Brian sighed.

It had been almost two years since Justin had moved to NY. They loved each other too much to risk what they had found, so they agreed a long time ago that they would do whatever it took to make it work. 

Brian spent two week-ends a month in New York, and Justin spent a whole week each month in Pittsburgh, sometimes even two if his gallery work was caught up and his commission load was light.

The girls had moved back to Pittsburgh once Mel finally gave in and realized that Brian was never a threat to her marriage, and only had eyes for his blonde lover. Gus spent two nights a week at the loft with Brian, and also part of every week-end.

The little boy could never quite decide which he liked more, the times when he was alone with Brian, or the times when it was the three of them.

He loved spending time with just his Dad. He didn't treat him like a baby, and he always listened when he wanted to talk. He took the time to answer all of his questions, and never told him he was too young like the moms sometimes did.  

Best of all...he let him read in bed when he wasn't tired enough to go to sleep.

The times when Justin was home, though - well - there was just something special about those times. It was like his Dad was more relaxed. He laughed more, and his smile reached all the way up to his eyes.

He also loved that Justin treated him like he was every bit as much his son as Brian's. He knew he was loved, and he loved both men in return. When Justin was home, his family was complete.

He may have been a little boy, but he wasn't too little to know that everything was happier when both his dads were together.  

One night, as Brian sat looking through a magazine, checking out the newest trends in advertisement, Gus came over and sat in his lap. "Daddy," he asked, "do you love Justin?"

Surprised, Brian answered, "Yes Gus, I do. Why do you ask?"

"Daddy, if you love him, then why don't you marry him?"

"Well, we don't live in the same city. People who are married live together. Justin's job is in New York, and mine is here. Now where is all this coming from?"

"Daddy?" "Yes, Gus." "How far away is New York?"

Brian looked down at his son with his tongue in his cheek. "It's over 300 miles, Sonny Boy, and takes almost as long to get there as a whole day at school. Now, I'm not answering another question until you tell me what this is all about, " he told the child, lips pulled inward in his trademark grin, the one that he always had when he was genuinely amused.

"Because, when Justin is near, it feels good, in here," he said, pointing to his chest. "But, I don't feel that when he is in New York. It's not the same...you're not the same."

Brian gazed into the eyes of this child he loved  more than life itself, and wondered when he had gotten so smart.

"Daddy, can I marry Justin?"

"Whoa, now why would you want to marry Justin. There isn't much I won't give you sonny boy, but I don't think I really want to share him." Brian smiled down at the boy, obviously trying to lighten the mood, as he saw tears well up in his son's eyes.  ‘Besides, don't you think it would be a little weird to marry one of your parents?'

"I know, but if we got married, then I would haveta' live with him, and everything would be all sunny again. Grandma Deb says the reason I get sad when Justin goes to New York is ‘cause when he goes, he takes the sunshine with him."

Brian swallowed hard trying to overcome the lump that had suddenly formed in his throat. He knew how much he missed Justin when he was not with him, but he had never stopped to think how much his son missed him when they were apart.

He looked over and saw Gus' bottom lip began to quiver, and a great big tear slid from the corner of his eye and down his cheek.

"I think you have to graduate before you can get married," Brian told the little boy, rubbing circles on his upper back to sooth and comfort him.

"Please Daddy, you havta' marry him. You just havta'. Then he has to move back here, and be with us all the time. Please Daddy,  don't let him take the Sunshine away again."

 Gus buried his head in his father's shoulders, his little body wracked with sobs as his emotions spilled over. Brian ran his hand through his son's hair, trying to maintain his composure as he let his mind replay what his son had said.

Like father, like son, he thought to himself, a single tear spilling over on his own face. ‘I miss you, too, Justin, looks like you have all the Kinney men wrapped around your finger.'

========

Justin walked into the loft and set his pack down just inside the door. He would be here for a few weeks, but he could barely wait to wrap his arms around the man he loved. He was so horny, and wanted nothing more than to feel Brian's touch, to taste him...he had to stop as the tightening in his pants became painful.

He looked up curiously as he heard music coming from behind the glass partition separating the bedroom from the rest of the loft.

As he peeked around the corner, he was surprised to see Gus setting in the middle of the bed with his legs crossed. Looks like his plans would have to wait a little while, but he didn't really mind. He loved that little boy with all his heart, as if he were his own.  There would be plenty of time for what his mind had been dwelling on throughout his trip back to Pittsburgh.

"Hey little man," he said," whatcha' got there?" He smirked when he heard the familiar tune coming from the little wooden music box Gus was holding...  ‘...you are my sunshine, my only sunshine'  ...he would know that song anywhere.

"It's for when I miss you, Justin, Gus said. Every time I hear this song, I think of you."

Justin smiled. If he had a nickel for every time he had heard that song sung, or hummed, or whistled through the years, he would never have to work again, but coming from this little boy who had long ago stolen his heart, he thought they were the sweetest words he could possibly hear.

Gus placed the box carefully on the bedside table, jumping into the blond's arms and wrapping his own around the older man's neck. They hugged for a long time, and Justin wasn't sure which of them was happier to see the other.

"Ok, that's enough Gus. It's my turn now," the handsome brunette said as he looked down at his son tenderly, tongue in cheek. Besides, your moms will be here any second to pick you up, so you better get your bookbag and go listen for the elevator to come.

"Ok Dad," Gus barely got out before the loft door opened, and Lindsay entered, followed closely by Mel, the two holding hands and greeting their son.

"You ready to go lambskin," Lindsay asked, checking to make sure that he had not forgotten to pack anything they would need before they walked toward the door.

"Yup, I'm coming," Gus said, and then as he turned to wave to the two most important men in his life, he said, ‘don't forget, Daddy, you promised. "

"I won't forget, Sonny boy. You know I never break a promise." He felt the corners of his mouth turn up in to a grin, noticing Lindsay's eyebrow rise into a questioning gaze as their son pulled her out the door, not leaving any time for either girl to voice the questions that were forming in their minds. What had Brian promised Gus now, and more importantly, how mad was Gus going to be if it was something the moms didn't agree to let him have?

=====

"What was that all about" Justin asked his partner, as he pulled him into a passionate embrace. "Later," Brian said, dipping his head to press his lips gently to those of his lover. "First, I need a proper hello...hmmmm...a few hours should do the trick."

He kissed the blonde again, letting his tongue slip inside as the other man parted his lips to allow him entrance.  As the kiss deepened, the two men stepped back quickly, throwing their clothes aside with no other thought than fulfilling their desire to be skin to skin, with no barriers between them, and to release all the pent up hunger that weeks apart always caused.

========

More than 3 hours later the men flopped back onto the bed, both temporarily sated after several rounds of unbelievably hot and passionate lovemaking.  Justin knew that Brian was the best lover he had ever had, the only one he would ever want, but that...that was fan-fucking-tastic.  He didn't think he had ever cum that hard in his life.

"Hey stud, what's gotten into you? That was...oh my god...it was incredible. " Brian looked at him with one eyebrow raised "Isn't it always," he smirked.

"Well yeah - but there was something, I don't know, intense about it. You'd think it was two years since we fucked, instead of 5 days. You have to admit, Brian, that was something else!"

"Yeah, it sure was, and so are you. ‘ Brian could feel the heat rising on his cheeks, and hoped that the butterflies in his stomach didn't show on his face. Brian Kinney never blushed, and he certainly had no interest in starting now.

He sat up, throwing his legs over the side of the bed at the same time as he let his fingers run through his hair. Justin knew this man too well, he only did this when he was uncomfortable or nervous about something, two things that Brian Kinney never let anyone see but him.

He felt his stomach flip, not sure if he should be more scared for himself or worried about his partner. Whatever it was, this was serious, and he reached out to place his hand on Brian's shoulder, kneading his skin gently in the way he always did to show he was here, and then he waited.

After what seemed an eternity, Brian turned towards his lover, his best friend, this man he could no longer live without, and said simply, "I need you."

Justin watched in utter amazement as unshed tears well up in the eyes of this man that he had loved since the first night they met. How often through the years had they talked, and fought, about the three words that Brian could never say until that night of the bombing.

He thought nothing would ever surprise him about this man after hearing him whisper "I love you" into his ear, and then setting sight on Briton, and seeing the depths this man was willing to go to show him how important he was to him. Yet, these three words he just heard were ones he had never even imagined coming from his lover's lips.

His mouth hung open with unformed words as he gazed back at the man before him. He couldn't fuck this up. Brian...his Brian...had just opened up to him in a way even he never thought possible, and he had no idea how to respond.  

Before he could decide, however, Brian unexpectedly continued.  "Is it time, Justin? I need you, we need you, have you done what you needed to do?"

Suddenly Justin understood. He knew what Brian was really saying, and could hardly believe his ears. "Yes, oh, I love you. Yes it's time. How I've waited for this day."

"Will you marry me, Justin, and make me the happiest man in Gay, PA? " 

Justin cupped Brian's cheek in his hand, nodding his head in consent as the tears spilled from his eyes. Both men smiled, sitting forehead to forehead, as across the room the tiny box that Gus had been playing with suddenly finished it's haunting song...

'...please don't take my Sunshine away'.

The End

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters and settings are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended.