Gus was like his dad in al lot of ways. He was stubborn, head strong, ambitious, protective of the people he cared about, and almost his exact copy in looks.
But what was strange, was that he was more like his "dad" than his actual Dad. He loved everything living, everything beautiful. He was open minded and stood up for what he believed in, no matter what anyone says. He cares for people, and doesn't mind showing it. Affection was something that came easily to him. Now, looking at it, it could be traits that he got from his Mom, but except for the first six years of his life, he barely spent any time with her. He liked to think he was like Justin.
Don't get it wrong, he loved his Dad. More than anything, his Dad's were important to him. His Dad was always there if he was having a hard time, or just needed someone to bitch at, or if he needed help or anything. Of course he loved him.
But Justin was his rock. He was always there, like his Dad. He could rant at him for hours, throw things at him, scream horrible things at him, and he was still there.
It seemed Gus did that a lot when his Mom showed up when he was thirteen. According to his "Mom" and the other parentals, Lindsay went a little crazy after Justin went to New York. He was living her dream, and she didn't like that, didn't like being held back with a family to take care of, to put before herself, her dreams. So she left. And she didn't come back.
Until two years ago, when he was thirteen. She showed up claiming she wanted to be apart of her son's life again, after abandoning him for seven years. What she really wanted, was money from his dad. Her parents cut her off—supposedly they were giving her allowance again when they found out she left behind her dirty life style. Dickheads.—and she needed more cash. So she used Gus to try to get to his Dad, and when he refused, she went mad. He screamed and yelled, and told Gus he was worthless, and if he can't do anything for his mother, what was he good for? He told her she wasn't his mother, Mel was. Mel was there, and she wasn't. And she tried to hit him.
Thankfully, Brian got her out of the house, and once again she didn't come back. But it hurt Gus more than he thought. He thought she might actually want something to do with him, that she might actually come back and love him like a mother is supposed to. Her words hit him more than her trying to hit him.
And what does a Kinney do when they're hurt? Seclude themselves away from everyone who cares about them. And when they try to help? Take everything else out on them. Hurt them, so maybe you won't hurt as much anymore. Give them some too.
His Mom and Dad had no clue what to do with him. They stood back, helpless, as he hurt himself, beat himself up, feeling unwanted. They just didn't know what to do. They tried to help him, talk to him, try something but it didn't work.
Justin didn't try to talk to him. He just stood there, and let him yell at him. Let him scream and throw things at him with a stoic expression on his face. He just held him when he finally cried, when he finally realized he lost the woman who was supposed to love him more than anything. He just laid on his bed with him in the dark for hours, not saying anything, when he locked himself away. He was just there.
And when Gus was ready, he told him about his Dad. How he kicked him out, disowned him for being gay. He told him about how he was bashed in the head with a fucking baseball bat when he was seventeen, for once again, being himself. How fucking worthless and unloved and dirty he felt for being himself. How he took it out on Gus' dad most the time, and he did the same thing for Justin that Justin did for Gus. He was there.
He didn't know what made him think about this all of a sudden. Sure, he gave all these fucking feelings a passing thought on occasion, but he never just sat on his bed and thought it all through. It might've been the kid hustler that was killed behind Babylon last week, or Justin painting with him a couple hours ago, or JR and Mel having dinner with them, and how comfortable he was with them. Maybe it was his Dad's telling him they wanted to have another kid, and asking him how he felt about it.
Maybe that was it. It made Gus smile, thinking about what how lucky this kid was going to be. Shit, Gus himself was pretty lucky.
Anyway, Gus shook his head before he went off track, again. Justin. His "Dad", the one he was more like than his own Dad.
Another thing he shared with him, was painting. Gus loved it, but something he loved more than sketching with charcoal or pencils, was painting with water colors. The way the colors just blended together, creating something amazing, something beautiful. Mixing, and combining completely different colors, but complimenting each other so perfectly. Just… blending. Blending together.
He guessed that could apply to his family. The watercolors. Him and his Dad's. Him and JR. JR and his Dad's. Her Dad and her Mom and his Dad's. Gus and her Dad's. Mixing together. Completely different from each other—maybe not Mel and his Dad, but he wouldn't ever mention it unless he wanted his ear talked off for eternity—but mixing and creating something pretty fucking wonderful. And that's not even adding the rest of them, Gus smiled and shook his head.
As Justin JR came high tailing it into his room, running from his Dad, he glanced at the canvas on the other side of the room, blown apart with watercolors.