Title: Family of the Heart
Author: sxysadie21
Fandom: Queer as Folk (US)
Word Count: 1,136
Rating: Pg-13, perhaps?
Characters: Ben, Michael, Brian, Justin, Emmett, Ted, Melanie, Lindsay, Deb
A/N: Written for fan_flashworks
A/N: Not really beta-d. You know me, not patient enough to wait once it's written. Sorry.
Prompt: Introductions
Summary: Ben remembers what it was like to be introduced to the rest of the "gang". Ben's POV.


There are few things in the world more nerve-wracking than meeting someone’s family when you first become involved with them. Worse still is when they are family of the heart and not just family of the blood. I genuinely believe that our friends are family that we choose. And Michael had a very close knit family of both the blood and the heart.

Meeting each member of his family for the first time was one of the hardest things I have ever done. Take away the fact that I am a high risk-partner, and it still would have been rough. Michael was a sweet, endearing man. I was certain, from the beginning, that he would have friends and family that were fiercely protective of him. I had felt that way, from the moment I laid eyes on him. And I hadn’t known him all his life the way some of them had. So I anticipated walls and barriers at every turn. I figured that, being as incredible as he is, there would be people chomping at the bit to ensure his safety and well-being. I wasn’t disappointed in that regard.

Imagine my surprise to find out his best friend was none other than Brian Kinney. Make no mistake; it was a wonderful couple hours of my life, but not one of my brightest decisions. I inferred, the moment I realized who he was, and who Michael was to him, that this was going to be a problem. Brian was the type of person who would enjoy lording something over others, even friends. And he certainly wasn’t the keeping quiet type. I knew this was going to be a predicament. I also was sure, without a doubt, that he loved Michael. It was a bond that I would consider, to this day, unbreakable. They were bound together for as long as time and space would allow.

And then there was Justin. Sweet, innocent, naïve, far-too-young-to-be-here Justin. The stars in his eyes over Brian could have been seen from space. But so could his kind and gentle heart. Someone his age should have been at a frat party, or maybe even at the high school football game. But you could tell he was fitting in, he was catching his stride. I wondered if someone should warn him about the prowess of Brian. But, the longer I watched, the more I could tell he already knew. And Brian could pretend all he wanted he didn’t give a shit about the young man. But I could see his eyes glued to the other’s actions. Nice try, Brian.

Emmett was one of my favorite people to meet. He’s such a free spirit, so open, so honest. So…Emmett. I wondered, often, how they all even became friends. They were such a mismatched group. But they fit together like a puzzle. And Emmett took that puzzle from black and white into full color. The air of a room changed when he walked in, and he loved every second of it. There was no denying that. I was just glad that, even after living together for as long as they had, Michael and he hadn’t decided to start sharing clothes. Imagine Emmett in a Captain Astro shirt and a pair of jeans, though. I think I would pay money to see that.

Ted had been the toughest member of the crew for me to figure out. He feigned happy, so often, that I wondered if he remembered what it felt like to be truly happy. Had he given up on that dream? It was, to me, as if he didn’t believe he deserved it. And from everything I saw and heard of Ted? He deserved it just as much, if not more, than every member of that group. He was full of good intentions and caring for his friends. There was nothing he wouldn’t do to help them. I could tell that about him from the moment I first shook his hand.

Lindsay and Melanie had spent so long grouping Michael and Brian together that I’m not sure they knew how to take me. Not that I wasn’t up for the challenge. I never wanted to rip Brian away from Michael. I couldn’t have, if I tried. But I also knew Michael deserved to be loved back. To be cherished. To be told every day that he was the most beautiful thing I had the opportunity to lay eyes on. Brian loved him. But he couldn’t love him the way I did. And I think that, out of everyone, I could understand Mel the best. She had been living with the curse of Brian Kinney as well. So many people had spent their lives and time building their plans, ideas, and lives around him – that it was a shock to everyone’s system when things didn’t go that way. Melanie had been battling that for years before I even came along. All it took was a few knowing glances for me to realize that she was as up for the fight as I was. She was a tough cookie. And she gave Brian a run for his money. This was the thing that Lindsay hated and loved the most. Lindsay had loved Brian for years, for as long as Michael had, maybe. And she couldn’t bear to think of him hurt. But Melanie’s feisty tenacity when it came to standing up to their friend – it was, undeniably, one of the things that Lindsay loved most about her.

Michael’s mother was all foul-mouth and fire-engine red hair. And I wouldn’t have expected to her to be any other way. I had thought, for a brief instance, that Michael’s Uncle Vic would have made her perspective that of more understanding. But maybe her understanding just what havoc this life could bring is what made her so fiercely devoted to keeping Michael away from it. She was a single mother, with just one son, until you got to know her. And then you realized she was the mother of every lost boy and hungry passerby on Liberty Avenue. The heart she had for other people had been passed down to Michael. I could imagine it was a very proud moment for her, when she realized that her son was just as caring and remarkable as she was. Only without the red hair. Thank God.

Calling all of these people part of my family is one of my proudest achievements. Over the years they have truly become my family of the heart. Until I met them, I had no idea my heart could be so big. And so full. Michael gave me new perspective. He gave me new hope. He let me think of the future. But he also gave me the greatest gift of all – his own family.