Brian and Justin had just returned from the hospital and were sitting on the couch.

Brian turned to Justin and said apologetically, "I was hoping to save you from meeting my friends and my crazy adopted family, but, with your being pregnant, I don't think we can avoid it anymore. Well, you'd probably like Emmett. Emmett is a flaming queen, but he's funny and kind. Anyway, we should probably attend the next family dinner, on Sunday. Well, not this Sunday. The Sunday after that."

Puzzled, Justin asked, "Why wouldn't I want to meet the rest of your family and friends? You're important to me. If they love you, how could I dislike them?"

Brian hesitated, but, then, replied, "Well, some of them love me a little too much, and the others don't even seem to like me sometimes."

Justin looked even more confused.

Brian shrugged. "Well, you don't go out much, so you probably don't know my reputation on Liberty Avenue."

Justin laughed. "I may be young, but I wasn't born yesterday. I've heard all about the 'Stud of Liberty Avenue.' Supposedly, you never fuck anyone twice, you never let anyone sleep over, you never remember names, and you're an all-around asshole."

"That's it."

Justin smiled softly and said, "You may have been promiscuous, but none of the rest is true."

Brian snorted and, then, asked rhetorically, "With which crazy person should I start? Lindsay and I met in college. She identifies as a lesbian, though she's more likely bisexual, and I'm gay, of course, but we were (or at least I was) confused for a while, so we fucked a few times after we first met."

Justin wrinkled his nose and said, "Gross."

Brian laughed. "It wasn't too bad. But it wasn't great. I kept picturing Patrick Swayze."

Justin raised his eyebrows. "Patrick Swayze?"

Brian pinched one of Justin's nipples (Justin just giggled and squirmed away) and half-said, half-laughed, "Shut up, twat." He continued, "She's probably in love with me, though she has a steady girlfriend named Mel, who despises me, of course."

Justin's eyes widened, and he asked in a shocked whisper, "Really? Poor Mel. Though I can't exactly blame Lindsay. Your cock is a thing of beauty. Capable of turning straight men gay and lesbians straight or, uh, bi."

Brian shot the blond a tongue-in-cheek expression. "It can leap tall buildings in a single bound, too."

Justin giggled.

Brian sighed and continued, "Lindsay has been trying to get me to donate sperm so that she and Mel can have a child, but I just can't bring myself to do it. I can't help create a child and, then, rarely see him or her."

"Ah. So…she probably won't share our joy."

"Uh, no. Then, there's Mikey. He's my best friend. I've known him since I was 14. I used to hide out at his house after Jack did serious damage. Mikey didn't ask too many questions, and nothing I said or did made him think less of me."

Justin tried to hold back the tears that suddenly filled his eyes, but he couldn't. Overwhelmed with sadness about Brian's childhood and love for his hazel-eyed Adonis, Justin literally jumped into Brian's lap, straddling him, and hugged him tight as tears spilled out.

Concerned by the emotional outburst, Brian wrapped his arms around Justin's waist and asked, "Sunshine, are you okay? Are you in any pain?"

Justin sniffled and laughed, "No. Sorry. Must be my damn hormones. The doctor said that I'd be more emotional and prone to mood swings. It's just…the thought of anyone hurting you…and your being alone and unprotected…" He was sobbing now and holding Brian tighter. "…makes me so sad. I wish I could have been there to protect you."

Brian smiled and rubbed Justin's back. "I'm okay now, Sunshine. Fuck, if you had been there, you'd have only been five. Christ, I'm fucking old. I'm going to go hang myself now."

Justin gasped.

Brian laughed. "I'm just kidding." He shook his head. "I can imagine you at age five, a look of defiance on your face, little fists clenched in anger, throwing yourself in front of me, shooting back threats in a cute little boy voice." He chuckled at the thought. Too adorable. He continued, "I wouldn't have wanted you there if it meant you were in danger, which you would have been. I survived, and you're here with me now. That's all that matters. Here, lie down on the other side of the couch. I'll rub your feet."

Justin complied, and Brian began rubbing his feet as he continued to explain about Michael.

"Anyhow…I made the mistake of starting to jerk Mikey off once when we were 14. At the time, we were beginning to realize we were gay. His mom came in, so I never finished, and we never fooled around again, but…"

"He's been hanging around waiting for you to finish jerking him off ever since?" Justin asked with a giggle.

Brian chuckled. "Something like that. He's pretty much been in love with me since then, well, probably since before then. I told him that nothing more would ever happen between us, but I've kept him around, and, until I met you, I depended on him too much. It was nice having someone so devoted around. We fell into a weird relationship…more than friends…but not lovers. So…he probably thinks that we'll end up together one day. I guess that's why he's always pushed me to keep up my reputation as the Stud of Liberty Avenue. He probably figured that if I never become emotionally attached to any other man, when I was ready to settle down, I'd want him with me. I don't know. Maybe I thought the same."

"What do you think now?"

Brian rubbed his face hard and sighed. "I don't know. I guess I want more than Mikey will ever be able to give me. If I decide I want a partner, I don't want to do it halfway. I don't want a devoted puppy. If I were to have one, I'd want him to be talented and independent. Brave enough to call me on my bullshit and go after what he wants. Someone who can sate my sexual appetite. I guess someone kind of like you."

Justin flashed Brian a million-watt smile. He couldn't help but smile back.

Justin asked, "So…he's going to hate me, right?"

Brian sighed. "Yup."

"Well, I'm grateful that he's been such a good friend to you, but I won't take any crap from him."

Brian's eyes lit up with pride. "I know you won't."

He reached over and ran his fingers through Justin's silky blond hair. "You should keep letting your hair grow. For a while at least. This shaggy look is HOT!"

Justin blushed.

"Let's see, where were we? Oh yeah. Mikey's mom, Deb, is more of a mother to me than that alcoholic Jesus freak who popped me out. She's always treated me like a son. However, Deb does blame me for Mikey's Brian Kinney obsession, though she's probably right on that score. Like I said, I've always depended on Mikey too much, well, until recently. Vic, her brother, is a good man. He teases me, but not in a malicious way. He's HIV positive, but he's still very healthy, and his prognosis is good, given the circumstances."

Justin wriggled his feet away from Brian's hands, sat in his lap (facing the bedroom), and threw his arm around his neck. Then, he kissed Brian's cheek tenderly.

Brian laughed and said, "Twat." But he put his arm around Justin's waist.

He continued, "Then, there's Ted. There's not much to say about him. He's an accountant, and he looks and acts the part. He and Emmett are as different as night from day, but, oddly enough, they are very close. Anyhow, nearly everyone I've mentioned thinks that all I am, and all I'm capable of being, is the Stud of Liberty Avenue. A selfish asshole who only cares about his dick."

Brian laughed, but Justin could see pain in his eyes. "They won't believe that I'm capable of monogamy, not for any length of time, or that I'm capable of being a good father."

Justin frowned. "How can they not know you after being in your life so long?"

Brian just shrugged. "Maybe you see me with rose-colored glasses. I really am a selfish asshole."

"Yeah, so selfish that you were gentle with me my first time, wanting to make it special for me. So selfish that you took me in, someone you barely knew, and helped me get a job. So selfish that, until a minute ago, you were rubbing my feet, like a good babydaddy."

Brian looked at Justin with an unreadable expression for a long moment, but said nothing. Suddenly, his eyes lit up, and he pushed Justin onto his back. Then, he started tickling the blond.

Justin laughed uncontrollably, and his face turned red. "Brian, wait, no…"

Still tickling Justin, Brian asked, "I'm your babydaddy now? Shit, we should go on the Jerry Springer show. Actually, with the motley crew to which I'm about to introduce you, that might not be a bad idea…Having an impartial third party might limit the ensuing pandemonium."

Distracted by the thought, Brian didn't see Justin reach between his legs. All thoughts of Jerry Springer and Sunday dinners disappeared when the blond started rubbing his cock through his pants.

Brian looked down at Justin and saw that his eyes had darkened with lust. Brian nudged Justin's nose with his and, then, softly brushed his lips against the blond's. Justin wrapped his arms around Brian's neck and deepened the kiss.

Brian moved so that he was lying on the blond but, then, flipped onto his back so that the boy was straddling him. He grabbed the boy's ass and rubbed their erections together. Justin moaned loudly. Soon, their arms were a blur as they raced to get their clothes off. Once they had, Brian reached under a cushion and pulled out lube and a condom. He prepared the boy quickly, sheathed his cock, and pushed inside the boy bit by bit. They fucked slowly for a while, just staring into each other's eyes and enjoying the closeness, the feeling of their bodies being connected and moving together. However, seeing the pleasure they caused the other was bringing them to the edge. Soon, they were kissing passionately and fucking frantically. Brian was hitting Justin's prostate on every thrust, and Justin came, despite the fact that neither of them had touched his cock, taking Brian along with him.

He moaned, "Brian. Brian. Fuck, I love you."

Brian held onto Justin tightly as his orgasm ripped through him. It was only after his body stopped quaking from aftershocks that Brian's brain registered what Justin had said. Justin was mortified. He did love Brian; he'd known their first night, but he certainly hadn't meant to tell the man. Before he'd learned about the pregnancy, he'd avoided telling him because he didn't want the man to think he was simply grateful. But now, with the baby and Brian's suggestion that they be monogamous, Justin knew expressing his feelings so openly could be disastrous. Time for damage control.

Justin sat up, his face still bright red. Brian was just staring at him expressionlessly.

The blond took a deep breath.

"Brian, I meant what I said. I do love you, but I didn't mean to tell you like this, so soon. It just sort of came out. I don't expect you to respond."

Justin held his breath, expecting Brian to either say something awful or nothing at all. Both would wound him terribly.

But Brian did neither. He smiled softly and said, "Sunshine. I do have feelings for you, and you are very important to me. Even more so now, but you were important to me even before we found out that you're pregnant."

He looked down and, then, back up. "But I don't know what that means. I've never had a boyfriend. I've never even wanted one, so I'm not sure I know what romantic love is, assuming it exists, and I am by no means convinced that it does."

Justin bit his lip and asked, "What are you going to tell your family and friends that I am? Am I your boyfriend? A roommate who just happens to be carrying your baby?"

Brian sat up and set Justin on the couch, getting up to pace.

He pinched the bridge of his nose for a minute and, then, turned around.

"Fuck it. You're pregnant, we live together, and we decided to be monogamous, well, for a while at least…Since I met you, I've been breaking all my rules. What's one more?"

Justin was still holding his breath. "What does that mean?"

"Let's be…boyfriends." Brian winced a little when he said the last word.

"Really?" Justin's eyes widened, and he flashed Brian a million-watt smile.

Brian smiled, "Sure, why not?"

In response, Justin jumped into his arms and began kissing him all over his face and neck.

A/N: This part doesn't really span a week, but I'm going to pick the story up again in week 6 (in B/J time, not real time).