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Exactly a month after Valentines Day, Todd goes to meet his family.
With Neil of course.
Todd nervously looks out the window as Neil drives. It's silent and he can feel his boyfriend's eyes dart to him and back at the road.
"Todd, you doing okay?" He asks, his voice gentle.
He blinks as he turns to him. "Yeah. I mean—" he pauses, "No, not really."
Neil's hand goes to Todd's, squeezing gently. "I know you're afraid, but I'll make sure that your family doesn't do anything irrational."
Todd nods, grimacing. "They haven't met you yet, so I'm just worried. I'm really not sure how to act around you," he adds with a chuckle. "I mean—I know we've only been dating for a while now, but you always seem to make my heart flutter."
He groans as he sees Neil's well known grin start to widen, his brown eyes full of warmth.
"Well, I'm glad I do that to you."
Todd covers his face in embarrassment while Neil softly laughs.
Thirty minutes pass in silence, and Todd starts to hum to the music playing on the radio.
It's a nice tune, and he continues to hum. His boyfriend still drives but slowly starts to hum along with the other boy, also enjoying the music.
Todd slowly leans back into the seat, relaxing. His eyes dart to the sky, which is blue, and has hints of orange to it.
It's beautiful, and he doesn't want this moment to ever end.
As he closes his eyes and begins to drift off, he suddenly feels Neil's hand gently shake his shoulder. His eyes open, focusing on the taller boy.
"Hey, Todd." He softly whispers, not wanting to ruin the moment but unfortunately having to. "Is that your house?"
Todd looks through the car window, sighing as he sits back up from his seat. "Yep, that's the one.."
Todd softly but hesitantly knocks on the door, waiting for someone to answer. He unawarely fondles with his hands anxiously and starts to overthink.
What if they find out? He wonders. They'll definitely kick me out. Where will I go? What will I do? What will I—
Neils hand rests on Todd's lower back comfortably, breaking him out of his thoughts.
"Hey, don't think too much about this. I'm sure everything will go smoothly."
He just nods at his boyfriend's reassurance. It doesn't help much right now then he wishes he would like. "Yeah, alright. Okay."
Before Neil has any time to try and reassure Todd again, the front door opens.
Todd's father.
Todd's father looks like a miserable man. His eyes are dark, his gaze always looking judgmental and full of hatred.
Neil instantly dislikes Todd's father. Hates him, even.
His judgemental eyes begin to narrow, grunting at the sight of Neil's hand on another boy, who is his son.
Todd feels like crying when he feels his boyfriend's hand quickly retract from him. The comfort was soothing.
"Todd, who is this boy?" He says the last word with such venom, making Todd want to fall over and die on the spot.
"Um—this is my—" he clears his throat, making sure he doesn't slip up. "This is my roommate and—and best friend, Neil."
Neil quickly chirps in. "Hi. I'm Neil Perry."
Todd's father nods, silently studying the taller boy.
After giving the brunette a firm handshake, he looks over to his son with a disappointed look. "Stop stuttering. I hate when you do that." He sighs. "You won't be with your girlfriend for too long if you keep acting like that."
Ah, Todd thinks. So Jeffrey did tell our parents about the "girlfriend" story that I made up when I freaked out.
Todd, you're a fucking idiot.
Getting out of his thoughts, he slowly nods and swallows. "Yes, sir. Sorry, sir."
Neil is quiet while he observes, anger slightly evident in his brown eyes. He tries to keep himself in check, but it's difficult, mainly when it comes to his boyfriend.
He wants to call him out but he doesn't want to interrupt anything, worried that any word he might blabber out could lead Todd's father or anyone else dangerous into their secret.
He doesn't want that. He wants to keep Todd safe.
"Alright," his father finally mutters. "Let's go inside. I want to learn more about this girlfriend of yours."
Todd's stomach drops. Oh, this is gonna make everything so much more complicated.
Neil watches as Todd continues the lie, telling his parents about this "girl" that was made up in a moment of panic.
He hates seeing his boyfriend having to lie about this type of thing, but as he remembers what he was told and how it looks, Todd's parents are extremely homophobic.
This was for the best.
"Yeah, we uh—we kissed a few times," he continues. "She's an amazing kisser." His face cringes at his own words.
His mother smiles a bit. "Oh wow, Todd. That's nice." She looks down to observe her nails. "I was worried you'd end up being a fag."
Neil's eyes slightly widen, full of disbelief.
Todd stiffens beside him, and quickly shakes himself out of it. He lets out a fake laugh, "Yeah, haha! Can you even imagine that?"
Neil's worry and concern begins to rise as he can hear the hurt from Todd's forced laughter. The forced words, too.
After the long and miserable conversation with his parents, he leads Neil upstairs.
As they go upstairs, he hears Todd's parents talking to each other about the "598" joke, laughing about it with no remorse.
It makes his fists clench.
Todd's parents seem to have little to no interest in talking or getting to know the taller boy.
As they walk through the hallway, Todd makes an abrupt stop to turn back to his boyfriend.
Biting his lip, he apologizes. "I'm sorry about my parents, Neil." He looks remorseful, looking down at the floor.
He continues to stare at the floor until Neil gently squeezes his shoulder, making him look back up.
"I don't like how they speak to you." He responds.
Todd's eyes widen slightly. Nobody has ever really said that how his parents act or speak towards him is wrong. They've always favorited Jeffrey, after all.
"They act like that you don't matter and it's actually pissing me off," he continues, his eyes slightly narrowing. "They don't want to even get to know your friends, or just you as a person. I don't get why they do that to you."
Todd's mouth trembles. "Because, Neil.. they know. They know I'm a homosexual." His voice trembles a bit. "I used to act differently than other boys, and they never liked that. They still don't."
Neil sighs a bit, looking around. They're in the upstairs hallway, and Jeffrey's door is closed. They hear quiet humming in his room while there's music on. He's probably busy with college homework.
He grabs Todd's waist, startling him. "Well, they can go fuck themselves."
"Neil—" Todd starts, about to defend his parents horrible behavior. He instead ends up melting into the feeling of lips brushing against his own.
The hall is quiet, the humming now barely noticeable. They continue to kiss, and Neil slowly starts to back Todd into his room, not breaking their passion.
However, Neil breaks it anyways and his eyes start darting around Todd's room before softly kicking the door shut with his heel.
He still holds the smaller boys waist whos face is flushed and he's slightly breathing heavily.
Todd's room seems... Empty. Dull. Faded.
The only things that are in the room is a desk, the one that they threw off of a bridge months ago, a bed, completely unmade, and just a bunch of books stacked onto said desk.
Neil looks down at Todd, softly leaning in to nudge his nose against his cheek.
"Your room is empty." Neil murmurs almost to himself. He rubs Todd's back gently, making sure the smaller boy doesn't think the taller boys angry or disappointed with him.
Todd nods a bit. "Mhm." Still flustered about the kisses, he can't really respond with his words. "My—my um.."
Neil kisses his forehead delicately as he holds his waist again.
The blonde continues. "My parents don't really want me to have a decorative room. They just want me to study."
The brunette slowly shakes his head, moving his boyfriend closer into his arms. He smiles as he feels Todd rest his head against his chest, hugging him.
Suddenly, the door swings open almost violently.
"Todd! Little brother!!"
Todd nearly shrieks, quickly pushing Neil away.
He's immediately attacked by Jeffrey, his older brother ruffling his hair roughly.
"Ow, Jeff! Jeffrey!" Todd cries out, laughing.
Neil can't help the grin that grows onto his face.
Jeffrey pulls back, completely unaware of the intimate moment that happened not even a minute ago. He smiles widely.
"It's been months since I've seen you! How's Welton been? Have you made any friends? How's your girlfriend?"
Todd stammers, overwhelmed but happy about all of the questions. He's glad his brother is extremely oblivious. He may be smart, but he's not the observant type.
"Welton's been fine, really. Not much. Also, um—" he gestures over to the taller boy behind them. "That's my best friend. And roommate."
Jeffrey looks over to Neil, smiling at him. "Hey! I'm Jeffrey, Todd's one and only brother."
Neil smiles back. "I'm Neil. Neil Perry."
The older brother's eyes widen. "Wait, you're...you're that Neil Perry? The one who played as Puck in A Midsummer Night's Dream?"
He nods. "Yeah, that's me!" He confirms, proudly.
Jeffrey immediately stares at Todd, his face full of mock anger. "I can't believe you didn't tell me that your roommate was a celebrity!" He cries out dramatically.
Todd laughs, playing along. "The crowd would be everywhere if I confirmed it!"
They both start to laugh together, continuing to mess and tease with each other.
Todd's happy that at least someone in his family actually wants to get to know his boyfriend, even if those aren't the words or terms they're able to call each other.
As Todd begins to think about what happened right after the play, he can't really remember what happened between Neil and his father. However, it must have turned out well as his father allows him to continue to act.
It must have been stressful, though. Especially with a parent like that.
As Neil watches the brothers have fun, he can't help but smile. This Todd was so adorable. Everything about Todd was already adorable to him, but this opened up Todd makes him 10x more cuter.
Neil loves him, and he wouldn't have it any other way.
Dinner was filled with a lot of tension with Todd continuously having to add on to the lie. Neil can see it's starting to tire him out and annoy him.
"Todd, when can we see this young lady?" His mother asks.
From the corner of Neil's eye, he notices the smaller boys eye slightly twitch with annoyance.
"I'm uh—" he starts, his voice tired. "I'm not sure. She's really busy, and I don't think that she's free for the rest of the month."
"The rest of the month?" His father repeats. "How absolutely outrageous! She can't be that busy!" He scoffs and rolls his eyes, agitating his younger son.
"I don't get why you're getting mad at me," Todd stammers out the words. "It's not my fault that she's busy—"
"Don't you dare talk back to me!" His father snaps. "You're just proving how much of a faggot you truly are!"
Everything and everyone falls silent. Todd takes a shaky deep breath. Please don't cry. Not now.
Neil's jaw tightens, wanting to say something. Anything, obviously! But he can't. He just can't.
"I've lost my appetite." The smaller boy murmurs, standing up from the table and going upstairs without looking back once.
"Todd Anderson! You were not excused! Get back here right this instance!" His father shouts. With no response, he grumbles angrily and stabs the food with his fork while muttering something along the lines of worthless son.
Neil stares at Todd's father, anger starting to boil in his blood. He hates this. He hates Todd's parents, but mainly his father.
He hears the door softly close upstairs, making him more angry, and most importantly—concerned.
Jeffrey is quiet as well and his lips sealed shut. He just picks at the food with his fork, before finally speaking up.
"Mother, father, is it alright if Neil spends the night here?" He requests. "I would like to get to know him more."
His parents are quiet and seem hesitant at first, before his mother speaks, "Yes, of course, dear. Neil can always spend the night here if he wants." She adds.
Jeffrey nods, smirking to himself as the request was approved.
After a very quiet and tense dinner, he leads Neil upstairs.
It's silent as they walk through the hallway.
"You know, Neil," Jeffrey finally breaks the silence. "I just want you to stay here because of Todd." He looks at him.
He smiles a bit at Todd's brother. "Yeah, I don't think I should leave him alone, especially after that." He pauses, before reluctantly asking, "Do your guys parents always do that to Todd? Like, calling him names and putting him down, I mean."
Jeffrey sighs while nodding. "Yeah, they do it all the time." He mutters, slightly angry. "It hurts to see how they treat him, when my little brother is the most kindest guy I know. I just don't understand why they do that."
Neil is quiet. "Because they think he's a homosexual."
Jeffrey chuckles quietly, shaking his head. "Nah, Todd's not a homosexual. He just needed to find the right girl, you know?" He playfully elbows Neil. "I don't think he is."
Neil goes quiet, the words I'm his boyfriend sitting on the tip of his tounge.
Instead, he whispers, "Yeah, I guess you're right."
Neil opens the door to Todd's bedroom after the conversation with Jeffrey.
He spots him laying in bed, facing the wall. He hears the smaller boy sigh and see him wipe at his face.
He closes the door softly, ensuring Todd doesn't hear him.
Neil walks towards Todd and slowly rests his hand on his hip, causing him to jolt.
"Jesus, Neil!" Todd squirms around quickly, eyes slightly red rimmed. "You-you scared the shit out of me.."
Neil gives him a little concerned smile, laying down with Todd.
"Baby, were you crying?" He chuckles slightly, watching Todd's face turn red from the name.
He just nods as an answer to the taller boys question.
Neil sighs, nuzzling Todd's nose with his own. "I'm sorry about what happened with dinner. You didn't deserve to be called that," he murmurs. "I wanted to defend you so terribly, but I don't want anyone discovering our relationship."
The smaller boy sniffles. "It's okay, don't worry. I understand why you had to do what you had to do," he smiles slightly. "This lie is really tiring to keep up with. It hurts."
Neil nods softly. "I know it is, Todd. I know."
Ensuring that the door is locked, the taller boy gets on top of the blonde and slowly cups his cheeks, kissing him.
Todd's eyes close instantly as the kiss starts to deepen. He sighs as he feels Neil's hands gradually move down to his waist, keeping him where he is.
As soon as Todd feels his boyfriend's tounge hesitantly brush against his own, he shivers and gasps at the new sensation.
Neil feels the mini shudder under him and slowly breaks their kiss. "You okay?"
"Um—Yeah—I think—I think so—" Todd's voice hasn't trembled this much before. "It's um—It's—It's new to me.."
Neil chuckles softly. "I'm sorry sweetheart. We don't have to do that kind of kiss if you don't want to."
Todd shakes his head fast. "No, I want to have those kisses. Just—Just not tonight."
Neil smiles and nods, still on him. For the next few minutes, they just have some slow and lazy kisses.
They finally stop kissing and Neil lays down to cuddle him, which makes Todd sigh in content from all the warmth.
Todd sleepily whispers, "Aren't you—" he yawns, making Neil smile down at him in adoration. "Aren't you supposed to be leaving?"
He shakes his head. "No, I'm staying the night here. I talked with Jeffrey earlier," he explains. "He wants me to stay here for you."
Todd blushes. "Thanks Neil.. But, you didn't have to do that."
"I'd do anything for you, darling."
Neil wakes up later at night, finding Todd missing.
He yawns quietly, stretching. As he gets his eyes used to the dark, he notices the door is creaked slightly open.
He hears voices.
"Jeff, I'm—I'm a homosexual." Neil's eyes widen. Todd's voice. That shaky voice. The one he knows and loves all too well.
Why is Todd exposing himself to possible danger? Neil thinks, slowly becoming concerned and even slightly angry.
"Oh. Oh woah." Jeffrey responds. "Uh—"
"I'm sorry.. I know this is weird and a lot to take in, but please don't tell mother and especially not father."
A beat of silence.
"Uh—alright? I won't tell them." Jeffrey hesitantly answers. "So your girlfriend is like.. not real?"
"No, I'm—I'm dating—" A long pause. "I'm dating Neil."
Todd, what the actual fuck? The brunettes thoughts have him angry now. Furious, even. Why is his boyfriend doing this? What the hell is he even thinking???
"Alright. Okay. Yeah," Jeffrey sounds extremely confused about the whole thing, but there seems to be no disgust or anger. "You should, uh—you should go back to bed, Todd."
"Alright.."
Neil hears his boyfriend's footsteps become louder as he walks towards the door.
"Oh, and Todd?"
"Hm?"
Another silent moment.
"I love you."
"..I love you, too."
"Goodnight."
"Night."
Neil waits for Todd to enter as he eventually hears Jeffrey's door close.
As Todd walks in and gently closes the door behind him—
"Todd, what the actual fuck?" Neil asks in disbelief, his voice filled with no restraint and full of anger.
The blonde's eyes widen. "Neil, what—"
"You just came out. To your brother. When you guys both have the same homophobic fucking parents," Neil argues. "Your parents say and call you slurs, so there is a higher chance that Jeffrey will repeat the same shit!"
Todd stammers, "Neil, I was—the lie—it was keeping me up, so I—"
"So you what?" The taller boy interrupts. "You went to your brothers room? You didn't wake me up? We could've talked, Todd, but now you just put the both of us in fucking danger! Did you even think of what—"
"No, Neil! I didn't," Todd answers, voice slightly rising. "I didn't, okay?! I thought that it was a good idea, telling Jeffrey. But he—I don't know—" his voice breaks. "I think he hates me now.. Neil, I'm—I'm sorry—Oh, fuck—"
Neils eyes immediately soften and he instantly feels complete and utter remorse. No, this isn't fixing anything. Yelling at his boyfriend doesn't do anything. He was already yelled at by his father earlier.
This isn't helping either of them.
"Todd. Todd, come here. Please." The smaller boy frantically shakes his head, sobbing, hugging himself. "I'm—damnit, Todd—" He walks to him, immediately pulling him into his arms, firm but gentle.
"I—I'm sorry..." Todd cries, his voice small.
He runs his hand up and down his back. "Shh, it's alright. You're alright."
A few more minutes of quiet sobbing and sniffles, Neil murmurs. "Hey, Todd. Todd.." he still doesn't look or respond to him as more hushed sniffles echo throughout the room.
"Toddy?"
Todd finally looks up at him, blushing a bit from the nickname. He tries to respond but he hiccups from his frantic crying.
Neil smiles and tenderly cups his boyfriend's face in his hands, wiping tears away with his thumbs.
"I'm sorry, Todd. I shouldn't of snapped," he whispers, feeling even more guilty than before.
He slowly kisses the smaller boys cheek as he recontinues. "I just—I'm so worried. I know our friends are fine with us, but—" he pauses.
"The whole world isn't fine with us. They want us dead, even." Todd blinks, nodding silently as Neil plays with his blonde hair. "I don't want us getting hurt. Not now. Not ever. I'm scared." His voice small, quiet.
Todd leans more into him, rubbing his back to comfort the taller boy. "I—I know.. I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking when I told Jeffrey. I just want to be open about it, but—" he sighs quietly, sniffling. "You're right. The world—doesn't like us. It might not ever, and that hurts."
Neil smiles a bit. "Don't worry about it, Todd. I'm sure that Jeffrey won't do anything horrible. He told you that he loves you. I was just feeling doubtful from the previous conversation I had with him." He's quiet for a moment. "And we have each other, even if the world does hate us forever."
"Yeah, true," Todd responds, wiping his nose. "He seems to like you." He smiles a bit. He eventually asks, "What did you guys talk about?"
Neil nods. "He told me that he doesn't think you're a homosexual," He chuckles, shaking his head. "I wonder what he thinks now."
Todd giggles quietly. "I love you, Neil."
Neil's heart flutters, and can't help the huge grin that shows on his face. "I love you too, Todd."
8 A.M.
Todd goes downstairs, yawning and stretching. He ended up sleeping so hard, having absolutely no clue how long and how well he's slept like that. He feels.. refreshed. Content.
It must've been weeks since he's slept well. Hell, months, even.
He thinks of Neil, who ended up sleeping so hard that he isn't even up yet. Usually, he's the first one running around by now. He chuckles at the thought.
As he heads towards the living room he notices his parents staring at him, looking regretful.
"Todd, I'm sorry," His father was the first to speak. "For what happened at dinner. That was unacceptable, and I shouldn't of been forceful."
"Uh—It's okay." Todd's genuinely taken aback from the apology. He was not expecting that to start his morning.
He hears his mother sniffle sadly. Turning to her, she mutters, "I'm sorry about your break up with the girl. Jeffrey told us about the horrible argument that you had with her last night." She wipes her eyes with a tissue. "Break ups are terrible!" She cries harder.
Todd is so close to bursting out of laughter for his mother's crying, but he keeps himself in check. "Uh—where even is Jeff anyway?" His voice is shaking, close to a giggle.
As his father comforts his mother's sobbing, his eyes flash with slight anger, noticing the quiet laughter.
Instead, he just sighs in defeat and answers, "In the garage. He's fixing stuff with his car."
As he walks towards the garage, Todd can't believe that Jeffrey did that.
He covered for him!
As he opens the garage door, he hears Jeffrey mumbling, "Stupid fucking thing! Ugh.."
"Jeff?"
Jeffrey's eyes light up and he places his wrench on the ground as he sits up.
"Todd! Good morning," He smiles softly. "How are you?
Todd smiles, relief crossing his face. Jeffrey doesn't think of him any differently.
"I'm doing okay," he answers his brother. "How are you?"
Jeffrey rolls his eyes, "I'm angry. This damn piece of junk is not working." He kicks it in frustration. "Care to help?"
After half an hour of them fixing Jeffrey's car and playfully messing with each other, they take a break.
As his older brother chugs down a huge bottle of water, he turns to Todd. "I uh—I heard you and Neil's argument last night." His eyes widen as he notices Todd freak out. "Ah, wait! I'm not mad at Neil for his concerns about me! He has just met me, so it makes sense. The conversation must've worried him, too."
Todd nods, shoulders slumping. "Yeah, I um... I wasn't thinking about what the consequences could be when I came out to you, but you seem to not be too bothered by it."
"I'm not," Jeffrey confirms. "Not at all. It's just new to me, but I would never turn my back on you. Ever."
Todd jolts as his brother hugs him. "You're still my little brother, my best friend, my enemy." Todd chuckles quietly at the last part. "I'll always love you, no matter what." He pauses as he smirks. "Unless you kill someone. That's where I draw the line."
He smiles at Jeffrey and giggles. "Yeah, I understand."
A few hours pass as they continue to fix Jeffrey's car. The engine finally starts working.
"Thank fuck!" Jeffrey cries. "This was horrible."
Todd laughs, but stopping as he immediately squirms around when he feels someone hug him from behind.
"Todd, you're covered in tar." Neil murmurs, his voice rough with sleep.
Jeffrey smiles as he sees the brunette holding his younger brother. "Neil! Good morning!"
Neil smiles a bit, muttering a 'good morning' under his breath, holding Todd more firmly.
Todd smiles as he finally feels accepted and loved by everyone around him.
He loves Neil.
And he wouldn't want it any other way.