Free Imposition by Juniper Gray

don't see how.” Meitou's voice was rich and arrogant like it had been just the day before, when Gen had lost his cool.
    "Well, I haven't tried fucking him before, and I've certainly never asked, so how —"
    "'Before'?"
    "Don't twist my words!"
    "I'm not doing anything. They're your words, Genham."
    Gen stood up and tipped the rest of his coffee away.
    "Are you jealous?” Meitou asked him.
    "Are you fucking kidding me?” he shot back.
    The man just laughed. Once, softly. He unfolded his arms and straightened up, waving a hand at Gen and smiling. “I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Some bad habits I just tend to slip back into. You're just simmering so close to the surface it's difficult not to want to make you boil over. You probably don't even know it...haha, there I go again, just ignore me. Oh, and you might want to be more careful which doors you barge through in future. You never know where they might lead,” he said with a farewell wink, and walked off humming. Gen just stood there and stared after him.
    * * * *
    Gen was still in the mess, staring out of the window at nothing in particular, when Therse arrived later.
    "Hi,” Therse said, meeting his gaze guiltily. Gen didn't respond, didn't shift position from his spot by the window as Therse fetched himself a drink.
    He sat down near where Gen was standing and placed his mug on the table, leaning his mouth against his knuckles and making a noise like a sigh as Gen sat down opposite him. Therse looked like he was trying to find the right place to begin.
    Gen made it easier for him. “Are you gay?"
    Therse just looked at him for a moment, then nodded.
    "When were you going to tell me?"
    A guilty look. “Now?"
    Gen glared back at him.
    Therse adjusted his position and leaned back in his chair, still gripping the mug with both hands on the table. “I don't know. There was never a right time."
    "I think any time before now would have been the right time.” Gen stood up and made to leave.
    "What did you want me to do? What should I have said? Oh, here's those schematics you wanted to look over, and by the way, I like to fuck men ?"
    "That would have been better than me finding you balls-deep in some guy's ass. A guy who, by the way, we don't even know."
    "Oh, who the hell are you, my mother? I bet if he'd been a woman you wouldn't have given two shits. Hell, you'd probably have been jealous I was the one getting laid."
    "How long have you known?"
    Confusion flickered over Therse's face. “What?"
    "Hey, I figure we might as well get it all out in the open now, while you're in the mood for sharing. How long have you known you were gay?"
    "I don't know, a long time."
    "Before I knew you?"
    "Yes."
    "Before you enlisted?"
    "Yes! Look —"
    "Do the others know?” Therse looked away. Gen pressed him. “ Do they know?"
    "Look, I don't know! I think Mal probably suspects, but I haven't told anyone else, if that's what you're asking."
    "All this fucking time and you never said anything. To any of us."
    Therse looked away and rubbed his fingers over his mouth. Then he glanced back. “Are you actually mad at me?"
    "Yes, I'm fucking mad at you."
    "Why the fuck does it even matter?"
    "This is a huge thing, and you never told me. Every fucking time we were out together and I tried to get you hooked up with some girl, every double date I took you on, every woman I pointed out to you, this whole time it was all fucking pointless and you knew but said nothing. At any point you could have turned around and said, ‘actually I'm gay'. Any time. I just don't fucking get why you never said anything."
    "Look, there was...there was just never the right time —"
    "Yeah, you said that already."
    Therse rubbed his forehead.
    A thought occurred to Gen. “Wait. Did you think that I'd react to it or something? Did you think I'd take it badly?"
    "No! It was nothing like that."
    "Fuck you. If you'd think that for even a moment, then fuck you."
    Therse stood, his expression darkening. “It wasn't that