A/N: Warning—This section does contain derogatory words, etc, regarding sexual orientation. We obviously don't condone the language/attitude, but it was necessary for the storyline. Also, this chapter is slashy. If it's gonna bug you, probably shouldn't continue reading ;).

For those who can translate Italian, no it isn't a goof (those who don't, it's not a big detail, so no worries ;) )

Thank you Chibi Lauryn and I-Shave-Clowns for your reviews! They're much appreciated!

Oh, and one more note, because I haven't actually remembered to add it to previous chapters: This story was co-written by Serenity (writing as Ellie and Craig) and Chaos (writing as Marco, Craig, and several minor characters).

On to scene 4.

Though he'd been a complete mess by the time he'd fled home, Marco had pretty much gotten himself back together by the time he reached Craig's. It had been one of the worst days of his life. He'd known that coming out to his papa was not going to be easy, but he hadn't been prepared for just how horrible it had actually been.

Filth!

He could have lied, he supposed, and told his papa that Cam was gay but that he himself wasn't. He could have lied. In hindsight, he probably should have. Except that his ma would not approve. For that matter, he wouldn't either. He didn't like to lie. Besides, he wanted his papa to accept him as he was. Unfortunately, it did not seem probable that acceptance would come any time soon.

Abomination!

Marco swept at his eyes one last time and hoped that they didn't look red or swollen. He smiled, though he could feel the falseness of it. At least if Craig noticed, he probably wouldn't say anything. That's why he'd chosen Craig instead of Ellie to come to. She was his best friend, but she also wouldn't let him get away with holding in whatever was wrong. Craig, on the other hand…seemed to have his own secrets, and was a lot less likely to force Marco to reveal his. And right now, he couldn't tell anyone what had happened. He just needed time to let his papa cool down and then focus on figuring out how to fix things. The last thing he needed was a well meaning friend complicating things.

Pervert!

The tell-tale sounds of Craig's guitar led Marco to go straight to the garage. He knocked lightly as he peeked in. "Anyone home?" he called, trying his best to act normal. With any luck, Craig would just assume that any awkwardness was just because he'd been away for the whole summer.

Pathetic fairy!

Craig was so into his music that it took him a few moments to realize that someone was knocking. At first he thought that he was imaging things, so he continued to play, but then he heard someone's voice and slowly put down his guitar and redirected his attention to his visitor. He broke into a relieved smile as he saw Marco. "Oh hey, Marco! Come on in. I've been trying to reach you for a while."

That…boy...you let him touch you? Kiss you!

Marco forced himself to keep smiling, though the game was likely already up. Craig was probably the one who'd called when his papa was so mad that he was ready to throw Marco out. His ma had gotten him calmed down before that had happened, thank goodness, but still, Marco knew that his papa had told someone that he didn't live there anymore. "Oh really?" Marco feigned ignorance. "Sorry. My cell hasn't been working," he added. It wasn't entirely untrue. It wasn't working. Not after his papa threw it against the wall in an angry tirade. "So…" Marco said awkwardly, hoping Craig interpreted as being awkward because they hadn't talked in a couple months. "How've you been? Good summer?" he tried to direct the conversation to neutral territory for a while. He was still a bit of a wreck, and was afraid if Craig started asking questions he'd end up freaking out and blurting out everything. Well, almost everything. Nobody had to know about…everything.

Don't think I'll pray for your soul, figlia! Not when you bring…this into our house!

Getting the feeling that something was off, and Craig's attention was drawn to the slightly off color of one of Marco's cheeks. Maybe it was nothing, but…Craig had an uneasy feeling about it; deep in his gut, embedded in his memory. He reached out and touched Marco's shoulder softly. "Marco? Is everything okay?" he asked cautiously. "Ellie was here earlier and she was really worried. She said she tried calling your house and…well…your dad hung up on her."

Dirty little slut!

Marco wanted to tell Craig that he was fine. For about ten seconds he really intended to do just that. He forced himself to smile but he couldn't get the words out. His smile slipped and he found himself shaking his head. Everything wasn't fine. His papa hated him. "My papa…" he said shakily, sinking down onto the sofa. He looked at the ground, afraid to look at Craig. Afraid his friend would see how bad it had been. He could still downplay things. "I came out to him…well…he found out, actually," he admitted. He looked up, nervous. He didn't want to make it sound worse than things had really been. It wasn't like his papa abused him or anything. (Dirty) One (little) slap (faggot!) wasn't abuse. No matter how hard it had been. But that wasn't even what was bothering him. It was the things his papa had said. Marco knew it'd been said in ignorance and that it wasn't true (was it?), but that didn't make it hurt any less.

faggotfaggotfaggot

Craig's eyes were still drawn to the discolored skin, but didn't want to upset Marco any further. He suspected he knew exactly how that bruise had been caused. But he also knew from experience that it was something you don't talk about. He sat down next to his friend and carefully rested his hand on the smaller boy's shoulder. "Hey…it's going to be okay," he assure softly. "You can stay here while you figure things out. I'm sure that Joey won't mind. It's going to be okay," he repeated, rubbing Marco's shoulder reassuringly.

Marco felt his eyes growing wet as Craig began to comfort him. The assurances were exactly what Marco thought he wanted to hear, but as soon as the words were said, all Marco could think about was the fact that it was completely real. His papa truly had found out and had reacted how Marco had always feared. Perhaps worse. He could feel himself trembling a little bit as he leaned into Craig, needing the physical comfort of a hug. He knew that Craig wasn't really a 'hug' sort of guy when it came to other guys (faggot), but he couldn't help it. He needed to be held. "I'm sorry," he apologized, though he didn't back away and hoped that Craig wouldn't push him away. "He…" Marco stopped himself before letting it slip how his papa had slapped him. It wasn't even that it hurt that much. There would probably be a bruise, but it would be minor. And it wasn't that big a deal. At least not physically. It was just the idea that his papa would ever hit him at all that upset him. That was the reason he'd left, but the things his papa had said were far worse than the physical strike. Somehow, that made Marco feel even worse, though. He felt pathetic for being so upset over the stupid things that someone said--even if it was his papa. It was only words. But…"He was so mean," he finally finished his thought, his voice no louder than a whisper.

Knowing in his gut that there was a lot more going on than what that simple admission revealed, Craig nodded and loosely put his arms around Marco's shoulders, wanting to comfort, but feeling quite awkward about it.

Feeling Craig's arms going around him, Marco immediately turned into the embrace, wrapping his arms around Craig and resting his head against Craig's shoulder, needing the comforting hug.

Craig chewed his lip uncomfortably and tried to figure out exactly how to extricate himself from this without being too obvious.

Marco felt it, though, and immediately felt worse. "I'm sorry," he apologized again as he pulled away, getting up again and moving away. He had to focus on not crying, but his papa's words were still echoing in his head and he couldn't help but wonder if there wasn't some truth to the cruel words. He knew Craig wasn't the type who would be comfortable with physical affection, but he'd gone and tried to force it upon him anyway. What was wrong with him! (Pervert!) He moved further away yet. "I'm sorry I'm such a...mess. I didn't mean anything," he apologized again, looking away guiltily.

Craig's heart melted and he rose quickly to his feet. "No! I'm sorry. I didn't mean to push you away like that. It's just that…it's just…" he stopped, seeing how close Marco seemed to be to breaking down. Craig wanted to comfort him so badly, but he just wasn't good at that sort of thing. He had no idea what he was doing. But Marco had been there for him so many times. When his dad died. His repeated problems with Ashley. His creative blocks. Everything. Marco was always there. Supporting, comforting, inspiring, anything he needed. And he wanted to return the favor. So…pushing aside the awkward feelings he moved closer to Marco again, wrapping his arms around the smaller boy. "Shhh. It's going to be okay," he repeated, pulling him closer. After a few moments, he set back on the sofa, pulling Marco down with him. He held Marco, a lot firmer than before, quite possibly overcompensating for the way he'd held back before. But this time he realized he didn't care.

For a moment, Marco tensed as Craig grabbed him into a tight hug. But the he sensed that this time Craig didn't mind it at all. He wrapped his arms back around Craig and leaned into him again, leaning his head against his friend's shoulder. He felt a few tears break free and roll silently down his cheek and closed his eyes, relaxing slightly as he felt Craig's hand rubbing his back comfortingly.

"Shhhh," Craig soothed again, shifting a little bit as he tried to get into a more comfortable position. He was slightly cowed as he felt Marco relaxing, melting against him, and…it felt right. Impulsively he kissed Marco's forehead lightly, like he'd often done when comforting Angie when she was upset. He could feel his shoulder getting slightly wet and realized that Marco had begun to cry. The worst kind of tears, too; the ones that aren't for attention or anything. The silent kind. The ones that come only when you're so miserable that you couldn't hold them in any longer. For just a moment, Craig felt a spark of anger aimed at Marco's father. He didn't know what the man had said or done, but if he were here right now, Craig wasn't sure he'd be able to control his temper. But the man wasn't there. And Marco needed him. He gently wiped the tears from Marco's cheeks. He smiled sadly as Marco's eyes opened and peered up at him in surprise. He kissed Marco's forehead again.

Marco clung harder to Craig, smiling slightly against his shoulder as he blinked to stop the tears from continuing. He felt warmed as Craig tenderly wiped the tears from his cheek. Instinctively he closed his eyes again and pressed back against the hand without even realizing he was doing so.

"It's going to be okay," Craig repeated softly and leaned forward, closing his eyes as he moved to kiss Marco's forehead again. It just seemed like the right thing to do.

Marco felt so much better. He'd just really needed to be comforted, and Craig was being so amazing. He had to tell Craig how much he appreciated everything he was doing. His eyes still closed, he moved his face out of the crook of Craig's neck so that he could speak. He became suddenly aware of Craig's lips. Grazing softly against his.

His body moved on pure instinct, shifting slightly to let more of Craig's weight fall against him, simultaneously arching into his touch.

Whoa.

Craig's eyes flew open and he realized that the kiss intended for Marco's forehead had somehow been redirected to Marco's lips. He was about to pull away quickly, but something stopped him. The last thing he wanted was to hurt Marco. And there was something else…something…very confusing. But he realized that this kiss…was not entirely unwelcome. His heart sped slightly with nervousness and confusion, and he slowly pulled back just enough to breathe and tried to wrap his head around what had just happened. He knew he wasn't gay. He liked girls, he liked Ellie, but…there was something really intriguing about holding Marco…kissing Marco. His eyes widened slightly, and for a moment he felt a slight panic. He didn't really think that, did he? Not that there was anything wrong with it. He just wasn't…he couldn't be; he liked Ellie!

It wasn't until Craig pulled away that Marco opened his eyes. He tensed as he saw the stunned look on Craig's face. Oh God. Craig hadn't…hadn't wanted that. What had he done? (filthy perverted whore!) He swallowed hard, staring up into Craig's stunned eyes. "Craig! I'm so sorry. I didn't mean…I can't believe I…I didn't…" he stammered, closing his eyes, not wanting to see the look on Craig's face as it sank in that Marco had done it again. When in doubt, kiss Craig. He hadn't meant to do that again. He thought…but that made no sense. Craig wasn't gay, of course he wasn't into the kiss. He liked girls. Totally. Not girly little (pussy!) boys like Marco. The kiss was all Marco and wishful thinking. "I'm sorry," he choked out tersely. "I'm sorry, I-I've screwed everything up. You were being so nice and I had to…to ruin everything! I didn't mean to do that…" he swallowed nervously, "again. I know you're not…you're not. Just don't hate me. I won't ever do that again I swear--"

Craig stared back at Marco, his eyes widening more as his friend became increasingly agitated. He had wanted to comfort Marco, but now Marco was clearly more upset than when he'd first come over. 'Oh, yes, I'm so great at this comfort thing,' Craig thought dryly. He wanted to calm Marco and make him forget about whatever had happened with his dad. So he did the only thing he could think of that would undo what he'd just done to upset him. The only thing that felt right at that time. He wasn't really sure what he was doing or if he should be doing it, but he carefully and unsurely leaned down and touched his lips to Marco's again.

Marco wanted this to be real. He really wanted it to be real. But it wasn't. Craig was straight. This was…he didn't know what it was, but it wasn't real. Craig was just so amazing that he'd do something like this just to make Marco happy, but Marco knew it was wrong. And he couldn't let him do it. "Craig," he whispered reluctantly, sinking back, though he really could only move back a fraction of an inch since he was already pressed to the back of the sofa. His lips were only barely not touching Craig's, and it took all his willpower not to close back in that tiny distance. He looked up into Craig's face and couldn't resist reaching out and gently caressing Craig's cheek. For a moment, he couldn't speak but only stared up at him, adoring everything about him at that moment. Marco licked his lips nervously and closed his eyes as he realized that he could still taste Craig on his lips. His breath caught for a moment. He wanted Craig to kiss him again, but it was so wrong. And he had to stop Craig from doing anything that they'd both regret; Craig because he was straight and Marco...because Craig was straight. And someone he could never really have. "Craig," he tried again. "I…I love that you'd do this for me. And I know you mean well," he said softly. "B-but I don't want you to kiss me," he lied, his heart sinking. He couldn't stop himself from correcting the lie by softly adding, "Not when I know you can't mean it."

Craig was a little confused at first. And surprisingly…disappointed. Perhaps even a little hurt. "But…I did mean it," he murmured, blinking as he realized it was true. "I mean I do mean it," he added. "I…I…" He had no idea how to finish that sentence. Actually there were three little words that were on the tip of his tongue, but he could only imagine how weird it would be if he actually said them. He wasn't sure they were true. Though in a weird way he really felt that they were. He looked away for a few moments, trying to figure out what to do. Very slowly his eyes drifted back to Marco's face and his heart beat faster. Marco looked so…Craig wasn't sure how to describe it except that it seemed as if Marco's entire soul was laid bare as he looked up at Craig with so much emotion in his eyes. Hurt. Desire. Fear. Adoration. All of it directed at Craig with an intensity that Craig wasn't sure he'd ever had directed at him before. His heart beat faster and he licked his lips, his eyes locked with Marco's as he slowly lowered his face back toward Marco's, a thousand alarms going off inside his head. He expected Marco to pull away. He'd said that he didn't want this and he was upset. And Craig was supposed to be comforting him. Craig silently assured himself that comforting was exactly what he was trying to do, but he wasn't sure if that was even the real reason anymore. When his lips finally touched Marco's the alarms went silent and he sank deeper into the kiss, beyond listening to reason anymore. Where had reason ever gotten him anyway?

Marco's heart began to race as Craig did the last thing he ever expected. He kissed Marco again. Marco hesitated for only a moment, still afraid that Craig was only kissing him because he thought it was what Marco wanted. Which it was. Marco did want this. And he told himself that Craig wouldn't kiss again if he didn't want it, too.

Pushing the doubt from his mind, Marco began to respond, wrapping his arms around Craig and melting into the kiss.