Coming Home [Completed]

Ch. 13: Babylon

"You're going to love it, I promise," Lucas said as reassurance, seeing Charlie's obvious unease at his boyfriend's plan. It was October now and they were celebrating their three-month anniversary. Charlie's present was that he made dinner for them. Well, that wasn't completely true. He mostly followed Julia's directions over facetime. Was he really considered the cook if he just did whatever someone else told him to do? Charlie didn't really dwell on that when he saw the look of surprise and gratitude on Lucas's face when he saw the end result.

Lucas had waited until the end of their dinner to reveal his present. Charlie was a bit confused at first when he unwrapped the two fake IDs with their pictures on them. There really wasn't a use for fakes when any alcohol they wanted was already readily available to them. At first, he looked at Lucas with befuddlement.

"I'm going to take you to Babylon this weekend."

"The gay club in the city? How are we going to get home?"

"I rented an Airbnb right around there. We'll make a weekend out of it. I already told your mom I wanted to take you into the city for the weekend."

"And she was fine with it?"

"Well, of course, I didn't tell her about the fakes and Babylon."

Charlie became fixated on the logistics of the whole enterprise, but Lucas had already thought everything out. His unease about the whole thing was palpable, but Lucas was excited about it, so Charlie didn't want to say anything. He resolved that the experience would be educational if nothing else; a preview of what his life past high school would be like. As graduation approached faster and faster, Charlie's eagerness to start this new chapter of his life increased.

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Charlie rested his hand on Lucas's bare thigh absentmindedly as Brewer disappeared behind them and the train they were riding on hurtled down the track in the direction of the city. Lucas had been insistent on them wearing as little as possible, telling Charlie that was the standard at this club. Lucas had let slip that he'd gone before, alone, which had distressed Charlie but didn't seem to phase Lucas in the slightest.

The car was empty around them so they could have spread out, but they didn't. Brewer was the last stop for the commuter train line into the city and it was a Saturday evening so there was a chance they wouldn't see any other passengers in their car for a while.

As trees and houses passed him by out the window, Charlie glanced over at Lucas, taking him in fully. Lucas was adorned in these tight red shorts that went barely below his bulge and an Ariana Grande concert tee that he'd cropped. Lucas had also picked out Charlie's outfit for the night, much to Charlie's chagrin. He was dressed in a loose-fitting short-sleeve button-down with a floral pattern and slim-fit distressed black jorts.

Charlie's wardrobe had undergone a major overhaul in the past few months. Lucas took him shopping regularly and would often heavily encourage certain online purchases. Before he'd met Lucas, Charlie's closet would have been almost indistinguishable from the average straight boy's, save for a few Keith Haring and pop-star t-shirts.

Being dressed like this out in public and being visibly affectionate with Theo meant that Charlie was experiencing something relatively new. All his life Charlie had benefited from being about to pass as straight, due to his more masculine presentation. The dyed hair, new clothes, and boyfriend on his arm changed that. Charlie wouldn't have to tell a random stranger on the train for them to clock him as gay. He no longer had that control over that part of himself and, quite honestly, that was still a bit scary for him. But, Lucas was there and in a completely different headspace, so he tried to sublimate those emotions and enjoy the night.