Tristan stands at his full height, his body quivering with rage. I may know Tristan’s interior to be that of the sweetest human ever, but I also know he in no way looks like that, nor is Kingston the type of person to whom Tristan would ever have shown his kinder side. And there is also the very real side of Tristan that when he gets pissed enough to fight, he leaves devastation in his wake.
And that’s the side of Tristan that is staring down at Kingston right now, the intense rage emanating from him in steady, relentless waves.
“Getthe fuckout of my house,” Tristan snarls, his voice even raising the hairs on the back of my neck.
Kingston lets out a snort of derision, before his eyes move back over to Qiang. “All of this, just for—” he starts to say, but Qiang lets out an exasperating sigh that cuts him off.
“Oh my god, you are so disillusioned, Kingston. After all these years, you’re so captivated by your own reflection that you fail to see how the world keeps on revolving outside of your attention. We’ve all moved on; you’re the one who’s standing here, refusing to leave. Just fucking leave, for fuck’s sake,” Qiang grates out in that same exasperated tone that is far more annoyed than it is the traumatized fear or disquiet that I’m used to seeing in them when it comes to this fucker.
Tristan’s jaw ticks; I can tell he’s thinking the same thing I am. There’s a sincere desire to absolutely destroy this fucker right here and now, but what if Qiang needs this, just a little bit? A moment to stand up against the man who’s haunted their dreams for the past four years.
I’m still coiled tight and ready to spring into action the moment I’m needed, and I can see Tristan mirroring my movements, giving Qiang enough space to say what they need to say, but not enough for Kingston to sneak in there and hurt them.
“Don’t talk down to me, you little slut, or has your needy cocksucking reputation died out? Should I remind everyone here of exactly how shamelessly you beg for it?” Kingston barks back, and another shadow passes through Qiang’s eyes.
I dig my nails into my palms to keep the rage that boils through me under control. At this point, if I put my hands on him, it’ll be bad enough that a house full of witnesses will be damning.
It slightly helps that I have no doubt Qiang is perfectly capable of standing up for themself, but today is really the worst possible time for Kingston to be in their face. They’ve been struggling all day, and none of this is helping at all.
This time, I don’t rock back on my heels. Maybe I’m not ready to take Qiang’s chance of defending themself away just yet, but I’m over being on the opposite side of the room from them.
Qi doesn’t say a word as I approach; he just silently steps away from his sibling’s side to make room for me as I snake my arm around their waist and place an affirming kiss to their temple, reminding them that they aren’t alone and that they aresoloved. Even if I haven’t said the words out loud yet, there’s no way they can’t at least feel the affection I have for them.
Qiang doesn’t say a word to me, but they lean ever so slightly into me, and while I can feel the uncomfortable stiffness in their spine, their entire demeanor is much more relaxed than I’ve ever seen them around Kingston. My focus on Qiang was enough to give Derrick time to step in.
“Not cool to slut shame, man. Especially when half the people hereare rather proud of their sluttiness. And I don’t know what you have against cocksucking, dude. It might do you good to try it. Get a nice juicy cock in there to stretch your mouth out and rail your throat nice and raw, fuck it’s nice,” he practically groans with appreciation at the end of his statement, and I have to stifle my laugh at the downturn of Kingston’s mouth.
“Everyone knows you’re with Imani,” Kingston drawls in disgust.
There are a few chuckles in the crowd at Kingston’s misassumption, because yes, Derrick is very much head over heels for Imani, but he’s also never hidden for a moment that he’s bisexual. Kingston either ignored what is common knowledge to the rest of us, or he really can’t wrap his head around the idea of someone being legitimately into multiple genders.
Derrick frowns at Kingston’s statement. “It’s gross to be biphobic, man. Just because I’m a hundred percent committed to my beautiful woman doesn’t make me any less attracted to men, thank you very much,” he replies haughtily.
Kingston flushes at the comment, and I’m honestly not sure what to make of this guy anymore. Is he so deeply in the closet that he’s somehow convinced himself that he’s not queer despite having been with multiple genders himself? Or is he so terrified he’ll be outed if he shows any sign of support or understanding that he can’t let go of the mask of disdain?
Kingston’s lips are curled in his permanent sneer, his eyes flash towards the door as if he’s had enough and isn’t sure if he’s willing to forgo the last word just to get out, since this obviously didn’t give him the fight he was hoping for. However, Qiang is also standing between him and the door, and Kingston’s eyes fixate on them again.
Qiang’s back is straight while they gaze steadily back at Kingston with their head held high, and even though I know it’s taking everything in them to hold the confident hold of their head, they still look hot as fuck doing it.
“Must be nice,” Kingston spits out. “To havesomuch support. But then again, they don’t know the Qiang I know. The needy little whore who’d do anything for a bit of attention. The one who knew theirworth and would never dare to stand there with their head held high and their eyes full of indignation around someone like me. You call me disillusioned, but you’ve fooled this whole house into somehow believing your poor, needy whore ass is worth anything more than dirt under our shoes.”
Qiang rolls their eyes while popping their hip out to the side in that sassy, confident way that turns me upside down.
“Kingston, you’d hurt someone if you actually used your brain for something other than being a disdainful prick. You are standing in a house full of people inmycorner and trying to convince them that I’m some horrible, undeserving person, while you haven’t got a single person in your corner. What makes you think your words have weight here?”
Kingston fumes, his anger making him stupid enough to take the few strides between him and Qiang and get in their face.
“You–” he bellows, his eyes full of fire, andnope, that’s it for me.
I shove myself in between them, forcing Kingston back a step.
“It’s enough! Get the fuck out of my house,” I yell in his face.
Kingston’s nostrils flare, his eyes showing more anticipation than fear.Thisis what he came for, but he has no idea who the fuck he’s dealing with.
“Or what? You’ll have me thrown out? Call the cops? What will you do?” he snarls, an inch from my face.
I huff out a laugh, my lip curling up in a half-smile. “Why would I call in witnesses?”
