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Crazy Rock was clear. Tadashi was waiting in the car. And Adam was standing on the roof of the factory, watching at the stairwell for any sign of Langa.
The young man had surprised him earlier in the night, passing by and asking if they could meet after ‘S’. Despite Adam’s interest, the two of them had never actually spoken one-on-one, or even exchanged more than a few sentences at a time. He had no idea what Langa wanted to discuss that was so important, that required any sort of privacy between them.
In fact, it made him a little anxious.
But he showed up anyway. As soon as the crowd began to disperse, he climbed up to the roof and waited.
It seemed like hours, but it only took a few minutes for Langa to show up. Adam greeted him with a smile, a bit forced, but genuine at the same time. He was always happy to see Langa, even if he was a little apprehensive about the circumstances.
Langa stood in front of Adam, looked him right in the eye through his mask, and said, “Hey.”
“Hello.” Adam chuckled. “To what do I owe the pleasure, Snow?”
At first, Langa didn’t respond. He turned away, looked out at the horizon, and sat down right on the concrete. After a moment, Adam shrugged and took a seat beside him.
“You know,” Adam said, “If you just wanted to admire the stars with me, you didn’t have to—”
“I think I’m gay.”
Adam’s mouth hung open, still stuck on the syllable Langa had cut off. Langa was expressionless, impossible to read, just staring up at the sky as his words sank in.
Langa’s orientation itself wasn’t a surprise in the slightest. Adam knew a confused, closeted teenager when he saw one, and he’d clocked Langa out the night they met. But the fact that Langa would admit it out loud, to Adam, was quite the shock.
Adam laughed at the absurdity of it all, then laughed louder at Langa’s confused expression. “Really now?” he asked. “Well, dear. I think I might be, too.”
“I know,” Langa said, deadpan. “That’s why I’m telling you.”
Adam raised his eyebrows. With the way he expressed himself at ‘S,’ he’d be more surprised if anyone thought otherwise. But he’d pinned Langa as more of the oblivious type— evidently, he was wrong.
“And what would you like me to do about that, Snow?” Adam asked. “I can hardly take you out on a proper date. Could you imagine the scandal?”
“I’m not asking you out,” Langa mumbled, turning his head away once again. “I just… wanted to tell someone. I guess.”
Adam didn’t have a snarky response to that. He had to think about it first, the implications… was he really the first person Langa told outright? “Why me?”
Langa shrugged. “I knew you wouldn’t give me a hard time about it,” he said. “Plus, you’re not gonna tell anyone.”
“Oh? And what makes you so sure of that?”
“‘Cause I know one of your secrets, too.”
Adam scoffed, but Langa was right. Of course, he had no reason to out Langa, and he knew Langa had no intentions of exposing his identity, either. Regardless, they were on the same page. “Fair. I supposed we’re even, then.”
“Yeah.”
Langa still wouldn’t look at him. He was too busy watching the stars, concentrated, but difficult to read otherwise. Adam wondered if that was all; did he just want to come out and leave it at that?
“I don’t think I’m ready to tell anyone else.”
Maybe not.
“I don’t blame you,” Adam said. “Of course, some of the laws work in our favor. There’s progress being made, albeit slowly. But people are still cruel.” He wished he could do more to help in his position… but it was too risky. The timing wasn’t right, and he didn’t know if it ever would be. “I’m sure it would have been easier for you back home.“
“Not really,” Langa replied. “I kinda… lived in the middle of nowhere. I never knew anyone like me… us. Until I moved here.”
Adam, admittedly, didn’t know much about the politics of Western countries— particularly those he’d never visited. But any country that big was bound to have plenty of variation in its citizens’ beliefs, in the laws and general attitudes.
“Well… you always have Crazy Rock,” Adam said, his voice a bit softer now. “You can be whoever you want to be here. No one’s going to give you any trouble for it.” He chuckled before he added, “And if they do, they can answer to me.”
Langa nodded slowly, looking down at the concrete instead. “Thanks.”
Adam hummed. For a while, the two of them sat in a peaceful silence, gazing up at the stars or out into the woods below them. Adam had a feeling Langa wouldn’t break the silence, so eventually, he took it upon himself to do so.
“You don’t have to tell anyone, or do anything about it, until you’re ready,” he said. “You have your whole life to figure things out, to find more people who will affirm and uplift you for everything you are. It’s okay to take it slow.”
Langa pulled his knees up to his chest and took a deep breath before he replied, “Okay.”
With a bit of hesitation, Adam reached out to give Langa a pat on the back. “You’ll be fine,” he said. “We’ll both be.”
And, to his own surprise, he meant what he said.