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“Maybe I’ll stay by your side for the rest of our lives,” he whispers into Sunrise’s ear before he puts on his helmet.
Sunrise grins. “I don’t think I’d mind.” The motorbike takes off.
When they reach the Diner, they climb on top to sit in the same spot they sat in the morning. "Wow," Daniel says. "You were right about it looking on fire. It's gorgeous."
“It is,” Sunrise whispers, “but I can’t decide whether I want to look at it or you more.” Sunrise turns toward him. Daniel keeps watching the light show but leans into him. “You look beautiful,” he says, his heart racing. Daniel lifts up his hand to hold it properly, and to scooch over and press even closer into Sunrise’s side.
“Can I?” he asks. “Stay with you, for as long as you’ll have me?” Sunrise’s eyes are fixed on his eyes, which reflect the colors he’s looking at.
“Yes,” he says, breathless. “Forever.”
Finally, Daniel turns toward him. “Good.” He rests his head on Sunrise’s shoulder. “Finish watching the sunset with me.”
Home is your crew
Home is your hideout
Home is the desert
Home is the feeling when you could stay here forever
(AN: This was kinda like, the poetry version of concept art lol -- I found it on the very first page on my math notebook, cuz that's when I starting thinking about this AU; actually had forgotten I'd written this snippet for a while lol.)
They crash in the middle of the desert, cold and alone.
They partied at the Nest until it was far, far too late. But it’s a party night, so that’s doesn’t matter anyways. They both drank a little too much and Daniel kept pulling the Sunrise Kid close, so they got on his bike and spun out into the empty world until they crashed against the sand.
After the bike spins out of control, and for a second the Sunrise Kid just looks at the stars, and the world was quiet and peaceful, Daniel clinging to him, warm and close.
The bike tosses him to the right, and the engine cuts as he lets go. The sand hisses as they and the bike slide across it. The Nest shines in the distance, the party much smaller than what it was when they left, the lights dimmer and the music muted by the distance.
“Hey, Danny Firekid,” Sunrise whispers. He twists around in Daniel’s grip to get a good look at him. “You alright?”
Daniel makes an mmph sound and shoves his face into the crook of the Sunrise Kid’s neck. “Fine,” he mumbles, his breath hot on Sunrise’s skin. He moves one of his hands to the back of Sunrise’s head and kisses his neck. He moves so he’s more above the Sunrise Kid, pushing into his mouth. Sunrise leans upward in kind, moving his hands to Daniel’s waist. Daniel mumbles something but there’s not any thought or meaning behind it.
“Turn over,” Sunrise says.
“Why?”
“I want to see the stars in your eyes.”
His eyes are a deeper shade of brown than his hair, flickers of far off worlds scintillating in them. Beautiful. It’s all beautiful.
They sleep in the middle of their home, wound together as close as possible -- the desert is cold but they are warm together.
“Can I hide with you?” Sunrise Kid’s familiar voice calls out, his silhouette in the doorway.
“From what?” Daniel Inflammable asks. “I mean, yes, obviously, but from what?”
“All the people I should have talked to or checked in with in the last two months. The art I should be making instead of going for a drive. The safehouses I haven’t made sure are stocked in weeks. Everything I need to do before tomorrow comes.”
“You don’t really have to do anything, you know? You just have to survive. As long as you are keeping yourself alive and healthy, you are doing good.”
Sunrise Kids paces in the shack. “But I feel like I need to do more. All I do is waste my time. I could be teaching motorbabies right now, well like, not right now, but ever since I grew up I should have been passing on my knowledge.”
“Like I said, you don't have to. It’s okay to just do what you want with your life. In all seriousness, we're going to have to work on this.”
He nods and sighs. “You know, sometimes I wish I could just start over. Get like, a perfect run.”
“Sunrise, you can’t get a perfect run in life. That’s what life is. I mean, I get what you feel, but as your friend, I’m obliged to tell you: you can’t do that. I can’t do that. You only get one shot at life, and it’s gonna be bad. I’m not going to tell you not to waste it, because that’s stupid and makes you feel bad. Every life is worth something. Just like, I dunno, enjoy it.” Daniel's clearly been reading The Literature on healthy mindsets and whatnot.
“It’s difficult to enjoy though! I don’t know what I want to do! I just don’t want to do the things I should be!" He looks over at Daniel. "I'm so tired. I think I’ll just stay with you for the rest of today.”
“Yeah, do that. Hide with me. We can keep running tomorrow.”
“What are you hiding from anyways?”
“Uh, actually I upset a crash queen.”
“Oh! What’d you do?”
“I told them their moves were not pog and their memes were more rank than dank.”
“Daniel!” (He's not really upset; he's giggling. Daniel is too.)
Sometimes it feels like the stars were made for us to dance under them.
Sometimes it feels like we’ve never done anything and never will, but somehow…
That’s okay?
Yeah.
I don’t know.
Yeah. I wish… We could have been more, you know? But it’s okay.
I guess. Yeah. You and me and the stars. A thousand dreams, none fulfilled.
It is sad? Is it a tragedy that they are not fulfilled?
I… I don’t know. It seems like it should be.
Yeah. But maybe…
Maybe it’s not.
Dreams aren’t childish things, but… maybe sometimes… stars, you know.
Dreams and stars, stories and songs.
Wishes and trails, tales and lifetimes.
You and me, eh?
Just a couple of weirdos saying things for the sake of hearing pretty words.
That’s really it, isn’t it? In the end. What we’re saying.
I guess.
Yeah.
Okay.