Chapter 17

“Daddy!” Gus exclaimed happily as he made his way past his mother and gave his father a hug.

“Hey, sonny boy. How are you?”

“Good!” Gus said happily, then headed to Brian's car as he spoke. “Can we get going? I don't want to be late.”

Brian actually had to chuckle. Gus had a soccer game that morning and Brian had promised to pick him up and take him to the game before Gus would go home with him and spend the weekend with him. They had done this many weekends before and just as usual, Gus was excited about his game and couldn't wait to get there.

“You can already get in the car. I'll be there in a minute,” he said, before he turned to Lindsay with a smile. “I'll see you at Debbie's tomorrow.”

“Wait, Brian,” she interrupted, looking at him in confusion. “I thought you were bringing him back tomorrow morning before breakfast.”

“What? Why?” Now it was Brian's turn to look confused. “I have Gus for the whole weekend.”

Lindsay nodded before she replied. “Yes, but Michael called and said you couldn't keep Gus all weekend as you had some kind of thing going on with him tomorrow morning. He said you would take Gus back home before breakfast.”

Brian felt his anger rise, not able to believe what Michael had done. And that Lindsay had apparently believed him.

“And you didn't think about asking me first before you just believed him?”

“Brian,” Lindsay started in that tone that was almost as annoying as Michael's high-pitched whine. “Michael is your best friend and he said you had something planned. Why wouldn't I believe him?”

“Look, I don't know what Michael thinks we have planned, but I have no plans to see him. I told him I have Gus this weekend and that's what I plan on doing: spending the weekend with my son.”

Lindsay nodded. “But if you'd rather spend some time with Michael...”

“No, I don't want to spend time with Michael. I am spending this weekend with Gus and you'll see us at dinner tomorrow.” Without another word Brian turned around and went to his car where Gus was already waiting for him rather impatiently.

“Everything okay, Daddy? You look angry,” Gus said as Brian got into the car, slamming the door shut and turning the key in the ignition with more force than was necessary.

Brian took a deep breath, remembering that Gus was in the car and that none of this was Gus' fault before he turned around and looked at his son with a smile. “No, don't worry. Just a misunderstanding with Uncle Mikey. All good.”

“Okay,” Gus nodded, though he looked rather unconvinced.

Brian started the car, then made eye contact with Gus through the rearview mirror. “You excited for your game?”

Forgetting about their earlier conversation, Gus immediately started into a whole monologue about the upcoming game, their opponent and how excited he was for the game and for a minute Brian was even able to forget about his anger at Michael. He just loved his sonny boy's enthusiasm for soccer and he was happy that Gus loved the sport as much as Brian always had.

Gus kept talking all the way to the soccer pitch and Brian was glad for it.

During the game, Brian texted Michael, asking him what his fucking problem was and reminded him that he would be spending the weekend, the WHOLE weekend, with his son.

When Michael texted him back, he ignored his replies and his attempts to call, putting his phone away for the time being and focusing back on the game.

Gus' team won 2:1 and Gus was very happy once the game was over.

He quickly got changed and cleaned up and then met his dad who was waiting for him outside the locker rooms.

They made their way to the car and Brian promised to get Gus some lunch at his favorite fast-food restaurant. Personally, Brian hated that place, but he knew that Gus loved the food there and would be really excited about going.

When they settled down inside the restaurant - Brian shuddered at the thought of this place being called a restaurant - he watched as Gus happily started eating his burger and fries.

“Dad, aren't you hungry?” Gus frowned, noticing that his dad hadn't gotten any food for himself. Not that his dad ever did when they came here.

“I'll have something when we get back home to the loft,” Brian just replied, then smiled at Gus. “You deserved something nice though. You played really well today.”

“Thanks, Dad! The coach said the same.”

Brian nodded and smiled, then turned more serious. There had been a reason why he had wanted to come here with Gus, hoping it would give them a chance to talk, so he could prepare Gus for meeting Justin.

“Gus, I also wanted to talk to you about something,” Brian started, looking at his son seriously.

“Okay,” Gus said slowly, noticing that his dad wasn't smiling any longer. “Am I in trouble?”

Brian actually had to laugh at that. “Are you?”

“Not that I know of,” Gus gave back, eying his father.

“I am not aware of any trouble either. No, it's nothing bad, sonny boy,” Brian said, hoping that it would calm his son.

“Then why are you not smiling anymore?” Gus asked, a frown on his face.

“I guess I am a bit nervous about what I want to tell you,” Brian admitted, not feeling bad about admitting this to Gus. He and Gus had been close ever since the boy had started school and Brian had started taking a bigger interest in his life and had started to become a real parental figure to him. After his testicular cancer, he had vowed to himself that he wanted to be a real father to Gus, not just someone who showed up every once in a while and for a couple of years now that had been what he was: Gus' Dad. Gus spent time with him, they went on trips together, Brian helped him with school projects, etc. He had become much more involved in his son's life in recent years than he had been in his first years of life and due to that he and Gus had become really close. He loved Gus and Gus loved him.

“Why?”

“Because I am not sure how you will react to what I have to tell you, but... I hope that you'll be happy enough.”

“About what?”

“When we get back to the loft, there will be someone there who I want you to meet,” Brian said.

“Who?” Gus asked, now taking a sip from his milkshake.

“His name is Justin,” Brian started. “He's my partner. We have been seeing each other for a while and I want you to meet him.”

Gus' eyes widened and he put down his milkshake. “You have a boyfriend?”

Brian winced a bit, not really liking the term, but he knew that Gus was only ten, so he nodded.

 “Yeah, I do.”

“You never mentioned him before,” Gus pointed out.

“It's been complicated. We have been seeing each other for a long time, but then...,” Brian wasn't quite sure how much to tell Gus, but he had always prided himself on being honest with his son, so he tried to stay as honest as he could, talking to a 10-year-old about his relationship with Justin. “We stopped for a while. We only recently started seeing each other again, but now it's serious. Which is why I want you to meet him.”

Brian watched Gus and waited for a few seconds for a reaction from his sonny boy. When it came, even he was surprised by it.

“That's so cool, Daddy! I am so happy for you. I always felt so sad because everyone had a boyfriend and Mommy had Mama and you were all alone. I am so happy you're not alone anymore,” Gus said happily, smiling widely.

Brian eyed his son and felt amazed by the happiness on his face. He hadn't known Gus had felt that way about him being alone, though the boy was right. His mothers were married, Michael had Ben, Ted had Blake, Emmett had Drew. Hell, even Debbie had Carl. He had been the only single in their group, he had just never known how it had made Gus feel.

“Oh Gus, I wasn't alone. And like I said, Justin and I have been seeing each other for a long time already.”

“How long?” Gus asked, now all curious.

“Well, I guess for the better part of three years before we stopped for a while last year.”

“Three years and you never told me?” Gus now looked at his father with slight accusation in his eyes that made Brian laugh. His son was only ten, but he already had the Kinney glare down pat.

“He has been living in New York, so we mostly met when I went to New York for business,” Brian explained. “But now he'll be moving to Pittsburgh and we'll be moving in together.”

“Wow,” Gus just exclaimed, before he continued eating the last of his fries. “You must really love him if you want to move in together.”

Brian was quiet for a few seconds, then smiled at his son. “I do. I really love him and I hope that you will like him to.”

“Is he nice?” Gus asked and Brian had to laugh once more.

“Yeah, he is. Very nice. I am sure you will like him.”

“Okay,” Gus nodded, now finishing the last of his milkshake.

“Sonny boy,” Brian started, looking at Gus once more. “There's one more thing.”

“What?”

“When Justin and I move together, it won't be at the loft.”

Brian waited for Gus to take in what he had said.

“Not the loft? But where will you live?”

“We have a house, it's just outside of Pittsburgh. It's really nice and big and I was hoping you could have your own room there for when you come to spend the weekends and maybe some of your summer holidays with us.”

“My own room? At your house?” Gus' eyes had widened. For now, when he had stayed with his father, he had always slept on the sofa, so the prospect of his own room sounded very tempting.

“If you want, yeah. I was thinking, maybe we could all go to the house after you've met Justin and we could then take a look around,” Brian said, still looking at his son's reaction.

“Okay,” Gus agreed, nodding eagerly.

Brian smiled at his son, happy that so far, he didn't seem to be too overwhelmed by all that Brian had announced.

A few minutes later they headed towards the loft where Brian knew Justin would be waiting for them.

They had agreed the day before that it would be best if Brian talked to Gus on his own first and explained things before he got to meet Justin. But Brian knew how nervous Justin had been about meeting his son and he just hoped that things would be fine. So far Gus' reaction seemed better than what he had expected.

***

Brian opened the metal door to the loft and pulled it open. “Sunshine? We're here.”

“Sunshine?” Gus asked with a frown.

Brian blushed slightly. “It's what I call Justin. He's got a really nice smile.”

Gus now giggled, then bumped his shoulder against his father's side. “You're so in love, Dad.”

“I guess I am,” Brian admitted as they made their way into the loft.

Just as Brian was about to close the metal door behind him, Justin came over to them from where he had been sketching on the sofa.

“Hey,” the younger man said as he slowly walked over. “You must be Gus.”

Gus nodded and held out his hand to shake Justin's in greeting. Apparently, Lindsay had succeeded in raising a proper WASP after all. “I am.”

“I am Justin. It's nice to meet you again. The last time I saw you, you were a lot smaller than you are now.”

Gus looked confused now and looked from Justin to his dad and back. “We have met before?”

“Oh sorry,” Justin said, looking at Brian. “You didn't tell him?”

“Tell me what?” Gus asked, looking at his father again.

“I guess I forgot,” Brian said sheepishly, then turned to Gus. “Justin was at the hospital the night you were born. That's when he and I first met.”

“The night I was born?” Gus' eyes widened and he looked from his dad to Justin and back. “You've known each other that long?”

“More or less,” Brian said, deciding that everything else would be too complicated for his ten-year-old son.

“Wow...,” Gus exclaimed, turning back to Justin now.

“You can thank Justin for not being named Abraham,” Brian winked, pulling his son close. “He decided that Gus was a better name for a boy like you.”

Gus frowned for a second, then his eyes widened once more. “You're the trick that Dad brought along to my birth?” he asked.

Brian immediately tensed as did Justin. They looked at each other, before Brian turned to Gus.

“Where did you hear that word, sonny boy?”

“What? Trick?” Gus asked, not sure why both his dad and Justin looked that embarrassed.

“Yeah, trick,” Brian nodded.

“Is it a bad word? What does it mean?” Gus asked, looking at his dad for more information. “I am sorry if I just said a bad word, Daddy. It's just that Mama always says that only you would bring a trick to your son's birth... Is it a bad word?”

Brian seethed, not surprised that it would have been Melanie who would have said something like that in front of their son. Counting to ten in his head, he leaned down to be on eye-level with his son.

“Don't worry about it, sonny boy. You didn't know what it means. I guess it's not a bad word per se, but... it's something adults say. It's not a word a ten-year-old boy should be using.”

Gus nodded, now looking at his father sadly. “Sorry, Daddy!” He then turned to Justin and apologized to him as well.

“Don't worry about it, Gus. You didn't do anything wrong,” Justin said sincerely, before he smiled at the boy. “And I guess you're right, that would have been me.”

Gus nodded, glad that he wasn't in trouble because of what he had said. “Wow... so you've known me all my life?”

“In a way, I guess yeah,” Justin chuckled.

“Why don't you put your stuff away, sonny boy while Justin and I get some quick lunch? And then we can go and head out to the new house if you want,” Brian suggested and was happy when Gus nodded and went off to the bathroom to unpack some of his things.

“Hey, calm down,” Justin said, sensing how agitated Brian was. “That went okay, didn't it?”

“Where does she get off saying shit like that in front of Gus?” Brian muttered angrily, leaning into Justin's embrace.

“Well... she's not wrong, is she? I was the trick you brought along to your son's birth.”

“He's ten... he shouldn't know a word like that.”

“No, he shouldn't,” Justin agreed. “You're right, he shouldn't, but he didn't even know what it meant. He just repeated what his mother had said.”

“Still, she shouldn't say stuff like that in front of him,” Brian muttered.

“No, but don't let it spoil our weekend, okay?” Justin leaned in and kissed Brian gently. “Gus seems really great and I think he will really enjoy the house.”

Brian returned the kiss, then nodded. “Yeah...”

They then moved to the fridge and Justin got out some salad he had prepared earlier. They settled at the dining table for a quick lunch and were joined by Gus a few minutes later.

“You can go and watch some TV if you want, sonny boy,” Brian offered, but Gus shook his head and sat down with them.

“No, I am good,” he said, then turned to Justin. “I am sorry if I said something bad about you earlier,” he apologized once more and Justin felt really bad for the boy.

“Don't worry about it, Gus. You didn't say anything bad. You did nothing wrong.”

Gus looked to his father and was glad when Brian agreed with Justin.

They talked about Gus' soccer match for a few minutes, though it became obvious very quickly that Justin didn't know much about soccer.

“I am a lost cause when it comes to sports,” Justin admitted with laughter after he had said something that apparently had made no sense at all to Brian and Gus and had made them shake their heads at him.

“What do you like to do?” Gus asked, sounding really curious.

“I like to paint. I was actually just working on a sketch when you and your dad came in.”

“Justin is an artist,” Brian added.

“Wow, really?” Gus' eyes widened. “My mommy works for an art gallery and she paints as well. She even has her own studio. Do you have a studio as well?”

Justin smiled and nodded. “Yes, I do. I have a studio in New York and our new house will have a studio as well.”

“That's so cool, maybe you can have a show at mommy's gallery one day,” Gus suggested, feeling proud for having come up with that idea.

“Yeah, maybe,” Justin agreed.

“Lindsay works at the Sidney Bloom Gallery,” Brian explained.

“Oh, I've heard of that one. It's a pretty renowned gallery.”

Half an hour later the three of them were in Brian's car and made their way out of Pittsburgh towards the new house.

Gus excitedly took everything in on the drive, not able to remember the last time he had gone to West Virginia. He wasn't sure if he had ever been in West Virginia before, even though it was so close.

When they entered through a gate and made their way up the long drive to the house, he gasped.

“Did you see that gate?”

“Yeah,” Brian said.

“Is that just for your house, Daddy?”

While Gus had asked the question, they pulled up in front of the house and Brian stopped the car. Gus' eyes widened.

“That's not a house, Daddy! That's a mansion or a palace!”

Justin chuckled as he got out of the car. “It is big, isn't it?”

Gus nodded and left the car as well. “It's huge...”

“How about we take a walk on the grounds first while we still have some daylight and look at the interior later?” Brian suggested, happy that his son seemed so impressed by the house.

“Sounds good,” Justin agreed. “Maybe we can start with the stables and work our way around the house to the tennis court.”

“Stables?” Gus looked from Justin to his father and back. “For horses?”

“Yeah, this house comes with stables and we were thinking of maybe getting some horses,” Brian said, looking at his son, not surprised when Gus looked at him in utter disbelief.

“You wouldn't even allow me to get a dog, Daddy!”

“Well, the horses will be in their stables and they won't get their hairs all over my suits,” Brian shrugged. “Also, Justin likes horses.”

“I had horses growing up,” Justin explained. “I love going out for a ride and I talked your dad into agreeing to get horses.”

Brian wasn't sure if talking him into agreeing to the horses was the best way to describe what had taken place the day before when they had come out to the house together once more, but Gus was too young to know all the details of how Justin had rimmed Brian until he had been totally will-less and would have agreed to selling his soul if only Justin wouldn't stop and continue.

When Brian gave Justin a look that said, really?, Justin just smirked.

“That's so cool!” Gus exclaimed.

They then made their way to the stables and started exploring the grounds together.