I Will Remember You

Chapter 11

~ The Diner ~

A few weeks after the cruise

Author's note: I've never been real sure about the age difference between Justin and Molly, so she's a little older here than canon.

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Justin was sitting at the kitchen table, staring at the unopened mail laying infront of him, when Tee walked in. Taking in the scene, Tee walked over to the table, sat down and began staring at the mail as well. After a moment of this, he glanced up at Justin who hadn't moved. "It doesn't appear to be doing anything. How long are we suppose to wait?"

Sighing, Justin picked up one of the envelopes and tossed it to Tee. The return address was Pittsburgh. It was from Jennifer Taylor. Tee placed the envelope to his forehead and with the appearance of deep concentration, he intoned. "I see a room full of flowers…and lots of people…a few weepy eyes and sniffles…there's a man standing near the front of the room, dressed in a tux…yes…and you're walking with your mother down the isle… yes, yes… such a beautiful scene…"

Laughing, Justin pulled the envelope away from Tee and started to open it. "Can't you ever be serious?" He asked, knowing the answer was no.

"Oh, come on, Jus. Your mom asked you weeks ago to 'give her away' when she gets married this summer. I promise, it won't hurt a bit." Tee grinned.

Justin humphed, "That's what you think. You're not even planning to go."

Tee laughed, "Well, it's not *my* mom getting married. I'm sure I can find something better to do with my time…get an ingrown toe nail removed, go to hetero bar and pick up chicks, eat pussy…"

Justin shook his head, trying to act disappointed that his friend wasn't going to attend with him, but losing the battle at Tee's description of things he'd rather do than attend a wedding for people he barely know.

"Well, at least I still have Molly." Justin said, acting offended.

Tee just laughed again. He knew Justin wasn't really upset, he just didn't want to go himself and felt that if he had to miserable, so should everyone else. But Jus had promised to work on the relationship with his mother, and she had practically begged him to attend. The only good part was that Molly would be coming to stay with them while Jennifer and her new husband went on their honeymoon.

Justin sighed to himself. The things you do for your family…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Three days before the wedding ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The boys had opted to drive to Pittsburgh from S. Carolina instead of flying, which cost money that they didn't have. While Jennifer would have gladly paid her son's airfare, Justin had insisted that Tee come with him, even if he didn't attend the actual ceremony. Having arranged to meet Brian in Pittsburg while he was there, Tee was amiable enough.

They'd driven straight through and arrived shortly after dinnertime. Molly had been thrilled to see them both. Jennifer had been overjoyed that her son had made it and had even greeted Tee cordially, in fine WASP tradition. They'd chatted for a while, then headed up to bed, Justin and Tee sharing Justin's old room.

Tee woke the next morning, seeing a figure standing at the window watching the sunrise. He suffered a quick flashback to Brian and the cruise. "What's got you up so early?" Tee managed to say through his yawn. Normal people shouldn't be awake at such an ungodly hour.

Hearing his roommate's voice, Justin turned from the window and walked over to the bed. "I think we need to talk." He said, his voice serious.

The last thing Tee wanted at daybreak was a serious conversation, but when Justin wanted to talk, he wouldn't give up until he'd gotten what he wanted. Might as well get it over with. "OK, what's got your panties in a bunch this morning?"

Justin ignored the comment. "I think it's time we told mom the truth."

Even though he knew what Justin was talking about, he decided to play dumb. Maybe he'd give up and go away. "About what?"

"About us, about our relationship. I think we've kept it a secret long enough." Justin wasn't letting this go.

"What have you been keeping secret?" Molly asked, having just opened the door. She walked over and flopped down on the bed.

Justin rolled his eyes, "Haven't you ever heard of knocking?"

Tee smiled affectionately at the girl, "Justin wants to spill the beans about our 'real relationship'."

"Oh, I think that you should." Molly nodded. "It's getting tiresome trying to catch myself before I say the wrong thing around here."

Justin smirked at Tee, "Guess that's two votes for."

Tee thought it over for a moment, "You know that I was never really for keeping this a secret to begin with, but I'm not so sure this is the right time."

Justin and Molly exchanged glances, not sure what Tee was getting at. Seeing their confusion, Tee tried to clarify. "Listen, your mom's getting married in a few days. This should be a happy time for her. Springing something like this on her…well, it's bound to upset her." Both of the others could see his point.

"Maybe we could wait until they get back from their honeymoon." Molly said, looking at Justin to see what he thought.

Justin nodded, "OK, we've waited this long. We can wait just a bit longer."

In agreement, the three got up start their day.

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"So, you going to meet Brian today?" Justin asked Tee.

"Umm, need to call and see if he made it down or not." Tee responded around a mouthful of cereal. He glanced at the clock on the wall. "Want to come?"

Although Justin would have liked to finally meet Tee's friend from the cruise, he knew his mom and Molly had other plans for him. "I think I have to get my tux fitted for the wedding." Jus grimaced. "And they said something about shopping this afternoon. Mom wants to buy some 'back to school' clothes for Molly and me."

Tee grinned, "Great! I could use some new clothes." He and Justin were about the same size, so they were constantly 'borrowing' each other's stuff. Truth be told, their clothes had gotten so mixed up over the past year that they really didn't know whose was whose anymore.

Finishing his cereal, Tee headed up to the bedroom to find his cell phone. Even though it was still early (by Tee's standards) Brian sounded wide awake when he answered the phone.

"You're up early." Brian greeted

Tee laughed, "And you never sleep."

Although Tee couldn't see it, Brian smiled into the phone. "I was getting ready to head out for breakfast. Interested?"

At nineteen, Tee considered a bowl of cereal an appetizer, not a meal. "Sure, where and when?"

"Liberty Diner in about an hour. Think you can find it?" Having spent the past summer here, Tee knew his way around fairly well. He had never been to the diner before, but was sure he'd have no trouble finding it.

"No prob. See ya."

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Michael was already waiting at the diner when Brian arrived. It had been hard to lose someone who felt so much like family and who had been just a big part of his life for so long. So, at Tee's prompting, Brian had called Michael and they were attempting to patch together their fractured friendship.

Deb, of course, was delighted to see her 'lost boy' home again, even if it was only for a few days. Emmett and Ted had shown up as well and they were sitting in 'their' booth, catching Brian up on the things happening in the Pitts.

Tee spotted Brian sitting towards the back of the diner as he walked in. When he saw Michael sitting next to him, the imp in him took over. He may have talked Brian into giving Mikey another chance, but that didn't mean that Mikey should get off easily. Having talked to Brian enough to know what his life here had been like, Tee knew just how to get under Mikey's skin.

Sauntering up to the table and ignoring everyone but Brian, Tee slid unto Brian's lap, wrapping his arms around the older man's shoulders. In his most sultry voice, he said. "Hey, baby. Miss me?"

Not knowing that Tee was even in the state, Michael's eyes widened in shock. He couldn't believe this twink was showing up in his life… Brian's life…again.

Seeing the slight smile on Tee's face at Michael's expression, Brian knew exactly what the kid was up to. And to be honest, he didn't mind at all. He pulled Tee's face down and kissed him, expecting that would get a rise out of his old friend.

Emmett and Ted had been watching the scene unfold with amusement. "And who is this delicious morsel?" Emmett purred.

Brian smiled, tongue in check, and introduced Tee around the table. Deb, having witnessed the little scene as well, walked over to see what was going on in time to be included in the introductions.

"Well, Bright Eyes, I can see Brian's been busy in NY." Deb smacked Brian in the head with her order pad. "And when were you planning on telling anyone else about this?"

"I think I just did." Brian replied calmly. He watched the reactions around the table with amusement as Deb took their orders.

As his mother walked away to place their orders, Michael finally found his voice, "What the fuck are you doing here?!"

Emmett and Ted looked surprised at Michael's outburst. They hadn't heard the 'cruise' stories.

Tee managed to contain his laughter and just smiled slyly, "It's nice to see you again too, Michael. And Rick sends his love."

Michael turned slightly red as he realized that Emmett and Ted were hanging on every word. "Shouldn't you be in school or something?" He said lamely.

Tee made a tisk sound with his tongue. "It's summer time, Michael. Time to spend some quality time with my boyfriend." He ran his hand slowly up and down Brian's arm, which was around his waist.

Brian curled his bottom lip in, trying not to laugh as three mouths almost hit the floor. He knew the thoughts that were going through their heads. Brian Kinney with a boyfriend? And publicly admitting it? Was the apocalypse coming?

Well, they would just have to get use to the new, improved Brian Kinney. One that didn't use his reputation as a shield to hide behind. He'd made that mistake with Justin. He was determined not to make the same one again. So he'd let Tee play his little game and let the others believe what they wanted.

Tee gave Brian a slight wink. He was leading the others on and enjoying every second of it. He wondered what they would think if they knew that Brian and his 'boyfriend' had never had any sort of physical relationship. As Brian said, 'you don't fuck your friends'. And besides, they still had that wager that neither was willing to concede.

Emmett was the first to recover, "OK, Tee, dish. How did you and the Stud of Liberty Avenue meet?"

So Tee regaled them with tall tales of their antics on the cruise. They especially enjoyed learning that Michael had loosened up a little and found someone while on the cruise as well. Brian didn't say much, just interjected a comment now and then. Michael sat in the corner with steam coming out of his ears.

Brian had to admit, Tee had a way a spinning a story to make it more interesting. He never actually strayed from the truth (except for the boyfriend thing) but Brian thought the cruise Tee described sounded a lot more fun than the one he'd been on. By the time their food arrived, Tee had Emmett and Ted eating out of his hands (figuratively, although they would have gladly done so literally if he had offered).

Faced with the dilemma of how to eat with his arms full of twink, Tee solved the problem by 'feeding' Brian his breakfast. Remembering how Brian had teased him on the cruise with the fruit and cheese, Tee put everything he'd learned into practice, carefully gauging how well he was doing by the response of the others at the table. Apparently, he had learned that lesson fairly well. Ted was practically salivating. Emmett kept licking his lips as he watched them. Micheal was getting redder and was stabbing his breakfast as if it had offended him.

Hurriedly finishing his breakfast, Michael excused himself saying he needed to open the store. Tee's eyes sparkled as he watched Michael leave the diner. Glancing at Brian, they both dissolved into laughter, although Brian's was much more subdued than Tee's. "You are so evil, teasing Mikey like that." Brian smirked.

Tee grinned in response, "Oh, but he's so easy…"

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After Brian and Tee left the diner, Ted and Emmett exchanged looks. Neither were surprised at Michael's response. He'd never be able to accept Brian with someone else. Deb walked over, looking at the door that Brian and 'Bright Eyes' (as she'd dubbed him) had just left through.

"Can you believe it? Brian Kinney admitting he has a twink boyfriend?" Emmett was titillated.

Deb actually felt proud of her boy. Maybe he was finally growing up. "I think it's great that he's letting someone in finally. Nobody wants to grow old alone."

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Brian looked over at the teen as they got into his jeep. "You know, you're going to ruin my reputation with this boyfriend talk."

Tee grinned back, "Then I guess we'll just have to do something to ensure it stays intact. How about taking me to that club… Babylon?… tonight. Show me your kingdom, my lord, Brian."

Brian shook his head with a smile. He couldn't remember when he'd enjoyed something so much that didn't involve fucking or sucking. "Babylon, it is."

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