A Storm's Gonna Come - Chapter 21
Rating: NC-17
Warnings: None.
Summary: Five years post-513. This story is anti-angst medication. Nothing bad ever happens here (that’s not completely true, but it’s definitely kept to a minimum).
Disclaimer: I’ve read somewhere that, since disclaimers have no legal footing, they’re merely an expression of the author’s guilt. I don’t feel guilty.
Beta: silvaofhope
Previous chapters:
[Ch 01] [Ch 02] [Ch 03] [Ch 04] [Ch 05] [Ch 06] [Ch 07] [Ch 08] [Ch 09] [Ch 10] [Ch 11] [Ch 12] [Ch 13] [Ch 14] [Ch 15] [Ch 16] [Ch 17] [Ch 18] [Ch 19] [Ch 20]
A/N: We’ll take a break from the tiny bit of angst from last week’s update; I hope you approve. There's some jumping back and forth in time, be warned.
Present, December 2010
Brian woke up to someone jumping on the bed. The moment he decided to open his eyes all breath was knocked out of him when something, or rather someone, lumped onto his chest. He croaked in protest and heard an excited “Dada” coming from above. He finally managed to open his eyes.
“Dada, up.” Emma jumped on his stomach.
“Umph.” Was all the response Brian managed for the moment. “I’m up, Princess. I’m up.” He sat up leaning against the head board while Emma continued to jump on the bed beside him. He grabbed one of her hands so she wouldn’t fall and hurt herself.
When Brian looked up, he saw Justin standing at the foot of their bed, already completely dressed, Gus by his side who, again, had his fingers hooked into Justin’s side pocket. The image was completed by Alex who in turn was holding Gus’ other hand. But unlike Justin or Gus, she was still in her pajamas. The three of them stood in line, all staring silently at Brian.
“Why the fuck are you two dressed already? It’s-“ He glanced towards the clock on his nightstand. “It’s not even seven thirty yet.”
“Gus and I are leaving. We’ll take our bikes and make a tour around the park.” Justin explained.
“Now?”
“Yes.” Justin answered.
“But it’s freezing cold outside. The ground is frozen solid and there’s almost two feet of snow on the ground. And you’re going for a bike tour now?” Brian asked, clearly confused, stressing the last part.
“Yes!” Gus answered excitedly.
“You don’t expect me to come along, do you?” The horrible thought just then entered his mind.
“No. You’re going to babysit the twins. They just woke up. They haven’t had breakfast or brushed their teeth yet. Have fun.”
Gus picked up Alex and sat her down beside Brian on the bed, grinning happily. He and Justin turned to leave the bedroom but not before Justin added, “Oh, and I haven’t changed their diapers yet either. Bye.” He threw a toothy grin at the brunet and headed out the door.
Brian looked at their retreating backs, dumb-struck. He pulled Alex closer and murmured, “Your daddy is getting crazier every day.” He let himself sink back into the pillows again and closed his eyes for another minute before the twins attacked him again. Brian finally surrendered and got up to go about the morning routine. He changed, dressed, and fed the twins while waiting for his coffee to brew.
After breakfast Brian grabbed his laptop from his home office and made himself comfortable on the sofa in the girls’ playroom. He jotted down some finalizing ideas for his major accounts for the next holiday which would be Valentine’s Day, now that the Christmas craze was over for the advertising world. When he heard Lindsay on the stairwell he called up to her, “We’re over here, Linds.”
Lindsay followed the voice coming from the hallway she knew Brian’s office was located in and was surprised to find a playroom adjoined.
“You built a playroom next to your office?” She asked after a ‘Good Morning’. “Isn’t it contra productive to the idea of having a home office?”
“It depends. I seldom bring work home nowadays. To be honest, I don’t work much at all anymore. Babylon requires only a small input on my part and I have a capable manager to look over the rest. I still take care of Kinnetik’s major clients but most of the other, smaller, accounts are overseen by my people. Cynthia does a decent job managing the account managers. I suspect she gets off on the power of being the second-in-command.”
“I bet you still make her report to you every month.”
“Every week.” Brian smiled sheepishly and Lindsay laughed.
“Where are Gus and Justin? I went by the kitchen but it was empty.”
“Bike trip.” Brian told her.
“Now?” She exclaimed surprised.
“Don’t ask.”
“Okay.” She simply nodded, knowing that Justin would take care of her son.
“Are you hungry? I can fix you some breakfast.” Brian offered.
Lindsay raised her cup of coffee and said, “I found everything I needed.”
They were silent for a few minutes, just watching the girls. Emma was trying to pull apart a wooden doll and Alex was juggling play-dough.
“They seem so-“ Lindsay sighed, searching for the right word. “Content. And carefree. You and Justin are doing a wonderful job with them.”
“It’s not just us. The whole family is pitching in. They’re the result of all of our crazy, colorful friends’ efforts. Neither Justin nor I could do this on our own. I can’t be a full time dad with two businesses running successfully. Neither can Justin with his career. We found a way to make it work. It may be selfish but it does work for us and as long as the girls don’t suffer from our lifestyle I suppose it works for them, too.”
For a moment Lindsay felt a stabbing pang in her chest as she realized she wasn’t part of this extended family anymore. At least, not in the physical sense. She pushed aside the thought and returned to their conversation. “It does. I can see that. Everyone can. They seem so happy. And balanced.”
Lindsay was silent for a few minutes pondering Brian’s and Justin’s way of raising their children. She knew from various talks over the phone that the kids often spent time at Debbie’s, Daphne’s, Emmett’s, Jennifer’s, or with Molly. What sounded like a stressful lifestyle over the phone turned out to be a very stress-free arrangement. The girls weren’t being passed around, as Lindsay had worried. Because they hadn’t known it differently since the time of their birth, spending extensive amounts of time with various members of the family was natural to them. And the common denominator in it all, the thing that made them… relaxed, was the word Lindsay finally decided on, was that they were being loved. Realizing her false assumption, she tried to explain her changed state of mind. “They’re loved. And they are secure in the knowledge that they are loved. That’s why they’re so relaxed and happy.” Lindsay sighed again, placing her empty cup on Brian’s desk. “You’re a good father, Brian.”
Brian tried to keep his emotions in check but couldn’t hide the fact that it meant a lot to him hearing it from Lindsay. He cleared his throat.
“Linds, are you okay?” Brian asked closing and setting aside his computer.
“I don’t know, Brian. Sometimes I feel like everything is breaking apart.” She almost whispered.
“Why?”
She sat on the couch beside Brian before answering. “I thought we were doing the right thing. Protecting our children. I always worried, wanting the best for them. And then you and Justin come along and decide to raise a kid together - two kids, Jesus! - and you make it look so simple. Don’t get me wrong, I love you both, Brian. You and Justin. But I look at you two and you make it look so simple. You make everything look so easy.” She repeated again.
“Nothing’s been easy about the road that took us here.” Brian contradicted.
“I know that. God, I know. It’s just that… Do you realize how many people are scared to never find the person they’d want to spend the rest of their life with? And here you are. You never went to look for it. You never even wanted it. You go out one night and bam! - there it is. It found you. And what do you do? You push it away. Again and again. And yet, here you are. All you had to do was stop running. It was that easy. Brian, I know it’s not fair of me to say it but I’m just trying to be honest. That’s how I feel. You decide to have a child and you get two. The parental rights are handed over to you on the day of their birth. You never had to live through what it means to have no legal rights to your child.”
Brian could understand where Lindsay was coming from but it didn’t prevent his anger from flaring up. “I pretty much lived in the hospital for over a week. I missed Alex’s first nights home, worried sick. Don’t you dare diminishing what Justin and I went through! Just because you choose to only see the happy side of it.” He kept his voice down for the twins’ benefit but Lindsay got the message nevertheless.
She nodded, defeated. “I tried. And I worked so hard trying to make the right decisions. And now it feels like everything is breaking apart.” She came back to her earlier statement.
“What happened?”
“How much did Gus tell you?”
That moment, Alex got up from her small desk and tippled over to Brian, extending her hands. She wanted Brian to clean them. She didn’t like being dirty. Brian reached for a wet towel and started to wipe her fingers.
“Not much. Nothing, really.” Brian answered Lindsay’s question. “You’re looking for a new house. Did you and Mel have a fight?” He asked while Alex crawled into his lap. Brian put his arms around her and stroked her back softly as she laid her head on his shoulder.
“I don’t know what happened.” Lindsay looked down. She found a loose thread on the hem of her shirt and pulled on it, wrapping it around her finger. “We didn’t fight. Maybe we lost interest in each other. Sometimes I think we were so scared by what happened in Babylon, we jumped into each other’s arms again without talking about our issues first. And now,-” she paused. “Now we don’t have a lot of things to talk about.” She stated simply, a sad tone in her voice. “What if we made a mistake? What if I made a mistake, Brian?” The last question came out as a whisper.
“Then you’ll come home.” A voice from the door came. Justin walked into the room. “You have a family here, Linds. Come home.”
Lindsay simply looked at Justin who looked back at her. Neither one said anything.
“Where’s Gus?” Brian interrupted the silence.
“Taking a shower. He’ll be down as soon as he’s finished.” Justin crossed the room and kissed Brian. “Is she asleep?” He asked nodding towards Alex and planting a gentle kiss on her hair.
“No, just cuddling.” Brian replied.
“So, Brian Kinney does cuddle.” Justin whispered and smirked before straightening up and turning back to Lindsay who stood watching their interaction. He looked at her and repeated, all humor gone from his voice. “Come home, Lindsay. You don’t have to decide anything right now. Think about it. Talk to Mel. Talk to Gus. He’s old enough to know what he wants.” Justin suggested.
Brian had been quiet the whole time, looking from Justin to Lindsay and back, not noticing that he was holding his breath. Having Gus back in his life was something he didn’t allow himself to hope for. He let Justin do the talking because he wanted Lindsay to make a decision without any input from him. She followed Mel’s lead when she’d gone to Canada. If she decided to come back, she needed to make the decision on her own. He wouldn’t pressure her either way.
“Let’s stage the talk for now, shall we? Gus will be downstairs soon and I don’t want him to know anything about this before anything is decided. Don’t get his hopes up, Linds.” Brian finally said, ending the discussion for now.
“I’m making lunch. I can take the twins if you want to get some work done.” Justin offered.
“Leave them here. I’m not working today. I’m going to call Theodore and Cynthia, see if everything is alright.”
Lindsay heard Justin rummage in the kitchen and decided to go upstairs to make a phone call while Gus was still showering.
“Linds.” Came the greeting when Melanie picked up her phone.
“Hi, Mel. Is everything alright over at Michael and Ben’s? How’s JR?”
“We’re all fine. Michael is having a blast waiting on us. He’s turned even more into Debbie than I remember.” Melanie laughed.
“I bet he enjoys having his daughter around.”
“He does.” Mel confirmed. “Are you alright? You sound off somehow.”
“I’m fine, I think. I just had a talk with Brian and Justin. They knew about our plans to move.”
“How?”
“Gus, I’d say.”
“But how did he know? We never said a word.”
“Mel, he’s ten years old. He was bound to hear something and can put two and two together.”
“So…” Mel drawled. “What did Brian think?” She couldn’t keep a surly tone out of her voice.
“He didn’t say much. Justin suggested something though. I’d like to talk to you about it. Can we meet somewhere? Not the diner though.”
Melanie couldn’t help the foreboding feeling that took hold of her but agreed to meet late that afternoon.
“So, what’s the problem with Gus?” Brian asked Justin when the blond crawled under the covers and snuggled up to the taller man. After spending most of the afternoon with Gus and the girls in the park, watching the kids chase each other and dodging the occasional snow ball, they were both happy when the kids were finally brought to their respective beds. They steered carefully away from the talk that Lindsay and Justin had earlier in the day, waiting for Lindsay to bring up the topic again.
“There is no problem with Gus.” Justin grinned.
Gus had seemed like his old self in the afternoon, and Brian reasonably concluded that the bike trip in the morning must have resolved some of the problems.
“Okay. Then what was the problem with Gus?” Brian asked, catching on.
“I think he was afraid of losing me as his… ehm… second dad, I guess.” He glanced at Brian to gauge his reaction before continuing. “You remember that one visit to Toronto? The first time we both went there together to see Linds, Mel, and the kids?”
Brian nodded. He remembered a six year old Gus, nervously trying to ask Brian and Justin if Justin was his second daddy, just like Momma Mel was his second mommy.
Toronto International Airport, Fall 2006
Brian was nervously walking up and down the gate where the passengers from Newark International Airport, flight New York - Toronto, were bound to disembark. He hated waiting for the blond’s plane to land. It would be the first time they would visit Gus together. Brian had been coming to Toronto regularly since Mel and Linds had moved there more than twelve months ago. Justin had been there once on his own to show four of his paintings in a gallery Lindsay found work at. But they had never come here together. Brian didn’t know exactly what he was nervous about. Everybody knew of their commitment to each other; knew that Brian and Justin decided to do their utmost to make their relationship work despite the distance. But Brian still wasn’t comfortable dealing with the doting looks and the ‘ahs’ and ‘ohs’. He just hoped that Lindsay would have enough sense not to channel Deb’s aura.
The announcement coming from the speakers pulled him from his thoughts. He watched out for a blond head and soon saw Justin moving towards him, a wide Sunshine smile on his face. They had seen each other only the weekend before but Brian’s heart jumped nonetheless at the sight of his favorite blond.
Justin sprinted up to him and threw himself into his arms. Not caring how many people were watching, he sought out Brian’s lips and let himself be kissed by the brunet.
“So, how many times did you curse Cynthia for booking you on a flight that landed ninety minutes before mine did?”
Brian rolled his eyes inwardly. The twat knew him way too well. “Not once.” Brian answered. “I busied myself thinking up various ways to punish Lindsay in case she’ll dare swoon and gush.”
“Don’t worry. I called beforehand and told them to keep their emotions in check.” He sent another Sunshine smile in Brian’s direction before changing the subject. “Are we taking a taxi or did you organize a rental car?”
“Rental car.” Brian let the car keys dangle from his fingers and led the way. Since they were only staying the weekend, Justin had only a duffle bag as a carry-on with him. Brian had already picked up his suitcase, so they made their way towards the rental car parking lot.
The first time Brian noticed that Gus had something on his mind, was during dinner. He squirmed in his chair, repeatedly glancing back and forth between Brian and Justin, occasionally opening his mouth to say something but deciding to keep quiet at the last second.
After dinner Justin pulled Brian over to the sofa in the living room and motioned for Brian to pull Gus onto his lap. Justin knew Brian needed some help to make the boy talk, so he started a conversation hoping Gus would find it easier to say what was on his mind.
He questioned Gus about his school that the boy started only a couple of months before and listened when Gus began telling them about his new friends. When Gus told them his friends found it funny that Gus had two mommies he began to squirm again. Brian prodded him to go on and Gus finally blurted out.
“I told them I had two daddies, too.” He looked at Justin with wide eyes. “Are you my second daddy, Jus?"
Justin chanced a glance at Brian but the brunet only shrugged his shoulders. It was Justin’s decision what he wanted to tell Gus. Brian would be okay with it either way. Justin understood and turned his attention on Gus again.
“I’d love to be your second dad, Gus. If you let me?”
Gus nodded enthusiastically.
“I’ve never been a daddy before, Gus. You’ll have to help me.”
“It’s really easy, Jus. You just need to come and visit me, like Daddy does. And bring presents.” He thought hard, scrunching up his face in concentration and added, “And you have to come to the park with me, and take me to the playground, and paint with me, and call me on the phone like Daddy does.”
“I think I can do all that.” Justin laughed.
Gus, satisfied with the result of the conversation, ran to get his toys.
“Roll over.” Brian breathed into Justin’s ear a few hours later.
Justin complied and Brian pushed against his hip. Justin lifted up on his hands and knees then and Brian nudged his legs apart, positioning himself behind the blond. Quickly sheathing himself, he pushed his erection against Justin’s hole and prodded inside without any preparation, shoving the blond full of himself.
“Fuck, Brian.” Justin gasped.
“You okay?” Brian breathed.
Justin nodded, “Yes. Give me a minute. Don’t move.”
“I wasn’t planning to.” Brian told him. He knew Justin hadn’t been prepared for the penetration, but he was so desperate to be as close as possible to the blond, needed to be inside him. He kept his body still, not moving an inch, simply enjoying their closeness.
“God, Brian, you feel so fucking amazing.” Justin moaned, trying to keep quiet. Mel and Lindsay’s room was just across the hall. Justin moved his hips a little and now it was Brian’s turn to moan.
“No, Sunshine. Don’t move. Stay like this.” He breathed heavily.
“Okay.” Justin agreed.
Brian felt Justin’s pulse surrounding him, felt the blond’s heartbeat on his cock. He tried to collect his thoughts. “Thank you.” He was finally able to utter.
Justin knew what Brian was thanking him for and knew that he wasn’t too comfortable with showing his gratitude this openly. He tried to make it easier for Brian by not making a big deal out of it. “Are you going to fuck me soon?” He asked provocatively.
Brian pressed out a laugh and began a slow thrusting rhythm.
Present, December 2010
“I remember.” Brian confirmed unnecessarily. Justin could see the memories flickering across his face and smiled a little.
“This morning, when we went biking, Gus said something along the lines of that he had thought that we wouldn’t have much time to do something together now that I’m a real daddy. And it struck me as such an odd expression, you know? So I started to tell him that I’ve been a daddy for many years now. And he said that now that I have the twins I wouldn’t need him anymore to be a dad. It was heartbreaking, Brian. I think we should have let him spend Christmas with us last year. He really thought he would lose me as his second dad. And I haven’t been to Toronto once ever since the twins were born.”
“I’ll talk to him; explain that nothing is going to change.” Brian said.
“I already did tell him that and I think it helped. But he probably needs to hear it from you, too.”
“Okay.“ Brian told him, ending the discussion.
“Can we play now?” Justin asked, smiling mischievously. The day’s success concerning Gus’s behavior was enough to make Justin forget about Brian and the problem he refused to talk to Justin about.
“Didn’t we play enough already today?” Brian asked referring to the day spent in the park.
“I had another kind of games in mind.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. More of the adult sort.” Justin explained, reaching for Brian’s groin.
Brian rolled his lips in before saying, “Choose your toy.”
“I already have.” Justin answered and pulled Brian’s arm around his body.
Under his lover’s guidance, Brian let his open palm run over Justin’s back towards his ass and cupped the blond’s ass. He startled when his fingers touched something solid and cool lodged between Justin’s cheeks. He felt a round and smooth knob protruding from his crack. Brian grabbed the base of what was obviously a metallic butt plug and wiggled the toy a little. Justin moaned in response.
“What’s that?” Brian asked.
“Wanna take a look?” Justin suggested and moved off of Brian’s body to lie on his stomach pulling up his knees under his body.
Brian knelt behind Justin, spreading him. A shiny silver object jutted out of Justin’s hole, the rest of which disappeared in his body. Brian seized the handle and pulled on it. Mesmerized by the sight of Justin’s ring muscle stretching around the widest part of what turned out to be a triple tiered plug, Brian pulled it free from the blond’s body. He rubbed the tip of the toy across the stretched hole making the blond buck and moan. The toy wasn’t too long but fairly wide in girth, roughly the same as Brian’s dick, the brunet estimated from what he could make out in the dim lighting. Brian planted an open-mouthed kiss on Justin’s left ass cheek before plunging the silver gadget back inside. Justin apparently had plans for tonight’s entertainment and Brian was anxious to find out what they were.
“Silver?” Brian asked as Justin rolled over on his back again. “Where did you get it?” He wondered when the blond nodded a yes to his first question.
“This shop I found online. I got something for you, too.”
“Ah.” Brian voiced rolling his lips in, understanding beginning to dawn. Obviously this was the overture to a bigger scheme. Brian waited for Justin to pull something from under his bedside. The blond came up with a longish, rectangular box in his hands.
“Roll over.” Justin demanded without preamble.
There had been times when Brian would have resisted or at least kept up the appearance of putting up a fight before eventually giving in. But those times were part of their past and Brian knew the blond could read him easily and would give him exactly the pleasure his body craved. He turned onto his stomach and positioned himself for his lover when Justin commanded, “Up,” touching his hip.
Justin pressed his lips on Brian’s pink pucker and Brian let out a shaky sigh when the wet lips connected with his sensitive spot. The next second a dollop of cold lube was squeezed directly onto his opening and a cold, smooth object circled around his hole.
Justin smeared the lubricant around Brian’s bud using the tip of the new toy, lubing the object in the process. He pushed in the tip of the heavy plug and twisted it back and forth, giving Brian the time to adjust. The toy was not as wide as the plug Justin bought for himself but was considerably longer. It was smooth and tiered, like Justin’s, but unlike Justin’s, was curved to better stimulate the prostate with its bulging head. Additionally, the tapered end that would be encased by the outer ring muscle to hold it in place was nub-studded to provide added stimulation by creating friction on the smooth tissue.
Justin cautiously eased in the full length of the plug, turning it carefully to keep it from connecting with Brian’s prostate. He first wanted the man to get used to the feel of the toy inside him before providing any extra stimulation. When it was safely lodged inside Brian’s ring muscle, Justin twisted it slightly, the small knobs of the tapered end rubbing delicately against the soft area making Brian throw back his head in ecstasy.
“Holy fu-“ He gasped in surprise. “Jesus Fuck.” Brian tried to regulate his breathing. Ever since Justin started to work his new toy inside the brunet’s body, Brian had been leaking copious amounts of pre-cum into the sheets under him. It was embarrassing how much Justin could turn him on still and make him drip like a seventeen year old boy.
Justin let go of the butt plug and, after making sure it was firmly embedded in the taller man’s tight opening, made him roll back over. Brian’s cock was dripping wet and straining, begging for attention. Justin crawled down Brian’s body placing soft kisses on all the sensitive spots, eliciting the most delicate sounds from his lover. He licked the rock hard erection clean from the pre-cum, humming contentedly around Brian’s cock head and sending exquisite vibrations through the older man’s body. Justin let the shaft slip from his mouth despite Brian’s protests and moved up on the bed, straddling Brian’s slim hips. He wiggled his ass until the cool surface of the protruding butt plug handle rubbed against the heated skin on Brian’s dick and made the man beneath him groan and buck in frustration.
Brian was close to losing his mind. The combined sensations of the toy firmly lodged between his ass cheeks, grating his sensitive muscle that held it in place and Justin’s hot wet mouth on his hard cock had already been almost too much for the brunet. When Justin’s mouth was replaced by his ass as the blond continued to rub it against the older man’s erection, Brian growled. The visual of the horny blond above him, sweat-glazed perfect skin, pupils blown so wide it made his eyes seem almost black, very nearly gave him the rest.
Justin must have sensed his dilemma because the next moment he repositioned himself and grabbed behind him to pull out the plug from his body and adding lube. Brian gulped down, his mouth suddenly dry, watching the blond get himself ready for his lover. Justin lowered himself onto Brian’s rigid length and began to jab his hips in a galloping rhythm. Brian’s eyes threatened to pop out of their sockets, so intense were the sensations every time he pumped his hips upwards to meet the slamming of the blond. The plug moved with each thrust, rubbing him from the inside. His breaths came in heavy pants and he wasn’t sure how much longer he would be able to keep up with the frantic blond.
Justin suddenly pressed his upper body firmly against Brian’s and wound his arms around the older man’s chest, rolling them both around. Brian now atop of him, Justin clamped his legs around the brunet’s hips and pulled him close but let Brian do most of the pumping. When he felt his own orgasm approach and recognized the first telltale signs which divulged that Brian wasn’t far behind, he reached around the taller man and seized the toy’s handle, twisting it inside Brian’s body, pressing the tip of the plug against Brian’s prostate. Brian’s jaw slacked and he let out a deep animalistic growl followed by a breathlessly pressed out “Fuck” and a never ending stream of hot thick cum that coated Justin’s insides. The searing hotness of Brian’s semen filling him triggered his own orgasm and Justin succumbed to the tremors, giving his body over to the mercy of a blinding orgasm.
Collapsing onto the mattress, Brian half atop Justin, pressing him into the bed, they both gasped for breath until Brian moved to pull out from the blond’s body. Justin let him go reluctantly and Brian collapsed on his stomach beside the blond.
When the tremors in his limbs subsided and Justin deemed it safe to move again, he straddled Brian’s thighs to pull out the silver plug. Brian, completely drained, let the blond perform the ministrations almost without acknowledging them. Justin couldn’t help himself and jabbed the tip of the toy against Brian’s prostate one more time before pulling it out completely. Brian bucked underneath him and Justin teased, “I take it you liked my early Christmas present?”
“What gave you that idea?” Brian opted for nonchalance but failed miserably when Justin nodded his head towards the enormous wet spot that Brian had leaked on earlier. “Twat.” Brian murmured lovingly and reached for his blond. He scooped him up and pulled him into his arms, falling asleep in a mess of pre-cum, sweat, warm ivory skin, and soft blond hair.
Read Chapter 22
Warnings: None.
Summary: Five years post-513. This story is anti-angst medication. Nothing bad ever happens here (that’s not completely true, but it’s definitely kept to a minimum).
Disclaimer: I’ve read somewhere that, since disclaimers have no legal footing, they’re merely an expression of the author’s guilt. I don’t feel guilty.
Beta: silvaofhope
Previous chapters:
[Ch 01] [Ch 02] [Ch 03] [Ch 04] [Ch 05] [Ch 06] [Ch 07] [Ch 08] [Ch 09] [Ch 10] [Ch 11] [Ch 12] [Ch 13] [Ch 14] [Ch 15] [Ch 16] [Ch 17] [Ch 18] [Ch 19] [Ch 20]
A/N: We’ll take a break from the tiny bit of angst from last week’s update; I hope you approve. There's some jumping back and forth in time, be warned.
Present, December 2010
Brian woke up to someone jumping on the bed. The moment he decided to open his eyes all breath was knocked out of him when something, or rather someone, lumped onto his chest. He croaked in protest and heard an excited “Dada” coming from above. He finally managed to open his eyes.
“Dada, up.” Emma jumped on his stomach.
“Umph.” Was all the response Brian managed for the moment. “I’m up, Princess. I’m up.” He sat up leaning against the head board while Emma continued to jump on the bed beside him. He grabbed one of her hands so she wouldn’t fall and hurt herself.
When Brian looked up, he saw Justin standing at the foot of their bed, already completely dressed, Gus by his side who, again, had his fingers hooked into Justin’s side pocket. The image was completed by Alex who in turn was holding Gus’ other hand. But unlike Justin or Gus, she was still in her pajamas. The three of them stood in line, all staring silently at Brian.
“Why the fuck are you two dressed already? It’s-“ He glanced towards the clock on his nightstand. “It’s not even seven thirty yet.”
“Gus and I are leaving. We’ll take our bikes and make a tour around the park.” Justin explained.
“Now?”
“Yes.” Justin answered.
“But it’s freezing cold outside. The ground is frozen solid and there’s almost two feet of snow on the ground. And you’re going for a bike tour now?” Brian asked, clearly confused, stressing the last part.
“Yes!” Gus answered excitedly.
“You don’t expect me to come along, do you?” The horrible thought just then entered his mind.
“No. You’re going to babysit the twins. They just woke up. They haven’t had breakfast or brushed their teeth yet. Have fun.”
Gus picked up Alex and sat her down beside Brian on the bed, grinning happily. He and Justin turned to leave the bedroom but not before Justin added, “Oh, and I haven’t changed their diapers yet either. Bye.” He threw a toothy grin at the brunet and headed out the door.
Brian looked at their retreating backs, dumb-struck. He pulled Alex closer and murmured, “Your daddy is getting crazier every day.” He let himself sink back into the pillows again and closed his eyes for another minute before the twins attacked him again. Brian finally surrendered and got up to go about the morning routine. He changed, dressed, and fed the twins while waiting for his coffee to brew.
After breakfast Brian grabbed his laptop from his home office and made himself comfortable on the sofa in the girls’ playroom. He jotted down some finalizing ideas for his major accounts for the next holiday which would be Valentine’s Day, now that the Christmas craze was over for the advertising world. When he heard Lindsay on the stairwell he called up to her, “We’re over here, Linds.”
Lindsay followed the voice coming from the hallway she knew Brian’s office was located in and was surprised to find a playroom adjoined.
“You built a playroom next to your office?” She asked after a ‘Good Morning’. “Isn’t it contra productive to the idea of having a home office?”
“It depends. I seldom bring work home nowadays. To be honest, I don’t work much at all anymore. Babylon requires only a small input on my part and I have a capable manager to look over the rest. I still take care of Kinnetik’s major clients but most of the other, smaller, accounts are overseen by my people. Cynthia does a decent job managing the account managers. I suspect she gets off on the power of being the second-in-command.”
“I bet you still make her report to you every month.”
“Every week.” Brian smiled sheepishly and Lindsay laughed.
“Where are Gus and Justin? I went by the kitchen but it was empty.”
“Bike trip.” Brian told her.
“Now?” She exclaimed surprised.
“Don’t ask.”
“Okay.” She simply nodded, knowing that Justin would take care of her son.
“Are you hungry? I can fix you some breakfast.” Brian offered.
Lindsay raised her cup of coffee and said, “I found everything I needed.”
They were silent for a few minutes, just watching the girls. Emma was trying to pull apart a wooden doll and Alex was juggling play-dough.
“They seem so-“ Lindsay sighed, searching for the right word. “Content. And carefree. You and Justin are doing a wonderful job with them.”
“It’s not just us. The whole family is pitching in. They’re the result of all of our crazy, colorful friends’ efforts. Neither Justin nor I could do this on our own. I can’t be a full time dad with two businesses running successfully. Neither can Justin with his career. We found a way to make it work. It may be selfish but it does work for us and as long as the girls don’t suffer from our lifestyle I suppose it works for them, too.”
For a moment Lindsay felt a stabbing pang in her chest as she realized she wasn’t part of this extended family anymore. At least, not in the physical sense. She pushed aside the thought and returned to their conversation. “It does. I can see that. Everyone can. They seem so happy. And balanced.”
Lindsay was silent for a few minutes pondering Brian’s and Justin’s way of raising their children. She knew from various talks over the phone that the kids often spent time at Debbie’s, Daphne’s, Emmett’s, Jennifer’s, or with Molly. What sounded like a stressful lifestyle over the phone turned out to be a very stress-free arrangement. The girls weren’t being passed around, as Lindsay had worried. Because they hadn’t known it differently since the time of their birth, spending extensive amounts of time with various members of the family was natural to them. And the common denominator in it all, the thing that made them… relaxed, was the word Lindsay finally decided on, was that they were being loved. Realizing her false assumption, she tried to explain her changed state of mind. “They’re loved. And they are secure in the knowledge that they are loved. That’s why they’re so relaxed and happy.” Lindsay sighed again, placing her empty cup on Brian’s desk. “You’re a good father, Brian.”
Brian tried to keep his emotions in check but couldn’t hide the fact that it meant a lot to him hearing it from Lindsay. He cleared his throat.
“Linds, are you okay?” Brian asked closing and setting aside his computer.
“I don’t know, Brian. Sometimes I feel like everything is breaking apart.” She almost whispered.
“Why?”
She sat on the couch beside Brian before answering. “I thought we were doing the right thing. Protecting our children. I always worried, wanting the best for them. And then you and Justin come along and decide to raise a kid together - two kids, Jesus! - and you make it look so simple. Don’t get me wrong, I love you both, Brian. You and Justin. But I look at you two and you make it look so simple. You make everything look so easy.” She repeated again.
“Nothing’s been easy about the road that took us here.” Brian contradicted.
“I know that. God, I know. It’s just that… Do you realize how many people are scared to never find the person they’d want to spend the rest of their life with? And here you are. You never went to look for it. You never even wanted it. You go out one night and bam! - there it is. It found you. And what do you do? You push it away. Again and again. And yet, here you are. All you had to do was stop running. It was that easy. Brian, I know it’s not fair of me to say it but I’m just trying to be honest. That’s how I feel. You decide to have a child and you get two. The parental rights are handed over to you on the day of their birth. You never had to live through what it means to have no legal rights to your child.”
Brian could understand where Lindsay was coming from but it didn’t prevent his anger from flaring up. “I pretty much lived in the hospital for over a week. I missed Alex’s first nights home, worried sick. Don’t you dare diminishing what Justin and I went through! Just because you choose to only see the happy side of it.” He kept his voice down for the twins’ benefit but Lindsay got the message nevertheless.
She nodded, defeated. “I tried. And I worked so hard trying to make the right decisions. And now it feels like everything is breaking apart.” She came back to her earlier statement.
“What happened?”
“How much did Gus tell you?”
That moment, Alex got up from her small desk and tippled over to Brian, extending her hands. She wanted Brian to clean them. She didn’t like being dirty. Brian reached for a wet towel and started to wipe her fingers.
“Not much. Nothing, really.” Brian answered Lindsay’s question. “You’re looking for a new house. Did you and Mel have a fight?” He asked while Alex crawled into his lap. Brian put his arms around her and stroked her back softly as she laid her head on his shoulder.
“I don’t know what happened.” Lindsay looked down. She found a loose thread on the hem of her shirt and pulled on it, wrapping it around her finger. “We didn’t fight. Maybe we lost interest in each other. Sometimes I think we were so scared by what happened in Babylon, we jumped into each other’s arms again without talking about our issues first. And now,-” she paused. “Now we don’t have a lot of things to talk about.” She stated simply, a sad tone in her voice. “What if we made a mistake? What if I made a mistake, Brian?” The last question came out as a whisper.
“Then you’ll come home.” A voice from the door came. Justin walked into the room. “You have a family here, Linds. Come home.”
Lindsay simply looked at Justin who looked back at her. Neither one said anything.
“Where’s Gus?” Brian interrupted the silence.
“Taking a shower. He’ll be down as soon as he’s finished.” Justin crossed the room and kissed Brian. “Is she asleep?” He asked nodding towards Alex and planting a gentle kiss on her hair.
“No, just cuddling.” Brian replied.
“So, Brian Kinney does cuddle.” Justin whispered and smirked before straightening up and turning back to Lindsay who stood watching their interaction. He looked at her and repeated, all humor gone from his voice. “Come home, Lindsay. You don’t have to decide anything right now. Think about it. Talk to Mel. Talk to Gus. He’s old enough to know what he wants.” Justin suggested.
Brian had been quiet the whole time, looking from Justin to Lindsay and back, not noticing that he was holding his breath. Having Gus back in his life was something he didn’t allow himself to hope for. He let Justin do the talking because he wanted Lindsay to make a decision without any input from him. She followed Mel’s lead when she’d gone to Canada. If she decided to come back, she needed to make the decision on her own. He wouldn’t pressure her either way.
“Let’s stage the talk for now, shall we? Gus will be downstairs soon and I don’t want him to know anything about this before anything is decided. Don’t get his hopes up, Linds.” Brian finally said, ending the discussion for now.
“I’m making lunch. I can take the twins if you want to get some work done.” Justin offered.
“Leave them here. I’m not working today. I’m going to call Theodore and Cynthia, see if everything is alright.”
Lindsay heard Justin rummage in the kitchen and decided to go upstairs to make a phone call while Gus was still showering.
“Linds.” Came the greeting when Melanie picked up her phone.
“Hi, Mel. Is everything alright over at Michael and Ben’s? How’s JR?”
“We’re all fine. Michael is having a blast waiting on us. He’s turned even more into Debbie than I remember.” Melanie laughed.
“I bet he enjoys having his daughter around.”
“He does.” Mel confirmed. “Are you alright? You sound off somehow.”
“I’m fine, I think. I just had a talk with Brian and Justin. They knew about our plans to move.”
“How?”
“Gus, I’d say.”
“But how did he know? We never said a word.”
“Mel, he’s ten years old. He was bound to hear something and can put two and two together.”
“So…” Mel drawled. “What did Brian think?” She couldn’t keep a surly tone out of her voice.
“He didn’t say much. Justin suggested something though. I’d like to talk to you about it. Can we meet somewhere? Not the diner though.”
Melanie couldn’t help the foreboding feeling that took hold of her but agreed to meet late that afternoon.
“So, what’s the problem with Gus?” Brian asked Justin when the blond crawled under the covers and snuggled up to the taller man. After spending most of the afternoon with Gus and the girls in the park, watching the kids chase each other and dodging the occasional snow ball, they were both happy when the kids were finally brought to their respective beds. They steered carefully away from the talk that Lindsay and Justin had earlier in the day, waiting for Lindsay to bring up the topic again.
“There is no problem with Gus.” Justin grinned.
Gus had seemed like his old self in the afternoon, and Brian reasonably concluded that the bike trip in the morning must have resolved some of the problems.
“Okay. Then what was the problem with Gus?” Brian asked, catching on.
“I think he was afraid of losing me as his… ehm… second dad, I guess.” He glanced at Brian to gauge his reaction before continuing. “You remember that one visit to Toronto? The first time we both went there together to see Linds, Mel, and the kids?”
Brian nodded. He remembered a six year old Gus, nervously trying to ask Brian and Justin if Justin was his second daddy, just like Momma Mel was his second mommy.
Toronto International Airport, Fall 2006
Brian was nervously walking up and down the gate where the passengers from Newark International Airport, flight New York - Toronto, were bound to disembark. He hated waiting for the blond’s plane to land. It would be the first time they would visit Gus together. Brian had been coming to Toronto regularly since Mel and Linds had moved there more than twelve months ago. Justin had been there once on his own to show four of his paintings in a gallery Lindsay found work at. But they had never come here together. Brian didn’t know exactly what he was nervous about. Everybody knew of their commitment to each other; knew that Brian and Justin decided to do their utmost to make their relationship work despite the distance. But Brian still wasn’t comfortable dealing with the doting looks and the ‘ahs’ and ‘ohs’. He just hoped that Lindsay would have enough sense not to channel Deb’s aura.
The announcement coming from the speakers pulled him from his thoughts. He watched out for a blond head and soon saw Justin moving towards him, a wide Sunshine smile on his face. They had seen each other only the weekend before but Brian’s heart jumped nonetheless at the sight of his favorite blond.
Justin sprinted up to him and threw himself into his arms. Not caring how many people were watching, he sought out Brian’s lips and let himself be kissed by the brunet.
“So, how many times did you curse Cynthia for booking you on a flight that landed ninety minutes before mine did?”
Brian rolled his eyes inwardly. The twat knew him way too well. “Not once.” Brian answered. “I busied myself thinking up various ways to punish Lindsay in case she’ll dare swoon and gush.”
“Don’t worry. I called beforehand and told them to keep their emotions in check.” He sent another Sunshine smile in Brian’s direction before changing the subject. “Are we taking a taxi or did you organize a rental car?”
“Rental car.” Brian let the car keys dangle from his fingers and led the way. Since they were only staying the weekend, Justin had only a duffle bag as a carry-on with him. Brian had already picked up his suitcase, so they made their way towards the rental car parking lot.
The first time Brian noticed that Gus had something on his mind, was during dinner. He squirmed in his chair, repeatedly glancing back and forth between Brian and Justin, occasionally opening his mouth to say something but deciding to keep quiet at the last second.
After dinner Justin pulled Brian over to the sofa in the living room and motioned for Brian to pull Gus onto his lap. Justin knew Brian needed some help to make the boy talk, so he started a conversation hoping Gus would find it easier to say what was on his mind.
He questioned Gus about his school that the boy started only a couple of months before and listened when Gus began telling them about his new friends. When Gus told them his friends found it funny that Gus had two mommies he began to squirm again. Brian prodded him to go on and Gus finally blurted out.
“I told them I had two daddies, too.” He looked at Justin with wide eyes. “Are you my second daddy, Jus?"
Justin chanced a glance at Brian but the brunet only shrugged his shoulders. It was Justin’s decision what he wanted to tell Gus. Brian would be okay with it either way. Justin understood and turned his attention on Gus again.
“I’d love to be your second dad, Gus. If you let me?”
Gus nodded enthusiastically.
“I’ve never been a daddy before, Gus. You’ll have to help me.”
“It’s really easy, Jus. You just need to come and visit me, like Daddy does. And bring presents.” He thought hard, scrunching up his face in concentration and added, “And you have to come to the park with me, and take me to the playground, and paint with me, and call me on the phone like Daddy does.”
“I think I can do all that.” Justin laughed.
Gus, satisfied with the result of the conversation, ran to get his toys.
“Roll over.” Brian breathed into Justin’s ear a few hours later.
Justin complied and Brian pushed against his hip. Justin lifted up on his hands and knees then and Brian nudged his legs apart, positioning himself behind the blond. Quickly sheathing himself, he pushed his erection against Justin’s hole and prodded inside without any preparation, shoving the blond full of himself.
“Fuck, Brian.” Justin gasped.
“You okay?” Brian breathed.
Justin nodded, “Yes. Give me a minute. Don’t move.”
“I wasn’t planning to.” Brian told him. He knew Justin hadn’t been prepared for the penetration, but he was so desperate to be as close as possible to the blond, needed to be inside him. He kept his body still, not moving an inch, simply enjoying their closeness.
“God, Brian, you feel so fucking amazing.” Justin moaned, trying to keep quiet. Mel and Lindsay’s room was just across the hall. Justin moved his hips a little and now it was Brian’s turn to moan.
“No, Sunshine. Don’t move. Stay like this.” He breathed heavily.
“Okay.” Justin agreed.
Brian felt Justin’s pulse surrounding him, felt the blond’s heartbeat on his cock. He tried to collect his thoughts. “Thank you.” He was finally able to utter.
Justin knew what Brian was thanking him for and knew that he wasn’t too comfortable with showing his gratitude this openly. He tried to make it easier for Brian by not making a big deal out of it. “Are you going to fuck me soon?” He asked provocatively.
Brian pressed out a laugh and began a slow thrusting rhythm.
Present, December 2010
“I remember.” Brian confirmed unnecessarily. Justin could see the memories flickering across his face and smiled a little.
“This morning, when we went biking, Gus said something along the lines of that he had thought that we wouldn’t have much time to do something together now that I’m a real daddy. And it struck me as such an odd expression, you know? So I started to tell him that I’ve been a daddy for many years now. And he said that now that I have the twins I wouldn’t need him anymore to be a dad. It was heartbreaking, Brian. I think we should have let him spend Christmas with us last year. He really thought he would lose me as his second dad. And I haven’t been to Toronto once ever since the twins were born.”
“I’ll talk to him; explain that nothing is going to change.” Brian said.
“I already did tell him that and I think it helped. But he probably needs to hear it from you, too.”
“Okay.“ Brian told him, ending the discussion.
“Can we play now?” Justin asked, smiling mischievously. The day’s success concerning Gus’s behavior was enough to make Justin forget about Brian and the problem he refused to talk to Justin about.
“Didn’t we play enough already today?” Brian asked referring to the day spent in the park.
“I had another kind of games in mind.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. More of the adult sort.” Justin explained, reaching for Brian’s groin.
Brian rolled his lips in before saying, “Choose your toy.”
“I already have.” Justin answered and pulled Brian’s arm around his body.
Under his lover’s guidance, Brian let his open palm run over Justin’s back towards his ass and cupped the blond’s ass. He startled when his fingers touched something solid and cool lodged between Justin’s cheeks. He felt a round and smooth knob protruding from his crack. Brian grabbed the base of what was obviously a metallic butt plug and wiggled the toy a little. Justin moaned in response.
“What’s that?” Brian asked.
“Wanna take a look?” Justin suggested and moved off of Brian’s body to lie on his stomach pulling up his knees under his body.
Brian knelt behind Justin, spreading him. A shiny silver object jutted out of Justin’s hole, the rest of which disappeared in his body. Brian seized the handle and pulled on it. Mesmerized by the sight of Justin’s ring muscle stretching around the widest part of what turned out to be a triple tiered plug, Brian pulled it free from the blond’s body. He rubbed the tip of the toy across the stretched hole making the blond buck and moan. The toy wasn’t too long but fairly wide in girth, roughly the same as Brian’s dick, the brunet estimated from what he could make out in the dim lighting. Brian planted an open-mouthed kiss on Justin’s left ass cheek before plunging the silver gadget back inside. Justin apparently had plans for tonight’s entertainment and Brian was anxious to find out what they were.
“Silver?” Brian asked as Justin rolled over on his back again. “Where did you get it?” He wondered when the blond nodded a yes to his first question.
“This shop I found online. I got something for you, too.”
“Ah.” Brian voiced rolling his lips in, understanding beginning to dawn. Obviously this was the overture to a bigger scheme. Brian waited for Justin to pull something from under his bedside. The blond came up with a longish, rectangular box in his hands.
“Roll over.” Justin demanded without preamble.
There had been times when Brian would have resisted or at least kept up the appearance of putting up a fight before eventually giving in. But those times were part of their past and Brian knew the blond could read him easily and would give him exactly the pleasure his body craved. He turned onto his stomach and positioned himself for his lover when Justin commanded, “Up,” touching his hip.
Justin pressed his lips on Brian’s pink pucker and Brian let out a shaky sigh when the wet lips connected with his sensitive spot. The next second a dollop of cold lube was squeezed directly onto his opening and a cold, smooth object circled around his hole.
Justin smeared the lubricant around Brian’s bud using the tip of the new toy, lubing the object in the process. He pushed in the tip of the heavy plug and twisted it back and forth, giving Brian the time to adjust. The toy was not as wide as the plug Justin bought for himself but was considerably longer. It was smooth and tiered, like Justin’s, but unlike Justin’s, was curved to better stimulate the prostate with its bulging head. Additionally, the tapered end that would be encased by the outer ring muscle to hold it in place was nub-studded to provide added stimulation by creating friction on the smooth tissue.
Justin cautiously eased in the full length of the plug, turning it carefully to keep it from connecting with Brian’s prostate. He first wanted the man to get used to the feel of the toy inside him before providing any extra stimulation. When it was safely lodged inside Brian’s ring muscle, Justin twisted it slightly, the small knobs of the tapered end rubbing delicately against the soft area making Brian throw back his head in ecstasy.
“Holy fu-“ He gasped in surprise. “Jesus Fuck.” Brian tried to regulate his breathing. Ever since Justin started to work his new toy inside the brunet’s body, Brian had been leaking copious amounts of pre-cum into the sheets under him. It was embarrassing how much Justin could turn him on still and make him drip like a seventeen year old boy.
Justin let go of the butt plug and, after making sure it was firmly embedded in the taller man’s tight opening, made him roll back over. Brian’s cock was dripping wet and straining, begging for attention. Justin crawled down Brian’s body placing soft kisses on all the sensitive spots, eliciting the most delicate sounds from his lover. He licked the rock hard erection clean from the pre-cum, humming contentedly around Brian’s cock head and sending exquisite vibrations through the older man’s body. Justin let the shaft slip from his mouth despite Brian’s protests and moved up on the bed, straddling Brian’s slim hips. He wiggled his ass until the cool surface of the protruding butt plug handle rubbed against the heated skin on Brian’s dick and made the man beneath him groan and buck in frustration.
Brian was close to losing his mind. The combined sensations of the toy firmly lodged between his ass cheeks, grating his sensitive muscle that held it in place and Justin’s hot wet mouth on his hard cock had already been almost too much for the brunet. When Justin’s mouth was replaced by his ass as the blond continued to rub it against the older man’s erection, Brian growled. The visual of the horny blond above him, sweat-glazed perfect skin, pupils blown so wide it made his eyes seem almost black, very nearly gave him the rest.
Justin must have sensed his dilemma because the next moment he repositioned himself and grabbed behind him to pull out the plug from his body and adding lube. Brian gulped down, his mouth suddenly dry, watching the blond get himself ready for his lover. Justin lowered himself onto Brian’s rigid length and began to jab his hips in a galloping rhythm. Brian’s eyes threatened to pop out of their sockets, so intense were the sensations every time he pumped his hips upwards to meet the slamming of the blond. The plug moved with each thrust, rubbing him from the inside. His breaths came in heavy pants and he wasn’t sure how much longer he would be able to keep up with the frantic blond.
Justin suddenly pressed his upper body firmly against Brian’s and wound his arms around the older man’s chest, rolling them both around. Brian now atop of him, Justin clamped his legs around the brunet’s hips and pulled him close but let Brian do most of the pumping. When he felt his own orgasm approach and recognized the first telltale signs which divulged that Brian wasn’t far behind, he reached around the taller man and seized the toy’s handle, twisting it inside Brian’s body, pressing the tip of the plug against Brian’s prostate. Brian’s jaw slacked and he let out a deep animalistic growl followed by a breathlessly pressed out “Fuck” and a never ending stream of hot thick cum that coated Justin’s insides. The searing hotness of Brian’s semen filling him triggered his own orgasm and Justin succumbed to the tremors, giving his body over to the mercy of a blinding orgasm.
Collapsing onto the mattress, Brian half atop Justin, pressing him into the bed, they both gasped for breath until Brian moved to pull out from the blond’s body. Justin let him go reluctantly and Brian collapsed on his stomach beside the blond.
When the tremors in his limbs subsided and Justin deemed it safe to move again, he straddled Brian’s thighs to pull out the silver plug. Brian, completely drained, let the blond perform the ministrations almost without acknowledging them. Justin couldn’t help himself and jabbed the tip of the toy against Brian’s prostate one more time before pulling it out completely. Brian bucked underneath him and Justin teased, “I take it you liked my early Christmas present?”
“What gave you that idea?” Brian opted for nonchalance but failed miserably when Justin nodded his head towards the enormous wet spot that Brian had leaked on earlier. “Twat.” Brian murmured lovingly and reached for his blond. He scooped him up and pulled him into his arms, falling asleep in a mess of pre-cum, sweat, warm ivory skin, and soft blond hair.
Read Chapter 22