New Fic Alert! You put me on and said I was your favorite (Brian/Justin)
This fic is another twofer. I posted it to AO3 last night. First and foremost, it fills a prompt for the QaF Prompt Challenge 2024.
It fills the prompt: wearing the other's clothes (Prompt #16) [11/21 for me personally]
It is also another fic for the Sugar We're Going Down Diabetes Chronicles.
“Remind me when we are supposed to be meeting them?” Brian called to Justin from their bedroom, while Justin stood in the bathroom fixing his hair.
“The reservation is for 7:30. So, we should be leaving soon.” Justin put the finishing touches on his hair and then walked back toward their bedroom, “Are you ready?”
He flipped the bathroom light off while buttoning the cuffs of his button-down. He was wearing a pair of navy slacks with a light blue shirt. Justin finally looked up and noticed that Brian was sitting on the edge of their bed. His hands were shaking, and Brian was staring into the closet. Justin, thinking his partner was suffering from low blood sugar, jumped into action.
“Brian, do you need me to grab some juice?” Justin squatted in front of Brian, who was only wearing pants at the moment.
“No,” he replied, shaking his head and trying to reassure Justin by smiling at the younger man. “I’ll be fine in a minute.”
“Brian.” Justin placed his hand on Brian’s knee and gave him a serious look.
“I promise I’m fine. Or at least my diabetes is.” Brian took a deep breath and then added, “This is all nerves.”
Justin leaned back to launch his body back into a standing position. “Is Brian Kinney actually admitting that he’s unsure about something?” Justin quirked his eyebrow and chuckled.
“I don’t hang out with straight people unless they are a business client.” Brian looked at Justin. “I know you’ve worked with this woman for almost 2 years, but I’ve never met her before. I don’t exactly have the best track record with people in general, especially heteros.”
Brian shuddered at the thought of straight people while Justin continued to smile mischievously at him. The blond moved away from Brian, who was working through his nerves on his own. He went over to the far side of the closet, closest to the wall, and opened to reveal Brian’s extensive collection of ties. Justin reached forward and grabbed a striped blue one that he was particularly fond of.
Brian pushed himself off the bed and moved next to Justin at the other end of their shared closet. He shuffled through a few of his own shirts until he came to the section of the closet reserved for Justin’s plethora of cardigans and preppy-styled knit sweaters. Justin looked over at Brian and smirked to himself. Brian reached in and grabbed a nice navy sweater that complimented the grey slacks he was wearing that really hugged his features. This particular sweater was the one Justin preferred to wear as often as he could get away with.
Justin leaned over and took the sweater from Brian, “This will really complement your well-toned body.” He waggled his eyebrows.
“We are supposed to be having dinner, not spending the whole time thinking of dessert.” Brian pushed his tongue into his cheek and smirked at his partner.
“This is perfect for tonight,” Justin whispered, leaning over and placing a kiss on Brian’s lips. “Would you help me?”
“This is my tie!” Brian argued, without any heat behind it.
“Oh, so you can wear my sweater, but I can’t borrow your tie?” Justin teased with a knowing look.
“I’m perfectly fine with you wearing my tie, but I will warn you I might not be able to keep my hands off you.” Brian proved his point by pulling Justin to him and nipping at his ear before kissing him on his cheek and then his lips.
Once they were done, Justin turned around and grabbed his grey cardigan from the closet. Brian wrapped his arms around Justin’s waist before the blond could put the sweater on.
“Have I told you lately that I love you?” Brian whispered against Justin’s ear.
Justin smiled and tossed the sweater onto their bed while he attempted to tie the tie. Brian brought his hands up to Justin’s neck and, without even looking, managed to tie the tie perfectly.
Ten minutes later, the two of them were in a black car headed to the restaurant. Justin gently gripped Brian’s thigh as the man stared at his phone intently. Smartphones were becoming increasingly sophisticated with each passing year, and Brian insisted on always having the latest model.
Justin wasn’t sure what he was looking at on the phone, but whatever it was seemed to have his attention so deeply that he barely seemed to acknowledge Justin. The blond moved his hand from Brian’s thigh and used it to cradle the back of his head and run his fingers through Brian’s hair.
“Mmm.” Brian looked up and finally gave Justin his full attention. “Sorry, Gus was texting me about his presentation on Abraham Lincoln.”
“Oh! That was today?” Justin exclaimed, “I hope it went okay.”
“You know Gus, he was worried that he sounded awful, and he messed up a couple of times. But Lindsay said that he’s just being overly dramatic and actually did just fine.” Brian looked at Justin with a shrug. His eyes were shining with pride for his son.
Gus was only 12, but Brian had really stepped up in the past few years to ensure the kid knew who he was in a meaningful way. When Brian and Justin moved into their brownstone soon after Brian moved to NYC he had told the blond he wasn’t going to ever let Gus feel about him the way he felt about his old man.
“We’re here.” Brian bit his bottom lip and looked out toward the restaurant. It was mid-November, so the city already had a chill in the air, but people were happily still milling about up and down the block. Brian gave the driver a few bills and thanked him for his time. Once they were on the sidewalk outside of the Italian Bistro, Justin put his arm around Brian’s and kissed him on the side of his neck.
“Come on. Janice told me they’d get here early and snag a table. I bet they’re already inside.” Justin led the way through the door.
It wasn’t often that Brian wasn’t the most confident, comfortable person in a social situation. So, Justin planned to take advantage of it. He walked back toward a table midway down, where there was a middle-aged woman waving to them excitedly. Brian tensed up on Justin’s arm, but he used his other arm to gently pat him in reassurance.
“Don’t worry, they both already know you are in advertising. No need to hash out your resume.” Justin teased him mercilessly.
“Sunshine,” Brian warned as they both approached the table.
They both sat down, Justin observing that Brian immediately pulled the sleeves of the sweater down over his hands, which he had planted in his lap. Justin rubbed the back of Brian’s head affectionately for a brief moment before addressing his friends.
“Janice, Chris. It’s lovely to see you guys.” Justin smiled and took a sip of the water in front of him.
“Did I hear him call you sunshine?” Janice smiled, gave Justin a knowing look, and got all heart eyes within seconds.
“It’s a nickname I’ve had since I was in high school. It started with my friend’s mom, and Brian quickly picked it up.” Justin replied. Brian snorted into his water as he took a drink.
“So, Brian. Do you get as frustrated by the amount of work Justin brings home? I swear, Janice takes over our dining room table almost every night with papers she has to grade.” Chris spoke up, addressing Brian directly.
“Oh. I’m sure we both drive each other nuts with the work we equally bring home. When you run your own business, there is no ‘work and home.’” Brian smiled at Chris and took another sip.
“Justin!” Janice exclaimed suddenly, startling both Brian and Justin.
“What?” Justin looked himself over, thinking he had spilled something.
“I am disappointed in you. First, you fail to mention just how handsome your husband is. Second, you never told me he runs his own business. Damn, you have all the luck.” She smiled between them once more.
Justin turned to look at Brian, who was smirking at him. The older man was clearly enjoying himself now that Justin was being called out for keeping secrets. Justin took ahold of Brian’s hand.
“Yeah, I’m pretty lucky. I’ve had him in my life for going on 12 years now.” Justin gave the hand a squeeze before breaking their eye contact and looking across the table to his friend.
“Here I am, your coworker and friend for almost 2 years now, thinking I knew practically everything I possibly could about you, and then you spring it on me that you guys have been together over a decade?” Janice responded in awe.
Just then, the waiter appeared, and the group paused their conversation to order their meals. Once the young woman had departed the table, Brian excused himself to go to the bathroom. Justin knew he was just going to give himself a dose of insulin in private, still not comfortable with revealing himself in public like that. It was something that always amused Justin, especially considering how much Brian had exposed himself to tricks in the past.
“Janice, I don’t ask you about your marriage. I never fully intended it to be some big secret. I just don’t talk about myself much.” Justin shrugged slightly.
“It’s totally okay. I knew you had someone, obviously. I guess I just thought you’d only been together since you were in college or something.” Janice reached across the table and took Justin’s hand. “I hope you aren’t upset that I pried.”
“No, you’re fine. I just forget that not everyone knows. Back home in Pittsburgh, our relationship was known, talked about, speculated on, etc, from the moment we met. Brian’s family is a bit intrusive.”
Justin looked toward the bathrooms hoping he would see Brian coming back. Instead, an alarm bell went off at the back of his mind. It had been a few minutes and Brian wasn’t back yet. Was he not being honest when they were getting ready about his hands being shaky?
Justin was seconds away from panicking when Brian approached the table and sat down. He took one look at Justin’s face and immediately grabbed his hand. Brian leaned forward and whispered his reassurances into Justin’s ear.
“Hey, I’m okay. There was a line in the bathroom.” Justin nodded along to each word Brian muttered.
“Sorry about that. I have Type 1 Diabetes. I needed to give myself a dose.” Brian shrugged as he explained to the silently inquisitive Janice and Chris.
Justin looked up in shock. Brian never openly admitted his condition to people he barely knew.
“So, what did I miss?” Brian looked between Justin’s shocked face and Janice’s soft infatuation.
“Justin was just about to tell us how you both met.” Janice cut in to answer.
“I…was?” Justin squeaked.
“Now, now, Jan. Leave them alone.” Chris tried to pull Janice’s attention but to no avail.
“Do you want to tell them, honey?” Brian put on fake airs as he turned to Justin, “Or should I?”
Justin tucked his lips behind his teeth and smiled. He motioned for Brian to go ahead. He was eager to see how Brian would spin everything.
“Let me preface this by saying Justin lied to me about his age.” Brian smirked at Justin, laughter in his eyes, “Or else I never would’ve picked him up and brought him back to my place.”
“Wow. Way to make me look like a total asshole.” Justin muttered. Turning to Janice and Chris, he clarified, “I was 17 and had just admitted to myself that I was gay. So, I snuck out and went to the gay neighborhood and stood around looking for something to do. I knew I wanted to try whatever I could, but I was also terrified. So, when this handsome brunet approached me and promised me the world, I followed him.”
“And, Brian, how old were you?” Chris raised his eyebrows. Something in his demeanor said he knew that Brian was much older, but he wasn’t judging in the slightest.
“I was 28.” Brian tried, but then Justin kicked him under the table, “Okay, I was 29. And not long after I picked him up, my best friend called and told me she’d had her baby. So, Justin followed me to the hospital.”
“I got to name his son that night.” Justin looked at Brian with the biggest heart eyes the older man had ever seen.
Janice had her hands under her chin, and she looked at the couple with rapt attention. “Wow. This is so romantic.”
Justin shook himself out of his stupor and turned his attention away from Brian. “Oh, no, our relationship is far from picture-perfect or romantic. Brian and I have had our fair share of problems.”
“Don’t all relationships that mean something?” Chris shrugged. “Jan and I have been together for 15 years and we fight like cats and dogs sometimes. Hell, she’s almost divorced me at least 2 times.”
At that moment, their food arrived. The conversation paused once more so that they could each get their plates settled and start in on their meals. Brian shocked Justin when he was the first to respond to Chris’ earlier comment.
“So, why are you still married?” Justin reached under the table and gripped Brian’s thigh ever so softly. Brian moved his hand to lay on top of Justin’s.
“Because as much as we drive each other nuts sometimes, I wouldn’t trade anything about her. I love her.”
“I feel the same about Brian,” Justin spoke softly. He knew that Brian would never say it out loud, at least not here, so he did it instead.
Justin and Brian shared a look once again. After 12 years, they were finally starting to figure out how to make their relationship work. They’d been cohabitating in general peace and harmony for almost 6 years now. Their relationship was far from perfect or even conventional, but it worked for them, and that was all that mattered.
“So, Brian, you said you have a son?” Janice cut through the silence.
“Yes, his name is Gus. He just turned 12 in September.” Brian replied, giving her a smile. Then he pulled out his wallet and plucked the picture of Gus he kept there and passed it to the woman.
“Wow, he looks just like you,” Janice commented. “Chris and I always wanted kids, but it was never in the cards.”
“I didn’t always know how to be his dad, but I try my best.” Brian shrugged as he took the picture back and put it back in his wallet. “Justin is much better with him.”
“Brian’s being modest. Gus is crazy about his dad. Brian flies to Toronto once a month to spend a weekend with him and his moms. Plus, he stays with us one month during the summer.” Justin cuts in.
“I feel like I’ve learned so much about you in this one meal together than you have ever told me working together.” Janice winked at Justin.
Brian wrapped his arm around Justin’s shoulder, gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, and then smiled at the other couple.
“Justin is pretty reserved and definitely doesn’t like to talk about himself.”
An hour later, they were back in their home, getting ready for bed. Justin loosened Brian’s tie and hung it back in the closet. Brian came up behind him and hugged him from behind. Justin leaned into the older man’s chest.
“See, that wasn’t so bad.” Justin turned and put his arms around Brian’s neck.
Brian smiled at him and shook his head slightly, “No, it wasn’t half bad after all. It helped to have your sweater on. Made it feel like you were hugging me the whole time.”
“I was.” Justin smiled and placed a kiss on Brian’s lips.
