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Kevin's face froze as he heard the sound of tires on the gravel driveway outside the small, three bedroom home. Kevin shifted uncomfortably on the couch across from the door as he typed out a quick tweet and sent it, letting his friends know he would be back soon, no matter how the conversation went. His thumb held down the power button on his phone until the phone shut itself down with a small beep. As much as the pangolin wanted to stay on twitter, ignore his problems, and avoid this conversation, this was the best course of action. His parents deserved to know, and it should come from him, not from some tabloid.

He sighed. Kevin still couldn't figure out why it hadn't made any news. Then again, though he hadn't known it before, the number of openly gay players in the league made the fact that he, only a draftee and not even among the top 24, was gay almost a non-issue, certainly not something to be reported on. Still, he was pretty open on twitter, and if any article on him had made mention on it, his parents and friends would have learned. For once, he was happy that his parents were pretty technologically illiterate, and this his friends avoided twitter like the plague.

Though, maybe he hadn't been as overt on twitter as he has thought. Julian had seen his tweet earlier about letting his parents know about being gay when they got home and had seemed surprised by the news. Kevin had asked the saluki if he truly hadn't noticed, and Julian hadn't responded. He thought back to the tweets, how hesitant they sounded. He hoped Julian wouldn't take offense to his being gay. The saluki was a good guy, and deserved all the things that had happened for him after Show Your Colours. Like the many others he had made since the combine, Julian was a friend that Kevin didn't want to lose.

Kevin snapped out of it, looking over his shoulder as the lock turned and the door behind him opened. "Margaret! I told you I had this!"

The shorter, slimmer of the two pangolins walked through the door first, holding it open for her husband. Though she was the oldest between the couple at sixty, the years had been kind to Margaret Malka. Barely a hair of grey touched the short fur of the pangolin's graceful body, still trim and spry at her age. Trailing behind her was her husband of thirty five years, an aging man. Kevin father was only a bit taller than his mother, both more than a head shorter than the younger pangolin. The older man's fur was heavily grayed, his scales flaked and worn, and he had a noticeable gut. Looped around his arms were at least ten plastic bags, filled to the rim with groceries.

Margaret turned and pointed towards the kitchen. "Well I'm sorry, Harold, that I didn't want to wait all day for you to try and unlock the door with your arms full like that!"

"Aww, Kevin would have heard us trying to get in and opened the door."

Margaret huffed and the old man fell silent instantly. "Kevin came up to visit us! It would be rude to make him get up to help us when I could just open the door myself!"

Kevin had turned to watch his parents with an anxious feeling in his gut. "Mom . . . Dad, can I talk to you guys for a minute? It's kinda important."

Margaret smiled at her son, her face beaming. "Of course, sweetie! Can it wait a minute, your father really should put these groceries away. By himself."

"But dear! Why do I have to do it by myself?"

"Because, Harold, you wanted to bring them in by yourself, so you can . . ."

Kevin coughed, getting his parent's attention. "I'm really sorry, mom, but it can't wait." He paused, exhaling deeply. "If I don't do this now, I'm never going to be able to."

He saw his parent's faces fall slightly, both with concern. His mother moved quickly to sit next to him on the couch, his father setting himself into the chair across from them, the bags left strewn across the ground to both sides.

Kevin scooted himself a few inches away from his mother on the couch, trying to keep both his parents within his sight. "I really don't know how to tell you this. It's been eating at me ever since I entered the draft this year. I just . . . I didn't know how to tell you, but after everything that happened at the combine, and in Vegas and Hawaii, I need to let you guys know. From me, and not from some tabloid headline."

Kevin's father started him dead in the eye as his gaze passed over the older pangolin. "Kevin, did you get someone pregnant?"

Margaret squeaked. "Kevin, if you got someone pregnant, you need to let us know."

"No, it's not th. . . "

"We'll support you and whoever the lucky girl is, but you need to tell us! You need to know that there are consequences for every acti. . . ."

"I'm gay!"

Margaret froze mid word, and Harold rocked back in his chair, mouth agape. Kevin took in their reaction, and then began to stare directly at the ground, his eyelids drooping slightly. Silence reigned the room until he heard a squeak from his mother. "Are . . . are you sure?"

Kevin nodded slowly. "I'm sure, mom. Trust me, at times I have wished beyond anything that I wasn't, but I am."

He heard his father's voice beginning to phrase a question, and knew exactly where it was going. "How long? Do you remember Elaina, from Grade 9? That sweet little pike? She wanted so badly for me to like her. I tried dating her, but in the end, I had to tell her that she just wasn't my type. I couldn't tell her why. I was on the basketball team. If any of them knew where my attention was want to go, they would never have accepted me!"

"Kevin, sweetie, you can't mean . . ."

"I don't know, mom! I want to think that all my friends, all my old teammates would have accepted me for what I am, but I couldn't risk it! Basketball is my life! You know how much I've wanted to join the FBA, ever since I started playing as a kid! How would I ever have made it as far as I have if I hadn't had the chance to play through high school, through university! Sure, my chances aren't great as is, some no-name weirdo species from Canada, but how bad would they have been if I hadn't played through university, if OIT hadn't done as well as they did?"

Kevin stopped, breathing heavily. His face was even more downcast. "I'm . . . I'm sorry." There was a stutter to his voice. "I know how much you both want grandkids, how much you want me to just settle down with a nice girl. But . . . I just can't do it. I've lived my life in the closet until now, and I just can't do it anymore."

Kevin flinched as he felt a hand on his face. He looked up at his mother's horrified expression, her hand only a few inches away. Her face softened, and she slowly put her hand back on Kevin's cheek, turned his head to face her. She gave him a small smile, pulling him in for a hug. Even though her son dwarfed her in both height and size, she wrapped her arms as far around Kevin as she could. Kevin's arms lay limply at his sides, unsure of what to do.

"Kevin, listen to me." His mother spoke, softly but directly. "I'm a little sad, yes. I've always wanted grandkids, I've always wanted a daughter-in-law to dote upon. But this is about you, and what you need is more important that what I want."

She pushed her son back, and he stared at her hesitantly. "I'm not saying it's going to be easy for me to adjust to this, sweetie, but I'm going to do my best. No matter what, you're still my son, and I love you. That will never change."

Silence filled the room again as Kevin looked over at his father. His father's face was blank, a carefully crafted mask of indifference. His mother looked worried. "Harold, what . . .?"

Harold raised a hand. "Margaret, just let me speak. Please." The older pangolin sat forward. "What brought this on, Kevin?"

"What do you mean?"

"Why tell us this now? Why not wait? Why not before?"

Kevin's gaze returned to the ground. There was a hint of anger in his father's voice that he had never heard before. "It's a lon. . ."

"Look at me when you're talking, Kevin!"

The voice boomed and shook Kevin. "I'm, I'm sorry dad!"

Margaret's voice shrieked from his left. "HAROLD!"

Harold's eyes flicked to his wife before returning to his son. "Go on."

Kevin gulped. "It was Antonio Garza that started all of this. I've been playing for so long. I've always wanted to play for the FBA. But I've been in the closet all high school, all university. As much as I love this game, and as much as it is my life, I didn't want to be in the closet for the rest of my career. Seeing Antonio propose to his boyfriend during the halftime game in Hawaii, well, it showed me there were openly gay players in the league. I know you guys always wanted to know why I declared, and that's the reason. That locust showed me that I could be myself in the league, I didn't have to hide anymore.

"And then the combine happened. I met so many awesome people there. I joined twitter, I got to know people. I saw many new faces that would become friends, a number of which are gay. And that's when I learned that it was more than just Tony in the league that was openly gay. Barnaby Jazz, Luukas Hirvonen, Crosby Sutters . . . and Rocky Caracal. The first openly gay player in the league. And he's still playing still as open and proud as ever! He even won MVP this year, and he's a favourite among fans. And he certainly attracted the eye of one of my fellow draftees." Kevin paused. "Iver and Rocky make such a cute couple."

He looked his father dead in the eye. "That's why I'm telling you now. Before, I didn't know how I could ever be myself. I didn't KNOW how many amazing payers were openly gay in this league. I didn't know that I would ever have the chance to play the game I love on the international stage, and still be me, not some mask. And I'm telling you now because I wanted you to hear it from me. Not some reporter, not some news article, from me."

He paused, exhaustion hitting him. "Now, just tell me what you think of me. If you hate me, just TELL me, and you'll never have to see me again."

Harold pushed himself hard out of the chair, striding across the gap with large steps, his body hunched. Kevin shut his eyes and braced himself to be hit, when nothing happened. He opened his eyes to see his father crouched down in front of him, eyes on the same level. The older pangolin reached in and hugged his son, something that had become increasingly rare as the years had gone on.

"Son," He stated simply, "I'm never going to understand your attraction to men. I don't even know if I will ever accept it a hundred percent. It seems wrong to me, but you're my son. I just want you to be happy. And I'll have to get used to that fact."

Kevin reached forward and hugged his father. "That's all I can ask for."

_______________

Epilogue:

Kevin sighed, pulling out his phone. After their discussion, his mother had hurried to put the groceries away while his father had grabbed a beer from the fridge. The house was still tense from the admission, and when Margaret suggested a quick trip to Kagawong, both Kevin and his father couldn't agree fast enough.

They had taken the twenty minute drive to the town in silence. Once there, however, Kevin's enthusiasm returned. The Kagawong falls had always been one of his favourite spots not on a trail or on the reserve as a kid. They had enjoyed them for a brief time, leaving due to the large crowd, and traveled to the store near the base of the hiking trail, a proper homemade chocolate shop. While the little chocolates were expensive, they were worth it, and his mother bought Kevin a small box of them, as a little gift for his courage.

Though it hadn't been a long trip, it had cleared the air between the family members, and their trip home was filled with laughter and recounts of events that had occurred since they had last seen each other.

His phone vibrated in his pocket. It was Julian. Kevin smiled, he still didn't quite know how Julian had missed picking up that he was gay. With a quick reply, Kevin smirk fell as he looked at the home feed. Every single tweet for the first while was from Adi. Reading the most recent one, Kevin scrolled down to the first on and began to read.

Kevin swallowed the saliva building up on his mouth. The civet was being sent on a mission, one that could take him away from the FBA, could cause him to miss the Combine Challenge. A mission that could cause him to lose his life if he wasn't careful. There were already tweets from his friends and other concerned parties. The responses shed more light on the situation. The mission seemed to be in regards to human trafficking of some sort, and from the first few tweets, this was something very important to him.

Kevin typed out his best wishes, finding it hard to express what he wanted to in so few characters. The civet responded, his tone upbeat despite the dark note to the entire event.

A moment later, his phone buzzed from tweet, followed by the chime of a text message. He saw the tweet first, then flicked his eyes to the summary of the text. The name Aditya Anggun was displayed on his screen. He opened the text hurriedly, thought it didn't say much more than the tweet had: simply that the civet had not yet made plans for rooming at the draft.

Kevin typed out a reply on twitter before sending it to the civet's cell as well. He would gladly stay with the civet. Despite their short time together, only a day of talking and a single dinner after that, Kevin had enjoyed Adi's company immensely, as well as that of the civet's family. Kevin was certain that the civet would return from his mission alive as well, and that they would see each other again, if not at the Combine Challenge, than at the draft.

Finally, the time he had stated came, and Adi posted a final farewell on twitter, including a picture of him waving as he boarded a plane. Kevin wished him a hopefully not final goodbye, even though he knew the civet would not see the message until the mission concluded.

He paused, staring down at his phone. It still bothered him. Why was this mission to personal to Adi? Kevin shook his head, clearing away the thoughts that came to him. He didn't know the civet's past, and that was not something that was his place to ask about. Still, the pangolin opened the messaging app and typed out a single message.

"I know you won't see this until your mission is over. Whatever it is, whatever lives you have saved, I know it was all worth it. You said this was important to you, and you gave us a clue as to what the mission was about, but I'm not going to pry into that. Your reasons and your past are your business, not ours.

Just, I'm glad you made it out of the mission alive, and with whomever you saved in the process. Nobody deserves to be forced into something against their will.

Just know, as I said above, I'm glad you are safe. And I look greatly forward to seeing you at the draft, if not at the Combine Challenge. I look forward to seeing you, man, and maybe rooming with you, if that's what you want.

And, just know, if you ever need an ear, I'm here.

Kevin."