I stood up and got a bottle of water. I was still giving my liver a little rest. I faced Ted while I took a drink, then set the bottle down on my desk. “I’m a bad boss. I’m a bad son, a bad brother, a bad friend, and will undoubtedly make Justin a bad whatever I am. Now, can we get back to work with that understanding, or are you going to continue tormenting me?”

Ted looked at me thoughtfully, an expression of his that I’d grown to hate and fear. “You know, Brian, I’ve only met them a few times, but your mother and sister are cunts. You’re the best boss I’ve ever had, a not completely shitty friend, and for whatever reason, Justin and Michael appear completely impervious to your efforts to excise them from your life the way you’ve done with your mother and sister. Who are, let me repeat, cunts.”

I picked up the bottle and drank some more water.

Ted decided silence was permission to say more. I made a mental note to not make that same mistake again. “And to quote Emmett, at least his words, I doubt I could do the hand gestures justice, your real family is the one you choose, not the one you’re born into. And he should know.”

He stood up. I thought about firing him again, but he cut me off.

“I know, I’m fired.” He picked up his laptop and the architect’s proposal, and went to the door. “See you in the morning.”

I kept highlighting so I could cut and paste and comment but then the quote just got longer and longer and longer and I don’t care, because your B/T convos are too much fun. We really need to write that sitcom fic one day, because Ted and Cynthia are just… amazing.

Also, the honesty Brian shows, well, it’s canon and blah blah blah, evokes ep xyz, but more importantly it really shows the way Brian feels about himself, and his insecurities about his ability to be what those he loves need him to be. (this of course is mostly in his head, they just need him to be Brian) but it makes it no less heartbreaking that he still really, fundamentally believes some of that.

I considered going down to the art department and taking it out on them, but remembered I’d promised Cynthia not to go down there at all this week. I made a note to fire her the next time I saw her.

this just made me laugh.

I laughed. “Thank god, I know how lonely you’ve been without it.”

“My Corvette doesn’t make fun of how I feel about you.”

and this did too, although Brian’s being really clear about how he feels about Justin here as well and I love that. it gives me such a happy.

“I told her it was a small, private ceremony, just you and me.”

“What did she say to that?”

“Not to expect a gift.” I grinned at him.

He nodded. “I really like your mother.”

“You know, she really likes you, too.”

I know we’ve talked about this scene and you told me how you’d written it and it was still fun and wonderful and perfect and I can just picture Jennifer saying that and she so clearly does like Brian, you know, as long as neither of them talk too much about the early years.