“You look beautiful, Daddy,” Vicky announced sweetly as she looked at her father who was standing in front of her in his black tuxedo. He was wearing a white dress shirt, a black tie and black Prada boots to finish the look.

“Thanks, princess. So do you,” Brian gave right back as he looked at his daughter, who was proudly wearing her new pink dress, her hair up in a nice hairdo that Daphne had spent hours getting ready. She was smiling her best sunshine smile, her blue eyes shining with excitement. It was obvious how much she was looking forward to the events of the day and how much she couldn’t wait to play her part of flower girl at her fathers’ wedding.

When she had been told that her fathers wanted her to be a part of the ceremony and wanted her to be their flower girl, she had been ecstatic and in recent days she had practised very diligently with Emmett and Grandma Jen to make sure that she would be perfect on this special day. Not that her fathers had had any doubt to the contrary. They knew that she would be. Just by having her, Gus and Luke present on this special day it would be perfect.

“Thanks, Daddy! Papa looks beautiful as well,” she announced then which made Brian smile. He had no doubt that Justin would look beautiful. He remembered when they had gone and looked for suits for their first attempt at a wedding years ago. Justin had looked breathtakingly beautiful then and ever since, he had only gotten more beautiful to Brian. So no, he had no doubt at all that Justin would take his breath away as he always did when Brian saw him.

“You saw him?” Brian couldn’t help but ask, hoping that asking wouldn’t go against any of the rules that he apparently just had to follow as he was preparing to get married.

Being the hopeless romantic that he was, Justin had insisted that they did everything right and didn’t see each other for the last 24 hours before they got married. Brian had last seen him when they had been out for a nice late lunch with their family and friends the day before. They had done without a big rehearsal dinner, seeing how the last one had ended. And really, what was there to rehearse? It wasn’t like neither of them or their guests knew what to do and what was expected of them. He knew that he had to show up and had to say “I do” at the right moment and that was it. Easy enough. No need to rehearse for that. Instead they had decided to have a nice lunch with everyone and to just spend some time together.

Now that Gus was 20 and was about to start his second year at university, they didn’t see each other all that much anymore. Gus had moved to New York the previous year to attend Columbia to get his Master of Fine Arts degree. He had been one of the lucky students that had been chosen to attend. It was rumoured that Columbia only accepted 2% of applicants for their fine arts programme and when Gus had been accepted, everyone had been very proud of him. Justin had probably been even prouder than Brian had been.

Gus was incredibly talented and his art was impressive for someone so young and Justin had always supported Gus and his art. Both Brian and Justin had been incredibly proud when their son had been accepted to Columbia, even though both of them, especially Brian, had been slightly nervous about letting him move to New York on his own at only 18 years old.

Thankfully, Gus had always been a good boy. Of course he had misbehaved, had gotten drunk with his friends and stuff that all teenagers did, but at the end of the day, he was a good boy and both Brian and Justin knew that they could trust Gus and that he would come to them if he needed their help.

Gus moving away hadn’t only been hard for Brian and Justin, it had also been hard for Luke and Victoria. Now that Luke was 14 and a teenager, he would never openly admit to missing his brother and had even claimed that he was glad that Gus had moved away, so he would be the oldest in the house, but deep down everyone knew that Luke missed his brother just as much as everyone else did.

Victoria had been more open in her display of emotions and there had been many tears when Gus had moved away. She had cried a lot during the first weeks that he had been away, missing her brother terribly. She had only been four years old, too young to really understand about universities and why Gus couldn’t stay home with her forever. Gus had always been her hero, they had always been very close and Gus had been a great big brother to her, just like he had been to Luke, and Victoria had loved her brother dearly.

After Gus had moved away, she had spent a lot more time with Luke, following him everywhere he went as if she was afraid that he would leave her as well and it had taken Brian and Justin quite a few conversations with her to make her understand what was happening and that even though Gus had moved away to another city, he was still her big brother and still loved her like he always had.

Thankfully, New York wasn’t all that far away from Pittsburgh, so that Gus came home quite regularly and the family had been to New York to visit him as well. Victoria still saw Gus regularly, but it wasn’t the same as having him live in the same house.

Brian and Justin had made sure to spend a lot of time with her, to give her the attention that she needed and once the planning for the wedding had started, she had been beyond excited to get involved. And she had been even more excited when she had learned that Gus would come home for the wedding and would stay for the following week when her fathers went on their honeymoon and Auntie Em and Drew were staying at Britin with her and Luke.

The fact that Gus had moved away, that they didn’t see each other as much anymore as they used to had also been a reason why Brian and Justin had decided to have a nice lunch with everyone before their wedding. There just weren’t that many chances anymore to get together like that unless it was for Christmas or Thanksgiving, so whenever they had the chance, they had to make the most of it.

Brian was pulled back to the here and now by Vicky’s excited voice. “Yes, Auntie Daph took me to him, so he could see my hair. Doesn’t it look nice?”

“It does,” Brian agreed, leaning down in front of his daughter and opening his arms for a hug. “Come here, princess. Give your old man a hug before he starts crying,” he said emotionally, happy when his daughter immediately went into his arms and held him close.

“Don’t cry, Daddy. I thought you were happy,” she frowned, her voice sounding concerned.

“I am. Very happy. You have no idea. They would be happy tears,” Brian promised, leaning back to smile at his daughter and then leaving a soft kiss on her forehead. “And I just can’t believe how beautiful you look.”

“Auntie Em says I look like a real princess,” she smiled brightly, looking up and down her dress in amazement.

“You do,” Brian agreed, before he gave her one last hug.

Looking at her, looking at his sweet, five and a half year old girl now, he couldn’t believe what a rough start into life she had had. How they had been so scared that she might die because she had been born so prematurely. Thankfully, by the time she had been two, she had mostly caught up to other children her age and by now nothing spoke of the rough start into life she had had. She had grown up to be a healthy and beautiful girl and she, much like Luke, looked so much like her Papa that it took Brian’s breath away at times. She had clear blue eyes, blond, angelic locks and a smile that could make all the troubles in the world disappear. Brian loved her so much, there were no words for it. She was his little angel. His and Justin’s. Being the baby of the family, she had been spoilt by everyone and she had loved the attention she had received, being the only girl in the family. She loved how her fathers and brothers doted on her, how they took care of her and spent time with her and Brian knew that she was a very happy girl.

His whole family was. Happy that was. After he had recovered from his lung cancer and life had returned more and more back to normal, things had finally settled down for the Kinney-Taylor family.

Justin had adopted Gus when the boy had been 15, Gus had taken Kinney-Taylor as his legal last name and today he and Justin would finally become Kinney-Taylors as well. Who would have thought?

Certainly not Brian if someone had asked him ten years ago. He never would have thought that one day Justin would forgive him, even less marry him, but today that was happening. Justin was marrying him. They had made it.

Together they had found their way back and had made it. They had gotten the family Brian had never known he had wanted to begin with, but now loved more than anything. He didn’t know what he would do without Justin and his kids. He loved them all so much and knowing that they loved him, knowing that he and Justin had managed to raise decent, smart kids, that he hadn’t fucked up like his parents had with him, that he had been better than them, amazed him at times.

He could still remember the times when he had accused Justin and his friends of turning into Stepford Fags years ago. When he had been the Stud of Liberty Avenue and his whole life had revolved around fucking as many men as he could and getting his dick sucked by as many men as possible. And now, looking at himself, he knew that he had turned into the biggest Stepford Fag of them all.

He and Justin had been monogamous for more than nine years now, they were about to get married and if he had the choice between spending time with his partner and children or going out and getting drunk and getting his dick sucked, he would always choose his family.

They were the ones that made him happy. They made him smile, at times they made him cry, but whatever they did, they were together and loved him. And he loved them. More than anything. He would give the world to make them happy just like they made him happy.

“Are you crying already?”

Brian heard the teasing voice of his oldest son and smiled when he saw Gus enter the room. He wasn’t surprised when Vicky ran into her brother’s arms with an excited squeal as if she hadn’t just seen him half an hour ago. He watched as his children came over to his side, looking him up and down.

“Nice,” Gus nodded with approval. “Papa will love it.”

“He better. Cost me an arm and a leg,” Brian muttered, once more pulling on his tie, making sure it looked perfect.

“He’d marry you in a potato sack, you know that.”

“Yeah, he never had much taste,” Brian winked, then smiled when Gus leaned in and put his arm around his shoulders, giving them a squeeze.

“He chose you, so he must have some taste,” Gus said seriously, before he let Vicky down and whispered something in her ear. She nodded, her head bobbing up and down eagerly, before she waved at Brian and left the room with a quick “Bye, Daddy”.

“What’s that all about?” Brian raised an eyebrow, looking at Gus.

“I asked her to check on Luke and Papa and to make sure that they would look perfect as well and more importantly, to get them in there on time,” he winked, before his face turned more serious.

“And what’s that about?” Brian frowned, now looking into his son’s serious face.

“I know it’s not really my place to say this, but… I want you to know how proud I am of you,” Gus said quietly, his hazel eyes meeting similar hazel eyes when they looked back at him.

Not quite sure what to make of Gus’ statement, Brian stayed quiet and bit his lower lip.

“I am proud of you for the man you have turned into,” Gus continued, still holding Brian’s gaze. “And I am proud to have you as my father.”

“Gus,” Brian started, still trying to find the right reply to what Gus had said.

“I know you’ve had different ideas for your life when I was born. I know that things between you and Papa were rough for a long time and I just want you to know that I am proud of the man you’ve become. I am proud that you’re my dad and that you always put my well-being first. I am proud of the life you and later you and Papa have given us. I love you both, Dad, but… I want you to know that I love you and I am so happy for you and Papa today,” he finished, clearly emotional as he looked at his father from loving eyes.

“Come here,” Brian whispered, pulling Gus closer, hugging his son tight. “I love you.”

“I know,” Gus replied and Brian was glad to know that there hadn’t been any hesitation when Gus had said it. Gus knew indeed and never had to doubt Brian’s love for him. “I love you, too.”

When they broke the embrace, Gus smirked at his father. “Though I really shouldn’t. I should be angry with you.”

“Angry?” Brian frowned, not sure what Gus was talking about.

“You made me wait 14 years for this day,” Gus smirked in a fashion that reminded Brian much of his younger self. It was amazing how much Gus looked like him when he had been younger. It was like looking into a mirror that showed you your younger self.

“You and me both, sonny boy,” Brian sighed, knowing that Gus was referring to the wedding that never had been.

“I am glad you figured it out in the end,” Gus said more seriously. “And I am glad that Luke and Vicky get to be a part of this as well.”

Brian smiled, looking at his son from loving eyes. “So am I. It just feels right this way, you know?”

Gus nodded, knowing what his father was saying. He then leaned in for a hug and held his father close. “I am happy for you and Papa, Dad. You deserve all the happiness in the world.”

“So do you,” Brian said, knowing that Gus deserved happiness more than any of his children. He had been through so much as a young child and still had turned out to be such a great, responsible, smart man. Brian couldn’t be prouder of him.

“We better get ready before this turns even more emotional,” Gus winked, running his hands over his father’s suit one last time, then leading him towards the door, ready to leave the room. “Let's get this show started.”

Brian felt his heart flutter, but it was all happiness and a nervous energy of excitement and love. So much love. He followed Gus out of the room, ready to take this next step in their relationship.

MEANWHILE IN ANOTHER ROOM CLOSE BY

“Hi Princess, I didn’t expect to see you back this quickly,” Justin chuckled when he saw Vicky bounce into the room happily.

“Gus said that I should check on you and make sure that you would be ready in time,” she nodded, looking very serious.

“Did he now?” Justin couldn’t help but smile, realising that Gus had probably just wanted to get Vicky out of the room, so he could have a few quiet moments with his father. He had been by to see Justin not too long ago and had seemed quite emotional. They had had a short conversation in which Gus had wished him and Brian all the best for their future and had expressed how happy he was for his fathers. He had also thanked Justin for giving his father another chance so many years ago and had praised Justin for seeing the man his father really was.

Justin had been quite surprised by some of the statements and hadn’t really known how to react, in the end he had just hugged his son, had held him close and had told him the truth: He loved Brian. He always had and he always would. Life just wasn’t the same without Brian by his side and today was just proof of that. Their past and everything they had been through had brought them to this day, their wedding day.

He was convinced that their marriage wouldn’t have worked if they had gotten married so many years ago when Brian had first proposed. Neither of them had been ready and he was convinced that their marriage would have failed, but now, after everything they had been through, all the pain, all the heartache, all the happiness and all the joy of their years together, he had no doubt that they were meant to be. They had both changed so much over the years. Neither of them was the same man they had been when they had first met. Both had grown up and developed into more mature men and Justin knew that now they were endgame. They would always be together, no matter what. Getting married now was just the next natural step in their journey together as a couple.

They had been apart and they had been together. They had done this again and again and in the end Justin knew that being together with Brian had always made him happier than when they had been apart. And after they had worked through the trauma of what had happened when Luke had been born, after they had taken the help of a therapist and had made it through that, he knew that nothing would ever break them apart again. They would always be together. They just loved each other and their family too much not to be.

Many, many years ago, when Justin had been Gus’ age, he had dreamt and wished for this day to happen one day and he hadn’t seriously thought there would ever be a day when he would marry Brian Kinney, but today it was happening. That day was finally here. And the most amazing thing of it all: Brian wanted them to get married even more than Justin did. Not that Justin didn’t want them to get married, he was really excited about getting married, but in recent years it had become more and more obvious that Brian felt more strongly about this marriage than Justin did. Justin had been secure in the knowledge that they would always be together, no matter what. They were meant for each other and they had often joked that no one else would be patient enough to deal with either one of them. It was good that they had found each other or they would have been doomed to very lonely lives.

Brian wanting this marriage so much only showed how much he had changed over the years. By now the Stud of Liberty Avenue was only a myth. A legend almost. It had been a long time since Brian had been that man. Thanks to therapy and long conversations with Justin and their family, Brian had been able to admit that the Stud of Liberty Avenue had only been an image that he had created to make sure that no one would get too close to his heart. That no one would be able to get close enough to hurt him. Hurt him like his parents had hurt him all his younger life.

Most of Brian’s issues had stemmed from his childhood and youth with Jack and Joan Kinney and knowing what he knew about how Brian had grown up, Justin couldn’t blame him. He was just glad that Brian had found the strength to move on from that part of his life and to admit to himself what he wanted in life. And, what in Justin’s opinion, he also deserved in life. As far as Justin was concerned, no one deserved to be loved more than Brian. Brian who had never known real love until he had been a teenager and even then the love he had received from Debbie, Michael and Lindsay had been very conditional. Brian always claimed that the first time someone had really loved him unconditionally had been when Justin had loved him. And later his children.

The thought humbled Justin and also made him aware of the huge responsibility he had. He held Brian’s heart in his hands, he had the power to destroy the man, but he knew he would never do that. He loved him more than anything. After everything they had been through, Justin knew that he would never be able to hate Brian. No matter what. If he hadn’t been able to hate him after what had happened with Luke, he knew there was nothing that would make him hate Brian. He loved him and cherished him and he felt just as loved by the man as he loved him.

He loved Brian with all his heart and more than anything he knew that Brian loved him just like that. Brian would move the heavens and the earth to make him happy and had done so many times in the past. As far as Justin was concerned, he was the luckiest man on the planet, being loved by Brian like that. He knew that Brian would argue that he was the luckiest man because Justin still loved him after everything they had been through. Maybe they were both lucky. Lucky to have found each other and to have worked through whatever life had thrown their way.

“Are you gonna cry as well, Papa?” Vicky asked as she looked at him with a frown on her face.

“Cry?” Justin asked, feeling slightly confused.

She shrugged. “You looked like you might cry. Daddy said he might cry as well. But happy tears.”

Justin smiled as he leaned down in front of his daughter. “They would only be happy tears for me as well, honey. I am very, very happy today.”

“That’s good. So is Daddy.”

“Are you ready for your big moment?” Justin asked, running a hand over his daughter’s cheek gently.

Vicky nodded eagerly, bobbing her little head up and down happily. “Grandma Jen and Auntie Em practised a lot with me. They said I was the best flower girl they have ever seen.”

“I bet you are. You will be amazing,” Justin smiled, before he turned towards the door when it opened again and revealed Luke and Daphne.

“Are you ready, Papa?” Luke asked, smiling his own version of Justin’s famous sunshine smile. It was amazing how much Luke looked like him. Just like Gus looked like a mini-version of Brian. There really was no doubt about their children’s parentage. Same for Vicky who looked like himself in female form.

“More than ready,” Justin smiled, as Luke came over.

“Gus and Dad are ready as well. They said they were only waiting for you,” Luke pointed out, before he stood next to his father and compared their outfits in the mirror. They were both wearing dark suits with light shirts that brought out their eyes and hair and with Justin’s youthful looks that he had always kept, they almost could be brothers instead of father and son.

“You look beautiful,” Justin said, his voice quite emotional as he looked at their reflection in the mirror.

“We all look beautiful,” Vicky piped up in that moment, appearing by Justin’s side and smiling at their reflection as well.

“We do. We absolutely do,” Justin smiled, before moving around and smiling at Daphne, who was still standing by the door and watching him and his kids with a gentle smile.

Justin nodded to Luke and Vicky. “Go and tell your Dad and Gus that we’ll be there in a minute.”

Both children nodded and then left the room, leaving Justin with Daphne.

“You look happy,” she said, running a hand through Justin’s hair, before she pulled him into a crushing hug, the kind of hug they used to give each other all the time, but didn’t get to enjoy as much anymore now that they were both busy with their own careers, families and lives.

“I am,” he smiled widely, his eyes shining with his happiness.

“Is this what you really want though?” Daphne asked, leaning her head to the side and studying Justin’s eyes.

“Daph,” Justin sighed, once again cursing himself for having made the mistake of telling her a year or two ago that Brian wanted this marriage a lot more than he did. Even though things between Brian and Daphne had normalised after Brian and Justin had reconciled, Justin knew that Daphne was just waiting for the moment when Brian would break his heart again and she could kick his ass. Having made the mistake of telling her that by now Brian was the driving force behind them getting married when years ago it had been him, had been reason enough for her to doubt his intentions and to think that Brian had pressured him into a marriage he didn’t want. “Stop it! Not today!”

“You were the one that said that Brian wanted this marriage a lot more than you did.”

“Which doesn’t mean that I don’t want it. I want this, Daph. I am happy. This is what I want. I want to marry Brian.”

Daphne’s gaze met his and he could see that she still seemed to doubt him.

“I really wish I hadn’t mentioned it at all,” he said, frustration clear to hear in his voice.

“But you did. And I am your best friend, so it’s my task to make sure this is what you want.”

“It is. I don’t know what else to tell you. I want to marry Brian. I want to spend the rest of my life with him. I love him, I love the partner he is to me, I love the father he is to our children, I love him. It’s as easy as that, Daph.”

“I am just worried that he’s taking advantage of you,” his best friend said quietly, their gazes meeting.

“Brian would be the last person to take advantage of me, you know that.”

When Daphne just raised an eyebrow as if to say ‘Really?’, Justin sighed again. “God, Daph. Not that again. That was years ago. We worked through what happened back then and we are happy.”

“Then why does he want this more than you do? Getting married to him was always your biggest dream. God, I remember so many classes where you would doodle various versions of your name and Brian’s name.”

Justin actually snorted when she reminded him of some of his less adult behaviour back in the days. “And I still want it and I am still happier than I ever thought I could be. It’s just not my biggest dream anymore.” Before Daphne could respond to that, Justin went on. “And before you say anything: That has nothing to do with Brian. I just know that we will be together for the rest of our lives, no matter what. After everything we’ve been through, after everything we survived together, I have no doubt about that, Daph. I love him, he loves me and we both love our children. We will always be together, no matter what. Back when it was me that wanted to get married, I wanted to get married for different reasons. I felt like being married to Brian would secure my place in his life and by his side. I felt like a fucking piece of paper would give me the security Brian wasn’t ready to give me. Now things have changed though. I know my place in his life. I know what the children and I mean to him and I don’t need a piece of paper to tell me.”

“And he does?”

“No, he doesn’t.”

Daphne looked at him and Justin knew immediately that she didn’t believe him.

“He doesn’t need us to get married, Daph. He wants us to. That’s a big difference.” Justin watched her, then continued speaking. “And it’s the same for me. Back when he first proposed, I was so focused on getting married. I needed us to get married, I needed to become his husband to be secure of my place at his side. I don’t need that anymore. I want to become his husband now. I want to be his husband, I want to have the same last name that my kids do. It’s not a question of needing to be reassured by him any longer, it’s a question of wanting it. Just like for him it’s not a question of needing to do what makes me happy, but what makes him happy and what he wants. We are finally doing what we want, not what we need to be secure of our place in each other’s life.”

Justin smiled at his best friend, his whole face shining with happiness. “We’re finally getting married for the right reasons. And that’s how I know that it’ll work out. We’re doing it for the right reasons now.”

Daphne shook her head slowly, then smiled as well, feeling reassured by Justin’s smile and what he had said. “Ignore me. I guess I am worrying too much.”

“You’re worrying about me, so I forgive you,” he said as he leaned in and pulled her close into a tight hug.

Now it was Daphne’s turn to sigh. “I shouldn’t though. You’ve got it all under control.”

Justin chuckled at that. “I wish.”

They ended their hug and pulled apart. “I think we have to go now or otherwise your future hubby might kill me for keeping you here.”

“He wouldn’t dare,” Justin snorted, as they left the room together, heading to his wedding.