Monday afternoon came entirely too soon for Justin. Before he knew it, it was time for him to go to work at the Liberty Diner. Justin had spent the weekend with Brian and Gus, the two men spending Sunday making sure that Gus knew that he was loved. They had taken the little boy to Kennywood, where they weren’t surprised at all to find out that Gus was fascinated with the roller coasters and other thrill rides. They already knew that as soon as he was big enough, there would be no way they would be able to keep him off of the rides. That night, Brian read Gus some of his favorite books as Justin quietly sketched the scene. All in all, it had been the perfect weekend, but now Justin had to return to the real world. A world where his lover’s attorney had filed the papers that said Brian wanted custody of Gus, at least jointly, in a move that he knew would most likely divide the tightly knit group of friends.

Brian had called Justin’s cell earlier that day to tell him that Mark had filed the forms that would begin the custody battle. He had told the younger man that Mark said that he had planned on having Melanie and Lindsay served that day, also telling him that he would be avoiding the diner for the time being, and most likely staying at the office later than usual to avoid Mel and Linds’s first rants on what was going to happen. ‘Then again,’ Justin thought, ‘Brian did arrange to have the locks changed at the loft so it’s not like anyone can get in without him letting them.’

“Hey Sunshine,” Debbie greeted the blond cheerfully, “get that bubble butt of yours in gear. You’ve got tables waiting.”

“No problem, Deb,” Justin smiled, thinking that maybe he would receive a reprieve from having to deal with the custody issue that day. ‘Maybe this day won’t be so bad.’ Justin’s mood stayed cheery as his shift continued. As it got closer to seven, and the end of his shift, he began to think that he wouldn’t have to deal with the repercussions of Brian’s actions over the weekend.

“Hey baby, how about something to drink?”

“Coming right up, Emm,” Brian replied, carrying over the coffee pot in his hand to the booth where Emmett, Michael, Ben, and Ted were sitting. The foursome had come into the diner about a half hour beforehand.

It still surprised Justin that Emmett was even able to stay in the same room as Ted, let alone sit in the same booth considering everything that Ted had put Emmett through the year before when he was hooked on drugs. Justin still remembered how upset Emmett had been when he lover had his downfall. It had gotten so bad that even Brian had gotten involved in trying to make him feel better and eventually it worked. Emmett began to take back his life, including dating again. Then when Ted left the rehab center, with Blake on his arm, Emmett had made a point of being the supportive best friend that he had always been to Ted, all the while hiding his heartache.

Justin could still remember the night that he and Emmett had gotten together at Woodys. The two men had contemplated the state of their love lives. Emmett was the only person in their little group of friends who knew the truth behind Justin’s relationship with Brian. The older man would often listen to Justin as the blond talked about the things that were going on between him and Brian, willing to be a sounding off board for Justin as he thought about the changes that were going on between himself and Brian. In exchange, Justin listened to Emmett lament over the sorry state of his own relationship with Ted. Or lack of one, as the case may be. Justin was the only one in their family who knew how hurt Emmett had been when Ted had announced that he and Blake were getting back together. Everyone had seemed so supportive of the couple, glad to see Ted getting back on his feet, even Melanie and Lindsay had forgiven Ted for what he had done after he had returned the money he had taken. No one gave a thought to what Ted’s announcement would do to Emmett, not even the two women that had taken him in after he left Ted, they were all too happy to see the Ted that they all knew and loved back. Only Justin had been there for Emmett, making sure he knew that he was there for Emmett whenever he needed someone to talk to. As did Brian, in his own way, which included hiring Emmett to help with the party that launched Brian’s company.

Justin looked at his watched, glad to see that he only had five more minutes until the end of his shift. He had arranged with Brian to meet the older man at his loft. Brian had made Justin promise to call him as soon as he left the diner, letting him know that he was on his way. Justin couldn’t wait to see his lover, knowing that both of them needed to release the stress of the day, and Justin knew exactly how, and with whom, he wanted to release that tension with.

“Hey Sunshine, move that bubble butt,” Debbie hollered.

“I’m coming,” he replied, moving to pick up the gang’s food.

“Don’t worry, Sunshine,” Debbie told him. “As soon as you drop the food off, you can take off.”

“Thanks Deb.” Justin smiled as he carried over the tray with the gang’s food. He continued smiling as he placed the plates down on the table. He was even smiling as he heard the bells above the door, but that smile disappeared when he saw who it was that had entered.

“Mel, Linds, what are you doing here?” Michael asked as the women made their way over to the booth he and the others were in. Justin took one look at them and knew exactly why they were there and groaned as he realized that there was no way in hell that he was going to get out of the diner without listening to yet another rant about what an asshole his lover was.

“We’re here to talk to Justin,” Lindsay said, looking over at the blond.

“What’s wrong?” Michael asked as he picked up his daughter. He could tell there was something wrong with the two women and was concerned. Ever since Annie had been born, and even for a couple of months before that, Michael had grown closer to Mel and Linds, often going over with Ben to have dinner with the other couple.

“The asshole is suing for custody of Gus,” Mel spat out, glaring over at Justin. “He says that Lindsay and I aren’t responsible parents to our son. Know anything about that Justin?” Mel glared over at the blond, who refused to meet her eyes. For his part, Justin went into the back to grab his things. He knew what was about to happen and he didn’t want to have anything to do with it. He knew that his friends were going to try and convince him to do one of two things. Either leave Brian, thus siding with them and leaving his lover on his own. Or spy on him to help prove that Brian was the unfit parent.

“What are you talking about?” Debbie asked loudly, unable to believe what she was hearing. “What do you mean that Brian is fucking suing for custody of Gus? And why do you think Sunshine would have anything to do with it?”

“There’s no way Brian Kinney would sue for custody,” Ted said. “Having a kid around would interfere too much with his fucking every man in town. Besides, there’s no way in hell that man would be willing to be responsible for anyone else. He’s too fucking selfish for that.”

“Well that’s not stopping him from once again making our lives a living hell,” Mel spat out. “Just one more reason why we shouldn’t have had that bastard be Gus’s father.”

“Mel please,” Lindsay pleaded with her lover. “You need to calm down. It won’t do you any good if you get all stressed out.”

“Don’t you dare tell me to calm the fuck down,” Mel yelled, drawing the attention of the other diner patrons. “That fucking bastard thinks he has the right to say that we’re unfit parents when he barely has anything to do with his son. We’re the ones who have raised Gus. We feed him. Clothe him. Provide him with a place to live and now Brian “Fucking” Kinney thinks he can just come in and take him away from us. That’s bullshit and maybe, if you were willing to finally take the blinders you have on when it comes to him, you would see it too.”

“Do you think I’m happy about this?” Lindsay hissed. “I’m not. I had no idea this was happening or that Brian would even be thinking about trying for custody of Gus. He never talked about wanting to have any part of raising Gus on anything even remotely resembling a temporary basis, let alone a permanent one.”

“Well he sure as hell changed his mind, hasn’t he?”

“Have you girls tried to talk to Brian?” Debbie asked. She motioned for the girls to have a seat before turning to the other customers in the diner. “This isn’t a soap opera folks. You want to see drama go home and watch your damn TVs.” It was only after Debbie yelled that Melanie and Lindsay noticed the attention they were getting.

“Thanks Deb,” Linds said. “And yeah, we tried talking to Brian. We called his office and his assistant kept telling us he was in meetings all day.”

“More like he was avoiding us, the asshole,” Melanie muttered.

“Maybe he’s home. Did you try there?” Michael suggested, holding onto a fussy Annie. Melanie smiled at her daughter, reaching into the diaper bag and handing Michael a bottle for him to give their daughter.

“Yes we tried there,” Melanie replied, “and the asshole changed the locks on us. We couldn’t get in.”

“I was wondering when he would get around to doing that,” Emmett finally chimed in, only to earn himself glares from the others at the table. “Don’t look at me like that. I’m just saying, considering how many times we’ve all just barged into that place, without knocking or calling, it was only a matter of time before he got around to changing them. I’m just surprised that it took this long for him to do it.”

“He didn’t say anything to me about him changing the locks,” Michael commented.

“Michael, you have to admit,” Ben said quietly, but firmly, “you are one of the worst offenders. How many times have you just gone over to Brian’s without any notice, just walking into his home? Without any thought that he might want some privacy.”

“But he’s my best friend,” the shop keeper whined. “Why shouldn’t I have a key to his place?”

“Does he have a key to our apartment?” At Ben’s question Michael grew silent.

“No.”

“Then why should you be angry that you no longer have one to his?”

“That doesn’t change the fact that that asshole he trying to take Gus away from us,” Mel broke in again, wanting to get back to the subject. She saw movement off to her side and turned to see Justin, who had been trying to sneak out without becoming too involved with the conversation. “Justin, did you know what that prick was planning on doing?” Justin sighed as he realized that he wasn’t going to be able to get out of the diner without saying something.

“Of course Sunshine didn’t know about this,” Debbie defended the young man. “There’s no way he wouldn’t have said something to you girls if he had. He knows that Gus is better off with you two.”

“I did know, Debbie,” Justin told everyone. “I was there when Brian’s attorney showed up at the loft. Even talked to him myself for a bit.”

“Why didn’t you tell us what was happening Justin?” Lindsay asked, feeling betrayed by the blond. “Give us a heads up on what Brian was planning on doing?”

“Why are you acting so surprised Lindsay?” Justin countered. “I know Brian and you have talked about what has been going on with Gus. How Gus doesn’t feel as if you and Mel love him anymore. And you know that Brian grew up in a household where his parents never made any secret of the fact that he was the unwanted child Why is it such a surprise that he would want to make sure that Gus doesn’t grow up with those same feelings?”

“Gus knows we love him,” Mel replied.

“Really? Tell me Mel, if Gus knows that you and Linds love him so much, what happened on Saturday at Gus’s party?” Lindsay looked down at the table, not able to meet the other blond’s eyes, knowing what she would see there.

“What are you talking about?” Debbie demanded. “What about Gus’s party?”

“Where was Gus at while you were all supposedly celebrating his birthday?”

“Gus was there,” Melanie insisted. “That is until the asshole showed up and took him away without even bothering to tell anyone. We were all worried sick.”

“Brian didn’t take Gus,” Justin said loudly, his patience gone. He was not willing to let anyone badmouth Brian, especially in regards to the way he took care of his son. “We found him wondering the sidewalk because no one was paying any attention to him at his own party. According to him you were all just fawning over Annie. What would you have Brian do? Leave him there?”

“He had no right taking Gus away from his home,” Mel shot back. “He gave up parental rights which meant I could have had him arrested for kidnapping if I wanted.”

“Really? That’s not what Mark said.” Justin looked down at Mel. Debbie looked between Justin, Melanie and Lindsay, noticing that the two women seemed to look guilty about something.

“Mel. Lindsay. What’s Justin talking about? Who’s Mark?”

“Mark Cavanaugh, Brian’s lawyer,” Justin explained.

“Justin,” Lindsay pleaded, realizing that there was a good chance that the young man knew much more than anyone had given him credit. Knew much more than they wanted anyone to know. “This isn’t the place.”

“You should have thought about that before you decided to rip into Brian when he wasn’t around to defend himself or his actions.”

“There is no fucking defense.”

“Don’t even start,” Justin interrupted Melanie, who promptly shut up. Justin faced everyone. “As I was saying, Mark Cavanaugh is Brian’s lawyer, and a damned good one from what I understand. And considering what he’s managed to find out in just the past week leads me to believe that statement.”

“What did he find out?” Lindsay whispered, her voice betraying the fear of what Justin was about to say.

“Not much except for the fact that Brian is still legally Gus’s father.”

“What?”

“What are you talking about?”

“But Brian signed away his rights,” came from various people sitting in the booth.

“That’s right. Brian did sign away his rights,” Brian explained. “But when Mel and Lindsay finally decided to file the papers, almost a year after they were signed, the judge refused to allow them to be filed. He said that the fact that Brian paid them money to help with Gus, not to mention the fact that he had been acting in the capacity of a father, which Lindsay had encouraged, caused the judge to state that there was no reason why Brian’s rights should be negated.”

“Linds, sweetie, is this true?” Emmett asked the quiet brunette, who could only nod. “Why? Why didn’t you tell us?”

“I’ll tell you why,” Justin broke in. “Because as long as Brian didn’t know that he was still a legal parent to Gus, Mel and Lindsay could still get the money that Brian handed over to them to help, knowing that he would continue to do so no matter what, and yet they could also threaten to take away Gus if he dared do anything that they didn’t like.”

“That’s not true,” Lindsay denied.

“Isn’t it? Then why didn’t you tell anyone that Brian still had his parental rights?”

“I knew,” Ted replied, his voice so low that they barely heard him. He looked up at the startled group. He looked over at Melanie who nodded her head. “Mel told me after if happened. I ran into her about a week after it happened. She was upset and drinking.”

“I needed someone to talk to and Ted fit the bill,” Melanie explained. “Besides I knew he feels the same way about Brian as I do.”

“You both hate him,” Justin said simply. Neither Ted nor Melanie said anything to that. “Yeah that’s what I thought. And you know what? Gus knows this. It’s coming through as you hating him Mel and that’s why Brian is seeking custody of Gus, because he wants his son to know that he is number one in someone’s life. And because you guys are all so busy fawning over Annie, and I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with that, she’s a beautiful child; but you have to start remembering that you have another one.” And with that said, Justin left the diner, leaving behind a stunned group of friends wondering if things were going to ever be the same.