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While other students were in class, Milo and Cedric remained sitting on the floor behind one of the sofas in the Hufflepuff Common Room. Milo had definitely lost track of time, wondering how long they had been sitting there as his legs began to fall asleep. But he didn't dare move from where he was holding onto Cedric. Despite everything Milo had told Cedric about giving him respect and not toying around with someone's feelings, Milo couldn't help but feel more relaxed than he had been in quite some time, resting in Cedric's arms. However, he certainly wished he could say it was under better circumstances.
He couldn't but he was so proud of Cedric of taking the next step as the boy had informed his parents, Milo didn't even know what to say to that because he hadn't expected it at all. He wasn't sure when Cedric would work up the nerve to tell his parents if ever, considering how much the boy loved his parents and never wanted to do anything that would bring them disappointment. But it seemed Cedric had finally come to realise that it wasn't just about the happiness of his parents' but his own happiness as well. If he had to hide what he truly felt throughout his life, he would probably never be happy even if his parents were.
The problem was, Cedric obviously loved his parents, after all, he was their only son, it had been the three of them, long before Cedric started Hogwarts and met Milo. Everything had been running smoothly for them and they seemed like the perfect family, that was until Cedric started to realise how he felt. He had reached the age where plenty of teenagers would start dating and developing something beyond a crush. It just so happened that his first crush and the person he wanted to start dating was, in fact, a boy. His parents didn't see it coming but Cedric hadn't seen it coming either.
It had hit him like a train, the first time that he noticed Milo in a different light outside of friendship. Everything felt so natural around Milo, which Cedric didn't understand that if it was so wrong, why did it feel so right? Why did it feel so right to be around Milo, another boy, and have everything stop around him, just so he could give his undivided attention to him?
Cedric couldn't explain it to himself and he sure as hell couldn't explain it to his parents, but even if he could, it wouldn't have mattered. They didn't care that he had found happiness because it didn't meet up to their standards. Their standards of Cedric dating a pretty girl at Hogwarts, instead of dating a handsome boy. Their son's perfect image in their minds had been shattered as soon as they read the letter of Cedric's confession.
He just asked for their support, that nothing else had changed about him, in fact, nothing had changed at all. Deep down, Cedric realised that his feelings were always there, they just had to surface when the time was right. He just wanted his parents to understand that and still love him as their son. He could still play quidditch, he would still have his friends, what would really change because of him liking a boy?
Apparently, it was everything. Everything changed in their eyes because of him expressing his feelings.
Cedric figured his father's reaction was going to be harsh, he witnessed how his father spoke about strangers over business that wasn't his own. How much concerned he held over the idea of two men being together, even though it didn't affect him in the slightest. Maybe Cedric had hopes that Amos would be a bit better towards him, after all, they shared plenty of happy memories together beforehand. Cedric was still his son. No, but it was so much worse than Cedric anticipated.
"He hates me," Cedric's voice trembled as he remained in Milo's hold, " my father hates me."
If Amos' yelling was not enough paired inside a Howler that exploded in Cedric's face upon opening, it was what Amos said that made it so much worse to Cedric. He had once compared Cedric and Milo being mistaken for poofs with their behaviour, but now that he was aware of it, he didn't hold back with how he truly felt towards that community. The yelling in the Howler, made it feel like Cedric was standing right in front of his father, having the man yell at him as he let out every obscenity and slur that was against same-sex couples.
Cedric could only be thankful that he wasn't in front of his father at the time because he couldn't even bring himself to stand throughout all of it. His father would probably only see him falling to his knees as a weakness and it would have only made matters worse. Amos was so angry but at the same time, he seemed hurt as well, crying halfway through the Howler while calling Cedric a disappointment to the family. The Diggorys had never had to deal with such a thing and now Cedric would be bringing a whole new form of shame to the family.
However, to add to the pain, Cedric found himself bothered by one thing above all things that his father told him in the Howler. It was what his mother said that crushed Cedric or rather, what she didn't say. She didn't dare say a word throughout the entire Howler, not even a word of protest against Amos' words. For some reason, Cedric expected his mother to be understanding or at least, nicer about it all but she had allowed Amos to say every little nasty thing the man could think of at the time.
She had promised him as a boy that she would do anything to keep her son safe and make sure that he was happy. So since she hadn't intervened, Cedric suspecting that Anne no longer saw him as her son.
Milo couldn't tell Cedric that his father didn't hate him because he had no idea what was said int he Howler, whatever was said had been powerful enough to rattle Cedric from the inside out. Enough that it left the boy to just collapse from the ground and not move from a public area for his shaming. Anyone could have walked in at any point like Milo did and witnessed what the Howler had to say, but it had petrified Cedric into place. He didn't move, he didn't fight back, he merely collapsed under it all.
Perhaps Amos did hate his son because he felt like Cedric was no longer his son with his actions. Or maybe it was the fact that Amos was just entirely confused by it all and was doing his best to cover it up with anger. Just as Cedric had pointed it out early on when their feelings were developing towards each other, many believed that it was wrong. Amos was among the many that viewed the lifestyle as a poor "choice" but perhaps it was because he had been raised with that mentality. He didn't want to see his son go down the "wrong" path.
"I'm so sorry, Cedric," Milo whispered back to him. Truth be told, he hoped that he hadn't been the one to pressure Cedric into saying anything before the boy was ready to do so.Milo wanted his respect but he also didn't want Cedric hurting, it was almost like he couldn't have both.
"Why are you sorry?" Cedric asked, finally breaking from the hug that they had been wrapped up in. "You didn't do anything wrong, Milo."
"Well, I...I shouldn't have said those things to you. If you weren't ready-"
"Milo, I probably would never be ready to face the idea of my parents rejecting me, I never want them to. But I also don't want to keep lying, not only to them but to myself. I tried so hard to think that I would just be able to bottle it up and ignore it. That it would all go away but it doesn't. If anything, it just seems to grow stronger the more I try to deny it. I can't live my life like that, Milo. It would probably kill me before anything else. I needed to say something and I figured this was how it was going to turn out."
"They shouldn't be treating you this way, you're their son. They should love you no matter what. You give them plenty to be proud of every day, why can't they see that? Why not focus on that?"
Milo was growing angry, wanting to march to the Diggory household and tell Amos and Anne that they were some of the most ignorant beings that he had ever come upon. He had met beasties with better caring skills for their young than what they had displayed. It took so much for Cedric to come clean about his true feelings and rather than support him and claiming they would be there for him, it was quite the opposite.
"I don't know," Cedric said quietly, "but it doesn't matter right now. It's over, at least for now. My father made it very clear that as long as I have these thoughts and feelings that I wasn't welcomed home. I don't know what that means, I...I don't know where I'm going to go, but right now, I don't care. It just felt so damn good to get it all out."
He looked over at Milo, seeing the watery blue gaze focused on him. He appeared so worried and concerned over Cedric, and damn if Cedric didn't miss it. He missed the way Milo cared for him because he could truly feel it. He could hear it in Milo's voice, see it in his eyes, and feel it every time that Milo even grazed his skin. Truth was, Cedric did it for himself but he did it for Milo too because while he always wanted his parents to care for him, nothing compared to the feelings he had when Milo was around and he knew he could have Milo around him if he continued to lie and hide.
"I'm sorry I made you wait this long," Cedric apologised to him. "I wish I could have been braver sooner for you because you were right. You deserve all the respect in the world and I wasn't giving it to you. I understood why you said the things you did and it was exactly what I needed to wake up. I followed your example because keeping my parents happy was never guaranteed to make me happy. I love them but I wish they had enough love for me to support me in all the decisions I make. At least, the good decisions, I wouldn't expect them to support bad decisions."
He watched as a faint smile reappeared on Milo's face, bringing a smile to return to his own. "I missed you, Milo," he confessed, "I missed you so much that even though we were in the same castle together, same house, and even just a few feet apart, I couldn't stand the fact of not having you talking to me. Having you ignore me, felt worse than the idea of having my parents ignore me."
Milo peered down, but not before Cedric caught a glimpse of the blush that he was attempting to hide. "I-I- I missed you too, Cedric. I never wanted to hurt you or make you feel bad, I just...it was something that I needed to get off of my chest. I'm sorry that I came across as so harsh-"
"No, don't be sorry, Milo, it was what I needed to hear. Sometimes I need a swift kick in the arse and that's exactly what you gave me. The only person willing to give it to me. So thank you for kicking me in the arse."
The giggle escaped from Milo, making the other boy laugh before he brought Milo to look up at him again.
"Can we try this again? I promise I won't mess it up this time," Cedric told him, "and if I do, you can give me another kick in the arse. I...I really want to try this and be there for you like you are there for me. And-"
Before Cedric could ramble on any further, he was suddenly tackled back, falling back to the floor, only to peer up and see Milo smiling down at him. He nodded his head, allowing relief to wash over Cedric as he let out a small laugh of relief. He grabbed the boy by his tie and pulled him straight down into a kiss.