Hercules pulled his partner close to him and kissed the top of their head. Their hair was down, they had comfortable pajama pants on, and the shirt they wore that day. Sometimes, they just had moments like these. Lafayette talked about what bothered them, and Hercules cuddled and listened.
"It is easier during the day. During the day, I am all put together. It is easier to feel confident when I look my best. When I am most me. And, as much as I do like feeling comfortable like this, I cannot help but feel bad about myself. I do not feel as good. It is hard to explain."
Hercules merely pulled Lafayette closer. "Well… I'll be here, no matter how long it takes you to find the words." Lafayette smiled and rested their head on his chest. "You are too kind to me. Anyways… As I was saying, I just… I feel as though I am not good as I am in this moment. Does that make sense? I feel wonderful when I am put together, but in moments such as these, I do not feel as…"
"You don't feel like yourself." Hercules supplied. Lafayette immediately perked and looked up at him. "Yes! That is it! I do not feel like I am me, anymore… It is wonderful and all when I am put together during the day yet, when I take it all down, I no longer feel like me… I am rambling… I must be irritating you with how much I repeat myself… I am just trying to help you understand…"
"I get it, Laf. You don't have to be sorry. Is it because of the standards?" Hercules wondered if there was more to this than Lafayette was letting on. He just wanted to help them get it out, maybe get to the root of the problem. Lafayette nodded, averting their gaze.
"Yes… When I am put together, it is easier to defy the standards. It is easier to say 'fuck you! I do what I want!' however… When I am like this, I feel less confident. I feel like I am no longer me. Therefore, I cannot defy the standards any longer. How can I if I am no longer who I want to be?"
Hercules let out a deep sigh. This was getting heavy and complicated. As much as he wanted to be able to help them out and understand, he didn't have all the correct tools. "Have you ever considered… y'know, talking to someone about this?"
"Is that not what I am doing right now?"
"No, yeah. You are. But, I just mean, maybe a professional-"
Lafayette cut him off. "I do not need help."
"I'm not saying that you do, babe. I just think it might be good to be able to talk to someone with the experience and skills to help you overcome this. As much as I love listening to you, and don't think I want to stop, I just think that you might need some better help than I can provide."
Lafayette nodded slowly, taking in the information. They weren't sure about it, but they wouldn't just cast the thought away. Hercules pulled them close once more and rubbed their shoulder lightly.
"It's something to think about. If you want to look into it, just tell me. Okay?"
"...Yeah. Okay. I will think about it. Thank you for listening to me, tonight. It means a lot to me." Lafayette looked up at him and smiled when Hercules leaned down for a kiss.
"It's no problem, really. I like listening to you. Is there anything else you wanna talk about?"
Lafayette shook their head and cuddled close to their boyfriend.
"No. Do you wish to talk about anything?"
"Nope."
"Then, shall we go to sleep?"
"That sounds great right now." Hercules chuckled softly and sighed. It had been a bit of a long day for the both of them. The hot weather really took it's toll on everyone and sapped the energy out of people. Not to mention that it was fairly late as well. Hercules knew that he was going to pass out soon just from exhaustion alone. He looked down at Lafayette and found with mild surprise that they were already asleep. A small smile crawled its way onto his face and he pressed a light kiss to their head, before he joined them in sleep.