extra stories to share. (tgwdlm//bf)

chug; cover up.

// og post date: august 16th, 2020. sfw. tw; deadnaming, misgendering, implied homophobia. word count: 3,512. //

~

it was friday, the cool breeze of late summer signaling that fall was among the town. for reasons she still is not aware of, charlotte received an email earlier that morning work was called off for everyone in the office — the technical branch was sent small, different files to work on for the day then sent back to prove they did it.
she didn't know if it would go toward anything, though she was able to get hers done in only a few hours; the rest of the afternoon free to do whatever.

she spent the time sitting on the back porch, knitting until her heart's content. nothing in particular was in mind, she assumed she'd end up making another sweater for doug considering the cold was coming soon. charlotte smiled to herself as she worked her hands, enjoying the sight of her materials coming together nice and tight — she loves all sorts of arts and crafts, if that wasn't already obvious from her collection of creations by her and others. the quietness of the outdoors had been disturbed when she heard faint music coming from inside the house, and what she assumed was her partner singing along.

see, this wouldn't have bothered her on any other day, she usually smiled and listened while she did her own thing; however tuning in to the lyrics sung made her realize it was not in english. charlotte made a face and glanced over at the backdoor, seeing doug's silhouette pacing around the living room. must be a new way for them to practice their language lessons, she thought as she set her things in her sewing basket and closed the lid.
entering the house and placed her basket in its proper spot near the fireplace, she watched doug for a moment longer before hearing them trip up on their words.

"dammit," cursed doug, as they paused the intense song that poured out of the bluetooth speaker. "i can never pronounce that word right."
"why the sudden stress to continue your russian, dear?" asked charlotte, as she walked up to them and ran her hands lightly on their shoulder from behind. she could feel the tension, making her frown for a moment. she knew they've been taking a few days in the week to pick up russian as their father was from the country, and they thought it would be beneficial to learn the language - today was not a part of the schedule with this, which was why she is a bit lost.
she rubbed her thumbs against them as she watched their mouth open and close in attempt to find their words.

"my parents, they are in town and didn't tell me until an hour ago that for their last night they wanted to visit. there's... a few problems with this." they tried to explain to the best of their ability, leaning slightly into their wife's touch.
the problems didn't need to be said out loud, charlotte already knew what they were; their father, being able to speak english, would prefer to use his native tongue since it was easier on him. their mother was able to speak both, fluent in english mainly, though her issue was how quick she was in getting into their personal business. both of them never believed their child would keep their nonbinary identity, along with their attraction to women. a phase, they'd call it. lastly, they were not invited to the wedding - which means they have no idea who charlotte is.

"oh. well, is there anything you need me to help with?"
"i need you to hide our rings somewhere in the bedroom."
out of all things, she did not expect them to say that. charlotte understood where they were coming from, wanting to protect both of them from hateful comments, though it disappointed her they couldn't even have the symbol of their love on. she felt doug pull away from her touch and turn around before handing her their ring; "your little chest i made you? i think that'll be a good spot."
"where my clip-on earrings are? doug, do we have to?" asked charlotte, in hopes they'd reconsider as she took their ring. there wasn't a response, only a worried expression. she slid her own ring off with a sigh and nod, shuffling her way through the kitchen and hallway to their bedroom.