Work Text:
on cold summer nights like this, they always went out for star gazing. just the two of them, with nothing else on their minds.
they laid down a soft blanket: a red one from a friend who didn't care much for star gazing. they felt the soft grass beneath their fingertips, the hard ground beneath their backs.
it was always a little dewy, a little earthy, a little firm. but the stars always took their attention anyway.
they gaze longingly at the clear sky, something they didn't often see in the rather metropolitan city they lived in.
they bask in the moonlight and the soft glow it gave all it touched. they bask in the smell of the earth, the light breeze making its way through the hilltop, and the warmth of each other.
it was perfect.
one sat up, hugging his knees close to his chest while still looking up. the other looked at him and the pale light bouncing off of blonde hair. freckles nearly washed out by the moonlight, but he knew they were there and that's what mattered.
"you know, i always love when we do this," a soft smile grew on his face, gaze never leaving the moon. "it's calming."
the other hummed an agreement, turning away and back to the night sky.
"i love the grass. i love the wind. i love the sky."
for a few moments everything was calm. everything was normal. the wind was their music, blowing lightly through the trees and the grass and the flowers. it was perfect.
"i love you, george."
and it was gone.
george closed his eyes, suddenly feeling a gnawing ache in his stomach.
static filled his ears and guilt grasped his heart like an assassin a gun.
i'm sorry, he wanted to say.
"i know you are. you don't have to be," the blonde knew him well enough. "you don't ever have to say it back, whichever way you mean it."
i'm sorry.
"i thought i would speak it into existence. i thought you should know. maybe i'll change."
you shouldn't have to.
"george, i know you're tearing yourself apart in that brain of yours. don't. i know you, and i expected nothing from this."
you deserve a response.
"i don't need one. what matters is that we're here and we're together. i don't care if you feel how i do."
you deserve to be selfish.
"i know you care about me, and that's about all i can ask. so please, let yourself be selfish."
george opened his eyes. he looked over to his friend, who was already looking at him.
he had a serene look on his face, like he truly didn't have a care in the world. his face was free of distraction, of distress, of regret. he was at peace, and he was satisfied.
"you deserve better, dream," he whispers, and the other is quiet long enough for george to worry that he didn't hear.
"maybe i do. but that doesn't matter right now," dream smiles at him. "right now, i love you and you know and you care, and that's all i wanted."
he looks back to the moon and as does george. a comfortable silence washes over them, much like the pale glow of the very being they were admiring.
they'd be alright, and that's all george could ask for.