A/N Kalen moves quickly. That's all I can say

"You know, I'm thinking about talking to one of my brothers about this," Kalen said, and James felt his eyes widen. About five minutes ago, the other boy had climbed into the back of Tyler's car and promptly laid down. It was familiar, sitting outside of the school with Kalen sprawled out across the back seat. The only difference was that now they actually had some important things to discuss.

"About me?" James inquired, looking back and peering over his chair to see the other boy. Kalen was laying on his back, head propped up by the plastic cup holder built into the door, eyes closed. He couldn't possibly be as comfortable as he looked with his long legs cramped up against the other door, but nothing about him indicated discomfort.

"Not about you," Kalen responded calmly, not bothering to open his eyes. James shot a look at Tyler, who was hiding a smile behind his hand, as if he found James's fear of the Bradford's to be hilarious. This kind of pissed James off, since Tyler of all people should understand the situation James was in. Of course James wasn't going to bring this up with Kalen in the car. "Just about me being gay. See how they take it and use that information to determine who else I should tell. I don't know which one though. If I tell any one of the triplets, the other two will find out-"

"Maybe start with Pierce," Tyler suggested, still hiding behind his hand, though this time he was grimacing, as if it just occurred to him this may not have been the smartest thing to say.

"Pierce?" Kalen said from the back, sounding surprised. There was a shifting, and James glanced over his shoulder to watch Kalen swing his legs off of the seat, coming to sit directly between James and Tyler's chairs. He leaned forward then to gaze at Tyler. "Why Pierce? If anything, Pierce should be the last person I should tell."

"Why's that?" Ty inquired, turning his face to look out his window, avoiding Kalen's intense gaze. James watched as Kalen's eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"Because out of all of my brothers he's probably the one most likely to hit me if I disappoint him," Kalen claimed, and James eyes grew incredibly wide as he looked to Tyler, who actually began to laugh at that.

"No he's not".

"I'm telling you-" Kalen began, only to be immediately interrupted.

"Besides, it's not like you being gay will disappoint him," Tyler claimed, and Kalen looked perplexed. It had been made clear to James once and Kalen began growing close that he was not to share Tyler's secret with the other boy. This was something James agreed with, and he still agreed with it now that him and Kalen were officially... whatever it is they were. Tyler's secrets were Tyler's secrets, and James wasn't going to betray his best friends trust for anyone.

But if he kept saying stupid criptic shit about Pierce, James feared that keeping information from Kalen would grow increasingly difficult.

"What are you talking about?" Kalen asked, though it came out more like a demand. "How can you be so sure".

"Just... trust me, alright?" Tyler said, pulling his backpack out from under James seat and setting it on his lap. "Or don't, I guess. I'm just trying to be helpful".

He left them alone in the car then, and Kalen's gaze immediately moved to James's face. "What the fuck?" Kalen asked. Swear words sounded wrong on Kalen's lips, since he didn't use them often.

All James could manage was a small shrug, knowing if he said anything, Kalen would be able to tell he was hiding something.

***

When Kalen had said he was thinking about telling one of his brothers, James had been expecting him to do it in about a week or so. That's why he was so surprised that afternoon when Kalen returned to his bedroom after disappearing for a long time— which really wasn't suspicious since James knew his parents were on the back porch and Kalen often went to spend time with them— with his phone in his hand. "So I called Pierce".

"You... you what?" James asked, looking up from his geography textbook.

"Yeah," Kalen confirmed casually, crawling up onto the bed and then laying on his back next to James, his head turned to the side to peer up at him with golden eyes.

"And...?" James prompted once Kalen didn't continue. A ball of nerves sat heavy in his stomach. Knowing what he did about Pierce, James was sure it was fine, but he was still nervous for Kalen's sake.

"And it went well," Kalen admitted, his voice incredibly soft. "How exactly did Tyler know it would be fine?"

"Tyler..." James trailed off. "Tyler has a good sense with these things I guess". It came out like a lie, and the look on Kalen's face told him it he knew it was one. Instead of pressing the issue though, Kalen raised his head to lightly kiss his lips.

"You're not telling me something, but I'm sure there's a reason for that".

With a long sigh, because Kalen was literally the most amazing and understanding person in the world, James kissed him again, this time for slightly longer, his hand coming to thread through Kalen's hair and tilt his face towards his lips. When they parted, Kalen was smiling, and James's face felt hot.

"So, Pierce said I would probably be fine to tell the triplets," Kalen suggested after a long pause in which they gazed at one another. "And I was thinking... If you're comfortable with it..."

"Oh," James breathed, his eyes blowing wide. "I... you want to tell them... about me?"

Kalen nodded and relaxed his body down onto the mattress, smiling up at him. "I don't see why not. I mean they like you enough, and I like you enough".

For now, James thought, but instead he said, "I... me? About me?"

Real smooth.

"I don't have to if you don't want me to," Kalen assured calmly, seeming surprised. "I mean, we've only been together for less than a week, I was just thinking that you'd feel comfortable with them knowing".

"Oh". James didn't know what to say, because he wasn't comfortable, he was terrified, but he didn't want Kalen to know that. What if Kalen took his hesitance towards his brothers finding out as hesitance towards them, and what if Kalen thought he wasn't taking their relationship seriously and cut it off so soon– "It's fine!" His voice was a little louder than normal, and Kalen's eyes widened a bit in surprise. "I'm perfectly comfortable with it! Go ahead, tell whoever you want!"

For a minute, Kalen just looked at him, eyebrows furrowed in concern, but then he closed his eyes and smiled. "Alright. I read you loud and clear".

After that, James didn't get much studying done. All he could think about was how close he was to being murdered, and all of the things he had yet to do with his life.

***

That night, when there was a knock on his door, James was only a little surprised to see the Bradford triplets on his front porch. He had been expecting— dreading— as much after Kalen had told Pierce so quickly.

What was incredibly surprising to him was that when he joined them outside on the porch to speak in private, he wasn't immediately punched in the face. No, quite the opposite actually. Michael and Joe both smiled at him, and even Daniel stopped glaring.

"Uh... hey guys," he greeted softly, shifting nervously. "What's up?"

"We think you know," Joe answered, and James's breath caught and his eyes widened.

"Okay, look guys, I'm really sorry but it just—"

"Hey!" Michael interrupted, a kind smile pulling at his lips. Nervously, James eyed him, but the other boy seemed completely fine. "It's alright James. We're not mad at you. Actually," he paused to lightly laugh, "we're here to thank you".

"Thank me?" James repeated, disbelieving, because there was no way in hell that the Bradford triplets were thanking him for betraying their trust and dating their younger brother.

"Of course. Don't look so surprised," Joe advised, crossing his arms over his chest. "Thank you for giving Kalen a place to go these last couple of weeks, and thanks..."

"Thanks for accepting him," Michael cut in, and the other two nodded.

"We know better than anyone the kind of abuse and rejection that gay people can face," Daniel grumbled, dropping his eyes. "We were even the ones to enforce it sometimes".

"All that time... we were hurting Kalen without even realizing it," Joe voiced, seeming distressed by this fact. "He must have felt so betrayed".

"Which is why we are so thankful that you've been there for him," Michael concluded. "He trusts you, James".

Unsure of what to say to this, James only managed a hesitant, "oh".

"Which is why we have another favor to ask of you," Joe added, blue eyes dark under the light of the moon. It made all three of them seem more threatening, and James found himself wishing he had turned on the porch light before leaving the house.

All he could think about was Kalen. Please don't make me break up with Kalen. Please don't ask me to do something that will betray his trust. Please don't kill me before I get to kiss him again.

But they asked none of this. Instead, they asked something of him that confirmed that Kalen must not have told his brothers about their relationship just yet.

"Could you continue to keep an eye on Kalen for us? Keep any... possible suitors away from him, or talk him out of dating any boy he confides in you about? We accept him, of course, because he's our little brother, and we love him enough to change our ways and our prejudices, but we don't think our acceptance will be enough for him to feel comfortable enough with us to talk to us about boys and such, and we're worried we won't be able to protect him if we don't know who to keep away from," Daniel explained, and it briefly occurred to James that was probably the most he had ever heard the boy speak before.

"When we though Kalen was straight, we said that no girl was good enough for him," Joe cut in. "There's no way in hell another boy will ever be either".

At this, James swallowed, and then asked, "Um... weren't you guys able to isolate him well from potential suitors before? What's different now?"

"You are," Daniel growled and James took a quick step back.

"Um, yeah," Michael said, shooting a look at his angry looking brother. "Well, you see, it's been harder to keep tabs on him with him spending more time with you, but we like you, and we don't want to tell Kalen that he can't spend time with you anymore".

"Also," Joe chimed in with a charming smile. "We're worried if we tell Kalen he can't be friends with you anymore he'll stop talking to us about everything out of anger".

Michael shook his head at this, as if he disagreed, but James noticed he didn't vocalize his protest.

"Okay," James agreed softly after a pause, thinking about how ironic the whole situation was. The Bradford triplets asking him to watch over Kalen and keep him from dating, which would just be providing them time to be together behind their back. "I can do that".

"Great," Michale breathed with a smile.

"Cool man. We just need to let us know what boys Kalen is interested in, who talks to him, who he even mentions, and, oh yeah, confirm that he's actually with you when he tells us he's going to your house. We don't want him trying to out smart us by telling us he'll be at yours and then going out on secret trists and what not". Joe counted all of these things off on his fingers, and then paused after the last one. "Should I write that all down for you?"

"I think I got it," James admitted, a smile finally pulling at his lips.

"You think you can manage?" Daniel inquired, leaning forward.

"Oh yeah," James confirmed, finally full out grinning. "I've got this".

***

"I just had a very interesting conversation," James said into his phone, smiling up at his bedroom ceiling. There was a small inhale of breath on the other line and then.

"Ah".

"Ah?"

"Yes," Kalen confirmed. "Ah. I should have known that's where they were going".

"You should have," James confirmed, and Kalen huffed softly. "So you didn't tell they about us then?"

"Why do you say that?"

"Because they asked me to watch out for any male suitors you may acquire," James responded, and Kalen hummed, clearly distracted.

"Well I could still acquire—"

"No".

"Well it's not like I can help it, James. I just won't act on any of the suitors of course".

"I think you're trying to change the subject," James accused after a pause, in which his stomach and throat burned at the idea of someone else— someone better— courting Kalen.

"I'm not," Kalen protested. There was a pause then, in which neither of them spoke, and then Kalen sighed. "So I didn't tell them about us after all".

"Might I ask why?" James wasn't really bothered— he was relieved, actually— but Kalen had seemed so sure about letting them know, and James was curious as to why he changed his mind.

"Because you were clearly super uncomfortable with it".

Now it was James turn: "Ah". This wasn't dignified with a response. "So you noticed that then?"

"Well I'm not an idiot," Kalen grumbled. "It was kind of hard not to notice".

"... Am I like easy to read or something?"

"Sometimes," Kalen admitted, voice very soft. "But not all of the time, so you need to like, tell me these things please. I don't ever want to put you into a situation that makes you uncomfortable, so how about from now on you just tell me how you really feel about something and we'll work from there".

"Oh," James breathed. "Yeah. I'm sorry". He fell silent then and nervously chewed at his lip.

"I'm not mad at you".

"But you wanted to tell your brothers. I'm sorry".

"Apologizing twice for the same thing?" Kalen asked, voice teasing. "How very mid western of you".

"Kalen".

"James, it's really alright. I wanted to tell my brothers because I was so excited about us, but seeing how they took me coming out to them, I think it's a good idea to keep it between us and Tyler for now," Kalen explained, and James frowned.

"I thought they look it well".

"Well, sure". Kalen trailed off sadly. "But they lecture me for an hour afterwards about staying away from boys because they were no good".

"Ah".

"Yes".

James thought back to something else Kalen had said. "You're excited about us?"

The line was silent, and then came a soft, "Yeah".

"Good," James confirmed, and he was sure the other boy could hear the smile in his voice. He didn't care. "Me too".