At first Lindsay had liked Justin. Brian was around more, visited he... Gus more. Justin always made himself available whenever she and Mel needed a babysitter, even on short notice. But then, Justin started coming over when Brian would visit, and Lindsay noticed that while Brian still focused on his son, along with Justin, he really didn't pay much attention to her at all. And when Justin would babysit, she and Mel would come home to find the two of them wrapped together on the couch. Sometimes it seemed like they were joined at the hip. It was bad enough she had to share Brian with Michael, but sharing him with the gorgeous blond artist was, to her mind, just unacceptable. He was not only beautiful, he was amazingly talented; he could have his pick of men. So why did he have to be with Brian, who was- in her mind anyway- hers?

It was not to be borne! 

So then she had the brilliant idea to introduce Justin to Ethan, disguising it as a ‘birthday surprise'. She had seen him playing his violin on the street and found out that he went to PIFA. So, when he told her about the recital he would be in she managed to get tickets for Melanie, Justin, and herself. That had worked for a while. Justin and Brian broke up and he moved in with the violin player. Brian had once again begun to visit her... erm GUS more, sans Justin, and everything was right again in The World According to Lindsay Peterson, who always knew BEST. After all, micromanaging without seeming to do so was a specific talent of hers.

But unfortunately, Ethan had been working out of town and he cheated on Justin. Even though Brian and Justin had both gone with others, Ethan had promised to be faithful. One little fuck-up and Justin dumped him. Then he and Brian had gotten back together and she wasn't happy. Now Brian had told her that he let Justin top him, and from the sound of the phone call she had snooped to overhear, they were closer than ever. 

Well, she would just have to talk to Michael. First to find out if he knew about Brian bottoming, and then to try and find a way for it to become common knowledge on Liberty that Brian had bent over for the usurping blond. They also needed to make it look like Justin was the one to spread the word. Brian would be humiliated, and that should be enough to make him dump the blond brat and go back to the way things should be- Brian by her side and more willing to open his wallet to her anytime.

Lindsay knew that Michael would be at his store, selling useless comics to the geeks of Pittsburgh. Melanie was home with Gus while she was out running errands, so she headed to Liberty to pump Michael for what he knew and hopefully a way to get Justin out of their lives, permanently. Walking into the store she saw a bunch of kids leaving with their purchases.

"Hey Lindsay, what's up, you look annoyed," greeted Michael, kissing her cheek.

"I am, Michael. I need to talk to you about Brian," she answered.

"Sounds serious. Is something wrong with him?" He asked.

"Well, it's more about him and Justin," she answered, piquing his interest. 

Even though he and Justin worked on Rage together, he would love to find a way to get the blond out of his ‘best friend's' life. To his mind, Justin took too much of Brian's focus away from where it belonged, on him. And then there was the drain on Brian's wallet, spending money on Justin when Michael could use the man's money for more important things, like going to Woody's and Babylon. Two places that lately Brian only went to a couple of times a week, instead of almost every night. Which meant if Michael wanted to go, he had to pay his own way. Ben had been trying to keep them on a budget, something that before Justin, Michael had never had to worry about because Brian always paid for him. 

"Are they breaking up again?" Michael asked, hopefully.

"Unfortunately, not that I know of," Lindsay answered, then continued "I stopped by to talk to Brian and he made some comments that were unsettling, to say the least,"

"Comments about what?" Michael questioned.

"How much do you know about Brian's sex life?" She questioned.

"I don't know, a lot, I think. It's not like Brian hides much about it," Michael answered.

"Do you know if he ever bottomed?" Lindsay asked.

"Brian! Never! He is the ultimate top. He would never bend over for ANYONE!" Michael answered surely.

"Well then, either he lied to me or he does bend over, at least for the blond brat!" Lindsay answered.

"Brian doesn't lie," Michael answered, pissed. "What the fuck, Lindsay? What did he say, exactly?"

Lindsay repeated the conversation she had had with Brian about Sam, and then told Michael about the phone conversation she had listened in on. At first Michael just sat there shaking his head, not believing that his best friend had so completely and willingly turned his life around and gone against everything he believed in for that fucking blond. Then he just got pissed.

"Well, we need to do something about this. He must have done something to Brian, or maybe he found a way to blackmail him," Michael said, grasping at straws to find a reason for Brian's behavior. 

"What can we do? There has to be a way to get Brian back to being Brian," Lindsay said, hoping to get Michael fired up and find a way to get rid of Justin.

"Well, we need to do something to get him pissed at Justin, really pissed, so that he wants him totally gone from Liberty," Michael said.

"Yes. Well, it better be more effective than your ‘rob the loft' idea. That got us nowhere, except the extra cash was nice while it lasted," answered Lindsay.

"Well, your ‘find him a new boyfriend' ploy didn't last long either," sniped Michael. Then he perked up suddenly. "You said the little shit has been topping Brian since before the fiddler, right?"

"Yeah, so?" replied Lindsay.

"Well guess who is back in town? I saw him at the park the other day," answered Michael. "And he may want to find a way to get back at Justin. Let me see what I can do," Michael said, thinking about how to approach Ethan with what he wanted the jilted musician to do.

After Lindsay left Michael closed the shop and headed to the park to find Ethan. He watched him play and collect money, then waited until people had left and the musician was alone and packing up to go home. 

As he approached, Ethan saw him and sneered, "What do you want, Michael? I'm staying away from your friend, not that he would talk to me anyway," 

"If you mean Justin, we're not exactly friends, more like acquaintances who have to put up with each other," Michael commented.

"Whatever. Why are you here? I doubt you came for the music, so what do you want?" Ethan asked, not caring if he was being nasty.

"I have something to discuss with you. Maybe a way for both of us to get some satisfaction," Michael answered.

Ethan looked at the sloppily dressed man and commented "I'm not sleeping with you. You are sooo not my type," 

"Ewww. Number one, I'm married, and number two you are not my type either. What I'm talking about is getting back at Justin. And making sure that he gets what he deserves," Michael answered.

Michael explained his plan to Ethan and the musician agreed. The two hundred dollars in cash and the thought of humiliating Brian and making Justin lose the man he wanted to spend his life with was too much to pass up. Ethan would inform any trick he had that the Stud of Liberty Avenue was a very willing bottom for the blond. Ethan was known for having taken the blond from the stud, so it seemed plausible that he would know things that had happened behind closed doors when Brian and Justin were together. Michael warned Ethan not to acknowledge him if he saw him on Liberty. He didn't want anyone to suspect he had anything to do with what was going to happen when it got back to Brian that his Sunshine had bragged about topping the stud. After leaving Ethan in the park Michael called Lindsay and let her know that things had gone well and what Ethan had agreed to do.

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

Brian had told Justin of his talk with Lindsay, and he said that he warned his son's mother that she needed to keep her mouth shut. 

"Well, I hope she does, otherwise Michael might have a stroke. I can't imagine that he would take that kind of news well," Justin answered. 

"We will see how he and Lindsay act at dinner on Sunday. Hopefully everything will be normal, or at least as normal as the family usually is," Brian commented.

Just then the buzzer went off. They looked at each other. Neither one was expecting anyone and they hadn't ordered food. Justin answered the door.

"It's Todd. I need to talk to you and Brian," came the voice over the intercom. Justin buzzed him in and looked over at Brian. Both men shrugged, neither one knowing why Pittsburgh's number one bottom would need to talk to them.

Justin pulled back the door and the men waited. A couple of minutes later the elevator opened and Todd stepped out. Both Justin and Brian looked at him in surprise. Justin was the first one to speak.

"Wow Todd, I never realized how tall you are,"

Then Brian said, "I don't think I've ever seen you standing up," looking up at the man and chuckling. He was at least three inches taller than Brian. "To what do we owe the pleasure of your company?" Brian asked while Justin brought beers for all of them from the fridge.

"You guys know that I don't usually get involved in the Liberty Avenue drama, but I was in the park today and overheard something that I think you two deserve to know about, and you are not going to like it, at all," Todd started.

He proceeded to tell Brian and Justin about seeing Michael and Ethan in the park and relayed everything that was said. Brian stood up and started pacing. Justin just sat fuming. Todd got nervous because neither man was saying anything. He got up, deciding to get out of there and go home. When Brian saw him stand, he spoke,

"Stay, Todd. We believe you. You have never done anything that would have us think you would make anything like this up. Thank you for telling us. Now we just need to figure out what to do about all three of them," Brian announced.

"I say that for now, we do nothing. If we confront them they will just say it's a lie. Now that Michael knows, he would make sure it got around one way or another. He will probably say that I drugged you or something else that his tiny little mind came up with," Justin commented.

"Oh well Sunshine, I wonder if they will try to make you the new stud now. Hell, you're the only one who ever got to fuck me. That in itself is an accomplishment," Brian said with a smirk.

The three men sat around finishing their beers and talked about what to do about the three people who wanted to fuck up their lives. They decided that doing nothing for now would be the best thing, since nothing had been done yet and all they had was the information Todd overheard in the park. They gave Todd their phone numbers in case he heard anything new. He promised to let them know when the information started to be circulated.

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

Sunday dinner at Debs was the same as usual, but both men noticed the looks passing between Lindsay and Michael. Neither Brian nor Justin said anything about what they had been told, wanting to wait until they could get both Lindsay and Michael to turn on each other if they needed them to. 

The following week the gossip started to be circulated. First it was just a couple of people, and then it just seemed to snowball. As they had agreed to do, the couple pretended to be oblivious to what was being circulated on the Avenue. It wasn't actually that hard. No one would dare say anything out loud where they could be overheard by either Brian or Justin. All they ever got was looks and people quietly whispering. 

Things had been busy for everyone and so several Sundays went by before the next family dinner. By the time it came around though, both Brian and Justin were ready for the blowout that was going to happen. After everyone had begun eating and Brian and Justin kept getting glances from everyone other than Michael and Lindsay, Emmett voiced the question everyone wanted to ask.

"Brian, have you heard the latest rumor going around?" The tall queen asked from the other side of the table.

"Yes. I have heard it. I heard that I bend over for Sunshine here. I also heard that he is the one who blabbed it," He answered, sounding pissed as he continued to eat.

"I told you that you couldn't trust him, Brian. See, I was right!" Shouted Lindsay, while glaring at Justin.

"How could you humiliate him like that you little shit," Yelled Michael. "Brian, you need to throw his ass out, before he causes any more trouble for you,"

Deb even chimed in "Justin, you should know how much Brian values not having private things spread around. You should be ashamed of yourself,"

Justin just sat there, not even looking up from his plate. He knew he hadn't done anything, of course, but it upset him that his ‘family' could treat him this way. The only thing keeping him from jumping up and slapping both Michael and Lindsay was Brian's leg pressed tightly against his, giving him strength and reminding him that he was there and they were in this together.

Suddenly Brian cleared his throat and pulled a tape recorder out of his pocket and set it on the table. Making sure the volume was all the way up he turned it on. Michael's voice came on loud and clear, telling Ethan what he had found out from Lindsay. Then asking the musician if he would help them humiliate Brian to get rid of Justin and then Ethan agreeing to the plan. 

Lindsay paled as Melanie looked at her wife and asked, "So, were you going to tell me about Sam or just let me go on thinking that you could keep your pants on around a willing dick?" 

Lindsay started to stammer and cry, "Mel... I... I... it's not what you think..."

Melanie just shook her head, "Don't bother coming home," she said as she picked up Gus and walked out the door.

Michael jumped up from his chair "Brian, that's not me on there. You know I would never do anything like that to you. He must have found a way to make that tape," he shouted, pointing to Justin. "I'm your best friend, you have to believe me! He is just trying to come between us," 

Ben stood up, thanked Debbie for dinner and said he and Hunter needed to leave. Turning to Michael he said, "I don't even know who you are anymore. I'll be moving out, along with Hunter. Have a nice life, Michael,"

Michael and Lindsay looked around for anyone who would stand up for them and all they saw was disgust on the faces of the family. 

Debbie took the plates from in front of Michael and Lindsay as she looked at Justin, "I'm the one who should be ashamed Sunshine, that I could even think that you would do something like that to Brian, when it's clear that you love him more than those two, who profess to be his ‘best friends'. I'm so sorry for what I said and I hope that you can forgive me. And as for you two, get out of my house, NOW."

Michael stood up and charged toward Justin, fury clearly etched on his face. Brian quickly stood up and blocked his path.

"Don't, Michael," Brian growled.

"Like I told you at the party, you should have left him in that garage!" Michael shouted, without thinking. 

Suddenly Michael realized what he had said and stopped as he heard the gasps from around the table just before he felt Emmett's fist connect with his face. Brian had quickly turned and dropped to his knees in front of Justin, who was shaking with a combination of anger and hurt. Debbie went to get ice for Emmett's hand before opening the front door and telling both Michael and Lindsay to leave, again. Not caring one bit that Michael's eye was already beginning to close and the whole side of his face had started to swell. 

Brian held Justin tightly and ran his hand soothingly through the blond hair of the man that he loved. The others went into the kitchen to talk about what they had just heard. Brian had never said what caused him to hit Michael at the girl's anniversary party, but now they all knew and were ashamed that they had blamed Brian when all he was doing was defending the man that he clearly loved. 

Once Justin had calmed down, the others came back into the room. They all apologized to Brian for blaming him when he had hit Michael. Debbie was in tears, realizing that the son she had tried to raise to be a good, decent, caring man, was nothing but a jealous, backstabbing, narcissistic brat. Brian hugged her and told her that Michael is an adult and that his actions were his own, not the result of anything that she had done, 

"After all Ma, look how wonderful I turned out." he said to his pseudo mom. She just shook her head and hugged him. 

After everything had calmed down, they all sat down and had dessert. Brian had wanted to take Justin home but said he needed to get some sugar since Brian never wanted to take dessert home. While they were eating, Ted glanced at Brian a few times. 

Finally Brian commented, "Yes, Theodore, I do like to get fucked. But only because Justin is the best top in the Pitts, next to me of course. No one else has ever or will ever get near my ass," 

Ted had the good grace to blush at Brian's comment. Emmett just smirked. 

"What Emmylou? Or did you already know?" Brian asked, glancing at Justin.

"He never said a word, Brian. He didn't have to. I could see it in the way you acted toward each other. Just because I don't say something, doesn't mean I don't know something. Some things are private, and they should stay that way," Emmett commented, smiling at his friends.

After satisfying Justin's sweet tooth, the couple headed home. Brian had lost two friends but he had the person he loved and that is what really counts.