Three weeks had passed, and it was Saturday.
Roy had a coffee early in the morning. He felt drained… He promised to assist Science Department Co-Leader Leilani Hawks on the portal's work, but it was an incredibly exhausting task.
Preparing the experiments took hours, very often with no result. Then documenting everything, and starting over.
Charlotte came by the lab, and as she saw Roy, she stopped and approached him. “Roy? What on earth happened to you?”
“Hm?” He looked at Charlotte.
He had dark circles under his eyes, his hair was unusually wild, and he even had stubble - something Charlotte had NEVER seen on him.
“You look terrible, Roy.”
“Mhh.” Roy took a sip of his coffee. “Thanks…”
“You’ve been helping Miss Hawks on her portal experiments, haven't you?”
Roy nodded.
“But why?”
“... I… got this cryptic message from Toby…” He stared at the ceiling. “I think Mr. Williams is pressuring him, or worse…”
Charlotte smiled. “But that’s not your concern. When there’s a problem between Toby and Mr. Williams, then it’s up to me to fix it. I know Mr. Williams better than anyone… if anything, he’s just been bad with his choice of words.”
“Mhmh…”
“Roy, when did you last have a day off?”
Roy narrowed his eyes, thinking. “Mh…. Two weeks maybe… Two and a half even…”
“Dear god.” Charlotte crossed her arms. “How does Leilani even allow this.”
“I volunteered…”
“Please, Roy. You’re being ridiculous.” Charlotte sighed. “I hereby ask you to take the following two days off, starting now.”
“Mhh… Yes, Ma’am. I’ll just quickly pick up Famfay… He’s been getting a massage today.”
“You’re allowed to do that. But if I spot you in the lab later today or tomorrow, I will kick your butt so hard you'll fly to the moon!”
“I understand…” Roy took off his lab coat.
“You’re dismissed.”
~~~~~
~~~~~
Roy followed Charlotte’s orders, and took the weekend off.
It was Sunday evening. Roy looked like himself again, but he was always so lost on what to do on a Sunday. He usually worked Sundays, because the day doesn’t have a particular meaning to him. His mother was usually away, and his father often held training events for dental medicine students.
He decided to go to the park, specifically the Brightgo Park, where he spent an evening with Toby a while ago. Ever since that day, Roy had spent more time outside instead of just locking himself up inside, like he did his entire life.
Despite being early in the year, the weather was surprisingly pleasant. The city hasn’t seen snow all winter, which was of course unfortunate for some, but Roy didn’t mind. He really didn’t like the cold, and luckily the area was rather warm all-year round.
The sun hadn't set yet, but everything was tinted in a warm, orange hue. Famfay was resting on Roy’s shoulders like he always did, holding a small to-go coffee between his little paws like the caffeine junkie that he was. The air was very fresh and clean compared to the rest of the city, and even though the park was well-visited, it wasn’t too loud apart from a few children playing and someone playing the guitar, humming the melody of Somewhere over the Rainbow.
Actually, Roy recognized that voice. He went around the park’s fountain and spotted him. Toby was sitting there, playing his guitar. His partner Memis was sitting next to him, bopping his head in the rhythm. His guitar case was before him, sporadically filled with coins and bank bills.
The song was finished, and Toby looked up to him. “Hey Roy”, he smiled at him. “Good to see you here~"
Roy smiled back. “Hi Toby.” It really was good to see him. Since he started overworking himself in the lab, he hadn’t really seen anyone except for his lab colleagues. Toby looked much better than weeks ago, the cut on his cheek had healed and the scar was barely noticeable. It seemed like he was his old self again.
Roy cleared his throat. “Your music is very nice.”
“Thank you.” Toby tilted his head. “I come here every Sunday to play… Well, unless I have to work.” He carefully set his guitar aside and leaned down to the case, where he collected the money he made in a little sack. “At least we’re not too dependent on my street music money anymore, now that I have a job.”
“I see…” Roy watched Toby. “But it makes me wonder… why aren’t you spending your free time with your friends?”
Toby gulped.
“I know you have friends, Toby, I’m not a fool! Especially your two colleagues, the red-haired girl and the punk.”
“Ah- Sophia and Randall are friends, that’s true.” Toby put his guitar in his case and closed the clasps. “But I don’t want to bother them. They have very busy lives as well, you know.”
“... You’re avoiding something, Toby. Aren’t you?”
“Ahh... “ Toby sighed. “You read me like a book…”
“Do you want to talk about it?”
“....” Toby shouldered his guitar case and stood up. “There’s no reason I shouldn’t trust you, right?”
“Right.”
“L-Lets have a walk then…”
~~~~~
The sun was slowly setting, and the two boys walked along the pathway. Memis and Famfay were playing, running around them like two playful animals.
“You see, Roy…” Toby had his hands in his pockets. “I… kind of have trust issues when it comes to friends. And it’s not because I don’t like them… I really do. I like my colleagues, and I like you. But when you’ve been hurt by people you’ve considered your closest friends… It leaves a mental scar.”
Roy nodded. “I think I understand. I’m glad you can trust me enough to tell me.”
Toby looked at his feet. “It… just makes me feel like I’m not worthy of friendship. As if I’m weird and gross… For being who I am.”
“Toby… what have your friends done to you?”
Toby was silent for a minute. “Y-You see…” He brought his hand to his neck, nervously looking to the side. “I’m… I’m gay…”
Roy raised his eyebrows. “Ah…”
“And… when my friends found out …. They started to distance themselves from me. Probably scared I could hit on them or something. Even the ones that said it’s no problem for them… they started to act differently around me, no longer spending time with me as they did before. And it happened… like, three times by now. And it makes me really sad…”
“I see…”
“I’m just- I’m just scared it’s gonna happen again.” Toby leaned his head back. “I’m scared I will lose more and more friends… because of who I am… so I’d rather keep my distance, and hope they don’t find out.”
“... That’s- that’s terrible, Toby. I’m so sorry this happened to you.” Roy sighed. “No one should be treated differently because of their sexuality.”
Toby peered at Roy. “You don’t think I’m weird?”
“Of course not.” Roy smiled at him. “This doesn’t change anything about how I feel. I’m glad I can call you my friend, like everyone should. You’re amazing, Toby. And those who don’t recognize this never deserved to be your friend in the first place.”
“... meeehh--” Toby wiped his eyes. “A-Are you serious??”
Roy nodded. “Of course I am.”
Toby swallowed heavily and let out a sob. “Ahh…” He turned around to him and pulled him in for a hug. “Roy… Thank you…”
“Wahh--” Roy blushed and pushed up his glasses. “N-No need to thank me… really… I’m certain everyone at the Morpho Defenders HQ thinks the same. They are very open minded and openly supportive of members of the LGBT community. As far as I know … it’s even in our official rules that discrimination based on someones sexuality or gender identity is strictly prohibited.”
“Really…?” Toby looked up to him with wet eyes.
“Ah-” Roy avoided eye contact. “Of course. I think it was even your uncle who set up this rule early on.”
“...” Toby let go of Roy. “I kind of feel relieved… Now I don’t even know why I was scared in the first place.”
“Hey, it’s always okay to be scared. After all… coming out is a major thing. I know that.”
“Mhh… yeah…” Toby smiled. “Roy …. We’re always gonna be friends… right?”
“Right. I promise. Nothing will change between us.”
“Thank you…”
“Hey, it’s getting dark. I think you should head home.”
“Ah… I guess I should. Will you be at work tomorrow?”
“Yeah… I will.”
“Good! Maybe we’ll see each other!” Toby waved. “See you!! Have a good night! Come on, Memis!” “Wraff!!” The two went ahead.
Roy picked up Famfay and put him back on his shoulders.
“Darling–“ Famfay patted Roy’s cheek with his paw. “Your heart is pounding.”
“Mhh…” Roy scratched Famfay’s chin. “I’m just very happy for Toby. I know how it feels when you can be honest about your true self.”
“Mhmh. We should go home too.”
“Yes, let’s go.”
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