A/N: I love my beta. Thanks mamdi, I'd never have got this far without you, or not without a nervous breakdown.

I run up to my room and fall down on my bed, exhausted and relieved and hoping that Jasper's coming out goes as well as mine did. I grab my phone and send him a text:

I did it, everything's fine. ur folks home yet?

I wait anxiously for a reply, it comes through quickly.

Glad it was OK. They just arrived, am helping dad unpack the car. will talk to them soon. call u later.

Good luck, I reply.

I pull out some books and try to study for a while, but I can't concentrate. I keep at it though, it's better than lying around worrying about Jasper and how things are going with his parents. Eventually I'm interrupted by a knock on my bedroom door.

"Come in," I say, looking up. I smile when I see Alice peeking round the door. She comes in and sits on the edge of my bed as I spin around in my chair to face her.

"So," she beams at me. "You told them?"

"Yeah," I nod. "And it's cool. They were totally fine with everything."

"I knew they would be, but I'm so glad you've done it. It must have been tough."

"It was," I nod. "Even though I thought they'd be okay, it was the hardest thing I've ever had to do."

"And Mom says that Emmett knows too?" Alice's face is carefully neutral but I can see that she's digging.

I groan. "Yeah, he and Rose... erm... kinda caught us in a compromising position last night." She giggles and raises her eyebrows questioningly. "Believe me, Al," I assure her. "You really don't want to know."

"That bad, huh?" she looks amused. "But are things okay with Emmett?"

"Yeah, we worked it out. He was pissed that I hadn't told him before, and that we'd made Rose keep it from him. But he's cool with me being gay." I notice that each time I say the word, it slips out a little more naturally.

"That's great," she smiles again.

"And Alice?" I say, biting my lip awkwardly as she looks at me. "I wanted to say thanks... for everything. You've been awesome over the last few weeks, keeping my secret and just being cool about things. I really appreciate it."

"It's nothing," she says breezily, but her lips tug up at the corners and there is a tell-tale blush on her cheeks. "I know you'd do the same for me. It's what families should be about."

"But they aren't all like that," I shrug. "I feel very lucky."

"Well duh! Of course you are," she grins mischievously now. "Because clearly I'm the most amazing sister in the world."

"And so modest too," I grin back and chuck a piece of balled up paper at her. She sticks her tongue out at me and we both laugh.

"So, is Jasper telling his parents today too?" she asks.

"Yeah," I sigh anxiously. "He's probably doing it right now."

"They'll be okay too, won't they?" she frowns sympathetically. "He must have an idea what to expect?"

I nod. "He thinks they'll be alright about it. They aren't homophobic or anything, so hopefully they won't freak out." I look over at my phone and frown. "He's gonna phone me when he's done."

"Do you want me to distract you till then?" Alice offers. "You look stressed out. How about I whip your ass at Wii bowling for a while?"

"Yeah," I laugh gratefully. "That sounds good."

I know she's not joking about the ass whipping either. My sister totally owns me every time we play that game.

I slip my phone in my pocket, making sure the ringer is at full volume and that the vibrate function is on just to be safe.

XOXOXOXOX

"Fuck, Alice!" I exclaim in frustration as her first ball sweeps away all the pins for the third time in a row. "I can't believe you got another turkey. It's like you have super powers or something."

She does a little victory dance and grins impishly at me. "Girls rule, boys drool." She sits back on the sofa, twirling the Wii-remote dangerously in her hand. "Go on then, big brother. Do your worst!"

I step up, shaking my head in disbelief. Seriously, I should never play this game with her. It's just embarrassing. I line up to take my shot, but just as I'm about to release the virtual ball my phone buzzes in my pocket and I mess it up, sending the ball backwards into the virtual audience making all the miis leap in the air.

I pull out my phone and fumble to answer it with nervous fingers while Alice slips out and closes the door behind her to give me some privacy.

"Hi," I say as I move to sit on the floor, leaning back against the sofa.

"It was okay," he blurts out in a gasp and I let out the breath I'd been holding as he continues. "Dad was pretty shocked but he's supportive. Mom wasn't so surprised though. She'd been wondering for a while but had kept it to herself apparently."

"And are you okay?" I ask him. I remember vividly how terrified I'd felt earlier when I spoke to my parents.

"I am now," he laughs. "I thought I was gonna crap myself when I told them I needed to talk to them though."

"Yeah, I know that feeling," I smile to myself. "And did you tell them about us? What did they say?"

"Luckily you've made a good impression," he replies. "They both like you. I think they're glad that I'm in a steady relationship with someone that they approve of, even if you're not a girl." I snort at that. "Dad asked me if I was completely sure about it, which kinda made me mad. I asked him whether he thought I'd really put all of us through this if I wasn't, and he shut up about it then. Apart from that it went as well as I could have hoped really." He pauses. "So, tell me how it went for you?"

I fill him on my parents' reaction and he's relieved that they've accepted the situation so calmly. He laughed when I told him about Dad checking that we're having safe sex.

"Shit," I can hear the horrified amusement in his tone. "I'm so glad my parents didn't ask me about that. Jesus!"

"Oh," I suddenly remember. "My mom wants you to come for dinner tomorrow, is that okay?"

I hear him chuckle down the phone. "Great minds, my mom told me to ask you the same. Hold on a minute, I'll see whether you can come here for lunch instead, is that okay?"

"Yeah, that should be fine." I know I'll be horribly nervous facing Jasper's parents now that they know. But I figure it will be good to get that awkward first meeting over with. I wait for a few minutes and then Jasper's back on the line, slightly breathless.

"Okay, lunch it is then. Rose is over at Emmett's tomorrow, so it will just be you and me with my folks."

That's a relief; I could do without Emmett there to witness my discomfort. "What time should I come over?"

"About twelve, and then later in the afternoon we can head over to yours and have dinner there."

"Great, I'll tell Mom," I reply. "She'll be happy."

We chat for a little longer. Both of us badly need to get some studying done during the rest of the day today. We're back at school on Monday and our exams start the following week. We make a deal that we'll motivate each other and have regular g-talk breaks to make it more bearable.

The plan works and I manage to get an impressive amount of work done in the evening and fall into bed exhausted. I'm a little nervous about tomorrow, but apart from that I feel as though a huge weight has been lifted now that our families know about Jasper and me. I hadn't realized how stressful the secret-keeping was. I know that we're still going to be keeping it from people at school, but that will be easier. Sneaking around at school is infinitely easier to manage than trying to hide our relationship inside our own homes.

XOXOXOXOX

The next morning a thought occurs to me. I manage to get my Mom alone in the kitchen and take a deep breath.

"Um, Mom?" I feel my cheeks flame.

"Yes, honey?" her brow wrinkles as she waits for me to continue.

"Well... now that you know that Jasper's my... uh... boyfriend, not just a friend..." I try not to wince; this shouldn't be so hard to ask. "I just wanted to check... is it still okay for us to be in my room together?" I blurt out, looking at the toes of my shoes, unable to meet her eyes.

"Of course it is, Edward," her voice is gentle and I drag my eyes up to meet her soft gaze and slight smile. "You were allowed to have Bella in your room, why wouldn't we have the same rules for Jasper?"

I smile gratefully. "Okay, thanks Mom. I was hoping you'd say that, but I felt like I needed to be sure."

"You're both eighteen anyway, and you know that your father and I have always felt that it's better for teenagers to have privacy at home instead of having to find other places to go." Her face is serious now. "We trust you and Alice to make your own decisions about what's right for you in your relationships."

"I appreciate that."

She moves forward to hug me as she says, "Jasper makes you happy." It's a statement not a question, but I nod against her hair anyway and hum my agreement. She squeezes me tighter and murmurs, "I'm glad."

XOXOXOXOX

By the time I'm ready to head over to Jasper's my nerves are jangling with tension again. I've changed my clothes three times, which is ridiculous. Logically, I know that wearing the right shirt isn't going to help Jasper's parents be any happier that I'm fooling around with their son. But it's important to me to feel I've done the best I can to make a good impression on them.

"I hope Jasper isn't going to be as nervous as this later on," my Mom chuckles as I check my reflection in the hall mirror and groan in frustration at my disobedient hair. "Make sure you tell him that we don't bite."

"It's not funny," I grumble. "It's always nerve-wracking being introduced as 'the boyfriend,' and given that both of us are boys and that our parents have only just found out we're gay it adds a whole new level of awkwardness. You need to go easy on Jasper tonight."

"Honestly, Edward," Mom straightens the collar on my pale blue button down and tweaks a spike of my hair into place. "Of course we will, what on earth are you expecting?"

"Just warn Dad that if he so much as mentions safe sex he'll be in big trouble."

She giggles and peeps over my shoulder and our eyes meet in the mirror. "Don't worry, honey. I'll make sure he knows. Now off you go, or you'll be late. Good luck!"

I feel as though I'm heading to the executioner's block rather than to meet my boyfriend and his parents for lunch. It's going to get easier. I tell myself. It's a useful mantra. I try and imagine a point in the future where I'm completely comfortable and open about my sexuality. I feel optimistic that I'll get there eventually. In the meantime each small hurdle that I cross gets me closer to that goal.

When I reach Jasper's house, he opens the front door before I have time to ring the bell.

"I saw your car," he smiles and pulls me into a hug. I stiffen, uncomfortably aware of the open door to the kitchen behind him and the sound of clattering that signals someone's presence, just out of sight of the doorway. But I force myself to relax and hug him back, reminding myself that we don't have to hide anymore. When he pulls away he kisses my cheek briefly and squeezes my shoulder. "Are you okay?" he asks.

"Nervous," I mutter. "But yeah."

"Come on then," he takes my hand and tugs me towards the kitchen. "They're both in there. Let's get this over with."

He drops my hand as we enter the warm kitchen. Jasper's mom is stirring a pot on the stove that smells amazing and his Dad is putting away some dishes from the drying rack. They both turn as we enter. My heart is pounding and my palms are damp.

"Hi, Edward." His dad steps forwards first and shakes my hand with a tight grip.

"Mr Hale," I meet his eyes and nod and he smiles. It's warm and genuine and I relax a little.

"Good to see you, Edward." His mom puts her wooden spoon aside and wipes her hands on her apron before moving towards me. She pulls me into a hug that's brief and a little awkward, but she's smiling too.

"Can I get you a drink?" Mr Hale offers. "There's juice or soda?"

"Just a soda thanks," I reply.

"I'll get it, Dad," Jasper says and goes to fetch me a glass.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" I offer. I feel uncomfortable standing around without something to do.

"That's kind of you dear," Jasper's mom says. "Perhaps you boys can fix the salad? All the stuff you need is in the refrigerator."

Glad to be given a task to concentrate on, I help Jasper get everything out and we sit at the kitchen table together, peeling and chopping. I gradually start to feel less edgy. We chat about the holidays, school work and the forthcoming exams. But nobody makes any mention of the one thing that I know we're all thinking about. I get that elephant-in-the-room feeling again, but I'm sure as shit not going to be the one to bring the subject up with Jasper's folks, so I nod along and answer their questions. I catch Jasper's eye occasionally and he smiles at me each time. Our fingers brush as we pass things to each other and I have to lean over him to reach the salad bowl as I drop in the vegetables that I've been slicing. I can smell him; all warm, clean boy, and it makes me long to be alone with him.

Lunch is delicious. Mrs Hale has made a spicy chicken dish with rice and there's bread and salad to go with it. Jasper's sitting to my left, not close enough to touch as it's only the four of us here today. We're spaced out, with one person on each side of the table. I wish we were closer so I could press my knee against his under the table. I'm craving the reassurance of his touch.

The conversation stays on safe topics during the main course. But when the apple pie comes out and we're tucking into that, Mr Hale finally brings up the subject we've all been avoiding till now.

"So, boys." He pauses, but the change in his tone instantly makes me sit up and pause in my chewing.

"We want you to know that we appreciate your honesty and support you both." I glance at Jasper as he nods seriously at his father and mutters his thanks. "But we are worried about you, too, specifically that if this gets out you could have a hard time during the rest of your last year at school."

"I understand that, Dad." Jasper replies. "This is why we've decided to keep it quiet at school for now. Apart from Emmett, who we both trust, it's only our families who know and it's likely to stay that way for a while." He looks at me for confirmation and I nod.

I clear my throat. "Yeah, we don't want to rush into telling people," I say. "But I think that if we do... eventually, then we have enough friends who'll support us. And we'll cope with whatever the fall-out is when it happens."

It's Mr Hale's turn to nod now but his face is still serious. "Well you've obviously given it some thought and I respect that. Just be careful that's all. There are still a lot of very prejudiced people in this world."

"I know," Jasper replies. "But we're gay, Dad, and that's not going to change. So if we want to be able to live our lives without having to hide who we really are, we're going to have to face that sooner or later."

Jasper flicks his eyes to mine and reaches to take my hand which is lying on the table. He twists our fingers together and my heart flutters with the shocking thrill of him touching me so intimately in front of his parents. I look up and see Mrs Hale's eyes drop to our hands. She meets my eyes and flashes me a little secret smile that makes me blush.

Jasper looks back at his dad and continues. "But, like I said, we're not in a rush now. We figure it might be best to get through high school without rocking the boat and see where we are then. If we're still together when we go to college, maybe that would be a better time to come out of the closet completely."

Mr Hale nods. "Yes, I guess that might be a little easier."

We hang around for an hour or so after lunch. We help clear up and join Jasper's parents in the living room for coffee. Jasper sits next to me on the sofa, taking the middle of the three seats rather than putting himself at the opposite end. We're close enough that our knees bump occasionally when one of us shifts position. I'm constantly aware of his body next to me, I can't wait to get him alone in the car and kiss him stupid.

Finally, Jasper makes our excuses and we get ourselves together to head over to my place. His mom hugs me as we say goodbye and his dad shakes my hand again and claps me on the shoulder affectionately. We really are incredibly fortunate that both sets of parents are willing to accept us and our relationship so readily. I can't imagine how awful it must be to come out to your parents only to have to face their anger or disgust.

We both ride in my car. It's not far, so I can drive Jasper back later. Without any discussion I make a small detour so we can park up on a quiet road near the cemetery for a while. I'm not planning on getting him naked, I just need to kiss him badly. He chuckles as he realizes that we're not going straight to my place and his hand squeezes my thigh, sliding slightly higher and sending a pulse of heat to my groin. As soon as I park and kill the engine he reaches across and pulls me over so our lips meet. I hum with the relief of finally being able to touch him how I want. His lips are soft and move gently against mine and then down over my cheek to rub against my jaw.

"Fuck, that feels good," I sigh. "I've been wanting to kiss you for hours."

"Me too," he pulls back and grins. "So... how do you feel after that?"

"Good," I say. "Your folks were great and made me feel welcome. I'm so glad they're okay with it."

"Yeah," his hand is still curled around my neck and I feel his fingertips on the nape of my neck as he smiles. "I'm so fucking relieved."

He's beautiful when he grins like that, so I kiss him again. This time the kiss is harder and more determined. He opens up for me and the touch and slide of our tongues and the feeling of his strong hands moving on my back and shoulders soon has me painfully hard. I pull away and lean back in my seat, wincing, and reach down to adjust my dick. Sitting twisted around in the front seat of a car while you make out is a sure-fire recipe for cock constriction. I'm tempted to drag him into the back seat and kiss him some more, but it's daylight and my common sense wins the battle over my libido.

"We'd better get going," I sigh. "Otherwise we'll get carried away and I really don't want Bella's dad having to lock us up for public indecency. I'm hoping we'll get a chance for some alone time at my house later."

"Oh really?" Jasper sounds pleased.

"Yeah, I checked house rules with Mom," I grin as his eyebrows shoot up. "And you're still allowed in my room."

"Nice work," he laughs as I start the car and pull away. "I would have liked to have been a fly on the wall for that conversation; I can only imagine the color of your cheeks."

"Huh, yeah. I was pretty embarrassed, but I wanted to be sure it was okay."

"So I have your parents' permission to molest you on the premises?" His voice has that filthy edge to it that always goes straight to my dick.

"You're impossible," I say severely. "Don't say shit like that to me when I'm trying to drive. I want to get rid of this boner before I get home."

Jasper chuckles at me again but shuts up for a while. His hand is on my leg as usual, but he keeps it safely near my knee. I love the warm pressure, and the knowledge that he wants to touch me as much as I want to touch him.

Eventually he breaks the comfortable silence.

"So are you still sure about not wanting to come out at school?" he asks, carefully casual.

"Um... yeah," I reply. "Pretty sure. I don't think I'm ready for that yet. Why, do you want to tell people?"

"Honestly, yes." His reply surprises me. I'm not sure what to say, but he continues. "It's okay, Edward. I totally get that you're not ready. I didn't think for a minute that you were. I'm only telling you this because you asked me directly. I'm not going to put any pressure on you to come out to anyone else until you're sure you want to."

"It's not that I'm ashamed of who I am, or of being with you," I try to explain, wanting him to understand. "I'm just not sure that I'm ready to deal with any trouble it might cause. I want to keep my head down and get through the last few months of high school; I don't see the point in rocking the boat. Is that really cowardly?"

"Of course not!" He squeezes my knee for emphasis. "You're not a fucking coward, Ed. This is all so new to you and you've been amazing, really. It's fine to wait. I just wanted you to know that if you change your mind, then I'm ready to be all... you know... out and proud or some shit like that."

"So anytime I wanna come and sit in your lap in the cafeteria...?" I side-eye him as I drive and raise an eyebrow.

"Yep, totally cool with me."

"Well I'll bear that in mind," I chuckle.