"SQUALL!!!" "Oof!!" I fell over backwards, a bundle of warmth and brown spikes filling my mouth and arms. "S-Sora!!" I coughed. "You're getting a little big for htis, don't you think?" Sora rolled off of me, and by the time I managed to recompose myself and stand up, he was already bouncing in circles around me. "Nope!" He giggled, poking me in the stomach. I rolled my eyes in the usual fashion and walked back into my dorm, Sora following me like a little puppy. "You hungry? I was making lunch." Sora nodded, flopping down on my couch. "You sure you don't mind me staying?" He asked, kicking off his shoes. "Sora, you know you can come by and stay anytime you want." Something was up. Sora was usually upbeat, and well...hyper. But it seemed like something was on his mind. As soon as I opened my mouth to ask him, a little muffled jingle caused Sora to jump. "Oh...hehe...hold on. Let me get that." He practically shot off the couch and scrambled to the other side of the room in an attempt to stifle his conversation. My dorm wasn't that big, though, so it was still pretty easy to pick up parts of conversation.

"Hello??"

"Oh...heehee...hi."

"...I'm at my brother's dorm. Yeah, are you working today? He didn't."

"Tonight? Yeah, I can probably have dinner with my brother and then come."

"Over here?!?! Uhh..." I heard him laugh nervously. "Of course he knows...y-yeah...o-okay, then sure, you can come..."

"Okay, see you later. Bye."

Obviously the phone conversation had ended, because I heard Sora pad back over in his socks. I flipped the omlette I was making and raised my eyebrows when I saw him appear sheepishly out of the corner of my eye. "So...who was that?"

..."...S-Squall? Can I talk to you about something?" I flipped the omlette out of the pan and onto a plate, turning the stove off and wiping my hands on a rag. "Sure, Sora. What's up?" I'm sure I looked concerned, but this was an odd tone for my little brother to take on. "Well...um...you know how it's normal...for a boy to date a girl..." I nodded. Hm. This sounded oddly familiar. "Well...I think maybe...I'm not so normal..."

Wait. I remember why this sounded so familiar. Scarily familiar. There's no way...

"Sora? WHat do you mean? Of course you're normal..." I took his shoulder and faced him towards me, leading him to sit back down on the couch. "N-No...I'm really not..." He said, avoiding my gaze. "Sora, just spit it out."

"Squall, I'm gay."

...WHAT!?!?

"...W-What?" "I'm gay, Squall..." Sora's voice got very quiet, his lip quivering. I could see the tears welling up in his eyes. "...I kind of...have a boyfriend..." "A...A boyfriend.." This was...insane...there was no way Sora was gay. No way!! He was supposed to be the most normal out of all of us. And now he was going to go down the path I already had. "Yes...a boyfriend..." And suddenly the tears welled over, streaming down his . "D-Don't hate me, Squall...I'm sixteen, and I made my own decision...I'm old enough to know, and Riku is a great guy, and I think I might just love him, and..." WOAH. HOLD UP.

"Wait...Riku???" Sora started crying even more. "Y-Y-Yeah...R-Riku...the one you work with..." Okay, now this was just turning into some freaky soap opera. "Sora...listen to me. Stop crying, okay?" Man, I was horrible at this comforting thing..."It's okay. SORA." The weeping subsided, but I could still hear sniffles. Sora reached an arm up and wiped his nose on his sleeve. There was no way he was sixteen..."Sora, really. Listen to me for a second. I don't care if you're gay." "You...you don't?" More sniffling. He was abot to crack any second. "No, I don't." I smiled a little, ruffling his chesnut spikes. "B-But...doesn't that make me...like, a freak or something?" I frowned, bringing my hand back down. "Sora, you are NOT a freak. Where did you get that idea?"

"Well..." He began wringing his hands, shifting in his seat.

"Well what?" I was becoming impatient, which usually from experience isn't a good thing.

"...A group of people at school called me a fag." He mumbled, averting his gaze. I felt a surge of rage well up inside me. I knew those phrases all too well. 'Hey fag'. 'What's up, homo.' I can accept it when it's me. But Sora...Sora isn't strong enough to handle things like that. He doesn't deserve to be called things like that...

"You are NOT a fag, okay? And anyone that says that to you can go fuck themselves." Sora's eyed widened. "Oh no no, I didn't mean for you to get angry...people at my school are just stupid, it's not a big deal, really." I was getting frustrated now, too. "It is a big deal!! Why in the hell does everyone think that gay people are freaks of nature!! We're not freaks! Just because we happen to like people of the same sex doesn't mean we're that different from anyone else!!" I continued to blab, only stopping when Sora hit me across the face. I huffed, putting a hand up to feel the stinging spot where he hit me. "What the hell was that fo-"

"We?" Sora stared seriously into my eyes, making me feel really uncomfortable. Shit, I really need to think before I start talking.

"Um...yeah. Surprise?" Sora's mouth dropped open. I tend to do that to a lot of people. "You're gay??" I sighed. I guess he was bound to find out sooner or later, and while we were both spilling our guts..."Um...yeah. I didn't mention that little detail?" Playing dumb works too. "No, seems you left out that tiny bit of information." "Oh...well...yeah. Me too." "SInce when!?"

I knew this was going to bring on a huge string of questions that quite frankly I didn't feel like answering...they brought back bad memories anyway.

"There was a dance...and leather...and it;s a long story. The point is, you're just the same as everyone else. You feel like everyone else, and you bleed like everyone else." Sora winced, and I got the feeling that teasing wasn't the only thing Sora was getting a lot of due to his sexual orientation.

I placed my hand over his chest and smiled. "And you love just like everyone else. And nothing anyone says is going to make you less of who you are."

I could see the tears being to weel up in Sora's eyes once again, and I second later he was curled up against my chest like the little puppy he was.

I patted his back awkwardly, knowing that I didn't need to say anything. That's the way Sora and I were...we communicated through small little motions, but they said more than any word could.

We sat like that for about an hour, sharing stories. Of course, Sora had about 50 questions for me...and I answered them as bluntly as possible. I may have scarred him slightly..but he was old enough anyway. It was quite ausing to see his eyes widen in shock as I explained just how I knew I was gay. I think we were both happy when the doorbell rang, after that.

Sora jumped up, opening the door with zeal. "RIKU!!" Riku laughed, smiling and catching Sora as he jumped into his arms. And then it got awkward.

RIku started kissing him.

Granted, it wasn't awkward because it was two males, just awkward because it was my brother. I turned my vision to the tv to give them a few minutes of privacy, but I could still hear noises, and my mind could only block out so much of it. After a few minutes of slurping noises, I stood up, putting my hands in my pockets and clearing my throat. Sora pushed Riku off of him immediately and flushed. "Let's go. BYE SQUALL." "Ho ho ho, hold on a second." I could see Sora's face scrunch up. "Couple of things before you leave." Oh, c'mon Squall!! We're just going to the movies!!"

"I know, and I just thought I'd let Riku know that if you come home in any condition less than you are now, I'll rip his jugular out and eat it while watching him writhe in pain on the floor."

Sora's look of utter humiliation was only a small snag in the joy I felt at seeing Riku practically shit himself. "D-Don't worry, Squall, Sora will come home in better condition than he was when we left!!" "...And in the same clothes, I hope." I added nonchalantly. This was too much fun. "Of course, of course..." RIku mumbled, giving me a look of pure hatred. I'm sure I was supposed to read it, 'Watch your back at work come Monday,' but I only chuckled as his eye twitched.

"Let's go, Riku...we'll be late for the movie..." Sora said loudly, interrupting his death glare at me. "Remember Riku, Sora comes home deflowered and you leave without the use of your limbs."

Riku smirked and saluted me. "Yes, sir." He turned on his heel as Sora attempted to push him out the door. I sighed heavily, waiting for them to leave before rushing over to the window. Now I really felt like Sora's father, spying on him as he left with his boyfriend. I watched Sora skip out to Riku's car, and Riku, being the gentleman that he is, open the passenger door for him. ...Okay, maybe he wasn't so bad. He seemed to be gentlemanly enough.

I practically choked when I noticed Riku's hand squeezing Sora's ass as he climbed in.