“Are you dating?”

Moses jolted in the passenger’s seat of his old man’s car.

“What are you talking about, dad?”

Dean chuckled, “I’m talkin’ about you and Malcolm, of course.”

“Uh, no? Should we be?”

“That’s for you to decide. I can’t answer that.”

Moses huffed, wishing with all his might that Teeran was the one picking him up from therapy, but he was helping Mal with his car.

“Why do you care?”

“Because I care about you. I wanna know what’s going on in your life.”

Yeah, like you’re father of the fuckin’ year.

“You saved his ass last night,” Dean continued, “thank you for that.”

“It’s the least I can do.”

“I was thinking, actually. I think you should get your license. And I wanna give you my bike. I’m not usin’ it, and you love it.”

Moses’ eyes lit up.

“Really?”

“Of course! I know how much you like to ride, and you deserve it.”

“Thanks.”

Dean smiled, amber eyes twinkling with eagerness.

“Hey, do you wanna go somewhere with your old man?”

Moses shrugged, “ok. I don’t have anythin’ else goin’ on today.”

Dean drove silently for a while, pulling into town. They finally stopped at a colorful building. It was plastered top to bottom in a myriad of colorful murals, each with their own distinctive design. Dean smiled at the sight of it.

“What is this place?”

“You’ll see,” he beamed, stepping out of the car.

Moses followed him inside. The inside of the building was just as colorful as the outside, more beautiful pieces of art lined the walls.

“Guess what?”

“What?”

“I built this.”

Moses’ eyes widened in awe.

“Holy shit, dad. This is amazing!”

A smiling woman with pink hair entered the room. She was striking, both in style and in beauty. She had 2 different colored eyes: one brown and one green, her pale skin was kissed with soft brown freckles. She sported a pink tube top, purple bell-bottomed pants and fuschia wedge sandals. She was covered head to toe in jewelry and tattoos.

“Yo, look who it is!”

“Angel! Hi! You look amazing.”

“Speak for yourself sweetheart! Who is this cutie?”

“This is my son, Moses!”

Her smile grew bigger, and Moses could see she had a small gap in her front teeth.

“I’m so happy to finally meet you! Dean talks sooo much about you! I’m Angel Stride, I’m the director of Be Proud. We provide housing services for LGBT individuals below the poverty line. This is a group home your father helped design for LGBT youth who need housing.”

Moses looked at his father, seeing the man who had built all this. He seemed different somehow. His eyes sparkled, his smile was so real and so big, his cheeks were flushed.

“You did all of this?”

“I mean, I had a whole team, but yeah.”

“What brings y’all in today?”

“I wanted to bring him here. I want him to meet folks. It’s important for him to meet queer kids his age.”

“I know that’s right! Y’all can go up, I have some things I need to attend to, but feel free to call me if ya need somethin’. Lovely to meet you, Moses!”

“Same here!”

“Take care, y’all!” 

Dean and Moses headed up to the second floor. It was a large main room, with several smaller rooms branching off. A girl reading a book in a bean bag chair looked up at both of them. She had curly brown hair and bright blue eyes. She reminded Moses of a princess.

“Hey girl! How’s it goin’?”

“Dean!”

She ran up to hug him.

“I missed you!”

Dean chuckled.

“It’s nice to see ya, Tamara.”

She looked at Moses, smiling shyly.

“Hi,” Moses uttered, still unsure of what to do with himself, “I’m Moses.”

Tamara shook his hand.

“Hi! Are you Dean’s kid?”

“Yeah. I am.”

Dean nodded approvingly.

“I’m gonna step out so y’all can hang out.”

Tamara stuck her tongue out at Dean.

“Fine, be that way, old man!”

Dean laughed.

“Bye, Tamara!”

Tamara turned back to Moses, looking him up and down.

“I love your style! You look amazing!”

Moses blushed at the compliment.

“Thanks.”

“I wish I could introduce you to everyone else, but they’re all out right now. We all try really hard to make this like a family, and Dean comes in to help out. For a lot of us, this is a temporary situation until we’re grown and can move out. We work while going to school so we can save up for places of our own.”

“Wow, that’s amazing. I bet that’s a lot of work too!”

Tamara shrugged modestly.

“We’ve gotta work for somethin’. All of us have dreams and ambitions. Well, everyone does.”

“I don’t feel like…I’ve always been allowed to have dreams. I know that sounds weird, but I’m just now figuring out exactly what I want and stuff.”

“I don’t think that’s weird. A lot of people feel like that, bro. I mean, when you’re queer, it’s like you got the whole world in your ear tellin’ you what you can and can’t be. That’s how it was for me. I got kicked out when I was 14.”

“Damn, I’m sorry.”

“It’s hard out here, love. That’s not your fault. Be easier on yourself.”

“It’s just…real hard. Like, why can’t bein’ gay come with an instruction manual or some shit?”

Tamara giggled.

“I don’t think they make those.”

“They fuckin’ should! It’d make my life a hell of a lot easier!”

“Man, mine too! Like, how do I tell if someone’s flirting with me because they like girls or is just being nice to me?!”

“For real! Men ain’t any better.”

“It’s tough out here for both of us then.”

“Yup,” Moses said cheekily, “our burden to bear.”

“Don’t even get me started on school! It’s the fuckin’ worst!”

“Heard that. I thank god every day I only got 1 year left.”

Tamara scrunched her face up.

“Lucky! I still got 2 more years to go. Kill me now!”

“Fuck that shit! That sucks, I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be, girl. Most of my shit just comes from, well, my life.”

“Same here. Sounds like we have a lot in common.”

Tamara’s eyes sparkled with glee.

“Maybe you’re me and I’m you in an alternate universe!”

“I like that theory. I always wondered how I’d look with blue eyes.”

“Please,” she huffed, “your eyes are wayyy cooler ‘n mine. Mines are just basic.”

“No way! Your eyes are stunning. They suit you very well.”

“Thanks, bro. I’m glad I got to meet you today. You’re a beautiful person, and I don’t want you to worry too much about the future shit, ok? It’ll come to you. Give it time.”

“Thanks. For everythin’, I mean. Sorry, I suck with words.”

“Don’t worry about it, dude. I think you’re awesome, so that’s all that matters.”

Moses smiled.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

“I usually am.”

***

Moses met back up with Dean at the car.

“That Tamara’s a talker. I’m surprised that didn’t take 5 hours.”

“She’s really sweet.”

“She is,” Dean beamed, “So…what did ya think?”

“I really like this place. I also like the people I’ve met here. I think I might actually start hangin’ out here, if that’s ok.”

“Of course! I’m so glad you like it.”

Dean and Moses got into the car, the hot leather seats scorching their backs.

“Damn this heat! Swear it gets hotter ev’ry year.”

Moses nodded in agreement as Dean cursed under his breath, revving the car to life.

“Tamara told me you come by to help out.”

“I try to. Been real busy lately, unfortunately. I started the organization with Teeran, Angel and our CEO. I wanted to take a lesser role since I’m so busy with my day job, but I still do a lot to make all this possible.”

“And I’m only hearin’ about this today,” Moses mumbled, “go figure.”

“That’s my fault. I feel like I don’t tell you enough, and I’m sorry. I’m workin’ on it.”

“Just like you have your stuff,” he continued, “I have mine. I HAVEN’T been there. I HAVEN’T been a good dad. This isn’t me tryin’ to justify it or make you feel bad. I just…I want to be a part of your life. I wanna see you experience things. I want to share joy with you.”

“Dad,” Moses whispered.

Dean pulled into their driveway, turning the engine off. He got out of the car and beckoned Moses inside. He stood in the corner of the living room, his face solemn and earnest.

“Look, the truth is…the day you left…I didn’t let you go because I wanted to. You were taken from me. I lost custody of you. Beth came in and took you from me….and I finally realized just how fucked we really were. For a while, I’ll be honest, I accepted it. I just went on spiraling into self-destruction. I didn’t think I was EVER gonna get you back. Then I met Teeran. I wised up. I put my pants on, I stopped feelin’ sorry for myself, stopped throwin’ all those little pity parties and I worked my ass off so I could get you back.”

“You…fought to get me back?”

“Tooth and fuckin’ nail, kid.”

Moses whimpered at the sudden realization. All those years of being told by his mother that Dean gave him up, that she was the only one who could take care of him, that he was the family burden. Only for her to go around and do the same thing Dean was accused of. His dad hadn’t been there for 3 years, but not by choice. He fought for him. Moses was someone worth fighting for. Not a waste of space, not a mistake, not a burden, a valuable human being that was treasured. That was cared about. He felt the impulse overtake him, and he swept his father into an embrace. My dad wanted me. He always did. My dad…..

“You love me…”

“Of course I do! You are the most important thing on this planet to me and Teeran both!”

“How’d you get me back?”

“Beth signed full custody over to us. We are officially your legal guardians.”

Teeran burst into the room, his green eyes sparkling with joyful tears. Moses and Dean burst into tears, the 3 of them joining into a tight hug.

“Holy shit,” Moses exclaimed, “you’re…you’re both my dads!”

Teeran sniffed, “Of course we are, sweetie! We love you very much.”

“We’re a family, after all,” Dean chimed in.

“That’s cheesy as fuck.”

“Hey, don’t mouth off to your dad!”

“He is right.”

“Don’t encourage your son’s bad behavior, Teeran!”

None of them saw Mal in the doorway. They were far too caught up in the happiness they had found. He felt a tightening in his chest as he saw the joyful scene in the living room. He trudged back to his room, picking up his phone on the table. He looked at the contact screen for a couple moments, considering his options. Shaking his head, he made his decision abruptly ending his doubts. I need to stop running away.

“Mal?! Baby, where are you?! Are you safe? Can I see you? Please tell me you’re safe!”

“I am. I’m sorry, ok? I’m really, really sorry. I just-”

“Your dad and I are coming to get you. Tell us where you are!”