Cheryl and Toni have a son James and one day he comes home very upset.
*fluff
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"Heyy buddy, how was your day?" Toni asked their ten year old son, who had just walked in.
The boy dropped his bag to the ground, causing a loud bang on the wooden kitchen floor. Without saying a word to his mother he stormed off and fled the room.
"James hey wait up, what's wrong?" Toni called after him. She'd never seen him this distressed before so something was definitely off.
"What was that about?" Cheryl asked after hearing Toni's voice all the way from the living room.
Toni looked at her wife and shook her head. "I honestly have no idea. James just came in and completely ignored me."
James had always been the easiest, friendliest, and overall just the loveliest little boy. He never ever gossiped or talked bad about other people and genuinely cared about their feelings. So seeing him this upset for no obvious reason, was for sure worrying.
"We should check up on him don't you think?" Cheryl said to her wife who seemed equally confused.
"Yeah we should." Toni murmured as she took her oven mits off.
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Cheryl carefully knocked on their son's door and waited for him to answer. She glanced at Toni before deciding to say something as they didn't receive a response. "James? Bud? Will you open this door please?"
Surprisingly, after a few seconds he did. James opened the door with his stuffed bear named Bowie clammed between his arm and body, a few dried up tears were still visible on his cheeks.
"Oh honey what's wrong, why are you upset?" Cheryl said as she looked at James' red face. He stared at them with a rather irritated expression on his face.
"What happened James?" Toni asked as James refused to speak or show any emotion.
Toni started to lose her patience. Not because she was annoyed with James and the fact that he didn't give them an explanation, but because he didn't act like himself. James would never not talk about his feelings to them.
"Baby please, what's going on?" Toni tried once again, hoping he would let them in his head at some point.
James groaned. "You're not going to understand it anyways so just leave it." He said while walking away from his mothers who were still standing in the doorway.
"Hey, absolutely not, you know you can talk to us about anything." Toni said as she walked to James' bed and sat down. "Come sit." She padded the mattress with her hand and gave her son a reassuring look.
"You guys just won't listen." James said raising his voice a little bit. He stood still next to his desk and tapped on the wooden board with his finger.
Cheryl shook her head as she didn't quite understand why James would say something like this. It wasn't like him at all. "Why wouldn't we listen bud? We're always here for you." The redhead sat down on a chair right next to the bed, feeling confused.
James sighed and opened his mouth like he was ready to announce something, though it took him a few seconds to form a sentence. "No, that's not what I meant. You just never listen when I tell you to not hold hands around my friends or...or kiss in public. It's disgusting. Especially for you."
Both Cheryl and Toni's eyes shot open wide. They were shocked to hear those words escape from James' mouth. 'Disgusting?'
It took Toni a moment to come to terms with what they were dealing with. She felt a little betrayed now that their son was supposedly not okay with their relationship anymore. Maybe it was just the age, but she really thought they raised him better than this. "You and your friends think we're disgusting huh?"
James didn't dare look at his parents. "No, you're not disgusting." He said quietly and slowly, not wanting to cause any more trouble. "My friends just say it's weird and that you're different."
Cheryl hesitantly looked at Toni. Now that they were finally going to have this conversation it just felt a little confronting. Of course they had been talking about it for many years and they knew that James was aware of the fact that his family was just a little different. However they had never dealt with any forms of hate or disapproval directed at them through James.
It was silent for a minute before Cheryl decided to say something. "You remember how we told you that we aren't like most families right? Because the society that we live in still labels us as 'different'." Cheryl said using air quotes to show that it was a questionable and untruthful word. "We're not like most."
James nodded and wiped his nose as he looked at Cheryl.
"Well your friends aren't familiar with the concept of having two moms. They're finding it hard to wrap their head around it, because they grew up with a mom and a dad and they can't relate to you. But you remember what we told you last time right? What's something that we find very important?" Cheryl asked her son to involve him in the conversation.
James knew what his mother was referring to. "Uhmm that you can love anyone, no matter their gender, sexuality or race."
"Exactly right bud. Love is love. So does it make sense when people say we are weird or disgusting or unethical?"
James responded with a simple 'no', agreeing with what his mother said.
Toni smiled at Cheryl, feeling proud to be married to such a warm-hearted, kind and intelligent woman and mother. Especially because it had been such a long and rough road for Cheryl to accept who she was and be her true self. She placed her hand on her wife's leg and gave it a small squeeze as a sign of support.
Cheryl placed her own hand on top of Toni's tan hand and gently caressed the skin, however she kept her eyes on their son. "A lot of people look at us when we hold hands or kiss in public. Sometimes it's because they don't approve, but most of the time it's because people are simply surprised and maybe even a little curious. We've dealt with it for many years and it's fine, it doesn't bother us." A small smile formed on Cheryl's face as she examined the expression on James' face.
"But my friends...they just tell me and I don't know what..."
Toni knew this wasn't about their son disapproving of their relationship, they both knew he was fine with it. He'd always been fine with it, so why didn't she realise that earlier? This was something between James and his friends, something they couldn't fully control. "James, we understand how hard this is for you, because you're afraid to lose your friends if you're honest to them."
James gave Toni a little nod. "I don't want to be alone at school."
Cheryl and Toni shared a concerned look before focussing on their boy again. "I know and I promise you you won't. Because it might appear like all of your friends have the same opinion, but they don't. Some people just are followers and they are fearful of showing their true self and expressing their own feelings and opinions. You just have to figure out who those people are."
James studied the room, thinking about his mother's words. "I think I understand."
"And we'll talk to their parents, make sure they are informed about their children's actions." Cheryl added, guessing it would make James feel a little better.
Toni hummed in agreement.
"Thank you." James said with a cute smile on his face.
For a moment nobody spoke, until Toni made a move. "Now come here, both of you." She said as she grabbed both James and Cheryl around their waist and pulled them closer into a hug.
Cheryl and Toni simultaneously kissed James on his cheeks, giving him the love that he deserved.
"Ahhh nooo." James pushed both of his mothers off of him. "If you really want to kiss someone, just kiss each other." James shouted as he wiped both of his cheeks with his hands.
Cheryl and Toni laughed as they had already expected this reaction. "Gladly." Cheryl mouthed to Toni so that only she would know.
Toni leaned forward until she met Cheryl's red lips halfway and gave her a quick kiss. "Love you." She whispered back.
