"Oh and by the way I'm gay."


The silence was almost deafening, nobody dared to move and Kurt himself held his breath waiting for some kind of reaction. Had he really just come out to his family? On top of his grandmother's antique dinner table? Standing on her silk table cloth? He slowly raised his gaze to meet Victoria's. The woman looked at him before carefully folding the napkin in her lap and setting it on the table. She slowly stood up and if everyone had not already been holding their breaths this would have been the moment to start.

"Santana, Noah and Kurt." she said slowly and in a calm voice. "Would you please join me in my study for a moment?"

The siblings knew that this was an order and not a request, without as much as looking at their parents and siblings they moved to follow their grandmother. Back in the dining room the family slowly began to breathe again, sharing both confused and concerned looks..

Kurt walked in between his brother and sister, whishing he could reach out and hold their hands, but he did not dare to try. When they finally reached the study Victoria had already taken her seat in a large leather chair. The siblings stood in a line in front of her as Harold the butler shut the door behind them. What was going to happen now? Was the woman going to yell? Kick them out of her mansion? Maybe even disown them and their parents?

"Kurt." the woman said, addressing the youngest first. "I have nothing against homosexuals, I've met a lot of lovely men who had the pleasure of working with my hair, but there is a time and place to announce something like that and my thanksgiving dinner table is not one of them. Would you agree?"

"Yes, Ma'am."

"Good. Now go back and join your family. They should have had enough recovery time to be able to fake being surprised by the news."

Kurt caught Santana rolling her eyes at the comment and quickly pulled her into a hug.

"I love you." he whispered.

"I love you, too." she replied.

He turned to his brother.

"I love you."

"I love you, too, ranger." Puck said hugging him close.

Kurt gave them one last look and left. As he closed the door behind himself he found the hall deserted, nobody from the family or staff was in sight. Deciding that he was not quite ready to face his parents yet he pressed his ear to the thick oak door and tried to make out what was being said behind it.

"Now to you." Victoria said, keeping a stern eye on Puck and Santana. "I have to say I was surprised by what happened here tonight. I always knew the two of you had the potential to be troublemakers, your tragic background is something that simply cannot be denied. I have always been harder on you than on the other children, knowing the world out there would very likely often be more than cruel. What I never expected was for the two of you to turn on each other."

The two teenagers just stared at her, not knowing how to react, this was not what they had expected at all.

"What I gathered from your embarrassing behavior and shameful accusations is that this is not a dispute born out of hatred - I understand it is about love."

The siblings remained silent and kept their eyes on the floor. Victoria sighed.

"I do not want you back at my dinner table until you have resolved this matter and can behave like civilized human beings. I am still hoping your mother taught you some manners." she gave both teens a stern look and then got up from her chair and left the room.

Santana and Puck looked at each other in confusion before remembering how angry they were at each other and looking away.

In the hallway Victoria bumped into a very embarrassed Kurt, who had not expected her to leave his siblings alone. The woman only raised an eyebrow, but it was enough to make the boy blush.

"Eavesdropping?" she asked.

"I'm sorry."

"I would've thought these doors were too thick." the grandmother wondered.

She gave Kurt another curious look before carefully resting her ear against the door. The boy could not believe what he was seeing, but quickly recovered and joined her. They heard nothing but silence.

"They're not talking." Kurt whined.

"Well, they will have to." the woman replied, holding up a key before carefully inserting it and locking the door. "Let's go and see if your freakishly tall brother left us some dessert."

As they walked back to the dining room Kurt could feel his heart race and his palms getting sweaty, he was hardly able to breathe, feeling an uncomfortable pressure to his chest. He had come out to his family and now he would have to face them. Or maybe they had forgotten all about it, being too concerned about Santana and Puck - not to forget Quinn and the baby. So… should he just go in there and pretend it never happened?

"Did you forget how to walk?"

He looked up at his grandmother, he had not even realized he had stopped walking. He slowly shook his head.

"Come on." the woman said, steering him towards the end of the hall.

The boy took a deep breath before entering the room, it just seemed appropriate for the dive he was about to take. Sink or swim - what was it going to be?

"Kurtie!" he was engulfed in his mother's loving embrace before he had really entered the room.

"Hi." he croaked, not knowing what to say.

"I love you so much my baby." the woman smiled and kissed his cheek. "I want you to know that nothing will ever change that."

He allowed her to hug him again and felt his father's hand squeeze his shoulder, he looked up to the man who seemed to be at a loss for words but gave him a reassuring smile. The pressure on his chest lifted, maybe he was not going to drown after all.

"Does this mean that you're a dolphin?" Brittany wondered out loud.

"What?"

"Dolphins are gay sharks, right?" the girl continued.

Kurt looked around for help but everyone seemed to be as confused as he was. He caught his blonde brother's smile.

"Sure, Brit, our Kurt's a dolphin." the older boy supplied before offering his hand for a high five.

Kurt left him hanging for a few seconds, still being too confused to understand what was going on, but as Artie gently nudged him forward he raised his hand to Sam's.

"Thanks." he whispered.

"Nothing to thank us for we're brothers. Nothing is ever going to change that." Artie said.

Relief was about to wash over him, but another voice interrupted it.

"I don't get it." it came from the back of the room.

"Finn…" his father warned.

"No, I mean… how can Kurt be gay? Did we do something wrong?"

"We obviously did something wrong with you." Sam argued.

"I don't wanna be mean… I just… you'd have to make out with boys and…are you sure?" the confused boy turned to his brother.

"I'm sure, Finn."

"Aren't you too young to make that kind of decision?"

"Finn, Kurt did not choose this." Emma tried.

"But has he even kissed a girl yet? How can he know he doesn't like it? Shouldn't he at least try it?"

"Well, have you tried making out with a guy?" Sam asked.

"Eww.. No! That's just gross dude!"

Kurt flinched at his brother's reaction, his sister wrapped her arm protectively around him.

"Then how do you know you're straight?" Artie asked.

"What? I just know! I know what I like!"

"Well so does Kurt." Sam spat.

The youngest boy could not keep the tears from spilling, his family was fighting again and this time it was all his fault.

"Stop it! All of you!" Brittany cried. "You're hurting my dolphin!"

Everyone looked at Kurt.

"Oh, baby." Emma said.

"What about grandchildren." Finn turned to his mother. "Don't you want grandchildren?"

"I think Puck already took care of that a lot sooner then I wanted either of you to." Emma said. "And Kurt can still become a dad if he ever wants to. He can adopt, that's how we got you, remember?"

"I don't want Kurt to go to hell." the tall teen tried next.

"Finn, we did not raise you to think like that. Where's all this coming from?"

"I'm sorry." the boy said turning towards his little brother. "I just don't wanna see you get hurt. I know what guys can be like, most of my friends don't like gay dudes."

"Maybe you should think about who you're friends with." Will argued.

Finn appeared to be deep in thought before he finally nodded.

"I love you little bro." he said to Kurt. "This is just gonna take some time getting used to, okay?"

The younger boy did not trust his voice yet, so he simply nodded.

"This doesn't mean I have to watch you make out with guys, right?"

"Finn!"

"Equal rights for all of us, bro!" Artie said. "Do you have any idea how often we had to watch you tongue wrestle with Rachel?"

Finn blushed, but nobody could tell if it was because he had been caught out or still worried about his little brother making out with another boy.

"Where are Santana and Puck?" their father finally wondered.

"They needed a little time to work things out." Victoria replied. "Let's enjoy dessert without them."

They all sat down in awkward silence, still worrying about Kurt, Finn and the two teens in another room. From time to time they were interrupted by a scream or the sound of something or someone hitting the door at the end of the hall.

"I guess this means they've started talking." the grandmother smiled while sipping her coffee, ignoring her own daughter's panicked looks.


Puck and Santana had been silent for the longest time, just standing in the study and glaring at each other.

"This is ridiculous!" the girl finally declared before turning around and walking to the door. She pressed down the golden handle, but nothing happened and before her brother could react she was rattling and kicking the offending door hard.

"What the hell are you doing?" Noah asked.

"What does it look like I'm doing, dumbass?" the girl sneered. "The fucking door won't open and I really don't wanna stay in one room with you for another second!" she kicked the door again.

"Let me try." Puck sighed.

He waited until his sister moved out of the way and then started rattling and kicking the door himself for several minutes.

"Never would have thought of that." Santana huffed, perched on the edge of the desk.

"Maybe I could pick the lock." Puck wondered.

"Do you have anything in your hair?"

"What... like razorblades?" the girl rolled her eyes.

"No. I mean like a pin or a clip or something."

"Nope." she replied with a popping sound.

When Puck turned to give her an annoyed look she was filing her nails.

"Where'd you get that thing?" he asked.

"I always carry one around."

"Well, give it to me."

The girl hesitated.

"Do you want to get out of here or not?"

She handed him the file, making sure their hands did not touch. Puck started work on the lock immediately. After a very unsuccessful minute of trying a loud click and a snap were heard.

"Is it open?" the girl asked hopefully.

"No, sorry." her brother mumbled holding up the file which was now broken into two pieces.

"You fucking idiot!" Santana shouted, followed by a lot of Spanish, which Puck was kind of glad he did not understand.

The boy finally decided to just give up and sat in his grandmother's chair, listening to his sister scream and flail and stomp. After about ten minutes the girl had completely powered herself out and dropped into a nearby chair.

"Feeling better?" he asked.

"No."

"I deserve it you know. All that anger and the insults."

"I know you do!"

"I know I hurt you. I betrayed you. I'm still not sure what's been going on between the two of you and you both refuse to talk about it. But I knew you loved her when it happened and the only excuses that I got are that I was drunk and that I loved her too."

"Loved? Past tense?"

"She broke my heart, Tana. All those insults and blows you keep aiming at me? They're nothing compared to the pain I feel because she rejected me, even though she's carrying my child. She told me I will never be anything but a Lima loser and she's right."

"No, she's not." his sister whispered.

"Look at me." he gave her a bitter smile. "I'm nineteen. I dropped out of college, got no money and I got a girl pregnant. I'm my biological father."

"Noah." Santana gasped. "Don't say that. You would never be like that."

"Maybe that's what he thought, too!" he hid his face in his hands and began to cry.

The latina walked over to her brother and wrapped him in her arms.

"You're better than him." she whispered. "You deserve the chance to prove you're better."

She nudged his chin so he raised his face to meet her eyes.

"I'm going to forgive you, so you can prove it to yourself."

"Thank you." he choked out.

They hugged each other close and cried for a long time. When they were all cried out Santana told her brother everything she knew about Quinn and the baby. They were both healthy, even though the pregnant girl hated living back with her parents. She had not decided what she was going to do after the birth yet. She had been looking into adoption but something was making her hesitate.

"You guys should have a talk soon." Santana said.

"Maybe all three of us should."

They hugged again.

"How do you think Kurt is doing?" the girl wondered.

"I think he's gonna be okay with mom and dad and the twins and Artie will be fine with it. I'm a bit worried about Finn's reaction."

"You think he's homophobic?"

"No… he's… impressionable… and he spends most of his time with idiot jocks in locker rooms. Calling someone gay is like the biggest insult those guys can think of."

"Guess that means both Kurt and Finn are gonna need us then."

"Yeah…"

They both gave a sigh of relief when the door opened at that very moment and Harold stuck his head in the door.

"Your grandmother would like to know if the two of you are civilized enough to appreciate some company." the butler said.

Both teens rolled their eyes and walked towards the door.

"Maybe you should consider freshening up first." the man said looking at their puffy eyes and tear stained faces.

Thee two teens did not even hear his last few words as they were rushing back to their family, where they were welcomed with open arms and a lot of relief, especially from their parents.


Everyone was so exhausted they slept like stones that night, but in the morning light, at the breakfast table, some questions still wanted to be answered.

"Noah." the father started. "We should discuss this whole dropping out of college thing. I mean… what are your plans for the future?"

The boy took a deep breath and looked around the table.

"I've thought about it and there's one thing I like and that I think I might actually be good at, but I wanted to ask Kurt's permission first."

"Mine?" the younger boy squeaked.

"Yeah. You see… I've been working on the car a lot and it really all came quite natural to me. I've helped friends with cars and I've sent some applications to different auto shops. There's a mechanic's class at Lima City College…" he locked eyes with his little brother. "I just wondered if you would be comfortable with your big bro being a mechanic, ranger… with your back story and all."

Everybody turned to look at the youngest family member.

"My dad was a mechanic." he whispered, before looking back up at his brother. "I think it is a very honorable profession."

"Thanks, ranger." Noah smiled and hugged his little brother close.

Everybody let out a sigh of relief.

"Is there anything else we need to discuss?" Emma asked.

"Yes." Santana piped up. "I would really like to invite Quinn to celebrate Christmas with us."

And there they were holding their breaths again.


AN:

Thanks to everyone for reading, subscribing and reviewing. You're makin one pathetic kid feel really special!

I'm also not sure if this chapter made sense at all.. it was another one that was kinda tough for me n then I hit my head so most of this was written with a mild concussion.. also since last night I keep seeing gold pants whenever I close my eyes...lol. Boy did he rock that performance or what?

I liked both of the last two eps... still a bit upset that lesbians get to change the pronouns in their songs n gays don't.. but I guess it's progress. I also liked that Kurt n Blaine were both in the wrong in their fight and that they made up so quickly.. I'm sure that could've been dragged out for a few eps. I also gotta give Darren credit for his acting skills, cuz Blaine feels younger with every episode.. which is kinda unnerving cuz he feels like a completely different character from season 2. I wish they would've just stuck to the spin off idea, poor guy is gonna have a hard time carrying the McKinley plots on his own (before I get hate from Artie n Tina fans - love em but it would be a surprise if the writers suddenly decided to actually give them decent storylines).

I really loved Emma in the Whitney ep but I'm liking Will less and less so he had very little to do in my chapter..lol.

I got a bit confused in this last ep. Why did Finn go on and on bout graduating together and "no man gets left behind" when Blaine, Artie, Rory and Joe all don't get to graduate this year? Also Puck's dad turning up felt kinda random and using him as a major plot twist to explain Puck's sudden wish to graduate would've worked much better if he had not already given that as his wish during the "On My Way" peanut butter scene.

Was anybody else desperately checking the background for Whoopi during Rachel's performance of Cry?

Yea.. think ima go watch Not The Boy Next Door a few more times.

:-)