A/N: Episode Coda for 3.17 cause I miss Dave. Written quickly and unbetad, so all mistakes are my own.

The sound of his cell crashing into the wall was only satisfying for the half-second it took for the sound to reverberate through the house and for him to hear his father's quick movement downstairs. Good one, Dave! Cause the old man have a heart attack getting up here to try and save your ass again.

He took a deep breath and stood from the chair he'd been sitting in while listening to Kurt share the events of the past few days. He shook his head to clear it as he walked to the broken pieces of phone. He bent to retrieve them as his dad burst into the room red-faced, his eyes darting to the damn closet first. His parents had forced him to switch rooms with his sister, saying that the room held too many bad memories for him, but the switch hadn't seemed to help his dad forget.

"Everything's fine, Dad." He said, but his voice had grown scratchy and betrayed his hurt.

"What's wrong, David?" He father sounded breathless.

"Nothing, Dad. I'm sorry I freaked you out. I was being stupid."

"David, you can't think I'm going to accept that as an answer and just walk away."

He stood, looking at the pieces of phone and trying to see how they all fit together. He kept his eyes on them as he spoke, "It's nothing really, at least not anything that I didn't already know, so..."

"David," His father took the seat he had just abandoned, leaning forward and letting his hands hang between his knees, "I'm here, so you might as well tell me what your talking about."

David clenched his jaw and shook his head. His stupid therapist would probably force the issue if he didn't say something and he'd rather talk to his dad than her anyway. He moved

to sit on the edge of his bed, tossing the pieces of phone down so he could try to fix it. "Are you sure you want to know?" He asked not meeting his father's eyes.

"Yes, David, I'd much rather know than have to worry what you might be thinking."

"I told you I'm not going to..." He took a deep breath, he couldn't blame him for worrying after everything that had happened, he huffed, "It's about a boy." He said, making sure that his tone carried a challenge to it.

His father's voice was gentle when he replied, "That's okay, David. We can talk about boys."

David arched a brow, glancing quickly at his dad to gauge his demeanor. He looked nervous but sincere as he studied him from head to toe. He did that a lot now. David was sure he was just double-checking to make sure he was still alive.

"It's just," His breath hitched and he felt his face flush, "I was talking to Kurt and he was telling me about this guy and I..." Had a jealous fit.

"A guy, Kurt's boyfriend?"

"No." He pursed his lips. "This other guy, who's been all about Kurt or something and him and Blaine had a fight over it, but they made up so I guess it's alright." Dave could feel the flush spreading to his ears and neck.

"You slammed your phone against the wall because your friend had a fight with his boyfriend, but they worked it out and it's all okay, now?" Yeah, Dave wouldn't have bought it either.

"No." The phone hadn't so much broken as fallen apart on impact. It would work again. He was silent for too long and his father was starting to get that worried look.

"You know I like Kurt," He voice was quiet, "and I guess I just figured it would never work out because he was with someone else and they were supposed to be this perfect couple, but...

"But?" His dad prompted.

"He said he liked getting attention from this other guy, that it made him feel special." He couldn't help the bitterness in his voice.

Understanding dawned in his father's eyes, "But he didn't respond that way when you tried to give him your attention."

Dave shook his head, the corner of his eyes burning with unshed tears, "He said it was because he was involved with someone and the guy's a total jerk wad, but Kurt's like that you know, loyal, so it made sense."

"Well, I gotta say I'm a little relieved that this is our first, um... gay guy talk, at least it's something I know about first hand." Dave rolled his eyes without thinking, shooting his father an apologetic look when he stiffened in response. "I know, I'm ancient, but I remember what it's like to care for someone who doesn't feel the same way."

"I know, I'm sorry. It's just, I guess I could pretend, you know, if he was with him and they had this love of legend or whatever, …but if he gets all hot about some other guy, then it's not that he's with someone, is it? It just means that he doesn't want me." His bottom lip quivered and he pressed it hard into his top lip to make it stop.

"Dave, Kurt cares about you a great deal, but I'm not sure you two should talk about these

things if you have romantic feelings for him."

"I don't." He argued despite all the evidence to the contrary.

"David, I know that you told Kurt that you were in love with him, before," His Dad swallowed hard and licked his lips, "but since everything... you seemed to be at peace just being friends."

"I am, Dad. I want to be Kurt's friend."

"And, if him and this Blaine break up?"

Dave felt his face flame and wasn't that a good analogy, "I'm not waiting around for him to break up with his boyfriend, Dad, but even if he did it wouldn't matter. It's pretty obvious I'm not his type."

His dad gave him a half-smile, "Maybe, or maybe he's hasn't found his type yet and is just trying these other guys out?"

Dave looked up from the now intact phone, "Dad!"

"I'm just saying, it's not impossible to move out of the friend zone. How do you think I talked your mom into marrying me over that jerk from Cincy her dad liked." His dad said, hitching a thumb over his shoulder.

"Dad, he's not going to break up with him. I told you they made up."

"Not now, maybe, but if he's already got other guys turning his head..."

"You know, I figured you'd tell me to get over it and move on or something grown up, not to wait around for him to figure out his shit."

"David!"

"Oh, sorry dad."

"And I'm not telling you to wait around. When you're ready you should start dating too, see what kind of guy does it for you. Who knows, maybe you'll find someone that'll knock your socks off and you'll forget all about Kurt."

David shook his head, "I don't think I could ever forget about Kurt."

His dad rose, a smile on his face as he came to him. He was expecting a pat on the back, so the hug caught him off guard. "Well, that's one trait you have in common then," He said as he rose from the hug, ending it with a slap to his shoulder, "you're both very loyal to the people you care about."

He started to walk back to the bedroom door, "Having the big things in common is important, the little differences you learn to deal with, but the big things, like how you look at life, those are the deal-breakers."

"Thanks for all the wisdom, dad." He deadpanned, earning him a fake-glare when his dad turned in the doorway to look at him one more time. "Mock me now, but someday when you realize how right I am I'll want an apology."

"Sure, Dad," He said thoroughly unconvinced. He doubted he'd ever get to know a guy well enough to find out if they had the 'big things' in common. Hell, he'd probably spend his adult life in his parent's basement watching Kurt's performances on repeat like the Lima Loser that he was.

The phone buzzed in his hand, it was Kurt, probably calling about this weekend. They were supposed to get together for coffee and some sort of 'cultural experience' that Kurt was going to research for them. He felt his dad's eyes on him as he answered the phone, with a quiet "Hey, Kurt."

His dad had the nerve to roll his eyes at him before gesticulating at him to smile. He gave his dad a put upon sigh, eliciting a concerned, "Is everything alright?" from Kurt. "Yeah, just my dad being weird." He said, smiling to make his dad happy. He heard an answering smile in Kurt's voice. "Oh, God, my dad's been weird too, maybe it's something in the air."

"Nope, my dad's always weird," He said, laughing when his dad threw his hands up and turned to go back to the living room.

"It's nice to hear you laugh," Kurt said sincerely, making Dave's chest constrict painfully.

"Yeah, whatever, what's this 'cultural experience' you're draggin' me to this weekend?"