Sy sat with his back to Jim. He was quiet, shoulders hunched as he poked at his food. Across from him was the admiral and a tall, stately woman that had to be the admirals wife. She, more than her husband, looked like Sy.
Zephyr had a hand on Sy's shoulder. He was talking to him softly in a way that looked annoyingly comforting for being someone that had just betrayed the other. Jim could almost be convinced that Zephyr cared about Sy, even wanted the best for him. But clearly that wasn't true, seeing as how Jim was currently crossing the room towards a man that was frowning with increasing disapproval the closer Jim got to the table.
"May I join you?" Jim asked mostly so he wouldn't startle at by sitting next to him unannounced.
"I would say no," the admiral's voice was clipped, "but I do not want a spectacle to rival the one in my office, and I'm aware of how stubborn you are. Sit. You have five minutes to say your piece."
"Thank you." Jim wasted no time in taking his spot beside his boyfriend. This wasn't how he wanted the dinner where he met the family to go, but it seemed like it was the dinner he got.
Sy wasn't looking at him. He was frozen, back ramrod straight and face contorted in concern. His eyes were locked on nothing just beyond his grandfather's shoulder. "Why are you here?"
"I've come to address your family directly, explain the nature of our relationship and to chart a course forward, together."
"I already confessed." Sy's eyes lowered to his lap.
Jim reached over to take his hand gently. Sy pulled it out of his grip.
That stung.
"I know. Trust me, I know what I'm doing."
"Don't make this worse," Sy whispered.
Zephyr interjected. "Trust me, you don't."
Jim ignored him. "Sir, ma'am. Thank you for your attention."
"Four minutes." The admiral answered dispassionately.
Jim swallowed his irritation and maintained a steady voice. "Sy and I are dating."
"Don't make this worse."
"I understand your family is catholic. This poses challenges, obstacles, to our relationship. But that doesn't mean it's impossible. I'm not catholic, but I am willing to learn, and I've tried very hard to be respectful of Sy's beliefs. We've discussed how his religion impacts our relationship, and he's teaching me about catholicism as it comes up in our daily lives. I've prayed with him and Zephyr before meals, and I don't interrupt when he prays before bed-"
"You've slept with him!?" Mrs. De Châteaupers' shriek drew the attention of the entire dining hall.
"I told you not to make this worse!" Sy cried.
"You are to leave. Now. As for you, Da'nahsy, I'm disappointed in you!" The admiral spoke at the same time as the other two, voices overlapping.
Adding to the chaotic reaction, Zephyr was...scolding? Questioning? Doing something to Sy in French. The dizzing swirl of angry familiar conversion swelled.
"The audacity the two of you have displayed," The Admiral's tone was commanding even in song.
"I told you not to make this worse," Sy's voice trembled through the whispered lyric.
"Maintenant regarde ce qui s'est passé,
C'est le résultat d'une mésalliance." Zephyr sang only to Sy, it seemed, which was good since Jim didn't understand him.
"I've done enough damage, don't make this worse." Sy continued his plea.
The admiral sang over them all. "Is overwhelmingly the cause of all dismay.
This is your fault.
You must bring this sham to a halt."
"I've done enough, don't make this worse." Tears threatened to spill down Sy's cheeks, though for now he held them back.
"Je vais vous aider, mais nous devons nous faire confiance."
Jim finally jumped into the polyphony. "Sir, you're not being reasonable.
we can coexist in peace
There's no reason it's not feasible."
"I'll not hear of your sordid affair,
There's so much that I need to repair.
So I'll oversee while he repents,
For the tragedy of these events." The Admiral sang sharply, like he was barking orders.
"Your accusations are an insult,
I want nothing but the best for him.
If this is such a problem, we'll ask for an indult,
But I'll never give up
Because I love him." Jim could feel his tone heating up and forced himself to maintain his temper. He was here to prove a point, not make things worse.
"Please don't make this worse." Sy sang Jim's thoughts aloud.
"Détourner les yeux.
Gardez votre cœur chez-soi.
Inclinez la tête avec moi dans la prière.
Je suis là pour toi."
Jim still had no idea what Zephyr was singing about. It seemed to be helping Sy, though. The strength his boyfriend drew from his cousin reinforced Jim's resolve. "I love him."
"You know nothing of love or of sin." The admiral countered.
"I know I love him."
"If you did, you never would have done this to him."
"We have done nothing wrong." Jim held the last note for emphasis, staring down the admiral without hesitation.
"Siren, temptor, harbinger of gloam,
you are not welcome in our home."
"Je crois, Seigneur, qu'avec ton exemple et ton aide, je peux surmonter la tentation dans ma vie."
"Please don't let him make this worse."
"J'espère en toi, Seigneur, parce que tu sais que je suis faible, et c'est pourquoi tu me donnes ta grâce qui est plus forte que le péché."
"I will never stop trying, never stop loving, never stop being here for him." Jim pulled his shoulders back, his voice swelling with the intensity of his words.
"You know nothing of love." The admiral's voice was deeper, but softer.
"Je t'aime, Seigneur,"
"I'm sorry for falling in love. I've made this all worse." Sy was so soft now he could barely be heard.
"I know I love him." Jim reiterated. This was it. He knew he was winning the battle.
"et je sais que l'amour pour vous et pour les âmes me donnera la force de vaincre le péché dans ma vie et aidera les autres à le surmonter également."
"You'll never be rid of me." He delt his final blow in a powerful line, his lungs bursting as he belted out the declaration.
The admiral bowed his head, and issued his final command. "Then I will make you be gone so we can be free of this strife.
Off the base, off the planet, out of his life."
"Amen." Of course that was the only word Zephyr said that Jim understood.
"Please. Don't let him make this worse." A single tear ran down Sy's cheek before he turned to bury into Zephyr.
Jim felt as if the ground had been dropped out of him. As fast as the song had started, it had ended. But now everything was cold. The last line the admiral had sang rang through Jim's ears, pounding in time to the beating of his heart.
He hadn't really meant it, had he?
Someone had hold of his arm. They tugged gently, guiding Jim away from the table. Jim could barely see where he was going. He couldn't hear much around him. Everything felt slow, hazy, like it was moving in a thick fog. The only thing that was clear to him was the image seared into his mind of Sy crying against Zephyr, not looking at him as he was sentenced to banishment.
Surely this couldn't be real.