oh_amelia | Makes Me Wonder (Reply)

Title: Discoveries
Author:

hsbfc
Chapter: 21/30
Rating: NC-17
Warnings: language, sex
Summary: Totally AU. Justin asks Brian for his help after Ethan won’t leave him alone. How far will Brian go to help the blond? And how far will Ethan go to make sure Justin is his?
Disclaimer: QUEER AS FOLK is property of COWLIP and SHOWTIME. I own nothing.
Author’s Notes: The title was inspired by Maroon 5’s song MAKES ME WONDER, but has nothing else to do with the song. And I want to say thanks to my wonderful beta

Brian had just hung up with Mr. Remson when an angry blond stormed into his office.

Lindsay slammed the door with as much force as she could and slammed a thick manila folder bearing the names James, Retmier, & Boyd on Brian’s desk. “Care to tell me what the fuck this is all about?”

“Custody papers,” Brian said as he leaned back in his chair.

“I know what they are, Brian,” Lindsay said, sitting down and crossing her arms. “But you agreed before Gus was born that Mel and I would be the one to raise him. That you didn’t want to be anything more than just a drop-in Dad.”

“And you said that you didn’t want that,” Brian countered. “That you wanted me to be as much a part of Gus’ life as you and Mel. Only, when I try to be the father you want me to be, you deny me.”

“Brian, you can come over any time you want to spend time with Gus, you know that,” Lindsay tried to reason.

“I don’t want to spend time with Gus just at your house,” Brian argued. “I want him to know my home, too.”

“And we can discuss that. Later.”

“What the fuck do you mean by ‘later’?”

“Honestly, Brian?” Lindsay tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear and sighed deeply. “It’s Justin.”

“Justin?” Brian repeated. “What the fuck does he have to do with you not letting me see my son?”

“I’d never not let you see Gus. I just don’t feel comfortable having Gus over at your loft when Justin is there.”

“Why the fuck not?”

“The situation with the young man who is stalking him,” Lindsay said as if it were the most obvious reason in the world.

“But you knew about that already,” Brian reasoned. “And yet, you still brought Gus over after that.”

“I didn’t realize the extent of his troubles. I don’t want Gus to be in a place where there is danger lurking around the corner.”

“Well, unless he bribes or guilts someone into letting him in the building, there’s no way he’s getting in.”

“What about when you leave the building with Gus?” Lindsay asked.

“It’s not like Ethan is sitting on the front stoop 24/7. And if I did have Gus with me, I’d use the parking in the back.”

“I can’t believe you’re refusing to see how irrational you’re being!”

“I’m being irrational?” Brian scoffed. “Of all the—”

There was a knock at the door, cutting Brian off.

“Sorry to interrupt, Bri,” Ted said, stepping inside the office. “But I need you to sign off on these forms.”

“Ted, you’re a reasonable man, “Lindsay said with a smile. “Perhaps you can settle something between me and Brian.”

“I don’t know,” Ted said slowly as he laid down the forms in front of Brian.

“Go ahead, Theodore,” Brian said as he signed next to each designated X.

“Okay, then,” Ted said.

“Brian has served me with custody papers for Gus. He thinks I’m being unreasonable by not letting him take Gus to the loft. But I explained to him that the only reason is that I fear for Gus’ safety.”

“Why would Gus be in danger?” Ted asked.

“Because Justin is living with Brian. And right now, Justin doesn’t even feel safe against the man that has been following him around everywhere.”

“I understand your concerns, Lindsay,” Ted said. “But I’d actually have to say that Gus would probably be safer in the loft than he would be at your place.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Lindsay asked, taken aback.

“Well, you mentioned that you’re scared mostly because of what Ethan has done concerning Justin.” Ted paused and continued when Lindsay nodded in agreement. “So if that’s the case, does that mean you’re going to ban Justin from coming over when you and Mel have family brunches? Or should Deb ban Justin from coming to family dinners with Brian if she knows that you’ll bring Gus with you?”

“No, of course not.” Lindsay shook her head.

“Then how is that any different than Gus being at the loft when Justin is?”

“Because if Justin is at our house or at Deb’s, then we’re there too,” Lindsay answered.

“So then is has more to do with Justin, rather than the ‘situation’ he is in?” Brian asked. He handed the papers back to Ted who took the opportunity to leave the office.

Lindsay took a deep breath smoothed her hair back, hoping to buy some more time. She clasped her hands and set them on her lap. “It’s just…there’s so much that we don’t know about Justin. He just appeared one day out of the blue. All we do know is that he goes to PIFA and has a very disturbed young man following him almost everywhere he goes.”

“That’s bullshit, Lindsay,” Brian exclaimed. “You’ve talked to him enough to know that he poses no more danger to Gus than you or I do.”

“How about this,” Lindsay began calmly. “The four of us can have dinner one evening. Mel and I can address our concerns, and get to know Justin better. He can of course ask questions if he wishes.”

“Yeah, okay.” Brian nodded. “I’ll ask Justin about that tonight.”

“Good,” Lindsay said. “Call me when you’ve come to a decision.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Where’s that?”Michael asked as he slowly turned to face the handsome customer.

“Babylon,” he answered. “I’m not there that often, so when I am I take notice of the people around me. And you, stuck out very much in my mind.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yes, mostly because you were with a tall man. Very skinny, dressed in skin tight tangerine pants. I’m Ben, by the way. Ben Bruckner,” he introduced himself.

“Michael...Novotny.”

“So is he your boyfriend?” Ben asked.

“Emmett? Oh, no. He’s just a friend,” Michael answered. “I’m not seeing anyone at the moment.”

“Then could I interest you in lunch?” Ben asked. “Where I can persuade you to come talk to my class.”

“You want me to come talk to a bunch of college kids about gay comics?” Michael asked as he rang up Ben’s purchases.

“Not just gay comics,” Ben laughed. “But more about the impact they’ve had on society over the years.”

“I don’t know,” Michael said slowly.

“Which is why you need to have lunch with me so I can convince you that you’re the only man for the job.”

“The Liberty Diner is just down the street,” Michael said. “We can go there if you’d like.”

“Sounds great,” Ben said, smiling.

“Let me just turn on the answering machine and lock up.”

On the way to the diner Michael could hardly contain his excitement. The conversation seemed to flow easily and before he knew it, he was at the entrance to the diner. Things were starting to look up. He saw Brian and Ted at the gang’s ‘usual’ booth and turned to Ben.

“Want to meet my friends?”

“Sure.”

“Brian, Ted,” Michael said when he got to the table. “This is Ben Bruckner.”

“Nice to meet you, Ben,” Ted said, after wiping his mouth with a napkin.

“Yes,” Brian said, smirking. “Nice to see you…again. Care to join us?”

“Do you know him?” Michael asked Brian as he sat down. He looked across at Ben, the same question in his eyes. He could feel his good mood diminishing quickly. The only reason that Brian would remember Ben is if he fucked him. He couldn’t help the jealously that was rising in his throat. Only, he didn’t know if it was because Brian had been with Ben, or that Ben had been with Brian.

“Actually, we do,” Ben answered cautiously. “We met at a White Party a couple years ago I was there doing research on a paper I was writing.”

“Research at a White Party?” Michael asked skeptically. “What was it about?”

“The influence of tribal ritual on queer culture,” Ben explained.

“More like the mating dance of the horny homosexual,” Michael said with a smile.

“So where’d you two meet?” Ted asked.

“I needed an expert on comics, particularly ones with gay undertones, and I was told that Red Cape Comics was the place to go,” Ben said.

“Absolutely,” Ted agreed. “I don’t think there’s anyone who knows more about comics than Michael does.”

“Thanks, Ted.” Michael blushed slightly, loving the praise he was getting.

Brian’s cell phone rang and he cursed when he answered it. “Yeah?” He closed the phone with a loud snap and put it back in his front breast pocket. “That was Cynthia,” he said as he scooted Michael out of the booth. “Mr. Dugray decided to show up two hours early.”

“Shit,” Ted said as he too moved to get out of the booth. “Do we have everything ready for him?”

“It’s all done. I just wanted to go over it one more time with the team,” Brian said as he took a twenty out of his wallet and tossed it on the table. “Later Mikey, Ben.”

“See you guys later,” Ted said as he put a ten on the table and rushed out after Brian.

“Let’s order, shall we,” Ben suggested as he signaled for a waiter.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Brian arrived at the loft to find Justin eating from a takeout carton and doing his homework at the table. He set his briefcase on his desk and hung his suit jacket in the closet.

“Hey,” he said, coming up behind Justin. “You have anymore of that?”

“There’s some in the fridge. I just put it in there, so it shouldn’t be cold yet,” Justin said, writing until he found a good stopping point. “I got a lot, and they didn’t mark it, so you’ll just have to ransack until you find something you like.”

“Think you got enough?” Brian asked, taking out all eight containers of food and setting them on the table. He took a fork from the drawer and joined Justin.

“I was hungry,” Justin said. “And they were having a special.”

“So, Lindsay came by the office today,” Brian said as he stabbed a piece of shrimp.

“Oh, yeah.”

“Yeah. She got the papers from my lawyer, and wasn’t too happy with them.”

“Already? Didn’t you only talk to him on Friday?”

“That’s why I pay him the big bucks,” Brian said. He stood up and went to the refrigerator. “Beer?”

“Yes, please.” Justin picked up the container Brian was eating from and speared a shrimp with his fork.

“Anyway,” Brian continued, sitting back down. “I finally calmed her down, and made her explain why she was being such a bitch.”

“And…”

“And she wants us to have dinner with her and Mel.”

“Why?” Justin asked, confused.

“Because apparently her problem is that she doesn’t know you well enough for Gus to stay here, and for her to feel comfortable,” Brian answered. “Or somewhere along that line of bullshit.”

“So, if I weren’t here, then she’d have no problem letting Gus come over whenever you wanted?”

“Highly doubtful,” Brian said. “Lindsay is just being a bitch. It’ll be better to just placate her.”

“Whatever works.” Justin shrugged his shoulders.

“So you won’t mind going to a lesbian dinner and being asked endless questions?”

“Of course not,” Justin said before taking a swig of his beer. “Anyway, you’ve helped me out so much, it’s the least I can do.”

Chapter 20 | Chapter 22

Makes Me Wonder

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