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Sorry for the wait. Here is Chapter 9!

"This is going to be a complete disaster, Alex. I can sense it."

Alex placed his paws on Zane's shoulders in an effort to calm him. "Z, relax. I'm sure it won't be as bad as you're making it seem. Now, hold still so I can fix this thing for you."

Zane, who, with all his books and good grades, could not tie a tie properly, stopped fidgeting. It was Christmas day and they were at Zane's house, awaiting his parents' arrival. They'd flown into town late last night, but claimed that the jetlag was too bad for them to be there early. Of course, Zane knew this wasn't true. He knew that his mother was still having a tough time convincing his father to come to dinner with her, and was probably still arguing with him. This didn't bother Zane at all. In fact, he would have been much happier if they decided to not show up at all.

Alex, on the other hand, saw it in a completely different way. He thought of it as an opportunity, a chance for Zane to prove to his parents that there was nothing wrong with his choice in sexuality. If he could show them how great he and Zane got along, and just how much he really did love their son, they might change their minds. But even Alex was a little worried, though he tried not to let it show. Zane's mother wasn't the one worrying him. It was the father. Alex remembered all too well how his father had reacted to the news. He only hoped his father wasn't as horrible as Zane had made him seem.

Alex finished with Zane's tie and fixed his lover's collar. Knowing that the fox's parents were business people, Alex knew they enjoyed the finer things in life. Therefore, he insisted they both dress accordingly. Zane had protested for days, finally giving in with the confession that he couldn't tie a tie. But Alex had fixed that problem now, and Zane's shoulders slumped with anxiety.

"I just know it, Ax. I can't help it. No matter what we do, they're never going to accept it." He paused them mumbled something Alex barely heard. "...They don't have a reason to..."

Alex glanced at him, confused. "What does that mean?"

"Nothing," Zane sighed, shaking his head and looking at the floor. "It doesn't mean anything."

He was lying. Alex could tell. But if Zane didn't want to talk about it, he wouldn't pester. He'd just find out later, like he always did.

"Cheer up, love," Alex smiled, raising Zane's head by placing a finger on his chin. "No matter what happens, you'll still have me. Remember? I promised."

He raised his left paw to show the silver ring shining on his digit. He and Zane had decided to simply exchange promise rings for Christmas. They'd done that last night in from of Alex's mother (who cried her eyes out with joy), and Zane's aunt Carol. Zane smiled lightly, raising his paw also, matching silver ring sparkling.

"I did, too."

"I know you did," Alex smiled. "And what did we say? Even if...?"

Zane sighed again, knowing he was expected to finish the statement. "Even if we're on opposite ends of the ocean without a boat to get me across, I'll build a bridge to get to you."

"Yay!" Alex grinned. "Or, you know, you could just swim."

"I know, Ax. But it's not you that I'm worrying about. It's them."

"Aw, come on, Z! It'll be fine. Besides, once your mother sees this..." He pointed to himself. "She's gonna melt. Who can resist this?"

Zane finally managed a laugh, sitting down on his bed. "You got me there, Ax. No getting past that."

Alex took a seat next to him, giving him a gentle kiss. "That's better. Just keep smiling and it will all be okay."

"Right. Keep smiling. I'll try to do that."

Zane's parents didn't arrive for another hour. Zane and Alex had just finished helping Zane's aunt Carol with dinner when they stepped inside. As Alex approached to meet them for the first time, he was quite impressed. Zane's father wore an expensive business suit, his black fur shining and a briefcase by his side. His wife was equally impressive, maybe more so. She, too, wore expensive business apparel. Alex could see that she passed most of her traits to her son; they had the same small build, the red fur, and the blue eyes. Alex glanced back and forth between her and Zane a few times.

Zane gave his mother a quick hug, but his father only gave him a stern stare. He kept his cool, responding with a pleasant smile. "Mom, Dad. I would like you to meet Alex."

"It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Evans," Alex said happily, shaking her paw. Her husband didn't offer. "Mr. Evans."

"So this is Alex," Mrs. Evans spoke. It was hard to tell if her voice was kind or demeaning. "We've heard a lot about you."

"I've heard a lot about you, too."

Though I won't say what.

Apparently, Carol noticed the tension. "Well, how nice everyone has met. Let's eat!"

And so dinner began, the thickness in the air still looming. They took their seats at the rectangular table. Carol and James, her husband, sat apart from each other, taking either end of the table, while Zane's parents sat together on the right. Alex and Zane took the left side beside each other, and Leon took the corner between his father and Zane. Everyone was silent as they ate, and Alex couldn't help noticing that Zane had barely eaten a thing. Mr. Evans wouldn't even look at his son, but Mrs. Evans stole fleeting glances. Alex was beginning to understand why Zane was dreading this visit. It was difficult for even him to keep from making a snide comment.

It was Mr. Evans that spoke first. "So, Zane, whatever happened to your little girlfriend?"

"We broke up," Zane replied bluntly. "I heard she's dating someone else now."

"I see....So what made you...?"

Zane sighed with impatience. "Why is it so hard for you to say, Dad?"

He didn't answer, and everyone went silent again. A few minutes passed before he spoke again.

"So, you and..."

"Alex, Dad. His name is Alex."

"You and Alex are...serious, then?"

Zane held up the ring hugging his finger. "Yes."

Zane's mother gasped in shock. "You're engaged?"

"No. They're promise rings. We...decided we're too young to be engaged."

Alex was struggling not to comment. Mr. Evans was just deliberately being rude, and his wife was almost as rude when she spoke.

"Well, that's a relief," she continued. "You...are too young for that."

Mr. Evans frowned. "Have you talked to your girlfriend since-?"

"She's not my girlfriend, Dad," Zane growled. "Why can't you just accept that I don't like girls?"

Mrs. Evans spoke, her voice softer than before. "Zane, you know we're only worried because of what happened to your brother...."

Alex nearly recoiled in shock. Zane had a brother? Why hadn't he mentioned that?

But Zane exploded, standing up so fast that his chair tipped to the floor. "But I'm not him, Mother! I'm nothing like him, and I never will be! I'm sorry that I'm not living the perfect life you two dreamed of me living. But you know what? I'm happy! I'm fucking happy! Doesn't it kill you to know that? I'm happy going to a small public school, I'm happy being in a band, and I'm happy that I'm gay! Do I have to spell that for you? I'm G-A-Y, gay! And I'll bet it just drives you insane trying to guess whether or not I'm actually sleeping with him, doesn't it? And, guess what. I did. I had sex with Alex! And guess what else? I liked it. No, wait. I loved it! So how's that for you?" He shook his head. "You two shouldn't even have come here. I told you it would just be a waste of time. I'm so sick of you two pretending to give a damn about me. Alex is the only one who cares about me. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go sit in my room and regroup what's left of my sanity. Mom, Dad, I hope you have a Merry Christmas since you've completely ruined mine. Everyone else, I'm sorry."

After sitting his chair upright, Zane walked away. Alex could only watch in awe. He had never seen his lover so angry. Everyone was silent, Mrs. Evans looking like she was about to burst into tears. No one was eating anymore, the sudden outburst from Zane shocking everyone out of an appetite.

Mr. Evans stood up, shaking his clenched paw in the direction Zane had gone. "You get back here, young man! I'm your father! You can't talk to me like that!"

Alex scoffed, standing up. "Oh, yeah, you've done a great job. You treat him like trash because of his choices in life. You don't deserve to call yourself his father!" He glanced at each of them, his tone lightening somewhat as he shook his head. "I don't understand you. He's your son! Just because he does something you don't completely understand does not give you an excuse to treat him this way. My father didn't understand when I told him either. But you know what, he came around, and I'm glad that he did. He died just three months after I told him. I can't imagine what my life would have been like if he'd gone to his grave still feeling bitter toward me over something so...inconsequential." He made a mental note to thank Zane for that big word later. "You guys are only thinking about yourselves. It's not easy for him, either. He's been beating himself up because of you two for years. So, if you can't accept him for who he is, maybe you should just stop talking to him and pretending you care. I don't want to see him hurting like this anymore." He glanced to Leon and his parents. "I really appreciate you inviting me here for dinner. Leon, you're a great friend. I apologize if I've ruined your holiday."

Then, he followed the path Zane had taken, and rushed to his boyfriend's room. Zane was sitting on his bed, his back toward the door and his arms crossed. Alex frowned, closing the door and slowly walking over to him. He could see Zane shuddering every few seconds, and he knew that the fox had finally broken. Alex felt a small surge of rage in his chest. How dare they make his Zane cry! How dare they break that peaceful exterior that his Zane held! How dare them....Not his Zane.

He placed his paw on the crying teen's shoulder and pulled him into a gentle hug. "I'm sorry, Z," Alex whispered. "I'm so sorry....Please, don't cry."

"I'm sorry, Alex," Zane choked out between sobs. "I've ruined your holiday. I probably made you hate me..."

"No! I could never hate you....Why would I hate you?"

"Because I blurted out about...what we did. And...I never told you I had a brother."

"No....I'm not mad. I don't care about what they think. I'm only worried about you. Please, don't cry..."

Zane sniffled a few times, stopping the flow of tears. He looked Alex in the eyes, trying to smile as Alex wiped the tears away with his thumb. After a few moments of regaining himself, Zane stood, walking to his dresser and rummaging through the top drawer. He pulled out a small, glossy paper, then tossed it to Alex. It was a picture of a smiling young fox, with silver fur shining under the sun. Alex understood who this was.

"That's my older brother, Sean," Zane explained, his tone telling Alex how hard it was to talk about him. "He is twenty-one now. When he was sixteen, he got kicked out of our church school...for the same reason I was kicked out of boarding school. When he told my parents, they yelled at him, and grounded him. There was a lot of fighting for the next year. Sean started going to a public school, and he started dabbling in a lot of the wrong things, like drugs. Then, to top it off, he told my parents he was gay and that he was in love with a guy. My parents freaked, forbidding him from seeing the man again. So one night, just a few weeks before his eighteenth birthday, Sean ran away to be with that guy." Zane sighed, shaking his head. "It turns out that the man wasn't really in love with Sean, and he just wanted a source for his drugs and stuff. Sean never realized, and he started to change. He didn't care about anything, and now he's in prison somewhere. All because he was tricked...."

Alex looked at Zane, shocked and appalled by what he heard. "Z, I'm so sorry..."

"My parents were never the same after that. They sent me away to boarding school, and got so caught up in their careers they eventually forgot they even had another son. It wasn't until I got kicked out of the boarding school that they started to pay attention to me. When they found out why, they sent me here. A small town, not many bad things happening. I guess...they wanted me to be safe. But I've been living in Sean's shadow since...what happened with him. And a part of me understands why they are the way they are...but really, I just want them to accept me. Their...close-mindedness is what drove Sean away." Zane glanced at Alex. "I say that I'm nothing like him, but every time I think about him, I notice more and more similarities. I mean, I've never done drugs. But I even said a few weeks ago that I would run away if my parents try to take me with them....I've followed in his steps so far...If I did that...I would be just like him."

"Z, I..."

A timid knock sounded at the door, and Mrs. Evans stepped in slowly. Zane turned away from her, but she walked over to him, wrapping her arms around him tightly. She immediately started to cry, holding her son in her arms.

"I'm so sorry...." She said, sobbing. "I am so sorry for everything I've done to you. Zane, you're my son. I don't want you to ever think that I don't love you. No matter what you do, there is nothing that you can do that will make me not love you. Nothing!" She held him out and looked him in the eyes. "I will admit, I have not done the right thing as your mother. I am sorry for that. I only hope you can forgive me." She glanced to Alex. "You, too, Alex. I apologize for my behavior." She looked back at Zane. "And if Alex is the one you love, then I want you to be with him."

Zane looked back at his mother, then the fox gave a quick nod. She hugged him again, and he hugged her back. Alex couldn't help but smile.

But then, Mr. Evans walked into the room.

Zane turned to look at his father, who stood simply in the doorway. The silence was thick, and it was clear that Zane was not going to be the one to break it. So Mr. Evans stepped forward, looking down at his son.

"I won't say that I completely understand your choice," he spoke, his tone serious. "And, no matter what I do or say, I can't change your mind." He looked at Alex. "But what Alex said downstairs made me realize that I am the one in the wrong. Zane, you're my son. And whatever you choose to do with your life...I will support you."

Zane knew that was his father's version of an apology. He nodded to his father, who stepped closer and embraced both his son and his wife in his arms. Alex smiled. So the day may have started badly, but it sure was ending well. He looked at Zane as his family hugged him, catching the words on the red-furred teen's lips without the sound.

"Thank you. I love you."

Sorry if it seemed rushed, I wasn't sure how to make such a confrontation flow.