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he’s pretty sure the floor’s going to cave in underneath if he keeps pacing like this. he forces himself to stop, to sit on his bed, and breathe. he looks up and it’s the same bedroom al’s always known - the same blue walls and dark desk and bookshelf that looks like it’s about to explode. he supposes he’s the same too, just knows himself a bit better now. isn’t that what dad always said growing up was? figuring out who you are and what you want.
well, he sure as hell knows who he is. he supposes now’s the part where he goes for what he wants, and what he wants is to be honest - no matter how much it scares him. he forces himself out of his room and down the stairs. distantly, he thinks of all the times when he was younger and he had told his dad he wanted to be as brave as he was when he grew up. thinks of the way dad would always run his long fingers through al’s hair, look at him with a soft sort of pride in his eyes that al knew only him and his siblings ever saw, and whisper: “you are already a million times braver than i could ever hope to be.” now, al desperately hopes his father was right.
al finds his parents in the sitting room, dad with his feet on the coffee table and mum with her feet in dad’s lap, her back against the arm of the sofa. she’s got her head thrown back, laughing at something dad’s said to her, and the tension in al’s chest eases a bit. his parents always had a way of loving each other that turned everything around them peaceful. al had always hoped to find something like that, and now, he thinks, he may have.
“hey, sweetheart,” mum says, smiling up at him.
“hi,” he answers. “can i talk to you guys for a minute?”
“of course, love,” dad responds gently, his brows furrowing slightly in concern.
“ok, it’s...um,” he stops, breathes, notices the mounting concern in his parents’ eyes, and decides to just rip the bandage off. “i’m gay.”
he doesn’t entirely know how he was expecting them to react, but it certainly wasn’t like this. in his head, there was a bit more fanfare. in his head, he had to explain himself, to ensure them he was still the same kid he’s always been.
in reality, his parents just sit there, like they’re still waiting for him to finish his sentence.
“uh, that’s it,” he adds, rather lamely.
“ok,” mum says, simply, then cocks her head to the side, and asks seriously: “were you expecting us to be mad?”
al hesitates for a second, before saying, “i don’t know, i was just - you’re not upset...or disappointed?” and he can’t really help the tears building up in his eyes, because he had been so, so afraid of disappointing them.
“al,” dad whispers, his voice soft in the way it used to be when al was a kid and had a nightmare. “darling, we are so sorry if we ever did anything to make you think we would ever be disappointed in you.”
he feels tears slip out of his eyes in sheer relief, and dad reaches forward immediately to wipe them off his face.
“love, we’re not disappointed,” mum continues, gentle as ever. “we’re so happy for you. and, honestly, not surprised at all.”
“wait, what?”
dad barks out a laugh at this, and says quite easily, “al, we’re your parents. we notice things.”
“oh. well, you could’ve mentioned it.” both his parents laugh this time, and al figures now’s as good a time as any to say, “it’s scorpius, by the way. i’m dating scorp,” a beat of silence passes, in which al really studies his parents’ faces, before he says:
“and you knew that too, didn’t you?”
mum opens and closes her mouth, but it’s dad who answers. “you’re always talking about him so sweetly, and we just kind of assumed,” he shrugs.
“we think you’re very cute together,” mum adds cheerfully, and al can’t help the easy exasperation he feels towards them, any more than he can help the overwhelming love.
“i’m going to bed,” he announces, getting up to leave. he acknowledges his parents’ goodnight wishes as he makes his way to the stairs, but just before he goes up, he turns, says, “i love you both a lot, you know that right?”
“we love you too, darling,” dad says. “thank you for telling us. we’re so happy you felt safe and comfortable enough to.”
“and you will always be safe with us, sweetheart. and we’ll always love you,” mum adds, giving him a soft smile that al returns, before heading back up to his room, feeling lighter than he has in months.
in the morning, his parents take turns hugging him, telling them how much they love him, and when he tells ted, jamie, and lil, they hold his hands the entire time.