Looking Both Ways

 

It was a few days after Christmas and the guys were enjoying just being alone with their fireplace. That’s where they were – in quiet contemplation on the floor of the loft - when Brian broke the silence.

“OK, Kiddo,” he said. “New Year’s Eve is coming up and you haven’t said a word about it. That makes me wonder if it’s gonna be worse than usual. How many parties have you got us signed up for this year?”

“Just pretty much the same as last year,” Justin told him. “We’ll need to start out about 7:00 and make a few stops and we should be back here by 3 AM. I didn’t think you’d want to talk about it so I didn’t bring up the subject. If it was going to be worse than last year, I would have told you. You’ll enjoy yourself. You always do. It’s thinking about it in advance that bothers you. Maybe it would be better if we didn’t.”

“Yeah,” Brian considered, “But I do want to tell you something so you won’t think I didn’t tell you something I should have.”

“Gee whiz, Kinney,” Justin laughed softly. “I’d never accuse you of something like that because I know you’d never do anything like that.”

“Cut the teasing, Baby,” Brian warned him with a smile. “You’d like nothing better than to accuse me of something and you know it.”

“It saddens me to hear you say that, Bri,” Justin smiled back. “So go ahead and tell me what you think you should. You know you can tell me anything.”

“Are we planning to see Brandon and Jason at all over the New Year’s holiday?” Brian seemingly changed the subject. “I know they have family stuff and so do we.”

“Not on New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day, Brian,” Justin replied. “You want to try to fit them in somehow.”

“Do you?” Brian turned the question around.

“OK, Kinney,” Justin responded. “I’m getting the message now. You don’t have anything to tell me at all. You think I have something to tell you. Yeah, Jason wanted us to have dinner with them on New Year’s Eve at that place Brandon owns part of, Harp and Shillelagh. They wanted it about 5:00 and we could make that but I know how tired you get on New Year’s Eve and how cranky you get about it so I told Jason I didn’t think we could make it.”

“You didn’t tell him you thought I was too old to do all that stuff, did you?” Brian was laughing. “I bet you did.”

“Now you cut it out, Brian Kinney,” Justin demanded, in good spirits though. “I might think that, but I would never say it to anybody. I wouldn’t want them to think I’m stuck with some old geezer who can’t get around…. Were you talking to Brandon, Brian?”

“Yep, I was,” Brian admitted. “He made me the same offer as Jason made to you. He didn’t tell me that Jason had mentioned it to you though. Maybe he didn’t know. But I knew right away. I know how you guys operate.”

“Hey Brian,” Justin defended himself. “We aren’t going. I didn’t try to get you to go. I didn’t tell Jason to have Brandon call you. I told Jason we couldn’t make it. We aren’t going…. Unless you told Brandon we would…. You did, didn’t you? You told Brandon we’d eat with them at Harp and Shillelagh.”

“Did not, Wise Guy,” Brian defended himself in return. “I told him I’d ask you about it and see what you thought. And that’s what I wanted to tell you – see, I did have something to tell you – like I said before you changed the subject. So, do you want to go or not?”

“Well, I wouldn’t mind going, Bri,” Justin smiled, “If you want to. But aren’t you afraid to set a bad precedent. I told Jason ‘no’ and you tell Brandon ‘yes.’ They’ll decide you’re the easiest one of us to get to do stuff and they’ll always be asking you and not me. What about your reputation?”

“No problem. You can just call Jason and tell him that you decided to talk me into going to the Harp and Shillelagh and that you succeeded this time,” Brian proposed. “But that it probably won’t ever happen again.”

“And why would I do a thing like that?” Justin smirked slightly. “It’s really you who thinks we ought to go. You should call Brandon. I’m completely in the clear on this one, Honey.”

“Well maybe not completely in the clear, Baby,” Brian returned the smirk. “Me and Brandon talked about a lot of stuff on the phone this morning. I told him how much we enjoyed our little Christmas visit at their place and how nice their decorations were. Remember how I told you their decorations were nearly as nice as ours. And they had their very own Charlie Brown tree too – wonder where they got that idea - and it looked almost as good as ours. And maybe really as nice as ours.”

“If you want me to call Jason about New Year’s Eve, I guess maybe I could do that,” Justin changed his mind and hopefully the subject too.

“Well Brandon told me that you decorated that tree for them, Sweetheart,” Brian continued, ignoring Justin’s suggestion.”

”I was just paying them back, Bri,” Justin explained. “Jason helped us over here and I helped them a little bit over there.”

“Yeah,” Brian conceded, “Jason helped over here – but you did the whole Charlie Brown tree yourself. Brandon said Jason told him about our Charlie Brown tree and he wanted one too – not a surprise I guess - but they couldn’t get it right – and they were going to give up on it - till you stepped in and did the whole thing yourself.”

”So would you have liked to see that little old ugly tree get bought and set up and then thrown out just when it thought it had its big chance to be something special?” Justin asked Brian. “I know you wouldn’t. That tree would have been emotionally crushed. I did what I had to do.”

“Naw, you did the right thing” Brian had to agree,” But you had the opportunity to tell me about it and you didn’t. I wouldn’t have been mad, you know. I don’t think you just forgot to tell me.”

“I don’t know why I didn’t tell you, Bri,” Justin said. “I guess I should have told you. I don’t know really why I didn’t. I guess maybe I thought you might think ours wasn’t so special to me – like it really is - if I was doing another one. I don’t know. I should have told you. I’m sorry. I guess I owe you one, Bri.”

“Now, you know, I’m really glad you feel that way because there’s another thing I need to tell you about my conversation with Brandon that maybe you won’t like,” Brian confessed.

“Like what could you tell Brandon that would make me mad, Honey?” Justin cozied himself up to Brian. “I can’t think of anything.”

“Well, Baby, you know we’re supposed to get 8 to 10 inches of snow tomorrow and maybe I told Brandon that we will probably be building a snowman tomorrow night out in the back,” Brian related carefully.

“You told him about our snowman?” Justin exclaimed, pulling away somewhat - thus negating the just completed cozying. “Tell me they’re not coming over to help with our snowman.”

”No they’re not coming to help us with our snowman, Baby,” Brian told Justin what Justin was hoping to hear, but that didn’t hold for long. “They’re coming over all right but they’re gonna build their own snowman.”

“They can’t build their own snowman over at their own place?” Justin groaned. “They have to build their snowman over here? We’ll have two snowmen?”

“That’s the way it looks, Baby,” Brian concluded. “But ours will be the best, I’m sure. Maybe they figure they can’t do a snowman without advice from the big expert on everything…. And, Sweetheart, they’re going to bring their sled too – they only have one sled like we do – which I didn’t suggest to them, I wonder who did – so if we go sledding in the park afterwards, they’ll be coming along there too. Unless maybe when you call Jason you can talk him into staying home tomorrow.”

“That would be mean, Brian Kinney,” Justin told him. “Just plain mean – after you like invited them to come. And I’m not the mean one around here either. Let them come. But if a snow ball battle should just happen to break out, and I’m not saying one will – but if it does - I’m not going to be on your side.”

“Guess I didn’t expect you would be on my side in any snow ball battle, Baby. But do you think you might be on my side when we get back here?” Brian asked, running his hand through the kid’s hair.

“So will Jason and Brandon be coming back here with us too?” Justin grinned at him.

“Not a chance,” Brian assured him in return. “I’m sure they’ll be too tired.”

“Well then,” Justin concluded, sliding snugly in closer to the big guy, “I guess I shouldn’t carry a grudge forever.”

 

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