Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Chapter One

"Are you sure you'll be okay?" Lindsey questioned worriedly, "I mean, what with taking care of Gus, and going over the final plans for the ceremony. I can always call Brian and cancel – it's not too late…"

Melanie rolled her eyes as she lifted two-year-old Gus from his highchair. She hugged him to her chest and rubbed his back with soothing circles, encouraging him to burp, before she sat him back in his highchair. She wiped his mouth carefully.

"Linds, seriously, stop worrying so much," She chided, her tone light as if it could ease her partner's concern, "I can handle the final details and I can take care of our son. Now go and have fun, even if it is with Brian Kinney."

It was no secret that there was no love between Brian and Melanie – in fact they could barely stand to be the same room as each other for more than a few minutes before someone (and they take it in turns) throws an insult – something that had annoyed Lindsey for years. Now they both had something in common: Gus, who Brian had fathered for the couple, and Lindsey was more determined than ever to get the two adults to get along.

So far, her efforts had been futile.

Lindsey slapped her fiancée playfully. "Hey, it was incredibly nice of Brian to organise this weekend for me. I mean, he didn't have to – I can only imagine how much this is all costing him…"

"He's probably using this as another excuse to fuck his way through another state's gay population," Melanie muttered darkly.

Lindsey didn't get the chance to do anything more than shoot a disapproving gaze at the women, before a knock called her to answer the front door. As expected, Brian Kinney filled the doorway, and shot her a cocky smile as he removed his aviators.

"You ready to celebrate your last few days a single and eligible muncher?" Brian teased as he stepped into the house, glancing around for a moment, "Now where's my son?"

"Our son," Melanie corrected with a small, relatively civil smile, as she walked into the hallway holding Gus on her hip.

Brian chose not to say anything and simply lifted the child from his Mama's arms. He grinned up at Gus and he held him in the air, causing the boy to giggle and kick his legs, before he was settled into his Daddy's arms comfortably.

"Da!" he cried out happily, clapping his hands.

"Hello Sonny Boy, you're bigger than I remember. What are your mothers feeding you?" Brian wiped his finger across his son's cheek where food had stayed, and sniffed his finger. He wrinkled his nose. "Gross, tomatoes. I hate tomatoes." He carefully wiped the crud on the bib that had yet to be removed, "Your Mum and I have to go now – we're going to Las Vegas to mourn the days before marriage. I'll bring you back something…maybe a deck of cards…"

Melanie just gave him a blank look. "Please don't."

Lindsey glanced between the three important people in her life nervously for a moment, not wanting this to escalate into a full-scale argument, which it probably would. "Didn't you say we have to go Brian?" she quickly interjected, "Why don't you go wait in the Jeep while I get my stuff and say my goodbyes?"

Brian gave her a charming smile. "Whatever you say,"

He raised his child slightly and pressed a kiss to his cheek. Gus laughed happily and repeated the word "Da!" before mimicking his father's action by giving him a return kiss on the chin. He handed the toddler over to Lindsey before he left the house.

Lindsey shifted Gus in her arms so she could smile down at her baby boy. "Oh, I'm going to miss you," she cooed, "I haven't been without you for more than a night since you were born. Now I'm not going to be there for a whole weekend. It's going to be so weird without you."

"You'll be fine," Melanie assured with a smile (a real one this time).

"I know," Lindsey admitted with a small sigh, before she pressed a kiss to Gus' temple and hugging him extra tight. "Bye-bye Gussy. I'll be back in a few days. Be good for Mama for me, okay?"

"Kay, Mu'," Gus nodded in that childish determined way that was oh-so-adorable on him, especially accompanied by his broken speech.

She smiled before turning her attention to Melanie. "Promise you'll let me know if anything happens?"

Melanie cupped her partner's cheeks gently and looked her firmly, directly, in the eyes to show the certainty of the answer. "Lindsey, nothing is going to happen while you're gone. It's only for a few days, the weekend, not a whole month – not even a whole week! You need to stop worrying over nothing. Just go to Las Vegas and have some fun. Relax a bit – God knows you need it with all the work you've been doing between the wedding and work and Gus. It's my turn to do that now." She leant forward and drew her into a chaste kiss that lingered, "Now, you need to leave in Brian's Jeep, pick up the boys, and catch that plane to Nevada, okay?"

Lindsey smiled softly at the words, feeling a little more at ease than she was a few moments ago but not completely. She didn't know why she was so worried about everything – if Mel was in charge; she knew that everything would do perfectly. Melanie was always organised and well prepared, just as she always knew what to say to make everything seem less gigantic.

"Call me when you're plane lands," Melanie ordered, a small smile on her face, as she accepted her son into her arms, resting him easily on her hip, and Lindsey moved to pick up her duffel bag that had been placed in the entrance. She slung the bag over her shoulder, flipping her hair out of the way from being caught under the thick strap, and promised to call. The two barely had time to share one more goodbye kiss before a sharp and persistent honk of a car announced it was time to go.

Melanie huffed, but didn't say anything. Lindsey smiled at her knowingly and smoothed down the edges of her son's hair for a moment before she left.

QAFSTYLETHEHANGOVER

Michael searched through the bathroom cabinets for the new toiletries set he had bought especially for that weekend, haphazardly moving bottles of oils and moisturisers out of the way. He cursed loudly, slamming the door shut.

"David, have you seen that bag? You know, with my new toothbrush, toothpaste…" He listed off as he left the bathroom.

David, who was sitting up comfortably in his place on their bed, looked up from his newspaper. "Cotton flannel and face scrub?" he added, "I packed it for you yesterday."

Michael paused in his step. "You…packed it? When?"

"Uh, oh, it must have been when you went out food shopping yesterday," David shrugged.

Michael rummaged through his duffel bag; half packed with clothes, and came up with nothing of that variety. He rocked back on his heels. "Where'd you pack it?"

"In the suitcase,"

"I told you," the annoyed tone that Michael used suggested he was tired of the conversation they were having. He stood up, approached the damn suitcase and unceremoniously began removing the items that had been put away, "I'm not using the suitcase – it's too big. I'm only going for the weekend. I'd rather use the duffel bag."

David sighed. "Your clothes will get wrinkled."

"It's fine honestly," he assured as he carefully placed the toiletries bag, some changes of underwear and sun screen. He purposely ignored the lavender body spray and swimming costume – he was going to Las Vegas to get drunk and celebrate, not go swimming, so what was the point?

David watched his partner for a minute before standing up and joining Michael, helping him to his feet. He brushed his hand over his spiky hair, changing its styled position ever so slightly, and readjusted the strap of the duffel bag when it was slung over his shoulder.

"Remember to call," he reminded softly, leaning closer to kiss him gently.

Michael smiled. "I will, promise."

"Good boy," David grinned.

There was a car horn heard somewhere close by. "Mickey!" Another honk of the horn, "Mikey! Finish sucking off the dear old doctor and get your ass out here – we have a plane to catch!"

"…And that would be Brian," David muttered darkly as he released Michael from his grip and left the room, probably to have a staring (or glaring) competition with Brian from the doorstep.

He shook his head in defeat. He had long since given up with those two. Michael made to leave the room before he hesitated. He glanced towards the bedside cabinet on his side of the bed thoughtfully. With only a second of time to spare, he quickly opened the drawer and grabbed a wad of slightly crumbled paper, letters that had been attached together with an elastic band. He quickly stuffed it into the inside pocket of his jacket. He made sure they were hidden and the drawer securely shut, just like before, and left the room to join his friends on the doorstep where the weekend of a lifetime would begin.

QAFSTYLETHEHANGOVER

"Do you think I'll need a jumper?" Ted wondered aloud. He was stood in front of his wardrobe, shielded by the two open doors, and staring at a striped jumper on a hanger with some thought.

Emmett laughed. "Teddy, we're going to Nevada. You know, where it's hot? I don't think you're going to need a jumper."

It seemed that the weeks previous had not been enough for either Ted or Emmett, considering the last minute packing they were doing three hours before they have to catch their flight. Neither of them had ever been to Las Vegas before, so they wanted to be prepared for everything and anything that could happen.

Ted frowned slightly. "It could rain?"

"A jumper won't do much good in the rain," Emmett answered with a smile, "Anyway, its Nevada, in the summer. It's not going to rain."

"Fine," he reluctantly agreed, putting the item of clothing back. "What about a coat?"

Emmett gave his friend a look that clearly said "must I repeat myself".

"Right, so that's a 'no' on the coat then…" Ted muttered to himself.

"What do you think: red or black leather?" Emmett questioned, holding the two pairs of trousers in the air and regarding them closely, deep in thought.

"Red. Suits you better," Ted instructed helpfully. He closed the wardrobe doors, deciding he'd given up searching for anything else he might need, and turned towards his friend, pausing in step as he saw the collection of packed bags. "Fuck Em, we're only going for the weekend. Do you need so many bags?"

"Of course sweetie, it's only the essentials," Emmett argued. At Ted's disbelieving look, he relented a light. "Okay, essentials plus back-ups, but you never know what you might need a costume change."

"I know it won't be this weekend. With Brian in charge, and paying for the room, I doubt we'll be stepping foot inside the hotel room to get anything, let alone a 'costume change', unless we want to subject ourselves to Brian Kinney balls deep in some twink." Ted retorted dryly, "Leave the back-ups."

Begrudgingly, Emmett agreed.

"Can I at least bring my purple sunglasses?" He pressed.

"You mean the ones that cause fires?" Ted looked thoughtful for a moment before shrugging, "Sure, why not?"

"Excellent!" Emmett cheered as he searched through one of his 'back-up' bags and pulled out the large sunglasses. They were covered in glitter and feathers, completely over the top, but designed on something that Elton John had worn at one of his concerts. And, in all the time his friends had known Emmett Honeycutt, nothing was ever just simple.

Ted was turning off lights in the apartment when the phone rang. He picked up, putting the phone between his ear and shoulder, and continued turning appliances, and lights, off around the building. "Hello?"

"Theodore, before I die of old age, could you and the queen get your asses down here?" Brian's voice came over the speaker, followed by two loud scolds – probably Michael and Lindsey, Ted concluded – of objection, and the dial tone. He rolled his eyes and clicked the phone back on the stand.

Emmett glanced over his shoulder as he stood up and slung the two bags over either shoulder. "Who was that?"

"Brian."

"Is His Majesty angsty?" Emmett teased.

"Something like that," Ted rolled his eyes, "You ready?"

"As I'll ever be," He grinned happily at his friend and made his way out the door. He raised his arms in a celebratory, victory pose, "Vegas, here was come!"