Brian glances at Lily’s passed out form and looks at the clock. It isn’t even 4 o'clock but he wouldn’t be that surprised if she stayed asleep, since she’s been up since 3:30 this morning and had them up with her. He and Eric got her to lie down for a little bit, nestled in between them. She drifted off for maybe an hour and a half before waking them up once more.
“She’s not good with new places,” Brian mentions to Eric. His husband looks almost offended.
“You think I don’t know that?” Eric asks, raising a brow.
Brian shrugs, “Three weeks with one weekend visit is a lot of time away. You may have forgotten her middle name for all I know.”
Eric walks over to give a playful shove to his shoulder, “Don’t tell me I don’t know our daughter.”
Brian just gives him a blank stare before sighing dramatically.
“Oh, shut up,” Eric huffs.
“I didn’t say anything.”
“She’s gonna miss me,” Brian points out, “Our home. Duncan. Probably mostly Duncan. Anything more than a weekend somewhere other than our house, Emmett’s, or Mel and Lindsay’s and she’s-”
“An insomniac?” Eric finishes, “I know. But I’ve missed her and she has missed me. You even told me she had trouble sleeping some nights after I came down here.”
“True. But just think of how she will be once I leave tomorrow,” Brian groans, sneaking a glance at Eric, “You won’t be able to stand her. And you will be leaving her with two college girls for hours at a time so that she can run them into the ground?”
“I think you’ll be missing her more than the other way around,” Eric smirks right before Brian shoots him a glare.
“Whatever,” Brian scoffs, “You guys ditching me just gives me more time to be single and free.”
Eric chuckles as Brian walks over to carefully pick Lily up. He cradles her against his chest and smooths her curls from her face. She looks so innocent and sweet when she’s sleeping. He doesn’t know if there is anyone more precious. Well, Gus. But he is a dick when he wakes up.
“How long do you want to let her stay asleep?” Eric asks him.
Brian doesn’t take his eyes off her and shrugs, “She barely got any last night. Might be best to let her sleep for a while.”
Eric shakes his head, “She’ll be upset if she spends your last night passed out. We can go to dinner around 6:30 and that’ll give her a decent nap.”
Brian nods and starts to carry her to the furnished single bedroom. Slowly laying her down, he presses a kiss against her forehead and pulls the sheet to her chest.
And, while he is almost tempted to watch her sleep longer, he has something he needs to do. Someone he needs to do.
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It’s not long after Brian pulls out for the third time and they get cleaned off that they hear Lily’s frightened cries from the spare bedroom.
“I’ll get her,” Brian tells Eric, pulling on his jeans before making his way to the room.
He can tell that Lily isn’t completely awake. He sits down on the bed, winces at her screams, and tries to bring her out of it.
“Lily. Lily, honey. It’s Daddy,” he shushes, bringing her closer to him.
“I don’t want to wear a bowl! I don’t want it! Ugly!” Lily gasps, the awareness in her eyes clouded over.
Brian sighs and snaps his fingers in front of Lily’s face.
“Lily. Lily! It’s alright. It’s just a dream.”
Lily’s eyes slowly gain awareness and she looks around the room before glaring at Brian through her tears.
“...What’s up?” Brian asks her hesitantly.
Lily lets out a cry before yelling, “PAPA!”
Brian turns as he hears Eric’s quick footsteps to the bedroom, before the door swings open.
At the sight of her father, Lily stretches out her arms and starts crying openly, ignoring Brian completely.
“Aw, honey,” Eric pouts as he comes over and puts his arms around their daughter. Lily’s cries go higher in pitch as she wets the side of his shirt. Situating her, Eric sits down on the bed and holds the little girl in his lap.
“What’s the matter, huh? Did you have a bad dream?” Eric asks as he brushes the tears from her face.
Lily’s breath shudders as she nods her head, “I d-did!”
“Talk to me. Tell me what it was about.”
Lily takes a deep breath, “Me and you was planting a garden and we were having a really good t-time but Daddy s-said I had to stop and I didn’t w-want to! He s-said I had to get dressed and w-wear a bowl on my head! The bowl had trucks on it! Why did he do that? I don’t want to wear that!”
Lily dissolved into sobs again and Eric bites back laughter as he holds the girl against his chest and rocks her.
“It was just a dream. Daddy wouldn’t make you wear a bowl on your head, especially if that was something you didn’t want to do.”
“He’s right, Lily,” Brian tells her, laughing just a little, “My fashion sense is much better than that.
And then Lily growls at him.
“It was a dream, kid,” Brian huffs, “When have I ever made you wear a bowl on your head?”
“You just did!” Lily shouts, “And it was ugly! UGLY!”
“Okay. You’re wrong, but okay,” Brian nods.
“I don’t want to look at you,” Lily mumbles, pressing her face into Eric’s shoulder.
“Well, you won’t see much of me past tomorrow,” Brian shrugs, “Kind of rude, if you ask me.”
Lily just blows a raspberry at him in return.
“Alright, that’s enough,” he warns her.
“He’s right, Lily,” Eric agrees, “It was just a dream. Calm down. Maybe we can plant a garden when we get back home? It’s kind of late but maybe some cabbage and purple basil? That would be fun!”
Lily nods her head and sniffles, “But Daddy can’t help. Just me and you, okay?”
Brian tries not to glare at that.
Lily stays mad at him for another few minutes. Brian would never admit it, but having her pissed at him and clinging on Eric, even over something stupid and made up, sort of hurts.
She gets over it quickly though and Brian has to wonder if she even remembers the ordeal at all. She gets excited about going out to eat, jumps up and down, hugs him around the waist, giggling with happiness. She’s so odd.
They drive to the French Quarter. Eric’s at the wheel while Brian sits in the passenger seat, tickling Lily’s foot underneath her flip-flop.
“St-Stop!” Lily laughs out, kicking her feet until Brian ceases with his actions, only to stick her foot out again once he stops.
“Papa, Daddy keeps tickling me!” Lily exclaims from her car seat.
“He is?” Eric asks, glancing at her through the rearview mirror, “That’s ornery of him.”
“It is!” Lily exclaims, before reaching her foot to kick the side of Brian’s seat, urging the man to tickle her once more.
Eric pulls up to to Muriel’s, a historical Cajun restaurant that Brian had looked up the night before he and Lily boarded their plane. The menu looked delicious and, when he had seen that the place was supposedly so haunted that it had a seance room, it hadn’t excited him, really. But it had excited Lily.
I have so many questions that I can ask them!” Lily had exclaimed that night, all while she had jumped up and down on the bed next to him. Brian will always give her props for her bravery.
“We are not going in the seance room,” Eric suddenly says, turning to him as if he had been reading Brian’s mind, “That stuff freaks me out. I don’t want something following us back.”
“I do!” Lily pipes up, “They could stay in my room!”
Eric turns around to look at her, glares, then mutters, “Put your flip-flop back on.”
“I can’t reach it,” Lily shrugs, pulling at the belt on her car seat, “I’m all strapped up.”
Brian rolls his eyes then gets out of the passenger seat to open the back door. He unbuckles the belt, lifts it off of Lily’s shoulders, puts her shoe back on, then helps her out of the car.
“Thank you,” Lily tells him properly as she smooths down her dress, “Where to next?”
“Out to eat?” Brian reminds her slowly.
“Oh, yes!” Lily exclaims, clapping her hands together, “I must get shrimp as an appiteaser.”
“AppetIZer,” Brian corrects, biting his lip as he realizes that Lily has decided to play ‘Grown-Up’, a delusional game where she pretends they are all on the same level.
“That’s what I said! Can’t you hear?” Lily says with exasperation, “Come on!”
Lily grabs onto Brian’s hand, only to lead him over to Eric so that she can take his hand too.
“Does this place have a playground?” Lily asks them, “Burger King does. It’s my favorite because of that.”
“No, Lily. It doesn’t have a playground,” Brian sighs.
Lily hangs her head in disappointment.
“It has ghosts though,” Eric reminds her.
She perks up after that. Fucking weirdo.
“Like Casper!” Lily jumps, swinging her legs as her fathers hold her in the air.
“Sure,” Eric hums, pushing open the door to the restaurant.
Lily gets her grilled shrimp, along with a side of asparagus. They are both side items, actually. Neither he nor Eric think she needs a full meal, especially considering the prices. Brian doesn’t mind ordering a Thirty-Nine Dollar meal for himself though, picking out the Blackened Redfish, while Eric gets the Slow Roasted Duck. It’s all delicious and it makes Brian wish that he could spend a few more days here. But he already prioritized his upcoming week, filling it with work meetings and presentations. They had made the most out of the weekend though. He and Eric went out to Chris Owens Night Club for a date on Friday. He usually wouldn’t use that word but, when it comes down to it, that’s what it was. Latin big band music, dancing, walking around Bourbon Street, buzzed, on a hot summer night. Saturday was spent doing touristy things, from walking around parks and old cemeteries to ghost and vampire tours which, again, Lily was way more enthusiastic about than any four year old should be. But, when the tour guide gave them strange looks every time Lily asked a detailed and odd question, Brian silently dared her to try to question their parenting methods. It’s not his fault his daughter took to liking creepy shit after watching Coraline.
Today had been a little quieter. They went on a swamp ride, tried to shush Lily when they saw alligators, went to lunch, then let Lily play on a playground before heading back to the apartment to let her sleep. Now they were here. On his last night before having to be away from Eric for a week again.
But it was just one more week. They had a nice time together and he wanted to make the most of the night before heading back. He could distract himself in an empty house. He could work more. Have Emmett and Drew over. Have Justin over...
Fuck, he is pathetic. He remembers a time, eons ago, where he LIKED living by himself.
“Want dessert?” Eric asks him, pulling Brian out of his thoughts.
Brian’s default answer to that question was on his lips but then he just decided to shrug.
“We can share something, if you want,” he offers, trying to ignore the surprised look on his husband’s face.
“How romantic,” Eric sighs sarcastically, pressing a hand to his heart, before sobering up, “What do you want?”
“I don’t care,” Brian tells him indifferently, “You pick.”
“Pecan pie? Smothered in caramel sauce and gelato?” Eric hints.
“A diabetic coma,” Brian proclaims, “That’s exactly how I want to go out.”
“Well, unless you have been diagnosed with something you are not telling me about, I seriously doubt that is going to happen,” Eric laughs before waving the waiter over.
“Papa, Daddy, I want a cookie!” Lily exclaims as the waiter comes closer.
“Alright,” Eric says quickly before turning to their server.
“My husband and I would like to share a slice of your pecan pie and our daughter will have-”
“A cookie,” Lily finishes.
“We have this really wonderful dessert called a Peanut Butter Dome. It’s a shortbread cookie covered in peanut butter, placed under a chocolate dome that has raspberry and chocolate sauces drizzled on top. Would that be something she would be interested in?”
Eric looks to Lily for an answer but Lily bows her head and sighs.
“I really like chocolate chip cookies,” Lily whispers.
“I didn’t get that-” the waiter starts.
“She’ll take it,” Eric grins.
The waiter goes off with their order and Lily stares at her papa with a glare.
“But Papa, I like choco-”
“I know, Lily. But it isn’t that kind of restaurant,” Eric sighs.
“What kind of restaurant doesn’t sell chocolate chip cookies? A stupid one?” Lily sasses, crossing her arms.
“Don’t start,” Eric warns, “I will make him take your dessert back and you can just watch me and Daddy enjoy dessert while you get nothing.”
Lily looks over to him at that point, hoping her other father will be less harsh.
Brian bites his lip as he stares down at her.
“Better listen to him,” is all he says, “I think he’s taking it pretty easy on you.”
Lily learns the meaning of picking her battles that fateful night. She also learns how to eat her words when she is brought the-
“Bestest, most bestest, prettiest, MOST BESTESTEST dessert in the whole wide world!” Lily tells them, mouth full.
They leave a large tip. The bill is over ninety dollars so that is sort of inevitable anyway. They don’t head straight for the exit, opting to walk around and explore the historic building a little. Brian rolls his eyes as he watches Eric geek out of the the arches and carvings as they go up to the second floor. But watching his husband so enthusiastic brings a smile to his face.
“Daddy, what are they doing in there?” Lily asks, pointing in a room partially veiled by a hanging cloth.
Brian feels Eric go stiff beside him and he can’t help but stifle a laugh at it.
“They are talking to spirits of the underworld,” he teases her with a spooky voice.
“Huh?” Lily asks for clarity.
“Ghosts.”
Lily’s eyes widen, “Oh! Oh, okay! Let’s go!”
“No,” Eric tells her, holding onto her shoulder, “It’s past your bedtime. Let’s go back to the apartment.”
Lily stomps her feet, clenches her fists, and pouts at the floor, “You’re no fun!”
“I know,” Eric agrees, leading her away with one hand and grabbing Brian’s hand with the other.
They get stopped in the foyer for a moment. One of Eric’s clients recognizes him and they get to talking. After introductions, the most Brian really does is explain what he does for a living before nodding along as Eric talks business. It isn’t until the man and his wife head into the dining area that they realize Lily has walked near the coat racks.
“But I don’t have a coat!” Lily insists to no one, waving her arms around, “It’s hot! Aren’t you hot in all of that?...Well, I think that’s silly!...I came over here because it was cooler and you are just standing around-”
“Lily?” Eric asks sharply, walking over to turn her around, “Who are you talking to?”
“Pierre,” Lily answers simply before turning back around, “Pierre, this is my...Hey, where did he go?!”
Brian watches Eric usher her to the exit with amusement. He hasn’t seen his husband this tense in a while.
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“I am sure she was pulling your leg,” Brian groans, stretching and suppressing a yawn as he gets into bed, “She saw you were unsettled and knew how to play you.”
Eric turns and shakes his head, “She’s four. She’s smart but not that smart.”
“I think she is,” Brian shrugs, “She manages to play me from time to time too.”
Eric ignores that and scoots his Macbook over, “Look at this. Here is a write up on Muriel’s website about its history and the ghosts that reside there. Read it.”
Brian gives him a look before grumbling exasperation under his breath and taking the Macbook to get a closer look.
“Start reading under March 21, 1788,” Eric advises.
Brian glances at the man, gives him a glare when he realizes Eric is going to watch him read and make sure that he reads the whole thing, before giving in and reading out loud.
“On March 21, 1788, the Great New Orleans Fire started on Good Friday and burned 856 of the 1,100 structures in the French Quarter, including the city’s main church, original Cabildo, the municipal building, the army barracks, armory, and jail. During the tragedy, a portion of Pierre Phillipe de Marigny’s mansion was burnt.
During the next decade, the city of New Orleans was in a rebuilding process, trying to recover from the fire that swept the French Quarter. The Spanish replaced what was left of the wooden buildings with thick brick walled structures that included courtyards, arcades, and wrought iron balconies. Among the new buildings in Jackson Square were the St. Louis Cathedral, the Cabildo the Presbytere, and a piece of property Mr. Pierre Antoine Lepardi Jourdan purchased from Marigny.
Pierre Antoine Lepardi Jourdan built his dream home restoring it to the original grandeur, for his family and himself. Although Jourdan dearly adored his beautiful home, he was a man that could never quench his thirst for the thrill and excitement of gambling. In 1814 he wagered his beloved home in a poker game and crushingly lost the one thing he treasured most in life. The shock of the loss was so intense, before having to vacate the premises and hand over his beloved treasure, he tragically committed suicide on the second floor in the area that served as the slave quarters-the same area where Muriel’s Seance Lounges are situated today.
Pierre Antoine Lepardi Jourdan is still with us today in spiritual form on the same piece of property that is now Muriel’s. His ghost doesn’t appear in human form, but instead as a glimmer of sparkly light wandering around the lounge. Our Seance Lounges on the second floor are named as such because it is believed that this is where Jourdan spends the majority of his time. Patrons and employees of Muriel’s have also witnessed objects being moved around throughout the restaurant. We believe Mr. Pierre Antoine Lepardi Jourdan never left his true love and home in New Orleans, he continues to reside here to this day.
Although Jordan is considered to be our main resident, he’s not the only spirit amongst us. We also have a slightly mischievous ghost in our Courtyard Bar that roams the property. Three times since March of 2001, glasses have flown from behind the bar 12 feet across to the brick wall and shattered. Perhaps some servants stayed behind to take care of him and go downstairs to throw glasses to release some angst. Other possibilities include previous patrons and owners of the property during the late 1800’s and early 1900’s; or that it’s Jourdan trying to get across to the other side or desperately trying to communicate with mortals he considers to be his family.”
“Pierre!” Eric almost shouts, pointing at the screen unnecessarily, “How would she know the name Pierre if-”
“She has always come up with strange names,” Brian argues, “She named her plant Florencia.”
“Because Florencia means blooming flower in Spanish and she speaks Spanish,” Eric argues back, “She has never spoken French. Where would she get the name Pierre, unless it was from a ghost?”
“It says here that Pierre ‘doesn’t appear in human form, but instead as a glimmer of sparkly light wandering around the lounge.’ So I am not sure how she how she would be able to speak to a sparkly light.”
“She is a small child though,” Eric points out, reaching over to click on another tab, “Look, here’s an article about small children and their sensitivity to the paranormal.”
Brian shakes his head and hands the laptop back to Eric, “You’re weird, go to sleep.”
“I don’t want her seeing freaky shit like that,” Eric mumbles, but still looks at his laptop.
“I doubt you’ll be able to find some cure if she does have some sort of sixth sense,” Brian snorts, “Why are you so freaked out about it anyway? I never pegged you as the type to be afraid of ghosts.”
“I’m not. I just don’t want her getting involved in any of that type of stuff.”
“What else could she get involved in?” Brian inquires.
Eric sends him a harsh look before sighing, “You know...demonic stuff. Cults. Witchcraft.”
Brian stares at the man, absolutely bewildered, before dissolving into almost hysterical laughter.
“It’s not funny,” Eric bites out, “Stop laughing, Brian.”
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Brian keeps laughing, wiping his eyes, “I just think it is truly bizarre you would think that a little girl who thinks a bad dream consists of me making her wear a bowl on her head would summon demons.”
Brian keeps laughing and even Eric reaching over and smacking him with the paperback book he had been reading doesn’t stop him.
“It runs in the family!” Eric finally says, “There, are you happy?”
Brian sobers up at that and stares at his husband strangely.
“...What?”
“My bisabuela!” Eric insists, waving his arms around, “Abuelo’s mom! My whole family would all go back to Catemaco, usually once to twice a year. We would mainly visit my cousins, you know Violeta, Arturo, and Juan but also all of the other cousins whom I now just talk to maybe a couple of times a year on Facebook, if that. Catemaco was always a nice time. There’s a big lake, it’s close to the Gulf. I always loved it there and, as a kid, I used to beg my parents to move there. The only part of it I didn’t like was seeing my bisabuela. She always came off as terrifying. She even made my abuelo nervous and he was her son! She’s part of the reason why he decided to leave Mexico!”
“What did this old bat do that made her so terrifying?” Brian asks, “Spit needles at people as she sewed? Walk around the house in all of her wrinkled naked glory? I heard my mom’s grandmother did that before she kicked the bucket. Alzheimer’s.”
“No,” Eric breathes, as if he is gathering patience, “She didn’t walk around the house naked. I wouldn’t be surprised if she went nude for some ritual though. She was a witch. A legitimate, animal sacrificing, evil witch.”
Brian has to bite his lower lip to stop the laughter at Eric’s seriousness. If he wants to get anything else out of him, he knows he has to try to take him at least somewhat seriously, even if he has gone insane. After being with the same man for over seven years, sometimes there are gaps of time where they don’t learn anything new about each other. It is nice for the most part. They know each other’s bodies, making it so pleasure is almost instantaneous. They know each other’s mannerisms, ways of thinking, what makes the other tick, how to go about comforting each other when needed. But one thing both of their knowledge was limited on was each other’s families. Being more or less disowned by their parents, childhood memories regarding their families often were often left unsaid. And at times like these, whether it was Brian talking about the time that his father had broken his arm when he was 5 and Claire had rolled him to the nearest emergency room in a wagon or Eric spoke of the time that his sister sat on his rabbit and killed it, resulting in his mother taking him out the next day to get a dog despite his father being against it, there tended to be something new to learn.
Even if that something new dealt with witches and animal sacrifice.
“Forget it. You aren’t going to believe me.”
“Oh, shut up,” Brian huffs, “I’m listening, aren’t I?”
Eric mumbles something under his breath and Brian sighs before rolling over, partially on top of Eric’s chest.
“Come on. You have me intrigued. Tell me about the Wicked Witch of Catemaco.”
Eric glances at him, “Well, if you insist.”
“I insist,” Brian confirms, rolling his eyes.
“Catemaco is known for its beauty but also known for its witch community. There are dozens of brujos and brujas there. Some of them are into crystals and white magic, just harmless stuff really. They are more about providing for the Earth and using its energy as a source for good. There are some who dabble on both sides, and then there are the truly dark ones. My bisabuela was apparently known for being a black witch. She was suspected of deaths and disappearances by her village, people were afraid of her, but there was absolutely no proof to even get her arrested or questioned. The police tend to stay away from that community anyway.”
Eric takes a deep breath and goes on.
“Once, when I was about 11, I spent the night at her house. I had on a couple of visits. We found some strange things and she freaked me out but this time was different. She had this big old house that was pretty secluded, up on a hill that overlooked the lake. It had been passed down through the generations. Her sister inherited it but her sister died under mysterious circumstances so my bisabuela got it. My whole family was so tense. Amanda was too little to understand but even George kept his distance and just spent the day swimming and surfing before locking himself up in the bedroom he was sharing with me and Amanda. My father thought it was all bullshit but you could tell she made him nervous. She just had that aura about her. My mom and abuelo made us promise to keep our distance. But I was a curious kid. And even then, I was into architecture and wanted to explore the house. Anyway, it was late one night and I couldn’t sleep. It seemed like everyone else in the house was asleep so I decided to go downstairs, get a drink of water, and explore a little. As I looked around, I heard something people whispering down in the basement. Because I was stupid, I went down there. And that’s when I saw it. She and a couple of other like-minded people beheading a goat and chanting to Satan. They had masks on but I knew it was her when she looked at me. Then, faster than any older woman should walk, she was in front of me and tilted her head and I ran for my parents room. My mom woke up my abuelo and abuela and they went downstairs and couldn’t find anything or anyone but the headless goat. We left that night, got a hotel to stay at until our flight a couple of days later, and avoided her house on every visit after that. A few years later, she was found dead with five other people in a field. The cause is still unknown.”
Brian stares at him and tilts his head, “So did you just make that up as you went along or have you been planning on pranking me for a while?”
Eric glares, “I am telling the truth. Call my mother if you don’t believe me.”
Brian huffs out a laugh, “Yes, because she would LOVE to hear from me.”
“Fine. My brother then. It’s earlier in California anyway.”
Brian sighs and shakes his head as we watches Eric presses George’s name on his phone, “Eric...you are so fucking weird.”
“Shhh,” Eric warns as the phone rings.
“Hola, mi hermano menor,” George drawls in his slight southern accent.
“Your Spanish still sounds so atrocious,” Eric mutters, shaking his head, before getting down to business, “George, I was telling Brian about bisabuela and how she is an evil witch who beheaded a goat in her basement. Tell him I’m not lying.”
There’s a pause on the line before George clears his throat.
“Well, I didn’t witness it,” George answers, “But yeah. Good ole’ Zenaida was pretty freaky. You tell him about the time we found a bunch of human teeth stuffed into a voodoo doll?”
“No, I put more focus on the goat sacrifice and the fact that she was found dead with five other people in a circle formation.”
George laughs, “Good riddance, right? Abuelo hated her. Can’t blame him. Who would want to grow up with her as a mother? Mama lived in Catemaco until she was 14 but Abuelo made sure they saw each other as little as possible. Can’t blame him there either. But as interesting as this conversation has been, Clover here is wanting me to head on to the bedroom to-”
“Alright, bye,” Eric says quickly before hanging up on his brother. Right after he gets over his disgust, he turns to Brian and looks at him pointedly, “See?”
Brian shakes his head and sighs dramatically, “I can’t believe you would let me marry into a family of Satanists.”
Eric growls, “It was just the one family member that I know of and she has been dead since I was a teenager.”
Brian lets out an almost hysterical giggle. It may be the general lack of sleep or just the ridiculous conversation Eric is insisting on having, but part of him, just a small part, feels concern over what Eric had witnessed roughly 28 years before.
“I am sorry you had to see something like that,” Brian tells him, much to Eric’s disbelief, “You should have told me sooner. As much as I don’t believe in witchcraft and ghosts and demons, at least literal ones, that’s pretty heavy, especially for an 11 year old.”
“It was frightening,” Eric mutters, as almost as if he feels justified now.
Brian sighs, sits behind Eric, and rubs the man’s back, “I still have no idea what this has to do with Lily though. She was talking to a coat rack.”
“Bisabuela apparently saw ghosts when she was a kid too. Talked to them all the time. That’s what my abuelo said his grandfather told him. He only saw his grandparents a couple of times. Bisabuela got pregnant at 15 and lived on her own. They told him they had been relieved when she cut almost all contact because they were afraid of her.”
“Okay, so she was probably schizophrenic and maybe a sociopath,” Brian concludes, “Lily is neither of those things. And this is one POSSIBLE instance where she has spoken to a ghost. She hasn’t seemed to be prone to anything like this before. If she has seen anything, then she isn’t telling us.”
“I know I am being superstitious and paranoid. I am usually not a hardcore believer in those types of things either. But it just freaked me out, considering the history.”
“I understand,” Brian murmurs before putting his lips against Eric’s shoulder.
“You do?” Eric asks, almost hopefully.
“No. I still think you’re nuts. But at least I understand why you are nuts.”
That’s when Eric hits him with a pillow.
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It’s difficult to feel Lily’s tears against his neck as she sobs out her grief over his departure. Eric watches them, expression tight.
“Hey…” Brian soothes, rubbing her back to try to will her to calm down, “I thought you’d be sick of me by now.”
“Nev-Never,” Lily chokes out, shaking her head, “I want y-you around all the t-time.”
Brian kisses her forehead and holds her close once more as she dissolves into tears.
“You’re going to have a great time,” he whispers, “You’ll get to spend time with Papa, explore New Orleans, see the sights, become cultured and sophisticated-”
“But I want you to become sophismated too!” Lily wails.
“Lily, I have to work,” Brian tells her, “I will call every night, talk to you on FaceTime. We’ll see each other again in a week and the three of us will be together for good, you know that.”
Lily nods her head, sniffles, and wipes at her face, “You pr-promise?”
“Yes,” Brian answers honestly, “Cross my heart.”
“Four of us counting my baby sister, Daddy,” Lily chokes out, “You can’t forget about her. It might hurt her feelings.”
“We would never want that,” Brian smiles softly, “Give me one last hug before I board the plane?”
Lily’s face scrunches up as she holds back a sob and throws her arms around his neck once more.
“Love you,” he whispers into her hair.
“Y-You too,” Lily tries to get out.
Sighing, Brian manages to put her down next to Eric and tries to block out the sounds of his daughter crying into her hands.
“Call me once you land,” Eric says to him, entering each other’s embrace in the process, “One more week, right? We’ll be fine.”
“Yeah,” Brian breathes out, biting his lip, tightening his arms around Eric’s shoulders, “We can do it. It’s a week. We’re not lesbians.”
“I’m still not sure why that’s an insult,” Eric chuckles, “All the lesbians I’ve met are pretty tough.”
Brian rolls his eyes, before stepping back to give Eric a kiss. It’s not obscene or even overly passionate. It’s sweet, almost chaste but not quite, and hints at a promise that the time apart is nothing.
Eric smiles, eyes bright, and cradles Brian’s face, “I love you.”
Brian presses his forehead against Eric’s, “Yeah, same.”
“Oh, fuck off and get on your plane,” Eric laughs.
Brian gives him a smirk, lets his fingers run through Lily’s curls, and picks up his laptop bag before walking over to board his flight.
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Diana meets him at the airport and already has a taxi waiting for them. He likes his new assistant. She thinks ahead, for one thing, Like today, she let him know there is a suit waiting for him at the office and that she will take his luggage home. She is smart, trustworthy, and kind. She isn’t quite as tough as nails as Cynthia and Malia are, but maybe that will come with time. It would work towards her benefit if she was. Malia’s first promotion led her straight to becoming a senior ad exec while Cynthia was the head of Kinnetik’s Chicago branch, after all.
After talking to Eric briefly, he realized how filled his Monday really was - three presentations, four phone conferences, and a lunch meeting dinner meeting. He feels like he is all over the place, from his office to the board room to the art department to the studio. His lunch is at Cucina Liberta in Battery Park and his dinner is at Riverside Cafe in Dumbo. While he doesn’t have to head back to the office after dinner and Dumbo is technically within walking distance from his house, he ends up getting an Uber for both his new client and himself. He lets Ms. Caperton take the first one that comes within 10 minutes and he waits another 15 for his, sitting on a bench, just watching the water and skyline every so often until he gets a notification that his ride is here.
When he heads home, he is slightly ashamed to say that he falls asleep on the couch watching Stranger by the Lake on Netflix. He wakes up at around 9 o’clock, menu screen displayed on the flat screen, and calls Eric before he forgets. Lily’s perked up since this morning, something he is grateful for. He listens to her prattle on about her day before she gets distracted and puts the phone down. He says his goodbyes to his husband once Eric picks up the phone, then finds himself sitting in silence.
He’s not so great at being alone anymore. He should appreciate the silence and solitude, it comes so infrequently with a four year old in the house, but for some reason he can’t.
Getting his iPhone out once more, he types in a few words and presses send.
Any developments on
Operation Baby yet?
It only takes a few minutes for Justin to reply.
Yes, actually.
How was New Orleans?
Hot. Want to come over
tomorrow or sometime this week?
I should be back around 6 or so
tomorrow and Wednesday.
Brian waits a minute and Justin replies.
I am working on a mural in
Williamsburg tomorrow and
have some appointments in the
afternoon. Wednesday’s better.
We could get takeout for dinner.
Sounds good. We’ll decide from
where when you get here.
Okay, see you then.
Later
Brian puts down the phone then chooses something more cheerful to watch in order to make things less quiet.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
He texts Justin on Wednesday when he’s getting ready to leave for work. He checks on a few departments before he leaves. Shouts some orders at the people in the art department. Goes down to accounting and finds out how they are doing on a few budgets before saying goodbye to Malia, who is picking up Tiana from the daycare downstairs, a new addition to the company, added at the beginning of summer due to the increasing amount of employee requests.
He opts for the train, which he fucking regrets during the August heat wave. He feels sticky and gross by the time he gets off the train and back home, opting to run upstairs for a quick shower, but not one that is quick enough, since he hears the doorbell ring once he turns the water off.
“Coming!” he shouts, trying to dry himself off, before slipping a clean pair of boxer briefs and jeans on and heading downstairs.
Opening the door, he sees Justin standing there on the stoop, skin tanned from working out in the sun, form fitting t-shirt clinging to his pecs and biceps. Fuck, he is muscular. Not like Ben but definitely more muscular than him now. If Brian had less confidence about his body, he may feel self-conscious standing in front of his ex shirtless.
“Hey,” Brian greets, turning to the side to let Justin in.
“Hey, Brian,” Justin answers, stepping into the house, “Fuck, it’s hot outside. I’m guessing you took the train too?”
“Yeah. I felt disgusting by the time I got home,” Brian snorts before plopping himself down on the couch, “Excuse my indecency.”
“I can’t blame you,” Justin laughs, “I don’t want to even sit on your furniture with the state I’m in right now.”
Brian smirks, “Take your shirt off.”
Justin’s eyes widen before he sends Brian a playful glare, “Oh, I’m sure Eric would so love that.”
“I mean, he likes you and considers you a friend,” Brian points out.
Justin shakes his head, “Not to the point where I can sit around half-naked with his shirtless husband without anyone else in the house.”
Brian lets out a laugh, “Go wash up. You can wear one of my shirts. I just washed some clothes last night. There are some t-shirts of mine in the laundry room on top of the dryer.”
“I don’t think Eric would like me wearing your clothes either,” Justin hesitates.
“Unless you plan on leaving a cum stain on one, he is not going to give a shit,” Brian scoffs.
Justin rolls his eyes, “Okay, Monica.”
Brian puts his hand to his chest as Justin walks away, “You remember my middle name. Sunshine, I’m touched.”
“Shut up!” Justin calls out from the next room.
Brian waits, picking up the book he left by the couch this morning. He started it last night, Eric read it a month or two ago and cried and vocally reacted to more than once, which Brian poked fun at him for at the time but now he gets it because the book is fucking intense. He had to force himself to put it down last night before bed and got up early to read some more this morning, which is completely unlike him, usually opting to read a book in a sitting during a trip or just a chapter or so a day when he isn’t busy. But he read over one hundred pages last night and it’s hard to take in at times, with the main character not being even a year old than Lily in these horrible circumstances beyond his comprehension.
“What are you reading?” Justin asks him, coming back into the room with one of Brian’s white t-shirts on, looking a little bit more refreshed than before.
“Room,” Brian answers, turning the book over in his hand, before forcing himself to put it down.
“Well, you were squinting,” Justin points out, sitting down next to him, “Maybe you need glasses.”
“You sound like Eric,” Brian grumbles, wrinkling his nose.
“Is it any good?” Justin asks.
“My eyesight?”
Justin shakes his head, “The book.”
“It’s very good,” Brian admits, “Eric bought it at The Strand a few weeks before he left for New Orleans. He read it in a few days and, I swear, he cried at least three times and got so anxious over it. He doesn’t usually react strongly to books or movies but this one got to him.
“Must be intense,” Justin nods, “Does it have you all emotional yet?”
Brian straightens up, “Of course not. I don’t feel emotion.”
Justin barks out a surprised laugh at that before reaching over to look at the back of the book.
“This sounds fucking depressing. A mother held captive in a room for seven years with her five year old son?”
“It’s uplifting too,” Brian protests, “And upsetting and heartbreaking but also funny once in awhile.”
“I thought you didn’t have emotions,” Justin smirks.
“I don’t,” Brian scoffs, taking the book from Justin’s hands and putting it back on the end table, “Where do you want to order from?”
“There’s an Asian place that sells Japanese and Thai food that’s pretty good,” Brian tells him, getting his laptop off the coffee table to bring up Grubhub, “I want something healthy. I feel like my diet is complete shit right now.”
“That’s fine with me. I’m sure there’s something filling I can order.”
Brian orders the green papaya salad and the tuna avocado sushi roll to share with Justin while Justin gets the Curry Chicken Pot with the Miso Soup. Brian motions for Justin to follow him after putting the order in and leads him to the kitchen, hands him a beer from the fridge, then leads him up the spiral staircase to go into the sunroom. The air is on full blast so, despite all the windows of the room letting the leftover light in, it feels nice. It’s probably Brian’s favorite room in the house, just tall enough to see over the buildings of the next to blocks and view lower Manhattan. Looking back, despite Eric’s and Lily’s enthusiasm over the house, it is what sold him in the first place.
“You might want to put a shirt on,” Justin mentions, looking towards the sunset, “You might get a sunburn from being in here.”
“Clothes are overrated,” Brian dismisses before taking a swig from his bottle.
“They always were with you. Unless you were on a shopping spree, that is,” Justin answers, amused, “So how was your trip? Besides hot.”
“Short,” Brian admits, “We packed some tourist shit in, made sure Lily was kept occupied. But, even though it’s short term, seeing your partner just on the weekends sucks. I’ve known that for ten years though.”
Justin shifts in his seat and clears his throat, “...Yeah. I know it sucks. At least you only have a week left though. Less than.”
“That’s true,” Brian comments, “It’s still aggravating though. Won’t be the last time either. Both our jobs demand long distance travel. At least my trips tend to not last more than a couple of days. His can last for months. He usually doesn’t take the really long term projects anymore, or just sees those projects through until the bones of the places are built, before stopping back in a few months later to make sure his designs are being properly executed.”
“Nathan and I used to have to work on accepting each other’s schedules,” Justin admits, “Most of the time it worked out, he could come with me out of state or out of the country to my showings and I could travel with him to music festivals or go with him on regional or coastal tours. But sometimes they conflicted and we wouldn’t be living in the same city for a month or two.”
“Guess you don’t have to worry about that now,” Brian drawls, probably insensitively. He gouges Justin for a reaction. A pissy one, a hurt one. But Justin just looks conflicted and distracted.
“What’s up with you?” Brian grunts out, “Did something happen?”
Justin lets out a sigh and shrugs his shoulders, “I told Nathan last week. About the whole surrogacy thing. I had my sperm tested and the tests said everything was good to go. I picked out my egg donor yesterday and started meeting with surrogates today, even though that was supposed to start next week. I like the second woman I met. She seemed really nice and knowledgable about everything.”
“...That’s great, Justin,” Brian tells him honestly, “How did he take it?”
Justin shakes his head, “Some of it is kind of blurry. We went to our friend’s birthday party. Separately, but we both knew the other would be there. I drank too much. A lot of us did. Nathan only had a few drinks so he helped me home. Made sure I ate and talked to me. I told him sometime then. He seemed little emotional but happy for me.”
Brian nods, “That’s good, right?”
“I guess,” Justin sighs, “He even stayed over when I asked him too. He slept right next to me. We kissed and held each other. What if-”
“I’m not really good at giving relationship advice,” Brian interrupts, wincing at the mere thought, “I only talk to Gus about his girlfriend because I’m obligated as his dad.”
“You are happily married with 2.5 kids,” Justin glares, “You obviously have some tricks up your sleeve.”
“Eric and I are usually in similar places when it comes to shit like that,” Brian tells him, “Nathan isn’t ready for kids, probably doesn’t want them at all. Fuck if I know how to help you there.”
Justin looks away, “I’m not asking for your help or advice. Not really. It’s just...It’s just been a rough year. My parents are badgering me. My mom tried to hook me up with a teacher at the school Tucker teaches at, which was weird. My dad...shit, my dad keeps talking about compromise and is urging me to win Nathan back because he thinks I should get back with him. He likes him. How fucked up is that?”
Brian lets out a humorless laugh, “Well, I know he didn’t like me.”
Justin looks apologetic for a second, “He didn’t like me for a while either, if it makes you feel any better.”
“I wasn’t dwelling on it but it doesn’t.”
It gets quiet for a few moments. It always manages to when they touch upon their past together in any way. Brian clears his throat, searching for a topic that isn’t obvious small talk but takes the attention off of them.
“So how did you choose an egg donor?” Brian asks, swirling the last of his beer around in his bottle, “Eric and I used Cynthia’s eggs for both Lily and the baby. We got to skip that step.”
“I literally just sat there and looked through a computer database,” Justin answers, “I was there for a couple hours searching through different races, ethnicities, hair colors, eye colors. I thought about going with someone of a different race. Biracial babies are adorable and, from what I’ve heard, tend to be a little healthier.”
Justin lets out a breath.
“But, I don’t know, I didn’t want anyone questioning if the kid was mine or not,” Justin admits, “So I went with this really pretty blonde hair, blue eyed woman. She’s Swedish, German, and Russian. Tall, 5’10”. So the kid might fare better than I did but, other than that, we will probably have the same hair color and similar eye color. Maybe I won’t have to explain myself as often.”
“What would you have to explain about yourself? Lily doesn’t look like me and, when people ask, I just fuck with them.”
Justin shrugs, “I don’t know. That I am single. Gay. That I couldn’t get anyone to have a kid with me.”
Brian glares, “Justin, you only asked Nathan.”
“He’s the only person I wanted,” Justin insists before pausing, “I’m coming off as morose. I don’t mean to be. I really am happy about it. Fuck, I have so much baby stuff saved and bookmarked from different stores. I bought this panda romper. It’s black and white with a hood that has eyes, a nose, and ears-”
“God, you sound like Eric,” Brian groans, “He’s been buying so much stuff ever since we found out our surrogate was pregnant. And after we found out it was a girl? You should see the room next to Lily’s. It’s filled with so much stuff. The thing is, he hasn’t even been here and I’m getting packages at the house. Clothes and decor items he’s bought down there and sends back to me, different toys he has sent to the house from online boutiques. Most of it will probably end up being donated anyway. He’s like you in that sense. He gets excited and starts planning.”
“That’s literally all I am doing when I am on my computer,” Justin laughs, “Buying baby books, studying up on development, adding toys and clothes to carts. At least you and Eric have a kid on the way and know it’s a girl. Mine hasn’t even been conceived yet.”
“Only a matter of time, I suppose,” Brian drawls, “You are growing up so fast-”
Before Justin can banter back, the doorbell rings. Brian gets up and picks up both of their beer bottles.
“I’ll get it. You want to come down and put a movie on or something?”
“Sure,” Justin agrees, standing up as well.
Brian drops the bottles into the recycle bin when they hit the kitchen before going to the foyer as Justin sits down on the couch in the living room and searches through Roku. Brian counts the money in his hands as he opens the door to get his order, but sees someone unexpected.
“Sorry,” Emmett frets, situating Duncan on his hip, “I don’t mean to arrive unannounced, “I tried calling your cell and you didn’t answer. I thought you were probably busy so I called Justin but then he didn’t answer and then I called you and you still weren’t answering and I was closer to Brooklyn Heights since I took Duncan to that BIANCO Circus event down at Brooklyn Bridge Park so I decided to stop by and see if there was a chance you were home-”
“Emmett-” Brian interrupts, “What do you need?”
“Hi, Brian!” Duncan exclaims, waving his hand enthusiastically.
Brian leans over to plant a kiss on the boy’s forehead, “Hey, kiddo.”
“I got a call from Drew,” Emmett continues, rambling slightly less, “His grandfather is in the hospital, minor heart attack. He’s going to be okay but Drew’s grandmother isn’t in the greatest shape. She doesn’t get around as well, is a bit senile, not to mention distraught over her husband being ill. They live right outside of Allentown so it’s not even two hours away. Drew...he wants to be there for her, at least for the night. Can we come in? It’s hot.”
Brian steps aside and he doesn’t even think of how answering the door shirtless might clash with who is in the next room.
Emmett tenses when he runs into Justin. Justin, who had probably gotten up to see what had been taking Brian so long, can sense it just as well as Brian can and, even though they are both innocent, Brian imagines that Justin feels as much unnecessary guilt as he does.
“Jus!” Duncan shouts, “Whataya doin’ here?”
“Yeah, Justin,” Emmett smiles, a little too brightly to be completely genuine, “What are you doing here?”
“I was just visiting Brian. I thought you were the delivery man,” Justin answers, rubbing the back of his neck.
“Nope, just little old me,” Emmett tries to say off-handedly before turning to Brian, “Brian, do you stay shirtless in front of all of your guests?”
“I do have a history of it,” Brian points out, “You never told me what you wanted me to do after arriving unannounced.”
“I tried to be courteous but you AND Justin both had your phones off,” Emmett accuses. Jesus Christ.
“I must have left mine in the bathroom,” Justin answers quickly, “I’m sorry, Emmett. What’s going on?”
Emmett sighs, “Drew’s grandfather is in the hospital. He’s close with his grandparents so I want to go with him to Allentown to stay with his grandmother. I would bring Duncan, I know he would be good. But his grandma gets confused sometimes and adding a little boy into the mix may stress her out. We only plan on staying there until Drew’s dad gets there anyway. He’s leaving first thing in the morning and should be there in the early afternoon, so we should be able to leave right after he gets there and thank god for that.”
Emmett takes a breath and continues, “I came here since I was close when Drew called but if either of you could watch Duncan for the night, I would be very grateful.”
“I can watch him,” Brian offers, “That way, you and Justin don’t have to worry about getting an overnight bag together. He already has clothes and a toothbrush here.”
“Thank you,” Emmett says gratefully, “I really mean that, Brian. I know this is short notice and I’m...interrupting your evening.”
Before Brian can make a rebuttal, Emmett squats down to get Duncan’s attention.
“Pa and I are going out of town tonight,” Emmett tells him softly, “We’ll be back tomorrow though. You’re going to stay with Brian. That okay?”
“Yeah!” Duncan bounces before looking around, “Where’s Lily?”
“She’s with her papa, Baby. She won’t be back for a few more days.”
That statement brings on the crossed arms and quivering lip.
“Duncan,” Brian says dramatically, putting a hand to his heart, “You mean to tell me you only come here because of Lily?”
“Yes,” Duncan chokes out, “Daddy, I want to come with you!”
“Hey,” Emmett warns, “Don’t cry. I wish you could but you’ll have a good time with Brian. You always talk about how cool he is. You’ll have a good time, I promise.”
Duncan wipes a hand across his face then turns away from Emmett, “Bye forever then.”
“Baby, I really don’t know where you are getting this sass,” Emmett sighs before standing up, “You going to give me a hug before I go?”
Duncan shakes his head, still refusing to look at his father. It sort of surprises Brian, considering Duncan is probably one of the sweetest and most compliant kids he’s ever met.
“I don’t know what’s gotten into him,” Emmett worries.
“He’s actually behaving like a normal four-year-old brat,” Brian snickers, “It was only a matter of time.”
“I’m not a brat!” Duncan shouts, before stomping across the room to pout in the corner.
“Feel free to put him in time out when I leave!” Emmett says loud enough for Duncan to hear before whispering to the two adults, “I think he is just tired. I had him in the city for the last few hours and it was hot and muggy. He’ll need a bath. I don’t have his bear with me. I made him leave it at home today and now I am kicking myself for that because he will have a hard time falling asleep and will give you a hard time-”
“Emmett, it’s fine,” Brian interrupts, “I have one of the most stubborn children in the world as my daughter. I can handle Duncan.”
“Has he eaten?” Justin asks.
“He had a hotdog a few hours ago but if he gets hungry again, you can go ahead and feed him,” Emmett informs them, “You know how he is. He’ll eat almost anything and has a huge appetite. But he didn’t have much today. I can see it catching up with him.”
Emmett takes a look around the room and lets out a big sigh.
“Well, I better be off!” Emmett exclaims pointedly, “I sure wish a certain little boy would come over and give me a hug goodbye!”
All three of the men can hear the ‘Hmpf!’ from the other side of the room.
Emmett looks pretty dejected over it and Brian can’t help but think it is a little humorous.
“Alright then,” Emmett mutters before heading towards the door. Brian follows him to walk him out and Emmett turns to him once he steps on the stoop.
“...Nothing is going on here, right?” Emmett asks worriedly, “Brian, I understand the long distance spurts suck but you don’t-”
“What do you think I am even doing?” Brian demands, expression going hard.
“You tell me,” Emmett retorts.
Brian glares, “Having a friend over for dinner. Drinking a beer with him. Talking. Not what you are thinking.”
Emmett bites his lip, “Fine. But just be aware how it does look. I don’t think of myself as the jealous type, but if Drew had a man over whom he had truly loved in the past and he didn’t have a shirt on and they were at the house alone? I don’t think I would be happy.”
Brian waits a beat, “Well, good thing you are the only man Drew has ever loved.”
That manages to get Emmett off his back. For now. He’s so easy.
Despite the tense moment, Emmett does pat him on the shoulder and tells him to come by the house tomorrow evening with Duncan, that he will cook Brian dinner and they can hang out. As he watches his friend step off the stoop, Brian feels a short person push past his legs and run down to hold onto Emmett’s thighs.
“I’m sorry, Daddy,” Duncan mumbles, “I miss you. Please come back.”
Emmett makes a sad sound before squatting down, “I’ll be back tomorrow, Baby. You’ve been at here for just as long before. It’ll be okay. Brian will take care of you. It’ll pass by quicker than you know it.
Duncan nods, “‘Kay.”
Emmett kisses his cheek, waits until Duncan is up the steps and holding Brian’s hand, then starts to walk towards Court Street to catch a cab.
Brian hears a whine beside him and he looks down at Duncan. Scrubbing at his eyes, Duncan is trying to hold back his sadness and Brian can’t help but feel bad for him.
“Hey, it’s alright,” Brian tells him softly, picking him up, “It’s just for a day. You like hanging out with me and Justin, right?”
Duncan nods with hesitation, “I d-do, but I like hangin’ with Daddy and Pa more. And Lily and Stella.”
“Even the dog beats me,” Brian tsks.
Justin approaches him then, clearing his throat as he does so.
“He alright?” Justin asks, rubbing Duncan’s back.
“He’s fine,” Brian answers, “We’re not good enough for him, apparently.”
Justin forces a smile and looks down the sidewalk, “I think that’s probably our food. Maybe you should go upstairs and get a shirt on.”
Going by Justin’s expression, Brian is pretty sure he heard what Emmett had said moments before he left.
“Probably a good idea,” Brian admits, putting the little boy down next to Justin, “Here’s the cash-”
“I can get it,” Justin dismisses.
Brian goes upstairs and throws on a shirt, probably something he should have done earlier. When he goes downstairs, Duncan has perked up, due to being able to pay the delivery man. They don’t watch the darker movie Justin picked out, instead opting for one of Duncan’s choosing, Despicable Me, film Brian has watched at least 5 times with both Lily and Duncan, but Justin has yet seen.
“I haven’t had anyone in my life who made me watch children’s movies,” Justin defends himself as Brian expresses shock.
“But you wanted to be an animator,” Brian insists, “I figure you’d watch this shit out of your own free will.”
The look he gets from Duncan when he says a curse word, about one of the boy’s favorite movies nonetheless, is lethal.
Duncan ends up gravitating towards Justin’s meal, rather than Brian’s salad. He isn’t surprised there, but he can tell that Justin is a little put out when he realized how much that kid can eat.
Despite the fact that the rest of the evening is uneventful, Emmett’s tone and words filled with insinuation stayed on his mind. The fact that Justin is so quiet gives Brian a hunch that he might be bothered by it too. But Brian knows his husband. He knows him to be fair, welcoming, and understanding.
But, just in case, Brian will probably try to convince Emmett that nothing went on tomorrow. He doesn’t think Emmett would rat him out, even if there had been something going on, but he needs to make sure the air is clear by the time Eric gets home.
Justin leaves around 9:30. The goodbyes are a bit stiff now that the atmosphere of the evening changed. They don’t hug. They don’t make plans for another day. They just let it be. Even though Brian knows the reason why, he can’t help but feel his stomach turn into a sinking pit.
He gives Duncan a quick bath as soon as Justin is out the door, letting the kid stay in there for only fifteen minutes, despite the protests. He manages to lure the little boy out with promises to let him talk to Lily on FaceTime, something that makes both of the kids happy, especially when they get hysterical over Brian’s distaste when it comes to taking the rats out to show Lily. When he talks to Eric after both Lily and Duncan are in bed, he feels a strange combination of safe and guilty. And, even though when they say goodnight and Brian actually is able to take his mind off everything and read, he is happy to get a call from Gus, despite knowing his son has school in the morning.
He is grateful for everything he has. He’s grateful for his family. His friendships with Emmett, Drew, Michael, Justin...everyone. And he is grateful that he is loved, even though he rarely admits it out loud.
With that thought on his mind, he is able to go to bed peacefully and stay asleep until 2 am when Duncan gets scared and crawls into his bed. But hell, despite Duncan not being his kid, he’s grateful for him and the fact that he feels safe around him too.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Duncan stays in the daycare downstairs while Brian looks through contract drafts, leads presentations, and generally gets on with his workday. He gets no calls upstairs about him. He even opts to call down once to see how the boy is doing.
“Oh, he’s so precious,” Miranda gushes, “Honestly one of the sweetest boys I have ever watched.”
When Brian goes down to get him at 5 o’clock, Duncan is immersed into a story that Miranda is reading to the group. Some of the older kids aren’t interested, from Tiana, who is coloring in the corner to Jacob who is playing with Legos. But the 2 to 5 age group stays still and only makes a sound when they react to what is being read to them. Brian waits until the story is over before making sure his presence is known to Duncan. The boy runs up to give him a hug before grabbing the blue lunch box that Brian had packed for him, one that Eric had bought when Lily said they needed to get Duncan a lunchbox too, “just in case.”
He walks Duncan to the parking garage down the street, where he had to pay forty dollars just for the day, before facing traffic out of the city and into Hoboken. The drive, which takes half an hour longer than it should, is less aggravating than it might be with Lily, who would be asking every two minutes when are they going to get there. Duncan is content singing and humming softly along to the radio.
Emmett greets his son even more enthusiastically than Duncan greets him. Apron on, Emmett leads them into the kitchen to sit down and chatters away, as if they hadn’t gotten a bit cold with each other the night before. Drew comes downstairs a few minutes after they settle in, looking tired and a bit worried but Duncan instantly cheers him up with demanding to be picked up and hugged. For the most part, Drew just sticks to spending time with his son and stays relatively quiet, which makes Brian believe that seeing his father, even momentarily, hadn’t been the best experience. He can understand that feeling.
“I am making salmon with a lemon garlic sauce, along with steamed broccoli and brown rice,” Emmett describes, “All healthy and hopefully won’t add another notch to your belt. Brian, will you get the broccoli out of the fridge? Drewsie, go put on a show or read with Duncan. I want you to relax.”
“But not me?” Brian inquires, raising a brow.
“Nope!” Emmett answers cheerfully, “You are my assistant for the day!”
As soon as Drew and Duncan are out of the room, Emmett’s demeanor changes. It’s subtle but, in the last six months, Brian has become very in tune with Emmett.
“Last night,” Brian starts, “...It wasn’t what you think, alright? I went up and took a shower, took a little too long, and got out just as he was knocking on the door. I had pants on the whole time. We didn’t touch. Nothing happened.”
Emmett is quiet for a moment as he chops some more garlic. Mincing it until it is in tiny little peices, he sprinkles it onto the salmon in the cast iron skillet and lets out a sigh, “Okay.”
“Okay,” Brian repeats cautiously.
“Yeah, Brian. I believe you. It just...it just took me off guard. With you not answering your phones, only to arrive and find you shirtless and Justin in the next room? I don’t know...I was worried, I guess.”
“You don’t need to be,” Brian mutters, “I love Eric, Emmett. You have to know that by now.”
“Oh, sweetie,” Emmett answers, a little surprised by the open confession, “I know that you do. I know you love him so much. I am so incredibly happy for you. But can you honestly tell me you absolutely feel nothing for Justin as well, considering...you know, your history.”
Brian stays silent for a few moments, chopping up the broccoli all while trying to will the question away.
“He’s my friend,” Brian finally answers, “We’re just friends. That’s all it’s ever going to be. I love my life, my husband and my kids, too much to fuck it up. If I did...Fuck, I don’t know what I would do.”
Emmett nods, “I think you would kick yourself for all eternity. You have a pretty great life, Sweetie.”
“I know I do,” Brian answers, without any hesitation at all, “Now what else do you need done?”
They eat dinner outside on the patio. After raining the night before, the weather has cooled down just enough to make it so it’s not miserable.
Drew takes a hint that Emmett wants to spend time with him. He takes Duncan back inside while Brian nurses his third or fourth beer and Emmett drinks some girly shit that’s pink. If they hadn’t gone under last year, Brian would expect that it might be Pool Boy. Too bad they went heterosexual. It really killed the sex appeal.
For some reason, they end up tangled in the large hammock in the backyard, resting against each other as the sky turns purple. Brian glances over at Emmett’s serene look before letting out a small laugh.
“If there’s anything Eric should be jealous of, it should be me, lying around with another man,” Brian comments, looking up at the sky.
I don’t think I am a threat to him,” Emmett answers.
Brian shrugs, “I remember fucking you, way back when.”
“Good times,” Emmett admits, clinking their bottles together as he does so.
Before he can get another word out, his phone starts to vibrate in his pocket.
Brian struggles for a moment to try to get it out, before managing to press ‘Accept’ right before it goes to his voicemail.
“Hello, my love!” Brian slurs out, much to Emmett’s amusement, “How are you doing on this fine evening?
He expects a laugh or a scoff from Eric, a jab or something, but Eric says nothing in return.
“Eric?” Brian asks, a little concerned now, “Everything okay?”
“Uh...yeah,” Eric breathes out, “I...I just called to tell you something.”
“...What is it?” Brian inquires, waiting.
“Work ended a little early. I have everything I need to do with the project. I guess my workaholic ways paid off.”
“That’s good,” Brian answers, feeling the knot loosen a little in his chest, “You sound off though. What’s the matter?”
Eric breathes for a moment, as if he is a little confused himself. It makes the knot in Brian’s chest tighten right back up.
“I...I needed to visit my parents,” Eric answers, “I don’t know if it was talking about them last weekend or just a conversation I had with Lily. But I drove to North Carolina. Lily and I are staying here overnight. Fuck, Brian. I don’t know what I expected. I just know that I needed to hear your voice.”