Chapter 47

The next morning, Alex wakes up with a headache. "Argh.", he moans as a ray of sunlight hits his eyes, sending a sharp pain through his brain.

"Good morning, love. Headache?", Daniel chuckles. Due to the alcohol for the first time Alex slept longer than his boyfriend.

"Don't remind me.", Alex groans. Daniel hugs him close, leaning down to kiss him lightly. "Do you want some meds? I will get them for you.", Daniel offers.

"No, I will just drink a glass of water." Alex stands up still wobbly on his feet because of his sleepiness but also because of their intense excercise last night. He walks out of the bedroom. His eyes shift around finally settling on the pile of messy clothes near the entrance. "Oh god.", he lowly whispers as he recalls his drunken self demanding his lover to take him in the hallway.

"Are you remembering last night?", Daniel surprises him as he hugs him from behind. "You were wonderful, I could have just watched you stand there presenting your ass to me." Daniel's voice is only a low whisper, resonating hoarsly with the desire he recalls. Alex feels himself reacting to his lover's voice and quickly pushes him away. "Stop this.", he shouts a bit louder than necessary, trying to hide his embarrassment. But Daniel takes it in stride, knowing his lover is shy about these topics. He hugs him again and speaks now in a normal voice not intending to arouse him. "I know, I will behave. You are not used to drinking so of course you will be hung over." Daniel himself drinks quite often due to his job. It is part of the etiquette of his world, so a bottle of wine doesn't really face him. He just gets thirsty in the morning. "But love, I think this kind of wild sex is good once in a while if we both want it. And yesterday was so emotional, I think we both just needed an outlet. I am glad I can be this outlet for you." Daniel's words hit home. All the nervousness and giddiness alone made him drunk, paired with the alcohol it just helped him to voice out his desires more. He nods his head shyly. Daniel notices and kisses the side of his head.

"Now come, love. Let's get a bottle of water and get back in bed. I really want to spend a lazy morning with you just watching some film in bed."

"Yeah, that sounds good. Let's do that."

However, as soon as they entered the kitchen, Zero greets them. Feeling guilty at what he showed his dog yesterday and how he yelled at him the lazy morning in bed is rescheduled by half an hour of feeding, scratching and petting the dog thoroughly.

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They still go back to bed afterwards, armed with a DVD and a bottle of water. Daniel sits up in the bed letting Alex position himself between his legs, hugging him tight. The morning goes by lazily. When the film is finished, silence settles between them. Daniel interrupts it with a question he was meaning to ask since last week.

"Love, tell me more about your parents. What kind of people are they? What do I have to expect next Saturday?"

He feels Alex tense at the question. He knows why Daniel would ask. He wants to assess the situation and prepare himself for what to expect and how they would react to him. But recalling what his parents are really like outside of the issue of his sexuality, he feels a warm smile spread across his face.

"My mom is originally a housewife and she loves it. She lives for the classic family picture, preparing dinner when her husband comes back from work, organizing parties and socializing with her husband's associate's wifes. It sounds a bit shallow but my mom really just wants the best for her family and works her hardest to do that." Alex struggles to recall a specific memory or example. "Ah, when one of my dad's employees fell ill my mom would always help out at the office. Sometimes it was nearly a part-time job for her. But she still went home half past 5 o'clock p.m. sharp, so that dinner would be ready for 7 o'clock." He chuckles recalling how stressed his mother was during that time. "It was hard but she still insisted on baking cookies for my school trip. I was such an ungrateful brat. Only now do I realize how stressed she must have been."

He chuckles lovingly, then he remembers a different memory. "And in high school, there was this one teacher who really hated my guts. He caught me and my friends making fun of his hair in one of the first days after vacation and wouldn't let us off from there. The situation escalated when he graded my end-of-term paper with an F because I spilt a drop of water on it 'The teacher can also grade the outward appearance of the test and reduct points if he deems it necessary.' He really wanted me to buy that when everything was perfectly readable. When I went home with my test and told my mom she was furious. The same evening she called through all of her network until she found out his address and took me along to meet him. She lectured him for half an hour. She didn't even need to threaten to sue him. She just lectured him about life and being a good person. When she was finished with him he was near to tears and changed my grade to an A."

Alex laughs, seeing the face of his former teacher in his mind. Daniel smiles, loving to see him happy.

"She sounds like a wonderful person, love."

"Yes, she is."

Daniel asks the question that seems obvious for him but might not be as obvious for his lover. "Do you really think a person like that can hate you for your sexuality?"

To his surprise, Alex didn't even blink at the question and answers immediatly. "No, she was just surprised, nothing more. But when I was packing, she cried the whole day. She was so worried about me. I was a pampered child suddenly thrown into society. And she already sensed that I had difficulties living with my sexuality. She was so, so worried for me. For me that was hard. Because I wanted nothing more than to hug her and promise her 'I will be alright'. But after everything, I myself wasn't sure I would be able to pull it off. And I hated myself because I couldn't reassure her wholeheartedly."

Alex sighs deeply. Then he turns back, smiling at Daniel. "But I am glad I can show her now. She will finally know I landed on my own two feet and that - despite our worries - I managed to find happiness."

Daniel feels a weight lift from his shoulders. Alex' parents already don't sound as scary anymore.

However, Alex quickly crushes his relieve. "But I don't know about my dad. He is an old-fashioned person, he lives for the traditional family picture. And his reaction towards me being gay was visible schock and 'You can move out.' I really don't know how this will work out."

Daniel sighs, submitting to this unknown fate. "Don't worry, love. We will work this out."

He turns Alex' chin towards him and starts to kiss him tenderly. "I will be there with you."

"Yeah, I know. Thank you." Alex buries his head on his boyfriend's chest, feeling just that little bit more optimistic for the next weekend.