Work Text:
Cecil had been agitated throughout the whole date. He spoke less than usual- which is always odd. His words stumbled over each other and sometimes, they didn't come out at all. After the waiter placed a piece of angel cake shaped like a human heart (actually pumping a red raspberry goo), Carlos decided to confront the man's odd behavior.
"Cecil....Is there something you want to tell me?"
Cecil took a bite of the bleeding heart that now pumped harder, almost as hard as his heart. "Oh! Uh-um.... Say, did you know that the Erikas almost evaporated into midair when they heard about the angel cake? I-I mean, everyone knows that it's made out of clouds that were thought to have once been home to angels and not out of them. Angels aren't even real after-after all..." He sighed. He knew that Carlos was not buying his small talk. "Ok, it's just... Ioverheardyourphonecallwithyourmother". He said it fast; all at once with no pauses.
Oh God was all Carlos thought.
"I-I....You never told her about us... did you? Cecil's voice was softer. He would never admit it, but he was hurt. He felt a pang of... betrayal, maybe despair?
Carlos poked at the bleeding heart, his eyes never meeting Cecil's. Cecil was very eccentric who loved what he loved and hated what he hated. He didn't want to upset him, who fidgeted in his seat due to the prolonged silence. "Cecil... Cecil, my mother... is very conservative. My whole family is actually. It's not the hate gay people, it's just... Ok, they're homophobic. Flat. Out. Gay bashing. Assholes."
He looked up at his strange and wondrous boyfriend whose eyes gazed back quizzically. Carlos loved that look. His eyes seemed to hide the secrets of the universe just out of Carlos' grasp. The irises, cosmic and stars speckling, must know so much more than what modern Science could ever explain to him.
"What is homophobia?" Cecil asked, breaking the growing silence that had formed between them.
"What is... What is what?"
"Homophobia. What is it?"
Carlos blinked. "You mean to tell me that you've lived your whole life as an openly gay man and never once came across the word homophobic?" He couldn't grasp it. All his life he had hidden his sexuality from his family for fear of rejection. He felt like the insensitive words of his Parrish were stitched into his mind by a God fearing, gay hating community.
"No." Cecil simply responded.
And here Cecil was, who never had to fear that kind of rejection. Cecil who painted his nails and occasionally wore sundresses. Cecil who couldn't grasp what if felt like to be hated. It made him look innocent and even all the more beautiful.
Carlos smiled. He had to.