Danny & Steve [Completed]

Next Semester, Part Four

After an incredible night with his boyfriend in a hotel, it was back to the same old grim home situation for Danny. He wasn't bothered, though. His parents' silence suddenly seemed so temporary. When he told Mandy the plan, she squealed with glee and threw her arms around him, then made him promise to let her visit.

Christmas came and went. It was just the four of them. Danny had broken down and got them each a little something, a tie for his father and a box of chocolates for his mother. He received from them a bible and a book on overcoming homosexuality. Mandy loved her shirts, and she got him a Deadpool coffee mug, which he adored. It wasn't the happiest Christmas of his life, but it wasn't as bad as he thought it was going to be. Knowing that he would be spending next Christmas with Steve kept him going through this one.

Then it was back to work at the grocery store. One day, Ben came in. "Hey Danny," he said as Danny bagged his groceries. "I meant to come by and see you."

Danny shrugged and said, "It's fine. How was your holiday?"

Ben studied Danny with an odd look. "You okay, man?"

Danny blew a loose strand of hair off his face and said, "I just don't understand why you told."

Ben shook his head slowly. "I didn't. I said I wouldn't, and I don't lie."

Danny paused, then hurried to catch up as more groceries headed down the belt. He believed Ben. Ben had one of those open and guileless faces. Truth be told, it was a relief to find out Ben hadn't done it. The betrayal was what hurt the most, and now he knew there was none. "Who else could have?"

Ben shook his head. "I wish I knew. I'll ask Lashonda if she has any ideas. She hangs out with the Ziva crowd sometimes."

Danny grinned. "How are you two doing?"

Ben's expression went dopey. "She's the one, man."

"Better hold on to her."

"I intend to."

Danny got the groceries bagged and put them in the cart. "Good. Hey, I'll see you around, okay?"

"Yeah," Ben said. Then, in a lower tone, "I'm really sorry this happened, man. Sucks."

Danny nodded. "Yeah, it does. Take care, man."

Danny felt better knowing Ben didn't rat him out, though he wondered who did. Xian? Maybe. Xian acted like he only barely tolerated Danny, though he seemed pretty cool while he was explaining the way the community worked. Danny thought Xian had warmed to him. Apparently, he wasn't as good a judge of character as he thought. Still, how did Xian manage to tell his parents?

In the end, it didn't matter. It changed nothing. They day after New Year's, Danny gave his two weeks notice and started to pack. Mandy had had the clever idea of having Steve mail one of her friends, then she would get the letter and bring it home to Danny. The date was set, and on the sixth, Brad's F-150 came rumbling up the driveway. Danny came downstairs with two of his packed bags, and Mandy came along with a third.

"Where do you think you're going?" his mother said.

Danny stopped at the door, turned to look at her, and he said, "I'm going to move in with Steve, get a job and do community college, then transfer back into uni. It'll be tight, but we'll make it work."

She drew her lips into a tight, thin line. "When your father hears about this..."

Dad was in town at the feed store. Danny said, "I'll be long gone."

Her nostrils flared, and she said, "If you leave this house right now, don't even think of setting foot in it again."

Danny paused, then set down his bags so he could hug his mother, who stood stiffly. "I love you, Mom." Then he picked up his stuff, and as Mandy cast a glare at their mother over her shoulder, they left to throw Danny's bags in the truck. He had left the book on overcoming homosexuality behind, and on his pillow, he'd left another book. It was called Coming To Terms. It was about figuring out how to be a parent to an LGBTA+ child, including a glossary of the words Xian had taught him that night at Cafe Ziva.