“So, what do you do?”

Here it was: the question Leo had been braced for since they’d arrived at the house—not even three minutes ago.

Dustin cast him a significant look, and Leo just smiled calmly back at him. He wasn’t going to stress his new boyfriend out any more. He felt much more pressure than he let on, but that was covered in his training, too.

“I’m a forensic photographer,” Leo answered. “I’m the guy recording evidence before they bag it and send it to Dustin.”

“Oh.” Dustin’s parents exchanged looks.

“What about you, Mr. Reed? Mrs. Reed?” Leo asked to distract them from their internal calculations.

“Oh, please. Joe and Eliza.” It was an outwardly warm reception—Eliza was even serving tea. But Leo could sense the undercurrent of tension, from the way Dustin had briefly hugged both his parents. There was some elephant in the room. Either the one he knew about, or something else. “I took an early retirement option when my company merged…”

Joe went on an explanation of his company’s merger while Leo listened politely and nodded.

His job was to try to defuse the tension, even though he had the feeling that would normally be Dustin’s job. But Dustin was wound up to hell. He could sense it in the way Dustin walked stiffly and forced smiles.

“So, how long have you been, um… photographing things?”

“I’ve been in town for a few months now, sir,” Leo answered. He couldn’t go wrong with being too formal, he figured. “But I’ve been a photographer for a while. I started when I grew up here. Same school as Dustin—we didn’t hang out in the same circles, but we sort of knew each other.” He figured some history would work in his favor. “I left when I joined the military. Same career, more or less.” No way was he answering an interrogation about that. “When I left, I wanted to see what home was like. There was a job open, so…” He shrugged. “It all kind of fell into place, like it was meant to be.”

“Oh, I see. A military man.” Joe straightened up with satisfaction and looked at Dustin. “We said Dustin should go for that route, you know.”

Leo politely nodded.

“But he was determined to go his own way, weren’t you?” Joe looked at Dustin. “Always has been.”

“And now look at me.” Dustin was drinking tea, but Leo had the impression he was doing so to try to stay silent.

“One of the best lab technicians in the county,” Leo added. “Everyone says it.”

Dustin looked startled as he glanced over. “Really?”

Leo gave him a warm smile. He’d had the feeling that would brighten up Dustin’s day—and endear him to his parents.

But Eliza was frowning. “The police are so underfunded, you know. All across the state.”

Counting down to three…

“They can’t be paying what those kinds of skills are worth. None of their new job openings have been anywhere close to fair,” Joe picked up on her thread.

Not even three. One and a half. Leo forced a smile. “Oh, I can’t complain. I’ve thought of retraining, but photography is my deepest skill set.”

“That can be hard on a young couple. When we got together, we were both at the bottom of the pay scale.” Joe sighed. “Things were easier in the private sector.”

Leo’s eyes glinted as he glanced at Dustin, who was looking steadily more annoyed. Okay. I’ll fix this one way or another. “Oh, don’t worry about us. The VA takes good care of me.”

That put them in an awkward position—either they had to disagree that the VA did its job and sound unpatriotic, or worse, ungrateful for his service, or they agreed and thought he was being compensated adequately for his time.

They saw it, too. Joe’s brows furrowed for a moment. Eliza opened her mouth and closed it again.

And then Dustin interjected, “But most important, I found a guy who makes me happy.”

There. Done. Leo’s chest swelled with pride at the way he and Dustin had defused the first meeting. Hopefully they weren’t sticking around long enough to give his parents more chances to pry, though.

Eliza sighed. “Yes. Yes, I always did say that was important. Cookies, anyone?”

* * *

“That was… I can’t believe it.”

Dustin had barely made it to the car before turning to Leo, his expression alight.

Leo shook his head. “Me neither,” he murmured. The intense focus on salaries so quickly? Not the most comfortable of in-law meetings.

“They gave up so easily. No more meet this trust fund baby,” Dustin sighed.

“Wait, easily?” Leo’s brows furrowed. “You had to bring home a goddamn boyfriend for them to stop setting you up with guys. They were throwing trust fund babies at you?”

“Well. Not literal babies. I’d almost prefer that,” Dustin snorted. “Babies are cute, at least. Overgrown man-children who haven’t had to work a day in their lives…”

Leo laughed and squeezed Dustin’s hand, then reclaimed his hand so he could make a left turn. “Don’t worry, honey. I promise there’s no trust fund backing me up. On the other hand, there’s no trust fund… and the VA is kind of screwing us all over these days. Underfunding everywhere. Your parents aren’t totally wrong.”

“Don’t care,” Dustin shook his head. “They were young and broke, too. They said it themselves. They figured it out. If things get bad, we’ll find a way.”

Leo let his breath out and nodded. He really is an apple that fell far away from the tree. I’m so glad. “I’m glad they respected me enough to back off. I just wish they respected you more in your own right.”

“I…” Dustin trailed off. He rested a hand on top of Leo’s on the shift. “Yeah. Me too. Everyone else has seen it before, too. I think it’s oldest-child syndrome. They have to get everything perfectly right in my life—even though I moved out years ago.”

“And they want things to be better for you than them,” Leo agreed. “But that doesn’t mean trying to run your life.”

All of Dustin’s issues speaking up about what he wanted made perfect sense now. His parents had a way of abruptly steering the conversation where they wanted, making things about what they wanted, so fast that Leo hadn’t even been able to shut it down. All he could do was try to play their game.

“I should have told them to stop asking about money,” Dustin mumbled. He wouldn’t meet Leo’s gaze when Leo looked over. “Sorry.”

“It’s not like I didn’t have warning,” Leo assured him. “It’s fine. You don’t have to shelter me. Your parents aren’t monsters. But the more you learn to ask for what you want, the easier it’ll be for you to stand up to them, too.”

Dustin squeezed his hand. “I hope so. You seem so… confident in all of this. I mean, this has been a thing for years. You just played their game within ten minutes of meeting them.”

“It’s easier for me because it’s less personal,” Leo told him. “You’re tied up in it. Of course it’s hard, babe. You’ve had a lifetime of them talking over you.”

Dustin was quiet for a few moments, rubbing Leo’s hand gently. “Yeah. You’re right. What about you?”

“What about me?” Leo’s chest tightened. He had a feeling he knew what was coming.

“Your parents. Have you told them? It’s a small enough city that word might get around if you don’t.”

He was completely right. Leo knew it. But that was the one thing he’d been putting aside—putting off for the future, a better time, when he was more settled and certain in his career, and…

Aw, hell. He was avoiding his own shit, too. If Dustin was confronting his demons, the least Leo could do was the same.

“I need time to figure out how to tell them,” Leo admitted quietly. “I don’t think it’ll be bad. Just tense.”

They were at Dustin’s house already.

“Want me to come in?” Leo asked.

Dustin glanced at him, then crookedly smiled. “And get us both distracted?”

“Probably,” Leo admitted with a laugh. “Or I could drop you off here, and then take you on a date next week… and let the anticipation build…”

Dustin shivered. “Yes. I mean, um. The date bit. I guess I should do the stuff I’ve been, uh… avoiding.”

“Yeah,” Leo grinned. The pile of homework on his desk at home said the same to him. “Look at us. Not even fucking like bunnies every spare minute.”

“How grown-up,” Dustin sighed.

“We don’t have to be grown-up all the time,” Leo assured Dustin and smiled. “Just sometimes.”

Dustin leaned in to kiss him and smiled back. “Thank you. For… everything.”

“Of course, babe.” Leo unbuckled so he could squeeze Dustin in a tight hug. “Text your brothers, too, before they kill me.”

Dustin laughed and pressed his lips against Leo’s again in a slow, warm kiss. “Of course,” he murmured when he finally pulled back. “Nobody’s getting their hands on you but me… my boyfriend.”

Leo grinned back at him. “That’s right, boyfriend of mine. Get that sexy ass inside before I forget about all my responsibilities.”

“Fine,” Dustin laughed and kissed him again. “See you soon.”

“See you, hon.”

Leo stayed to watch Dustin get inside safely, giving him one more wave when Dustin turned back to look at him.

As he finally drove home, he cursed that very pile of homework that had pulled him away.

Speaking of facing his problems, something had to be done. Whatever he’d said to Dustin’s parents, all those pieces weren’t going to fall into place on their own.