"I would have shut up if you hadn't asked me about it!" Gabriel said, forgetting his beads.

Defensive. He should have expected that. "So you just completely ignored the 'be a better person' thing, huh?"

"Be a better person what?" he asked. Why couldn't this man leave him in peace?

"In my mind, being a good person includes not calling people disgusting sinners for their sexual preferences," Anthony said. He knew that he was going to get some bullshit excuse about religion and God as a response, but it was worth trying.

"I didn't..." He took a deep breath. He hated talking about this. He absolutely hated it. He knew what he had to believe. But he preferred not to think about it at all. This man ruined that. "I... shouldn't have said it like that... you... angered me."

That was...somewhat surprising. Nothing about the 'natural order' or God or anything? "Yeah. You shouldn't have," Anthony agreed with him, somewhat. Though the fact that he wasn't apologizing for saying it, but rather was apologizing for saying it 'like that' didn't escape him, he chose to give the guy the benefit of the doubt. "or, even better, you shouldn't have said it at all."

Gabriel took a deep breath. Some part of him wanted this guy to fuck off. But there was a small opening for some kind of reconciliation and Gabriel knew he should at least try. "I was angry. Because you were implying that I..." He didn't finish that sentence. "I'm sorry I called you disgusting." Well, he had been kind of disgusting with those gestures, but Gabriel held his tongue.

That apology was better than nothing, but Anthony remained skeptical. "Are you sorry for calling me disgusting, or are you sorry for basically implying every single man like me is disgusting?" There was a realm of difference between the two things.

"I shouldn't have said disgusting... I... don't know what to think..." He knew what he had to think. And what he was definitely not supposed to think. Or think about. But it tended to blur, dangerously so. How uncomfortable he was.

What a nonanswer. Anthony tried to hide his frustration. "Yeah, well, in my opinion, you should stop thinking of us as disgusting," he said, quite harshly. His patience was really pushed to it's limits, right now.