Despite what Molly told him the night before, Justin manages to sleep. In fact, it might be what makes him sleep. He doesn’t want to think about it. He doesn’t want to think about a little girl likely seeing her father shot while he was trying to save her. He doesn’t want to think about a little boy having something similar happening to him a couple of years before. If the world had been kind, Duncan would have forgotten - or maybe would have blocked it out - due to being a toddler when the event took place. But no. Molly says he remembers and never said a word until yesterday.

So just for tonight, Justin chooses to sleep. It’s hard at first, being in a four bedroom apartment alone. It’s the first time he wishes the boys were here already. In all other ways, he prefers to wait for them to come out for as long as possible - for the obvious health related reasons, but also so Justin can prepare. But they would have given him something to focus on, some company. Maybe he should have asked Molly and Hunter to borrow Archimedes or Katniss for the night. Well, maybe Archimedes. Katniss would probably just hide from him until Hunter came to get her. But no, Justin chooses to not do that. He chooses to be alone.

But the next morning, he isn’t alone for long. He wakes up at 7 am and texts Ezra, of all people. Ezra’s official start date isn’t until the 1st. That being said, the guy has already sent him ideas and made inquiries for the New Year’s Eve event. He got the performers from Fuerza Bruta to agree to set up and perform an altered and even more interactive version of the show. When Justin asked him if he knew one of the performers or set designers, Ezra had just shrugged and said, “No. I just called, then sent them the blueprints of the building so that they know what they’re working with and can add the modifications I suggested. They agreed to do it for a reasonable fee since it promotes local artists. I actually asked for Mason’s help on the budget breakdown and the wording for the social media posts to draw people in.” When his new intern, Maizah, posted the social media post last week, it received more likes than any other event has since Justin opened the gallery three years ago. Public tickets sold out in less than twenty-four hours and the website almost crashed due to the sudden traffic.

It also drove the point home even further that Justin made the right decision in hiring Ezra. In all honesty, he briefly considered whether or not he should ask Mason if he wants a position too.

Justin is surprised that Ezra is up when he texts to ask if he wants to go to the gallery this morning so that the set design team can begin working with the designated room. Maybe it’s because Justin has yet been able to get on an early bird schedule and today is just a fluke for him, but Ezra replies immediately and asks Justin if he wants to come down for coffee and breakfast after he gets ready.

Ezra: I’ll invite Molly and Hunter too, if you and Mason are going to be awkward af around each other.

Yeah, Justin is definitely not regretting it. He appreciates an employee who can read him and call him out.

Justin: I’m glad you understand me.

Ezra: I do. That being said, once I truly prove myself in my position, I will have no qualms about individually asking you and Mason to lunch, only to not show up.

Justin: You kind of already proved yourself with setting up the NYE event before your official start date. So I guess I won’t accept any lunch invites from you from this point forward.

Ezra: But breakfast is totally safe, promise. See you in an hour!

Justin pointedly tries to not think about Lily, Duncan, Brian, or Eric while he’s showering and getting dressed. Every time one of their faces pop up in his head, he quickly tries to think of anything else. The twins, Molly and Hunter, Ezra and Mason, basically all couples or duos in some capacity. Even thinking about his father coming in a couple of days and openly being a dad to both him and Mason is more preferable than thinking about staying mum on what Lily and Duncan might have seen. Justin knows he needs to tell Brian, Emmett, and Drew. In fact, he should tell Emmett and Drew first so that they can tell Brian. He just doesn’t want to stress them out before Christmas, if any of them do anything for Christmas this year. Justin definitely doesn’t want to. Having his dad, mom, and Tucker come down will be stressful enough, but at least it will be low-key.

And that’s what Justin continues to think until he goes downstairs and knocks on Ezra’s and Mason’s door.

“Breakfast is ready but we have a problem, so ignore the tension in the air,” Ezra says quickly before letting him in, only for Justin to see Mason pacing in agitation.

“Uh...problems with what?” Justin asks, glancing at Mason warily as the younger man throws himself down on the couch. Instead of answering, Ezra walks over to his boyfriend, bends down, and presses a few quick kisses against Mason’s forehead.

“It’ll be fine,” Ezra says, brushing Mason’s hair back, “It will be okay. You know that.”

“She’s doing this on purpose,” Mason says before letting out a snarl.

“Well…” Ezra starts, then lets out a sigh, “She’s still coming up. It means that she cares. It means that she’s not ditching you because of me.”

“I’m not saying she doesn’t care,” Mason says slowly, “I’m saying that she’s trying to manipulate me and either push my relationship with you back in the closet by bringing everyone with her or stage an intervention.”

“I don’t even see how she found a hotel with enough free rooms for all of them to stay at,” Ezra says, frowning, "Not that it's the most important holiday this week at all whatsoever, but Christmas is literally four days away.”

“Simon owns The Three Rivers Resort,” Mason says, “He probably has pompous hotel buddies that pulled some strings. That’s the only way Uncle Kenny and his kids could afford to stay at The Ludlow.”

Ezra nods, “I wonder if Dax and Jared are going to share a room. I swear on my life, your cousin is gay and fucking his bestie.”

“He and Jared are just roommates,” Mason says, sighing, “I’ve told you this.”

“Yeah, and?” Ezra says, “Some of your family think we’re just roommates too.”

“Dax is homophobic and a dick.”

“Internalized homophobia is a thing,” Ezra shrugs, before turning to Justin, “Justin, tell him that some gay people are dicks.”

“...He’s not wrong,” Justin says, then decides to ask the awkward question of what’s going on. But before he can open his mouth, there is a knock on the door right behind him.

“It’s probably Molly and Hunter,” Ezra says, staying near Mason as he glances at Justin, “I don’t mean to be a shitty host or disrespect the hierarchy but-”

“I’ll let them in,” Justin tells him, turning around to open the door, finding Hunter, Molly, and Archimedes on the other side.

“I brought a puppy, like I was asked,” Molly says, only nodding at Justin briefly as she walks past him while Hunter hangs back with Justin.

“Look, honey,” Ezra says sweetly, gently taking Archimedes from Molly’s arms to put him down on Mason’s chest, “Puppy therapy! He’ll be perfect until we find you a therapist up here who doesn’t charge an arm and a leg.”

“I don’t need a therapist...anymore,” Mason says, all while Ezra rolls his eyes, “I’m serious, stop rolling your eyes at me.”

“Well, I’m sorry that I am pro-therapy when it comes to you,” Ezra says, reaching down to stroke the affectionate puppy’s head, “You went from traumatized by your semi-estranged frat friends to out to practically all of the state of New Hampshire and not giving a shit about what people think about you - except when it comes to your parents - which is why it’s important-”

“I said I would think about it after we get settled,” Mason says quietly.

While Ezra, Mason, and Molly go back and forth on therapy, Hunter leans over and quietly asks Justin, “So what’s going on? Mason called Molly all upset.”

“I don’t know," Justin says, "Ezra invited me down when I asked if he wanted to go to the gallery for a while and meet everyone. After he let me in, he and Mason were talking but they didn’t give me much context and were focused on each other.”

“Oh, yeah, they’re kind of obsessed with each other,” Hunter says, nodding, “They’ll forget you’re in the room if you stay quiet for long enough. Molly wasn’t lying when she said they’re worse than us. If you ever want to find an ice breaker with either of them, mention the other's name one time and they'll talk non-stop with hearts in their eyes for at least three hours."

"We can both hear you," Mason says, lifting his head.

Hunter dons a more innocent expression, "Whatever's wrong, future brother-in-law of mine?"

Justin sputters at the title, because while Hunter has used the term to fuck with Justin, he hasn't joked like that with anyone else. He quickly turns his head to stare at Molly, "What the fuck is he talking abou-"

"Hunter didn't propose. It's a joke. Mason called him that when he was drunk on his 21st birthday," Molly says quickly before giving Hunter a look, "It's Madison. She's inviting up her brothers, her sister, and their families and friends to New York for Christmas, even though there are no plans in question. There are probably like a dozen people coming, so you'll get a good taste of the Dupont family. They're an eclectic group and usually at least one political screaming match happens."

"Oh," Hunter says, then shrugs, "Well, if you don't want them coming, just don't let them in. Problem solved."

Mason looks at Ezra and Molly, "Can I do that?"

"I don't think you can do that," Molly says empathetically.

"He can too," Hunter answers, "I've ignored my bio family so Mason can ignore his."

Molly holds up a hand, "Babe, I mean this with all the love and sensitivity I am capable of: Your bio family makes being raised by wolves sound nice. Mason's family is just half redneck."

"More than half," Ezra mutters, causing Mason to pinch Ezra's thigh, "Ow! I'm sorry, but you know it's true. When I met your uncles and Dax, I thought you might have been switched at birth because you are so smart, loving, and sweet! Until now. I'm going to go get breakfast on the table instead of standing here and taking your spousal abuse! Love you."

Ezra quickly bends down to press a soft kiss against Mason's lips before going into the kitchen. The group watches Mason watch his boyfriend walk away with an almost longing look in his eyes before Justin finally decides to join in on the conversation.

"Did you tell your mom that you don't feel up to that much company when she called?" Justin asks, breaking Mason's trance.

Mason blinks, as if he has to process that Justin is actually speaking to him, "...She didn't call. She messaged me on Facebook. Couldn't even text my personal number. That makes it feel even more impersonal."

Molly lifts Mason's feet and sits on the couch, causing Archimedes to stumble down Mason's body until he is closer to his mother, "So read it. Let us dissect it and figure out her intentions."

Mason seems to think on it for a moment before unlocking his phone to hand it to Molly, "Here. You read it. It pisses me off too much to read again. And DON'T go into my pictures and videos."

"Ew, Mason, stop trying to give me subtle warnings about your sex life," Molly says, grimacing, "You already told me about it explicitly on your disasterous 21st so it doesn't take much to fill in the blanks."

Molly shakes off the trauma of Mason's warning and finds Madison's message, "Alright, Justin. You're gay and had mixed reactions to your coming out. You will have the best insight, so you need to listen."

Need is sort of a bold statement to make, but Justin meant it when he told himself that he is going to try with Mason. He's going to try for Molly's sake. He's even going to try for his dad's sake. And now, he's going to try with Mason so that he doesn't have to think of other things. At this point, he would rather think of the potential cruelty and insensitivity a family might show a 21 year old kid than about Brian, Lily, or-

"Hi, sweetie," Molly starts, then looks at Mason, "She called you sweetie, that's good."

"Keep reading," Mason says, closing his eyes.

"I wanted to check in to make sure you got moved in okay," Molly continues reading, "I hope it went smoothly and you had a good first weekend in New York-"

"Maybe she is showing she cares and 'good first weekend' means a fun and passionate weekend with your guy but she is just trying to be tactful," Hunter cuts in.

"She does not mean that," Mason says pointedly.

"She could," Hunter retorts, before looking at Molly, "Remember when your mom awkwardly said she hoped that we had a good time when we decided to go to bed early?"

"Your dads are so much more awkward," Molly argues, "Remember when they checked in with us three times while we were in line for the plane to Bermuda to make sure we brought condoms?"

"Just read, Molly," Justin and Mason say in unison, causing them both to jerk back in what might be repulsion, since Justin immediately has an urge to leave.

Molly looks between the two of them, barely holding back a smile, "THAT was adorable. But I won't make a big deal out of it. 'Since you are moved in, I wanted to give you a heads up and let you know that we still plan on coming up for Christmas. I can do most of the cooking if you provide the space. Christmas Eve sound good? We decided to make it a huge family trip. Greg and Alyssa are coming, as are Charles, Wendy, and little Lydia. Hannah is as well. Kenny and girlfriend are coming and I believe Dax and his girlfriend are too. Jared is tagging along. Poor boy doesn't have anyone so Dax invited him. Katie is flying into New York tomorrow so maybe see if she gets in okay. Oh, and Kenny's girlfriend's sister is coming! Her name is Maisie. She actually joined my yoga class so I know her. She's your age and VERY pretty. Single too. I showed her a picture of you and she thinks you're gorgeous, obviously. The whole family is looking forward to you meeting her. Maisie and Mason sound good together.' Uh...did she hit her head and forget that Ezra exists?"

"It gets worse," Mason says in a dead voice.

"We got tickets to The Nutcracker," Molly reads, "We managed to get three extra for you, Molly, and Hunter. We couldn't get seats all next to each other, so you'll be next to Maisie, hope that's okay. Anyway, hope you continue to get settled in. I love you. Hope Ezra is able to go home for the holidays. Give Molly and Hunter my love. Hope your dad is well too. Oh, what the fuck, Maddie?"

"Oh, I don't have to be gay to know that's passive agressive and manipulative," Hunter says as Ezra comes out to the living room, carrying four plates up his arm like it's nothing.

"Ah, did you read Madison's loving message?" Ezra asks, having Justin take a plate from his arm, "You're gay. What did you think about her leaving you and me out?"

"I think it was a total bitch move to not ask about you other than basically wish you back home to South Dakota," Justin says, "But I don't know why she'd bring me up."

Ezra gives him a look, "Because Mason is finally connecting with you and you helped us a lot by giving us a place that would be way too expensive for us otherwise? You're the son of the man who adopted her son. Maybe she's not married to Craig anymore but she was with him for what? Thirteen years at least? That's a huge chunk of time. To not even ask about you tells me she just left the non-straight people who aren't her son out on purpose."

"She barely knows me," Justin says, shrugging, "I'm not feeling affected one way or another."

The five of them eat their meals and the subject doesn't leave the Dupont family drama for long. Justin feels sort of lost in the conversation but he still prefers it over the other serious things that could be discussed. Justin might not have much to contribute to the conversation, yet listening and gaining some insight to not only Mason's life, but Molly's life during a time when Justin didn't know her well is informative. Justin doesn't need to be too involved.

Molly apparently has other plans.

"If she's expecting to subdue you with a pretty girl and a bunch of your family at once, we just need to invite a bunch of people in the know," Molly says before she takes a bite of her waffle, "Even if you choose not to come out to Dad or any other family there, if you still have a lot more people on your side, Madison might not be quite as pushy. We can invite Samira, Hazel, and Miriam. Ben, Michael, and JR don't know, but they'll be there and will obviously not care if you're with a guy. You should invite that Hallie girl you invited over last night too. She seems no nonsense and is close with Ezra. Invite some of your other friends in, like Zane and Yas. Kai and his boyfriend, Tuka, would be good to have here as well. Pedro might be a good choice, considering how out he is. He might give Madison some perspective and she'll feel grateful for you. You should invite Deirdre too, and her daughter, obviously. Your mom finding out you are both godfathers to the same baby will really freak her out."

Ezra cuts into his egg and lets out a laugh, "Having a fun little reunion sounds wonderful. That being said, you're doubling the number of people and while this apartment is beautiful and spacious, having close to thirty people here for a holiday dinner sounds like a nightmare."

Molly waves him off, "Justin can hold it at his place, it's cool."

Justin gives Molly a double take, "You're not doing that to me. Thanksgiving was enough of a nightmare and I knew everyone there."

"But that was in your old apartment," Molly says slowly, "Now, you live in a palace. Come on, give us your place. You don't actually have to do anything, just be there. Welcome Mason to the building by showing him support."

"You are more manipulative than Mason's mother is," Justin tells her.

"I wouldn't even sweat trying to fit them into your apartment," Hunter says, putting his empty plate on the counter, "Throw it at the gallery. I still don't know why you didn't do that on Thanksgiving. You're closed Christmas Eve and Christmas Day anyway. Plenty of space and you have the event tables in the basement.”

Justin stares at Hunter, “Why do you almost always take her side? You’ve known me longer.”

Hunter smiles, “Do you really want to get an answer to that question?”

Justin shudders, “No. I don’t.”

“Well, I think that you should have the freedom to turn us down. You’ve had a hard week and I would never expect you to go out of your way more than you already have,” Ezra says, “I will shamelessly suck up to you and take your side until my probation period is over, I don’t care.”

“And when that month is up?” Justin asks.

“Oh, all bets are off,” Ezra confirms, “Any defiance I feel towards you will manifest after that. But until then, should you decide to be even more selfless, wonderful, and kind by providing the venue for a very tense Christmas dinner, I can do most of the setting up for it, even though I feel very blah about his uncles and their sons. Anything for my man. Even ignoring my birthday in favor of a pointless holiday."

“Well…” Justin says, standing up with his empty plate, “The left wing on the first floor currently has an LGBTQ exhibit and will until the 3rd. If you want to hold it in there instead of the main event room for laughs, then I can’t do anything but support that. You can sit the dreaded uncles across from Kenji Kaneto’s wall, if you want. His collection is solely made up of explicit and detailed paintings of nude men.”

Ezra bounces up from his seat, “Okay, that is totally happening. I should go and see exactly what I am working with in person, for this spontaneous dinner and for the event. Ready to go?”

Justin nods and leads the way towards the door. Archimedes, weirdly following as if he wants to see them out. Before they're out of the apartment, Mason speaks up.

"Hey, how long are you going to be gone?" Mason asks from the couch.

Ezra turns around to look at his boyfriend, "Why?"

"...No reason," Mason shrugs, then looks back up at the ceiling.

Ezra's eyes soften as he walks back over to Mason to kiss him all over his face, "It's because you'll miss me, isn't it? Better get used to it, my love! I need to earn a living if I am to retain my sugar daddy status-"

Mason squirms as he slaps at Ezra's shoulder and laughs, "I will never call you that. Ugh. You have never been my sugar daddy and you know it."

"That's totally about to change but you're right," Ezra nods, "Your dad is actually the one who shelled money out for us-"

"Please don't finish that thought. I don't want to hear where your mind can take it just to weird me out," Mason says as he grabs Ezra's face before bringing his head down to kiss him, "I love you."

"I love you," Ezra returns gently, kissing Mason again.

"I love you mo-"

"Oh my god," Molly says, standing up to put her arms around Ezra's waist and swivel him away from Mason, "Leave. Go."

"So strong," Ezra says, sounding impressed as he walks back towards Justin, "Damn, Molly."

"See?" Molly says to Justin, "I told you. They're worse."

"That's not…" Justin starts, then glances at Mason and Ezra making heart eyes at each other, "Yeah. I see what you mean."

"Escort him out so that I can get our younger brother's attention," Molly says, all while Justin just feels weird about her using the word 'our'.

Justin and Ezra walk to the gallery, an easy conversation flowing between them. It's nice to talk to someone who isn't bogged down by stress and grief. He is sure Ezra has some stress. Molly briefly mentioned that she heard Ezra suffered a couple of close and upsetting losses while in high school but that she didn't know much about them. Justin knows from Ezra's resume that he worked multiple jobs while going to school, so that shit is stressful as well. When Justin had seen how much he had worked throughout college, he had wanted to hand the guy the job then and there because Justin knows how hard it is to work multiple jobs at once until you make it and Ezra has been working more than Justin ever had to. Although Justin mostly rejected financial support from Brian when he first moved to New York, he had always known Brian would step in and help if Justin absolutely needed it. Ezra, despite having loving parents, didn't have that same kind of financial rock to fall back on.

Unless you count Craig Taylor, who apparently paid his youngest son's male lover's hospital bills. Justin learns that on the way over. It is actually the first thing to make Justin laugh since finding out about the derailment.

"I'm sorry, it's just really ironic," Justin tells Ezra as they approach the gallery, "The fact that my dad helped you out like that while you were sleeping with one of his sons."

"I had only just started sleeping with one of his sons when it happened," Ezra argues, "This was back in August of last year. That was when I got hit by a car speeding through a red light. Mason and I got together the month before and hadn't been around him so Craig had no idea. He just knew me as a close friend of Mason's, which was true."

"Huh," Justin says, unlocking the gallery door, "I didn't realize you had been with him for that long. My Dad still has no idea?"

Ezra lets out a breath, "Mason and Molly swear up and down that he doesn't, but I feel like he has a hunch. He sent a card to me for my birthday last year. I don't think he would have done that if he thought that I was just Mason's roommate. He didn't take my money when I tried to pay him back either. He also knows that I didn’t not sleep in the guest room when we stayed at his house last Thanksgiving or when we visited him in the summer. I know that he knows that. He saw me leave Mason's room in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom the first night I ever stayed there. He didn't even question why I drove over ten hours to be with Mason for a few days. Even if he doesn't know, I don't think he will be shocked once he does find out."

"He was surprisingly shocked about me," Justin snorts, "You obviously know how he took all of that. But I will say that I weirdly respect Mason for getting him to agree to pay for that. He obviously cared a lot more about you than my dad's potential wrath. I don't think that will be the case though. He really has changed."

They are the first two to arrive at the gallery when he lets Ezra in and he spends that time giving him a tour of the first floor. Ezra looks around in intrigue and asks questions about the exhibits that Justin wouldn't have even thought to ask about. Once Ezra moves on from the paintings themselves, he moves onto the building, floor capacity limits, mobility devices and making sure the building is completely wheelchair accessible for events, before moving on to show Justin where they will set up the water ceiling.

"So glad there are no exhibits in here," Ezra says, looking around, "If the water ceiling bursts while the dancers are sliding all around, it would be a travesty. Glad this used to be a car garage and you kept the lift. It will be well utilized."

"It definitely added character," Justin shrugs before moving around the room, "So how much space do you need for the-"

Justin is cut off by his phone ringing. Normally, he would just ignore it. It's the polite thing to do when showing a new employee around, after all. But things are different now. Every call feels like it could be coming from someone who has a horrific announcement. He worries someone will call him about some kind of crisis, whether Justin is actually able to help or not. When he sees Emmett's name on the screen, his stomach twists into knots since Emmett has mostly been the bearer of bad news lately. Ezra seems to understand this, whether it's due to Justin's micro-expressions or just a hunch.

"You can pick it up," Ezra says softly, walking towards the main table as if he is giving Justin some space, "I understand."

Justin tries to force a smile, "Thanks. I'll go into the lobby.

Justin walks out into the front room and shuts the door behind him. The call goes to voicemail and part of Justin doesn't want to call Emmett back. Just for a day, he doesn't want to hear more about Brian. He doesn't want to hear more about Lily. When he and Molly left them last night, there was some hope. Things had been far from good but Lily had been happy to see the dad that she had apparently been screaming at on and off since she woke up. And that's good. Brian is the only dad she has left. The only parent she has left, unless Cynthia ends up taking a larger role or if Brian - way down the line - heals enough to give his heart to someone else.

If Brian ever gets to that point.

Justin knows he needs to return the call. He can't go silent on Emmett, especially when Justin will probably be helping Molly deliver really upsetting news to him in just a few short days. And Emmett might be calling because he needs support. The role he has taken on in all of this has been taxing and Justin had been able to see that in Emmett's eyes yesterday. Justin doesn't even bother checking the voicemail. He's not going to give himself any reason to ignore the call.

Justin presses on Emmett's name and forces himself to take a few deep breaths until Emmett answers the call.

"Hey, baby," Emmett says, sounding tired, "Thanks for calling me back. I didn't call too early, did I? I know you tend to be a bit of a night owl."

"You're fine," Justin says, slowly pacing until he's behind the front desk, "I've been up for a couple of hours now. I have a new employee I'm showing around the gallery. The new event coordinator I hired. You'll probably meet him soon."

"Always up for new friends," Emmett says. It doesn't sound like a lie when he says it, but he definitely doesn't sound like his normal and enthusiastic self, "But um...speaking of events, Drew and I decided not to do dinner on Christmas. With everything that happened and most of everyone's focus being on that, it just didn't seem doable for a lot of people. Brian called this morning and told me that Lily should be discharged before Christmas Eve, which is wonderful. Happiest I've heard him since all of this happened. That being said, he's not going to be up for anything big. I don't even think he wants to deal with Eric's family but is doing that for Lily's sake. At least Gus, Mel, and Lindsay will be there. I guess Michael, Ben, JR, and Felix are mainly going to be with Molly and Hunter on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. They've been staying here, even though Molly and Hunter said they could take the second bedroom. Ben and Michael probably don't want to disturb their honeymoon period more than it already has been…I'm sorry, I'm rambling. You probably know all of that."

"Not really," Justin says gently, "And even if I did, I wouldn't mind you talking about whatever's on your mind. You okay?"

Emmett is quiet for a moment, "I don't know. Not really. Having Duncan and Drew here helps immensely. They keep me a little distracted. Michael, Ben, JR, and the baby do too. I kind of...I don't know, I kind of wish it was still appropriate to have Christmas dinner. That sounds so selfish but planning and cooking keeps my mind occupied."

"I get it," Justin says, clearing his throat, "I usually paint when I feel stressed so I have something to focus on. Planning and cooking give you the same outlet."

"Yeah," Emmett sighs, "I guess we are lucky to have the careers that we do. Everything for my clients is planned already. I suppose I could go annoy a few of my catering chefs and order them to let me help if I get super desperate. I'm both relieved and regretful we got all of our Christmas Shopping done last month. Anyway, honey, sorry to talk your ear off. I just left Brian's to pick up a few things and wanted to see if you, Molly, and Hunter wanted to meet Duncan and I for a late lunch later. Brian was surprisingly down to have Duncan with Lily this early. I think he wants to take his mind off of things by watching them. I have just been running errands for him and will probably just wander around for a while. I understand if you're busy at the gallery though. If it was just an average day, I would probably swing by and annoy you but if you're doing some orientation, I'll leave you alone. If he managed to set up a performance art routine and got your tickets to sell out as fast as they did, I doubt it's needed, but let your new employee know that he can call if he needs any help or wants some numbers-"

"Emmett, if you want to come by you can," Justin says, cutting him off, "I'm sure Ezra won't mind at all."

"Well…" Emmett starts, seeming conflicted, "I don't want to overwhelm him or make you come off as unprofessional by just swinging by to hang out while you're teaching him the ropes."

"He isn't just a new employee," Justin says, wondering how much he's even allowed to reveal, "You'll probably see him around a lot. He's a...family friend. I guess."

"You guess?" Emmett questions, sounding confused, "What does 'you guess' mean?"

"I…" Justin says, then lets out a sigh, "Hold on."

Before Emmett can say anything else, Justin presses hold and walks back into the event room, where Ezra seems to be pushing tables around and mapping out the place until he turns around and notices Justin standing there.

"So my friend, Emmett? The one who you will probably be talking to a good bit for references and planning? He's stressing out right now," Justin says, all while Ezra doesn't seem quite sure what his angle is, "He's really close with Brian. He was close with Eric too. I think he wants to take his mind off of everything and hang out for a while. I just wanted to make sure you were cool with him coming here and I guess to see if it was alright if I mentioned who you are to Mason. I don't know if Mason will get upset about me saying anything to anyone so I haven't been, but I felt really bad about telling my mom you were his roommate."

Ezra shakes his head, "...Don't feel bad. I know that you told her that so that you wouldn't out him. Your mom is obviously still connected to your dad through you and Molly, even though they're divorced. I get it."

Justin nods, "Well, Emmett has no connection to my dad. Or any of Mason's mom's family. I didn't know if you would care or if he would care-"

"He's never been completely in the closet with our relationship," Ezra interjects, "A group of friends knew about us when we got together. Honestly, a bunch of people thought we were together before it even happened. And like I said earlier, Mason and I have been pretty public the last several months. Not on social media and not with his parents, but it was far from a secret, at least since April. He won't care if you tell your friend. I should probably meet him anyway if he's going to be my main go-to. If he's struggling and somehow him hearing that I am with your brother makes him happy, then that's kind of weird but sweet."

Justin snorts, "Knowing Emmett, he might actually be weirdly thrilled. He's been stressed and not his normal self, but he's a very loving person and is usually happy for other people's happiness."

And Justin ends up being right on that. A little too right. Emmett finding out that Ezra is one half of a young gay (or pan and whatever Mason identifies as) couple living in Justin's building gets Emmett chipper enough. Once Justin explains who Mason is to him, Emmett becomes overly excited and practically squeals in Justin's ear.

"We have two new gaybies in the family and no one told me?!" Emmett exclaims, sounding both offended and elated.

"You're the first person in our group who knows outside of Molly and Hunter, if that makes you feel better," Justin says, but Emmett just gets into planning mode.

"Once things calm down, we'll have to arrange a welcoming party for them," Emmett says,"But until then, I can't wait to meet both of them, Ezra and your little brother."

Justin lets out a huff, "Let's not rush into titles."

"Well, I'll be over immediately," Emmett says, "I can't wait to meet him."

----------------------

There is a difference between an enthusiastic and over the top Emmett and a trying too hard Emmett. Justin recognizes which one walks through the door almost immediately. Maybe it wouldn't be so easy to spot if it weren't Emmett's exhausted expression. It makes it so Justin is extremely glad that now is not the best time to discuss Duncan or Lily. He's also glad that Ezra is so personable and seems to understand that there has been an immense tragedy but also not to treat anyone with fragility or ask questions unless someone else brings it up first. He treats Emmett with friendliness, respect, and sincerity and Emmett takes to Ezra so quickly that Justin almost feels like a third wheel. It doesn’t help that they are talking about dogs, out of all things. Justin can’t join in on a conversation like that. He’s never had a dog. He thought about getting one for two seconds a couple of weeks ago but Brian talked him out of it.

Don’t think about Brian, don’t do it, don’t think about him-

"You and I are quite alike, I believe!" Emmett says chipperly to Ezra as the three of them make their way to the third floor, "I myself came from a small town. Not on a reservation, of course, but on a farm on the edge of Hazlehurst, Mississippi. I used to explore for miles with my dog trotting along to keep up with me. I adored that old girl. Bessie, that was her name. A mutt and one of the sweetest dogs you'd ever meet. My dog now, Stella, may give her a run for her money. She is the same with my son as Bessie was with me."

"I would love to get a dog," Ezra says as they continue on the stairs, "Mason and I were foster dads to a dog this year. A friend of ours volunteered at the shelter and told us about her not thriving in a shelter setting. I grew up with dogs so I thought we could give her a loving, temporary home. Lucky was very shy. She had a couple of minor health problems and only had one eye. Turns out she was pregnant and she had puppies in our house. Five of them. It was actually the second birth to occur in our house. Mason delivered our goddaughter while he was snowed in with my best friend and she went into labor a few weeks early but that’s a different story. Anyway, we started fostering Lucky at the end of July and she gave birth to the puppies in the beginning of September. We kept them until they were weaned and they were all quickly spoken for but I swear that I cried every time one got adopted out.”

“They were your grandchildren!” Emmett says, as if he believes this with one hundred percent of his heart, “Of course you did!”

Ezra gestures, “That’s what I said. I told Mason that grandparents are allowed to cry when their grandkids move away and form lives of their own! My grandma cried when I left for college! He thought I got too attached and, okay, I probably did. But it was a whole different story when someone applied to adopt Lucky and got approved. Mason never had a pet. She was the only one we planned on fostering. The puppies were a surprise. But besides being pregnant, she needed extra care and attention with her special needs. Mason is never one to do anything half-assed. The two of them bonded immediately. We talked about keeping her even though we told ourselves we wouldn't keep any of them, but things were up in the air regarding where we were going to live and the couple who ended up taking her are retired and have time on their hands. He did okay the morning she left. But when we met the couple adopting her, Mason was giving them the rundown on her routine and making sure they knew what meds she was on, like over and over again. When we left, Lucky was whining and trying to get back over to Mason. I ended up having to drive back because he was just a complete mess once we got to the car. That was only a few weeks ago. If you even bring up her name right now, he’ll probably tear up. It was for the best, I suppose. We knew we were moving to New York together by that point and didn't know what kind of space we'd end up in at the time since it was a couple of days before Justin called.”

"Well, you two got awfully lucky, no pun intended," Emmett says, glancing at Justin, "Justin's building is beautiful and a total steal now that he owns it and is fixing it up with the gym and the pool and security. He even got the residential elevator working again because he felt too fancy being the only one with access to one. You have plenty of space for a dog - a permanent one this time, since you can’t put your beau through that kind of trauma again. And once you do have a dog, she or he will live in luxury. Drewsie and I started out with a dog, you know. We adopted Stella three years ago and we were finally ready to adopt an actual child last year. Both are absolutely beautiful and amazing. Justin, let your little brother and his boyfriend get a dog so that they can have a baby in a few years. Let’s get them started young. Please please please-"

"They can get a snake for all I care," Justin says, then opens the door on the right, "This is your office."

Ezra jerks his head back in surprise, "Wait, you never told me I get an office. I get an office?"

Justin nods, "Yeah, why not? Plenty of rooms up here."

"So you are giving me the option to work from home most days but are also giving me an office here," Ezra says slowly.

"In case you want to work on site or get to know the people who work here, yeah," Justin says, shrugging.

Ezra keeps staring at him as if Justin is fucking with him, "So you're giving me my own office, the option to work from home so that I can hang out with your sister, and the option to get a dog AND a snake so that Mason and I can be ready for the baby Emmett just insisted that we adopt. Not happening until I’m at LEAST 28, by the way. But I can handle a dog and I can maybe handle a snake-"

"I was kidding about the snake," Justin says quickly, then sighs, "I mean, if you MUST have one, make sure it's secure. But please get a dog over a snake. Fuck, get a baby over a snake. The last thing I need is for a snake to end up in the pipes because it travels down your toilet and into someone else's. A dog isn’t going to do that. A baby won’t either.”

“I don’t know,” Ezra says, looking at Justin with an almost ornery expression, “I’ve heard twins can get themselves into a lot of trouble. Especially identical ones.”

Justin narrows his eyes, “I thought you were going to suck up to me for a month, not stir up my anxiety regarding my impending fatherhood.”

Ezra shrugs, “I’ll babysit to make up for any slip ups.”

Emmett lets out a gasp, “Oh my goodness, Justin, he will! You boys have not one, not two, but three uncles right in the building! Hunter, Ezra, and Mason! You will be set.”

When the Fuerza Bruta team arrives, Justin introduces himself but stands back and leaves everything to Ezra. Part of it is to see how he handles everything, sure. As expected, Ezra is incredibly likeable, charismatic, sweet, and charming and has at least half of the team not so subtly drooling over him within seconds. They aren’t the only ones.

“Okay,” Emmett says quietly as Ezra leads the group into the other room, “He is twenty years younger than me and I’ve never been one to go younger. Having a year on Drewsie was a bit out of the norm for me. But oh my lord. I don’t think I have ever seen anyone as attractive as that boy. Holy-”

Emmett cuts himself off and looks up at the ceiling, “I’m a loving and committed partner who would never imagine hitting on a boy fresh out of college. I will take it upon myself to be a fairy godmother and mentor to him and his boyfriend and plan their wedding for free when the time comes because I am a GOOD PERSON-”

“Are you making a pact with God?” Justin asks incredulously, “Over someone you just met and a guy you have yet to meet?”

“Maybe,” Emmett says, then turns to meet Justin’s eyes, “Is Mason as gorgeous as Ezra?”

“I don’t know, Emmett,” Justin groans, “I have never given Mason’s looks much thought. I’ve never given Mason much thought until a month ago.”

“Clearly,” Emmett says, scoffing, “I don’t think any of us knew you had a brother through your dad. Adopted or not, that’s what he is.”

“Hunter’s known for a while, obviously,” Justin says, “ I think he’s known about Mason since he and Molly stayed at my place back when Molly was nineteen. Molly was closer to Mason while she was growing up than she was to me. He had been up to see her a few days before Hunter got into the city. He helped move her stuff into my loft. He was sixteen back then. I could tell that he had no idea what to say to me. I didn’t know what to say to him either. I don’t know what to say about him so I don’t say much at all. I told Brian when I found out that my dad officially adopted him. That was back in like 2003, 2004? Nathan knows about him too. Other than that, he’s never been a subject that’s been brought up.”

“Well, that’s about to change,” Emmett says in almost a singing tone, “And it’s an exciting subject at that. A good one, I feel. Best news I’ve heard in the last week.”

Justin swallows and looks away, “How are you doing? With everything?”

Emmett purses his lips, “Now that there isn’t anything to plan? I can barely sleep, I check on my son every hour of the night, and panic if I wake up and Drew isn’t in bed with me. That is how I am doing. How are you doing?”

“Um…” Justin starts, then lets out a sigh, “I don’t know. I have no idea. I feel like I barely even know what to say or think. Sort of going through the motions, I guess.”

“Hmm,” Emmett hums, “I wondered why you were so quiet. Ezra is so lovely and easy to talk to, but I still noticed you weren’t joining in on the conversation much.”

Justin snorts, “Probably because I don’t have a dog to talk about. I didn’t grow up in the middle of nowhere either.”

“Well, can’t do much about your origins, but you can always get a dog,” Emmett says, shrugging, “When I went to the hospital to take Duncan in, I brought Stella with me. When Drew and I first started looking into adoption, we decided to get Stella trained and certified as a therapy dog. She’s always had the temperament for it and it might get some judgmental people to ease up on the fact that she’s so big. We also thought it would be good in case we adopted a child with a traumatic background, which we did.”

Justin bites his lip and forces himself not to say anything as Emmett continues.

“Anyway, we called the hospital this morning and got the okay to bring her by to see Lily once we faxed over the paperwork. She was thrilled. Pets bring people joy. Brian was so relieved to see Lily smiling that he asked if Stella could stay for the day and said he’d take her out for walks. I wouldn’t be surprised if he caved after all of these years and got one too.”

“Brian is the one who talked me out of getting a dog,” Justin says, shaking his head.

Emmett lets out a breath, “...Brian has changed a lot. Slowly over the years and then a whole lot all at once. I...He’s having a shockingly okay day but I know it’s going to hit him. He’s going to think he’s taking it fine until he suddenly isn’t. I’m terrified for that day to come.”

“You talk to him about staying with you guys?” Justin asks, swallowing the lump in this throat.

“Not yet,” Emmett says quietly “I don’t want to make him feel like he can’t do the whole single dad thing, not after what Louisa said to him. You know what she said to him?”

Justin nods, “I know what she said.”

“Such a cu-” Emmett starts, then cuts himself off, “Good morning, honey! How are you on this fine morning?”

Justin turns his head to see a Lola trotting in, her emerald green hair in spiral curls that bounce as she approaches them, “Is he here? New guy?”

Justin gestures over to the event room, “He’s in there with the Fuerza Bruta people.”

“Is he as hot as he is on Insta?” Lola presses.

Justin leans in, “Lola. You are already on the cusp of one workplace romance coming to fruition. Don’t try to start another when you and Max aren’t even one hundred percent official yet.”

Lola sputters, “Then stop hiring gorgeous men!”

“Sweetie, I am right there with you,” Emmett says, looking towards the doors to the event room, “He is a whole other league of beautiful. Something must be in the water in South Dakota because no one should look that good.”

“Exactly!” Lola says, gesturing wildly, “Helena and I were zooming in on his pictures and I don’t think he’s even had any work done! But how did he get that jawline? Genetics?”

“He hit the jackpot,” Emmett says agreeably, “And his eyes-”

“Okay, both of you, stop,” Justin says, cutting them off, “This is not professional AT ALL. He’s a person, he’s a new employee. We can’t talk about him like this. It will probably make him uncomfortable.”

As soon as he says it, it sounds kind of dumb. He doesn’t know Ezra very well yet, but he does have a feeling that he would love the attention and find it amusing. Justin is still going to stand his ground though, “He is also off the market. And monogamous. And you’re both with other people.”

Lola stares at him for a moment, then opens her mouth, “...Right, but Max and I aren’t officially boyfriend and girlfriend yet-”

Before Lola can further contemplate trying to sabotage her relationship, a couple of guys with several food trays walk through the door. Justin can only assume that Ezra requested it for the troupe so he leads them into the event room and lets the caterer set up.

“Why is there a guy setting up a ‘build your own taco’ table?” Justin asks once he approaches Ezra, “When did you have time to get a hold of a caterer?”

Ezra shrugs, “I just called this morning and they said they would do it. They didn’t even charge me a last minute fee, I was surprised.”

“Do you have mind control abilities?” Justin has to ask, “Some kind of power that makes people so charmed by you that they feel compelled to do what you say?”

Ezra waves him off, “I have no idea what you’re talking about, but I did not use the company card for this so there’s no reason for you to question me anyway.”

Justin snorts, “I wasn’t planning on giving you a company card until your official start date anyway, so thank you for not committing fraud.”

Ezra grins, “You’re welcome.”

“Let me know how much you spent though,” Justin says, rolling his eyes, “I’ll send it to the accountant and you’ll be reimbursed.”

Ezra shakes his head, “Nah, I’m good.”

Justin holds back a groan, tells himself he’ll figure out the price even if Ezra wants to stay quiet on the matter, and goes over to build himself a taco.

-----------------------------------

After a successful and productive meeting, some ridiculously good tacos, and several easygoing introductions so that Ezra could meet the majority of the staff, Justin, Emmett, and Ezra begin walking back over to the apartment building. Justin lets Ezra and Emmett talk again. It just feels like too much effort. Maybe Emmett’s way of coping is talking about something completely different until the grief goes away. Justin can agree that it works to some extent. But it’s exhausting for him to act chipper when he doesn’t feel chipper. The thing is, he doesn’t think Ezra or Emmett expect him to act chipper. But he doesn’t want to drag anyone else down so he just stays quiet. There are people who are a lot sadder than he is anyway. Maybe not as nervous though. The closer they get to the building, the more that he’s reminded that he needs to talk to Emmett about something incredibly serious and upsetting. Molly has to as well, she’s the one who heard it, she’s the one Duncan latched onto like no one else outside of his parents and Lily. But Justin has to help her say it. It’s the least he can do after all she did for the kids this past week.

But like most of today, his mind is taken off of it due to one of the occupants in 2A. Mason is honestly lucky Justin had his phone in his hand when he gets the text. Although Justin doesn’t feel lucky himself. He just feels put upon.

Mason: When are you and Ezra coming back?

Justin frowns before typing out his response.

Justin: Are you that obsessed with him? We’re like a block away.

Mason: No, keep him away for a half hour. Please. I just need that much time for the uber to get here.

Justin: If you’re cheating on him and you’re trying to sneak your secret lover out, I’ll have you know that literally every person we passed hit on him. He’ll have no problem replacing you.

Mason: >:( I would never, other people don’t exist to me.

Justin: That sounds obsessive.

Mason: Have you SEEN him? I’m obsessed for a reason. Come on. Just take him for coffee or a drink or something. I have his parents and uncle coming in for a few days. Thanks for fixing the elevator btw. His uncle is in a wheelchair and I was worried I wouldn’t be able to let them stay with us. Redirect Ezra if you see a man in a wheelchair with shoulder length black hair so that Ezra doesn’t spot him if it ends up being his uncle. Ezra’s mom sort of looks like a cross between Michelle Monaghan and Jennifer Beals in Flashdance, so if you see anyone who looks like that, walk him in the other direction. And if you see a guy who is 6’7”, built like a truck, and has long black hair, that’s Ezra’s dad. He sticks out like no other person I’ve ever met. Don’t let Ezra see him either. It’s supposed to be an early birthday surprise.

Justin holds back a laugh at Mason’s desperate text. Jennifer Beals in Flashdance. Maybe Mason is a little gay. If this morning hadn’t convinced him, that sure did.

Justin: If you still want your space but still want them close, the three bedroom apartment on the fourth floor has all of the basic furniture. I can give you the key when I get back.

Mason:..Are you trying to make up for something? Like, karma wise?

Justin: See you in 5 minutes.

Mason: No, wait! I meant thank you! See you in 30!

“Hey, do you guys want to get a drink or something?” Justin asks awkwardly, causing the other two to stop, “I don’t feel like going back yet.”

“Not even to hang out?” Ezra asks, “You don’t have to go back to your apartment if you don’t want to. We can do a movie night or something.”

"Maybe, but let's stop at my friend's bar," Justin says, leading them across the street, "It's over here and he lives right above it with his fiancé and his son. You'll probably see a lot of them."

Keeping occupied at Bedford Bar isn’t hard at all. They all only have one drink, but Liam is able to step away and let the other employees cover while he chats with them. Liam might be straight, but he is drawn to Ezra just like everyone else is, even though it is most likely not in a sexual sense. That’s just apparently something Ezra is able to do - seduce anyone in a variety of ways without even being conscious about it. When they finish off their drinks, Liam takes them up to see Carmen and Milo. Carmen fawns over Ezra almost as much as Ezra is fawning over the baby.

“He is so gorgeous, Justin!” Carmen says as she immediately hands over her infant son to a man she’s just met, “Why didn’t you say you were seeing someone? Why would you hide this beautiful, magical man? Milo has been crying on and off all afternoon and now look at him!”

Justin turns his head and sees Ezra talking softly to the baby as Milo sends him a big toothless grin before rolling his eyes because this is honestly just getting ridiculous.

“He’s actually Justin’s employee,” Emmett says, before looking thrilled, “But Ezra has matched himself up with a Taylor so we shall be seeing plenty of him, especially since he’s living in Justin’s building-”

“Wait, Molly?” Carmen asks, looking extremely confused as she turns her head to stare at Ezra, “Did she and Hunter decide to try being in a throuple with this guy? Honestly, I get it. Good for them-”

“My days of threesomes and group sex are actually over, as fun as they were” Ezra interjects, still cooing at the baby off and on, “I’m very committed to Justin’s younger brother and I plan to stay that way for as long as we both shall live. Yes, I do. What do you think about that, huh? You’re so cute, yes you are-”

“Wait, you have a brother?” Liam interjects, looking at Justin with what looks like hurt. Ugh.

Justin gestures meaninglessly, “My dad adopted him when he got married to his second wife. It was after our falling out. Mason is what? Eleven years younger than me? We saw each other occasionally because of Molly but didn’t really start talking until last month. Will you get that look off your face? Jesus.”

“I know about Mason,” Carmen says before Liam turns to look at her with almost the same amount of hurt, “What? Molly and I talk! We have to, with being surrounded by men 24/7. Especially her. Hunter, Mason, Ezra, and Justin. The boys will be here in a few months. Even her dog is a boy. I told her when she and Hunter end up having kids, they’ll be boys too because that is just what life has given her. She didn’t seem bothered either way but still, we’re becoming besties because of this.”

“Before Mason and I got together, a psychic told us that we’d get married in just a couple of years from now and adopt a daughter in 2022 so we will be doing our part to balance out the gender disparity,” Ezra says, bouncing Milo gently, “You’re welcome.”

Carmen squeals and leads Ezra over to the couch, “Tell me more about this psychic! I love psychics! I went to one in Salem who was right about so many things that it couldn’t have been a coincidence!”

Ezra lets out a gasp, “Our psychic was in Salem too! That day trip was such a turning point in our relationship but when she was spouting out all of this accurate stuff, I was felt so put on the spot because I thought Mason could never feel the same way as I did, all while he was there thinking the same exact thing, even though he was still a little confused about why he was so obsessed with me at that point in time. But Adelaide has been right about so many things and it blows my mind.”

“Wait,” Carmen says, putting a hand on Ezra’s arm, “Your psychic was named Adelaide? Mine was also named Adelaide! She said that I would star on Broadway in Once in 2014 and she was right!”

Ezra gets an excited expression on his face, “You’re an actor? I’m an actor too!”

Justin ends up not being able to get Ezra back to the apartment for another two hours. By the time he does get Ezra and Carmen to part ways, they’ve already exchanged numbers and planned lunch.

Ezra shockingly doesn’t get hit on the one block it takes to get back to the building. But when they approach it, Justin isn’t that surprised to see Michael’s and Ben’s car parked out front because today is apparently the day to see person after person. Justin doesn’t really feel one hundred percent prepared for that mentally. But that’s okay. Being with people he cares about and getting to know newer people is a good thing. It’s good. Emmett seems extremely pleased about it. That’s to be expected. He’s been wanting the distraction, a way to take his mind off of things. Meeting new people and making impromptu get-togethers is fun for everyone is what Emmett is good at. Emmett can handle being the host even though it’s Justin’s building. Justin can just hang back.

“You’ll get to meet Michael and Ben,” Emmett says, sounding giddy, “I’m assuming Felix as well, although Ben and Michael tend to get nervous around crowds when it comes to him. He was just born a few weeks ago. They definitely wouldn’t be on a trip to see anyone but with what happened...well, they’re sticking around until Ben’s classes start up again. JR might be here as well, but she could be with her moms. Still, lots of new people for you today! They’ll just love you just like everyone else has.”

“Well, I’m looking forward to meeting them,” Ezra says, walking up the stairs, “I’m an extrovert. Mason is much more shy but my ways are slowly rubbing off on him.”

“You are apparently very influential,” Emmett says as Ezra fishes his keys out of his pocket, “With you being Mason’s first and only man, yet here you both are - living together openly and committedly. It’s admirable. Justin, isn’t it admirable?”

“I guess,” Justin says, which causes Emmett to let out a huff but not call him out on his lack of enthusiasm.

“Well, mostly openly,” Ezra says, putting the key into the lock, “We haven’t told Craig about us being a couple yet. Or like, the world. Technically not Facebook official, if that actually means anything.”

“I bet that will happen by the New Year,” Emmett says, sounding certain, “I’m one hundred percent sure of it.”

“Well, his mom knows and hates it,” Ezra says, not opening the door yet, “She’s still coming in with her family.”

“Oh, right,” Justin says, then turns to Emmett, “We’re apparently doing a dinner for Mason’s family and we’re trying to get allies to come because, you know, perfect time for that kind of thing. If you, Drew, and Duncan want to come to the gallery on Christmas Eve, you can.”

“Come to dinner?” Emmett says incredulously, “A dinner that’s going to put some bigots in their place and lift a young couple up to make them stronger than ever? I am going to help plan this dinner. I told you I needed this, you know that I need this. Why didn’t you mention this when I told you that I needed this?”

Justin sighs, “Because you’re going through a lot? You are sort of Brian’s go-to right now.”

Emmett bites his lip and shrugs, “Brian doesn’t like to ask for much. He’s trying to do it all himself now. Might as well let him for the night. Cynthia will be with him. Mel, Lindsey, and Gus will be too. I need to tend to my own mental health and planning will help me do that. And you know what? Eric would approve. I know he would. He...He would approve of giving a young gay couple tons of love and support. He knew what it felt like to be resented just over who he loved. He would want us to help them.”

Justin opens his mouth, only to close it. He hasn’t actually talked about Eric since yesterday. Yesterday isn’t even that long ago, yet it feels like that. He suddenly knows he can’t say Eric’s name without choking up, so he doesn’t.

“It sounds like he was a good guy,” Ezra says gently, giving both of them a tender look.

Emmett nods, “One of the best. They can’t even...Justice can’t even happen. That’s what’s hard. The people who hurt and killed all of those people killed themselves right after. I don’t know if we’ll ever know for sure who the person was who hurt Eric. It’s frustrating. But maybe it’s for the best in some ways. No trial to go through. Brian doesn’t have to see whoever did end up doing it in person. I don’t know how Brian feels about it. He hasn’t even referred to Eric as murdered, not to any of us, just as dead.”

Ezra swallows and takes his hand off the doorknob, “...That is a hard thing to process. My cousin uh...my cousin was murdered. She was a lot more like a sister. By the time her body was found, the guy who undoubtedly did it was dead. It took three years to find her. He died less than a year after she disappeared. She never officially got connected to his list of victims, but we all know it was him. Brian is probably having a hard time processing everything. Once he starts thinking about who killed his husband, he’s going to be angry and hurting.”

Justin looks down, “I’m really sorry about your cousin. That’s awful.”

Ezra lets out a breath, “It is what it is. I...I’ve made peace with it. Or as much peace as someone can make with something like that. Her killer can’t hurt more people and that’s what’s important. I guess he was killed by someone who he was trying to do the same thing to. Wish I knew who it was so that I could thank them...Anyway, we should probably stop hanging around in the hall talking about all of this.”

“Probably so,” Emmett says, then visibly tries to perk up, “I’m ready to meet this Mason. Let’s go inside.”

If Ezra was upset by bringing up his cousin out in the hall, Justin sees his demeanor do a 180 when he walks inside and sees Mason. Justin can’t tell if Ezra is just giving an Oscar worthy performance and is still really bothered by what he just talked about or if he just finds that much comfort and happiness in seeing his boyfriend. Justin thinks it might be the latter, with the way their foreheads touch as they look into each other’s eyes like they are the only ones in the room before closing the little bit of distance left for a kiss.

“Oh, they are adorable,” Emmett says, just loud enough for Justin to hear, “Young love is so beautiful. I wish Drewsie and I would have met earlier and gotten our shit together. Look at them.”

“Can you honestly tell me you were ready to be that committed to someone in your early twenties?” Justin asks, holding back a grin when Emmett shoots him a glare, “What? I remember how you were.”

“I would have been ready if I met Drew back then!” Emmett says, “Assuming I could get him out of the closet. It was hard enough in our 30s.”

“Well, everything worked out,” Justin says to him, “You might not have gotten Duncan if you got serious with him while he was in college or whatever. You might have a teenager instead of a four year old and Lily would have never met her future fiance.”

“We dragged our feet all because of Lily, I keep forgetting,” Emmett says, sounding amused, then waves his hands, “Yoohoo! Boys! You both are absolutely precious, don’t get me wrong, but I’ve been dying to meet Mason here all day! Separate faces for just a handful of seconds, I promise that you will survive.”

“Oh, right!” Ezra says, breaking off the kiss before gesturing over towards Emmett, “This is Emmett. He’s a good friend of Justin’s. He’s the one I’ll be talking to for some entertainment and catering connections around the city.”

Mason nods, “I’ve heard about you. You threw the Halloween party that Hunter sang at so that he could grovel at Molly’s feet.”

“I heard that!” Justin hears Hunter’s voice yell out from the kitchen before he sticks his head out into the living room, “All of us heard that and all of us know that is the most hypocritical thing that could have ever come out of your mouth because you are way more likely to grovel and make grand gestures than me, and believe me, I do it A LOT.”

“Shh, Hunter,” Emmett says, waving him off, “I was in the midst of an introduction with this cutie and you are interrupting. It’s nice to meet you, Mason.”

“It’s nice to meet you t-” Mason starts before being cut off by a baby’s cries.

Ezra lets out a gasp, “Another baby? I get to hang out with another baby?”

“You get to hang out with several people.”

Justin turns his head at the unfamiliar deep voice as soon as Ezra does and he can immediately see that Mason had been right. The man standing in Mason’s living room sticks out like no other person Justin has ever seen and the woman standing next to him is a cross between Jennifer Beals in Flashdance and Michelle Monoghan.

“Mom?! Dad?!” Ezra exclaims before walking over to hug his father first, then his mother, “What are you doing here, oh my god!”

“Your boyfriend invited us in for your birthday,” Ezra’s mother says as she smiles up at her son and cups his face, “It’s been planned for months.”

Ezra opens his mouth to say something, but before he can, a man wheels himself out of the kitchen and it causes his jaw to drop.

“Hey, kid,” he says gently, causing Ezra to turn, “It’s been a while, huh? Six months or so?”

Ezra lets out a hitched breath, “You came too?”

Ezra’s uncle nods over to Mason, “He called me three times to get me to agree. Glad that I said yes though. But still, he’s a persuasive little fucker, isn’t he?”

Ezra rushes over, bends down, and hugs his uncle tightly, “Thank you for coming to see me. I’ve missed you so much. I love you.”

“So you’ve said before,” Ezra’s uncle hums, but returns the hug warmly.

“Your grandma wanted to be here, but you know how she feels about flying,” Ezra’s father says, then glances at Mason, “He couldn’t talk her into stepping onto a plane, but she got a hold of me yesterday morning and demanded that I drive her to Rapid City and put her on the next Greyhound. She’ll be here tomorrow. It’s a two day trip. She is the most stubborn human being I have ever met in my life.”

Ezra sputters, “Grandma’s taking a bus here? Alone? You’re putting bus drivers through that? She’ll want to take the wheel the entire time! We’ll be lucky if she doesn’t get abandoned at a reststop!”

Ezra’s father shrugs, “If it happens, it happens. She’ll find her way back. Maybe.”

Ezra’s mother smacks her husband’s arm, “Hotah!”

“Your mother has been worried about her the entire time,” Hotah says, holding back a smile, “She’s been texting to check in, albeit very begrudgingly.”

“She’s seventy-two years old and my mother-in-law,” Ezra’s mother says, “I do care, believe it or not.”

It’s not long after that proper introductions are made. Not by Ezra, of course, he’s too busy kissing Mason all over his face and thanking him profusely. Ezra’s parents take it upon themselves to introduce themselves to him and Emmett and immediately radiate kindness, acceptance, warmth, and gratitude.

“Justin, right?” Ezra’s mother says, as she walks over, unexpectedly hugs him, and pats him on the shoulders, “My name’s Cheyenne, I’m Ezra’s mom. This is my husband, Hotah, and his brother, Chaska. It’s so nice to meet you. Thank you for keeping him out of the apartment so that we could get here and surprise him.”

“It’s nice to meet you too,” Justin says, giving her a small smile, “Mason basically begged me, so I felt that it might be pretty rude if I didn’t at least try. It’s great that you guys could come out for him. You definitely made him happy.”

“We’ve been talking about it with Mason for months,” Hotah says, rolling his eyes good naturedly when he looks over and sees the young couple still all over each other, “They never stop, do they? It’s been over a year. You’d think they’d calm down by now.”

“They’re in love, honey,” Cheyenne tsks, before focusing on Justin again, “We adore Mason. Ezra has never gotten in a serious relationship with anyone but as soon as they became friends, I knew something was going on since he would never shut up about him whenever he called.”

“That boy never shuts up period,” Chaska snorts.

“He is a talker,” Hotah agrees, “Can talk your ear off. Even when he was a baby, we could hear him on the monitor babbling to himself.”

“Sounds like our friend’s daughter,” Emmett says, smiling softly, “Lily. She’s four now. She is the same way. My son, he’s more of the strong and silent type. He only talks when he really feels like it. But Lily gets him chattering away like it’s nothing. They’re in love too. That’s what they say, at least.”

“Oh, I miss Ezra being little,” Cheyenne says, then probably makes Emmett’s day by saying, “Show me pictures of your boy, let me live vicariously through you.”

Emmett, of course, has plenty of pictures. Some with Duncan and Stella, some with Duncan and Drew, and some with Duncan and Lily, including ones of them in the hospital. Cheyenne doesn’t ask what happened. She probably doesn’t need to ask what happened. Just like Eric, Lily’s picture has been all over the national news as well. Seeing her face probably makes it click in her head immediately.

“Poor baby,” she says quietly, looking down at the pictures of Duncan and Lily asleep in Lily’s hospital bed before looking at Justin, “Ezra mentioned you lost a friend in the derailment. I’m very sorry to hear that. It was her dad, right?”

Justin bites his lip and nods, “One of her dads, yeah. The funeral was yesterday. He was a good man. We’re all very sad that he’s gone.”

Cheyenne touches his arm gently, “Well, that makes me feel like I need to thank you all the more for arranging all of this for Ezra and Mason, especially when you were dealing with the loss of a friend. It really means so much to us that you helped them the way that you did. We were worried that they were going to be struggling. This city is so expensive and I just kept imagining the worst case scenarios. But you gave Ezra a good paying job so that he can support himself as well as Mason, you basically gave them this beautiful apartment. If we can give you anything to put towards their bills or rent-”

Justin waves them off, “I’m really not worried about the money. My uh...My sister was going through some stuff. I am just happy to know that people we trust are close by. If they couldn’t pay a cent, I’d still let them have the place. Ezra is a good person. I can see that. Mason too.”

Cheyenne smiles, “They’re good boys. Both are incredibly neat too. I thought it was weird how lucky I got with Ezra. When he was growing up, he would clean the house and I wouldn’t even have to ask once. Mason is somehow even neater than he is. If they ever move out, then they’ll probably leave the place looking nicer than it already was.”

Justin snorts, “Mason acted like they were your typical college boys and questioned my judgment when I offered the place to them out of trust.”

“He was probably testing you,” Cheyenne says, “But I think it’s wonderful that you both have this opportunity to get to know each other and form a bond, especially with Mason almost being completely out. He needs the support. He should have support. His mother should be supporting him and should be happy that Mason and Ezra found each other-”

“In case you couldn’t tell, my wife has been updated on Mason’s mother’s reaction to finding out about who Ezra really is to Mason,” Hotah interjects.

“I’m sorry,” Cheyenne says, but then huffs, “I am trying not to judge her. I’m really trying. But my son is a catch and for her to suddenly become cold towards Ezra because Mason fell in love with him is ridiculous. As the mother of an only child, I’m allowed to judge how another mother is treating her only child, especially when it is the child that my child loves and my child is being judged by her even more harshly.”

“She hasn’t disowned Mason,” Hotah says, “Maybe she just needs some time. She apparently comes from a tough background. She can have some time to process. Just because we accepted our son without a second thought doesn’t mean everyone can process that quickly.”

Cheyenne snorts, “Ezra didn’t make it all that hard to process. He was openly talking about how cute other boys were by the time he was five and was out by the time he was seven.”

Justin jerks his head back, “Ezra came out when he was seven?”

Hotah chuckles, “Not to the whole tribe, that happened when he was fifteen - although I’m sure a lot of the members had their suspicions before that. But we had a large family reunion with both immediate and extended family and he announced at the dinner table that he had a boyfriend before going on about how cute he was. The only person who didn’t act supportive was my uncle and his family. Before I could chew them out over it, Ezra looked at them and said, ‘Well, it doesn’t really have anything to do with you, does it?’ before going back and talking about how pretty that boy’s eyes were.”

Emmett lets out a laugh at that, “Oh, he’s going to be fun. I came out early too, not that it was hard to tell. My family caught on immediately. They weren’t as nearly as kind and accepting as you all are. A few have gotten a hold of me to try to get money over the last few years, but we still don’t talk. I would have loved to have had a family like yours. Ezra is very lucky. Mason is lucky to have you too.”

The next couple of hours go incredibly smoothly. Everyone gets along extremely well and the people in the room most affected by grief and pain are able to take a breather from it, even if it is just for a little bit. Cheyenne and Emmett immediately fall into a deep conversation and seem to form a connection within minutes. Ben is tuning into Chaska’s knowledge on the history of the Sioux tribe and basically ignoring everything else around him. Michael has handed Felix over to Hotah. If Felix looked small before, he definitely looks small now. Hotah is basically the definition of a gentle giant as he looks down at the baby with tenderness. Mason and Ezra are still mostly off in their own little world, cuddling on one end of the couch as they occasionally watch Ezra’s family with love.

It doesn’t give Justin much else to do, so he decides to go help Molly and Hunter with dinner in the kitchen. The conversation is light and easy at first and they are mostly able to keep themselves occupied as they make the falafel.

“I don’t know why they eat as healthy as they do,” Molly sighs as she shapes the falafel to put on the baking sheet.

“Says the future doctor,” Justin snorts as he shakes his head.

Molly lets out a huff, “I just really want pizza right now.”

“I brought you pizza last night,” Hunter says as he makes the dressing, “You left me one slice.”

“Should have gotten a medium, what can I say?” Molly says, shrugging, “I get hungry when I’m with kids. They weren’t physically exhausting yesterday, but they were mentally exhausting.”

Justin stays quiet for a moment and looks towards the living room to see if Emmett is nearby. Justin can’t see him if so. He’s going to risk it. He really does need to revisit this subject with Molly. He knows that he does and he feels like she does too.

“We uh…” Justin starts as he looks down at the half prepared food, “We should probably talk with Emmett tonight. I know we mentioned waiting until after Christmas but I really don’t want him to get upset that we never mentioned it once he finds out that he was around me all day and we never said anything.”

Molly breathes in, then nods her head, “...Okay.”

“...Okay?” Justin says, blinking, “That’s it? You’re not going to say that we need to wait?”

“No, I think he needs to know, even if he doesn’t push Duncan to talk right away. It might be good to have him there if I have to talk to Brian too,” Molly says, moving the baking sheet to the oven, “We should wait until after dinner though, unless he needs to head out. Wait until people start going their separate ways for the night. Everyone isn’t even here yet. Mom is coming over. She should be here any minute now. She’s mad at you, by the way.”

Justin scoffs, “What did I do now?”

“Apparently, you let her believe Ezra was Mason’s roommate and nothing else,” Molly says.

“Oh, I let her believe that,” Justin says, leaning in, “Me? It’s my fault no one said anything to her when I only started talking to Mason a month ago and you’ve been close to him since you guys were kids. If she has any right to be mad, then it should be at you.”

Molly shakes her head and puts a hand on her chest, “She knows that I was just honoring Mason’s privacy. She just thinks you did a bad job at communicating. Anyway, don’t feel guilty about not telling her. I think she’s buying them an air fryer or something to make up for it.”

Their mother arrives minutes before dinner is on the table, appearing nervous and out of breath from carrying an air fryer oven from god knows where. As soon as she puts it down and explains to Mason and Ezra what it is, she gives Mason a huge hug that seems to take him off guard but not confuse him.

“I’m sorry that I didn’t know who he was to you, sweetie,” Jennifer says, patting his cheek once she pulls away, “I hope that I didn’t make you feel awkward or like you had to hide it. I know you haven’t seen much of me since you moved away for college, but if it means anything, I do want to offer you love and support. I won’t say anything to your dad but if you need support there as well, I would be happy to help you with him.”

Mason blinks and Justin is surprised that he actually looks close to tears over the whole exchange. Maybe Justin is imagining it, but apparently he isn’t because Ezra runs his hands down Mason’s shoulders gently, whispers something in his ear, which causes Mason to give Jennifer a shaky smile and a nod before going towards the bathroom.

“Oh,” Jennifer says with concern as Mason shuts the door, “I didn’t mean to upset him-”

“You didn’t, you didn’t,” Ezra says quickly, taking initiative to pull Jennifer into a hug, “He just really wants his mom’s love and support. Having my mom’s love and support as well as your love and support is very touching and relieving for him but also a reminder that he doesn’t have it from Madison, at least not yet. He’s a very sensitive and gentle soul, believe it or not. He just got a little overwhelmed. He’ll be okay.”

“Well…” Jennifer says, frowning, “I haven’t spoken to Madison for a while, but I can talk to her too. We might have not been friends but I never disliked her. She was always good to Molly. I respect her as a mother. Or at least I did. I’ve always liked Mason. She should be proud of him. He was always a good kid. He never got into any kind of trouble, he made straight As, he was a good athlete. For her to lose her pride in him just because of this is ridiculous.”

Ezra shrugs, “I think she’s still proud of him. She’s upset with me more than anything. Honestly preferable. I can deal with that over her being mad at him over us. She just needs time, and maybe a wake-up call. Justin, Emmett, Molly, and I have to plan a dinner party for her family when they come in for Christmas Eve. We’re hoping to get enough people so that if the truth does come out that night, he will have more supporters than adversaries. Craig is coming too. He’s not sure what side he’s going to take. I think he’ll take it okay.”

“I think he will accept it,” Jennifer says, nodding, “He really has changed and I respect him for it. He might be surprised and need a minute. His gaydar is truly awful. He was shocked over Justin and I had a feeling about Justin by the time he was in the first grade.”

“I was not that obvious!” Justin calls out pointedly as he finishes setting the table.

His mother waves him off, “Oh, honey, you were.”

Dinner goes as well as the hours that preceded it and it leaves Justin dreading what will likely happen after. He’s going to ruin at least one person’s night. He doesn’t know if he should bring Michael and Ben along or not. On the one hand, Michael and Emmett lived with each other for years. They’re still close. Michael probably can provide support. On the other hand, he doesn’t want to overwhelm Emmett with too many people in the room, so maybe it should just be him and Molly who do it. He wars with himself back and forth on the matter and - like most of today - he barely talks to anyone because he’s lost in his own head. Luckily, there are enough people who are talking to not make that noticeable. The only people who send him concerned glances are his mother and surprisingly Ezra’s mother too. It’s probably their mom senses tingling.

He doesn’t have to be under their silent scrutiny for long. Not all of the dishes are even in the sink before Emmett gets a call from Drew, who is apparently just a few minutes away. It’s probably a good thing, that Drew is here. Drew is Duncan’s dad as well and he can support Emmett in a way no one else can and vice versa. But it also makes it harder. He and Molly are going to have to upset two people tonight and it’s going to suck, no matter how the news is taken.

“Hey,” Justin forces himself to say quickly after Emmett says his heartfelt goodbyes and see you soons to Mason, Ezra, and Ezra’s family, “Can I talk with you and Drew for a minute? Privately? It’s important.”

Emmett looks at him with trepidation, “What’s this about?”

“It…” Justin starts, then shakes his head, “Let’s wait until we get over to Molly’s and Hunter’s. Please.”

“Oh, I hate how you just said that,” Emmett mutters, then pulls out his phone, “Okay. Fine. Let me text Drew.”

Justin and Emmett go out into the hall and Molly joins them just as Drew is heading up the steps. Drew looks around at the three of them in confusion, “You wanted to talk about something?”

“Uh...yeah,” Molly says, going over to her apartment door to open it, “Come inside. It um...It shouldn’t take long.”

The four of them sit down in the living room and it is silent at first. Molly is definitely better at breaking bad news than Justin is. She proved that by telling a four year old that his best friend in the world was seriously injured in a train crash. That being said, she seems to struggle with this a little more, long enough for Emmett to shift in his seat and look at them with discomfort.

“You guys, you’re making me a bit nervous here,” Emmett says as he takes Drew’s hand, “Is something going on? We...We had a good day. Everyone is actually in a relatively happy mood, I don’t understand-”

“It’s not about today,” Molly interjects, “Um...Today was a good day. It’s why neither of us wanted to say anything at first. When you came over, we just wanted you to meet new people and enjoy yourself after the stress you’ve been through with what happened. I was actually going to wait until after the holidays. I didn’t want to put more stress on you, but Justin and I agreed that we couldn’t do that, especially with you here. It wouldn’t be fair and we were afraid keeping it quiet might just upset you more, even if it was just for a week-”

“Honey, just say it,” Emmett interrupts, then lets out a forced laugh, “Better out than in, right? Go on. I can take it.”

Molly nods, then glances at Justin, “Okay...when I was watching Duncan and Lily yesterday, Lily started talking about Eric. She said some concerning things. A couple of those concerning things were things like wanting to die to be with her papa-”

“Oh, poor baby,” Emmett says, putting a hand over his mouth as his eyes fill up with tears.

“I don’t think she meant it, not like that,” Molly says softly, “I don’t think she understood the weight of what she was implying. She just wants to see Eric and knows that there is a possibility of life after death. I talked to her about it. I told her if Eric is anywhere, then he probably misses her so much but won’t want to see her until she’s 100 because it means she’s not here with us. Anyway, she went on to say that he shouldn’t have died, that he should have ran away from the bad men and kept saying, “I saw, I saw” and was just weeping as she said it...I think Lily might have been awake when Eric was shot.”

Drew puts his head in his hands and lets out a groan, “Oh no…”

“Yeah,” Molly says, then takes a breath, “Anyway, I know I need to talk to Brian about that. I don’t know when, but if you can help me figure out a good time to break that to him, I’d appreciate it. But uh...I need to tell you something Duncan said too.”

The mention of Duncan’s name has both Emmett and Drew looking up at Molly in alarm. Molly closes her eyes briefly, then continues.

“Duncan got up in the bed and sat with Lily when she got so upset. I was thinking of asking a nurse or someone to take him for a minute, so that he wouldn’t get upset too. It was like he knew what I was trying to plan because he said that he was going to stay and listen because he saw a bad man hurt his baba and he explained he lived with him first, then lived with other people before finally living with you. I asked him if he ever talked about it with you or anyone and he just shut down and started shaking his head, telling me he didn’t want to and that he didn’t even want to think about it. But I do think he remembers what happened to his biological father and we both felt you should be aware.”

Emmett lets out a couple of panicked breaths as a tear falls down his face. Drew puts a hand on Emmett’s back but looks away as he does it, as if he’s barely holding it together himself.

“His biological dad was shot,” Emmett chokes out, trying and failing to wipe the tears away, “He has nightmares, but he just says they are about being alone and won’t describe them. We tried a therapist for him but he never opened up to her. We didn’t know he actually remembered. We thought he was too young. He was only two when it happened. He shouldn’t remember something like that. No one should remember something like that-”

Emmett cuts himself off with a sob, but then quickly stands up, causing Drew to follow suit.

“I want to go pick him up now,” Emmett sniffles, putting on his coat, “I need to be with my son.”

Before either Molly and Justin can say anything, Emmett is out the door.

“I’ll…” Drew starts, then lets out a sigh, “I’ll keep you posted. We’ll help you tell Brian. I don’t think now would be a good time to say anything to him. Wait until he’s settled in back home, maybe.”

“We were just going to take your lead on it,” Justin says, leading Drew out before touching his arm, “I’m...I’m sorry.”

Drew shakes his head sadly, “Don’t be sorry. We knew that it happened. It’s hard hearing that he remembers, it really is, but I’m glad he said it to someone.”

Drew stares at Molly for a moment, “...He must really like you. You’re great with both of them. Uh...Thank you for letting us know.”

Molly just nods before Drew goes out into the hall and shuts the door behind him.

“Well…” Molly says tiredly, “You were quiet. You were quiet all day, but especially now.”

“I wasn’t there for it, Molly,” Justin points out sadly, “If I was, I would have said more.”

“I get it,” Molly says, sighing, “I just...I don’t know, that was harder than I was expecting it to be.”

Justin doesn’t have anything to say to that either. Instead, he just offers her a silent hug and hopes it is enough for now.