“I know you two lovebirds want to stay elegant and tasteful so black and white as part of your color scheme are givens. But you need a flair of color. I was thinking you could maybe do red or blue. Red would be more striking and red roses are easier to come across. If you want to go with blue, you could do dyed orchids. Or you can go with-”

“Roses are overdone and cliche. Do the blue orchids,” Brian tells Emmett while he checks his phone to see if Eric has texted him yet.

“Okay, bridezilla. I’m going to wait until your fiancè gets here,” Emmett says, hesitant to put in the order and information until the other half other couple got back.

“We’ve put off the finishing touches long enough. The wedding is a month away. He likes blue. Lily likes blue. It’ll be fine.”

Emmett rolls his eyes at Brian’s answer but obviously sticks to waiting for Eric to come home. In all honesty, Brian doesn’t really care about the flowers. He was telling the truth when he said that roses were cliche but the finishing touches didn’t matter to him. Yeah, he knows that he should want it to be perfect. But he also knows that the only thing he cares about is that Eric, his son, and his daughter are there. Of course he wanted his friends there but those were the three who mattered the most. He’s been with Eric for more than seven years. Besides, he knows him well enough to know that he liked blue more than red.

“Well, Eric picked out this dress for Lily last week,” Emmett tells him while he pulls up a picture on his laptop, “the seamstress can choose a shade of blue that is a close match to the flowers on display for the petals sewn on the bottom, for the sash, and for the headband. He has a similar one picked out for JR that’s more appropriate for an 11 year old. We’ve already bought Duncan’s suit and we’ll get him a tie that matches Lily’s dress since the ring bearer should match up with the flower girl. I know you are just wanting to do black but maybe Eric, Gus, George, Rick, and Michael will be interested in matching the decor.”

“I told you we’re not into the matching color correlation,” Brian mutters but looks over Emmett’s shoulder to remind himself of the dress again. Lily will look fucking adorable. For a minute, the image takes him away from his growing worry of why Eric hasn’t gotten back with him despite the fact he was supposed to be back over an hour and a half ago.

“Eric is on the Upper West Side overseeing the renovation of that old hotel, isn’t he?” Emmett asks, seeing the guarded look appear on Brian’s face, “Train traffic is sort of shitty around this time. Maybe he got hung up. You still can’t get service in a lot of spots underground.”

“Yeah,” Brian responds.

He knows he’s being paranoid but he feels like something is off. That he should be worried. He knows Eric. Eric is the responsible and rational one. The more thoughtful one. Brian knows Eric would let him know if he would be this late, especially since he knew Emmett was coming over so they could make their final decisions.

And he also knows Emmett is trying to distract him to keep him from overreacting. He doesn’t know if he should thank him or snap and say Emmett would do the same if he were in his position.

“I’m glad we agreed it would be for the best to have a joint birthday party for Duncan and Lily. I think they’ll be really surprised when they get to Central Park only to see their friends and a Carnival themed birthday party! I invited the children and family Duncan fostered with before we adopted him plus a few classmates so I think he’ll be excited about that. I also think the Carnival theme was a good compromise. It’ll be something they both enjoy, it will be less work and money overall, and it’s only one party instead of two. I won’t be loaded down with planning two birthday parties, your wedding, and all of my other projects for April. This spring has me almost burnt out. Maybe I’ll retire. ”

Brian smirks, “You can’t retire yet, Honeycutt. You still have to plan your own nuptials with Drew.”

Emmett scoffs and shakes his head, “No way. I am not getting married. It’s enough work to plan other people’s weddings let alone my own. Yeah, I would know what I want but I couldn’t oversee everything while the wedding went on.”

“Then hire someone else.”

“I don’t trust anyone else with my big day! They’d screw it up!”

“You just said you weren’t having a big day.”

“My hypothetical big day. Why are you trying to talk me into getting married anyway?”

“I’m not.”

Emmett’s gaze softens, “You want me to experience the ultimate married hetero life that you have oh so embraced. Brian, that’s so sweet.”

Brian lightly shoves his shoulder and lets out a small laugh, “You wish.”

Emmett laughs and looks down at his watch, “I think Drew said that bubble play ends at 7 so he should be back with the kids by 7:30. You want to do dinner here or go out somewhere?”

Brian suppresses a growl, “I don’t know. I need to know what’s going on with Eric first before I make any plans.”

Emmett nods, “Alright. Did you try calling his office to see if anyone was still there?”

Brian nods, “Yeah. No one answered.”

“I’m sure he’s fine, sweetie. Like I said, the trains get backed up on the weekends sometimes.”

Brian is about to retort that it shouldn’t make Eric two fucking hours late but he hears an engine purring outside of the house and he rushes over to the window to look through the glass. Outside, Eric is giving the taxi driver some cash before heading into the house. Brian walks over to the foyer so that he can meet him.

“Hey! Where have you been?” Brian asks as he turns into the hallway, “Emmett has been here for over an hour.”

“Sorry,” Eric tells him, looking away. Brian waits for Eric to elaborate but he doesn’t.

“What’s going on?”

Eric shrugs as he takes off his shoes, “Nothing.”

Brian walks over to him and puts a hand on his shoulder to turn Eric around. Something is wrong. He can see how fucking sad Eric’s eyes are as he looks away. He pulls him closer and can smell alcohol. It isn’t strong but it’s there.

“You been drinking?”

Eric sighs, “Just a few drinks. Is Emmett still here?”

Brian ignores the question, “Tell me what’s going on.”

“I told you it’s nothing,” Eric snaps, “We need to go talk to Emmett so we can have everything set, right? That’s more important.”

Eric brushes past him after that. What the fuck?

Right off the bat he can see that Eric is drunker than he is letting on. He doesn’t know if Emmett can tell but Brian’s lived with Eric so long that he can tell whenever Eric is feeling off, even about the smallest things. But Eric does approve colors, flowers, and tie patterns with a gruff affirmative noise and that’s that. His fiancè, the one who had been so excited to plan everything about their wedding that he had even gotten Brian excited in the process, was barely talking about the fact that everything was practically ready.

“Are you sure you are okay with everything you said yes to?” Brian mutters as Emmett excuses himself to get a glass of water, “You don’t seem happy.”

“It’s fine, Brian.”

Brian glares, “Why are you drunk?”

Eric glares back, “A few colleagues invited me out for happy hour at a bar uptown and I said yes. That a problem?”

Brian sighs and rubs his eyes, “No. But my calls went straight to voicemail.”

“My phone died.”

“I was worried about you,” Brian confesses before giving in and asking, “Are you mad at me? Did I do something wrong?”

Eric’s eyes become tender before he takes Brian’s hand.

“No, babe. It’s not you. I’m sorry I made you worry. I don’t want to talk about it in front of company though, alright? Don’t worry about it.”

“Too late for that,” Brian tells him, “Eric-”

“Drew and the kids are back!” Emmett calls out.

On cue, Brian hears the sound of little footsteps pattering towards the living room. Lily and Duncan come in, eyes bright and happy. Lily runs over to Eric and Brian is relieved when Eric melts and smiles for their daughter despite whatever is going on.

“Hey, baby!” Eric says as she hugs him, “How was the show?”

Lily, at a mile a minute while bouncing on her heels, answers him.

“Papa, it was the coolest show in the whole wide world! There were bubbles EVERYWHERE! There were big ones and little ones and colored ones and funny shaped ones. I loved it loved it loved it LOVED IT!”

Eric turns to Duncan, “Did you like it, Duncan?”

“It was cool!” is all Duncan says, “I liked the bubbles!”

“Well, those were raving reviews. You two should critique for the New York Times. I’m sure the show’s marketing team would appreciate it,” Brian remarks.

Eric smiles a little at the sarcasm and it makes Brian’s heart twinge with affection.

“Huh?” the kids ask, both confused by the suggestion.

“I’m glad you both liked it,” Eric tells them.

“I will take you and Daddy to see it very soon,” Lily promises as she goes over to Brian and gives him a big hug as well, “I have to go tell Bianca and Vernon about the show! Come on, Duncan!”

Lily races Duncan upstairs and soon they are out of sight.

“Emmett, can I talk to you for a second?” Brian asks his friend as he gets up.

Emmett nods, “Sure, Brian.”

Brian leads him into the kitchen and lets the door swing shut.

“I know it’s asking for a lot, especially of Drew since he just had the kids for a few hours on his own, but would you mind if you and Drew took Lily and Duncan out to dinner while I stayed here with Eric?”

Emmett looks at him, “You’re not asking for a lot. We love Lily, you know that. It’s not a problem. Is Eric okay? He seemed off when he came back.”

Brian shakes his head, “Something’s wrong. He won’t tell me while there’s people here. I need to know though and I don’t want Lily to overhear in case it’s something upsetting.”

“I understand. We’ll take the kids to Park Plaza for dinner and head down to Dumbo for ice cream. It’ll give you two some time. Let us know if there’s anything else we can do.”

Brian nods, “Hopefully it’s something he gets over pretty quickly. Let me go get some money from my wallet to cover her meal and dessert-”

Emmett waves him off, “Please, you’ve been paying me too much for the wedding already. I think I have twelve bucks to spare for her. Help me pry them away from the rats so that Drewsie and I can take them and be on our way.”

Brian walks with him upstairs and, Emmett was right, they do have to pry them away. But soon enough, they are lured in by the idea of food and comply.

“Why aren’t you and Papa coming?” Lily asks as Brian puts her shoes back on.

“Because Papa and I need to talk about some stuff.”

“You can talk in a restaurant. Duncan and I talk in restaurants,” Lily informs him as though her relationship with Duncan is on the same level.

Brian rolls his eyes before taking her head in between his hands and kissing her on the forehead.

“We need to talk alone. Without little kids around.”

Lily huffs, “I’m NOT little-”

“Lily, please. Papa and I will be here when you get back in a couple of hours. We might let you stay up even later after you get home if Emmett and Drew tell me you’re good.”

Lily’s eyes brighten at that and she stops with the inquiries and arguments.

Brian leads them downstairs and sees Eric getting up and going to the coat rack. He puts a hand on Eric’s shoulder and shakes his head.

“Emmett and Drew are taking them and we’re staying here. I’ll make you something if you’re hungry.”

“Brian, it’s-”

Brian gives him the sternest look he can muster. Eric stares back, sighs, then turns to Emmett and Drew.

“Have a good meal, guys.”

“Will do!” Emmett exclaims, “Now you and your husband-to-be take advantage of this time, you hear me?”

The four go out the door and walk down the steps, leaving Eric and Brian alone. Brian turns to Eric, puts his hands on his cheeks, and makes Eric look him in the eyes.

“Talk.”

Eric lets out a shaky sigh and pulls away, “It doesn’t matter, Brian. I don’t want to talk-”

“Don’t give me that. We’re partners. I need to know what’s got you in such a shitty mood.”

“I don’t want to think about-” Eric breaks off, voice trembling and his eyes filling up with tears.

“Hey…” Brian murmurs, “Hey, shhh. What’s going on?”

Brian brings him in for a hug and Eric sniffles into Brian’s neck.

“I’m so fucking pathetic,” Eric chokes out as his tears wet Brian’s neck.

Brian frowns, “What the fuck are you talking about? Don’t say that.”

Eric doesn’t answer so Brian leads him to their bedroom and makes him lie down. He gets in the bed behind his lover and holds him around his stomach.

“You need to tell me what’s going on. Right now.”

Eric’s breath hitches and Brian rubs slow circles into Eric’s skin until he finally speaks.

“I talked to George today. He called to ask if he could bring his new blonde surfer vegan hippie bimbo girlfriend to the wedding.”

“Another one?” Brian asks, raising an eyebrow, “No wonder you’re upset.”

Eric doesn’t laugh at the comment like Brian expected him to and just goes on, “I told him he could. He’s one of my best men and deserves to bring a date. I didn’t really care. I want my brother to be happy and, while she is probably just another notch on his belt in the long run, he seems to like her. That isn’t what’s wrong.”

“Then what is?”

Eric lets out a shuddering breath, “...I sent my parents invitations to the wedding.”

Brian frowns, “You didn’t tell me that.”

“I don’t know why I didn’t tell you. I guess if they said no and no one knew, I could pretend I never invited them. But they never answered. Never called or wrote or sent a fucking email to even decline the invitation. So when George called, my curiosity got the best of me and I asked if they said anything about it. George doesn’t get nervous. He’s so blasè about everything but he was too fucking chicken to tell me what he knew about how our parents felt about me getting married. So I told him I would see him in a few weeks and hung up with him. Not knowing bugged me all fucking day. So I ended up going into a room in the hotel to call Amanda. She was busy with Julian and Carlos. Julian hasn’t turned two yet but he’s already hitting that stage and Carlos is only two months old so you know how that is. I wasn’t on the phone with her long but she was more forthcoming with what she knew. She didn’t want to be the one to tell me but she did let me know that Mom and Dad weren’t coming to the wedding. I...I got upset. Asked her to tell me what they said. She told me she didn’t talk to them much about it. She had tried to get them to consider going but they wouldn’t listen.”

Eric takes a shaky breath and Brian kisses his shoulder a few times in an attempt to calm him down.

“I should have stopped there. I should have accepted it and moved on. But I couldn’t. The more I tried the more pissed off I got. So I called my parents’ house. Mom answered. She claimed Dad was out playing golf. When she realized it was me, she became so guarded and cold. I tried to be nice. I asked her how she was doing and she would give me these clipped responses. Then she tried to excuse herself and before I knew what I was saying I asked her, “Why don’t you want me to be happy?”

Eric lets out a small sob and Brian lets his arms tighten around his partner.

“She told me she didn’t have time for silly conversations but I interrupted her and pointed out that I have been with you for seven years. That we were raising a beautiful little girl together that she barely knew because she and Dad didn’t want to be around us. That things have changed in the last decade and gay relationships are a lot more accepted now. I asked her again why couldn’t she just be happy that I was happy and s-support me. Up until I was in college, she was proud of me. And...she told me that...she told me that it was my business to be in a perverted relationship. She wouldn’t support my relationship but I was a grown man and she couldn’t stop me. But she won’t come to our sham of a wedding only to get her heart broken due to seeing her granddaughter in such an awful living situation. She told me that we were horrible parents for corrupting and confusing an in-innocent little girl and that we should be deeply ashamed of ourselves. I...I lost it. I cursed her out and yelled and cried. I know it didn’t help my case at all. She just hung up on me. Why would she say that? Why do they both hate me so fucking much? Why-”

Brian’s heart cracks when Eric lets go of his hands only to cover his face and sob deeply. Brian feels his own eyes get teary as he tries to comfort Eric only to realize that his partner was far too upset to calm down.

“Eric, don’t let that shit get to you. You know none of it is true. Hey, shhh...shhh, it’s okay. It’s going to be okay,” Brian whispers into his ear. He’s not sure if Eric hears him or not.

Brian gets up to come kneel beside the bed and pull Eric’s hands away from his face.

“Listen to me,” Brian tells him sternly, “Fuck her, alright? Fuck your dad too. They are ungrateful fucking bastards. They don’t know how fucking lucky they are to have a son like you. They don’t know how fantastic you are at being a father. They don’t know how happy Lily is. What she said is complete bullshit and you know that. Forget about them.”

“I can’t! I-I can’t-” Eric gasps out.

“Try. I hate them. I hate them so fucking much. You are such a loving and happy person but whenever you talk to them you get all fucked up and I want to beat the shit out of them every time it happens. Stop trying to get them to accept you. It isn’t your job,” Brian begins to rant without even thinking about it.

“I just want them to be happy for us,” Eric croaks out.

“We don’t need their happiness and approval. I’m happy for us. You’re happy for us too. That’s all we need. We don’t need them at our wedding for our relationship to be validated. Hell, we don’t even need a wedding at all. I’ll take you to the courthouse on Monday just to prove it to you.”

That does bring a small smile out of Eric, “I think Emmett would be pissed if we canceled it now just to run off and get married at City Hall. I guess we’ll just have to go through the whole wedding regardless.”

Brian smiles back but then gets more serious, “I mean it, Eric. It’s their loss.”

Eric nods, “I know that logically. I was just so fucking mad and devastated. A few of the construction workers caught on pretty quickly. Hardened, manly, native New Yorker boys. They asked me to tag along for some drinks and I didn’t even think about the time while I was there. I had a few drinks with them and we did a round of shots. They know I’m gay and seem fine with it. It’s strange, looking at them you would think they would make snide remarks but they don’t. The oldest one has a son who’s bi and a daughter who’s a lesbian so I think he may have educated the other workers on his team.”

“I’m glad you are meeting nice people,” Brian tells him, “Feel free to invite them.”

Brian leans forward and puts his forehead against Eric’s before kissing his tear tracks.

“Love you,” Eric mumbles as he nuzzles into Brian, “You make me feel so much better when I feel like complete shit.”

“What can I say? I am absolutely fantastic,” Brian drawls as he gets on top of his partner.

Eric lets out a small emotional laugh, “Yeah, you are. Show me how fabulous you are.”

Eric brings him down for a desperate kiss and Brian feels himself growing hard against Eric’s leg. He grinds into his fiancè and they both rid themselves of their clothes.

“Fuck me,” Eric rasps out, “I want you to fuck me hard.”

And who would Brian be if he ignored a request like that?

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“I feel bad about coming back so late. Especially since Emmett was here. I hope he’s not pissed,” Eric tells him, his head on Brian’s bare chest.

Brian shrugs, “He likes you more than he likes me, I think. The only thing that probably has him pissy is that he would have rather hung around with you than me.”

Eric huffs, “Emmett is crazy about you. We’ve been seeing him at least every week since we got here and you two go out by yourselves to bars every couple of weeks too. You hang out with him more than I remember you hanging out with Michael.”

Brian thinks about the last couple of years he and Michael lived in the same city. Shit. Eric’s right. Granted, when he hangs out with Emmett 75% of the time it’s for Lily and Duncan’s benefit but they have a great time together.

“You miss Pittsburgh? Being around your family?”

Brian shrugs, “Sometimes. I miss when I could see all of them whenever I want. I miss what Michael and I used to have once in a while. We text and talk on the phone a lot but it isn’t the same. I miss the diner and Debbie’s house.”

“You bought Debbie’s house so she could go stay in it when they went back to Pittsburgh to visit,” Eric points out.

“Yeah,” Brian admits, “It isn’t the same though.”

“I remembered wondering why you didn’t want to relocate to Toronto instead of New York,” Eric tells him, “I know that business was the best here but I figured if we moved again it would be closer to Gus.”

Brian shrugs, “It was the best for Kinnetik and I have enough money to fly up to Toronto or Gus down here whenever I want. I miss Gus when he’s not here and I thought about relocating the three of us to Toronto at one point, you know that. But I know Gus wants to come back to the U.S. after he graduates high school. He’s only a freshman so that could change but he’s talked about moving to New York ever since he was nine when I brought him here for vacation, just the two of us. I figure it’ll be nice for him to have a home base if he ends up going to college here. Besides, I like my life here. I have you and Lily.”

Eric smiles and kisses his cheek, “I love my life here too. I worried about the move. So much space in this city is already taken up. But business here has been good. If I need to build something grand then I can always take a trip and do it somewhere else and come back home to you.”

“Like you are doing in August by going to New Orleans for a whole damn month?” Brian asks.

Eric sighs, “I thought you were okay with that.”

“I am. I just think you need to reconsider since I know you’ll miss Lily,” Brian points out.

“Of course I will. Maybe I could take her-”

“No,” Brian interrupts, “Not for the whole month. I’ll bring her to see you and maybe you can have her for a week or two but not for the whole entire month. Last time you kept taking her on your projects abroad it ended up causing us to fight non-stop.”

“I remember that,” Eric reminisces, “You were so fucking pissed all the time and finally blew up at me when I literally came back just for a day. That was a busy six months. I jumped right back into work right after Lily’s first birthday and had things set up all over the US, Canada, and Mexico. I was barely home. I’m surprised you stuck around.”

“Love has made men do crazier things.”

“I’m glad you did. I can’t imagine a life without you in it.”

Brian can only take so much mush so he lightly shoves Eric off of him with an indifferent, “Yeah, same.”

Eric smirks at Brian’s response and says, “We should probably get dressed. Emmett and Drew should be back with the kids soon.

Brian groans, “I miss the days when I could walk around the house naked.”

Eric laughs, “I can tell. When Lily went to Emmett’s to spend the night last week your clothes were off as soon as they were out the door.”

“And I got you to take your clothes off too. That was a great day.”

Eric snorts, “Put your pants on, Brian.”

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Drew is holding Lily and Emmett is holding Duncan when they get back from Dumbo. Both kids look exhausted and Brian knows Lily won’t be staying up later like he said she could.

“They both enjoyed themselves,” Emmett says softly while Drew hands Lily over to Eric, “She got some ice cream on her dress so you’ll need to pre-treat it.”

“Got it. Thanks, Honeycutt.”

“Don’t call me Honeycutt,” Emmett answers fondly before heading out the door with Drew.

Eric heads up the stairs and Brian follows to get Lily into her pajamas and into bed. The little girl barely makes a peep until she is tucked in and says, “Night, Daddy. Night, Papa. Love you.”

And of course they tell her they love her back before turning on her nightlight and gently closing the door.

Brian can tell Eric is still upset about his parents. He lets Eric rest his head in his lap and Brian plays with his hair as they watch a movie. It’s so fucking domestic but it’s nice and he can feel the tension and heartache slowly leave Eric’s body as he gets more and more tired. He hopes sleep doesn’t bring Eric nightmares or distress of any sort due to the day’s events. He wants Eric to sleep peacefully. Maybe if he just sits here and keeps petting him, Eric will let what happened today go.