Noah & Navid

Chapter 12- Moving Forward

"Your father is not yet comfortable with it, but I know he will be someday soon. I will prove that I can provide for my Noah and then he will come around." Navid nudged my sandwich towards me to indicate I should take a bite. 

I was shocked and a little confused.

"You talked to him about it already?" I shouldn't have been so surprised. 

Navid regularly discussed things with my dad before he even brought it up to me. 

He was still so traditional and sometimes it drove me crazy. I reminded myself that his culture had different ways, and he had made incredible effort to start including my thoughts in our decisions.

I'm sure it would have been different if my dad weren't so open and comfortable with me being gay. It wasn't something he talked about often, but I was sure he had pinned down Navid and had a very honest yet gentle conversation. 

It's just who he is. He wasn't the type to just let me have a secret. So in turn, Navid had pursued this as he would have with a girl according to his culture.

In his culture, it was expected that the "stronger one" leads. It wasn't that he didn't care what I thought or wanted. 

As he had explained, the "stronger one" is supposed to know the heart of the "weaker" and always think of it first when making decisions for the couple. To ask my opinion was admitting that he hadn't figured me out, didn't know my heart, didn't care enough. 

"Of course! Why would I bring it up to you if is not even possibility? He is your father and still makes the big decisions for you. It is not yet my place to offer such things to you. Please eat, Noah. You will be hungry in class today." Navid pushed my sandwich closer.

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We'd started the fall semester last week and were getting into the rhythm of school again. Navid had insisted on me getting brand new textbooks for my classes. I had always had the cheapest used copies I could find online. 

He also bought new notebooks and nice pens and even tossed in a small stuffed bear with a Tarzana Toros logo on its chest that he'd caught me eyeing in the check-out line.

He also insisted I get new clothes for the semester and took me to the big mall in Warner Center. He liked me in the California skater look, but with a more conservative twist. Tank tops and small shorts were swapped out for long-sleeve tees and jeans that weren't super-fitting. 

I didn't like spending his money, but he wanted me to have nice things. He said it wouldn't look right for him to have new things while I "dragged about" in second hand clothes. Sometimes his English sounded very European.

Since the weekend in Palm Springs, we hadn't spent many nights apart. My dad had agreed to me staying at Navid's place on weekend nights, while Navid stayed at our place during the week unless he wanted a night alone with his friends. 

The first few nights, he just acted extra sleepy so my dad would offer again. My dad caught on though and I guess they talked it out, because the third night Navid came over with his gym bag stuffed with clothes.

I cleared a drawer for him and he mixed his boxers in with my briefs. He even bought a new rug to keep in my room for his prayer time. He rolled it up and hid it in my closet when not in use. I think he worried of what my dad would think though my dad knew about his religion and didn't care.

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"So... what did my dad say when you asked about us moving in together? He didn't mention it to me," I asked after swallowing a bite of my sandwich. Curiosity got the better of me.