Harry sat on his bed with his knees drawn up to his chest and his arms resting on them. In the darkness he couldn't see the murals, the swirling colours on the walls or the pictures from his thirteen year old life and the family he loved. He could just see the darkness that curled, the cool night that let the shine of the moon cast shadows and light through his window. He could see stars and if he leaned far enough he could see the twinkle of the lights from the city below that didn't sleep. He'd learned in the years since his birth that those lights could give and take at will. His dads, the men who loved and cared for him were dealt good hands and only once or twice had he seen the lights take from them, when one movie, stupidly under budgeted had shone with his dad's brilliance but failed through tacky scenes and editing. He was the Hollywood kid, as much as his dads didn't spoil him or his sister, his peers, his teachers, everyone treated him different.

Sometimes it wasn't even about who his parents were; sometimes it was who they were. Two gay dads, gay moms and an aunt who was his sister's mom, his classmates had no end of jokes and ways to bully him. He looked down at his arm and sniffled, another bruise from another day being shoved against his locker. He couldn't tell his dads, how would they understand? They were amazing, so strong and confident, they'd tell him those kids were jealous or to rise above it. He couldn't get away from what he was, what they were. He loved his family but they couldn't see what it was doing to him. He rested his forehead on his arms and let the tears seep out of his eyes, his mind bringing up the horrors of today.

~

"Hey, loser!"

Harry sighed. "Leave me alone Rock."

The jock laughed and his minions did the same. "Ohh the midget's got teeth. Did your daddies tell you to say that? Huh?" The voice behind him came nearer and he didn't have a chance to move before the other teen 'slipped' and his arm slammed into the locker.

Harry let out a small yelp of pain which made the jocks laugh again. "Don't cry!" One of them yelled as they walked away, high fiving.

He raced around the building the second the bell rang, walking the long way to his car so the jocks wouldn't get him, but he wasn't that lucky. He looked towards his bike and let out a sigh as he saw them waiting for him. They laughed and pushed him, almost tripping him before one of them grabbed his arms and the other grabbed his middle and they launched him into the dumpster. He waited until they were gone to climb back out. He wiped at his eyes with the hand that wasn't covered in mayonnaise and trudged back to his bike, locked up his bag and rode slowly home, his entire body aching.

"Hello? Dad?" He called out but no-one was home. He walked into the kitchen and saw a note stuck to the fridge with one of the letter magnets Kiara used to play with. 'Hey kiddo, had to go get some stuff from the store, won't be long. Love you – Dad' The note was scrawled in his dad Blaine's handwriting, he hadn't expected his dad Kurt to be home, he was on set and wouldn't be home for another three hours. Partly relieved he wouldn't have to explain why he was dirty and stinky, he tramped upstairs and peeled off his clothes, dumping them into the wash basket and showered. He heard the door slam as he finished and changed quickly, knowing if he didn't go downstairs soon his dad would come looking for him, he was kind of weird about where people were like that. His dad was in the kitchen when he came down and they smiled at each other. Dad Blaine ruffled his hair then sent him into the living room to watch TV while he fixed the dinner. If he'd noticed Harry's hair was damp, he'd never questioned it.

~

Harry sniffed again. If only he could get away from them, from the bullies and the expectations. His teachers expected him to get good grades, to join Glee and sing like his dads and Hollywood expected him to be the good kid, the one others could look up to and for him to be like his dads and moms, not turn into another spoiled, privileged kid who had a mug shot at 16 and a conviction at 20. He looked at his closet. Inside was a big backpack, one he liked using when he went to visit his grampa and grams. His eyes widened and he licked his lips. He could do it; he could get away from everything, just shove some stuff into his bag and go. His parents would never know, would never know the disappointment of finding out and when he failed, they'd never know.

He sprang off his bed and opened the closet, rummaging to find the bag. He emptied out the old sweet wrappers and things he'd stored in there and grabbed some clothes, his wallet, phone, a couple of books and a picture of him, Kiara and his dads then shoved them all into the bag. He zipped it quietly then opened his door, listening for any noise. All he could hear was his dads snoring. Good, they hadn't heard him. He padded quietly down the stairs and opened the door. He looked up towards his dads' room and left, shutting the door silently. He felt a rush of adrenaline as he walked down the path. He'd done it, he hadn't been caught. He started walking towards the city, the gravel crunching under his sneakers. He didn't hate his dads or sister, he loved them but he couldn't live with all the crap he was given on a daily basis and maybe they'd be better off without him around. Yeah, they'd do fine without him.

The sun's rising as he gets into the city, walking towards the parts he knows better when he sees a car drawing up beside him. He considers asking for a lift when he recognises the car and his blood runs cold. The car draws up and the window rolls down. He stops and turns, looking back at his dad Kurt, cringing but to his shock instead of angry, his dad looks understanding.

"Get in," Kurt says and Harry looks away but Kurt leans over, opening the door. "Get. In." He says, his eyebrows raised in a way that Harry knows not to disobey.

He sighs and gets in, shutting the door, ready for the telling off. His dads aren't big on yelling unless it's in happiness and he's never given them a reason to be angry with him but this, his dad has to be livid. "I'm sorry dad." He whispers and closes his eyes but feels his dad carding his fingers through his hair and looks at him in surprise.

"What's going on?" His dad asks and Harry gapes at him. "Pretty drastic, running away from a home that adores you." His dad tries again and Harry looks at his lap, ashamed.

"I'm getting bullied at school." He whispers and suddenly he feels so stupid for running away because of some idiots, he really is just a silly kid.

"Why didn't you tell us?" His dad asks.

"What would you know?" Harry asks and dad Kurt barks out a laugh.

"Oh you're more like me than you know. Back when I was in high school I was bullied. Come on Harry do you think if you're getting bullied for having gay parents I didn't get bullied for being gay? Bullies don't change their tactics, they just get better aim. You dad told me that. Did you think running away was the solution? 'Cos it's not. It just hurts everyone." Kurt says and ruffles Harry's hair.

Harry looks at his dad hard, a knot forming in his chest. "You...you know?"

His dad smiles at him and nods. "Let me tell you a story. It's a story of a young man who put everything he had into an audition for one school, the only school he'd planned to get into. They rejected him after a great audition but took his friend who failed hers but followed the woman running the auditions around to get another chance. He had a loving home, a loving family, a boyfriend who adored him, friends who loved him and in one night, in one frantic and foolish thought he gave it all up. He ran away and left his family, friends and boyfriend to pick up the pieces. He changed his hair, his identity and ran all the way to LA. He was gone for six months before his boyfriend's brother found him then his boyfriend and brother came to get him. It took a long time to fix everything. The young man had a life in LA but he had to fix his life and the people he'd hurt too. Have you ever wondered why your dad makes sure where you and Kiara are all the time? I broke your dad's heart and, sure he trusts me but some days still he looks at me like I'm still the boy who ran away."

Harry blinked, tears filling his eyes, watching as his dad drove back up and the house loomed over them. "You ran away." He whispers, still processing.

"And if you run away you'll be hurting yourself, your family but most of all, if I broke your dad's heart by running, think about how he'd react to you. You're our pride and joy; we love you and your sister." His dad said quietly.

Harry looks at him. He's always seen his dads as his heroes. Kiara's always been the daddies' girl and he's been the protégée, the one dad Kurt taught how to sing and dad Blaine taught how to sell the song and they both taught him how important family and love is. They've always been giants to him, supermen without capes who can take on anything and just win, no matter what anyone did or said, spreading gold dust with every smile and footstep. It's like the time Joey Caprisi told him Santa wasn't real and the time he found out the tooth fairy didn't leave him the quarters under his pillow and for the first time in his life his dad looks like a man, a man he could be someday.

"Why did you go back?" He finds himself asking, knowing by now from the past stories that obviously cut out how Kurt had turned up in LA and the connection he's made that his dad had a life, a budding career here where now both of his dads are Hollywood royalty.

His dad sighs and looks at him, smiling. "Because no matter how scary life looked with the rejection and how good my life could've been if I'd stayed hidden, it would've meant nothing without your dad. In the end they would've found me anyway; part of me wanted to be found. You see, I didn't just run away to get away from what hadn't happened and the pain. I ran away to prove I could. I could be someone else, someone better than the kid who wasn't good enough for New York, who was called a faggot and beaten up, who was told he wouldn't get roles because of how he looked and sounded. I wanted to prove I could be who I saw looking back when your dad looked at me, or your gramps. Love is a powerful thing Harry, it can make us feel a thousand different emotions at once but the one, incredible thing is does is make us dream to make things better. When your dad looks at me, especially in school when none of this had happened, he sees a man who was his hero, who loved and adored him no matter what people told him. He sees a man who will go far and back then a boy who could fly. Your gramps saw his kid who could and would, do anything. He told me to take on the world and change lives because he saw that. He told me to make the roles, to make people sit up and listen. I ran away to do it all but I came back to repair the things I'd broken because what good is it to be all of that when your loved ones don't think that anymore? If I hadn't gone back you wouldn't exist," His dad's words hit him and he chokes on a sob. His dad's arms wrap around him and he sinks into the hug. "You dad's not awake." His dad whispers and he nods. They get out of the car and slip into the house. Kiara's walking down the stairs and eyes them both suspiciously but doesn't say anything and he watches her skip into the living room to watch cartoons while swerving towards their dad so he can ruffle her hair.

She looks at him when he walks into the living room and the siblings regard each other. Finally she says. "If you'd really wanted to run away, you could've picked something better than a bright green rucksack with Hummels on it."

He gapes at her and looks down; sure enough it has the logo for their gramps shop on it. He closed his eyes for a second, feeling the flush of embarrassment then turns and trudges up the stairs. He's only just put his bag in his room when he hears his dads calling for him.

"Harry can you come down here please?" Dad Blaine says when he pokes his head out of his room. He sees dad Kurt telling Kiara to go play outside then they lock eyes. He walks down the stairs slowly, trying to guess the look on his parents' faces but both of them are unreadable masks. When he gets to the bottom his dad Blaine steps forward and envelops him in a hug. He's startled at first but sinks into it. He's always loved being hugged by his dads and it hits him again, he'd miss this if he left. "Harry you know you can speak to us." He whispers and the teenager steps back and looks into his dad's wide hazel eyes.

"I've...I'm being bullied at school," He says and the weight lifts off of him with the words again. "I didn't know what to say. You're both so confident and strong, I just...I didn't know what to say." He says and sighs.

Dad Blaine puts a hand on his shoulder and smiles at him. "We are Harry but that strength came with time and, well we were teenagers once too," He looks back at Kurt who nods, and carries on. "When I was a year or so older than you I came out. I'd been bullied for a long time before that but that made everything worse, but I couldn't lie. I wanted to be out. Some kids took exception to it and when there was a school dance I took one of my male friends and..." He tilts his head and looks at his son, obviously measuring what he should say. "I got out of hospital a week and a half later. I transferred to Dalton, which I've told you about then I met your dad and things got so much better. The things that happened to us, your dad and I, made us stronger but Harry your dad had his dad and friends and then me. You have us, your friends and our family. I had no-one. There's a reason our names aren't double barrelled like some couples and you have your grandparents on Kurt's side, Rachel's, Santana's and Brit's side. My parents didn't love me like yours love you. I wanted to run away every day of my life."

"Why didn't you?" Harry asks.

"Because I knew it would get better. They basically did the right thing. They sent me to therapists, they sent me to a school that had a no bullying policy, they agreed to let me transfer to your dad's school. I knew I'd meet your dad someday. One day you'll meet someone who'll make everything so much better, who'll astound and confuse you every day and you'll cherish every second. Who knows what's down the road but things do get better."

"I love you dads." Harry chokes out and they both wrap their arms around him.

"We love you too son." Blaine says.

They talk for hours about Harry's life and answer any questions he has about their lives. The next day he goes into school and they talk to the principal and life gets better.