Chapter 13

The next day Brian spent most of the day making it up to Gus. He apologised again and again to his son for the dramatic night that they had been through and took him to the park later, so they could play some soccer after Gus had mentioned for what felt like the tenth time that it was fine and he was okay.

Brian had tried to explain to Gus that it had just been a nightmare, nothing to worry about and while Gus had been worried at first, he seemed to believe his father the more he behaved normally and like his usual self.

By the time it was late afternoon and almost time for Gus to return home, the boy had mostly forgotten about what had happened the previous night and just remembered all the fun he and his father had had that weekend.

“Please, Dad!” He pleaded and Brian looked at him, his reluctance showing on his face.

“Gus, I don't think it would be a good idea. You know that Justin will be coming by later to pick you up.”

“But I want you to see my room and I want to show you my essay. Please? If we go and watch that movie, we'll be close anyway. The movie theatre is just a couple of blocks away from home. It wouldn't make much sense to get back here only for Justin to pick me up. We can go straight home from the movie theatre,” the boy reasoned, feeling pretty good about his argument.

He really wanted his father to come home with him and see his room and he really wanted to show him his essay. He knew that for some reason things were awkward between his father and Justin and he had a feeling that his father's reluctance to take him home had to do with that, but as far as he was concerned, his father would have to see Justin anyway when he picked him up here later that day, so what difference would it make if he saw him in his apartment or at their house?

Little did Gus know that Brian's reluctance to take him home didn't have much to do with Justin, but more with Justin's partner who he had no intention of running into. He could do really well without seeing the happy couple together and having it rubbed into his face that Justin was now living with another man and his son.

“Gus, Justin might have already made plans. We agreed that he would pick you up here and we shouldn't change that now,” Brian reasoned instead.

“No, he didn't,” Gus said proudly, holding up his phone. “I asked him and he said it would be fine for me to come home from the movie theatre.”

“You asked him?” Brian's eyes widened and he wasn't quite sure what to make of his son's statement.

“We were texting anyway,” Gus shrugged, not quite understanding why his father seemed so surprised. “He was checking in on me this morning.”

“Was he?”

“Yeah, just to make sure that I was alright,” Gus answered truthfully, not seeing any harm in it.

Brian just ran his hand through his hair, not quite sure what to make of that statement. On some level he knew that asking Gus if he was alright was a totally normal reaction from Justin, but on a completely different level, it made him feel like Justin was also checking up on him as if he couldn't even take care of his own son. Which, looking at the previous night, he probably thought anyway. So he probably felt like he had to check up on Gus even more because to him Brian had more than proven that he couldn't be trusted around Gus.

Not wanting to give Justin the satisfaction of proving him right any more than he probably already felt like he had been proven right, Brian sighed, but then gave in. “Alright. I'll take you home from the movie theatre.”

“Cool, you will like my room and my essay. I think I did really well. I wish I wouldn't have forgotten it at home, so I could have already shown it to you yesterday,” Gus went on excitedly.

“Well, I'll see it later and I am sure you're right. I have no doubt that you did really well,” Brian agreed, knowing that Gus was probably right. He was a very good student and if he believed that his essay was really good, it probably was. Resigning to his fate, Brian accepted that before the day was over he would end up at Justin's house and tried to make the best of it.

They spent a fun late afternoon at the mall, doing some shopping for Gus, though Brian shuddered at the idea of entering shops in a mall, but Gus convinced him that those were the shops Justin and Ethan always took him to as well and that they would find cool clothes for him there.

Apparently, his son had taken after Justin as far as clothes were concerned and had no idea about decent clothing, but Brian knew that was a fight for later. He would try to teach Gus about good clothing and brands as soon as he had his life under control again and was back on his feet. And then sonny boy would learn all about Armani, Prada and Gucci. For now it would be the mall and Brian would just have to make it through it in as good grace as he could muster.

They ended the day with another movie at the theatre, before they had a quick bite to eat at the food court (something else that would be giving Brian nightmares later on) and then took a taxi to Justin's house.

The closer they got, the more Brian felt like he didn't want to be there, but he would be damned if he would let Gus or even worse Justin know. He tried to act as nonchalantly as he could and kept up his normal chatter with Gus as the taxi pulled up in front of Gus' home.

Gus excitedly grabbed his backpack and his shopping bags, then made his way over to the front door, not noticing that Brian was lagging behind.

When he noticed, he turned around, calling for his father. “Dad, you coming?”

“Yeah, on my way,” Brian muttered as he slowly walked up to the front door which was opened a second later by a young man, roughly about Justin's age with dark hair, some weird beard which reminded Brian of a rat that had died on his chin and a smile on his face.

“I thought I had heard your voice. How are you, Gussy? You had a fun weekend with your Dad?” The man asked Gus and Brian felt something boil inside of him when Gus smiled at the man and looked at him from warm, loving eyes.

“It was great, Ethan! We went to the islands and played lots of soccer. It was so great,” Gus enthused, before walking past Ethan, still going on about all they had done that weekend, finishing with their trip to the mall.

“I can see that,” Ethan chuckled, as he noticed all the bags the boy was carrying. “How about you take them up to your room? I am sure Justin would love to see your new clothes later on.”

Gus nodded happily, then disappeared inside the house, leaving the two men alone.

Brian slowly, very slowly made his way over to the front door, meeting the young man's gaze head on. He portrayed an air of confidence and cool, his walls up in place, a perfect mask of slight disinterest on his face. Brian was actually quite proud of himself for pulling himself off that well right then.

“You must be Brian. I have heard so much about you,” the man offered, holding out his hand in greeting.

Brian shook it fleetingly, offering the minimum of politeness that was expected of him. “Ian? That's your name, right?”

“Ethan,” Ethan offered, still smiling politely as he stepped aside and invited Brian inside. “Justin is just cleaning up after dinner. Why don't you come inside? I am sure we'll find something for you and Gus to warm up.”

“Oh, don't worry. We already ate, we're good,” Brian gave back, but followed the man inside anyway.

“Honey, Gus and Brian are here,” Ethan called out to the kitchen, before he offered Brian a seat on the sofa.

Brian accepted and sat down, followed by Justin entering the living-room a second later. “I didn't expect you for another half an hour,” he offered in confusion as he looked at Brian.

“The movie didn't run as long as Gus thought it would,” Brian shrugged. “We can take a walk around the block if we're messing up any plans here,” he then winked, leaving no doubt as to what plans he was referring to.

Justin threw him a glare. “Don't be ridiculous.” He then turned to Ethan. “Where is Gus?”

“He's upstairs, taking his bags to his room.”

“Bags?” Justin frowned, knowing that he had taken Gus to Brian's place with just one backpack for the weekend.

“Sonny boy and I went shopping earlier. I can't say I support his taste in fashion, but well... for now it will have to do,” Brian drawled as he leant back on the sofa, smirking at Justin.

“You took him shopping? Why? He has everything he needs,” Justin pointed out, not quite sure why it annoyed him that Brian would go shopping for clothes with Gus.

Brian shrugged. “You know that there is no enough when it comes to clothing.”

“Actually there is,” Justin pointed out, his voice tense. “That really wasn't necessary, Brian.”

Catching on to the tension in Justin's voice, Ethan decided to jump in at that point. “I am sure he only meant well, right Brian?”

Brian smiled sweetly and nodded. “Of course.”

Justin, who had known him long enough to see behind the mask and behind the sweet smile was fuming, but decided that now was not the time to take it up with Brian. As if on cue, they heard Gus bouncing down the stairs and running into the living-room only a few seconds later.

“Hey Justin,” he greeted the man, giving him a quick hug.

“Hi Gus, how are you? You had fun?”

The boy nodded, then eagerly told both Justin and Ethan about all the things he and Brian had done that day and the previous day and how much fun they had had.

“That's good,” Justin nodded, ruffling Gus' hair, happy that the boy seemed to have all but forgotten about the previous night and only seemed to remember the good moments from this weekend.

“Can I show my room to Dad? I also want him to read the essay before I hand it in tomorrow.”

“Sure,” Ethan nodded, before Justin could even say anything and a second later Gus had made his way over to the sofa and pulled Brian up, urging him to follow him.

As Brian and Gus made their way upstairs to Gus' room, Justin stared after them for several seconds, before he turned on his partner. “What the hell?”

“He just wants to show his father his room. There is no harm in that,” Ethan pointed out, surprised when Justin hissed at him.

“Where does he get off going shopping with Gus? Does Gus look like he needs new clothes? Does he think we can't provide for Gus when he needs new clothes?”

“Hey, calm down,” Ethan said, walking over to Justin's side, rubbing his shoulders. “I am sure he meant no harm by it and that it was just a nice way for them to spend the day together.”

“You don't know Brian the way I do. You heard his comment about Gus' taste in fashion. Before we know it, he'll take Gus to designer boutiques and will turn him into a spoiled little brat.”

“Jus, I think you're overreacting. It was just a couple of clothes from the mall,” Ethan tried again only to be stopped by Justin.

“With Brian it's never “just” something,” Justin pointed out, making air quotes with his hands as he spoke. “It's always part of a plan.”

“You know, the way you talk about him at times... I can't help but wonder why you would have even been with him if he was that bad. And you clearly never painted him in that bad an image when you spoke about him before.”

“Because he wasn't like that with me and Gus,” Justin sighed, wondering why Ethan wasn't seeing his point.

“Then why would that change now?”

“Because I hurt him and now he wants to get back at me in return,” Justin stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Why couldn't Ethan understand that?

“Okay, you're losing me here. All I can see is a father that is trying to bond with his son who he hasn't seen in years. I can't find any fault in that.”

“Don't you see? He's trying to make himself into the good parent, making us the bad parents. He takes Gus to the mall, to the movies, plays soccer with him and whatever else fun he can come up with, while we're the bad parents that have to enforce rules, school, homework, etc.”

“Jus, you really need to let go of this thinking. I think you're doing him wrong. God knows what he has been through and now he wants to build a relationship with his son. What's wrong with that?”

“Maybe you'll see what's wrong with that when it has cost us our relationship with Gus,” Justin spat, before he turned around and disappeared into the kitchen again.

Ethan sighed as he watched after his partner, not quite sure what was making him react this way. This was so unlike Justin. He hoped that he would get whatever it was out of his system soon, so that they could all move on and find a way to co-parent Gus in the best way possible.

Deciding that for now there wasn't much point in talking to his partner, knowing that it would only end in an argument, he decided to let it rest and to stay out of his hair for the time being.

***

An hour later, Brian and Gus were still locked away in Gus' room and Ethan knocked on the door. When he opened it, he found Brian and Gus on Gus' bed, looking at pictures in a photo album that Gus was showing his father.

“Hey Gus, it's getting late and you have school tomorrow,” he said, looking at Brian apologetically.

As Gus was getting ready to protest, Brian nodded and slowly put a hand on his son's arm. “He's right, sonny boy. It's getting late and I should be heading off.”

“But Dad,” Gus whined, looking from his father to Ethan and back, pleading for some extra time.

“Nah, you should get ready for bed now, sonny boy. I'll see you tomorrow after school, okay?”

Realising that his father wouldn't be on his side and that he wouldn't be getting his way, Gus finally nodded resignedly and gave in. “Okay.”

Gus slowly got up and headed out of his room towards the bathroom across the hall. Brian got up after him and looked at Ethan squarely. “Sorry, we kind of lost track of time.”

“No worries. It's all good,” Ethan said, before turning around and leaving the room.

Once Gus was done getting ready for bed, Brian said goodnight to him, promising to see him the next day.

He then made his way downstairs, ready to leave and return to his apartment. Just as he was about to say a short goodbye to Ethan, who was sitting in the living-room watching something or other on TV, Justin popped up at the door to the room. “Brian, I need to talk to you.”

His voice was tense and both Brian and Ethan easily heard how strained Justin sounded.

“Jus,” Ethan started, but stopped when he saw the glare Justin directed at him.

Brian just raised an eyebrow, having noticed the tension between the two men and having taken note of it, before he shrugged. “Sure, Sunshine. What do you want to talk about?”

Justin now glared at him as well, before he led the way to the front door and led the way outside. Once outside, the door securely closed behind them, Justin turned onto Brian in a second. “What do you think you're doing?”

“Excuse me?” Brian just raised an eyebrow again.

“Do you think you can buy your way out of the mess you created? Some nice clothes and all will be forgotten?” Justin hissed.

“I have no idea what you're talking about,” Brian gave back coolly, squarely looking Justin in the eye.

“Oh really? You think taking Gus shopping for new clothes will make him forget about what happened last night?”

“I don't know what you're talking about,” Brian gave back.

“Okay, then let me explain it to you: This is typical Brian Kinney 101. Just throw money at a problem until it goes away. Well, it's not going to work this time.”

“I really don't know what you are talking about. I just took Gus shopping. I am his father, why wouldn't I?”

“Because there is no reason to. He has everything he needs here. And if he needs something else, we will buy it for him. The only reason you took him shopping is because you felt bad for what happened last night and this is how you wanted to make it up to him.”

“Can you even hear yourself?” Brian asked, looking at Justin with a raised eyebrow.

“Don't play innocent with me. If there is one thing you'll never be, it's innocent. I know you too well to know your coping mechanisms.”

“I really have no idea what you're,” Brian started, but Justin interrupted him right away.

“You should have told me. You should have given me a fair warning.”

“Should have told you what?”

“About your nightmares,” Justin spat. “If I had known, I would have never let Gus spend the night. Do you know how fucking scared he was last night?”

“That's none of your concern,” Brian just spat back right away.

“Of course it is. Gus was there and saw it. He was scared, he was crying. And you were too damn proud to give us a fair warning so we would know what we were walking into.”

“It was a fucking nightmare. It won't happen again. Don't get your panties in a twist, Sunshine,” Brian replied, using one of Debbie's favourite phrases.

“The one thing you and I both know about nightmares is that they will come back. It will happen again until you deal with whatever caused that nightmare.”

“It was one fucking nightmare. Don't overreact.”

“One nightmare? I know you had them in the hospital as well... God knows how many you had in the meantime... You should have fucking told me before I allowed Gus to spend the night.”

Now it was Brian's turn to get angry as well. “And then what? You would have forbidden him from spending the night?”

“Yes,” Justin gave back without thinking.

“He's my son, Justin. My son. Not your son!”

“And he is living in my house and my partner and I are raising him,” Justin shot back, his voice and anger rising at equal speed. “You need to get your act together. Unless that has happened, I won't allow him to spend the night again.”

“You can't do that. He's my son.”

“And he's living here and I have custody. As far as the law is concerned, you're still dead. I am the one making decisions for him and I will always look out for his best interest. You didn't see how fucking scared he was last night. I will not allow you to put him through that again.”

“You can't keep him away from me. I am his father,” Brian's anger was rising as well and he was now glaring at Justin with an intensity that would have made weaker men tremble.

“I am not keeping him away from you. You can still see him after school. I will just not allow any further overnight visits. You are clearly in no state to take care of him. Why can't you see that?”

“I am fine! It was just one damn nightmare,” Brian roared.

“Yeah, you tell that to yourself, Brian. You and I both know better though, don't we? It was never just one nightmare for me, was it?”

“I am not you. And I swear to God, if you're trying to keep my son away from me, you will hear from my lawyer.”

“Your lawyer? You don't even have one,” Justin pointed out.

“I can always hire one,” Brian gave back.

“And then? You don't have a job, you don't have a proper place where Gus can even spend the night, not even talking about your mental state. What good would a lawyer do? No judge would agree with you.”

“You don't know shit. I am his father and that will always mean something.”

“Well, as his father you should be the first one to have his best interest at heart. Is it in Gus' best interest to have other nights like last night? Do you really want to put him through more of that?”

“I always have his best interest at heart. And Gus was fine today, wasn't he? You are making a big deal out of nothing.”

“You tell yourself that, Brian. I hope you enjoy lying to yourself.”

“God, what is it with you?” Brian threw up his arms in frustration. “It was ONE fucking nightmare. One!”

“Until you can accept the truth and do something about it, Gus will not spend any more nights with you. That's my last word,” Justin said calmly, meeting Brian's angry gaze head on.

“Then you will hear from my lawyer,” Brian spat, before he walked past Justin and angrily stomped off.

Justin watched after him, feeling his own anger course through his veins as his gaze followed the angry man who made his way down the street. He sighed when he felt a presence by his side. “Not now, Ethan.”

“Do you think that was smart?” The other man just asked quietly, also watching after the angry man that walked away from their house and down the street.

“I said not now,” Justin just repeated, before he turned around and made his way back inside their house.