It wasn’t natural to feel this nervous, yet stood in his fancy Italian shoes and the suit he’d borrowed from Jimmy, Matt could feel the butterflies dancing around his stomach like they were having their own little prom in his lower intestines.

It hurt to think about what could potentially go wrong in that courtroom, and that made him freak out even more. All of his friends were in there, his family were in there. Kennedy had made him a card in class and everything, she’d even taped a candy bar to it (in case he needed to bribe the judge she’d announced, words he was sure she’d gotten from Jimmy). He had to do her proud, and he had to win the case for her, otherwise he wouldn’t be getting out of prison for a long time, and he wouldn’t be able to watch her grow up and be there for her like he’d always promised.

Lexi, he hadn’t seen yet, but he was sure she would turn up in the nick of time, just like always.

Walking into the court room, feeling like his knees were going to give way beneath him, Matt glanced around at all the people that were going to be sat there watching him. It made his hands shake, and when he tried to pick up his notes, he promptly dropped them all again onto the floor and scrambled around to pick them up, cursing himself. He shouldn’t be this nervous, he should know exactly what he’s doing. Both Brian and everyone who believed in Gay rights are banking on him to make a fool of these people from the school, and he’ll be damned if he doesn’t do an incredible job on his first case.

“Hey man, Kennedy wanted to come say good luck” Jimmy’s voice suddenly sounded from above him, and narrowly avoiding bumping his head on the desk, Matt looked up to see his daughter stood right in front of him, one hand clutching Jimmy’s tightly, and the other biting the nail on her thumb.
“Hey baby, is mommy here yet?” he asked as she ran over and hugged him tightly, jumping up onto his lap like she didn’t want him to let go. She shook her head softly and though he hated to feel it, Matt felt his heart sink a little. Where was she?

“You’re gonna be amazing Daddy. Uncle Jimmy says we’re gonna kick the other people’s butts and then Uncle Brian can be by my teacher next year!” Kennedy said happily as she stood up on his knees and pressed a kiss to his cheek, wrapping her arms around his neck to stop herself from toppling over onto the floor and with a poignant glare at Jimmy, Matt rolled his eyes and smirked, lifting Kennedy off of his lap. It was almost time, and Brian was already taking his place next to him, casting an evil glare over at the other members of the faculty who are behind the state.

“I love you, baby. Make sure you stay right beside Uncle Jimmy, OK? Jim, you let her out of your sight for more than two seconds and I will cut your dick off in the night” Matt threatened and Jimmy mimed waving a white flag in surrender before picking Kennedy up and retreating to his seat, still waving the flag for comic effect. It was then that Matt turned to Brian.

“How are you feeling?” he asked, and Brian sighed, sinking down a little further in his chair. Truth be told he was close to shitting himself he was so scared. If this all went wrong, Matt would be sent back to prison to carry out the rest of his sentence and Brian would never teach again. And now that they would have two little babies to adopt in the next few weeks, the last thing they needed was for one stream of money to fizzle out entirely.
“Pre-case jitters. What about you?”

“Don’t worry about me. I may be shit scared, but if anything’s getting me through right now, it’s the thought of finally getting out of that prison forever”

“Mr Sanders?” their conversation was suddenly interrupted by the woman that kept the transcripts of the case, who tapped him on the shoulder and pointed to the door.
“There’s a man outside asking for you. His name is Matt Tuck” and Matt nodded, sending Brian what he hoped was a sympathetic smile before disappearing out of the big wooden door and into the corridor, where Tuck was standing in the crowd of people, looking utterly lost in such a big crowd. When he spotted Matt he smiled, and though his legs were still shaking with nerves, he just about made it over to his friend.

“Look at you, with the fancy suit and everything. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you’d done this a hundred times before Mattie” Tuck laughed and Matt just about managed a nervous laugh when he collapsed down onto the wooden bench, cradling his head in his hands. He can’t do this, he simply can’t. He’s not prepared or nearly enough qualified and all the other lawyers that the school have hired are going to tear him and his argument to shreds. There’s really no point in even trying.

“I can’t do this Matt. I really can’t. They’re going to tear me to pieces and if I fail, we’re both going back in the slammer and Brian’s out of work. There’s way too much pressure riding on this, I can’t do it!” he moaned unhappily, feeling Matt slide into the seat next to him and put a reassuring hand on his friends back. There was a moment of silence before either of them said anything, but when Tuck finally gathered the courage to talk, his words were full of the encouragement that Matt sorely needed to walk right back into the court room with the confidence he’d walked out of it with.

“Matt, there is no one better than you to go in there and defend Brian’s case. You of all people know what it’s like to be sat in that seat, when you don’t deserve to be there in the first place. I see how you spend every waking moment poring over those law books, I’ve read and re-read every argument you’ve ever written, wondering how someone can be so decisive and clever through their words. You can do this, Matthew Sanders, and no one believes in you more than I do” Tuck said with such a clarity in his voice that Matt raised his head, barely believing the words that were coming out of his friends mouth. However, doubt still sat heavily in his heart, a horrible guilt he wanted to diminish before he walked back in.

“Do you want me to prove how much I know you can win this case?” Tuck asked and as Matt slowly nodded, Tuck cupped his face in his hands and pressed their lips together gently, soft skin against skin.

For a moment, Matt sat frozen, when he begins to kiss back, his hands pressing against Tuck’s hips. It’s sweet and gentle, and he understood why Brian and Zacky could barely keep their hands off of each other. It was a strange feeling he’d never felt with a woman, but it was a nice feeling. Of completion. He can do this- for Brian and Zacky, for Jimmy, Ellen, Lexi and for Kennedy. And most importantly, he can do it for Matt Tuck, the man who had faith.

“You’d freak out if I told you right now how hard I’ve fallen for you, Mattie. So I’ll save it. But for now, go in there and win that damn case and get the both of us home to the children we love” Tuck said softly as the two of them broke apart, and it was all that Matt needed to restore the confidence inside of him. Standing up and brushing down his suit, he shared one more loving kiss with Tuck and strolled back into the room, where the other lawyer was setting up for the school.

He couldn’t see her face, but her long hair reminded him of Lexi. Turning around and glancing over at the seats full of his friends, he couldn’t see her anywhere, just the slightly anxious faces of Ellen, Zacky and Jimmy, two of whom were wearing looks that could kill.

“All rise for the honourable Judge Cormier” the cop barked as each person in the courtroom stood for the judge. Matt had to force back a smile when he heard his daughter whispering to Jimmy about the ‘man in the funny wig’ and then as everyone sat back down again, he and the other lawyer stepped forward to deliver their opening arguments, just like he’d practised with the cops and the other prisoners.

And that was when he got to look at the lawyer for the prosecution, and despite the fact that it wasn’t rehearsed and he had no idea what he was interrupting, he couldn’t help but let a gasp of horror fall from his lips at the sight of her, along with the gasps of all his friends and his client.

“Lexi?”