Previously On Queer As Folk: While visiting, Melanie and Lindsay invited Ted, Emmett, Blake, and Calvin to come and visit them in Toronto.

After graduating, Hunter secretly applied to Allegheny Community College to be with Lexi.


Chapter Forty-Nine

"I don't know what to wear. What are you packing?" Emmett's voice said in Ted's ear.

"Normal clothes, Em. It isn't like we're going to the arctic or anything," Ted replied, moving the phone to his other ear. After talking it over, they'd decided to take Lindsay and Melanie up on their offer to come and visit them in Canada. They were leaving early the next morning.

"I know that, Teddy, but I just wasn't sure. The last time we were there it was pretty cold..."

"It was winter," Ted reminded him. He loved Emmett but sometimes he could be really dense.

"It's the end of May, the weather should be pretty much the same as it is here. At least, that's what Mel and Linz told me when they were here."

"Okay. I'll just bring a bit of everything, you can never be too prepared." Emmett chuckled.

"You do that. Just remember that we're not going to have a whole lot of space so don't bring everything you own okay? The bare necessities only."

"Okay," Emmett promised. "You know me so well Teddy."

"Aren't I lucky," Ted grumbled. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Bye, sweetie."

"Bye."

As Ted hung up, Blake walked in the door. "Hey," he said, smiling. "Are you all packed?"

"I just finished," Ted replied, zipping up his suitcase and putting it by the door.

"Who was that on the phone?" Blake wasn't jealous, he was just curious.

"Emmett. He wasn't sure what kind of clothes to bring."

"He does know that we're just going to Canada, right?" Blake joked.

"Apparently not." Ted shook his head. "You can't help but love him, though."

"That's for sure." Blake went into the fridge and got a bottle of water. "He's one of a kind."

"Did you eat?" Ted asked, his stomach gurgling. He hadn't eaten since lunch and was starving.

"Not yet. I've been so busy I couldn't stop to eat." He looked around in the fridge for something to make for dinner. They had used up everything that would expire while they were gone, so basically the fridge was empty of all food items.

"I could order a pizza if you want. There's a coupon for half off a medium pizza." He pointed to the paper on the fridge door.

"That's fine," Blake replied. "To be honest, I'm so tired I don't know if I have the energy to make something."

It didn't take long for their dinner to arrive and they ate in silence. Both were exhausted from a long day at work and were looking forward to the vacation. Blake had taken off the week from the clinic, much to his patients' chagrin, but luckily there were plenty of counselors to fill in while he was gone. Brian had been more than happy to give Ted a break. "It keeps me from having to look at you," he'd said jokingly. At least, Ted thought that he was joking, with Brian you didn't always know.

Between the two of them, they ate the whole medium pizza. "By the time we get back it won't be good, so we may as well eat it," Ted had pointed out.

"Thank God you're not one of those guys who's obsessed with being pencil thin and has to work out every time he eats something," Blake replied. "I think I'd go out of my mind."

"I have a good metabolism," Ted lied. Blake laughed. "Well, we'd better get going to bed if we want to be on the road by eight." They'd decided to drive instead of fly. Emmett had insisted that they not fly because it would bring up bad memories of his tragic flight with George. Grudgingly, Ted had agreed to be the driver.

As they got into bed, Ted and Blake got out of the their clothes, using their body heat to keep each other warm. Ted turned out the light and closed his eyes. He felt Blake shift closer to him and suddenly a hand was rubbing his tender area. "I thought you were tired," Ted said. Despite his protestations, he gasped with pleasure.

"I was. Now I need to be worn out," Blake replied, a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"Well in that case..." Ted laughed and moved into position.


When the alarm clock went off, Ted immediately turned it off. He fell back against the pillow and closed his eyes. Despite their best intentions, he and Blake had stayed up too late making love. At the moment, Ted wanted nothing more than to go back to sleep but he knew that Emmett and Calvin would be waiting for him at the their apartment and if he didn't get up now, Emmett would bitch and complain all the way to Canada. Slowly, he sat up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes, not that it helped. Outside, the sun had barely risen. Emmett's definitely going to be driving back, Ted decided as he got in the shower.

By the time he'd showered and gotten dressed, Blake was sitting up in bed drinking coffee. "I made some coffee. I saved you some," he said as he caught Ted's eye. "It's still in the pot."

"Thanks," Ted grumbled. The only thing that could possibly wake him up at the moment was coffee. "I'll go get the car packed up while you get ready." The day before, he'd rented a van so that they could fit all of their bags in the car, knowing that Emmett would bring as many bags as possible.

"Okay." Blake jumped in the shower and quickly washed his body. He threw on some clean clothes and met Ted down at the car.

"All set?" Ted asked. He'd gotten some coffee in his system and was more alert now.

"Yep," Blake replied, getting the passenger seat. "I can't wait."

"Me neither."

On the way, Ted called Emmett. "We're on our way right now. Be ready when we get there."

"We will," Emmett promised. "See you in a few."

"Yeah." Ted hung up and shook his head. "He says they'll be ready when we get there. How much do you want to bet that they won't be?"

"You know Emmett better than anybody. If you think he won't be ready then I'll agree with you. Besides, I don't think I could afford it if you were right."

"I wouldn't make you pay up," Ted confessed. "Unless your method of payment was somehow sexual." He waggled his eyebrows at Blake and they both burst out laughing. It felt good to be out of the apartment doing something together; almost like their honeymoon. Except that Emmett and Calvin would be there too, but Ted didn't mind.

He pulled outside Emmett and Calvin's apartment building. They were nowhere in sight. Sighing, he honked the horn a couple of times. Normally, he'd take into consideration that it was still fairly early in the morning and most people were still asleep, but he was not in the mood to play games. After a few minutes, Ted leaned on the horn again. The door opened and Emmett stepped out juggling too many bags to count. "Jesus Christ," Ted muttered under his breath. "I told him not to bring his whole closet so what does he do? He does it anyway." Emmett lugged the bags over to the van and set them down so he could open the door.

"At least we have room," Blake said, hoping to calm Ted down so that he wouldn't say anything to hurt Emmett's feelings.

Emmett threw his bags in the back and got into the van. "Calvin's on his way," he said, buckling his seatbelt. He fished around in the bag lying at his feet for a second. "Got it," he announced triumphantly.

"Got what?" Ted asked, catching his eye in the rearview mirror.

"Well a road trip isn't a road trip without some tunes. And I knew that there were no better tunes for our little trip than some Barbra." He held out a CD for Ted to inspect. "I just bought that last night."

"The Essential Barbra Streisand," Ted read aloud. "Not bad, Em. Look, it's even got our song on it."

"What song?" Blake asked. He hadn't even known that Ted listened to anything but opera.

"People," Ted and Emmett said in unison. Looking at each other, they started giggling.

"I love that song!" Blake exclaimed.

"What gay man doesn't?" Emmett inquired rhetorically.

"Brian," Ted muttered.

Calvin finally made it to the car. "Sorry," he apologized. "My boss. I told him I needed to go but he wouldn't let me get off the phone."

"Don't worry about it," Ted replied with a shrug. "No sense stressing about something you can't control." Blake laughed quietly. Ted had been on the verge of anger less than five minutes before but now he was back to usual semi-chipper self. Barbra had that effect on people.

"So, what are we listening to?" Calvin asked, joining Emmett in the back.

"The fabulous Barbra Streisand," Emmett answering. "I also brought the Best of Liza Minnelli."

"It's a good thing Brian's not coming with us," Ted said, starting the engine and popping in the Barbra CD. "He'd be bitching about our music before we even left the city."

"Fuck him," Emmett exclaimed. "If he doesn't like Barbra or Liza what good is he?"

"Is that your criteria?" Calvin asked. "In order to matter in life you have like Barbra and Liza?"

"Not exactly," Emmett admitted, "but it does help."

"Well then, I guess it's a good thing I got that gay gene, huh?"

"I guess so." They started to kiss, their hands began groping each other. A moan escaped Emmett's lips as one hand slid down the front of his pants and the other pinched his nipple.

"Cut it out!" Ted ordered. "I am not going to listen to the sound of you two moaning and groaning back there all the way to Canada." He turned up the volume on the radio to drown out the offensive sounds.

Emmett and Calvin stopped and leaned back in their seats. "Sorry," Emmett said, guiltily casting his eyes down. "Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning," he muttered, even though Ted wouldn't be able to hear him anyway with the radio blaring next to him.

"So," Blake said to break the tension, "anybody know any good car games?"


Michael hummed as he sat down at the table. He was in a very good mood that morning thanks to a wonderful night of making love with Ben. Across the table, Ben sat reading the newspaper. Neither one wanted to break the comfortable silence in the room; there was nothing to say. Michael ate his bowl of Cap'n Crunch contentedly. It was a Sunday. He didn't have to go into work, which meant that he and Ben could spend the day together doing nothing.

Hesitantly, Hunter came down the stairs. They hadn't seen much of him in the past few days as he'd been over at Lexi's even more than usual. He made his way to the door and just as he put his hand on the knob, Michael called, "Hold it." Jesus, I sound like my mother, he thought. It's happening more and more often! Slowly, Hunter turned and fixed a bright smile on his face. "Sit down," Michael ordered.

"I'm not hungry," Hunter said, still standing in the open doorway.

"I don't care. Sit down," Michael reiterated.

Sighing morosely, Hunter complied. Ben put down his newspaper and folded his hands neatly on the tabletop. "What's this about?" Hunter asked. He hoped that Ben and Michael wouldn't keep him for long, he had a date with Lexi and didn't want to be late.

"We need to talk," Ben said, taking over from Michael.

"What about?" Hunter swallowed nervously. Surely they wouldn't be mad that he was out with Lexi all the time would they?

"College," Michael managed around his mouthful of Cap'n Crunch. "Registration for classes is coming up." Hunter hadn't told them about his intentions to attend Allegheny Community College will Lexi in the fall.

Before Hunter could speak, Ben interjected. "We don't want to tell you that you have to go to college or else. But we are going to stress the importance of getting an education."

"You guys don't have to worry," Hunter replied. He relaxed, knowing that he wasn't in trouble.

"We don't?" Michael asked, raising his eyebrows. Ben shot him a warning look.

"No. I applied to Allegheny Community," Hunter said simply, smiling satisfactorily.

"You did?" Ben smiled. Michael froze, his spoon halfway to his mouth.

"Yep." Hunter shrugged.

"You're going to my old college?" Michael asked. He had attended Allegheny for three semesters but had had to drop out in order to help his mother pay for his Uncle's Vic's hospital bills and medication. He'd always intended to go back but had it had never happened.

"I got accepted," Hunter confirmed.

Michael and Ben jumped out their seats and smothered Hunter in a hug. "Congratulations!" Michael exclaimed, kissing Hunter's cheek.

"Ew!" Hunter yelled, jokingly. He wiped his cheek vigorously.

"Here's one more," Ben said, kissing the other cheek.

"You guys are crazy!" They burst out into laughter.

"When do you have to go in for orientation?" Michael asked.

"Not until the first week of August. I have plenty of time."

"Do you need help with student loans or anything? I could look some up for you online," Ben offered.

"That's okay. I already filled out my FAFSA forms and applied for some scholarships. Between that and what I made working at the diner I should be able to pretty much cover everything. That is unless I have to stay on campus." He looked at both Ben and Michael pleadingly.

"Of course not!" Michael said. "Ware you crazy! Why would we make you live on campus?"

"I don't know," Hunter shrugged. "Maybe you want the house to yourselves..."

"Hunter," Ben said, putting his hands on Hunter's shoulders. "We adopted you for a reason. We love you more than anything. You can stay here as long as you want."

"Thanks guys." Hunter gave them both a quick hug.

They all sat down at the table and Ben slid a plate of pancakes over to Hunter. "So what classes are you going to go take?" he asked.

"I don't know yet. Right now I'm just focused on general studies," Hunter replied. He'd spent a lot of time since graduation thinking about what he wanted to do for the rest of his life. Before Michael and Ben, he'd never really had the opportunity to even think about it. Being a hustler brought in money, but having food and shelter had been more important. Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined that he'd one day go to college.

"You should do writing," Michael suggested. "You'd love it."

"Or teaching," Ben continued.

"Or I could do what I want," Hunter interjected.

"And what is that?"

Hunter frowned pensively. "To be honest, I don't know. I never thought I'd get to be anything other than a hustler. But now everything's changed and it's all a bit much right now."

"We know," Ben assured him. "But you'll do just fine. You're hardworking and smart."

"And determined," Michael added. "The keys to success."

"It's going to take some getting used to. Once I get settled in I'll choose a major."

"I think that's very smart." Ben smiled reassuringly. "You never know what could happen once you get there. I had plenty of friends who changed their minds about what they wanted to do once they started college. This way, you can decide as you go along and do what's right for you."

"And we'll help in any way that we can," Michael continued. "College is expensive and you don't want to rack up too much in student debts. With the economy the way it is, who knows when you'll be able to pay them off."

"You guys are the best," Hunter said, genuinely thankful. "It's good to know that there are people out there who love me and will do anything to help me."

"That's us, pal," Ben proclaimed. "No matter what, we'll always be here for you."

Hunter gave them each a smile before he stood up. "Sorry to ditch like this but I have plans with Lexi, so..."

"One more thing," Michael asserted, motioning for Hunter to sit back down.

"Yeah?" What is it now?

"We have something for you," Michael resumed, reaching into the pocket of his jeans. He handed Hunter an envelope. "Open it."

Tentatively, Hunter ripped the envelope open and pulled out a card. It was a graduation card from Ben and Michael. He read the cover and opened the card to read the inside. Something fell out and flitted to the floor. Hunter leaned over and picked it up, turning the paper over in his hands. His heart leapt into his throat. The paper was a ticket for Disney World. "You didn't..." he began, shocked speechless.

"We did," Ben confirmed.

"How?"

"I talked to my mom and she said this is what you'd want. The six of us are going next week. Ben and I took it off from work," Michael expounded.

Hunter was still in utter shock. He had a rough idea of what a trip for six to Disney World cost and there was no way that they could afford it. So how had they? "Wow, I can't believe it," he said, smiling.

"Do you like it?" Michael asked. He hadn't expected Hunter to react quite the way that he had.

"I love it. But how did you guys afford to do this?" Money wasn't exactly tight in the Novotny-Bruckner household but between Ben and Michael's incomes, it still didn't equal out.

"Don't worry about it," Michael told him. "It's our graduation present to you."

"I can't..."

"Do you want to call my mom explain to her why her vacation to Florida is going to cancelled?" Michael asked, arching his eyebrows.

"No way," Hunter answered quickly. He loved Debbie, but he knew that when she was pissed off that it was best to stay out of her way. "So, we're really going?" he asked, laughing in disbelief.

"We're going," Ben confirmed.

"That is, if you can tear yourself away from Lexi long enough to go," Michael teased.

"I think I can manage that." Hunter chuckled. "Thank you so much!" He gave Ben and Michael another hug and ran upstairs.

"Where are you going?" Michael called after him.

"To pack!" Hunter replied.

"Here we go," Ben muttered, laughing happily.

"What about your date with Lexi?" Michael asked.

Hunter raced back down the stairs and out the door. Michael and Ben shook their heads.


Next Time On Queer As Folk: Brian and Justin bond with Gus.