Brian Kinney walked in the door to his house with a deep sigh. His long hours at the office would surely lead to a partnership soon but combined with Lindsay's schedule, it was starting to feel a little overwhelming. He was twenty-nine and his life was a shadow of the life he dreamed of. He took a look around the three bedroom Victorian style home Lindsay's parents had bought for them when they got married. It was horrendous and sucked the life out him to maintain it but Lindsay had loved it and they needed a place big enough for the three of them which he couldn't afford right out of school so they graciously accepted the offer.

Brian never planned on getting married or having a family, especially so young. When he and Lindsay were dating, he always felt there was something missing. He loved her, cared about her deeply, but it just didn't quite feel like he thought it should. He was almost about to end it when she told him she was pregnant. Their parents all freaked and the marriage proposal was nearly coerced. The first few months he almost left more than once. But eight months later when Gus was born; he felt different. He loved Gus, more than he ever thought he would. Brian was determined to never be like his own father. His wife and son would never know that he didn't really love his life with them. Gus would never feel the sting of knowing that his father wished he was never born; and Lindsay would never turn cold by constant rejection from him. This was his life and it was a good one. Brian had no idea why he always felt so desperately unsatisfied.

Brian joined Lindsay in their kitchen as his wife tidied up from dinner. "Hey sweetie" he said kissing her cheek.

"Hi dear" Lindsay responded, attempting to kiss Brian deeper on the mouth. She wasn't surprised when he deflected her nonchalantly. This was his pattern.

They made small talk about Gus and their respective days while Brian ate the plate of food Lindsay had kept warm for him. Lindsay was hesitant to bring up Justin's painting but she was concerned enough that she thought she needed to. "So you know that boy that was in my classroom today that I introduced you to?"

Brian nodded, "Yeah, Dustin right?"

"Justin" Lindsay corrected, "Did you happen to see his painting, the Face of God?"

"No, I have no interest what so ever in artist depictions of the invisible man in the sky known as God" Brian smirked, although he had noticed the artist was quite angelic himself.

Lindsay gave a forced laugh, she found Brian's atheism alarming given her traditional Methodist upbringing, "Well, you might be interested if you saw it because the face that he painted, the one he called the Face of God, was pretty familiar."

Brian sat his fork down and carried his dishes over to the dishwasher, "Really who is it?"

"Um, Yours" Lindsay responded, waiting for a reaction.

"Lindsay don't be ridiculous! I just met the kid today." Brian clarified, hiding his intrigue that this boy he just met had painted him.

"I'm not being ridiculous. Justin must have seen you yesterday sometime, that was where he said he met the man who inspired him." Lindsay offered with an accusatory tone.

"Yesterday: I went to work, met Michael for Spin class, drove him home, chatted with Vic and Debbie, and came back here" Brian said, "I did not meet anyone new yesterday at all, especially not a teenage boy.

"Well you certainly left an impression on him!" Lindsay argued. "I think Justin might be, you know"

Brian huffed, "Lindsay, what are you trying to say? That one of your students is gay and has a schoolboy crush on me?" he said exasperated.

Lindsay nodded, "Yeah, that's what I'm saying" she confirmed, "so just be careful to not encourage it, all right"

"Why would you think I would encourage it?" Brian asked his eyebrow arched.

"Oh please! I see the way you interact with Michael. You love that he drools after you. In fact, you love when all Michael's friends drool after you. I used to think maybe…." Lindsay stopped herself from going too far and causing a blow up.

"Lindsay, I am never going to live down telling you about that time with Michael and I and the Patrick Swayze picture, am I? Listen, I've hung out with Michael since I was fourteen. I've known Ted and Emmett for almost seven years now. Don't you think that if I was gay I would have been, I don't know, even remotely attracted to one of them by now." Brian was incensed. He had confided in his wife once after a lot of alcohol she admitted to sometimes fantasizing about women and offering a threesome to try to spice up their rather dull sex life. Brian was trying to make her feel better when he emphatically turned down the offer but instead she just got weird about it and they never spoke of either of their confessions again. That didn't mean Lindsay didn't find a way to bring it up in her own manipulative ways.

Lindsay washed the dishes without responding to Brian; she detested conflict with him. In her heart, she loved him and she knew he loved her. She loved that they had this perfect post-card life together and it's the marriage her parents always dreamed she would have. Deep down she knew he wasn't happy. Their love life was so disappointing and on the rare times he wasn't too tired or too busy and they did actually have sex, Brian was usually drinking heavily beforehand. She had been hinting of having another baby but Brian had said no. At first it was 'let's wait until after Gus starts school', now it's 'let's wait until after he makes partner'. She suspected that Brian might be gay a few times but there was never a moment she suspected that he was anything other than friends with the gay men that they knew. Lindsay figured everyone was on the spectrum somewhere between gay and straight. She herself has often wondered what it would be like to be with a woman. She might even consider herself bisexual if she wasn't married to Brian. Brian was such a complicated man and it didn't do anyone any good to have doubts now. They were married for better or worse, and Gus was their primary concern.