Blake's stare. "But that is between Lindsay and I." He paused, glaring at Blake again, and pointedly stating in his direction. "And I will address it in time."

"It's way past time if you ask me," Blake groused, determined to have this out here and now, even if Justin would have preferred to keep whatever it was under wraps.

Justin just sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"I mean it, Justin," Blake continued, as if somehow sensing that Justin was close to caving in and saying something. And Mel couldn't help being fascinated with the dynamics of their friendship. "If you don't say something soon, I will be letting the others know and let the chips fall where they may."

"I swear to God," Justin hissed, looking truly pissed off for the first time since Blake brought it up. But to give Blake credit, he didn't even flinch under Justin's ire. "You are an absolute pain in my ass."

"I'm your friend," Blake quietly said, effectively stopping any argument Justin might have had cold. "And it pisses me off that she's gotten away with this for so long."

"I have to agree, Justin," Ted said, his voice equally hushed. "It's not right."

"Christ, you know too?" Justin asked, his ire renewing itself; and Mel didn't know what to think at this point. Part of her really wanted to know what the hell Lindsay had done to garner this reaction. But, at the same time, she didn't want to know; because this was about her partner and she wasn't sure she could handle knowing it without it drastically changing the way she viewed her wife.

"Do you even have to ask that?" Blake huffed in exasperation, running a hand over his hair. "He is my husband, Justin; and I came home quite pissed off when we found out. Did you really expect me to keep it…"

"Okay, I get it," Justin groused, rubbing his hair in a very like manner. "I'll deal with it; but only when I'm ready to." And again they entered in a stare-off, with Justin winning this time. He huffed and gathered his things, throwing money on the table for his meal. "I need to go; I promised Brian that I'd drop a sandwich by the office for him as he's been too busy to grab something today. So, I'll see you all later."

"Justin," Blake said softly, obviously not wanting his friend to leave, seemingly mad at him; Justin sighed and rubbed his face.

"I'm not mad at you, Blake," he said, a weak smile on his face. "Just the situation." He leaned over and dropped a kiss on the top of Blake's head and then seemed to hesitate, chewing on his bottom lip for a moment before he finally said. "Go ahead and tell Mel if you want; this way she's not blindsided by it later."

And then he strode away, stopping at the counter to pick up a take-out container that likely held Brian's sandwich. He paid and then waved to them before taking off. Mel just sat there stunned for a moment, her heart picking up in tempo as she tried to figure out just what hell had happened.

But then, she knew exactly who could tell her, didn't she?

Turning to Blake and Ted, she arched a brow, silently demanding an explanation for that whole cryptic conversation. Because, if this was something that was going to bite her on the ass later, she wanted to know now. And twenty minutes later, when the two of them were done, Mel had to wonder if it had been the right thing to do; she felt as if her whole world had been tipped on its axis, and she had to wonder if she ever really knew her wife at all.

 

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