Unexpected

"Why won't you hold my hand?" Rhett asked, a flash of hurt crossing his face.

Link couldn't find the words to explain why he couldn't. Honestly, it was probably due to the fact that he didn't have a good excuse other than being scared. The fact he knew it wasn't a good excuse spoke volumes, but still he found himself flinching every time Rhett got that little too cosy in public. Pulling his hands away and rejecting kisses.

He had not been an intimate person before he realised he had feelings for Rhett, he'd rarely hold a girlfriend's hand in public, let alone wrap his arms around their waist as they did the grocery shopping. He believed that that sort of thing was for the privacy of your home, not to be publicly displayed while making everyone else uncomfortable.

Rhett had a very different attitude to romance, he liked to show that he loved someone, liked to have other people know what was rightfully his. Link presumed it was some sort of dominance thing, a way of marking his territory so others wouldn't mess with him or try to steal his boyfriend. Not that anyone would, because not only did Rhett easily stand a foot taller than anyone else, but unless they were gay, people only tended to send threats their way or mind their own business.

In some ways him and Rhett were polar opposites, and it was times like this that he would find himself questioning everything. The questions about whether they really were compatible with each other, if it really was working, would swamp him. Where Rhett would be loud and proud, Link would find himself wanting to hush the taller man and not flaunt their sexuality in the slightest. It took Rhett two months of persuasion to travel to a pride parade, under the promise that no one would know them, it'd be fun, and if Link wanted to go home Rhett wouldn't hesitate for a second before turning the car around.

It had turned out to be fun, and Link had probably relaxed in public for the first time in their four months of officially dating. Of course, that weekend had to come to an end, and on the walk back to the hotel Link had stripped his arms of the rainbow bracelets and the flag that had been tied around his shoulders like a cape. Rhett had followed his lead, hastily cramming the items into his backpack, while saying it was probably a good idea because he didn't want either of them to get stabbed.

And that was one of the many reasons why Link was so hesitant to flaunt any pride, they did not live in the most accepting area, it wasn't safe to be gay. Albite, it was safer for them than many, but the thought of either of them being hurt for a little hand holding didn't sit well with him, so it was easier to just not risk it, and cuddle in the safety of their parent's living rooms or one of their beds.

Rhett was looking at Link like a puppy that'd just been kicked, the look alone broke Link's heart, but when it was followed by a quiet yet heavy voice, it shattered.

"Are you ashamed of me?"

Link shook his head, instantly feeling a knot tighten in the back of his throat. He was making Rhett hurt, the one person in the world Link would transfer any and all pain from onto himself without hesitation, was suffering at his own hands, or lack thereof.

"No." Link looked at his boyfriend apologetically. "Of course I'm not. "

"Then why won't you hold my hand?"

"I will, just...just not here, Rhett. You know why." Link focussed on the punnets of strawberries in front of him, intent on getting the best ones he could.

"It's the farmer's market; you don't have to be scared here." Rhett huffed, looking over the punnets himself. His hand reached for the same box as Link, their fingers danced across each other. Rhett took the opportunity to intertwine them.