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As Minerva was left to talk with the Diggorys, Cedric suggested that they go on a walk, mainly walking off the path through one of the fields behind the home. Milo didn't seem to be bothered by it, especially as Paden seemed more than thrilled to see Cedric. The bowtruckle was sitting on Cedric's shoulder, chirping away as if he was filling Cedric in on all the latest gossip, while Milo watched in amusement. A few times Cedric smiled, even nodding his head or looking surprised to add to Paden's conversation, but Milo could tell that something was bothering Cedric terribly, it was written all over his face despite the smile he was trying to hide behind.
"Is something wrong, Cedric?" Milo finally asked them, once they were quite a distance away from the home. He could only see the roof from where they stood before he turned back to the other boy. "It looks like something upset you...did you change your mind about me staying here-"
"No! No," Cedric said in a stern tone, shaking his head from left to right before he looked up at the sky and let out an exasperated sigh. "It has nothing to do with you, Milo. Well, it does but it's not your fault or your problem really."
Milo looked confused, waiting for Cedric to go on and explain, even though he was sure he knew what Cedric was hinting at, but he wanted to make sure before he made any assumptions.
"I was going to talk to my dad," Cedric began, " I was going to tell him about how I've been feeling as of late, tell him about us in that sense, but just as I was going to, I saw how he was going to react."
"How?" Milo questioned as his brows furrowed in confusion, he wondered if Cedric had developed some sort of seeing ability over the recent weeks. That would be quite the development and would lead to an exciting discussion but that didn't turn out to be the case as Cedric looked down at the ground.
"There are these two men at my dad's work, there was a rumour going around the office that the two were dating. It seemed like the perfect time, you know, see how they react and then talk to him about it."
"And?"
Cedric sat down on the ground, hidden by the tall grass in the field as Milo slowly lowered himself to sit in front of him.
"He called it disgusting," he told Milo, " said it was wrong. Just what I feared he was going to say. He and his co-worker Larson were making fun of them all day. Making it all into some joke and I didn't know what to do. I just sat there, listening to them and realising that the moment he finds out about me...he's going to think the same about his son. I'm going to be disgusting in his eyes. I didn't tell him, I'm sorry."
Milo couldn't even begin to process why Cedric was apologising to him, just as Milo had told him during earlier times, he didn't want Cedric to do anything that was going to make him uncomfortable. As much as Milo didn't often admit it, he was a people pleaser, he wanted to make people happy because, in the long run, he assumed it would make him happy as well.
"Cedric, you don't have to be sorry," Milo told him and before Cedric could protest, Milo continued on. "I told you that nothing had to happen until you were ready, I'm okay with waiting. I know the situation you're facing even if our experiences aren't the same. I still haven't told my mother yet, only because of the off chance of her having a negative reaction. I personally don't see it as disgusting and I know you don't either. There are plenty of people that don't find it disgusting. Look at Heidi and Max, they don't find it to be a problem, Merlin knows, they've been encouraging it for a couple of years now, haven't they? Well, at least on Heidi's behalf it's been that long."
He watched as a faint smile appeared on Cedric's face, reassured that not everyone had a negative reaction to two boys finding each other attractive in the romantic sense.
"And look at Max, her and Matt are not very open about their relationship but they are together. I don't think Matt's parents would be thrilled at the idea. It's like I said before Cedric, the world changes eventually, either you can wait it out, fight it, or let today's standards destroy you. I already told you that all of this is really up to you if you want to remain as friends I completely under-"
Suddenly, Cedric's hands shoved against Milo's chest, knocking the boy so that he landed on his back and was looking up at the sky for a few brief seconds. The few rays of sun that poked through the grey clouds, caused his eyes to water slightly before a shadow was cast over his face allowing him to see again. As he was finally able to see clearly, he witnessed Cedric hold himself over with either hand resting near Milo's shoulders.
"I don't want to remain as friends, Milo, I thought I made that clear," Cedric informed him. While Milo could bring up plenty of examples of the mixed signals that Cedric had given over the course of time since the two admitted there was at least something between them, but he decided against it and as a reward, Cedric lowered himself down as if he were executing a push-up and kissed Milo. However, unlike the previous kisses that were shared between the two, there was no hesitation on Cedric's behalf in that moment.
At first, Milo's heart and brain were racing equally as fast as each other, leaving him to fail at comprehending what was taking place at that exact moment. However, since Cedric didn't pull away as fast as he normally did, the kiss lingered and finally, Milo was able to focus. He was nervous though, not because he was around Cedric, but because he was lacking in total experience when it came to kissing anyone. Cedric had been his first kiss, one that was actually given on the lips by mistake, his second kiss taking place on his birthday but it had just been a quick steal of a kiss before Cedric left him standing in the common room.
This kiss was much difference because both boys knew that there was no one around to judge them, they didn't have to worry about prying questions or watchful eyes as they shared in the moment. The other boy wasn't rushing him but Milo felt like he needed to do something in return before he made things awkward. Lifting up one shaky hand, praying that he didn't make things weird, he touched the side of Cedric's face and to his relief, he didn't pull away. Cedric's kisses were slow and gentle as if he were afraid of hurting Milo, but it allowed Milo to enjoy every second until they finally broke away.
"I don't want to hurt you, Milo," Cedric told him as he looked down at Milo, who was peering up at him directly." Just because I'm hiding who I am, I don't want you to hide who you are. It's not fair to you."
"The world is not fair to either one of us right now," Milo reminded him," because it has pressured both of us into being worried what others think of us. We've never really faced that problem before until now. I find it highly unfair of society but I don't find you unfair and I don't see it as you hurting me, just as long as you're honest about what you're feeling, Cedric."
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Milo was sitting at the dinner table along with Anne and Cedric that evening. The two Diggorys were discussing something about Anne's cooking that Milo was only catching bits and pieces of as he was busying feeding Paden small bits of greens under the table. Amos was working late but was set to arrive at any second for dinner as the three were waiting on him. Milo wasn't sure how to look at the man anymore, now aware of how Amos actually felt about same-sex couples. He had always been kind to Milo, friendly and making jokes, and he always spoke so highly of his son too. It was hard to think that the mood would probably change drastically if either one of the boys voiced the fact that they were just like the rumoured couple in the Ministry.
The boy felt terrible for Cedric because Milo couldn't imagine what it would be like to have his mother call him "disgusting" for something he couldn't control. Luckily, Milo was certain when the time came that his mother wasn't going to be upset. He also had the support of his birth parents as well, as Lily and James expressed that Milo was free to like whomever he wanted as long as they treated him with respect. He definitely understood the hesitation and fear on Cedric's behalf as the boy didn't mention anything to his parents.
How would they react? Milo had to wonder as he sat at the dinner table as Amos arrived greeting everyone with a cheery smile as he settled himself down.
"Can't believe it, the Ministry must be asleep at their desks half the day, Sirius Black still hasn't been caught," Amos said as a slab of meat hit his plate before he began cutting it up. "He's going to remain a free man at this po-"
Amos' words were cut off as Milo had started choking on the drink he had been sipping on at the table. He began coughing hard not even realising it as his mind was wrapped up in the idea of Sirius Black being on the loose. How had he missed that one? Why had no one mentioned it to him? His mother? Rosmerta? Elspeth and Remus? Anyone? He had to find out from the Diggorys?
"What you didn't hear about it, Milo? What are you doing, boy? Living under a rock?" Amos chuckled as Anne reached over and patted the boy on the back lightly. Milo gathered himself as he sat up and swallowed hard.
"Apparently," he muttered. He honestly didn't see any sort of amusement in the matter. After all, Sirius Black had been one of his father's best friends, a brother, and in the end, the man had betrayed his parents' location to Lord Voldemort. It was his fault that their home had been attacked that evening, not to mention Peter was killed along with twelve muggles in a confrontation. It was memories like that that haunted Elspeth, Remus, and especially plagued Harry and Milo as they had to grow up in separate households without their parents.
Anne shot a look at Amos, warning the man that he crossed the line, bringing up such a sensitive subject up at the dinner table, especially with Milo as a guest in their home.
"Excuse me," Milo said pushing himself up from the table, nearly knocking Paden off his lap as the bowtruckle had to grip onto the bottom of his shirt at the last second to hold on. The boy made his way outside to get some fresh air but it all happened so suddenly. As the cool night air hit him, Milo felt the sudden urge to vomit, emptying the contents of his stomach over the railing of the stairs.
The man that was equally as guilty of the murders of his parents was running around loose in the wizarding world and Milo could only assume that the mad man had one goal in mind. Perhaps to finish the job? Go after Harry because Voldemort had failed twice? Go after both of them and just get rid of the Potters entirely?
He was sure that Harry wasn't aware of Sirius Black as he hadn't been in communication with anyone, leaving Milo to worry further. The boy didn't even know that the man had been named his godfather, he couldn't even imagine how that conversation was going to go down. But to make matters worse, Milo thought of Silas, Elspeth had not shared the information with the boy for her own reasons, reasons that Milo couldn't hold against her. But was Sirius Black coming for the boy as well? What about Elspeth and Remus? His once friends, was he coming to finish them off too?
"Are you alright?" Cedric's voice rang out from behind Milo, only for him to see Milo bent over, gripping his stomach. Milo glanced over his shoulder at him, not able to force a smile on his face in that moment.
"No."