4*TOWN

Parents 3

T lies on top of Z in his bed, fast asleep. He'd been trying to comfort Z, which was working pretty well- until he passed out, that is. Z still lies on his back, holding the smaller boy in his arms.

They're gonna hate him. They're gonna hate me.

He thinks to himself, chest heaving. T stirs in his sleep a bit, causing Z to come back to reality for a moment. He looks at T, his eyes shut and his mouth open slightly. T looks gorgeous to him, even like this. His disheveled hair, sticking up in every direction is incredibly endearing to him, as is the way his lips are parted with quiet breaths escaping them.

Z just observes his face, only one side of it being visible due to the way he's cuddling into his chest. He observes and thinks. He thinks, how could his parents ever hate him? If they knew this boy, the boy that had an energy that could instantly brighten anyone's day, the boy that stayed up through entire nights just to comfort him, the boy that literally dries the tears from his face- would they be able to look past the fact that he's not what they wanted for him? What they planned for him?

Maybe I'm being dramatic.

He thinks. He tells himself over and over that it'll be fine, and he believes it- but deep down, that same feeling of dread still lingers.

☆

In the morning, Z paces in his bathroom, arms crossed. He looks at the floor, shaking his head every so often. T sits on the counter with his hands in his lap.

"Y'know, Z..."

T starts. Z continues pacing back and forth.

"We're all gonna be here with you today. If something happens with your parents, they're outnumbered."

Z sighs and stands still.

"I know. I know, I know. I'm probably overthinking, they're probably just gonna talk about the family and sh*t, maybe scold me for not being a basketball player or something..."

He covers his face with his hands.

"I'm sorry, T. I don't know why I'm... I just have a bad feeling."

"It's fine. I'm sure it's normal, I mean you haven't seen them in a while, and they don't know if... I mean do they know about...?"

T makes eye contact with his boyfriend, cocking his head slightly.

"No, they don't. And I'm... I don't know. I just dont know. Anything. I can't do this."

Z sinks to the floor. T joins him, sitting on his knees. He rests his head on his shoulder for a few moments.

Then, the doorbell rings. Z tenses up, and T sighs. Neither of them move to get up, waiting for someone to call them down.

"Z! Someone's here to see you!"

Tae Young yells.

T and Z look at eachother. They don't speak, but Z's face is pleading for T to come with him. They leave the bathroom together, holding hands all the way down the hallway, down the stairs, across another room... Before Z stops.

"What's wrong?"

"We probably shouldn't... Uh..."

Z lets go of the smaller hand that was enveloped in his. T frowns, but still understanding.