“Aiden?” The soft voice of his mother wafted through his still dark room. They had been home from Scotland for over a week and Aiden spent the majority of the time locked away because everything just hurt. Thinking hurt, breathing hurt - living hurt. He wanted nothing more than to just wither away into nothingness. Changbin and Felix had both tried to call and come see him after he returned, but he refused every attempt. He couldn’t face them, not now at least.

 

“Darling it’s 2 pm, you have to get up.”

 

“No, I don’t.” Aiden winced at the sound of his own voice, croaked and broken. He shifted under the covers and pulled them up higher over himself, trying to hide. He was willing his mom to just go away and leave him alone like she had many times before, but she didn’t. The door to his room opened wider and he could hear two different sets of footsteps make their way to his bed.

 

“Son.” The whimper escapes him before he could stop it. It was one thing for his mom to be there but his dad too? Now he felt even more like . He was sure he was going to get some sort of “you’re being a disappointment” scolding and he just couldn’t take that. But it’s not like they knew what was going on. Hell, they didn’t even know he was gay. And this would be the worst way to come out to them too.

 

‘Mom, Dad, I’m gay and just got my heart broken.’ Yeah, he could see that going over so well.

 

The covers were pulled from over him and while his room was still dark, it was lighter than the darkness he had been hiding in. He whined loudly and fished around, trying to snag the blanket back and hide away in his cocoon again, but his father just wasn’t having it. The blanket was removed from his entire body and he shivered as the cool air caressed his overly heated skin. Huffing, he moved to hide his face under a pillow, but that too was taken from him.

 

“Can’t I just be left alone?!” He snapped, rolling over and giving his parents a half-hearted glare. They stared at him, their faces set and hard, but after a moment of silence, he could see their expressions shifting and he could only imagine what he looked like. Probably a hot ing mess - crying himself to sleep every night. Sometimes multiple times a night.

 

“Honey, what is going on?” His mom asked, sitting down on the edge of the bed gently. She reached out, her fingertips barely grazing over his tear-stained cheeks. They were warm to the touch, the coolness of her touch was a relief to him. “You haven’t left your bed in days. You keep sending your friends away. Changbin has been stopping by every day since we came home.” She commented with a soft sigh. “Did you guys have a fight?”

 

It would be easier to just agree with that. That they had fought and that’s why he was like this. But even if he did, he was sure his parents wouldn’t fully believe him. They were much smarter than Aiden liked to give them credit for. They just always knew when things were bothering him, and that it was never what he actually told them. It was like they were his parents or something.

 

“S-sorta.” He whispered, pushing himself into a sitting position, eyes trained on his lap. How could he tell them what really happened and not come out to them? It was nearly impossible. Unless he made it seem like he had liked a girl. Suddenly the idea of referring to Felix as a woman seemed pretty funny, but he bit back the laugh that wanted to escape him.

 

“Sorta is not a yes. What happened?” His father asked, taking a seat next to his mother. Their gazes made him feel so uncomfortable and he shifted under them, thumbs twirling around each other for a moment as he debated what to say. He wanted to lie and make up some excuse. But he also wanted to tell them the truth. To just cry and scream and shout about how much he hated himself for not being enough for Felix. He needed someone else to know, to hold him and tell him it would be okay.

 

“You’ll hate me.” He felt as small and tiny as his voice had sounded, like a child about to be punished for the things he had done wrong.

 

“We could never hate you.” His father said, his hand touching Aiden’s bare shoulder. He wanted to jerk away from the touch, but he stopped himself because in the end, it was comforting. It was gentle and reassuring and in that moment Aiden was so thankful he had them there. But would they be so nice if they knew their son liked kissing other boys?

 

“You will.” His voice wavered as tears started to gather in his eyes once more and he cursed at himself mentally. Why hadn’t he ran out of them already? He didn’t want to cry anymore, so he tipped his head back in hopes it would stop the tears from falling. It didn’t work and they flowed freely down his cheeks, adding to the dried rivulets already there. He could feel the bed shifting under them as his mother crawled closer to him on the bed and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. One hand rested against the top of his head and guided it down to rest on her shoulder and that was his breaking point. The sweet gesture broke the dam and the tears fell freely, hot against his cheeks. He grasped at the front of her shirt as he turned his head and pressed his face into her neck, sobbing horribly against her.

 

“Aiden we could never hate you. You’re our son, we love you.” She spoke softly as she ran her fingers through his hair gently, trying to soothe him.

 

Aiden’s head shook furiously as he fought to stop his tears long enough to speak. He just ended up gurgling our garbled Korean. He took in a few deep breathes, forcing himself to calm down, to stop the tears before he had trouble breathing like he usually had in the middle of the night. Minutes passed and eventually, his sobs slowed to the point he could finally speak.

 

“I’m....gay.” The silence that filled the room was deafening and it felt like 100 years had passed without so much as a word from his parents. Aiden was absolutely sure they hated him and were just trying to figure out a way to get rid of him without resorting to murder.

 

“Oh honey, we already knew that.” His mother said and he lifted his head quickly, brows furrowed in confusion.

 

“Speak for yourself.” His father muttered. “But I don’t hate you.” He said quickly when Aiden whimpered and started sniffling once more.

 

“Well, I guess I knew then. I’ve always had this feeling and with how close you were with Changbin.” Her voice was gentle, her hand once more guiding his head back to rest on her shoulder. It was nice, the reassurance that she didn’t hate him, and his father didn’t hate him either. It was a relief and he was sure this was probably a very easy coming out story. He was grateful, very grateful. It was one less pain he had to deal with.

 

“Is that what’s wrong?” The question had him startled because his father sounded much closer than he had been before. When had he moved to be fully seated on his bed? “Did Changbin do something to you?” The edge in his voice had Aiden smiling slightly, if not feeling a little panicked. He never thought of his dad to be so protective but there was something in his voice that sounded like it was going to promise pain to Changbin.

 

“No!” He said quickly. “Well, not really. It’s complicated and stupid and just-“

 

“Nothing is stupid, honey. You can tell us what happened.” His mother reassured him. He whined softly and closed his eyes as he snuggled against her, trying to use her warmth as a way to fight off the impending tears.

 

“I was dating Felix.”

 

“That Australian boy?”

 

“Yeah.” He squeaked out and sniffled. “And it was fine. It was wonderful but I noticed that -“ he stopped himself, breathing deeply to regain control of his emotions. “He and Changbin and I just wasn’t enough.” He whispered.

 

“He cheated on you?” His father’s voice echoed loudly in the room and he was sure their neighbors probably heard it too. “Tell me you didn’t give that boy you’re....you know?” Aiden let out a soft chuckle and shook his head.

 

“No, dad. I’m still a .” He whispered, shaking his head at the grimace that crossed his father’s face, but he couldn’t blame him. “And no they didn’t cheat. I don’t think. I just, I knew I wasn’t enough for Felix. I felt it in the way we kissed and interacted. It was different and Changbin is just great.” He whispered and closed his eyes. “So much better than me. I can’t blame them but it still hurts.”

 

“Oh, my poor baby. Of course, it hurts. You really cared about him, didn’t you?”

 

Aiden nodded and curled up closer to her, seeking the love and protection that only his mother could give to him.

 

“That’s not right. I knew we never should have trusted that short stuff.”

 

“Dad!” Aiden whined.

 

“Still! How could he do that to you? Not just because you’re my son but because of how close you two are. Why would he-“ his father stopped himself and scoffed, arms crossing over his chest. “He’s not allowed to visit anymore.”

 

“Dad-“

 

“I forbid it! No one is going to hurt my son and then have the balls to show their face around here.”

 

“Honey.” His parents looked at each other for a moment before his father stood up and headed for the door, leaving the room without a word. Aiden frowned and lifted his head, looking to his mother. “It’s okay, he just needs a moment. But please Aiden, understand that neither one of us is upset at you for being gay or hiding a relationship. We’re just worried about you.” She whispered gently, pressing a soft kiss to her forehead.

 

“I know you’re feeling horrible, but how about we get you cleaned up and go out to eat? Hmm? We’ll go to your favorite restaurant and you can get as much as you want.”

 

“Mom, I don’t deserve you,” Aiden whispered and cried softly. She hugged him tightly and he returned it, clinging to her tightly. “Thank you.”

 

“Anything for you, sweetie. Now let’s dry those tears okay? Go get ready and I’ll collect your father.” Nodding, Aiden pressed a gentle kiss to her cheek before climbing off his bed. He stumbled a bit, not used to using his legs after days of staying in bed. Getting his bearings, he left his room and headed for the bathroom to wash up and make him look as presentable as he could, silently thanking every deity he had learned about in school that he had such loving and caring parents. He couldn’t have asked for better ones.