Who Killed Whom?
Based on a continuing story line by Hannah Kelli
"Brian, I'm home!" Justin yelled as he came home from work. When there was no response, he walked to the kitchen counter next to the microwave where there was usually a note saying where he was. "Went to Babylon with the guys. Halli and Noel are with Deb for the evening. The dog has food and is in the basement. I should be home by 3:00 AM. Love Brian." Great, thought Justin. Why didn't he call me? Glancing down at his cell phone he found the reason: 10 missed calls all from Brian. "God dammit!" Justin yelled at the empty house. Looking around, Justin decided to do a little mid-winter cleaning. But first, he decided he needed a shower. Thoroughly washing his hair, and the rest of his body, Justin felt so much better. Coming out of the bathroom, with only a towel wrapped around his waist, he dragged Brian's, his, and the twins' laundry to the laundry room. Turning it on, he walked back to his dresser and put on a pair of his painting clothes to paint another mural on one of the few empty walls in the house. This time he would paint something for his daughter, maybe a farm-scene with plenty of cows and horses (her fave!). Dragging his painting supplies, as well as plastic covering for the hardwood flooring, he began. Normally, he would have brought pictures of the animals with him, but he had spent enough time in the twins' room to know what a cow looked like.
After having finished with the first layer of paint and checking up on the dog, he decided that since it was only 10:00 he would make the beds and clean up the twin's clothes and papers and stuff.
After the house was cleaned, Justin still had two hours until Brian got back, so he made himself a VERY late-night dinner. He sat on the couch in front of the TV, with a bowl of spaghetti, and turned on the news. "We interrupt this normal broadcast to bring you the latest news from Liberty Avenue. A man was found dead outside of Woody's bar. Experts are still unable to identify the body, but some say it is of the man Christopher Hobbes. Authorities are now on the scene. We will keep you posted." The fork in his hand and the pasta in his mouth, the bowl of spaghetti dropped on the floor causing the bowl to shatter, but not even the broken glass could faze Justin as he dragged his knees up to his chest and hugged them. Tears went coursing down his face as his whole body shook, but he didn't even care. He was shocked as well as relieved; relieved that he wouldn't be able to hurt anyone else because he was a bigot, but shocked that he was dead.
**
Brian came in through the front door with a black cloud hovering over his head. Justin noticed the little dimple between Brian's eyebrows, a sign that he was really irritated. "Fuck! That son of a bitch!" Brian yelled at Justin. Justin got up and took Brian's waist in his embrace, immediately feeling his muscles relax. Taking Brian by the hand, Justin led him over to the couch to sit down and tell him about it.
"It all started when Chris took me outside. He said he wanted to apologize for what happened to you the night of the prom. Boy was I a dumbass. He wanted to fuck me. When I asked him nicely to back off, he started to yell at me. Keeping my cool, I walked back in. Then I heard the gunshot. Looking back, I saw him on the ground with a bullet in his head, blood soaking his hair. I called an ambulance as fast as I could. I went back inside and ordered myself some Jim Beam®, hoping that they would help me get over his getting shot. I did, but depression turned to anger and soon I was getting in the Jeep to come home. I walk in and see you hugging your knees. Why were you doing that? Did you feel sorry for him? And if so, he tried to kill you, remember?"
"Yeah…I'm still upset though," replied Justin a little hesitantly.
"You should be pissed as fuck!"
"Why?! No matter what he tried to do to me, he was still a person, and that's upsetting for everyone," Justin muttered as his voice cracked from trying to conceal his emotions.
Pulling him close, Brian just held him. Justin, being held by the love of his life, cried until there were no more tears left. Justin, whose body had been shaking due to his sobbing, heard a light scratching on the basement door. Looking up from Brian's chest, he listened just to be sure he wasn't hearing things. He then started to chuckle so hard that his whole body shook.
"What the hell is so funny?"
"The dog is barking. He wants out. He wants company. Besides, he heard you come home."
Brian laughed along with Justin, until tears came down their cheeks and they were rolling about on the floor. They rolled so far from the couch that Justin bumped his head on the TV stand. "Fuck."
Brian kissed his head gently around the growing bump. Staggering to his feet, Justin went over to the basement door and turned the knob to let the dog out. "Hey, Buddy! You miss me?" The dog just responded by jumping up against Justin, getting his clothing all dirty. Totally unfazed by the dirt on his shirt, Justin just reached down and scratched Buddy behind his ears.
"You's a good boy, huh? Yes you are!"
"Justin, shut up! You know that that kind of baby talk drives me nuts!"
"I know."
"So stop!"
"Would you rather me scratch behind your ears?"
"Duh."
"Okay. Just let me get changed."
"Why? We aren't gonna be wearing our clothes for long anyway, right?"
"Too true." Justin replied as he leaned up to kiss Brian. Too lazy and burdened to go up the stairs, they made love by the fire.
Justin was curled up inside Brian's arms as they slept; the dog fell asleep on the couch, making the upholstery all dirty.
Waking up, Justin's first response was, "Buddy! Get down. What are you doing up there anyway?" Looking at Justin with bright brown/gold eyes, Buddy washed all hostility from Justin. Shaking his head, Justin chuckled and brought the dog to lay down next to him. Curling back up into a little ball, Justin felt Brian and Buddy fall asleep and his own eyelids become droopy; he was falling asleep.
**
Waking up, Justin's entire body felt sore. Rolling onto his side, Justin noticed Buddy was laying on his back with his tongue hanging out of the side of his mouth. Brian came over and straddled Justin's back and started to massage his shoulders. "Mmmmmm…."
"That feel good?"
"Wonderful," Justin replied.
Smacking Justin's ass, Brian mumbled "Roll over."
Doing as he was told, Justin rolled over onto his back revealing a straining cock from under the sheets.
Turning his head, Justin noticed Buddy looking at the pair, with a very quizzical look on his face. Justin laughed silently, covering his mouth with his hand. Justin's entire body was shaking, causing Brian's stomach and the floor to as well. Brian, looking at his lover's face, understood what was so funny; Buddy didn't understand what was going on.
**
Three hours and fifteen minutes later, after having showered separately, Justin looked at the clock, 5:45. "What time were we supposed to be picking up our kids?"
"About 5:00 tonight. Why?"
"Well then, we're late."
"Fuck!"
Grabbing his keys from their hanger, Brian and Justin ran into the Jeep, almost making a competition out of it. Driving faster than they should have giggling the whole way, they arrived at Deb's at about 6:00, one hour late to pick up their children. Ringing the bell, Justin was greeted by Vic. "Hey guys. Punctual aren't you?"
"Yeah, sorry. You know how it can be."
"Yeah." Vic said with a smirk. "They're just sitting down for dinner. Deb didn't know what time you guys were going to come. I hope you guys didn't have any dinner plans."
"No, we didn't." What Justin didn't tell him was that they were planning on taking them out to dinner. Justin yelled back out the door: "Brian, get that gorgeous ass in here."
"Yes, dear," came Brian's response. Locking the jeep, Brian wrapped his arms around Justin's waist and stepped into Deb and Vic's house. "Daddy!" yelled Halloran as soon as she saw her father. She ran up to him and gave him a hug.
"Hey sweetie. Were you good for your aunt Deb and Uncle Vic?"
"Yes, daddy." Halloran said innocently looking at Justin with the same bright blue eyes as her father that could melt the iceberg that sank the Titanic.
"Noel! Hey dude!"
"Wuzzup!" said Noel like a Budweiser ad slapping his father a high-five.
"Hey Sunshine!" Deb said with her usual happiness."
"Hey Deb! Halli, honey, you'll need to let me go now."
"Sorry daddy."
"Come and get it!" Deb shouted from the kitchen. With Halli pulling Justin who was pulling Brian, who in turn was pulling Noel, it turned out to be quite a calamity. Justin pulled Halli's arm as she was two inches away from knocking into Deb, who was holding a steaming plate of garlic bread.
"Sorry, Deb. Didn't mean it."
"That's okay honey. Just be careful next time, okay?"
"Okay." Said Halli as sincerely as she could. Sitting down to eat, halli felt that she needed to give thanks; "bless this, o lord, for these thy gifts, which we are about to receive, from thy bounty, through Christ our lord, amen."
"Amen" echoed the rest of the table in unison. Dinner was fabulous; spaghetti pesto. They all talked about their days and what they planned to do with the rest of their weeks. Dinner was followed by Deb's famous lemon squares.
Saying goodbyes and getting into the Jeep, Justin whispered to Brian "I need to talk to you when the twins are asleep." Misunderstanding what Justin was meaning, Brian grabbed for Justin's nuts. "I don't mean that kind of talk. I mean it literally with intelligible words."
"Okay."
They arrived at their house at about 8:30; a little too late for the twins. Yawning, they got ready for bed by brushing their teeth and getting into their pj's. Kissing them both on he forehead, Justin pulled the covers up to their chins and said good night. Walking into his own bedroom, Justin noticed Brian at their computer working on something for the office. "We need to talk. It's about Halli."
"What about her?"
"Have you noticed how spaced-out she can be?"
"Yes"
"I think she might have ADD."
"Woa. That involves therapy, hon. You know how I feel about that."
"I know. But I also think we should have her tested just to make sure."
"Fine, but you have to take her."
"Okay, fine. But how do we tell her about it?"
"Good question..." said Brian, now crossing over to his dresser to get dressed into his Pj's; a pair of briefs. Pulling them on, Brian pulled back the duvet and climbed into bed. "But, let's worry about it later. Let's make an appointment in the morning."
Feeling much better, Justin got undressed. Climbing in beside Brian, Justin cuddled up next to him and went to sleep.
**
The howling right in his ear woke Justin up in a hurry. "Fuck, Buddy! Why the hell did you do that?!?" Whimpering, Buddy brought Justin the morning paper with a Post-It® note attached. "Hahahahahahahaha…"
"Very funny, Brian!" retorted Justin amid the laughter of his children.
"Morning daddy."
"Hey..." replied Noel, acknowledging his father more with the wave of his hand than the word.
"Charmer, ain't he?" Justin quietly said to Brian.
"Hurry guys! The bus is gonna be here any second!" Brian yelled as he glanced at the clock.
Grabbing their bags for school, Halloran and Noel disappeared out of the door and ran to the bus.
"Thank god, they're gone." Justin muttered with exhaustion. Going back into the bedroom, Justin walked back over to his dresser and picked out some underwear. Going to the closet, he picked out a suit that he would have to wear to work.
By the time Justin got out of the shower, Brian was already at his desk working. "Bye sweetie."
"Bye hon. Have a good day at work."
**
Walking in the front door, Justin was surprised to see that Brian, of all people, was at the stove cooking dinner. Like an episode of a fifties show, Justin called "Honey, I'm home!".
"Hey. I decided to try cooking, mainly because I felt guilty that you are always cooking."
"I thought you couldn't cook."
"I can. I took home economics in high school."
Giving Brian a quizzical look, Justin says, "You took home ec?"
Sticking his tongue out before answering, "Yes. Keep in mind that all fags have to be good at some sort of food preparation."
"Or floral arrangements, or dancing, or decorations, or anything else of that sort."
"Exactly."
"Are the kids home?"
"Yeah. They're in their rooms working on homework. Don't get into a long conversation; dinner's gonna be in about five minutes."
"I won't." Justin retorted.
"Dinner! Halli come and set the table sweetie!"
The response from the other room almost stopped Justin's heartbeat. "Just a sec, daddy. I'm almost done with my math for tomorrow."
"Okay, but hurry." To Brian he said, "Did you hear that? Halli wanting to do homework?"
"Unbelievable ain't it? Guess what I told her. I told her that she should start on her homework so she could spend more time with you tonight, maybe even finish the mural."
"Where's Brian and what have you done with him?"
"I got hungry. I hope you don't care."
"Responsibility like that is very becoming. I approve."
Dinner was delish. Another dinner involving pesto was served. But this time it was pesto pizza. "Yummy! Thanks papa!" Halli said with her usual enthusiasm.
"Yeah thanks" came the voice from across the table; from the body that used to belong to Noel, but he was being a normal ten year old.
Cleaning up after dinner, both Brian and Justin tucked the twins into bed.
**
That same night, Halloran woke up screaming. "Daddy! Daddy!"
Jumping out of bed, grabbing his robe he opened his door and shook his daughter awake. "What's wrong honey?"
"I had a bad dream. It involved you and papa. You guys were at a ball and you guys were dancing to this song from the retro age. After you guys danced for a while, papa left to go to his car. Kissing each other goodbye, you leave to go back to the ball. Then this man, who looked like the man on the news that was killed two days ago, came up behind you and hit you on the head with a baseball bat."
Justin's usually very pale face, became even paler. He couldn't imagine how she could dream of the one person he could never quite forgive. Breaking him out of his trance, Halli touched his arm and whispered "Daddy, are you okay?"
"Yeah honey. I'll be fine. Go back to bed. We'll talk about it in the morning."
"Okay."
Walking back into his room, Justin shook Brian awake. "What the fuck man?!?"
"Listen to this…Halli just woke up from a nightmare. Not unusual for her, but this one was especially creepy. She dreamt about us at the prom and about Chris Hobbes hitting me over the head. So, what do you think about that?"
"I'd say it's fuckin' frightening, that's what I'd say. Did she tell you what prompted it?"
"Yes. She said that she saw the news."
**
The next morning, while sitting down to eat breakfast, Justin turned on the news. "Police have been on the scene since Sunday, They have already dusted for finger prints and found the prints of Brian Kinney on the gun, the same man who called the cops to get Christopher to the hospital. We are still trying to eliminate him from the suspect list, but we are unable to at this time. We will keep you posted as to the updates of this case." *Click.* "Daddy, is papa okay? He looks like he's got a fever."
"Yeah, Halli. He'll be fine."
Turning to Justin, Brian yells, "I didn't do it! I didn't fuckin do it!"
"Hey…sssshhh. I'm here. Don't worry. Come here." Justin said as he pulled Brian into his and held him while he cried. Holding on to him with one hand, Justin reached over and managed to grab the cordless. Dialing the kids' school, Justin said, "Hello, attendance? This is Justin Taylor calling on behalf of Halloran and Noel Taylor-Kinney….They will not be attending school today…family business…thanks a bunch…bye."
**
"Now, it's not a punishment or anything. This is just some clarification on the subject of our past. When I was 18,…"
"You were 18?!"
"Yes, Halli, I was. Anyway, I was graduating from high school and my school had a prom. I asked your papa to go with me, but he said no. No thirty year old would be caught dead at a high school prom. So I went with my best friend Daphne. You guys know her; she lives in New York. Anyway, towards the end, papa shows up and is wearing an Armani suit and a very white cashmere scarf. He comes up to Daphne and says, "you look so gorgeous, and I'd fuck you." So, anyway, he asked her if he could cut in. Takng me by the hand, he led me to the dance floor. All other activity ceased as we danced to "save the last dance for me" by the drifters; occasionally kissing. Unbeknownst to me, the man Christopher Hobbes was seething; he hated me. When the dance was over, your papa grabbed my hand and took me to his jeep. He wanted to take me home, but I told him that I needed to get Daphne first. Kissing each other goodbye, papa climbed into the Jeep and closed the door. Do you want to finish?"
"Sure. Feeling ecstatic, I grin. Looking into the rear-view mirror, I see Chris Hobbes with a baseball bat coming towards Justin. I undo my door and yell his name, but it was too late. Chris swung and hit Justin on the right temple as he turned to face me. As Chris ran away, I grabbed the bat and hit him in the knee. I just kept screaming 'No, no, no, no, no!…" over and over again. I just held your daddy's head and rocked back and forth, staining the scarf…" Brian reached behind him, and brought out the scarf. "You see? Calling an ambulance, I continue to hold his head until the ambulance comes. I ride with him all the way to the hospital, holding his hand, and crying…" at this point Brian's voice faltered and a tear falls down his cheek. "When he was in surgery, I sat outside, and continued to cry.
Daddy's mom, Nanna, started to accuse me of having purposely left her son and that made me angry, to say the least. So I continued to see daddy, at night when no one else was around, and he got better; little by little. We had a few fights, okay fine make that many fights, but look where we are today."
Halloran and Noel looked at their father like a cow looks at an oncoming train. "Daddy, that is really starting to creep me out. That's exactly like my dream last night.
"Exactly?"
"Yes, exactly. Except in mine no one swore."
"Sissy" muttered Noel under his breath.
"Hey! Watch it, mister! One more word outta you, and you're dead!" warned Brian.
Sorry Papa. But she walked right into it. You and daddy both have a younger sister. Didn't you ever fight with her?"
"I'm younger by two minutes you moron!" piped in Halli.
"Shut up. At least I'm not suffering from PMS!"
"I should hope not! Besides I'm suffering from MS incase you were wondering."
"Thank you for sharing, dear" said Justin.
Not able to handle the tension any longer Brian said, "Both of you two need to shut your mouths before heads start to roll. Noel apologize right now! I'm giving you 'til the count of three. One…two…thr-"
"Sorry Halli," muttered Noel under his breath.
"Louder! I don't think she could hear you." Justin said getting irritated.
"SORRY, HALLI!" Noel shouted at the top of his voice.
"That's okay." Halli said obnoxiously. "I have a question though. How do you think it feels being in a house of men and you're the only girl, hm? Sometimes I want to go to Mom and Emi's house just so I can get away from all this testosterone. But I don't leave because I love you guys too much to cause you any pain. I just wish you all felt the same about me."
Justin got up and went over to his daughter who was sobbing and threw his arms around her. "When did we ever say that?"
"You never said it, but it was definitely implied. Actually, I think Noel said it to me once or twice. And for another thing, why does papa yell so much?"
"Papa yells because he doesn't know how to express himself otherwise. If you think this is bad, you should have seen what it was like before you two were born." Smirking, Justin looked at Brian and mouthed I love you.
"Hahahahahahahaha... Very funny J. You'll regret this later tonight baby."
"Oh will I?"
"Oooohhhh, yeeaaaahhhh."
"Stop it! You guys are making me nauseous. Can we get back to the subject at hand please?"
"Sorry, Noel. You try and fall in love and have to censor your self around your children. Then see how far that gets you. Horny." Brian got up and went into his bedroom to turn on the computer and starts to work on the Silverman file. Noel got up two seconds later and went into his room and shut the door.
Halli and Justin, still on the couch, sighed and just held each other for a while until Halli asked, "How did you and papa meet, daddy?"
"Hmmm…" Justin said as he pulled back a bit, "Can I ask your papa something before we talk about it?"
"Sure, Daddy."
Walking into their bedroom, Justin walks up to Brian and whispers in his ear, "halli wants to know how we met. Should I tell her the truth or save that for later?"
Turning to face Justin, Brian said "tell her the truth…all of it and how you named Gus after your teddy bear. I still have it by the way…in the attic."
"You still have it? Isn't it all torn and tattered?"
"Yes, but it reminded me of the night my son Gus was born and how you got to name him."
"You still remember that?"
"Yes, I do."
"You wanna help me with this story too?"
"Sure, just a few more minutes. Then I'll be done with work for tomorrow."
Walking out of the room, Justin came over to his daughter. From so many different aspects she reminded him of his sister when she was thirteen; long blonde hair, sky-blue eyes, full lips, and thin.
"Hey, honey. Papa's coming in just a minute to talk with us about how he and I met. Here he comes now."
"Hey, Halli," replied Brian as he walked into the room. Crossing to the couch next to Justin, laying his hand on the top of his thigh. "You wanted us to talk about how we met, right?"
"Yeah. I was always curious. Is it okay to talk about?"
"Yeah, sure honey. I think it's about time I told you what I was like before I met your daddy. At the time I was doing what was called tricking, having sex with a different person every night. I was also doing drug and drinking. Then one night I saw him. Your daddy. He was leaning up against a light post, the light causing his hair to have the strangest tint of sky-blue. He looked so hot. So I asked him if he wanted to come to my loft for a bit of fun. His eyes lit up and he immediately accepted my offer. Driving us to my old loft, daddy said nothing; he just looked out the window. As soon as I saw him, I knew that he was the one for me; I just didn't want to think that because of an experience I had had prior to this one. He got his look of terror in his eyes when he first saw my loft. Beckoning him over to the bed, I strip him. He was scared out of his mind…"
"Up until that point, I didn't even know I was gay." Piped in Justin, but soon got a stern look from Brian.
"…So I decided to ease him into it; I gave him a hand job. A ringing sound occurred, right at the most inconvenient time. I just gt news that mommy had given birth to Gus. In the meantime, daddy kept tugging on my arm to get my attention. He came on the best duvet I have, but I still have it somewhere n the attic. Grabbing a condom from a bowl I kept by the side of my bed, and some lube, I return and straddle him. Putting some lube on my finger, I put it in his ass. 'It's cold' daddy complained. 'Don't worry it'll heat up' came my response. 'Put it on me' I told him indicating the condom. Your daddy was almost horrified, but not quite. The last thing I could understand him saying was, 'wait, go slow' and I did…as best I could." By this time Halli was blushing a shade of red that would have made a tomato jealous.
"Afterwards, daddy wanted to talk. I didn't. I told him that what we did was just meaningless sex and that he would probably never see me again. He did, however, persuade me into letting him come to the hospital where Gus was born. Mommy and Daddy hit it off right away, since both of them are into art. That being said, she let him name the baby; which he named after his teddy bear that he's had since he was a baby." At this point, Brian pulled the bear out from under his leg. Immediately, Halli fell in love with it. It had obviously been loved, but she, like her father, could tell that at one time it had been very adorable. "It's wonderful." She managed to say before looking at her daddy with bright, tearful blue eyes.
"Well, anyway, back to my story. After the hospital, I drove him home and hoped to never see him again, he was getting under my skin. It was kinda creepy how he could tell what I was feeling, without having said a thing. The reason I pushed him away was I wanted things to be as I had had them before, and I was afraid of the future.
"So the next day, when I saw him, I thought that he was stalking me. He said that he loved me and that we shared some kind of special moment. I immediately yelled at him because I was afraid of what it would be like if I let him into my life. About three weeks later, his dad tried to kill me. He also sprayed my car with pink paint. So his mom brought his stuff over to my office and told me that now he was my problem. She was basically kicking him out of the house and disowning him.
"Within a few months, I started to do less tricks and did your father instead. We both got used to it, but I couldn't stop tricking all together.
"After the prom, I stopped tricking for the most part. I had become do- mesticated."
Based on a continuing story line by Hannah Kelli
"Brian, I'm home!" Justin yelled as he came home from work. When there was no response, he walked to the kitchen counter next to the microwave where there was usually a note saying where he was. "Went to Babylon with the guys. Halli and Noel are with Deb for the evening. The dog has food and is in the basement. I should be home by 3:00 AM. Love Brian." Great, thought Justin. Why didn't he call me? Glancing down at his cell phone he found the reason: 10 missed calls all from Brian. "God dammit!" Justin yelled at the empty house. Looking around, Justin decided to do a little mid-winter cleaning. But first, he decided he needed a shower. Thoroughly washing his hair, and the rest of his body, Justin felt so much better. Coming out of the bathroom, with only a towel wrapped around his waist, he dragged Brian's, his, and the twins' laundry to the laundry room. Turning it on, he walked back to his dresser and put on a pair of his painting clothes to paint another mural on one of the few empty walls in the house. This time he would paint something for his daughter, maybe a farm-scene with plenty of cows and horses (her fave!). Dragging his painting supplies, as well as plastic covering for the hardwood flooring, he began. Normally, he would have brought pictures of the animals with him, but he had spent enough time in the twins' room to know what a cow looked like.
After having finished with the first layer of paint and checking up on the dog, he decided that since it was only 10:00 he would make the beds and clean up the twin's clothes and papers and stuff.
After the house was cleaned, Justin still had two hours until Brian got back, so he made himself a VERY late-night dinner. He sat on the couch in front of the TV, with a bowl of spaghetti, and turned on the news. "We interrupt this normal broadcast to bring you the latest news from Liberty Avenue. A man was found dead outside of Woody's bar. Experts are still unable to identify the body, but some say it is of the man Christopher Hobbes. Authorities are now on the scene. We will keep you posted." The fork in his hand and the pasta in his mouth, the bowl of spaghetti dropped on the floor causing the bowl to shatter, but not even the broken glass could faze Justin as he dragged his knees up to his chest and hugged them. Tears went coursing down his face as his whole body shook, but he didn't even care. He was shocked as well as relieved; relieved that he wouldn't be able to hurt anyone else because he was a bigot, but shocked that he was dead.
**
Brian came in through the front door with a black cloud hovering over his head. Justin noticed the little dimple between Brian's eyebrows, a sign that he was really irritated. "Fuck! That son of a bitch!" Brian yelled at Justin. Justin got up and took Brian's waist in his embrace, immediately feeling his muscles relax. Taking Brian by the hand, Justin led him over to the couch to sit down and tell him about it.
"It all started when Chris took me outside. He said he wanted to apologize for what happened to you the night of the prom. Boy was I a dumbass. He wanted to fuck me. When I asked him nicely to back off, he started to yell at me. Keeping my cool, I walked back in. Then I heard the gunshot. Looking back, I saw him on the ground with a bullet in his head, blood soaking his hair. I called an ambulance as fast as I could. I went back inside and ordered myself some Jim Beam®, hoping that they would help me get over his getting shot. I did, but depression turned to anger and soon I was getting in the Jeep to come home. I walk in and see you hugging your knees. Why were you doing that? Did you feel sorry for him? And if so, he tried to kill you, remember?"
"Yeah…I'm still upset though," replied Justin a little hesitantly.
"You should be pissed as fuck!"
"Why?! No matter what he tried to do to me, he was still a person, and that's upsetting for everyone," Justin muttered as his voice cracked from trying to conceal his emotions.
Pulling him close, Brian just held him. Justin, being held by the love of his life, cried until there were no more tears left. Justin, whose body had been shaking due to his sobbing, heard a light scratching on the basement door. Looking up from Brian's chest, he listened just to be sure he wasn't hearing things. He then started to chuckle so hard that his whole body shook.
"What the hell is so funny?"
"The dog is barking. He wants out. He wants company. Besides, he heard you come home."
Brian laughed along with Justin, until tears came down their cheeks and they were rolling about on the floor. They rolled so far from the couch that Justin bumped his head on the TV stand. "Fuck."
Brian kissed his head gently around the growing bump. Staggering to his feet, Justin went over to the basement door and turned the knob to let the dog out. "Hey, Buddy! You miss me?" The dog just responded by jumping up against Justin, getting his clothing all dirty. Totally unfazed by the dirt on his shirt, Justin just reached down and scratched Buddy behind his ears.
"You's a good boy, huh? Yes you are!"
"Justin, shut up! You know that that kind of baby talk drives me nuts!"
"I know."
"So stop!"
"Would you rather me scratch behind your ears?"
"Duh."
"Okay. Just let me get changed."
"Why? We aren't gonna be wearing our clothes for long anyway, right?"
"Too true." Justin replied as he leaned up to kiss Brian. Too lazy and burdened to go up the stairs, they made love by the fire.
Justin was curled up inside Brian's arms as they slept; the dog fell asleep on the couch, making the upholstery all dirty.
Waking up, Justin's first response was, "Buddy! Get down. What are you doing up there anyway?" Looking at Justin with bright brown/gold eyes, Buddy washed all hostility from Justin. Shaking his head, Justin chuckled and brought the dog to lay down next to him. Curling back up into a little ball, Justin felt Brian and Buddy fall asleep and his own eyelids become droopy; he was falling asleep.
**
Waking up, Justin's entire body felt sore. Rolling onto his side, Justin noticed Buddy was laying on his back with his tongue hanging out of the side of his mouth. Brian came over and straddled Justin's back and started to massage his shoulders. "Mmmmmm…."
"That feel good?"
"Wonderful," Justin replied.
Smacking Justin's ass, Brian mumbled "Roll over."
Doing as he was told, Justin rolled over onto his back revealing a straining cock from under the sheets.
Turning his head, Justin noticed Buddy looking at the pair, with a very quizzical look on his face. Justin laughed silently, covering his mouth with his hand. Justin's entire body was shaking, causing Brian's stomach and the floor to as well. Brian, looking at his lover's face, understood what was so funny; Buddy didn't understand what was going on.
**
Three hours and fifteen minutes later, after having showered separately, Justin looked at the clock, 5:45. "What time were we supposed to be picking up our kids?"
"About 5:00 tonight. Why?"
"Well then, we're late."
"Fuck!"
Grabbing his keys from their hanger, Brian and Justin ran into the Jeep, almost making a competition out of it. Driving faster than they should have giggling the whole way, they arrived at Deb's at about 6:00, one hour late to pick up their children. Ringing the bell, Justin was greeted by Vic. "Hey guys. Punctual aren't you?"
"Yeah, sorry. You know how it can be."
"Yeah." Vic said with a smirk. "They're just sitting down for dinner. Deb didn't know what time you guys were going to come. I hope you guys didn't have any dinner plans."
"No, we didn't." What Justin didn't tell him was that they were planning on taking them out to dinner. Justin yelled back out the door: "Brian, get that gorgeous ass in here."
"Yes, dear," came Brian's response. Locking the jeep, Brian wrapped his arms around Justin's waist and stepped into Deb and Vic's house. "Daddy!" yelled Halloran as soon as she saw her father. She ran up to him and gave him a hug.
"Hey sweetie. Were you good for your aunt Deb and Uncle Vic?"
"Yes, daddy." Halloran said innocently looking at Justin with the same bright blue eyes as her father that could melt the iceberg that sank the Titanic.
"Noel! Hey dude!"
"Wuzzup!" said Noel like a Budweiser ad slapping his father a high-five.
"Hey Sunshine!" Deb said with her usual happiness."
"Hey Deb! Halli, honey, you'll need to let me go now."
"Sorry daddy."
"Come and get it!" Deb shouted from the kitchen. With Halli pulling Justin who was pulling Brian, who in turn was pulling Noel, it turned out to be quite a calamity. Justin pulled Halli's arm as she was two inches away from knocking into Deb, who was holding a steaming plate of garlic bread.
"Sorry, Deb. Didn't mean it."
"That's okay honey. Just be careful next time, okay?"
"Okay." Said Halli as sincerely as she could. Sitting down to eat, halli felt that she needed to give thanks; "bless this, o lord, for these thy gifts, which we are about to receive, from thy bounty, through Christ our lord, amen."
"Amen" echoed the rest of the table in unison. Dinner was fabulous; spaghetti pesto. They all talked about their days and what they planned to do with the rest of their weeks. Dinner was followed by Deb's famous lemon squares.
Saying goodbyes and getting into the Jeep, Justin whispered to Brian "I need to talk to you when the twins are asleep." Misunderstanding what Justin was meaning, Brian grabbed for Justin's nuts. "I don't mean that kind of talk. I mean it literally with intelligible words."
"Okay."
They arrived at their house at about 8:30; a little too late for the twins. Yawning, they got ready for bed by brushing their teeth and getting into their pj's. Kissing them both on he forehead, Justin pulled the covers up to their chins and said good night. Walking into his own bedroom, Justin noticed Brian at their computer working on something for the office. "We need to talk. It's about Halli."
"What about her?"
"Have you noticed how spaced-out she can be?"
"Yes"
"I think she might have ADD."
"Woa. That involves therapy, hon. You know how I feel about that."
"I know. But I also think we should have her tested just to make sure."
"Fine, but you have to take her."
"Okay, fine. But how do we tell her about it?"
"Good question..." said Brian, now crossing over to his dresser to get dressed into his Pj's; a pair of briefs. Pulling them on, Brian pulled back the duvet and climbed into bed. "But, let's worry about it later. Let's make an appointment in the morning."
Feeling much better, Justin got undressed. Climbing in beside Brian, Justin cuddled up next to him and went to sleep.
**
The howling right in his ear woke Justin up in a hurry. "Fuck, Buddy! Why the hell did you do that?!?" Whimpering, Buddy brought Justin the morning paper with a Post-It® note attached. "Hahahahahahahaha…"
"Very funny, Brian!" retorted Justin amid the laughter of his children.
"Morning daddy."
"Hey..." replied Noel, acknowledging his father more with the wave of his hand than the word.
"Charmer, ain't he?" Justin quietly said to Brian.
"Hurry guys! The bus is gonna be here any second!" Brian yelled as he glanced at the clock.
Grabbing their bags for school, Halloran and Noel disappeared out of the door and ran to the bus.
"Thank god, they're gone." Justin muttered with exhaustion. Going back into the bedroom, Justin walked back over to his dresser and picked out some underwear. Going to the closet, he picked out a suit that he would have to wear to work.
By the time Justin got out of the shower, Brian was already at his desk working. "Bye sweetie."
"Bye hon. Have a good day at work."
**
Walking in the front door, Justin was surprised to see that Brian, of all people, was at the stove cooking dinner. Like an episode of a fifties show, Justin called "Honey, I'm home!".
"Hey. I decided to try cooking, mainly because I felt guilty that you are always cooking."
"I thought you couldn't cook."
"I can. I took home economics in high school."
Giving Brian a quizzical look, Justin says, "You took home ec?"
Sticking his tongue out before answering, "Yes. Keep in mind that all fags have to be good at some sort of food preparation."
"Or floral arrangements, or dancing, or decorations, or anything else of that sort."
"Exactly."
"Are the kids home?"
"Yeah. They're in their rooms working on homework. Don't get into a long conversation; dinner's gonna be in about five minutes."
"I won't." Justin retorted.
"Dinner! Halli come and set the table sweetie!"
The response from the other room almost stopped Justin's heartbeat. "Just a sec, daddy. I'm almost done with my math for tomorrow."
"Okay, but hurry." To Brian he said, "Did you hear that? Halli wanting to do homework?"
"Unbelievable ain't it? Guess what I told her. I told her that she should start on her homework so she could spend more time with you tonight, maybe even finish the mural."
"Where's Brian and what have you done with him?"
"I got hungry. I hope you don't care."
"Responsibility like that is very becoming. I approve."
Dinner was delish. Another dinner involving pesto was served. But this time it was pesto pizza. "Yummy! Thanks papa!" Halli said with her usual enthusiasm.
"Yeah thanks" came the voice from across the table; from the body that used to belong to Noel, but he was being a normal ten year old.
Cleaning up after dinner, both Brian and Justin tucked the twins into bed.
**
That same night, Halloran woke up screaming. "Daddy! Daddy!"
Jumping out of bed, grabbing his robe he opened his door and shook his daughter awake. "What's wrong honey?"
"I had a bad dream. It involved you and papa. You guys were at a ball and you guys were dancing to this song from the retro age. After you guys danced for a while, papa left to go to his car. Kissing each other goodbye, you leave to go back to the ball. Then this man, who looked like the man on the news that was killed two days ago, came up behind you and hit you on the head with a baseball bat."
Justin's usually very pale face, became even paler. He couldn't imagine how she could dream of the one person he could never quite forgive. Breaking him out of his trance, Halli touched his arm and whispered "Daddy, are you okay?"
"Yeah honey. I'll be fine. Go back to bed. We'll talk about it in the morning."
"Okay."
Walking back into his room, Justin shook Brian awake. "What the fuck man?!?"
"Listen to this…Halli just woke up from a nightmare. Not unusual for her, but this one was especially creepy. She dreamt about us at the prom and about Chris Hobbes hitting me over the head. So, what do you think about that?"
"I'd say it's fuckin' frightening, that's what I'd say. Did she tell you what prompted it?"
"Yes. She said that she saw the news."
**
The next morning, while sitting down to eat breakfast, Justin turned on the news. "Police have been on the scene since Sunday, They have already dusted for finger prints and found the prints of Brian Kinney on the gun, the same man who called the cops to get Christopher to the hospital. We are still trying to eliminate him from the suspect list, but we are unable to at this time. We will keep you posted as to the updates of this case." *Click.* "Daddy, is papa okay? He looks like he's got a fever."
"Yeah, Halli. He'll be fine."
Turning to Justin, Brian yells, "I didn't do it! I didn't fuckin do it!"
"Hey…sssshhh. I'm here. Don't worry. Come here." Justin said as he pulled Brian into his and held him while he cried. Holding on to him with one hand, Justin reached over and managed to grab the cordless. Dialing the kids' school, Justin said, "Hello, attendance? This is Justin Taylor calling on behalf of Halloran and Noel Taylor-Kinney….They will not be attending school today…family business…thanks a bunch…bye."
**
"Now, it's not a punishment or anything. This is just some clarification on the subject of our past. When I was 18,…"
"You were 18?!"
"Yes, Halli, I was. Anyway, I was graduating from high school and my school had a prom. I asked your papa to go with me, but he said no. No thirty year old would be caught dead at a high school prom. So I went with my best friend Daphne. You guys know her; she lives in New York. Anyway, towards the end, papa shows up and is wearing an Armani suit and a very white cashmere scarf. He comes up to Daphne and says, "you look so gorgeous, and I'd fuck you." So, anyway, he asked her if he could cut in. Takng me by the hand, he led me to the dance floor. All other activity ceased as we danced to "save the last dance for me" by the drifters; occasionally kissing. Unbeknownst to me, the man Christopher Hobbes was seething; he hated me. When the dance was over, your papa grabbed my hand and took me to his jeep. He wanted to take me home, but I told him that I needed to get Daphne first. Kissing each other goodbye, papa climbed into the Jeep and closed the door. Do you want to finish?"
"Sure. Feeling ecstatic, I grin. Looking into the rear-view mirror, I see Chris Hobbes with a baseball bat coming towards Justin. I undo my door and yell his name, but it was too late. Chris swung and hit Justin on the right temple as he turned to face me. As Chris ran away, I grabbed the bat and hit him in the knee. I just kept screaming 'No, no, no, no, no!…" over and over again. I just held your daddy's head and rocked back and forth, staining the scarf…" Brian reached behind him, and brought out the scarf. "You see? Calling an ambulance, I continue to hold his head until the ambulance comes. I ride with him all the way to the hospital, holding his hand, and crying…" at this point Brian's voice faltered and a tear falls down his cheek. "When he was in surgery, I sat outside, and continued to cry.
Daddy's mom, Nanna, started to accuse me of having purposely left her son and that made me angry, to say the least. So I continued to see daddy, at night when no one else was around, and he got better; little by little. We had a few fights, okay fine make that many fights, but look where we are today."
Halloran and Noel looked at their father like a cow looks at an oncoming train. "Daddy, that is really starting to creep me out. That's exactly like my dream last night.
"Exactly?"
"Yes, exactly. Except in mine no one swore."
"Sissy" muttered Noel under his breath.
"Hey! Watch it, mister! One more word outta you, and you're dead!" warned Brian.
Sorry Papa. But she walked right into it. You and daddy both have a younger sister. Didn't you ever fight with her?"
"I'm younger by two minutes you moron!" piped in Halli.
"Shut up. At least I'm not suffering from PMS!"
"I should hope not! Besides I'm suffering from MS incase you were wondering."
"Thank you for sharing, dear" said Justin.
Not able to handle the tension any longer Brian said, "Both of you two need to shut your mouths before heads start to roll. Noel apologize right now! I'm giving you 'til the count of three. One…two…thr-"
"Sorry Halli," muttered Noel under his breath.
"Louder! I don't think she could hear you." Justin said getting irritated.
"SORRY, HALLI!" Noel shouted at the top of his voice.
"That's okay." Halli said obnoxiously. "I have a question though. How do you think it feels being in a house of men and you're the only girl, hm? Sometimes I want to go to Mom and Emi's house just so I can get away from all this testosterone. But I don't leave because I love you guys too much to cause you any pain. I just wish you all felt the same about me."
Justin got up and went over to his daughter who was sobbing and threw his arms around her. "When did we ever say that?"
"You never said it, but it was definitely implied. Actually, I think Noel said it to me once or twice. And for another thing, why does papa yell so much?"
"Papa yells because he doesn't know how to express himself otherwise. If you think this is bad, you should have seen what it was like before you two were born." Smirking, Justin looked at Brian and mouthed I love you.
"Hahahahahahahaha... Very funny J. You'll regret this later tonight baby."
"Oh will I?"
"Oooohhhh, yeeaaaahhhh."
"Stop it! You guys are making me nauseous. Can we get back to the subject at hand please?"
"Sorry, Noel. You try and fall in love and have to censor your self around your children. Then see how far that gets you. Horny." Brian got up and went into his bedroom to turn on the computer and starts to work on the Silverman file. Noel got up two seconds later and went into his room and shut the door.
Halli and Justin, still on the couch, sighed and just held each other for a while until Halli asked, "How did you and papa meet, daddy?"
"Hmmm…" Justin said as he pulled back a bit, "Can I ask your papa something before we talk about it?"
"Sure, Daddy."
Walking into their bedroom, Justin walks up to Brian and whispers in his ear, "halli wants to know how we met. Should I tell her the truth or save that for later?"
Turning to face Justin, Brian said "tell her the truth…all of it and how you named Gus after your teddy bear. I still have it by the way…in the attic."
"You still have it? Isn't it all torn and tattered?"
"Yes, but it reminded me of the night my son Gus was born and how you got to name him."
"You still remember that?"
"Yes, I do."
"You wanna help me with this story too?"
"Sure, just a few more minutes. Then I'll be done with work for tomorrow."
Walking out of the room, Justin came over to his daughter. From so many different aspects she reminded him of his sister when she was thirteen; long blonde hair, sky-blue eyes, full lips, and thin.
"Hey, honey. Papa's coming in just a minute to talk with us about how he and I met. Here he comes now."
"Hey, Halli," replied Brian as he walked into the room. Crossing to the couch next to Justin, laying his hand on the top of his thigh. "You wanted us to talk about how we met, right?"
"Yeah. I was always curious. Is it okay to talk about?"
"Yeah, sure honey. I think it's about time I told you what I was like before I met your daddy. At the time I was doing what was called tricking, having sex with a different person every night. I was also doing drug and drinking. Then one night I saw him. Your daddy. He was leaning up against a light post, the light causing his hair to have the strangest tint of sky-blue. He looked so hot. So I asked him if he wanted to come to my loft for a bit of fun. His eyes lit up and he immediately accepted my offer. Driving us to my old loft, daddy said nothing; he just looked out the window. As soon as I saw him, I knew that he was the one for me; I just didn't want to think that because of an experience I had had prior to this one. He got his look of terror in his eyes when he first saw my loft. Beckoning him over to the bed, I strip him. He was scared out of his mind…"
"Up until that point, I didn't even know I was gay." Piped in Justin, but soon got a stern look from Brian.
"…So I decided to ease him into it; I gave him a hand job. A ringing sound occurred, right at the most inconvenient time. I just gt news that mommy had given birth to Gus. In the meantime, daddy kept tugging on my arm to get my attention. He came on the best duvet I have, but I still have it somewhere n the attic. Grabbing a condom from a bowl I kept by the side of my bed, and some lube, I return and straddle him. Putting some lube on my finger, I put it in his ass. 'It's cold' daddy complained. 'Don't worry it'll heat up' came my response. 'Put it on me' I told him indicating the condom. Your daddy was almost horrified, but not quite. The last thing I could understand him saying was, 'wait, go slow' and I did…as best I could." By this time Halli was blushing a shade of red that would have made a tomato jealous.
"Afterwards, daddy wanted to talk. I didn't. I told him that what we did was just meaningless sex and that he would probably never see me again. He did, however, persuade me into letting him come to the hospital where Gus was born. Mommy and Daddy hit it off right away, since both of them are into art. That being said, she let him name the baby; which he named after his teddy bear that he's had since he was a baby." At this point, Brian pulled the bear out from under his leg. Immediately, Halli fell in love with it. It had obviously been loved, but she, like her father, could tell that at one time it had been very adorable. "It's wonderful." She managed to say before looking at her daddy with bright, tearful blue eyes.
"Well, anyway, back to my story. After the hospital, I drove him home and hoped to never see him again, he was getting under my skin. It was kinda creepy how he could tell what I was feeling, without having said a thing. The reason I pushed him away was I wanted things to be as I had had them before, and I was afraid of the future.
"So the next day, when I saw him, I thought that he was stalking me. He said that he loved me and that we shared some kind of special moment. I immediately yelled at him because I was afraid of what it would be like if I let him into my life. About three weeks later, his dad tried to kill me. He also sprayed my car with pink paint. So his mom brought his stuff over to my office and told me that now he was my problem. She was basically kicking him out of the house and disowning him.
"Within a few months, I started to do less tricks and did your father instead. We both got used to it, but I couldn't stop tricking all together.
"After the prom, I stopped tricking for the most part. I had become do- mesticated."