Archive of Our Own ^beta

January 2011

Emmett was busy putting the finishing touches in the rooms—fresh-cut flowers from the garden in each room, restocking the mini-fridges, making sure the bowl of condoms and mini-packets of lube was full—while Calvin went over the menus for the weekend and awaited their first guests. Emmett came down the stairs and kissed his sweetie before turning to the sound of a car in the driveway. Their guests had arrived.

Right on schedule, a classic yellow Challenger roared up the long gravel drive and pulled to a stop in the parking area to the right of the front entry. Emmett watched as two men stepped out and smiled. Jethro and Tony had not changed a bit from the first time Emmett had met them. Jethro was as stoic as ever and Tony was still like an overgrown puppy. As Emmett watched, Tony said something smart and Jethro reached up and smacked back of his head. Emmett could see the affection between them as the slap turned into a caress and his smile widened.

"Usual room?" Jethro asked as they entered the front hall.

"Yep," Calvin agreed. Tony and Jethro didn't bother to wait around. They headed up for the traditional time for "unpacking." They would catch up with Emmett and Calvin and the others over dinner.

Emmett and Calvin watched through the screen door as another car arrived. A corvette roared up the driveway and Brian and Justin were soon climbing out. They went to pull the luggage from the trunk but unsurprisingly got distracted by each other. Their kiss was quickly morphing from a PG rating to R and Calvin was growing a tad anxious, but another car pulled up just then and the blond and brunet broke apart reluctantly.

Emmett rested his head on his lover's shoulder. "They are still a hot pair, aren't they?"

"A little too hot for the front drive," Calvin agreed with some amusement.

While Brian and Justin made their way up the stairs, Emmett had time to watch House and Chase climb from the new car that House was driving. They must have finally replaced the junk car that Chase was always complaining about. This was a rather nice SUV that had plenty of room for House to stretch his leg and made climbing in and out easy for the older doctor.

Seeley and Zack were the last to arrive, but they had the excuse of having to stop at the airport to pick up Jerry. The three men climbed from the huge government issued SUV and made their way slowly inside, mindful of Jerry's advancing age. Then again, that man seemed to get younger every time he flew up for a visit.

Unlike the others, Jerry only came once a year, but he made the most of his visits when he was around. He usually spent a few days with each of the couples before going back to Florida and his new companion. According to Jerry, Mitch was a nice enough man, and he loved him, but he would never be the love of his life. His heart would forever belong to Ryan. But Mitch was a good friend and a wonderful companion and they were content together. It was more than the older man could have hoped for from life after losing his partner.

Jerry wasn't the only addition to their weekends, though he was the most regular. Michael and Ben had come a couple times, Ted and Blake had come once. And House and Chase had brought Wilson and his newest girlfriend once, though Wilson was a little surprised to discover they were the only heterosexual couple there. House had found that to be very funny.

"It's called the Rainbow Inn, you moron," House had laughed at his best friend while Chase had just shaken his head and Wilson covered his face in embarrassment. In the end, it hadn't been a bad weekend for the oncologist, though he broke up with that girlfriend not long after. He promised to come again when he found another girlfriend that could stand to be around House for an entire weekend.

Wilson and girlfriend weren't the only straight couple, either. Abby and Tim, finally back together, had come one weekend with Ziva and her latest boyfriend. And Dr. Brennan and her latest had come up the same weekend as Angela and Hodgins. They were smart and planned to have two straight couples together so they wouldn't feel completely outnumbered.

Most of the time, however, it was just the four original couples, Jerry and Emmett and Calvin and they all liked it that way.

Once everyone was getting settled into their rooms—a notion that always made Emmett giggle since he knew that they were all just having sex—Emmett, Calvin and Jerry went to the kitchen to prepare dinner and talk about all the changes that had happened since the last time Jerry had been to visit. No matter that it had been three years since he had given it up, the inn would always be the dream that he and Ryan had built together. Like a parent with a child that has grown and made a life for himself, Jerry had let go but still held the inn and its occupants close to his heart.

"We had seven weddings this year," Emmett told Jerry with no small measure of enthusiasm as they all set to work. "And we're booked straight through ski season…"

"I saw your paper in the journal of Science and Medicine," House said to Zack as they all sat around the fire in the living room. As part of the renovations, Brian had insisted on expanding the living room and putting in an open fireplace that they could all sit around in the evenings when it was too cold to sit outside. "It was exceptional."

"The response has been positive," Zack told him proudly. "I believe that it will be enough to convince the foundation to back my next project."

"That's great news," Chase told him. "You're still looking for a way to engineer bones, right?"

"Yes," Zack said. "Bone degeneration and damage is a significant component in the deterioration of the elderly. As they lose mobility, their health declines drastically. With more resilient bones, or bone replacements, they could remain healthy for longer, with a higher quality of life."

In another corner, Justin was filling Emmett in on the gossip about Michael's latest attempt to screw up his life. He had allowed his insecurities to take over and had convinced himself that Ben was having an affair. So when some young skater kid who worked for him part time at the store began making the moves on him, he almost gave in and slept with him.

"After all the shit he's given me and Brian about our age difference, he almost fucks up his marriage for a sixteen year old," Justin said with exasperation.

"So, sweetie, tell me what happened!" Emmett asked anxiously. "Did Ben catch them?"

Justin snorted. "That's the best part. Debbie caught him in the back room with the kid sucking his cock. She dragged him out of there by his ear with his pants around his ankles. There were at least six customers in the store at the time. Debbie threw them all out and railed at Michael for more than an hour. When she finally calmed down enough to hear why he had done it, she called him every kind of idiot she could think of and sent him home to talk to Ben."

"Zen Ben's a fucking saint," Brian said from his place on Justin's other side. "The man listened to Michael's idiocy and didn't toss him out on his ear."

"Would you toss me aside if I screwed up?" Justin asked.

Brian eyed his husband. "Screwed up how? Because getting your cock sucked isn't against our rules."

"Say I broke a rule, though," Justin said. "Say I let one of the tricks fuck me. Would you toss me out?"

"Depends," Brian said with a shrug.

"On?" This came from Emmett who was listening with rapt attention.

Brian glared at the queen but answered anyway. "It would depend on the reasons why he did it. It would depend on whether he intended to do it again. It would depend on who the prick was and if he was still clinging like the fiddle player did." He turned back to Justin. "Why? Are you planning on letting some guy fuck you?"

"Not in this lifetime," Justin said with a sweet smile. "And just so you know, I'd probably dismember the other guy but eventually forgive you if you ever broke the rules."

Seeley and Calvin were discussing the merits of some new recipe for manicotti that Seeley had gotten from a friend from work while House, Chase, Jethro, Tony and Zack argued about which sport was best: soccer, football, or baseball. House and Tony were fully on the side of football as the most violent and most exciting of the three. Chase disagreed that football was exciting. He argued that with so many stops and starts that football wasn't exciting at all in comparison to soccer. Of course Jethro and Zack argued that the speed of a game does not necessarily guarantee that it will be exciting, and really has nothing to do with the skill and talent needed to play a sport. Of course, Zack was able to spout off facts and figures from his near perfect memory that none of the others could reasonably counter, but that didn't change their minds and the debate raged on for some time.

It was Sunday afternoon and the boys were all out in the yard having a snowball fight. Jethro and Seeley had organized two teams and they had built snow forts and made arsenals of snowballs until war was declared and then the battle began. They were like little kids, every one of them. Puppy days, Ryan would have said.

Jerry looked over the group of friends from his place at the window and smiled. Ryan would be so proud of their boys and where they were now. Tony and Jethro had adopted a little boy and were looking into adopting a second child. Brian and Justin were expecting a baby from a surrogate in the next month. Seeley and Zack were happy with just each other, but they enjoyed their time with Seeley's son Parker and Zack was making new strides in his research everyday. Even if Jerry didn't understand what it was Zack was researching, he knew it was important. And House had finally given in and let Chase get that puppy he'd always wanted.

There were plans in place for all of the boys to bring their kids for two weeks over the summer. Jerry wondered if House and Chase would bring the dog. Parker and Gus were about the same age as the boy Jethro and Tony adopted and the trio should get into plenty of trouble together. With Justin's baby on the way, and another child eminent with Jethro and Tony, it looked like their chosen family was growing and would soon take up the entire inn.

Jerry let out a chuckle as Zack aimed for and hit Seeley in the back of the head. That boy may not be athletic but he surely knew how to throw a snowball. Each of the couples had been broken up and put on opposing teams. As Jerry watched, he noticed that they tended to aim for their husbands almost exclusively. Emmett and Calvin, however, seemed to be plotting some sort of rebellion. They waited until the reserves of snowballs were used up and broke from their teams to form a team together. Emmett packed the snowballs while Calvin threw them at anyone and everyone. Soon, the other couples had regrouped and were working together.

Jerry shook his head at their antics and guessed that it wouldn't be long before they would all be back inside, cold and ready for a cup of hot cocoa. Heading for the kitchen, Jerry began grating a large chunk of chocolate and waited for the milk to warm.

Monday morning dawned earlier than anyone wanted, but it was an inevitability that they could not fight. They had one last breakfast together, and then Emmett and Calvin watched their friends pack up the cars and get ready to leave.

"We won't be able to make it in April," Justin reminded Emmett as he gave him a hug. "Brian's taking time off after the baby comes and he'll just be getting back to work then."

"I know," Emmett said. "Calvin and I will be out to see the little one as soon as we can. And we'll see you in July, right?"

"All four of us," Justin agreed with a grin.

"Get a move on Sunshine!"

"The master bellows," Justin said ruefully. Before he joined Brian, however, he handed Emmett a painting.

"Baby, you shouldn't have. You already gave us a portrait," Emmett said, but he and Calvin ripped into the wrapping paper anyway. It was a group portrait of all the couples posed in front of the inn. Brian and Justin sat on the steps with arms wrapped around each other. House leaned against the porch railing with Chase leaning against him. Jethro and Tony held each other and stood in front of the porch and to the left. Seeley and Zack were to the right. Emmett and Calvin were on the porch swing and Jerry was in front of the door with a ghostly figure of Ryan beside him.

"It's not really for you," Justin said. "It's for the Inn."

"We'll hang it with pride," Calvin said sincerely.

All the others had come from the cars to see what Justin had painted this time and were moved by the picture they saw. This was more than a picture of friends at an inn. This was a picture of family. And they each knew that no matter where life took them, they would always come home to the Rainbow Inn.