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-"Do you think we should go and buy him new toys before picking him up?"
It was friday and, in a few hours, Brian was going to pick Gus up from kindergarten and have him at the loft until monday. But Brian was acting uncharacteristically nervous and Justin was confused about this.
-"Brian, what's up with you? Gus has spent the weekend with us so many times. Why are you so nervous about this?"
-"Because it's the first time he is staying over since I know that Linds and Mel have been fighting. And I know they said they hide it from Gus but he isn't stupid and he is 5 now, I'm sure he is aware of everything and I want him to have a break from whatever he's been witnessing at home. I want him to have a good time here with us."
Ever since his conversation with Lindsay almost two weeks ago, Brian was concerned for his son's well-being. He was afraid that Gus was unhappy at home and he wanted to do something for him.
Linds and Mel were acting so coldly towards each other that the whole gang knew they were fighting. Brian wanted to take Gus to live at the loft but he didn't know if that's what Gus wanted. He still sometimes felt like he wasn't a good dad and like Gus would never willingly choose to spend more than a weekend with him.
And even if Gus wanted to live at the loft permanently, he had two other issues. The first being that Mel would probably never allow it. And the second being that their wasn't enough room for Gus at the loft for a permanent stay. He managed to have a little bed for his son at the loft for the weekends he was here, but they had to all share the same room. And Brian didn't want his son to have to live in those conditions. The little lad deserved his own room and his own personal space.
Brian had been thinking about a solution for that second issue. He had even told Justin about it. The loft right under theirs was for sale, and maybe it would be a good idea to extend their living area a bit. The loft was great and he loved it. But he had to admit that it was no place to live for a family. And that's what he had with Gus and Justin, a family.
This sometimes scared him, to think of them as his family, like his own family, one he built with love and passion. It still scared him because he had a very bad experience with family when he was a kid himself. He was so afraid of fucking everything up and turning up to be just like his father. But, everyday, he did everything he could to be a good father to Gus and a good partner to Justin.
-"Brian you know he loves you. He is going to love spending the weekend with you. And you can even talk to him about the living with you thing."
-"Yeah that's what I want to do. I want to at least know what he thinks about it before talking to Mel and Linds about it. Because whatever happens, it'll be his choice in the end."
Brian ended up buying a new stuffed animal for Gus and went te pick him up from school. Justin stayed at the loft, needing to finish some things before Gus got there.
Brian was waiting in front of the door with other parents surrounding him. The teacher finally opened the doors and all the kids started to come out looking for their parents. When Gus saw his dad, a big smile appeared on his face as he ran to hug Brian.
-"Dad! I'm so excited to spend the weekend with you! Where's Justin?"
Brian's nervousness disappeared after that, he hugged him back and took his hand, starting to walk to his car.
-"He's at the loft, he had some things to finish before you got there. That way he can spend every minute with you once we get there."
Gus nodded at that. They arrived at the loft and Gus immediately ran inside once Brian opened the door.
-"Justin! I'm here! Where are you?"
Brian chuckled at that, Gus was such an energetic boy. And Brian loved how much he liked Justin. It warmed his heart to see the two of them together.
-"Hey little man! How have you been?"
Justin and Gus proceeded to have a little conversation about this and that. Brian was watching them from afar, enjoying what he was seeing.
-"Hey Gus, look what I got you."
He gave him the new stuffed animal he had bought earlier that day and waited to see his reaction.
Gus was very happy, he hugged the stuffed animal and said they needed to find him a name. They all sat on the sofa, proposing names and waiting to see if Gus would find the perfect one. Gus was not satisfied with any of the names Justin and Brian were coming up with and finally decided to name him Foxy.
-"It's because he's a fox" Gus had said, making Justin laugh.
They spent the rest of the day playing with Gus and watching TV. Brian decided to help Gus take a shower while Justin was making dinner for the three of them.
They ate dinner and watched a movie. Gus was sat between Justin and Brian on the sofa. It was his favourite thing to do. To snuggle up between them and feel the warmth from their bodies. It made him feel safe and loved. And neither one of them ever complained, so he kept doing it, enjoying how they would always make space for him and ruffle his hair.
They went to sleep once the move ended, and Gus had a great night of sleep, hugging Foxy close while sleeping.
The next morning. Gus woke up and turned around to look at Brian and Justin's bed. Justin was still sleeping but Brian was no where to be seen. He got out of bed and went to the kitchen looking for his dad.
Brian was standing there, sipping coffee at the counter. He smiled when he saw Gus walking still sleepily, holding Foxy in his hands.
-"Good morning."
-"Morning dad. Why didn't you wake me up? I want to spend a lot of time with you." he said in an accusatory tone.
-"I just woke up little lad, and it's only 9, we have the whole day still do to whatever you want." he said smiling softly.
-"Can I wake Justin up then?"
Gus loved waking Justin up, Brian didn't know why but it seemed to be something that Gus really enjoyed doing.
-"You can, but if he tells you to go away then that's on you." he said chuckling a little.
Gus went back to the bedroom and climbed on the bed next to Justin. He got closer to Justin's ear and started talking quietly.
-"Hey Justin, it's time to wake up, dad said it was 9."
Justin woke up slowly at that, turning around and opening one eye to look at Gus.
-"Come one Justin, you need to have breakfast." Gus said laughing a little.
-"Maybe I can have you for breakfast!" Justin said, starting to tickle the little lad and pretending he was eating his arms.
Gus laughed louder at that. It was their little game. Every morning Gus would go to wake Justin up, telling him it was time for breakfast, and every morning Justin would pretend to eat his arms or legs, telling him he could eat him for breakfast.
They all had breakfast after that and got ready because Gus wanted to go to the aquarium.
They spent the whole morning there, having fun and learning as many fish names as possible for a five year old. It was around 12 when they got out of the aquarium so they decided to go to the diner for lunch.
They got there and Deb made it a point to fuss over Gus as if she hadn't seen him for a year. They sat in a booth and ordered. Gus was eating his fries and talking about everything he had seen at the aquarium, as if Justin and Brian weren't there with him. It made them laugh and they listened to him with a smile on their face.
They were almost done when Emmett and Micheal walked inside. Brian saw them first, since he was sitting facing the door with Gus next to him on the inside of the booth. Justin had his back to the door so he didn't see them right away.
Emmett came to say hi to them and asking how they were, Micheal following but not saying much other than hello.
Brian and Micheal still weren't talking to each other. They hadn't had a conversation since that one at Deb's and they mostly avoided each other. At least Brian was avoiding him, he wasn't ready to have any kind of conversation with Micheal.
Emmett started to talk with Justin, the two of them had gotten really close in the few years they had known each other and always had things to talk about.
Micheal said something about having to talk to his mother and went back to the counter. Emmett sat down next to Justin and asked them what they had planned for the afternoon.
Gus was the one to answer, he said he planned on taking a nap once back at the loft and then playing with Justin and his dad at the loft.
Emmett laughed at that, seeing a bit of Brian in the way Gus had answered. He told them to enjoy their weekend and left, not wanting to bother them.
Micheal had already exited the diner so Emmett got out too.
They got back at the loft and Gus did as he said he would and went to take a nap. Brian and Justin decided to take this opportunity to get some work done. Justin finished an assignment and Brian read some emails.
After Gus woke up around 4pm, they all sat on the floor around the coffee table and played with the toy cars, pretending to race and see which car was the fastest.
They were laughing and having a great afternoon together when someone knocked on the door. Brian looked at Justin with an unspoken question and got up to see who was there.
Brian walked to the door, looking behind him at Justin and Gus having fun together, and opened the door. He was surprised to find Micheal standing in front of him.
-"Micheal. What are you doing here?"
-"Hi. Can I come in? I think we need to talk."
Brian let him in, not wanting to further damage their now almost nonexistent friendship. He was confused as to why Micheal thought today was the right moment to talk things out.
Micheal stepped inside and looked at Gus and Justin laughing together sitting on the floor. He got mad at the vision. Why was Justin spending time with Brian's son? He had no right to be this involved in Brian's life.
But he quickly looked away, not wanting to create more problems between Brian and him. He had come here to make up with Brian. Even if he would never accept that Brian was in a 'relationship' with Justin, he could still act like Justin simply didn't exist. That way, he could be Brian's best friend again.
-"Oh Michael.." Justin said when he looked up.
Justin was surprised to see him here. He knew that it was still tense between Brian and Micheal so he wondered why he was here.
-"So what did you want to talk about?" Brian asked, not wanting to waste his time.
-"I just wanted to tell that I won't interfere in whatever is going on between Justin and you. I know it upsets you and I only want you to be happy so I just wanted to let you know. I think we can stop avoiding each other now and become best friends again."
Brian and Justin looked at him with disbelief in their eyes. How could he be so self-centred? This man had come all the way to their home, didn't even apologise for everything he had done, and was demanding to become Brian's best friend again.
-"Listen Micheal. I can't just forget about what happened. It hurt us and we may never have the same friendship as the one we had before. So I don't want to act like nothing has happened. Sure we can stop avoiding each other. But it doesn't mean everything is forgotten."
Micheal starred at Brian for a minute, not believing that Brian had refused to restore their friendship. However, he knew that it was better for him not to say anything if he wanted things to end well.
So he nodded, told Brian he'll see him around and exited the loft.
~
It was almost dinner time and Brian decided to talk to Gus now. He went to sit next to him on the sofa and started talking.
-"Hey little lad. I have something I want to ask you. And I want you to be 100% honest in your answer. Can you do that?"
-"Yes dad. What is it?"
-"Well, I was wondering, what would you say if I asked you to come live with me at the loft? Like permanently? Would you like for the loft to become your official home?"
Brian was nervous. He kept thinking again and again that this was not a good idea, that Gus would never want this. He waited a little while before Gus answered.
-"Would Justin still stay here if I said yes? I want to live with Justin too. I need to wake him up every morning!"
Brian was so surprised to hear this, he almost choked on nothing. He chuckled lightly and looked in the bathroom's direction where Justin was taking a shower.
-"Yes of course Justin would stay here, this is his home too. And if you decided to live here, we would change the loft a little so that you could have your own room."
Gus smiled brighter at that. He seemed so happy that all of Brian's nervousness disappeared.
-"I also wanted to ask you about how things have been at home? Is everything good with your mommy?"
-"Mm yes. But sometimes mommy Linds and mama Mel have arguments. And I don't understand why but it scares me a little when they start yelling at each other. Will they fight more if i decide to live with you?"
Brian felt anger rising inside after hearing this. He took a deep breath and looked back at Gus.
-"Of course not, it's your choice where you want to live and you have to make this decision with only your best interests in mind. You can talk about it with your moms but you can't decide something only to please them okay?"
-"Okay. I think I want to live here. But can I tell you my final answer in a few days?"
-"Of course. You can take all the time you need."
Justin decided to come out of the shower at that moment. He sat on the sofa next to Brian, and Gus jumped on him, with a big smile on his face.
-"Justin! Dad said I could live here with you! I'm so happy! I can wake you up every morning now!"
Justin laughed softly at that and hugged Gus, telling him that he was happy to hear this. He looked up at Brian, giving him a smile to show him that he was proud of him for having the courage to talk to Gus about this.
Now they only had to tell Mel and Linds about this and to begin the procedure to buy the loft beneath their and start the renovation and construction of their new home.