"I can't believe you're getting a cat."

Alex was running around on the floor of Kurt's bedroom, whipping his head around and making his new collar rotate about his neck. Every now and then he'd stop and scratch at it. He wasn't liking the collar one bit, but at least they'd been able to get it on him. Unlike the little fleece jacket Kurt had bought for him. Alex wouldn't even give the jacket the time of day; the moment Kurt touched it Alex started growling and backing away.

"I have to check with my dad first, but I don't think he'll object." David sat on Kurt's bed, unwrapping Alex's toys, the car seat, the water fountain, and other miscellaneous knick-knacks Kurt had bought for Alex. "He wanted me to get a dog after my mom died, but…you know, I didn't really want to deal with anything."

"Dogs and cats are two very different critters."

"No offense to Alex, but I'm more of a cat-person. They're independent and don't need as much care. They're cuter, too."

"I'll have you know, Alex does take offense, quite a bit of offense, actually." Alex, for his part, didn't look like he gave a royal flying fuck about anything David or his father was saying. He was on his back and had somehow managed to get his front left paw caught between his collar and his neck. He didn't seem to mind that too much though and was using the new leverage he had to try and pull the collar up and over his snout. It wasn't working. Kurt spotted him and set to work freeing his paw and tightening the collar. "You know, if you're lonely, I was talking to Blaine and Sebastian-"

"Who's Sebastian?"

"Sebastian. You know, Blaine's boyfriend?"

"The one that likes to get bit?"

Kurt ignored the contempt in David's tone of voice. "The same. I was talking to Blaine and Sebastian – about you, actually - and Sebastian knows a gay bar, not too far away. And he's got a friend that can get us fake IDs." Alex chewed on Kurt's fingers, blaming them for putting the collar on him in the first place.

David's lip curled up, not too interested in the idea. "I can't really picture you at a bar."

Kurt shrugged. "It's a gay bar. I'm not interested in the whole 'bar' part of it, but the fact that it's for gay people sounds rather encouraging. Can you imagine? An entire place of business with the soul purpose of bringing together all those fabulous gay people."

"I think I missed something…why do we want to bring me to a gay bar?" David was getting frustrated trying to get the zip-ties apart so he took to ripping at the packaging for the fountain with his teeth.

"You need a pair of scissors or something?" David shook his head and spit a piece of cardboard out of his mouth. "Other than me, you don't really seem to have any friends: not since everything that happened last year - Bully Whips, prom, you know. Blaine and I think you need to try and get out more. Maybe find you a cute little soccer hunk or something to call your own."

David shook his head again and placed the fountain aside. Sighing, he leaned back on Kurt's bed, "It's never going to be me, is it?"

Kurt cocked his head to the side and slid closer to David on the bed. "What do you mean? That's the whole point of going to the bar; we'll find you a nice guy so it can be you."

David rolled his eyes. "I don't want a 'nice guy'. Well…I do, but…you can't for a second pretend you don't know Kurt." Kurt blushed and looked away. "Kurt? I don't want another guy…I love you." Kurt was silent, picking at the edge of his comforter in the awkwardness of the moment. "Kurt?"

From his vantage point, David could just make out the silhouette of Kurt's face. His eyebrows were furrowed – in thought? In grief? His lower lip was sucked in between his teeth where he was worrying at it, pinching the skin and risking breakage. It took a long time – though less time than it felt – but Kurt finally responded. "I'm sorry, David, but I have Wolf."

"No…you don't 'have' Wolf. Wolf has you, wrapped around his clawed little finger." David expected some rebuttal from Kurt, but when none came, he continued, "You know nothing about him as a person. For all you know, he's forty years old, married and has a herd of children – one of those closet-cases that marries young and has a crapload of children to prove that he isn't gay. Meanwhile, he has you at his beck-and-call; every time he wants you, you're just there waiting for him. A modern-day Penelope waiting loyally at home, with her little Telemachus, for Odysseus to come home, while he forgets about her for twenty years and screws everything on two legs." David expected Kurt to yell at him, or slap him, or kick him out; but David was only saying the very things that had been festering inside Kurt's head and heart for weeks already. Realizing that Kurt wasn't going to fight back, he added in his final thoughts, "Alex went missing, and who was the first person you called? Me. I love you; I love both of you. I'm there for you two. I'll be there for you two. Whenever you need me. Whether or not you need me…or want me."

When Kurt's lower lip started quivering, David sat up and was about to apologize and excuse himself, but Kurt leaned in and kissed him. The kiss was soft and delicate, the complete opposite of their first kiss over a year ago. This time, David was the one taken completely off-balance by the embrace.

David gripped Kurt firmly about the waist, terrified of him getting away. Kurt rubbed his fingers over David's cheek, the rough stubble feeling odd beneath his fingers. There was no tongue; Kurt had fallen out of experience with French kissing since meeting Wolf and David had never kissed anyone aside from Kurt before. The kiss remained an innocent, childlike kiss for its entirety and was unbroken until Alex managed to scramble up onto the bed; angry at being ignored. Kurt pulled away and looked down at his son. Wolf's son. "I'm sorry, I can't do this. It isn't fair to Wolf. I need to talk to him, offer him another chance."

"You know it won't change anything. He won't change."

"Then you have nothing to be afraid of." David couldn't object to that logic.

xoxoxo

"You're quiet tonight."

David shrugged as he twirled his spaghetti around the fork. He wanted to talk to his dad about what was going on, he really did. He had wanted to for a while. But how could he talk to his father about any of this without coming out of the closet, telling his dad about his love for Kurt, or telling his father he was a mentor figure to a werewolf pup? For all he knew it was the son of the very same werewolf that had killed his mother. Just because there hadn't been any werewolf killings in years, didn't mean the killer was gone.

The whole gay-thing would be the hardest for obvious reasons, but what about the werewolf-thing? Since David's suicide attempt, werewolves were a bit of a do-not-touch topic in the house. It was just something that was; not something to be discussed or even really acknowledged. If werewolf stuff was on television, his father would generally mumble under his breath and change the channel. David didn't even really know how his father felt about werewolves. David tentatively broached the subject the best way he knew how – by beating around the bush. "Can I get a cat?"

"A cat?" Paul speared at a meatball. "What's bringing this up?"

David shrugged again. "I was at the pet store and saw a cute kitten. He was sweet and I want him."

Paul thought about that a minute, feeling like he was missing part of the conversation. "Why were you at a pet store?"

"I was helping Kurt find a collar and tag for his puppy in case he gets out…again."

Again, Paul felt he was missing something. "Kurt? Puppy?" Something finally clicked. "Wait, wait, wait a minute. Kurt's the one with the puppy that you're tutoring?" David nodded. "I thought you were tutoring a dropout?"

"Well, he's not really a dropout. He's homeschooling. The bullying got worse." David carefully stared at his dinner, hoping the conversation would end painlessly and, more importantly, soon.

"Because he's gay?"

David tilted his head back and forth to the sides, like a pendulum, trying to pick his words carefully. "Well…it is about who he's attracted to, but not necessarily because he's gay." Paul frowned in confusion until David elaborated. "He's dating an unhuman."

"Ah, yes. The vampire. You told me about that."

"Yeah, not anymore. They broke up. Kurt met another unhuman in the Redzone."

Paul snorted in amusement. "Does he have a fetish for unhumans, or something?" David quirked a small smile. "God. Being gay, in Lima, Ohio and dating unhumans exclusively. If that isn't masochism, I don't know what is."

David's smile grew. "I don't know. Kurt's just…Kurt's always been an oddball. So…can I get a cat?"

Paul sighed as he placed his fork down. "What's going to happen when you go away for college next year?"

Oh, Yay: David's favorite topic of conversation. "I'm not going to 'go away' for college next year. I'm going to get a job in private security while I do my college course work down at Sinclair. I'll get an associates degree in criminal justice, then find someplace to get a bachelor degree. By the time I'm done with that, I'll be old enough to join the Slayers at the FBI."

Paul shook his head. "That's your plan? I'm curious what's going to happen when they give you a comprehensive physical and discover that you're a werewolf that has been living in a densely populated suburban city without registration since you were ten. Or, assuming it's only a basic physical and they don't figure it out then: you're doing your fun little bootcamp for the FBI and, oh look, a full moon. How do you think they'll react to that? At best, the Federal Slayers will arrest you in violation of the Subspecies Identification Act of 1935. At worst, a trigger happy FBI agent will put a bullet right between the werewolf's eyes, pissing it off and potentially leading to a lot of needless bloodshed."

"I…I don't know. I'll register by then, I'm sure. Once I can get away from this Podunk little craphole."

Paul frowned and poked at his noodles, no longer really hungry, but not finished with his meal, either. He licked his lips before tentatively voyaging forward in the conversation. "It's just dangerous. Once you're registered, that's it. Your name, picture, address and any criminal records become public knowledge, plastered all over the Internet. Anytime you move, you'll have to register with all the local authorities and announce yourself to your neighbors – like a sex offender. Anytime you apply for a job, it'll be the first thing that pops up if they Google you. It isn't a federally protected demographic; you can be fired for being an unhuman and your boss can tell you that straight up. And forget ever flying on a plane; the TSA will have the legal right to kick you off just for what you are: a human weapon. Certain airlines will add you straight to their do not fly lists, for the hell of it. There's no turning back once you're registered."

David pushed his empty plate away from him and finished up his water to delay the necessary response. When he was finished procrastinating, he decided to divert the conversation altogether. "So, can I get a cat or not?"

xoxoxo

Well that had been a successful day. David lay in bed, curled up on his side as he thought about everything. He and Kurt were dating…kind of. But the "kind of" would change soon enough. There was only a week or so until the next full moon. Kurt would offer his ultimatum to Wolf, Wolf would fail, and then David would swoop in for the win. He really did love and care about Kurt and Alex; he would very happily stick by them as long as they wanted him around. It was strange, wanting to be with someone who already had a kid. But what was stranger was not that David was simply accepting the fact that Kurt had a kid, but that David wanted a part in the kid's life, too. Some large part of him, that David couldn't really identify, wanted to be a father to Alex.

And then there was what his dad had said. He could get an itty bitty kitty-itty – Yes, David could turn into a big goof around small cute little fluffy things. First thing after school tomorrow, David would head back to the pet store and pick up the fluffy little spotted kitten that hadn't minded Alex yipping in her ear. She was really laid back and a hardcore purr-er: the perfect kitten for David.

Today had been an awesome day: the complete opposite of yesterday. Yesterday had been terrifying and traumatizing. The fear of losing Alex had eaten away at him; David wouldn't have been able to live with himself if anything had happened to Alex. Last night, as he slept, he had had visions of Alex squashed beneath the tires of a vehicle, or frozen clear through, or mauled by some animal. The nightmares had just kept coming.

Then there was the fact that he had allowed the werewolf to bleed through. Was it just the senses? Or had he given the werewolf some actual control over him? Would this be a one-time thing? Or would the werewolf begin to fight his forced confinement now that he had gotten a taste of the world outside the full moon? And most importantly, what would he, David, do if the werewolf was able to get some grip on the real world? The suicide attempt had been a horrible idea even at the darkest point of his life; but now that he had hopes and a friend that truly cared about him, and a little pup looking up to him, would he really be able to try that path again? They were hard, scary questions that David didn't want to deal with, so he pushed them to the back of his mind and focused on the good things in his life.

Things like Kurt.

David slipped his hand under the waistband of his boxer shorts and began fondling himself at the thought of potentially starting a relationship with Kurt Fucking-Fancy-Ass Hummel.

He fell asleep with a smile on his face.