It's A Wonderful Kinney Life

Brian Asshole Kinney sat at the bar in Woody's. He threw back another drink and surveyed the room. He'd had every fuckable guy in there and he had no intention of doing repeats. Only one person had been worthy of a repeat and that person had left him again. This time for a job in Hollywood. At least it wasn't for another scruffy fiddler.

It was Christmas Eve and he had been invited to Lindsay's for a drink. She and Mel were still apart, but he would be able to see Gus. He was supposed to go to Michael's for dinner. The professor and the littlest hustler would try to make him feel welcome, but he would be an intruder into their hetero family sensibility. He was scheduled to go to Deb's tomorrow for Christmas dinner, but he didn't think he could stand all the faces staring at him in pity because he was all alone. Therefore, he sat at the bar at Woody's, not going anywhere and trying to drown his sorrows.

Brian ordered another shot and wallowed in self-pity for a little longer. That fucking Justin had turned his life upside down, made him want things that he never imagined he could have, made him do things he knew he should never have done, and then he had walked away, and left him all alone again.

They had been happy when Justin first went to Hollywood, sad at being separated, but happy with what they both saw as a common future. For the last month though, things had started to go wrong. When they talked on the phone one or the other of them was always in a hurry. Their schedules and the three hour time difference made it difficult to even have any quality phone sex.

Brian knew Justin had got laid a few times since he had been out there in La La Land. So Brian had returned to his old ways, visiting the backrooms and screwing around. The only problem was that it had all lost the luster of yesteryear. It wasn't what he wanted anymore. What he wanted was three thousand miles away.

Brian sighed and signaled for another shot. He downed it and rubbed his fingers against his temples. Three days ago he and Justin had had a rip roaring fight. Justin was supposed to be in Pittsburgh the following day but he had called to say that Brett had assigned him a job that required him to research and then draw up the plans for Ice-Tina's lair. He wanted it all ready for the second of January when filming would resume. Brian had told him to bring his work to Pittsburgh and Justin had refused. He said that if he came Brian would fuck him every minute of every hour of every day and he would get absolutely no work done. He was going to finish the project before he returned to Pittsburgh. It was the only sensible thing to do. He said they could have Christmas when he got there, even if it was several days after the actual holiday. He had the nerve to tell Brian that since he knew the man never celebrated Christmas anyway, what difference would it make?

That was when Brian had hung up on him. They had not spoken since. And then Brian had proceeded to demolish the Christmas tree and all the presents he had so carefully assembled to surprise Justin for their first real Christmas together. That was one of the main reasons he didn't want to go home. The remnants of his rampage littered the floor of the loft and he didn't want to look at them or deal with them.

The bartender set another drink in front of Brian and he picked it up and polished it off. He felt like crap and the alcohol didn't seem to be having its usual medicinal effect. He was already plastered, but he could still remember everything. The pain and loneliness were no less.

"I should have fucking died when I tried that scarfing," Brian muttered to himself. "Would have been better for everyone. Fucking Mikey!"

"What did you say, Sweetie?" Mysterious Marilyn asked as she slid onto the stool next to him.

"Piss off," Brian barked.

"Feeling sorry for yourself?" she persisted. "Why don't I tell your fortune and maybe you can see the sun behind the dark clouds."

"Sun," he scoffed. "Sunshine."

"Yes, Sunshine after the storm. Let's see what the cards hold." She began turning the Tarot cards.

"Going to warn me about more flat tires?" Brian mumbled sarcastically.

"Hmm, didn't help much the other time, did it?" she said still turning the cards.

Brian snorted and sipped on his latest drink. "Too bad I didn't drive into an overpass and kill us all. Everybody would be better off if I wasn't around."

"That's not true," Marilyn replied.

"And what the fuck do you know about it?"

"It's all here in the cards."

"I don't believe any of that crap. Leave me alone," Brian said with a frown and an aborted attempt to stand up.

Marilyn assisted him back onto the center of his stool. "You think the world would be better off if you never existed?" she asked.

"I know it would."

"Then let's just see about that."

"What do you mean?" Brian asked.

"You'll find out in a minute."

Just then a good looking young man that Brian had never seen before sidled up to him. He had bleached blond hair and was slender like Justin, but he most decidedly wasn't Justin.

"Hey," the blond said.

"Fuck off," Brian replied.

"I thought maybe you'd like a trip to the backroom with me," the guy persisted.

Brian looked up and studied him more closely. He wasn't half bad, although he somehow seemed to look slightly familiar now. "Why not?" he said making a spur of the moment decision. Having his cock sucked always made him feel better, even if the feeling only lasted for a few minutes.

Brian stood and wobbled as one hand grasped the edge of the bar. The young man leaned against Brian and wrapped his arm around his waist. He started to walk towards the backroom door allowing Brian to lean against him and stay vertical.

As they passed through the doorway Brian felt his head swim. He wondered if he was going to pass out. He didn't think he was that drunk, although he had been a little out of practise lately. Brian looked around and saw no naked men, heard no cries of pleasure, smelled no sex or testosterone. He smelled pumpkin pie.

"What the fuck?" he gasped as he looked around at what could only be the kitchen of his childhood home.

"Look familiar?" the young man asked.

"Who the fuck are you and where's the backroom?" Brian demanded stepping away from his strange companion. He suddenly felt sober.

"You can call me Jason and I think you know where we are."

"But how?"

"Just observe."

Brian heard the sound of crying coming from the next room. Slowly he inched forward to see what was making the noise. A ten year old Claire lay at the bottom of the stairs. Tears streamed down her face and she held her arm gingerly like she was in pain.

"Clumsy little bitch," Jack yelled at her. "I'll have to show you how to be more careful." He grabbed Claire by the sore arm and yanked her up. She screeched in pain and tried to cower away from her father. He slapped her hard across the face. "When I tell you to bring me a beer, you fucking do it, and don't you dare spill a drop. Do I make myself clear?" She nodded and he gave her a hard shove. She fell against the steps with a thud and began crying even harder. "Get the fuck up to your room and shut that big mouth of yours." Claire stood shakily and limped up the stairs.

Brian tried to move forward to get at his father. He can't see you or hear you," Jason said. "You can't help her."

"Then what the fuck are we doing here?" Brian demanded glaring at the back of his father's head.

"Without you around to be his punching bag, Claire got the brunt of it. She'll die from a fall down the stairs before she's twelve," Jason explained coolly.

"What? Die? Are you serious?" Brian asked frowning. He might have had his differences with Claire but he never wished her dead.

"Come," Jason said leading Brian back through the kitchen. The familiar house began to fade away to be replaced with the living room of Debbie's house.

"Why are we here?" Brian asked suddenly feeling fearful after what he had seen at his former home.

"Wait and see," Jason said patiently.

Just then Michael came down the stairs followed by a teary eyed Debbie.

"What's wrong?" Brian asked.

"Listen and you'll find out," Jason told him.

"Somehow we have to get a fitting tombstone for Vic. We owe him that much," Debbie said as she wiped at her eyes.

"We just can't afford it, Ma," Michael whined. "I don't make enough at the Big Q and you can barely pay the mortgage on this place."

"If you would try for a promotion…" Debbie suggested with a sigh.

"You know I never graduated high school. I don't qualify for promotion. I'll always be a clerk there."

"But Vic deserves better. If only we could have looked after him, he might not be dead."

"Ma," Michael whined.

"What does this mean?" Brian asked.

"Michael will be stuck at the Big Q for the rest of his life. You weren't there to help him through high school. He finally dropped out. He never got the comic book store because you never gave him Captain Astro. He never met Ben as a result."

"Fuck," Brian said shaking his head.

"Come with me," Jason said and they walked out of the house and into the living room of the munchers.

"What now?" Brian demanded. "Not my son," he groaned.

"You have no son because you never existed."

"Shit!"

Melanie and Lindsay were arguing in the dining room.

"She's your daughter," Lindsay said looking at a little girl asleep in her playpen.

"I can't look after her all the time and be a lawyer too," Melanie said.

"You were the one who wanted a child," Lindsay replied.

"I thought you could look after her."

"I have a career too, and I'm sick of you taking advantage of me all the time, just because you think your career is more important than mine."

"Well, the law is more important than painting pictures."

"Fuck you, Mel!"

"Maybe we need to re-evaluate our relationship," Melanie said with a superior smirk.

"Maybe we do."

"Nothing seems to have changed here," Brian observed. "They're still fighting and it looks like they're going to split."

"You don't affect everything, Brian."

"I thought I did," Brian said with a smirk.

Jason shook his head at the arrogance of the man, but he knew they weren't through yet. "There is no Gus because you never existed. That's what I wanted you to see."

"That's probably just as well," Brian said sadly.

"Let's go," Jason said and they walked out of the house and into a hospital corridor.

"Fuck! What are we doing here?" Brian asked thinking this would be Justin's stay in the hospital. He didn't want to once again have to live through those long nights when Justin was in a coma.

"You'll see," Jason said. He led Brian towards a room.

"It's empty," Brian said.

"That's right."

"So why are we here?"

"Ted Schmidt was in that room until a few minutes ago. He's dead. He named Melanie as the one to pull the plug and she did after he OD'd with Blake. You weren't around to delay it and give him time to wake up."

"Fuck!"

"Not any more," Jason said.

"Why are you doing this?" Brian asked.

"You wanted to cease to exist. You thought the world would be better off without you. Well, this is what it would be if you weren't here," Jason said.

"Are we done?" Brian asked feeling slightly sick to his stomach. This was all too much to comprehend.

"One more place to go," Jason said ushering Brian down the hall and into the underground parking that he knew only too well."

"No," Brian reacted. "No! Get me out of here."

"You have to watch," Jason said pulling Brian along beside him.

"No, I can't, not again," Brian moaned.

"Look," Jason said apparently without pity.

"Brian watched as Justin and someone else, a young boy about the same age, walked towards a car in the parking garage.

"It was a great prom," Justin gushed with that radiant smile.

"Not too bad," the kid replied with a smile.

"Got so much better after you arrived, Ric."

"You say the sweetest things."

They leaned in and kissed each other as Brian saw a shadow move beside one of the cars.

"Please," Brian moaned. "I can't watch this."

"Observe," Jason said sternly.

"I'll bring the car up," Ric said. "It's in a tight space."

"Sure," Justin said. "Hurry back."

Eric walked away to get the car. Brian watched the shadow stand up and become Chris Hobbes complete with baseball bat.

"No!" Brian screamed. "Stop! Justin, oh fuck, Justin!" His voice broke as he screamed to no avail.

The next sound was the baseball bat connecting with the back of Justin's head. The boy collapsed in a heap and his blood spattered the concrete. Chris Hobbes stood over the inert body and took another swing bashing in the side of Justin's head for good measure.

Brian ran at the boy with the bat but he had no effect on the corporeal body. Hobbes dropped the bat and ran to his own car. He peeled away as Ric arrived with his car. Ric saw Justin's body lying in an ever increasing pool of blood. He ran over to him and screamed for him to wake up. Nothing happened and he pulled out his cell phone and called 911. Brian knew it was far too late for that.

"You weren't there to call his name and change where the bat hit him. You weren't there to stop the second blow."

"But he shouldn't be here if I didn't come to his prom."

"He never met you. He met Ric at the library and they were seeing each other. He still went to the prom with Daphne."

"He's dead?" Brian asked. Jason nodded. "I can't stand this. Please, let me go."

"You're free now," Jason said. "By the way, my full name's Jason Kemp, and without you, Rikert and Stockwell are going to get away with my murder. Stockwell will be elected mayor, and the repression will begin."

"Jesus," Brian said. He felt himself shaking all over.

"You okay, Sweetie?" Mysterious Marilyn asked as Brian found himself once again sitting on the stool in Woody's.

"What?" Brian asked looking around.

"I asked if you were all right. You look rather pale," Marilyn replied.

"I don't feel so good."

"You look pretty hot to me," Justin said from behind him.

"Justin?" Brian said turning at the sound of the familiar soft voice.

"You still recognize me, don't you?" Justin asked with a grin.

"Fuck yes!" Brian cried taking the slim body into his arms and scorching his lips with a blistering kiss. "How did you get here?" he asked when he broke the kiss.

"You know there's this thing called flight. The Wright brothers at Kittyhawk, North Carolina figured out…"

He didn't get a chance to finish that statement as Brian pulled him into another long and smoldering kiss. Mysterious Marilyn smiled fondly at them as she watched from her stool.

"I think you better take me home, Brian, or fuck me in the backroom."

"Let's go home. I don't think I want to go in there again," Brian said giving the door to the backroom a wary look.

"Fine by me, but what happened at the loft. I dropped my bags off there. It looks like someone trashed the place."

"Someone did," Brian said with a smirk.

"Who?"

"I'll explain it all later, in a day or two, when I let you come up for air." He slung his arm over Justin's shoulder and they made their way to the door.

Suddenly Brian heard a little bell ring. He turned and saw a nice looking guy holding mistletoe with a little bell attached over the head of another young man. He waggled the mistletoe and the young man kissed him and then they smiled at each other.

"Holiday cheer," Brian said kissing Justin once more.

"You've definitely got some this year," Justin grinned and kissed him back.

They heard the bell tinkle again as the two men kissed once more.

"Way to go, Jason," Mysterious Marilyn said as she looked skyward and then returned to her cards. Arm in arm Brian and Justin walked out the door.

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