Within the matter of an hour or so the door bell to the Kirkland-Jones' house rang to announcing fellow new uncle Matthew had arrived for the party. Alfred found it quite entertaining to watch his younger brother nearly start crying the first time he got to hold his new born nephew. The young American guessed his brother was much more excited about this than he initially thought. Alfred was busy out on the back patio grilling food while Arthur and the rest of the party crew sat up on enclosed porch all fawning over little Charlie. It was surprising how nice and warm it still was despite it now being October. Benefits of living in a more southern state Alfred guessed. About a half an hour later the door bell rang again as Alfred flipped over a few burgers on his oh-my-god-this-is-the-most-amazing-thing-ever-it's-like-the-Hummer-of-all-grills- grill that he had purchased earlier that summer. The dark blonde man closed the lid to the grill and hopped up the steps of the porch, "I got it," Alfred offered before his husband even had a chance to get up from his seat. Arthur sent him a grateful smile seeing as how he really didn't want to have to answer the door for a particular person who Alfred knew was standing on the steps.
Alfred braced himself as he turned the knob because he knew a shower of kisses would be awaiting him as soon as his only means of protection was gone. "Oh there's my little boy!" Alfred's mother exclaimed as she threw hers around her oldest son and began laying kisses all over his face with those bright red lips she always had. Alfred's mom was a lady born and raised in Texas with blue eyes like her son's and light blonde hair. She was a bit on the short and slightly plump side, but she was a caring lady with a heart as big as the state she was from. "Oh look at my little Alfie, all grown up and a daddy. Oh god I think I'm gonna cry." She said as she pulled away and began fanning herself in an attempt to stop the oncoming waterfall of tears.
"Aw ma, please don't start crying." Alfred pleaded as he gave her a little grin.
"Oh I know baby it's just… it seems like it was only yesterday I was bringing you and Mattie home from the hospital yourselves and now look at this I got my first grand baby." She sniffled before letting out a loud laugh and wiping a few tears from her eyes as she tried to save her make up from smearing down her rosy cheeks.
"I know Ma, I know." Al soothed as he handed her a few tissues from a nearby end table. She only flashed her boy a large smile as she cleaned herself up.
Alfred turned to his father; and man born and raised in Virginia under a strict Christian, Republican family who shipped him off to the military as soon as he was old enough. He was a tall man with a stern military-esque air around him; always standing straight with his shoulders held back and a brunette buzz cut hugging the entirety of his bullet shaped head. All Alfred's life he had never really felt quiet… comfortable around his father. Sure Alfred loved him- he was his father after all- but he had never really shown much of that 'fatherly love' that Alfred had only seen in movies and from his friend's fathers. Alfred was to speak to him properly whilst he stood at attention and addressed his parent as 'sir.' It was needless to say this stern and strict man just about blew a gasket when he discovered his oldest son was in fact a homosexual. Had Alfred's mother not been there at the time he had 'come out' to his father the young American was sure his father probably would have killed him or at the very least disowned him.
"Sir," Alfred spoke strongly as he gave a brisk nod towards the man.
"Alfred." He spoke back in that deep husky tone of his; not saying anything else since there was still large amounts of tension between him and his son.
"Oh Lou, stop acting like Mr. Starchy shorts and give your boy a hug or at the very least a hand shake." Alfred's mother chided as she smacked her husband on the shoulder with the back of her hand.
The man sighed and slightly rolled his steely gray eyes as he extended his hand for Alfred to take. The hand shake was brief and strong; not lasting more than a few milliseconds lest any unnecessary contact be carried out.
"Alfred," It was Arthur's voice that sounded down the hallway followed by the gentle click of the Briton's favorite pair of loafers on the hard wood floor. "Are your parents here?" He called just as he came into his husband's line of sight; peering around the corner of the hallway to confirm his suspicion.
"Arthur Kirkland-Jones you come over here and give your mother-in-law a hug!" Alfred's mother exclaimed excitedly as she held her arms wide open and ready to accept her son-in-law. Arthur smiled gently and headed for the small lady's arms and gave her a friendly and polite hug.
"Hello Kathleen, it's so nice to see you again." Arthur said politely. Even though he was not the hands on touchy feely type the Briton had long since gotten used to it. It was 100% obvious which parent had given Alfred his unlimited amounts of optimism and energy as well as that million dollar grin.
Arthur smiled as he pulled away from Alfred's mother before his green eyed gaze slid over to where Alfred's father stood steady and stable and staring a hole into Arthur's head with those intense gray eyes. Arthur could already feel his anger flare up in the pit of his stomach and his throat clench at the sight of the man. It was mean to say, but Arthur did not like his father-in-law. He did not like his father-in-law one bit at all. He was a pompous man whose mind was as closed up as Area 51 with the attitude of a person who nearly constantly had a stick shoved so far up their ass it affected their brain. "Lou…" Arthur's tone was monotonous and indifferent as he addressed the older man. "It's nice to see you too…" If Arthur's mother hadn't raised him to be a proper gentleman the Briton probably would have ignored the man or if he was really mad spit in his face.
Luckily with the recent birth of his first child Arthur was in a relatively cheery mood and didn't feel the need to do anything rash today.
Lou didn't say anything; only responding with a little hum of agreement and the slightest nod of his head. Typical…. Arthur thought to himself. Kathleen sent the Briton an apologetic smile. Arthur knew full well that she knew her husband was an asshole, but that didn't stop her from loving him. Alfred was an idiot child trapped in an adult's body, but Arthur still loved him. "Well come on then, Mattie's here and so are Arthur's brothers. They're all out on the back porch with Charlie." Alfred explained cheerfully as he boldly slung an arm around Arthur shoulder- half out of love for his husband and half out of spite for his father- and led the little parade down the hall and to the enclosed porch.
When the group arrived back in the room it was Angus who was busy holding little Charlie with Mael and Carney close by. Matthew sat at the opposite end of the table, contently smiling as he waited patiently for his turn to hold Charlie again. The blonde boy's violet eyes shifted behind the lenses of his glasses as he turned his gaze to the door and a warm smile pulled up at the corners of his lips as his vision came across the sight of his beloved mother (He always had been a mama's boy). "Aw Mattie, c'mere baby mama hasn't seen you in so long." Kathleen laughed as she opened her arms wide once again for her youngest son. She sure was on fire with the hugs today, but then again if it was the day you got to meet your very first grandchild you'd probably be hugging random people on the streets for all you cared. "Oh Mattie look at you, you got taller- or maybe I'm shrinkin'." She laughed. "But you're so gosh darn thin… are you eatin' enough?" If there was ever one thing Kathleen knew how to do it was making the-most-fattening-yet most-delicious- stick-to-your-ribs-kind-of-southern food that would pretty much give even the most physically fit of people a heart attack.
"Yes mom, I'm eating just fine." Matthew sighed with a soft smile and a little roll of his eyes.
"Ma, you remember Arthur's brother's right? Angus, Mael and Carney." Hellos' and how are yous' were exchanged between the marriage bonded family before Kathleen set her eyes on the little blanket wrapped bundle tucked in Angus' arms. Her sky blue orbs glistened as she brought one hand to her bright red lips and tried to keep herself from burst out into happy sobs.
"Oh, let me see 'im…" She prompted Angus to hand over the baby as she held her arms open and ready to take the little one. The big scot grinned and nodded in agreement as he carefully stood from his chair and walked over to the Texan woman; gently placing the newborn baby boy in her arms. "Oh my good lord in heaven would you look at this little guy. He's gotta be the cutest darn thing I ever have seen- looks just like my Alfie." The new grandmother gushed fondly over little Charlie who only eyed her curiously with those endless blue eyes; wondering who the strange red lipped woman was. "Oh Lou, look at 'im, our first grandbaby." She said proudly she turned around to show her husband the baby boy wriggling in her arms. The man cast his intense gaze down on the small baby in his wife's warms causing Arthur to stiffen like a board at his husband's side. Don't look at him like that… not with those indifferent eyes…. Lou scrutinized the baby's face for a few moments forcing everyone in the room to sit under the heavy pressure of his silence until he finally opened his mouth to speak.
"He's a good lookin' kid… congratulations Alfred… Arthur." It wasn't much but at least he had said something that wasn't a one word answer or a low grunt. At least he had congratulated his son and his son's husband even if it wasn't in the most pleasant manner. Alfred and Arthur let out a collective breath that they both didn't realize they had been holding within those few silent seconds.
Charlie then began to squirm in Kathleen's arms, letting out small whines as he balled up his tiny hands into fists and waved his chubby arms around. "Oh someone is gettin' fussy… and kinda smelly." The Texan woman laughed as she adjusted the baby in her arms so he sat propped up against her shoulder.
"Then I think it's time someone got changed." Arthur smiled softly at his little boy who only continued to fuss as he looked around in confusion as to why no one was changing him this very second.
As Arthur began to approach Kathleen to take Charlie from her arms she was reluctant to let him go, "Don't you worry your little head Arthur, I'll go change him you just sit down and take it easy. I bet y'all are just exhausted after all the hub-bub these past few days." The blonde lady offered kindly.
Arthur himself was a bit reluctant since he still seemed to be a bit in the over protective stage ever since the baby's birth three days ago, but he was also grateful for the help since he was indeed still exhausted seeing as how his nap was interrupted earlier. He felt a bit more comfortable knowing that she was very experienced in the art of handling babies since she herself was the mother of twin boys. "Oh, then thank you very much Kathleen. That would be wonderful. The nursery is upstairs to the left hallway and is the second door on your right." The plump Texan woman gave a brisk nod before whisking Charlie away and cooing to him tenderly in some kind of cutesy baby babble.
The room was heavy with silence again as the Ray of sunshine that was Kathleen left the room with the star of the party. Unsure of what course of action to take next Alfred looked down at Arthur, then he let his blue eyed gaze travel over to his brother and finally coming to a stop on the figure of his father that hadn't moved one inch since his arrival in the room. Anything… anything to get rid of this awful silence that was making Alfred squirm and itch like a defenseless ant caught in the sunlight through a magnified glass. "W-well uh… Dad, why don't you sit down and chat with everyone; I'm gonna go get the burgers off the grill." Alfred felt a little bit bad leaving the other's to fend for themselves against his father, but the friction between the two of them was getting a bit too uncomfortable even for someone calm and easy going like Alfred (Plus the burgers catching on fire on the grill wouldn't be too good either).
Lou had taken a seat far from everyone else at the table as Alfred retreated out the screen door and down the steps towards the still smoldering grill. The American could practically feel the tension of the room seeping out from the wide open windows and it made all too unnatural chills course up and down his spine. As Alfred began absent mindedly flipped the patties of hamburger meat his mind traveled back nearly five years ago- back to when he had first told his father what exactly his preference in love was.
Alfred was nineteen years old at the time; fresh out of high school and on the path to being an American football protégé. He was young, handsome, athletic, smart, funny, and kind- in other words the ideal man. There was never a single person who had met his endless blue gaze that didn't instantly fall in love with the charismatic adolescent.
The boy's father couldn't have been any prouder of his oldest son. There was hardly ever a day when he didn't mention all the hopes and dreams he had pinned down on Alfred's back. At first it made Alfred feel triumphant, his chest swelling with pride, but soon the weight of his father's expectations began to become more and more of a struggle for the young man to bear. Alfred was… well he didn't want to say sad and he didn't want to say happy either- one could just say he was content. He had everything going for him. A beautiful girl friend, a million and one friends, and a bright promising future ahead of him yet… none of it was what he truly wanted.
He had always known in his heart of hearts what he wanted wasn't a super bowl champion ship ring on his hand; it was a seat at the U.N. with a small American flag pinned to the lapel of his suit. He also knew what he really truly wanted wasn't a beautiful, bubbly, big boobed, blonde girl on his arm… it was another man (He wasn't entirely sure what kind yet, just that it was what he wanted).
After months of working up every ounce of courage in his body Alfred finally managed to ask his parents to sit with him in the living room of their home so he could have a little chat with them. "Mom… D-Dad…" He breathed out as he tried to will the quivering in his hands and voice to stop. "I've… I've got something real important I wanna talk to you guys about."
"Oh god you got Bethany pregnant, didn't you? Oh lord in heaven Alfie what were you thinkin'!" His mother instantly cried as she buried her face in her hands.
"Dammit Alfred! A kid's just gonna ruin everything you've got goin' for ya!" His father roared as he slammed his fist down on the arm of the couch.
"No, no, no! You've got it all wrong; it's got nothin' to do with her!" Alfred instantly protested (Well it sort of had something to do with her, but who was counting the technicalities?).
"Then what is it Alfie, what's got ya'll so serious?" His mother sniffled as she recovered her composure thinking that she had ruled out the worst possible problem.
"Well I uh…" Alfred trailed off as his gaze nervously traveled about the room behind the lenses of his glasses. All that courage he had been saving up was all quickly diminishing under the steely intense glare of his father. "I um…"
"C'mon boy, are you a Jones or ain't ya? Say what you're gonna say because the Cowboys' game is comin' on in ten minutes." His father prompted coldly as he folded his arms across his chest and leaned back against the couch cushions.
Alfred swallowed thickly as his hands fidgeted in his lap. He drew in a deep shaky breath… "Mom… Dad… I…" Lord almighty! Alfred F. Jones just spit it out already! "I… I don't… I don't wanna play football…"
Uneasy silence filled the room and tension bared down heavily on Alfred's broad shoulders. "Is… I-is that it Alfred?" His mother questioned almost as if she was relieved it wasn't something majorly major like getting his girl friend pregnant.
"W-well… that's kinda only half of it…" He muttered shyly as he readjusted the glasses on the edge of his nose.
"Then what the hell are you gonna do? This was the plan, remember Alfred? You were gonna be a star in high school, get a football scholarship and then get drafted into an NFL team! Remember?" His father shouted enraged at his son's sudden defiance.
"But dad… it's not what I really like doing…" Alfred muttered again as he tried his best to avoid his father's intense glare.
"Lou, now let's just calm down for a second..." Kathleen soothed her fuming husband before turning back to her eldest son. "Alfred… if you don't wanna play football, then what is it you wanna do?"
Alfred fidgeted for the one millionth time in that sort span of only about seven minutes. "… I… I wanna be a… I uh wanna be a p-politician…"
"A poli-fucking-tition! Well you better damn well become president boy! Someone's gotta carry on the glory of the Jones family name and it sure as hell won't be your sissy brother Matthew!"
"Louis Benjamin Jones don't you talk about our children that way!" Kathleen shouted back, her rounded cheeks becoming red and blotchy with her growing anger. "Would you just shut up about that dumb old football dream of y'ers? If Al doesn't wanna play football, he doesn't wanna play football and we should support him in whatever it is he does because we're his parents!" That came as a great relief to Alfred. The boy knew he could always count on his mother to help him out of a tight spot- she was always supportive no matter what Alfred did.
It wasn't his mother's reaction that was terrifying him, it was his father's. If he had reacted this badly to Alfred's confession of not playing football imagine what he would think when Alfred finished cleaning out his mental closet… it would not be pretty.
Lou scowled, the corners of his lips almost reaching the bottom of his chin, as he glared over at his oldest son with a disapproving gaze. "Good lord Alfred… What the hell has gotten into you? You've got the whole world at your fucking finger tips with this football gig and all you wanna do is wear a suit and sit behind a stupid desk all day?" He sighed and shook his head back and forth. "I will never understand you…"
Alfred bit the inside of his cheek, he bit it so hard in fact that he began to feel the metallic tang of blood dancing across his taste buds. He had to tell them the rest, not later today, not tomorrow, not three years from now, no. It had to be today, this very instant otherwise he would never be able to say it and then the rest of his life would be a lie.
"So what's the other part Alfred?" His mother inquired to break the silence, but Alfred could see herself bracing for the impact of what else Alfred could possibly want to talk about.
"Weeeell…" Alfred drew as he attempted to stall for as long as he could so his brain would have time to think of the best way to word this. "I guess I… I've sorta known this for awhile now, but uh… but…" Alfred trailed off and gazed off into the carpet somehow getting momentarily lost in the millions of little fibers that made up the object. "I uh… I…"
"Oh, for the love of god Alfred! Would you stop your godamn stammering and just spit it out already?" Lou shouted, once again bringing his fist down onto the arm of the defenseless couch.
Alfred squeezed his eyes shut, swallowing thickly before taking in a deep breath and saying the one thing he had needed to say for over two years now. "Mom, dad I'm gay!" He shouted on the exhale of that deep breath, instantly feeling like the weight of the world had been lifted of his square shoulders. The feeling of relief though was short lived as the atmosphere of the entire room began to fill with what seemed to be murderous rage. Alfred felt the hair on the back of his neck stand on end while goose bumps began to rise up from under the tanned skin on his arms. This was a bad idea, a very, very bad idea. At least if he'd had to lie to himself for the rest of his life he'd actually be alive to experience it.
His father was going to kill him.
"A-Al… I-I… I don't know wh-!" Kathleen was quickly cut off as her husband jumped up from his seat on the couch and exploded like the ticking time bomb he was.
"WHAT IS THIS BULLSHIT! NO SON OF MINE IS NO FUCKING QUEER!" He roared furiously, his squared face as red as the stripes on the American flag. He stormed over to his son who for once in his life cowered in fear before the raging shadow slowly encasing his body. Lou grabbed Alfred by the collar of his shirt and hoisted him up so only few centimeters separated the tips of their noses. "YOU BETTER BE LYIN' BOY OR I SWEAR TO GOD I'LL BEAT THE SEVEN SHADES OF SHIT OUTTA YOU!"
"Lou! You let go of him!" Kathleen shouted as she followed after her infuriated husband and latched onto one of his thick arms trying in vain to release the man's death grip on their son's shirt. "Don't hurt him for god's sake, he's your son!"
"No he ain't! No son of mine would be a mother fuckin' gay retard!" He shouted down at Kathleen, forgetting that she was his loving wife in the pure heat and fury of the moment.
A whirlwind of emotions began to swirl within Alfred's consciousness. He was angry because of his father's over dramatic infuriated reaction. He was sad because his father was practically disowning him right then and there. Yet still through everything else Alfred had finally been able to get the reality of his sexuality off his chest and it felt… just amazing. So what if his father didn't want him around anymore? Big deal. Alfred finally realized it was better to live true to who he was rather than spend of the rest of his days trying in vain to earn approval from a person who would never truly give it to him.
At that moment Matthew walked in the front door where his violet eyes grew wide as they were set upon the scene at play. "U-um… w-what's going on?" He asked nervously as his eyes darted back and forth between his other three family members. Lou abruptly released Alfred and let him fall back onto the chair with a heavy thump. The older man then stormed over to his youngest son who only stood there wide eyed and shaking like a deer caught in the headlight's as his father towered over him.
"You, the Jones family name now lays on your shoulders. Everythin' I was putting on Alfred is on you now, you got that?" It wasn't really more of a question of understanding, but more of a barked order in which there was no way to refuse especially for the extremely timid Matthew. The trembling blonde boy merely nodded his head in understand as he watched his father move back to his older brother. "And you, I want you outta my house. Now man on man lovin' queer is gonna live under my roof." Those were the last words he spoke to his son before he shot the young boy a hateful glare and then stormed up the stairs to watch his football game in silence and isolation.
Alfred came back to the present as he flipped the last few burgers onto a plate and prepared to carry them inside for the others to chow down on. Despite the scene that had played out between him and his father Alfred wouldn't trade all the paternal love and affection in the world for the man he was now happily married to. There were absolutely no regrets in Alfred's mind. He was happy, so very happy and that was all that mattered. If he had never told his father those five years ago then he would have lead nothing, but a miserable life with a foundation built on sand and lies and that was a life that was indeed not worth living.
Just as he placed the plate down on the table and Kathleen returned the room with Charlie safely burbling and wriggling in her arms the echo of the doorbell caused the gang to all simultaneously look up and towards the door that led back into the house. "I got it." Al said as he quickly changed his pace and turned on his heel to head for the door. Who could that be? He didn't remember inviting anyone seeing as how his guest list was closely monitored by Arthur. As the young American wrapped his hand around the door knob and swung the wooden slab open he was greeted by a bottle of champagne shoved in his face and one eerily familiar laugh.
"Oh hon hon, Alfred my dear neighbor! I couldn't help, but notice that your little Paquet de joie as been born. I believe félicitations are in order, non?" French? Well that only led to one conclusion- the very definition of the absolute Frenchman. Francis Bonnefoy, otherwise known as the annoying neighbor from next door. He was a tall well built man, but still had a certain charismatic air to him that was nearly feminine. He had striking blue eyes as well flowing chin length locks of light blonde hair; the tiniest bit of stubble gracing the line of his delicate square jaw.
"Oh, hey Francis," Al greeted politely since it wasn't really him that had the problem with the Frenchman, but his better half. "Yup it's a boy, born two days ago. We named him Charlie." The American explained as he accepted the celebratory bottle of alcohol
"Charlie, huh? You know that is one of the most popular boy's names in France." He informed as he quirked one pale blonde brow and smirked lightly.
"Well don't tell Arthur that. We already filled out all the paper work and it'll be a pain if he wants to change the baby's name." Alfred laughed. British and French were kind of natural enemies and Arthur and Francis were no different when they first met each other two and a half years ago. Arthur thought Francis was inappropriate rude and annoying while Francis thought Arthur was a bit too big for his britches with a stick shoved far up his ass. Still that little factor wasn't going to come in effect when a new life in need of celebrating had been born into the world. "Well c'mon on the back porch and see him. We've got our families here too, but I'm sure they won't mind." Alfred said as he began leading the Frenchman to the bowels of his home and out through the kitchen towards the back door. When the two blondes arrived on the back porch everyone was already starting to dig into lunch while Arthur held Charlie the baby's back against his lap while Matthew stood watching the newborn over his brother in law's shoulder.
"Hey lookie everybody, see who came by to see little Charlie." Al announced the other man's presence as they arrived in the room. Everyone looked up to see Francis standing there with a smile on his face and a gleam in his eye.
"Bonjour everyone." He greeted cheerfully. "I am Francis Bonnefoy, I live across right across the street from these crazy love birds."
"Oh lord, Alfred why'd you let the frog in?" Arthur scoffed as he turned his green eyed gaze up from his playtime with Charlie.
"Relax l'angleterre," The Frenchman said using the French word for 'England' as a nickname for the petite British man. "I come in peace today so no need to get all worked up and frustrated."
Arthur sputtered intelligently in response as his cheeks became dusted with a light red hue- his thick brow furrowing. "I do not get worked up over a presence as insignificant as yours." He huffed as he brought Charlie up into his arms to protect him from the stupidity that was Francis.
After a few minutes of fawning over the new baby and some introductions Alfred came to introducing the last of the party goers, his own brother Matthew. When Alfred's blue eyes shifted behind his glasses to look at his younger half he was surprised to see that something was different about him. The way he looked- a small sparkle in the corner of his pale violet eyes and warm smile crept up on the corner of his lips, a light blush dusting his cheeks. At first Alfred had through it was merely the younger man's affections for his new born nephew, but when the American looked again he began to clearly see that his brother's gaze wasn't on Charlie but now on Francis. "Uh… Um Francis, this is my younger brother, Matthew." He introduced the younger blonde with the Frenchman; a slightly confused expression dancing across his features.
Francis smirked slyly, but it wasn't really a predatory smirk… Alfred wasn't sure what it was except for the fact it was confusing him greatly. "Oh, bonjour mon cheri. Comment ca va aujourd'hui?" He tried to impress the younger man as the elegant foreign language rolled off the Frenchman's tongue.
Matthew's eyes darted nervously and his shyly tucked a lock of his wavy blonde hair behind his ear. "U-uh… Ca va bein, merci. Et toi?" A surprised look came across Francis' features when he heard the small man reply back in the same language just as fluently as he had. Little did he know Mattie had majored in French-Canadian history and culture during college along with a minor in the French language itself.
"Oh, tu parle Français?" He inquired as he once again quirked one pale blonde brow.
Matthew nearly giggled like a girl, shyly tucking another lock of hair behind his ear. "O-oui, je parle Français couramment." His pale violet eyes darted off to the side behind the lenses of his round wire rimmed glasses.
What in lord's name was going on? What was with the sudden warm lovey dovey atmosphere that suddenly began to fill the room (except for the arctic corner in which Alfred's father still sat tall and unmoving)? As soon as Alfred watched Matthew and Francis' gazes interlock with one another he instantly understood the expression that had danced its way across his brother's delicate facial features as he had seen the same love struck look on his own face when he and Arthur had first met. Matthew was head over heels within that matter of a few moments and a few sort exchanged of words and it was only a matter of time before Lou noticed it too.
Okay sooooo… yeah. To compensate for my lack of updates in a while he's a super long chapter! :D Sorry I've had some writer's block and I've been at band camp all week not to mention school's starting again soon so yeah. During this chapter I really wanted to focus on the relationship between Alfred and his father as well as some of the pressures that are now sitting on poor Matthew's fragile shoulders. I know I keep bringing up the problems of Alfred and Arthur's sexual orientation, but the thing is I bet someone in this kind of situation would also receive a lot of heat from others opposed to homosexuals.
Now I want to let you all know that even though I say some very mean things about homosexuals in this story I just want to let you know that it's only for the sake of the story and I in no way shape or form am prejudice to gay people. Quite frankly I love love no matter whether it's between a man and a woman, two men, or two women. Love is love no matter what gender. So just to let you all know so you don't think "man this girl is such a jerk!"
In any case reviews are greatly appreciated! Thanks lovies!