The olive-colored gargoyle snugged closer into the warm embrace of his crimson lover's arms. It was a chilly September night atop the castle, and the city below was still alive with the sound of taxi cabs and people walking to and fro. The larger crimson-colored gargoyle looked out into the skyline, and watched as the moonlight danced off of the shimmering plate-glass of the new One World Trade Center building, which was still under construction. He held the smaller gargoyle close to him, bringing his wings around him, and closed his eyes as he felt the chilled autumn breeze rush through his flowing white hair.
His olive-colored lover held him closer to his body, and lay his head on the larger gargoyle's chest, listening to the soft, yet strong heartbeat, feeling a sense of security that he had never felt before in his life. This moment felt right to him, and he wanted absolutely nothing to change anything about it. He breathed deeply and quietly, his own eyes closed, and felt warmth that was so comforting on this cold night.
Two of the lover's friends watched from a distance, a portly blue gargoyle and an elder, named Broadway and Hudson, respectively. The elder sat down on a ledge, and the blue gargoyle sat down beside him.
"I'm still surprised by this. I mean, I had my assumptions about Lexington, but I never saw Brooklyn liking the males too." Hudson cleared his throat and looked up at the clear night sky.
Broadway yawned and watched the two lovers, "I was surprised too, but they do make a handsome couple, I gotta say."
"I don't know how I feel about such a thing. I mean, males and females make a clutch, males and males nor females and females can do that." Hudson folded his arms, trying to keep warm on this cold night.
Goliath walked up to the two after he had come out of the castle, having heard their conversation on his way out, "Making a clutch is not what matters. Love is the bond between two souls; whether it be male and female, female and female, or male and male. And even gargoyle and human." He smiled as Elisa came out to join him, laying her head on his shoulder as he spoke to the other two gargoyles.
The human watched the couple along with the other three, and she held Goliath's hand gently, "He's right, let the two be happy. They're in love with each other."
Wrapping a wing around Elisa, he gave her a warm, loving smile in return, and then turned to the others, "Come, let those two have their privacy."
Hudson and Broadway nodded, and they followed Goliath and Elisa back into the castle, leaving the crimson gargoyle and his smaller, olive-colored lover alone with each other. This smaller gargoyle finally opened his eyes and looked up to his larger, stronger partner.
"Brooklyn…"
Hearing his name, the crimson gargoyle looked down to the smaller with a smile, his eyes half-open, "Mmm…yes, Lexington?"
Staring into Brooklyn's eyes, the olive-skinned gargoyle continued what he was saying, "I love you so much." After having said that, he closed his eyes once more and lay his head back on Brooklyn's chest, hearing once more that soft, strong heartbeat that made him feel so safe and secure in his loving partner's arms.
The crimson gargoyle held his lover close after having heard that, bringing his snout down to whisper into Lexington's right ear, "I love you too; you have no idea how much I do."
Lexington let his arms hug Brooklyn even tighter to his body, "I don't care what anyone says. This feels right. Nobody in this whole world can tell me that what you and I have is wrong. Though," he looked out to the city as he kept his head rested on Brooklyn's soft-skinned chest, "I get the feeling Hudson isn't so thrilled about us."
Brooklyn kept his wings snug over Lexington's body, keeping him warm in the cold air that surrounded them, "I don't care what he thinks, Lex. I love you, and if he has a problem with that, he'd better keep it to his bigoted self."
Lex smirked and lay a hand on Brooklyn's chest, "Brooklyn, remember it's Hudson we're talking about. He's set in old, traditional ways. He's part of our family—he'll get used to it with time."
Nodding, the crimson gargoyle gave a content sigh and a yawn, "I know, Lex. I just get so—defensive when others feel that way. You love who you love; nothing else should matter."
Lexington smiled and snugged closer to his lover, "Brooklyn, you have such a good heart in you."
His lover gave a flattered grin and took a deep breath of the breeze that blew his white hair gently, it shimmering lightly in the moonlight, "Thanks, Lex. I—I still can't believe you wanted me to be your mate."
"Hey now…" Lexington looked into Brooklyn's eyes, moving up to lay his head under the crimson gargoyle's snout, just below his neck, and closed his eyes, "Don't talk like that, Brooklyn. You're a lot better than you think you are—it's a blessing to me to have you as a mate."
Brooklyn held Lexington close to him, and felt a tear escape his right eye, running down his snout, "Oh Lex…" he let out a quivered sigh, "it feels so good to hear that come out of your mouth."
The crimson gargoyle had been struggling with depression shortly after the defeat of the Quarrymen and the positive turn of opinion of gargoyles by the humans. He was happy that they had gained acceptance within the eyes of the people that inhabited this modern world, but his own internal demons then had more time to plague his mind. He had always had a low opinion of himself, and it was something that he had desperately tried to keep hidden from the others. The fact that he was gay was a major contribution to the low self-esteem that he had, and for the longest time he had put on a fake lady's man persona. Before they were frozen in stone for a thousand years, such a thing was unheard of. Males, both gargoyle and human, were expected to choose a female mate and have offspring. Nobody dared question it, and it was mentally draining to live in a world that did not even want to think about what he really was.
He had finally come out to the others shortly after Lexington did, about four years prior to this night. It was the night of the 2008 election, and Xanatos had thrown a small cocktail party together with some of his executive colleagues for the event. The humans had been divided between the two parties, and the issue of gay marriage had come up. The conservative humans immediately went into attack mode, stating the age-old saying, "Marriage is between a man and a woman!" The argument got incredibly heated until Xanatos finally put a stop to it, giving each side a chance to calm down. Lexington had become very passionate about his beliefs in the argument, and by the time it was over, he had come out to everybody in the room. It took merely days for Brooklyn to come out after that event, but the reason that he did was far from positive.
Lexington took a deep breath and hugged his boyfriend close, "I never want you to have to go through what you did when you came out again."
Brooklyn nodded, biting his lip and fighting back tears, his mind flashing back to that horrible night four years ago, "I don't either."
[To be continued]