Where I Belong

The Family

Alice Jenson was just putting the Pot Roast into the oven, when her daughter Katie came into the kitchen.

"Hey, Mom, do you need any help in here?" Katie asked.

"Your timing is impeccable as always; asking me if I need help when the food's already done being prepared!" Alice laughed. Katie laughed too, and hugged her mother.

"Sorry, I had some errands I had to take care of before the family all got here. I can help make the spinach and artichoke dip though," Katie offered.

"No, it's okay, honey, I have everything under control," Alice said, washing her hands.

"So, are you going to give me a little hint as to what Dad's big secret is?" Katie asked.

"You heard him; he wants to tell everyone at the same time. You'll just have to wait like everyone else," Alice told her, with a mischievous smile.

"This is so not fair. Justin won't admit it, but I know that he knows something," Katie said with a frown and crossed her arms across her chest.

"Who knows something?" a voice asked walking into the kitchen.

"Ryan!" Katie squealed and hugged the young man tightly to her. He lifted her up and spun her around before putting her down, and beamed at his twin sister. "I'm so glad you made it," she smiled.

"Me too. I've missed you, sis," he said affectionately. Ryan was only slightly taller than his sister. Like his twin, he was slender, with dark hair and sky blue eyes. He was a very handsome young man, and both men and women were always instantly attracted to him. Not only was he good looking, but he was witty, charming, and intelligent.

"Isn't there some kind of law against twins living in different cities? Harrisburg is too far away." Katie asked with a frown.

"Hey, I asked if you wanted to come with me, but no... you just had to stay here and remain close to all your friends, family, boyfriend - God, I couldn't imagine why. Those don't sound like a good enoughs reason to be separated from your twin, to me," Ryan teased. Katie playfully punched her brother in the arm.

"Ouch! Mom, she's beating me up again. See? This is why I had to leave, I couldn't take your abuse," he said, pretending to be in pain from her light punch. He walked over to his mother and with a wounded expression and hugged her. Alice cradled her son.

"It's times like these that I'm glad I don't have to deal with you two and be a referee on a daily basis anymore!" Alice said with a chuckle.

"That really hurts, mother," Ryan pouted, his hand clutching at his heart.

Alice rolled her eyes at her son, and smiled. It was good to have him back. She had missed Ryan so much. Everything just seemed so much more alive when he was around. He brought everyone's spirits up.

"Where's Scott? Is he here?" Alice asked.

"No, he couldn't make it this time. He wanted to, but he had to work. He sends his love, though," Ryan told her. "He also said that he would have me shot if I didn't remember to bring back some of your homemade peanut butter cookies."

Alice laughed. "Well, we can't have that. I'll make sure to bake a batch before you leave. How long are you staying?"

"I figured I'd drive back on Sunday night."

Alice smiled and nodded. "It's good to have you home," she told him.

Suddenly they heard some voices coming from the living room. It was apparent that the rest of the family was arriving. They all decided to walk out into the living room to greet the others.

"I thought I heard your big blabbermouth out here," Ryan said to his older brother, Peter, as he walked into the living room, his mom and sister following close behind.

Peter turned to look at Ryan and smirked. "What was that, little bro?" he asked with a devilish grin and then suddenly tackled his younger brother onto the couch and started giving him a noogie. The family laughed in amusement at the two men who were now rolling onto the floor, were laughing and wrestling.

"Well, some things never change," Daniel said out loud, his smile reaching his eyes. He thought back to when his sons were younger and how they would always practice their wrestling moves on each other. The two boys had always been close. They had been somewhat competitive with each other, but it had been in good fun. Peter was taller and more muscular than Ryan, but that had never discouraged the younger of the two. He was a lot stronger than people thought and could hold his own.

"Is daddy hurting him?" Elena asked Justin, who was holding her in his arms. She looked worried for her uncle.

"No, sweetie. They're just playing," Justin explained to the five-year old.

"Okay boys, get up off the floor before you tear my living room apart," Alice ordered.

Peter released Ryan from the position he had him pinned in, and pulled him up off the floor, then grabbed him in a hug.

"How are ya, little bro?" Peter asked with a smile as he hugged his brother.

"Not too bad," he replied. Peter nodded.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The evening at the Jensons house was enjoyably spent visiting and laughing and catching up with one another's lives. It had been at least a couple of months since they had seen Ryan. Peter, his wife Julie, and their daughter lived only 15 minutes away from the house the oldest sibling grew up in. Because of their busy lives though, they didn't get to see everyone as much as they liked. It was nice that they were all together again.

After dinner was over and they all settled in the living room for coffee and cherry pie, Daniel thought that it was a good time to tell his family what he had been excited to tell them for days now. He looked at his wife, Alice, and she smiled at him, knowing that it was time.

"Okay, everyone, listen up," Daniel said. They all stopped talking amongst each other and looked at him curiously. "There is something that I need to tell you all, but I want you to promise that you won't say anything until I'm finished explaining. All right?"

"Dad, is everything all right? It's not your health, is it?" Peter asked with concern.

"No, it's nothing like that."

"Okay, Dad, don't keep us in suspense. What is going on?" Ryan asked.

"Well, I just found out a few days ago that I have another son," Daniel told them. He paused, allowing the information to soak in. With the exception of Justin and Alice, everyone's face was in shock.

"Is this a joke?" Katie asked.

"No, sweetheart. Let me explain what's going on, and then I'll try to answer any questions that any of you may have." He felt his wife squeeze his hand in encouragement, and he smiled at her. He took a deep breath, and thought about when it all started, and then continued.

"Years ago, before I met your mother, I was involved with a woman, named Joan Kinney. I loved her very much, and thought she was an incredible woman. We were together were several months. Then one day she told me that she was married and said she couldn't see me anymore. Needless to say, I was shocked. I had no idea that she was a married woman. I never saw her again after that day." Daniel looked at his family for their reaction and heard their gasps and saw some of their frowning shocked faces.

"It turns out that Joan was pregnant with my son, and because she was married, and also because of religious reasons, she felt she had no choice but to end our relationship and have everyone including her husband, believe that the child she was carrying was his. Brian came to me to tell me the truth that he only learned recently when the man whom he believed was his father, died. His mother, Joan, confessed to him on that day that her husband was not his biological father. He felt he needed to find me and tell me the truth."

"Oh my God. We have another brother?" Ryan asked incredulously.

"Yes. His name is Brian Kinney, and he's 29 years old," Daniel told them.

"You mean, the gorgeous guy that came into the restaurant?" Katie asked.

"Yes, that's him," Daniel smiled.

"No wonder I had such a good feeling about him," Katie grinned.

"Whoa, wait a minute. What if this guy is a scam artist?" Peter said with a frown.

"I don't believe that he is, son. He seemed very genuine, not to mention scared to even tell me who he was. I could see how nervous he was when he met me. He was wearing the bracelet that I gave his mother all those years ago. It was one of a kind. Last but not least, he has a strong resemblance to people in this family. In fact, he looks a lot like you, Peter. You both have your grandfather's Irish features," Daniel told his son. Peter huffed at that.

"Your father wants him to be a part of this family. He would really like for you all to meet Brian, and would like to know how you feel about it," Alice said.

"What makes you think we should trust this guy?" Peter asked, not liking the sound of all of this.

"Honey, maybe we shouldn't jump to conclusions. Daniel trusts him, that should tell you something," his wife said softly.

"He trusts everyone, Julie," Peter said with a frown.

"That's not true, Peter, Daniel is a very good judge of character," Justin defended.

"Of course you would say that, Justin, he took you in at 15," Peter spat. Justin was surprised by the comment and looked away.

"Hey, don't speak to him that way," Ryan warned his brother.

"Okay, that's enough," Alice said, raising her voice over theirs. Peter sighed and then looked at Justin.

"I'm sorry, Jay. I didn't mean that. You know I love you, and consider you part of the family." Justin slightly nodded in response.

"Look, it's natural for you all to be a little suspicious of a stranger or have your doubts, but why not meet him first and then come to your own conclusions about whether or not you will decide to accept him," Daniel said.

"I think that's fair," Katie replied.

The rest of them agreed, and being outvoted, Peter shrugged in defeat.

"So when do we get to meet him?" Ryan asked.

"Well, that's up to you guys. I told him that I would called him by this weekend and let him know. Since you're only going to be here until Sunday, Ryan, I was thinking tomorrow night would probably be best," Daniel suggested.

Ryan nodded. "That's fine by me," he said.

"What about the rest of you?" Daniel asked. They all nodded their heads yes. "Okay, then, I'll give Brian a call tonight and see if he's available."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Brian was just getting ready to head out to Woody's when he heard his cell phone ring. Seeing Daniel's number on the screen, he smiled. The two had chatted a couple of times on the phone since their first meeting, and he was waiting to hear from him tonight to see how the rest of the family felt about meeting him. He answered the phone with a slight nervousness.

"Hello," he answered.

"Brian, it's Daniel."

"Hey, what's the word?"

"Well, they were a little shocked, but for the most part, they want to meet you," Daniel said.

"For the most part?" Brian asked.

"Yeah, Peter is feeling a little wary about this situation. He has trust issues," Daniel explained.

"Well that's something my brother and I have in common," Brian smirked.

"So, are you free tomorrow night?" Daniel asked.

"I can be," Brian said.

"Well, if you have other plans..." Daniel started to say, but Brian interrupted him.

"No, it's just Babylon. My friends and I always go there on Saturday night. It's no big deal to cancel," Brian assured him.

"If you're sure..." Daniel said.

"Yeah; I guess all the hot guys will just have to do without me for one night," Brian said with a dramatic sigh, causing his father to laugh.

"Well, I guess we'll be seeing you tomorrow then, around 6:00p.m.?"

"I'll be there," Brian assured him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Brian rang the doorbell to the Jenson household at exactly 6:00. Now was not the time to be fashionably late. He was nervous as Hell, as he stood on the doorstep, waiting. His face immediately lit up when the door opened and he saw his sexy blond hair, blue-eyed bartender giving him that sunshine smile of his.

"Hello, Brian," Justin greeted, and opened the door for him to step inside. Brian was about to compliment on how nice the house was, when little Elena suddenly ran to where they were standing and walked up to Brian, tugging on his pant leg.

"Are you the new brudder?" she asked curiously. Brian laughed and got down on one knee so he was at a closer eye level with her.

"That would be me," he told her with a smile.

"You look like my daddy," she said with a shy grin, and touched his cheek with her little hand as if to make sure he were real. Brian looked up at Justin, not sure how to react.

"Sweetie, why don't you go wash your hands. Dinner is almost ready," Justin told her.

"Okie, Uncle Justin," she replied with a smile and skipped to the bathroom, her long, dark brown curls bouncing against her back.

"Are you okay?" Justin asked him.

"Yeah, I'm just a little nervous," Brian admitted.

"It will be all right. They're all outside on the patio. Come on," Justin said, holding out his hand. To Brian's surprise, he felt strangely comforted by that, and took the blond's hand, feeling an electric jolt as their skin touched, and he smiled back at him.

They walked out to the fairly large patio. It was a beautiful evening, and the sky was an orangish-pink color, the sun having set not too long before. The family was sitting out there in chairs, around a big wooden rectangular patio table. When they noticed Brian standing there, they all immediately stood up to greet him. Brian noticed that they seemed a bit nervous as well. Daniel smiled and was the first to walk over to Brian and give him a hug.

"You're right on time. This is my beautiful wife, Alice," he told Brian, who looked over at the woman with light brown hair and green eyes and smiled. She took him into a hug. "It's so nice to meet you, Brian," she smiled. He could tell he was going to like her right away.

"Let me introduce you to the rest of your family," Daniel told Brian, who just nodded with a small smile.

"Come on, Dad, you don't have to do it for us. We're all adults here - well almost," he said, looking at Peter, who glared at him. "I'm Ryan," he said, offering his hand out to Brian to shake. Brian smiled, accepting his hand, and studied his brother's face. Obviously this family is where he got his good looks.

"You already met me, but well, now you're meeting me in a different way, I guess," Katie said with a grin, and walked over to Brian. He was surprised when he felt her suddenly grab him in a hug and whisper, "Welcome to the family." He knew now why he had liked her right away. Oddly, he felt very comfortable hugging Katie.

"Whatcha doin'?" Elena asked, joining them all on the patio. Daniel smiled and picked up his granddaughter.

"This here, is Elena. Elena, this is your Uncle Brian," Daniel explained.

"It's nice to meet you, Elena," Brian said. She giggled shyly at him and buried her face in her grandfather's neck.

"She's a little shy at times," Julie explained. She grabbed her husband's hand and pulled him over there to join them. Brian turned his attention to the attractive strawberry blond-haired woman. She was fair-skinned with brown eyes, and had a very natural beauty to her. "I'm Julie, her mother, and this is my husband, Peter," she introduced.

Brian turned to look at Peter, and was almost stunned at how similar they looked. They didn't look exactly alike, but both had the chestnut hair, the same pointy chin, and their eyes were both hazel. Peter was about the same height, but was a bit more muscular than him and not as skinny.

"Peter," Brian nodded, noticing that the other man had an expression on his face that said he was taking in their physical likeness in as well. Peter held out his hand and shook Brian's and nodded back at him. He still wasn't sure they should all be trusting this man, but he had promised that he would try not to judge him without at least getting to know him a little first.

"Well, Brian, I hope you're hungry. The chicken casseroles are done," Alice told him. "Let's all get in the house and eat," she said. They all headed inside the house and sat at the dining table which had been extended and set up for this occasion.

During the dinner, Brian found himself becoming more comfortable with everyone. He was prepared for their questions, and told them all about his career. It was a little awkward for him to tell them he was gay and about his situation with Lindsay and Gus. Daniel felt that telling the family that Brian was gay was probably something his son should tell them himself. It hadn't been bad at all, though; they hadn't batted an eye when he said he was gay, and they seemed touched that he was generous to help out a friend who wanted a baby.

Peter was mostly quiet, just observing the conversation, even though there were questions he had wanted to ask Brian as well. He kept to his word though, and didn't make any rude comments during dinner. He had to admit that Brian seemed like a good guy. He would need to talk to him one-on-one soon, though.

Before they all knew it, it was already close to 10:00 p.m. Elena was fast asleep in her father's arms on the sofa. Peter looked at his watch.

"Well, you guys, we should probably get going," he told them. His wife nodded and offered to take their daughter. He carefully handed Elena over to Julie. The little girl barely stirred.

They all walked them to the door and said their goodbyes. Peter shook Brian's hand. "Brian, I expect I'll be seeing you again soon. Until then, take care, and don't get too creeped out by this insane family," he joked. Brian smiled at him, feeling more at ease that his brother seemed to not dislike him.

"Trust me, it's not as insane as the family I had growing up," Brian smirked.

After Peter and his little family left, the rest of them sat in the living room.

"You know, you kids don't have to stick around here all night," Daniel said.

"Are you kicking us out, Dad?" Ryan asked with a smirk.

"Come on, you don't want to hang out with us boring old folks."

Alice hit her husband with a sofa pillow. "Speak for yourself, old man," she teased. They all laughed at the exchange between the couple. "He's right in one respect, though. It's Saturday night, why don't you all go out and do something fun?" she suggested.

"Well, if you insist..." Ryan said with an evil grin. "Anyone up for Babylon? I haven't been there in ages!"

"Sounds good to me," Justin said and then looked at Brian. "You interested?" he asked him.

"Yeah, sure," Brian said.

"Great. What about you, sis? You game?" he asked.

"Actually, I was planning to go over to Matt's, tonight. Maybe next time," she said.

"Fine, abandon your twin, YET AGAIN, for the boyfriend. You're going to be sorry one day," he told her, giving a little wink at Justin and Brian. Katie rolled her eyes at her brother. He loved to tease her. She shrugged it off, knowing that he really didn't have any hard feelings towards her. He had been disappointed when she turned him down about going with him to Harrisburg, but she knew that he understood.

"Well, I guess you three should get going before all the good tricks are taken," Alice said, making Brian, Justin, Ryan and Katie all blush and their mouths open in surprise.

"Mom!" Ryan and Katie said at the same exact time in almost the same tone. Justin laughed at them. The twins did that from time to time. Brian sat there smiling, amused at the situation and these people. They were a hoot.

"Oh, please. I know what goes on; no use denying it," Alice said rolling her eyes. Daniel kissed his wife on the cheek and smiled back at them.

"Okay, we need to leave like RIGHT NOW. They are giving me the creeps," Ryan shuddered. They laughed and then headed out for Babylon.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Babylon was crowded, but that was usual for a Saturday night. All eyes were on Ryan, Justin and Brian as they walked through the club. They were all pretty much used to the attention, just not usually with each other. They were causing even more of a commotion as a threesome.

"Want me to get the drinks?" Justin asked. The other two nodded at him. "Jim Beam, right?" Justin asked Brian. He smiled back at Justin and nodded, a little surprised that the blond remembered what drink he liked. "Ryan? A Corona?" Justin asked.

"Yeah," Ryan agreed. Justin nodded and left to get their drinks, leaving the Brian alone with his brother for the first time.

"So, Brian. You're interested in Justin, aren't you?" he asked casually. Brian was slightly taken aback by Ryan's bluntness.

"You're observant. He's definitely at the top of my list," Brian smiled.

Ryan nodded his head and then gave him a serious look. "I just wanted to say that if all you're looking for is a fuck, then I suggest you find it somewhere else. Justin has been through a lot of shit these past couple of years, and he doesn't need to get his heart broken again," Ryan told him.

"Honestly, I have no idea what I really want from Justin. I just know that I like him and that I feel good when he's around," Brian admitted.

"Well, all I'm saying is you're hot; you can fuck anyone you want, I'm sure. But if you're looking for that, don't look in his direction, because I know him very well, and I know it would be too easy for him to fall for you."

"Look, I know you care about him..." Ryan cut him off.

"Yes, I do. More than anyone will ever know. And since I moved away I haven't been able to be there for him the way I've always been. If I would have been around when Justin found out that Alex was cheating on him, I would have kicked that son of a bitch's ass. Just please consider what I've said, all right?" Ryan said.

Brian wondered if there was more to it than Ryan just being a caring friend. He wondered if Ryan was ever interested in Justin. "How do you know that Justin isn't looking for a fuck?" he asked. Ryan was about to answer, when Justin showed up with their drinks.

"Here you go," Justin said, handing them their drinks. "I got you a Guinness as a chaser too, Brian."

"How much do I owe you?" Brian asked.

Justin shook his head. "I paid a tip, but the drinks were free. The bartender and I are old friends," Justin smiled. Brian nodded and clanked his glass with Justin's beer bottled before down his shot.

Ryan's eyes were scanning the room, looking for his first trick of the night. He smiled as he made eye contact with a lucky winner. "See you guys later," he said, and left without waiting for a response. Justin just laughed and shook his head knowingly.

"Doesn't he have a serious boyfriend?" Brian asked. Justin nodded.

"Yeah, but they still trick. It works for them, I guess. He and Scott have been together for a few years, and Ryan moved out to Harrisburg with him. They're both attending The Academy of Medical Arts and Business together," Justin explained.

"So, how do you feel about that?" Brian asked.

"About what?"

"About tricking while in a relationship," he clarified, deciding to test the waters.

"Well, honestly, I've had a relationship like that before and it just didn't work out. I don't think I'm meant to be in that sort of relationship. I'm more of a one-man guy," Justin said.

"I see," Brian said. Well, there went that idea. His chances with Justin were slim to none.

"What about you?" Justin asked curiously.

"Well, actually, I've never been in a relationship," Brian admitted. Justin gave him a surprised look.

"Are you serious?" Brian nodded. "What's your story?" Justin asked.

"I've never really believed in them," Brian told him. Justin nodded at him slowly.

"I think I'm starting to feel the same way. I just keep having the worst luck when it comes to men. No matter what, I just get shit on," Justin said, taking a sip of his beer and then seemed to be deep in thought for a moment. "I can't help it though, you know? I love the idea of being in love. I know it might sound stupid, but I guess just like every other hopelessly romantic fag, I'm looking for that special someone," Justin admitted.

"I guess that's where I can't go wrong. You can't be hurt by love if you don't believe in it," Brian said. Justin looked at Brian sadly. What had this man been through in his life that would destroy his belief in love and relationships?

"No, I guess not," he replied, thoughtfully. Suddenly, a familiar song started playing, and Justin smiled. "You wanna dance?" Justin asked. Brian smiled at the blond and nodded. They walked out onto the dance floor and immediately, Justin grabbed Brian's hips so they could dance close. They ground against each other to the thumpa thumpa beat of Dive In The Pool.

Brian was mesmerized by Justin's dancing. He was amazed how the blond could move his hips and ass. The boy could dance. He was painfully hard, and if Justin kept touching him the way he was, he wasn't sure he could stop himself from dragging his ass into the back room and fucking his brains out. Just as Brian was about to lose his resolve and ask Justin to go to the back room with him, he saw Ryan join them. Justin immediately started dancing with Ryan, now grinding against him.

"That was fast," Justin smirked at Ryan.

"Yeah, I got bored," Ryan replied. They both laughed, and then continued to dance. Brian felt someone behind him, freaking him from behind, and smiled when he turned around to see a tall and handsome dirty blond reach out to him and rub his hard cock through his jeans.

"What do you say to the best fucking blow job you've ever had?" the trick whispered seductively into Brian's ear. How could he refuse that?

"I say, go to it," Brian told the trick, happy he would soon get some release for his aching cock. He tapped Justin on the shoulder and motioned in the direction of the back room. Justin smiled and nodded in understanding, then continued to dance with Ryan, as he watched Brian lead his trick away.

"I know what you're thinking," Ryan told Justin.

"What?" Justin asked innocently.

"You wish it was you who was being led by the hand to the back room by Brian," Ryan said. Justin blushed. "See? I'm always right."

"You're annoying is what you are," Justin said.

"You're not denying it."

"Well, shit, he's hot. Who wouldn't think about it?" Justin defended.

"Just be careful, Jay. I know you're on the rebound because of Alex. I don't want you to get hurt."

"Don't worry about me," Justin said.

"That's like asking me not to breath, or to stop fucking men," Ryan said. Justin laughed at that last comment.

"Look, I'm not sure it could even go anywhere. I just want to get to know him better for now," Justin told his best friend.

Ryan nodded, not sure if it was a good idea for Justin and Brian to get closer. The fact was, though, that Justin was his own person and would do what he wanted no matter what anyone said. He would just have to hope that things didn't blow up in Justin's face.