A New Song [mxm]

37. Black Sheep

The weather was already cold to begin with, but winter had officially hit New York.  It was the season he was most concerned about his voice and did everything he could to keep healthy.  Jaxon hated it because that meant he had to mainly eat warm foods and soup. 

They were walking down a street holding hands.  They had their knitted hats pulled down low and scarves covering their faces, blocking out the cold. 

Jaxon was still grumbling about the lackluster meal.

"You do know that you can eat whatever you want.  You don't need to go through the same diet."  Alex said with a small laugh.

Jaxon gave him an ornery look.  "Don't even start.  You know I'm going to suffer with you."

Alex laughed and leaned into him.  Jaxon was looking around the street that they were on.  It was lined with a number of quaint shops and boutiques. Because the holidays were approaching, it was filled with Christmas decorations and lights.

Alex looked at the cafe that they were nearing and started to fidget a little. "Maybe this was a bad idea."

"Just say the word and we can go back." Jaxon said reassuringly.

But it was too late. Derek and his parents had already seen them. Derek had a stiff look on his face with his hands in his pockets. He saw Alex and rushed to him, leaving their parents behind. He exchanged hugs with Alex and beamed at Jaxon.

"It's great to finally meet you." He said and reached out his hand.

Jaxon took his hand and shook it, but Derek flinched from the oppressive grip from Jaxon.  "Right. Derek... Just remember that I'm not as forgiving as Alex."

Derek winced a little but still smiled. "That's good. He has changed quite a bit from when we were younger, but I think he is still too lenient."

He turned back to Alex, rubbing his now sore hand. "You sure you want to do this?"

Derek had accidentally ran into their parents with Bella. Bella had let it slip that he and Derek were on speaking terms and would meet up from time to time. Their parents insisted on taking advantage of that and requested to meet up with him.

And now Alex was in unfamiliar territory watching these parents from a distant memory approach him.

"Alex, dear." His mother said with a strained smile. She tried very hard not to look at Jaxon. His father had a stern look on his face, and didn't make eye contact with anyone.  Alex frowned a little, noticing every move.

She went in to hug him but he stepped away. "I'm sure you already know, but this is my boyfriend, Jaxon."

Jaxon nodded stiffly, but didn't bother shaking their hands.

She clutched a cross necklace and muttered a something under her breath and Alex wanted to just walk away. Instead he tightly grabbed Jaxon's hand and walked into Anne's cafe, not bothering to see if they were following.

He felt slightly disappointed when he found that they did follow. Alex didn't sit immediately and instead greeted Anne with a light kiss on the cheek and introduced Jaxon. She squealed a little and fussed over both of them.

She did lead them towards the back in a more secluded area to speak privately. She came back briefly to drop off drinks and mouthed 'good luck' to Derek before she disappeared.

They sat awkwardly for a while before Alex coughed a little and decided to skip any semblance of small talk. "So why did you want to meet?"

His mom looked nervous. "Well, it's been about five years since we talked."