March 14

Justin strode into Casbah, a bit harried as he was running a little late as there had been some last minute issues to take care of at the gallery. Then there had been the fact that he'd had to run by Deb's to drop off some invitations to the opening for Ben, Hunter, his girlfriend and, irritatingly, Michael. The latter of which he wasn't happy about at all, but wasn't making a fuss over as he knew they were leaving soon and he was doing this because he loved Deb and she wanted him there.

Justin had a feeling that secretly, Deb was hoping that if Michael, Justin and Brian were in the same room together, that they'd talk and start mending fences. He didn't have the heart to tell her that it will never happen; any chance of forgiveness had flown right out the window once Justin had been hospitalized because of Michael's actions. There was no coming back from that.

God, he didn't even want to deal with Brian's wrath when he found out that the asshole was going to be showing up for opening night; but he also knew that he needed to tell him, as Deb's idea of springing it on him and hoping for the best would have heads rolling.

And he didn't want to be spending the evening down at the precinct bailing Brian's ass out of jail because Deb was feeling optimistic.

After that, he'd had to rush to the loft to change out of his 'work' clothing and into the suit that Brian had dropped off this morning, when they'd gotten word that Leo and Lucille were showing up a day earlier than expected. Something that Justin was happy about, but also left him a bit stressed because there was still so much to do, and he didn't have time to entertain them.

Luckily, it was a Thursday, and Brian had managed to get a reservation at Casbah, one of their favorite restaurants. Of course, it did help that the restaurant had been a client of their for three years, and that the chef and manager were good friends – it made getting a table a bit easier at times. Not that they used that to their advantage. Mostly.

And then, once he'd finally gotten to the loft, showered and changed, it had taken him a bit longer than usual to get from there to the actual restaurant due traffic.

All in all, it had been a bitch of a day; and he so wasn't looking forward to yet another day like it tomorrow. He was exhausted already and the show hadn't even opened yet.

"Can I help you, sir?" the hostess asked as Justin walked up to her, still a bit out of breath due to his earlier rushing about. He really couldn't wait until Sunbeam had been born, and he didn't feel like he was winded all the damned time.

"Yes, I have reservations here for Taylor-Kinney, party of four," Justin said, running a hand through his hair. "I'm pretty sure the rest of my party is already here."

"Yes; they are already seated at the table," the hostess said, looking down at her book. "If you'll follow me; it's right this way."

Justin followed the woman, thankful that they didn't have too far to go before he saw his husband and their guests. Brian, who had been watching for him, stood and made his way over to him; he thanked the woman and then pulled Justin into his arms for a soft, lingering, but chaste kiss, sensing that Justin just wanted to sit down.

"Get everything done, Sunshine?" He asked as he took Justin's hand and led him towards their table, where Leo and Lucille were both standing and waiting for them.

"Mostly," Justin sighed, wanting nothing more than to be curled up in bed at home. God, he was just so fucking tired these days. "But I'll still need to be there for a few hours tomorrow, just to double check everything and go over all the information with the docents and…"

"Hey," Brian said as he stopped and pressed a kiss to his temple. "Worry about it tomorrow. Tonight, let's just have dinner with Leo and Lucille and then we'll go home and I'll draw you a warm bath and then give you a massage. How's that sound?"

"Like heaven," Justin sighed, rubbing his cheek against Brian's. "Are they staying with us or at a hotel tonight?"

"Hotel," Brian said, starting to walk towards the table again. "Lucille knew that you're were going to busy tonight through the public opening on Saturday. She didn't want to add anymore worries onto your plate, so the booked a room at the Penn."

Justin just nodded as by that time, they were coming up to their table; he pasted on a smile, that soon turned genuine if a little tired as Leo and Lucille greeted him.

"Justin, my boy," Leo said, pulling Justin into a hug, and giving him a hearty pat on the back that nearly knocked the wind out of him; he coughed a bit, while Lucille rolled her eyes, and just patted the other man on the back as well. "How are you doing tonight?"

"I'm well," Justin said, pulling away from Leo, only to get pulled into a warm hug from Lucille. He sighed and held onto her a bit longer; as always her hugs comforted him the way his mother's and Deb's did, and he really needed it tonight. "A bit tired from running around all day, but well otherwise."

"Hello, dear," Lucille said, brushing a kiss onto his cheek and then pulling back to look at him with concern. "But you are resting as needed I hope."

"Hello, Lucille," Justin said, his smile brightening at her obvious concern. "And yes, Sydney was under strict orders from that one…" Justin nodded his head towards a smirking Brian, "to make certain that I sat down for at least thirty minutes every couple of hours and he followed them religiously."

"As he should," Brian huffed, pulling out Justin's chair for him and sliding it in as Justin sat down, before sitting down himself. "It would be bad for him if he'd exhausted his very pregnant artist before the show had even begun."

Justin huffed and rolled his eyes, but remained silent as he'd gotten quite used to Brian's overprotective streak over the last few months. And sometimes, it was just easier to not say a word and let him have his way than to argue.

"Now, stop that young man," Lucille said, pointing an admonishing finger at Justin; and that was the other reason he didn't bother to argue. Brian had Lucille on his side when it came down to it, and trying to fight them both would end in a no-win situation. "You know he is right; being on your feet all day isn't good for you or the baby."

Justin sighed and opened his mouth to say something, although what exactly, he didn't know, as Leo just chuckled, making him snap his mouth shut without saying a word.

"Just give it up, kid," Leo said with a smirk; he took a sip of his scotch and then pointed it at Justin. "You know you'll never win against these two worrywarts."

"I know," Justin huffed, taking a sip of his water; he set it down and smiled. "Despite the ever present coddling…' He smirked and paused as Brian snorted, Lucille tch'ed and Leo laughed. "It is good to see you both; I thought you weren't coming in until tomorrow?"

"We weren't," Lucille said and cast a smirk at her husband, who grumbled a bit under his breath. "But I managed to drag him out of the office with the promise that he could spend the day golfing tomorrow. Although, why anyone would find hours of hitting tiny balls with a club amusing, I have no idea. I much prefer my balls to be…"

"Lucy!" Leo exclaimed, casting a scandalized look at his wife of thirty years; although, Justin was well aware that it was affected. Both he and Brian laughed, well used to Lucille's bawdy comments and Leo's mock offense.

"Yes, dear?" Lucille simpered, fluttering her lashes at Leo; who just snorted in amusement. "Was there something you wanted to add to this conversation?"

"You are terrible, woman," Leo snickered, shaking his head with mock despair. "Why I have put up with you over the years…"

"You'd die of boredom if it weren't for me," Lucille smirked, taking a small sip of her wine, her eyes dancing with mirth as she turned back to Justin and Brian.

"I don't get it either; it sounds boring as fuck to me," Justin said, crinkling his nose at the idea of spending hours on a golf course doing nothing but hitting balls across a green. He knew that there was a skill to it; but he'd rather spend a weekend, trapped in a one-room apartment, with no hope for escape, with Michael or Lindsay than play. "But then again, I've never been into sports. Brian is the athletic one in this partnership."

"And I suppose you aren't going to help me out either?" Leo asked, looking at Brian for some sort of moral support; but Brian just snickered.

"What can I say," Brian shrugged, toasting Lucille with his tumbler of Beam. "She's a woman after my own heart."

"Do give it up, dear," Lucille smirked. "I'm clearly the favorite." She turned back to Justin with a warm smile. "Besides, if we'd come tomorrow, I would've had to share my darling boy with all his other fans; and this way I only have to share him with his husband."

"And where do I factor into this?" Leo huffed, looking at his wife with mock annoyance.

"You don't, other than to be my arm candy," Lucille said, laughing at her husband's incredulous expression. Justin giggled, his tiredness melting away as he watched two of his favorite people verbally spar with one another.

"Thirty years of marriage," Leo huffed. "And this is what I'm reduced to – arm candy." He paused, and cocked his head thoughtfully, and then grinned and shrugged. "I suppose there are worse things in life."

"At least you're arm candy to the loveliest, most charming woman in Chicago," Justin said, piling it on thickly just to get a rise out of the older man. Lucille laughed, long and loud, as Justin smirked at Leo's expression, which was an amalgamation of pride, bemusement and outrage.

"See," Lucille said, patting Justin on the hand with a wide smile. "And that's why this darling boy is my favorite."

"Suck up," Brian said sotto voce, snickering when Justin turned wide, innocent blue eyes towards him and the other two laughed.

"You're just grumpy because you didn't think of it first," Justin sniffed haughtily, and then snickered when Brian glared at him; and then his husband shrugged.

"Point," Brian conceded, turning back to the table, and was about to say something to Leo, but the server came up at that point to take their order.

Sighing, Justin turned to Brian, as the other two were putting in their order, and reluctantly said in a low voice, "I need to talk to you about something when we get home. It's about Deb and the show."

"What about Deb and the show?" Brian asked, his mouth tightening as if he already had an inkling of what Justin needed to tell him.

"I don't want to get into it here," Justin said, shaking his head as Brian protested. "Just remind me to tell you tonight."

"It has to do with Michael, doesn't it?" Brian asked, obviously not willing to drop the subject.

"Brian," Justin huffed, one eye on Leo, who was finishing up his order. "Not now; like you said, let's just enjoy dinner and then when we get home, I'll fill you in."

"Fine," Brian said, turning toward the server as Leo finished up, but he was noticeably tenser, and Justin was almost sorry he had said anything. He probably should have waited until after dinner, but he was tired and worried it would slip his mind. "I'll wait until we get home; but if it's what I'm thinking, Sunshine, I'm not happy about this."

"Yeah, neither am I," Justin muttered, garnering a sharp look from his husband, but he blatantly ignored it. He didn't want to say anymore right now, especially since Lucille had picked up on the tense atmosphere between them.

Justin studied the menu while Brian gave his order, having a difficult time deciding if he was more in the mood for chicken or lamb. They both sounded good, but he was leaning toward the lamb shank as he could get chicken anytime. Once, Brian finished, Justin looked up and started giving off his order, with Brian watching him warily much to his amusement. Honestly, you'd think that Justin ordered weird combinations every day with the way he acted.

"I'd like to start with the Veal and Pork meatballs," Justin said, looking at his menu for a moment. "But can I get a side of the Red Pepper Muhummara added to that as well; the flat bread isn't necessary, I just want the spread. And then I'll have the potato and leek soup; I do want the cheddar biscuit with that. And if I can get a dollop of green goddess yogurt on top of it that would be great. And then I'll have the lamb shank, but instead of chickpeas, could I get the roasted squash instead? And then add a side of pomegranate molasses to the entree, please?"

Justin looked up, huffed and rolled his eyes when Brian sighed and looked relieved, and then just nodded at the server when she looked at him inquisitively. Shrugging, she made all the notations, collected the menus and left.

"Brian, you look a bit tense, dear," Lucille said, arching a brow. "Is everything okay?"

"Nothing to worry about; I was just wondering what culinary adventure Justin would take me on today," Brian smirked, downplaying his unease over Justin's words with a bit of humor. Justin glared and pinched his husband in the side. "Trust me, had you seen some of the things he's dreamed up recently, you'd be concerned too."

Lucille and Leo laughed as Brian relaxed, pulling out all of his acting skills to smooth the tense moment over and put their guests at ease. But Justin knew that he was far from happy about the conversation to come; and Justin dreaded the moment he would have to tell him that Michael had somehow, once again, managed to worm his way back into Deb's good graces, and, as a result, their lives.