B/J story from the ASGC universe: Intervention (a.k.a. Revelations)
Alright, so, I know it's been ages since I've last updated this universe. And it's been almost three years since I posted the first installment of it, so I'm really not sure if there's anyone here that still remembers the 'verse. But here it is anyway. The plan is to complete this universe in the next few weeks (months at the most), which, not counting today's update, will probably take 1-3 more oneshots.
Summary & Warnings & A/N: As is true for the entire ASGC universe, this story is angst-free, mildly fluffy, and will only make sense if you've read the previous entries. This particular installment has been sitting on my hard drive for well over two years now, waiting. As some of you know, I'm mostly gone from the QAF fandom already, but I want to fulfill my promise and finish what I've started.
For your convenience, here are the links to all installments, listed in chronological order of events:
Story from the ASGC Universe:
INTERVENTION (a.k.a. REVELATIONS)
Summer 2018
„EMMELINE VICTORIA TAYLOR-KINNEY!!!“
The voice boomed through the entire mansion and made the other occupants of the house stop doing whatever activity they were immersed in and stick their heads out. For one, because full names were so rarely used in this specific household; but more importantly, the owner of the voice was known to hardly ever raise it to such a decibel level.
Brian and Justin appeared in the hallway at exactly the same time as a seventeen year old Gus (or, as he would have phrased it, almost eighteen) skidded to a halt on the parquet floor. At any other given moment, the sandwich Gus was making in the kitchen for a ‘late morning slash before lunch snack’ would have prompted Brian to issue one of his creative remarks on how Gus’ eating habits were another tick for the nurture side on the tally list in the nature vs. nurture debate. Lucky for him, said snack scattered a trail of bread crumbs, lettuce, and various other contents along the way as Gus rounded the corner, none of which produced a reaction from either one of his fathers whose attention was held captive by something Gus had yet to see and understand.
Gus glanced at his fathers, noticing their heaving chests; and he would have attributed those to the sprint following the screeching in the hall, if it wasn’t for the fact that they both also sported wet and red-bruised lips and well-defined bulges in their jeans, making it all too clear what activity Gus’ sister’s yell had so rudely interrupted. He would have smirked and shaken his head at his dads if he hadn’t been so used to regularly catching them in compromising situations. As things stood, however, he only managed a half-hearted eye roll before focusing his attention on the spectacle currently being hosted on the lavishly designed stairwell.
Emma had frozen in her step midway up the stairs at being addressed in such a formal manner and turned around with a look of disbelief on her face. Eyes wide, she exclaimed, “Did you just call me by my full name?!”
Alex, standing at the foot of the stairs, was looking up at her sister, only raising one eyebrow in response.
“I’m older than you!” Emma pointed out, her voice gaining a screeching quality.
“By ninety seconds.” Alex huffed, dismissing the argument.
“Dad!” Emma complained, completely outraged and, turning to look at Justin, she silently willed him to take her side.
“Daddy?” Alex directed a pleading look at Brian.
Brian and Justin looked at each other, trying to communicate with their eyes only whose turn it was to perform the role of King Solomon in today’s play. Gus, strutting forward, while disposing of the rest of his sandwich on a sideboard for which he earned a glare from Brian, proclaimed with the over-confidence of an almost eighteen year old, “Let me. I’ll handle it.”
Brian and Justin looked at each other again, shrugged once, and leaned comfortably back against the doorframe, ceding the stage to Gus. Justin squirmed around a little until his shoulder fit comfortably under Brian’s arm, and finally found a comfy spot leaning his head against Brian’s neck, settling in to watch the spectacle.
Gus approached the twins, planting a look of utmost importance and attention on his face.
“Ladies, what seems to be the problem?”
There was a moment of silence with a challenge hanging in the air to break it first. “Alex hid a book from me and I just wanted to look at it.”
“The book was my diary!” Alex replied indignantly.
“I just wanted to see if you started to write in it already. I wouldn’t have read it if you had,” Emma pointed out.
Before answering, Alex rolled her eyes. “You could have asked. Instead you stole it. Give it back!” Alex extended her hand.
Emma descended a few steps, reached behind her back, pulling out the book and thrust the diary against Alex’s chest, turning around swiftly and marching up again, her waist-long blond locks sweeping around her like a veil. Alex clutched the journal with both her hands and pressed it to her, as if afraid to let go of it again.
“Gus, she’s just jealous that you didn’t bring her one.” Alex complained in a desperate tone.
“Am not!” Emma’s voice rang from the top of the stairs.
“You so are!” Alex called after a fast retreading Emma.
“Alex,” Gus tried to calm the girl and placed a hand on her shoulder. Completely ignoring his attempt to reconcile her with her twin sister, she rammed an elbow into Gus’ stomach; albeit not with full force.
“It’s all your fault!” Alex cried and ran up the stairs, following Emma’s path; the sound of two doors being banged shut following close behind.
Gus let himself sink down on the bottom step, dispirited at how his first intervention had gone.
“How’d it go?” Brian raised an eyebrow mockingly, teasing his son from his outlook post the door frame while untangling himself from his husband.
“I don’t get it - why would Emma want to have the same journal? She doesn’t even keep a diary. That’s why I brought her the earrings and bracelet.” Gus had come back from Italy only a week earlier, where he and his friends had gone for a pre-celebration of the beginning of their lives as college students. The small presents he brought back with him, and which now were the object of the twins’ argument, were chosen carefully to suit the different personalities of his sisters. He didn’t understand why Emma would be jealous of Alex’s gift at all.
Brian and Justin sat down on either side of Gus. Justin tried to hide the grin while he explained to an obviously crestfallen Gus, “They’re twins, Gus. They want the same things - even if they don’t need them.”
“An amateur mistake, Sonnyboy, amateur!” Brian shook his head at him in mock disappointment.
Gus propped his elbows on his knees and palmed his face. Justin tapped his shoulder in sympathy while smiling wide at Brian over the teen’s head.
Gus pulled himself up onto his feet and stalked back into the kitchen to clean up the mess he had left behind.
Justin and Brian moved into the spot vacated by Gus and closer to each other as Brian sank a hand into Justin’s hair. The blond enjoyed the soothing circles Brian’s fingers were painting on his scalp until he sighed and made to stand up.
“Emma’s afraid that Alex is keeping secrets from her,” Brian stated quietly.
“Yep,” Justin agreed.
“I’ll talk to Alex,” Brian offered.
“I’ll talk to Emma,” Justin replied.
“Sunshine?” Brian called the blond back when they were about to part at the top of the stairs. “Try to wrap it up in half an hour tops. We still have this… uhm... pressing matter… you need to take care of.”
Justin smirked. Very pressing, indeed.
***
Brian knocked on Alex’s door and waited till he heard his daughter’s sullen beckoning to come in. He pulled open the door to the room, but not before throwing one last look at Justin who stood a few feet away, knocking on Emma’s door. Justin threw him an encouraging look back which Brian answered with a pointed stare at the imaginary watch on his wrist. Justin nodded and Brian saw him bowing his head and biting down on a grin. Brian had to school his expression also and directed an admonishing glance in the direction of his pants before entering the spacious room that was an imprint of Alex’s personality.
Uncluttered and too tidy for a child her age, every last piece in it, no matter how small, held an assigned place. One entire wall was taken up by massive, ceiling-high shelves, overflowing with hundreds of books. Brian had lost count years ago, but happily continued to feed the addiction. Seeing rows of books lying in neat stacks on the floor, Brian made a mental note to call a few contractors to start renovations in the room that, decades ago, had been designed and used as a library and hadn’t been assigned a new use yet. His thoughts sidetracked, wondering how much persuasion it would take to convince Alex to outsource parts of her collection into another room.
Unlike Emma’s room which, with its collection of rainbow paraphernalia, could have put Debbie’s living room to shame, Alex’s walls were painted a deep and rich blue that was accentuated by all-white furniture. Brian looked around the room and decided to sit on the white double-seater facing one of the windows.
Alex was sitting on her bed, back leaning against the headboard, knees drawn up, her almost three year old and lazy as the person who made the Libyan flag cat Max curled up on the foot of the bed. She was writing furiously in what Brian assumed was her diary. He didn’t say a word; just sat there and watched her pour her frustration into the book. After a short while she stopped writing and sat chewing on her pencil, eyes drawn down. She looked up hesitantly when the silence continued and gazed at Brian from under her lashes. Suddenly, she pushed away her diary and pencil and scrambled from the bed. Crawling onto the small sofa next to her father, she curled up into his side. Brian wrapped an arm around her which she pulled tighter around herself.
“I’m sorry I banged my door. And I’m sorry I yelled, too.”
Brian nodded into her hair. “Is it something we need to get used to from now on?” he asked.
“No,” she answered and Brian could hear the smile in it she was trying to suppress.
“You could, you know,” Brian joked. “Your west is so clean; it could do with a little color.”
“Daddy!” Alex laughed.
There was a lull in the conversation in which Alex buried further into Brian’s chest. He stroked her hair absentmindedly.
“Are you still angry with Emma?”
“She took my journal,” Alex replied, foregoing a real answer.
“Why did she?”
“I don’t know.” There was a note of frustration in her voice.
“Did you ask?” Brian prodded.
“No.” She gathered steam again. “But the journal’s mine and she had no right to take it.”
“You’re right about that. But don’t you want to know why she did it?”
Alex just shrugged which Brian took for a, ‘I guess.’
There was another pause as Brian waited for Alex to speak. But she didn’t and he asked, “Alex, who’s your best friend?”
Brian could almost feel her scowl, but she eventually answered, though reluctantly, “Emma.”
“Why?” Brian questioned further.
“‘Cause she’s my sister.”
“That the only reason?”
Alex sighed. “No.”
“What else?”
“She’s fun,” Alex admitted, also reluctantly. “And she’s never boring. She’s crazy sometimes - no, actually, all the time, but that’s fun too. And she knows what I like. And she’s the worst blabbermouth I know, but she always keeps my secrets. That’s kinda awesome.”
Brian felt Alex smile against his shoulder. She sat up straighter to look at him and Brian gazed back, waiting. An embarrassed smile slowly spread across her face and she went to hug Brian. He hugged her back and said, “You spend a lot of time with Emma.”
“Duh,” Alex said, pulling out of the embrace.
“Not anymore, you don’t,” a voice from the door spoke.
Brian and Alex both turned to see Emma step inside. Brian had forgotten to close the door when he’d come in. He wondered how long Emma had been standing there, but then he saw Justin move into his field of vision, though he didn’t come inside and instead leaned against the door jamb.
“What are you talking about?” Alex replied. “I spend a lot of time with you.”
Emma came closer. “No, you don’t,” she repeated again. She seemed still upset, but the talk with Justin had calmed her a bit. She sat down on the little wooden table in front of the double-seater and explained, “We used to spend a lot of time together. We don’t anymore.” Emma stared at Alex, unblinking. “Now you spend every minute that we’re not in school with Gus,” she said accusingly.
Brian looked at Justin, surprised at the news. He knew that Gus liked to spend time with the twins, but he hadn’t noticed a shift in the past few days? weeks? that would have alerted him to any change. Justin, barely moving, shook his head once, signaling Brian not to interrupt and stay tuned. Explanation would obviously follow later.
“But you’re with us all the time,” Alex protested half-heartedly.
“Not all the time,” Emma corrected her. “And even when I am, you’re always whispering to each other and you shut up and change the topic whenever I come too close.”
Alex blushed and lowered her head and Brian realized that what Emma was saying was, in fact, the truth.
“It’s just because I missed him while he was away in Europe,” Alex admitted.
“I missed him too, you know?” Emma objected.
Alex looked guilty and lowered her eyes again to the carpet under Emma’s feet. Brian looked at Justin once more, receiving the same incremental headshake as before.
“You haven’t talked to me in ages,” Emma continued meanwhile. “You’re always talking to Gus now. Or writing in your stupid diary.”
“I guess I’m afraid that we won’t see him as often anymore when he leaves for college soon,” Alex tried again to explain her behavior.
“I know,” Emma answered. “But I’m your sister and you used to tell me this stuff.”
“You’re right,” Alex admitted and added in a small voice, “I’m sorry, Em.”
Emma pulled a face in an effort to suppress an oncoming grin and replied with their trademark comeback, “Don’t call me Em, Al.”
When Alex raised her eyes again, both girls were grinning. “Don’t call me Al,” Alex gave back. It was code for all was forgiven again. A second later, they fell around each other’s necks and hugged fiercely.
“Who wants ice-cream?” Justin suddenly announced into the already dissolved tension from minutes ago.
Both, Emma and Alex, piped up and voiced their enthusiastic agreement.
Justin shot a glance in Brian’s direction, a silent promise that their plans were postponed, not abandoned, and led the way with Alex and Emma following behind and Brian bringing up the rear end. As they walked down the stairs, Brian heard Emma quietly say to Alex, though the sound carried to Brian, “I didn’t read it.”
“Huh?”
“Your diary. I took it, but I didn’t read it. I swear.”
Alex looked humbled and muttered, “Thank you.”
“You can tell me, you know.” At Alex’s confused look, she added, “Your secret. You can tell me. I’m not gonna blabber.”
“I know.”
Brian noted that Alex didn’t deny having a secret.
“You’re not gonna, huh?” Emma asked into the silence.
Alex didn’t deny that either, but she offered a hand in apology, or maybe in some sort of a compromise. Emma heaved a put-upon sigh, but took it nevertheless. Swinging the clasped hands between them they reached Justin’s car and climbed inside, waiting for Gus to join them.
***
Brian put down the magazine he was reading when Justin came out of the adjoining bathroom. He’d certainly taken his time. Brian thought Justin could guess that now the time for explanations had come and he probably wanted to put it off as long as possible. But Brian needed some answers. He’d already spent most of the afternoon reproaching himself about not having noticed what was going on in his home. He’d also made vague plans to stop going into office altogether and instead working from home entirely. Ted would probably be thrilled.
Justin sat down on the edge of the bed and began squirming under Brian’s studious gaze. It was obvious that he was reluctant to spill the beans, whatever they might be. When no explanation was forthcoming, Brian decided to open the conversation.
“Am I working too much?” He glanced down and continued to leaf through the pages of the magazine, not really reading, but liking the excuse not to meet Justin’s eyes when he asked the question.
“What?!” Justin exclaimed, directing his confused stare at his husband. “How... Why would you think that?”
Brian shrugged. “Something’s obviously going on and apparently I haven’t got the slightest idea what it is. How long have the girls been fighting?”
“Fighting? They’re not fighting.” At Brian’s raised eyebrows, Justin repeated. “Really, Brian. I would have told you if they were. They are not fighting,” he emphasized every word. “And nothing’s going on. It’s just something that I’ve noticed. A hunch, if you will.”
Brian again raised his eyebrows in question, prompting Justin to go on.
Justin sighed deeply and made himself comfortable on the bed, taking a deep breath. “I think she has a crush on him.” Justin finally said.
“Care to fill in the pronouns?” Brian asked, finally laying aside the journal.
“Alex. I think she has a crush on Gus.”
“Ehmm.” Brian coughed and tried to think of an appropriate response. He didn’t know what he’d expected, but that was certainly not it. The idea was way too ludicrous to be taken seriously, yet Justin was biting his lip nervously. Brian finally settled on, “She’ll get over it.”
Justin squinted through his eyes when he answered, slowly and very carefully, “I don’t think she will.” A pause and some more nervous lip biting, then, “I think it’s reciprocated. Or it will be.” Justin didn’t dare looking into Brian’s eyes. He couldn’t gauge his reaction and continued to fumble with the duvet.
“Gus is barely eighteen, Sunshine. And Alex is nine. Nine. You can’t know this,” he tried to reason.
“You playing the age card? Don’t you think it’s a little hypocritical? I don’t think we’re the right people to tell anybody off for having certain feelings at a certain age.” Justin quietly said.
“This is ridiculous,” Brian finally exclaimed. “They’re brother and sister, for fuck’s sake.”
Justin kept his eyes on the duvet and continued to chew on his lip before finally stilling his fidgeting and looking Brian right in the eye. He got very calm and said, “No, they’re not.”
Brian just glared at him, furious and incredulous.
Justin took a deep breath and continued. “I couldn’t love him more if he were my flesh and blood. And I know you feel the same about the girls. But they’ve never lived together under the same roof, except for a couple of weeks during summer breaks. They never shared a tub, or fought over the same toy like siblings do. They met on a regular basis or when the family got together for whatever gatherings and they played together. Their relationship, though of course loving and intense, is in its nature not too different from that of very close friends. It’s not any different from if she’d have developed a crush for the boy from across the street that she grew up with. It’s not changed by the fact that they both call you Dad,” Justin finished.
Brian didn’t know what to say. “She is nine,” he repeated somewhat desperate.
“I know. And I’m not saying we should start to plan the wedding. I’m just telling you. So you can catch up to reality.”
The following silence hung for a long time, Brian staring at a far-away point at the wall.
“Hey,” Justin whispered quietly, pressing up against Brian’s side.
Brian glanced down at him. “What do we do now?” he asked, sounding completely overburdened with the truth.
“Nothing,” Justin answered. “We do nothing. There’s time.”
As if to emphasize the point, he leaned in and slowly worked on kissing Brian’s worries away. They had so much time still.
The End.
go to the next part in this series:
The New Guy
Summary & Warnings & A/N: As is true for the entire ASGC universe, this story is angst-free, mildly fluffy, and will only make sense if you've read the previous entries. This particular installment has been sitting on my hard drive for well over two years now, waiting. As some of you know, I'm mostly gone from the QAF fandom already, but I want to fulfill my promise and finish what I've started.
For your convenience, here are the links to all installments, listed in chronological order of events:
- A Storm's Gonna Come
- The Next Best Thing
- Birthdays and Other Surprises
- What Comes Naturally
- Valentine's, Taylor-Kinney Style
- 2.4 Children and Other Common Facts of Average Domesticity
- B was for Blane, C is for Charlie
- Intervention (a.k.a. Revelations)
Story from the ASGC Universe:
INTERVENTION (a.k.a. REVELATIONS)
Summer 2018
„EMMELINE VICTORIA TAYLOR-KINNEY!!!“
The voice boomed through the entire mansion and made the other occupants of the house stop doing whatever activity they were immersed in and stick their heads out. For one, because full names were so rarely used in this specific household; but more importantly, the owner of the voice was known to hardly ever raise it to such a decibel level.
Brian and Justin appeared in the hallway at exactly the same time as a seventeen year old Gus (or, as he would have phrased it, almost eighteen) skidded to a halt on the parquet floor. At any other given moment, the sandwich Gus was making in the kitchen for a ‘late morning slash before lunch snack’ would have prompted Brian to issue one of his creative remarks on how Gus’ eating habits were another tick for the nurture side on the tally list in the nature vs. nurture debate. Lucky for him, said snack scattered a trail of bread crumbs, lettuce, and various other contents along the way as Gus rounded the corner, none of which produced a reaction from either one of his fathers whose attention was held captive by something Gus had yet to see and understand.
Gus glanced at his fathers, noticing their heaving chests; and he would have attributed those to the sprint following the screeching in the hall, if it wasn’t for the fact that they both also sported wet and red-bruised lips and well-defined bulges in their jeans, making it all too clear what activity Gus’ sister’s yell had so rudely interrupted. He would have smirked and shaken his head at his dads if he hadn’t been so used to regularly catching them in compromising situations. As things stood, however, he only managed a half-hearted eye roll before focusing his attention on the spectacle currently being hosted on the lavishly designed stairwell.
Emma had frozen in her step midway up the stairs at being addressed in such a formal manner and turned around with a look of disbelief on her face. Eyes wide, she exclaimed, “Did you just call me by my full name?!”
Alex, standing at the foot of the stairs, was looking up at her sister, only raising one eyebrow in response.
“I’m older than you!” Emma pointed out, her voice gaining a screeching quality.
“By ninety seconds.” Alex huffed, dismissing the argument.
“Dad!” Emma complained, completely outraged and, turning to look at Justin, she silently willed him to take her side.
“Daddy?” Alex directed a pleading look at Brian.
Brian and Justin looked at each other, trying to communicate with their eyes only whose turn it was to perform the role of King Solomon in today’s play. Gus, strutting forward, while disposing of the rest of his sandwich on a sideboard for which he earned a glare from Brian, proclaimed with the over-confidence of an almost eighteen year old, “Let me. I’ll handle it.”
Brian and Justin looked at each other again, shrugged once, and leaned comfortably back against the doorframe, ceding the stage to Gus. Justin squirmed around a little until his shoulder fit comfortably under Brian’s arm, and finally found a comfy spot leaning his head against Brian’s neck, settling in to watch the spectacle.
Gus approached the twins, planting a look of utmost importance and attention on his face.
“Ladies, what seems to be the problem?”
There was a moment of silence with a challenge hanging in the air to break it first. “Alex hid a book from me and I just wanted to look at it.”
“The book was my diary!” Alex replied indignantly.
“I just wanted to see if you started to write in it already. I wouldn’t have read it if you had,” Emma pointed out.
Before answering, Alex rolled her eyes. “You could have asked. Instead you stole it. Give it back!” Alex extended her hand.
Emma descended a few steps, reached behind her back, pulling out the book and thrust the diary against Alex’s chest, turning around swiftly and marching up again, her waist-long blond locks sweeping around her like a veil. Alex clutched the journal with both her hands and pressed it to her, as if afraid to let go of it again.
“Gus, she’s just jealous that you didn’t bring her one.” Alex complained in a desperate tone.
“Am not!” Emma’s voice rang from the top of the stairs.
“You so are!” Alex called after a fast retreading Emma.
“Alex,” Gus tried to calm the girl and placed a hand on her shoulder. Completely ignoring his attempt to reconcile her with her twin sister, she rammed an elbow into Gus’ stomach; albeit not with full force.
“It’s all your fault!” Alex cried and ran up the stairs, following Emma’s path; the sound of two doors being banged shut following close behind.
Gus let himself sink down on the bottom step, dispirited at how his first intervention had gone.
“How’d it go?” Brian raised an eyebrow mockingly, teasing his son from his outlook post the door frame while untangling himself from his husband.
“I don’t get it - why would Emma want to have the same journal? She doesn’t even keep a diary. That’s why I brought her the earrings and bracelet.” Gus had come back from Italy only a week earlier, where he and his friends had gone for a pre-celebration of the beginning of their lives as college students. The small presents he brought back with him, and which now were the object of the twins’ argument, were chosen carefully to suit the different personalities of his sisters. He didn’t understand why Emma would be jealous of Alex’s gift at all.
Brian and Justin sat down on either side of Gus. Justin tried to hide the grin while he explained to an obviously crestfallen Gus, “They’re twins, Gus. They want the same things - even if they don’t need them.”
“An amateur mistake, Sonnyboy, amateur!” Brian shook his head at him in mock disappointment.
Gus propped his elbows on his knees and palmed his face. Justin tapped his shoulder in sympathy while smiling wide at Brian over the teen’s head.
Gus pulled himself up onto his feet and stalked back into the kitchen to clean up the mess he had left behind.
Justin and Brian moved into the spot vacated by Gus and closer to each other as Brian sank a hand into Justin’s hair. The blond enjoyed the soothing circles Brian’s fingers were painting on his scalp until he sighed and made to stand up.
“Emma’s afraid that Alex is keeping secrets from her,” Brian stated quietly.
“Yep,” Justin agreed.
“I’ll talk to Alex,” Brian offered.
“I’ll talk to Emma,” Justin replied.
“Sunshine?” Brian called the blond back when they were about to part at the top of the stairs. “Try to wrap it up in half an hour tops. We still have this… uhm... pressing matter… you need to take care of.”
Justin smirked. Very pressing, indeed.
***
Brian knocked on Alex’s door and waited till he heard his daughter’s sullen beckoning to come in. He pulled open the door to the room, but not before throwing one last look at Justin who stood a few feet away, knocking on Emma’s door. Justin threw him an encouraging look back which Brian answered with a pointed stare at the imaginary watch on his wrist. Justin nodded and Brian saw him bowing his head and biting down on a grin. Brian had to school his expression also and directed an admonishing glance in the direction of his pants before entering the spacious room that was an imprint of Alex’s personality.
Uncluttered and too tidy for a child her age, every last piece in it, no matter how small, held an assigned place. One entire wall was taken up by massive, ceiling-high shelves, overflowing with hundreds of books. Brian had lost count years ago, but happily continued to feed the addiction. Seeing rows of books lying in neat stacks on the floor, Brian made a mental note to call a few contractors to start renovations in the room that, decades ago, had been designed and used as a library and hadn’t been assigned a new use yet. His thoughts sidetracked, wondering how much persuasion it would take to convince Alex to outsource parts of her collection into another room.
Unlike Emma’s room which, with its collection of rainbow paraphernalia, could have put Debbie’s living room to shame, Alex’s walls were painted a deep and rich blue that was accentuated by all-white furniture. Brian looked around the room and decided to sit on the white double-seater facing one of the windows.
Alex was sitting on her bed, back leaning against the headboard, knees drawn up, her almost three year old and lazy as the person who made the Libyan flag cat Max curled up on the foot of the bed. She was writing furiously in what Brian assumed was her diary. He didn’t say a word; just sat there and watched her pour her frustration into the book. After a short while she stopped writing and sat chewing on her pencil, eyes drawn down. She looked up hesitantly when the silence continued and gazed at Brian from under her lashes. Suddenly, she pushed away her diary and pencil and scrambled from the bed. Crawling onto the small sofa next to her father, she curled up into his side. Brian wrapped an arm around her which she pulled tighter around herself.
“I’m sorry I banged my door. And I’m sorry I yelled, too.”
Brian nodded into her hair. “Is it something we need to get used to from now on?” he asked.
“No,” she answered and Brian could hear the smile in it she was trying to suppress.
“You could, you know,” Brian joked. “Your west is so clean; it could do with a little color.”
“Daddy!” Alex laughed.
There was a lull in the conversation in which Alex buried further into Brian’s chest. He stroked her hair absentmindedly.
“Are you still angry with Emma?”
“She took my journal,” Alex replied, foregoing a real answer.
“Why did she?”
“I don’t know.” There was a note of frustration in her voice.
“Did you ask?” Brian prodded.
“No.” She gathered steam again. “But the journal’s mine and she had no right to take it.”
“You’re right about that. But don’t you want to know why she did it?”
Alex just shrugged which Brian took for a, ‘I guess.’
There was another pause as Brian waited for Alex to speak. But she didn’t and he asked, “Alex, who’s your best friend?”
Brian could almost feel her scowl, but she eventually answered, though reluctantly, “Emma.”
“Why?” Brian questioned further.
“‘Cause she’s my sister.”
“That the only reason?”
Alex sighed. “No.”
“What else?”
“She’s fun,” Alex admitted, also reluctantly. “And she’s never boring. She’s crazy sometimes - no, actually, all the time, but that’s fun too. And she knows what I like. And she’s the worst blabbermouth I know, but she always keeps my secrets. That’s kinda awesome.”
Brian felt Alex smile against his shoulder. She sat up straighter to look at him and Brian gazed back, waiting. An embarrassed smile slowly spread across her face and she went to hug Brian. He hugged her back and said, “You spend a lot of time with Emma.”
“Duh,” Alex said, pulling out of the embrace.
“Not anymore, you don’t,” a voice from the door spoke.
Brian and Alex both turned to see Emma step inside. Brian had forgotten to close the door when he’d come in. He wondered how long Emma had been standing there, but then he saw Justin move into his field of vision, though he didn’t come inside and instead leaned against the door jamb.
“What are you talking about?” Alex replied. “I spend a lot of time with you.”
Emma came closer. “No, you don’t,” she repeated again. She seemed still upset, but the talk with Justin had calmed her a bit. She sat down on the little wooden table in front of the double-seater and explained, “We used to spend a lot of time together. We don’t anymore.” Emma stared at Alex, unblinking. “Now you spend every minute that we’re not in school with Gus,” she said accusingly.
Brian looked at Justin, surprised at the news. He knew that Gus liked to spend time with the twins, but he hadn’t noticed a shift in the past few days? weeks? that would have alerted him to any change. Justin, barely moving, shook his head once, signaling Brian not to interrupt and stay tuned. Explanation would obviously follow later.
“But you’re with us all the time,” Alex protested half-heartedly.
“Not all the time,” Emma corrected her. “And even when I am, you’re always whispering to each other and you shut up and change the topic whenever I come too close.”
Alex blushed and lowered her head and Brian realized that what Emma was saying was, in fact, the truth.
“It’s just because I missed him while he was away in Europe,” Alex admitted.
“I missed him too, you know?” Emma objected.
Alex looked guilty and lowered her eyes again to the carpet under Emma’s feet. Brian looked at Justin once more, receiving the same incremental headshake as before.
“You haven’t talked to me in ages,” Emma continued meanwhile. “You’re always talking to Gus now. Or writing in your stupid diary.”
“I guess I’m afraid that we won’t see him as often anymore when he leaves for college soon,” Alex tried again to explain her behavior.
“I know,” Emma answered. “But I’m your sister and you used to tell me this stuff.”
“You’re right,” Alex admitted and added in a small voice, “I’m sorry, Em.”
Emma pulled a face in an effort to suppress an oncoming grin and replied with their trademark comeback, “Don’t call me Em, Al.”
When Alex raised her eyes again, both girls were grinning. “Don’t call me Al,” Alex gave back. It was code for all was forgiven again. A second later, they fell around each other’s necks and hugged fiercely.
“Who wants ice-cream?” Justin suddenly announced into the already dissolved tension from minutes ago.
Both, Emma and Alex, piped up and voiced their enthusiastic agreement.
Justin shot a glance in Brian’s direction, a silent promise that their plans were postponed, not abandoned, and led the way with Alex and Emma following behind and Brian bringing up the rear end. As they walked down the stairs, Brian heard Emma quietly say to Alex, though the sound carried to Brian, “I didn’t read it.”
“Huh?”
“Your diary. I took it, but I didn’t read it. I swear.”
Alex looked humbled and muttered, “Thank you.”
“You can tell me, you know.” At Alex’s confused look, she added, “Your secret. You can tell me. I’m not gonna blabber.”
“I know.”
Brian noted that Alex didn’t deny having a secret.
“You’re not gonna, huh?” Emma asked into the silence.
Alex didn’t deny that either, but she offered a hand in apology, or maybe in some sort of a compromise. Emma heaved a put-upon sigh, but took it nevertheless. Swinging the clasped hands between them they reached Justin’s car and climbed inside, waiting for Gus to join them.
***
Brian put down the magazine he was reading when Justin came out of the adjoining bathroom. He’d certainly taken his time. Brian thought Justin could guess that now the time for explanations had come and he probably wanted to put it off as long as possible. But Brian needed some answers. He’d already spent most of the afternoon reproaching himself about not having noticed what was going on in his home. He’d also made vague plans to stop going into office altogether and instead working from home entirely. Ted would probably be thrilled.
Justin sat down on the edge of the bed and began squirming under Brian’s studious gaze. It was obvious that he was reluctant to spill the beans, whatever they might be. When no explanation was forthcoming, Brian decided to open the conversation.
“Am I working too much?” He glanced down and continued to leaf through the pages of the magazine, not really reading, but liking the excuse not to meet Justin’s eyes when he asked the question.
“What?!” Justin exclaimed, directing his confused stare at his husband. “How... Why would you think that?”
Brian shrugged. “Something’s obviously going on and apparently I haven’t got the slightest idea what it is. How long have the girls been fighting?”
“Fighting? They’re not fighting.” At Brian’s raised eyebrows, Justin repeated. “Really, Brian. I would have told you if they were. They are not fighting,” he emphasized every word. “And nothing’s going on. It’s just something that I’ve noticed. A hunch, if you will.”
Brian again raised his eyebrows in question, prompting Justin to go on.
Justin sighed deeply and made himself comfortable on the bed, taking a deep breath. “I think she has a crush on him.” Justin finally said.
“Care to fill in the pronouns?” Brian asked, finally laying aside the journal.
“Alex. I think she has a crush on Gus.”
“Ehmm.” Brian coughed and tried to think of an appropriate response. He didn’t know what he’d expected, but that was certainly not it. The idea was way too ludicrous to be taken seriously, yet Justin was biting his lip nervously. Brian finally settled on, “She’ll get over it.”
Justin squinted through his eyes when he answered, slowly and very carefully, “I don’t think she will.” A pause and some more nervous lip biting, then, “I think it’s reciprocated. Or it will be.” Justin didn’t dare looking into Brian’s eyes. He couldn’t gauge his reaction and continued to fumble with the duvet.
“Gus is barely eighteen, Sunshine. And Alex is nine. Nine. You can’t know this,” he tried to reason.
“You playing the age card? Don’t you think it’s a little hypocritical? I don’t think we’re the right people to tell anybody off for having certain feelings at a certain age.” Justin quietly said.
“This is ridiculous,” Brian finally exclaimed. “They’re brother and sister, for fuck’s sake.”
Justin kept his eyes on the duvet and continued to chew on his lip before finally stilling his fidgeting and looking Brian right in the eye. He got very calm and said, “No, they’re not.”
Brian just glared at him, furious and incredulous.
Justin took a deep breath and continued. “I couldn’t love him more if he were my flesh and blood. And I know you feel the same about the girls. But they’ve never lived together under the same roof, except for a couple of weeks during summer breaks. They never shared a tub, or fought over the same toy like siblings do. They met on a regular basis or when the family got together for whatever gatherings and they played together. Their relationship, though of course loving and intense, is in its nature not too different from that of very close friends. It’s not any different from if she’d have developed a crush for the boy from across the street that she grew up with. It’s not changed by the fact that they both call you Dad,” Justin finished.
Brian didn’t know what to say. “She is nine,” he repeated somewhat desperate.
“I know. And I’m not saying we should start to plan the wedding. I’m just telling you. So you can catch up to reality.”
The following silence hung for a long time, Brian staring at a far-away point at the wall.
“Hey,” Justin whispered quietly, pressing up against Brian’s side.
Brian glanced down at him. “What do we do now?” he asked, sounding completely overburdened with the truth.
“Nothing,” Justin answered. “We do nothing. There’s time.”
As if to emphasize the point, he leaned in and slowly worked on kissing Brian’s worries away. They had so much time still.
The End.
go to the next part in this series:
The New Guy