Later that Evening
Justin loved this part of their master bedroom; it was so huge, there was not only plenty of room for their king-sized bed and the coordinating furniture, but also a separate sitting area in front of the wood-burning fireplace for a good-sized couch, a couple of side tables, and an overstuffed, leather recliner chair.
Despite its suspiciously-romantic connotation, Brian had also relented enough to purchase a thick, navy-blue, plush oval rug that had been strategically placed in front of the fireplace, far enough away to avoid any errant embers that might blow out, but close enough to appreciate much of the warmth the fire would provide on chilly nights such as tonight.
Now, as the two of them sat holding hands on the rug with their backs propped up against the front of the couch, he stared into the flickering flames of the robust fire and wondered how he would ever have the courage to leave in two weeks after this temporary sojourn was over. He thought about how he and Brian had made love on the rug the second they had left their guests after dinner and headed up here to their own, private paradise; it wasn't maybe the most considerate thing to do at the time, but everyone would still be here tomorrow morning, and their friends were well aware they hadn't seen each other in several weeks. What else could two healthy, totally horny male partners logically do?
The two of them were still naked as they continued to sit in front of the fire – no sense in wasting time stripping again later - but even without clothes on, Justin wasn't the least bit cold – the fire, along with Brian's tender touch and the delicious feel of his body pressed against his, was more than enough to keep him comfortably warm. He sighed as he laid his head on Brian's shoulder, trying hard not to think about what he would have to do in two weeks.
As they sat there together comfortably, Brian still found it amazing – as well as just a little intimidating – that he could feel so content when Justin was home, and so lost when it wasn't. In one way it made his heart leap and do all sorts of crazy things, and in another way, it scared the shit out of him. Until Justin had come along, he had never let anyone else enter his heart the way that Justin had, not even Mikey. But now that Justin had managed to do just that, despite his understanding as to why his partner had to be apart from him, when they weren't together, his world just wasn't the same. Their house felt so big, so lonely, and so cold without him in it; when he wasn't there, it was just that – a grand structure, a house, but not a home.
At he heard Justin's soft sound, Brian's forehead wrinkled as he shifted his head slightly downward. "What are you thinking, Sunshine?" he asked softly, casually rubbing the tender flesh of the slender palm as he rubbed his cheek against the blond head. "I can hear those little thought wheels turning furiously in that little, blond brain."
"It's nothing," Justin insisted softly from below him. "I'm fabuloso, just like you are," he tried to tease, but his heart really wasn't in it. He was having a lot of trouble not thinking about when he would have to go back to New York.
"Bullshit," Brian whispered promptly, taking his other hand and placing it under Justin's chin to angle his head upward toward his. He noticed Justin hesitating to meet his gaze for a few seconds until the sapphire-blue eyes slowly rose to peer deeply into his. "Justin….." Those eyes – always so expressive and so indicative of how his partner was feeling – were full of battling emotions, full of indecision. "What's bothering you? Tell me. I'm not losing my touch, am I?" he kidded, curling his lips under and raising his eyebrows playfully.
Justin twisted his mouth in amusement. "Hardly," he responded huskily. "Your ability to fuck my brains out and take my breath away at the same time is very much still intact," he told his partner softly, reaching up to touch Brian's lips with his fingers.
Brian stared intensely into Justin's face as he reached up to gently take the long, slender fingers in his hand and kiss them. As the blond's fingers curled around his hand, Brian murmured, "So tell me what's wrong then. Too many people at the house for the holidays?" Perhaps Justin had merely wanted to be alone with him for Christmas and New Year's – was that it? Although, he thought he knew his partner well enough by now to know that Justin took great delight in these over-the-top, old-fashioned rituals. And truthfully, if Brian was going to be honest with himself, as long as Justin was here to participate in them, he did, too; having Gus here with them was the icing on the cake
Justin smiled broadly then, causing Brian's heart to do a small flip-flop, just like it always did. "No, I love everyone being here! It's wonderful, really. Although, I'm not sure about using condoms as stockings for the mantelpiece."
"Hey, I used the colored, jumbo-sized ones – they were plenty strong – as well as roomy. And it was easy to write all our names on them with a Sharpie."
Justin chuckled softly. "Yeah – I noticed; the glitter was a good touch for Gus' and JR's, by the way. Couldn't you have just bought normal stockings, though?"
"And waste a perfectly good box of condoms? I had to find SOME use for them." The two of them hadn't needed them in quite some time – at least not for their typical purpose; not since they had decided that fucking anyone else was only second best and grossly inferior. "Besides, you know how much I fucking hate to go anywhere near a store this time of year."
Justin smiled. "Yeah…..Well, I suppose at their age, Gus and JR won't know the difference, anyway. You certainly are a creative, little elf – that advertising talent definitely comes in handy with the holiday decorations."
"Yeah, I'm multi-talented," Brian bragged impertinently with a smile, just before his face coalesced into a more serious expression. "Nice try at changing the subject, by the way, Sunshine," Brian whispered. "But I'm still waiting for an answer to my question. If it's not the crush of people here, then what is it?" He noticed Justin sobering as he bit his lower lip nervously. "Justin?"
The blond sighed again softly; he never was very good at deceiving his partner. Ever since the Ethan fiasco, he had made a firm resolution never to lie to him again. But wasn't that what he had been doing ever since he had decided to go to New York? Did he really go there because he wanted to, or because it seemed like everyone else expected him to? Even Brian had chided him at the time for sacrificing his goals in order to make him happy. Was that really true? Or had he went ahead and left because everyone else seemed to think it made him happy? If he WAS doing it for himself, why did all of his accomplishments in the art world since then feel like such an empty, hollow victory?
"Justin?"
He glanced up at Brian to notice him staring intently into his face, waiting for an answer. Why was he nervous about telling Brian what he really felt? Did he think Brian would somehow be disappointed in him? He leaned up to kiss his partner's lips tenderly and place his hands on either side of the bronzed face. "It's nothing serious," he finally whispered. "I promise I'll tell you later, but can't we just let it drop for now? I missed you so much, Brian, and I don't want to waste one second right now of us being together, okay?" And I don't want to think about having to leave you again…..
Brian's emotions warred with him as he pondered how to answer that question. It bothered him that something apparently was wrong with his soulmate, but he didn't want to press the issue at the moment. He was confident that Justin would tell him soon; they were finally comfortable and secure in their love for each other that he knew he wouldn't purposely hide something from him again. For some reason, though, his partner didn't want to discuss it at the moment. He finally decided it ultimately could wait; he resolved to press Justin for an answer, though, before too much time had passed.
"Okay, Sunshine," he murmured, watching as Justin's eyes softened in relief. "I'll let it pass for now. But we will discuss whatever's bothering you soon, understood?" he asked firmly.
Justin nodded, grateful that Brian trusted him enough to let it go for now. He smiled softly as he slid one hand behind Brian's neck to pull him down for another, deeper kiss. As their lips, tongues and hands tangled in a sensual duel of quickly-rising passion, and their bodies slowly slid down to lie on the rug, for the next several hours at least, worries over their future were promptly and blissfully pushed aside.
Next Morning – 6:00 a.m.
A piercing shriek startled Brian promptly out of a deep sleep as his eyes flew open in response to the high-pitched sound. "What time is it?" he muttered as he turned his head in bed to peer over at the alarm clock on the nightstand. "Six a.m.? What the fuck?" He and Justin hadn't gotten to sleep until nearly 4:00 a.m., and he was only half-awake.
He glanced over at Justin who was lying peacefully in his arms and shook his head; in his slumber his partner had apparently not even heard the sound that had just been emitted; he was oblivious, too, to the sounds of running pitter-patters rapidly approaching their closed door now.
Brian rolled his eyes, amazed at his partner's ability to sleep through practically any noise. He was just about to nudge his partner awake to share in his early-morning "joy" when he heard his door being flung open and a flash of brown running full-speed into the bedroom. "Daddy! Jus'n! Wake up!" Gus shouted excitedly. He took a flying leap and managed to land on the side of the bed with his knees. "Santa's been here!" he announced ecstatically. He pulled at his father's hand, trying to get him out of bed. "Come ON, Daddy! Let's GO!"
"Hold on, Little Man!" Brian said affectionately, ruffling his son's hair. "We have to get Papa Bear out of bed first!" He glanced over and grinned as he noticed Justin finally beginning to stir awake; his eyes were still closed, however, as he struggled to ignore the drama playing out in his bed. "I think he's been reading too much about Sleeping Beauty at night, Sonny Boy – better try and see if you can kiss him awake, okay?" Brian knew HE could kiss his sleeping beauty awake pretty quickly, but reconsidered. The type of kisses HE would be using to awaken his partner wouldn't be fit for his son's eyes and would just prolong their departure from the bed...
Gus readily agreed to help, though; he could hardly contain his enthusiasm over wanting to run full-speed downstairs to check out his gifts from Santa, so anything to speed up the process was readily adopted. He crawled on his hands and knees around Brian's legs to Justin's side and placed one of his small hands on Justin's chest and the other on his face as he leaned in to place a small kiss on Justin's lips. "Wake up, Jus'n!" Gus demanded, softly patting Justin's cheek in an attempt to rouse him a little more quickly. "Time to get UP!"
Brian smiled in amusement at the pair as he watched Justin's eyes slowly fluttering open. He noticed a smile creep across the blond's face as he realized who the small form was that was towering over him. "Hey, Buddy," Justin softly murmured. "What time is it?" he asked sleepily.
"It's time for a certain little boy to go downstairs and see what Santa brought him," Brian announced, as he sat up now and reached over to scoop Gus off Justin's chest and place him back on the floor. "You go on down, Sonny Boy, and find your mommies so Justin and I can get dressed. We'll be right down, okay?" Brian was glad that he and Justin at least had a sheet covering the lower half of their bodies; while he wasn't a prude in any sense of the word – far from it – he was still not prepared for either Mel or Lindsey to come walking by and scold him for "corrupting" their impressionable child. In addition, it made it a little easier not to have to explain to Gus at the moment why he and Justin were both sporting impressive morning hard-ons. He would have to rectify that particular problem quickly; he knew the two of them would be expected downstairs very shortly, now that his son was up and at-em.
"Okay, Daddy!" Gus instantly chirped as he turned and ran helter-skelter out of the room, disappearing as fast as he came.
Brian grinned affectionately over at the door as he watched his son leave in a boisterous flash; he turned to gaze into the equally-amused blue eyes of his partner, who was still lying on his back in bed. "Well, I think that was my son, but now I'm not so sure – it all happened so fast, officer!" he said in a mock falsetto voice.
Justin grinned back at him, his eyes twinkling in amusement, as he stretched his arms above his head like a cat and the sheet fell away from their bodies. "Well, if you come over here, I can at least prove that you're definitely awake," he promised huskily. "At least one part of you is."
His heartbeat immediately increasing at the sexy tone of his partner's voice and the enticing appearance of Justin in all his glory, Brian licked his lips and waggled his eyebrows suggestively. "Definitely the only way to wake up," he drawled lustily with a smile as he slunk down back onto the bed fully prone and turned to face the familiar, sweet face of his partner. "Why don't you start with the fully-awakened part and move up from there?" he suggested, just before Justin laughed and lowered his head to begin lavishing tiny kisses on Brian's torso and belly while proceeding to do just that.
A rather quick blowjob, fuck in the shower, and thirty minutes later (record time for them), the two men appeared fully dressed and holding hands at the bottom of the stair's landing. They could hear the sounds of several familiar, excited voices of their "family" inside the nearby parlor and the clink of dishware in the kitchen as Christmas music softly played throughout the house's central surround-sound system.
"Well, if it isn't Cupid and Vixen," Debbie proclaimed, as she walked out of the kitchen holding a tray with several mugs of coffee, cream, and sugar on it. "Need something else to wake you UP?" she asked, her tone leaving no doubt over what they had already done to 'wake up.'
Justin blushed slightly before reaching over to pluck two of the coffee mugs off the tray and hand one to Brian. "Thanks, Deb," he said.
"Yeah, thanks, Mrs. Claus." Brian took the sugar container and a spoon to quickly pour a glob of sugar in his mug and stir it before plopping them back down on the tray and leaning over briefly to give Debbie a kiss on the cheek.
"Smart ass," she kidded him, smiling at the sight of these two obviously-happy and in-love men. "Now get in there before your son opens up all the REST of his two-thousand presents. Could you not spoil him any MORE?"
Justin grinned in comprehension as Brian merely shrugged. "He's an active little lad and breaks everything in record time. I'm just making sure he doesn't run out of functioning toys before the two weeks are over for my OWN sanity's sake."
"Uh, huh," Debbie replied, unconvinced as she shook her head. "Well, come on, then – get your asses in there!" She chided him before promptly turning around to proceed down the hallway to the parlor.
"You old softie," Justin accused him quietly as the two of them were temporarily left alone; he squeezed his partner's hand to get his attention as Brian looked back down at him. "You know you don't have to buy Gus' love – you've already got that."
Brian stared back at him in an uncharacteristic expression of openness regarding his emotions. He seldom voiced his true feelings out loud to anyone, but when he did, it was only to this man that he trusted with his heart and soul. "I know," he said softly. "It's just that I miss him when he's not around, and I want him to think about me when I'm not there."
Justin reached up to caress Brian's cheek. "He does, Dad. You know he does. He worships you, you know."
Brian huffed, "I'm not in need of being worshipped, Sunshine." He cleared his throat, his normal façade of cockiness quickly plastered back on his face as he added, smirking, "Except for my cock, of course."
Justin smiled; his eyes misting over just a little. They both knew what Brian was – and wasn't - saying. "Yeah, of course," he agreed, silently understanding what Brian needed. "Well, until I have time to worship it later, let's go see what mischief your son has gotten himself into, okay?"
Brian smiled back in gratitude before they began to walk hand-in-hand toward the parlor. Just as they reached the archway to go in, he stopped Justin by squeezing his hand and turning him around to face him. He took their coffee mugs and placed them down on a nearby, narrow side table.
"What?" Justin replied in puzzlement. He watched as his partner's eyes drifted upward to a sprig of mistletoe tied with a red bow and hanging overhead.
"Oh," Justin smiled, laughing softly as he allowed Brian to pull him flush against his lean body and swoop in for a lengthy kiss; his hands automatically wrapped themselves around Brian's neck as he pulled the man's head firmly against his mouth to deepen the kiss.
Brian sighed into his mouth as Justin willingly parted his lips to taste the tongue snaking expertly in; Brian's hands instinctively crept around his waist as he began to lift Justin's shirt to touch the soft, warm flesh underneath. The rest of their rather hectic world at the moment quickly faded out of their minds as their bodies began their familiar, heated dance together once more….
A clearing of someone's throat abruptly brought them out of their little fantasy world, as they reluctantly broke off their kiss and turned their heads to observe the large group of friends silently watching them in amusement from the parlor; even Gus and JR had stopped what they were doing, both holding unwrapped presents of a remote-control truck and Cabbage Patch doll, respectively, as they observed the two men's passionate demonstration.
"Uh, we're trying to keep this morning at least PG-rated, Brian, do you mind?" Mel growled, shaking her head in exasperation from her place on the floor by the tree; she had been handing out presents to their two kids in hopes of avoiding a full-blown, unwrapping frenzy. She rolled her eyes. Some things never change….
"Mel, please," Lindsey softly scolded her from her place on the couch. She smiled back at her two friends understandingly and said, "Come on in and join us, guys – the kids are still opening presents." She patted the empty spots next to her in invitation.
Justin blushed a little in embarrassment over their display of affection before nodding his head and pulling Brian with him into the parlor. The brunet had just enough time to grab their mugs before allowing Justin to take his free hand and lead him over to sit down next to their friend.
"Daddy, look at me!" Gus yelled excitedly, as he hopped up and down on a large, red rubber ball with a rounded handle on top. He had immediately pounced on it as soon as Mel had rolled it into the room (it had been much too big to wrap), and was already mid-way across the parlor with it, bouncing happily up and down like a rambunctious, little brown-haired kangaroo.
"Way to go, Sonny Boy!" Brian encouraged him with a smile. He lowered his voice to lean over and whisper to Justin, "The boy's an expert rider already!"
Justin jabbed Brian in the side and rolled his eyes as Gus continued to bounce himself across the width of the room, then turn around to bounce back toward the other side. Justin watched with trepidation as the little boy continued to bounce rapidly up and down, edging ever closer toward the tree at the side of the room. "Uh….Brian….Gus….."
"That's good, Sunshine, you remembered my son's name."
"No…..I mean, yes, I mean…Brian! He's about to run into the tree!" Justin finally managed to sputter out.
"What?" Brian looked back over at his son, who was perilously close to the tall, majestic tree – the tree that was dead aim in front of his bubbly, bouncing, totally oblivious son. "Gus!" he shouted a warning, jumping up to try and ward off a disaster in the making.
Unfortunately for Brian, he was too far away to prevent a pending collision; luckily for him, however, Drew wasn't. Just as an upheaval was imminent, the football player swooped in to scoop the little boy – and his bouncing weapon- up in his big hands. He safely deposited both child and toy on the other side of the couch to everyone's vast relief.
Gus bounced up and down once more on the ball as he clapped his hands. "That was fun!" he chortled. "Let's do it again, Daddy!"
Brian shook his head as everyone laughed. "Uh, no, Sonny Boy, not right now," he admonished his son gently. He noticed that the room was a shambles now – wads of wrapping paper were balled up and lying everywhere amidst opened, empty cardboard boxes, metal ties and numerous gifts that had been examined briefly and discarded for the next present in line by either his son or JR. He noticed his son's lip starting to jut out into a pout before he heard Debbie coming to the rescue.
"Who wants hot chocolate and pancakes for breakfast?" she asked, receiving a chorus of "me's" from both children, as well as Emmett and Justin, who merely looked at Brian and shrugged, smiling with a sheepish look on his face.
Brian curled his lips under, grateful that both of his "boys" were here with him; he watched as Justin walked over to take Gus' hand and the two of them followed Debbie down the hallway toward the kitchen with Emmett, Ben, Drew, JR and the two mothers trailing closely behind. He couldn't help the warmth that spread through his body over the sight of Justin leaning down to pick Gus up into his arms as the little boy wrapped his hands around the blond's neck and gave him a kiss on the cheek.
Michael remained seated on his chair near Brian, taking a few moments in the unexpected quiet to closely examine his best friend's face. He thought in that moment that he had never seen Brian look so relaxed, so...content. He noticed that his friend's eyes never left Gus and Justin as they walked down the hall, and his face was free of the stress lines and the creases of worry that had seemed to plague him so much since Justin had gone to New York. Only Michael had been cognizant of just what a toll Justin's leaving had taken on Brian; despite his friend's insistence that he had been just fine, Michael knew better. He knew that Brian had missed Justin terribly, even more so than his son. Gus was the apple of his father's eye, but Justin was his soul. He was the piece of Brian's heart that had been missing. With Justin back home, Brian was complete once more – the light was back in his eyes and even his posture was different; he was sitting ramrod straight, his shoulders drawn back almost proudly. Michael worried, then, what would happen to his friend once Justin had to return.
"What?" Brian growled from his place on the couch, startling Michael from his silent analysis.
Michael started at the unexpected question. "Uh…..nothing, it's nothing," he mumbled softly, averting his eyes awkwardly.
Brian's voice was like steel; he had noticed Michael's pointed gaze over at him. "Mikey…I know that look. Spill it."
Michael sighed as he looked back at his friend – his proud, independent, hopelessly-in-love-with-Justin friend. "I…..I was just wondering what it would take for you to tell Justin the truth."
Brian's eyebrows narrowed. "What the fuck are you talking about, Michael? The truth about what? The Dawn of Man?"
"No," Michael replied softly, "More like...the Book of Love."
"Oh, my God – that is so utterly literary – you've been with the Professor too fucking long, Mikey."
"Don't change the subject, Brian. This is about you."
Brian shook his head. "About me? I don't know what the fuck you're talking about! Maybe if you spoke English."
Michael sighed. "I'm talking about telling Justin the truth."
Brian's heart picked up speed at the mention of his partner's name. "What truth, Michael?" he asked wearily, even though he had a sinking feeling he already knew the answer to that question.
"The truth about you not wanting him to go back to New York."
"Oh? I don't remember that topic being brought up last night while we were waiting for Santa and his tiny little reindeer to show up."
"Don't be a smartass!" Michael snapped. "You know what I'm talking about! Why don't you just be honest with him and tell him you want him to stay?" He stared into Brian's eyes, silently daring him to refute his comment.
"That's not for me to decide, Michael," Brian growled curtly.
"But what if he's going back based on the assumption that you feel that's best for him?" Michael pressed.
"Well, maybe I DO feel that way," Brian maintained. "What I want and what Justin needs could be two different things."
Michael shook his head; how stubborn could a man be - could TWO men be? "I don't believe that," he said flatly. "I believe Justin has always wanted to stay; I think he just did what everyone else seemed to think was best for him. I've seen how he looks at you, how he is here at Britin – he's happy here, Brian – he's happy here with YOU. And I think you want him to stay here. So TELL him before it's too late and he goes back again."
Brian huffed out a short breath and pinched the bridge of his nose. "It's not that cut and dried, Michael," he said softly. "Justin has responsibilities there. He can't just drop everything, you know."
Michael couldn't help smiling slightly just for a second; he could tell his friend was starting to vacillate just a little. "No, he can't," he agreed. "But that doesn't mean he can't finish up what he started in fairly short order and move back here."
"That's not up to me to determine, Michael," Brian replied. "Justin has to do what he feels is right for him. I don't want to be responsible for him making a mistake he'll regret for the rest of his life."
Michael sighed in exasperation. "I'm not asking you, to, Brian; just tell him the truth! Tell Justin how you really feel! Don't the two you ever talk in between all the fucking?"
"Well, I hate to smash another urban legend, Mikey, but yes, actually, we DO know how to speak English at times…at least when my mouth isn't full of Justin's cock or vice-versa."
Michael shook his head. "Well, when you get to a good stopping point tonight, then, take advantage of your English skills and TALK to him! You might just get a nice surprise out of it!"
Just before the rest of their friends rejoined then in the parlor, Brian softly replied, "I'll take that under advisement, Mikey." The truth was, Michael was right - he desperately wanted to chain Justin to his side and never let him go again. He wanted to go to bed with Justin in his arms every night and wake up to his tender, gentle caresses and kisses every morning. He wanted to share his morning coffee with him, talk to him every day, share how his day went with him - shitty or not. He wanted to - yes, damn it - grow old with him; at least when - and IF - that day came. But he wanted everything for Justin - everything he had always deserved. Who was he to determine what that was? He bit his lip in thought - was Michael also right that he should simply tell Justin and let him decide for himself? Or would Justin say he wanted to stay regardless, simply because it knew it made him happy?
As Justin re-entered the room and once more sat next to Brian, Michael nodded silently at his friend, hoping that he would take his advice and have a serious talk with his partner. Justin frowned at the unspoken looks the two were exchanging, but chose to ignore it for now as Brian reached over to take his hand and grasp it firmly. He looked into the hazel eyes of his partner and raised his eyebrows slightly as if to ask what was wrong, but Brian simply smiled and squeezed his hand back in response.
"Everything okay?" Justin whispered to him as everyone else walked back into the room to sit down and relax with either their coffee, hot chocolate or juice. With his tummy full now, Gus seemed content to revisit each new toy he had received, sitting cross-legged on the floor nearby as he began to move his remote control truck around the room. Unfortunately, he wasn't a very good driver with it, as the vehicle soon began to bump into Debbie's and Emmett's feet as it veered precariously around the room.
"Gus!" Lindsey admonished her son from the couch. "Don't do that, Sweetie! That hurts!"
Justin couldn't help smiling as the little boy gave her a perfect rendition of his partner's same who, me? look and peered back at her innocently before he sighed and went to pick up a play set of farm animals. Justin turned to gaze back at Brian, who had an odd, almost faraway expression on his face. "Brian?" he asked softly, remembering that he hadn't answered his previous question yet. "Are you all right?"
Now it was Brian's turn to dismiss what would no doubt prove to be a serious discussion later – and he DID resolve to make sure the two of them had that discussion before Justin was due to leave again for New York. He swallowed the unexpected lump in his throat at the thought of Justin being gone before smiling softly at him and saying, "I'm fine," he insisted.
Justin pursed his lips together thoughtfully. Two can play this avoidance game, Kinney. He was about to open his mouth to press the subject when Brian suddenly stood up and said, "Who wants to build a snowman with me this morning and do some sled riding?"
Thoughts of pursuing their discourse were quickly pushed aside as both Gus and JR began to jump and down excitedly over the idea of going outside and playing in the snow; both children had been gifted by "Santa" with brand-new toboggans and snow discs, perfect for use in the gently-sloping hills surrounding Britin and they were both eager at the thought of getting to use them.
"I'll go with you," Michael volunteered, anxious to not only keep both children safe – especially Gus, who didn't know the word careful was even in the English language – but also to spend as much time playing with his daughter as possible. Just like Brian, he lived for the times when he could see his daughter in person and missed her terribly when she wasn't around, even though they spoke on the phone often and communicated on the computer via webcam on a frequent basis. It just wasn't the same though, and he missed her so much when she wasn't around – just like he knew Brian missed Gus. They had both decided it was best for their children to remain with their mothers, but it still hadn't made it any less painful to be parted from them.
"Well, come on, then, Dad, let's go show 'em how it's done," Brian said, as the two children raced out of the room toward the foyer closet to retrieve their coats, hats, and gloves.
"No anatomically correct snowmen, Brian, got it?" Mel growled from her position in one of the recliner chairs.
"Well, there goes my use for the last of our cucumbers, Sunshine," Brian quipped as he stood up. "Coming with us?" he asked Justin, holding out his hand. "Wouldn't want you to miss out on all the fun." He didn't want to tell Justin, but he was really hoping he would come out for another reason – something that he presently had hidden in the stables out back.
Justin grinned as he placed his hand in Brian's and allowed him to pull him up. "I'm looking forward to seeing how the great advertising genius envisions the perfect snowman."
Brian smiled down at his partner, thinking he had the perfect model for his perfect snowman right here. He gently brushed some stray bangs away from his eyes before placing his hand at the back of Justin's neck and pulling him up once more for Kiss #15 or was it 20? Hell, he didn't remember and he didn't care at the moment – while Justin was home, the man was going to be fully kissed and fucked, so he might as well get used to it. Somehow, from the flushed, happy look on his partner's face as they finally pulled back, he didn't think Justin minded one bit. And he definitely didn't, either.
"Uh….Guys? We're being left behind here," Michael interjected.
"Oh," Justin said a little sheepishly as his faced flushed to a pink tinge, noticing the two kids standing impatiently by the front door, coats waiting to be zipped and their hats and gloves already donned. "We'd better get going," he told Brian. "We can…finish this later," he whispered, smiling.
"Count on it," Brian huskily responded before he grudgingly released the younger man from his arms, causing Justin's body to tingle with the prospect. He smiled and winked at Brian before the three turned to hurry down the hallway to join Gus and JR for their outdoor adventure.
An hour later, Michael entered the house with the two kids, all of them sporting rosy cheeks from the exposure to the cold and wet gloves from the melting snow. Crystals were hanging from their mittens and coats, but they were all grinning from ear to ear over the excitement of their successful snowman building and toboggan riding.
"Shit, Michael!" Debbie growled, clapping her hand over her mouth in regret for the profanity as she observed the children shaking slightly from the cold. "Were you and Brian trying to freeze these kids to death?" She hurriedly rushed over to help him take their coats, hats and gloves off and get them warmed up as she rubbed their hands briskly back and forth in her own. "Take them into the parlor near the fire and I'll get you all some hot chocolate!" she commanded as she rushed down the hallway to grab the kettle of hot water from the stove and make some more of the creamy concoction.
"Yes, ma'am," Michael prompted responded.
The two kids ran down the hallway toward the parlor as Michael followed a little more slowly behind. He met his mother coming back from the kitchen.
"Where's Brian and Justin?" she asked curiously. "Don't tell me they made a detour back up to the bedroom?"
Michael smirked. "That would normally be a good conclusion, but not this time," he told her as they walked into the parlor together. Debbie handed two plastic mugs to the children, who were sitting on the floor near the Christmas tree before she joined Michael on the couch next to Ben, who had been talking with Mel, Lindsey, Drew, and Emmett. "They're actually out by the stables. Brian had something he wanted to show Justin."
"I'll bet," Mel replied caustically. "I hope there's a heater out there – I'd hate for Brian's most valuable commodity to freeze and fall off."
"Mel," Lindsey chided. She wished that just once, her partner would let the biting comments go; she thought she had gotten better just before they had left for Canada to live; but there just seemed to be something that brought out the sarcasm in her partner when Brian was around. Not for the first time, she wondered if jealousy over Gus' close relationship with his dad had anything to do with it. It was totally unreasonable in Lindsey's opinion; Gus loved them all equally, but Mel seemed to still suffer from insecurity when Brian was around.
"I think it might be some type of present for Justin," Michael volunteered. Brian had taken Michael aside when Justin had climbed on board one of the toboggans and taken both kids down a rather long, sloping hill for a ride, and asked him to take the kids in by himself because he needed to show Justin something. Brian hadn't said what it was, but somehow he knew – Brian I-don't-believe-in-holidays-love-or-romance Kinney wanted to be alone to give Justin his Christmas present.
Debbie smiled, thinking how much Brian had changed over the years, and it was all due to one particular, stubborn, courageous blond with a dazzling smile and a sweet, passionate disposition. Merry Christmas, Sunshine, she thought affectionately as she took another sip of her hot chocolate and drank in the heartwarming site of so many of her "family" together. Merry Christmas.
TBC...