Respect

Each of the women found an apology note (or in Brittany's case, an apology text) in their purse/bag/briefcase the next morning, but Ares was nowhere to be found.

"Don't worry, Q," Rachel said. "He probably just didn't want to face us quite yet."

"Where do you think he went?" Santana asked nervously. "His car is still here."

There was silence for a while as each of them went over a million possibilities in their heads.

"Stop," Rachel said firmly. "He's probably just at school, or at one of his friends' houses. Or he might be with Kurt and Dave. Let's give him some time. We need some time too."

They shared quiet kisses and hugs before going their separate ways for the day.

Ares came in around six that night. He smelled like animals.

"Where have—oh god…." Quinn backed up a few paces as the stench from her son reached her nostrils. "Where have you been?"

"Uncle Dave's," he said. "I need to shower."

It happened like that for the next six months. He never told them what he was doing, or why. He never bought any more stuff to replace the things they'd put in storage. All he ever said was that they could always check with Uncle Dave, but he promised he was with his godfather after school and on weekends.

On September 13th, Ares's birthday, they surprised him with his favorite dinner and a cake when he got home.

"What's all this?" he asked.

"It's your birthday, you goober," Allie told him.

He got a weird look on his face, then brightened. "Oh yeah! I've…been so busy."

"We know," Santana said.

"What do you mean, you know?"

"We called Dave," Brittany told him. "At first, we were just checking in to make sure you really were with him. We figured he'd given you a job. But last month we got really curious as to why you hadn't bought anything, or asked for anything, and Dave informed us that you were just volunteering. That you had said you didn't want to be paid."

Ares flushed a bit, but shrugged.

"Want to fill us in on what the hell we missed?" Santana asked, serving the pasta.

"Er…well, I sort of took off at four in the morning and jogged over to Dave and Kurt's house."

Ares stood back as his godfather opened the door. "Can I stay here?"

Dave gave him a shocked look, but let him in. He steered him into the living room and wrapped him in one of the throws from the couch. "Stay there. I'll be right back."

Ares shivered and curled into a ball. He'd been pissed at first. They'd grounded him, and then taken his stuff. But then his mind had spun back to three things: the way his Momma had looked at him—heartbroken when he'd called her that name. The look of pure hatred on his Mami's face. And something his Mom had said….

"I know how that feels. We would never do that to you."

Had she been kicked out when she was younger? He couldn't see Nana Judy doing that… but he didn't know too much about his grandfather from her side, so….

"Right," Dave said, sitting next to him and shoving a glass of warm milk into his hands. "What in hell's going on?"

And something broke. He sobbed as he told his godfather what had happened. How he'd only gone along with those boys because they'd threatened to tell a tabloid that he was gay. How he'd fought with his moms, and what he'd called them. How he'd thrown one of his Mami's awards against the wall and broken it. And how they'd taken all his things, and now they must hate him.

Dave smacked him.

"OW!" Ares yelped. "What was that for?"

"Felt like it since you told me the 'fucking bitch' part of that story. Now look here, you little shit, none of us could ever hate you. You understand that? We love you, and we'd do anything for you. But that's the problem. You're a spoiled rich asshole. You're not going to feel better about this unless you earn their respect back. Now, as your godfather, it's my solemn duty to help you in your quest—"

"You're a nerd," Ares grumbled.

"However, you're not going to run from your family like a little punk. You're going to apologize, and then we'll figure out how to make sure you don't turn out like other celebrities' kids. Now, wrap up in that other blanket and get some sleep."

"So…I came back super early and wrote those notes. Then I left for school. Walked. Anyway, I've been helping out at his ranch. I do maintenance work and sometimes he lets me tutor the kids who go there for their after school program."

Nothing else was said until the cake was served.

When Ares went back upstairs, he was surprised to find his things returned to his room. "You knew…" he said, turning to Santana.

"Happy birthday," she said with a shrug.