Mycroft doesn't tell anyone about Arthur spending the night at his house, not even Harper. He doesn't want to give Arthur a bad image, for he sees Arthur hanging out with them more often if he and Lee do begin to date. Mycroft secretly hopes they do, especially after Arthur's whining to him on Saturday night. He feels really bad that Arthur feels that way.
Lee doesn't tell anyone about him and Arthur right away, but at lunch on Monday, he and Mycroft do exchange a look. Lee slightly smiles, which makes Mycroft happy for the sake of both Lee and Arthur.
On Tuesday, the students are scheduled to take a trip to watch debates for their writing assignment. Mrs. Jacobs wants to show them how to perform an educated argument, and all of the students are exciting because taking trips during school hours is fun.
Mrs. Jacobs lets Mycroft and Greg sit next to each other on the bus, and Harper and Hannah sit on the bench across from them. Hilary and Hailey sit behind them, Lee and Jaime next to them, and Lars and Conner behind Hailey. Their group is seated at the back of the bus, and everyone in front of them are occupied with their own cliques.
Mycroft and Greg are both listening to their iPhone music, not really paying attention to each other. Which is fine, they don't need to talk 24/7 like the girls apparently do, which is why they put their music on. Every few minutes they exchange a smile though, and they're enjoying their silence.
Finally, Mycroft notices that Greg's foot-tapping and head-bobbing changes with each song. Mycroft grows very curious, and after three different rhythm changes, Mycroft looks over Greg's shoulder to his phone.
Greg defensively pulls his phone to himself and looks at Mycroft. He takes one of his earbuds out. "What?"
"What are you listening to?" Mycroft curiously asks.
Greg glances at his phone. "Nothing."
Mycroft's mouth perks into an evil grin. He nods and looks out his window again, and Greg relaxes, but seconds later Mycroft quickly grabs his phone and twists his body towards the wall of the bus, that way Greg can't reach it.
"Hey!" Greg shouts when he finally grasps what's happened. "Give it back!"
By now, the girls next to them and behind them pause in curiosity.
"What are you doing?" Harper questions.
"Mycroft stole my phone!"
"I want to know what you're listening to!"
"Why?!" Greg shouts.
Mrs. Jacobs stands at the head of the bus. "Quiet down back there!" she calls, as if they're the only rowdy group on the whole bus.
By now, Mycroft's gotten to Greg's most recently played list and he turns back to Greg. "Alright, you got me," he says, "I don't even know any of these songs."
Greg partially sighs relief.
Everyone around them is still curious.
"What are the Spice Girls?" Mycroft asks.
Everyone bursts into laughter.
Mycroft furrows his brows, wondering why they're laughing.
"Just when I thought you were faking being a gay man, Lestrade," Harper jokes.
"Shut up!" Greg replies, snatching his phone from Mycroft's hands. "I can like whatever music I want."
Hailey stands up behind them and looks down. "You're so adorable, Greg," she says, "The Spice Girls are fucking awesome."
"What song was it?" Hannah asks.
Mycroft makes a face. "Spice Up Your Life."
The girls laugh again, the boys groan.
"Oh, fucking no! Please!" Jaime begs. "My sister used to play that for hours! I can't!"
The girls laugh harder, and Hannah stands and starts the, "La-la-la…" beat. In seconds, the girls all begin to sing, and Greg sits against his seat trying not to smile.
Mycroft laughs because the girls partially stand in their seats and begin to sing and dance. They're in perfect sync, as if they practice it.
By now, everyone in the bus has turned around to watch them. Mycroft laugh, and Greg turns to join the spectators.
At the chorus, some girls from the front of the bus begin to sing, too. Harper begins to laugh too hard, so she falls back into her seat and embarrassedly covers her face.
Mrs. Jacobs tries to quiet all of them, but the whole bus finishes the song, even some of the boys. Lee joins, and Jaimee laughs at him. Lars dances to try to make Hailey laugh, and once the song ends she kisses his cheek before he falls back into his seat.
The bus claps and everyone else goes back to their own cliques.
"Wow," Mycroft says, "So…The Spice Girls are popular?"
The girls all shout, "And awesome!" at the same time.
"So they're like, just a girl group?"
"They were a girl group. In the nineties they were really popular," Harper explains. "They went their separate ways and got back together for the Olympic Closing Ceremonies last summer. Didn't you watch?"
Mycroft shakes his head. "I don't like sport."
"Of course," Harper says.
"I have to admit," Jaimee announces, "The Spice Girls are hot."
"Oh yeah," Conner adds, "Especially Posh."
"I'll say!" Harper says. "I loved her when I was younger."
"Of course," Mycroft mocks, as she just had to him. He addresses the whole group once again, "Posh? Is that her name?"
"No, her real name is Victoria Beckham," Jaimee says. "And she's gorgeous."
"Beckham…" Mycroft mutters. "Say," he turns to Greg, "Isn't that the name of that footballer you like? What's his name?"
"David Beckham!" Hannah interjects. "Oh, he's so hot!"
"I'll say," Hilary says, joining conversation for the first time.
Mycroft stares at Greg. "Is that why you like him?" he asks. "Because he is married to a Spice Girl?"
The group laughs so loud Mrs. Jacobs has to shush them.
"No!" Greg defends. "I like him because he's an amazing player, and because…because…"
"Because he's pretty!" Lars mocks in a high-pitched voice.
"Hey," Hailey says to him, "Becks is a classy man. Greg has good taste."
"So does Harper," Jaimee says.
"Hey Lestrade," Harper says, "How about we break them up? You take David, I'll take Victoria?"
Greg laughs. "Deal."
Mycroft playfully nudges Greg.
"What!"
Mycroft laughs and Greg smiles.
Everyone behind them turns the conversation into other attractive celebrities, Mycroft hearing names like "Leonardo DiCaprio" and "Emily Blunt" for the first time, but he's not paying attention. He and Greg lock eyes, and slowly they lean in for a kiss. It's quick, light, and secretive because they don't want Mrs. Jacobs to separate them (which she'd already threatened). They pull away and simply smile at each other, everyone behind them still debating.
"Who is your celebrity crush, Greg?" Hannah asks, snapping Greg out of the trance of Mycroft's eyes.
"Oh," Greg says, startled. "Uhm…I don't know. I like Sebastian Stan."
"The guy from Captain America?" Harper asks.
Greg chuckles. "Yeah, that guy."
"He's good!" Hannah says. "Sam made me watch Captain America. It wasn't bad."
"It is a good movie," Jaimee says.
"Comic book movies are amazing," Lars says.
Mycroft remembers Harper's Valentine's Day gift to Kelly was going to be the comic book, and he perks up in realization. Valentine's Day was yesterday, but he and Greg decided to hold theirs off until the following weekend. "How was Valentine's Day?" he asks Harper. "Did you do the gift I told you to do?"
"It went well," Harper says. "And yeah! She loved it!"
"What did you get her?" Hannah asks.
Harper tells the group about the book, and everyone says how awesome that is. Harper smiles triumphantly, having feared people would think it was stupid, but everyone loves it.
They finally get to their destination and pile off the bus. They wrap their coats around themselves, the girls stuck wearing business-type dresses or skirts and the boys wearing dress slacks and ties.
"I like your tie, Greg!" Hannah says as Mycroft adjusts it for Greg.
"Oh, thanks," he says, smoothing the pink tie down his chest. "Sam actually got it for me years ago, I think as a joke, but I like it."
Hannah smiles at the mention of her boyfriend, then leaves to follow Harper inside.
"I like it too," Mycroft says as they follow the group. "I like when you wear a tie."
"Yeah? Funny, I like when you don't wear a tie."
"You don't like my ties?"
Greg grins and leans close to Mycroft. "I like when you don't wear anything at all," he whispers.
Mycroft shivers, Greg's words tingling down his spine. He smiles at Greg, and they don't speak for the rest of the entrance into the building.
The trip goes well and they all learn a lot about educated debates. Mrs. Jacobs instructs them to discuss their debates with their partners on their way back to school, so Greg moves to his partner and Hilary sits next to Mycroft. They talk about their report and discuss things they need to change in the final paper they have due on Friday, then they hug again and Hilary returns to her seat.
Greg sits next to Mycroft again and smiles, then they silently ride back to school.
Debates begin Wednesday, the next day, and all of the students are excited. Greg and Mycroft have the class first period, so they gather their notes and go to their class.
The first pair to go discusses environmental issues, and it's very obvious they agreed on everything they talked about, because their debates were one sided. It's quite boring, but Mycroft manages to pay attention, to his surprise.
Three more pairs take their turn, and finally the last pair is called. Greg and Mycroft sigh relief that they don't have to go that day, so they both sit back in their seats, but as soon as the last group topic is announced, they both look up curiously.
"Danny and Sarah will be discussing same-sex marriage," Mrs. Jacobs says.
Greg sighs. He assumes Danny is going to be a jerk and talk about how 'gross' it is, but to his surprise, Danny says he is for it.
In Danny's speech, he says he is for it because his brother is gay and he knows many gay people, and he thinks they should be allowed to love whoever they want. The students in the class clap when they say that, and Greg catches Danny smile at him.
Sarah, in her speech, says she doesn't think it's right because she thinks it's unnatural. She thinks marriage is for reproducing, and she says, "Since gays can't reproduce, what's the point?"
This irks Greg to no end. Of course it bothers him that people disagree with it at all, but there are many flaws in Sarah's logic. As soon as Mrs. Jacobs opens the floor for debate, Greg raises his hand.
Mrs. Jacobs sighs. "Yes, Mr. Lestrade?"
Greg sits up straight. "Sarah," he says, "In your speech, you state that gays shouldn't be allowed to get married because they can't have kids? What about adoption?"
"That shouldn't be allowed," Sarah says. "Two men shouldn't raise a child. Two women shouldn't raise a baby."
Greg doesn't even bother raising his hand. "What about people who can't have kids? Heterosexual people who can't get pregnant?"
Sarah shrugs. "That's different-"
"So," Greg cuts her off, "Because they're straight they should still be allowed to get married? But two men should be banned from being able to legally be bound to who they love?"
"Well-"
"What about, you know, kids like me?" Greg chuckles to himself. "I mean, not only am I gay, but I have a mother and a step mother. I have two mums, technically. What does that mean?"
"Well, that's obviously different-"
"So just because I can't have a child naturally with someone I love, I shouldn't be allowed to marry them?"
"Look, Lestrade," Sarah sternly says, "Whatever you do is your business, but I don't think it's a valid lifestyle. All I'm saying is, if you are allowed to get married one day, what will that say about my marriage? Same-sex marriage is a joke, and it'll make my future marriage less meaningful. It'll make me having a child less meaningful. It'll confuse my children, it'll make them think…it'll make them think that it's ok for them to be like you. Which it's not. I don't care if you're arguing with me to make a point, but since you're arguing with me because you are gay, it's meaningless. I don't care, you're not anything to me. You're nothing."
As soon as she finishes speaking, Greg grabs his bag and stands.
"Mr. Lestrade!" Mrs. Jacobs shouts, but Greg doesn't stop. He just marches right out of the room.
Mycroft wants to follow him, but he doesn't want to get into trouble. Instead, he shoots Sarah angry glares and sits until the bell rings. As soon as it does, he runs out of the room.
Greg is nowhere to be found. Mycroft tries to call him, but he doesn't answer. Nobody sees him, nobody knows where he went. Mycroft even goes to the counselor's office, but he isn't in there. Mycroft goes to his next class, but he worries about Greg the whole time.
Thirty minutes later, Mycroft's phone vibrates with a text. He pulls his phone out and sees that it's Greg Sr.
From: Gregory Lestrade Sr. What happened to Gregory? He just stormed into the house and ran right up to his bedroom. He won't let us in.
Mycroft frowns and feels like jumping out of his seat to go to Greg, but he doesn't. Instead he texts back:
To: Gregory Lestrade Sr. A stupid girl at school said a lot of mean things to him. He stormed right out of class.
He gets a reply almost instantly:
From: Gregory Lestrade Sr. Perfect. Come by after school, Mycroft. See if you can talk to him.
To: Gregory Lestrade Sr. Yes, sir.
Mycroft pockets his phone and shoots Sarah another look, then continues doing his work.
Mycroft wants to leave school early, but he doesn't. He figures he'd let Greg have his alone time, and once school ends he rushes to Greg's.
Greg Sr. tells Mycroft that Jan shouted through the door that he'd be stopping by, so hopefully Greg unlocked his door. Sure enough, the door is unlocked, so Mycroft goes right in and sees Greg laying face down on his bed.
"Greg?" he softly asks, but Greg doesn't stir. Mycroft grows worried for a second, but he can see Greg's back move with each breath, so he sighs relief and pulls his coat off.
Mycroft removes his tie and unbuttons the top button of his shirt, then removes his belt, then lays on the bed. He snuggles close to Greg and rests his head on the middle of Greg's back.
He hears and feels Greg wake, and he begins stroking Greg's side.
"She's right," Greg whispers.
Confused, Mycroft asks, "About what?"
"I am nothing," Greg says.
Mycroft's hand pauses. "She's wrong."
Greg shakes his head against his pillow. "She's not. You are. I am. We're…we're nothing."
"I don't think that," Mycroft says.
"Then I am. I'm nothing."
"You're everything," Mycroft nuzzles Greg's back, "To me, at least."
"Which is why I'm nothing."
Mycroft grows annoyed very quickly. "Stop letting her words get to you."
"It wasn't just her words," Greg explains, "It was that nobody else even bothered to argue with her. Not even you."
"Sorry I didn't bring my Pride Flag and Elton John collection to school today," Mycroft tries to joke.
Greg doesn't say anything.
"I was joking," Mycroft clarifies.
"I know."
Mycroft frowns. "You're not nothing. You're special."
"I'm different."
"And that's why you're special. I think people who are different are the most special. Do you want to know why?"
Greg shrugs.
"I think it's because…it's because we're all dealt different cards, right? Fate? And people like us, who are special, are dealt their hand because we're the most brave. Because we have courage to stand up for who we are. And you…you're the most special because you are courageous. You're so open about all of this and you're so brave and you're so confident when you say the words, 'I'm gay.' Me? I'm not. I just ignore it. So if anyone's nothing…it's me."
Greg slightly turns so that he's facing Mycroft. He's crying. "You really think that?"
Mycroft nods.
Greg turns to him fully and hugs him, pulling Mycroft as close as he can. They silently hold each other for minutes, and finally Greg pulls away. "You're not nothing," he says as soon as he does.
"I'm not as brave as you."
"I wish I could ignore it like you. You're brave in that you just…you can ignore it."
Mycroft nods. "You can't let the words of a stupid little girl get to you."
Greg frowns. "It's not just her. It's everyone. Her, my mum, other classmates, the fucking government-"
Mycroft chuckles at that. He smiles at Greg. "Do you want to know what the best part of it all is?"
Greg looks confused. "There's a best part?"
Mycroft takes his hand and locks their fingers together. "That we have each other."
Greg doesn't say anything, he just looks at Mycroft. Seconds later, he attacks Mycroft in a deep kiss, stealing all the air out of Mycroft's lungs, and all of the fear in his heart.
At that moment, Mycroft feels like going back to Sarah and giving her a piece of his mind for making Greg feel that way. He feels like shouting from the rooftops that he is in love with another boy, and that he doesn't want to hide forever. He feels like changing the world with that one simple kiss.
Mycroft kisses back, but soon Greg pulls away for air. He looks into Mycroft's eyes, both so blue and clear and open that Greg wants to swim into them and stay forever. He knows that this is where he should be for the rest of his life, and he says it. "I want to be with you forever."
Stunned, Mycroft doesn't say anything.
"Please?" Greg plants a quick kiss onto Mycroft's lips. "Be with me forever?"
Mycroft slowly nods, feeling the same way. "Yes, ok."
Greg kisses him again, and they don't part for minutes after that.
They finally leave Greg's room on time for dinner, so Jan makes them plates and they sit with her and Greg Sr. Greg tells them about what happened at school, and Greg Sr. asks if he needs to go to the school to talk to anyone. Greg says that won't be necessary, and Mycroft tells him how nearly everyone at school was talking about it.
"I heard people say things like, 'I always thought, but now we know…' about you."
"Were people judgmental?"
Mycroft shrugs. "Some were. Some were like, 'Oh, he is? Awesome!'."
Greg nods. "Well," he shrugs, at a loss of words, "Guess it's out now. Just like the last school."
"Don't worry," Jan tries, "It isn't like when everyone found out at your old school. And I'm proud of you."
"Me too, son."
Greg nods. "Thanks, guys."
"I am too," Mycroft says.
The next day, Mycroft wakes nervous about the school day. When people starting questioning if he was gay, that wasn't good for him. He got beat up a lot, and that's when everyone started being so mean to him. He hopes people are nicer to Greg, and he wants nothing bad to happen. He wants to stand proudly next to Greg.
As he's getting dressed, he remembers something one of his aunts had bought him for Christmas last year. He goes to his closet and pulls out his tie collection, finding the right one: a rainbow-striped tie. He smiles and wraps it around his neck.
He gets to school at the usual time and is emptying his bag when Greg approaches him. Greg kisses him quickly, then opens his own locker.
"Oh!" Mycroft remembers his tie. He's still wearing his coat, so Greg can't see it, so he begins to unbutton it. "I wanted to be brave like you, so…" he pulls his coat apart. "Ta-da!"
Greg laughs and touches his tie. "Wow!"
"It's not exactly a sign that says, 'Hey I'm Greg's boyfriend!', but it's a start."
Greg smiles and kisses him, and minutes later their friends arrive.
"We heard about what happened yesterday," Jaimee says after they all greet. "And we just want to support you guys."
"Thanks, mate," Greg says.
"Wait, I'm not done!" Jaimee says. He unbuttons his coat just as Mycroft had, and the rest of their friends follow, and all of them reveal white t-shirts with rainbow-stripes painted on the best.
Greg and Mycroft laughs.
"Oh gosh, guys!" Greg cries. "Amazing!"
Harper smiles. "Of course I wanted to stand up today, and when I told Jaimee, he insisted we all do so. Everyone's got one, we made them last night."
"These are great guys, really!"
"Really amazing," Mycroft adds.
They all pridefully wear them all day, and nobody messes with them or says anything, not even Dave Cooper or Sarah or Mrs. Jacobs. Greg and Mycroft love it, and they're proud of their friends for being so brave, too. They go through the day very happy, and the issue isn't brought up at school again for a long time.
*Hello, all! So this chapter I am apparently having LGBT feels. I wrote this a long time ago because Pride in my state was a few weeks ago, but I didn't get a chance to add it in when it happened, so I found the opportunity to do so now. Thank you for reading and being so patient about my computer issues. Please review! Thanks!
