Chapter Text
A week into their relationship, and Rome would admit to himself that he had half expected Pick to turn around and say he could not do it. So far, that had not happened, and besides their trip to the movies where they had run into their best friends, they had been on one other actual date. They were both still busy, of course, so meeting up often was still not something that could happen, but they spent more of their free time together than with anyone else. That being said, it was like that even before Pick had finally admitted he liked Rome.
Despite the way Pick had dragged him off by his hand while he admitted his feelings, Pick still had trouble being affectionate in public. Rome understood, his boyfriend was still getting used to the idea himself. Gosh, his boyfriend. Rome was still getting used to the idea that he could finally call Pick that.
Pick had taken to collecting Rome from his classes more often, rather than them meeting back at Pick’s car. Rome got giddy every time he saw his boyfriend waiting for him outside the classroom. Pick was busy, so it was not all the time, but the fact that he put in the effort at all was worth everything to Rome. Today was going to be one of those days where Pick would collect him, but he was running a little late, and had messaged Rome to wait for him outside the classroom as usual. So Rome was doing that when one of his classmates came up to him.
Lim was not someone he talked to often, the other guy usually sat at the back and ignored everyone who was not the teacher. Which makes Rome rather surprised when it becomes clear he was planning to engage with Rome. “Rome, I’m surprised you’re still here,” he says. “I thought that senior always picks you up.”
“P’Pick is running a little late,” Rome explains, confused by the way Lim appeared to be fishing for something.
“Okay,” he says, nodding in thought. “Since you’re usually with him as soon as you leave classes, I never have a chance to ask.”
“Ask what?”
“That senior that picks you up, is he the one that punched P’Din?”
Rome froze, it never occurred to him that the other members of his faculty might ask questions about that incident. Though he supposed a few people had seen Pick drag Din away and Rome had clearly been with them when it happened, so of course he would know what had happened. “Why do you want to know?” he asks instead of answering.
“Just curious, I saw the split lip and then I heard the rumours about some senior having hit him,” Lim shrugs as he explains. “You were mentioned a few times, so I figured you had to know what happened.”
“I was there,” Rome admits. “Though I don’t think it’s any of your business what happened.”
“Oh come on,” Lim huffs, rolling his eyes. “I just wanted to know what P’Din did to piss off a senior, I didn’t think the guy had the ability to piss people off.”
“He touched what wasn’t his,” a familiar voice calls from down the hall.
Both Rome and Lim turned to face the voice, and sure enough, Pick was walking towards them. “P’Pick,” Rome calls, a smile appearing, showing his excitement that his boyfriend had arrived.
Lim looked Pick up and down, trying to figure out what he had meant by those words. “What, did he steal your stuff or something?” he scoffs. “Doesn’t seem like a good enough reason to punch someone.”
“He didn’t steal my stuff,” Pick replies, and as he reaches the two of them, he grips one of Rome’s hands, as if to emphasise his next words. “He tried to take something much more important.”
Lim eyed the hands that were now clasped together and his eyes widen as the situation sinks in, “Holy shit, it was a fight over you?”
Rome blushes, “I wouldn’t say it was necessarily a fight over me. P’Din also did something inappropriate to P’Pick.”
“One of his many schemes to keep us apart,” Pick says, glaring at the reminder. “Essentially the same issue.”
Rome drops his head to lean against Pick’s arm, thoroughly embarrassed about where this conversation headed. “Phi, let’s just go,” he mumbles into the shirt sleeve.
Pick shrugs and, without bothering to acknowledge Rome’s classmate further, drags his boyfriend away.
Rome is mortified when he discovers the rumours floating around his faculty after that.
The closer the end of the year got, the busier Pick became. As to be expected, his internship would be coming to an end, he would be graduating and he needed to start applying for jobs. Even so, he made it a point to spend more time with Rome. However, since Rome was also a busy third year, most of their time together during the week was on campus. Which was hard sometimes for Pick, as much as he wanted to make Rome happy by holding his hand everywhere they went, it was still awkward doing it in public. While it was true he cared less about what people think now than he did a year ago while he was still denying his feelings, he was not the kind of person who wanted to broadcast to the world.
Unless there was someone trying to mess with his man, then that was a different story. Looking at you Din.
Because of their busy schedules, lunch dates were in the university cafeteria and casual strolls were around campus.
The hardest part for Pick was calling Rome his boyfriend out loud. He said it in his head, he barely blinked when Rome said it, and he never denied it when anyone asked. Yet other than admitting to Rome that he liked him, he had yet to actually refer to the smaller man as his boyfriend. The rumours that had started because of Rome’s classmate had really only circulated around the Arts and nearby faculties. Seeing as not only did those rumours not reach the Veterinary side of campus, but it was usually Pick that went to Rome. Rome had very rarely ever gone to visit Pick.
Today they had met up in the cafeteria in the center of campus, the mid ground for both of them. Pick had to do a few things for a teacher and Rome suggested they meet up here for convenience. Which meant they were a lot closer to the Veterinary school while together than they ever had been. “Hey Pick,” a voice calls from across the room.
They both look up from where they had been eating their lunch, both seated on the same side of the table. Pick had started letting Rome do that, sit next to him when they were eating, because he could admit that he liked it just as much as his boyfriend did.
The guy waving at them was someone Rome did not recognise, but the way Pick waved back was enough for him to know he actually did know this man. Having been acknowledged by Pick, the guy made his way for their table and promptly sat across from them despite not having any food yet. “Hey man, you don’t usually eat at this cafeteria do you?” he asks.
“No,” Pick replies. “I’m usually at the one on the East of the campus.”
“Yeah I thought so,” the guy replies, his eyes moving to Rome. “Who’s this? You look younger than us.”
“Hello Phi,” Rome greets with a polite wai. “My name is Rome, I’m a third year Photography major.”
The senior eyes Pick weirdly, probably wondering why Pick was hanging out with a much younger junior in a different faculty. “Nice to meet you N’Rome,” he says, returning the wai. “I’m David, I’m one of Pick’s classmates.”
Pick was feeling a little anxious, he had noticed the look his friend had given him, and he knew that anyone who was not already aware that he and Rome hung out would be really confused. David’s eyes had even flicked back to Pick now that the introductions were over and he was clearly waiting for further explanation. Rome’s eyes were now also on Pick, but his eyes were not questioning, they were understanding. He was saying with his eyes that he would follow Pick’s lead with whatever he was comfortable sharing.
In the end, he takes a deep breath and reminds himself that whatever David thought did not matter, Rome would still be his boyfriend no matter his friend’s reaction. “Rome is my boyfriend,” he finally says, answering the unspoken question.
David’s wide eyes had not been a surprise, but Rome’s barely concealed shock was. That is what made Pick aware that he had finally called Rome his boyfriend out loud, and sure enough, Rome had been aware enough to be surprised that he finally said it. He finds that he is even shocked with himself that he said it, but he does not outwardly show it, not in front of someone other than his boyfriend. “Your boyfriend?” David asks as if clarifying, but does not give Pick a chance to actually reply. “I didn’t realise you were dating anyone.”
“It’s only been a couple of months,” Pick admits. “But I’ve known him since he was a first year.”
“Wow, took you a while then,” the other man chuckles.
Pick finds himself relaxing the longer the conversation goes, it was clear his friend was not going to react negatively like he half expected. “Yeah, there’s a reason for that,” Pick murmurs, but has no plans to explain that reason.
David must have picked up on the tone, “Well I guess you got there eventually. Good for you though. You always just seemed so busy, especially the first few years, I was worried about you.”
“Because I wasn’t dating anyone?” Pick asks with a frown.
“Not necessarily,” he shrugs. “But this is nice right?”
Pick shares a look with Rome who is giving him a reassuring smile. “Yeah, it’s nice.”
When Pick’s internship was to come to the end, both he and Rome had expected to do something together to celebrate. While they did get to do that, the end of Pick’s internship also meant the end of Porsche’s. Since Emma was going to be celebrating with her boyfriend for the end of his internship, the couple had decided to rope their best friends into joining them. Not having come up with reasonable excuses to not go on the double date, Pick and Rome had ended up agreeing.
Emma and Porsche had booked a reservation for four at a restaurant near their campus, and as Rome expected, Pick was a little awkward being in such a public space that was not their university campus. The two couples were seated on either side of a rectangular table, so they were directly next to their partners. Given the way Porsche and Emma were looking at each other, it was clear they were in a relationship, so it would not be hard to assume that the two on the other side were also a couple. That is what Pick was afraid of.
A few months into their relationship and Pick was still a little anxious about showing it in public. Rome understood, Pick was still coming to terms with being affectionate where other people could see them and remembering that it did not matter what anyone else thought. Pick was a private person, so Rome knew his boyfriend would also be a bit cagey in public even years from now. However, when they were alone, Pick reminded him every second how much he loved him and that was all Rome really needed.
Rome could feel Pick’s leg jumping under the table, and since the table cloth would cover the action, he moved his hand to be resting on his boyfriend’s thigh in comfort. Pick jumped a little and turned to face him. Rome just gives him a reassuring smile receiving a small one in return from his boyfriend, but Pick does not remove the hand, so Rome keeps it there as they continue the conversation with the others. “So have you started applying for any clinics P’Pick?” Emma asks. “P’Porsche has applied for all the ones nearby.”
“Mmm, I did too,” Pick says. “And a few just outside the city just in case.”
“Good plan, Phi,” Emma replies, smiling, before turning to face her boyfriend with a frown. “P’Porsche, why didn’t you think of that? Cover all of your bases just in case you can’t get a job in the city.”
“I didn’t really want to get a job outside of town,” Porsche admits. “Once was enough.”
“Just outside the city limits is not quite the same,” Pick replies dryly. “You just don’t want to be too far away from N’Emma.”
“And you’re okay at the idea of being away from N’Rome?” Porsche counters.
Pick’s eyes trail to Rome smiling beside him, “I don’t think a clinic less than an hour away will be that much of a problem. Besides, our first year of working is also going to be their final year of school. It would only be a year of less contact than usual, I can live with that.”
“You’ve thought about this,” Porsche realises, eying his friend. “You’ve been dating less than four months and you’ve already thought further than a year into the future. I see you plan to be with him for a long time.”
“What, would you rather I plan to not still be with him in the future?” Pick snaps, but is clearly blushing. “That’s pessimistic and would be depressing. Yes, I plan to be with him for a long time.”
Rome was restraining himself from the wide smile that wanted to be set free, not wanting to embarrass his boyfriend further. “Cut P’Pick some slack,” Emma scolds her boyfriend. “It’s nice that he’s thinking long term, it means I don’t have to worry about my best friend so much.”
“Emma,” Rome whines. “Why would you be worried?”
Emma just raises a single brow in challenge, but says nothing. He takes the hint though, given the two years before Pick admitted his feelings were a bit hellish for Rome, he could understand her point. Pick, who also understood her point, gave the hand Rome still had on his thigh a squeeze, the only outward acknowledgment that he was still sorry about all of that. Rome just turns his hand around to link fingers with his boyfriend and gives a return squeeze to assure him it was fine.
“Okay, I’m glad that you’re thinking long term too,” Porsche says. “On that note, have you told your dad?”
Pick freezes, his grip on Rome’s hand tightening slightly. “No,” he admits, looking away from his friend. “I’m working on it.”
“You don’t need to rush P’Pick,” Rome reminds him, knowing his boyfriend was struggling with how to go about telling his father about them.
It was not that he was entirely worried about his father’s reaction, but he was still weary given that he had shown no signs of being into men until Rome came along. That being said, Pick is almost certain the only reason he likes Rome is because he is Rome, not because he is a man. He was afraid of his father’s disapproval of their relationship, but he knew he would not give Rome up, even if his father disapproved. He was worried what he would have to do if that happened. Which was why he had yet to come out to his father about Rome.
Rome himself was waiting patiently for Pick to tell his father before he told his parents. They knew their son was gay, he had been open about it since he was in high school, but for fairness, he would wait for Pick to do it first. Rome would just be telling his parents he had a boyfriend, Pick would be both doing that and coming out to his father. Something a lot more nerve wracking.
Both Emma and Porsche picked up on his rapid mood change, and knew this was something that Pick would handle with Rome on their own. In an effort to lighten the mood, Emma quickly changed the topic to the dog she found on the streets the other day. She used their group’s love of animals to change the atmosphere, and Rome gives her a grateful smile when he catches her eye.
Truthfully, Rome and Pick had not talked much outside the initial conversation about telling their parents. It had only been at the back of his mind until Porsche had mentioned it, but now it was all he could think about. He had mostly forgiven himself for the absolute asshole he had been to Rome over the last two years, especially in the month leading up to his confession. Now he found himself feeling guilty to his boyfriend for being afraid to tell his father about them.
He knew Rome was not expecting him to tell his father earlier than he was ready, his small boyfriend made it very clear that he would wait until Pick was comfortable coming out to his father. He was even putting off telling his parents about them to be fair. Yet the longer Pick thought about it, it did not seem fair to Rome at all. It may have been his boyfriend’s choice, but Pick felt bad that he was the reason his boyfriend had yet to tell his parents, all because he was too afraid to tell his. When he had learned how Rome had told his parents he was gay, he had been shocked to hear they had shrugged and just said they had figured. It was like nothing had changed, only that Rome knew that his parents knew.
Pick only had one parent to tell and he was more afraid at twenty-four than Rome had been at fifteen.
Over the next two weeks, Pick had gone over in his head all the ways he could tell his dad and all the ways it could go wrong. Occasionally he thought about the ways it could go good, but there were way too many anxious thoughts in his head, so the bad reactions were a heavier weight on his mind. Rome had noticed his mood, of course he had, but given he had a feeling what he was thinking about, he did not push him to talk about it.
Which Pick was grateful for, but he also kind of wanted Rome to tell him to man up and do it. Yet he knew his boyfriend was too understanding to force him to do it, one of the many reasons he loved him.
That was another thing, now that Pick had admitted not just to himself, but Rome as well, that he was in love with the smaller man, it was like the dam had broken. He noticed everything he liked about Rome all the time, and he knew, he could not put off telling his father much longer.
It was like any normal day, he had picked up Rome from his class at the end of the day, they had hopped into Pick’s car and he drove off. It did not take long for Rome to realise they were not headed for his apartment, it had been a while, but he knew they were headed for Pick’s house instead. He had not been back since that debacle over Rome saying he had told Pick’s father about them dating when he had not, but he remembered the way.
They were quiet for most of the journey and Rome could almost feel the tension that seeped into his boyfriend the closer to the house they got. He had a pretty good idea about why they were heading there, but he did not want to get his hopes up, so he does not ask. When they eventually pull into the driveway, they see that Pick’s father is definitely home, and Pick does not turn off the car straight away.
Rome knows he is nervous, he can feel the apprehension and see it in the white knuckled grip Pick has on the steering wheel. “You don’t have to if you’re not ready P’Pick,” he says, whispering so as not to startle his wound up boyfriend.
Pick sighs, “I do, you’re trying to be fair to me by holding off on telling your parents, but I feel like that’s me being unfair to you by making you wait.”
“You know I don’t want you to do anything you’re not ready for,” Rome reminds him, biting his lip. “I don’t want you to be uncomfortable.”
“I have to do it eventually anyway,” Pick chuckles. “The sooner the better, because the longer I put this off, the worse it will get. I don’t want you to have to wait, even though I know you would. You care about my feelings and I love you for it.”
Rome sucks in air at the casual way Pick had added the confession to his sentence, and he felt his eyes moisten. “P’Pick,” he says, but cannot get anything else out.
Pick gives him a small smile, “It’s okay. This might end badly, or maybe it will be fine and I’ll have agonised over this for nothing. Even so, I want you to be able to freely tell who you want about us, and if that means I have to be a man and tell my father, then so be it.”
Rome has no words to go with that and so he just nods in acceptance. The decision made, Pick releases his tight grip on the steering wheel, turns off the car and they get out. Pick tries really hard to walk normally and not likely he is walking to his death bed. Rome does not reach for his hand, given the situation, but he does give his arm a reassuring pat before lowering his hand again.
When they reach the door, Pick hesitates for only a few seconds before opening the door and calling out, “Phor, I’m home.”
There is silence at first as they walk in, taking off their shoes. Once they had walked further into the house, Pick’s father came around the corner with a smile on his face, that only widens when he sees Rome with Pick. “Welcome home, I see you have brought N’Rome with you. It has been a while since you were last here, I thought maybe my son’s attitude had scared you off.”
The pair of them put in a lot of effort to not flinch at his words, they knew he did not mean it in the romantic sense, but he was not far off base. Pick shares a look with his boyfriend, but takes a deep breath and steels himself. “Phor, there’s something we need to talk to you about.”
Pick’s father easily senses the tension and gives them a concerned frown.”Is everything okay?” he asks.
“Everything is fine,” Pick assures him. “I just have something I need to tell you, can we go into the living room?”
His father gives him an assenting nod and the two younger men follow him into the living room. Once they are all seated, Pick’s father on one couch while they sat on another, he gave the two of them an expectant look, waiting for Pick to say what he needed to.
Pick’s eyes flick over to Rome as if to find some strength, before he turns back to face his father. “The last time Rome was here, I told you he was a junior that I played sports with, that was partially a lie,” Pick admits, not looking his father in the eye. “He is a junior, that much is true, but we don’t play sports together.”
“Honestly, the way you were behaving, I thought something was strange,” his father admitted, giving his son a small smile to show he could continue.
“Right,” Pick chuckles nervously. “Rome and I have known each other a couple of years, and actually, the time you met him was not the first time he had been here, but when you came home, I panicked.”
Rome resisted the urge to comfort his boyfriend by placing a hand on his thigh, he figured it would be better to wait until Pick had finally gotten to the point.
“You panicked because?” his father prompts.
“Because even though it wasn’t official back then, Rome and I have been seeing each other for the last two years,” Pick manages to say, looking away from his father again at the admission.
His father is silent for a moment, eying the way his son was clearly nervous. “So you two are dating,” he surmises.
Pick gulps, but he had already gotten this far, so he continues. “We weren’t at that point, but we are now,” he says. “We’ve been together four months now. At the time, I was worried about what you would think and we weren’t even together yet, so I blurted out the first thing that popped into my head and dragged him out of here.”
The older man is silent again, watching the way Pick was wringing his hands more the longer the silence dragged on. Now that the confession was out, Rome reached for his boyfriend’s hands to comfort him, ignoring the way Pick slightly flinched because he quickly grasped back. His father had watched the interaction intently before a small smile stretches on his face. “You know, you aren’t as subtle as you think, nor did you completely fool me back then,” the man eventually says.
The two younger men give him looks of confusion, Pick’s shoulders still tense. “I knew you weren’t telling me the complete truth,” his father explains. “And I had a feeling you had to be seeing someone considering how much less time you spend at home. Until I stumbled across N’Rome here, I had no idea who it could be, and I didn’t even assume it to be him until you started acting weird when you saw us together. Long story short, I pretty much already knew, I’ve just been waiting for you to say something.”
Rome started chuckling to himself as Pick’s jaw dropped to the floor, “You…you knew?”
His father shrugged, “Not for certain, but I had an idea. I’m just sorry that you thought you couldn’t tell me, or rather that you thought I might react badly.”
“It stemmed from my own bad reactions,” Pick admits, biting his lip at the memory of his behaviour. “I had spent so long thinking I was straight, that when Rome came along, I was so confused that I acted harshly to him and denied what I was feeling.”
Rome tightened his grip, reassuring Pick again that it was okay now. Pick gives him a small smile, but now that he had started unloading, he could not stop. “It took us two years to get together because I was so stubborn and it took me nearly losing him to realise what I was doing. I’ll be forever grateful that he waited all this time and that he was still willing to forgive me for the hell I put him through.”
Rome was crying now, because while he knew his boyfriend felt this way, it was another thing to hear him say it out loud, to an audience outside of just him. The tail end of Pick’s words were directed at Rome as he looked into the smaller man’s eyes, wanting Rome to know how sorry and how thankful he was. After another exchange of meaningful smiles, Pick turned back to face his father to finish his point. “When he was here last, I was still in denial, and I was scared about what you would think because I still hadn’t come around to the idea myself,” he says.
“Hmm,” his father hums. “I see what you’re saying. I’m glad that you were able to resolve your turmoil and things turned out well for you both. What I want you to understand Pick, is that you’re my son, and no matter who you choose to love, I will support you. Even if the person you love is another man.”
Pick lets out a sigh of relief, so much pressure had been lifted off his shoulders with that one sentence. “Thank you, Phor,” he says, giving his father a grateful smile.
“Any time,” the man says, his own bright smile lighting up his face. “Now, I’d very much like to get to know N’Rome properly, not as some fictitious sports friend, but as my son’s boyfriend.”
The couple share another smile before having a heartfelt and deep conversation with the older one’s father. They ended up staying for dinner and even spending the night.
The following week, they took a trip to Rome’s family home and Pick finally got to meet his boyfriend’s parents.
The end of the school year meant the end of Rome and Emma’s third year, but more importantly, it meant the end of Pick and Porsche’s six year university life. Their graduation had arrived.
For the occasion, Emma and Rome had gone all out. Not only with the stupidly large bouquets they had bought for their boyfriends, but also with their attire. Let us just say that jaws were on floors when the two older ones had seen their partners that night. It was all part of their grand plan to make this night memorable for their boyfriends. As would be expected, the graduates were gathered in one area of the hall while family and friends were dispersed around the room. Emma and Rome were seated next to each other and on either side of them were the parents of their partners.
Porsche’s parents were smiling widely when he was called for his certificate, and Pick’s dad had a proud smile on his face. Yet Emma and Rome felt that they could honestly say that no one cheered as loud as they did when Pick and Porsche had walked up onto stage. Their embarrassed blushes were overshadowed by the wide smiles on their faces as they were congratulated by the dean and handed their certificates that stated they were now qualified veterinarians.
When the ceremony was over, it became a mad scramble to leave the hall to meet up with the graduate that they were here to see. Parents, siblings, grandparents, friends and others were all in a hurry. Emma and Rome were a little overwhelmed, but Emma became bracketed by Porsche’s parents when they noticed, and Pick’s father stayed close to Rome to help him navigate through a sea of people where a significant number of them were taller than him.
It took almost twenty minutes for them to find Pick and Porsche, but they were thankfully together when they did. Then came the photos. There were family shots, couple shots, best friend shots, shots where Emma and Rome were part of the family shots, and they had even roped a random person to take a group photo of all seven of them. After a few more photos that the two graduates took with their classmates, the group then headed for dinner, the whole of which was booked and paid for by the three parents to celebrate their sons’ graduation.
It was a wonderful evening of talking, laughing and extremely good food. It went late and eventually, it was time to separate. First Porsche and Emma went off with his parents, and eventually, Pick’s father went home. This left Pick and Rome alone. They had held hands the whole walk to the car, Pick too high on happiness to care too much about what anyone else thought. Even the drive back to Rome’s apartment where Pick would spend the night was quiet. It was not until they had settled into bed for the night that the silence was broken. “Do you remember the talk we had with Porsche and N’Emma about what it would be like if I got a job outside of the city?” Pick asks quietly, his arms wrapped around Rome as the smaller man laid his head on Pick’s chest.
“Hmm,” Rome replies, very close to sleep.
“Porsche asked if I would be okay being further away from you for so long, far enough away that we might not see each other as often as we liked,” he continued. “If I do end up taking a position a little further from home, I think I have a solution. Well, more like something that I want to happen either way, but something that would definitely be beneficial if this scenario happened.”
“You're rambling P’Pick,” Rome mumbles while trying to keep his eyes open.
Pick sighs, but eventually steels himself to say the thing he had been thinking about for weeks, “Move out with me somewhere.”
Rome was suddenly a lot more awake.