Madrid Interlude

Chapter 11

Justin stopped the Jeep in front of his parents' house. He looked at the familiar building and up to the window where his room used to be. He had debated calling them before he arrived but had decided they might tell him they didn't want to see him. He was going to see them one way or another.

His heart was racing. He had missed them if he was honest. He hoped they would accept him back into their lives. He needed his family just like Brian needed his. That was one of the things that he had realized at Debbie's dinner last night.

Justin had asked Brian to come with him tonight, but the man had said it might be a bit too much since his parents didn't even know he was gay yet. They had had dinner when Brian got home from work and Brian had given him his version of a pep talk before he gave him the keys to the Jeep. The pep talk consisted of Brian's rather ruthless way of handling things in his world.

"You can only control what you say and feel, Justin," Brian had told him. "They control theirs."

"But I really want my family back."

"I know you do, Sunshine, but prepare for that not to happen."

"You think they're going turn me away."

"I hope not but it's always wise to steel yourself for the worst."

"I suppose," Justin said starting to dread that possible outcome.

Now Justin was here and he had to do this all by himself. He told himself that he was a grown up, no longer their little boy. He could look after himself and he didn't need their permission anymore. With those thoughts firmly entrenched in his brain, he got out of the Jeep.

The walk up to the front door seemed to take forever. Finally he was ringing the bell and holding his breath. He heard the familiar strains of the doorbell chimes echoing inside.

Suddenly the front door opened and his mother stood in front of him. She looked great but her face registered shock at the sight before her.

"Justin!" she shrieked and he found himself in her arms having the life squeezed out of him. All he could do was squeeze back. "Justin, Justin, Justin," she whispered. "Oh, Justin."

There were tears in both their eyes as she released him so she could look at his face.

"Mom," Justin said softly, "it's so great to see you. You look wonderful."

"So do you, sweetheart. Come in. Craig!" she yelled. "Come here!" She couldn't take her eyes off the son she hadn't seen for over two years.

Justin looked over his mother's shoulder to see his father standing stoically at the entrance to the living room. He wondered how long he had been standing there. No look of surprise was evident on his face. In fact no emotion showed at all. Justin didn't like that one little bit.

"So you decided to come home, did you?" he finally asked.

"Hi, Dad," Justin said unsure what his father really meant. Did that statement mean that he could come home if he wanted to? "I'm back in Pittsburgh, so I thought I'd see how you all were."

"We're just fine, Justin. It only took you two years to care about how we were doing?"

Justin could hear the sarcasm in his father's voice. Obviously his father had no intention of forgiving him, at least not yet. "I've thought about you a lot, but I didn't think you wanted to talk to me. That was kind of what you said when we last spoke … that if I didn't go back to college, you didn't want anything more to do with me."

"So have you decided to go back to school … finally?" Craig asked.

"Craig, we can discuss that later. Let's just enjoy the fact that Justin's come home," Jennifer said pleading with her husband.

"No, Jennifer, because unless Justin is here because he's going back to Dartmouth, he's not coming home."

"Dad," Justin said.

"Craig," Jennifer begged.

"No, there is no discussion of that point. After the way this boy talked to us on the phone and the life altering decisions he made without giving us so much as a thought … no."

"Dad, I've been looking at schools here in Pittsburgh, but I'm not going back to Dartmouth."

Justin saw the thin line of Craig's lips grow thinner. His father was royally pissed.

"You're looking at schools?" Jennifer asked. "That's great, honey. But how long have you been back?"

"A few days."

"But … where are you staying?" Jennifer asked.

"I'm staying with a friend," Justin said hoping he could leave it at that.

"A girl friend?" his father asked. Trust his father to make matters worse. Maybe if he could say he had a girlfriend his father would loosen up a little. Problem was he couldn't say that and he wouldn't say that. He wasn't going to deny who he was any longer.

"No, Dad, a boy friend."

"So where does he live?" Jennifer asked.

"Over on Tremont."

"Who is this boy?" Craig asked.

"He's not a boy and I'm not a boy anymore either," Justin told them."

"We know that, honey," his mother said rubbing his arm.

"So how did you find this boy?" Craig asked stressing the word boy. "Europe's a long way away to find someone from Pittsburgh, or did you find him since you got back. Maybe we know his parents."

"Dad," Justin stopped him. He needed to get this out in the open. "He's not a boy friend. He's my boyfriend," Justin stated making it very clear by the inflection of his voice just what he meant.

"Oh, Justin," Jennifer groaned.

"No!" his father exploded.

"Yes, Dad, I'm gay. I'm living with this man."

"No, Justin, please," his mother begged him silently to take it back. She knew what was coming next.

"So that's why you stayed in Europe, Justin," his father said with a sneer. "I bet you had fun practicing your perversions over there. At least we didn't have to try to explain that to our friends."

"Craig," Jennifer said disbelief in her voice. "How can you say that to our son?"

"I have no son. Get out."

"Craig," Jennifer said again hoping her husband could be reasoned with.

"Don't start, Jennifer. I should have known there was something not right about this little pervert. Get the fuck out of this house. I never want to see you again."

Justin opened his mouth to tell his father just what he thought of him, but somewhere in the back of his brain and in his heart he had prepared himself for this. Maybe it was because Brian had warned him. Maybe it was because this wasn't so different from their last phone call when Justin had refused to go back to Dartmouth. It was his father's way or the highway, and once again he chose the highway. He didn't think he'd ever reconnect with his father after this.

Justin turned and walked to the front door. Without a look back he opened it and stepped out. He didn't slam the door or make any other kind of display; he merely shut it firmly and walked towards the Jeep.

When he was almost to the Jeep he felt someone touch his shoulder. He turned to see his mother looking at him with tears in her eyes.

"I'm sorry that you have to be in the middle of this, Mom, but that's it. He doesn't want to see me anymore, and I sure as shit never want to see him again."

"I … I can't believe he did that. And … he doesn't speak for me. I want you back in my life. I don't care what he says."

Justin wrapped his arms around her body and held on. At least one part of his family still wanted him.

"Justin, do you have a number where I can contact you? I'll try to talk to him, but he's not going to keep me from seeing you."

"Thanks, Mom," Justin said sincerely. "You can reach me here." He wrote Brian's telephone number on an envelope from his pocket.

"I'm really sorry, Justin. I don't agree with what your father just did."

"I know, Mom. Call me when you're ready to talk."

"I will. I promise," she said and kissed his cheek. She hurried back into the house.

Justin started the Jeep. He wondered if his mother would call. She tried to keep promises, at least she used to. He didn't know if she was strong enough to stand against his father. He hoped so, because he needed her. All that time in Spain he had convinced himself that he didn't need anybody. And in reality, he didn't. He had survived and prospered even without any help from his family. But now that he had come back he wanted his family and he wanted Brian. He could survive without them, but sometimes survival wasn't enough. He wanted love and happiness and security and a future. He had hoped that was what he would get by coming back here, but his father had no intention of allowing that to happen. Well … fuck his father! He had his mother and Brian and most of Brian's "family". That would be enough for now. Maybe he could see Molly and see how she felt about him. It would all work out as it was supposed to.

He drove away from his once family home towards his maybe future home and the man he had fallen in love with. He needed Brian's arms around him right now.

 

-----

 

Justin thrust into Brian's body, sweat dripping from his forehead. They had been at this ever since he came back from his parents' house. Brian had known as soon as he had seen Justin's face that it had not gone well at his folks'.

Brian had held him while Justin fought back tears, while he cursed his fucking asshole of a father, while he spoke hopefully of having his mother's support, while he worried about what to do with his future. After who knew how long Justin pushed himself back from Brian's embrace.

"I thought it … would be different," Justin tried to explain. "I really wanted my family back."

"You have a new family if you want it … and … you have me."

"Thanks, Brian. I needed to hear that."

"Tomorrow is the first day of the rest of your life," Brian said. They looked at each other and burst out laughing. "Fuck, did I just use that worn out clichι?"

"You did. You know, for an ad man you sometimes are pitifully corny."

Brian snorted. "It's the old tried and true proverbs that people recognize. You just have to use them in a new way."

"Is that Lecture 101 of the Kinney marketing strategy?" Justin teased.

Brian was relieved to see even a touch of humor. He knew how upset Justin was. "Have you ever thought about working in advertising?" Brian asked seriously. "With your brains and your artistic ability you would be a natural."

Justin looked thoughtful. "You think so?"

"I think so."

"I never thought about doing anything like that. I have no experience, no real training."

"You could take some courses. I could help you."

"But I need to get a job."

"There are things called night courses, you know," Brian teased.

"Night courses?" Justin said thoughtfully. He had been thinking about going back fulltime, but couldn't see how he could swing that without having to have Brian support him completely, and he didn't want that. He wanted some independence. He wasn't going to allow himself to be totally reliant on anyone. He was way past that.

"I was kidding, Justin," Brian said seeing the look on Justin's face. "If you want to go back to school fulltime, I … can help," he said slowly. He was afraid Justin would turn down his offer without even thinking about it.

"I really appreciate your offer, and it's great to know that you're there if I need help."

"But?" Brian said knowing the but was coming.

"But I'm going to support myself and tomorrow I'm going to start by finding a job and then looking into night courses."

"If you're sure," Brian said.

"I'm sure."

Justin thrust forcefully riding Brian's ass for all he was worth. He heard Brian groan and gasp for air beneath him. He loved those sounds. He loved almost everything about this screwed up, wonderful asshole that had somehow found him and changed his life in the blink of an eye.

Brian had taken him to bed after he had comforted him. He had given Justin one of the most incredible blowjobs he had ever had. That had been followed by an intense rimming session and then Brian had had his way with his ass, bringing them both to a mind blowing orgasm. They had rested a bit and then it was Justin's turn.

Justin thrust again and leaned on Brian's back. "I love you," he said into Brian's ear.

Brian was about to say something like "ditto" or "back at you", but that wasn't what he meant. He knew neither of those would convey anything close to his feelings for this man. "I … I … think … I … love you too," he blurted out skipping over the last three words like they were one.

"What did you say?" Justin asked thrusting again and then waiting. He hadn't been sure his ears heard correctly.

"You heard me," Brian gasped thrusting back and feeling his orgasm building.

"Actually, I didn't," Justin said, his thrusts coming faster and the tingling in his spine was beginning to work its way down to his balls.

"I love you, you twat!" Brian gasped.

Justin reached under him and tugged on Brian's cock. "What a charming declaration!" Justin teased. "But I do love you so much too. I'm so glad you're here with me and I can count on you," Justin breathed between strokes.

"Always!" Brian yelled as he came in a blinding orgasm. He felt Justin's following close behind.

They lay side by side basking in the proverbial afterglow. Brian lit a cigarette.

"That was awesome," he said glancing at Justin.

"We are great together and more than just sexually," Justin replied.

"In every way."

"In every way. Brian, I did make the right decision coming back here, didn't I?"

"I'd say so. Otherwise I would have had quite a time moving to Spain to be with you."

"You would have done that?" Brian nodded. "Every time I think I understand you and couldn't love you any more, you say or do something that blows me away, and I have to start all over again."

"I forgot to warn you, Sunshine," Brian said with a smirk. "There's no manual on the care and feeding of Brian Kinney."

"Then I'll just have to write my own, and make sure I include a looong chapter on proper lovemaking techniques for said man."

Brian snorted. "I don't think we need a manual for that. You seem to have mastered that from the outset."

Justin smiled his sunshine smile. "Roll over," he ordered.

Brian groaned and obediently turned onto his stomach. The grin on his face spread once he was sure Justin couldn't see his face. God, he loved this man.

"Stop grinning," Justin told him as he sheathed his cock once again.

"How do you know I'm grinning?" Brian asked looking over his shoulder.

Justin raked his nails down Brian's spine. "I know all about you. I'm onto you, Brian Kinney," Justin said confidently.

Brian arched into the delicious sting of Justin's fingernails. That felt so good, so right. Justin knew exactly how much pressure to use and when to back off. He was "onto him" but Brian couldn't think of anything better. He'd been waiting for someone to be "onto him" his whole life, even though he would deny that vehemently if anyone dared suggest such a thing, anyone but Justin, of course.

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