Part Eleven



Brian and Justin lay in bed later that night, each lost in their thoughts about the events of the day. Michael had surprised them both by congratulating them when Brian told them their news. He seemed genuinely happy for them. Emmett, on the other hand had been shocked by the news. Not that he hadn’t been happy for them, but not in the same way. It was like Brian could see his thoughts and they were filled with doubts and memories of Brian as the asshole who would fuck anyone hot with a cock.



“I want to add a codicil to our agreement,” Brian finally said into the darkness of their bedroom.



“What kind of codicil?” Justin asked.



“Well, I was thinking,” Brian said. “It’s been a while since either of us tricked.”



“Even when we do, it isn’t all that often anymore,” Justin agreed carefully, trying not to get his hopes up.



“Exactly,” Brian said. “So I was thinking maybe we cold modify our agreement to reflect that.”



“What did you have in mind?” Justin asked.



Brian was quiet for a few minutes. “I still don’t think I can promise complete monogamy, but I’m willing to give it a shot. So what I was thinking is this: we don’t trick unless we both agree. Like if we want to bring someone home from the club sometime. And if either of us slips up, we talk about it and decide together if we want to keep trying.”



“Okay,” Justin said. “I’m sure we can make it work.”



“Good,” Brian said as he rolled on top of Justin and then kissed him breathless. “Wanna fuck again to seal the deal?”



Justin chuckled “A simple talk about monogamy has you so worked up? I’ll have to keep that in mind for the future.”



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Brian was wary about Christmas. The day after Thanksgiving, small decorations began appearing in their home without Brian’s knowledge or consent. When the wreath appeared on the door, Brian could no longer ignore Justin’s maneuverings.



“Justin,” Brian said as he hung his coat up by the door. “Why is there a dead tree branch on our door?”



Justin, who was pulling cartons of food from a takeout bag onto the table in the dining area, rolled his eyes at his partner. “It’s a wreath Brian. And it’s there because I hung it there.”



“But why?” Brian insisted. He slipped off his shoes and headed up to their bedroom to change into more comfortable clothes.



Justin followed him up, as Brian had known he would. “I did it because decorating for Christmas is fun and it will be good for Gus.”



Brian changed clothes and considered Justin’s reasoning. “How exactly is a fucking wreath on the door good for Gus?”



“Brian… kids love Christmas,” Justin said. Then he saw a flash of pain cross Brian’s face. “Well, most kids love Christmas. And they love it because it’s fun to believe in magic and Santa Claus. Gus is just old enough to really be into everything this year and I want him to have a Christmas that he’ll always remember. I want him to have a happy childhood and part of that is having a great memories of Christmas.”



Brian sighed. “Fine. Decorate to your heart’s content. But don’t think I don’t know you want this as much for yourself as you do for Gus.”



Justin laughed and kissed Brian on the cheek. “Thank you. Now, come on. Dinner is getting cold.”

Of course, once Justin had permission, he went completely overboard. It seemed like every surface in the new loft was slowly taken over by Christmas cheer. And then, a few days before Christmas, Justin dragged Brian and Gus out to look for a tree. Not content to go to the local tree lot, Justin made Brian drive the SUV out into the middle of nowhere to a tree farm where they were led through rows of trees until Justin and Gus could agree upon the perfect tree. Brian bitched and moaned the entire time, but he actually had fun. They stopped on the way home at an apple farm where they got hot cider and cider donuts for an afternoon treat before going back and setting up the tree.



The three of them spent that evening decorating the tree. Gus had a great time hanging the ornaments that Justin had picked out for their tree. Mostly they were simple glass balls and silver bows, but there were several special ornaments interspersed with the plain ones. When Brian looked closer, he saw that there was one for each year of Justin’s life. His mother must have given them to the blond. Justin had also picked out a brand new ornament for each of them and they were marked with their names and the year. Brian’s ornament was a classic corvette, just like he had mentioned in passing. Gus got a polar bear. Justin’s was a family of snowmen.



“We have to hang our stockings,” Gus insisted once the tree was lit.



“Okay,” Brian said. He looked at Justin for help.



“The stockings are in the box in the utility room,” Justin said. “There’s one for each of us.”



“Right,” Brian said. His mind was suddenly filled with panic. He knew that Justin would make sure that his and Gus’ stockings were filled. But who was supposed to fill Justin’s? The obvious answer was him, but what the fuck did he know about stockings? He’d need some help with this one.



After Brian and Gus had hung the stockings, it was time for Gus to go to bed, so Brian took him up and read to him from the Night Before Christmas, currently Gus’ favorite book.



“Will Santa come here or to Momma’s house?” Gus asked after the book was done.



“Well, I’m pretty sure that he’s coming here,” Brian said. They had discussed it with Mel and since they had more room, they would do the gift thing here and she could keep Gus busy Christmas eve while they got ready.



“Then we should have a stocking for Momma too,” Gus said reasonably. “And one for the new baby.”



“I see,” Brian said. “Well, I’ll talk to Justin about that and see what we can arrange.”



“Good,” Gus said. “I love you Daddy. And Papa Jus too.”



“Papa Jus?” Brian inquired. It was the first he had heard this new moniker.



Gus nodded sleepily. “He’s my daddy too, but I can’t call you both Daddy. That would be silly.”



“I guess it would,” Brian admitted with a smirk.



“Do you think Jus would like if I called him papa?” Gus asked.



Brian kissed Gus’ forehead. “He’ll love it because he loves you. Just like I love you.”



“Night Daddy,” Gus yawned.



“Night Sonny Boy,” Brian said.



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Brian recruited Mother Taylor to help him figure out what to buy to fill Justin’s stocking. Since there was only two days left before Christmas, Brian found the shopping experience less than ideal. He had Jennifer on the phone almost the entire time he wandered through the stores looking for the perfect small gifts to add. He had also promised Justin that he would take care of Mel and the baby’s gifts if Justin made sure to get them stockings.



“Are you sure this is the kind of thing Justin will expect in his stocking?” Brian questioned Jennifer for the hundredth time. He looked at the small box of chocolates skeptically.



“It’s the kind of thing I’ve put in his stocking since he was a little boy,” Jennifer assured him. “And I was with him when he bought the gifts for yours and Gus’ stockings, so I know he still remembers.”



Brian shrugged and grabbed another box of the chocolates for Mel’s stocking. “Alright. I’m trusting you on this. But I want to get one thing that’s just from me.”



“Okay,” Jennifer said teasingly. “Just remember that this is supposed to be from Santa. Gus will pay attention to what’s in the stocking, so no condoms.”



Brian rolled his eyes. “I know better.”



“I have to go,” Jennifer said. “I have a meeting with a client in half an hour. Good luck.”



“Thanks for your help,” Brian said.



Brian walked out of the confectioner’s and wandered down the street to a little gift shop and wandered inside. He found the perfect addition for Justin’s stocking sitting right inside the door. He smirked as he carried the small item up to the counter. Maybe this Christmas thing wasn’t so hard after all.



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Christmas morning dawned bright and early. In the four years that Brian and Justin had been together, this was the first where they were actually living together for the holiday so Brian wasn’t expecting Justin to jump out of bed eagerly at 7 in the morning. Nor was he expecting that he would be as excited about opening gifts as Gus. Mel called as soon as Gus woke up and warned them that they were on their way down. Justin quickly dressed, leaving Brian to get dressed alone. Any plans Brian might have had about an early morning fuck were completely dashed.



Brian walked down to the main living area and found Justin making coffee and putting a frittata into the oven to heat. As Brian looked around their home, he was overwhelmed with a feeling he could hardly recognize. Though he had been with Justin last night as they set up Gus’ gifts and prepared everything, seeing the gifts under the tree and the lights and decorations everywhere, somehow their loft had been transformed into a magical place. Brian just stood and tried to take it all in.



“Justin, why does it all seem so different today?” Brian had to ask as he joined Justin in the kitchen.



Justin walked over and gave him a gentle kiss. “Christmas is magic. I’m pretty sure I told you that.”



“I guess you did,” Brian said. He savored having Justin’s arms around him for a moment before pulling away. “I should get the video camera set up.”



“It’s already on the tripod near the tree,” Justin told him. “You just have to turn it on.”



As Brian was doing that, there was a knock on their interior door. Justin let Gus and Mel inside and Brian had just enough time to turn the camera on before Gus spotted all the gifts. The joy and wonder that Gus displayed melted Brian’s heart and he was glad that Justin had convinced him to make the holiday special for Gus. He had been right that it was as much for Justin as it was for Gus, but he hadn’t realized that it was for him too.



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The rest of Christmas was a happy time. It was the best Christmas that Brian could remember. Gus was a maniac as he tore through his gifts from Santa. Mel had been surprised but pleased with her stocking and the stocking for the baby. Justin had gotten misty eyed when he found the small statuette in his stocking. It was a minimalistic representation of two men with their arms around each other while one held a baby and the other had a small child clinging to his leg carved from stone and polished to a high shine.



They had decided against exchanging gifts because they were planning on the trip to Antigua being their gift to each other, but Brian wasn’t surprised that Justin had also used the stocking as an opportunity to get Brian something small. He found a small canvas, about the size of a post card, and Justin had painted a portrait of Justin, Brian and Gus together. It was beautiful and Brian knew just where he would put it in his office.



After the gifts and a late breakfast, they had split up so that Justin and Brian could head over to Jennifer’s and Mel could take Gus to see her family. Of course, their arrival was delayed by a couple rounds of fucking, to make up for the lack of morning fuck. And of course there were more presents once they arrived at Jennifer’s.



The next day, they boarded a flight to Antigua and spent ten amazing days just relaxing in the sun, making up for the traumatic years they had experienced since first meeting. Justin’s father, Brian’s father, the bashing, Ethan, Stockwell, losing everything, starting Kinnetik, Michael’s theft, Lindsay’s selfishness… it had all been more stressful than either of them realized until they had some time to sit back and finally unwind.



They stayed at a gay resort with a rather free attitude towards sex, but neither of them even contemplated bringing someone to their bed. Neither of them thought about anyone or anything but being alone together at last. There were no interruptions. No work. No family. Nothing but the two of them growing closer and rediscovering why it was they loved each other.



When their time was up, they flew back to Pittsburgh with a renewed conviction that they could face just about anything as long as they were together.