It was a new day. Brian awoke, as he had done for the better part of a year, with Justin in his bed, in his arms, but something was different. Somehow, he was different. He had a million impulses, all variations on a theme, but none seemed quite right. All he knew was that he needed to tell the world that he was Justin's, and Justin's alone, that he loved him. The question was, how? The gesture needed to be unique and…big. Brian had so much damage to undo. Rings? By themselves, a little cheesy. An announcement at the diner? Not big enough and a little silly. Course, Brian felt a little silly anyway, and he kind of liked it. A commitment ceremony? Justin was still so young. He might think that Brian was enough, and maybe he was…for the moment. But would he always be? Jacob's last words to Brian reverberated in his mind: "What I hope you'll take from this is that Justin will be happier and more successful with you in his life. He needs you as much as you need him."

Brian turned his gaze to Justin. He was sleeping peacefully, a soft smile on his lips, his hair a ruffled mess. Brian gently brushed a few stray hairs off Justin's forehead. As he did so, he remembered something inner Justin had said: "Neither the bed nor the loft are really mine. I know that we will probably never share a home we chose and decorated together or a bed in which we have fucked only each other. That's too much to hope for. But that would be nice. To be able to give my address without some guy smiling at me smugly, remembering the night my boyfriend fucked him there, in the bed I sleep in every night."

Brian frowned for a moment, but then grinned. He had already remedied the bed issue…what if…

Two days later…

Justin was confused. Brian had left a cryptic note in the loft that morning before heading off to work early. In the note, Brian had asked Justin to meet him somewhere at 9pm. He'd left the address. Justin didn't recognize it. He'd gotten directions from mapquest. The place was nearby, but in a neighborhood Justin couldn't remember ever being in. So Justin had borrowed his mom's car and was on his way over. Justin's eyes widened as he drew nearer (he was on the street in question, probably just a few houses down from the house he was looking for). Cars lined both sides of the street.

Justin thought, "Must be someone's having a party."

A couple minutes later, Justin pulled into a long driveway, but then stopped. The house was completely dark. He looked down at the address Brian had given him and then back at the mailbox. That was it. He followed the driveway until he reached what appeared to be a three-car garage. He put the car in park and shut it off. As soon as he opened the car door, floodlights clicked on. Justin stood, closed the door, and turned toward the house. Justin's jaw nearly dropped. It couldn't be…

Six months ago, Brian and Justin had been driving to Liberty Avenue from Lindsay and Mel's house. Halfway there, Justin had unzipped Brian's pants and started sucking his cock. Brian loved Justin's blowjobs, but he had been looking forward to fucking Justin nearly the entire time they were at Lindsay and Mel's; the blowjob merely whet his appetite. So they had pulled over and fucked right there, parked on the street, Justin in Brian's lap, riding him. Afterward, Justin had noticed the house in front of which they'd parked. It was a huge four-story Victorian, with a wraparound porch, two bay windows on the second floor, and even a tower room. The yard was enormous and contained several cherry trees (and a for sale sign). Justin, in awe, had said, "Wow! What a beautiful house! Someday, I'd like to live in one exactly like this, down to the cherry trees."

Now he was standing in the driveway of that very house. Justin walked up to the front. Then he paused for a moment. He took a deep breath and tried to still his rapidly beating heart. He had no idea why he was here…He didn't want to get his hopes up. In his note, Brian had said just to walk in, that the door would be unlocked. So Justin climbed the stairs to the porch and tried the door. It opened. Then he stepped into the house, squinting in an attempt to separate the objects in the room from the darkness. He walked a few feet with his hands out in front of him so that he wouldn't bump into anything. Suddenly, his hand brushed up against something, or rather someone.

Justin whispered, "Brian?"

Brian replied evenly, "It's me, Sunshine." Then he pulled Justin into his arms and flipped a switch. Justin's heart nearly leaped out of his chest when he heard "SURPRISE" (shouted by at least fifty people).

Justin looked over at Brian in confusion. Brian smiled and placed a tender kiss on Justin's cheek. Then he drawled, "Welcome home, Sunshine."