BRIAN 

The more I thought about staying in New York, the more sense it made. Mel and Lindsay need the distance from Michael and Deb, and I could make Kinnetik New York just as big as Pittsburgh. I want Justin to have the time to take his career where he wants to and not put things on hold because of changing his life to suit ours. 

“I want us to start looking for a house here.” I tell him. 

“My apartment isn't that bad.” He tells me.   

“I wasn’t saying that, I want to give Kinnetik a chance here and a year isn't going to be enough.” I tell him. 

“What about all the plans to move back? Mel and Lindsay seemed happy about them.” He tells me. 

“I'm sure they'd be fine with moving here. It could solve a lot of problems for all of us.” I tell him. 

“You mean Michael and Deb being all over them.” He tells me. 

“If we move back, the house isn't going to stop them from showing up and expecting all of us to welcome the constant and unannounced visits. You and I could deal with it, but Mel and Lindsay can't. You know Deb is never going to believe we don't need her to tell us how to do everything.” I tell him. 

“You mean Michael, Deb will be fine once she thinks about it.” He tells me. 

“You're fine with her running to your mom? Because I'm not.” I tell him. 

“It wasn’t something I liked, but she's Deb and like Michael sometimes can't see past what she thinks is right.” He tells me. 

“As much as we love her, it's going to become like it was. I don't want us to have to spend every day dealing with it. In New York, we can hang up without everyone appearing at the door five minutes later to repeat what we didn’t listen to the first time. I want us to be able to make plans without having to change them for everyone else all the time. This past week was the same as our lives were in Pitts, I know you don't let it bother you, but I'm tired of it. ” I tell him. 

“What’s really bothering you? Because it can’t be just that.” He asks me.

“I want us to be somewhere where the past isn’t brought up constantly to remind us of things that have nothing to do with us now. Do you like when we go to Deb's and everyone talks about everything we did?” I ask him. 

“I could do without the comments about our relationship being between one fight to the next. I don't think that's what's bothering you.” He tells me. 

“When we broke up the last time, why did you go to Michael's house?” I ask him. 

“I knew he wouldn’t try to convince me to go back to you. It was hard enough to walk away but everyone else would have tried convince me I gave up too easily. Michael just saw it as inevitable. I needed to stay somewhere that I wouldn't have just turned back around and admitted I wanted us to do something you weren’t ready for. I thought you'd be okay that Michael was helping me, and I did, until you showed up flipping out.” He tells me. 

“And had to listen to my best friend tell the whole house I would never be what you wanted.” I tell him. 

“Do you think that's what I heard that night?” He asks me. 

“I didn’t see you running after me.” I tell him. 

“I needed time. But the words weren’t what I heard. I saw for the first time that my leaving mattered to you. I didn’t run for you because I didn't want to keep running into the same things we already were doing. Brian it was hard not to.” He tells me. 

“It changed the way I viewed Michael. My behavior that night might have screamed ‘fuck you’, but I needed him to help me, instead he was yelling all the reasons no one should want to be with me. It's not how I want our lives to be.” I tell him. 

“You need to know that what I saw was you proving you loved me, even when you couldn’t say it. Even when I wouldn’t admit it was always there, in everything you did. If staying in New York is what you want for us, than we stay, regardless of if Mel and Lindsay want to.” He tells me. 

“Than we need to talk about the house. I can keep it and it wouldn’t hurt us financially, but do you want to?” I ask him. 

“I need to know why you really bought it.” He tells me. 

“You wanted a home. In a way you've been homeless the entire time we were together. I wanted you to have a place that you could for once call yours. I wanted us to have something that belong to both of us.” He tells me. 

“We need to sell it and find that together. The house isn’t my home, you are. I will always love what it symbolizes, but I only needed you, to find my home.” He tells me. 

“I love you too, Twat.” I tell him pulling up to the apartment.

“Could you prove we didn’t grow twats, because I'm starting to wonder.” He tells me, smiling.

MICHAEL 

Ben was asleep so I wandered around our hotel room. He’s been less than thrilled with me lately. I don't understand why everyone wants to move on. I tried it with David and ended up miserable without everyone. I'm trying to save them from my mistake. If they think being away from home is going to help they need to remember how it turned out for me. I came home and found Ben and two children. It's why I know being together in Pittsburgh is better for all of us.

I just need for them to see it. I pick up my phone to call Brian but hang up because he's not listening right now. I dial Ted to see if I can get him to understand.

“Michael? Is everything okay?” He answers, sounding like he was asleep.

“I needed to talk.” I tell him. 

“It's one in the morning.” He tells me. 

“It's important and no one will listen.” I tell him. 

“Give me a minute.” He tells me. “Okay, I just didn’t want to wake up Blake, what's up?” He asks me. 

“Why can’t everyone see that moving away isn’t the answer?” I ask him. 

“Mel and Lindsay moved because they needed to, for them. I really didn't see them making it even with the move, but they are doing better, so I was wrong. Michael, believe it or not, we don't know what's best for everyone.” He tells me. 

“I tried leaving and realized it wasn't the answer.” I tell him. 

“You never really left when you and David moved. You spent all your time in Pittsburgh in your heart. It's why it didn't work for you.” He tells me. 

“I tried, I went where David wanted and met people he knew. It just wasn't the life I thought it would be.” I tell him. 

“Mel and Lindsay found what they needed, so it's not the same for them.” He tells me. 

“Brian and Justin were doing fine without Brian having to move.” I point out.

TED

I really tried to steer this away from involving Brian and Justin, but I'm sure this is what's really bothering him. How will Michael manage to tie his shoes, if Brian doesn’t show him? 

“He deserves to have what we do, which is to be with the man he loves. He shouldn’t have to be where you want him to be.” I tell him. 

“I want both of them to come home.” He tells me. 

“Michael, whether you realize it or not, home is your partner, not a house or city. There might come a time when Pittsburgh is the place all of us visit, not live. Ben could be offered a job that could make moving a possibility for you, are you going to make him turn it down out of fear of moving?” I ask him. 

“Did he tell you that?” Michael asks, freaking out.

“No, I think Ben would have told you first. I was just using it as an example.” I tell him.

“Shit, you scared me, Ben and I are never moving.” He tells me. 

“You can’t say that unless it happens. I know that if Brian’s plans for Kinnetik go the way he wants, Blake and I will talk to each other and make a decision if we move, but neither one of us get to decide it without talking to the other.” I tell him. 

“What about Blake’s career, isn’t it important? You act like picking up and moving is easy. I have a store, I can’t just leave. What about Ma? She needs us, but no one thinks about that.” He complains. 

“What if Carl retires and wants to move them someplace without ten feet of snow every winter, are you going to demand she stays too?” I must be tired if I didn't see this was going to freak him out.

“He better not be trying to get her to move. I swear, he'll being hearing my opinion on it.” He tells me. 

“Once again, it was just an example, not a plan. You need to stop worrying about anything that doesn’t involved you and Ben.” I tell him. 

“Ma and I are going to start looking for places where Mel and Lindsay could live. We both think they would be better off somewhere we could help when they need us.” He tells me, changing the subject. 

I roll my eyes and start making faces at Blake who came out to see where I was. 

“Michael?” He whispers. 

I nod and shake my head as Michael goes on about how he and Deb are going to practically try to live with Mel and Lindsay. I set the phone down and pulled Blake on my lap.

“Why are you on the phone at one thirty instead of with me?” He whispers, kissing me.

“I'm an idiot.” I tell him, letting him lean into me.

“I think with Brian and Justin not always seeing eye to eye that it's better for Mel and Lindsay to be near Ben and I. We could show them how relationships can work. It's not always…” I put the phone back on the couch because it should take him ten minutes to explain his point of view.

“Hang up.” Blake whispers kissing down my chest.

“Then he shows up to make his p… oin.. t.” I moan as Blake reminds me what I could be doing. I pick up and try not to moan as Blake swallows around my cock. “Michael… I… I… oh fuck… later.” I tell him, hanging up.

Blake smiles, knowing he made his point about where I needed to be. I follow my favorite twink into the bedroom as he drops his shorts. Michael can complain to Deb, because I have a partner to keep happy.       

MEL

Jen called and asked if either we could visit soon or if she could visit us. It really shows the difference between the grandmother's to us. She wasn't trying to tell us what she expected of us, just wanted the chance to get to know us better. It was strange to see how Lindsay really got along with Jen. We were getting ready for bed when Lindsay brought up going to Pittsburgh. 

“We could visit her, than Michael can keep Jenny for the weekend.” Lindsay suggests.

“Jen would probably want to spend time with all of us.” I tell her. 

“I'm trying to save us from Michael’s complaints if we stay with Jen.” She tells me.

“I know, but the minute they find out we stayed with her, it will be, why we didn't stay with Deb or Michael.” I tell her.

“You don’t want them to know we are coming do you?” She asks me. 

“I want to be able to put any fears Jen has to rest. If they know, we'll be spending time with them. I want us to have a good relationship with Jen.” I tell her  

“You just want her to deal with Deb.” Lindsay giggles. 

“I want you giggling and being the silly woman I love. I watched you talking to Jen and you seemed more relaxed than when Deb calls.” I tell her. 

“Deb just says things that I'm not always comfortable with.” She tells me. 

“It's just the way she talks. Plus you're a bit of a prude.” I tell her, laughing when she opens her mouth to deny it.

“I wanted one conversation that doesn't involve… dick…, see I can say it.” She tells me blushing.

“You can say a lot of things but I do understand that you were bored that night. Jen does seem like a breath of fresh air, without hearing a swear word every other sentence. She would understand your feelings in a way Deb couldn’t.” I tell her. 

“Mel, Deb loves us. She just swears while she's telling us.” Lindsay tells me, laughing as she walks in the bathroom to get ready for bed.  

I followed her and decided to keep her smiling the rest of the night.