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“Come on!” Treasure urged excitedly, pulling Porter along as they tramped through the tall grass that covered the hill. Porter chuckled softly, letting the unempowered human drag him behind them.
“You still haven’t exactly told me what we’re doing,” he pointed out, almost stumbling over something that was hidden by the grasses and the dark of the night.
Porter had visited Treasure earlier in the evening, having made his stops by their apartment a more regular occurrence recently. They had been excited to see him, as per usual, and had said that they wanted to show him something.
They had driven him to the outskirts of Dahlia, where the city gave away to woods and hills inhabited by more animals than humans. The stars had become more apparent the further they drove, and now it seemed that the sky was full of them.
Treasure had kept their lips shut about what exactly they wanted to show Porter, instead just smiling and giggling any time he asked about it.
“If I told you, it wouldn’t be a surprise!” Treasure retorted, still holding Porter’s hand as they lead him up the hill. Porter gave them a confused look.
“Surprise?” he asked.
Treasure shrugged. “Well, not really, I guess. More of a ‘something special to me that I want to share with you’ sort of deal. But, seeing as you don’t know what I want to show you, it’s a surprise nonetheless.”
“Something special to you?” Porter repeated softly, a smile on his lips.
Treasure nodded, smiling themself as the duo reached the top of the hill. They looked up at the never-ending sky that stretched before them, before turning their gaze back to Porter.
“Sometimes, I come out here to stargaze,” they started. “When the insomnia is too much, or because I’m bored. Whatever the reason, I always come here, to this specific spot.” They looked back up at the darkened sky again.
“When I’m up here, I feel like I’m in a whole other world. It’s beautiful; it’s enchanting. It makes me forget about everything else for awhile. But, it’s lonely. It looses it’s beauty when I don’t have someone else to share it with, to be in awe with me.
“I love spending time with you, Porter. I’ve loved getting to know you. And I figured, what better way to spend time with you than to drag you out to my preferred, secret stargazing spot?”
They lulled into silence, still looking up at the stars, as if afraid of Porter’s reaction to such heartfelt words.
Porter had to admit, he loved spending time with Treasure, too. He had found himself daydreaming about them, counting down the hours until the sun settled and he could see them again. He had come to cherish the long nights spent talking about deep life things, or being curled up on the couch while binging a show. He loved the nights where they become close in physicality, whispering words of praise into their ear while becoming evermore gentle with them.
Porter gazed down at Treasure, a sort of soft longing in his eyes. He reached out, gently cupping one of their cheeks to bring their gaze back to him, a tactic he had employed many times. He still held their hand in his own, and now he brought it to his lips, gently kissing it as he looked into their eyes.
There was a glint of surprise for a moment, before it was overtaken with another emotion, one Porter couldn’t quite name.
“I’m glad that you feel you can trust me with something as personal and special as this,” Porter murmured sincerely. Treasure smiled softly, removing their hand from his and snaking it to the back of his neck.
“And I’m glad that you trust me enough to let me drive you out to the middle of nowhere with no explanation,” they quipped, just as sincere. Porter laughed softly at that, curling his arms around their waist and kissing them.
Everything about Treasure was soft. Soft eyes, soft personality, soft lips. When Porter had met them, he had thought he’d only see them once or twice, but now he was seeing them every other day. When he had met Treasure, he hadn’t anticipated getting to know them, and he definitely hadn’t anticipated their softness to rub off on him. He felt so much better, so much more alive while with them. They made all the pain he had endured in his life worth it, because they were one of the best things that had ever happened to him.
When Porter had met Treasure, he hadn’t anticipated falling in love with them (a fact he hadn’t realized quite yet).
Treasure was smiling dazedly when the kiss ended, a dark blush creeping up their cheeks. Porter kissed their nose, inciting a giggle from them, which caused him to smile in return.
Treasure grabbed his hand again. “Sit with me,” they invited, once again pulling Porter with them, this time down and onto the grass, which was thankfully short on the top of the hill. Porter settled himself close to Treasure, just enough to where he could lean against them if he wanted to.
They looked up at the stars, the peace that rarely inhabited their face making itself known as the stars reflected themselves in Treasure’s eyes, making them seem softer than before. Porter found himself savoring the moment, wishing that he could take a picture of it and hang it up on the wall.
“Like what you see?” Treasure teased, drawing Porter out of his awe-induced daze. He chuckled, once again taking their hand in his.
“If it’s you? Always,” he stated, leaning into them slightly. Treasure smiled, leaning against him in return.
They continued gazing up at the endless stars in a comfortable lull, occasionally pointing one star or constellation to the other, or kissing the other’s cheek or hand.
Eventually, they ended up laying on the ground, Porter having an arm around Treasure as they fiddled with their AirPods.
“I figured we could listen to some music,” they said quietly, offering Porter one. “They’re clean, don’t worry,” they added. He huffed light-heartedly, taking the small pod.
Treasure swiped through their phone, looking for a particular album. Apparently finding what they were looking for, they put their phone away as a sort of melancholy song started playing.
Why must I feel numb, done what I’ve done
I’ve taken my cues, what I’m supposed to do
“This sounds like that Lovejoy guy,” Porter commented, remembering the lead singer of the band Treasure was so adamant about.
Treasure nodded. “It is him. He makes his own music outside of Lovejoy. This is from his newest album, Mammalian Sighing Reflex. ”
“What’s it called?”
“ Mine / Yours. ”
You never liked me when drunk, I start to believe
You never liked me at all and so I agree
Porter shuffled himself closer to Treasure, having turned his attention from the sea of stars to the person laying beside him.
“You’re so beautiful,” he murmured without thinking. Treasure turned their head to look at him.
“You think I’m beautiful?” they asked, a sort of disbelief in their eyes.
“I do. You’re enchanting. Haunting. Beautiful.” At this point, Porter wasn’t even thinking about was he was saying.
“I love the time spent with you, I truly do. I love spending long nights like these with you. I look forward to seeing you all day, and when I do finally see you, I feel like the weight of the world is being lifted off of my shoulders. And in a way, it is.
“I… I’ve come to care about you a great deal, Treasure. You’re so sweet and kind, and undeserving of those who’ve taken advantage of that open kindness and caring I’ve come to know. And you’re beautiful. Not just in physicality, but in character and spirit. You’re beautiful. You’re… you.”
Treasure stared at him with a sort of starry-eyed look, that feeling Porter couldn’t quite name shining brightly in their eyes. “Porter,” they murmured. “I… I don’t know what to say…”
“That’s perfectly okay, Treasure. I just wanted you to know how I feel about you.”
You kiss me like it was your job
So tender and carefully, teeth before tongue
(I wanna be yours)
“I…” Treasure trailed off, as if gathering their thoughts. “I care about you too, Porter. I don’t think anything I could say could amount to what you’ve said, but it means a lot to me that you… you care about me. Thank you.”
Porter smiled softly, pressing his forehead against Treasure’s. “You’re welcome, my treasure,” he said warmly.
You know, I don’t need much more
I wanna be mine, wanna be yours
You know, I don’t need much more
I wanna be mine, wanna be yours
I love you.