Blended

Chapter 26

********

“I’m Doctor James. I’ve been treating your son,” the doctor said as he shook both of their hands and pulled the stethoscope from around his neck. He gestured at the two chairs in his office as he moved to sit behind his desk. “Please, have a seat,” he offered and waited for them to comply before sitting himself. “It seems that your son stopped breathing. The episode didn’t last longer than a few minutes.”

“But what caused it?” Justin asked. Brian sat next to him in silence, his eyes fixed on the doctor.

Doctor James rested his hands on the desk with his palms up. “Honestly, we’re not sure. Some infants do experience periods where they stop breathing. Normally they only last for a very short amount of time before the breathing starts again.” He opened up a manila folder on his desk and read over some of the papers. “According to his records he was born full-term and completely healthy?”

“Yeah,” Justin said with a nod.

“What do you plan to do?” Brian asked, breaking his silence.

Doctor James sat back in his chair and fixed his eyes on Justin and then Brian. “We’ve run tests and so far none of them have come back showing anything out of the ordinary. It seems like this might be an isolated event, but, just to be on the safe side we’re going to monitor your son overnight and tomorrow. After that I might have some more conclusive answers for you.”

Brian and Justin both nodded as the doctor stood. “I’m sure you’re anxious to see him. If you’ll follow me I’ll take you down to the NICU.” He moved from around his desk and opened his office door. Brian followed with Justin right by his side.

One elevator ride and a quick walk down the hall had them standing outside of the doors leading into the NICU. They were given masks to protect the other babies and led inside. Sam was sleeping peacefully, his color fully restored. A pacifier was stuck in his mouth and he was happily sucking as fast as he could while sleeping. Brian and Justin visibly relaxed.

“Hey,” Brian said. He ran his hand over his son’s stomach, carefully avoiding the wires connecting him to the monitor.

“He looks so small,” Justin said as his hand replaced Brian’s.

“The levels on the monitor are all good,” Doctor James said as he checked the charts. He hasn’t had another lapse in his breathing since we were able to get him stabilized.”

“That’s good,” Justin said.

“Very. I’ll let you have a few minutes. Unfortunately we can’t let you stay.”

“Thanks,” Brian said as Doctor James moved across the room to talk to the nurses. Brian gently stroked his finger up and down Sam’s arm.

“You think he’ll be okay?” Justin asked.

“Yeah,” Brian said. He leaned down and kissed his son quickly before moving out of the way to let Justin do the same. “He’ll be fine.”

Twenty minutes later they were headed down the hallway, preparing to leave one of their children in the hospital. Jennifer stood up as soon as they rounded the corner. “How is he?” she asked as she rushed forward and hugged her son.

“He’s good, sleeping,” Justin said with a smile. Tucker nodded and Jennifer let out a loud sigh.

“Good. Do they know what happened? He was perfectly fine one minute and then the next…” she trailed off.

“They don’t know what caused it,” Brian told her, “but he seems to be stable now. They don’t allow you to stay overnight in the NICU so we’re gonna go pick the kids up from Debbie’s and try to get some sleep.”

“Thanks for staying. It’s late. You better go home,” Justin said. Jennifer hugged him one more time and they all said their goodbyes.

“Come on, sunshine, let’s go.”

“I really don’t want to leave him here,” Justin said sadly.

“Me either, but we’ll be back in the morning and hopefully they’ll know something,” he said. He reached for Justin’s hand and Justin smiled weakly before tangling their fingers together. They rarely walked and held hands but when they did Justin always fell in love with Brian just a little bit more.

“Do you know how much I love you?”

“I like to think so,” Brian said as they reached the elevators and got inside. The ride down was short and Justin sleepily leaned against Brian.

 

**
 

“Thanks, Deb,” Justin whispered as Brian leaned past him and lifted Junior from the guest bed. She yawned and turned her head away from the hallway light.

“Don’t even mention it. You know I don’t mind,” she said with a tired smile. It was closing in on almost 5 a.m. Justin smiled and lifted Pilot into Brian’s arms.

“Deb,” Brian started. She held up her hand and stopped him.

“You don’t owe me anything. I already told you, I don’t mind at all. Now go so you can put those babies to bed,” she said with a smile and her hand resting gently against Brian’s cheek. He nodded and she moved back to let him pass.

“I’ll be right there,” Justin said to Brian’s retreating back. Race was sleeping on the bed as Justin changed Max’s diaper. Blue was curled up with her pinky in her mouth and her sneakers untied. Max let out a small grunt of discomfort as Justin snapped his t-shirt closed and pulled his sweat pants back up his chubby legs. He picked him up and handed him off to Debbie.

Justin got Blue into his arms and scooped up Race. He concentrated on not falling down the stairs as he made his way towards the front door. Brian was already waiting to take Max from Debbie. He strapped him in while Justin lifted Blue into her seat and sat Race in his booster. He buckled them both in and closed the door.

“We’ll call you,” Brian offered as Debbie stepped away from the car and they got in and closed their doors.

“You fucking better,” she said as Brian flipped the car into reverse and backed out of her driveway. She went back into the house and locked the door, prepared to get a couple of hours of sleep.

 

**
 

Brian eased Blue out of her jeans and tossed them onto her changing table. She was nothing but compliant as her body was maneuvered out of her clothes and into her pajamas, her limbs hanging limp at her sides. Brian lifted her up and placed her in the crib. She turned her face into her bumblebee, stuck her finger back into her mouth and continued to sleep. He turned on her nightlight and left her room.

As he passed through the bathroom that connected the two girls’ rooms he picked up the few clothes that were on the floor.

Junior was in the middle of her bed drooling, her mouth hanging open as Brian pulled off her socks. He pulled off her jeans and shirt and searched around for her pajamas before giving up and pulling new ones from her drawer.

“Shit,” Justin said with a muffled shout from the hallway, “fucking toys.” Brian heard him pick up a toy and take it back into the twins’ room. He walked by the door with Max on his shoulder, his eyes open wide and his dark hair sticking up in chunky spikes. He headed for the kitchen and a warm bottle of formula.

Brian wiped the drool from Junior’s mouth and left her spread eagle on the bed. He covered her up with her blanket and walked out of her bedroom just as Justin was coming back up the stairs. Max wiggled against his shoulder and he handed him off to Brian as they walked into their room. “Do you think he knows Sam isn’t here?” Justin asked as he pulled off his shirt.

Brian pushed the nipple into Max’s mouth and sat down on the couch by their window. Max sucked hungrily, pausing every few moments to stare. “I’m sure he realizes that something’s different,” Brian answered. Justin pulled off his jeans and tossed them on the bed before folding himself onto the couch next to Brian, his finger tracing over Max’s silky hair.

“We make really cute babies,” Justin said tiredly.

“You bet your fucking sweet ass we do,” Brian agreed as Max finished. Brian burped him and rubbed his hand over his back as he slowly started to drift off. Justin was already dozing, his legs propped up and his head resting on his arms. Brian got up and moved across the room to lay Max down in his crib. He shed his clothes and went to pull Justin off of the couch.

This was the other side of their hectic lives, the too early to still be late night times that no one but them saw; the quiet times where no pretense was needed. Brian let his hand close gently around Justin’s arm and he gave a small tug. Justin blinked slowly and stood up as he was guided into their bed and between the sheets. He pressed into Brian as he felt the warm body behind him, an arm draped around his waist.

 

**
 

Brian woke up first. Justin was sleeping on his stomach, his face pressed deep into his pillow. It was just past ten o’clock and luckily Max was still asleep. Brian paused long enough to make sure his chest was indeed rising and falling. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and walked out of their room. He looked in on Pilot and Race who were both sitting on the floor playing with their toys.

“Hi,” they both said at the same time. Their beds and their pajamas were thankfully pee free.

“Hey,” Brian greeted as they got up to hug his legs. He leaned down to tickle them both as he tried to shake them off. They both giggled as they tried desperately to hold on. “Aren’t you still sleepy?”

“No,” Pilot said with a shake of his head.

“We already went to sleep,” Race reasoned.

“Noted,” Brian said as he made his way down the hall slowly and stopped at Junior’s door. She was still fast asleep, her body rolled over to the side and her arms up above her head. Her hair was tangled and messy across her pillow. “Let’s go check on your little sister.” Pilot and Race let go of Brian’s legs and took off towards Blue’s room.

Brian followed and turned on the light as he entered. Blue was standing up in her crib smiling down at her brothers. Her hair was curled at the edges and her arm was pushed through the neck hole of her nightgown. “Hurry, Dad,” Pilot said as he held onto the bars.

The boys were completely in love with Blue. They hopped around the crib impatiently as Brian walked over. He lowered the bar on her crib and made a mental note that it was time to buy her a bed as he fixed her clothing and lifted her out. She clapped as she was stood on the ground, her hands flying.

“Good morning,” Pilot yelled as he wrapped his arms around his sister and squeezed as tight as he could. She giggled as if she’d heard every word he said. Blue let him hug her head to his chest for a few seconds before pushing him away. Race grabbed her hand and held on.

Brian left her hearing aids on her dresser and moved to walk out of her room. Pilot followed with Race holding onto Blue’s hand. He let go when they reached the top of the stairs and she reached up to grab at the handrail with both hands and carefully walk herself down. “Dad,” Race started as he reached the middle of the stairs, “can we have some spaghetti’s?”

“Hm,” Brian seemed to think as he made it to the kitchen. He started the coffee and moved towards the phone on the counter. “Not for breakfast. Maybe you can get Daddy to make you some for dinner.” Blue made her way off the steps and hopped over to where Brian was standing.

“Aunt Molly gave’d us spaghetti’s for breakfast once,” Pilot said happily. His tone soaked in so-see-it-can-be-done.

“I just bet she did.” Brian glanced at the number he’d been given for the NICU and dialed. He spent a few minutes talking with the nurses on duty. When he was satisfied that Sam had done well through the night he hung up. Blue held her hands up in the air and waited for her request to be answered. Brian bent down to pick her up and was rewarded with a kiss. “Thank you.”

“Can we have something?” Race asked with an exasperated wave of his arms. Pilot was standing next to him nodding.

“Silence?” Brian offered. They both shook their heads no and Brian sat Blue down on the counter. “What do you want to eat?” he signed.

She smiled and swung her legs back and forth. “Peanut butter!” she signed.

Brian rolled his eyes and lifted her from the counter to stand her on the kitchen floor. “You’re all no help,” he signed and said. “How about some cereal? Yes? Good,” he said.

“The rabbit, the rabbit,” Pilot and Race said as they danced around the floor. Blue was busily trying to climb into her highchair by herself.

Brian went to the cabinet and grabbed the box of Trix. Pilot and Race ran to sit down, pushing their chairs almost too close to the table.

 

**
 

Oz crawled over the pile of clothes Molly had on the floor, folded and waiting to be packed. “Where the hell is my other bag?” she said, her voice drifting out of the closet. “Ozzie, my man, I think your mommy is going crazy.” She walked out of the closet and placed her hands on her hips. Her hair was tied up in a ponytail and her sweats were hanging loosely on her hips.

Oz looked up at her and grinned from his new position inside her luggage. “Hi,” he said with a smile. His vocabulary was slowly building and ‘Hi’ seemed to be his favorite thing.

“Oh you want to come with me? No, no,” she sang as she walked over and scooped him up. “Oh you’re so big. Mommy is going to miss you so much, but you get to stay with grandma and get spoiled. You’ll love it.” Oz giggled as she blew on his exposed tummy, his shirt riding up. She tapped him on his diaper and sat him back on the floor. Molly frowned and stepped over the piles of clothes. “Hunter!”

“What?!”

“Have you seen my Prada bag?” she yelled. She could hear Hunter making his way towards the bedroom.

Oz whipped his head around when he heard his Daddy’s voice. He pushed himself up on his unsteady legs and took a few steps towards the bedroom door. He wavered and fell, his head connecting with the wall. “Fuck,” Molly yelled. She reached for him and his face crumpled, tears pooling in his eyes before he gathered up all his strength and started to scream.

“What the hell?” Hunter asked. Molly was running her hand over his forehead and trying to quiet his screams.

“He was trying to get to you and fell,” Molly explained. Hunter nodded with a sad smile and reached for his son.

“Come here, little man,” Hunter said. He lifted Oz from Molly’s arms and held him to his chest. “Ah, don’t cry. Come on.” Hunter rubbed his back and kissed his cheek. Oz’s cries quieted down as he sniffed loudly against his daddy’s chest.

“We gotta put some ice on it,” Molly said.

“Yeah,” Hunter nodded. “You’re gonna have a nice little knot.” He turned out of their bedroom and walked with Oz to the kitchen to get some ice.

 

**
 

“Mm,” Justin said as Brian’s weight dropped onto the bed and he felt kisses start to litter his back. “They’re quiet, what’d you do?”

“I gave them steak knives and told them to go for it,” Brian smirked. Justin shifted under Brian and flipped himself over.

“Funny,” he yawned. Brian leaned down to kiss him and then sat up. He pushed a toothbrush into Justin’s mouth with a smile.

“Wow,” Justin said around the brush, “you’re romantic.” Max let out a small cough, stretched and fell back into a deep sleep. “Seriously, where’d you leave them?”

“J woke up about ten minutes ago. She’s eating breakfast. The rest of them are in the playroom.” Brian trailed his fingers along the waistband of Justin’s underwear.

“I want to stay in the bed and do nothing all day, but your kids want to go to the aquarium,” Justin said. Brian groaned before he could even get the word all the way out. Justin pushed up against Brian’s chest and flipped them over. He settled himself down on Brian’s lap and smiled down at his husband as he took the toothbrush from his mouth and swallowed. “They like it there. And it’ll tire them out.”

“I’ll think about it. Maybe we can go later in the week. Just don’t tell them that, they’ll bug us every damn minute if they even get a hint of it,” Brian said. He reached over to wipe toothpaste from the corner of Justin’s mouth. Justin traced his fingers up and down Brian’s bare stomach.

“You’re so fucking sexy,” Justin said. He bit down on his own bottom lip. Brian raised an eyebrow and flinched when Justin shoved his hands down his pants and palmed his cock. He thrust up hard and sucked in a deep breath.

“Careful, the children might see,” Brian said with a gesture towards the open door. Justin sped up his hand movements and slowly rolled his hips. The tight space between them had his mouth opening in a silent moan. Justin leaned down and kissed Brian. It tasted like mint and Brian smiled against Justin’s lips. He grabbed the back of Justin’s neck and held on as his hips sped up to match the brisk movement of his hand.

“Fuck,” Brian breathed shallowly. Brian grabbed at Justin’s wrist and used his other hand to thread through his hair and hold him tight. Justin moaned into Brian’s mouth, the parental side of his brain trained on the stairs and listening for the slightest sound of footsteps. They could both hear the faint sounds of laughter and voices. Justin moved his mouth away from Brian’s and licked at the skin on his neck before biting lightly and sucking the skin into his mouth.

Justin felt the warmth of Brian’s cum as it filled his hand and seeped through his fingers. He smiled brightly and laughed into Brian’s neck as he continued to grind down against Brian’s sensitive cock, the material of his pajama pants damp and making the friction almost painful.

Justin pulled his hand free and licked the cum from his fingers, his own cock hard and throbbing. “Breakfast in bed,” Justin said.

Brian scoffed and muttered a sarcastic, “That all you could come up with?”

Justin rubbed his hand over Brian’s chest. “That was poetry,” he said with a twist of Brian’s nipple. “Are you going to return the favor? Your son will be up soon and then all your chances will be gone.”

Brian smirked and shifted on his back, Justin’s body shifting with his movements. They both stilled when they heard the pounding footsteps coming up the stairs and down the hall. “No,” Justin moaned and dropped his head into his chest. Brian let out a laugh as Junior became visible. She was wearing a purple nightgown with white bows on the sleeves. Her hair was tangled but not as bad as they both knew it could get. “Good morning, my baby,” Justin said.

“Morning Daddy,” she greeted. She was happily clutching Brian’s cell phone. She stopped next to the bed and Justin’s gaze quickly took in the surrounding to make sure that their previous activities were not detectable. “Dad,” she said and held out the phone, “Mr. Parker is on the phone and he said he wants to talk to you and he said it’s very important.”

“Thanks,” Brian said.

“I don’t know why you tell them to answer your phone,” Justin muttered. Junior ran out of the bedroom and back down the stairs. Justin stayed where he was on top of Brian, his cock slowly starting to lose interest as he waited.

“No,” Brian said, smoothing a hand through his hair. “I said no. Let me talk to him.” Brian waited as the phone was exchanged. “Mark, listen, I don’t want to hear excuses. I want results. If you can’t give me results then…” Justin rolled his eyes and pushed up from the bed. He moved his right leg over Brian and headed into the bathroom.

Max finally decided that he’d slept enough and started to squirm. His diaper was full and he immediately decided that it was a feeling he didn’t like.

Brian stared up at the ceiling and frowned. “Do whatever the fuck you have to do,” he said. “The proposal better be on my desk first thing in the morning. Your job depends on it.” He slid the phone closed without another word and got up out of the bed. He walked into the bathroom and stopped behind Justin, kissing him on the neck. “Still up for me?” he asked smugly.

Justin reached for a towel and wiped the water from his face. “Even if I was, your son, as I’m sure you can hear, has decided he is no longer tired. So, I’ll take a rain check.”

Max’s screams were starting to fill the room. Brian stepped away from Justin and walked across the room to turn on the shower. “I’m coming, baby boy,” Justin called. He picked up the thin pajama pants he’d put on the counter and pulled them on.

“I called the hospital this morning,” Brian said as he shed his pants and opened the stall door. The shower was huge, the walls a beautiful beige marble. He stepped in and closed the door behind him. “They said Sam did well last night and this morning. I figure we can go on over there and see what more they have to say.”

“Good,” Justin said with relief. “I’m gonna feed The Monster.”

 

**
 

Ricky leaned over Charlie and snatched the pack of cigarettes off the floor. “My head is fucking pounding,” Ricky said as he sat back up and lit the cigarette, blowing smoke into the air. The phone was ringing and Charlie groaned before reaching out and snatching the cordless from the tangle of sheets.

“What?” Ricky reached onto their nightstand and pulled a piece of cold pizza out of the box. He sniffed it before shrugging and taking a bite. “Yeah,” Charlie said. “We’re up. We’re up and packed. We’ll be waiting for you in front of the building. Okay.” He hung up and sighed.

“Hunter?” Ricky asked. He offered Charlie the slice of pizza.

“Yeah. Fucking plane leaves in a couple hours. We should probably get up and pack,” Charlie said with a laugh. Their room was a mess, the walls littered with room service menus from the many hotels they’d stayed in, band and movie posters, and candid snapshots from their lives. They’d spray painted and experimented, making the room their own personal semi-stoner version of contemporary art.

 

**
 

“They up?” Molly asked. Oz was resting his head on her shoulder as she filled her suitcases with clothes.

“Ha! No,” Hunter said. He walked into their closet and pulled out his duffle bag, covered with patches and sponsor logos. He dropped the bag on the bed and scratched at the stubble on his face before walking back into the closet. “Oh, your brother called when you were in the shower. He said Sam’s doing okay. They’ll probably let him out today.”

“Good. Mom was still freaking out this morning when she told me what happened.” Oz shifted and yawned. “God, I really hope I only have to do a few days of actual work when I get there. I’m telling you, this place is going to really push me to the front of the pack. Assuming it doesn’t become a monumental disaster.”

“You worry too much. It’ll be fine and you’ll be one of the youngest, not to mention hottest, architects around. Where’s my black hoodie?”

Molly zipped up her luggage and leaned down to sit Oz on the bed. She looked up at Hunter and then past him into the closet at all the black hoodies hanging inside. “You want to be a little bit more specific?”

 

**
 

“Come on,” Justin said. He was holding onto Blue’s hand with Pilot on his right. Junior was holding onto her sister’s hand. Brian shut the back door of the car and grabbed onto Race’s hand. Max was contently taking in their surroundings from his carrier. Justin waited at the entrance doors for Brian to catch up.

“Don’t touch that,” Brian said when he got close enough. Pilot snatched his hand back from the handicap button and Justin ushered them through the doors.

“I push the button?” Race asked with a smile, his fingers already twitching.

“Go ahead,” Justin said. “Push the one that’s pointing up.” Race rushed forward and pushed the button as hard as he could.

The ride to the hospital had been filled with questions, most of them fueled by Junior. She’d wanted to know why her brother had to be taken to the hospital, when he was getting released, and if he was scared being all alone. They’d answered her as honestly as they possibly could. They assured her that her brother was fine and that she’d get to see him very soon.

They stepped onto the elevator when the doors slid open and Junior pressed the number five as soon as Brian told her which floor they were going to. “So do you think I shouldn’t do it?” Justin asked him, picking up the conversation they’d been having in the car.

Brian sat Max’s seat down and adjusted the bag on his shoulder. “The question is do you want to do it.” Junior kept her eyes on the numbers as the light moved.

“Whoa,” Pilot said as they passed floor after floor. The elevator lurched to a stop and Brian picked up the seat as the doors opened.

“I think it’d be a good opportunity,” Justin reasoned. They moved quickly through the hall towards the nurse’s station. “And ultimately it wouldn’t be taking that big of a risk. I’d only be a co-owner of the gallery.”

“A gallery that is already famous in its own right,” Brian said. “They don’t need your name. They want your name. Take it as a compliment.” Justin mulled it over as Brian told the nurse who they were and who they were coming to see. She nodded quickly and asked them to please wait while she got Doctor James.

 

**
 

Hunter paused in the lobby of their building to inform the staff that they’d need their mail held for the next few days. He’d already brought down their bags and packed them into the car. Molly opened the backseat of the Hummer and strapped Oz into his seat. She dropped his diaper bag behind the driver’s seat and moved around the back of the car to get in.

“Do you have the tickets?” Hunter asked. Molly nodded and double checked just to be sure.

“Yeah, I’ve got ‘em,” she said and reached to turn on the radio.

“Are you going to take me out to dinner when we get there?” Molly asked sweetly. Hunter took a right and merged into traffic.

“Yeah,” he said. “There’s a restaurant that we went to once. I think you’ll like it,” he told her. He reached across the space and ran his hand along her thigh as he drove.

 

**
 

“Mr. Kinney,” Doctor James said as he shook Brian’s hand. “Mr. Taylor,” he said, repeating the action. “Wow, are they all yours?” Pilot and Race were busily hopping from chair to chair while Blue scrambled to follow. Junior was standing next to Brian taking in every word that fell from the doctor’s mouth.

“Yeah,” Justin said with a smile. Brian gently moved Max’s chair back and forth as he started to get fussy. “Junior, Pilot, Race, Blue, and Max,” he told them as he gestured to each child.

“Hi guys,” he said nicely. “Did you come to see about your brother?”

“Yes,” Junior answered for them all.

“Well,” the doctor said, shifting his gaze from the children to Brian and Justin. “I’m happy to inform you that Sam is doing very well. We haven’t had another problem since his first episode. I’m extremely confident releasing him into your care.” As they talked they made their way down the hall to the NICU.

“So you still have no idea what might have caused it?” Brian asked.

“Unfortunately it could have been anything and nothing at all.” Max started to make noises of discomfort and Justin moved to unsnap him from his seat before his whimpers could turn to screams. He propped him up on his shoulder and rubbed his back. “You can continue with your normal routine; putting him to bed and feeding him like you normally would. He hasn’t been hooked up to any monitors for the past couple of hours and he’s been fine, but if you even suspect a problem don’t hesitate to call.”

Brian nodded and Justin thanked the doctor. “Not a problem at all. I’m sorry we weren’t able to give you anything more concrete. I’m going to go get his discharge papers ready and then a nurse will get him ready and bring him out to you,” he said before shaking their hands and walking away.

“At least he gets to come home,” Justin said. He felt a huge weight coming off of his shoulders with that knowledge. “Pilot and Race, get your sister and come back down here,” Justin called. Pilot reached out and grabbed Blue’s hand, spinning her awkwardly and making her fall. She pouted as she pushed herself up and he pulled her to her feet with his arms around her waist. “Don’t pull…” Justin stopped talking and sighed as she stood upright.

 

**
 

“Dude,” Charlie said as he climbed in the backseat of the car, “I need some fucking coffee.” Ricky slid in next to him and closed the door.

“Where’s little man?” Ricky asked and rubbed a hand through his hair.

“We dropped him at my mom’s place already,” Molly said. Ricky nodded and checked his pockets to make sure he had his phone.

Hunter stopped at a light and tapped his fingers on the steering wheel. “Did you bring a schedule?” he asked. “I forgot mine.”

Charlie nodded and gestured at the bag on the backseat. “Yeah, I’ve got one. Stop at this Starbucks,” he said, reaching into his back pocket for money.

 

**
 

“I think he missed you,” the nurse said with a smile as she handed the baby to Brian. He happily took his son and scribbled his signature onto the papers she was holding out for one of them to sign.

“Hey,” Brian said. Sam was staring up at him before suddenly giving a small reflexive smile. “You scared us.” Justin smiled at the nurse and shifted Max. He leaned over and greeted his other son.

“You ready to go home?”

“I bet he is,” Brian said. He had to sit down so that the rest of the kids could say their hello’s and give him kisses. Sam seemed to drink it all in, sitting calmly through the attention.

 

**
 

“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” Pilot screamed as Brian grabbed him around the waist and pulled him down to the floor, tickling him. Race came charging to his brother’s rescue, wrapping his arms around Brian’s arm.

The first few weeks back in the house were business as usual. Justin pretended not to notice how Brian checked on his two youngest boys every couple of minutes. “Brian, come and taste this,” Justin said. Junior was standing in the kitchen directly behind Justin, whining. Brian shook Pilot and Race off of his back and stood up.

“No!” they both screamed. “Come back, come back.” They followed him into the kitchen. Justin held out the spoon covered in sauce and Brian gave it a quick taste.

“What the fuck is that?”

Justin looked down at the pot with a frown. “I’m trying to make my own spaghetti sauce,” he said. “How’s it taste?”

“It’s good,” Brian said. Justin shook his head. Only Brian could like something and respond like it was the nastiest thing he’d ever had. Blue was sitting with her back against the dishwasher, her blocks littering the floor around her. “What’s up with you?” Brian asked his oldest daughter.

Junior pouted and frowned even harder, shifting her gaze to Justin. “She wants to play with her Play-doh,” Justin explained. “I told her no, and now she has an attitude.” Brian nodded but said nothing else. It had always been an unspoken agreement that they not contradict each other when it came to the kids. Brian didn’t give a shit if she played with the Play-doh, but he assumed Justin had a good reason why he’d said no.

Justin moved the pot of noodles off the stove and emptied them into the strainer. He stepped over Blue’s toys and took the garlic bread out of the oven. “I think I’m going to tell Vanessa that I’ll take her up on her offer,” Justin said. “It’s a good opportunity.”

 

**
 

Monday Morning: 10:45 a.m.

“Cynthia, what the fuck is this bullshit?” Brian asked. He held up the proposal that’d been left for him to read.

“I haven’t read it,” Cynthia admitted. “You wanted first view on that one. Is it that bad?” She picked up the boards he’d already approved and tucked them under her arm. Brian tossed the proposal in her direction and waited while she flipped through. “Um… wow.”

“Yeah,” Brian said. He leaned over his desk and pressed down roughly on his intercom button. “Mark,” Brian said and waited.

“Brian. Hey. Did you get the proposal?”

Brian snorted and suppressed a growl. “Yeah, I got it.”

“Goddamn. Change the fucking layout and print out the proofs. You’re fucking useless,” Mark growled to someone in the room. “What’d you think?” he asked into the intercom.

“I think it fucking sucks. I want him in my office in two minutes. I’m not fucking around, Mark.” Brian pressed the intercom button again and ended the connection. Cynthia handed the proposal back to Brian.

“Oh, and Jordan Conrad is here to see you. Vice President of Conrad Tires, Inc,” she told him quickly. “They’ve got very decent earning potential.” Brian listened as he moved back behind his desk and waved Ian into his office. Cynthia smiled at Ian and moved towards the door.

“Meet with him. If you like what he has to say then schedule us a meeting.” Cynthia nodded and left the office. Ian hovered near Brian’s desk nervously fidgeting.

“Sit,” Brian said calmly.

 

**
 

Monday Morning: 11:30 a.m.

Justin stepped back from the canvas and tilted his head to the side. The painting was starting to come together perfectly. The phone rang and he pressed the button on his Bluetooth. “Yeah,” he answered.

“Justin, sweetie,” Vanessa said, her voice sounding light and excited. Justin smiled and put his paintbrush down. “Have you thought anymore about my offer?” Justin could hear her pushing papers around as he mixed some more paints together.

“Actually I have,” Justin said. He frowned at the hideous pink color he’d concocted and reached for some grey, trying his best to create the exact color he wanted.

“Don’t leave me in suspense.”

“I’ve decided to do it. I think it’ll be a really good opportunity.” Vanessa let out an excited noise and started to talk non-stop.

“This is wonderful. I’ve been flying back and forth overseas so much lately that I hardly have time to look after the place properly. I should just sell it completely but I can’t stand to part with it, at least not yet. You won’t have to do much. Although, I’d love for you to take a trip out and meet with the staff, go over some of the paperwork. Of course I’ll have the papers drawn up and sent to you so that you can look them over before flying all the way out here. I want you to be one-hundred percent sure of what you’re getting into.”

“It sounds like a plan,” Justin said with a smile.

“Good. I’m very excited about this. Your name will do wonders for the gallery. Okay sweetie, I’ve got to run, but I’ll be talking to you really soon.”

“Okay,” Justin said. Vanessa ended the call and Justin reached up to press the button on his earpiece.

 

**
 

Brian walked into the art department and looked over the art for some of their most important clients. “This is really good,” he said as he walked closer to the computer screen. Shaun glanced over his shoulder at Brian and smiled.

“Thanks,” Shaun said. “It’s the new artwork for Brown Athletics’ spring campaign. I have to admit, I was fucking nervous as hell that you wouldn’t like it.”

Brian nodded. “Good,” he said with a smirk.

 

**
 

“You’re killing me,” Julian said with a huff. He tapped his finger on the paper that detailed the rather generous offer from a private collector for one of his most exclusive pieces.

“Its worth more than that,” Justin said casually with a nod towards the paper. His hands were covered in drying flecks of paint and the water on his table was a dark gray, the glass stained and well used. “Raise the price.”

“Justin, he’ll never go for that. Come on,” Julian pleaded.

Justin let out a small laugh. “You’re the one who told me to always go for top dollar. You tell me all the time how much you think I’m worth. Let’s see if he agrees with you. Not to mention that it took me almost a year to complete the set. It stretches over six canvases.”

“Fine,” Julian said. He grabbed the papers off the desk. “I’ll do my best and I’ll let you know something as soon as I hear back. You’re my most difficult client.”

“Is that a compliment?”

 

**
 

Justin bit back a moan and buried his face in Brian’s neck, his legs straddling Brian’s waist and his right hand gripping the headboard. His cock was trapped firmly against Brian’s chest and he winced as Brian tightened his grip on his hip and thrust up and in deeper. “Jesus,” Justin breathed out, voice raw and tight.

Brian grinned and closed his mouth over the skin of Justin’s neck. They’d been fucking for hours and Brian was still nowhere near close to being done. “Mm,” Brian moaned as Justin started to set his own brutal pace, rising and falling, his legs pressing tight into Brian’s thighs. Justin adjusted his position and felt his breathing speed up as he was maneuvered backwards to lay flat on the bed, his legs falling open and his nails scratching marks onto Brian’s back as he dropped on top of him. “Shit, Justin,” Brian grunted.

Justin couldn’t respond, his left hand gripping at the sheets and his right wrapped tightly around Brian’s bicep. Justin was close. He could feel the tight tingle moving through his body and throbbing just underneath his skin. Brian picked up the pace and held onto Justin’s shoulders as he pushed in deeper and deeper. Justin opened his mouth but no sound would come out, pleasure trapped on his tongue.

Brian smiled and leaned down to catch Justin’s lips in his, tugging and pulling with his teeth. He left bite marks over Justin’s skin that would bruise over by the morning. The air in the bedroom was hot, heavy with the smell of sex and alcohol. The bottle of Jack Daniel’s sat almost empty and abandoned on the night stand. Brian wrapped his hand around Justin’s cock and started to pull. He moved his hand up and down the hard shaft as he adjusted his pace.

“Harder,” Justin said, biting off the urge to scream. Brian tightened his grip and just as Justin was about to release, a series of whimpers that quickly turned into unhappy screams filtered through the baby monitor. Sam, Justin reasoned, his diaper probably wet and uncomfortable. And just as fast, Justin felt Brian’s grip loosen as he started to sit up.

“Fuck,” Brian choked out, his breathing rapid and shallow. Justin stayed on his back, sweat covering his body and his eyes glazed over. “He’s probably wet.” Justin nodded his head to agree, running the fingers of his left hand across his neck, rubbing away some of the sweat that was pooling at his throat. Justin let out a long sigh as Brian backed off of the bed and grabbed his boxers off the floor, sliding them on inside out and making his way out of the bedroom.

They’d moved Max and Sam into their own room just after they’d turned six months. Three months later and they were still wondering if having to make the trips down the hall were worth it. But they mostly slept through the night. Mostly.

Justin listened through the monitor as Brian talked to Sam. He could hear his son gurgling and the unhappy huff he breathed out as he was placed back inside his crib and left to find his way back to sleep. It didn’t take much for Max to fall asleep. Some dinner and a bath and he could pretty much sleep through the night. Sam was more difficult. He fought against sleeping with every ounce of will he possessed. He spent most nights crying himself to sleep. Sometimes Brian and Justin held him and rubbed his back, pacing across the room until his eyes started to close.

Sam pushed himself up after Brian laid him down and pressed his back against the bars. His bottom lip stuck out. His chest started to rise and fall quickly. “Come on,” Brian reasoned. “If you let me and daddy finish our big boy time I promise I’ll give you anything you want.”

Justin smiled and let his arm drop over his stomach.

Sam shook his head and pulled himself up, his hands gripping the bars of his crib. He reached for Brian, his pajama legs bunched around his knees and drool from his most recent bout of teething dribbling down the front of his shirt. Brian laid him down again and covered him with his blanket, knowing the effort was futile and just like his oldest sister he’d kick it off. Brian stepped back from the crib and made his way out of the bedroom, Sam’s eyes watching his every move.

Brian walked back into the bedroom and shut the door behind him. He made his way back onto the bed and trailed his fingers through Justin’s hair. “Mm, daddy,” Justin whispered.

“Knowing father Taylor I don’t think he’d appreciate you having a daddy kink,” Brian said. “Wanna finish?” Justin frowned and shifted his legs. He suppressed the urge to laugh as he felt Brian’s weight fall on him.

“Settle for an unenthusiastic handjob?” Justin asked as Brian leaned down to kiss him hard.

 

**
 

Sunday morning in the Kinney and Taylor household was anything but calm. The kids were still running around in their pajamas and Justin was standing at the sink with Max already waist deep in water.

“And I told them to stop and they won’t stop,” Junior whined. She hiccupped and roughly pushed her hair out of her face. She trailed behind Brian, her hair in tangles and her pink t-shirt stained with oatmeal and milk from breakfast.

Pilot and Race were busy trying to move their “fort” from one side of the play area to the other, their path causing them to trample through their sister’s workspace. “When you whine like that I can’t understand anything you say,” Brian told his daughter.

“I don’t understand why he doesn’t just sign the contract,” Justin said as he poured baby shampoo into the palm of his hand. He held onto Max’s arm with his left hand and rubbed shampoo into his hair.

“He doesn’t want to try something new when he’s been so successful with the campaigns he’s been using.” Brian adjusted his hold on Sam and turned his attention back to his daughter. “Why don’t you move your stuff over to the table then?” That suggestion only brought full on tears to his daughter’s eyes.

“But I just want them to move and I was there first and they always do that, always,” Junior ranted. Brian frowned and sighed. Brian looked down at his six year old and wondered when the years had passed.

“You need to go back to sleep,” Justin said as he rinsed Max off and pulled the plug in the sink. He wrapped Max in a towel and moved over to the kitchen table where he’d laid out a thick towel and all of the twins’ bath supplies.

“No,” Junior whined. She was very easygoing usually, but every once in a while she got cranky. Brian walked over to Justin and handed him Sam so he could take over getting Max dressed.

“Then you need to stop whining,” Justin said. He moved back towards the sink, nuzzling Sam’s neck. Sam giggled and curled into Justin’s chest. “Boys,” Justin called as he started to run fresh water into the sink, “come here.”

Pilot and Race abandoned their efforts and made their way over to Justin. They were both dressed in their boxer briefs and white t-shirts, their hair sticking up. “Yes, daddy,” Pilot said sweetly.

“Yes, daddy,” Race echoed. Race leaned against Justin’s legs and Pilot reached up on the counter and tried to climb.

“You need to move your blankets and things back into the play area. You’re stepping all over your sister’s stuff,” Justin told his sons. Justin felt Race bumping into his legs and waited for him to answer. “Okay?”

“M’kay,” they answered at the same time. They took off out of the kitchen to dawdle around the living room for ten minutes before doing what Justin had asked.

“They’re moving, okay,” Justin said to his daughter. “Can you do something for me and go check on your sister?” Junior walked back over to her papers and crayons and arranged the colors back into a pattern that only made sense to her. Justin pulled the tabs on Sam’s diaper and eased his son into the water before balling it up and throwing it in the trash.

“Yes,” Junior answered. She finished arranging her things and started for the stairs.

“Wake her up,” Brian called after her. Max was busy trying to pull off the sock that Brian had just placed on his foot.

“If you wake her up she’s going to be pissed off for most of the day,” Justin said. He soaped up Sam’s arms and moved the washcloth over his belly.

Brian slipped the small pair of dark denim jeans onto his son’s legs and snapped them closed. “Small price to pay. I don’t want her wide awake when everyone else is taking a nap. It’s hard enough to get her to sleep.” Brian finished dressing his son and bent down to sit him on the floor. They had become highly mobile and were usually confined to one space to save everyone a headache and the house from destruction. The welcoming view of what felt like miles and miles of undiscovered land was almost too much for Max. He took off across the kitchen floor, moving as fast as his hands and knees could carry him.

Brian kept his eyes on him as he made his way over to where his brothers were playing. He planted himself at the edge of their “fort”, which was nothing more than a very large blanket. Pilot reached over and dumped a toy into Max’s lap. “You can play with that,” he told his little brother.

Junior came back down the stairs with a very sleepy Blue trailing behind her. She dropped her hand when she was close enough to Brian. Her pajamas were twisted around her middle and her finger was placed firmly between her teeth. “Morning, bug,” Brian signed. She shuffled forward, her eyes large, and leaned into his legs. He reached down to pick her up and kissed her cheek. Morning Blue was very much like the Morning Justin most people never got to see.

“I told you,” Justin said as he lifted his son from the water and moved over to the table. Sam was happily sucking on the pacifier that Justin had given him to stop the fit he was about to have before it could start.

“Don’t talk about my baby,” Brian said. “Do you want some breakfast?” he signed with one hand. Blue nodded and pulled her finger from her mouth.

“Yes,” she signed. “Want cereal.”

“Cereal we can do,” Brian said. “Okay,” he signed.

 

**
 

With nine month old twins, one stubborn two year old, two three, almost four, year olds, and one six year old, all with separate personalities and an overabundance of energy Brian and Justin quickly found themselves falling into a more structured pick-up and drop-off schedule. It was currently Brian’s week to be on pick-up duty and he was late for his 3 o’clock meeting.

“I’m hungry,” Junior said as she followed Brian and her brothers and sister into Kinnetik. Cynthia rushed to his side and handed him the portfolio for the Remson account.

“Jesus, Brian. He’s been waiting for almost an hour and he looks pissed,” she said as they made their way past the second conference room and into Brian’s office.

“I bet,” Brian said as he took off his coat and sunglasses, dropping them both onto his desk. “Have Ted pull up the numbers for his last two campaigns. Hey, no, go sit down,” Brian said to his kids, pointing at the couch. Pilot and Race moved towards the couch. Junior moved reluctantly towards the chair and Blue stayed where she was, her finger in her mouth.

“I already did,” Cynthia said. “Everything is ready. The boards look fucking amazing.” Brian nodded and sat down in his chair, quickly checking the time before pulling up some things on the computer. “Brian, the longer you make him wait the more pissed he’s going to get.”

Brian didn’t answer but she watched his lips form into an uncaring smirk. He printed out the few pages he needed and stood up. “J, get your sister and sit her down. I want you guys to stay in here and stay quiet,” he said as he moved towards his office door. “Got it?”

“Got it!” Pilot yelled with a smile. Race covered his eyes with his hands and slumped down on the couch. Junior pushed her sister up onto the chair she was sitting in and sat back down next to her.

“Give me a couple of minutes and then we’ll go get something to eat.” Brian left out of the office with Cynthia following closely behind. The kids could hear Brian as he greeted Mr. Remson and then his voice faded into nothing.

Pilot stood up on the couch and struggled out of his coat, dropping it to the floor. Race stayed where he was, kicking his feet back and forth trying to touch the coffee table. Blue scooted out of the chair and made her way to the door of the office, trying to see where Brian had gone. Her hair was pulled into two loose ponytails with yellow ponytail holders. Her jeans were a little too big and you could just see the top of her purple panties as she reached for the handle of the door. Junior walked over and pulled her hand down. “No,” she signed.

Blue pulled her hand out of her sister’s grasp and frowned, a small whine escaping her throat. “Dad,” Blue signed. “Want to see dad.”

Junior shook her head and pulled her sister back to the chair. “He said to stay here and sit down,” she signed and said. Tears welled up in Blue’s eyes as she allowed herself to be pulled back onto the chair. “You’re gonna get in trouble. You better sit down on that,” Junior told her brother.

Pilot walked from one end of the couch to the other, stepping over Race. Both boys were dressed in white Nikes, dark blue jeans and blue sweaters that zipped up the front. You could just see the neckline of their white shirts. “So,” Pilot answered. Race sat up and pulled his arms out of his coat. It was barely cold enough outside for the extra layer of warmth but Justin was paranoid about them getting sick or being too cold.

“I gotta pee,” Race said loudly. Brian and Justin had a very difficult time getting them to adjust their volume. He got up quickly and held onto the front of his jeans, pinching at his penis through the layers of clothing.

“Go then. The bathroom is right over there,” Junior pointed. Race took off in the direction of Brian’s private bathroom. He disappeared around the corner and Pilot sat down hard on the couch before rolling off the edge and following his brother.

Blue rested her head against the side of the chair and felt her eyes start to close. She sucked a little harder on her finger and let out a contented sigh.

“J!” Pilot screamed from inside the bathroom. “J, me need you help!” Junior got up and walked across the office and into the bathroom where Pilot was standing in the middle of the floor with his jeans unbuttoned. Race was busy trying to reach the soap so he could wash his hands. Junior helped Pilot button his jeans and pulled the step stool from under the sink so that they could both reach the faucets.

“Thank you,” they both said with equally happy smiles on their faces.

“You’re welcome,” Junior answered as she put the stool back under the sink. She walked towards the entrance of the bathroom and almost ran into Shaun’s legs.

“What’s up?” he asked as he tickled Pilot and Race. “I’ve been sent to make sure you’re not breaking any bones or starting any fires,” he said as he lifted Pilot over his head and turned him upside down.

“No fire,” Pilot giggled as Shaun started to walk, Race holding on tightly to one of his legs.

“Good.” Shaun sat down on the coffee table and stood Pilot back on his feet. “I see one of you is already passed out, too much fun and excitement, I get it. Munchkin,” Shaun said as he pulled on the end of Junior’s hair, “what do you know?”

Junior leaned against the arm of the couch and stretched. “I know I am very hungry,” she answered.

“Well, I happen to know that there are bananas in the break room. Which are perfect for crazy little monkeys, like you,” Shaun said as he shook his arms. “Come on.” Junior took off her coat and sat it on the couch next to her sister. She was dressed in dark blue carpenter jeans with a pink shirt, her hair falling down around her shoulders.

“Can we have some milk too?” she asked as they stepped into the hallway.

“I don’t see why not,” Shaun answered. “Now, you have to be really quiet so none of us will get in trouble.” They made their way through the office and into the break room. Shaun set them all up with bananas and a glass of milk.

“Thank you, Shaun,” Race said.

“Thank you, Shaun,” Pilot echoed.

Shaun turned to put the milk away and nodded. “You’re both very welcome.”

“Thank you,” Junior muttered around the cup she had held to her mouth. She swallowed down a mouthful of milk and wiped off the milk mustache with the back of her hand.

“I do aim to please,” Shaun said. He’d made huge steps since starting at Kinnetik. He’d started off answering the phones and running errands and now he was part of the team that worked on two major accounts. There were only a certain number of offices in the main office of Kinnetik, Inc. and he had every intention of being one of the select few that got to occupy one.

 

**
 

“Aren’t you two just too precious?” Debbie said as she watched one little head pop up from the floor of the playpen and then another. Max was a little unbalanced as he pulled himself completely out of nap mode and struggled from under the blanket covering him. The side of his face was red where he had had it pressed down and his hair was sticking up. Debbie watched him search around for his pacifier before finding it and popping it in his mouth as he struggled to pull himself up using the mesh of the playpen. Watching Sam get up was almost like having déjà vu. He followed the same movements his brother made, both of them standing with their heads barely clearing the top of the playpen.

At nine months old they were well into exploring anything and everything they could get their hands on.

“Mm,” Sam mumbled from around his pacifier.

Debbie slid her pan of lasagna into the oven and wiped her hands on a dishtowel, tossing it on the table. “Okay, what do you say we get those tushies clean? Your daddy will be here soon.” She smiled and cooed as she lifted Sam out of the playpen. Max immediately began to whimper. Lately they didn’t like being separated. Whoever was left behind would cry and scream until he was reunited with the other or was too distracted by something else.

Max let out a piercing scream and Debbie cringed. His pacifier fell out of his mouth and landed just outside the playpen. She settled Sam on the sofa and pulled their diaper bag close to her. “It’ll be really quick. You’ll be back with your brother before you know it.”

Sam stretched and twisted, making the task more difficult. He kicked his legs and laughed when Debbie applied the diaper rash cream to the mild rash he had. He was a magnet for diaper rashes. It didn’t matter how much you changed him or how much powder you used. Max’s cries faded into whimpers as Debbie pulled Sam’s jeans back up and placed him in his walker.

Michael and Ben had bought the stationary walkers and set them up in their own little space in the living room. Ben thought they were perfect because the boys got to play and strengthen their muscles and Debbie didn’t have to worry about them crawling in every direction.

“Come on,” Debbie said as she reached into the playpen, “your turn.”

 

**
 

“I’m impressed,” Mr. Remson said as he stood to leave.

“I’d be worried if you weren’t,” Brian said with a tight smile. He allowed Mr. Remson to shake his hand and showed him out of the conference room. “We’ll get started on the marketing right away. You should see your first print ads by late next week, if not sooner. Ted will crunch the numbers on the existing contract to reflect what we’ve talked about today. You’ll get that first thing in the morning.”

“Sounds good,” Mr. Remson said with a nod. He turned to Cynthia and shook her hand as well. “Be careful, Brian. She’s very good at her job. Someone might just want to steal her away.”

“They’d have to try pretty hard, and have a set of really big balls,” Cynthia said with a smile. She felt Remson’s grip tighten and saw the small wink he gave before slipping out the front doors of Kinnetik, already on his phone with his assistant.

‘What a horny bastard,” Cynthia said.

“A very rich, horny bastard,” Brian amended as he wrapped his arm around Cynthia’s shoulders. “Tell Theodore I need to see him and let the art department know that it’s a go on the boards for Remson. Tell Monroe I want all the preliminary sketches for the Johnson and Wages account.” They reached Brian’s office and he let Cynthia go. He pushed open the door and his eyes immediately fell on his baby. She was curled up on her side in the chair, her legs pulled in and her finger resting against her cheek. She was still in her coat which apparently couldn’t be said for all the rest of his kids. He’d sent Shaun to check on them and get them a snack which gave him the added bonus of being able to get a couple of things done.

 

**
 

“They’re not for sale,” Justin said loudly so Julian could hear him over the speaker phone. He took a step back and adjusted the scope on his lens again.

Julian had been offered a very large sum of money for some very specific pieces of Justin’s private art collection. “Then why display the work.?”

Justin clenched his teeth and stood up straight. “I didn’t display them. I did an interview that you set up, and they were in the background of some of the pictures the photographer took. It doesn’t matter how much money he offered…”

“She,” Julian interrupted.

“So fucking what,” Justin said with increasing frustration. He snapped a couple of pictures while they both let some silence play between them. The nude pictures of Brian were up all over his private work space and he never once thought he’d be in a battle with his agent over selling them.

“Justin,” Julian said calmly. “My job is to help you move your art. Let me do my job.”

“I know. And I also know you do your job very well, or I wouldn’t bother to work with you. But, these pictures are NOT for sale. They’re pictures of my husband, Julian. Not some fucking model that gets paid to hang in people’s private collections.” Justin snapped another picture and took a minute to look at the displays on his camera. Brian had bought the digital camera for Justin and left it on the middle of the bed with a note. The note was simple and read, ‘focus.’

Justin listened to Julian breathe for what seemed like eternity. “I will simply tell her that you appreciate her express interest in the collection of photographs but they are not for sale.”

“Thank you, Julian,” Justin said sweetly. “Are we good now? Cause I’ve got a deadline.”

“Yeah. We need to set up a meeting next week. I want to talk to you about the pieces you’re flying out to the gallery in LA.”

Justin set his camera down and took a drink of water. ‘”What about them?”

“I just want to make sure I know how many and what dimensions. I’m flying out on Wednesday. The paintings should arrive Thursday morning. You’re absolutely sure you don’t want to go?”

“Yeah, I am. I have this show that I’m getting ready for and two commissions that I have to finish. Not to mention I have the kids in school at the moment and we’ve fallen into a routine that is actually working for us right now. I don’t want to shake all that up. I’m sure you’ll let me know how it turns out.”

“Definitely,” he answered. “Okay, I’ve got a million things to do, so, I’ll call you later in the week. Bye.” Julian hung up and Justin moved around the desk to upload the images he’d taken into the computer.

 

**
 

“Can you put your arm back in your coat?” Brian held Race’s coat for him as he tried to get his arms back in. Pilot was already waiting by the door with his face pressed against the glass. “Okay, there we go.” Race walked away, his coat snuggly on and went to join his brother at the office door.

“My teacher said that if we’re all very good then we’ll get a surprise at the end of the week, on Friday,” Junior told Brian.

“Bribery,” Brian said. “Nice.”

Blue was up and fully refreshed from her power nap. She wiggled around as Brian tied her shoe back up and practically burst through the door when Brian held it open. It was almost five o’clock in the afternoon and most of the staff were winding down their days. They all had keys to the front doors, although it was mostly the art department, Ted, and Cynthia that stayed late. As the boss Brian’s days never ended.

“Brian,” Ted called before he could reach the main doors.

“Theodore,” Brian said cheerily. “J, get your sister.” Junior moved to pull her sister back from the doors. Blue turned and looked over at Brian. “Don’t stand in front of the door,” he signed before turning his attention back to Ted and the few pages he needed him to sign.

“Did Cynthia tell you I wanted this there first thing in the morning?”

“Yes. Don’t worry, it’ll be there.”

Brian handed Ted back his pen and moved to open the door. He grabbed onto Blue’s hand before she could scurry past and followed his children outside. Blue pulled against the tight grip Brian had on her hand. They’d quickly discovered that she was their runner. While all the other kids walked calmly, or sometimes even skipped or hopped, Blue ran. And she ran fast.

Brian hit the button to unlock the doors on his car and helped the kids climb into the backseat. He buckled Blue in first and tried to ignore her as she signed about how uncomfortable she was. Junior sat down and buckled herself in. Pilot and Race were both way too good at buckling and unbuckling their own seats, which neither Brian nor Justin liked.

Brian got into the car and turned the engine over. “Okay, let’s go get daddy,” he said as he pulled out of the parking lot.

 

**
 

Justin was just coming out of the building when Brian pulled up to the curb. He opened the passenger side door and slid into the car. “You brought all my babies,” Justin said and all the kids giggled. “Hey guys,” Justin said. “Hello, my baby,” he signed to Blue.

“Hi, daddy,” she signed back, a huge smile on her face.

Brian leaned over and kissed Justin hard. “Mm, you miss me?” Justin whispered with a smile. Brian answered by dropping his hand into Justin’s lap and giving his dick a quick squeeze as he pulled into traffic. “Careful, Mr. Kinney, you don’t want to corrupt the youth.”

Brian raised one eyebrow and they both listened as the kids had their own side conversations. “What do you want to do for dinner?” Brian asked.

Justin shifted in his seat and leaned his head back. “I have no idea. Oh, we have to stop so I can get some stuff for their lunch tomorrow. I swear we go through groceries so fast. I distinctly remember when all you had were water bottles and poppers.”

“Good times,” Brian said. “And now we are doomed to wallow in normality.”

“Yes, I know you have a field trip on Wednesday. You remind me everyday,” Justin said to Junior. He turned his attention back to Brian and said, “I don’t think you really are all that normal.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“I thought you might,” Justin said with a small laugh. His cargo pants were covered in flecks of paint and his hands were tinted red on the tips from him smudging the paint against the canvas to get the texture just right. “Want anything?” Justin asked as Brian pulled into the parking lot of one of their favorite local grocers. Brian was mostly opposed to large grocery store chains but with six extra mouths to feed he did note their importance.

Brian raised an eyebrow and tightened his grip on Justin’s thigh.

“God,” Justin said with a sigh and a laugh as he opened his door, knocking Brian’s hand off in the process.

“I wanna go in too, daddy,” Junior called from the backseat. Justin opened the backdoor and let her hop out. He was prepared for it to cause a domino effect.

“Me too,” Pilot said sharply. Justin unbuckled him from his seat and was surprised when Race shook his head, expressing no desire to go through the trouble of getting out of his chair. Blue stayed where she was with her finger and the collar of her coat in her mouth.

“Okay, come on. We’ll be right back.” Justin closed the backdoor and grabbed Pilot’s hand.

Brian watched them until they disappeared into the store. He pulled out his phone and dialed Ted. “It’s Brian. Did you get the documents out to Remson?” He listened as Ted talked and Blue giggled in her chair behind him. “Okay, good. Yeah, well, what about it?!” Ted went on to tell Brian about some problems he was having with another contract adjustment. “Not good enough. Do you hear me, Theodore?”

“I can hear you, dad!” Race yelled and Brian heard him rustling as he shifted in his seat, his small hands gripping the straps of his five-point harness.

“Thank you,” Brian said tightly. “I’ll look over it first thing in the morning. Just put it on my desk.” Brian nodded once and then ended the call. The papers that Remson needed would be there by the time he walked into his office, everything else he’d deal with later.

Twenty minutes later Justin was walking out of the store with four bags and Blue was quickly falling asleep, despite all of Race’s efforts to keep her awake. Brian hit the button to open the trunk and Justin tossed the bags inside. He walked back around the car and strapped the kids back in before climbing into the passenger seat again.

 

**
 

“Deb,” Brian said as he walked into the house and pushed the door closed behind him. She turned around from her place in the kitchen and smiled.

“Brian. I wasn’t expecting to see you today.” She wiped her hands on the apron she was wearing. Brian walked over to the two smiling faces bouncing up and down in their walkers.

Max and Sam let out loud squeaks and giggles when they saw who was walking towards them. They bounced up and down as hard as they could, their little socked feet slipping on the smooth surface beneath them. Brian leaned over and picked up Sam, planting kisses along his neck and making him laugh, his legs scrunching up and his hands holding onto the side of Brian’s face. He tickled him a few more times and then situated him in his arms so that he could pick up Max. He repeated the action, paying a lot of attention to the inside of Max’s very sensitive thigh.

“I’m full of surprises,” he said as Max tried to crawl up his chest.

“I bet,” Deb answered. “I made you boys a lasagna. You’ll take it and eat it and I don’t want to hear any shit about it. You’re way too damn skinny if you ask me.” Brian huffed and sat down on the sofa. He pulled the boys’ coats out of their bag and sat Sam down on the sofa next to him so he could maneuver Max’s arms into his sleeves.

“I didn’t say anything,” he said as he sat Max on the floor and started on Sam. Max immediately took the opportunity to escape and crawled rapidly across the floor.

“Good,” Debbie said as she entered the living room and sat the pan of lasagna and a Tupperware container full of garlic bread, the kids’ favorite, on the edge of the sofa. She picked up Max just before he could reach the stairs.

Brian stood with Sam in his arms and slung the boys’ diaper bag over his shoulder. He took Max from Debbie and waited while she opened the door. She followed him out to the car with the hot food in her hands.

“Hey, Deb,” Justin greeted as he got out of the car. She greeted him quickly and then turned her attention to all of her grandbabies in the back.

“My big boys,” Justin said as he reached for Max. Sam struggled to get out of Brian’s arms and Justin leaned over to kiss him too.

“No, daddy! We’re the big boys! Me and Race are the big ones! They’re just babies,” Pilot yelled from inside the car.

“I know. I’m sorry,” Justin said. He helped Brian strap the boys in next to their sleeping sister. Brian closed the back door and got into the car. Justin slid back into his seat and waited for Debbie to close the backdoor. She blew kisses at all the kids before closing the door and turning to Justin.

“I made you a lasagna,” she said and handed Justin the dish of food and container of bread.

“Thanks, Deb. You didn’t have to do that.”

Debbie shushed him and closed his door for him. “I can’t have my boys starving to death. Or my babies.”

 

**
 

“I have to pee,” Pilot announced. Justin sat the heated lasagna on the table and licked some of the stray sauce off of his thumb.

“Then go,” Brian answered as he came walking down the stairs with a freshly changed Sam in his arms. Pilot wiggled out of his chair and made his way to the bathroom where Junior was already exiting with Blue in tow. “Did you wash your hands?” he asked and signed his daughters.

“Yes,” Junior said and Blue nodded. He kissed the end of her nose and sat her down in her booster seat. Justin slid Max into his highchair and pushed it closer to the table.

Race was sitting at the table with his small fork already in his mouth and his legs swinging back and forth. They’d shed their sweaters and were dressed in only their white t-shirts. Pilot came back from the bathroom and frowned as Brian sent him back to wash his hands.

Brian put Sam into his highchair and tickled his foot. Pilot ran back to the table with his hands wet. “See. I did wash them,” he said to his dad as he sat down next to his brother.

“Okay,” Brian said. He walked to the refrigerator and pulled out the apple juice and two bottles of water. Justin was already busy putting food on their plates. Brian followed behind him and filled four cups with juice before they each sat down at opposite ends of the table.

Max and Sam had the pleasure of eating chicken dinner baby food, which they were more than pleased about. Max finished all of his before slumping back against his highchair and sucking on the bottle he’d been given. Sam was well on his way to being done before he decided that formula did in fact seem like a better alternative.

 

**
 

“There’s soap in my eyes,” Junior cried as she moved onto her knees. Brian grabbed for a towel and wrung it out, wiping at her eyes.

“Because you keep moving your head,” Brian told her. Blue was standing up quite thoroughly trying to wash herself. Her hair was wet and plastered to the side of her face. Junior let Brian help her wash herself up before he moved onto Blue.

“I do it,” Blue signed, dropping her towel into the water.

“I know you can do it, but let me help you,” Brian answered back. Blue pouted and Brian let her reach into the water and pick up her towel. Brian could hear the excitement that was going on in the boys’ bathroom down the hall. Pilot and Race were known for their epic bath time battles of willpower, but Max and Sam gave them more than a run for their money. They were usually fine taking baths in the kitchen sink, but they completely fell apart in the large bathtub.

Blue yawned as Brian washed her up and rinsed her off. He shampooed her hair and manager to not get it in her face. He counted it as a win as he hit the stopper on the tub and lifted her out of the tub to wrap her in a towel. He helped Junior out of the tub and wrapped her in a towel, letting her dry herself off.

“Get him, Pilot. Pilot, get your brother,” Brian heard Justin yell before he saw the very naked body of Max appear in the doorway with a huge smile on his face. Pilot skidded to a stop behind his brother, almost tripping over him.

Pilot was already dressed in his underwear with his pajama top halfway on. “Hi,” he said to Brian as he bent down to grab his brother’s ankles and drag him backwards out of the bathroom and back down the hall. “Come on.”

Blue giggled as she watched her brother be dragged away. Brian stood up and ushered Junior and Blue into their bedroom and their pajamas.

 

**
 

Justin fell into bed with Brian pressed firmly against his back and a sleepy smile on his face. It’d taken thirty minutes and one torturously slow blowjob to wash the paint from his skin. He shifted as Brian’s knee came up and slowly parted his legs, his left hand traveling up Justin’s thigh to wrap around his hardening cock. Justin’s lips parted and he took in a deep breath before pulling his bottom lip into his mouth and biting down.

“Roll over,” Brian said. Justin complied and flipped over onto his back, letting his legs drop to Brian’s sides.

“Are you planning to have your way with me?” Justin asked with a smile, his hands running over Brian’s arms and around his back.

“I was thinking about it,” Brian answered as he canted his hips and trailed his fingers through Justin’s damp hair. Justin moved his head to the side as Brian leaned in to suck at the warming skin of his neck. Brian reached blindly for the nightstand and the box of condoms sitting inside. He tossed one on the bed and reached back in for the lube, popping the top and spreading the cool gel over his fingers.

Justin hissed as Brian circled his hole and pushed two fingers inside, his back rising up off the bed and his fingers reaching to wrap around Brian’s wrist.

 

**
 

Justin waited for the coffee to finish and felt the familiar burn of their late night activities. Max and Sam were already up and still in their pajamas, hair sticking up in every direction and bottles already in their mouths. “Coffee,” Brian said as he came down the stairs with Junior and Race flung over his shoulder. Blue and Pilot were close behind him.

“Almost ready,” Justin answered. He was already working on the kids’ lunches. Pilot and Race had grown partial to cheese sandwiches. Junior fluctuated between peanut butter with bananas and just plain peanut butter. Blue stuck with peanut butter and jelly most days.

Brian stood Junior and Race on their feet and all of the kids climbed into their chairs. Brian made them all bowls of cereal and left them to their breakfast.

“Remember, J’s not going to be at the school this afternoon. Hunter is picking her up and taking her to practice.” Brian nodded and took the cup of coffee Justin was offering him.

“Are you still coming by to look over the work that Eve’s doing for the Pierce account?” Brian asked. Justin nodded.

“Yeah,” he answered. “I have a lunch meeting with a potential client and then I’ll stop by.” Justin occasionally consulted with the art department on some of their work. He’d referred Johnathan Pierce to Kinnetik after selling him a piece for his collection, and by his request personally looked over the artwork for his campaign.

Max let out a large burp and all the kids laughed. Blue popped another spoonful of cereal into her mouth, using her left hand to catch the milk that was trying to dribble down her chin.

“There’s a new restaurant opening on Main,” Brian said, pressing into Justin’s back and gripping his hip.

“Are you asking me out on a date, Mr. Kinney?”

“I don’t do dates,” Brian said smugly.

Justin nodded once and sighed, “I’ve got a project.”

Brian moved back and took another drink of his coffee.

“Ouch, don’t pinch me,” Race said. He rubbed at his arm and Pilot moved back in his chair when he felt Brian and Justin’s eyes on him.

“I didn’t,” Pilot yelled quickly.

Junior rolled her eyes and pulled her legs up onto her chair. “Yes you did,” she chimed in and signed. All of the kids had taken to signing while they talked, even if Blue wasn’t around. Blue watched the scene in front of her and ate some more of her cereal.

“Pilot, keep your hands to yourself,” Justin said. He walked over to Sam and took the empty bottle out of his mouth. He was more than prepared for the piercing scream that followed.

It was mornings as usual. Brian placed his cup in the sink and went to wrangle up his boys. “Time for school,” he announced as he walked over and plucked Pilot from his chair. “No more pinching.” Junior hopped up out of her chair and took her bowl to the sink.

“Boys, take your bowls to the sink. Blue, you too,” Justin told them, signing to Blue. She drank her glass of orange juice and scooted out of her chair. Junior walked back over and helped her walk to the sink and place the bowl inside.

“I want to wear a dress today, I think,” Junior said as she made her way up the stairs.

“Boys don’t wear dresses,” Race informed her. He held onto the handrail and followed his sister up the stairs.

Brian reached over and pinched Justin as he picked up Sam, listening as hidden cheerios fell from his shirt and hit the tray of the highchair. “And you wonder where he gets it from,” Justin said.

 

**
 

Justin dropped Max and Sam off with Debbie and made his way to his studio. He shifted his car into park and climbed out, grabbing his portfolios from the trunk. He opened the door and keyed in the code to his alarm, tossing his keys on the counter. He shrugged out of his coat and tossed it on the long dark brown leather couch. Brian had helped him buy furniture for the private workspace of the studio and enjoyed every minute of it, especially when Justin invited him to help “break it in”.

He hit the button on his answering machine and booted up his computer while he listened to the messages play; four from Julian, one from Vanessa, and one from his… father. Justin paused, his fingers holding onto the zipper of his portfolio. “What the hell?” Justin asked to no one as he listened to his father ramble on about nothing before nervously inviting him, and Brian, he made sure to add, to his house for dinner and to meet his girlfriend.

Molly had told him about, what was her name? “Lisa,” Justin said to himself.

”Um, I’d really like it if you could come… uh, yeah, but, I’d under… I mean, I’d get it if you didn’t want to or felt uncomfortable. But, could you call me back. Um, yeah, okay,” Craig said. “Bye.”

 

**
 

Molly suppressed the urge to laugh and rested her hand on her hip. “Did you call him back?” The Vegas project had gone according to schedule and after the fun her and Hunter had had she was very happy that everything that happened in Vegas was supposed to stay in Vegas.

“No. I was actually going to tell Brian before committing us both to dinner.”

Oz sat happily in the front of the basket, watching as Molly tossed groceries into the basket. “Why? It’s not like he’s going to care,” she said and put some apples into a plastic bag, twisting it closed. “Uncle Justin is having a crisis.”

Justin sat at his computer manipulating the images he’d taken over the weekend. “I’m not having a crisis.”

“Okay, sorry,” Molly amended. “You’re not having a crisis. She’s really nice, Justin. And she makes a really good pot roast.” Molly placed a couple of bottles of Juicy Juice in the basket for Oz and a large bottle of SunnyD into the basket for Hunter.

“Wow.”

“What?” Molly asked with a shrug.

 

**
 

Brian sat at his desk going over the figures for his biggest accounts. He had proofs and proposals littered across the top of his desk along with an opened bottle of water. His phone had finally stopped ringing, the personal assistants of Remson and Marcos Jacobs doing their best to try and make his day hell.

“No more calls,” Brian said without looking up.

“I’ll be sure to make a note of that,” Justin answered as he walked into the office, letting the door shut behind him.

“How’re the boards for Pierce?” Brian asked tiredly.

“Haven’t checked them yet. I stopped here first,” Justin asked and sat down. Brian told Justin about his morning and listened as Justin told him about the rather nervous dinner invite that had been left on his machine.

Brian looked up from the financial statements that Ted had given him to look over and said, “Why didn’t he call your cell?”

“Really,” Justin said, “that’s all you have to say?” Brian shrugged and leaned back in his chair. “I don’t know, maybe he lost the number.”

Brian had been getting along well with Craig Taylor. They’d managed to spend several occasions with each other and no blood had been shed yet and the kids loved him. He wouldn’t count the man as one of his best friends, but he was pretty sure he could handle having dinner with the man and his girlfriend.

“Call him and accept. It’d be almost rude not to.”

“I already did.”

“Then what’d you ask me for?”

Justin stood up and walked to the office door. “I was giving you the benefit of the doubt,” he said with a smile as he slipped from the office.

 

**
 

Mid-morning on Wednesday brought a doctor’s appointment and two very pissed off baby boys. Dr. Winters put the syringe back on the tray and placed a band-aid on Sam’s thigh. He sat on Brian’s lap with large tears falling down his face and his hand fisted into Brian’s Armani shirt. Max was sitting on Brian’s other leg with his pacifier stuck in his mouth. His tears were drying and mucus was still coming from his nose.

“They’re perfectly healthy. Have you had any trouble with their breathing at all?”

“Not since that one time,” Brian answered. Sam had been monitored on the apnea machine for close to a month and a half before they were safely told he could sleep without it.

“Good,” Jeff said. “Now, they’ll be sore and sleepy for a good part of the day, so don’t worry.” Brian listened to the doctor as he got the boys dressed. They’d each gotten three shots, two in one thigh and one in the other. “I’ll see you back here in a couple months. Bye guys,” he said to the boys.

They were both snuggled into Brian’s chest, sniffling and wiping at their eyes. Sam chewed on the nipple of his pacifier. They both had more new teeth coming in and took every opportunity to chew on anything they could.

“Thanks, doc,” Brian said.

 

**
 

“My poor babies,” Debbie whispered as Brian laid first Max and then Sam down in their playpen, slipping them both out of their jackets. He stood up and checked his watch. Debbie moved forward and covered them with a blanket.

“The doc said they’ll be sore and sleepy,” Brian told her. He took their bag off his shoulder and sat it on the sofa. He kissed Deb on the cheek and left the house. He had a lot of work to do. His phone rang and he accepted the call as he slid into his car.

 

**
 

Race pulled at the front of his jeans and squatted down to pick up the bright yellow ball he’d been playing with. Recess was almost his favorite time of day. It was second only to snack time when they got to sit wherever they wanted and eat goldfish crackers and sometimes chocolate chip cookies. He bounced the yellow ball and watched it hit the brick wall with little force before rolling back towards him. He felt the warmth of something trickling down his leg and looked down. He could see the small puddle at his feet and the front of his jeans taking on a darker shade of blue. “Uh oh,” he said loudly. He looked around for his teacher, Mr. Lee.

Pilot was busy on the swings, doing his best to climb up by himself. He managed to get his upper body on the swing and let his legs dangle. He dropped back down to the wood chips below and ran over to the large pirate ship shaped playground structure. He climbed up to the crow’s nest and turned the crank to raise the flag. Recess was his favorite time, more than anything else, except for when they got to feed the hamster. He wasn’t allowed to feed Mr. Butters by himself, but he always got to help. “You want to come up here?” he called down to his friend Gordon.

Gordon looked up from the deck below and nodded. He climbed up the ladder and made his way into the crow’s nest.

Lee walked through the playground with Constance. She was new and just learning all of the kids’ names and personalities. She’d been warned about the dynamic duo that was Pilot and Race Taylor-Kinney.

Race found Lee before he could start another round of the playground. Lee looked to make sure the playground volunteers were keeping an eye on the kids before letting his attention settle on the little boy in front of him. “Hey buddy,” he said.

“I think I peed on myself,” Race said with an annoyed sigh. “I didn’t even feel it or nuffin’!” He threw his hands into the air and looked up at Lee with anticipation.

“You didn’t?”

“Nope,” Race said as if it was the most puzzling thing in the world. “OH! You know, daddy is not going to even be very happy about this.”

“I’m sure he’ll understand. Why don’t you let Ms. Constance help you change your clothes and get cleaned up,” Lee suggested. Race nodded and took Constance’s hand and let her lead him back into the building.

 

**
 

Junior sat next to Alissa in the cafeteria with her juice box in one hand and half of her sandwich in the other. “Do you want to come to my birthday party?” Alissa asked. She took a bite of her apple and chewed it slowly.

“Yes, but I have to ask my dad and my daddy,” Junior answered. She took another bite of her sandwich and wiped the back of her hand across her face, smearing more peanut butter over her cheeks.

“Good because it’s gonna be fun. We’re gonna have pizza and games and you know what else?” Junior shook her head and Alissa leaned in closer. “You can sleep there.”

“At your house?” Junior asked.

Alissa nodded quickly and wiped the juice from the apple from her lips. “Yup. My mom said. She said it’s called a sleepover and it’ll just be you and me and we can have a lot of fun.”

“Yeah,” Junior agreed. Alissa offered her the rest of her apple and Junior took it, handing over what was left of the half of sandwich.

 

**
 

Hunter stood outside Junior’s elementary school and waited for the students to be dismissed. He was dressed in loose jeans with a white shirt, his hoodie zipped up and his hands shoved in his pockets. Junior came running out with her book bag and lunchbox in her hands. “Hey, shrimp,” Hunter called. She ran forward and he picked her up, planting kisses all over her face. She struggled to get down when she looked into the backseat of his car and saw her cousins.

Emily and Tyler were sitting in the car and she crawled over Tyler’s legs to sit between them. Hunter laughed and shut the door behind her.

 

**
 

“What happened?” Brian asked.

Race looked down at his clothes and shrugged. “I don’t know. The pee just jumped out of my penis, dad. It didn’t even want to listen to me at all,” he explained.

“Is that what happened?” Brian asked. Pilot was busy climbing into the SUV by himself. Brian took the bag with the soiled clothes from Race and let him pull himself into the car behind his brother. “Daddy is not going to be happy.”

“That is what I said,” Race agreed. Brian let out a laugh and helped them get strapped in.

“Where’s J?” Pilot asked. He was used to his sister being there with them after school. It had been more than a relief when they were able to go to school at the same place. The boys would blend seamlessly into the kindergarten program without having to deal with the stress of meeting all new people.

“Hunter picked her up today,” Brian said. He closed the door and climbed into the driver’s seat. “You’ll get to see her later. We’ve gotta go get Blue.”

 

**
 

Justin was already in the house by the time Brian made it home and from the smell of it he was already halfway done with dinner. “Hey,” Brian greeted. The kids took the time to kick off their socks and shoes before running over to give Justin proper hello kisses and hugs.

“Hey,” Justin said to Brian as he got a hug from Blue. “Hello to you,” he signed.

“Hello,” she signed back. She pulled away from Justin and ran towards the playroom.

“Uh oh,” Justin said. “What is this?” Brian was holding up the bag of dirty clothes he’d brought home with his son. Race looked around guiltily.

“Those are dirty peepee clothes,” Race said. “I said to the peepee, daddy, I said, ‘don’t you come out’. But, then I didn’t even feel it coming out. And then it was too late.”

“I’m not happy about this,” Justin said as Brian walked the clothes into the laundry room. Race leaned against Justin’s legs and played with the seam on the side of his jeans.

“I know,” he mumbled.

“What do you think we should do about this?” Justin asked as he stepped back towards the stove. He was making the kids’ favorite, chicken with steamed vegetables and rice.

“Um, I don’t know, ‘member not to do it again',” he suggested.

“That sounds good to me. That means you have to remember even when you’re doing something and having a lot of fun. Okay?” Race nodded and Justin let him go join his brother and sister in the playroom.

Justin wiped his hands on a dishtowel and sat it on the counter. Justin had picked up the smallest Taylor-Kinney’s and they were currently on their second nap of the day. They’d woken up for a few hours and played at Debbie’s house. “How was the doctor?”

“They’re perfectly healthy,” Brian told his husband. “He said not to be surprised if they sleep more than usual. As if we didn’t already know that. We’ve been through this a couple times. They ate earlier.”

“Yeah,” Justin said. “Hunter’s going to drop J off in about fifteen minutes.”

Justin turned off the stove and left the food to sit. By the time Junior made it home it’d be cool enough for the kids to eat. He joined Brian in the playroom and got in some playtime with the kids. Then it was dinner, homework, baths and bed. Not too bad for a Tuesday night.

 

**
 

Justin dropped off the kids in the morning and got the official invitation for Junior to Alissa’s party. “I hope you’ll let her come. I can’t deal with a huge bunch of kids this time around, especially with a new baby in the house. It’ll just be the two of them. Alissa is very excited.”

“Yeah,” Justin said as he read over the invite. “Junior has already told us all about it. I told her we had to wait for you to ask.”

Alissa’s mom laughed and started her engine. “I guess you can just bring her bag with her to school and we’ll take her home.”

“Sounds good. Thanks,” Justin said. He left Mrs. Tate to back out of her parking space and got into his own car.

 

**
 

The rest of the week was uneventful, except for Wednesday night when Max decided to have diarrhea and Blue stayed up restless and cranky. They’d both fallen asleep at close to five o’clock in the morning with Blue sleeping on top of Brian and Max curled up into Justin’s side.

Max decided to give it one more go around at 5:45 a.m. and Justin groaned as he felt the last onslaught of diarrhea seep out of his son’s diaper and onto his shirt. Max never even let up the suction on his pacifier as Justin slid from the bed and made his way into the bathroom.

Thursday saw Justin abandoning his painting for the day and staying home to catch up on his sleep, which he never got with Blue, Max and Sam home with him all day. By the time Brian got home with the rest of the kids the younger ones were all feeling better and Justin was cranky as hell.

Brian got them all ready for bed by himself. Justin packed their lunch and Junior’s overnight bag before crawling into bed and pushing Brian’s hand off his hip.

 

**
 

“Thanks,” Brian said as he handed Sam to Melanie. Lindsay was holding onto Max, his teething ring in his mouth. Pilot, Race and Blue were already pulling their toys out of the bin that Mel and Lindsay kept for them.

“Not a problem, Brian,” Lindsay said. Melanie was already walking away from the door, the kids’ bags over her shoulder. “You taking Justin somewhere special?”

Brian just smirked before smoothing his hand over his son’s hair and walking out the open door.

 

**
 

“Oh my god, oh my god… Oh, FUCK ME!” Justin screamed as he collapsed into Brian, his body convulsing as he struggled to keep breathing. He could feel all his muscles throbbing and could taste the blood from where he’d bitten too hard into Brian’s lip.

Brian lay still and let his eyes roll closed as he felt Justin pulsing around him. His cock was still slightly hard. He reached between them and eased out of Justin, keeping a firm grip on the end of the condom. He pulled out all the way and tugged the condom off, tying it and dropping it to the hardwood next to their bed. “Good?” Brian asked smugly. Justin wrapped his hands around Brian’s neck and pulled him down for a kiss. He let his tongue plunge into Brian’s mouth, his hands tightening their hold.

“Yes,” Justin breathed when there was enough space between their lips. “Again,” he said. “Come on.” He pulled frantically at Brian and Brian caught his hand, pinning them to the mattress.

“Are you sure you can take it?”

Justin whimpered, and nodded as fast as he could. “Yes,” Justin panted. His eyes trailed Brian’s hand as it reached into the nightstand drawer and pulled out a pair of handcuffs and a large red dildo. Brian cuffed Justin’s hands to the headboard and reached for the lube that had rolled under the pillows. He popped the lid and poured a small amount on the head of the dildo, snapping the lid closed and tossing the bottle down. Brian sat back and teased Justin’s already abused hole with the tip of his finger.

Justin breathed in sharply and felt the muscles in his legs quiver as Brian pushed the head of the dildo past the first ring of muscle. “We’ll see,” Brian said as he pushed the length of the dildo all the way in.

Justin let out a sting of unintelligible words, dug his heels into the bed and gripped Brian’s back hard enough to bruise. “Don’t stop,” he pleaded as Brian started to move the toy in and out at a rapid pace. “Fuck, don’t stop. Don’t… Mmm… Brian, don’t… “

Brian drank down the sounds Justin made, moving his hand up and down his own cock as he kept up a steady rhythm with the dildo. In one fluid motion Brian pulled the toy out of Justin and shoved his cock inside, holding still for what felt like forever before he started to move.

Justin felt his heart thundering in his chest, could hear the blood pounding in his ears. He felt Brian’s hand wrap around his neck and add just the right pressure as he felt his third orgasm of the night crash through him and his vision go white.

 

**
 

Junior fell asleep with her back pressed up against Pilot’s, and Blue draped over her middle. Race was curled up with his hands tucked under his chin. Max and Sam were in the portable crib in Mel and Lindsay’s room. “We don’t give them enough credit,” Melanie said as she pushed her hair out of her face. She adjusted her pillow and Lindsay sighed next to her.

“It’s definitely not easy,” Lindsay agreed, “to take care of six people with their own attitudes and wants.” She let her eyes close and turned on her side. Melanie glanced at the crib one more time before shutting off the lamp and curling in towards her wife.

 

**
 

Brian unbuckled the handcuffs and pressed a kiss to Justin’s mouth. Justin was sated and warm, his breathing low and even. “God, you’re amazing,” Justin whispered. He curled into Brian and breathed in the scent of his skin.

“You’re just now realizing that?” Brian asked. Justin hit him lazily against the chest, never bothering to open his eyes.

Justin frowned as he listened to Brian settle in next to him. “Where are the kids?” Brian smirked and pulled Justin in closer to him.

 

**
 

“I’m nervous,” Lisa said. She moved around the kitchen in form fitting jeans and a black blouse. Her hair was loosely pinned back and curled. Craig was pulling out plates and sitting them on the counter.

“Jesus. So am I,” Craig admitted. He’d been getting along well with Justin and even Brian for the last couple of months but he was still nervous about how well dinner was going to go. He’d never had them all over to his house before. He knew they knew where he lived but they’d never stopped by. He’d always made it a point to go to their house. He was worried that Justin wouldn’t like Lisa, even though he’d said on more than one occasion he was perfectly fine with meeting her.

There was a knock on the door and Craig almost dropped the glasses he was holding. “Craig,” Lisa said, motioning towards the door as she pulled the pot roast out of the oven. He sat the glasses down on the counter and smoothed his hand over his shirt. He could hear the voices coming from the other side of the door as he reached for the handle.

“Because I had the blanket,” Brian was saying as he pulled the door open. He was standing on the porch with a sleeping Max in his arms, a blanket draped over his back. Justin was holding onto Sam’s hand, who was busily trying to bend down to pick up some of the stray leaves that had blown onto the porch.

“Hey,” Craig greeted them, stepping back so they could walk in the house. “Come on in, guys.”

“Hi, grandpa,” Junior said. She pulled off her thin jacket and handed it to Justin.

“Yes, hi,” Race said.

“Hi, grandpa,” Pilot said as they all got a hug. Justin got all of their jackets off and sat them on the small bench in the front hallway.

“Are they okay there?” he asked his dad.

“Oh, yeah, yeah, that’s fine. How’ve you guys been?”

“Busy,” Brian answered. He finally managed to get Max’s other arm out of his jacket and tossed it on top of the pile. “Where is this mystery lady?”

“In the kitchen,” Craig smiled. He led them through the house and into the kitchen. Justin shared a look with Brian and turned his attention back to his dad. “This is Lisa. Lisa, my son Justin and his husband…”

“Brian,” she finished. “I feel like I already know so much about you.” Brian raised an eyebrow and watched her blush. “Oh, because I’m in marketing,” she explained. “Look at all these beautiful babies. Oh my gosh.”

Craig introduced her to everyone, including Max who was drooling over Brian’s Gucci clad shoulder. “I made a pot roast. I hope that’s okay,” Lisa said happily.

“Sounds good,” Justin answered. They talked for a while and got to know each other before Lisa announced that dinner was ready. Max had woken up and was ushered away when Craig volunteered for hand washing duty. “Do you need any help?”

“Oh no, no,” she said. “You’re the guests today. Sit. I’ve got it. Next time I’ll make you work for it,” she said with a wink.

Dinner went smoothly. They talked and laughed and Justin found himself liking Lisa a lot. He hadn’t set out to hate her at all, but he was surprised he liked her as much as he did. The kids were in love with their new step-grandma. And she gained even more favor when she made not one but two apple pies. They were store bought but the kids didn’t know that and it was all the same to them.

“Well,” Brian said as he watched Pilot lick some of the pie filling from the side of his hand, “now they love you.”


 

****
 

Before Brian and Justin could blink Max and Sam were one year old, Blue was on her way to turning three, Pilot and Race were four, and Junior was seven.

Justin walked through the clothing store behind Brian, Max and Sam seated in their double stroller. The counter was already flooded with new clothes for all the boys and Brian was turning his attention to shopping for the girls. “Don’t you think they have enough clothes now, Brian?" Justin asked. They’d been shopping for hours and had hit almost every store on Brian’s list. He’d included The Children’s Place, Old Navy, and The Gap, for clothes they could “play in” and to satisfy his husband.

Brian picked up a couple of shirts for Blue and draped them over his arm. “Justin, shopping is an art. I’d think you’d have some appreciation.”

“I have to go to the bathroom, dad,” Junior announced.

“I’m hungry,” Pilot whined. Race was trailing sleepily next to Brian, a tight grip on his jeans. Blue was standing next to the stroller with her finger in her mouth.

“Seriously Brian, let’s go, come on,” Justin said. “The kids are about to drop like flies and they’re hungry.” Brian conceded and let Justin lead the way to the register.

“Will that be all, Mr. Kinney?” the cashier asked with a flirty smile as she and another associate started to ring up the sale. Justin huffed out a laugh and reached down to pick up Blue when she started to fuss.

“Yeah,” Brian answered. He watched as the total climbed into the hundreds and beyond. Junior pulled on Justin’s hand and crossed her legs.

“I really have to pee, daddy,” she said.

“Okay,” Justin said. He looked around for a sign to the bathroom and turned the stroller around. “Hey, I’m gonna take her to the bathroom.” Brian nodded as Justin started to walk away. Race stayed where he was next to Brian and the other kids followed behind their daddy.

“Are they all yours?” the cashier asked as she took the credit card Brian was offering.

Brian resisted the urge to say something smart to the young girl. He just signed his name on the receipt she handed him and gathered up his bags. “Thanks,” he said with a little too much force.

 

**
 

Brian sprayed the detangling spray in Blue’s hair and took the comb out of her hand. She tried to twist and see what he was doing. Max pushed his activity walker across the room while Sam worked frantically at trying to open the cabinet doors. They were all baby proofed to keep little hands out. “Da,” Sam called as he pulled at the door.

“No,” Brian answered out of pure habit. Sam pulled harder at the cabinet handle and frowned as it refused to give way. Brian pulled a brush through his daughter’s hair and fastened it into a ponytail, snapping on a barrette to hold down the renegade strands.

Max stopped pushing his walker and walked around the front to press on the colorful buttons. He looked up when the front door of the house opened. Justin walked in with two large pizzas. “Da,” Max said. Sam teetered over and Justin slowed his walk so he wouldn’t get tangled in all of their arms and legs.

“Hey,” Justin said.

“Your son is determined to get into the cabinets,” Brian informed his husband. Pilot and Race came running in from the backyard. They were more than excited about the fact that it was summer. To them that meant recess all day long.

“I just bet he is,” Justin said. He put the pizza boxes down on the counter and dropped his keys next to them.

“Hi, daddy!” the boys called. They were covered in dirt from head to toe.

“Hey. Wow, look at you. Definitely going to need baths tonight,” he told them as he bent to poke at their tummies.

“With bubbles?” Race asked.

“Yes, we should have bubbles,” Pilot agreed with a hard nod. His hands were twisting around each other, rolling the dirt across his skin.

“We’ll see about that,” Justin said. “Go get your sister so you guys can wash up and eat lunch.” Both boys took off back outside, unlatching the safety gate and letting it swing shut behind them.

Brian finished with Blue and let her go. He packed up all the stuff for her hair, wondering why he even bothered when she’d be outside rolling in the dirt with the rest of them soon enough. Max was standing at Justin’s legs trying to see onto the counter. Sam was biting on one of their alphabet blocks. They both had a couple of fresh teeth and were prone to bite anything that got too close to their mouths. That included Brian and Justin’s fingers.

Justin dished up six plates of pizza, cutting up Max and Sam’s into small pieces. He walked them over to the table and pointed towards the bathroom when the rest of the kids came pounding back through the gate. “Hands,” Brian called before Justin got the chance. “Go.”

Justin laughed as they all scrambled for the bathroom. There’d be dirty handprints and smudges to wash away. Between himself and Brian they kept everything almost spotless, but he still felt bad for their cleaning lady. “I like it when you get all tough,” Justin said as he poured them all some juice.

Brian walked around the counter and grinned. “I know,” he said, his hands dropping to Justin’s waist. Max looked up at Brian and grinned, showing the few teeth he had. “And what are you smiling at?”

“Da,” Max said, pointing up at Brian. Sam was busily trying to lift himself into one of the chairs around the table. Brian picked up Max and walked him over to his highchair. He settled him in and then bent down to do the same to Sam. Justin sat their plates on their trays and watched them dig in. Pilot and Race beat their sister to the table where Blue was already happily waiting. Justin sat their plates in front of them and they wasted no time in eating.

“I like cheese pizza,” Pilot said. Race nodded, cheese sticking to his chin. He put his slice down and licked the sauce off his fingers before reaching for his cup.

“Sometimes we have pizza at school in our classroom,” Junior informed them all. She was sporting a very decent black eye and split lip from her attempt at “flying” She’d jumped from the top of their swing set, landing on one of the boys’ toys. She was still sporting a very nice soft cast on her left arm from the sprain she hadn’t complained about until over a day later. It had been a very nice launch to their summer season.

“After lunch, dad, came we go back outside and play?” Junior asked and signed. Blue watched the conversations fly around the table. She glanced over at Brian to see what his answer would be.

“After lunch Uncle Michael and Uncle Ben are going to come and get you so you can go to the pool,” Brian told his daughter, his hands moving steadily as he talked.

Justin took a bite of his slice of pizza and leaned against the counter. “What time?” he asked.

Brian walked over to the fridge and pulled out a bottle of water. “After two. We’ve got time,” he said as he checked his watch.

 

**
 

Justin shut the door behind Michael, watching to make sure he didn’t catch Max or Sam’s small fingers. “You’re too little,” he told his sons. “You have to wait a little while longer.”

Brian came in from the backyard and closed the sliding glass doors, locking them in place for the night. “Hey, I talked to Debbie and she’s gonna watch all the kids for us until the summer camp starts next week,” Justin told Brian as he sat on the floor with Max on his stomach and Sam crawling over his legs.

“Good. Just what they need, even more exposure to grandma Deb,” Brian said. Justin smiled.

“You know you love that she watches them. Plus, they love it over there with her and Carl.” Justin flipped Max over and listened as he giggled, trying to right himself. Brian sat down on the couch next to Justin and bumped his knee against Justin’s shoulder. “What?”

“Are you sure you should be doing that?” Brian asked.

Justin looked down at the two small boys rolling over and on top of his body and sighed. “Brian, I’m pretty sure I would know if I was pregnant again. I have had a couple of kids at this point,” Justin reasoned.

“Yeah, and you didn’t think you were pregnant for a while then either,” Brian reminded him. “Did you buy a test?”

“Yes,” Justin answered tiredly.

“Well? Did you take it?”

“No,” Justin said. Sam jumped up and ran around Justin to fling himself in Brian’s lap. Brian lifted him up and tickled him, his jeans hanging just over his feet and his shirt proudly displaying his little brother status.

“Da,” Sam said. He pointed to his brother, stretched out over Justin’s legs as Justin moved him up and down. They had countless toys designed exactly for their age and developmental stage and they still preferred to climb all over their two favorite people.

“Why not?” Brian asked. He tickled Sam’s belly and lowered himself onto the floor next to Justin.

Justin picked Max up and leaned him into Brian so he could get a kiss. Brian kissed him right on the lips and Max giggled. “Oh, see, now I’m jealous,” Justin said with a smile. He locked eyes with Brian and sighed. “Because I really don’t think it’s necessary. Look, if I am feeling particularly hormonal in a week I’ll take the test.”

“Fine,” Brian said, letting the subject drop as Max let out a loud yawn. “Oh, who is sleepy?”

Max and Sam both giggled, flashing their teeth as they rolled away across the floor.

 

**
 

Ben handed over a very knocked out Pilot to Brian. “I think the pool might have drained all of their energy.” Junior’s hair was wet and her black eye seemed even more prominent. Ben sat the bag with all of their wet bathing suits and towels on the floor.

“Thanks for taking them,” Justin said as Brian moved to follow his tired kids up the stairs. Blue trailed behind Race with her towel dragging behind her.

“Not a problem,” Ben said. “They ate already, hotdogs and chips. I think Michael had more fun than they did.” Michael was in the car slumped over with his head resting against the glass. Tyler and Emily were curled up in the backseat with their towels balled up in their laps.

“Always a kid at heart,” Justin said.

“I better get going. See you guys.” Justin closed the door behind Ben and went to help Brian get the kids changed and into bed.

 

**
 

Brian lasted two weeks before demanding that Justin take the fucking test already. He sat on the bed with Sam in his lap, waiting for Justin to walk out of the bathroom. “Justin,” he said impatiently.

“Give me a minute,” Justin said. He walked out of the bathroom with the pregnancy test in his hand. He sat down next to Brian and waited for something to pop up in the little box. “Are you hoping for a positive or a negative?” he asked quietly.

“I don’t know,” Brian said honestly. They waited and after two minutes were given an answer. Brian let out a deep breath and Sam twisted on his lap.

“This is good, right?” Justin asked. Sam reached out for him and Justin took him.

“Yeah. This is really good,” Brian answered. He took the test out of Justin’s hand and tossed it in the trash.

“Da,” Sam said as Brian walked away. “Me.” Justin watched Brian leave the bedroom and let the breath he’d been holding in escape.

 

**
 

The summer seemed to fly by and before they knew it Pilot and Race were starting kindergarten, Junior was gearing up for second grade and Blue was moving up to the next level at her school. Brian took the first week of dropping off, leaving Justin to do afternoon pick-ups.

Seven weeks into the school year and things were going smoothly; a little too smoothly. And for Brian and Justin that was always a bad thing.

Friday afternoon brought an emergency meeting for Brian, tangled lines of communication and Justin leaning across the counter at The Art Depot pleading with his friend and its owner. “Tom, come on, you’ve gotta work with me here,” Justin begged. Tom shook his head and walked away from the counter. Justin jumped over the counter and followed Tom into the back of the shop.

“No, Justin,” Tom said. “I can’t do it. I’ve already got my guys working on two overnight shipments as it is. I can’t pull them.”

“Tom, you can’t do this to me. This painting has to be in route before midnight tonight. I am begging you. I have it at my studio and all I need are a couple of guys to move it for me. I know, I know I am hitting you up at the last minute, but please,” Justin begged.

Justin watched the employees moving around, boxing paintings and framing art work. The sound of fiberglass being cut and boxes being ripped rattled through the building.

“You kill me, Justin,” Tom said as he signed off on an order. “You fucking kill me. You artists and your goddamn deadlines. Marty, you and Dale follow Taylor over to his studio and pack up his painting. And put a rush on it.”

“Thank you,” Justin said with relief. “Thank you so fucking much. You are saving my fucking ass,” Justin said.

“Yeah, and I’m upping your specialty charge for this one, Taylor. Now get your skinny ass out of my warehouse,” Tom said lovingly, pushing Justin’s hands off his arm.

“Fine,” Justin said. He walked out of the warehouse and waited in his car until he saw Marty and Dale pull up behind him in their truck. He pulled away from the curb and headed toward his studio. He reached the studio in record time and ran up the stairs, waiting for Marty and Dale to make their way up. Justin was sweating as he instructing the guys and then stepped out of their way so they could pack up the paintings.

His cell phone rang and he ran his sleeve over his forehead as he accepted the call. “Yes. Hello, Mr. DeLere. The paintings are well on their way to your gallery and should be there tomorrow morning,” he said. He listened as Mr. DeLere, one of his biggest clients, talked. “Okay.” He ended the call and looked down at the display on his phone indicating he had a message.

“Mr. Taylor,” Dale said. Justin looked up as he pressed the voicemail button on his phone. “We’re ready to go. If you could just sign this slip we’ll get this out of your way.”

“That was fast,” Justin said. He filled out the shipment form and signed his name as he listened to the voicemail connect and Brian’s voice hit his ear. He handed the papers back to Dale and accepted the pink receipt they handed to him before leaving.

”Justin, where the fuck are you? Look, I need you to pick up the kids for me. I know it’s my week, but an emergency popped up that I have to take care of.”

“Shit,” Justin said as he looked at his watch. He was more than forty-five minutes late to pick them up. “Shit, shit, shit,” he said as he grabbed his keys up off the counter where he’d tossed them and opened the door to his studio. He set the alarm and closed the door behind him, locking the door. He ran down the stairs, not wanting to wait for the elevator, and out the front of the building.

He got into his car and pulled away from the curb, making a u-turn and heading for Blue’s school first since it was the closest. Twenty minutes later he pulled up to Blue’s school and jumped out of the car, almost forgetting to put it into park and take the keys out of the ignition. He walked into the school with more composure than he felt and saw his daughter sitting on the wooden bench outside the main office with her teacher who looked less than pleased. “Mr. Taylor,” Mrs. Piper said as she stood.

“I am so sorry,” Justin said before she could finish. “Hey, baby,” Justin signed and picked up his daughter. “Daddy is so sorry,” he signed to her.

“She was a little agitated,” Mrs. Piper said. Justin straightened himself to his full height and ran his hand through his hair.

“I am so sorry,” he repeated again. “I didn’t get Brian’s message until it was already too late.”

“It’s okay,” she assured him. Justin was sure she was only being so nice because they were not the kind of parents who frequently left their kids after hours.

He held onto his daughter and started to make his way back out of the school. “Again, I’m sorry. I’ve got three other kids waiting for me, so…” he gestured at the front doors of the school and made his way out quickly. He buckled Blue into her car seat and got into the car.

By the time he pulled up to Pilot, Race, and Junior’s school it was well on its way to being five o’clock. The kids were all sitting in the cafeteria with the gym teacher. Junior was sitting at one of the tables with her book bag at her feet and her arms crossed over the top of the table. Pilot and Race were running around in the open space, their bags tossed against the wall along with their coats.

Mr. Curtis was sitting not too many seats down from Junior reading the latest edition of Sports Illustrated. Justin walked into the cafeteria with Blue running along beside him. “I’m so sorry,” Justin said. Mr. Curtis stood up and folded his magazine over once.

“No trouble. The little ones there seem to have a lot of energy,” he pointed out.

“Daddy, you’re late,” Junior said as she got up. Blue ran over to her sister and gave her a hug.

“I know,” Justin said as he leaned over to give her a kiss on the top of her head. “I’m sorry.” Pilot and Race ran over to Justin and crashed into his legs.

“Oh, daddy, you forgot about us I think,” Pilot said.

“You forgot about us, daddy,” Race said. Blue was holding onto Race’s waist, her hair long and curling against her neck.

“No, I didn’t forget about you. I could never forget about you,” Justin told his sons. He gave them both a hug and stood up straight. “Go get your things.” Pilot and Race ran for their abandoned bags and coats.

 

**
 

“Are we seriously going to fight about this?” Justin asked as he pulled the chicken breasts from the oven and Brian stirred the macaroni and cheese.

“No,” Brian answered tightly.

“Then why am I getting the silent treatment?” Justin asked. He pulled six plates from the cabinet and lined them up on the counter. The kids were playing in the playroom. Junior was coloring at the playroom table, meticulously planning each color. Her arm was still in a soft cast, putting a wrench in any of her daredevil plans.

“I just don’t understand how you don’t get a message on your fucking cell phone when you have that damn phone on your hip 24 hours a day,” Brian said, his anger rising. He finished the macaroni and cheese and turned off the stove.

“Because believe it or not I don’t spend my entire day staring at the phone waiting for messages, Brian,” Justin said with force.

Max and Sam were pulling block after block out of their toy box. Justin glanced over at them before turning his attention back to Brian. “Anything could have happened,” Brian reasoned. He spooned the cheesy substance onto the plates where Justin already had their chicken waiting.

“But nothing did,” Justin said. He knew it was pointless to argue. Brian was fiercely protective of his children and there was no excuse for them being left for so long after hours, regardless of whether or not they were with an adult.

“And when I was in the fifth grade dear old Jack was late picking me up from school. It only took thirty-five minutes for my teacher to decide he liked how my hands looked wrapped around his cock. Thirty-five minutes, Justin,” Brian said with anger and resentment. Justin stood watching his husband. There were still so many things he didn’t know.

“Shit,” was all Justin could think to say.

“I just…”

“You don’t have to explain,” Justin said quietly. “I get it.” Brian nodded once and called the kids to the table so they could eat. He sat their plates in front of them and moved to pour them all some milk.

Dinner was uneventful and bath time went off without a hitch. Both Brian and Justin were looking forward to spending some time together without sticky hands and little voices.

Justin stared at the ceiling and listened while Brian showered. He listened as the water turned off and Brian stepped out of the shower, walking across the tile to finish up his routine. He said nothing as Brian slipped into bed and tossed the covers over his legs.

“I can only imagine how difficult it’s been for you, pretending like I didn’t say anything,” Brian said. Justin pushed himself up off of the bed and leaned over Brian, letting Brian trail his fingers through his hair.

“Why didn’t you ever tell me that?” Justin whispered.

Brian smirked. “How exactly does one bring that up?” Justin touched his fingers to Brian’s lips and sighed.

“Did you tell anyone?”

“Saint Joan said I was mistaken, making things up, twisting the facts of what happened,” Brian explained. “Why bother telling daddy dearest, he wouldn’t care. So what do you do? You go to school and…”

“You pretend like nothing ever happened,” Justin finished.

“And when you’re fourteen, almost fifteen, you give your coach a blowjob in the locker rooms after school,” Brian said flatly. Justin looked down at his husband and let Brian twirl his hair around his finger. “Everything and anything can happen in only a few minutes.”

Justin closed his eyes and let Brian press a kiss to his lips. He couldn’t bring himself to apologize. It wouldn’t be enough. And even though he knew in his mind that the kids were fine he understood what Brian was trying to say. He only trusted a handful of people with his kids and they’d had years of unknowingly earning that trust.

 

**
 

“I leave on Wednesday,” Brian said. “I should be gone for about two days and then it’s back on the plane. I’ve got to check on the Michigan office. Ted and Cynthia are coming with me.” Justin shoved a spoonful of baked beans into Max’s mouth and sat back. Sam was working on his own mouthful of food.

“Call me when you get settled; we can have phone sex,” Justin said. “Hey,” Justin said as Sam spit some of his food onto his tray.

“No,” Sam said and shook his head quickly from side to side.

“Yes,” Justin countered. He scooped up some more of the beans and moved the spoon to Sam’s mouth.

“’es,” Max repeated. He kicked his legs and clapped his hands.

Sam turned his head away from the spoon and frowned. “’es, no,” he said.

Brian leaned over and planted a kiss on Justin’s cheek, causing a loud squeal to come from his two sons.

 

**
 

Max and Sam decided to sleep through most of the goodbye. Junior hugged Brian and kissed his cheek before moving to finish her homework so she could play.

“Are you gonna come back?” Race asked. Brian was holding him up in his arms, Race’s fingers playing with the buttons on Brian’s shirt.

“Yeah,” Brian answered. “It’ll be just two days and then I’ll be back.” Race seemed satisfied with that answer and wiggled out of Brian’s arms.

“Are you gonna bring us some presents back?” Pilot asked as he looked up at Brian, his hands pulling at the bottom of his shirt. Brian picked him up

“I don’t know, maybe,” Brian told him. “Daddy will have to tell me if you’re a good boy or not.” Brian put him back on his feet and watched him run away. Blue was the hardest to part with. She started with a pout that quickly turned into full blown tears. Justin stood next to the door while Brian rocked her from side to side, rubbing his hand over her back.

There’d been numerous trips that took one or both of them away for days at a time and every time was just as hard for their youngest daughter, especially when it came to Brian. She held on tightly to Brian’s coat as she cried.

A black town car pulled into the circular driveway. The driver stepped out and walked up the walkway to the front door. Brian was already standing in the archway with Blue and Justin. He pulled the door open and let the driver take his bags. “I’ll miss you,” Brian signed. He nodded at Justin and he stepped forward. Brian let Justin lift their daughter from his arms and braced himself for the tantrum she was sure to throw. She put up as much as a fuss as she could, kicking against Justin and trying to get out of his arms, large tears welling up in her eyes and falling down her face.

“I hate when she cries.” Brian said.

“We’re all set, Mr. Kinney,” the driver called. He stood next to the car holding the door open.

Brian stepped closer to Justin and kissed him. Blue tried to grab onto his coat but he moved out of her reach before she could get a grip.

 

**
 

“You plan on staying upset?” Justin signed. He sat on the sofa with Blue in his lap with her back leaning against his raised thighs.

Junior was laying on the floor with her legs kicking up and down, her chin propped up on her hands. Max was lying upside down on the other end of the couch with his fingers in his mouth pinching his tongue. Pilot was standing next to the TV scratching at his back, one of his socks pulled up and one scrunched around his ankle. Sam was leaning up against Justin’s side, his eyes slowly closing. Race was sitting next to Junior, not paying any attention to the movie on the screen. He had Max’s activity walker between his legs and was pressing at the buttons.

Blue pouted. She stared at Justin with her pinky finger in her mouth. The dentist was concerned with the damage the habit would do to her teeth, but it was proving a hard habit to break. “Want my dad,” she signed with her one hand.

“He’ll be back in just two days,” Justin said as he signed. Blue shifted on Justin’s lap and sighed.

“Cut it out,” Junior said sharply, reaching over to push the activity walker out of her brother’s reach.

“Hey,” Race said. Max scrambled to sit himself up and ran his hands over his head. He stood up on the couch and walked over to Justin, leaning in close to his face. Max and Sam were both dressed in their diapers and pajama shirts.

“Yes?” Justin asked with a smile. Max leaned in and Justin kissed him quickly. “Thank you,” he said as his son started to giggle.

“Da,” Max said, his diaper making scrunching noises as he moved around.

Blue patted Justin’s chest to get his attention. “Can I have some juice?” she asked quickly. Justin wiped the drool away from her mouth and shook his head.

“No. No more juice. Do you want some water?” Blue shook her head quickly and wiggled around to get off of Justin’s lap. He lifted her up and let Max flop into the space she left. “Such a big boy.”

“Da,” Max said. He patted at the pocket of Justin’s jeans to try and get at the pacifier he knew was hidden from his sight. “Me.”

“What?” Justin asked innocently.

“Me,” Max repeated. Sam yawned and let out a loud sigh.

“No pacifier right now,” Justin told his son. He turned Max around and let him settle in. It had been Pilot’s turn to pick a movie and he’d settled on Chicken Little, as usual. They’d seen it more times than Justin could count and never seemed to get tired of it.

They’d already eaten their dinner and had their baths. Justin had already packed the lunches for the next day. All he had to do was get his six small children in the bed without too much of a struggle. Max seemed to be prone to getting the hiccups and Justin let out a small laugh as he felt them start.

 

**
 

Cynthia walked fast to keep up with Brian. They weaved through the crowd on the street, making their way to the Tyson building. “You’re got back to back meetings lined up with Jack Carson and Andy Jefferson,” she said as they made their way into the building and across the main lobby. Brian pulled his sunglasses off and let Cynthia press the button to call the elevator.

“What about Franklin Glenn?” Brian asked.

They stepped onto the elevator and Cynthia pressed the button for the top floor. “I already told you, Brian. He doesn’t want to advertise with the same company that does all the campaigns for Brown athletics, who if you weren’t aware, are their major competitor.”

”I’m more than aware,” Brian said. “That’s why I want them.” They stepped off of the elevator and walked towards the conference room, breezing past the personal assistant of Mr. Carson. Brian paused with his hand on the door. “Get him on the phone. I want a face to face meeting with him before I leave. Make it happen, Cynthia.” Brian took the portfolio from Cynthia and disappeared inside the conference room.

She backed away from the room, already reaching for her phone. The heels of her stilettos clicked across the shining marble tile as she made her way back out of the building. “Hello, I would like to speak with Mr. Glenn,” she said.

 

**
 

“Stop moving,” Junior said as she twisted Pilot’s shoe onto his foot. He moved against her efforts and she tossed his shoe down on the floor. “You’re moving too much. I quit!”

“No, you are fired from this job! I can do it,” Pilot said. He scrambled to pick up his shoe and hugged it to his chest. “I don’t need your help.”

“I don’t care. Daddy told me to help you, anyway,” Junior said with a huff. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail, her jeans held up by a black leather belt. She had on a white t-shirt and a black hooded shawl.

“So,” Pilot answered. Race was standing next to the kitchen table drinking his glass of milk. Blue was sitting in the middle of the floor, her hair combed out and curling up around her ears. She was working her way through a bag of apple slices.

Justin came down the stairs with Sam in his arms, pulling his small arm through the sleeve as he made his way across the kitchen. “J, could you put your brother’s shoe on. Please,” Justin said. He finished dressing Sam and sat him on the floor next to Max.

Junior walked back over to the kitchen table to finish the last bites of her oatmeal. “I tried,” she said around the mouthful of oats. “He kept moving and said he could do it by himself.” Justin dropped the boys’ breakfast dishes into the sink and squatted down to his son’s height.

“Pilot, come on and let me put your shoes on,” Justin called. Pilot came walking over, his gray New Balance’s in his hand, his blue socks barely visible from under the long leg of his jeans. “We’re gonna be late. We’ve got to go.” Race leaned against Justin’s back, almost knocking him off balance.

Max and Sam were rapidly making their way towards the foyer. They were dressed in dark blue overalls and blue shirts. Brian hated the overalls, but he hadn’t protested when Justin bought more than one pair. They were both wearing white Pumas and gray hoodies. Their hair was getting longer by the second and Brian had promised to take them for their first haircuts when he got back.

“Me think it’s too little,” Pilot said.

“Yes, me too,” Race agreed from across the room.

“I,” Justin corrected as he got the shoe on and started to tie it up.

“What are you talking about daddy?” Pilot asked with a frown.

Justin stood up and walked over to the refrigerator to get all of their lunchboxes. “Nothing,” Justin told them. “Let’s go.”

 

**
 

“Nervous is for people who aren’t prepared,” Brian told his husband. He stood in the lobby with his portfolio in his hand and his phone pressed up to his ear.

“Just asking,” Justin said with a smile. He took another picture and sat the digital camera on his table. He had a large portion of his wall covered in digital images, distortions of the pictures he’d taken, blending to form one clear picture. He had been working around the clock to get the piece ready for his private show, along with several others. His nerves were a wreck but at the end of everyday he felt a little more accomplished. “How are the meetings going? Did you get Glenn on board yet?”

“Not yet, but I have a feeling his resolve will be weakening soon enough,” Brian said.

“Oh I can’t wait to see what you have in mind.” Justin moved around his studio, pulling out more digital photo paper and sliding it into his printer.

“Nothing that’ll sully his virtue… or mine,” Brian said with a smirk. “Do the munchkins miss me?”

“Of course,” Justin told him. “If Blue asks me one more time when you’re coming back I swear I’ll go insane.”

“She loves me. Mr. Glenn,” Brian said. He shook the hand of the man who’d come to stand in front of him. He flipped his phone closed, knowing Justin would understand.

Justin ended the call and pushed his phone back into his pocket. He was wearing dark jeans and a short sleeved gray shirt. He knew Brian would win over Mr. Glenn. His husband didn’t like to lose. Justin hooked his camera up to his computer and sat down to get to work.

 

**
 

Brian made it back to Pittsburgh late Friday night, just as Justin was getting the kids to bed. He hugged them all and gave them all kisses. “You got off easy,” Justin said. He felt Brian’s hands on his waist, circling around and traveling down the front of his jeans, his lips against the back of his neck.

“You’re hard,” Brian answered. Justin turned in Brian’s arms and pressed a kiss firmly to his lips. Brian tightened his grip on Justin’s waist and backed him up until his back connected with the bedroom wall. Justin bit his lip and arched his back as Brian unzipped his jeans and reached his hand inside.

 

**
 

Brian got up on Saturday morning and took all of his kids to get their hair cut. Justin enjoyed the silence, sketching out a few ideas before gathering all of the kids’ dirty clothes and straightening up their rooms. He was twenty minutes into a pretty good movie when Daphne called.

It took him just over half an hour to get to her house. He rang the bell twice before using the key she’d given him to open the front door. Damien’s hockey gear was sitting against the wall in the hallway and one of his jackets was tossed over the back of the couch. He usually spent his weekends with his dad. They’d fallen into a much more agreeable schedule with him spending weekends and every third week at Cedric’s place. It was only a few miles away and didn’t disrupt his schooling at all.

“Daph,” Justin called. He put his keys in his pocket and made his way up the stairs. He walked down the hall and knocked on the closed door of Daphne’s bedroom before pushing it open.

Daphne was lying on the bed with her back to Justin, her legs pulled up and a large blanket covering her. “You’re supposed to wait to be invited inside,” Daphne said. Justin could hear the sound of tears in her voice. He walked around the bed, shrugging out of his jacket and putting it down on the foot of the bed before lying down in front of his friend.

“I never was one for waiting,” Justin said. Daphne gave a weak smile and wiped at her eyes with an overused tissue. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Daphne took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “I didn’t tell anyone,” she said, her voice low. “I didn’t even tell Cedric.” Justin knew they had been seeing each other again. He never asked too many questions about it because he knew how sensitive the relationship was. Daphne never brought it up, wanting to take it slow. “I was going to… just… you know, after a couple of months had passed.”

Justin understood. He’d waited as long as he could without telling Brian he was pregnant too. “Yeah,” Justin said. He moved closer as she started to cry again. She’d been in the shower late Friday night when the blood started to flow down her legs. She didn’t need thousands of dollars in student loans and a medical degree to know what was happening. A friend and colleague at the hospital sadly confirmed what she already knew to be true. She’d lost the baby. She thought it would hurt less because it wasn’t a planned pregnancy. She should have known better.

“I think my heart is breaking,” she said through the tears captured in her throat. Justin tightened his arms around her and let her cry.

 

**
 

Gene leaned back against his counter with his scissors in his hand. “What were you thinking?” he asked. Junior, Pilot, Race and Blue were already sitting in their chairs with their individual stylists working on their hair.

“Just a trim,” Brian told him as he sat Max in the chair. It was designed especially for children, with a harness so they wouldn’t fall. Gene put his scissors down and snapped the harness closed. Their hair was already washed, towels wrapped around their necks to catch the extra water. Brian sat down in the empty chair next to Max’s and let Sam look at himself in the little handheld mirror until it was his turn.

 

**
 

“Here, eat this, and drink this,” Justin said. He’d managed to get Daphne up out of the bed and to the couch in the living room. She took the plate of food from him and stared at the sandwich.

“What is it?”

“Peanut butter and jelly,” he told her with a smile. “I’ve been told by four very judgmental critics that I make them very well.” Daphne laughed and took a bite of the sandwich, leaving the glass of milk sitting on the coffee table.

“Definitely a step up from the mud pies you’d try to make me eat.” The two friends sat next to each other telling stories from when they were little and catching up on what had been happening since they’d last seen each other a few weeks ago.

“Seriously,” Justin said after more than an hour had gone by. “What is the deal with you and Cedric?” Daphne laughed. She’d eaten half of the sandwich and drank most of the milk.

“We’re… dating. And I swear to god if you tell that to anyone I will kill you,” she threatened. “He asked me out, again, a couple of months ago and I decided to stop being a bitch and take pity on him. Plus, I was horny as hell and so tired of going solo with my vibrator and a glass of wine.”

“That was so much more than I wanted to know,” Justin said with a frown. “What does Damien have to say?”

Daphne stretched her arms over her head and leaned into the arm of the couch, her legs stretched over Justin’s lap. “He’s such a smartass. He said that he hopes we’re really sure this time because he is at a very sensitive and impressionable time in his development. He’s ten, all I expected him to say was ‘cool’.”

They stayed on the couch talking until Brian called Justin asking if he wanted to meet them for lunch. Daphne moved her legs and stood up. She was still sore but not in any pain. They’d given her something to help her sleep and something for any pain she might experience but she hadn’t taken any of it. She walked Justin to the door and smiled as she leaned against it.

“You’ll be okay?” he asked seriously.

“Yeah,” Daphne answered. “I’ll eat a ton of ice cream and watch some movies with a lot of action. I’ll be good. And yes I’ll call if I need anything.”

Justin smiled. “Good.”

 

**
 

“It’s good,” Justin said. He was sitting on their bed with Sam sleeping against his chest. All of the kids were asleep. Brian had made barbeque chicken and cornbread for dinner and they’d all fallen asleep without preamble, except for Sam who needed a little extra holding before giving in. Justin wondered briefly if anyone knew that Brian wasn’t a bad cook at all.

“Just good?” Brian asked. He snatched the sample print for the magazine ad away from his husband. Justin shrugged and scratched at the side of his nose. “This is a ten thousand dollar ad space. I need better than good, Justin.”

Justin shrugged and got up. “I just don’t like it,” he said as he walked out of the room to take Sam to his bed.

Brian mumbled something and tossed the sample on the bed, pulling his shirt over his head. “You’re not helping,” Brian said loud enough for Justin to hear.

Justin rolled his eyes and laid his son down, covering him with his blue blanket. He walked out of his youngest twins’ room. He planned to join Brian in the shower and help him work out his idea problems with a blowjob.

 

**
 

Brian was less than thrilled. They were sitting in the third row in the Allegheny Elementary auditorium. Junior, Pilot, and Race were all part of the fall festival, each in their own respective classes. “You don’t have to look like you want to be anywhere but here,” Justin whispered. Max and Sam were sharing a chair between them with Blue on the other side of Justin.

“Because you’re very excited to be here,” Brian countered. They’d picked up the kids and had a quick dinner at home before getting the three oldest dressed in their costumes and heading back to the school.

Justin had no answer to that. It was true. He hated school functions. But the kids had been excited so they’d both have to suck it up. He turned to his daughter and lifted her back into her seat. “Stay in that seat,” he signed.

“I have to pee,” Blue signed back. She was sporting a rather impressive knot on the side of her face from Race trying to lift her up. She’d banged her head on the countertop and cried for fifteen minutes, only to stop and pick it back up when Brian walked through the door.

“No you don’t,” Justin told her. “You just went to the bathroom with dad. Sit.” He dropped his hands and watched as she crossed her arms over her chest and frowned. It was simple payback because he saw so much of his own stubborn attitude in his daughter.

The curtain went up on the stage and the teacher in charge of production walked out. She cleared her throat and started the introductions. Max crawled into Brian’s lap ten minutes into the teacher talking and fell asleep. Brian could only sympathize.

 

**
 

With four commissions lined up, a show fast approaching and Brian taking on another large client and spending more time at the office Justin didn’t need anything else to stress over. Their routine with the kids was working. Michael or Ben had agreed to picking up the kids whenever they’d both be running late. It worked for them. So when Justin woke up feeling like shit he let out a low groan. It didn’t fit anywhere into his schedule. He’d made himself get out of bed so he could help get the kids dressed and off to school. After dropping them off he made his way back to the house.

He got up slowly, blinking against the sun flooding through the large bedroom windows. “Coming,” he called out to whoever was ringing his doorbell. He knew they couldn’t hear him. He had changed back into his faded blue pajama pants and one of Brian’s gray shirts. He pulled open the front door and stared into Emmett’s face, his eyes glassed over from sickness.

“Oh my god,” Emmett said. “Baby, you look… not good.” Justin turned and walked away from the door, leaving Emmett to follow him into the house. “I went by the loft and all seems well.”

“Thanks,” Justin said. They usually tried to check on it frequently but with the past couple of weeks they’d been having they hadn’t had a chance to.

“Not a problem. Now, we need to get you some soup or juice or… something.” He moved past Justin and into the kitchen. He pulled out pots and a glass, preparing to make some homemade soup and take care of his friend. It felt like they hadn’t seen each other in forever.

“You really don’t have to do that,” Justin said. He moved behind Emmett and moved some trash off of the counter, walking around the center island to toss it in the trash can.

“Sweetie,” Emmett said, “It’s really not a problem. I’ll have you better in a snap,” he said with a snap of his fingers. Justin nodded and smiled. He pushed the drawer that held the trash can closed before Emmett could see the empty pregnancy test box balled up with the paper towels and dirty diapers.

 

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