I Remember You

Part 6 : We Spent The Summer With The Top Rolled Down

"Get off!" Brian exclaimed trying to catch his breath as Justin tickled him until he had tears rolling from his eyes. Justin kept tickling. They had officially been living together just over a week. It had only taken one load in the Jeep to move the rest of Justin's things over, as most of it was already there. In this week, the boys had been giddy about living together and were always goofy around each other.

          "Say uncle!" Justin exclaimed. "Say it!!" Brian finally gave in when he felt like he was going to lose control of his bladder.

          "Uncle!" Brian screamed. "Now let me go before something very bad happens!" When Justin let go, Brian rolled away. "You are an evil child!"

          "Ahh, you love it." Justin laughed. "Oh!" He suddenly remembered what he had been meaning to ask his lover. "My mom wants us to come over on Sunday."

          "What for?" Brian asked running his fingers through his hair and still trying to catch his breath. Justin reminded himself to remember the image of Brian recovering from the tickle fight before answering the question.

          "Dinner. My mom is big on family dinners. When she saw the ring, I guess she decided that now you're a part of the family." Justin shrugged. "I'd like if you'd come though."

"As long as I don't have to change my name to Brian Taylor, I'm in." Brian climbed off the bed. "Speaking of dinner, are you hungry?"

          "Order from that East Indian place." Justin said. "I have to draw something." He picked up his sketchbook, got comfortable, and started to sketch the image of Brian after being tickled into submission. He loved drawing Brian, there was something about him that jumped off the page.

          Justin was lost in thought and didn't hear the buzzer or Brian letting someone into the loft. "Justin! Your competition is here." That caught Justin attention and he stepped out of the bedroom. He saw Daphne standing inside the entrance to the loft.

"Daph!" He exclaimed and ran over to hug her. He was thrilled that she was here.

          "I was serious, Justin." Brian joked. "This girl is going to steal my heart." He kissed Daphne on the top of her head, like he always did, and went into the bedroom to give his boyfriend some time with his best friend.

          "What are you doing here, Daph?" Justin asked. "What happened to New York?" Daphne had transferred to NYU almost a year earlier and from what she told Justin in her emails, she was having a great time.

          "My family wanted me to visit. Besides, school's out for the summer." She said. "I'm here for a whole month."

          "Daph, that is so great!" Justin pulled her over to the couch. "Tell me all about New York. Tell me about the guys!" He loved gossiping with Daphne and was happier than he could say that he had the chance.

          "Hey!" Brian called from the bedroom. "You're a married man! Daphne, don't tell him about the guys."

          "Married?" Daphne asked. Justin held up his ring proudly. He loved telling people about the brand new commitment that he and Brian had.

          "Brian gave me a ring. He wears one too." Justin said. He slipped his ring off and showed her the inscription. Even though he had shown the ring to nearly everyone he knew, he hadn't shown anyone the inscription. Until now.

          "Justin, it's beautiful." Daphne said. She could boast that she had always known that Justin would snag Brian for real in the end. Ever since that first morning, and Justin's "I just saw the face of God" comment, Daphne was sure that her best friend had met the man of his dreams. And since the first time she spoke to Brian, she knew that Brian Kinney had met his match.

          "And I live here now. Officially." Justin said with a grin. "It's perfect." He said these things quietly because he didn't want Brian to hear him get all gushy.

          When the guys had first seen the rings at Babylon a couple of days after Brian had given Justin his and put his own on his finger, Brian had been quiet about them. He tried not to make a big deal out of them saying something along the lines of "The kid had to wear some kind of jewelry. At least I got him something tasteful," in that tone of voice he had when he was trying just a little too hard to be casual.

          Ted and Michael had gotten in a little bit of ribbing, while Emmett got a little bit misty eyed, he was a sucker for a happily ever after. Debbie had swept both boys into bear hugs when she first saw the rings. She was thrilled that Sunshine had finally gotten his man. She had even asked when the commitment ceremony was going to be. Justin had expected some sarcastic comment from Brian, but he said nothing.

          Justin was a little surprised that everyone thought he had finally nabbed Brian when, in truth, they had both done a little bit of nabbing. Brian was different now. Sure, he tried to keep up the ruthless Brian Kinney facade, but everyone who knew him well knew that he was settling into the domestic routine quite nicely.

          His new account was taking up a fair bit of time and he was usually home late from work and not in the mood to go out to the clubs. Justin was pretty sure that the people at Blockbuster knew them by name by now. They would rent a movie and Brian would try to do some work while they watched it. After about twenty minutes he would give up trying to work and cuddle up to his "baby".

          As soon as he was done school in a few days, Justin was going to be working full time at the restaurant on the day shift so he would always be home when Brian trudged in after work. Though Brian always seemed to be grouchy after he came home from work, his mood always seemed to improve as soon as he saw Justin smile. Justin's smile was his drug.

          "New York is great!" Daphne gushed. "But it's good to be home for a while. I miss Brett though." She made a pouty face. Brett was her serious boyfriend of about 7 months. He was a year ahead of her in the Journalism program at the University and, according to Daphne, so adorable!!

          "When is he coming to visit? I want to meet this guy!" Justin said. Daphne giggled.

          "Me, too! I need to scope the competition." Brian's voice carried in from the bedroom. "He better treat you right or I will seriously hurt him."

          "Thanks, Brian." Brian still had the ability to make Daphne giggle and blush. "I'm sure he will."

          Justin and Daphne spent an hour gushing and talking about what had been going on with them. Justin discovered that Brett would, in fact, be visiting. In about two weeks. He promised Daphne he would try to talk Brian into a double date. Apparently one of the things that she and Brett had in common was that they both had a gay best friend. This comforted Justin some since he now knew that Brett wasn't a homophobe.

          By the time Daphne left, Brian had fallen fast asleep on the bed, a legal pad covered in possible slogans laid across his chest. Justin liked spending Sunday afternoons with Brian. Usually they stayed in or went to visit Gus, sometimes they went to the park and roller bladed, or sometimes they went over to Debbie's to spend some quality time with her and Vic. Brian was becoming more and more domestic everyday.

          "Bri." Justin whispered. "Wake up." Brian stirred and his eyes fluttered open. He smiled. One of his favorite things was waking up from sleep and looking at Justin's beautiful face.

          "Where's my woman?" Brian joked running his hands through his hair. Justin thwapped him in the arm. "She's hot. She could make me try out the straight thing if she would look my way."

          "Shut up, Brian." Justin said laughing. "It's sooo not funny!"

"I am sooo funny!" Brian mocked Justin's exaggerated tone.

          "Sure, Bri." Justin shook his head. "And by the way, I had sex with her. I'd have to say, I'm much better in the sack."

          "You're much better in the sack than anyone." Brian said. He looked around exaggeratedly. "And would you look at that, we just happen to be in the sack right now!" With that he grabbed Justin and pinned him to the bed. "I love you."

          "Oh, Brian..." Justin said as Brian started to nip at his neck and collar bone lightly, first gently rubbing his tongue and lips along the skin and then switching to gently using his teeth. "I love you, tooooo." The last word poured from his lips longer than he had expected as Brian reached between his legs and began stroking him there.

          "You're just saying that because we're about to have mind blowing sex." Brian teased as he slowly undressed Justin from top to bottom dragging his lips and tongue over Justin's skin as it was revealed.

          "Ohhhh." Justin moaned as Brian dipped his tongue into Justin's navel. He loved when Brian played with his bellybutton. And Brain reached lower, and slowly lowered the zipper on Justin's pants, Justin grabbed hold of the sheets in anticipation. He wasn't disappointed as Brian quickly removed the rest of Justin's clothes and slipped his mouth over the head of his lover's cock, sucking gently.

          "Tell me, Justin. Say the words." Brian said, only lifting his mouth from the length of Justin's shaft for a moment. Justin shuddered. "Tell me, baby." Brian repeated. When he returned his attention Justin's dick again he increased the pressure ever so slightly so that he has Justin writhing beneath him. "Say it."

          "I... oh, Brian!... I love you, Brian!" Justin screamed as he let go and fell into the oblivion of orgasm.

          "Hi, you two." Jennifer Taylor said when she opened the door on Sunday evening to see Justin and Brian standing there holding hands. The way that Brian was holding the bottle of Chardonnay he had brought with him showed her that he was, in fact, wearing a matching ring to Justin's.

          "Hi, Mom." Justin said letting go of Brian's hand and hugging his mom tightly and pressing a kiss to her cheek.

          "Hi, Jenn." Brian said with a smile. He also leaned over to kiss her cheek. He was more than pleased that Justin's family accepted him as a couple.

          “Dinner will be ready soon." Jennifer said. "Come on in." She opened the door further and the boys stepped in. Brian handed Jennifer the bottle of wine and she looked down at it. It was her favorite, very expensive. "Thank you, Brian. This is my favorite wine." She said sincerely. "Would you like a glass before dinner?"

          "Yes, that would be great." Brian said. He took Justin's hand and was lead into the living room. Brian almost fell flat on his face when Justin stopped abruptly. When he saw the reason that Justin had stopped, he nearly fell down again.

          There, at the coffee table playing Monopoly, sat Molly and Craig Taylor. Justin turned and stepped back out of the living room and dragged Brian, who was stunned, into the kitchen.

          "Mom, you didn't tell me dad was going to be here!" Justin hissed trying to keep his voice down. Jennifer turned and looked at her son.

          "When I told him you were coming for dinner with Brian, he asked if he could come. I told him that he has to be nice. He promised." Jennifer said. She knew more about the situation than she was ready to tell Justin yet. Craig had found out a few months ago that his best friend from college had died of AIDS. And that his lover had died nearly a year earlier. Craig hadn't even known that Gary was gay, not until Gary's sister Linda called and told him. It had put things in perspective for Craig and he now wanted to rebuild his relationship with his son.

          Craig had admitted, after he came home from Gary's funeral in Houston, that after seeing a friend buried, his biggest fear was having to come to someone in his own family's funeral without ever really knowing them. When he heard about the rings, and that Justin and Brian were actually a couple, he had actually been happy. He was proud that his son didn't have to hide who he was, and that Justin loved and was loved in return.

          Justin, still skeptical since he didn't know the whole story, turned and walked into the living room. Brian stayed in the kitchen with Jennifer, offering to help her with dinner. He was already nervous about doing something wrong at this dinner and didn't want to do or say the wrong thing because Craig Taylor made him mad.

          "It's ok, Brian." Jennifer said. "I can vouch for that." He saw something on her face that showed him she was hiding something. Surprisingly, it made him feel better.

          "So, want me to start calling you mom or something?" Brian asked playfully as he helped Jennifer set the table and get everything ready. Jennifer laughed.

"You want to call me mom?" She asked, still laughing. "I think I'm starting to believe in alien abductions."

          Brian shrugged. "Mom it is, then." He conceded since she didn't directly answer the question. "Don't worry though, I'll wait until Craig is gone home."

          "Thanks." Jennifer said lightly. "Wouldn't want to give him a heart attack on the first night. After a couple of weekly dinners, you can call me mom in front of my ex-husband." Jennifer spoke with a little bit of a giggle in her voice, like she was conspiring to play a prank.

          Brian laughed and took a sip of his wine. Jennifer took Brian's lead and the two of them sat down at the table and chatted about their respective careers, Jennifer wanting to know all about Brian's promotion, until the buzzer rang and signaled that the curry chicken Jennifer had been cooking was all done.

          "Brian, would you go call everyone for dinner?" Jennifer asked. Brian nodded. He set down his wine glass and stood to go find Justin, Molly, and Craig. When he walked into the living room he was surprised by what he saw. Justin and Craig were deep in conversation as Molly scrunched up her face thinking about whether she should buy Park Place or leave it.

          "Dinner time." Brian said after clearing his throat. Justin stood. He was beaming. It was obvious that the quality time with his father, even just the ten minutes that they had had, was going to be a good thing.

          Dinner went well. Justin was excited to tell his father about everything that had been happening in his life. He told him about school and his job as a waiter. What shocked everyone was when Craig turned and began talking to Brian.

"Jenn tells me you jut got a big promotion." Craig said taking a sip of his wine. Brian's eyes widened but, being Brian Kinney, he quickly regained his composure and began a conversation with Justin's dad.

          Brian felt like he was in a parallel universe. He was sitting having a family dinner with his lover, his lover's mother who, at one time, hadn't wanted him to ever see Justin again, his lover's little sister, and his lover's once homophobic father. He started to wonder what happened to the old Brian, the Brian who wouldn't have been caught dead at a family dinner.

          "Mom, dinner was great." Justin said with a smile as he and Brian were about to leave. Brian had to be at work early the next morning so they couldn't stick around too long to chat.

          "Well, I hope you guys will be back next Sunday." Jennifer replied with a genuine smile. She finally felt like she was getting her family back.

          Justin looked at Brian who nodded. "Sure, mom. Can you make that pork thing?" Justin asked. One thing he had missed in the last few years, while he had been living alone, was his mom's home cooking.

          "Sure, honey." Jennifer said. "Now, you two, drive safe, ok?" She hugged her son and swiftly hugged Brian tightly. It was only now that she realized that she would want no one else for her son.

"Bye, mom." Brian teased. "See you next Sunday."

          "You what!?!" Justin exclaimed when Brian told him what he was planning. Justin had been sitting on the couch finishing up his portfolio to hand it in the next morning when Brian came home, grabbed him off the couch, and danced him around the room.

          "I booked a trip to an all-inclusive resort in Mexico. It's called Moon Palace." Brian was still excitedly dancing Justin around the room. He had another surprise for his baby but that could wait until they got there.

          "When?" Justin asked incredulously. He couldn't believe Brian wanted to go on a vacation with him, a romantic tropical vacation, at that.

          "Start up the computer, I'll show you the website. It is so gorgeous!!" Brian took Justin the computer and found the website. Justin looked at the site and became more and more excited with everything he saw or read. It really was an amazing place. Every room had it's own double jacuzzi.

          "Brian, it's incredible." Justin said breathlessly. At that moment he felt like he fell in love with Brian all over again. "This vacation is going to be the most wonderful vacation ever." He threw his arms around Brian who smirked because Justin didn't know the half of it.

          "We leave in a week." Brian said. "I'll be working late until then. Oh, and I talked to your boss, he said it's fine."

          "You talked to Jerry?" Justin asked. He felt a little funny about Brian asking his boss is he could have the time off.

          "Yeah. He was cool with it." Brian said. He wanted to tell Justin so badly what he had told Jerry, but couldn't. He was determined to keep his secret up until he had to tell it.

          "Umm, ok." Justin said. "I should call my mom!" He was back to being excited. A whole week on the beach with Brian sounded wonderful. They could do everything together Justin had always dreamed of doing with Brian. Quiet walks on the beach at sunset, laying on their veranda in the hammock watching the sun rise, playing in the pool, dancing at the discothèque... it all sounded perfect to Justin. He laughed to himself. I'm still a hopeless romantic, he thought to himself.

          "Call her! Call everyone!" Brian said. "Later!" He pulled Justin into the bedroom to try and work out some of the excited energy building inside him. Since he was home early Brian wanted to take Justin out to Babylon with the boys since they wouldn't get to go again until after the trip.

          "Brian!" Justin giggled as Brian pushed him onto the bed and started pulling at his clothes. In his haste, he tore Justin's sweatshirt. Immediately his mouth was at Justin's ear.

          "I'll buy you a new one, just take that one off!" he growled. He was pulling at his own clothes as well. He needed to feel Justin's skin against his own. Finesse be damned.

          "Mexico?" Michael asked when Brian told him and Ted about the upcoming Moon Palace vacation. They were both a little shocked that Brian was taking so many steps at once. He and Justin were now living together, wearing matching rings, and now they were going on a romantic getaway.

          "Yup." Brian said looking around. He saw Justin and Emmett tearing it up on the dance floor. Emmett was the only guy whose head Brian didn't want to tear off when he danced with Justin. Sure, he always warned Emmett about putting his hands on Justin, but it was just fun. He knew Emmett had a lot of respect for his relationship with Justin, probably more than anyone.

          "What about your big campaign?" Michael had a whiny tone in his voice that surprised both Brian and Ted. It was a tone they hadn't heard since Michael met Mac. Mac's absence this evening didn't go unnoticed by the boys, but no one chose to say anything until Michael did.

          "Everything is going to be handled. While I'm gone Bob and Brad are going to keep up correspondence with the client, since that's all they're good for anyways, and then we're going to get everything in order as soon as I get back." Brian smiled. He was paying less attention to Michael and the conversation than he was to Justin on the dance floor. Emmett was spinning Justin around and they were nearly falling over with dizziness and laughter.

          "You can just leave like that?" Michael saw that Brian wasn't listening and still whined and whined. Ted watched silently and pictured Michael crossing his arms across his chest and stomping his foot, like a child who wasn't getting his way.

          "Yes." Brian said putting down his beer. "If you'll excuse me, I'm going to make sure Emmett doesn't steal my man." He walked away, tired of hearing Michael making a big deal out of his going away for a couple of weeks. "Hey." Brian said into Justin's ear as wrapped his arms around Justin from behind. "Do I have some competition here?"

          "Emmett is about as much competition to you as Daph is to me." Justin laughed. He was having a great time, even greater now that he was dancing with Brian.

          "Good." He nipped at Justin's cheek and they continued dancing. Eventually, Michael and Ted joined them and Michael seemed to have calmed down a little. Brian 2hoped that Ted had said something to him.

          "Oh, honey, that's wonderful." Jennifer said when Justin told her about the upcoming trip. "Like a honeymoon." Justin was puzzled at his mother's mood. It had been almost a week since their Sunday dinner and every time that Justin had spoken to his mother she had been in a good mood. Like she was getting laid. Justin grimaced at the thought.

          "Yeah. The place is gorgeous mom. It's so perfect!" Justin was still trying to shake the image of his mother having sex. Straight sex could be disturbing enough to Justin, but to think of his mother... Ew! I have to stop this train of thought, Justin thought to himself.

          "Well, actually, I have a little bit of news too." Jennifer said. "It's about your father." She looked at Justin who just stared back at her waiting for the news. "We're taking a trip of our own. We're spending a weekend in the Pocono’s. We've decided to try and work things out."

          "Mom! That's great!" Justin stood from the table and hugged his mom. Many of the patrons of the restaurant turned and looked at them. "When did this happen?"

          "Last Sunday, after you left. We started talking and decided that it's worth a try." Jennifer was beaming. Justin was really happy for his mother. It was always obvious to him that she still loved his father.

          "I'm happy for you, Mom." Justin smiled widely. "It feels like everything is right with the world." He shook the cynical thought that it's when everything feels right that everything goes wrong from his head.

          "Everything is right. My children are happy, I'm happy." Jennifer took Justin's hand as they sat back down to eat their lunch. They shared a wonderful conversation.

... Three Weeks Later ...

          Justin dropped his bags on the floor of the loft and headed directly for the shower. Brian was right behind him. The flight back to Pittsburgh had been hell. There were two teenaged boys in the seats behind them who kept play fighting and smashing into their seats, at least three screaming babies whose mothers couldn't get them to shut up for the whole flight, and a waify flight attendant who blatantly flirted with Brian and seemed to have trouble keeping her hands off him.

Justin couldn't have been more thrilled with the rest of the trip though. Everything was perfect. Well, almost perfect. The day he had seen Chris Hobbs hadn't been so perfect. He and Brian had been laying together on the beach when they say another gay couple strolling hand in hand down the beach. Justin slipped off his sunglasses when he realized that half of that couple was the guy who had nearly killed him a couple of years earlier. When Chris admitted that he was, in fact, gay and that the man with him was his lover of over a year, Justin was in shock. He had looked and Chris and told him to go away. He did. However, he left Justin more than a little shaken.

          Justin thought back to the fifth day of the trip, the day that changed his life....

          Justin and Brian were cuddled together in the hammock watching the sunrise, just like they had every morning since arriving at the resort. As the sun peaked over the horizon, Brian climbed out of the hammock and got down on one knee.

          "I know we can't do this legally, but we can say the words and take the vows. Will you marry me?" He asked. He was nervous and sweating. When a smile spread across Justin's face, no words were needed. He swept Justin up in his arms and told him to get dressed.

          "Get dressed?" Justin asked. "We're not going to sit here and enjoy the fact that we're getting married?"

          "You know I'm the type who does, not they type who thinks about it. We're getting married, baby. Put on something nice." Brian went inside and immediately jumped in the shower. Their commitment ceremony was scheduled for 11:30am. He wanted everything to be perfect. He had seen pictures of what gazebo where they would take their vows would look like, and he knew that they would be brought there on a horse drawn carriage.

          Brian had thought of everything. The previous night, he had invited Sue and Jake, a straight couple that they had been spending some time with, to attend the ceremony and celebrate with them afterwards. There had been some more planning with the wedding planner ahead of time to make it a commitment ceremony as apposed to a wedding, and to make it for a groom and another groom instead of a bride and groom, but Brian had taken care of all that. Everything was set to go. The only thing Justin had to do was take Brian's hand and walk down the aisle.

          The ceremony was beautiful. Brian and Justin arrived at the Gazebo in a horse drawn carriage and had walked together to the alter. Brian had arranged for a wonderful man who performed commitment ceremonies in Los Angeles to be there to perform the ceremony.

     ...

          Justin smiled at the memory. He was a married man now. Brian had arranged a party at the loft for the night they got home. Everyone who mattered to them was going to be there. The boys thought of it as their reception.

          "Are you excited to tell everyone?" Brian asked, rousing Justin from his thoughts, as he washed his lover's back. Justin smiled and nodded enthusiastically. He actually suspected that Brian was just as excited to share the news as he was.

          "They'll be here in an hour or so." Justin said. "Even my mom and dad." He was glad that he was finally able to share his life with his father. There were so many things that made him happy in his life that he had longed to share with his father, now he actually could.

          "Lindsay is going to hurt me." Brian said. "For not inviting everyone. What if no one believes it?" And he was pretty sure no one would the first time they told them.

          "We have pictures. And a video." Justin reminded him. "We should just show them that instead of telling them. Emmett and Lindsay will be crying with joy, Michael will be crying "what the hell", and everyone else will be too shocked to cry."

          "I like the way your mind works." Brian kissed Justin's neck. "Think we have time for a little...?"

          "No." Justin groaned. "We both have to get ready and I have to get all the food ready. I hope Mrs. Jameson brought everything I asked for."

"You are NO fun." Brian pouted. "I finally got married and it's to someone who's no fun!" Justin turned to face him.

          "I promise I'll do that thing I did on our wedding night as soon as everybody leaves." Justin winked as he grabbed a towel and stepped out of the shower. Brian groaned. He was left the with image of him and Justin on the huge bed at the resort, and Justin doing incredible things with his mouth.

          "Please let them not stay long." He said to himself before he too got out of the shower and went to dress for their reception. He thought of the day of the wedding. He had been scared, terrified even, that he wouldn't be able to do it, hat the lights of Liberty Ave would call to him and he would be tempted away from Justin. But the moment he heard Justin say his vows, he knew that he was in it for the long haul. And he knew that there was no one else in the world for him.

          Who'd've thought? Brian Kinney, a married man. He chuckled to himself. He couldn't wait to see the looks on his friends and family's faces when they found out. He loved shocking them and began wondering what he could do now that he was married to still shock everyone. He was sure there were a lot of things that would do the trick, like being able to be faithful.

          "Brian! Come on!" Justin hurried him along. Brian smiled. Yep, he knew he was going to be completely happy with his new husband.

          "Come on, you guys." Justin said trying to get everyone to quiet down so he could start the wedding video. "We want you to see our trip!"

          "Promise it won't be as boring as Michael's slides from Paris?" Ted pleaded. Justin looked over at Brian and winked.

          "No, I'm pretty sure you won't be bored." He said with a sneaky tone in his voice.

          "If you two are making us watch porn..." Melanie's threat was cut off.

          "It's not porn!" Justin exclaimed. "Just watch." He pressed play and everyone's eyes were glued to the screen as soon as they saw the beautifully decorated gazebo where the ceremony was about the be perform.

          Justin watched as mouths dropped. Tears came to Emmett's eyes and he kept touching Ted's arm and whispering "Beautiful." Debbie and Jennifer were sitting together holding hands and letting the tears fall as they watched the boys take commitment vows. Justin even could have sworn he saw his father brush away a tear. It was Michael's reaction that bothered both Brian and Justin. He watched tight lipped for few minutes before getting up and going into the bathroom. Brian considered going after him, but decided not to.

          Once the video ended, everyone turned their shocked faces towards Brian and Justin who were sitting in the chaise lounge smiling like Cheshire cats. Debbie was the first to speak. "What the hell was that, you two?" She tried to sound pissed off underneath her tears of joy. "You had one of those ceremonies without all of us."

          "Well, we invited you to the reception!" Brian made a gesture with his arms that showed them that this was the reception.

"I'm so happy for you, honey." Jennifer rushed over to her son and pulled him close in an embrace that nearly stole Justin's breath. "And Brian." She hugged Brian just as tightly. "You've earned the right to call me mom now."            Everyone did something similar. They told them that they were happy for them and hugged them close. Last came Craig Taylor.

          "Congratulations, Justin." Craig said. He hugged his son for the first time in years. "I am so proud of you."

          Justin started to cry. It was those words that he had been waiting for since he was 17. "Thank you, dad." He said through his tears. "I love you."
"I love you too, son." Craig pulled away from his son to look at Justin's husband. Though he had hated him all that time, he was now thrilled to have him in the family.

          Brian shook Craig's hand and then excused himself. It had been over a half hour since Michael had gone into the washroom and he wanted to make sure he was ok. When he entered the room, Michael was sitting on the counter looking at his hands.

          "I was wondering when you were going to come find me." Michael said. He didn't lift his head but glanced over at Brian.

          "Why did you leave?" Brian asked climbing up on the counter next to his best friend.

          "Everything's different now, isn't it?" Michael finally lifted his head. "Last week me and Mac decided to move in together. I was scared because I was afraid it would change everything. But it's all changed anyways."

          "Mikey, just because we're married, it doesn't mean we're going to be any different." Brian put an arm around Michael. "And you and I are still best friends. Who am I going to mooch a couch off of when Justin gets mad and kicks me out, which is likely to happen many times before we get into the married groove."

          "I can't believe you did it." Michael laughed. "Brian Kinney is married. What's next? We going to find out that Richard Simmons is straight?"

          "A year ago I would have thought that was more likely than me getting married." Brian laughed. "I think I did the right thing though."

          "I'm happy for you, Bri." Michael threw his arms around Brian. "And if anything changes, I'm going to be strongly lobbying for a divorce."

"Promise?" Brian laughed. He and Mikey linked arms as they joined the group to celebrate. Brian wondered how it could be, in his life, that everything was exactly perfect. He had everyone he cared about with him as he celebrated his marriage to the only man in the world who could fill him with life. He walked over to his new husband.

          "Hey." Justin said. Brian leaned down and rested his forehead against Justin's. Yep, this was where he was supposed to be. With his family, and his husband, happy and in love. Life was good.

          "I love you." Brian whispered.

          "I love you, too." Justin leaned in and kissed his husband. Applause immediately filled the loft. Brian and Justin looked at everyone who had been watching the exchange. And they smiled.

THE END