When Brendon told him the next day that he'll be talking to his Dad now, Dallon was ecstatic about it for the younger man. He's relieved that Brendon made that choice to try.

But when the younger man told him that he needs to come with him, that's when Dallon paled considerably.

The plan has been nagging into his anxious thoughts as they both prepare to visit Brendon's home. And to make matters worse, he's not ready for it.

He would have used his work in assisting Patrick with the kids as his excuse but Brendon is already steps ahead of him when he called Pete that day to tell Patrick about the situation.

And god, does Brendon have his way when he really wants to.

Dallon blinks, clearing his throat. That was phrased differently than he thought.

He fiddles with his hands anxiously as he sees the younger man's house within his view. It had a beautiful vast garden with a variety of different flowers and trees that could match anything his Aunt could plant. It's the first time Dallon has seen a fountain that is not in a park. The house itself is gorgeous and twice as large from what he expected. A rather cream colored house with a maroon roof looking good as new. Large windows can be seen as they reach the structure. It would give anyone the impression that this is a nice, lively home.

How did Brendon even like his apartment?

"Hey." The younger man calls him out softly, a concerned look can be seen from his eyes of chocolate swirls. "It'll be fine, okay? Just breathe."

Dallon nods, trying to calm his breathing. It helps, only for a bit. They've been through a lot. He also doesn't want to be a nuisance to Brendon. It's the younger man who'll be talking to his father, not him.

As the Brendon's driver opens the door for them, (yes, the idea of having a door opened for you by a driver still shocks Dallon), both of them walk on the intricate stone pavement leading to Brendon's home.

Before they could even reach the door, a voice calls their attention. "Brendon, is that you?"

"Kenny! Long time no see!"

A man shorter than Brendon waves at them with a warm smile. He seems to be a gardener of the household, holding a hose and waters in what seems to be hibiscus flowers.

"Your Mother is expecting you in the living room."

"Got it. Thanks."

As they walk off, the gardener shouts out a 'Nice to finally meet you, Dallon!' and all he can do was turn to the younger man questioningly, who looks like he was stifling a smile.

"Did you tell them about me?"

Brendon shrugs, letting his lips for the smile he's been keeping. "Mom probably chatted her way about you through everyone. I told you she was gonna like you."

He hums at that, but he's not quite sure as to why his Mom would like him. All he can remember was sobbing his eyes out to her about his own mother. But he does like Grace. Quite lame as he is, she never judged him about it.

Once they opened the door, they were greeted by the sound of tapping feet, and Brendon is immediately approached by two little dogs. Notably, Boston Terrier and one Jack Russell.

"Bogart! Penny! I missed you guys!"

He watches fondly as the two dogs lick the younger man's face with excitement at the sight of him. It has been a long time that Brendon's been staying with him. They must really miss him.

"Calm down, you two. I want to introduce you to someone." Brendon says as he carries the two little dogs in his arms and turns their attention to him. "Dallon, these are my babies."

Dallon reaches out a hand, letting the young Jack Russell sniff it. Once he seems to have gotten the dog's approval, he scratches on the puppy's soft fur, just behind its ears. "I didn't know you have kids. I'm not that kind of girl, Brendon Urie." He says with mirth tugging his lips.

"You wouldn't be here if you weren't that kind of girl, Weekes." Brendon retorts with a charming grin that catches his breath.

He really is that kind of girl. Guy, rather.

"Brendon! Dallon!" A familiar voice out to them. It's Brendon's mother, greeting them with a warm grin. It obvious where the younger man got his smile. It surprises him as he found himself being engulfed in a hug of a solid figure in front of him.

"Thank you for coming, Dallon."

Brendon huffs, mockingly offended. "Why only he gets a hug?"

"I thought big boys don't get hugs and kisses from their Moms?" His mother teases that made him chuckle at their banter. It's cute to see Brendon looking embarrassed like that.

Brendon did end up getting those hugs and kisses from his Mom, even though he won't admit that he loved it. And now they found themselves in the dining table with a variety of food set on the table. It's not like Dallon gets to eat this much food anyway. And they all look so good.

One of Grace's helpers, an ash blonde haired girl named Hayley, greets them with a polite smile and offers him a cup of coffee. He thought about how she looks close to Brendon's age. They seem close to each other too, if not for the way Hayley hugged Brendon tightly, scolding him like some older sister for his risk-taking decisions, or so she says.

They all take a seat, with Hayley sitting beside him, and ate the scrumptious food in front of them. The younger woman beside him seems to take every opportunity to ask him a question. "Do you have a job?", "Is Brendon okay there?" It would feel like an interrogation, but not really. He's just glad other people care about Brendon.

"Your Dad is waiting for you in his study, dear." Grace says once they finished their food.

Dallon sends a worried glance at Brendon when he didn't respond. He only acknowledges it with a nod, though.

"You can stay with Mom for a bit, Dal." Brendon says, turning to him with a reassuring smile.

"You sure?"

The younger man nods, reaching out for his hand with a reassuring squeeze. "I'll be fine. It won't take long."

Dallon smiles, squeezing back from the warmth of Brendon's hand. "Okay."

Grace just looks at the with a small smile tugging her lips. Hayley, on the other hand, wasn't quite subtle with her reaction as she gasped beside him. He knows Brendon's mother is aware with whatever they have, and Hayley seems to be fine with it if not from the smile on her face. He'd rather be honest with Brendon's parents than keep it.

And whether they agree or not, that won't change how he feels for Brendon.

His eyes never leave the younger man as he walks off, going to his father for the long waited talk that he hopes would end up as a good one.

"Would you like a tour around the house, Dallon?" Grace offers rather cheerily. Dallon wonders if Brendon has ever brought his friends in his home.

"Actually, I was hoping you can teach me the recipe of the Lasagna you made."

Grace smiles widely at the suggestion and is already pulling him by the hand, excited to teach him the recipe. She chats away, telling him the ingredients and the spices as they walk towards the kitchen with Hayley following behind them. Dallon's heart warms at the feeling.

'It's like having a Mom again.'

***

"How are you, Brendon?"

"Fine."

When he reached his Dad's study, he had his words ready. He prepared everything he wanted to say to his Father. He was so sure he was ready.

So why can't one of them even get another word out other than simple pleasantries and small talk?

He knew it was never gonna be easy. It's like when you're preparing a speech and you're so sure you know what to say, but when you reach the stage, all the words disappear. Brendon never really had a hard time say things that he wanted to say, but with the amount of tension he feels about this, it's really difficult to let a word out.

"I'm glad you're home."

Brendon looks up, startled by his Father's words. His Dad was never the expressive, affectionate sort. And looking at his Dad's face, it looks so genuine and raw that it rattles him.

His father clears his throat, crossing his arms as he leans on his chair. "If we're going to talk about it, how about we dissect the issue at hand, shall we? Ask me what you wanted to talk about."

It's just like him to make a father-son talk feel like it's a meeting. He's pretty bad at having this talk thing. But Brendon appreciates that he's trying.

"About that whole marriage-set up thing. Why did that happen? Why couldn't have you told me sooner?" Brendon straightens himself, looking at his father's eyes as he asked the heavy question. He wanted to make sure he wouldn't sugar coat his words. "Is this for some publicity? Or were you teaching me a lesson because I hook up to a lot of people? Is that why you—"

"I knew about you and that Ryan boy."

That made Brendon pause his words. Knowing his father, he should have expected it. But he was so careful. They were so careful about it that he was so sure his parents didn't know about it. 

"H-How long?" For how long did he knew? He really should have known.

"It's not too hard to guess. You always came home late, and talked about these extracurricular activies that you're not really part of after you graduated high school." His father explains and Brendon is unnerved at how casual he sounds about it. "Every parent has their ways of knowing what their child is up to."

"I-I'm surprised you're taking this calmly." Brendon points out, because really. He expected his Dad to lash out on him about it.

His father turns to him with a small smile. "I guess I understood why you did it, and why you kept it a secret. I mean, I'm not saying it's fair of you to keep it a secret from me and your mother. I wish you could have at least told your mother. But I guess I understand."

It takes a moment for Brendon to process his father's words. It was baffling to think his Dad actually understands him. Him, the person who Brendon thought no one can break down the impenetrable walls of his persona. He never knew this... this side of his Dad.

He opens his mouth, trying to formulate his words before he continues. "So, you're not like, ashamed I like guys or—"

"Honestly? It was quite a challenge to adjust to it the moment I learned about it." His Dad admits, trying to be sheepish as he can be. "I had to think about it, you know? I researched about how parents cope with the idea that their child might like the same... sex."

"They say all these things about discipline, listen to the word of God and all that. Believe me, it's stupid." His father explained, having this habit of waving his hand around to enuciate his point. "I'm sorry but, at that time, I thought you were going through some phase that made you didn't know what you were doing."

At this point, Brendon would have shot him down and speak out. But somehow, he doesn't want to. This is the longest he's ever heard his father speak to him. Being around Dallon made him realize listening will give sense into some things without making rash decisions.

"So, when Ross confirmed me about you and Ryan... I thought I would be doing what's best for you when I agreed with his suggestion to have you married off to Sarah."

Guilt was etched into his Father's features. He didn't need to say it because Brendon can already see the way his eyes refuse to look at him. His fingers digging into the fabric of his pants just to have something do with his hand.

"But after you ran away from the wedding and left for a long time, I realized it doesn't really make a difference, you know? I'm sorry for what I've done. It doesn't make a difference if you're gay. You're my son. And I'm proud to have you as one."

"I don't want you to have regrets in the end, you know?" Dallon words echoes in his head as he saw his Father giving a gaze of what he never thought he'd see: affection. Dallon's right; heck he always seems to be. He would have missed this. He would have blindly ignored the issue he had with his Dad and push him away without hearing him out.

And if he was honest with himself? Yes, he would have regretted not talking to his Father. He would have let anger cloud over his choice of giving this talk a chance.

"T-Thank you." Is the only thing Brendon could say at the moment. It's not much, after everything his father told him. But he's trying to focus on not letting his Dad see that he's on the brink of tears.

And from how he heard his Dad's chuckle, he knew he's failing miserably from being a crybaby.

It probably took a while; just some bit of silence between them. But it wasn't terrible like the heavy tension they had before. And that idea itself comforts Brendon in his father's presence.

"I've heard from Spencer about Dallon Weekes. Can I meet him?"

Brendon looks up at his father, who stares back at him with expectation. He wants to meet Dallon and honestly, that's the one thing he's ever wanted. His parent's acceptance.

"Don't you dare scare him off." Brendon glares at him, but rather jokingly that made his Dad laugh.

"It won't be my fault if he does. But I'll give him some slack watching over you." His Dad says with a smile. An approval.

Since when have things gone good for him now?

Oh. Right. That's when he met Dallon.

****

"Your Dad is nicer than you made him out to be."

"I know. I'm surprised myself."

He was pretty sure Dallon was on the verge of having a heart attack earlier on when he told the taller man that his Dad wants to meet him.

It wasn't so bad. Everything turned out better than he expected with this talk. The good things that happen to him don't come often. But he knows better than to take advantage of it now.

So now, they're back at the apartment washing the dishes as the soft hum of the radio's music plays from the corner of the room. Zero sleeps soundly with her little belly exposed on the couch.

His parents agreed to have Brendon stay with Dallon. If you excluded the part where his parents pester him to have some pay on the rent, he tries not to let it annoy him. He's just happy at how things are going now.

In the middle of the night, right before he and Dallon go to sleep, he remembers to do one thing. "Hey, Dallon?"

He acknowledges Brendon before he can even go to his own bed. "Yeah?"

Without second thought, Brendon closes the distance between them as he places a lingering kiss on the brunette's lips. It speaks volumes of words that he hopes Brendon could finally say to him. I love you so much.

But for now, until Dallon is ready, he can only say his heartfelt gratitude as he pulls away. "Thank you. For everything."

He will never get tired of seeing Dallon be flustered at the gesture, and he's pretty sure he'll be doing it often. But he's glad he got his point across.

He doesn't let Dallon respond as he went to his own bed as he drowns himself into the soft covers of his comforter. Brendon lets his eyes close, letting himself embrace sleep that welcomes him into its arms.

Seeing the smile on Dallon's lips before leaving the flustered man to his own devices is probably the most satisfying thing he's ever seen.

And he knows he'll be seeing it for a long time.

*****

[A/N: alas it this chap is finally done.

I've been having some terrible writer's block but I'm glad I got through it.

Also, I love blonde Hayley okay? And everything about After Laughter is my jam. I'm a bit anxious about this chapter but I hope you guys like it (despite some grammar and phrase mistakes).

I hope you guys are doing well. And mind you, this fic is almoooooost done. So I'll be saying this now. Thank you for reading this story from start to almost finish. For this fic to reach 30k+ reads is freaking unbelievable.

Thank you all so much.]