Author: Tina
Homepage: http://www.oocities.org/weird4182/index.html
Live Journal: http://www.livejournal.com/users/weirdqafan/
Pairing: Brian and Justin
Rating: R
Category: Drama
Summary: Someone pays Justin a visit.
Spoilers: Seasons 1-3
Disclaimer: If this were a utopian world they could belong to all of us, but it’s not, so they don’t. Sadly, they belong to Cowlip.
Feedback: Yes, please. Send it to Weird4182@yahoo.com
Author's Notes: Post Season 3. Brian & Justin were never caught doing the anti-Stockwell campaign. Brian’s still partner at Vanguard, as well as financially sound, & Justin’s still at PIFA, now as a sophomore. All mistakes are my own.
More Author’s Notes: Certain things regarding Brian & Justin’s extended family are different in my story than in canon & I wanted to let everyone know:
I. For the most part, I like Michael. He can be a whiny and
annoying ass, but he has gotten better (thanks to Ben), even
though there are still moments when we all wish he’d fall
under a bus. I also like Mel. Or at least Season 1 Mel and
Season 2 Mel. Season 3 Mel was just a raving bitch.
Now, like I said, I like these characters, but the thought of
them having a child together, makes me want to heave. So in
my qafverse, they’re not. And Ben & Michael have custody of Hunter.
II. In this fic, rather than hitting rock bottom after the closing of his
website, Ted joined Emmett and Vic in their catering/party-planning
venture. Also, Ted and Emmett never hooked up romantically.
I HAVE A MESSAGE TO ALL OF MY READERS ABOUT THIS FIC THAT YOU CAN FIND HERE.
~*~
Monday- 7:05am
“Deb! Coffee. Now!”
Deb came over to Brian’s table bearing the coffee pot and a smile.
“Glad to see that your cheery disposition is still in tact on this lovely Monday morning.” Deb reached out and smacked Brian upside the head with her notepad. “Now cut it the fuck out!”
Deb huffed and walked away as Brian rolled his eyes. Suddenly, two hands covered said eyes from behind.
"Guess who?"
"Ah...Britney Spears?"
The person giggled. "Nope. Guess again!"
"Julia Roberts?"
More giggling. "No! You have one guess left."
"Bette Midler?"
Brian heard a rather unsophisticated male snort from beside him and laughter across from him as the 'mystery person' asked a confused "Who?"
"Never mind Molly." Brian sighed.
Molly removed her hands and gave Brian a kiss on the cheek. Brian reciprocated and smirked at her blush. He glanced at an amused Justin next to him and a smirking Alex across from him, who scooted over to make room for Molly in the booth.
"So did you guys have a lot of girly sleepover fun last night?"
Molly's eyes lit up as she began telling Brian all about their fun grown up evening. Justin and Alex sat quietly, simply enjoying listening to her animated voice.
"…And then I got to experiment with make up! Ally and Daphne told me all about applying it and they showed me how and even Justin helped with colors and stuff. And he let me paint his toenails."
Brian raised an eyebrow as he looked at a crimson-faced Justin. He slung an arm around Justin's shoulders. "Oh, he did, did he?"
Alex piped up. "Oh yeah. A lovely shade of sparkly blue. Isn't that right Justy?"
Justin's eyes narrowed and when Molly wasn't looking, mouthed 'Fuck off'.
"Well, if it isn't all of my favorite Taylors!" Deb smiled at the siblings sitting at the table. They all enthusiastically greeted Deb hello and when Brian mumbled something about being blue-eyed suck ups, he received Justin's elbow in his side.
"So what can I get for you this morning?"
"Ally and I are going to share some blueberry pancakes. And can I have a glass of milk, please?" Molly asked.
"Sure thing sweetie. What do you feel like Sunshine?"
"Bacon and scrambled eggs with an onion bagel and orange juice, please."
"Alright. Do you want anything to drink Alex?"
"Iced coffee, please."
"And does Mr. Grumpy want anything substantial to eat?"
Brian gave Deb a look that said more than any words could. Deb smiled innocently at him and then turned to put the order in. Since the diner was practically empty, Molly dragged Alex to sit at the counter and chat with Deb while they waited for their food. With all of the women out of earshot, Brian turned to Justin and gave him a more proper greeting, involving a rather deep kiss.
“So, did you have fun?”
Justin laid his head on Brian’s shoulder. “We ate pizza and soda and all kinds of other junk food. They forced me to watch a bunch of chick flicks with them and listen to crappy boy band music. They played around with make up and as Molly told you, I got to be a guinea pig.”
Brian smiled. “In other words, you loved every second of it.”
Justin grinned. “It was so much fun. We laughed, we cried, we ate ice cream.” Justin’s face took on a wistful expression. “Molly was so excited. When she met Alex, she gave her a hug and wouldn’t let go for about five minutes. Not that Alex would have let her go either.” Justin watched his two smiling sisters at the counter for a minute. He smiled. “It’s how it should be.”
Alex and Molly came back to the booth as Deb delivered their food. The siblings enjoyed a very satisfying breakfast while Brian sat back and watched them goof off. Alex and Justin constantly teased each other while Molly just sat there and laughed. When they were finished, Molly insisted that she could go to the restroom herself to wash up and Brian couldn’t help but laugh at how much her body language looked like Justin’s when he didn’t want any help.
After Deb had declared the meal to be ‘on the house’, she decided to take a break and slid into the booth next to Alex.
“I’m having a family dinner on Friday. You’ll all be there, right.” Justin smiled while Brian smirked. They both knew that it was more of an order than request.
“Sure Deb.”
“And you’ll come too, won’t you Rosey?”
Alex took a sip of her coffee & glanced at Justin with a question in her eyes. When he made a gesture warning her against answering in the negative, she turned to Deb.
“Of course I’ll be there.” Alex smiled.
“Great! Anytime before six. And no later.” Deb said waving her finger at Brian,
who in turn, maturely stuck his tongue out at Deb, much to every one’s amusement. Molly rejoined them at that moment while Deb got back to work.
Brian sipped his coffee. “So Alex, how long are you staying in the Pitts for?”
“At least 5 months.” Alex answered and grinned when Justin and Molly beamed at her.
Brian contemplated this for a moment and gave her his tongue-in cheek smirk. “That’s one expensive hotel bill.”
Alex met Brian’s smirk with one of her own. “Actually, I own a house here.”
“Huh?” Came the very confused, very un-Brianlike reply. Justin couldn’t help but laugh at him. Everything about Alex seemed able to catch him off guard.
“A good friend of mine passed away and left it to me.” Alex stated casually.
Brian was incredulous. “But…a house?”
“Yeah a house.”
“What’d ya do, blow him?”
Alex kicked him at the same time that Justin’s elbow connected with his side and he gestured towards Molly.
Alex looked cross. “No. He had family here, so he always kept a residence here. But there were circumstances and he left it to me instead.”
Brian raised an eyebrow questioningly and waited, but when no more answers came forth, he sipped his coffee instead.
“So, I guess I better go ahead and get the munchkin to school, huh?” Alex looked at Molly who was busy flicking balled up straw wrappers at Justin.
Molly looked particularly unenthusiastic about this. “But I don’t wanna go to school.”
“Tough Mollusk, you’re going” Justin stated, trying to look stern.
“Hrmph…fine.” Molly crossed her arms and pouted.
“Come on, Mol. We can even listen to whatever CD you want in the car.” At that, Molly perked up. “But we better get going now.”
Molly and Alex got out of the booth. After giving a quick good-bye to Brian and Justin, Molly ran over to say good-bye to Deb.
“I’ll call you later, Justy.” Alex said, and gave Justin a quick kiss on the forehead. “Brian, a pleasure as always.” Alex smirked.
The boys watched as Alex collected Molly and they left the diner, hand in hand.
~*~
Tuesday- 12:45pm
Brian left Gardner’s office and headed towards his own after an all-morning strategy meeting. He sat at his desk and quickly booted up his computer. When Cynthia entered the office to give him the run down of his afternoon schedule, Brian was surprised when, rather than immediately taking the seat opposite his desk, Cynthia first came over to him and kissed his cheek.
“What the fuck was that for?” Brian griped while making a show of whipping his cheek clear of her germs. Cynthia gave him a big grin and held up a white envelope.
“Win the ‘Publisher’s Clearinghouse’ did you?”
“Nope. Got my quarterly review.”
“Uh huh.” Brian began sorting through the papers on his desk, ignoring the woman across from him, who, due to years of working for him, wasn’t buying into his bullshit.
“As well as a rather lovely and substantial bonus.”
“Are there any messages for me?”
Cynthia remained silent until Brian finally met her gaze.
“Thank you.”
Brian rolled his eyes, annoyed. “You’re welcome.”
“Assistants don’t normally get bonuses of this magnitude.” Cynthia innocently observed.
“Yeah, well Vance may sometimes have the personality of slug, but he knows the value of a good assistant to an exec. So, my messages?”
Cynthia smirked as she consulted her notepad.
“Carrie from Eyeconic Optics called and said that she messengered over the new contracts along with the approval for the new campaign. It should be here this afternoon.”
“Good.”
“Leo Brown called. He’s going to be in Pittsburgh on a 5-hour layover this Thursday. If you’re available, he’d like to have dinner with you …”
“Make a reservation for that steak house near the airport.”
“…and ‘your young man’.”
“My what?” Brian asked taken aback.
“‘Your young man’”
“Huh?”
Cynthia smiled slyly. “When I questioned him to make sure I’d heard right, he said to tell you that he didn’t get where he was by doing business blindly. He had you thoroughly researched, as he is sure you did to him. And he would like the pleasure of meeting the ‘young man’ that you’re apparently enamored with.”
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.” Brian said in disbelief.
“Not a chance. He was rather insistent on this.”
“Insistent?”
“Completely.”
Brian sighed. “Call Justin. See if he’s available at the time Leo will be in town. After you get that squared away, patch him through to me. I want to talk to him. And since it’s already Tuesday, make the reservation ASAP.”
“Actually, I already spoke to him.” At Brian’s annoyed glare, Cynthia simply smiled and continued. “He is available for Thursday and is rather delighted in the prospect of meeting Mr. Brown. He also said to tell you that he has a mid term this afternoon and is then planning on working on a project for one of his other classes and that he would be unavailable the rest of the day.”
Brian closed his eyes and pinched his nose. “He has his Renaissance Art History mid term today and that Studio Art project’s due tomorrow.”
“He did say that if you wanted to meet him for dinner, you could. He left the address where he’d be working.” Cynthia said as she passed Brian the slip of paper she’d written the address down on.
“He’s not going to be at his studio at school?”
“No. The address looks like it might be a residential neighborhood. Perhaps a classmate’s house?”
“Probably.” Brian replied as he picked up the phone and dialed Justin’s cell phone. Even though he knew that it would be turned off, he’d just leave him a message. He nodded to Cynthia as she left.
“Leave a message and if I feel like it, I’ll call you back.”
“Lovely recording, twat. Cynthia told where you’ll be and I’ll meet you at 6:30. Hope you’re having fun with your test. Later.”
~*~
Tuesday- 6:35pm
Brian pulled the Jeep up in front of a rather impressive two-story house on Mason St. It was one of the nicer areas in Pittsburgh, besides the fact that was a total ‘breeder neighborhood’. He double-checked to make sure that he had the right address, before approaching the front door. Before he could knock, the door swung open and Brian suddenly had his arms full of a laughing blond boy.
“Hey Brian.”
“Hey.” Brian said once he managed to extract himself from Justin’s grip. Justin started to pull him into the house and was forced to stop when he felt Brian resisting.
“Wait. Aren’t you ready to go?” Brian had assumed that he was just going to pick Justin up. He didn’t think that he was going to have to socialize with one of Justin’s ‘artsy’ friends.
Justin smiled. “Come on Brian. I think you’re gonna want to come in and see something.”
Brian looked into Justin’s imploring eyes and finally relented. If only Justin knew just how much Brian would be willing to do for him when he gave Brian that look. On second thought, it was probably better, for Brian at least, that Justin didn’t know.
“Alright.” Brian sighed. “What do you want to show me? Your project?”
“Kind of.” Justin said as he pulled Brian completely into the house. Brian looked around the foyer. It stretched out before him in a square shape. Off to the left he could see what looked like a dining room and beyond that, the kitchen. In front of him was the staircase that undoubtedly led to the second floor and to the right, was a hallway with numerous doorways that Brian couldn’t see where they led.
Justin smiled brightly at Brian before grabbing his hand and leading him to the right. The passed a couple of doors, before Justin led him into a large doorway and down a step into a sunken room that was obviously a rather spacious living room. Suddenly a small tornado grabbed Brian’s legs.
“Dada!”
Brian swung the miniature version of himself into his arms and pressed a kiss to the small cheek.
“Gus? What the hel…heck are you doing here?”
Brian looked down and saw Alex sitting on the floor surrounded by the toys she and Gus had most likely been playing with.
“I played with my Justy and Ally. We had fun.” Gus smiled at his father and leaned in to whisper in his ear. “Ally’s perdy.”
“She’s perdy, huh?” Brian repeated, with a raised eyebrow, while Justin and Alex chuckled. Gus nodded his head enthusiastically. He then began to squirm to be let down and when Brian did, Gus immediately ran back to play with his newfound friend.
“Hi Brian.” Alex smiled warmly.
“Alex.” Brian nodded in greeting. Justin rolled his eyes, pulled Brian further into the room and led him to the rather comfortable looking couch. Justin took Brian’s suit jacket, since Brian had come straight from work, and indicated for him to sit down. Justin went back out to the hallway to hang it in a closet and shortly joined Brian, who was smiling as he watched Gus play with and charm Alex.
“So, how come Sonny boy’s here?”
“Hmm. You know the project that I have due tomorrow? The Studio Art one?” When Brian nodded, Justin continued. “Gus is the subject for it.”
“He is?”
“Yeah, well sort of. The assignment was for us to emulate the same feeling or emotion of a famous painting by an artist of our choosing. I decided on Mother and Child by Mary Cassatt.”
Brian nodded recalling the painting of a mother holding her child close to her. “So you used Sonny Boy for the child.”
“And Lindsey for the mother. I was supposed to have Linds and Gus do the final sitting for me today. I had the whole thing sketched and partially painted, today I was supposed to complete it and add finishing touches while they sat for me. But there was some sort of emergency at the gallery. Something about a shipment of paintings and water damage.”
“Uh-huh.”
“Anyway, I still needed to finish my painting. I had most of Lindsey done. My painting only shows her hands mostly, not much of her face. And I really needed to have Gus. So Linds called and said that she wouldn’t be able to sit for me, but that since she had already picked Gus up from day care, I could still try to work on it with him. And would I mind baby-sitting him this evening since Mel’s working on that major case and she didn’t know what time she’d be done.”
“Screws up your project and then expects you to help her out, huh.” Brian snorted and Justin smacked him in the stomach with the back of his hand.
“It wasn’t like that. And it worked out. I knew that Alex would be free and she and Linds have similar hands. Their bone structure and skin tone are very similar, so I called her and she agreed to sit for me.”
“Good. Did you finish your project?”
Justin smiled. “Yup. It’s in Alex’s studio upstairs. She converted a bedroom. Gus took to Alex immediately and didn’t mind her holding him. She also kept him entertained the entire time with stories. He likes her. And she has a TV in her studio.”
“I’m glad.” Brian pulled Justin close. “And I like you.” He murmured into Justin’s hair, causing Justin to smile into Brian’s chest.
“Dada!” Brian looked up and saw Gus standing in front of him with a rather cross expression on his face.
“What?”
“Hungee.”
“You ready for dinner?”
“Yeah.” Gus said looking crestfallen and rubbing his tummy. Alex and Justin looked on in amusement.
“So kiddies, what’s for dinner?” Brian asked and watched as Justin and Alex rolled identical eyes.
~*~
Wednesday- 1:12am
Justin lay wrapped around Brian in bed that night after a rather intense bout of fucking.
“Did you have fun tonight?”
“It was alright.”
Justin snorted. “Hey don’t bullshit me. I saw you smiling and laughing at Alex’s antics with Gus. Come on admit it, they were cute.”
Brian ignored Justin and reached for his cigarettes on the nightstand.
“So, why did that friend of hers, leave Alex that house?” Brian asked as he pulled a cigarette out of the pack. Once it was lit and he resettled against the pillows, Justin resumed his spot, laying his head on Brian’s chest.
“They were going to have a kid together.”
“Oh.”
“They were really good friends. She met him freshman year when he dropped a book on her head in the library.”
“How the hell did he manage that? And was that a good reason to befriend him?” Brian laughed and Justin’s laughter joined his.
“She said he was really apologetic and insisted that they go get her checked out. She had a mild concussion, so they released her, but she couldn’t be on her own or sleep for 24 hours, so he stayed with her and they spent the night getting to know each other. They became really good friends after that.”
“That oddly enough makes sense.”
“His family even more or less adopted her when he introduced her to them that first Thanksgiving on her own. She really needed that. She said they were really great and didn’t care at all about her sexuality. According to her, his 85-year-old Jewish grandmother, Nana Rose, said that if she wanted to be a muncher all the power to her. As long as she accepted Alex, the rest of the family relaxed and welcomed her. There aren’t any female grandchildren, so his Nana Rose taught Alex everything she knows about cooking. Like the brisket Alex made tonight. It’s apparently a traditional Jewish dish.”
“It was good.” Brian smoked and thought quietly. “Did she convert?”
Justin smiled. “Yeah, her junior year in school. Kevin had been dragging her to temple for a couple years at that point and she went to his family’s for all the holidays. She also took a couple of religion courses at school and talked to people in the congregation. It was a fairly liberal one and she said that there aren’t as many constraints on the people in Judaism than there are in Christianity. For example, they don’t believe in Hell, so no one could actually say that she was going to burn in eternal Hellfire for being a lesbian.”
“Hmm, doesn’t sound too bad of a reason. Wait, that means there are two Jewish dykes I’m gonna have to deal with on a regular basis? Ugh!” Brian groaned.
Justin lightly smacked Brian’s chest. “Alex is a lot more laid back then Mel. Besides, you and Mel get along a lot better these days, especially since she found out what you did about Stockwell.”
Justin began to unconsciously draw patterns on Brian’s chest.
“Kevin’s who she was visiting in the hospital in LA when I ran away to New York. He was staying with a friend and there was a fire in the apartment. It was really bad. Apparently he had third degree burns on 90% of his body. When they got word, Alex and his mother rushed on the next available flight to try to make it to see him before he died, or was put on a ventilator.”
“Did they make it in time?”
“Yeah, but barely. It hit her really hard, you know? I honestly wasn’t sure she’d survive.”
“Too bad she wasn’t able to get pregnant before. It might have been able to help.”
Justin sat up, ran his palm over his face, and turned so that he was facing Brian. He knew that he was one of the only people who know what he was about to share, but Alex had let him know that anything about her he wanted to tell Brian was fine.
“She was.”
Brian looked confused. “Huh?”
“She was pregnant.”
“Oh. What happened?”
“Too much stress. She miscarried a couple of weeks after Kevin died. That actually almost affected her even more than his death, since she felt like it was her fault and she was afraid that his family would be mad at her too.”
Brian looked outraged. “Why would they be mad at her?”
“That it was her fault that the only part left of Kevin was lost.”
“That’s fucking bullshit!”
Justin smiled at Brian’s defending of his sister and put his fingers to Brian’s mouth to stop the angry flow of words.
“That’s what they told her. It wasn’t her fault and that they stilled loved her.”
“Good.”
“Anyway, when she got pregnant, Kevin had Alex’s friend Reid draw up a will for him, so that Alex and the baby would be taken care of. That included leaving Alex the house here.”
Brian stubbed out his cigarette. “Well it was smart of him to make arrangements like that.”
“Yeah.” Justin said rolling fully on top of Brian. “Now, Mr. Kinney, I know that there are more important things we could be doing in bed, besides discussing my sister.”
“Oh really? Got anything in mind?” Brian asked, eyebrow raised and tongue firmly planted in cheek.
“Hmm.” Justin began kissing down Brian’s chest. “I’ve got a couple things in mind.” He said right before engulfing Brian’s hardening cock in his mouth.
~*~
Thursday- 7:36pm
“Brian, I’m so glad that you were able to join me this evening.” Leo Brown stated to Brian the following night. The men had finished their meal and were enjoying coffee, while Justin went to the restroom.
Brian took a sip of his coffee. “Of course, Leo. It was my pleasure.”
“And I must say how impressed I am with your partner. He is a delight.”
“He is. Thank you.” Brian stated proudly.
“Very impressive indeed.” Leo smiled at Justin as he sat back down at the table. “Justin, I was just telling Brian what an enjoyable evening this has been. Next time we get together, I’ll have to bring my daughter Erica. She’s just finishing up her degree at the Art Institute of Chicago. You too could probably find lots to talk about.”
“Probably.” Justin agreed smiling. “What’s her degree in?”
“She’s getting her B.F.A. with an emphasis in Art Education.” Leo stated proudly.
“What level is she planning to teach?” Justin asked curiously.
“High school.”
“Hmm.” Justin took a sip of water. “High school is probably the most difficult level to teach. Trying to pick the few students who truly enjoy art and have a passion for it out of the massive amount of students who most likely take the classes for an assumed easy ‘A’.
“Exactly. But that’s why Erica wants to teach high school kids. She says she hopes to be able to encourage all to find a passion for art, even those students who initially sign up for her class for the wrong reasons.”
“That’s a good way to think about it. It’ll probably make her a good teacher.” Justin stated, smiling brightly.
Brian sat back comfortably listening to Justin and Leo discuss art in various forms. It seemed that the esteemed businessman had learned a thing or two over the years from his daughter. ‘I’m glad Leo asked me to bring him. He can strike up a conversation with anyone. He tends to really shine in these sort of situations.’ Brian thought, smiling as both he and Leo were transfixed by the animated young man before them.
~*~
Thursday- 8:24pm
“Well, gentlemen, it was definitely a pleasure having your company this evening.” Leo stated heartily as he waited for his cab to take him back to the airport, having declined Brian’s offer of a ride.
“Anytime, Leo.” Brian said shaking the hand outstretched towards him.
“And Justin, you be sure to let me know when you have the first showing of your work, I’d love to be there. I’ll make a special trip in for it.”
Justin smiled, pleased with the compliment. “Of course, sir.”
“And give Erica a call. She’s always looking for someone to debate the merits of the Impressionist period with and I’m afraid I’m just not knowledgeable enough to compete with her arguments.”
“I’ll do that.” Justin said smiling, if possible even brighter as he grasped Leo’s hand in a firm handshake.
“Well, that’s my car, boys. It was a wonderful dinner.” Leo stated again before he getting into his waiting cab.
Brian waited until Leo’s cab had completely left before handing the valet his ticket. He turned to Justin with an indeterminable look on his face. Justin looked at Brian confused.
“What?”
Without saying anything, Brian pulled Justin to him and captured his lips in a breathtaking kiss. He ran his tongue along Justin’s lips, seeking entrance into his partner’s warm mouth to deepen the kiss. The kiss continued heatedly for a few minutes, the boys only breaking apart when the valet discreetly cough and held out Brian’s keys.
Justin blushed. “What was that for?”
Brian rolled his lips into his mouth, his eyes gazing softly at Justin. Instead of answering, he treated Justin to a rare, beautiful smile and pulled him towards the car, so that they could hurry home and he could reward his twink properly for his outstanding behavior.
~*~
Friday- 6:49pm
“Brian, come on! We’re gonna be late.” Justin yelled impatiently toward the bedroom.
“So?” Came the nonchalant reply.
“Fine. We’ll be late to dinner. And when Deb asks us why, I’ll just point her in your direction.”
“I’m ready, I’m ready.” Brian emerged from the bedroom, looking extremely hot in skin-tight jeans and a tight silk black t-shirt.
Justin rolled his eyes. “You spend more time in the bathroom in one day, than most people spend in a month.”
Brian grabbed Justin around the waist and pulled him so their bodies were flush together. “Yeah, but it’s worth the wait isn’t it?”
“Ehh…” Justin faked disinterest and received a smarting slap to his ass.
“Yeah, well we’ll see who’s begging me to fuck them at the end of the night.” Brian retorted looking smug and grinding his crotch into Justin’s.
Justin’s face flushed with pleasure at Brian’s words and his dick began to harden at Brian’s movements. He squirmed to get out of Brian’s embrace before things could get too far and pulled Brian out the door.
~*~
Friday- 6:55pm
“Motherfucking piece of shit!” Brian shouted out the car window. When he heard Justin laughing, he barked an annoyed, “What?”
“You are such a drama queen.” Justin said shaking his head and laughing as Brian stopped at a red light. Brian turned to look at him.
“It’s my fault that that asshole can’t drive?”
“Brian, he can drive just fine! You’re just pissy that his car caused the rainwater from earlier today to splash the ‘vette.”
“Am not.” Brian mumbled irritably.
“Oh, so this is you, not being pissy?”
“Keep it up twat and you can walk home later.”
“I’m not worried. I’m sure that won’t be a problem.” Justin said smugly.
“Speaking of rides, are you sure your sister didn’t need one tonight? We could have picked her up.”
“I know and so does she. It was really nice of you to offer.” Justin smiled and placed his hand on Brian’s thigh, rubbing softly. “But she said she had errands she was going to do today and she wasn’t sure what time she would be done.”
“Fine.”
“I think she was going to go see Josh and Dana, Daph’s parents. And then she was going to meet Mel and Lindsey for lunch.”
“The munchers? Why, so they can compare dildos?”
“Okay, first of all…ew! I’d like to not think about my sister that way.” Justin said, grimacing. “And Lindsey invited Alex to lunch when we picked Gus up Tuesday. They had started talking and Linds said they should get together and Mel happened to call and they set up today.”
“Interesting.”
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“Oh come on. I know that tone of voice. What, are you afraid of my sister now? I mean I know that you just got over the fear of my mother, but really…”
“I was NOT afraid of your mother.”
Justin rolled his eyes. “Sure Brian, I believe you. I think you’re just afraid of my sister, who is probably one of the most insightful and analytically intuitive people ever, getting to know Lindsey, who knows you better than practically anyone. What was it you told me that guy said once…?”
“That’s a specific question.” Brian scoffed.
“…That you’re a shrink’s wet dream? Well, Alex is basically a shrink. And think about what a shrink could do with the knowledge that Lindsey has on you.”
Brian threw an annoyed glance at Justin, determined to not let him see that he was right. Alex had already proved herself to be shockingly adept at figuring him out and he sure as hell didn’t want Linds making it easier for her. Justin studied Brian for a bit before looking out the window to hide his smirk. Alex may be good, but no one could read Brian like him. ‘Brian’s scared of my big sister. That’s so cute.’ He bit his tongue to keep from laughing. He knew that if Brian had any idea what he was thinking, he’d throw him out of the car.
~*~
Friday- 7:08pm
“Sunshine!” Deb rushed forward to give Justin a hug as soon as he walked in the door.
“Hey Deb.”
“How did the rest of your tests go, sweetie? Ok?”
“Yeah, I think I did well.” Justin smiled.
“Good. I’m looking forward to you coming back to work next week. I adore Kiki, but I prefer working my shifts with you.” That having been said, she pinched Justin’s cheek and went back to the kitchen to check on dinner. Michael and Ted where setting the table, while Emmett helped Deb take things out of the oven and Vic was relaxing in his chair.
“Hey Vic.” Brian and Justin both greeted Vic as they joined him in the living room.
“Hey boys. How’s tricks?” Vic replied with a grin. Before the boys, namely Brian could answer, Deb called them into the kitchen.
“Why don’t you boys help put these things on the table?”
“Sure Deb.” Justin answered happily. “When are the girls getting here?”
“Oh, they’re not. They called and said that Gus wasn’t feeling too well, so they decided to stay home rather than leave him with a sitter.”
“Hey Mikey, where’s the professor and Mikey Junior?”
Michael laughed and chucked a dishtowel at Brian before answering. “Hunter’s at his friend Nathan’s house for the night and Ben’s got mid-terms to grade.” Michael turned to his mother. “We’ll probably stop by tomorrow night for leftovers.”
“Ok.” The guys finished setting the items on the table and began to sit down.
Justin looked around at everyone sitting. “We should probably go ahead and start eating. I’m not sure when Alex’ll get here.”
“Oh hun, Rosey’s been here since 2:00pm.” Deb answered.
“She has?” Justin asked confused.
“Yeah.” Deb smiled and began passing platters around. “She wanted to spend some time getting to know Vic and me. Well, mostly Vic. I’ve gotten a lot of chances to talk to her lately since she’s been coming to the diner so often. Anyway, Vic’s stomach started to feel a little queasy, so she went to go get him some 7-Up for him at the store.”
“Oh.” Justin looked a bit perplexed. Not that he should have been surprised. Alex always was able to charm people wherever she went. Just like a certain other Taylor seemed to have a knack for. Soon everyone’s plates were filled, except for Vic who was having a bowl of chicken soup.
Everyone was eating and catching up on each other’s lives, when the front door opened and Alex walked in brandishing a bottle of soda, more like a weapon than a beverage. Deb got Vic a glass of ice, which Alex filled with the lemon-lime drink before giving it to Vic and sitting down in a huff.
“I had to go to 3 Giant Eagles to find it. None of the first two damn stores had anything even remotely resembling 7-Up. It was like they had a rush on lemon-lime soda. They were even out of that generic crap that tastes like watered down, lemon-flavored piss.”
When Alex finished her tirade she noticed that everyone was looking at her oddly, except for Justin who was calmly fixing her a plate of food.
“What?”
The family looked at each other, wordlessly talking, until Ted finally said, “Well, she may look like Justin, but that rant was pure Brian.” Everyone chuckled.
“I don’t know. I can kind of see where the princess here might have picked up a few habits.” Vic said winking at the siblings and causing them to smile.
“Yeah, well the one thing you guys should learn about Alex is, you really don’t want to piss her off.” Justin said knowingly.
“Yeah, I kind of figured that out the other day.” Brian said with an eyebrow raised, reminding Alex of what they discussed at their shared lunch.
“Deb this food is delicious.” Alex stated after sampling some.
“I’m glad you like it Rosey. I’ll be glad to teach you to cook, if you’d like.” Deb offered smiling.
“Alex already knows how to cook. She’s really good at it too.” Justin answered before Alex had the chance. The guys chucked, also remembering a previous conversation where Alex had been unable to answer any of the questions directed at her.
“Deb, I know the basics of cooking, but I would love to learn more.” Alex replied causing Deb to beam in happiness. She was always looking for someone willing to listen to her. Even if it was masked as a cooking lesson.
“Alex, you’ll come with us to Babylon later, won’t you?” Emmett asked, looking forward to spending more time with the newest member of the family.
“Of course, after hearing so much about the place, how could I resist?” Alex replied, grinning at the group.
~*~
Friday- 10:23pm
When they arrived at Babylon after dinner, it was already alive and thumping. Music was pounding out of the speakers as half-naked, glistening bodies writhed to the beat. The group moved through the crowd and eventually made their way to the bar. Once everyone had a drink, they turned to watch the action on the dance floor.
“So this is Babylon?” Alex asked looking around interested.
“Yup.”
“Huh. So, tell me Justy, which pedestal did you dance on exactly?” Alex asked innocently as she threw an arm around Justin’s shoulders. Justin’s face turned beet red, as the entire group laughed good-naturedly, remembering Justin’s failed go-go career. Justin joined in and kiddingly knocked Alex into Emmett. Everyone watched the crowd, occasionally commenting on one dancer or another.
Finally, Emmett polished off his Cosmo and said, “Well boys and girl, I don’t know about the rest of you, but I wore my dancing shoes tonight and I intend to use ‘em. Who’s with me?”
Justin and Alex agreed, as did Ted. Michael said he’d join them as soon as he finished his beer. He moved next to Brian and together, they watched the foursome dance in the center of the floor.
“He looks really happy.” Michael commented quietly.
Brian smiled at his dancing twink. “He is.”
“Well, I really like Alex. She’s funny and nice and she can even put you in your place…I didn’t think anyone could do that.” Michael said smiling and referring to a moment during dinner when Alex managed to crawl into Brian’s brain, yet again and point out some flaws in a few of his credos and cynical proclamations.
“I’m gonna join them. You coming?”
Brian was drinking his beer and made a motion with his hand that he’d join them when he finished. He watched as Michael made his way to the group and enthusiastically joined in their dancing.
Brian watched as Justin and Alex danced together. He noticed how they were laughing and practically glowing. Each had a smile that was so bright, it was as if they were competing to see who could blind everyone in the room first. But he was glad. For Justin. And for Alex. He still didn’t know her that well, but he had a feeling that would change drastically, especially if Justin had anything to say about it. And strangely, enough Brian didn’t really mind. He’d be hard pressed to admit it, but he kind of liked her. As long as she kept her ‘professional opinions’ to herself and stopped fucking psychoanalyzing him every chance she got.
Justin laughed as Alex tried to copy Emmett’s patented ‘praise Jesus’ move. Smiling, Brian set his empty beer bottle down and set out to join his family and reclaim his twink. For a couple of dances. Or for the rest of the night. Or maybe for the rest of their lives. But you didn’t hear that from him.
The End....finally!