It was a rainy Saturday afternoon. Katrina was upstairs playing in her room, while Joe was sitting on the couch, deep in thought. He was pondering himself, and his relationship with Von Kaiser.

Von Kaiser had been his closest, most trusted friend ever since he joined the WVBA. He had shown him how to fight, how to navigate the arena...everything. And he was extremely grateful for it.

...Except, he didn't feel right just calling him a friend. Not even a best friend. No, no, things were much deeper than that.

Is this what crushing felt like?

He had never been into the crushing and dating scene in his youth. He'd never even thought about labels before. But now, they wouldn't leave his head.

And Von Kaiser? Why, at that point, Joe felt he couldn't call him anything but a lover.

"Daddy?"

Joe jumped a bit when Katrina's voice broke his train of thought. "Oui, ma belle?"

"I found the match to my yellow sock," said Katrina, showing him the pair. "I forgot that I put it on my bear."

"Oh," mumbled Joe. He shook his head a bit to put himself back in the right headspace. "Katie, j'ai pensé à beaucoup de choses. Viens, assis." (Katie, I've been thinking about a lot of things. Come, sit down.) Katrina sat down next to him, and he felt ready to explain. "Katrina, je pense que je suis gai." (Katrina, I think I'm gay.)

"What's that?" Katrina asked.

"Tu sais La Belle et La Bête, oui? C'est comme si la bête se transformait entre une princesse au lieu d'un prince." (You know Beauty and the Beast, right? It's like if the beast transformed into a princess instead of a prince.)

"Does that mean I can marry a princess when I grow up?" Katrina's eyes sparkled at the idea.

Joe chuckled. "Je suppose que oui." (I suppose so.)

"Okay then," said Katrina. She put her hands on her hips with a confident look on her face. "Daddy, when I grow up, I am going to marry a princess."

Joe ruffled Katrina's hair. "Bon chance." (Good luck.) He realized he was getting off track, and continued the conversation. "D'être gai, c'est quand deux gars ou deux filles sont amoureux." (Being gay is when two guys or two girls are in love.)

"Alright," said Katrina. Then she realized. "Wait, Daddy, are you in love with somebody?!"

Whoops. Now he was trapped. "Eh...oui. Viktor."

Katrina was so overjoyed, she was bouncing on the couch. "Are you gonna get married?! Is he gonna be my daddy too?"

"Whoa, Katie, ralentir." (Whoa, Katie, slow down.) Joe calmed her down. "Je ne suis pas prête à lui dire. J'ai besoin que tu gardes ça un secret." (I'm not ready to tell him. I need you to keep this a secret.)

Katrina was quiet for a bit, then looked back up at her father. "Okay."


It was now dinnertime. "Daddy, are you gonna tell Vikky you love him?" Katrina asked while trying to cut up her fish sticks with only a fork.

"Oui," said Joe, "mais pas maintenant. Je suis trop timide." (Yes, but not now. I'm too shy.)

"Well, when you tell him, I hope you do get married," said Katrina, piercing a fish chunk.

Joe sighed dreamily. "J'espère ça aussi." (I hope so too.)


...So yeah! That's your obligatory "confirming Joe's gay" chapter.