SIBLINGS

A HANSEL AND GRETEL FAERIE TALE

A QAF/SUPERNATURAL CROSSOVER

CHAPTER 1 HALLOWEEN NIGHT

             "Hi Daddy! Hi Poppa!"

             "Hi Sonny Boy! Hi JR!"

             "Hi Unca Justin. Hi Unca Brian." Came the more subdued greeting. "Where's my daddy? And daddy Ben?"

             "They asked us to pick you up, sweetheart. We're all going to your house for the evening for Halloween, remember?" said Justin.

             "Oh yeah."

             "Did you like our school play Unca Brian? ‘Member, I was Gretel and Gus was Hansel! And now we get to trick or treat with our costumes!"

             "They're great costumes, sweetheart. But I had to work, remember? I'm going to watch the video that Justin filmed when you guys are out trick or treating. I'm sure you guys did great."

             The car moved into traffic and they were off to Stepford-Suburbia.

THEN

             After Babylon exploded and their aborted marriage, Justin moved to New York and Melanie and Lindsay fled to Canada with their children to escape the dreaded Prop 14. 

             Justin spent a total of 5 years in New York but after the first 6 months of it he knew he was not over Brian. In the meantime, Brian continued with Kinnetic and built it up even bigger and better than before. He bought and rebuilt Babylon, hoping it would rekindle the memories of being a club boy and let him forget about Justin. It didn't. Every time he went there, everywhere he turned, he saw a blond twink beckoning, beckoning but it was never the right one. So finally, he stopped tricking altogether and sold Babylon.

             It was shortly after that when Justin called. Brian took the red-eye to New York and showed up at Justin's door. Their reunion was explosive.  Justin locked the door and they fucked constantly in his little apartment for 2 days straight. They emerged exhausted and famished. After a nice dinner, they went home again and Brian again fucked Justin into the mattress.

             The next morning, Brian had to go home but from that day on they were never out of contact again.  They kept in constant communication by phone and an open skype webcam link. Both of them were alone but they were never lonely for each other again. Occasionally, Brian would visit for another rousing fuck-a-thon.

             Justin was in New York for 2 years when Brian proposed again. Justin said yes and they were blissfully and frequently physically happy about it.

             In the meantime, with Justin's urging, but also because Brian was increasingly changing and missing him, he started to keep in better touch with Gus. They also had frequent calls and a constantly available webcam line where Gus could call at any time. Brian, Gus and Justin all grew closer and closer.

             Three years later, after 5 years in New York, Justin became so well established and had so many shows that he became independently wealthy enough to move back to Pittsburgh. This time, he and Brian WERE married in the presence of all their friends and in Justin's case, family. (well, not Craig.) Fortunately, Prop 14 did NOT go through, and everything went as planned.

             After they were married, Brian and Justin decided they missed Gus too much to be remote dads anymore. They decided to petition for part-time custody and were awarded 6 month in three month increments at a time.  After a year they petitioned for a year at a time for more time and to cut down on the travel time. They were awarded. Their two and a half men family grew in love.

             Ben and Mikey also grew in love and wealth. They adopted Hunter. Happy and secure at last, Hunter gave up hustling forever, and grew up strong and handsome. He was able to explore his straight orientation fully now and dated several times before he found a truly sweet girl who was able to handle his positive status. He married when he was 23 years old. Now five years later he was happily married with a baby boy of his own. Ben and Michael were ecstatic to be grandpas!

             Mikey`s business prospered and he was able to expand to 3 comic stores. Two were managed but he still enjoyed running and managing his original shop. Ben was able to keep teaching but simply because he enjoyed it, not because he needed to be a breadwinner. This let them relax a great deal in all aspects of their life.

             After Mel and Linds moved, Michael never stopped missing JR. He and Ben also called and webcammed JR as much as possible and eventually petitioned for part custody as well. Ben and Mike were awarded 6 months at a time.

             Meanwhile, Mel and Linds prospered in Canada but realized they were no better off there than they were in Pittsburgh.  Prop 14 was gone and they soon found out that homophobia was universal.  This was most evident when they watched in horror one year at a Pride parade as someone dropped a grocery cart down onto the parade from a 25 story apartment balcony. But it was too late, they had committed themselves to the move and their jobs there in Canada and they couldn`t go back. However they also saw how the fathers missed and wanted to be with their children. They were also impressed at how they had finally matured enough to get over their commitment-phobia and so they agreed to the custody arrangements. Eventually, things got so good for Linds, managing her art gallery, that she was offered a job in France. Mel, who was working in a very large firm by this time, managed to get transferred to the Paris office. However, it was decided that since these new jobs would leave them so busy and rather than have two young children immersed and forced to learn a foreign language and culture; they would go and stay with their fathers in Pittsburgh for good. The two mothers would miss the kids terribly but after all, there was always skype... Meanwhile, this left the now mature four fathers ecstatic with joy. Their children would be theirs permanently!

NOW

            Justin reached for his coat and gloves.

            "All right, kids! Who's ready to go trick or treating!?"

            Gus and JR came running but as soon as Gus saw his father his little face scrunched up in disgust.

            "Awwww, No way, Daddy Justin! Come on! I'm 12! I wanna go out by myself! This is practically my last year before I'm too old to go out anymore..."

            "There's no practically about it!" yelled Brian from the kitchen.

            "Charming..." said Gus drily, in a perfect imitation of his biological father, "My point being, I'm old enough to go around without some parent mooching about."

            "And what about your sister? She's not old enough."

            "I'll take her around. I'm old enough! Let me show you. I look after her practically all the time anyway."

            Justin looked down and saw that they were looking at a serious mutiny here. He went to talk it over with the three other fathers.

            Michael was mother hen and was strenuously against it. But he also didn't want to go out in the cold night. He was counting on Justin going with them. Justin was against it but at the same time he didn't want then walking around making him feel as if he were their prison guard. Brian was characteristically for it, and Ben surprisingly was as well, as long as Gus was careful and took a cell phone. He felt he was of the age where he needed to shoulder some responsibility.

            They wanted to discuss it more but the kids started to whine and they realized, of course, they were on the clock here. So at last, they decided for it, stood  "Hansel and Gretel" up in front of the door and lectured Gus mercilessly. Stay on the streets that we talked about. Don`t eat packaged candy. Don`t eat apples. Wait until they got home. Don't let your sister out of your sight. Don't accept rides from strangers. Look both ways when...

            Blah! Blah! Blah! Gus let it all wash over him like warm water from a bath. He knew ALL this stuff already. Back in Toronto, when he and JR lived together, he did all this stuff and more and looked after his sister all the time. He knew what to do.

            "Daddy Justin! Uncle Michael! I know! I KNOW!" he cried finally.

            Finally, somehow, someway, he got himself and JR out of the house away from the smothering adults with trick or treat bags intact and a cell phone in his old world short pants pocket. Man! Were parents ever uptight sometimes!

            He took his sister by the hand, smiled sweetly, and took off. As soon as they were away from the house and he could see the 4 men duck inside the house, he dropped his hand.  "Just stay close," he instructed his sister.

            "I know, I know!" replied Gretel. (JR) Inwardly, she felt glad that Gus didn't want to hold her hand ALL the time, that felt weird, but she was glad he was close by. The night was dark and getting darker, cold and getting colder and she needed somebody to be the leader.

            For the next while, everything was normal and they had a lot of fun. They were a big hit with the old grannies and they often got ooohed and aaahed over and were asked to wait while they got their pictures took. Their old world costumes and JR's dark pigtails and kerchief were a big hit.

            Eventually, it got so cold they could not ignore it any longer. They had brought along cloaks made from a wool/silk blend that they had used in the play as well. Gus helped JR with her clasp and they pulled up the hoods. It was remarkable how warm they were when they wrapped themselves up in the depths. After that they only unwrapped to show off their costumes underneath when they were at the door of somebody's. Still, it worked marvellously with their costumes.

            Finally, fairly late turned into VERY late. Nearly 9 o'clock! Time to go home.

            They were at the end of a long cul-de-sac. Gus told JR they could do one more house and then they had to go straight home. JR whined a bit at first but Gus just saw this as tiredness and became resolute.

            "Look Gus! Let's do that one!" JR cried, pointing.

            Gus looked over at a driveway he hadn't really noticed before. It was gravel and overgrown and twisted off to the right shortly after entering into a wooded area. The house was not visible. It was the scariest thing he'd ever seen. And yet... there was something...something about it. Gus took a step toward it without even thinking about it.

            "What!? You gotta be kidding me! Besides, the daddies said we can't go onto streets that aren't approved! And that is DEFINITELY not an approved street!"

            "That's not a street. It's a driveway." JR argued reasonably. "As long as we don't go off into the woods, we won't be breaking any rules. Not really, anyway. Come on, Gus. I can smell something down there."

            Gus inhaled. It was faint but he could smell something too. Cookies and fresh bread, and...was that chocolate cake? Could this be the trick or treat mother lode?

            "All right," he decided, "But this is our very last house. We stay together and we stay on the driveway, no matter what."

            "No matter what," agreed JR.

            They started the gravel path and the forest closed in around them quickly. There were tall pines and spruce but also many deciduous trees having lost most of their leaves. Their branches reached up toward the sky like many thin and sharp talons waiting for unsuspecting victims to grab and slash. Gus quickly grew uneasy and remembered his role in the play earlier that day. He decided to do the same thing and as they went along he dropped a piece of his candy along the one lane roadway. He wasn't sure if it was entirely needful but it made him feel better.

            The driveway curved right, then left, then right again. It was very dark by now. There was a straight bit. And then they could see lights ahead. At last. The smells became stronger.

            "Come on Gus! Come on!  We're almost there!" JR jumped up and down and rushed forward. And she disappeared.

            Gus was frightened. This had suddenly gone from weird and adventurous to downright scary. Where was JR? She had just been right there. She couldn't have gone into the forest. She had to be there. He HAD to find her. He couldn't go home without her.

            He dropped a piece of candy and stepped forward. There was a strange rippling, a feeling as if he'd stepped through Jell-o and there was JR again. They seemed a lot closer to the end of the path than they should have been. And now the smells were stronger than ever.

            "Where did you go? I told you to stay with me!" Gus said gruffly.

            "I'm right here."

            "Didn't you feel that shimmering?"

            JR looked at him like he was nuts. "What are you talking about!? Come on Gus! I can almost taste that gingerbread!"

            And she ran forward again and Gus had no choice but to follow or lose her entirely.

            When they reached the house, they stopped dead in astonishment. It was impossible.

            The smells were not coming from the house. The smells were the house. The house was gingerbread. The windows were spun sugar and there were gumdrops decorating it everywhere. The eaves were made out of icing.  The doorknob was a large chocolate chip cookie.

            "Oh, Gus! Have ya ever seen anything so beautiful!? Have ya!?"

            "It's something all right! But...but it can't be real."

            "Of course it's real! It's right there! Oh, I have to have some! The smell is driving me crazy!" JR rushed forward.

            "No, JR! We promised the daddies we wouldn't eat any treats until we got home!"

            "But they meant apples an' packages candies that meanies would want to put bad things in. This stuff is fresh. So fresh. And I'm soooo hungry! Can't we have a little, Gus? Pleeeeease?"

            Gus began to weaken. The smells were making him hungry too. And technically, JR was right. The daddies did mean packaged stuff and fruit.

            "OK. But stick to the gingerbread and maybe the doorknob."

            They ran over to the house and broke off a few pieces of the overhanging roof and bit into the wall. It was delicious. Then, all of a sudden they heard a faint chuckle. It was coming from inside the house. The next moment the gingerbread door with the chocolate chip cookie doorknob opened and a kindly old man in a robe carrying an oaken staff with carvings all over it came out. He squinted out through a large monocle. He had a large beak nose with a wart on the end of it and wispy white hair.

            "Well, well, well! What have we here? Two little waifs lost in the woods? Munching on my little house for a snack perhaps?"

            Gus gathered JR to himself protectively and said, "We're sorry, sir. You must admit this is a most unusual house you have here. We couldn't resist. But we're hardly lost. We just came down your driveway from the street.  We just came to trick or treat."

            "He! He! He! You're most welcome to my house! It's easily replaceable. In fact, I have many more goodies inside. Cookies, and pies and tarts galore! My name's Craig. But I'm afraid I don't understand. I know not what this "trick or treat" is. I live here deep within these woods. There are no streets for miles around. See for yourself."

            Gus looked around in the direction of which they had come. In shock, he realized it was true. There was just a thin trail leading away from the house. There was no driveway. They were in the middle of a strange and dark forest.

            "Come inside and have something to eat. Then I can put you to bed. You'll have your own room with soft, warm beds and we'll figure out where you little urchins belong in the morning."

            Well, they couldn't stay out in the dark forest all night. With no real choice, Gus and JR followed Craig into the house, sticking close together.

@@@@@@@@@@@

            At about 10 pm the daddies started to get seriously worried.

            Justin was pacing. "They should have been back hours ago!"

            "AN hour ago, Sunshine. Hardly a reason to call out the troops," said Brian, "And will you sit the fuck down? You're making me dizzy!"

            Justin sat.

            "They have the cell phone," Ben said reasonably, "If they were really in trouble, Gus would call. He's responsible. He's a good boy."

            Michael was passed out in the living room. He'd had a serious queen-out at the 9 o'clock mark, so they'd slipped a valium in his tea. He'd be out until morning.

            Justin jumped up again. "Unless he dropped it. Or he's being forcibly confined! Halloween is such a weird time of year! Oh God! Why did I let them go alone! Why!?" He started pacing again.

             "Because he threatened to have a bigger queen out than Guinevere over there if we didn't," Brian said reasonably, jerking a thumb over at Michael. "Look, why don't we go out and cruise around in the ‘Vette to look for them. Ben, you stay here and wait by the phone in case they call."

             "OK Bri. That sounds good," said Ben.

             Justin just looked at Brian with shining eyes. Then he ran for the hall and before Brian made it to the doorway of the kitchen, he was dressed in coat, hat and gloves.

             "Come on Brian! What are you waiting for!?"

@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Meanwhile, back at the gingerbread house, Gus and JR were amazed and delighted to find a wonderful spread laid out, a large roast turkey dinner, stuffings, gravy, pumpkin pie, apple pie, cookies, pecan tarts, chocolates. Everything looked marvellous.

             "Dig in, my darlings, dig in," said Craig, "You must be hungry after your journey."

             "Well, it wasn't that far, really," Gus said, his mouth already full.

             "Oh, I see. And what are your names, my dears?"

             A kind of warning flag went up in Gus' mind and he shot a warning glance at his sister. It was hardly necessary; she was also stuffing her face as if she hadn't eaten in a week.

             "Uh, my name's Hansel. And this is my sister, Gretel," he said, watching the old man for a reaction.

             There was none. JR (or Gretel as she now was) looked a bit surprised at her brother but he looked at her meaningfully and nodded quickly once. Fortunately, she got it and kept her mouth shut and went back to stuffing it.

             "Well, it's nice to meet you, Hansel. Please enjoy as much as you'd like and then I'll show you up to your room where there are two beds all ready and waiting for two young travelers such as yourselves."

             "All right. Thank you sir."

             And in what seemed like no time at all, they had polished off a plate of food each and were feeling very drowsy from all that turkey and pumpkin pie. Craig led them up some stairs to a bedroom where two small beds awaited with clean, white sheets and thick, soft pillows. Craig leaned heavily on his stick, which was carved and had a large red jewel in the top of it.

            Gus and JR lay down and went right to sleep. Craig backed out of the room, a cruel, cunning smile upon his lips.

            Did I say both of them went right to sleep. Oooops! As soon as Hansel saw that Craig was gone, he reached for his pants, now hanging on the chair and tried to call home. But the phone wouldn't even turn on. It was dead.

            Strange. Gus also reflected on the fact that Craig had not reacted to their storybook names. EVERYBODY had heard of Hansel and Gretel. Gus/Hansel knew he'd have to be very wary of Craig in the days to come. And he knew, somehow, that this was not just an overnight adventure. Something very strange was going on here.

            Then, exhausted, Gus fell asleep.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@

            Brian and Justin cruised around in the ‘Vette until midnight. They checked all the streets that they had approved the kids to go on and then a few of the adjoining ones. Nothing.

            They went back and knocked on doors, showing the kids pictures to the adults inside. They managed to track the kid's progress up to a certain point and then...nothing. They had gone no further.  They decided to re-group at the house and see if they had called. They went home. They hadn't. Ben was also starting to get sick with worry. He was also anxious about how Michael would react when he woke up to find them still gone not to mention the fact that they had slipped him a mickey.

            As always, Brian was or at least seemed to be the voice of reason and calmness. His confidence grounded Justin.

            "OK! OK! There's no reason to go running around like a bunch of chickens with their heads cut off. There's nothing more we can do right now. We'll go to the police in the morning. We'll find them!"

            "And if we can't!?!?" Justin was starting to sound rather panicked himself.

            "We'll find them. I promise you, Justin. We'll find them." Justin found his lips mashed to Brian's in a hot and frenetic kiss. And Big Ben was grabbed and together the 3 men held each other in an unashamed group hug.

TBC