Chapter 11.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Fosters. I do own the characters of Daniel "Danny" Evans and Harrison "Harry" O'Reilly.

Jude's POV:

It's been four months since our trio became a quartet with Harry's arrival. Harry fit into the group like he had born with a place on the roster. His protective, sarcastic nature perfectly complemented Danny, Connor and I. His intellect made for stimulating conversation and debates, that could result in three hour long planning sessions for world domination. He was also one of the kindest people I have ever met, always offering to help if somebody needs it.

Summer vacation had begun, and our sophomore year at Anchor Beach had come to an end. I stood at the fridge watching Danny and Harry interact on my couch. Danny was sitting on the couch, with Harry's head in his lap. He was stroking his hair slowly, looking at him with a soft smile. Connor walks past me to get a soda from the fridge. I grab him by the arm and pull him toward the back door. We walked out into the grass and I turned to him, with a serious look on my face.

"Connor we need to talk." I tell him when we are safely out of Danny's hearing range, and I'm sure he's not eavesdropping on us. He looks at me, a slightly frightened look on his face.

"You're not breaking up with me are you?" He asked frantically, "Because if I did something wrong..."

"NO! I'm not breaking up with you, dummy! I need to talk to you about Danny." I tell him quickly. His eyes widen and he nods, breathing a sigh of relief.

"Oh. Okay. That's a relief. I see where this is going now, it's about..."

"Danny and Harry." I confirm, "I'm worried about Danny."

"You see it too then?" He asks me, "The way he looks at him. The way he is with him"

"Yeah, he's falling in love with him." I tell him, "And he's falling for him hard."

"Is that such a bad thing, though?" Connor asks, "I mean, Danny deserves to be happy, and Harry's a genuinely nice guy. I've never Danny as happy as when he's around. Harry's good for him, and Danny's good for Harry. Maybe we should just let it play out and not interfere."

"I know. I know," I respond, "But Harry is Gideon's identical twin brother. I'm worried that... Danny's falling for a ghost, or something. I can't tell if he's falling in love with Harry FOR Harry, or because he looks exactly like Gideon."

"I don't know, I think he's smarter than that." Connor argued, "He knows Gideon is gone. He's accepted that, and Harry is the one who's helped the most to move past it. He's given him the closure that the two of us couldn't give him."

I nodded in reluctant agreement.

"Besides, maybe this a sign, Juju."

I roll my eyes at the silly pet name Connor had taken to calling me, but I couldn't help but smile at it.

"It's almost like he was sent to give Danny a second chance at love or something." Connor reasoned, "If Danny wants to go for it, and Harry's willing... who are we to try and stop it?"

"I'm not suggesting we try to stop it," I clarify, "I'm just saying, we should talk to Danny and make sure he's doing this for the right reasons."

Connor pondered my point for a moment, before nodding in agreement.

"Fair enough." He says, "Let's go back inside."

We walked back in the door and walked back toward the living room. We stopped short in the doorway, when we heard Danny and Harry talking inside. Connor and I shared a look.

"Eavesdrop?" I ask in a whisper. Connor nods and smirks.

"Anyway, um. I need to ask you something, Harry." Danny said.

"Shoot. What is it?"

Danny sighed a deep sigh.

"Oh god, what did you do now?" Harry snarked.

We peeked around the corner.

Harry had sit up, and Danny was looking away. Danny turned to look back at Harry...

And he leant in and kissed him.

Connor and I had to cover our mouths to muffle the gasps we let out.

Danny pulled back and turned away again.

"I'm sorry." Danny said quietly, sliding down off the couch onto the floor, pulling his legs up to his body and leaning his chin on his chin, "I shouldn't have done that."

Harry still sat on the couch stunned. Slowly, he brought his fingers up to touch his lips, before exhaling a shuddering gasp. He looked down at Danny, and slid off the couch to sit next to him.

"How long?" Harry asked, shakily but gently.

"A couple of weeks now." Danny mumbled.

"I just want to make sure, Danny." Harry said, "I'll admit that I like you. I like you a lot, but I need to know that you like me for me, and not because I'm his twin."

"At first, I'll admit, that was one of the big reasons why I wanted to get close to you." Danny responded, "But after a couple of days, I started to notice things about you that I like. Things made me start liking the person behind the face."

'Oh yeah, like what?" Harry asked.

"Well for starters, you're the most sarcastic person I've ever met." Danny said, startling a laugh out of Harry, "And I love that! I really do. I love having somebody who can give worse than he get's."

"What else?" Harry asks.

"You're so smart." Danny tells him, "Like ridiculously smart. You could probably graduate early with how smart you are. You're so full of life... even when you're grouchy in the mornings."

Harry smiled at him.

"And you're so kind." Danny continued, "Just like he was. But unlike Giddy, if somebody crosses you, you're not a afraid to cut some bitches."

Harry guffawed at that.

"And I like that." Danny continues, "You're polite, but you're not afraid to get sassy. Giddy didn't get sassy. He was polite to everybody no matter what they said to him. You're impulsive, you're stubborn, you're capable of getting angry. He never got mad. You do get mad. And I'm man enough to admit that it's hot as hell when you do."

Harry laughed and pushed Danny shoulder.

"Stop." he laughed.

"I'm only saying it because it's true." Danny said to him, with a small smile. Harry looked him in the eyes and returned the smile. "You may look like Giddy, but underneath, you're your own beautiful, stubborn, impulsive, WONDERFUL person, and I thank God every day that I'm lucky enough to have you as my friend. Even if it never goes any further."

Harry looked at him, with a pondering look on his face under the smile.

"One of the last things he said to me," Danny said, "Was that he wanted me to keep living, even if I had to relearn how. Connor and Jude, have helped me start to learn that I NEEDED to live again." Danny continued, "So I lived for them. YOU make me WANT to live for myself again. Nobody else has done that, but you. My heart swells when I'm around you. I have fallen for you so hard, that I can hardly stand to be apart from you."

Harry made his decision.

He lent in and returned Danny's kiss, which Danny returned almost desperately. I couldn't help but smile. They kissed for about twenty seconds before separating.

"I have never felt anything like I did during that kiss." Harry whispered, "I'd be lying if I told you I didn't have feelings for you too."

Danny smiled softly.

"And there are some people who might think this is a bad idea. That this is unhealthy," Harry said breathily, "But, if you want to... if you feel like you're ready to be in an actual relationship again, then I'm willing to try."

Danny's smile widened to the point where it looked like his face was going to rip.

"Yeah." He said, "I'm ready. And to hell with what anybody thinks. As long as you're mine, nothing else matters."

Danny pulled him into a hug. It lasted for a few moments before he seperated and turned towards where Connor and I were standing.

Crap. Busted.

"You two might as well come in." Danny hollered, "I know you've been eavesdropping this entire time."

"Dammit." I whispered to Connor.

"You should have known that he knew."

We stepped into the room.

"What do you guys think?" Danny asked us, "About this."

He gestured between him and Harry.

"It's not our decision." I tell him.

"No, it's not. But that doesn't mean I don't value my brothers' opinions." Danny said. Connor and I shared a look.

"I think you deserve to be happy..." I started.

"And all the things we had questions about just got put to rest." Connor finished.

"If you two are happy with each other.. then that's really all there is to it." I say.

Danny and Harry stand and move forward, where we meet in an embrace.

"We're really happy you've found somebody to love, Danny." I tell him.

They break the embrace, and Danny turns and hugs Harry tight to him.

"Yeah, me too."