"I think we should tell them," he said, gently wrapping his arm around his partner's shoulder as the two sat side by side at the end of the dock, their legs dangling over the water. The sun was starting to set, casting a beautiful canvas across the sky. They had just come from getting ice cream and needed to take a pause after having strolled along the water for a while.

Reaching up with his left hand, Christopher intertwined his fingers with his partner's and leaned into the embrace. He paused for a moment, his thumb rubbing the back of his partner's hand, trying to think of the right way to communicate his concerns without hurting his feelings. "You know I'm not ashamed of you, of this," he said softly, motioning between the two of them. "I just...I want this all to myself, I guess; I don't want to share."

Christopher knew his parents would be supportive; he knew his partner's would be too. But like with all parents, his dad and Buck could be a tad overwhelming, a bit too protective. And after everything the two of them had gone through, fumbling their way through dating in high school, breaking up when he first went away to college and then finally finding their way back to each other, he didn't want anything to mess it up, and that included his parents.

Denny reached out, caressing his cheek. "I have no plans on sharing you with anyone," he said with a smile. "I love you, that will never change, but I need to stop sneaking around, stop dancing around the truth with my moms."

Christopher nodded, feeling the familiar pain of guilt whenever he thought about how much Denny has covered for them over the last year. Heck, he had done a lot of lying himself; his dad and Buck didn't even know he was in town right now. For goodness sakes, he was 24 now, in his last year of his Master's in Engineering at CalTech; he wasn't a little kid anymore. He could do this. He should do this. Not just for Denny, but for himself too.

"Okay... let's do this. Let's tell our parents," he replied after a few awkward moments of silence, reaching out to grab Denny's other hand and squeezing it with more confidence than he really felt. But the resulting smile that lit up Denny's face chased his fears away, and as he leaned in to meet Denny's lips in a kiss, he knew that they could definitely do this.

XXXXX

Christopher carefully climbed off his boyfriend's motorcycle, unclipping his forearm crutches from the little hook that he and a classmate had created themselves. He tried to shake off his remaining nerves. He and Denny had stayed up most of the night, just talking and planning everything out, and Christopher felt reassured that no matter what the reactions would be to their announcement, that their relationship would be fine. But that still didn't stop the butterflies from fluttering around in his chest.

Denny had suggested that the BBQ that had been planned for that weekend might work well for their announcement, and Christopher had agreed. He had completely forgotten that Bobby and Athena were throwing a BBQ to celebrate the start of the summer holidays, even though he had received an invite as well. They had purposely waited a bit until after the official start time and noticed that both of their parents were already there and decided that it was time to go in.

Christopher was surprised when Denny stopped him, stepping in front of him abruptly with a hand on his chest. "Are you sure you're okay with this? Because I don't want you to feel pressured," Denny asked him, second-guessing their plan at the last moment.

Christopher transferred his one crutch to his other hand and reached out, tugging Denny closer with a gentle grip on his collar. He pulled Denny in for a brief kiss and then rested his forehead against his partner's. "I'm 100% sure," Christopher reassured Denny, giving him another quick peck on his lips. "Let's do this," he added, wrapping his arm around his boyfriend, and the two headed into the backyard.

It didn't take long for the group to notice that Christopher and Denny had arrived or that they had arrived together. It was May who reacted first with a squeal of excitement as she dashed over to hug the two of them, whispering in Christopher's ear that it was about time. Christopher blushed, recalling one of the first times that he had gotten drunk and blabbed to May about how handsome Denny was after she came and picked him up from the party. He wasn't surprised that she hadn't forgotten about that night.

While he appreciated May's excitement, it was their parents' reaction that he was more concerned about, and he was glad to see smiles on all their faces when they got closer. His dad was grinning while Buck was trying to hide that he was wiping a few tears away. Hen and Karen were the complete opposite of stoic, and both came dashing over to Denny, almost knocking him over with big bear hugs. They then turned that attention on him, and Christopher shot Denny a slightly panicked look as he was smothered in hugs and kisses.

"Okay, you two, can we let my boyfriend breathe?" Denny said, sliding back in next to him and resting his hand on Christopher's lower back.

Christopher blushed again at Denny's choice of wording but didn't have too much time to be embarrassed about it as his dad and Buck approached them with serious looks on their faces. Christopher stiffened slightly, and Denny, picking up on his tension, started to rub his back reassuringly.

"How long have you been in town?" his dad asked, with a concerned look on his face.

"Uh, since yesterday?" Christopher responded, looking down at his feet. In light of the excitement over their announcement, he had forgotten about how much he needed to apologize for all his lies over the past while. Looking up to start to say he was sorry, he caught a glimpse of his dad's smile and Buck's matching one. He suddenly found himself in another group hug, this time with his dad, Buck, and Denny.

"You know, you could have told us anytime, right Superman?" Buck said, gripping Christopher's shoulder.

Christopher nodded and started to try to say sorry again when his dad interrupted him this time.

"Like back in high school, perhaps?" his dad suggested, exchanging a knowing look with Buck as the four adults started to laugh.

Christopher just shook his head and leaned into Denny's arms, a bit unsteady after all the hugs. How could his dad and Buck have been so oblivious about their own relationship for so long but able to see his and Denny's so easily? But it didn't matter, Christopher told himself, as he looked at the expression of joy on his partner's face as he reached out to take Denny's hand. All that mattered was the love and support of those around them, even if it had taken him a while to be ready for it.