A/N: Per your request, a longer chapter. Enjoy...
Justin entered the Kinney's guestroom and slung his duffle bag onto the queen size bed flopping down next to it. Only the thought of finally having a bed instead of a couch to sleep on could ease his heartache after having just sat through the most painful conversation with his parents. His dad's rejection he had expected but seeing the look on his mother's face, that heart-wrenching look of disappointment and embarrassment, was just too much for his young heart to bare. He was so grateful for Brian and Lindsay's offer but he knew that as strong as his desire for Brian was, he just couldn't alleviate the guilt he would feel if he were to betray such a generous person as Lindsay. He was thankful that he could help them out with Gus to compensate for the intrusion he was making into their life.
Unfortunately the arrangement meant that Justin had to go back to school and face the music after Chris's outing him. Daphne kept him informed of the current status of his social downfall; as the first and likely only gay kid at St. James Academy there wasn't much lower you could sink on the popularity hierarchy. The only bright spot was that Lindsay had entered his "Face of God" painting in the Archdiocese competition and he was sure to be a finalist. Justin had never really worried himself over paying for college, his parents always told him that it was covered, but now he was pretty sure he would be on his own. The scholarship money would really be helpful.
"Justin, Dinner" Lindsay's voice echoed from downstairs. Justin felt a twinge of apprehension as he sat down at the dining room table with Brian's happy family. Luckily Gus did most of the talking during dinner. Justin could barely keep up with the excited little boy as he kept leaving the table to show Justin various prized possessions; first his teddy bear, than a painting he made at school, then finally a train engine his dad had recently bought him. Lindsay was appalled by her son's inability to sit still at the table but Brian kept smiling and laughing, amused by Gus's reaction to Justin and Justin's indulging all his son's enthusiasm, oohing and aahing at each item Gus presented for Justin's inspection.
After dinner, Lindsay escorted Gus to the bathroom for his bath leaving Brian and Justin to clean up. Justin could feel Brian stealing glances at him as they worked and couldn't resist teasing him a little, bending over more than was necessary to load the dishwasher and brushing up against him to squeeze by him as he washed the pots and pans at the sink. Brian felt little jolts every time Justin touched him which caused him a deep level of anxiety. Brian tried to counter his nerves with alcohol, lots and lots of alcohol. By the time Lindsay returned from putting Gus to bed, Brian was snoring loudly passed out on the couch. Lindsay tried to wake him but seeing her effort was futile, covered him with a blanket and turned off the lights.
Lindsay sighed embarrassed watching her husband. She was visibly annoyed about Brian's drinking in front of her student "Justin there's a television in the spare room or I have a studio in the attic. You're welcome to use anything that's up there during your stay. We'll need to leave earlier for school than you're used to. I have to drop Gus off and be at school by seven so don't stay up too late."
Justin nodded in acknowledgement but the stress of the day was weighing on him and he really just wanted to crawl into bed and sleep. He wished Lindsay a good-night, said thank you about ten times and headed upstairs behind her. He sifted through the hallway bathroom cabinet as he brushed his teeth. In addition to Gus's toiletry items, Justin found some men's aftershave and a razor with stubble clogging the blades. He guessed that Brian used this bathroom at least on some occasions. He examined the razor and wondered if Brian shaved anywhere besides his face. Justin opened the aftershave and inhaled the scent. It was a masculine aura that smelled like Brian. He dabbed a few drops on his wrist so he could smell the intoxicating fragrance while he slept. He finished up his nightly routine, washing his face and hands, before shutting the medicine cabinet door and heading to bed. Being this close to Brian and not pursuing him was going to be harder than he thought
Brian woke up, his back twisted into an unnatural position and his head throbbing. He pulled a pillow over his face and groaned, debating about riding out the rest of the night on the couch. He flipped back and forth a few times but he couldn't get into a position that alleviated the pain in his lower back. Waking up on the couch after drinking too much was becoming a familiar situation lately; he wasn't looking forward to Lindsay's inevitable wrath. For the moment he just wanted to get to a real bed to get some real sleep without having to face Lindsay. Brian grabbed the blanket and stumbled up the stairs headed towards the guest room he completely forgot was now occupied. As he flung open the guest room door and took three unsteady steps towards the bed, he tripped over a pair of Justin's shoes and fell head first onto the bed on top of the sleeping Justin. Justin jolted up in bed hitting his head with Brian chin. "Fuck, what the hell?" Justin yelped as he struggled to break free of Brian who was tangled in the blanket and flailing about.
"God, Sorry, Oh my God" Brian exclaimed as he finally freed himself of the blanket and managed to stand up, taking Justin's blanket with him in the process. He glanced down at Justin who was clad in only a tight pair of black briefs and blushed furiously.
"Brian" Justin smiled flirtatiously, rubbing his head and making no attempt to cover up. He enjoyed seeing Brian mortified for a change, "If you wanted to sleep with me, you just have to ask."
"Um, I forgot you were here" Brian sputtered defensively fighting the urge to look at Justin's body any further, "I sleep in here sometimes".
Justin felt a rush of adrenaline finding out that Brian slept in the guest room. Maybe they weren't such a happy family after all. His elation at the new information was quickly tempered by his guilt at having the thought at all.
Brian apologized and left Justin to go back to sleep. He returned to the master bedroom as quietly as he could, sneaking under the covers with Lindsay and quickly falling into his alcohol assisted sleep with thoughts of the beautiful boy in the next room.
Justin awoke the next morning to Gus's smiling face. "Justin" Gus whispered, "My daddy said you need to get up now. We got to go to school."
Justin sat up and stretched, covering his morning hard-on from Gus's view. "Ok, Gussy" he answered rubbing the small child's head "Just give me a minute and I'll be right down."
Justin quickly worked his way through his morning routine and walked down the stairs surprised to see Brian instead of Lindsay.
"You drink coffee?" Brian said while pouring himself a travel mug from the coffee pot. Justin shook his head no and grabbed some OJ from the fridge.
"Where's Mrs. Peterson…I mean Lindsay?" Justin asked correcting himself since Lindsay insisted that they forgo such formality away from school.
"She wanted to let you sleep a little. She was meeting with the principal of your school this morning. I told her I would drop you off after we take Gus to school. I can show you the routine of picking him up that way as well." Brian glanced at his watch, "we need to go".
Brian rounded up Gus and ushered the boys to his car. As Brian leaned over to buckle Gus's seatbelt, he caught of whiff of Justin surprised to smell his own Armani aftershave. It was only a ten minute ride to Gus's school and the remainder of the trip to St. James was astonishingly comfortable. Justin spoke about his art and music interests trying to impress Brian with his knowledge. Brian couldn't believe how mature and well-spoken this young man was and he relaxed as they uncovered just how much they seemed to have in common. So the boy had a crush on him? It wasn't like this was a new experience to Brian, Michael had a crush on him their whole friendship. He would just handle Justin like he did Michael.
As Justin exited the vehicle, Brian wished him a good day and Justin paused looking like he wanted to say something more before turning around and walking into the school. Brian found himself smiling his entire way to work enjoying his good mood, a real novelty for him these days.
Lindsay sat in the headmaster's office wringing her hands nervously. Her summons to the early morning meeting was unexpected and her mind played out the worst-case scenarios. Mr. Jackson, her boss, walked in and took a seat at his desk across from her. His stern look did nothing to alleviate the tension.
"Mrs. Peterson-Kinney, I'm afraid we have a problem" Mr. Jackson started, shuffling his papers on his desk.
"A problem sir?" Lindsay inquired.
"Yes, did you submit an artwork to the archdiocese scholarship competition by one of your students- Justin Taylor?"
"Yes sir, I made a number of submissions on behalf of several students, including Justin's"
"Yes well, I'm afraid we have a complaint by the student's father that this piece, the one he calls "The Face of God" is in fact a portrait of the young Mr. Taylor's gay lover who happens to be your husband and what's more that you knew and encouraged this young man in the creation of this work of sacrilege."
Lindsay was horrified at the accusation, "I assure you Mr. Jackson, that piece while influenced by my husband's image was not symbolic of a torrid relationship of any manner. Justin just met Brian not a week ago. I certainly did nothing to encourage anything other than Justin's artistic gift."
"I'm not sure what you are used to in the public schools you have taught at before, however, here at St. James we do not take images of God so lightly as to presume that a mere man should be used as inspiration for his image. It showed incredibly poor judgment on your part to make this submission and in addition to interfere in parental relationship by allowing Justin to live with you is just inexcusable. I'm afraid I will be placing you on suspension immediately pending your removal by the board. As for Mr. Taylor, I have withdrawn his embarrassing submission from the competition. Both you and he should make written apologies to the archdiocese immediately." Mr. Jackson stated matter of factly as he handed Lindsay written confirmation of her suspension.
Lindsay bowed her head in mortification. She had never been fired before, it was humiliating and she was incensed at the unfair treatment. Sensing that there was no immediate recourse, she stood and left the office, leaving the papers and her pride in the trashcan.
Justin walked into his art class in shock to find a substitute teacher in Lindsay's chair. Rumors have been circulating all day and ranged from the benign to the scandalous. As he took a seat the substitute called out his name.
"Justin Taylor?" the stout, balding man asked over the noise of the incoming students.
"Yes" Justin answered, walking up to approach the sub at his desk, "Where's Linds…I mean, Mrs. Peterson-Kinney?"
"That's none of your concern, young man" he stated harshly, "I have a note that you are to see Headmaster Jackson immediately. Here is a pass for you."
Justin nodded and walked with trepidation to the Headmaster's office. "Mr. Taylor, have a seat please" he was ushered into the office, a sinking feeling overcoming him as he came face-to-face with his father.
"Dad? What are you doing here?" Justin asked.
The headmaster explained what actions had been taken as a result of his painting. Justin felt terrible that Lindsay was losing her job and raw hatred at his father for being the cause. After repeatedly refuting the claim that Brian and he were lovers and unsuccessfully begging his principal to reinstate Lindsay, Justin saw the futility in fighting the school or his father any further. He refused to apologize either for his art work or for being openly gay and accepted his unjust expulsion without further protest. He made on final comment before leaving the office.
"Dad, I hope you know what you've done here. I'm never coming home. Do you hear me, never again! You are dead to me. As for the school, Mr. Jackson, I've worked too hard for twelve years, been a straight A student, and you think I'm going to let you expel me in my Senior year because I'm gay without a fight?" Justin threatened as he spun on his heels and left the school.
Justin sat on the steps outside the school not sure what to do with himself. He tried calling Lindsay several times with no answer. He finally surmised that he would have to call Brian to come get him.
Brian hung up the phone after hearing about Lindsay and Justin's plight with a hard thud. His anger was uncontrollable. All this over a fucking painting? It seemed Lindsay was right to be concerned, this school was beyond homophobic. Brian grabbed his keys and stormed out to the car. He was barely calmed down when he stopped in front of the school to pick up Justin. He couldn't be sure but it looked like Justin had been crying and his heart broke at the sight of his crestfallen face such a contrast from the bubbly boy he had dropped off just three hours ago. Brian tried to make small talk and encouraged Justin to apologize to be reinstated at the school. A request Justin adamantly refused to honor.
"You don't have to be really be sorry" Brian explained, "Just tell them what they want to here. Get your diploma and leave them behind."
Justin shook his head, "You wouldn't understand" he exclaimed, "You're not gay!"
Justin's words hit Brian across the face, "Just because I'm not gay doesn't mean I don't sympathize with you. Some of my best friends are gay. Hell the woman who actually raised me, Debbie, is practically a gay man herself." Brian joked hoping to ease the tension between them.
Justin shut his eyes and turned to look out the window. As they pulled into the driveway, Brian was surprised to see an unknown car in his spot along-side Lindsay's car. "I wonder who that is" Brian exclaimed as he followed Justin into the house.
Lindsay sat on the couch next to a thin, brunette woman in a black power suit sipping coffee, her hands shaking evidenced by the china cup rattling on the small plate she held. The other woman was frantically taking notes on a black leather portfolio and nodding.
"Lindsay" Brian called to get her attention, pulling her up to give her a hug, "why didn't you call me?"
"Brian, you're home" she said surprised, melting into his embrace, "How did you…" he question trailed off at seeing Justin standing behind him at the doorway.
"Justin, why aren't you in school?" Lindsay asked angrily her suspicions getting ahead of her.
Brian and Justin filled Lindsay in on his predicament as the mystery woman continued to take notes until she broke her silence asking, "Did they actually say you should lie about being gay?" Justin and Brian looked to Lindsay waiting for her to introduce the stranger they only began to acknowledge was in the room.
"I'm sorry" Lindsay apologized for her neglectfulness, "Allow me to introduce Melanie Marcus. Melanie, this is my husband Brian and my student Justin Taylor. Brian, Melanie is an attorney I contacted after my meeting this morning. You know to discuss my options for the dismissal hearing."
"Doesn't the teacher's union help you with that?" Brian asked concerned about the pending legal bills given their loss of Lindsay's income.
Melanie shook her head, "I think you'll find that the teacher's union will be less than helpful in gay rights cases. After what happened to Mr. Snyder…." She trailed off leaving the sentence unfinished but the implication clear. Brian was impressed by the lawyer's hard-ass mannerisms. He pegged her as a lesbian and knew she would be more motivated to fight Lindsay's case than some union rep not to mention she was offering to help Justin for free.
Lindsay nodded, "I want Melanie" she insisted "I want to fight this".
"Me too" Justin chimed in.
"Okay then" Brian stated, "Let's get the bastards!"