“There you are! Do you know what time it is?” Lindsay screeched as soon as Mel opened the door.

“Of course I do. I know how to read a watch, fuck you very much.” Mel knew that Lindsay would start an argument which was why she had left the kids with Brian and Justin for the night.

“Stop being a smartass Melanie. Where are the kids? They should be in bed!” Lindsay yelled at her wife.

“With Brian and Justin. I told you that the kids would stay with them for the night.” Mel snapped back.

“Why?” Lindsay shouted. “Why would you betray me like that? First Brian, now you. I don’t want Gus to be around someone I don’t know and approve of.” The blonde spat angrily.

“As if you would ever approve of someone Brian’s in a relationship with.” Mel laughed at that thought.

“Well, give me the address so I can pick up MY son!” The blonde demanded. Mel’s response was to laugh even harder and she shook her head.

“Good night, Lindsay. You better stay on the couch tonight. I can’t have you close to me.” With that, Mel walked into the bedroom and slammed the door shut.

BEN AND MICHAEL’S HOUSE

“Traitor! You fucking traitor.” Michael yelled when Ben came back from Brian’s house. He and Hunter were prepared for Michael to be angry so his yelling didn’t come as a shock.

“Um, Hunter why don’t you go to your room? Let me talk to Michael.” Ben suggested, not wanting his son to be around Michael now.

“Sure.” Hunter said and walked upstairs to his room. Ben watched him close the door before he sighed and turned to his husband.

“I don’t appreciate you shouting and yelling when Hunter’s around. You’re a grown up, behave like it.” Ben said sternly, trying to stay calm.

“Do not fucking lecture me, Ben. You both betrayed me when you went with Mel to meet the whore Brian fucking married. You knew how much I was hurting and you didn’t fucking care so why should I care if Hunter sees us arguing?” Michael shouted.

“Why does Brian’s marriage bother you so much? How can it hurt you? It has nothing to do with you.” Ben said, knowing the answer already.

“I was supposed to be Brian’s husband in the future. Not some whore.” The comic geek yelled at his husband.

“In the future?” Ben questioned.

“YES, in the future.” Michael said loudly. “You’re sick Ben, you won’t be around forever and when you’re not there anymore I need Brian to take care of me.”

“To take care of you?” Ben repeated before shaking his head. “You know what, Michael? I’m sick and tired of being your placeholder for Brian. Face the reality, Brian isn’t going to love you like that ever! But I don’t care anymore. Sleep on the couch and tomorrow you can start packing your shit. I want you out of here.” Ben said and went into the bathroom, ignoring Michael’s shocked expression.

THE NEXT DAY

Justin was sitting in the kitchen and was thinking about the previous day. He was glad Brian’s family welcomed him into their lives but it broke his heart that Brian had probably lost his two longest and closest friends. He wanted for Brian to be happy and have his friends around. He let out a huge sigh. Daphne would finally arrive in Pittsburg later in the afternoon and he had already made plans with her. The two wanted to look for Michael and Lindsay, hoping to have a calm conversation. He wanted to fight for Brian and hoped that Michael and Lindsay would at least be willing to talk to him. Maybe they could accept him once he had introduced himself to them.

Determined to give it a try, he grabbed his phone and dialed Emmett’s number. He really liked the flamboyant man. He was fun and adventurous, brave and a real good friend.

“Emmett Honeycutt speaking.” Emmett answered after the 2nd ring.

“Good morning Emmett, it’s Justin.” Justin greeted his new friend.

“Justin, oh my God!!! It’s so cool you’re calling. Wanna meet today?” The party planner asked eagerly.

“Absolutely. That’s why I called you. Are you free until lunch? If yes, would you like to come to Britin so I can talk to you about some things?” Justin asked.

“Yes, I am. I’ll be there in a bit, sweety. See ya, tootles.” Emmett promised.

Justin got up and prepared some snacks. When Emmett arrived around fifty minutes later, the two greeted each other like old friends. Emmett was excited and hopeful to plan their baby shower.

“Well, first of all I wanted to ask if you have bookings for next Saturday?” Justin asked.

“A few but Vic and I are free on Saturday. Why?” Emmett wanted to know.

“As I told you, my parents are moving here as well and before we moved to New York, we actually lived in Pittsburg. My father owns Taylor Electronics and my mother wants to open her own company, too. She’s a realtor. Brian and I wanted to surprise them with a party. Some of their oldest friends would love to welcome them back, kind of you know.” Justin explained.

“That sounds great. Of course we could do that. When are your parents arriving?” Emmett already had his planner out and was making notes.

“They’ll come on Wednesday and unpack all their stuff. On Saturday, Brian actually would love to take them out for breakfast, shopping and lunch so we could get everything ready. We thought of some snacks for the afternoon and full dinner in the evening. The weather’s so great so we’d love to have it outside.” The artist said.

“That is a good plan, sweety. Leave the food to me and Vic. We’ll come up with a couple of menus and you can pick whatever you like. How many people do you think will be there?” Emmett was in full party planning mode.

“Around 150 if everybody comes. Also, do you think you can get some servers? I would love to invite the entire gang and introduce you guys to my parents. I would love for you and Vic to be our guests, too.” The blonde smiled.

“No problem. I cannot wait to meet your parents. Will your sister be there as well?” Emmett wondered.

“Of course. And she knows about our plans for Saturday. She’s really excited.” Justin smiled. “She’s the best sister in the world, annoying but that’s part of the deal.” He laughed and Emmett couldn’t help but join in.

They continued to talk about the party for a while until Justin told him about his plan to talk to Michael and Lindsay in the afternoon. The flamboyant man agreed to go with him and Daphne, to make sure there wouldn’t be too much drama. He really didn’t think it would change Michael and Lindsay’s mind but for the sake of Brian, he wanted to support Justin.

“I understand where you’re coming from, sweety. Of course Brian made some mistakes but all in all, he’s always been a good friend to them. But I guess it’s because they’re both in love with Brian that they reacted so badly.” Emmett mused.

“Probably. I really don’t want to be the reason Brian loses his friends. Ben and Mel seemed like great partners, so why can’t they be happy with them?” Justin asked.

“They think of Brian like their property. As long as he’s how they want him to be, everything is fine. Brian being married destroys their dreams.” Emmett tried to explain. “I was surprised by Mel, to be honest. Always thought she hated Brian but it was just her unable to admit that Lindsay isn’t the great woman she thought she was. It was easier for her to blame Brian instead of Lindsay. Ben never blamed Brian but he wasn’t happy with Michael’s obsession.”

“I just hope that Gus and Jenny won’t suffer because of this. They’re just kids.” Justin said quietly and Emmett nodded in agreement.

SAME TIME - KINNETIK

“Theodore, those numbers look great. Good job.” Brian praised Ted but the accountant was different today. “Just spit it out, Ted.”

Ted took a breath. “Do you trust me, Brian?” He asked seriously.

Brian raised his brow and answered sincerely. “Of course I do, Ted. You wouldn’t be working here if I didn’t.”

“I don’t mean work wise, Brian.” Ted said and sighed. “Cynthia knew about Justin. You told her. But it seems to me that you didn’t trust ME enough to tell me. To be honest, it hurts.”

“It’s not like that, Ted.” It was Brian’s turn to sigh. “Cynthia doesn’t like Michael and Lindsay, and she doesn’t have the backstory you and I have with them. I didn’t want you in the middle if they had found out earlier. You know how entitled they think they are. Cynthia doesn’t care about them, but you’re part of the family. I do trust you, Ted. When our son is born, guess who will be his godfather?” Brian smiled.

“Godfather? Me? Are… are you serious Brian?” The accountant asked, touched.

“I don’t lie, Teddy. Justin and I actually planned to invite the family after our son was born. The only reason we did it earlier was because of Michael’s snooping.” Brian said. He took a deep breath before he continued to speak. “I honestly don’t think that Michael will accept Justin and our family. That means he’s out as a possible godfather and probably my friend, too. Although it pains me to say it I have to. Michael hasn’t been a real friend to me for a very long time. Same with Lindsay. I found out that you, Blake, Emmett and Drew are truly my friends because you are honest to me. You’re not pretending to be someone you’re not to impress me. Or berate me. I’ve lost count of all the times Michael and Lindsay told me to grow up and shit and when I finally did, they’re not happy either. It’s all just bullshit. I don’t want my kids around people like them although I cannot change it for Gus. Or Jenny, who deserves a better father than Michael.”

Ted thought about what Brian said. “You’re right about Jenny. At least she has Ben. He loves her dearly and would love to spend more time with her. Mel wouldn’t mind but Michael does. And I’m honored that you think of me so highly, Brian. I remember the times when you and I didn’t get along because of my jealousy. You do have changed and matured but you’re still Brian Kinney. You just had your priorities changed. You’re still a hunter in the business. You’re still admired and lusted after by basically every man you pass but you found something more meaningful. I also wanted to thank you for your support towards Blake and I regarding our addictions. Justin didn’t judge us but told us that you thought the best of us for overcoming those hard obstacles in our lives.” Ted said with teary eyes.

“I didn’t know Ben would love to spend more time with Jenny.” Brian mused, trying to change the topic. Away from the emotional part of their conversation. He still wasn’t handling compliments and thank yous well.

“Mel and I talk a lot about what’s going on in our lives. She was so sad for Ben. She told me a while ago that she always worries about Jenny if Michael has her but as long as Ben is with them she doesn’t worry too much because he makes sure that Jenny’s being taken care of. If she stays with them, it’s usually Ben who’s doing something with her, not Michael.” Ted informed his friend.

“Shit.” Brian mumbled. “What the hell is wrong with Michael? He almost broke his dick to get Mel pregnant and all that diarrhea he spouted during her pregnancy about parenting only for him to not really care about his daughter? Jenny’s so precious and easy to love. I don’t understand Michael at all.” The ad genius mumbled.

“That she is, Brian.” Ted said in agreement.

LIBERTY DINER

Emmett and Justin were waiting for Michael and Lindsay to arrive. The taller man had called the two earlier and asked for them to join him in the diner. Deb was there, too but she had decided to stay in the office and just watch whatever would happen. She loved her son deeply, and Lindsay was like a daughter to her but she worried about Brian more at that time. It really depended on his two best friends if their long living friendship would continue. Justin wouldn’t make Brian chose, but Michael and Lindsay would. In Lindsay’s case, the waitress hoped she wouldn’t use Gus to manipulate Brian. The brunette deserved to be happy and loved as much as everyone else. Only his two best friends were most likely not going to allow it.