Melanie and the kids offered to watch Keegan the following evening so the dads could go out and celebrate winning their case. After a nice family dinner made by Melanie and Gus, Brian and Justin dressed in their hottest club clothes and headed to Babylon.

Brian slowly drove his Audi down the street, each of them looking out the windows at their old stomping grounds. They were happy to see that not much had changed.

He parked next to the back entrance of the club and they went inside. The bartender saw them and handed each man a shot of Beam and a beer. Justin leaned on Brian while they drank their beers.

They looked around at the sea of dancers. There were many new faces, and they both nodded at some of the ones that they recognized. A few guys came over to congratulate them on the outcome of their custody case. The news had spread like wildfire throughout Liberty Avenue after the verdict, thanks to Debbie. Although retired from the diner, she was still the queen of the neighborhood gossip, mostly thanks to social media. She had more Facebook friends and Twitter followers than both Brian and Justin combined.

A song came on that was a favorite of Justin’s and he dragged Brian onto the dance floor. They couple danced and ground together, refusing anyone who tried to cut in or join them. After a few more songs, Justin whispered to Brian that he wanted to go to the backroom.

Brian looked at the blue lust-blown eyes and knew exactly what his lover needed. He would have been happy to receive a backroom blow job, but he instead took his fiance’s hand and led him upstairs to his office. Brian fiddled with his keys to find the one for the door while Justin rubbed himself on Brian’s leg like a cat in heat.

Brian finally got the door unlocked and dragged Justin inside, locking the door behind them. He pressed the blond against the door and attacked his plump lips.

Justin stopped a minute later and looked at the older man. “Why didn’t we just go to the backroom? Are you shy all of a sudden? You used to love fucking me in public.”

Brian shook his head before asking, “Do you have any condoms with you?”

“Of course not, why would I…” Justin paused. “Oh, yeah.”

Brian had a very strict policy of no barebacking in the club, no exceptions.

“I’m sure someone downstairs could loan us one,” Justin suggested.

Brian raised an eyebrow. “Do you actually want me to fuck you with a condom on?”

Justin crinkled his nose and shook his head no.

“Neither do I, so I guess we’re stuck doing it up here, if you still want it.”

In response, Justin started tearing his clothes off to reveal his hard and leaking cock. Brian answered Justin’s speedy strip show with a slow striptease of his own. As soon as Brian released his hard on, Justin was on his knees licking at the glistening purple head of his lover’s cock. Brian threw back his head and groaned at the sensation.

“Ahh... Sunshine… ahhh, I want to be inside you… please.”

Justin responded by grabbing the small bottle of lube from the pocket of his discarded pants and squeezing some onto his fingers. Leaning over the desk, he made a show of opening himself up for his partner.

Brian moaned, grabbing Justin’s hips and aiming straight for his favorite hole, sliding in slowly because he hadn’t given Justin much time to stretch. Justin, being very impatient, reached back, grabbed Brian’s ass and pulled him forward, impaling himself on the wet, hard cock that he needed.

Holding the blond’s hips, Brian grunted, “If you want me to last for more than two strokes, give me a second. Your ass is so hot and so tight… and so perfect.”

Justin stilled, having been on the other side enough times to know what Brian was feeling.

When Brian had calmed down enough, he started to slowly slide in and out of the hot ass in front of him. Justin moaned and pushed back, keeping the pace slow and steady to build the feelings. Finally after pausing several times, they both knew that this was it and sped up, slamming together and moaning loudly.

Brian reached around and squeezed the blond’s cock. Justin screamed and shot all over the desk, clamping down on his lover’s cock and receiving a huge load of hot cum in return. Brian lay over Justin’s back until they both calmed down enough to separate.

They cleaned up most of the mess, got dressed, and slipped out the back door. They decided to go to the loft, where they spent the rest of the evening making love and enjoying their rare childless night together.

****************

Brian came home early from work the next day and found Justin sulking in the kitchen.

“What’s up Sunshine... although you don’t look very ‘Sunshiney’ right now,” he said before giving the blond a kiss.

“Well, the three grandmothers are here, because I was the idiot that invited all of them to come over at the same time. To hear our mothers tell it, Daphne and I were the spawn of the devil. Our child however is somehow the most angelic baby in the world.”

“What… what do you mean?” Brian asked, trying not to laugh.

Justin pushed a small serving tray into Brian’s hands. “Help me bring these drinks to them and you’ll see.”

When they took the drinks into the living room, the women were still discussing their children. The first thing Brian heard was Jennifer’s voice.

“Keegan is such a joy,” she said as she held her grandson in her lap. “After having Justin, it still amazes me that I even wanted another child. Between the colic, the allergies, the ear infections, the teething, and the constant crankiness, I hardly slept for at least two years. Potty training him was a disaster and he wanted to run around naked all the time.”

Brian whispered to Justin, “So that’s where you started your exhibitionism, huh? I thought that was just for me.”

That comment earned Brian a smack on the arm.

“Did he walk around with his hands in diaper?” Debbie asked Jennifer.

“Oh, all the time! You would have thought he had no toys to play with,” she answered, laughing. “It’s no wonder Craig and I waited nearly eight years to have Molly… now she was a great baby.”

“Yeah, right,” Justin muttered, remembering very well what a pest his sister was when she was younger. “Someone looks at her princess with rose-colored glasses.”

Deidra Chanders next started in on her youngest child’s antics. “Daphne as a baby could have been nicknamed ‘Birth Control.’ She didn’t sleep through the night until she was two and a half, and to get her to sleep more than an hour, she would have to sleep between me and Darnell. We couldn’t get her to sleep in her own bed until she was at least four. She’d never stay in a playpen or anywhere that she couldn’t get into things, and she would knock over or throw anything she touched. But look how sweet and wonderful her son is - he hardly cries, he takes naps without any fuss, and he started sleeping through the night at three months. If all my kids had been like him, I’d probably have my own TV show with a house full of kids. I got my tubes tied after having Daphne.”

Brian turned to his still-sulking fiance and whispered, “Well, I love what they’re saying about our son, and I’m glad he only got the good qualities from both of you. I feel bad that Jen and Deidra got stuck with the two of you. Maybe we should send the grandmothers on an apology trip.”

Justin glared at his lover and snarled in return. “Gee, thanks… Asshole.”

“Oh God, don’t even get me started on Michael,” Debbie began.

“Please don’t,” Brian loudly requested as he handed out the drinks. “Nobody wants to hear about how Michael’s circumcision got infected.”

Everyone in the room cringed.

“I’d much rather hear about what a joy my son is. He certainly takes after one of his fathers,” Brian said, smirking at Justin.

“Possibly, or maybe it’s just that one of his fathers was a baby so long ago that he doesn’t remember how awful he was anymore,” Justin countered with his own smirk.

The grandmothers all laughed, knowing that the teasing between them was all good natured and that their grandson was going to have a most amazing life with these two men raising him.

***************

A week after being granted custody of their son, Justin took Keegan to visit Daphne’s grave. He knelt down and put some white roses, Daphne’s favorite flower, in the holder on the side of her headstone. He then sat down on the lush grass and put Keegan in his lap before he began telling her what had happened in court.

“We did it, Daph,” Justin said happily. “Keegan belongs to me and Brian now, officially. Brian has adopted him and we’re now legally a family. I hope it’s okay with you that Keegan’s last name is now Kinney. Curtis really didn’t have a snowball’s chance in hell of winning the case, but it was you that really helped us win. Delia found your will, and no one could dispute that you wanted me to have Keegan after that.

“Brian and I are getting married on September fifteenth, which is of course Gus’s birthday and the day we met. I know how much you hoped that one day we’d finally get married, and I know how much you would have wanted to be there. I wish that you could be my Best Lady…”

Justin sniffled back some tears and unbuttoned his shirt.

“I got you a present… I designed it myself,” he said, pulling his shirt open to show off his new tattoo over his heart. It was a black and gray portrait of Daphne holding Keegan in her arms. Underneath the portrait were the words As one life ended, another began along with 1/16/16, the date of Daphne’s death and Keegan’s birth.

“You never got to hold Keegan, but now you’ll be holding him forever. I had it done on Friday. It hurt like a motherfucker - hell, it still does - but it was worth it. I didn’t tell Brian about it before I got it, but he really likes it.”

He looked down at Keegan, who was staring up at him and smiling. The baby then wrapped his hand around his daddy’s index finger, just like he had every day when he was in the hospital after his premature birth. This prompted Justin to sing “You’re My Best Friend” to both Daphne and Keegan.

“Ooh, you make me live. Whatever this world can give to me, it’s you, you're all I see…”

As he finished the song, Justin watched as a butterfly landed on Keegan’s shoulder, as if it were a scene straight out of a movie. He remembered that Daphne had a butterfly tattooed on her shoulder, which he had drawn for her.

Justin chuckled and looked up at the clear blue sky. “Thank you Daph, we love you, too. Don’t worry, Brian and I will make sure that Keegan always knows how much you loved him.”   

*****************

Once everything had settled down following the trial, Brian and Justin started making plans for their wedding. They picked out very classy invitations, blue vellum with silver writing. The entire extended family was invited, minus Lindsay and Michael. Also invited were all of the Kinnetik employees and some of their major accounts, including Leo Brown. They also invited Gardner Vance, whom Brian had bought out several years before, although they knew the invitation would probably go straight into the garbage.

The couple did not want or need gifts, so they put a card with the invitations requesting that anyone who wanted to could donate to the Vic Grassi AIDS Hospice in lieu of a gift. They included an envelope with the hospice’s P.O. box number on it. Hunter, who was the current administrator of the hospice, would certainly appreciate every penny.  

Brian and Justin talked it over and decided that they would ask Ted and Emmett to stand up for them as their witnesses and Best Men.

Justin invited Emmett to lunch at the diner. While they were eating and talking about the kids, Justin mentioned that although he and Brian wanted to have Emmett’s Fabulous Festivities organize the ceremony and cater the reception, they didn't want Emmett working that day.

The expression on Emmett’s face was like that of a confused puppy.

Justin laughed and took the tall queen’s hand. “I’d like you to be my Best Man, if you would do me the honor.”

Emmett’s eyes quickly filled up with tears, which started pouring down his face. “Oh, Honey! Oh my God, of course I will! You’ve made me so happy.”

The two friends stood up and hugged.

“Oh shit, what am I going to wear?” Emmett suddenly wailed.

Meanwhile at Kinnetik, Brian called Ted into his office. Ted walked in and Brian asked if he would like a drink.

Ted asked for a water, a little confused at the way Brian was acting, like this was more of a social visit. “Is everything okay, Boss? You seem… well, not focused on work today.”

“Well Theodore, to be honest, I did call you in here for something other than business,” Brian answered very seriously as he poured himself a shot of Beam.

“What is it, Brian? You know you can count on me for anything,” Ted replied, worried that his friend had some bad news.

“I was hoping you would say that, because I’d like you to be my Best Man at my wedding,” Brian answered with one of his famous smirks. “You are supposedly my best friend, after all…”

Ted pushed Brian’s shoulder. “You asshole! I thought something was wrong. Cynthia doesn’t call your office the ‘Bad News Bear Cave’ for nothing.”

Brian sighed and asked, “Well, are you going to answer me?”

Ted teared up as he answered, “Brian, I would be honored to be your Best Man.”

The two of them stood and hugged.

Brian pulled away a few moments later and said, “Good. Now that that’s settled, get your ass back to work. This is a place of business and I need to make a shit-load of money to pay for this wedding.”

Ted wiped his eyes. “Sure thing Boss, getting back to work.”      

***************  

One month after Lindsay had entered the inpatient treatment program, she was told that she had a visitor in the common room. Thinking that maybe it was Brian, she brushed her hair and put on some lipstick, not being allowed to have any other makeup.

She walked into the large room and saw Michael waiting for her. Making an annoyed face, she walked over to the other side of the small table he was sitting at and took a seat.

“Why are you here, Michael?” Lindsay asked haughtily.

“I heard through the grapevine that Melanie is going to be seeking full custody of the kids, and I wanted to tell you that you can’t let her do it.”

“That ‘grapevine’ being your mother?” she said with a snort.

Ignoring her remark, he continued. “If Mel, Brian, and that fucking blond get the kids, then Brian won’t give you any more money. We need money, Lindsay. I know that I haven’t gotten the blond bastard out of the way yet, but I’m still trying to find a way. After he’s gone, then you can get Brian.”

“How exactly do you plan on getting Justin out of the picture? You thought that testifying against him at that trial would do it, but it seems to have only brought them closer together. They’ll call the cops if you go on any of their properties. And since when do you want me to have Brian? I thought you wanted him all to yourself.”

Michael shook his head. “That ship sailed long ago. He doesn’t want me, but you still have a chance with him. You would get more money from him for Gus than I would alone, anyway.”

“Brian doesn’t want me, either; he never did. Gus doesn’t even want me,” Lindsay sadly admitted.

“Well, I also heard that Brian wants to adopt my daughter and that the fucking blond wants to be her step-father. You can’t let that happen, Lindz,” Michael whined in his weasel-like way.  

“Michael, it’s over,” Lindsay answered sternly. “I’m not going to use my kids as pawns. They don’t want to be with me and I can’t force them. I’m going to have to get a job when I get out of here, so you’d better find another way to support yourself, too. You’ll never see another penny of Brian’s money.”

Michael got up so fast that the chair fell over. “That’s not fair, we had a deal! I would try to get Brian away from the fucking blond and you’d make sure I have money. I need money! Don’t you have any more put away? What about the kids’ college funds, can’t you get to those?”

Two hospital guards had come in by that point, and when Michael started banging his fists on the table, they each took an arm and escorted him to the door, telling him that he was now banned from visiting.

Lindsay just shook her head, wondering why she had gotten mixed up with Michael in the first place.