On my ao3 account I've sort of framed this as an installment in a series about road trips and identity, a series I've jokingly named "Family Outing." I intend to write one or two more stories in this "series" but if you want to catch up on the old stuff you can read Seventh Wheel, Front Seat, and First Crush.
Also, this story mentions my OC Shiloh, who has been in several fics at this point, Not What You Think and Definitely Not What You Think are recommended reading if you want to see more of her and Louie.
They'd taken two cars and his girlfriend had ended up in the other one with Webby, Lena, May, and June. That left him in the other car with Huey, Dewey, Violet, and Gosalyn. But Louie wasn't thinking about his traveling companions. He wasn't thinking about his siblings or their partners or even his own girlfriend. That would be too easy, too sensible. For reasons that he could not explain, Louie was thinking about the one person who hadn't joined them on the trip.
He decided to bring up his current obsession in a casual, innocent way, "Boyd should come with us next time."
"Oh, absolutely," Huey readily agreed, not catching the hesitance in Louie's voice.
"Yeah, we could stick him in the trunk," Dewey said, elbowing Louie as they looked around the already crowded car.
"Well, we'd need another car but I just think it would be fun, having another guy around."
"We're guys," Dewey pointed out. Dewey really did like Boyd, but he had never fully gotten over his brothers calling Boyd their best friend when they'd been younger.
"You know what I mean," Louie said, a bit defensive.
"No, actually," Dewey said, deciding to push it, not noticing his brother squirm, "What do you mean?"
"I shouldn't have said it would be nice to have another guy around. I just meant it would be nice to have Boyd around. Because he's our friend, nothing more."
"Now it sounds like there's something more," Huey said unhelpfully.
"W-why would there be anything more?" Louie squeaked, not wanting to admit that he hadn't been able to get Boyd out of his head all weekend, even when he was with Shiloh.
"I don't know," Huey said, "Did something happen between you? You can tell us, Louie."
"Oh come on! My girlfriend is in the other car!" Three pairs of eyes swiveled to stare at him, Huey keeping his eyes on the road.
"No one brought up Shiloh before you brought up Shiloh," Violet pointed out, apparently wanting to contribute to Louie's demise.
"You making the connection between you and Boyd and you and Shiloh implies that you view Boyd and Shiloh in a similar light," Huey said, really digging in now.
"And, as you mentioned, Shi's in the other car. Why is Shiloh in the other car, Louie?" Dewey asked, poking Louie in the rib.
"I don't think of Shiloh the way I think of Boyd," Louie scoffed, trying to regain control and failing miserably.
"Why'd you say it like that?" Huey asked.
"Like what?" Now he was practically sweating.
"You said you didn't think of Shiloh the way you think of Boyd. If you were going to say that you think of Boyd as a friend that wouldn't make sense because Shiloh is your best friend. Which means you think of Boyd in some other kind of way. You have feelings for him that you don't have for Shiloh, whatever those feelings are."
Louie looked flustered, "What- I, uh- you got me all confused!"
"Yeah, we can tell you're confused," Dewey said.
"Shut up, Dewey. I love Shiloh, okay? I love her. If I didn't love her would I be thinking of proposing?" The words came out like a roar and surprised even Louie. He turned away from the others, staring out the window and blinking back tears.
Silence fell over the car, except for Louie's sniffling.
Dewey looked alarmed and rested a hand on Louie's shoulder. Louie flinched a little but didn't pull away.
"Louie, we were just kidding around. We're not accusing you of anything. We just want you to be happy."
"Thank you," Louie mumbled, not looking up.
"Are you happy?" Huey asked from the front seat.
"I love Shiloh. She's my best friend. Everyone says we look great together."
"Are you happy?" Huey asked again.
"I love her. But… I don't think I'm in love with her," Louie said after a few minutes of self-reflection.
"That's okay, Louie. Shiloh will understand," Dewey said.
"I think I'm gay," Louie added.
"That's okay too," Huey promised.
Louie let out a sound that was both a laugh and a sob and Dewey wrapped his arms around his brother.
"I love you, Lou. I'm proud of you. It's going to be okay."
