Chapter 26 - Disbelief.

Thankfully, the rest of the marriage ceremony went off without a hitch. Brian was hopeful that Debbie was so caught up in the magic of the moment that she hadn’t noticed anything was wrong. The normally outspoken red-headed mother of all Pittsburgh gay boys was noticeably rather demure. Carl was beaming. Gus was adorable as the ring bearer. In fact, everything was perfect at least through the end of the actual ceremony.

As soon as the official wedding was through, Emmett hustled the happy couple out onto the front porch for a quick photo op - he’d insisted on this even though there was about four inches of snow on the ground and nobody really wanted to be out there just standing around while someone snapped photos. Meanwhile, inside, the small dais was whisked away and some chairs were brought back in while a huge amount of food was set forth on the dining room table that had been pushed back against the wall. Then, the piece de resistance - the beautiful cake that Vic had prepared - was brought out and set in a place of honor in the center of the room surrounded by candles and greenery. It was the most lovely scene. Perfect for a Christmas time wedding. Emmett was overjoyed at how beautiful everything looked. It was a total triumph!

Soon enough, Debbie and Carl came back inside, desperate to warm up and joyfully greeting all their guests. Brian held back from the melee swamping the newlyweds. Gus had managed to worm his way through the crowd as soon as his ring bearer duties were completed, so both Brian and Justin were busy with the child and not really paying attention to what else was going on. Which is why Michael’s approach went unheeded.

“Time’s up, Brian. You and your trick should say goodbye to Ma and get the fuck out of here!” Michael hissed at Brian as soon as he was close enough.

Brian instinctively turned so that Gus, who was in Brian’s arms at this point, was shielded from Michael by his own body. Justin also moved in to provide an additional physical barrier between the angry little man and the child. Michael was visibly seething with anger. He didn’t even seem to notice the child that was nearby and didn’t control his language at all.

“Back the fuck off, Michael,” Brian hissed menacingly. “Deb invited me herself. I have every right to be here and I’m not leaving just because you have your panties in a twist.”

“I don’t have my panties in a twist, Brian. I’m just sick of you flouting yourself in all of our faces. And, Ma might have invited you, but she certainly didn’t invite your little chicken whore here,” Michael spit back into his former friend’s face. The irate little man finally seemed to notice at this point that Brian was holding Gus, which seemed to anger him even more. “And I can’t believe you would dare to act like this around your son. You have a fucking lot of nerve, telling me I wouldn’t be a good parent when you can’t even keep it in your pants with your kid around. You are pathetic, to use your own favorite phrase. . . “

Michael showed every intention of continuing with his diatribe, but his derogatory comments about Brian’s parenting skills finally hit a nerve in the blond youth who’d been trying to maintain a low profile up till now. Justin didn’t care what the hell these people thought about him. He knew that springing his presence on Brian’s family out of the blue like this was likely to raise some controversy. He hadn’t expected them to call him a trick or speak about him with such disdain, but he figured that they didn’t know him yet and it would all eventually get straightened out. However, as good natured as Justin was, he wasn’t about to let anyone deride Brian in front of his son.

Justin had been watching Gus closely the entire time Brian and Michael were arguing. He was apparently the only one who saw how scared the disagreement was making the boy. Justin would NOT just stand by and let this cretin harass Brian or frighten Gus. No matter what the underlying argument was between these two, there was no way he’d let it impact the child. Justin no longer cared what the family would think about him - he wasn’t going to stand by and listen to any more of this slander.

Even though Justin was about six inches shorter than Brian, his personality was huge. So, it didn’t seem at all out of character to anyone watching, when Justin stepped in front of Brian and Gus and confronted Michael head-on. His slight 5’10” frame somehow seemed to dominate over a surprised Michael who was forced by Justin’s advance to take a step back.

“Brian told you to back off. I recommend that you do just that, buddy,” Justin said in a low menacing almost-growl that somehow seemed to carry despite the noisy chatter going on all around them.

“Who the fuck are you to tell me what to do, you fucking little chicken,” Michael replied without thinking at all, disregarding not only the shocked look on Brian’s face, but also the whimper from Gus who was truly frightened by this unaccustomed behavior from his ‘Uncle Mikey’. “You’re the one who wasn’t invited. I think you need to leave now!”

Michael started to reach out to grab ahold of Justin’s shoulder, ostensibly so that he could guide the unwanted party crasher towards the door. However, Michael’s actions were inherently aggressive and to most of the observers watching it looked a lot like the shorter man was going to throw a punch at the blond youth. The onlookers all gasped in surprise. Brian’s first reaction was to pull back so that the child he held in his arms was protected.

Nobody expected Justin’s reaction at all. So far the blond had seemed very unprepossessing and quiet. He hadn’t said more than a dozen words to anyone at the gathering. He was small and slightly built and didn’t look at all like the type to stand up for himself, let alone champion others. However, instead of ducking the supposed punch, or cowering like most people expected, Justin stepped into the swing, using his hip and leg to trip up Michael’s advance. At the same time the small blond deftly brought up his left forearm in an outward sweeping motion that blocked Michael’s reach and threw the older man off balance. Then, in a lightening fast move that nobody expected, Justin followed up by driving his palm hard directly into the chin of the now off-balance Michael. Michael’s head flew backwards, followed by his body, and he staggered backwards with his arms flailing as the bystanders all rushed to move out of his way.

As a result, there was nothing standing between Michael and the small table where the beautiful wedding cake was standing on display. Michael’s momentum was too great to stop himself. With a piteous moan, Michael careened backwards and toppled onto the small table. The table broke immediately upon impact. Both the cake and Michael tumbled to the carpet in a crashing cakey mess. Justin stood above the prone Michael, ready with a follow up palm strike if the older brunet man should show signs of further aggression. It wasn’t at all necessary, though as Michael just lay there, a trickle of blood dripping out of the corner of his mouth from where he’d bit his tongue, as he wiped a large glob of cake icing off his cheek.

The entire room was drenched in immediate silence. Justin stood, poised above the Michael/Cake mess, clearly ready to take further action if needed. Brian, still holding Gus, was looking on from the edge of a large cleared space, his face showing a combination of admiration, anger and sheer hilarity. The rest of the guests ringing the spectacle were staring with varying looks of amusement and alarm. It was sort of like that moment of peaceful calm right in the eye of the hurricane - you knew that the quiet and calm wouldn’t last, but no one knew what to say or do other than stare and wait for the inevitable hullabaloo to descend.

The calm standoff seemed to last for hours with nobody moving or saying anything. Then a lone, lean figure of authority moved steadily into the circle of bystanders. Vic, carefully surveying the scene of his erstwhile masterpiece’s demise, shook his head slowly and then, with resignation, turned to the assembled hordes and announced, “Anybody want cake?”

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"Shit! Fuck, fuck, fuck! I can't believe I did that. I ruined that beautiful cake. I ruined the whole damn wedding. Your family is going to hate me forever. Why the hell did I do that," Justin was rocking back and forth, berating himself, while Brian and Ted looked on, still amazed at what the seemingly mild-mannered and hardly threatening young man had done.

After Justin had gone all 'Kung Fu' on Michael's ass, the young artist, along with a still speechless Brian Kinney, had been quickly whisked off to recuperate in the small back guest bedroom. Meanwhile the mess was cleaned up and Michael was given first aid. Emmett tried his best to distract the rest of the guests while the caterers removed the detritus of the destroyed cake and peace was restored to the party as a whole. Ted came in to try to deal with the young hothead while Lindsey and Deb tried to placate the injured Michael in another room.

Altogether it was quite an exciting wedding and would long be remembered on Liberty Avenue.

"Justin . . . Sunshine, calm down," Brian demanded, finally getting tired of all the drama. "Michael fucking deserved what he got. He was being a complete asshole. If you hadn't hit him, and I hadn't been holding Gus, I probably would have hit him too. It'll be fine. Really. Just fucking quit freaking out, okay."

"I'm so sorry, Brian. I wasn't thinking. When that guy threatened you and Gus I just reacted without thinking at all. Shit. I'm never, ever, going to live this down, am I," Justin continued to bewail his poor first impression.

"It's really not your fault, Justin. I told you that my friends probably wouldn't be understanding about us. I didn't actually think anyone would physically attack you because of it, but I did try to warn you. And anyway, as far as I'm concerned, Michael was completely out of line and he deserved to get slugged for his behavior," Brian insisted, trying to calm Justin by rubbing comforting circles on his back as he hovered nervously over the worried young man.

"Those were some pretty fucking impressive moves, Justin," Ted commented as he watched the ongoing, incomprehensible interactions between the young blond and Brian. "Where the hell did you learn that kind of maneuver?"

"I've been doing Judo and Tae Kwon Do since I was a kid," Justin started to explain. "It's really the only sport I ever excelled at. See, I spent my entire kindergarten and half of first grade getting beat up by bullies at school. So my dad signed me up for martial arts classes at the local community center. It was great for my self esteem and I never got beat up again. In fact, I was the Pennsylvania State Champion for a year - in the seven to nine year old age group. But the downside is that, when I perceive a threat, my instincts take over and I react without thinking. I probably . . . well, not probably - I'm sure I completely over-reacted with your friend, Brian. I really wasn't thinking. It's just, when I saw him strike out like that I just . . . did what I do. I'm really sorry."

“Sorry is bullshit, Sunshine. Besides, Mikey was asking for it. If you hadn’t hit him, and if I didn’t have Gus, I probably would have,” Brian tried for the tenth time to reassure his date.

“You know I love a surprise as much as anyone, Bri, but in this case you probably shouldn’t have sprung your big news completely out of the blue like this. I mean, who could blame Michael for thinking . . . Sorry, Justin, it’s just that nobody in their right mind would expect Brian Kinney to show up with an actual date, let alone a boyfriend. Brian you had to expect Michael would be a little . . . thrown off,” Ted said, playing devil’s advocate. “And, no offense Justin, but it wouldn’t have been completely out of character for Brian to bring a trick in case he got bored at the wedding or something . . .”

“Fuck you, Schmidt. When have I EVER brought a trick to a family party? Especially when Gus was there. I can’t believe that any of you guys would think that little of me. Do any of you fucking even know me at all,” Brian sounded disgusted by the people he’d thought of for so long as his friends.

“Fine. You’re right, Brian. You wouldn’t bring a trick - You wouldn’t have to. If you got bored, you’d just fuck whatever guy you found here that you hadn’t already had before.” Ted teased with that familiar half-snarky, half-admiring tone he always used when he was trying to humor Brian.

Brian wasn’t sure if he wanted to laugh at Ted’s remark or slap him. Either way, it wasn’t helping to reassure Justin. Brian didn’t get the chance to do anything to Ted, though. Right at that moment, the door to the small guest room where they had been hiding out was yanked open and a wrathful Debbie Novotny came in ready to chastise everyone at all involved in the Cake Destruction Fiasco.

“What the fuck did you think you were doing, Asshole?” Deb directed all her anger at the usual suspect - Brian Kinney. “Why the hell did you punch Michael and knock over my beautiful cake? Huh? Couldn’t you control yourself for just one afternoon, Brian? Vic worked so hard on that fucking thing and now it’s ruined and I didn’t even get to taste it. Go on. Speak up! What do you have to say for yourself, asshole?”

Brian just shook his head wondering why it was always assumed it was his fault whenever anything went wrong. But, before he could say a word to exonerate himself, Brian’s staunch little blond defender leapt to his feet and insinuated himself bodily between the still seated Brian and the huffing, puffing angry red-head who was menacing his man. Justin’s face was almost as red as Debbie’s. Deb, who hadn’t waited around long enough to get the full story about what happened with Michael and the Cake, and hadn’t yet been apprised of Brian’s big surprise, wasn’t prepared at all to be confronted by a small but irate young blond.

“Brian didn’t do anything at all. It was me who knocked Michael over,” Justin stated plainly, his voice controlled even if his emotions weren’t. “I’m sorry about your cake, ma’am. But Michael threw the first punch - well, I thought he was throwing a punch at the time, even though it seems like he was only going to grab me and not hit anybody . . . But that doesn’t matter. Brian didn’t do anything at all. He was just standing there holding Gus. Michael was the one saying nasty things and I wasn’t going to just stand there and let him talk like that to Brian in front of his son. I wasn’t going to let him put a hand on Brian or Gus either. I’m sorry that your cake got in the way, but I’m not in the least sorry for defending myself or Brian and Gus. So you, lady, need to just back off and stop yelling at Brian. If you want to yell at somebody, go bitch at that fucker, Michael, who started it all.”

Debbie wasn’t used to anyone talking back to her the way this young man had. She also wasn’t used to anyone telling off her son - other than herself, of course. And she was really disconcerted to be getting her ass handed to her by some little blond boy toy who she didn’t recognize at all, but who seemed to know her whole family.

“Who the fuck are you?” Deb asked bluntly.

Ted, who immediately understood the way Debbie’s typically curt manner might make the volatile blond youth even more angry, stood up and tried to diffuse the situation by making introductions. “Debbie, this is Justin Taylor. He’s Brian’s boyfriend from New York. Justin, may I present today’s lovely bride, Debbie Novotny, who also happens to be the mother of the guy you just clobbered with the wedding cake.”

“Surprise!” Brian added, peeking around from behind Justin and smiling up at a shocked Debbie with a rakish grin.

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“Boyfriend?” Michael asked for the third time, still unable to wrap his mind around the impossibility. “Are you sure?”

“Well, that’s what Teddy said,” Emmett confirmed as he helped Michael by wiping off the little smear of blood that had dried on the injured man’s chin. “When Teddy picked them up at the loft, Brian introduced the blond as his boyfriend and said they were living together in New York. Oh, and, according to Ted, they have a cat, too.”

“A cat? Brian has a cat?” Michael didn’t seem capable of grasping the basics of the conversation and the addition of a mythical pet cat wasn’t helping. “Brian hates pets.”

“Not anymore, apparently,” Emmett assured him and then handed him an ice pack to hold against his bruised and swollen chin. “Teddy told me it was a beautiful, fluffy, long-haired gray thing. They brought it with them from New York on the airplane. Teddy said that Brian was holding it and petting it and everything. I think it’s great. A pet should really mellow Brian out a lot. You know, I’ve heard that just petting an animal lowers your blood pressure and reduces stress. That’s why they have these programs where they bring dogs into the hospitals to visit with chronically ill patients . . ."

Michael tuned out Emmett after his segue into the benefits of pet ownership. He was still trying to get comfortable with the idea that the little blond truly was Brian’s . . . It just couldn’t be . . . Brian had always said he didn’t do relationships. Brian didn’t do dates. Brian didn’t do . . . BOYFRIENDS! It was fucking impossible. It had to be a lie. Or, maybe it was just a joke - just Brian trying to pull a funny, practical joke on the guys back home. That had to be it. No way was this for real. A boyfriend - hilarious!

“Michael, Sweetie, how are you feeling,” Mel asked as she came through the door into the kitchen where Em was trying to perform first aid on the fallen Michael. “Oh good, Em, you found that ice pack we always keep in the freezer. That should bring the swelling down. Did you find the aspirin too?”

“Michael, honey, what were you thinking,” Lindsay admonished, following her wife into the kitchen. “Dusty said you were trying to throw Justin out of the house? Why would you do that? He seemed like a nice enough kid when we met him. Gus just adores him. Did Justin say something to you or do something to make you want to throw him out? Somehow I just don’t see Justin doing something like that, though. What happened?”

‘When we met him’ . . . ‘Gus just adores him’ . . . Slowly, some of what Lindz was saying percolated through to Michael’s conscious mind. It didn’t make much more sense than everything else that was being said though. How could Lindsey and Mel and Gus know some trick that Brian brought here as a joke?

“. . . Yes, he’s an artist. He attends the School of Visual Arts in New York,” Lindsey was going on, enthusiastically telling Emmett all about the little blond upstart. “You know all those Christmas gifts of Gus’ - the little frames he painted for everyone? - well, all the little drawings in each of those were done by Justin. His work is just wonderful.”

“Brian said he’s even been doing some freelance work for the agency he works at,” Mel added, touting another of young Justin’s accomplishments. “He’s got to be pretty good if a firm like Kennedy & Collins is willing to pay him for the work.”

“But how long has this been going on?” Emmett asked, prying nosily into the meat of the matter. “I thought when you guys got back from New York you said Brian had a ‘roommate’. That’s a far cry from a boyfriend, ladies. And that was only a week ago. I wonder what happened in the meantime?”

“Who knows. But it had to be a whirlwind romance no matter how you look at it,” Lindsay agreed with Emmett. “Brian’s only been in New York since the beginning of November. Something big had to have happened to get Brian Kinney to actually admit that he now has a boyfriend.“

“That’s ENOUGH!” Michael couldn’t stand it any longer - he couldn’t sit there and listen to this drivel any more. “You’re all talking like you believe this. Like it’s not just some big joke. You can’t possibly believe that Brian Kinney brought a boyfriend back to Pittsburgh with him.”

“Well, Brian seems pretty serious,” Emmett said worriedly, concerned that Michael was getting upset all over again just when he’d managed to quiet the man down.  

Thankfully, Michael’s second total queen out of the day was prevented by Vic’s timely entrance into the kitchen. “Deb sent me to roust all of you. We were able to save the bottom tier of the cake - which is enough at least for the newlyweds to shove some into each other’s face. So, all of you get out there and clap while they cut the cake and then make some toasts. You too, Michael. And don’t let me catch you making any more trouble out there, Michael. This is your mother’s big day, don’t go ruining it by acting like a spoiled five year old.”

Michael pouted and grumbled a little but didn’t say anything loud enough for Vic to hear as he followed the rest of the crew out of the kitchen and back to the party. Unfortunately, the first thing that greeted him was his mother standing next to the irritating blond who’d caused all this trouble in the first place. With his chin still throbbing despite the cold pack he was holding against it, Michael was in no mood to play nice. Instead, he headed off in the opposite direction, looking for someone to talk to that would help get his mind off Brian Kinney and his new twink.

“Justin, this is Carl Horvath - the man who swept me off my feet - and it took a lot of sweeping, let me tell you,” Debbie was busy introducing the newest member of her little family around. “Carl, you remember Brian, of course, and this is Justin Taylor, Brian’s boyfriend from New York. Now, Justin, keep in mind that Carl here is a cop, so you better not get into any more brawls or I’ll let him arrest you, you hear!”

“I promise, no more brawling, Debbie,” Justin agreed, his cheeks bright red with embarrassment still.

“It’s nice to meet you, Justin. But, don’t worry, I wouldn’t arrest you. Today’s my day off. Unless I see you murder somebody in cold blood, I’m not wasting my time,” Carl added, his own sense of humor not much less brash than that of his new wife - which was why they made such a great pair. “Brian, good to see you too, son. How is New York treating you?”

“Well, so far,” Brian said with a big smirk and a squeeze to Justin’s shoulder, “I’d have to say I’m enjoying New York quite a bit. The amenities there are amazing. In fact, I rented this little furnished apartment and it came complete with cable plus an amazing live-in twink lover. I’ll take that over your standard ‘Welcome Wagon’ fare any day!”

“Oh, and you forgot to mention the complimentary pet cat,” Justin added, unwilling to let Brian get away with the ‘twink’ comment without at least some payback.

“Well, this is definitely a day of miracles, Sis,” Vic commented, overhearing the last part of the conversation as he re-entered the room to get everything setup for the cake cutting. “Not only did Debbie Novotny get married and Brian Kinney announce he has a boyfriend but now we find out he owns a cat, too. What a day. If I were a betting man, today’s the day I’d go out and buy that lottery ticket, bet on the Pick Three at the Meadows racetrack, buy stock in some unknown electronics company and send out unsolicited resumes to any company I ever wanted to work for.”

“Since I feel like I already won the lottery,” Brian replied, leaving a chaste little kiss on Justin’s cheek as he spoke and making the boy in his arms turn even redder, “I wouldn’t want to push my luck. I think I’ll settle for what I’ve already won, Vic.”

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