TITLE: Purple Rain

AUTHOR: Erin E. Peters

CHARACTERS: All the Ducks from D3. Philip, Eleanor and Drew Banks. Casey Conway. Linda. A few female OC's. Jesse and Terry Hall. Casey Larson, Jake McGill and Ethan Fanger. Appearances by the other Hawks guys (Collin Brown, Austin King, Bryce Stevens, Taylor Morgan, Justin Herek, Lucas Stickler, Kevin Wise, Carson Rogers) and Coach Reilly. Coach Orion. Mentions of Gordon Bombay throughout story.

RELATIONSHIPS: Charlie Conway/Adam Banks. Dean Portman/Julie Gaffney. Guy Germaine/Connie Moreau. Casey Larson/Jake McGill.

RATING: Teen and up. Rated for adult situations, language and slash.

SUMMARY: Charlie and Adam each deal with their own internal struggles during the summer between freshman and sophomore year; all the while standing by each other's side.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Mighty Ducks. I only own my own story scenarios. I do, however, own the ideas of the girls that Mr. Banks 'forces' on his son.

NOTES: Not sure if there's anything in this story that is outside the realm of the time period. I also think that I kept everyone in character well. But, if you do catch something, please do let me know about it. I welcome constructive criticism, as well as positive feedback. It will only help me as I write more about these guys. #inspiration

OK guys here it is! The moment you've been (patiently, or impatiently) waiting for. Adam comes out to Philip and Eleanor in this one...and I LOVED writing it. This was one of my favorite chapters in the whole story, and I think I wrote it in like two hours flat. I hope you're all still there...I know the updates are coming slow now! I want to space them out, and as a reminder the Grand Finale (chapter 25) will be two parts...much like the last Harry Potter installment (Deathly Hallows) came out in theaters in two parts. There are five scenes in Chapter 25, so I will post the first three in Part One - and the last two in Part Two. The last two scenes are a PERFECT ending...I think. Wait, not ENDING, because there's Breaking Bad and Serendipity yet!

Enough pumping you up for the grand finale...on to Chapter 21!

PS. I do not own the song used. Savage Garden does ;)

TWENTY ONE

Adam sat at his desk Saturday afternoon, which was half empty, most of his school supplies packed away.

His dad was working through a hefty caseload lately, so he was spending the day at the firm. He would be home that evening for dinner, however, around the same time as his mom. It was then that Adam was planning on coming out to his parents. He was going to save it for after they ate.

His stomach was in knots. It had been all day. He had spent half the afternoon on the phone with Charlie, reiterating to him over and over how nervous he was (and of course, Charlie poured on the encouragement like syrup). In fact, he could not remember a time in his life in which he had been more nervous than he was right now.

Adam got up from his desk chair, walking over to his bed and falling on it face first. He fell straight into his pillow, and closed his eyes. He curled up and decided to just lay down and rest before dinner. I hope Dad had a good day at work, the blonde thought to himself. He thought a moment later that, if Philip did not have a good day at work - or a productive one at that- then his reaction to the news could really suck. Adam couldn't afford a bad day. He said a silent prayer.

He reached over to his clock radio on his bedside table, turning it on. It was, of course, tuned to Cities 97 FM. Shoot, gotta take this thing to the dorm, he thought, reaching over to his night stand drawer, pulling out a pen and paper, and jotting down the note. Again, he scrunched his nose at his awful handwriting.

He sighed and settled back down into his pillow as the song on the radio ended and the next song came on. It was a song that had just come out earlier that summer. It was another song he was loving. He smiled as he remembered a late-night moment he and Charlie had shared on their three month anniversary, when they had danced in their dorm to another song by these guys. The thought gave him warm fuzzies. Two days, he told himself. Two short days.

Anytime I need to see your face, I just close my eyes,
And I am taken to a place where your crystal mind and
magenta feelings take up shelter in the base of my spine
sweet like a chic-a-cherry cola.
I don't need to try and explain; I just hold on tight,
and if it happens again, I might move so slightly
to the arms and the lips and the face of the human cannonball that I need to, I want to.
Come stand a little bit closer-
Breathe in and get a bit higher-
You'll never know what hit you
When I get to you.

The song gave him temporary relief as he thought about the one he wanted, for all eternity if he could. However, when it was done, he was right back where he started; feeling like the world was about to end.

The fifteen year old caught a glimpse of the time, and his heart pounded in his chest. 5PM; his parents would be home any minute now.

Adam buried his face in his pillow, mentally preparing himself for battle.

…

They sat at the table in silence eating their meal. Eleanor had prepared a lasagna, and Adam had helped out by making a salad up and cooking up breadsticks. Philip had helped as well, by sitting in his study, drinking a scotch on the rocks and reading the newspaper, waiting for dinner.

"That was a great meal. Thanks honey." Philip leaned over and kissed Eleanor on the cheek. Husband and wife were sitting next to each other on one side of the table. He looked across the table after kissing Eleanor, and thanked his son for his part in the meal preparation.

"You're welcome Dad. Did you have a good day?" Adam asked hopefully.

"I actually did. Court should be a breeze on Monday. I believe I'll present a solid argument for Mr. Jensen." The attorney smiled at the teenager, then at his wife.

Adam exhaled in slight assuagement, and felt like he was about to pass out. He had a good day. We're all full and satisfied, and together. It's now or never. Charlie's face crossed his mind, and that image was all he needed to start pushing the words out.

"Mom, Dad, I have something I need to tell you guys. I want to tell you before I go back to school." Adam began. He hoped his parents couldn't like, see sweat on his face or anything. It sure felt like he was sweating.

"Which begs the question, Adam honey, what time do you want me to take you? I took Monday off. It'll be me. Your dad has court."

Adam internally thanked his lucky stars. He didn't want to have to deal with a twenty minute car ride with his dad, especially if he didn't exactly respond favorably to his son's, well, gayness.

"Ok, mom. I guess as early as you can take me. I want to get in before the crowd." He answered. "Now, I have something to tell you guys."

"What's that?" Philip asked, taking a sip of his scotch, which he had refilled during dinner.

"Um, I don't know how to say this exactly." Adam looked down at the floor.

"Honey, we're listening. Go ahead." Eleanor prompted. Philip looked at him as if to say the same thing.

"Dad, you know how I never liked any of those girls that I went out with this summer?" He met his dad's gaze across the table. Philip didn't respond, but gave a slight nod.

"Your dad told me about that. We're sort of wondering about that." Eleanor flashed Adam a concerned look. Philip just took another sip of scotch.

"I'm…" Adam started, but cut off. For some reason he couldn't get the word to come out in front of his traditional parents. However, when he thought of Charlie's smiling face again, as well as his earlier words of affirmation, he was instilled with a sudden bravery. "I'm gay."

The front line center watched as his dad got up from the table and walked into the study, taking his glass of scotch with him. His mom reached across the table and covered her son's hand with her own.

"I kind of figured when your dad told me about all of your unsuccessful dates. It's ok. You're still our son. I'll talk to your father. I think he's sort of shocked. You know how he is."

Adam smiled at his mom. She was such a compassionate person. She had to be, in her line of work. But Adam had never been more grateful that he had Eleanor Banks as a mother than that night. He glanced over toward the study.

"Dad will be ok, right? I mean, he's not going to disown me or anything, is he?"

Eleanor gave Adam a warm look. "Of course he isn't. Like I said, I'll talk to him. And remember I'm the one who's taking you to school. He only has tomorrow with you, otherwise he'll have time to get over it. Which he will."

"Thanks, mom. I love you a lot." Adam genuinely stated.

"I love you too, Adam. Does your brother know about this?" Eleanor gave her son's hand a soft, comforting squeeze.

Adam smiled. "Yeah, Drew called me earlier this month. We spent most of our time talking about me. So I'm going to call him once I get settled in at school and we're going to talk about him and Arizona."

"I'm glad. Honey," Eleanor reached over, running her fingers through Adam's blonde locks, "it'll be ok. It really will. Just give him time to process this. Again, you know how he is."

Adam sighed. "I know."

"Adam, I'm proud of you for telling us. You're becoming very self aware. You're a great young man. We're so, so glad you're our son."

Adam looked at his mom and gave her the biggest smile he could muster.

…

Adam walked up to his room and closed his door. Eleanor was cleaning the dinner dishes up and loading the dishwasher. He would have helped her, but she insisted he go up to his room and decompress. She knew that he needed to be alone and think things through. Adam loved how perceptive his mother was. He sat down on his bed and pulled his phone out of the front pocket of his Dockers.

He dialed Charlie's phone number.

"Hello?" The captain answered on the second ring. The front line center was flooded with feeling just hearing his voice.

"Charlie, I told mom and dad." Adam stated. He knew Charlie knew it was him. The other boy knew what he was doing that night, and had told him to call after dinner.

"What's the verdict?" The brunette asked.

"Well, my mom was almost exactly like your mom. She was incredibly compassionate and caring. My dad just walked away. Mom says he'll get over it, but it kind of hurt. Not totally unexpected, but it hurt." The blonde explained.

"Baby, it's over. I love you." Charlie soothed.

"I love you too. Thanks for making me think of your face while I was feeling like the world was crashing down. It kept me going." Adam stated.

"Of course, love." The brunette responded sincerely.

"Oh, also, my mom's taking me to school Monday. Early, too. Dad has court."

"So, essentially, tomorrow is your last day with your dad." Charlie reassured. "It'll be ok, Adam. I bet you in a week after you leave he'll be over it."

"You're right. It's over. Now all I've got to worry about is getting back to school so I can kiss you all day in our room." The blonde giggled.

"Damn right. I can't wait. Sleep well. And breathe. They know. The battle has been fought."

"I love you Charlie. Thank you for being so encouraging. You're the best boyfriend ever." Adam smiled into the phone.

"I love you too Adam. Same to you." He kissed the phone.

Adam returned it, pressing the end call button and plugging his phone in. He decided to get to sleep early.

Charlie was right. He had finally beaten down his demons. He gave himself a pat on the back and walked out of his room to freshen up for bed.