Chapter Text
Water gathered at the rim of the faucet, the shape of the bead slowly warping before falling into the porcelain sink. The sound was starkly loud in relation to the quiet of the bathroom, especially so after the liberation he had granted upon himself.
A brief clatter of metal stole his focus. It didn't take much investigation to find the source; he had dropped the scissors on the tile floor.
He forced his gaze ahead once more to his reflection, lifting a hand to comb through his now-choppy hair.
It was strange, feeling how short it was. Yet so rewarding. Yes, the job he did looked somewhat terrible, but it still left him euphoric.
Locks of his previously shoulder length hair laid strewn on the ground around him. ...That would take some time to clean. Whatever. Problem for Future Vincent.
His shoulders stiffened when the sound of water hitting the sink snapped him out of his thoughts again.
Vincent scowled, lurching forward to shut the leaking faucet off. Fingers clenching the handle, he didn't even notice when his head lifted to gaze at himself in the mirror until he saw.
Dark circles sat beneath his eyes, messily cut hair framing the almost manic expression he bore. The half-assed job he attempted looked something between a pixie cut and wolfcut.
What was he doing?
Maybe it was a good thing that the hunk of metal distracted him. He looked awful.
Vincent groaned, folding his arms on the edge of the counter and hiding his face in his sleeves. He wasn't ready to move anyway.
He felt like a complete idiot, doing something like this so abruptly. Hell, this was completely out of impulse. Would anyone even believe he was trans, not bothering to realize it himself or come out until halfway through college?
It only truly struck him when he had stumbled upon a video of some random educational trans guy. Vincent couldn't stop thinking about it, and investigated further.
He had always taken a slight interest into the idea of being transgender, but clearly it took him much too long to accept that.
And his parents... they were fine with pretty much anything woke, but sometimes that's different towards their own children.
Vincent felt genuinely scared for once in his life, huddled there waiting for someone to notice him so he had a shoulder to lean on.
Cutting his hair and sobbing on a sink wasn't a very efficient way to go about coming out and transitioning, but he wasn't thinking very efficiently anyway.
Some amount of time passed as he stayed there, the light that lit the small space gradually fading.
The sound of the apartment door clicking open brought him back to full alertness--eighteen years of watchful parents does that to a person--spinning around with a straight spine and neutral expression as if he wasn't about to be seen red-handed.
"Vanessa?" Bile rose in his throat. Stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid-
"Can I talk to you? It's important." It was quiet for a few more moments. "Please?"
Of course his boyfriend shows up now. Salem and his ridiculously kind heart.
Va...
Vincent. Vincent begrudgingly pushed the door open, one hand clinging to the frame. Salem was hanging his coat on the back of a chair, continuing to speak to the silence.
"I was planning to meet you out somewhere but you didn't answer my te..." He trailed off, eyes meeting Vincent's. The moment concern dawned upon him was easily visible.
Vincent managed to find his voice again, "I'm sorry." was all he mumbled.
Salem was to him in an instant, immediately cradling the smaller to his chest. "Christ, Vanny." He could feel when the other noticed the mess in the room behind him, that small tense a clear tell. "Why on Earth are you sorry? You don't need to be sorry."
He didn't even feel he was crying until his wet cheeks left tracks on Salem's shirt. His hands moved on their own, settling on his boyfriend's shoulders.
He knew it was a dumb choice to do all this so spontaneously, but it was already done.
Well, this was it.
"I... my name is Vincent, Salem." He blurted, closing his eyes and bracing for some sort of outburst or questioning.
"What?" Vincent allowed himself to peek just a bit. Salem had pulled back to face him. "Wha... oh. Oh." Unexpectedly, his face flushed red.
Vincent furrowed his brows. Was he upset? Just embarrassed? God, would they have to break up-?
"I'm gay."
"Wh...Huh?"
"Va-" Salem caught himself, pausing to take a deep breath. "Vincent. I wanted to talk because I was going to tell you I'm gay."
Vincent opened and closed his mouth. Several times. "Oo... Ah." He responded intelligently.
It took him a moment to process the fact. Well, what were the odds of this!
"So. Err." Vincent bit his lip anxiously, grip slackening on Salem's shoulders. "We're still dating, then. Right?" They've only been together a year or so, they might just...
To Vincent's--disappointment? Confusion?--Salem gave up on staying serious in favor of the ridiculousness of the situation, letting out a bark of laughter.
He tugged Vincent closer to bump their foreheads together, one hand holding his forearm reassuringly with a grin. "Yes, of course we are."
That alone was more than enough to have Vincent smiling like a fool, already pulling Salem in for a kiss without hesitation.
He could feel the other flinch in surprise, but he quickly reciprocated.
It was gentle, and oh-so freeing.
However, it did get sloppy fast. Limbs intertwined, bodies flush, tongues tangled with wild abandon. Vincent found himself panting against Salem's mouth, caged up against a wall.
Vincent was absolutely tempted to let it keep going. But he was tired, and emotionally burnt out. He shook his head when Salem tilted his head in question, nestling his face in the crook of his neck before anything could be said.
"I'm just ready to sleep." Vincent murmured, clinging to the other like a lifeline. Eh... he supposed he literally was a lifeline in the moment. He licked his lips idly, still tasting that remnant flavor from the kiss, something almost blueberry.
"Understandable." Salem smiled against his hair, a small chuckle breaking through the lack of noise. His hand stroked the hair at the nape of Vincent's neck, slow and rhythmic. "I do like how short hair looks on you." He added, pulling away just enough to guide them both to the bedroom.
Vincent couldn't stop the delighted smile that lit his face, following the other easily. He dropped back first onto the mattress, stretching his arms over his head. He felt exhaustion taking its hold without effort, and Vincent simply rolled to lay on his side, accepting it.
He drifted in and out of consciousness, watching Salem leave and return dressed for bed. The latter reached out to tap him awake, holding him gingerly. "We'll talk more in the morning." He promised with a nod. "You're lucky it's the weekend, because I am booking a barber."
Vincent snorted at the jab, rolling to face Salem and scooting closer to cuddle the wits out of him. "I'm not even going to defend myself over it." He grinned, voice heavy with sleep. "Whatever. Goo'night."
"'Goo'night' to you too." Salem teased one last time, settling in to pull the sheets over them
Vincent would be ready to figure out all his problems eventually, if time would wait up for him again.