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The last thing Hank had expected to find on his way back from lunch was a crying Gavin Reed. He hadn’t even known that Gavin had left the building to sulk in the parking lot, and he certainly hadn’t known that Gavin was capable of crying. For a moment, he considered leaving. It would perhaps have been kinder to let the detective bawl himself out in the parking lot than intervene. Hank was less than an acquaintance to him, after all.Fate had other ideas. Just as Hank made his first steps in crossing the parking lot, Gavin looked up. The bright red veins in his eyes made Hank wince. He expected Gavin to yell. To curse at him, maybe, to growl “the fuck are you looking at Anderson?!” Before stalking back into some more hidden recess of the walls surrounding the DPD. Instead, something sick like hope crossed his face before he started crying harder. “Jesus Christ.” Hank muttered. He couldn’t leave now. It took too few steps for him to come face to face with the sobbing detective, and for a moment, he stood in silence. His brain wracked for a reason for Gavin’s anguish. “Are they… are people teasing you again, kid?” At the time Gavin has joined the DPD, Gavin had been far from passing, and the then-resident assholes of the PD had taken a disliking to him. Still, Gavin’s attitude must have stopped others from doing the same. Gavin shook his head, breath hiccuping out of him. “Then… is this… is this a you-know-What thing? Are you pmsing?” Gavin cried harder. Cursing to himself, Hank patted at his shoulder, internally thanking that Connor was still inside the building. “Can you uhh, use your words then, son?”Gavin sniffed. Small hands rubbed at his eyes as he tried to compose himself. “My Dad called today.” He finally whispered. Clasping his shoulder, Hank tried to smile encouragingly. He doubted it came out as more than a grimace. “You uh, still speak to your father?”’“I thought he understood now. That he accepted me. He didn’t even use my own goddamn name.” Gavin hugged himself as he said it, staring into the ground. “I’m sorry, Gavin.”“It’s always going to be like this, isn’t it? He’s never going to understand. I’m always going to be a fucking girl to him.” Already, the tears had started to return. In a split second decision, Hank grabbed Gavin’s hand, pulling him to one of the benches alongside the rim of the DPD. Gavin offered little resistance. “I think we’d both feel better if we sat down, alright?”He sat on the bench, Gavin slumping besides him and pulling his knees to his chest. “Now, is it alright if I tell you a story?”Gavin’s eyes narrowed, but he nodded. His hand had edged close to Hank on the seat, so he grabbed it. “I was 15 when I first came out to my mother as bisexual. I know, I know it isn’t really comparable to your situation, but… look, she still doesn’t believe me. At 15 I was too young to know, at 20 I was going through a phase, and when I married my ex, I had picked a side.”“How the fuck is this supposed to cheer me up?” Even with the hostility of the words, they held no bite, and Hank couldn’t help but wince. Gavin simply sounded defeated. “I’m getting there, smartass.” He nudged his shoulder. “Look, my mother doesn’t believe me, and she may never will. And I can’t say that your father will ever change his mind. But you know what?” He squeezed Gavin’s hand, giving him a real smile as Gavin tentatively looked up from the ground. “What?”“My ex wife believed me. My friends believe me. Connor believes me.”“Good for you, I guess.”“Look. What I’m trying to say is this: your dad may never believe you. But that doesn’t matter. Your friends accept you for who you are. The people you care about, they know you as Gavin. Hell, for whatever it’s worth, I know that you’re a man.”Gavin remained silent, his knees still tucked tightly against his chest, shivering despite the lack of wind. Hank realized Gavin was crying again. “Jesus, kid. Was I really that awful?” His hand hesitated over Gavin, not sure whether to paternally pat him or pull back.“No, dumbass.” Gavin leaned over, shoulder resting against Hank. In an instant, Hank was uncomfortably reminded of Cole, all tired out from a tantrum and sullenly slumped in the back seat of his car. Quickly, he shook the thought away. “No ones ever said that to me before, is all. No ones ever cared that much to say it, at least.”Tentatively, Hank hooked his hand around Gavin’s shoulder, squeezing him closer to Hank. Gavin let out a soft sound not unlike a purr. “Well, I think you’re a very strong young man, Gavin. And… for what it’s worth, you’re very brave. Not many people could deal with everything like you do.”Gavin smiles, head resting against Hank. “Thank you.”For a few sweet moments, they sat together, the only noise being Gavin’s breathing and the sound of Hank’s hand scuffing against Gavin’s jacket as he methodically rubbed his side. Hank could have sat there forever, he decided, but the buzz of his phone pulled him from the quiet. “Who is it?” “Connor. I think I should head up now. Will you be alright without me, son?”Gavin didn’t answer, but he didn’t get up. “Tell you what. Once our shift ends, I can take you out somewhere nice. We can talk more then.” “... ok. Can we get ice cream? Me and Dad used to get ice cream all the time in the summer.”“Of course son. Now can you get up for me?”Gavin looked so young and so so vulnerable. Hank leaned down and kissed the top of his head, smoothing over his hair. Gavin smiled, standing up. As Hank dusted off his side, Gavin pulled himself to his full height. “This will stay between us, right? No one will know about this.”“Whatever you want, son.” Hank clapped Gavin on the back, before they headed inside together.