Adam watched Rocky in his rearview mirror as he drove away. The two had left the hotel at noon and they were going to meet up again that evening before Rocky headed home. But now, that he was alone, the doubts were setting in. Not about Rocky; never about his feelings for him. He didn't know why he was feeling this way or even what it was about.

Adam drove up to his parent's house and headed to the door. It was only a ten minute drive to his apartment, but for now he needed his parent's support.

"Is that you, son?" his father's voice drifted out from the kitchen.

"Yeah, Dad." He walked in and grabbed a soda from the fridge. He turned and was grabbed in a hug by his mother. "Hey, Mom," he said, kissing her cheek. His mother hadn't changed a bit. Whether he was gone a day or a week, she grabbed him like she hadn't seen him in a month. It went a long way to soothing his unsettled emotions.

"You were supposed to call after the wedding." Except it was a little annoying now because she'd become paranoid since the shooting.

"Mom," he explained patiently, "I'm okay."

"You're just going to have to bear with me. I'm feeling a little overprotective since my baby got shot."

She hugged him fiercely. "I know, Mom."

He sat at the table and sipped his soda. His parents exchanged knowing looks.

"Is something wrong?" Michael asked.

"What? Oh, no. It's just…."

"Rocky?" his mother inquired.

His head came up. "Where did that come from?" he snapped.

"Don't get so defensive, Adam," Cindy admonished.

"Sorry."

"It's just you get a certain look when you're thinking about him," his mother explained.

Adam groaned, just knowing that he was that obvious to his parents worried him. He tried desperately to recall if he ever had any daydreams about Rocky in his parent's presence; now he was worried that if he had, there had been a noticeable, uh, presence. "He and I are…" he wiggled his fingers, "together".

"Together? You want your uncle to talk to you?" his mother asked dryly.

"Oh gross. NO! That's okay. I can figure that out on my own."

Michael laughed and looked at his wife. "I can't believe you said that."

Cindy shrugged. "Seemed fitting. But, honey, didn't you want to be …" she wiggled her fingers.

He shook his head. "This is crazy. No wonder Rocky gets upset at me sometimes. I take after you, a bunch of comedians." He rubbed his face. "Yes, this is what I wanted, but I feel weird. Not bad, I don't regret us getting together, but I'm on edge."

"It's understandable, honey. You're getting ready to change your whole life by going back to school. Then add in your new partner, who is your closest friend in the world. It's natural for you to be somewhat nervous. Just talk it over with Rocky, Adam. He'll understand. And you'll probably be surprised to find out that he's having some of the same thoughts."

He looked at his parents. "This is why I came here. I know you said you accepted it; but I just wanted to make sure you still did, especially now that we're together."

"Of course." His father stood and came around the table to hug him. "But, if you change your mind, Uncle Matt can always give you some sex tips."

"Shut up. I don't want to hear anymore." Adam grimaced, completely repulsed by the idea. He was so lucky to have such wonderful parents. He just hoped that when Rocky decided to reveal their relationship to his, that he was as lucky.

Rocky watched Adam drive away before climbing into his old red Jeep. He had assumed that once he was alone, that the doubts would set in. The only doubts he had was about confessing to his family. He headed to his parents house and thought about what he was going to say. He wasn't going to hide that he was with Adam and while he was convinced that his parents had known years ago that there was something there, based on little comments his mother had made; he wasn't sure how his brothers and sisters would take the news. This would be the best opportunity to say something because they were all in town for his parent's anniversary.

He got out of the car and headed toward the backyard, where he could hear voices. His father, two brothers, three sisters, a brother-in-law, and three nieces were out in the backyard.

"Hey, everybody, Rocky's here!" The shout went up and everybody started calling out to him. He laughed, needing the contact from his family, but really needing his mother.

"Where's Mom?" he questioned.

"Kitchen," somebody responded.

He headed inside and found his mother. "Hi, Mama. Happy anniversary," he said while wrapping his arms around her in a hug.

"Hi, baby. Are you okay?" He pulled away and she frowned at him.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She just looked at him and he shrugged.

"I'm doing something that feels right, it is right, but I'm not sure how people will react."

"If it's right for you, baby, why worry about what other people will think?"

"It's not so much the other people, it's more about what my family will think."

"Is this about you and Adam?"

"What is this?" he demanded. "Am I wearing a sign that announces what I feel?" He charged outside to the patio and looked at the stunned faces of his family. "I. Love. Adam. And he feels the same way. Is that okay with you?"

His family started talking. "You mean you finally admitted it," Bridget exclaimed. "Oh, thank God I didn't stay with you last night."

"Well, Rosa, our son is no longer the idiot that we thought he was."

"That's not news, Rocky. We've all known about this." That came from Josh, the youngest DeSantos.

"So, does that mean you two are together now? Good, I got so tired of seeing you two mope over each other."

"I can't believe you took Adam! Didn't you know he was supposed to wait for me?"

"All right, dude. Finally getting some, huh?"

Everybody stopped and looked at Tyler. "What? Rissa is whining because you took the man she dreams about and everybody is looking at me. Thanks."

"You are such a horn dog," Marissa hissed.

Before a fight could break out, David intervened. "Okay, if you two want to fight, you can do it later. Right now, we're talking about Rocky."

"Everybody knows about this?" he exclaimed.

"Sure," Maggie replied. "Well, not that you were together, but that you liked each other."

"Yeah," Josh chimed in. "Mama and Dad told us years ago. They said that we're family and if we had any problems with who one of us loved, we were going to have to work through it because we're family and nothing would change it."

"We love you."

"Yeah, bro, we don't care who you're with."

"It's a pleasure that the man you've chosen is one that we respect and love," his mother said. "It may not be lifestyle that I would have picked for you, but you're my son. And that's what matters."

"Thanks, everyone," his voice broke and he cleared his throat, trying to hide the fact that he was on the verge of tears. "Let's have a party."

Later, that evening, he drove to Adam's apartment. He sat outside for a minute, feeling lighter than he had for awhile. Knowing his family accepted his relationship with Adam had gone a long way to restoring his confidence. He smiled when he saw Adam standing in the doorway.

He got out of the jeep and headed toward Adam; when he reached him, he cupped Adam's neck and kissed him slowly.

"Have a good day?" he murmured when they pulled apart. Adam pulled him into the apartment. "Yes, did you?"

"Yeah, but it's better now that I'm back with you."

"I never knew you had such sappy lines in you," he teased.

Rocky rolled his eyes. "Yeah, well, see if I try to romance you anymore."

He gave him a quick kiss. "I'm happier now, too."

Rocky sat on the couch and pulled Adam down next to him. Adam rested his hand on Rocky's thigh. "I hope you don't mind, but I ordered a pizza. It should be here in a little bit."

"That's fine." His breath caught as the hand moved, but he looked at Adam and placed his hand on Adam's cheek. "My family says they support us. Apparently everyone knew it, but they were letting me work it out on my own time."

"Well, one hurdle down. I guess our friends are next." He smiled as his hand found his target and Rocky moaned softly.

"There's just something weird with your hand right there and talking about our family and friends while doing it," his breath heaved as Adam squeezed firmly.

"Do you want me to stop talking or to stop what I'm doing? And how are you going to stop me," he whispered.

"Like this." He pulled the distracting hand off him, wrapped his arms around Adam, and pulled him to the floor.

Adam grunted. "Ouch. Why did I have to end up on the bottom?" His words ended on a gasp as Rocky's hand treated him to the same torture.

"Well, you're the one who told me to stop you. If you were on top, then you'd be in control." He moved his hand and shifted until their pelvises lined up. He ground down slowly on top of Adam, loving the slightly unfocused look in his eyes. Adam's hands slid down Rocky's back and cupped his buttocks and he thrust his hips up, pressing hard against Rocky.

They set up a steady rhythm, content with teasing each other through their clothes. "We need to take some of these clothes off," Rocky panted.

"I know. I don't want to stop, though." He stopped rubbing himself against Rocky, but they remained on the floor, trying to catch their breath. He groaned at the knock on the door. "I forgot about the pizza."

Rocky rolled off Adam and attempted to push himself up. "I guess it's a good thing our clothes are still on then."

"I'm sure the erection poking through your pants isn't a little suspicious looking."

"Baby, there's nothing little about it and if you think there is, I'll give you a look later."

Adam crawled onto the couch, groaning under his breath. The man would be the death of him yet.