Work Text:
The warm Texas summer breeze touched the wild grasses littered across the unmarked field, where the two best friends sat. This was the end of an era in a way, together through middle, and high school, even though their plans continued to be so similar, you can never get away from change.
Isaac smiled, "I brought the corn dog bites you liked the last time you came over."
In the back of his head, he knew things would be different too, while Julian remained too naïve to understand the growing pains that came with moving on. To be fair, that's something he'd always admired, the ability to forget that time goes on.
"They're cold," Julian said, devouring two at once, "not gonna stop me though."
"How's Addy?"
"Oh- uh, she's fine, we haven't been talking as much as we used to."
That definitely shouldn't have assured Isaac as much as it did. Julian and Addy had been close for a while, and a part of him was nervous that it would eventually affect his own relationship with Julian.
"That...sucks?"
"Yeah, I guess, sometimes you just stop feeling it," he trails off, obviously pushing for a change in subject.
Dropping the subject, Isaac switches his focus to the knotted grocery bag with the extra supplies for their lunch, "Do you want Ketchup?"
Before gaining a response, he pulls it out anyways, handing it to Julian, not missing the way their fingers brush during the exchange. He can't help but look up a split second after, to gauge the unknown emotion flitting through Julian's eyes.
Julian holds the squeeze bottle above his plate, hoping to smother the meal with the condiment, but when he pinches the middle, nothing happens. He squeezes a second time to no avail, looking straight into the hole it should be coming out of. "Dude, I think it's broken. Of course you'd buy the fucked bottle."
"Hand it to me," Isaac yanks it out of his hands, looking straight into it, and squeezing erratically, only for the ketchup to erupt on his shirt.
Julian's eyes widen, before he immediately falls back and begins laughing hysterically, "I wish I was sorry, but I can't say I am! That wasn't even on purpose!" He reaches for the napkins before scooting closer to Isaac and helping between laughs, "You have some on your cheek, hold on."
They're hip to hip, and face to face, and something about the position makes the air heavier, already warm from the sun in the Texas sky. Isaac can't help but notice the way Julian leans over him to get the other side of his cheek, swiping delicately. Or the way Julian's eyebrows bend in concentration after coming down from his laughter high. Julian pulls his hand away from Isaac's face, but the latter makes an unexpectedly bold movement, capturing his wrist.
There's no words exchanged when Julian drops the napkin to the side, or when Isaac brings his hand back to his face at the junction between jaw and ear. There's no words exchanged when Isaac pulls Julian so they're nose to nose, or when Isaac searches his eyes for the same intense emotion he's feeling. There's no words exchanged when Isaac places his lips against Julian's, or when Julian kisses him back.
They stay like that for forever maybe, or realistically a few minutes before pulling back, Julian's legs now between Isaac's. There's no smiles afterwards, neither of the two boys able to understand what their situation meant for their friendship going forward.
Things change, and time passes, era's end, and things will be different after this... and maybe that's okay.