A/N: Sorry folks, work was a bitch this week, I'm even posting this on the go!Anyway, enjoy. This is the final part.

"What the hell is the matter with you, you ruddy gangster!"

Drake paid no attention to his sister's raging, as Blaine physically held her back from attacking him. He was still staring down in shock at the body of his best friend lying in an unconscious heap at his feet, his mind whirling like a tornado.

Oh wow! When did things get so complicated? How could this have happened in front of my eyes and how could I not even have seen it?! How did it all even start?

But wait. Now I get it. Now it all makes sense! So that's what it was really all about!

Slowly he turned to face his livid sister.

"So it was him, huh? The boyfriend you couldn't even talk to me about? When did you two start- start- ? No wait, let me guess."

He snapped his fingers.

"Rock of Ages, right? Wow! I was so blind! That's why he wanted Drew!"

He uttered a mirthless laugh.

"Had to learn to sing or he could never win your heart!"

Valerie's eyes flashed with anger as she struggled uselessly against her father's grip.

"What's it to you, huh?! It's none of your business!" she nearly screamed.

Drake walked up to her very deliberately, until they were eye-to-eye.

"Because you're my sister," he said in a low menacing growl, " And because I've always trusted you...NOT TO KEEP SECRETS FROM ME!"

"You're a maniac!"

Val had tears of frustration in her eyes.

"How could you hit your best friend?!"

Drake pondered her words.

"My best friend huh? Perhaps even more. I've always regarded him as a brother. And you and he, gettin' cosy, and you never even thought to tell me?!"

For the first time, Drake let the hurt of this revelation shine through in his eyes. Valerie stilled.

"Drae. I... "

"Forget it."

He was backing away from her, and she could see that this time he was the one with tears in his eyes.

"You're right. My sister is... none of my business. I've just- just had it with you and your lies, you know that?!"

And before anyone could stop him, he fled from the dining room.


Brent squinted in the darkness, holding a hastily wrapped ice-pack to his throbbing jawline, as he descended the basement steps.

"Go away."

He stopped.

"Drake..."

"I have nothing to talk to you about and you have nothing I want to hear, so scram!"

Brent frowned in irritation.

"Would you stop being so damn theatrical and just listen to me, man?!"

A single lamp lit up in the far corner of the room, illuminating the hunched figure sitting beneath it as a silhouette.

"Oh? So now you want me to listen?! Had nothing to tell me for so long, did you, you son of a bitch, and now he suddenly wants to talk!"

Brent had to remind himself that he would only be wounding his own cause if he blew his fuse right now, which he was dangerously close to doing.

"I love Val," he began, doing his best to keep his voice calm and level.

"I really do."

Drake remained quiet for a second.

"So? Go on and love her."

He sounded a little too flippant for Brent's liking.

"God dammit!" he swore, losing his cool.

"Whaddya want me to say, huh? Yes, I was always attracted to her but was too shy to tell her how I felt. Yes, I wanted the part of Drew to finally get a chance to get close to her before she graduated high school and maybe walked out of my life forever. Yes, we started dating and we've been steady ever since, but I wanted to get a job before we told anyone exactly how serious we were! And now the insurance company is offering me a job. A real job! Not just some internship, and I can even get transferred to New York if I want!"

"So you're leaving Chicago?"

Drake's voice was awfully quiet.

Brent hesitated, biting his lip.

"When were you planning on telling me that?"

"I... Like, now, man! Look-"

"So this is why you insisted we come home this weekend, huh? So you could pop the question to my sis? Wow! This is all beginning to make sense now!"

Brent cleared his throat uncomfortably.

"Uh... I actually already proposed to her. She- she's said yes..."

Drake didn't reply for a long time. Brent continued to wait, uneasily in the dark, unable to make out the expression on his face.

"Drake, I..."

"Fuck off, man. Just... get out of my sight, a'right? I don't even want to talk to you anymore."

It was the bitterness in his tone that hurt Brent the most. Not knowing what else to do, he decided it was best for the moment to leave.


For once, Kurt and Drake agreed with each other. This was not a match they approved of.

"The boy has no prospects!" Kurt spluttered.

"Is he going to eat off Valerie all his life?! No. I simply refuse to let that happen!"

Drake was still smouldering in silence. Val and Brent's secret love affair had hurt him much more deeply than he cared to admit. That two of the people he was closest to in the whole world, whom he trusted implicitly with his own secrets, had kept something so important from him, kept gnawing upon his insides. Thus, Kurt paced restlessly, up and down the bedroom floor, while Drake sat with his knees drawn up on his parents' bed.

"I'm sorry, Dad," he finally mumbled. Kurt stopped to look at him in surprise.

"I'm sorry I brought him into this house. I'm sorry I made him my best friend."

Kurt's crystal blue eyes softened as he saw how much his son had taken the whole situation to heart.

"Don't be silly, darling," he said, coming to sit beside him and running his fingers affectionately through his hair.

"I don't blame you for this. You couldn't have controlled any of it."

"I could have never introduced Brent to Val!" he muttered, vehemently.

Despite himself, Kurt smiled.

"Sweetheart? You don't have to worry so much. Your sister isn't going to stop loving you after she gets married, whenever and to whomever that might be," Kurt explained gently.

"You're not going to lose her, ok? I know her, and I know how much she loves her little Drae."

He smiled. Drake looked up at his father, his eyes swimming with hurt and uncertainty.

"But Dad! She lied to me!"

Kurt nodded.

"Yes. She did. But I still don't think she meant to hurt you. You know she's just as protective of you as you are of her. But yes, even I could never have predicted that she and- and... Steven..."

Kurt shook his head in sheer incredulity.

"How in the world did my own daughter manage to keep it hidden from me?!"


Drake trudged back wearily to his own bedroom, but the day was not yet over. He stopped short when he saw Val waiting for him inside, wearing a stern expression.

"We need to talk," she said shortly.

Drake stiffened.

"I don't think so."

"Oh, but I do. Sit."

She patted the bed in front of her.

Drake took one step inside his room, but made no move to sit.

Val shrugged.

"Suit yourself. I want you to apologize for what you did to my fiance this evening."

Valerie had never been anything if not point blank with him. It was one of the things he had always appreciated most about her.

"No."

"I'm sorry. I wasn't aware I'd given you an option."

"I'm not going to apologize."

Valerie sighed and looked down at his bedspread.

"This is why we didn't tell you until now," she admitted, quietly.

"We knew you'd go ballistic about it."

Drake's eyes flashed.

"Yeah, well, anyone who wants a piece of my sister is going to have to go through me first!"

Val's jaw hardened as she looked up at him with steel in her eyes.

"Would you listen to yourself, Drae?! Who the hell do you think you are?!"

She got up and stepped forward, confronting him with her arms crossed across her chest.

"Look, little brother. You listen to me, and you listen to me good. You do not get to dictate who I date or who I fall in love with, get it? EVER! You're forgetting that I am an adult, in full possession of my faculties and, most importantly, I'm older than you! So yes, thank you very much, but I know exactly what I'm doing and require neither my fathers nor my brother acting as my moral guardians! Am I absolutely clear?!"

There were sparks flashing in the centres of her eyes as she leaned into her brother to make her point.

But Drake wasn't intimidated in the least.

"Crystal. So why bother coming here to tell me this, sis? Go ahead and do exactly what you want. I won't get in your way."

He stalked past her, not casting a backward glance, making every effort to ignore her presence still lingering in his room.

"I only wanted you to be happy for me, Drae," he heard her voice speak softly.

"I love Brent. I always have and I always will. And he loves me. So much. Why is that so hard for you to accept?"

Drake gripped the windowsill hard to keep himself from exploding in her face.

"Because it's wrong, Val! And you don't even see it!"

This time Val frowned in perplexity, taking a couple of steps toward him.

"Wrong? Why- why would it be... wrong, Drake?"

Drake looked at her in desperation.

"C'mon sis! It's Brent! You've known him as long as I have! He- he's a goof! He fools around! He's never serious about anything! You can't do this with- with... him! There's no way he deserves you! No way he can ever deserve you!"

And suddenly Valerie understood. She rushed forward and to Drake's utter surprise crushed him in a fierce hug.

"Oh Drae! You little dragonling, you!"

She drew back, and he was surprised to find her face wet with tears, even though she was smiling broadly.

"Drae, tell me something honestly. Which of my boyfriends have you ever actually liked?"

Drake thought back to her innumerable romances, flings, admirers, what-have-you's. Val had always been one of the most popular girls in school and had always preserved an enigma around herself that men had found very hard to resist.

"Dunno. You always dated such dill-holes."

She pulled him along and seated him beside her on the bed, cupping his cheek in her hand.

"Oh Drae. You know what? I think I finally get how you feel! Don't you think that I think that you date all the worst lot of sluts and bitches in the world? No girl is ever going to be good enough for my darling brother either! But you know what?"

Her eyes grew serious as she tried to make him understand.

"When you find that special someone who makes you as happy as Brent makes me, I promise, no matter how much of a whore I think she is, I won't stand in your way. Of course, I'm going to grill her like the CIA to find out her true intentions about you, but if she does right by you, if she loves you as much as you love her, I will look at your face and be happy for you. And I need you to do the same for me, li'l brother. Think you can do that?"

Drake felt like a tennis ball had lodged in his throat. He looked at his sister, at a loss for words.

Val looked away, scuffing her toe along the carpet.

"I want you to know that Brent and I never meant to hurt you, Drae. He- uh... We were talking just now and he even said he'd break up with me if you were going to have a problem with this relationship. He said he'd rather have his own heart broken than ever be a problem to our family. He loves you, Drae. More than you know. He regards you like his own brother, too, and the only reason he made that announcement at dinner was because he wanted to do the right thing and get our Dads blessings himself."

Drake reached out a trembling hand and gripped his sister's firmly.

"You really love him?" he asked in a low voice.

Val nodded.

"Yes."

"And he really, honestly loves you back?"

"Yes."

"And- and he makes you... happy?"

Val chuckled.

"Yes he does, believe it or not!"

Drake let a single tear roll down his cheek before looking up with his jaw set.

"Fine. If you're sure, then I- I guess its ok. You can marry the rodder."

Valerie laughed and threw her arms around him once more.

"Thank you, my over-protective dragonlord! I'm sure my fiance will be most grateful for your approval!"

"He better be," Drake growled.

Val gave a sigh, standing up.

"Well, one down, one to go."

Brother and sister caught each others' eye.

"Kurt?"

"He's going to be even tougher to crack than you, isn't he?"

"Take an umbrella," Drake warned.

"There's going to be tears."

Val grinned ruefully.

"You got Blaine to agree already?" he asked, a little curiously.

"Dad was way ahead of you two. He's always been fond of Brent and besides, he claims true love needs its champions and he had always put himself up for it. I've drafted him in for Operation Kurt-Krack. I think that's where I'm going to need him the most."

Drake grinned.

"Happy landings, sis!"

Val rolled her eyes.

"I can only wish!"


They sat on the steps outside, in a companionable silence, but not yet up to making eye-contact.

Brent awkwardly cleared his throat, deciding to take the plunge and break the ice.

"So Val had a talk with you, huh?"

"Mmhmmm."

"So what'd she say?"

"That I should give you a second chance."

"And... what'd you say?"

"That I'd hunt you down and kick your ass if you caused her even the tiniest bit of pain."

Brent cringed.

"Wait, that doesn't include labour, does it?"

Drake turned absolutely shocked eyes to him, rendered speechless for a full minute.

Brent punched him in the arm, affectionately.

"Kidding, man! Relax! Geez, you look like you're gonna pop a blood vessel or something!"

Drake finally dared to breathe again.

Brent regarded him askance.

"So... we cool?"

Drake didn't reply for a couple of heartbeats, then nodded, letting out a sigh.

"Yeah, we cool. But I still hate you for keeping me in the dark about it for so long."

Brent grimaced.

"Yeah, sorry about that, man. Like, really."

The two boys sat quietly for a couple of minutes more.

"So you're really gonna marry my sister? Takes some getting used to!" Drake commented, letting out a long breath and stretching.

"Yeah, in the family officially! But I think Val wants to wait a while before the wedding. She and I are both just getting set up, workwise, so... A year atleast."

Drake nodded agreeably.

Brent dithered before asking him his next question.

"So hey, I was, uh- wondering if I could ask you a favour..."

Drake looked over at him suspiciously.

"What kind of favour?"

"Will you be my Best Man?"

Drake blinked in astonishment.

"M-me?"

"Yeah you! Who'd you think I was gonna ask?!"

"Oh. Yeah, wow! Absolutely man! It'd be my pleasure!"

Brent laughed in relief, yanking his best friend once more and now, soon to be brother-in-law towards him. They clapped each other on the back, hard, several times, before separating, gasping for breath.

"Hallelujah", pronounced a voice above them.

The two young men separated and looked up to find Blaine gazing down at them, a big smile gracing his face.

"I'm glad my son finally managed to see sense, Steven," he remarked, setting himself down beside them.

Drake leaned over to address his father with a curious frown.

"You know, I never thought that you, of all people, would let sis go this easily, Dad."

Blaine smiled a sly Cheshire Cat smile.

"Well, I suppose that's because out of all of you, I was the only one who had advance notice."

Brent's jaw dropped.

"Wait... what?! You knew?!"

Blaine chuckled to himself, enjoying the great surprise he had orchestrated. Even Drake was looking at him with something akin to slack-jawed wonder.

"How?!"

Brent's eyes were nearly popping from his head.

Blaine's hazel eyes twinkled.

"Remember that one time you and Val were making out in the basement when you thought no one was watching?"

An ashen hue crept up Brent's face as he nodded.

"Remember why you guys finally decided to move it someplace else?"

Brent frowned, trying to recall.

"I think... Val said something about the thermostat being broken and it was freezing downstairs."

Blaine nodded matter-of-factly.

"Thermostat was fine. That was just me trying not to have the everlasting image of my daughter being violated by you imprinted on my brain!"

Just as he'd got it up, Brent's jaw dropped again and this time his face flushed a very dirty crimson.

"Holy smokes!"

Drake had gone alarmingly white.

"You... and sis... on the basement couch?! Awww maaan! I hang out there!"

Blaine pacified him with a wave of his hand.

"Not to worry, son. I had the cushions thoroughly dry-cleaned!"

Brent couldn't look Blaine in the eye anymore.

"So how come you didn't rat us out?" he asked, his voice hitching with a combination of embarrassment and fear.

Blaine speared Brent with a look.

"I gave you a chance. I've watched you grow up, Steven. I know what sort of a boy you are. So I decided I'd cut you a break. But I had my eye on you."

Brent flushed even deeper, but Blaine looped an arm around his shoulders.

"But you've treated her like a princess. And I can see how happy she truly is with you. So despite everything, you have my blessing."

Brent looked up at Blaine with evident gratitude.

"But mind! If I ever hear my daughter is the slightest bit unhappy because of you-"

"Three over-protective males will hunt me down and kick my ass?"

Drake gave him a sly smirk and gripped his neck mock threateningly.

"Oh you have no idea!"

THE END