Justin slipped out of the bed and headed into the kitchen to make some coffee, smiling as he recalled the previous day’s activities. It’d been awhile since he and Brian had shut out the world and spent the day together refusing all visitors. It always seemed to recharge his batteries after spending the day focusing on cookie. He pulled down some coffee mugs while he waited for the machine to finish percolating. He just couldn’t get the image of Brian sitting alone in the dark, blindly staring at a picture of himself with Gus out of his head. It was so hard for cookie to open himself up and allow others in, and just when he seemed to be doing so well, something like this had to happen.

Justin prepared two cups of coffee and headed back into the bedroom, placing their drinks on the bedside table before climbing back into bed. He ran his hand over Brian’s shoulder leaning down to whisper, “Wake up, sleepy head.”

Brian grunted and grabbed the pillow putting it over his head mumbling unintelligibly.

“We have to meet your lawyer this morning.” Justin chuckled as he watched Brian shake his head beneath the pillow. “I made you an appointment.”

Brian flung the pillow off his head and glared at his partner. “I’m not three, you’re not my mother, and I don’t need you to book my appointments for me.”

“I’m not going to put up with your attitude. I’m stressed out too.” Justin smacked Brian’s ass.

“Ouch! This is my son we’re talking about.”

“All the more reason for you to get your ass up so we can meet your lawyer.” Justin picked up a cup of coffee and handed it to Brian.

Brian took a sip of his coffee and glared. “You are way too fucking cheerful this morning.”

Justin laughed. “It’s a beautiful day.”

“Well excuse the fuck out of me if I don’t share in your sunshiny outlook when I’m on the verge of losing my son.”

Justin leaned down until his eyes were level with Brian’s. “As long as I’m breathing, that will never happen.”

Brian studied the blue eyes for a long moment seeing the sincerity. He let his eyes close for a second before reopening them and attempting to smile. “I know you’ll do everything you can, but some things even you can’t do.”

“Well, this isn’t one of them. As a matter of fact, if you want to go for full custody, I’ll back you all the way.”

Brian shook his head. “I don’t want to take Gus away from his mother and his home. I just don’t want to lose him. Besides, with the way you and I work, he’d spend most of the time either in daycare or with a sitter. It’s better for him to live with Lindsay.”

“I just wanted you to know that I’d support you in that decision if you wanted to go that way.” Justin rubbed his nose against Brian’s. “Now, let’s take a shower and get out of here.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Alex leaned across the seat and kissed Chris hard on the lips. “Thanks for dropping me off.”

Chris rolled his eyes and made a little grunting sound. “As if I had a choice in the matter.”

“I’ll make it worth the effort tonight,” Alex whispered seductively before winking and climbing out of the BMW with a little wave. He entered the Diner, made his way to their “usual” table, sat down and glanced at his watch.

Miguel breezed into the diner, spotted Alex and announced to the world. “Your boredom is over. I have arrived.”

Alex slid down in his seat a bit asking himself again why he kept hanging around with the flashy man headed for his booth. “Could you be any more gay?”

Miguel stopped, put a hand on his hip, held the other one up in a limp wrist pose, raised his voice an octave and replied, “I just don’t know, sweetie. Is this more gay?”

“Would you just sit your ass down before you draw any more attention to yourself.” Alex looked around the diner, taking note of all the eyes aimed at them.

Miguel slid into the booth like a king claiming his throne. “Lighten up, munchkin.”

“Don’t call me munchkin, you flaming queen.” Alex winked at Miguel.

“It’s nice to know someone besides me keeps his flame burning bright.” Alex and Miguel turned to see Emmett who had walked in on their usual bickering.

Alex grinned at the newest member of their party. “Remind me again why I hang out with you guys.”

“Because you can’t resist our devastatingly sexy bodies, our amazingly witty charm, and our unendingly fabulous fashion sense.” Miguel nodded his head in full agreement of Emmett’s statement.

“Oh puh-leeze. It’s probably more like I’m in serious need of mental help.” Alex couldn’t keep the grin off his face. Despite everything, he felt lucky to have friends as wonderful as the men he was verbally sparring with at the moment. At least there was never a dull moment when either man was around. “I need Brian to help even things up. It’s no fair for me to be outnumbered by the flamboyant factor.”

“Careful now, munchkin. Your jealousy at being a boring little fashion nobody is showing.” Miguel gripped Alex’s hand, pulled him close and leaned over the table to give his friend a kiss on the cheek.

“Why is it that you boys can’t seem to keep your hands and lips off one another whenever I’m around?” Blake Wyzecki, a 26-year-old drug counselor and Ted’s partner for the last three years, smiled at his friends as he sat down next to Alex.

Alex put an arm across Blake’s shoulder and pulled his friend close in a semi-hug. “Damn I’m glad to see you. I was beginning to feel the strain of trying to ward off the flamboyant factor all on my own.

Blake covered his heart and looked at Alex with mischief filled eyes. “I’m shocked that you don’t detect my fabulous flamboyancy.”

Emmett and Miguel laughed out loud giving Blake pats on the shoulder. “You tell him, sweetie,” Emmett said with a smirk.

Alex’s eyes widen in mock horror. “Oh no! They’ve infected you!”

All four men laughed until Miguel asked, “So what are we going to do about this situation?”

Alex focused on his friend. “I tell you what I’d like to do, but Chris said he wouldn’t bail me out of jail.”

Emmett leaned forward and whispered in a conspiratorial tone, “I think we just need to be there for them when they need us, and in the meantime, we can give them the best party ever.”

“I’ve been practicing and I’ve finally got it down.” Blake nodded in satisfaction.

“Yeah, me too. Chris is amazing and it’s been fun practicing with him.” Alex winked at his companions with a knowing smile.

“And just what have you been practicing, dear boy? We want all the naughty details.” Miguel wiggled his eyebrows and licked his lips.

“Like I’d tell you,” Alex quipped.

“So, how is your part coming along?” Blake looked at Miguel and grinned.

“Jake already has his part down and I’m doing better. I guess we’ll find out tomorrow night, huh?”

Emmett spoke in a very high pitched voice waving his hands around. “Oh it’s just going to be maaah-vah-lous.”

Everyone laughed and started bickering over who was going to order what.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Brian followed Justin into the Quantum Meruit Law Offices and smirked when he read the name. “Well whoever this guy is, he has style… ‘as much as he deserved’ indeed.”

Justin nodded and walked over to the receptionist. “Brian Kinney to see Cole Raines.”

The woman smiled as her eyes slid over first Justin’s and then Brian’s body with an appreciative glance. “If you’ll just take a seat, Mr. Kinney, Mr. Raines will be right with you when he finishes his conference call to New York.”

Brian and Justin waited in the luxurious lobby. After a ten minute wait, Justin noticed a tall, blond man walking towards them. This couldn’t be their lawyer because he looked like he was in his mid-twenties, much too young to have a reputation like Jake claimed. Justin’s eyes traveled over the man’s athletic body in an appreciative manner. He turned to look at Brian and saw the knowing look reflected in his boy’s eyes. This guy could definitely be considered eye candy.

“I couldn’t believe it when I was told that I had an appointment with Brian Kinney, but here you are.” Cole Raines extended his hand to Brian.

Brian shook Cole’s hand and smirked. “Ah yes, the Amadeus Club in New York.”

Cole grinned. “So you remember me, huh?”

“Vaguely.” Brian shrugged. “So many faces, you know?”

Cole turned to Justin and extended his hand again. “Cole Raines and you would be?”

Justin took the hand and smiled. “Justin Taylor.”

“Well, now that that’s out of the way, follow me to my office where we can talk.” Cole turned and led the way down the hall. He entered an office and took a seat behind a large mahogany desk, motioning for Brian and Justin to take a seat. “So, what can I do for you?”

Brian leaned forward. “Long story, short. I donated sperm to a friend and we had a son. Gus lives with his mothers and I pay child support. Everything was going fine until just recently Lindsay, Gus’s mother, informed me that I was no longer allowed any contact with my son.”

“What are her reasons?”

Justin shifted in his chair. “Gus’s mothers don’t approve of our lifestyle and feel that we’re not fit.”

Cole turned to Justin. “Exactly what is it that the mothers don’t approve of?”

“We’re into leather and pain,” stated Brian in a deadpan voice.

Cole held up his hand. “Say no more. I understand. So tell me exactly what you hope to accomplish.”

“I want to be able to see my son.”

Cole studied both men. “That’s it? You don’t want full custody?”

Brian shook his head. “I don’t want to upset his life. I just want to be a part of it.”

“Fine. Can you prove that you’re the father?”

“Yes. I’m listed on the birth certificate, and I’d be willing to take a DNA test if needed.” Brian leaned back in the chair.

“Can you prove that you’ve been paying child support and for how long?”

“Yes and I’ve been paying since conception.”

Cole looked a bit shocked. “Conception?”

Brian nodded. “I’ve paid for all the medical bills not covered by Lindsay’s insurance and I even paid to furnish the nursery.”

“I’m impressed. So, all you want is to be allowed visitation rights?”

Brian and Justin both nodded.

“So, you don’t necessarily have to take this to court?”

Brian scratched his head. “I’d prefer to keep this out of the courts if at all possible, but if we have to go before a judge, so be it.”

“If it’s okay with you, I’d like to visit your home and talk to your friends. I like to have all my bases covered just in case we do need to go to court. The judge will send in a social worker to do that, and I’d like to have the upper hand.”

Justin nodded and looked at Brian. “Anything you need is fine with us.”

Cole handed some paperwork to Brian. “Take these home with you and fill them out. Don’t leave out any details. Drop them off here as soon as you can and I’ll be in touch.”

“What do we do in the meantime? They filed a temporary restraining order against us.” Justin laid his hand on Brian’s thigh.

“Give me a few days and I’ll see what I can do, but don’t make waves at the moment. Let them think they’ve won.”

Justin leaned forward. “I guess you need to know that I paid a visit to Lindsay while she was at work and basically threatened her.”

Cole raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean by you threatened her?”

Justin sighed. “I told her that I’d use every resource at my disposal to ensure she didn’t take Gus away from Brian and implied that I’d get her fired.”

Cole relaxed visibly. “Oh, I thought you’d actually threatened her with violence. That’s not too bad and nothing to worry about at this stage.”

Brian stood and held his hand out to Cole. “Our friends are throwing us a surprise party at Babylon this Saturday. Why don’t you show up and then you can question our friends at your leisure.”

“Doesn’t sound like it’s much of a surprise, but good idea. I’ll see you both on Saturday.”

Brian and Justin exited the office and as they headed out of the building Justin started laughing.

“What’s so funny,” Brian asked.

Justin looked at his boy and tried to control his laughter. “Seems you and Jake have more in common than either of you would like to believe.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Justin gave Brian’s shoulder a little pat. “Looks like you’ve both fucked the lawyer.”