BEN 

For the last week, it's like whatever I want, Michael wants. I sat him down to tell him what I feel could get us back to where we were.

“Michael,  I think it's time to talk to each other.” I tell him. 

“If you feel we need to.” He tells me. 

“I want us to be together, but I can't keep treating you like I would Hunter.” I tell him.

“I don’t expect you to.” He tells me.

“It just seemed like the minute Brian left, you changed into someone I don’t really like.” I tell him.

“I didn’t change, it’s just… what do you need me to do?” He asks, trying not to show he doesn’t like what I’m saying.

“I need you to put me first and let everyone else live their lives their own way.” I tell him.

“I… okay, but I feel I’ve been showing you that I do that.” He tells me.

“You need to know that even when I said that I understand that you loved Brian at one time, I expected that when you agreed to marry me, that it meant that you put those feelings where they belong, in the past. It hurts me that our marriage didn’t stop you from running after Brian. It hurts that you can’t see that it seems like I’m the only one who wants us to stay together.” I tell him.

“You're the one who… “ He stops and looks frustrated. “I know Brian isn’t going to be the one for me, you need to stop using it as the reason you left.” He tells me.

“I left because no matter what anyone says to you, you only hear what you want. Mel wanted a baby with Justin and you start giving Justin reasons why you didn’t want to do it again, while telling Mel she should have picked you.” I tell him.

“I just don’t get why they think it was okay…” He stops again. “It was wrong.” He tells me.

“I don’t want them moving to New York to become another problem in our marriage.” I tell him.

“My daughter is included in that move.” He tells me.

“Michael it’s closer to us, which is a plus. Mel feels that Jenny’s old enough now to spend the summer with us.” I tell him, hoping he sees this as a good thing.

“So Jenny doesn’t get in her way when she has the next one, isn’t that great.” He tells me, tight lipped.

“That’s not why, and you need to see that.” I tell him.

“I’ve bent over backwards to show you that you come first, and now you act like I have to agree with them too.” He tells me, then sighs. “I’ll try to see it that way.” He tells me. 

“What the hell are you doing?” I finally ask, because this is nuts.

“I’m being everything you want and you know what, it’s bullshit. You married me knowing I care about my friends. Then you get bent out of shape because I didn’t ignore them for you.” He tells me.

“You're right, I did get tired of having to mediate because you can't see that the world doesn't revolve around you.” I tell him. 

“But you want it to revolve around you. I gave you what you wanted, yet you're still complaining.” He tells me rolling his eyes.

“I'm not complaining, I’m just trying to say what bothers me about our relationship. I never asked you to turn into your mother, but then you can't see that if you would stop and think before you do things, your life would be easier.” I tell him. 

“Shit, is it always going to come back to the shit I said about Justin, with you.” He tells me.

“You and Justin were friends but the minute he did something to Brian, you took upon yourself to  played the scorned boyfriend. Why?” I ask him. 

“He fucking had everything and threw it away because he couldn’t be happy. Brian was willing to give him things he never gave anyone and Justin was too busy screwing around to see it. I was angry he didn’t stop to think how what he was doing would affect everyone.” He tells me.

“How did what he did affect anyone else?” I ask him.

“Because we couldn’t be friends with both of them. Mel and Lindsay invite him to something they knew that Brian might show up at, like they were rubbing it in Brian’s face that Justin left him. Ma was siding with Justin and not seeing that Brian needed us. I couldn’t work with him because he betrayed my friendship by hurting Brian.” He tells me.

“How was that betraying you?” I ask him, because I don’t see it.

“I let him become my friend and he had to know that cheating on my best friend was wrong, but he sat there complaining about Brian and the whole time I’m trying to smooth it over, he was fucking cheating.” He tells me.

“Is that how you saw it?” I ask him.

“Yes, because even though no one believes me, he was becoming someone I admired and he ruined it. He overcame things I know I couldn’t and didn’t give up when people told him he couldn’t do something. I saw JT as the real hero in our stories, because a superhero has unlimited power and JT did things that a superhero never could.” I tell him.

“Justin did them, not JT. Michael, he couldn’t be like his comic, people have flaws that you can erase when you write fantasy. We aren’t perfect either. I’m the first to admit that I did things that I’m not proud of. The difference is, you move on and learn from them. Just like Brian learned that Justin needed him to say things, not just show them. Justin leaned on you because at the time, he needed an outlet for the things that your best friend wouldn’t listen to. That’s a lot of trust he put in you.” I tell him.

“I felt like that trust was abused, so I lashed out.” Michael tells me.

“I can understand that, but you need to tell that to Justin, instead of acting like everyone should forgive what you said. Michael I don’t want to continue whatever this is that you're doing, it’s not you. If we can’t find a way to make us work without you turning into some fifties housewife, we really need to end it without hating each other.” I tell him.

“Ben, I don’t know how to be what you want. I know that my friends need me to be there for them and sometimes you aren’t going to agree with how I deal with them, but I expect you to support me.” He tells me.

“I can’t support someone who expects everyone to put everything they want on hold for you.” I tell him, seeing that we aren’t going in the same direction.

“What’s really left to say then, but goodbye?” Michael asks me wiping his eyes.

“I’ll start looking for a place, I’m always here for you, but I need someone who can be here for me too.” I tell him, walking away.

BRIAN

Ted ended up staying for an extra week because I needed him to deal with people for me. I can’t be nice when they fuck up, he can. Justin told me that he wasn’t playing the wife, and if I wanted the house to be more than beanbag chairs, that I needed to get my ass involved in it. I kind of hoped Lindsay and Jen would have done it for us. They both know the style I look for and would save Justin and I the time doing it. 

“It’s OUR house and I expect you to have input in it. I don’t want to listen to you bitch for the next twenty years about a fucking couch.” He tells me.

I couldn’t help it, I kissed him in the middle of the furniture store.

“What?” Justin asks me, wrinkling his nose and looking confused.

“You're no longer seeing our relationship in weeks or months.” I tell him.

“I never saw it that way, it was you that did.” He tells me.

“Okay twat, I realized that when you said twenty years, it seemed natural to say it.” I tell him.

Justin left me to pick out things for the living room and told me he wanted to look at other things. Justin just hates shopping, which makes most trips, other than the grocery store of course, tedious for him. I picked out things that I could see my kids being comfortable on. Which showed that for me, life was changing. Before, it wouldn’t have mattered if the couch was comfortable, just that it looked good with the rest of the apartment. After I was finished, I went to look for Justin, which really shouldn’t have been that hard to find. I finally found him in the baby rooms, sitting in a chair, drawing. 

“He seems to like the chair.” The saleswoman tells me.

“He likes anywhere that he has room to draw.” I tell her.

“Are you guys having a baby?” She asks me.

“In a way.” I tell her.

“If it helps, he seems to really like the dark oak set he’s been sitting in front of.” She tells me smiling and walking away.

I walk over to see Justin drawing Rage, not the furniture. “You miss doing it?” I ask him.

“It gives me something to do when I’m stuck with a painting.” He tells me.

“Then send Michael the panels, you don’t have to talk to him to draw them.” I tell him.

“I will, I just needed some space before we started Rage again. I know that once we do we have to be able to talk to each other, and it’s been enough time that I can at least talk about the comic with him.” He tells me.

“Just hang up if he wants more.” I tell him.

“We’ll see after I send these off to him.” He tells me.

“So you like this stuff.” I ask changing the subject.

“No, it’s just the sales people won’t leave me alone, until I told the last one I wanted to wait to show my husband this set. It’s like ten thousand for three dressers, I still say we build them. I think she saw backing off could get her a fat commision.” He tells me walking off.

A fat commision is what she got, because Justin doesn’t ask for the things he likes, he blows them off. 

TED

I answered my phone only because Michael had been silent all week and well, I never imagined that was possible for him.

“I think Ben and I just ended it.” He tells me.

“Did you even try, or did you just expect him to do it for you?” I ask him.

“I tried Ted, but I just can’t be June Cleaver for him.” He tells me.

“He didn’t expect that from you, just that for once for you to see that he needed you too.” I tell him.

“Ben has it together enough that I felt useless to him.” He tells me.

“You call the steroids, together? Michael, he has flaws too.” I tell him.

“I just called to tell you because I didn’t want you to be surprised by it.” He tells me.

“So, once again you let him go instead of fighting to keep him.” I tell him.

“He wants me to be someone I’m not for him.” He tells me.

“No, he wanted the man he got to know, not the one who butted into everyone’s life.” I tell him.

“Look, can you tell Mel that she needs to call me, because we need to talk about where my kid is going to live.” He tells me.

“Michael, New York isn’t that far away and it’s really their decision.” I tell him.

“We have a custody agreement and I’m going to start holding her to it.” He tells me.

“Then you need to call her if you want to start a fight with her. I’m not doing it for you.” I tell him.

“Fine, but you should point out to her that following Brian’s example only leads to problems.” He tells me, hanging up.

Fuck, we now have Michael without someone to rein him in. Thanks Ben.