Domestic Bliss

Work Force

"Fuck!" Brian said as he shook his head and looked at the motley crew in front of him. "Now I know I'm in trouble."

"Don't be a meanie," Emmett said. "We're here to help and Nate has already assigned us jobs."

"I want to be able to conduct business in here," Brian griped. "Can you guarantee that?"

They all looked at Nate.

"They're enthusiastic and they listened well and some of them have some experience," Nate tried to reassure Brian.

"Experience as what?" Brian asked as he looked over the assembled masses. "Worst dressed pretend contractors?"

"Hey!" Debbie shouted. "Watch that mouth of yours!"

"Let's get to work, Nate," Ben suggested.

"Good idea," Nate agreed. "You have your assignments, so get started."

Everyone moved off, some of them giving Brian a wary and disapproving look as they walked by.

"You could have been a little more gracious," Lindsay said to him as the others moved out of the room. "They all came here to help you."

"I didn't ask for their fucking help," Brian spit out. He wasn't feeling like being gracious, not when he had visions of his place of business being turned into a total fiasco by this inept band of workers.

"They offered their help freely," Lindsay said. "You could at least show them a little appreciation."

"Yeah, and free usually isn't worth much."

Lindsay sighed, "Brian."

"Where's my son?" Brian demanded realizing that the Munchers were there but Gus was not.

"He's with the babysitter. He wanted to come help build his Dada's business, but a construction site is no place for a five year old."

"True," Brian had to admit. He liked the idea that Gus wanted to come and assist him.

"I better join Melanie or she'll accuse me of shirking," Lindsay laughed ruefully.

"I can't believe she's here too," Brian admitted.

"Neither can she." Lindsay disappeared out the door.

"You did this, didn't you?" Brian asked turning to Justin.

"Well, something had to happen," Justin said softly.

Brian shook his head. "How many arms did you have to twist?"

"Surprisingly few. They came because they wanted to," Justin said simply. "They're your friends."

"And Emmett used it as an excuse to buy new leathers."

"Yeah," Justin laughed.

"Ready to get to work?" Nate asked as he came back into the office from making sure the others were all doing their assigned tasks.

"You don't expect me to work, do you?" Brian asked. "I'm the one who hired you."

"You don't get off that easy, Brian. If all your friends are working, so are you," Nate told him.

"That's right," Justin agreed.

"What do you want me to do?" Brian asked grudgingly. "And it better not involve power tools."

"I thought you and Justin could clean up the area around the opening to the attic. Take down the rest of the plaster and boards."

"I guess we could do that," Brian said.

"Good. Here's a crowbar and a hammer. The dustpan and bin is upstairs."

"Okay," Brian said as Justin took his hand. They started towards the stairs.

They could hear Emmett and Ted helping Michael, Ben and Hunter to clear the debris that had fallen on Nate. The girls seemed to be in the kitchen doing something. Nate was revving up the power saw. Brian and Justin would be up in the attic all by themselves.

"Do you think Nate sent us up here for a reason?" Brian asked as they climbed the stairs.

Justin nodded. "I think he wanted to keep the others out of the attic. I wonder if Algernon will know that I've read his diary."

"We're about to find out," Brian said as they reached the landing. "I'll go up the ladder and pull down the stuff around the opening. Hold the ladder for me?"

"Of course," Justin said with a smile. He'd make sure nothing happened to Brian.

It didn't take them long to pry off the rest of the wallboard that had enclosed the stairway leading to the attic. They stored the larger pieces in the bin that Nate had provided. Once they had wiped down the walls and swept up the dust, it was almost like the wall had never been there.

"If there's something that can be done to fill the nail holes," Brian said, "then I think all this needs is a coat of varnish."

"Let's ask Nate," Justin suggested.

Nate came up to see what they were doing. He agreed about filling the holes and gave them some compound to fill them. He also told them that everyone had agreed to return the following day. He hoped to have things ready so that the rooms could be painted then.

Brian smiled. It really did seem like things were coming together. "Thank you, Sunshine," he said as he kissed Justin gently. "We might actually have this place up and running next week, and it's all thanks to you."

"It's thanks to your friends," Justin told him. "Make sure you let them know how much you appreciate what they've done, and do it before the day is over."

Brian made a face but he also nodded in agreement.

"Let's fill these holes," Justin said.

"I love filling holes," Brian smirked.

"I know you do," Justin chuckled.

"I'll mix this up," Brian told him as he studied the instructions on the box of compound. He headed off to the bathroom to get some water and a container.

Justin wandered up the stairs into Algernon's old domain. He looked around before walking over to the chest of drawers where they had found the diary.

"I read it all," Justin whispered. "Your secrets are out. I wish I knew who killed you, but that's still unknown. I hope you approve of me reading your diary. I think you wanted the world to know about you. I'm still going to try to figure out who murdered you, but it's not going to be easy. Any hints you could give me would be greatly appreciated."

Justin waited. Nothing happened.

"You're awfully quiet today," he said softly. "Do you approve of Brian buying this place? He's gay too, and so am I. I think you already know that though. A lot of the people working here today are gay too. I hope that meets with your approval." Justin listened intently and glanced around the room. Nothing happened. "I wish you could give me a sign."

Justin stared at the room as he waited for something to happen. Suddenly he saw the faintest of movement in the curtains that hung over the window. He smiled. Algernon was trying to tell him that it was all right. He knew instinctively that that was what the curtains moving meant.

"Justin."

Justin jumped at the sound of Brian's voice. "Up here," he called.

"What are you doing, Sunshine?" Brian asked as he stuck his head into the room. "Communing with the dead?"

Justin shivered involuntarily. "Don't make fun of that, Brian," Justin warned.

"Come on. I got this goop mixed up. I need some help."

"You always need help," Justin laughed.

"What are you implying?" Brian asked looking put upon.

"Just that you are very high maintenance … but I wouldn't have it any other way," Justin added quickly. He didn't want to make Brian mad. Things seemed to be going very well. "Now get your ass back down those stairs and let's get this done."

"Christ, give them an inch and they take a mile," Brian snarked.

"Nine inches," Justin laughed.

"Nine and a half."

"Well, pardon me!"

"Come on, twat."

Before long they had the holes all filled. Justin suggested that they order something in for lunch. Brian got on the phone and ordered several pizzas deciding that was probably the easiest, cheapest and most generally agreeable food that they could get for everyone.

Some time later they were all sitting on the front steps and the balustrade eating their pizza and drinking sodas.

"This is yummy," Emmett said. "Thanks, Brian."

Justin gave Brian a nudge. "It's the least I could do since all of you came out here on your weekend to help. I do appreciate it," Brian said trying to sound sincere. He really did mean it.

"Excuse me," Emmett reacted. "Did I hear correctly?" Brian looked baffled by Emmett's reaction. "Did we actually get a thank you from Brian Kinney?"

"As close as we're going to get," Hunter laughed. Ben gave him an elbow.

"After lunch I need to get the drywall up where we're partitioning," Nate said stepping in and refocusing the discussion.

"I can help with that. I worked a couple of summers for a drywall company when I was going to school," Ben said.

"You still are in school, aren't you?" Michael laughed.

"Yes, dear," Ben replied good-naturedly.

"That's great, Ben. Then you're in charge. Pick your work force," Nate told him. "Once the drywall is up, it will have to be taped. Then I want to get to the cabinets that I'm building."

"You think we can get all of that done today?" Ted asked.

"If you all work as hard this afternoon as you did this morning, we're good," Nate said confidently.

Everyone smiled and looked around. Brian could hardly believe his ears. It was all actually coming together, and the ghost had been quiet all day … so far. They all finished off their slices of pizza and headed back into the house. Brian grabbed Nate's arm.

"Are we really going to get all the drywall done this weekend?"

"That's the plan."

"I can't believe it."

"Believe. Your friends have done a great job on the cleanup. If they're half as good with the drywall, we should be mostly finished tomorrow. I started the girls and Vic and his partner painting in the kitchen. They can paint the art department and conference areas tomorrow."

Brian shook his head. "I thought I was … screwed," he admitted.

"So did I," Nate laughed. "My men are irreplaceable, but with the numbers we have working this weekend, it almost makes up for them. You have great friends."

"Yeah, I guess I do."

Nate gave Brian a funny look like he couldn't believe that Brian didn't know how great his friends were. He headed into the house. Brian and Justin followed him.

"What do you want us to do?" Justin called to Nate.

"You guys got all the holes filled?"

Brian looked a little sheepish as he said, "Yes, we do."

"Then start strippin'."

"Stripping?" Justin asked.

"You know, that fucking awful wallpaper up in the future art department and the almost equally excruciating stuff in the soon to be conference room," Nate laughed.

"Right," Brian replied.

"Use these," Nate said handing Brian and Justin some putty knives. "The wallpaper is of a vintage that may peel right off. If it doesn't, get some warm water and soak the stubborn areas. It should come away after that."

"I'm calling you when we get to the stubborn areas," Brian declared.

"Don't bother. I'll be busy." Nate disappeared into Brian's office and the power saw was switched on.

"Where do you want to start?" Justin asked.

"With your domain … the art department?"

Justin smiled and they made their way upstairs.

At first the wallpaper came off relatively easily. If they could hook the putty knife under an edge they could peel most of the strip in one piece. The wall around the windows gave them the most trouble. Brian got Justin to get the warm water and apply it to that area while he continued stripping the other walls. After a couple of hours of work they had all the paper down and were covered in dust and sticky glue gobs.

"You look pretty good with grey hair," Justin said eyeing Brian up and down.

"Huh?"

"Your hair is grey."

"What the fuck?" Brian demanded as he walked quickly to the bathroom to look in the mirror above the sink. "Shit!"

"It's just dust, Brian. It will wash out."

"It fucking better," Brian griped trying to shake as much of the dust out of his hair as he could.

"Leave it," Justin said. "We still have the conference room to do."

"Fuck. My back will never be the same."

"Come on."

The afternoon slipped away as the small work force created their miracles. By dusk the drywall was all up, taped and covered with compound. It needed to dry overnight before they could sand it again and make sure it was all smooth. That would be tomorrow's job.

The kitchen had been painted and cleaned. The stairs had been cleared and mopped. All the debris had been hauled outside. Nate had managed to start on the cabinets for the foyer.

Brian and Justin had removed the worst of the wallpaper. A couple of the smaller rooms still needed to be done, but there might be time for them the following day, or they could wait to be worked on later. They were not really needed for the business to get up and running.

"Okay," Nate called to them all. "Time to go home so you can get some rest and report back here bright and early in the morning."

"Are you kidding?" Debbie asked. "I could fucking lay down right here, and then you could just wake me up in the morning."

"You didn't overdo it, did you, Ma?" Brian asked giving her a squeeze.

"No, kiddo, I'm fine. I'll see you in the morning."

"Thanks, everyone," Justin said as they started towards the door.

"Come prepared to paint," Nate told them. "That will be the focus for tomorrow. Oh, and Ben, great work with the drywall. You can finish it off tomorrow."

"Thanks," Ben said. Everyone could see that he was pleased by the compliment.

"Good work, honey," Michael said giving Ben a kiss.

"Can we go home now?" Brian asked. "I'm exhausted."

"See you in the morning," Nate said.

"You get on home too," Justin told him as he led Brian out to the car.

"I'm glad you're driving," Brian said as he slumped into the passenger seat. "I'm not sure I can see straight."

"So you won't be getting drunk tonight then?"

"Twat!"

*****

The next day went very well too. They got most of their jobs done and the whole place almost looked ready for business. If you didn't know, you wouldn't realize that the rooms still needed a second coat of paint or that the woodwork still needed varnish. The outside of the house was perfect and the inside was passable. More than passable thanks to all the friends of Brian and Justin.

As everyone was cleaning up and getting ready to leave, Nate closed his cell phone and turned to Brian. "That was one of my men," he said.

"Oh?" Brian asked.

"He and one other guy are ready to come back to work tomorrow."

"You mean we fucking did all of this for nothing?"

"I'd hardly say it was for nothing, but they'll be able to do some of the finishing work and make things really tiptop."

"What about your other two guys?"

"They don't want anything to do with the place, so I'm going to start them on my next project. We should be finished here by Wednesday."

"I see," Brian said. "Um … I won't be in tomorrow. I have an appointment."

"That's okay," Nate said. "I think we can handle it."

"I appreciate everything you did with this questionable work force, Nate."

"It was my job. I didn't want to let you down."

"Thanks."

"Dada!" a little voice called.

Brian stepped out into the foyer to see Gus come barreling towards him. "Gus! What are you doing here?"

"Lisa brung me."

"Lisa?" Brian asked as the young woman of that name came through the front door.

"Hi, Mr. Kinney. Lindsay said it would be all right if I dropped Gus off. I have a date tonight."

"I see," Brian said as he scooped up his son.

"Do I need to pay you?"

"No," Lisa said. "It's all taken care of. Good night." She went out the front door.

"Shall we go find your mothers?"

"Tools," Gus said.

Brian chuckled. "There's lots of tools. Maybe Nate will show you the power saw."

"Yay!" Gus crowed.

Brian carried his son into the office where Nate was measuring some wood. "I thought I told you to go home."

"Just finishing up," Nate smiled.

"Gus, this is Nate. Gus would like to see some tools."

"Sure," Nate said. "Would you like to see how I cut this board?" Gus nodded enthusiastically. "You'll need safety glasses," Nate told Gus as he placed a pair of way too large glasses on Gus' nose.

"I'll get his mothers," Brian said and went out of the room. He could hear the saw start up as he headed for the kitchen.

Lindsay and Melanie were washing up in the kitchen. The new paint looked great.

"How do you like your break room?" Lindsay asked with a smile.

"Not bad," Brian replied. "Gus just arrived."

"Where is he?" Melanie demanded. "You shouldn't have left him alone."

"He's with Nate. He's fine," Brian said through gritted teeth. "I wouldn't leave him alone."

"Well, you never know…" Melanie couldn't help but add.

"They're in the office," Brian said as he went up the back stairs to find Justin. He thought his partner was probably up in the attic.

"Hey," Brian said as he came up the narrow stairs into the attic.

Justin was standing at the window looking out into the twilight. "Hey," he said softly.

"Any sign of Algernon?" Brian asked as he moved in behind Justin and wrapped his arms around the blond's chest.

Justin shook his head. "I think he's okay with me reading his journal, but I would be happier if I could have solved the mystery of his death."

"I tell ya, Baggley did it."

"Show me the proof," Justin joked as he turned in Brian's arms and stood on his tiptoes to kiss Brian.

"I wish I could, Sunshine. At least there were no disasters today."

"I think Emmett's outfit may have traumatized the ghost."

Brian laughed. "You got that right."

"Brian!" Nate called. "Brian, where are you?"

"Up here. What's wrong?"

"Get down here and see what Gus found," Nate called out.

"Okay, okay," Brian replied. He grabbed Justin's hand and they ran down the main stairs.

They found everyone standing in the office staring at Gus who was holding a wooden box with a carved top.

"What is it?" Brian asked.

"I found it, Dada," Gus said proudly.

He walked towards his father, but instead of giving it to Brian he handed it to Justin. There was a collective gasp as Justin accepted the box from the little boy.

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