nothing_rhymes_with_ianto | Boys Keep Swinging Chapter 10

After three and a half years, Justin comes home from New York for good.
Chapter Summary/Teaser: Melanie makes a decision. Brian and Michael stop speaking. Justin gets good news and Debbie gives Brian needed advice.

Go back to Chapter 9

"Okay," Melanie leaned against the doorjamb, watching Lindsay fold laundry.

"What?"

"Okay." She repeated. "I gave it a lot of thought. Let's move back to Pittsburgh." Lindsay gave her an amazed expression, blinked. She continued. "I know I've said before that moving back is like admitting we failed, and I hate that. But moving here was like admitting that those homophobes won. So, let's move back."

"Oh, Mel!" Lindsay dropped the socks she'd been holding and threw her arms around her wife's neck.

"We can call Justin's mom to look for a house. She's a realtor."

"Mommy?" Gus wandered into the room. Lindsay grinned at him, and Melanie smiled too. "Why are you so happy? What's going on?"

Lindsay crouched down and took him in her arms. "We're going home, baby!"

"Really? Are we Mama?"

Melanie leaned down and ruffled Gus's hair. "Yeah, we are, Gus." Gus shrieked with laughter and threw himself into Melanie's arms.

"Oh, Michael," Ben sing-songed gently, dangling a comic book in front of Michael's face, along with a bag of what looked to be donuts. "Look what I got for you."

It had only been a few days, but already things had calmed quite a bit in the Novotny-Bruckner household. It didn't mean that Michael wasn't still watching Ben closely, or that Ben wasn't still being extremely careful about going out, but things were better.

Michael grinned upside down at his husband and took the gifts. "Thanks." He gave Ben a kiss from his chair. "Dinner's in the kitchen if you want some. I had a feeling you'd be home late. There was a message on the machine alerting all faculty about the emergency meeting, whatever that is."

"Yeah. Bunch of stupid kids got it their heads to haze freshmen by making them live all their worst fears. You know, cages of rats or snakes or spiders or whatever. Sometimes I don't understand college kids."

"Christ, that's awful! Is everyone okay?"

"A few people had panic attacks and had to be sent to the hospital for oxygen and whatnot. Everyone's all right. The kids who started it are to be expelled in the morning."

"Good."

"Hey, from what I hear, you didn't have too wholesome of a childhood either. Although I'm sure most of that is Brian's fault." He chuckled gently.

"'Course it's Brian's fault. He's an asshole. Now can we please not talk about him? He's no longer a part of my life."

Ben nodded, frowning a bit, but conceded. "Yeah. Alright. What'd you make for dinner?"

"That caramel chicken stuff we liked."

"Yum."

Michael nodded as Ben wandered into the kitchen to grab a meal. He leaned his face in his hands and gently knocked his head against the monitor of his computer.

Justin slashed his brush across the canvas. He knew he was going to trash this painting when he was finished anyway, so it didn't really matter. Daphne was curled in a corner of the couch behind him, chattering away as he painted. For once, he didn't mind the noise. The painting was for shit, so now he was just letting his frustration out on the canvas in a swirl of dissonant colors.

Why didn't Brian trust him, even after all these years? Why did one little trip cost them everything? And why was always Ethan who fucked everything up? He streaked violet angrily across the upper left corner. He didn't understand why Brian couldn't trust him, couldn't believe him. He knew that Ethan had been his biggest and worst indiscretion and had preyed on Brian's insecurities and made them even bigger, but after all his apologies and promises, after all these years, Brian still couldn't believe him or see that Justin loved only him. He just didn't get it.

"Justin. Justin!" Daphne's voice sliced through his thoughts. "Are you even listening to me? You're not listening."

"Sorry, Daph. What?"

Daphne sighed, exasperated, abandoned the subject she had been going on about in favor for a more annoying, but infinitely more interesting one. "Are you going to talk to him?" Her voice was gentle. "You both seem so…depressed."

"You saw him?" He felt both betrayed and intrigued.

"He didn't come up to me or anything. I was walking home and I saw him on the street. He looked so listless. It just makes me sad that both of you aren't happy."

"I know. He just…I wish he could trust me. And I wish I knew that he really loved me." He held up his paintbrush to silence Daphne. "I know, I know. He does love me. I know he shows me with the little things he does. It's just…sometimes I wish the way he says it were bigger. Sometimes I wish he'd actually say the words. I don't know why I didn't get over this fucking thing years ago, but sometimes I still want it, y'know? Some childish seventeen year old part of me still wants the stupid romantic bullshit."

Daphne nodded. "I know."

"Hey, Ma." Michael slid into a booth with Ben. She gave him a little grin and a finger wave as she hurried back to pick up an order. He waved to Emmett and Ted sitting in the far corner and tuned back into what Ben was telling him about his newest lesson.

Emmett swirled a fry in ketchup and flipped to the next page in his magazine, gushing about the newest style to Ted, who was only half listening.

"So, Emmett, who do you think won the bet?" Ted asked conversationally.

"I don't know, Teddy. I think we both lost." He shook his head. "Plus, their relationship is hard to keep track of. How do you define 'breaking up' and 'getting back together' when they never defined it in the first place?"

"So, split it half and half? I give you twenty-five, you give me twenty-five?"

"Sure." They dug out their wallets and produced the money to each other.

"I guess it's kinda mean that we bet for their breakup instead of against it?" Emmett mused.

"Ah, no it isn't. If we weren't their friends, it would be. But, considering that we are, no. It's not." Emmett nodded, conceding.

"Fry?" Ted took the proffered French fry and grinned.

Justin's cell phone rang. He and Daphne both made a grab for it, battling each other, hoping it was Brian, but Justin got there first, nabbing it up with paint-smeared fingers and pressing Talk.

"'Lo?" he asked breathlessly.

"Hey, Sweetie!" Jennifer's voice tripped down the line. Justin mouthed 'Mom' to Daphne, who scrunched her face up in disappointment. "I have some good news!"

"You and Tucker are no longer married? Dad's in jail for something stupid? Molly's straight?" he muttered under his breath.

"What was that?"

"Nothing, Mom. What's the news?"

"Melanie called me today. She and Lindsay are planning to move back to Pittsburgh!"

"Really?"

"Yes! Melanie said I can tell you so you can tell the others. Unless you want me to do it."

"Tell Deb, she'll tell everyone else. Once she knows something, all of Liberty Avenue knows it."

"Okay, Hon. Well, talk to you later. Love you!"

"You too, Mom. Bye."

"What's up?" Daphne quirked a brow.

"Lind and Mel are moving back to the states."

"Oh, that's great!"

"Yeah," Justin nodded. "Maybe seeing Gus will get Brian out his lameass funk he's been in."

"Let's hope so."

Justin glanced at the clock. "Oh, shit. I gotta go. I promised Sydney Bloom I'd help out as his gallery this evening. He's getting ready for a big show and he needs someone to help organize and hang stuff. I guess I'm sort of a surrogate Lindsay. He'll be happy to know she's coming back."

"Can I come? Or at least hitch a ride down?"

"Sure." In the car, they fought over radio stations and giggled with delight when a Spice Girls song from forever ago came on.

"Seriously? This song was popular when I was in middle school. Why are they playing it now."

"It said oldies station, Daph. Although, I cant believe we've graduated from college and they still play the stupid shit that we liked when we were kids."

"It's nostalgic. And don't say you don't still love it. You know every word."

Justin laughed. "Yeah, I do."

"Ha!" she shoved at his shoulder and he shoved back.

Brian sat on the floor, leaning his back against the sofa. He took a drag from his joint, glanced at the other three lined up and ready to go on the coffee table, took a gulp of the beer between his crossed legs. A knock sounded at the door and he stubbed the blunt out, standing with a groan to answer it.

"Hey, Kiddo!" Debbie pushed her way past him, detouring to the kitchen to grab a couple forks before putting the dish down on the coffee table and turning to him expectantly.

"Do you have some sort of radar that alerts you whenever I'm alone and smoking weed?" His voice was harsh, but he sat down across from her, lit his next joint and passed it over.

"Ha." She chuckled a little at his sarcasm, drew a long hit. "You look like shit."

Debbie never was very subtle.

"Haven't slept much." It was the only thing he was going to offer, but he knew Deb would see right through him. Weed and tuna casserole always meant she'd see right through him and they'd talk about something profound and she'd give him good advice that he'd scoff at but follow anyway.

"You miss him, don't you?" Her voice was soft and sympathetic. Brian decided to just cut to the chase and spare her the annoyance of dragging it out of him.

"I fucked up, Deb. I really fucking fucked up. You were right. That goddamn fiddler came here and told me himself that Justin wasn't there to see him. He told me himself that Justin wasn't cheating or whatever." Deb looked at him, watched his tired eyes. "So what do you do to when you realize you made the biggest mistake of your pathetic, stupid goddamn life?"

She regarded him for a moment with an expression of utter motherly love and heaping helpings of sympathy. Then she covered his left hand with her own and looked into his eyes. "You go after him. He's gone after you more times than I can fucking count. He's come back over and over again. It's time you go after him. Go and get him. And let him know that you love him."

Chapter 11