"Joel, are you sure you're okay?" Sebastian asked as he parked his car in his driveway; they were about to tell his parents.
"Don't worry about me, honey. I'm perfectly fine," Joel said. He wasn't, but he was willing to fake it when he met his future in-laws.
"Okay, well, fair warning, my parents are actually more accepting than I've seen of yours, and, um, I told them about you, so they're excited to meet you, and yeah, you'll see," Sebastian said as he opened the front door. "Mom, are you home?" he called.
"In the kitchen, honey," she called back.
"Come on," Sebastian pulled Joel through the door. "Mom, this is Joel. Joel, this is my mother, Helen." A tall, blonde woman turned and smiled when she saw Joel. She embraced him; Joel looked a little terrified at first, but seemed to relent.
"It is so nice to finally meet you, Joel. Warren has told us so much about you," she said, and then she gasped. "That is the most beautiful I have ever seen. Who gave it to you?" Joel looked at Sebastian. "Warren Damien Rhodes, were you going to tell me that you proposed to Joel?"
"Yes, ma'am," Sebastian said sheepishly. "Are you mad?"
"Now why would I be mad? This is fantastic. Who's the wedding planner?" she asked.
"A friend of ours has been planning weddings, so we agreed to let him do it," Joel replied.
"Your Uncle Stephen's catering company can do the catering. What about a choir?" Helen pressed.
"We were thinking of the Warblers and Joel's Glee club at McKinley, the New Directions," Sebastian explained.
"Wait, the same New Directions you're facing at Regionals?" Helen looked surprised and Sebastian nodded.
"Is anyone home?" a voice called. Helen hurried out to meet who Joel assumed was Warren's father. The man walked into the kitchen; Joel thought he looked like an older, balding version of Warren. "Ah, you must be Joel," he said, extending his hand. Joel shook the man's hand.
"Yes, sir," Joel said.
"Joel, have you told your parents?" Helen asked. She wished she didn't say anything when she saw tears brim Joel's eyes.
"Mom, his parents kicked him out when we told them," Sebastian explained.
"Oh my goodness, Joel, I'm so sorry," Helen said, reaching over to Joel, who ducked away, sniffling.
"He doesn't really like to be touched," Sebastian whispered. "Joel, are you okay?" he asked a shaking Joel. Joel simply nodded and wiped his eyes again. "Come on; let's go up to my room."
"Joel?" Sebastian asked, lying down next to Joel on his bed.
"I'm fine, Warren, baby, I'm fine," Joel mumbled.
"We're going to be together forever, I promise," Sebastian said, taking Joel's hand. "By the way, are you sure we should send your parents an invite?"
"It's a nice thing to do, whether they approve or not," Joel replied. "And I've been thinking of the invitation style in my head." Sebastian laughed and nuzzled himself onto Joel.
"Just you and I
Sharing our love together
And I know in time
We'll build the dreams we treasure
And we'll be all right
Just you and I
"Just you and I
Sharing our love together
And I know in time
We'll build the dreams we treasure
And we'll be all right
Just you and I
"I remember our first embrace
That smile that was on your face
The promises that we made
Now your love is my reward
And I love you even more
Than I ever did before
"Just you and I
We care and trust each other
With you in my life
We'll never be alone, yeah
We'll be all right
Just you and I,"
Sebastian sang. Joel turned to Sebastian, smiled, and kissed him.
"I love you too," he whispered.