thanks everyone who read this and reviewed/favorited/alerted or whatever :). let me know what you think of this next chapter.

"Dad, daddy, how do you know if someone is gay?" Rachel asked her fathers one night at dinner.

"Sweetie, we've known you were gay since you were five. You couldn't keep your eyes off the receptionist at the doctor's office. When we left you told us you were going to marry her someday." Leroy explained trying to take some pressure off his daughter as she came out. He knew how difficult it could be.

"Not me." Rachel smiled at the memory they shared that she couldn't recall. "Although it's good to know you already know about my sexual orientation and accept it. I'm asking how you know if someone else is gay not yourself."

"So then you're talking about Lucy?" Hiram asked a twinkle in his eyes.

"No, no not at all." Rachel didn't want to out Lucy even if she wasn't sure Lucy was gay. "I'm speaking hypothetically. How do you know if someone is gay?"

"Can we at least specify girl or boy? Because boys are pretty flamboyant and that's how you know." Leroy stated and Hiram smacked him on the shoulder.

"That's not true. That's a stereotype." He glared at his husband.

"I'm just kidding. It's hard to know if someone is gay unless they say it or are dating someone of the same sex. You can't really assume about people."

"If they flirt with you, that's a sign, although again it's hard to tell with girls the difference between flirty and friendly."

"If they ask you out but make sure they clarify that it's a date or it might just be a friendly get together."

Both men sat there trying to think. When it seemed like they had nothing else to say Rachel spoke.

"So basically you don't know until they make it really obvious."

"I guess," Hiram shrugged his shoulder, "people are tricky."

"And complicated." Leroy added.

Rachel was a bit frustrated. This had not been helpful. She decided to try a different approach. "How did you guys know the other was gay?" She watched as her fathers got simultaneous dreamy expressions on their faces. They looked at each other.

"You start." Hiram smiled at Leroy.

"We were in college and I was tech on the play. It was after rehearsal and your father and a couple other people from the play were still there as I was leaving. Honey, your father was capital G…A…Y and you can't even deny it." Leroy turned his eyes to his husband.

"Okay I was pretty flamboyant but that's just me. Anyway your dad assumed I was gay because of that."

"And I asked around if people knew or had any idea if he might be gay."

"And he asked me out after the play was over."

"After staring at him in rehearsal for months." Leroy interrupted again.

"And that's how I knew he was gay." Hiram finished.

"And he said yes so he confirmed my suspicions."

Rachel smiled at the story happy for her fathers but it still didn't help her and they could tell.

"I know that didn't really help you, Rachel, but everyone is unique. Being gay, even admitting it to yourself, can be a hard thing. You just have to wait and see and let things happen on their own time." Leroy explained.

"Sorry honey. But if you were hypothetically talking about Lucy I would say it's apparent she cares about you. I can't say whether she's gay or straight or bisexual or what but she does like you. You can tell by the way she looks at you and just is around you."

Rachel's heart sped up at this explanation. "You really think so?" She asked in a small voice.

"Sweetheart, we know." Leroy said and Rachel sighed in relief. After dinner she ran up to her room and dialed Lucy's number.

Across town Lucy lay on her bed staring at the ceiling. She had been like that for hours. Would it be so bad if she were gay? Her parents would disown her and kick her out but Lucy was convinced that they would find any excuse however little to do that. She thought about what she would be losing, her family that didn't really love her anyway, and her home, which seemed at the time more important. She would be homeless. Maybe Rachel would let her live with her. Rachel. What if she lost Rachel? She knew Rachel's dads were gay obviously so the girl was accepting and okay with it but what if it was different because Lucy was her friend. What if Rachel wasn't gay and Lucy being gay made her uncomfortable? What if Rachel thought they hadn't really been friends at all and it was just Lucy having a schoolgirl crush? What if Rachel didn't want to be friends anymore? The what ifs were driving Lucy crazy.

She tried to calm down and think about she could possible gain, a new home with the Berrys, a loving one and maybe Rachel would feel the same. Lucy knew the girl liked her but was it just friendly? She decided she would tell Rachel. Either way knowing would be better than torturing herself. Just as she picked up her phone to call the brunette her phone started vibrating in her hand. It was Rachel calling her. She smiled at the timing. They were so in sync.

"Hey, Rach."

"Hello, Lucy." Silence settled over them. Both girls wanted to tell the other how they felt but were too nervous to start.

"Rachel, I…" Lucy started and her heart started to race and her palms became sweaty. What if she came out and her parents found out and the Berrys didn't want her living with them? What if Rachel rejected her? What if she really became homeless? Had all those thoughts she had just had been fantasy? Lucy knew from experience that things never worked out the way she expected them. That just wasn't her life. So she decided that no she couldn't tell this girl, the only friend she had ever had, the only person who ever seemed to care about her. She wouldn't risk it, wouldn't ruin it. "I think I have a crush on Nathan." She finished sounding dejected rather than giddy like a girl with a crush should sound.

"Oh." Rachel's heart deflated at the admission. What did her dads know anyway, apparently nothing about girls. "That's nice, Lucy. He seems sweet and he's a pretty good dancer." 'I'm better' Rachel thought.

At the next ballet class Rachel found herself staring at Nathan. What did Lucy see in him anyway? He was a boy. Rachel tried not to cringe at the word as she thought it. Maybe he was cute in the traditional sense but Rachel couldn't see it. She looked over at Lucy who like most times appeared to be in her own world, which made Rachel smile. She was focused on her dance moves and Rachel had to admit the taller girl might even have been better than she herself. Rachel found she wasn't jealous at all at this thought. Had it been provoked by any of the other students she most definitely would have been. She was proud, proud Lucy was doing so well and enjoying herself and proud she had introduced the girl to it. Then she thought about Nathan again and was sad that Lucy didn't feel that way about her. She turned her eyes back toward the boy to start her glaring again.

As Rachel and Lucy exited the room to head to the car, a red-headed girl stood in their way and blocked them. They recognized her from ballet class but didn't know her name. She crossed her arms on her chest and stared at Rachel.

"Why were you staring at my boyfriend?" She questioned.

"Excuse me?" Rachel was confused. Who was this girl?

"My boyfriend. You were staring at him." The girl said again this time in statement form. Rachel looked to Lucy for help but she shrugged helplessly just as lost.

"And your boyfriend is…?" Rachel asked.

"Don't play dumb with me, shrimp. Nathan, my boyfriend. You were staring at him all class." Realization washed over Rachel's face and Lucy watched confused. Why was Rachel staring at Nathan? Maybe Lucy talking about him had made the brunette notice him and develop a crush. Her gut twisted in jealousy.

"I was just checking out his technique. He is one of the only boys in class and I wanted to see if theirs differed from us girls'." She lied hoping the girl wouldn't push it. Rachel didn't like to lie although if she had to she took it as another opportunity to practice her acting skills.

The redhead slit her eyes at Rachel judging her response. She decided to accept it for now. "Fine. But I better not catch you staring at him again. For any reason. Clear?"

"Yes absolutely. Crystal clear." Rachel answered wanting out of this confrontation. The other girl stalked off.

"Was that really why you were staring at him?" Lucy asked when the other girl was out of earshot.

"Partly and because you like him. I'm trying to study him to see if he's good enough for you."

Lucy blushed at how protective Rachel was of her. "Well you don't have to worry. He already has a girlfriend. Besides if he's with her he has bad taste and I need someone better than that."

"Yes you do." Rachel agreed and looped her arm through Lucy's as they exited the building.

Later that night Lucy lay in Rachel's bed staring at the ceiling. The brunette's body was draped across Lucy's and she had one arm around the smaller girl's back. She traced slow soothing circles trying not to disturb the girl who was already deep in sleep. She could feel the girl breathing.

Lucy was gay. She could no longer deny it to herself. She wasn't waiting for the right boy. There was no right boy. There was a right girl and she was right there in her arms. Each time she had tried to tell Rachel and backed out made her feel worse. She felt like a liar and a coward and she didn't want to be like that anymore. She wanted to be strong and brave. She wanted to be someone who deserved Rachel. She needed to tell the girl right away. She needed to tell her now.

Lucy pondered the best way to wake her best friend. She stilled her hand.

"Rachel." She leaned closer and whispered in the other girl's ear. "Rach, wake up. I have to tell you something." The girl grumbled something unintelligible and grabbed tighter to Lucy as if she would protect her from the big bad noise. Lucy found this infinitely adorable. "Rachel, please." She said pleadingly and shook the brunette's shoulder softly. When the other girl finally opened her eyes, Lucy was met with a sight she hoped to see again, a sleepy and confused Rachel who looked lost and just so cute. Her heart warmed at the sight and she forgot for a second why she had woken Rachel in the first place.

"Time to get up already?" Rachel asked her voice thick with sleep and the confusion evident.

"No, not yet but I have something I have to tell you."

Rachel became fully awake at the words Lucy spoke and slightly panicked expression on her face. Rachel sat up and faced the other girl.

"Oh…okay, you can tell me anything."

"I know. I really believe that. I feel like I can trust you with anything but I just get so scared and I panic. I don't want to anymore. I want to be honest even if it means losing you as my best friend."

Rachel's heart practically stopped at that phrase. Why would Lucy lose her? Unless Lucy was about to tell her how uncomfortable she was with their friendship. Oh my god, did she know Rachel was gay? Did she not want to be friends anymore because of it? Rachel became embarrassed. She had just been sleeping on top of the other girl obviously Lucy knew and was uncomfortable.

"Okay." She said in a small voice.

"Rach, I'm…" Lucy faltered. She had been looking at Rachel but found it impossible to say the words while doing so. She looked down and started playing with the comforter. "I'm gay." She finished and closed her eyes, waiting for the yelling and the inevitable moment when the other girl would kick her out.

"Oh." Rachel expelled with the breath she hadn't realized she had been holding. "That's all?" She smiled and nudged Lucy with her foot hoping she would look back up at her.

"Yeah?" Lucy's eyebrow raised in confusion. "That's all." She confirmed meeting Rachel's amused eyes.

"You're gay." Rachel said liking how it sounded. "I am too." She confessed.

"Oh." Lucy said mimicking Rachel, which caused the brunette to laugh, which caused Lucy to laugh because the sound was just too magical to not join in on.

"What about Nathan?" Rachel questioned an entertained look on her face. She already suspected why Lucy had done that now.

"I wanted to tell you on the phone but I chickened out and that made me want to hide it more. So I said I liked Nathan to throw you off."

"I understand."

"You do?" Lucy asked a bit skeptically.

"Coming out is hard. I can't imagine what it would be like with the upbringing you had." Lucy's face all but turned green at the thought of her family finding out. Her father…he would absolutely kill her and Lucy wasn't sure she meant that in a figurative way.

"They can't know." Lucy stated.

"I know." Rachel said. "But you're not alone anymore." She motioned for Lucy to lie back down and Rachel laid back half on top of her returning to her position from earlier. She yawned once. "It's not just your secret anymore. It's ours."

Ours, Lucy thought and her whole body grew warm.