Justin wakes up to the sound of Nathan’s phone ringing. He had trouble sleeping the night before so he tries to ignore it as Nathan picks it up and begins speaking to the person on the other line.

“Hello?...Okay, what time do you want the reception area set up?....Yeah, sure....That's fine...We’ll come down to show them where the sound equipment needs positioned. Need anything else, Emmett?...Yeah, I’m sure Justin would be willing to help with the kids too...No, I’m good...What? I’m not good with kids...We’ll see...Yeah, see you at 2, bye.”

Nathan hangs up and Justin feels him shake his shoulder.

“Justin, it’s past noon.”

Justin lets out a sigh and tries to drum up just a little bit more enthusiasm. He told himself he was happy for Brian. He is happy for him. Eric too.

But now that the day was here, it was just hard. He didn’t even want to get out of bed. But he would.

“Alright. Let me get a shower. Did you volunteer me to help watch the kids?”

Nathan shrugs, “You know how hard it is to say no to Emmett. He mainly just wants a hand an hour or so before they line up since they aren’t sitting with the guests. I guess Brian didn't want the nanny to take on that many kids and to just enjoy herself and Emmett said it would be fine but I guess me needs help. Who knows why Lindsay or Eric’s sister can’t watch them?”

“Eric said that his sister just had a baby a couple of months ago so she’ll probably be busy with him. Knowing the stages Gus and JR are in, I’m guessing Lindsay and Mel want a break. It’s fine. I told him I would help him if he needed it,” Justin says absentmindedly, “I’ll go get ready. Why don’t you text Molly and see if she and Hunter want to grab something to eat with us in the restaurant downstairs?”

Nathan agrees and Justin goes into the bathroom. He steps in the shower and lets the warm water spray on his neck. Why does he feel such a sense of dread? He’s spent time with Brian and Eric. He knows that Brian is a man in love. It’s so fucking easy to tell. Brian looks at Eric the same way he used to look at him. Sometimes there’s a hint of it there in Brian’s eyes, like when they picked Lily up in Park Slope and spent the day together, but it isn’t the same as when Brian’s eyes light up every fucking time Eric comes into the room. The way his attention shifts from whatever he is doing to his soon-to-be husband. The way that the corners of his mouth lift, just a little bit, as if he doesn’t want to come off as a complete goof and has to suppress the grins Eric brings out of him simply by his presence.

He knows Brian’s tells. There’s a reason why he stuck around so long, despite Brian’s emotional immaturity at the time. After a while, Brian didn’t have to say ‘I love you.’ He already knew. Just like he knows that Brian loves Eric. He’s learned to be happy for them and to become good friends with both of them.

But god, today his heart is aching. It hurts to think that he had planned a wedding with Brian, only for both of them to call it off. It was for the best. He knows that. But sometimes he is irrational when he looks back and it hurts anyway.

He’s being a selfish asshole. It’s not fair to Nathan and it isn’t fair to Brian and Eric, even if he is being quiet about how he is feeling about this. He meant what he told Brian when he said he was really happy for him. He needs to stop wallowing over a relationship that ended almost eight years ago.

So he takes washes his hair and body, rinses, then dries himself off. He puts the towel around his waist and goes back into the room to put on his clothes. He’ll go casual until after they eat lunch. He does not need to stain his white dress shirt before the wedding, even if he’s just a guest.

“Ready?” Justin asks after he makes sure his hair is dry.

“Sure,” is all Nathan says before they leave the hotel room.

When they get down to the restaurant, he can see that Molly and Hunter are already there. Despite wanting to, he hadn’t really gotten to talking to Molly about what was going on with her and Hunter. The four of them had dinner together when they got here last night but it wasn’t like he could talk to her about Hunter when he was sitting right there. Smug little fucker.

Okay. That was a lie. He wasn’t being a smug little fucker but he always had been one before. God, the way he acted around Brian when he first started living with Michael and Ben. The kid had given him the evil eye every time he saw him, as though Brian would be sucking his cock if Justin weren’t in the room. How times have changed. He wondered how Hunter worked out he was straight. Justin always knew deep down that he was gay. The only time he sort of denied it was when a boy in his sixth grade class asked him who he had a crush on. He probably should have said Daphne since they constantly hung out. But he went with someone completely unreachable instead, Alexa Sellers. She had been the one all the boys drooled over, so she seemed like a logical choice. But he really had a crush on Mark McKinley and knew that with all of his being. He gets that people can be confused, especially Hunter who had been forced to prostitute himself at a young age. But he still didn’t completely understand how not knowing worked. He just didn’t want the kid to change his mind and leave Molly for a man. He didn’t want her to get sick. He didn’t want her to be hurt by the distance. He didn’t want her to get hurt at all.

But he had to give Hunter props. He had tried really hard at dinner yesterday. Gone was the snarky attitude he always put on with Justin and in its place was a thoughtful, polite, and slightly nervous young man who held out Molly’s chair and smiled after her like a complete loser. He had known Hunter thought his sister was hot ever since they had both been in New York to visit about three years ago. But he just assumed that Molly would stay way out of Hunter’s league so it didn’t bother him. Guess he was wrong.

“Jester, Nathan! Over here!” he hears his sister call out.

The two of them walk over and sit across from Molly and Hunter. And again, gone was the normal attitude and in its place was a polite pod person who wanted to impress Justin. It was kind of hilarious.

“Did you sleep until noon again, Jester?” Molly asks with slight disapproval lacing her voice, “You’re not a teenager anymore.”

“I didn’t sleep well last night. It doesn’t happen that often. Besides, I don’t have the kind of job that requires me to be up really early like you two do. I paint in my studio and live with a musician who tends to work nights. My schedule it different than yours.”

“Well, while you slept the day away, Hunter and I got up at 6:30 and went for a jog. It’s really pretty out here. You should take a look around the grounds,” Molly suggests.

“You went jogging?” Justin asks.

“Yeah, I’ve been doing it for a few months. It’s easier here though. Morgantown has a lot of hills.”

“You do live in the mountain state,” Hunter says as he grabs a menu.

“So, Hunter. How have you been enjoying the mountain state? Or my sister’s apartment?” Justin says as he tries not to unfairly glare at him.

Hunter looks up, “It’s nice. I used to go down to Morgantown some weekends for parties when I was going to Carnegie so I know my way around. I still have two friends that live down there so I caught up with them at their place for dinner and drinks and introduced them to Molly. I’ve only seen them a couple of times since I transferred to go to film school in California so it was nice talking to them.”

“Gabrielle and Gretchen are very sweet. They’re an awesome couple and invited me to the movies next week which I thought was nice of them.”

“Yeah, they thought you were hot,” Hunter smirks.

Molly slaps his arm, “They did not! They were just being sweet,” but then Molly starts to look flattered, “You really think they thought that though?”

“Who wouldn’t? But yeah. They were fanning themselves over you when you went to the bathroom and told me how great of a catch I had.”

Molly looks quite pleased over that while Justin scowls. He can feel Nathan’s amusement over the situation coming off of him in waves.

“So, Nathan. How have your sets been going?” Molly asks after they order their food.

“They’ve been going really well. We’ve been attracting more fans getting more jobs than usual outside of the schedule Brian set up so that’s good.”

“That’s great. You’re such a great performer. You make all the girls swoon,” Molly says dramatically.

“Well, all those swooning girls will be disappointed,” Nathan laughs.

“Or ship you with Sebastian. That’s the thing to do now, isn’t it? People do it with One Direction,” Molly smirks.

“We are NOT One Direction,” Nathan glares, “We will never be One Direction.”

“Don’t mind him,” Justin cuts in, “Nathan’s a bit of a music snob.”

“I’m not going to be sorry that we have learned to play a few instruments each, write our own stuff, weren’t grouped together by music moguls, and-”

“Don’t conform to the fleeting Top 40 styles?”

“I mean, if you want to add that to the list too,” Nathan sighs.

“I agree with that though,” Molly says to him, “You sort of have a folk glam punk vibe to you.”

“I don’t think ‘folk glam punk’ is a genre, Molly,” Hunter laughs.

“Sure it is! The Accidental Natives made it one. Nathan’s voice sort of sounds like if Jeff Buckley and Freddie Mercury had a baby and the band’s songs vary in style, depending on the message and the tone. I’m bummed I can’t see them perform more,” Molly admits.

“Well, you’ll see us perform tonight,” Nathan tells her.

“Very true. Hey, are you going to be making quips about the couple in between songs? I feel like most wedding performers do that.”

“I’m going to try to keep that to a minimum and just let everyone enjoy the music for the time we’re up there,” Nathan mutters.

Justin can’t help but feel a little bit of relief at that news. It’ll be weird enough that he will have to watch Nathan do a set at his ex’s wedding. It would be even stranger to hear him congratulate and joke with the happy couple.

The waiter comes by with the food and conversation stays pretty light after that. It’s kind of a shame. Talking about something heavy might distract him.

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

When Amanda opens the door for him and lets him into her hotel room, he can already see it’s been a rough morning for her. With Carlos in one arm, a bottle in the other, anda disarray of toys and supplies behind her, she looks as though she is a bit on end.

“Hey, big brother!” Amanda rushes out as she hugs him and kisses his cheek, “Sorry about the boys’ stuff being everywhere.”

“Hey! Don't worry about it,” Eric tells her before his eyes land on his nephew and he gently takes him from her, “Hi, Carlos! I missed you last night. I wish you and your brother would have stayed instead of your Uncle George and temporary Aunt Clover. Yes, I do!”

Amanda laughs, “Please, you would have gotten no rest. I’m glad we got a room up here last night. I can’t imagine the boys acting like they did last night only to drive up here first thing in the morning. Speaking of the boys, can you watch them while I take a shower? Diego went to find a store to get more diapers.”

“Yeah, sure,” Eric agrees as he looks down at his three month old nephew.

“Great. I swear I’ll be really quick.”

Amanda grabs her clothes and rushes into the bathroom and Eric sits on the floor with Carlos and Julian. He positions Carlos in his lap so that he’s sitting on his leg and propped up against his arm then puts the bottle to his lips for him to suck. Carlos surprisingly grabs onto the bottle and when Eric lets go, the little boy keeps it in place.

“Unca Ewric!” Julian greets while running over to him.

“Hey, buddy! How are you?” Eric says, wrapping an arm around his waist.

“Good. Illy?”

“Lily’s with Uncle Brian,” Eric tells him, “Remember Uncle Brian?”

“Uh huh! Unca Bwian is ta, funny, and nice,” the two year old tells him.

“I suppose he has his days,” Eric laughs, “But he’s pretty tall everyday, isn’t he?”

“That’s my bwotha,” Julian says, changing the subject.

“I know, I met him when he was born and when you came over to my house the other day. He’s a pretty cute little brother, huh?”

“Yes, he’s cute! But he’s loud,” Julian says, hanging his head.

“Babies can be loud,” Eric admits, “When Lily was a baby she babbled constantly even though we didn’t know what she was saying. She thought whatever she was saying was the funniest thing in the world.”

“Carlos jus cwies,” Julian mumbles, “Illy is funny. Carlos is not.”

Eric holds back a laugh at that, “I’m sure Carlos will be funny soon enough.”

“Does Illy have a baby bwotha?” Carlos asks.

“No. I promise you, you would have met him if she did,” Eric laughs.

“A baby sista?”

“No, no sister yet either.”

“How come?”

Eric looks around, trying to figure out an acceptable answer, “Because Uncle Brian and I have to plan it out first?”

“Oh. Okay!”

Julian goes over to play with the toys that his sister brought for him and leaves Eric alone with the baby.

Eric looks down at the little guy and, okay, he can admit that his little sister and her husband made two adorable children. He still feels kind of guilty about initially being a little happy over their parents being angry about their impromptu marriage, not that he was openly so. It’s not that he wanted Amanda to face their wrath, but things were getting a bit serious with his boyfriend, Owen, at the time. Owen had just moved in with him and his parents hadn’t been happy over it since at that point they were still hoping he would stop fooling around and find a woman. They had constantly berated him and compared him to his siblings despite the fact he was more financially successful than both of them. And that wasn't exactly an easy thing to do. George and Amanda were doing very well, both business owners. George had professionally surfed and now owned surf shop on Venice Beach and Amanda owned her own arts and interior decorating store in Beaufort, North Carolina and was an interior decorator herself. But he became a millionaire before the age of thirty. He feels like that should have gotten his parents to overlook the fact he was gay but it hadn’t. The only time they ever backed off was when Amanda married Diego. She had gone to spend her last year of college in Spain, wanting to study abroad in a place where she knew the language. She met Diego, one of the head chefs at a restaurant she frequented. According to Amanda, Diego encouraged her to explore her more adventurous side and they fell into a whirlwind romance that lasted most of the year. When she had to go home, they kept in touch for the next year through letters until Amanda was so upset by the distance that she wrote a letter breaking it off. A few weeks later, Diego was at her front door, down on one knee, and asking her to marry him. And she did. The very next day. So, while she technically did it to keep him in the country, they went through with it because they loved each other. Their parents couldn’t see that at the time and Eric remembers how fucking pissed they were that their 23 year old daughter married someone they never even met. But, ten years and two children later, he thinks they have accepted Diego as part of the family and realize that Amanda loves him.

Too bad they couldn’t realize the same thing about him and Brian. He knows he should say fuck it and forget about them but it’s hard when he sees pictures on Facebook of his parents spending so much time with his nephews and going across the country to visit George when they won’t do the same for him and Lily. There had been a couple of times where he built up some hope. They tended to like pictures of Lily or pictures of him and Lily on Facebook but there had been this one time when his father liked a picture of Brian sitting on a swing with Lily. He had commented, “Cute picture. My granddaughter is growing up.” There had been a picture of the three of them that his mother had commented on, saying how beautiful Lily was and that she looked like him when he was a toddler. He knows they care about Lily, and him to an extent, but now he wonders if the likes and comments were just for public appearances. He doesn’t think they will ever change. If he and Brian do have another baby, they would probably do the same exact thing.

But, looking down at his nephew, he realizes he doesn’t care about that. He still wants another kid so much. It had been building more and more ever since Lily asked for a sister, and before that he had brought it up a few times with Brian, but he really thinks he and Brian would be great parents to two children, three counting Gus. As though his nephew can feel the mushiness coming off of him, Carlos looks up at him with big eyes and giggles.

“Are you laughing at me, baby?” Eric murmurs, touching his nose.

The infant gives him a toothless smile and gurgles before reaching up to take a hold of his finger.

“You ever think about having another one of those?” his sister asks from behind him.

“Yeah,” Eric answers, not even thinking about it.

“Really?!” his sister squeals, rushing over to sit down, “Oh my god, Eric! That’s so exciting!”

“Don’t get too excited. Nothing is set in stone. We’ve just been talking about it,” Eric tells her.

“How does Brian feel about it?”

“Strangely, I think he is warming up to the idea. I know I’m the one who is more baby crazy but Lily keeps bringing up wanting a baby sister and he actually had a conversation with her about it. She was talking about how cute Carlos was but when we had another baby she wanted a girl baby. I was pretty shocked when Brian said that it wasn’t up to us when it came to if we got a boy or girl then asked if we ended up having a boy, did she want us to take him back,” Eric chuckles, “She actually had to think about it before saying no. But she does want us to at least try to have a girl.”

“So you’re at least going to try for a kid then,” Amanda presses.

“...Probably. But I haven’t gotten a definitive answer out of Brian yet. We’ve been too busy with planning the wedding. So don’t say that I told you that. It could easily go the other way.”

Amanda claps her hands together, “I’m so happy for you two!”

“Like I said, keep your mouth shut. Do not jinx anything,” Eric reminds her as he puts the burp rag on his shoulder and pats Carlos on his back.

“Be careful. He’s been known to get spit up on me even with the rag,” Amanda advises.

“At least I don’t have my suit on yet.”

Carlos lets out a burp and Amanda looks over his shoulder to assess the damage.

“You got lucky, Eric,” she says as she takes the cloth to put in the sink.

Amanda comes back into the room and says, “I should put the boys down for a nap. Want to get Julian?”

Eric goes over to pick up Julian and, when he sees the direction Eric is walking in, he starts fussing and shaking head.

“No nap no nap no nap!” Julian cries, kicking his feet.

“Julian,” Amanda warns, “Don’t start.”

Julian juts his lower wobbly lip out and looks up at Eric, eyes filled with tears.

“Unca Eric, pease! No nap!” Julian begs, hugging him close.

“Sorry, kid. You have to listen to your mom.”

“But I don’t wan too!” Julian sobs.

“Julian, the more you cry the more convinced I am that you need a nap,” Amanda scolds, “Now stop giving your uncle a hard time. He might just not let you be a ring bearer anymore.”

“Amanda!” Eric hisses, glaring at her.

Julian freezes and turns to Eric, “Kay, I take nap.”

“Good choice,” she tells her son.

Eric kisses the boy’s dark hair, lays him down in the large crib, touches Carlos’s cheek, and stands back up straight.

“What are you doing until the wedding?” Amanda asks.

Eric shrugs, “Getting George’s ass out of bed so he can come down and get ready. Hanging out with Rick.”

“Trying not to call Brian?” Amanda adds.

“Yeah, I already broke that rule on the way here.”

“Aw, couldn’t handle the time apart?”

“He needed comforted,” Eric says softly, thinking back on the conversation.

Amanda smiles, “He’s lucky to have you.”

“I’m lucky to have him too.”

“He is pretty hot,” Amanda agrees.

“He’s more than that. He doesn’t come off this way but when he decides that he loves someone he...he loves them with all of his being. He would do anything for me, Lily, Gus, his friends. He’s a beautiful person. I wish Mom and Dad could see that,” Eric admits.

“I think...I think they know you two love each other. I think they even respect Brian as a person. They just can’t get over the fact that he’s a man. But like George and I have told you, as well as them...it’s their loss. Maybe one day they’ll regret how they have behaved towards you and Brian but don’t get your hopes up because if it never happens you’re the one who will end up hurt.”

Eric sighs, “I know. I know that. It already hurts enough as it is.”

“I know, Eric. I hate that.”

Eric just shrugs and brings her in for a hug.

“See you later. I have to go get George.”

Amanda nods, “You’re going to have an amazing day. It’ll be one of the best days of your life.”

Eric grins at that, “It will, won’t it?”

And it will be. That’s one thing he’s absolutely sure about. The fact that just thinking about standing up there with Brian while they make things official in front of their friends and family has him wanting to smile and tear up and laugh…

It tells him that his sister is right. It will be one of the best days of his life. It’s something he’s never wanted more.

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

“Brian?”

Brian straightens his tie in the mirror before turning around to see Emmett standing there.

“Lily wanted to show you what she looks like in her dress. She told me she just couldn’t wait until the wedding.”

Brian smirks, “Well, let’s see it. Where is the kid?”

On cue, Lily walks in to Brian’s dressing room and spins around so he can properly see the whole dress. She’s adorable, with the white lace, blue sash, and fabric petals sewn on the bottom of the several layers. Her perfect curls flow down her back and strands overlap in an intricate crisscross pattern on the top of her head, finished off with a crown of white flowers. Brian feels himself smiling when she laces her gloved fingers together, looks at him with big eyes, and waits for approval.

Ignoring the possibility of wrinkles in his pants, Brian squats down to get down to her level and holds out his harms. Lily runs towards him and he wraps her up in a big hug before holding her shoulders to give her a once over.

“You look breathtakingly beautiful,” Brian tells her honestly as she beams.

“Thank you, Daddy,” she answers in a serious voice before explaining, “Emmett did my hair and Aunt Lindsay got me dressed. I told them I had to look EXTRA pretty today. I went to show Papa and he almost cried but he said it was because I looked so beautiful and grown up.”

Brian nods, “Your papa is a huge sap. I’m not surprised. But he was right. You are beautiful. You always are but especially today.”

Lily nods, “You look very pretty too.”

“Yes, Brian. So pretty,” Emmett says, holding back laughter.

Brian rolls his eyes and picks his daughter up.

“You going to be good until the wedding without me and Papa there?”

“Yes, Daddy. I promise,” Lily says with conviction.

“Because I have ways of finding out if you aren’t.”

“But I will be good! You don’t have to worry about me. Julian is the bad one,” Lily tells him.

“Most two year olds are. You weren’t an angel at that age either,” Brian laughs.

Lily gasps, “I’ve always been good!”

“Says the girl who got into the flour a week ago.”

“...That was Duncan’s idea,” she finally says.

“Lily, Duncan wasn’t even there that day.”

“Yes, he was. He left before you found the mess.”

“Now I know why you want a sibling,” he mutters, putting her down.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if it was his idea if he had been there,” Emmett laughs, “He threw a whole box of cereal all over the floor and claimed that he just wanted to give some to Stella.”

“Kids are destructive,” Brian agrees.

“And you want another one?” Emmett asks, intrigued.

Brian rolls his eyes before turning Lily around and sending her off.

“Go with Emmett. You better listen to him.”

“I can’t,” Lily insists, “Justin’s gonna watch me while Emmett gets the wedding ready.”

“Is he?” Brian asks, more to Emmett than to Lily.

“I’m going to be all over the place since I have you sitting in opposite wings until it’s time to go outside to walk down the aisle. I asked Justin to stay with the kids until maybe half an hour before the wedding. I figure since Drew will mainly be the one to have Duncan and Lily all week he shouldn’t have to be the one to do it today.”

“Alright. If Justin’s okay with it, that is. I think Gus would get annoyed a lot more quickly with JR and three kids under five so it’s probably for the best. Be good for Justin, Lily.”

“I will, Daddy.”

Emmett takes Lily out of the room and Brian is alone once more. He turns around again and looks in the mirror to see how he looks.

Huh. Despite how much he used to drink, smoke, and do drugs, he doesn’t look bad for someone who is almost 44 years old. Shit. How the fuck did he become so fucking old? How did he even make it this far and end up where he is right now? How could he grow into a person who not only doesn’t regret it, but embraces the life he is living now?

Looking at himself, he realizes he doesn’t care. He doesn’t need those answers. They’re useless for one good reason.

He’s happy.

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

“Now, the kids are hanging out in this room here. Gus should help you if they get too rambunctious since he’s staying with them until he goes to line up at the front of the alter with Michael. Actually, to be honest with you…he might not help you. The boy’s in love and is texting his girlfriend every five seconds so you may have to break his phone to get his attention.”

Justin laughs at that, “Emmett, I’m sure it will be fine. How hard can three small children be?”

Emmett just looks at him with disbelieving eyes and shakes his head, “Every small child has a little evil monster inside of them, Justin. When you group them together, those monsters conspire and feed off each other, escalating their power to make one huge problem. Fighting, lunging, hair pulling, yelling, crying, and tantrums can easily occur.”

“I think you are being overdramatic.”

Emmett opens the door only to reveal Duncan and a little boy who Justin assumes is Julian playing tug-of-war with a stuffed animal.

“It’s my toy! I let you play with it and now I want it back!” Duncan cries, pulling at the bear.

“I wanna pay!” Julian screams, pulling as well.

Justin looks around the room and sees JR reading a book, Gus texting on his phone, and Lily standing in front of a mirror admiring her dress.

Emmett stomps over, pulls the toy out of both boys’ grasps, and says, “There. No toy. Problem solved.”

Duncan’s eyes fill with tears and spill over, “But Daddy-”

“No buts! I told you no fighting and yelling. You’re usually good about that, Duncan. What’s the problem with Julian playing with your toy?”

“It’s my bear!” Duncan explains, completely distraught.

“I know it’s your bear, baby. But he just wanted to play with it. He didn’t want to keep it.”

“I c-can’t lose th-that!” Duncan sobs.

Emmett sighs and picks the little boy up to hold him, “I know that. I know this bear is special to you. I won’t let anything happen to it, okay? I promise.”

Emmett sits down with his son to calm him down before asking, “Justin, can you go sit with Julian for a few minutes? And Gus! Why didn’t you stop them from getting into it?”

As Justin walks across the room to sit next to the toddler, he turns to see Gus at least having the decency to look guilty.

“Hey,” Justin says to Julian, “My name is Justin. I’m a friend of your Uncle Eric’s and Uncle Brian’s. What’s your name?”

Julian looks up, “Jooian. Dunca stop cwying?”

Justin looks over to Duncan and Emmett. Duncan seems to have calmed down and has become mostly quiet as he leans against Emmett.

“I think so. He’ll be okay.”

“I don wan him to cwy.”

“Yeah, I don’t either. It’s not your fault though. He just got upset.”

Julian nods and says, “I’m gonna cawry rings wit Dunca!”

“I heard! Are you excited?”

“Uh huh!”

“Justin?” Lily prompts as she walks over to him and twirls, “Do you like my dress?”

“I absolutely love it, Lily. I think you look very beautiful.”

Lily beams and pets Julian on the head, “This is my little cousin, Julian. He’s only two so he can’t talk good yet. He’s nice but he wouldn’t give Duncan back his bear.”

“I saw that. I bet it was just a misunderstanding.”

“They are both gonna carry the rings to Daddy and Papa while JR and I throw flowers on the floor!”

Justin smiles at her enthusiasm only to get an unexpected hug from the little girl.

“I am happy you are here, Justin!” Lily says as she lets go.

Then even more surprisingly, Julian launches himself at him to copy his cousin. It doesn’t seem to matter to Julian that he literally just met Justin.

“Happy you here, Jus!” Julian yells out.

“Yeah, of course,” Justin says, hugging the boy back.

“Yay! Justin’s here!” Lily says happily as she hugs him once more, causing two kids to be latched onto him now.

“Okay, now you both are just overdoing it.”

“Look, Duncan!” Emmett exclaims, “I think Justin needs a hug.”

Justin groans when he hears the telltale running footsteps and feels the collision of a solid child colliding with his back.

“Missed you, Justin!” Duncan says happily.

“Well, I better be off. Things to do,” Emmett says, walking away.

“Are they going to let go any time soon?” Justin chokes out.

“Hard to tell. Maybe they will let go or maybe they will decide to pile on top of you.”

“Ahhh!!!” Duncan yells as he jumps onto Justin’s back. The kids quickly follow suit by climbing on top of him.

Fucking Emmett.

“Justin, do you like tickles?” Lily asks, evil totally lacing her voice.

“No,” he tells her sternly, which only makes the evil grow even more.

Luckily Emmett steps in, “Lily, you’re going to mess up your hair if you keep getting rowdy like that.”

Lily gasps with petrifying fear and quickly unlatches herself from Justin to run over to the mirror. Justin manages to get Julian and Duncan off of him without hurting their feelings and stands back up to walk over to Emmett.

“Okay, you were right about the evil thing,” Justin admits, “Anything else I need to know?”

Emmett’s face grows serious as he says in a low voice “Can you just...keep an extra eye on Duncan for me? He was so upset. It isn’t like him. I hate leaving him.”

“Yeah, of course. I wouldn’t be worried, Emmett. It was just a little tantrum. Most kids have them.”

Emmett nods and whispers, “I know, I know. But he’s awfully attached to that bear. His...his mother made it for him, I guess. Before she passed. He doesn’t remember her. He was only ten months old at the time. But he also had it when his dad got shot and killed when he was two. They found him in the apartment two days later crying and clutching onto that bear. I don’t know if he consciously remembers it but occasionally he has these nightmares about being alone. That bear brings him comfort."

Justin feels his eyes tear up a little and he clears his throat, “Shit, Emmett. I didn’t know. Poor baby.”

“We haven’t really discussed Duncan’s past with the family. Only with Brian and Eric since he’s stayed over at their house a few times. Good thing too since he had a horrific nightmare one night he was there. I guess it took them almost an hour to calm him down. Like I said, I'm sure he's fine. But-"

"He's your baby," Justin finishes, "I will keep an eye on him."

"Thank you,” Emmett breathes out, relieved, “I will come fetch the kids probably a half hour before the wedding. Thank you for sticking with them. And Gus! I meant it when I told you to help Justin."

“I will,” Gus insists, forcing himself to pull away from his phone.

Emmett rushes out of the room and Justin turns to the kids.

“Let’s play a game,” Lily announces, marching around the room, “It’s called...Jungle! I will be a tiger, Duncan will be a lion, Julian will be a bear, Justin will be an elephant, JR will be a monkey, and Gus will be a snake!”

“No,” Gus answers, pulling out his phone again.

“Gussy, you never play anymore!” Lily shouts while stomping her feet.

“I played airplane with you last night,” Gus points out.

Lily huffs and says, “JR will play.”

“I’m reading,” JR says as she stays glued her book.

Lily’s lower lip juts out before she crosses her arms and hangs her head.

“Lily, the four of us will play,” Justin says, hoping to get her out of her mood.

Lily perks up, “Okay! Let’s play!”

“What do we do?” Duncan asks, confused.

“Pretend to be animals! You’re a lion, remember?”

“But who wins?”

“We all win! Cause we’re animals! RAWWWWWRRRRRR!!!!!!!”

And that’s how Justin found himself pretending to be an elephant.

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

Nathan walks across the grounds after setting up for the reception. There’s still about an hour before the wedding so he figured he would check on Justin before finding both of them a seat. He parted ways with Petra, Sebastian, and Nadia just a few minutes before and agreed to sit close to them as well as Molly and Hunter. Molly and Hunter may know some people here but the band only know Brian, Eric, Drew, Emmett, Duncan, and Lily. He didn’t want them to feel left out.

He probably should have brought someone with him so he wouldn’t get completely lost. The resort was huge. He’s pretty sure Emmett meant this wing when he said Justin was on the third floor in the east wing. It’s possible that he got all mixed around and this isn’t even east though.

As though some higher being knew he was lost, he hears children giggling and Gus opening the door with the phone to his ear.

“-Hold on a sec, the kids are being fucking loud,” he hears Gus say to the person on the other line.

“Hey Gus,” Nathan greets, “Justin in there?”

Gus takes the phone away from his ear, nods, and smiles, “Yeah, he’s playing with the kids. You can go in.”

Nathan walks in and finds himself stopping in his tracks to watch Justin.

“Justin, pick me up with your trunk again!” Duncan laughs hysterically.

Justin makes an odd sound before taking both arms, picking up Duncan, and holding him high in the air.

“You’re a funny elephant, Justin!”

“You think I’m funny, huh?” Justin says as he holds him in the air and spins.

“Yeah! You’re really funny!”

“Then I bet I can make you laugh harder!”

Justin puts Duncan on his hip and tickles his sides. The boy giggles uncontrollably and as soon as Justin stops, Duncan puts his arms around him.

“You’re so nice, Justin!”

“Yeah, Justin!” Lily says, nodding vigorously, “You’re really fun!”

“Yeah!” the little boy, who must be Eric’s nephew, agrees as he holds onto Justin’s leg.

“Well, you guys are awfully fun too,” Justin admits, putting Duncan down.

“Do you have baby, Jus?” the youngest boy asks curiously.

And, even though he can’t see Justin’s face, he knows by the slump of his shoulders and the silence the question brings that his smile probably isn’t as bright anymore.

“...No, Julian. I don’t.”

“How come?” he asks.

“I...I don’t know. I guess it isn’t the right time.”

“Don’t you want a baby? Babies are so cute!” Lily says to him.

“I agree, Lily. Babies are very cute. I really do want to be a dad. I guess we’ll see if that happens or not.”

“I think you’d be a fun daddy!” Duncan exclaims as Justin puts him down.

“Thanks, Duncan.”

Nathan blinks a few times and thinks about turning around to pretend he was never here. But then he remembers Gus let him into the suite and would probably say something if Nathan just walked out so that wasn’t an option.

“Hey Justin,” Nathan says softly.

Justin turns around and gives him a small smile, “Hey! How long have you been standing there?”

“Not that long,” Nathan lies, “I just came to check in. I’ll meet you down there.”

“You could always help me with these kids,” Justin laughs, picking up Julian who is still hanging on to his leg.

Nathan gives him a smile and says, “I’m not good at that kind of stuff like you are, Justin. I don’t think I’ll ever be.”

Justin frowns, “Nathan-”

“I’ll see you down there, okay?”

Nathan heads out into the hall, waves at Gus who is having a “no, you hang up” kind of conversation, and opens the door for the stairs.

As soon as he gets to the first landing, he presses his back against the wall and slides down to sit.

He has told himself for over two years that Justin deserved better than anything he could give him. Justin would flat out deny that but Nathan knows the truth.

God, he wishes he could be fucking normal. Be capable of wanting things like a family.

He just doesn’t. And doesn’t that sound so fucking lonely?

What kind of person would he be if he dragged Justin down that lonely path with him?

Nathan feels his face crumple and a couple of tears fall down his cheeks before he quickly wipes them away.

He has too much to focus on today. He has to perform for a happy occasion. He can’t do this right now.

He’ll think on it tonight and, if it comes down to it, deal with it tomorrow.

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

Justin manages to get the quick encounter with Nathan off of his mind when Emmett comes in to collect the kids.

“It’s almost time, guys!” Emmett exclaims, clapping his hands, “Were you all good for Justin?”

“Yes, Daddy,” Duncan answers, “Justin is really fun!”

“He played Jungle with us!” Lily exclaimed.

“I’m unfamiliar with that game,” Emmett admits.

“It’s just the best game ever,” Lily dives in, “You pretend to be an animal from the jungle!”

“There’s no goal really in mind after that,” Justin says in a low voice.

“Well, that just sounds incredible! I wish they had that game when I was little. In Hazlehurst, we just played with spare tires.”

Duncan and Lily give him pitying looks while Julian just sits there, looking confused.

“Oh well. I’m grown up now so it’s much too late to dwell on such things. Time to get you all downstairs.”

Justin joins them to give Emmett a hand as they go downstairs and head out to the tent in the courtyard.

“Now, no popping your heads out and running over to say hi to the guests,” Emmett orders, “I want the way you look to be a surprise. Are you listening, Michael?”

Michael gives Emmett an incredulous look, “Seriously?”

“I’m just messing with you, baby,” Emmett laughs, “Now Lily, I’m letting JR hold your flower basket until the two of you are ready to walk down the aisle.”

“But why does SHE get to hold it?” Lily pouts.

“Because you will want to toss them all over the floor before the music even starts.”

“Will not.”

“Duncan, Julian. I will give you each a ring box right before you go out there. Duncan, make sure you and Julian don’t open the boxes. That’s for Brian and Eric to do.”

“Kay, Daddy,” Duncan says, ready to take on the responsibility.

“Kay!” Julian shouts.

“Okay, okay,” Emmett breathes then starts talking to himself, “Check to make sure the cake safely arrived and is protected. Triple check sound here and in the reception tent. Cue the quartet to start playing music in ten then cue for ‘All You Need is Love’ in twenty-five. Send Michael, Gus, Rick, and George down first, then the girls, then give the rings to Duncan and Julian-Shit!”

“Emmett?” Justin asks, concerned.

Emmett breathes out, trying to calm himself.

“Brian still has the rings. I still have last minute preparations and Brian is still in his room and has the rings. Why didn’t he mention having the rings the last three times I was in his damn room?”

“Well, you need to be here checking on stuff, right? Can’t he just bring him down when he gets here?”

“The boys will be going up the aisle by then. Justin... I really shouldn’t ask you to do this and I know I should be paying you for helping with the kids and I will-”

“What room is he in?”

Emmett lets out a relieved sigh, “635. North Wing. Thank you.”

Justin waves the appreciation off, jogs through the property, and goes through the north side entrance. He gets on the elevator and takes it to the sixth floor, finds room 635, takes a breath, and knocks on the door.

Brian opens the door and, when he sees who it is, looks surprised.

“Justin? What are you doing up here?”

Justin clears his throat, “Uh Emmett forgot to get the rings from you to give to Duncan and Julian. He’s focused on his last minute preparations before you and Eric come down and I offered to fetch them for him.”

“Yeah, I should have remembered to hand them over. Come in.”

Justin walks in the room and Brian closes the door behind him before going across the room and unzipping his bag.

“Eric should have kept them. I think since he packed my stuff first he decided to put the rings in my suitcase while he was thinking of them,” Brian says, digging for the rings.

Justin nods, not really knowing what else to say.

“There they are,” Brian says, pulling out two separate boxes, “Want to see them?”

Justin is taken aback by the question then shrugs, “Sure, I guess.”

Justin walks over and Brian pops open the boxes.

“We both went out shopping for them. I think Eric knew I would be pissy if he got down on one knee AND presented me with a ring and he knows I’m picky anyway. I think they were a good choice.”

Justin looks down at the gold bands. What the fuck is he supposed to say about them? He knows Brian isn’t trying to rub his face into anything but does he have to show him the rings?

So all he says is, “They’re nice. I’ll take them down for you.”

Brian stares at him before handing over the rings. Justin takes them from Brian’s grasp before turning to walk away.

“I kept them, you know.”

Justin freezes in place and breathes out through his nose.

“Kept what?”

“Don’t play dumb.”

Justin scoffs and turns back around, “It’s not dumb, Brian. There’s no reason for you to have kept our rings.”

Brian simply stares at him and says, “I told you I would.”

Justin feels his jaw drop when he realizes Brian is telling the truth, “Why...Why would you do that? Yeah, you told me you would but after all this time-”

“I don’t know,” Brian shrugs, “I just kept them. I don’t know why I told you.”

Justin nods and looks down, “Where are they?”

“At the loft in Pittsburgh. In my bedside table drawer. I haven’t looked at them in years but...they’re there.”

“Does Eric know?”

“Yeah. He lived at the loft for a year so it would be hard for him not to know.”

“And he didn’t resent you for it?”

“No. He loves me despite how fucked up I am. Besides, he knew how much they meant to me. He knows I love him as much as I...”

Brian looks away and Justin’s eyes soften at the sudden emotion that hits Brian’s voice.

“I’m really glad you found him. You’re going to have a great life together,” Justin tells him, forcing his voice not to crack.

Brian huffs out a laugh, “He deserves everything. I’m so scared I’ll screw things up. I’ve never known how to show someone that I care about them. He deserves to know how much I give a shit.”

As Brian looks away again, Justin feels for him. He knows feelings of insecurity hit Brian more than he’d like to admit.

So, slowly, he walks back to Brian, close enough so that they are just inches apart, and gently pulls him into an embrace.

“You’ve held onto the wedding bands you presented your old partner with for ten years, even after you fell in love with someone else. You raised a child with your new partner and built a life with him, faced your fears and grew up for him. You’re pretty good at giving a shit.”

Justin steps away and pats him on the shoulder.

“Good luck, Brian. Save me a dance at the reception.”

With that, Justin walks out the door and gets back into the elevator. And, as heavy as his heart feels, he knows that he’s going to be okay.

But, as he approaches the tent and hands Emmett the rings, Justin can’t help but feel a little numb.

The numbness starts to fade when he sits next to Nathan, the band, and Hunter and Molly. They make him laugh and smile as they wait for the music to start. Once it does, it’s relatively easy to appreciate this wedding like he would any other. Cute kids, beautiful flowers, classy set-up, beautiful couple.

And they do look beautiful. Justin can only guess that they couldn’t agree to who would walk down the aisle so there they are, arm in arm, walking down together, looking at each other with hearts in their eyes and smiles they cannot suppress.

The two men make it to the altar and stare at each other in front of the drag queen ordained minister, which is one of the main aspects of this wedding he knows Brian has chosen to make sure this wasn’t a hetero affair. The queen tells a quick, humor-laced story about how the couple met before diving into the vows and asking if anyone objected to the marriage.

It only takes one glance at the tears in Eric’s eyes and the soft smile on Brian’s face, the way Brian is compelled to stroke the man’s cheek and the way Eric reaches to squeeze his partner’s hands...It only takes those things to know that there is nothing objectionable about their relationship. They’re perfect together.

And that’s why, along with everyone else, Justin stands up and cheers for them when they kiss to seal the deal and walk back down the aisle with big grins on their faces.