Transparency

[intheheart]

Title: Transparency
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Felipe's family is shocked, shocked to find that gambling is going on in here.
Warnings: mentioned homophobia and biphobia, homophobic slur (not directed at anyone and presented AS a slur).
Notes: For the record, the first four children are each exactly two years apart. Renata was a surprise.


His date with Paul was tomorrow and Felipe still hadn't come out to his family.

It wasn't cowardice, or at least he liked to think it wasn't. His family was pretty cool for all they were Catholic—he knew both his parents had voted to legalize gay marriage and his mom had once cussed a guy out for using "faggot" as an insult, which for his mom was kind of like dropping a nuclear bomb—but that was for like, actual gay people, and if there was one thing Felipe knew for damn sure, it was that he wasn't gay. He liked women way too much to be gay. He just happened to like men as well, and some people got really weird about bisexuality.

Witness, half the kids at school.

And, okay, yeah, some of them were just being homophobic assholes, but some of them were convinced that since he liked guys, that automatically made him gay. Felipe figured best case scenario he'd have to explain bisexuality to his parents, and worst case they just wouldn't believe him, tell him he was confused, and... it scared him, okay, he didn't want to have to distrust his parents. He didn't want to know that they couldn't accept part of who he was.

So he kept quiet, but it was Friday night and he needed to use the car tomorrow, so... not much choice anymore.

"Mom?" he asked, over dinner. "Can I use the car tomorrow afternoon?"

Mom shrugged. "I have no need of it."

Luiza looked up sharply. "No, not fair, I called dibs!"

"Whatever," Felipe retorted, "I have a date."

"So do I, you little rodent. Dad..."

His father shook his head, and pushed away from the table a little. "Nope, not a chance, I am not getting involved in this."

Renata giggled. "Maybe you can double-date!" she said, brightly. Possibly she wasn't serious, but Felipe shot her a look anyway. As if he'd ever go on a double date with his sister, ew.

Of course Renata was five years old and still thought her siblings were awesome.

She'd learn.

"Mom," Luiza said, appealing to the grand authority.

"I'm sorry, dear," Mom said, calmly. "The early bird gets the worm."

Carlos, Felipe's only brother and the only one in the same school, rolled his eyes. "Twelve hours before a date is not early."

"Excuse you," Felipe said, grinning at him, "it is a whole eighteen hours before my date. And Luiza, if you weren't so sure you're the only one with a love life..."

"I have a boyfriend," Renata piped up. "His name is Zane."

Everyone at the table went silent for a moment, considering that. "Princess," Dad said, finally, "what exactly do you do with your boyfriend?"

"We play on the swings," Renata said. "And the seesaw. And sometimes we hold hands. Isn't that what you do with boyfriends?"

Everyone relaxed.

"It certainly is," Mom said, still calm. "Luiza, your brother asked first. Get Denny to drive you. Felipe, tell us about this girl."

Here went nothing. "He's not a girl," Felipe said.

Somewhat to his annoyance, nothing much happened.

Well, Luiza rolled her eyes, but Luiza was annoyed with him. Carlos already knew, of course, and Renata was probably too young to really understand sexual orientation yet—and, okay, Antónia hadn't been listening pretty much since dinner started and was probably texting under the table. But his parents should have said something.

Something other than "Tell us about this boy, then."

Felipe eyed his mother suspiciously. "His name is Paul, and you're not surprised?"

Mom raised her eyebrows. "Should I be?"

He stared at her, and at his equally blasé father. "I just told you I'm dating a guy!"

"You idiot," Luiza said.

"Luiza, be nice to your brother," Dad said. "Felipe, son, let me tell you something about yourself that you may not remember. When you were three years old you told us that you were going to marry GI Joe."

"I was three," Felipe said.

Apparently his father didn't think this was as strong a point as he did. "Yes, well, your mother told you he was a fictional character but you didn't seem to care. Then when you were five you told us you were going out with Ivan from school."

"I don't think it had progressed beyond handholding," his mother added, with a smile for Renata, "but you seemed quite serious."

His father went on as if she hadn't interrupted. "For the last few years you've been ogling every boy in your class, and just last week you were talking to someone on the phone and you said that Chris Helmsworth was hot. I'm not sure where you got the idea that you were particularly subtle about liking men."

"Uh," Felipe said, feeling ambushed. "Okay."

"I mean," Dad added, "we're not blind."

"Dad!" he snapped. "I get it!"

"So do you like boys and girls?" Renata asked. "Or just boys?"

Luiza rolled her eyes again, but surprisingly, it was Antónia who spoke, without looking up from whatever she had hidden in her lap. "He likes boys and girls, he's bisexual, we've all known it for years, can we stop talking about this now? I'm bored."

Renata scowled. "I didn't know."

"You're a baby," Carlos told her, not unkindly. "Wait 'til you're our age, you'll get it then."

Renata stuck her tongue out at him.

"I seriously can't believe you all knew and didn't tell me," Felipe said, glaring at everyone equally.

"Excuse us," Antónia said, dry as the Sahara, "if we didn't think you needed to be told about your own sexual orientation."

Felipe seriously considered flipping her off, except Mom would definitely ground him and then he'd miss his date. "Shut up," he said, instead. "You know I was talking about you all knowing."

"Whatever," she said. "Not our fault you're oblivious."

"Mom," he said.

"Play nicely, children," Mom said, on cue. "Felipe, tell us about this boy you're seeing. Will you be bringing him for dinner?"

He shook his head. "It's a first date, Mom, we're not getting married."

"Oooh," Renata said, immediately jumping on that. "Felipe and-- what's his name?"

"Paul," Carlos said, because Carlos was a terrible, evil little brother who reveled in seeing Felipe's suffering.

Renata beamed at him. Okay, maybe he was also a sucker for Renata's smile, but then who in their family wasn't? "Thanks! Felipe and Pa-aul, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G."

"Renata," Dad said, but he sounded amused.

Felipe seriously considered disowning the lot of them, but somehow he couldn't fight down a smile.