Page 55 of Small Sacrifices

"M-hmm."

Finally, Reid remembers why Everett woke up in the first place, and so he stretches for his phone. When the display lights up, it tells him it's 6:31 a.m. They still have some time to talk. He settles against the headboard and suppresses the smile that automatically forms at the thought.

Everett sighs and rubs his eyes. His hair gets even more unruly when he runs his hands through it. He looks soft and vulnerable even though he's still in his street clothes. "I mean,I think so," he says. "I had a thing with a member of staff once. It didn't end well. And when my father found out... yeah. Let's just say it's been made very clear to me that there will be consequences if it happens again."

That doesn't sound good. Not at all. "What did you do?" Reid asks.Consequences?What would have happened for him to be threatened with consequences?

"I was too young." Everett's tone is dry, but somehow, he sounds pissed off. "Too young and too queer. So they blamed it on me."

Oh. That sounds even worse.

"What do you mean?" Reid asks.

Everett buries his head in his hands. "I was seventeen, he was twenty-six. But I... I wanted it. My father was furious."

"With you?"

"With me."

Oh. There's that sinking feeling again. He doesn't want to believe it's true, because if it is… then Reid is working for a fraud. All those liberal policies and talking points—and his own son can't be gay? Never mind the rest of the situation. Everett isn't saying it, but that age difference is uncomfortably large. How ishethe one to be blamed in this scenario? He was a literal child.

There’s also the fact that now, it makes even less sense that Mackenzie is trying to keep Everett close to his place of work, if this is what happens there. Reid wants to ask about that, but it feels like he’d be distracting from the point at hand.

"I'm twenty-five," he blurts out instead, and cringes immediately.Great. Very relevant. Very charming. Perfect display of empathy in a serious conversation.

Shockingly, though, it turns out that wasn't the wrong thing to say. Because Everett laughs. "And I'm twenty-four. Don't worry. I know you're not trying to seduce me."

Seduce him? The word tingles through Reid's thoughts. And he feels something dawn on him. Something which he, of course, valiantly tries to ignore. They're having an important conversation here. This is not the time for personal revelations.

"But they think I might be?"

With a frustrated groan, Everett throws his head back. "I honestly don't know why. Can't I just talk to people anymore? I wanna talk to you. You're cool."

Reid can feel himself go hot all over. "Thank you."

He'd like to move onto a solution to this problem of theirs, because he'd also quite like to keep talking to Everett. But Everett squints at him. "Are you blushing?"

At that, Reid can feel his cheeks grow even hotter. Oh, the benefits of being frightfully pale. "People don't usually think I'm cool."

"Well, people need to get over themselves. Because you are."

Strangely, that does absolutely nothing to abate Reid's flushed state. Not that Everett seems to mind. If anything, he's delighted with it. His eyes are downright dancing with mirth. "Maybe this is why people think you're flirting with them. That blush is spectacular."

Reid frowns. "But wouldn't it be them flirting, then? I'm just reacting. I'm not making myself blush. Can you even do that?"

After all the stupid stuff he's said this morning, that seems to be a bridge too far. Everett freezes.

"I'm not flirting with you," he says, suddenly serious.

Oh. Reid frowns at the sudden twist in the conversation. "Noted."

"I know you're straight," Everett adds.

Huh. "I don't." The words are out before he can even think about them. But why would he want to think when Everett's eyes on him make him feel like he's just put a fork in an electrical socket? His entire body is buzzing.

"I'm sorry?" Everett asks. He looks genuinely confused. Which is... difficult. Because it means that Reid has a genuine option to play this off, or try to. And that might be easier, right? It's not like Reid has any answers. He only has questions and suspicions. But he doesn't want to lie.

"I don't know that I'm straight," he says. His voice breaks halfway through, but he gets the words out. "I mean, I still could be. But I recently realized that I'd never thought about it. So how would I know?"

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