Silent Night – chapter 16 Or Part two Diego waved goodbye to Brian, Justin and the boys as the van sped off toward the airport. Finally, he had the peace and quiet to write. All he had to look after were the two kittens and for reasons known only to the kids were still being called Mine. Diego thought it wasn’t inappropriate for them to have the same name since the kittens were identical like the twins. Maybe it didn’t matter because you really wouldn’t have been able to tell them apart anyway. He walked around the loft making sure things were in order, stopping to admire a particularly interesting jade sculpture that seemed to be of some kind of sea creature. He didn’t know what kind of creature it was and every time he mentioned it, Brian and Justin would get that glazed look in their eyes that meant a nap was soon going to follow. It was very weird. Who knew gay guys found sea creatures to be an aphrodisiac. Satisfied that the loft was in order, Diego made his first phone call. He knew that Brian and Justin had both left their cell phones at home because he’d personally removed and hidden them. They wouldn’t notice until it was too late. He knew where they were and how to get in touch with them if it was necessary, but no one else did which was just fine with him. One thing that Diego had noticed since he’d been living with the two men, was the way Brian’s friend’s seemed to dismiss what Justin and the children meant to the man. He needed to stop it and stop it now. It wasn’t good for any of them; least of all the children as they grew older. Nothing was worse than having family and friends ridicule one’s parents. “Is this Lindsay Peterson?” Diego said when the phone was answered on the fourth ring. “Yes.” “This is Diego Santayana, the Kinney’s nanny and general man Friday.” “Yes, we’ve met,” Lindsay replied, her WASP manners kicking in. “I would like to do something for my bosses. They’ve been good to me and their three-year anniversary is coming up. They have a piece of sculpture that is special to them. Justin gave it to Brian on Valentine’s Day. I’d like to find another piece by the same sculptor if that’s possible. I know this is a lot to ask, but could you come over and look at it. I don’t want to take it out of the apartment for fear it could be broken or something. I could bring you a picture or two if you don’t want to come here.” “I don’t think I’ve seen anything that important in the loft,” Lindsay said. “I’m sure it’s just something that Justin picked up in his travels. No doubt, you could find something similar in any gift shop.” Bitch Diego thought to himself. “Well that may be, but it’s some kind of green stone that I haven’t seen in any gift shop. I guess if you aren’t interested I could call around to a couple of other galleries. I just thought that since you used to be close to Brian and being the mother of one of his children and all that you might…. He let his voice trail off. “Sorry to have bothered you,” he said quickly and hung up the phone. “One, two, three, four,” he counted before the phone rang. “Kinney residence, Diego speaking,” he said, even though he could see by the caller ID that it was Lindsay. “Diego, I have a couple of hours free before my next meeting. I could take a quick look for you. I’m sure that once I see it I can direct you to the proper gift store. I do know the area fairly well.” “That would be great,” Diego replied with faked enthusiasm. “I’ll be home all morning.” “Oh, will Brian or Justin be home?” she asked. “No, they’re out for the day,” he informed her and smiled to himself. “I’ll put on a pot of tea.” “That would be lovely. I’ll be there shortly.” Lindsay hung up the phone and wondered just what this was going to accomplish. There was no way that she’d be able to find another piece of whatever by the same sculptor as the Valentine gift Justin had purchased. Their third year anniversary, surely Diego was mistaken she thought. Gus was barely three years old. She’d have known if Brian was in a relationship for three years. Lindsay wasn’t sure what to expect when she walked into the loft. Everything was clean and tidy. Pleasant music was playing and she could smell cookies baking. “Hmmm, you cook too?” she said with a smile. “Not unless I have to, but the boys like my cookies,” Diego said and smiled. “I’ll show you the piece of sculpture and then we can have tea and cookies.” He led Lindsay over to the area where the piece was displayed. Inset into the wall was a niche, lit by a puck light directed down on the jade sculpture. “Here it is.” Lindsay stood transfixed. It was apparent that the work had been done by none other than Paul Little Hawk. She wasn’t aware that any of his pieces had been up for sale in the last few years. They were rare and almost priceless. Her mind travelled over the pieces that she knew he’d done. They were well publicized, yet this one had never been in any catalogue that she was aware of. “Can I pick it up?” she asked, but she didn’t wait for an answer. The piece was amazing and it demanded to be touched,caressed and loved. Carved in the base were the words Inukli Tasla and the mark of the raven that was Paul Little Hawk’s signature. “This piece is priceless. Where in the world did Justin get it?” she wondered aloud. “Justin told me that he got it from the sculptor’s granddaughter. It was a gift to him to share with the man he loved,” Diego explained and smiled. “Brian and Justin...well if you could see them when they look at it, it would melt the coldest heart in the world. They kind of go into a trance and the next thing you know they’re off and locked in the bedroom,” he laughed. “Makes for a rather loud round of television with Zip and Riki for the next hour or so,” he laughed again. “So do you think I can find something else by this guy for their anniversary?” “I don’t think you can. His work is rarely, if ever on the market and when it is, it sells in the high six figures or even seven.” Lindsay shook her head in awe. “I can’t believe I’ve never noticed this before. It should be in a museum,” she said, shaking her head. “Where are the children?” she asked, changing the subject. “Oh they’re with their dads. I’m on my own this morning,” he smiled. “Now how about some tea and cookies?” He led her to the sofa where he’d placed a tray with the food. “These cookies are from a recipe that Justin made up. We try not to make them when Brian is around because he eats them all. He says it’s because Justin has put something addictive in them, but I think he just likes the cookies.” He poured her a cup of tea. “You’ll like this tea. Brian found it on his last business trip. He knows his husband is a tea freak and he’s always looking for something different for him. This is a Rooibos red and really rather nice.” “Brian buys Justin tea?” she asked. “I find that hard to believe.” “You do, why in the world would that be so impossible? Brian has to be one of the most loving husbands I’ve ever met. He adores his blond partner. He told me once that he’d dreamed of finding someone like Justin from the time he was a young boy. And once he’d found him, he was never letting him go,” he smiled at Lindsay. “You know Brian has never really had a lot of love in his life. The fact that Justin loves him unconditionally from the first moment he saw him, is something Brian treasures,” he said and stood up. “If you’d like to see some of Justin’s work you’ll see what I mean. His main model is a certain Irish gentleman.” “He must be good if he was accepted at PIFA,” Lindsay began. “Not only was he accepted but was awarded a full scholarship. Of course he didn’t accept the scholarship once he got his inheritance, He felt it was only fair that someone else who couldn’t afford the tuition should get it.” “You know a lot about Justin and Brian. I thought you only started working for them a few weeks ago,” Lindsay commented. She wasn’t sure she liked this one-man band. “I’ve heard about them for a couple of years. My Aunt Rosa was their housekeeper and then nanny. She adores both of them and is always bragging about them,” he laughed. “It was kind of irritating attempting to live up to these mystery men who were larger than life. But when I met them, I could relate. Auntie Rosa didn’t exaggerate.” He opened the door to Justin’s studio. “This is it. His latest are against the wall. They’re for an exhibit at the school. Oh that one is private,” he said as he tried unsuccessfully to move the painting. Of course he actually wanted her to see it. It was the image of Brian sitting in a rocking chair. A look of abject love on his face as he held two small bundles in his arms a few feet from an incubator. It was obviously done in the hospital. You could see that he was tired, but you could also see that he was willing the two babies to live. It was all in his eyes. There was no doubt that only an accomplished artist could portray the emotions that Lindsay was seeing. She brushed a stray tear that escaped; the painting pulled every bit of emotion from her as she put herself in Brian’s place. Gus had been born healthy, strong and full term. It was apparent that this wasn’t the case with the twins. “They were so small,” she whispered. “Yeah, Patrick was two pounds one ounce and Zip was just under two pounds. Brian and Justin took turns with them from the moment they were born. They were never left alone.” “They did... Brian did?” Lindsay said surprised. “Yes, it was almost three months before the twins were sprung from the hospital. Then it was three months at home before they even thought about moving here.” “Brian never said anything. We just thought he was away on business all the time. He didn’t see Gus for three months and then he’d be there once a week. We all thought he was being an asshole.” “The thing is, Gus was so young and healthy with two mothers to love and care for him. Brian knew that the time he was away, Gus wouldn’t even remember. The twins were in danger of dying. Brian likes to control things. He had to be there all the time and project his will to keep them alive. It was his way of being in control. He must have lived on a couple of hours a sleep a day. He was either with the boys or working from his home. Auntie Rosa wasn’t sure he ever slept.” “I know about Brian wanting to control things,” she laughed. “How does Justin stand it?” “Justin loves him without reservation,” Diego replied with a shrug. “What more can I say?” “They’re so different; I mean their age alone…. “ her voice wandered off again. “They aren’t so different. Each one of them needed to be loved for who they are, not what they have or can do. They compliment each other in a rather spectacular way. I only hope I find someone with half as much love as they have.” ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Diego spent some time reflecting on Lindsay’s visit. It was apparent that she wanted Brian’s affection for herself and that she found it disturbing that he’d found someone to love and who loved him. Maybe now that she had more information she would give her old friend the opportunity to love and be loved without anger and resentment. Next he decided to call Ted under the guise of asking the tax questions Brian had suggested. The man had been involved with Brian and Justin’s romance right from the beginning. He had never said anything to anyone because as Brian’s accountant and then Justin’s, he had to keep matters confidential. Diego wanted to know if the accountant also harbored misapprehensions about their relationship. Ted was only too willing to give Diego some of his time. As much as he protested that he didn’t like accounting. He was actually very knowledgeable about it and prided himself on keeping up to date. Diego sat in Ted’s office listening to the rather bland man. He didn’t have to take notes because the man had already prepared a computer print out for him. “That’s really great Ted,” Diego said with a smile. “Too bad I’m straight, I could use a good accountant as a partner.” “I’m taken, but thanks for the compliment,” Ted said and smiled. “I’m hoping that I can find someone with the same passion as Brian has for Justin,” he commented and shrugged. “It won’t be easy. Those two have something very special going on between them.” “I know what you mean,” Ted answered. “It’s kind of like an opera, the passion and verve they have, only with a happy ending... I hope.” “From your mouth to God’s ears,” Diego said fervently. “I don’t think either one would be in any shape to go on if something happened to the other.” “I know what you mean. I’ve been friends with Brian for a long time. I guess you could really say, I’ve known him for a long time, but we aren’t really what I’d call friends. You know, now that I think of it, Brian has always been there for me. After all, he did hire me when no one else would.” “Brian’s like that. He quietly goes about doing good things. Too bad he never gets any credit for it,” Diego remarked as he stood up. Ted was a good friend for Brian and Justin to have. Maybe eventually he’d let the others in their circle know just how much the two men meant to each other. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Diego felt that he’d helped to foster some positive feelings toward Brian and Justin with the meetings he had with Lindsay and Ted. Now he only had to work on Michael and Ben. He was walking down Liberty Avenue enjoying some window-shopping when he all but ran into Emmett. The man was a regular visitor to the Kinney’s and Diego and he had hit it off despite the fact that Emmett was flamboyantly gay and Diego was straight. “Diego, my, my, have you lost the boys? It’s so strange seeing you without them.” Emmett gave Diego a quick hug. “They’re with Brian and Justin. I have some time off. They’ll be a year old in a couple of days,” Diego remarked as he grinned at his friend. “Working toward the terrible twos.” “Oh I think they’ve gone past that. In their case it was the terrible twos in months not years,” Emmett laughed. “We’ll have to have a party for them.” “They’re in Phoenix doing just that.” Diego didn’t mind telling Emmett where they had gone. He had become a close friend to them all. “Well, I guess I’ll just have to wait, but I definitely will throw those precious boys a fabulous party to celebrate the beginning of their second year, he sighed. “Now dear boy, I finally have you all to myself. I think you could do with a teeny tiny little makeover. You know baggy blue jeans are really only for toddlers and ghetto boys. If you want to find that special someone, you need to show off your ass – ets.” “I like the way I dress just fine,” Diego laughed, “But I will buy you lunch. I’m starving.” “That’s just where I was heading. Lunch it is at the diner if you don’t mind. Oh, Michael and Ben will be there too.” “Cool,” Diego laughed. It was just getting better and better. “If you don’t mind, don’t tell them that Brian and Justin are out of town. I think they need some time away from life in the Pitts.” “I can understand that,” Emmett agreed as he waited while Diego opened the door to the diner. He loved being treated like a lady and Diego was just the man to do it. “Hey boys, look who I brought to join us,” he said loud enough to be heard over the din of the crowded diner. “It’s my very favorite straight boy, Diego.” Diego flushed when everyone in the place turned to check him out. He should be used to Emmett by now, but every now and then the man managed to throw him. Emmett slid into the booth taking up the bench across from Michael and Ben, and Diego quickly followed. “Hey guys, I didn’t mean to horn in on your lunch.” He was still flushed from his introduction. “Hey Diego, no problem,” Ben answered as he reached across the table to shake Diego’s hand. “Yeah, it’s a free country,” Michael said and went back to studying the menu. “You know Baby, I don’t know why you don’t just order. You must have that thing memorized by now,” Emmett said with a laugh as he grabbed Michael’s menu and handed it to Diego. “Now this boy hasn’t been here long enough to memorize it.” “I’m going to have burger and fries,” Diego said. “Maybe a side of coleslaw.” “You have to try the lemon squares. Debbie makes them and they are too die for.” Emmett looked at Michael and then kicked him under the table. “What?” Michael said and glared at Emmett. “The polite thing to do is to say that your mother’s lemon squares taste good or something,” Emmett said and glared at his friend. “What in the heck are you sulking about now?” “He’s a bit put out because he can’t get Brian on his cell,” Ben laughed. “He should be used to that by now.” “Well that’s because Brian left his cell at home today,” Diego volunteered. “It was the strangest thing you know, but there it was sitting on the sofa after he’d left.” “He never leaves his cell phone. Maybe I should take it to him,” Michael said and looked more cheerful. “Sorry, but he’s with Justin and the boys. They’re away for a few days. I guess they just can’t be reached for now.” Diego lifted his shoulders in an apologetic shrug. “That’s a little irresponsible isn’t it? He does have another child,” Ben said and was surprised by that bit of information. Brian didn’t usually leave without making arrangements to be in contact with Gus. “If there’s a problem with Gus, I can track them down,” Diego said. “Hey Sweetness, can we put our orders in now,” he said to Kiki who was hovering nearby. “Why sure Baby,” Kiki gushed, pleased with the reaction she was getting from Diego. She bent low so that he could see her latest breast work and happy when he whistled under his breath. Completely ignoring the rest of the gang, Kiki took Diego’s order. She patted him on the cheek, blew him a kiss and headed for the kitchen to place it. “Hey, what about us?” Michael yelled. “I already put your order in Honey, you boys always get the same thing.” Debbie reached over and pinched Michael’s cheek. “Hey Diego, how are you enjoying life these days?” She sat down in the booth beside him not caring that she was crowding Emmett into the corner. “Pretty good Deb. Justin loved your recipe for veggie lasagna. Brian didn’t even notice that it was made with veggies. The boys of course gobbled it up like it was candy. I think they have some Italian genes in them. I made theirs in a separate dish like you suggested and left out the heavy spice.” “Good, they may be a year old, but they really are three months short of that and I don’t think their digestive system could stand anything too spicy.” “Believe me, I found that out the hard way. They escaped from their crib early the other day and ate some pizza that hadn’t been put away. Second hand pizza on the floor, the bed, the sofa, well let’s just say I could do without that first thing in the morning,” Diego laughed. “I’m seriously considering a lock on their door.” “Brian would have a fit,” Michael said. “He’d think you were abusing the kids.” “Brian was the one who suggested it when Zip flushed three of his designer ties down the toilet,” Diego laughed. “Apparently, they liked the way they looked when they swirled around.” “Those two sound like a handful,” Emmett chuckled. “Zip is the ring leader, but Riki doesn’t seem to question their escapades,” Diego laughed. “I’m not sure if they get it from Justin or their mother.” “Well I used to lock Michael in his room. I found him outside playing in the street one too many times,” Debbie declared. “I needed to do it for my sanity and his safety.” “MA!” Michael looked horrified. “You turned out alright, Sweetie.” She reached over the table and patted his cheek. “So that’s why you like being tied up,” Ben teased making Michael look even more horrified. “So where are my adorable babies?” Debbie asked. “They’re with their dads,” Diego said. “It’s their birthday. Brian and Justin wanted to celebrate it with them privately. It was rather a traumatic experience having them arrive so early. I’m not sure who it was harder on, the babies or their fathers.” “I didn’t know it was their birthday,” Debbie said as she looked at the boys. “You never said a thing.” “Ma, I don’t keep track of Justin’s brats,” Michael defended. “Uh, Michael, I don’t mean to sound pissed here, but Peter and Patrick are both Brian and Justin’s sons. Those two men have been with the boys from practically the moment they took their first breath. They never left the hospital nursery for three months without one or the other of them being there. I think that Brian deserves the right to be included in the ownership of their children, if that’s what you want to call it ,” Diego huffed and looked pissed. “I didn’t know that,” Michael said. “Brian and Justin have shared a lifetime of experiences in the few years they’ve known each other. My Aunt Rosa said that no matter what life threw at them, they always had each other to face things together. I used to wonder what she meant. Since I’ve been working for them I know just what she was talking about. Brian isn’t complete without Justin and Justin needs Brian to make him complete. It’s rather amazing to watch. I know it’s going to make for some interesting passages in a book some day,” he grinned at them all. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ “Mr. Kinney, wake up we’re preparing for our descent.” Justin looked up into the eyes of the steward. He removed his earphones from the Ipod he’d been listening too, checked on Zip who was in the seat next to him, and then looked across the aisle at Brian. Brian held Patrick who was quietly sobbing into his crumbled and wet shoulder. “Okay Sunshine, you win,” he snarked as he rubbed the baby’s back. “Win?” Justin asked. “What’s wrong with Patrick? Has he been crying long?” “Let’s see; you plugged into your other brain just after we leveled off. That was about five hours, ten minutes and thirty seconds ago. You and Zip zoned out and Patrick began to cry. He hasn’t f… darn well stopped. His ear hurts, he’s tired, he wants a drink of water, he wants Mine, he wants Diego, he wants daddy one, the list is endless.” “I did mention that baby Gravol was a wonderful invention didn’t I? And you did say that you weren’t going to drug your kid. As you can see I did give it to the one I have out of self preservation. You know Zip would have been flying the plane by now.” Justin bit his lip to keep from giggling. He looked at Brian and asked, “What’s that all over your new linen pants?” “That would be baby puke,” Brian said and glared at his well-rested husband. “Apparently, Patrick’s digestive system objected to the orange soda the airline provides. I’m taking it out of his allowance.” “He doesn’t get an allowance.” “When he does, the replacement pants are the first deduction.” “He’s sleeping now poor little guy,” Justin commented. “It couldn’t have been that bad.” “OH YES IT WAS!” chorused all the people who were sitting around Brian’s seat. Brian’s look of triumph at the confirmation of his ordeal didn’t go unnoticed by Justin. “I suppose I’m going to pay for this,” he smirked. “Oh yeah.” Brian grinned in satisfaction and leaned back for the landing. When the wheels touched down, Zip was awake and ready to go. Patrick was sound asleep. Brian and Justin waited for the other passengers to depart, before gathering up their things. Justin went ahead with Zip to get the double stroller ready to take the sleeping Riki, Soon they were walking down the halls to the luggage carrousel. Brian and Justin didn’t have any luggage for themselves. They had plenty of things at their apartment in Phoenix, but the boys had grown since they’d left and required a considerable number of clothing changes. They were never dressed the same, it was hard enough to tell them apart. Brian had devised a method of making sure that he knew who was who by their clothing selection. He knew it was only going to be a matter of time before they would insist on wearing their own choices, but for now he did what he could. Patrick slept peacefully while Zip did his best to get out of the restraints that Justin had put him in while he sat in his section of the stroller. “You know Sunshine; we’re going to have to padlock him in soon. He’s already undone the buckle twice.” Brian stood behind the stroller to hide his filthy clothing as much as he could. He hadn’t spotted himself in a mirror yet and for that Justin was glad because the impeccably dressed Brian Kinney looked like a street person. His clothes were dirty and wrinkled, his hair had the worst case of bed head Justin had ever seen on him, not to mention chunks of something on the left side. It was better for all concerned to not say a word. “There’s Raj,” Justin called out excitedly as he pointed and waved. “WE’RE OVER HERE!” he shouted much to Brian’s dismay. “Shit Justin, why not just tell the world.” “Shit da one, shit,” Zip parroted as he jumped up and down in his seat as much as he could considering that he was strapped securely into the stroller. Justin glared at Brian, but the effect was lost when he was enveloped in Raj’s embrace. “Hey there boys, don’t you look….” Raj caught a full view of Brian, “uh, travel worn,” he snickered. “What happened to you?” he asked Brian. Justin who was usually the one who looked rumpled, appeared as if he’d just stepped out of an issue of GQ. “It’s a long story,” Brian replied and ruffled Justin’s hair. “I’m sure Justin will fill you in later.” “Hey, there’s our bags.” Justin reached over and pulled off the pink hard-sided pieces of luggage. Yet, another bone of contention between he and Brian who thought pink luggage was over the top of gay. “Nice color, you can really pick them out of the crowd.” Raj pulled out the handles on both bags. “Follow me, I’m parked near by.” Brian pushed the stroller, not caring how he looked since he was partially hidden from view and that’s all that mattered. Justin, smirking only the teeniest bit, linked his arm through his husband’s as they followed Raj. “Don’t sulk,” Justin giggled. “I thought you would have appreciated the benefits of drugs. You took enough of them in your day.” “But to drug your own kid,” Brian replied and shook his head. Zip was chattering away to Patrick who was still sound asleep. “It was Gravol for gawd sake, not heroin,” Justin sighed. “I’m teasing you, Sunshine.” Brian leaned down and kissed Justin quickly as they continued to walk. Raj had been right, his van wasn’t far away and in no time at all the stroller and luggage was stored with the twins strapped into their car seats. Justin sat between them letting Brian and his long legs take shotgun. “I thought I’d drop you and Justin off at the apartment. I’ll take the boys to my place and give the two of you a break for a couple of hours. You look like you could use it.” “Are you sure?” Brian asked. “Zip especially is a handful.” “Ah, but I have Rosa at the house. She’s with my two right now and is anxiously waiting the arrival of ‘her’ babies.” “In that case Justin and I will be there for dinner. It’s going to take at least that long just to pack a few clothes from the apartment and make sure the car we rented has the proper car seats in it.” “Anything else?” Raj asked with a grin. “Well there is a little matter of making Justin pay for sleeping on the plane and leaving me with Patrick to entertain.” “That’s all part of being a dad, Brian,” Raj laughed. “But I can see your point. I’ve had to ‘punish’ Josh once in awhile too.” Justin sat between the children and listened to Brian’s plans. He’d actually arranged this with Raj before they’d left Pittsburgh. He and Brian rarely had private time these days. The past year since the birth of the twins had been a long one. One he wouldn’t have traded for anything, but Brian needed a reward on this anniversary of the twin’s birth as much as they needed to celebrate their own achievement of surviving. Brian and Justin kissed the boys and then Raj, before walking into the apartment building hand in hand. Neither one of the men noticed Max as she watched them from behind the curtains of the front apartment. “They let the babies go with Raj,” she said to Ronny who was on his last twenty minutes on the treadmill. “I wanted to see them.” “You’ll see them tomorrow. We’re all going to be there for their party,” Ronny said as he stopped the machine. Max’s well-being was more important than the last twenty minutes of his work out. He stood beside her, his arm around her waist and looked out onto the empty street. “Maxie, I know it’s tough seeing the kids, but you did the right thing you’ll see that. Maybe someday we’ll have some kids of our own.” He rubbed the small of her back, his hands moving in little circles. “It’s harder than I thought it would be,” Max said and sighed. She leaned against Ronny, letting him be her strength. She loved him dearly, but he wasn’t Justin and it broke her heart that he knew it. Upstairs Brian and Justin stood inside the apartment and looked around. Nothing much had changed since they’d been there a few months before. “Rosa’s been through the place,” Brian said with a sigh. “Remember when we brought the kids home?” “Yeah, we were terrified,” he laughed. “I was sure they were going to break and you had so much hardware in their room it was like something out of a science fiction movie.” “I was scared something would happen,” he said and looked at Justin. “It seems weird not having them in the next room.” “More than weird.” He walked over to the room that the twins used and looked inside. “This is the first time we’ve been alone like this in a year.” “Maybe we should just grab a few things and go to the guest house. We could always have a ‘nap’ there,” Brian suggested. “I’ll change into something clean while you pack.” “Okay. We can take a cab and deal with the car rental tomorrow.” Justin didn’t want to waste anymore time. He started for the bedroom to pack their suitcase, but turned back to Brian, running into his arms. “We’re being dumb aren’t we?” he asked with a shaky laugh. “Yes,” Brian agreed with a kiss on Justin’s forehead. “But you know, holding that small bundle of misery all the way from Pittsburgh, having him depend on me to make things better for him, to trust in me, I knew that I wouldn’t trade my life now for anything.” He turned Justin’s face up to his and bent down to touch their lips together; first tentatively and then with more urgency and like always they lost themselves in the kiss. “I want you to make love to me,” Justin whispered. “I need to feel you inside me.” “I’m all sticky and sweaty,” Brian answered but began to lead Justin backwards toward their bedroom. “I like you all sticky and sweaty,” Justin purred, his voice filled with seduction. Piece-by-piece he removed Brian’s clothing. It wouldn’t be a long afternoon nap, but then it didn’t have to be. They both knew what they wanted and how to get it. “I love you Justin Kinney,” Brian whispered as they fell onto the clean bed. “More than I ever thought it was possible to love someone.” “I love you too,” Justin breathed. His mouth found Brian’s nipple and he began to suckle. He let his fingers tug and pull at the other one. The gasp of pleasure from the man was his reward. “I love to taste you,” he said, and nipped gently as Brian writhed under him. “Definitely love to taste you,” he purred and moved lower as he followed a trail of silky curls. His tongue licked at Brian’s navel and made him moan loudly. “Fuck,Justin,” Brian groaned. Justin teased the head of Brian’s cock with his tongue and enjoyed the salty flavor. “In a minute, this is too much fun,” he said and unable to resist, his mouth engulfed what he tasted and Brian’s hips thrust upward in uncontrollable lust. “What a demanding bottom boy you are,” Justin laughed, his left hand tugging gently on Brian’s low hanging sack. “Now Justin, stop fooling around,” Brian growled, as his patience ran out. He needed to feel Justin inside him, to watch the younger man’s enjoyment as they shared their most intimate moments. A condom was found in the nightstand beside the bed. A new tube of their favorite lube was popped open. Familiar sounds that only increased the need for each of them to achieve completion. Soon they were rocking together in a dance of passion. It was familiar, but by no means humdrum. Each time they came together was like the first time. And like the first time, their orgasms shook them to the core. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ “Are they here yet?” Max’s mother greeted her daughter when she opened the door. “I don’t see their car.” The older woman pushed her way inside the apartment. “Hello Ronald,” she greeted curtly and nodded at the man who seemed to be with her daughter far more than was necessary. “The children are at Raj and Josh’s. Brian and Justin are upstairs,” Max explained and shook her head at her mother’s rudeness. “Well I want to see my grandchildren. Apparently, they can’t wait to fall into bed, leaving those poor babies with virtual strangers. They could have at least left them with you.” “Mother you know that’s not true,” Max sighed. “We’ll be seeing them tomorrow.” “I don’t understand how a daughter of mine could be so non-maternal,” she sighed dramatically. “I’ve discussed this with your father and we want to seek joint custody. When we agreed to let Justin have full custody of the twins, we never dreamed he’d take them so far away.” “Mother don’t you dare,” Max spat and glared at the woman. “If you want to see them more often then get your ass on a plane.” “Don’t speak to me like that.” “Ma’am if you don’t mind, you’re upsetting Maxie here. You know that Brian and Justin are the best thing that could have happened to the children. I’d suggest you think long and hard before you start something you’ll only lose.” Ronny had managed to steer Max’s mother back to the door. He opened it and she found herself standing in the hallway. “We’ll see you at Raj and Josh’s tomorrow,” he said before shutting the door. “Yes... yes we will,” she agreed. With her lips pursed, she checked her watch. She’d have time to stop at the grocery store before her appointment with her lawyer.