They get to the airport around 4 o’clock, tired, tan, rested, and, okay, Brian was already itching to go back to their island retreat. But he was also itching to check in with Kinnetik to make sure none of the branches burned down. And, most of all, he was looking forward to seeing Lily. They both hadn’t been away from her for more than a weekend since she was born. Sure, Eric might have to leave for a couple of weeks to work on a project or Brian might have to go out of the country to work on an international campaign but one of them was always there and they hadn’t taken more than a weekend getaway without her. So, despite wishing that their honeymoon had been a little bit longer, he missed the little drama queen.

And he knows Eric missed her too. His husband had a feeling that she was at the airport with Emmett and was close by. It wouldn’t surprise Brian if Eric’s hunch was right. The man is pretty intuitive. And, within minutes, Eric’s intuition is proven right yet again when they see Emmett sitting next to Lily. Emmett looks up and sees them but Lily is too immersed in her artwork to notice Brian puts a finger up to his lips to tell Emmett to stay quiet, takes Eric’s hand, and quietly walks over to their daughter.

“Is that picture for me?” Brian says in her ear, startling her to the point where she yelps in the process.

“DADDDDDYYYY!!!!!” Lily screams, once she gets over the jump scare, “PAPA!!! You’re home! You’re both home!!!!”

Lily jumps up and down, taking both of their hands as she does so, as she looks at them with so much love and admiration. It brings a fantastic feeling to Brian’s heart. He never wants her to grow out of this. It makes him feel more important and amazing than he is plus if she gets older that means he does too.

“Lily demanded that I bring her with me,” Emmett informs them as he stands up, “She was so excited and could barely stay still the whole ride here. Duncan and Drew are back at your place, making dinner. We figured getting her things and the rats back to your house would be easier than taking you into New Jersey to get her things only to go to Brooklyn afterwards.”

“Thanks, Emmett,” Eric tells him, picking Lily up to put her on his hip. He kisses the little girl’s cheek and smiles.

“I missed you, sweet girl. Were you good for Emmett and Drew?”

Lily nods her head exaggeratedly, “Yes, Papa. I was PERFECT.”

Brian glances at Emmett. Somehow he just doesn’t believe that. But Emmett’s expression tells him that, while Lily is definitely exaggerating, she was pretty good.

“Other than a few tiffs she and Duncan got into and a couple of mini-breakdowns over missing her papa and her daddy, everything went very smoothly. Oh, and there was this one meltdown she had where she was devastated that she didn’t have a certain pair of shoes with her. But that was completely understandable. She made them sound like the best shoes in the world so who could blame her?”

Brian snorts at that before turning and giving into Lily’s grabby hands and taking her into his own arms. Lily gives him a long hug and he returns it, holding her close as she lays her head on his shoulder.

“I missed you, Daddy,” Lily tells him softly, still not letting him go.

“I missed you too,” Brian tells her, a small smile forming on his lips.

Apparently Lily is in a mood to be held because Eric rolls his eyes and takes Brian’s carry-on for him before they head to the carousel to get their luggage. Lily accepts that she is getting put down as they get their suitcases and they are on their way to the parking lot. Emmett opens the trunk and gets Lily in Duncan’s car seat while they load their things in the back before making their way to Brooklyn.

Between Lily and Emmett, the two of them fill up anything that could resemble silence as they make their way into Queens. The seating is less than ideal. With Brian in the front and Eric in the back with Lily, he has to show his affection by reaching behind his seat to tickle his knee rather than making out with him in the back to make Emmett uncomfortable. But Eric kicks his seat in retaliation, making Emmett go into father mode.

“Both of you stop it right now! I have to switch lanes and traffic is way too hectic for my liking. I swear you are both worse than Lily and Duncan. Lily, I bet you have to keep these two in line, huh?”

“Yes,” Lily nods while playing with two of her dolls, “They are both really silly.”

“That’s what I thought,” Emmett says, pursing his lips, as Eric laughs and Brian just shakes his head in amusement.

“Thank you again for watching her, Emmett,” Eric tells him, “I know she enjoyed herself and wouldn’t have wanted to go anywhere else.

Emmett keeps concentrating on the road but Brian can see his gaze soften, “We love Lily, you know that. She welcomed Duncan with open arms and lets me indulge by buying clothes of the more feminine variety, something I don’t get to do with my butch son.”

“I don’t know, Emmett. There was that time he wanted to be Queen so he could boss Lily around,” Brian smirks.

Emmett sighs, “I still wish I had been there. Seeing it through FaceTime just isn’t the same.”

“Well, you know we feel the same way about Duncan,” Eric tells him, “He’s such a sweet little boy and really helped Lily with the move. She adores him and if you and Drew ever want to get away for a week, we’ll do the same for you as you did for us.”

“Oh, I appreciate that. We probably won’t take a trip that long without him for a while. I’d like to have at least one of us there for him. We have one trip planned for the summer but I’ll let Drew tell you about that. Without him though? I don’t think I want that until he’s been with us for at least a couple of years. He’s only been with us for a few months and he still has nightmares but maybe Drewsie and I will take a weekend getaway in a few months and take you up on your offer. I just can’t see myself leaving him for more than a day or two...not that I am judging you two! It was your honeymoon and it was a well-deserved one. You two came off the plane radiant and so in love.”

He can hear Eric stifle a laugh and Brian feels himself roll his eyes, “Give it a couple of years, Emmett. Maybe even less. A break might not sound so bad then. As much as we missed her, it was nice getting away from this little rascal.”

Lily gasps then crosses her arms to pout, “Hey!”

“He’s just teasing you, baby,” Eric tells her as he strokes her hair, “He talked about you a lot on the plane ride back. I think he’s excited to take you to your first ballet class this week and I can’t wait to take you to flamenco on Saturday.”

“So I’ll see you there, Brian!” Emmett exclaims, “I know they only get to dance together the last half of the class since they work on the boys and girls separately for the first half but I feel like ballet will be good for both of them. I’m glad you brought up the idea. Duncan is a little hesitant and shy about it still but jumped on board when Drew told him that he took it for years to stay in shape and coordinated for football. Drew actually enjoyed it. He is a wonderful dancer. Did I ever tell you about the time he faced any fears he had left and asked me to dance at a fundraiser gala? It was only a month after we got back together and I was still a little worried that he wasn’t ready. But he took me as his date, ignored the sneers that a few of his teammates and rivals gave him, and swept me off my feet! It was wonderful. I want Duncan to be able to do that for Lily.”

“You’re a little too set on our kids getting married, Honeycutt,” Brian tells his friend, huffing out a laugh.

“I know, I know. I’m a romantic but I have a feeling, what can I say?” Emmett shrugs, “Jesus, finally!”

Emmett gets onto the Brooklyn Bridge, thus out of traffic, and they arrive at the house several minutes after. Lily managed to fall asleep within the last 10 minutes of the ride so she’s not happy to be woken up but doesn’t fuss or get pissed over it and surprisingly takes one of their carry-on bags into the house for them. They get everything inside in one go and, after getting it upstairs, they come back down to find Drew cooking with Duncan standing on a chair next to him.

“Why are you adding that?” Duncan asks, looking down at the deep-sided pan.

“The same reason I added the last thing, little man,” Drew answers, amused, “To add flavor.”

Drew’s about to add something else but Duncan stops him by saying, “I wanna add it. I’m cooking too.”

Drew looks a bit conflicted but compromises by throwing a dash of herbs into the little boy’s hand so he can toss it into the pan.

“I did it! See?” Duncan tells his father excitedly.

“You sure did!” Drew says, “You’re just a gourmet chef, aren’t you?”

Duncan nods and keeps watching what his father is doing as Emmett decides to snap out of the tender gaze he has over watching his partner and son together by announcing their arrival.

“We’re back!” he exclaims, coming into the kitchen to kiss Drew on the cheek, “Hit some traffic but made good time, considering. How’s dinner coming along?”

“The chicken marsala is coming along well. I’m just waiting for the water to boil for the pasta, which I assume Brian is going to skip out on.”

“Oh, Drew. You know me so well,” Brian says sarcastically has he sits down at the kitchen table.

“I made the pieces of chicken big enough to be served on their own.”

“And I helped!” Duncan adds, turning to Brian.

“I’m glad,” Brian tells him, “With Lily taking off for the airport, I needed someone here to make sure your Pa didn’t burn down my kitchen.”

Duncan giggles at that as Lily comes in with her rats. Brian tries not shudder as she puts Bianca into his lap and looks up at him with big eyes.

“Bianca missed you, Daddy,” Lily tells him as she cuddles the other rat, “Vernon didn’t but Bianca missed you so much!”

Brian closes his eyes and picks the rat up to look at it before handing it back to his daughter.

“You know I don’t like holding them, Lily,” he tries not to scold too harshly.

“But he MISSED you,” Lily informs him, trying to give the white rat back.

Luckily Eric swoops in and keeps him from having to hold the rodent again. Brian looks up to give his husband an exasperated look as he watches the man fake coo over the rat.

“Lily, are you saying that Bianca didn’t miss me?” Eric asks.

“He missed you too,” Lily admits, “But he missed Daddy because Daddy doesn’t play with him and he wanted him to.”

Despite the lack of logic in that statement, Eric nods solemnly before turning to him.

“Brian, you really should take Bianca’s feelings into account.”

Brian glares at him before standing up and stepping away from the rats.

“Lily, they are acceptable when they aren’t near me.”

“Why do you think they’re icky?” the drama princess cries out, stomping her foot in the process, “They are NOT icky! They’re my friends and I love them!”

“They aren’t supposed to be in the kitchen anyway,” Eric reminds her, ushering her out, “Go put them away. Drew will be done with dinner soon.”

“I’ll take one up!” Duncan exclaims, jumping down from the chair and holding his hands out.

Lily hands over Bianca before they both go up to her room to put them in their cage.

“They are crazy about those rats,” Emmett comments, “Duncan has started hinting around to wanting one.”

“Oh, didn’t you know? You can’t just get one rodent. You have to get two,” Brian mutters, getting back in his chair, “Why couldn’t have we just gotten her a puppy?”

“Oh no, you aren’t going to pull that now. I wanted to get a dog or a cat and you were the one who wanted a starter pet that could mostly stay out of sight and out of mind.”

“Lies. I didn’t want a pet. But I had to compromise in some way. Looking back, I went the wrong way. We should have gotten her a dog.”

“We still can,” Eric hints not-so-subtly, “Two rats and a dog isn’t overdoing it.”

“Maybe after the baby is here.”

And he didn’t even think about it when he said it. It was only recently decided but they had talked about it. A lot. They talked about it last night, this morning, on the flight back. If he wasn’t a little excited about it himself, Eric’s excitement would have eventually rubbed off on him. But apparently all those years hanging around Mikey had given him foot in mouth syndrome because he did not mean to say that in front of Emmett and Drew.

“What? Wait, what? I thought...I thought that a baby was just something Lily asked for! I didn’t know you were already in the process-”

“We’re barely in the process,” Eric corrects, looking at Brian with a raised brow, “We called Cynthia this morning before we left to get her blessing but we won’t be making calls about a surrogate until later this week.”

Emmett claps his hands and squeals as he rushes over to hug them. Eric first, then Brian. The hug Brian receives lasts longer than he’s comfortable with but he returns it until he pushes Emmett away.

“I’m so happy for you both! This is so exciting! This-”

“Is not something we want to discuss with or in front of Lily until the surrogate is pregnant and near the end of her first trimester,” Eric finishes as they hear the telltale signs of footsteps coming down the stairs.”

“Congratulations,” Drew says before they arrive in the kitchen, “We won’t say anything to anyone. Will we, Em?”

Emmett sighs, “It’ll be hard but my lips are sealed.”

“Dinner ready?” Lily asks, skipping into the kitchen, curls bouncing with her steps.

“It sure is,” Drew tells her as he turns off the fire underneath the chicken marsala.

Along with the salad and brown rice that Drew had thoughtfully made for him, Brian will admit that the guy is a better cook than he thought he would be. He likes Drew. The guy’s hot, for one thing. Brian may do the whole monogamy thing now but he can still appreciate gorgeous men. He would say that Emmett was lucky to bag him but, maybe it is his loyalty to the person who has been his friend for twenty years, he knows it is the other way around. Emmett was a good man and he’s glad Drew pulled his head out of his ass and fought for Emmett’s undying devotion or whatever the fuck. They’re good parents who were lucky enough to adopt a great son. They’re incredible friends who have been there for them and have shown Lily so much love-

Obviously the feelings that the wedding and the honeymoon brought on haven’t left yet and are trying to extend themselves to his friends. He’ll just blame Eric. That’s the kind of stuff he thinks and says out loud, not him.

Dinner goes smoothly and he’s surprised that Lily tries the marsala and likes it. She doesn’t eat the mushrooms, but she eats the penne and the chicken with no problem. Duncan is already becoming a human garbage disposal who rarely finds something he doesn’t like. There had been this one time when Brian had both of them and Lily was being picky about dinner while Duncan said yes to everything Brian had suggested. Brian had asked what he didn’t like and the only two things Duncan could think of were broccoli and cottage cheese. He can’t blame him on the cottage cheese.

“So, Duncan. Did you have Lily’s back at school and make sure she didn’t get into too much trouble?” Eric asks the boy.

“I would never get in trouble!” Lily corrects firmly, “I just like to have fun!”

Brian snorts at that and Duncan shakes his head.

“We were good!” he replies before taking a big bite of his pasta, “We got gold stars one day.”

Lily nods her head enthusiastically and Eric smiles.

“Good for you! I’m proud of you guys. What were the gold stars for?”

“Clean up time,” Lily supplies, “We got all the toys and crayons put away extra fast and Miss Jefferson said that was the fastest clean up she’s ever seen! And we got another one for being extra smart because we are.”

Duncan nods in agreement and Brian snorts at the explanation.

“Why can’t you do clean up time when it comes to your room then?” Brian mutters.

“I do too much of that at school. And you and Papa make it look good when you help,” Lily dismisses before quickly changing the subject, “You said you went swimming and saw dolphins and turtles and fishies! I wanna see, I wanna see!”

“Let’s get the dishes in the dishwasher first, then we will show you all the pictures we loaded onto the laptop.”

They clean off the table and head into the living room where they let Emmett and Drew sit on the couch and man Eric’s laptop. Well, Emmett does. Drew only glances at the photos while he watches a baseball game on Root Sports. Lily and Duncan ooh and ahh over the pictures, especially the underwater ones, and Eric stands behind the couch to give commentary.

“It looks so pretty!” Lily squeals.

“You like that house?” Eric asks.

“Yes! And you built that?” Lily asks in awe.

Eric nods, grinning and proud over their daughter being so impressed.

“I am in complete awe as well,” Emmett admits enthusiastically, “The place is beautiful! I’m envious! Drewsie, look at this palace.”

Drew looks and raises an eyebrow, impressed, “Wow. That place is great. I hope the person who rented it to you gave you a good deal since you built and designed it.”

“He actually let us stay in it for free,” Eric informs them, including Brian who hadn’t known the cost of the rent, “It would have been $40,000 a week otherwise.”

Drew whistles, “That’s a bit steep. I mean, we could afford it but not very many people could.”

Emmett looks at Drew quickly, “Drewsie, are you implying that you want to take me on a vacation?”

“You. And Duncan. Maybe when things die down with the WWO,” Drew tells him.

“Oh! Speaking of which,” Emmett starts as he turns to them, “Drew has been doing so much for different organizations here that the Worldwide Orphan Foundation asked him to become Ambassador of Sports for them. He’s already been doing things like getting kids on the east coast involved in different types of sports and creating scholarships for them but he’ll be going to Ethiopia this summer for a month to work with the kids there. There’s a high interest in sports there so they figured that would be the best place to start. I’ll be joining him for the last week he’s there and Duncan will be coming along as well. Drew has been talking with them about visiting other countries to start sports and educational programs. It looks like he might do Vietnam as well, but nothing has been planned yet. For right now, Ethiopia is his focus but hopefully he will be able to do as much as he can for more affected areas.”

“Emmett offered to give a hand when it came to planning some events for the community to raise awareness on the children in need there. It’ll all be free and, if it doesn’t get them adopted within their own country, which hopefully it will, it could at least give more community members initiative to help out with the building process of better facilities that’ll help the kids which can eventually lead to more jobs and a better economy, both for the community in general but even more so for the kids who age out of the system.”

“Oh my god, that’s fantastic!” Eric exclaims, “I’m really proud of you, Drew. You really have been doing a lot and I’m glad you found something that means so much to you.”

“I’m so proud of him,” Emmett gushes, “There will be a ceremony officially welcoming him at the end of May and he’ll be leaving in the middle of June. You are all invited to that and his Au Revoir party, of course. I know that I said I wanted to wait for Drew to tell you about the trip this summer but I’ve been dying to tell someone about what he’s getting accomplished.”

“I can’t blame you,” Eric smiles, “It truly is impressive. We’ll miss you while you’re away though.”

“At least Duncan and I will still be here until the last week he’s there so that’ll soften the blow for you. I couldn’t let him miss too much of his extracurricular activities this summer. We already arranged for him to do dance and swimming this summer so we didn’t want to pull him out of those plus he’s still getting used to things and we want to get him into a routine.

“The places I will be staying won’t be that comfortable, either,” Drew adds, “Hopefully that can start to change once we better the conditions but I figure it’ll be easier on Duncan to stay here for the most part. I hope the week that he is there will be a good learning experience though.”

“It probably won’t be as comfortable as that beautiful villa you built,” Emmett adds.

“Well, when you get back, you can stay in it for free whenever you want,” Eric informs them, “I bought the place.”

Emmett gasps and claps his hands, “Oh, that’s wonderful! I can see it now: family vacations, meeting with Michael, Ben, Lindsay, Mel, Debbie, Carl, and the kids for one big reunion, enjoying the beach and the sand-”

“That was the plan,” Eric laughs, “Now I feel even more indulgent than I was feeling before. I’d love to donate something to help out with the process of what you are trying to accomplish down there.”

“Oh, that would be nice. You could donate on the website but Drewsie can give you the director’s email address if you want to correspond with her about what you would like the money to go towards.”

Eric nods and Drew goes ahead and forwards the address to Eric.

“I would offer to help more but, with what we told you in the kitchen earlier, I don’t think either of us will have the time for long term projects and trips for a while. I’m working in New Orleans for a month myself and might shorten that trip by a few days if everything goes smoothly. But you sound so passionate that I am tempted to offer to design housing and facilities for-”

“You’re not taking off for Ethiopia for god knows how long,” Brian interrupts, looking pointedly at his husband.

Eric rolls his eyes and Emmett smiles, “That means so much, baby. You’re busy but I bet if your name got thrown around when it came to designers, the whole organization would be over the moon.”

“...Maybe I can speak with them and, if they are interested, I can just get quick measurements of the locations, design from home, and they can employ people in the area to build.”

Emmett looks at Drew excitedly and Brian stares at Eric disbelievingly.

“This is why we always end up with girl scout cookies and fucking Yankee Candle from the elementary students that knock on our door. You can never say no.”

“To be fair, we didn’t ask. He just offered,” Emmett teases in a singing tone.

“Don’t worry, my love,” Eric tells him dramatically as he walks over to the arm chair, “I would never leave your side for too long.”

Brian smirks before taking the man by surprise by pulling him into his lap to kiss him. He probably should be more chaste around the kids and maybe around Emmett and Drew too because Emmett clears his throat pointedly and stands up.

“Well, that’s our cue to get on the road. It’s past 7 o’clock anyway and Duncan and Lily both have to be up for school tomorrow.”

“I don’t want to go,” Lily pouts, “I want to stay home with Daddy and Papa.”

“We’re both going to work tomorrow,” Eric says from Brian’s lap, “We won’t even be here.”

“That’s why we all skip!” Lily says, as though a lightbulb has gone off over her head.

“No can do, kiddo,” Eric sighs, standing up, “I have meetings lined up tomorrow and have to help with construction in Bensonhurst, your daddy has a meeting with Coca Cola, and you need to get back to your own preschool so you can get back into the swing of things. Don’t you miss Margaret and Viola?”

Lily shrugs, “I guess. But I want to be with you all day!”

“You can be with me all day this coming weekend. Daddy is going to see Gus but I’ll be here.”

“...Daddy…” Lily pouts as she juts her lip out.

“Come on,” Eric says softly, squatting down in front of the couch, “Your daddy misses Gus and doesn’t get to see him as much as he sees you. He’ll just be gone for two days. Now hug Duncan, Drew, and Emmett goodbye before I take you up for your bath.”

Lily gets up, shoulders slouched, before going over to Drew to quickly hug his legs, going to do the same to Emmett, and putting her arms around Duncan’s neck to hug him tight.

“So moody,” Eric mutters as he watches their daughter go up the stairs with her head down, “Thank you so much again. I better get up there to get her bath ready. Brian, you want to see them out?”

Eric gives them quick hugs goodbye, kisses Duncan on the forehead, and heads upstairs after Lily. Emmett goes to get a couple of toys of Duncan’s on the other side of the room and Brian follows them out to their car.

“You get everything?” he asks Emmett after Drew gets Duncan situated and goes to sit in the driver’s seat.

“I think we’re good. We only brought a couple of things of Duncan’s and a few groceries to make dinner. But if we did miss anything, it’s not like we won’t see you again.”

“Yeah, it’ll probably be a week tops...well, thanks for taking her for the week. We really appreciate it.”

“Anything for one of my best friends,” Emmett smiles, “And for you too, I guess.”

Brian puts a hand to his heart, “Oh, how you wound me.”

Emmett lets out a laugh before rubbing the back of his neck.

“So, you and Justin are friends now, right?”

Brian squints, trying to figure out where Emmett is coming from, “I guess so. We’ve been talking and hanging out. Eric gets along with him and Nathan really well. Why?”

Emmett holds up his hands, “I don’t want to be one to gossip-”

“Yeah, right,” Brian quips, but is already intrigued.

Emmett glares, “I’ve grown up too, you know. Like I said, I don’t like to gossip but I figured since you, and Eric for that matter, have been spending time with them, you might be able to provide some kind of support and could talk-”

“What are you talking about?” Brian asks, intrigue turning into concern.

Emmett sighs sadly and looks at him, “Justin and Nathan broke up. I only know because I stopped by the apartment when I was in the area. He’s so heartbroken, blindsided by it. Daphne, bless her, came in on Friday and is in until Tuesday. She’s staying with at his apartment.”

Brian blinks, “Wait, why did they break up?”

“They wanted different things. Kids, I guess. Justin thought they could compromise or work it out. Nathan couldn’t so he called it quits. I haven’t talked to Nathan. I consider him a friend but I’m, what? Twenty years older than him? I don’t think he would pour his heart out to me and he has friends closer to his own age. Shit, Justin won’t even say much about it.”

Brian runs a hand down his face and stays silent for a few seconds.

“He loves him.”

And it’s not a question and he doesn’t think his friend assumes it is but Emmett nods anyway and seems surprised that he would even say it in the first place.

“He felt protective of him. Responsible. Nathan had it rough, Justin helped him, and Nathan left when Justin didn’t even see it coming.”

Emmett sighs, “Brian, come on. We don’t even know the whole story and you know there are two sides. I’ve known Nathan practically since he started dating Justin. He’s a good guy. He’s just young and seems to have had a traumatic upbringing.”

Brian looks away. A couple breaking up shouldn’t bother him. It’s none of his business so he shouldn’t even be involved in it. He’s happy in his own relationship and that’s what matters.

“I didn’t tell you so you could take someone’s side. I told you because you are Justin’s friend now. And not only are you his friend, but you are the one he talks to about his dad and stuff. You’re blunt and sometimes harsh when someone is going through something but you know what? Most of the advice you give out is really sound. So I thought I would let you know. Besides, Justin needs all the friends he can get. He seems to be hesitant to lean on anyone for support, even Daphne. Breakups are hard.”

“Don’t I know it?” Brian mutters.

Emmett purses his lips before patting Brian on the arm.

“I’ll see you later,” he tells him, “I need to get Duncan back to the house, bathed, and in bed. If I don’t see you by the time you go to Toronto, tell everyone that I love them and miss them already and give Gus and JR long hugs from me-”

“Goodbye, Emmett.”

Emmett rolls his eyes and gets into the passenger seat. He hears Drew’s muffled voice saying, “Took you long enough” before they drive in the direction of the Brooklyn Bridge.

Brian makes his way up to the bathroom and walks in to find Eric helping Lily out of the tub and draining the water.

“I think she wants you to get her into her pajamas since I helped with her bath,” Eric tells him.

Brian looks down at the little girl and smiles when he sees her looking up at him, hooded towel in place and curls already starting to spiral. He puts his hands on top of the hood, squeezes the hair underneath it, then ushers her into her bedroom.

“What pajamas do you want to wear?” he asks when he opens the drawer.

Lily taps her chin then walks over to the dresser with purpose and Brian tries to bite back the sigh. He already knows she’s in the mood to be picky.

“Hmm, let’s see! Not that one, or that one, I don’t want that one either-”

“What about the purple nightgown?” he asks as he starts to get it out.

But Lily puts her hand on top of his and shakes her head.

“Daddy…no.”

He gives her another minute of indecisiveness before taking two sets of pajamas out of the drawer and closing it.

“Pick one,” he orders, holding them up.

“But-”

“Lily,” he warns her. Of what, he doesn’t know. But it seems to work.

Lily lets out a put-upon sigh and points to her yellow tank top with white polka dots and her rainbow pants. The tank top is from one set and the pants are from another but he doesn’t care right now. He grabs a pair of underwear for her and helps her get everything on before letting her come downstairs to let her hair dry.

They read a couple of books with her until 8 and work on her with addition and subtraction basics until 8:30. Even though he experiences the child that is his daughter every day, he’s still amazed by how advanced she is. While she is definitely more right-brained, she is ahead in math as well. Eric is convinced it’s because she’s left-handed and they are more likely to be creative, off-the-wall geniuses. He isn’t sure if the study on that is conclusive, but it does describe his kid.

When they take her to bed, Lily insists on making up a bedtime story for them. He doesn’t know what he was expecting when she started but it definitely took a strange turn.

“Once upon a time...there was a princess named Rosie. And she lived in a castle in...Chicago! And one day, she got a lion and a wolf and a turtle and a duck! She loved them. She had two rats too. One day after that, they all saw Taylor Swift singing! And she said, “Princess, please come sing with me! I can’t sing today. My throat’s all scratchy and yucky!” So Rosie told her she’d sing for her but only this one time! Then, a dragon came! And he blew fire, EVERYWHERE!”

Brian and Eric glance at each other, waiting for her to continue.

“What happened next?” Eric prompts, when she doesn’t reveal any more of the story.

“Oh,” Lily says, suddenly remembering that she forgot a part, “The End!”

“...What-” Brian starts, bewildered before Eric cuts in.

“Wow. That was a really intense story. Very ambiguous and open-ended ending that can be interpreted in so many ways. Were Rosie and Taylor okay?”

“Mmmm...Yes! They were fine. So were the lion and the wolf and the duck and Bianca and Vernon.”

“What about the turtle?” Brian has to ask.

“No. He got hurt.”

“Poor thing,” Eric says before he kisses her on the forehead, “I hope he makes it through. I love you, baby. So much.”

“I love you too, Papa,” she tells him as she lays her head on the pillow.

Brian bends down and gives her a kiss as well.

“Love you. Get some rest so I won’t be dragging your butt out of bed in the morning.”

Lily nods and closes her eyes before Brian turns on her nightlight and follows Eric out the door.

They fuck around in bed. Eric gives him a spectacular rim job and Brian blows him in return. There’s something weighing on him though. Maybe he’s tired from the flight or maybe it’s what he’s heard about Justin but he’s not feeling as driven by his sex drive as he usually is.

Eric catches on. The man isn’t stupid. If he was, Brian wouldn’t have married him.

“What’s going on?” Eric asks as he lifts Brian’s head off his cock.

Brian glances at him, “What makes you think something is going on?”

Eric raises an eyebrow, “I know you, Brian. You’re quieter than usual. Something’s on your mind.”

Brian sighs, “Let me finish you off first.”

It takes longer than usual. Probably because he’s making Eric worry over not knowing what’s bugging him. But as soon as Eric comes and Brian swallows it down, he stretches back up to the top of the bed, gives the man a kiss, and opens his arms to let Eric lay in them.

“Seriously, what’s up?” Eric asks, patting him on the chest.

“It’s nothing that really concerns us. Just something that Emmett told me,” Brian admits.

“Obviously it’s concerning you, even if it doesn’t deal with either of us.”

Brian thinks on it for a few seconds and weighs whether or not he should say anything. It might be better to keep quiet and let Eric find out for himself but that always risks the chance of Eric casually calling Justin or Nathan and inviting them over for dinner and wouldn’t that be awkward, especially if he found out Brian already knew?

“Justin and Nathan broke up.”

He feels Eric still in his arms before turning to look down at him.

“What? What happened?”

“I guess Nathan took him by surprise and called it quits.”

Eric squints before shaking his head, “Brian, Nathan loves Justin. I mean that, he loves him. I talk to him more than you do and Justin is the only person he’s ever had a relationship with.”

That’s news to Brian but he tries not to show surprise at the announcement.

“Well, apparently he didn’t appreciate it enough.”

“Bullshit. He wouldn’t just leave him without a good reason,” Eric glares.

Brian raises his eyebrows, “Are you taking Nathan’s side?”

“No. I’m not taking any sides. I just think you are biased.”

Brian snorts, “I’m not biased.”

“Yeah, okay. What’s the reason Nathan ended it?”

Brian shrugs, “Justin’s, what? Nine years older than Nathan? He’s ready for kids and told me himself he wanted them. Nathan doesn’t. And it isn’t like Nathan just doesn’t want them right now. Justin even told me he was willing to wait until Nathan was ready. But apparently he doesn’t want them at all and broke up with Justin because he did.”

Eric sighs, “Poor Justin. Poor Nathan.”

“I don’t get why you feel all that sorry for Nathan. It doesn’t seem like he was even willing to compromise.”

“Don’t jump to conclusions,” Eric scolds, “We don’t even know the whole story. And besides, how well can you really compromise something like that? It isn’t like they were talking about how many kids they should have. If Nathan doesn’t want them then he shouldn’t have them. And he probably let Justin go so that he could.”

“Now who’s jumping to conclusions?” Brian mutters.

“But my conclusions are often right.”

“Well, it’s none of our business anyway.”

“They’re our friends. Justin’s your ex. I know you want him to be happy when it comes down to it.”

Brian stays silent as Eric traces a finger over his abs.

“I’ll call Nathan this week,” Eric tells him, “See how he’s doing and let him know that our door is still open.”

“Nathan has friends his own age.”

“So does Justin and I’m not going to stop you from checking in on him. I’m still going to consider both of them as my friends unless one of them cuts me off. And who could do that? Just look at me.”

Brian can’t help but chuckle at that and watches Eric get out of bed and go into the bathroom to brush his teeth. Brian gets up and follows him to brush his own, side by side. Eric spits and rinses first before Brian does the same and they stand there for a few seconds, just staring at each other’s reflections.

“Why do you care so much?” Brian asks.

Eric puts on a small, sad smile before answering.

“I may not be able to strongly relate but I knew after the first few times I met Nathan that he had a dark past. He never seemed to want to talk about his parents or his childhood in any way. It’s not like I asked many questions about it but most people refer to nostalgic stories about their families and childhood memories from time to time, even people who were more or less disowned after coming out. I’ve only met one other person who avoided the subject like he did. You. So, Brian, I’m not going to villainize him just because he broke Justin’s heart. I’ll talk to Justin and be his friend, don’t get me wrong, but I won’t cut off a friendship with someone who reminds me of my favorite person in the world.”

With that, Eric kisses him on the cheek and pats him on the shoulder and heads back to the bedroom.

Brian could stay up longer but he wants to lay by the man and spend time with him, even if he’s sleeping. So he gets under the covers, puts an arm around his lover, and watches him start to fall asleep.

“Want me to call the surrogacy agency in the morning when I get to work?” Brian asks before Eric is completely asleep, “I’ll remind them how prominent we are and get us bumped up on the list, if you want.”

Eric’s eyelashes flutter and he smiles, “You are excited, aren’t you?”

Brian shrugs nonchalantly and waits for an answer.

“Tell them we can pay the full amount upfront too,” Eric reminds him.

“Look at you, taking advantage of your privelaged position of financial wealth and prominence.”

“You must have rubbed off on me,” Eric mumbles as he closes his eyes once more.

Brian smiles, touches his forehead against his, and lets himself drift off too.

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

He isn’t sure why he heads to Williamsburg after work the next day. Possibly because he knows Eric’s day is ending by the time Lily gets off of school so he doesn’t have to worry about relieving Jess but also because he’s been worried about Justin. He’s probably not even home. Maybe he took Daphne out on the town or is working in his studio. He could be at the gallery but Brian would be able to find him easily then but, knowing Justin, he wouldn’t open up to him there.

But his doubts are proven unfounded when he’s about to ring the bell and sees Daphne Chanders walking up to the stoop with groceries in her hands.

Brian quickly walks over, taps her on the shoulder, and Daphne turns around. The quick recognition and shock that wipes over her face is humorous.

“...Brian?” She asks disbelievingly, “Oh my god, hi!”

Daphne puts down the groceries and reaches up to give him a hug.

“I haven’t seen you since...Jesus, since before you left Pittsburgh.”

It’s been awhile, hasn’t it?” Brian comments, “How have you been?”

“I’m working on my last year of residency at Penn Presbyterian Hospital in order to become a neurosurgeon. Max officially became a cardiologist over a year ago.”

“Max...your boyfriend, right?”

“Fiancé,” Daphne corrects, flashing a ring. You mean you didn’t go a year back with my Facebook when you accepted my friend request a couple of months ago?”

“I’m not on it that much,” Brian dismisses, “What ever happened to I’m never getting married?”

Daphne shrugs, “I was still dead set on it until Max proposed for the second time last year. I had realized that I had been with him for almost a decade and wasn’t going anywhere. There was no need to be tied down because I wasn’t moving, you know? So I said yes. We’re taking our time with it but it should eventually happen in the next couple of years. Congratulations, by the way. On your marriage, I mean. The pictures you were tagged in were great.”

Brian smirks, “You can still find time to look at your news feed while you operate on a brain?”

Daphne smirks right back, “I can multitask.”

Brian smile and clears his throat, “I know about the breakup. How’s he doing?”

Daphne seems to weigh whether or not she should answer before becoming serious, “...Not well. He’s taking it pretty hard. Mainly because Nathan has barely talked to him since taking off. He answered a text of Justin’s the other night and that’s it. I don’t know...I mean, I like Nathan. He’s actually one of my favorite boyfriends of Justin’s. Their personalities were different and there was this struggle that sometimes went on between them but when they were on a good streak, they were beautiful together. Justin was so loving and protective over him and you could tell Nathan loved and adored him more than anyone else in the world...I don’t know, I wish they would have worked something out. I at least wish that Nathan would talk to him. Justin’s worried sick.”

“Nathan’s probably trying to cut ties. That’s what people often do, right?”

Daphne shrugs and looks away, “I don’t know. I guess. But Justin and his family are the closest thing to family Nathan really has. I think Justin is worrying about Nathan’s mindset after something like this. He won’t tell me much, just that Nathan has had a lot of problems with panic attacks and nightmares. I think a lot of his grief is coming from not knowing anything past what Petra is telling him.”

Brian sighs, “I came over to see him.”

“...You think that’s a good idea?”

“I don’t know. We’ve been talking a lot. We’re friends. Friends with an intense, passionate, and tumultuous past but friends. Friends check on each other right?”

“...Right. But you’re not just friends. Not really.”

And damn Daphne for always being a pint sized Yoda, just waiting to give words of wisdom. But in a way, she’s wrong. Yeah, it’ll always be more complicated due to their past but they had a huge break from the end of their relationship to the start of a new one. They were doing things differently. Talking, showing the other how much they’ve grown, not fucking, being open and accepting of the other’s current love life, or recently lack thereof in Justin’s case. So, while their relationship will always be complicated, they’re trying. They’re working towards a friendship that is unique and close so he wants to be there for him and see how he’s doing.

“It’s complicated. I agree. But we are friends. I wouldn’t have lunch with him or invite him and Nathan to over to dinner or let him watch my daughter if he wasn’t.”

Daphne nods slowly, looking as if she at least wants to believe him.

“Alright, follow me. But I’m warning you, he’s not talking about it much, even when I got him drunk. He is keeping a lot of whatever is truly troubling him about all of this bottled up.”

Daphne unlocks the main door and Brian grabs some groceries to help her out as they go upstairs to Justin’s apartment. When Daphne lets him inside, he doesn’t see him. He sees a sketchpad on the couch when he makes his way to the living room but no Justin drawing out a masterpiece like he had done so many times at the loft.

“He might be in bed,” Daphne says quietly, “He went to his studio late last night and got up early to work the new displays at the gallery. He’s probably tired.”

Brian nods before heading to Justin’s bedroom and opening the door.

“...Brian-” Daphne starts hesitantly.

“I’m just going to talk to him for a few minutes. If he’s that tired then he can always kick me out.”

With that he shuts the door quietly behind him and stares at Justin’s form.

As convincing of an actor Justin can be, Brian almost always could tell if the boy was really asleep or not. He knows him too well. And he can tell that if he had been asleep before Brian came in, he wasn’t now. His eyes were closed but his breathing wasn’t quite right so Brian felt no guilt collapsing on the bed next to him.

“What are you doing here, Brian?” Justin mutters under the covers.

“You knew it was me without even peeking? I’m touched,” Brian says, sarcastically but with tenderness lacing it.

Justin sniffles a little before throwing the blankets off of his head. He rubs his tired eyes, takes a deep breath, and bullshits.

“How was the honeymoon?”

“Gorgeous. Relaxing. Filled with sexcapades.”

Justin nods absentmindedly and turns over.

“What happened?” Brian asks softly.

“You obviously already know or you wouldn’t be here,” Justin snaps.

“I know what Emmett mentioned. But he also said he felt like you were blindsided by all this. Why did Nathan call it quits?”

“Because I wanted kids and he didn’t. Because I fell in love with someone who was treated like the scum of the earth his whole life and can’t see that I loved him more than an idea of a child. Because he won’t even fucking talk to me. Because I am blind and ignored the signs he was sending out. Because I am worried out of my mind over him and scared he might relapse with all the progress he’s made. Because he has a tendency to not talk to anyone about his demons but me and now he’s cutting me out and I’m afraid he’ll do something stupid-”

Justin breaks off at that point and sniffles and Brian can’t help but rub him between his shoulder blades a little bit to try to calm him down.

“What happened to Nathan that has you so freaked out?”

“I promised I wouldn’t say anything. Just because we broke up doesn’t mean I’m going to break that.”

“Alright.”

“Did you enjoy the Caribbean?”

“Eric told you?”

“At the reception. I asked where you were planning to go when I was dancing with him and he told me. It sounded really pretty.”

“It was. It was absolutely beautiful.”

Justin turns over to get a look at Brian.

“You look refreshed. Tan. In love. Happy.”

“You...don’t.”

Justin snorts, “You sure do know how to make a guy feel special, Brian Kinney.”

The corner’s of Brian’s mouth turn up ever so slightly before checking his phone.

“I can’t stay too much longer. I need to get back home. Eric’s making dinner and I should help him out. He had an early day today.”

Justin nods and turns back over, “Tell Eric I said hello. Also, let him know I found that book I was telling him about. It was at the studio in the broom closet. Don’t ask me why. He can borrow it if he wants.”

“Yeah, okay.”

Brian starts to walk away but glances back at Justin and sees him just staring off into space. Brian lets out a sigh before walking back over to run a hand through Justin’s hair.

“Go spend time with your friend. She won’t be here much longer. She came because she was worried about you, right? Try to get her to worry a little less.”

“Believe it or not, I’m not the worst host in the world. We went a few places on Saturday and a play on Sunday.”

“See any of your other friends? Liam, Carmen-”

“No. Liam and Carmen called to invite me and Nathan out for dinner but I said no. I didn’t tell them about what happened and I don’t think Nathan has either.”

Brian nods, “Just...try to distract yourself from it. Get out a little and maybe things will cool off enough for both of you and you can talk again.”

Justin raises an eyebrow, “Really? You’re trying to give me advice on how to speak to exes when you didn’t even attempt to get ahold of me for seven years?”

Brian flinches at the accurate accusation and he can tell that Justin immediately feels guilty.

“Sorry. Shit, Brian. I’m sorry. Look, I’m feeling upset and stressed out right now, alright? Thanks for the advice. I’ll get dressed and spend some time with her.”

Brian stares at him for a few seconds before giving him a nod and backing away. He turns around only to hear Justin speak.

“The wedding was beautiful, by the way. I couldn’t remember if I told you that.”

Brian smirks before he turns around again, “You didn’t have to. Eric and I planned it and Emmett is a great interpreter. We already knew it was beautiful.”

The laugh in return is the first positive noise he’s heard out of Justin since he got here. The sob that comes out after is the most heartbreaking.

“Shit,” Brian mutters, coming forward and squatting down next to the bed, “Justin-”

“I’ll never have that,” he croaks out, “A husband, a baby. It isn’t in the cards for me.”

“Don’t say that, come on,” Brian comforts helplessly, rubbing the man’s shoulder, “Look, fuck him, alright? Fuck Nathan. You’ll find someone better than him and me and all your other ex-boyfriends combined.”

“Don’t say that!” Justin in between cries, “You don’t know how strong and amazing Nathan is. He’s a wonderful person. I love him and he deserves so much and I was fucking selfish-”

“Jesus, Justin. You weren’t selfish. Okay, so you wanted different things. It happens. You should already know that first-hand. You’ll find someone else alright? And if for some reason that takes a while then so what? Go get a baby on your own and the right guy will come in time.”

“God, that sounds so bizarre coming out of your mouth,” Justin mumbles before sitting up, “Alright, I’m up. Now go on so I can spend time with my friend.”

Justin pulls on a shirt before ushering him out of the bedroom. Brian accepts a hug from Daphne and tells her that he’ll consider messaging her one day before going out the door and heading downstairs.

He gets home and barely gets a response out of Lily when he comes in since she is too engrossed in 101 Dalmations. Brian ruffles her hair as he passes, only getting his hand lightly pushed away in return, before heading into the kitchen to find Eric putting the tilapia into the oven.

“Hey,” he greets quietly, putting his arms around the man as he kisses his neck.

“Hey. I’m surprised you didn’t stay later.”

“Malia went above and beyond when it came to running things smoothly. She seems to have the entry-level 20 somethings as intimidated by her as they are of me. How was the meeting with Steinwell?”

“It went well. It’s pretty much a go. I’m passing the project to Anna. Building will go into next year and I don’t know what my schedule it going to be like.”

“Really? And why not?”

Eric stares at him and Brian stares back innocently before getting tickled in the sides.

“You know what I have been waiting all day to hear about! Come on, spill!”

Brian tries to dodge the man’s tickling fingers before throwing in the towel.

“Alright, alright!”

Eric stops immediately and waits for the answer.

“I talked to a couple of agencies just to see the prices, packaging, best benefits for the surrogates, and how soon one could be available. I threw in our stellar accomplishments and our ability to pay the full amount all at once. They made a list of available surrogates in the city and confirmed interviews with two of them for next week.”

“Next week? You got them to set interviews up for next week.”

“Impressive, aren’t I?”

Eric lets out a joyful laugh before taking Brian’s face into his hands and kissing him on the lips.

“You’re incredible,” Eric tells him softly before putting his arms around him.

As Brian returns the hug, he feels the excitement radiating off of Eric affecting him as well. He welcomes the excitement. It momentarily distracts him from the guilt he feels over Justin having a harder time achieving the same thing.