Lost and Found

Part 3

Molly was sitting on the couch watching TV. She couldn’t wait until Brian got home. It would just be a few more minutes. She had been prepared over and over and over again for how different Brian was. They said he was shy and scared a lot and that he didn’t talk much. She understood that she had to be careful and try not to scare him. But she had promised to take care of him and she was going to live up to that promise.

Molly had to work very hard to keep calm when she heard the door open. She moved off the couch because that was Brian’s favorite spot, and stood a little ways back from the living room entrance so that Brian wouldn’t be too freaked. When he was wheeled into the living room, his face lit up with a smile and Molly couldn’t help but smile back.

“Hey, Mol.” Brian said.

“Hey, Bri.” She replied. She moved slowly over by his wheelchair. Jennifer and Andrea went into the kitchen so that Molly could get used to the new Brian. Once they were out of the room Brian threw his arms open and Molly almost jumped in his lap to give him a hug.

“I missed you so much, Mol. I wish you could have come see me at the hospital.”

“I missed you too. Mom said that I shouldn’t go, but I wanted to.” She kissed him on the cheek. “You want to sit on the couch? I know how much you like it.”

“Yeah, I’d like that.” He nodded. Somehow, though she was about two feet shorter than Brian, Molly managed to get him onto the couch. He lay down and she got his favorite blanket and pillow. Once he was all tucked in she smiled.

“You need anything?”

“I’d like some juice.” He said. Molly nodded and went into the kitchen.

“He wants some juice.” She said in explanation. Molly looked through the refrigerator, then poked her head into the living room. “Apple or grape?”

“Um…..apple.”

“Okay.” She then got a glass and poured him a cup of juice, then took it to him. As they usually did Molly sat on the floor in front of Brian’s stomach while he lay on the couch and they watched TV together. Every now and then he would reach out and stroke her hair, as he usually did. Molly would always turn and smile at him, then turn back to the TV. While he was sick they had made a game of Molly trying to guess which commercials Brian had written the copy for. By the time Brian was home after the surgery all new commercials were playing and Brian had been out of work long enough that he hadn’t written any of them.

After a while, Molly noticed that Brian hadn’t said anything. She turned and looked and saw that he was sound asleep. She pulled the blanket up to his chin and kissed his forehead and then went into the kitchen. Andrea and Jennifer were still sitting there talking. Molly went to the refrigerator and got some milk, then went to join the two women. They sat there in silence for a minute, then Molly looked at her mother.

“I thought you said Brian was going to be different?” She questioned and Jennifer looked at her in amazement.

“You mean….he’s not different?”

“Nope. He’s the same old Brian.” She smiled and got up, putting her cup in the sink before going up to her room. Jennifer was positive that she had to pick her jaw up off the floor.
 

*****

Brian had been home all of a week when he started to receive regular visitors. He was lying on the couch watching TV, as usual, when the doorbell rang. Jennifer went to answer it. Molly was sitting on the floor in front of Brian and she turned to see who it was. Through the entry way walked Lindsay and Gus.

“Hey, sonny boy.” Brian said with a smile and Gus came running over, hugging Brian. Brian smiled and kissed Gus on the cheek.

“Hi daddy.” Gus said, then he furrowed his brow. “Where’d your hair go?”

“It all ran away.” Brain joked. “It’ll be back though.” It was obvious to Lindsay that even after only a week, Brian was starting to feel a little more at ease around everybody. The doctor had said that it would be possible for Brian to regain some of his confidence, but he would never be the same Brian Kinney he once was. She still wasn’t sure if that was bad or good.

“Daddy, I still didn’t get to show you that game. Will you play it with me now?”

“Gus, daddy is still very tired.” Lindsay said.

“But you said he was better!” Gus complained.

“He is better, but he needs some time to rest.”

“I want to play with daddy!” Gus almost yelled.

“Sonny boy, I promise you as soon as I’m strong enough I will play with you, okay?”

“But I want to play with you now!” Gus actually stomped his foot. Luckily, there was Molly to the rescue.

“Hey, Gus. Why don’t you come play with me? I’ve got lots of cool Barbies.” She stood and held out her hand. Gus looked between Brian and Molly, then took Molly’s hand. Molly spoke as she led him along.

“You can play Ken. That’s who your daddy always plays when he plays with me. But Ken will NOT be dating John.” Molly turned and winked at Brian over her shoulder and Brian couldn’t help but laugh. Lindsay looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

“What?” He asked.

“Since when do you play Barbies?”

“Since Molly needed someone to play with.”

“Oh Brian, that’s so sweet!” She gushed.

“Yeah yeah, can it, okay? I get it. I’m adorable.” He rolled his eyes. Lindsay laughed.

“And they said you weren’t the same old Brian.”
 

*****

It had been a month since the surgery and Brian was having his check up. Jennifer was waiting patiently in the living room for Andrea to bring him home. The appointment was late enough that Molly was already home from school. She was watching TV, not really paying attention to what was going on. Jennifer jumped when she heard the front door open. Brian walked in and sat down on the couch. He looked sad. Jennifer looked at Andrea and the other woman just shook her head, she obviously had no idea what was wrong.

“Brian…honey….what’s wrong?” Jennifer asked and Brian just sighed, looking down at his hands. Molly got up and came over to him, putting her hands on his cheeks and lifting his face to hers.

“What’s wrong?” She asked softly. Once again Brian sighed. He looked Molly in the eye.

“The doctor said I could go home.” Jennifer understood exactly what Brian meant, but it was obvious that Molly didn’t.

“But you are home.”

“No….I mean….home home. He said I’m well enough that I can live alone now.”

“But….you’re not going to, are you? I mean, you’re gonna stay, right?”

“Molly, sweetie…Brian can’t stay here forever. Now that he’s better he needs to go home. And maybe then your dad will start sending money again.”

“Fuck Craig and fuck his money. I want Brain to stay!” Molly was screaming now and tears were already making their way down her cheeks.

“Molly…you knew this day would come. You knew that Brian would have to go home.”

“No! He can’t go home. He can’t! I have to take care of him. Brian can’t go home.”

“Molly, I don’t want to go home, but I have to. It’s like your mom said. I can’t stay here forever. Trust me, Molly, if I could I would. And it’s not like you’ll never see me again. I’ll come over and visit. I’m just moving across town, not to the other side of the planet.”

“I don’t care. I want you to stay!” Molly hugged Brian and held on tight, not willing to let go. She buried her face against his neck and just let the tears flow.

“I wish I could stay, Molly, I really do.” He held her as she cried, rubbing her back and stroking her hair. He understood exactly how she felt. He didn’t want to leave either. For the first time in his life he felt like a part of a family, a family he could trust. He felt safe in this house, like nothing could touch him. But now he had to move to his big, cold, empty loft and he really didn’t want to do that.

“I don’t want you to go.” Molly whispered against Brian’s neck.

“I’ll come see you as often as I can. I promise. I’ll be here every chance I get.” She moved back a little and he smiled, reaching up to wipe the tears off her cheeks. He leaned in and kissed her forehead.

“You better show up or I’m going to hunt you down like I did to Justin.” She said with a bit of a smirk and Brian laughed.
 

*****

“Oh that is fabulous news!” Emmett almost shrieked. “I think this calls for a party!”

“Why am I not surprised?” Ted quipped. Everyone laughed except for Emmett.

“What, you don’t think Brian being well enough to go home is cause for celebration?”

“I absolutely do.” Ted responded. “That’s why I’m not surprised that you would think so.”

“Okay…um….we need a theme….”

“That’s gonna be hard to come up with considering that it’s a combination going away, welcome home, glad you’re better party.” Michael said. Emmett nodded.

“That is tough.”

“Who says the party needs a theme?” Brian asked. No one had noticed him walk up.

“Every party needs a theme, honey.”

“No, it doesn’t. You just get a bunch of balloons and streamers and get some people together and have a party. It’s not that difficult.” Emmett was actually struck speechless. Especially when everyone agreed.

“I think he’s right.” Ted commented. “You don’t really need a theme to get together. Especially when there are so many different possible themes.”

“Well…where can we have it? At Jennifer’s?”

“At the loft.” Brian said.

“What about color scheme?”

“Blue and silver. Those are my favorite colors.”

“Am I even needed for anything?” Emmett pouted.

“You can invite people and plan the food.” Brian said with a smile and everyone laughed.

“But you are such a picky eater…” Emmett complained.

“I’ll make you a deal. I won’t complain about the food if you don’t give a shit that there’s no theme.”

“But without a theme how do I know what food to get?” Brian shrugged.

“Figure something out. But make sure there aren’t a whole lot of people there. I still kind of freak in large crowds.” They all nodded and decided to just keep it within the “family.”
 

*****

Three days later Brian’s stuff was all moved into the loft and the decorations were up. They had decided on silver balloons with blue streamers and little white twinkling lights everywhere. Brian sat on the couch and sighed. Though Michael and Emmett and Ted were currently here decorating, the place still felt empty. He’d gotten so used to having Molly around that he just felt incomplete without her.

“You okay, honey?” Emmett asked as he took a seat next to Brian.

“I miss Molly.” He sighed. Emmett still had to get used to the Brian that actually shared his feelings. He reached over and put a hand on Brian’s shoulder.

“I’m sure she misses you, too. Maybe you could give her a call. I know that she’s going to be at the party.”

“I think I can wait until then.” Emmett nodded and squeezed Brian’s shoulder before going back to decorating.

The thing that irritated Brian the most about this get together was the fact that he still didn’t have any hair. Not even a little fuzz. His hair hadn’t started to grow back in yet. He went to the bathroom and ran his hand over his scalp, hoping to feel something, but all he felt was smooth skin. He sighed heavily and went back into the living room.

“You guys need any help?”

“No, we’ve got it.” Michael called. He was standing on a ladder hanging lights in the rafters. Brian just nodded and sat back down on the couch.
 

*****

Molly and Jennifer were the first to arrive. Jennifer decided she wanted to get there early so that Brian and Molly could have a little time to talk before everybody started showing up. Brian was sitting on the couch and Michael answered the door. Molly put her index finger to her lips to indicate that they should be quiet as she slowly snuck up behind Brian.

“Guess who?” She said as she covered Brian’s eyes with her hands. The reaction she got was certainly not one she expected. Brian jumped, moving away from her hands as quickly as possible, almost falling over the coffee table in an attempt to get away until he finally realized who it was.

“Shit….Molly…..please don’t do that again.” He sighed, running his fingers over his scalp. Molly had a hurt expression on her face and looked like she was about to start crying. “Mol…sweetie, it’s not you, okay? I just…..I still get a little freaked every now and then. It’s because of the surgery, not because of you.” He smiled and made his way around the couch over to her.

“You promise?” She asked.

“I promise.” He said with a smile and held his arms open. She almost tackled him in a hug. He picked her up off the floor and spun around, then put her down and leaned against the couch. “I get dizzy easier apparently.” He said and they both laughed. Molly looked around the loft; she’d never been there before.

“I really like your house.” She said with a smile.

“Thank you. I’m glad you like it. Maybe now that we’re friends you can come over again. But…..I think it might be better if I came to your house. Maybe…don’t you think?” That last question was directed at Jennifer who nodded. It would definitely look bad to take a twelve-year-old girl over to see a thirty four year old man.

“You are still gonna come visit me, right?” Molly’s tone was hopeful.

“As much as I can.” He looked around. “Hey, what do you say we go for a walk? They’re still decorating and I just seem to be getting in the way. There’s a park near here.” He smiled. Brian didn’t notice the slight frown that appeared on Michael’s face. The man felt like he was getting in the way in his own home, that wasn’t a good sign. Molly simply nodded and took Brian’s hand. Brian grabbed his cell and started toward the door.

“Just give me a call when people start showing up.”

“Okay.” Jennifer called as the door was shutting. She sighed heavily and took a seat. No matter how hard she tried she would never get used to this Brian. She liked this Brian. This Brian was sweet and caring and showed his emotions and accepted help. The exact opposite of the old Brian, and the fact that Molly said he wasn’t any different had shocked her completely. As much as she liked and appreciated this Brian, a tiny little part of her wanted the old Brian back and she hoped that she wasn’t the only one that felt that way.
 

*****

The party wasn’t as bad as Brian thought it would be. Emmett had kept his word and kept it small. Ben and Michael, Debbie and Vic and Horvath, Ted and Emmett, Justin and Ethan and Jennifer and Molly were the only guests. Brian figured he could handle eleven guests. For some reason everyone decided that they needed to bring presents treating it like a house warming party. After the presents had all been opened the party really got underway.

Brian helped move the furniture out of the way to clear a space for a dance floor. The music was turned up and everybody was having a good time. Brian was sitting on one of the barstools just watching everyone else enjoy themselves. He noticed the occasional glance in his direction and just smiled, hoping no one would try to drag him out onto the dance floor. Lindsay and Melanie had been unable to find a sitter for Gus and had decided to opt out of the party, not wanting to be the people that made the party too big. Molly came over and sat on the stool next to Brian.

“Michael says that before you would be out there on the dance floor with everybody just having a blast.”

“Well….that was before. Don’t feel much like dancing now.”

“Oh? Why’s that?”

“Because when this is all over you have to go home and I have to stay here.” He said with a sigh. Molly pulled Brian into a hug.

“Like you said, it’s not like you’re in another country, you’re just across town. And if you ever feel lonely, but you can’t come over, just give me a call.” She smiled brightly and Brian couldn’t help but smile back. Molly kissed his cheek, then got up to go do some dancing. About then Ethan decided to take a break, leaving Justin on the dance floor. The violinist made his way over to the kitchen to get a drink, noticing Brian watching him almost the whole time.

“Having fun?” He asked and Brian nodded. Ethan grabbed a bottle of water, then started to walk away. Brian grabbed his arm gently to stop him.

“Can we talk for a minute?”

“Um….sure.” Ethan said, taking a seat next to Brian. “What’s up?”

“I’ve been watching you and Justin together all night.” Brian noticed Ethan tense a little and he tried to keep the smile off his face.

“You have?”

“Yeah. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him this happy.” That made Ethan smile.

“You really think so?”

“I know so. I can tell that Justin really loves you. You make him happy in ways that I never could. I want you to know that I don’t blame you for him leaving. It was my fault.” Ethan opened his mouth to say something, but Brian held up a hand. “Don’t feed me any bullshit about no one is to blame, okay? I was an asshole.”

“You’re probably right.” Ethan admitted and they both smiled.

“Look, I care a lot about Justin. I’m hoping that I’m not wrong in calling him my friend.” Brian smiled when Ethan shook his head. “But that means that I want to keep Justin happy. If Justin is happy with you, so be it. And I think that it might make Justin just a little happier if we could be friends. But I want you to know that if you hurt Justin, I will hurt you. If you break his heart you better be very good at hiding.” Ethan laughed at first thinking Brian might be joking, stopping abruptly when he realized that he wasn’t. Ethan simply nodded.

“I don’t plan on hurting Justin. I love him very much and I plan to be around for a very long time.” Ethan smiled and so did Brian.

“All the more reason for us to be friends.” Brian said as he held out his hand to the younger man. Ethan took it and they shook hands. They sat there talking about various classical pieces, Ethan becoming more and more impressed with Brian as the time passed.
 

*****

Justin watched as his current lover and his former lover seemed to be lost in conversation. He could tell from the expressions and the occasional bits of laughter that they weren’t arguing. He smiled as he thought about how much easier it would be if they were friends. When the party was over, Justin made his way over to Ethan and took his arm. They said their good-byes to Brian, each kissing the older man on the cheek before walking out the door. Justin gave Ethan a quizzical look.

“What?”

“What did you and Brian talk about?” Ethan shrugged.

“Stuff.”

“What kind of stuff?” Justin’s curiosity was eating him alive.

“We talked about you. About the spots that make you scream the loudest and what you like to do in bed…” He laughed at the horrified expression on Justin’s face.

“I’m joking.”

“What did you really talk about?”

“We did talk about you. Brian just wants you to be happy and he said that if you’re happy with me, than that’s all that matters. He said that he hopes that he can call you his friend and that he wants to be friends with me. Then we got to talking about music and art and I realized how much I really have in common with him. Did you know Brian plays guitar?”

“No, I didn’t.” Justin said. Ethan nodded.

“Yeah. He plays classical guitar even, though he really started playing to be in a band with his friend Michael, which didn't go anywhere.. He kept playing in college. Apparently he’s gotten really good. Or at least he says so, but I don’t think Brian brags unless it’s the truth.”

“You’re right, he doesn’t.”

“And he said that he loves classical music and we started talking about his favorite composers and things like that. He’s a very smart man.”

Ethan continued to gush on about Brian all the way home. It was obvious that he was very impressed with the ad exec. Justin couldn’t keep the smile off his face. This was all he really wanted. He wanted to be able to keep Brian in his life, but feared that the relationship between Ethan and Brian might keep that from happening. It made him honestly happy that not only were they civil to each other but it seemed they were becoming close friends. As bad as he felt about what Brian had gone through, he was glad that this was one of the many end results of it.
 

*****

To say that Brian was nervous about his first day back at the office in almost a year would have been a serious understatement. And to make matters worse, he had to give a presentation that day. He hadn’t worn a suit in so long that it was uncomfortable and none of his suits fit anyway because of all the weight he lost, but he hadn’t had time to get them tailored yet. He walked into the office and luckily was not bombarded by people. He slipped into his office with Cynthia coming in and shutting the door behind him.

“Welcome back, boss. You look great.” She smiled.

“Cut the ass kissing bullshit and just tell me what I have to do today.” Brian pulled out his cigarettes and looked at them for a minute. It had been long enough since he’d been able to smoke that he actually didn’t have a need for them anymore. He sighed and tossed the pack away, then looked at Cynthia.

“The only thing you have is the meeting at eleven. Other than that, you’re day is free. Mainly because your doctor said you can only work half days.” She smiled and placed the planner in front of him.

“Why is he making me do this today? I just got back. He couldn’t have waited?”

“Today at eleven was the only availability for the client.” Brian sighed heavily.

“Guess I have no choice then.” Cynthia just nodded and went back to her desk. Time for the meeting rolled around and Brian felt a slight surge of panic. He took a deep breath to calm himself down, then gathered up his things and headed to the conference room. Sitting at the table while Vance was talking, he was perfectly fine. He figured everything would be okay if he could be in a room full of strangers and not panic. Then Vance said his name and he got up.

Brian kept his back to the people in the room as he set up the visual aids for the presentation. So far so good. He was feeling fine, wasn’t having any problems staying calm and in control. That was until he turned around and faced everyone. As soon as he saw the many pairs of eyes all trained on him his heart rate started to rise and he got a rush of adrenaline. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to remain calm. Apparently his panic was rather obvious because Cynthia was soon beside him.

“Brian…are you okay?” She asked. He leaned over and whispered in her ear.

“I can’t do this.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean…I can’t do this. I thought I could, but I can’t.”

“Brian, you don’t really have a choice.”

“Is there a problem?” Vance asked as he joined the little discussion at the front of the room.

“I can’t do this…” Brian said with a sigh. Vance looked at him for a moment. His face was flushed, he was sweating and Vance saw panic in his eyes. There was no way that Brian would be able to handle this situation. What Jennifer Taylor had told him was true; this was not the same Brian Kinney as before. Vance thought a minute, then nodded.

“Cynthia, do you know the presentation?”

“Of course.”

“You give it. Brian, go take a break. Meet me in my office at 1230.” Brian nodded and sighed, leaving the room. He was sure that he was going to get fired over this, if partners could get fired. Brian went back to his office and paced until time to go to Vance’s office. When he got there he found out the meeting wasn’t done yet, so he had to sit and wait for another fifteen minutes before his business partner finally made his way into the office.

“The meeting ran late” Was the only explanation he was given as the other man sat down. Brian nodded, folding his hands in his lap.

“So…what’s up?”

“Well, Brian, I was hoping you could tell me that.” Brian sighed heavily.

“It’s a side effect from the surgery. They said that I would be different. Apparently I just can’t get up and speak in front of people. I was having a panic attack up there.”

“So…what it comes down to is that you can come up with the ideas, you can even come up with the presentations, but you can’t actually get up and give the presentations, is that right?”

“That’s about it.” Vance nodded and started to look through something.

“Cynthia did a fantastic job with the presentation. She delivered it perfectly. As a matter of fact, we got the account.”

“That’s great.” Brian smiled, though he wasn’t really sure how he felt.

“So…I’ve decided to offer you a deal.”

“Oh?”

“You continue in your job as partner, coming up with the ideas and creating the presentations and Cynthia will be promoted to executive, though she’ll still be your assistant. Now, the reason I would be promoting her is because she will be giving the presentations you create. That sound fair?” Brian thought about it for a minute, then nodded.

“It sounds perfectly fair. And I’d like to thank you for being willing to work with me on this.”

“Brian, you’re the best idea man I’ve got. And I honestly don’t think you’d be able to get work anywhere else because of your condition. I understand that you had no control over this and that is why I’m willing to work with you.”

“Thank you.” Brian stood and held out his hand and Vance shook it.

“You’ll still have to sit in on the meetings. Do you think you can handle that?”

“Yes, of course. Being in the meeting wasn’t a problem it was just getting up in front of everybody.”

“Then this should work out.” Vance smiled, then went back to looking through the paperwork on his desk, indicating the conversation was over. Brian nodded and went back to his office, taking a seat behind the desk and sighing with relief. He was lucky that Vance was so willing to work with him.
 

*****

It was almost three months since the last of the chemo treatments and Brian was starting to get very frustrated at his hair, or lack there of. His collection of hats had grown tremendously. He used to hate wearing hats and now he wore them all the time. Justin had invited him over for dinner and he was honestly thinking about declining, but then decided to go ahead and say yes. He hadn’t been out in a while and he didn’t want to go to the diner, or to Woody’s, so he would go eat dinner with Justin and Ethan.

Brian’s clothes were still a little too big, though he had started to gain some of the weight back. He picked something that would not clash with the brown fedora Emmett had given him. That was one of his favorite hats. Once he was dressed, still unhappy with his lack of hair, he grabbed the bottle of wine he had purchased from the refrigerator and headed out, making it to Justin and Ethan’s apartment with a few minutes to spare. He knocked on the door and Ethan opened it.

“Hey, Brian.” The other man said with a smile.

“Hey.” They exchanged a hug and then Ethan moved aside so that Brian could enter. Brian held out the bottle of wine.

“You didn’t have to do that.” Ethan said with a smile.

“I know. I wanted to though.” Brian took his hat off as well as his jacket. Ethan set the bottle of wine down, then took the hat and coat into the bedroom. He came back a moment later.

“Justin’s running a little late. He should be here soon, though.” Ethan grabbed the bottle and retrieved two glasses. He opened the wine and filled the glasses, then picked them up and headed into the living room. “Have a seat.” He smiled as Brian took a seat on the couch. He handed one of the glasses to Brian.

“Thanks.” Brian said as he took the glass, then took a sip of wine. He looked around the apartment, having never been there before. “This is a nice place.”

“Not nearly as nice as yours.” Ethan commented.

“Well….considering the combined income of the two of you I’d say it roughly equals up.” Brian smirked and Ethan laughed.

“So how was your day?”

“It was okay. My work got another client and I have three more presentations I have to prepare. I should be able to take Molly and Jennifer to Europe with the bonus check.”

“That’s great. Congratulations. I know that Molly is definitely looking forward to going to Europe. Where do you plan to go?” Ethan asked. Brian shrugged.

“I haven’t really thought about it. I definitely want to see Paris, and Rome. Have to go to Milan and buy at least one suit. After that I figured I would just let Molly and Jennifer decide.”

“It’s very nice of you to take them with you.”

“I figured it’s the least I could do after all they did for me.” Brian smiled and Ethan nodded, then smirked.

“How are things growing on the hair front?” He asked and Brian sighed.

“They’re not. Not even a little fuzz. My doctor said I was supposed to have hair by now.” Ethan got up and came around behind the couch where Brian was sitting.

“Sit back.” Brian did so and Ethan started to rather closely examine Brian’s scalp. He smiled and then moved back around to his original seat. “It’s there. It’s just lighter than before. And it’s not really fuzz so you can’t feel it yet. But it’ll be there soon. I can tell.”

“Really?” Brian smiled.

“Really. We won’t be able to call you baldy for much longer.” They both laughed and right about then Justin came in the door.

“Hey, guys. Sorry I’m late.”

“It’s okay.” Ethan said as he stood and walked over to Justin giving him a quick kiss. Justin smiled.

“Just let me go shower real quick and then I’ll be ready.” Both men nodded and Justin headed into the bedroom. Dinner was wonderful. Ethan had actually found out Brian’s favorite meal from Debbie and had prepared it according to her recipe. Over dinner they chatted about various things, Brian getting extremely excited over the prospect of having hair soon. Justin couldn’t keep a smile off his face when he saw Brian’s reaction.

“That’s great, Bri.” He said and leaned over to kiss the older man’s temple. He sat back and made a face, then rubbed his upper lip.

“What?”

“I think you have fuzz because that tickled.” They all laughed. Justin was happy to see Brian actually laughing. It had been a while since he’d seen a genuine smile on the man’s face. After dinner was finished and the plates were put away, Brian decided he needed to get home.

“I have a meeting in the morning.” He said.

“Okay, Bri. Be careful.” Justin wasn’t sure why he said it, but Brian didn’t seem to mind. He just smiled and gave Justin and Ethan both a quick hug, then slipped his coat and hat on before heading out the door. Once Brian was gone, Justin turned to Ethan.

“He seems happy.” Ethan said.

“Sort of.”

“Why do you say that?”

“I think he’s lonely. I mean….yeah; he’s got his friends. But…that’s all he’s got right now, friends and family. He doesn’t have a boyfriend and I think that this Brian wouldn’t object to actually having a boyfriend.”

“You mean as opposed to the pre-surgery Brian that didn’t believe in boyfriends?” Ethan asked and Justin nodded. “I don’t think we need to be playing match maker. Brian still hasn’t completely adjusted to living on his own yet.”

“Yeah, I know. Mom says that he calls just about every night wanting to talk to Molly.” Justin sighed and hugged Ethan, resting his head on the other man’s shoulder. Ethan rubbed his back and kissed his temple.

“It’s understandable that you’re worried about him, but maybe he just needs to do this on his own.”

“Maybe you’re right.” Justin said as he moved back a little. He kissed Ethan tenderly, then headed into the bedroom, shaking his hips seductively and smiling over his shoulder at Ethan before disappearing into the next room. How could anyone pass up an invitation like that?
 

*****

Brian was sitting in his office just putting the finishing touches on the last bit of paperwork before his vacation when Vance came into his office. Though he tried not to show his disappointment, it was apparently obvious when Vance smiled.

“Oh, don’t worry, I’m not here to give you more work.”

“Oh…well…thank you.” Brian said with a smile. Vance took a seat and pulled something out of his pocket. It looked to Brian to be an envelope.

“Brian, as you know, over the last three months since you got back to work you have done an extraordinary job. Even though you've been unable to give the presentations yourself, your work has still managed to pull in more accounts in the last six weeks than we were able to pull in during the months while you were gone.” Brian smiled, but stayed quiet. “And, as you know, I am not adverse to rewarding excellent work.”

“What do you mean? I’ve already gotten bonus checks for each of the clients.”

“Brian, I want you to know that under different circumstances you would be receiving the same treatment. I don’t want you thinking that I'm doing something special just because of what you went through.”

“Okay…” Brian was thoroughly confused. Vance handed over the envelope. Brian opened it and his eyes went wide when he saw that it was a check, made out to him, for two hundred thousand dollars. Brian looked up at Vance.

“In addition to that check I am extending your vacation time by three weeks. I honestly don’t think three weeks is nearly enough time to spend in Europe so you now have six weeks and the additional funds to cover the extra time.” He smiled, as Brian’s eyes got even wider.

“I…I don’t know what to say….you didn’t have to do this.”

“I know I didn’t have to Brian. I wanted to. You've done a wonderful job and you deserve it.”

“Tha….thank you.” Brian said, his eyes wandering back down to the check in his hand. He looked back up at his business partner.

“Don’t mention it. Just enjoy your trip.” Vance then stood and exited before Brian could say anything else. Luckily they weren’t leaving for another couple of days giving them plenty of time to plan for the extended vacation.
 

*****

“He did what?” Jennifer asked from the couch. She'd managed to get the needed three weeks off from work and was sitting at home when Brian arrived. He was so excited he could hardly speak and it took her a moment to get him to calm down and tell her what was going on. She sat down as soon as he told her what his boss had done.

“I can’t believe it either, but he did it. We’ll have to plan what to do with the extra three weeks.” Jennifer was looking at the floor, then looked up at Brian.

“I can’t take the time off.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean….I can’t take that time off. It took a lot of twisting and bargaining to get the three weeks off that I got, there’s no way that I can take six.” Jennifer sighed heavily.

“There’s bound to be a way.”

“Brian, you don’t understand. I can’t just take the time off. I am one of seven agents in that office. They won’t let me be gone for six weeks.”

“Well….the only other thing that I can think of is you go ahead and come home and Molly and I spend the last three weeks just the two of us.”

“You’d be willing to do that?” She asked.

“Yeah, sure. How many times did I watch Molly so you could go out? It’s not a problem. You come with us for the first three weeks, then you go ahead and come back and Molly and I will spend the last three weeks together. I don’t like the idea of you being here alone, and I know I’ll feel bad when you have to leave since I already feel bad about it, but a trip to Europe is not worth the risk of losing your job.”

“Thank you for understanding Brian. And Molly would love to spend the time alone with you.” They sat down and started planning what could be done during the last three weeks. When Molly got home from school, she walked into the kitchen and smiled at Brian, immediately giving him a hug. She then noticed all the stuff spread out on the kitchen table.

“What’s going on?” She asked.

“Well…instead of three weeks in Europe, we’re getting six weeks. But your mom can only take three weeks off so the last three weeks are just gonna be you and me. How does that sound?”

“Really? You mean….that’s okay mom?”

“That’s perfectly fine. Brian’s boss gave him extra time off and I would hate for him to have to spend it here in Pittsburgh.” Molly smiled and hugged her mom.

“Thank you!” She almost crowed, then she stepped back. “I mean…not that I don’t want you there or anything…” Jennifer laughed.

“I understand, sweetie, don’t worry about it.” Then Molly sat down to help them plan what they were going to do.
 

*****

Brian was actually relieved to see the plane pull up to the gate at the Pittsburgh International Airport. Molly had fallen asleep somewhere over the Atlantic, resting her head on his shoulder. He waited until everyone had cleared out of the plane before gently shaking her. She sat up, yawned and stretched and rubbed her eyes.

“We’re home, Mol.” He said with a smile. Molly simply nodded. Brian stood and pulled their carry on luggage out of the overhead compartment and then moved back so Molly could get out of the seat.

“I don’t think I ever want to fly anything but first class.” Molly said with a smirk. Brian leaned down and whispered in her ear.

“If I have anything to do with it, you won’t.” That made Molly smile even bigger and she practically skipped off the plane.

“Your daughter is beautiful.” The flight attendant said. Brian simply smiled.

“Thanks.” He then followed Molly, trying to keep from laughing. When they got to Jennifer’s house, she was waiting on the front porch. Brian had called her on his cell to tell her they were home and on the way. Molly jumped out of the car and ran to hug her mother. Brian smiled as he got the bags out of the back and carried them up to the porch.

“My goodness, Brian. That vacation did you some good.” She said with a smile. The vacation had done wonders for Brian. He was tanned and relaxed, but more importantly he had gained back almost all of the weight he had lost. His clothes actually fit him now. Along with gaining weight, his hair had grown more in the past six weeks than it had in the three months prior.

“Thanks.” He said.

“And look at your hair. What are you trying to do, look like you belong to us?” She asked and they both laughed.

“So many people mistook me for Molly’s father that we just stopped correcting them.” His hair was growing back in a soft honey brown, the same color as Molly’s.

“Yeah, it was great. You should have seen all the women hitting on him, mom. It was so funny.” Brian rolled his eyes when the two Taylor’s laughed. Molly yawned.

“Looks like somebody is a little jetlagged.” Brian said with a smirk and Molly nodded.

“Why don’t you go up and get some sleep, okay honey?” Jennifer suggested. Molly nodded and headed upstairs. Brian and Jennifer worked together to get the bags inside.

“I’m glad you had a good time.” Jennifer said.

“It was a lot of fun. I wouldn’t mind doing it again. She’s really smart. She taught me a few things.” He laughed slightly.

“You really do look wonderful, Brian. I’m glad you had a chance to do this. I don’t think I’ve seen you this relaxed in months.”

“Well, I certainly needed it, and so did Molly. I think I proved to her that I really am okay.” He smiled and Jennifer nodded. They were quiet for a minute. “Jennifer….do you have anything planned for Molly’s birthday?”

“Not yet, why?”

“I was thinking that she and I could spend the day together. Maybe take her out to a movie, and go shopping. That is, if she doesn’t want a party.”

“Well, she wants a party, but her actual birthday is on a Sunday this year. I haven’t made any plans but I was thinking about having the party on Saturday. Then you and Molly can have Sunday all to yourselves.” Brian smiled.

“That would be great. Thank you.” He kissed her cheek, then yawned.

“Looks like Molly’s not the only one that needs rest.”

“Looks like.” Brian yawned again.

“Brian, how about dinner tomorrow night? We can talk about the trip.”

“Sure, that’ll be great.” He started to head toward the car.

“I’ll call you later with the time.”

“Okay. Later Jen.” He waved as he got in the car and drove off. Jennifer went back inside the house with a smile on her face.
 

*****

Michael, Ted, Emmett and Ben were all sitting at the diner waiting on their breakfast. It was a typical Saturday morning, except that Brian wasn't with them. In fact, he hadn’t had breakfast with them in almost two months. As Michael thought about it he realized that Brian hadn’t been out with them to Woody’s or Babylon since before he got sick.

“Have any of you noticed that Brian doesn’t go out with us anymore?” He asked and they all nodded.

“Maybe he’s had better things to do?” Emmett offered.

“Brian? I doubt that.” Just then Justin came to refill their coffee mugs. He had heard the first part of the conversation, having been at the next table doing the same.

“He did just spend six weeks in Europe with my mom and Molly.” Justin defended him.

“What?” Michael asked.

“You mean you didn’t know?” Ted questioned and Michael shook his head. They all exchanged glances.

“You all knew?” Michael looked around and all of them nodded, even Ben. “Why didn’t you tell me?” He whined.

“I figured Brian would tell you himself.” Ben said.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought.” Emmett answered.

“Me too.” That was Ted. Michael looked at Justin.

“I just don’t like you.” Justin said with a smirk and the others tried to keep from laughing. Justin went to put the coffee pot up and Debbie came over.

“What’s got your panties in a bunch?” She asked her son.

“Brian just spent six weeks in Europe and he didn’t tell me about it. And he never comes out with us anymore.”

“Well, Michael. He was very sick for a long time.”

“So?”

“So, did you ever think that maybe the near death experience helped him to realize that there is more to life than booze, drugs and sucking and fucking?”

“Come on, ma. This is Brian we’re talking about.” Michael could be so clueless sometimes. Debbie’s only response was to smack him upside the head, then go back to work. They sat there in silence for a minute.

“Maybe we could organize a night out.” Emmett was the first to break the silence.

“You think Brian wants to go out?” Ben asked.

“Well…just one time. He could decide whether he still wants to go out or not and then we leave him alone if he doesn’t. We could meet here and have a bite to eat and then go to Woody’s. I think Babylon is still a little much for Brian right now. I mean…he hasn’t gotten out in all this time.”

“Yeah, he’s been better for almost a year and he hasn’t come out with us once.” Michael complained.

“And you think he just sits at home all night long?” Justin asked as he approached the table again.

“What do you know?” Michael once again.

“I know that he comes over and has dinner with Ethan and me at least once every couple of weeks. And he goes over to my mom’s every now and then. He doesn’t just sit at home and mope. He’s even gone out with Cynthia a couple of times.”

“That’s all well and good, honey, but the boy needs to get out a little more. Can you honestly tell me that he doesn’t look lonely?” Emmett looked at Justin for a minute and the blonde shook his head. “Exactly. So we need to get him out there so he can meet some people.”

“Guys, maybe Brian just doesn’t want to go to the clubs anymore.” Ben was trying to forestall a disaster in the making.

“We’ll all be there and, like I said, if he doesn’t want to go out with us again after this one time, then we’ll leave him alone.” Emmett insisted.

“Maybe Ben is right.” Ted commented.

“Brian needs to get out. Then maybe he’ll see what he’s missing.” Michael said.

“I don’t know if he’ll go for it.” That was Justin.

“Well, sweetie, since he spends so much time with you, you can try to talk him into it.” Emmett smiled and Justin sighed. It seemed that nothing would talk them out of wanting to take Brian out, but Justin couldn’t help the feeling that this was a really bad idea.
 

*****

Justin, Ethan and Brian walked into the diner together. It had been a while since Brian had seen any of them so they weren’t prepared for him to actually have hair. Emmett was the first to hug him.

“Oh my goodness, honey, you look fabulous.” He gushed.

“Thanks, Em.” Brian said with a smile as he took a seat in the booth.

“That time in Europe helped a lot. You look great.” Ted commented. Brian smiled. Debbie came over and couldn’t help but kiss his cheek, leaving behind red lip prints.

“Brian, you should come around here more often. We’ve missed you.” She said. Brian simply nodded as he tried to wipe the lipstick off his cheek. Justin and Ethan sat down on the same side with Brian, leaving Emmett and Ted on the other side. When Michael and Ben arrived, Ben sat next to Ted leaving Michael to pull up a chair.

“So, what’ll you boys have?” Debbie asked, getting her order pad ready. They all ordered without looking at the menu, since they all had it memorized. Brian was the last to order.

“I’ll just have a salad and a glass of water.” He said and Debbie looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

“Honey, you have to eat something.”

“I’m not really hungry, Deb. I had a big lunch.” He smiled and she nodded. She wasn’t sure whether she believed the big lunch story but she wasn’t going to argue about it. Once the orders were filled and the food was on the table, everyone ate in silence. After a while, Ben spoke up.

“So, Brian, how are things going at work?”

“Pretty good. As a matter of fact, the reason I was gone six weeks instead of three was because Vance decided I needed a reward for all my hard work.” He smiled.

“That’s great.” Ben nodded.

“So…you were gone for six weeks? Where’d you go?” Everyone heard the anger in Michael’s voice. Brian just looked at him for a minute.

“You know I went to Europe.”

“No, I didn’t know that.”

“What do you mean? I told you before I left.”

“No, Brian, you didn’t.” Michael said. Brian raised an eyebrow.

“Yes, Michael I did. I didn’t tell you face to face, but I left you a message.”

“Where?” Michael still had that “I know you’re wrong and I’m right.” Tone in his voice.

“In your voicemail on your cell phone.”

“But I checked my voice mail.”

“Check it again.” Brian insisted. Michael sighed and made a big show of pulling out his phone and checking his voicemail. He had a smug expression on his face for only a few minutes and then it faded. He heard Brian’s voice saying that he was going to Europe for six weeks and that he’d talk to him when he got back.

“Oh.” Michael said, a faint blush creeping onto his cheeks.

“Yeah, oh.” Brian sighed as he turned back to his salad. Later that evening Brian sat on a stool in a corner near the pool table they occupied at Woody’s. He could see guys checking him out left and right but he pretended not to notice. He knew that what they wanted was the old Brian Kinney and that man no longer existed.

After a couple of hours of watching men cruising Brian and him actually not even paying attention, Ted could take no more. He looked at Brian for a second, then decided to just have at it.

“Brian, at least twenty different guys have tried cruising you tonight and you haven’t even noticed.” Ted was trying to keep his voice calm. He just couldn’t understand how Brian could attract men when he wasn’t even trying.

“I’ve noticed.” Brian said softly before taking a drink of his beer. He hoped that would be the end of the conversation.

“And you just ignored them?” Emmett asked.

“Guys, leave him alone.” Ben insisted as Brian just shrugged. Ethan and Justin were over at the bar getting drinks. Michael looked at Brian.

“Why haven’t you gone after any of them?” He asked his best friend.

“Because they’re just looking for a quick fuck in the alley and I’m not really interested in that.” Brian looked Michael in the eye.

“You never used to mind before.” Michael commented and that was the last straw. Michael had been giving Brian hell all night and he was sick of it. Justin and Ethan had returned by this point and Justin saw the familiar vein bulging at Brian’s temple, but he figured maybe Michael deserved what was coming. Brian stood and moved very close to Michael.

“When are you going to get it through your thick skull that I am not that Brian anymore? That Brian Kinney died when they cut into my brain. I’ve gotten past wanting to fuck everything that moves, so why don’t you just grow the fuck up and get a life?” Though he was standing close to Michael, Brian was yelling. The proof was in the fact that the entire bar quieted down. Brian was completely oblivious to the several sets of eyes that watched him as he stormed out of the bar. Justin and Ethan soon followed since they had been the ones to give Brian a ride.

“I told you to give it a rest.” Ben said before walking out as well. Ted and Emmett and Michael just sat there in stunned silence.
 

*****

The car was silent on the way to drop Brian off at the loft. When they pulled up to the building he got out, thanked them softly, then went inside. Justin sighed heavily as he and Ethan watched Brian go inside.

“I knew it was a bad idea. I don’t know why I talked him into it.” Ethan reached across the seat and took Justin’s hand.

“You can’t blame yourself for what happened. That was Michael’s fault. He just doesn’t understand that Brian has changed.” Justin nodded, put the car in gear and took off.

“This doesn’t change the fact that Brian's lonely.” Justin said after a few minutes. Ethan simply nodded. He thought for a minute, then a smile crept onto his face.

“What about Erik?”

“Erik?”

“Yeah….you know. That guy in the orchestra? He plays cello, but he also covers guitar on the pieces that require it. I think that he and Brian have a lot in common.”

“And you think that Brian would let us set him up?” Justin laughed and rolled his eyes.

“So we don’t actually set him up. I’ve got a concert in a couple of weeks. Erik will be there. We invite Brian along, then after the concert we introduce them. That way they’re not required to actually go on a date and if they don’t hit it off it’s no big deal.”

“So it wouldn’t look like we were setting him up, we’d just be introducing him to a friend.” Justin said more than asked.

“Exactly.” Ethan replied. “And Brian likes classical music and since we’re all friends now he’ll probably want to come anyway. It’s perfect.” Justin nodded and smiled. He just hoped that Brian wasn’t mad at them about what happened tonight.
 

*****

Molly was up early on her birthday. She couldn’t wait to go out with Brian. They had become even closer on their trip to Europe and she loved spending time with him even more than before. That and the fact that he was taking her shopping. He'd told her at her party last night that she could buy whatever she wanted and that made her even more excited. She quickly got ready and ran downstairs to wait. She looked at the clock and realized that she still had about an hour before Brian was supposed to show up. Finally, Brian pulled up in the driveway. He got out and walked up to the door, ringing the doorbell. By this time Jennifer was awake and she answered the door.

“Brian, you don’t have to ring the doorbell. You’ve still got a key. Next time just come on in.”

“Okay.” He smiled. She moved aside and he walked in and was almost immediately tackled by a twelve year old. “Hey, Mol.” He said with a laugh.

“Hey.”

“Molly, you act like you haven’t seen him in years.” Jennifer said as she made her way to the kitchen. Brian and Molly both laughed, then Molly went to grab her jacket.

“We’ll be back before dinner.” Was all that Brian promised as they headed out the door. They got into the Jeep and took off. “So, where to first?”

“Let’s just go to the mall. There’s a movie theater there.” Molly smiled.

“Okay, the mall it is.” Even on a Sunday it took him forever to find a parking space, then he took Molly’s hand and they went inside. They decided to go with the father/daughter façade again. It was so much fun every time they did it. And Brian not wearing a ring constantly attracted women, though he wasn’t interested. They had been shopping for about an hour when they decided to take a break for lunch.

“Brian?” He heard a familiar voice and turned. Ben smiled as he walked over.

“Hey, what’s up? You remember Molly, right?” Ben nodded.

“Yeah. Hey Molly.”

“Hi.” She said with a smile.

“So, you wanna join us?” Brian asked.

“Thanks.” Ben took a seat. “So, what brings you two out here?”

“Today is my birthday. Brian’s taking me shopping and to a movie.” Ben smiled at Brian, then looked at Molly.

“Well, happy birthday.”

“Thanks.”

“We’re doing the father/daughter act again. Makes it less weird.” Brian said and they all laughed. They sat there talking for a while, laughing and having a good time.

“Brian?” Brian’s smile suddenly faded as he recognized the voice coming from behind him. He swallowed and turned.

“Mom….” She walked up to the table and looked at him.

“You look rather good for a dead man.” There was a hint of anger in her voice.

“Well…um….”

“You told me that tumor would kill you in six months.” Molly started to say something, but Ben gave her a warning look and she shut her mouth.

“That was if I didn’t get treatment.”

“So, you lied to me?”

“No, I wasn’t going to get treatment. Didn’t think I had a reason to.”

“What made you change your mind?”

“Molly…” He started, but Joan interrupted before she saw him gesture toward Molly.

“So you did change.”

“Excuse me?” Brian lifted a brow.

“Well…obviously if this…Molly was enough to make you want to live, then you left behind that disgusting lifestyle and repented.” She said with a smug grin.

“Mom….this is Molly.” Brian indicated the twelve year old in front of him. Joan’s eyes went wide, then Ben threw an arm around Brian’s shoulders and kissed his cheek.

“She’s our daughter.” Ben said with a smile and Molly came around behind them, putting one arm around each man’s neck.

“Your….your…”

“Oh, mom. Did I forget to introduce my partner? This is Ben.”

“Your….your partner…...but I thought….”

“You thought wrong, mom. I didn’t turn straight. I’m still as gay as ever. And as you can see I didn’t need to repent and change my ways to survive. When are you going to realize that you are not God? You can’t decide when he is and isn’t punishing someone. Yes, I’ve changed. I’m not out fucking anything that moves like I used to. I’m not getting drunk anymore, or getting high. I’m in a loving, committed relationship and I have a family of my own. But I'm still gay and you just have to deal with that.” Brian stood and grabbed as many of the bags as he could carry, then looked at Ben and Molly. “Let’s go.” He said. Molly smirked and grabbed her bags, then followed Brian.

“Now I’m starting to understand why Brian never talks about you.” Ben said before walking away, leaving Joan there standing in shocked silence.
 

*****

Ben stayed with them for the rest of the afternoon, calling Michael and telling him where he was. Brian smiled, happy to have the company. Ben decided to keep up the act of he and Brian being in a relationship just in case they saw his mother again. Besides, he could tell that Brian was really enjoying it and he liked making Brian smile.

“I hate to risk spoiling such a great day, Brian. But….why don’t you talk to Michael anymore? He’s been whining non-stop. And then that outburst the other night….he thinks you hate him.”

“I don’t hate him, I’ve just outgrown him.”

“What do you mean?” Ben asked. Brian sighed.

“Michael proved to me the other night that he hasn’t grown up. He’s mentally still in high school. And he’s still got this image of me that no longer exists. Brian fucking Kinney is gone and Michael refuses to see that. He refuses to believe that I’ve changed because that would burst some bubble of his. I can’t be around him if he can’t be mature and realize I’m different.” Ben nodded.

“That’s understandable. The other night definitely proved that he’s in denial.” He sighed. “Sometimes Michael can be so dense. And…I can tell that you’ve really changed.”

“What do you mean?”

“You don’t call him Mikey anymore.” Ben said. Brian smiled.

“I’m hoping that maybe by getting rid of the immature nick name he might actually grow up.” They both laughed. When the shopping was done, Brian and Ben went their separate ways with a hug and a brief kiss on the cheek. Brian and Molly carted all the bags to the Jeep and almost couldn’t fit them all in. They laughed and talked the whole way home.

“Brian, you’re spoiling her.” Jennifer said as she helped them carry the bags in.

“It’s not like I can’t afford to do it.” He said with a smile and Jennifer just laughed. When Molly was upstairs putting her things away Brian took a seat on the couch. Jennifer could tell that something was bothering him.

“What’s wrong?” She asked as she sat next to him.

“We saw my mom at the mall. It’s the first time I’ve seen her since I told her I had cancer.” He sighed heavily.

“So all this time she thought you were dead?” Brian nodded. “How did she take it?”

“She was shocked at first. She asked me what made me decide to get treatment. I told her Molly and she interrupted me, thinking I’d gone straight or something.”

“Then what happened?”

“Well, we ran into Ben shortly before then and he acted like he was my boyfriend and Molly acted like she was our daughter. God, you should have seen the look on my mom’s face.” He smiled for a minute, but it soon faded. Jennifer rubbed his back.

“That’s not all that’s wrong, is it?” Brian shook his head.

“The whole time we were at the mall Ben was acting like my boyfriend just in case we ran into my mom again. It was fun for a while but then I remembered it was just an act.” He sighed again.

“Made you realize that you’re lonely?”

“Yeah.” Brian answered. Jennifer smiled and kissed his cheek.

“Brian, you’re a gorgeous man and whether or not you believe it, you’re still young. You’re smart, and funny, and sweet….I’m sure you’ll find somebody.”

“You think so?” Jennifer leaned over and whispered in his ear.

“If I was a man, I’d be all over you.” She sat back and smirked, then laughed as Brian blushed.
 

*****

Brian had been invited to yet another dinner with Justin and Ethan. He gladly accepted, feeling particularly lonely for some reason. When he got there, Justin took his coat and put it in the bedroom. They sat around talking for a while, then dinner was ready. They ate in relative silence for a while before anyone spoke.

“Brian…you said you like classical music, right?” Ethan asked. Brian nodded, then took a sip of wine.

“Yes. More so now than before, but I’ve always loved classical music.” He smiled.

“Well….I’m performing in a concert in a couple of weeks. I was wondering if maybe you’d like to come. I can get two tickets and Justin is coming.” Brian’s smile brightened.

“Oh, I’d love to. I haven’t ever actually been to an orchestra performance before.”

“Okay. I’ll get the tickets and call you tomorrow with all the details. And it's black tie.”

“Of course. This is great.”

“It’ll be fun.” Justin said with a smile. Luckily Brian didn’t notice the look that the two lovers exchanged.

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