Tom followed his parents into the room, shutting the door behind him and sitting in a chair across from them. He was beaming; They had finally met Jared. He just imagined them telling him how proud they were, that he'd finally found someone that made him happy. He knew they hadn't been expecting him to be with a man, but that shouldn't matter, right? No, it wouldn't matter to them. They had always supported him. And, to him, he felt good about it. It meant that he had the capacity to love someone no matter what gender. He hadn't been this excited in a while.
His mother looked at his father for a moment before turning back to him, her gaze dropping to the floor. "Tom, I'm... Shocked, to be honest." When they said nothing more, Tom's smile faltered, only for a moment.
"...Because Jared's a man?"
"That's precisely why." his father jumped in the conversation, a stern expression on his face that the actor hadn't seen in quite a while. "We had no idea our son was out and.. Being involved with other men."
The smile was completely gone now. This couldn't be happening. They cared about Tom; they should be happy. He obviously loved Jared... Wasn't that all they wanted? Was for him to be in love? Why did it matter if he was a woman or not? This was heading in the opposite direction that Tom had wanted, and... He felt sick to his stomach. "I-I'm... Sorry you feel that way." No, he wasn't going to apologize for loving Jared, but he was going to apologize because of how they were acting towards their son.
Tom's mother cleared her throat. "Thomas, we love you but..."
We love you, but. Suddenly being in love with a man was an exception to loving their son. Tom closed his eyes and put his hands over his face, his heart aching at the silence and atmosphere of disappointment.
"..but we really disagree with your choices. Are you sure you're not just... Confused maybe?" Tom looked up at her, lips slightly parted and a look of disbelief painted on his face.
"I'm absolutely positive, mum. Why can't you guys understand that... I love hi-"
"We can't understand because we've never anticipated being this ashamed of you." His fathers words cut Tom deep. His eyes fluttered as he looked to the ground, unable to meet the look his father had on his face. A knot began forming in his throat, making each breath burn a little. "I thought we raised you differently. I thought we raised you better, Tommy."
Tom covered his face with his hands again, not wanting his parents to see his lower lip trembling, or the way his eyes squinted together so no tears would trespass. He knew, from other times during his youth, that when his father called him 'Tommy' that things were serious, that things had taken a bad turn. Tommy was what his father used when he was disappointed and sad with him. When he was ashamed. After all of his success and dedication for what he loved, they were now ashamed of him for being in love.
Tom stood then, looking at his parents. He longed to see sadness in their eyes, or regret. But his dad was looking at him like he saw him as a failure, and his mother apparently refused to make eye contact with him. The actor just looked to the ground, and began to clear the knot from his throat. "It was... I'm glad I got to see you both again. I'll try to keep in touch." After that, he left, walking from the room and closing the door quietly. He approached Jared, and took his hand in his.
Tom couldn't look at Jared, so he just focused on where their skin met. He gave it a gentle squeeze, taking a deep breath. "It's time we go back to the hotel." He would explain to Jared why his voice was so ruined when they got in the car.