The court had fallen into silence at the sound of Matt’s voice and for a moment, the two lawyers stared at each other, a raging anger and betrayal running through the eyes of one and a sadness and misery running through the other.

“Lexi I thought…I thought you wanted to try again. No more lies. And then you pull this crap on me!” Matt hissed as he took a step forward towards his wife, fighting his own sense not to clench his fists and make himself look like a violent man in front of the judge. She was meant to be on his side, not the one that was trying to send him back to prison and away from his daughter. Matt thought back to the kiss he and Tuck had shared outside, the way their lips had fit together like two pieces of a puzzle, connecting perfectly. While Lexi stayed silent, Matt turned around and saw that very man sat next to Jimmy, offering him a sympathetic smile. If he believed Matt could win this case, then he had to believe it himself before he could win anything.

“Mr Sanders, do you have some unresolved business with Ms White? If you do I suggest you save it until the court has adjourned” the judge asked in a slightly bored voice. She was a young judge, only slightly older than Matt, and as he took one final glance over at the woman he used to call his wife, he shook his head, shuffling his notes in his hands.
“No your honor. None whatsoever”

“Good, then we can get on with it. Mr Sanders, can you please present your case for the defence?”
Matt stepped forward, watching out of the corner of his eye as Lexi turned around and went to talk to one of the board members of the school, ignoring him completely. It was like she had no idea how much of a bitch she was being, which only fuelled him even further.

“Ladies and gentlemen of the jury. We are here today to bring justice to an injustice, with a settlement of $2 million. My client, Mr Brian Haner aged twenty six, was suspended from his job teaching the second grade at Beachview Elementary School forty days today, without pay. Why was he suspended, I hear you ask? Well, because Mr Haner freely admitted that he was gay and not about to change his sexual orientation, the board decided he wasn’t fit to teach young children, despite the fact that he was fully qualified and CRB checked. Today we will hear from various members of staff who see this as an injustice, from children who have had Mr Haner as a teacher, and from members of society who are in support of his case. And today, we will bring justice in equality for all- no matter what their sexual preference is”

Brian wanted to jump up and down and yell happily as his friend took a deep breath and walked back to his seat, feeling slightly more confident than he had before. He’d delivered his opening argument with such power that when Brian had snuck a glance at the jury, they’d all been hanging on his every word. As Lexi stood up and began to deliver her opening argument, Brian leaned over and whispered into Matt’s ear,
“You’re doing great. I know her bitch ass turning up here wasn’t the greatest thing in the world, but we’re gonna win this case if it’s the last thing we do”

Matt smiled, and as soon as the judge asked him to present his case for the defence, he straightened his borrowed suit, plastered a smile on his face and walked casually to the centre of the room, glancing over at the box behind him. Kennedy was perched on Matt’s lap in the box and when they caught his eye, they waved, both of them smiling like idiots.

He would win this. And he would win it for them.

***

“I call to the stand for the final time, Miss Kennedy Sanders” Matt announced before he delivered his closing statement. The court session had been going on for hours on end, with each lawyer bringing up more arguments than the next, though now it seemed like Matt had the upper hand. His case was clear, and when he’d pulled Brian up to the stand for questioning, they’d managed to win over the judge by talking about how supportive his parents had been throughout the time he was going through teacher training. They’d gotten the judge to admit that her son had told her he was gay just a few years ago, and was training to be a teacher as well- and it looked like everything was going to be coming up roses. Well…for now.

Kennedy walked slowly through the large gate that barricaded the sea of spectators from the lawyers and the judge, but instead of walking up to the stand like they’d practised, she stopped next to Matt and tugged on the leg of his pants. Kneeling down, he smiled at her.
“You ready to do this baby?” he asked, pressing a sweet kiss to her forehead and she nodded, kissing him back in their little tradition. Beckoning over one of the nicer looking guards, Kennedy was led over to the stand and sat down in the little chair, leaning forward a little uncertainly.

As the cop held out the bible, she remembered everything that she, Jimmy and Zacky had practised for when she went up to talk to her Daddy, and as she solemnly said the words back in perfect order, the judge cast an approving look at Matt. But before he could open his mouth to ask her any questions, Lexi stood up and yelled,
“Objection! He can’t use his own daughter as a witness, that’s biased!”
Matt rolled his eyes, turning around to stare at his wife with such a cold glare that she almost retreated back into her shell.

“Kennedy was taught by Mr Haner in the first grade, the only student I could find on such short notice that would agree to be here. It’s just coincidental that she happens to be my daughter” Matt spat back, putting the strain on the ‘my’, which made Lexi shrink back down into her chair.
“Alright, Kenney. What can you tell me about Mr Haner when he was your teacher in the first grade?”

“Mr Haner was the greatest teacher I ever had. He taught me how to sing The Alphabet Song and spell all the long fancy words like banana and when someone fell over in Dodgeball he would always pick them back up and give them a smiley sticker so they would smile and not be sad” Kennedy recounted, and Matt couldn’t help but feel a swell of pride in his heart at the way she was talking.
“And what about when he said that he was in love with another man? What did you think?”

“At first I thought it was kind of strange cause there would be two daddies instead of a mommy and a daddy. But then Mr Haner explained that a man can love a man and a woman can love a woman, because you can love whoever you want to love, and that’s OK”
Hearing the court descend into ‘aw’s’ let Matt know he was almost there. Kennedy was probably going to win this case for him, and as he took a deep breath, he knew it would take his last statement to finally win them all over. As Kennedy was led down from the stand, she ran up and hugged Matt as he knelt down to her.

“Did I do good, Daddy?” she asked as he ran his hand over her blonde curls, smiling as he did so.
“You did perfect, Kenney” he replied as he slowly stood back up, addressing the court and the jury once again.

“Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, though I hate to put another perspective on this case, it will defiantly shed some light on my client in the best way. My daughter, the girl that just told you all what she believed, was abandoned by her mother just weeks after she was born. Her mother was Lexi White, the lawyer for the prosecution. I was sent to prison on an unjust cause, and Brian Haner was there to bring Kennedy into his home, with his then boyfriend and best friends, and they helped to raise my child into the girl she is today. One of acceptance and compassion and equality. Brian Haner is an innocent man, and the only thing he can be accused of is caring too much about the next generations he’s teaching. Thank you”

“Jury, it is time for you to make your decision. There will be a five minute recess while they are in discussion” the judge announced, slamming the hammer against the table and Matt let out a breath he hadn’t realised he was holding in, and as he turned around he was swept into a hug by Brian, who was close to tears.

“Christ, Matt, you’ve got them in the palm of your hands. I’m so proud of you, buddy” he whispered, ready to kiss Matt in happiness, but instead settled for leaping over the barrier and into the arms of Zacky, who kissed him back just as passionately, both of them hoping that they would win this case. As Matt placed his notes down, he heard a cough from behind him and turned to see Matt stood behind him, Kennedy held up in his arms and a huge smile coating his face.

“I’m so proud of you Matt. That lawyer thing was super-hot” Tuck whispered as Matt stood beside the barrier, running his hand over Kennedy’s curls again. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Lexi staring at him, and in a fit of madness, he leant down and captured Tuck’s lips in a kiss, soft and sweet- just like it had been in the hallway.
“What are you doing?” Tuck asked nervously when they broke apart, trying to hide the blush that tainted his cheeks.

“Returning the favour. When we get out of there…say you’ll be mine” he replied and with a simple nod, Matt kissed the other man again, only backing away when he saw that the jury had filed back into their seats and the judge was almost here. The room filled with silence as the judge stood up, and with baited breath, everyone waited. Matt felt Brian’s hand slip into his nervously, and as the judge raised her hammer, she announced,

“I believe that Mr Haner is…”