Robin doesn't want to be a tutor. Tyler doesn't want to be tutored. So why are their tutoring sessions always running late?
***
After an illness-stricken childhood, Robin Erie struggles to free himself from his mother's suffocating embrace. Her plan...
Robin looked down at the yellow rug. It was already filled with glitter. He wondered if he would be able to vacuum it all.
"Sit still while I spray more glitter in your hair!" Scared of the consequences, Robin obeyed Des' command and remained still as a statue while a puff of sparkles fell over his dark locks. He blinked as a strong chemical smell surrounded him and looked up to inspect the result in the hallway mirror.
"Now you look radiant!" Des exclaimed and rummaged through her makeup bag for something else colorful or glittery to try on her friend. The wide skirt of her pastel-colored and unicorn-printed sun dress billowed around her as she moved.
"Does it look alright?" Robin anxiously asked Tyler, who sat on the purple couch and ate a bag of chips. His blonde hair already sported multicolored highlights as aunt Donna had helped him color it the night before as preparation for today's activities.
Tyler walked over to get a closer look at his boyfriend. The movement was fluid and unhindered. He'd recently been fitted for a new prosthetic leg with a more flexible and adaptive ankle joint which helped him master even the smallest movements.
The glitter sparkled in the light of the ceiling lamp as Robin peered into the mirror. Specks of luminescence stuck out like stars against a night sky. It made Robin stand out in a way he wasn't used to and he wasn't sure he could pull off the look. Hesitantly, he fiddled with the glitter-covered tresses that hung over his forehead.
"You look adorable, Robby!" Tyler assured him and gently stroked the bangs into a wave across the top of Robin's head. "And hot, of course."
Robin took another look at his new hairdo. Perhaps he could pull it off. Perhaps he was adorable. And hot. "I guess... maybe I look alright," he mumbled cautiously.
"You definitely do," Tyler replied and leaned in for a comforting kiss. "Although you're always super adorable and smoking hot to me. Now you're extra adorable and extra hot!"
Extra adorable and extra hot worked for Robin. He turned his face upward and with a stroke on a newly shaved chin, he pulled Tyler close.
Lips met in another soft embrace. No matter how many times they kissed, Robin never tired of it. The taste was always as sugary sweet.
"Sit down next to him, Ty," Des commanded, prepared with a brightly colored palette and a makeup brush. "Then I can paint both your faces at the same time."
By now, Tyler had learned that there was no arguing with Des. Not even about sharks. So he quickly squeezed down on the stool next to Robin--making them sit enticingly close--while throwing a longing glance toward his chips bag. Although Tyler did manage to sneak one more quick kiss from Robin before Des started to adorn his face with bright colors.
Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. Painted on in an arched shape. A proud rainbow.
A knock on the door almost made Des mess up the embellishment on Tyler's face. She smoothed out the wobbly line with a makeup brush.
"Are you guys ready?" Professor Royce, who had volunteered to drive them to the event, called from the door. He often came downstairs to check on Robin, sometimes with groceries in hand, and Robin went upstairs every day to share dinner with Professor Royce--or John as he called the man at home--and Alejandro. Tyler often tagged along as well, as he'd gotten very fond of Alejandro's delicious cooking. To have something that resembled a family to talk about his day with was a new experience for Robin.
"Almost," Robin called back. "You can come in."
Professor Royce, as usual, wore a tailored grey suit, but on the lapel, a pin glimmered. A rainbow pin. It suited him.
"We need to leave now," he told the trio of young people, smiling at the sight of their colorful and glittery get-ups. "You don't want to be late."
"I can draw your rainbow in the car, Robin." Des started to fold up her makeup bag. She had just finished adorning Tyler's cheeks. The colorful shapes made him look even cuter than usual if that was even possible. So cute that Robin felt compelled to lean over for another kiss, despite their current lack of time for such diversions.
The prospect of getting his face painted in the car worried Robin since there was an imminent risk his rainbows would look like something Emmie had created. But he had to take that risk. Because he didn't want to be late for his first Pride parade.
***
Their families and friends were all there as Robin and Tyler paraded through campus among glitter, confetti, and love.
The parade came to an end at the campus's main square. It erupted into a cascade of confetti and emotions. Every color and every love mixed together into a cacophony of visual delight and emotional joy. Peopled kissed, danced, and celebrated without a care in the world of who was watching.
Everyone was there. Except for Robin's mother. She was nowhere to be found.
Not that he would want even her there, but Liza had not been seen by anyone since she left Robin's dorm room on that faithful day right before Christmas. When the police showed up on her doorstep--after Robin filed the report that detailed her abuse--the house was already abandoned. Sometimes, her unknown whereabouts weighed on him--as it meant that she could still show up to disrupt his life--but most of the time he just enjoyed living his life freely, untethered by her shackles.
In the midst of the celebration, the boys sat down on a park bench so that Tyler could rest his leg. Even though he could walk on it quite unhindered at this point, prolonged standing or walking did still put a lot of strain on his knee.
Giddy with excitement and love, Robin grabbed Ty's tie-dyed t-shirt and pulled him close to place a kiss on his lips. Not a chaste or demure kiss, but a passionate and wild kiss. A kiss that everyone could see.
They would have to part for a while over the summer. With the help of Tallulah, Tyler had found a position as a counselor at sports camps for children with disabilities. Meanwhile, Robin was set to start his research project under Professor Royce's guidance as well as work his regular shifts at the cinema. But Robin had no doubt that their relationship could survive the few weeks of distance.
After prying his lips away, Robin leaned back to catch his breath. The day had been intense and amazing.
"Do you want one?" Tyler asked and poked Robin lightly in the side with his elbow. "I took two."
Robin looked over to see his boyfriend flaunt two rainbow-colored lollipops between his fingers, holding them like Wolverine's claws. "Do you always take two?" Robin asked, remembering that first meeting in the elevator. Just as he had done that day, Robin took the sweet offering.
"Never know when you might meet a cute boy." Ty shrugged and fired off one of his patented thousand-megawatt smiles.
Robin took the lollipop and perched it between his lips. It was sweet, but not as sweet as the boy beside him. Nothing was as sweet as Tyler.
The End
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