The door to the observation tower opened inward, letting the two boys enter easily. Sy squeezed Jim's hand, a grin on his face. "I'm glad we were able to slip away. I've missed you."
Jim pulled Sy closer to him. His hands settled on Sy's hips, and he bent down to kiss him. "Well I'm glad you're okay."
Sy smiled up at him. "I'm fine. I promise. They only kept us overnight because of the dehydration. I just needed some sleep. Doctor Sweet wants me to head to bed early tonight, too. I think that's a doctor's order I'll actually follow. I'm still pretty exhausted," he admitted sheepishly.
"Do you want to take a nap now?" Jim took a half step back. "We can head back to my room, I can wake you up in an hour or two."
Sy stepped forward and wrapped his arms around Jim's neck. "No." He smiled, "I want to try and fix my sleep schedule. But thank you."
Jim shrugged, a sheepish smile on his face. "I just want what's best for you. You don't need to thank me."
"I do, though." Sy protested. "And I owe you several thanks for yesterday! You're the one who got that door open, after all."
Jim shook his head. "You don't have to. And technically Mellow did most of the work."
Sy smiled. "I'm going to anyway."
"Really, I don'-"
Sy cut him off with a kiss. Jim realized he did, indeed, want to be thanked after all.
"So it was true then." The voice in the doorway caused Sy to spring backwards out of Jim's arms. He spun around, his eyes wide with fear. Zephyr stepped into the room. True to Sy's word, he looked better. His golden hair was smoothed down and neatly combed. His light skin showed no trace of having even been touched by the sun. He looked healthy. Healthy, and furious. "The rumors were true."
"Zephyr, please," Sy's voice wavered.
"You know, I ignored them from the second they cropped up. I didn't believe them for a moment. You really had me fooled. You had the wool pulled over my eyes, that's for sure. I spent all night trying to convince myself there was some other explanation for how you two were acting yesterday. But this…There's no other explanation for this."
Sy licked his lips, wetting them as he tried desperately to think of a way to explain. "You don't understand."
Zephyr fixed him with a dark look. The younger boy shrunk back. Jim stepped forward and wrapped an arm around Sy's shoulders. "So what if they're true?" Jim squeezed Sy closer to him. "What's it to you? Jealous?"
"Shut up, Hawkins, you don't know what you're talking about." Zephyr snapped. He focused on Sy again, his voice cold and hard. "This is why you didn't want them to know who you are, isn't it. This is why you kept us so separate. You didn't want us too close to your sin."
Sy swallowed hard. "Zephy, please."
"Please what?" Zephyr shook his head and turned away. "You made your choices, Sy, it's time to face them. Come."
Sy pressed into Jim's side, his arms locked around Jim's ribs. Jim stroked his cheek gently. "Sy, it's okay," he whispered softly. "I told you I'd take care of you. What's it matter if your friend's found out about us? He'll come around."
Sy tried one last time, the desperation evident in his voice. "You always told me love can overcome anything. Please Zephyr, don't do this."
The young man stopped in the doorway. He glanced over his shoulder at Sy. His expression softened and his shoulders sank. "You're right, love can overcome anything." He agreed quietly. Drawing in a deep breath, Zephyr straightened his spine. "And I love you, so I'm going to help you overcome this."
As Zephyr stalked out the door, Sy broke down into tears. Jim folded him into his chest. Soothingly he ran his fingers through his hair. "Hey, hey, Sy, it's okay," he whispered softly. "It's going to be okay. I promise. I know this hurts, but we'll get through this."
Sy pulled away from him with a hiccuped sob. "I have to follow him," he didn't seem to be hearing Jim's words. "I have to go."
Jim grabbed his hand. "Then I'll go with you."
Sy looked up at him, almost as if seeing him for the first time since Zephyr entered. "You shouldn't, this isn't going to go well."
Jim tipped Sy's face up and kissed him gently. "I don't care how anything goes. I'm with you till the end. Come on. We'll go catch up to your friend and we'll get this sorted out. Where's he going anyway?"
Sy's already pale face somehow lost another couple shades of color. "They're going to contact my parents."
Jim raised an eyebrow. "That seems a bit dramatic. It's not like we got caught doing anything wrong. You just have a boyfriend. Come on, we'll get this straightened out. I don't care who his grandfather is, our relationship isn't against school rules."
"Jim, you don't understand-"
Jim cut him off with another kiss. "I don't need to. Come on, we're going to lose him. Let's go."
The two boys followed Zephyr through the building. Sy still trembled under Jim's arm. He didn't try to speak up and plead their case any more, though a few times his mouth opened as if he was going to, before he shut it once again, either unhappy with his argument, or unconvinced it would make any difference.
Jim knew it wouldn't make any difference. It didn't matter if Zephyr tattled to Sy's parents. Sy and Jim weren't doing anything wrong. Whatever happened, Jim would be there to support Sy through it all. And if his family couldn't handle the love they shared, then Jim and his mother would be there to fill in the gaps.
By the time they had reached the offices, Sy's tears had dried. He still shook like a leaf in the wind, but he was no longer crying. Jim kissed his temple gently. "I love you."
Zephyr pulled the door open and stepped inside.
Milly looked up when they entered. She scanned the faces of the young men in front of her, then pushed a button on her desk. "Sir, I think you should come out here."
Zephyr locked his hands behind his back as he waited, refusing to look at his companions. Milly busied herself with paperwork, though her snakes kept peeking over at the three youth. Sy just stared at the door, his body tense. Jim rubbed his arm soothingly. They would get through this.
The door opened. The admiral stepped out. For a moment, the four of them just stood there, sizing each other up.
Sy was the first to speak. "Hi Grandpa."