THESE are your parents?

Nikkolai smiled at the feel of Seth's hands on his skin. It was always the small things that made his heart leap, the tiny gestures that made him happier than anything else ever had. The hand that had been holding Seth's before moved to lay against his chest. Nikkolai was completely comfortable to stay like this, but every thought and every action was cut off by the sound of the door clicking.

Why was the door being opened? Why hadn't he heard anyone come up the stairs, why hadn't anyone bothered knocking?! Who the hell —

Nikkolai didn't bother, rolling away from Seth and sitting up as quickly as he could, eyes locking on the open door with a panic-stricken expression. His eyes were wide and his mouth was clenched shut, hands balling up around the sheets to support himself. Melissa stood in the threshold, a confused, almost disgusted look on her face. Her brows were lifted and her head was cocked to the side just a little bit, and her upper lip and nose were wrinkled in just such a way that, for an eleven year old, she looked incredibly intimidating.

Shit, shit, shit! They'd been caught! Nikki's heart started racing and he laughed, his tone more nervous than he would have liked, lifting a hand to the back of his head and rubbing the back of his neck in an attempt to act casual. "Hey, Mel, what's up?" he asked.

She wasn't answering.

Nikkolai shot a nervous glance to Seth. Oh God, they'd been caught, this was it, Melissa was going to yell for mom and dad and tell everything and Nikkolai was a terrible liar so he wouldn't be able to make something up and they were doomed with a capital D! And Seth... what would Seth do once all that trouble started? Nikki hadn't wanted the weekend to be like this...

"What were you two just doing?" she asked, seeming somewhat dumbfounded by what she had just witnessed. Her brother, who was a guy, had been kissing his friend, who was also a guy. "I thought guys weren't supposed to... I mean, mom and dad and everyone at church always said..." Her eyebrows knitted and she lifted her arms to fold them over her chest, shifting uncomfortably. "Were you two breaking the rules?" she asked, appearing disappointed now. "Guys aren't supposed to kiss, that's gross, not to mention kinda sick."

There was something very wrong when he couldn't even look his sister in the eye. Nikkolai just stared at the floor, his body feeling numb but his mind racing. What was he supposed to say, what sort of excuse was he supposed to make? A small squeak was all he could muster at first before mumbling something inaudible, only then to say, in a rather weak tone of voice, "We weren't doing anything wrong..."

This was so confusing! Nikkolai seemed like he'd been utterly shamed and yet Seth was acting like nothing had even happened. Melissa knew what she had seen, but why were the two of them having completely different reactions? Oh well. She didn't want to even try to read into it that deeply.

Nikki was absolutely still when Seth wrapped an arm around his shoulders, although his intention to calm him was certainly achieved, if only slightly. It was a good thing the other was calm, because there was no way Nikkolai was going to be able to handle this. Whether it was of Seth's own will or he simply wasn't aware just how hateful and utterly intolerant his parents were yet (as if the short conversation hadn't been enough to tell) he wasn't sure, but either way he was grateful.

Until he told the truth. Was he insane?!

Melissa shifted uncomfortably when Seth admitted that they had been kissing. How could he seem so unbothered by it...? She, along with Nikki, had been raised to scorn such behavior; she couldn't understand why her brother would suddenly rebel against that and why his friend didn't even show remorse. She was silent while he spoke, trying her best to understand everything he said - she at least had to do that, it was the kind thing to do - but it was just hard. A grin cracked on her face though at the comment he made toward her parents, even though his tone was bitter. "They probably do," she said, rolling her eyes.

Nodding her head almost numbly, Melissa stepped into the room and closed the door behind her very quietly, inching away from the door and closer to Seth instead of leaning against it. "So you mean like... you two are, like, going out or something?" she asked. She looked between the two of them, shifting her weight once again due to how awkward this whole situation was. "So you're both... gay?" This was so hard to imagine. She wasn't sure she liked it. "Do Mom and Dad know? I mean, they should know — shouldn't they? Are you guys keeping this a secret?" She seemed somewhat distressed with that idea, but made sure to keep her voice quiet enough; she didn't exactly want this turning into a mess either.

Nikkolai was silent, watching the both of them, impressed with the way Seth was so easily able to get across to her and the fact that Melly had actually been willing to listen. He nodded to Seth, having absolutely no objection to him going on. If he could get through to Melissa, even a little bit, and convince her to say nothing, then everything would be okay. He almost panicked again at the mention of their parents knowing and shook his head vigorously, hoping to squash the idea now. "They can't know, Mel," he said quickly. "No one can, okay?"

Melissa wrinkled her nose at this, not liking his decision at all. "But... why not?" she asked. "They wouldn't like it, but that doesn't mean they don't have the right to know." Her conviction wavering somewhat, she looked between the both of them once more, clearly uncertain. "... Right?"

Melissa did as Seth gestured and took a seat on the bed with the two of them. She was relieved to be assured that their parents deserved to know - maybe Nikkolai would be encouraged to speak up if his boyfriend said it was a good idea instead of his sister. She was ready to speak again when Seth silenced her by lifting his hand and, taking that as a sign that he wanted to continue, she waited patiently for him to finish. Disappointment showed on her face in the form of a pout, her lower lip jutting out and her features falling. She didn't like secrets, especially those kept from their parents... even if they could be a little, well, strict and crazy sometimes. "All right, all right," she agreed, taking Seth's hand. "My lips are sealed. I won't say anything, I promise." She released his hand then and grinned. "But in return for me keeping the secret..." she trailed off, only to giggle and pick up with, "You'd better be nice to my brother, because if you aren't I'm gonna have to kick you."

Nikkolai snorted and rolled his eyes, but there was a good-natured smile on his face. The panic and anxiety was slowly starting to dissipate, lessening and lessening as the moments passed. Melissa had promised that she wouldn't say anything; Seth had, through whatever magic he seemed to possess, persuaded her to leave that up to him. She'd complied... so what did either of them have to worry about? And if anything did slip, they'd be gone in days - there was nothing that his parents could do.

"I don't think you need to worry about that, Mel," Nikki said, smiling. Seth was nothing but good to him, there was no reason for her to start threatening him and trying to act intimidating. The last thing he wanted was for her to become violent with him, anyway.

With a nod, Melissa bounced off the bed and grinned at the two. It was still weird... but if they were happy, well, then it wasn't really her business. "I'll leave you love-birds alone, then," she said in a slight sing-song tone. "And um, I'll lock the door. Just 'cause I'm a wonderful little sister." Locking the door from the inside, Melissa exited the room, leaving Nikki and Seth by themselves once again.

With a deep, relieved sigh that brought his shoulders slumping forward, Nikkolai turned to Seth with a weak smile on his face. "Thank you," he said, slipping his arms around him and moving closer to him. "I don't know how you did it, but thank you." Their secret was still safe, at least for now.

After a few moments of silence, his smile turned into a cheeky grin and he couldn't help but ask, wriggling his eyebrows teasingly, "So uh... where were we?"

—-

Once they had both showered and gotten dressed, Nikkolai was ready for a nap, and was hoping they'd both be able to sneak a quick one in before it was time for dinner. They were cutting it close, since dinner was rarely ever later than 7, but he really just wanted to curl up in bed!

"Nikki, Seth, come down for dinner!" Melissa called from the bottom of the stairs. Nikkolai groaned audibly, a pout crossing over his features. Was it really so much to ask for just a little more time away from his crazy family?

Sighing softly, Nikki moved over to Seth, wrapping his arms around him and giving him a snuggle-hug before grasping his hand and releasing him. "I guess we better go down there," he said, leading Seth out of his bedroom and back downstairs. Of course by the time they'd gotten downstairs he'd released Seth's hand, lest anyone see, despite how awful he felt because of it.

He looked back at him though, and lead him to the dining room table, pulling out a chair for Seth and the one right next to it for himself. There was no way in hell he was going to let Seth sit next to anyone but him for this hell.

He smiled weakly once Seth rubbed his shoulders and gave him one last kiss. It was only dinner, but it felt like a death sentence. He'd eaten dinner with his family for seventeen years, what made this time any different? Well, a lot of things... but they'd both have to deal with it, at least for now.

"So, what's for dinner?"

Lizzie smiled brightly and turned to look at Seth, as if she'd had the most wonderful idea. "I made spaghetti and meat balls," she said. "I thought it would remind you of home!"

Nikkolai wanted to bang his head down on the table, or gouge his good eye out with a fork. How had his parents been allowed to procreate? How? He was glad, since he was alive and had Seth, but between his mother and his mother, Nikkolai almost couldn't take the stupidity. "That was nice of you, mom," he said flatly, clearly not being sincere at all, but she probably wouldn't even notice.

She walked over to the table, setting the large, pasta-filled bowl down in the center of the table. "Sorry for reaching," she said almost immediately before taking her seat at the end of the table opposite from David, who still seemed ruffled from their earlier discussion. Anita was still sleeping and Melissa was the last to sit down.

Not wanting any sort of awkward silence to fall between the five of them, Liz cleared her throat. "So Seth, your girlfriend didn't mind you coming here with Nikki this weekend? I mean, I'm sure a guy like you has a girlfriend, you're cute enough." Sure, he had other bad qualities, but everyone deserved to be happy!

Nikkolai sighed roughly. This was going to be utterly awful.

He was such a bad liar! Granted, it was easier for him to tell when Seth was lying than it probably would be for the rest of his family, given their relationship, but that still made him awful in Nikki's eyes. He cleared his throat in the attempt to cover a chuckle before following Seth's lead, acting as if absolutely nothing even vaguely funny had just transpired.

Melissa returned the smile, although she wasn't quite sure what exactly it was for. "Sure," she said, taking up the salt shaker and passing it to Seth. She was surprised when he dropped it, as was Nikkolai. Had the question caught him that badly off guard?

Nikki caught the smirk that was playing on Seth's lips, though no one else in the family seemed to.

"Oh, really?" Lizzie asked after she'd swallowed, knitting her brows in confusion. "That's weird. I'd have thought a strapping young boy like you would have girls throwing themselves at you." Nikkolai rolled his eyes inwardly; she was trying too hard. "Well, you're in the same boat as Nikki, then. He's never had a girlfriend either. There's no rush though, you're both still kids. You'll find someone someday!"

Was it bad that he wanted to shoot himself?