✔️Say Cheese!||Chanlix FF

-Back Home-

(F)

We stood at the door step of my house.

I felt so nervous. I know he's here. His car is at the front.

Chan places his hand on my shoulder. "You got this." He whispered. I nodded and took a deep breath. I pushed the doorbell. A few moments later, the door opens.

My mom stood on the other side looking at me, and then pulls me into a tight hug. "I missed you, sweetie. Come inside."

Her hug washed away some of my worries. I felt a little more confident now. "I missed you too, Mom." I said.

As we pulled away, I saw her wide smile. She looks at Chan. "Oh, this is your classmate that visited you when you were sick!" She says, recognizing him.

Chan slithers his arm around my shoulder, and pulls me closer to him. "I'm actually his boyfriend. My name is Chan. Nice to meet you, Mrs. Lee."

I felt my cheeks heat up at the words that came out of his mouth. I smiled. "Yeah, he's my boyfriend. Is it okay if he also comes in?" I ask.

My Mom looked shocked for a few moments, but then smiles. "Yes, yes! Of course he can come in!" She said enthusiastically, and steps out of the way to let us in.

"Chan, do you mind sitting on the couch? I need to talk to Felix privately for a little bit." She said to Chan. He looks at me worriedly, but I give him a nod of approval. "Yes, of course..." He said.

I follow my Mom outside to the backyard. "What's wrong, Mom?" I ask. She takes a deep breath.

"Felix...a lot happened while you were gone."

(C)

I sat at the couch, chewing on my lip and bouncing my leg. What if Felix is getting in trouble from staying away from for too long?

"Who are you?"

My head shoots up to where the voice was coming from. I saw an older man at the beginning of the staircase. I must've not have heard him come down.

"I'm...Felix's boyfriend..." I said in a quiet voice. The man stares at me for a few moments and sighs. He sits across from me. "You don't look...gay."

"I'm not gay." I said. He looks at me confused. "Sir, there are many different sexualities. Gay is just one of them. Some people want to remain unlabeled, like me." I say. "Gay is not a look. It's how you feel."

The man looks away from me. "I'm Felix's Father. I'm just...trying to understand my son. I don't hate him, I could never hate my son, but I just don't understand how he ended up like this. Was it something I did? I think I wasn't there enough for him."

I study his face. I can see where most of Felix's features came from. "Mr. Lee, it's not something you or Mrs. Lee did. Felix was always like that. It's something that he's always known."

The backyard door opens, and I hear footsteps coming towards the living room. I turn around  and see Felix and his mother. I see Felix lock eye contact with his father.

"Felix..." Mr. Lee says. "Dad." Felix says bluntly, acknowledging him.

(F)

Dad looks at me with shame in his eyes.

"So what are you going to do now? Hate me? Kick me out? Hurt me?" I say.

"No, Felix. I want to talk with you. I already started talking with your...boyfriend here." He says.

"Well, tell me. What do you want to talk about?" I ask. Dad sighs and crosses his arms across his chest.

"I'm going to be honest with you, Felix. I was angry after you went to your room. I thought, "How could MY son be gay?". I told your mother about it, and turns out she and your brother already knew. Why was I the only one that didn't know? Then I realized. It was because you didn't trust me. You're scared of me, right?"

I felt tears beginning to form and my throat burning. "Yes. I was scared you. My whole life. But now i'm not."

"I'm ashamed, Felix. I'm supposed to protect my family, not scare them. I now realize I made many many mistakes, as a father. I want to change. I don't deserve your forgiveness, but if you can find it in your heart to forgive me..."

I walked over to him and hugged him. "All I ever wanted was for you to able to accept me. If you can do that, then I forgive you." I say.

"I accept you. I love you, son."

I silently cried into his shoulder. I don't think we've ever hugged before. I felt another pair of arms embrace me from behind. I smelled my mother's familiar perfume.

I look over at Chan and saw a bright smile on his face. He gave me a thumbs up and mouthed "Good job!".

After a few moments we pulled away. "I'm happy you found someone you like, Felix. It was nice to meet you..." Dad says trailing off. "His name is Chan, Dad." I say smiling. Mom walks over to Chan, and places a hand on his shoulder.

"You can come over whenever you want, honey. You're always welcome here. Please treat Felix well." She says. Chan nods with a smile. "I promise I won't hurt your son, Ms. Lee."

"Is it okay if I go out with Chan for a while? I'll be back before 9:30." I ask. "Sure! Just...don't do anything crazy." Says Mom. I look at Chan and beckon my head toward the door.

Chan says good bye to my parents and meets me at the door, closing it behind him.

I smile at the sight at seeing his face up close again. "Thank you so much for coming with me. I don't think I would've had the confidence to stand my ground if you weren't here." I say.

"I'm proud of you, Felix. You did what most people struggle to do. I'm happy you have supportive parents." He says.

I look at the setting sun behind him. "Want to go the park?" I ask. "Yeah. Let's just relax now."

"You deserve it."

***

We sat at the beach bench where Chan first came to look for me.

The atmosphere was warm, but there was a nice cool breeze, with a slight aroma from the sea. The beach was a glowing orange, from the setting sun. The setting seemed like a movie. It was beautiful.

"I remember seeing you on this bench. I was so happy to see you." I said, chuckling at the memory.

"It feels like it happened so long ago. It's only been a few weeks. Time really passes when i'm with you." Chan says.

I look at Chan. He was staring off into the sea in front of us. The sunset illuminated his tan skin, and casted a small shadow along his sharp jawline. He looked so...perfect. Chan meets my gaze, and we lock eye contact.

The urge...it's so strong now.

I couldn't take it anymore. I cup both my hands on his cheeks, and crashed my lips against his.

I could feel him being shocked for a few moments, but then sinks deeper into the kiss. He slides his arms around my shoulders and cups his hand onto the back of my head.

We both slowly pull away from each other at the same time.

"I...I think I need to go..." Chan breathed out, standing up. His expression looked panicked.

I think I made a big mistake.

"Wait, Chan! I'm so sorry, I don't know what got into me!" I exclaimed nervously. He slowly backed away from me as I tried to move closer to him.

"I'm sorry Felix...I-I just need to think for a while." Chan says, sounding distant. He turns around and speed walks away from me.

I'm left there, standing in front of the bench, frozen.

I sit back down, in disbelief. "How could I have been so stupid? Damn it, I messed up everything!" I said frustratedly, while repeatedly hitting my head with my fist.

"I'm going to lose him, aren't I?"

———