David had one had held firmly in one of Gwen's and the other around Max's. It was a little uncomfortable, and Max almost pulled away, but Gwen shot him a look behind David's back that was enough of a warning. This was a big deal and no matter how much of a little shit Max wanted to be, he was going to stick it out for David.

For his dad.

"Can you tell me again about your cousin?" Max asked, trying to put David in a more relaxed mood. "Is he going to be a shitty camp man, too?"

David laughed a little. The last few months had taught him a lot about Max, and he knew that the thrown insults and crude language were mostly a cover. Max loved David and Gwen. He was sweet. He was even thoughtful at times, but after everything with his biological parents, he was still learning to be open about those feelings. This was his coping mechanism, not a targeted attack on David or the mysterious cousin.

"Well, he's a little different now than when we were kids. He's a bank official, I think, somewhere stuffy." David wrinkled his nose at that, and Gwen smiled at his antics. "He's nice, though. I haven't met his fiancée, so I can't tell you about her, but I do know that he met her at college. Her name is Charlie."

"Charlie? Like Charlotte?" Max asked. "That's such a stupid name."

"I guess so!" David said happily. "It didn't say on the invite, just that it was going to be Charlie and Joshua Alder!"

Max and Gwen shared another secret look, but they didn't say anything. They were already heading inside the little hall where the wedding was being held. It was huge - big enough for at least 100 people, and the whole things was done up in wedding decorations. It was actually very beautiful, but Max would never admit that. Weddings were just a step too close to emotional for his liking.

"Let's go see if-" David cut himself off as he scanned over the crowd. "Josh!"

A man in a tuxedo turned and looked over the crowd as David called out. "David? David!"

The two ran at one another, dodging the other guests at the wedding to meet in the middle and hug. David was always a big hugger, and now Max could see it was a family trait.

"Davey! I haven't seen you since we were in high school!" Joshua was a tall man, easily as tall as David, but with darker hair and freckles. There was a clear family resemblance, and for a split second, Max was reminded of Daniel. He tried not to wince.

"I know!" David was all smiles. "You have to introduce me to the fiancée, I've been curious to see who puts up with all your antics."

Joshua laughed, but Max could sense the discomfort behind the words. Something about the way Joshua was running a hand down his arm, or the way his eyes searched around for anything but David's eyes. Maybe it was just that Max had done his fair share of being uncomfortable.

"Well, about that. I don't want you to get the wrong-"

"Josh! Is that your cousin? You two could be twins!" There was a man coming towards them with a matching tux. Joshua spared the man a bright smile before leaning in and kissing the other man's cheek.

"David, this is my soon-to-be-husband, Charlie. Charlie, this is my cousin David, and his-" Joshua gestured at Gwen and Max. "I'm sorry, I don't think we've been introduced yet."

David took it in stride, extending a hand to Charlie and shaking it happily. "This is my girlfriend Gwen and our son, Max."

"Son?"

David smiled even bigger. "Yeah, our son. He's 10, now, really sweet kid."

"It's good to meet you," Charlie said, extending his hand to Gwen and Max. Joshua's face was teary and bright, reminding Max of David when he got overly emotional.

"I didn't know you had a son! A son and a girlfriend, wow!" Joshua was sporting a smile to rival David's as he shook Gwen and Max's hands. "I always wondered where you got to after school. Your parents were tight-lipped, as always, so I assumed it was a family falling out."

David grimaced a little. "Yeah, yeah. Mom was always a little controlling when it came to my love life, and Dad hated that I was going to school to become a teacher. Said it wasn't dignified work for a man."

"Don't worry," Joshua said, putting a hand on David's shoulder. "They aren't coming. They said it was a moral affront for Charlie and I to get married anyways."

David let out a little laugh. "Sounds like my mom. She'd be fuming by now if she saw us, yeah? You marrying a gay lover, me with a bi-racial girlfriend and adopted son. Oh, you should have seen her when I refused to go to church the first time, she dragged my dad in and he had a go with his belt. Kept saying that without God, I'd give in to my more feminine side and become a gay."

Joshua laughed, throwing his head back a little. There was nothing funny about the situation, but both he and David were so used to their family's beliefs, it was like old news. "Well, knowing how I turned out, I wonder which one of us would be more damned."

Charlie gasped a little, but he kept it down. Charlie knew more about David's family than Gwen did - Joshua was more open about it than David ever was.

"Eh, Aunt Beth always said you were her most successful kid, so that gets you some brownie points with my mom."

Gwen and Max shared a private look. They were good at reading one another's facial expressions, and Gwen could tell Max wanted a break for a bit. She grabbed his hand and pulled him up so he was sitting on her back, hitching him up a little so he could put his face down to her ear. "What's up, asshole?"

"David's family sounds like shit. Is this why he was so nervous about coming tonight?"

Gwen looked over at David, who was relaxing more and more into the conversation with his cousin. "Hey, David? I'm gonna take Max to get a drink, can I grab anything for you?"

David shook his head and squeezed Gwen's hand. "No, I'm okay."

Gwen headed for the refreshments, Max bouncing on her back. "David doesn't like talking about his family much," she started, speaking a little lower than normal. "They were pretty awful. They were actually a lot like your family, hun. His mom was cruel and old-fashioned, his dad was one of those uber-macho dicks. He was always a black sheep."

Max nodded a little, digging his hands into Gwen's dress as he started to slip down her back a little. He didn't know that was what David had gotten out of. It was starting to make more sense now - David had known Max was being abused, he'd jumped right into the whole damn mess, and he was dedicated to giving Max everything. He was building the life he always wanted for Max.

"Drink?" Gwen held up a little cup of punch and Max took it in one hand, drinking it down in one go. It was surprisingly good.

"Let me down, I wanna get some more."

Gwen let Max slide down her back and watched as he poured himself another cup of punch. She perused the snacks, reaching over to grab some fruit off a plater. A hand brushed hers and she looked up to apologize, only to have her blood run cold.

"Hello, Gwen. Oh! And Maximus is here, too."

Max grabbed Gwen's dress in an iron grip. "What are you doing here?"

"I was invited. I am related to the grooms, you know. Now that I think about it, isn't David Joshua's cousin?"

Gwen was speechless. Max didn't know what would be worse: admitting David was with them, or saying they were there alone. Just as he was about to tell the man to fuck off and never come near them again, David was there, popping some cheese cubes into his mouth and winding an arm around Gwen's shoulders. He hadn't noticed the man yet, but then he was following Gwen's stare and-

"Daniel?"