After The Credits

Chapter 14 The Tears Fall Joan's POV

The couple enjoyed the ride to Joan's house. They drove through McDonald's, which somehow neither of them were sick of yet, to get Joan some coffee while Sue snacked on some fries and listened to the radio the whole way. Though it was peaceful, Joan couldn't completely shake the unease she felt knowing that she wanted to have a serious conversation with Sue when they got to her house.

Not much later, the two were walking up the stairs at Joan's house heading for her room.

"Where are tita and tito?" Sue asked.

"Mom and dad are out buying groceries. They'll probably be back later." Joan replied.

She opened the door to her room and the two of them walked in. The room wasn't too big, but it was large enough. Opposite the door was Joan's bed, which had a desk next to it and a window to the right. Joan sat on the bed cross-legged while Sue let her head rest on Joan's lap. Joan looked down at her girlfriend and smiled, running her fingers through Sue's hair.

"Hi there, beautiful." Joan said with a smile.

"Saying hi to yourself?" Sue replied, returning the smile.

The two stayed like that for who knows how long. Joan knew she should start the conversation, but part of her thought the moment was too good to ruin. The other part was avoiding the stress of confrontation.

Healthy relationships are built on good communication. But does the communication have to happen right now...?

"Something on your mind?" Sue asked.

Joan realized she had been frowning while lost in thought.

Fuck it, she asked. Might as well... God, you read me so well, Susan. Too well.

"Ok, so... this is a long story." Joan started.

"So? I like hearing you talk." Sue said, shrugging her shoulders.

Joan smiled and brushed Sue's cheek before continuing to talk.

"Anyway... so I have this friend. He came out to me recently and well... he told me about this guy he likes and how he doesn't want to be with that boy until he can be someone the boy can love proudly."

"Joan, Vlad tells me everything. I know that's about Karl, you don't need to hide his name." Sue said.

"Anyway... Sue, I don't know... I guess it kind of got me thinking." Joan continued.

"About?" Sue asked.

"Us. I know I can't force you out, Sue. And you can come out whenever you're ready. I told you I can wait and it's true." Joan began rambling.

"But it's hard, Sue. So many times I've wished I could make a 'So proud of my girlfriend!' Instagram post or just tweet about how much I love spending time with you, but I can't. And I get it... your family won't take the news well. But- but..." Joan tried to keep speaking, but tears started falling down her face and the only sounds she could let out were sobs.

Sue got up from her spot on Joan's lap to give her a hug.

"Joan... I'm sorry..." She said, trying to comfort the crying girl.

"I- It's not your fault S-Sue." Joan forced the words out between sniffles.

Joan tried wiping her tears away, but they just kept coming. Sue, who was still hugging her, began crying too. The two sat there in each other's arms, letting the tears flow.

"Joan, you know I would kill to live in a world where we could both show off our love to the world and not a day goes by that I hate the fact that we don't." Sue said, tightening the embrace she was giving Joan.

Joan let herself fall onto her bed, staring at the ceiling, feeling defeated. Sue crawled into the spot next to her and embraced her once again. Before Joan knew it, she fell asleep.

She woke up later, unsure how much later, and saw Sue sitting on the chair by her desk.

"Hey." Sue greeted her.

"Hey..." Joan replied.

"I didn't want to leave while you were asleep, so I waited for you to wake up. You were passed out for a while, you know." Sue told her.

"Huh? Aalis ka na?" Joan asked in reply.

"Joan... there's something I need to do, okay? Just trust me." Sue got up for the chair and kissed Joan's forehead before opening the door and waving goodbye.

"Uh... bye?" Joan said, confused by Sue's sudden departure.

Ok, Sue. I have no idea what you're talking about, but I'll trust you. I always do.