Rob's P.O.V.
I felt Lachlan's head in my chest, an immense comfort for us as we were alone. We were staying with the Pack for a few weeks and we had been sharing a room but we couldn't risk showing affection for each other in fear of accidentally outing each other.
Lachlan was terrified of telling the others, so much so that he had cried himself to sleep on many nights. When he was visiting me in Canada before we went down to Florida he had been sleeping in the same room as me, and I made the mistake of mentioning coming out.
He was so scared, he had cried himself to sleep for at least a week and wouldn't let me touch him, flinching away whenever I bought the topic up. After a while I told him that we wouldn't come out unless he was comfortable too, but something told me he might not ever be.
He had come out to his parents as gay when he was 16 but it turned bad. He thought they might have been at least slightly accepting, but unfortunately it was the opposite. They kicked him out and he went and lived with a school mate and his family until he was 18, and then moved into a flat with some friends.
Lachlan's parents completely cut off all ties with him, although he still had some contact with his sibling without his parents knowledge, they had basically left him for dead, fending for himself. I felt so bad and there were days that I wanted to track Lachlan's family down and give them a good talking too, but it would bring up too many old memories so I left it.
I looked down at the younger boy and squeezed him tightly. He was sleeping, and had been for a good hour, resting his entire body on mine. Our legs were intertwined and my arms and hands resting at his hips and waist.
The boys were out getting dinner so we took that rare moment of peace and shared some affection, but Lachlan fell asleep on top of me almost immediately. I didn't mind, but it was one of the few times we'd get to do this sort of thing while to boys were around because they might find out.
I could feel my head dropping and I hugged Lachlan close to me, the warmth from his body keeping me warm, and vice-versa for him too. There was nothing I could do, I didn't realise the risk of me falling asleep would completely ruin everything. Even though I didn't regret it later, I felt so bad for making Lachlan so scared.
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There was a yell and I jumped, my eyes opening fast and I looked up. Preston and Mitch were standing above me, Preston holding a camera and taking some photos. Lachlan whimpered and I felt him move and I held still for a few seconds, hoping he stayed asleep.
It didn't pan out that way. He opened his eyes and they immediately fixed on Preston and Mitch and he gasped. His arms started to shake and I roped my arms around him, holding him close. His head buried itself into my neck and I could feel silent tears creeping down his face.
I moved his hips so I could bring him closer and wrapped the blanket around him so he was out of the view of the others, saving him a lot of embarrassment. A felt his body heave and a sob choked him, followed by a round of shaking.
I mouthed at Preston and Mitch to 'go away, we'll sort this out later!' They left the room fast and as soon as the door shut, Lachlan burst into tears. His sobs echoed in the room and I rocked him back and forth, bringing his body to mine.
His body was trembling like a leaf and the tears were streaming down his face like rain. I held him close and felt him calm down over a few minutes, letting his breathing settle into a regular rhythm again.
"Well the cats out of the bag now, they'll want to know won't they." He nodded but he was still trembling and I could tell he was so scared, especially of rejection from the others. I continued to rock him gently, a form of comfort I had used since we had first gotten together.
It was coming up to two years actually, but somehow we had never accidentally come out when the boys surprised us when we were doing something like holding hands. They always brushed it off and Lachlan was profusely glad for that, never having been confident enough. He still wasn't actually.
We kept our affection for at home, in private and away from other people. The only other people who knew about us were my family who I knew would be okay with it considering they had 2 gay children (my sister and me), one of whom married her partner. Lachlan was still sceptical but when I introduced him to my sister and her now wife, all his fears disappeared. They were completely fine with it, even congratulating us and cooing at Lachlan, who had been very shy because it was his first time meeting them.
"I think- I think I'm ready." I looked down at him in surprise, the tears still staining his cheeks in red tracks.
"Are you sure? We could just leave it for a while..." He took in a deep breath and I loosened my hold a little bit, allowing him to adjust his position in my arms.
"They'll keep asking and- and I think them knowing is better than them asking." I nodded, seeing the logic behind it. It was better to get it over and done with, facing rejection if we needed too, than letting them ask over and over as a constant reminder that they knew which was actually worse.
I stood up with Lachlan in my arms and let him adjust to walking without falling over, before I removed my arms and gripped his hand tightly. I headed towards the door, Lachlan clinging to me and just when I reached for the door handle I felt him freeze, his entire body tensing.
"You don't have to do this if you aren't ready." I said it without turning around, knowing I didn't have any impact on his decision. If he wanted to do it, he would do it. If he didn't, he wouldn't.
"I'll do it."
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I lead him down the hallway towards to the living room, where we could both hear the voices of our friends. I could pick out Preston and Jerome with no trouble, their laughter echoing down the hallway. Mitch's voice was quieter, but he was definitely in there and the only reason I knew Vikk was in there was because I could see him sitting on the couch in the view of the doorway.
Lachlan's arm was trembling like an earthquake and I could hear his unsteady breathing, a sharp intake followed by an jolted breath out. I turned back to him and hugged him close, bringing his face towards mine. His forehead touched mine and his eyes closed, we held the position until I heard Vikk say,
"They're in the hallway." I looked at him, the blues of his eyes ringed by red from crying and his pale skin even paler than normal.
I poked my head round the door and the others looked up, Preston and Mitch's eyes going immediately to Lachlan, who ducked back out of sight. He went so far back he had to drop my hand so I gently coaxed him back into the room, and he went so far as to hide behind me.
Preston and Mitch both dropped their eyes from him, sensing how uncomfortable he was. We sat down on the spare couch and Lachlan hid his head behind my shoulder, arms wrapped around my waist. I moved my arm so one was resting behind his back and the other was at his hip.
"So I guess you know that something happened, I'm assuming Mitch and Preston told you?" They all nodded and I looked down at Lachlan, gently kissing his forehead.
There was a gasp from Mitch and suddenly the atmosphere in the room was buzzing.
"You two are together aren't you?" I nodded and Vikk let out a yell.
"You owe me 20 Jerome!" Lachlan's head jerked up and he made eye contact with Vikk, slightly shocked.
"You bet on us?" His voice was quiet and I could hear the shock in voice.
"Yeah, I walked in on you two sleeping together when we went down to Aussie, I figured I wouldn't mention it until you were ready to tell us." I smiled at Vikk gratefully, that was almost a year ago and Lachlan would have been no where near ready to come out.
Lachlan lifted his head again and looked around at all of the others, they were smiling. He kept his head out this time instead, leaning it on my shoulder and I smiled at him.
"I told you it would be fine, just like I said." Preston's head shot round, surprised.
"You thought it wasn't going do be fine?" I froze, not exactly wanting to tell them about Lachlan's family, which was the reason he was so scared.
"There were some doubts." Lachlan nodded into my shoulder but he was smiling and I could feel all his anxiety gone.
That was the best way an unintentional outing could have gone.