GUS'S D.A.R.E - DARE CHALLENGE
Title: Gus's D.A.R.E - Dare Challenge
Written By: netlagd
Timeline: Post season 513/future (Lindsay, Mel and Justin have all returned to Pittsburgh)
Rating: R (sexual situations/language)
Author Notes: Thanks to the great betas who helped - you know who you are!
======
Week 1:
“You are sooo fucked!” Justin laughed as he leaned over Brian’s shoulder to read the piece of paper that Gus had handed to his father before heading up the stairs to the bathroom.
“I’m not signing it,” Brian declared.
“It says ‘parents’,” Justin replied as he pointed to the signature line.
“The lezzies are his parents.”
“You’re his father. Besides, he asked you to sign it.”
“Fuck!”
Justin chuckled.
Gus returned from the bathroom, wondering what Justin was laughing at. “Dad, will you come to the parents’ meeting with me?”
Brian retreated to the kitchen where Lindsay, Mel, and Debbie were preparing lunch for the extended family. Ever since the munchers had returned from the Great White North, they’d established a once-a-month luncheon for the fathers, partners, grandparents, and kids to spend time together as a family.
“What the fuck is this?”
Lindsay walked over from the sink, where she’d been washing carrots, to look at the paper clutched in Brian’s hand. “That’s the Student Participation form for the D.A.R.E. program at Gus’s school.”
“What the fuck is D.A.R.E.?”
“Drug Abuse Resistance Education Program,” Mel answered as she joined them, paring knife in hand. She snorted a laugh. “Given his genes, it might be futile.”
Justin glared at her sharply, but kept his mouth shut.
Brian rubbed the bridge of his nose. “I thought the whole point of sending Gus to private school was so we wouldn’t have to worry about his environment.”
Justin rolled his eyes. As a product of private school education, he knew better than to believe that bullshit. Private school only offered a better class of addictions, drug dealers, and bullies.
“Brian, it’s a nine-week program designed to help Gus make independent and smart decisions when it comes to drugs, alcohol, and smoking. There’s even a part of the curriculum that focuses on child safety.”
“For Christ’s sake, the kid’s only in second grade. He’s going to spend nine weeks with some Officer Krupke telling him to ‘Just Say No’?”
Debbie came over and hit Brian in the head with flat of her palm.
“Hey! What was that for?”
“Carl is the police liaison for Gus’s school, you asshole.”
“Fuck!”
“Brian!” The three women all yelled at once.
“He’s only eight! Fuck! Why can’t he just be a kid without having to worry about this stuff? He’ll be grown up soon enough.”
By now Carl had joined them in the kitchen. “Actually Brian, drugs, tobacco, and alcohol are problems at the elementary school level these days. It’s better that kids learn the coping skills now so they are prepared when confronted with drugs and peer pressure.”
Brian just shook his head.
Carl pushed on. “You’re an adult, you’re able to make decisions for yourself. We’ve all seen first-hand how illegal drugs and alcohol can ruin a person’s life. Do you really want Gus to end up like Ted?”
Brian flinched. His son was not going to be another Theodore Schmidt.
“No matter what choices you make for yourself, don’t you want Gus to be able to make the right choices when he’s faced with something that could harm or kill him?” Carl asked. “The basis of the program is to teach kids how to make informed and wise decisions. At the root of it all, D.A.R.E. will teach Gus important problem-solving skills that translate to all aspects of his life.”
Brian pressed his eyelids with his thumb and forefinger. “Where do I sign?” Justin rubbed his arm as Lindsay handed him a pen.
============
Week 2:
“Dad?”
“Hmmm, yeah Gus?” Brian looked up from the newspaper he was reading to glance at his son. Gus was seated in front of the TV. The video game he was playing had been put on ‘Suspend’.
“I think you and Justin should quit smoking.”
Brian looked at his son, trying to figure out where this was coming from. “I’ll have to give that thought some serious consideration.”
“What’s that?” Justin handed Brian a glass of juice before curling up on the sofa next to him.
“Gus thinks we should give up smoking.”
Justin shrugged. “He’s probably right.”
“This week we learned about cigarettes.”
“You did, did you?” Justin smiled at Gus. “What did you learn?”
“If you smoke cigarettes you’ll get cancer and die.”
The last part made Brian flinch and Justin felt it.
“Well, Gus, I guess that’s a pretty good reason to stop smoking.”
“So you and Justin will quit smoking, Dad?”
Brian glared at Justin, who mouthed back silently, ‘You are sooo fucked!”
============
Week 3:
“Hey Gus!” Justin slid the door to the loft shut as Gus launched himself into his arms .
“Justin!”
Justin dropped his bag on the floor, picked up Gus, and spun him around. “What’d you learn in school today?” He thought he heard Brian say ‘You just had to ask,’ but he could have been wrong.
“We learned all about how bad mary... marry... mari-wanna is really bad.”
Justin put Gus down with a hug. Glancing over the youngster’s head he looked at Brian and mouthed, ‘You are soooo fucked’.
“Justin, you wouldn’t ever, like, smoke mari-wanna, would you?”
Now it was Brian’s turn, he mouthed back, ‘You are soooo fucked, Sunshine’.
“Uh, Gus, did you learn anything else at school today?”
“Oh yeah! We learned about advertising.”
Brian’s eyebrows shot up.
Justin smirked. “Really. What did you learn about advertising?”
“Well, advertising makes people want to buy things, do things -- things that they may not really want to do.”
“Is that a bad thing?” Justin asked.
“Well, not all the time. But, like, the ads for cigarettes? Well, cigarettes are bad for you, so the ads that make you buy them are bad for you too.”
“Uh, Gus... You do know what your father does for a living, don’t you?”
============
Week 4:
“So Gus, what was this week’s lesson?” Brian had decided that being preemptive might be a good idea.
Gus eyed the open beer bottle that stood on the kitchen island in front of his dad. “This week we talked about alcohol.”
Fuck! He should have known.
Justin was across the room working on his computer. A bottle of beer stood next to his monitor. He picked up the bottle and tried to hide it.
“They showed us how beer and stuff makes you act silly and do things that aren’t normal.”
Brian caught Justin’s eye and raised a brow. Justin shrugged.
“Grown-ups can drink because they know when they’ve had enough and they can stop.”
Justin shook his head. Brian downed the last of his beer.
“You’re right Gus. Grown-ups know when to ‘say when’.
Justin made a face, but refrained from commenting.
============
Week 5:
Gus was moping when he arrived at the loft.
Brian sighed. May as well get it over with...
“So Gus, what’s going on?”
“Dad, you’re a good guy, right?”
“I like to think so.”
“Today we looked at magazines ads. They told us that the ads for beer and alcohol make it look really cool, but it’s not.”
Brian nodded at his son.
“Well, some of those ads were ones I’ve seen at Kinnetik. Dad, you wouldn’t want people to get stupid and hurt would you?”
“Gus, part of being a grown-up is being able to make decisions for one’s self. This program you’re in at school is trying to teach you the skills you’ll need to make the right choices and decisions.”
“But Dad...”
“Gus, I think your Dad needs to lie down after his hard day at work,” Justin interrupted, giving Brian an out. “Maybe you can help me make dinner?”
============
Week 6:
“How many more weeks?” Brian asked Justin. He was lying on the bed with his arm over his eyes, fending off a headache.
“Three more after this one. Then there’s graduation.”
“And this week’s lesson...? Please tell me we’re past the evils of advertising?”
“I think they’re moving on to peer pressure.”
“Good.”
“You know...” Justin began to massage Brian’s cock through the soft material of his sweatpants. “Sometimes pressure from others is a good thing...”
Eyes shut, Brian moaned in agreement. “A good thing...”
============
Week 7:
“Assertiveness training?!” Brian barked out a laugh as he sat on the couch and read the D.A.R.E. curriculum printout that Justin had handed him. “If there’s one thing Gus doesn’t need help with, it’s being assertive. He got plenty of that from me.”
“And his mothers,” Justin snarked.
Brian pulled Justin down to the couch and into his arms.
“Assertiveness and working with others in teams and practicing skills -- according to the curriculum.” Justin tapped the paper in Brian’s hands.
“He’ll do fine. He’s a born leader.”
“Don’t know where he got that from...” Justin smirked.
Brian set the paper on the coffee table and grabbed Justin, flipping him onto his back on the couch. Pinning the younger man’s hands above his head, Brian leaned in for a kiss. “Just follow my lead...”
============
Week 8:
“What’s he doing?” Brian asked Justin, nodding to Gus at his computer.
“Checking out your porn bookmarks.”
Brian looked horrified for a moment, then realized Justin was joking.
Justin chucked. “He’s writing his report. Some days, you are soooo easy.”
============
Week 9:
“What the fuck is a spiraling competition?”
“I have no idea. But as long as we’re not expected to help out, what does it matter?”
“It says here ’Students have the opportunity to apply assertive refusal skills along with facts in a spiraling competition.’ I’m glad this is the last week of this course.” He folded the now dog-eared curriculum into a paper airplane and set it sailing.
Justin watched as the airplane did a nosedive into the hardwoods. “Don’t forget there’s graduation next week.” He straddled Brian in the chaise, a pint of Ben and Jerry’s Chunky Monkey in one hand and a spoon in the other. Both of them were naked. Justin offered a spoonful of the creamy confection to Brian.
“No! -- I’m applying my assertive refusal skills...”
Justin dumped the ice cream onto Brian’s chest and watched it slowly melt its way down his breastbone toward his pubes.
“Hmmmm.... I can see myself spiraling downward...” Justin leaned in and licked the path of the ice cream had take along Brian’s chest... to his abs... to where it the cold liquid now pooled in Brian’s lap. Justin flicked his tongue out and swiped the head of Brian’s cock. “Still planning on using those assertive refusal skills?”
“Everything is negotiable.”
============
Week 10:
“Brian! You came.”
Brian and Justin strolled into the school gymnasium which doubled as an assembly room and theater, where the D.A.R.E. graduation ceremony was to be held.
“Why Lindsay, you act surprised. You know that I believe in celebrating accomplishments.”
“Yeah, Brian’s made it all the way through Gus’s entire program -- drug-free no less -- that’s an accomplishment. And he’s quit smoking.”
“We’ve quit smoking, Sunshine -- you just had to remind me, didn’t you?” Brian sounded less than thrilled by the achievement.
“Well, that’s great!” Lindsay gushed. “I know you were against the program at the beginning... but it’s been good for Gus. And it sounds like it’s had a positive influence on you too.”
Justin nodded. “He’s been practicing his assertive refusal skills.”
Brian smirked as Lindsay looked from one man to the other.
Melanie joined them.
“Mel,” Brian nodded.
“Asshole,” she returned.
“Mel!” Lindsay admonished. “Brian’s here for Gus today. And, it seems Gus’s program has had a positive influence on him. He and Justin have quit smoking and he’s refrained from drug use for the duration of program.”
Mel eyed Brian. “So tonight you and Justin are celebrating by getting drunk, getting high, and splitting a pack of Marlboro’s?”
“That’s about the size of it.”
“Size?” Justin asked.
“Figure of speech,” Brian retorted.
They took their places in the chairs that had been set out for the occasion. Brian somehow managed to entertain himself during the mind-numbing boredom that ensued, as student after student rose and gave their speeches about being drug-free. Finally it was Gus’s turn.
“I’m not going to say that I’m never going to do drugs. I don’t know that. I mean, I’ll try not to... but I’m really just a kid, and kids do stupid things sometimes. I learned some important things in the D.A.R.E. program. Mostly that grown-ups face the same things that we do as kids. They’re just better able to handle things. I guess what the D.A.R.E. program showed me -- taught me -- is that it’s probably smart to wait until I’m a grown-up to make a decision to do drugs or drink or smoke. So I’m going to try to wait. But if things happen before I’m a grown-up, I’m pretty sure the things I’ve learned at D.A.R.E will help me.”
Brian usually detested any sort of formal, organized anti-drug propaganda. But he had to admit that Gus’s statement was devoid of the usual lip-service to the cause. He could be proud of his son and his accomplishments -- and not feel like a hypocrite.
More likely than not, he and Justin would start smoking again -- but it wouldn’t hurt to limit themselves to three or four a day. And it wouldn’t hurt to cut back on the hard alcohol either -- after all, he was pushing the downside of his thirties and hard alcohol certainly left telltale signs after years of use. As to his forays into recreational pharmaceuticals, well that was what being an adult was about. Picking and choosing your battles and making your own decisions without other influences. He knew his limits, and rarely pushed them these days.
The clapping from the audience signaled the end of the ceremony. Brian rose to his feet and slung an arm around Justin. He leaned down and whispered in the younger man’s ear, “I suppose we’re going to have to stick around for punch and cookies.”
Justin nodded. “Debbie brought lemon bars.”
“Remind me why this program skips over the evils of refined sugars, saturated fat, and carbs?”
“I know you’ll sneak at least two.”
Brian did that thing where he rolled his lips into his mouth, looking innocent and vulnerable all at the same time.
Justin grinned his trademark ‘Sunshine’ smile. “You are sooo fucked!”
Written By: netlagd
Timeline: Post season 513/future (Lindsay, Mel and Justin have all returned to Pittsburgh)
Rating: R (sexual situations/language)
Author Notes: Thanks to the great betas who helped - you know who you are!
======
Week 1:
“You are sooo fucked!” Justin laughed as he leaned over Brian’s shoulder to read the piece of paper that Gus had handed to his father before heading up the stairs to the bathroom.
“I’m not signing it,” Brian declared.
“It says ‘parents’,” Justin replied as he pointed to the signature line.
“The lezzies are his parents.”
“You’re his father. Besides, he asked you to sign it.”
“Fuck!”
Justin chuckled.
Gus returned from the bathroom, wondering what Justin was laughing at. “Dad, will you come to the parents’ meeting with me?”
Brian retreated to the kitchen where Lindsay, Mel, and Debbie were preparing lunch for the extended family. Ever since the munchers had returned from the Great White North, they’d established a once-a-month luncheon for the fathers, partners, grandparents, and kids to spend time together as a family.
“What the fuck is this?”
Lindsay walked over from the sink, where she’d been washing carrots, to look at the paper clutched in Brian’s hand. “That’s the Student Participation form for the D.A.R.E. program at Gus’s school.”
“What the fuck is D.A.R.E.?”
“Drug Abuse Resistance Education Program,” Mel answered as she joined them, paring knife in hand. She snorted a laugh. “Given his genes, it might be futile.”
Justin glared at her sharply, but kept his mouth shut.
Brian rubbed the bridge of his nose. “I thought the whole point of sending Gus to private school was so we wouldn’t have to worry about his environment.”
Justin rolled his eyes. As a product of private school education, he knew better than to believe that bullshit. Private school only offered a better class of addictions, drug dealers, and bullies.
“Brian, it’s a nine-week program designed to help Gus make independent and smart decisions when it comes to drugs, alcohol, and smoking. There’s even a part of the curriculum that focuses on child safety.”
“For Christ’s sake, the kid’s only in second grade. He’s going to spend nine weeks with some Officer Krupke telling him to ‘Just Say No’?”
Debbie came over and hit Brian in the head with flat of her palm.
“Hey! What was that for?”
“Carl is the police liaison for Gus’s school, you asshole.”
“Fuck!”
“Brian!” The three women all yelled at once.
“He’s only eight! Fuck! Why can’t he just be a kid without having to worry about this stuff? He’ll be grown up soon enough.”
By now Carl had joined them in the kitchen. “Actually Brian, drugs, tobacco, and alcohol are problems at the elementary school level these days. It’s better that kids learn the coping skills now so they are prepared when confronted with drugs and peer pressure.”
Brian just shook his head.
Carl pushed on. “You’re an adult, you’re able to make decisions for yourself. We’ve all seen first-hand how illegal drugs and alcohol can ruin a person’s life. Do you really want Gus to end up like Ted?”
Brian flinched. His son was not going to be another Theodore Schmidt.
“No matter what choices you make for yourself, don’t you want Gus to be able to make the right choices when he’s faced with something that could harm or kill him?” Carl asked. “The basis of the program is to teach kids how to make informed and wise decisions. At the root of it all, D.A.R.E. will teach Gus important problem-solving skills that translate to all aspects of his life.”
Brian pressed his eyelids with his thumb and forefinger. “Where do I sign?” Justin rubbed his arm as Lindsay handed him a pen.
============
Week 2:
“Dad?”
“Hmmm, yeah Gus?” Brian looked up from the newspaper he was reading to glance at his son. Gus was seated in front of the TV. The video game he was playing had been put on ‘Suspend’.
“I think you and Justin should quit smoking.”
Brian looked at his son, trying to figure out where this was coming from. “I’ll have to give that thought some serious consideration.”
“What’s that?” Justin handed Brian a glass of juice before curling up on the sofa next to him.
“Gus thinks we should give up smoking.”
Justin shrugged. “He’s probably right.”
“This week we learned about cigarettes.”
“You did, did you?” Justin smiled at Gus. “What did you learn?”
“If you smoke cigarettes you’ll get cancer and die.”
The last part made Brian flinch and Justin felt it.
“Well, Gus, I guess that’s a pretty good reason to stop smoking.”
“So you and Justin will quit smoking, Dad?”
Brian glared at Justin, who mouthed back silently, ‘You are sooo fucked!”
============
Week 3:
“Hey Gus!” Justin slid the door to the loft shut as Gus launched himself into his arms .
“Justin!”
Justin dropped his bag on the floor, picked up Gus, and spun him around. “What’d you learn in school today?” He thought he heard Brian say ‘You just had to ask,’ but he could have been wrong.
“We learned all about how bad mary... marry... mari-wanna is really bad.”
Justin put Gus down with a hug. Glancing over the youngster’s head he looked at Brian and mouthed, ‘You are soooo fucked’.
“Justin, you wouldn’t ever, like, smoke mari-wanna, would you?”
Now it was Brian’s turn, he mouthed back, ‘You are soooo fucked, Sunshine’.
“Uh, Gus, did you learn anything else at school today?”
“Oh yeah! We learned about advertising.”
Brian’s eyebrows shot up.
Justin smirked. “Really. What did you learn about advertising?”
“Well, advertising makes people want to buy things, do things -- things that they may not really want to do.”
“Is that a bad thing?” Justin asked.
“Well, not all the time. But, like, the ads for cigarettes? Well, cigarettes are bad for you, so the ads that make you buy them are bad for you too.”
“Uh, Gus... You do know what your father does for a living, don’t you?”
============
Week 4:
“So Gus, what was this week’s lesson?” Brian had decided that being preemptive might be a good idea.
Gus eyed the open beer bottle that stood on the kitchen island in front of his dad. “This week we talked about alcohol.”
Fuck! He should have known.
Justin was across the room working on his computer. A bottle of beer stood next to his monitor. He picked up the bottle and tried to hide it.
“They showed us how beer and stuff makes you act silly and do things that aren’t normal.”
Brian caught Justin’s eye and raised a brow. Justin shrugged.
“Grown-ups can drink because they know when they’ve had enough and they can stop.”
Justin shook his head. Brian downed the last of his beer.
“You’re right Gus. Grown-ups know when to ‘say when’.
Justin made a face, but refrained from commenting.
============
Week 5:
Gus was moping when he arrived at the loft.
Brian sighed. May as well get it over with...
“So Gus, what’s going on?”
“Dad, you’re a good guy, right?”
“I like to think so.”
“Today we looked at magazines ads. They told us that the ads for beer and alcohol make it look really cool, but it’s not.”
Brian nodded at his son.
“Well, some of those ads were ones I’ve seen at Kinnetik. Dad, you wouldn’t want people to get stupid and hurt would you?”
“Gus, part of being a grown-up is being able to make decisions for one’s self. This program you’re in at school is trying to teach you the skills you’ll need to make the right choices and decisions.”
“But Dad...”
“Gus, I think your Dad needs to lie down after his hard day at work,” Justin interrupted, giving Brian an out. “Maybe you can help me make dinner?”
============
Week 6:
“How many more weeks?” Brian asked Justin. He was lying on the bed with his arm over his eyes, fending off a headache.
“Three more after this one. Then there’s graduation.”
“And this week’s lesson...? Please tell me we’re past the evils of advertising?”
“I think they’re moving on to peer pressure.”
“Good.”
“You know...” Justin began to massage Brian’s cock through the soft material of his sweatpants. “Sometimes pressure from others is a good thing...”
Eyes shut, Brian moaned in agreement. “A good thing...”
============
Week 7:
“Assertiveness training?!” Brian barked out a laugh as he sat on the couch and read the D.A.R.E. curriculum printout that Justin had handed him. “If there’s one thing Gus doesn’t need help with, it’s being assertive. He got plenty of that from me.”
“And his mothers,” Justin snarked.
Brian pulled Justin down to the couch and into his arms.
“Assertiveness and working with others in teams and practicing skills -- according to the curriculum.” Justin tapped the paper in Brian’s hands.
“He’ll do fine. He’s a born leader.”
“Don’t know where he got that from...” Justin smirked.
Brian set the paper on the coffee table and grabbed Justin, flipping him onto his back on the couch. Pinning the younger man’s hands above his head, Brian leaned in for a kiss. “Just follow my lead...”
============
Week 8:
“What’s he doing?” Brian asked Justin, nodding to Gus at his computer.
“Checking out your porn bookmarks.”
Brian looked horrified for a moment, then realized Justin was joking.
Justin chucked. “He’s writing his report. Some days, you are soooo easy.”
============
Week 9:
“What the fuck is a spiraling competition?”
“I have no idea. But as long as we’re not expected to help out, what does it matter?”
“It says here ’Students have the opportunity to apply assertive refusal skills along with facts in a spiraling competition.’ I’m glad this is the last week of this course.” He folded the now dog-eared curriculum into a paper airplane and set it sailing.
Justin watched as the airplane did a nosedive into the hardwoods. “Don’t forget there’s graduation next week.” He straddled Brian in the chaise, a pint of Ben and Jerry’s Chunky Monkey in one hand and a spoon in the other. Both of them were naked. Justin offered a spoonful of the creamy confection to Brian.
“No! -- I’m applying my assertive refusal skills...”
Justin dumped the ice cream onto Brian’s chest and watched it slowly melt its way down his breastbone toward his pubes.
“Hmmmm.... I can see myself spiraling downward...” Justin leaned in and licked the path of the ice cream had take along Brian’s chest... to his abs... to where it the cold liquid now pooled in Brian’s lap. Justin flicked his tongue out and swiped the head of Brian’s cock. “Still planning on using those assertive refusal skills?”
“Everything is negotiable.”
============
Week 10:
“Brian! You came.”
Brian and Justin strolled into the school gymnasium which doubled as an assembly room and theater, where the D.A.R.E. graduation ceremony was to be held.
“Why Lindsay, you act surprised. You know that I believe in celebrating accomplishments.”
“Yeah, Brian’s made it all the way through Gus’s entire program -- drug-free no less -- that’s an accomplishment. And he’s quit smoking.”
“We’ve quit smoking, Sunshine -- you just had to remind me, didn’t you?” Brian sounded less than thrilled by the achievement.
“Well, that’s great!” Lindsay gushed. “I know you were against the program at the beginning... but it’s been good for Gus. And it sounds like it’s had a positive influence on you too.”
Justin nodded. “He’s been practicing his assertive refusal skills.”
Brian smirked as Lindsay looked from one man to the other.
Melanie joined them.
“Mel,” Brian nodded.
“Asshole,” she returned.
“Mel!” Lindsay admonished. “Brian’s here for Gus today. And, it seems Gus’s program has had a positive influence on him. He and Justin have quit smoking and he’s refrained from drug use for the duration of program.”
Mel eyed Brian. “So tonight you and Justin are celebrating by getting drunk, getting high, and splitting a pack of Marlboro’s?”
“That’s about the size of it.”
“Size?” Justin asked.
“Figure of speech,” Brian retorted.
They took their places in the chairs that had been set out for the occasion. Brian somehow managed to entertain himself during the mind-numbing boredom that ensued, as student after student rose and gave their speeches about being drug-free. Finally it was Gus’s turn.
“I’m not going to say that I’m never going to do drugs. I don’t know that. I mean, I’ll try not to... but I’m really just a kid, and kids do stupid things sometimes. I learned some important things in the D.A.R.E. program. Mostly that grown-ups face the same things that we do as kids. They’re just better able to handle things. I guess what the D.A.R.E. program showed me -- taught me -- is that it’s probably smart to wait until I’m a grown-up to make a decision to do drugs or drink or smoke. So I’m going to try to wait. But if things happen before I’m a grown-up, I’m pretty sure the things I’ve learned at D.A.R.E will help me.”
Brian usually detested any sort of formal, organized anti-drug propaganda. But he had to admit that Gus’s statement was devoid of the usual lip-service to the cause. He could be proud of his son and his accomplishments -- and not feel like a hypocrite.
More likely than not, he and Justin would start smoking again -- but it wouldn’t hurt to limit themselves to three or four a day. And it wouldn’t hurt to cut back on the hard alcohol either -- after all, he was pushing the downside of his thirties and hard alcohol certainly left telltale signs after years of use. As to his forays into recreational pharmaceuticals, well that was what being an adult was about. Picking and choosing your battles and making your own decisions without other influences. He knew his limits, and rarely pushed them these days.
The clapping from the audience signaled the end of the ceremony. Brian rose to his feet and slung an arm around Justin. He leaned down and whispered in the younger man’s ear, “I suppose we’re going to have to stick around for punch and cookies.”
Justin nodded. “Debbie brought lemon bars.”
“Remind me why this program skips over the evils of refined sugars, saturated fat, and carbs?”
“I know you’ll sneak at least two.”
Brian did that thing where he rolled his lips into his mouth, looking innocent and vulnerable all at the same time.
Justin grinned his trademark ‘Sunshine’ smile. “You are sooo fucked!”