Chapter 17

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The party was in full swing. Brian and John and Steve were barbecuing and everyone else was loading plates with all the salads and veggies that had been prepared.

"You guys sure know how to lay on a spread," Simon said to Justin as they walked beside the long table holding all the food.

"We've had so many of these that it's almost like second nature."

"I envy you all these people who are your friends and family. Ken and I only have one sister each. Gatherings are just usually us and the boys."

"Sometimes I think that would be a good thing," Justin laughed.

"I guess all these people can be a bit overwhelming."

"You don't know the half of it. They relish getting in our business, more specifically Brian's business. They had years of doing that before I ever met Brian. It's a hard habit to break."

"That sounds like it could be the start of a long story."

"I won't bore you with it."

"I think I might like to hear some of it. I find you and Brian fascinating," Simon said.

"Fascinating? That's … weird. We're just people."

"But Brian certainly is a force to be reckoned with, and I think you are too in your own way."

"Thanks, I think."

"I can't believe all the shit you two seem to have had to deal with."

"And you don't even know the whole story," Justin laughed.

"Let's sit together."

"Sure, I just need to get Bree her hotdog, and grab a hamburger."

"I'll find us some chairs," Simon suggested.

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"Brian, when you're done cooking, can we talk?" Michael asked as he received his hamburger.

"Is there any point?" Brian asked in reply. He was still pissed and not at all sure that he wanted to talk to his "best" friend about anything.

"Please."

"I'll see if I can find you a minute or two … later," Brian said rather ungraciously. "Mother, would you like a burger or a hotdog?" He turned away to look after his mother.

Some time later Brian took his burger and sat down on the step to the Wendy house. He wanted to be by himself. It took only a minute or so for Michael to join him.

"Brian, I…"

"I don't want to talk," Brian said staring straight ahead.

"But, I want to tell you that I'm sorry for how I acted earlier."

"Sorry's bullshit."

"No, no it's not. I mean it. I don't know why I was jealous but I was," Michael admitted.

Brian raised an eyebrow and turned to look at Michael. "You realize that you were acting like an ass?"

"Yeah," Michael replied contritely. "It occurred to me that we never do much together anymore. You have Ken and Simon staying at your house. I've never stayed here."

"You don't live that far away," Brian said simply. "They live in New York."

"Yeah, but they could have stayed at a hotel in Pittsburgh and driven out each day, or you and Justin could have driven into Pittsburgh to show them around."

"We have room here. We were trying to be hospitable."

"I realize that now, but I heard Bree calling that man Uncle Simon and he was staying here with you and it was … too much."

"Felt a little slighted, did you?" Brian smirked.

Michael felt his temper rising, but then he remembered that that was what had got him into this mess in the first place. "Yeah, I did," he admitted. "I miss you. I miss spending time with you and just hanging out. When is the last time that we did anything together?"

"That fucking Comic-Con." Brian laughed.

"You could be right."

"I was kidding."

"I'm not. It seems like it's that long ago."

"So, what do you want to do together? I'm not sure if they're having an underwear party anytime soon."

"Fuck the underwear party!" Michael reacted. "How about a movie or dinner or something?"

"That might be arranged."

"You mean it?" Michael asked. The joy on his face at Brian's simple statement was evident.

"I mean it."

"Then let's make a date," Michael grinned.

"A date?"

"A date. How about next Friday night?"

"Sure, Mikey. Sure."

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The barbecue was proceeding very nicely. Family and friends were enjoying the relaxed atmosphere and taking the opportunity to catch up with the latest gossip and getting to know the newest additions to their family. Molly was enjoying getting suggestions for her wedding, set for the next year and even Owen was having a ball learning the dynamics and nuances of his family to be. As more of Emmett's creations made their way to the various tables, the family oohed and aahed, making the tall queen beam with pride.

The family had broken up into small clusters. Jennifer, Joan, Debbie and Claire were holding court at one of the picnic tables. When Dan and Emily arrived, Emily joined them. Dan, Drew, Owen, Allen and George were off somewhere talking sports. Jeffrey took a sudden liking to Rachel's oldest daughter and decided to tag along when Rachel held an impromptu tour of the area where the house was going to be moved.

Somehow Mikey and Ben found themselves in the middle of a rousing game of catch with the younger members of the family. Nick and Hunter were there helping to keep the kids in line, stealing kisses from each other as young lovers often do.

John, Bobby, Simon, Ken, Ted, Brian and Justin were huddled around a table talking New York. Ken, very familiar with the layout of the first floor office/apartment, drew the layout for Brian. John studied the drawing then made suggestions on improvements to make the office user friendly, allowing for the attached apartment. Ted was muttering to himself, interjecting where appropriate and crunching numbers as he scribbled notes on a pad. Brian sat back, observing, taking it all in. He marveled at what an astute businessman Simon was. Brian had checked him out too. Simon was solid, financially sound and very savvy. And while Ken had a certain flaming persona, his talents were widely respected in his own field. He was able to consult and work on his own projects at leisure without being tied to a nine to five job. Snatching a sheet of paper off of Teddy's pad, Brian began to make his own notes regarding the campaign for the gaming software and for Kinnetik N'ergy. Justin began sketching logos and decorating possibilities while Bobby and Simon talked about leases.

"Uh oh," Bobby muttered as his red head popped up and spied two very unhappy lesbians heading in their direction.

"What?" Brian asked.

"Angry lesbians at seven o'clock." Lindsay and Mel stormed up to the table and all conversation stopped.

"Bri?" Ted asked pensively as he moved to make a hasty retreat.

"Stay where you are, Schmidt," Brian growled. Ted sat.

"Ladies," Brian began with a sweet tone.

"Don't you lady me, Kinney," Mel snapped then turned her icy gaze at Simon and Ken. "I want to know what your son is doing with Gus." Simon's eyes darkened and he was about to spew forth when Ken placed his hand on Simon's, just as Justin often did when Mount Kinney was about to erupt.

"Melanie, I have no idea what you're referring to." Ken's voice was gentle and not a queenie lisp was heard.

"Your son and mine were last seen walking together toward the stream. He's as bent as a dog's hind leg. Gus is too young to be seduced."

"I'm surprised you didn't chase after them," Brian snarked coldly. Justin placed his hand over Brian's.

"I didn't want to embarrass them," Mel offered as an answer.

"Oh, so you thought you'd embarrass yourself instead. Good move, Mel."

"Asshole! I want an explanation." Melanie was becoming irrational.

"Ted, chairs for the ladies," Brian barked, and Ted moved briskly to retrieve chairs for the women. Lindsay smiled a warm thank you.

"What are you implying?" Simon got up from his chair and made a show of stretching imaginary kinks from his neck. He was almost as tall as Brian but his greater bulk made him look enormous and very powerful. Under normal circumstances, Simon would never have dreamed of using his size to intimidate a woman but these were not normal circumstances. The move worked and Melanie became quiet. Simon sat, trying to hide the smug look on his face. Brian winked at the man.

"We're not implying anything," Lindsay took over, "but it's obvious that your son is out and proud and I respect him for it. It's still not easy to come out and at such a young age, but Gus is straight. Considering what happened at Kinnetik this week, I don't want Gus to feel frightened or intimidated." Lindsay glanced at Simon for a brief moment. Busted.

"Lindz, Gus may not be as straight as you think." All eyes were on Brian as he spoke.

"I don't understand; he was devastated when Lacy didn't return his feelings last year. What makes you think he's not straight?" Lindsay asked more confused than ever.

"Wait a minute, is Lacy the young hustler you told us about, Brian?" Simon asked.

Justin nodded. "Did we tell you about the counseling center that Brian and Hunter founded?" Simon and Ken nodded. "Hunter has saved a lot of kids, pulled many off the streets..."

"Kicking and screaming," Brian snarked.

"One of those kids Hunter saved was Lacy. At first we thought she was a he, and that's what she wanted. Lacy was hustling."

"You said she was turning tricks, a prostitute," Ken added still fascinated at the strange goings-on of this group of people.

"She looks like a boy, tall, skinny, short hair with an androgynous body. She let men use her as a man. Hunter worked with her and now she's off the street."

"Justin, please get to the point," Melanie was getting frustrated.

"Let me, Sunshine." Brian placed a kiss to Justin's temple as he took over the explanation. "Lindz," Brian continued, "and Mel, on our trip, Gus and I had a lot of time to talk." Lindsay's eyes grew wide. "Yeah, I know; I can talk. Gus told me that although he has an appreciation for female attributes..." Brian started to point toward Mel's breasts then redirected his finger toward Lindsay's more womanly curves. Bobby and Justin couldn't hold back snorting. "He said he wasn't altogether sure if he was attracted to Lacy because she's a girl or a girl that looks a lot like a boy." Lindsay and Mel groaned. "His words, not mine."

They all got very quiet then Mel sat up straight. "That makes it worse. We have to keep them apart. Look, I'm sure Raymond is a great kid but Gus is too innocent. He has no idea..."

"Mel, when I first met you all, what was one of the first things you guys warned me about?" Justin looked at Mel, Lindsay and Ted.

"To stay away from Brian," Mel answered softly.

"Right, and did I?"

"No, you little shit!" Brian crowed. "You ran straight for me. You didn't listen to anyone, not them, not your mother, not Debbie. No one."

"That's right. I was seventeen and no one was going to tell me what I could and couldn't do."

"Yeah and look what happened," Brian murmured. Justin ignored the crack and went on.

"You tell Gus to stop being Ray's friend and they'll find a way around it. Teenagers will do that." Lindsay and Melanie groaned again and the table became silent. After a few minutes, Ted spoke his opinion.

"I know I'm the only one at this table who's not a parent but I've been working closely with Gus this past week. He's smart, confident and doesn't take shit from anyone. He handled himself with dignity especially when Trevor tried his crap. I can't imagine him doing something he's not ready for or unsure of."

Brian let that tidbit sink in before dropping his own words of wisdom. "Besides, at this age, it'll be over before it starts." Mel glared.

"Brian..." Lindsay was about to admonish the man. Brian held up his hands in surrender.

"Lindz, after that crap with Lacy, of course I don't want Gus to get hurt. But you have to let him go. He's growing up. He and Ray and Jeff have become friends. He needs that. He needs to be in the company of boys his own age. You gotta let him out of Muncherville. They're probably chasing bugs or frogs or something. They're good kids; give them room to breathe."

The parents sitting at the table couldn't fault any of Brian's logic. Deep down they knew Brian was right. But it didn't make it any easier.

"Lindz, don't let the shit that happened to me, to Justin, to all of us as we were growing up affect how you approach Gus and his sexuality. If you do then all of what we survived, what Vic survived at Stonewall, the bashing, everything will be meaningless. Trust him. You both did one hell of a job raising him. Maybe that's why I stayed away for so long, I was afraid of how I was going to affect his life."

"Brian..." Lindsay started.

"No, Lindz, let me," Mel interrupted. "I hated you, Kinney, for such a long time I hated you. Hated you, your behavior, your friendship, no, relationship with Lindsay. I was jealous. I can never have what you and Lindsay have, never. I know that and it's clouded my judgment for years. Brian, if there's one thing I do know, it's that you love Gus beyond anything else. You gave him to us, gave up your rights to him when our relationship was going to hell. And I know I've been a … a cunt." Both Lindsay and Brian gasped at Melanie's choice of description. "It's true and I've done some for shit things, but you are Gus' father and whatever you've done, you've done with him in mind. And you've even taken care of JR."

Brian glanced at Bobby who became a similar shade of red as his hair.

"Don't be angry at Bobby. I forced the issue right before Bree's christening. He told me that all of the kids will be set for life. You're not like Jack and you'll never be like him. Justin, you were right not to listen to us. You saw the good in Brian, the good that no one, not one of us wanted to see. You allowed him to become what he was meant to be, a good partner and loving father."

Justin leaned into Brian as Brian wrapped his arm around Justin's shoulder.

"Brian's right," Ken offered. "We'll just let the boys be, and be there if they need us." The table nodded and all became quiet yet again.

"Hey, Pop!" Gus and Ray came running up, with mischief on their minds.

"Hey, Sonny Boy, what's up?" Justin kicked Brian under the table.

"Look what we found!" Gus stuck a big fat frog in front of Brian's face. Brian's eyes grew larger than saucers as expected, then narrowed as he zoned in on his son.

"Oh yeah, well watch this!" Brian tackled Gus to the ground tickling the boy and sending the poor frog flying onto the table. The adults jumped up as the frog landed with a splat into a pitcher of iced tea. They all started yelling and laughing and watching as father and son rolled around on the ground trying to out-tickle each other. All of a sudden Lindsay got into the mix.

"Gus..." They all froze as Lindsay stood poised to attack. She was one of the few who knew Brian's tickle spots. "Get him right...HERE!" Lindsay's fingers found the secret spot and unmercifully mother and son attacked Brian.

Simon fished the hapless frog out of the pitcher, shaking his head at the antics taking place on the ground before him. "Come on, Ray, let's go put this poor frog back where it belongs.

"Sure, Dad." Everyone kept laughing as father and son walked toward the stream.

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As the afternoon wore on people started packing up and heading out. They were all pleased to have met Ken and Simon, even Michael after his initial jealousy. One of the last ones to leave was Emmett. He was packing up his trays and making a special leftover tray for the cottages. Some of his finest desserts were laid out for the men and boys to enjoy, and Bree too.

"It was a real pleasure meeting you, Emmett," Ken said.

"Likewise, sweetie," Emmett replied.

"If you ever get to New York, look us up," Ken said. He handed Emmett one of his cards.

"Actually, Drewsie has promised me a trip to New York. We just haven't found the right time to go."

"Go where?" Drew asked as he carried in a tray of cutlery.

"New York. Ken just asked us to visit them."

"That's very nice of you, Ken. We'll have to try to arrange that."

Emmett beamed, Ken smiled and all of them started thinking about New York, New York.

Finally Emmett snapped out of his reverie and finished wrapping the tray of desserts in plastic wrap. "There, that ought to tide you over until you go home."

"With three teenage boys around, it'll be gone tomorrow," Ken laughed.

As the sun started to go down, everyone had left. The teenagers were in Gus' room playing the video games again and had already cracked open Emmett's tray of goodies. Brian, Justin, Ken and Simon were sitting in the sun porch as the day cooled off and evening fell.

"Sleepy, Dada," Bree said as she snuggled in Brian's lap.

"You had a big day, didn't you, Squirt?" Bree nodded. "Let's get you ready for bed."

Bree didn't even protest as Brian took her around the group to give each man a kiss. He then carried her out of the porch and down the hall to her bedroom.

"She's a little princess," Simon said.

"You don't know the half of it," Justin laughed. "A little princess in training to be a drama queen, just like her Dada."

"Brian, a drama queen?" Ken asked.

"You haven't had the pleasure of one of his infamous queen outs. They're legendary," Justin chuckled.

"Maybe it's just as well," Simon replied with a grin.

"Brian is so good with Bree," Ken said.

"Yeah, he's a wonderful father. I don't think I would have ever been able to handle a girl the way Brian does," Simon added.

"Tell him that, if you get a chance," Justin said seriously.

"Sure, why?" Simon asked.

"Brian always thinks he's a bad father. He's so afraid he'll end up being like his own father, Jack."

"I don't know what Jack was like but Brian is definitely a great dad."

"You met Joan today?" Justin asked.

"Only briefly," Ken said.

"She and Jack did not have a happy marriage. They never wanted Brian, and always found ways to tell him that. They really did a number on Brian where family is concerned. He's done everything in his power to be nothing like them, but it's been hard. Most people base their parenting skills on what their own parents did. Brian didn't have much of a role model for a father or a mother."

"That's really too bad. He sure is a complex guy," Simon observed.

"I've hardly scratched the surface and I've been with him for fifteen years."

"You telling the lamppost story again, Sunshine?" Brian asked as he came back into the room. He slid onto the chaise where Justin was sitting and snuggled up against his husband.

"Hadn't gotten to it yet, Bri."

"Do tell," Ken said.

"Well, one night I was leaving this club called Babylon…"

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