"Come on, Dada, we gotta see the tigers!" Gus yelled at Brian as the soon-to-be four-year-old pulled his father behind him toward the "Asian Forest" exhibit at the Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium, Justin trailing right behind them.

Gus had been begging Brian to take him to the zoo for the last several months, and with Justin there to help wrangle the boisterous little boy, Brian decided to oblige him. Since the Corvette was a two-seater, Brian borrowed Lindsay's Honda Civic. The temperature and humidity had gone down after the previous night's storm, and it was a beautiful late-summer day.

Brian laughed at his son's enthusiasm. "We'll get there, Sonny Boy. Those cats aren't going anywhere."

"They're not cats, Dada," Gus said as he continued to pull Brian by his hand, "they're tigers. Rawr!!!"

"Actually, Gus, tigers are a type of cat," Justin chimed in. "Just not the type of cat you're used to seeing."

"Thank you, Jack Hanna," Brian said, smiling back at Justin.

They reached the exhibit, and Brian and Justin stood side-by-side as Gus oohed and aahed over the large Amur Tigers. Gus snapped a picture with the Fisher-Price digital camera Lindsay had bought him for his birthday as one of the tigers yawned.

"Wow!" Gus yelled. "Dada, did you see his teeth?"

"Yep, did you get a picture?" Brian asked as he slipped his hand into Justin's back pocket.

Gus walked over and showed Brian the screen on the digital camera. The picture was a bit crooked and slightly blurry, as if Gus was moving while he took it. "Good job, buddy," Brian said as they moved on to see the other jungle animals.

"We should have asked at the ticket window how long it takes to walk through this place," Brian mumbled to Justin, nuzzling his neck. "I can't wait to get you back to the loft."

Justin giggled and whispered back, "Not so fast, Dada. You promised to take him to Dairy Queen afterwards so he can get a chili dog and some ice cream, remember?" Brian groaned. "Hey, don't pretend like you don't enjoy spending time with him."

Brian looked over at Gus, who was taking a picture of some flamingos, and smiled. "Yeah, I guess I kinda like him."

Justin smirked at him. "Then, we have to go to dinner at Debbie's at six."

Brian groaned again. "Shit... if we skip it, she'll never let me hear the end of it."

They continued to follow the trail and reached the "African Savanna" exhibit, where the lions, elephants, and giraffes were kept. Brian and Justin were each holding one of Gus's hands, swinging him as they walked. Gus squealed each time his feet left the ground. They stopped to look at the zebras when they came upon two men, one pushing a stroller and the other with a little girl on his shoulders.

The man with the stroller looked over at the three of them and smiled. "You guys have a beautiful son."

Justin opened his mouth to speak, but Brian cut him off. "Thanks. He'll be four tomorrow." He dropped Gus's hand to ruffle his hair.

"Aww," the man carrying the little girl said. He pointed up at his rider. "She'll be four in January."

"And he just turned one," the other man said, indicating the baby in the stroller. "They grow up so fast, don't they?"

"Look!" Gus yelled. "The ost-rick-es are over there!"

Justin laughed and said, "It's ost-rich, Gus," as the boy pulled him over to look at the large birds.

"Have fun keeping up with that little ball of energy!" the man holding the little girl said to Brian.

Brian stopped a few feet away to watch his son and partner stand together as they looked at the ostriches. After his initial shyness with Justin at the airport the other day, Brian was happy to see that Gus had warmed up to him. Before driving to the zoo that morning, the three of them had stopped at a deli that served breakfast burritos and sandwiches. After observing the SpongeBob SquarePants t-shirt that Gus was wearing, Justin and Gus chatted about the show and other cartoons. Brian had always mocked Justin for watching cartoons, with Justin claiming that he watched them for "artistic observation", but he was now happy that it gave Justin something to bond over with his son.

"Dada, come on, the monkeys are up there!" Gus yelled back, pointing to the "Tropical Forest" canopy ahead. Brian jogged to catch up with them.

Brian and Justin sat on a bench while they watched Gus feed a goat a handful of oats at the petting zoo in the "Kid's Kingdom" area. Gus laughed as the goat licked his hand.

"You're going to miss him after we go home, aren't you?" Justin asked Brian.

Brian sighed. "Yeah... but even before I opened the New York office, I didn't see him very often, especially after I opened my agency last year. Christ, I was working around the clock for the first few months."

"Well, now that the New York office is fully staffed and running smoothly, are you going to be commuting more to visit him?"

Brian looked at Justin and smiled. "Only if you come with me."

Justin smiled back as Gus ran over to them. "They ate all my oats," Gus pouted.

"Well, Sonny Boy, they're farm animals. They don't have anything else to do but eat," Brian answered.

Gus pointed at one of the miniature donkeys. "If I had one of those, I'd ride him all day!"

Brian chuckled. "Yeah, and it could sleep in Melanie's room."

Gus gasped and asked, "Would Mama let me have one?"

Brian and Justin both laughed.

"Uh... don't count on it, Gus," Justin answered, lightly swatting Brian's shoulder for putting the idea in the boy's head.

"Well, I'm gonna ask her, anyway," Gus said.

After taking Gus to Dairy Queen and getting the kid properly stuffed on chili dogs and an Oreo Blizzard, Brian and Justin dropped him back off at Lindsay's apartment. They had time to go back to the loft for a roll in the sack, followed by a leisurely shared shower. They were now sitting in Debbie's kitchen, waiting for their hostess to serve her Bolognese. Brian wondered how long they had to sit around after eating, making small talk with Debbie and her partner Carl, before they could get the hell out of there.

"So, Justin, tell us about yourself," Carl said as he tucked his napkin into his collar.

"Uh..." Justin said, suddenly nervous. "I grew up on the Upper East Side of Manhattan-"

"Ooh, I bet your parents are loaded," Debbie said as she tossed her meat sauce with the noodles. "The cost of living is very high there."

Justin pulled at the collar of his polo shirt. "They're... comfortable. My dad owns an electronics store and my mom was a housewife until they got divorced a few years ago."

Debbie clicked her tongue. "Aww, that's too bad."

"No, it's not," Brian said. "His dad is a homophobic ass."

Justin nodded. "Now my mom is a realtor."

Everyone turned when the front door opened.

"I don't give a fuck what you say, Dude, Tony Stark is way cooler than Bruce Wayne," Hunter said as he walked into the living room. "Stark is a fucking genius."

Michael walked in behind him. "That does not make him cooler! Bruce Wayne..." He stopped speaking when he noticed the guests at his mother's table.

"Oh, hi, boys," Debbie said as she sat the pot of food on the table. "I didn't know you were coming for dinner."

"I thought we were always invited for Sunday dinner," Hunter said as he took a soda out of the fridge. He sat down in a chair next to Brian, looked over at Justin, and asked, "Who the fuck are you?"

Debbie opened a cabinet door to get two more plates out. "Of course you're welcome, Baby. You know I always make extra." She then grabbed two forks out of the drawer.

"What are they doing here, Ma?" Michael asked as he stood in the living room, his hands on his hips.

"Hunter, Justin" Brian said by way of introducing the two young men sitting on either side of him. Brian picked up the bottle of Pinot Noir from the table to refill his glass.

"I didn't notice the ‘Vette outside, Dude," Hunter said to Brian. "But it's not like I wasn't looking for it, though..."

Debbie sat the forks and plates down and began serving everyone, starting with Carl. "I invited them," she said to her son.

"What the fuck for?" Michael yelled as he walked over to the table.

"So, you guys are fucking, right?" Hunter asked Justin.

Justin looked over at him, his eyes wide in astonishment.

Debbie spooned out some Bolognese for Brian. "Last time I checked, this is still my house," she answered Michael.

"He asked me if I wanted to fuck him the first time we met," Brian informed Justin as he picked up his fork to eat.

Hunter laughed. "That was back when I fucked guys... for money."

Debbie frowned at Hunter. "You had to make a living, Sweetheart."

"Well, you could have told me they were coming over," Michael said to his mother, scowling at Hunter for mingling with Brian and Justin.

"And when would I have done that, Michael?" Debbie asked as she served Justin. "When I asked for your permission to invite people over to my own Goddamn house?"

Hunter opened his soda. "I thought you didn't need his permission, Grams."

Brian swallowed and looked at Justin. "I wouldn't have paid him five bucks."

"Fuck you," Hunter told Brian.

"Shut up, Hunter!" Michael yelled.

Hunter picked up his fork and stirred his pasta. "What? I'm just sitting here!"

Michael walked over and pulled the fork out of Hunter's hand. "And now, we're just leaving."

"No way!" Hunter said as he yanked the fork back. "What the fuck else am I supposed to eat?"

"I'm sure Ben has food," Michael answered curtly.

"How is the professor?" Brian asked Hunter.

Debbie took her seat next to Carl. "He stocks nothing but soy and tofu. Eat up, Honey."

"Actually, tofu is made of coagulated soy milk," Justin told Debbie.

"Who asked you?" Michael snarled at Justin.

"Hey, don't yell at my guest!" Debbie yelled at her son.

"Why are you even here, anyway?" Michael asked Justin.

"I invited him!" Debbie yelled.

"Mmm... this is wonderful, Honey," Carl said to Debbie as he chewed, trying to get her attention.

Hunter took a bite, smacked his lips, and asked Debbie, "Is this beef or pork?"

"Why the fuck would you even want him over here?" Michael asked his mother. "Or Brian?"

"I think she makes it with beef and pork," Carl told Hunter.

"Because even if the two of you aren't together anymore, Brian is still a member of our family," Debbie told Michael. "And now, Justin is, too."

"The fuck they are!" Michael shouted.

"Are you guys together, like, for reals?" Hunter asked around another mouthful of pasta, indicating Brian and Justin with his fork. "Or are you just fucking?"

"Honey, don't talk with your mouth full," Debbie told Hunter.

Brian put his arm around Justin. "For ‘reals'... and we're fucking."

Michael snorted and yelled at Brian, "Bullshit, he's only with you because you have money!"

Justin stood up and said to Michael, "Oh, and you weren't with him for his money?"

Michael walked over and stood nose-to-nose with Justin. "I was with him because I loved him!"

"I love him, too!" Justin yelled back.

Carl stood up and yelled, "Enough!" Everyone looked over at Carl in surprise. "Michael, sit down and eat."

Michael stood with his mouth open for a few moments, but then walked over to the remaining empty chair between Hunter and Debbie and sat down. Justin and Carl both sat and resumed eating.

Everyone ate in silence for several seconds before Hunter asked Brian, "So, Dude, which one do you love?"

Brian's mouth dropped open. "Uh..."

Michael scoffed. "Brian told me yesterday that he never really loved me. He's in love with Boy Wonder, here." He looked at Justin and curled his lip.

Debbie gasped, and Justin quickly turned his head and looked at Brian. "You're what?"

"I heard it straight from the whore's mouth," Michael said as he looked down at his plate. "Congratu-fucking-lations."

"Uh, I think it's ‘horse's mouth', Dude," Hunter clarified.

"So that's why you left Gus's birthday party early?" Debbie asked Michael.

"You told him what?" Justin asked Brian.

Brian sat his fork down, tossed his napkin on top of his half-eaten plate, and pushed his chair back as he stood up. "Well, Deb, thanks for a lovely dinner, but Justin and I must be leaving now."

Hunter snorted. "Yeah, they have some fucking to do."

"But, Honey, you haven't had dessert yet," Debbie said as Justin stood, still in shock. "I made tiramisu."

Brian took Justin's hand and pulled him to the door. "I'm sure it would have been delicious."

As Brian opened the door, Justin called out, "Thanks for dinner, Debbie."

The men left the house and walked out to Brian's Corvette. After they were both seated and the doors were closed, Justin asked, "You told Michael that you're in love with me?"

Brian leaned his head on the steering wheel and closed his eyes. "Yeah."

Justin looked down at his lap in the near darkness of the car. "You... you told him, but you haven't told me?"

Brian lifted his head and started the car. After pulling away from the curb, he sighed and said, "Uh-huh."

"Umm..." Justin laughed sarcastically. "Were you ever planning on telling... oh, I don't know, me?"

Brian scratched his head and asked, "Can we talk about this when we get to the loft?"

"No, we're talking about this now."

Brian stopped at a red light. "I... it's never been the right time."

Justin scoffed. "Are you fucking kidding me? I tell you that I love you at least once a day, and you never respond."

"I usually respond... by fucking you," Brian said as the light turned green, a smirk on his face.

Justin scowled and looked out the window. "That... oh, fuck it."

They rode in silence the rest of the way to the loft.