its been a year since the final episode of andi mack premiered. i miss this show so much. going back and looking through the tag now makes me feel so nostalgic. this show has always made me so happy. thank you forever andi mack, you changed my life.
Summary: TJ and Cyrus continue to talk on the bench about everything and nothing, all at once.
TJ and Cyrus continued to sit on the bench, hands intertwined ignoring the claminess they we were both getting. The two boys couldn’t help but smile at the fact they were actually together, that after all the drama they ensued, they made it. TJ was in awe, he couldn’t stop looking at the two hands that sat in the middle of both boys, he didn’t know what to do next. TJ decided to break the silence and cleared his throat.
“So, what now?” Cyrus could hear the shakiness in his voice, not knowing if they were more than friends and willing to put it out in the open.
“Well we can start off with who knows,well about this I guess.” TJ knew that Cyrus was talking about the unspoken gayness that was their hands, but at the same time he didn’t know how comfortable TJ was, well in his gayness.
“The first person that I ever told was Reed. I actually told him about my crush on you.” This caught the younger boys attention, a smile being placed on his face, and a little head nod that told TJ to continue.
“When I invited you to go dirt biking I told him before you got there. The whole time he was making fun of me because he thought I was showing off to impress you.” His voice trailed off into a frailness that seemed embarrassed. Cyrus chuckled, squeezing the older boys hand a little tighter, asking him silently to continue.
“After Reed, I told my sister, and she was so supportive and even said ‘Nobody with the name Thelonious can be straight,’ and we just continued on with our relationship. And the last person that knows, I didn't even tell them. She guessed. Kira made me choose between you two, and if I had to do it all over again, I would choose you sooner.” Thats made Cyrus smile and he squeezed TJ’s hand one last time before breaking his silence.
“As much as I love this,” he said pointing to their hands that have not yet moved but are fully enveloped in sweat “I want my hand to breathe a little,is that okay?” All TJ did was nod and put his feet on the bench, sitting in a criss-cross applesauce position.
“Now Cy, you get to tell me, who knows about you?” TJ was treading lightly, knowing fully that his close knit group of friends knew but not sure how comfortable he was telling the stories.
“The first person I ever told was Buffy. It was right after my first kiss with a girl named Iris, I knew it didn’t feel right, and Buffy assured me that there was nothing wrong with how I was feeling.” At the thought of his supportive friend, he smiled again, he couldn’t remember the last time he smiled that much. “After Buffy, I told Andi, at my bar mitzvah, and of course she gave me a big hug and told me how proud she was of me, and after that I told Jonah at the shiva, I couldn't have had a better group of people to come out to.” Cyrus could see TJ’s hand once again reaching out to be held, although his hands were still clammy he took it, and embraced the claminess with every muscle in his body, and then, they just sat there, in complete silence, holding hands looking at the stars in front of a beautiful fire.
“Do your parents know?” Cyrus once again broke the silence, looking into the green sea that was TJ’s eyes.
“My mom, she knows. I actually didn’t tell her, she kinda figured it out. After costume day I came home really upset, I was crying actually, and I told her that I switched costumes and felt awful for ditching you, her response is something I will never forget, ‘sometimes fear eats at you until there is nothing left but bad decisions. Don’t let the fear of your feelings eat at you until you don’t have Cyrus anymore.’ Then we just laid on my bed and I cried with her. She asked if she could tell my dad, I said yes.” TJ stopped himself looking Cyrus straight in the eye, seeing his reaction to the story.
“One day, will you tell me all about Kira?” TJ nodded his head, placing another squeeze to their hands
“Do your parents know Cy?” TJ knew well enough that with 4 therapist parents you have to hide some things, but all Cyrus did was nod his head.
“After Bubbe Rose died I told them all, I thought that anything can happen so if something out of the blue happens to them, I want them all to know.” TJ couldn’t help but think about how smart Cyrus was for thinking that way, he couldn’t help but want to show him off to the world now that they are both entering high school, he couldn’t help but think about the dances they can go to together and the snow storms they get to spend inside. It’s like Cyrus can read his mind with his next question.
“How public do you wanna be?” His voice was low, not wanting to ruin the moment, not wanting to scare the boy he so desperately cared about away. He wants to tell his friends about tonight, how he finally gets a love story after all. He wants to tell him about the way TJ’s hand fits in his like it's meant only for him. He wants to take pictures with him and make it his lock screen but he doesn’t want things to go too fast, he doesn’t want to scare the boy of his dreams away, and that’s when he speaks up.
“How public do you want to be, Cy? Because I want to hold your hand walking down the street and go to the movies together. I want to experience our first homecoming together and have double dates with our friends, but if you don’t want to be public, we can keep this between us. But if I can, I want to show you off to the world.” Cyrus can’t help it but a little tear escapes his eyes, and all he can do is nod his head, before he gets the courage to speak again.
“Can we do one more thing Teej?” And the older boy thinks he knows where this is going but wasn't positive until Cyrus moves closer and puts his hand on the older boy’s jaw asking for permission to kiss him, and is granted with an eager head nod. The kiss isn't passionate, it isn’t a sparks flying kiss, it’s a kiss that is emotional and speaks volumes, it’s a kiss that says that I’m no longer scared. A kiss that says, this is what it’s supposed to feel like.
