As Ben and Hunter left the house and got on their bikes, Ben was making a phone call.

"Okay thanks. I should be there in about 15 minutes." Turning to Hunter Ben told him, "Go back to the apartment and start gathering your stuff. I'm going to rent a van. Luckily, we don't really have much stuff to take. Pack a suitcase for a couple of days, too. We are going to stay at a hotel while we find a place to live. Shit, I didn't even ask if this is what you want to do. Do you want to come with me or would you rather stay with Michael? You are old enough to decide."

"I want to go with you. I may not like Blondie that much, but for Michael to wish him dead, that is just something I can't even wrap my head around. And to think we all blamed Brian for punching him. Why didn't Brian say anything to defend himself?" Hunter asked.

"Because that's how he is," Ben answered, sadly. "He would rather be blamed than admit that the man who called himself his best friend could be so intentionally cruel. He also didn't want to admit how much still cared for Justin, even when he was with Ethan," Ben replied.

Hunter nodded, "Yeah, it is kind of obvious that those two really belong to each other. Hey, I just thought of something. Do we have any boxes to put our stuff in?"

Taking a key off his ring, Ben handed it to Hunter, "This is to the storage space in the basement. You'll know which one it is because there is a picture of Captain Astro on the door. I put a bunch of boxes down there after I moved in with Michael. Just bring them all up. I want to get this done and get out as quickly as we can. Wherever those two are now, likely at Michael's store, they will probably head here later and I'd rather not see either one of them."

They each headed off to get what they needed done. Hunter headed to the storage room before heading upstairs. Opening the door to the room, he looked around, thinking about what an overstuffed dump it was... Well the majority of the space was anyway, since Ben's neatly stacked boxes were easy to spot. There were no prizes needed for guessing who the other bunch in the corner belonged to. Michael certainly would have never made a living as a housewife, whose main duty was to clean.

Shaking his head at that entire train of thought since it only led to disturbing places, he continued to ponder why the boxes weren't already broken down and folded. Once he'd made it to the other side of the storage locker, he decided to inspect their contents, at least set that one area to rights. While Hunter went about the process of shuffling the boxes into piles, and creating the illusion of order to the Michael-mess of the space, he saw a very comfortable looking armchair behind the stack. Upon further inspection, he couldn't help but wonder why it wasn't up in the apartment since it actually looked pretty comfortable, and probably cost more than the ratty furnitures currently adorning the place. Then he noticed that it was set up like a little private hiding place.

Now why would Michael need a man-cave type place when Ben had only moved in a short time ago? Hunter asked the question to himself as he continued to view the space for what it was. Taking a seat, he decided to examine the box next to the chair that at first looked like junk, but upon closer inspection was anything other than that. The first thing he pulled out of the box was what looked like one of Justin's drawings. Narrowing his eyes, he continued to peruse the artwork, immediately recognizing the subject as Brian, naked and asleep.

At first, Hunter allowed the little thrill he always got when he'd see Brian to flare to life... It was probably going to be one of the only times in his young life that he'd get to see the wonder and full glory of Brian Kinney; he'd be a fool to squander it! But his secret joy was short-lived when he spotted what looked like dried cum stains on the drawing. He dropped the paper and reached into his pocket for a pair of rubber gloves that he always kept with him, just in case he was ever bleeding or needed to touch anyone who was. It was one of the things that he and Ben both did for safety reasons.

Looking through the rest of the box, he found some papers that looked like receipts, very expensive underwear, and some other things that Michael would never have bought for himself. They were more like things Brian would have. But tucked down at the side of the box, he'd found an envelope, which in actuality felt like some sort of tape. He rolled it over in his hands, before really taking note of what it said on the outside: ‘In case the bitch tries to fuck me over'. Pulling out his phone, he called Ben immediately.

"Hey Dad, do you have a cassette player? Great! I need it, and also, I think you need to meet me in the storage room. I found a bunch of weird stuff in here, and no I wasn't really snooping... Well not really; I was cleaning but got sidetracked. Okay, I'll wait here, see you in a few."

While he waited for Ben, he gathered up the boxes he had come down for in the first place and set them just outside the door. Then he just looked around, his eyes stopping every so often on the creepiest place he'd ever been that had nothing to do with cobwebs, but everything to do with some stalker-type shit. He began to pace a bit, hoping Ben would hurry up. He didn't want to take a chance that Michael would come down here and find him looking around. It seemed like Michael spent a lot of time down here, working on his obsession with his 'best friend', while pulling his pud.

Hunter shivered at the reminder of the soiled drawing, wondering if Brian and Justin even knew where that drawing had ended up. He doubted it, otherwise little Mikey's secret vice would have long since been exposed. Not that he thought anyone would really call Michael on it. After all, no one had even bothered to ask Brian what really happened after he'd punched Michael. So why should the case of a missing drawing, and a clear invasion of privacy in regards to Brian's loft be any different?

Ten minutes later, Ben arrived and walked into the storage unit carrying a small cassette player. Hunter showed him what he had found in the corner where he had seen the boxes. Ben started to sit in the chair, but Hunter grabbed his arm and said that he may not want to do that. That was when Ben noticed he was wearing gloves. Hunter showed Ben the stained picture of Brian, and Ben just shook his head in disgust.

Then he showed Ben the box he found it in. Ben looked through the box before speaking. "Did anyone ever mention to you about the loft being robbed not long after Brian and Justin got together?" Ben asked.

"Michael mentioned something once. He said it was Justin's fault; claiming that he had gone out and left the door unlocked," Hunter answered.

"Well, from the things in this box it looks more like Justin was set up, by Michael. These are some of the things Brian mentioned that were stolen. I wasn't around when it happened, but Brian was drunk one night and told me all about it. He also told me, in confidence, that he was the one that bought Justin's drawing of him. He wanted to be able to say that he owned the first thing that Justin ever sold. He was really upset that it was stolen, because it was the one thing that could never be replaced. Where is the tape? I‘d like to hear what is on it," Ben said to Hunter as he set down the tape player.

Hunter opened the envelope and put the tape in the player, but as soon as Ben heard the voices on the tape and what they started to talk about, he shut it off and pulled out his phone. It didn't take long for the call to connect. "Hey Brian, it's Ben. Can you and Justin come to the basement at Michael's right away? Hunter found something I think you two need to know about."

"Ben, we just got home and Justin is a little... Hang on... Yeah, we're on our way. The basement?" Brian asked.

"Yeah. Michael's storage room. See you soon," Ben said, hanging up. Ben listened to part of the tape and was astounded at the lengths Michael and Lindsay were willing to go to get rid of Justin, someone who had never done anything to them... Well, other than being the one person that would make Brian Kinney fall in love.

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

Meanwhile 

Michael and Lindsay walked into Michael's comic shop and headed for the office, not really having anywhere else to go at the moment. Lindsay was worried what Mel would do if she showed up at their house and Michael didn't want to run into Ben at their apartment.

"Michael, you should probably put some ice on your face, although you deserved to be hit for what you said. I can't believe you said that about Justin," Lindsay told him as he headed for the fridge to do just that.

"You've probably thought the same thing Linds, so don't judge me," He answered.

"Of course I have, but I certainly wasn't stupid enough to say it out loud," She admitted.

"We'll need to figure out what to do now. Our partners don't want us around right now, but I'm sure Ben is packing as we speak, so I'll be able to go back to my apartment later."

"Well then I'll go with you then since I can't go back to my house," Lindsay stated.

"Why can't you go to your parents?" Michael asked petulantly, not liking that Lindsay didn't seem to be giving him any choice.

"I'm not on speaking terms with them at the moment, and besides, they would ask too many questions," She answered haughtily, before asking "You did get rid of the last of the things you had kept from the loft, right?" She remembered that he said he was going to save a few of the things that had been taken from the loft when he gave her the pictures of Gus that had been taken in the robbery.

"Yes, of course," Michael answered quickly, not wanting to admit that he couldn't bring himself to part with a few special things that he kept. Having a momentary flash that Ben might notice his private lounge if he went in the storage room to get his boxes, he quickly shook off that thought. If Ben wanted to get out, he would just grab his boxes which were neatly placed on the other side of the room and take them upstairs to pack.

"We definitely need to come up with a way to get back into Brian's good graces. Although, me being the mother of his only child, he won't stay mad at me for long, I'm sure. Especially since all I did, as far as he knows, is introduce Ethan and Justin. You, on the other hand, will need to do some groveling, both to Brian and to the fucking blond brat, both for what you did and for what you said, twice now," Lindsay stated confidently.

"Yeah. While you conveniently forget that you paid the fiddler, again with money you got from Brian, to suck up to the fucking blond and get him away from Brian," Michael sneered.

"Be that as it may, Michael, there is no proof of anything I may have done," Lindsay responded with a superior air.

Michael knew differently, but for once he kept his mouth shut, at least for the time being. He would make sure he got his best friend back by his side, even if he had to throw Lindsay to the wolves to do it.

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

Fifteen minutes later Brian and Justin showed up in the basement of Michael's apartment building.

"Okay Ben, what is so important that we needed to come down here and see? This night has already been hell, especially on Justin here," Brian asked, wrapping his arm around Justin's shoulders and pulling him close. They hadn't had time to talk yet, as they had just walked into the loft right before Ben called. Brian was worried about how Justin was feeling after learning what Michael had said about him. He just hoped Justin wasn't angry at him for not telling him what Michael had said, although they weren't together at the time.

"Well, unfortunately it's about to get worse," Ben told Brian as he handed him the box he had found, "and then there is this," he said, as he hit play on the recording while Brian looked through the box.

"Hey Linds, it's Michael. Is everything set up for the robbery today?"

"Yes, Michael. The guys have been paid, and they have the keys and code for the loft. I'm picking Justin up in five minutes and dropping him at his mother's. When Justin and I leave the guys will go to the loft, grab whatever they can get that looks expensive and put it in the van. I also told them to look for anything that looks sentimental. Brian will be even more pissed at Justin that way. I know he has pictures of Gus and some of his baby things, so I told them to check in his closet and grab whatever they can find. Then they will drop off the van by your apartment. Just don't forget I get half the money you get for the stuff you sell."

"Yeah, Linds, I know. I'm not going to stiff you on the money. This will be great! I'm glad you heard Justin's mother mention his sister's birthday. How did you get him to agree to go?"

"I asked him to come babysit Gus the other day and casually told him about hearing his mother mention the party she is throwing for his sister today. Then I reminded him that she would probably be upset if her big brother didn't stop by. It's called WASP guilt, works every time. I even offered to drop him off since he would have to take two buses to get there."

"Are you sure these guys won't fuck this up, Linds? We need the fucking blond brat GONE, permanently!"

"Trust me, Michael. For what we- or actually Brian- paid them for this, they will do it right. Besides, they are straight and don't even know or care who Brian Kinney is."

"I guess it kind of sucks that we had to have Brian pay for this, but I guess in a way he deserves it for allowing the fucking blond to stay and get in the way of our friendship. We will just have to keep a better eye on him from now on so this doesn't happen again. I hate to keep having to ask him for money, at least money that I don't get to keep."

"Just make sure Brian stays at the gym until I message you that they are gone. Now I have to go and get the blond brat and drop him off. It's so annoying having to make nice with him when all I want to do is rip his fucking hair out and tell him to leave Brian alone."

"Well hopefully by later today he will be out of our lives, PERMANENTLY. I'll talk to you later Linds. Don't forget to message me when they are done."

The recording stopped then, but no one moved to shut the tape off. Ben was in shock that he could have been so blind to what kind of a person Michael really was; and Hunter couldn't understand how Michael could be so two-faced, using Justin to help by illustrating a comic that made Michael money, and wanting him gone because Brian loved him. Justin was standing there shaking his head, as he seethed in anger. Brian stood there in shock, realizing that he had furiously blamed Justin for something that had nothing to do with him. Brian reached out to take Justin's hands in his as he looked at the fury on the younger man's face, hoping that Justin could forgive him for blaming him and throwing him out. Justin looked up into Brian's eyes and realized that the man he loved was hurting, realizing that the two people he had considered his best friends had betrayed him in one of the most horrible and conniving ways, making him let go of his anger temporarily to offer him comfort.

He reached up and wrapped his arms around Brian's neck and whispered into his ear, "I love you, and we will get through this together."

Brian blinked back tears as he realized that the young man in his arms was more than just his lover, he was, and had been for a long time, his true best friend.

All four men jumped when suddenly the same voices started up again.

"Michael, it's Lindsay. Listen, I think I have found a way to get Brian and Justin apart. I saw this guy playing a violin in the park today and stopped to talk to him. Turns out he goes to PIFA, and he will be having a recital on Justin's birthday. I'm going to get tickets for Mel, Justin, and myself and talk this guy up to Justin. I talked to the guy and showed him Justin's picture and he is very interested. I'm going to see how the first meeting goes and let you know what happens."

"We definitely need to do something, Linds. They are getting closer all the time! I'm getting sick of being blown off so Brian can spend time with that fucking blond slut. Does he even spend any time with his son anymore?" Michael asked, clearly more than annoyed. Which was probably due to the fact that even the cutting remarks about ‘boyfriends' didn't seem to be having the same response that they once had, which was his ‘best friend' grabbing the nearest trick and leaving the blond standing alone while Brian went to the backroom to prove he wasn't tied down.

"He usually has the bastard with him when he comes to see Gus, which gives me no chance to push the buttons I need to push. I'm sick of having to share Brian with him. It's just not fair!" Lindsay whined to Michael.

Michael didn't particularly like sharing Brian with Lindsay either, but at least she was a dyke and not able to give him what Michael desperately wanted to give the man who had been his obsession for half of his life. After another pause in the tape, there was another conversation.

"Michael, it's Lindsay. Ethan agreed to help us, for a fee. He wants two thousand dollars, and he will make sure he is a constant presence in Justin's life until he has them apart. Of course, we will need to get the money from Brian for this, but it's for his own good."

"Well I hope it works this time, Linds. Brian is starting to be a bitch about me always asking him for money. He had the nerve to tell me that he is not a bank. But I bet he gives plenty of money to the fucking kid though. He probably just bats his fucking eyes at Brian, wiggles his ass, and then gets whatever the fuck he wants," Michael whined, sounding like fingernails on a blackboard.

Suddenly Brian remembered many times when Lindsay and MIchael would both ask him for money, usually within days of each other. The more he thought about it, the stupider he felt. He had been totally manipulated by the two of them.

Ben noticed how upset Brian was getting and wanting to get everything over with, went over to him with the last thing he had.

"Brian, there is one more thing that Hunter found with this stuff. I put it in a bag," Ben told him as he handed him the bag with the sketch.

Brian looked at what he had been given and realized right away why Ben had put it in a bag. As Brian turned toward Justin with tears in his eyes Ben saw the man drop his mask back in place. Ben grabbed his boxes and motioned for Hunter to follow him.

"We are going upstairs to pack, you do what you need to do," Ben told the two men who were holding each other.

"Thank you, Ben. We'll be up in a while," Justin said as he held Brian tightly, wishing he could do more for his lover.

Brian gave Justin a tight squeeze and stepped back, taking both Justin's hands into one of his before speaking, "I have so much to apologize to you for; believing you could be so careless as to leave the loft without locking up, accusing you of letting my things be stolen, and most important, not protecting you from the two of them even though I knew they were jealous of you. Can you ever forgive me, Sunshine?"

"There is nothing to forgive, Brian. You didn't do any of that with malice, or because you didn't care about me. You had no reason to think that the two people who you considered to be your best friends would hurt you like that. And as for them being jealous of me, that had nothing to do with you and everything to do with them and their unrealistic fantasies in their own heads. You had never led either one of them on into thinking that you would one day be theirs. Now, what did Ben hand you that you are holding like it's tearing you apart?" Justin asked, stepping back.

With a shuddering sigh Brian turned the bag around to show Justin. "I kept this in the back of my closet, because back then I couldn't admit how much you meant to me. I wanted to be able to say that I was the first person to buy a Justin Taylor original."

"Why is it in a bag?" Justin questioned, reaching for it.

"Don't," Brian said, pulling the bag away from Justin. "I can't believe that he..." Brian said, shaking his head as he teared up.

Justin looked closer, suddenly realizing what was on the drawing and why Brian was so upset. "Do you want me to call Carl?" Justin asked. Brian just nodded. Pulling out his phone he dialed, and when the phone was answered he said "I'd like to speak to Detective Horvath, please." Less than a minute later Carl answered. "Carl, it's Justin. Brian and I need you to come to the basement of Michael's apartment building. It's important... Yes... Okay, we'll see you soon, thanks." Turning to Brian, he told him that Carl and his partner were on their way. Brian just nodded.

While they waited, Brian called Ben to let him know that Carl was on his way and would probably need to speak to him and Hunter. Ben said that they would be down in a few minutes since they were almost finished packing. Luckily, neither one of them had much stuff to pack. Twenty minutes later, Carl and his partner came down the basement stairs and walked over to where the men were waiting. Brian showed them Michael's little ‘man cave', the box of Brian's stolen items, and played the tape for them.

Carl and his partner looked everything over and tagged all the evidence. When he started to open the bag with the drawing, Brian stopped him.

"You might want to leave that in the bag, Carl."

Looking closer at the bag, Carl asked, "Is that?..."

"Yes."

"Michael's umm...?"

"Yes."

Shuddering and shaking his head, he tagged it in the bag and put it with the rest of the evidence in the box. He then talked to all four of the men before asking, "Do you know where they are now?"

"The most likely place is Michael's shop. Mel told Lindsay not to come home, and I told Michael that we would be leaving, so they are probably there waiting for us to be gone. I doubt that he even thought that we would come down here and find all of this stuff," Ben told Carl, who called the station and told whoever he talked to that they needed to send two cars to arrest Michael and Lindsay and bring them in for questioning.

"I need all of you to come down to the station and give your statements," Carl told the men.

"Does it need to be tonight, Carl?" Brian asked, hoping that they could do this in the morning, since he really needed to not think about all that had happened in the last few hours.

"No. If you would rather do it in the morning, that's fine. They won't be arraigned until after lunch tomorrow, so you just need to come in so your statements can be typed up before then. And, for what it's worth, I'm sorry for all that has happened today. Deb called me after you guys had left and told me what happened at dinner," Carl told them.

"Thanks, Carl. Would you like me to call Deb and let her know about this?" Brian asked, knowing that no matter what, this would hurt Deb.

"Thanks Brian, but I'll tell her. I was getting ready to go home when Justin called. I came because I wanted to make sure this was done right. Unfortunately, I know what happens to a lot of cases in this area. I knew if one of you was calling me directly it had to be something serious."

"Thanks again, Carl, and we will come in early tomorrow to give our statements," Justin told the man who had become a very welcome part of their little family. Everyone said their goodbyes and went their separate ways.

Carl went home and told Debbie what had happened to make him late. When he got finished telling her what Michael and Lindsay had done she just shook her head, then she told him that if either of them called she was just going to hang up the phone.

"It's about time that those two learned that there are consequences for their actions, after what was said at dinner, I have no more sympathy for either of them. If they are in jail at least Brian and Justin will get some peace." Carl just hugged her, knowing how hard it was for her to turn her back on anyone that needed help.

Brian was very quiet on the drive back to the loft. Justin stayed quiet because he knew Brian was very upset and would talk when he was ready. Once they got up to the loft Brian took Justin in his arms and just held him.

Unfortunately the calm was shattered by the ringing of Brian's phone. Looking at it, he turned it to show Justin who was calling.

"What do you want, Michael?" Brian said, as he answered his phone and put it on speaker.

"I was arrested! You need to come down here and get me out," Michael whined.

"What were you arrested for?" Brian asked.

"They said I robbed your loft."

"Now why would they think that, Michael?"

"I don't know. But it couldn't have been me, since I was with you at the gym when it happened. Remember? The only one there was him," Michael continued whining at Brian.

"Well, they must have had some reason to charge you, Michael. Maybe you should think really hard about what happened that day. I'm sure you can remember what happened after you went home. And maybe you left something lying around; something that you shouldn't have had in the first place? Something that did NOT belong to you," Brian said, before hanging up his phone.

Just then Justin's phone rang. Checking the caller ID, he saw that it was Lindsay. As soon as he connected the call and hit the speaker button, she started yelling at him, not even giving him a chance to say hello.

"Let me talk to Brian RIGHT NOW, Justin! His phone is busy, so give him your phone NOW," Lindsay demanded in her haughty, you'd better do as I say, voice.

"No. It's MY phone, which I pay for. So you will not tell me what to do with it, Lindsay," Justin answered enacting his own brand of WASP, as soon as she stopped talking. The difference was that he truly felt calm, even if he was a bit irritated by her audacity.

"Well then, just tell him to come to the police station and get me out of here," She demanded.

"No, I'm not going to do that either," Justin told the irate blonde.

"You better do it, Justin. I'm warning you; you won't like the consequences if you don't!"

"Really? Well considering the fact that you're there and I'm here WITH Brian, I think I can safely say I'm enjoying the consequences already."

"Now you listen to me, Little Boy! If you don't put Brian on the phone RIGHT THIS FUCKING SECOND, I'm going to..."

Suddenly Brian had had enough.

"And just what do you think you're going to do to him, Lindsay?" Brian growled.

"Oh Brian, thank God you're there. Listen Peter, I need you to come down and get me out of here. I don't know what they think I did, but you can't leave me in here," Lindsay simpered.

"You didn't answer my question, Lindsay, what do you think you're going to do to Justin? And do you think the way to get me to do something for you is by threatening my partner?" Brian asked in that controlled, ‘don't fuck with me' voice.

Lindsay whimpered, recognizing Brian's tone and mood immediately. She sighed, before responding in the voice of a lost little girl, which used to always get Brian to do what she wanted; the tone she needed to work wonders now. "I'm sorry, Peter. I'm just so upset. It's scary here and I need you. And he wouldn't give you the phone."

"Well, like he said, it's HIS phone. He doesn't have to do what you say. And after what you and Michael have already done to him, I won't do anything for you either," Brian answered, hanging up the phone. He then called Mel to let her know the basics of what had happened and told her he would call her in the morning after they went to the police station. He then shut off both of their phones before turning to Justin.

"I know we need to talk about all of this, but right now I need you inside me. Please Sunshine, make love to me. All I want right now is to know that we are together and that what they have tried to do won't affect us," Brian asked quietly.

Justin smiled and answered by taking Brian's hand and leading him to the bedroom. He turned to Brian and put a finger to his lips before he started to slowly undress the older man, kissing him as he removed his clothes. Once Brian was naked, Justin pointed to the bed. Brian climbed into the bed and moved to the center as he watched Justin strip off his clothes and climb in beside him. Starting at Brian's face, Justin softly kissed his way down his lover's body. When he reached Brian's feet he nudged his hip, signaling that he wanted him to turn over. Brian complied, loving how Justin was making him feel. Justin repeated the process starting at Brian's neck and ending at his feet. Pushing Brian's legs apart, Justin moved between them and separated Brian's cheeks before licking a path from behind his balls to his tightly clenched hole. He then slowly licked around the folds, gradually stiffening his tongue before pushing in and opening him up.

Finally, when Brian was moaning and almost whimpering, Justin grabbed the lube that Brian had placed next to his hip. Putting some in his hand, he warmed it before using his fingers to stretch Brian enough to accept his huge cock without too much discomfort. Once he had stretched him enough, Justin moved over and motioned for Brian to turn over onto his back. Moving back between Brian's legs, Justin moved up until he could push his knees under the older man's ass. Brian then wrapped his legs around the blond's waist and looked up into the blue eyes of the only man who he trusted enough to let inside him. As Justin pushed his condom covered cock inside the always tight hole, Brian sighed, knowing that this was where he was meant to be. They made love slowly, stopping several times to prolong the deep feelings they were sharing. Finally, when the pressure got to be too much for either of them they sped up and bucked against each other before groaning out their release.

As Justin collapsed on top of him, Brian spoke the words Justin had always wanted to hear from him, "I love you, Justin."

Justin knew that Brian loved him. It was in everything he said and did for the blond. But anytime Justin said it to Brian, he would answer 'You too', this was the first time he had said the words.

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

The next morning they showered, including taking time for their favorite morning shower fuck. While they are getting dressed Brian commented, "Too bad we can't get Ian charged with anything. But all he did was take money to take you away from me."

"I'm sorry Br..." Justin started to say, before Brian grabbed his face and kissed him.

"That's over and done with Sunshine. No more apologies. Although I can't see where he gets off asking for money to be with you. You are fucking gorgeous. Who wouldn't want to be with you?" Brian said with a smirk.

"Actually, there is one thing I can do," Justin commented smugly, remembering that he still had his old phone.

"What are you thinking in that sneaky head of yours?" Brian asked after seeing the look on Justin's face.

Justin smiled and went to the closet to get his old phone. He plugged in the charger and gave it a few minutes to get enough of a charge to turn it on. He had never erased the pictures he had of himself with Ethan while they were together. Brian had gotten him a new smartphone as soon as they got back together and Justin had just tossed the old one into his box in the closet.

"I could add some pictures to his Facebook page. The one where he has the pictures of him with his fans, and with his girlfriend," Justin said with a grin.

"I like the way you think, Sunshine," Brian commented, looking through Justin's pictures and pointing out some of the ‘better' pictures. Not that he wanted any reminders of that time, but he would not be looking at Ethan's Facebook page anyway. As soon as they had picked out the pictures Justin would post to the page, Justin grabbed Brian's face and kissed him hard, reminding him that he was right where he belonged.

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

At the police station, Brian and Justin gave their statements. After that they stopped by and told Mel all the rest of what had happened at Michael's the night before. She was horrified and disgusted, telling both of them that she had absolutely no knowledge of any of what had been done, assuring them that she never would have gone along with any of it.

"I didn't think you did, Mel. You may not like me, but I can't see you doing anything to hurt Justin, or knowingly allowing anyone else to hurt him," Brian told her.

"It's not so much that I don't like you, Brian. You just rub me the wrong way," She answered.

Shuddering, Brian commented, "I am not rubbing you at all," mostly to break the tension.

Smiling, Mel said to him, "You know that if she is convicted she could be facing several years in prison, right?"

"Yes. And that is one of the reasons we wanted to come by. Can we get Lindsay's parental rights severed?" Brian asked.

"Well, it's very likely you could," Mel answered nervously, biting her lip. She didn't want to lose the son she loved.

"Not ME, Mel. WE. You will always be Gus's mom. But I would like to get my rights back, as long as doing it doesn't affect yours," Brian stated, much to Mel's relief.

"Let me check into what needs to be done, and I will get back to you. I know some of the laws have changed in the last few years. Many times they will now allow for a third parent, if there is one," Mel said, glancing at Justin.

Brian looked at Justin and asked, "Would you want to do that, Justin, be Gus's other dad?"

"Actually, I was thinking, not just for Gus. If you two want to, I know a little girl who could use a couple of dads like you two," Mel said quietly.

The two men looked at each other and then at Mel. Justin, with tears running down his face, hugged Mel tightly, Brian just patted her back and nodded. Mel told them she would get things going in the courts. None of them wanted Lindsay or Michael to have any influence over Gus or Jenny Rebecca.

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

EPILOGUE

With no one willing to bail them out, Michael and Lindsay had no choice but to stay in jail and wait for their trials. And since neither one of them had any way of paying for a lawyer, despite both of them calling and writing to Brian, telling him that he should be willing to do this since they were friends, they both had to use public defenders. Lindsay had even reached out to her parents, who told her in no uncertain terms that they would not help her in any way and not to contact them again. Debbie refused all phone calls from Michael, sending him a letter through Carl telling him that she would have no part in helping someone who could be so intentionally cruel to anyone, especially to a member of their own family.

Two months later, the trials were held. Both Lindsay and Michael testified against the other, each claiming that the idea was the other person's. The audio tape and bill of sale records Michael had kept for all of the money they got, and split, for the sale of the items stolen from the loft, along with several of Brian's personal items found at each of their homes proved to the court that they shared equal culpability for the burglary of the loft. Both were found guilty and sentenced to fifteen years in prison, which included conspiracy and profiteering from stolen property. In addition, the judge ordered that when they were released they would be required to reimburse Brian for not only the value of the items stolen from him, but the money they had ‘borrowed' from him in order to pay for the burglary. 

Mel, Brian, and Justin went to court and asked that both Lindsay and Michael's parental rights be stripped from them, and that Mel, Brian, and Justin all be granted equal parental rights to both Gus and Jenny Rebecca. The judge granted their request and the children's names were changed to Gus Marcus-Taylor-Kinney and Jenny Rebecca Marcus-Taylor-Kinney. Without Lindsay and Michael's influence, Mel and Brian built up a genuine friendship between them, and they, along with Justin, worked out a schedule so everyone had equal time with both children. Brian and Justin decided that to make things easier, and to have a yard and rooms for their kids, bought a house down the block from Mel's. Eventually they would build something they wanted further away from the city, but this would work for now.

Once Ethan was outed on his Facebook page, his manager dropped him. It wasn't because he was gay, but because he had lied, both to his manager and to his girlfriend, who was the manager's niece. Ethan tried to blame and sue Justin for posting the pictures, but it was thrown out of court when Justin showed Ethan's Facebook message to his fans, asking them to post any pictures they had of meeting the violin player.

Ben and Hunter found an apartment closer to Ben's job and Hunter's school. Then Hunter introduced Ben to one of his teachers. The two hit it off and started dating, eventually getting married and adopting Hunter.

All in all, it was a chapter closed in their lives in reference to Michael and Lindsay, but they were each having the adventure of their lives forging new paths, and life long connections that through love and honesty would never be broken. In short, they all learned the true definition of FAMILY.

The End.