Should Old Acquaintance

Chapter 13

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"Hello-oooo!" Emmett called out as he knocked on the cottage's front door. It was eight-thirty in the morning on July the 4th. Debbie, Carl, Claire and Steve would arrive at ten. Emmett wanted to get an early start on his special canapés and other masterpieces so he convinced Drew to get up at the crack of dawn and drive to the cottage. Ted and Allen along with Hunter and Nick would arrive with the rest of the family at about one. The whole entire family planned to celebrate the 4th and the planting of John and Bobby's cottage next to Brian and Justin's.

"Emmett, I knew this was a bad idea. I bet they're not even awake yet," Drew groused and was very embarrassed.

"Drewsie, honey, they have a baby and we all know that babies get up early. They have to be awake." Using the big brass knocker, Emmett banged on the door a little harder. Suddenly the door swung open hard. A very irate and naked Brian Kinney holding a giggling Briana stood in the doorway.

"What!?" Brian yelled, hazel eyes glaring, boring a hole through the startled queen and his equally startled boyfriend.

"Um, good morning, Brian?" Emmett said meekly with a shrug of his shoulders. "Brian, do you always answer the door au naturel?"

"Emmett, this is my home, my door; I will answer it any damn way I please." Brian stepped aside to allow Emmett and Drew who were both holding bags and cartons of ingredients for his goodies into the house.

"Oh, for crying out loud, Brian, give me Bree and go put on some clothes!" Justin came sprinting out from their bedroom, one hand pulling up his sweat pants, his other hand pulling down his t-shirt. "Sorry, Emmett, Drew. He still likes to walk around naked."

"Oh well, old habits die hard. And he's still one gorgeous hunk of man," Emmett commented appreciating the view. Drew experienced a moment of jealousy but when he took another look at the ageless Brian, Drew had to agree with Emmett's assessment.

"He's standing right here, you know," Brian growled.

"Brian!" Justin had that 'don't mess with me' look on his face and held out his arms to receive Briana.

"Oh, all right!" Brian grumbled as he handed his precious daughter to her father. "But somebody better have coffee waiting for me and a good explanation why Emmett Lagasse over here interrupted my beauty sleep!" With that, Brian turned on his naked heels and stormed off toward the bedroom. The three men all turned to watch Brian's fine ass saunter away.

"Oh my, is it getting hot in here?" Emmett stood fanning himself.

"Emmett, why are you here so early? Debbie and Claire won't be here until ten." Justin successfully changed the subject as Emmett began unpacking his supplies and delicacies. Justin sat Bree in her high chair and started the coffee. Patrick came running out of the sun porch to drag his chair closer to the table and all the action.

"Morning, Patrick," Justin addressed the boy.

"Happy forth a July!" Patrick greeted everyone.

"Hey, Sonny Boy." Brian rejoined the group wearing a wifebeater and cut off jeans. His long legs that went on forever garnered more than a couple of appreciative sighs.

"Hi, Uncle Bri!"

"Where are your daddies?" Brian enquired as he ruffled the soft red hair.

"Right behind you," Bobby grumbled. On his days off, Bobby was not a morning person.

"Can someone tell me why we're all awake at this ungodly hour?" Bobby looked around at the men in the room.

"That's what I want to know," Brian continued to grumble and complain. John nodded in agreement and began to prepare breakfast.

"It's all my fault," Justin replied in a meek voice.

"Your fault? Justin, take a breath and tell us what's going on other than it's a holiday and we're about to enjoy another one of our cwazy widdle family gatherings. Or should I say our cwazy humongous family. Because we must number in the hundreds by now." Brian sat in a chair with a plop and gratefully accepted a cup of caffeine from his spouse.

Justin was about to explain about the conference call and how he got himself and Brian roped into hosting yet another party when the whole house started to shake.

"Brian!" Justin cried out. Brian bolted out of his chair, grabbed Justin, Bree then hugged them protectively to his body. As suddenly as the shaking began, it stopped.

"Was that an earthquake?" Emmett managed to squeak out as he huddled closer to Drew, wide eyed and pale.

"The house!" John gasped then ran for the front door.

"The what?" Bobby had Patrick in his arms and followed John to the front door with Emmett and Drew close behind.

"You okay, Sonny Boy?" Brian whispered into Justin's ear as he kissed the blond's temple and then the top of Bree's head.

"I'm fine but what's happening?"

"Not sure, let's go." Brian and Justin, with Briana in his arms joined the group at the front door. "What the fuck?!"

In the lane, on the biggest truck they all had ever seen was John and Bobby's cottage. As Gordon and a few of his crew jumped out of the truck, the rest of his men pulled up behind the truck on the lane. John ran out to greet them.

"Gordon, it's a national holiday! What are you doing?" John asked, just as bewildered as his family was.

"Johnny, my man, we all took a vote. We decided that you couldn't celebrate living in the land of the free and the home of the brave without a home. So here it is. Now before you get your boxers in a bunch. I have a few more calculations to make and we can put this puppy to bed in a few hours. Now, the guys and me need some coffee and we heard from a little birdie, meaning your mother, that you all are having a barbeque. Consider us invited. Don't fret, Johnny boy, our wives are bringing enough food to feed a platoon and we brought three extra grills. So coffee first and don't sweat the details."

John stood gaping at his friend. Bobby, Brian, Justin, Emmett and Drew all heard Gordon's plan and were just as dumbstruck.

"Justin, sweetie, do you have another coffee pot? I think we're going to need it," Emmett asked. Justin nodded then led everyone except John and Brian back into the house including Gordon and his crew.

John and Brian stood staring at the cottage sitting on the flatbed then looked at each other.

"John, answer me one thing?"

"What is it, li'l bro?"

"When did I lose control?" Brian asked the gods in the sky and his brother.

"The moment you met Justin, of course," John smirked, clapped his brother on the back then prodded him into the house for a fresh cup of coffee.

After several pots of coffee and some delicious muffins that Emmett whipped up, Gordon and his crew headed back outside. They went out the front door just in time to greet Claire and Debbie who were coming in laden with bags and boxes.

"What the fuck is going on?" Debbie demanded. "I had to park down the road. Do you know there's a fucking house sitting in your driveway?"

"We know, Deb," Brian groaned.

"What's going on, John?" Claire asked her son.

"You knew we were moving the house, Mother," John said sheepishly.

"But I didn't know it was arriving here today."

"Neither did I," John admitted. "Gordon and the guys took it upon themselves to complete the move today so that we could celebrate the birth of our country with the birth of our new home."

"Well, bless their hearts," Claire said giving John a hug.

"Will some of you young bucks fucking march down the road and get the rest of the supplies from my fucking car?" Debbie demanded.

Drew, Justin and Bobby all headed out with a, "Yes, ma'am."

"Um, Deb," John began hesitantly. "There's been a slight change of plans."

"Change?" Debbie demanded and glared at John. To be on the receiving end of Debbie's glare was never fun.

"Um … Gordon and the boys will be joining us for the barbeque."

"What? I don't have food for all those extra people!"

"You always have way too much food, and they…"

"Not that much extra food!"

"Their wives are…"

"Fuck! Their wives are coming too?"

"Yes, but…"

"And what about their children?" Debbie asked as the horror spread across her face.

"Them too."

"And don't forget the grandparents," Emmett said forcing down a giggle.

"Are you all fucking nuts? I can't feed all those extra people." Debbie looked horrified. The usually unflappable Debbie didn't know what to do, especially since there wouldn't be a store open from one end of the country to the other.

"But Debbie, you…"

"I wonder what Brian and Justin have in their fucking freezer. Maybe we can find something that we can add to what we have. But knowing those two, it will have to be poppers and peanut butter."

Claire smiled gently at Debbie who was in such a flap. "If you'll stop for a minute, Deb, I think John has something to tell you."

"If this is a fucking joke, I'm going to rip off your ball and make you eat it."

"Ouch!" Brian said coming into the room with Bree. "It's not wise to anger redheads."

"Don't I know," John sighed. "Debbie, the boys' wives are bringing a ton of food, and they have three extra grills, so don't sweat it."

"Well, why the fuck didn't you say so?" Debbie demanded.

Brian smirked and whispered in Bree's ears not to listen to Grandma Debbie's bad words. Bree giggled and filed another bad word away for future use.

"How did you know?" Debbie asked Claire when her blood pressure had returned to somewhere within the normal range.

Claire smiled. "I've known Gordon and the boys for many years. Whenever they come to a barbecue or a get together they always come with plenty of food. They would never impose themselves without taking care of all the logistics."

"Speaking of fucking logistics," Debbie said. "We better start getting this mess tent operational. Where are those hunky fags who went to unload my car?"

"Right here, Deb," Justin said as he, Drew and Bobby came in laden with all the goods from Debbie's car. "We'll move your car up to the house once they get the cottage out of the way." Justin looked around. "That's not a sentence I ever thought I'd utter," he laughed.

"That's for fucking sure!" Debbie laughed. "Let's figure out how the fuck we're going to get everything ready, and what we're going to do with everyone when they get here. It's a good job I've had years of training at the diner."

Everyone laughed and did what Debbie told them as she started issuing orders.

Some time later, Justin walked out into the sun porch. They had put the screen up around the brass bed hiding it from general display. Justin was looking for Brian and not seeing him anywhere in the porch or outside, he peeked behind the screen. Brian was lying on the bed, Bree asleep beside him.

"You okay, Brian?" Justin asked.

"Yeah."

"You don't look okay," Justin replied as he slid through the small opening between the screen and the wall.

"I'm fine."

"Talk to me, big guy." Justin sat down on the edge of the bed.

"This has all got out of hand," Brian said with a smile.

"Yeah, the barbeque is growing to astronomical proportions."

"Not just the barbeque."

"What are you talking about?" Justin asked with a frown.

"I see now why you were worrying about joining the houses together. This could be an example of the rest of our lives."

"Fuck!" Justin reacted. "Move over. I need to lie down too."

Brian scrunched over trying not to wake Bree. Justin slid onto the bed and into Brian's arms. That's how John found them an hour later, holding each other tightly.

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"Bri?" John whispered softly so not to startle his brother. "Time to wake up." John gently ruffled the rich auburn hair.

"Mmm, how long have we been asleep?" Brian rolled over, Bree and Justin were beginning to stir.

"Just over an hour."

"Shit, some host I turned out to be."

"Don't sweat it, Brian. I realized that this whole 'joining the cottages' thing has really strained your patience. I'm sorry I ever suggested it."

"Don't be. I have been known to be the king of bitching at times, but I want this. We want this. I never imagined myself in a relationship." Brian paused as he swiped a lock of blond hair from Justin's sleepy angelic face. "Let alone a long, monogamous relationship complete with picket fence and 2.8 children. And then when it did happen, I imagined that I'd grow old and gray with my beautiful young twink sitting in my lap as I rocked us in a rocking chair."

John chuckled as Brian made his diatribe with a straight face.

"John, I still want those things, but I wouldn't mind a set of rocking chairs with us Kinney men rocking a pair of hot twinks on our laps."

"I'm not a twink," Justin and Bobby said in unison. Bobby had peered around the screen wondering where John had gotten too. He couldn't help but hear their conversation. The four men cracked up with laughter.

"John, Gordon's ready and the whole family, I mean the whole family, is here." Bobby informed them.

"Okay then, let's get this show on the road. Brian, let's keep the children in here. It's going to get very loud out there," John counseled Brian and Justin. Brian nodded and then watched as his big brother went into foreman mode. Bobby called a few strategic people and soon everyone was huddled into the sun porch or on the opposite side to where the flatbed was to drive the cottage along the new makeshift driveway.

Justin's studio was situated on the west side of the sun porch, the brass bed, Brian's garden and the main side entrance, on the east side. John thought it wise to create a new driveway along the west side to keep far away from the garden. The truck with the cottage began to inch its way along the new path. The crane that was to guide the cottage placement was already in place with Gordon at the controls. John and several of his crew were guiding the truck. They used headsets and portable radios to speak with each other instead of trying to shout above the noise. They were a well-orchestrated team, forged over years of living and breathing construction. They were a sight to behold.

A hush descended on the family as they held their collective breath, watching as John and Bobby's cottage crept closer and closer to its new foundation. Claire beamed with pride. She had seen pictures of the beautiful buildings and homes that her son had designed, even had a photo of John and Gordon walking the high steel. But Claire McNally nee Anderson had never witnessed her son in action before.

Almost wordlessly, John and Gordon using a series of hand gestures, the flatbed came to a halt. The men scurried about uncoupling the cottage from its moorings. The crane came down. Within the hour the cottage was settled upon its new foundation, its new home. Next week the actual renovation and securing the cottage to the new foundation would begin. The family began to breathe then let out a roaring cheer. The trucks were then driven out of the driveway and back onto the lane.

"Fan-fucking-tastic!" Debbie cried out. "Let's eat!" The cheering grew louder as the family filed out of the sun porch toward the grills and tables that were set up beyond the garden. Everyone pitched in with the cooking and serving and later on, the cleaning. The party went on well into the night.

Toward the end of the evening Brian and John took a quiet moment and walked around the newly seated cottage.

"In a few weeks you'll be able to move back in permanently. I won't find your tightie whities in my washing machine anymore," Brian quipped with a smirk.

"Can you honestly say you'll miss them?" John retorted.

"Yeah, I can, but I'm comforted knowing that when I look outside I'll see them hanging on your clothes line. What's with you and hanging out your laundry to dry?"

"At least its clean laundry."

"Touche, big bro. John, I am happy that we decided to do this."

"Why?"

"Besides the fact that I love my big manly gorgeous brother, his beautiful twink husband and their very special son, I miss it when you're not around. And I feel safer when you're here."

"Safe?"

"I'm being selfish. I like quiet but sometimes it's too quiet. We're out in the middle of nowhere. Our nearest neighbor is about three miles away. It didn't matter so much when it was just me and Justin. Not as long as I could call him every five minutes and make sure he was okay. But now with the Squirt, well, you know."

"Yeah, I know. I feel the same. Your ability to run your dynasty from your own home is a plus. Remember when Bobby had that virus? My Mom and Steve were on vacation and I was working on a big job. I would have given my left nut to have had the ability to stay at home with him."

"Hey, watch it with the nut reference."

"Sorry, but you understand. Justin's studio is here. You have your office right upstairs and if Gordon has his way..."

"Which he will."

"No shit. I'll have a similar office in my brand new attic. It stands to reason that one or two of us will be here at all times. I like that."

"I do too. And there's another advantage to having my macho brother here..." Brian's voice trailed off and his eyes grew wide.

"What's that?" John questioned. He didn't see what Brian did.

"Um, you can protect me from FROGS! Holy shit! Is that the baby calling...I think I hear Justin! Gotta go." With that Brian sprinted back to the sun porch and the safety of Justin's arms. John looked around and found the cause of Brian's hasty retreat. A small tree toad had hopped onto a branch of a bush. John roared with laughter.

As John approached the sun porch, all aglow with lights and the warmth of his nearest and dearest, he saw Brian pacing and gesturing, telling Justin all about the giant frog that was about to attack. John watched as Justin followed his lover around the porch offering his support. He saw his family doing their best not to break out into belly laughs as one of the most important persons of their lives swore that the largest frog known to man had dared to attack Brian Kinney.

John stood in the doorway, smiling. Justin caught his eye as Brian held out his arms describing the six-foot frog monster. John held up his thumb and forefinger to show Justin the true size of the hapless one inch toad. Justin nodded and gave his manly man a hug.

"My hero," Justin cooed into Brian's chest.

"I could have been slimed to death, Justin."

"Never happen; you're Rage. No frog known to man would dare slime you." Brian sighed into Justin's hair.

"How would I ever survive without you, Sunshine?"

"You wouldn't." Justin gave Brian a toe curling kiss and all thoughts of monster frogs were vanquished.