New York City would always be full of memories for Justin – some of the best and worst he ever got, but the city’s charm was not likely to ever die.

On Thursday evening, Justin took Brian to one of his favorite small restaurants, before they returned to their hotel room.

Gus was going to join them early on Friday morning, and they planned to take him on a tour of the city before the concert. Sadly, Gus would have the catch the first plane on Saturday morning because he had his own recital with his music group from school.

Despite knowing of Gus’s early arrival, they stayed up pretty late. Justin felt as if he was reliving his best days with Brian, now that they were away from Nick, enjoying every moment alone.

On Friday morning, it took Brian a while to get Justin to wake up.

“Come on, Sunshine. Gus has landed and is on his way here.” Brian slapped his ass playfully.

Justin snuggled better with the pillow. “More sleep,” he mumbled.

“No time for that,” Brian insisted, pulling him out of the warm blanket. “Go, shower.”

Justin struggled to get out of Brian's grip and return to bed, but eventually caved, and shuffled to the bathroom. He was never going to be a morning person, and he was grateful for the path he had chosen in life. Being a painter allowed him to make his own hours, which meant he could sleep in.

Of course, having a child had put a damper on his sleeping schedule, but since his return to Pittsburgh, Brian was the one to take Nick to school on his way to work.

Since Brian had kept his beloved midlife crisis car, like Justin loved to call the Corvette, Justin had a way to get in town if he needed. He often left the ‘vette in front of Kinnetik, and took the Jeep to go and collect his son from school. But most days, Brian was the one who drove Nick to and back from school.

Justin was somewhat more alert after his shower and brushing his teeth. He found Brian on the phone by the large window. Brian was confirming some sort of reservation for six o’clock.

Justin waited until Brian wrapped up his conversation, getting dressed for the day.

“I hate to be the bad guy, but the concert starts at six,” Justin said once Brian placed his phone on the dresser.

“I know.”

“Oh, I just…sorry, I heard you said something about reservations for six.”

Brian laughed, somewhat nervously, which was unusual. “That’s for tomorrow. However, I’ll have to abandon you and Gus around three today. My meeting with the pet adoption center is at four.”

“Fuck. Please, don’t mention your new account to Nick.” Justin had managed to forget about Brian's meeting. “You distracted me the other night when I returned home, but let’s leave it at…Nick decided to blackmail me about being a good boy to his nana if the D-Thing was going to happen.”

Brian laughed, going to ruffle Justin's hair. “Anyone told you lately, you’re a twat?”

Justin shoved him playfully. “This is serious stuff. You hate pets.”

“I plan on helping promote an adoption center for pets. I’m not a fan of pets trapped inside the house all day…and of course, there’s the hair on clothes issue.”

Justin beamed. “I told Nick you didn’t like the idea of a dog. I’m sure you can convince him now…or ever…is not a good time to get one.”

“I’ll see what I can do. I thought you wanted a dog, though.”

“That’s different. Besides, now I understand why my parents were against the idea so much when I whined about getting one when I was around Nick’s age. I know I’m the one who will walk the dog, take him to the vet, clean his paws…yada, yada…”

“I hope you don’t expect a six-years-old to walk a dog. Come on, Justin. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but if it’s something he really wants, you can at least consider it.” Brian rubbed his back slowly. “I’ll try to be understand about hair on clothes. There’s this great invention – lint rollers.”

“Let’s continue this conversation later.” Justin patted Brian's chest, when Brian's phone rang from the dresser, letting them know Gus had arrived.

They met Gus in the lobby, and hugged him tightly. He had a scarf loosely wrapped around his neck and his jacket was unzipped, there was a backpack on his shoulders.

“So, there’s a change of plans. Mom found me a flight back tonight at eleven-forty. I have rehearsal at nine tomorrow,” Gus told them, pouting.

“Shit, kid. That sucks.” Brian wrapped an arm around his son’s shoulders. “I’ll take you to the airport after the concert.”

“Don’t worry. I can take a cab, like I just did. But I’ll probably have to leave right after the concert to make it to the airport in time,” Gus said, amused. “I heard stories about how bad New York traffic was, but I had no idea how real it was until now.”

“It’s terrible,” Justin agreed. “Trust me, if you want to get somewhere fast, you’re better off walking. Not to the airport, of course,” he added hastily. “Since we don’t have much time together, let’s head out and show you around.”

“I’m hungry and I won’t mind a warm drink,” Gus said, zipping up his jacket as they stepped out in the cold December air.

“Say no more. I know a place.” Justin guided them to a good bagel store.

“I have a feeling we’re going to hear a lot of this ‘I know a place’ throughout the day,” Brian teased, wrapping his fingers around Justin's.

Justin was surprised Brian wanted to hold hands, but he relished in the closeness, leaning into his side. “You know it,” he teased back, stealing a kiss. “I’ve lived here for close to nine years, Brian. I’d like to say I know some spots in the city.”

“Any good clubs?”

“I think Gus is too young for that scene,” Justin said, amused. “And not really. There was a good one close to my old studio. I think we went there once or twice when you visited. They closed it.”

“They always close the best places,” Gus agreed. “I used to hang out with my friends at this cool place where they had food and drinks, and there were books and music instruments too. It was the best store.”

“I remember you mentioned it a couple of times,” Brian commented.

“Yeah, it closed over summer. I had just gone there with Eric before our trip in July. When I returned and wanted to go over there, Eric told me they closed it off.” Gus shrugged. “And there was nothing sketchy about this place. I mean…compared to this club Justin is talking about, why would they close a store where people could do so many things. It was always packed. Lucky, we had befriended the staff and they always found us a spot…”

“Hey, this club was not the worst out there,” Justin defended the place he used to go to during his first years in the city. “I’m sure we can find a club if you want to go dancing,” he told Brian.

After stopping for food and coffee, they continued walking around. Justin soon learned Brian had no concept of window-shopping, and they ended up entering many expensive stores. The only thing stopping Brian from buying everything was that they had plans and there was no time to return to the hotel to drop their purchases.

They had lunch at a restaurant Justin used to love to go, but Brian complained about everything. Gus was clearly amused by his dad’s reaction and how Justin defended the place, claiming it had some of the best food in town.

Brian made sure to point out he was going to school Justin into what quality food meant the following day when they had reservations at a top restaurant in Manhattan. He also caught Gus’s eyes, winking.

Gus grinned widely, knowing about his dad’s surprise for Justin.

Justin was none the wiser, as he kept yapping about what museum Gus wanted to visit. Gus and Justin ended up going to MoMA alone, because Brian had to run for his meeting if he wanted to get there on time.

Gus confessed to Justin how terrible he was at drawing, but he planned on taking classes next year to learn how to be at least decent. Though, his real passion would always be string instruments.

That triggered a long conversation about which string instrument Gus liked more, and if he saw himself making a career out of this. Now that Gus was learning to play the violin, he realized he liked the cello more. They talked about the best cello players on their walk to the Lincoln Center.

As they waited in the line to get inside and find their seats, Gus wrapped both arms around Justin's left elbow.

“Did I thank you for this? I’m sure the tickets were crazy expensive.”

“I’m actually friends with the organizer, and he managed to sell me the tickets at a special price. Yeah, they weren’t exactly cheap, but I know how important it is to be part of the community who inspires you. Trust me, it helped me a lot to have my drawings displayed and appreciated since I was a teenager. And my mom has always encouraged my love for art. We went to the museum every other week.”

“That’s cool. My moms take me to museums and small concerts too. We used to go to the theatre, but Jenny can’t stop talking and it’s annoying to everyone.”

“I understand you completely,” Justin nodded. “But it gets better.”

“When?” Gus groaned.

“After you move out. That’s about the time, Molly became more bearable.”

“Oh, man…I’m not sure what I want for college. Mom says if I choose Toronto, I shouldn’t move out of the house.”

“Do you know what you want?” Justin searched in his inner pocket for the tickets as they neared the doors.

“I’ve been thinking of Julliard, but it’s damn hard to get in there,” Gus mumbled. “Besides their strict rules about who gets in…the tuition is insane.”

Justin knew how expensive it was to attend the prestigious college, because one of Ethan’s friends was a graduate from Julliard and he always complained about how he was still paying his student loans from what he earned as a pianist.

“Justin!” A shocked voice called his name.

Justin looked around apprehensively, because he wasn’t ready to run into ghosts of his past. He spotted their old neighbor right behind the security man checking the tickets.

Once he and Gus were inside, Justin steered them Jesse. “Hey, Jesse,” Justin greeted him.

“Hi! I couldn’t believe it was you.”

“Yeah. How many times do I get to see such a talent in person?”

Jesse chuckled. “It’s probably the fifth time you’re seeing David.”

“Shut up. I’m actually here with a friend’s son.” Justin squeezed Gus close. He met Gus’s eyes, begging him not to comment on the way he was introduced.

“Oh, I see. Everything else…okay? How’s Nick?”

“He’s much better. It took a while for him to understand what happened. I’m still not convinced he understands, but he stopped asking about Ethan.”

“Damn, it sucks. Did you ever find out who did it?”

Justin shuffled on his feet, not comfortable with the conversation. He knew he would have to explain to Gus what was going on, and this was something both him and Brian had avoided telling him. Justin's past in New York was not a subject of conversation with Brian's son.

“Uh, no. The police promised to keep me updated, but I doubt they’ll ever find out.” Justin shrugged. “Look, it was good seeing you, Jesse. We better go find our seats.”

“Of course. Enjoy! Maybe we’ll catch up later,” Jesse said in a hopeful voice.

“I’m not staying for too long in the city,” Justin explained, already pulling Gus away from his old neighbor.

Gus was quiet until they were sitting down, when he turned to Justin. “Who was that?”

“Brian is going to kill me,” Justin mumbled. “Look…let’s leave it at, Jesse is my old neighbor from when I lived in New York.”

Gus pursed his lips, folding his hands on his lap.

Justin scratched at the back of his head. “You know how your dad and I broke up a few years ago…”

“I know,” he said pointedly.

“Well, I found someone else in the time we spent apart.”

“That guy?” Gus asked in disgust.

Jesse wasn’t a looker, but Justin was amused by Gus’s reaction. “No. The man I was with…we had met in college…and lost touch.”

“Small world, huh?”

“You can say that,” Justin agreed. “The short version of the story is…I married Ethan, we had Nick together…it wasn’t the best life, but I was happy, or so I fooled myself. Last year, on New Year’s Eve we were here…seen by the wrong group of people when we left one of Ethan’s shows. He used to play the violin,” Justin explained, his voice breaking. He had to clear his throat twice. “In mid-February someone killed him…ran him over with their car. That’s when I decided to return to Pittsburgh.”

“Oh, no! Oh, Justin. That’s terrible. I had no idea.” Gus had tears in his eyes.

“Don’t mention this to Brian. I’m sure he won’t be happy to hear I shared this with you.”

“Why?” Gus leaned closer to hug Justin. “Now, I’m even happier you made up with Dad.”

“I was an idiot to break things off with him, to begin with.”

They fell silent as the concert started, and Justin was pleased he had no reminiscent memories about watching Ethan play. He had feared such memories would overwhelm him, but he was able to enjoy the beautiful show without thinking of his late husband.