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Matt had been looking forward to Friday night all week. He and Tim had agreed on a low-key dinner and a movie date, and Tim insisted on cooking. Matt's only job was to pick out the movie, and he chose In & Out for its comedy and for Kevin Kline, of course.
Tim made his favorite fall dish: beef stew and biscuits. He'd also stopped at the bakery and bought a red velvet cake for dessert. Matt was pretty sure he could die right then and be happy for all of eternity.
After they cleaned up the kitchen, they both took their spots on the couch. Matt cued up the movie while he leaned against Tim's side. Tim put his arm around Matt's shoulders and Matt fitted himself comfortably in under Tim's arm.
They watched the movie quietly for a while before Matt turned and regarded Tim thoughtfully.
"Something on your mind?" Tim asked, shifting his attention from the movie.
"I was just wondering. Who was the first person you told?" Matt hoped it wasn't too personal a question. They had been dating for a few months, but this was a very intimate subject.
Tim paused the movie and pulled away enough so that he could see Matt's face clearly. He didn't speak right away, and Matt gave him the time to pull his thoughts together. "My brother. He's older by a couple of years, and I always looked up to him. I was in high school, and he had been away for his first year of college. When he came home for Christmas break, we snuck out to the football field to share a joint, and I just told him. Blurted it out right there in between tokes."
Matt smiled and tilted his head, trying to imagine Tim as a pot-smoking teenager. It wasn't something he would have guessed of his boyfriend, but it wasn't completely shocking either. "What did he say?"
"He patted me on the back and said that he loved me. We aren't a lovey dovey family that uses those words often, so they meant a lot in that moment."
Matt slipped a hand behind Tim's head and pulled him into a gentle kiss. "I love you too, you know?"
Tim smiled and kissed him again. "How about you? Who was the first person you told?"
"I think my family knew long before I told them. We were having dinner together one night – my mom, brother and sister and me – and I just told them. I was young – fifteen – and I was tired of skirting the issue all the time of who I was taking to a dance or who my girlfriend was."
"Yeah, I always hated those questions. It was always the first thing out my grandmother's mouth."
"Mine too." Matt sighed. "I know Mom told her, but she never stopped asking about when I'd meet a 'nice girl'."
Tim rubbed his back. "I brought some friends home for Spring Break once, and my grandfather announced loudly that he didn't think I liked girls when I introduced him to Tiffani. It was humiliating."
Matt's jaw dropped open, and he reached out to squeeze Tim's hand. "That's awful."
"Pretty much, yeah."
Matt leaned against him again and brought Tim's hand up to kiss his palm. "The hardest time I had telling people was when I worked at the firehouse. I was damn good at my job and friendly with everyone, so I was pretty well-liked, but I was terrified of how they would respond to it. Being a firefighter means being a part of a brotherhood, but I didn't know of anyone else that was gay too. I didn't want to be ostracized or forced to quit or any of the other horrible things I could think of."
"What happened?" Tim asked softly as he put his free arm around Matt again for an embrace.
"I'd forgotten my wallet at home one day, and my boyfriend at the time came by the house to drop it off. He was on his way out of town for a business trip, so he kissed me goodbye right there outside the firehouse. Everyone saw, but I was still on shift so I had to go back inside.
"The first person I saw was James, our chief. He told me to get back to work, that personal business was for personal time. Then, we got a call. After that shift, no one really mentioned it unless they were asking me to a party or something and made sure to let me know I could bring my boyfriend."
"That's good. I'm glad they accepted it, accepted you."
It had been such a relief to Matt at the time that his friends weren't going to abandon him or worse actively hate him for something as natural to him as breathing. He felt better for having shared it with Tim too. He nuzzled Tim's neck and placed a trail of kisses along his jawline. "Ready for bed?"
Tim grinned and gave Matt a deep kiss before helping him up off the couch. "Yeah, bed sounds great."
~End
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Art Credit: Banner by kanarek13