Coming Out

When Nie Chang came back he was greeted by the sight of a dumpling. He stared at it for a moment before sitting down at the edge of the bed and sighing. "Ah Yan, don't be like this. I won't do anything to you."

Su Yan poked his head out of the blanket and furrowed his brow. "I know that!" The head went back in, very much like a tortoise that retracted into its shell. How could he still say that he knew?

Nie Chang reached over and lifted the blanket a bit. "If you're not worried about that, then why are you hiding?"

"I'm not! I'm thinking!" Su Yan pouted. He wasn't hiding. At least not from Nie Chang. Maybe he was hiding from his own thoughts.

Nie Chang didn't know what to say. Silence engulfed them until he couldn't take it any longer. "So … What are you thinking about?"

"Don't ask! Go and make breakfast!"

Nie Chang's brows shot up. This … was probably the unique treatment one could enjoy as Su Yan's boyfriend? Well, if his darling wanted to have breakfast, then he naturally would go and make it. He patted the cute dumpling on the bed and went into the kitchen, his thoughts wandering.

It probably wasn't so good for them to sleep in the same bed as long as they were still bound by that promise. After that would be a different matter, though. He should probably give Su Yan a while to calm down and then bring up the matter again.

Since this was just because Su Yan wanted to be sure their relationship would hold fast it might be alright to have some kind of deadline. They could set a date when they wanted to take the next step. Until then, both of them could stay in their own apartments or maybe he could stay here but sleep on the couch. That should be alright.

While Nie Chang tried to find a practical approach to make sure something like this morning wouldn't happen again Su Yan was dealing with a problem of his own imagination. In other words: He was really fretting over how to confess to his mother that he was gay.

His father already knew but maybe she hadn't found out yet? And even if she had, shouldn't he still go over and admit it himself?

Oh god! What would she say if he told her? And what when he told her that Nie Chang was his boyfriend now? Wouldn't she flip out?!

Su Yan rolled out of bed and went to wash up. He'd go over as soon as possible. Maybe his father hadn't shown her the pictures yes. It would be better if he told her instead. If she saw those photos …

"Ugh." Su Yan came back from the bathroom and collapsed at the table in the kitchen. Even the smell of the food Nie Chang was cooking couldn't rouse him.

Nie Chang looked back at him and frowned. Su Yan looked especially depressed, even worse than yesterday when he had felt uncreative. Had it really been that bad for him? But it had seemed as if he liked it. A bit, at least.

Nie Chang hurried up with cooking and took extra care to make it look nice. Then, he placed the dishes in front of Su Yan and sat down on the other side of the table. He cleared his throat and tried to sound as gentle as possible. "Ah Yan, I've finished making breakfast. Look, it's all things you like."

Su Yan looked up and stared at the dishes in front of him blankly. Those really were his favorite dishes. Unfortunately, he had no appetite at all. Just thinking about how he would tell his mother …

He lifted his gaze to Nie Chang's face and pouted. "Ah Chang …"

"Mn? What is it? Just tell me."

Su Yan suddenly sat up straight and stared at him.

Nie Chang gulped. "Uh … Wha … What is it?"

Su Yan pondered, then he stood up, hurried to the other side of the table and sat on Nie Chang's lap. "Ah Chang! You have to help me!"

"Ah?" Nie Chang had no idea what to say. What was even happening? He silently lifted his hand and stroked Su Yan's back. "I'm here. Whatever it is you want me to do I'll do it immediately!"

Su Yan hugged his neck and burrowed into his arms. "Come and help me confess to my mother!"

"Confess? What are you talking about?" Nie Chang grew even more flustered. Wait, wait! Why was his shoulder wet? Su Yan wasn't crying, right?!

His boyfriend indeed looked up at him with eyes swimming in tears. "You have to be responsible! Come with me when I tell her that I'm gay! Uh, my poor mother … Who knows if she'll be able to take it when I explain to her what that means …"

Nie Chang's lips twitched. Darling, you don't have to worry about it. She already knows. Heavens, she was even the one who wanted to set us up yesterday!

He really wanted to tell him that but then again it might be better if Su Yan actually went and told her. With the courage it would take him to do that, their relationship would be much more secure in the future. He couldn't bear to just let him cry, though.

Nie Chang gently hugged him and rubbed the back of his head before he wiped the tears away that were spilling over. "Don't worry. I'll come with you and explain. And your mother certainly won't mind. Didn't she always like me?"

Su Yan sniffled. "That's true …"

"See? There's no way she'll be angry when you have your coming-out. I promise she'll be happy instead. Isn't it as if she got a second son? I remember you once told me she would have liked to have another child."

Su Yan pursed his lips. "That's true. But she wanted to have a daughter, not a second son."

"Mn, I see. She probably wanted to arrange her marriage."

"Right."

"Then you have even less reason to worry." Nie Chang smiled and kissed both of Su Yan's cheeks. "You'll just have to promise that you'll marry me in the future."