Part Vingt-neuf

A/N at the bottom.

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Over the next few days, everyone could see that Luke and Julie were just a little bit more at ease with each other. It's not that they hadn't been comfortable before, but once in awhile there had been moments that had just felt the tiniest bit tense.

Ray chose to believe it was because they had discussed something about Julie's mom, and/or her upcoming birthday, and just refused to think about it further. He wasn't an idiot. But, he had decided he trusted Julie, and, maybe surprisingly, Luke. That didn't mean he wanted to think too hard about what may or may not have caused this new level of connection between them, so he flat out blocked it from his mind.

He had enough to think about, what with helping Carrie and Flynn convince Julie to go to the Halloween party they were planning at Carrie's house. They were going to make it a birthday party for Julie also, but that part was secret.

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All his kids were all getting excited about Halloween the next weekend (even Julie was grudgingly starting to come around), and Ray was pleased when Alex came and asked him about what costumes he had worn, back when he was younger.

"Well, let's see. I'm sure I was a pirate at least once. One time I went as Zorro. Oh, and Rose and I went as Superman and Wonder Woman to a party the year before Julie was born." Ray stopped, his eyes narrowing in thought. "Alex. Are you looking for ideas just for you, or for you and Willie together? I can help with either, but I need to know which you're looking for?"

Alex blushed a little, and looked down bashfully, his voice quiet and a bit unsure. "Um, together, I guess? I just don't know what's popular now, and I at least want to have some ideas." He glanced around, then leaned in conspiratorially, "I want to fit in at the party Flynn and Carrie are planning."

'Ah.' Ray could understand that, the guys had asked him to help them run interference so they could practice with Bobby when Julie wasn't around. They were going to play some of the songs from Bobby's first album (as Trevor), the ones Luke had actually written. Luke had explained how Julie had told him about how important those songs were to her and her mom, and they were going to dedicate the performance to Rose as part of Julie's birthday present. "Are you looking for more cute or romantic themed, Alex?"

"I don't know. It's, I just..." He blew out a long breath. "I'm not really used to how it's okay now. My parents..." He trailed off and his eyes darted away, like he wasn't sure if it was all right for him to say anything more.

Ray turned and grabbed a glass, pouring himself some juice from the fridge (apple, Julie had banned his usual juice blend since Luke was allergic), and spoke in a purposefully casual tone, "They wouldn't get it?"

"N-no. They would hate it." Alex fidgeted with a pen from the counter. "They didn't, like, do anything when I told them, they were just quiet, and pretty much stopped speaking to me. Excluded me from family dinners, didn't ask where I was if I stayed out late for a band performance, that kinda thing. It was incredibly obvious they wished I would just disappear. I think they had always suspected something, they were always pushing me to do sports or more guy stuff. It just didn't really interest me. And once their fears were confirmed, they gave up on me."

"That must have hurt." Ray propped a hip against the counter, still not directly facing Alex, or attempting eye contact. He was mentally raging at the information, 'I would certainly have a few things to say if I ever met them. Pendejos. Bastards.' His thoughts fell into quite a few choice insults, in both Spanish and English, but Alex spoke again and he refocused.

"Yes, it did. Growing up I was confused for awhile before I figured it out, and it was hard enough deciding to tell them. I think I knew they wouldn't take it very well." He paused for a weighted moment. "Luke was my first kiss."

An eyebrow hiked up at that. On second thought, though, Ray supposed it wasn't that surprising, Luke would do anything for his friends and there was something... well, yeah, Ray could see it. He gave a vague nod, hoping Alex would continue, he probably needed to get this out.

"He was the first person I told, he said it was okay and it didn't matter, I was still his best friend. Reggie was the second person I told and he said the same thing." Alex let out a small laugh. "They both said they had kinda already known. And Bobby... I didn't tell him, I was going to, but he guessed before I could get up the courage. He came up after practice one day and told me it was cool, made a joke about it 'leaving more girls for him', patted my shoulder, and then just walked away. It was nice how he didn't make it a big deal."

"That's great, you were lucky to have such good friends. You deserve good friends who support you." Ray turned and tilted his head at Alex, "So, I guess the question, when talking about the party, is what do you want? Obviously you know who you are, and you've gotten more comfortable with Willie while around us, but are you okay with being obvious and open with things at the party? We'll all be behind you, and I'm sure Willie will want you to be comfortable, so what do you want, Alex?"

A stunned expression crossed Alex's face, like he had never really fully considered what it meant that it wasn't 1995 anymore, and he could be more blatantly out if he wanted. That there were a lot more people than just Luke, Reggie, and Bobby, who were ready and willing to support him. The time at the mall in Canada with Willie had been fun, but it had felt a little like a dream, since they were so far away from home. This was going to be in front of people, people who were Julie's friends, people who he would probably see again, possibly frequently.

Ray just patiently drank his apple juice, eyes idly wandering around the kitchen and waiting quietly for an answer.

"I-I think..." Alex took a deep breath, fighting the anxiety that was screaming in his head, "I want to do the romantic kind."

"Okay. Then we'll find it for you. Do you want to find a few ideas to run by Willie later, or would you like to go get him and we can all look some options up together?"

Alex thought for a moment, "I'll go get him."

"And I will get my laptop set up so we can do a search."

Alex popped out of view, going to get Willie, and Ray shook his head, taking a few steps toward the table, and his laptop. He had been sure Reggie would open up first, guess he lost that bet. This was good, though, every little bit the boys let him in, the more he could show them they were safe with him.

Alex suddenly appeared again, right in front of Ray, who barely managed to bite back a yelp of surprise.

"Hey. I just want to say thanks. Luke said you were a good listener, and you really are." Alex wrapped his arms around Ray in a quick but strong hug, before pulling back and disappearing again.

'Oh.' Ray stayed frozen in place for a moment, blinking against suddenly damp eyes. These boys deserved so much love and support, and he reaffirmed his vow to give it to them.

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So, that afternoon had Alex and Willie spending some time with Ray working on costume ideas, Luke working on a new song in the loft, and Reggie taking a nap.

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Meanwhile, at school, Julie was trying to fend off the well-meaning but somewhat irritating interference of Flynn and Carrie.

"C'mon Jules, it's the guys first Halloween back-uh, I mean here!" Flynn flinched at Julie's glare, mouthing sorry and glancing over to make sure Carrie hadn't caught the slip.

Carrie hadn't, she had a slightly sad look on her face, her eyes on Nick at his locker down the hall.

"Carrie?" Julie was glad for the distraction.

Her head snapped around, "What?"

"Are you okay?" Flynn had an eyebrow raised and a knowing look on her face.

"I'm fine."

Julie and Flynn just stared at her.

"Okay, fine, maybe I'm not fine, but I'm okay. I'm going to invite him to the party so we can talk..." Her eyes lit up, "...Which is why you have to come and support me Julie!"

"Argh!" Julie groaned good-naturedly. "I didn't say I wouldn't go, I just don't think I want to dress up!"

Flynn and Carrie turned to each other, communicating with a few exaggerated facial expressions, before squaring off shoulder to shoulder in front of Julie.

"Your dad is going to dress up, even though he's going to be spending most of the night hanging out with my dad (who is also dressing up) in the den watching movies. Which is pretty nice of them, being willing to be there, but not exactly there. Do you really want to be the only one without a costume?"

"Yeah, Julie. And our idea really is perfect, you know Luke will fall over himself to do it if you ask, and we even considered his sleeve allergy." Flynn smirked, she knew how much Julie enjoyed Luke's arms.

"Maybe..."

Her two friends started to squeal in triumph, cutting off when Julie continued, "But, I think I have a different costume idea."

"Oh."

"Are you sure?"

Julie narrowed her eyes at them, "Yes. Why are you so obsessed with all of this?"

Flynn looked down, hiding her panic at the suspicion in Julie's voice and mumbled, "Because I think you two would look really cute and I like the Aladdin/Jasmine idea. Besides, your idea might just be something like 'band members' and that's not a costume."

"Huh. Okay. Also, ouch. I guess I can consider the Disney thing, but I really think my idea is better. And it's not just 'band members'." Her eyes sparkled with mischief, she was pretty sure Luke would like her idea more than the Disney characters.

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A/N: Oof. This chapter was difficult. Alex decided it was his turn to talk to Ray, even though I originally thought Reggie would be first.

Alex's talk with Ray is fairly short and not too in-depth, though, because I am a straight white girl, and I think it would be presumptuous and, honestly, wrong, if I were to pretend for even a second that I could understand what a person coming out to their parents was like in the nineties. Or even now. I can have empathy, and be open to listening and trying to learn from people who do have those stories in order to become a better ally, but I can't write one of those stories. Also, I did allude a little to Alex/Luke, with a slight questioning of where Luke falls in terms of his sexuality, but most likely I'm not going to refer to that past this point, since this is a Juke, Willex, and family story primarily. I hope this makes sense?