Chapter 34

“Happy Birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday, dear Luke, happy birthday to you!” The whole family sang as the small boy smiled his sunshine smile at them all, soaking up all the attention on his special day.

“Now you have to make a wish and blow out the candles on the cake,” Brian advised his son who had turned 5 that very day. 5! Damn, Brian couldn't believe that Luke was already 5 years old and had started preschool the week before. He could still remember the day he had found out about being pregnant as if it had only been yesterday and now 5 ½ years later his sonny boy was celebrating his 5th birthday. Sometimes time really did fly, Brian mused to himself as he watched Luke blow out the candles on his cake, his eyes pressed close as if he was concentrating extra hard on his wish to make it come true.

“What did you wish for, baby Sunshine?” Debbie asked eagerly and Brian couldn't help but chuckle when Jennifer immediately put her hands on Luke's shoulders, squeezing them, effectively stopping the small boy from speaking and having him turn around and look up at her.

“You don't tell anyone, honey. The less people know about this wish of yours, the more likely it is to come true. That's how secret birthday wishes work: You're not allowed to share them,” she said with a wide smile that seemed to run in the Taylor family because it looked so much like his son's smile and it reminded Brian so much of Justin's smile as well.

Justin. He thought about him almost every day if he was honest and every day he couldn't help but wonder if he had made the right decision when he had shut Justin out of his life. He had heard about Justin's career from Jennifer, like any proud mother she couldn't keep good news to herself and twice a year he still got his secret updates from his guy that kept an eye on Justin. He knew that Justin had moved on from him and that his career had flourished in recent years.

Ever since Jennifer had left for Justin's first solo show such a long time ago more shows had followed and with every show the shows had gotten bigger and had made Justin's name more prominent in art circles. By now Justin had exhibited in New York, Chicago, LA, but also in Paris, Florence and London. Brian could only guess that he had to have enjoyed the Paris and Florence shows the most. Justin had always wanted to go and see the Louvre and the Uffizi Gallery and he had heard from Jennifer that he had made the time in his busy schedule to go and see them when he had been over for his shows.

Brian couldn't have been more pleased with the path Justin's career had taken and he felt incredibly proud of his twat. Looking at his achievements, Brian felt confirmed that he had made the right choice back in the day. Justin wouldn't have gone to do shows in Europe or even just the other side of the country if he had known about his son. It had been for the best that he had never known about Luke, so his career could get to the point where it was now.

A gentle smile grazed Brian's features as he saw Jennifer and Luke laugh together and saw them hug. She had been the best grandmother any child could have hoped for and she hadn't only been a grandmother to Luke, but had also become a grandmother to Gus for which Brian had been eternally grateful. She had never treated Gus any differently from Luke even though Gus was not her biological grandchild and had loved him the same as if he had been her own. The same way Justin had always loved Gus as well. At times he felt amazed by how much love the Taylor family seemed to have to give and how eagerly and easily they gave it to anyone they deemed worth having it. Brian knew that he would have had a harder time letting someone into his heart, but then again he had also been fucked up by his parents and it had taken him months of therapy to see that he was worthy of love and also had a lot of love to give himself and didn't have to be scared of loving someone, that loving someone was a good thing, a thing that could bring a lot of happiness and fulfillment to one's life.

Having accepted that, Brian could now say honestly that he loved all the people that were gathered on his porch celebrating his son's 5th birthday with him.

His gaze wandered to Debbie, who was hugged by Carl as he held her close and they laughed as Luke started cutting into the cake making a huge mess of the cake while doing so.

Watching them, Brian noticed how happy and relaxed Debbie looked which made him happy. Their relationship in the last five years hadn't always been easy and at times it had been non-existent after the whole mess with Michael and Lindsay. Looking at their relationship now and how close they were, Brian could hardly believe that there had ever been a time when they hadn't talked for almost a year, but that was how long it had been.

Now their relationship was stronger than it had ever been because it was an honest one and it was one founded on equal love and trust. It wasn't a relationship of dependency and it didn't have a price tag anymore. After their reconciliation, they had actually managed to work on a new relationship and had been able to completely start anew. Debbie had realised the mistakes she had made before and had worked hard to not make the same mistakes again as had Brian, who had been realistic enough to know that he hadn't been perfect and completely innocent either. It had taken them time, but within a couple of months they had been able to move on from the worst time in their relationship and move towards something so much better. To Brian, what had amazed him most had been how they had for the first time in all the years they had known each other, started to honestly talk with each other. They had honestly shared their feelings for each other and even more importantly than talking about them, they had shown each other how much the other meant to them. Debbie had quickly become an integral part in his sons' lives and just seeing the way she and Carl treated his sons had made Brian open up to them as well.

It had felt good to Brian to have someone who cared for him like a real mother and who was there with advice and help whenever he needed it, but wasn't pushing her way in anymore. Debbie had accepted that there were boundaries and things that were not her concern and Brian had accepted that it helped if he sometimes showed her his affection as well, something she was craving desperately now, especially after she had lost her son and her granddaughter.

He knew how much it pained her that Michael wasn't talking to her. No, she wasn't condoning what Michael had done and she had made it clear where she stood on what he had done, but still he was her son and Brian couldn't blame her for still loving him. He just guessed that it was normal for parents to love their children like that. He wasn't sure if he would ever be able to accept that Luke and Gus might not want to talk to him anymore for whatever reason. The thought alone broke his heart and Brian knew without a doubt that he would always love them, no matter what. Until his last dying breath he would feel love for his sons, his own flesh and blood, no matter what their decisions in life might be and he had accepted that he couldn't fault Debbie for feeling for her son in the same way.

He knew that Ben and Hunter had kept in contact with Debbie and Carl after everything that had gone down with Michael and Lindsay and for that Brian was glad. Debbie had loved both of them and it would have hurt her to lose them as well. Hunter was like another grandchild to her and she loved Ben as if he had been one of her lost boys. Brian knew that the meetings they had a couple of times a year weren't always easy, he had been to some himself, after all he had never had a problem with either Ben or Hunter and had liked both, but eventually conversation would always turn to Michael, how could it not and then the atmosphere would be filled with tension and weirdness. Despite all that, Brian was still glad that they met up regularly because he knew it did Debbie good to have the people she had always loved in her life. Debbie needed people around her, couldn't be alone and Brian was glad that she had people around her that loved her as much as she loved them.

The couple's therapy she and Carl had gone to a couple of year's ago had done them the world of good and had helped them build a better relationship and had helped Debbie understand things about herself she had refused to see before or maybe she had seen them and just refused to accept them. Whatever it had been, she had learned from her former mistakes and had learned to build stronger relationships with all the people in her life.

Jennifer's and Debbie's friendship was stronger than ever, them both being united in their love for their grandchildren and the pleasure they got from spending time with them and Brian knew that her relationship with Ted and Blake had also evolved into something wonderful that the two men appreciated as well. Ted had told Brian of several meetings they had had with Debbie after Brian and her had reconciled where they had worked through their own issues and it had made him glad when those three had also been able to start a new relationship.

Which brought him to Ted and Blake who were feeding each other the sickly sweet chocolate chip cake that Luke loved so much and had requested from his grandmother Debbie for his birthday.

Brian couldn't believe how much their lives had changed over the years. He had been witness to their first meeting and Ted ending up in a coma afterwards. He had been witness to Blake's descent into drugs and Ted's willingness to help his partner. He had been witness to Ted succumbing to drugs himself and going down that dark road himself and had then seen how Blake had turned his life around and had also helped Ted turn his life around as his counsellor. Brian had seen their failed attempt to make it work after Ted's rehab and though he would have never admitted it to either man, he had rooted for them to make it work. Ted deserved someone who loved him the way Blake did and he deserved someone who saw the man that he really was and loved him for it. Just as Blake deserved someone who trusted him and loved him and appreciated all the hard work he had put into turning his life around.

In the end they had found each other again and Brian was glad that they had made it work 5 ½ years ago when they had met again. He couldn't really see them apart and for him they were a fixture in his life as Ted and Blake. Both of them had helped him so much over the years, had given him their support and friendship and despite Ted working for him and also being his employee, he considered them to be his best friends. It wasn't a friendship of dependency and hero worship as it had been with Lindsay and Michael, but a true friendship. They had been there with support, had offered help and had been his shoulder to cry on whenever he had needed it and he hoped that he had been able to repay them for all they had done for him. He knew they didn't expect anything in return and would have balked at Brian's choice of words, but he just appreciated them both so much, he wanted them to have all the happiness in the world.

Ever since he had made them godfathers to Luke and Gus they had become an even more integral part of their weird little family and had gotten really close with the boys. Both boys loved their uncles and adored them as did the uncle the boys. The boys would spend weekends with their godfathers and Ted and Blake would take them to the circus, the movies and had even gone camping once for a weekend with the boys. Both boys loved whatever trips their godfathers had planned for them and Brian appreciated the free time every once in a while.

As much as he loved being a father and god knew he did, it was also nice to just have a couple of hours to himself. Brian wouldn't change anything and he loved how much time he got to spend with his sons, but sometimes it was just nice to have a couple of hours to himself. Those hours were usually the time when he would take care of his private business, after all he was still a man that lived and breathed and had sexual needs as well.

Brian had never tricked with his sons around and had never brought someone home to the house where his son's stayed, but knowing that their uncles or grandmothers were taking care of them for a couple of hours gave him the freedom to go out and have a visit to the baths or get a visit from his favourite escort service at the office.

Ted had asked Brian once if he was ready to look for a new relationship and if he wasn't interested in something more permanent than his hook-ups twice a week and even though Brian hadn't admitted it at the time to the other man, he had been seriously considering that thought.

He would have never admitted it to anyone, but at times he had felt incredibly lonely. Yes, his two sons were constantly around and kept him busy, yes he owned two companies and that kept him more than busy as well, but remembering the times he and Justin had spent together, he couldn't help but miss having someone by his side whom he could talk with once his sons were in bed, someone he could share his thoughts and also fears with.

Brian had never considered himself relationship material, but therapy had shown him that he deserved to be loved and that loving someone was not a bad thing and not the scary thing he had always believed it to be. He was pretty sure that if he ever tried at a relationship again, he wouldn't make the same mistakes he had made with Justin.

At times he felt sorry for how much he had messed up things with Justin. Their relationship had never been easy and Brian knew that it had mostly been his fault and that he was to blame for that. He had never made it easy for Justin to stay and he could only commend the boy for his patience and perseverance when he had been with Brian. Brian knew that he would have given up a lot sooner.

The more he had thought about Ted's question, the more Brian had realised that yes, he wanted someone in his life. He wanted to share his life with a person who would love him and his boys, but at the same time he had also known that he didn't just want it to be anyone. He had always known that if he was ever to spend his life with someone it would only be one person: Justin. Justin had been it for him and since Brian had fucked that up royally and for good, he knew that there was no other relationship on the horizon for him.

He knew that even if he would try with someone else, it wouldn't make him happy and wouldn't fulfill him like being with Justin had. There had just been something very special about his blond twink that no one else had. So Brian had accepted a long time ago that he wasn't cut out for the relationship thing which was also what he had told Ted in reply, without going into any more detail.

If he was ever to try at a relationship again it would be with Justin and that was completely out of the question, something Brian had accepted over the years. First of all too much time had gone by and things between them had changed and would never be the same again. Secondly Brian knew that Justin would never forgive him once he found out about Luke and Brian knew that there was no hope for them to move past that if Justin ever found out the truth. So Brian had accepted what his life had become and had been happy with that. His sons had become his reason to live and had become the greatest joy he could ever imagine. He didn't need anything more than them to be happy.

“What are you thinking about?” Ted asked as he moved to Brian's side and clinked his glass of orange juice with Brian's.

Brian couldn't help but chuckle at the irony of them clinking glasses of orange juice. Ted didn't drink because of his former addiction to drugs and wanting to stay clear of any temptations and Brian didn't drink when the boys were around.

“Something amusing, I see,” Ted commented as he watched Brian.

“Just life, you know? How things have changed over the years and all,” Brian said evasively, smiling at his sons who were telling a story to their grandmothers about earlier that morning when Luke had unwrapped his presents. He loved their enthusiasm and happiness.

“That sounds sentimental,” Ted pointed out as he watched the boys and their grandparents as well.

“No, not really. More like realising how lucky I've been and counting my blessings.”

“You seem quite content, if I may say so.”

“I am. I would even go as far and call myself happy,” Brian admitted with a small smile.

“Hold the presses! Brian Kinney saying he's happy? That's worth a big headline,” Ted chuckled.

“Shut up, Theodore,” Brian joked, poking his friend in the ribs with his elbow.

“I am happy for you, Brian. You deserve it,” Ted said honestly as he turned to look at his friend. When their gazes met, Brian nodded.

“So do you. You and Blake seem quite happy yourself if I might say so,” Brian said with an amused grin as he watched the way Blake looked over at them and then settled his loving gaze on Ted.

“I can't complain,” Ted smirked, taking a sip from his drink to try and hide his blush. Unsuccessfully.

“That's great, Ted. You deserve it as well.”

“Who would have ever thought that one day our lives would be drinking orange juice at a 5th birthday party?” Ted mused as he eyed the scene in front of him with everyone laughing at something Luke had just said.

“Not me, that's for sure,” Brian agreed, then started to move towards the table where everyone was sitting. “But you won't find me complaining,” Brian said before he made his way over and sat down in his empty chair. He smiled when Luke immediately came running over and settled in his lap.

“Daddy! This is like the best day ever! I am so happy!” The boy exclaimed happily and Brian saw the truth of that statement in his shining blue eyes, his rosy cheeks and most of all the blinding smile he was giving him.

Brian kissed his son's forehead and held him close. “I am happy too. Happy that you are happy and enjoying your birthday.”

“It's the best birthday ever,” Luke enthused as he leaned closer and snuggled into his father's strong chest.

Three hours later, after lots more food and fun, everyone started to get ready to leave. Brian and Ted went to Brian's home office for a quick chat to talk about an upcoming client presentation they would have the next week while everyone else helped with the clean up of the birthday party. Brian had told them that he would take care of everything later, but as usual the grandmothers had just ignored what he had said and had rallied the troops. Knowing that resistance was futile, Brian had accepted that they would take care of clean up and had pulled Ted away into his office.

“So, everything is ready for Tuesday?”

“Yep, I have confirmed with Emmett and he'll deliver the food an hour before the presentation starts. It will be the usual, so all should be fine,” Ted confirmed.

Brian nodded as he looked at the boards on his desk for what felt like the hundredth time.

“Is he still complaining about having to cater for Kinnetik?” Brian asked, not able to keep the amusement out of his voice.

He and Emmett hadn't seen each other in a long time and ever since that day so many years ago when Emmett had come into his office and had reamed him a new one for how he had treated Justin their ways had parted. Emmett had moved further and further away from the Liberty Avenue family and had made quite a name for himself as a caterer and party planner.

Brian couldn't say that he had been particularly sad about Emmett moving away from the Liberty Avenue gang. Emmett had always been more Justin's friend than Brian's really and knowing that there was no danger of Emmett finding out about his sons also meant there was one less chance for Justin to find out about Luke.

He had always admired the tall queen for standing up for himself and being proud of who he was and of never hiding his true flame, but they hadn't been as close as Brian and Ted had been for example or Brian and Michael for that matter. So it hadn't bothered Brian all that much when Emmett had disappeared from his life.

Ted and Emmett had maintained a friendship and that friendship had been Kinnetik's way in to become a customer of Emmett's catering company. Emmett had at first refused to cater Kinnetik events and help someone he considered to be an asshole through and through, but Brian had known that he wanted Emmett to cater for his company. Emmett was the best and Brian wanted the best and he wouldn't have stopped at anything to convince Emmett to work for Kinnetik. He would have been willing to pay him twice as much or apologise to him in person if it had meant getting him to cater Kinnetik events, but thankfully it had never come to that.

His trusted CFO had pulled some strings and had used his friendship with Emmett to convince him to cater Kinnetik events. Emmett's and Ted's friendship had continued on, despite Ted still working for Brian and Emmett moving away from the Liberty Avenue life. They had been so close as friends, nothing could have destroyed their friendship.

In the end that friendship and Emmett not wanting to disappoint Ted had made him agree to cater Kinnetik events under the condition that he didn't have to work with Brian and would only have to deal with Ted or Cynthia. That stipulation had been fine for Brian, since he had hardly been at the office anyway and since not seeing Emmett made his life a lot easier to begin with.

By now Emmett had been catering Kinnetik events for nearly five years and Brian knew from Ted that with every new event the tall queen would grumble and complain about working for Brian. It was amusing to hear for Brian how Emmett could still queen out about catering for Kinnetik after five years. Some things would probably never change.

“Is the sun rising every day?” Ted chuckled, at times also amused by Emmett's legendary queen outs.

“I'll take that as a yes,” Brian grinned as well, before he put the boards back on his desk and was ready to leave his office.

“You know, you should really talk to him, Brian. I am sure he would understand,” Ted said quietly, not for the first time bringing this up.

“No, he wouldn't which really only says good things about him. It's better this way,” Brian sighed as he walked over to his friend. “I know that you believe that he and Drew could join our little happy family, but... I don't see that, Ted. The one thing Emmett and I have always had in common is that we both cared about Justin way too much in our own way. I don't want to put him in a position he doesn't need to be in,” Brian said quietly and Ted only nodded in acceptance. He and Brian had talked about this before and he knew Brian's view on things.

“I am sorry you're caught in the middle. I know he's a close friend to you,” Brian said with sincerity and Ted only waved his apology away.

“It's not like I am not used to it. It could be way worse,” Ted said in acceptance of what things were and joined Brian as they left the office.

They had barely made their way back into the living-room when Jennifer walked over to Brian and asked him for a quick conversation as well.

Brian led her to his office, feeling quite amused that he was already back in the room just a minute after having left it with Ted.

“What do you want to talk about, Mother Taylor?” Brian asked, using the name he always used for her, a name that showed his respect, admiration and yes, dare he say so love for this woman. He had always respected Jennifer for the way she had loved Justin and in recent years they had become really close as well with the way she was a grandmother to his sons and he knew that she considered him a son as much as Debbie considered him a son as well. She would have been a great mother-in-law if he and Justin had gone through with the wedding that had never been. He just knew it.

“It's about Justin,” Jennifer said, getting straight to the point, knowing that that was how Brian liked it best.

“What about him?” Brian frowned. Jennifer hadn't talked about Justin in a couple of weeks since he had returned from his last show in Italy. “Is everything alright?” He couldn't help but keep the concern out of his voice and the smile on Jennifer's face told him that she had heard it as well.

“Yes, it's nothing bad,” she immediately calmed the man, before she rested a hand on her hip. “At least I don't think so,” she added as an afterthought.

“You're making me nervous here, Mother Taylor. Just say whatever it is you need to say,” Brian urged her.

“He'll be moving back to Pittsburgh,” she told him calmly, not surprised by the shock she could see on his face. She watched the emotions play out, she saw the shock, the hope which was quickly replaced by dread and in the end what stayed was confusion.

“To Pittsburgh?”

“Yes, he's coming down tomorrow and he has asked me to check out properties for him to look at for early next week,” she said quietly.

“How long have you known about this?” Brian eyed her warily, knowing that she had to have known for quite some time if she was already showing him properties early next week.

“Not long. A week or two really.”

“Why are you only telling me now?” Brian asked, eyeing her carefully.

“I didn't want you to queen out over this and I know that you will. I've known you long enough, Brian and... it was Luke's birthday. I didn't want to spoil that.”

Brian only nodded, still reeling from what she had told him, not even getting back at her for accusing him of having queen outs.

“When?” Was all Brian asked after several minutes of silence.

Jennifer knew what he meant with that question and met his gaze square on. “As soon as possible. Probably a week or two from now. He asked me to show him only properties that were available to move in right away.”

“What about what's his name?” Brian asked, refusing to say the name of Justin's latest boyfriend. Over the years Justin had had three boyfriends in total and Brian had always pretended to be happy for Justin and deep down on some level he had been because he had wanted his former fiance to be happy, but every time a relationship had ended, he couldn't help but feel some slight sense of relief and also hope.

“They broke up a while ago. They didn't seem to want the same things or so Justin said,” Jennifer told Brian quietly.

Brian nodded, then paced through his office for several minutes before he turned to Jennifer. “Why Pittsburgh? Why doesn't he stay in New York?”

“You know why, Brian,” Jennifer said silently, looking at Brian in a meaningful way.

“His career is in New York.”

“You're not.”

“That should be of no concern. We've been over for more than five years now. He shouldn't come back to the Pitts for me.”

“I just want you to be prepared, Brian. I am sure he'll come and seek you out. He never told me, but I think he still loves you and he's coming back to Pittsburgh because that's where you are and where he'll get the answers he didn't get five years ago,” Jennifer said seriously and Brian could only nod.

He knew he had been fooling himself when he had believed that Justin had moved on from what had happened five years ago and had all but forgotten about him, but now, knowing that Justin was coming back to Pittsburgh, Brian couldn't help but feel dread in his stomach.

Jennifer saw his expression and knew what it meant. She moved over to his side and pulled him into a hug. “It's time, Brian. Maybe it's for the best,” she said quietly, hoping that she was right.

When Brian didn't say anything, she went on.

“You wanted him to get the career he deserves and he got it. He worked damn hard for it and made it. He's a successful artist and his pieces are well sought after. He did what you wanted him to do and maybe... maybe it's time that he finds out the truth.”

In the end all Brian could do was nod, knowing that she was right. He had always known that one day Justin would find out the truth about what had happened 5 ½ years ago, he had always known that one way or another he would find out about Luke, if only by the boy being old enough to ask questions about his second father and wanting to get to know him. Brian had always known the day that Justin would find out about Luke would come, so why did he feel so unprepared?

“Why are you telling me about this?” Brian asked her as he raised his eyes to meet her. “Why not just let him show up and surprise me?”

“You know him better than anyone, Brian. We both know that. This way you have a chance to do the right thing for everyone involved,” she said quietly, before she left him to his thoughts and on his own in his office.

He knew what she was referring to and what she wanted him to do. She wanted to give him time to prepare for how he was going to tell Justin the truth about Luke. She wanted him to tell Justin on his own terms in a way that would hopefully be less painful than just stumbling upon the truth one day. And he appreciated her for that. She didn't only care about Justin's feelings in this, but also about his and Luke's. She was trying to find the best way for everyone involved and he knew that now it was on him to go through with finding a solution to their not so little problem.

***

“Daddy, look at my sun,” Luke pushed the paper towards his father and Brian smiled as he looked at the sun with a smiling face that his son had painted.

“A true artist at work,” Brian complimented his son who smiled widely at Brian's comment.

“Really, daddy?”

“Really! It looks great and I love it,” Brian confirmed as he ruffled his son's hair. He then turned over to Gus' piece of paper and looked what his older son was drawing. His painting seemed to show some flowers from their garden if Brian saw correctly. “What are you drawing?”

Gus pushed over his paper to Brian as well and smiled as he explained that he had been drawing the flowers next to the pool because he liked them best as they were so colourful and beautiful.

Brian could only agree and then congratulated his older son on his talent as well. And Gus really did have true talent. He had to have gotten it from Lindsay, who had used to draw and paint herself and Brian was amazed time and time again by how well his son seemed to be able to draw and how much he seemed to love it. At times Brian wondered if he had his own small artist in the making in the form of Gus, who more often than not could be found drawing or painting something while Luke could rather be found outside playing in the garden with his soccer ball or riding his bike.

It was funny that at times Gus reminded him more of Justin than Luke did, since it was obvious that Luke had inherited his own love for sports and adventure. That thought brought him back to Justin and Brian sighed quietly, not able to help it.

Jennifer had told him that Justin had moved into his new house in Pittsburgh two days ago and Brian knew that he would have to seek him out soon before Justin stumbled upon the news of having a son. Brian had never kept Luke a secret and many people knew about him and it would only be a matter of time before Justin heard the news now that he was back in Pittsburgh. Brian knew he needed to tell Justin himself and he was glad for Jennifer coming over later for lunch. He wanted to ask her for Justin's address and wanted to show her the custody agreement he had had his lawyer draw up the week before and wanted to hear her thoughts on what she thought would be the best way to present this to Justin. He had set himself a deadline of the end of the weekend and had forced himself to talk to Justin before the weekend was over.

Thankfully, it was only Saturday morning yet and he still had some time to his self-imposed deadline, time that would help him figure out the best way to tell Justin the truth.

“Is Grandma Jen early?” Gus asked with a smile as he heard the doorbell ring. Brian frowned, not expecting any visitors but Jennifer, who wasn't due for another hour.

“I actually don't know. Just let me go and see who it is. You two continue drawing,” Brian instructed his sons as he pushed away his own pencil that he had used for his own painting after Luke and Gus had urged him to join their early Saturday morning drawing session.

“I hope it's Grandma Jen,” Gus told his smaller brother with a smile. “I am really hungry.”

“You're always hungry,” Luke replied seriously as he eyed his bigger brother, then they both laughed when Gus pointed out that the same was true for Luke.

Brian couldn't help but chuckle at his sons' banter when he moved to open the front door. Who he saw there made his blood run cold. No, no, no. This was not the way he had planned to do this. “J-Justin...,” he stuttered after several seconds of silence between them. He couldn't believe that Justin had actually made his way to Britin within two days of him moving back to Pittsburgh. Fuck, fuck, fuck. This was definitely not how Brian had wanted him to find out.

Not knowing what else to do or how to react, Brian did what he had always done best and put up his walls, trying to appear as nonchalant as he could. Please, don't let everything go to shit, he prayed silently as he listened to what Justin had to say.

When he heard the coldness in the younger man's voice, Brian knew that there was no way this day was gonna end well.