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"Come on. Let's get you inside," said Vincent, his gloved hands clasping the fox's shoulders and helping him to his feet. He ignored the mess on the ground and tried his best not to breathe in the acrid scent of the stomach acids devoid of food due to Jamie's recent lack of appetite.

It was clear to the both of them that Jamie had it all wrong this whole time and would need a little longer to adjust his mind and his heart to accept the truth. He would be welcome and never driven away from the ones that he cared for the most. Vincent and his brother had shown him that and the lizard's comforting grin gave Jamie hope that everything would be alright.

Jamie nodded and cleared his eyes of his tears on his own dark damp sleeve, a calm expression gradually forming on his face. Once more the fox suppressed his emotions and swore in his mind that he'd cry no longer yet as Vincent's arms slipped around that red fabric, Jamie's eyes swelled once more and the boy grasped the lizard tightly.

Jamie would openly weep for all he'd done in anger and fear, burying his face against the comforting shoulder he rested his head upon while his tight grip grasped at the puffy winter coat that loosely shrouded his partner.

"I...I'm such an asshole," the fox admitted with tears darkening Vincent's coat. "I...treated everyone like shit and they...wait," he paused midsentence and lifted his head to sniffle a little, his eyes twinkling with childlike curiosity. "How did they know?"

"Are you kidding?" Vincent chuckled with a smirk, "they aren't blind." The lizard shook his head with a grin and continued to explain to the dumbfounded fox. "Your brother had an idea that you were gay for a while now and asked me about it the other day. I told him the truth and he seemed happy for us."

Jamie stared back quietly as he listened intently. The lizard continued on in a gentle, lighthearted tone as if explaining some adult matter to a child.

"I know you didn't want him to know, but once I knew he didn't mind. So I offered to talk to you about it, but he said he figured you'd rather be the one to tell him. Now you can I guess."

The words simply dissipated over Jamie's mind as it became flooded with memories of all they'd been through. The way the two of them met. The way Jamie tried to hide Vincent from the rest of his family only to have Terry walk in on the two of them cuddling late one night in front of a glowing television while their parents were away on a vacation. The fights, the frustration of not knowing, the uncertainty and pain of wanting more and being too scared to do anything about it. All of it had surmounted into anger and the angrier he'd gotten, the worse things had been.

"I...I can't feel my toes." The fox broke the silence, shivering as the cold air around him was finally starting to affect his lightly covered body. His fur could only do so much to keep his body warm. The red fabric of his hoodie was little added insulation and his feet had been bare the entire time. They had left paw marks in the snow around them and now began to go numb as the two simply stood there.

"Then let's get you inside." Rubbing the fox's back with one hand while aiding to support him with the other. Though he was freezing himself, Vincent didn't want to sound ungrateful for the way things had come out.

As he stood up straight and took Vincent's hand, Jamie thought about his return home. What it would mean and how embarrassed he'd be. Things had changed a lot in his life within the last hour, but what did it mean for the two of them? His family? His brother? It was all coming at him blindingly fast. Part of him wanted to run, but as he felt that familiar hand in his all the hatred and fear seemed to dissipate into nothing.

"You're coming with me, right?" Jamie asked giving that scaled hand a firm squeeze.

"Of course!"

A short walk later the pair would be back at the house with Jamie's family patiently waiting for dinner to begin. That evening would be one they would all remember fondly. Laughing and joking about how silly Jamie had been. Despite it all, he didn't seem to mind laughing along with them. He was so grateful that they had all forgiven him that he felt as though it was the least he could do.

As the night wore on, the topics would grow more somber in nature. Should he be openly gay at school and would his classmates accept that? Was there any evidence that anyone at the school would bully an openly gay student and so on. Eventually the discussion led to whether or not they would try to attend college together and they said they had decided to do so as long as they could take some brief time off to spend with Jamie's uncle in Spain.

"So, you want to see the family estate?" asked Jamie's father with a chuckle. He had taken his wife's last name mostly because 'Delgado' sounded a lot better than 'Fitsberg.' "We were just there....." his words trailed off in thought as the older fox looked away to gather his memories.

"Five years ago," completed Jamie's mother, Diana, with a tired smirk on her face. "We weren't 'just there,' Luther. It's been forever."

They were all seated around the large dark brown oak table. Dinner had been over for some time now and with their plates cleared, it would give them all a good chance to relax and chat while the snow gently fell outside.

"I know," Luther replied with a tired sigh. The smirk on his wife's lips was turning his face into a dopey grin. "We always lose touch of your side," he continued with a heavy weight of regret in his words. "It seems like every time we all get close, something bad happens or someone..."

"Ah! Not another syllable!" shouted Diana, raising her finger to his lips in a rapid gesture that had half the table jumping in their seats. She was still smirking, but despite her lighthearted appearance, they all knew, outside of Vincent who was clueless, that no one was to speak of the deaths of Delgados. To do so would be like sentencing another member of their seemingly cursed family to an early grave.

Vincent didn't quite get what was going on as he had never heard of the rumors or about any one in Jamie's extended family for that matter. He would politely smile though and remind himself to ask Jamie about that later.

"Fine, fine!" shouted Luther with a smirk of his own and a chuckle carrying his words. "All the same, I hear Hym and Sebastian live there now, at the castle. I heard Dennis said he might be going there soon too if he can get the money together. Maybe all you cousins could go check it out together. I know Nester would love to have you all."

"It's not a castle," laughed Diana. "It's a chateau and yes, Nester would probably like having the extra company. It's just him and Bibi most of the time and I'm sure he'd like having fresh faces around."

As far as Jamie knew and Terry knew, Nester Delgado was their world exploring second cousin who had garnered a decent fortune as a baron in eastern Spain. Their mother had explained that her cousin Nester was the heir apparent to the family estate since his older brother, Gregor Delgado, wasn't interested in the title or the land. With their parents deceased, the title fell to Nester, the youngest of his three siblings, including his sister Lilith. Aunt Bibi, Jamie and Terry's great aunt, was the current caretaker and the oldest Delgado alive. Hym and Sebastian were Nester's nephews, but they were almost as old as their uncle due to his parents having him so late in life.

Brief as their knowledge was of their family, Jamie and Terry knew there was more to the story as there is in most stories about Delgados. Yet of this, Vincent didn't seem to expect much. He saw it as Jamie trying to impress him with his rich relatives and fancy home. He tried to explain to him that he didn't care, but the fox didn't seem to listen. Still, Vincent saw it as a free chance to go to Europe and travel abroad. Maybe even meet some of Jamie's interesting distant relatives.

"Wait, Dennis is going too? When?" blurted out Jamie as he sat up and looked at Terry. Terry shrugged and then they turned to their father. They both seemed rather concerned about this and took their father by surprise, eyeing him for an answer.

Luther backed up in his chair, extending his hands in defense. "I...I don't know. He's always been trying to get away from his father. I guess Nester offered him a place to stay, but it's not that easy. You know how your uncle Crispin is."

"But he's nineteen, dad! Crispin doesn't have anything on him!" shouted Jamie in offense. The warmth had left him as now that there seemed to be something new to fight for at the table. Vincent could see it in the fox's eyes and his brother's too that something wasn't right about this thing with their cousin.

Jamie's mother tried to calm the situation leaning in towards the boys. "Jamie, this isn't your fight. I know it makes you angry, but there's nothing we can do. Nester says he's already given Dennis the money and then some, but he doesn't know where it went. Apparently he didn't use it for a plane ticket, but I'm sure Dennis has his reasons and let's leave it at that."

"Fucking Curtis. I bet that asshole stole it," added Terry as he snarled at the image in his mind of Dennis' older brother; an angry young man who blamed the suicide of their mother on his half-brother Dennis.

"Enough!" shouted Luther with his hands outstretched as if to part the anger in the room. He was growing more and more uncomfortable about where the conversation was leading. It wouldn't be long before the accusations came out. "We know Dennis has a hard life right now, but all we can do is just hope for the best. I'm sure you'll see him by the time you guys get to Spain."

The room seemed to grow dreadfully quiet as they sat there in silence. All of their thoughts were drifting in silent worry about Dennis and then some. It seemed the happy energy had been sucked from the room. Vincent, growing a bit uncomfortable, gripped Jamie's hand beneath the table and gave it a soft squeeze. Turning to face him, Jamie saw the lizard smiling softly at him. Reminding him that he'd understand, whatever the situation was, and that he'd be there for him.

"So... who's on top anyway?" asked Luther.

"DAD!" screamed Jamie is response as his face turned a bright red beneath the fur. Tossing a napkin at his father and then at his older brother who was practically falling out his chair from laughing so hard. Soon Terry's wife Lisa was laughing as well and their mother was next to join in. Even Vincent was chuckling and soon Jamie couldn't help but get in on it as well. They would laugh and joke for another hour before finally saying goodnight.

***

"You sure this is going to be okay?"

It was their first day back at school. Vincent and Jamie had walked to school together that day and all the way through the front door and into the labyrinth of tall blue lockers, white tiled floor, bright lights and looming wooden doors. Holding hands the whole way. Vincent had been sure to call a dozen friends of theirs during the remainder of the break to make sure things would go smoothly with the pair of them coming out, knowing he and Jamie would have their support. Jamie however wasn't so sure about their chances. He'd put up a strong front over the past year and being labeled a hypocrite seemed like getting off easy.

"We'll be fine. Mike and Stacy are right over there. Come on, let's go see how their break was."

"Do we really need to hold hands?"

Jamie's hand was wet with a sweat which seemed to cover him beneath his clothes in a cold shroud of worry. Looking down at his clasped fingers, he would release Vincent's hand and quickly clean the moisture off against his jeans before the lizard hastily snatched those digits back.

"This is how we need to do it," grumbled Vincent. He was growing a little impatient with his boyfriend's pessimism. "I've waited all year to do this with you. You only did all this to yourself. Now, let's say hi to our friends. If we hover around them and show everyone that they accept us, everyone else will too. That's how this school works. It's only acceptable if a group likes it. After that, bigger groups accept it and then it becomes an everyday thing. Trust me."

Vincent had been right all along. Next to a line of clanging lockers, the small group of friends had seemed very happy for the pair. While there were some jeers and cold stares from some of their peers, others began to approach them and congratulate them on their courage through the bustle of kids rushing to classes with books and backpacks clasped in their hands. It felt odd to Jamie. It made him uncomfortable to receive such encouragement for people he'd hardly knew. Vincent however seemed to be taking it with pride. Thanking his peers left and right and even laughing with some of them.

"See, I told you it'd be fine. Stacy says she wants to use us to send a message to other closeted gays in the school to help them feel comfortable about coming out. It's that awesome?" The lizard seemed to boat with pride as the bell rang and it made the fox sulk with worry. "What's wrong?" his voice was quickly becoming agitated as the pair headed to class.

"I...can't we just be boyfriends and not get all crazy like this in school?"

"But we should help others!" Vincent cheered as if it would help bolster his ideals.

Jamie thought about just staying quiet. Not saying anything and letting Vincent do his thing. It was the least he could do to make it up to the lizard. Let Vincent campaign for equality in their school while he stood beside him. Yet the more he thought about it, the more he realized that simply wasn't right. He stopped in his tracks and pulled Vincent back sharply. In his heart, the fox knew that not saying anything was what got him into a mess in the first place and he wasn't about to let it happen all over again.

"Ugh...can't you do that and leave me out of it? I'm not really into that sort of stuff. That's your thing. Please? We can hold hands and stuff, but I don't want to be a poster child for gays in our school."

True, Vincent was hurt. It ached in his heart a bit that Jamie didn't want to do this with him after all the dreaming the lizard had done during the rest of the break. The lizard wouldn't say a thing, only nod with a half-smile shrouded in disappointment and turn to walk with Jamie into the math class they shared together. The first class of the day.

Two steps in the door, the pair paused as a slow clap of appreciation rushed over them. Neither would admit to the butterflies swirling in their stomachs as half the class stood including the teacher, Mr. Lolly, stood and praised the two for their courage.

Before a word was said, Mr. Lolly, a ferret in his thirties, turned and gestured to the class to sit with a grin on his lips. He knew that many in the class wanted to congratulate the boys on their effort, but didn't want to embarrass the boys either or give those who didn't accept them further reason to act out in aggression for that matter.

"Take your seats. Let's continue where we left off," said the ferret, keeping an eye on the class with his gaze jumping between faces either expressing too much excitement or ignorant hatred. He knew there was a potential powder keg of debate in the room and would do his best to keep a lid on it so that it would hopefully fizzle out.