Forbidden

Robert was sitting on the couch in Mark's living room, trying not to squirm as he felt the nervousness washing over him. He had hoped that coming over and spending some time together before the prom would help him to calm down and distract his mind from thoughts of what was coming, but it had seemed to only do the opposite. He felt increasingly uncomfortable as the time dragged on. The suit in his bag was a weight on his mind, and every time his eyes glanced over it he saw himself in those clothes, standing beside his date, everyone's eyes on them as they walked in to the hall. It sent shivers down his spine - but he had already come this far. There was no turning back now.

"You wanna throw up?" Mark asked. His voice caught Robert off guard - Mark had gone to the bathroom a few minutes earlier, and he hadn't heard him coming back. He looked over to see Robert leaning against the door frame of the living room, looking down at Mark with an apparent look of concern. Mark must have failed at trying not to squirm. "Should definitely brush your teeth afterwards, but I can understand the need. It's definitely not gonna be an easy night. But it will be worth it, right?"

"Will it though?" Robert asked back quietly. He had been thinking it for a while, but he was afraid to actually say it. "I mean, is this really going to help anything? I'm happy with how things are going. I don't... feel the need to make it public. Yes, it kinda sucks always feeling like I need to hide, but is putting it out there really going to change anything? I'm afraid that it will just make things worse."

Mark sat down next to him and rested one hand reassuringly on Robert's knee. "I know you're scared," he said. "So am I. This could very easily go poorly for us. We can't control how other people look at us - we may be mocked for the rest of our school lives. But me? I'd rather be mocked for what I am than accepted for what I'm not. And the people who do accept us after tonight are the people we know that we can trust."

Robert nodded, not saying a word, trying to feel ok with what was going to happen. "I know," he said quietly. "But you at least know that your parents accept this. Mine won't know until we walk out the door."

"And if they can't accept us, you know that you're welcome here. We'll give you your own space, you can't just immediately move into my room. But we'll find our way forward. Together."

"I love you, Mark."

"I love you too, Rob."