Hi guys, this is te before last chapter! One more to go! I hope you enjoyed this long fic!

Chapter 58

"Penguin is my boyfriend, deal with it."

It was quiet for a moment, and then Kid snorted hard. "Deal with it?" he repeated. "What's with that attitude?"

Killer stared at his father in silence for a few seconds, not sure how to react. That was the part he chose to comment on? "Did you hear what I said… before that?" Killer tried carefully.

"Yeah, I heard," Kid replied. He let his eyes wander over the two of them. "So, you think I'm stupid, or what?"

Killer stared at him some more, blinking confused. What? Stupid? Why would he think that? Why would his dad say that? What the fuck did he mean by that? Did Kid think he was joking or something?

"Hng, Kill, my hand," Penguin complained in a quiet tone.

Only then Killer realized how hard he was squeezing Penguin's hand, and he quickly let go. "Sorry," he murmured, after which he returned his focus to his father. "I'm not joking. I'm in love with Penguin and… he's in love with me." He shortly looked at his boyfriend, and Penguin smiled back at him in an encouraging manner.

Killer's heart was beating so loudly that he barely heard his father chuckle. "I didn't think you were joking," Kid said. "I meant you think I'm stupid enough not to notice anything going on between you two? I figured it out weeks ago."

Killer gawked at his father, unable to process this information. "What?" His father knew? Had known for a few weeks?! Killer felt anger bubbling up inside him. "You knew… and you didn't say anything?"

"I didn't know for sure until last week, but I was waiting for you to tell me," Kid defended himself. "And I gave you plenty of opportunity to do so."

Killer was flabbergasted. His father had known, and… it was not a problem? It didn't even seem to be a big deal that Penguin was a boy… or any deal at all.

Kid shrugged. "I figured there was probably a reason you were keeping it a secret."

Well… there was. Killer couldn't remember it anymore, but there had definitely been a reason. And he thought he had been so careful to hide their relationship. "How did you find out?"

Kid laughed shortly. "Where do I start… you guys were fighting, right?" he began, but he interrupted himself to say, "By the way, that one time you made me come to school, you had been fighting because you were dating that chick, what's her name…"

"Bonney," Killer filled in, wondering where his father was going with this.

"Right. You were dating Bonney, and he" – he pointed at Penguin – "called your relationship fake. So, he was right?"

Killer looked at Penguin, who smirked back at him. "Yeah, he was. Pissed me off to no end."

"Because you're homosexual?" Kid asked him.

Killer stiffened a bit. "Obviously. You finally realized I'm dating a guy?"

Kid rolled his eyes. "Yeah, well, Bonney's a chick, so you could've been bisexual."

"Or pan," Penguin added.

"Or pan," Kid agreed. "But okay, so you fought because you couldn't stand he was right about your fake relationship?"

"And because I liked Penguin, and I didn't like that I liked him," Killer admitted.

This made Penguin laugh. "I guess the pull was too strong to resist in the end." He poked Killer playfully in his side.

Killer looked at him, and smiled, finally being able to, now that some of the tension had left his body. "Yeah, have you ever looked into a mirror? You're too fucking cute to resist."

Kid snorted. "Okay, so you were fighting," he went back to the story. "And then we went to his house to 'talk things out', which, I guess you did. Anyway, during that time Law implied quite heavily that Penguin liked you. I told Law Penguin didn't stand a chance with you, by the way. Back then I was sure you weren't gay.

"And after that, you not only stopped fighting, but you suddenly became biology buddies?" he continued. "How is that not suspicious? I figured something must have happened between you. You don't go from fighting to friends over night, especially when someone's feelings for the other get revealed. Any straight teenage boy would probably have stayed far away from the other," Kid finished.

Killer smiled sheepishly. "When you put it like that…"

"On top of that, you blocked the door, when he was in your room, working on your 'biology project'." Kid looked at them with a look of disbelief. "I bet you weren't doing school stuff."

Killer felt his face heat up, but smirked, nonetheless. "We weren't."

Kid started laughing. "I knew it." Then his face became serious again. "Killer, you gotta explain one thing to me, though."

Killer looked expectantly at his father, still confused by his positive reaction. He had acknowledged Killer was gay, but Kid had not given any judgement yet. Not even worry, or doubt. His reaction had been as if Killer had told him he was in a relationship with a girl. Killer was grateful for it, but it felt as if something was still coming. Some form of negativity. But now his father needed an explanation of something. Maybe that would be it.

"How come I'm about the last person on earth you tell?" Kid sounded a little hurt. "Why did you think you couldn't tell me before?"

"This should be good," Penguin mumbled.

Killer shrugged. "I was afraid you wouldn't fully accept me being gay…" It seemed a little silly now.

"Why wouldn't I accept that?" his father asked, clearly confused.

"I don't know…" Killer started. "You're like… the straightest guy I know, always talking about the girls you dated in high school, and I felt like that's what you expected of me too."

Now it was Kid's turn to stare at him, dumbfounded for a few quiet seconds. "Are you shitting me right now?!" he finally said. "Me, straight?"

Killer's eyes widened. What?

No.

What?!

Kid looked at Penguin. "You didn't tell him?"

Wait, WHAT?! Killer looked at Penguin as well. His father was… not straight? And Penguin knew about it?

"I thought I did!" Penguin said, exasperated. "Multiple times. I swore he knew, but apparently, I've not been clear enough."

Killer stared at Penguin. And then at his dad. And at Penguin again. "What?!" And back to his dad. "Tell me what? What's going on? You're… not straight?"

Kid raised his eyebrows. "You tell me how straight it is… I've been banging his dad for the past few weeks."

Killer stared some more at him. He was joking. Of course he was joking. "Geez, dad, don't joke about this."

"I wish he was…" Penguin said next to him.

"I'm not joking," Kid confirmed. "I told you I had someone over last night. You were at Penguin's, so you know Law didn't sleep at home. Besides, I told you I had a date with a guy last week… that guy was Law. It's nothing serious yet, that's why I didn't tell you before, but… we're kinda dating."

"THAT WAS A DATE?!" Killer exclaimed. "You didn't tell me that! And neither did you!" he said accusingly to his boyfriend.

"I'm pretty sure I did," Kid said.

At the same time Penguin mumbled, "I thought that was obvious."

"But your boyfriend has known for a longer time," Kid brought up. "'Cause he sort of caught us one time."

Penguin groaned. "Please don't remind me of that."

"When was this?!" Killer barely noticed he raised his voice a little bit more each time he spoke.

"A few weeks back," his father answered.

Killer looked at Penguin, feeling incredibly betrayed. "And you didn't think to mention this?! What the fuck, Peng! How could you not tell me about this?!" he said angrily.

Penguin looked back at him like a deer caught in headlights, apparently completely caught off guard by Killer's anger. "Do you know how awkward it was?" he defended himself. "I came home when they were… doing… it. I could hear it," he said, his face bright red.

"I don't fucking care how awkward it was!" Killer was all but yelling now. "You knew how much I struggled to tell my father! You didn't think telling me he was fucking another man would have helped?!"

"I thought you already knew–"

"How?!" Killer interrupted his boyfriend. "How could you fucking think that?! I'm pretty damn sure I never said I knew about it!"

"I just thought…" Did Killer imagine it or did Penguin's lip start quivering?

He gritted his teeth. "Go away."

If possible, Penguin's eyes got even bigger. "What?"

Killer couldn't handle it anymore. He was so fucking angry, and seeing Penguin's innocent face, seemingly ready to burst into tears, only hurt him more, and that pissed him off more. "Get out. I can't stand to look at you right now." Penguin had no right to look so hurt. He was the one who had kept silent about something this crucial, after all. He was the one who hadn't told Killer the one thing that would have made his anxiety about telling his father – no, about telling everyone – go away.

Penguin stared at him in shock for a few more seconds, but then stood up and went into the hallway without a word.

"Oh, come on, Killer," His father said with a frown, while Penguin walked past him. "You can't blame him for not telling you about it."

"I can and I do," Killer said as the door fell close behind Penguin. "And I also blame you. Why are you always going on about girls, if you like guys?"

Kid's frown deepened. "Because I like both, and I only realized this in my early twenties," he said in a no-nonsense tone. "So, when I talk about 'when I was your age', yes, it were always girls for me." Kid crossed his arms. "And I didn't specifically tell you before because A) I didn't think it mattered, but mostly, because I didn't think it was necessary, because I thought you already knew. And honestly, Killer, I didn't think you were so oblivious. I've had guys over before. Guys I was dating. They never turned into anything serious, so I didn't introduce them as such, but I was sure you picked up on it, especially when you were a little older."

"How should I have picked up on that?!"

Kid looked at his son as if he thought Killer was stupid. "Because I don't treat the guys I'm dating the same way as I treat other guys. Besides, I'm pretty sure I've flirted with at least one of them, right before your eyes."

"You didn't." Killer was shocked. Had he really been so blind?

"I did," Kid confirmed. "And on top of that, Law told me you caught him leaving this house, and he pretty much told you he'd been here to have sex with me. To be honest, Killer, I think you might just be stupid."

Killer ignored his father's mockery, and tried to remember the specific incident Kid was talking about. Killer did remember coming home one day and catching Law here. He'd asked him what he'd been doing here, and Law had answered…

"Your dad."

Holy fucking shit, he really was stupid, wasn't he? He'd just never seen his dad being anything but straight as an option, so he hadn't seen what was right in front of him.

The sound of the front door closing echoed through the house, and a second later Killer saw Penguin walking away, his face completely hidden between his cap and his scarf. Killer felt bad letting him walk away like that, but he couldn't just forgive him for keeping this information from him.

"Are you sure Penguin didn't tell you, and you just interpreted it wrongly?" Kid asked him. "I can imagine it's not easy to tell your boyfriend that your dads are having an affair."

Only now, the bizarreness of the situation set in. "Because it's fucking weird! Can you please stop doing that?"

"What, fucking Law? No way, things are just getting good," Kid said with a smirk. "But let's talk about Law and me another time. You just told me you have a boyfriend, and now you're letting him walk away?"

Killer felt so bad. He was hurt because of what Penguin had done, but it also hurt when he thought about losing Penguin over something like this…

"What did he say about Law and me?" Kid asked when he saw his son in doubt.

Killer shrugged as he tried to remember everything Penguin had said. "He said you were out for dinner together. He didn't say it was a date."

Kid raised his eyebrows. "But to be fair, if the date thing was obvious to him, he might have assumed it was obvious for you too."

"Well, if it was good, why didn't you go home with him?" Penguin had said to Law when the latter had come home after what had apparently been a date. "It's not like Killer is there; you'd have the house to yourselves."

Shit. Penguin had not been actively hiding it from him. He really had assumed Killer knew it was a date. He really had thought Killer knew his father was bisexual, and so, it seemed, had Law. Until this morning.

"Fuck," Killer jumped up and raced past his dad, out of the room, and into the hallway.

"Don't forget to–" Killer didn't hear the rest of Kid's warning, because he had stormed out of the house and pulled the front door close behind him.

Fuck, it was freezing! But it didn't matter. He had to find Penguin.

Killer didn't see him anywhere in the street anymore, so he just ran in the general direction of Penguin's home, hoping he had gone that way. He was just around the first corner when he saw Penguin walking, a little further down the path.

"Peng!" He called after him, rushing towards his boyfriend – if Penguin still was that. "Peng, wait!"

Penguin stopped walking, but didn't turn around. Killer needed only a few seconds to catch up with him. "I'm sorry! Peng, I'm so sorry." As soon as Killer had reached him, he pulled Penguin into a hug. "I shouldn't have yelled at you, and I shouldn't have blamed you. Apparently, I'm just really fucking dumb."

He held Penguin for a little while, noticing he said nothing back, until Killer heard a sniff. A little startled, he pulled away, and lifted the visor of Penguin's cap a bit, so he could see his eyes. "Oh God, you're crying. Shit, I made you cry. Please, forgive me, Peng." Fuck, what a selfish thing to say. This wasn't about him. If Penguin didn't think he deserved forgiveness, he would be totally right in that.

Another sniff. "I'm not crying, asshole." It came out choked, and Penguin looked at him with red, puffy eyes.

Killer let his thumb caress the bit of cheek that was still visible above his scarf and wiped away the wetness. "I'm so sorry, Peng. I thought you hadn't wanted to tell me, but you just assumed I knew, and why wouldn't you? I should have known. All the signs were there, I just didn't see them." Killer swallowed the lump in his throat. Seeing Penguin hurt killed him, especially since he'd been the cause of his hurt. "Can you ever forgive me?"

Penguin let out a choked laugh. "No, you're right. I knew you were fucking dumb, so I should have been clearer. I just really thought you knew your father was on a date. And I thought I told you your dad was attracted to guys even before that… but apparently you misunderstood?"

Killer frowned. "When did you say that?"

"When we were talking about why you were afraid to tell your father," Penguin answered. "You said he didn't want you to make the same mistakes he did, and I said I didn't think he thought being attracted to guys was a mistake…"

Killer closed his eyes, ashamed of himself for not realizing that was what Penguin had meant. "Like I said… I'm fucking dumb."

"I can't really deny that…" Penguin agreed, sniffing again, but the tears had dried up. "To prove that even more, you're out here without a coat or anything, while it is literally freezing." He quickly unwind his scarf and draped it around Killer's neck twice, putting the ends over his shoulders so they'd be warm too.

Killer shivered, as if he felt the cold again only now, but he was grateful for the bit of added warmth. He breathed in the smell of the scarf, and smiled. It smelled so much like Penguin. "I only thought about catching you. I didn't want to waste any time putting on a coat." He pulled the scarf a little closer around him. "Does this mean I'm forgiven?"

"Of course!" Penguin looked at him with big eyes. "I'm just really glad you're not angry with me anymore. For a moment I thought…" He quickly cast his eyes off.

"You thought what?" Killer asked, even if he had a pretty good idea of what Penguin had thought. But he didn't want to make assumptions anymore, because they were often wrong, apparently.

Penguin stared at the ground. "I thought you wanted to break up with me."

"Never!" Killer lifted Penguin's chin with his – already frozen – finger, so he could look into his eyes. "Even when I'm angry, I would never want to break up with you."

Penguin smiled at him. "You don't know that."

"Maybe, but it's how I feel now." Kissed him on his lips.

"Fuck, Killer, even your lips are frozen!" Penguin wrapped his arms around Killer to try to give him some warmth.

"Yeah, let's go back inside." Killer suggested, trying to get as much warmth from Penguin as possible.

"I… think I'll go home," Penguin said. "I bet you've still got a lot to talk about with your dad."

"Sure, but…" Killer still wanted to be with his boyfriend, even if he should probably talk with his dad alone.

"Our skate-date still stands, right?" Penguin reminded him.

"Of course!" Killer had bought his own pair of skates after last time, and he was dying to test them out on natural ice.

"Then I'll see you tomorrow… if you're not down with a cold."

"Fine." Killer kissed him again, this time longer, but his lips already felt slightly numb because of the cold. When he pulled away, he pulled Penguin's scarf a little tighter around him. "But until then, I'm keeping this."

TBC~!

As always, thanks so much Cleokitty20 for your review!

BTW, I wrote the date Kid and Law had during chapter 51/52 as well. I posted it on AO3, so you can read it there. I might post it on here too, together with the earlier kidlaw chapter I wrote, but it might be a little later, so if you can't wait, you can go to AO3 to check it out (you can find me under the same name).