Thankful for …
"God take me now so I can miss next year's dinner."
"I can't believe you said that in front of everyone- my mom was there Brian! You just cannot control yourself, can you?" Justin places their daughter's carrier on the foyer table, gently removing her bundled up body and walking her upstairs cradled to his chest.
"Free country. I was well within my first amendment rights." Brian stated with a bored tone. Alex gurgles and shifts as Justin tries to rescue her from the layers of winter necessities he swears she needs.
"Alex agrees with me. Don't you Lexus?" He snuggles into her neck and carries her to the changing table in their bathroom.
"She has gas. Guess talking out your ass is hereditary" Justin quips with a hard push of the baby powder into Brian's chest.
"Uh oh, Daddy has anger issues."
"Daddy would be less homicidal if Daddy didn't marry the biggest dick he could find."
"In more ways than one Sunshine. Thanks."
Justin huffs off into their massive bedroom driving off pure frustration. He snatches up Alex's clothes and fixes up the bed with new anger.
Brian saunters to the lounge by the wall of windows, preparing to give Alex the warm bottle waiting for her. Justin watches what has become a nightly ritual since her first night home from the hospital. Brian stares into her eyes, talking to her as she soaks up his every word. Sometimes it's as though she pauses to give her opinion in their one-sided conversation. The moon shines full over the estate and turns everything peaceful.
Justin wants to hold on to his justified hurt feelings, but forgets how to. Just like every night before, he climbs beside his husband and daughter, reveling in the beauty that is them. Running his fingers through her dark rich down-like hair, he smiles into his own eyes and falls in love.
"She's still beautiful." Justin curls his hand at the nape of Brian's neck.
"Even more than yesterday" Brian whispers with a smirk. "You still upset?"
"Does it matter?" Brian turns his head to Justin and thinks about his answer. "Guess not."
Brian shrugs and tilts the bottle, knowing his sleepy daughter won't surrender until she drains every drop.
"I said what I said and it's been said. Besides, I didn't lie." Justin sighs and nods his head, knowing the event would end right there.
"Sometimes I think the worst of you. I have a momentary lapse and forget you're not normal and resent you. Then you do something that screams "Brian fucking Kinney is here" and I remember why you're perfect." They share a simple hesitant kiss and a moment of understanding.
"Hate to shatter your self-loathing Saint Tight-end, but we're more alike than you let on. If people only knew how low and dirty you go sometimes" Brian smirks and hands him the empty bottle, bringing Alex's warm fleece covered body to his shoulder to pat out a burp. Justin scoffs and looks at him unbelieving.
"You told our entire family tonight that you were thankful for my naked pole dances. They know now!"
"But I said you were great. Alex is living proof of just how effective your dances are." Brian says earnestly. Justin's demeanor softens under his husband's charm and honesty. Besides, he did agree willingly to have the pole installed in their "fun room".
"I am the best huh?"
"Sunshine, you can always twirl on my pole."
"I just wish you wouldn't cause a scene at every gathering. It's a chronic trait with you." Brian shrugs then nuzzles Alex's hair with his lips, carrying her to the antique wood crib Justin hand painted during his last trimester. He drapes the knitted blanket Debbie made her over her tiny frame and watches her breathe before turning back to Justin.
"I don't. It's usually a misunderstanding. An epidemic among simple-minded people." He exits to run a bath, losing his clothes along the way. Justin follows him in, stopping first at the crib to fix Alex's head. He pulls his sweater off and adds to Brian's pile.
"That's total bullshit! You hate everything family-oriented." He gets his toothbrush as the tub fills, surrounding him with warm steam and calming scents. Brian stares defensively at him through the mirror at the sink.
"Hey! I took Gus to Disney World that summer" Brian declares from his bubbly oasis in the marble heaven.
"You did. Now fast-forward to you bending Prince Charming over like a princess in the castle tower."
"He was on his break."
"It's Disney World!" Justin turns quickly from the sink with his hands and toothbrush in the air.
"That's beside the point."
"Do tell Mr. Kinney, oh wise one, what the fuck is the point you're trying to make." He slowly submerges to join Brian, opting to straddle his lap in lieu of anywhere else the ocean-wide tub had to offer.
"The point is holiday dinners serve no purpose, other than to cram a bunch of unhappy people with other unhappy people and force feed them fat until their arteries give up and put an end to their miserable lives." Justin's languor leaves him draped over Brian's chest, with his arms on his shoulders, leaving trails of lazy kisses on his wet tanned skin. The issue has easily become a non-issue and will be added to the scrap book of 'Brian moments' eventually.
"Now, I think it's time we discuss more concerning matters." Justin raises his eyebrow for Brian to continue. "We definitely need a pole in our bedroom" he seriously concludes, waiting for Justin to agree.
Love is love, no matter how it's packaged. Just be thankful for it.