Epilogue

“Dad? JR, Lizzie and I will head to the stables for a few minutes, okay? We just want to check on the new foal and see how it's doing,” Gus said, walking up to his father who was standing behind the grill, barbecuing sausages, burgers and steaks for the whole family.

“Okay,” Brian nodded, only half listening, focusing on the meat in front of him. “Don't stay too long though. This is almost ready.”

Gus nodded, then took his little sisters and led them away from the garden and towards the stables.

A new foal had been born a couple of weeks ago and Lizzie and Gus had been beyond impressed by the cuteness of the foal and now they wanted JR to see it as well. She had heard so many stories about the foal from her brother in recent weeks, she couldn't wait.

Brian watched after them as they headed off towards the stables and couldn't help but smile how close they were. Gus had become a real big brother to Lizzie over the years and they were very close. By extension, JR was also part of the group every time all three of them hung out together and everyone was happy that the kids got on so well.

“Where are they heading off to just when the food is about to be ready?” Debbie asked as she arrived by his side with empty plates, ready to take the meat that was already barbecued enough to be eaten.

“Gus and Lizzie are taking JR to see the new foal,” he said, then turned over a couple of burger patties.

“Oh, Lizzie has been talking about that non-stop for weeks. Almost as much as she has talked about the wedding,” Debbie said, then raised an eye at the man by her side. “You and Sunshine have been awfully quiet about the wedding though.”

“It was a nice wedding,” Brian said, then shrugged. “What more is there to say?”

“Don't bullshit me, Brian. I've read the articles and have seen the images. Is it true that his mother wanted him kicked out of the wedding?”

Of course there had been a lot of media coverage of the wedding and hundreds of pictures had been taken that day and it had been hard not to see the scowl on the queen's face all throughout the day and for some reason the press had assumed that Justin had to be the reason for her scowl and that his presence at the wedding had not amused his mother. Not that they were far off from the truth.

Afterwards the palace had just released a statement saying that it had been a lovely ceremony and the queen and her family had much enjoyed the day.

As Justin was no longer officially part of the royal family, the statement had really led to more questions than it had given answers.

Justin and Brian had stayed quiet as usual and had returned to their life in Pittsburgh. Once they had returned from Europe, Brian had returned to work at Kinnetik, Justin had worked on his art and had spent time with Lizzie who was on her summer holidays now and when they had been out and about on Liberty Avenue, they had acted as always, so nobody was any wiser, not even their friends and family.

“She wasn't happy that Molly wanted him there, but it wasn't exactly like that,” was all Brian said diplomatically, then started to remove the meat from the grill.

“So, what happened?” Debbie asked, crossing her arms and looking at him sternly.

“Does it matter?” Brian asked, as he handed her the plate that was now full of meat.

“If that woman hurt Sunshine... I will...,” Debbie started, then stopped as if she had to think about what she would do.

“Do what exactly? She is sitting in Europe, behind her palace walls, enjoying her life of bigotry and hatred, complaining about the two ungrateful children that have no idea about the sacrifices that are required for the crown and the reputation of the family,” Brian said, his voice making it clear what he thought of her.

“I just don't like that she hurt Sunshine,” Debbie said, looking over to the pool where Justin was sitting next to Emmett, both of them dangling their feet in the water as they were drinking a cocktail and talking with smiles on their faces.

“He is fine,” Brian said, trying to reassure Debbie. “It was hard for him going back to that place and even though I was only there for two days, I can't blame him. That place sucks the life and all the joy out of you when you're there... but he's fine. Really! He walked Molly down the aisle, he made her really happy by doing that and that's all that matters.”

Debbie eyed Brian for a few seconds, then returned her gaze to the pool where Justin was now laughing heartily about something that Emmett had said. He looked fine enough, that was true.

“I just don't get how a mother can treat her own son like that,” Debbie said sadly, then bumped her shoulder against Brian's. “I am glad he's got a family here.”

Brian smiled at her, then wrapped his arm around her. “I know, Ma. So am I, so is he. This is where he wants to be. You, everyone else, this is family. This is his life. It's all that matters.”

Debbie nodded, then took the meat and carried it back to the table. Brian put some new meat on the grill, then handed over control of the grill to Carl and made his way over to the pool. He grabbed a cold beer along the way, then sat down behind Justin, wrapping his arms around his midsection as his feet dangled in the water of their pool.

Justin smiled when he felt Brian behind him and looked up at him. “Hey...”

“Hey,” Brian said back, kissing Justin's temple. He then turned his attention to Emmett and listened to the story that he was telling about one of the latest weddings he had organized. Apparently the bride-to-be had been a real bridezilla. By the end of the story, they were all laughing.

“So, how is our newly-wed couple? Are they enjoying their honeymoon?” Emmett asked once his story was finished and they had all calmed down again.

“The hotel looks nice and they seem to be enjoying the resort and all it has to offer,” Justin said. “Molly sent some images earlier this week.”

“Sunshine, I don't think that's what Emmett was asking,” Brian teased, nibbling on Justin's earlobe.

“Yeah, I am more interested to know if we will have little Mollies or little Li Weis joining us next year,” Emmett confirmed what he had wanted to know.

Justin made a face. “She's my sister. I don't want to know about any of that.”

“They are newly-weds on their honeymoon. They will be banging all the time,” Brian said tongue-in-cheek, earning himself an outraged expression from his partner.

“Brian! I don't want to hear any of that,” Justin said, looking from Brian to Emmett to underline what he had said with his stern expression.

Brian leaned over towards Emmett and mock-whispered. “You should ask Daphne. I am sure she will have all the dirty details that Sunshine didn't ask about...”

“I think you're right,” Emmett smiled, then got up. “Daphne! Daphne, darling! Do you have a minute?”

“Brian, you really shouldn't encourage him,” Justin shook his head good-naturedly.

“You know that Drew will be gone for another week. He lives vicariously through other people's sex lives right now. Would you rather I tell him about ours?” Brian asked, once again nibbling Justin's earlobe by the end of his question. “I am sure he would be very interested in our latest adventures here in the pool,” Brian winked.

Justin leaned into Brian's chest and allowed him further access to his neck and shoulder. “Hmmmm, that was a good one, wasn't it?”

“It was a great one,” Brian agreed. “I wish everyone would leave now, so we could repeat it.”

Justin actually laughed at that. “Yeah, I am sorry to disappoint you, but that won't happen for another few hours at best.”

“Well, I don't mind giving them something to talk about,” Brian whispered, leading his hand down Justin's stomach and towards the waistband of his shorts. “They might learn a thing or two.”

“As exciting as that sounds, I'd rather not have my six year old daughter ask us what we're doing,” Justin replied, allowing Brian a squeeze or two of his balls and dick, before he gently removed his hands from the dangerous territory.

“She's at the stables with Gus and JR. There are only adults here,” Brian muttered, now kissing Justin's neck and shoulder.

“Later, I promise. I'll make it worth the wait,” Justin promised, turning his head to look at Brian. His eyes were dancing with mischief as he spoke.

“You're no fun, Sunshine.”

“That's not what you said last night,” Justin replied, closing the distance between them and kissing Brian. “I seem to remember that you had a lot of fun then.”

“True,” Brian agreed, kissing Justin back. “I guess every once in a while you can be fun.”

Justin shook his head after their kiss had ended and looked at Brian. “I guess there must be a reason why you keep me around after all...”

“Plenty of reasons,” Brian said, his voice now serious. He moved a bit back and pulled Justin with him, so that their feet weren't dangling in the pool anymore. He then helped Justin to move around, so that his legs were now closed around Brian's mid-section and he was pretty much sitting in Brian's lap. “So many reasons to keep you around,” he whispered before he kissed Justin once more.

Their kiss was interrupted by Debbie yelling at them. “Hey! If you don't stop with the snogging, there won't be any food left for you.”

“I've got everything I need here,” Brian yelled back, then pulled Justin in for another kiss.

Knowing that Justin was right though and that they shouldn't really take this further in front of the family, they broke apart a few minutes later and walked over to the table where everyone was gathered and eating.

They took some of the food and joined in the various conversations around the table.

Justin was smiling widely, talking to everyone with interest and when Brian watched him an hour later, he could see nothing but a big smile on his Sunshine's face.

This was the life he had always wanted. With his family, his friends, people that loved him and accepted him and didn't care about a crown, throne or royal lineage and just cared about who Justin was as a person. People that liked him for his sense of humor, his honesty, his integrity and his intelligence, that liked him for his activism, his hard work and for how down to earth he was. This was who Justin really was and wanted to be. This was the life that made him happy.

And while Brian eyed his happy partner, once again amazed that Justin was really his and a part of his life, a part of a life he would never have imagined for himself just ten years ago, he was glad that things had worked out this way.

He was happy as well with this life they had. Seeing Justin this happy and relaxed made him happy. It was as easy as that.

And while Brian enjoyed watching his happy Sunshine, he couldn't help but wonder how the old crow in Europe was doing. He wondered if she had anyone around or if she was all alone. Justin was here with the family he loved and that loved him, Molly was on her honeymoon with her husband and would return to New York with him afterwards. He wondered if the old crow even knew how to be happy at all.

As he pondered that question, he realized that he didn't really care. She was not a part of their life. This was their life. These people here, they were all that mattered. All they needed to be happy.

Brian wrapped an arm around Justin, pulled him close, placed a kiss on his neck, then stood up and walked over to where Ben was talking to Gus, JR and Lizzie, listening to their excited talk about the foal.

Yeah, Brian thought, this was the life. His sunshine, his friends, his sonny boy and Lizzie. It was all he needed to be happy.

The End