Glibt remained silent after Harvey repeated his new age, wincing inwardly. If he'd just concentrated on the thirty to thirty-five age range, some of this might have been avoided. But Mark Garrett appeared to be approximately forty and Glibt had wanted at least a ten year's difference. His own fault, really, for having specific tastes when it came to age, although a small, angry voice popped up in the back of his head and said that it was Harvey's fault for being the lover that every other lover was compared to. Most of the time, they never measured up and it had taken the Democratic Party himself to even come close to comparing.
However, Glibt was broken out of his reverie as he caught the movement of Harvey's hand, rubbing over the inside of his wrist. His stomach clenched and twisted, but it was drowned out by the pain that shot through his heart and mind. For a moment, Glibt wanted to throw himself across the desk and take his Harvey- no, take Harvey into his arms and make him promise never to leave again. He settled instead for further tightening his hand around the cup, the action causing the lid to pop off. Glibt only saved Harvey's floor from becoming a chocolatey-marshmallowy mess by shooting out a hand to catch the lid while doing his best to keep the cup level. He ducked his head as he replaced it, chewing lightly on his lower lip.
His head shot up, however, when Harvey finally spoke, and Glibt recoiled as if he'd been slapped. There were many responses to that question. He hadn't waited a year for Mark to admit to the public that he was gay and in a relationship with Harvey Stonewall only to go into hiding again, to be Mark's secret again. He hadn't planned a same sex wedding of two public figures, one celebrity, one activist, only to nullify that achievement by living in a heterosexual marriage. He identified most strongly as male and being female for the rest of his existence simply wasn't an option. He went with the strongest reason. "Because I'm a homosexual man in a homosexual relationship." His eyes, fixed on Harvey, burned with fierce anger. Cris' fire, Cris' quick temper, the petulance that usually came with the young god's tantrums tempered by the last vestiges of Harvey Stonewall's calm, bored into Harvey. "And to pretend that I'm in a heterosexual relationship would go against everything I believe in. Everything I am."
The fact that Harvey had even asked that made Glibt want to leave, but, after a long moment of trying to control himself, he spoke again, his voice still trembling slightly with anger. "This isn't easy for me either, Harvey."