This story is a sequel to my prompt challenge entry, Wings of an Angel which looked at Harry going clubbing with Nick. That night Harry met a boy, now he’s taking him home to met the parents – at Christmas.
You don’t have to read that story to enjoy this fic, but it will set the scene.
TW: This story does contain homophobia and rejection from parents, please do not read this if these subjects will affect you.
It was only a few months ago that Harry Greene had come out to his friends; well to Nick and Charlie anyway. They gave him a lot of shit for it at first, which he knew was fair, considering how he’d treated Charlie when he first came out in Year 9. But after a lot of apologising and a little begging, they had both accepted that Harry had been overcompensating for his own fear of being found out at school.
Harry had been surrounded by a lot of toxic masculinity when he was growing up. He was taught that men should act a certain way and do certain things. That’s how he found himself on the Rugby team at Truham, his Dad decreeing it as a proper man’s sport. Harry had always thought it was funny that the sport his dad thought was the most manly involved a lot of close contact with other men’s arses.
How he didn’t pop a boner every time they had a game was sheer luck, really. It helped, he guessed, that his usual type wasn’t really the bulky rugby player sort. He’d always been drawn to the slim twinks, much like his boyfriend Jay. Although back then, the thought of any man would do when he was wanking off alone in his bedroom.
He’d never really dated before. In fact, Jay was pretty much his first everything. Before him, he’d never kissed a boy, he’d never sucked a boy and he’d never fucked or been fucked by a boy. They’d met in a club a few months ago, but to him it felt like they’d known each other for a lifetime. Jay had been dancing on a podium, dressed as the most beautiful angel Harry had ever seen.
Nick had agreed to go with him to his first ever gay bar, and when they’d walked in and he saw Jay dancing up above everyone else, he was instantly transfixed. It wasn’t just how beautiful he was, and he was beautiful, it was the way he moved with such delicate elegance while still matching the beat of the music, note for note. Harry nearly missed his chance that night, letting his nerves get the better of him, but fate had other ideas, pushing them together in a chance collision – literally.
It was like something out of a cheesy romance novel, but Harry didn’t care. That night, Jay was just finishing his shift as one of the club’s go-go boys, he was heading to the bar to grab a bottle of water before heading back to the staff locker room to change out of his wings. But in his clumsiness, Harry had crashed into him as he turned around, and he hadn’t looked back since.
Once Jay had changed back into his street clothes, he’d asked Harry if he wanted to go somewhere quieter for a drink. Completely forgetting he’d come with Nick, he’d have followed Jay to the edge of the Earth if he’d asked, his voice as angelic as his costume. Nick teased him mercilessly for it the next day, although he’d been secretly grateful to get home earlier to Charlie after seeing Harry taking off without him.
They had gone to a little pub down the road and spent the rest of the night, until it closed, getting to know each other. He found out that Jay was a ballet dancer who moonlighted as a go-go boy for fun, while Harry explained that he’d worked for his dad’s company since he left school despite still not being entirely sure what the firm actually did . Formalities out of the way they spent the rest of their time laughing and smiling. Harry couldn’t remember a time he’d smiled so much before, at least not a genuine smile of joy.
At the end of the night Jay asked for his number, and the next morning they had a date lined up for the following weekend. Speaking with Nick and Charlie about it, Charlie teased him for falling so hard for the first guy he saw. Nick cautioned him to be honest with Jay, and explain that he had no real experience before, rather than being his usual bullish self. And fairplay to him, it was probably good advice.
When their first date came around, every instinct inside him was calling for him to brag and show off, but Nick’s voice was in the back of his mind, telling him not to be himself for once. He tried, he really did, but some habits are hard to break.
Seeing the look he got when he jokily declared that “all dancers must be gay,” he had to quickly apologise, adding, “My friend Nick warned me to not be a dick.”
Jay replied with a smirk, “And how’s that going for you?”
“Judging by your reaction, I’d say not great. I’m hoping the fact you’re still here is a good sign.”
Pausing for a few moments to make Harry sweat, Jay eventually relented and replied simply, “It is.”
The rest of their meal together passed by fairly uneventfully, Harry trying extra hard not to say anything inappropriate. Once they finished, Jay took him dancing – not clubbing, but proper holding each other close dancing. He wasn’t that great at it, and with the number of times he stepped on Jay’s toes, he was sure he’d never want to see him again. But Jay was patient and calm, and helped Harry to do a basic step while they held each other.
Harry saw Jay home and managed to put his foot in it again, “So is this the part where you invite me up to have your way with me.”
Jay rolled his eyes and replied, “No, Harry. This is the part where I thank you for a wonderful evening, and say I’d really like to do this again.”
“You would?” Harry squeaked, surprised that he hadn’t scared Jay off.
Chuckling, Jay answered, “Yes, I would.”
“Result!” Harry shouted, fist pumping the air.
“Such a dork,” Jay laughed, “Kiss me goodnight?”
Harry looked like a deer in headlights; he’d never kissed anyone before. He’d bragged about it many times but it was all banter.
Seeing Harry welded to the spot, Jay took the initiative and slowly closed the space between them. When they were close enough, he pressed his lips to Harry’s with a feather-like touch. It took a moment before his brain re-engaged, responding by running his tongue along Jay’s lips asking for entry.
When he felt them part, their tongues tangled together. The kiss was messy, and probably not very dignified, but it felt electric. It was over faster than either of them would have liked, but it was all Harry could do to stop himself from jumping up and screaming Yabba Dabba Doo!
Harry was grinning from ear to ear all the way home that night, and he talked Nick and Charlie’s ears off about it when he saw them next.
By some miracle, Harry and Jay were still together 3 months in and now they were spending their first Christmas together. Jay’s parents disowned him when he came out, so Harry insisted he spend Christmas Day with his family.
Harry had told his parents he was bringing someone home for Christmas, but he kept putting off explaining exactly who , and now it was Christmas Day and he was torn. Although he was 24 years old, he’d never felt the need to come out to his family before; there just wasn’t a reason to until now. He was pretty sure he knew how coming out would go down with them, but he didn’t want to deny who Jay was, or what he meant to him.
To say Harry was nervous was an understatement. He’d warned Jay that today might not end well. Jay had even said he was fine pretending they were just ‘mates’, and while that would have been so easy, it just didn’t feel right . What he and Jay shared was beautiful and still so new, but Harry really wanted to see where it went and what it could become if given half the chance. Pretending, even for a day, that it meant less than it did, felt wrong .
The doorbell rang downstairs, Harry rushed to answer it before his parents. Opening it up, his smile grew, and he felt butterflies in his stomach at his boyfriend standing in the doorway.
“Hi, come in,” Harry said, making way so Jay could come in from the cold.
“Hi, Stud,” Jay replied, knowing how it made Harry blush every time he used the nickname.
“Let me -“ Harry said with a flustered voice, before clearing his throat to try again, “Let me take your coat.” Helping to ease the winter coat off his shoulders, Harry let his hands squeeze his boyfriend’s toned arms as he went, knowing their contact would be limited today until Harry finally told his parents.
“It’s so good to see you. I missed you,” Jay spoke in a hushed voice so that only Harry could hear him.
“You only saw me yesterday morning,” Harry smiled back.
“Exactly, far too long,” Jay said flirtatiously.
Harry smiled but it didn’t quite reach the corners of his face in the way it usually would. Reaching forward, Jay tentatively placed a hand on Harry’s bicep, “You know you don’t have to do this today, or ever, if you don’t want to. They don’t have a right to know.”
Placing his hand over Jay’s, Harry replied simply with, “I know.” Before he had a chance to say any more, Harry’s parents were wandering into the hall and Jay stepped back to a more respectful distance for mates to be. Harry missed the warmth, but he was so glad that Jay made the move because he was certain his feet were glued to the spot right now.
Turning to face his parents, Harry made the introductions, “Mum, Dad, this is Jay. Jay, these are my parents, Mary and Bill.”
“A pleasure to meet you Mr and Mrs Greene,” Jay smiled, holding out his hand to shake theirs.
“Aren’t you a pretty thing,” Harry’s mother said.
“Now, Mother, that’s not a thing to say to a lad,” Harry’s father scolded, before replying to Jay, “Good to meet you son, any friend of our boy is welcome here.”
“Dinner is almost ready, come in, come in,” Harry’s mother said, directing the boys into the dining room before scurrying off into the kitchen. Mr Greene opened a cabinet at the side of the room, crammed full of a range of different bottles. Turning towards Jay he asked, “What can I get you to drink?”
“Erm, do you have lemonade?” Jay asked.
“Lemonade! It’s Christmas, you need a proper drink on Christmas.”
“It’s ok, I’m driving and I have work tomorrow, so I’d rather stick to soft drinks, but thank you,” Jay replied politely, knowing he may need to be the one to drive Harry away if everything went wrong today. Pulling a bottle of lemonade from the back corner of the cabinet, Mr Greene blew the dust off the bottle and twisted the cap. There was barely a splutter as what little pressure remained inside the bottle was released.
After pouring out a glass and handing it to Jay, who accepted it with a polite smile, Harry’s father turned to his son and asked, “Beer?” Harry accepted the offer, while his father turned back to the cabinet he gave his boyfriend a look that he hoped not only apologised for the flat drink, but also thanked him for joining him today.
Jay reached out his fingers to brush them along Harry’s, neither of them needing words to understand each other. Jay moved away as quickly as he had made contact so that he didn’t accidentally out his boyfriend before he was ready. Jay had meant it when he said he didn’t need Harry to come out, but if he chose to it was going to be on his terms.
Conversation while Mrs Greene prepared the dinner in the kitchen was pretty one-sided, with Harry’s dad dominating the conversation about whatever inane sports match he’d watched recently. Harry wasn’t really paying attention, he was too busy thinking about how to soften the blow of what he wanted to say, what he needed to say. He knew it was never going to go well, but he wanted to protect Jay from the worst of the hatred that he knew was coming his way.
“Dinner’s ready,” Mrs Greene called, “Harry darling, will you help get everything to the table.”
“Sure, Mum,” Harry called back as he stood to head out to the kitchen, resisting the pull to kiss his boyfriend as he walked past.
Left alone in the lounge, Mr Greene asked, “So, how did you meet my boy?”
Startled by the question, Jay replied, “Oh, erm, we met at one of the places I work.” Trying to keep the details vague but honest.
“Oh yeah, and where’s that then,” he continued, clearly trying to be polite.
Before he had a chance to think of an answer, Harry called from down the hall, “Jay, would you mind helping me for a minute.”
Trying not to obviously breathe out a sigh of relief, Jay replied as he stood up, “Sure, coming.” Hurrying down the hall as quickly as he could.
“Sorry for leaving you alone with him,” Harry whispered as he handed a couple of dishes across to Jay.
“It’s ok,” Jay smiled.
The pair carried the dishes of an assortment of steamed vegetables into the dining room and after placing them in the middle of the long dining table, Harry pulled Jay into a warm hug.
“Oh,” Jay breathed out a sigh of relief as they finally got to be close again.
“Hi, I just needed a moment with you,” Harry whispered close to Jay’s ear.
“Take as long as you need, love,” Jay whispered back.
“Boys, there are more dishes to take through,” Harry’s mum called, breaking the spell of their embrace. Dutifully helping carry the rest of the dishes in from the kitchen. Once it was all in place, they were seated around the table, Mr and Mrs Greene at each end, and Harry and Jay seated opposite each other in the middle.
Before they tucked into their food, they all pulled crackers with the people either side of them, making sure that everyone had a paper hat to wear as they ate. After everyone was set, and sticking to tradition, Mr Greene carved the bird and dished it out to everyone before they all tucked into the wide range of sides spread along the centre of the table. Plates were piled ridiculously high with food, and everything was pleasant.
Conversation once again turned towards the young men as Harry’s Mum asked, “So how long have you two been friends?”
Thinking back to the day they met brought a smile to Harry’s face, he looked across the table at his boyfriend before turning to his mother to answer, “We met about 3 months ago. My friend Nick from school took me clubbing and Jay and I bumped into each other, literally and we hit it off straight away.”
A scoff came from the other end of the other table, causing everyone’s focus to turn to Mr Greene. “Nick Nelson! What a waste that boy’s made of his life, shacking up with some fairy.”
“Dad!” Harry interrupted, “I’ve told you not to speak about Nick and Charlie like that, they’re my friends.”
“How can you be friends with a pair of fag -”
“ENOUGH!” Harry shouted, standing up abruptly and sending his chair crashing to the floor behind him. “I told you to stop!”
“Don’t you raise your voice to me, boy! This is my house and I’ll say what I like,” Mr Greene insisted without raising his voice to the same level as Harry. Harry backed down, he righted his chair and sat down at the table again. Jay gave him a concerned look, but Harry subtly shook his head to say he was ok.
Trying to move the topic to safer ground, Mrs Greene asked Jay, “So, what is it you do for a living, Jay?”
“Oh, I have a few jobs, but my main one is as a ballet dancer with the Royal Ballet company,” Jay said proudly.
“Oh great, another fairy,” Harry’s dad scoffed again.
Harry wasn’t standing for that. He was up out of his chair again, storming across to his father’s end of the table and, before he knew what was coming, Harry had punched him square in the jaw. He hit him so hard that he fell backwards in his chair.
Feeling the pain in his jaw, Harry’s dad went to speak but Harry cut him off before he had the chance. “No one gets to say a bad word about this beautiful man,” Harry said, gesturing towards Jay but not taking his eyes off his father. “He is ten times the man you will ever be. He is kind, he is loving, he is passionate about everything he does and you know what, DAD!” he said, spitting the last word out like it tasted vile on his tongue, “He is mine !”
Harry’s mum gasped from her place at the other end of the table, as Jay stepped up and held on to Harry’s still outstretched arm. “Surprise Dad, I’m gay, Jay is my boyfriend and I love him.”
“You love me,” it was Jay’s turn to be shocked, as he stood by, a grin erupting on his face despite the chaos that had been made of the dinner.
Harry turned around, “I do, I love you,” he said softly, placing his hand over the one around his bicep.
“I love you too.”
“Get. Out!” Mr Greene snarled.
“Father, no,” Harry’s mum squeaked.
“I will not have a pair of fucking faggots in my house! Get Out!” Harry’s father screamed.
“Don’t worry, we’re leaving,” Harry said calmly, taking hold of his boyfriend’s hand and leading him back to the front door.
As Harry was helping Jay into his coat, Harry’s father called to him, “Don’t come back, you hear me boy! I. Have. No. Son.”
“Bill!” Harry’s mother cried as she cowered behind her husband.
Harry didn’t reply, he grabbed his own coat from the hook and opened the door for the pair to step outside. Once the door was closed, they headed down the drive to where Jay had parked his car. They climbed inside and only then did Harry let his emotions take over. Tears rushed down his cheeks as Jay pulled him into his arms.
“It’s ok, everything will be ok,” Jay said into Harry’s overly spiked hair.
It took time for Harry to stop sobbing; once he did, he sat back and placed his palm to Jay’s cheek. “I’m so sorry you had to be there for that. I never wanted you to have to live through that again”
“Hey, there’s no need to apologise to me. None of that was your fault, stud.”
Harry smiled, “I like when you call me that.”
Smiling back, Jay replied, “I know.”
“What now?”
“Well, I guess I’m now homeless, unemployed and we’ve missed out on most of our Christmas dinner,” Harry tried to joke, “I’m a real catch.”
“You know I love you regardless of all that,” Jay smiled, and Harry felt like everything was going to be okay.
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