Justin grabbed Zeke's hand. He swallowed back the sudden need vomit in his throat as his body drifted closer to Zeke's. Their shoulders brushed while his eyes scanned the crowd. When they got off the plane, he had finally been able to access his messages -- including the short, cryptic one from Thomas that stated there would be a change of plans. Justin didn't know why this all made him so anxious, but he supposed it was related to the man beside him. His fiancé.
The feeling reminded him of when they traveled to visit Zeke's family. In a way, this was also Justin's first time meeting his own. It really had been that long.
Suddenly, Thomas drifted into view. Justin's eyes widened, and his fingers squeezed Zeke's. The other Shepard hasn't noticed them yet. It gave Justin time to stare. Thomas' attire was simple : a loose t - shirt, old brown bomber jacket, and jeans tucked into his boots. That military surplus look was what Justin had expected. What he wasn't prepared for was the age in Thomas' face and gray through his ponytail.
"That's my ... twin," Justin said, nodding his head toward Thomas. As if Zeke couldn't guess. "That's Thomas." In spite of this, he made no motion to go toward him. His feet were suddenly frozen to the floor.
— from @splitfangs ( justin ), unprompted.
Zeke packed light for their journey, having nothing but a suitcase, a backpack, and a box full of assorted cake slices from Chinatown's Flouring Cake Shop he'd held tenderly on his lap through the plane ride. In a way, he thought it was funny he'd never visited the East Coast before moving away from Florida, but no reason could ever be as compelling as meeting Justin's family.
The invitation had come so suddenly he'd had to postpone filming one of his (pornographic) westerns. But choosing between spending his holidays with Justin's family instead of at an air-conditioned set was a no-brainer. Filming could always be rescheduled, but meeting his fiancé's family for the holidays might never come again if it turned out they hated his guts.
Feeling Justin's hand in his own, Zeke turned to look down at him in curiosity. It almost looked like Justin was as nervous as Zeke felt. As he followed his gaze, however, both his brows reached up for the high fucking heavens-- even without Justin's description, he was pretty sure he could tell who his fucking twin was.
"Whoa." There were differences in a lot of ways, of course, but it was astounding how identical they looked in the face. Zeke blinked a couple of times in an innocent attempt to process it all-- did Thomas have those red eyes, too?
He dipped his head low again, nudging at Justin's temple with his nose. "Shouldn't we go to him, baby?
"C'mon. He wouldn't come all this way if he didn't wanna see you."
Drawing their joined hands up, Zeke kissed Justin's knuckles (lips brushing, just for a second, woefully close to the elegant red ruby on his engagement ring).
"I'll punch him if he acts like a dick, I promise." He was only half-joking, too.
