Mr. Carad entered the kitchen, only to stop in his tracks when he saw a boy that he faintly recalled was a friend of his son. Mr. Carad tried to remember his name and after a few moments, he finally remembered that the name of the boy in front of him was Tony. What shocked him was what the boy was doing.

Tony was actually washing the dishes in the sink. And with the stack of clean plates beside him, he must have been here for a while now. It was Alex's birthday and they were having a birthday party at the garden. Many attended, some were family, some were Alex's friends and some were his classmates from University. All of them were in the garden, having fun.

So why was this boy here in the kitchen? And washing the dishes?

"What are you doing?" Mr. Carad asked and he saw how Tony slightly jumped in surprise at his sudden appearance.

"Oh, Mr. Carad," Tony nodded in greeting to Alex's father before setting the plate that he was washing down carefully to the side. "I'm just washing the plates, Sir."

"Why exactly are you washing the plates?" With a shake of his head, Mr. Carad pointed at the garden which even from here, he could hear the laughter and shout of people enjoying themselves. "I think your name is Tony, right? Why don't you go to the garden and have fun with the others, Tony?"

"Yes, Sir," Tony wiped his wet hands dry using the cloth that was lying on the side of the sink. He offered his hand and Mr. Carad immediately got what the boy was trying to do. They courteously shook hands in greeting. "I'm Tony. I'm a friend of your son," Mr. Carad's eye twitched after hearing that ‘friend’ word. He still has trauma after all the boys that his son introduced to him as his friends. He briefly gave the boy in front of him a suspicious once over before shaking his head to clear his thoughts. He was being paranoid and he knew it.

"This kind of things, leave it to us. You're a guest of my son, you shouldn't be washing the dishes," Mr. Carad told the boy before gently pushing him towards the sliding glass door that lead to the garden.

"Sir, it's really okay. I don't mind. My Mom actually used to always order me to do the dishes. You could say that it became a habit at this point, I guess," Tony replied with a shrug. Mr. Carad's perception of Tony went up a few notches. He already had a good impression of the boy and this just made it higher.

Tony and Mr. Carad had a light hearted back and forth argument before Tony was finally persuaded by him to go out and have fun in the garden with Alex's other friends and classmates. After cleaning up a little bit in the kitchen, Mr. Carad took a peek in the garden to see what everyone was doing. His eyes roamed around the garden for a minute before his eyes landed on his son and what he saw made him freeze.

He saw his son and his friend, that tall and handsome kid named Markus, holding hands. They were trying to be discreet but from where Mr. Carad was peeking in, he could clearly see how they were holding hands and from the minute motion of that Markus' hand, he was even caressing his son's palm.

Damn, his blood pressure was starting to rise rapidly as Markus daringly caress his son's bottom a few times. If he were holding anything at that moment, well, it would have been broken from the tight grip of Mr. Carad's clenched fist.

‘Is there something going on with that Markus and Alex? How long has this been going on?’ Mr. Carad knew that Markus and Alex have been friends since high school but he didn't think that they would end up liking each other. To this extent.

He, Alex and Markus needed to have a talk.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

It was during a family dinner that Mr. Carad broached the subject of Alex and Markus' relationship. It was the perfect time, he thought. Every Carad was present in that table.

"So," Mr. Carad sternly started which caused his wife and son to look at him. "Are you and that Markus kid dating?"

Alex who was drinking water from his glass choked and sprayed out water from his mouth out of shock from the unexpected words that came out from his own Father.

"HUH?! Dad! What are talking about?" Alex hurriedly wiped his mouth before turning to face his Dad with his undivided attention. There was a panicked look on his face which just made it more damning to his parent’s eyes. "What do you mean?! Dating? Me and Markus?! No way!" Alex denied but it was clear to his parents the clear panic in their son's eyes.

Mrs. Carad had suspicion in her eyes at how his son was acting at his husband's words but she held it in. "Yes, dear. You know Markus and Alex have been friends since high school. How could they be dating?" Mrs. Carad asked, shaking her head at her husband's words. "I don't even know if Markus was bi like our son or gay. So how could that be possible?"

Mr. Carad grunted before facing his son, putting the chopsticks and spoon down on to his plate. He knew the truth. He saw it with his own eyes how Markus daringly touched his son in his own territory.

"I saw you and Markus secretly holding hands during your birthday party last week. I don't think anyone else noticed but from where I was looking, it was pretty clear to me," Mr. Carad saw his son's mouth open to deny his words so he preemptively cut him off. "And before you say any excuse or deny it even, I even saw him caress your ass a few times and you were even flirtatiously looking at him a few times. I'm not an idiot son, I know that there's something going on between you two."

This time, Mrs. Carad supported her husband. There was enough evidence to suggest that his husband's words were true. And the way her son was acting just made it look truer.

"Dear, do you have anything to say to us? You know we won't be angry. We love and support you, Alex," She encouragingly said to her own flesh and blood.

Alex's face turned white then red then purple then back to white. "I... ahhhh... We... Markus...!" Alex stuttered, unable to look at his parents eyes. "Markus is so DEAD!" Alex grumbled, angrily blaming his boy/friend.

Mr. Carad just nodded as if agreeing with him while Mrs. Carad had an understanding look on her face. "So invite Markus for dinner tomorrow. If you and he are dating now, you should introduce him to us."

"But we already know him, dear," Mrs. Carad interjected.

"But we knew him as Alex's friend before, now, he's Alex's boyfriend. Our son should introduce us formally, at least, to his bestfriend turned boyfriend."

Both of them turned to look at their son who had no choice but nod along in agreement.

"I guess..." Alex replied in unwilling agreement.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"So Markus, what's your intension for our son?" Mr. Carad asked in a stern tone out of nowhere during the family dinner that Markus was invited (forced) to attend.

Both of the younger boys were shocked by how straightforward Mr. Carad was. They expected to be grilled by Alex's parents but they didn't expect it come so fast. Markus choked on the food he was eating and Alex spit out the water he was drinking in surprise and shock again.

"DAD!" Alex shouted, his face reddening in embarrassment as he wiped his wet mouth with a towel. His Dad just raised his eyebrow at him before his eyes focused like laser on the other boy in the table.

"..." Markus' was like he was carved from stone with how rigid and flat he was. He didn't even raise his face at all during the entire dinner, it was like his entire focus was on his plate. His mouth was clenched tighter than a vault in a bank and his head was bowed the entire time as if he didn't want to look at anyone.

It continued like for what seemed like forever but was actually just an hour. Mr. and Mrs. Carad would ask Markus question, Markus would remain silent and Alex would answer for him or change the subject awkwardly. Mr. Carad and Mrs. Carad tried to engage Markus in a conversation quite a few times but to no avail. While that was happening, Alex just acted as if it was normal for Markus to remain silent and not talk for that long. The hell it was! If he wanted to at least give a good impression to the parents of the boy he's dating, the least he could have done was talk a little bit with them.

The dinner ended and it was awkward. To be honest, it ended poorly. Markus just didn't talk at all. They didn't manage to learn more about the boy that their son was currently dating.

Alex walked Markus out of his home. And so that no funny business would happen, his Dad followed after them. With Mr. Carad just at the threshold of their gate, looming like a gargoyle, Alex and Markus couldn't do anything more than hug each other. The moment Mr. Carad saw Markus move to kiss his son, he coughed loudly and pointedly. Alex pulled back to helplessly glare at his own Dad before gesturing at his boyfriend in goodbye.

After the car that carried Markus drove off, both father and son entered and sat down on the couch side by side.

"So..." Alex started while nervously biting his lips. "What do you think of Markus?"

Mr. Carad stayed silent for a few seconds before giving a loud cough. "Markus is... He's, uh, well... I noticed he's very quiet. Was he always like that before?"

Alex just nodded to his father's words. "Exactly. He's the epitome of the strong and silent type."

Mr. Carad thought that Markus was more of the silent and mute type. But whatever floats his son's boat, he guessed.

"You don't like him do you?" Alex suddenly said, breaking the awkward silence that enveloped the living room.

Mr. Carad slowly coughed again. He said in a serious tone while catching Alex's eyes, "Kid, it's not that I don't like Markus. As a friend, I approve. Really, I do. But as for being your boyfriend, well..." He sighed. "I just didn't get a clear read of him during the dinner with how silent he was. I tried to get to know him but I didn't manage to do that tonight."

"Oh. Okay," Alex muttered before saying goodbye and going up to his room. Gazing at his back, his Dad couldn't help but notice how disappointed his son looked.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-==-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

A few days later, Mr. Carad would learn from his wife that Alex and Markus decided to stay friends. Alex had admitted it a day ago when Mrs. Carad broached the subject of another family dinner.

"You don't think it was my fault, was it?" Mr. Carad asked his wife. "Was I too harsh or insistent?"

"I don't think so," she replied. "Maybe it was just a matter of incompatibility between young Markus and Alex. Don't blame yourself, dear."

"It wasn't like I dislike that Markus kid. He was polite and all, but he could have tried to talk to us at least even if he's not that good of a talker," He sighed, admitting his thought of the boy his son brought home a few days ago. "He was just so silent during dinner and I swear, half of our questions meant for him were answered by Alex himself. Am I a terrible person if I admit that I could have liked the kid if he had just actually talk and said something to us?"

She sighed. "You don't have to worry about it anymore. They already decided to just stay as friends."

"I just want what's best for Alex. If he's happy, I'm happy. I don't hate his lovers, if they make him happy, I'd eventually accept them," He admitted but his words was filled with reluctance.

Mrs. Carad hugged her husband lovingly. "I feel the same way, dear. And he will. Maybe the perfect one for him is nearer than we thought," She gave him a peck on the cheeks. "Have faith on our son, dear husband of mine."