How We Got Here

A longer story I'm working on, in which Paul Jacob Kleiman, who's raised a conservative Christian, befriends Misha Mikhail Katko, a Russian Orthodox Jew who is openly gay. Misha keeps it from Paul, and when Paul finds out he is initially furious and finds it very hard to accept Misha for who he is. He is further upset by thoughts he's having about Misha, that make him paranoid that he's also gay. Misha is able to explain himself to Paul, who eventually comes to see him as an incredible person that can somehow balance his sexuality with his faith. They become much closer and Paul's father, Erik, discovers a conversation between Misha and Paul in which Misha said slanderous things about the church. In a rage, and thinking that Misha is "turning Paul gay", he beats Paul and throws him out of the house, leading Paul to try to kill himself. He's rescued, however, and he goes to stay with Misha, who takes him out to the desert for a weekend to try to pull himself together. On the trip, Paul realizes that he really is in love with Misha, and they go back confident in who they are.