"David." Paul said as Dave walked down the stairs. Dave frowned right away, there was something in his father's tone of voice that made him suspicious. "Come here, son."
"Did I do something? Am I in trouble?" Dave frowned.
"No." Paul said, he smiled softly. "Is everything okay?"
"…Is everything…" Dave looked extremely confused. "Yeah. Everything is fine, dad. I'm going to be late. I'm meeting Santana."
"David, are you gay?" Paul blurted. Dave took a step back as he reeled in shock. Paul was so frank. "I… I'm sorry, I'm bad at these things, I probably should've… been a little bit… gentler or something."
"What are you talking about, I'm not gay." Dave whispered, his eyes soft with fear. "I have a girlfriend—Santana—"
"David." Paul said softly. "I love you no matter who you love. You are my son. You are my son, David."
"Dad…" Dave said, his face screwing up. "I… I'm not…"
"You haven't been happy in a long time." Paul said, putting a hand on Dave's shoulder. "It's because of this, and I know it. I just want you to be happy, son. Please. Please…" Paul failed to hide his fear. "I don't want to lose you. I love you too much."
Dave couldn't hold his tears and hugged his dad, putting his face in the crook of his dad's neck. Paul let a few tears squeeze out of his eyes as his son shook against him.
"I'm scared, Dad." Dave whispered. "I don't know what to do."
"I don't either." Paul muttered back. "All I know is that I will love you through it all. I promise. I promise."
And that was all Dave wanted to hear. With his father's words, he knew. He knew he was gay, he knew that he'd been trying to make himself think that he wasn't gay. He knew that he was trying to impress his father, that he thought his father would try and talk him out of it, try and tell him that he could change. He thought that he would be hated by everyone, he thought that he had no one… but Dave had his father. And that's all he really needed.